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MONDAY Vol. XXXXII No. 12007 August 16, 2021 Muharram 8, 1443 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals

Amir congratulates Amir gets invitation to take part Indian president in regional summit to support His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and His Highness the Deputy Amir Sheikh Taliban enter Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani sent yesterday cables of congratulations to Indian President Ram Nath Kovind on the anniversary of his country’s Independence Day. HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Afghan capital, Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani also sent a similar cable of congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (QNA) Amir sends cable president and of condolences to Turkish president His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim diplomats fl ee bin Hamad al-Thani, His Highness the Deputy Amir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani and HE the  Militants rule out a transitional government Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has received a written message from Iraqi Abdulaziz al-Thani sent yesterday Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, inviting him to participate in the regional summit to support cables of condolences and sympathy Iraq, which will be held in Baghdad on August 28. The message was delivered by Iraqi National to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji, during a meeting with His Highness the Amir at the Amiri Diwan Erdogan on the victims of the off ice yesterday. At the outset of the meeting, al-Araji conveyed to the Amir the greetings of Iraqi torrential rains that struck several President Dr and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, and their wishes of every states in Turkey, wishing the injured success to the Amir, and to the Qatari people further progress and prosperity. For his part, the Amir a speedy recovery. (QNA) entrusted al-Araji to convey his greetings to the Iraqi president and the prime minister, wishing them good health and the Iraqi people further progress and prosperity. (QNA) Page 2 Amir condoles with Lebanese president President left for Tashkent: Al Jazeera His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and His Highness Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, his wife, his chief of staff and national security adviser have left the the Deputy Amir Sheikh Abdullah country for Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Al Jazeera news channel reported yesterday citing a personal bin Hamad al-Thani sent yesterday bodyguard of the president. Dozens of Taliban fighters have taken control of the presidential palace, cables of condolences to Lebanese declaring victory over the Afghan government in images broadcast on television. “Our country has President on the victims Taliban fighters enter presidential palace in Kabul after President Ghani flees Afghanistan. been liberated and the mujahideen are victorious in Afghanistan,” one militant told Al Jazeera from the of the fuel tank explosion in the town palace. of Altalil in the Akkar region, wishing Reuters American diplomats were fl own from their the injured a speedy recovery. HE Kabul embassy by helicopter to the airport as Afghan the Prime Minister and Minister of forces, trained for years and equipped by the Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin United States and others for billions of dollars, Ghani says he fled to prevent bloodshed Abdulaziz al-Thani also sent a similar aliban insurgents entered Kabul yesterday melted away. cable of condolences to Caretaker and President Ashraf Ghani left Afghani- The US embassy said in a security alert that “the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said that he had fled the country yesterday to “prevent a flood of Prime Minister Dr Hassan Diab. (QNA) Tstan saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed, security situation in Kabul is changing quickly” bloodshed”. Ghani said he believed “countless patriots would be martyred and the city of Kabul would bringing the Islamist militants close to taking including at the airport, adding that there were re- be destroyed” if he had stayed behind. “The Taliban have won... and are now responsible for the honour, Fuel tank explosion over the country two decades after they were ports the airport had come under fi re. property and self-preservation of their countrymen,” he said in a statement posted to Facebook. He did overthrown by a US-led invasion. Hundreds of Afghans, some of them govern- not say where he had travelled to, but leading Afghan media group Tolo news suggested he had gone kills 28 in As night fell, local television 1TV reported that ment ministers and government employees and to Tajikistan. A fuel tank explosion in Lebanon multiple explosions were heard in the city, which also other civilians including many women and killed 28 people and injured 80 had been largely quiet earlier in the day. children, crowded in the terminal at Kabul air- yesterday as a crowd clamoured for It said gunfi re could be heard near the airport, port desperately waiting for fl ights out. petrol, authorities and medics said. where foreign diplomats, offi cials and other Af- Taliban fi ghters reached Kabul “from all The tragedy in the remote north ghans fl ed seeking to leave the country. sides”, the senior Interior Ministry offi cial told Taliban ‘govt’ should not be recognised: UK overwhelmed medical facilities and Aid group Emergency said 80 wounded people Reuters and there were some reports of sporadic Nobody should bilaterally recognise the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan, British Prime heaped new misery on a nation had been brought to its hospital in Kabul. gunfi re around the city. Minister Boris Johnson said yesterday, adding it was clear that there would be a new administration in already beset by an economic crisis It was not yet clear how exactly power would During Sunday, the government’s acting in- the country very shortly. “We don’t want anybody bilaterally recognising the Taliban,” Johnson said in and severe fuel shortages .The health be transferred following the Taliban’s lightning terior minister, Abdul Sattar Mirzakawal, said an interview clip, urging the West to work together on Afghanistan through mechanisms such as the ministry said the explosion in Al-Tleil sweep in recent weeks across Afghanistan. power would be handed over to a transitional United Nations and Nato. “We want a united position amongst all the like-minded as far as we can get village in the Akkar region killed 28 Their advance accelerated as US and other administration. one so that we do whatever we can to prevent Afghanistan lapsing back into being a breeding ground people and wounded 80. Page 6 foreign troops withdrew in line with President He tweeted: “There won’t be an attack on for terror.” Joe Biden’s desire to end America’s longest war, the city, it is agreed that there will be a peaceful Haiti earthquake launched after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks. handover”. Insurgents entered the presidential palace and However, two Taliban offi cials told Reuters toll hits 724 took control of it, two senior Taliban command- there would be no transitional government. The The death toll from a devastating ers in Kabul said. Taliban said earlier it was waiting for the gov- earthquake in Haiti rose to 724 Al Jazeera television later showed footage of ernment to surrender peacefully. yesterday with rescuers scrambling what it said were Taliban commanders in the Many of Kabul’s streets were choked by cars to find survivors buried under palace with dozens of armed fi ghters. and people either trying to rush home or reach rumble and hospitals struggling to The Taliban also said they had taken control of the airport, residents said. cope with thousands of injured, as most of the districts around the outskirts of the US officials said diplomats were being fer- a major storm barrelled toward the capital. ried by helicopters to the airport from its em- Caribbean state. The 7.2 magnitude Some local social media users branded Ghani a bassy in the fortified Wazir Akbar Khan dis- quake on Saturday flattened “coward” for leaving them in chaos. trict. Pages 10, 11 hundreds of homes and buildings in a Caribbean nation which is still clawing its way back from another major temblor 11 years ago and reeling from the assassination of its president last month. Southwestern Haiti bore the brunt of the blow, especially in the region in and around the city of Les Cayes. Page 7 Taliban commander says fighters have taken control of all government headquarters in Kabul. Trudeau calls snap election for Sept 20 Military planes to 1,000 more US troops for Kabul Canadian Prime Minister Justin evacuate Germans The Pentagon authorised an additional 1,000 troops to Trudeau yesterday called an early help with the evacuation from Kabul, a US off icial said, election for Sept 20, saying he Germany yesterday shuttered its embassy in bringing the total number of troops expected in Afghanistan needed a new mandate to ensure Kabul and prepared to send A400M military temporarily to 6,000. The off icial said the additional 1,000 voters approved of his Liberal transport planes to Afghanistan to evacuate troops would come from the 82nd Airborne Division, which government’s plan to recover from as many Germans and local Afghan helpers as had already been on standby. the Covid-19 pandemic. Trudeau, possible. “We are doing everything to enable 49, is betting that high vaccination our citizens and our former local staff to leave rates against the virus and a post- Afghanistan within the next days,” German Saudi mission in Kabul evacuated pandemic economic rebound will foreign minister Heiko Maas said. German help him prolong and strengthen his embassy staff have already been moved to a has evacuated all members of its diplomatic grip on power. Newly-released data military part of Kabul airport. Core staff will mission in Kabul, state news agency SPA said. “All members shows 71% of the country’s eligible remain there in the coming days to help with of the Kingdom’s embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, have population is fully vaccinated. Page 7 Taliban fighters sit over a vehicle on a street in Laghman province yesterday. further evacuations, he added. been evacuated, and they have arrived home,” it said. Gulf Times 2 Monday, August 16, 2021 QATAR

OFFICIAL Al-Subaie meets visiting Foreign minister meets Iraqi Malaysian minister national security adviser Amir congratulates Korean president His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and His Highness the Deputy Amir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani sent yesterday cables of congratulations to Korean President Moon Jae- in on the anniversary of his country’s Liberation Day. HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani also sent a similar cable of congratulations to Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum. (QNA) Amir sends greetings to Congo president His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and His Highness the Deputy Amir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani sent yesterday cables of congratulations to the President of Congo (Brazzaville), Denis Sassou Nguesso, on his country’s National Day. HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani also sent a similar cable of congratulations to Prime Minister Anatole Collinet Makosso. (QNA) Amir greets Liechtenstein prince HE the Minister of Municipality and Environment and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Aff airs Dr Abdullah bin Abdulaziz His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and His bin Turki al-Subaie, met yesterday with the visiting Malaysian HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Aff airs Sheikh Mohamed bin Highness the Deputy Amir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani sent Minister of Rural Development Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad. Abdulrahman al-Thani met yesterday with the visiting Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim yesterday cables of congratulations to the Prince of Liechtenstein, During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations in al-Araji. During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations and ways to develop them in all Hans-Adam II, on his country’s National Day. HE the Prime Minister and environment, sustainable development, agriculture and food fields. They also discussed regional issues and the latest developments in the region, and the Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani also security, in addition to strengthening aspects of co-operation necessity to unify eff orts, bring views closer, and strengthen the regional dialogue mechanism sent a similar cable of congratulations to Prime Minister Dr Daniel Risch. between Qatar and in areas of common interest. (QNA) and consolidate its foundations, in order to achieve security and stability in the region. (QNA) (QNA)

Chief of Staff in meeting

HE the Chief of Staff of Qatar Armed Forces Lieutenant-General (Pilot) Ghanem bin Shaheen al-Ghanem met in Kuwait yesterday with the Chief of General Staff of the Kuwaiti Army Lieutenant General Khaled Saleh al-. During the meeting, they reviewed the bilateral military relations and ways to enhance them. The meeting was attended by a number of senior off icers from both sides. (QNA) Thousands benefit from QC-run health centre in

IDPs receiving healthcare services at Suluk Health Centre.

housands of inter- nally displaced per- Tsons (IDPs) and Su- luk residents have benefi ted from the quality healthcare services provided by Su- luk Health Centre – run by Qatar Charity (QC) in co- operation with the Turkish health directorates. Since its opening a few months ago, the health cen- tre has been receiving 6,000 patients monthly and in June, more than 7,000 peo- The QC-run Suluk Health Centre. ple, mostly children, wom- en and the elderly, benefi ted The Suluk Health Cen- the region, citing its newly from its services. tre – renovated, furnished, developed clinics and pro- Last month, the referral equipped, and opened by vides 24-hour ambulance system was initiated at the QC – provides healthcare and obstetrics services. health centre and 25 cases services to the people in He added that the health were referred to the Na- Suluk (a densely populated centre provides various tional Hospital. town in Syria close to the health services to a large The health centre forms border with Turkey) and number of people in Su- part of the agreement signed to residents in other ar- luk and surrounding areas, by QC earlier this year with eas suff ering from a severe which relieved the pressure the Turkish health directo- shortage of primary medi- on the National Hospital of rates that aims to establish cal services as a result of the Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain. and operate four primary challenging humanitarian The health centre of- healthcare centres in north- situation in the region. fers in-patient, paediatric, ern Syria. It also aims to Jamal Mustafa Hammoud, dental, gynaecological, and facilitate access to medical head of the health offi ce in midwifery services, and services for the displaced the local council, empha- medicines free of charge. It and residents in the northern sised the strategic impor- also provides ambulance and countryside of Aleppo. tance of this health centre for laboratory services for free. Gulf Times Monday, August 16, 2021 3 QATAR

CNA-Q announces 22 new bachelor’s, master’s programmes

he College of the North Atlan- cial Technology (BA BA BK FinTech), A TNE), and in The majors come as part of the tic – Qatar (CNA-Q) has an- Bachelor of Applied Business Admin- Applied Maintenance Engineering transformation that the CAN-Q is Tnounced more than 20 new ap- istration in Digital Marketing (BA BA Technology (BSc A MET). currently undergoing, 20 years after plied bachelor’s and master’s degree DM), Bachelor of Applied Business The programmes at the School of its inception. programmes for current, new, and in- Administration in Human Resources Health Sciences are Master of Applied CNA-Q president Dr Salem Al- ternational students for the academic Management (BA BA HRM), Bachelor Science in Critical Care Paramedi- Naemi said: “The changes that the year 2021/2022. of Applied Business Administration cine (MA Sc CCP), Master of Applied CNA-Q is currently implementing Dr Salem Al-Naemi: The changes The new programmes cater to the in Healthcare Management (BA BA Science in Diabetes Care and Patient will lay a strong foundation for fur- that the CNA-Q is currently need of the local and international HM), Bachelor of Applied Science in Education (MA Sc DCPE), Bachelor ther growth.” implementing will lay a strong markets and will equip Qatari and Data and Cyber Security (BA Sc DCS), of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene “We will soon become the fi rst foundation for further growth. expatriate talents with the neces- Bachelor of Applied Science in Data (BA Sc DH), Bachelor of Applied Sci- National Applied University and this sary skills to serve an ever-evolving Science and Artifi cial Intelligence (BA ence in Environmental Health (BA Sc step will benefi t our students and the addition to the new programmes, all economy. Sc DSAI), Bachelor of Applied Sci- EH), Bachelor of Applied Science in wider community,” he added. “Most framed within a student-centred ap- The programmes at the School of ence in Information Systems (BA Sc Occupational Health, Safety, and En- postgraduate jobs in our market are proach. Business Management and Informa- IS), and Bachelor of Applied Science vironment (BA Sc OHSE), Bachelor structured around entirely hands-on The College Schools off er varied tion Technology are: Master of Ap- in Information Technology (BA Sc IT). of Applied Science in Paramedicine competencies, and by introducing all programmes: a total of 18 programmes plied Science in Human Resource The School of Engineering Tech- (BA Sc P), Bachelor of Applied Sci- these applied bachelor’s degree and at School of Business Management Management (MA Sc HRM), Bachelor nology off ers Bachelor of Science in ence in Pharmacy Technology (BA Sc master’s degree programmes, we are and Information Technology, 17 pro- of Applied Business Administration in Applied Chemical and Processing PT), Bachelor of Applied Science in preparing our students for a lifetime grammes at School of Engineering Applied Accounting (BA BA A Acct), Engineering (BSc A CPE), Bachelor of Respiratory Therapy (BA Sc RT), and of professional success.” Technology and Industrial Trades, Bachelor of Applied Business Ad- Science in Applied Telecommunica- Bachelor of Applied Science in Medi- The CNA-Q will continue to off er and 15 programmes at School of The College of the North Atlantic – Qatar ministration in Banking and Finan- tions and Network Engineering (BSc cal Radiography (BA Sc MR). two-year and three-year diplomas in Health Sciences. QRCS helps protect 3,200 Tajikistanis against Covid

