In brief

18,253.85-54.30-0.30%

10,309.92-93.40-0.90%

48.66+0.42

+0.87%

DOW JONES QE NYMEX

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GULF TIMES

published in

QATAR

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TUESDAY Vol. XXXVII No. 10231

October 4, 2016Muharram 3, 1438 AH www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals

BUSINESS | Page 1

Venturing abroad presents challenges

Despite the impact of low oil prices, the resilience of Qatar’s economy has helped push the growth of insurance premiums in the country, said Ghazi Kamel Abu Nahl, Group CEO, Qatar General Group. “The insurance industry is a refl ection of the economy. Qatar’s economy has recovered and insurance premium has gone up. But more than insurance premium, what is important is that it has to be competitive and technically profi table at the same time,” he told Gulf Times when asked if low oil prices and streamlining measures in the private and public sector have aff ected insurers in Qatar. “As the central bank governor said,

Qatar’s insurance industry grew by 33.5% in 2015. That is okay. But if the economy in 2016 is weaker, then I think it will show some drop,” he noted. Asked about the challenges in the industry, Nahl said the challenge for Qatar insurers is to venture abroad “once the maximum capacity is absorbed within the local market”. “The challenge here in Qatar is more technicality, more professionality and more encouragement from the regulator so that insurance companies will absorb the capacity and then go outside,” he said. Compared to other countries, Nahl said Qatar “is better”, but added that “there is still room for growth.”

SPORT | Page 1

Margin trading begins on QSE from tomorrowQATAR

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INDEX

Michael Laudrup unveiled asAl Rayyan coach

Insuranceindustrymakes bigstridesThe financial position of all national insurance companies in the country increased by QR9bn in 2015 or a 25% growth compared to 2014, according to HE the Central Bank Governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani

By Peter AlagosBusiness Reporter

Insurance premiums in Qatar experi-enced a 33.5% growth to reach more than QR11bn in 2015, according to

HE the Central Bank Governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani, citing the “remarkable development” of the country’s insurance industry in the past decade.

At the same time, Sheikh Abdullah stressed that the fi nancial position of all national insurance companies in the country increased by QR9bn in 2015 or a 25% growth compared to 2014.

“This refl ects great activities in the insurance sector and insurers stand as a key factor in supporting the fi nancial system of the country. These include nine national companies, fi ve of which are listed at the Qatar Stock Exchange, while the others are working in Islamic insurance or the takaful industry,” he said.

The Qatar Central Bank governor was addressing the opening session of the 49th International Association of En-gineering Insurers (IMIA) Conference, which will run until tomorrow at the Marsa Malaz Kempinski in Doha.

Sheikh Abdullah said: “We are proud to have the IMIA conference in Qatar for the first time in the region at a time when the global economy and the financial sector are facing various challenges. This requires us to conduct researches and find solu-tions that should reduce the negative

impacts on the financial sector.“The development of the insurance

sector is on the top of the priorities of the QCB, taking into consideration its importance and role in supporting the economy. The QCB is working accord-ing to a comprehensive strategic plan as per the Qatar National Vision 2030.”

At the global level, IMIA chairman Oscar Tresceno said the IMIA has col-lected $8bn worth of insurance pre-mium worldwide for engineering insur-ance in 2015. “On insurance claims, the IMIA pays $13mn in losses every day or half a million every hour. This is the contribution to the economy,” he added.

Sheikh Nasser bin Ali al-Thani, chairman of Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company (QGIRCO), said: “We are proud to support this con-ference because the insurance sector is an important contributor in the nation-al economy and engineering insurance specifi cally supports the challenging projects that are part of the Qatar Na-tional Vision 2030.

“QGIRCO has a long experience and deep knowledge in this fi eld, and today’s conference is a clear indication of the role QGIRCO is playing for the econom-ic development of the country.”

Speaking to reporters during a press conference after the opening ceremony, IMIA general secretary Dr Hans Mahrla said: “Qatar would be good, attractive market because of the huge volume of investments. Every insurer would be keen on being here and doing business but when too much insurance comes in, rates go down and conditions become wider and wider, which means the re-sults would be negative after fi ve to 10 years.”

Ghazi Kamel Abu Nahl, Group CEO, Qatar General Group, added that eco-nomic growth and government policy have elevated Qatar’s status in the inter-national market.

HE the Central Bank Governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani receives a token of appreciation from Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company chairman Sheikh Nasser bin Ali al-Thani during the opening of the 49th International Association of Engineering Insurers (IMIA) Conference yesterday. PICTURE: Jayan Orma

US Sept 11 law ‘a threatto international relations’ReutersRiyadh

Saudi Arabia said yesterday that a US law allowing citizens to sue the kingdom over the September

11, 2001 attacks represented a threat to international relations and urged Congress to act to prevent any dan-gerous consequences from the new legislation.

The Cabinet, at its weekly meeting in the capital Riyadh, also said that the law, known as JASTA, represented a violation of a leading principle pre-venting lawsuits against governments that regulated international relations for hundreds of years.

“Weakening this sovereign immu-nity will aff ect all countries, includ-

ing the United States,” the statement by Saudi Information Minister Adel al-Toraifi , carried by Saudi state news agency SPA, said.

“(The Cabinet) expressed hope that wisdom will prevail and that the US Congress would take the necessary steps to avoid the bad and dangerous consequences that may result from the JASTA legislation,” it added.

The US Senate and House of Repre-sentatives voted overwhelmingly last Wednesday to approve legislation that will allow the families of those killed in the 2001 attacks on the United States to seek damages from the Saudi government.

GCC states have all criticised JASTA in the run-up to the vote, and warned it would undermine the principle of sovereign immunity.

Putin scraps agreementon plutonium disposalAFPMoscow

Russian President Vladimir Pu-tin yesterday ordered a halt to an agreement with the United

States on weapons-grade plutonium disposal in retaliation for Washing-ton’s “unfriendly actions” amid a wider standoff with the West.

The deal, signed in 2000, was meant to allow both nuclear powers to dispose of plutonium from their defence programmes, a move seen as a key step in the disarmament process.

The two countries recommitted to the agreement in 2010.

Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the move was a “necessary” response

to hostile steps from the US, including sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and the bolstering of Nato’s forces near Russia’s border.

“The decision that has been taken by us is a signal to Washington,” Lav-rov said in a statement.

“It will not work out if they try to talk to Russia from a position of strength with the language of sanc-tions and ultimatums, but still want to maintain selective cooperation when it benefi ts the US.”

The suspension is symbolic of the breakdown in nuclear non-prolifer-ation co-operation as ties between the two sides have hit their lowest point since the Cold War, but the Kremlin suggested it could review the move if Washington changed tack. Page 15

A Syrian boy collecting items amidst the rubble of destroyed buildings yesterday, following air strikes in the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus. More than a dozen raids and several mortar rounds pounded Douma, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

US suspends talks withRussia on Syria ceasefi reAFPWashington

The United States yesterday sus-pended negotiations with Rus-sia on eff orts to revive a failed

ceasefi re in Syria and set up a joint military cell to target militants.

“This is not a decision that was taken lightly,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said, accusing Russia and its Syrian ally of stepping up attacks on civilian areas.

White House spokesman Josh Ear-nest added: “Everybody’s patience with Russia has run out.”

“What is clear is there is noth-ing more for the US and Russia to talk about with regard to trying to reach an agreement that would reduce the levels of violence inside of Syria. And that’s tragic,” Earnest said.

Kirby said the Russian and US mili-taries will continue to use a communi-cations channel set up to ensure their forces do not get in each other’s way during “counterterrorism operations in Syria.”

But the United States is calling back home personnel who had been sent to Geneva in order to set up a “Joint Im-plementation Centre” with Russian offi cers to plan co-ordinated strikes.

And US diplomats will suspend dis-cussions with Russia on reviving a Sep-tember 9 deal reached between US Sec-retary of State John Kerry and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Under that protocol, a truce came

into eff ect on September 12, but it col-lapsed within a week amid bitter re-criminations and a surge of fi ghting in the fi ve-year civil war.

Washington has accused Moscow of failing to rein in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government forces and abet-ting his strikes on civilian targets.

“Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments, including its obligations under international hu-manitarian law,” Kirby said.

According to the US spokesman, Russia was “either unwilling or unable to ensure Syrian regime adherence to the arrangements to which Moscow agreed.

“Rather, Russia and the Syrian re-gime have chosen to pursue a military course, inconsistent with the cessation of hostilities, as demonstrated by their intensifi ed attacks against civilian ar-eas,” Kirby added.

Kirby accused Moscow and Da-mascus of “targeting of critical in-frastructure such as hospitals, and preventing humanitarian aid from

reaching civilians in need.” And he repeated Washington’s charge

that Russia and the regime were respon-sible for the deadly September 19 at-tack on a United Nations aid convoy in northern Syria, outside Aleppo.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has attacked the “cynicism” of the Assad regime and its Russian ally, while urging support for a new ceasefi re.

Ayrault appealed to the “conscience of all the members of the (UN) Security Council” to support a French-drafted resolution to impose a truce in Aleppo, where the regime has launched a ferocious off ensive to take back rebel-held areas.

Moscow yesterday claimed its bomb-ing campaign in Syria was “highly eff ec-tive”, denying its jets struck hospitals.

The statement came after the larg-est hospital in opposition-held east-ern Aleppo was bombed for the second time in days, with the UN’s top aid of-fi cial referring to the “living hell” suf-fered by locals. Page 8

UN vows to push for political solution

The UN Syria envoy yesterday voiced deep disappointment at the collapse of US-Russian talks to revive a Syria ceasefi re, but vowed to keep working for a political solution. “The UN will continue to push energetically for a political solution of the Syrian confl ict regardless of the very disappointing outcome of intense and

long discussions among two crucial international stakeholders,” the offi ce of Staff an de Mistura said in a statement. Meanwhile, the Arab League Council, at Kuwait’s request, will hold today an extraordinary session at the level of permanent delegates to discuss the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

QATAR | Weather

Rainy season to begin from Oct 16The rainy season will begin on October 16 and continue for 52 days, the Qatar Met department said in a report yesterday. The country may experience some rain before that as well. The maximum temperature will gradually drop in Doha during this period, ranging from 30-35C, and the mercury level will be particularly low at night. Meanwhile, the minimum temperature has already dropped to below 20C in some places, with Mesaieed, Turayna and Abu Samra recording 19C yesterday. The weather report says the mercury level may drop to 18C in places such as Al Khor, Wakrah and Mesaieed today.

CANADA | Roundtable

Qatar initiativeswin praiseQatar’s embassy in Ottawa has hosted a roundtable on the challenges facing humanitarian aid in the Middle East. The roundtable’s participants praised Qatari initiatives to help Syrian refugees in Canada announced recently by the Qatar Fund for Development, and also expressed their appreciation to the state for holding such events, which significantly contribute to the exchange of information and experiences between the parties involved in providing humanitarian aid in Yemen and Syria. They stressed the need to hold subsequent meetings to follow up the latest developments.

REGION | Event

Riyadh set to host Made-in-Qatar expo Qatar Chamber will organise the fifth session of the ‘Made-in-Qatar’ exhibition in Riyadh from November 6 to 9 this year. A press statement released by Qatar Chamber yesterday, on the occasion of signing the expo gold sponsor agreement with the Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company, said the exhibition would be held on an area of 10,000 square metres at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Centre with the participation of more than 200 Qatari companies.

