QATARQATAR | Page 16 SPORT | Page 1 Alfardan Gauff Jewellery extends lauds magical QNTC’s Wimbledon tourism run eff orts published in QATAR since 1978

SATURDAY Vol. XXXX No. 11236 July 6, 2019 Dhul-Qa’da 3, 1440 AH

GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals

In brief

QATAR | Offi cial Amir to meet US Amir condoles with Russian president His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and His president on July 9 Highness the Deputy Amir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani sent yesterday cables of condolences QNA will also include meetings with senior reached historic heights. Qatar has to Russian President Vladimir Putin Doha administration offi cials and members been a great friend and ally to the US on the victims of a Russian deep- of Congress, as well as the signing of in many ways and great things will be water research submarine near the agreements and memorandums of happening in the relationship,” he said. Arctic. HE the Prime Minister and is Highness the Amir Sheikh understanding on defence, energy, in- The overall trade volume between Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah Tamim bin Hamad al-Tha- vestment and air transport. both the countries in 2018 was $6bn. bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani sent Hni will meet with President Gulf Times adds: Earlier this week, Over 120 American companies oper- a similar cable to Prime Minister Donald Trump of the friendly United the Charge d’Aff aires and Chief of Mis- ate in Qatar, and US fi rms are involved Dmitry Medvedev. States of America at the White House sion at the US embassy in Doha, Wil- in major projects associated with road, in Washington, DC on Tuesday, July 9. liam Grant, said at a press conference rail, seaport, airport, and stadiums QATAR | Reaction During the meeting, the two leaders that His Highness the Amir’s visit to across Qatar. Car blast in southern will discuss aspects to develop the ex- the US will be a “big one”. The diplomat said that the trade and isting strategic co-operation between “The visit will build on the long- commerce relationship between Qatar Turkey condemned Qatar and the US in various fi elds and standing relationship between the and the US was booming. “It has al- Qatar has strongly condemned exchange views on the latest develop- United States and Qatar and further ways been strong and it’s really getting the explosion that took place in ments in the region and the world. strengthen the already substantial eco- very strong now. During the visit, we southern Turkey’s Reyhanli, Hatay The offi cial visit of His Highness the nomic and security ties,” Grant said. expect both leaders to announce some province and left three people killed Amir, which begins on Monday, July 8, “The US-Qatar relationship has major commercial deals,” he said. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and others injured. In a statement released yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs renewed Qatar’s rejection of violence and terrorism PM meets US Congress team regardless of its motives and reasons. The ministry confirmed Qatar’s solidarity with the Turkish Sudan opposition, military government and its support for any measures taken to preserve security. It also expressed Qatar’s condolences to the families of the in deal to share power victims, the government, and people of Turkey, wishing the injured a speedy recovery. Agencies Qatar welcomes Sudanese parties’ agreement REGION | Diplomacy Khartoum Iran demands Britain Qatar has expressed great satisfac- The Ministry of Foreign Aff airs com- udan’s ruling military council tion at the agreement between the mended the constructive eff orts and release oil tanker and a coalition of opposition Transitional Military Council and the expressed its deep gratitude and Iran demanded yesterday that Sand protest groups agreed pro- Forces of the Declaration of Freedom appreciation to the African Union Britain immediately release an oil visionally yesterday to share power and Change in the brotherly Sudan. which played a pivotal role in bridg- tanker it has detained in Gibraltar. HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser for three years, bringing thousands In a statement yesterday, the Ministry ing the gap between the Sudanese A senior foreign ministry off icial bin Khalifa al-Thani met in Doha yesterday with a delegation from the US onto the streets to hail a fi rst step to- of Foreign Aff airs aff irmed Qatar’s parties. “described the UK move as Congress headed by Congressman Ted Deutch, member of the US House of wards ending decades of dictatorship. welcome for the formation of a The ministry said Qatar hopes the unacceptable” in a meeting with Representatives’ Foreign Aff airs Committee, and Chairman of Middle East, The deal, concluded in the small three-year sovereign council and the agreement would realise the aspira- British ambassador Rob Macaire. North Africa, International Terrorism Subcommittee. During the meeting, they hours and due to be fi nalised on Mon- formation of a civilian government tions of the brotherly Sudanese The secretary of Iran’s Expediency reviewed the co-operation relations between Qatar and the US and means to day, revived hopes for a peaceful tran- of competencies, which Qatar hopes people and their just demands for Council, a key advisory and bolster them in addition to a number of regional and international issues of sition of power in a country plagued would ensure real representation of freedom, peace and justice, stress- arbitration body, warned that if common concern. Page 2 by internal confl icts and years of eco- the Sudanese people in their various ing Qatar’s firm position in support Britain failed to release the tanker nomic crisis that helped to trigger the directions in addition to the contin- of the unity, stability and sovereignty Iran would be forced to take tit-for- overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in April. ued functioning of the state organs. of Sudan. tat action against a British vessel. Chief of Staff takes part in London meeting Relations between the military Page 3 council that took over from Ba- HE the Chief of Staff of Qatar Armed Forces shir and the Forces for Freedom and The council will be led for the fi rst The deal includes the formation of SPORT | Decision Lieutenant General (Pilot) Ghanem bin Shaheen Change (FFC) alliance broke down 21 months by the military, and for the a technocratic government beneath IOC board lift s al-Ghanim (pictured) has participated in the second when security forces killed dozens as fi nal 18 months by civilians, accord- the council, and an independent in- meeting of the Group of Chiefs of Staff of the Gulf Co- they cleared a sit-in on June 3. ing to a statement from the Suda- vestigation into recent violence — ban on Kuwait operation Council (GCC), United Kingdom, Egypt and But after huge protests against the nese Professionals Association (SPA), though it was unclear how this could The Executive Board of the Jordan, which was held in London. military on Sunday, African media- which spearheaded months of pro- be guaranteed, given the military’s International Olympic Committee The Chief of Staff ’s participation comes in response tors brokered a return to direct talks. tests against Bashir. leading role in the fi rst phase of the (IOC) yesterday fully lifted the to the invitation he had received from the United After two meetings, the sides The sovereign council will be Su- transition. suspension of the Kuwait Olympic Kingdom’s Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Nick Carter. agreed early yesterday to “establish a dan’s highest authority. Protesters have blamed the vio- Committee (KOC) as a result of the The meeting discussed a number of important topics sovereign council by rotation between It will comprise fi ve military mem- lence on the military council and the successful implementation of a including ways to develop forces, capacity building the military and civilians for a period bers and fi ve civilian appointees, with paramilitary Rapid Support Forces roadmap agreed between all parties. and how to develop the capabilities of individuals. of three years or slightly more” Afri- an additional civilian member agreed (RSF), whose leader, General Moham- The decision was made by postal It also dealt with cyber security issue and ways to can Union mediator Mohamed Has- by the two sides, and the deal will be ed Hamdan Dagalo, is the council’s vote. Sport Page 4 counter drone aircraft. (QNA) san Lebatt told a news conference. fi nalised by Monday, the SPA said. most prominent member. To Page 3 Qatar and Kazakhstan keen to enhance tourism ties

By Joey Aguilar nis fi nd Qatar as an attractive leisure Kazakhstanis can stay up to 90 nature-based activities, which include Staff Reporter destination. days in Qatar from the date of issu- ecotourism and birdwatching in na- Shokybayev said Qatar’s sea- and ance during either single or multiple tional parks and protected areas, ski- desert-oriented vacations have en- trips. ing or trekking in the mountains, water atar and Kazakhstan want to ticed Kazakhstanis to visit the coun- Such a move has made Qatar the sports, sunbathing and swimming in further enhance bilateral rela- try, while Kazakhstan gives Qataris a “most open country” in the Middle lakes and rivers. Qtions, particularly in tourism, taste of its four seasons and rich nature East and the eighth most open in the Besides nature and adventure, Kaza- as the number of visitors between the such as forests, mountains, rivers and world in terms of visa facilitation. khstan’s rich culture and heritage (eth- two countries continue to increase, steppes, among other tourism off er- Qatar has also launched the elec- notourism) also attract many tourists Kazakhstan ambassador Askar Shoky- ings. tronic visitor authorisation system, al- to experience its authentic cuisines, bayev has told Gulf Times. He noted that the Kazakhstan em- lowing its residents to invite their fam- traditional performances, an array of “We are looking to develop the ties bassy recently issued more than 500 ily and relatives from around the world art exhibitions and other cultural ac- in tourism for both sides,” said the en- entry permits for Qataris in a day, and to visit the country during the ‘Sum- tivities. voy, as he cited the growing number of expects more visa applications in the mer in Qatar’ programme, from June 4 Shokybayev hopes to have a di- Qataris who visit Kazakhstan, thanks near future. until August 16. They can obtain visa rect air connection between Qatar to the “easy visa application process According to the envoy, Kazakhsta- upon arrival after applying through the and Kazakhstan, which he expects of our country for Qatar citizens and nis have been exploring Qatar since online portal, http://www.qatarvisas- will further boost not only the two residents”. August 2017 after being granted visa- ervices.com. countries’ tourism ties but also other The envoy hopes the bilateral tourist free entry to the country, along with Kazakhstan is renowned for a range fields of co-operation such as trade fl ow will increase as many Kazakhsta- more than 80 other nationalities. Kazakhstan ambassador Askar Shokybayev. of diverse tourism off erings such as and commerce. Gulf Times 2 Saturday, July 6, 2019 QATAR

Amir congratulates PM meets US Congress delegation HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh presidents of Algeria, Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani met in Doha yesterday with a delegation from the US Venezuela and C Verde Congress headed by Congress- man Ted Deutch, member of the US House of Representatives’ is Highness the Amir of Cape Verde on their countries’ Foreign Aff airs Committee, and Sheikh Tamim bin Ha- independence days. Chairman of Middle East, North Hmad al-Thani and His HE the Prime Minister and Africa, International Terrorism Highness the Deputy Amir Minister of Interior Sheikh Subcommittee. During the meet- Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Abdullah bin Nasser bin Kha- ing, they reviewed the co-oper- al-Thani sent yesterday ca- lifa al-Thani also sent similar ation relations between Qatar bles of congratulations to Al- cables to Algerian Prime Min- and the US and means to bolster gerian President Abdelkad- ister Noureddine Bedoui, Ven- them in addition to a number of er Bensalah, Venezuelan ezuelan President Maduro and regional and international issues President Nicolas Maduro and Cape Verde’s Prime Minister of common concern. President Jorge Carlos Fonseca Ulisses de Pina Correia e Silva. Al-Qabas Programme prepares pupils HMC, Met dept for successful university experience

he Foundation Pro- gramme (FP) under Tthe deanship of Gen- eral Studies at Qatar Univer- tell people to stay sity (QU) has welcomed 43 high school female Qatari students from seven Qatari schools to the Al-Qabas Programme to prepare them for university life through diff erent sessions and activities. safe from dust The Al-Qabas Programme is a ‘fi rst-of-its-kind’ student amad Medical Corpora- ported from diff erent places follow latest updates through outreach initiative in QU. tion (HMC) yesterday in the country yesterday, and the department’s offi cial social The programme aims to de- Hadvised the public to the trend is likely to continue media accounts. velop not only students’ math take necessary precautions as today as well. Meanwhile, today’s detailed and English skills, but also dif- the Qatar Meteorology Depart- According to the report, the forecast says strong winds are ferent study skills such as, test ment had forecast strong winds northwesterly winds are expect- expected in most places around taking and language acquisition and poor visibility across most ed to aff ect most places in the the country during the daytime. skills. Around 25 faculty mem- The Al-Qabas team. of the country. country in the above-mentioned Windy conditions are also likely bers and staff members from “Dust can trigger sinus aller- period, especially during the off shore along with high seas. the Departments of English and dents’ learning skills in order to Rawda Bint Mohamed Second- gies and respiratory infections, daytime. The wind speed will The wind speed will be 12- Math participated in organis- succeed in the various academ- ary School for Girls said she especially in those with chronic range from 12-22 knots, going 22 knots, going up to 28 knots ing, preparing and delivering ic programmes off ered by the benefi ted from attending a lec- diseases,” HMC tweeted. up to 30 knots in some areas at in both inshore and off shore sessions, mainly targeting stu- university. With this in mind, ture in the Department of Biol- On its part, the Met depart- times during the day. areas today, with the sea level dents with interest in STEM or we launched the Al-Qabas Pro- ogy with university students, ment too issued an advisory on This, in turn, will result in rising to 9ft. health-related majors. gramme to attract high school learned a lot about the vital social media yesterday, high- blowing dust and low visibility A hot daytime is also expected The programme arranged students who want to enrol in processes and realised how im- lighting the safety precautions of below 3km in some areas, the today with slight to blowing dust visits to QU Colleges of Medi- QU’s scientifi c and medical portant the English language is that need to be followed during forecast states. in most areas, according to the cine, Pharmacy, Engineering, programmes, to help them with to accommodate lectures in this dusty conditions. In addition, the wave height Met department. and Education, and students academic skills in mathemat- speciality. People should avoid direct is expected to rise, ranging from The maximum temperature were also introduced to the dif- ics and English, inform them Fatima Mohamed Saddiki contact with dust, the advisory 5-7ft and reaching a high of 9ft in is expected to be 46C today in ferent student support services about university life and show from Al Wakra Independent states, adding that they should some off shore areas. Wakrah and Mesaieed, 45C in off ered at QU, such as the Li- them the services available to Secondary School for Girls wash their face, nose and mouth The temperatures are likely to Doha and 43C in Al Khor. Yes- brary, Sports Activities and Ca- students.” said she learned the diff erence regularly. Also, they should be around the average levels for terday, a maximum of 45C was reer Development Centre. He also thanked the Minis- between the doctor and phar- Dr Hezam al-Awah wear a mask as a precaution- this time of the year with a slight recorded in Mesaieed, followed On the fi nal day of Al-Qabas try of Education and Higher macist professions when she ary measure, and avoid rubbing increase in some places, as the by 44C in Doha (airport area), Programme, a showcase of stu- Education, the participating visited the College of Medicine more than one week, targeting their eyes. maximum will range between the Qatar University area, Abu dent posters was held where schools and parents for their ef- and College of Pharmacy. She more schools and off ering an Northwesterly fresh to strong 41C and 47C across the country Hamour and Turayna, 43C in Al students practised their pres- forts in making the programme added, “There is a diff erence opportunity to male students. winds locally called AlBawarih, and the minimum between 29C Khor and Batna, 42C in Wak- entation skills by presenting a success. between studying at the sec- “By encouraging students to dusty conditions and low visibil- and 34C at night. rah, Sheehaniyah and Karana, their posters and sharing their A student survey indicated ondary level and studying at the apply to STEM and health-re- ity would prevail in the country The Met department has ad- 41C in Jumayliyah and Ghu- experiences in Al-Qabas with a high satisfaction rate among university level, which I now lated education and preparing from July 5 until early next week, vised people to be cautious, not- wairiyah, and 40C in the Hamad FP faculty and special needs the attendees, QU said in a have to prepare for and con- them for success in university the Met department had said in a ing that they should avoid going International Airport area. students. statement. The students ad- duct a placement test before life, the FP hopes contribute to- recent report. to sea and being exposed to di- For off shore areas, the fore- Dr Hezam al-Awah, director, vised that Al-Qabas was fun, applying to the university.” wards the achievement of Qa- In line with this forecast, rect sunlight in view of the ex- cast says dusty conditions are FP at QU, said: “Qatar Univer- interesting and benefi cial. Plans for Al-Qabas include tar National Vision 2030,” the windy conditions were re- pected conditions. They should expected at times. sity’s FP helps develop stu- Raghad Adel al-Sultan from extending the programme to statement adds.

QCS raises awareness Grocery shut for storing on surviving cancer expired food products atar Cancer Society and social support programmes (QCS) implemented the for this category.” l Sheehaniyah Munici- Q‘I’m a survivor and I will Throughout the campaign, pality has issued an ad- inspire you with my story’ cam- QCS conducted various events, Aministrative decision to paign throughout June - Global lectures and workshops that shut down a grocery at a farm Awareness Month for People emphasised the importance of there for a period of 60 days for Living with Cancer. psychological and social sup- keeping expired food products. The initiative involved pa- port for this group, most notably This came during a inspec- tients, survivors and their fami- organising an awareness day for tion campaign carried out by lies who provide them with visitors to the National Center Al Sheehaniyah Municipal- Violation of food safety primary care. for Cancer Care and Research, ity’s health control section at regulations. The campaign highlighted the in addition to events at the QCS the grocery shop in response stories of people living with the headquarters. These included to a complaint, the Minis- ing to the MME’s Natural Re- disease and how they could raise a presentation on the stories of Some of the people who attended an event by QCS. try of Municipality and En- serves Department detected a hope in the hearts of others by some people living with cancer vironment (MME) said in a violation of fi shing regulations sharing their stories, QCS said in and workshops on psychologi- launched through all available There are three phases of ment and continues through statement. when they found fi shing nets a statement. cal support as well as recrea- outlets, which presented a more ‘survivorship’: the fi rst stage the months after; and the third Accordingly, a report was is- not conforming to the relevant Dana Mansour, head of Indi- tional and interactive workshops positive image of this category is ‘acute survivorship’ that stage is ‘permanent survivor- sued against the outlet for vio- stipulations, the statement viduals Living with Cancer Sup- aimed at children living with the and the importance of activating starts at diagnosis and goes ship’, when years have passed lation of Law No 8 of 1990 on noted. port Department at QCS said, disease and their families, the their role in society and changing through until the end of initial since the cancer treatment the regulation of human food Accordingly, the fi shing “The campaign was launched as statement noted. the stereotypes about cancer and treatment; the second stage is ended and there is little chance control. nets were confi scated and the a sustainable initiative within “Along the awareness cam- people living with cancer,” she ‘extended survivorship’ that of the cancer coming back, Meanwhile, marine patrols necessary legal procedures the community’s psychological paigns, media campaigns were added. starts at the end of initial treat- according to QCS. (Al Khor Marine Unit) belong- initiated against the violators. Cancer Society gets support from Sidra Water Spruced up

atar Cancer Society (QCS) has prevent cancer and control its bur- received support from Sidra den in Qatar by working “with our QWater for its programmes partners to educate the community, and plans to raise awareness about support, empower and advocate for cancer prevention methods and individuals living with cancer, and how to emphasise the importance of engage in professional development early detection. and scientifi c research in the fi eld of Zakariya Karazoun, market- cancer”, Karazoun adds. ing and partnership offi cer at QCS, He thanked Sidra Water for sup- said: “This initiative comes within port to QCS and hoped all insti- the framework of Sidra Water’s re- tutions would join hands to raise sponsibility programme to promote awareness about cancer. public health, especially cancer Further, Karazoun noted the need prevention.” to further spread awareness about The initiative is in line with “QCS’s cancer and change stereotypes vision to be a community partner- around it, stressing that the educa- ship platform to make Qatar a leader tion process cannot occur overnight in cancer prevention and its burden but needs more eff orts and the join- Al Daayen Municipality’s gardens section decorated a local control”, the Society has said in a ing of forces to ensure a healthy so- Holy Qur’an memorisation centre with 33 pots and basins statement. ciety that does not suff er from any containing diff erent types of flowers and plants. The initiative is in line with “Sidra Water’s responsibility programme to promote public health”. It also helps QCS on its mission to diseases. Gulf Times Saturday, July 6, 2019 3 REGION/ARAB WORLD Iran demands Britain release oil tanker held

Sudanese people chant slogans and wave their national flags as they celebrate, after Sudan’s ruling military council and a coalition of opposition and in Gibraltar protest groups reached an agreement to share power during a transition period leading to elections, along the streets of Khartoum yesterday. AFP carrying its shipment of crude oil to the Banyas re- Sudan power-sharing deal hailed Tehran fi nery in Syria,” Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said. In a statement, Britain’s Foreign Of- fi ce said it welcomed Gibraltarian authorities “act- From Page 1 twin city across the Nile, erupted when the Guterres “encourages all stakeholders to ran demanded yesterday that Britain imme- ing to enforce the EU Syria sanctions regime”. news broke during the night, and celebra- ensure the timely, inclusive, and transpar- diately release an oil tanker it has detained in Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell told re- The deal also postpones the establish- tions continued into the morning on both ent implementation of the agreement and IGibraltar, accusing it of acting at the bidding of porters the vessel was detained at the request of the ment of a legislative council — on which sides of the river. resolve any outstanding issues through dia- the United States. United States. the FFC was due to take two-thirds of the Thousands of people of all ages took to logue,” said a UN statement. A senior foreign ministry offi cial “described the But Gibraltar insisted it acted of its own accord. seats before security forces crushed the sit- the streets, chanting “Civilian! Civilian! The European Union also hailed the deal UK move as unacceptable” in a meeting with Brit- “There has been no political request at any time in outside Khartoum’s Defence Ministry on Civilian!” Young men banged drums, peo- as a “breakthrough”. ish ambassador Rob Macaire, who had been sum- from any government,” Gibraltar’s government said June 3. ple honked their car horns, and women car- A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief moned to hear a formal protest, the ministry said in in a statement. “This agreement is only the fi rst step,” rying Sudanese fl ags ululated in jubilation. Federica Mogherini said: “The eff orts of the a statement. “The decisions of Her Majesty’s Government of Khaled Omar, a senior FFC member, told Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Anto- African Union (AU)/Ethiopian mediation He “called for the immediate release of the oil Gibraltar were taken totally independently, based reporters later yesterday. nio Guterres said yesterday he was encour- have played a crucial role in facilitating the tanker, given that it has been seized at the request on breaches of existing law and not at all based on The streets of Omdurman, Khartoum’s aged by the power-sharing deal. two sides reaching an agreement.” of the US, based on the information currently avail- extraneous political considerations.” able”, the statement added. European Union sanctions against war-torn Syr- The secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council, a key ia have been in force since late 2011. advisory and arbitration body, warned that if Brit- The 28-member bloc has imposed sanctions on ain failed to release the tanker Iran would be forced Syrian offi cials including government ministers to take tit-for-tat action against a British vessel. over their role in the “violent repression” of civil- “If Britain does not release the Iranian oil tanker, ians. Firing injures at least 41 the relevant authorities will be duty-bound to take Russia said the tanker’s detention was a “targeted reciprocal action and seize a British oil tanker,” said action aimed at further complicating the situation council secretary Mohsen Rezai. around Iran and Syria”. The “enthusiastic remarks” Authorities in Gibraltar, a British overseas ter- by British and American offi cials following the sei- ritory on Spain’s southern tip at the western en- zure “show that this action was planned for a long Palestinians at Gaza border trance to the Mediterranean, said they suspected time”, the foreign ministry said in a statement. the tanker was carrying crude to Syria in violation The move by Gibraltarian authorities comes just of EU sanctions. days after Iran announced it would exceed the ura- Agencies Over 300 Palestinians have diers attacked the protesters by 4,000 entrepreneurs and trad- The detention of the 330-metre Grace 1 comes nium enrichment limit set under the 2015 nuclear Gaza been killed and about 17,000 rubber-coated rounds, injur- ers aged 30 and over. at a sensitive time in Iran-EU ties as the bloc mulls deal. others injured by Israeli forces ing four protesters and causing The responsible authority in how to respond to Tehran announcing it is poised to Tehran took the action in response to Washing- since the outbreak of the Great many cases of suff ocation from Israel has yet to comment. breach the uranium enrichment limit it agreed to in ton abandoning the deal last year and hitting Iran’s t least 41 Palestinians March of Return protests at gas inhalation. The permits are now valid a troubled 2015 nuclear deal. crucial oil exports and fi nancial transactions with were injured by live bul- Gaza border on March 30, 2018. The injured were treated at for six months instead of three, The Grace 1 was halted in the early hours of biting sanctions. Alets or rubber-coated The weekly protests call for the scene by the Palestinian Red according to the liaison offi ce, Thursday by police and customs agencies in Gibral- EMERGENCY MEETING rounds yesterday as Israeli oc- lifting the Israeli blockade of Crescent staff . which serves as a contact point tar, aided by a detachment of British Royal Marines. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the cupation forces attacked thou- the Gaza Strip and for the re- For almost eight years, vil- for Israel. Gibraltar’s Supreme Court ruled yesterday that UN’s nuclear watchdog, said yesterday it would sands of protesters taking part turn of the Palestinian refugees lagers from Kafr Qaddum and The traders can leave Gaza the vessel can be held for 14 more days, the terri- hold a July 10 emergency meeting on Iran. in the weekly Great March of to their ancestral homes of pre- neighbouring villages have every day and also stay overnight tory’s attorney general said. The announcement followed a request by the US, Return at the Gaza border, ac- 1948 Palestine. been organising a non-violent in Israel and the West Bank. The ship was detained four kilometres south of which under President Donald Trump has forged cording to medical sources. Meanwhile, at least four Pal- protest on Fridays against ille- Last week, Hamas, which Gibraltar in what it considers British waters, al- ahead with a policy of “maximum pressure” against Soldiers manning the separa- estinians were injured by Israeli gal Israeli settlements. rules in Gaza, said they and Is- though Spain, which lays claim to the territory, says Iran. White House National Security Adviser John tion fence fi red live bullets and occupation forces as they at- Meanwhile, Israel has relaxed rael had agreed to return to a they are Spanish. Bolton, a champion of the hawkish policy towards rubber-coated steel rounds at tacked the weekly anti-settle- the blockade imposed on busi- previous understanding on ex- Iran insists the vessel was intercepted in inter- Tehran, tweeted the interception of the super- the protesters who gathered at ments protest in the village of ness people in the Gaza Strip, tended calm in Gaza. national waters and the foreign ministry offi cial tanker was “excellent news”. According to special- many encampments along the Kafr Qaddum, near Qalqilia city Palestinian sources said. A leading representative of accused Britain’s Royal Navy of taking action “tan- ised shipping trade publication Lloyd’s List, which border, injuring 22 protesters in the northern West Bank, lo- According to the Palestinian the Palestinian organisation tamount to maritime banditry”. The Gibraltar au- analyses vessel-tracking data, the 1997-built ship by live bullets and 19 others by cal sources said. liaison offi ce up to 5,000 busi- said Egypt had helped mediate thorities say the tanker was boarded when it slowed is laden with Iranian oil. rubber-coated rounds. Morad Shtewi, co-ordinator ness people and traders aged this agreement. down in a designated area used by shipping agen- It reported that the ship loaded oil off Iran in Some of the wounded were of the popular resistance in the 25 and over are to receive exit A spokesman for Israel’s cies to ferry goods to vessels. April and sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in moved to a hospital and others village, told Palestinian news permits. Prime Minister Benjamin “We have reason to believe that the Grace 1 was South Africa. were treated in the fi eld hospitals. agency Wafa that Israeli sol- Until now, the limit had been Netanyahu did not comment.