atar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) imposed during the distribution exercise, has completed a project to curb the to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmis- Qcoronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic sion. in Tajikistan by supporting poor families The volunteers and staff members en- worst aff ected by the virus in Dushanbe. gaged in the distribution were provided The Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan with appropriate personal protective items distributed hygiene kits, disinfectants, and trained in the proper use and disposal and medical masks to 1,200 vulnerable of those items. families (numbering around 3,200 per- Vulnerable families and local authorities sons) from diff erent pandemic-aff ected thanked the QRCS for the aid. groups, mainly patients who are being The Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan treated in local hospitals of Tajikistan. thanked the QRCS for the donation and Valued at $20,000 and donated by the co-operation, adding that it hopes to have QRCS, the distributed aid is made up of a continued collaboration for the benefi t Commercial Bank hygiene kits (2,500 benefi ciaries), disin- of the vulnerable population. fectants (200 benefi ciaries), and medical This project is part of the QRCS’s initia- masks (500 benefi ciaries). tive to back the fellow national societies in launches campaign All benefi ciaries were selected accord- 22 countries across six continents, aimed ing to the criteria agreed upon with local at protecting 320,000 persons against authorities. the coronavirus, with a total budget of to promote payment The Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan’s QR2,236,827. assessment showed that the most vulner- The QRCS distributed hygiene kits, disinfectants, and medical masks to 1,200 These countries are Palestine, Afghani- able groups were households with multi- vulnerable families in Tajikistan. stan, Pakistan, Nepal, Tajikistan, Mon- with mobile phones ple children, the elderly, families of medi- golia, Laos, Vanuatu, Ethiopia, Chad, cal personnel, and people with disabilities. The distributions took place at Dush- house visit distribution method. Senegal, , Ivory Coast, Mali, The operation was committed to ensur- anbe hospitals that were convenient (eas- Safety protocols, such as maintain- Sierra Leone, Albania, Kosovo, Montene- ommercial Bank (CB) radical and ever-changing be- ing that the Sphere Humanitarian charter ily accessible) to the target population. ing physical distancing and good hygiene gro, Venezuela, El Salvador, Peru, and has launched the “Reg- haviour of customers who are, and minimum standards were met. Some benefi ciaries were covered by the practices, at the distribution points were Panama. Cister, Tap N’ Earn” nowadays, steering more to- campaign, following the “huge wards mobile and digital bank- success and overwhelming ing,” he added. customer response” of its “Tap About the campaign, Roya N Pay” campaign launched Khajeh, assistant general man- earlier, in the fi rst quarter of ager and head (Cards and Pay- Fall 2021 semester at QU is all set to this year. ments), said: “Contactless CB customers who have not mobile payment is the future! yet enjoyed the “seamless” ex- Commercial Bank constantly start with blended learning system perience of paying with their strives to introduce the latest mobile phones are encouraged payment technologies to our to register their cards on the customers and keep them en- he Fall 2021 semester at Qatar University attend on campus will do so on the approval of the CBQ Mobile App and use it for gaged with exciting campaigns, (QU) will begin with a blended learning College Dean. in-store payments. supporting the adoption to- Tsystem to prevent the spread of the coro- Academic departments will ensure that all The “Register, Tap N’ Earn” wards these new payment navirus (Covid-19), it was announced yesterday. safety measures announced by the university are campaign that runs from Au- channels.” In light of the prevailing situation and the gov- applied for internship, fi eldwork, preceptorship, gust 15 to October 31, refl ects “Our previous CB Pay cam- ernment’s plan for the gradual lifting of Covid-19 and clinical practice courses. the “Bank’s digital leadership” paign has generated a positive restrictions, the QU has decided to commit to Colleges are to develop a mechanism in co- in the market. response, and to build the mo- the following instructions regarding the teaching ordination with the training bodies and according CB customers, who use An- mentum, we are launching an- mode during Fall 2021 after consulting with the to the safety measures announced by the relevant droid mobile phones, are in- other exciting opportunity for relevant authorities. authorities. vited to use CB Pay, Qatar’s customers to earn up to QR200 The instructions will remain eff ective until fur- Any other courses may be off ered if the QU fi rst Cards digital mobile wal- during the campaign period by ther notice. deems it appropriate to deliver from the campus, let, for the chance to earn QR50 simply registering and tapping Teaching will continue to be primarily online, as well as courses for specifi c groups of students by registering for their fi rst CB their phones,” she added. except for students enrolled in some specifi c (such as students in specifi c programs, colleges, Pay tap transaction, and ad- As a digital pioneer, Com- courses. or levels) that will be off ered in the coming weeks. ditionally earn QR10 for every mercial Bank introduced CB Faculty members teaching these courses will The Student Services Department has also subsequent tap, up to a maxi- Pay, the fi rst cards digital mo- communicate directly with their students to no- announced the Student Financial Aid, includ- mum total of QR200 “guaran- bile wallet in Qatar, over a year tify them that teaching will be on campus. ing aid for tuition and housing fees fi nanced by teed” cash prize over the cam- ago. These courses include graduate studies cours- the QU, monthly aid and emergency aid which paign period. It provides safer and faster es (diploma, masters and doctoral degrees) and are fi nanced by external institutions as follows: To seize this opportunity, payment options, whereby practical laboratory courses that require students Education Above All – Dynamic Future Qatar customers just have to login customers can simply select Total Covid-19 recoveries at 226,012 to attend physically and perform hands-on ex- Project, Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charita- to the CBQ Mobile App using the CB credit or debit card they periments in the laboratory. ble Foundation – Rewards and Support Student their Android mobile phone, wish to add to their mobile The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) reported yesterday 109 new Departments off ering these labs will monitor Programmes, Nama – Tamkeen and Educational digitise their CB credit or debit phones. confirmed cases of the coronavirus (Covid-19) among the community the teaching process in light of the announced Loan Programmes. cards by selecting CB Pay un- CB Pay can be used locally and 78 among travellers. The MoPH also recorded 131 recoveries from safety measures by the university. The QU is distributing printed textbooks to der Card Services, and start us- and abroad and allows online the virus during the past 24 hours. One may visit the MoPH website for Graduation and research projects, as well as students from the university textbook section on ing the Android mobile phone payments, in-store payments regular updates and new information. – QNA courses of special nature that require students to appointment from August 22 to September 9. for their in-store POS (point of (Android phones only), and a sale) purchases. better card control. Amit Sah, executive gen- Commercial Bank contact- eral manager and head ( less card off ering “Tap & Pay” Banking) at Commercial Bank, has been a huge success and said: “As a digital market leader complemented the Qatar gov- Three more mobile blood donation units expected and trendsetter, Commercial ernment’s coronavirus (Cov- Bank is proud to reshape cus- id-19) measures of safe and tomer payment behaviour and hygienic payments. hree new mobile blood launch the second campaign Within three years of donation units are being this year to encourage and ben- launching its contactless tech- Tplanned, in addition to efi t customers from a unique nology, Commercial Bank has the existing three attached to the off ering like ‘Register, Tap N’ successfully reached over 17mn Blood Donor Centre at Hamad Earn’ campaign.” taps, by customers using their Medical Corporation (HMC), “CB Pay has proven its rel- contactless cards and devices local daily Arrayah re- evance since its introduction at their favourite local and in- ported. to the Qatar market, given the ternational outlets. A source told the daily that the new units will be part of the HMC’s preparations for major Haiti embassy conveys message of international events that the country will host, including the condolence to earthquake victims upcoming FIFA 2022 World Cup. The new units would be the The Haitian embassy in has conveyed its most sincere most sophisticated in the world. condolences to the families who have been impacted by the As there are major expan- earthquake that hit the south and southwest regions of the country sions in the medical and health A mobile blood donor unit of the HMC. on Saturday. facilities across the country, the The embassy in a statement said that it is grateful for all the demand for blood is expected to various awareness programmes highest rate in the region. expressions of concerns and support from friends of Haiti and increase, and the new units are to encourage people to donate The country stopped import- “is looking forward to building on that solidarity to support the expected to support this. blood. ing blood since 1987, relying only most urgent needs of our brothers and sisters impacted by this The HMC Blood Donation Voluntary blood donation on voluntary donors to provide earthquake”. Centre would continue to hold meets 100% of Qatar’s needs, the safe and secure blood supply. The HMC’s Blood Donor Centre.  See report on page 7 Gulf Times 4 Monday, August 16, 2021 QATAR UDC launches first residential villa compound ‘Giardino Gardens’ at The Pearl-Qatar

United Development Company (UDC) has announced the launch of ‘Giardino Gardens’, the first residential villa compound at The Pearl-Qatar in the Giardino Village precinct, with the first batch of villas recently off ered for leasing. The compound consists of 80 villas divided between 28 standalone villas and 52 semi- attached villas, all of which have luxurious specifications and spacious interiors ranging from four to six bedrooms, in addition to state-of-the-art facilities that include a clubhouse with a gym, outdoor swimming pool, multi- purpose hall, and prayer rooms, as well as tennis and squash a mission to identify and courts, which will be ready by invest in long-term projects end of February 2022. contributing to Qatar’s growth Giardino Village is considered and providing good shareholder the most diversified district of value. Established in 1999, the The Pearl-Qatar with residential company was first listed on the plots, completed villas, and low- Qatar Exchange in June 2003. rise residential buildings, as well to the vibrant retail hubs of The Pearl-Qatar and Gewan Mall shopping complexes, UDC activities cover a as United School International Medina Centrale and Porto Island, is also currently United School International and multitude of vital investment and Giardino Mall, all of which Arabia, making it an ideal place developing a number of other Corinthia Yacht Club, in addition sectors including real-estate enhance the comprehensiveness for those wanting a discreet and projects at The Pearl-Qatar, to the ongoing development of development, property of this precinct. private residence amidst a rich including three residential villa Gewan Island. management, infrastructure Giardino Village is located in landscaped setting. compounds in Floresta Gardens, UDC is a leading Qatari public and utilities, maritime, and tranquil surroundings close UDC, the master developer of Floresta Galleria, and Giardino shareholding company with hospitality-related businesses.

HBKU welcomes 300 students for new academic year

amad Bin Khalifa Uni- versity (HBKU), a mem- HBKU-CHLS dean excited to resume in-person classes Hber of Qatar Foundation (QF), has welcomed incoming Founding dean of College of frequent checks on adherence development of a cadre of well- and returning students, staff , Health and Life Sciences (CHLS) to Covid-19 and laboratory trained research scientists with and faculty, to a new, hopeful at HBKU, Dr Edward Stuenkel safety standards. While research expertise in precision medicine. academic year 2021/2022 under highlights that there is great activity was reduced, CHLS CHLS’ advanced joint degree the overarching theme “Haya- enthusiasm among the faculty continued to operate under the programme is novel to the region kom at HBKU.” and students for a return to principle of delivering research and its focus is on studying and More than 300 new students face-to-face didactic instruction training during the pandemic developing strategies by which have started their academic ad- within the HBKU infrastructure that was in line with the best an individual may attain physical venture within the HBKU com- as the university resumes Dr Edward Stuenkel practices to sustain the health fitness to address preventative munity’s six colleges. Dr Maryam al-Mannai Dr Ahmad M Hasnah in-person classes with the new of the students and faculty,” health,” he noted. HBKU marks a return to in- academic year. within its learning environment. explained Dr Stunkel. Qatar faces many global health person learning for the fi rst time We encourage you to take your Benedik, provost, said: “What is “Social and in-person HBKU was amazing in its CHLS off ers five degree challenges such as diabetes, since the pandemic prompted a ideas and try to make a change, unique at HBKU is the ability to interactions that occur in a ability to transition eff iciently programmes including an cancers, and cardiovascular switch to online learning. whether in the fi eld of science, in synthesise information and uti- classroom learning environment and successfully to online MS and PhD in Biological and diseases. The best defence The university off ers 34 multi- your society, within your com- lise it to solve a problem. We have often stimulate critical thinking, instruction during the Covid-19 Biomedical Sciences, an MS against these diseases is disciplinary programmes. munity, or family. HBKU will designed our programmes and appreciation of a diversity pandemic,” he continued. and PhD in Genomics and developing a good off ence, HBKU Student Aff airs rolled support your academic and per- classroom experiences to provide of perspectives and inspire According to him the biggest Precision Medicine (GPM), and which is defined by developing out a virtual student orienta- sonal development and provide our students with this skill set, innovative and collaborative challenge from Covid-19 that an MS in Exercise Science, the biomedical research scientists tion to familiarise students with you with the means to enhance which is diff erent from what they eff orts. Education is not only CHLS faced was that research latter a joint program with the to begin to identify the “omics,” the university and its resources. your entrepreneurship, under- get at most other universities. At about the information conveyed within the biomedical sciences University of South Carolina, lifestyle and environment that A series of information sessions standing, and capability.” HBKU, our expectation is that but also benefits from an is performed within research US. CHLS is the only institution may underlie the onset or were held, highlighting the sup- HBKU is celebrating 10 years our students will leave as innova- interactive and shared learning laboratories. “Laboratory in Qatar to off er degree progression of these diseases. port available to meet students’ since its founding as a research- tors and problem solvers.” environment,” he said. research requires a collective of programmes in GPM. Research scientists trained academic and personal goals. intensive university, a proud mile- Dr Maryam al-Mannai, vice Dr Stunkel recalled that the faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and “Healthcare is rapidly in precision medicine are the Academic advisers guided stone for the country, QF, and president for student aff airs, Covid-19 pandemic experience students to be active within that advancing toward precision leaders in the fight against fi rst-semester students through HBKU faculty, staff , students, said: “You are about to embark with virtual online learning environment. CHLS adapted to medicine as this approach current and future health the university’s interdisciplinary and alumni who have shaped the on a journey that will lead you has added an appreciation this through the help of HBKU’s off ers a deeper understanding pandemics and CHLS, through academic programmes. organisation. HBKU strives to through thought-provoking to the spectrum of eff ective crisis management team by of pathophysiology and its graduate-level academic HBKU president, Dr Ahmad empower students and engage academic challenges and a vi- instructional methods. “The developing “bubble teams,” treatment of individual patients. programmes, is a regional M Hasnah said: “Today is the alumni to develop skills and com- brant social network alongside a college is excited to retain adaptive scheduling, phasing Foundational to achieving leader in the training of these start of your engagement with petencies through diverse, multi- diverse community of students aspects of online education on return of personnel, and precision medicine is the research scientists,” he added. HBKU. Learning is a dialogue disciplinary educational and so- and educators. Nevertheless, and we urge all of you to benefi t cial learning opportunities. the most transformative expe- from interaction with your pro- Highlighting his vision for the riences await you beyond the - the student aff airs team – are personal development through- passions, interests, and pursuits HBKU’s culture of interactive fessors, researchers, and peers. new academic year, Dr Michael J boundaries of the classroom. We here to support and guide your out your academic journey. Your will doubtlessly mature within exchange and mutual respect.”

