ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER Coca-Cola Jayawardene, pays $2.2bn for Herath put Sri Monster stake Lanka on top Business | 18 Sport | 26 Sunday 17 August 2014 • 21 Shawwal 1435 • Volume 19 Number 6160 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 Qatar takes part in Youth Olympic Games Ebola outbreak chances in Qatar Crackdown ‘very minimal’ DOHA: Even if anyone is found infected with the deadly Ebola virus, the possibility of an out- on narcotics break of the disease in Qatar is very minimal, officials have said. Since so far no one has been diagnosed with the disease which is transmitted through direct contact, the possibility of smugglers it spreading in the country is less, Dr Mohamed bin Hamad Al Thani, Director of Public Health, Fake items also seized last year Supreme Council of Health (SCH), told a workshop for DOHA: The Qatar General Drug traffickers were carrying healthcare professionals. Authority of Customs detected 22,376 pills of various contraband He said the SCH had taken pre- 851 offences and foiled attempts and used different methods to cautionary measures to limit any to smuggle in huge quantities of smuggle them into the country. chance of an Ebola threat. alcohol and narcotics into the In one case, drug pushers tried Ebola is passed to humans country last year. to smuggle in narcotics by con- through close contact with the The Customs Department, cealing them inside sweets and blood or bodily fluids of infected with the support of Interpol and nut shells. animals. Fruit bats, monkeys Qatar’s Civil Defence Department, A large quantity of pills was and chimpanzees can carry the also aborted a series of attempts hidden inside a tin of frozen food virus. Ebola also spreads through to flood the local market with in the baggage of a passenger human to human, again from con- counterfeit products. from an Arab country. tact with blood or bodily fluids. In one operation, the Customs The passenger had been under THE PENINSULA A Qatari athlete taking part in the opening ceremony of the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, Department, with the support the surveillance of customs Continued on page 2 yesterday. Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the second Youth Olympic Games open. Report on page 28 of its Marine squad, seized 9,000 officers until he arrived at a bottles of alcohol. In separate check-point. incidents, it also impounded huge In another major haul, the Air quantities of narcotics. Customs Department seized 1.5kg In one case, offenders tried of opium from an Asian passen- Banking services hit as most staff on vacation to smuggle in several cartons of ger on his arrival at the airport. liquor by using secret wooden They also aborted repeated DOHA: With most employees quoted Yousif Mousa Abuhelaiqa, avail the fund, as I failed to obtain of by only two or three people, cases through Doha Port. They attempts by different groups of of local companies having gone a Qatari citizen, as saying. a certificate from my employer which is badly affecting the effi- had been under the radar of the smugglers to flood the Qatari on annual vacation, services of Some citizens and expatriates since the signing authority at ciency and productivity of work- Customs Department until the market with counterfeit products. many sectors, especially bank- who have applied for personal my company is on vacation,” ers. Both the staff as well as the consignment reached their secret Studies estimate that the pres- ing services, are badly hit. loans are facing indefinite delays said an Asian expatriate to this beneficiaries face problems.” store in the Industrial Area. ence of counterfeit products in As a result of a shortage of staff in the process of approval, caus- newspaper. Yet another Qatari citizen, Customs officials, along with the Arab market is costing Arab at banks, customers are forced to ing irreparable losses to many. “I bought a property in my Abdullah Mohammed Al Ahbabi, security forces, raided the build- countries an estimate $88bn every wait for hours to avail services. “I have been trying to obtain a country, and as per the contract, I added: “With the growing popula- ing and seized the contraband. year. And those who have opted not personal loan from my bank over had to pay the remaining amount tion in the country, this is becom- The suspects were later handed The GCC counties collectively to go on vacation are working the past one month. by the end of July, but now it ing increasingly a big problem over to Capital Security Police, suffered an estimated $18bn loss under great pressure. “Frustrated with the attitude seems I will lose the amount I now year-by-year. Ahmed Yousif Al Sahl, Director of due to counterfeit products in “So many people have gone on of the bank, I decided to change paid in advance for the asset.” “Those who have not gone on Marine