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MONDAY Vol. XXXX No. 11307 September 16, 2019 Muharram 17, 1441 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals

In brief Amir receives credentials of Jordan’s new envoy

QATAR | Reaction Qatar condemns bid Qatar builds on Somali PM’s life Qatar has strongly condemned the assassination attempt on Somalia’s Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre. Qatar also strongly condemned capacity to the explosion that took place in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region, killing local off icials. In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs reiterated Qatar’s firm stance deal with on rejecting violence, terrorism and political assassinations regardless of motives and reasons, rejecting these attempts as criminal acts. The statement also stressed the need to prosecute those involved in bioterrorism these acts and bring them to justice. It aff irmed Qatar’s solidarity with workshop that got underway in the 1972 Biological Weapons Conven- the Somali government in all the Doha yesterday comes as part of tion, the fi rst multilateral disarma- measures taken to maintain security AQatar’s preparations for major ment treaty banning the development, and stability. events, including the 2022 FIFA World production and stockpiling of an entire Cup, in order to prevent, detect and re- category of weapons of mass destruc- QATAR | Confl ict spond to any biological terrorist acts or tion, out of its belief in the importance Israel PM plan to annex threats, an offi cial has said. of achieving international peace and Palestinian lands fl ayed The event aims to build and security. She noted that Qatar was one His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani received at the Amiri Diwan Off ice yesterday credentials strengthen national capacities in Qatar of the fi rst signatories to the agree- of Jordan’s new ambassador to Qatar, Zaid Mufleh al-Lawzi. The Amir welcomed the ambassador and wished him Qatar has renewed its strong to face biological accidents, stressed ment, QNA added. success in his duties and the relations between Qatar and Jordan further development and growth. The ambassador condemnation of Israeli Prime Dr Jameela al-Ajmi, representative of The offi cial praised the eff orts ex- conveyed to the Amir greetings of Jordan’s leader and wishes of further progress and prosperity to the Qatari people. Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Hamad Medical Corporation and head erted by the NCPW to activate and Earlier, the ambassador was accorded off icial reception ceremony at the Amiri Diwan. Page 24 announcement of his intentions of the Biological Weapons Convention implement conventions at the national to annex Palestinian land to the (BWC) working group, while deliver- and international levels in the face of occupation. This came in a statement ing the keynote address on the opening threats caused by biological weapons delivered by HE the Minister of State day of the Project Biosafe: Bioterror- to national, regional and international for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad ism Risks and Controls Workshop. security, referring that these eff orts al-Muraikhi at the extraordinary She also informed that a team of culminated in the promulgation of the meeting of the Council of Foreign specialists to respond to biological dis- Biological Weapons Act No 4 of 2016. Saudi races to restore oil Ministers of OIC member-states in asters at the national level and to re- The committee has also held sev- Jeddah. Page 2 spond to emergencies. eral seminars, workshops and training The workshop has been organised courses with the aim of building na- QATAR | Youth by Qatar’s National Committee for tional capacities and raising awareness Doha Oasis for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW), for various segments of society, she supply after drone strikes represented by the Doha regional cen- said. Innovation kicks off tre for training on weapons of mass Dr al-Ajmi stressed that regarding Doha Oasis for Innovation, an event destruction, and the National Central preparedness and crisis management, zAttack halts 5.7mn barrels per day or about 6% of the world’s oil supply dedicated to young people and Bureau (Interpol Doha), the offi cials the committee has formed a national aimed at stimulating youth creativity Qatar News Agency (QNA) reports. team of specialists to respond to bio- in the fields of invention and The event is being held under the Bi- logical disasters at the national level audi Arabia raced yesterday to innovation, kicked off yesterday. The osafe project in co-operation with In- and to respond to emergencies, by tak- restart operations at oil plants event under slogan ‘The Nation With terpol - International Criminal Police ing preventive measures against bio- Shit by drone attacks which its Youth’ runs until September 20. Organisation, and will run for four days. logical attacks and on how to respond slashed its production by half, as Iran The event also aims at developing Dr al-Ajmi said Qatar acceded to to bioterrorism. To Page 3 dismissed US claims it was behind the the spirit of innovation and creativity assault. among the youth. Page 24 Houthi rebels in neighbouring Sports Integrity Summit starts in Doha today Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is ARAB WORLD | Election bogged down in a fi ve-year war, have Karoui, Saied claim The Doha 2019 Inter-regional Sports welcoming and opening speeches for claimed Saturday’s strikes on two ‘victory’ in Tunisia polls Integrity Summit starts today in the summit and a number of sessions plants owned by state giant Aramco. the presence of a large number of including: Qatar: the host of the first But United States Secretary of Independent candidate Kais Saied prominent international personalities, major sport integrity event at the State Mike Pompeo pointed the fi n- and the party of jailed media specialists and decision-makers in regional level; SIGA: teamwork and the ger squarely at Tehran, saying there magnate Nabil Karoui claimed international sports. global goal towards integrity in sports; was no evidence the “unprecedented yesterday to have won through Qatar hosts the Inter-regional Sports session on integrity in sports on the attack on the world’s energy supply” to the second round of Tunisia’s Integrity Summit for the first time in field; and session on global challenges, was launched from Yemen. A satellite image shows an apparent drone strike on an Aramco oil facility in presidential election. “Nabil Karoui is the region. The summit is organised approaches and regional co-operation. “The United States will work with Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday. in the second round”, an off icial from by the International Centre for Sport On the second day, the summit will our partners and allies to ensure that his Qalb Tounes party told AFP, while Security (ICSS) and Qatar Airways in discuss a range of themes and issues energy markets remain well supplied Kuwait tightens security by drawing on vast storage facilities Saied said he had come “first in the co-operation with the Sport Integrity and will develop a set of decisions that and Iran is held accountable for its ag- after drone sighted designed to be tapped in times of cri- first round”, citing exit polls. Page 10 Global Alliance (SIGA). will certainly serve global sport in the gression,” the top US diplomat added. sis. The first day’s agenda includes fight against corruption. (QNA) That drew an angry response from Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Riyadh, the world’s top crude ex- Tehran, where a foreign ministry Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah porter, has built fi ve giant under- spokesman said: “Such fruitless and has instructed the country’s ground storage facilities across the blind accusations and remarks are military and security leaders country that can hold tens of millions Reception held for Shanghai dignitaries incomprehensible and meaningless.” to tighten security around vital of barrels of various refi ned petro- The remarks were designed to sites. Kuwait’s Acting Interior leum products. damage Iran’s reputation and provide Minister, Deputy Prime Minister The US response to the attack a pretext for “future actions” against and Minister of State for Cabinet throws into doubt reported eff orts by the Islamic republic, he added. Aff airs Anas al-Saleh revealed Trump to arrange a meeting with Ira- Baghdad, caught between its two that a probe has been launched nian President Hassan Rouhani at the main sponsors – Tehran and Wash- after a drone was detected flying upcoming United Nations assembly. ington – also denied any link to the on the outskirts of Kuwait City, attacks amid media speculation that pointing out that proper security Attacks not launched the drones were launched from Iraq. precautions will be taken in from Yemen: US Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince response. Page 10 Mohamed bin Salman, has said the The scope and precision of attacks kingdom is “willing and able” to re- on Saudi Arabian oil facilities spond to this “terrorist aggression”. The full extent of the damage was suggest the launch was not Instead, the kingdom focused on re- not clear, nor the type of weapons made by Houthis and came from storing production at the plants, as the used. a west-northwest direction, not Saudi bourse slumped 3% as the week’s Saudi interior ministry spokesman south from Yemen, a US off icial trading began yesterday morning. Mansour al-Turki said there were no said yesterday. “There’s no doubt Saturday’s explosions set off fi res casualties in the attacks. that Iran is responsible for this. that engulfed the Abqaiq plant, the Aramco has said it will dip into its No matter how you slice it, there’s world’s largest oil processing facil- reserves to off set the disruption, but no escaping it. There’s no other ity, and nearby Khurais, which hosts a the incident could aff ect investor candidate. Evidence points in no massive oil fi eld. confi dence as its stock market debut other direction than that Iran was Saudi’s energy infrastructure has looms. Aramco CEO Amin Nasser responsible for this,” the off icial A dinner reception was hosted by Gulf Times for visiting dignitaries from China at the Idam restaurant, Museum of Islamic been hit by the Houthis many times said Saturday that “work is under- told Reuters. A foreign ministry Art, on Saturday. The event was sponsored by Qatar Media Corporation. The reception was held in honour of Minister before, but this strike was of a diff er- way” to restore full production. spokesman in Tehran termed the HE Yin Yicui, Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress, and other members ent order, abruptly halting 5.7mn bar- And newly appointed Energy Min- accusations ‘incomprehensible of the delegation. Wang Jianjun, Chairwoman, Shanghai Media Group (SMG), was also present. Among the guests were rels per day (bpd) or about 6% of the ister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and meaningless’. senior government off icials, leading Qatari businessmen, top CEOs and prominent citizens. Page 5 world’s oil supply. said part of the drop would be off set Gulf Times 2 Monday, September 16, 2019 QATAR

Ambassadors appointed in Costa Rica, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Argentina Qatar condemns Israel’s plan His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani issued yesterday Amiri Decision No 33 of 2019 appointing Khamis Rashid Mahdi al- Kaabi as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Costa Rica. His Highness the Amir issued to annex Palestinian lands Amiri Decision No 34 of 2019 appointing Faisal Abdullah QNA for security and stability in the Hamad Abdullah al-Henzab as Jeddah Middle East and the world. ambassador extraordinary and He stressed that this obliges plenipotentiary to Azerbaijan. the OIC to play a greater role in His Highness the Amir also atar has renewed its promoting solidarity among its issued Amiri Decision No 35 strong condemnation members through unifi ed and of 2019 appointing Mubarak Qand denunciation of the coherent positions away from Abdulrahman Mubarak al-Nasr as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin divisions and diff erences. ambassador extraordinary and Netanyahu’s announcement of He added: “The Palestinian plenipotentiary to Turkmenistan. his intentions to annex Pales- cause and the protection of our His Highness the Amir issued tinian land to the occupation, Islamic holy sites remain the piv- Amiri Decision No 36 of stressing that the State of Pal- otal issue for our organisation and 2019 appointing Battal Mijeb estine has and will continue to its establishment in the aftermath Battal Mohamed al-Dossari as belong to the Palestinians de- of the burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque ambassador extraordinary and spite attempts by some parties in 1969. There is no doubt that the plenipotentiary to Argentina. to change this fact by excessive dangers to the Palestinian cause The decisions are eff ective force. impose a special responsibility starting from their date of This came in a statement de- on us to protect it from any at- publication in the off icial gazette. livered by HE Minister of State tacks, to use all means provided for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin by international law to stop such Saad al-Muraikhi at the extraor- violations, and to demand the Amir greets El dinary meeting of the Council international community to as- of Foreign Ministers of the Or- sume its responsibilities towards Salvador president ganization of Islamic Coopera- protecting the Palestinian people His Highness the Amir Sheikh tion (OIC) member states, which and obtaining all their legitimate Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, His was held at the headquarters rights in accordance with the Highness the Deputy Amir Sheikh of the OIC General Secretariat rules of international law, resolu- Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani, in Jeddah, to discuss the an- tions of international legitimacy and HE the Prime Minister nouncement of the Israeli Prime and the Charter of the United Na- and Interior Minister Sheikh Minister. tions, which call for the establish- HE the Minister of State for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi heads the Qatari delegation to the extraordinary meeting of the Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa The minister said that the ment of an independent Palestin- Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the level of foreign ministers, held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the al-Thani sent yesterday cables of extraordinary meeting of the ian state on the borders of 1967, organisation in Jeddah yesterday. congratulations to El Salvador Council of Foreign Ministers of with Jerusalem as its capital.” President Nayib Bukele on the the OIC member states is taking The Minister of State for For- utmost to fulfi l its common re- cially the Palestinian cause. ing on the international com- occupied territories, and stop the anniversary of his country’s place amid major crises facing eign Aff airs stressed that Qatar sponsibilities and commitments “Qatar affi rms that it will munity to shoulder its legal and malicious campaign to Judaize Independence Day. many Islamic countries and in- will remain keen to be an active at various national, regional and spare no eff ort in alleviating the moral responsibilities to lift the Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque creasing challenges that threat- and constructive member of the international levels on the is- suff ering of our brothers in the unjust siege on Gaza Strip, stop and obliterate their Arab-Islamic Amir condoles en very serious consequences OIC and will continue to do its sues of the organisation, espe- State of Palestine,” he said call- the settlement activities on the identity. with Spain’s king His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and His Highness the Deputy Amir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Envoy emphasises Shura Council group meets Shanghai delegation al-Thani sent yesterday cables of condolences to King Felipe VI of Spain on the victims of the floods cementing Jordan ties he Qatari-Asian Par- which hit southeastern Spain, liamentary Friendship wishing the injured a speedy TGroup of the Shura Coun- recovery. QNA delegations, which result- cil chaired by HE Rashid bin Ha- HE the Prime Minister and Amman ed in the signing of a large mad al-Maadadi held a meet- Minister of Interior Sheikh number of bilateral agree- ing yesterday with the Standing Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa ments and memoranda of Committee of the Shanghai al-Thani also sent a cable of atar’s ambassador to understanding (MoUs) that Municipal People’s Congress condolences to Spanish Prime Jordan Sheikh Saud frame the solid relations be- director, Yin Yicui, and her Minister Pedro Sanchez on the Qbin Nasser al-Thani tween the two countries at accompanying delegation. victims of the floods which hit has affi rmed that the Qatari various economic, cultural During the meeting, they re- southeastern Spain, wishing the embassy in Jordan is ready to and political levels, stressing viewed the distinguished rela- injured a speedy recovery. provide all forms of co-op- that the relations between tions between the two friendly eration to enhance relations the two countries will always countries, especially in the par- Indonesian FM between the two countries remain in good shape. liamentary fi eld between the through the convening of the For his part, Hamdi al-Tab- Shura Council and the Chinese meets Qatar envoy Jordanian-Qatari Business baa called for activating the People’s Congress. Indonesian Foreign Minister Council. Jordanian-Qatari Business Members of the Chinese Retno Marsudi met with Qatar’s During his meeting with Council, which has been es- delegation praised the eco- ambassador to Indonesia Ahmed the Jordanian Businessmen tablished between the associ- nomic, cultural, sports and bin Jassim al-Hamar, in Jakrata, Association Board headed ation and the Qatari Business- legislative renaissance wit- yesterday on the occasion of by Hamdi al-Tabbaa, the men Association in Doha since nessed by Qatar, under the the end of his tenure. During the ambassador said that over 2005, to enhance economic leadership of His Highness the meeting, they reviewed bilateral the years the two countries relations between the two Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Ha- relations, ways of boosting and witnessed a momentum in countries, stressing the depth mad al-Thani, and the great developing them, and issues of the offi cial mutual visits of of Jordanian-Qatari relations development witnessed by the common concern. economic and diplomatic in various fi elds. Qatari-Chinese relations. Shura Council members along with Chinese delegation pose for a photo. MME holds training courses in UN rights expert farming for Somali researchers welcomes Qatar series of training courses solidarity agenda organised by the Minis- Atry of Municipality and Environment (MME) for a group QNA “I urge Qatar to integrate cli- of researchers and employees of Geneva mate change issues more deeply the Somali Ministry of Agricul- into its development strate- ture, started yesterday and will gies to ensure that the country continue until September 26. biora C Okafor, a UN works towards sustainable de- Hamad Saket al-Shammari, human rights expert, velopment, both domestically director, Agricultural Research Ohas commended Qatar and abroad, given the adverse Department at the MME, said for its signifi cant contribu- impacts climate change is hav- that Qatar has spared no eff ort tion to human rights-based ing on the enjoyment of human in supporting and participat- solidarity with other states and rights around the world,” said ing in various activities that peoples, while identifying cli- Okafor. He also encouraged Qa- promote agriculture in the Arab mate change and the treatment tar to pursue renewable energy world. of migrants as areas for further technologies and to cut emis- Al-Shammari said that the action. sions. participants from the Soma- “I commend Qatar for being Despite the continued exist- lia will be briefed on the latest the fi rst state in the Gulf region ence of certain aspects of the fi ndings on plant and animal to issue a standing invitation to Kafala sponsorship system for research in Qatar and how to the Special Procedures of the migrant workers, the expert implement modern methods Human Rights Council, and for welcomed improvements to the in agriculture, to achieve na- its active engagement with in- system and ongoing eff orts to tional food security, and thus ternational and regional organi- abolish it. provide the economy with an sations, including those that He urged the government to important social and econom- The group from Somalia with MME off icials. work in the human rights fi eld,” expand recently enacted pro- ic resource. said Okafor. tection to all foreign workers, He expressed his hope that tection from communicable fi eld of irrigation techniques will be on vaccinating the live- Al-Marri explained that Presenting a preliminary including to migrant domestic these courses would achieve and transmitted diseases,” Al- under the soil and modern stock in diff erent environmen- Qatar’s national strategy for statement at the end of a nine- workers and others not currently the maximum benefi t in terms Shammari told reporters. fertilisation methods and the tal conditions in order to know food security relies on four day visit to Qatar, Okafor praised covered. of exchanging information and Participants will be briefed process of drying dates, reveal- the impact of weather condi- axes, including local produc- the government for creating and Okafor called on Qatar to do experiences between partici- on the experiences of Qatar in ing that the production of to- tions and high temperatures on tion, strategic storage, inter- strengthening the infrastructure more to expand access to justice pants and experts of Qatar in these fi elds, which include the matoes will soon be launched in livestock in the country. national trade and the local needed to promote and eff ec- for workers facing exploitation the agriculture fi eld. techniques of palm cultivation 3 greenhouses in order to grow Masoud Jarallah al-Marri, market, pointing out that the tively deliver its international and abuse, and highlighted the “These training courses aim and pollination with liquid in- tomato types able to adapt to director, Food Security De- participants will be intro- solidarity agenda. need for a higher, non-discrimi- to develop the capabilities of stead of traditional pollination environmental conditions in partment at the MME, said duced to these axes and ini- He especially welcomed de- natory and permanent minimum Somali engineers, experts and operations, in addition to mod- Qatar. in remarks that the concept tiatives included in each axis velopments in the areas of hu- wage. researchers in the sectors such ern irrigation techniques, date The director pointed out that of food security means how to benefi t from the experi- manitarian relief, education and The independent expert will as vegetable production, palm drying and other new methods in the fi eld of livestock research food should be provided to ence of Qatar and develop commitment to the Sustainable present a report detailing his tree care, crop conservation, in the fi eld, he said. the department is in the process the entire population in terms their expertise in the fi eld of Development Goals, all of which conclusions and recommen- post-harvest operations, live- He stressed that Qatar has of preparing a “nucleus herd” of aff ordable prices and ease strengthening food security have implications for the enjoy- dations to the Human Rights stock development and pro- achieved great successes in the in Qatar during which the focus of access. system in Somalia. (QNA) ment of human rights. Council in Geneva in June 2020. Gulf Times Monday, September 16, 2019 3 QATAR

QOC holds Electronic QRCS marks World First Aid Games Tournament he Qatar Olympic nament, which was held by Committee (QOC) has the knockout system, saw a Torganised the 13th edi- turnout of around 160 players. tion of Electronic Games Nasser al-Mudahka, head Tournament (FIFA 2019). of sport activities and pro- Day with training sessions QOC Secretary-General grammes section at the Jassim bin Rashid al-Buenain QOC, said the committee atar Red Crescent So- attended a part of these pres- organises the Electronic ciety (QRCS) celebrates tigious games, where in the Games Tournament annu- Qyesterday, World First senior category, Yousef al- ally as part of the activities Aid Day 2019, with a series of Darwish claimed the fi rst included in the community lectures and educational and place, the second place went activities plan, in an eff ort to training sessions. It will run to Rashid Abdurrahman, increase the participation of until September 19 under the while Jassim al-Eid seized the members of the community slogan “First Aid and Excluded third place. in sports and entertainment People” and is implemented In the junior category, events. by an integrated team of health Tamim Ibrahim al-Hour won He praised the huge turn- education experts in its medical the fi rst place, Ahmed Alaa out where QOC received aff airs sector. El Deen won second place, nearly 300 applications, but QRCS targets with these and the third place went to not all applications were ac- events, students, teachers, Abdurrahman Emad. cepted as there is a limit to the administrative staff , parents, The 13th edition of the FIFA number of participants in the safety groups, and persons 2019 Electronic Games Tour- tournament. (QNA) with special needs, their com- panions and workers to raise awareness of the health risks they may face in the work- place, ways to prevent them, and how to help the various Significant rise in injuries that may occur to the same or to others. “First aid is the immedi- local farm produce ate care given to an injured or ill person prior to medical as- he director of Food Se- Livestock also had increases sistance or ambulance vehicle curity Department at in growth rates, the largest be- being available,” said Head of Tthe Ministry of Mu- ing cattle numbers of around Health Education at Medical nicipality and Environment 34%, he said. Aff airs Division at QRCS Dr (MME), Masoud Jarallah al- He pointed out that the Ahmed Idlibi. “As a subdisci- Marri, confi rmed that the lo- total number of livestock pline of emergency medicine, cal production of all agricul- currently in Qatar is about it is the fi rst step in medical tural products has achieved 106,0000 head, broken down training for fi rst responders, a signifi cant increase in the to 1,000,073 sheep, 429,664 physicians, and non-specialist QRCS volunteers hold a demonstration. framework of the eff orts to goats, 40,857 cows and society members”. achieve self-suffi ciency and 128,798 camels. Dr Idlibi emphasised, provid- value of saving lives, and be fully tive health knowledge among In 2000, World First Aid Day According to IFRC, the theme food security in the country. In this regard, al-Marri ed fi rst-aid training that utilises prepared for any emergency that individuals. Through health was started by the International of World First Aid Day 2019 is In a statement to Qatar talked about the signifi cant the best technology and scien- may arise. awareness messages, it seeks to Federation of Red Cross and Red “First Aid and Excluded People”. News Agency (QNA) yester- increase in marketing pro- tifi c skills. By being trained to He added, “Another comple- educate society members in the Crescent Societies (IFRC). Every Its main aim is to raise aware- day, al-Marri said that the grammes for local vegetables help patients or victims of any mentary side to ensure individ- fi eld of public health, as well as year, more than 100 Red Cross ness of how fi rst aid can prevent self-suffi ciency rate of dairy of the Ministry of Municipal- kind of accident, society mem- ual safety is community health to make them able to exercise a and Red Crescent Societies ob- injuries and save lives every day products in Qatar is currently ity and Environment, reach- bers are well equipped to deal education. It is a development voluntary health education role serve the day by teaching people and in crisis situation. It also 106%, poultry 124%, fresh ing 78 tonnes in August 2019 with everyday issues, achieve programme aimed at promoting within their social sphere, for about the benefi ts of fi rst aid and promotes accessibility to fi rst vegetables 27%, table eggs compared to 35 tonnes in the social and humanitarian health awareness and preven- disease control and prevention”. the right way to do it. aid. (QNA) 28% and red meat 18%. August 2018. (QNA) QCDC attends career development Inspection campaign held at Souq Al Haraj and public policy symposium

atar Career Develop- “Through our participation ment Centre (QCDC), in such an event, we hope to ex- Qa member of Qatar pand our knowledge and align Foundation, recently partici- what we learned with Qatar’s pated in the 9th edition of the policy aims, ultimately con- International Symposium on tributing to the development Career Development and Pub- of high-quality human capital lic Policy. The event brought to assist Qatar in its transition together policy makers, career toward a diversifi ed economy,” counsellors, researchers, and al-Mansoori said. professionals to discuss glo- Al-Mansoori and Dr Kar- bal eff orts to promote career daman also attended panel development. discussions with representa- The three-day symposium, tives from fi ve leading inter- organised by the International national organisations. These Centre for Career Develop- included the Organisation for ment and Public Policy (IC- Economic Co-operation and The Ministry of Commerce and Industry CDPP) and Skills Norway, Development; the Education (MoCI) has carried out a joint inspection Ministry of Education and Re- and Training Foundation; campaign at Souq Al Haraj in Najma, search, Norway, took place in the European Centre for the Doha, in co-operation with the Ministry Tromso. Held under the title Development of Vocation- of Interior, Ministry of Municipality and of ‘Leading career develop- al Training; the European Environment (MME) and Ministry of ment services into an uncer- Dr Tajalsir Kardaman and Abdulla al-Mansoori at the event. Commission; and United Na- Administrative Development, Labour tain future: Ensuring access, tions Educational, Scientifi c and Social Aff airs. The initiative led integration and innovation,’ it the conference’s four themes: in contributing to the develop- and Cultural Organisation. to the detection of 104 violations was inaugurated by Tom Er- ‘The Context and Challenges ment and implementation of a Discussions focused on how committed by street vendors, the lend Skaug, State Secretary for Career Development Poli- well-integrated and cross-sec- Nordic countries, includ- MoCI tweeted yesterday. In a related from the Norwegian Ministry cy’; ‘The Aims for, and Access tor career development policy ing Norway, are working statement, the MME said its department of Education and Research. to, Career Development’; ‘The that links the needs and aspi- to promote lifelong career of mechanical equipment was Delegations from 34 coun- Integration of Career Develop- rations of Qatari professionals, guidance. involved in the campaign along with tries explored changes in how ment into Wider Society’; and among various other topics. QCDC’s participation in the Doha Municipality’s general control individuals are pursuing ca- ‘Leading Innovative Change for Commenting on QCDC’s ICCDPP symposium followed department and the other ministries reers across the world, and how the Future.’ participation in the confer- its involvement, for the second mentioned above. The violations governments are providing ca- QCDC was represented by ence, al-Mansoori emphasised consecutive year, in the Asia detected and removed during the reer development help and in- Abdulla al-Mansoori, director, the importance of engag- Pacifi c Career Development initiative pertained to unauthorised tegrating various forms of sup- and Dr Tajalsir Kardaman, Ca- ing with delegates from other Association’s conference – an activities, street vending as well as non- port within wider policy aims. reer Programmes and Services countries to explore the future international forum for shar- compliance with public hygiene rules, Each delegation produced a Manager. During the confer- of global career development ing career development ideas the MME said. (Pictures courtesy of paper outlining key issues for ence, QCDC presented a paper and exchange knowledge and and expertise in the Asia Pacifi c MoCI and MME) their countries in relation to showcasing the centre’s eff orts expertise. region. NCPW holds workshop on dangers of bioterrorism

From Page 1 ticipation in the event focused on the bodies concerned with biological hazards such as The head of the National Central Bu- the Ministry of Public Health and the Gen- reau (Interpol Doha), Major Mohamed Fa- eral Administration of Civil Defence, and had al-Hajri, highlighted Qatar’s standing also noted the participation of a number of commitment to combating terrorism and private hospitals and pharmacies in addition transnational crime and maintaining inter- to companies that specialised in dealing with national peace and security, pointing to the biological materials, QNA reported. fruitful co-ordination between the bureau On its fi rst day, the workshop discussed and the NCPW in accordance with Interpol global terrorism and biosecurity, and re- standards. viewed the experience with hazardous bio- NCPW secretary Captain Abdulaziz Ham- logical materials in Qatar, as well as the dan al-Ahmed said in remarks on the side- assessment of biological threats and risks. lines of the workshop that the hosting of this The workshop will discuss a number of top- event came as part of the committee’s plans ics, including the structure adopted in Qatar to prepare a response team in case of any for the prevention and response to chemical, biological emergency. biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive Captain al-Ahmed added that the NCPW weapons, preventive measures in dealing with met with the Interpol in co-operation with natural disease outbreaks, crime scene man- the Interpol bureau in Doha in order to agement, the risks of biological terrorism and co-ordinate this event. the means of monitoring it, in addition to a Further, the NCPW secretary said par- number of other related issues. Off icials and dignitaries participating in the workshop. PICTURE: Nasar K Moidheen Gulf Times 4 Monday, September 16, 2019 QATAR

40 winners named in Lulu-Nestle promotion draw

The mega draw of the Lulu-Nestle promotion was held at LuLu Hypermarket, D-Ring Road branch under the supervision of Abdel Azeez al-Kuwari, inspector from the Customer Protection Department of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. A total of 40 winners were selected for LuLu gift vouchers for a total sum of QR40,000. Off icials from LuLu Hypermarket and Nestle Qatar were present at the draw. Ooredoo holds blood donation campaigns

oredoo has held the necessary facilities and two blood donation equipment to collect blood Odrives to encour- onsite, making donation age employees to support quick and easy for Ooredoo the local community. The employees. events attracted a large Manar Khalifa al-Mu- number of eligible Ooredoo raikhi, director, PR and employees who donated Corporate Communica- blood to help patients at lo- tions at Ooredoo, said: “At cal clinics and hospitals. Ooredoo, supporting our The blood drives, which local communities is a key are annual commitments focus of our corporate so- for Ooredoo, were held at cial responsibility strategy. the telecoms leader’s two We recognise our humani- headquarters on September tarian responsibilities as 5 and 10, and were arranged a leading Qatari company, in partnership with Hamad and we are fully-committed Medical Centre’s Blood Do- to fi nding as many ways as An Ooredoo employee preparing to donate blood. nation Centre. possible to participate in HMC visited both Oore- initiatives that benefi t those so many of our employees to Hamad Medical Centre doo’s headquarters in West in the community in need of who were able to donate for making the blood drives Bay and Airport Road with our help. We’re proud to see blood, and we’re grateful possible.” Gulf Times Monday, September 16, 2019 5 QATAR

