BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 12 Rory McIlroy pulls out of Rio Games INDEX DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 6 – 12 COMMENT 30, 31 QEWC capex set to REGION 13 BUSINESS 1 – 7, 10 – 16 over Zika 17,791.32 9,919.41 49.13 ARAB WORLD 14 CLASSIFIED 8 – 10 jump to QR7.6bn in -38.41 +0.09 -0.72 INTERNATIONAL 15 – 29 SPORTS 1 – 12 fears -0.22% +0.00% -1.44% 2016-18: Moody’s Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978

THURSDAY Vol. XXXVII No. 10128 June 23, 2016 Ramadan 18, 1437 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Emir meets Omani minister New fi rm In brief

QATAR | Partnership to sell oil NBA to open stores in Doha The National Basketball Association (NBA) of the US and a Qatari fashion company said yesterday they would partner in opening the first NBA Stores in the Middle East during the products 2016-17 league season. The initial two stores will be located in Doha, The wholly state-owned Qatari the Advisory Council on the matter. with additional ones to follow later shareholding company will be According to the bill, civilian honours in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the established to market and sell are awarded through an Emiri decision United Arab Emirates. Page 8 petroleum products that fall under and come in the order of Sword of the HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani meeting with the Minister Responsible for Foreign Aff airs of the Sultanate government regulation Founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohamed of Oman, Yousef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, at Al Bahr Palace yesterday evening. Discussions during the meeting, which was bin Thani, Sash of HH the Father Emir BRITAIN | Referendum attended the delegation accompanying the Omani minister, dealt with bilateral relations and ways to enhance them as well he Cabinet yesterday endorsed a Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Rivals race as a number of issues of common interest. HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin draft law amending some provi- Order of Al Wajba. Khalifa al-Thani also met with Yousef bin Alawi. Tsions of Law No 15 of 2007 un- An Emiri decision will create other for fi nal votes der which a wholly state-owned Qatari honours and specify their order. British Prime Minister David shareholding company will be estab- Whoever is awarded a civilian honour Cameron and his eurosceptic lished, and represented by Qatar Petro- receives a patent signed by HH the Emir opponents made final pitches for leum (QP), to market and sell petroleum and the granting decision is published in wavering voters yesterday on the products that fall under government the offi cial gazette. eve of a defining referendum on Brady heroics take Ireland into Euro last 16 regulation. The Emiri Protocol Department is re- European Union membership with The draft law has been referred to sponsible for all executive powers related the outcome still too close to call. the Advisory Council, the offi cial Qatar to the preparation of orders, their patents The vote, which echoes the rise of DPA a number of penalty appeals rejected Italy played a second string side as News Agency (QNA) reported. and following up on them. populism elsewhere in Europe and Lille, France and Wes Hoolahan missed a glorious they were already through to the last 16 The QNA report said “the text of Ar- Further, the Cabinet approved a draft the United States, will shape the chance just before sparing his own with a repeat of the 2012 fi nal against ticle 2 of the aforementioned (Decree) law on the State Audit Bureau and re- future of Europe. Pages 20 and 30 blushes by sending in the cross which Spain due on Monday at the Stade de Law No 15 of 2007 shall be amended to ferred it to the Advisory Council. obbie Brady sent Ireland fans Brady nodded home. France. Sports Pages 1, 2, 3 and 4 include the addition that the company The bill stipulates that the State Au- RAMADAN THOUGHT into ecstasy with an 84th shall delegate QP as a representative to dit Bureau is an independent regulatory Whoever desires to purify his Rminute header which clinched Late defeat against Belgium puts Sweden out of Euro 2016 market and sell government-regulated authority that has a legal personality, di- heart, let him prefer Allah over a 1-0 win over Group E winners Italy products on its behalf”. rectly follows HH the Emir, has a budget his desires [Ibn Al-Qayyim] and sealed their progression to the last A late goal by Premier League target minute. Belgium now take on Hungary After the regular weekly Cabinet annexed to that of the Emiri Diwan and 16 of Euro 2016 yesterday. Radja Nainggolan earned Belgium a in Toulouse on June 26. Sweden finished meeting chaired by HE the Prime Min- aims to oversee funds of the state as well Prayer times Ireland had to win to have a chance last-16 berth with a 1-0 win over Sweden third in the group and will look back ister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin as other entities under its jurisdiction. Fajr....3.15 Zuhr....11.36 Asr....2.59 of going through and ended up as one making superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic with regret on a flat performance in their Khalifa al-Thani at the Emiri Diwan yes- The bill includes provisions related to Maghrib.....6.30 Isha.....8.00 of the four best third-placed teams end his international career with a opener against Ireland. terday, HE the Deputy Prime Minister entities under the oversight jurisdiction having amassed four points. They defeat. The Roma midfielder, reportedly Facing elimination if defeated, both and Minister of State for Cabinet Aff airs of the State Audit Bureau, the types of Fasting times now face hosts France in Lyon on Sun- wanted by Chelsea, controlled a cross teams pushed forward to attack which Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud said oversight the bureau handles, review re- Iftar today ...... 6.30pm day. from Eden Hazard outside the area produced a pulsating first half hour in the session took the necessary measures ports, investigation into fi nancial irregu- Suhoor tomorrow ...... 3.15am The Irish prevailed after being frus- and powered it into the net in the 82nd balmy Nice. to issue a draft law on civilian honours larities and the formation of the bureau trated for much of the game. They had after reviewing the recommendations of and its staff system. Page 9

Gulf Times 6 Thursday, June 23, 2016 QATAR

PM meets French defence minister

HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani met French Minister of Defence Jean-Yves Le Drian in Doha yesterday. They discussed aspects of co-operation between Qatar and France as well as regional and international issues.

Singaporean magazine praises scientifi c research in Qatar

QNA the article said. very attractive to him. He is tributed systems; she ex- Singapore The rest of the articles ex- a professor of Life Sciences plores how industry can use amined the reasons behind in the College of Science powerful machines better, that development. One of and Engineering at Hamad scheduling tasks to make ingaporean magazine the reasons it found was the bin Khalifa University and everything run more effi - El Sevier has praised increased investment in sci- new acting executive direc- ciently. Sthe progress Qatar is entifi c research, which now tor of Qatar Biomedical Re- The third interview was seeing in the scientifi c and stands at $100mn a year. search Institute (QBRI). His with Hareb al-Jabri, who is education fi eld, highlight- Qatar also spends 2.8% of its research focuses on neuro- manager of the Algal Tech- ing in particular the fl our- GDP on scientifi c research. degenerative diseases, spe- nologies Programme at ishing scientifi c research in The magazine said it ex- cifi cally Parkinson’s disease. Qatar University, where he the country. pected Qatar to progress Senior scientist at the supervises an international The magazine said yes- even more in that fi eld over Qatar Computing Research team of researchers from In- terday it conducted an the next 20 years as it at- Institute (QCRI) of Hamad dia, Holland, Morocco, Tu- analysis on the research tracts more and more top bin Khalifa University Dr nisia, Jordan, the Palestin- statistics of 77 countries. researchers. Xiaosong Ma said Qatar is ian territories, Bangladesh, One of the fi ndings was that The magazine also con- developing fast. “Thanks and Qatar. He believes this many more researchers are ducted two interviews with to government investment investment has improved moving to Qatar (18%) than three researchers based in and good infrastructure re- Qatar’s reputation, attract- out of the country (7%), re- Qatar. searchers from around the ing people from overseas. sulting in a net researcher The fi rst was with Omar world can fi nd state-of- He said that fi ve years ago, it infl ow of 11%. el-Agnaf. The researcher, the-art facilities and insti- was diffi cult to order chemi- The numbers make Qatar originally from Libya, said tutions to work at”. cals and equipment but now “a top research destination,” that the vision of Qatar was She is working on dis- it’s much faster and easier.

Gulf Times 8 Thursday, June 23, 2016 QATAR NBA League Dana Alfardan’s song to open fi rst is HIA theme music stores in Doha

ana Alfardan, a distin- ist, it is always rewarding to have AFP guished Qatari composer your work recognised and I am New York Dand songwriter, has been humbled that my song will now honoured by the Hamad Inter- have HIA as its platform.” national Airport (HIA) recently “HIA is a symbolic location he National Basketball after her song titled The Begin- for Qatar both within Qatar and Association (NBA) of the ning was chosen as the airport’s the region, and I look forward to TUS and a Qatari fashion offi cial theme music. a lengthy and fruitful partnership company said yesterday they will She was feted at the airport with them,” she added. partner in opening the fi rst NBA stakeholders’ appreciation din- This is an exciting time for Stores in the Middle East during ner, which highlighted HIA’s both Alfardan and also for her the 2016-17 league season. journey over the years, including record label, with the debut of The initial two stores will be its offi cial inauguration, as well her latest album, Sandstorm, a located in Doha, with additional as the launch of the offi cial music classic crossover album featuring ones to follow later in Kuwait, theme. a number of collaborations with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Composed by DNA Records other artists including MAias Emirates. founder Alfardan, The Begin- Alyamani, esteemed solo violin- The shops will bring basketball ning was performed by the Qatar ist, which is now available on fans in the region access to the Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO) iTunes. widest range of league souvenirs in front of the iconic Lamp Bear Sandstorm, which was two ever available in the Middle East, professional basketball league at HIA as well as next to the air- years in the making, features 11 including shoes and jerseys. in North America, and is widely port’s runway. DNA Records is tracks, all composed by Dana “This long-term project ce- considered to be the premier Qatar’s fi rst home grown record herself, and with a wide range of ments the NBA’s commitment men’s professional basketball label that is based in both Doha musical infl uences covering gen- to grow our footprint across league in the world. and London. res including Latino, Baroque and the Middle East,” said NBA vice Meanwhile, Qatari private in- During the event, a special vid- Swing. president of global merchandis- vestment company Mayhoola eo was also shown with a footage Standout tracks on the album ing Vandana Balachandar. investment fund, owner of the of QPO performing The Begin- include Pride of a Nation, a mu- “As the demand for the NBA Valentino brand, has confi rmed ning at various locations around sical tribute to Qatar; and Layla, continues to grow in the Mid- that it is set to acquire French HIA. Alfardan’s musical ode to her dle East, our partnership with Al luxury fashion label Balmain, the Alfardan has confi rmed that daughter, who she says is her Mana Fashion Group will allow Reuters news agency said quot- through this exclusive partner- greatest inspiration. us to provide a comprehensive ing a company statement. ship with HIA, The Beginning Recently Alfardan showcased assortment of NBA merchandise Mayhoola gave no fi nancial will be played around the whole a few songs from Sandstorm at while bringing the offi cial NBA details, but sources told Reuters airport including its lounges, lifts a performance at Cadogan Hall shopping experience to our fans that Mayhoola would pay more and the special video will also in London to an overwhelmingly in the region.” than €460mn ($522mn). The be shown on board as part of the positive response. More than 400 NBA-branded deal marks the end of months of in-fl ight entertainment on Qatar Over the last 18 months, she retail locations worldwide in- negotiations between the Qa- Airways fl ights. has continued to enjoy a number clude a new fl agship shop in New taris and Balmain investors, who “I am beyond privileged and of successes including having York, three other stores in Manila include Sanofi co-founder Jean- honoured for my song The Be- This Is Your Life, a track com- and another set to open in Cebu Francois Dehecq and the fam- ginning to be HIA’s theme music, posed by Dana that was featured in the Philippines in August. ily of former chief executive and and this is truly a dream come on international superstar DJ, The National Basketball Asso- controlling shareholder Alain DNA Records founder and CEO Dana Alfardan receiving the HIA award. true,” Alfardan said. “As an art- Robin Schulz’s album, Sugar. ciation is the pre-eminent men’s Hivelin, who died in 2014.

CIS at Mesaimeer Health Centre from July 18 he Primary Health Care Corporation centre to renew expired health cards before QIC team’s visit lifts spirits of elderly ( PHCC) will launch the Clinical In- the CIS is implemented to ease the process Tformation System (CIS) in Mesaimeer of the implementation of the new system Health Centre from July 18. PHCC has com- and fast data transfer procedures. Accord- enior offi cials of Qatar Insurance Group, pleted the implementation of CIS in almost ing to the PHCC, the CIS will contribute to the largest insurer in the Middle East, all health centres. ensuring accuracy of the procedures in the Spaid a visit to the elderly at Ihsan – Qatar PHCC has also urged visitors of the health health centres. Foundation for Elderly People Care – and Al Rumailah hospital to cheer and lift their spirits. As a token of appreciation for their achieve- ments, the elderly were gifted LED lamps which can play a full recitation of the Holy Qur’an. Commenting on this initiative, QIC Group’s senior deputy group president and CEO Ali al- Fadala said: “Ramadan is the time for doing good deeds. To mark this season of generos- ity and as a signifi cant step towards fulfi lling our Corporate Social Responsibilities, we were delighted to organise a visit to the elderly to acknowledge their unique contribution to the society at large.” Ihsan’s Mohamed al-Nasf thanked QIC for the gesture. Hamad Medical Corporation’s chief com- munications offi cer Ali al-Khater stated that the gesture demonstrates QIC’s commitment and concern for the welfare of the entire com- munity. QIC off icials with Rumailah Hospital staff .

QTA hosts partners, staff at traditional Ghabga

atar Tourism Au- thority (QTA) wel- Qcomed guests at its third Annual Tourism In- dustry Ramadan Ghabga, which brought together its partners in the public and private sector, staff and me- dia representatives. “In its National Tourism Strategy and in other chan- nels, right from the start QTA has stressed that tour- ism is a crucial avenue for developing a sustainable non-hydrocarbon economy in Qatar and conveying Qa- QTA off icials and staff attend Ghabga. Below: Saif Jassim al-Kuwari speaks on behalf of Hassan al-Ibrahim. tari culture to the world,” said public relations and “The reality of this need tions has gained even more dustry Ghabga is one of many communications director has come to the fore this signifi cance,” he noted. platforms for the members Saif Jassim al-Kuwari, who year, more than any other “To achieve this we must of the tourism sector to con- delivered a speech on behalf time, and the job of diver- work harder, and collabo- nect, exchange ideas and fi nd of chief tourism develop- sifying the tourism off ering rate much closer,” al-Kuwari new and innovative ways to ment offi cer Hassan al-Ib- and securing a place for Qa- added. develop the sector through rahim. tar on the map of destina- The Annual Tourism In- partnerships. Gulf Times Thursday, June 23, 2016 9 QATAR

Chief of Staff meets Defence Minister meets US official British counterpart Inspection campaign intensified

HE the Chief of Staff Air Vice-Marshal Ghanim bin Shaheen al-Ghanim yesterday met the Chief of the Defence Staff of the British Armed Forces, General Sir Nicholas Houghton in Doha. They exchanged views on issues of mutual interest. Senior army off icers attended the meeting along with the delegation accompanying the British chief of staff .

Doha Municipality attends GCC meeting in Jeddah

The Ministry of Municipality and Environment represented by Doha Municipality has participated in the 32nd GCC meeting of senior municipal off icials and the 28th meeting of the liaison off icers in the field of municipal work which were held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. HE the Minister of State for Defence Aff airs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah met Commander The meetings discussed topics and reports in of US special operations forces Darsie Jones in Doha yesterday. They discussed co-operation in the areas of municipal work in the GCC states. the military field and the ways to enhance it. A number of ranking off icials from the Qatari Armed They were attended by Mohamed Ahmed forces attended the meeting. al-Sayed, director of Doha Municipality and a number of municipal off icials. The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has intensified its inspection campaign for the third consecutive week of the holy month of Ramadan. The campaign has so far covered more than 1,400 outlets across the country, selling various consumer goods such as accessories, clothes, foodstuff , vegetables and fruits. The MEC inspectors spotted 19 diff erent violations of law number 8 for 2008 on consumer protection, including increasing prices of sold items without prior permits Cabinet okays draft laws on from the department concerned, not posting proper price tags and other related violations. Violators could face a fine of QR3,000 and up to QR1mn, besides the administrative closure of the outlet for diff erent periods determined by MEC rules for car rental agencies according to the type and gravity of the violation.

he Cabinet yesterday by the Supreme Judiciary contribution to the capital of ism Authority (QTA) and Minister on the second re- approved two draft Council and the committee Islamic Development Bank. Abu Dhabi Tourism and port of the results of the work Tlaws that include should also have two other The Cabinet, mean- Culture Authority, an MoU of the committee that dis- Ministry cancels licences regulations for car rental specialist members. while, ratifi ed four agree- for co-operation in organ- cusses draft agreements and and limousine services and The Cabinet also dis- ments yesterday. These ising exhibitions between laws, which was approved their executive statute. cussed a proposal by the are a memorandum of un- QTA and Abu Dhabi Tour- by leaders of the GCC states, The bill includes provi- Ministry of Finance on the derstanding (MoU) for co- ism and Culture Authority, and a memo from HE Minis- of two recruitment agencies sions related to conditions same law. The proposal fo- operation in the sports and and a co-operation agree- ter of Education and Higher of licensing and a number of cused on a number of enti- culture fi elds between Qatar ment between the govern- Education on a report of the other relevant aspects, Qa- ties that are fi nanced from and the General Authority ments of Qatar and South works of the national com- QNA Ministerial Decree No 8 of workers, but they did not tar News Agency reported. the state’s fi scal budget. of Youth & Sports Welfare Africa in the areas of culture mittee for qualifi cations. It Doha 2005 regulating the con- comply. The draft executive statute Further, the meeting ad- in the UAE, an MoU for co- and arts. also discussed extending the ditions and procedures for The department said the covers provisions indicating dressed an item on approv- operation in the tourism The Cabinet reviewed a committee’s work for anoth- recruiting workers from decision to cancel the li- the activity and the licence, ing an increase in Qatar’s fi eld between Qatar Tour- letter from HE the Prime er four months. he Recruitment abroad”. cences refl ects the Minis- the licence type, duration, Department at the try’s keenness to improve expiry, suspension, cancel- Cabinet takes steps to issue draft law on protecting privacy of personal data T Ministry of Admin- The department the performance of recruit- lation and waiver, and com- istrative Development carries out periodic ment agencies. mitments of the licensee. The Cabinet yesterday took the bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE the Deputy via a decision by HE the Minister of and Labour has perma- and unannounced The Minister’s approval After the weekly Cabinet necessary measures to issue a draft Prime Minister and Minister of State for Justice to carry out all or some of nently cancelled the li- inspection of agencies is required to revoke the li- meeting chaired by HE the law on protecting the privacy of Cabinet Aff airs Ahmed bin Abdullah the tasks of the documenter. The cences of two recruitment recruiting domestic cence of a manpower agency Prime Minister Sheikh Ab- personal data. bin Zaid al-Mahmoud said the Cabinet decision specifies the scope of the agencies, Al-Fadeela and workers as in the case of issuance of dullah bin Nasser bin Kha- This followed a review of the Advisory approved the establishment of a documenter’s place and type of power Al-Wafa. a licence. lifa al-Thani, HE the Deputy Council’s recommendations on the committee for co-ordination between as well as the documenter’s bonus The department said The department had The department car- Prime Minister and Minis- matter by the Cabinet, Qatar News all entities operating at Doha’s Hamad and accountability system. Provisions in a statement yesterday already warned the two ries out periodic and un- ter of State for Cabinet Af- Agency reported. International Airport. related to the documenter that are that the two agencies had agencies to adhere to the announced inspection of fairs Ahmed bin Abdullah The bill includes provisions related The committee is to be chaired by the stipulated in the law apply to them. violated the “fourth para- contracts signed with em- agencies recruiting domes- bin Zaid al-Mahmoud said to the rights of individuals to protect head of the Civil Aviation Authority Meanwhile, the Cabinet discussed graph of Article 14 of the ployers to recruit domestic tic workers. another item on yesterday’s the privacy of their personal data, and include two other members from a recommendation by the Advisory agenda pertained to a draft the commitments of the monitor the parties concerned. It is charged Council on doing business and decision to establish a com- and processor, personal data of with co-ordinating work at the airport commerce in Qatar through online mittee for settling disputes special nature and the prohibition of to facilitate transport activities. stores. The Cabinet agreed to refer in line with the provisions communicating any electronic contact In addition, the Cabinet endorsed a the recommendation to specialised of Law No 24 for 2015 regu- for the purpose of direct marketing to draft law amending some provisions authorities for further examination. Civic Ministry teams inspect 29 hotels lating tenders and leases. an individual unless the latter gives of Law No 9 of 1979 on documentation Another item on the agenda yesterday The committee is to be prior approval, the report said. and referred it to the Advisory Council. pertained to an approval to transfer the chaired by a judge who is After the regular weekly Cabinet According to the amendment, some concession of some of land in the waste QNA Bay, Al Dafna, Najma, The lack of licences from the of the rank of head of the meeting chaired by HE the Prime persons who are not employees of treatment area from QP to the Ministry Doha Pearl, Legtaifi ya, the Dip- relevant municipality, in Court of First Instance. Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser the department will be delegated of Municipality and Environment. lomatic District, Ras Abu addition to violations relat- The judge should be chosen Aboud, among others. ed to food expiry dates, and he Ministry of Mu- The campaigns, which operation of workers with- nicipality and En- began on June 14, revealed out health certifi cates. Tvironment has con- a number of violations, in- The inspection teams ducted eight inspection cluding non-compliance took legal action against the campaigns covering 29 ho- with health requirements in hotels. tels in Doha. terms of cleanliness, storage The campaigns aimed at Qatar calls for steps to protect The hotels of four and and maintenance of sani- ensuring food safety and fi ve-star categories were tation, lack of attention to the application of health re- civilians from war crimes located in Old Salata, West waste containers and the quirements.

QNA placement of millions. steps to deal with them.” to put an end to the mas- facilities and committed Seoul This came in a statement sacres committed against crimes against civilians. delivered by Dr Mutlaq al- The indecisiveness civilians. He expressed Qatar’s as- Majid al-Qahtani, direc- of the international He cited what hap- piration for peace consulta- he State of Qatar has tor of the Department of community to protect pened in Rwanda, Bosnia tions taking place in Kuwait stressed that all na- International Organisa- civilians in Gaza, and Herzegovina, Syria and to reach a political agree- Ttions have the re- tions and Conferences at Syria and Yemen Yemen as an example. ment to restore security and sponsibility to protect ci- the Foreign Ministry, dur- paved the way for On Yemen, the director stability of Yemen and its vilians from war crimes, ing his participation in extremist groups, of the Department of In- people. genocide and crimes the Sixth Annual Meeting such as ISIS, to ternational Organisations Qatar was appointed as a against humanity and eth- of the Global Network of intervene in pockets and Conferences said that National Focal Point for the nic cleansing. R2P Focal Points, which of tension and the intervention of Arab Responsibility to Protect While highlighting that concluded in Seoul, South commit atrocities coalition forces in Yem- (R2P), becoming the 44th it is the responsibility of Korea, yesterday. against civilians en came at the request state globally and the fi rst the all nations, individu- The indecisiveness of the of President Abd-Rabbu state in the Middle East to ally and collectively, Qatar international community He added that the failure Mansour Hadi, in accord- appoint a National R2P Fo- wondered what actions the to protect civilians in Gaza, of the Security Council in ance with the principle of cal Point. international community Syria and Yemen paved the maintaining international self-defence under Arti- Doha will host this year would take when a state way for extremist groups, peace and security should cle 51 of the UN Charter, a high-level workshop for which is supposed to pro- such as ISIS, to intervene in not absolve the United Na- and in accordance with the Gulf Co-operation tect its people commits pockets of tension and com- tions and the international the principle of the re- Council (GCC) member- such atrocities, making a mit atrocities against civil- community of perform- sponsibility to protect, states to discuss the prin- reference to the respon- ians, Dr al-Qahtani said, ing the same responsibil- when the Houthi militias ciple of the responsibil- sibility of the Syrian re- adding that “the emergence ity, indicating the need and forces loyal to ousted ity to protect, and will also gime for killing more than of non-State actors puts us to activate the role of the president Ali Abdullah host the seventh Annual 400,000 civilians since all in front of new and seri- UN General Assembly and Saleh tightened control Meeting of the Global Net- the outbreak of the Syr- ous challenges and at the other regional organisa- over government build- work of R2P Focal Points ian crisis, and for the dis- same time requires from us tions and arrangements ings and targeted civilian next year. Barwa Bank names draw winners

arwa Bank has an- each was awarded to Mo- representative of the quali- for cash prizes. draw for the cash prize of nounced the names hamed Humaid S al-Badi, tative licence and market Totalling QR3mn, Thara’a QR10,000. Bof the ninth round of Noora Rashid E S al-Ena- control department at the cash rewards are distributed Twice a year, there will be draw winners for Thara’a, zi, Alawi Abdulkadir al- Ministry of Economy and on both a monthly and bi- four winners per draw for its Shariah compliant sav- Juneid, Muna Hammamm Commerce. annual basis to customers the cash prize of QR25,000, ings account. M al-Fahad, Ali Hilal E Thara’a off ers account holding a minimum balance two winners per draw for Wadha Mohamed A F al- al-Sharim, Samer al-Ab- holders the chance to ben- of QR10,000. the cash prize of QR50,000, Noaimi, Kadi Salem S A al- dulrazzak, and Mohamed efi t from cash rewards up On a monthly basis, and one winner per draw for Marri, and Abdulaziz Abdo Sayab Khan Ferozuddin to QR1mn. Based on several there will be seven win- the grand prize of QR1mn A H al-Amari, each won a Khan. criteria, Thara’a account ners per draw for the – rewarding 102 winners in cash prize of QR10,000. The draw was conducted holders are eligible for a cash prize of QR5,000, as total with cash prizes up to A cash prize of QR5,000 under the supervision of a number of periodic draws well as four winners per QR3mn. Gulf Times 10 Thursday, June 23, 2016 QATAR QCRI launches data processing application he Qatar Comput- Quiané-Ruiz said Rheem ing Research In- operated like a platform Tstitute (QCRI) has integrator or co-ordinator launched an application that used a set of rules to that can draw insights decide how to map a re- from big data across many quest from the applica- software platforms. tion layer all the way down The application, Rheem, to the right platform. It named after a native gazelle works in a layered fashion, AZF delegates interacting with an elderly person. in Qatar, is the fi rst general with the application sit- purpose system capable of ting on the top layer and the what scientists call cross- bottom layer connecting platform data processing to with a myriad of popular be launched. platforms. AZF team visits the elderly at Ihsan QCRI scientist Jorge- “Rheem can decide, for Arnulfo Quiané-Ruiz, example that for certain who led the development tasks PostgreSQL is the delegation from during the holy month of families and the elderly. The visit is the third in of the software, said as right option but for oth- Aspire Zone Foun- Ramadan. During the visit, Ihsan of- a series of scheduled visits the use and analysis of big ers, distributed platforms Adation (AZF) has The visit demonstrates fi cials expressed their delight during the holy month, and data spread, organisa- like Hadoop or Spark could visited the Qatar Foun- AZF’s commitment to- with AZF’s visit and thanked follows similar visits to the tions were using diff erent QCRI scientist Jorge-Arnulfo Quiané-Ruiz be more effi cient,” Quiané- dation for Elderly People wards the local com- them for their kind initia- Shafallah Centre for Per- specialised big data plat- Ruiz said. Care - Ihsan, as part of a munity by reaching out tive, which refl ects a spirit of sons with Disabilities and forms to address specifi c Rheem could then help the tion is typically stored in Rheem allows users to series of scheduled visits to to social institutions to accountability amongst all the Orphans Care Centre - needs. airline’s engineers to use a database) who have re- easily specify these tasks several social institutions spread joy among children, members of the community. Dhreima. “For example, social me- this information to sched- ceived similar prescrip- with easy-to-use inter- dia and customer purchase ule extra fl ight capacity tions, information usually faces, provides developers analytics typically require with data stored separately stored in text fi les. with opportunities to opti- separate software plat- on multiple platforms. The oil industry could also mise performance in diff er- forms,” Quiané-Ruiz said. Qatar Airways has agreed use Rheem to analyse struc- ent ways and can run on any An airline could use to test the technology. tured and unstructured data data-processing platform, Rheem to mine data from Hospitals could use the to improve effi ciency. Dur- such as PostgreSQL, Spark WCM-Q hosts conference a passenger database to application to improve pa- ing an exploration phase, for or GraphChi. target promotions to cus- tient monitoring. For ex- instance, data has to be ac- The software has been tomers based on fl ight his- ample, doctors might need quired, integrated and ana- presented to scientists tory data from information to gather information about lysed to predict if a reservoir at leading international stored in a passenger list. patients (whose informa- will be profi table. conferences. on diabetes management

pproximately 60 interpret blood glucose test doctors from clin- results, how to distinguish Aics across Qatar and diabetes from pre-diabe- 41 visiting from Pakistan tes, and how and when to New Ford trucks off er heard the latest advice on prescribe medication to how to diagnose and man- optimally treat debilitat- age diabetes at the Inter- ing complications such national Diabetes Excel- as damage to the kidneys, lence Academy conference nerves and eyes. a range of power options (IDEA), hosted by Weill Dr Rayaz Malik, profes- Cornell Medicine-Qatar sor of medicine at WCM-Q (WCM-Q). and a researcher in diabetic he new Ford Trucks series that stand out The conference featured neuropathy, co-directed with power, effi ciency, and technology two days of presentations the IDEA conference with Tfeatures, and equipped with new E3 en- and interactive Q&A ses- Dr Hamed Farooqi, director gine, will soon conquer the roads in Qatar, Al- sions in which a team of and consultant endocrinol- Dr Rayaz Malik speaking at the conference. Mana Ford said in a statement. expert medical educa- ogist at the Dubai Diabetes The new Ford Trucks series, which carries the tors explained the most Centre, and Dr Abbas Raza, the time as new discoveries all participants gained new brand slogan “Sharing the load,” off ers a up-to-date guidelines for consultant diabetologist/ are made. “The challenge very useful practical advice range of power options from 330 to 430 PS with eff ectively treating both endocrinologist at Shaukat for doctors around the from experts in the fi eld of E3 emission. type-1 and type-2 diabe- Khanum Cancer Hospital world is that it takes a long diabetes and endocrinol- Equipped with Ecotorq engines that deliver tes and impaired glucose and Research Centre and time to stay up-to-date ogy for all stages of diabe- 8.5% better fuel economy compared to previ- tolerance - also known as the National Hospital in with the latest treatment tes treatment, from early ous versions, the new Ford Trucks series reaches pre-diabetes. Lahore, Pakistan. protocols and they are very screening and intervention the most competitive fuel consumption values The attendees were giv- Dr Malik pointed out that time poor as they often see through to eff ective long- in the segment according to tests conducted by en practical guidance to diabetes is an extremely a large number of patients term management of the independent bodies, while the increase in torque follow in their own clinics complex disease and treat- every day.” disease in order to reduce and power ensures higher performance under all on issues such as how to ment guidelines change all Dr Raza observed that the risk of complications. The new Ford Trucks are equipped with Ecotorq engines that deliver conditions. better fuel economy. In addition to the new engine specifi cations, the new Ford Trucks se- ries also features an aero- dynamic structure cre- ated in line with the Ford Elan Group holds Suhoor for employees Kinetic Design philoso- phy to the new transport series. lan Group hosted said, “The past 12 years event as an opportunity included various enter- The new Ford Trucks Suhoor for its employ- have been a great journey to celebrate the compa- tainment activities, also series continues to save Eees. The event was at- full of achievements across ny’s achievements, and to comprised a presentation after purchase, off ering tended by CEO Jaber al-An- all our business units, strengthen the social con- of Elan’s new vision and a competitive advan- sari, senior executives, and thanks to the eff orts of each nections between employ- mission, key components tage with 25% reduced over 120 employees. one of you.” ees in order to maintain a of its strategy for the next maintenance costs. The Recalling that Elan is Elan Group’s chief sup- solid and harmonious team fi ve years, as well as the service periods extended celebrating its 12th birth- port offi cer Tariq al-Ham- spirit. company’s new corporate up to 600 hours off ered day this year, al-Ansari madi described the Suhoor The ceremony, which values. for the Tractor and Con- struction series will allow the customers to have the most competitive main- tenance advantage in the logistics and construc- tion sectors. AlMana Ford Trucks Construction Series powered by the new Ecotorq engine off ers comfort for drivers with exceptional traction up- hill and on rough ter- rains. The Construction Series now delivers 420 PS instead of the 360 PS of the previous gen- eration, as well as better performance in demand- ing site conditions with 55% increase resulting in 2150Nm torque value. While climbing steep slopes, especially in earthmoving and cut- ting sites with high torque, the new 400KW engine brake keeps the power continually un- der control. The optional 600KW Intarder option off ered for even rougher conditions brings the to- tal braking capability to 1,000KW, ensuring that the heaviest loads can be safely carried on even the steepest slopes and hills. Gulf Times Thursday, June 23, 2016 11 RAMADAN/QATAR The Qur’an and the last ten days of Ramadan

