ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER Tuesday 1 October 2013 25 Dhul-qa’da 1434 - Volume 18 Number 5839 Price: QR2 QNB launches Reigning China platform to Open champ support SMEs crashes out Business | 17 Sport | 27 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 Experts differ on media freedom in GCC at Manama forum DOHA: Judging from differing different GCC states presented on It is being attended by a large said was an avalanche of false and freedom of others. Current the Arab world in the use of viewpoints presented on media media freedom at today’s forum, number of media professionals, misleading information spread trends in the Arab world show social media. Citing the example freedom by speakers from the that not all member-states share experts and educationists, aside by vested interests through the that the social media was being of Bahrain, he said between April GCC countries at a forum being a similar view on the issue,” said from officials from the six GCC social media. used to incite sectarian passions and June of this year social media held in Manama, it became Dr Ahmed Abul Malik. states. “Unleashing wrong and mis- and ideological extremism, he users in Bahrain alone had risen evident yesterday that not all Malik, a renowned Qatari The event assumes significance leading information and propa- said. to one million (half the country’s member-states have a uniform author and journalist, moderated since it is being organized in the ganda against a state can have The national security begins population). stand on the issue. a key panel discussion on media wake of the role of social media in dangerous implications for its with people’s security, he said, Another official from a GCC While speakers from some freedom and the issue of national Arab Spring and fast-spreading future,” she cautioned, implying justifying the need to rein in the state, Isa Abdul Rahman, told GCC states spoke strongly in security in the GCC states at a use of social media in the GCC the need for legislations to rein media with legislations. the forum that some 10.8 million favour of a free media, those from forum in Manama. states. in the media. “Social media by itself doesn’t people tweeted daily in the Arab other countries toed the official The two-day conference being Interestingly, Samira Rajab, Backing her up, a senior threaten national security. It is world and 47 percent of them line and called for reining in the held on the sidelines of the 21s Bahrain’s information minis- interior ministry official from important to see who is using it were from Saudi Arabia’s capital media over security concerns. meeting of GCC information min- ter, while opening the forum, Bahrain, Colonel Mohamed bin and for what purpose,” said Al city of Riyadh alone. “It was quite clear, based on isters kicked off in the Bahraini defended the right of a state to Dina, said media freedom didn’t Dina. THE PENINSULA the viewpoints speakers from capital yesterday. “protect itself” against what she mean it can infringe upon the The GCC countries are leading Continued on page 7 Technical checks Human rights for old cars only in Industrial Area body rubbishes DOHA: All old vehicles — 2000 model or older — seeking renewal of road permit will now have to undergo the manda- tory technical check up at the abuse claims main inspection centre in the Industrial Area. The Traffic Department has issued a circular to all the inspec- No truth in Guardian report: Official tion centres in this regard, Al Sharq reported yesterday. DOHA: The Chairman of Earlier vehicle owners were Qatar’s National Human Rights allowed to do the annual check- Committee (NHRC) yester- up at any of the authorised cen- day denied claims by London’s tres. The satellite centres are Guardian newspaper that Qatar located in Al Wakra, Abu Hamour was treating Nepalese con- and Al Khor. struction workers like ‘slaves’. The reason cited for the deci- Ali bin Samikh Al Marri said sion is that the satellite centres the allegations, made last week, do not have the required facili- were totally erroneous. ties to conduct elaborate inspec- “There is no slavery or forced tions, especially facilities for a labour in Qatar,” he said at a press proper closer probe of the vehicle conference. from beneath. This can endanger “The information that The Visitors receive guidance at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington yesterday. The Smithsonian safety, especially in the case of Guardian reported is false and museums will close today if a deal is not struck by lawmakers. old vehicles. The new decision is the numbers cited by them are expected to reduce the pressure exaggerated.” on the satellite centres, while the The Guardian report