‘70 years of Shanghai’ exhibition opens

Guests at the dinner reception held at the Idam restaurant, Museum of Islamic Art. ‘Moments in History, 70 Years of Shanghai’ photo exhibition, celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, was opened yesterday at Katara. Chairwoman of Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, Minister HE Yin Yicui, Katara general manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, Chinese ambassador to Qatar Zhou Jian and other dignitaries are seen at the Reception held in opening. PICTURE: Nasar K Moidheen honour of visiting Safari hosts Kuttanadan Food Fest afari Hypermarket has an- to savour, the statement notes. out. The promotion has been or- nounced that it is launching The promotion will be avail- ganised in association with ‘Qatar Sthe Kuttanadan Food Festi- able at Safari Mall – Abu Hamour Group of Farms’, which aims to val today. As part of the festival, and Safari Hypermarket – Salwa “promote organic farming with the Safari Bakery & Hot Food sec- Road. In addition to Kuttanadan the least expectation of receiving tion “is bringing to customers the cuisine, a variety of salads, fresh any profi t”, according to Safari. Shanghai dignitaries fl avourful Kuttanadan cuisine, jams and other delicacies are Customers will fi nd various and there will be every authen- available at “pocket-friendly garden tools, hoses, fl ower pots, ew avenues for co-operation were explored tic delicacy that one could crave prices for customers”. Also, there watering cans, etc, as well as dif- at a dinner reception and networking event for,” the retailer has said in a press are special off ers and promo- ferent plants and vegetables as Nhosted by the Gulf Times, and sponsored by statement. tions in the Grocery and Frozen part of the promotion. Qatar Media Corporation, for visiting dignitaries The festival will off er dish- Food sections. Meanwhile, Safari Customers can also participate from China at the Idam restaurant in the Museum es such as Vembanadan Kozhi has announced that is launching in the ‘Safari Win 15 Toyota For- of Islamic Art. The reception was held on Saturday (chicken) Biryani, Kappa, Fish a “unique and one-of-its-kind tuner Cars’ mega promotion at in honour of Minister HE Yin Yicui, Chairwoman of Mappas, Karimeen Pollichathu promotion” – Safari Go Green, any Safari outlet by purchasing the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal (pearl spot), Njandu (crab) Curry, Grow Green. items worth QR50 and above. The People’s Congress and other members of the del- Kallummakkaya (mussel) Ul- It is for the fi rst time in Qatar third lucky draw of the promotion egation. arthiyathu, authentic fi sh curry that such an initiative has been will take place on September 22 at Wang Jianjun, Chairwoman, Shanghai Media and beef curry, etc, for customers organised, the statement points Safari Mall – Abu Hamour. Group (SMG) was also present. Among the guests were diplomats, senior government offi cials, leading Qatari businessmen, top CEOs and prominent citi- zens. Welcoming the guests, Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka, Editor-in-Chief of Gulf Times said it was an honour for him to welcome HE Yin Yicui and Guests at the dinner reception held at the Idam restaurant. the accompanying delegation to Qatar. “We in Qatar truly appreciate the visit of HE Yin Yicui coming at a critical time like this when our country has been subjected to an illegal and unjust blockade. “This visit is a true manifestation of the age-old and trusted relations between Qatar and China.” He said Qatar-China relationship has been fur- Recall of Ford vehicles ther cemented and elevated to the strategic level by high-level bilateral visits, including the visit by His The Ministry of Commerce and confirmed the recall campaign Anti-Commercial Fraud Depart- Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al- Industry, in co-operation with comes within the framework of its ment, which processes complaints, Thani to Beijing. Almana Motors Company, has ongoing eff orts to protect consum- inquiries and suggestions through SMG is the largest provincial media and cultural announced the recall of Ford ers and ensure that vehicle dealers the following channels: Call Centre: conglomerate with the most complete portfolio of Fusion (80 vehicles) and Lincoln follow up on defects and repairs. 16001, e-mail: [email protected], media and related businesses in China. Discussions MKZ (one vehicle) model of 2015 The ministry urges all custom- Twitter: @ MOCIQATAR, Instagram: were held on co-operation in the media sector be- due to defective front seat belt ers to report any violations to MOCIQATAR, mobile app for An- tween SMG and Qatar media organisations. anchor pretensioners. The ministry its Consumer Protection and droid and IOS: MOCIQATAR. Gulf Times 6 Monday, September 16, 2019 QATAR

QNTC at Seatrade Europe Safari key handover ceremony

Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) represented Qatar at the Seatrade Europe 2019 along with the Ministry of A prize handover ceremony for winners of the second lucky draw of the ‘Safari Win 15 Toyota Fortuner Cars’ Transport and Communications, Mwani Qatar, Al Tawfeeq Travels, Qatar International Adventures, and Discover Qatar. mega promotion was held recently at Safari Mall, Abu Hamour, recently. Off icials representing the Safari Group The event took place in Hamburg, Germany, from September 11-13. The QNTC delegation, led by chief marketing off icer management handed over keys to the winners of the three Toyota Fortuner 2019 vehicles during the ceremony. Rashed al-Qurese, met with numerous shipping agencies and stakeholders from the international cruise industry. They The winners of the second draw are Abbas Noushad (coupon No 1949348), K K Riyas (2518545) and M Abdullah were apprised of new developments in Qatar related to cruise tourism as well as other general developments. Aqeel (1803810). Fire Station welcomes new class of Artist in Residence

atar Museums its residencies, as well as en- (Qatar); Hadeer Omar (Egypt); (QM) yesterday an- gaging the local communities in Haytham Sharrouf (Ven- Qnounced the artists Qatar by providing opportuni- ezuela); Hind al-Saad (Qatar); selected for the 2019-2020 ties and events, which include Jaser Alagha (Australia); Latifa season of the Fire Station: exhibitions and public pro- al-Kuwari (Qatar); Majdulin Artist in Residence pro- grammes,” the statement adds. Nasrallah (Jordan); Maryam gramme. The full list of the chosen al-Maadhadi (Qatar); Mariam Now in its fi fth year, the 18 artists participating in the Rafehi (Germany); Mashael nine-month long resi- 2019-2020 Artist in Residence al-Hijazi (Qatar); Maysaa Al- dency, under the visionary programme is as follows: Aisha mumin (Kuwait); Muna al- guidance of QM Chairper- al-Muhannadi (Qatar); Amena Bader (Qatar); Naila al-Thani son HE Sheikha Al Mayassa al-Yousef (Qatar); Ameera al- (Qatar); Noor Yousef (Qatar); bint Hamad bin Khalifa al- Aji (Qatar); Ebtesam al-Hothi and Suzana Joumaa (Syria). Thani, supports local art- ists by providing them with a platform to develop their creative practice, Qa- tar Museums has said in a statement. Every year, the Artist in Residence programme at- tracts a large number of portfolio submissions from Qatar-based artists. This year, 18 artists have been selected by an esteemed gression through mentor- team, where they were giv- panel of jurors, with disci- ship, open studio events, en an in-depth introduc- plines ranging from paint- workshops and access to tion to the programme, the ing, sculpture, photog- the building’s facilities. staff and a tour of the avail- raphy and video to other Artists are also given the able facilities. related media. opportunity to showcase “Sitting at the heart of As part of the pro- their artworks in a large Qatar’s thriving creative gramme, this year’s intake public exhibition in the community, the Fire Sta- of residents will benefi t Garage Gallery at the Fire tion: Artist in Residence from their own dedicated Station by the end of their programme is a highlight studio space, the oppor- residency. of Qatar Museums’ initia- tunity to collaborate, ex- The new residents were tives, which aims to create change knowledge and to welcomed to the pro- a platform committed to enhance their creative pro- gramme by the Fire Station supporting artists through

Aspire announces Torch Staircase Run

spire Zone Foundation (AZF) has announced the opening of registration for the eighth annual Aspire ATorch Staircase Run scheduled to take place on Octo- ber 25 at The Torch Doha, Aspire Zone, from 1pm-6pm. This year’s event is open to community members of all fi tness levels, in the following three age groups: Junior (8-11 years) - Boys/Girls, who will race up to the 19th fl oor; Adults (18-39 years) - Male/Female, who will race up to the 51st fl oor; and Masters (above 40 years) - Male/Female, who will race up to the 51st fl oor, AZF has said in a statement. The race this year will be held during the Breast Cancer Awareness Month as part of the corporate social responsi- bility initiatives undertaken at Aspire Zone. Members of the public can get a free check-up done through a van positioned near The Torch Doha and also get their queries answered and obtain relevant information at a booth. Besides, there will be a community fan zone with enter- tainment activities, as well as food and beverages varieties. The event is sponsored by Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co (Nis- san, Infi niti, Renault) and Ideal Solutions. Interested com- munity members can visit www.aspirezone.qa to register and fi nd out more information about taking part in the run.

Recall of motorcycle models

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in co-operation with Alfardan Motorcycles, dealer of Aprilia and Moto Guzzi motorcycles in Qatar, announced the recall of Aprilia Shiver 750 and Moto Guzzi MGX-21, Eldorado, California 1400 models of 2014, 2015, 2016 due to possible fault in the brake master cylinder. Gulf Times Monday, September 16, 2019 7 QATAR Palestinian children receive school bags from Qatar Charity n conjunction with the start of the The school bag distribution school tools and supplies, depending on new academic year, Qatar Charity, programme targeted students, both his/her educational level. Iwith the support from the people male and female, in younger age groups The distribution took place in the of Qatar, distributed 2,560 bags with within Palestinian schools, providing entire West Bank, including Al Quds school supplies to students belonging each student with a bag containing Al Sharif, in cooperation with schools to families suffering from a challenging and centers belonging to ministries living and economic situation in participating in the project, in addition Palestine. The event was organized to Qatar Charity. The project, which was carried out as part of the 2019 general At the beginning of the new school in cooperation with the Ministry of plan for the activities of the year, many Palestinian families suffer Social Development and the Ministry of from a tough living and economic Education, aims at meeting some of the sponsored orphans, which condition in light of the increasing prices needs of the beneficiaries and easing the aims to provide integrated of school goods and products. economic burdens on their families. Besides, Qatar Charity’s office in care to them. Sudan organized an educational and

Besides, Qatar Charity’s games, competitions, plays, and songs reflecting some educational office in Sudan organized values such as truthfulness and an educational and honesty, and good morals. The orphans and their mothers recreational activity for expressed their happiness with its sponsored orphans, this activity that brought joy and both girls and boys, in pleasure to them, extending thanks to sponsors in Qatar for their support the Kassala State of the and to Qatar Charity’s office in Sudan country. for the follow-up and good attention. The event was organized as part of recreational activity for its sponsored the 2019 general plan for the activities orphans, both girls and boys, in the of the sponsored orphans, which Kassala State of the country. More aims to provide integrated care to than 250 orphans accompanied them. The sponsorship of orphans by their mothers took part in the falls within Qatar Charity’s “Rofaqa” activity. initiative, which sponsors more than The activity included purposeful 162,000 orphans worldwide. Gulf Times 8 Monday, September 16, 2019 QATAR

Nasser Bin Khaled Automobiles launches special off er on Mercedes-Benz V-Class

Nasser Bin Khaled Automobiles, the au- flexibility in its interior cabin it is the vehicle which off ers value, eff iciency and which were introduced in the new E-Class thorised general distributor of Mercedes- perfect fit for VIPs, families and luxury safety at the highest level. and S-Class under the name ‘Mercedes- Benz in Qatar, has announced a special tourist tours. With this new off er, custom- Even at first glance the V-Class is Benz Intelligent Drive’.Standard equip- off er on its Mercedes-Benz V-Class that is ers and corporates can leverage from a unmistakably a member of the Mercedes- ment includes Crosswind Assist, which redefining the MPV. wide range of benefits and drive the best Benz passenger car family and sets an helps the driver to stabilise the V-Class in As the youngest and largest member MPV ever.” emotional highlight in its segment. strong, gusting crosswinds, and Attention of the passenger car family, it sets new The V-Class combines room for up to At the centre of the powerful front is Assist, which can warn of inattention and benchmarks in its segment with its design eight people and exemplary functional- the upright radiator grille with three- drowsiness. and a host of innovations. ity with the high-class appeal, comfort, dimensional central star and the progres- An available option is Active Parking The V-Class is now available at special eff icient driving pleasure and safety that sively designed headlamps, which for the Assist. price with a package of benefits, including distinguish automobiles bearing the first time in this segment off er all lighting It makes parking the new MPV as easy free registration, one-year insurance, three-pointed star. functions in LED technology as an option. and convenient as parking a compact car. two years warranty and one year or This makes the V-Class the perfect The sculptured V-shaped bonnet merg- At market launch, the new V-Class 40,000km (whichever comes first) serv- vehicle for everyone who appreciates es elegantly into the sporty chrome frame comes to the starting line with the state- ice package with the option of trade-in. great spaciousness but does not want to of the radiator grille and the headlamps. of-the-art 2.1-litre four-cylinder turbodie- NBK Group chief operations off icer – sacrifice style and comfort. A high level of driving comfort and an sel engine with two-stage turbocharging, Automotive Ihab el-Feky said: “We are The V-Class provides optimum flex- exemplary standard of safety are ensured which has already proven highly success- pleased to launch this off er on this luxury ibility when it comes to use of the interior by a total of eleven innovative driver as- ful in many passenger car model series MPV that is redefining this category. and always cuts an elegant figure at the sistance systems. from the A-Class to the S-Class, and which V-Class is a symbol of comfort, elegance, same time. They are based on state-of-the-art has now been further enhanced specifi- and luxury, thanks to its capabilities and The V-Class is a versatile, multitalented radar, camera, and ultrasound sensors, cally for the MPV. The Mercedes-Benz V-Class.

Fifth Qatar Patient Trauma and Emergency Center Safety Week begins he fi fth Qatar Patient Safe- an annual event organised by the treats about 1,500 cases a day ty Week started yesterday MoPH at the national-level as an Twith the participation of initiative and an educational and the health sector and educational awareness campaign aimed at By Joseph Varghese critical cases are referred as cat- institutions in the country. The spreading the concept of patient Staff Reporter egory one and the most minor activities and events of the fi fth safety among the workforce in cases are in the category of four Qatar Patient Safety Week, or- healthcare institutions and their and fi ve. Category four and fi ve ganised by the Ministry of Pub- employees and to keep up with he new Trauma and Emer- should be treated at primary lic Health (MoPH), started in a the international developments gency Center, at Hamad health centres and if there is any number of hospitals and health in this fi eld. TGeneral Hospital under real emergency out of them, they centres, to promote awareness The fi fth Qatar Patient Safety Hamad Medical Corporation should be reported to the emer- of the importance of quality of Week is supported by the coun- (HMC) and the largest such facil- gency centres,” he explained. healthcare provided to patients. try’s health and educational in- ity in the Middle East, provides Al-Naemi said that the new Tomorrow, the ministry will stitutions. The week highlights a care for about 1,500 emergency centre has expanded many facili- hold an offi cial ceremony and a number of key themes, most nota- cases a day. ties and services. scientifi c conference within the bly understanding the challenges The Emergency Department “There are seven X-ray rooms, week’s events, which coincides that can hinder talking about pa- is the fi rst department of HMC three CT scan facilities, one MRI with the fi rst-ever World Patient tient safety in patients, their fami- which has been corporatised all unit and four ultrasound facili- Safety Day, which the World Health lies and health care practitioners. across the HMC hospitals net- ties. This has helped us in reduc- Organisation (WHO) has called for It will also discuss the prac- work. ing the waiting time to get all the to be celebrated on September 17 tice of medicine in the context “In all the hospitals under radiation imaging done. There to raise awareness of patient safety of Qatari law, identifying de- HMC, the Emergency Depart- are similar expansion in other ar- and urged people concerned to ficiencies and opportunities ment is working as one unit, pro- eas too,” she said. demonstrate their commitment to for improvement to achieve viding same level of care for all The offi cial also told that the making healthcare safer. the safety of patients and the the patients. The physicians and old Emergency Department at Qatar Patient Safety Week is health workforce. — QNA other offi cials will be rotated to the hospital will support the new all the emergency centres on a Trauma and Emergency Center by regular basis,” Dr Aftab Mohamed providing additional capacity as Azad, deputy chairman, Corporate Dr Aftab Mohamed Azad and Enaam Saleh M A al-Naemi at one of the facilities of the new Trauma and needed, specifi cally for ‘see and Emergency Department, said dur- Emergency Center. PICTURE: Jayan Orma treat’ services and waiting areas. ing a press conference yesterday. “There is a ramp to the fi rst “This is the biggest emergency emergency services and give criti- Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad emergency centres and this can fl oor of the centre for the am- department in the region. We cal care as well as care for minor al-Thani and HE the Minister of be avoided. bulance to enter. The patients have 256 beds including isolation injuries and incidents,” said Enaam Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed “We treat everyone who comes brought by air ambulance will rooms and rooms for other types Saleh M A al-Naemi, assistant ex- al-Kuwari for their able leadership to the emergency centres. But be collected from the multistory of treatment. ecutive director of nursing, Acci- and support in providing such a several minor cases which can parking building near the centre All of them are single rooms dents and Emergency, HMC. large facility for emergency care. be looked after at the primary and transported to the emer- and provide greater privacy for Both the offi cials expressed Dr Azad noted that several mi- healthcare centres are reported gency department by the ambu- patients. We are taking care of all their gratitude to His Highness the nor cases are being referred to the to the emergency centres. Most lance,” added al-Naemi.

HE Sheikh Dr Abdulla bin Ali al-Thani, board member and managing director of QLC. PHCC organises patient forum at Airport Health Center

QLC welcomes second QNA Tests on suspect medicine Doha The Ministry of Public Health has with- batch of participants drawn samples of ranitidine, including he Primary Health Care Corpora- products known commercially as ZANTAC, tion’s eleventh Patients Forum was from public and private pharmacies as a in EML-Q programme Theld recently at the Airport Health precaution to conduct the necessary tests. Center. The introduction of the forum, This is among a number of other uilding on its mission of programme saw great success in made by Head of Patient Engagement Dr precautionary measures, following supplementing leader- its fi rst year, highlighting the in- Mohamed Abdalla, highlighted the sig- information from the US Food and Drug Bship capabilities of Qatari credible demand for this kind of nifi cance of all comments and recommen- Administration (FDA) and the European leaders, Qatar Leadership Cen- specialised leadership education dations received during such forums for Medicines Agency (EMA) that preliminary tre (QLC) has welcomed its sec- in Qatar. It is an unparalleled op- service development and quality improve- tests revealed that these drugs contained ond batch of participants in the portunity for leaders in top-tier ment within PHCC. a substance called Nnitrosodimethyl- prestigious Executive Master’s organisations in the country to He said that the PHCC is very keen on amine (NDMA) at low levels, that may in Leadership-Qatar (EML-Q) bolster their leadership capabili- regularly holding these patients’ forums in cause cancer in case of its presence in programme. ties through a world-class cur- all health centres to establish solid commu- large quantities. The event was held in the pres- riculum,” said Dr Ali J al-Kubaisi, nications channels with society members, In a statement yesterday, the ministry ence of HE Sheikh Dr Abdulla acting managing director at QLC. follow their concerns, and measure their said that its Department of Pharmacy and bin Ali al-Thani, board member “This programme is the result satisfactions levels regarding our services. International Control is co-ordinating with and managing director of QLC. of a harmonious partnership with A presentation describing all main services Officials, delegates and invitees take part in the PHCC Patient Forum at the Airport international regulatory bodies to follow up The programme is designed in a like-minded purveyor of leader- and clinics was presented by Airport Health Health Centre. on the latest developments, especially since partnership with Georgetown ship development knowledge in Center manager Dr Maryam al-Jaber. no institution or international organisation University’s McDonough School Georgetown University in Wash- She talked about specialised clinics to have a comprehensive health care lin- trol negative outcomes of these diseases. has so far decided to suspend or withdraw of Business in Washington, DC. ington, DC and the centre’s tire- within PHCC like Ophthalmology, Op- ing up with National Health Strategy and Consultant Family Physician Dr Dahlia preparations containing ranitidine. The 28 participants, 18 male less eff orts to realise Qatar’s goals tometry, ENT, Premarital. Qatar National Vision 2030, and all health Hassan at Leabaib Health Center also The statement added that the ministry and 10 female students, are all for human development through She spoke about how these forums centres are now following this approach to mentioned the essential role of the family recommends patients who use these drugs alumni from the centre’s National specially-designed programmes.” should continue due to being an important meet patients’ health needs. physician within the primary health care to review and consult their doctor, and Leadership Programmes. A joint Started in 2018, the EML-Q platform for meeting patients and build Accordingly, the Smart Checkup Clinic system. The importance of this role lies in those who use them without a prescription committee composed of members programme will see participants strong relations with society. was introduced for detecting serious ill- reviewing the medical condition and fol- should use other alternatives. — QNA from QLC and the McDonough attend eight training courses in With this type of relation, the patients ness and chronic diseases in addition to a lowing the treatment. School of Business selected can- Qatar and a week-long residen- will have a vital role in looking after their Cancer Screening Clinic. Lamia al-Barghouti, the manager of didates who demonstrated aca- cy at Georgetown University’s own health issues, and allow them to give She noted that the main role of Smart the Clinical Information System (CIS) at Those patients will soon be able to demic excellence in their studies campus in Washington, DC, feedbacks about improving clinical serv- Checkup Clinic is to detect main chronic dis- PHCC, said the clinical information sys- download a mobile phone application, se- and possessed a commitment to where they will have the chance ices provided by PHCC and especially by eases such as diabetes, high cholesterol level, tem in PHCC was rolled out in all health lect the required medication refi ll, enter boosting their leadership skills to visit prestigious governmen- Airport Health Center. and hypertension which are considered as the centres in the past seven years. their full home address information, and and their personal development. tal and private institutions in Executive director of the Operations most common diseases in State of Qatar. Lamia revealed that a new service will be request delivery in exchange for a small “Under the leadership of HE addition to meeting infl uential Department Dr Samya al-Abdulla said The Smart Checkup assist in the early announced soon for delivering medication fee. There will be medical consultations Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad American fi gures from the po- that PHCC acquired a new approach to ex- diagnosis of these chronic diseases which refi lls to patient’s homes, especially for done through mobile phones in the future, bin Khalifa al-Thani, the EML-Q litical and economic fi elds. pand all provided health services in order subsequently may become a factor to con- patient of chronic diseases. she added.

Barwa Bank announces September draw winners of Thara’a savings account prize Barwa Bank has announced the Laith Bayari, Mohamed Alabdali, under the supervision of a winners in total with cash prizes names of the most recent round Abdulaziz Alhalaki, Reshma Khan, representative of the qualita- up to QR3.29mn. Coupled with Vodafone Qatar completes its GigaNet of draw winners for Thara’a, Mohamed Alramadan, Haytham tive license and market control cash prizes and a reward scheme, its Shariah-compliant savings Alahmed, Ali Ziab, Noora al-Najar, department at the Ministry of Thara’a is a product full of value- fi bre network roll-out in Ezdan Oasis account. Ahmed al-Kuwari, Ali al-Khayat, Commerce and Industry. added benefits and services. Mohamed Fakhroo and Rashid Ali Alyafei, Maryam Aljehani, On a monthly basis, there are Thara’a off ers account hold- odafone Qatar announced entertainment with live channels al-Naimi each won a cash prize of Saoud al-Naemi, Maryam al-Bak- 42 winners per draw for the cash ers access to Barwa Bank’s yesterday that it has com- from across the globe, TV shows, QR10,000. er, Athba Alshamari, Mohamed al- prize of QR5,000 each, as well innovative banking channels, Vpleted its GigaNet fi bre and on-demand movies. Also, a cash prize worth Kubaisi, Maryam al-Saadi, Ahlam as two winners per draw for the with benefits including unlimited network roll-out in Ezdan Oa- Vodafone Qatar has now also QR5,000 each was awarded to Albaker, Mahmoud Alyafei, Essa cash prize of QR10,000. withdrawals and deposits, as well sis, one of the biggest residential In addition to high-speed Inter- commenced its fi bre network Ehab Elsaqqa, Hussain al-Jaber, Sedaqat, Mohamed Imran, Sharifa Additionally, quarterly there as free fund transfers across their projects in Al Wukair. net, Vodafone GigaHome covers roll-out in multiple Ezdan Vil- Ranya al-Ansari, Marites Caranto, al-Emadi, Mohamed Snoussi, Ab- are two winners per draw for the accounts and through all Barwa Vodafone Qatar’s fi bre net- homes of every size with guaran- lage compounds in Al Wukair. Mona Hussein, Bassem Hmeidan, dulazeem Ruknuddin, Rashid al- cash prize of QR25,000 each, two Bank channels. Customers may work roll-out in Ezdan Oasis teed Wi-Fi in every room using a The extensive roll-out will en- Eid al-Kuwari, Mohamed al- Nuaimi, Moza al-Mansoor, Safiya winners per draw for the cash learn about the many benefits of means that more than 8,500 res- state-of-the-art Giga-Wi-Fi Hub. able Vodafone GigaHome serv- Kuwari, Mamoun Khalil, Abdulla al-Zeyara, Ahlam Hammoudi, and prize of QR50,000 each, and Thara’a savings account by visit- idential units spread over more Alongside this, customers can ices in over 12,000 residential al-Kaabi, Prem Kasilingam, Abdul- Abdulla Alansari. yearly, one winner of the grand ing www.barwabank.com or by than 300 buildings can benefi t enjoy free lifestyle off ers, includ- units. Customers can learn more rahman Fakhroo, Ibrahim Haraz, The draw was conducted prize of QR1mn, rewarding 365 calling 800-8555. from Vodafone’s home Internet ing The Entertainer and Wavo by about Vodafone’s Home services solutions — GigaHome. OSN that provides great family at www.vodafone.qa/gigahome. Gulf Times Monday, September 16, 2019 9 QATAR

One of the interchanges opened on Al Khor road yesterday. Off icers from various departments with engineers of the project. Ashghal opens Al Noof, Tinbak interchanges ontinuing it’s eff orts to Al Khor Road, with to encourage the population of ensure better connectiv- fi ve lanes in each di- Doha to move outside the city and City between World Cup rection, can accom- to settle at Al Khor. Besides, Lu- stadiums and bringing together modate about 20,000 sail will become one of the most the vital areas in Qatar, the Pub- vehicles per hour. Two sought after residential areas. lic Works Authority (Ashghal) other emergency lanes The project will open the door for yesterday opened Ras Al Noof increase the capacity of more investment business, real Interchange and Tinbak Inter- the road and enhance estate and agricultural sectors. Al change which are part of the Al traffi c safety. Al Khor Khor Road is unique in that it has Khor Road project. Coastal Road main car- space for a railway track on the The interchanges were opened riageway serves as an wide central median. in the presence of representa- alternative to Al Shamal The remaining sections of the tives from the Supreme Com- Road as it allows road road include the construction of mittee for Delivery and Legacy, users coming from Al 34km of Olympic cycle track on the General Directorate of Traffi c Khor to reach their des- one side of the carriageway and and Ras Laff an Industrial City tinations in less than 20 33km of shared paths for pedestri- and a number of engineers from minutes and save time ans and cyclists on the other side Ashghal and the contracting cated at the entrance of Al Khor bridge that includes two round- service roads, cycle and pedestri- He explained that Ras Al Noof by up to 65%. Al Khor Road direct- as well as the construction of 42 company. City. The new interchange has abouts. an paths remain to be completed Interchange assumes much im- ly serves more than 20 residential pedestrian and cycle underpass- The new interchanges are lo- two levels that consist of the While addressing mediaper- as part of the project that’s sched- portance as it’s directly connected areas alongside it’s carriageway, in es. Al Khor Expressway connects cated in the north of Al Khor main 100m long bridge of two sons during the inaugural cer- uled to be completed in the second to the Al Bayt Stadium, facilitating addition to a number of economic, to several main roads Al Shamal Road and they serve many resi- lanes in each direction, four emony, Hassan Saeedan Maejeba, quarter of 2020,” he said. free fl owing traffi c. commercial and public amenities Road, Al Khor, Simaisma and Al dential areas, vital facilities, loops and four exits. project engineer at Ashghal, said Dr Nasser Hamad al-Hajri, Captain engineer Mohamed in the surrounding areas. Majd roads and Al Turfa Street. economic, sports and leisure ac- Tinbak Interchange is located the construction of Al Khor Road executive director of Al Bayt Sta- Mesfi r al-Hajri praised the co- Al Khor Road will also create a Al Khor Road from Doha to Al tivities that include Ras Laff an, at exit 47 on Al Khor Road, 7.5km has been completed by more than dium project, said the develop- ordination between the General new urban area extending along Khor serves more than 20 resi- Ras Al Noof and Tinbak, as well from Al Khor City. The inter- 92% with the opening of the two ments of Al Khor Road will ensure Directorate of Traffi c and Ashghal the east coast of Doha to Al Khor dential areas and it’s a major link as Al Bayt Stadium. change consists of two levels interchanges. easy access to Al Bayt and Lusail and said they are both working to- and Ras Laff an. The road will be- to a number of 2022 FIFA World Ras Al Noof Interchange is lo- and contains a 100m long main “Four interchanges, parts of stadiums. gether to achieve development. come the centre of development Cup stadiums and sports centres.

Domasco’s special off er on Volvo cars ‘Back-to-school’ off er on Honda cars

oha Marketing Services oha Marketing Services kilometres. Customers will never been a better time for Company (Domasco), the Company (Domasco), also benefi t from fl exible fi - customers to purchase a Honda Dexclusive distributor of Dthe exclusive distributor nancing with up to six years for vehicle. We encourage all our Volvo cars in Qatar, has launched of Honda cars in Qatar, has an- Qataris (no down payment re- customers to visit our show- a special off er for the month of nounced a special off er across quired) and four years for non- room and take advantage of this September. the range, for the ‘back-to- Qataris at a fl at interest rate of off er, which is valid until end of The off er includes exceptional school’ season. 2.82%, equivalent to an APR of September. prices on the XC model range Dubbed ‘Always Cool for 5.25%. Located on Khalifa Street with low monthly payments School with Honda’ the off er Domasco managing director near the National Mosque and starting from QR2,158 on XC40, features free service for three Faisal Sharif said, “The back- TV signal, Honda showroom is QR2,889 on XC60, QR3,132 on years or 45,000km (whichever to-school season is a busy time open from Saturday to Thurs- XC90, as well as free service for comes fi rst), and fi ve years of for families. With attractive day, 8am-8pm and on Friday fi ve years or 75,000km (which- free warranty with unlimited fi nancing options, there has from 4pm until 8pm. ever comes fi rst), and free war- ranty with unlimited kilometres. Customers will also benefi t from fl exible fi nancing with up to six years for Qataris (no down payment required) and four years for non-Qataris at a fl at in- terest rate of 2.82%, equivalent to an APR of 5.25%. Faisal Sharif, managing director, Domasco, said: “Volvo has stepped up the game this September with a very Special off er on Volvo cars during September. advantageous off er during a busy time of the year. We design in- the Swedish automaker’s elegant fl at interest rate of 2.82%, equiv- metres. All off ers are valid until novative off ers with an aim to hatchback. The latter will be alent to an APR of 5.25%. The of- September 30, 2019. enhance our Volvo customers’ priced starting from QR89,900 fer features free service for three Volvo’s showroom, located on experience and to show our ded- with fi nancing at QR1,460 per years or 45,000km (whichever Khalifa Street near the National ication to customer satisfaction” month over six years for Qataris comes fi rst), one year free com- Mosque and TV Roundabout, is Domasco has announced a (no down payment required) and prehensive insurance and free open from Saturday to Thursday, parallel off er for the Volvo V40, four years for non-Qataris at a warranty with unlimited kilo- 8am-8pm.