Moscow meetings on Qatar-Russia tourism

Qatar’s ambassador to Russia Sheikh Ahmed bin Nasser al-Thani has inaugurated the meetings of representatives of the “Qatari-Russian Tourism Sector” organised by the Tourism Directorate of the Government of the Russian capital, Moscow. During the meetings, held via videoconference, the participants reviewed means of enhancing prospects for co-operation between Qatar and Russia in this field. Speaking at the meetings, the ambassador emphasised the importance of such events and their role in enhancing co-operation between the two countries. He gave a brief presentation about the most important stages of relations between Qatar and Russia, hoping that there will be a significant increase in the flow of tourists to Qatar from various countries of the world, including Russia. (QNA)

Awqaf ministry reminds Muslims of fasting on Ashurah day The Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Aff airs has urged Muslims to fast on Ashurah day in the month of Muharram, in pursuance of the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam - blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). In a statement, the ministry reminds Muslims of fasting on Ashurah day. According to the Holy Companion Ibn ‘Abbas (radi-Allahu ‘anhu), when the Holy Prophet, blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, migrated to Madinah, he found that the Jews there used to fast on the 10th day of Muharram. There is a great reward for fasting on two days of Muharram - 9th and 10th. There are many prophetic traditions that mention its virtues. It is highly recommended to fast on these day, although not obligatory, the ministry said. (QNA) Gulf Times Monday, August 16, 2021 5 QATAR LuLu launches ‘ Utsav 2021’

By Peter Alagos tari people, and the Indian expa- prominent Indian physician Dr Business Reporter triate community in Qatar.” Mohan Thomas, who received a Mittal said LuLu’s celebration plaque of commendation from of ‘India Utsav’ also represents Qatar Chamber fi rst vice chair- ndia’s longstanding relations the “very strong bond” between man Mohamed bin Towar al-Ku- with Qatar highlighted the Qatar and India, especially in food wari, who was joined by Mittal, Dr Ilaunch of ‘India Utsav’, or- security initiatives. Althaf, and Doha Bank CEO Dr R ganised yesterday by retail chain “Our prime minister has spo- Seetharaman. LuLu Hypermarket to celebrate ken on ‘Think Local, Go Global’, The ambassador’s wife, Dr Alp- the South Asian nation’s 74th an- which is about connecting and na Mittal, also inaugurated a pro- niversary of independence. building resilience in the supply motion on ‘Indian Silk and Ethnic Festivities for ‘India Ustav 2021’ chain for food security, thus en- Wear’ at the hypermarket’s Saree held at LuLu Hypermarket Al hancing the partnership between Section, which showcases a wide Gharrafa brought together a host both countries. We are so deeply assortment of pure natural and of key players from the Indian interconnected to meet the re- synthetic silk from India, includ- community in Qatar led by Indian quirements of each nation and ing saris, readymade garments, ambassador Dr Deepak Mittal and enhance the connection of our and dress material available at offi cials from government min- peoples,” said Mittal. good discounts. istries, Qatar Chamber, banking, The ambassador also lauded Indian silk is one of the major retail, and fast-moving consumer Qatar and India’s historic rela- categories of the country’s exports goods (FMCG) sector. tions, citing the famous Hydera- worldwide. Fair Exports India, an In his speech, Mittal under- badi pearls that were imported export distribution centre of LuLu scored India’s signifi cant role in from Qatar through ancient Group, has been the recipient of Qatar’s food security eff orts, as shipping routes. “This refl ects the ‘Best Exporter Award’ for In- well as both countries’ well-es- the deep-rooted trade relations dian silk saris and garments by tablished partnership in the fi eld between the two countries,” he the Indian Silk Export Promotion of energy security. noted. Council since 1996. “We are grateful to our great He also congratulated Dr Althaf The festival will also high- friend and partner, Qatar, for be- and LuLu Group for being brand light India’s diverse culture and ing a strong partner in energy se- ambassadors of India in the re- heritage that was handed down curity,” said Mittal, citing Indian gion, especially in Qatar, as well through the centuries symbolis- Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s as LuLu Hypermarket “for being ing one India. As a nation, India energy roadmap, which, the am- a torchbearer and fl agbearer of In- is famous for its rich cultural and bassador said, would deepen dia and Qatar.” culinary heritages, vast landscape, Qatar and India’s partnership in The week-long festival dedi- religions, and languages. terms of energy security. cated to Indian culinary and food The culture of contemporary Mittal, who inaugurated the tradition will be showcasing a India refers collectively to thou- event along with Dr Mohamed range of Indian cuisines, fresh sands of distinct and unique Althaf, director of LuLu Group In- vegetables and fruits, grocery cultures of various religions and ternational, and other dignitaries, lines, and saris, with exciting of- communities prevalent since time said: “This journey has become fers. immemorial, which constitutes possible because of the support of The event was also highlighted the ultimate essence of ‘Unity in India’s ambassador to Qatar, Dr Deepak Mittal, joins Qatar Chamber first vice chairman Mohamed bin Towar al-Kuwari and other dignitaries wise leadership of Qatar, the Qa- by a recognition ceremony for Diversity’. during the ribbon-cutting ceremony of ‘India Ustav 2021’ held yesterday at LuLu Hypermarket Al Gharrafa. India is a key food source for Qatar, says LuLu exec

By Peter Alagos showcases the South Asian na- festival twice annually for the past ucts in diff erent categories, such Business Reporter tion’s culinary heritage and cul- two decades. “We are holding the as fruits and vegetables, meat, ture but it was also organised by festivals to celebrate Indian cu- packaged food products, kitchen LuLu Group to commemorate linary heritage with food as one essentials, and traditional wear he role of India in sup- India’s 75th Independence Day. of the major bonds between In- like saris, churidars, and other porting Qatar’s food se- The festivity was inaugurated by dia and the , includ- garments through its own sourc- Tcurity initiatives was Dr Deepak Mittal, India’s ambas- ing GCC and Qatar. The festival ing offi ces in India on a regular underscored during celebration sador to Qatar, together with dig- showcases food items from India, basis. of ‘India Ustav 2021’ organised nitaries from government minis- which accounts large portion of Dr Althaf said: “LuLu Group yesterday by LuLu Group at tries, Qatar Chamber, and offi cials foods being consumed in Qatar,” has always been making sustained LuLu Hypermarket Al Gharrafa. of diff erent sectors in the country. said Dr Althaf. eff orts through organised logis- “India is a very important “By holding this event, we are Althaf also noted that India tic network to make global prod- source of food for Qatar. India is not only showcasing food items is leading in terms of organic ucts available at the best rates for one of the largest producers of from India but we would like to food certifi cation. “Functional shoppers, which makes LuLu dis- food items like lentil and sugar, give a message to people that In- food companies are coming tinct in the retail sector.” among others. It plays a key role dia’s food industry is evolving all from India, specialising in vegan He added that India’s achieve- in ensuring food security,” said the time and is keeping pace with and other healthy foods, which ments in its food production in- Dr Mohamed Althaf, director of the fast developments in the food shows the great achievements of dustry have played a vital role LuLu Group International, on sector,” Dr Althaf stressed. India in the food sector,” he said. in global eff orts to attain food Dr Mohamed Althaf, director of LuLu Group International, gestures during a tour of ‘India Ustav 2021’ the sidelines of the event. Dr Althaf said LuLu Hypermar- According to Dr Althaf, LuLu security, hunger mitigation, and while Qatar Chamber Mohamed bin Towar al-Kuwari and Indian ambassador, Dr Deepak Mittal, look on. ‘India Ustav 2021’ not only ket has been organising the Indian Group imports over 5,000 prod- nutrition. New Metrash2 features to Training workshop ease transactions further on port

By Shafeeq Alingal tar ID and driving licence can be are renewed with the fee deduct- plained the functions and fea- security Staff Reporter used for MoI services and ena- ed from the bank account. The tures of Metrash2, said crimes bles sharing documents through renewed Qatar IDs are delivered could be reported to the relevant WhatsApp, e-mail and messages. to the company through Qatar authorities by making use of the concludes hile continuing its Another new facility on Me- Post,” said First Lt Ali Ahmed al- feature that is available with the eff orts to improve e- trash2 helps companies renew Eidrous, offi cer at Smart Devices ‘Communication With Us’ win- Wservices, the Ministry Residency Permit for employees Branch at E Services Section of dow of the application. “There he Ministry of Transport and of Interior (MoI) has introduced automatically without interven- the General Directorate of Infor- is no need to go to the police Communications (MoTC) has new features on Metrash2. tion of public relation offi cers. mation System of MoI. station to lodge complaints if Tconcluded a training workshop These features include a fa- “The companies need to open He was addressing an aware- crimes are spotted,” he said. on port security for its employees cility to issue Residency Permit an account with QNB and link ness seminar organised by the Various services regarding and maritime specialists from the Dr al-Marri hands over certificate to one of the participants with birth certifi cate for new- it to their Metrash2 accounts. ministry on ‘E Services of the visa application, renewal and relevant government entities as part of the port security training workshop borns and the renewal of resi- Companies will get notifi cations Ministry of Interior’ yesterday for extension could be easily car- of its eff orts to enhance surveillance dency permit of employees. as the residency permits (of the company representatives, com- ried out with Metrash2 without strategies, ahead of the 2022 FIFA The new e-wallet service with employees under their sponsor- munity leaders and the public. going to immigration offi ces, the World Cup. offi cial documents including Qa- ship) are about to expire. They First Lt al-Eidrous, who ex- offi cial added. The fi ve-day training was on the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code), inspired by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). Steady rise in number of users, transactions It was attended by several maritime specialists from the Ministry of De- fence, the Ministry of Interior, Qatar By Shafeeq Alingal mation System of MoI, said Me- Petroleum, and the Qatar Ports Man- Staff Reporter trash2 has ensured convenience agement Company (Mwani Qatar), for individuals and companies in addition to a group of maritime while helping them avail services transport aff airs employees at MoTC. he Metrash2 service without going to government of- Delivered by a maritime security marked more than 6mn fi ces and service complexes. expert, the workshop provided de- Ttransactions in 2020 with He said that there are more tailed explanation of the ISPS Code an increase in excess of 90% than 2mn Metrash2 users who and the latest eff ective ways to im- over 2019. This was announced are availing various services plement its provisions, as it is the during an awareness seminar by in various languages through comprehensive mandatory security the Ministry of Interior (MoI) smartphones and tablets. A total system for maritime transport glo- yesterday. of 242,183 iOS users along with bally in addition to its essential role in A total of 6,004,327 transac- 1,784,282 android users avail strengthening co-operation between tions were executed by vari- various government services contracting governments, govern- ous government departments through the application. ment agencies, local administrations, in 2020 while the number of The MoI offi cial said Metrash2 and the shipping and port industry. transactions stood at 3,152,015 provides secure and encrypted by encrypting the information,” ond and third places. The MoI MoTC’s assistant undersecretary in 2019. While addressing the services. “Information secu- he explained. offi cial said that eff orts are on of Maritime Transport Aff airs, Dr seminar, First Lt Ali Ahmed al- rity is ensured with connection Among the services, residency to introduce more features with Saleh bin Fetais al-Marri, handed Eidrous, offi cer at Smart Devices to the backend that’s protected renewal topped while traffi c vio- Metrash2 adding that the appli- over workshop attendance certifi - Branch at E Services Section of with diff erent layers. Metrash2 lation payment and services of cation will draw more users with cates to the participants. the General Directorate of Infor- has multiple level data security National Address came in sec- better facilities. Gulf Times 6 Monday, August 16, 2021 WORLD Lebanese seething, reeling after the latest tragedy

AFP tacked the home of premier- were ill-equipped to treat severe burns. A Turkish plane arrived in Beirut her that her soldier son was in critical with diesel to power generators. Tripoli designate to demand his “The corpses are so charred that we yesterday evening to transport four condition. The council also called on the gov- resignation, with rocks thrown and can’t identify them,” employee Yassine soldiers who had suff ered serious “He’s my only son!” Abdullah yelled, ernment to task security forces with clashes with anti-riot forces, the of- Metlej at an Akkar hospital told AFP. burns, the NNA reported. falling to the fl oor. monitoring the storage and distribu- fuel tank explosion that claimed fi cial National News Agency (NNA) A security source said that DNA Ismail al-Sheikh, 23, burned on his Lebanon, hit by a fi nancial crisis, has tion of fuel to prevent further inci- at least 28 lives yesterday is the reported. testing to identify victims had begun. arms and legs, was driven by his sis- been grappling with soaring poverty, dents. Alatest catastrophe to spark out- The military said a fuel tank that AFP correspondents at several hos- ter Marwa to Beirut’s Geitawi hospital, a plummeting currency and dire fuel Yesterday’s blast comes less than rage in the crisis-hit country. “had been confi scated by the army to pitals saw remains covered in white some 50 miles away. shortages. two weeks after Lebanon marked the The tragedy in the impoverished distribute to citizens” exploded just shrouds. “We were informed that the army The central bank this week said it fi rst anniversary of the Beirut port ex- north overwhelmed medical facilities before 2am yesterday. At Tripoli’s Al-Salam hospital, was distributing gasoline... so people could not aff ord to fund fuel subsidies plosion. and heaped new misery on a nation al- Two soldiers died, 11 were critically emergency rooms quickly fi lled. fl ocked to fi ll it in plastic containers,” because of dwindling foreign reserves, Despite the economic crisis, politi- ready beset by an economic crisis and injured and four are missing, it added. “Don’t leave us!” cried one mother Marwa told AFP. and accused importers of hoarding cal wrangling has delayed the forma- severe fuel shortages that have crip- The military began raiding petrol beside her burned son as a man wept She said some witnesses said a light- fuel to sell at higher prices on the black tion of a new government after the last pled hospitals and caused long power stations on Saturday to curb hoarding and prayed for his own son. er sparked the blast; others claimed market or in Syria. cabinet resigned in the wake of that cuts. after the central bank scrapped fuel Akkar residents torched an empty shots were fi red. Fuel shortages have left many with blast. It also revived bitter memories of a subsidies. house thought to belong to the owner The explosion was widely seen as just two hours of electricity a day, and Vital international aid pledges re- massive blast at Beirut port last August The NNA said the blast followed of the land where the explosion took a direct consequence of offi cial neg- several hospitals have warned they may main contingent on a new government that killed more than 200 people and scuffl es as people crowded to get pet- place, the NNA reported. ligence that had pushed the country have to close due to power outages. being formed to spearhead reforms, destroyed swathes of the capital. rol. The army tweeted that the owner deeper into free fall. President Michel Aoun ordered a and on talks restarting with the Inter- Caretaker premier Hassan Diab’s of- Hospitals in Akkar, one of Lebanon’s had been arrested. “The dead are victims of a careless probe into the blast and chaired an national Monetary Fund. Russia called fi ce declared a national day of mourn- poorest regions, and in the northern Health Minister Hamad Hassan said state,” Marwa told AFP. emergency defence council meeting, for a “thorough investigation” into ing for today. port city of Tripoli said they had to he was in contact with several coun- Sawsan Abdullah burst into tears at his offi ce said in a statement. yesterday’s blast and urged a Anger boiled over as protesters at- turn away many injured because they tries to evacuate serious cases abroad. Geitawi hospital when a doctor told It that hospitals would be provided “comprehensive plan” for Lebanon.