he Glorious Qur’an is the ever- “Say (O Muhammad): ‘If mankind and and get strength by the Qur’an and, as lasting miracle of our Prophet – the jinn gathered in order to produce a result, will derive the highest possi- TMuhammad, sallallaahu ‘alaihi the like of this Qur’an, they could not ble benefi t from it. The Qur’an is like a wa sallam – that addresses all human produce the like of it, even if they were benefi cial rain, the soul is like the earth generations and shall continue to do to each other assistants.’”[Qur’an 17: and Ramadan is like the good season so till the end of time. It convinces the 88] for rainfall that enables the hearts to human intellect with various proofs Allah even challenges those who produce the blooming crops. in order to subject it to the truth and have doubt about the Divinity of the The Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu make it surrender to Allah willingly or Qur’an when He Says (what means): ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “The simili- turn away from the truth after it has “And if you are in doubt about what tude of the guidance and knowledge recognised it out of arrogance. We have sent down upon Our Serv- with which I was sent, is like a rain The Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alaihi ant [Muhammad], then produce a that falls on a land of which there was a wa sallam, said: “No Prophet was sent chapter the like thereof and call upon good part that accepted the water and Ooredoo has said it is putting strong emphasis on Qatar’s small business community this year. by Allah except that he was given what your witnesses other than Allah, if you produced therefrom many plants and would make people believe in him, should be truthful. But if you do not grass. There is also a barren part that and what I was given is Revelation - and you will never be able to - then holds water and Allah made it benefi - and I hope to be the greatest of all the fear the Fire, whose fuel is men and cial to people as they drank thereof, fed Prophets in (terms of) followers.” [Al- stones, prepared for the disbelievers.” their animals and irrigate their farms. Bukhari]. [Qur’an 2:23-24]. It also aff ected some parts that are just Ooredoo hosts offi cials The Qur’an is the everlasting mira- Reciting the Qur’an in appropriate lowland that could neither hold the cle given by Allah to His Messenger, times assists in letting it have an im- water nor produce grass. The fi rst two sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, which no pact on human soul. Ramadan is the are the example of him that acquired human being or Jinn is able to produce best time to recite the Qur’an, for it is the knowledge of the religion of Allah, of SMEs, ‘Soho’ at Suhoor a book like it. Even if all mankind and a food for the soul and because of the benefi ted from that which I am sent jinn were to collaborate to produce fact that the authority of the mind that with and taught it to others. The third something like it, they would not be tells man to do evil weakens during is the example of him who never paid oredoo has recently hosted a portfolio to include a range of tailored business customers, and we are striv- able to do so. Allah says (what means): this month. The soul will then prevail attention to the Qur’an and did not ac- special Ramadan Suhoor gath- products and services. ing to adapt world-class solutions so cept the guidance of Allah with which Oering at the Westin Hotel in This has included the launch of ded- that they are accessible to these com- I am sent.”[Al-Bukhari & Muslim] Doha as part of its eff orts to reach out icated business desks in select Ooredoo panies and fully support their business We must seize the opportunity of to the business community during the retail shops to provide companies with objectives. This Suhoor gathering was the remaining days of Ramadan to read holy month of Ramadan. easier access to Ooredoo’s business an important opportunity to relax and the Glorious Qur’an with refl ection The guests represented some of Qa- services. spend time with our customers, as we and understanding of its meanings and tar’s leading small and medium-sized In addition, Ooredoo has launched all prepare for a busy second half of try our best to put its injunctions into enterprises (SMEs) and small offi ce/ new Hala Business services, the Smart 2016.” practice. Our righteous predecessors, home offi ce (Soho) companies, pro- Offi ce Suite and an enhanced range The Suhoor gathering was part of a may Allah be pleased with them, used viding “an important opportunity” for of communication and collaboration series of community activities organ- to preoccupy themselves in Ramadan, colleagues and clients to spend time services, with versions specifi cally de- ised by Ooredoo during the holy month. with the recitation of the Glorious together outside of work. signed for the SME sector. Customers can follow Ooredoo’s Ram- Qur’an and they always used to men- Ooredoo said it has placed strong Yousuf Abdulla al-Kubaisi, COO of adan campaign via Ooredoo’s Face- tion Allah. emphasis on Qatar’s small business Ooredoo Qatar, said: “Ooredoo rec- book, Instagram, or Twitter page, and We have to know that any one who community in 2016, expanding its ognises the importance of our small the hashtag #CloserConnection. puts the injunctions of the Qur’an in practice is among the people of the Qur’an (who are dear to Allah) even if he has not memorized it. Also, he who does not work by the injunctions of the Qur’an is not among its people IBQ, Ritz-Carlton partner for even if he memorises it. We have to do good deeds in this ex- cellent month, be kind to the poor and needy as a sign of emulating the Mes- ‘special needs’ people outreach senger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. It is narrated that Jibreel (An- gel Gabriel) used to review the Qur’an nternational Bank of Qatar (IBQ) with the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi is holding its eighth Ramadan “Do wa sallam, once in a year and that was IGood Deeds” campaign, a com- during Ramadhaan. In the year that munity outreach initiative launched in the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sal- 2009. lam, died, Jibreel reviewed it with him In line with this, IBQ partnered twice. Whenever Jibreel came to came with The Ritz-Carlton, Doha recently to meet him, the Prophet, sallallaahu to host a Suhoor with Qatar Soci- ‘alaihi wa sallam, used to be more gen- ety for Rehabilitation of Special Needs erous and faster in spending charity (QSRSN). The campaign stems from than a dispatched wind.” the bank’s belief in supporting the Article source: http://www.islam- community and improving the lives of bweb.net/emainpage/ children and elderly people, according to a statement. This is not the fi rst time that IBQ and The Ritz-Carlton, Doha has partnered on a CSR activity. People with disability and special needs are of particular importance to both organisations, the statement noted. Off icials at the event. “IBQ’s social responsibility agen- da includes a wide variety of events staff working very hard for a better Erden Kendigelen, general manager in diff erent fi elds, particularly in the society,” said Omar Bouhadiba, IBQ’s of The Ritz-Carlton, Doha, added: “We holy month of Ramadan. Taking care managing director. are thrilled to have partnered with IBQ of people with special needs requires Expressing gratitude, Amir al-Mulla on this CSR initiative and would like to continuous eff orts and investment in of QSRSN said: “We are grateful to IBQ thank the institution for this oppor- social, mental, academic and healthy and The Ritz-Carlton, Doha for their tunity. Giving back to society is at the rehabilitation of those people in the extreme generosity and support. very core of the hotel’s CSR strategy society. We have the highest respect The holy month is the perfect time of worldwide and we are proud to sup- for the Qatar Society for Rehabilitation the year to show support and do good port Qatar Society for Rehabilitation of of Special Needs mission and for their deeds.” Special Needs.”

KidzMondo characters entertained young patients at the Hamad General Hospital as part of the Garangao celebration. KidzMondo Doha celebrates Garangao with young patients

idzMondo Doha, Qatar’s one- good citizenship and developing their Qatar’s younger generation to celebrate of-a-kind miniature edutain- knowledge and skills to paint a brighter the country’s history and heritage,” al- Kment city, celebrated Garangao future for themselves and the commu- Maslamani noted. with young patients at the Hamad nity,” general manager Nabil R Barakat Garangao is a traditionally celebrated General Hospital recently, paying trib- said. event on the 14th night of Ramadan ute to the traditional festival deeply Hamad General Hospital’s chief of across the Gulf region. Children cele- rooted in Qatari heritage. staff Dr Yousuf al-Maslamani thanked brate the holy month’s values of sharing, KidzMondo’s iconic characters, KidzMondo Doha for taking the initiative as they go around their neighbourhoods, Kozmo and Leeloo, distributed gifts to share the traditional festival’s joyful knocking at doors, dressed up in colour- to the children. “KidzMondo has been spirit with HMC’s patients. ful, traditional Qatari clothes, singing the founded on the very basis of enriching “This initiative helped raise the chil- event’s signature song along with cloth children’s lives with joyful activities, dren’s spirits while at the same time re- bags that they carry around to collect while instilling in them the values of viving a local tradition by encouraging nuts and candies from their neighbours. Gulf Times 12 Thursday, June 23, 2016 QATAR

MoI off ers road safety tips for holy month

he Ministry of Interior It also asked them to avoid (MoI) has reminded mo- random parking in front of Ttorists of the need to fol- mosques and other public places low safe driving practices during as this may block traffi c. the holy month of Ramadan. All other traffi c rules and safe- In this connection, the min- ty instructions should also be istry has listed a number of road followed in addition to the points safety tips in a post on its Face- mentioned above, the MoI said. book page. Measures such as fastening The MoI has urged motorists the seatbelt, not engaging with to be extra cautious while driving mobile devices, sticking to the during Iftar. speed limit, maintaining lane They should avoid any last- discipline, slowing down while minute rush while going home or approaching crosswalks and to any other place to break their leaving a safe distance between fast. vehicles play a key role in en- “Start early and reach safely,” suring road safety, the advisory the advisory said. noted. People should also avoid driv- “We also remind you not to ing if they are tired or drowsy. park in slots reserved for people “It will save your life and that of with special needs and not to cut others,” the MoI stressed. in traffi c lines from side lanes,” it Further, the advisory said mo- added. torists should be patient and co- The MoI wished everyone operate with other drivers, road safe driving throughout the holy users and security personnel. month and thereafter.

Some of the 102 awardees pose for a group photo at the event. ‘Outstanding’ students, mothers and volunteers feted by QRCS

he Qatar Red Cres- capacity,” said Nayef bin mothers, educators, and During the ceremony, cent Society (QRCS) Faisal al-Mohannadi, direc- students with special needs QRCS gave the awardees Thonoured 95 out- tor of Human Resources and who challenge their physi- prizes and gifts for their standing students, seven Administrative Services at cal and social limitations to voluntary service and chari- mothers, as well as educa- QRCS. shape their future. table activities. tors and volunteers in the “For years, QRCS hailed One of the awardees in- In co-operation with the country, “who made excep- outstanding students to cluded a mother who had management of schools, tional contributions in their encourage them in making faced many diffi culties in QRCS’ QR150,000 pro- careers.” more progress and become life. She sought help of gramme identifi es students “We pursue our noble example for their peers,” he QRCS, which supported her who received high grades humanitarian and develop- added. professionally and psycho- to honour them, as well as ment goals in harmony with Al-Mohannadi noted that logically, until her children their parents and teachers, the strategy of Qatar, which the programme’s scope was graduated. Now, she is tak- in recognition of their ef- pays great attention to the expanded to cover more ing care of other needy cases forts and as an incentive for Motorists should not use mobile devices while driving, the MoI has individual and social devel- groups that deserve appre- to help them succeed in excelling in their studies and reiterated. Picture courtesy: MoI Facebook page opment by building human ciation, which included the their lives as well. careers. A student receiving his certificate of recognition.

Action from one of the matches. Katara beach volleyball fi nal tonight

atara will host the fi nal of its The tournament has been organised Salim al-Maal said it is a big achieve- Beach Volleyball Championship by the Cultural Village Foundation’s ment for his team and while the tour- Ktonight. Beach Management and the matches nament has been challenging, they are The match, to be played between are taking place at the Katara beach. hopeful of winning the title this year. Katara and Um-Ghwailenah, will be Earlier, in the semi-fi nals, Katara The 2016 edition of the beach vol- held from 10.30pm. defeated Najma while Um-Ghwailenah leyball championship has witnessed Earlier, at 9.30pm, the third-fourth won against Sharq. the participation of 12 teams, including playoff pits Sharq against Najma. Um-Ghwailenah captain Khalifa the 2015 champions, Katara. QF reading campaign heads to City Center

very Thursday, Saturday and Tuesday during the holy month of ERamadan, families can participate in a range of exciting National Reading Campaign activities organised by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) at the City Center Doha. The National Reading Campaign aims to foster a book-loving culture from an early age. QF endeavours to achieve this goal by raising awareness of the importance of reading, making content more widely Issued in Public Interest by available, and encouraging parents and educators to share a passion for reading with the younger generations. The activities include storytelling sessions and educational games and puzzles, at the Al-Faisal Social Respon- sibility Centre booth at the City Center Children participate in the national reading campaign. Doha from 7.30pm until 11.30pm. Gulf Times Thursday, June 23, 2016 13 REGION Yemen rebels demand consensus president in any peace deal

AFP “Foremost among these is the roadmap,” mainly when the unity Kuwait City presidency which is at the centre government would be formed, of the negotiations and on which Ould Cheikh Ahmed told the Se- all the other issues, like the for- curity Council on Tuesday. emen’s Iran-backed rebels mation of a national unity gov- The government has resisted said yesterday that they ernment and a supreme military proposals for a unity administra- Ywould not sign any peace and security committee, depend,” tion before the rebels’ withdrawal deal without prior agreement on a rebel statement said. and handover of arms, fearing it a consensus president to lead the The peace roadmap announced would undermine the interna- transition. by UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh tional legitimacy of Hadi. The demand from the Houthi Ahmed calls for the implemen- As the peace talks have dragged rebels, who control swathes of tation of security arrangements on in Kuwait, there has been re- the country, including the capi- set out in an April 2015 Security newed fi ghting on the ground de- Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince, Mohamed bin Salman greets UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN headquarters in New York tal Sanaa, comes a day after the Council resolution and the forma- spite a UN-brokered ceasefi re that yesterday. UN envoy said he had proposed a tion of a government of national took eff ect on April 11. roadmap for peace following two unity. Security arrangements un- On Tuesday, the rebels ad- months of negotiations in Kuwait. der Resolution 2216 require the vanced towards Yemen’s biggest The Saudi-backed government rebels and their allies to withdraw airbase – Al-Anad – in heavy of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour from areas they have occupied fi ghting that left 18 rebels and six Hadi insists that he is the legiti- since 2014, including Sanaa, and loyalists dead. mate president who should lead hand over heavy weapons. The UN envoy expressed any transition. “The delegations have re- “strong indignation” at the rebel But the rebels said consen- sponded positively to the pro- advance in a statement early yes- sus must be reached between the posals, but have not yet reached terday, saying it was a “grave de- Saudi deputy warring parties on all issues to do agreement on the sequencing of velopment that could threaten the with transition. the diff erent steps provided in the talks.” crown prince Kuwaitis who insult the emir can’t run for offi ce meets UN chief AFP all cabinet ministers present, and Movement, is serving his sec- Kuwait City opposed by just three. ond year in jail after he was con- Reuters West Coast. Earlier this month the angry with Ban over the blacklist- the UN special representative on It will pass into law once the victed of insulting the emir in a United Nations Saudis urged the United Nations ing. children and armed confl ict who cabinet endorses the change and speech at a public rally in 2012. to remove the Saudi-led Yemen “I’m not angry,” he said. originally decided to blacklist the uwait’s parliament yes- publishes it in the offi cial gazette. The amendment also comes coalition from a list of countries Salman, who is also the king- Saudi-led coalition. terday voted to bar peo- The amendment states that after several fi gures and groups, nited Nations Secretary- that maim and kill children during dom’s defence minister, did not Zerrougui had vehemently op- Kple convicted of religious “people convicted in a fi nal including the Muslim Broth- General Ban Ki-moon armed confl icts, UN offi cials said. answer questions when he left the posed Ban’s decision to remove insults or undermining the Gulf court ruling of insulting God, the erhood-linked Islamic Consti- Uyesterday met Saudi Ara- Ban then withdrew the Sau- meeting. the Saudis from the blacklist, UN state’s ruler from contesting prophets and the emir are barred tutional Movement, the larg- bia’s deputy crown prince, who dis from the list pending a review It was not clear what was said, diplomatic sources said. general elections. from elections.” est opposition group, decided remarked that he was not an- of cases the UN had analysed, though one diplomatic source told The UN report on children and The amendment to the elec- In the past few years, courts to end their four-year election gry with the UN chief for briefl y though he publicly criticised the Reuters without any detail that armed confl ict said the coalition, toral law would prevent dozens handed down various jail terms boycott. blacklisting a Saudi-led coalition Saudi pressure on him. the meeting “went well.” which began an air campaign in of opposition fi gures, includ- against opposition activists for A broad alliance of Islam- for killing children in Yemen. The Saudis have denied pres- Salman kept Ban waiting for 45 March 2015 to defeat Iran-allied ing jailed former MP Mussallam insulting the emir, Sheikh Sabah ist, nationalist and liberal op- Mohamed bin Salman is in New suring Ban, though they said the minutes before arriving with his Houthi rebels, was responsible for al-Barrak, from standing in next al-Ahmad al-Sabah, or under- position groups boycotted two York this week, mainly for meet- UN report was inaccurate. advisers and security detail. killing 510 children and wounding year’s election. mining his authority. general polls in 2012 and 2013 in ings with business leaders, after On his way into the meeting, Also scheduled to attend the 667, or 60% of such deaths and The amendment was sup- Barrak, secretary general of protest at a change in electoral a visit to Washington and the US Salman was asked if he was still meeting was Leila Zerrougui, injuries in the confl ict last year. ported by 40 deputies, including the nationalist Popular Action law.

A mud tower house stands next to the ruined shell of its neighbour in Najran, Saudi Arabia. A traditional building stands in Asir Province. Green-painted exterior of a grand merchant house stands in old Jeddah. Saudi to spend $1bn on cultural heritage revival

By Angus McDowall/Reuters representative of Asir’s architec- country, including the ruling al- cultural heritage were directed The example of Rijal Almaa, where most towns and villages projects. Widescale investment is planned near Madain Saleh and Asir, Saudi Arabia tural heritage centre at the gov- Saud family’s restored histori- only at a few landmark sites while where investment of SR4mn over have crumbling old houses. ernment’s General Commission cal capital of Diriyah just outside rapid development fuelled by oil the past three years has created Even in central Abha, the on some Red Sea islands rich in for Tourism and Antiquities.“I Riyadh, but as these areas origi- wealth and a lack of interest in from the village an attraction that capital of Asir, local custom is marine wildlife. f Rijal Almaa, a stone village hope we get more money. We need nally were mostly populated by preserving traditional architec- is now prominently featured in celebrated in traditional motifs However, Saudi heritage was tucked into a fold of Saudi it.” tent-dwelling nomads, the archi- ture has allowed others to crum- Asir province’s tourist literature, added to concrete buildings while given a boost in 2014 when the IArabia’s southern mountains, Watan Emsoudah is one of tectural legacy was scarce. ble. shows how restoration projects actual mud houses in the unique United Nations cultural body showcases the polished end-point around 4,000 old villages in Asir In its eff orts to end reliance on can succeed. highland style, with slate courses Unesco listed old Jeddah as a of new eff orts in the kingdom to Province in the kingdom’s south- oil for economic wealth, Riyadh “When I was young we While its spectacular setting in providing a serrated eff ect, fall to world heritage site. preserve cultural heritage, the west and the project to restore it wants to invest in tourism, aim- didn’t know the importance a mountain valley and the tower- ruin. It presents some of the same hamlet of Watan Emsoudah rep- to save architectural tradition and ing to increase spending by Sau- of these buildings. In those ing size of its stone houses, deco- “In fi ve or 10 years this will all preservation challenges as the resents the diffi culties faced. boost tourism is one of eight in the dis at home instead of on holidays days we cheered when they rated with chequerboard patterns collapse. The rain comes and the villages of Asir, where like in Jed- Its low-covered alleyways lie region by a local investor. abroad, and by pilgrims to the holy knocked them down for a in quartz, gives it advantages some houses fall. There has to be invest- dah, most old houses are private- thick with the debris of decades of Rehabilitating the village, city of Makkah at other attrac- new road. But now we have other old villages lack, Almiy be- ment. The state needs to invest,” ly owned and some are in grave abandonment, some stone house swaddled by terraced fi elds in a tions around the country. managed to safeguard the lieves this model could be emu- said Almiy, standing in Abha’s disrepair. roofs have caved in and thistles shallow bowl on a mountain pla- There is also an ideological architecture” lated. al-Basta district where a cluster “When I was young we didn’t grow high between the hamlet’s teau, will cost around SR6mn agenda to such eff orts: restoring He envisages a trail of restored of old houses is gradually disinte- know the importance of these walls, but near the entrance three ($1.6mn), says Ibrahim al-Almiy, a cultural sites occupied a promi- Ironically, given the focus on villages through Asir’s moun- grating. buildings. In those days we men are working to save a house. former history teacher and the lo- nent place in Deputy Crown religious tourism, recent destruc- tains, each refl ecting a diff erent It is a pattern repeated across cheered when they knocked them Saudi Arabia has allocated cal investor behind these projects. Prince Mohamed bin Salman’s Vi- tion has mostly been in Makkah. element of the region’s unusual the country: In Najran, a fertile down for a new road. But now we nearly $1bn to preserve its herit- That high cost – for one tiny sion 2030 reform plan as a means Its old houses, including some architectural heritage and adding valley running between steep have managed to safeguard the age in a new reform plan, but after village in a country where most of boosting national pride. dating to the time of the Prophet to the fl ow of local tourists drawn dry hills into the Empty Quarter architecture,” said Sami Nawar, decades of neglect, and in some old dwellings were deserted for Encouraging visits to local Muhammad (peace be upon him), by the region’s clement summer desert, clusters of adobe tower mayor of Jeddah’s old city. cases deliberate destruction, sav- modern concrete houses after last places of beauty or interest is a key have been razed for development weather. houses with distinctive horizon- The humid climate rots the ing its cultural treasures will prove century’s oil boom – shows how goal and Saudi Arabia has some projects to increase pilgrimage. But money is a big problem. tal ribs nestle among the fi elds. houses’ wood and erodes walls, complex and expensive. little of its heritage Saudi Arabia world-class sites, some in remote That approach was partly a Almiy, who lived in an old house Some are clearly looked after demanding constant repair, and While that money was allocat- may be able to protect even with areas, that are all but unknown result of the Sunni Muslim tradi- in Rijal Almaa until the age of 16, is by their owners, but most are the magnifi cent buildings of the ed in a National Transformation new investment. outside the kingdom. tion, which regards the veneration an independent investor and his slowly eroding, their lack of care seventh-century old town are in- Programme unveiled this month, Although the capital Riyadh is The spectacular rock-hewn of objects, including buildings as- projects were carried out in part- causing such structural dam- habited by poor foreign labourers no details were given as to how it a low-rise sprawl of highways and Nabatean tombs of Madain Saleh, sociated with Islam’s earliest days, nership with government agen- age that wide cracks are opening instead of the merchant elite for would be spent and the only tour- modern, concrete shopping malls, the ornate facades of Jeddah’s as tantamount to idolatory. cies, which provided some money down their fl anks or that the tow- whom they were built. ism projects listed in the plan were the towns of the Red Sea coast and coral-built old town and the an- The road from Watan Em- and offi cial blessing. ers are starting to list dangerously The Unesco listing has helped for a few large sites. the southern highlands still con- cient rock art hidden among the soudah to Rijal Almaa descends Still, the government has so far to the side. to ensure a brighter future for old “For maybe 40 years we stopped tain some fi ne buildings in their boulders of the northern deserts Mount Souda in hairpin bends as invested so little in local heritage The spending envisaged on Jeddah’s 600 historical houses, using these old houses and every historic old quarters. constitute an inheritance unique the juniper scrub of the cool upper that it does not even have a reg- tourism and heritage in the new built of coral and with delicate fi ve years you need to rehabilitate Some good mud buildings sur- to the kingdom. slopes gives way to the humid heat ister of traditional architecture in reform plans, however, seems wooden screens ornamenting them,” said Abdulaziz al-Ghanem vive in the central regions of the But previous eff orts to protect of the Red Sea coastal plain. Asir or neighbouring provinces likely to focus mostly on big their imposing facades. Gulf Times 14 Thursday, June 23, 2016 ARAB WORLD Egyptian court acquits 22 over Red Sea islands protest

DPA and void,” dealing a major blow The protests were among the arrested and did not riot. not be binding on criminal transparent government. Maybe Saudi Arabia since al-Sisi — Cairo to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi largest non-Islamist demonstra- The verdict can be appealed by courts, lawyer Khaled Ali, who in the next round in court we’ll be then the army chief — ousted on one of the most controversial tions against al-Sisi’s admin- prosecutors. took the case against the agree- able to make them produce docu- Islamist president Mohamed issues he’s faced since taking of- istration in two years, defying The ruling comes after some ment, said yesterday. ments,” Ali said. Mursi in 2013. Cairo court yesterday ac- fi ce. a 2013 law that eff ectively bans 98 alleged protesters in two re- Ali told a press conference that The government has lodged an The government says that quitted 22 people accused The 22 defendants had been protests. lated cases saw their sentences while he had brought atlases and appeal which is expected to be a joint commission of experts Aof illegally protesting arrested on April 15 during mass The court noted that holding voided or reduced to fines in historic government documents heard by the Supreme Adminis- found that the two islands were Egypt’s plan to hand two strate- protests against the handover of protests does not violate the con- appeal judgements in recent to court to argue his case that the trative Court. historically Saudi territory. gic Red Sea islands over to Saudi the islands of Tiran and Sanafi r, stitution, an argument repeat- weeks. islands were historically sover- Opposition activists have ac- However, the administrative Arabia. which had been quietly an- edly invoked by opponents of the The administrative court rul- eign Egyptian territory, the gov- cused the government of “sell- court accepted Ali’s argument The verdict came one day after nounced during a visit to Cairo protest law. ing voiding the handover deal ernment side had not presented ing” Egyptian territory in re- that his documentation proved an administrative court declared by Saudi King Salman earlier that It also found that the de- would also help defendants in any documents. turn for billions of dollars of Egypt had exerted sovereignty the Egyptian-Saudi deal “null month. fendants had been arbitrarily other cases, although it would “What we want today is a aid and financing provided by over them. Air raids kill 25 civilians in IS’s Syria stronghold

AFP Raqa city was seized by IS in east of the town yesterday morn- Beirut early 2014 and regime forces ing. were expelled from the entire “They used a car bomb and province that year. tried to break through our lines arplanes have bombed Backed by Russian warplanes, of defence, but the SDF was able the Islamic State government forces re-entered to block the attack,” he said. Wgroup’s de facto Syrian the province this month as part Coalition warplanes “weren’t capital Raqa, killing at least 25 ci- of an off ensive to retake Tabqa, leaving the sky” and had quickly Internally displaced Syrian girls carry water containers in Jrzinaz camp, in the southern part of Idlib, Syria. vilians, after the militants drove a key town on IS’s supply route responded to the SDF’s call for pro-government forces out of from Turkey to Raqa city. help, he added. their bastion northern province. But after advancing to within Yesterday, Syrian President Twin off ensives aimed at sev- 7km of Tabqa airbase, they were Bashar al-Assad named electric- ering the militants’ supply line driven back late Monday in a mil- ity minister Imad Khamis as the from the Turkish border to Raqa itant attack that killed 40 loyal- new prime minister and tasked city appear to have largely stalled ists. him with forming a cabinet. The 54-year-old engineer re- Fallujah nearly cleared as IS mounts a fi erce defence us- A tribal militant who had ing suicide bombers. fought alongside government places Wael al-Halqi who had Six children were among the 25 forces recounted how the army held the post since August 2012. civilians killed in bombing raids on had fi rst been slowed down by Syria’s confl ict began in 2011 Raqa city on Tuesday, said the Syr- mines planted by IS. with the brutal repression of an- “Then Daesh used a huge ti-government demonstrations. but aid eff ort fl ounders ian Observatory for Human Rights. “Dozens more were wounded, number of rockets and other It has killed more than 280,000 some of them critically,” said the explosives to attack the army,” people and displaced millions. AFP pushing back and we’ve killed a tion assisting Iraqi forces, said Nasr Mufl ahi, Iraq head of the British-based monitor, adding which was forced to withdraw Peace eff orts have failed to end Baghdad number of them,” he said. on Tuesday that by the US mili- Norwegian Refugee Council. they were likely carried out by from its main outposts, he said, the violence, and a truce bro- Operations against IS in tary’s defi nition, only a third of “There are serious funding regime ally Russia. using the Arabic acronym for IS. kered by the US and Russia has northern Fallujah were being the city had been cleared. shortfalls, but there is no justi- The Syrian government, Rus- Pro-government website Al- all but collapsed. raqi forces hunted militant conducted by the elite counter- US forces battling one of IS’s fi cation why there aren’t more sia and a US-led coalition have Masdar said the IS off ensive UN mediator Staff an de Mis- fi ghters in their last Fallujah terrorism service and forces previous incarnations in 2004 aid agencies helping the people all carried out air strikes against had led to a “disastrous turn of tura hopes peace talks can Iredoubts yesterday as tens of from the federal and provincial suff ered some of their worst of Fallujah,” he said. IS in Raqa. events” and “a disorganised re- resume in July, but has warned thousands of displaced civilians police. losses since the Vietnam War in As already existing camps fi lled The Observatory said fresh treat that left behind weapons they cannot proceed “while hos- massed in overcrowded camps Prime Minister Haider al- Fallujah, despite huge numerical way beyond capacity, other camps raids, apparently by the coali- and several soldiers”. tilities are escalating and civil- around the city. Abadi launched the off ensive and technological superiority. were being set up but the newly tion, also hit the city yesterday. Washington-based analyst ians are starving” A month exactly after the of- against the militant stronghold, Iraqi forces who have been displaced families arriving there Raqa is Being Slaughtered Si- Fabrice Balanche said the pull- Negotiations could restart if fensive against the Islamic State 50km west of Baghdad, a month reconquering swathes of ter- often found nothing to sleep on or lently (RBSS) – an anti-IS ac- back could be attributed to a lack the truce was reinforced, hu- group’s bastion was launched, ago. ritory lost to IS two years ago under, nothing to eat or drink. tivist group which gathers news of “elite forces” engaged in the manitarian aid was increased, progress on the military front After an initial phase of stag- had been expected to face their At a camp in Khaldiyeh, on on atrocities in the city – posted battle. and a “common understand- exceeded expectations but so ing operations to encircle Fallu- toughest battle yet and IS fi ght- the shores of Lake Habbaniyah photos of what it said were the “At the fi rst suicide attacks, ing of a political transition” was did the scope of the ensuing hu- jah, elite federal forces stormed ers to defend their emblematic west of Fallujah, Intikha Mo- aftermath of Tuesday’s strikes. they retreated,” he said.”The Syr- reached, he said on Tuesday. manitarian crisis. the city centre and were able to bastion to the death. hamed and her three children They show a concrete balcony ian forces were spread too thin to “Then we can have, hopefully in “The northern and central gain the upper hand relatively Tens of thousands of starv- had to share a two mattresses hanging off the damaged facade be defendable.” July, inter-Syrian talks that are not parts of Fallujah have almost quickly. ing civilians, who had been liv- with 10 other people. of a residential building as a large Further west in the adjacent about principles but about concrete been cleared of Daesh,” Lieu- Abadi declared victory on ing virtually besieged under IS “We have nothing here, just fi re engulfs a white minivan. province of Aleppo, another as- steps to a political transition.” tenant General Abdulwahab June 17, saying only small pock- rule in and around Fallujah, fl ed the clothes we are wearing. The group has accused IS of sault aimed at blocking IS sup- The main Syrian opposition al-Saadi said, using an Arabic ets of IS fi ghters remained after their homes and fi lled hastily My four-month-old son is preventing civilians from leaving plies has stalled. body – the High Negotiations acronym for IS. Iraqi forces raised the national expanded displacement camps. sick, I don’t have enough milk the city in order to use them as The US-backed Syrian Demo- Committee – has called for a “There are few IS fi ghters left, fl ag over the main government The infl ux of families however for him and there’s no milk pow- human shields. cratic Forces encircled the mili- transitional government body only in the Al-Muallemin and compound in the city centre. caught the aid community fl at- der at the camp,” she said. RBSS activist Abu Mohamed tant-held town of Manbij on June without Assad. Jolan neighbourhoods in the Saadi and other Iraqi com- footed and relief organisations Her tiny boy Ziad, lay all said that Tuesday’s wounded 10 but have since faced a barrage But Syria’s regime says Assad north of the city,” said Saadi, the manders have said government admitted the response was in- swaddled up on a piece of tar- were struggling to get proper of IS suicide attacks. is a “red line” and it would only overall commander of the Fallu- forces controlled at least three- adequate. paulin, sleeping with a baby medical treatment as IS has re- Abu Ibrahim, an SDF fi eld be willing to broaden the govern- jah off ensive. quarters of the city. “We have to admit that the bottle dangling from his lips as cruited most doctors in the city commander stationed near Man- ment structure to accommodate “The militants in Jolan are of- Christopher Garver, the humanitarian community has gusts of burning wind fi lled the to treat its own fi ghters. bij, said IS attacked two villages some opposition fi gures. fering some resistance but we’re spokesman of the US-led coali- also failed the Iraqi people,” said tent with orange dust. In Cairo, heat and long days test the fasting faithful