Niqab banned in Tunisian govt offi ces Algerian protesters keep up pressure on rulers UN council slams Libya Tunisia’s premier yesterday banned the niqab face covering for women in government off ices, cit- Reuters lock rapidly through a presi- strike, pushes truce ing security concerns after attacks Algiers dential election, observers say. in the North African country. Prime A vote had been initially Minister Youssef Chahed signed a planned for this week but was Reuters consensus, because the United government circular “banning ac- ens of thousands Alge- postponed by the authorities. United Nations States could not agree to it, dip- cess to public administrations and rians gathered yesterday The army fears instability in lomats said. Diplomats said the institutions to anyone with their Tin the capital to demand neighbouring Libya and the statement issued yesterday was face covered...for security reasons,” the removal of the ruling elite, Sahel region will encourage he United Nations Secu- largely unchanged from the lan- his off ice said. keeping up pressure for more armed groups to operate in Al- rity Council yesterday con- guage discussed on Wednesday. The ban on the niqab, comes at rapid change after the end of geria to exploit the transition. Tdemned a deadly air strike “The members of the Security a time of heightened security the 20-year rule of Abdelaziz Algeria is an important gas on a migrant detention centre in Council stressed the need for all following a June 27 double suicide Boutefl ika. supplier for Europe and a key Libya, called for the warring par- parties to urgently de-escalate bombing in Tunis that left two The protest, which coin- Demonstrators carry banners and flags during a protest US partner in the fi ght against ties to commit to a ceasefi re and the situation and to commit to dead and seven wounded. The cided with Algeria’s Inde- demanding the removal of the ruling elite in Algiers, yesterday. militants in the region. urged other countries not to in- a ceasefi re,” the statement read. interior minister instructed police pendence Day, was the 20th “The system is corrupt, fully tervene or exacerbate the confl ict. The migrant centre attack in February 2014 to step up super- consecutive Friday crowds had protesters referred to an arti- want a military state but a ci- corrupt. So we demand the The 15-member council met marked the highest publicly vision of the wearing of the niqab gathered to demand a break cle of the constiution which vilian state”. Algeria’s army, removal of all those who were yesterday after the attack late on reported toll from an air strike as part of anti-terrorism measures, with the elite which has domi- says the people are the sover- the country’s most powerful with Boutefl ika’s system,” said Tuesday killed at least 53 people, or shelling since eastern forces to prevent its use as a disguise or nated the oil and gas producer eign, while some others read: institution, has managed the 23-year old Slimani Hached including six children. under Khalifa Haftar launched a to escape justice. for decades. “We want a free and demo- transition from Boutefl ika but who works at a state fi rm in But it was unable to quickly ground and aerial off ensive three Several banners held up by cratic state” and “We don’t wants to overcome the dead- Algiers. issue a statement, which needs months ago to take Tripoli. Unesco lists Iraq’s Babylon as World Heritage Site

AFP Babylon, the cradle of civilisa- Babylon as a World Heritage Site Baghdad tion.” in Danger after objections from Iranian forest in list Babylon developed as a walled Iraq, and instead said it would city of mudbrick temples and work with local authorities to set Unesco’s World Heritage Commit- nesco’s World Heritage towers, known internationally a plan of action for conservation. tee voted yesterday to add Iran’s Committee voted yes- for its hanging gardens, the Tow- “Babylon is the largest popu- Hyrcanian forests to its World Uterday to list the sprawl- er of Babel, and the Ishtar Gate. lated city in ancient history,” said Heritage List, praising the area ing Mesopotamian metropolis of Excavation began there in the Qahtan al-Abeed, who heads the for its “remarkable” biodiversity. Babylon as a World Heritage Site early 1800s and artefacts were Basra Antiquities Department The ancient Hyrcanian forests in after three decades of lobbying sent abroad, including parts of and led eff orts to get the site northern Iran run 850km along eff orts by Iraq. the Ishtar Gate which remain in listed. the coast of the Caspian Sea, ac- Iraq had been trying since museums across Europe. “The Babylonians were the cording to the global body. “Their 1983 to have the site — a massive The site was substantially im- civilisation of writing, adminis- floristic biodiversity is remarkable,” 10-square-kilometre complex of pacted by new structures built tration and science,” he said. Unesco said, with some 44% of which just 18% has been exca- under dictator Saddam Hussein The Unesco designation “will Iran’s known vascular plants found vated thus far — recognised by and further damaged by soldiers encourage research and develop- in the Hyrcanian area. The forests, Unesco. during the US-led invasion that ment of the site,” and would “be which date back up to 50mn years, Straddling Iraq’s Euphra- toppled him in 2003. free publicity for tourists,” he are also home to the Persian leopard tes River about 100 kilometres General view of the ancient city of Babylon near Hilla, Iraq. Unesco yesterday said the added excitedly. and nearly 60 other mammal spe- south of Baghdad, the city was site’s “extremely vulnerable Babylon is one of 7,000 ar- cies, as well as 160 bird species. the centre of the ancient Baby- the earliest of old chapters, Ba- consider Babylon and another convention was actually de- condition” sparked “serious chaeological sites across Iraq, lonian empire more than 4,000 bylon?” said Iraq’s representa- 34 sites, including in Brazil and signed to protect,” said Tunisia’s concerns, with many structures many of which were destroyed years ago. tive to Unesco’s World Heritage Burkina Faso, for the List. delegate. in urgent need of conservation by the Islamic State group or Unesco, including the Arbil “What is the world heritage Committee ahead of the vote. “It fi lls a gap that was evident After the successful vote, and several on the verge of col- ravaged by lucrative artefact citadel in northern Iraq and list without Babylon? How to tell The committee met in Az- on the list and indeed, this is a Iraq’s delegation clasped hands lapse.” smuggling. the southern Mesopotamian the history of humanity without erbaijan’s capital of Baku to type of site that we can say this and invited all delegates “to visit But it opted not to designate Five have been listed by marshes. Gulf Times 4 Saturday, July 6, 2019 AFRICA

DR Congo Ebola Landmark trade accord death toll exceeds tops AU summit agenda 1,600 AFP fi cation by at least 22 countries. determine rules of origin for and services among one another, “No prosperity, no integra- The leaders will also discuss AFP Niamey In a major coup, Nigeria, with traded products, are yet to be compared to 65% among Euro- tion is possible without peace,” boosting intelligence coopera- Kinshasa Africa’s biggest population and ironed out. pean countries. said Faki, who stressed the im- tion and the global migration economy, announced this week Ronak Gopaldas, director at Also on the summit agenda is portance of an AU Peace Fund crisis. eads of state will meet it would offi cially join the pact Signal Risk consultancy, said the security – an issue affl icting the launched in 2018 to fi nance se- An airstrike on Tuesday on a eaths from an 11-month- for an African Union in Niamey tomorrow after long continental pact required much Sahel in particular. curity activities and called on migrant detention centre near old epidemic of Ebola in H(AU) summit in Niger holding out. more detail. Summit host Niger has face member states to fulfi l their fi - the Libyan capital, Tripoli, killed Deastern Democratic Re- tomorrow to usher in a landmark The zone is expected to be- “It remains largely aspi- repeated attacks by religious ex- nancial promises. 44 people and injured more than public of the Congo (DR Congo) free trade agreement and con- come operational from July rational with many practical tremist groups. So far, only $116mn has been 130. have crossed the 1,600 mark and sider looming security and mi- 2020, AU Trade and Industry and design issues still to be re- Its fellow members of the received for the envisaged The AU condemned the at- a new fatality has been reported gration crises. Commissioner Albert Muchanga solved,” he said. G5-Sahel security pact – C had, $400mn fund. tack, and the United Nations near the border with Uganda, the In a “historic” moment for told AFP. “You need to give a timescale Mali, Burkina Faso and Maurita- Niamey is under high surveil- said it could constitute a war health ministry said yesterday. the 55-member bloc, accord- “Its goal is ultimately to create for everyone to play their role nia – will seek backing at the AU lance, with summit facilities crime. As of Thursday, the health ing to its chairman Moussa Faki, an integrated, continent-wide in preparing for the market, so to push for a greater UN security subjected to strict access con- The issue of migration has authorities had recorded 2,382 leaders will offi cially launch an market,” Faki told a pre-summit we have recommended to the force to tackle the problem. trols and a heavy security pres- become a pressing issue for the cases of Ebola, of which 1,606 African Continental Free Trade meeting of AU foreign ministers summit that the actual date of The countries hope to activate ence. AU,” said security analyst Ryan had been fatal, it said. Area (AfCFTA) at the two-day on Thursday. trading should be the 1st of July” Chapter VII of the UN Charter, “We have a special unit of Cummings. “Libya is a reposi- A ministry spokesman told summit. Only Benin and Eritrea are yet 2020, Muchanga explained. a Nigerien security source told several thousand men” on duty, tory for forced migration which AFP that a patient whose infec- The accord was sealed in 2018 to sign. The AU estimates that imple- AFP. said Defence Minister Mohamed itself is symptomatic of poor tion had been reported on Mon- after 17 arduous years of nego- Despite the celebratory mood, menting the AfCFTA will lead The chapter allows for the UN Bazoum. political and economic condi- day in Ariwara, in Ituri province tiations. intense negotiations are likely to to a 60% boost in intra-African Security Council to determine The city has been revamped tions across large parts of the bordering Uganda, had died. By the end of April, the agree- continue behind the scenes. trade by 2022. a threat to peace and propose and boasts a brand-new airport, continent.” The fatality is a mother from ment had crossed the launch Numerous key issues, includ- Today, African countries trade measures, including military upgraded roads, and new hotels neighbouring North Kivu prov- threshold, which required rati- ing setting common criteria to only about 16% of their goods deployment, to deal with it. for the occasion. „ See also Business Page 10 ince whose fi ve children had be- come infected with Ebola, two of whom had died. She had gone to Ituri in order to evade Ebola response teams, the ministry said. Elephants: the jumbo surprise outside Nigeria’s megacity Ariwari lies in northern Ituri, about 10km (six miles) from Uganda and some 60km from By Peter Martell, AFP South Sudan. Omo Forest, Nigeria “So far, 177 people who have been in contact with the family have been identifi ed in Ariwara he jungle was so thick that and 40 have already been vacci- Emmanuel Olabode only nated,” the ministry said. Tfound the elephants he The disease broke out in North was tracking when the great ma- Kivu before spreading to Ituri. triarch’s sniffi ng trunk reached Two people also died in Ugan- out close enough to almost da in June after a family returned touch. from eastern Congo where they “She fl apped her ears, block- had buried an Ebola-stricken ing us to guard her family, then relative. left in peace,” recalls Olabode. The current epidemic is the “It was extraordinary.” worst on record after more than The elusive elephants are just 11,300 were killed Liberia, Guin- 100km (60 miles) from down- ea and Sierra Leone in an out- town Lagos, Nigeria’s economic break between 2014-2016. capital, home to more than An artisan shows a toy AK47 carved from ivory at the Jakande craft Ebola spreads among humans 20mn people. market in Lekki, Lagos. through close contact with the “They are scared of humans,” blood, body fl uids, secretions or says Olabode, who leads the Below: A man stands beside a truck carrying logs of wood in the organs of an infected person, or Forest Elephant Initiative, a Omo Forest, a home for elephants, near Ose-Eke village, northeast objects contaminated by such conservation group in the Omo of Africa’s biggest city Lagos. fl uids. Forest, northeast of Africa’s big- This handout picture, taken on January 3, 2017 and released by the Separately yesterday, the UN gest city. “So they are active at Omo Forest Initiative, shows elephants walking in the Omo Forest. said the Ebola risk in Ituri was night.” being heightened by violence Forest elephants are the shy babies to cross, rangers said. ministry drew up an action plan that has caused people to fl ee relations of their larger savan- “They were looking for a new to protect elephants, vowing to their homes, forcing them to nah cousins and are experts at home,” Olabode explains, sug- crack down on a “large domestic gather in places with poor hy- hiding; so skilled, in fact, very gesting quarry blasts could have ivory market”. giene that were vulnerable to few in the city know about them. been the fi nal straw. Yet in Lagos, in the Jakande disease spread. The crowded concrete jungle Many were chased back, al- craft market in middle-class Le- of Lagos is better known for wild though some found a happy kki, one carver shows off a com- nightlife than nighttime wild- hideout even closer to the city. mission he is making for a “big Somalia cuts life. Olabode now believes there businessman” – a miniature “When people hear about the could be a hundred elephants in AK-47 in ivory, the weapon of diplomatic ties elephants, they do not believe Omo – but their remarkable sur- choice for poachers. with Guinea it,” says Joy Adeosun, a govern- vival is under threat like never For city businesses, wildlife ment scientist working with before as their forest home is in may not be their fi rst concern, Somalia has severed diplomatic Olabode. danger. but preserving the jungle and relations with Guinea after the “They are in shock,” adds Africa Nature Investors (ANI), keeping elephants safe is an is- head of the self-proclaimed Adeosun, fi xing a motion-sen- a Nigerian conservation founda- sue for fl ood-hit Lagos. Republic of Somaliland visited sitive camera that has not only tion, plans to develop eco-tour- “The forests are critical,” says the West African country, the snapped elephants, but ante- ism to protect the forest. Shakirudeen Odunuga, of the foreign ministry in Mogadishu lope, buff alo and chimpanzees “It will provide alternative University of Lagos, who studies has announced. too. employment,” says Filip Van how forests stop storm waters Somaliland declared its Omo, spreading across some Trier, a Belgian businessman surging into low-lying suburbs independence in 1991 but is not 1,325sq km (510sq miles) of brought up in Nigeria, outlining built on reclaimed swampland. recognised by the international southwestern Ogun state, was funding proposals he is heading “We are already experiencing community, which considers it an protected as a government re- for ANI, including tripling rang- serious fl ooding.” autonomous region of Somalia. serve nearly a century ago. er numbers. “But fi rst we have to The forests, the lungs of La- The foreign ministry said in a A Unesco “biosphere reserve” est goes, the whole ecosystem booming construction market in But to the elephants, the crops stop the logging.” gos, also bring life-saving rain. statement that the government of global importance, it is one of changes. The rains reduce, then Africa’s most populous nation. are tasty treats, which angers At dawn in Omo, monkey “Without them, the heat had cut all diplomatic ties after the last patches of pristine rain- the farms lose fertility. Everyone “The birds can fl y to another forest farmers. chatter echoes across misty would be unbearable,” Odunuga Guinea “accorded the protocol of forest left in Nigeria. suff ers.” forest,” he adds. Researchers had feared that treetops. adds. head of state ... to the leader of a Nigeria’s deforestation rates Half of the forest, a 650sq km And with trees cleared, farm- only a handful of elephants were Then there is the echo of a In Omo, Olabode and his tiny separatist movement”. are among the highest in the (250sq mile) area, is reserved for ers plant crops. left. gunshot, signalling that a hunter team trek each day through the The statement accused Guinea world, according to the UN’s wildlife and logging is banned. “I need to provide for my fam- Then, in April 2018, the el- is in the forest. forests, trying to stop its de- of “disregarding callously all the Food and Agriculture Organisa- But corruption is rampant. ily. What else can I do?” cocoa ephants burst out of the jungle. Soon after, the whine of struction. relevant resolutions of the UN tion (FAO). “There are so many trees grower Christopher Shadrach Drivers slammed on their chainsaws begins. “If we let the forest go, people and African consensus”. “Chopping down trees is here,” says Ibiyinka James, on says, from Ose-Eke, one of the brakes as herds stampeded Both poachers and ivory deal- will say, ‘we should have pro- Somaliland President Muse Bihi easy,” says Olabode, whose team one of dozens of trucks illicitly villages hacked out of the re- across a four-lane highway, with ers risk fi ve years in prison – if tected the elephants’,” he says, and his delegation reportedly of eight community rangers are laden with ancient hardwoods, serve, each one home to hun- desperate mother elephants try- laws were enforced. adding: “But by then, it will be met off icials in Guinea to discuss overstretched. “But if the for- off to become planks for the dreds of people. ing to smash central barriers for In 2015, the environment too late.” establishing a formal relationship.

Outcry in Ghana over $200mn plan Senior S African minister ‘lied to parliament’

AFP new chamber,” movie producer of Ghanaians but this will also AFP tive Ethics Code by deliberately “I fi nd this rather implausi- Accra Leila Djansi, who has led the make the work of parliamentari- Johannesburg misleading the National Assem- ble,” Mkhwebane told reporters drive, told AFP. ans quite easier. I think the prob- bly ... is substantiated,” she said in Pretoria. “Enough is enough. They lem is the majority of the people in a report. The judicial inquiry is investi- hana’s government has don’t care about the bad roads. do not have the facts about this outh Africa’s ethics Gordhan is the newly-ap- gating deals involving the Gupta defended plans to spend They don’t care about us. We will project.” watchdog said yesterday pointed minister of public en- family and state-owned compa- G$200mn on a new parlia- protest this. He said the government would Sthat a respected minis- terprises and a close ally of nies during Zuma’s presidency. ment building in spite of a public “Everyone should come out not force through the project and ter had lied to lawmakers when President Cyril Ramaphosa, Mkhwebane also made outcry over the mammoth con- and protest,” she added. “may have to shelve the idea if saying that he had never met the who last year forced out former damning fi ndings against Gord- struction bill. Parliamentary Aff airs Minister the majority of Ghanaians are controversial Gupta business head of state Jacob Zuma. han about the time when he Cultural fi gures and civil so- Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said against it”. family at the heart of corruption The public protector in South was the head of South Africa’s ciety have spearheaded a major the project – which offi cials say Those behind the online cam- allegations. Africa is an ombudsman who Gordhan: the Public tax authority, accusing him of online campaign under the ban- is funded by a loan from the In- paign have called for a demon- In a report set against a back- should be politically independ- Protector continues to get the involvement in an illegal intel- ner #DropThatChamber, argu- dian government – is necessary stration in the capital Accra on drop of infi ghting within the ent, although critics accuse facts wrong, get the law wrong, ligence unit. ing that the West African nation as the existing 275-seater facility July 13. ruling African National Con- Mkhwebane of being a Zuma and is demonstrably biased. Gordhan immediately fought has more pressing needs. was too small. Ghana – one of the most stable gress (ANC) party, Public Pro- loyalist. back, saying in a statement that “It’s completely unnecessary. “We can’t say that until we democracies on the continent – tector Busisiwe Mkhwebane The ruling ANC is bitterly Gordhan told a judicial in- the “Public Protector continues The hospitals lack basic logis- satisfy the basic human needs will hold presidential elections said that Pravin Gordhan inten- split between Zuma supporters quiry into state corruption to get the facts wrong, get the tics to work with. There are a this is luxurious. This has been late next year that look set to tionally misled the national as- and those backing Ramaphosa, this year that he had forgotten law wrong, and is demonstrably lot of dilapidated schools across long overdue. The current cham- see former leader John Mahama sembly in 2018. who took the helm after Zuma about the 2010 meeting with the biased”. the country and we are thinking ber lacks space,” he told AFP. take on incumbent Nana Akufo- “The allegation that Mr became entangled in graft scan- Gupta family until reminded by Mkhwebane gave Ramaphosa of using $200mn (€180mn) on a “We are sensitive to the needs Addo. Gordhan violated the Execu- dals. his then chief of staff . 30 days to discipline Gordhan. Gulf Times Saturday, July 6, 2019 5

AMERICAS

ECONOMY LITERATURE TRAGEDY WILDLIFE LAW AND ORDER Joblessness in Canada up Satirists mourn as Seven dead in Bahamas Another Florida body found Police cars swarm Miami at 5.5% as more seek work MAD magazine folds helicopter crash in the mouth of an alligator area after off icer injured

The Canadian economy lost 2,200 jobs in MAD magazine has amused and outraged Seven people have been reported dead in a For the second time in a week, a body has been A Miami neighbourhood was jolted awake June and the unemployment rate ticked readers for nearly 70 years but now it is helicopter crash off the Bahamas, including found in a Florida waterway in the clutches yesterday morning by the sight and sound up slightly to 5.5% as more people sought being pulled from newsstands. The rollicking US billionaire coal magnate Chris Cline. The of an alligator. The St. Petersburg police of at least 30 Miami police cars swarming work, the government statistical agency satirical mag will be published monthly chopper went down near a small outcrop department responded after a body was found in and filling the street near a strip mall and reported yesterday. The jobless rate was with original satire only until September, its in the country’s north early on Thursday in the mangroves of Lake Maggiore, according a residential community. The cause of the up 0.1 percentage points from May, as an publisher DC Comics said. “I am profoundly morning, the Nassau Guardian newspaper to a press release. Media reports said witnesses commotion: a Miami police sergeant, who additional 30,000 people began looking for sad to hear that after 67 years, MAD reported the minister of tourism and aviation saw the body being dragged around and was driving in the area of 1710 NW Seventh St. work, Statistics Canada said. The number of Magazine is ceasing publication,” comedian, as saying. “We’ve located the craft. It seems surrounded by multiple alligators. “I seen the before 7am, saw four people getting into a car unemployed rose to 1.1mn people. Yet Canada’s musician and former guest editor Weird Al as if the seven passengers are still onboard gator chomping on it,” Otis Crawford told WFTS, and fighting. The off icer stopped the car and, jobless rate remained near its lowest level in Yankovich tweeted. The Simpsons’ writer so therefore submerged, but we can’t confirm an ABC aff iliate serving Tampa Bay. WFTS said as the confrontation inside continued, one of more than 40 years. The number of full-time Josh Weinstein also tipped his hat to the anything yet,” said Dionisio D’Aguilar. “I guess Crawford called police after seeing the body. the men hit her with a fist, said Miami police employees rose, while the number of self- publication’s comic power. “Goodbye, Mad it crashed shortly after takeoff ”, he said, The body has been recovered and taken to the spokeswoman Kenia Fallat. Residents saw at employed or independent workers declined by Magazine. Thanks for inspiring generations & adding authorities are trying to get “to the medical examiner. Last week, a body was found least one of the men with a bloodied nose as more than 41,000 from May, the government generations of comedy & most of all, thanks helicopter and retrieve any souls...and start the in a canal in south Polk County being consumed rescue crews attended to the wounded near a agency said. for the laughs.” investigation.” by an alligator. mall’s barber shop and an apartment building. Biden admits ‘not being prepared’ for debate attack from Harris