2 Gulf TimesTuesday, October 4, 2016

QATAR

Municipality teams carryout inspectionsat food outletsThe Health Inspection

Section at Al Khor and Al Thakhira Municipal-

ity conducted an inspection campaign at food outlets in co-operation with the Consumer Protection Department (CPD) at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce.

The campaign was imple-mented with the aim of ensuring the safety of food items at outlets within the municipality’s juris-diction. The initiative included meat shops and restaurants.

The inspectors made sure that the items, whether displayed or kept in storehouses, were safe for human consumption. They also checked that the prices complied with the regulations.

Al Wakrah Municipality’s Health Inspection Section con-ducted a similar campaign in co-operation with CPD at all outlets within its jurisdiction. Neces-sary legal procedures were taken against the violating outlets.

Meanwhile, the General Cleanliness Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), Islands and Beaches Section, last week conducted a cleaning campaign that covered the Al Khor port and Corniche.

Discarded plastic bags and bottles were removed during the drive in addition to wooden planks, tyres and other types of refuse.

The campaign also covered the navigation port, leading to the removal of refuse materials and plastic.

Umm Salal Municipality’s General Inspection Section on Sunday started a campaign to remove abandoned vehicles in co-operation with the MME’s Abandoned Vehicles Commit-tee. The campaign will continue for a week and cover Umm Salal Mohamed, Umm Salal Ali and other areas.

The General Cleanliness De-partment at Al Shamal Munici-pality has conducted pest and rodent control operations at Al Ruwais port.

Off icials inspect food items.

Abandoned vehicles being removed.

Beach and port clean-up.

NU-Q appoints new directors

Northwestern Univer-sity in Qatar (NU-Q) has announced the ap-

pointment of new directors for its library and admissions pro-gramme.

Library director Mark T Paul joins NU-Q from Qatar Nation-al Library, while admissions di-rector Alex Schultes was most recently with the King Abdul-lah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, according to a press statement from NU-Q.

“With the appointment of Alex Schultes and Mark Paul, NU-Q continues to attract high-calibre and experienced professionals to its leadership ranks,” said Everette E Dennis, dean and CEO, NU-Q.

Both have worked in key roles at major US universities, in-cluding Northwestern, the Uni-versity of Miami and University

of Louisville, as well as holding international assignments in the Middle East and elsewhere involving both undergraduate and graduate education, the statement points out.

“Both are people-oriented who will work with current and future students,” Dennis said.

Paul, an expert in library and information science, was re-sponsible for partnerships with

national and regional libraries and archives, as well as other institutions and organisations concerned with digital cultural heritage at QNL.

Admissions director Schul-tes has extensive experience in recruiting both graduate and undergraduate students.

“This will enhance NU-Q’s capacity as we develop graduate programmes,” Dennis added.

Alex Schultes

German leadergreeted onnational day

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HH the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani and HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani yesterday sent cables of congratulations to German President Joachim Gauck on the occasion of his country’s National Day.

Qatari, Iranianministers meet

HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Mohamed Abdul Wahed Ali al-Hammadi yesterday met Iranian Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mohamed Farhadi on the sidelines of the Science and Technology in Society Forum being held in the Japanese city of Kyoto. They discussed areas of educational co-operation and ways of enhancing them, especially in the field of science, technology, research and higher education.

Defence ties withPoland reviewed

HE the Chief of Staff of the Qatari Armed Forces Major General Pilot Ghanem bin Shaheen al-Ghanem yesterday met Tomasz Szatkowski, the Undersecretary of State and the Deputy Minister of National Defence of Poland, and his accompanying delegation. Talks during the meeting dealt with bilateral relations and ways of enhancing them in the defence areas, as well as the current security situation in the region.

HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Aff airs Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud yesterday met separately with ambassador Metin Kazak of Bulgaria, Angel Barchini of Paraguay and Ahmed Sheikh Mohammed of Comoros. During the meetings, they reviewed bilateral relations and ways of enhancing them. The meetings were attended by a number of off icials at the Cabinet’s General Secretariat.

Deputy PM meets ambassadors

QGBC unveils ‘Sustainability Awards’ to promote greener future

The Qatar Green Build-ing Council (QGBC) has launched the ‘Qatar Sus-

tainability Awards’ to commend the commitment and contribu-tions of organisations in advanc-ing sustainable development and environmental protection in Qa-tar and beyond.

There are six categories: ‘Green Buildings’, for buildings constructed or re-modelled in accordance with sustainabil-ity standards; ‘Green Hospitality’, open to hotels that apply sus-tainability best practices; ‘Green Service Provider’, honouring con-struction companies committed to sustainability; ‘Sustainability Initiatives’, recognising start-ups furthering sustainability within societies; ‘Building Products & Technologies’, technologies that contribute to the green build-ing industry; and ‘Applied Green Research’, recognising completed research projects that have re-leased signifi cant research fi nd-ings.

QGBC director Meshal al-Shamari recalled that in recent years, the sustainability move-ment in Qatar has really begun to gain traction, with more organi-

sations across all sectors actively seeking out ways to advance their sustainability practices.

“We believe it is time that these eff orts are brought to light and given the recognition they deserve. The Qatar Sustain-ability Awards also serve to raise awareness about sustainability and encourage the wider com-munity to do their part towards building a greener future.”

Award categories are open to all organisations operating in the region including public and pri-vate sector enterprises, associa-tions, consultants and industry practitioners.

All nominations will be re-viewed by an expert panel of judges comprising senior sus-tainability practitioners and academics. Shortlisted nomi-nations will be announced on October 30. The winners will be announced at the QGBC Confer-ence taking place from Novem-ber 13 to 15.

Hamoda Yousef, head of com-munications at QGBC, said that through the six award catego-ries, and several sub-categories, all sectors and practices most relevant to the industry have been covered.

“We anticipate receiving a

host of nominations that will no doubt make for an exciting and competitive selection process. QGBC looks forward to learning about and celebrating outstand-ing initiatives that are making great strides towards sustain-ability.”

Members of the industry are encouraged to nominate their organisations to showcase how they are making an active con-tribution towards achieving sustainability in the region. To submit a nomination in one or more of the six categories, an application form needs to be completed through: http://q a t a rg b c . o rg /c o n f e r e n c e /awards.

The logo of Qatar Sustainabil-ity Awards was designed by Pe-ter Grapsopoulos, a Doha-based graphic designer, as part of the public competition recently launched by QGBC. The logo represents the ongoing sustain-able growth in Qatar.

All required documents should be sent to qgbcconfer-ence@qf.org.qa or delivered to the QGBC. The submission deadline for all nominations is October 20.

Ukraine hailsQatar’s role

Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Middle East and Africa Aff airs Andrei

Seitz has highlighted Qatar’s im-portant political and economic roles at regional and interna-tional levels.

In press statements published by Qatari newspapers yesterday, Seitz praised Qatar’s mediation in some of the most complicated regional and international con-fl icts which resulted in reaching enduring settlements.

He said Qatar hosted talks on many key issues which demon-strated its positive and vital role that aims at reaching peaceful so-lutions through negotiations, and establishing security and stability in diff erent confl ict-hit areas.

He underlined that the role of Qatar is recognised regionally and internationally and from all parties, and hailed the positive Qatari foreign policy and its posi-tions at all levels. The Ukrainian offi cial highlighted the remark-able development in the Qatari-Ukrainian relations in all fi elds.

Commercial Bank launchesmembership club for minors

Commercial Bank has in-troduced a “fi rst in Qa-tar” concept that pro-

vides advantages to parents and their children.

The Young Elite Savers Club, open to both Qatari and expa-triates minors aged 17 years and below, comes with a wide range of benefi ts, VIP experiences and privileges for members, while teaching them the value of saving, according to a press statement from Commercial Bank.

Additionally, parents benefi t from the convenience of sav-ing for their children’s future through the bank’s Regular Saver Account, named “De-posit Product of the Year” by Asian Banker magazine, and from a wide range of discounts and deals off ered by participat-ing partners.

“Young Elite Savers Club members receive Commercial Bank’s competitive savings

rates of up to 1.50% pa in their Regular Saver Account and a personalised membership card, giving them access to a world of tailored privileges. All club members who register before October 31 receive vouchers from selected partners and the fi rst 900 club members receive a Megapolis game card with be-tween QR100 and QR500 worth of game credits,” the statement noted.

Besides, club members have fi rst-off er priorities on sum-mer camp classes and sched-uled workshops, extra sessions on courses provided by par-ticipating partners, up to three months’ free membership from selected partners, free trial pe-riods at participating sports academies and exclusive in-vites to Commercial Bank kids’ events.

To become a club member, parents must open a Minor account (serving as a spend-

ing account with a debit card) and a Regular Saver account (serving as the saving ac-count) under the child’s name. The accounts must remain ac-tive and funded for minors to continue to receive benefits as members. Club partners’ terms and conditions ap-ply, and club members must present their membership card to avail themselves of the benefits.

Joseph Abraham, Commer-cial Bank CEO, said: “As a so-cially responsible bank that is committed to the Qatari com-munity, Commercial Bank en-courages everyone to save for a sustainable and prosperous future. In addition to the Young Elite Savers Club that helps young people make a head start on their savings goals, Com-mercial Bank runs an aware-ness campaign to raise the importance of a smart savings culture in Qatar.”

Mark T Paul

QATAR3

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana is Milipoldiamond sponsor

Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co will be the diamond spon-sor of Milipol Qatar 2016.

This was announced by Milipol Qatar Committee president Brig Nasser bin Fahad al-Thani dur-ing a press conference yesterday at the head offi ce of Saleh Al Ha-mad Al Mana Co, the distributor of Nissan in Qatar.

The press meet was attend-ed by Hisham Saleh al-Mana, chairman and managing director of Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co, and Martin Aherne, acting gen-eral manager of the company.

Brig al-Thani said the 11th edi-tion of the internal state security

exhibition will be held from Oc-tober 31 to November 2 at Doha Exhibition and Convention Cen-tre under the auspices of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Further, he stressed that Milipol Qatar had achieved great success in its previous editions, gaining the confi-dence of major international companies and internal secu-rity service agencies.

On his part, al-Mana ex-pressed pleasure at supporting the event and becoming the dia-mond sponsor of Milipol Qatar 2016.

Brig Nasser bin Fahad al-Thani and Hisham Saleh al-Mana sign the sponsorship agreement yesterday. PICTURE: Jayaram

HE the Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani meets chairman of the General Council of Japan’s ruling council Toshihiro Nikaio.

Qatar hails Japan moveon multiple entry visaQNATokyo

Qatar yesterday welcomed Japan’s decision to grant multiple entry visas to

holders of Qatari passports, calling it a major step to pro-mote interaction between the peoples of the two countries.

This was conveyed by HE the Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani during talks with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in Tokyo.

The Qatari minister is in To-kyo on a two-day offi cial work-ing visit, as part of an Asian tour that will include several coun-tries.

The two sides also welcomed the completion of all procedures

in the two countries to enforce mutual exemption of visa ar-rangements for the holders of Qatari diplomatic and special passports to Japan and the hold-ers of Japanese diplomatic and offi cial passports to Qatar soon.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdul-rahman and Kishida discussed ways to strengthen relations and co-operation and to exert eff orts to realise the vision of leaderships in the two countries to build a comprehensive strate-gic partnership between them.

