www.thepeninsulaqatar.com BUSINESS | 14 SPORT | 23 EECB insists latest Al Attiyah winss policy measures Abu Dhabi are working Desert Challengege FRIDAY 8 APRIL 2016 • 1 Rajab 1437 • Volume 21 • Number 6760 thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar Kerry with GCC foreign ministers in Manama Emir sends Driving licence message to can be renewed French President QNA on Metrash 2 PARIS: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent a mes- sage to French President Francois Hollande on relations between the Expatriates seeking a ‘return visa’ two countries, means of bolstering for people under personal sponsorship them and latest regional and inter- Motorists can also who have stayed out of the country national developments. apply for a new for more than six months can also The verbal message was con- apply through Metrash 2 or the min- veyed by Foreign Minister H E licence to replace istry’s website. Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrah- the damaged one Passport details of a foreigner can man Al Thani when Hollande met be modified online if the person holds him at the Elysee Palace yesterday. through MoI’s mobile a valid entry visa to Qatar and his The Foreign Minister also passport has been lost or damaged. conveyed the Emir’s greetings to app. GCC Secretary-General Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani with GCC foreign ministers and US Secretary In case of expatriates holding Hollande and his wishes of more two visas — one existing and another of State John Kerry before GCC ministerial meetings in Bahraini capital Manama yesterday. progress and development for the new— it is possible to close one and → See also page 3 French people. The Peninsula open the other online using Metrash Hollande asked the Foreign 2 or the ministry’s e-services, after Minister to convey his greetings paying service charges. and to the Emir, his wishes of good The Traffic Department at the health and happiness to him and DOHA: Driving licence can be ministry, meanwhile, extended its more progress and prosperity for renewed through Metrash 2, the offer of 50 percent cut in traffic-related the Qatari people. mobile application of the Ministry fines for another three months, sources 500 more taxis by October of Interior (MoI). said. The offer ends on July 7 instead The renewal fee of QR250 can be of April 7. The department had ear- By Raynald C Rivera Cars Taxi fleet will bring the total franchise operators, Cars Taxi oper- Qatar to chair Arab paid online. The applicant can have lier announced that those paying the The Peninsula number of taxis in Qatar to 4,500 by ates in the country in partnership with the licence delivered at his doorstep fines within three months starting the end of the third quarter. Qatar-based Profit Group. Labour Conference by Q-Post by paying an additional from January 7 will get a 50 percent “Since the launch of Cars Taxi in “This large addition to the existing fee of QR20, the ministry said on its reduction. The offer is valid for all September 2014, we have commis- fleet reflects Cars Taxi’s commitment DOHA: Qatar will chair the 43rd Twitter account. violations committed before Decem- DOHA: Five hundred more lemon sioned 500 taxis in record time and to find balance between the increas- session of the Arab Labour Confer- Motorists can also apply for a new ber 31 last year, to encourage people yellow-roofed taxis will hit Doha hope to commission another 500 in ing needs of taxi riders and availability ence in Cairo on Sunday, attended licence to replace the damaged one to pay the fines and comply with the streets by October, Cars Taxi, one of record time in the next four to five of service providers in Qatar. by Arab ministers of labour, busi- through Metrash 2 using the same pro- traffic law. Motorists can enjoy the the four taxi operators in the coun- months,” P Balasubramaniam, Group “Since launching operations two nessmen and representatives of cedures, which have been explained privilege even in case of certain vio- try, announced yesterday. Director, Profit Group, said at the years ago, Cars Taxi has established Arab labour organisations. by the MoI on the popular social media lations committed this year if they Cars Taxi yesterday started the launch at Sharq Village & Spa. itself as a preferred choice of com- Minister of Administrative platform. The ministry has added pay up the fines within one month roll-out with 25 taxis and the number The company also plans to intro- muters throughout the country,” said Development, Labour and Social three important visa-related serv- after the date of violation, as per the will gradually increase to reach the duce environment-friendly hybrid taxis Abdulla Sultan Al Sabbagh, Group CEO, Affairs H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali ices to its online