Guardian News and Media the general election fi ghts, who Washington won? Mainstream Democrats who are very progressive on so- cial issues and very strong on oe Biden, the Democrat- education and healthcare.” ic presidential frontrun- Ocasio-Cortez, 29, rose to Jner, yesterday hit out at the national prominence by oust- Democratic party’s left wing, ing incumbent congressman Joe suggesting fi rebrand progres- Crowley in the party’s primary sives cannot win in battleground in New York’s safely Democratic states. 14th district, but also went on to Biden meanwhile admitted he easily win her general election wasn’t prepared for the attack by contest against a Republican op- rising challenger senator Kamala ponent last November. Harris on his historic handling Biden defended his com- of race issues in the fi rst prima- paratively moderate position on ry debates last week – and said healthcare, which he claimed Donald Trump was a bully and he would “cost a hell of a lot less” would “smack him in the mouth”. than universal publicly-funded The former vice-president, plans such as Medicare for All sounding defensive and angry at that are proposed by some of his times, casual and confi dent at opponents. others, suggested the policies of While the former vice-pres- the new socialist-leaning break- ident has not set out a detailed out stars of the party, such as the healthcare plan, he told CNN his New York representative Alexan- proposal would make Medicare dria Ocasio-Cortez, would not “an option for anybody who in A man looks into a fissure that opened in the desert during a powerful earthquake that struck southern California, near the city of Ridgecrest, California. prevail in key swing states need- fact wants to buy into” it. ed to retake the White House for “But if they like their employ- the Democrats in 2020. er-based insurance, which a lot Seeking to reignite his cam- of unions broke their neck to get, paign after a faltering perform- a lot of people like theirs, they ance in the fi rst presidential pri- shouldn’t have to give it up,” he mary debates, Biden suggested said. policies from “way left” did not Biden also appeared to dismiss have widespread support. proposals supported by some of Aftershocks continue “It’s centre-left, that’s where I his opponents to forgive the stu- am,” he said of the Democratic par- dent loan debt owed by millions ty, during an interview with CNN of Americans and to decrimi- broadcast yesterday morning. nalise entering the US without Biden also returned to the authorisation, which is a par- type of aggressive warnings to ticularly hot topic in light of the the president that have received furore over Trump administra- to rattle California criticism in the past, saying tion immigration policies at the Trump was a bully, a kind Biden US-Mexico border. Reuters Valley at 4.07am local time, the the mess left by the quake. “We Los Angeles at about 10.30am bles the town to receive help said he was very familiar with, But he reiterated his support Ridgecrest, Calif. US Geological Survey said. have several thousand dollars on Thursday. from outside agencies. and suggesting: “I’d smack him for funding emergency health- There had already been more worth of damage,” said shop- It was very shallow, only Breeden said she has asked in the mouth.” care for undocumented immi- than 80 smaller aftershocks keeper James Wilhorn. 10.7km deep, amplifying its ef- residents to check on their neigh- Facing robust competition for grants in need of treatment. strong aftershock shook since Thursday’s 6.4 magnitude Only a few injuries were re- fect, and was felt in an area in- bours in the high desert town. the 2020 nomination on the left Pressed by Cuomo on whether southern California early quake near the city of Ridgecrest, ported, but two houses caught habited by 20mn people, the Eu- “We’re a close-knit community from senators Bernie Sanders of he was equipped for a potentially Ayesterday as residents which was felt from Los Angeles fi re from broken gas pipes, of- ropean quake agency EMSC said. and everybody is working to take Vermont and Elizabeth Warren bruising general election contest were still assessing the dam- to Las Vegas, USGS seismologist fi cials said. Water gushed from The Ridgecrest Regional Hos- care of each other,” she said. of Massachusetts, Biden pointed with Trump if nominated, Biden age from the July 4 quake, the Lucy Jones said. zigzagged cracks in the pave- pital, where 15 patients were The quake is the largest in to the 2018 midterm elections, dismissed the president as “the strongest in the region in 25 “We should be expecting lots ment from busted water lines. evacuated earlier, appeared in- southern California since the when the party retook control bully that I knew my whole life” years, which was felt by more of aftershocks and some of them Deep fissures snaked across tact apart from some new cracks 1994 magnitude 6.6 Northridge of the House of Representatives and boasted aggressively about than 20mn people. will be bigger than the 3s we’ve the Mojave Desert, with pas- in the walls. earthquake, USGS geophysicist after moderate Democrats un- taking him on. The temblor, one of many af- been having so far,” Jones told sersby stopping to take selfies California governor Gavin Paul Caruso said. seated a series of Republicans in “He’s the bully that I’ve always tershocks predicted by seismol- reporters. “I think the chance of while standing in the rendered Newsom approved an emer- That quake, which was cen- swing districts. stood up to,” said Biden. “He’s ogists, struck the same desert having a magnitude 5...is proba- earth. gency proclamation, and treed in a heavily populated area “I think Ocasio-Cortez is a the bully that used to make fun region as Thursday’s major bly greater than 50-50,” she said. The quake hit the edge of Ridgecrest Mayor Peggy Breed- of Los Angeles, killed 57 people brilliant, bright woman, but she when I was a kid, that I stutter – earthquake with a magnitude of Some residents spent much of Death Valley National Park en said she had declared a state and caused billions of dollars of won a primary,” said Biden. “In and I’d smack him in the mouth.” 5.4 about 18km west of Searles their July 4 holiday cleaning up about 113 miles northeast of of emergency, a step that ena- damage.

Weekend break US rapper detained in Wrong man taken off Sweden over brawl

AFP man and his friends stop following life support in mix-up Stockholm them. One of the four people arrested, a bodyguard who was also sus- Tribune News Service Hospital staff then reached out Brooks said both families are Swedish court yesterday pected of assault, was released Chicago to Bennett’s family, who said they angry that police did not do more. decided to keep US rapper Wednesday and the investigation told doctors and nurses that they “They fi nd a guy naked, beat AASAP Rocky in custody against him was closed. did not believe the man in a coma up, under a car, no ID and just on suspicion of assault after he Swedish prosecutor Fredrik lawsuit claims that Chicago in intensive care was their relative. take him to Mercy,” Brooks said. was arrested in connection with a Karlsson on Thursday fi led a re- police misidentifi ed a badly “I said, ‘How did you all verify “My thing is if it had been a dif- street brawl in Stockholm. quest with the Stockholm district Abeaten man, leading to the that this is Alfonso Bennett?’ “ ferent ZIP code, would it have The 30-year-old artiste was de- court to keep the rapper and two wrong family deciding to take him Rosie Brooks, Bennett’s sister, said made a diff erence? Because you tained earlier this week with three others in custody owing to “a fl ight off life support earlier this year. at a news conference. “They said, have a John Doe, no ID, naked and other people following Sunday’s risk and a risk that if released, they The lawsuit was fi led in Cook ‘Through the Chicago Police de- under a car, wouldn’t you want to incident which was partly cap- could sabotage the investigation”. County by both the family of Eli- partment.’” know how he got under the car? tured in a video published by US The court said yesterday it did sha Brittman and the family who Brooks said her family was re- Who put him under there? What celebrity news outlet TMZ. not feel there was a risk he could were wrongly told he was their peatedly told by hospital staff that happened? The rapper, who was in Stock- sabotage the investigation but relative. It contends police failed they didn’t recognise Bennett be- “To me that means black lives holm for a concert, can be seen agreed there was a “fl ight risk”. to use fi ngerprints to positively cause they were in denial. Even- don’t matter,” she continued. throwing a young man into the The prosecutor had originally identify Brittman, instead relying tually, though, the family agreed “You carried him to Mercy, didn’t street then aiming several punch- asked the court to detain Mayers only on photos to misidentify him to take him off life support on the even know who he was and didn’t es at him while the man is on the on suspicion of aggravated assault, as Alfonso Bennett. advice of doctors and place him in even take the time to fi nd out. You ground. but the court opted for assault, a Brittman, 69, was found naked hospice care. should have fi ngerprinted him ASAP Rocky — whose real less serious off ence. and beaten underneath a car in Brooks said the family was with then.” name is Rakim Mayers — on Karlsson told reporters after the Bronzeville on April 29, accord- him when he died three days later. Chicago police said they don’t Tuesday posted his own vid- decision that he still felt the inci- ing to the lawsuit. He was taken to After they made funeral arrange- fi ngerprint people unless they’ve eos on Instagram, which he dent amounted to aggravated as- Mercy Hospital and listed as John ments, Brooks said Alfonso Ben- been arrested because it is a priva- US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump said showed the lead up to the sault. Doe for two weeks until police nett walked through his sister’s cy issue. In this case, they provided step off Air Force One upon arrival at Morristown Municipal clash. “That’s because there are mul- used a mugshot to identify him, front door. In the meantime, the an array of mugshots to the hospi- Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, yesterday. Trump is In those, the young man can be tiple people attacking a person even though his face was badly man who died was identifi ed at the tal and, with hospital employees, heading to his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, to spend seen arguing with the musician that is lying down and that it disfi gured by the beating, the law- morgue through fi ngerprints as decided the man in the hospital the weekend. over a pair of headphones, and seems they also used weapons,” suit states. Brittman. bed looked like Bennett. the artiste repeatedly asks that the Karlsson said. Gulf Times 6 Saturday, July 6, 2019 ASIA Lanka court defers plans to carry out executions The top court puts on hold Sri Lanka’s last hangman re- execution of four convicts tired in 2014, but offi cials said who are on death row for they had selected two out of 26 drug traff icking candidates to become execu- tioners although their names AFP were being kept secret for fear Colombo of attacks. Media reports said the two men had not been assigned any ri Lanka’s Supreme Court work. Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing yesterday suspended Sirisena has said the hang- yesterday. SPresident Maithripa- ings should be a deterrent to la Sirisena’s moves to end a the illegal drugs trade. 43-year-old moratorium on Sirisena said there were capital punishment by hanging 200,000 drug addicts in the four drug convicts. country, and 60% of the Strategic partnership with Bangladesh The court banned any ex- Sri Lankan President 24,000-strong prison population ecutions until it has ruled on Maithripala Sirisena ... facing were drug off enders. a petition seeking a declara- legal hurdles Earlier this week, Sirisena tion that hanging breaches the said he rejected a telephone conducive to stability in Asia: China country’s constitution. of any individual not to be sub- appeal by UN Secretary-Gen- “The court will take up hear- jected to cruel and degrading eral Antonio Guterres to recon- ing the case on October 29 and treatment,” Sumanthiran said. sider reintroducing the death IANS partnership of co-operation be- Foreign Minister A K Abdul travelled to Beijing where on in the meantime the prisons “It is on that basis we want penalty. Beijing tween China and Bangladesh is Momen, Prime Minister’s Ad- Thursday the two countries department was asked not to courts to hold that execu- The president has not dis- not only in line with common in- viser for Private Industry and In- signed deals on improvement of implement any order by the tion of capital punishment is a closed the names of the four terests of the two countries, but vestment Salman F Rahman and power transmission and distri- president to carry out the death violation of the constitution.” people he wants executed nor hinese President Xi Jin- also conducive to the prosperity State Minister for Foreign Aff airs bution systems in Bangladesh, penalty,” a court offi cial said. The challenge added to sev- said when they will be hanged. ping yesterday met Bang- and stability in Asia...”, Xinhua Shahriar Alam, among others, bdnews24.com reported. M A Sumanthiran, a Sri eral other cases fi led in lower He has come under interna- Cladeshi Prime Minister news agency reported. were in attendance. She also held a bilateral meet- Lankan legislator and a law- courts. tional pressure to give up his Sheikh Hasina at the Diaoyutai The Bangladeshi leader paid Hasina travelled to China on ing with her Chinese counter- yer representing a condemned Sirisena told reporters on June plan. This week he accused State Guesthouse in Beijing. tribute to the Chinese revolu- Monday on a fi ve-day tour to at- part Li Keqiang at the Great Hall prisoner, said death by hang- 26 that he had signed four death the European Union of inter- Calling China and Bangladesh tion heroes in Beijing yesterday tend the summer conference of the of the People. ing was a “cruel and degrading warrants for convicted drug of- fering in Sri Lanka’s internal traditionally friendly neigh- afternoon. She placed a wreath World Economic Forum at Dalian. Hasina was also scheduled to punishment”. fenders and he expected them to aff airs by opposing his capital bours, Xi said that “consolidat- at the Monument to the People’s After joining the opening attend a dinner hosted by the “It is the fundamental right be hanged within weeks. punishment plan. ing and developing the strategic Heroes at Tiananmen Square. session of the conference, she Chinese President in her honour. Doctor held for ‘sterilising’ women Bangladeshi S Korean in Lanka was framed: investigators TV crew head teacher face Thai AFP make up about 10% of the “There is no justifi cation for now in full swing, lawmaker Colombo island’s 21mn population. the arrest of Dr Shafi ,” the CID and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Shafi was detained after a concluded in a 210-page report. leader Rauff Hakeem said. prison Sinhalese-language daily pub- The CID told the court that “There had been a build-up doctor falsely accused of lished unsourced allegations Deputy Inspector General of of a narrative (against Muslims) for more than a century in this arrested over secretly sterilising Bud- that he had sterilised 4,000 Police Kithsiri Jayalath, chief over giant Adhist women in Sri Lan- women from the Buddhist- in Shafi ’s home region of Ku- country, based on business ri- ka remains in detention weeks majority population. runegala, fabricated evidence valry, jealousy.” after his arrest, despite inves- It also tied him to member- and fed the allegations to the As Shafi is being held un- clams tigators saying he was framed. ship of the group blamed for the Sinhalese newspaper. der the emergency law, he can only be freed by the defence child abuse Mohamed Shafi was arrested Easter bombings. But Shafi , who is being held on May 24 over claims he had car- Other media leapt on the under emergency laws, is still secretary and a legal struggle is DPA ried out the illegal sterilisations of claims, accusing Shafi of behind bars, prompting calls underway to release him. AFP The young girl watched Bangkok thousands of Sinhalese women. performing 8,000 caesar- for his release. Muslim leaders have urged Dhaka a TV news report on But court documents seen ian section surgeries and sur- Some hardline Buddhist their community to also look serious sexual assault by AFP show investigators are reptitiously carrying out monks have waded into the is- within for ways to defang the and told her mother he television crew of a adamant he was set up. sterilisations only on Sinhala sue, demanding for the “ston- communal tensions. angladeshi police have that the seminary South Korean reality show Communal tensions in Sri Buddhist women. ing to death” of the renowned Muslim women covering arrested a religious founder “did the same Tand their Thai fi xers could Lanka are at boiling point since But the Criminal Investiga- surgeon. their face was a new phenome- Bschool’s principal for al- to her” face up to four years in prison for the Easter Sunday (April 21) tions Department (CID) told a Sri Lankan Muslim lead- non in Sri Lanka that had deep- legedly physically abusing at hunting protected giant clams in suicide bombings by militants court it had found no evidence ers say the Easter attacks have ened suspicions among other least a dozen children under edly abusing 20 students. Thailand for their show. of churches and hotels, which to support the allegations taken simmering communal communities, Hakeem said. his care, an offi cial said yester- Uddin said those teachers A police complaint has been left 258 dead and hundreds against Shafi , explaining his tensions to a new level, with Islamic clerics have endorsed day, sparking demonstrations have been blackmailing and fi led and a court is now to decide wounded. colleagues said other medical mosques searched in a police government moves to ban full by hundreds of people. abusing the victims and some whether to pursue charges of il- Pressure has since mounted staff would have noticed the dragnet for the terror cell. face covering, including the Al Amin, the head teacher of their mothers for the last legal hunting and possession of on Sri Lanka’s Muslims, who procedures. A campaign of “hate” was niqab, for women. and founder of the Baitul four years. protected animals, Sompoch Huda Cadet Madrassa at Fat- Rights groups raised con- Maneerat, a spokesman for the ulla outside Dhaka, claimed cerns about the spike in the Department of National Parks, innocence, saying he was number of abuse and sexual Wildlife and Plant Conservation, “possessed by Satan”. assaults in the Muslim-ma- said. Antique gifts Madrassas are religious in- jority South Asian nation. “These clams are protected stitutions that provide every- The Manusher Jonno Foun- animals and actions need to be thing from basic Qur’an-based dation, a local rights group, taken to let people know they education to graduate-level published a report early this simply cannot do that,” Sompoch religious studies. year saying 433 children were said. Elite police from the Rapid abused in 2018. Most were Seoul Broadcasting System Action Battalion (RAB) arrest- aged between seven and 12, it (SBS)’s reality show Laws of ed the teacher on Thursday said. the Jungle has been under fi re after the mother of a 10-year- Rights groups said “a cul- in Thailand for its June 29 epi- old student fi led a complaint ture of impunity” is partly to sode which showed actress Lee against him. blame for what they say is a Yeol Eum hunting and capturing Local RAB chief Lieutenant rise in sexual violence in the three giant clams for food. Colonel Kazi Samser Uddin country. She was seen swimming in the said the young girl watched According to Bangladesh sea with the camera crew in the a TV news report on seri- Mahila Parishad, a women’s southern Thai province of Trang. ous sexual assault and told rights group, only 3% of abuse Later, the cast members were her mother that the seminary cases end in convictions. seen eating them. founder “did the same to her”. The latest arrest came The 55-minute programme is “The mother immediately months after another ma- available online and is watched rushed to us with the com- drassa head teacher was ar- by many Thais. plaint. Then we arrested the rested over the April murder of Native to the South Pacifi c principal,” Uddin said. Nusrat Jahan Rafi , 19, burned and Indian Ocean, giant clams The teacher later admitted to death by attackers on the are classifi ed as an endangered he forcibly had abused with rooftop of her seminary. species in Thailand. several of his minor students. The murder shook the na- According to Soompi, an Eng- “We found he abused and tion of 165mn people after a lish-language website covering sexually assaulted at least 12 police probe found that Rafi Korean pop culture, the TV show girls in the madrassa,” Uddin was murdered at the order of has taken down all its video clips said. the madrassa principal after featuring the endangered species Hundreds of local people she refused to withdraw a sex- from its website and issued an protested in the town de- ual assault charge fi led with offi cial apology yesterday. manding justice and exem- the police against her semi- “We sincerely apologise for plary punishment of the prin- nary head. failing to become fully informed cipal, who is also an imam of a Rafi ’s death received wide- of the local regulations regarding local mosque. spread media attention, and giant clams in Thailand, and we Japanese Fumiko Takakuwa, who gave away Khmer antiques collected around the world by her late husband Dr Morifumi to the The police also last week ar- 16 men were arrested and are will be more aware of our actions National Museum of Cambodia in his honour, talks to media in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, yesterday. rested two high school teach- being tried for the killing. in the future,” the statement ers at a nearby town for alleg- They face the death penalty. reads. Gulf Times Saturday, July 6, 2019 7 ASIA/AUSTRALASIA

China denies missile Najib’s stepson charged tests in disputed sea Reuters istry added. “These were not Beijing aimed at any country or any specifi c target,” it said, with- out elaborating. hina’s Defence Min- Hu Xijin, editor of the wide- istry yesterday denied ly read Chinese tabloid the with money laundering CUS accusations that Global Times, published by the Chinese military had re- the ruling Communist Party’s DPA Pictures that Aziz co-found- cently carried out missile offi cial People’s Daily, said in Kuala Lumpur ed, and which was respon- tests in the disputed South an English-language tweet the sible for the Hollywood fi lm China Sea, saying instead that US claims were misleading. The Wolf of Wall Street, star- they had held routine drills “Reliable source told me he stepson of former ring Leonardo di Caprio and that involved the fi ring of live that Pentagon’s claim of ‘Chi- Malaysian prime minis- Margot Robbie. ammunition. nese missile launch from the Tter Najib Razak and co- Aziz, dressed in a dark blue The Pentagon said on Tues- man-made structures in the founder of the Hollywood pro- coat and yellow polo shirt, day the missile launch was South China Sea’ is misleading duction fi rm behind the movie pleaded not guilty after the fi ve “disturbing” and contrary to information and some details The Wolf of Wall Street, was charges were read out to him in Chinese pledges that it would came out of thin air, intended yesterday charged with money court yesterday. not militarise the strategic to sow discord among regional laundering, state news agency He was released on bail for 1mn waterway. countries,” he wrote. Hu gave Bernama reported. Malaysian ringgit ($242,000). A US offi cial, speaking on no other details. Riza Aziz was charged with If found guilty, each charge is condition of anonymity, said The South China Sea is fi ve counts of money laundering punishable with a fi ne of up to yesterday that according to one of a growing number of for allegedly receiving unlawful 5mn Malaysian ringgit or up to 5 initial information, China ap- fl ashpoints in the US-China proceeds totalling 1bn Malaysian years’ imprisonment or both. peared to have tested multiple relationship, which include a ringgit ($248mn) in connection In May, about $57mn forfeited anti-ship ballistic missiles last trade war, US sanctions and with state development fund by Red Granite was returned to weekend. The offi cial added self-ruled Taiwan, which is 1Malaysia Development Berhad Malaysia and put into an account that a detailed analysis was claimed by China as its own. (1MDB). 1MDB is the subject of set up to recover money stolen under way. China and the United States a sweeping international probe from 1MDB. In a brief statement sent to have repeatedly traded barbs after billions of dollars of public Aziz is the latest in a string of Reuters responding to the US in the past over what Wash- money was suspected of having people to have been arrested and claims, China’s Defence Min- ington says is Beijing’s mili- been siphoned from the fund charged in connection with mis- istry said this was not true. tarisation of the South China by high-ranking Malaysian of- appropriating funds from the “The relevant reports do not Sea by building military in- fi cials, and splurged on luxury fund, together with his stepfa- accord with the facts,” it said. stallations on artifi cial islands yachts, swanky residences, ther, former premier Najib Razak “Recently, the People’s Lib- and reefs. rare artworks, and expensive and his mother Rosmah Mansor. Riza Aziz arrives at a court in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. eration Army Southern Thea- China says the United States jewellery. Both Najib and Rosmah are tre Command arranged live is to blame for tensions by re- US offi cials have alleged that standing trial for charges that Najib’s suspected involvement elections, paving the road for an lowed the government to re- ammunition fi ring drills in peatedly sending warships some of the pilfered money had include money laundering, in the 1MDB scandal was consid- opposition party to take power launch investigations into 1MDB, waters near Hainan island in close to Chinese-held islands, found its way to the Hollywood criminal breach of trust and cor- ered instrumental in his party’s for the fi rst time in 61 years. which had been muzzled during accordance with annual exer- and that China’s sovereignty production fi rm Red Granite ruption. crushing loss in the 2018 general The election victory also al- the Najib years. cise arrangements,” the min- in the area is irrefutable. Calls for boycott of First charges against Hong Court rejects Japan grow in S Korea appeal of

