QATAR | Page 16 SPORT | Page 1 Tabata nets fi ne hat-trick to end INDEX DOW JONES QE NYMEX QATAR 2, 16 COMMENT 14, 15 REGION 3 BUSINESS 1 – 12 QSL season ‘World’s tallest bubble 20,414.00 10,451.47 53.18 ARAB WORLD 3 CLASSIFIED 7, 8 -102.00 -37.81 -0.07 INTERNATIONAL 4 – 13 SPORTS 1 – 8 man’ graces Doha fest -0.50% -0.36% -0.13% in style Latest Figures published in QATAR since 1978 SATURDAY Vol. XXXVIII No. 10424 April 15, 2017 Rajab 18, 1438 AH GULF TIMES www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Duterte arrives in Doha China warns of In brief N Korea confl ict ARAB WORLD | Confl ict Hundreds evacuated from four Syria towns Hundreds of civilians and fighters ‘at any moment’ who have been under crippling siege for more than two years US President Donald Trump has left four Syrian towns in fleets of issued stark warnings that the buses yesterday under a delayed threat posed by Pyongyang’s evacuation deal. Men, women and nuclear weapons programme “will children packed onto buses leaving be taken care of” government-controlled Fuaa and Kafraya and rebel-held Madaya and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrived yesterday in Doha on an off icial visit to AFP Zabadani, with many expressing the country. He was received upon arrival at Hamad International Airport by HE the Beijing despair at not knowing when they Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, Qatar’s ambassador might return. The deal to evacuate to the Philippines Ali bin Ibrahim al-Malki and Philippine ambassador Alan Timbayan. the towns is the latest in a string of hina issued a stern warning such agreements through Syria’s yesterday that a confl ict over six-year civil war. Page 3 CNorth Korea could break out “at any moment”, as Pyongyang vowed a “merciless” response to any US mili- AMERICA | Automobiles tary action. Apple gets permit to Erdogan: Turkey Tensions in the region have surged to fresh heights in recent days with test self-driving cars speculation mounting that the North Apple Inc has secured a permit is preparing a sixth nuclear test. to test autonomous vehicles A US naval strike force has been de- to review Europe ployed near the Korean peninsula, and in California, which allows it to conduct test drives in three President Donald Trump has issued A North Korean soldier looks through a pair of binoculars at a watch tower in vehicles with six drivers, the state stark warnings that the threat posed Sinuiju, North Korea, just across from Dandong of China’s Liaoning province Department of Motor Vehicles by Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons pro- yesterday. said yesterday. Although it has ties after vote gramme “will be taken care of”. never openly acknowledged it is A clearly rattled China, under pres- Trump’s military muscle-fl exing commercial fl ights into North Korea - looking into building an electric DPA would pass in tomorrow’s vote, saying sure from Trump to prevent any North was on display again when the US would suspend services to Pyongyang car, Apple has recruited dozens Istanbul polling research indicating a victory Korean provocation, said the situation on dropped the biggest non-nuclear from next week. of auto experts. The vehicles are for the “yes” side. had reached breaking point. bomb it possesses on Afghanistan, The report gave no reason for the all 2015 Lexus RX540h, according “Some rates show below 55%, some “One has the feeling that a confl ict targeting a complex used by the Is- suspension, but noted that Air China to the DMV. The permit does not resident Recep Tayyip Erdogan show between 55 and 60%,” he said, could break out at any moment,” Chi- lamic State group. has taken similar action in the past be- necessarily mean Apple is building aims to convene government with just one day left before cam- nese foreign minister Wang Yi said. The American president has repeat- cause of low passenger volumes. a car. Poffi cials to review the future of paigning closes. “If a war occurs, the result is a situ- edly said he will prevent Pyongyang Despite the mounting tensions, Turkey’s relationship with Europe fol- Earlier in the day, Turkey’s EU Min- ation in which everybody loses and from its goal of developing a nucle- there has been little sign of strain on there can be no winner,” he added dur- ar-tipped ballistic missile capable of the streets of Pyongyang in recent EUROPE | Migrants lowing a key referendum on presiden- ister Omer Celik said he off ered to tial powers this weekend. hold a summit with the bloc to discuss ing a joint press conference in Beijing reaching the mainland United States. days, where the focus has been on Over 2,000 rescued Erdogan told state-broadcaster TRT the future of bilateral ties after the ref- with