WCM-Q lectures discuss umbilical cord clamping in newborns

he impact of the timing of umbili- Finally, Dr Lee identified the key to suc- cal cord clamping on the health of cessful cord clamping to best protect the Tmothers and newborn babies was health of both mother and baby, explain- discussed at the fi rst in a new season of ing that delayed cord clamping often has Grand Rounds lectures at Weill Cornell better outcomes than immediate clamp- Medicine – Qatar (WCM-Q). ing, but that there was no ‘one size fits Speaking to an audience of physicians, all’ recommendation. pharmacists, nurses and allied health pro- He said, “Overall, the stability of your fessionals, Dr Ben H Lee, medical director cardiopulmonary transition at birth of Neonatology Operations and associate from the feotal to neonatal state is de- chief medical offi cer at Sidra Medicine, pendent not on time, not on 30 seconds, discussed the existing research into how 60 seconds, two minutes or five minutes; clamping the umbilical cord at diff erent it’s dependent on appropriate sequence time intervals after birth aff ects the health of the baby breathing first and triggering outcomes of mothers and newborn babies. the pulmonary transition, which then Dr Lee, who is an affiliate faculty triggers the cardiovascular transition. Partial traffi c closure on member at WCM-Q, also explained the Once the cardiovascular transition oc- physiology of the baby’s transition from curs, then you don’t need the placenta receiving oxygen through the placenta to and then you can go ahead and clamp. Al Mirqab Al Jadeed Street breathing through his or her own lungs “So, we should think of it as physi- and analysed the impact of ventilation ologic cord clamping, not just as delayed WCM-Q Grand Rounds discussed umbilical cord clamping in newborns. and cord clamping on this transition. cord clamping.” he Public Works Author- Roads in the Al Nasr Area ity (Ashghal) has an- Project. Tnounced a traffi c closure During the closure, traffi c on along approximately 500m of Al Al Mirqab Al Jadeed Street will Mirqab Al Jadeed Street starting have to use the traffi c signal at from Al Wedyaan Street in the the intersection of Mohamed EUNIC Qatar off ers crash courses in 11 European languages direction towards Al Amir Street Bin Al Qassim and Al Mirqab Al from tomorrow until November Jadeed Streets, then turn right or 30. left and get onto a parallel road he European Union National In- es will be off ered on this occasion, ac- ropean languages of their choice, namely a reception and opening remarks, fol- The opposite lane will stay to Al Mirqab Al Jadeed Street to stitutes for Culture - EUNIC cording to a press statement. Bulgarian, Dutch, English, French, Ger- lowed by 11 parallel classes at Penrose open to traffi c during the closure reach Al Amir Street as shown in TCluster in Qatar (17 EU countries) The “fi rst-of-its-kind” co-operation man, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Roma- House (LAS Building) in Education City. that will be implemented in co- the map. is holding the fourth edition of the Euro- between TII and EUNIC is anticipated nian, Spanish and Swedish. Registrations are required, and those ordination with the General Di- Ashghal will install road signs pean Day of Languages in Qatar in close to be “a fruitful one”, which will gather Classes will be off ered by qualifi ed interested need to visit https://guestli. rectorate of Traffi c. advising motorists of the closure co-operation with the Translation and speakers, learners and enthusiasts of the native speakers and, in many cases, in- st/624666 for this purpose. The closure is to facilitate and has requested road users Interpreting Institute (TII) at the College diverse European languages, the state- structors of the Language Center at TII. The European Day of Languages is completion of upgrading of to abide by the speed limit and of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ha- ment noted. The celebration, which is free and open celebrated every year on September 26 infrastructure service lanes as to follow road signs to ensure mad Bin Khalifa University. The event will allow participants to at- to the public, will take place on Septem- around the world to promote the cultural part of Improvement of Main safety. Crash courses in 11 European languag- tend several introductory classes of Eu- ber 26 from 4pm until 7pm, starting with and linguistic diversity of Europe. Gulf Times 10 Monday, September 16, 2019 REGION/ARAB WORLD

Kuwait White House says Trump probes drone may meet Iran president sighting Reuters Reuters tions that it was behind the at- forces.US Representative Adam Dubai Washington tacks on plants in the heartland Schiff , the Democratic chair- of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, man of the House intelligence including the world’s biggest committee, said he had not yet uwait is investigating the he White House yester- petroleum processing facility. been briefed on whether the sighting of a drone over day did not rule out a po- Yemen’s Houthi group Saudi attack was directly at- Kits territory and co-or- Ttential meeting between claimed responsibility for the tributable to Iran. dinating with Saudi Arabia and President Donald Trump and attacks, which have cut Saudi However, he told CBS’ “Face other countries after Saturday’s Iranian President Hassan Rou- oil output roughly in half. Pom- the Nation” programme that, attacks on Saudi oil plants, the hani, even after Washington peo said Iran was behind nearly “I think it’s safe to say that the cabinet said yesterday. accused Iran of being behind 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia Houthis don’t have the capabil- “The security leadership has drone attacks on Saudi oil fa- while leaders in Tehran “pre- ity to do a strike like this with- started the necessary investiga- cilities. tend to engage in diplomacy.” out Iranian assistance.” tions over the sighting of a drone White House adviser Kel- Saudi Arabia and Iran back Schiff said he thought Trump over the coastline of Kuwait City lyanne Conway said the at- opposing factions across the should engage in diplomacy and what measures were taken to tacks on Saturday “did not Middle East. with Iran because “it’s the only confront it,” the cabinet said on help” prospects for a meeting Saudi Arabia is leading a mili- way out of the situation” that Twitter account. between the two leaders dur- tary coalition to back Yemen’s has developed since the Repub- It said Prime Minister Sheikh ing the United Nations General internationally recognised gov- lican president pulled the Unit- Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah di- Assembly this month but she ernment against the Houthis. ed States out of the Iran nuclear rected military and security of- left open the possibility it could Washington, has adopted deal last year. fi cers to tighten security at vital happen. “I’ll allow the president a tough anti-Iran “maximum On Saturday, Republican installations in the Gulf Opec (Trump) to announce a meeting The White House has said President Donald Trump may still meet his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani. pressure” policy to force Te- US Senator Lindsey Graham, producer and to take all neces- or a non-meeting,” Conway told hran to negotiate a broader deal a Trump ally, advocated a dif- sary measures “to protect Ku- “Fox News Sunday.” its nuclear and ballistic mis- However, Conway said, infrastructure that aff ects glo- that further curbs its nuclear ferent approach. He said it was wait’s security”. The Trump administration’s sile programme will continue “You’re not helping your case bal energy markets. programme, restricts Tehran’s time for the United States “to Some Iraqi media outlets have sanctions and “maximum pres- whether or not the two leaders much,” by attacking Saudi Ara- Iran has denied US Secretary ballistic missile work and ends put on the table an attack on said Saturday’s attack on Saudi sure” campaign on Iran over meet, she added. bia, civilian areas and critical of State Mike Pompeo’s allega- its support for regional proxy Iranian oil refi neries.” oil facilities came from Iraq, which borders Kuwait. But Baghdad denied this yes- terday and vowed to punish OIC foreign ministers anyone using Iraq, where para- reject Netanyahu military groups wield increasing annexation pledge Counting begins in Tunisia’s presidential election power, as a launch pad for at- tacks in the region. The Organisation of Islamic Kuwait’s 90-year-old ruler Co-operation (OIC) yesterday DPA that toppled long-time auto- the presidential race include Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber expressed its “total rejection” of Tunis crat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, incumbent Prime Minister al-Sabah, who left a US hospi- the Israeli prime minister’s pre- and subsequent extremist at- Youssef Chahed, the deputy tal last week after completing election pledge to annex part of tacks. head of the influential En- medical tests, spoke with Saudi the West Bank, Saudi state media ote counting began late The unemployment rate in nahda movement, Abdelfat- King Salman to express support said. Battling to win re-election in yesterday after polls Tunisia stands at 15.3%. Some tah Morou, and former de- for the kingdom following the polls tomorrow, Benjamin Netan- Vclosed in Tunisia’s voters expressed hope that the fence minister Abdelkarim attack, state news agency KUNA yahu made a deeply controver- hotly contested presidential polls, in which 26 contenders Zbidi. reported. sial promise last week to annex election, seen as crucial to are vying for the presidency, Also running is media the strategic Jordan Valley, which strengthening the nascent de- will reshape the country for magnate Nabil Karoui, who accounts for around a third of mocracy in the country roiled the better. “I hope there will was arrested last month on DEFENCE the occupied West Bank. by economic woes and mili- be change,” said Mourad Razki, charges of money laundering US warship docks He also repeated his intention tancy. a state worker, after voting in and tax evasion. to annex Israeli settlements The head of the electoral Tunis. Two female candidates in Lebanon amid in the wider West Bank, but in commission, Nabil Baff oun, “I hope the new president — former tourism minis- regional tensions co-ordination with US President told a press briefi ng that turn- A woman carries a child as she casts her vote at a polling station will be acquainted with the ter Salma Loumi and politi- Donald Trump. After an emer- out stood at 35% as of 5pm during the presidential election in Tunis, yesterday. country’s hard economic cian Abeer Mousa, seen as a The United States navy destroyer gency foreign ministers’ meeting (1600 GMT), an hour before situation and the tough liv- loyalist of Ben Ali — are also USS Ramage docked briefly in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, the the polls closed. ots to vote en masse. Tunisia’s presidential elec- ing conditions of people,” he standing. The day before the in Lebanon, the US embassy OIC expressed “its total rejection The independent commis- “High-percentage voting tions, originally scheduled for said. Kheir Eddin Abadli, a election, two of the 26 can- in Beirut said yesterday, amid and strong condemnation of the sion had called on the elector- will boost national unity and November, were pushed for- first-time voter, had similar didates — Slim Riahi and heightened regional tensions. The Israeli Prime Minister’s declara- ate to vote in large numbers. deepen confi dence in the fu- ward after the country’s fi rst wishes. “For sure, I am not Mohsen Marzouk — said they Arleigh-Burke-class vessel, capable tion”. “This dangerous declara- Around 7.2mn people were ture,” he told reporters at a democratically elected presi- happy about the current gov- were pulling out in favour of of intercepting ballistic missiles, tion...undermines international registered to vote in around polling centre in a suburb of dent, Beji Caid Essebsi, died erning scene. I look forward Zbidi, who is running as an stopped Saturday for a “one-day eff orts to achieve a just and last- 4,567 polling stations across the capital, Tunis. in July, fi ve months before the to change,” the 19-year-old independent. goodwill visit on the sidelines of its ing peace...and pushes the whole Tunisia in the single-day bal- “The people are the ones end of his term. man said. However, the withdrawals participation in ongoing eff orts to region towards further violence loting. who will choose who will lead The North African country Yesterday’s polls are Tu- have made no legal change to ensure freedom of navigation and and instability,” the 57-member Earlier yesterday, interim them, steer the helm of the has struggled with an eco- nisia’s second democratic the number of presidential free-flow commerce in the eastern body added in a statement. Tunisian President Mohamed country and improve the situ- nomic slowdown, social unrest presidential vote since the hopefuls, according to ex- Mediterranean”, a statement from Ennaceur urged his compatri- ation in Tunisia,” he added. triggered by the 2011 uprising 2011 revolt. Front-runners in perts. the US embassy said.

Coalition says ‘good progress’ in buff er zone Car bomb kills 10 in Syrian town

AFP fortifications to address con- Reuters fi erce army off ensive two weeks dreds of people. Syrian Presi- Tal Abyad cerns from Turkey,” the state- Beirut ago. dent Bashar al-Assad’s govern- ment said. Artillery fi re battered Maarat ment and his key ally Moscow “Four joint US and Turkish al-Numan town and nearby vil- have said they were responding he US-led coalition said military overflights” by heli- rigged car exploded near lages in the south Idlib coun- to attacks by militants formerly yesterday that “good copter were also carried out, a hospital in the Syrian tryside over the past two days, linked to Al Qaeda. Tprogress” was being it said. Atown of Al-Rai at the bor- after warplanes struck there on Turkish President Tayyib Er- made in implementing a buff er Little is known about the der with Turkey yesterday, kill- Thursday. dogan will host the presidents zone in northern Syria along buffer zone’s size or how it ing 10 people and wounding 15, A rebel offi cial said fi ghters of Russia and Iran today. the Turkish border. will work, although Ankara the local council and a medical were on high alert and had re- Talks will focus on securing Turkey and the United States has said there would be obser- worker said. inforced the frontlines.”We are an Idlib truce, asserting con- last month agreed on the so- vation posts and joint patrols. The blast also caused damage responding directly by target- trol over militants there, and called “security mechanism” “We will continue the re- in the hospital, said a statement ing the positions from where the preventing a fresh refugee wave to create a buff er between the moval of certain fortifications from the council of the town, shells are fi red,” said Naji Mus- into Turkey. Turkish border and Syrian areas Members of the US-led coalition forces shake hands with local in the security mechanism which lies in a part of northwest tafa of the National Liberation In early August, another controlled by the Kurdish Peo- forces from the Tal Abyad military council in the northern Syrian area of concern to Turkey,” the Syria under the control of Tur- Front insurgent force. ceasefire had collapsed within ple’s Protection Units (YPG). town of Tal Abyad, yesterday. coalition statement said. key-backed rebels. Syria’s northwest corner, in- three days, after which the The YPG led the US-backed Riad al-Khamis, a joint Turkey’s state-run Anadolu cluding the Idlib region, is the army pressed its offensive and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accused Washington of stalling “We are seeing good progress head of the Tal Abyad mili- news agency said 12 civilians last major chunk of territory still advanced along a main high- in battle against the Islamic in the week since. for the initial phase of security tary council, said the SDF had were killed after a “terror bomb in rebel hands after more than way. State group in Syria, but Ankara A coalition delegation yes- mechanism activities,” the coa- withdrawn from the area, to attack” near the frontier. eight years of war. A senior Assad adviser, views the Kurdish fi ghters as terday met with members of a lition said in a statement hand- be replaced by the local forces. Meanwhile, Syrian troops The ceasefire Damascus de- Bouthaina Shaaban, described “terrorists”. The United States military council in Tal Abyad, ed out to journalists. He announced US-Turkish shelled the south of Idlib yester- clared on Aug 31 brought a the ceasefi re this month as a and Turkey launched their fi rst a northern town from which “The coalition and SDF “joint patrols in the coming day, according to rescuers and lull in air strikes, after a five- temporary means to serve the joint patrol of the border areas Kurdish forces started with- have conducted multiple pa- days to ensure the security of residents in the rebel stronghold month offensive which the strategy of “liberating every on September 8, but Ankara has drawing late last month. trols to identify and remove the border and the area”. where a ceasefi re had halted a United Nations says killed hun- inch” of the country. Leaders of Turkey, Russia, Iran set to tackle Syria turmoil

Reuters Russian President Vladimir in northwest Syria aimed at re- are now. We will take any neces- 3.6mn Syrian refugees. “The expectation here is not could return to a “safe zone” in Ankara Putin and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani ducing fi ghting between Assad’s sary steps.” The United Nations has said a momentary ceasefi re. First, it northeast Syria, which Turkey have backed Assad against the forces and rebels. Erdogan and Putin agreed at that more than 500,000 people is to put a stop to the migration is trying to establish with the rebels. Turkish President Tayyip The Turkish military posts talks in Moscow in August to have been uprooted since late here,” he told Reuters. United States. he leaders of Turkey, Rus- Erdogan, along with the United have recently been caught in the “normalise” the situation in the April, most of them escaping ”Second, to ensure a ceasefi re The summit also comes after sia and Iran meet today States, European and Arab allies, crossfi re due to the Syrian off en- region, after Syrian troops en- deeper into the rebel bastion and here. Third, to seriously get ter- Yemen’s Houthi group launched Tto try to secure a lasting has supported diff erent rebel sive in the region. circled rebels and a Turkish post towards the border. rorist organisations under con- drone attacks on two of Saudi truce in northwest Syria follow- factions in the confl ict. In an interview with Reuters in a move Ankara said threatened While Erdogan has said that trol,” he added. Arabia’s Aramco oil installations ing attacks by the government Assad’s forces, aided by Rus- on Friday, Erdogan warned that its national security. Turkey could not handle such “Turkey, which is hosting on Saturday. that risk deepening regional tur- sian air power, have regained any Syrian government attack While Putin and Erdogan have an infl ux of refugees, he has also 3.6mn refugees in its home at the Washington later blamed Iran moil and pushing a new wave of control of most lands lost in the on the posts would draw retalia- forged close ties over a range of previously threatened to “open moment, cannot take the mil- for the attacks, which Tehran migrants towards Turkey. war. tion from Turkish forces, possi- issues like energy and defence the gates” for migrants to Europe lions of people that will arrive dismissed as “pointless” yester- The summit in Ankara, bring- In recent months, Assad’s bly risking a direct confrontation co-operation, recent attacks by unless Ankara receives more in- from there,” Erdogan said. “We day. ing together countries whose forces have attacked Idlib, where between Ankara and Damascus. Syrian troops have also strained ternational support. cannot carry that weight.” Today, Erdogan, Putin and Syrian allies are combatants in Syrian and foreign radical fi ght- “The moment that the regime ties between Ankara and Mos- On Friday, Erdogan reiter- Erdogan’s ruling AK Party Rouhani are expected to hold a ruinous eight-year-old war, ers hold sway alongside other messes with our observation cow. ated his warning and said today’s (AKP) suff ered some stunning bilateral talks with each other will focus on the Idlib region, more moderate factions. posts, if there is any attack, then The fi ghting in northwestern summit would aim to stop the local election losses this year in before holding trilateral talks on the last remaining territory held Under a deal with Moscow and things will take a very diff erent Syria has also raised the risk of a migration from Idlib and estab- part due to impatience among the developments in Idlib. by rebels seeking to overthrow Tehran two years ago, Turkey set direction,” Erdogan told Reuters. new migrant wave towards Tur- lish a ceasefi re to prevent any Turks over the Syrian refugees. The three leaders will then President Bashar al-Assad. up 12 military observation posts “We will not hold back like we key, which currently hosts some further civilian casualties. Erdogan has said 1mn refugees hold a joint news conference. Gulf Times Monday, September 16, 2019 11 AFRICA Zimbabwe doctors’ labour leader S Africa dispatches emissaries to calm kidnapped during strikes: union xenophobia fears

AFP age the country’s image. AFP Harare “The possibility of a third force Johannesburg being involved in the alleged ab- ductions for political expedience nion activists and rights and to sustain the human rights outh African President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent campaigners yesterday ac- abuse narrative ahead of the forth- high-ranking emissaries on a mission to reassure Af- Ucused Zimbabwe’s security coming United Nations General Srican countries after a wave of xenophobic attacks, forces of kidnapping the leader of Assembly cannot be ruled out.” the presidency said yesterday. a doctors’ union, who disappeared The UN General Assembly At least 12 people have been killed in the surge of mob during a strike he had helped or- meets in New York this week. violence targeting foreign-owned businesses and homes, ganise. Striking doctors are demanding mainly in and around Johannesburg since the start of the The Zimbabwe Hospital Doc- pay rises in a country still strug- month. tor’s Association (ZHDA) said Pe- gling with high infl ation and fuel Hundreds of economic migrants from neighbouring ter Magombeyi had not been heard and food shortages after decades Zimbabwe and Mozambique have fl ed to shelters and Ni- from since he sent a WhatsApp of economic crisis under former geria has fl own 600 of its citizens back home after they message on Saturday night saying president Robert Mugabe, who were targeted in the violence. he had been “kidnapped by three died a week ago. The mission, led by former minister Jeff Radebe, left men”. “Eff orts to reach him after he South Africa on Saturday and will visit Nigeria, Niger, The ZHDA accused the security had sent the alarming message Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, DR Congo and Zambia, the forces of abducting him because have been fruitless,” the ZHDA presidency said. of his role in organising the work said in a statement, calling for his Ramaphosa was jeered on Saturday during his speech stoppages. release and for medics to protest. at Zimbabwe ex-leader Robert Mugabe’s funeral in Harare A few dozen doctors and nurs- Before he disappeared, Ma- before he apologised for the attacks, which have been es, who are paid less than $200 gombeyi had said he had received prompted by unemployment and poverty. a month, marched yesterday in threatening calls and messages on “I stand before you as a fellow African to express my re- Harare to protest his disappear- his phone. gret and apologise for what has happened in our country,” ance. Zimbabwe Human Rights Law- Ramaphosa said at the state funeral. Slogans on the improvised plac- yers association called for his re- Junior doctors stage a protest march at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare yesterday, protesting the alleged His comments were met with cheers and blasts of air ards included “Free Dr Magombeyi lease. abduction of Dr Peter Mugombeyi president of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association. horns from the crowd. unharmed now” and “No Dr Peter, “Expressing their concerns on South Africa, the continent’s second largest economy, is no work: simple”. poor working conditions is a right Mugabe regime, and doctors com- Mugabe after he was ousted in this year sparked nationwide pro- a major destination for other African migrants. Zimbabwe police said in a state- not a privilege,” it said. plain about lack of supplies and 2017, has been under pressure to tests, prompting a crackdown But they are often targeted by some locals who blame ment it was investigating the mat- Zimbabwe’s once-vaunted pub- poor conditions. deliver on promises of more in- on the opposition and clashes in them for a lack of jobs. ter, but also cautioned against lic health system has deteriorated President Emmerson Mnan- vestment and jobs. which 17 people were killed when making kidnap allegations to dam- after years of neglect under the gagwa, who was elected to replace A measure to double fuel prices soldiers opened fi re. 36 missing after Businesses in Central African union rue tough forex crackdown boat capsizes in

Reuters the bank, and that all export pro- energy companies in their dispute shows, and the new rules aim to do is seriously aff ecting the dynamic Dakar ceeds above 5mn CFA ($8,400) be with the bank, told Reuters. that by forcing banks to keep their of our economy,” and said he had Congo river repatriated in 150 days to a local “The new foreign exchange foreign exchange with the BEAC. authorised banks to import hard bank account. regulations do not suffi ciently take “The revised regulations do not currency so the diplomatic com- ff orts by the Bank of Cen- The bank has also ordered on- into account the specifi c needs of introduce new...exchange con- munity could function. AFP tral African States (BEAC) shore foreign currency accounts mining activity, which is very ex- trols nor any restriction on capital Michel Dzombala, BEAC coun- Kinshasa Eto tackle money laundering shut — some of which may be re- port-oriented in markets denomi- movements. Rather, they aim at try director for Congo Republic, and restock woefully thin foreign opened with its approval — and nated in US dollars and euros,” clarifying certain requirements,” told Reuters that “all transfers exchange reserves are causing dire prohibited the use of off shore ac- French mining company Eramet, an IMF spokeswoman said in an whose fi les are complete and meet hirty-six people are missing after a boat sank in the currency shortages and delays to counts by fi rms with a presence in a major producer of manganese emailed statement, adding that it the requirements are executed af- Congo river on the outskirts of Kinshasa, DR Congo transactions across the six-nation the region without prior approval, from mines in Gabon, said in an was expected they would help the ter 48 hours.” Tpolice said yesterday. The vessel, which was travel- currency union, businesses say. two banking sources and Paris- emailed statement. “Eramet...is region adhere to the “rules of anti- Yet several business leaders — ling to the capital, went down overnight in Maluku com- New BEAC rules introduced in based Gabonese banking analyst engaged in discussions with the money laundering and combating from plastics manufacturers in mune, about 100km from the centre of the city. Seventy- June are aimed at bringing order Mays Mouissi told Reuters. BEAC.” fi nancing of terrorism.” Congo to clothes retailers in Cen- six people survived, police wrote on Twitter. “The cause of to a monetary bloc awash with Businesses have complained of Responding to complaints, A spokeswoman for BEAC, head- tral African Republic — told Reu- the accident is not yet known,” police spokesperson Colo- petrodollars which, owing to lax waiting months to get hold of hard BEAC in a directive seen by Reuters quartered in Cameroon’s capital ters in reality transfers were taking nel Pierrot-Rombaut Mwanamputu told AFP. controls, often end up in off shore currency and of being unable to extended the deadline for compa- Yaounde, declined to comment but 2-3 months. Lake and river transport is widely used in Democratic bank accounts after bypassing lo- import materials or pay suppliers. nies to fully comply to December 1 referred to a statement by the bank’s Oil companies are gearing up to Republic of Congo as the highway system is poor, but ac- cal economies completely. “Slow money transfers mean from the original September 1. president Cesar Abogo in July in challenge the rules. cidents are common, often caused by overloading and The central African CFA union there is a reticence, a climate of Oil majors themselves declined which he said requests for forex that “The policy will aff ect local the unsafe state of vessels. The boat involved was called comprises former French colonies mistrust between operators and to comment while negotiations had been cleared were being met. companies abilities to execute a “baleiniere” or “whaler” — a commonly-used fl at- Chad, Congo Republic, Equato- their foreign partners,” Celestin were ongoing, as did other multi- But a letter from the bank’s contracts because they need quick bottomed vessel between 15m and 30m long by 2m to 6m rial Guinea, Gabon, Cameroon Tawamba, President of the Cam- nationals such as telecoms fi rms. branch in Congo Republic in May, and constant access to hard cur- wide. In the vast majority of accidents, passengers are not and Central African Republic — all eroon Employers Group, told Reu- The IMF has urged the central seen by Reuters, said that it could rency...for machinery and exper- equipped with life jackets and many cannot swim. but the last of them among sub- ters in a phone interview. “Some bank to boost its foreign reserves, no longer process requests for for- tise not available in the oil pro- Saharan Africa’s top oil produc- payments are months in arrears.” which it estimated at 2.7 months of eign currency while they imple- ducing counties themselves,” the ers, whose fi nancial dealings are Big mining and oil companies import cover at the end of last year ment the rules. lobbyist Ayuk said. among the world’s most opaque. with the most clout are lobbying — extremely low for a region with The following month, a letter “We are looking forward to hav- The rules include: that all forex against the changes, oil industry so much oil. from Congo’s Finance Minister ing dialogue to roll back aspects transfers over a 1mn CFA francs lobbyist NJ Ayuk, whose Centurion The bank agreed to boost this to Calixte Ganongoto to all diplomats that aff ect growth in the region,” Mugabe body heads ($1,680) be vetted for approval by Law Group is representing some fi ve months by 2022, an IMF paper warned of a “shortage of forex that he added. to his home village Durban sari stroll AFP Kutuma

he remains of former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe will be taken today to his village for a wake, Ta family member said, as his fi nal burial is prepared in about a month. Mugabe died a week ago aged 95 in Singa- pore, nearly two years after he was ousted in a 2017 coup that ended nearly four decades of increasingly autocratic rule. After a state funeral on Saturday in the capital Harare attended by African leaders, his body will go to his rural village of Kutama, 90km to the west, to allow villagers to pay tribute and bid farewell. “He is going to come tomorrow,” his nephew Leo Mu- gabe told AFP yesterday. Leo Mugabe said the body will spend tonight in a village area and is expected to be driven back to Harare tomorrow. “It will be taken for preserva- tion. I am not sure where,” he said. Mugabe’s fi nal burial arrangements were mired in a dis- pute between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the family over where and when the former leader should be buried. Eventually the family agreed to his fi nal burial at a national monument in Harare in about 30 days, after a new mausoleum is built for him. South African women hold posters during the 10th Durban Sari Stroll on Durban’s beachfront yesterday. The annual event has evolved from celebrating the sari to becoming Mugabe, a former liberation hero whose rule was marked an advocate for women’s issues. The sari forms part of the cultural and religious attire that transcends the boundaries by its universal colourful appeal to all women. The stroll by repression and economic chaos, left Zimbabwe deeply is to promote social cohesion across race and age boundaries in celebration of the sari. torn over his legacy as the country still struggles with high infl ation and shortages of goods after decades of crisis. W Africa agrees on billion-dollar anti-militancy plan

AFP bilise “the fi nancial resources of was created in 2014 to try to tack- shows the support for it within “2,200 attacks in the last four locked West African nation. Last week, UN Secretary Gen- Ouagadougou up to a $1bn for the fi ght against le the problem, backed by former ECOWAS,” he said. years, 11,500 dead, thousands Ivory Coast President Alas- eral Antonio Guterres similarly terrorism”, said Niger’s President colonial power France. ECOWAS — the Economic wounded...millions of displaced sane Ouattara said “MINUSMA off ered a grim view of the situa- Mahamadou Issoufou. From July 2017, it pooled troops Community of West African and economic activity has been (the UN mission in Mali) and the tion. “I totally believe we are not est African leaders on The money, paid into a com- from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, States — brings together 15 coun- greatly aff ected,” he said. G5 Sahel are not enough. We have winning the war against terror- Saturday announced a mon fund, would help reinforce Mauritania and Niger in a bid to tries whose economies range Burkino Faso’s President Roch to fi nd wider and more eff ective ism in the Sahel and that the op- Wbillion-dollar plan to the military operations of the na- drive back the militant groups. from regional heavyweights Ni- Marc Christian Kabore argued means of coordination.” eration should be strengthened,” fi ght the rising problem of ex- tions involved — and those of the But a lack of fi nance, training geria and Ivory Coast to the im- that “threats transcend borders. Niger’s Issoufou also insisted he said. tremist violence in the region, at joint military operations in the and equipment, limited their ef- poverished Liberia and Sierra No country is safe” and that “the that “the international commu- The scale of the challenge fac- a summit in Burkina Faso. region. fectiveness and their numbers. Leone. Landlocked Burkina Faso, escalation of violence has led to nity cannot turn a blind eye and ing the G5 Sahel force is huge. The plan, to be funded from Full details of the plan would For the moment, the force Mali and Niger are non-coastal an unprecedented humanitarian must assume its responsibilities”. According to the US think- 2020-2024, was announced at be presented to the next ECOW- numbers 4,000 troops, when states. crisis” in the Sahel. ECOWAS would also ask the tank the Center for Strategic and end of the Economic Community AS summit in December. 5,000 were originally planned. At the start of the summit, Last Thursday, two soldiers World Bank and the Interna- International Studies (CSIS), Summit of West African States in The fi ght against the rising Niger’s Issoufou dismissed the president of the ECOWAS were killed in two simultaneous tional Monetary Fund to consider the number of radical Islamist- Ouagadougou, where the ECOW- tide of extremist violence in the suggestions that the G5 Sahel Commission, Jean-Claude Brou, attacks in Burkina Faso’s north, security spending as an “invest- linked attacks in the Sahel has AS nations were joined by Mauri- region has so far been hampered taskforce was ineff ective. pointed to the mounting human, security sources told AFP, the ment” and drum up support from doubled each year since 2016. tania and Chad. by a lack of funds. “The G5 is far from dead. The economic and political toll of the latest in a series of deadly attacks donors in the fi ght against mili- Last year, the tally was 465 — ECOWAS had decided to mo- The G5 Sahel, a joint taskforce, (summit’s) fi nal communique militant attacks. on security forces in the land- tancy, he said. more than one a day. Gulf Times 12 Monday, September 16, 2019 AMERICAS