Reuters could face delays if the curbs Kong anti-govt protester woman who Seoul drag on. “A boycott is the most im- alls in South Korea for mediate way for citizens to AFP exposed boss a boycott of Japanese express their anger,” said Choi Hong Kong Cgoods in response to Gae-yeon of the activist group AFP Tokyo’s curbs on the export Movement for One Korea, that Jakarta of high-tech material to South staged protests in front of a Hong Kong street artist Korea picked up yesterday, as a Japanese car showroom and a was charged yesterday dispute over compensation for retailer in Seoul this week. Awith assaulting a police n Indonesian woman forced wartime labour roiled “Many people are angry at offi cer and criminal damage, who was handed a prison ties between the US allies. the attitude of the Japanese the fi rst prosecution against Asentence for exposing It is the latest fl ashpoint government,” she said. an anti-government protester her cheating boss, prompting a in a relationship long over- The row over forced labour since the city was rocked by public outcry, has had her court shadowed by South Korean exploded last year when a unprecedented demonstrations. appeal rejected. resentment of Japan’s 1910- South Korean court ordered Sparked by a law that would The Supreme Court on Thurs- 1945 occupation of the Korean Japan’s Nippon Steel & Sumi- have allowed extraditions to day dismissed the challenge from peninsula, in particular South tomo Metal Corp and Mit- mainland China, the city has Baiq Nuril Maknun, who was Korean “comfort women”, subishi Heavy Industries to witnessed three huge peace- found guilty of breaking a con- a Japanese euphemism for pay hundreds of thousands ful rallies as well as civil diso- troversial law against spreading women forced to work in Japa- of dollars to South Korean bedience and violence from a indecent material, saying she nese military brothels before plaintiff s. hard core of younger protesters failed to produce new evidence. and during World War Two. Japan maintains that the is- who have besieged the police The court’s decision leaves in Japan apologised to the sue was fully settled in 1965 headquarters and on Monday place a 500mn rupiah ($34,000) women as part of a 2015 when the two countries re- stormed the city’s parliament. fi ne and six-month jail term, deal and provided a 1bn yen stored diplomatic ties, and Authorities have vowed to which Maknun will now be ($9.4mn) fund to help them. has denounced the ruling as hunt those behind the unrest ordered to serve. Advocacy groups for the “unthinkable”. that has plunged the semi-au- “Her judicial review was re- women have criticised the Nearly 27,000 people had tonomous city’s Beijing-backed jected because her crime has fund and South Korea dis- by yesterday signed a petition government into crisis. been legally and convincingly solved it yesterday, despite posted on the South Korean Pun Ho-chiu, 31, appeared in proven,” said court spokes- Japan’s warnings that such ac- presidential offi ce website court yesterday over his alleged in- People wave flashlights during a gathering of Hong Kong mothers to show their support for the city’s man Abdullah, who like many tion could damage ties. calling for a boycott of Japa- volvement in the blockade of the young pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong yesterday. Indonesians goes by one name. “This is totally unaccept- nese products and for tourists city’s police headquarters on 21 June. The case against Maknun goes able for Japan. We’ve made not to visit. He was also charged with disor- been combing through the old daughter, said the protesters “constructive” but there was no back to 2012, when she recorded stern representations to the The government must derly behaviour for throwing eggs trashed parliament for fi nger- who stormed the building “had suggestion of a breakthrough. the principal of the school where South Korean side,” Deputy respond to a petition that at police outside the headquarters print and DNA evidence to help no other choice”. “My meeting with the pan- she worked discussing graphic Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasu- gets 200,000 signatures in during the six-hour siege. identify protesters who stormed “After two mass rallies, the democrats just now was very sexual details about an aff air toshi Nishimura said in Tokyo. a month. A well-known activist nick- the building and left its walls cold-blooded government had no useful in the sense that it’s the he was having with another The bitterness over the Some Korean social media named “Painter” for his street daubed with slogans such as “HK response,” the 53-year-old said. fi rst time we’ve really had an op- colleague. forced labour issue could dis- users posted “Boycott Japan” art, Pun was remanded in cus- is not China” and a colonial-era “I have to come out to show my portunity to sit down and talk Co-workers of the school ad- rupt global supplies of memo- messages and shared a link to tody and faces up to ten years in fl ag pinned to the legislature’s support for the youngsters, to tell candidly and frankly over the ministrator – who herself had ry chips and smartphones. a list of Japanese brands that jail if convicted. podium. them I stand with them.” issues,” he told reporters. rebuff ed the principal’s repeated Japan said on Monday it could be targeted, includ- He was one of the only pro- An AFP tally shows at least 66 City leader Carrie Lam has Since the parliament siege Bei- advances – later convinced her would tighten restrictions on ing Toyota Motor and Fast testers during the police siege to arrests have been announced by postponed the extradition leg- jing has vocally thrown its sup- to release the recording in a bid the export of high-tech ma- Retailing’s Uniqlo. show himself unmasked. police since the protests began. islation but has failed to quell port behind Lam, calling on Hong to expose the man’s history of terials used in smartphone Toyota’s South Korean unit In court his lawyer said he But it is not clear how many of public anger. Kong authorities to pursue all lecherous behaviour. displays and chips to South declined comment, and Fast was assaulted by police who those people have been charged Protesters have demanded she those involved in the ransacking. Maknun was initially cleared Korea. The curbs took eff ect Retailing’s South Korean unit spoke to him in Mandarin - the and police did not respond to re- withdraw the bill entirely, launch Multiple university student of the charges by a local court on on Thursday, fuelling South did not have an immediate predominant language on the quests for a breakdown. an independent inquiry into po- groups have rejected a request by the island of Lombok where the Korean calls for retaliation. comment. Chinese mainland. Yesterday evening thousands lice use of tear gas and rubber Lam’s administration for closed- school was located but Indonesia’s Samsung Electronics Co “Japan boycott move- The judge said the court of Hong Kong mothers rallied at bullets, and step down. door talks, saying they would top court reversed the decision, and SK Hynix – the world’s ment” was among the most could not investigate the claims a park in the commercial district Chief secretary Matthew only meet if the government fi nding her guilty of violating the top memory chipmakers, and searched-for terms on South and directed him to the police of Central in support of those Chueng – Lam’s de facto deputy granted an amnesty to those ar- electronic information law. suppliers to Apple and Chi- Korea’s main online search complaints procedure. who ransacked parliament. – held talks with pro-democracy rested and held the dialogue in Lawyer Joko Jumadi said his na’s Huawei Technologies – engine Naver. Forensic investigators have Didi Cheng, who has a 25-year- lawmakers which he said were public. client was disappointed with the latest ruling, her last course of appeal. “She refuses to stop fi ghting Google backs down aft er New Zealand murder case gaff e because if she does she’s afraid it will make other harassment Google agreed yesterday to concerns, which indicated further assurance against any Australia warns released student victims too scared to speak up,” change how it publishes New no action was pending, recurrence,” it said. he said. Zealand news after top off icials as “contemptible” and Little, who was furious after the “We have followed all legal in Wellington lashed the US “extraordinarily disrespectful”. initial rebuff , welcomed Google’s not to return to North Korea avenues and now we hope Presi- tech giant for breaching court Google insisted yesterday “responsible” change of policy. dent Joko Widodo will do some- suppression orders in a high- that it respected New Zealand Millane, 22, was killed in December Reuters I would come back to Australia,” detained by the secretive North. thing about it,” Jumadi said. profile murder case. law, saying there had been a last year shortly after arriving in Sydney/Stockholm Home Aff airs Minister Peter The details of his release were Widodo in November ex- Google had refused to tighten “miscommunication” and it was Auckland on holiday in a crime Dutton told the Nine network. also not known. pressed his concern about Mak- publication standards after taking the issue seriously. that shocked New Zealand. “All of those would have to be Swedish authorities helped se- nun’s case and said if the Su- sending out a news e-mail to “We understand the right to a fair A 27-year-old man has pleaded ustralia’s government better options before he returns cure Sigley’s release because Aus- preme Court rejected her appeal public subscribers in December trial and acknowledge that this is a not guilty to her murder. warned a student not to to North Korea,” Dutton said. “I tralia has no diplomatic presence she could request clemency. that named an accused killer in fundamental part of the legal system,” The row is the second time the Areturn to North Korea yes- don’t think he will put himself in North Korea and relies on other Her sentence was condemned violation of a court order. it said in a letter to Little’s off ice. New Zealand government has terday, a day after he was released back in that situation ... it could countries to act on its behalf. by rights groups and supporters Justice Minister Andrew Little As a result, it said the Google taken social media giants to from detention by Pyongyang un- have ended up very diff erently.” The Swedish diplomat who established an online crowd- this week accused Google of Trends feature that led to task in recent months. der mysterious circumstances. Sigley left North Korea on helped secure Sigley’s release, funding appeal to pay for her le- “giving the middle finger” to the accused’s name being Ardern led global eff orts to Alek Sigley, who fl ew to Tokyo Thursday and fl ew to Beijing, Kent Harstedt, told Reuters by gal costs last year. New Zealand’s court system published had been suspended force them to curb hate speech on Thursday to join his Japanese where he was met by Austral- phone he could not divulge de- Indonesia’s corruption-rid- and the family of British murder in New Zealand. in the wake of the Christchurch wife, had been studying in the ian offi cials for the fl ight to To- tails of the detention. dled justice system has long victim, Grace Millane. “This means that people will mosques massacre in March, North Korean capital and had kyo. He declined to comment to “The only thing I can say is that been criticised for the quality of He described the online no longer receive e-mails on when a gunman killed 51 Muslim been missing since June 25. a throng of reporters at Haneda we welcome that North Korea was its rulings, while the electronic behemoth’s one-paragraph any trending searches for New worshippers as they gathered “My advice would be pretty Airport, only making a peace prepared to listen to our argu- information law itself has come response to Wellington’s Zealand and provides even for Friday prayers. (AFP) clear, I would stay in Japan. I sign before being taken away. ments and that this could be re- under fi re for being too vague and would go back to South Korea ... It is still not clear why he was solved so quickly,” said Harstedt. open to misuse. Gulf Times 8 Saturday, July 6, 2019 BRITAIN Johnson pledges to make all immigrants learn English

Guardian News and Media some communities were not do- here and makes their lives here val, Jeremy Hunt, arrived in Dar- of his campaign, told support- presenter Hannah Vaughan- money by not being a full-time London ing enough to integrate into so- to be, and to feel, British – that’s lington before the most impor- ers in the north-east he “never Jones, whether the age of aus- politician,” prompting laugh- ciety. the most important thing – and tant weekend in the race to be the liked” the austerity programme terity was over, Johnson said, to ter in the audience. “You have to “Now I think that the story of to learn English. And too often next prime minister – ballot pa- of swingeing cuts imposed by his laughter: “I never liked it. I re- make sacrifi ces sometimes and oris Johnson has said there communities that have come to there are parts of our country, pers drop through members’ let- colleagues in government, David member Dave Cameron saying to that is the right thing to do.” are “too many parts of our London and made their lives in parts of London and other cit- terboxes over the next 24 hours. Cameron and George Osborne. me he wanted to have an austeri- Johnson, who has earned more Bcountry” where English is London is amazing … waves have ies as well, where English is not Activists wearing “Back Boris” “It was always right to reduce ty Olympics and I said: ‘No mate.’ than £700,000 from speeches not spoken as a fi rst language and come to London and slowly they spoken by some people as their T-shirts canvassed party members the national debt and I pledge as That was not the stuff to give the and newspaper columns since he that he would require all immi- have changed, they have adapted, fi rst language and that needs to in the foyer of Darlington’s Ed- prime minister to continue to re- troops – what we wanted was a left the Cabinet a year ago, said grants to Britain to learn English. they have made their lives, and be changed. wardian-era Hippodrome theatre, duce the national debt – that is great Olympics.” being “a full-time politician” At a hustings event for the they’ve helped to make our na- “People need to be allowed the venue for the eighth of 16 hus- very, very important,” said John- Later, Johnson was asked what also meant he had not been able Conservative leadership race in tional culture and they’ve bought to take part in the economy and tings taking place across Britain. son, who was London mayor for personal sacrifi ces he had made to fi nish writing a book on Wil- Darlington yesterday, the former into it. And that’s what I want for in society in the way that that The former foreign secretary, the fi rst six years of Cameron’s for the good of the country. Af- liam Shakespeare, “depriving the mayor of London praised the our country,” he said. shared experience would allow.” who has made a series of lavish premiership. ter a pause, the MP said: “It is public of reading the book I’m capital’s diversity but suggested “I want everybody who comes Johnson and his leadership ri- spending commitments as part Asked by the host, the CNN obviously possible to make more sure they’ve been crying out for”. Driver faces Robinson convicted jail for road rage assault of teen cyclist

Guardian News and Media dangerous driving and common London assault following a trial. He lied to police and tried to claim the teenager had hit a pot- man is facing jail after being hole and come off his bike, the convicted of mowing down court heard. Aand punching a teenage cy- “I couldn’t use my vehicle as clist after becoming incensed that a weapon because the braking the boy was able to weave through mechanism would stop it,” he had traffi c to get to the front of a queue. claimed, adding: “I have no prob- Michael Hanley, 69, from lem with cyclists – there should be Greater Manchester, used his 4x4 more cyclists on the road. I used to Jeep Cherokee to knock the 17- be a cyclist. But if we all stayed be- year old victim off his mountain hind cyclists and never overtook, Founder and former leader of the English Defence League (EDL), Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, AKA Tommy Robinson, poses for a ‘selfie’ with supporters as he arrives at the bike after the teenager pulled in the whole world would come to a Old Bailey, London’s Central Criminal Court, in central London yesterday. Judges yesterday found Robinson to be in contempt of court after he filmed defendants during front of him as he waited at a set of standstill.’’ a trial last year and posted the footage on social media, breaching reporting restrictions on the case. traffi c lights, Manchester magis- But an eyewitness told a dif- trates court heard. ferent story. Georgina Cullen, It was a perfectly legal manoeu- who was driving behind Hanley, vre for the cyclist, who had over- told the court how she saw him taken a queue of stationary vehicles “driving extremely close and to get to the front of the temporary beeping aggressively” behind lights in the Summerseat area of the boy. “The cyclist was clearly Bury on October 15 last year. trying to get away from the situ- But it enraged Hanley, who re- ation, but the vehicle accelerated acted by bumper hugging the back after him and the impression I tyre of the bicycle after the lights got was the car was chasing after Seven-year-olds ‘being turned green and repeatedly beep- the cyclist, drove at him and hit ing his horn and fl ashing his lights. him,” she said. “I couldn’t believe The teenager was eventually sent what I was witnessing. I was ex- tumbling to the fl oor when he tried tremely concerned for the well- to veer off down a dirt track, only being of the cyclist.” for the car to clip his shin as it tried She said Hanley falsely ac- recruited by drug gangs’ to get past. cused the boy of “weaving all As the boy lay on the fl oor, over the road” before grabbing Daily Mail windows” or are easily led. to be particularly at risk, with one tional Crime Agency (NCA) has perceived as being “naughty” – Hanley got out of his vehicle on his arm, punching him in the London Youngsters are being instructed children’s worker dubbing it “like previously estimated that 10,000 those children who are already the dirt track and said: ‘‘You’ve face and then ripping off his own to “act out” in school, such as a target on your head if you’re a children as young as 11 have been pushing societal expectations done this,’’ adding ‘‘Did you see wing mirror. fl outing uniform rules, so they child that attends a PRU”. enslaved by county lines gangs. and boundaries (e.g. throwing what he was doing? He was weav- She told the court: ‘‘I think I ac- hildren as young as sev- can purposely be excluded from Anne Longfi eld, Children’s The number of drug dealing op- stones through windows) or who ing all over the road” to a shocked tually said: ‘That’s someone’s son. en are being drawn into classes to do “shift work” dealing Commissioner for England, said: erations across the UK has al- are perceived to be easily con- motorist who pulled over. He then He wasn’t weaving, he was trying Ccounty lines drug deal- drugs in cities, towns and villages “It’s shocking but sadly not sur- most tripled from 720 last year to vinced.” grabbed the teenager’s shirt and to tell you that there was no room.’ ing, a shocking report warned. across the UK. The report by the prising that the age of children 2,000, with the NCA estimating One deputy head from a Man- punched him in the face before … I was just in disbelief that some- Ruthless drug dealers are infl uential charity, which provides targeted by gangs is getting ever that teenagers aged 15 to 17 make chester primary school told the smashing his own wing mirror in one could use a vehicle in such a “scouting” for “naughty” pri- services for children at risk of ex- younger. There are too many chil- up the ‘bulk’ of the gangs involved charity: “There are a couple of a temper tantrum and driving off . manner and purposefully hit an- mary school children who are ploitation, warns of the terrifying dren in this country who are left in the £500mn industry. children we know of who are The teenager – whose six- other human being.’’ being persuaded to steal fruit as speed with which young children unsupported to lead lives that But the Children’s Society said 10 and younger who have been month-old £2,500 bike was writ- Giving evidence via video link, a gang initiation before climb- are being lured in. make them prime targets for the it had found “alarming evidence” caught up in this. One boy in ten off in the incident – was given the boy said his confi dence had ing the ranks and being forced to A slick grooming process may emotional manipulation serious that younger children were be- Year 6 is often picked up after a lift home by the other motorist been shaken by the attack: “The in- peddle drugs hundreds of miles start with the children being of- criminality will exploit, backed up ing enslaved, adding: “The pro- school by older boys from the and was treated for bruising to cident has aff ected me quite badly from their home. fered pocket money to watch out by the threat of violence. fessionals we spoke to reported area who are about 13 or 14 but his left shin and left cheek plus a and I wasn’t fully myself for weeks A disturbing report by the for police, before escalating with It is the fi rst time a major re- increasing concerns with perpe- we know they are also involved swollen right kneecap. following it. I lost my confi dence Children’s Society has warned requests to stash drugs, weapons port has uncovered evidence of trators targeting primary school- with boys aged about 16 or 17, At Manchester magistrates and from now on I’ll feel more cau- that gangs are “casting their or money. the county lines phenomenon – aged children. so you can see there is a web of court, Hanley, who is director of tious on the roads if I get another net wider” to target even Children in pupil referral units which refers to gangs using mobile “There were reports of in- exploitation where children who Smithfi eld estates management bike.’’ Hanley will be sentenced lat- younger children, picking on (PRU) who have been excluded phones to sell drugs – creeping cidences where perpetrators are exploited are then made to company, was found guilty of er this month. He was granted bail. those who “throw stones at from mainstream schools are said into primary schools. The Na- observe and scout for children involve the younger ones.”

Investiture anniversary Children’s hospital opening Pro-Remain parties in delayed over safety fears poll pact to fi ght Tories Guardian News and Media ther boosting the chances of the Guardian News and Media disbelief that the problem had tilation systems that have been London LibDems regaining a seat they London not been identifi ed sooner, while linked to infection outbreaks. held from 1997 to 2015. health unions complained that Freeman previously told Ho- The LibDems are privately staff had not been informed of lyrood that she had been given he Conservatives’ chances hopeful about winning the seat, he opening of a £150mn the abrupt change of plan before assurances there would not be of retaining the Brecon which would instantly cut the children’s hospital in Ed- the news was released to the me- similar problems at the Edin- Tand Radnorshire constitu- eff ective working majority of the Tinburgh has been delayed dia. burgh site. ency in a by-election at the start new Conservative prime minis- indefi nitely the day before the The Scottish government’s Yesterday morning she said: of next month have slimmed ter to just three. fi rst patients and equipment Health Secretary, Jeane Free- “One of the things I need to find after other pro-Remain parties Jo Swinson, the LibDems’ were expected to move in, after man, speaking on the BBC Good out is why was NHS Lothian so opted to stand aside to give the deputy leader, who is standing as fi nal inspections revealed safety Morning Scotland programme confident that the hospital was Liberal Democrat challenger a a candidate to replace Vince Ca- concerns about its ventilation yesterday, explained that she meeting all those standards free run. ble as leader, tweeted her thanks system. had taken the decision to halt the when self-evidently in critical The Green party and Plaid to Plaid Cymru and the Greens, The world-class Royal Hospi- opening completely after being care it certainly wasn’t.” Free- Cymru said they had decided saying: “Putting the needs of tal for Sick Children and Young made aware of the problem on man, who emphasised that pa- to not stand candidates in the the country above party politics People, in Little France on the Tuesday. tient safety came first, said the Welsh seat on August 1 in the takes courage.” Edinburgh Royal Infi rmary cam- She said: “Because this was phased move of other services hope of maximising the vote for Adam Price, the leader of Plaid pus, was intended to become picked up so late I want to be sure was possible while the ventila- Jane Dodds, the LibDem hopeful. Cymru, told the BBC the decision fully operational next Tuesday that all other safety checks in the tion problems were fixed, but The by-election was called was not easy, but had been “the when its children’s accident and rest of the hospital are also con- that was likely to take “months after voters signed a recall peti- right thing to do”. emergency department opened. ducted again independently.” rather than weeks”. She said she tion against the incumbent Con- He said: “We are facing one of However, the Scottish govern- Freeman added that while the had also instructed an audit of servative MP, Chris Davies, who the most signifi cant decisions, ment has now confi rmed that a local health board, NHS Lothian, “every single aspect of safety was convicted of submitting fake as to whether we are going to decision to delay opening had had been considering other op- checking” in order to identify expenses documents. The peti- be seemingly yanked out of the been taken after “fi nal safety tions, such as a partial opening, what had gone wrong. tion was signed by 10,005 peo- European Union even without a checks which revealed that the she had decided that this “was Freeman insisted that hos- ple, 19% of registered voters, well deal. Under those circumstances ventilation system within the too great a risk”. pital staff had been told at the above the 10% threshold needed it is in Wales’s interest and our critical care department in the The new children’s hospital same time as the press release Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, Duchess for a recall. common interest to work to- new hospital requires further shares the same design as the was issued, and that it had been of Cornwall, pose for an off icial portrait to mark 50th The Conservatives have since gether and coalesce the support work to meet national stand- Queen Elizabeth University hos- important to ensure that fami- anniversary of his Investiture, at their Welsh residence, announced that Davies will stand for the Remain side in Wales.” ards”. pital in Glasgow, which has also lies and the wider public were Llwynywormwood in Myddfai, south-west Wales. again, while the Brexit party is Both Price and Cable said sim- Opposition parties expressed experienced problems with ven- informed. also putting up a candidate, fur- ilar pacts were likely in future. Gulf Times Saturday, July 6, 2019 9 EUROPE