platform, allowing amended traffic law. additional target, to add to the 500 and special taxis for women, families Cars Taxi Group. Al Nuaimi will represent Qatar. The residents to avail of them without vis- currently operated by the company. and people with disabilities. forum will issues related to the iting a services centre of the ministry. → Continued on page 2 The announcement to double the One of the region’s largest taxi → Continued on page 2 employment sector in the region. Israel starts work 171st Turkish National Police anniversary Syria peace talks pushed on disputed part of West Bank wall back to April 13: UN envoy AFP AFP the next round of talks”, he said. The main obstacle is the future of President Bashar Al Assad. BEIT JALA: Israel began construc- The opposition High Negotiations tion on a controversial part of its GENEVA: UN Syria envoy Staffan de Committee has said Assad must go separation barrier in the occupied Mistura said yesterday that the next before a transitional government is West Bank yesterday, near a Pal- round of peace talks will begin on April agreed, while the regime insists that estinian Christian town. 13 after he completes a diplomatic his fate be excluded from the talks. Cranes began lifting eight- tour, including stops in Damascus De Mistura met key regime ally metre-high blocks into place near and Tehran. Russia in Moscow and will head to Beit Jala, south of Jerusalem and The United Nations had previously Tehran for talks with another cru- close to Bethlehem. This part of the said that the negotiations in Geneva cial government supporter. wall could cut Palestinians from would resume on April 11 after the last He also plans to meet Turkish offi- their olive groves. round ended on March 24. cials in Europe by the middle of next Nicola Khamis, Mayor, Beit De Mistura told journalists that week. Ankara has emerged as one of Jala, condemned what he saw as meetings with key regional players Assad’s main foes. a land grab. and Syria’s government were crucial De Mistura said he had not “This land is for our families, before the next round begins and that requested a face-to-face meeting our children,” he said by phone he expected to return to Geneva on with Assad in Damascus, but expected from the bridge next to the con- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (centre) walking by police officers as he arrives for a ceremony April 12 or 13. to hold talks with Foreign Minister struction site. marking the 171st anniversary of the foundation of the Turkish National Police at the Presidential “I need to verify the international Walid Muallem. The Israeli army referred ques- Complex in Ankara yesterday. and regional stakeholders’ position” tions to the defence ministry, which in order to have “concrete results in → See also page 3 did not immediately respond. Residents of Beit Jala fear the construction of the wall may lead to the expansion of the nearby Israeli settlements of Gilo and Har Gilo. Panama Papers: Argentina president in storm as global probes begin Khamis said they hoped to battle the wall’s construction, with emer- gency strategy meetings planned, but he conceded they had no fur- AFP from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. Argentine federal prosecutor Federico Del- Putin ridiculed the international media probe ther appeals within the Israeli legal Investigators around the world, including in gado asked a judge to request information from behind the revelations, deriding it as US-orches- system. Australia, the Netherlands, El Salvador, Costa the national tax authority and anti-corruption trated and boasting that a year-long investigation After a nine-year legal battle, Rica announced probes following the leak, Spain office to determine if Macri “omitted, with mali- had failed to find any mention of his name. Israel’s high court ruled in July 2015 PANAMA CITY: Argentine President Mauricio opened a money-laundering investigation into cious intent, to complete his sworn declaration” The leaks have put a host of world leaders, the wall was legitimate, making Macri became the latest world leader caught in the law firm and Swiss police raided European of assets, a requirement for Argentine public celebrities and sports stars in the hot seat and left only small adjustments. the storm of the so-called Panama Papers yes- football body UEFA’s headquarters. officials. Macri did not list either company in his Panama fighting to salvage its reputation. They “Without this land all the Chris- terday as prosecutors opened an investigation Putin and Xi are only connected to the rev- financial declarations when he became Buenos have toppled Iceland’s prime minister. tians will leave this country,” Khamis into his offshore financial dealings. elations via their inner circles, but Macri is on Aires mayor in 2007 or President last December.