Trump defends GM workers down tools Kavanaugh on ‘misconduct’ rap

AFP in nation-wide strike Washington

By Nick Carey and Ben Klayman, Ohio is crucial to Trump’s re- As of September 1, the automak- S President Donald Trump yesterday mounted an Reuters election bid in 2020. er had 96 days supply of its Chev- angry defence of Supreme Court Justice Brett Ka- Detroit The union has framed the plant rolet Silverado pickup truck, 59 Uvanaugh as the controversial judge faced calls for an closures as a betrayal of workers days supply of its Chevrolet Equi- investigation over fresh allegations of sexual misconduct. who made concessions in 2009 to nox SUV and more than 100 days Trump blasted the media and “Radical Left Democrats” he United Auto Work- help GM through its government- supply of the Cadillac Escalade. after a former Yale classmate of Kavanaugh alleged that the ers (UAW) said yesterday led bankruptcy. If the strike is short, hourly jurist — one of the most senior judges in the land — had in- Tmorning that its roughly “General Motors needs to un- workers should not suff er much. dulged in highly inappropriate behaviour at a freshman party. 48,000 hourly workers at General derstand that we stood up for But strike pay provided by the The latest allegation in The New York Times came after Motors Co facilities would go on GM when they needed us,” Ted UAW, which has been building up Kavanaugh denied sexual misconduct accusations levelled strike as of midnight after US la- Krumm, head of the union’s bar- reserves in preparation for possible against him by two women during his confi rmation to the bour contract talks reached an im- gaining committee in talks with industrial action, is just $250 per Supreme Court last October. passe, the fi rst nationwide strike at GM, said at the press conference week. This is far below their nor- “Now the Radical Left Democrats and their Partner, the GM in 12 years. yesterday. “These are profi table mal wages. LameStream Media, are after Brett Kavanaugh again, talk- “We do not take this lightly,” times...and we deserve a fair con- The longer the strike goes on, ing loudly of their favourite word, impeachment,” Trump Terry Dittes, the UAW vice presi- tract.” the harder it will be for GM’s work- tweeted. “He is an innocent man who has been treated dent in charge of the union’s rela- The UAW says signifi cant diff er- ers to pay their bills. HORRIBLY. Such lies about him. They want to scare him tionship with GM, said at a press ences remain between both sides “The pain is deep on both sides,” into turning Liberal!” conference in downtown Detroit. United Auto Workers National Bargaining Committee chair Ted Krumm over wages, health care benefi ts, CAR’s Dziczek said. “(GM) will The new allegations came from Max Stier, who runs a “This is our last resort.” addresses the media in Detroit yesterday. temporary employees, job security start to see costs immediately, but non-profi t in Washington. GM said in a statement that its and profi t sharing. the costs (will) become prohibitive His concerns were reported to the FBI during Ka- off er to the UAW during talks in- A more painful strike occurred said its off er to the union included The strike will test both the and drive them back to the table vanaugh’s 2018 confi rmation process but not investigated, cluded more than $7bn in new in- in Flint, Michigan, in 1998, last- solutions for the Michigan and union and GM chief executive after a couple of weeks.” according to the Times. vestments, 5,400 jobs — a major- ing 54 days and costing the No 1 US Ohio assembly plants currently Mary Barra at a time when the US Earlier yesterday, the UAW said Stier has not spoken publicly about the incident but his ity of which would be new — pay automaker more than $2bn. lacking products. auto industry is facing slowing 850 maintenance workers em- story was corroborated by two offi cials, the Times said. increases, improved benefi ts and As of yesterday, talks between A person familiar with GM’s sales and rising costs for launch- ployed by GM contractor Aramark It is the latest in a string of accusations of unwanted a contract ratifi cation bonus of GM and the UAW had been sus- off er said that could include pro- ing electric vehicles and curbing went on strike at fi ve GM plants in sexual contact or assault against Kavanaugh since Trump $8,000. pended, according to people fa- ducing a future electric vehicle in emissions. Michigan and Ohio. nominated him to the Supreme Court. “We have negotiated in good miliar with the matter. Detroit. Kristin Dziczek, vice president The automaker has 12 vehicle The latest allegation surfaced during a 10-month inves- faith and with a sense of urgency,” The union has been fi ghting to It could also include turning a of industry, labour and economics assembly plants, 12 engine and tigation by Times reporters Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly, the automaker said. stop GM from closing auto assem- plant in Lordstown, Ohio, into an at the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based power train facilities and a handful and features in their upcoming book, The Education of A strike will very quickly shut bly plants in Ohio and Michigan electric vehicle battery plant or Center for Automotive Research of other US stamping plants and Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation. down GM’s operations across and arguing workers deserve high- going through with the proposed (CAR), said the strike at GM’s US other facilities. Trump called on Kavanaugh to take legal action over the North America and could hurt the er pay after years of record profi ts sale of the plant to a group affi li- facilities will also shut its plants On Friday, the UAW had an- claims, suggesting also that the Department of Justice should broader US economy. for GM in North America. ated with electric vehicle start-up in Canada and Mexico as the au- nounced temporary contract ex- intervene on the judge’s behalf and “come to his rescue.” A prolonged industrial action GM argues the plant shutdowns Workhorse Group Inc. tomaker’s supply chain is so inte- tensions with Ford Motor Co and But Democrats seeking to be Trump’s opponent in the would also cause hardship for GM are necessary responses to market A new battery plant could give grated. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV 2020 election called for the judge to be investigated. hourly workers on greatly reduced shifts, and that UAW wages and some UAW workers at Lordstown “That’s going to have a big eff ect (FCA) while it focused its attention strike pay. benefi ts are expensive compared the chance to remain with GM. on the economy,” she said. on GM. GM’s workers last went out on a with competing non-union auto The closure of Lordstown drew GM starts off the strike with The union had targeted GM as brief two-day strike in 2007 dur- plants in southern US states. widespread criticism, including healthy levels of inventory of some the fi rst automaker with which it ing contract talks. In its statement, the automaker from US President Donald Trump. its key, high-margin vehicles. wanted to conclude contract talks. New York set to ban fl avoured e-cigarettes Canadian climate concern could help Greens break through Reuters New York By Moira Warburton, Reuters party has started well only to fl op as polls suggest could happen, he Washington as supporters backed other more will need some opposition legisla- established parties. tors to agree to help him govern. ew York Governor Andrew Cuomo yesterday an- Backing for the Greens has May’s price for such a deal could nounced a ban on all fl avoured e-cigarettes be- ith climate change a top surged after a rash of major fl oods, prove very high. Nsides tobacco and menthol in response to a recent concern heading into tornadoes and forest fi res in recent “We will not support any party nationwide spate of sometimes deadly lung illnesses that Wnext month’s Canadian years. or collection of parties to form a US health offi cials have linked to vaping. election and mainstream candi- Climate change is happening in government that has not com- Cuomo said vaping was dangerous and that he was con- dates off ering little inspiration, Canada at twice the global rate, mitted with real intent and clarity cerned fruit- and candy-fl avoured e-cigarettes were lead- Green Party leader Elizabeth May according to a recently released to move away from fossil fuels as ing young people to get hooked on nicotine. “These are could be poised for a breakthrough. government study. quickly as possible,” she said. obviously targeted to young people and highly eff ective at The Greens have toiled in ob- Some surveys say the environ- She wants a ban on future crude targeting young people,” the Democratic governor said at a scurity for almost 30 years, but ment is the top priority among oil pipelines and to block the news conference in Manhattan. polls suggest the environmentalist voters. planned expansion of the Trans Nearly 400 people around the country have been strick- party could emerge from the Octo- “People are experiencing the Mountain Line from Alberta to en with a lung illness that is potentially vaping-related, ber 21 election holding the balance climate emergency not as an en- British Columbia, which the Tru- according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Pre- of power. vironmental issue, but as an im- deau government bought for vention. Six have died. Investigators are still trying to un- This could hasten the govern- mediate security threat. And that C$4.5bn (US$3.4bn) last year. derstand what causes the illnesses. ment’s move toward renewable changes attitudes,” said May, who Were the Liberals to need the Meanwhile, health offi cials have warned people against energy and reduce support for the represents a constituency in the Green Party leader Elizabeth May arrives for a debate on Thursday support of Greens or the New buying vaping products on the street or using marijuana- oil industry, a major exporter and Pacifi c province of British Colum- hosted by Macleans news magazine in Toronto. Democrats, it would be “dire” for derived oil. They have said people should avoid inhaling vita- a big employer in Alberta and Sas- bia. the oil industry, said Rafi Tah- min E acetate, an ingredient found in some vaping products. katchewan. In contrast to previous cam- Trudeau has had ups and downs not very appetizing set of alterna- mazian, a portfolio manager spe- In New York, the state’s health commissioner, Howard The Greens are sitting at around paigns, the sunny and sometimes in his four years in power. tives...she’s the one leader who cializing in energy investing at Ca- Zucker, will formally ban fl avoured e-cigarettes besides 11% public support, more than tongue-in-cheek May is far more Recently he has been dogged actually remains above the fray,” noe Financial in Calgary. tobacco and menthol during an emergency meeting of the triple the 3.4% the party received personally popular than her main by an ethics scandal, while his Graves said. “The Liberals would be twisting state’s Public Health and Health Planning Council this in the 2015 election when May, an rivals, including Liberal Prime main rival, Conservative Party “She does a good job. She speaks policy much more aggressively to week, Cuomo said. Under state law, the council can vote to eff ervescent 65-year-old, was the Minister Justin Trudeau, Ekos leader Andrew Scheer, is still little sensibly, she’s a good debater, she’s the left to satisfy these other par- issue or amend certain regulations aff ecting public health. only legislator to win a seat. pollster Frank Graves said. known. handled herself well,” he said. ties,” Tahmazian said. New York would be only the second state in the nation to Public opinion surveys suggest Trudeau declined an invita- The Greens are nipping at the Trudeau and Scheer are run- Canada has the world’s third- introduce such a ban. Michigan did so earlier this month. her party might win up to 10 seats tion to the fi rst leaders’ debate on heels of their closest rivals, the ning neck-in-neck nationally, but largest proven crude reserves and the Last Wednesday, the Trump administration announced in the House of Commons. Thursday and was not present, left-wing New Democrats, who Liberals have an edge in a greater industry has struggled in recent years plans to remove all fl avoured e-cigarettes from store “Nothing is impossible in this yet May pretended to shake hands are struggling under new leader number of Canada’s 338 individual due to lack of pipeline capacity. shelves. Sales of e-cigarettes are banned in New York to election,” May told Reuters in a with him anyway. Jagmeet Singh. parliamentary ridings. May says she would seek to fi ll people under 18 years old, an age that will rise to 21 in No- telephone interview. “Good to see you,” she said to an “A lot of this election is about If Trudeau wins more seats than the fossil fuel void by promoting a vember. Cuomo said he has told state police to increase In previous federal elections, the empty podium. picking the least objectionable but Scheer but falls short of a majority, switch to a clean energy model. enforcement against sales to underage people.

Bahamas tourist industry hopes for quick comeback from ‘Category Hell’ storm

By Zachary Fagenson, Reuters tions,” said Ellison Thompson, and ordering $100-plus platters sonal lull following the US Labor Nassau deputy director general of the of sushi. Day holiday weekend. ministry of tourism and aviation. Just over 145km to the north, Curry likened recent events to Thompson said no one was the hunt for bodies continued the period after the September 11, s rescuers search for bodies talking about “throwing up our amid the wreckage of Abaco, 2001 attacks in the United States, amid mountains of debris hands and giving up” on the where the United Nations’ World when many people in the Baha- Aand the stench of death on hard-hit islands. Food Programme says about 90% mas had friends and family who the Bahamas island of Abaco, life But the images of the devasta- of structures were destroyed. were impacted. on most of the archipelago’s 700 tion have aff ected everyone from “This has devastated our spir- “It was a time of remorse, it isles is little changed. tour operators on the islands to its and we are mourning with our was a time of stillness and con- Cruise ships have pulled in US-based travel agents who help friends who lost loved but the re- sciousness and that’s what you and out of the capital and tour- connect travellers with cruise ality is that life has to go on,” said feel right now on the islands,” ist hub Nassau in the two weeks ships and activities. construction company owner Curry said. since Hurricane Dorian struck Highlighting the destruction, Jackson Brennen, 57, who was US visitors are among those the northwestern islands, depos- United Nations Secretary-Gen- celebrating his wife’s birthday at who have thought twice about iting foreign sightseers on shore eral Antonio Guterres said on Nassau’s Baha Mar. “Only two Bahamas trips after viewing im- who haggle for conch shells and Saturday he was “horrifi ed” after of the islands were devastated, ages of Dorian’s devastation. T-shirts. taking an aerial tour of Abaco. we’re still open for business, but “We’ve seen 450 to 550 changes Workers in the country’s vi- “I’ve never seen such a level it’s very diffi cult because the pain and cancellations,” said Gus tal tourist trade are hoping for of systematic devastation,” Gu- hasn’t stopped.” Machado, sales director at Brick- a quick comeback, even as the terres told reporters. “Hurricane Dave Curry, 37, who followed ell Travel in Miami. Bahamas struggles with its fi rst Dorian has been classifi ed as his father into the tour business, While some cancelled trips out of steps toward recovery from a Category 5, I think it is Category has run Simply Dave Nassau fear of getting caught in storm force storm that killed at least 50 peo- Hell, but it was not powered by Tours for the last 20 years. winds, Machado said others were ple and left around 70,000 more the devil.” His day trips pull people away simply frightened out of travel by needing shelter, food and water Tourism last year accounted from the high prices and tour- the idea of seeing devastated islands. and medical aid. for $5.7bn, about half the coun- ist traps of downtown Nassau to That mindset is something The sector faces many chal- try’s gross domestic product, ac- visit historical sites and a local Thompson and others in the lenges: Two popular tourist des- cording to Thompson. fl ea market in residential areas. tourism ministry hope to fi ght by tinations — Abaco and the island Away from Nassau’s tour- Since Dorian, Curry said his emphasising that islands such as of Grand Bahama — were essen- ist strip, luxury hotels were also bookings had dropped by about Eleuthera, his personal favourite, Destroyed boats are pushed up against the pier in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian in Treasure Cay on tially swept off the tourist maps bustling. At Baha Mar, an opulent a quarter due to a rash of cancel- boast tranquil pink sand beaches Abaco island, Bahamas. by Dorian. hotel and entertainment com- lations. The slowdown has deliv- ripe for visitors. “Those were our second and plex, the casino fl oor was littered ered a kind of one-two punch, as “The business of tourism has to enue to rebuild,” Thompson said. to continue to visit the islands here maybe stay an extra day, and third most important destina- with vacationers shooting craps the Bahamas moves into a sea- go on in order for us to get the rev- “The best way you can help is of the Bahamas and while you’re spend an extra $50.” Gulf Times Monday, September 16, 2019 13 ASIA/AUSTRALASIA

Fiji PM Bainimarama to play down climate row on Australia trip

AFP ney and Canberra, as well as a and coal-fi red power plants as “Whatever our diff erences on as a dictator by Canberra when he leader convincingly won long- and accelerate its investment in Sydney bilateral meeting with Morrison part of their call for urgent cli- climate change, we have far too seized power in a bloodless mili- promised elections in 2014 and clean energy, an area in which it today when they are expected to mate action. At the time, Baini- many things in common and we tary coup 13 years ago. Australia his legitimacy was further en- can lead the world and help halt talk trade and investment. marama characterised Morrison have been friends for too long to subsequently imposed sanctions hanced when he was appointed the rise in greenhouse gas emis- iji’s leader Frank Baini- The former military strong- as “very insulting, very conde- allow any lasting damage to our and successfully pushed for Fiji’s president of the United Nation’s sions,” he said. marama was to dine with man said before the visit that scending” for pointing out that relationship,” he said. Morrison suspension from the Common- COP23 eff orts to mitigate climate Australia is one of Fiji’s largest FAustralian Prime Minister he did not expect a repeat of Australia was the region’s largest also played down the tensions: wealth and the Pacifi c Islands change. His transition from mili- trading partners, with two-way Scott Morrison yesterday night, the fi reworks at the Pacifi c Is- foreign aid donor. “I have a wonderful relationship Forum. In response, Bainimara- tary strongman to climate war- trade of about A$2.1bn ($1.4bn) just weeks after the pair clashed lands Forum (PIF) in Tuvalu last While reiterating his call for with Frank Bainimarama. I’m ma increasingly turned to China, rior means it is Bainimarama, annually, according to offi cial over climate change at a Pacifi c month. Australia to move away from looking forward to seeing him giving Beijing a foothold in the rather than Australia, who is now data from Canberra. The Lowy summit. Bainimarama arrived in That summit ended in recrimi- coal, Bainimarama told Fiji’s par- again.” region that Australia and its al- claiming the moral high ground Institute think tank says it also Australia on Wednesday for fi ve nations and fi nger-pointing as liament last week that his visit It will be the fi rst offi cial visit lies are still desperately trying to in the relationship. remains Fiji’s largest aid donor, days of meetings with members Morrison rejected Pacifi c leaders’ would be about looking for com- to Australia by the 65-year-old contain. “We are asking Australia to spending $357mn since 2011, of the Fijian community in Syd- demands to ban new coalmines mon ground. Fijian leader, who was denounced Relations warmed when the speed up its transition out of coal compared to $316mn from China. Hong Kong returns to violence with tear gas, Molotovs

AFP Hong Kong

ong Kong riot police fi red tear gas and water can- Hnons at hardcore pro-de- mocracy protesters hurling rocks and petrol bombs yesterday, tip- ping the violence-plagued city back into chaos after a brief lull in clashes. Tens of thousands of peo- ple defi ed authorities to march through the streets of the city in an unsanctioned rally yesterday, the latest expression of a popular revolt that has raged for the last 99 days. But the rally descended into violence when small groups of hardcore activists — known within the movement as “braves” — tried to attack the city’s main government complex. Police fi red repeated volleys of tear gas and deployed water can- non trucks after Molotov cock- tails and rocks were thrown over An anti-government protester throws back a tear gas canister fired by the police during a demonstration security barriers surrounding the near Central Government Complex in Hong Kong. complex, which has become a frequent fl ashpoint in the ongo- ing protests. As evening set in, protesters retreated, chased by riot offi cers and water cannon fi ring blue- dyed water. Some demonstra- tors built barricades, set fi res and vandalised subway stations but Anti-government protesters attend a demonstration in Hong Kong yesterday. the crowds avoided further di- rect clashes and largely ran away fl ags. Many of the protest signs Chinese government,” protester nesty for those arrested and uni- when ranks of police offi cers got accused Britain of not doing Anthony Chau, who holds a BNO versal suff rage. City leader Carrie close. enough to confront Beijing over passport, told AFP. Lam and Beijing have shown little The clashes ended a relative its tightening grip on the semi- Earlier this week, some 130 UK appetite for making any further lull in recent days in the inten- autonomous city. lawmakers signed a joint letter concessions. sity of skirmishes between police “Sino-British Joint Decla- calling for Britain and Common- Lam has said she is willing and protesters. The once-stable ration is VOID,” one read, ref- wealth countries to come up with to hold a dialogue but protest- international hub has been con- erencing the 1984 agreement an “insurance policy” for Hong ers must abandon violence fi rst. vulsed by weeks of huge, some- that paved the way for the city’s Kongers to resettle overseas But the movement is leaderless times violent rallies calling for handover, a deal that Hong should they wish to. – a response to authorities pros- greater democratic freedoms and Kongers were given no say over. Hong Kong’s summer of rage ecuting high-profi le democracy police accountability. Many called for Hong Kongers was sparked by a now-aban- fi gures from previous protests The movement is the biggest who want to leave the city to be doned plan to allow extraditions – making it diffi cult for Lam to challenge to China’s rule since granted citizenship in Britain or to the authoritarian mainland, know who to negotiate with. the city was handed back by Brit- other Commonwealth nations. a move that prompted million Online message boards have ain in 1997 and shows no sign of Some Hong Kongers were to hit the streets. As Beijing and fi lled with plans for new rallies ending. given British National Over- local city leaders doubled down, and strikes in the coming weeks, Under a deal signed with Brit- An anti-government protester is carried away near an entrance of Causeway Bay station in Hong Kong. seas (BNO) passports before the the protests rapidly snowballed fuelled by two key anniversaries. ain ahead of the handover, Hong handover, a document that al- into a much wider anti-govern- September 28 is the fi fth an- Kong is allowed to keep its unique the semi-autonomous territory in Hong Kong, demanding Lon- Hundreds of demonstrators lows holders easy travel to the ment movement. niversary of the start of the failed freedoms for 50 years. But de- and refusing calls for universal don do more to protect its former sang ‘God Save the Queen’ and UK but grants no working or But the pro-democracy move- pro-democracy Umbrella Move- mocracy activists accuse Beijing suff rage. colonial subjects and ramp up ‘Rule Britannia’ outside the con- residency rights. “At least with ment has vowed to continue until ment protests while October 1 is of reneging on those promises by Earlier yesterday, protesters pressure on Beijing over sliding sulate, waving the Union Jack as the full citizenship, they can pro- key demands are met, including the 70th anniversary of the Peo- tightening political control over rallied outside Britain’s consulate freedoms. well as Hong Kong’s colonial-era tect Hong Kong people from the an inquiry into the police, an am- ple’s Republic of China.

Australian towns could run out ‘Dangerous’ pollution in Borneo leads to school closures of water as drought drags on Dozens of Australia’s inland towns could run completely out of water by Christmas unless the worst drought in the country’s his- Reuters other city, Sampit, would be shut spread haze across the region. tory finally breaks after its fourth year, off icials warned yesterday. Palangka Raya next week, in line with instruc- A Reuters photographer in If there is no spring rain, several towns in the state of New South tions circulated by Central Kali- Palangka Raya said visibility was Wales such as Dubbo, Cobar, Nyngan and Narromine will have to mantan’s governor on Friday. down to around 50m. Air Visu- rely on drinking water being trucked in for residents, the govern- chools in two cities in the “From our observation, the al — an independent online air ment water authority WaterNSW said in a new study. Indonesian part of Bor- smoke is very thick in Palangka quality index (AQI) monitor — Several rivers are predicted to run dry by November as summer Sneo island will be closed Raya and Sampit,” Slamet Wi- showed the city’s air quality has starts, and the Bureau of Meteorology says there is no sign the for a week after smoke from for- naryo, the head of Central Kali- been “hazardous” since Friday. drought is going to end soon. New South Wales’ Water Minister est fi res caused air quality to hit mantan’s education agency, said Indonesian authorities have Melinda Pavey said the situation was “critical,” and if the drought “dangerous” levels, a local gov- by telephone. “We have decided urged Central Kalimantan resi- continues, many more inland towns would be dry by late 2020. She ernment offi cial said yesterday. to give one week off from Mon- dents to refrain from outdoor ac- told reporters in Canberra yesterday that “everything humanly pos- Indonesia and neighbour- day to Saturday for the students tivities or to wear a mask due to sible” is being done to help, including new water bores and building ing countries in Southeast Asia in both locations,” he said. He the severe pollution. “There are water pipelines to supply towns. are regularly hit by smoke from did not say how many pupils or many hotspots in Kalimantan, Pavey did not directly answer questions about whether global warm- slash-and-burn clearances of schools would be aff ected. those are high category hotspots,” ing constituted a “climate emergency,” but she accepted the drought forests for farms and palm oil Winaryo said other schools in Agus Wibowo, the country’s dis- “could be (caused by) climate change, climate variability,” the plantations, but conditions this Central Kalimantan would start aster mitigation agency (BNPB) Australian Associated Press reported. Sydney, the state capital, is year have been the worst since half an hour later, at 07:30 local spokesman, said by text message. also in dire need of rain, with its dams falling below half full, accord- 2015 due to an El Nino weather time. Schools have also been ad- The agency has deployed eight ing to the local water authority. A desalination plant is turning sea pattern causing an extended dry A general view shows Banda Aceh shrouded in Haza yesterday. vised to cut the duration for each helicopters and 1,512 personnel water into drinking water for a quarter of the city. spell. Illegal fires to clear land for farming are raging on Indonesia’s class into 30-minute periods. In- to extinguish fi re across 44,769 Australia’s longest river, the Murray, which runs east to west mark- The air pollution index in Pal- Sumatra and Borneo islands with firefighters battling round the donesia’s environment minister hectares of land in Central Kali- ing the border between New South Wales and Victoria, usually angka Raya, the capital of Bor- clock through charred forests, and water-bombing helicopters said on Friday some forest fi res in mantan since May. Meanwhile, has 5,000 gigalitres (GL) a year entering its system. In the past 12 neo’s Central Kalimantan prov- deployed to douse the flames. its territory had started on land schools in West Kalimantan, months it has only received 901 GL, data from WaterNSW showed. ince, hit 500, or “dangerous”, used by subsidiaries of Malaysian which were closed due to dete- State Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said last week rivers were yesterday, data from Indonesia’s istry showed. Any reading above An offi cial said yesterday that companies, as the neighbours riorating air condition from Sep- facing a “fish armageddon” as rivers dry up and launched a rescue Environment and Forestry Min- 100 is considered “unhealthy”. schools in Palangka Raya and an- traded blame for blazes that have tember 12-14, will reopen today. mission to save fish stocks. Gulf Times 14 Monday, September 16, 2019 BRITAIN

Johnson’s ‘bonkers’ plan for £15bn bridge derided by engineers

Guardian News and Media while it might technically be ordered government offi cials to gineer comparing the feasibility ing the end of World War II. to build something in dry dock, “You don’t know what some- London possible to construct the bridge explore the possibility of build- of the plan to “building a bridge Chris Wise, the engineering tow it out, sink it into position. thing is going to cost until you connecting Scotland’s main- ing the bridge. On Thursday, to the moon”. designer of the 2012 Olympic But when you’re talking about know what you’re going to build. land with the outskirts of Bel- during a visit, the prime minis- James Duncan, from Edin- velodrome, said he supported something that is going to be the So unless Boris is sitting on a ngineering experts have fast, it is potentially fraught ter told schoolchildren: “(I was burgh, raised concerns over the principle of connecting the same height as the Eiff el Tower design that nobody else knows poured cold water over with problems and the costs talking yesterday) about build- the practicality of constructing two countries but raised a se- before you even get to sea level about, which he may be, I think EBoris Johnson’s “bonk- could spiral. ing a bridge from Stranraer in a bridge across the “stormy” ries of question marks over the that’s a major, major beast.” it’s a bit foolhardy to put a price ers” plan to build a bridge be- One eminent engineer, who Scotland to Larne in Northern stretch of water – more than practicality of the proposal. Similar bridges have a series in the public domain. They al- tween Scotland and Northern was behind London’s Millen- Ireland – that would be very 1,000ft deep in places – which “It’s socially admirable but supports to hold the structure ways go up, they never go down. Ireland for £15bn. nium bridge, told the Guardian good. It would only cost about would require dozens of sup- technically clueless,” he told in place. Wise said he was also But it sounds cheap to me.” Dr The prime minister – who it was “bonkers” to put a price £15bn.” port towers at heights “never the Guardian. “If Boris wants to concerned by the optimistic John McKinley, a senior lecturer fi rst touted the idea of the on the plan before a proper de- Johnson fi rst fl oated the idea achieved anywhere in the world”. stay prime minister he needs to £15bn price tag. “If everything in environmental engineering at 20-mile-plus bridge last year sign was in place. Another en- in an interview last year, saying: Bridge builders would also stop promising fi gures before he from the Olympics to HS2 are Queen’s University Belfast, also – put a price on his proposal for gineering academic labelled the “What we need to do is build have to navigate Beaufort’s can deliver them.” anything to go by, to quote the raised doubts. “Like a lot of in- the fi rst time last week, saying it proposal “dubious economics”. a bridge between our islands. Dyke, a submarine trench in Wise, the engineering direc- number and the price of any of frastructure questions, a bridge would “only” cost the multibil- It comes after leaked docu- Why don’t we? Why don’t we?” which the ministry of defence tor behind London’s Millenni- these publicly funded projects or tunnel across the Irish Sea is lion pound sum. ments emerged on Tuesday But his proposal drew criti- dumped more than 1mn tonnes um bridge, explained: “Techni- this early without a design, in feasible engineering but dubi- But experts have said that, that revealed that Johnson had cism then, with one retired en- of obsolete munitions follow- cally, there’s a solution which is my view, is bonkers,” he said. ous economics,” he said. LibDems vow to revoke Brexit without referendum