AFP southern town of Dahshur to Fathy’s staff arrive at 8:30am Egyptians are not alone, with Cairo Cairo, where he earns 25 Egyp- to begin preparing the food. Muslims across the northern tian pounds ($2.80) a day clean- They start grilling the meat hemisphere having to cope with ing the streets. around noon, around seven hours this year’s long Ramadan hours. ushing his cart through the He works until around 2pm, before the traditional evening In Saudi Arabia, Saad al-Rayes teeming Egyptian capital, then heads home and sleeps for a meal to break the fast, known as says the long days and searing P71-year-old Cairo street few hours before breaking his fast Iftar. temperatures are proving diffi - sweeper Abdallah Mohamed says once the sun sets. When sundown comes, they cult. nothing can stop him from fast- Sixteen hours after he last ate must fi rst tend to customers be- “The heat is defi nitely intense ing during Ramadan. or drank, Mohamed takes a sip fore taking their own meals. this year, on top of the length of Not the stifl ing heat pushing of hot soup, then some food, tea “The most important thing the fasting period which is over temperatures above 50C (122F). and fi nally water. is that there are tables here and 16 hours,” the 45-year-old Riy- Not even the long days of this “Many people are not able people are breaking their fast,” adh resident says as he heads to year’s fasting month, which is co- to fast. They did not get used to Fathy says. the mosque. inciding with the summer solstice. these things, to getting hungry,” Ramadan is a busy time for But Rayes says he hasn’t al- “He who is used to fasting will he says. restaurant workers like Fathy, tered his Ramadan routine. fast even in the middle of a fi re,” Across the street from where but for others the fasting month “We have to deal with this Mohamed says as the sun beats Mohamed is working, 37-year- is quiet. weather and we can’t change our down.”But he who is not used old cook Fathy stands before a “During the daytime, workers daily obligations.” to fasting will not fast no matter long grill with fl aming charcoal, reach their limit, unable to move Nasr Abu Zaid, 25, worries where he is.” smoke billowing in his face as he after one or two hours of work,” about those having to toil out- Determined by the lunar hijri turns cooking chickens. says 58-year-old Reda Moham- doors, even though Saudi au- calendar, which has 11 days fewer During the days of Ramadan, madeen, a manager at an auto thorities have banned work in the than the solar Gregorian calen- Fathy packs his barbecued meat, repair shop. sun between 10am and 3pm. dar, Ramadan shifts back every rice, vegetables and salads to go, “That is the maximum eff ort “Ramadan this year came at year. even for those who are not ob- that they can muster.” the height of summer and that The last time the holy month serving the fast. But Mohammadeen says makes it hard for many people. began in early June was in 1983. “A customer tells me he will eat he doesn’t mind as custom- The most aff ected are those Mohamed wakes and eats here? No,” Fathy says.”Everyone ers “themselves do not go out in who work outside and in the around 3am, before his daily here is fasting. The young kids Ramadan especially during the construction industry; it’s im- two-hour commute from the are fasting.” daytime things are very quiet.” portant to be kind to them.” Egyptian cook Fathy grills chicken outside a restaurant in Cairo. Gulf Times Thursday, June 23, 2016 15 AFRICA

Three foreigners abducted in Nigeria Nigerian police yesterday said three foreign nationals - two Australians and a South African - and two Nigerians were kidnapped in the country’s DR Congo opposition southeast after their vehicle was attacked. The hold-up, in which the driver was also shot dead, happened in the Akpabuyo district near the capital of Cross River state, Calabar, at about 7am (0600 GMT) yesterday. leader sentenced to jail All five were workers with Australian mining and AFP forged and presented false had fi nally succumbed “under Katumbi, 51, is the wealthy engineering giant Macmahon, Lubumbashi documents in the acquisition pressure”. owner of the prestigious Tout- which was contracted to cement of a property the Greek na- The case had taken an even Puissant Mazembe football major LafargeHolcim in the state, tional said he would eventually stranger turn that morning club, three-time winner of the police commissioner Jimoh Ozi- mbattled DR Congo op- inherit. when a newspaper in the capital African Champions League. Obeh told reporters. position leader Moi- Katumbi was sentenced to Kinshasa announced the three- He quit the country on May “The police is currently working Ese Katumbi, who last three years in jail and ordered year jail term before the court 20, a day after the government with the Nigerian Navy to ensure month quit the country osten- to pay $1mn in damages to had made its judgement public. announced he would be tried for that the victims are released sibly for medical treatment, the plaintiff , as well as a fine Katumbi’s legal team, which endangering state security. unharmed,” he added. was sentenced to three years in of 900,000 Congolese francs had called into question the tri- He fl ew to South Africa, os- “The police is aware of the matter. jail yesterday over a real estate ($940). bunal’s competence, immedi- tensibly for medical treatment, Five persons were kidnapped. dispute. The public prosecutor had ately denounced the verdict and and subsequently settled in They include two Australians, one Katumbi, a football magnate, been seeking a fi ve-year jail said it planned to appeal. London. South African and two Nigerians. was seen as the leading chal- term and a loss of Katumbi’s The sentence will be sus- Katumbi announced in May The driver of the vehicle was shot lenger to President Joseph Ka- political rights for fi ve years af- pended pending the appeal’s that he planned to stand in the dead.” bila in elections due to be held ter serving his jail term. fi nal outcome. election due later this year, but The commissioner said no this year, but the sentence ef- The verdict elicited a certain Katumbi was an ally of Kabila was swiftly hit with an inves- ransom demand had been fectively makes him ineligible amount of confusion and criti- for a decade but quit the rul- tigation into claims he hired received. to stand. cism in the hours after it was ing party in September over the foreign mercenaries. One witness to the abduction, A three-judge tribunal in announced, however. president’s plans to split several A few weeks ago, DRC re- who asked not to be identified, Lubumbashi, the Democratic According to a source at the provinces, including Katanga, leased former US soldier Dar- said the kidnappers took the men Republic of Congo’s second courthouse, one of the three which is the size of Spain, into ryl Lewis after he was accused of to a waiting boat. biggest city in the southeast of judges apparently refused to four separate entities. being part of a network of armed LafargeHolcim spokeswoman the country, rendered the deci- sign onto the judgement before With political tensions soar- agents infi ltrating the country, Moise Katumbi Viola Graham-Douglas said the sion against Katumbi on a day it was rendered. ing over expectations that Ka- allegations dismissed by the US company was informed of the marked by twists and turns in But by the end of the day, the bila wants to extend his rule embassy in Kinshasa as lies. an opposition protest involving demand that Kabila quit when incident by Macmahon, which the case. source saw the judgement come despite being barred from a The ex-corporal was one of Katumbi’s supporters. his term expires in December. was “working with the security The court found Katumbi back signed by all three judges. third term, Katumbi has left the four members of Katumbi’s Opposition parties in the Kabila has been in power agencies to resolve the situation”. guilty of fraud over a Greek Katumbi’s attorney Mumba country as he faces charges of entourage arrested in Lubum- country said earlier this month since his father’s assassination Most are usually released after national’s allegations that he Gama said the defi ant judge undermining state security. bashi on April 24, a day after they had forged an alliance to in 2001. the payment of a ransom. Nigerian rebels may agree ceasefi re: community leader

Reuters oil comes from the southern Gbenekema said. “We used that was not interested in “genuine Onitsha swampland. opportunity to relay to the min- negotiation”. “The Avengers might be giv- ister the problems of the Niger The government “is not in- ing the federal government some Delta such as lack of develop- terested in addressing core de- Nigerian militant group time to do something about ment and neglect.” mands of Niger Delta but rather known as the Niger Delta the demands,” said Godspower “The issue of truce or not de- looking for shortcuts to induce A Avengers which has been Gbenekema, who said he met oil pends on the seriousness of the militants to abandon the core attacking oil facilities might minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachik- federal government to address issues that brought frequent agree to a ceasefi re today to al- wu last week to fi nd ways to end the issues at stake,” he said, cit- bombing of oil facilities”, said low the government time to attacks on oil facilities. ing poverty and jobs as exam- IPDI president Austin Ozobo. meet its demands, a community Opec member Nigeria was Af- ples. No follow-up up meeting Earlier this month, the gov- leader involved in peace eff orts rica’s top oil producer until the had been agreed, he added. ernment said it would scale down said. spate of attacks pushed it behind Among the factors standing in its military campaign in the Delta Two oil ministry offi cials have Angola. Production has fallen the way of a ceasefi re is that mili- as part of an attempt to pursue said that the government had from 2.2mn barrels at the start of tants are divided into small groups talks with militants, who previ- agreed a truce with the militants, the year to around 1.6mn barrels, and leaders have little sway over ously laid down arms in 2009 in People scavenging parts from the charred remain of a bus that was burnt during the three days long although the group has denied helping push up global oil prices. unemployed youths willing to exchange for cash benefi ts under protest in Mamelodi yesterday. that. Kachikwu travelled to the Del- work for anyone who pays them. a government amnesty. The militants say they want ta last week to meet community The Ijaw People’s Develop- The government angered a greater share of Nigeria’s oil leaders who oil sources say pass ment Initiative (IPDI), a group former militants when it cut by wealth to go to the impoverished on messages to the militants who which represents the region’s two-thirds the budget allocated Delta region. Crude sales make have not engaged in direct talks. largest ethnic group, said the for the amnesty programme up about 70% of Nigeria’s na- “Nobody represented the government will fail to end at- which provided stipends and Two shot dead in tional income and most of that Avengers in that meeting,” tacks through talks because it employment training. 200 die in a month S Africa as looters at Boko Haram Hit by spiralling inflation displaced camp Nearly 200 people have died in the last month at a camp for people ransack shops made homeless by Boko Haram violence in northeast Nigeria, an aid agency said Wednesday, warning of Reuters Violence continued in parts The ANC said it picked the a growing malnutrition crisis. Pretoria of the capital yesterday. candidate as a compromise A Doctors Without Borders “Some of the areas are tense between two rival factions in (MSF) team on Tuesday visited but quiet for now, while in oth- Tshwane. But critics say the the camp, home to around outh African police said er areas there is still some un- decision by the party, which 24,000 people including 15,000 yesterday that two sus- rest, there are reports of pro- has been in power since the children, and found what it called Spected looters had been tests and incidents of looting,” end of white-minority rule in “a catastrophic humanitarian shot dead in the capital in Kweza said. 1994, showed that it is losing emergency” unfolding. violence triggered by the rul- “We will have strong police its touch in areas - including One in five of over 800 children ing party’s choice of a mayoral presence tonight, as we have Pretoria - where it was once it examined had severe acute candidate for local polls. had during the other nights.” unassailable. malnutrition while 16 severely Police said they also arrested A meeting by the party due malnourished children “at immediate 40 rioters who had been at- “Incidents of to be held on Wednesday to risk of death” were referred to its tacking foreigners’ shops as protests and looting discuss the crisis was post- in-patient treatment centre. public anger mounted over continued in poned, an ANC regional offi cial At least 188 people have died in the economic hardship in the other areas while Lesego Makhubela told EWN internally displaced people (IDP) build-up to August 3 elections situation is tense in online news service. camp in Bama, some 70km (45 miles) likely to become a referendum others” Analysts warned of more from Maiduguri, since May 23 - about on President Jacob Zuma’s unrest in Gauteng province, six a day - mainly from diarrhoea and leadership. Protesters continued to clash which includes Pretoria and malnutrition, MSF said in a statement. Bottles of oil and cans displayed at Magboro market in southwest Nigeria’s Ogun State yesterday. Residents of Pretoria’s town- with police and “a dispropor- Johannesburg. A total of 1,233 graves, many of Ordinary Nigerians are feeling the full eff ects of spiralling inflation which in May soared to a more ships began setting cars and tionate part of the looting was “Intra-ANC, election-relat- them of for children, had been than six-year high of 15.6%. The cost of living is predicted to rise further after Nigeria this week buses alight on Monday night taking place at shops owned ed, factional violence is being dug near the camp in the past scrapped the naira’s peg to the US dollar, allowing the currency to float. after the ruling African Na- by foreign nationals,” Tshwane ignored by markets trading on year, the agency said. tional Congress (ANC) named Metro police spokesman Con- external factors, but is worry- “This is the first time MSF has a candidate in the Tshwane sole Tleane told eNCA televi- ing,” London-based Nomura been able to access Bama but we municipality where the capital sion. emerging markets analyst Peter already know the needs of the city is located, overruling the Foreigners, many of them Attard Montalto said in a note. people there are beyond critical,” choice of regional branches. from other African countries, Zuma survived impeach- said MSF head of mission in Burned-out cars still blocked suff ered a wave of attacks ment in April after the Con- Nigeria Ghada Hatim. Zambian newspaper shut down roads yesterday. in April last year, by crowds stitutional Court ruled he had “We are treating malnourished children The two killed were shot on blaming them for taking jobs breached the constitution by in medical facilities in Maiduguri and Tuesday night, said Colonel and business. ignoring an order from the see the trauma on the faces of our AFP Joseph Mwenda said, leaving ahead but they have disobeyed Noxolo Kweza, police spokes- The mayoral dispute fl ared anti-graft watchdog to repay patients who have witnessed and Lusaka staff gathered outside the locked the courts,” he said. woman for Gauteng Province. on Sunday when an ANC some of the $16 million in state survived many horrors.” building yesterday. “It’s clear that they want us shut She did not say who had shot member was shot dead as party funds spent renovating his The Borno state government Mwenda said staff had man- down ahead of the elections.” them. factions met to decide on a home. and international aid agencies ambia’s biggest independ- aged to produce the daily pa- General elections are due on “Two of the suspects were candidate for mayor of Preto- “Ahead of the August elec- have previously warned about ent newspaper has been per overnight with the help of a August 11. shot and killed following loot- ria’s Tshwane municipality. tions, disgruntled ANC sup- acute food shortages for IDPs in Zshut down by authorities private printing company. The Post, which was estab- ing at Mamelodi,” police said in The ANC leadership then porters in Gauteng will be mo- northeast Nigeria and the wider over unpaid taxes, the editor The Post admits owing about lished in 1991, has been critical a statement, adding that those named senior party member tivated by the Pretoria riots to Lake Chad region. said yesterday, calling the move 53mn kwacha ($4.8mn) in un- of President Edgar Lungu, who arrested would face charges of and former cabinet minister stage further protests to dem- On June 15, the Borno state an attempt to silence it ahead of paid taxes, but Mwenda said the is seeking re-election. violence and theft. Thoko Didiza as its candidate onstrate the unpopular ANC government said it had August elections. closure of the paper was illegal. Amnesty International said “Incidents of protests and for Tshwane, overriding re- leadership’s decisions,” Robert transferred nearly 700 people, Police and tax offi cials physi- “This is a clear abuse of pow- the publication was “one of looting continued in other ar- gional branch members and Besseling, head of the EXX Af- most of them children, from Bama cally closed the Post news- er because we have paid some Zambia’s few politically outspo- eas while situation is tense in refusing to back down as the rica business risk intelligence to Maiduguri for treatment for paper’s offi ces in Lusaka late money and we even have a court ken and critically independent others.” violence mounted. group, said in a note. severe malnutrition. on Tuesday, managing editor order stopping them from going newspapers”. Gulf Times 16 Thursday, June 23, 2016 AMERICAS Trump savages Clinton Rubio seeks re-election as ‘world-class liar’ to Senate Trump is going after Clinton’s record own personal hedge fund — doing favours Trump claimed that Clinton and her donors, according to The Wall Street in administration for repressive regimes, and many others, in husband, former president Bill Clinton, Journal. Reuters her election would mean four exchange for cash,” he alleged of her tenure had made $153mn in speeches to lobbyists, A maximum of $2,700 per donor is al- Washington more years of what he termed AFP as America’s top diplomat. foreign governments and CEOs since 2001 lowed to go to the Trump campaign, with Obama’s “failed” policies. New York Trump claimed that her “disgraceful” and castigated her for refusing to release the rest going to the Republican Party. But he said the prospect of foreign policy had cost America “thou- the transcripts of her closed-door speech- On Tuesday, Trump pledged to “per- ormer Republican presi- Donald Trump winning the sands of lives and trillions and trillions of es to Wall Street. sonally” match supporters’ donations dential candidate Marco White House was also “wor- onald Trump went on a blistering dollars” in reference to her support for the He claimed that her family’s Clinton dollar for dollar for the next 48 hours, up FRubio will seek re-elec- risome,” citing the candidate’s off ensive against Hillary Clinton invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Foundation had taken millions from coun- to $2mn total. tion to his US Senate seat, he statements about women and Dyesterday calling her a “world- “In just four years, secretary Clin- tries that abuse women and members of “I have a lot more than $40mn if I want announced yesterday, revers- minorities and noting that class liar” who is unfi t to run for president ton managed to almost single-handedly the LGBT community. to use my own money,” Trump told Fox ing a pledge not to run and many of the likely Republican and savaging her record on trade, foreign destabilise the entire Middle East,” he Both White House candidates have the News yesterday. saying the prospect of a Don- nominee’s positions on im- policy and immigration. added, calling the Islamic State extremist highest unfavourability ratings in modern “I think our next numbers are going to ald Trump presidency worries portant issues are unknown. The Republican White House hopeful, group a threat because of her decisions. US history, although he is nationally the be quite good. But, more importantly, I him. “If he is elected, we will need who has denounced Clinton’s $42mn war The 70-year-old Trump even sensa- most unpopular. don’t to want raise billions of dollars.” The fi rst-term Florida Senators willing to encourage chest as “blood money,” launched his as- tionally alleged that the US ambassador to Republican leaders have expressed Trump has repeatedly knocked po- Senator said the senate can be him in the right direction, and sault on the polarising presumptive Dem- Libya, Chris Stevens, who died in an attack ambivalence about their presumptive litical rivals for being beholden to mega- frustrating but that it is also a if necessary, stand up to him,” ocratic nominee after weeks of disastrous on the consulate in Benghazi in 2012, was nominee, as it was revealed Clinton is donors. place where policy advances Rubio’s statement said. headlines have fuelled speculation that his one of the victims of her decisions. $40mn ahead in terms of fundraising “So, I can do it for much, much less can be made and one that can His announcement did not controversial campaign is unravelling. “He was left helpless to die as Hil- and he sacked campaign manager Corey and, I think, win,” he added. act to counteract the power of mention the massacre last “Hillary Clinton may be the most cor- lary Clinton soundly slept in her bed,” he Lewandowski. His style of campaign fi nancing has the White House. week at a nightclub in Orlando, rupt person ever to seek the presidency,” he said.”Her decisions spread death, destruc- Yet despite weeks of setbacks and self- been unconventional. He has so far lent “But as we begin the next but he had said that he was re- said in a speech at Trump SoHo, his fi ve-star tion and terrorism everywhere.” infl icted wounds, he has remained neck his campaign $45.7mn. chapter in the history of our considering his decision not to hotel in Manhattan to shouts of “Trump, On the economy, he assaulted her sup- and neck with Clinton in two out of three He is entitled to raise money from nation, there’s another role for run because of concern about Trump, Trump” from supporters. port for trade deals, saying they had swing states. supporters to have those funds reim- the Senate that could end up serious events in the country, His attack came one day after Clinton wrought “total devastation” for working While Clinton had an eight-point lead bursed, but he told MSNBC in May that being its most important in the including the mass shooting. launched her own assault on the Republi- Americans and cost the country nearly a over Trump in Florida, a poll published he had “absolutely no intention of paying years to come: The Constitu- The decision reversed a can, calling him a “dangerous” businessman third of its manufacturing jobs. Tuesday by Quinnipiac University put myself back”. tional power to act as a check pledge Rubio made a year ago whose lack of plan to bring back jobs threat- America’s trade defi cit with China the two rivals each on 40 % in Ohio and A substantial amount of Trump’s and balance on the excesses to retire from the Senate if his ened to return America into recession. soared by 40% while she was secretary of Clinton on 42 % and Trump on 41 % in campaign expenses — about 20% in the of a president,” Rubio said in a presidential bid failed. Trump’s speech, which he read from a state, he said: “Hillary Clinton gave China Pennsylvania. month of May — is being shifted back statement. Republican representa- teleprompter, signalled a new tone in his millions of jobs and in exchange Hillary Trump has just $1.3mn in cash on to his own businesses, the New York The 45-year-old lawmaker, tive David Jolly, who had been battle to win the general election in No- Clinton got rich.” hand, according to reports fi led this week Times reported, citing campaign fi- a proven fund-raiser who is seeking the Senate seat, ended vember, toning done his off ensive remarks He urged supporters of Bernie Sanders, with the Federal Election Commission. nance filings and the paper’s review of well known nationally, had his campaign on Friday, open- against Muslims and reaching out to inde- Clinton’s rival for the Democratic nomi- Trump attended a New York recep- the 1,699-page Trump campaign dec- been under intense pressure to ing the door for Rubio. pendent voters. nation, to join his campaign in taking up tion early Wednesday aimed at raising laration to the FEC. run, especially given the cost Following yesterday’s an- He said the stakes could not be higher, their fi ght against big businesses and to funds for his presidential campaign, as For example, the campaign paid of contesting an important nouncement, Florida’s lieu- painting himself as an innovative thinker put the worker fi rst. he seeks to narrow the massive finan- $423,000 for the use of Trump’s Mar-a- election swing-state where it tenant governor, Carlos Lopez who would protect working Americans Trump also rowed back from months of cial advantage enjoyed by rival Hillary Lago Club in Florida, where he has held is expensive to buy campaign Cantera, a friend of Rubio, also from a system rigged against them by ca- off ensive remarks against Muslims, whom Clinton. several press conferences. advertising. scrapped plans to run. reer politicians, such as Clinton. he has said should be banned from enter- The presumptive Republican nomi- Payments were also made to the com- Republicans are more like- And, US representative Ron Trump attacked Clinton as a “world- ing the United States in the wake of terror nee, whose recent paltry campaign fi - pany managing Trump’s fl eet of aircraft ly to retain his seat if he is a DeSantis, another Republican, class liar” who “perfected the politics of attacks at home and overseas. nance fi gures sounded an alarm about which he has used to criss-cross the candidate in the November 8 announced he would drop his personal profi t and theft” and who lacked He said the Islamic State group in Syria Trump’s preparedness for a gruelling nation ($350,000), to Trump Restau- general election, as they face bid for the nomination and in- the judgment to be America’s fi rst woman had victimised “peaceful Muslims across general election battle, held a closed- rants ($125,000) and to Trump Tower a tough fi ght to preserve their stead run for re-election. commander-in-chief. the world... who only want to raise their door $25,000-per-plate breakfast at ($170,000), his New York headquarters majority in the Senate. US representative Patrick “She ran the State Department like her kids in peace and safety.” Italian restaurant Le Cipriani for major where his campaign rents offi ce space. He could also rally Republi- Murphy, a leading Democratic can voters to head to the polls challenger supported by most and cast ballots in the presi- party leaders, criticised Rubio dential race for their candi- for changing his plans. date. “Marco Rubio abandoned President Barack Obama, a his constituents, and now he’s Democrat, took Florida by just treating them like a consola- a one percentage-point mar- tion prize,” Murphy said in a gin in 2012 over Republican statement. Mitt Romney. The Cook Political Report This year, Republicans must said Rubio’s announcement defend 24 of the 54 seats they had “breathed new life” into now hold in the 100-member Republican chances of holding Senate, compared with just 10 onto his seat but still rated the for the Democrats. Florida race as a toss-up. Senate majority leader It cited Rubio’s poor Senate Mitch McConnell said before attendance record and state- the announcement that Ru- ments during the primaries bio’s decision to run would be that he was “frustrated” with a “terrifi c outcome”. the Senate. Rubio had harsh words Rubio announced his re- for Hillary Clinton, the pre- election bid two days before a sumptive Democratic presi- Friday deadline to tell state of- dential nominee, predicting fi cials that he planned to run.

Workers evacuated in South Pole rescue

AFP to a hospital in South America, Washington West said, without giving fur- ther details. A photo shot and tweeted from the floor of the US house of representatives by representative Katherine Clark shows Democratic members of the House staging a sit-in on the The Amundsen-Scott base House floor “to demand action on common sense gun legislation”. wo sick workers were was home to 48 people — 39 evacuated from a re- men and nine women — who Tmote US research sta- work on-site throughout the tion near the South Pole yes- austral winter, which spans terday in a daring Antarctica February through October. rescue mission carried out by Near the world’s southern- US House Democrats stage sit-in a small Canadian plane, a US most point, workers spend offi cial said. this period withstanding A Twin Otter turboprop nearly complete darkness and plane retrieved the sick work- dramatically low temperatures ers from the Amundsen-Scott — on Tuesday, the thermom- to demand action on gun control station, about 250m from eter dropped to -60 degrees the geographic South Pole, a Celsius spokesman for the US National It was only the third time AFP ephone interview just off the House fl oor “You cannot stand down at a moment of Such letters can compel a company to Science Foundation (NSF), Pe- that such a rescue operation Washington as the sit-in continued. peril for this country,” he told MSNBC. hand over a user’s phone billing records. ter West told AFP. has been launched in the mid- “I think we will be here until they decide The US Senate yesterday voted down a Under the Senate’s change, the FBI The plane’s crew and a med- dle of winter. to take up the vote.” Republican-backed proposal to expand the would be able to demand electronic com- ical team had made the 10- In 2001, the only doc- S Democrats staged a rare sit-in House speaker Paul Ryan has refused to Federal Bureau of Investigation’s secretive munications transaction records such as hour journey to the South Pole tor at the Amundsen-Scott yesterday in the House of Repre- schedule a vote for gun control legislation surveillance powers after the mass shooting time stamps of e-mails and the e-mails’ in the middle of Antarctica’s station was suff ering from a Usentatives, demanding that the in the aftermath of the Orlando shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub last week. senders and recipients, in addition to some 24-hour winter on Tuesday life-threatening pancreatic Republican-led body vote on gun-control that left 49 people dead. The measure followed the Senate’s re- information about websites a person visits night to reach the unidenti- condition and required urgent legislation following the Orlando night- The chamber was scheduled to wrap up jection on Monday of four measures that and social media log-in data. fi ed patients, whose medical evacuation. club massacre. its business today before going on its va- would have restricted gun sales. It would not enable the FBI to use na- condition could not be treated A second medical evacu- “We have to occupy the fl oor of the cation ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. During yesterday’s vote, Senate Repub- tional security letters to obtain the actual on site. ation was carried out that House until there is action,” Democratic “If there’s no bill to vote on, there should lican leader Mitch McConnell switched his content of electronic communications. The NSF — the US research year. congressman John Lewis, a civil rights be no congressional break,” Democrat Earl vote to ‘no’, giving himself the opportunity The legislation would also make per- agency that operates the In 1999, the US station’s icon who marched with Reverend Martin Blumenauer told the House. to bring the measure up for consideration manent a provision of the USA Patriot Act Amundsen-Scott Station — doctor Jerri Nielsen, who was Luther King Jr in the 1960s, said before he Earlier this week, the US Senate voted again as soon as later this week. that lets the intelligence community con- organised the rescue mission self-treating her own breast and dozens of colleagues sat down on the on four gun control amendments — two The legislation would broaden the type duct surveillance on “lone wolf” suspects last week given the condition cancer, required medical carpeted well of the chamber. from Democrats and two from Republi- of telephone and Internet records the FBI who do not have confi rmed ties to a foreign of the fi rst patient, which was evacuation but weather condi- The dramatic action came just as the cans — after Senate Democrat Chris Mur- could request from companies such as the terrorist group. not disclosed for privacy rea- tions were more favourable, as House presiding offi cer moved to declare phy delivered a 15-hour fl oor speech de- Google unit of Alphabet Inc and Verizon That provision, which the justice de- sons. the mission took place in the the body in recess. manding votes on gun control. Communications Inc without a warrant. partment said last year had never been “It was really an emergen- spring. US lawmakers, mainly Democrats, The Senate rejected all four measures, Opponents, including some major used, expires in December 2019. cy,” West said. The Twin Otter plane, oper- have introduced several bills aimed at but lawmakers crafted a bipartisan com- technology companies, have said it would The bill had been expected to narrowly It later became apparent ated by the Canadian company reducing gun violence, including legis- promise bill aimed at preventing terror threaten civil liberties and do little to im- pass but it fell two votes short of the re- that the second worker also Kenn Borek Air, is specially de- lation to expand background checks — a suspects and people on no-fl y lists or FBI prove national security. quired 60. needed to be evacuated. signed to operate in extremely provision that has broad support among watchlists from buying a fi rearm. The legislation before the Senate yes- The future of the Senate proposal in the The sick workers — em- cold temperatures. the voting public. No such bill has passed The bill’s sponsors said Senate leaders terday, fi led as an amendment to a criminal House of Representatives was also uncer- ployees of the US company Research projects at the Congress. assured them a vote on the legislation. justice funding bill, would widen the FBI’s tain, given its alliance between libertari- Lockheed Martin — were to Amundsen-Scott station in- “It’s a shame that you need to go to ex- Murphy walked to the House to express authority to use so-called National Security an-leaning Republicans and tech-friendly be taken to the Rothera base, a clude monitoring long-term traordinary measures like this,” Congress- solidarity with those conducting the sit-in Letters, which do not require a warrant and Democrats that has blocked past eff orts to British research station on the levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) woman Karen Bass told MSNBC in a tel- there. whose very existence is usually a secret. expand surveillance. Antarctic peninsula, and then in the atmosphere. Gulf Times Thursday, June 23, 2016 17 ASEAN