Hezbollah to begin importing Post-war awaits 28 killed in Lebanon fuel from Iran multi-billion-dollar Lebanese group will begin to import gasoline and reconstruction plans diesel from Iran, its leader said yesterday. A decade after Libya descended into chaos, a host Lebanon is experiencing a of countries are eyeing potential multi-billion-dollar fuel tank explosion severe fuel shortage that infrastructure projects in the oil-rich nation if stability is has caused long lines at assured. petrol stations and extended Economist Kamal Mansouri expects Libya’s reconstruction blackouts. Hospitals, bakeries drive to be one of the biggest in the Middle East and North and other essential facilities Africa. have said that dwindling stocks He estimates “more than $100bn” are needed to rebuild will cause them to shut down. Libya, which has been gripped by violence and political “I assure you, yes, God willing, turmoil since dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in a we will definitely bring diesel 2011 uprising. and gasoline from Iran,” Hassan Former colonial power Italy, neighbouring and Turkey Nasrallah said in a speech, are tipped to be awarded the lion’s share of reconstruction saying the government was no deals. longer able to provide. In the capital Tripoli, dozens of rusted cranes and unfinished In June, Nasrallah had said that buildings dot the seafront, testimony to hundreds of all the logistics needed for such abandoned projects worth billions of dollars launched a step were ready, and that between 2000 and 2010. Hezbollah would be able to do After Gaddafi ‘s overthrow, Libya fell under the control of so while bypassing the central a complex, ever-shifting patchwork of militias and foreign bank in order to avoid violating mercenaries backing rival administrations. US sanctions. While Turkey has supported the Tripoli government, Nasrallah said yesterday that eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar, who battled but Iran had assured him it would failed to seize the capital, has had the backing of Russia, the stand by Lebanon, and blamed and Egypt. the Lebanese government and But a UN-backed ceasefire was agreed last October, paving American influence for a lack of the way for the establishment in March of an interim response to the Iranian off er. administration. “It’s settled,” he said, adding that The new government led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid he would inform people of the Dbeibah is tasked with organising presidential and timeline in the next two to three parliamentary elections in December if a legal framework is days. agreed on time. The new administration has been courted by Western and Swathes of Libya regional leaders who have visited Libya with large business delegations in tow. without water Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio was accompanied by the chief of Italian energy giant ENI. Libyan authorities have shut In May, Dbeibah, an engineer and businessman, visited water supplies to swathes of Rome and agreed with his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi the country after gunmen to expand collaboration on energy projects. A man with severe burn injuries sustained in the fuel tank explosion is carried on a stretcher from a helicopter after being transported for demanding the release of Italy aims to defend its commercial interests in the nation treatment at the severe burns unit of the Geitaoui hospital in Beirut yesterday. (AFP) a jailed Gaddafi-era off icial with Africa’s largest oil reserves, an energy sector where Eni threatened to sabotage the has been the leading foreign player since 1959. water network. The firm reportedly proposes building a photovoltaic solar Reuters demonstrated outside the prime minis- vestigate the circumstances that led to the Supplies to western and plant in southern Libya. Beirut ter’s residency and hurled rocks at the explosion. southwestern Libya were In June, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also visited building. Security forces fi red tear gas to disperse interrupted overnight Saturday with a business team, while Dbeibah has travelled to Paris. “Akkar was put on fi re by its deputies the dozens of protesters outside the resi- to yesterday, the Great Man- As Dbeibah’s administration takes part in several business t least 28 people were killed and 79 in parliament,” protesters sprayed on the dency of Prime Minister designate Najib Made River water authority forums, Turkey, Egypt, and are also in the injured when a fuel tank exploded in building, referring to one of Lebanon’s Mikati, witnesses said. said. running for lucrative contracts. Anorthern Lebanon early yesterday, poorest areas, where the explosion oc- “Although I understand the cries of peo- It took the decision to cut A delegation from Russia’s energy group Tatneft visited the health ministry said. curred. ple and their right to protest, what hap- the supply after gunmen on Tripoli in June to study oil exploration projects. Military and security sources said that Abdelrahman, whose face and body was pened... is not a peaceful protest but un- Thursday stormed several “Libya hasn’t built a thing in 10 years,” said Global Initiative the army had seized a fuel storage tank hid- covered in gauze as he laid in Tripoli’s al- acceptable vandalism,” Mikati said in a water distribution centres senior fellow and Libya expert Jalel Harchaoui. den by black marketeers and was handing Salam hospital, was one of those in line to statement. demanding the release of “It’s a rich country which hasn’t maintained its out gasoline to residents when the explo- get gasoline. With Lebanon deep in economic crisis, Abdullah al-Senussi. A brother- infrastructure.” sion occurred. “There were hundreds gathered there, hospitals have warned that fuel shortages in-law of longtime dictator A decade of violence has ravaged its airports, roads and the Lebanon is suff ering from a severe fuel right next to the tank, and God only knows may force them to shut down in coming Muammar Gaddafi, Senussi was electricity network. shortage, leading to long lines at gas sta- what happened to them,” he said. days, and have also reported low supplies of sentenced to death in 2015 over While there is no shortage of major projects and tions and extended blackouts. Witnesses said about 200 people were medicines and other essentials. his alleged role in attempting international suitors, questions remain over funding and Accounts varied as to what caused the nearby at the time of the explosion. Army “The Akkar massacre is no diff erent from to suppress the 2011 uprising whether instability will return. explosion, from gunfi re that hit a tank of and security forces personnel were among the port massacre,” said former Prime Minis- that culminated in Gaddafi’s Divisions have devastated Libya’s economy and gasoline to reports that it was caused by a the casualties, sources said. ter Saad al-Hariri on Twitter, referring to last ouster and killing. On Thursday, complicated management of its oil revenues, weakening its person who ignited a lighter. President Michel Aoun wrote on Twitter year’s massive explosion at the port in Beirut. gunmen gave authorities 72 foreign currency reserves. On the political and economic Protesters, already angry at the eco- that “this tragedy that befell our dear Akkar He called on Lebanese offi cials includ- hours to release Senussi from fronts, a 2021 budget has yet to be approved and UN-led nomic crisis in the country, put the blame has made the hearts of all Lebanese bleed”. ing the president to take responsibility and detention in the capital Tripoli, eff orts to organise elections appear to be floundering. squarely on Lebanon’s politicians as they He said he had asked the judiciary to in- resign. the water authority said. Tigrayans fear the worst as bodies wash up in river

AFP Wad al-Hiliou, a village in the bodies found in the river, includ- and another had the name of der the control of allied gov- Wad al-Hiliou, eastern Sudanese state of Kas- ing fi ve women. his beloved carved on his arm ernment forces, and the TPLF sala. Many of the corpses bore gun- as well,” says Tigrayan Gebre- pushed east and south into the “We may not know them per- shot wounds, others appeared to maden Gabro. neighbouring Afar and Amhara n an east Sudan town, Tig- sonally, but they are the bodies have suff ered burns, deep slash- Tigray has been wracked regions. rayan Gabratansay Gabra- of our people,” says the 40-year- es, or had body parts missing, by violence since November, The men shared with AFP im- Ikhristos panics whenever old farmer. and almost all had their hands when Ethiopian Prime Minister ages of what appeared to be sev- his phone rings: it could be grim Gabratansay and others like tied behind their back, he says. Abiy Ahmed sent in troops to eral bodies fl oating on the sur- news of yet more bodies washing him who recover the bodies fear Gabratansay says that based oust the region’s ruling party, face before being carried away up on the banks of a river bor- they are evidence of mass execu- on information received from the Tigray People’s Liberation on mats and buried in shallow dering Ethiopia. tions by government-allied troops Humera, “around 150 Tigrayan Front, a move he says was in sand graves on the banks of a Gabratansay says he has been in Tigray, a small but histori- prisoners were executed by fed- response to TPLF attacks on river. receiving such phone calls since cally powerful region of northern eral forces with their hands tied army camps. “We wished we could take late July, when Sudanese villag- Ethiopia that has been ravaged by behind their back”. Thousands have been killed, them somewhere better to be ers found the fi rst corpse fl oat- more than nine months of fi ght- These accounts came from Ti- and tens of thousands forced to buried, but we couldn’t,” Gabra- ing down the Setit River, known ing between the army and battle- grayans who fl ed Humera as well fl ee into Sudan. tansay says, pointing to large as the Tekeze in Ethiopia. hardened local forces. as people still in the town who Weeks into the fi ghting, Abiy stones he placed atop the grave Since then, he says, a stream Allegations have swirled of spoke of hearing “screams and — winner of the 2019 Nobel of the fi rst body he buried. of calls has followed, bringing atrocities, ethnic cleansing and gunshots”, he says. A boat sails along the Setit river bordering Ethiopia, at Wad al-Hiliou, Peace Prize — declared victory “The bodies were too decom- news of even more gruesome mass killings, including a mas- “We think there are more bod- a village in the eastern Sudanese state of Kassala. (AFP) after his forces captured the Ti- posed and smelled and we had discoveries of bloated and de- sacre in the town of Humera, in ies in the river but we have not gray capital, Mekele. little means to carry them.” formed bodies with bound hands western Tigray. All have been found them yet.” “We have heard that federal evidence to support their claims, In June, a stunning turn of The UN refugee agency, the and severe wounds. dismissed by the Ethiopian gov- Tigrayan Kahsay Gabrselsey, forces killed dozens of Tigrayan they say some of the bodies had events unfolded when the TPLF UNHCR, confi rmed the discov- “It has been the case for weeks ernment as “fabricated”. who took part in the search for prisoners... and threw them in tattoos written in their language regained control over Mekele ery of one body and several fresh now. Once a new body is found, Along with other Tigrayans, bodies, believes they belong to the river,” he says. “We think — Tigrinya. and much of Tigray. graves but said it could neither they call me and other Tigrayans Gabratansay says he has helped the Tigrayans allegedly executed these are their bodies.” “One body had a tattoo of the The fi ghting spread, however, confi rm the identity of those here,” Gabratansay told AFP at to retrieve and bury some 50 in Humera. Although the men have little words ‘I love you’ on his arm, as western Tigray remained un- buried nor how they died. Gulf Times Monday, August 16, 2021 7 WORLD Canada’s Trudeau calls snap elections

AFP/Reuters/Guardian polling shows is likely to return nearly 1,000 new daily Covid-19 In March, he found himself While the law allows for an Ottawa his Liberals to power. cases have been reported across painfully at odds with his rank- early election if the government “Canadians need to choose Canada recently. and-fi le after telling a party has lost the confi dence of the how we fi nish the fi ght against Trudeau was re-elected to of- convention that a robust plan House of Commons, Singh noted anadian Prime Minister Covid-19 and build back better – fi ce in 2019 but lost his majority to tackle climate change was that Trudeau’s Liberals have won Justin Trudeau has an- from getting the job done on vac- in his second term, amid scan- needed if the Conservatives ever every confi dence vote they faced. Cnounced snap elections cines, to having people’s backs dals. hoped to unseat Trudeau. “It’s not the right time to have for September 20 to seek a new all the way through to the end of To regain a majority on Sep- Members instead voted down an election,” he said earlier this mandate to steer the nation’s this crisis,” Trudeau said after the tember 20, the Liberals must win a resolution that said “climate week. “People might say ‘that coronavirus (Covid-19) pandem- meeting. at least 170 of the 338 seats in the change is real”. that’s what governments do’ … ic exit, much to the dismay of his All fi ve parties currently hold- House of Commons, up 15 seats Campaigning is to last only 36 I don’t think that’s what gov- rival parties. ing seats in parliament are gear- from its current standing. days and is largely expected to re- ernments do when you’re in the Despite rolling out massive ing up for a fi erce battle at the According to a recent Aba- volve around pandemic manage- middle of a pandemic,” he said. pandemic aid, passing a federal ballot box. cus Data poll, the Liberals are in ment, the government’s broad “Canadians are worried about budget and other key legislation Most Canadians approve of striking distance of a majority, emergency aid programmes, a fourth wave of Covid-19 … now with opposition backing over Trudeau’s pandemic response. with 37% of support. and a three-year C$101.4bn is not the time for an election. We the past year, Trudeau – in offi ce However, if a fourth wave of ($80.9bn) post-pandemic stim- can all wait and go to the polls Trudeau: We will be taking decisions that will last not just for the since 2015 – has lamented that Covid-19 infections strikes dur- The Liberal government has ulus plan. when it’s safe,” Conservative coming months, but for the coming decades. Canadians deserve their parliament has become dysfunc- ing the campaign, it could hurt already held for 18 months, The Conservatives and New leader O’Toole said in a video re- say. That’s exactly what we’re going to give them. tional. his backing. the average lifespan for a Democrats have in recent days leased on social media this week. The election comes at a “piv- “This was the only window minority government condemned the idea of an early “This is a really important mo- nadians hobbled by debt. But in the 2019 election, after otal, consequential moment” for of opportunity for him because election, saying that there was ment,” Trudeau said yesterday With a parliamentary majority, decades-old black face pictures Canada, Trudeau said. with students’ return to school The Conservatives and the no need for it, and describing the when asked repeatedly why he Trudeau would have a free hand surfaced, he came up short of a “We will be taking decisions and universities in two weeks, leftist New Democrat Party – call as a power grab. was calling an election during a to follow through on his stated majority. that will last not just for the Covid-19 cases will inevitably go which propped up the Liberals In late July, the New Demo- pandemic. policy priorities of fi ghting cli- Another minority administra- coming months but for the com- up,” Felix Mathieu, political sci- until now and has seen an uptick cratic leader, Jagmeet Singh, sent He said some Conservative mate change and supporting tion would leave him likely rely- ing decades. Canadians deserve ence professor at the University in support – trail on 28% and a letter to then newly-installed legislators had described as “ty- those who suff ered most during ing once more on the New Dem- their say. That’s exactly what of Winnipeg, told AFP. 20%, respectively. Governor-General Simon, call- rannical” the government’s push the pandemic. ocrats, who favour even heavier we’re going to give them,” he told Trudeau’s government “has Trudeau’s main challenger, ing on her to reject Trudeau’s re- to make vaccinations mandatory “Our planet and our future are spending on social programmes. reporters. already held for 18 months, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, quest to dissolve parliament. for federally regulated industries. at stake. So I need you alongside It would also raise questions The prime minister met Gov- which is the average lifespan for a meanwhile, has struggled to fi nd Singh pointed out that the “The answer to tyranny is to me in this fi ght,” the prime min- about Trudeau’s future as the ernor-General Mary Simon, the minority government”, he added. his footing since becoming leader country’s fi xed-election law have an election,” he said. ister said yesterday. leader of his party. representative of head of state Despite rising vaccination of the Conservatives in August states that every general election The right-of-centre Conserv- Trudeau, the son of longtime Yesterday Trudeau repeatedly Queen Elizabeth, yesterday to rates that are among the highest 2020, as lockdowns and other must be held on the third Mon- atives have warned that spend- former prime minister Pierre refused to say if he would resign ask her to dissolve parliament, in the world – with almost 62% public health measures put glad- day of October, four calendar ing will increase if Trudeau wins Trudeau, fi rst won a majority in as leader if he does not secure a triggering a general election that of Canadians fully inoculated – handing out of reach. years after the last one. again, leaving generations of Ca- 2015. majority in the vote. Haiti’s quake death toll rises above 700

