BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 1 Qatar hope for lucky draw in fi nal INDEX DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2 – 7, 28 COMMENT 26, 27 qualifying REGION 8 BUSINESS 1 – 8, 13 – 16 17,642.70 10,159.66 40.32 ARAB WORLD 8 – 10 CLASSIFIED 9 – 13 CI affi rms QIB ratings +65.74 +31.01 +0.60 INTERNATIONAL 11 – 25 SPORTS 1 – 12 round +0.37% +0.31% +1.51% with stable outlook Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978 TUESDAY Vol. XXXVII No. 10056 April 12, 2016 Rajab 5, 1437 AH GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Thrill rides at festival Q-Post In brief REGION | Confl ict launches Yemen ceasefi re ‘largely holding’ A ceasefire that took eff ect in Yemen yesterday appears to be largely holding despite reports e-commerce of fighting in some areas, the UN spokesman said. The truce between the legitimate government and Iran-supported Houthi rebels and their allies came into force at midnight local time. “The cessation service of hostilities seems to be largely holding,” UN spokesman Stephane The formal launch of the Faleh al-Naiemi expressed the hope Dujarric said, although he noted international parcel forwarding that the country’s residents would that there were “some pockets of service was announced at the avail of the services of the new plat- violence”. Page 8 Arab Future Cities Summit form developed by the postal corpo- ration while placing orders for their By Ramesh Mathew ever-growing requirements from PALESTINIANS | Accusation Staff Reporter such markets as the US and the UK. Israeli forces ‘abusing Within a couple of weeks, the e- commerce platform will also cover detained minors’ o cash in on the growing e- Japan, China and Germany. More Human Rights Watch (HRW) commerce market across the countries are to be added to the net- yesterday accused Israeli security Tworld, Qatar Postal Services work later. forces of using unnecessary force Company (Q-Post) has launched its Al-Naiemi said the service had in the arrest and interrogation of new service “Connected by Qatar been successfully tested and in place Palestinian minors in the occupied Post”. for more than a week. Qatar residents West Bank and East Jerusalem. The formal launch of the interna- could place their orders after reg- HRW also said that arrests of The excitement and thrill the various rides provide make the ongoing Souq Waqif festival a crowd-puller since its opening on tional parcel forwarding service was istering on the www.connected.qa youths had spiralled since an April 4. From 4pm to 10pm, visitors gather at the Amusement Park which also hosts several booths, stalls, skills games and announced yesterday at the Arab Fu- website within the Q-Post portal and October 2015 outbreak of violence entertainment activities. The festival concludes on April 18. PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam ture Cities Summit in the presence of ask for shipment from suppliers of that has killed more than 200 HE the Transport and Communica- goods they are looking for. They could people. Page 10 tion Minister Jassim Seif Ahmed al- receive the packages at their select Sulaiti. location in Qatar or collect from any Speaking on the occasion, Q-Post Q-Post branch of their choice. TURKEY | Tour chairman and managing director The chairman said the Q-Post was Saudi King begins looking for feedback on the new serv- visit to Ankara IATA expects airfares ice from Qatar residents. Earlier at the meeting, al-Naiemi The Custodian of the Two Holy announced the launch of the postal Mosques, King Salman of Saudi company’s e-locker parcels scheme, Arabia, arrived in Turkey yesterday under which customers could col- for a visit aimed at tightening to fall further this year lect their local or international parcel increasingly close ties between from e-lockers, likely to be installed the two countries, receiving a in select locations. lavish welcome that underlined the By Pratap John at the end of February, IATA said. Passenger loads have slipped in re- E-locker is something like an ATM strength of relations. The king was Chief Business Reporter Average global fares in reported cent months, though, which will re- where a customer needs to use a se- welcomed at Ankara airport by a dollar terms fell by around 12% in 2015 quire monitoring, IATA said. cret password to collect his/her par- delegation led by President Recep compared to the previous year (ex- Air freight volumes in the fi rst two cel. Tayyip Erdogan. Page 8 irfares may fall further this cluding taxes, fees and surcharges) months of 2016 fell by 1.5% year- The password will be provided to year on the back of lower oil The strong appreciation in the dol- on-year, although the comparison the customer by the postal company Aprice, the International Air lar seen over the