Debris found in Australia ruled out as from MH370

AFP Sydney

piece of debris that washed up on an island Aoff Australia’s south coast was not from missing Malaysia Airlines fl ight MH370, offi cials said yesterday as they confi rmed there are no plans to extend the underwater search for the plane. The item was found earlier this month among seaweed and driftwood and resembled part of a plane, with the words “Cau- tion No Step” visible, according to footage on Australia’s Chan- nel Seven. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which is co-ordinating the search, exam- ined the debris and dismissed it as being from the jet that van- ished in March 2014 with 239 people on board. “Information received from the manufacturer indicates the item is not consistent with the manufacturing specifi cations of a Boeing commercial aircraft,” the bureau said in a statement. Two other pieces of debris found around the same time on the Madagascan island of Nosy Boraha are still being examined. This handout photo released by the Indonesian Navy shows Indonesian War Ship KRI Imam Bonjol-363 approaching a Chinese fishing boat (right) in Natuna water. The fate of the plane, presumed to have crashed at sea while trav- elling from Kuala Lumpur to Bei- jing, remains a mystery. Five pieces of debris believed to have come from the aircraft have so far been discovered thousands of kilometres from the current Indonesian president to assert search zone far off the west Aus- tralian coast, presumed to have drifted there. Wild weather continues to hamper the search operation’s progress to fi nd the plane’s crash sovereignty in islands visit zone, with one of three ships in- volved sustaining damage to a Reuters reporters. The chief security minister, China’s Foreign Ministry said over tow cable.So far 105,000 square Jakarta foreign minister, and the heads of the the weekend that an Indonesian na- kilometres of the designated individual military branches will ac- val vessel fired on a Chinese fishing 120,000-square-kilometre sea- company the president on his trip to boat near the chain of islands on Fri- fl oor search zone has been covered he Indonesian president will Natuna, Cabinet Secretary Pramono day, wounding one person. without success. travel to the Natuna Islands for Agung told reporters. Indonesia’s navy responded that If nothing turns up once the Tthe first time today to assert Asked the reason for the trip, he it had fired warning shots at several area is fully scoured, expected by Indonesia’s sovereignty, a senior of- told reporters, “Natuna is the terri- boats with Chinese flags it accused August, the search will be aban- ficial said, after China said earlier this tory of Indonesia, that is final. of fishing illegally but that nobody doned, Australia, Malaysia and week it had an “overlapping claim” As head of the government and the had been wounded. China — the countries that most over nearby waters. state, the president wants to ensure It was the third reported confron- of the passengers came from — Beijing said on Monday that waters that Natuna is part of Indonesia’s tation near the Natuna Islands this have jointly said. near the Natuna Islands were subject sovereignty.” year and comes amid rising regional Offi cials from the three coun- to overlapping claims on “maritime The remote island chain has a small tensions over China’s assertiveness tries met in Malaysia this week rights and interests” between China civilian population. in the South China Sea. to further discuss the issue, but and Indonesia. Jakarta objects to Beijing’s inclu- Indonesian Vice President Jusuf the talks wrapped up with no an- Indonesia’s foreign minister yes- sion of waters around the islands Kalla told Reuters on Monday the nouncements.As the meeting be- terday rejected China’s stance, say- within China’s “nine-dash line”, a de- Southeast Asian nation would be gan on Monday, an international ing the waters were in Indonesian marcation line used by Beijing to show more assertive in protecting its ex- network of MH370 next-of-kin territory.“Our position is clear that its claim to the South China Sea. clusive right to the waters around released a statement repeating its claims can only be made on the basis Despite the objection, Indonesia the Natuna Islands. call for the search to be extended. of international law. is not part of a broader regional dis- Despite this more assertive But the ATSB confi rmed that For Indonesia, we don’t have over- pute over China’s reclamation ac- stance, Retno said relations between consistent with the undertaking lapping claims in any form in Indone- tivities in the South China Sea and the two countries remained good. made last year, only the agreed sian waters with China,” Indonesian Beijing’s claims on swathes of key “This is a matter of law enforce- 120,000 square kilometres would Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told waterways. ment, not politics,” she said. Joko Widodo: set for visit be searched. Disaster-hit children ‘struggle EU says Myanmar needs ‘space’ without school buildings’ to deal with human rights abuses Thomson Reuters Foundation the disaster — it doesn’t mat- an earthquake or a flood, that Bangkok ter if it’s small or big — edu- school is likely to cause injury Reuters use the term because it was in- week tabled a new term for the structive and inclusive step to cation is disrupted, and stu- or loss of life,” she said.”We Yangon fl ammatory. Rohingya — “Muslim commu- move forward? dents’ lives are impacted,” need to ensure the school is a Some 120,000 Rohingya re- nity in Rakhine State” — but the “The government should ad- rom earthquakes in Ne- said Sarah Ireland, the author safe place for children to go.” main displaced in squalid camps description has quickly run into dress the targeted persecution pal to fl ooding in Myan- of the report, by telephone Schools — that are still he European Union said since fi ghting erupted in Rakhine opposition. and discrimination against mi- Fmar, disasters damage or from Melbourne. standing — often play an im- yesterday Myanmar State between Buddhists and The Arakan National Party norities and ensure protection of destroy thousands of schools The report, to be launched portant role in the humani- Tneeded “space” to deal Muslims in 2012. (ANP), formed by hardline Ra- their rights by respecting their leaving hundreds of thou- on Tuesday, details the im- tarian response to a disaster, with human rights abuses in khine Buddhists who enjoy con- ethnicity, identity and name,” sands of children unable to go pact on schoolchildren of five serving as a community hub its restive northwest, adding it “So we ought to give siderable following in the state, she said. to class, yet education is often disasters in 2015, including where disaster-hit families would respect the call by country political space to initiatives said the government was biased Yanghee Lee, the UN Special overlooked in humanitarian re- flooding in Myanmar that put can access healthcare, clean leader Aung San Suu Kyi to avoid to gradually fi nd a solution and rejected the new term. Rapporteur on Human Rights in sponses, a charity said. 4,100 schools out of action, water and food in safety. the term “Rohingya” to describe to this protracted issue” “We consider that using the Myanmar, is touring the country Deadly earthquakes in leaving 250,000 children in “If children are in a school... persecuted Muslims there. new term...is tantamount to on her fi rst visit since Suu Kyi Nepal last year damaged or limbo for several months. their parents can actually go The statement exposes a rift in Thousands have fl ed persecu- meaning that they are natives of took power. destroyed more than 8,200 “Education needs to be pri- about their business rebuild- the West’s approach to the sen- tion and poverty. Rakhine region by ignoring the Wirathu, the leader of radi- schools, leaving 870,000 oritised as part of a holistic ing their lives, knowing their sitive issue, standing in contrast The UN said on Monday the original place of these Bengali cal nationalist Buddhist monks, children without classrooms. response,” said Ireland, the children are in a safe place with the United States, which abuses, which include execu- people,” the party said in a state- threatened to beat her with a Nearly a year on, many humanitarian advocacy and and that their children will be said it would continue to use the tions and torture, together may ment. “wooden fl ip fl op” if she “wasn’t children were still taking les- policy adviser for Save the less vulnerable to trafficking, term, citing respect for the right amount to crimes against hu- The previous military-linked smart enough”. He warned Lee sons in makeshift facilities Children. abuse or exploitation,” Ireland of communities to choose what manity. government referred to the against acting as a “political without walls, exposed to “If education is support- said. they should be called. “We understand that the group as “Bengalis”, implying broker,” being “one-sided on cold winter weather, Save the ed before, during, and after Save the Children’s “Edu- Members of the 1.1mn group, term ‘Rohingya’ is emotionally they were illegal immigrants the part of the trouble-makers” Children said in a report on disasters, it can save lives, cation Disrupted” report is who identify themselves by the charged in Myanmar and we have from Bangladesh, though many and “selling the country to oth- lost education due to disasters protect children and ben- due to be launched in Bangkok term Rohingya, are seen by many heard the call of the government have lived in Myanmar for gen- ers”. Last year, he used an ex- in the Asia Pacific. efit whole communities and on the sidelines of a United Myanmar Buddhists as illegal to avoid creating tension by us- erations. pletive against her after Lee Part of the problem is that countries.” Nations conference on disas- immigrants from Bangladesh. ing polarising terminology,” Ro- Wai Wai Nu, a Rohingya activ- criticised laws seen as discrimi- less than 2% of humanitarian For example, many children ter risk reduction. The term is a divisive issue. land Kobia, the EU ambassador ist from Women Peace Network nating against non-Buddhists aid is earmarked for educa- attend schools that are not Ireland said the report aims Tensions around the Muslim to Myanmar, told reporters. Arakan, said the government and women. tion, leading to delays in the built to withstand the impact to provide information that minority are rising. “So we ought to give political should protect, listen and con- Suu Kyi, who starts her visit reconstruction and repair of of natural disasters, Ireland will help improve future data This week, Suu Kyi told the space to initiatives to gradually sult with ethnic minorities. to Thailand today, has formed a damaged schools, the global said. “If you consider how collection and thereby im- United Nations Human Rights fi nd a solution to this protracted She wanted to ask it: “Why committee to “bring peace and aid agency said. much time a child spends in prove post-disaster support investigator visiting the country issue.” are you denying us our identity... development” to the state in “Regardless of the size of schools, if a disaster hits, like and response. that the government would not Suu Kyi’s administration last and not taking a feasible, con- May, but its plans are not clear. Gulf Times 18 Thursday, June 23, 2016 ASIA N Korean missile rises Japan poll campaign to dangerous heights begins North Korea has stirred a hornet’s North Korea is believed to have up to 30 nest again Musudan missiles, according to South Ko- DPA Japan’s economy contracted rean media, which offi cials said were rst fi Tokyo twice in the past year amid deployed around 2007, although the North sluggish spending especially Reuters had never attempted to test-fi re them un- after the country’s sales tax Seoul/Tokyo til April. ampaigning kicked off hike to 8% in April 2014 from While North Korea has developed po- yesterday for Japan’s 5%. tential longer-range rockets, such as its Cupper house elections Household spending fell orth Korea launched what ap- 30m Unha-3, a home-grown three-stage in July as analysts say Prime 2.3% in 2015 for the second peared to be an intermediate- rocket based on 1950s Soviet Scud missile minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling straight year of decline, a gov- Nrange missile yesterday to a high technology, it needs to be fuelled from a camp seeks a referendum to ernment report showed. altitude in the direction of Japan before it fi xed launch pad making it easy to detect change the country’s war-re- Abe called economic pol- plunged into the sea, military offi cials said, and impractical as a weapon. nouncing constitution. icy “this election’s biggest a technological advance for the isolated A smaller, powerful intermediate mis- The July 10 elections for the theme” while campaigning in state after several test failures. sile that is easier to deploy on a mobile house of councillors come 10 Kumamoto prefecture, where The launch came about two hours after launcher poses a harder threat to counter. months after Abe’s govern- twin major earthquakes killed a similar test failed, South Korea’s mili- The UN security council, backed by the ment pushed through contro- 49 people two months ago. tary said, and covered 400km, more than North’s main diplomatic ally, China, im- versial legislation that allows Japan has achieved “the halfway towards the southwest coast of posed tough new sanctions in March after Japanese armed forces to en- highest wages since the turn of Japan’s main island of Honshu. North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear gage in overseas combat for the century,” The launches and earlier nuclear tests test in January and launched a long-range the fi rst time since the end of the premier said, adding show continued defi ance of internation- rocket that put an object into space orbit. World War II. that he would push his eco- al warnings and a series of UN security North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches a long range rocket launch. “At present, the situation on the penin- But Article 9 of Japan’s nomic policy forward. council resolutions and sanctions, which sula remains very complex and severe. charter prohibits the use of But government data con- North Korea rejects as an infringement of The fi rst missile was launched from the Lewis said failures were a normal part We think that the relevant party should force to settle international tradicts Abe’s wage comment: its sovereignty. east coast city of Wonsan, a South Korean of testing and that North Korea would fi x avoid doing anything to further wors- disputes, and the main oppo- Infl ation-adjusted wages Japanese defence minister Gen Nakatani offi cial said, the same area where previous problems with the Musudan intermedi- en tensions,” Chinese foreign ministry sition Democratic Party and were down nearly 4% in 2014, said the second missile reached an altitude tests of intermediate-range missiles were ate-range missile sooner or later. spokeswoman Hua Chunying told report- other small parties have tried recovering by only 0.1% in of 1,000km, indicating North Korea had conducted, possibly using mobile launch- “If North Korea continues testing, ers at a regular press briefi ng on Wednes- to garner public support by 2015, with recent data showing made progress. ers. eventually its missileers will use the same day. calling the new law unconsti- wages falling further. “We don’t know whether it counts as a South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, technology in a missile that can threaten North Korea has conducted a series of tutional. A poll conducted by Kyodo success, but North Korea has shown some quoting a government offi cial, said the the United States,” Lewis told Reuters. tests since then that it claimed showed Every three years, Japan’s news agency showed nearly capability with IRBMs (intermediate range fi rst missile disintegrated mid-air after Nakatani said North Korea’s repeated progress in nuclear weapons and long- upper house has elections for two-thirds of those surveyed ballistic missiles),” he told reporters in Tokyo. a fl ight of about 150km. Yesterday’s fi rst missile launches were a “serious provoca- range ballistic missile capabilities, includ- half of its 242 seats. — 62.2% — expressed doubts “The threat to Japan is intensifying.” launch was the fi fth straight unsuccessful tion” and could not be tolerated. ing new rocket engines and simulated at- This year a total of 389 can- about the eff ectiveness of Reclusive North Korea and the rich, attempt in the past two months to launch Japan indicated after the fi rst launch mospheric re-entry. didates are vying for the 121 Abe’s economic policy. democratic South are technically still at a missile that is designed to fl y more than that it would protest strongly because it The United Nations security council seats. Some 28% voiced confi - war because their 1950-53 confl ict ended 3,000km and could theoretically reach violated UN will meet to discuss North Korea’s latest Abe’s ruling Liberal Demo- dence that the policies will in an armistice, not a peace treaty. any part of Japan and the US territory of resolutions, even though the launches ballistic missile launches, at the request cratic Party currently holds a boost the economy. The North regularly threatens to destroy Guam. posed no immediate threat to Japanese se- of the United States and Japan, diplomats total of 116 seats, and its jun- The yen’s recent sharp rise the Japan, South Korea and the South’s Jeff rey Lewis, of the California-based curity. said. French UN ior coalition partner Komeito and slow growth in emerging main ally, the United States. Middlebury Institute of International In Seoul, South Korea’s presidential of- Ambassador Francois Delattre, presi- holds 20 seats in the upper economies, including China, South Korean President Park Geun-hye Studies, said missiles were usually fi red at fi ce said a national security meeting was dent of the 15-member council for June, house to control the 242-seat bodes ill for Japan’s economy. denounced the test. a certain angle to maximise range, so the convened to discuss the latest missile said the missile launches were an “unac- chamber, while the Demo- The appreciation of the cur- “The North Korean regime must realise high altitude of the second launch may launches. ceptable violation” of a UN ban. cratic Party holds 63 seats and rency makes Japanese prod- that complete isolation and self-destruc- have been chosen to avoid Japanese air- The US military detected the two mis- A senior UN offi cial will brief the coun- the Japan Communist Party ucts less appealing abroad and tion await at the end of reckless provoca- space. siles, most likely Musudan, from North cil, diplomats said. 11. erodes repatriated revenues. tion,” she said. “That suggests the missile worked per- Korea, the US military’s Pacifi c Command “We want a quick and fi rm reac- The premier would need the “Real economic policy Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg fectly,” Lewis said.”Had it been fi red at its said. tion of the security council on this,” said support of two-thirds of both means balancing growth with also decried North Korea’s “provocative normal angle, it would have fl own to its A Pentagon spokesman said both mis- Delattre.”We hope that... we’ll have a chambers of parliament in or- the distribution” of wealth, actions”. full range.” siles fell into the Sea of Japan. press statement on this.” der to call a national referen- Democratic Party leader Kat- dum on changing the consti- suya Okada said in Kofu, tution. central Japan. Abe took offi ce in December It will be the fi rst national 2012, vowing to reinvigorate elections in Japan in which the country’s economy and 18- and 19-year-olds are able overcome years of defl ation. to vote, after an electoral law However, his government amendment recently reduced has failed to achieve long term the minimum voting age from economic growth. 20.

Michelin-star restaurant closed

AFP ed customers dined at the estab- Tokyo lishment. The restaurant, located in Kamakura, a scenic seaside city Michelin-starred Japanese southwest of Tokyo, serves “kai- restaurant specialising in seki” — a Japanese form of haute Aa refi ned — and pricey — cuisine in which each dish is traditional cuisine has been or- small, simple and presented in- dered to temporarily close after dividually with utmost attention customers came down with food to detail. poisoning, an offi cial said yester- “The symptoms appear to be day. mild, but suff ering from diar- A total of 14 customers suff ered rhoea isn’t easy,” said the offi cial, from stomach pain and diarrhoea who would only give his surname after eating sea urchin, squid and of Miyazaki. other seafoods at the Kita Ka- The restaurant remained makura Saryo Gentoan southwest closed as of yesterday as the pre- of Tokyo, a local government of- fecture investigated what caused fi cial said. the food poisoning. “None of them were hospital- “We’re still examining if the ised and were already recovering seafood they had was the cause or Villagers, including schoolchildren, take part in a protest against the arrest of village chief Lin Zuluan in Wukan. when food poisoning was re- if there were other factors,” Miya- ported,” said the offi cial in charge zaki said. of food safety at the Kanagawa According to Gurunavi, a prefectural government in Yoko- popular online restaurant guide, hama, told AFP. lunch at the establishment costs The problem was reported to between 3,800 yen ($36) and Protests continue for fourth day the prefecture on Tuesday last 8,000 yen, while dinner is be- week, three days after the aff ect- tween 9,000 yen and 18,000 yen. in rebellious Chinese village Tokyo troops not on Reuters Lin was shown on state television on “We want the central government to A villager who was taken into detention Wukan Tuesday confessing to accepting bribes, come and investigate,” said Wei Yonghan, by police and interrogated said authori- but many villagers profess his innocence, an elderly villager joining the march. ties were aggressively going after potential blanks anymore saying he’d been forced into making a con- “We won’t give up. ringleaders of the protests to quash any es- he Chinese fi shing village of Wu- fession. We’ll keep marching every day till they calation of unrest. kan staged a fourth straight day of Sources close to the Lin family said his listen to us.” “They questioned me for hours and AFP Blanks are identifi able by Tprotests yesterday against what grandson was detained by police soon Wukan’s defi ance in 2011 took place dur- wanted to know everything, who was or- Tokyo having a more curved tip than residents say was the unlawful arrest of the after Lin’s arrest and interrogated for 12 ing the administration of former president ganising things,” the villager, who declined live rounds, but the unit in village chief, a rare show of grassroots de- hours. Hu Jintao. to be identifi ed, said. “They told me to open question reportedly only fi res fi ance against authorities in Communist The grandson was released soon after It remains unclear whether security my Wechat (messaging app)... and spent apan’s Self-Defense Forc- guns about twice a year. China. Lin’s confession went public, they said. forces will take a stronger line under presi- hours looking through my messages.” es aren’t shooting blanks The “blanks” were discov- Wukan, in the southern province of Despite repeated warnings by authorities dent Xi Jinping who has cracked down on While there didn’t appear to be a mass Janymore. ered to be live rounds after a Guangdong, made international headlines to the villagers not to stir up trouble, more rights activists across China since taking deployment of riot police for the protests At least they weren’t last piece of an assault rifl e was in 2011 as a symbol of grassroots democracy than a thousand again marched in a loud offi ce. yesterday, at least three drones could be month when troops mistook torn off , slightly injuring two after an uprising against corrupt local au- procession, waving red China fl ags and Over the past few days, however, author- seen hovering in the sky tracking the dem- live ammunition for fake soldiers, the paper said, cit- thorities and illegal land grabs that resulted chanting for justice. ities seem to have tightened their grip. onstration. rounds at a training exercise. ing the results of a defence in rare concessions being granted by pro- “The villagers of Wukan don’t believe Lin Some reporters were warned by au- Villagers also occasionally chased off in- No one was seriously in- department investigation re- vincial Communist Party leaders. Zuluan took bribes,” read a hand-written thorities in nearby Shanwei of “inciting, dividuals in the crowds they believed to be jured despite almost 80 leased this week. Under a blazing sun, the village of 15,000 white banner held up by a group of several planning and directing the protests”, ac- plain-clothes offi cers. rounds of sharp-tipped am- A computer error was re- once again united to march for the release of children at the vanguard of the procession. cording to reports carried in Chinese The village is about a four-hour drive munition being fi red off in portedly to blame for the in- Lin Zuluan, the popular and democratically They also held up banners making a state media. east of Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, where the hair-raising bullet blun- cident in May at a training elected village chief who was arrested in a broader appeal to national leaders in Beijing Foreign media outlets including Reuters months of pro-democracy protests brought der, the Asahi newspaper re- ground in Japan’s northern- surprise midnight raid over the weekend. to “save Wukan”. were urged to leave the village immediately. chaos to the streets in late 2014. ported. most island Hokkaido. Gulf Times Thursday, June 23, 2016 19 AUSTRALIA Vietnamese boat Shark attacks: Polls say people prefer people turned education to culls

By Calla Wahlquist “The fact is that while (people calling for Guardian News and Media tougher shark policy) are the loudest, they are not the majority,” he told Guardian Australia. He said the practice of trying to catch and kill back by Aussies erth residents overwhelmingly prefer non- sharks involved in attacks in WA was out of step lethal responses to shark attacks, a new sur- with public thought. The intercept has quickly asylum seekers reached the Co- be ashamed of themselves, ue for a fair procedure.” Pvey shows. “There’s not an agenda in this research,” he become an election issue cos Islands, Australian territory, sending out a signal to people Paul Stevenson, the psy- A total 75% of those polled said they wanted said.“If supporters for the policy were the silent on 2 May, just days before the smugglers that there is a lack chologist and trauma special- money be spent on education and research rath- majority, then we would want to fi nd them.” By Ben Doherty election was called. That was the of national will to deter people ist who this week spoke out er than catching the shark, according to a survey Neff said that 53% of survey respondents said Guardian News and Media last boat to make landfall in Aus- smugglers”, Labor said, and in- against what he described as the published by the University of Sydney yesterday. they thought the primary purpose of killing a tralia. sisted the party would turn back “atrocity” of detention on Nau- The survey was conducted between June 8 and shark after an attack was to calm the public, while But the announcement of an- boats if it won power. ru and Manus, has been fi red for 15, two days after university lecturer Doreen Col- only 25% thought it was to protect the public. wenty-one Vietnamese other intercept immediately be- Two boats from Vietnam, both his comments. lyer was fatally mauled by a great white shark Asked who was to blame for shark attacks, 59% asylum seekers have been came an election issue. carrying 46 asylum seekers, were Stevenson was previously while diving 1km off the Mindarie marina, in said no one was to blame and 52% said they be- Tintercepted approaching Peter Dutton, the immigration intercepted by Australian Border awarded an Order of Australia Perth’s northern suburbs, and fi ve days after surf- lieved shark bites were accidental, compared to Australia by boat, processed at minister, said Labor had a “ca- Force and navy vessels in April by the government for his work er Ben Gerring died in hospital from wounds also 22% who said they thought sharks intentionally sea, and returned to Vietnam. veat” in their turn-back policy, and July last year. in counselling victims of the sustained in a great white attack. bit humans. The boat, intercepted by the insisting that “they won’t do it in In both cases, all on board were Bali bombings. He was due to Of the 600 respondents, who were weighted The results mirrored a similar survey again navy earlier this month in the every instance”. returned to Vietnam after being return to Nauru today. toward suburbs near the Mindarie and Mandurah commissioned by Neff in Ballina, on the New Timor Sea, is the third from Vi- “They are saying not in every processed at sea. Stevenson’s comments were beaches, only 5% supported “hunting” a shark in- South Wales north coast, in January, which etnam to be intercepted by Aus- instance will they turn back a The commander of Operation supported by more than 2,000 volved in a fatal attack, and 6% supported setting found that 83% of people supported non-lethal tralian authorities in the past 14 boat,” said Dutton.“They have Sovereign Borders, major gen- pages of incident reports that baited drum lines. responses to shark attacks and 4% thought the months. been clear about that in their own eral Andrew Bottrell, told senate detailed widespread assaults, A further 11% supported the use of shark nets, shark should be hunted. Asylum seekers previously for- language. estimates in May the Australian sexual abuse, self-harm and considered a lethal policy for the tendency of cibly returned to Vietnam have “There are three reasons why government had been given “as- suicide attempts in the island sharks to get caught in them. been jailed despite assurances Operation Sovereign Borders surance” in writing by the Viet- detention centres. Of those who supported non-lethal policies, from the Australian and Viet- has worked. First is turning back namese government “that there He said “demoralisation” was 25% supported conducting more research into namese governments that they boats where it is safe to do so. would not be any retribution for the “paramount feature of off - human-shark interactions, 14% supported a pub- would not be prosecuted, perse- And temporary protection visas their illegal departure from Viet- shore detention”. lic education campaign, and 8% said the shark cuted or punished for attempting and then regional processing.” nam”. However, four people from “It’s indeterminate, it’s un- should just be left alone. to reach Australia. Only two caveats exist for the each of the vessels were jailed, der terrible, terrible conditions, The remaining 25% supported investing in non- At least eight people have been turn-back of boats: the gov- charged and prosecuted. and there is nothing you can say lethal technologies, like electronic shark shields. jailed for organising boat jour- ernment insists boats are only The UNHCR has repeatedly about it that says there’s some It is Western Australian government policy to neys and trying to reach Aus- turned back “where it is safe to raised concerns about “enhanced positive humanity in this.” set baited hooked drumlines after a shark attack to tralia. do so”; and Australia must also screening”, which it says breach- In response to questions from catch a shark determined to be a “serious threat” The immigration and border ensure, under the non-refoule- es international law. the Guardian about Stevenson’s to community safety. protection department has not ment obligations of international “UNHCR has previously made comments, a spokesman for the Drumlines were set after both fatal attacks this commented on whether assur- law, that it does not return any- known its concerns to Australia immigration department said: month and a 4.2m great white shark was caught ances were sought or received body to a place where their “life about its enhanced screening “In keeping with caretaker pro- and killed close to the area where Gerring was at- that people returned to Vietnam or freedom would be threatened”. procedures and their non-com- visions, noting that Paul Ste- tacked. from the latest boat would not Labor insists it has an identi- pliance with international law,” it venson is currently running for The attacks reignited a campaign to reduce face persecution or prosecution. cal policy on boat turn-backs to said in 2014 after 41 Sri Lankans public offi ce as a senator, we shark numbers by either allowing shark fi shing or The boat is the 28th known to the current government, and that were returned. refer you to.... previously pub- resuming the controversial shark cull programme, have been turned back since the asylum was a “break glass” (in “UNHCR’s experience over the lished statements on these is- which was abandoned after a damning assessment Coalition took offi ce in 2013, and case of emergency) issue for the years with shipboard process- sues. by the Environmental Protection Authority. the fi rst to arrive since the start coalition because it did not have ing has generally not been posi- The department has re- The researcher, Chris Neff , said the survey re- A surfer carrying his board into the water next of this election campaign. any positive policies. tive. Such an environment would sponded on multiple occasions sults showed that despite media rhetoric, such to a sign declaring a shark sighting on Sydney’s A boat of Sri Lankan Tamil Dutton and Turnbull “should rarely aff ord an appropriate ven- to the allegations raised. measures did not have public support. Manly Beach, Australia.

Too sweet

ONE SMOKER.

Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale holding up a soft drink and a plate of sugar cubes yesterday in Sydney as the party announced it will launch a tax on sugary sweetened beverages if elected in the upcoming general election. Voting is mandatory in Australia for all adults, with turnout never falling below 90% since it became TWO PATIENTS. compulsory in 1924. Brazil urged to revamp security after mugging TOBACCO KILLS

By Jonathan Watts her, then pushed her over and grabbed leader Kitty Chiller told reporters. Guardian News and Media her bicycle while the other seized the Chiller said that Australia had bike belonging to her coach. briefed its athletes to avoid confron- “It was absolutely horrifi c, I can see tation: “Basically we are saying that he leader of Australia’s Olympic it clear as day in my own head... it was if you are confronted by criminals, team has called on Brazilian au- a pistol,” Tesch told reporters. comply, handover your belongings and Tthorities to deploy extra security She also tweeted a warning to others don’t argue. That is exactly what the ahead of the Rio de Janeiro games after who are thinking of visiting the city, two Paralympians did on Sunday.” an Paralympic champion was robbed later explaining: “My important mes- This is not the fi rst alarming inci- at gunpoint while training in the host sage is to make it really clear, that this dent. city. is a dangerous place and you’ve got to Last month, three Spanish Olympic Australian sailor and wheelchair be on your guard.” sailors were robbed at gunpoint. basketball player Liesl Tesch warned The Brazilian government has At the weekend, a patient was killed that Rio was a “dangerous place” after promised to deploy 85,000 police and and a nurse injured by stray bullets two armed thieves demanded money other security personnel during the during a gunfi ght at Souza Aguiar Hos- and then stole her bicycle on Monday. Olympics. pital, which is recommended for tour- The robbery came after a deadly at- They also stress that thousands of ists during the games. tack by gangsters on an Olympic-ap- athletes have already visited Rio for test Brazil has one of the highest murder proved hospital and frequent gunfi ghts events that have proceeded smoothly rates in the world, but Rio had been between police and drug dealers in and and without reports of crime. making progress in reducing crime around favela communities. But the Australian Olympic Com- up until a couple of years ago thanks Tesch, who is competing for the sev- mittee demanded that the hosts bring partly to an ambitious reform of polic- enth time in a Paralympics, said she forward plans and tighten security ing policies and a program to “pacify” was on a fi tness ride with her trainer around training venues. favelas that had previously been off - near a bus stop neat Flamengo beach “It’s not an isolated incident. It’s got limits to the authorities as a result of when two muggers stopped them and to a point now that steps and measures drug traffi cking gangs. demanded money. are taken to ensure that all our team But budget cuts and several high- When she showed them she had no members who go to Rio for the Olym- profi le cases of police violence have Issued in Public Interest by GULF TIMES cash, one of the men pointed a gun at pic Games next month are safe” team eroded confi dence in the policy. Gulf Times 20 Thursday, June 23, 2016 BRITAIN Farage claims credit for forcing premier to hold referendum

Guardian News and Media In his fi nal speech of the cam- ing to enjoy German cars in the der with the slogan Breaking Point, one’s vote was worth the same. lead to a Brexit victory. better than this. We can vote for real London paign Farage claimed 100% of event of a Brexit. which remain campaigners likened “The one poster that no one He suggested that Ukip support- change, we can vote to put power the credit for having “forced” the “I say with some pride, this to Nazi propaganda. seems to talk about, the one re- ers would “crawl over glass” to get back in the hands of people, we can government to the poll, highlight- would never have happened with- However, defi antly, Farage said ally off ensive and abusive poster in to the ballot booths today but that vote to take control of our country igel Farage has mounted ing the Ukip slogans, policies and out Ukip. It is, in many ways, our he would only apologise for the this campaign, was put out by an the campaign needed those who back, we can vote to get our borders an attempt to claim all the language now openly used by Boris referendum,” Farage said, pointing timing of the launch, which had organisation encouraging people had not been politically engaged back, we can vote to get our pride Npolitical credit if the UK Johnson and Michael Gove. out that he had fought for this mo- coincided with the murder of the from the ethnic minorities to vote, before to win the referendum. and self-respect as a nation and votes to leave the EU, declaring the These included the Ukip slogan ment for decades. Labour MP Jo Cox. showing a skinhead menacing an He said: “This referendum is a who we are as a people, back.” Leave campaign has stolen Ukip’s from the general election, Believe The offi cial Leave campaign has He also defl ected accusations elderly Asian lady. And that was an really about something, this ref- Farage said, as he waved a Brit- slogans and policies. in Britain, as well as the branding been desperately trying to distance of racism and xenophobia, saying absolute disgrace,” he said. erendum is the people versus the ish passport aloft for what he The Ukip leader said it was his of today as the UK’s independ- itself from Ukip, viewing Farage as people should instead be criticis- The Ukip leader also made establishment. It is the vested in- promised would be the last time party’s referendum, given that he ence day, and the fl agging up of the an electoral liability rather than as- ing a poster published by Opera- a pitch to non-voters to break terest, it’s the rich, it’s the big busi- during the campaign, that voting had “forced” David Cameron to Australian-style points system, of set. This intensifi ed last week after tion Black Vote showing a white the habit of a lifetime and cast ness, it’s those who are doing very to leave would allow the UK to be- take the issue seriously because loving Europe but hating the EU, Ukip released a poster showing skinhead shouting at an elderly their ballot, choosing the Leave nicely thank you against pretty come “democratic” and a “normal voters had been turning to his party. and the arguments about continu- migrants crossing a European bor- Asian woman that said every- option, predicting this would much everybody else. We can do country” again. Cameron condemns Rivals make Gove’s Nazi comment last push for Guardian News and Media London

avid Cameron has ac- cused Michael Gove of Dhaving “lost it” after victory ahead the justice secretary compared economists warning against Brexit to experts in the pay of Nazis. The prime minister yesterday made his strongest attack of the campaign so far on Gove, who of EU vote has long been a close political friend. London Evening Standard music director next year and that lives were so much poorer as a Gove had likened those claim- London Britain chooses confi dently to result of isolation. ing that a vote to leave would remain in the European Union.” “To enrich our culture, to lead to a recession to scientists Actor Craig posted an Insta- maintain and enhance the lives paid by Adolf Hitler’s govern- avid Cameron and Boris gram image of himself wearing a of working people and to be part ment to come up with the scien- Johnson yesterday T-shirt reading: “No man is an of a bigger voice in world politics tifi c results wanted by the state. Dlaunched rival appeals in island. No country by itself. Vote we must vote to remain today.” “We have to be careful about the fi nal countdown to the his- Remain on 23rd June.” Jude Kelly, artistic director historical comparisons, but Al- toric European Union referen- But Sir John, a real-life Se- at the Southbank Centre, said: bert Einstein during the 1930s dum. cret Intelligence Service com- “European partnerships, people was denounced by the German The prime minister urged in mander, made a heavyweight and ideas have combined with authorities for being wrong and a speech to a crowd at Bristol: appeal to Londoners to use their the UK’s creative industries to his theories were denounced and “Please give it everything you’ve vote to keep families in the capi- make us a world leader. one of the reasons, of course, he got in these last hours. Go out tal safe from terror. He wrote “We all believe in the strength was denounced was because he and vote Remain for a bigger and in the Standard: “If you are in of this unity and want to con- was Jewish,” Gove said. “They better Britain. A day to go — let’s any doubt how to vote, think tinue being open, curious and got 100 German scientists in do it.” about security. Being in the EU fully involved in Europe’s hopes, the pay of the government to say Leave campaign fi gurehead helps keep Britain secure. We in dreams and challenges.” that he was wrong and Einstein Johnson declared at London’s London should value that high- Nick Hytner, ex-artistic direc- said, ‘Look, if I was wrong, one Billingsgate Market: “It’s time to ly.” He branded Brexiters “the tor at the National Theatre, said: would have been enough.’” speak up for democracy — and gravediggers of our prosperity” “The EU has enabled a fl ower- It is the latest attempt by Gove hundreds of millions of people and said they would have “ques- ing of creativity. If we left the EU to dismiss the body of econo- around Europe agree with us. tions to answer” if they suc- our creative industries would be mists warning of the conse- “This is a crucial time, lots of ceeded. miserably impoverished.” quences of leaving the EU, after people will be making up their From the world of business, Rob Perrins, MD of prop- previously saying the public had minds.” Virgin founder Sir Richard said: erty fi rm Berkeley Group, said: had enough of experts getting it Their appeals came as leading “Leaving the EU carries enor- “Staying in Europe will help us wrong. London fi gures from the arts, mous risks for London and its build more homes. We don’t have Cameron has repeatedly tried business and national security standing in the world, which is enough skilled workers in Britain to pour scorn on this stance, united in a plea to remain in the why I’m urging Evening Standard and need the labour. If we leave saying people listen to experts EU. Revered conductor Sir Si- readers across the capital to vote the EU it’ll make the housing cri- when they want their car fi xed mon Rattle, former spy chief Sir remain. sis worse, not better.” by a mechanic or they need an John Sawers, tycoon Sir Richard “As an entrepreneur, I’ve On the fi nal day of campaign- engineer to build a bridge. Branson and even James Bond learned a thing or two about risk, ing, Cameron began with a full After Gove’s latest Nazi com- star Daniel Craig all urged Lon- and leaving the EU is not one of round of the “breakfast me- ments, the prime minister told doners to vote against a Brexit the risks I would want the UK to dia” before touring a skateboard Sky News: “To hear the Leave today. take.” manufacturer’s works. campaign sort of comparing in- Sir Simon led a chorus of Sir Martin Sorrell, founder He said exports would suff er dependent experts and econo- voices from the creative and arts and CEO of marketing giant after a Brexit and added: “Bad for mists to Nazi sympathisers – I sector, urging a vote to stay in the WPP said: “Isolationism is the jobs, bad for family fi nances, bad think they have rather lost it. European family. anti- thesis of what this city’s all for livelihoods — avoidable if we “These people are independ- The conductor — returning about.” vote the right way.” ent – economists who have won next year to take over London From London’s creative sector Ministers privately predicted Nobel prizes, business leaders Symphony Orchestra (LSO) af- Alistair Spalding, chief executive a narrow victory for Remain. But responsible for creating thou- ter more than a decade living in at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, said: Leave campaigner Boris Johnson sands of jobs, institutions that Germany — said: “I dearly hope “Despite all of the complexities told a crowd of well-wishers as were set up after the war to try to that the LSO still has its home that being a part of the EU en- he landed by light aircraft at East provide independent advice. It is Prime Minister David Cameron addresses pro-EU ‘Vote Remain’ supporters during a rally in Bristol in a country which is a part of tails, the alternative is like step- Midlands Airport: “I think it’s go- right to listen.” yesterday. the EU when I take up the post of ping back to a time when our ing to be a big surprise.” Page 30 MP Yvette Cooper Jo Cox killing was ‘an act gets death threat of terror’, says husband of Cooper’s colleague, Jo Cox, Guardian News and Media London who also represented a West Reuters ate Malala Yousafzai, fell silent at home was a houseboat, earlier Yorkshire constituency. London 1518GMT in a mark of respect also waved to clapping crowds as they The National Police Chiefs’ observed at other events across arrived by boat after mooring a vette Cooper has said Council (NPCC) said the advice the country and around the world dinghy fi lled with fl owers in the that she has informed was to help politicians to take he widower of murdered including in Beirut, Brussels, Mel- River Thames outside the Houses Ypolice and Twitter about appropriate measures to deal lawmaker Jo Cox said her bourne, Nairobi, Geneva, New of Parliament. a tweet in which a user threat- with any risks or threats they Tkilling was an act of terror York and Washington. Tributes from friends, family ened to kill her children and faced. as he paid tribute to his late wife Cox’s death has abruptly and former colleagues painted a grandchildren. yesterday alongside hundreds of changed the tone of the fi nal days picture of a hard-working, loving The Labour MP, who has “Got this for speaking out mourners at an emotional memo- of caustic campaign around a ref- mother who had dedicated her life been campaigning for a Remain for Remain … This has rial in London’s Trafalgar Square. erendum on Britain’s European to women’s issues, the plight of vote in this week’s EU referen- to stop. Time to stop the Cox died after she was shot and Union membership, which takes refugees fl eeing war in Syria and dum, posted an image of the hatred” stabbed in the street in her con- place today, prompting a ground- most recently to those she repre- tweet, which was sent from an stituency in northern England last swell of support for a more positive sented in parliament. account which had been sus- Cooper joined other MPs week — an attack that shocked the campaign. Before her election to parlia- pended on Tuesday night and earlier this year to launch an country and prompted an out- “She feared the consequences ment in May 2015, Cox had spent accused her of issuing propa- online public consultation as pouring of sympathy around the of Europe dividing again, hated the almost a decade working for aid ganda. part of a national campaign globe for the lifelong humanitarian idea of building walls, and wor- agency Oxfam. A fund set up “Got this for speaking out against abuse aimed at women campaigner. ried about the dynamics that that in her memory has so far raised for Remain … This has to stop,” on social media. “Jo’s killing was political. It could unleash,” Brendan Cox said. £1.3mn. said Cooper, a former minister Using an online forum, she was an act of terror designed to The memorial included an of- In Geneva, friends remembered who represents the West York- has been calling for contribu- advance an agenda of hatred to- fering of fl owers by religious lead- her at a sunny lakeside vigil out- shire constituency of Norman- tions from individuals, or- wards others,” Brendan Cox said ers of diff erent faiths, music from side the Centre for Humanitarian ton, Pontefract and Castleford. ganisations, employers, union in a tearful speech to a large crowd the band that played at her wed- Dialogue where UN human rights Cooper said in a later tweet members, victims, police and packed into the London landmark. ding, and video tributes by rock chief Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein was that the police and Twitter technology companies. “What a beautiful irony it is that star Bono and Cox’s sister in the among those paying tribute. “Jo were “on the case” after she had The campaign comes af- an act designed to advance hatred lawmaker’s constituency. was very much a member of this lodged a report. “But this is for ter research for the Guardian’s has instead generated such an out- White roses, the fl ower of Cox’s community... the very things that all of us. Time to stop the ha- project, The Web We Want, pouring of love.” home region, Yorkshire, fl oated in she stood for, she campaigned for, tred,” she said. revealed that of the 10 most The vigil marking what would the square’s halted fountains. she poured her heart and soul into, Brendan Cox travels by boat along the River Thames with their children The incident comes after abused writers online, eight have been her 42nd birthday, and Cox’s husband and their young was the very agenda that we all Lejla, and Cuillin to attend a special service at Trafalgar Square in MPs’ security has been in- were women and the other two also attended by Nobel laure- son and daughter, whose London signed up for,” Zeid said. London yesterday. creased following the killing were black men. Gulf Times Thursday, June 23, 2016 21 BRITAIN