Guardian News and Media Tom Brake, the party’s Brexit London spokesman in the Commons who formally proposed the idea, said a clear message was neces- he Liberal Democrats have sary. “We will put an end there overwhelmingly approved and then to the Brexit nightmare Tthe party’s plan of going that is dragging the country into an election with the promise down and tearing us apart,” he to revoke Brexit without a refer- said. endum, despite warnings from The LibDems are celebrating delegates at their annual con- record membership and a series ference that it risked alienating of new MPs. Mayor Sadiq Khan sits with Home Secretary Priti Patel as they appear on the BBC political programme The Andrew Marr Show in London yesterday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson some voters. As well as Umunna, fellow yesterday announced “huge progress” in reaching an agreement on Brexit between the European Union and the UK. Under the plan, the LibDems ex-Labour MPs Luciana Berger would still support a second and Angela Smith have joined Brexit referendum with an op- in recent weeks, along with the tion of Remain, but going into former Tories Phillip Lee and an election would promise to re- Sarah Wollaston and the Brecon voke Article 50 if the party wins and Radnorshire by-election an absolute majority – which is winner, Jane Dodds. seen as highly unlikely. Asked about the new Brexit The move comes after the policy, she said there had to be Underfi re PM calls up Hulk, party gained another new MP as clarity over the issue. She told former Conservative universities BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show: “As minister Sam Gyimah, one of the Liberal Democrats we have ar- 21 Tories ejected from the party gued that a specifi c Brexit deal for rebelling in a Commons vote, should be put to a people’s vote announced he was joining the to give clarity. But if we end up at claims huge Brexit progress LibDems. a general election then I think we Speaking earlier, the party’s need to be straightforward with AFP diplomat said there was “noth- Former universities minister and took offi ce in July promising “The Hulk was a winner and was leader, Jo Swinson, said the pol- people and give them an option London ing tangible so far” in terms of Sam Gyimah, who briefl y ran to deliver Brexit no matter what. extremely popular.” icy would allow the LibDems to for all this Brexit chaos to stop. progress. against Johnson for the party He wants to renegotiate the Johnson told the Mail there was be “straightforward with people “But if instead we fi nd our- In an odd analogy, Johnson leadership this summer, con- terms struck by his predecessor a “very good conversation” going in an election”, and that it would selves in an election it would be rime Minister Boris John- compared Britain to the Marvel demned him for “veering to- Theresa May, which MPs have on about the key sticking point be odd for a LibDem government bizarre for us to suggest that the son yesterday declared Comics character Hulk — the wards populism”. rejected, but EU leaders have so in the Brexit deal, the issue of the to be obliged to negotiate a Brexit main issue of that election will PBritain would break out of destructive alter ego of scientist The LibDems, who now have far refused. Irish border. “A huge amount of deal it did not support just to put be anything other than Brexit.” the European Union just like the Bruce Banner who turns into the 18 MPs in the 650-seat House Johnson repeated that “under progress is being made,” he said. it to a referendum. Swinson, who has ruled out comic book hero “The Incred- ferocious green giant when en- of Commons, yesterday voted at no circumstances” would he de- However, a European source Among a number of speakers working with either Jeremy Cor- ible Hulk” and hailed “huge” raged or stressed. their party conference to reverse lay Brexit. close to the negotiations re- at the conference who backed byn or Boris Johnson after an progress towards getting a di- “The madder Hulk gets, the Brexit if they ever won a majority He may have no choice after peated that Brussels had yet to the policy, saying it would give election, said: “I think people vorce deal. stronger Hulk gets and he always in parliament. MPs last week passed a law to receive “concrete proposals”. the party a distinctive edge in an want politicians to be straight- The Conservative leader made escaped, no matter how tightly Elsewhere, former prime min- postpone Britain’s exit date until Much of the British opposition election, was Chuka Umunna, forward with where they stand. the comments ahead of meet- bound in he seemed to be — and ister David Cameron, who led January if he does not get a deal to the current terms is focused the former Labour MP-turned- I recognise that not everyone ings with European Commission that is the case for this country,” the failed campaign to stay in by the EU summit. on the so-called backstop plan LibDem, who told delegates it agrees with the Lib Dems on this. chief Jean-Claude Juncker and he said. the EU in 2016, accused Johnson His comparison with Hulk to keep open the Irish border. would reinforce the party’s “un- “But I think they recognise EU negotiator Michel Barnier in But Johnson is facing strong in his memoirs of only pursuing drew derision from Guy Verhof- It could keep Britain indefi - equivocal” message on Brexit. also that we are being straight- Luxembourg today. opposition in parliament to his Brexit out of political ambition. stadt, Brexit co-ordinator for the nitely tied to EU trade rules to But Niall Hodson, a LibDem forward about our position. Johnson told the Mail on Sun- threat to leave the EU without a The turmoil comes ahead of European Parliament. avoid frontier checks between councillor in Sunderland, which It’s what we genuinely think is day newspaper he was “very deal on October 31 if his negotia- another crucial week, as the “Even to Trumpian standards British Northern and EU mem- voted heavily for Brexit, warned right for the country, and peo- confi dent” of getting a divorce tions fail. Supreme Court considers the the Hulk comparison is infantile. ber Ireland. the strategy could be seen as ab- ple should have that chance to deal at an EU summit on October Many of the rebels are on his legality of Johnson’s decision to Is the EU supposed to be scared Barclay insisted “the backstop solutist and seemed to be aimed at choose that outcome.” Speaking 17, in time for Brexit on October own side and on Saturday night, suspend parliament earlier this by this? The British public im- needs to go”, while adding: “We “piling up more and more Remain earlier on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on 31. one of his Conservative MPs de- month until October 14. pressed?” he tweeted. can see a landing zone in terms votes in London” rather than ex- Sunday show, Gyimah said the But his optimism is not uni- fected to the pro-European Lib- Johnson was a leading “Leave” However, Brexit Secretary of a future deal but there is sig- panding the party into new areas. Conservative party had changed. versally shared, and a senior EU eral Democrats. campaigner in the referendum, Steve Barclay told Sky News: nifi cant work still to do.” Labour ‘in plot to seize Tories extend poll lead assets of private schools’ despite political chaos Guardian News and Media views on Brexit are determining London voters’ choice more than tradi- Guardian News and Media anticipation of an early election school fees and axing discounted tional party loyalties. London being called. business rates could bring in The poll suggests many vot- A party insider said the abo- £1.6bn a year. he Conservatives have ers are unclear about Labour’s lition of private schools and the The shadow chancellor said: pushed further ahead of Brexit stance while the Liberal abour has declared war “full redistribution” of their as- “Let’s make it absolutely clear: TLabour in the latest Opin- Democrats are seen as having an on private schools, saying sets had already been discussed we want private schools to be ium/Observer poll – despite yet unambiguous policy. Lit wanted a “fully com- internally. treated like any other business- another turbulent week for Boris Despite losing six consecu- prehensive’ system that is free Activists are now pushing es, because that is what they are. Johnson. tive votes in the Commons in the “from the cradle to the grave”. to gain backing for a motion at Our objective is to have a fully The latest poll shows the To- past fortnight Johnson has a far As shadow chancellor John the party conference – which comprehensive education sys- ries on 37%, up two percent higher net approval rating for his McDonnell suggested the inde- opened in Brighton on Saturday tem. So just like the NHS, edu- since last week, while Labour is handling of Brexit than Jeremy pendent system could be abol- – calling for fee-paying schools cation will be free at the point unchanged on 25%. The Liberal Corbyn. While 37% approve of ished, militant Labour activ- to be scrapped. of need, from the cradle to the Democrats whose conference the prime minister’s handling ists are reportedly plotting the The motion, submitted by the grave. I think this will be one opens this weekend in Bourne- of Brexit against 43% who dis- “full redistribution” of private Labour Against Private Schools of the defi ning issues a Jeremy mouth are on 16% (down one), approve, only 17% approve of schools’ assets – by seizing campaign group and which has Corbyn government will be re- and the Brexit party is also un- Corbyn’s handling of the issue, properties and investments and already been backed by high- membered for.” changed on 13%. against 60% who disapprove. spending the proceeds on state profi le Labour fi gures including However, independent The polling – conducted after Asked for their view about schools. Ian Lavery, the party chairman, school leaders hit back furi- Johnson shut down parliament whether Johnson had been right Labour is already planning and former leader Ed Miliband, ously, accusing Labour of at- for fi ve weeks last Tuesday, and to suspend parliament for fi ve to scrap discounted business calls for “endowments, invest- tempting to “rip apart the Scottish judges subsequently weeks, voters were split. Some rates for private schools and ments and properties held by fabric of education” in this ruled his action to have been un- 34% said they supported the will charge VAT on term fees if private schools to be redistrib- country. lawful – shows the Conservatives prime minister’s move, while it comes to power. McDonnell uted democratically and fairly Julie Robinson, chief execu- are continuing to consolidate their 35% opposed it. said a future Jeremy Corbyn across the country’s educational tive of the Independent Schools support among Leave voters. Adam Drummond, head of government would “address institutions”. Council, said: “Independent Among this group, 55% said political polling at Opinium, the issue of the role of private If it is passed, it would remain school parents and their children A reveller wearing a British flag T-shirt and coat is seen in the crowd they would now vote Conserva- said despite the judgement from schools”. Labour’s position until a general should not be blamed for social during ‘The Last Night of the Proms’ celebration in Hyde Park, tive in a general election, the Scottish judges which suggested The plans, which were re- election. inequality, which has far more London. Remain campaigners have been accused of “hijacking” the highest fi gure since February. Johnson had misled the Queen vealed by The Daily Telegraph, McDonnell’s comments come complex causes. Putting politics event by waving EU flags. The flag stunt was organised by an anti- Almost a fi fth (19%) of Labour over prorogation, the eff ect on are part of Labour’s “prepar- as a leaked shadow Treasury before pupils is simply unac- Brexit campaign group but many BBC viewers condemned what they Leave voters are now intending his reputation among voters ap- ing for government” strategy in document estimates that VAT on ceptable.” claimed was the politicising of the traditional evening. to vote Conservative, suggesting peared to have been minimal. Gulf Times Monday, September 16, 2019 15

BRITAIN Britons turning their back on marriage: study Daily Mail wed, describing current meas- and Wales are married, while the a class divide over marriage. mains the best guarantee of eight years earlier. “I am giddy of 35 are married. London ures as “pathetic”. number living together outside Harry Benson, of the Marriage family stability, security and with the joy of it,” she said. “And Some 8% of people are di- When men are included in the marriage has gone up in the past Foundation think-tank, said: well-being. The result is that why shouldn’t we oldies be hap- vorced, 6.4% are widowed, and ONS fi gures, just 50.8% have year to 5mn. “Marriage rates have been de- divorce rates have fallen back py, fall in love, feel that rush of 0.2% are in civil partnerships. he proportion of women chosen to marry – falling to less The shift away from wed- clining since the 1970s, yet what to 1960s levels whereas break- unadulterated happiness again? Critics say the falling mar- who are married is at a than half among under-35s. dings has followed a transfor- these fi gures conceal is that the up rates of couples who don’t “There’s nothing in the world riage rates and the rising level of Trecord low, offi cial fi gures The fi gure for men alone was mation in the aspirations of better-off continue to marry in marry remain stubbornly three like it – and it’s the same at 70 as cohabiting relationships are the revealed. 51.5%, with their lower life ex- millions of women who now their droves. Three quarters of times higher.” it was at 17. Same anxiety, same result of political indiff erence. Only 49.5% of women over 16 pectancy leaving more women want to go through higher edu- those in higher-income groups One age group is bucking the longing, feeling sick, excitement, Author and researcher Dr Pa- in England and Wales are mar- as widows in later life. Since cation and into careers rather are married when their child is trend – increasing numbers of same everything.” tricia Morgan, said: “There has ried, according to the Offi ce for 2008, the proportion of married than marry and start a family. born compared to only one quar- people over 70 are getting mar- The ONS figures, drawn from been continued denigration of National Statistics. men has fallen by 1.8 percentage Many postpone marriage and ter of those in the lower-income ried, with the fi gure rising from the large-scale Labour Force marriage and no support at all Campaigners warned of the points from 53.3%, and women family further because of the groups. 50.3% in 2008 to 55.8% last year. Survey, showed that nearly four from governments. People are “continued degradation of mar- by 1.3 percentage points from need to maintain incomes and “The better-off know that In 2016, Great British Bake Off out of 10 people are not living in not encouraged to marry, there is riage’ and called for better tax 50.8%. pay mortgages. publicly endorsing their com- presenter Prue Leith married at couples and fewer than half the no tax help, and the result is that breaks to encourage couples to Some 23mn people in England But other observers pointed to mitment to a life together re- the age of 76 after being widowed adult population under the age people do not marry.”

100,000 Anger over fashion week at risk of dying from 77 courts hepatitis C

Guardian News and Media London in England,

lmost 100,000 Britons are at risk of dying because Athey do not know that they have the deadly liver disease hepa- titis C, health offi cials are warn- ing. Wales facing An estimated 95,600 people in the UK, mainly drug users, are be- lieved to be suff ering from the dis- ease but are unaware of the condi- tion because they have not been diagnosed, said Public Health England (PHE). Steve Mowle, of the Royal Col- shutdown lege of GPs, said: “It’s extremely concerning to hear that so many Guardian News and Media many as 96 had been earmarked those that include closing more people have undiagnosed hepati- London for closure. courts do not mean citizens lose tis C. It’s a dangerous disease for Since 2010 more than half of access to justice.” individual patients and a signifi - all magistrates courts in England Penelope Gibbs, the director of cant public health risk.” Nine in 10 early 80 more courts and Wales have stopped hearing the campaign group Transform people infected with the hepatitis in England and Wales cases, forcing defendants, wit- Justice, said: “Is our court clo- C virus (HCV) inject recreational Nare due to close under a nesses, police, lawyers and jus- sure programme just an exercise drugs such as heroin or have done justice transformation scheme tices of the peace to travel more in selling off the family silver? so, according to a new PHE re- that is falling behind schedule, a than 50 miles in some cases to More than half our magistrates port on the condition. The virus is watchdog’s report has revealed. access local justice. A further courts have been closed since spread among drug users by shar- HM Courts and Tribunal Serv- 133 tribunal, crown, county and 2010 but this NAO report reveals ing contaminated needles. ice (HMCTS) is three years into a family courts have also closed for the fi rst time that the govern- Although heroin use by injec- £1bn programme of changes but over the same period. ment plans to close around 80 tion is declining, drug users in some is facing signifi cant delays and Many courts sit idle because more courts. parts of England are injecting other failing to take into account the of cost-saving measures which “The funds generated will be substances – such as stimulants, experiences of court users, the have reduced the number of re- used to take justice out of the cocaine and crack – PHE has found. National Audit Offi ce (NAO) has corders, or part-time judges. courtroom and on to Skype and “These are associated with more warned. Last week, Lady Justice Macur, mobile phones. But, as the NAO frequent injection, more damage “HMCTS has made good the senior presiding judge, said points out, we don’t actually at the injection site and with the progress in reforming some serv- maintaining the backlog of cases know whether these changes spread of viral and bacterial infec- ices but it is behind where it ex- by not employing more recorders will help or hinder access to tion,” its report adds. pected to be and has had to scale to hear waiting cases “was a po- justice.” This is the fi rst time that PHE back its ambitions,” said Gareth litical decision”. Eleven out of 18 Susan Acland-Hood, the chief has put a fi gure on the number of Davies, the head of the NAO. courts at the Old Bailey, for ex- executive of the HMCTS, high- undiagnosed hepatitis C suff erers. “The timescale and scope remain ample, were empty on Thursday. lighted the positive elements of Its estimate was based on anony- ambitious and (it) must maintain The NAO’s report says savings the NAO report. “We are pleased mous health monitoring of people a strong grip if it is to deliver a to date of £133mn might not all the NAO has recognised the who inject drugs. It urged anyone system that works better for eve- be attributable to the changes. progress we have made towards who might be at risk to get tested ryone and delivers savings for the The courts service can only track a more accessible and effi cient before their health was aff ected. taxpayer.” certain savings, such as those re- justice system,” she said. “More The undiagnosed 95,600 peo- The modernisation pro- lated to property costs, the report than 300,000 people have now ple with the liver disease are at gramme will include an increase adds. used our online services, and two increased risk of dying because in the use of “virtual hearings” The report says HMCTS has new service centres are making it hepatitis C can kill if left untreat- in criminal cases, with judges not given suffi cient considera- easier and quicker for all to ac- ed. The 95,600 represent about and magistrates dealing with de- tion to concerns about access to cess help. two-thirds of the 143,000 people fendants from a police station or justice. “This is an ambitious and whom PHE estimates have the prison using a video link. The Labour MP Meg Hillier, challenging programme but is al- disease, meaning the undiagnosed The report reveals a surpris- the chair of the public accounts ready making a signifi cant diff er- outnumber those known to have it ingly high number of courts are committee, said: “A govern- ence. We will continue to listen by two to one. Overall numbers are being considered for closure by ment transformation plan off - and learn, working closely with in decline, though. Those 143,000 HMCTS, which reports to the track and scaled back is a broken our stakeholders to improve and are down on the 182,400 who were Extinction Rebellion protesters demonstrate against the London Fashion Week near the ministry of justice. A total of 77 record. HMCTS has not bucked ensure reform delivers the full thought to have it as recently as Foreign and Commonwealth off ice where Vitoria Beckham was showing her latest designs, in courts are currently scheduled this trend. It must ensure that benefi ts to all those who use our 2015. London yesterday. to be shut down; until recently as further reforms, particularly justice system.”

Stunning sight Artist hopes gold toilet Heathrow expansion ‘will taken by ‘Robin Hood’ types The artist whose solid gold toilet, which was only put on toilet was stolen from Britain’s display at the stately home on Blenheim Palace said he Thursday, had been valued at be disastrous for wildlife’ hoped it had been taken in a around $5mn to $6mn. “Robin Hood-inspired action”, He told the BBC that the as police scrambled to locate it palace, the birthplace of Guardian News and Media Documents prepared for the pansion on it, the park is almost yesterday. wartime leader Winston London Heathrow airspace and future completely absent from the pre- Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan Churchill and a Unesco operations consultation, which liminary environmental infor- told the New York Times that World Heritage site, had a follows MPs’ approval of the mation report in the expansion when he first heard news of sophisticated security system. he impact of thousands third runway last year, indi- consultation documents. Saturday’s pre-dawn theft But he added: “Clearly we of newly routed fl ights cate that 47 arrivals an hour and “Where Richmond Park is cov- of his fully-functioning work need to challenge ourselves Tover Richmond Park has between 17 and 47 departures ered, some of results are just not ‘America’, he thought it was a on that.” been almost completely ignored would fl y directly over the park credible. The noise increase from prank. He also said it was “not out of in Heathrow airport’s environ- at below 900 metres. Heathrow’s 47 arriving aircraft per hour and “Who’s so stupid to steal a the question (that it) would be mental impact report on its plans fl ights are currently capped at a big increase in departing air- toilet? I had forgotten for a melted down” by the thieves. for a third runway, campaigners 480,000 a year and it wants to craft is estimated to be only 1 to second that it was made out of The gang, who had at least have said. increase this by 25,000 in 2021 3dB. For tranquillity, the park is gold,” he said, adding: “I wish it two vehicles, left behind The consultation on Heath- and further when the third run- mentioned specifi cally as having was a prank.” flooding that damaged the row’s expansion ended on Friday. way is built. ‘relative tranquillity’ but the im- Cattelan has described the building. However, environmental cam- Environmental campaign- pact of the proposals is expected 18-carat gold work, famously Police arrested a 66-year-old paigners claim the eff ect of the ers say the noise and pollution to be negligible/slight – a strange once off ered on loan to US man who remains in custody, expansion on the biodiversity, would be disastrous for the sen- conclusion when the proposals President Donald Trump, as and yesterday said they were tranquillity and environment of sitive wildlife and the tranquillity are for noisy fl ights over the qui- “one-percent art for the 99%”. still following a number of the park had yet to be properly of an area visited by more than etest place in London. “I hope it still is. I want to lines of enquiry. addressed. 5.5mn people a year. They say “The charity demands that be positive and think the The toilet was one of the star Richmond Park, established thousands of nocturnal animals Heathrow include a proper as- robbery is a kind of Robin attractions in an exhibition of in the 17th century, is a site of in the park would be threatened, sessment of Richmond Park in Hood-inspired action,” he said, Cattelan’s works, with visitors special scientifi c interest and a including 11 of the UK’s 17 bat the full EIA/ES (environmental referring to the character of able to book three-minute national nature reserve stretch- species, all of which are pro- impact assessment/environ- English folklore who stole time slots to use it. ing over 2,470 acres. The Friends tected by law, as well as little and mental statement). Without from the rich to give to the When the work was on display of Richmond Park group is de- tawny owls. that, the inspector will not have poor. at New York’s Guggenheim manding the airport carries out Richard Gray, of Friends of all the relevant material available Blenheim Palace chief museum, more than 100,000 a full environmental impact as- Richmond Park, said: “In spite to make a fully informed decision The full moon rises behind skyscrapers at Canary Wharf and executive Dominic Hare people lined up to use the loo sessment of the expansion on the of the importance of Richmond and Heathrow may face a legal the London skyline, London. meanwhile revealed that the during the course of a year. park. Park and the impact of the ex- challenge.” Gulf Times 16 Monday, September 16, 2019 EUROPE Delivery of second S-400 battery complete: Turkey

Reuters Ankara and Washington have despite warnings about possible and train personnel who will use sort this out’, but we told them Trump this month, saying his Trump administration was con- Ankara been at loggerheads over Tur- US sanctions over the purchase. them were continuing, it said, that we didn’t buy these systems personal bond with the US leader sidering imposing sanctions re- key’s purchase of the S-400 sys- The United States has also ex- adding that it planned to activate as a prop,” Cavusoglu said, add- could overcome the crisis caused lated to Turkey’s purchase of the tems, which the United States pelled Turkey from the F-35 pro- the S-400s in April 2020. ing that Turkey would be open to by the S-400s. S-400 systems, but no decisions urkey’s defence ministry says are not compatible with gramme, but Ankara has so far Turkish Foreign Minister Mev- buying US Raytheon Co Patriot Though Washington has not have been made. said yesterday that the de- North Atlantic Treaty Organisa- dismissed the warnings. lut Cavusglu told an interview systems as well. yet announced whether it will The dispute over the S-400 Tlivery of a second battery tion (Nato) defences and poses a In a statement, the defence with CNN Turk on Saturday that In an interview on Friday, impose sanctions on Ankara, systems is one of several issues of Russian S-400 missile defence threat to Lockheed Martin’s F-35 ministry said the delivery of the the S-400s would be activated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Trump has shown sympathy to- straining ties between the United systems has been completed, and “stealth” fi ghter jets. second S-400 battery to Ankara despite repeated US warnings. Erdogan told Reuters that he will wards Turkey. States and Turkey that include added that the systems would The initial parts of the system was completed. “They (US offi cials) told us discuss buying US Patriot mis- On Monday, US Treasury Sec- the ongoing confl ict in Syria, become active in April 2020. were delivered to Ankara in July Eff orts to mount the systems ‘don’t activate them and we can siles with US President Donald retary Steven Mnuchin said the among others.

Offi cials fi red over Hundreds prevent entry CIA mole

Reuters Moscow to Frankfurt motor show ussia fi red offi cials who allowed a former Kremlin DPA/Reuters opment of cycle paths. sel scandal in which Volkswagen Remployee and alleged CIA Frankfurt “A real change towards cli- admitted to cheating emissions informant to fl ee the country, mate-friendly transport is not tests. the Interfax news agency report- compatible with the profi t inter- Germany’s big three, ed on Friday. everal hundred protesters ests of the car lobby,” they said. Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz US media reports, confi rmed blocked the main entrance Manufacturers unveil new maker Daimler and BMW, as- to Reuters by two sources, have Sto the Frankfurt Interna- models at the IAA motor show, sume that in 10 years about half said that a CIA informant in the tional Motor Show (IAA) yester- which was opened by German of their cars will be emissions- Russian government was ex- day. Chancellor Angela Merkel on free. tracted and brought to the Unit- Wearing white suits, they held Thursday. Carmakers are expected to ed States in 2017. up placards with slogans such as During her visit, she praised invest some €40bn ($44bn) on Russian daily newspaper “disempower car companies” the auto industry for stepping up alternative drive terrains in the Kommersant has reported that and “the street is occupied – its eff orts in developing climate- next three years, highlighting the offi cial may have been a man transportation turning point neutral technologies. the urgency to fi x the image of an called Oleg Smolenkov, who dis- now”. But environmentalists have industry tarnished by the diesel appeared with his wife, Antoni- The IAA called on Twitter for slammed carmakers for start- scandal and avoid bans on diesel na, and three children while on participants to use other en- ing e-mobility transition eff orts cars in cities. holiday in Montenegro in June trances. too late and for shirking their The death of four pedestrians, 2017. However, protesters also responsibility for air pollution, including a three-year-old boy, Kommersant showed a pic- blocked one of these entrances. especially in regard to the diesel on a Berlin street this month ture of a house it said was later Police said the protests were emissions scandal. after the driver of a Porsche bought by a family with the same peaceful. On Saturday, thousands of SUV apparently lost control has names in Staff ord, Virginia, 40 The goal is to disrupt the mo- protesters marched in front of sparked a debate about whether miles (65km) from Washington. tor show with “peaceful block- the IAA car show venue. cities should ban the large vehi- The Kremlin has confi rmed ades”, according to the organis- Police in Frankfurt said some cles from their streets. that Smolenkov worked in the ers of the demonstration. 15,000, including many cyclists, Protesters blocking the entrance to the venue of International Frankfurt Motorshow (IAA). German car executives re- Russian presidential admin- “We’re taking a clear stand took part in the march. sponded, saying the tragedy istration, but said he was fi red against the destructive transport Organisers put the number tions on Friday about a package to unveil the costly measures on trians and cyclists need to con- could have happened with any in 2016/17 and that he was not system for which the world’s at 25,000 and said that around of measures expected to ex- September 20. quer the urban spaces that be- car. senior. largest motor show still stands,” 18,000 cyclists had descended pedite Germany’s ambition to “Enough to policies that pri- long to us.” “Car industry, the party is A 2014 phone directory seen they said. on the city. double the share of its power oritise cars in our cities,” said The protests have urged Ger- over,” said Christoph Bautz by Reuters lists him as chief ad- The demonstrators are de- Merkel’s conservatives and from renewable sources to 65% Ernst-Christoph Stolper, dep- man carmakers to speed up a of the Compact organisation, viser to Yuri Ushakov, President manding cities free of cars, free their Social Democrat (SPD) by 2030. uty head of Friends of the Earth transition to electric and hydro- which advocates for progressive Vladimir Putin’s top foreign public transport, and the devel- coalition partners held negotia- The government is expected Germany, on Saturday. “Pedes- gen vehicles, after the 2015 die- politics. policy aide. Interfax cited a source familiar with the situation on Friday as Authorities say number of forest fires saying that Smolenkov’s family holiday in Montenegro fl outed raging in Siberia significantly shrinks rules at the time that banned Russian offi cials from visiting Forest fires continue to burn in Siberia, though the situation has the Balkan country. become far less dire, authorities said yesterday. “Soon after Smolenkov’s dis- Russian forest authorities counted about 25 fires burning over an appearance in June 2017, the rel- area of roughly 170,000 hectares, mostly in the hard-to-reach areas evant law enforcement agencies where extinguishing them was not an option. started an investigation which In mid-August, there had been more than 200 fires burning over an showed that the offi cials who al- area larger than Luxembourg. lowed an employee of the presi- The fires, which have been burning for weeks, have aff ected the dential administration and his taiga, the world’s most important boreal forest belt in Siberia. family to holiday in Montenegro Rain and firefighting eff orts have finally led to a reduction in fires. had violated the (travel) ban,” the Russian authorities currently estimate that about 9mn hectares of source was cited as saying. forest have been burned so far this year. “The actions of those respon- In Siberia there are fires in the forests and on the steppes every sible was categorised as reckless summer, but this year they have been more violent than in previous and lax control. Some of them years. (the offi cials) were punished, in- This is also related to a drought the area is suff ering. cluding being fi red.” People in many regions of eastern Russia have suff ered from the Later, it became clear Smo- dangerous smoke and blamed the government for being too slow lenkov was a defector, the source to act. told Interfax. Large forest fi re near Athens

AFP Athens

ore than 160 fi refi ght- ers battled yesterday to Mcontain a large fi re near Athens blazing for a second day amid gale force winds, offi cials Shepherds drive sheep in front of the Bellevue presidential palace in Berlin to protest falling prices in their industry. said. And in another emergency, authorities evacuated dozens of people from two villages and a hotel on the island of Zakynthos Shepherds lead sheep through Berlin after a new fi re broke out yester- day. The fi re department said the DPA contemporary arts centre in the such as wool as well as more the ground on dykes. blaze near Athens burned in Berlin Tiergarten park and ran past the state support. Kucznik said the shearing of the mountains above Loutraki, park’s famous victory column to In Germany, fl ocks of sheep sheep – formerly a major source a coastal resort some 60km (35 the Hansaplatz square, where a are mainly used for landscape of income for shepherds – no miles) west of Athens. here were woolly scenes rally was held. conservation on a total of longer generates any money “The fi re is burning near the in Berlin yesterday as Knut Kucznik, chairman of around 430,000 hectares. because the price of wool has top of the mountain,” Stefanos Tshepherds marched the Berlin-Brandenburg Sheep They preserve habitats for fallen so sharply. Kolokouris, the fi re department’s a 200-strong fl ock of sheep Breeding Association, said that certain plants and insects and Kucznik looks after a fl ock of deputy chief of operations, told through the city centre to call many shepherds could barely prevent the areas from becom- sheep in Altlandsberg, east of state TV ERT. “We are trying to attention to the importance of make a living from their profes- ing wild. Berlin. create a perimeter but the terrain sheep farming. sion. Sheep are also useful for Five of them will be extending is very diffi cult, with ravines.” The unusual protest began at He demanded better prices coastal and fl ood protection, for their trip to the big city, staying Four water bombers and six the Haus der Kulturen der Welt for domestic sheep products example by helping to stabilise on Hansaplatz for a month. helicopters were participating in This image taken from social media shows people looking at the operations. smoke rising from the side of a hill due to a wildfire on the island of Given a lack of roads in the Zakynthos, Greece. Berlin Art Week attracts 120,000 to venues across the city, say organisers area, two squads of fi refi ghters had to be carried to the moun- habited areas were not in danger. The Greek fi re department said This year’s Berlin Art Week drew more than Wall 30 years ago this November and how it Berlin Art Week launched in 2012 and taintop by Super Puma helicop- On Zakynthos, offi cials or- yesterday that it had been called 120,000 visitors to an array of performances, reshaped the city and its people. is considered a “showcase” event in the ter, state agency ANA said. dered the evacuation of the vil- to nearly 80 fi res over the past 24 workshops, films, debates and exhibitions Dozens of venues large and small German capital, Berlin Culture Senator Klaus Offi cials had already evacuated lages of Agalas and Keri in the hours. across the city, organisers said on the final participated, including the historic Tempelhof Lederer has said. 50 people from a local monastery south of the island. It has already faced more than day, yesterday. Airport, where an art fair was held inside two Turnout this year was about the same as last when the fi re broke out on Satur- Some 120 tourists were also 9,600 rural and urban fi res this A central theme was the fall of the Berlin hangers. year. day, but stressed that other in- relocated to a safe area. year. Gulf Times Monday, September 16, 2019 17 EUROPE

Kyiv vows tough stance from Zelenskiy at Putin talks

AFP he trains a lot, it will be very hard ian presidents are set to meet in and media fear that the West has controlling that environment.” Kyiv to twist his arms” at the summit the coming weeks in Paris for tired of Ukraine’s long-running Ukraine and Western coun- to try to end fi ghting in eastern a summit that will also involve crisis and will push Zelenskiy to tries accuse Russia of giving mil- Ukraine, newly-appointed for- the French president and the make damaging concessions to itary backing to the separatists in yiv’s top diplomat has eign minister Vadym Prystaiko German chancellor in a bid to Russia. eastern Ukraine and of de facto insisted that President said in an ironic comment. achieve progress on the confl ict The most controversial topics controlling the situation there, KVolodymyr Zelenskiy The minister added that he did in eastern Ukraine with pro- set to be discussed at the summit which Moscow denies. will not make concessions to not believe that Western support Russian separatists that has last- include organising local elec- Relations between the ex- Moscow at a summit with Rus- for Kyiv has altered, speaking on ed more than fi ve years. tions in the separatist region. Soviet neighbours have plunged sian President Vladimir Putin the sidelines of an international The summit will be the fi rst in “Free and fair elections can into unprecedented crisis since and Western leaders later this conference called Yalta Euro- three years and comes as French only take place in a free, fair and Russia’s annexation the Black month, despite fears to the con- pean Strategy (YES) organised President Emmanuel Macron secure environment,” said the US Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014, trary in Ukraine. in Kyiv by Ukrainian oligarch has pushed for a review of ties special envoy for Ukraine Kurt followed by the outbreak of “President Zelenskiy isn’t tall Viktor Pinchuk. with Russia. Volker. “That means that you the separatist confl ict in which but he’s very strong physically, The Russian and Ukrain- Some Ukrainian politicians can’t have Russia and its proxies around 13,000 people have died. Zelenskiy: set to meet Putin (inset) in the coming weeks in Paris. Ocean Viking ship set to