Reuters/AFP Churches, hotels, hospitals At the Vatican, Pope Francis However, reports earlier this Port-au-Prince and schools were badly damaged urged nations to send quick aid. week suggested that the vote ini- or destroyed, while the walls of “May solidarity from every- tially earmarked for September a prison were rent open by the one lighten the consequences of would not take place until No- he death toll from a devas- violent shudders that convulsed the tragedy,” he told pilgrims and vember. tating earthquake in Haiti Haiti. tourists at his Sunday blessing in The chaos unleashed by Satur- Trose to 724 yesterday as “We need to show a lot of St Peter’s Square. day’s disaster is likely to make the rescue workers scrambled to fi nd solidarity with the emergency,” The United States sent vital task of holding prompt elections survivors buried under buildings, said Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel supplies and deployed a 65-per- harder still. a day after the 7.2 magnitude Henry, a neurosurgeon who was son urban search-and-rescue The quake sent tremors travel- quake and as a tropical storm thrust to the forefront of the team with specialised equip- ling as far as Jamaica and Cuba. bore down on the Caribbean na- troubled country after the as- ment, said Samantha Power, Countries in the region quickly tion. sassination of president Jovenel the administrator of the United off ered help to Haiti. The quake fl attened hundreds Moise on July 7. States Agency for International Haiti’s neighbour the Domini- of homes and buildings in a Car- “We want to plan a better Development (Usaid). can Republic said it was shipping ibbean nation which is still claw- adapted response than in 2010 Some Haitians spent Satur- 10,000 food rations and medical People search through the ing its way back from another after the earthquake – all aid day night sleeping in the open, equipment. rubble of what used to be the major temblor 11 years ago and coming from abroad should be traumatised by memories of the Cuba and Ecuador dispatched Manguier Hotel in Les Cayes. reeling from the assassination of co-ordinated by the Civil Protec- magnitude 7 quake in 2010 that medical or search-and-rescue its president last month. tion agency,” Henry added. struck far closer to the sprawl- teams. Left: Quake damage is seen in Southwestern Haiti bore the The rescue eff orts are set to be ing capital, Port-au-Prince, and And Mexico, Chile, Argentina, an area in Jeremie. brunt of the blow, especially in made more complicated by the killed tens of thousands of peo- Peru and Venezuela have also of- the region in and around the city arrival of Tropical Storm Grace, ple. fered help, as did the United Na- Below: This RAMMB National of Les Cayes. which is set to lash Haiti with Footage of Saturday’s after- tions. Oceanic and Atmospheric Jerry Chandler, head of Haiti’s heavy rainfall today. math posted on social media “I am saddened by the devas- Administration (NOAA) satellite Civil Protection Agency, said Some parts of Haiti are also at showed residents reaching into tating earthquake that occurred handout image shows weather the toll from the disaster had risk of fl ash fl oods, the US Na- narrow openings in piles of fallen in Saint-Louis du Sud, Haiti this activity to the east of Haiti climbed to 724 as the rescue work tional Hurricane Centre (NHC) masonry to pull shocked and dis- morning. Through Usaid, we are (right) in the Caribbean. continued. said. traught people from the debris of supporting eff orts to assess the walls and roofs that had crum- damage and assist eff orts to re- bled around them. cover and rebuild,” said US Presi- The streets there were fi lled dent Joe Biden. with the grinding sounds of Haiti has long been politically heavy equipment lifting debris unstable and Haitians have also from collapsed buildings, as well suff ered at the hands of inter- as the quieter sounds of people national aid eff orts and peace- pulling away rubble by hand in keeping deployments during the desperate searches for the miss- past decade. ing. A sexual misconduct scan- Access to the worst-hit areas dal centring on Oxfam Inter- was complicated by a deteriora- national blighted the record of tion in law and order that has left charity workers in Haiti, while key access roads in parts of Haiti a cholera outbreak linked to UN in the hands of gangs, although peacekeepers led to thousands of unconfi rmed reports on social deaths. media suggested they would let Writing on Twitter, tennis star aid pass. Naomi Osaka, whose father’s Following Moise’s assassina- family are from Haiti, expressed tion, which authorities have al- her sorrow about the quake, say- leged was carried out by a group ing that she would give all the of largely Colombian mercenar- prize money she won at a tour- ies and Haitian accomplices, nament next week to the relief Prime Minister Henry said offi - eff orts. cials would aim to hold elections “I know our ancestors’ blood for a new president as soon as is strong,” she said, “we’ll keep possible. rising.”

Western powers say they could review Venezuela sanctions if talks succeed Record number of children in US hospitalised with Covid The United States, Canada and the European Union have welcomed new negotiations between Reuters ing to data from the US Department highs this week, according to data Abbott is appealing to the state employ every mitigation strategy, Venezuela’s government and opposition in Mexico, Washington of Health and Human Services. from the US Centres of Disease Con- Supreme Court to overturn Dallas from vaccines to masks, to ensure reiterating that they would be willing to review Children currently make up about trol and Prevention (CDC). County’s mask mandate, the Dallas that students can come back to their sanctions if talks produce “meaningful progress”. 2.4% of the nation’s Covid-19 hos- The spike in new cases has ramped Morning News reported on Friday. classrooms safely this school year. Representatives of the two sides on Friday he number of children hos- pitalisations. up tension between conservative A fi fth of the nation’s Covid-19 “Our students under 12 can’t get signed a document agreeing to undertake “a pitalised with coronavirus Those aged under 12 years are not state leaders and local districts over hospitalisations are in Florida, where vaccinated. It’s our responsibility to comprehensive dialogue and negotiation process” T(Covid-19) disease in the eligible to receive the vaccine, leav- whether schoolchildren should be the number of hospitalised Covid-19 keep them safe. Keeping them safe mediated by Norway and hosted by the Mexican United States hit a record high of just ing them more vulnerable to infec- required to wear masks as they head patients hit a record 16,100 on Sat- means that everyone who can be government in Mexico City. over 1,900 on Saturday, as hospitals tion from the new, highly transmis- back to the classroom this month. urday, according to a Reuters tally. vaccinated should be vaccinated,” Talks are expected to focus on sanctions and across the South were stretched to sible variant. School districts in Florida, Texas More than 90% of the state’s in- Pringle told CNN. elections to try to end a crippling political and capacity fi ghting outbreaks caused “This is not last year’s Covid-19. and Arizona have mandated that tensive care beds are fi lled, accord- The US now has an average of economic crisis in the country. by the highly-transmissible Delta This one is worse, and our children masks be worn in schools, defying ing to data from the Department of about 129,000 new Covid-19 cases “We welcome the announcement that Venezuelan- variant. are the ones that are going to be af- orders from their Republican state Health and Human Services. per day, a rate that has doubled in a led, comprehensive negotiations will soon begin The Delta variant, which is rapidly fected by it the most,” Sally Goza, governors that ban districts from The nation’s largest teachers un- little over two weeks, according to a in Mexico City,” said a joint statement by US spreading among mostly the unvac- former president of the American imposing such rules. ion, the National Education Associ- Reuters tally. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the EU top cinated portion of the US popula- Academy of Paediatrics, told CNN The administration of Florida ation (NEA), came out in support of The number of hospitalised Cov- diplomat Josep Borrell, and Canadian Foreign tion, has caused hospitalisations to on Saturday. Governor Ron DeSantis has threat- mandatory vaccination for its mem- id-19 patients is at a six-month Minister Marc Garneau. spike in recent weeks, driving up the The numbers of newly-hospital- ened to withhold funding from bers this week. high, and an average of 600 people They urged the sides to “engage in good faith” to number of paediatric hospitalisa- ised Covid-19 patients aged 18-29, districts that impose mask require- NEA president Becky Pringle said are dying each day of Covid-19, dou- reach solutions to put an end to the crisis. – AFP tions to 1,902 on Saturday, accord- 30-39, and 40-49 also hit record ments, and Texas Governor Greg on Saturday that schools should ble the death rate seen in late July. Gulf Times 8 Monday, August 16, 2021 WORLD

POLICY PANDEMIC ACCIDENT COMMENT WILDLIFE Japan’s Suga pledges Australia purchases Pfizer Rescuers rush to free 19 South Korea ‘open to Singapore zoo breeds not to wage war jabs as Covid cases spike trapped miners in China dialogue with Japan’ first panda cub

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga yesterday Australia has purchased about 1mn doses of Pfizer’s Rescuers in northwestern China yesterday South Korean President Moon Jae-in yesterday said A panda bred via artificial insemination was born pledged Japan would not wage war again, making Covid-19 vaccine from Poland to add to its inocula- worked to free 19 trapped coal miners, hours his government remained open to dialogue with Ja- in Singapore’s zoo on Saturday, the first cub to be the vow on the anniversary of the end of World War tion eff orts in Sydney and its home state, which on after their site was flooded by mud in an accident pan to step up co-operation while seeking to resolve born in the city-state. Jia Jia, the zoo’s 12-year-old II. Nearly eight decades since the end of the war, the Saturday entered a snap lockdown amid record that has already killed one worker. The flooding historical rows that had long frayed bilateral ties. female giant panda, gave birth to the cub, Wildlife conflict remains a source of tension between Japan new infections. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said happened around noon Saturday at the Chaida’er Moon, in his Liberation Day speech marking the 76th Reserves Singapore announced yesterday. After and its neighbours, particularly China and North yesterday the extra vaccines would start arriving coal mine in Qinghai province, state media report- anniversary of independence from Japan’s 1910-45 several failed attempts in previous years, the and South Korea. “Since the end of the war, Japan immediately and over half will be directed to 20- to ed. Mining accidents are common in China, where colonial rule after World War II, said the two neigh- zoo’s animal carers — working with experts from has consistently walked the path of a country that 39-year-olds in New South Wales, as the state report- the industry has a poor safety record and regula- bours should work together to “surmount diff iculties” China — hoped the pandas would mate naturally values peace,” Suga said in a speech at a memorial ed its second largest increase in locally transmitted tions are often weakly enforced. At Chaida’er, 21 and foster cooperation based on shared values of but ultimately decided to use artificial insemina- ceremony in Tokyo. “We must never again repeat infections. Morrison has been under pressure for a people were working underground at the time of democracy and market economy. “Our government tion. “Jia Jia’s first pregnancy and birth of a cub the devastation of war. We will continue to remain sluggish vaccine rollout, with only about 24% of Aus- the accident, and one person was rescued with has always kept the door open for dialogue to jointly is a significant milestone for us in the care of this committed to this conviction.” His comments were tralians above 16 fully vaccinated as supplies from injuries, China’s emergency management ministry respond not only to our two countries’ pending threatened species in Singapore,” said Cheng little changed from those of his predecessor, Shinzo Pfizer, seen as the preferred inoculation for younger said. Another was found dead, with the remaining issues but also threats facing the world, including Wen-Haur, Wildlife Reserves Singapore’s deputy Abe, at last year’s ceremony. people, have remained in short stock. trapped in the mine. Covid-19 and the climate crisis,” Moon said. CEO, in a press release. Malaysia PM Philippines reports huge jump in Covid cases Muhyiddin ‘to resign today’