PEOPLE LEGAL CRIME ART OPINION Man who walked through Rising young football Picasso bought for Healthy eating trends Channel Tunnel walks free star knifed to death £340,000 sells for £43mn ‘creating culture of fear’

A Sudanese man who walked through the A promising young footballer who dreamed of A Picasso has sold for more than £40mn in A top chef and author has hit out at the culture Channel Tunnel last year in an extreme example playing for his parents’ country of origin was London . The 1909 work Femme Assise, one of of “anxiety and fear” surrounding healthy eating of the desperate measures some refugees are stabbed to death at his front door in London. the artist’s earliest Cubist paintings, has been trends, which he claims are being led by people prepared to take to reach Britain, was sentenced Victim Matthew Kitwande, 18, who had represented in a private collection since 1973, when it was “with no qualifications” in nutrition. Oliver Rowe, to nine months’ jail yesterday but will walk Uganda at youth level, was ambushed as he put bought for £340,000. Its final price of £43.3mn is who is based in London, said more research free because of time he has already spent in his key in the lock on returning home from college. the highest ever for a work created as part of the was needed on the so-called “clean” eating detention. Abdul Haroun, 40, had pleaded guilty A neighbour who saw the aftermath of the 4.15pm avant garde Cubist movement. Helena Newman, movement, which has seen TV figures including Melissa Reid of Britain is escorted by at Canterbury Crown Court to obstructing a attack in Battersea said: “The poor kid’s dad was the global co-head of the Impressionist and the Hemsley sisters accused of supporting “bad immigration off icers before boarding a flight at railway. Haroun, who fled his home in the war- crying with his face to the sky, holding his dying modern art department at Sotheby’s, said: “The science”. He said unknowns around “fashion” Lima’s airport in Callao, Peru. Reid was deported torn region of Darfur, was arrested by police child. It was awful.” The former Wimbledon College vast majority of the works of the Cubist period of diets like raw food and detox regimes could lead from Peru along with Irish-born Michaella after walking 50km from France in near total pupil is the third teenager to be killed in London this importance went into museums of the world consumers into misinformation. Rowe, 42, said: McCollum after they were released from jail. darkness as trains sped by. He was the first this year. Paramedics fought to save his life for many years ago, because Picasso’s Cubism has “We’re shaping our food culture as a reaction to They were jailed for attempting to smuggle refugee known to have made it through the almost an hour before he was pronounced dead at for many decades been considered one of the things we don’t know much about, led by people cocaine on a flight to Spain in 2013. Channel Tunnel on foot. the scene. most important, groundbreaking periods.” who don’t have any qualifications”. Tower Hamlets Queen visits Liverpool shuts youth centres over fraud claims

London Evening Standard man’s administration. London Labour mayor John Biggs, who took over following Rahman’s fall last year, said: “We are being open ower Hamlets is closing and honest about shortcomings two thirds of its youth cen- in youth service delivery and are Ttres days before the start of taking immediate steps to resolve the summer holidays as it inves- them. It would have been reckless tigates “very serious” claims of not to act.” corruption, fraud and nepotism. A council spokesman added: The borough is shutting 18 “The council takes its responsi- Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, greet members of the public from the balcony of Liverpool Town Hall in Liverpool yesterday. The out of 26 venues after an inter- bilities to young people seriously Queen attended the International Festival for Business 2016, and off icially opened Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. nal probe unearthed widespread and is thoroughly investigating all concerns about their safety and allegations of service failings.” administration. The decision to Two years ago, the Metropoli- shut some centres — described as tan police was passed allegations a lifeline in an area where 39% of of fraud amounting to £300,000 under-16s live in poverty — has at nine youth venues. The Stand- stoked fears that young people ard understands the Met has now may become caught in turf wars closed its inquiry and is taking no as they travel across unfamiliar further action. postcodes. Fresh allegations, understood The allegations are said to in- to have led to some 75 internal BBC defends coverage of clude irregularities over expenses, probes by Tower Hamlets, were abuse of council credit cards, and raised by deputy mayor Rachael incidents in which contracts for Saunders at a heated meeting of youth activities were awarded to the full council last month. family members or close friends. She told the chamber that The council, which faces youth services had been accused £60mn of cuts over the next three of “fraud, corruption, nepotism, police raid on Cliff Richard years, says that instead of the 26 failure to declare personal inter- venues, eight youth “hubs” will ests, failure to declare criminal Guardian News and Media BBC said: ‘Good idea. Let’s get 2014. Richard said a “new gener- and current aff airs, former Times worked for them, all the DJs that open six days a week over the convictions, breaches of recruit- London this story.’ And somehow they ation” at the BBC “have a lack of editor James Harding, defended I’ve met, all the people who work summer while a long-term model ment and procurement services, were able to get the police to tell respect of what’s happened be- its coverage when they appeared on the Today programme, World is developed. breaches of the council’s fi nan- them when they were coming,” fore. A whole new group of peo- before MPs last year. at One. That’s the BBC. They are A campaign under the banner cial regulations, and breaches in he BBC has defended its Richard told the Daily Mail. ple. They don’t care what we’ve Hall said: “In a variety of dif- not to blame for what happened Save Our Youth Clubs has seen health and safety and data pro- controversial helicopter “It shouldn’t do that. I’m sure done in the past”. ferent ways allegations of sexual to me. It’s the people at the top.” almost 800 people sign an online tection”. Tpictures of the police raid that was probably against the In a statement issued by the abuse going back many, many Richard said he was unaware of petition warning of the potential Former government adviser on Sir Cliff Richard’s house after law. I always thought a police BBC earlier this week, after the years are sadly, regrettably a mat- what he had been accused of un- consequences of closing centres. Andy Erlam, who helped to bring the singer said it was guilty of a raid was supposed to be secret. Crown Prosecution Service said ter of public interest. What you til coverage of the raid appeared It says the measure will “lead down the administration of inde- “shameful” invasion of his pri- Nobody should know. And yet Richard would not face charg- saw from the air was a number of on BBC News. young people to even more anti- pendent mayor Rahman, said he vacy. the BBC were there. So they have es over allegations he sexually police cars and you saw the scale He told the Mail: “That was my social behaviour and increase was surprised by the Met decision Richard said the “people at the a lot to answer for and that was abused four boys more than 30 of the operation.” introduction to what they were street violence and crime”. not to bring charges. top” of the BBC “have a lot to an- real intrusion into my privacy. To years ago, the BBC said it had Asked if he felt any sympa- doing and how it looked on the The group stated: “We want Erlam and three other residents swer for” after the BBC screened actually fi lm my apartment. It’s applied “normal editorial judg- thy for the singer because of the screen. It was really terrifying, to make it clear that we will not brought a High Court action footage of police offi cers search- unforgivable.” South Yorkshire ments” to its reporting. extent of the BBC’s coverage, really horrible, and of course travel across other areas. It is against Rahman which led to his ing his £3mn Berkshire apart- police agreed a deal with the BBC “We applied normal edito- Hall told MPs: “Our job that’s when I discovered not a safe option given the rise being found guilty of corrupt and ment as part of an investigation after its reporter, Dan Johnson, rial judgments to a story that was was to make sure what Sir what I was supposedly in violence and postcode gangs. illegal electoral practices in April into sexual assault allegations. received a tip-off about the raid covered widely by all media and Cliff had to say about the accused of.” The council are storing up social last year. He said: “It seems re- The singer said he was consid- on Richard’s home. continued to report the investi- search and about his own Labour MP Keith Vaz, problems for the future which will markable that as a council inves- ering taking legal action against The BBC has said that the tip- gation as it developed including innocence was properly chairman of the House cost more to fi x in the long term.” tigation continues, the police are the corporation, saying: “I do feel off did not come from the South the Crown Prosecution Service’s refl ected.” of Commons home af- It has been claimed that coun- no longer actively investigating. that they owe me something. The Yorkshire force. It fi lmed footage fi nal decision – which ran promi- Richard said: “For me, fairs select committee, cil funding for youth services and The victims are the young people police have apologised but the of the police operation from a nently across our news output,” the BBC is Paul Gam- said last year that the BBC anti-radicalisation programmes of Tower Hamlets who have seen BBC hasn’t, and it owes me that. helicopter which was broadcast said the BBC. baccini, Gloria had acted “perfectly prop- was fraudulently siphoned off funds lost due to years of chaotic What they did was shameful.” on BBC1 news bulletins and the The BBC’s director general, (Hunniford) erly” in its reporting of during former mayor Lutfur Rah- and allegedly illegal practice.” “Somebody at the top of the BBC News channel on August 14, Tony Hall, and director of news when she the aff air. Couple found stabbed in Glastonbury traffi c suspected murder-suicide chaos sparks warning London Evening Standard than usual”. Pictures posted by London frustrated travellers showed long London Evening Standard banging from the floor above. her children. She was a mother, queues of vehicles. One tweeted: London “The next thing, the police a neighbour and a friend. We “Journey is now into 24 hours, were here and a woman was are all shocked because Steve estival-goers heading to worst festival experience after 15 outside very loudly crying. We was also nice and we don’t Glastonbury by car, cara- years. Shambolic.” n accountant found think it was the daughter who know how this could have hap- Fvan or campervan have Esther Byrne wrote: “Serious- dead with her long-term was banging on doors asking pened. They seemed like a per- been warned not to travel be- ly I would leave it til Thursday to Apartner at their west for help. We were so shocked fect couple when you saw them cause wet weather and mud are come down. Friends been queu- London home was yesterday when we heard what hap- around.” causing 12-hour queues. ing for 13 hrs to do last 8 miles. described as a “kind and loving pened, they were such a nice Another neighbour said: Organisers urged anyone who Took us 9hrs 2 do last 3!” mother” by friends and neigh- couple, very quiet. They were “She always talked about her had set off but not yet reached In a statement posted yester- bours. very good neighbours, it’s very children, but they and the rest the site to “stop somewhere safe day, festival organisers said the The bodies of Helen Fraser, sad.” of her family are in a very bad and warm”. backlog had been caused by wet 49, and Steve Bernard, 50, were Natalie Williams, 37, said: place right now. Everyone is in They added: “If you are al- weather and ground conditions. discovered with knife wounds “There were hundreds of police shock.” ready queuing to get into the site, They told those on their way to at their flat in a suspected here, it was crazy. It’s deeply A post-mortem examination please bear with us and follow be patient and to pick up supplies murder-suicide. disturbing. Her daughter ap- was due to take place. the instructions from the signage for a “long wait”. Police are investigating. parently witnessed it. The Met’s Homicide and Ma- and traffi c managers.” Adding to the problems, Wilt- Neighbours, who claimed “We never heard them argue jor Crime Command said it was Those who did make it into the shire police warned those travel- Fraser’s daughter was in the or anything, they were always not looking for anyone else in festival site in Somerset faced a ling by road to seek an alternative property during the incident, a very sweet couple. Every- connection with the deaths. A trudge through mud with their route following a four-car ac- described hearing screams body is in complete and abso- Met spokesman said: “Inquir- belongings to fi nd a place to cident on the A303 westbound. from the second-floor flat in lute shock. People are finding ies continue to establish the camp. Organisers told ticket holders to Fulham Court, in Fulham Road, it quite difficult to believe this full circumstances. There have Some attempting to get to tune in to Worthy FM on 87.7FM at 4.25am on Monday before could happen to a family we’ve been no arrests and we are not Worthy Farm claim to have cov- or follow @GlastoFest on Twitter police officers arrived. known for years and years. Our looking for anyone else. ered only three miles in nine for updates. Padman Algama, 72, who sympathies are with the chil- “Enquiries continue to es- hours, with others reporting they Avon and Somerset police lives directly below the flat, dren.” tablish the full circumstances had moved only 100 metres in an echoed the warning, saying: said: “That morning when we One friend and neighbour of the incident, however at this hour overnight. “We’re strongly advising people were in bed, my wife heard very said: “She moved here about early stage in the investigation Those arriving by coach to avoid travelling on main roads loud, terrible screaming, the 15 years ago and I have known detectives are not seeking any- or train were told to travel as leading to the Glastonbury Fes- screaming of a woman, and we her ever since. She was a lovely one else in connection with the Revellers carry their belongings as they arrive at Worthy Farm in planned but to be prepared for tival site in Pilton due to heavy heard very loud footsteps and person, so kind and so loving to incident.” Somerset for the Glastonbury Festival yesterday. “your journey to take longer traffi c.” Gulf Times 22 Thursday, June 23, 2016 EUROPE ‘Nato will fail to repel’ Mile-high stunt Russia Baltic attacks AFP anniversary of Nazi Germany’s in- Berlin vasion of the USSR, Putin accused the West of rejecting overtures from Russia to help tackle the com- ato would currently be un- mon foe of “international terror- able to protect the Baltics ism” — as it once ignored the So- Nagainst a Russian attack, viet Union’s warnings about Hitler the commander of US ground forc- — while seeking to isolate Moscow es in Europe, General Ben Hodges, over the Ukraine crisis. said in a news report yesterday. “We once again, as it was on the “Russia could take over the Bal- eve of World War II, are not seeing tic states faster than we would be a positive response,” Putin said. able to defend them,” Hodges was Relations between Russia and quoted as saying in a German-lan- the West have slumped to their guage article by news weekly Die lowest point since the Cold War Zeit. over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of The general said he agreed with Crimea from Ukraine and its al- an assessment by military analysts leged masterminding of a separa- who claimed that Russian forces tist uprising. could conquer the capitals of Baltic Fears of Russian expansionism states Latvia, Lithuania and Esto- have rattled Nato’s former eastern nia within 36 to 60 hours. bloc members and prompted the Hodges also said Nato forces had US-led alliance to bolster its pres- found numerous defi ciencies dur- ence along its eastern fl ank. ing the recent “Anaconda” military Following talks in Berlin yes- exercise in Poland, according to the terday, both German Chancellor article from today’s edition of Die Angela Merkel and Poland’s Prime Zeit, released early to AFP. Minister Beata Szydlo stressed the Heavy military equipment could importance of boosting security on not be moved fast enough from German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) and Polish counterpart Beata Szydlo walk upon arrival for the 14th the border with Russia. western to eastern Europe, said the German-Polish government consultations at the Chancellery in Berlin yesterday. “Germany has always sought general, who also voiced concern dialogue with Russia,” Merkel said, about the alliance’s communica- countries, like France and Germa- and its aggressive actions close to on July 8-9. All four countries were but added that on the other hand, tion technology. ny, thought it would be too provoc- our borders”. once ruled from Moscow and re- “Germany also sees the necessity “Neither radio communication ative toward Russia to call it a Nato He said that Moscow was there- main deeply suspicious of Russia’s to boost Nato’s eastern fl ank”. nor email are secure,” he was quot- exercise”. fore “obliged to dedicate special intentions. “That’s why we are taking on ad- ed as saying. “I assume that every- Thousands of Nato troops hit the attention to resolving tasks con- Russia bitterly opposes Nato’s ditional responsibility in Lithua- thing I write on my BlackBerry is ground in Poland in the massive nected with heightening the de- expansion into its Soviet-era satel- nia, that’s why we took part in the being monitored.” 10-day show of force as the alliance fence capabilities of our country”.- lites and last month said it would Anaconda manoeuvre,” she said. The Anaconda manoeuvre in- launched its biggest war games in Nato announced last week that it create three new divisions in its Szydlo said that the moves are cluded troops from more than 20 eastern Europe since the Cold War. would deploy four battalions to the southwest region to meet what it not only aimed at shielding her French trapeze artist Isabelle Ponsot performs Nato member states but was offi - Russian President Vladimir Pu- Baltic nations and Poland to coun- described as a dangerous military country and the Baltic states, but yesterday while hanging from a hot air balloon cially a Polish national exercise. tin yesterday hit out at Nato for ter a more assertive Russia, ahead build-up along its borders. at protecting all of Europe. above Chatellerault, France. Hodges told Die Zeit that “some “stepping up its aggressive rhetoric of a landmark summit in Warsaw Speaking yesterday on the 75th

Snap election may not Human fl ights to Mars still at least 15 years off end Croatia’s political Reuters human settlement on the moon, from unprecedented physical that kind of stuff . There is a big which will use an atmospheric Darmstadt, Germany where 3D printers could be used and mental challenges as well as community interested,” he told probe to sniff out signs of life on deadlock, say experts to turn moon rock into essential deep-space radiation. Reuters. Mars and deploy a lander to test items needed for the two-year Woerner would like to see a “The moon village is a pit stop technologies needed for a rover reaming of a trip to Mars? trip to Mars, would be a major cluster of research laboratories on the way to Mars,” Woerner scheduled to follow in 2020. By Igor Ilic, Reuters in the HDZ leadership (Kara- You’ll have to wait at least step toward the red planet. on the moon, at what he calls a said, adding that new 3D printing Woerner said Europe was Zagreb marko’s resignation) could help D15 years for the technol- US space agency Nasa hopes “moon village”, to replace the In- technology could be used to build looking at ways to lower the cost it recover and become a suit- ogy to be developed, the head to send astronauts to Mars in the ternational Space Station when material and structures out of of launches but did not plan to able coalition partner. of the European Space Agency mid-2030s and businessman its lifetime ends and to test tech- rocks and dust, doing away with copy Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which lthough almost two However, the question re- (ESA) has said, putting doubt Elon Musk, head of electric car nologies needed to make the trip the cost of transporting every- is trying to develop relatively thirds of Croats are in mains whether party leaders on claims that the journey could maker Tesla Motors, says he plans to Mars. thing needed for a mission. cheap, reusable launch vehicles. Afavour of a snap elec- will know how to compromise, happen sooner. to put unmanned spacecraft on That could be funded and op- “To test how to use lunar ma- “We should not copy. To fol- tion, now likely in early Sep- contrary to what we have wit- “If there was enough money Mars from as early as 2018 and erated by a collection of private terial to build some structures, low and copy does not bring you tember, many experts believe nessed recently,” Gjenero said. then we could possibly do it ear- have humans there by 2030. and public bodies from around not only houses, but also for a into the lead. We are looking for the vote will not off er an easy The election comes at a diffi - lier but there is not as much now The ESA’s Woerner said it the world, he said in an interview telescope or whatever, will teach totally diff erent approaches,” way out of economic under- cult time for Croatia, as it hauls as the Apollo programme had,” would take longer. at the ESA’s Operations Centre. us also how to do it on Mars,” he Woerner said, adding the ESA performance and political un- itself out of six years of reces- ESA Director-General Jan Wo- A spacecraft sent to Mars “There are various companies said. was examining all manner of certainty. sion between 2009 to 2014. erner said, referring to the US would need rockets and fuel and public agencies asking to join The ESA, working with Russia, new technologies, including air- The prospect of yet more po- “I see mid-term risks, as project which landed the fi rst powerful enough to lift back off the club now, so they want to do in March sent a spacecraft on a breathing engines that do not litical wrangling and protracted without stable government a people on the moon. for the return trip and the hu- diff erent things, resource min- seven-month journey as part of need to tap into oxygen from a coalition talks after any fresh reformist drive is unlikely and Woerner says a permanent mans would need protection ing, in situ research, tourism and the agency’s ExoMars mission, spacecraft’s tank. election has also left investors without reforms we cannot fearing that economic reforms have stronger growth, which is needed to boost growth after needed at a time when we are years of recession will be fur- spending 3.5% of gross domes- ther delayed. tic product on interest pay- After fi ve months in power, ments alone,” Zrinka Zivkovic Dutch inventor harnessing the waves to clean up the seas the government of Prime Min- Matijevic from Raiff eisenbank ister Tihomir Oreskovic was said. toppled last week following a Croatia needs decisive re- By Sophie Mignon, AFP “The question is: is this a future we ac- quarrel between the main coa- forms to fi x its fragile public Scheveningen, Netherlands cept will happen or do you want to create lition partners — the conserva- fi nances, reduce public debt a future where the oceans become clean tive HDZ party and a reformist standing at 86 % of GDP, im- again?” Most, or “Bridge”, alliance. prove the investment climate he Dutch inventor behind a ground- The micro pieces released as the plas- The central fi gure in the row and spur growth. breaking project to remove millions tics break down are dispersed through the is Tomislav Karamarko, who All of this is now facing fur- Tof tonnes of plastics fl oating in vast seas, entering the food chain with harmful resigned on Tuesday as HDZ ther delays as the vote looms. ocean “garbage patches” yesterday un- eff ects for all marine life. leader. Without reforms, Croatia’s veiled the fi rst prototype of his ambitious Turtles, fi sh, dolphins and others can He is embroiled in a confl ict- potential long-term growth sea-cleaning device. also become entangled in the rubbish, or of-interest case involving his rate is around 1.5% at best, Boyan Slat’s innovative idea — fi rst drawn swallow pieces believing it is food which wife’s business interests. economists say. on a paper napkin when he was still in high they then cannot digest. As the scandal unfolded, he Growth last year was 1.6% school — seeks to use ocean currents to The prototype has been built at a cost of found himself unable to build with 2% expected this year. gather up the masses of bottles, plastic bags, 1.5mn euros ($1.69mn), fi nanced through a new parliamentary majority “I don’t see a major impact fl ip-fl ops and other detritus that sully the crowd-funding as well as donations, in- after the HDZ forced a no-con- hitting investors’ confi dence planet’s waters, eliminating the need for an cluding from the Dutch government. fi dence vote that brought down at the moment, as there are army of boats to haul them in. Slat hopes is to fully roll out the system the government, opening the solid external tailwinds sup- According to the Ocean Cleanup in 2020 once the tests have been evaluated way to a new election just 10 porting economic prospects project, eight million tonnes of plas- and necessary modifi cations made. months after the last. and domestic demand is gain- tics enter the oceans every year, much of He says his system could capture up to Last November’s incon- ing ground,” said Jakub Kratky which has accumulated in fi ve giant gar- 3,000cu m in its arms — enough to fi ll an clusive election produced a from Generali Investments. bage patches, with the largest in the Pa- Olympic-sized swimming pool. fragile government embroiled However, despite rising ex- cifi c between California and Hawaii. “With a single one of those systems in disputes over sensitive po- ports and strong income from The plastic soup is created when the deployed for 10 years, we should be able litical appointments, public tourism, lack of political stabil- rubbish gets caught up in fi ve main to clean up about half the Great Pacifi c administration reforms that ity remains a worry. “gyres” — or rotating oceanic currents. Garbage Patch or more if we would deploy would mean big job cuts, and “The uncertain political en- But 21-year-old Slat believes he can more systems,” he told reporters. Karamarko’s confl ict of inter- vironment will likely dampen harness the power of the currents to help Dutch Environment Minister Sharon est case. momentum for reforms. I’m the great cleanup. Dijksma said it was “an inspiring example There are fears that compa- a bit sceptical that a snap vote “Why move through the ocean if the of how we can tackle the growing problem rable instability will emerge af- will bring the desired political ocean can move through you?” Slat asked of ocean pollution”. ter the coming election. stability,” Kratky said. at a press conference in the harbour in the The project was “crucial to prevent “The risk of a similar situ- There is also pessimism port of Scheveningen, on the outskirts of permanent damage to the environment ation, with Most still as king- about the upcoming election The Hague. and marine life,” she added. maker, is considerable,” said among young people, among Slat’s idea is to use a 100km long V- The project’s most conservative esti- political analyst Davor Gjenero. the worst hit by high unem- shaped barrier made up of large, rubber mate says that in the fi rst 10 years, 70mn According to a recent opin- ployment of almost 16%. pillow-shaped buoys which fl oat on the kg of plastic would be removed. ion poll, the main opposition “We need new people in pol- ocean surface, trailing a 3m long curtain The youngest ever winner of the Cham- party, the Social Democrats itics who can focus on creating from its arms into the water. pion of the Earth award — the UN’s high- (SDP), have 30-percent sup- new jobs, invest more in educa- A smaller 100m prototype unveiled The prototype of The Ocean Cleanup project deployed in Scheveningen yesterday. est environmental honour — Slat gave up port, while the HDZ, which was tion and cut bureaucracy rather yesterday will now be taken onto the his studies in aeronautical engineering to the dominant party in the old than enjoying too many ben- North Sea today for a year-long series of be gathered up into a container and taken micro pieces over the next few decades pursue his project. government, is on 26%. efi ts for doing little or nothing,” tests some 23km off the Dutch coast. for recycling. if we don’t do anything about it,” he told Now the Ocean Cleanup campaign has “Although the SDP is likely to said Rafaela Tassotti, a student The aim is to stop the plastic as it bobs “All those plastic objects, big things reporters as he explained his project, The more than 40 staff backed by dozens of be the relative winner, changes of Spanish. along, gathering it into one place so it can like bottles, crates... will be cut down to Ocean Cleanup. volunteers. Gulf Times Thursday, June 23, 2016 23 EUROPE Berlin eases curbs on monitoring radicalised teenagers