Iceland glacier park joins French lawmakers vote to Unesco heritage target online hate speech sites list Reuters at the National Assembly and speech on its platform to judges tor, CSA, would be responsible to Facebook, Twitter and video the seriousness of the content Paris author of a recent report on hate in France, a minister told Reuters for imposing the sanctions and streaming platform YouTube under review. speech told reporters before the last week. a dedicated prosecutor’s offi ce to swiftly remove the content, “The assessment of the ille- AFP vote. It has also restricted rules would be created. pushing them to be zealous, ad- gality of hate content cannot be Reykjavik ocial media giants such Facebook has come under in- for broadcasting live video on The French bill looks more vocacy groups say. left to platform operators alone,” as Facebook and Twitter tense scrutiny in recent years its platform after the killings at draconian than the one passed in “Imposing a 24-hour limit to France’s Human Rights League Swould be required to re- over hate speech, especially af- Christchurch. 2018 in Germany, under which remove clearly unlawful content said in a statement before yes- nesco has added Iceland’s move any hateful content within ter a gunman killed 51 people Under the French draft law, local authorities can impose is likely to result in signifi cant terday’s vote. Vatnajokull National 24 hours under a draft bill ap- in New Zealand in March and social media groups would have fi nes of up to €50mn ($56mn) restrictions on freedoms, such “We warn against circum- UPark, Europe’s largest proved by France’s National As- streamed the attack live. to put in place tools to allow us- on sites that fail to remove hate as the overblocking of lawful venting the powers of the judi- with a landscape of “fi re and ice”, sembly yesterday. The massacre prompted the ers to alert them to “clearly illic- speech promptly. comments or the misuse of the cial authorities in favour of the to its World Heritage List. President Emmanuel Macron country’s Prime Minister Jacin- it” content related to race, gen- Several Internet and freedom measure for political censorship independent administrative au- Shaped by volcanoes and sur- wants to make France a leader da Ardern to initiate a so-called der, religion, sexual orientation of speech advocacy groups have purposes,” said Quadrature du thorities,” it added. rounded by lava fi elds, the park in regulating US tech giants and “Christchurch Call”, named af- or disability. argued that the bill paves the Net, a group that advocates free In France, the head of the CSA is also home to the largest gla- containing the spread of illicit ter the city where the gunman In the event a network fails to way for state censorship because speech on the Internet. is named by the president. cier in Europe, after which it is content and false information on attacked two mosques. react in due course and/or off er it does not clearly defi ne illicit The group also highlighted The bill now passes to the named. the most-used platforms. Facebook, which was not im- the necessary means to report content. that a law adopted in 2004 al- senate and will go back and forth The protected area of some “What is not tolerated on the mediately reachable for com- such content, they could face Insults, slurs and racist com- ready demanded the removal between the two houses until 14,500sq km (around 5,600sq street should not be tolerated on ment, has recently agreed to fi nes up to 4% of their global ments proliferate today on social of hateful content, but in a “re- they both agree on the text. miles) – or 14% of the whole the Internet,” said Laetitia Avia, hand over the identifi cation revenues. networks. sponsive” way, leaving enough If they fail to do so, the lower country – is “an exceptional ex- a member of Macron’s majority data of users suspected of hate France’s broadcasting regula- Under the law, it would be up time to platforms for assessing house will have the fi nal word. ample of both the interplay of ice and fi re and of the separation of earth’s tectonic plates on land”, according to Unesco. Nobel pose “This recognition of the out- standing universal value of the Eight imprisoned for Vatnajokull National Park will benefi t the area and further en- sure its integrity,” Education traffi cking hundreds Minister Lilja Alfredsdottir told AFP. “We are all responsible for its magnifi cent nature and his- of Poles into slavery tory.” The glacier, which covers more than half of the park and DPA parcels, while the gang took an 8% of Iceland’s surface, reaches London estimated £2.46mn from the over several volcanic systems, operation. including two of the most ac- “This is the largest modern tive volcanoes on the island, British court has sen- slavery prosecution of its kind Grimsvotn and Bardabunga. tenced eight Polish in the UK and perhaps in Eu- Iceland’s highest point, Hvan- Acitizens to up to 11 years rope,” said Mark Paul of CPS nadalshnjukur at 2,110m, is lo- in prison for traffi cking hun- West Midlands. “The gang not cated at the southern edge of the dreds of people from Poland only stole the victims’ money glacier. into slave labour, in what pros- but took away their freedom, Tourists often fl ock to the peak ecutors said yesterday could be using threats and violence to to admire the view, when they Europe’s biggest modern slav- bully them and control their are not found at the Jokulsarlon ery case. lives.” lagoon, located at the foot of the Birmingham Crown Court He said 88 victims spoke to ice cap with its characteristic sentenced fi ve men and three investigators, while West Mid- small turquoise blue icebergs. women to between three years lands Police said the gang traf- The park also contains the and 11 years in prison, after all fi cked up to 400 people to Brit- Lakagigar, a row of craters that eight were convicted of people ain, “forcing them to work for were formed in a violent erup- traffi cking and forced labour a pittance and live in squalid tion in 1783, when lava spewed off ences. conditions”. out of the mountain for many Their victims, described as “This was traffi cking and ex- months. “vulnerable men and women”, ploitation on a massive scale; Vatnajokull National Park is were persuaded with false this gang treated these people, the third Icelandic site to join promises to travel to Birming- their fellow countrymen, as Unesco’s World Heritage List, ham, where the gang control- commodities purely for their after Thingvellir National Park led their lives, took most of own greed,” Detective Chief in 2004, where the oldest par- French President Emmanuel Macron, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, and Unesco director-general Audrey Azoulay pose their earnings and fraudulently Inspector Nick Dale, one of liament in the world was estab- at the Unesco headquarters in Paris yesterday, during the G7 Development and Education Ministers Summit. France is hosting the claimed welfare benefi ts for the lead investigators, said in a lished, and the volcanic island of rotating presidency of the G7 in 2019. them. statement. Surtsey in 2008. “Many hundreds of vulner- “Some were told they would able victims – often homeless be taken to the woods to dig and suff ering from addictions their own graves [if they re- – were lured from Poland to belled],” Dale said. Birmingham with the promise He said the ringleaders were of free accommodation and “clever and manipulative ... Sea-Watch captain to sue Salvini for defamation well-paid employment,” the and ran a sophisticated opera- Crown Prosecution Service tion across more than 30 prop- (CPS) said. erties”. Migrant rescue ship captain yer said, prompting a swift and central issue was not individu- It said that the gang housed Most of the victims “felt lashes Berlin, Rome angry response from the minis- als like herself but “the failure of the victims in “cramped, sub- powerless to escape, with no ter. the European Union” on migrant standard accommodation and knowledge of the area, little or AFP “She breaks laws and attacks policy. gave them so little food that no English language skills, and Rome Italian military vessels, and then Rackete has strongly criticised many were forced to attend no one to turn to for help”, Dale she sues me,” the anti-migrant both Rome and Berlin. soup kitchens”. said. Salvini tweeted. “I’m not afraid “I felt I had been left alone” af- The labourers received as Only three of them were able he captain of detained of the Mafi a, let alone a rich and ter taking on board 40 migrants little as £10 ($13) per week for to escape, in the middle of their migrant rescue ship Sea- spoiled communist!” in the Mediterranean, she told jobs such as picking onions, fi rst night in Britain, the offi cer TWatch 3, Carola Rackete, Italian police last week ar- Der Spiegel after being released making fencing and sorting added. will sue Matteo Salvini for defa- rested Rackete, 31, after she de- on Tuesday following three days mation after a tirade of insults fi ed orders to stay away and in custody. from Italy’s far-right interior forced her way into port on Italy’s “My impression was that no- minister, her lawyer said yester- southern Lampedusa island to body really wanted to help at Former Norwegian minister gets jail day. disembark 40 rescued migrants either the national and interna- term for abusing asylum-seekers “We have prepared the legal who had been stuck at sea on her tional level,” she was quoted as complaint against minister Sal- vessel for two weeks. Rackete, seen here in this file picture being escorted by police saying. “They kept passing on A former Norwegian government minister has been sentenced to vini,” Alessandro Gamberini told An Italian judge this week or- off icers, has gone into hiding since her release from Italian custody, the hot potato while we still had five years in jail for sexually abusing three asylum-seekers over Italian radio, saying that “it’s not dered her freed as she had been following numerous threats to her life. 40 rescued on board.” several years, prosecutors said on Thursday. easy to make a complete list of acting to save lives, a decision She criticised Germany’s con- Svein Ludvigsen, 72, a former fisheries minister, was convicted all the insults Salvini has made which also sparked Salvini’s ire. a “pain in the arse”, “criminal”, many’s Der Spiegel weekly that servative interior minister, Horst of abusing his position as county governor and exploiting the these last weeks”. Two other investigations, on “delinquent”, and “poor woman she was taken aback by Salvini Seehofer, saying that he “did not vulnerable situations of three young men, one of whom has a mild Salvini, who is also deputy charges of helping people smug- who only tried to kill fi ve Italian labelling her a threat to national feel like accepting” off ers from mental disability. prime minister and an admirer glers and resisting the authori- soldiers”. security and other names. several municipalities to take in The sentence was handed down on Wednesday but made public a of US President Donald Trump, ties are still underway after she Rackete has gone into hid- “I was surprised at how per- the migrants. day later. is an avid user of social media, forced her way past Italian cus- ing following numerous threats, sonal it became,” said Rackete, Asked about the admiration The abuse of the men, now aged between 25 and 34, occurred which he also uses to insult peo- toms vessels. her charity Sea-Watch said on charging that Salvini’s “way of she has earned among her sup- between 2011 and 2017, according to court documents seen by AFP. ple he disagrees with. During the two week stand-off Wednesday, a day after her re- expressing himself is disrespect- porters, Rackete said: “I have not Victims told the court that Ludvigsen, who is now retired, had Salvini “stirs the troubled wa- and after Salvini launched a se- lease from Italian custody. ful” and “not appropriate for a properly digested that yet. Gen- off ered them housing and jobs in exchange for sexual favours. ters of hate. A defamation lawsuit ries of furious tweets at the char- In her fi rst interview since be- top politician”. erally though, I am a person who Two of the three men had also been concerned that their residency is a way to send a signal”, the law- ity worker, including calling her ing arrested, Rackete told Ger- The German argued that the prefers action to words”. permits could have been withdrawn if they didn’t comply. Marauding toxic caterpillars spark health scare across Germany

People suff er rashes and Oak processionary moth cat- nests have been found in large problems during a sports day. caster Deutschlandfunk report- against the caterpillar, spraying In Louvain, Belgium, fi refi ght- breathing diff iculties as warm erpillars, named after the nose- numbers all over the country. “It’s terrible everywhere,” ed. 220 hectares of forest with bio- ers had to destroy nests of the weather brings infestation to-tail processions they form to Cities and towns in Branden- Thomas Schwolow, an adminis- “The oak processionary infes- cides that stop the larvae from invasive species before a rock travel between the oak trees they burg, Saxony-Anhalt, Baden- trator in the municipality of Is- tation this year is very intensive eating oak leaves and makes them concert. By Philip Oltermann devour, have fi ne, long hairs with Württemberg, Bavaria and the sum, where numerous trees have – much more than last year,” said die off . Oak processionary moth cat- Guardian News & Media an irritating toxin that can cause western state of North Rhine- been aff ected, told Rheinische the park’s manager, Frank Dart- Near Hamburg in northern erpillars begin to pupate in early blistering rashes, feverish dizzy Westphalia have been particu- Post. sch. Germany, parts of the A1 motor- July. spells and asthma attacks. larly badly aff ected. “It would be great if it would In Nuremberg, organisers of a way were closed for three nights However, the threat posed by arauding caterpillars For years, the caterpillar used In the city of Münster, six peo- rain so that at least all the hair on rock festival had to hire a private in May so fi refi ghters could tackle their nests remains. with toxic hairs have to be a relatively rare sight in ple had to have eye operations to the leaves and in the air could be company to remove procession- infected trees. Each caterpillar can have up Mbrought parts of Ger- Germany, found only in isolated remove caterpillar hair that got washed away,” he added. ary nests that had infested about Authorities were concerned to 700,000 hook-ended hairs, many to a standstill, leading to areas of woodland. stuck in their corneas. Dortmund’s Fredenbaumpark, 50 trees where the concert was that the caterpillar’s hairs, which and the toxins they contain can closures of swimming pools, res- However, following this year’s In Mülheim, nine children were where nearly 500 trees have been due to be held. are almost invisible, could aff ect remain active several years after taurants, public parks and sec- mild spring and warm, dry sum- taken to a hospital last month af- found to be infested, was forced In Frankfurt, authorities have the health of drivers and local the caterpillar has pupated into tions of the motorway. mer, the oak processionary’s ter suff ering rashes and breathing to close for three weeks, broad- used helicopters in the battle residents. an adult moth. Gulf Times 10 Saturday, July 6, 2019 INDIA

RULING VERDICT BIZZARE INVESTIGATION SCANDAL Politician Vaiko gets Rajiv Gandhi assassination Maharashtra minister Image of Mumbai doctor’s Vijayan orders probe one-year jail for sedition convict granted parole blames crabs for dam burst suicide note recovered into poor quality flyover

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The Madras High Court granted a one month Advancing a bizarre theory, Shiv Sena minister, An image of the purported suicide note, penned Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan yesterday party general secretary and Rajya Sabha parole to S Nalini, one of those convicted in the Tanaji Sawant, held crabs responsible for by a Mumbai woman medico before she hanged said he has ordered a probe into the poor candidate Vaiko was yesterday sentenced to assassination of former prime minister Rajiv the Tuesday dam burst incident in Ratnagiri, herself on May 22, has been recovered from condition of a Kochi flyover, built during the one year in jail and a fine of Rs10,000 by a court Gandhi. The court order came after hearing her Maharashtra, that has claimed 18 lives so far. The her phone by forensic experts. It is expected to erstwhile Oommen Chandy government. The in Chennai in a sedition case dating back to plea for a six-month parole to make arrangements water conservation minister claimed that there shed new light on the investigations in the case. bridge has started to crumble just after two- 2009. The court also stayed the execution of the for her daughter’s wedding. Nalini argued her were no breaches in the ill-fated Tiware Dam Gunratan Sadavarte, the lawyer for the victim Payal and-half years of its construction. Vijayan was sentence for a month on his application. Vaiko’s case in person. In her plea, Nalini said every life earlier with the reservoir storing water for the Tadvi’s family, said the image clearly shows the responding to a report submitted by ‘Metroman’ speech during the launch of the book I accuse convict was entitled to one month of ordinary past 15 years. “The dam was built in 2004 and names of the three prime accused medicos who E Sreedharan who said the 750 metre-long in 2009 was considered as seditious and a case leave after completing two years in prison and she there were no breaches ever... However, there is were her seniors – Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehere Palarivattom flyover in Kochi, which was built was filed against him. Speaking to reporters after had not taken the leave even once during the past huge problem of crabs in that dam and because and Ankita Khandelwal – currently in custody for at a cost of Rs420mn during the previous hearing the judgement, Vaiko said he did not 27 years she had spent in jail. Besides Nalini, the of that the recent leakages took place,” Sawant abetment of suicide and other charges. Tadvi, 23, government and was supposed to stand over deny the charges. “Today is the happiest day in six other convicted in the case are her husband explained. Suhas Khandagale, chief of the village was found hanging in her post-graduate students’ 100 years, was already crumbling after it opened my life.” He said he will continue to support the V Sriharan, A G Perarivalan, T Suthendraraja, development committee of Ratnagiri said time hostel room at the BYL Nair Hospital on the for traff ic in October 2016. The flyover has been Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a militia group. Jayakumar, Robert Payas and Ravichandran. has come to throw crabs at the minister’s home. evening of May 22, triggering an outcry. closed for traff ic since May 1. Budget with focus on growth unveiled zTaxes increased on super rich and gold imports z State-owned banks to get Rs700bn injection

Reuters need to look at the revenue as- NRIs to get Aadhaar card without 180 days’ wait New Delhi sumptions more closely to draw more comfort,” said Joseph Tho- Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) having Indian passports can now mas, head of research, Embay get Aadhaar card without waiting for 180 days, Finance Minister he government raised im- Wealth Management in Mumbai. Nirmala Sitharaman said yesterday. As of now, NRIs get an Aadhaar port tariff s on nearly 75 Capital Economics was scep- card after staying in India for a minimum of 180 days. “I propose Titems including gold and tical about the defi cit target. to consider issuing Aadhaar cards for NRIs with Indian passports automobile parts in its budget “The fi scal maths don’t add up,” after their arrival in India without waiting for 180 days,” Sitharaman yesterday and increased taxes on it said. told Parliament while presenting the Budget 2019. According to the rich to help pay for recapital- Sitharaman raised import du- the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, ising banks and supporting small ties on gold and other precious Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, an NRI who has resided in India business in a bid to revive sag- metals to 12.5% from 10%, and for 182 days or more in 12 months and with an Indian address could ging growth. levied an import tax of Rs1 per apply for Aadhaar. The minister said the government also intended Aiming to restart investment tonne on crude oil to boost feder- to provide better and more accessible public services to Indians that’s at its weakest level in al revenue just as global oil prices abroad by opening embassies in more countries. The government years, the Prime Minister Naren- have softened from their highs. is developing 17 iconic tourism sites into world class tourist dra Modi’s government also pro- The government also in- destinations and to serve as a model for other tourism sites. posed giving foreign investors a creased local levies on a litre of bigger role in India’s giant insur- petrol and diesel by two rupees Tax benefits for electric vehicles to lift sales ance and aviation sectors, which each, stoking fears of infl ation. have been tightly controlled for The fi nance minister said The government yesterday proposed tax waivers on the purchase of decades. the government would provide electric vehicles and removed import taxes on some auto components Finance Minister Nirmala state-owned banks Rs700bn of to help boost sales and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. Finance Sitharaman unveiled the pro- additional capital that are laden Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said buyers of electric vehicles will receive posals while presenting to par- with bad debt which has aff ected an income tax deduction of Rs150,000 on interest paid on loans taken liament the budget for the fi scal their ability to lend and also spur out to them. She added that the government will also withdraw import year ending March 31, 2020, the economic growth. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrives to present the 2019 budget in Parliament, New Delhi, yesterday. tariff s on some parts used to make electric vehicles. “Considering our fi rst since the Hindu nationalist- Indian banks and fi nancial in- large consumer base, we aim to leapfrog and envision India as a global led government was re-elected stitutions, in all, hold bad debt of hub of manufacturing of electric vehicles,” she said in the budget in a vote spanning April and May. over Rs10tn. speech. While India wants electric vehicles to account for 30% of all Modi, boosted by his election The government raised in- ‘Insipid’ Budget has relief passenger vehicle sales in India by 2030, electric cars account for less victory, has set a target of grow- come tax surcharge on people than 1% of new vehicle sales due to a lack of charging infrastructure ing India into a $5tn economy by with an annual income of more and the high cost of batteries. Sitharaman said the government has 2024-2025 from $2.7tn. than Rs20mn who make up the for none, claims Congress already proposed reducing a national goods and services tax (GST) A government report on top end of Indian society. from 12% to 5% to encourage sales. Thursday said this will be done Currently, the government on the back of higher investment, imposes a 10% surcharge where IANS speech that does not disclose the three percent to seven percent, No gear shift in defence spending savings and exports in the way total income is between Rs5mn New Delhi allocations to important pro- or by seven percent”. China’s growth was propelled. and Rs10mn, and 15% on income grammes like MGNREGA, the Questioning the government Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not loosen purse strings “This budget is setting out a above Rs10mn. mid-day meal scheme, healthcare, for not having anything for the to fund modernisation of the armed forces in the Budget presented vision, a target, for every sector The new rate will include 25% he Congress yesterday etc. and to vulnerable sections like farmers, he said: “There is noth- yesterday, as the allocation for defence remained on the lines of of our society,” Sitharaman said surcharge on income between dubbed the fi rst Union SC, ST, minorities, women etc? ing in the Budget that explains the interim Budget presented earlier this year as the outlay stood to the thumping of desks in par- Rs20mn and Rs50mn rupees, TBudget of the Modi 2.0 We are shocked by this departure how you are going to reverse the at Rs3.18tn. Defence allocation did not find mention in her speech liament. and 37% on income exceeding government as “insipid and from the usual practice,” he said. slide in agriculture.” as she only announced exemption of customs duty on import of GDP growth slumped to 5.8% Rs50mn a year. opaque”, saying it had not re- Chidambaram said Finance Chidambaram also said even defence equipment not manufactured in the country and said that in January-March, the lowest in “This budget is a mixed bag vealed any fi nancial data or allo- Minister Nirmala Sitharaman the government’s plans for the immediate modernisation and upgradation of armed forces was a 20 quarters. Growth for the last with a signifi cant increase in cations, had no relief for various should have been transparent agriculture sector had not been national priority. But experts claimed that the money allocated was fi scal year, at 6.8%, was also a taxation for the wealthy. Also, the sections of people, or mentioned about how much revenue the explored in Sitharaman’s speech, not enough. “The Budget does not meet the financial needs of the fi ve-year low. increase in excise duty for petrol measures to help farmers. government expects to raise with noting that there had been hopes 200-odd contracts signed. The modernisation needs impetus and All important indicators of and diesel will stoke infl ation,” Addressing a press conference the hike in taxes. that the government would come the budget should have incentivised the indigenous capabilities and economic activity, like the dip- said Abhimanyu Sofa, head of re- at the party headquarters, former “Belying widespread expecta- up with a detailed blueprint for contributed more to Make in India,” said lieutenant general Vinod ping index of industrial produc- search at IIFL Securities. fi nance minister P Chidama- tions, the fi nance minister has the revival of the farm sector. Bhatia (retd.), emphasising on the need for expansion of defence tion and plummeting automobile Sitharaman cut corporate tax baram said: “Budget 2019-20 is given no meaningful relief to “But in the speech given by the manufacturing base. sales, confi rmed the slowdown. rates to 25% from 30% for com- an insipid budget. The fi nance any section of the people. On the fi nance minister, there was no But the government did not panies with an annual turnover minister’s speech was an unusu- contrary, the fi nance minister mention of the agriculture system. Plan to name roads after good taxpayers announce a big jump in public of up to Rs4bn, from the current ally opaque exercise. has increased customs duties on How can I say something if she spending, contrary to expecta- ceiling of Rs2.5bn. “Short sentences that do not a large number of goods, raised has not mentioned anything?” he Fancy having a school or a train named after you, or getting priority tions. But there was no move forward explain what they are trying to taxes on petrol and diesel and said. Slamming the government, boarding at airports? In India, this could soon be true for people Sitharaman said the fi scal def- on the government’s long-time do. This budget of 2019-20 is a proposed extensive amendments Chidambaram said: “The (Naren- who pay their taxes in exemplary fashion. In proposals aimed at icit for this fi nancial year would goal of across-the-board cutting monotonous budget. Has there to the Income Tax Act that will dra) Modi government treats India improving the country’s low tax intake, the top 10 taxpayers in a be trimmed to 3.3% of GDP – of corporate taxes — now about ever been a Budget speech that increase the tax and compliance as one big state government and district over a decade “could be recognised by naming important which analysts said was likely 35% — to make India more com- does not disclose the total rev- burdens on the taxpayer,” the has taken upon itself to do things buildings, monuments, roads, trains, initiatives... in their name”, based on ambitious expectations petitive with other countries. enue, the total expenditure, the Congress leader said. that are the right and duty of state the annual Economic Survey suggested. Other sweeteners could of higher tax collections. In 2018, average corporate tax fi scal defi cit, the revenue defi cit, On additional taxation on the governments. “This is not co-op- include faster boarding at airports and special “diplomatic-type” “Commitment to restrict fi s- was 25% in China and Indone- the additional revenue mobilisa- super-rich, Chidambaram said it erative federalism, it is an unequal lanes at immigration counters, the government report compiled by cal defi cit at 3.30% compared to sia, 24% in Malaysia and 20% in tion or the fi nancial concessions? is “unclear whether the eff ective partnership imposed by the Cen- the chief economic advisor said. 3.40% is a good intent, but we Thailand, according to KPMG. “Has there ever been a budget tax rate has been increased from tre upon state governments.” Apex court ‘defrauded’ Anger at lynching Congress legislators in Kochi demolition case Thakor, Jhala quit IANS Giving clear indications, Al- Gandhinagar pesh Thakor said: “I have given IANS demolition, and then you went to The writ petitioners – the my vote to an honest national New Delhi the other bench... Three to four home-owners – said the report leadership that wants to take senior counsels are involved in had been submitted without ebel Congress legisla- the country to new heights. I this fraud. Is money everything giving them any opportunity tors Alpesh Thakore went by my conscience.” enior counsels engaged by for you?” Justice Mishra asked. and this was not communicated Rand his protege Dhaval- The victory of the BJP can- the petitioners have played A vacation bench of justices to the court before it reached sinh Jhala yesterday resigned didates against Congress’ Sa fraud on the Supreme Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi the decision of demolishing the as MLAs after cross-voting in Chandrika Chudasama and Court, the apex court said yes- had passed the order while con- fl ats. favour of the BJP candidates in Gaurav Pandya was a foregone terday while hearing a matter re- sidering a writ petition fi led by a The counsel for the petition- the Rajya Sabha by-elections, conclusion, on the basis of the lated to the razing of 400 fl ats in group of residents, who claimed ers contended that the minis- which were held earlier in the party’s own strength in the fi ve posh coastal apartment com- that their arguments were not try of environment, forest and day. house of 182. plexes in Maradu area in Kochi. heard by the top court while pro- climate change had conveyed Thakor and Jhala had quit all Alpesh Thakor, who is an Criticising the petitioners and nouncing the demolition order its approval of the Coastal Zone posts in the Congress in the run OBC leader, said he and Jhala their senior counsels, a bench on May 8 in view of the fi ndings Management Plans (CZMPs) up to the Lok Sabha elections in had quit the Congress over the comprising justices Arun Mishra of the enquiry committee. regarding 10 coastal districts of April, alleging ill-treatment by unfair treatment meted out and Navin Sinha said the peti- The court dismissed the mat- Kerala. the party leadership. to them in the party. He had tioners had obtained a stay order ter and warned the petitioners However, the approval was With their votes, the BJP got joined the Congress ahead of on the demolition from another not to agitate further. pending before the court. two more than its strength of the 2017 state Assembly elec- bench during the apex court va- In May, Supreme Court, in The permission to construct 100 MLAs, besides three oth- tions and won for the fi rst time cation. the aftermath of the devastat- the buildings was granted in ers – one of Nationalist Con- from the Radhanpur seat on On June 10, in a relief for the ing Kerala fl oods, ordered the 2006 when Maradu was a pan- gress Party (NCP) and two the party’s ticket. home owners, the Supreme demolition of all illegal struc- chayat. of the Bharatiya Tribal Party Without giving further Court stayed for six weeks the tures built on the notifi ed Coast- The builders of two apartments (BTP), thus polling 105 for its details, he told reporters: “I demolition of the 400 fl ats. al Regulatory Zone (CRZ) at the fi led review petitions challenging candidates, Union External joined the Congress because “That bench should not have Maradu municipality in Kerala’s the judgement passed in May and Aff airs Minister S Jaishankar of my immense faith in Rahul entertained the matter at all,” Ernakulam district. argued that the court was misled and OBC Cell member Jugalk- Gandhi, but unfortunately he said a furious justice Mishra, In June, the apex court had as- by the Kerala Coastal Zone Man- ishore Thakor. couldn’t do much. I came to targeting the senior advocates sured that the review pleas will agement Authority. A police officer raises a gun as police personnel try to After cross-voting by Tha- work for the poor but did not who appeared on the matter. be heard in the fi rst week of July, The review petitions also said disperse Muslims demonstrators during a rally in Surat kor and Jhala, the Congress get to do much. Instead, I only “Should we draw contempt and then the vacation bench or- that the court-appointed three- yesterday in protest at the mob lynching a fortnight ago of got 69 votes besides one of got mental stress in the Con- against you? I had specifi cally dered a status quo on all demoli- member committee did not give Tabrez Ansari in Jharkhand. Independent legislator Jignesh gress. I am free from the bur- turned down the stay on the tions till then. them a proper hearing. Mevani. den.” Gulf Times Saturday, July 6, 2019 11 LATIN AMERICA