Reuters defied calls to quit and said he would prove his majority in parliament through a confi- dence vote in September. alaysian Prime Minis- But on Friday Muhyiddin ad- ter mitted for the first time that Mwill resign today, news he did not have a majority and portal reported, made a last-ditch effort to woo after losing his majority owing the opposition by promising to infi ghting among the ruling political and electoral reforms coalition. in exchange for support on the If confirmed, Muhyiddin’s confidence vote. resignation would end a tumul- The offer was rejected unani- tuous 17 months in office but mously. The king has the con- also bring more uncertainty to stitutional power to appoint Malaysia as the country grap- a prime minister from among ples with surging Covid-19 elected lawmakers based on cases and an economic down- who he thinks can command a turn. majority. It was not immediately clear Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow who could form the next gov- with Singapore’s Institute of ernment, given there is no International Affairs, said the clear majority in parliament, or king could also appoint an in- whether elections could be held terim premier until a perma- during the pandemic. nent successor is found. A health worker explains the information in the vaccination card to a foodpanda delivery rider after getting a jab of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine in a shopping mall’s It would be up to the con- The premier would then have parking lot turned into a drive-thru vaccination site, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The country recorded 14,749 new coronavirus cases yesterday, its stitutional monarch, King Al- to face a confidence vote in par- second-largest daily increase, bringing the nation’s total confirmed infections to 1.74mn. Sultan Abdullah, to decide what liament, he said. happens next. Potential candidates for the Muhyiddin will submit his premiership or interim prime resignation to the king today, minister include deputy prime according to Mohd Redzuan minister Md Yusof, a minister in the and veteran lawmaker Tengku prime minister’s department, Razaleigh Hamzah, both from Malaysiakini reported yester- the UMNO party. day. Opposition leader Anwar Reuters could not reach Ibrahim could also stake a Mohd Redzuan and the prime claim. S Korea, US military minister’s office did not imme- UMNO, Malaysia’s “grand diately respond to a request for old party”, governed the coun- comment. try for more than 60 years from Malaysiakini quoted Mohd independence until its 2018 Redzuan as saying that Muhy- election defeat after wide- iddin informed party members spread corruption allegations. of his decision to resign after It returned to power in 2020 drills to begin today exhausting all other options to as part of Muhyiddin’s coali- sustain the government. tion. Reuters ulated command post training the North severed them a year Another senior offi cial said 2019, and the administration of “On Monday, there will be a It is the biggest bloc in the Seoul with minimum personnel but ago amid strained ties. on Wednesday that Seoul and South Korean President Moon special cabinet meeting. After coalition but did not hold the no live fi eld training, the Joint Washington are risking a “seri- Jae-in has been hoping that the that, he will head to (the pal- premiership post, which played Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. “The alliance made ous security crisis” by choos- reopening of hotlines would help ace) to submit his resignation,” a part in the alliance infighting. outh Korea and the US will “The alliance made the de- the decision aft er ing to escalate tensions, instead resume the denuclearisation Mohd Redzuan told Malaysia- Muhyiddin has said the re- begin their annual joint cision after comprehensively comprehensively of improving relations. The US talks. The JCS said the exercises kini. cent turmoil was because of Smilitary drills today, the considering the Covid-19 situ- considering the Covid-19 keeps around 28,500 soldiers are partly designed to expedite Muhyiddin’s grip on power his refusal to meet demands South’s military said yesterday, ation, joint defence posture and situation, joint defence in South Korea — a legacy of progress on Seoul’s eff orts to take has been precarious since he including the dropping of cor- amid North Korea’s warnings of ways to support diplomatic ef- posture and ways to the 1950-53 Korean War, which over wartime control of the com- took office in March 2020 with ruption charges against some a diplomatic and security crisis. forts to denuclearise and foster support diplomatic eff orts ended in an armistice, not a bined troops from the US. a slim majority. individuals. South Korea and the US reg- lasting peace on the Korean pe- to denuclearise and peace treaty, leaving the penin- Moon has made it a key pol- Pressure on him mounted UMNO politicians including ularly stage military exercises, ninsula,” the JCS said in a state- foster lasting peace on the sula in a technical state of war. icy goal and boosted defence recently after some lawmakers former premier and mainly in the spring and sum- ment. Korean peninsula” Joint military drills were scaled spending to help drum up US from the United Malays Na- party president Ahmad Zahid mer, but North Korea has for A day after the allies kicked back in recent years to facili- support, but the Covid-19 tional Organisation (UMNO) Hamidi are facing graft charges. decades reacted angrily, calling off preliminary training last Kim Yo-jong, the powerful tate talks aimed at persuading pandemic hampered full-scale party - the largest bloc in the They have denied wrongdo- them a rehearsal for war. week, North Korea did not an- sister of North Korean leader Kim Pyongyang to dismantle its nu- training and eff ectively end- ruling alliance - withdrew sup- ing and were among those who The exercises will continue swer routine calls on an inter- Jong-un, accused the South of clear and missile programmes ed his hopes to complete that port. withdrew support for Muhyid- for nine days, mostly consisting Korean hotlines, which were “perfi dious behaviour” for going in return for US sanctions relief. transfer within his term due to The premier had for weeks din this month. of defensive, computer-sim- only reactivated on July 28 after ahead with the exercises. The negotiations fell apart in end in March. Torrential rains lash Thousands join convoy protests against Thai PM wide areas of Japan AFP Bangkok’s already traffi c-choked Bangkok streets. Thousands turned up in their cars and motorbikes Reuters ties and relevant organisations to pressure of the water. yesterday in at least three ral- Tokyo co-operate and act with speed on His son Daigo said their family housands of protesters in lies across the Thai capital — rescue missions and aid. was prepared for the fl ooding but cars and on bikes massed in with the largest near Bangkok’s “We must be on high alert was concerned over the frequen- TBangkok’s central shopping gleaming shopping malls, empty orrential rain lashed much even in areas where the rain has cy at which torrential downpours district yesterday, one of several in recent weeks. of Japan yesterday, fl ood- tapered off ,” Suga added. were pummelling the area, and mobile rallies across Thailand de- “The time is up for Prayut. The Ting roads and buildings in In Takeo, a city in Saga prefec- was considering re-building his manding Premier Prayut Chan-o- government has shown clearly the western part of the country, ture in Kyushu, entire roads were house to raise the ground level. cha resign over his handling of the they will not take responsibility while three people were feared submerged as rescue workers in He had re-built the house only coronavirus pandemic. for any loss,” shouted Nattawut dead after a landslide in central wetsuits dragged infl atable boats four years ago and it had seen two The kingdom is grappling with Saikuar, a politician long associ- Nagano prefecture. and surveyed the damage. fl oods already. its worst outbreak so far, regis- ated with former premier Thak- Large parts of Japan, particu- Local residents carried broom- In 2019, Takeo city was hit by tering record numbers of daily sin Shinawatra. larly the southernmost main sticks and buckets and waded a record downpour that killed infections each week as hospitals Protesters — who were joined island of Kyushu, have seen knee-deep in water. three people. The government struggle to cope. by saff ron-robed monks — record levels of rainfall, causing “I’ve experienced three fl oods at the time estimated that such In total, it has reported more fl ashed the three-fi nger salute of rivers to overfl ow and triggering like this so far, but this is the a deluge would only happen once than 907,000 cases and 7,551 resistance. landslides. While the rain had worst,” said Toshimi Kusumoto, a every few decades. deaths from Covid-19. Some then moved to Din Dae- stopped in much of Kyushu as of 68-year-old doctor whose clinic “But what can you do?” said A sluggish vaccine rollout ng intersection, which was the yesterday morning, Tokyo and was fl ooded. Kusumoto waited Toshimi, with a slight shrug. - coupled with fi nancial woes site of several clashes earlier this other parts of the country were out the rain with his family on the Takayuki Haraguchi, 68, who from weeks-long restrictions on week between protesters and pounded by the downpour. second fl oor of his house, he said, works as a caretaker at a local businesses — has fanned anger at police. Cargo containers stacked Japan “will continue to face located just behind the clinic. sports centre, had come to sur- Prayut’s administration. on top of each other blocked the conditions in which a large-scale The water reached his house, vey the damage briefl y when it Sparked by concerns about road to Prayut’s residence. disaster could occur at any- too, meaning most of the appli- was raining on Saturday. public gatherings spreading the Police stationed on an elevat- time, anywhere,” Prime Minister ances on the ground fl oor would “It looked no diff erent from virus, protesters have in recent ed tollway deployed water can- Yoshihide Suga said at a ministe- have to be replaced. the sea,” he said as he recalled A construction company employee works among debris in weeks turned to organising mas- non against protesters who set rial meeting yesterday. His garage was bent out of what he saw on Saturday morn- front of a house at the site of a landslide caused by heavy rain in sive car convoys at major in- off fi recrackers and threw pro- He called on local municipali- shape, presumably from the ing. Kanzaki City, Saga Prefecture, yesterday. tersections — thus clogging up jectiles. Gulf Times Monday, August 16, 2021 9 WORLD

INDIA INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS brings Covid vaccines India to launch $1.35tn to migrant infrastructure plan: PM Reuters India has given more than New Delhi 500mn doses of vaccines but its vaccination drive has been workers’ door marred by its slow pace. India will launch a Rs100tn About 11% of eligible adult ($1.35tn) national infrastruc- Indians have been fully vac- Thomson Reuters Foundation dependent think-tank shows. ture plan that will help gener- cinated so far. Mumbai States like Kerala, a migrant ate jobs and expand use of During his address, Modi paid magnet for the past decade, have cleaner fuels to achieve the tributes to those who have seen migrants from across In- country’s climate goals, Prime died of the coronavirus, saying s the health worker dia returning to look for jobs in Minister Narendra Modi said “the pain of losing them will swabbed the skin on his hospitality, factories and at con- yesterday. stay with us forever.” Aarm with an alcohol wipe struction sites. The infrastructure pro- Praising healthcare work- and prepared the syringe, Kar- “We have a huge population of gramme, called “Gati Shakti”, ers and scientists for their tik Biswas felt an overwhelming migrant workers and they should will help boost productivity contribution during the pan- sense of relief. all be vaccinated. We have been of industries and boost the demic, he said the country He was fi nally about to receive getting limited doses but we are economy, Modi said. worked with “extraordinary his fi rst dose of the Covid-19 dividing what we get and holding The prime minister addressed pace” in every area during vaccine, as part of a drive by the separate vaccination camps for the nation from New Delhi’s the crisis. southern Indian state of Kerala to migrant workers,” said S 17th century Mughal-era Red Nearly two-thirds of the inoculate some of the country’s Chithra, Kerala’s labour com- Fort to mark the 74th anniver- 430,000 deaths due to Cov- most marginalised people — mi- missioner. sary of India’s independence id-19 that India has recorded grant workers. “We are trying to bring about from British rule. He said the took place during a lethal It is rare for migrant workers, awareness that vaccines are infrastructure plan will create second wave in which the who make up one-fi fth of India’s harmless. We have posters in As- job opportunities for millions country’s health infrastructure 100mn workforce, to be specifi - samese, Bengali, Hindi and Odia of Indian youth. was overwhelmed. A huge cally targeted for state help. languages that we are putting out “We will launch a masterplan shortage of oxygen and hos- Yet in recent weeks, offi cials in on social media,” she said. for Gati Shakti, a big pro- pital beds, even in cities like the southern coastal state have About 12% of India’s 940mn gramme...(it) will create job New Delhi, with the country’s been taking jabs to work sites, adults are fully vaccinated, and opportunities for hundreds of best medical infrastructure, setting up vaccination camps more than 40% have received a thousands,” Modi said. left many families struggling and putting up public health fi rst dose, federal health ministry While Modi did not announce India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort during to get oxygen supplies and posters in local languages, urging data shows. details of the plan, he said the the celebrations to mark country’s 75th Independence Day in New Delhi yesterday. hospital beds. migrant workers to get protected Vaccination is seen as key to plan will help local manufac- against the virus. unlocking more jobs and easier turers compete globally and “I was home for a year dur- movement between states, sev- create new avenues of future “We will launch a masterplan for ing the lockdown and I got my eral of which require people to economic growth. job back with great diffi culty. If take a Covid-19 test that can Boosting infrastructure in Gati Shakti, a big programme...(it) my health suff ers now, who will cost Rs800 ($10.78) – a couple of Asia’s third largest economy is will create job opportunities for take care of my family? I was de- days’ wages for many – or proof at the heart of the Modi’s plan termined to get vaccinated,” said of double vaccination to enter. to pull back the country from hundreds of thousands” Biswas, 44, a supervisor at a con- On the other side of India, a sharp economic decline struction site. in northeastern Assam state’s worsened by the Covid-19 Repeated lockdowns shuttered Tarinipur village, Tahir Hussain pandemic. ing to a gas-based economy Modi added India was com- industries, leading to millions of Talukdar said he had looked In the last fiscal year, India’s and making the country a hub mitted to meeting targets for job losses, while a brutal second for the vaccine in local health- economic output fell by a for hydrogen production. the reduction of its carbon wave in May overwhelmed the care facilities three times but record 7.3% and a second Modi said the country spends footprint. healthcare system in India, the had no luck. Talukdar, 25, who wave of Covid-19 has delayed more than Rs12tn rupees an- In his 90-minute speech, Modi second-worst aff ected country lost his housekeeping job at a economic recovery. nually on energy imports and also listed his government’s globally after the US. multiplex in southeastern And- Economists fear there will be becoming energy independ- achievements since 2014 and Biswas, who moved to Kerala hra Pradesh, said he had sur- no rebound similar to the ones ent was critical, as he also hailed India’s coronavirus vac- from Kolkata four years ago, was vived on aid over the past year. seen in the US and other major announced the launch of a cination campaign. among 500 workers vaccinated “There is no work in my village. economies. National Hydrogen Mission to “We are proud that we didn’t at a three-day camp held at his The labour contractor I have The prime minister also set a boost the government’s clean have to depend on any other work site last week by the labour been calling tells me to get vac- target to become energy inde- energy plans. country for Covid-19 vaccines. department amid rising cases in cinated before I come. I need pendent by 2047, saying the “India is moving fast towards Imagine what would have hap- A woman dressed in traditional Maharashtrian attire waits Kerala. the vaccine because that’s the goal can be achieved through achieving its climate goals,” pened if India didn’t have its to take part in a bike rally on the occasion of the 75th Indian The state has given some only way I can get work,” Taluk- a mix of electric mobility, mov- he said. own vaccine,” he said. Independence Day celebrations in Bengaluru yesterday. 34,000 workers a fi rst dose and dar said. about 1,000 a second dose, out India has redoubled its eff orts of 300,000 on offi cial records. amid fears of a third wave. Sev- “I feel relieved. Five of my six eral construction fi rms and ma- fl atmates contracted Covid-19 jor businesses have arranged for at the peak of the second wave. their staff – both on payroll and I had started trying to get vacci- informal workers – to get vacci- nated ever since but could not,” nated. Biswas said. State health workers are “Vaccination is critical for us climbing hills and sailing through to protect our lives and our fu- rivers and lakes to reach the vast ture.” country’s remotest parts. India aims to vaccinate all But the pace of vaccination willing and eligible citizens by remains slow and many are still the end of the year, but the vac- falling through the cracks, cam- cination drive has been hit by paigners and migration experts shortages, hesitancy and a digital warn. divide. Migrants often remain invis- Migrant workers were among ible, even though their skills are the worst hit by the pandemic. As desperately needed in manu- many as 11.4mn returned to their facturing, construction and the home states during lockdown, hospitality industry. government data shows, as jobs “People seeking daily wage dried up. work are being asked if they are However, most economic ac- vaccinated,” said Benoy Peter, Indian Border Security Force (BSF) commandant Jasbir tivities have resumed as state head of the Centre for Migra- Singh (third right) presents sweets to Pakistani Ranger Wing governments eased restrictions tion and Inclusive Development, Commander Hassan (third left) during a ceremony to celebrate with declining infections. which runs a mobile vaccination India’s 75th Independence Day at the India-Pakistan Wagah People hold a huge tri-colour flag as they take part in India’s 75th Independence Day celebrations in Unemployment rates are grad- unit for migrants in Kerala in border post, about 35km from Amritsar. Ahmedabad. ually dropping, data from an in- partnership with the state. UK ends self-isolation Director Ken Loach expelled from Labour for Covid-19 contacts Guardian News and Media On Twitter, 85-year-old London Loach, a winner of the Palme d’Or for I, Daniel Blake, said: AFP around 50% from their peak, the disrupted businesses and criti- “Labour HQ fi nally decided I’m London number of people catching the cal services, hampering eff orts to he veteran left-wing fi lm- not fi t to be a member of their disease has been rising slightly kickstart the ailing economy. maker Ken Loach has said party, as I will not disown those over the last two weeks, with “Asking the close contacts of The has been expelled from already expelled. Well … I am ully vaccinated people in around 100 people a day dying people with Covid-19 to self- the Labour party. Loach, whose proud to stand with the good England will from today no from the disease. isolate has played a critical role fi lms are regarded as landmarks friends and comrades victimised Flonger be required to self- Britain has been one the coun- in helping us get this virus under of social realism, claimed the by the purge. “There is indeed a isolate if they have had close con- tries worst hit by the virus, re- control, and millions of people move by the party was because witch-hunt … Starmer and his tact with a coronavirus case, as cording more than 130,000 fa- across the UK have made enor- he would “not disown those al- clique will never lead a party of restrictions continue to be eased. talities, but has been able to ease mous sacrifi ces by doing this,” ready expelled”, and he hit out at the people. We are many, they Instead of self-isolating, those restrictions thanks to a success- said Health Minister Sajid Javid. an alleged “witch-hunt”. are few. Solidarity.” double jabbed and the under ful vaccine rollout, with 75 % of “Getting two doses of a vac- It follows reports last month Loach previously left the 18s will be advised to get a free adults receiving both doses. cine has tipped the odds in our that the Labour leader, Keir Labour party in the 1990s, re- polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Before today, people who were favour and allowed us to safely Starmer, was preparing to sup- portedly in disgust at Tony Blair, test if they are identifi ed as being “pinged” by the National Health reclaim our lost freedoms, and port a purge of factions vocally after three decades as a member. in close contact with a case. Service app, warning them that from today we can take another supportive of his predecessor He rejoined the party following The change was announced they had come into close contact huge step back towards our nor- Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Corbyn’s election to the leader- last month, as part of step four of with a positive case, were re- mal lives,” he added. Supporters of the former ship. The former shadow chan- the government’s plan to open up quired to self isolate for 10 days. Removing self-isolation for leader have claimed Starmer has cellor John McDonnell tweeted: after more than a year of rolling England offi cially fully opened under 18s comes three weeks rolled back moves to democ- “To expel such a fi ne socialist lockdowns. up again on July 19, but millions before thousands of pupils and ratise the party and that he has who has done so much to further Anyone who tests positive fol- were subsequently contacted students return to school and fought some of his own mem- the cause of socialism is a dis- lowing the PCR test will still be by the country’s test-and-trace college, and they will no longer bers with more gusto than the grace. Ken’s fi lms have exposed legally required to self-isolate. scheme, forcing them to stay away be required to socially distance. Tories. the inequalities in our society, Britain is still battling another from family, friends and the work- Javid added that all 16- and People queue to receive a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 Starmer is expected to sup- have given us hope for change & wave of the virus, with the emer- place. The so-called “pingdem- 17-year-olds in England will be vaccine at a mobile vaccination centre set up in a bus parked port a proposal before the party’s inspired us to fi ght back. I send gence of the Delta variant. ic”, which even grounded Prime off ered their fi rst Covid-19 vac- outside St James’s Park football stadium in Newcastle, north east governing body tomorrow to my solidarity to my friend and Although cases are down Minister Boris Johnson, severely cine dose by August 23. England, yesterday. proscribe four named groups. comrade.” Gulf Times 10 Monday, August 16, 2021 COMMENT