Reuters New European border force Berlin to tackle migrant crisis Pope Francis poses with a group of flag-bearers from Arezzo at the end of his weekly general audience at St Peter’s square in Vatican yesterday. The European Union has reached agreement ermany is planning to loosen restric- to set up a new border and coastguard force tions that have prevented its intel- that could intervene in front-line countries like Gligence agencies from monitoring Greece and Italy to curb the influx of migrants. radicalised teenagers after several attacks this Negotiators for the 28 EU member states year by young extremists exposed fl aws in and the European Parliament said yesterday Pope ready for Armenia visit surveillance rules. they had endorsed a proposal from the Euro- According to an amendment to an anti-terror pean Commission, the bloc’s executive, to set law due to be voted on by parliament tomorrow, up the force by the summer. Reuters Turkey promptly recalled its en- don’t want this to become a trap Rome in 1977 by Armenian gunmen. the age of suspects that Germany’s domestic in- The parliament is expected to vote on the Vatican City voy to the Vatican, Mehmet Pacaci, of political and ideological discus- Armenia was the fi rst nation to telligence agency is allowed to track and collect issue in a key committee next week, and if it and he stayed away for 10 months, sions,” Lombardi said. adopt Christianity as a state re- data on will be reduced from 16 to 14. clears that hurdle, to act on it in a full session an eternity in diplomatic terms. Many Western historians use ligion, in 301, 12 years before the The move comes after a 15-year-old girl, in the French city of Strasbourg next month. ope Francis visits Armenia Turkey accepts that many the word genocide to describe the Roman Empire granted Christians identifi ed by police as Safi a S, nearly killed an “The agreement on the creation of a this weekend and will try Christian Armenians living in the events of a century ago and about religious freedom. offi cer in the Hanover train station in Febru- European Border and Coast Guard shows that Pto avoid reigniting a diplo- Ottoman Empire were killed in a dozen EU countries have infuri- The Armenian Apostolic ary by stabbing him in the neck with a kitchen Europe is able to act swiftly and resolutely to matic dispute with Turkey after his clashes with Ottoman forces dur- ated Turkey by passing resolutions Church, whose leader is known as knife. deal with common challenges,” said European branding of the 1915 mass killings ing World War I, but it disputes the offi cially recognising the Armenian the “Catholicos”, split from Rome Police have since acknowledged that they Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, of Armenians as a genocide infuri- fi gures and denies that the killings massacre as a genocide. over a theological dispute in the received numerous warnings about the girl’s the force’s main sponsor. ated Ankara last year. were systematically orchestrated Lombardi said he preferred to fi fth century and is part of the Ori- descent into radical Islam and also knew she In December, EU leaders set a June 30 During the three-day trip start- and constitute a genocide. use the Armenian phrase “Medz ental Orthodox Churches. It is seen had fl own to Istanbul a month before the at- deadline for agreement on the new force, a ing tomorrow, he will pray at Tz- It also says many Muslim Turks Yeghern,” which roughly translates as the custodian of Armenian na- tack in an apparent attempt to cross into Syria key part of the bloc’s strategy for tackling the itzernakaberd, known in Armenia perished at that time. as “the great evil” or “the great ca- tional identity. and join Islamic State. flow of the migrants along with a deal with as the “Genocide Memorial and In the run-up to Francis’s trip, lamity”. Only about 280,000 of Arme- While there, prosecutors believe she met Turkey sealed in March. Museum” but which the offi cial the Vatican has been at pains to This is the formula some world nia’s population of around 3mn two Islamic State middlemen who convinced Brussels aims to have the force start opera- Vatican programme for the trip avoid the G-word. leaders, including US President people are Roman Catholic. her to carry out a “martyr operation” upon tions in September and be fully operational calls “a memorial of the massa- “Why is there an obsession to Barack Obama, have used. Before returning to Rome on her return to Germany. by November, under a roadmap to restore the cres”. use the word ‘genocide’ and ask Lombardi rejected a reporter’s Sunday, Francis is due to visit the Hans-Georg Maassen, head of Germany’s passport-free Schengen Zone after the travails He will have to tread delicately about it in all the questions?” suggestion that since the Pope had Khor Virap monastery in the foot- domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Of- of the migration crisis. there and in half a dozen other ad- Vatican spokesman Father Feder- used the word genocide last year hills of Mt. fi ce for the Protection of the Constitution Several countries have reintroduced border dresses to political and religious ico Lombardi testily responded to the Vatican had chosen a policy of Ararat, near the border with (BfV), has said the strict rules on monitoring controls that were eliminated years ago as leaders. journalists at a briefi ng on the trip “reductionism” to placate Turkey. Turkey, and release doves along minors contributed to the security failures in part of Schengen as the EU deals with a record Last year Francis described the this week. As if to fi re a warning shot across with Catholicos Karekin II as a Hanover. flow of more than one mn migrants and refu- killing of up to 1.5mn Armenians in “We know what happened. None the Vatican’s bow, Turkey’s em- symbol of their hopes for peace and He has pushed publicly for a loosening of gees since the start of 2015. World War I as “the fi rst genocide of us is denying that there were bassy to the Holy See last week held reconciliation in the region. the rules and his calls began to resonate in Under the deal, member states would still of the 20th century”, days before horrible massacres. We recognise a commemoration of the “mar- In September, Francis is due to Berlin after two 16-year-olds with ties to Ger- manage their borders on a daily basis but commemorations to mark the cen- this. We are going to the memorial tyrdom” of Taha Carim, a Turkish visit two other Caucasus coun- many’s radical Salafi st community attacked a could call on emergency support from a pool tenary of the massacres in April. precisely to remember this but we ambassador to the Vatican killed in tries, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Sikh temple in the city of Essen in April. of at least 1,500 border guards. The loosening of the age rule is part of a The new force represents an expansion package of tighter measures that the German of the size and tasks of the existing Frontex government agreed following deadly attacks border agency, based in Warsaw. by Islamic militants in Brussels and Paris. For example, it will have a “greater role” in The new law would also increase police returning people deemed economic migrants Paris backs off on union protest ban 5 Star wants powers to deploy undercover agents, em- to their countries of origin, the parliament said. power Germany’s intelligence agencies to ex- Artis Pabriks, parliament’s lead negotiator change information with foreign partners and on the issue, said the force “will ensure that Reuters The initial decision to ban the march sparked Italy euro require people who purchase pre-paid mobile the EU external borders are safer and better Paris instant condemnation from lawmakers across the phones to provide identifi cation and a home managed. political divide and stirred tensions within the address. “This is not a silver bullet that can solve the deeply divided Socialist Party. referendum Scepticism towards surveillance runs deep migration crisis that the EU is facing today or rance’s government said yesterday that trade Philippe Martinez, leader of the hardline CGT in Germany because of the excesses of the fully restore trust in the Schengen area, but it unions could hold a protest march in Paris union, told a news conference that the right to Nazi Gestapo and East German Stasi secret is very much needed first step,” he added. Fafter earlier telling police to ban the dem- protest had been restored. Reuters police. onstration, reversing course under fi re from union The unions have been demonstrating since early Rome More recently, revelations of widespread bosses and dissenters in the ruling Socialist Party. March against planned reforms to loosen labour spying in Europe by the US National Security ligence agencies say there are signs that Is- Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said he regulations and make hiring and fi ring easier. Agency (NSA) have deepened suspicion of in- lamic State may have planted fi ghters among had personally ordered the ban but then decided to Trade unions say the proposal will erode the rights taly’s anti-establishment 5 Star telligence agencies in Germany. the hundreds of thousands of migrants who allow the protest today after an emergency meet- of workers, while the government says it is key to movement, buoyed by big gains Rights groups, which have criticised arrived in the country in uncontrolled fashion ing with the unions at which a compromise was tackling unemployment which is running at 10%. Iin local elections, has pressed de- France’s robust police crackdown following last year. reached on where the rally could be held. Hollande and his government have stood fi rm mands for a referendum on whether to the Paris attacks, praise German restraint. Intelligence agencies and conservative pol- “No violence will be tolerated,” said Cazeneuve. against union demands for the bill to be scrapped, keep the euro, something that would They point to US policies after 9/11, includ- iticians warn that tight restrictions on sur- Hours earlier, Paris’s police chief had said he even though opinion polls show he is France’s add to a wave of plebiscites shaking ing the waterboarding and renditioning of veillance have left Germany out of step with had “no choice but to ban the demonstration” for most unpopular leader in decades. politics across Europe. terror suspects, as a lesson in how not to react the rest of Europe and at greater risk of attack. safety reasons after the unions refused to stage the Yesterday’s compromise over the protest could The fact that Britain is holding a to attacks. “The heightened threat level has under- protest in a large square, wanting instead to march spur hopes for a broader agreement on the draft referendum on whether to remain in Members of the opposition Greens and scored the need to reduce hurdles for the Ger- through the capital’s streets. law which is currently being debated in the Senate, the European Union showed the bloc Left Party have warned against the dangers of man intelligence services, notably in the area The ban would have been the fi rst outlawing of a said Frederic Dabi of Ifop pollsters. was fl awed and Italy needed to rethink tougher counter-terrorism laws but pressure of data retention where the law remains very union-organised demonstration since 1962. “French voters don’t like the law but they also its relations to the EU, 5 Star’s Luigi has still grown to tighten surveillance rules. restrictive compared to other European coun- Violence on the fringes of recent protests has want this to be over with,” Dabi said. Di Maio, vice president of the lower Although Germany has not been the victim tries,” Marian Wendt, a member of Chancellor stretched a police force already challenged by the “They consider the government and the unions house of parliament, said. of a major attack by Islamist extremists, it was Angela Merkel’s conservatives who sits on the demands of a state of emergency in place since Is- are both responsible for the stalemate,” he said, Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s a transit country for militants who carried domestic aff airs committee in the Bundestag, lamist militant attacks on Paris last November and adding the government U-turn on the ban showed National Front, has said she wants a out the Paris and Brussels attacks, and intel- told Reuters. fan violence during the Euro 2016 tournament. how tense the situation was. vote on EU membership. “All EU countries should have a referendum,” she told TF1 television. “The EU is in meltdown, it’s falling apart.” In recent months, the Netherlands has had a referendum on EU-Ukraine Cyprus ‘optimistic’ on containing deadly wildfi re ties, and Italy on drilling rights, while Switzerland, which often holds plebi- scites, is still at odds with the EU over AFP planes in the air he was “optimistic” the fi re a 2014 vote forcing the government to Nicosia would be brought under control soon. impose quotas on migrants from the “Today we hope that with the help from so bloc. many countries in the air we can succeed in “We want a consultative referen- yprus yesterday expressed optimism controlling the fi re,” he told public radio. dum on the euro,” Di Maio said during that it could contain the island’s worst Christodoulides said Russia too had of- a talk show. Cforest fi re in years after additional fered to send fi refi ghting planes but he said “The euro as it is today does not fi refi ghting aircraft arrived from France and they might not be needed. work. We either have alternative cur- Italy. The blaze, which has raged since Sunday, rencies or a ‘Euro 2’.” The government meanwhile declared three has destroyed at least 15sq km of farmland 5 Star has suggested Europe adopt days of mourning from yesterday for two and forestry. two diff erent currencies, one for the fi refi ghters killed as the blaze raged in the Eff orts to control it have been hampered by rich north and another for southern Solea valley in the northern foothills of the the tinder-dry conditions as the island swel- countries. Troodos mountains. ters under temperatures topping 40 degrees Any referendum on the euro would President Nicos Anastasiades was set to Celsius. be merely a test of public opinion be- attend their funerals and has cancelled all his Funerals for the fi refi ghters were to take cause Italian law does not allow such offi cial activities until the end of the week. place separately yesterday and today, au- votes to change international treaties. Three French and one Italian aircraft thorities said. It would also require a lengthy par- joined two British, four Greek and six Israeli They died in hospital on Monday from in- liamentary procedure to organise and aircraft that were already helping to tackle juries suff ered when the truck they were in would be highly unlikely unless 5-Star the second massive wildfi re to hit the Medi- plunged 40m down a cliff . fi rst won power at a national election. Relatives, friends and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades (left) attending the funeral of Marios Aristotelous, terranean holiday island in less than a week. Flags would be fl own at half-mast on But if it were to eventually produce a Cypriot firefighter who died while fighting a blaze raging in the northern foothills of the Troodos mountains, Cyprus government spokesman Nicos government buildings during the three-day a popular rejection of the euro it would at the Charalambos church in Deneia, west of the capital Nicosia. Christodoulides said that with so many mourning period, authorities said. send a clear signal to the government. Gulf Times 24 Thursday, June 23, 2016 INDIA

CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION CRIME PROTEST AVIATION ACB court grants bail AAP wants Jung, ACB chief Kolkata techie held for Tribals blockade rail, road SpiceJet starts to Chhagan Bhujbal made co-accused in case duping foreign clients routes over statehood discount fare scheme

A Special Anti-Corruption Bureau Court The Aam Aadmi Party yesterday said Delhi Lt An engineer working with a software firm Demanding a separate state, a tribal In a bid to attract more flyers in the upcoming yesterday granted bail to former Maharashtra Governor Najeeb Jung and Anti-Corruption was arrested in Kolkata for allegedly duping group in Tripura yesterday blockaded the lean season, budget passenger carrier SpiceJet deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal and Branch chief M K Meena be made co-accused in foreign clients of another IT firm, police National Highway No 8 and the railway yesterday announced a new promotional airfare his nephew Sameer Bhujbal in various land a case against the previous Delhi government. said yesterday. The cyber crime wing of line - the northeastern state’s two vital links scheme. The ‘Monsoon Bonanza Sale’ off ers scam cases. However, the two will remain in In a letter to Jung, AAP legislator Rajendra Pal the Bidhannagar police arrested Akhilesh with the outside world. The Indigenous passengers with one-way base fare that starts judicial custody in connection with a multi- Gautam said the Arvind Kejriwal government Shaw on Tuesday following complaints that People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), which has from Rs444 for its non-stop and via flights on its million money laundering case filed by the had during its first 49 days in power in 2013-14 he used confidential data and siphoned off been agitating for the past few years for domestic routes. According to the carrier, the Enforcement Directorate. Bhujbal, a senior filed four FIRs against the “wrongdoers” of Sheila $20,000-30,000 of clients of an IT firm he the creation of a separate state, started promotional one-way base fare of Rs444 is valid leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, was Dikshit government. “After Kejriwal resigned you was associated with earlier. “Shaw used credit its 24-hour rail and road blockade at 6am on its Jammu-Srinagar, Ahmedabad-Mumbai, arrested on March 14 and ex-MP Sameer on took over... sat on all these four cases... absolutely and debit card details available with the firm yesterday at Khamting Bari in Baramura hill Mumbai-Goa, Delhi-Dehradun and Delhi-Amritsar February 1 for their involvement in scams no action was taken in these cases,” Gautam said. and along with several accomplices siphoned range in western Tripura. Tribal protesters routes among others. “The fares would vary involving the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi “You had been protecting Dikshit... ACB chief off between $20,000 and 30,000,” Deputy led by their leaders sat on the highway and from sector to sector depending on the travel and at Kalina in Mumbai. Bhujbal’s son and NCP Meena has also colluded with you in this criminal Commissioner K P Barui said. The crime came the state’s sole railway line. “Around 10,000 distance and flight schedules and timings are legislator Pankaj Bhujbal has been summoned activity,” he said. “Kindly forward my letter to to light last month after the IT firm lodged a agitators blockaded the national highway subject to regulatory approvals and change,” the by the ED, which earlier issued a non-bailable ACB with direction that Meena and yourself be police complaint that sensitive company data and the railway line,” police chief Abhijit airline said in a statement. The new five-day sales arrest warrant against him. made co-accused in these four FIRs.” was stolen. Saptarshi said. off er will be open till the midnight of June 26.

Top leader quits BSP ISRO launches in blow to Mayawati 20 satellites IANS Lucknow

n a major blow to the Bahu- jan Samaj Party, senior leader ISwamy Prasad Maurya yes- at one go, sets terday quit the party. In no time, BSP chief Mayawati hit back, saying she was anyway planning to expel him. Maurya, leader of the oppo- sition in the Uttar Pradesh as- sembly, said he felt “suff ocated” a new record as Mayawati was “selling” party tickets and had given up the The business of putting to fl y in space,” Kiran Kumar said. from German Aerospace Centre, principles and ideology of party commercial satellites into Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle or Germany and the 25.5kg GHGSat- founder Kanshi Ram. space for a fee is growing as PSLV is India’s workhorse launch D from Canada. Maurya, however, thanked phone, Internet and other vehicle, and has so far successfully Just over 17 minutes into the Mayawati for giving him plum companies as well as countries carried 113 satellites, of which 74 fl ight, the PSLV rocket ejected Car- posts in the party and said he had seek greater and more high- were for international customers, tosat at an altitude of around 515km. discussed issues that were wor- tech communications ISRO said on its website. It was followed by the two rying him with her but found that Among the satellites were 13 other Indian satellites - the 1.5kg she was not interested in course Agencies from the US including one from a Sathyabamasat from Sathyabama correction. Sriharikota Google-owned company and one University that would collect data A national vice-president of each from Chennai’s Sathyabama on green house gases and the 1kg the BSP, Maurya’s resignation is University and College of Engi- Swayam satellite from College of widely seen as a major blow to ndia successfully launched neering in Pune. Engineering to provide point-to- the Dalit party which is aiming to a rocket carrying 20 satel- Prime Minister Narendra Modi point messaging services to the return to power in the 2017 Uttar Ilites yesterday, setting a new said the launch was a “monumen- HAM radio community. Pradesh assembly polls. national record as its famously tal accomplishment,” although it Soon the other satellites were Maurya said he would disclose frugal space agency looks to grab trails Russia’s 33 record launched put into orbit. his future strategy in some days. a larger slice of the lucrative com- in 2014 and Nasa’s haul of 29 the Expert Ajay Lele said the latest Addressing a press conference, mercial space market. year before. test was a “quantum jump” for In- minutes after Maurya announced The rocket blasted off from the “Our space programme has dia which has “made its presence his decision, Mayawati rebutted southern spaceport of Sriharikota time and again shown the trans- felt even more now by displaying his charges and said he had been carrying satellites from the US, formative potential of science its promising market potential.” trying to get ticket for his son and Germany, Canada and Indonesia, & technology in people’s lives,” “India is attracting key foreign daughter. the most in a single Indian mission. Modi tweeted. players, most importantly the US, When she said ‘no’, Maurya Most of the satellites are in- The entire mission was over in in the space market thanks to its quit, she alleged. tended to observe and measure around 26 minutes. cost-eff ectiveness and credibil- “He has been seeking tickets the Earth’s atmosphere, while an- The images sent by Cartosat ity,” said Lele, a senior fellow at for his family for the 2017 as- other aims to provide services for satellite will be useful for carto- the New Delhi-based Institute for sembly polls. I had relented on amateur radio operators. graphic, urban, rural, coastal land Defence Studies and Analyses. the advice of party colleagues in “Each of these small objects use, water distribution and other Lele said he expected ISRO to 2012 but both his children lost,” that you are putting into space applications. form a public-private partnership she said. will carry out their own activity, According to ISRO, the 110kg to outsource its growing commer- Mayawati said the party was which is independent of the other, SkySat Gen2-1 belonging to cial activity in another three to going to expel him very soon and it and each of them will live a won- Terra Bella, a Google company, four years. was good he had quit on his own. derful life for a fi nite period,” In- is a small earth imaging satellite Last month India successfully “He has done us a favour by dian Space Research Organisation capable of capturing sub-metre launched its fi rst mini space shut- leaving the party on his own,” (ISRO) chairman A S Kiran Kumar resolution imagery and high defi - tle as it joined the global race to said the four-time chief minister. told the NDTV news network. nition video. make reusable rockets. The BSP is desperate to win the The business of putting com- The Planet Lab’s Dove Satellites In 2013 India sent an unmanned 2017 assembly polls after being mercial satellites into space for a are also earth imaging satellites. rocket to orbit Mars at a cost of wiped out in Uttar Pradesh in the fee is growing as phone, Internet A total of 12 Dove satellites each just $73mn compared with Nasa’s 2014 Lok Sabha polls. and other companies as well as weighing 4.7kg were carried in Maven Mars mission which had a countries seek greater and more this mission inside three Quad- $671mn price tag. high-tech communications. Pack dispensers, the ISRO said. The successful mission was a India is competing with other The PSLV rocket also put into source of immense pride in In- international players for a greater orbit the 85kg M3MSat from Can- dia, which beat rival China in be- share of that launch market, and ada. The technology demonstra- coming the fi rst Asian country to is known for its low-cost space tion mission is jointly funded and reach the Red Planet. programme. managed by Defence Research Modi has often hailed India’s The launch of PSLV-C34, car- and Development Canada and the budget space technology, quip- rying 20 satellites in a single pay- Canadian Space Agency. ping in 2014 that a rocket that load including the Cartosat-2 se- The other satellites that were launched four foreign satellites The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying 20 satellites is launched from Sriharikota in Andhra ries satellite and 19 co-passenger launched were: 120kg LAPSN-A3 into orbit had cost less to make Maurya: quits Pradesh yesterday. satellites, was like “allowing birds of Indonesia, the 130kg BIROS than Hollywood fi lm Gravity.

‘Humiliated’ Anju George quits Gujarat fi rm launches as Kerala Sports Council chief portable hotel rooms IANS built out of unused or discarded IANS ing Kerala as the council consisted month after George was cen- Ahmedabad containers, ensuring speedy con- Thiruvananthapuram of top fl ight international sports sured by Jayarajan when she went struction without compromising personalities. The state govern- to meet him after he assumed of- the quality,” he added. ment should say why they are do- fi ce. The minister told her that a shering in what has been According to Bathwal, the lympian Anju Bobby ing this,” Radhakrishnan said. lot of corruption had taken place claimed to be an innova- rooms would have plush interiors George, who has come State Congress president V M during her tenure. Utive idea, Beetle Smar- and decor along with top secu- Ounder attack from Kerala Sudheeran said George was a vic- “I was appointed by the former totels, the fi rst portable concept rity mechanisms and safe deposit Sports Minister E P Jayarajan and tim of the intolerance of the new Kerala state government around hotel built completely using ship- lockers. It is capable of meeting his party colleague, yesterday government. six months ago and things start- ping containers, opens this month demand-and-supply with ease. decided to step down as presi- “We appointed her looking ed to go wrong when we decided in the Mundra-SEZ in Gujarat. “With Beetle Smartotels, dent of the Kerala Sports Coun- only into her talent and it was to appoint an ethics commission Young hotel entrepreneur we are stepping into a domain cil, and the minister immediately not a political appointment as which was given the mandate to Tanmay Bathwal, who runs the where no one has treaded be- welcomed the move. we wanted to take sports to a new probe corruption, nepotism, har- Ahmedabad-based Hirise Hos- fore and have tasted success. “Good that she has resigned,” level under accomplished sport- assment over the entire gambit of pitality Pvt Ltd, is promoting this We are successfully bridging the Jayarajan told reporters add- ing personalities,” he said. the council for the past decade,” venture to cater to the soaring gap in availability of temporary, ing that no one asked her to step Former chief minister Oom- George said after a meeting of the demand for hassle-free movable yet quality accommodation, in a down. men Chandy said George never council here. rooms ideal for remote locations, record time,” he said, adding that When it was pointed out that approached anyone seeking “The sports lottery that was industry clusters and venues hold- the facilities required for these along with her the entire council her post and this clearly shows conducted during the Left gov- ing big-ticket cultural conventions. portable hotels were being manu- has also resigned, he said: “Good, the intolerant attitude of the ernment (2006-11) is the biggest “Contrary to the traditional factured in Ahmedabad. very happy to hear that also.” new Communist Party of India misappropriation that has taken brick-and-mortar hotels which Hirise Hospitality Pvt Ltd aims Senior Congress legislator and (Marxist) government. place in the history of sports in take a minimum of three to four to add 2,000 portable hotel rooms former sports minister Thiru- But Chief Minister Pinarayi the state. The infrastructure de- years to get rolling, a Smar- across the country by 2018. vanchoor Radhakrishnan, who Vijayan attempted to play down velopment in sports that takes totel could be built in just three Beetle Smartotels are also be- had appointed George, said it was the issue. “If one council goes, place under the council is totally months,” Bathwal said. ing built with options to choose the end result of a conspiracy by another one will come in its corrupt. The truth has to come “These moving hotels use the between a portable service apart- the state government. place,” he said. out,” said George, who added concept of recycling and are envi- ment and rooms ideal for single “This is a shame for sports lov- The confl ict began earlier this that her e-mail was also hacked. George: slams government ronmentally conducive. They are business travellers. Gulf Times Thursday, June 23, 2016 25 INDIA Cabinet okays Protest against Bollywood actor norms for auction of radiowaves

Agencies pressed concerns over a possi- New Delhi ble move to collect licence fee and spectrum usage charges on revenues earned from trad- he government yester- ing airwaves, saying it would day approved a mega amount to double taxation. Tauction of mobile The battle for spectrum phone radiowaves, hoping to among India’s top eight mo- scoop about $85bn from the bile phone carriers, includ- sale of licences in the world’s ing market leaders Vodafone, second-largest market. Bharti Airtel and Idea, has The new mobile radiowave been fi erce with each vying to spectrums on auction are seen roll out high-speed broadband as crucial for companies com- services. peting in the lucrative but cut- The auction will hand Prime throat Indian market of a bil- Minister Narendra Modi’s lion mobile subscribers. government much-needed “This may be the largest revenue as it attempts to re- ever auction in the history of form the economy. Activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party stage a demonstration against Bollywood actor Salman Khan for his remarks that he felt like a “raped woman” after shooting a the country,” Finance Minis- India is the world’s second- wrestling scene in his upcoming film Sultan, in Patna yesterday. ter Arun Jaitley said at a press largest mobile phone market conference. by users after China. More than 2,300 MHz of The government also said spectrum would be available yesterday it had put in place a for auction across seven band- special fi nancial package for widths and based on their re- the textile and apparel sector, serve price, the government a move aimed at helping to is looking to mop up $85bn reboot an economy beset by against the $17.6bn received legal barriers and regulatory last year. excesses. The government hopes the “We are thankful to the step will lead to a cumulative Sack chief economic government for making increase of $30bn in exports available the huge and an investment of $11bn quantum of spectrum. over the next three years, the This is the fi rst time so government said in a state- much of new bands are ment. going for auctions. Earlier, Offi cials said the new pack- it was mostly renewal” age was mainly aimed at wom- en empowerment since they adviser, says Swamy “The appetite for India’s constitute 70% of the work- telecom sector is very big,” force in the garment industry. Jaitley snubs BJP MP, says is Jaitley’s top economic adviser. made it clear that neither the BJP uttered a word on this issue,” riolic public campaign waged by Communications and IT Min- This apart, the measures are government has full faith in “Sack him!!!” the 76-year-old party nor the government shared Congress spokesman P L Punia Swamy, whose roughhouse poli- ister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who labour-friendly and will create Arvind Subramanian BJP MP said in a volley of tweets Swamy’s views. said. tics is backed by a fi erce intellect also briefed the media, said jobs and economies of scale to his 2.8mn followers, accusing “The party has said it doesn’t “Swamy is doing all this be- - he obtained a doctorate in eco- when asked if such a large auc- and boost exports, they said. Agencies Subramanian, before he joined share Swamy’s view. I will also cause he wants to be the coun- nomics and taught at Harvard. tion would evoke the kind of The package has many la- New Delhi the Indian government, of back- add one more fact from the try’s fi nance minister,” Punia Swamy has also advertised his interest which the government bour-friendly measures, in- ing Washington in a row over point of view of discipline of In- said insisting that the primary own credentials to become In- was hoping for. cluding Employee Provident intellectual property rights and dian politicians... to what extent target of Swamy’s attack was dia’s fi nance minister. “We are thankful to the gov- Fund (EPF) scheme reforms, resh from claiming the mocking Modi’s role as chief should we attack those, the dis- Jaitley. In an open letter to Modi a ernment for making available whereby the government will scalp of Reserve Bank of minister of Gujarat. cipline and constraint of whose Meanwhile, senior Congress month ago Swamy, just appoint- the huge quantum of spec- bear the employer’s entire FIndia Governor Raghuram Responding, Jaitley stood by offi ces prevent them from re- leader Digvijaya Singh too at- ed to a seat in the upper house trum. This is the fi rst time so contribution of 12% under Rajan, Bharatiya Janata Party MP his aide and upbraided Swamy sponding and this has happened tacked Modi and Swamy. Rajya Sabha, accused Rajan of much of new bands are go- EPF for new employees of the Subramanian Swamy has turned for attacking an offi cial who was more than once,” he said. “Subramanian Swamy now being “mentally not fully Indi- ing for auctions. Earlier, it garment industry earning less his fi re on Chief Economic Ad- not in a position to defend him- Finance ministry offi cials who guns for Arvind Subramanian. an” and demanded he be termi- was mostly renewal,” Rajan S than Rs15,000 per month for viser Arvind Subramanian, who self publicly. spoke on condition of anonym- Target is Arun Jaitley not Arvind nated immediately. Mathews, director general of the fi rst three years. once worked with Rajan at the “The government has full ity, because of the sensitivity of Subramanian,” Singh tweeted. Swamy did not respond to the Cellular Operators’ Asso- On Monday, the govern- International Monetary Fund. confi dence in Chief Economic the situation, said they feared “Is Modi handing over fi - calls and text messages sent to ciation of India, said. ment announced sweeping The attack by Swamy fuels Adviser Arvind Subramanian,” Swamy enjoyed the tacit backing nance ministry to Subramanian his mobile telephone. “The industry now holds reforms to expand foreign in- concern that his real target is Jaitley told a news conference. of senior fi gures in the BJP and Swamy,” asked Singh. The broadside comes amid 2,772 MHz of spectrum and vestment across nine sectors, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, “Arvind Subramanian’s advice government. Rajan dropped a bombshell uncertainty over who might suc- with this auction the govern- including defence and civil whose relationship with Rajan, to the government from time to The opposition Congress Par- last weekend when he an- ceed Rajan at the central bank ment will make more spectrum aviation, to accelerate job cre- while never warm, helped steady time has been of great value. In ty described Swamy as the ‘un- nounced that he would not make when his term expires in Sep- across all bands,” Mathews said. ation and manufacturing. public fi nances, cut infl ation and fact, the presentation made on declared spokesperson’ of the himself available for a second tember. But a decision on spectrum Modi stormed to power in keep Asia’s third-largest econo- textile and garment sector is also prime minister. term as RBI chief, raising ques- Subramanian and Shaktikanta usage charges, which has divid- 2014, promising an overhaul of my on the move. prepared in active consultation “A nominated member of the tions over whether India’s new- Das, economic aff airs secretary ed stakeholders, was deferred the faltering economy. Swamy, a maverick lawmaker, with him,” Jaitley said referring Rajya Sabha with BJP’s backing found commitment to sound at the fi nance ministry, have fea- with the matter being referred Growth is now chugging took a potshot yesterday at Sub- to a presentation made by Textile has launched a scathing attack money and low infl ation would tured in market speculation on to the telecom watchdog. along at 7.9%, the fastest of ramanian, an economist former- Secretary Rashmi Verma. on the chief economic adviser. outlast him. possible contenders for the top Telecom bodies have ex- any major economy. ly based in the United States who The fi nance minister also But the prime minister has not His departure followed a vit- RBI job. Octogenarian art dealer arrested

AFP Chennai

olice have arrested an octo- genarian art dealer for pos- Psessing hundreds of artefacts thought to have been stolen from Hindu temples, as they probe pos- sible links to international smug- gling rackets, offi cers said yester- day. G Deenadhayalan, 85, was for- mally arrested on Tuesday after police carried out multiple raids on his properties in Tamil Nadu, leading to the recovery of the cache of idols. Police have called in experts to determine the age of the 275- odd metal and stone statues of Hindu gods, which some spe- cialists say could be hundreds of years old. “Deenadhayalan is booked for conspiring to smuggle idols and idol theft,” Pon Manickavel, in- spector general of a Tamil Nadu police unit that tracks down sto- len idols, said. A security guard stands outside the home of G Deenadhayalan in Chennai yesterday. Deenadhayalan was remanded in custody after appearing in court on housed in the hundreds of temples Police this month conducted international art dealer Subhash Tuesday on initial charges of con- and shrines located throughout the lengthy raids on Deenadhayalan’s Kapoor was arrested and extradited spiracy and theft, as well as a charge state. house, warehouse and offi ce where to India on charges of running a of smuggling under the Antiquity Smugglers and looters have long he has run his art business for some multi-million dollar international and Art Treasures Act. been suspected of targeting the three decades. smuggling racket. The arrest comes after the United temples, many of which are locat- “We have seized substantial Police are probing whether States returned more than 200 stat- ed in remote areas and have been evidence to confirm that he had Deenadhayalan has any links with ues and other artefacts earlier this abandoned. sold several antiques and arte- Kapoor, who used to own a gallery month to Prime Minister Narendra Police said they uncovered the facts to many traders and indi- in Manhattan but is now in jail in Modi that were taken from Indian suspected racket suspected to viduals in Europe, UK and the Chennai awaiting trial. temples. have been led by Deenadhaya- US,” another senior officer in- Kapoor denies wrongdoing. Deenadhayalan’s arrest prompt- lan after they arrested a gang of volved in the investigation, Pra- “We are yet to confi rm Deenad- ed the Tamil Nadu government to thieves carrying stolen idols last teep V Philip, said. hayalan’s connection with Kapoor,” order an inventory of idols thought month. The arrest comes fi ve years after said Philip. Gulf Times 26 Thursday, June 23, 2016 LATIN AMERICA

COMMENT INVESTIGATION DISEASE CORPORATE CRITICISM Peru to cut US ties if Trump Chile former minister US, Brazilian researchers Plan to beef up Brazil UN rights body condemns wins, jokes Kuczynsk being probed for bribery launch massive Zika study state firms’ management violence in Mexico protests

Peru’s president-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said Chile’s public prosecutor said it was investigating US researchers have announced plans to Brazil’s Senate has approved a bill that aims to The United Nations human rights off ice has that his government would severe ties with the US a former high-ranking cabinet off icial in President conduct a vast study on health risks faced by improve governance and management at state called for an impartial investigation into deadly if Republican Donald Trump wins the presidential Michelle Bachelet’s government for bribery pregnant women in areas where Zika virus companies by increasing transparency and demonstrations in Mexico as the government election in November. Kuczynski said he and tax off ences related to counsel provided is prevalent, particularly in Latin America. setting competency standards for who can be announced talks with protesting teachers mentioned his worries about a Trump presidency to London-listed mining company Antofagasta Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health appointed to run them. The “law of responsibility to prevent more violence. Ten people died to US President Barack Obama on a congratulatory Minerals. Jorge Insunza was appointed secretary (NIH) in Washington and its Brazilian counterpart for state companies” is an attempt to improve and more than 100 were injured in Sunday’s phone call. Asked by a reporter what would general minister, a post which includes whipping Fiocruz, ‘The Zika in Infants and Pregnancy corporate decision-making after corruption unrest in the southern state of Oaxaca, where happen to relations with the US if Trump wins, a congressional votes for the president, in May Study’ (ZIP) aims to enrol upwards of 10,000 scandals like the one at state-run oil producer the radical CNTE teachers union has blocked laughing Kuczynski said “we’re going to grab a saw 2015. He stepped down a month later amid a pregnant women ages 15 and older. The study Petrobras. The measure, which now goes to roads in protest against President Enrique Pena and cut them off !” Trump is a threat to the region wave of criticism by lawmakers about counsel will open first in Puerto Rico and expand to the lower house of congress, would prohibit Nieto’s education reform. The Mexico off ice of “because he wants to put up a wall between the US he had provided mining companies while a Brazil, Colombia and other areas aff ected by the people with a union, ministerial or senior local the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Latin America and make Mexicans pay for it!” congressman. An off icial in the prosecutor’s virus, up to 15 sites. Scientists will follow study government position from being nominated condemned the violence and called for an Kuczynski said in reference to Trump’s proposal for off ice, who declined to be named, confirmed that participants from the first trimester through at for top executive roles or a board seat at state “independent, swift, exhaustive and impartial” stemming the flow of undocumented immigrants. it was opening an investigation. least the first year after birth. companies. investigation into the clashes. New Panama Canal locks set to open for mega-ships