Major donor Norway frets over Brazil deforestation US dream pulls Norway has expressed alarm the Norwegian climate and Amazon, the world’s largest Salles has said that Brazil will environmental provisions in the over accelerating destruction environment ministry said. tropical forest, which is vital to overhaul rules for selecting deal between the EU and South of the Amazon and concern The Nordic country has made countering global warming. projects supported by the American bloc Mercosur match for the future of a Brazilian the lion’s share of contributions The Norwegian and German Amazon Fund, after discovering Brazil’s domestic laws and Africa migrants rainforest protection fund it to Brazil’s Amazon Fund. ambassadors met with Brazil’s irregularities in spending. international commitments, has given $1.2bn to in the last Germany has paid $68mn, Environment Minister Ricardo “From Norway’s point of view, and the farm industry is well decade. with another $100mn in the Salles, a climate change sceptic, the Amazon fund has worked aware that Brazil must comply Deforestation in Brazil’s portion pipeline from donors who to talk about the Amazon Fund, well until now,” the climate with the Paris Agreement. in huge numbers of the Amazon soared more make contributions based on the statement said. ministry’s statement said. Dias insisted that she and than 88% in June compared Brazil’s record. “Norway’s goal Environmentalists say “It would be a setback if the the farm industry share to the same month a year ago, is to continue the partnership, Bolsonaro’s strong remarks fund, which has been an environmental concerns. the second-consecutive month even though we realise that calling for development of important inspiration to other “As minister of agriculture, to Latin America of rising destruction under the termination of the fund the Amazon and criticising tropical forest countries, is I have this concern yes. new right-wing President Jair also is a possible outcome,” environmental enforcement terminated. “Entering a form Development and environment Bolsonaro. the ministry’s statement agency Ibama for handing of co-operation with Brazil that are two sectors that can Reuters Then she heard that some people “We are worried about the added, noting Brazil’s emission out too many fines would weakens the foundation of our and should go together, one Tapachula, Mexico had made it to the US. recent developments in Brazil reduction goals under the Paris embolden loggers and partnership is not an option.” depends on the other,” Dias “Someone would say, ‘You can and reports on increased climate pact. ranchers seeking profit from Agriculture Minister Tereza told reporters in a briefing on do this,’” she said. ‘So I asked if it deforestation in the Amazon,” Brazil is home to 60% of the deforestation. Cristina Dias said that the the trade deal. arilyne Tatang, 23, was possible for someone like me crossed nine borders too, because I’m pregnant. They Min two months to reach said, ‘Do this, do that.’” Mexico from the West African Tatang begged her family for nation of Cameroon, fl eeing money for the journey, which political violence after police she said so far has cost $5,000. torched her house, she said. She said her route began with She plans to soon take a bus a fl ight to Ecuador, where Cam- north for four days and then eroonians don’t need visas. cross a tenth border, into the US. Tatang went by bus and on She is not alone — a record foot through Colombia, Panama, UN hails number of fellow Africans are Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Hondu- fl ying to south America and then ras and Guatemala until reaching traversing thousands of miles of Mexico. highway and a treacherous trop- She was still deciding what to ical rainforest to reach the US. do once she got to Mexico’s north- Tatang, who is eight months ern border city of Tijuana, she Caracas as pregnant, took a raft across a river said, cradling her belly while seat- into Mexico on June 8, a day af- ed on a concrete bench outside ter Mexico struck a deal with US migration offi ces in the southern President Donald Trump to do Mexican city of Tapachula. more to control the biggest fl ows “I will just ask,” she said. “I of migrants heading north to the can’t say, ‘When I get there, I will prisoners US border in more than a decade. do this.’ I don’t know. I’ve never The migrants vying for entry been there.” at the US southern border are Reuters spoke recently with mainly Central Americans. fi ve migrants in Tapachula who But growing numbers from a were from Cameroon, DRC and released handful of African countries are Angola. joining them, prompting calls Several said they travelled to from Trump and Mexico for oth- Brazil as a jumping-off point. Reuters Meanwhile Venezuela yester- er countries in Latin America to They were a small sampling of Geneva day charged that US-led sanc- do their part to slow the overall the hundreds of people — in- tions had stopped foreign debt fl ood of migrants. cluding Haitians, Cubans, In- refi nancing, blocked vital food As more Africans learn from dians and Bangladeshis — clus- enezuela has freed 22 and medicine imports, and cost relatives and friends who have tered outside migration offi ces. prisoners including the billions of dollars in lost oil as- made the trip that crossing Latin The number of undocument- Vemblematic cases of sets. America to the US is tough but ed African migrants found by judge Maria Afi uni and journalist President Nicolas Maduro’s not impossible, more are mak- authorities in Mexico quadru- Braulio Jatar, a senior UN offi cial government says Venezuela is ing the journey, and in turn are pled compared to fi ve years ago, said yesterday. the victim of a US plot to top- helping others follow in their reaching nearly 3,000 people in Twenty students were also ple him, eradicate socialism and footsteps, migration experts say. 2018. among those freed on Thursday, hand the world’s largest oil re- Trump’s threats to clamp Most obtain a visa that al- according to UN High Com- serves to multinationals. down on migrants have rico- lows them free passage through missioner for Human Rights “Today the US has confi scated cheted around the globe, para- Mexico for 20 days, after which Michelle Bachelet and her offi ce. some $30bn in (state oil compa- doxically spurring some to they cross into the US and ask The news came after the UN ny) PDVSA assets while 40 banks exploit what they see as a nar- for asylum. Human Rights Council held a are holding onto some $5.4bn, rowing window of opportunity, Few choose to seek asylum debate on Bachelet’s report of a preventing Venezuela from pur- said Michelle Mittelstadt, com- in Mexico, in part because they visit to Venezuela in June. chasing food and medication,” munications director for the Mi- don’t speak Spanish. “The welcome releases of 62 Castillo told the UN Human gration Policy Institute, a Wash- Tatang said the language bar- detainees then (in June), with a Rights Council in Geneva. ington-based think tank. rier was especially frustrating further 22 - including journalist “Venezuela can’t refi nance its “This message is being heard because she speaks only English, Braulio Jatar and judge (Maria) debt and oil tankers and busi- not just in central America, but making communication diffi cult Lourdes Afi uni - set free yes- nesses are being punished,” he in other parts of the world,” she both with Mexican migration of- terday and the authorities’ ac- added, saying oil export income said. fi cials and even other Africans, ceptance of two human rights had plummeted from $40bn per Data from Mexico’s interior such as migrants from DRC who offi cers in the country, signify year to $5bn. ministry suggests that migration speak primarily French. the beginning of positive en- The South American country from Africa this year will break Those who reach the US often gagement on the country’s many has debts worth around $200bn records. send advice back home, helping human rights issues,” Bachelet to a diverse group of bondhold- The number of Africans reg- make the journey easier for oth- said. ers, commercial suppliers and istered by Mexican authorities ers, said Florence Kim, spokes- A spokeswoman said Bachelet companies whose assets were tripled in the fi rst four months woman for the International Or- had requested the 22 releases di- expropriated. of 2019 compared with the same ganisation for Migration in West rectly to leftist President Nicolas Meanwhile Russia said it period a year ago, reaching about and Central Africa. Maduro. plans to take steps to strength- 1,900 people, mostly from Cam- Like their Central American Afi uni was jailed shortly after en Venezuela’s armed forces, eroon and the Democratic Re- migrant counterparts, some Af- former president Hugo Chavez RIA news agency cited Russian public of the Congo (DRC). ricans are also showing up with criticised one of her rulings Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Tatang, a grade school teacher, families hoping for easier entries releasing businessman Eligio Ryabkov as saying. said she left northwest Cam- than as individuals, said Mit- Cedeno, who was accused of Russia is a staunch ally of eroon due to worsening violence telstadt of the Migration Policy corruption. President Nicolas Maduro and in the English-speaking region, Institute. Prosecutors accused Afi uni of has backed him alongside China. where separatists are battling US data shows a huge spike taking bribes to free Cedeno. She “I want to underline that I am the mostly French-speaking in the number of families from denied the charges, insisting she talking specifi cally about work government for autonomy. countries other than Mexico, El released Cedeno because he had with equipment which was de- At fi rst, Tatang planned only Salvador, Guatemala and Hon- Supporters of the Venezuelan government march in Caracas yesterday during the commemoration been awaiting trial for longer livered there,” Ryabkov was to cross the border into Nigeria. duras at the US southern border. of the Venezuelan Independence. than allowed by law. quoted as saying.

Argentina, IMF reach deal on loan tranche

Boat capsize victims’ The International Monetary Fund yesterday reached an agreement with Argentina that will release the next $5.4bn disbursement under the loan bodies handed over to kin programme aimed to help stabilise the South American nation’s economy. The IMF board must approve the AFP One survivor, 30-year-old cued but nine are still missing. fourth review of the country’s Puerto Lempira, Honduras Anderson Flores, said his cous- “It is clear that the tragedy performance under the before Buenos in’s remains had been identi- happened because the boat was Aires will have access to the funds. fi ed but had not yet been bur- overloaded,” said local journal- The board meeting is set for July 12. amilies of the 27 people ied. ist Jacinto Molina. “Argentina’s economic policies are who died after a Hondu- He said that before the fi sh- The region is one of Hondu- yielding results,” acting IMF chief Fran fi shing boat sank have ing vessel went under “we ras’ poorest — accessible only David Lipton said in a statement, started receiving the bodies of were sleeping in the cabins by sea or plane — and lobster noting that the government achieved their relatives, as the country’s when we felt the boat turning fi shing is an important source all the targets agreed with the fund president ordered a probe into around, then it started sinking of income. including on budget policy and social the incident. quickly.” Merchant Marine director spending. “I fully support Argentina’s The vessel sank on Wednes- Flores added he and eight Juan Carlos Rivera said author- eff orts to bolster confidence, lay the day in the remote eastern Mos- others managed to detach a ities have suspended permits foundation for sustainable growth and quitia region after heading out boat from the main ship, then for up to three years for vessels protect the most vulnerable.” While to sea when a seasonal ban on waited for fi ve hours before be- whose owners carry too many inflation remains high it “is expected to lobster fi shing was lifted. ing rescued. fi shermen. continue to fall in the coming months,” “We feel deep regret” over The directorate of forensic “The boats only have a ca- Lipton said. “There are also signs the drownings, President Juan medicine said a team of nine pacity for 30 or 40 people but that the economy is improving in the Orlando Hernande wrote on experts had been sent to the they overload them by double,” second quarter.” President Mauricio his offi cial Twitter account on area to help recover and iden- said Molina. Macri has faced increasing pressure Thursday. “We stand in soli- tify the victims. Lobster fishing is risky over the misfiring economy with darity with the families,” he Ninety-one people were on and each diver earns up to presidential elections set for October. said adding he had demanded the 70-tonne vessel when it set $1,250 a trip, while crew on He was forced to impose austerity an investigation. sail from Cabo Gracias a Dios the ship get around $600, he measures as authorities struggled Autopsies were being carried on the country’s easternmost added. to stabilise the currency and rein out in an improvised morgue on point bordering Nicaragua, na- “It’s good income in a coun- in inflation to ensure access to IMF a sandbar off the country’s east val authorities said. try where there is no money,” funding. Argentina originally secured coast. The ship sank near Cayo said Molina, adding many a $50bn financing package from the A dozen bodies have so far Gorda, a tiny island just divers suff er debilitating inju- IMF in June 2018, before returning to been handed over to relatives, northeast of their point of de- ries from swimming too deep the fund to ask for an additional $6bn according to an AFP photog- parture. or staying underwater too long A woman cries as she waits at the Catarasca Naval Base in Puerto Lempira, Honduras, to identify the and accelerated disbursements in rapher. Fifty-fi ve people were res- to collect lobsters. remains of a loved one who died in the boat sinking. exchange for tougher conditions. Gulf Times 12 Saturday, July 6, 2019 PAKISTAN

‘Human rights PM stresses importance situation is better of govt 10bn-tree project now’ Pakistan to plant 10bn His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf This year the government will entire country, targeting 10bn Internews saplings in next five years: (PTI) party, which came to pow- spend nearly Rs8bn to begin the trees in the next fi ve years. Islamabad adviser er last year, pledged to plant bil- project,” Aslam said. “This initiative will prove an lions of trees to tackle the eff ects This new initiative builds on eff ective vehicle to manage risks Internews of climate change. the success of Billion-tree Tsu- of environmental degradation hough the human rights Islamabad In 2013, the PTI-led Khyber nami Project (BTP) in Khyber and climate change while si- situation is believed to be Pakhtunkhwa provincial gov- Pakhtunkhwa during the past multaneously driving economic Tdeteriorating in Pakistan, ernment introduced a green- fi ve years, which increased the growth, livelihoods and poverty in fact it has improved during the rime Minister Imran Khan growth initiative to tackle defor- forest cover by over 600,000 reduction,” the Aslam said. last three decades, said Human has said that for the sake estation, build more small-scale hectares. He said that in the long run, Rights Commission of Pakistan Pof future generations, the hydroelectric projects and over- The project was funded the initiative would facilitate (HRCP) vice-chairman Kamran 10bn-Tree Tsunami Project of haul national parks. through public sector resources transition towards an environ- Arif. the government must be turned At a press conference in Is- and acknowledged by the UN mentally-resilient Pakistan, by “In the 1990s, there was no into a success. lamabad, Adviser to Prime Min- Environment, Bonn Challenge mainstreaming adaptation and separate ministry of human He took to Twitter, sharing a ister on Climate Change Malik and other international bod- mitigation through ecological- rights, but now there is one, news story on the environment Amin Aslam announced that the ies such as the World Economic ly-targeted initiatives covering which is exclusively looking into and planting trees. government would plant 10bn Forum. aff orestation and biodiversity issues of human rights. Moreo- “Ours was the fi rst party and saplings in the next fi ve years. Aslam said that the success conservation consistent with Prime Minister Khan: For the future of our generations, we must all ver, the National Commission government that understood He said that the project is of billion-tree plantation came the objectives outlined in Pa- strive to make our 10bn Tree Tsunami a success. for Human Rights (NCHR) has this phenomenon in Pakistan, a landmark initiative of the from the use of local fi nancing kistan’s Nationally Determined been established, which is a pos- and started the Billion-Tree present government under the with the highest level of political Contribution (NDC). degraded grassland, and 10% of all the provinces of the country,” itive development. Tsunami. For the future of our “Eco-System Restoration Ini- commitment. The 10bn Tree Tsunami wetlands in Pakistan by 2030. Aslam said. “However, the negative point generations, we must all strive tiative”. “After gaining experience, Pa- project will also help restore at “The 10bn Tree Tsunami is the Pakistan has also invited other is that the NCHR could not be to make our 10bn Tree Tsunami “As much as Rs125bn have kistan is now launching a much least 30% of degraded forest, biggest investment in preserving countries to participate in the made independent, and the a success,” Khan tweeted. been earmarked in this regard. wider initiative, spread over the 5% of degraded cropland, 6% of the deteriorated environment in project. armed forces are outside its pur- view,” he said while talking to media persons. According to Arif, other posi- tive developments included the National Assembly and Senate standing committees independ- KP plans population control programme ently working on human rights. “Moreover, the National Commission on Status of Wom- Internews that the funding required by Rs709mn to the elementary al health services ministry to It said one of the recommen- sideration in its meeting last en has been established at the Peshawar the departments concerned for and secondary education de- place them before the Council dations approved by the CCI was month. national and provincial level, the programme was Rs2.3bn for partment, Rs60mn to the local of Common Interest (CCI) for the creation of a special fund for He said the federal task force and there is also a commission 2019-20 and Rs9.78bn for the government department, and consent. reducing population growth is scheduled to meet on July on child welfare. he Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2020-24 period. Rs8mn to the awqaf and reli- The CCI approved the recom- rate, with annual allocation of 8, and that KP Chief Minister “Pakistan has signed and rati- (KP) population welfare Of the amount required in the gious aff airs department. mendations in November last Rs10bn exclusively from the Mahmood Khan would attend it. fi ed a number of international Tdepartment has proposed current fi scal, Rs248mn will go The document noted that the year and directed the national federal resources without any The offi cial said the centre treaties regarding human rights. a fi ve-year multi-sectoral popu- to the population welfare de- Supreme Court, considering health services (NHS) minis- cut from the provincial funds, had asked the province to share “So we have made progress, lation control programme at the partment, Rs2bn to the health family planning as a basic hu- try to prepare an action plan to provide 50% of the cost of with the federal task force the and should be hopeful that cost of Rs12.12bn. department, Rs17mn to the el- man right, had taken suo motu with fi nancial modalities for the contraceptives purchased by progress made on the matter. things will further improve,” he The proposal was presented ementary and secondary educa- notice of the high population proposals in consultation with provinces over and above last He said the provincial task said. before the provincial cabinet tion department, Rs20mn to the growth rate in July 2018, and provinces. year, recruitment of lady health force’s meeting is likely to hap- Giving a lecture at the “Ca- last month for approval with local government department, formed a task force to frame ac- The document said that the workers for 100% coverage of pen after the federal task force pacity-building workshop on a request for the provision of and Rs2mn to the awqaf and re- tionable recommendations to Provincial Action Plan prepared the provinces, and execution of has met. Pakistan’s international human Rs2.2bn but it was referred to ligious aff airs department. address the issue. in light of the CCI’s directions projects of health and popula- The results of the 2017 popu- rights obligations”, Arif said the the provincial task force on pop- The breakdown of funds re- It said that the task force was presented before the Pro- tion welfare departments. lation census show that the right against torture is the only ulation, which is headed by the quired between 2020 and 2024 agreed in a series of meetings vincial Population Task Force A senior offi cial at the popu- province’s population, exclud- absolute right at the interna- chief minister. shows that of the Rs9.7bn, on a set of recommendations, Implementation Committee in lation welfare department said ing the merged districts, had tional level, when even the right The summary, which the Rs7.6bn will go to the health which were placed before the January this year, which ordered that the cabinet had referred surged from 17mn in 1997 to to life is not. population welfare department department, Rs1.33bn to the Supreme Court, which approved the working out of the fi nancial the matter to the provincial task 30mn in 2017, a rate of 2.89% To prove his point, he said placed before the cabinet, said population welfare department, them and directed the nation- implication of the proposals. force on population for con- annually. even in case of genocide, the UN Security Council can refuse to play a physical role to stop it. “In the 1990s, genocides took place in Yugoslavia and Rwanda. All in a day’s work In Rwanda, 1.2mn people were 11 senators own 28 properties, killed in a month but the UN did not bother to intervene.” He said there are two interna- businesses worth billions abroad tional laws – “law of peace” and “law of war”. However, the “law of sea” is Internews given an advance of equivalent to also followed at the international Islamabad Rs1.4mn for a studio apartment level. in Dubai. “Now, the law of war is called a Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has ‘humanitarian law’, under which leven sitting senators own 33% share in a house in the UK. no civilian can be attacked or 28 properties abroad, while The cost of the share has been killed. Even a number of coun- Emany others hold business mentioned as Rs8.16mn. tries have started hiring civilian capital and bank accounts in dif- Law Minister Farogh Nasim security guards to protect their ferent countries. has a business capital of military installations, as in case A perusal of statements of as- Rs79.9mn abroad. of an attack they would be con- sets and liabilities of senators for Senate Chairman Sanjrani: has The total worth of his assets is sidered as a human shield.” the fi nancial year ending June net assets worth Rs100mn, over Rs480mn – Rs117mn in the When asked if there was any 30, 2018 released by the Election including over 23,000 kanals of form of cash and prize bonds, issue more vital than human Commission of Pakistan (ECP) agricultural land. and Rs215mn in bank accounts. rights, Arif said that nuclear war reveals that Minister for Par- Senate Chairman Sadiq San- is the only issue which is more liamentary Aff airs Azam Khan tion the property in her state- jrani owns a business company in An artisan heats a piece of gold to shape it into a heart design, at a jewellery workshop in sensitive than human rights, be- Swati, who happens to be the ment. Malaysia which, according to his Lahore. cause it could kill and aff ect mil- richest senator with assets worth Shaheen Khalid Butt of the statement, has not been opera- lions of people. Rs1.84bn in and outside Paki- PML-N owns two properties in tional since 2008. stan, owns 10 properties in the the US. He has net assets worth US and the UAE. The present market value of Rs100mn. His assets include The cost of his properties the properties is stated to be over 23,000 kanals of agricul- abroad has been put at Rs502mn, $2.2mn. tural land. while he has a business capital of Nuzhat Sadiq has declared a Other senators who have Senators raise issue of Pakistanis in Saudi jails Rs448.8mn abroad. house in the US in the name of a business capital abroad in- Two independent senators her spouse. clude Chaudhry Tanvir Khan of from the erstwhile Federally Ad- The cost and market value the PML-N, Atiq Sheikh of the Internews leased in these several months this year, the Saudi crown prince mittee that during the prime ministered Tribal Areas, Taj Af- of the property is stated to be MQM, Mir Kabir Shahi of the Islamabad is quite disturbing. The details had announced that more than minister’s visit in May, he had ridi and Aurengzeb Khan, have Rs3.6mn and Rs20mn, respec- National Party (NP), and Shah- of the prisoners have not been 2,000 Pakistani prisoners would reminded Prince Mohamed four properties each and invest- tively. zaib Durrani of the PML-N. shared despite repeated re- be released after Prime Minister about the latter’s promise. ments in the UAE. Former interior minister Reh- PPP senator Rubina Khalid has Senate committee has minders by the Pakistani gov- Imran Khan welcomed him to The offi cial said the Pakistani Afridi is one of the two de- man Malik owns a house in Lon- £40,000 in a bank account in the lamented that Paki- ernment,” said chairman of the the Prime Minister’s House. government had repeatedly re- clared billionaires in the Senate, don, the cost of which has been UK. Astani prisoners continue Senate Standing Committee on The prime minister made a minded the Saudi government. having assets worth Rs1.05bn. He put at £1.3mn. Senate Deputy Chairman Sal- to languish in Saudi jails, six Human Rights Mustafa Nawaz “special request” to the prince “The standard response from holds assets worth over Rs157mn The Pakistan Peoples Party eem Mandiwala is the owner of months after Crown Prince Mo- Khokhar. to look into the hardship of Pa- the Saudi government is that abroad. (PPP) senator has secured a assets worth over Rs260mn. hamed bin Salman announced “We were all quite hopeful kistani labourers working in the they will start processing their Aurengzeb Khan has invest- mortgage of £1.1mn. Leader of the House in the that they would be released. and welcomed the news of Pa- kingdom, and to “look upon release soon,” Nadeem Khan in- ments in 11 companies in the He has 53,520 dirhams in a Senate Shibli Faraz owns assets The committee met for a kistani prisoners being released them as your own people”. formed the senators. UAE. His 10 properties in Paki- joint account with his spouse at worth over Rs230mn, which in- briefi ng by the Foreign Offi ce from Saudi prisons. We hope In April, the opposition had The offi cial said that in Riya- stan include an 11-kanal residen- Dubai Islamic Bank. clude over 7kg of gold ornaments. on the total number of Pakistani that the government will take up also expressed concern over de- dh, 114 Pakistanis are in prison tial house in Murree, purchased He is director of a UK-regis- Leader of the Opposition in nationals jailed in Saudi Arabia the matter at the highest level lays in the release of prisoners. due to non-payment of fi nes. for Rs70mn. tered think tank Global Security the Senate Raja Zafarul Haq has due to non-payment of fi nes. again with the Saudi govern- Foreign aff airs ministry addi- Similarly, another 128 Paki- Pakistan Muslim League – Advisers. assets worth over Rs10mn. “The fact that not a single ment,” said the chairman. tional secretary Mohamed Na- stanis are languishing in prisons Nawaz (PML-N) senator Rahila He holds shares in Green Plus Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fa- Pakistani prisoner has been re- During his visit in February deem Khan informed the com- in Jeddah. Magsi has one fl at each in London worth $300,000. zlur (JUI-F) senator Talha Meh- and Dubai, valuing Rs34.76mn His wife Dr Saeeda Iqbal is a mood owns assets over Rs330mn, and Rs12.30mn, respectively. shareholder in Peak Energy, UAE. while the PTI’s Faisal Javed, Dr Apex court orders removal of structures for billboards within six weeks She has liabilities of Rs3.89mn The Pakistan Tehreek-e- Shehzad Waseem, and Waleed in the United Kingdom. Insaf (PTI)’s Mohamed Ayub, Iqbal own assets worth Rs18mn, The Supreme Court directed the federal Hearing a case pertaining to billboards in submitted that removal of structures is the She has disclosed to have who owns assets worth around Rs330mn, and Rs130mn, respec- government as well as cantonment boards Lahore, then-chief justice of Pakistan Saqib job of advertisers. gifted a bungalow in Karachi Rs950mn, holds a house and a tively. across the country to remove billboards Nisar had observed that orders for removal He said that the advertisers had been issued measuring 1,000 square yards to business in Dubai. PML-N senators Asif Kirmani and structures from public places within six of billboards issued for Karachi earlier would notices, which were not complied with. her son Mohamed Mohsin, two He also has investment in the and Mushahidullah Khan have weeks and submit compliance reports. also apply to other cities. He told the court that removal of structures months prior to the close of the UK. assets worth over Rs40mn and A two-member bench of the apex court, Justice Ahmed observed that though required Rs1mn, but the Cantonment Board fi nancial year. Musadik Malik and his spouse Rs24mn, respectively. comprising Justices Gulzar Ahmed and billboards had been removed, their structures Lahore lacked funds. She had gifted a bungalow in have 25% share each in an apart- Former senate chairman Sheikh Azmat Saeed, heard a case for remained, and he questioned as to who will At this, Justice Saeed observed that Hyderabad cantonment measur- ment in Bahrain. Raza Rabbani has assets worth removal of billboards from all major cities. remove them. “tomorrow the police would also say they ing 3,592 square yards to her son He has not disclosed who the Rs120mn. Last October, the court had issued directives “A halfhearted job has been done,” he could not arrest criminals for lack of suff icient in 2016, according to her previ- holder of the rest of 50% share is. The PPP’s parliamentary lead- for the removal of all the billboards installed remarked, and asked if someone from the sky funds”. ous year’s statement, but this Muttahida Qaumi Movement er in the Senate, Sherry Rehman, in municipal and cantonment areas across will come for their removal. The hearing would resume after the summer time she has chosen not to men- (MQM) senator Barrister Saif has has assets worth Rs250mn. the country. The counsel for the cantonment board vacation. Gulf Times Saturday, July 6, 2019 13 PHILIPPINES

