ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER Thursday 8 August 2013 1 Shawwal 1434 - Volume 18 Number 5785 Price: QR2 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 Qatar’s support Eid Al Fitr preparations is for people of Egypt: Attiyah Foreign Minister clarifies stance DOHA: Qatar reiterated its to power or not, Al Attiyah said,: stand on Egypt yesterday and “I was representing Qatar in the said its support was for its peo- launch of the support programme ple and not for its regimes. and I dealt with the then defence “We don’t take sides with this minister and commander of the group or that group. Ours is a Egyptian army, Hussain Tantawi. principled stand (on Egypt),” said “I also interacted at the time Foreign Minister H E Dr Khalid with the then prime minister, bin Mohamed Al Attiyah. Essam Sharaf, and the minister He insisted in an interview to for international cooperation, Aljazeera Arabic channel yester- Faiza Abu El Naja… At that time day: “Qatar’s support for Egypt we didn’t know if the Brotherhood will continue because this support would be voted to power or not,” is for its people, and not for its reiterated Al Attiyah. governments.” About his recent visit to Egypt, Al Attiyah stressed that it was he said he was scheduled to meet a matter of principle for Qatar the former president, Mohammed to continue extending support to Mursi, and the supreme leader Egypt, toeing Qatar’s official line. (Murshid — which in Arabic To recall, in his inaugural means guide) of the Brotherhood, address to the nation as Emir, H Mohamed Badie, but the meetings Children show their henna decorated hands on the eve of Eid Al Fitr at a shopping complex in Doha yesterday. ABDUL BASIT H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al didn’t materialise. Thani, recently declared: “Qatar “I, however, met Badie’s deputy, rejects sectarianism in the Arab Khairat El Shater, in the prison. world and doesn’t take sides and It was a 90-minute meeting.” supports one party and opposes The Foreign Minister, though, another”. did not divulge details of his talks “We are a nation-state and a with El Shater. Strong demand to push rents up united community. We are not a Al Attiyah said he also met political party,” said the Emir. leaders of the April 6 movement, DOHA: Strong demand for peak at an incredible 90 percent, class neighbourhoods like Najma, network as part of the mega infra- “Therefore, we seek to main- a reference to those opposed housing led by rising population indicating a bullish outlook, which Bin Mahmoud, Al Mansoura and structure development projects. tain relations with the govern- to Mursi as president, which is expected to push up rents con- would mean escalating rents. Muntazah where monthly rent- Real estate transactions have ments in all countries and we launched the drive against him. siderably in the days to come. Tanween said in a second quar- als were ranging from QR5,300 witnessed 77 percent growth in respect different influential politi- “Among them was the coordi- Already, in the expatriate ter (Q2) 2013 report on real estate upwards earlier. Q2 this year to QR13bn over Q1 cal parties.” nator of the movement, Ahmed working class locality of Doha, in the country yesterday in the Set up in 2007, Tanween is a pio- (QR7.3bn). Meanwhile, during the inter- Maher, and I told him about Al Mansoura, for example, rents posh West Bay area of the city, neer in development management Sales of plots accounted in Q2 view Al Attiyah was asked about Qatar’s concerns about Egypt. I have shot up in double digits in a new tenants were paying a 10 per- in Qatar and is an arm of Barwa for more than two-third (69 per- accusations that Qatar was pro- made Qatar’s stance clear that we year since June 2012. According cent premium in certain buildings Al Khor Development. cent) of the total value of trans- Muslim Brotherhood, that when don’t take sides.” to a report, only 10,000 new resi- in Q2 this year. The report hinted that the actions worth QR8.8bn, whereas, Qatar was launching its support Maher, according to the foreign dential units are likely to come on But the bad news for limited- demand for real estate is expected transactions for housing units programme for Egypt (after minister, expressed his under- the market this year, while some income expatriate workers is that to grow manifold in the municipal and villas constituted for 13 per- the fall of the Hosni Mubarak standing of Qatar’s stand. 