CHAIRMAN Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka Deputy Managing Editor K T Chacko P.O.Box 2888, Doha, Qatar [email protected] 44350478 (News), 44466404 (Sport), 44466636 (Home delivery) 44350474 facebook.com/gulftimes twitter.com/gulftimes_Qatar GULF TIMES The next level: Nosing in on nasal sprayed vaccine Scientifi c research about Covid-19 continues to evolve even as the novel coronavirus itself has mutated into the highly transmissible Delta variant that has caused a renewed surge in infections in countries from the UK and the US to those in Africa and Asia. Delta is one of four ‘variants of concern’ listed by the World Health Organisation. Such variants are deemed to be more contagious, more resistant to current vaccines and treatments, or could cause more severe illness. The Delta variant has become the dominant strain causing Covid-19 in many countries. As things stand now, vaccination is considered the most Taliban surge shows the US eff ective measure against the pandemic that has turned life upside down since it originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. It is in this context that a latest development from the University of Lancaster, UK, off ers more hope. Scientists have developed a Covid-19 vaccine that can be delivered via a nasal spray. In a preclinical trial, failed to build Afghan army the vaccine was found to decrease both disease severity and transmission of the virus. The study results are published Afghan forces have been Where deals were not cut, Afghan On paper, Afghan security forces “because it’s the source of a paycheck in in the journal iScience. All the other vaccines, authorised forced repeatedly to give forces still appear to have melted away. numbered around 300,000 soldiers. a country where paychecks are hard to for human use against Covid-19 are administered via “Once morale goes, it spreads very In reality, the numbers were never that come by.” intramuscular injection and have proven highly eff ective in up after pleas for supplies quickly, and that is at least partly to high. But the chronic failure of logistical, reducing the risk of severe Covid-19 and death, saving many and reinforcements went blame,” a US offi cial said. Dependent on a small number of elite hardware and manpower support lives across the globe. American offi cers have long Special Forces units that were shunted to many units, meant that “even if unanswered worried that rampant corruption, well from province to province as more cities they want to fight, they run out of But, intranasal vaccines are documented in parts of Afghanistan’s fell to the Taliban, the already high rate the ability to fight in relatively short an example of an alternative Intranasal By Jonathan Landay and Idrees Ali military and political leadership, would of desertion in the regular army soared. order.” approach for vaccination. Kabul/Washington undermine the resolve of badly paid, As government forces started to fall Afghan forces have been forced vaccines Researchers at the University of ill-fed and erratically supplied front- apart, hastily recruited local militias, repeatedly to give up after pleas for Lancaster have been working in line soldiers — some of whom have been loyal to prominent regional leaders such supplies and reinforcements went off er several he rout of Afghan forces as Taliban left for months or even years on end in as Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum in the unanswered, either because of collaboration with scientists at fi ghters take one provincial city isolated outposts, where they could be northern province of Faryab or Ismail incompetence or the simple incapacity advantages the Texas Biomedical Research Tafter another provides a stark picked off by the Taliban. Khan in Herat, also rushed in to fi ght. of the system to deliver. Institute to develop in this answer to anyone wondering about the Over many years, hundreds of Afghan Western countries had long been Even the elite Special Forces units over the regard. Intranasal vaccines off er success of two decades of US-led eff orts soldiers were killed each month. But wary of such militias. Though more that have borne the brunt of the fi ghting several advantages over the to build a local army. the army fought on, without any of the in line with the realities of traditional in recent years have suff ered. Last currently Despite about $89bn budgeted for airborne evacuation of casualties and Afghan politics where personal, local or month, at least a dozen commandos currently authorised vaccines, training the Afghan army, it took the expert surgical care standard in Western ethnic ties outweigh loyalty to the state, were executed by Taliban fi ghters in authorised including the potential to block Taliban little more than a month to armies, as long as international backing they were also open to corruption and the northern province of Faryab after viral transmission. Scientists brush it aside. Over the last few days, the was there. Once that went, their resolve abuse and ultimately proved no more running out of ammunition and being vaccines are of the view that the next insurgents have seized every major city evaporated. eff ective than conventional forces. forced to surrender. generation of Covid-19 vaccines must be able to stop in Afghanistan — from Kandahar in the “Would you give your life for leaders Dostum fl ed to Uzbekistan as the Richard Armitage, the former US transmission of the virus in individuals that have already south to Mazar-i-Sharif in the north, who don’t pay you on time and are Taliban advanced and Khan surrendered diplomat who organised a fl otilla of Herat in the west to Jalalabad in the east. more interested in their own future?” to the insurgents. South Vietnamese Navy ships to carry been vaccinated. The intranasal vaccine essentially nips They are now in Kabul. a second US offi cial, speaking on the But whether it was ever a realistic goal some 30,000 refugees out of Saigon the novel coronavirus, which causes Covid-19, in the bud. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condition of anonymity, asked. to create a Western-style army in one before it fell in April 1975, has watched The concept is to eliminate the virus before it infects the praised Afghan security and defence It is an analysis shared by some in the of the world’s poorest countries, with as the threat of a similar disaster cells that line our respiratory system, where it produces forces in a brief televised address on Taliban movement itself. a literacy rate of 40% and a social and unfolds in Kabul. millions of progeny and triggers a cascade of replication. Saturday, (before leaving the country One Taliban commander in the political culture far from the developed As deputy Secretary of State under for an unknown destination yesterday) central province of Ghazni said the sense of nationhood underpinning the former president George W Bush when This process takes place in a very short time frame, and once saying they had “a strong spirit to government forces’ collapse started as US military, is an open question. the United States invaded in 2001, he the infection spreads, it’s hard to get under control. Through defend their people and country.” soon as US forces started withdrawing US army trainers who worked with was deeply involved in Afghanistan the intranasal vaccine scientists are looking to can train the But still, there has been shock at the “as they didn’t have any ideology except Afghan forces struggled to teach the diplomacy. He said the Afghan army’s cells that line our respiratory system against the virus, so lack of resistance put up by many Afghan fl eecing the Americans.” basic lesson of military organisation collapse pointed to the wider failures of that they will be better equipped to tackle the virus before it army units. Some abandoned their posts “The only reason for this unexpected that supplies, maintaining equipment two decades of international eff orts. and others reached agreements with the fall of provinces was our commitment and and ensuring units get proper support “I hear people expressing frustration starts its infection. Taliban to stop fi ghting and hand over the withdrawal of US troops,” he said. are key to battlefi eld success. in the press that the Afghan army The intranasal vaccine developed at the University of their weapons and equipment. The defeat highlights the failure of Jonathan Schroden, an expert at can’t fi ght a long fi ght,” he said. “I can Lancaster is based on a bird virus known as Newcastle In some instances, US offi cials say, the United States to create a fi ghting the CNA policy institute, who served assure you the Afghan army has fought, disease virus (NDV), which is harmless to humans. The provincial governors asked security force in the image of its own highly as an advisor to US central command can fi ght and if it’s got a trigger and researchers took a severe acute respiratory syndrome forces to surrender or escape, perhaps professional military with a motivated, (Centcom) and the US-led international something comes out of the barrel, they in order to avoid further bloodshed well-trained leadership, high-tech force in Afghanistan, said the Afghan can use it.” coronavirus 2 (Sars-CoV-2) antigen and incorporated it because they believed defeat was weaponry and seamless logistical army functioned as much as a “jobs “The question is, is this government into a NDV such that it acts as a surrogate and presents the unavoidable. support. programme” as a fi ghting force worth fi ghting for?” he said. — Reuters antigen to our immune cells. Since the NDV is harmless to us, it provides a mirror image of Sars-CoV-2 and trains our immune system to fi ght the virus if an individual gets exposed to Sars-CoV-2. The intranasal vaccine in pre- clinical studies produced antibodies that can neutralise several important variants in laboratory experimentation. Given the nature of the vaccine and technology involved, the scientists expect the induction of immunity against current or future variants. A unique feature of the intranasal vaccine is its economical and suffi cient production in chicken eggs, adopting the same infrastructure used to produce infl uenza vaccines. In terms of the next steps, the vaccine is heading for human clinical trials.

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© 2021 Gulf Times. All rights reserved BACK IN BUSINESS: Taliban fighters and local residents sit over an Afghan National Army humvee vehicle along the roadside in Laghman province yesterday. (AFP) Gulf Times Monday, August 16, 2021 11 WORLD Swift Taliban takeover leaves US image in tatters Nothing our competitors would like more than to see us bogged down for another 5, 10, 20 years, counters Blinken

AFP “America’s credibility as an ally is he played down fears the Afghan gov- mission of bringing justice the Al Qae- But Richard Fontaine, chief execu- China.” Some policymakers argued for Washington diminished because of the way the ernment would crumble quickly. da perpetrators of the September 11 at- tive offi cer of the Center for a New maintaining a residual force of some Afghan government was abandoned,” “It is going to have ramifi cations not tacks. American Security, said it was simplis- 2,500 troops in Afghanistan but Bi- said Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s just for Afghanistan,” said Representa- “It’s also true that there’s nothing tic to think that China would be em- den decided the war was over and he fter two decades in Afghanistan, former ambassador to the United tive Liz Cheney, a Republican hawk. that our strategic competitors around boldened, for example, to move on Tai- should not risk further US lives. America’s longest war was end- States, referring to the deal last year “America’s adversaries know they the world would like more than to see wan, which depends on US weapons. Trita Parsi, executive vice president Aing with the image of the United with the Taliban in which the United can threaten us, and us bogged down in China may instead see the high cost of the Quincy Institute for Responsible States in tatters. States set a pullout timeline. our allies are ques- Afghanistan for an- that the United States is willing to pay Statecraft, which supports US military With the swift collapse yesterday of Haqqani, now a senior fellow at the tioning this morn- “When you see that the whole other fi ve, 10 or 20 in exiting Afghanistan as a sign of seri- restraint, said that the ones who have the government in Kabul, the 20th an- Hudson Institute, noted how US dip- ing whether they thing falls apart in nine days, years. That is not in ousness in shifting to the Pacifi c, Fon- now lost credibility are advocates for a niversary of the September 11 attacks lomats in the end could do little more can count on us for this was nothing more than a the national inter- taine said. continued war. that triggered the US invasion will than send tweets urging the Taliban to anything,” she said house of cards” est,” Blinken said. But Fontaine, who opposed the “When you see that the whole thing likely be marked with the Taliban back stop. in an ABC interview. — Trita Parsi, QIRS China, which the withdrawal, said the United States was falls apart in nine days, this was noth- in control of Afghanistan despite a cost “That envoys of the mightiest na- The Biden ad- executive vice president Biden administra- taking major risks by eff ectively ceding ing more than a house of cards,” Parsi to the United States of nearly 2,500 tion on earth can be duped as they ministration is tion sees as the na- Afghanistan to the Taliban, who never said. lives and more than $2 trillion. were, and its leaders ignored so easily quick to point out tion’s pre-eminent formally broke with Al Qaeda. He hoped that the withdrawal would To some observers, the debacle fol- as they have been in the fi nal days, will that former president Donald Trump challenge, has already rhetorically “Now that it looks like the Taliban help end the view, in Washington but lowing the withdrawal of US troops encourage others to engage in duplici- negotiated the deal on the withdrawal pounced, with the nationalistic state- will be running the country, I think the also among allies, that the US military will inevitably weaken the United tous diplomacy,” Haqqani said. and that a majority of the US public fa- run Global Times publishing an analy- chances of a terrorist threat are pretty should be the fi rst resort. States on the global stage at a time Biden faced heated criticism that vours ending “forever wars.” sis saying Afghanistan showed Wash- high,” he said. “Perhaps some of the external pres- when President Joe Biden was speak- the withdrawal was mismanaged, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, ington to be an “unreliable partner that “If that’s the case, it could well in- sures on the United States to act as if it ing of rallying democracies in the face the United States racing to evacuate its also speaking on ABC, said the United always abandons its partners or allies crease distraction from our focus is the answer to everything in the world of a rising China. sprawling embassy just a month after States had “succeeded” in its primary to seek self-interest.” on the bigger strategic challenges in will reduce.”