Protection Call for UN investigation sought for dwindling marine into ‘war on drugs’ killings resources z Iceland submits first resolution on the Philippines z Activists say 27,000 killed By Divina NJD Cruz in so-called ‘war on drugs’ Manila Times z UN Human Rights Council due to vote on text by July 12 zPhilippines says ready to cientists from the Uni- face inquiry if necessary versity of the Philippines’ SMarine Science Institute Reuters (UP MSI) said the government Geneva should protect the country’s dwindling marine resources by declaring the exclusive econom- ore than two dozen ic zone (EEZ) in the West Philip- countries formally pine Sea (WPS or South China Mcalled for a UN in- Sea) an exclusive area. vestigation into thousands of According to the UP MSI, the killings in Philippine President EEZ or the area surrounding Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, up to 200 nautical miles or 370 activists said. kilometres from the Philippine Iceland submitted the draft shore from Batanes to the south resolution backed by mainly of Balabac, Southern Palawan European states, they said. — which include the Kalayaan The text urges the govern- Island Group in the Spratly Is- ment to prevent extrajudicial lands, is “a rich fi shing ground executions and marks the fi rst plentiful in marine life.” time that the Human Rights While the municipal waters Council has been asked to ad- nearer to the Philippine shore dress the crisis. are “more productive in terms of The Duterte government has fi sh catch per area,” the EEZ has a insisted the more than 5,000 higher fi sheries production. suspected drug dealers killed by According to the institute, police in anti-narcotics opera- The coff in of three-year-old baby Kateleen Myca Ulpina, killed during a sting operation conducted by the police, is seen during her wake in Rodriguez, Rizal, east of Manila, yesterday. combined fi sheries produc- tions all put up a fi ght. tion of municipal waters and But activists say that at least based group iDefend told Reu- of the text, adding: “I think it for this session is the situa- of “attacks on human rights terday the government need the WPS EEZ, which comprises 27,000 have been killed since ters. “In a non-armed confl ict will be a close shave”. One Asian tion in the Philippines,” said defenders, media activists, not be told by anyone to stop around 40% of the country’s Duterte was elected in 2016 on context, this is the worst case of ambassador, speaking on con- Laila Matar of Human Rights journalists, anyone who really extrajudicial executions, be- EEZ, had declined over the past a platform of crushing crime extrajudicial killings globally,” dition of anonymity, indicated Watch. dares to speak up against the cause killing suspects who did decades and is projected to be and that Myka, a three-year- he said after urging the council that his country would not “Bodies continue to pile killings,” she added. not put up a fight had never depleted further by 25% to 50% old shot during a police raid last to act. support it, telling Reuters: up in Manila and other urban “Police accounts of drug been policy. in the next few years. weekend, is among the latest The Geneva forum is to vote “There are worse things hap- areas, again in the context of raids are not reliable — the “Our government is pre- “The key to utilising and pro- victims. on the resolution before ending pening in the world.” the war on drugs which we officers enforcing the ‘drug pared to face any inquiry if tecting resources in the WPS “Here we are three years later its three-week session on July But activists say the Coun- have seen is very much a war war’ have been shown to plant the same becomes necessary EEZ is exclusive access. Allowing with 27,000 killed, among the 12. cil and the office of UN High against the poor, impoverished weapons and drugs to justify to disabuse the minds of those foreign entities to occupy and most impoverished, in a mas- The Philippines is among its Commissioner for Human and marginalised communi- the killings,” Matar told the who rely on or give undue cre- exploit these waters would be sive crackdown. That is a con- current 47 members. Carlos Rights Michelle Bachelet must ties, which are the biggest vic- council this week. dence to selective, if not bi- tantamount to denying Filipino servative estimate,” Ellecer conceded that Asian countries shine a light on the situation. tims,” she said. Philippine Justice Secretary ased, second-hand informa- fi sherfolks access to their own “Budit” Carlos of the Manila- were unlikely to vote in favour “For us a primary priority It occurs in a wider context Menardo Guevarra said yes- tion,” Guevarra told reporters. food and resources,” the UP MSI said in a statement. The scientists expressed con- cern on the damage to marine habitats, resources and genetic diversity that aff ect the ecosys- Monsod bares ‘corruption’ Lacson initiates bill seeking tem for future generations. “Alarmingly, we are losing these at a rate faster than we are understanding them. Aside from in party-list registration stronger anti-terror law corals and clams, WPS is also rich in seaweeds, seagrasses, other animals and even microor- By Dexter A See bonafi de members of the marginalised groups who By Javier J Ismael law enforcement with enough had been in eff ect for more ganisms. Some of these marine Manila Times/Baguio City will be authorised by their party-list representa- Manila Times tools to conduct investiga- than 10 years, gaps in the law microbes may become sources of tives to register the latter groups with the Comelec. tions that would enable to prevented authorities from new drugs, medicines, and other Monsod noted that even non-farmers and non- them to prevent terrorist at- implementing it properly. biotechnological products,” the former chairman of the Commission on security guards, among others, are allowed to rep- enator Panfi lo Lacson tacks before they happen, or So far, he said, the only UP MSI said. Elections (Comelec) has disclosed alleged resent farmers and security guards, in the process has fi led a bill that gives in case they are unable to do conviction for terrorism un- “Reported activities of foreign Arampant “corruption” in the registration of distorting the purpose of the party-list system as Sthe Philippine govern- so, at least bring the perpetra- der the 2007 law was the con- vessels, such as the Chinese fi sh- party-list groups that has seen them passed them- enshrined in the 1987 Constitution. ment more tools to protect the tors to justice,” Lacson said in viction of Nur Sapian by the ing fl eets in our EEZ violate both selves off as “marginalised” and “vulnerable” when Of the batch of party-list representatives in the public from the threat of ter- his bill. Taguig City Regional Trial local and international standards. they actually are not. current 18th Congress, he said, there are many who rorism. He explained that while an Court. Harvesting of clams and corals, Christian Monsod, also a member of the Consti- are not marginalised at all, but who were able to win Senate Bill 21, one of the 10 anti-terror law in itself can- Lacson added that the oc- dead or alive, results in signifi cant tutional Commission, yesterday said the Comelec seats in the House of Representatives. bills that Lacson fi led at the not solve the problem of ter- cupation of Marawi City physical damage and ultimate de- is aware of such corruption in the registration of Under existing rules and regulations on the reg- opening of the 18th Congress, rorism, “an intensifi ed one (Lanao del Sur) by the Maute mise of the habitats from where the party-list groups, but he does not understand istration of party-list groups and the determina- plugs loopholes in Republic can give the government and Group in 2017 “showcased the they were taken. These are the why the dishonesty has not been stopped since tion of the seats that will be given to them, a party- Act (RA) 9372, or the “Human the law enforcement agen- gaps in the current law that same habitats that serve as home the party-list system became part of the so-called list group must be able to get at least 2% of the total Security Act of 2007,” so Phil- cies the much-needed tool leads to the conclusion that and breeding grounds of most democratic space. number of voters who cast their votes and that each ippine authorities can prevent in dealing with the emerging we still do not have an eff ec- marine life, and source of food of Monsod was one of the resource persons at the group can have a maximum of three seats depend- terrorist attacks or bring the threats of terrorism.” tive legal framework that can many Filipinos,” it added. annual National Press Forum of the Philippine ing on the number of votes that the group pulls in. perpetrators to justice. Lacson, who headed the empower the government to Meanwhile, fi sherfolk group Press Institute here where he shared his insights on With a corrupted party-list system, Monsod “This bill aims to give the Philippine National Police address terrorism as a crime.” Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang the country’s political systems, among others. warned, the time would come when the country’s government an eff ective legal from 1999 to 2001, had also His bill defi nes and sets Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas To stamp out the alleged corruption in the party- marginalised sectors would be deprived of their framework that would enable played a key role in crafting penalties against “terror- (Pamalakaya) sought a stop to list system itself, he proposed that interest groups representations in Congress by rich and enterpris- it to have a criminal justice the Human Security Act of ist acts” and removes the China’s “poaching” activities in go back to the Supreme Court in order to change ing individuals wanting to use the party-list groups response to terrorism. This 2007. Also in his bill, the sen- predicate crimes in defi ning the WPS to preserve the country’s the established jurisprudence, so that it will only be for their own personal and business interests. measure seeks to provide our ator noted that while RA 9372 terrorism. depleting resources. Sara, Paolo form ‘Duterte coalition’ to unite members

By Glee Jalea speakership. Its other members bet, pending the president’s an- speaker,” the coalition said. dialdea and Palace spokesman Manila Times were Davao City Second District nouncement. In a radio interview, Buhay Salvador Panelo dismissed these Rep. Vincent Garcia, Davao Ori- Meanwhile, some members party-list Rep. Lito Atienza de- allegations. ental Rep. Corazon Malanyaon, of the Makabayan bloc opposed scribed as “immoral and bor- “The president already made a mid the heated speaker- Compostela Valley First District the formation of the new Duterte dering on illegal” the attempts pronouncement that he will not ship race, the children of Rep. Manuel Zamora, Davao Oc- alliance, saying the name itself of select Cabinet members to interfere in the speakership race. APresident Rodrigo Du- cidental Rep. Lorna Bautista- betrays its intention to become back Cayetano by pushing for a Being a mere alter ego of the terte have formed a “Duterte co- Bandigan, Dumper party-list an independent branch of gov- term-sharing deal with him sit- president, I have been doing the alition” to unite members of the Rep. Claudine Bautista and Ma- ernment. ting fi rst in the 18th Congress, same,” Medialdea told Manila House of Representatives. rino party-list Rep. Carlo Lisan- “We cannot expect the so- despite rejection from Velasco Times in a text message. In a joint statement yesterday, dro Gonzales and Rep. Anton called Duterte coalition to serve and other House members. “You know the president has House members of Davao City Lopez. the interest of the Filipino peo- Finance Secretary Carlos already made a stand on the Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s The group also extended ple. Instead, we can only expect Dominguez 3rd, Transportation speaker row. Hence, it behoves Hugpong ng Pagbabago and its call to other speaker hope- this 18th Congress to be another Secretary Arthur Tugade, Public the members of the Cabinet to Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” fuls and fellow Duterte allies rubber stamp of the Duterte ad- Works Secretary Mark Villar and toe the line. That is the position Duterte’s Hugpong sa Tawong Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, ministration,” ACT-Teachers other top undersecretaries were of the president,” Panelo told re- Lungsod called on others “who Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Ve- party-list Rep. France Castro among those allegedly pushing porters in a separate interview. believe in positive change” to lasco and Taguig Rep. Alan Peter said. “Such emergence of a Du- for a Cayetano speakership to With only 17 days left until join their group. Cayetano to join the group. terte coalition confi rms that a protect their budget insertions the House of Representatives “The Duterte coalition is a Romualdez and Velasco were House members of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (left) and House super majority is dead,” under the proposed 2020 Na- select its new leader in the 18th strategic partnership of dynamic quick to welcome the call of the Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte. Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas said. tional Expenditure Programme. Congress, the president had re- public servants who are com- coalition, while Cayetano is yet The Duterte coalition and Minority Leader Fredenil fused to name his own choice mitted to institute governance to comment on the matter. be the primus inter pares (fi rst to unite its House members. other lawmakers also called on Castro and Surigao del Sur Rep. for speaker, paving the way for and development reforms that “I join hands with the Duterte among equals). May the best “The PDP has been backing Cabinet men yesterday to refrain Prospero Pichay Jr also decried a fi ve-way fi ght among his allies are necessary for the Philippines coalition in establishing a House man win,” he added. and will continue to back the from meddling in the race by the move, claiming that all gov- to date. to secure its rightful place in the of Representatives that truly Velasco echoed the same bids for House speaker of its very pronouncing their own bet for ernment offi cials must “keep With a pro-administration world stage of nations, particu- refl ects the will of our people,” sentiment, reminding fellow qualifi ed nominee(s) and for as speaker. their hands off ” the race and re- “super majority” occupying key larly in the Southeast Asian re- Romualdez said, reiterating that lawmakers to “set aside their long as we have a party member “It has come to our attention spect the president’s decision. posts in the 18th Congress, Ma- gion,” the members said in the freedom must be given to each personal ambitions” in order to as a serious contender for House that certain Cabinet members Duterte-Carpio herself noted lacanang earlier expressed con- joint statement. congressman in electing their fulfi l their agenda. speaker we will continue to call have their bet for Speaker. Eve- that term-sharing would only fi dence that the remaining pri- The Duterte coalition was led next leader. Sen. Aquilino Pimentel for party discipline and unity in ryone should note that Cabinet “slow down the last three years ority bills under the legislative by Pulong representing the First “Let every speakership aspir- 3rd, chairman of the Partido supporting our party nominee,” members serve only on the ba- of the administration of Presi- agenda of the Duterte admin- District and Isidro Ungab repre- ant subject himself to the scru- Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban Pimentel said. sis of the trust and confi dence dent Duterte.” istration will be passed by the senting the Third District. Both tiny of his peers, who shall be ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), said the But Pimentel maintained that of the president and should not Coming to the Cabinet’s de- House of Representatives and are being considered for the the ultimate judge on who shall ruling party welcomes any eff ort Velasco was still their offi cial participate in the selection of the fence, Executive Secretary Me- the Senate. Gulf Times 14 Saturday, July 6, 2019 COMMENT

CHAIRMAN Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah EDITOR-IN-CHIEF How – and how not – to Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka Deputy Managing Editor K T Chacko Production Editor Amjad Khan restore trust in media

By Alexandra Borchardt become a tool of censorship. When likely to be smaller, newer, and thus vidual does not need a “trust certifi ca- P.O.Box 2888, Doha, Qatar Oxford Adolf Hitler wanted a book burned, he poorly equipped to deal with the extra tion” to participate in a family or com- would assert that it did not meet the layer of bureaucracy that a certifi cation munity (though China’s government [email protected] “standards” of Nazi ideology. Similarly, procedure would entail. Organisation- would like to change that). The social 44350478 (News), n most industries, a quality a government today could cite qual- level quality certifi cations could thus contract establishes certain behavioural product is easy to identify, thanks ity issues to attack critics’ credibility hurt new entrants, while helping norms with which people generally 44466404 (Sport), to markers like price, brand, and or to justify denying them journalistic incumbents. comply; labels are needed only when 44466636 (Home delivery) Ireviews. But in journalism, dis- credentials. The alternative to organisation-level trust is broken. cerning quality is becoming increas- Some organisations concerned with certifi cation would be to focus on indi- This is the status quo to which 44350474 ingly complicated, not least because, in the future of the media are trying to vidual pieces of content. But this would journalism must return. That means, facebook.com/gulftimes the digital age, trusted brands like the circumvent this danger by develop- be a herculean task in terms of volume; first and foremost, individual organi- BBC or The New York Times, which can ing trust indicators. Most notably, worse, it could create perverse incen- sations taking responsibility for the twitter.com/gulftimes_Qatar be expected to adhere to long-estab- the Journalism Trust Initiative, led by tives, as journalists chase certifi cations quality of their content and adhering lished journalistic standards, are vastly Reporters Without Borders, is creat- in much the same way they now may to a set of rules, including oversight outnumbered by upstart publications, ing voluntary guidelines and a best- chase awards, sometimes to the detri- and editing, to ensure it. When this blogs, and community reports. practice framework that will evolve into ment of the work. The German reporter cannot be done within the organi- Not surprisingly, therefore, as an offi cial certifi cation process. Some Claas Relotius won multiple awards for sation itself – say, when a citizen GULF TIMES claims of “fake news” have prolifer- organisations champion traffi c-light his brilliant storytelling before it was journalist is operating in an anti- ated in recent years, trust in news me- indicators, like those used in food label- revealed that the stories he was telling democratic environment – external dia – established and otherwise – has ling, while others argue for an ISO 9000 were not true. bodies could do the job. plummeted. According to the Reuters system reminiscent of industrial quality In any case, the question remains In establishing such systems, les- Institute’s Digital News Report 2017, management. what exactly constitutes a quality sons could be learned from collabora- N Korea may not those who regularly consume news do But what, exactly, would these piece of content. Does it simply have tive reporting projects like the one so with significant scepticism. Only systems be certifying? The most logical to be fact-based? Does it apply only that covered the Panama Papers, in about 50% of users trust the media answer might seem to be media organi- to serious political and business news, which researchers enjoyed individual brands they choose to consume; far sations. But even fi rst-class newsrooms or does it include lifestyle, entertain- freedom – ensuring a plurality of voices seal a deal without fewer trust outlets that they do not produce plenty of second-class ment, or human-interest stories? and healthy competition – but had to use. With too many options and too content, owing to factors ranging from These questions are complicated meet certain standards. As technology little confidence in media, nearly one- a lack of available sources to simple further in the digital ecosystem: some advances, automated fact-checking sanctions relief third of people have given up follow- human error. This implies that not all blog posts may count as journalism, could also be introduced, especially in ing the news altogether. content from a given organisation can but that certainly isn’t the case for all less-resourced newsrooms. But news journalism is not an ex- be trusted equally. of them. In an age of unprecedented access to A new public broadside by North Korean offi cials against pendable luxury. It is a critical public Of course, some organisations have Journalism will never be like, say, the information, true and otherwise, people US-backed sanctions highlights the tough road ahead as good, enabling citizens to make in- a proven track record of following airline industry, where strict standards of all ages must improve their media negotiators prepare for talks in the wake of Sunday’s meeting formed decisions, while helping to hold certain procedures to minimise mis- and procedures apply to every action literacy. But that does not let media between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader those in power accountable. It can serve takes and respond to errors that do slip and product. But, until recently, it organisations off the hook. With the that function only if it is a quality prod- through. But these are likely to be the didn’t need to be: journalists adhered help of an aware and critical audience, Kim Jong-un. uct – and people know that. Delivering same organisations that already enjoy to codes of professional and ethical they must monitor themselves and one Media reports out of Washington have suggested the such a product, however, is no straight- signifi cant public trust. Whatever trust conduct, and were overseen by bodies another, as they have done in the past. – Trump administration may be willing to seek a partial deal to forward task. they have lost in recent years will not that took action in the event of a breach. Project Syndicate dismantle at least part of North Korea’s nuclear programme. The fi rst problem is that there is no be off set by a new label affi rming their Doing it right was the default – even But ahead of what would be the fi rst signifi cant talks since clear defi nition of what constitutes quality. though the concept of “right” has al- Alexandra Borchardt is Director quality journalism, which raises the As for the publications that would ways been open to interpretation. of Leadership Programs at the Reuters Trump and Kim failed to reach a deal at a summit in February risk that the standard of “quality” will benefi t from such a label, they are more That is how societies work. An indi- Institute for the Study of Journalism. in Hanoi, analysts say progress is unlikely unless Washington is prepared to ease some sanctions. North Korea’s exports to China, its main market, dropped nearly 90% last year, according to data from Beijing, and a report this week by the Seoul-based Korea Development Institute said sanctions had put the country on a path for economic crisis. “North Korea wants actions, not words,” said Christopher Green, a Korea expert at the International Crisis Group. “I’m not sure the US is mentally ready for it, even now.” After Trump met with “Our state is not Kim at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between the two a country that Koreas, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters will surrender a fresh round of negotiations with North Korean foreign to the US ministry diplomats will likely sanctions” happen “sometime in July”. Pompeo later made clear the United States believed sanctions put in place under UN Security Council resolutions needed to remain in place as talks moved forward. Ahead of February’s failed summit in Hanoi, American offi cials had raised the possibility that while sanctions would remain, they might be willing to take interim steps such as boosting humanitarian aid or opening liaison offi ces. US offi cials, however, rejected North Korea’s eroff to dismantle its reactor complex at Yongbyon in exchange for wide-ranging sanctions relief. Since then, North Korea has only doubled down on its calls for sanctions to be withdrawn, signalling that while lesser steps might be welcome, they would not be enough to persuade Pyongyang to give up nuclear assets. “Our state is not a country that will surrender to the US sanctions,” a North Korean foreign ministry offi cial said in a An Indian labourer carries a sack of green chillies at a vegetable wholesale market in Hyderabad yesterday. India’s newly re-elected government promised yesterday an statement last week. easing of foreign investment rules and more infrastructure spending in an eff ort to boost flagging growth rates and create jobs. India has been leap-frogged by China as A New York Times report that suggested American offi cials the world’s fastest-growing major economy, with unemployment in Asia’s third-biggest economy at its highest since the 1970s. would settle for a nuclear freeze by North Korea was criticised by national security adviser John Bolton who said the idea had not been discussed at the National Security Council. The disagreements between offi cials at the NSC and US Onus on India’s central bank to spur growth State Department over whether to maintain a hard line or take a step-by-step approach are “creating a discordant policy By Aftab Ahmed and Swati Bhat nance ministry last month, did propose this may be a new trend.” government, as the farm sector that line,” Green said. New Delhi giving foreign investors a bigger role The Indian economy has been weak- employs nearly half of India’s working A report this week by the North Korea Risk Group concluded in India’s giant insurance and aviation ening sharply in the past year. In the population is completely dependent sectors. fourth quarter of the fi scal year to last on it. there is “signifi cant motivation for both sides to seek to he Indian government’s annual The move is intended to help reverse March 31, economic growth slumped to Any shortfall or untimely rains could reach an agreement,” and that Trump and Kim may be more budget statement yesterday weakening investment fl ows that have 5.8%, the slowest pace in 20 quarters. lead to massive losses in crops, reduce compelled than ever to seek an interim deal. included measures aimed at led to a drop in economic growth that Growth for the full year ended in farm incomes and hurt consumption. “This is because a third failure — which cannot be ruled Timproving the investment threatens to take the shine off Prime March was 6.8%, also a fi ve-year low. Another concern is continued trade out — would prove deeply problematic for both leaders at this climate but lacked any direct steps to Minister Narendra Modi’s recent land- And more recent indicators, such as tensions with the United States — as stimulate a sagging economy, adding to slide general election victory. plummeting industrial output and a well as a weakening global economy — stage,” the report said. pressure on the central bank to provide “India’s government announced near 8-year low in automobile sales, that together are likely to keep exports But unless the US decides sanctions are on the table, even a more immediate help. a lower fi scal defi cit target for fi scal have stoked fears of a deeper slowdown. in check. smaller deal may be hard to seal. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman 2020, while maintaining its support for That, in turn, has been hitting tax But Sitharaman and the RBI did If Washington sticks to its stance of no sanctions relief stuck to the government borrowing tar- growth and incomes. Achieving these collections and reducing government yesterday announce a series of measures until North Korea gives up the proverbial keys to its nuclear get announced in an interim budget in competing goals will be very challeng- revenue. to try to deal with one major obsta- kingdom, then Trump’s latest meeting with Kim “may be February and cut the fi scal defi cit target ing,” said Gene Fang, associate manag- The central bank has cut interest rates cle to a more robust economy — the to 3.3% of gross domestic product for ing director, Sovereign Risk Group at by 75 basis points since February and debt-burdened state-owned banks and remembered as the last gasp of a strategy that was predictably the current year ending March 31, 2020, Moody’s Investors Service. investors are now expecting at least one a liquidity-deprived shadow banking doomed.” from an earlier, upwardly revised target Benchmark 10-year bond yields more rate reduction in August. sector. of 3.4%. Some forecasters had expected dropped as much as 19 basis points “Their (government) emphasis That included an injection of a defi cit as high as 3.7%. intraday to 6.56% following the release remains on dealing with slowing growth Rs700bn into the banks. To Advertise Economists questioned whether the of the defi cit numbers, which suggested but they have approached the prob- The diffi culty small businesses and cautious budget was enough to counter India was planning to keep its borrow- lem diff erently,” said Radhika Rao, an consumers have had in getting fi nanc- [email protected] severe headwinds, including weak mon- ing under control. economist with DBS Bank in Singapore. ing for purchases has been hurting a Display soon rains, debt-burdened banks and It opens up the possibility that the “Monetary policy will do much more number of industries, including auto- trade tensions with the United States. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may cut its burden-sharing at this point. Global makers. 44466621 44418811 “There was widespread expectation of benchmark rates by more than 25 basis environment and domestic infl ation The increased spending that Sith- a stimulus to combat the current slow- points at future meetings, according to gives the RBI the leeway to do much araman did lay out in her statement Classified down,” said Anagha Deodhar, economist some traders and analysts. more. If yields correct, policy rates cor- — particularly on infrastructure — is 44466609 44418811 at ICICI Securities. “The budget did not “No fiscal slippage means growth rect and borrowing costs go down that largely being funded through higher announce any stimulus. On the contrary, is now in RBI’s domain, so more than is also a boost to growth.” taxes on the rich and increased duties Subscription (it) raised some of the taxes.” 25 bps rate cuts possible,” said a sen- The government has projected growth on imported products. She added that the downward ior fixed income trader at a private of 7% in 2019/20, lower than its de- If economic growth doesn’t pick up, [email protected] revision of the fi scal defi cit target was bank, who declined to be identified. clared ambition to get growth above 8%. though, it will be diffi cult for the gov- surprising. “Also, sovereign bonds may mean But some say this is still too optimistic. ernment to meet its fi scal defi cit target Sitharaman, presenting her fi rst lower domestic issuance and not just A shortfall in the current monsoon as muted activity will nibble away at tax © 2018 Gulf Times. All rights reserved budget since her appointment to the fi - this fiscal year but going forward rains is one new area of concern for the collections. - Reuters Gulf Times Saturday, July 6, 2019 15 COMMENT Towards a Euro-Pacifi c Partnership