DPA been employed on the site. Panama City The mega-project cost at least $5.25bn. The canal management has n Sunday, Panama’s disputed cost overruns to- ship will come in. The talling $1.6bn posted by the Ocontainer vessel Cosco GUPC construction group, Shipping Panama will open and if GUPC is successful in its the expanded Panama Ca- demands, the expansion could nal, traversing the new Cocoli become even more expensive. locks, as President Juan Carlos The expansion project dug Varela, regional leaders, and new access channels on both thousands of spectators and sides of the canal and built guests look on. larger locks, while dredgers The widened waterway widened and deepened the linking the Atlantic and Pa- shipping channel. cifi c Oceans is meant to herald In the future, smaller ves- a new era in global maritime sels will take the old route trade. while the largest will pass The new locks will al- through the new locks. Be- low the passage of so-called tween 35 and 40 ships pass post-Panamax class freight- through the Panama Canal ers, which can carry as many every day. as 14,000 containers — nearly The expansion won’t Farc negotiator Marcos Carratala reads a document next to Colombian government spokeswoman Marcela Duran in Havana, Cuba, yesterday. three times as much freight change the number of pas- as the ships that squeezed sages, but many ships passing through the existing locks. through will be bigger. Tankers, like those carrying “After the expansion, 96% liquefi ed natural gas, will also of all ships worldwide can pass be able to take the shortcut through our locks,” said canal through the Central Ameri- authority spokeswoman Mon- can isthmus, saving time and ica Martinez. Colombia government, money they now spend cir- “We expect that we can cling around Cape Horn at the double the cargo throughput southern tip of South America. of currently 300mn tonnes per “The trend for years has year to 600mn tonnes.” been going towards larger ves- From the control tower in sels, because they cost less Cocoli on the Pacifi c side, to operate,” said the Panama lock keepers oversee the new rebels agree full ceasefi re Canal Authority’s deputy ad- three-chamber system. Eve- ministrator, Manuel Benitez. rything is controlled by the AFP that has killed hundreds of thou- fi rmed the deal was complete mentation of such a deal remain guarantees and the fi ght against “We had to react to that, or we click of a mouse. Havana sands of people in the jungles of and would be formally an- to be settled. the criminal organisations” ac- would have eventually become Each lock chamber is 130 the major cocaine-producing nounced today at a ceremony The Colombian confl ict cused of fuelling the confl ict, the uninteresting for the shipping metres long, 16.7 metres wide country. with Colombia’s President Juan started as a rural uprising in the statement said. companies.” and 10.6 metres deep. olombia’s government The deal would all but end the Manuel Santos and Farc com- 1960s. It has drawn in various “This means the end of the To keep its canal competi- It takes fi ve minutes to open and the Farc guerrilla confl ict by resolving one of the mander Timoleon leftist rebel groups, right-wing longest and most bloody con- tive in the global economy, and close the Italian-produced Cgroup have reached an fi nal points at peace talks be- Jimenez. paramilitaries and drug gangs fl ict in the western hemisphere Panama undertook the mas- lock-gates, and about three agreement on a defi nitive cease- tween the government and the It said foreign leaders and of- over the decades in this South and a new opportunity to bet on sive construction project in hours to raise ships the 28 me- fi re in Latin America’s long- Revolutionary Armed Forces of fi cials including UN Secretary American state of 49mn people. democracy,” said Angelika Ret- the jungle, clearing 150mn cu- tres to the level of Lake Gatun, est civil war, they said in a joint Colombia (Farc), the country’s General Ban Ki-moon would at- It has left 260,000 people dead, tberg, a confl ict resolution spe- bic metres of earth and debris. which they must traverse to statement yesterday. biggest rebel group. tend the ceremony. 45,000 missing and nearly 7mn cialist at the University of the Twelve million tonnes of get to the Atlantic side. “The national government Farc commander Carlos Loza- Presidents Raul Castro of displaced, according to offi cial Andes. cement and 192,000 tonnes For safety reasons, all the and Farc delegations inform the da tweeted: “On Thursday, June Cuba, Nicolas Maduro of Ven- fi gures. Santos’s government wants of steel — 19 times that used systems are built to be redun- public that we have successfully 23, we will announce the last day ezuela and Michelle Bachelet of Human rights groups say a referendum to put the seal of in the Eiff el Tower in Paris — dant: the lock gates, the mo- reached an agreement for a de- of the war.” Chile will be among the other atrocities have been committed popular approval on its peace ef- went into building new sets of tors, the electrical system and fi nitive bilateral ceasefi re and Another Farc leader had ear- leaders present. on all sides. Many families are fort. For that it needs the coun- locks on the Atlantic and Pa- the nozzles. end to hostilities,” it lier said a deal was “nearly” Colombian President Juan still searching for missing loved try’s constitutional judges to cifi c sides of the canal. This ensures the canal can said. agreed with one point still to be Manuel Santos said this week ones. approve a law already passed in Over the last nine years keep operating, even if technical The announcement heralds settled. he hopes to seal a full peace deal The accord covers “the lay- Congress. Peace talks have been some 40,000 workers have problems arise in one system. an end to a half-century confl ict But the later statement con- by July 20. The means of imple- ing-down of arms, security underway in Havana since 2012. Uproar as jaguar shot Mayor detained Man confesses to 25 dead after Olympic event murders in Colombia DPA Gonzalez added that DNA Reuters will be no more such incidents captive animal law enforce- Medellin, Colombia tests still needed to be done to Rio de Janeiro at Rio 2016,” the committee ment at People for the Ethical confi rm the identities of the added. Treatment of Animals (Peta), two women and two children A cartoon smiling yellow said in a n alleged serial killer found on the property. jaguar featured at an jaguar known as Ginga is the statement. detained over the week- “These individuals were Olympic torch cer- mascot of the Brazilian Olym- In Brazil, the Rio de Janei- Aend in Colombia has strangled with a nylon cord A emony was shot dead pic team. ro-based animal rights group admitted to murdering at least and the fi rst body was burned,” by a soldier shortly after the The jaguar is a near-threat- Animal Freedom Union asked 25 people, including his ro- he said. He said the man was event in the Brazilian Amazon ened species that is already the same question. mantic partner and two chil- “cool and calm” when describ- city of Manaus as the animal extinct in Uruguay and El Sal- “When will people (and in- dren, a state prosecutor said, ing the details of the crime escaped from its handlers, an vador, according to the Inter- stitutions) stop with this sick according in news reports. - suggesting that the suspect army statement said. national Union for Conserva- need to show power and con- The man suspected of the knew what he was doing. The jaguar was killed at tion of Nature. trol by confining, taming and murders in Guarne, 32kms “We have evidence to dem- a zoo attached to a military The shooting caused uproar showcasing wild animals?” it east of Medellin in western onstrate that this man now training centre where the Ol- among animal rights groups, said on its Facebook page. Colombia, told authorities at known as the ‘killer of Guarne’ ympic torch ceremony was which pointed to the recent “This needs to stop,” tweet- the public prosecutor’s of- is responsible and was fully held. killing of a gorilla at a Cincin- ed Animal Justice, a Canadian fice he had killed 25 people, aware and knew what he was A soldier fired a single pis- nati zoo and alligators at Walt animal law organisation. not 20 as he had originally doing when he committed the tol shot when the escaped Disney World in Orlando as The use of Juma, as the jag- believed. crimes,” Gonzalez said, adding animal, despite being tran- evidence of flawed policy to- uar was known, at the event Authorities believe his sto- that authorities intended to quilised, approached the sol- wards wild animals. was also illegal, according to ry could be true, because the prosecute him. dier, the army said. Many questioned why the Ipaam, the Amazonas state man, 44, has revealed the lo- Investigators said that the “We made a mistake in per- animal was involved in the government environmental cation of four of the victims. majority of the victims were mitting the Olympic torch, Olympic event. authority that oversees the Their remains have since been female and that after the mur- a symbol of peace and unity, “When will we learn? Wild use of wild animals. exhumed. ders, the killer kept some of to be exhibited alongside a animals held captive and “No request was made to “He stated that there were their belongings, such as ar- chained wild animal. This im- forced to do things that are authorise the participation of four bodies on the plantation ticles of clothing and mobile age goes against our beliefs frightening, sometimes pain- the jaguar “Juma” in the event Victor Manuel Meza, mayor of the municipality of Reitoca, where he worked as caretaker. phones. and our values,” the local or- ful, and always unnatural are of the Olympic torch,” Ipaam is escorted by policemen outside a court in Tegucigalpa, This confi rms what this man is The motive for the killings, ganising committee Rio 2016 ticking time bombs — our ac- said in a statement. Honduras. Meza was detained for having links in the murder of reporting,” senior state pros- which are thought to have hap- said in a statement. tions put them and humans at Ipaam said it is investigat- five people, according to local media. ecutor Luis Gonzalez said, ac- pened over the past 10 years, is “We guarantee that there risk,” Brittany Peet, director of ing the incident. cording to daily El Tiempo. unclear. Gulf Times Thursday, June 23, 2016 27 PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN

Afghan Taliban Popular Pakistani singer release bus shot dead in ‘act of terror’ passengers AFP evening, Omar Zwak, spokes- AFP Kandahar, Afghanistan man for the governor of Hel- Karachi mand, said earlier, with an army statement saying they he Taliban have released were freed in an operation in ne of Pakistan’s best more than two dozen Marja district. known Sufi musicians Thostages pulled from But the Taliban denied the Owas shot dead by un- their vehicles on a highway in claim, with spokesman Qari known assailants riding a mo- southern Afghanistan, offi - Yousuf Ahmadi telling AFP torcycle in Karachi yesterday, cials said yesterday, a day af- they decided to free the hos- triggering an outpouring of grief ter they were abducted by the tages after they were found to over what police described as an militants. be “innocent”. “act of terror”. The passengers were kid- The insurgents had ear- Amjad Sabri, aged around 45, napped in Washer district of lier said they were targeting was travelling by car from his volatile Helmand province as Afghan government offi cials home in the city’s eastern Kor- they were travelling on a bus aboard the vehicles. angi area to a television studio, and two trucks from southern Highways in Afghanistan when a motorcycle pulled up Kandahar to western Herat passing through insurgency- alongside the vehicle and the at- Amjad Sabri province on Tuesday. prone areas have become ex- tackers opened fi re, Farooq San- “There were 25 people taken ceedingly dangerous, with jarani, a police offi cer told AFP. cal by hardline groups such as by Taliban, all of them are re- the Taliban and other armed Sabri was hit by fi ve bullets the Taliban. leased and will be sent to their groups frequently kidnapping and was declared dead at Abbasi The Taliban and other Islam- homes,” Aqa Noor Kentoz po- or killing travellers. Shaheed Hospital while a com- ist groups have carried out ma- lice chief of Helmand said. Earlier this month, gun- panion, named as a relative, Sal- jor attacks on Sufi mosques and “The fi ve last hostages were men abducted 40 people eem Sabri, was in critical condi- shrines in recent years, including released this morning after in northern Kunduz prov- tion, a hospital source added. the 2010 bombing of the Data tribal elders intervened,” he ince, releasing some later, “It was a targeted killing and an Darbar shrine in Lahore that said. but an unknown number act of terrorism,” Muqaddas Haider, killed more than 40 people. The majority of the hostag- of others remain in Taliban a senior police offi cer said, without Sabri, the son of another leg- Pakistani security off icials inspect the bullet-riddled car of Sufi musician Amjad Sabri who was killed in an es had been released Tuesday captivity. naming possible suspects. endary Qawwali singer, Ghulam attack by unknown gunmen, at a morgue in Karachi yesterday. Grisly mobile phone footage of Farid Sabri who died in 1994, the scene of the crime shot by an was a fi xture on national televi- while TV channels broadcast re- human rights researcher at Am- “His mission of love has tragi- onlooker showed the singer’s head sion and regularly performed on cordings of his music in tribute. nesty International. cally been cut short by those who slumped on his right shoulder and a morning show during the on- “Totally shocked to hear the While the motive behind the spread hate in the world, and is a a pool of blood on the ground by going holy month of Ramadan. news of @AmjadSabri. May Al- killing was not immediately great loss for all the divided peo- the driver’s side where he sat. In May 2014 he was asked by lah bless him with Jannah (heav- clear, Arieb Azhar, another pop- ple of our country,” he added. Afghanistan risks Sabri was a ‘Qawwal’, or singer a court to respond to blasphemy en) for he praised Him & His ular Sufi singer, said he believed Karachi, a city of 20mn and of ‘Qawwali’, which is a tradi- charges following the broadcast Prophet beautifully all his life,” Sabri may have been targeted Pakistan’s economic hub, is fre- tional form of devotional music of a controversial song-and- tweeted Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker because of his religious views. quently hit by religious, political that is popular across South Asia dance routine. of Pakistan’s parliament. “Our own dear Amjad Sabri, and ethnic violence. ‘new spiral in with roots tracing back to the His killing was met with shock “Shocked and saddened by son of Ghulam Farid Sabri and Paramilitary forces began a 13th century. and condemnation. news of the killing of Amjad nephew of Maqbool Sabri, the sweeping crackdown on mili- The music is closely associ- Neighbours congregated out- Sabri, not just a crime but an renowned Sabri brothers, was tants in the city in 2013, which ated with Sufi sm, a mystical sect side the singer’s home to of- attack on our culture and her- a true lover of God, life and all has led to a substantial drop in violence’, says UN of Islam that is viewed as hereti- fer condolences to his relatives, itage,” added Mustafa Qadri, a that’s good,” he said. overall levels of violence.

AFP dicial system to foreign security Kandahar, Afghanistan contractors, at least 200 people have been abducted on highways since the end of May. Old monsoon disaster management system in place fghanistan faces the “There is a risk, in my view, risk of a new spiral in that the confl ict may enter a Aviolence following a new phase, which could see re- Internews protests by the aff ected people in series of attacks on civilians taliatory acts of vengeance and Peshawar Chitral. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the last few months but an escalating spiral of violence,” which has yet to recover from the on the battlefi eld, security said Haysom, who is stepping losses incurred due to fl oods in up- forces have been holding their down from his post after four ust as the monsoon season per part of the province, especially ground, the top UN offi cial in years in Afghanistan. is about to set in with more Chitral, is less than a month’s time the country said. He also pointed to progress Jrains threatening to increase going to receive rains, increasing the The assessment by Nicho- in several areas, including water level in rivers that could threat of fl oods again. las Haysom, the UN Secretary public fi nances, as well as cause fl oods, the disaster man- Ironically, like every year the General’s Special Representa- the launch of potentially vi- agement body in Pakistan’s PDMA’s contingency plan in- tive for Afghanistan, painted tal strategic infrastructure northwest province of Khyber cludes the usual procedure of a mixed picture of the security projects and said political sta- Pakhtunkhwa has also dusted off setting up of control rooms in situation some 18 months af- bility was vital for the progress and put the same old contingen- districts and the provincial capi- ter international forces ended to continue. cy plan on the table. tal, declaring some government their main combat operations. The Taliban, whose former The Provincial Disaster Man- buildings like schools possible safe While the bomb attacks that leader, Mullah Akhtar Man- agement Authority (PDMA) shelters in case of displacement of killed at least 22 people in Kabul sour, was killed in a US drone plans to set up a control room, people due to fl ooding of residen- and the northern province of strike last month, control turn some schools and govern- tial areas. The relief items also in- Badakhshan on Monday under- more territory than at any ment buildings into shelters and clude blankets, tents, mats, etc. lined how dangerous Afghani- time since they were ousted in provide same relief items like The PDMA has restricted itself stan remains, fears that the Tal- 2001, including large areas of tents, blankets and mats. Labourers walk with their donkey carts through flood water following heavy rain in Lahore yesterday. to short-term relief activities in- iban would overwhelm security the strategic southern prov- Hearing about the contin- stead of pre-disaster preparation forces have not been realised. ince of Helmand. gency plan from the PDMA and enhanced relief funds for the for Peshawar, Nowshera, Char- camps to provide shelter to peo- and planning. However Haysom said he But they have not so far been spokesperson feels like a déjà most sensitive districts. sadda, DI Khan, Chitral, Swat, ple aff ected by fl oods,” said the “Equipment has been in- was deeply concerned about able to take control of a prov- vu. Monsoon season has become “We have increased funds Shangla, Dir Lower and Dir Up- authority’s spokesman. stalled at the Kabul and Swat riv- violence against civilians, with ince or major provincial centre synonymous with fl oods and from Rs60mn to Rs100mn for per districts. These are going to The PDMA is going to release ers to monitor rising water levels attacks continuing during Ra- and Afghan security forces, loss in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. districts declared sensitive in the be on the priority list of PDMA. additional funds for the sensitive and control rooms established in madan, Islam’s holy month. which faced severe pressure This year, however, PDMA monsoon season,” said PDMA “In case of any disaster, districts, but losses incurred by districts to better coordinate in As well as suicide attacks on and heavy casualties last year, claims it has prepared a contin- spokesperson Latif Rehman. safe places have been identi- last year’s fl oods have still not been case of emergency, if any,” said targets ranging from government appear to have strengthened gency plan for the rainy season The funds have been increased fi ed which would be declared as compensated fully and there were the PDMA spokesperson. offi cials and members of the ju- their performance.

Despite rising economy, Pakistan still hampered by image issue

Reuters minimum level experts say is sumer market. Carmakers Re- Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Karachi/Islamabad needed to absorb new entrants nault-Nissan are considering a government is so confi dent about into the job market in a nation of plant in Pakistan, and Suzuki, the economy that it plans to end 190mn people. which already has a presence, the IMF’s $6.7bn fi nancial assist- akistani stocks are soaring, Pakistan’s $250bn economy said it may invest $460mn for a ance programme in September. improved security is fuel- is growing at the fastest pace in new factory. Analysts say this could prove a Pling economic growth and eight years but only attracted $1bn A Dutch dairy co-operative, risky move if oil prices spike. the South Asian nation will be in foreign direct investment (FDI) FrieslandCampina International In Karachi, the business com- upgraded to “emerging market” in the nine months to April. Holding, in March announced munity hopes MSCI’s upgrade of status by index provider MSCI. FDI infl ows into Indonesia, by plans to buy a stake in Pakistani Pakistan will herald a return of But for Ali Saigol, co-founder of comparison, hit $29bn last year. food giant Engro Foods, in a deal foreign investors who fl ed in an- a private equity fi rm, convincing Many businesses in Pakistan estimated at $460mn. ger in 2008 when the bourse im- foreign investors to overlook the have fl ourished since 2014, when Omar Hamid, head of Asia posed a fl oor and trapped them country’s violent past and bet on a military off ensive against Is- Pacifi c country risk research for in a collapsing market for three its economy remains a hard sell. lamist groups improved security. IHS, said interest in Pakistan has months. He said pitches often encoun- Violence is down overall, al- soared this year by IHS corporate “What happen in 2008 could tered the same problem: Paki- though deadly attacks are not clients seeking country and po- never happen again,” said Ha- stan’s image. uncommon. litical risk analysis. roon Askari, deputy director of After a turbulent decade in In late March, more than 60 “It’s a massive consumer mar- the Pakistan Stock Exchange. which Islamist militants staged mostly women and children ket and the economic indicators Pakistan’s main benchmark frequent gun and bomb attacks were killed by a suicide bomber are fl ashing green for many in- index has risen more than 500% on cities, some investors still in Lahore. ternational companies,” he said. since the start of 2009, but is refuse to visit Pakistan and insist In major cities, car sales are Pakistan’s interest rates are at still considered cheap by some, on meeting Saigol in Dubai. rising and shopping malls are 42-year lows, infl ation has been trading at multiples below other “Most people have never been sprouting to cater for an expand- tamed at about 3%, the currency emerging markets due to politi- to Pakistan. It’s a huge problem,” ing middle class. Customers shop at Centaurus Mall in Islamabad. is stable and foreign exchange cal and security risks associated said Saigol, sipping a cappuccino A crime crackdown in Karachi, reserves have jumped to all-time with Pakistan. in an upscale cafe in Islamabad, Pakistan’s fi nancial hub of 20mn territory 100km from Islamabad. to realise that,” said Miftah Ismail, eign exchange crises. highs. Saigol, founding partner of Pakistan’s leafy, affl uent capital. people, has helped spur a real The militants have since been an adviser to the prime minister Investors will also have to be The economy is also expected Baltoro Capital, which manages “When people visit Pakistan, estate boom and new, upmarket contained in small pockets in tasked with bringing foreign in- convinced that political risks to receive a shot in the arm from a new $48.5mn private equity they see it’s actually opposite of seaside restaurants and cafes are mountainous areas near the Af- vestment into Pakistan. are easing in a nuclear-armed the China-Pakistan Economic fund, said foreign investors who what they expect.” overfl owing. ghan border and the country’s Ismail said he had expected nation surrounded by countries Corridor (CPEC), a $46bn roads fi nally take a serious look at Pa- Saigol’s frustration goes to the The progress is in stark con- stock market is Asia’s best per- more money to fl ow from abroad with whom it has unstable rela- and energy project. Much of the kistan are often surprised. heart of Pakistan’s struggle to trast to economic instabil- forming index in 2016. by now, and concedes investors tions, including arch-foe India. money is earmarked for power “They say they have never attract foreign investment and ity during the past decade, when “Perceptions change with a need convincing that Pakistan Yet there are tentative signs stations to ease chronic electric- seen a country or an economy boost economic growth from the stock market collapsed and lag. Our reality has changed, but “will not revert to type” by run- foreign companies are eyeing ity shortages which hobble busi- the size of Pakistan with so little 4.7% towards above 6%, the Pakistani Taliban militants held it takes a little while for investors ning large defi cits and facing for- Pakistan’s fast-growing con- ness and investment. coverage, so under the radar.” Gulf Times 28 Thursday, June 23, 2016 PHILIPPINES

Troops kill three Duterte criticises revenue, militants amid rescue eff orts customs offi cials for graft By Joel M Sy Egco toms, for the longest time you terte said. On Tuesday, Du- Manila Times live in luxury,” the incoming terte warned mayors involved DPA president said. in illegal drug operations to Manila According to him, BIR and change their ways because he hange your lifestyle. BOC officials and personnel would kill those who will ruin President-elect Ro- have been earning extra mon- children’s lives. roops killed three sus- Cdrigo Duterte yesterday ey “on the side.” Speaking at the end of a pected militants in a issued this order to offi cials He warned that he cannot two-day economic forum in Tclash on a southern island and personnel of the Bureau of be duped into believing oth- Davao City, he said he will de- where the rebels are threatening Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bu- erwise. “Let’s not fool our- ploy a company of policemen to execute Norwegian and Fili- reau of Customs (BOC) which, selves. Let’s get straight to the who will be given “special” pino hostages, a military spokes- according to him, have been the point. This time you have to assignments. man said yesterday. hotbeds of corruption “for the change your lifestyle. Less ex- “If you destroy my chil- Sixteen soldiers were also longest time.” pense… try to be just an ordi- dren, I will kill you,” Duterte wounded in the fi refi ght with Speaking during the inau- nary government worker,” the said in an hour-long speech. about 200 Abu Sayyaf militants gural ceremony of the United president-elect said. “I have zero tolerance on in a village in Patikul town on Sarangani and Gen. Santos Duterte, known for his drugs and criminality. I would Jolo Island, 1,000 kilometres City bloc of politicians led by acerbic tongue, cursed as he never preside over the affairs south of Manila, on Monday, Sen. spoke, especially when cor- of the country with a cor- said Major Filemon Tan, a re- Emmanuel “Manny” Pac- ruption was the subject. rupt police and (with) drugs gional military spokesman. quiao, Duterte trained his “I promise to the people. I abounding and destroying the The soldiers were on a security sights on the two agencies, put at stake my life, my hon- lives of Filipinos,” he added. operation to rescue Norwegian saying workers there must our and even the presidency The incoming president hostage Kjartan Sekkingstad and start living the lives of “ordi- itself. Corruption must stop,” particularly lashed out at 32 Filipino Marites Flor, who have nary government workers.” he declared, drawing loud ap- elected mayors who, accord- been held captive in the jungles “I don’t want to offend any- plause and cheers from the ing to him, are known to be of Jolo since September. body and no particular person audience. involved in illegal drug opera- The hostages were abducted is the target (when I say) the “If you really want to help tions. with Canadians John Ridsdel BIR is an institution known your country, now is the time He did not name them but and Robert Hall from the south- to be corrupt. You must stop. while I’m there. All I ask from also warned that he knew all ern resort island of Samal. Rodrigo Duterte: criticising corrupt off icials And for the Bureau of Cus- you is do not lie to me,” Du- of them. Ridsdel was beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf on April 25 and Hall on June 13 after a deadline to pay ransom passed. The Abu Sayyaf has threat- ‘Shame’ campaign against crime ened to kill the remaining hos- 29 traffi cked Filipino tages if a ransom was not paid, but no new deadline has been set. The militants initially demanded women rescued a ransom of 1bn pesos ($21.7mn) for each of the captives, but they lowered the amount to 200mn Thomson Reuters Foundation “Under Malaysian immi- pesos for each of the hostages Jakarta gration law, social visit passes before Hall was killed. (tourist visas) cannot be con- verted to work visas,” the em- alaysian authorities bassy said, urging Filipinos to have rescued 29 Fili- be vigilant. The 29 women will Rebels take seven Mpino women who had be transferred to a women’s Indonesian sailors been traffi cked into the coun- shelter while an investigation hostage: report try to work, and arrested their is underway. agents, Filipino offi cials said Three individuals who al- Philippine Abu Sayyaf militants yesterday, in the country’s lat- legedly acted as agents for the have allegedly seized seven est move to tackle the crime. women, were arrested during Indonesian sailors and demanded Malaysia has an estimated the raid, the embassy state- a $5mn ransom for their release, a 2mn illegal migrant labourers, ment said. It was not clear media report said yesterday. some of whom work in condi- whether the trio have been The wife of the ship’s captain, Dian tions of forced labour in sec- charged in any court. Megawati, said the crew was taken tors ranging from electronics The embassy could not be by Abu Sayyaf rebels from their to palm oil to domestic serv- reached for immediate com- ship TB Charles while sailing in ice, according to the US State ment. The embassy urged waters near the Philippines, Tribun- Department. Filipinos not to deal with un- news.com reported. The captain The Philippine embassy in licensed individuals or place- was then forced by the captors to Kuala Lumpur said it had con- ment agencies as they could make a phone call to his wife and tacted Malaysian police after it end up being victims of traf- ask her to notify the government, received tip-off s about some fi cking. their employers and Indonesian traffi cked Filipino women, Last month, 15 offi cials were media about the hostage-taking, prompting a rescue operation. fi red after Malaysia discovered Megawati said. The abductors Malaysian police raided two an immigration racket involv- demanded 20mn Malaysian ring- bars in the coastal town of ing the sabotage of its security git (about $5mn) for their release, Bintulu in the eastern state of system at the country’s main she said. Last month, Abu Sayyaf Sarawak on June 9 where they airport, heightening fears released 14 Indonesian sailors they found the women, according about human traffi cking. had abducted from two tugboats. to an embassy statement. Malaysia last year was up- The Indonesian government It said traffi ckers brought graded by the US State Depart- This undated handout photo released by the Tanauan City Government Off ice (TCGO) yesterday shows suspected drug users and denied that any ransom was paid. the women to Sarawak as tour- ment in its annual Traffi cking pushers (under sign that reads “June Bride & Groom”) being paraded along the streets, as part of a “shame” campaign against crime, Abu Sayyaf militants have been ists and promised them jobs by in Persons Report to the Tier 2 in the city of Tanana, Batangas province, south of Manila, after their arrest by authorities. Following Philippine President-elect Rodrigo blamed for some of the deadliest converting their tourist visas Watch List from Tier 3, the low- Duterte’s victory, off icials across the archipelago have launched their own crackdowns, parading suspects through the streets and terrorist attacks in the Philippines. into employment visas in ex- est ranking for countries with rounding up street children en masse. change for money. the worst traffi cking records. Filipino fi shermen pin hopes on China tribunal

AFP ippine island of Luzon, has been lagoon mouth that split an ice to expand its presence in the dis- Infanta, Philippines their hunting ground for genera- box used to store their catch. puted areas. tions. An expedition to the shoal Aside from taking control of It is 650 kilometres from costs around 90,000 pesos Scarborough Shoal, it has un- onathan Almandrez was Hainan island, the nearest ma- (nearly $2,000) per boat, includ- dertaken unprecedented land- chased away from the rich jor Chinese landmass, but falls ing fuel, supplies and crew sala- reclamation works in the Spratly Jfi shing grounds of a South within the ill-defi ned “nine- ries — money the boat’s owners Islands, one of the sea’s main ar- China Sea lagoon by a Chinese dash line” that marks the extent cannot make back if they are chipelagoes that are also claimed patrol — something he hopes of Beijing’s claim to control of forced to hightail it home with by the Philippines, Vietnam, will stop happening if the Philip- nearly all of the South China Sea. an empty hold. Malaysia and Taiwan. pines wins an international legal The reefs and shallow waters The Chinese at times also cut Critics of China fear the artifi - case against Beijing. mean one fi sherman can easily anchor cables, putting Filipino cial islands could be put to mili- The incident at Scarborough spear 200 kilogrammes of fi sh boats at risk of running aground, tary use, and to establish eff ec- Shoal, a necklace of reefs and in just over an hour, according according to some of the Filipino tive sea and air control over some rocks that Filipino fi shermen say to Almandrez and others from fi shermen at Infanta and Masin- of the world’s most important hosts some of the world’s most Infanta, one of the main Scar- loc, another fi shing town. shipping routes and waters that abundant marine life, is part of borough Shoal fi shing towns on China claims it has sovereign are believed to sit atop signifi - a long-running territorial row Luzon. rights to nearly all of the South cant oil and gas deposits. that sits at the heart of a UN It also provides vital shelter China Sea, even waters ap- The Philippines, the most backed tribunal expected to rule for stranded fi shermen during proaching the coasts of its Asian vocal critic, has responded by in the coming weeks. storms. neighbours. lodging a case with the Perma- “I was angry at their gall to China took eff ective control When asked about incidents nent Court of Arbitration, a UN- shoo us away when we were of the shoal in 2012, following a at the shoal, foreign ministry backed tribunal at The Hague, clearly inside Philippine terri- brief encounter with the Philip- spokeswoman Hua Chunying asking it to rule that China’s tory,” said the 30-year-old, who pine Navy’s fl agship and Filipino repeated China’s long-standing claims to most of the sea violate used a pseudonym as he did not coast guards. position. international law. want to be identifi ed for fear of Since then, non-Chinese fi sh- “We have said that Scarbor- Although China is a signa- potential Chinese repercussions. ing boats approaching the la- ough Shoal is China’s intrinsic tory to the UN Convention on Almandrez — who provided goon mouth have routinely been territory. The Chinese coast the Law of the Sea, it has vowed mobile phone footage of the A recent photo shows workers and crew loading supplies and ice to a fishing vessel anchored at the mouth of given an ear-splitting horn blast guard vessels’ law enforcement to ignore the ruling and accused encounter to AFP — said for the South China Sea off the town of Infanta in Pangasinan province, as they prepare for a fishing expedition to from a ship stationed inside, and activities in China’s sovereign the Philippines of stirring ten- two hours on June 7, Chinese Scarborough Shoal. those who refuse to leave run the territorial waters are legitimate sions with its legal challenge. coast guard patrol boats circled risk of being hosed down or even and beyond reproach,” Hua told The Philippines hopes a fa- a wooden outrigger carrying 10 Chinese. “Transfer to another Philippines,” Almandrez recalled Video footage shows two pa- rammed, according to Filipino reporters in Beijing on Tuesday. vourable verdict will, at mini- Filipino fi shermen. area! No fi shing inside,” the Chi- shouting back. trol boats fl ying Chinese fl ags fi shermen. The competing territorial mum, help build global diplo- The patrol boats got within nese patrol personnel shouted in The Filipino crew eventually and with the English words “The water spray was so claims have for decades made matic pressure on China. about two metres of the vessel, English, according to Almand- left when a much larger Chinese “China Coast Guard” on the strong it destroyed one of our the South China Sea a potential But regardless of the outcome, which had been fi shing the reefs rez. vessel began to approach and side. styrofoams,” Felix Lavezores, 36, source of regional confl ict, and China looks unlikely to let Phil- just outside the shoal before “You go (back) to China be- they feared it would fi re water Local fi shermen say the shoal, said at Infanta, recalling an early tensions have risen sharply in ippine fi shermen return to Scar- daylight betrayed them to the cause this is the property of the cannon. 230 kilometres off the main Phil- May water-cannon attack at the recent years as China has sought borough Shoal. Gulf Times Thursday, June 23, 2016 29 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL/MALDIVES Deaths from lightning Maldives home minister quits