The Japanese side praised the role of Qatar as a major supplier of liquefi ed natural gas as well as its role as a regional actor in ensuring stability in the Middle East.

Japan also expressed its desire to strengthen bilateral relations in the political, security, eco-

nomic and cultural fi elds.The two sides discussed a

number of bilateral issues, in-cluding ways to strengthen po-litical and security dialogue, en-hance economic and investment ties and boost co-operation and co-ordination in the fi eld of ed-ucation.

They also discussed the lat-est developments in the Middle East and in East Asia.

Earlier in the day, Sheikh Mo-hammed bin Abdulrahman met chairman of the General Coun-cil of Japan’s ruling council Toshihiro Nikaio, who is also the president of Japanese Parlia-mentary Association for Friend-ship with Qatar.

The meeting, which was at-tended by a number of parlia-mentarians and politicians, focused on bilateral relations

and means to promote bonds of friendship and activating the

joint co-operation between the two countries in all fi elds.

He the Foreign Minister with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.

Experts to attend WISE event in DohaThe World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) has teamed up with Cambridge University, UK, to present WISE@Doha on Early Childhood Education (ECE).The event will take place on October 9 at 8.30am at the HBKU Student Centre, Ballroom 3, in Education City.The WISE@Doha event will include local WISE partners from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Qatar Academy, and Qatar University’s Early Childhood Centre, as well as Cambridge University.

The event is an opportunity for participants to reflect on the key priorities in this crucial field.It takes place following the publication of the comprehensive WISE Research Report: ‘Quality in Early Childhood Education: an International Review and Guide for Policy Makers’ last year.Prof David Whitebread, Cambridge University, the chief author of the report and a distinguished authority in the field, will address the gathering and lead a panel discussion, followed by a “World Café” style workshop.

QATAR

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 4, 20164

845 apply for winter camps

All the slots for set-ting up winter camps by the sea

have been fi lled while registration for camps in other areas continues, an offi cial at the Ministry of

Municipality and Environ-ment (MME) announced yesterday.

A technical glitch that disrupted the online reg-istration has been re-solved. A total of 845

registrations, both online and through MME units, were received until yes-terday, according to Saad Ibrahim al-Kaabi, gen-eral co-ordinator, winter camping, MME.

HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti received a written message from the Minister of Infrastructure Development and chairman of the board of directors of the Federal Transport Authority -Land & Maritime (FTA) of the United Arab Emirates. The mes-sage was handed to the minister when he met in Doha yesterday with the UAE ambassador to Qa-tar, Saleh bin Mohammad al- Ameri. Talks during the meeting dealt with bilateral relations between the two countries in transportation and communications sector and means of enhancing them.

Minister receives message from UAE GCC national’s sentence reduced

The Court of Appeal has reduced the sen-tence of a GCC national convicted of keep-ing a fi re arm and its ammunition to one

years suspended jail term.Local Arabic daily Arrayah reported yesterday

that the court of fi rst instance sentenced the de-fendant in absentia to three years in jail and a fi ne of QR10,000 for the same crime.

A police patrol caught the defendant carry-ing a fi re arm without a licence in addition to its ammunition. Though he admitted owning the weapon, during the investigations, he did not show up at any of the court sessions. So, the court sentenced him in absentia.

However, he appealed the ruling and argued that he had no criminal history and pleaded for a lenient sentence. The court reduced the sentence depending on the assumption that he would not constitute a risk on the society.

QU ranked among top 600 varsitiesQatar University (QU) has

been ranked among the top 600 universities in the world

in the recent THE (Times Higher Education) World University Rank-ings 2016/17. QU was ranked in the range of 501-600 most highly ranked universities.

This achievement consolidates QU’s recent improvement results in rankings as the institution has been ranked #393 in the QS World Uni-versity Rankings 2016/17 and #49 in the QS Top 50 under 50 ranking among the best

young universities in the world. The THE World University Rank-

ings are the only global perform-ance tables that judge research-in-tensive universities across all their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and interna-tional outlook. They use 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons, trusted by students, academics, university leaders, industry and governments.

The performance indicators are grouped into fi ve areas: Teaching

– the learning environment (30%), Research – volume, income and reputation (30%), Citations – re-search infl uence (30%), Interna-tional outlook – staff , students and research (7.5%), and Industry in-come – knowledge transfer (2.5%).

QU president Dr Hassan al-Der-ham said, “Being selected among the top universities in the world is an important milestone to QU at a time when the institution is becom-ing a driver of higher education and research quality in the region. QU’s improvement in the rankings is all

the more commendable this year as the list of assessed universities in-creased since last year with 180 uni-versities added to the list, however QU’s rank continued to improve.’

“This comes as result of the or-ganisation’s ongoing commitment to providing excellent academic and research outcomes, and to produc-ing competent and highly skilled graduates who will meet the needs of the local and regional labour mar-ket. We look forward to consistently increasing our positioning in the international arena,” he added.

Bombay Chowpatty presents ‘refreshed look and new menu’Bombay Chowpatty, an eatery that off ers Bombay street food, now features a “refreshed look and feel, including a smart new uniform” for the staff . The new uniform has a “trendy cut with a modern, fresh and confident look to complement its off ering”, according to a press statement. Bombay Chowpatty has also introduced a new menu with typical Bombay Chinese dishes for foodies to meet and enjoy traditional Bombay street food, including popular Hakka Chinese dishes. The restaurant is located at Family Food Centre, Airport Road, Bank Street, Al Meera Airport Road, Al Meera Mansoura and Al Khor Mall.

QATAR

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 4, 20166

HMC to hold wound management forum Hamad Medical Cor-

poration (HMC) will hold Qatar’s

fi rst International Wound Management Conference at the Qatar National Conven-tion Centre (QNCC) from November 24 to 26.

The details of the con-ference were announced yesterday by Dr Yousef al-Maslamani, medical di-rector for Hamad General Hospital, HMC and the sci-entifi c committee chair of the conference; Shaikha al-Qahtani, director of nursing for wound care at HMC and chair of the conference or-ganising committee as well as the representatives of the sponsors.

The conference, which aims to attract over 800 delegates, will be attended by renowned international speakers on the subject of wound care. It will share the most modern scientifi c applications in the treat-

ment of wounds resulting from chronic diseases such as diabetes and look at ways to improve the wound care system by off ering innova-tive ideas on prevention, treatment, management and research.

Dr al-Maslamani said that the conference is timely due to the impact of Qatar’s increasing popula-tion. “With the population growth, Qatar has seen an increase in the number of road traffi c accidents and construction site injuries. To help respond to this, Ha-

mad General Hospital in-troduced a specialist multi-disciplinary, inpatient and outpatient Wound Care Service. The conference, which has attracted elite speakers from around the world, aims to support con-tinuing education in wound care evidence-based prac-tices to provide compre-hensive information on the various aspects of clinical and practical care.”

Shaikha al-Qahtani said that the three day confer-ence will have a number of workshops on important

topics relevant to wound care. “We have put togeth-er a comprehensive pro-gramme and all delegates will qualify for Continu-ous Professional Develop-ment hours as part of the requirements for the Qa-tar Council for Healthcare Practitioners.”

The HMC Wound Care Service was established in 2009 as part of the Mobile Services Administration at Hamad General Hospital and has cared for over 5,000 patients to date. Wound care has evolved into a

modern and advanced med-ical specialisation aimed at providing a quality medical service that contributes to healing serious and chronic wounds to avoid dangerous complications.

Qatar’s First Interna-tional Wound Management Conference is being sup-ported by a number of local companies, with QDC, an exclusive agent for a number of global medical compa-nies being named as the platinum sponsor and Med-ical Innovation Company as the silver sponsor.

HMC off icials announce the conference yesterday in the presence of representatives of the sponsoring organisations.

QA begins special weekend fl ights on Doha-Dubai routeQatar Airways has

announced the ad-dition of special

weekend getaway fl ights, to make quick weekend trips easier for people of Doha and Dubai to visit each other’s city.

The fl ights are timed to make the most of the weekend, with a Thursday afternoon departure from Doha at 3.50pm, arriving Dubai International Air-port at 6pm local time, and the Dubai fl ight leaving at 7pm, arriving in Doha at 7.10pm local time. On Sat-urday, weekend revellers can depart Doha at 2.50pm and arrive in Dubai at 5pm, or leave Dubai at 6pm and arrive in Doha at 6.10pm.

These special weekend fl ights are in addition to Qatar Airways’ 19 other daily fl ights serving Dubai International Airport and Dubai World Central.

Qatar Airways senior vice president commer-cial Middle East, Africa & Pakistan, Ehab Amin, said: “Qatar Airways has

designed a fl ight schedule with the passengers’ needs in mind, off ering fl ight times to and from Dubai that suit their needs. In addition, we know how important weekend geta-ways are for people liv-ing in Doha and Dubai, so added a special fl ight just for their convenience. This additional fl ight also makes connections to destinations beyond Doha easier for people in Dubai, travelling to the Indian sub-continent and Far East.

“This additional fre-quency comes after launching Qatar Airways’ new Dubai Premium Lounge earlier this year, which will enrich the ex-perience of our passengers and is proof of the airline’s commitment to the lo-cal market and the UAE customers.”

Qatar Airways currently off ers 15 daily fl ights to Dubai International Air-port, and four daily fl ights to Dubai World Central.

Qatar Airways launched the new Dubai Premium Lounge during the offi cial opening of Dubai Inter-national Airport’s Con-course D in 2016, cement-ing its presence in Dubai and providing passengers travelling between Qatar and the Dubai with an ex-clusive retreat while wait-ing in the ultra-modern Concourse D.

Decorated with artis-tic Arabic calligraphy, Mediterranean-style tiles and calming water foun-tains, the Dubai Premium Lounge features private family zones, shower fa-cilities, spacious seating areas and serves fresh in-ternational cuisine.

First and Business Class passengers, as well as Privilege Club Platinum and Gold members, are encouraged to enjoy the lounge’s facilities, which are set within a modern and sophisticated space for travellers to relax and rejuvenate before their journey.Number of wound cases on the rise, says director

Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) received about 1,500 wound cases last year, an of-

fi cial said yesterday. The wound care unit at HMC has received over 5,000 cases since its inception in 2009.

“Recently, there has been an in-crease in the number of wound cases. Earlier, we used to have about

800 cases annually but last year we had about 1,500 cases from small to major wounds,” said Shaikha al-Qahtani, director, nursing for wound care at HMC.

“Our priority is to provide the patients a smooth and effi cient healing process. We have a multi-disciplinary approach in the wound management at the Hamad Gen-eral Hospital. We have diff erent teams such as trauma team, con-sultant team, and dietitians among

others,” al-Qahtani said.According to the director, HMC

provides 24 hour service and spe-cial approach for each type of wound. “We have specialised teams for managing all types of wounds. Chronic wounds are hard to deal with as the patients are suff ering from such wounds for a long time. We also have a special approach for wounds due to diabetes,” she noted.

Al-Qahtani said that there is a special team at each of the hospitals

under HMC and hoped that there could be a separate centre for wound management.

“We provide the best treatment which is at par with international standards. We make use of the most modern technology and ad-vanced treatment models which are helpful in providing the best treatment for the patients. We also have the latest equipment, machines and a highly trained medical staff ,” she added.