Former prime minister Renzi. Renzi may return to Libya rescues AFP/DPA place,” tweeted SOS Mediter- entering Lampedusa port de- Rome ranee, which operates the ship spite a ban from entering Italy’s form his alongside Doctors Without Bor- waters. ders (MSF). Her arrest was overturned by harity rescue vessel “After 14 months, the Ocean a court and she was released, but own party Ocean Viking was pre- Viking is the fi rst civilian rescue the ship was seized. Cparing yesterday to re- vessel authorised to take people Italy and Malta say that they turn to rescuing shipwreck to a safe place in Italy,” wrote bear disproportionate respon- Reuters survivors off Libya after disem- SOS Mediterranee, welcoming sibility for migrants making the Rome barking 82 migrants in Italy fol- the decision of the new govern- perilous Mediterranean cross- lowing a reversal of government ment as an encouraging signal. ing as they are the closest Euro- policy in Rome. Under an ad hoc European pean Union states to Libya, from ormer prime minister Italian authorities identifi ed deal, Italy, France and Germany where they mainly depart. Matteo Renzi is poised to and carried out medical checks will take 24 migrants each. Italian Prime Minister Fbreak away from the rul- on the sub-Saharan African mi- Portugal will take eight and Giuseppe Conte is expected to ing Democratic Party (PD) and grants after they disembarked Luxembourg two, Italian media discuss the plan with France’s set up a new centrist force in an overnight on southern island reported. President Emmanuel Macron eff ort to claim the middle ground Lampedusa after more than six “After disembarkation, the when the latter visits Rome on of Italian politics, two allies said days at sea. Ocean Viking should head back Wednesday. yesterday. Almost all of the 82 migrants to her search and rescue mission It will then be studied in more Such a move, coming days af- had been brought to the Italian in the Central Mediterranean, detail at a meeting of interior ter the centre-left PD has forged island of Lampedusa by morning because people continue to die ministers on September 23 in a new coalition with the anti- yesterday, the Ansa news agency in these waters where no rescue Malta, ahead of a European sum- establishment 5-Star Movement reported. ship is currently present in the The Ocean Viking rescue ship is seen sailing off the coast of the island of Lampedusa in the mit in October in Luxembourg. (M5S), would shake up Italian In an operation beginning area,” Nicola Stalla, the vessel’s Mediterranean Sea yesterday. In the foreground is the ‘Porta di Lampedusa’, known as ‘The door of Former Democratic Party politics and might make it hard- overnight, they were brought to search and rescue co-ordinator, Europe’, a monument to the migrants who have died in the Mediterranean, located at the point where prime minister Matteo Renzi has er for Prime Minister Giuseppe land using smaller boats belong- said on Saturday. Europe is the closest to Africa. called for “a great Marshall plan Conte to keep his government in ing to the coastguard. European leaders are trying to for Africa. More co-operation, offi ce. The Ocean Viking itself had thrash out an automatic mecha- Italy’s new government, The far-right leader, now in munist” and “someone who more investment”, he tweeted. Renzi, who led a PD admin- not been allowed to directly nism that would see rescued mi- sworn in last week, is forging opposition, hit out at a rally in nearly killed fi ve soldiers while According to intelligence istration from 2014-2016, was dock at the port. grants who are brought to Italy its own migrant policy after 14 northern Italy at the German on duty”. reports cited by Italian media instrumental in piecing together “The teams of @SOSMed- or Malta swiftly redistributed months of former interior min- captain of another charity res- Rackete, 31, was arrested in yesterday, an estimated 5,000- the new coalition after the far- Intl and @MSF_Sea are relieved around Europe. ister Matteo Salvini’s hardline cue vessel, the Sea-Watch 3. June 2019 and held for several 8,000 migrants are waiting to right League walked out of its that the men, women and chil- It is unclear how many coun- stance against charity vessels Salvini lashed out at Carola days after the Sea-Watch 3 hit leave Libya via the Mediterra- previous alliance with M5S in the dren have fi nally reached a safe tries will sign up to the scheme. and migrants. Rackete as “a pampered com- an Italian police speedboat while nean. misguided hope of triggering an early election. However, Renzi has had an abrasive relationship with the PD after he resigned as prime minister in 2016 and there have been persistent rumours that Salvini promises vote to counter new govt he was planning to set up a new party, taking with him a group of disaff ected PD parliamentarians. DPA/AFP Salvini has called for a dem- month that blocked Italy’s ports the League would rule for the “It is like those couples who Rome/Pontida, Italy onstration in Rome on October to migrant rescue ships. next 30 years. have done all they can to stay 19 that he said should be a “cel- A referendum has to be con- In the end it barely survived a together, but in the end they just ebration of national pride”. ducted in Italy if at least 500,000 year, but rather than accept that can’t do it,” PD lawmaker and taly’s anti-immigration He also said that the League voters petition for one. he had made a political miscal- Renzi ally Ettore Rosato told La former interior minister will unleash a battery of refer- “If they touch our secu- culation, Salvini suggested he Repubblica. IMatteo Salvini slammed endums to try to sink reforms rity decree, then we won’t raise had fallen foul of an EU plot. Renzi, who was only 39 when the country’s new centre-left planned by the new government. 500,000 signatures, but rather “The Italian people won’t be he became prime minister and government at a rally yesterday “We will challenge those trai- 5mn, to defend the sacred bor- slaves to anyone,” he said. has repeatedly chaff ed against and said that he is confi dent his tors who are closed away in their ders of our nation,” said Salvini. The League said some 250 PD left-wingers, declined to right-wing populist League par- offi ces,” he said. In a sign the new government coaches had brought more than confi rm reports of his imminent ty would return to power. The northern region of Lom- would adopt a softer stance on 80,000 supporters to Pontida, departure, saying only that he “I can gladly leave the seven bardy is considered the spiritual immigration, a French char- and there was no word of criti- would talk about his plans at ministries to the traitors, be- home of the League. ity ship was allowed to enter the cism over Salvini’s decision to a gathering of supporters next cause we will get them back in a “In the coming months, there port of Lampedusa on Saturday walk out of government and let month. few months with interest,” Sal- will be a government of the peo- to disembark some 82 Africans it the PD back into power. “I will talk about national pol- vini said in front of thousands of Salvini acknowledges applause on stage during the party’s annual ple,” Salvini said, promising had saved off the coast of Libya. “Whatever Salvini does is itics (then) and will be clear like I supporters in the town of Pont- rally in Pontida. to force referendums to undo “I think immigration is going right,” said Alex Sirani, a League have never been in the past,” he ida in the Lombardy region, ac- planned legislation, including a to be grim in the months ahead. supporter from nearby Brescia. said yesterday. cording to the Ansa news agency. cial Democrats (PD), but is still performance in the European likely change in the electoral law It is going to get bad,” said Sal- According to Ansa, a video Senior PD fi gures urged him to He was referring to the min- led by independent law profes- elections in May. that might make it harder for the vini, whose anti-migrant drive journalist working for the left- hold back. istries his party held in its coali- sor Giuseppe Conte. However, the new coalition League to take power in future. has helped the League more than leaning La Repubblica was as- “Don’t do it. The PD is eve- tion government with the 5-Star It was Salvini who initially thwarted his plan. “We have had enough of double its support since national saulted by participants and had ryone’s home, your home, our Movement (M5S), which col- withdrew his League party from “There are no couch potatoes stitch-ups and betrayals,” he elections in 2018, making it Ita- his microphone destroyed, and home,” said Dario Franceschini, lapsed in August. the coalition with M5S, hoping here, but men and women with said, also promising a referen- ly’s biggest party. another La Repubblica journal- culture minister and a PD gran- The new government is a coa- to strengthen his party through values,” Salvini told his followers dum if the coalition sought to At last year’s rally in Pontida, ist was insulted and harassed by dee. lition between M5S and the So- a new election after its dominant yesterday. overturn a law he introduced last an ebullient Salvini predicted several dozen people. ‘We’ll try again’: EU-bound migrants rerouting via Albanian hills

By Briseida Mema, AFP kans was shut down in early 2016. his name only as Ahmed. sources” to cover it, said Dominik near the Greek border, says that Kapshtica, Albania Since then, “the trend is vis- After trying to earn some cash Matiske, a German Frontex of- he has seen an increase in mi- ibly upward”, said Aida Hajnaj, on the island of Crete with farm fi cer helping with border patrols. grants in the past few weeks. the deputy director general of Al- jobs, they began their journey on He and other offi cers from The bustle begins as the sun fter slipping across the banian police. foot. EU countries peer through bin- goes down and migrants stop for Greek border into the arid “The Balkan routes are active However, it was halted after oculars as they pad across hills the night. Amountains of southeast- again,” she said. 15km on a grassy Albanian hill- overlooking the Kapshtica area, That morning police picked up ern Albania in the dead of night, The new path winds through side near Poncare, where police the main crossing region for mi- around 20 women and children Hidaja Salah and his fellow trav- Albania and Montenegro, and took to them to the local police grants coming from Greece. who had gathered around a fi re ellers are blinded by the head- sometimes Bosnia, in a bid to station. Inside a thermo-vision van for warmth. lights of a police car. reach the EU through Croatia. There, they will probably nearby, their Czech colleague “Sometimes there are about The migrants were hoping to In the past three months, 2,310 launch an asylum bid – not to Pavel Dolezal monitors a screen 50 of them at night, sometimes continue west towards the EU migrants were intercepted in Al- stay in Albania permanently but that can detect bodies. none,” Hoxha added. but their journey has been halted bania – more than double the 882 to buy some time before continu- “If we spot migrants, we send After picking up Salah and the in this Balkan state – for now. migrants caught in all of last year, ing onwards. the information to our Albanian others, police also intercepted “We will try again,” Salah, a A group migrants from Egypt and Afghanistan wait to be escorted to according to offi cial data. Salah says they do not have a colleagues who call the patrol,” another group while they were young and bespectacled man the police border station after being arrested while trying to cross the In 2017, the fi gure was 206. specifi c European city in mind he told AFP. driving to the police station. from Afghanistan in his 20s, tells Albania-Greece border in Kapshtica. Salah linked up with his fellow yet, just hopes to fi nd “a better According to Hajnaj, their help Esma, a 16-year-old girl from AFP as the Albanian police vehi- travellers in Turkey and Greece, life, more safety – and a life with “has improved the management Iraq who declined to give her cles pull up. bania and Montenegro in a bid to its porous 350km (215 mile) bor- where they stayed in the over- dignity”. of illegal migration and strength- surname, told AFP that her fam- He and the others – eight reach the European Union. der with Greece. crowded Moria camp on the is- Frontex’s joint operation with ened border security”. ily would not be deterred by this Egyptian men – are part of a Since May their journeys have The poor and mountainous land of Lesbos. Albania is the fi rst ever outside But there is still plenty to keep temporary delay. growing number of migrants become more diffi cult, with the country has become a key tran- It was “worse than the hell we EU territory. them busy. “After Albania, we will go to travelling across a southern Bal- EU dispatching its border agency, sit stop for migrants ever since a lived in our countries”, said an “The terrain here is really dif- Hyqmet Hoxha, a 55-year-old Montenegro, then to Bosnia be- kan route from Greece into Al- Frontex, to Albania to help patrol northern route through the Bal- 18-year-old Egyptian who gave fi cult and you need a lot of re- living in the village of Tresnik fore joining Germany,” she said. Gulf Times 18 Monday, September 16, 2019 INDIA

ENVIRONMENT LEGAL WOES PEOPLE CONTROVERSY DEFAMATION Punjab urges farmers to Maradu flat owners Chidambaram likely to Kerala politicians slam Soren sends legal notice shun stubble burning begin hunger strike celebrate birthday in Tihar Shah’s Hindi push to Jharkhand CM

The Punjab government yesterday urged Time is running out for flat owners in the posh Former finance minister P Chidambaram, who Kerala’s rival political fronts are on the same page Former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren farmers to refrain from burning paddy stubble. Maradu apartment complex in Kochi, which has failed to get bail despite trying every legal in slamming the federal Home Minister Amit Shah’s has sent a legal notice to Chief Minister Raghubar The state cabinet last week passed a resolution is to be demolished by Friday according to remedy to end his Tihar Jail stay, now seems call for one nation, one language. Shah on Saturday Das over his allegations of corruption. “It seems by appealing to the farmers to do away with a Supreme Court order. The builders have set to celebrate his 74th birthday today inside tweeted that a common language would become the chief minister has taken a contract to defame the unhealthy practice of stubble burning. washed their hands off it while the Kerala the prison. The veteran Congress leader, born in “the mark of India’s global identity”. Taking on Shah me. He says that I have purchased property worth Describing the serious ill-eff ects of stubble government has convened an all-party meeting 1945 in Kanadukathan in Sivaganga district of was Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who tweeted Rs500 crore. I have sent a legal notice to the chief burning, the government said in a statement that in Thiruvananthapuram tomorrow. The complex Tamil Nadu, is in judicial custody till September that no Indian should feel alienated because of minister and sought his public apology in seven due to the practice, 30kg of nitrogen per hectare, comprises 356 flats in five buildings and 240 19 in the INX Media corruption case that the language. Joining Vijayan was Congress leader days. Otherwise legal action will be taken against 13.8kg of phosphorus, 30kg of potassium and families are living there. The court on September Central Bureau of Investigation is probing. The Ramesh Chennithala who said this new thought him,” Soren said at a press conference in Ranchi several useful microbial organisms get perished, 6 had ordered its demolition by September 20 Delhi High Court will take up his bail appeal will only help divide people. “The thumb rule in yesterday. “I refute the allegations. Newspapers besides resulting in environmental pollution. for violating the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) on September 23. On September 5, a court our country has been all languages have the same are giving coverage to the chief minister’s The government them to replicate the modern rules. The Maradu municipality served notices sent him to 14 days’ judicial custody in the INX status and Hindi has no special status. Shah wants statement on the front pages. The allegations are practices propagated by innovative farmers. The to the flat owners asking them to vacate the Media case. He was arrested late on August to overrule all this and wants to go ahead with the false. In political life, public image is important government said 28,000 residue management complex by Saturday. But the owners have begun 21 after high drama. On September 13, a Delhi secret agenda of dividing the people. The economy capital of a politician. The chief minister is trying machines would be provided to farmers a relay hunger strike. From today, they will stage court turned down his surrender application in of our country is in doldrums and all this new love to defame me so that the people of the state involving a subsidy component of Rs274 crore a protest at the Maradu local body that gave the INX money launder case being probed by for Hindi is to divert attention from the real burning could be misled. “The JMM will expose the lies during this fiscal year. sanction for the complex over a decade ago. Enforcement Directorate (ED). issues facing the country,” said Chennithala. and conspiracy of the BJP,” said Soren. Former Haryana INLD chief joins Congress ahead of assembly polls

IANS Devender Yadav would be its New Delhi members. The committee also includes Azad. he Congress yesterday The Congress, eyeing a come- received a boost ahead back in the state in the assem- Tof assembly elections bly polls, formed the screening in Haryana as Ashok Arora, a committee to decide the party’s former state unit chief of the candidates. Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), In 2014, the BJP improved joined the party along with its 2009 tally from four to 47, three senior politicians. followed by the INLD with 19 Pradeep Chowdhary and legislators and the Congress, Subhash Goyal are former leg- which ruled the state won just islators while Jay Prakash is a 15 seats. three-time former MP and now However, the feud between A man rides a bicycle past concertina wire during restrictions in Srinagar yesterday. an independent lawmaker from Hooda and former state Con- Kalayat. gress unit chief Ashok Tanwar Welcoming them, Congress is intensifying with Tanwar not general secretary Ghulam Nabi responding to calls from the Azad said the situation in the new resident Kumari Selja. country was such that regional Tanwar told IANS he would parties were feeling margin- co-operate with them in the alised. They decided to join same manner as they had co- the Congress as it was the only operated with him when he was Protests continue in party that could challenge the the party chief. Asked what Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in would happen to the Congress, the state as well as the country. Tanwar said he would work for the party’s victory in the elec- The Haryana assembly tions. elections could be Tanwar had faced hurdles announced anytime. The from the Hooda camp while Kashmir despite curbs 90-member assembly has he was heading the party. The 16 Congress MLAs, most of former chief minister didn’t Agencies Altogether there have been lence have been minimal, and Meanwhile, former chief Lone, has also moved the Su- them Hooda loyalists support Tanwar and continu- Srinagar 722 protests since August 5, that only fi ve civilians have died minister and senior Congress preme Court challenging the ously made eff orts to get him with Baramulla district in the since the clampdown started. leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has abrogation of Article 370. “The Congress has been removed from the post. northwest and Pulwama in the The relatives of four of those fi led a petition in the Supreme Besides, Marumalarchi Drav- fi ghting such forces since the He only succeeded in Sep- ammu and Kashmir has seen south the biggest hotspots after killed said they believed the se- Court over the Kashmir issue. ida Munnetra Kazhagam par- freedom struggle,” Azad said. tember this year, when Gandhi an average of nearly 20 pro- Srinagar, the source said. curity forces were responsible The appeal will be heard by a ty’s (MDMK) general secretary Haryana Congress chief Ku- in an attempt to strike a balance Jtests per day against Indian Since that date, nearly 200 for their deaths. bench headed by Chief Justice Vaiko has fi led a habeas corpus mari Selja said the four leaders between the two factions named rule over the last six weeks de- civilians and 415 security force While schools, colleges and Ranjan Gogoi today along with petition in the Supreme Court joined the Congress because Selja as the state unit chief. spite a security lockdown to members have been hurt, ac- universities are functioning various petitions including one to produce former chief minis- they had faith in the party and According to sources, it was quell unrest, a senior govern- cording to the source. normally in the Jammu and La- of Communist Party of India- ter of Jammu and Kashmir Fa- its leadership. an attempt to foil the Hooda ment source said. Ninety-fi ve of the civilians dakh divisions, the same cannot Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury rooq Abdullah. Former Haryana chief min- faction’s plan to garner tickets Tensions remain high in the were injured in the last two be said for the valley where edu- who has challenged the deten- Kashmir Times editor An- ister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for their loyalists. region after New Delhi’s con- weeks, the offi cial said. cation has taken the worst beat- tion of his party colleague Mo- uradha Bhasin’s plea has sought said their entry would make the The Haryana assembly elec- troversial decision last month So far more than 4,100 people ing because of the clampdown. hamed Yousuf Tarigami. relaxation on media movement Congress stronger in the state. tions could be announced any- to revoke the territory’s decades – including 170 political lead- Authorities have opened The court will also hear other in the valley and asked the gov- In a related development, time. The 90-member assem- old semi-autonomous status. ers – have been detained across schools up to the 10th standard petitions related to various is- ernment to fi le a response in a Congress interim chief Sonia bly has 16 Congress MLAs, most Despite a curfew, movement the Kashmir Valley, with 3,000 in the valley, but the attendance sues after the scrapping of Ar- week. Gandhi has appointed Madhu- of them Hooda loyalists. restrictions and the severe cur- released in the past two weeks, of children has been disap- ticle 370. The court will also hear an- sudan Mistry as chairman of the At a rally in Rohtak on Au- tailment of Internet and mobile the offi cial said. pointing so far. These petitions deal with other habeas corpus plea fi led six-member screening commit- gust 18, Hooda had showcased phone services, public demon- It was unclear whether any “All the teaching staff have various issues, including re- by law graduate Mohamed Al- tee in Haryana. his strength and claimed that a strations against India – mostly politicians were among those been attending the valley’s gov- laxation of movement in Jammu eem Syed, who has submitted a Party general secretary K C majority of the MLAs was on his in Srinagar – have been con- released. ernment-run schools, though and Kashmir. report about the situation in the Venugopal said senior party side, sending a strong message stant, the source said late Sat- Authorities have so far in- the attendance of children has The Jammu & Kashmir Peo- valley when he went to Anant- leaders Deepa Dasmunshi and to the party’s central leadership. urday. sisted that outbreaks of vio- not improved,” said an offi cial. ple’s Conference, led by Sajjad nag to meet his parents. 12 dead, dozens missing N Indians incapable of in Andhra boat accident getting jobs: minister IANS The minister added was no Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh dearth of jobs in India. Agencies State offi cials told report- Last week a dozen people died Former Uttar Pradesh chief Visakhapatnam ers that tourist boats had been in central Bhopal after two boats minister Akhilesh Yadav hit back barred from operating on the capsized during a ceremony to federal minister stirred a at Gangwar saying the minister route due to recent fl ooding. immerse an idol of Ganesha into major controversy yes- was adding insult to injury and t least 12 people drowned The administration will look a river. Aterday when he blamed his statement was “insensitive and dozens were missing into how the boat managed to In another tragic incident, North Indians were incapable of and cruel.” Aafter a tour boat capsized take the tourists, and strict ac- seven members of a family getting jobs as he dismissed crit- Congress general secretary in the Godavari river in Andhra tion will be taken against those drowned in the swollen Yamuna icism about the current employ- Priyanka Gandhi slammed the Pradesh yesterday, police said, guilty. river in Kairana in Uttar Pradesh ment situation in the country. minister. “You have been in gov- as rescuers searched frantically Prime Minister Narendra yesterday, police said. Santosh Gangwar, state min- ernment for fi ve years, you could for survivors. Modi expressed his condolences Three bodies have been recov- ister of Labour and Employ- not generate employment. Jobs The Royal Vashishta vessel over the loss of lives in the ac- ered while divers are searching ment, said there was no shortage have vanished because of slow- was carrying 63 people, most of cident. for the remaining four. of jobs but companies wishing to down you have brought. You them tourists, to a picnic spot “Extremely pained by the According to reports, the recruit say the youths were ineli- cannot insult North Indians and near Rajahmundry at the time of capsizing of a boat in And- victims entered the river to gible. get away. This will not work,” the accident. hra Pradesh’s East Godavari. immerse the ashes after a re- He said foreign companies Gandhi tweeted. Rescue teams including divers My thoughts are with the be- ligious event in their house, which visited the country to re- Congress leader Pramod Ti- and a helicopter were scouring reaved families,” he said on waded into deep waters and cruit people told him that the wari sought an apology from the river, a senior police offi cial Twitter. apparently got caught in the candidates were not qualifi ed for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s said. State authorities have an- swirling currents. the positions they were off ering. government. Some 12 bodies had been nounced a compensation of Also yesterday, the bodies found, the police said. Rs1mn. of four boys who drowned at “Twenty-seven (people) were The Godavari river has been a water-logged stone quarry UP to build $1tn economy: Yogi either rescued by local fi sher- fl owing fast for a week, local in North Goa’s Tuem village men or swam to safety,” a state media said, adding that the boat were retrieved yesterday, po- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi government and take forward the disaster management authority was run by the state govern- lice said. Adityanath yesterday said that programmes, we will be able to offi cial said. ment. Deputy Superintendent of he planned to achieve the goal deliver good results,” Adityanath Twenty-two people are miss- Overcrowding and poor safety Police Gajanan Prabhudessai of a $1tn economy for the state said. “Through this programme, we ing, and rescue operations by checks often cause boat acci- said “the operation to locate the with help from the Indian Institute will be able to deliver development local agencies would continue dents in India, especially during bodies lasted several hours and of Management-Lucknow. “I am and good governance to the through the night, the offi cial the annual monsoon rains when all four bodies have been sal- Relatives mourn the victims who died or disappeared in a boat confident that when institutions people of Uttar Pradesh and also said. rivers are swollen. vaged from the quarry.” accident near Rajahmundry yesterday. like the IIM join hands with the reach the figure of $1tn economy.” Gulf Times Monday, September 16, 2019 19

LATIN AMERICA

Mexico to probe offi cials over case of 43 missing students

Mexican prosecutors will Enrique Pena Nieto. students, after finding that relatives of the victims, the attorney general Jesus Murillo. Newlyweds investigate off icials who under Last week, his successor, off icials had tortured him to attorney-general’s off ice said. That account stated the the previous government President Andres Manuel obtain evidence. The UN human rights off ice students were killed and then handled a “discredited” probe Lopez Obrador, said the In a statement, the attorney- said in a report last year incinerated by gang members into the 2014 disappearance government would file a general’s off ice said that a that Mexican authorities after their abduction in the among migrants of 43 student teachers, the complaint to the attorney special prosecutor’s off ice had probably tortured southwestern city of Iguala. attorney-general’s off ice said. general over the release would present the necessary dozens of people during the However, investigators have The abduction and apparent from prison of one of the evidence so that the off icials investigation. only definitively identified the massacre of the trainee main suspects behind “who had failed in their duties” Pena Nieto’s popularity never remains of one of the 43. clinging on to US teachers by corrupt police the September 26, 2014, could be held accountable for fully recovered from the scandal, Lopez Obrador, who took working with a drug gang disappearances. their handling of the case. and a panel of independent off ice in December, promised sparked international A judge ordered the release The previous administration’s experts picked holes in during his election campaign condemnation of Mexico of Gildardo Lopez Astudillo, investigation had been the off icial account of the to launch a truth commission asylum dream and seriously damaged the the gang leader blamed for “permanently discredited” investigation into the fate of the to find out what happened to reputation of then-president ordering the killing of the by both public opinion and 43 students that was led by then- the students.

Reuters on asylum seekers as litigation Matamoros, Mexico challenging its legality proceeds, piles pressure on Mexico and mi- grants alike. ed by a dream of marry- “It’s a disaster,” said Jennifer Maduro meets United Socialist Party members ing on US soil, a young Harbury, a Texas-based immi- LHonduran couple travelled gration attorney. “No one knows thousands of miles from their what it’s going to do to MPP.” home in the port city of La Ceiba, The Supreme Court ruling fed narrowly escaping a kidnapping the anxieties of asylum seekers in Mexico before seeking asylum who had already been returned to across the border in Texas. Matamoros and were struggling But the couple, Dexy Maldo- to stay afl oat, caught between nado and Marvin Madrid, de- two worlds in an unforgiving city cided in the end to settle for a where jobs are elusive and crimi- wedding in less than dream-like nal gangs treat migrants as lucra- conditions. tive traffi cking commodities. First, US authorities sent By day, many of some two them back to wait for months dozen returnees whom Reuters in a violent region of Mexico for spoke with worried about leav- their asylum hearings. Then a ing the relative safety of a side- ruling on Wednesday by the US walk near the bridge to search for Supreme Court threatened to work. scupper their plans — and those By night, some forced them- of thousands of other Central selves to stay awake lest gang- American migrants who have sters snatch their children from travelled through Mexico in pur- inside their tents. suit of their own dreams in the Then there was the question of US. whether to marry. So Maldonado, 20, and Ma- Maldonado and Madrid were drid, 28, married on Thursday the fi rst of seven asylum-seeking just over the Rio Grande in a couples who all tied the knot in Mexican border town, under the camp beside the bridge on open skies at a crowded tent Thursday afternoon. camp in an impromptu religious Reverend Isaac Collins, from ceremony — and without regis- Charlottesville, Virginia, offi - tering the wedding with a gov- ciated the brief but emotional ernment. ceremony on a patch of parking “The pastor said it wasn’t ‘le- lot between two portable toi- gal, legal,’ but it might give us a lets, three tents, and a sickly tree better chance of staying togeth- whose twigs someone clipped off Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a meeting with members of Venezuela’s United Socialist Party (PSUV) in Caracas. er,” said Maldonado, whom US for makeshift bouquets. immigration agents had separat- Another migrant fashioned ed from Madrid after detaining Maldonado a wedding ring from the pair in July with their toddler aluminium foil. daughter before returning them A third shared with other to Mexico. brides her ring with a mermaid Abrupt shifts in US immigra- tail, Collins said. tion policy have pitched hun- Earlier, lacking other options dreds of mostly Central Ameri- to bathe, they cooled off from the can asylum-seekers into a life of stifl ing heat in the murky green limbo in the border city of Mata- waters of the Rio Grande, despite Bolivia govt gears up for moros, many of them crammed the rashes that many migrants into tents on the end of a bridge said it caused. Red blotches from Brownsville, Texas. marked Madrid’s wrist and their The newlyweds are among at 2-year-old daughter’s armpit. least 42,000 asylum seekers who The couple had left Honduras since January have been sent to after losing their jobs when au- troubled Mexican border cities thorities raided the used-cloth- soaring lithium demand to await hearings with US immi- ing chain where they worked, gration judges under a US pro- alleging the owners used the AFP But while it sits at the apex of largest producer by 2021. ary to help extract lithium from of the market, according to In- gramme known as the Migrant business to launder drug money. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia South America’s “lithium trian- Morales, a leftist and former Bolivia’s two other salt fl ats, in gred Garces, professor of engi- Protection Protocols (MPP). The two said they departed gle,” along with Chile and Ar- coca farmer, is counting on Coipasa and Pastos Grandes. neering at Chile’s Antofagasta In July, the Trump adminis- with a small group led by a self- gentina, Bolivia has not had the lithium to serve as the economic Bolivia said earlier this year University. tration extended MPP to Mata- proclaimed “guide,” who asked ver 3,600 metres above capacity to produce the metal on engine that lifts his country out that Uyuni alone likely has at With its voracious appetite moros, one of two receiver cities for no money to take them up sea level on the blinding a commercial scale. of poverty. least 21mn metric tones of lith- for lithium, the Asian giant has in Tamaulipas, an eastern state through Mexico. However, as Owhite plain of the world’s That will change when its Llipi YLB teamed up last year with ium, more than double previous positioned itself at the centre of so riven by drug cartels that the they neared Reynosa, a city about largest salt fl at, landlocked Bo- plant comes online in 2020. German company ACI Sys- estimates. the world’s main deposits of the US state department ranks it as a an hour’s drive west of Matam- livia is dramatically ramping up The factory, guarded by the tems to help develop the Uyuni Until now, the Salar de Uyuni metal. “level 4” danger zone. oros, a man apparently known to production of lithium to cope army because of the metal’s val- complex. It’s part of a plan to has been a major tourist attrac- By 2025, China will need Asylum seekers experienced the guide pulled them off a bus with soaring global demand ue, will have an annual produc- form strategic partnerships that tion, and environmentalists have 800,000 tonnes of lithium car- a harsher blow still with the Su- and took them to a site where for the prized electric-battery tion capacity of 15,000 tonnes of “bring their technology and raised concerns about the land- bonate per year to meet the preme Court’s ruling on Wednes- dozens of other people were be- metal. lithium carbonate, project man- guarantee outlets,” said Con- scape being irreparably altered growing demand for electric ve- day allowing the Trump ad- ing forcibly held, the couple said. Bolivia, among the poorest ager Marco Antonio Condoretty doretty. by exploiting the lithium depos- hicles. ministration to enforce a ruling They said they escaped, sleep- countries in South America, said. The joint venture will manu- its underneath. China’s Tianqui Lithium Cor- that would require anyone who ing in ditches until fi nally cross- sits on one of the world’s larg- State company Yacimientos facture electric-vehicle batter- But Condoretty insisted that poration took a 24% stake in passes through a third country, ing the Rio Grande and surren- est lithium reserves, at the Salar de Litio Bolivianos (YLB), es- ies in Bolivia for the growing Eu- lithium exploitation would use Chilean producer SQM last De- including Mexico, to seek asylum dering to US authorities. de Uyuni — or Uyuni Salt Flats tablished by the government of ropean market. “clean technologies” and aff ect cember, placing itself inside the there instead of the US. It was not immediately pos- — ready to take full advantage President Evo Morales in 2008 to China’s Xinjiang TBEA Group only about 3% of the salt fl at. “Lithium Triangle,” which has The decision, which allows US sible for Reuters to verify the de- in the coming age of the electric exploit lithium in the salt fl ats, came on board with YLB in an- China is the world’s biggest 80% of the globe’s known de- authorities to enforce the rule tails of the apparent kidnapping. car. aims to make Bolivia the fourth- other joint venture in Febru- consumer of lithium, with 63% posits. Top court raps Bolivia uni Crime crackdown Amazon chief tapped for Nobel nomination over ‘invalid’ election poll Reuters manuel Macron to call for his Brasilia endorsement of the nomination. Raoni met twice this year with Reuters ment and Congress, said the poll The government denied any Macron. La Paz violated electoral laws regarding meddling. group of Brazilian an- A spokesman for the founda- fi nancing of polls and should be Morales, Bolivia’s fi rst indige- thropologists and en- tion, Toni Lotar, said that the disregarded. nous president, has won all three A vironmentalists has put nomination had been initially olivia’s top electoral court “The poll carried out by UMSA terms in crowded fi rst-round forward chief Raoni Metuktire accepted by the committee, but has threatened to sanc- is invalid,” TSE spokeswoman elections, with more than 60% of the Kayapo tribe as a candi- the foundation has yet to com- Btion a local university Lucy Cruz told journalists after in the two most recent votes dur- date for the 2020 Nobel Peace plete the full nomination proc- for publishing what it deemed its publication. ing a period of rapid economic Prize for a lifetime of work ess. an “invalid” opinion poll that Constitutional lawyer Ivan growth in the landlocked coun- protecting the Amazon rain- “Chief Raoni is a living sym- showed President Evo Morales Lima told a local broadcaster ATB try. forest. bol of the fight to protect na- much weaker than previously that the body was probably using While Morales is popular in Raoni, an unmistakable Ama- ture and the rights of indig- believed ahead of the October 20 a technicality that polls not be fi - rural areas neglected by previous zon icon with his large lip plate, enous people in the Amazon,” general election. nanced by public institutions or governments, his support has yellow macaw-feather headdress Lotar told Reuters. The survey, by the Higher Uni- foreign organisations. slipped in cities. and ear rings, became known in- “He is respected worldwide for versity of San Andres (UMSA) UMSA denied any laws had If Morales does not win 40% ternationally as an environmen- a life dedicated to the survival of and other top universities and been broken. of votes with a 10-point lead tal campaigner in the 1980s with our planet that is so threatened civil society groups, indicated Morales is under fi re for seek- over the runner-up, likely Mesa, musician Sting at his side. by climate change,” Lotar said. that 31.1% of voters planned to ing a fourth term in defi ance of the two will face off in a second At 89, Raoni took to the road The Brazilian government has cast ballots for front-runner constitutional term limits and a round head-to-head on Decem- again this year seeking help to sent the army to help put out the Morales, well below the 40% national referendum that voted ber 15. stop a surge in fi res destroying blazes that set off a global outcry minimum he needs to win the against him being able to do so. Other recent polls have shown the forest. due to concern over deforesta- election outright and avoid a De- Carlos Mesa, Morales’ main Morales headed to a second- The Darcy Ribeiro Founda- tion ravaging the rainforest, con- cember run-off . rival, called the TSE’s decision round vote, though they have put tion, named after one of Brazil’s sidered a bulwark against climate It was the strongest sign yet “shameful”. him much closer to 40% than the fi rst anthropologists, announced change. that South America’s longest- “If the government doesn’t UMSA-led poll. this week that it had formally Norway, until recently the serving leftist leader may be on like a poll, it orders the Supreme Some show him losing to Mesa proposed Raoni’s name to the main donor to a fund to curb shaky ground as he seeks another Electoral Tribunal to say it’s il- in a hypothetical run-off . Norwegian Nobel Committee, Amazonian deforestation, called fi ve-year term. legal,” said Mesa, who fi nished UMSA touted the poll as one of Police off icers frisk men at a security checkpoint in San Jose, which decides who wins the an- in August on Norwegian com- The Supreme Electoral Tribu- second in the survey with 24.9%. the largest surveys on voter in- Costa Rica, after the ministry of security launched an nual award. panies active in Brazil to ensure nal (TSE), whose fi ve members TSE denied its decision was po- tent to date in the South Ameri- operation over the high level of crime in the last two weeks. The foundation has also writ- they do not contribute to the de- were appointed by the govern- litically motivated. can country of 11mn people. ten to French President Em- struction of the Amazon. Gulf Times 20 Monday, September 16, 2019 PAKISTAN