European powers scramble to Turkey, Pakistan aim to prevent evacuate European nations and the EU scrambled to evacuate their ‘a new fl ood of Afghan refugees’ citizens and local staff from Kabul yesterday, as Nato said it was trying to keep the airport open with the Taliban closing in on power. The militia was on the brink of total victory in Afghanistan, after the government conceded it was preparing for a “transfer of power”. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance “was helping keep Kabul A Pakistani soldier stands guard as stranded Afghan nationals airport open to facilitate and return to Afghanistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border co-ordinate evacuations” after crossing point in Chaman yesterday after the Taliban took control consulting with a string of of the Afghan border town. (AFP) member countries. The European Union was left desperately trying to find a solution for Afghan staff from its representation facing possible Pakistan closes reprisals, and seeking to convince its 27 member states to off er them visas. Torkham border, “The matter is extremely urgent, we take it very seriously and continue to work hard, together ‘watching situation’ with EU Member States, on implementing rapid solutions for Reuters them and ensure their safety,” Islamabad an EU spokesman said. Germany, France and The Netherlands were among akistan has closed the Torkham crossing with neighbouring countries moving diplomatic Afghanistan with the Afghan side of the border now under personnel from their embassy in PTaliban control, Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi (right), along with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, arrives to jointly inaugurate 1st MILGEM Ship, Kabul to the airport ahead of an Ahmad said yesterday. PNS Babur, in Istanbul yesterday. Speaking at the warship launching ceremony, Alvi said the two countries are facing similar challenges, evacuation The closure of the last major border crossing out of Afghanistan and that they have deepened their partnership in various fields, especially in defence and security. “We are not going to risk our to fall to the insurgents follows their seizure of the eastern city of people falling into the hands of Jalalabad, on the main highway to the capital Kabul, earlier yes- the Taliban,” Foreign Minister terday. AFP strengthen our co-operation with Paki- take charge of security at Kabul’s interna- Heiko Maas told the Bild daily. Pakistan yesterday said it was “closely following the unfolding Istanbul stan. We are determined to mobilise all tional airport after the US completes its France’s ambassador to situation” in Afghanistan, and would continue to support the ef- the means at our disposal to succeed,” the military withdrawal by the end of August, Afghanistan tweeted a video of forts for a political settlement. Turkish leader said. provided financial and logistical support himself leaving the Green Zone “We hope all Afghan sides will work together to resolve this in- urkey will work with Pakistan to The comments came with the Taliban are forthcoming. in Kabul aboard a helicopter ternal political crisis,” the Foreign Offi ce said in a statement. help stabilise Afghanistan and pre- poised to take power on the outskirts of Erdogan has also proposed to meet the as Paris looked to set up a It said the Pakistan embassy in Kabul was “extending necessary Tvent a new flood of refugees, Presi- Kabul. Taliban leader for talks. temporary mission at the assistance” to Pakistanis, Afghans and the diplomatic and inter- dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yester- The Taliban resurgence comes after The arrival of Afghan migrants on Tur- airport. national community for consular work and coordination of Paki- day. Nato troops withdrew following a deci- key’s eastern border has become a hot Other Nato members including stan International Airlines fl ights. “Turkey is facing a growing migratory sion by US President Joe Biden to pull out. political topic in Ankara, with the op- Britain, Italy, Denmark, Sweden A special inter-ministerial cell has been established in the Min- wave of Afghans transiting through Iran,” The Pakistan president was in Istan- position pressing the government to take and Spain have also announced istry of Interior to facilitate visa/arrival matters for diplomatic he said, alongside his Pakistan counter- bul for the launch of a naval vessel built strong measures to stop the influx. they are evacuating their personnel, UN agencies, international organisations, media and part Arif Alvi. by Turkey for the south Asian nation that The government has responded by embassy personnel. The French others, it added. “We will continue efforts to enable the borders Afghanistan and is a key regional stepping up construction of a border wall presidency said it would “do the Dilating on the situation in Afghanistan at a news conference in return of stability in the region, beginning player. with Iran in recent days. utmost to guarantee the safety” Multan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan with Afghanistan,” Erdogan said. Turkey has several hundred soldiers de- “With this wall, we will totally stop the of French nationals still in the had repeatedly emphasised that Afghanistan’s problems “have no “To do that, we have to pursue and ployed in Afghanistan and has offered to arrivals,” Erdogan said yesterday. country as well as Afghan staff . military solution”. “The world and Pakistan are on the same page,” he said. The president who fl ed: rise and fall of Ashraf Ghani

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani diatribes that did little to improve his Ghani is married to Rula, whom prided himself on being one of reputation with Afghans. he met while studying for his first the foremost global experts on He has variously been described as degree at the American University in failed states, only to watch his visionary, short-tempered, academic, Lebanon, and has two children. administration collapse. and overly demanding. He maintained a disciplined daily He fled the country yesterday, Before becoming president in 2014, routine since losing part of his according to a top Afghan off icial, Ghani enjoyed a stellar career abroad stomach to cancer, leaving him to as the Taliban reached Kabul after as an academic and economist nibble on snacks as he is unable to an astonishing rout of government focused on failed states, only digest a full meal. forces. returning 24 years later to pursue his After performing poorly in the “The former president has left dream of rebuilding the country. 2009 election, Ghani shocked many Afghanistan, leaving the people to He studied at New York’s Columbia Afghans in 2014 by winning after this situation,” Abdullah Abdullah, University, before teaching in the choosing as a running mate General who heads the government’s peace United States during the Soviet Abdul Rashid Dostum, an Uzbek process, said in a video message. occupation of Afghanistan in the warlord accused of numerous human Ghani was elected in 2014 on 1980s. rights abuses. promises to remake Afghanistan. He worked with the World Bank A Pashtun, he started using his tribal But the 72-year-old may ultimately from 1991, becoming an expert on name Ahmadzai a couple of years be remembered for making little the Russian coal industry, and finally ago to underline his background, headway against the deep-rooted moved back to Kabul as a senior UN though he stresses the importance government corruption that likely special adviser soon after the Taliban of unifying Afghanistan’s disparate underwrote his demise. were routed in late 2001. ethnic groups. In his last years in off ice, Ghani In the days that followed, he was “I’m not going to have an isolated watched as he was first cut off from a key architect of the interim life,” Ghani told AFP in an interview talks between Washington and the government and became a before he became president, but Taliban that paved the way for the powerful finance minister under in the end he did exactly that US exit from Afghanistan, and then President Hamid Karzai from 2002 — increasingly confined to the forced by his American allies to to 2004, campaigning hard against presidential palace with only a release 5,000 hardened insurgents burgeoning corruption. handful of trusted aides. to lock down a peace deal that never Renowned for his intensity and In his Facebook video message, materialised. energy, Ghani introduced a new ISOLATED: Ashraf Ghani was left with little leverage during his final months in the presidential palace. (Reuters) Abdullah — a long-time rival — Dismissed as a “puppet” by the currency, set up a tax system, suggested Ghani would be harshly Taliban, Ghani was left with little encouraged wealthy expat Afghans But he also earned the divisive wrote veteran author Ahmed Rashid, temper and displays of arrogance judged. leverage during his final months in to return home, and cajoled donors reputation that dogged him until who has known him for nearly three with fellow Afghans and Westerners “God hold him accountable, and the the presidential palace, and resorted as the country emerged from the the end. “He never allowed anyone decades. were all too frequent and soon made people will have their judgment,” he to delivering screeching televised austere Taliban era. to get too close, remaining aloof,” “Unfortunately his explosions of bad him a loathed figure.” said. Gulf Times 12 Monday, August 16, 2021 QATAR

India’s ambassador to Qatar Dr Deepak Mittal and his wife join children during the cake-cutting ceremony. PICTURES: Shaji Kayamkulam

Right: The Indian flag hoisting ceremony by India’s ambassador to Qatar Dr Deepak Mittal at the embassy premises in Doha.

Left: The Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) handed over 75 insurance schemes to the beneficiaries. Indian community marks 75th Independence Day

By Joseph Varghese Staff Reporter

he Indian community in Qatar celebrated their na- Ttion’s 75th Independence Day with ceremonies at various locations, including at the em- bassy and a number of schools. At the embassy, India’s ambas- sador to Qatar Dr Deepak Mittal unfurled the Indian fl ag in the presence of community leaders and members. He paid tribute to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi be- fore the formal event started. Launch of the ‘Bridging Generations’ programme. During the event, Qatar’s former deputy prime minister an invaluable blueprint to not and minister of energy HE Ab- only liberate the nation from co- dullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, lonial rule, but also to rebuild it.” congratulated Indians in a video “Gandhiji’s struggle was for message on the occasion, and ex- a return to Indian ethos and for pressed appreciation for the hard human dignity,” he added. work and dedication of Indian The Indian envoy, speaking at community in Qatar. the event, highlighted the spirit Following the national an- of the freedom struggle and ap- them, Dr Mittal read excerpts pealed to the Indian community from the message of Indian to take the spirit to higher levels, President Ram Nath Kovind, who even while away from the home- congratulated fellow Indians as land. “it marks the beginning of the “Think (about it) … in 25 years, 75th year of India’s independ- when India will be celebrating ence for which ‘Azadi Ka Amrit the 100th Independence Day. We Mahotsav’ is being celebrated”. all can contribute to the better- Qatar’s former deputy prime In the message, the president ment of the community, wher- minister and minister of energy said: “Independence Day is a fes- ever we are,” Dr Mittal said. “For HE Abdullah bin Hamad tival of freedom for us. This was Qatar and India, the environment al-Attiyah congratulating the made possible by generations of is a priority, and we can emulate Indian community on the freedom fi ghters; some known, the principles of ‘Swatch Bharat occasion through a video many unknown.” Abyan’ here in Qatar by taking message. Community members rendering “They made great sacrifi ces. part in all the environmental ac- a patriotic song. Today, you and I breathe under tivities in the country.” members of the community to free skies thanks to their heroic He also spoke about the activi- bring them closer to the embassy. Right: A dance performance by deeds,” he added. “I bow in re- ties carried out by various bodies During the event, the Indian children. spect to the pious memory of under the embassy, and how their Community Benevolent Forum those brave martyrs.” eff orts have bolstered India’s (ICBF) handed over 75 insurance Dr Mohan Thomas, the Pravasi “Our nation, like many oth- reputation. schemes to benefi ciaries. Bharatiya Samman Award winner ers, suff ered great injustices and “The leadership of Qatar has The ambassador also launched 2021 from Qatar shared his Inde- tyranny under foreign rule. What high regards for the Indian com- a new initiative – “Bridging Gen- pendence Day thoughts with Gulf distinguishes India, however, is munity, and they always appreci- erations” – a programme narrat- Times. that the character of our nation- ate the eff orts of the community,” ing the experiences of the pio- He said: “As we celebrate the alist movement, led by Mahatma the envoy said. “This is a fi tting neers of the Indian community 75 years of freedom, we should Gandhi, was based on the princi- tribute for the hard work of our in Qatar, who were here in the take a moment to look back and merable achievements our coun- ourselves in the world and are developed nations of the world.” ples of truth and non-violence,” community.” 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, and con- refl ect on the path our nation had try has made in the international defi nitely proud of it,” Dr Thomas The event concluded with cul- Kovind said. “He and all other Dr Mittal also announced a necting them with the younger travelled, becoming the forerun- scenario.” said. “India will soon emerge in tural programmes presented by national heroes provided us with number of new initiatives for members of the community. ner that it is today and the innu- “We have made a mark for the forefront as one of the most Indian organisations.

Embassy launches new services for community

By Joseph Varghese launching a mobile app service 44953500, and people can also Staff Reporter for the community members send e-mail to PBSKQatar@ to interact with the embassy gmail.com. The helpline is pres- smoothly.” ently available in Hindi, Malay- he Indian embassy yes- “Another initiative is ‘Bridg- alam, and English from 8am- terday launched a number ing Generations’, a conversation 5pm,” he said. Tof new initiatives for the with the pioneers of Indian com- “Starting from October 2, live community during the 75th In- munity here in Qatar,” Dr Mittal chat, WhatsApp services will be dependence Day celebrations. added. “It is also an occasion to made available. More languages Speaking at the event, India’s distribute ICBF Group Insurance will be added soon to the serv- ambassador to Qatar Dr Deepak scheme to 75 workers.” ice,” Dhanaraj added. Mittal said that the initiatives Giving the details of the mo- “The mobile application – In- will help to better connect the bile app as well as PBSK, the em- dia in Qatar App – has several embassy with community mem- bassy’s fi rst secretary for Consu- features that will help the com- healthcare workers,” Dhanaraj “Bridging Generations” is a bers. lar & Community Aff airs Xavier munity to avail the embassy continued. “People also can conversation between the pio- “This includes the soft launch Dhanaraj said that the new serv- services faster and smoother,” he submit suggestions through the neers of the Indian community of Pravasi Bhartiya Sahayta Ken- ices will help the community to said. “It helps the community to app.” in Qatar, who were here in the dra (PBSK), a helpline for the reach out to the embassy easily avail the online services, as well During the event, a new ini- 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, and the members to connect with the and faster. as regular services.” tiative named “Bridging Genera- younger members of the com- The launch of the PBSK helpline. embassy,” he said. “We are also “The PHSK number is “There is also a separate tab for tions” was launched. munity.