By Joseph VargheseStaff Reporter

Indian jailed for two years for illicit drugs tradingA Doha Criminal Court has sentenced an Indian man to two years in jail and ordered his subsequent deportation for illicit drugs consumption and trading.Local Arabic daily Arrayah yesterday reported that the court also fined the defendant a sum of QR200,000. According to the charge-

sheet, the Drugs Prevention Department of the Ministry of Interior received a tip-off that an expatriate was involved in consuming and circulating illicit drug marijuana. The necessary legal procedures were taken to track down the man. On the day of the arrest, he was spotted walking

at a petrol station. The police personnel approached him and searched him. A small packet of marijuana was found in his pocket and a cigarette stuff ed with marijuana was found in his vehicle. Besides, a blood test showed that he used to consume marijuana.

HMC drive to raise awareness about heart-related diseases

As part of its eff orts to raise public aware-ness and promote

a better understanding of heart-related diseases, Ha-mad Medical Corporation, (HMC) is providing the public with practical infor-mation on what to do in the event of a heart attack and save life.

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the biggest caus-es of death in Qatar and the number one cause of death globally.

According to cardiolo-gists and cardiovascular specialists, the signs of a heart attack may vary, nev-ertheless the most common is a sharp pain or tightness and squeezing in the chest. Other symptoms include pain or discomfort in the arms, shoulder, back, jaw or neck and nausea, breath-lessness and/or dizziness.

Dr Omar al-Tamimi, di-rector, Heart Hospital’s emergency department, said: “A heart attack is the most severe form of acute coronary syndrome. It can be fatal but treatment has improved dramatically over the years. Early treatment for a heart attack can pre-vent or limit damage to the heart muscle. In the event of a heart attack, people can save lives by acting fast and taking the appropriate action.”

Ali Darwish, assistant executive director, Emer-gency Ambulance Services, said: “If you think you may be having a heart attack or come across someone who you think may be having a heart attack, it is vital to stay calm.”

To provide support for heart attack patients, HMC’s Ambulance Service in conjunction with Heart Hospital launched a telem-etry service in 2013 which is currently fi tted in all ambulances in the fl eet.

The service allows para-medic crews responding to an emergency involving a suspected heart attack, to record and transmit the

patient’s electrocardiograph (ECG) from the scene to the clinical team leader in the National Control Centre. It also enables staff to prepare the appropriate treatment for the patient before their arrival.

HMC’s Heart Health Campaign was launched earlier this month and is part of HMC’s commitment

to provide the safest, most eff ective and most com-passionate care to each and every patient.

Dial 999 for emergency: Immediate steps to be taken in case of a suspected heart attack. Dial 999 – the call handler will send help and determine if the symptoms you describe could be a heart attack. It is important to an-

swer all the questions asked and follow all instructions provided.

Make sure the person sus-pected to be suff ering from a heart attack is seated or ly-ing down. If you have aspirin and know that the person suff ering from a suspected heart attack is not allergic to it, try to get him/her to take some.

8 Gulf TimesTuesday, October 4, 2016

REGION/ARAB WORLD

31 sentenced to deathfor attack on ministerAFPTunis

A Tunisian court has handed 31 people death sentences

over a 2014 attack on the home of then interior min-ister Lotfi Ben Jeddou, a judiciary spokesman said yesterday.

The 31, who included Algerians as well as Tuni-sians, were sentenced in absentia and some are re-ported to be already dead.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed the attack on the minister’s family home in the western border region of Kasserine, which left four police offi c-ers dead.

UN council weighsmeasure to imposeceasefi re in SyriaThe draft resolution is aimed at giving new impetus to US-Russian eff orts to co-operate in ending the five-year war in Syria that has killed 300,000 people and driven 12mn people from their homes

AFPUnited Nations

The UN Security Council yesterday was consid-ering a draft resolution

imposing a ceasefi re in Syria’s war-battered city of Aleppo but Russia dismissed the measure as a political ploy.

The proposal drafted by France was the latest bid to pile pressure on Russia and its Syr-ian ally to halt the air campaign in Aleppo, which has triggered global outrage, in particular over the bombing of hospitals.

Russia signalled it would not back the proposed resolution which was circulated to the Se-curity Council at the weekend.

“We as a matter of principle do not support such politicised steps aimed at using the Se-

curity Council to apply more pressure to Syria and Russia,” Deputy Foreign Minister Gen-nady Gatilov was quoted as saying by Russian news agen-cies in Moscow.

Diplomats said a vote could take place this week.

The draft resolution is aimed at giving new impetus to US-Russian eff orts to co-operate in ending the fi ve-year war in Syria that has killed 300,000 people and driven 12mn people from their homes – half of the country’s population.

Aleppo has been under a near-daily barrage of air strikes since the Syrian regime army announced an off ensive to re-take the rebel-held east of the city on September 22.

French ambassador Francois Delattre told AFP that “it’s our responsibility to do everything humanly possible” to try to unite the council behind an ef-fort “to end the martyrdom of Aleppo.”

Under the draft text obtained by AFP, the council would threaten to take “further meas-ures” if the sides fail to comply, but it does not invoke chapter

7 of the UN charter, which al-lows for sanctions and the use of military force.

Expressing “outrage over the unacceptable and escalat-ing level of violence,” the draft resolution calls on all parties to immediately implement a ceasefi re, allow humanitarian aid and ground all warplanes over Aleppo.

The measure co-sponsored by Spain would call on UN Sec-retary-General Ban Ki-moon to present options within fi ve days of the adoption to set up a monitoring mechanism of the ceasefi re with help from the 23 countries backing Syria’s peace process.

The draft “demands that all parties to the Syrian confl ict, in particular the Syrian authori-ties, immediately comply with their obligations” under inter-national law.

All parties must “implement and ensure full implementation of the cessation of hostilities... including an end to all aerial bombardments,” the draft reso-lution said.

Under the proposal, the council would take note of the

US-Russian ceasefi re deal and welcome the intention of the two countries “to undertake joint eff orts to stabilise the situation in Syria, with special measures for the Aleppo region.”

It urges Russia and the Unit-ed States to “ensure the im-mediate implementation of the cessation of hostilities, starting with Aleppo, and to that ef-fect, to put an end to all military fl ights over the city”.

The proposed measure also refers to a UN probe of chemical weapons attacks in Syria and asserts that those responsible for the use of toxic gases “shall be held accountable”.

France distributed the text to the 10 non-permanent mem-bers of the council following talks on Friday with Russia, the United States, Britain and Chi-na, the veto-wielding mem-bers.

The idea is “not to push Rus-sia to impose a veto but to try to overcome the impasse of mutual accusations” between Moscow and Washington for the collapse of the ceasefi re, said a diplomat, who asked not to be named.

An injured child waits after receiving treatment at a makeshift hospital yesterday, following air strikes in the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus.

Court orders local pollsonly in the West BankAFPRamallah

The Palestinian High Court yesterday ordered munic-ipal elections only in the

West Bank and not the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, possibly end-ing hopes of the fi rst competitive Palestinian polls in a decade.

A new date was not set for the suspended polls, initially scheduled for October 8, but the electoral commission asked for a delay of six months following the court ruling.

The ruling could end hopes that these would be the first polls since 2006 in which both the Hamas movement and Pal-estinian President Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah, which runs the

West Bank, would participate.There have been several at-

tempts to bring about recon-ciliation between the two move-ments.

“The court orders the imple-mentation of the government’s decision on the holding of lo-cal elections,” court president Hisham al-Hatoo ruled before a packed courtroom in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

He said, however, that the ju-diciary in Gaza did not have the necessary “guarantees” in place for holding the polls.

The elections were initially to choose municipal councils in some 416 cities and towns in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Hamas boycotted the last Palestinian municipal elections

in 2012 but had been due to par-ticipate this year.

On September 8, the court suspended the polls following disputes between Fatah and Ha-mas over candidate lists.

A new date for polling day is expected to be set within a month.

Hamas dismissed yesterday’s decision as “political”.

“The high court’s decision on the elections is discriminatory and ratifi es the division” be-tween Gaza and the West Bank, it said in a statement.

Fatah and Hamas have not contested an election since 2006 parliamentary polls, which Ha-mas won.

There has been no Palestinian presidential election since 2005, and Abbas has remained in offi ce despite the expiry of his term.

Palestinian High Court judges sitting at the court in Ramallah yesterday before announcing that upcoming municipal elections will be held only in the West Bank and not in Gaza Strip.

Qatar attends 10th meeting of GCC public prosecutors

QNARiyadh

The State of Qatar par-ticipated in the 10th meeting of GCC public

prosecutors, attorney-gener-als and heads of public inves-tigation bodies and the public prosecution which was held in Riyadh yesterday.

HE the Attorney-General Dr Ali bin Fetais al-Marri presided over Qatar’s delegation to the meeting, which discussed a range of topics on the agenda

and took appropriate decisions and recommendations.

The meeting decided to present the Hamid al-Othman Award to a number of pros-ecutors in the Gulf Co-oper-ation Council, including Mar-yam Abdulla al-Jabir, chief of prosecution of the Fam-ily Prosecution of the Public Prosecution of the State of Qatar. Al-Jabir is the fi rst chief of prosecution in the GCC to receive this award, introduced last year at the ninth meeting of the GCC public prosecutors in Doha.

Passenger traff ic through Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, rose 6.1% from a year earlier to a record 7.73mn people in August, the airport’s operator said yesterday.It cited additional capacity and new services introduced by airlines including locally based Emirates and flydubai.In the first eight months of this year, traff ic expanded 6.9% to 55.85mn passengers.Dubai International handled 201,100 tonnes of freight in August, down 3.1% from a year ago; year-to-date cargo was 1.69mn tonnes, up 2.4%.

Dubai airport passenger traff ic up 6.1% in Aug

Top member ofNusra Front diesin drone attack

ReutersAmman

A leading fi gure in Al Qaeda who became a prominent member of its Syrian Nusra

Front off shoot was killed in a drone attack yesterday, the group and sources said.

They said Sheikh Abu al-Faraj al-Masri, who spent years in prison in his native Egypt on charges of plot-ting with Islamist groups and later left for Afghanistan, died when the vehicle in which he was travelling was hit in rebel-held Idlib in Syria’s northwest.

Since the US-led coalition launched operations in Syria, pri-marily against Islamic State mili-tants, air strikes have also targeted Nusra Front fi gures, killing scores.

AFRICA9Gulf Times

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Africans ‘struggled’ to improve governanceReutersLondon

Governance across Africa has improved very lit-tle over the past decade

as deteriorating safety and rule of law have held back progress made in other areas such as hu-man rights or economic oppor-tunities, a survey said yesterday.

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) — the most comprehensive survey of its kind on the continent — rates 54 Afri-can nations against criteria such as security, human rights, economic stability, just laws, free elections, corruption, infrastructure, pov-erty, health and education.

Mauritius held onto its top spot, followed by Botswana, Cape Verde, the Seychelles and Na-mibia while South Africa — the continent’s most industrialised country — was in sixth place.

While overall the index has im-proved by just one point over the 10 year period starting in 2006, three out of the top 10 countries have seen their score fall in this period, and major economies like South Africa and Ghana regis-tered some of the largest deterio-ration on the continent.

“I am a little bit disappointed because governance moved quite fast between 2000 and 2006, it improved considerably, but over the last ten years on average it only increased by 1 point, and we need to do better, and we really need to look at the areas that are holding us back,” Sudanese tel-ecoms businessman Mo Ibrahim told Reuters in an interview.