Pakistan starts Conventional war could issuing visas to turn nuclear, PM warns Sikh Pakistan summons Afghan, He added: “Pakistan would Kashmiris postpone LoC march till prime minister’s speech at UN weeks accused the Pakistani pilgrims Indian diplomats over border never start a war, and I am clear: military of several incidents of shootings I am a pacifi st, I am anti-war, I A committee comprising heads of political and a march towards the LoC, the AJK prime minister was heavy artillery fi re into Afghani- believe that wars do not solve religious parties of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) mandated by the participants to plan for it. stan. Internews Reuters/Internews any problems.” has decided to postpone a proposed march towards However, no progress could be made on the matter Both of the uneasy neighbours Lahore Islamabad “When two nuclear-armed the Line of Control (LoC) until Prime Minister Imran due to Haider’s month-long foreign tour. are battling militant factions countries fi ght, if they fi ght a Khan’s address at the United Nations General Assem- On his return on September 11, a general meeting of along their largely porous bor- conventional war, there is every bly on September 27. some heads and representatives of political and reli- der and each accuses the other he Pakistan embassy in n an interview with Al- possibility that it is going to end A meeting of the committee presided over by AJK gious parties was held, but a decision on the matter of harbouring their militant en- New Delhi has started is- Jazeera, Prime Minister Im- up into nuclear war. The un- Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider was held at Kash- was again deferred till Prime Minister Khan’s address emies. Tsuing visas to Indian Sikh Iran Khan has said that if a thinkable,” Khan said. mir House in Islamabad on Saturday. to a rally in Muzaff arabad on Friday. Pakistan also summoned pilgrims who want to participate conventional war breaks out The prime minister contin- On August 9, four days after India scrapped special At Friday’s rally, Haider spoke about the very demand an Indian diplomat on Satur- in the Pakistan-India Nagar Kir- between Pakistan and India, ued: “If say Pakistan, God for- status of Indian-administered Kashmir through a and desire in AJK to “trample down the LoC”. day after it said fi ring by Indian tan, which would start on Oc- there was every possibility that bid, we are fi ghting a conven- rushed presidential order and put the whole territory Responding to it, Prime Minister Khan said that while forces across the Line of Control tober 28 in New Delhi and reach it could end up into a nuclear tional war, we are losing, and if under a lockdown, a multiparty meeting was con- he knew that majority of youths in AJK wanted to (LoC) in the disputed territory Janam Astana Shri Nankana Sa- confl ict which was unthinkable. a country is stuck between the vened by Haider to discuss the situation and come up stage a march on the LoC out of passion and commit- of Kashmir killed a 40-year-old hib on October 31. In the interview, the prime choice: either you surrender or with a unanimous course of action. ment, he urged them to defer a march until he fought woman from the village of Bala- The Nagar Kirtan is a rally for minister was asked whether the you fi ght ‘til death for your free- As a wide understanding at the meeting was to stage their case at the UN General Assembly. kot. the Sikh religious book, the Guru two nuclear countries are at risk dom, I know Pakistanis will fi ght The nuclear-armed neigh- Granth Sahib, which is deco- of another major confl ict, or to death for their freedom. bours have fought two of their rated in Palki Sahib and will be even war, and he said “absolute- “So when a nuclear-armed curity Council resolution, which country’s borders left Pakistani eign ministry said in a state- three wars over Kashmir. brought from New Delhi to Nan- ly”, believing that war with India country fi ghts to the end, to the had guaranteed the people that soldiers and a civilian woman ment. The LoC, an old ceasefi re line, kana Sahib accompanied by Sikh could be a possibility. death, it has consequences.” they would be able to hold a ref- dead. The militants shot and killed a is the de facto border between pilgrims. Tensions between the two When asked if there was a erendum, a plebiscite, to decide Accusations of fi ring by both Pakistani soldier on patrol in one the parts of Kashmir that India Invitations to welcome the countries have fl ared since Au- prospect of a resumption of dia- their destiny,” the prime minis- sides across the Afghan-Paki- incident late on Friday. and Pakistan administer. Nagar Kirtan at the Wagah bor- gust 5 when New Delhi fl ooded logue, Khan ruled out any pros- ter added. stani border, and by both Indian In a second incident, Pakista- Pakistan foreign aff airs der have been sent to Punjab Indian Kashmir with troops to pects for the resumption of dia- “I’m glad they (his political and Pakistani forces across an ni forces fencing a section of the spokesman Mohamed Faisal said Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, quell unrest after it revoked the logue with India. foes) say I’m a prime minister of old ceasefi re line dividing their border were attacked and three in a statement on Saturday that Punjab Governor Chaudhry region’s special status. “So that’s why we have ap- U-turns. Only an idiot doesn’t areas in the Muslim-majority were killed, the ministry said on India deliberately targets civilian Sarwar, Federal Minister for Re- “Eight million Muslims in proached the United Nations, do any U-turns,” Khan said. region of Kashmir, are common. Saturday. areas. ligious Aff airs Pir Noorul Haq Kashmir are under siege for al- we are approaching every inter- “Only an idiot, when he’s on a The latest incidents come at Both incidents occurred in A spokesman for India’s ex- Qadri, and other federal and pro- most now six weeks. And why national forum, that they must course and he comes across a an especially tense time between Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber ternal aff airs ministry said In- vincial ministers. this can become a fl ashpoint act right now because this is a brick wall, only that stupid idiot Pakistan and India, and as talks Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. dia “highlighted concerns” over Preparations are underway to between India and Pakistan is potential disaster that would go keeps banging his head against a between the United States and Pakistan underscored in its “unprovoked ceasefi re viola- celebrate the 550th birth anni- because what we already know way beyond the subcontinent,” brick wall. the Afghan Taliban have broken meeting with the Afghan dip- tions by Pakistan forces” target- versary of Guru Nanak Devji in India is trying to do is divert he said. “An intelligent person imme- down. lomat that Afghanistan was re- ing Indian civilians and border a historical manner in India and attention from their illegal an- “There is no question of talk- diately revises his strategy and Pakistan’s Foreign Offi ce sponsible for securing its side of posts. Pakistan. nexation and their impending ing to the Indian government goes around it.” summoned an Afghan diplomat the border. India has long accused Pa- The former head of Delhi genocide on Kashmir,” he said. right now after they revoked this Meanwhile, Pakistan has on Saturday to account for what An Afghan government kistan of supporting militant Gurdwara Management Com- “They are taking the attention article 370 of their own consti- summoned diplomats from Af- it said was fi ring into Pakistan spokesman could not be imme- groups fi ghting Indian security pany and the administrator of away by blaming Pakistan for tution, and they annexed Kash- ghanistan and India after sev- by militants in Afghanistan, a diately reached. forces in its part of Kashmir. Nagar Kirtan, Sardar Paramjit terrorism,” Khan asserted. mir illegally against the UN Se- eral shooting incidents along the spokesman for Pakistan’s for- Afghan offi cials have in recent Pakistan denies that. Singh Sarna, said that the Pa- kistani high commission had started issuing visas for Nagar Kirtan. A total of 1,500 visas would be issued, and the process for most of the visas has already been Imran and Malala among completed. He said that the Pakistan gov- ernment and the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Commit- tee had given permission for Na- most infl uential Muslims gar Kirtan in 2018. Sarna said that two delega- tions would visit Pakistan – fi rst Internews and bringing accountability to scholarship assistance to over on September 20 and then on Islamabad the forefront has fast made him 90% of its students. October 2. a global name. The youngest Nobel Prize lau- These delegations would be “He has already implemented reate, Malala Yousafzai, also gets given one-week visas, while the rime Minister Imran cutbacks in extravagant govern- an honourable mention in the participants of the Nagar Kirtan Khan, Nobel Laureate ment expenditure and is using publication. are being issued visa from Octo- PMalala Yousafzai, promi- his personal credibility to fund- In 2013, she addressed the UN, Prime Minister Khan: at rank 29. ber 31 till November 14. nent religious scholar Maulana raise for a dam,” the publication received the prestigious Sakha- He said he arrived in Pakistan Tariq Jamil, and entrepreneur wrote. rov Prize, and was nominated infl uencing all types of the com- Global Leader” by the World a few weeks back and has invited Dr Umar Saif, have been named A sporting legend, Prime for the Nobel Peace Prize, which munity ranging from business- Economic Forum in 2010, and is the Punjab governor, the Punjab among the world’s 500 most in- Minister Khan played profes- she co-received in 2014 at the men and landlords to ministers, the recipient of Sitara-e-Imtiaz. chief minister, the federal min- fl uential Muslims. sional cricket for 22 years and is age of 17. actors and sports celebrities. Others Pakistanis on the list ister for religious aff airs, other The annual World’s 500 Most recognised as one of the game’s She has also been listed as one Award-winning scientist, en- include Maulana Fazlur Reh- ministers, and the committees of Infl uential Muslims publication fi nest all-rounders. of the “25 Most Infl uential Teens trepreneur, innovator and tech man, former prime minister the Sain Mian Mir Foundation, is compiled by the Royal Islamic His ability to lead and unite an of 2014” by Time magazine, and tycoon Dr Umar Saif is also part Nawaz Sharif, Dr Farhat Hash- the Hazrat Data Ali Hajweri, and Strategic Studies Centre in Jor- often disparate team, culminat- has been granted audiences with of the list. mi, Dr Tahir ul-Qadri, Siraj- the Hazrat Baba Farid shrines, to dan. ed in Pakistan winning the 1992 royalty and world leaders. A founding vice-chancellor ul-Haq, Javed Ghamdi, Bilquis welcome Nagar Kirtan at Wagah This year’s list features some World Cup. Also featured in the publica- of the Information Technology Edhi, Muniba Mazari, Profes- border. of the most prominent Muslims, It is this ability and success tion is scholar Maulana Tariq University in Punjab and one of sor Atta-ur-Rehman, Dr Abdul In response to a question, Sar- including Liverpool footballer that many hope can be replicat- Jameel, one of the most popular the main forces behind the IT Qadeer Khan, Irfan Siddique, na said the charge of Delhi Gurd- Mohamed Salah, Dr Qadeer ed in the political fi eld. preachers in Pakistan. eco-system in Pakistan, Saif Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and wara Management Committee is Khan, Dr Atta Rehman, and Dr His other contributions in- In addition to running a re- was named by MIT Technology Abida Parveen. in the hands of people who are Irfan Siddiqui. clude the Shaukat Khanum Me- ligious seminary in Faisalabad, Review’s as one of the “World’s Turkish President Recep playing politics. Among the top 50, ranked morial Cancer Hospital and Re- Jameel has delivered thousands Top Young Innovators” for the Tayyip Erdogan stands at the top He observed that the commit- Malala Yousafzai: youngest at 29 is Prime Minister Khan, search Centre, and the NUML of lectures around the world. year 2011. of the most infl uential Muslims tee was collecting money from Nobel Prize laureate. whose crackdown on corruption University, which provides He has been very eff ective in He was also named “Young list. diff erent gurdwaras for Nagar Kirtan, but Pakistan has only given permission for one Nagar Kirtan. Sarna said that they would take out a small Nagar Kirtan Islamabad-based start-up starts from New Delhi to Bahadur Garh. He noted that Shri Akal Takht building online picture library Sahib has also supported them and declared that they stand with the Nagar Kirtan. Internews which you get a download link that makes the content much The Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Islamabad that is active for one week. less relatable. Prabandhak Committee’s Pard- Currently, the start-up does “Small agencies, in particular, han Sardar Satwant Singh said not have a payment channel in- often do not have the resources that hundreds of Sikhs would orking on that blog tegrated into the website, but the to hire photographers. welcome Nagar Kirtan at the post and not having founder says they are in the later “Based on our research, a Wagah border, and that arrange- Wthe right Pakistan- stages of talks with two provid- picture library with Pakistan- ments of food and stay are being centric picture to go with it? Is ers, and it should be up in a week centric content was an untapped made for the participants. your YouTube video edited and or two. opportunity that we didn’t want you just want a perfect thumb- Meanwhile, photographers to miss,” Abid recalls. nail to try your luck at making can sign up on the website with So far, the venture has been KP govt spending it big? their names and e-mail address- bootstrapped, with the co- There is a new start-up in es, and upload their work along founders putting in their money, Rs1bn to provide town that has the solution. with captions and tags. with no plans to change that potable water Pak Stock Photo is an Islam- The submitted pictures are anytime soon. The Pak Stock Photo website (https://pakstockphoto.com/). abad-based start-up that is then approved by the Pak Stock “We would like to keep our The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa building a library of Pakistan- team and once that is done, they growth organic,” says Abid. manual, which raises questions Generally, the big ones go by the over 200mn stock images, and government is spending more centric stock images. are published and can be pur- As for their income stream, over its scalability. rules. has packages with per-picture- than Rs1bn to provide clean Like pretty much everything chased by anyone. the start-up charges Rs850 per “It’s similar for all major for- “Then there is the interna- cost going even less than $1. drinking water to people of tribal else in the local ecosystem, they Mohamed Abid, Saqib Riaz, small-sized photo and Rs5,500 eign companies, and some even tional market such as foreign How would the local start-up districts. are trying to introduce an Uber- and Asad Zaidi co-founded Pak for the larger ones. take as long as a month, but of journalists who can’t physically compete against such a giant? A spokesman of provincial ised model where photographers Stock Photos and look at prod- However, given that it is the course they have more human come and get pictures, so we “First of all, they operate on a government said that the greater submit their pictures and buy- uct and technology, communi- photographer who puts up his resources which we can’t aff ord can be their intermediary,” says subscription-based model and water supply scheme will be ers purchase them, all through a cations and strategy, and quality work, what does he get in re- for now,” according to Abid. Abid. can reduce margins thanks to initiated in Shalman area of digital platform. assurance, respectively. turn? However, in a market where Those who do bother about their volumes. Plus, their con- Khyber district. Works simple as well: go to the The start-up began with just a “Every time a picture is copyright issues do not mean copyright laws and all those tent is not relevant to Pakistan,” The water of river Kabul will be website (https://pakstockphoto. minimum viable product earlier bought from us, 50% of that rev- a thing and piracy remains a strange words over here often answers Abid. utilised for this purpose. com/), look for the right image, this year and incubated at the enue goes to the photographer,” norm, is there even any demand rely on in- house photographers There is no doubt about that: Similarly, tube wells in all tribal select the size (small at 72DPI National Incubation Centre in says the founder. for a platform that adds to cost? (photojournalists in the case of despite Shutterstock’s huge li- districts will be converted into and large 300DPI), and add it to Islamabad, where the business The quality assurance can “Locally, we are looking at ad- news organisations) or agencies brary, less than 100,000 are solar energy to ensure supply cart in order to place an order. side was ironed out. take around a week and shows vertising agencies, the develop- like Reuters. tagged for Pakistan. of clean drinking water to tribal An invoice e-mail is sent af- “I always used to notice how the status on the photographers’ ment sector, and media organi- Among dedicated platforms, In comparison, Pak Stock people. terwards and you can pay via an our local websites put up pic- dashboard. sations where there is always Shutterstock is the biggest of Photos has already gotten to It will also help to save the energy online transfer, on the receipt of tures of white models and how Nevertheless, the process is demand for Pakistani images. them all, with a database of well 5,000 in around six months. and economic resources. Gulf Times Monday, September 16, 2019 21 PHILIPPINES

Albayalde proposes longer Lacson wants steps tenure for police chief

By Darwin Pesco to tackle corruption Manila Times ith his term nearing its end, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen Oscar WAlbayalde wants his successor to have a longer tenure. Albayalde proposed a three-year term for the heads of the PNP and the Armed Forces of the in Bilibid prison Philippines, similar to other countries. “Even during the time as a junior offi cer, I no- By Bernadette E Tamayo ticed the swift turnover of PNP chiefs,” he told Manila Times Manila Times. “In other countries, if I am not mistaken in Albayalde: backing longer tenure Brunei or Dubai, even if you to retire in three enator Panfi lo Lacson wants laws to months time, if you’re appointed by the presi- other three months as a form of accommodation. address corruption and dismantle syn- dent as the chief, you automatically have a three- Albayalde observed that because of such a Sdicates at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) year term,” Albayalde, whose term will end in short term, some PNP chiefs resort to fi nding an as he lamented that high-profi le inmates, not November, added. “acronym” or programme to be remembered by. government offi cials, were running the peni- He lamented that the “revolving door policy” For Albayalde, 55, the magic word is “continu- tentiary. in appointing the police chief was problematic. ity.” The senator cited reports that some pris- “In six months, you are just starting to absorb “We are not like politicians who build a bridge oners have become “more powerful” than what you should do as police chief because there then after election, the bridge is not continued by Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) offi cials. so many things that you have to look into in a very the next elected politician because that is not his Lacson, in a radio interview, said the pris- big organisation like the Philippine National Po- or her project,” he explained. on system was “no longer conducive” to re- lice,” Albayalde explained. Albayalde, who will step down after more than forming inmates. He said some police and military chiefs served a year as PNP chief, wants to be remembered as a “It seemed that over time, anomalies have only for three months and got extended for an- leader who disciplined his men. evolved there and became organised, just like mafi a-style activities, wherein BuCor offi - cials could no longer resist,” he said. “In fact, some BuCor offi cials have been Lacson: seeking legislation killed,” Lacson said, citing reports that some Go vows push for fire bureau modernisation inmates even had the courage to run gun- gone so bad,” leaving prison offi cials helpless. Allowance (GCTA) Law” opened a wider ave- for-hire teams inside the NBP. “Inmates no longer want to be released nue for corruption at national penitentiaries. Senator Christopher Lawrence in the Philippine Senate, I filed will be heard by a committee,” “And they were the ones who direct drug because they are enjoying their stay there. “The GCTA Law opened the opportunity “Bong” Go vowed to continue to my first ten priority bills, one Go explained. The senator said operations outside (the NBP), that was clear,” They are secured, they have bodyguards. If for the python to enter the poultry park and push for the improvement and of which is Senate Bill (SB) 204 he was studying the possibility he added. they want someone killed, they can do so. kill everything there. The law has good in- modernisation of the country’s or the ‘Act Strengthening and of tapping firefighters in law Former BuCor offi cials who attended the They earn money. If they want other person- tentions and I don’t want to mention who Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Modernising the Bureau of Fire enforcement. Senate investigation of prison anomalies al services they can be brought in (by BuCor pushed for this law, but it opened wider op- in order to prevent and better Protection,’” Go said. “Aside from their firefighting confi rmed several money-making schemes personnel),” he said. portunities for corruption,” he said. respond to fire incidents, Manila The bill aims to establish fire duty, they can also help in the in the penitentiary. Asked what remedial legislations must be Gordon noted that the administration Times reported. protection services in all local campaign against criminal- “What was clearly established here was pursued to reform the prison system, Lacson of former president Benigno Aquino 3rd Go gave the assurance during government units (LGUs).It also ity,” Go said. Although arming that high-profi le inmates have become very said, “We’re going in that direction. There “caught the world’s attention due to the the graduation ceremony of proposes rescue hotlines in all firefighters is not in his bill, the powerful and very wealthy,” Lacson said. are many suggestions and several bills will be maximum congestion of detention facilities the Fire Basic Recruit Course LGUs to help the local govern- senator said he would study “They are the ones who now actually run passed regarding this.” in the country, which led to the inhumane Class Mawaraw 2019-04 of the ments respond immediately to the possibility of adding the the prison (facility), no longer the govern- The senator backed the measure of Sen- condition of detainees.” National Fire Training Institute. accidents, disasters and calami- provision if needed. ment,” he added. ate President Vicente Sotto 3rd that seeks to Hence, the GCTA Law was enacted to de- He informed the graduates ties. Go said SB 204 is a priority Go emphasised that his priority “Because they are the ones who are being “regionalise” the establishment of major pe- congest jails, he said. But when the imple- that he had filed a bill aiming to bill that had the backing of now is for the fire modernisa- followed. They decide who should be residing nal facilities — at least one each in Luzon, the menting rules and regulations of RA 10592 improve the current state of the President Rodrigo Duterte. “This tion bill to be passed. in the hut; who will be transferred to faraway Visayas and Mindanao. was crafted, the law transferred the power Bureau of Fire Protection, giv- is one of the supported priority As of 2017, the BFP only has places, to Iwahig (penal colony in Palawan) or Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the to review and approve the release of inmates ing them better equipment and bills of President Duterte, the 2,674 fire trucks, 932 units short Davao; who will be confi ned in the hospital, Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigat- from the Department of Justice to the BuCor resources to train its personnel. Fire Protection Modernisation of the ideal number for the and who will join them in the hospital.” ing the anomalies at BuCor, said Republic and the Bureau of Jail Management and Pe- “Just when I started my work Bill. This is still in the Senate, it whole country. The senator said that the situation “had Act (RA) 10592, or the “Good Conduct Time nology. Poe backs traffi c emergency powers with master plan

By Bernadette E Tamayo a regular basis, so that one will know Manila Times what the other is doing or plans to do to mitigate the situation on the road,” Poe said. Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Tolen- enator Grace Poe has said she tino on Thursday declared support for supports granting President Ro- the DoTr’s plans for the country during Sdrigo Duterte emergency powers the hearing conducted by the Senate provided it is backed by a well-studied Committee on Public Services, where master plan to solve the traffi c in Edsa. Transportation Secretary Tugade was “It is not the lack of powers, but the one of the resource persons. lack of a master plan and more aggres- Tugade was questioned about DoTr’s sive action from the DoTr (Department transportation plan, which was diff er- of Transportation) that bears empha- ent from a traffi c management plan. sising,” said Poe, chairman of the Sen- According to Tolentino, traffi c man- ate Committee on Public Service. agement is the mandate of a separate The senator said without a master government agency and should not be plan, no matter how much power it thrown at the DoTr, whose mandate is would have, the DoTr would just end Poe: support for emergency powers to continually improve the transport up wasting money and, worse, would system, and ensure that transportation not achieve anything. powers, there were already several laws facilities are effi cient, cost-eff ective Poe also said she was just one vote in in place to address the legal matters, and reliable. Heat during the Senate the Senate and, like the other lawmak- such as procurement and right-of- probe escalated when Poe said Tugade ers, would have to be convinced why way, as well as current road and rail should be fi red for failing to resolve granting emergency powers is needed. projects, to ease traffi c. traffi c problems. “The secretary and “For you to give something as im- The lawmaker cited the North Luzon his department can only do as much mense as the emergency powers, you Expressway-South Luzon Expressway with whatever resources and authority have to be sniper accurate, it cannot be connector road that is expected to be they have at their disposal. a shotgun approach. It’s like giving a completed by January, the Light Rail- This is the reason why we are push- loaded gun to a child if they don’t have way Transit-1 and the 48 Dalian trains ing for the emergency powers for the a plan,” she said. that should be made operational. president in order to hasten the imple- “If they come up with the traffi c plan “Most importantly, co-ordination mentation of the infrastructure pro- and deliver on the projects that they among transportation agencies, the grammes designed to help ease traf- should have delivered years ago, traffi c Metro Manila Development Authority fi c,” said Tolentino, who was also once situation would have been better,” Poe (MMDA), local government units and involved in managing traffi c in Metro said. Poe said even without emergency concerned stakeholders should be on Manila as MMDA chairman.