By Zaki Laidi, Shumpei Takemori, fer in the spirit of the Osaka Track, and Yves Tiberghien adopted by 24 signatories at the G20 Paris summit to formulate a digital govern- ance framework. 4. The guarantee that foreign hanks to the eff orts of Japanese investment and market access are safe, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the even as states retain the freedom to recent G20 summit in Osaka determine their own public policies. Tavoided the worst possible 5. Transparency and reciprocity in outcomes. That counts as a victory in access to public procurement. the age of US President Donald Trump. 6. Compliance with the 2015 Paris Among other things, G20 leaders issued climate agreement. a fi nal communique affi rming the im- 7. Respect for fundamental rights portance of free and open trade. And on and freedoms, including freedom of the sidelines of the summit, the United association. States and China agreed on a trade-war 8. The possible establishment of a armistice, while the European Union modernised joint dispute-settlement announced the signing of new free-trade mechanism, in line with WTO prin- agreements with Vietnam and the Mer- ciples. cosur bloc (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, 9. Regulatory consistency between and Uruguay). the EU and the CPTPP countries. Nonetheless, the underlying sources 10. The establishment of a mecha- of global economic uncertainty re- nism for regular high-level political main. Until the Sino-American confl ict consultations among EU and CPTPP is resolved, commercial and trade fl ows countries. will be at risk of political disruption. 11. The creation of working groups In order to avoid becoming collateral in all sectors where common or damage in the new great-power strug- harmonised positions may advance gle, Japan, the EU, Canada, Australia, member economies’ joint interests. Malaysia, and many others are coming 12. The will to build an area of peace together to protect their interests and prosperity, free from geopolitical and the international trade system. competition. Each has acknowledged that the most These principles alone will not save important issues in global trade are multilateralism. But countries still com- regulatory, concerning not tariff s but confl ict in which they would come lateral trading system, by forging a new cifi c Partnership are as much political global economy. Those who insisted mitted to that ideal must forge a new investment protections, subsidies to under pressure to choose sides. To de- partnership between the EU and the as economic. Those countries that that protectionism was impossible in path forward. Following the G7 summit state-owned enterprises (SOEs), intel- fend their interests, they must ensure CPTPP countries. remain committed to multilateralism a world of global value chains were in France next month, the hope is that lectual-property (IP) and environmen- that global trade is subject to objective A Euro-Pacifi c Partnership between need to send a strong message that wrong. the EU, Japan, and Canada will endorse tal protection, open public tendering, dispute-settlement mechanisms. the EU and CPTPP would represent they will defend the liberal values and Our proposed partnership would be and defi ne the precise modalities of a e-commerce, and data fl ows. A commitment to multilateralism is 31% of world GNP and 40% of all institutions that other countries have based on the following 12 principles: new partnership by the end of 2020. It A recent study fi nds that countries not an endorsement of the status quo. trade, giving it substantial leverage abandoned or declared obsolete. 1. Recognition of the World Trade is time for multilateralists to put their in the Comprehensive and Progressive CPTPP and CETA member states rec- to establish common principles and Hence, while a new partnership Organisation as the central forum of collective foot down in defence of their Agreement for Trans-Pacifi c Partner- ognise that the global trading system standards for global trade. This objec- could start with the EU and CPTPP, the global trading system and the main principles. – Project Syndicate ship (CPTPP) and the EU-Canada has problems, including incomplete tive is well within reach, given that it must remain open to all countries, platform for settling disputes. Comprehensive Economic and Trade or outdated rules that fail to account the EU now has trade agreements with provided they accept certain rules 2. The clarifi cation, deepening, Zaki Laidi is Professor of Interna- Agreement (CETA) have already con- for issues such as subsidies to SOEs. almost every country in the CPTPP, and principles. Membership, in turn, and modernisation of rules in the tional Relations at Sciences Po. Shum- verged on most of the major regulatory But they also know that bilateralism including Vietnam. Moreover, a new would serve as an insurance policy in priority areas of government subsidies, pei Takemori is Professor of Economics issues. But as countries that largely – small countries trying to negotiate partnership would not require a new the event of a renewed Sino-Amer- the role of SOEs, and enforcement of at Keio University in Tokyo. Yves Tib- rely on active diplomacy and soft pow- on equal terms with superpowers – is trade agreement, but merely a consoli- ican conflict. We now know that a IP protections. erghien is Professor of Political Science er, they have everything to lose from a not an option. The answer, then, is to dation of existing agreements. trade and technology war can have 3. The development of new rules at the University of British Columbia in prolonged and escalating geopolitical restore balance and trust to the multi- The reasons for forming a Euro-Pa- far-reaching consequences for the related to e-commerce and data trans- Vancouver.

Three-day forecast

A digital path to health for all ODAY T Maximum Temperature : 450c Minimum Temperature : 350c By Ann Aerts and Steve Davis technology, we can help people stay for ensuring data security and privacy and PATH have introduced telemedi- Basel/Seattle healthy, rather than waiting for them are also essential to implement predic- cine in Ghana, which connects rural SUNDAY to get sick. We can make reactive tive systems at scale. inhabitants with trained healthcare Maximum Temperature : 440c healthcare systems proactive and – To explore further the challenges professionals, and digital dashboards Minimum Temperature : 340c lobal leaders at the recent thanks to artifi cial intelligence (AI) – and huge opportunities in this area, that enable better, faster malaria care. MONDAY annual gathering of the even predictive. the Novartis Foundation and Micro- Digital data and technology must Maximum Temperature : 430c World Health Assembly in In our view, digital health is the soft are co-chairing a new Broadband be fully integrated into national health Minimum Temperature : 340c Geneva expressed worry and most effi cient, cost-eff ective way for Commission working group that systems, and should become as essen- G Fisherman's forecast optimism in almost equal measure. the world to meet the United Na- will make recommendations regard- tial as hospital beds. Too many digital Delegates at the Assembly – the tions Sustainable Development Goals’ ing how AI can safely improve health health pilot programmes over the past WARNING and strengthen healthcare systems. decade have been unco-ordinated and Inshore : Strong wind over most decision-making body of the World health-related targets – particularly areas daytime Health Organisation – likened the universal health coverage, whereby In a similar vein, health-advocacy focused on single issues. Leadership scope of the world’s health crisis to everyone can access the quality care organisation PATH is working with from national governments is there- Offshore : Strong wind with high that of the threat posed by climate they need without incurring fi nancial the Tanzanian government to test fore critical to ensuring a coherent sea WEATHER change. They also agree, however, that hardship. This is also a high priority machine-learning applications that approach. Inshore : Hot daytime with slight digital technology and data will play for the WHO, which earlier this year promise to predict demand for vac- Fortunately, global and country-led dust to blowing dust a crucial role in accelerating eff orts to created a Department of Digital Health cines more accurately and optimise eff orts are starting to move in this di- over most areas achieve health for all. and published its fi rst set of guidelines their delivery. rection. Earlier this year, for example, Offshore : Slight dust to dusty at In many respects, the world’s health on the subject. Digital health tools that inform and the Democratic Republic of the Congo times has improved markedly in recent With several major global strategy- empower patients can also play a crucial established its fi rst digital health agen- WIND Inshore : Northwesterly 12-22/28 decades: average global life expectancy setting meetings ahead, including the role in preventing disease. Simple, cy, with the aspiration of improving KT has increased by over fi ve years, while UN High-Level Meeting on Univer- existing, cost-eff ective technology, such management of the healthcare system, childhood mortality has decreased sal Health Coverage in New York in as mobile phones and broadband, can provide better care, and make services Offshrore : Northwesterly 12-22/28 by over 50% since 1990. Yet half the September, the world must act now to make a huge diff erence in raising aware- more accessible. KT world’s population still lacks full realise the promise of digital health. ness of the causes and early symptoms We can solve the global health crisis Visibility : 4-8/3 KM access to basic health services, and We see three distinct opportunities of disease. PATH and the Novartis and achieve universal coverage, but health-related expenses drive roughly for cross-sectoral partnerships: in Foundation, for example, are collabo- only by making digital tools central to Offshore : 5-7/9 FT all countries’ health systems. No single 100mn people per year into poverty. prediction, prevention, and healthcare rating on the Communities for Healthy Around the region The problem is particularly severe in delivery. Hearts programme in Vietnam, which organisation can achieve this on its Weather low- and middle-income countries, Understanding – and, where pos- uses digital technology to improve and own: we need the public, private, and Weather tomorrow Max/min where the fi nancial burden of the four sible, predicting – the health profi le accelerate control of hypertension – the social sectors to work together. In fact, today Max/min Sunny 46/28 most frequent non-communicable of populations is integral to providing leading cause of heart disease. the goal must be to make these new Baghdad Sunny 46/27 Cloudy 48/33 diseases alone (cardiovascular disease, better care. Digitised data collection, Finally, digital technology can help technologies so widespread that we no Kuwait CityCloudy 46/33 Cloudy 40/34 cancer, diabetes, and chronic respira- including through the use of AI and to deliver healthcare to people in longer need to refer to “digital” health, Manama Cloudy 39/34 Sunny 40/32 tory diseases) is expected to surpass machine learning, can help healthcare remote or underserved areas, thereby because that is what all health systems Muscat Sunny 38/34 Sunny 38/27 $7tn from 2011 to 2025, according to systems to detect risk factors in ad- tackling one of the greatest obstacles will be. – Project Syndicate Tehran Sunny 39/26 the WHO. vance and respond quickly to prevent to reducing disease. Using mobile At the same time, the world is just disease. Real-time data can inform phones, WhatsApp, and text messages Ann Aerts is Head of the Novartis beginning to recognise the potential planning and resource-allocation de- can improve the quality and accessi- Foundation. Steve Davis is President of digitally enhanced data to improve cisions, reduce costs, and improve the bility of care for millions of people. In and CEO of the Seattle-based interna- health. With increased use of digital overall quality of care. Better processes that regard, the Novartis Foundation tional nonprofi t organisation PATH.

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Around the world Do you need a bone density test? Weather Weather today Max/min tomorrow Max/min Athens Sunny 36/24 M Sunny 34/23 Tribune News Service true in women. If you’re a woman 65 or teoporosis, including a family history and puts a person at higher risk for de- Beirut Sunny 29/25 Sunny 29/26 Washington, DC older, a bone density test is recommend- of the disease or a history of fractures. veloping osteoporosis. Osteopenia also Bangkok S T Storms 31/26 S T Storms 32/26 ed. Even if testing reveals your bone Another risk factor is taking certain raises the risk for breaking a bone. Berlin Cloudy 21/14 Showers 19/11 health is good, this test can be a baseline kinds of drugs that can interfere with There are things you can do to help Cairo Sunny 37/24 M Sunny 40/24 ear Mayo Clinic: I’ve never measurement for future testing. the body’s process of rebuilding bone. keep your bones stay healthy as you Cape Town M Sunny 16/11 Rain 15/12 had a fracture or bone health For men without fractures, the Examples of these drugs include ster- get older: Colombo S T Storms 30/26 S T Storms 31/27 issues. Should I still get a answer isn’t quite as clear. The US oid medications, such as prednisone, Exercise is important. Be sure Dhaka T Storm 32/27 T Storm 30/27 Dbone density test? Preventive Services Task Force doesn’t and immunosuppressant medications, to include a combination of weight- Hong Kong S T Storms 30/27 S T Storms 29/27 A: It depends. A bone density test recommend routine bone density such as those taken after an organ bearing exercises, such as walking, Istanbul Sunny 29/21 Sunny 30/19 uses a low dose of X-rays in a quick, testing for men. Because men have transplant or bone marrow transplant. jogging, running or stairclimbing. Jakarta S T Storms 33/24 P Cloudy 33/24 noninvasive way to measure the a higher bone mass and lose bone People over 50 who have broken Eat a healthy diet, making sure to Karachi P Cloudy 33/29 P Cloudy 33/29 amount of calcium and other minerals more slowly than women, they’re at a a bone and people who have lost 1.5 get the right amounts of calcium and London P Cloudy 27/16 M Cloudy 23/14 in a segment of bone, usually the hips lower risk of fracture. There’s also no inches of height or more also may vitamin D. Manila S T Storms 33/27 S T Storms 33/26 and spine. By identifying decreases in conclusive evidence that osteoporosis need a bone density test to screen for If you smoke, stop. Research sug- Moscow M Cloudy 19/12 S Showers 16/10 bone mineral density, your healthcare medications can prevent fractures in osteoporosis. gests that tobacco use contributes to New Delhi S T Storms 37/29 S T Storms 37/28 provider can determine your risk of men. However, up to 1 in 4 men over 50 Bone density test results are re- weak bones. New York P Cloudy 28/24 S T Storms 31/24 fractures, and diagnose and monitor will break a bone due to osteoporosis. ported in a measurement known as Talk to your healthcare provider Paris Sunny 30/17 P Cloudy 31/17 osteoporosis progression. Groups such as the National Oste- a “T-score.” A T-score of minus 1 or about getting a bone density test, and Sao Paulo S Showers 15/08 P Cloudy 12/06 Most young, healthy people do not oporosis Foundation still recommend higher is normal. A score of minus 2.5 discuss with him or her any concerns Seoul P Cloudy 34/20 M Sunny 35/21 need a bone density test. But as you testing for men 70 and older. or lower is osteoporosis. The range be- you have about your bone health. Singapore S T Storms 31/27 S T Storms 30/27 age, your risk for osteoporosis increases Men 50-69 and women under 65 tween normal and osteoporosis is con- Taking steps now can help ensure good Sydney Showers 16/11 P Cloudy 17/10 because bone density tends to decrease also may want to have bone density sidered osteopenia, a condition where bone health in the future. – Mayo Tokyo Cloudy 26/19 Rain 26/19 as people grow older. That is especially testing if they have risk factors for os- bone density is below the normal range Clinic News Network Gulf Times 16 Saturday, July 6, 2019 QATAR Alfardan Jewellery lauds QNTC’s eff orts to develop tourism industry

By Peter Alagos munity would play a significant DJWE witnessed 27,000 visi- with the dates of other similar QWC board member Mo- Business Reporter role in attracting more visi- tors over the six-day event, events worldwide,” Alfardan hamed Waleed al-Sayed tors to major events, such as which was the largest in terms told Gulf Times on the side- thanked Alfardan Jewellery and the Doha Jewellery & Watches of participation, with more lines of the first anniversary of Chopard for supporting the lfdardan Jewellery has Exhibition (DWJE) and other than 500 brands from over 10 the Qatar Watch Club (QWC), club and producing an exclu- lauded the efforts of the sporting events leading to the countries covering an area of which was celebrated recently sive timepiece for QWC mem- AQatar National Tourism country’s hosting of the FIFA 29,000sq m, according to the in Doha. bers. Council (QNTC), chaired by HE World Cup in 2022. organisers. Just like the QWC, Alfardan Alfardan assured the QWC of the Prime Minister and Interior As the government continues “Qatar’s easing of its visa said there are many collectors Alfardan Jewellery’s continu- Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin to announce the completion of policies will play a big role in for “complication watches”, ous support, adding that this is Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, major infrastructure projects attracting more tourists to the especially in Qatar. “These col- the first time that the company to boost the country’s tourism related to the World Cup and country, so we expect more lectors follow all models, limit- has partnered with Chopard industry. Qatar National Vision 2030, visitors to the exhibition in ed-edition watches and unique to produce a limited-edition “We congratulate HE the Alfardan said “the forthcoming 2019… the next DJWE will be watches that are difficult to L.U.C watch for the club. Prime Minister for putting the years will be very busy for Qa- outstanding because the whole deliver, so there is always a “We have to appreciate the country on the world tourism tar”. Similarly, Alfardan lauded government is supporting this market for this worldwide.” fact that the Qatar Watch Club map through the initiatives of the government for easing its event. During the QWC’s first anni- is based in Doha, and they are the Qatar National Tourism visa policies, which, according “They have been supporting versary celebrations, Alfardan following the latest models Council,” Alfardan Jewellery to him, helped draw thousands us in the past but now the gov- Jewellery, in partnership with from different brands; they are president Ali Alfardan stressed. of visitors to the DJWE’s 16th ernment is more open to ideas. Chopard, unveiled a 30-piece aware of all brands, historical He emphasised that the pos- edition held in February this And they are also conscious limited edition of its L.U.C ‘complication’ watches and all itive attention Qatar is getting year. about the timing of the exhibi- watch made exclusively for the types of ‘complications’,” Al- Alfardan Jewellery president Ali Alfardan. PICTURE: Jayan Orma from the international com- The latest instalment of the tion so that it will not compete club. fardan said. Tamuq collaborates with Qatar STEM school to encourage innovation

exas A&M University at vating student and initiating a Some students, such as Ab- Qatar (Tamuq) spent 16 love for STEM were our targets in dulla T al-Fehaida, began the Tweeks over two semesters the fi rst year of operation. That school year and the course not working with the Qatar Science is exactly what happened with really knowing what engineer- & Technology Secondary School our experience with Texas A&M ing is or what engineers do. for Boys, to build a wireless com- University at Qatar and was “When I entered this school, I munication system to encourage achieved at a pace that we didn’t thought engineering was just science and engineering explo- expect. So we are now seeking to construction and buildings,” ration and innovation in young take further steps to expand after al-Fehaida said. “But after a high school students. carefully examining the outputs few months in the school and The open-source project, of this year.” during this course, I learned TalkiePi, is a single-button, The collaboration began with that there are many things an push-to-talk, Wi-Fi walkie- an introduction to 3D modelling engineer can do and I learned talkie that allows users to talk using 3D computer-assisted de- the steps that go behind a The programme had 60 students participating in two-hour sessions over 16 weeks. with their friends easily over sign software. Students learned project. We did a lot of hands- Wi-Fi. the basics of 3D design by cre- on activities and fabricated a that, we learned about solder- Beginning in September 2018, ating their own cases to hold walkie-talkie, and with all of ing and 3D CAD on SolidWorks STEM (science, technology, the components of the TalkiePi. the things we learned, I think that helped us with the project. engineering and math) experts After the design process, the engineering is so fun and I have And fi nally, we assembled all from Texas A&M at Qatar’s Of- students learned the basics of 3D a new perception of this.” the parts to make our fi nal pro- fi ce of Development, Engage- printing using Dremel 3D print- Rashid Mohamed Aljalham totype. This course made me ment and Outreach guided stu- ers. The students created and agreed and said, “I started this more curious and I have been dents through the process of printed test objects, which al- class thinking it would be too doing my own projects that I designing, building and testing lowed them to practice their new diffi cult and I won’t be able to work on in my own time. This their own TalkiePis to learn me- skills before tackling the TalkiePi achieve anything. Little did I is helping me develop the skills chanical, electrical, program- case, battery pack and person- know that I would greatly enjoy that I learned during this course ming and prototyping skills, Ta- alisation. working in this environment. and I am having a lot of fun with muq said in a statement. In the spring, the students And here I am, celebrating the that.” Fawzia al-Khater, Assistant began the semester with an in- fi nal product with my friends. Another student, Mubarak al- Undersecretary for Educational troduction to electronics hard- We are all very happy with this Abdulla, said: “In this course, we Aff airs at the Ministry of Educa- ware. The students learned ba- project. It was after the fi rst two learned a lot of things, including tion and Higher Education, was sic circuitry diagramming and classes that made me rethink soldering, 3D CAD using Solid- keen to create a holistic school prototyping using power sup- what I want to be in the future Works, and the steps to solving programme. The academic plies, resistors, LEDs and vari- and it made me want to be an en- a problem. Now that we fi nished school programme includes ous other components using a gineer.” this course, I have a better idea university programmes that are solderless breadboard, which Other students said they too about engineering and I would based on the provision of work- was then used to build and test gained a new outlook on engi- like to be an engineer.” shops, training programmes and circuits. After completing their neering during the Texas A&M Teaching basic ‘making’ educational courses. This is part circuit prototypes, the students at Qatar-led project and were skills have become a priority of the school’s vision of incor- were taught how to solder elec- considering the fi eld as a future in STEM education, said Texas porating educational courses tronic components into a work- career. A&M at Qatar’s Dr Mohamed that are implemented under the ing circuit. During this portion, Participant Sultan al-Maa- Gharib. These skills, when supervision of Education City the students were introduced to did said he enjoyed the course, taught early, can encourage fu- universities. the Raspberry Pi microcomput- which gave him a preview of en- ture exploration into hands-on The fi rst project was the ini- er, and learned the microcom- gineering in the real world and making, presenting students Students working on the project. tiative of Texas A&M University puter’s hardware components the engineering design proc- various opportunities to inte- at Qatar. Al-Khater reported, “I and the Linux open-source op- ess behind product develop- grate multiple science and en- “and the opening of this new We’re pleased to be contributing dents participating in two-hour was happy with the outcomes of erating system. These skill sets ment. “First, we brainstormed gineering foundation skills into STEM school—which has already to helping these students ad- sessions over 16 weeks, totalling the programme and did not ex- off er a solid base on which future ideas. We then built our mock- their experience. attracted talented students—is vance their education and build 32 hours of instruction per stu- pect the students to react with advanced building projects can ups based on the ideas we came “STEM education in Qatar is considered a crowning achieve- human capacity in Qatar.” dent and taught by Gharib, Ben- this level of enthusiasm. Moti- be developed. up with and sketched. After rapidly developing,” Gharib said, ment for this development. The programme had 60 stu- jamin Cieslinski and Tala Katbeh.

Qatar Rail booth offers information on Doha Metro

Qatar Rail is operating a booth at City Center Doha (opposite Carrefour) until today, giving people the opportunity to learn more about Doha Metro, Travel Cards and how to register an account. The booth is open from 9.30am-10.30pm.