Customs, said in a report their markets in 2013. vacation at the same time, affect- my bank but it did not work Another citizen, Toyam Al vacation are the biggest suffer- released by the Authority. The international market is at ing the quality of services, par- either. Hajri, said: “During the summer ers as they have to make extra The last three months of 2013 the risk of losing an estimated ticularly in the banking sector. “The bank did not issue me a months, a large number of staff at efforts. witnessed a massive hunt for law- $780bn per year, or about 5 per- “The banks should have made Non-liability Certificate (asked most companies go on vacation. “The banks should take care of breakers who tried to smuggle in cent to 10 percent of the total alternative arrangements to by the new bank) on time, citing “For instance, the quantum of such situations before approving large amounts of narcotics. value of trading, the Directorate ensure customers are provided shortage of staff at the branch. work done by five employees at leave applications of their staff,” The contraband included nar- of Customs said in its report. with normal services even during “Finally, when another bank a particular department (during he added. cotic pills, hashish and marijuana. THE PENINSULA summer months,” an Arabic daily sanctioned my loan, I couldn’t normal days) is being taken care THE PENINSULA Karwa taxis will Hamas to Israel: Accept have GPS-enabled technology soon demands or face long war DOHA: As part of efforts CAIRO/JERUSALEM: Hamas yesterday rejected as insufficient to improve taxi services, the offers made in Cairo to Palestinian negotiators seeking to end public transport company — Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, and raised the possibility of Mowasalat — is to launch a renewed fighting when the current truce expires. new electronic application for Israel said it had also not yet accepted any proposals made in the Karwa taxis by this month-end Egyptian-mediated talks but, like the Palestinians, its envoys would to help drivers reach destina- continue attending them on Sunday. The ceasefire ends tomorrow tions easily, Al Sharq reported night. Hamas wants an Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the coastal enclave yesterday. lifted, and the establishment of a seaport and airport, as part of any The GPS-enabled technology enduring cessation of hostilities. “Israel must accept the demands of will not only help cabbies to take the Palestinian people or face a long war,” Osama Hamdan, the head the shortest possible route to a of Hamas’ foreign affairs, said on Facebook. See also page 4 destination but also save com- muters’ time and money. Key intersections to open soon Newcomers — commuters and drivers — not aware of Qatar’s DOHA: The signal-controlled intersections at Doha’s two main geography and places, often lose junctions — Al Markhiya and Dahl Al Hamam — will open soon. their way which cost passengers The roundabouts converted into intersections will open before a lot of extra money and time. Demonstrators supporting Kurdistan hold placards during a rally against Islamic State, formerly known as Islamic schools reopen after summer vacation, Al Sharq said yesterday. Initially in the pilot phase, the State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), in front of the White House yesterday. The Public Works Authority — Ashghal — started converting the application will be installed in roundabouts into intersections in May, as part of a plan to ease traffic about 100 cabs and will be even- in the city. Located in strategic areas, the junctions connect several tually extended to the entire fleet main roads such as Al Markhiya, Arab League, Jassim Bin Hamad of Karwa taxis over the next Kurds fight to retake Mosul dam and Khalifa Street. The project involves converting Dahl Al Hamam three months. Roundabout, with three lanes in each direction on Al Markhiya and Though there is a shortage of BAGHDAD: Kurdish forces Islamic State (IS) fighters who electricity to much of the region Arab League streets to ease traffic by providing three additional lanes taxi services, especially at vital backed by US warplanes bat- wrested the Mosul dam from and is crucial to irrigation in vast turning left and a side lane turning right at each signal. Pedestrian places during peak hours, with tled yesterday to retake Iraq’s them a week earlier, a general farming areas in Nineveh prov- crossings will be created to ensure road safety. The Al Markhiya project the operation of several private largest dam from jihadists, said. “Kurdish peshmerga, with ince. The recapture of the dam involves four lanes in each direction on Khalifa Street, in addition to taxi firms over the last couple of a day after militants carried US air support, have seized con- would be one of the most signifi- three lanes to turn left and one to turn right.