period exaggerat- is complicated by the one-off boost Faleh al-Naeimi: Q-Post chairman and once the parcel is sent to the e-locker. AMERICA | Policy Transport Association (IATA) has said ed the downward trend in airfares: last year from disruption at US west managing director Page 4 Obama calls Libya in a report. adjusting for the currency eff ect, coast seaports. “Further fall in air fares are likely to global fares were approximately 4.5% The freight load factor in January his ‘worst mistake’ be seen in 2016 as hedging contracts lower than in 2014. and February combined was well be- US President Barack Obama unwind and the decline in oil prices “The distortion from the dollar is low average for the time of year, keep- says the biggest mistake of his seen towards the end of last year feeds likely to ease in the coming months,” ing cargo yields under pressure. Drones set to deliver presidency was the lack of planning through,” said the IATA report. IATA said. Annual growth in global pas- for the aftermath of the fall of late Oil prices are “still around 30% low- Competitive pressures within the senger traffi c accelerated to 8.6% in Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, er than this time in 2015”, IATA noted. industry mean that the declines in oil February. with the country spiralling into Moreover, with storage levels re- prices seen around the end of last year “The outcome was helped by the packages later this year chaos. Reflecting on his legacy in maining very high for this time of and into 2016 are likely to translate fact that 2016 is a leap year, but the a Fox News interview, Obama said year, the overriding market sentiment into further declines in fares as fuel bigger picture is that the upward trend his “worst mistake” was “probably for oil prices is “lower for longer”, hedges unwind. in seasonally-adjusted traffi c, which he Qatar Postal Services Com- The Ministry of Transport and failing to plan for the day after what points out the Montreal-based IATA, Exchange rate-adjusted fares fell allows for the extra day in February, pany (Q-Post) is embarking Communications signed an MoU with I think was the right thing to do in which is the trade association of the by 6.2% year-on-year in January remains very strong,” the report said. Tupon an ambitious project the Qatar Postal Services Company to intervening in Libya.” world’s airlines. 2016, it said. Air freight volumes, IATA said, “Plane without pilot”, where it would develop the project. Indeed, according to the latest fu- The latest airline fi nancial results fell by 5.6% year-on-year in Feb- deploy drones to send packages to the Al-Naiemi said that the post- tures contracts, the market expects from the fourth quarter, 2015, further ruary, although the comparison is customer’s doorsteps. al company was working out plans INDIA | Tragedy oil prices to remain below $50/b until cemented the picture of a strong end complicated by the one-off boost to Informing this yesterday, Q-Post on a war footing to make available Charges fi led over late-2019. to 2015, driven by carriers in North air freight in the same month last year chairman Faleh al-Naiemi said the the services of global level e-com- “Crude oil prices gained in March, America, IATA said. during the disruption at seaports on project is expected to be launched after merce providers Alibaba.com, from fi reworks disaster but the market expects them to re- Financial performance improved the US west coast. six months. China. Police in the Indian state of Kerala main lower for longer,” IATA said. in all regions relative to the fourth “Looking across January and Feb- So many mandatory procedures The tie-up with Alibaba.com is ex- said yesterday they had filed initial Crude oil prices rallied in late-Feb- quarter, 2014, except Latin America, ruary combined, air freight volumes need to be completed before the pected to materialise within six weeks. charges against six people over a ruary and early March, driven by mar- it said. were 6.3% higher than at the start to project takes off , said al-Naiemi, while As part of its eff orts to strengthen the massive explosion during a banned ket expectations of a possible freeze While the leap year may have fl at- 2014, which translates into a reason- pointing out that a number of postal e-commerce platform, Qatar Postal fireworks display that killed more in production levels. The price of a tered things, the global air passenger ably solid growth rate by air freight’s services across the world are already Services Company is also exploring than 100 people and left many barrel of Brent crude oil ended March market is enjoying a strong start to recent disappointing standards,” having similar facilities to meet cus- the possibility of similar tie-ups in the more with horrific burns.