last Industrial Area facility will now Thursday said dozens of Nepalese Chairman of the Qatar National see more vehicles. workers have died while working Human Rights Committee Ali US govt shutdown looms All the technical inspection in Qatar in recent weeks, raising bin Samikh Al Marri at a news centres are run by Woqod, which concerns about the Gulf state’s conference in Doha yesterday. WASHINGTON: With a shut- compromise from feuding clans of path forward yet. If the dead- a few years ago took over the erst- preparations to host the World down of the US government lawmakers, arguing instead over line expires without a deal the while Qatar Technical Inspection Cup soccer in 2022. largest group of labourers in hours away, Republicans and who takes the blame for the first failure will have a global impact. Company. Woqod is in the proc- Quoting documents obtained Qatar after the Indians -- faced Democrats blamed each other shutdown in 17 years. Oil prices slid and European and ess of establishing more inspec- by the Nepalese embassy in Doha, exploitation and abuses amount- Monday for a stand-off that House Speaker John Boehner Asian shares fell, amid fears for tion centres at some major petrol the Guardian said thousands of ing to “modern-day slavery”. has left hundreds of thousands took to the floor to defend the world’s largest economy. stations. THE PENINSULA Nepalese -- at 370,000 the second Marri admitted there had been of government workers on the Republican legislation that would And, at a local level, as the some problems but added he and brink of being sent home. defund Obama’s signature health Washington day began staff at the government were doing their Lawmakers in the bitterly care law — a non starter for federal agencies were warned Turkey lifts ban Nepal envoy utmost to put these right. divided Congress had until mid- Democratic-led Senate. that their children would not be “There have been some prob- night (0400 GMT) to pass a stop- “This law is not ready for able to attend government day- on headscarves denies reports lems, owing to the fact that there gap budget measure, but there prime time. The House has done care centres today. The National are 44,000 businesses in the coun- was no sign of a breakthrough. its work,” Boehner said. Zoo announced that it would ANKARA: Turkey’s prime try,” he said. President Barack Obama has “Senate decided not to work close, and its popular livefeed of minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan about abuse “But I can assure you that the warned a freeze in non-essential yesterday. Well my goodness, if the first weeks of life of its baby yesterday announced key politi- DOHA: The outgoing authorities are constantly making federal spending could have cat- there’s such an emergency, where panda would go offline. cal reforms, including lifting a Nepalese Ambassador, Dr efforts to resolve the problems.” astrophic effects on the shaky are they?” Some members of the Congress ban on Islamic headscarves and Maya Kumari Sharma, yes- Narinra Bad, the coordinator economic recovery, and cost thou- The Republican leadership tried to put a brave face on the strengthening Kurdish rights. terday refuted media reports of the Nepalese community in the sands of jobs. gathered in Boehner’s office, impasse with 15 hours left to The moves come as critics that she had described Qatar Middle East, was also present at But Congressional leaders but one congressman leaving thrash out an improbable com- accuse Erdogan of Islamising the as an ‘open jail’ for workers or yesterday’s press conference and have been unable to wrangle a the meeting said there was no promise. AFP staunchly secular country. AFP spoken to journalists from the he too disputed the figures the Guardian newspaper and the Guardian gave. BBC. “A total of 151 Nepalese citi- The reports are fabricated, zens have died in Qatar this year Sharma told local journalists including 15 at their workplace,” at her residence in the West he said, adding the rest had died Bay area in Doha. However, either in car accidents or of nat- MERS guidelines cause confusion in schools she admitted that she had met ural causes. “In 2012, Nepalese a group of Nepalese journalists deaths in Qatar numbered 276, DOHA: A set of unusual guidelines issued local Arabic daily yesterday. The guidelines Talking to this daily yesterday, several six months ago but maintained including 55, that is 20 percent, by the health authorities to Independent have surprised many, since the Supreme citizens have pointed out that the guidelines that the meeting was unofficial. at their workplace,” AFP quoted schools related to the coronavirus — Council of Health (SCH) has not reported could cause panic among the community.