“We moved forward in educa-tion and health, in rural sectors, in infrastructure and gender is-sues — some good progress has been made, but we need to safe-guard that by behaving better,” said Ibrahim, whose foundation compiles the report aimed at pro-moting better governance and economic development in Africa.

The survey found that almost half of Africa’s 54 countries re-corded their worst score in the past three years in the Safety & Rule of Law category, which measures personal safety, nation-al security as well as accountabil-ity and the judicial system.

All four components which made up Safety & Rule of Law had deteriorated, and this was holding back the continent’s progress and remains the biggest challenge to its future, Ibrahim said.

Among the top 10 overall rated countries, six had deteriorated over the past decade in that cat-egory with South Africa register-ing the largest decline in what researchers called a “concerning negative trend”.

South Africa has teetered on the edge of recession, suff ering from chronic power shortages and stub-bornly high unemployment with voters increasingly frustrated with the country’s economic manage-ment under President Jacob Zuma and his ruling ANC party.

“It is in trouble, it needs mend-ing and some soul searching — the ANC needs to really look closely at itself and how it’s conducting itself in power,” said Ibrahim.

The last spot on the overall index was held by Somalia, which makes up the bottom fi ve together with South Sudan, Sudan, the Central African Republic and Libya, which showed some of the most dramatic falls since descending into anarchy following the removal of Muam-mar Gaddafi in 2011.

Looking at trajectories over the past decade, the report found that 32 countries — home to around half of Africa’s population — had seen their fi nal score in 2015 fall-ing below previous peak levels.

“We are really looking for a more inclusive type of government, which off ers a better space for civil society and realises that civil so-ciety is there to help government, not to fi ght government,” said Ib-rahim. “I wish to see less violence in Africa, we need peace.”

Ethiopia mourns scores killed in fi esta stampedeAFPBishoftu, Ethiopia

Ethiopia was in mourning yesterday after more than 50 people died in a stampede triggered when police

clashed with protesters, the latest bloody episode in a wave of anger against the au-thoritarian government.

Authorities have said 52 people were killed in the crush at a religious festival Sunday in the town of Bishoftu, east of Addis Ababa.

But a local hospital counted 58 bodies and the opposition believes the death toll could be far higher.

The resort town in the Oromia region, popular among tourists for several vol-canic lakes, is reeling after the stampede which has been blamed on police who fi red tear gas at a crowd of tens of thou-sands of anti-government protesters.

Shoes and items of clothing littered the scene of the disaster, and a small group of angry residents were digging for bodies in a deep ditch that claimed many fl eeing festival-goers.

“We’re digging because people are buried inside the ditch. Fifty-two dead is a lie,” said one of the diggers, Dagafa Dame.

Members of the group said they had dug up three corpses yesterday, however it was not clear whether these had been factored into the offi cial death toll.

Members of the country’s largest eth-nic group, the Oromo, had gathered at a sacred lake in Bishoftu for a religious festival of thanksgiving called Irreecha to mark the end of the rainy season.

However political grievances took over, with Oromo protesters chanting anti-government slogans and crossing their wrists above their heads, a gesture that has become a symbol of protest against a government considered among the most repressive in Africa.

A video on social media networks showed one protester clambering onto the stage, grabbing the microphone and

shouting “down, down” with the rul-ing Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)

Chaos erupted after police charged the protesters and fi red tear gas, sending panic through the heaving crowd.

Fedesa Mengesha, a doctor in the town’s main hospital, told AFP that his colleagues had registered 58 dead, many bleeding from the mouth and nose.

“I don’t know if other bodies were taken somewhere else, or taken by their families,” he said, adding that despite reports that security forces had fi red live bullets at the crowd, there was no evi-dence of this.

The regional government said in a statement that 52 people had died in the ensuing stampede.

Merera Gudina, chairman of the op-position Oromo Federalist Congress, told AFP he believed there had been many more fatalities than the number offi cially announced.

“What I hear from people on the

ground is that the number of dead is more than 100,” said Gudina.

Three days of national mourning were declared yesterday, with the national fl ag being fl own at half-mast in govern-ment institutions and regular radio pro-grammes replaced with sombre music.

“If the government hadn’t provoked this they would not have to declare three days of mourning. They are responsible. People are angry. Things will get worse,” said Baadhada Lami, sitting in a local cafe.

The regional government blamed “ir-responsible forces” for the disaster.

Demonstrations against Prime Minis-ter Hailemariam Desalegn’s administra-tion began in November 2015 over a gov-ernment plan to expand the boundaries of Addis Ababa into the Oromia region.

That project was binned, however a brutal crackdown on the protests kin-dled simmering anger against iron-fi sted leaders who largely hail from the north-ern Tigray region and represent less than 10% of the population.

“For the last 25 years the Oromo people have been marginalised in many things. Today we come together as one to chant for our freedom,” said one of the people at the festival, Habte Bulcha.

The protests in Oromia later spread to the northern Amhara region, and in-ternational rights groups estimate at least 500 demonstrators have been killed and hundreds injured over the past 10 months.

Together, Oromos and Amharas make up 60% of the population of Ethiopia.

In 1991 the TPLF (Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front), then a rebel group, over-threw dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam.

Now as a political party it stands ac-cused of monopolising power and keep-ing a stranglehold over the media.

The West has largely avoided direct criticism of the country’s rights record because Ethiopia is credited with beating back Al Qaeda-affi liated Shebaab mili-tants in Somalia.

Oromo faithful and protestors flee as riot police fire tear gas in Bishoftu, east of Addis Ababa, on Sunday evening.

Ivorian charter to amend clause at heart of civil warReutersAbidjan

Ivory Coast voters will decide this month whether to soften a nation-ality clause that helped trigger a

decade-long political crisis, a draft of a new constitution showed yesterday.

President Alassane Ouattara prom-ised during his campaign for re-elec-tion last year to change the language of an article in the constitution which states the parents of presidential can-didates must both be natural-born Ivorians.

Ivorian nationality was at the heart of a crisis that began with a 1999 coup and included a 2002-2003 civil war that split the country in two for eight years.

The proposed revision to the con-stitution, seen by Reuters and due to be presented to parliament tomorrow, means only one parent must now be “Ivorian by origin”, a term that ex-cludes naturalised citizens.

Ivory Coast has long attracted im-migrants from neighbouring coun-tries, and the clause became a symbol of exclusion, particularly of northern-

ers whose family ties often straddle re-gional borders.

Ouattara, a northerner, was repeat-edly barred from seeking the presi-dency because of what opponents said were his foreign origins.

He fi nally won election in 2010, al-though his victory sparked a second brief war that killed more than 3,000 people.

The new constitution, which will go to a public referendum on October 30, also removes an age limit of 75 for presidential candidates.

All three of Ivory Coast’s main po-litical fi gures — Ouattara and former presidents Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bedie — will be over 75 in 2020, when the next elections are due.

New language also makes it easier to change the constitution.

It lowers the number of votes re-quired for revisions submitted directly for approval by parliament to two-thirds of MPs from four-fi fths and removes a clause requiring a public referendum for any changes to presi-dential mandates.

Other major changes include creat-ing a post of vice-president and a Sen-ate.

Currently, the speaker of parliament is second in line to the president, but the constitution states that new elec-tions must be organised within 90 days, a time frame critics say is un-workable.

Under the new charter, the vice-president would fi nish the mandate if the president died or was incapacitated while in offi ce.

The creation of the Senate, which together with the existing National Assembly will make up a two-chamber Congress, marks an expansion of the president’s infl uence over the legisla-tive branch of government.

A third of senators will be appointed by the president.

The remaining two thirds will be chosen in an indirect election process, details of which must be worked out in a separate law.

Ivory Coast’s opposition has criti-cised the drafting process for the new constitution, claiming it lacked trans-parency.

It had called a sit-in in front of par-liament tomorrow, when Ouattara is to put the changes to lawmakers, but municipal authorities said the demon-stration was not authorised.

University of Cape Town students sing during protests demanding free tertiary education in Cape Town yesterday.

Student protest

10 Gulf TimesTuesday, October 4, 2016

AMERICA

ONE SMOKER.TWO PATIENTS.

TOBACCO KILLS

Issued in Public Interest by GULF TIMES

Gangster Bulger’s appeal rejectedReutersBoston

The US Supreme Court yesterday declined to hear former Boston mob boss James “Whitey” Bulg-

er’s appeal of his 2013 conviction for committing or ordering the murders of 11 people, leaving the 87-year-old to spend the rest of his life in prison.

His lawyers contend that Bulger, who ruled over Boston’s underworld in the 1970s and 1980s, was denied a fair trial because the judge prevented him from testifying that a now-dead former US prosecutor gave him im-munity for his crimes in exchange for protection.

Bulger is serving a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole at a federal penitentiary in Sumterville, Florida.

The Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in March upheld

Bulger’s convictions on 31 of 32 crimi-nal counts he faced in his racketeering trial, including 11 murders, extortion and drug off ences.

He fl ed Boston in 1994 after being tipped off by a corrupt FBI agent that his arrest was imminent.

He spent 16 years on the lam, most of them listed atop the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” list before agents caught up with him hiding in a seaside apartment in Santa Monica, California.

Bulger’s two-month trial shone a harsh light on a troubled time for Boston law enforcement, when cor-rupt members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and justice department who shared his Irish-American herit-age turned a blind eye to his murder and mayhem in exchange for informa-tion they could use against the Italian-American Mafi a.

But the former head of the “Winter Hill” gang denied throughout his trial that he ever provided the FBI with any

tips on rival gangsters, insisting that he paid agents for information while providing none of his own in return.

Indeed, his lawyers spent much of their energy at his trial in trying to prove that Bulger had not been an in-formant, which would not be a crimi-nal off ence but the former head of the “Winter Hill” crime gang viewed as a grave dishonour.

Bulger claimed he had been given im-munity by former federal prosecutor Jeremiah O’Sullivan, an argument that US district judge Denise Casper blocked him from making, noting that no valid immunity deal would have allowed him to continue to commit murder.

O’Sullivan is now dead.Several of his former associates,

including Stephen “The Rifl eman” Flemmi testifi ed against their former boss. Black Mass, a book on Bulger’s rise to power and eventual fl ight, was turned into a 2015 fi lm starring Johnny Depp as the gangster.

Kim Kardashian robbed at gunpoint in ParisMasked men put a gun to reality TV star Kim Kardashian’s head, left her tied up in the bathroom of her luxury residence in Paris and stole millions of dollars’ worth of jewellery in the early hours of yesterday, police and her publicist said.Kardashian, who her publicist said was “badly shaken but physically unharmed,” spoke to investigators and then left France aboard a private jet.It was not immediately known where Kardashian, whose home is outside Los Angeles, was headed.Five attackers, wearing ski masks and clothes with police markings, struck around 3am (0100 GMT) inside the exclusive apartment block where Kardashian, 35, was staying while attending Paris Fashion Week, a police source said.Two of the men entered Kardashian’s apartment after threatening the night guard with a hand gun.Kardashian, who has two young children with husband-rapper Kanye West, was not beaten but the robbers put a handgun against her temple before tying her up, the source said.iTELE television said she had been tied up with packing tape. E! News, whose US network broadcasts the Keeping Up With the Kardashians television show, yesterday quoted a source close to Kardashian as saying she feared for her life.“She begged for them

to let her live and (said) she has babies at home...She thought they were for sure going to kill her,” the unidentified source told E! News.The robbers stole a box with 5mn to 6mn euros’ ($5.6mn to $6.7mn) worth of jewels and a ring worth about 4mn euros ($4.5mn), the Paris police source said. As news of the robbery spread, West abruptly ended a performance in New York less than an hour into his set on Sunday night.“I’m sorry I have a family emergency, I have to stop the show,” West told the audience in video tweeted by fans.The Paris apartment block is a discreet building behind the city’s Madeleine church, with several secret entrances, often frequented by movie and music stars who pay up to 15,000 euros ($16,800) a night. The source said the attackers fled on bicycles.Police found the night guard in the staircase, his hand and feet bound.Kardashian was in Paris with her mother, Kris Jenner, and sisters Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian to attend the fashion week. The rest of the family stayed in a hotel.

