www.thepeninsulaqatar.com BUSINESS | 17 SPORT | 24 Opec may hold formal Rashidov and meeting if members Romarinho earn 2-1 agree on oil output win for El Jaish MONDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2016 • 17 DHUL HIJJA 1437 • Volume 21 • Number 6924 2 Riyals thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar New academic year Emir meets President of Panama starts on a high note Independent schools reported acquainted with the rules and reg- around 70 percent attendance on ulations. A teacher at the Al Maha The Minister of the first day, while it was higher in Academy, an international school Education and Higher most private schools. located in Ain Khaled said, children The ministry as part of its new were so excited on the first day and Education H E Dr disciplinary rules, has issued a some came even before the teachers Mohammed Abdul strong warning to students against arrived. The school offered refresh- Wahid Al Hammadi abstaining from classes in the fol- ments to parents who accompanied lowing days. their kids. visited a number of “Preparation for the new aca- Sana Salman, a mother of two Independent schools demic year was based on studies daughters studying at American conducted on past years’ experiences School Doha said, “Attendance was as Qatar started the and we focused on administrative, full on the first day. Different activi- new academic year organisational an academic aspects, ties took place at the school to cheer with the aim of improving quality up children and gear up for a new yesterday. and academic achievements. We start. The students were enthusias- have managed to fill all teachers’ tic attending the school after a long vacancies (in Independent schools) summer break.” with qualified hands and benefit- Nargis Raza, principal of Paki- By Amna Pervaiz Rao & ted from local talents,” said Fouzia Al stan Education Centre (PEC) said: Lojayn Motaz Eissa Khater, director of Education Insti- “There was heavy traffic at Abu The Peninsula tute at the Ministry. Hamor in the morning since many Life was hectic in a girls’ Inde- schools are located in the same Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with President of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, at the pendent school in the airport area place. Attendance was over 50 per- premises of Qatar’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, yesterday. They discussed bilateral DOHA: Qatar started the new aca- when The Peninsula visited its cent. It wasn’t full, because many relations and means to develop them, especially in the investments field in addition to a host of demic year yesterday, with the premises early morning yesterday. families have not yet returned from international issues. The meeting was attended by the members of the official delegation accompanying Independent and private schools Parents were busy collecting the vacation. The staff was geared the Emir. resuming classes after the long sum- text books for their kids and making up for a fresh start and the chil- mer break and the city going back to arrangements for transport in school dren were in high spirits in their its usual hustle and bustle. buses. Some were a bit annoyed as classrooms.” As the city witnessed heavy traf- it took time to get things organised, The Next Generation School fic during peak hours yesterday, the being the first day. (TNG) CEO Shagufta Bakali said: “ Deputy PM calls Ministry of Education and Higher “The first week will put too much We were delighted to see the happy HIA welcomes 17.6 million Education has instructed schools to pressure on the parents’ pockets, faces of children. Attendance was for NAM’s strong take special care about the safety of in terms of school expenditure,” fairly good. Heavy traffic made some children in school buses. A circular lamented a Qatari parent. students come late and the school passengers in first half was sent to Independent schools in “We are trying to create the saf- buses also arrived late. We sched- stance on Syria this regard. est environment for students by uled the school time with a gap of The Minister of Education and keeping all facilities intact,” the 10 minutes as we knew that many The Peninsula world’s major cargo hubs. MARGARITA ISLAND, VENE- Higher Education H E Dr Moham- supervisor of the school told this children won’t make it on time on HIA’s top routes with regard ZUELA: Deputy Prime Minister and med Abdul Wahid Al Hammadi daily. She said in the first week, there the first day.” to passenger numbers during the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs visited a number of Independ- will be a lot of emphasis on stu- first half of this year were Dubai, H E Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mah- ent schools yesterday. Some dents discipline to get the students → See also page 5 DOHA: Hamad International Air- London, Bangkok, Bahrain and moud said that the magnitude of port (HIA) has set a new record, Colombo, generating collectively the humanitarian disaster in Syria welcoming 17.6 million passengers 20.3% of the airport’s traffic. and the serious consequences of during the first half of this year. The UAE topped all countries in the continuing crisis on the security The airport registered a growth terms of total passenger numbers and stability of the region and the of more than 20% compared to the followed by India, Saudi Arabia, world require Non-Aligned Move- same period last year which wit- USA and United Kingdom. Region- ment’s (NAM) strong positions in nessed 14.6 million passengers. ally, the Far East achieved a 33.6% support of international efforts to HIA also saw a significant share of passenger movements, reach a political solution accord- increase in aircraft operations from followed by the Middle East with ing to the Geneva-1 communique. January to June with a total of 118,069 22% and Europe with 21.6% dur- The Deputy Prime Minister movements, which represents a 17% ing the same period. was addressing the 17th Non- increase in aircraft take-offs and Commenting on the airport’s Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit landings at the airport, compared to figures, Eng Badr Mohammed Al in Margarita Island, Venezuela, the same period last year. Meer, Chief Operating Officer at yesterday. This growth is attributed to the HIA, said: “The first six months of continuous expansion of Qatar Air- this year have been the busiest for → Full report on page 2 ways with eight new destinations our airport to date, achieving record added in the first half of the year passenger and aircraft movement namely, Adelaide, Atlanta, Bir- traffic. We expect HIA to continue QNB among mingham, Boston, Los Angeles, demonstrating a healthy and steady Marrakech, Ras Al Khaimah and growth in passenger numbers for Yerevan as well as new flights by the rest of the year, supporting world’s 50 Philippine Airlines, Atlas Global Air- Qatar’s vision for HIA to be leader lines and Himalaya Airlines. among global aviation hubs.” safest banks Cargo tonnage continued to HIA is the hub for its home base grow strongly by 20.3% total- carrier Qatar Airways, which now ing 817,792 tonnes during the flies to more than 150 destinations The Peninsula Students waiting for books during the reopening day at Al Ahnaf bin Qais Independent Preparatory School same period, further strength- worldwide, making Doha a global yesterday. ening HIA’s position as one of the hub for business and leisure travel. DOHA: QNB Group, a leading financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, has retained its position at the top of the list of the Pakistan Embassy steps up efforts to repatriate illegal residents World’s 50 Safest Banks, according to the latest update published by Global Finance Magazine in 2016. By Irfan Bukhari extension in the passport so that such requirements for illegal residents to of Pakistan Youth Society, replied: “We Since 2013, the Group The Peninsula people can travel to Pakistan. But on avail of the amnesty. “We are trying do not have any such figures.” New timing for retained this ranking, which is this extension they can only travel to our best to spread the message and A Pakistani worker told The Penin- amnesty seekers based on the evaluation of long- Pakistan, the home country and no convince illegal Pakistani residents to sula that most of the illegal residents term credit ratings provided by where else. Some cases have appeared avail the offer without procrastination,” from Pakistan and other countries Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and DOHA: The Pakistan Embassy in col- in the last three weeks for the emer- said Tahir Chaudhry, Secretary-Gen- as well were living in Industrial Area DOHA: The Ministry of Interior has Fitch, and the total assets of the laboration with community leaders gency extension in passport since this eral, Pakistan Welfare Forum. neighbourhood. “I have met some extended the working hours of its 500 largest banks worldwide. It has stepped up efforts to reap max- amnesty was introduced but yet we “In the first place, no one should illegal residents there who work on Search and Follow Up Department is notable that The Banker mag- imum results from the ongoing have not observed any visible influx,” stay here illegally. We give this lower wages. But as far as I know and for amnesty seekers for two hours azine has recently ranked QNB amnesty for illegal residents in Qatar. he said, adding that the embassy was message to all people coming from according to my interactions with to serve more cases. The new tim- among the world’s top 100 banks Talking to The Peninsula, Rizwan playing its due role to convince illegal Pakistan.