18,000 were added in 2012. rents shooting upwards to QR7,300 areas of Al Dayeen, Al Khor and Al cent (QR1.6bn) and nine percent regime) it didn’t know if the THE PENINSULA As a result of strong demand, and QR8,600 for two and three Wakra due to the upcoming inte- (QR1.2bn), respectively. Muslim Brotherhood would ride Continued on page 6 the occupancy rate is expected to bedroom apartments in working gration with the transportation THE PENINSULA Fire guts Kenyan airport Yemen reveals Qaeda Egypt crisis enters new plot as drone kills 7 phase as mediation fails ADEN: Yemen said it had foiled an Al Qaeda plot to storm a CAIRO: Egypt’s army- the government’s decision to dis- Western-run oil terminal, as a installed government yester- mantle the protest camps was US drone killed seven suspected day said diplomatic efforts to final and its patience had nearly jihadists in the country’s south- resolve the political crisis had expired. east. The Yemeni government’s failed and signalled it was gear- The protesters had “broken announcement was the first ing to take action against sup- all the limits of peacefulness”, indication of the nature of the porters of deposed President Beblawi said, accusing them of Qaeda threat that prompted the Mohammed Mursi gathered at inciting violence, blocking roads mass closures of US diplomatic two protest camps in Cairo. and detaining citizens. missions in the region. Envoys from the US, European Any use of weapons against Full report on page 12 Union, Qatar and the UAE had policemen or citizens would “be been trying to defuse the crisis confronted with utmost force and prevent further bloodshed. and decisiveness,” he said. Bahrain King bans But President Adli Mansour’s The breakdown in mediation office said the period of interna- efforts and the threat of action protests in Manama tional efforts, which began more against the protesters brought than 10 days ago, had “ended the political crisis in the Arab DUBAI: Bahrain’s King today”. world’s biggest nation to a dan- H M Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Soon after, interim Prime gerous new phase. REUTERS has banned protests in Manama The arrival lounge of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is seen in flames, in Kenya's capital Nairobi, yesterday. Minister Hazem El Beblawi said See also page 9 in an amendment to a law on A fire engulfed Kenya's main airport, choking a vital travel and trade gateway to east Africa. Report on page 13 public gatherings, ahead of a major opposition demonstration called for mid-August, state news agency BNA reported. Obama snubs Putin meeting over Snowden asylum row Full report on page 9 WASHINGTON: US The cancellation marks a enough recent progress in our with Putin but still attend a between the two countries over President Barack Obama stark low point in US-Russian bilateral agenda with Russia to G20 summit in St Petersburg on Snowden. He said Russia’s invi- yesterday abruptly can- relations in the years since hold a US-Russia summit in September 5 and 6. Obama will tation for Obama to visit Russia celled a Moscow summit with Obama embarked on a “reset” early September,” White House stop in Sweden on September still stood. The Peninsula Plus President Vladimir Putin in ties to try to gain more dip- spokesman Jay Carney said in a 4 to replace the Moscow visit. Beyond Snowden, however, a will not be published planned for next month in lomatic cooperation, only to find statement. Speaking with reporters in long list of grievances separate until August 17 due to retaliation for Russia’s deci- that deep differences remain. The Russian government a Moscow phone conference, the two governments, topped sion to grant asylum to fugi- “Following a careful review expressed disappointment at Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri by Russia’s support for Syrian Eid Al Fitr holidays. tive US spy agency contractor begun in July, we have reached the decision, which means Ushakov said the cancella- President Bashar Al Assad in Editor Edward Snowden. the conclusion that there is not Obama will skip Moscow talks tion was caused by the dispute Syria’s civil war. REUTERS THURSDAY 8 AUGUST 2013 02 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com HOME Holidays of Independent, private schools unified SEC approves calendar for 2013-14 academic year DOHA: The Supreme Education days) fall in the first term. The in elementary schools, 50 minutes Council (SEC) has approved second term comprises 154 work- in preparatory schools. In sec- the calendar for the 2013-2014 ing days and 44 weekend holidays. ondary schools, the fourth hour academic year, unifying the The National Sports Day (one begins at 10.35am and last 55 holidays of the Independent and day) and the spring holidays (five minutes. private schools as well as the days) fall in this term. The fifth hour has a duration of Qatar University.