AFP surge in Bangladesh Malé So far this year, 261 people As a result, the government lightning events rather than a Experts in Bangladesh and in- But A Q M Mahbub, an earth he Maldives home have died from lightning in now compensates lightning gradual increase,” he said. ternationally say the rise in fatal and environmental science minister quit the gov- the country, putting it on strike victims or their fami- During the three-day period lightning strikes may also be re- professor at the University of Ternment hours be- track to beat last year’s 265 lies with sums between 7,500 of May 12 to May 14, 67 peo- lated to the country’s population Dhaka, said rising global tem- fore yesterday’s cabinet re- deaths and 25,000 taka ($95 to $310). ple died from lightning strikes growth and to deforestation, peratures over the last century shuffl e after coming under Through mid-May the gov- in Bangladesh. Altogether, 132 which has led to the disappear- were driving a range of changing pressure over the jailing of Thomson Reuters Foundation ernment had paid 1.5mn taka people died in May after be- ance of many tall trees that ear- weather phenomenon, includ- President Abdulla Yameen’s Dhaka ($18,400) in claims this year to ing hit by lightning, according lier would have drawn lightning ing stronger tropical cyclones, opponents in the politically families of 81 people who died to the Foundation for Disaster strikes. thunderstorms, fl oods, droughts troubled nation. because of lightning. Forum, a Dhaka-based disaster Now fatalities often involve and heatwaves. Umar Naseer, who was in angladesh has seen a near- Scientists say warmer condi- preparedness network. farmers using metal farm equip- “The increased numbers of charge of police and was ef- record number of deaths this tions associated with climate Altogether, 1,476 people have ment in open fi elds, or people lightning strikes may be due to fectively Yameen’s deputy, Byear from a phenomenon change are causing more water died from lightning in Bang- standing near metal cell phone global warming but it needs fur- submitted his resignation that appears to be worsening with evaporation from the land and ladesh since 2010, Bangladesh towers or electrical power ther research to be confi rmed,” to the president’s offi ce on climate change: lightning strikes. ocean, increasing clouds and Meteorological Department data towers, experts said. he said. Tuesday night. So far this year, 261 peo- rainfall and the potential for shows. Some said they believed cell He said the US, which once “I thank HEP (his excel- ple have died from lightning in lightning storms. According to a 2014 Univer- phone use also might be lead- saw 200 to 300 lightning deaths lency president) Yameen and Umar Naseer the country, putting the South “The months of April, May sity of Berkeley study, lightning ing to more lightning fatalities, a year, had managed to dramati- others for all their support,” Asian nation on track to beat last and June are the hottest in Bang- strikes are expected to increase but other experts said that link cally reduce that toll by mak- Naseer said, announcing his troversial terrorism charges year’s 265 deaths. Most lightning ladesh and the moist air quickly by 12% for every degree Celsius is unlikely. ing people aware of the risks of resignation on Twitter. last year but was allowed to deaths usually occur during the rises upward to meet with dry of warming, with a 50% rise in Lightning continues to kill standing in open areas during Observers say Naseer travel to Britain for surgery in warm months of March to July. north-westerly winds to cool lightning expected by the end of people who take shelter under thunderstorms. had recently fallen out with January and granted political The problem has prompted and form large storm clouds,” the century. trees during electrical storms as In Bangladesh - or anywhere Yameen and he becomes the asylum in May. Bangladesh’s government to add said Dipen Bhattacharya, a According to Bangladesh’s well, they said. where storms threaten - “people 11th minister to resign or be Under yesterday’s reshuffl e, lightning strikes to the country’s physics and astronomy profes- Met offi ce, prior to 1981, the Atiq Rahman, executive direc- should take shelter immediately sacked since the hardline Sports Minister Ahmed Zuhur list of offi cial types of disasters, sor at Moreno Valley College in country saw lightning strikes tor of the Bangladesh Centre for in any (building) and farmers president came to power at a was given Naseer’s portfolio which includes fl oods, cyclones California. on average nine days each May. Advanced Studies, said that it should fl atten themselves to the controversial election in 2013. while Finance Minister Ab- and storm surges, earthquakes, “Some specialists think that Since that time, the country has would not be wise to blame the soil when they meet any possi- As home minister, Naseer dulla Jihad becomes the new drought and riverbank erosion, as the world warms up, we seen strikes an average of 12 days rise in deaths directly on climate bility of thunderstorm to avoid campaigned to end a mora- vice president. among others. should expect more explosive each May. change. incidents,” he said. torium on carrying out ex- That position had been va- ecutions of death row pris- cant since the arrest in No- oners and he became a hate vember of incumbent Ahmed symbol for the opposition Adeeb. who accused him of an illegal Adeeb was jailed for 15 years crackdown on dissent. last month for plotting to kill The Maldives has been Yameen by allegedly setting Tearful Nepal rocked by political turmoil in off a bomb on his speedboat recent years, with almost all last September that did not of Yameen’s key rivals jailed harm the president. or exiled from the popular Opposition activists say honeymoon destination. dissidents risk arrest or exile The resignation comes under Yameen, the half broth- kin of Kabul er of former strongman Mau- weeks after Mohamed Nash- eed, the country’s fi rst demo- moon Abdul Gayoom, who cratically elected leader, was ruled the archipelago for 30 granted asylum in Britain. straight years until he was de- Nasheed was sentenced feated in the fi rst democratic attack victims election in 2008. to 13 years in prison on con- receive bodies Lanka suspends Reuters/AFP the chest as tears streamed down Kathmandu her face. Thapa, a former Indian army soldier, had served as a secu- defence project fi rm obbing and weeping rela- rity guard in Iraq before going to tives of 12 Nepali nation- war-torn Afghanistan in Febru- Sals who were killed when ary this year with a promise to IANS awarding of consultancy con- a suicide bomber struck a mini- come back in November. Nepalese relatives of 12 victims of a suicide bomb attack reacting as they pay their last respects alongside Colombo tracts and to pursue action in bus in Kabul received the bod- Relatives of the victims like the coff ins of those killed, in Kathmandu yesterday. pursuant to the report. ies of their loved ones yester- Kumari heard of Monday’s at- The committee appointed day after they were fl own from tack in the media. She prayed for Nepalis killed in this cowardly Monday’s attack in Kabul was embassies and their missions. he Sri Lankan gov- by the government has now Afghanistan. her husband until being told by attack,” Oli told reporters after the latest in a surge of violence “The government will study ernment yesterday observed that the selection The victims were security the recruitment agency that he placing marigold garlands on that highlights the challenges the situation in which Nepa- Tsuspended a private of consultancy fi rms for the guards working at the Canadian was dead. each coffi n. faced by the government and its lis were targeted after which we consultancy fi rm involved in project and their payments embassy in Kabul and came un- “This came as a shock to me,” The aircraft, chartered by the Western backers, as Washing- will decide whether to continue the construction of the new were done without provid- der attack on the way to work the 30-year-old said. Nepal government, also brought ton considers whether to delay this,” Labour Minister Deepak defence headquarters. ing true information to the early on Monday. Two Indian She said Thapa wanted their back 24 other Nepalis who plans to reduce the number of its Bohara said. The former Sri Lankan gov- cabinet of ministers. nationals were also killed in the baby to serve in the British army worked as guards for Sabre Inter- troops in Afghanistan. Impoverished Nepal has long ernment decided to shift the Accordingly on a proposal attack which left seven Nepalis that has been recruiting Gurkha national, the same company that At least 8,000 Nepali nation- served as a supplier of security headquarters of the tri-forces made by President Maithri- wounded. soldiers from the foothills of employed the victims. als are working in Afghanistan, forces to the world. from Colombo to Akuregoda, pala Sirisena, the cabinet has “This is the most diffi cult job Nepal for 200 years. “It could have been me,” according to the labour depart- A number of them are former Xinhua news agency reported. decided to suspend the servic- for me to receive him dead,” said Prime Minister K P Oli paid said former Nepal army soldier ment, but actual numbers could soldiers with the Gurkha bri- In 2015, Finance Minister es of the selected private fi rm Sanjita Kumari, wife of Jitendra tributes to victims by plac- Shyam Bahadur Tamang, 47, who be higher as many cross over to gades of the Indian and British Ravi Karunanayake proposed and to review the payments Thapa, who came to the airport ing marigold garlands on the began working in Afghanistan India, which shares an open bor- armies while others are retired appointment of a commit- made for the fi rm. in Kathmandu with her four- wooden coffi ns which were then in 2014. der with Nepal, and then travel Nepal army or police personnel. tee to submit a report on the Once the project is com- month-old son, to receive her handed over to the relatives for “There is no security for us... on to Afghanistan. Four Nepali guards were killed project which was estimated pleted, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of husband’s body. “But there is no funerals. there are many other Nepalis Nepal allows its citizens to in a 2011 attack on a UN com- at an exorbitant cost includ- Defence and tri-forces head- alternative and I must face it,” “The whole country is who are eager to quit and return work in Afghanistan as secu- pound in the northern Afghan ing its scope, total cost, op- quarters will be shifted to the Kumari said, her baby pressed to mourning the death of innocent home,” Tamang said. rity guards at the UN, foreign city of Mazar-i-Sharif in 2011. erational time frames and new state of the art facility.

Heavy rains hit eastern Nepal One person was dead and more than 150 houses were Earthquake widows struggle to survive flooded in eastern Nepal as two days of heavy rainfall battered the region, government Thomson Reuters Foundation her school teacher husband in major steps to empower women many widows are left desti- in-laws’ homes, which leaves Thapa says several discrimi- off icials said yesterday. Kathmandu the disaster. She is now strug- since the end of its decade-long tute. If they remain with their many open to exploitation. natory laws and policies have Several rivers overflowed in gling to bring up their two civil war in 2006, widowhood in-laws they may be con- Most widows in Nepal are il- been amended in recent years. the eastern region of Nepal, sons alone. remains surrounded by taboos fi ned to the house and treated literate and two thirds are under For example, a widow who re- with Sunsari, Jhapa, and ani Maya Shrestha was “It drastically changed the in this patriarchal society. like servants, activists say. In 35, compounding the risks of marries no longer needs to re- Morang districts among the working on a neighbour’s way I am treated by society. some cases the family may abuse, activists say. turn her deceased husband’s worst aff ected. Rpotato farm when the fi rst Society does not accept me as “The younger the even blame the widow for her In 2008, in recognition of the property. One person was reported dead of Nepal’s two massive earth- one of them,” the 33-year-old age of the husbands husband’s death. large number of war widows Social protections have in Sunsari and another was quakes struck last year. She said by phone from the village when they died, the The Loomba Foundation, and popular aversion to widow also been strengthened, with missing. rushed home to fi nd her hus- of Gairigaon close to the the 7.8 greater the severity of a widows’ rights charity, said remarriage, the government put all widows now entitled to a Flood warnings were issued in band buried in the ruins of their magnitude quake’s epicentre in the crime the widows widows could face hostility forward a scheme to pay men a monthly allowance. some villages downstream. house northeast of the capital west Nepal. (are believed to have) because it was sometimes be- 50,000 rupee ($460) incentive But campaigners say it will Heavy rains were expected to Kathmandu. Women for Human Rights committed in the past lieved their husbands had died to marry widows. likely take many years for old continue for two more days. “I should have died with (WHR), a Nepali organisation life” as punishment for immoral But widows protested, say- prejudices to die out. Hundreds die in flooding and him,” said Shrestha inside the which campaigns for wid- acts or crimes their wives had ing the proposal was open to When Nepal’s wid- landslides in Nepal every tin hovel that has been her home ows’ rights, said women who Like other widows, Adhikari committed in a previous life. abuse by traffi ckers and would owed President Bidhya Devi year, brought on by monsoon, for the last year. “Without my had lost their husbands in the said she was no longer allowed “The younger the age of turn them into commodities. Bhandari visited a temple which lasts from June to husband, my life has become disaster faced a multitude of to attend religious ceremonies or the husbands when they died, Nepal’s Supreme Court ordered in the south last December September. meaningless.” problems. other celebrations because wom- the greater the severity of the the government to ditch the some locals accused her of The frail looking 45-year- “There is superstition and en who have lost their husbands crime the widows (are believed initiative. desecrating the shrine. old woman has no docu- stigmatisation. Widows have no are seen as inauspicious. to have) committed in the However, WHR’s Thapa says The following day they Heroin smuggling ments to prove her rights to status,” said WHR’s chief Lily In some places, widows are past life,” the foundation said things are slowly improving. “cleansed” the temple with holy operation busted her husband’s property in the Thapa ahead of International considered so unlucky that in a global report on widows Some widows have even defi ed water, saying her worship there ancient town of Sankhu. She Widows’ Day today. people steer clear of them in the last year. tradition by wearing red during had made it impure. Sri Lankan police yesterday survives on around 75 cents a She said many widows lacked street. The charity says widows in protests against discrimination. Rights campaigner Durga busted an international heroin day from knitting muffl ers and documents to claim their dead Nepal has around half a mil- Nepal are also regularly accused Thapa founded WHR 20 years Sob said the demeaning inci- smuggling operation following woollen caps. husband’s property or faced lion widows. Many lost their of killing their husbands de- ago following the death of her dent highlights the entrenched the arrest of three most wanted Twin quakes in April and diffi culties getting rebuilding husbands during the war or liberately or through neglect - husband in the Gulf War while stigma faced by all widows in drug smugglers. May 2015 killed some 9,000 grants because their marriage to HIV. Others were widowed including by passing on HIV. he was working with a peace Nepal. The arrests took place in people in the Himalayan na- was not registered, as is com- when their husbands died in ac- Traditionally, widows are mission in Iraq. “This is extremely shame- Colombo, Xinhua news agency tion, leaving many women to mon in Nepal. cidents while working overseas required to shun merriment. The organisation, which has ful,” said Sob, head of Sankalpa, quoted the police as saying. One fend for themselves in a coun- Some widows have also as migrant labourers. They are banned from wearing more than 2,000 widow groups a network of women’s groups. kilo of heroin and two vehicles try where widows face hostility, been abandoned when family Another factor is child mar- red clothes and most jewellery. nationwide, campaigns for bet- “When the country’s president were seized from them. abuse, discrimination and even members moved to new loca- riage, with girls in Nepal of- Many wear only white. ter social and cultural rights, is treated this way, just imagine The smugglers are linked to a enslavement. tions following the disaster, she ten married off as teenagers to Often forced into virtual se- and helps widows secure prop- what treatment the voiceless, notorious drugs dealer in Sri Mina Adhikari says her life added. much older men. clusion, they are not supposed erty, economic independence uneducated and poor widows Lanka who is now in custody. was shattered after she lost Although Nepal has taken When their husbands die to remarry or move out of their and legal aid. may be facing.” Gulf Times 30 Thursday, June 23, 2016 COMMENT

Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Production Editor: C P Ravindran UK’s future lies in leading

P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar Europe, not in leaving it [email protected] Telephone 44350478 (news), Britain has an opportunity advocating for a half-in, half-out in an increasingly integrated and dealing with tax havens), and 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) to be at the forefront of relationship with Europe – for a interdependent world, each country security (through heightened cross- Fax 44350474 Britain that is semi-detached, rather needs to strike the right balance border intelligence gathering and shaping the next stage of than fully engaged. between the national autonomy that policing against terrorism and illegal A positive, principled, and it desires and the international co- immigration). The British blueprint Europe’s development progressive case for British operation that it requires. for a reformed Europe should be membership in the EU has yet to be Britain should not have to bold and far-sighted, recognising By Gordon Brown made. choose between two absolutes: the social dimension to the single Edinburgh Positive arguments are the sharpest total autonomy, which would market and deepening pan-European GULF TIMES arrows in the quiver of those who want undervalue the need to co-operate collaboration in scientifi c research. Britain to remain in Europe. with our nearest neighbours, and By embracing the reality that we can an the Meeting the needs and aspirations complete integration into a European achieve more through co-operation United of the British people in the twenty- superstate, which would fail to than isolation, such a blueprint Kingdom fi rst century requires us to let go of the recognise the continuing importance could become the agenda for the UK McIlroy’s Games Cever past, acknowledge that the present of national identities and decision- Presidency of the EU in 2017 and reconcile itself to is defi ned by globalisation, and making. usher in an era of greater cross-border being part of Europe? If recent British recognise that the future is fi lled with Issue by issue, there is a way engagement. newspaper headlines about today’s opportunity. forward that will make both Britain We could also use this moment of referendum on continued European and Europe more competitive, leadership to advocate for a more co- pull-out could Union membership are any guide, the For the last Britain democratic and accountable. operative approach to international answer appears to be a decisive “no”. If we can show that opportunity, development and confl ict resolution, Proponents of leaving the has struggled to fi nd fairness, safety and security can be including a modern European-led EU have campaigned on fear of enhanced in Europe – and that we Marshall Plan for North Africa and the have a ripple eff ect runaway immigration and a cascade a role that suits our can be a proud leader of the EU’s Middle East. of purported dangers – whether reform agenda – a British consensus Britain has an opportunity to be delivered by boat or bomb – to the sense of destiny might begin to emerge. Take the at the forefront of shaping the next The build-up to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro British way of life. economy. stage of Europe’s development.co- has been far from ideal. Uncertainty over venues, Their opponents, who want the UK Our increased interdependence By balancing autonomy and operation security problems and fi nancial chaos have been to remain part of Europe, highlight suggests the need for greater co-operation, Britain could create For the last, post-imperial half- another fear: the loss of jobs that are international co-operation and co- 500,000 more jobs during the next century, Britain has struggled to fi nd a plaguing Brazil as it races against time to put together dependent on European trade. ordination, and that is precisely what decade. role that suits our sense of destiny. South America’s fi rst ever Olympics, two years after The nonstop sloganeering the EU off ers. Because it has not adopted the euro, Through active engagement with it hosted the FIFA World Cup which left the country around these platforms has exposed Because “Leave” voters view the UK has retained the autonomy to Europe, we can show that we are more with a lot of introspection to do, and not just in confl icting worldviews. globalisation as a liability, they set interest rates; but integration into than one half of a special relationship The rhetoric of the “Leave” look for protection and insulation, Europe’s single market has yielded with America, more than one twenty- footballing terms. supporters conjures up the spirit of demanding that “control” be brought clear gains in terms of growth and eighth of the Nato alliance, and much A couple of days ago, the Brazilian government had Dunkirk in 1940 – a nation standing back home. employment. more than just one member of an to make an emergency transfer of $850mn to the cash- alone, impervious to invading armadas One recent, but not necessarily Similarly, if Britain were to lead ever-growing EU. strapped state of Rio de Janeiro in order to help pay for and armies, and always fi ercely representative, poll found that 43% of eff orts to establish a level playing Today, we in Britain should independent of Europe. those certain to vote favoured bringing fi eld for digital, energy, and services demonstrate that our country’s future infrastructure projects and security for the Olympic In theory, the “Remain” campaign control back to the UK by leaving the – particularly fi nancial services – it lies in leading Europe, not in leaving Games in August. stands for a diff erent Britain: EU – even if they were to become could ensure greater competitiveness it. - Project Syndicate The transfer of funds came after Rio de Janeiro outward-looking, engaged, and fi nancially worse off as a result. Only for Europe as a whole. acting Governor Francisco Dornelles declared a state internationally minded. 23% did not. Economic reforms are only the zGordon Brown, former prime minister But the Conservative Party is A casual observer could be forgiven beginning. and chancellor of the exchequer of the of fi nancial emergency on Friday as a drop in revenues bitterly divided on the issue, and many for thinking that forging a post- Britain can and should champion United Kingdom, is United Nations caused by a crippling recession and slumping oil prices of its most prominent spokesmen referendum national consensus on a an agenda that confronts questions special envoy for global education and left state coff ers depleted. have wilted under fi re from a hostile European future is impossible. of energy effi ciency (through an chair of the International Commission Almost every city hosting a major sporting Eurosceptic media. But there is a way forward. energy and environmental union), on Financing Global Education As a result, they often seem to be We must start by recognising that fair taxation (through a plan for Opportunity. competition goes through a spell of self-doubt ahead of the event, but in Rio’s case the problems have piled up like nobody’s business. Indeed, sport, business and politics can sometimes combine to create a disastrous legacy that can leave a country in debt, but add to it the issue of health and it takes on an entirely new dimension. It’s unfortunate that a spate of Zika virus infections in Brazil continuing from 2015 has come to haunt the Games. Transmitted World number by mosquitoes, the infection can cause four golfer skips crippling birth defects Olympics citing and has been linked to the neurological Zika virus fears disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome among adults. McIlroy, a four-time major winner, joined Fijian Vijay Singh, Australian Adam Scott and South Africans Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen in opting out of the Games, severely compromising the competition, although some cited scheduling confl ict as the reason. Golf needed these stalwarts at the Games where the game is making a comeback after making its previous appearance at the 1904 Olympics. The Union and EU flags flying outside City Hall in central London on the eve of the EU referendum. Opinion polls indicate a tiny lead for the “Remain” camp led by “After speaking with those closest to me, I’ve come Prime Minister David Cameron but the result is too close to call. to realise that my health and my family’s health comes before anything else,” the world number four said in a statement yesterday. “Even though the risk of infection from the Zika virus is considered low, it is a risk nonetheless and a Mr Trump goes to Washington risk I am unwilling to take.” Understandably mixed views have been aired about McIlroy’s decision, with some supporting his decision By Dr Cesar Chelala and later endured enormous pain Later, in 1969, when the nation and others calling it an “extreme” step. New York when he was under torture during the changed the selective service law fi ve years he spent in captivity. On to pick people through a random Masters champion Danny Willett, whose wife Nicole July 18, 2015, during an interview in selection of birth dates, Trump got gave birth to their fi rst child at the end of March, said s Donald Trump continues Ames, Iowa, Trump famously said of a number that allowed him to avoid he was excited about the Olympic Games but would his way to the Republican McCain: “He’s a war hero because he being drafted. not to go if his family’s health was at risk. convention, it is fair to ask was captured. Trump, however, has served the Britain’s Olympic long jump champion Greg Awhat his foreign policy I like people who weren’t captured,” country although not in the field would be. On one issue so far, however, an irrelevant comment, if there ever of war. In a 1997 interview with Rutherford has decided to have his sperm frozen he has alienated not only all Mexicans was one. Howard Stern, Trump admitted that before the Games. living in the US, but practically all Trump’s remarks, predictably, he had been “lucky” not to have His partner Susie Verrill, who will not travel to Mexicans living south of the border. angered many war veterans and, contracted any sexually transmitted Rio with their young son, said the couple had taken That is a bad beginning when one particularly, Secretary of State John diseases when he was sleeping considers that Mexico is one of the Trump: “I have truly enjoyed owning Kerry who, in a statement released to around at the time.“I’ve been so the precaution because they wanted to have more US’s most important trading partners the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss the press, said, “John McCain is a hero, lucky in terms of that world,” he children. in Latin America and home of almost a Teen USA pageants.” a man of grit and guts and character said.“It’s scary, like Vietnam. It is McIlroy’s decision may create a domino eff ect, with million Americans. personifi ed. He served and bled and my personal Vietnam. I feel like a several high-profi le athletes across various sports To his often stated position that he immigration and his pledge to seal endured unspeakable acts of torture. great and very brave soldier.” would build a wall in the US border the southern US border to avoid new His captors broke his bones, but they Trump’s other way of servicing the deciding to skip the Games in the days to come. If with Mexico to stop illegal Mexicans immigrants coming into the US. Trump couldn’t break his spirit, which is why country was to have organised the that is indeed the case, it would be a huge loss for the coming into the US – an unreasonable called the judge “a hater of Donald he refused early release when he had Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Olympics. proposal at best – he recently added Trump” and a “total disgrace” when the chance. That’s heroism, pure and Teen USA pageants, including the his comments about Judge Gonzalo commenting on his ethnicity. simple, and it is unimpeachable.” Miss Universe pageant in Vietnam in Curiel. Both the Speaker of the House Paul In the meantime, as McCain was 2008. “I have truly enjoyed owning Judge Curiel is presiding over a Ryan and Senate Majority Leader in prison, Donald Trump was busy the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss To Advertise class-action lawsuit against Trump Mitch McConnell have condemned presenting deferment arguments from Teen USA pageants,” Trump said at the University. Trump’s comments. going to war both through student time.“When I purchased the pageants [email protected] The plaintiff s in this case argue that Trump’s comments on Judge deferment rights and a medical many years ago, they were in serious Display Trump University duped them into Curiel come after he made equally exemption to stave off the draft. trouble. It has been a great honour Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 paying tens of thousands of dollars on dismissive comments about Senator The two 2-S classifi cations covered making them so successful.” the mistaken belief that they would be John McCain. Although Trump has both his time at Fordham University in Nobody can deny Trump’s Classified taught Trump’s real-state strategies. never participated in real war, this the Bronx, New York, and his transfer considerable business acumen. Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 Trump said that US Judge Curiel had has not stopped him for deriding to study business at the University of But running a country is a more “an absolute confl ict” in presiding McCain, who risked his life in several Pennsylvania. serious issue than running a beauty Subscription over the litigation given that he was of combat missions and suff ered years in In October of 1968, his physical pageant. [email protected] “Mexican heritage” and a member of a a Vietnamese prison camp, after his examination was followed by a new Latino Lawyers’ association. Navy dive bomber was shot down in classifi cation, 1-Y, which essentially zDr Cesar Chelala is a winner of an According to Trump, the background 1967. meant that he could only be drafted Overseas Press Club of America award 2016 Gulf Times. All rights reserved of the judge was relevant because of As he was ejected from this plane, if there were a national emergency and two national journalism awards his often repeated stance against illegal McCain broke both arms and a leg, situation. from Argentina. Gulf Times Thursday, June 23, 2016 31 COMMENT How clean is too clean for us?

Rather than allowing phobia increase the incidence of chronic Type one diabetes, for example, is to rule what we buy and how conditions. an autoimmune disease aff ecting the In other words, our germaphobic pancreas. we wash, we must come to tendencies today may infl ict While genetic factors may accept germs as a reality of generations to come with asthma, predispose a person to type one allergies and other autoimmune diabetes, environmental factors play a human existence diseases. large role in disease onset. A 2015 study conducted by Bill Findings published in the journal of By Anna Devon-Sand Hesselmar of Sweden’s University Clinical and Experimental Immunology The Baltimore Sun/TNS of Gothenburg found that children in April of 2010, support the hygiene whose families washed their dishes hypothesis, demonstrating that mice by hand were significantly less kept under germ-free conditions s a kid, my dad called me likely to suffer from eczema than developed type one diabetes at a much bagel-breath. I was the third were children whose families used a faster rate than did mice kept under child, and his parenting dishwasher. conventional conditions. Astrategy was simple: Hand These fi ndings suggest that those Most experts in the fi eld agree me a bagel, and I’d usually co-operate. who wash their dishes by hand are that germs are necessary for healthy So I spent the fi rst four years of my likely exposed to more pathogens, immune function. life with a bagel in hand. which actually protect them from the In 2009, Mary Ruebush published It often slipped from my fi ngers, at development of eczema. Why Dirt is Good: 5 Ways to Make which point my mom would call over This study represents the latest Germs Your Friend. She says: “The her shoulder, “Five second rule”. That data in support of the hygiene typical human probably harbours 90tn was my cue to pick it up off the oorfl hypothesis. microbes.... and stick it back in my mouth. In the late 1990s, Erike Von Mutius The very fact you have so many First-time parents would look at my set out to study the rates of asthma microbes of so many diff erent kinds mother in disgust. You’re really going and allergies in East and West is what keeps you healthy most of the to let her eat that? But think of all the Germany. time.” germs! Like other researchers at the time, Ruebush denounces the current Today my mom’s attitude informs she blamed air pollution for a rise in societal obsession with antibacterial my perspective on germs, and current asthma. She assumed that children products and suggests that plain soap research supports her approach. growing up in the less-developed parts and water are all that is needed for Yet the majority of 21st century of East Germany would experience washing. America suffers from what I like to higher rates of allergies and asthma With this knowledge, it’s clearly time call “generalised germaphobia”. In than those growing up in the more to re-evaluate our perspective on germs. the United States, hand sanitiser developed parts of West Germany. Rather than allowing phobia to rule dispensers line the walls of public What she found was exactly the what we buy and how we wash, we venues, and bottled water has opposite. must come to accept germs as a reality replaced tap water; according to the From that study she developed the of human existence, a requirement, in Beverage Marketing Corporation, hygiene hypothesis, positing that fact, for healthy living. 11bn gallons of bottled water (34 children who are exposed to more How to we begin to change our gallons per person) were consumed microbes earlier in life develop a relationship with germs? Maybe in 2014, a 7.4 % increase from the greater immunity for the irritants that we begin by drinking from the tap, year before. cause asthma. washing in moderation and employing In the last century, increased According the US Food and the fi ve-second rule, which I still sanitation led to dramatic Drug Administration, an infant’s After birth, the immune system must and can actually contribute to the book An Epidemic of Absence), “the apply - especially when it comes to improvements in public health, environment can be too clean to evolve on its own. development of autoimmune diseases more one’s surroundings resemble the bagels. including decreased transmission of properly educate a maturing immune Without suffi cient exposure to and allergies. environment in which we evolved – infectious organisms. But now we may system. germs, the immune system never Evolutionarily speaking, humans rife with infections and lots of what zAnna Devon-Sand be approaching a generation that is too Before birth, a child’s immune learns how to defend itself against developed in the presence of parasites one scientist calls “animals, feces and ([email protected]) is a public clean for its own good. system is suppressed to prevent him infectious organisms. and bacteria. In the words of Moises mud”– the lower the prevalence of” health major at Johns Hopkins Anti-germ behaviours may actually or her from rejecting maternal tissue. Defence mechanisms go awry Valesquez-Manoff (author of the 2013 autoimmune diseases and allergies. University. Letters Weather report Three-day forecast

TODAY WPS and labour exhaustive. Qatar is well poised for hour long, should form part of all or human rights violations. The High: 40 C further all-round improvement and major sports events, at the opening most worrying aspect of all these is Low : 33 C Hazy at places at first becomes hot welfare measures the pivotal role played by human of the event, if possible. Participation the future of displaced children who daytime with slight dust and some capital needs no further elaboration. should be free for all. embody the hope of tomorrow. clouds, relatively humid by night Dear Sir, The role and responsibilities of human 2) Women should be encouraged to While it is unlikely to expect an resources management assume much adopt yoga for their well-being and immediate end to the ongoing crisis FRIDAY It is a matter of great pride for importance at this crucial stage. health. in a number of countries, it is the sole High: 40 C all concerned to have successfully Looking at people as assets is part 3) Indian schools should hold responsibility of world leaders to help Low: 32 C achieved the implementation of the of contemporary human resource regular yoga sessions. those who are considered refugees Sunny Wage Protection System (WPS) in management and human capital 4) Health sector employees should and sheltered in various parts of the Qatar. (“1.5mn workers now under management. be urged to make yoga part of their world. The wealthy nations across the Wage Protection System”, Gulf In this great nation’s progress, each lives. world must off er a helping hand to the SATURDAY Times, June 22). The system is almost and every one of us plays a humble role displaced people and refugees. High: 40 C complete and the workers who are still and let us all re-dedicate ourselves Mrs Zarna P Bhatt Low: 32 C left out, it is hoped, shall come under to build Qatar further and take it to (e-mail address supplied) Ramachandran Nair Sunny WPS soon. greater heights. (e-mail address supplied) The Wages Protection System is defi ned as “a comprehensive V Kalyanaraman Alarming increase Fishermen’s forecast electronic system initiated by the [email protected] in global refugees Please send us OFFSHORE DOHA Ministry of Labour and Social Wind: NW-NE 03-12 KT Aff airs and the Qatar Central Bank your letters Waves: 1-3 Feet (QCB) to monitor and document the Yoga Day Dear Sir, INSHORE DOHA Wind: NW-NE 05-15/20 KT process of worker wage payment at initiative By e-mail Waves: 1-2 Feet the establishments subject to the The number of refugees in the [email protected] Labour Law No (14) of 2004, with world is increasing at an alarming rate, Fax 44350474 Around the region the view to ensuring that employers Dear Sir, according to a report released by the Or Post Weather Weather are committed to the wage payment United Nations High Commissioner Letters to the Editor today Max/min tomorrow Max/min Abu Dhabi Sunny 44/30 Sunny 44/29 process systematically and in a timely It was a great occasion to celebrate for Refugees (UNHCR). Gulf Times manner pursuant to the rules and the International Yoga Day in The number of refugees, asylum- Baghdad Sunny 46/29 Sunny 47/30 P O Box 2888 Dubai Sunny conditions provided for in the Labour Al Gharafa Stadium. The Indian seekers and internally-displaced Sunny 42/31 41/30 Doha, Qatar Kuwait City Sunny 46/29 Sunny 47/30 Law”. community is thankful to the stadium people around the world has topped Manama Sunny 38/29 Sunny 38/29 Qatar is now setting labour welfare authorities and the Qatar government 65mn, according to the UNHCR. All letters, which are subject Muscat Sunny 36/31 Sunny 36/30 standards for other GCC nations to for their support to the event. As of December 2015, there were Riyadh Sunny 43/28 Sunny 43/28 emulate. Thanks should also go to the Indian 65.3mn displaced people, according to to editing, should have the Tehran P Cloudy 34/22 Sunny 34/22 Qatar is fully geared up to meet the ambassador, various dignitaries and the agency. That number represents name of the writer, address challenges whether they are related yoga teachers. “immense human suff ering”. and phone number. The to infrastructure improvement, I would like to use this opportunity One in every 113 people on Earth writer’s name and address tourism, sports, entertainment, to make a few suggestions. has now been driven from their home may be withheld by request. etc. This list is illustrative and not 1) Yoga sessions, preferably one- by persecution, confl ict and violence Live issues A weighty issue for parents

By Dr Luisa Dillner psychology at Northeastern University children’s good behaviour with food Guardian News and Media/London in Boston, assures me it isn’t. increase the likelihood that they will Her review of 56 studies shows that grow up to be more unhappy with parents have a strong impact on their their bodies; food should be linked to Around the world irst, a confession. I once children’s (of both sexes) attitudes to alleviating hunger. Weather Weather commented unfavourably food and their bodies. Rodgers says parents can model today Max/min tomorrow Max/min on the legs of one of my The research suggests that parents positive attitudes about food – eating Athens Sunny 36/26 Sunny 35/26 daughters. I was cross about who try to control their children’s meals with their children and making Beirut Sunny 31/25 Sunny 30/25 F Bangkok S T Storms 32/26 T Storms 31/26 her short school skirt, but it’s no diets, encourage them to watch them enjoyable. They should explain Berlin Sunny 32/19 Sunny 34/20 excuse. their weight and advocate thinness that most images in the media are Cairo Sunny 40/24 Sunny 40/24 May God forgive me because, as desirable are more likely to have unrealistic and unrepresentative. But Cape Town P Cloudy 22/10 P Cloudy 19/11 according to a study this week in daughters, in particular, who grow up it doesn’t stop there. Colombo S T Storms 29/26 Cloudy 29/26 Eating and Weight Disorders, she will to recall parents commenting on to be dissatisfi ed with their bodies. As part of the positive modelling, Dhaka T Storms 32/27 S T Storms 33/27 Hong Kong Sunny 33/28 M Sunny 33/29 never get over it. their weight than women who were Rodgers off ers sound advice: parents should avoid commenting Istanbul P Cloudy 31/22 Cloudy 31/22 Researchers found that the more a overweight. “Parents should avoid commenting on on their own weight and appearance, Jakarta M Sunny 33/24 S T Storms 33/25 parent comments on their daughter’s But regardless of their BMI, women their children’s weight or appearance: or anyone else’s. They should avoid Karachi M Sunny 33/27 P Cloudy 33/27 weight, the more likely she will be were less satisfi ed with their weight if that includes criticism, teasing, or skipping meals themselves, or going London Rain 23/14 P Cloudy 21/12 T Storms T Storms 32/24 unhappy with her body as a young their parents had made remarks about even ‘positive’ statements. They on diets. Manila 32/25 Moscow M Sunny 27/17 P Cloudy 27/18 woman. their size as adolescents. should avoid encouraging their Young women might over- New Delhi P Cloudy 39/29 M Sunny 39/28 In the study, 501 women between The message to parents? Zip it. children to diet, or suggesting they remember the comments their parents New York S T Storms 23/18 Sunny 28/18 the ages of 20 and 35 were asked about But does that mean you can’t need to lose weight. They should make (who doesn’t blame their Paris P Cloudy 31/19 Cloudy 22/15 their body image and to recall how comment at all? avoid ‘not allowing’ certain foods, parents for everything?), but Rodgers Sao Paulo P Cloudy 20/10 M Sunny 20/11 Seoul P Cloudy 31/21 Rain 27/18 often their parents commented about I hoped, initially, that the evidence telling their children that certain foods says the limitations of recall aff ect Singapore P Cloudy 32/27 S T Storms 32/26 their weight. in this area would be rather weak are ‘bad’ or trying to restrict their both parties, and parents may under- Sydney P Cloudy 18/11 Cloudy 15/06 Those with a healthy body mass but Dr Rachel Rodgers, associate children’s diets.” remember. So best not to comment Tokyo Rain 26/21 Cloudy 26/20 index were nearly a third less likely professor at the department of applied Parents who reward their at all.