MRT to ‘gradually’ deploy Dalian trains

By Lisbet K Esmael nese fi rms had to fi rst study the maintenance requirements Manila Times of the China-made trains before they could hit the tracks of the rail line. Libiran added that the DoTr already issued provincial acceptance certifi cates for three train sets or nine undreds of thousands of passengers may have to LRVs after completing all testing, commissioning and vali- wait longer before the government could deploy the dation procedures. HP3.8bn Dalian trains for Metro Rail Transit Line 3’s She said they were in talks with Sumitomo for the “gradual (MRT 3) commercial operations. deployment” of the three Dalian train sets. The multibillion-peso deal with Chinese fi rm CRRC Dal- “Recently, Sumitomo had agreed to start gradual de- ian Co again drew attention at a recent Senate hearing, led by ployment of the accepted Dalian trains, starting in off -peak Senator Mary Grace Poe, as the Department of Transporta- hours. Discussions are ongoing on the procedures to begin tion (DoTr) requested emergency powers to solve the wors- this gradual deployment,” she told Manila Times. ening traffi c congestion in Metro Manila. Although the Dalian trains were bought in 2016, they had Poe, who heads the Senate Committee on Public Services, been idle over issues of incompatibility regarding weight, questioned why the Dalian trains, composed of 48 light rail signalling and maintenance equipment. vehicles (LRVs) or 16 train sets, were not being utilised to in- CRRC Dalian had failed to deliver LRVs weighing only 46.4 crease the capacity of the troubled railway along Edsa. tonnes each under the agreement, as the DoTr received trains Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade argued that the weighing 49.7 tonnes each. deployment had to be “suspended,” as Japan’s Sumitomo Late last year, the DoTr said CRRC Dalian began working Corp and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd took over the on the problems in July 2018. maintenance and rehabilitation works for MRT 3. The Independent Safety Audit and Assessment was con- When asked for details, DoTr Assistant Secretary for ducted by TUV Rheinland, an ISO 17020 and 17025 certifi ed Communications Goddes Hope Libiran said the two Japa- German company. Gulf Times 22 Monday, September 16, 2019 COMMENT

CHAIRMAN Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Boeing’s travails show what’s Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka Deputy Managing Editor K T Chacko wrong with modern capitalism P.O.Box 2888, Doha, Qatar [email protected] By Matt Stoller Washington 44350478 (News), 44466404 (Sport), he plight of Boeing shows the 44466636 (Home delivery) perils of modern capitalism. The corporation is a wounded 44350474 Tgiant. Much of its productive facebook.com/gulftimes capacity has been mothballed following two crashes in six months of the 737 twitter.com/gulftimes_Qatar Max, the fi rm’s fl agship product: the result of safety problems Boeing hid from regulators. Just a year ago Boeing appeared unstoppable. In 2018, the company GULF TIMES delivered more aircraft than its rival Airbus, with revenue hitting $100bn. It was also a cash machine, shedding 20% of its workforce since 2012 while funnelling $43bn into stock buybacks in Qatar’s eff orts in roughly the same period. Boeing’s board rewarded its CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, lavishly, paying him $23mn in 2018, up 27% from the year before. anti-terror fi ght There was only one problem. The company was losing its ability to make safe airplanes. As Scott Hamilton, an aerospace analyst and editor of win world praise Leeham News and Analysis, puts it: “Boeing Commercial Airplanes clearly has a systemic problem in designing, It is highly commendable that Qatar has made great strides in producing and delivering airplanes.” supporting global eff orts to identify solutions to the challenge Something is wrong with today’s of combating extremism and terrorism. Michele Coninsx, version of capitalism. It’s not just that High profits masked the collapse in Boeing’s productive skill until the crashes of the 737 Max. executive director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee it’s unfair. It’s that it’s no longer capable Executive Directorate at the UN, lauded Qatar last week on the of delivering products that work. The Boeing could increase prices, lay off Markopoulos is right, General Electric department found that one defence root cause is the generation of high workers, reduce quality and spend its may in fact be riddled with accounting contractor run by private equity sidelines of the fi rst International Conference on Studying the and persistent profi ts, to the exclusion cash buying back stock. fraud, a once great productive executives had profi t margins of up Causes of Extremism. The focus of the event was on the motives of production. We have let fi nanciers And no one could do anything institution strip-mined by fi nanciers. to 4,451% on spare parts it sold to the of extremism and the causes of the phenomenon and ways to take over our corporations. They about it. Customers and suppliers no These are not the natural, inevitable military. Consulting giant McKinsey deal with it. monopolise industries and then loot the longer had any alternative to Boeing, results of capitalism. Boeing and GE was recently caught trying to charge the The fi ght against terrorism is closely linked to collective corporations they run. and Boeing corrupted offi cials in both were once great companies, working in government $3mn a year for the services eff orts at the global level, as Coninsx pointed out. At the The executive team at Boeing is parties who were supposed to regulate capitalist open markets. of a recent college graduate. The ultimate result of concentrating conclusion of the two-day conference, organised by Qatar quite skilled – just at generating cash, it. So what went wrong? In short, the rather than as engineers. Boeing’s Boeing’s inability to make good safe law. In the 1970s, a host of thinkers wealth and corrupting government is to University’s Social and Economic Survey Research Institute, competitive advantage centred on airplanes is a clear weakness. It is, after on the right and left – from Milton concentrate power in the hands of a few. the participants agreed to launch an index for measuring politics, not planes. The corporation all, an airplane aerospace company. Friedman to George Stigler to Alfred We’ve been here before. In the 1930s, extremism that leads to violence. Such an index is expected to is now a political machine with a But because Boeing is America’s only Kahn to the current liberal Supreme fascists in Italy and Germany were make data on this phenomenon available to researchers and side business making aerospace and commercial airplane company, the Court justice Stephen Breyer – gaining strength, as were communists policymakers. The proposed global index of extremism is to use defence products. Boeing’s general crisis is rippling across the economy. argued that policymakers should take in Russia. Meanwhile, leaders in liberal data collected from representative surveys to measure violent counsel, former judge Michael Luttig, Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, restraints off capital and get rid of democracies were confronted by a is the former boss of the FBI director, which ordered 58 737 Max planes, says anti-monopoly rules. They used many frightened populace losing faith in extremism in all countries and at diff erent times. The event also Christopher Wray, whose agents are his company cannot grow as planned terms to make this case, including democracy. American political leaders recommended that member states should exchange research investigating potential criminal activity until Boeing, “gets its act together”. deregulation, cost/benefit analysis, were able to take on domestic money fi ndings on regional and national trends on extremism and at the company. Luttig is so well Contractors and subcontractors slowed and the consumer welfare standard lords with a radical antitrust campaign violent extremism, regularly. connected in high-level legal circles he production of parts for the airplane, and in antitrust law. They embraced the to break the power of the plutocrats. Earlier this month, at a served as a groomsman for the Supreme airline customers scrambled to address shareholder theory of capitalism, Today we are in a similar situation, high-level international Court chief justice, John Roberts. shortages of airplanes. which emphasises short-term with autocrats making an increasingly No society can “Conference on Countering The company’s board members also Far from being an anomaly, Boeing is profits. What followed was a radical persuasive case that liberal democracy include Nikki Haley, until recently the the norm in the corporate world across consolidation of market power, and is weak. fi ght terrorism Terrorism Through United Nations ambassador, former the West. In 2016, the Economist noted then systemic looting. The solution to this political crisis Innovative Approaches Nato supreme allied commander that profi ts across the corporate sector Today, high profi t margins are a is fairly simple, and it involves two today on its own, and the Use of New and Edmund PGiambastiani Jr, former AIG were high and persistent, a function of a pervasive and corrupting infl uence basic principles. One, policymakers Emerging Technologies”, CEO Edward M Liddy, and a host of lack of competition across swaths of the across the government and corporate have to increase competition for large and no society is in Minsk, Belarus, Qatar former political offi cials and private economy. If corporations don’t have to sectors. Private equity fi rms moved powerful companies, to bring profi ts stressed the importance equity icons. compete, they can raise prices to buyers, capital from corporations and workers down. Executives should spend their immune to it Boeing used its political connections lower what they pay to suppliers and to themselves, destroying once healthy time competing with each other to of concerted eff orts by the to monopolise the American aerospace workers, and reduce quality. retailers like RadioShack, Toys R Us, build quality products, not fi nding international community industry and corrupt its regulators. High profi ts result in sloth and Payless and K-Mart. ways of attracting former generals, or in the fi eld of combating terrorism. Major General Abdulaziz In the 1990s, Boeing and McDonnell corruption. Many of our industrial In 1992, Harvard Professor Ash administration offi cials to their board Abdullah al-Ansari, chairman, National Counter-Terrorism Douglas merged, leaving America with goliaths are now run in ways that are Carter, who later became the secretary of directors. Two, policymakers should Committee, highlighted the signifi cance of exerting eff orts to just one major producer of civilian fundamentally destructive. General of defence under Obama, wrote raise taxes on wealth and high incomes prevent terrorists from accessing technology, and in enhancing aircraft. Before this merger, when there Electric, for instance, was once a jewel that the Pentagon was too diffi cult to radically reduce the concentration collective action to prevent the movement of terrorists through was a competitive market, Boeing was a of American productive capacity, a to do business with. “The most of wealth, which will make looting wonderful company. As journalist Jerry corporation created out of George straightforward step” to address this, irrational. the development of aviation systems and the exchange of Useem put it just 20 years ago, “Boeing Westinghouse and Thomas Edison’s he wrote, “would be to raise the profi t Our system is no longer aligning databases. has always been less a business than patents for electric systems. Edison margins allowed on defence contracts.” rewards with productive skill. Despite The senior Qatari offi cial pointed to the seriousness of an association of engineers devoted helped invent the lightbulb itself, The following year Carter was the 737 Max crisis, Boeing’s stock price developments related to terrorists’ use of social media to building amazing fl ying machines.” brightening the world. Today, as a appointed assistant secretary of defence is still twice as high as in July 2015, and artifi cial intelligence, adding no society can fi ght that High profi ts masked the collapse in result of decisions made by Jack Welch for international security policy in the when Muilenburg took over as CEO. phenomenon today on its own, and no society is immune to it. productive skill until the crashes of in the 1990s to juice profi t returns, GE fi rst Clinton administration, which That right there is what is broken about the 737 Max. But after the merger, the slaps its label on lightbulbs made in followed his advice. modern capitalism. We had better fi x it He called for strengthening the frameworks of international co- engineers lost power to the fi nanciers. China. Even worse, if investigator Harry Earlier this year, the US defence fast. – Guardian News and Media operation and exchanging best practices, as well as identifying opportunities for exchanging expertise and resources among member states, while reviewing Qatar’s eff orts in combating terrorism and supporting the communities aff ected by this dangerous scourge. Major General al-Ansari, in his speech, affi rmed Qatar’s support to the UN Offi ce of Counter-Terrorism. The two-day World must worry about population growth conference brought together member states, the private sector, NGOs and civil society, in seeking to address today’s most By Frank Götmark and Robin Maynard surprised by the lack of attention to (including climate disruption), and has a proven track record of success, pressing issues pertaining to technology and counter-terrorism, Gothenburg/London population growth. Demographer result in more people suff ering during not only in reducing births rapidly, but including online radicalisation, artifi cial intelligence, hacking, Joseph Chamie, a former director of confl icts and famines. also in advancing the empowerment lethal autonomous weapons and the cross-border travel of the UN Population Division, expressed To be sure, there has been plenty of women and spurring economic foreign terrorists. n September 24-25, world concern that the UN was ignoring of necessary research into how the progress. No coercive “population leaders will gather at the the issue. University of Cambridge world can better accommodate billions control” measures are needed. Rather, Recently, Under-Secretary-General of the UN Counter- United Nations in New York economist Partha Dasgupta and more people, in terms of pollution, wider awareness of the linkage between Terrorism Offi ce, Vladimir Ivanovich Voronkov, praised the Oto review progress toward the co-authors concurred, arguing that agriculture, energy effi ciency, and family size and ecological sustainability support provided by Qatar to the United Nations Offi ce of UN’s 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustain- this omission “should be a point climate change. But such research fails can help parents recognise the benefi ts Counter-Terrorism. able Development Goals. The SDGs, of public concern.” More recently, to quantify the benefi ts of minimising of having fewer children. He made the remarks at a meeting of the Committee on which aim “to end poverty, protect the demographer Massimo Livi Bacci of further population increases – a critical Clearly, population growth cannot Peace and International Security to discuss a draft resolution planet, and ensure prosperity for all,” the University of Florence wrote that oversight. be stopped overnight, nor feasibly by are commendable, and summarise the “population … has become irrelevant While many researchers and 2030. But we could establish trends on the inadmissibility of the use of mercenaries as means of kind of world many of us wish to see in for the sustainability of development, policymakers seem to regard a rapidly towards a population peak and decline undermining peace and violation of human rights, which was 2030. But if this vision is to have any notwithstanding the evidence to the increasing global population as in all countries by then. This includes part of the 140th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. chance of materialising, governments contrary.” inevitable, ordinary citizens recognise not only developing countries, He also praised Qatar’s active contribution to eff orts of must now add an 18th goal: “Dampen Between 1960 and 2000, the the serious problems and risks that where population growth threatens preventing violent intolerance, pointing to the role played by population growth.” world’s population doubled from this will cause. In a 2014 survey by security, but also rich countries with sport in this regard. He said that Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 The challenges that humanity 3bn to 6bn. This growth contributed the Global Challenges Foundation, large ecological footprints, where FIFA World Cup and its eff orts in the sports fi eld will contribute faces today stem mainly from to greater pollution of land, lakes, a majority of 9,000 respondents in population decline and its benefi ts are overconsumption and overpopulation. rivers, and oceans, as well as urban nine countries (the United States, resisted because of ill-founded fears of to prevention of violent intolerance. In short, Qatar’s earnest Yet policymakers often fail to consider overcrowding and a higher demand for Brazil, South Africa, Germany, Poland, demographic ageing. eff orts have been winning praise from across the world. the two factors together, and largely agricultural land and freshwater (in turn Sweden, India, Russia, and China) Reproductive rights and family neglect population growth in particular. encroaching on natural ecosystems). considered population increase to be planning are mentioned in both SDG 3 The overall human impact on the Despite signifi cant technical advances an actual or potential future threat (good health and wellbeing) and SDG To Advertise global environment is the product in agriculture, famines killed millions of to mankind. The same year, a Pew 5 (gender equality), but neither goal of population size and average per people over this 40-year period. And in Research Centre survey reported that explicitly aims to reduce population [email protected] capita consumption. The UN’s developing countries, rapid population 82% of American scientists regarded growth. As they currently stand, the Display Intergovernmental Panel on Climate growth left poor people at greater risk of the growing world population as a SDGs imply that there is no longer any Change has concluded that population death, injury, and disease resulting from major problem because “there won’t be need to curb the global population 44466621 44418811 growth and economic (consumption) pollution, fl oods, droughts, and other enough food and resources.” increase, even though it undermines growth are the two main causes of disasters. Yet the huge projected increase in most of the goals. Classified global warming. Per capita resource There are now 7.7bn people on Earth. the world’s population this century is As a result, there is a big risk that 44466609 44418811 consumption and greenhouse-gas The UN forecasts that this fi gure will avoidable. The size of the population the world will achieve little of the 2030 emissions are highest in developed rise to 11bn by 2100 (and that assumes in 2100 can be infl uenced now by Agenda, especially in countries where Subscription economies, while rapid population steady fertility declines in many international debate, government high birth rates persist. But we should growth in developing countries countries that have tended to resist programmes, and individual choices. not give up. Changes in population [email protected] contributes to the loss of forests and this trend). A population increase on More specifi cally, an additional SDG policies and norms can reduce birth biodiversity. this scale would create more pollution, to dampen population growth would rates. And by adopting a new SDG to When governments adopted the require a doubling of global food promote funding for voluntary, rights- this eff ect, the world could yet save the © 2019 Gulf Times. All rights reserved SDGs in 2015, many experts were production under diffi cult conditions based family planning. This approach 2030 Agenda. – Project Syndicate Gulf Times Monday, September 16, 2019 23 COMMENT New Yorkers ‘confused and fearful’

By Miranda Bryant of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) Washington raids has made some people fearful of going about their day-to-day lives. “There are some people that are afraid to go out to the streets n a packed room in Jackson Heights – one and are afraid that if Ice is nearby, what’s going of the most diverse neighbourhoods in to happen to them and what could potentially New York and the US as a whole – cancer happen to their children?” She knows a mother Isurvivor Blanca Palomeque explains how who was deported and is now separated from the Trump administration’s new policies will her children. “That’s very sad because that’s force immigrants into making impossible deci- not how families should be,” she adds. sions. Yatziri Tovar, a Make the Road New York The 56-year-old from Ecuador, who was spokeswoman, says they try to combat fear treated for ovarian cancer in the US before through education. “Community organisations applying for her green card 11 years ago, got together and together we were at train explains how if the new “public charge” rule stops fl yering and showing people ‘Look, these – which will penalise immigrants for using are your rights’ and giving out these fl yers in benefi ts – had been in place then, “I don’t know diff erent languages because we know … there what I would have done”. are over 100 languages spoken in Queens and “I can’t imagine being put in a position of so it was important that every single member of choosing between my health and getting my our community knew what their rights were in green card. This rule will put families at risk their language,” Tovar says. who are in the same situation that I was in,” she “That’s one of the things that Trump has says through a translator. tried to attack, communities, but it also shows She adds: “This rule is horrifi c and clearly that our community’s not standing down yet another attack against immigrant families. anymore, it’s not giving into that fear.” The Trump administration is sending a clear Amaha Kassa, founder and executive message that if you are not white and you are director of African Communities Together, an not wealthy you are not welcome here.” immigrant organisation with members across The public charge rule is the latest in a series New York, including Queens, says even people of policies seemingly designed to worsen the with legal status are afraid. lives of immigrants. And as one of the country’s The threat of being separated from family most diverse neighbourhoods in New York’s members, he says, can feel like “living in a most diverse borough – 47.5% of Queens’ siege”. He adds: “It’s this constant fear. The population was born outside the US, according adults often try to shelter the children from to census data, while a recent report by the it, but children pick up on these things and so mayor’s offi ce of immigrant aff airs found it is The threat of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) raids has made some people fearful of going about their day-to-day lives. it’s a constant uncertainty, it’s a feeling of that home to 184,000 undocumented immigrants somebody might not come home at any time – the impact is being acutely felt in Jackson by them and other community organisations it.” Make the Road New York say they have related to immigration. and concern about what happens to your family Heights, and other New York neighbourhoods seeking to block the public charge rule. It is one of already been inundated with people asking But the community is fi ghting back. if that’s the case.” like it. a number of lawsuits relating to the new rule by whether they should withdraw from vital Speaking at the event, Catalina Cruz, the While he thinks the situation in general Behind Palomeque a group of supporters multiple states and advocacy groups. services, fearing it will impact their future state assembly member for Jackson Heights, is worsening because of the “accumulative hold placards with slogans such as “Yes to Susan Welber, a Legal Aid Society lawyer immigration status. Corona and Elmhurst and the fi rst Dreamer to eff ect of now months and years of having daily immigrants, No to Trump’s racist wealth working on the case, says the new rule, New York city council will vote on Thursday run for offi ce in New York, told the group: “My assaults”, people are starting to organise and test” and “Immigrant communities will not due to come into force on October 15, is on a package of bills to ensure staff at city district will be one of the most aff ected, not just plan ahead as a community. be intimidated. We are here to stay.” Over the “unconstitutional, it’s arbitrary, capricious, it’s agencies are trained on public charge and to by this (public charge) rule, but by every single “Over time people can’t sort of persist in sound of an overhead rumbling subway train, in violation of the immigration nationality act direct those aff ected to get advice and help from new piece of political strategy that comes out panic mode all of the time … people are already they chant: “Sí se puede!” (Yes we can!). and 120 years of understanding what it means experts. of the White House.” To cheers and applause, starting to look ahead, thinking about when The meeting, last month at Make the Road New to be a public charge”. At a July town hall, the New York she added: “So while they fi ght for us in court, we have a diff erent Congress and when we may York, which provides services including health She adds: “People feel confused and fearful Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, we’re going to fi ght for you and keep you have a diff erent president, you know, is there programme enrolment and legal representation, of what it means for them. It is a very complex who represents the Bronx and Queens, said at informed in our district.” hope? Is there a possibility for change?” - marked the announcement of a lawsuit fi led rule and people need a lot of help to understand least half of all casework her offi ce receives is Later, in the lobby, Palomeque says the threat Guardian News and Media Libya journalists caught in the crossfi re Three-day forecast

TODAY AFP Press (LCFP), told AFP. work with Libya’s warring factions. to be subjected to intimidation and Threats and attacks since the On July 16, the eastern-based arbitrary detention,” UN Secretary- Maximum Temperature : 370c Tripoli Minimum Temperature : 330c 2011 ouster of longtime leader administration backed by Haftar General Antonio Guterres said in a Muammar Gaddafi have prompted banned 11 TV stations it deemed report published in late August. TUESDAY n a country splintered by confl ict several private television networks hostile, accusing them of being He said the UN mission in Libya had Maximum Temperature : 390c and propaganda wars, Libya’s established by businessmen and “terrorism apologists”. “reviewed one case of unlawful killing Minimum Temperature : 290c journalists are caught in the politicians in the years immediately Pro-Haftar outlets have banned and more than 10 cases of the arbitrary WEDNESDAY crossfi re between battle fronts after his fall to pull out and transmit journalists from covering the arrest and detention”. Maximum Temperature : 380c I Minimum Temperature : 300c and partisan employers, exposing from abroad. strongman’s push to take the capital In early May, two journalists from a private anti-Haftar broadcaster were them to risks on the ground. Some new outlets have followed - unlike the GNA, which has opened Fisherman's forecast Fighting that erupted in early April suit, broadcasting politically charged up the front on its side to dozens of arrested by the strongman’s forces when eastern strongman Khalifa content from overseas. reporters. while covering the fi ghting south of WARNING Haftar launched an off ensive on the “The (Libyan) media, especially “More than 150 foreign journalists Tripoli. Inshore : Expected poor visibility capital Tripoli has only exacerbated the ones broadcasting from abroad, have obtained visas since the They were released 23 days later, but at some places by early the cleavages in the country’s already are largely responsible for the beginning of the war,” according to the only after tribal pressure. morning fragmented mediascape. exacerbation of hate speech and GNA’s foreign press department. None of the arrested or assaulted Offshore : Nil WEATHER The battle pits the forces of incitement to violence,” Najem said. “Our role is limited to journalists agreed to talk to AFP for Inshore : Misty to foggy at places Tripoli’s UN-recognised Government Those outlets, he added, are authorisations, but journalists are fear of reprisals against themselves or by early morning of National Accord (GNA) against “encouraging abuses on the ground, entirely responsible for their own their families. becomes hot daytime with slight dust at times fi ghters loyal to Haftar, who backs which aff ect their journalists”. security on the front,” department Many have been forced to change and relatively humid by a parallel administration in eastern In its latest poll on worldwide press head Abdelfattah Mhenni told AFP. phone number, move, or even fl ee the night Libya. freedoms, Reporters Without Borders Since the fi ghting kicked off in country. Offshore : Misty at first with some clouds The rival sides each run their own (RSF) ranked Libya 162 out of 180 Tripoli, an AFP cameraman and In a push to protect journalists, the WIND news agencies and offi cial television countries. another from Reuters have been LCFP is working on a mobile phone Inshore : Northeasterly 06-16 KT channels. The LCFP has documented 32 wounded covering clashes. app that would provide reporters with Offshore : Northwesterly-North- easterly 03-13 KT And Libya’s private media outlets attacks on journalists since early April, Their injuries come after the a safe way to document attacks. Visibility : 4-8/2 KM have dug in too - taking sides and in what it says marks an increase since July 2018 abduction and murder of Presented recently to a group of Offshore : 1-3 FT thereby exposing their journalists to Haftar launched his off ensive. journalist Musa Abdul Karim and the journalists in Tripoli, the application potential reprisals. “Libyan media is facing an death of photographer Mohamed bin “Kon Chahed” (Be a witness) is now in “Because of the confl ict journalists unprecedented crisis,” said RSF’s Khalifa in January this year. its trial phase. Around the region in Libya can’t do their normal work North Africa head, Souhaieb Khayati. Since the beginning of the year, LCFP hopes the app will allow Weather Weather anymore,” Mohamed al-Najem, who He said many journalists were, “journalists and other media journalists “to report attacks and warn today Max/min tomorrow Max/min runs the Libyan Centre for Freedom of “whether they like it or not”, forced to professionals (in Libya) continued colleagues who are in the same area”. Baghdad Sunny 43/27 M Sunny 43/28 Kuwait City Sunny 42/28 P Cloudy 44/30 Manama P Cloudy 37/31 P Cloudy 39/30 Muscat P Cloudy 33/27 M Sunny 34/27 Live issues Tehran Sunny 32/21 Sunny 34/22 Untreated high BP could lead to poor brain health

By Najja Parker more rapid rate of cognitive Washington decline, compared to those on treatment for high blood pressure and those who did igh blood pressure not have it. can lead to Those who did receive blood diabetes, heart pressure treatment and those Hdisease and other who did not have hypertension Around the world illnesses. It can also cause at all had a similar rate of Weather Weather cognitive decline, according cognitive decline. today Max/min tomorrow Max/min to a new report. “This study focused on Athens Sunny 31/19 Sunny 31/21 Researchers from middle-aged and older adults Beirut Sunny 28/25 Sunny 29/25 Columbia University recently in China; however, we believe Bangkok T Storm 33/26 T Storms 33/26 conducted an observational our results could apply to Berlin Cloudy 17/09 P Cloudy 17/08 study, presented at a recent populations elsewhere as Cairo Sunny 34/23 Sunny 35/22 American Heart Association well,” co-author Shumin Riu Cape Town P Cloudy 19/13 Sunny 22/14 session, to explore the said in a statement. Colombo T Storm 28/26 T Storm 29/26 association between brain The scientists do not yet Dhaka S T Storms 33/27 P Cloudy 33/27 health and hypertension. understand why high blood Hong Kong S T Storms 29/26 P Cloudy 29/26 To do so, they gathered data pressure treatments may Istanbul P Cloudy 26/17 Sunny 26/19 on 11,000 adults from the lead to slower cognitive Jakarta Sunny 33/23 P Cloudy 34/24 China Health and Retirement decline, but they hope to Karachi M Sunny 33/28 P Cloudy 33/27 Longitudinal Study from continue their investigations London Cloudy 20/11 Sunny 20/09 2011-2015. to determine whether some Manila T Storm 28/25 T Storm 29/25 For this assessment, high treatments may be more Moscow Showers 15/09 Showers 12/06 blood pressure was defi ned eff ective than others. New Delhi M Sunny 36/27 P Cloudy 34/27 as having a systolic blood “We need to better New York P Cloudy 27/16 Sunny 24/16 pressure of 140 mmHg or understand how high blood Paris P Cloudy 27/15 P Cloudy 23/11 higher and a diastolic blood Extremely high blood pressure is dangerous. pressure treatments may Sao Paulo Sunny 34/20 M Sunny 34/19 pressure of 90 mmHg or protect against cognitive Seoul M Sunny 29/16 P Cloudy 28/16 higher, which is a bit higher the participants about their a rural or urban area. They After analysing the decline and look at how high Singapore P Cloudy 32/26 P Cloudy 33/27 than the American Heart high blood pressure treatment also asked the subjects to results, they found those 55 blood pressure and cognitive Sydney M Cloudy 23/10 Rain 13/12 Association guidelines. and education level and perform cognitive tests, such and older with untreated decline are occurring together.” Tokyo Rain 30/22 Clear 29/24 The team also interviewed noted whether they lived in as memory quizzes. high blood pressure had a - Tribune News Service Gulf Times 24 Monday, September 16, 2019 QATAR

Amir receives credentials of new ambassadors

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani received at the Amiri Diwan Off ice yesterday credentials of new ambassadors to Qatar: Sri Lanka’s Kithsiri Athulathmudali, Mexico’s Graciela Gomez Garcia, Costa Rica’s Alvaro Mariano Segura Avila, Guinea’s Lancine Ani Toure and Sweden’s Anders Bengtsson. The Amir welcomed the new ambassadors and wished them success in their duties and the relations between Qatar and their countries further development and growth. The ambassadors conveyed to the Amir greetings of their countries’ leaders and wishes of further progress and prosperity to the Qatari people. Earlier, the ambassadors were accorded off icial reception ceremonies at the Amiri Diwan.

Katara exhibition sheds light on Islamic monuments in India

he next event to be held described as ‘Indo-Islamic archi- cultural institutions worldwide. as part of the Qatar-India tecture’,” it continued. Behl’s photographic exhibitions T2019 Year of Culture will Besides the well-known have been warmly received in 72 be themed on well-known Is- Mughal monuments, the exhibi- countries around the world. He lamic monuments in India, it has tion will also present several other has also made it to the Limca Book been announced. Titled ‘Islamic exquisite monuments - mosques of Records for being the most trav- Monuments of India – An Exhibi- and dargahs of Karnataka, Andhra elled photographer and art histo- tion’, the event will be held from Pradesh, Gujarat, Kashmir and rian. tomorrow until September 28 at other parts of India. “Far more His fi lms, including 26 docu- Building 19, Gallery 1, Katara – the than in the north of India, it was mentaries on The Paintings of Cultural Village, according to the perhaps in the Deccan that India India, 26 documentaries on The Indian embassy in Doha. received signifi cant cultural and Sculpture of India and 26 docu- In a statement yesterday, the artistic infl uences of Persia and mentaries on Spectacular India, embassy said it has already con- of the Arab world. The many ex- have been nationally telecast on ducted more than 25 events in Qa- quisite monuments of the Deccan prime time in India, and have also tar in partnership with Qatar Mu- display the confl uence of cul- had repeat telecasts. seums, Katara and the Ministry tures, which took place in the re- In January 2008, National of Culture and Sports, as part of gion,” the statement added. Geographic magazine carried an the Year of Culture initiative, and Taj Mahal, Agra. (Photograph by Benoy K Behl) A view of the rich Islamic herit- 18-page story about ancient In- several more events are planned age of India is being presented in dian art revealed through Behl’s for the coming months. refl ect artistic and cultural links important periods and centres the exhibition through the eyes of photography to the world. He is Regarding the upcoming exhi- with many other countries. From in which distinctive idioms in Benoy K Behl, a fi lmmaker, art the fi rst Indian about whose work bition, the embassy said 45 cho- the 12th century onwards, Islamic architecture were created. The historian and photographer the magazine has carried a story. sen photographs will be on display dynasties had confl uence of local talent with known for his “tireless and pro- Also, BBC World News carried depicting various monuments in been set up in diff erent regions inspirations from Iran, Arabia and lifi c” output of work over the three major stories about Behl’s India. “India has a vast, rich and across India,” the statement not- Central Asia resulted in mausole- past 43 years. He has taken over work in India and Vietnam. The varied heritage of Islamic archi- ed. ums, mosques, madrasas, palaces 53,000 photographs of Asian vastness of Behl’s documentation tecture. These monuments are a “The Mughal monuments and fortresses that were unique monuments and art heritage and presents a wide and new perspec- great treasure of India’s culture of North India are well known. in the history of Islamic archi- made 144 documentaries, which tive in understanding the art of and are of particular value as they There were, however, many other tecture, giving rise to a new style are regularly screened at major India and Asia. Charminar, Hyderabad. (Photograph by Benoy K Behl) Doha Oasis for Innovation Carnegie Mellon Qatar welcomes helps youth showcase skills new faculty members for 2019-20 arnegie Mellon University fessor of chemistry; Agustin In- English; and Patrick Walsh, as- in Qatar (CMU-Q) has daco, assistant teaching profes- sistant teaching professor of phi- Cwelcomed 10 new faculty sor of economics; Jasmine Kirby, losophy. members for the new 2019-2020 instruction and engagement CMU-Q off ers undergraduate academic year. They will teach librarian; Ezzohra Moufi d, lec- programmes in biological sci- courses in the areas of business turer, French; Deepa Nair, assist- ences, business administration, administration and the arts and ant teaching professor of history; computational biology, com- sciences. Veli Safak, assistant teaching puter science and information The new faculty members are: professor of economics; Varun systems. Faculty members in the Kira Dreher, assistant teach- Sharma, assistant teaching pro- arts and sciences teach manda- ing professor of English; Simon fessor of marketing; Jeff Squires, tory and elective courses in a va- Faulkner, assistant teaching pro- assistant teaching professor of riety of fi elds.

Dr Hareb al-Jabri, executive director, Qatar Scientific Club. Visitors touring the exhibition yesterday. he Doha Oasis for Innova- tion at Ali bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena yesterday hosted 42 participants, including 10 Innovations presented at TAttiyah Arena is a plat- an exhibition in which 42 young- Qataris, were selected after a the exhibition are related to 22 form for youngsters to express sters presented their innovative strict scrutiny by experts. sectors including information their creativity and exhibit skills. ideas. The participants, who repre- technology, engineering, medi- The event, which continues “The event is aimed at helping sent 33 countries, will be given cine, water conservation, farm- until September 20, is organised the youth develop their spirit of training in order to help them ing, mathematics, economy and by the Ministry of Culture and innovation and creativity apart hone their skills. “We are look- waste management. The pres- Sports in co-operation with the from endorsing their capabili- ing to make them cognisant of entations will be evaluated by a Islamic Co-operation Youth ties,” stated Dr Hareb al-Jabri, the growing world and current 10-member jury of experts and Forum. The week-long event is executive director, Qatar Scien- trends. The training sessions will winners in individual and group under the supervision of Qatar tifi c Club. help them get an idea about the categories announced. The par- Cultural and Heritage Events During the event, individual latest trends and developments ticipants will also be taken to Center and in co-operation with and group competitions will be and they will help them grab op- cultural and heritage sites across the Qatar Scientifi c Club. held. The organisers received portunities and face challenges,” the country in order to help them Marking the formal start, Al around 7,000 applications and al-Jabri explained. explore Qatar. The new faculty members of CMU-Q.