the visiting French foreign min- A White House foreign policy ad- preparations for today’s anniversary. from Mediterranean yesterday that Turkey, a candidate erendum. ister. viser said that the US was assessing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un country to join the European Union, “We have reached the lowest point Wang’s comments mirrored a warn- military options, and added that an- on Thursday unveiled the sprawl- ing from the North Korean foreign other provocative test was a question ing Ryomyong street development, a More than 2,000 migrants trying had been unduly left waiting outside in the crisis with the EU. To get out of ministry’s Institute for Disarmament of “when” rather than “if.” prestige housing project repeatedly to reach Europe were plucked the bloc. that, what I have proposed to them is from the Mediterranean yesterday and Peace that “thermo-nuclear war Satellite imagery analysis has noted promised in time to mark the occasion. “Turkey is not their scapegoat. Eve- that a summit is needed,” he told Hab- in a series of dramatic rescues may break out any moment”. activity at the North’s main nuclear Before the international press ryone will know their place,” he said. erTurk channel. and one person was found dead, North Korea has invoked similarly test site ahead of today’s 105th an- and tens of thousands of his adoring off icials and witnesses said. An Tensions have been high between Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut dire scenarios on previous occasions niversary of the birth of the country’s citizens, he cut a wide red ribbon to Italian coast guard spokesman said Turkey and Europe, especially Ger- Cavusoglu the day before was quot- when tensions on the Korean peninsu- founder leader Kim Il-sung. rhythmic cheers, before waving and 19 rescue operations by the coast many and the Netherlands, during ed by state-run news agency Anado- la have spiked, but Beijing’s warnings The North’s sabre-rattling has en- returning to his Mercedes limousine. guard or ships operated by non- the campaign, with Erdogan dubbing lu as saying the country would push have fuelled international concerns couraged a rapprochement between governmental organisations had some leaders as “fascists” and accused ahead for a visa-free travel deal to that the current situation is reaching Trump and his Chinese counterpart saved a total of 2,074 migrants on them of behaving like “Nazis.” Europe, adding this was tied to a mi- tipping point. Xi Jinping, who met face-to-face for Show of strength 16 rubber dinghies and three small Erdogan also predicted that the gration agreement reached last year. The North’s Korean People’s Army the fi rst time late last week at Trump’s wooden boats. referendum on expanding his powers Page 8 (KPA) added its voice to the bellicose Mar-a-Lago resort. North Korea’s military forces were rhetoric with a statement threatening Though his election campaign was massed in Pyongyang early today strikes against US military bases and marked with acerbic denouncements for a show of strength by leader Kim AFGHANISTAN | Shock and awe Nasa fi ndings point to life on Saturn moon other targets in South Korea. of China’s “rape” of the US economy, Jong-un as tensions mount over Huge US bomb kills “The closer such big targets as nu- Trump dropped his anti-China bom- his nuclear ambitions. Hundreds of clear powered aircraft carriers come, bast in Florida, afterwards hailing an fl atbed trucks packed with soldiers dozens of IS militants An ice-encrusted moon orbiting likely occurring on Enceladus. the greater would be the eff ect of mer- “outstanding” relationship with Xi. lined the banks of the Taedong river The US military’s largest non- Saturn appears to have the conditions On Earth, those chemical reactions ciless strikes,” said the statement car- But he insists China - the North’s in the predawn darkness for a parade nuclear bomb killed dozens of necessary for life, Nasa announced on allow microbes to flourish in hot cracks ried by the North’s offi cial KCNA news sole major ally and economic life- through the North Korean capital. Islamic State militants as it smashed Thursday, unveiling new findings made in the planet’s ocean floors - depths agency. line - must exert more leverage on Ostensibly the event was to mark the their mountain hideouts, Afghan by its unmanned Cassini spacecraft. sunlight cannot reach - meaning the Citing the recent missile strike Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear am- 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim’s off icials said yesterday, ruling out Cassini has detected hydrogen moon could also nourish life. Trump ordered against Syria - which bitions or suff er the consequences.