The robbery set social media alight, with some users making fun of the latest headline-grabbing event in the life of a TV star who documents her life continually on screen and on social media.

“Looking forward to accompanying album and

TV show detailing event,” said Twitter user Jay.

Kaine and Pencepreparefor VP debateAFPWashington

After a dramatic week of beauty queens, sex tape allegations and tax leaks,

the upcoming US vice presi-dential debate could feel like a throwback to simpler times.

Featuring low-key career politicians, the match-up be-tween Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence in Farmville, Virginia likely won’t exude the reality show drama Americans have come to expect in the 2016 presidential elec-tion.

Both VP picks have said their respective running mates Hil-lary Clinton and Donald Trump set a high bar in the fi rst of three presidential debates, which drew a record 84mn viewers.

A showdown between two middle-aged white men that some Twitter users predict will be akin to “watching paint dry,” the goal of this debate is to go easy on the zingers and woo un-decided voters.

“Given the polarising nature of the two major-party nomi-nees and the incredible atten-tion paid to each of them, the vice presidential debate in 2016 may be even more of a sideshow than it normally is,” said Geof-frey Skelley of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

Easily overshadowed by ex-perienced diplomat Clinton and bombastic real estate mogul Trump, the vice-presidential candidates remain important considering that either could be commander-in-chief should the future president die or resign.

Nine of the 44 US presidents became the nation’s leader by succession.

Clinton is approaching 69 and Trump is 70 — among the oldest people ever to run for the presi-dency — and the health of the White House hopefuls has been a top theme of the campaign.

Kaine and Pence also have the chance to compensate for the excesses and weak spots of their running mates.

As Trump wraps a week of campaign bombshells — in-cluding his abusive comments about a Venezuelan-born beau-ty queen — “Pence may try to provide a more respectable face for the Republican ticket,” said Joel Goldstein, a constitutional law professor at St Louis Uni-versity.

Democrat Kaine will “certain-ly present himself and Clinton as policy-oriented people commit-ted to helping the less fortunate and the middle class,” Goldstein said.

“I would expect most of the discussion to be about the presi-dential candidates and their pol-icies, not about the vice presi-dential candidates.”

Both considered safe picks, Kaine and Pence will wield their nice-guy, workmanlike demean-ours to entice voters turned off by the circus-like atmosphere of the campaign.

Clinton said she chose sena-tor Kaine because she wanted someone with enough experi-ence to “literally get up one day and be the president of the US.”

Obama pleato rehear immigrationcase rejectedReutersWashington

The US Supreme Court yesterday declined to rehear a bid by Presi-

dent Barack Obama’s admin-istration to revive his plan to spare from deportation mil-lions of immigrants in the country illegally, a case in which the justices split 4-4 in June.

In a brief order, the court rejected the administration’s long-shot request, meaning the justices’ June 23 decision is fi nal.

That ruling left in place a lower court decision that had blocked the plan, which Obama announced in 2014 but never went into eff ect.

The court remains one jus-tice short following the Febru-ary death of Antonin Scalia.

Obama’s plan was designed to let roughly 4mn people — those who have lived illegally in the US at least since 2010, have no criminal record and have children who are US citi-zens or lawful permanent resi-dents — get into a programme that shields them from depor-

tation and supplies work per-mits.

In a July 18 filing, Obama’s justice department had asked the court to take a second look at the case once it had a full complement of nine jus-tices.

The Republican-backed Senate, in an action with little precedent in US his-tory, has refused to consider Obama’s nominee to re-place Scalia, federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland, saying Obama’s successor

should make the appoint-ment.

In November 2014, Obama acted unilaterally, by execu-tive action, and bypassed the Republican-led Congress to try to put his plan in place.

Obama had aimed during his presidency to overhaul a US immigration system he calls broken and to help resolve the fate of the estimated 11mn peo-ple in the country illegally.

Obama leaves offi ce on Janu-ary 20.

Obama’s plan was rapidly challenged in court by Repub-lican-governed Texas and 25 other states that argued that he overstepped the powers grant-ed to him by the US Constitu-tion by infringing upon the au-thority of Congress.

As a result of the high court’s 4-4 split, a 2015 lower-court ruling invalidating Obama’s plan was left in place. Obama’s plan never was implemented because the lower courts had blocked it.

Obama took the action after Republicans in the US House of Representatives killed bipar-tisan immigration legislation that was passed by the Senate in 2013.

Obama’s plan was designed to let roughly 4mn people get into a programme that shields them from deportation and supplies work permits

A Native American competes in a traditional dance competition at the “Rocking the Rez” Pow Wow in Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, Texas. The Pow Wow, held on the reservation near the US-Mexico border in west Texas, drew in First Nation peoples from around the US. Tribal leaders expressed support for protesters that have blocked construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Traditional dance competition

ASIA/AUSTRALASIA11Gulf Times

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Yoshinori Ohsumi of Japan won the Nobel Medicine Prize yesterday for his

pioneering work on autophagy – a process whereby cells “eat themselves” – which when dis-rupted can cause Parkinson’s and diabetes.

A fundamental process in cell physiology, autophagy is essen-tial for the orderly recycling of damaged cell parts and under-standing it better has major im-plications for health and disease, including cancer.

Ohsumi’s discoveries “have led to a new paradigm in the un-derstanding of how the cell recy-cles its contents”, the jury said.

“Mutations in autophagy genes can cause disease, and the autophagic process is involved in several conditions including cancer and neurological dis-ease,” the jury added.

Ohsumi told reporters in To-kyo that winning the Nobel “was my childhood dream, but it has not been the focus of my con-cern since I got into research – I don’t like competing”.

Researchers fi rst observed during the 1960s that a cell could destroy its own contents by wrapping them up in mem-branes and transporting them to a degradation compartment called the lysosome – a discov-ery that earned Belgian scientist Christian de Duve a Nobel Medi-cine Prize in 1974.

It was de Duve who coined the term “autophagy”, which comes from the Greek meaning self-eating.

In what the jury described as a “series of brilliant experiments in the early 1990s”, Ohsumi used baker’s yeast to identify genes essential for autophagy.

He then went on to explain

the underlying mechanisms for autophagy in yeast and showed that similar sophisticated ma-chinery is used in human cells.

Ohsumi was able to build on de Duve’s work and prove that the lysosome “wasn’t a waste dump, it was a recycling plant”, Karolinska Institute professor Juleen Zierath explained.

Ohsumi’s fi ndings opened the path to understanding the im-portance of autophagy in many physiological processes, such as how the body adapts to starva-tion or responds to infection.

When autophagy breaks down, links have been estab-lished to Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes and other dis-orders that tend to appear in the elderly.

Intense research is now under way to develop drugs that target autophagy in various diseases.

Ohsumi, 71, received a PhD from the University of Tokyo in 1974.

He is currently a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technol-ogy.

The prize comes with 8mn Swedish kronor (around

$936,000 or €834,000).“This is the highest honour

for a researcher,” Ohsumi told Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. “My motto is to do what others don’t want to do. I thought (cel-lular breakdown) was very inter-esting.”

“This is where it all begins. It didn’t draw much attention in the past, but we’re now in a time when there is a bigger focus on it,” added Ohsumi.

The medicine prize is awarded by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, which has seen a shadow cast over its repu-tation following a recent scandal involving Italian surgeon Paolo Macchiarini.

In 2011, while working as a visiting professor at Karolin-ska, Macchiarini soared to fame for inserting the fi rst synthetic trachea, or windpipe, using pa-tients’ stem cells.

His work was initially hailed as a game-changer for trans-plant medicine.

But two patients died and a third was left severely ill.

Allegations ensued that the risky procedure had been car-

ried out on at least one individu-al who had not, at the time, been critically ill, and in 2014 several surgeons at Karolinska fi led a complaint alleging that Macchi-arini had downplayed the risks of the procedure.

Karolinska suspended all syn-thetic trachea transplants short-ly after and fi red Macchiarini.

Two members of the Nobel medicine prize assembly were forced to step down in Septem-ber over the scandal.

The 2016 Nobel season con-tinues today with the physics prize announcement, with the discovery of gravitational waves seen as a potential winner.

The fi rst observation of gravi-tational waves was announced in February 2016, a major research breakthrough that confi rms one of Albert Einstein’s predictions

in his theory of general relativity.The chemistry prize, an-

nounced tomorrow, could go to classic research in the fi eld, with speculation pointing to researchers who added new ele-ments to the periodic table, such as nihonium or moscovium.

On Friday, all eyes will turn to Oslo where perhaps the most prestigious of the awards, the peace prize, will be announced.

The Norwegian jury has sifted through an avalanche of nomi-nations this year – a record 376, almost a hundred more than the previous record from 2014.

Among those often cited as likely winners are the architects of two historic accords: the re-cent peace deal in Colombia be-tween the government and the leftist FARC rebels; and the Ira-nian nuclear deal.

In a shock upset however, Colombians on Sunday voted against the peace deal by a razor-thin majority in a referendum.

Following that, Colombia was dropped from a list of favourites for the prize.

Sunday’s surprise rejection of the accord, after criticism that it was too lenient to the rebels, im-proved chances for other Nobel candidates such as Russian hu-man rights activists or brokers of Iran’s nuclear deal to take the peace award, peace researchers said.

“Colombia’s off any credible list,” said Kristian Berg Harpvik-en, head of the Peace Research Institute in Oslo.

The economics prize will be announced on October 10, and the literature prize wraps things up on October 13.

Japanese scientist wins Nobel Medicine PrizeAFP/ReutersStockholm

Ohsumi gets up to leave after a press conference in Tokyo on his winning of the 2016 Nobel Prize for Medicine.

A photo of Ohsumi is be seen on the screen at the Nobel Forum in Stockholm after the announcement that he won the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

Street view

This picture taken on Sunday shows people watching an Acehnese model taking part in a street fashion show during Aceh Fashion Week in Banda Aceh. The three-day event ended on Sunday.

At least 600,000 people in North Korea have been aff ected by heavy fl ood-

ing that damaged or destroyed 30,000 homes, the Red Cross said, calling for urgent humani-tarian aid ahead of the winter.

“The disaster hit, in many ways, at probably the worst time,” said Chris Staines, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) delegation in North Korea.

The IFRC has been working with North Korea’s Red Cross Society to deliver aid to north-eastern communities that suf-

fered the worst of the fl ooding in late August.

Staines said that “urgent ac-tion” was needed before the fi rst snowfall expected in late October when temperatures fall below freezing, and can reach -30° Cel-sius in mid-winter.

“This is seriously harsh con-ditions and that’s why we need much more permanent solutions in terms of shelter, in terms of the health services and the access to food, and sorting out issues around safe water,” he said.

The IFRC has launched a 15.2mn Swiss Francs ($15.6mn) emergency appeal to reach more than 300,000 people with hu-manitarian assistance over the next 12 months.

The IFRC released video foot-

age it said was taken last week in North Hamgyong province that showed damaged buildings and displaced people living in rows of temporary shelters.

The United Nations Offi ce for the Co-ordination of Humani-tarian Aff airs said on Septem-ber 12 that, according to fi gures based on government data, 133 people had been killed and 395 were missing.

News of the disaster has come as North Korea appears even more isolated from its neigh-bours and the wider world after its fi fth nuclear test last month.

Widespread deforestation for fuel and farming has made the impoverished country prone to natural disasters, especially fl oods.

Floods aff ecting at least 600,000 in North Korea, says Red CrossReutersSeoul

Police are investigating the poisoning deaths last month of two elderly pa-

tients at a hospital near Tokyo, the latest in a spate of deaths on the same fl oor of the facility to arouse suspicion.

More than a quarter of Ja-pan’s population is aged 65 and above, putting a strain on medical and nursing facilities, where long hours and low pay discourage workers, a problem the government has vowed to tackle.

September’s deaths follow the stabbing deaths of 19 resi-dents of a home for the disa-bled in July, and the indictment of a former worker of a nursing home for killing three residents by throwing them off a balcony.

Police said autopsies showed poisoning as the cause of death of two 88-year-old patients on September 18 and 20.

Media said the men died as they received intravenous drip injections on the fourth fl oor of a Yokohama hospital.

A task force has been set up to conduct an investigation, police in the Kanegawa prefec-ture, south of the capital, said in a statement on September 23.

Police believe someone probably injected disinfectant into their drip feed bags, media said, adding that no arrest had been made, and police were checking if the deaths could be linked to others on the same fl oor.

Replying to a query from Re-uters whether police had told the hospital of autopsy fi ndings that a surfactant, widely used in disinfectant and cleaning products, was present in the bodies, Yuki Uehara, a lawyer for the hospital, said: “Yes”.

He did not elaborate.From July until September

20, as many as 46 other pa-tients died on the same fl oor, or an average of 18 a month.

That outstrips the monthly average of eight deaths on that fl oor during the 12 months to June, Uehara said.

He added, however, that the number of seriously ill patients in the hospital had risen from April onwards, which could partially explain the increase in the number of deaths.

Japan’s social security sys-tem is creaking as the numbers of old people grow.

Health ministry data show that abuse of elderly patients by nursing facility workers rose 36% in the year ending March 2015, to hit a record of 300 cases.

Japan police probe hospital poisoningReutersTokyo

‘Wasabi terrorism’ claims levelledA Japanese sushi chain is being accused of “wasabi terrorism” after it admitted to heaping excess dollops of the pungent root into foreign customers’ food.Osaka-based Ichibazushi issued an apology on its website on Sunday. It insisted that the wasabi-laced sushi was a response to many foreign-born patrons ordering extra portions of the fiery green paste used a condiment for the raw fish dishes.The chain did, however, acknowledge that some of its chefs had slipped copious amounts of wasabi – reportedly sometimes twice as much as usual – into unsuspecting customers’ food.It was not immediately clear how many incidents there had been.“Many of our overseas customers frequently order extra amounts of pickled ginger and wasabi, so we gave them more without checking first,” the chain’s operator said. “The result was unpleasant for some guests who aren’t fans of wasabi.”The story was picked up by national media which pointed to comments online complaining of so-called “wasabi terrorism”.

Man jailed over plots linked to IS groupAFPJakarta

An Indonesian man was jailed for six years yester-day over a series of failed

plots hatched under the guid-ance of an Indonesian Islamist militant fi ghting with the Islam-ic State (IS) group in Syria.

Arif Hidayatullah plotted to assassinate Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an eth-nic Chinese Christian, and bomb a Jewish community centre and a mosque used by members of the Muslim Shia minority, a court heard.

The 31-year-old, who was detained last December on the outskirts of Jakarta, did not car-ry out any of his plans because he was not confi dent that his homemade bombs were ready.

The Jakarta court heard he concocted the plots under the wing of Bahrun Naim, a lead-ing Indonesian militant fi ghting with IS, who has been linked to several botched assaults in his homeland, from a plot to fi re a rocket at Singapore to a suicide attack on a police station.

There has been an upsurge of violence and attempted attacks in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country over the past year due to the growing infl uence of IS.

Hidayatullah was found guilty of possessing explosive materi-als intended for use in terror at-tacks.

“The defendant is declared to be convincingly guilty of ter-rorism off ences and is sentenced to six years in prison,” Judge Siti Jamzanah told the court.

He also helped fi ve Indone-sians travel to Syria and helped a Uighur radical enter Indonesia, the court heard.

The Uighur was later arrested outside Jakarta as he prepared to carry out a suicide bombing.

Indonesia has long struggled with Islamic militancy, suff er-ing attacks in the 2000s includ-ing the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists.

A sustained crackdown weak-ened the most dangerous net-works but IS has proved a potent new rallying cry for Indonesia’s radicals, stoking fears that mili-tants fi ghting with the group could seek to organise attacks back home.

In January, an IS-claimed suicide bombing and gun attack in Jakarta left four civilians and four attackers dead.

Powerful typhoon Chaba barreled toward Japan’s southernmost Okinawa

island chain yesterday, cancel-ling more than 300 fl ights, as authorities issued their highest warning for the storm.

The violent storm was mov-ing northwest near Okinawa, packing gusts of up to 306kph (190mph), Japan’s weather agency said.

The agency also issued an emergency warning, its highest alert, suggesting the typhoon could be the strongest in dec-ades and cause serious damage.

With the storm closing in,

authorities in Okinawa’s capi-tal Naha issued an evacua-tion advisory for its 320,000 residents, according to public broadcaster NHK, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The storm is set to hit Ja-pan’s main island of Honshu later this week and then move through the Japanese archipel-ago, the agency reported.

More than 300 fl ights have been cancelled due to the ty-phoon as Naha airport, the region’s gateway, remained closed yesterday afternoon, NHK said.

Classes at primary and sec-ondary schools in Okinawa were also cancelled, according to media reports.

Typhoon Chaba heads toward south Japan

AFPTokyo

Aussies held over flag underwearPolice have arrested nine Australians who stripped down during Sunday’s Formula 1 Grand Prix race to reveal underwear bearing a Malaysia flag print.The spectators were arrested around the time the race ended on Sunday afternoon and were being investigated for “intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace” and public indecency, state news agency Bernama quoted police saying yesterday.The nine men, aged between 25 and 29, would be held in remand for four days.

BRITAIN

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 4, 201612

Boy, 11, ‘wasbeaten upat school onday he died’Police told that Asad Khan had been attacked just hours before his mother found him dead in his bedroom

Guardian News and Media London

Detectives are investigating a report that an 11-year-old boy was beaten up in a

playground hours before he was found dead at his home in Brad-ford.

The body of Asad Khan, de-scribed as a sweet and innocent child, was found by his mother in his bedroom after he returned home from school last Wednes-day.

Asad’s relatives have said he may have been bullied at Beck-foot Upper Heaton school, which he attended for three weeks.

Detectives are investigat-ing whether Asad was beaten up in the school playground on Wednesday lunchtime.

A spokesman for West York-shire police confi rmed yesterday that the force received a report about the alleged incident on Friday.

Asad is said to have told his mother, Farheen Jan, that he wanted to change schools when he returned home on Wednes-day. She found him unresponsive in his bedroom shortly after 4pm that day.

Asama Javed, a governor of Iqra primary school, which Asad attended until July, has said her nephew, also a pupil at Beckfoot Upper Heaton, had seen the boy being bullied on the day of his death.

She said: “My nephew said he saw some sixth formers hitting Asad in the playground at lunch-time. He told a teacher, who said they would be dealt with on Fri-day.”

Javed, who has reported her claims to police, said she had also seen a video purporting to show some boys telling Asad to lie down, and encouraging oth-ers to jump on him.

She added: “I have been to see Asad’s mother and she is in com-plete and utter shock. She is not

eating or talking. It’s horrifi c.“These things need to be in-

vestigated and I am going to raise this with the school. I am not saying that any person is to blame for what happened, but if we can learn lessons from this tragedy to identify where we can help vulnerable children, we must do so.

“Our children need to be edu-cated so they are confi dent to tell someone about it if they are hav-ing problems.”

DI Alan Flynn, of Bradford CID, who is leading the investi-gation, confi rmed that offi cers had received reports of a “bully-ing issue” and that it was being looked into.

Flynn said that while bullying was not a criminal off ence, de-tectives would examine whether there was any criminal behaviour including assault.

He added: “There is a lot of ongoing work to clarify what was going on in this young lad’s life prior to his death. We are looking for information from the com-munity and we are setting up a specialist e-mail address for the public so they can provide any information or evidence, includ-ing visual, that could assist us in understanding what has oc-curred.”

After meeting Asad’s parents on Wednesday night, the Brad-ford West MP, Naz Shah, said he may have been bullied and killed himself.

Shah wrote on Facebook: “This evening 11-year-old Asad took his own life. Asad had just started his new school recently and bullying is something that has been mentioned.”

Simon Wade, headteacher at Beckfoot Upper Heaton, said in a statement on the school’s web-site: “It is with great sadness that we learnt of the death of Asad Khan, one of the school’s newest students.

“The school is united in its grief at this sad time. The school community is working together as students, parents and staff come to terms with these events. All our thoughts are with Asad’s family at this terribly diffi cult time.”

Plan to demolish housein Ben Needham searchLondon Evening StandardLondon

Police searching for missing toddler Ben Needham on the Greek island of Kos are

negotiating to knock down part of a farmhouse on the search site.

Nineteen South Yorkshire police officers, forensic spe-cialists and an archaeologist have been scouring an arid stretch of farmland where the 21-month-old toddler went missing in 1991 as part of a new line of inquiry.

DI Jon Cousins said he was trying to persuade a family who

own a farmhouse at the site to let him demolish part of the struc-ture.

“There is reason for me to consider removing a small part of this farmhouse so that I can be sure that I have not missed any opportunity to fi nd the answers that I need to.”

Cousins said a 1991 press photograph showed that part of the building was not there when Ben went missing but added that negotiations were diffi cult as many members of the fam-ily that owned the building had grown up there.

“I fully understand the con-cern that the family have,” he said.

The offi cer also said the op-eration was back on schedule after an issue last week when a suspected ancient burial site was discovered.

Ben’s sister, Leighanna Need-ham, meanwhile, described her family’s pain as they waited for news. “None of us want to be-lieve that we were going to fi nd something there because that’s 25 years of fi ghting and pain and hurt that could have been end-ed 25 years ago,” she told Good Morning Britain.

“We’re a family that’s lived in hope. And what do you do when that hope’s all gone? How do you continue when there’s nothing left?”

The Kos excavation began after reports that the Sheffi eld toddler may have been killed and buried there, yards from where he vanished while his grandfa-ther was renovating a property. Police are investigating claims that the toddler might have been killed by a digger driver working on the 2.5-acre site.

Konstantinos Barkas was clearing land near where Ben was playing on the day he van-ished and may have accidentally killed him, a friend of the builder reportedly told police following a TV appeal in May.

The driver died of stomach cancer last year. His widow, Varvara, strongly dismissed any

suggestions her late husband had killed Ben.

There have been several theories over the toddler’s fate and reported sightings since his disappearance. But his mother, Kerry Needham, was recently told to “prepare for the worst”. Last week, she told the Daily Mirror: “Not even in my worst nightmares has Ben ever been dead … un-til now. I’ve been waking up and finding my pillow wet with tears.”

She added that she was an-gry when police told her about the tip-off and she now lives in fear that each day will bring the “worst news possible”.

People take in the view from Tate Modern building in London yesterday.

Taking in the sights

Chef ‘mistook mouse droppings for spices’

London Evening StandardLondon

A chef at a four-star hotel favoured by Harry Styles and

Britney Spears thought mouse droppings on the fl oor and work surfaces of his kitchen were “spices”, a court heard.

Health inspectors found a mouse nest in the staff room of the Sanctum Soho Hotel, droppings on food contain-ers and next to fresh pro-duce, and a kitchen smelling of mouse urine.

One rodent was spotted emerging from a storage area and scuttling across the fl oor during the inspection,

Hammersmith magistrates’ court heard.

Gnawed biscuits, mouldy fruit and fi lthy kitchen equipment were also un-covered at the hotel, in War-wick Street, Soho.

Prosecutor Benjamin Waidhofer told the court: “When questioned the chef said he thought the drop-pings were a spice. He was not able to tell the diff er-ence between a spice and a mouse dropping.”

The hotel was told to im-prove after its fi rst inspec-tion in April last year, but had made little progress when revisited a month later.

Westminster City Coun-cil then shut the kitchens.

Quarter of a million children receiving mental healthcareGuardian News and MediaLondon

Almost a quarter of a mil-lion children and young people are receiving help

from NHS mental health serv-ices for problems such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders, fi gures show.

The scale of the growing crisis in young people’s mental well-being was laid bare with the disclosure that 235,189 people aged 18 and under get specialist care, accord-ing to data covering 60% of mental health trusts in England.

Sarah Brennan, the chief exec-utive of the mental health charity Young Minds, said: “It’s stagger-ing that so many children and young people are in need of spe-cialist mental healthcare. These fi gures should act as a wake-up call.”

The Guardian revealed the fi g-ures for the fi rst time at the start of a two-day series prompted by rapidly accumulating evidence that growing numbers of chil-dren, teenagers and young adults are being affl icted by debilitating psychological and psychiatric ailments.

Among the 235,189 young

people who were in contact with mental health services in June were 11,849 boys and girls aged fi ve and under, and 53,659 aged between six and 10. Just over 100,000 patients were 11 to 15, and 69,505 were 16 to 18.

Contrary to some experts’ ex-pectations, the total comprised more boys (130,395) than girls (104,522).

NHS Digital, the health serv-ice’s statistical arm, began col-lating the fi gures in January. The numbers for the whole of Eng-land would be higher as 40% of mental health trusts did not pro-vide data.

Experts blame growing pres-sures on the young, including the need to excel academically, look good and be popular, as well as poverty and family breakdown for the growing burden of mental illness in school-age children and young adults. An NHS inquiry found last week that self-harm and post-traumatic stress dis-order had risen sharply in young women aged 16 to 24 in recent years.

Azia, 17, from West Yorkshire, went to her GP in 2014 for help with problems including anxi-ety and depression. “I had been feeling hopeless and helpless,

tearful, with no motivation or interest in doing anything,” she said. “I was not getting any en-joyment out of life and had sui-cidal thoughts. From around the age of 13, I also experienced anxi-ety. The physical symptoms were headaches, soreness in my limbs, bloatedness, sweats and shivers and increased sleeping.”

Azia, who has received cogni-tive behavioural therapy from NHS children and adolescent mental health services, said she was doing much better but still needed help. Her anxiety meant her family could not do things like go on holiday, she said.

“There’s a lot more pressure now on young kids to get excel-lent grades and go to univer-sity. It can make these feelings worse. Also, sometimes it feels like adults think that when you’re young you can’t have anything really serious going on. It makes it harder to speak to people about it.”

The fi gures have sparked calls for ministers, schools and the NHS to do much more to prevent, identify and treat mental disor-ders in young people.

Jeremy Hunt, the health sec-retary, said the extra £1.4bn that the government had pledged to

improve support for troubled children during this parliament was funding an expansion of services so that the increasing numbers seeking help could get access.

“Tackling the problems of mental ill health in children and young people is a priority for this government and I welcome the Guardian’s focus on this impor-tant area,” he said. New waiting time standards for treatment for eating disorders and early inter-vention in episodes of psycho-sis would help ensure that the £1.4bn got to the areas of greatest need, Hunt added.

BRITAIN13Gulf Times

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Economy willbe protectedduring Brexit: HammondReutersBirmingham

Finance Minister Philip Hammond yesterday vowed to protect the

economy from any turbulence during negotiations to leave the EU, as sterling fell on wor-ries the country is heading towards a disruptive divorce with its biggest trading part-ner.

Hammond made his prom-ise to the ruling Conservative Party after Prime Minister Theresa May said she would trigger the process to leave the European Union by the end of March, offering the first glimpse of a timetable for one of the most complex negotia-tions in recent European his-tory.

Britons’ vote for Brexit on June 23 took many investors and chief executives by sur-prise, triggering the biggest ever one-day fall in sterling against the dollar.

Although the economy ap-pears to have largely weath-ered the initial shock, Ham-mond sought to reassure businesses and consumers — whose continued investment and spending fuels economic growth — that he would act to if needed.

“Throughout the negotiat-ing process, we are ready to take whatever steps are neces-sary to protect this economy from turbulence,” Hammond told the Conservatives’ annual conference in the city of Bir-mingham.

“And when the process is over we are ready to provide

support to British businesses as they adjust to life outside the EU,” he added, pledging to guarantee any EU funding se-cured before Britain’s exit.

Britain must start the for-mal negotiation process by invoking Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, giving the sides two years to clinch a deal.

Hammond’s address was watched by May, whose speech to the conference on Sunday convinced some investors that Britain could be heading to-wards a “hard Brexit”.

The sterling, having just posted its worst run of quar-terly losses since 1984, skid-ded more than 1 % against the dollar to as low as $1.2845.

That left it less than half a cent away from the 31-year low it reached in early July, shortly after the referendum.

While May dismissed the idea that Britain faced a choice between a “soft” or “hard” Brexit, economists at the JP-Morgan investment bank said her comments indicated the latter — meaning the country could abandon the EU’s cus-toms union, give up on seeking preferential access to the single market and impose controls on immigration from the bloc.

“Although May does not like the ‘hard-soft’ distinc-tion, this looks pretty ‘hard’ to us,” JPMorgan, which sup-ported the Remain campaign, said in a note to clients.

May’s comments were wel-comed by the EU, with Don-ald Tusk, the president of the European Council, saying the statement had brought “wel-come clarity” to the situation.

But the European Commis-

sion said it would start nego-tiating Brexit only after Brit-ain sent its formal notification under Article 50 that it would leave the bloc it joined in 1973.

Lawmakers in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party made simi-lar remarks to Tusk, but some expressed frustration at the lack of detail on the timetable.

“Finally there is a position,” lawmaker Elmar Brok said. “It would be important that the Brexit is done before the next election for the European par-liament”, due in early 2019.

“The British government has shown that it is clue-less about what to do,” said Gunther Krichbaum, leader of the European committee in the Bundestag lower house.

One senior German offi cial said: “It is beyond compre-hension that the politicians who campaigned for Brexit for months have no idea what they want, they have no plan at all.”

Hammond, who cam-paigned for Britain to remain in the EU before the refer-endum, said the government would ensure the best possible access to EU markets.

His support for the Remain campaign has raised suspi-cions among Conservative eu-rosceptics who fear the gov-ernment may water down the terms of Britain’s exit.

Hammond tried to counter that view. “No ifs, no buts, no second referendums. We are leaving the European Union,” he said. “But it is equally clear to me that the British peo-ple did not vote on June 23rd to become poorer, or less se-cure.”

Drivers fume as boxjunctions make £6mnLondon Evening StandardLondon

Campaigners have hit out over “money-making” yellow box junctions as it

emerged Transport for London made over £6mn in fi nes last year.

The traffi c scheme — which turned 50 years old yesterday — has been lambasted by motoring and highway experts who say it does not improve traffi c fl ow and is instead just a cash cow for coun-cils.

Figures released under Freedom of Information requests by the BBC Inside Out programme show that one junction known as “the moneybox” in Hammersmith and Fulham raised almost £2.5mon in the past 18 months.

The junction — off Bagleys Lane and New King’s Road — made nearly £12mn in the past seven years.

A spokesman for Hammersmith and Fulham council said: “This is one of the busiest routes into Lon-don. Seven million drivers navi-gate the junction each year, with-out breaking the rules and getting a ticket.”

But campaigner Andrew Ashe said councils benefi t from the fi nes so there is no incentive to improve matters.

He told the BBC1 programme: “The idea that this is improving traffi c fl ow is nonsense. My big concern is that councils keep the money, they are motivated not to make improvements. It’s leading to massive abuse.”

The programme also captures scenes of junction-induced road rage on the capital’s streets. In En-fi eld, locals say the recent installa-tion of CCTV has resulted in chaos because drivers are worried about being fi ned.

In one incident, pensioner Elaine Perkins is fi lmed trying to negotiate a junction at Carterhatch Lane.

The footage shows Perkins stuck in the road for fi ve minutes and being sworn at by other driv-ers as she refuses to enter the box because her right turn isn’t clear.

Richard Hayes, from the In-stitute of Highway Engineers, added: “Something is defi nitely wrong — if there’s a lot of in-fringement then I think there is something wrong with the in-stallation”.

May doesnot careaboutScotland: SturgeonReutersEdinburgh

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused Theresa May of ignoring

Scots over Britain’s exit from the European Union after the prime minister indicated that Scotland will not have a veto.

Sturgeon, whose nationalist party is not ruling out a new Scot-tish independence vote, said on Twitter that May was “going out of her way to say Scotland’s voice and interests don’t matter”.

“Strange approach from some-one who wants to keep (the) UK together,” Sturgeon said.

May, who says she will trig-ger the process to leave the EU by March, has said Scotland’s con-cerns will be taken into account.

When asked directly if Scotland could have a veto over Brexit, she told the BBC: “The United King-dom will have a position in the negotiations and we, as a United Kingdom government, will be ne-gotiating with the European Un-ion.” Scotland, one of the United Kingdom’s four constituent parts, overwhelmingly voted to stick with the EU in June but England and Wales voted out.

The United Kingdom’s devolved parliaments could complicate or slow an EU withdrawal as their remit over such a major change is unclear and there is a convention for giving the assemblies a say on matters that concern them.

Government lawyers have ar-gued there is no need to have the agreement of Britain’s devolved parliaments in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales for Brexit.

The lawyers argue such assem-blies do not have any “compe-tence” over foreign aff airs which they say is for the UK government to decide.

A spokesman for the Scottish government said on Sunday that it was unlikely Scotland would approve legislation that does not guarantee access to the EU’s single market for goods and services, but it is not clear what say Scotland will have in the process.

More than half of Unite’sfemale offi cers ‘bullied’Guardian News and MediaLondon

More than half the female offi cers in Britain’s big-gest union claim to have

been bullied or sexually harassed by fellow offi cials or members in their workplaces, a leaked inter-nal study has found.

The report about the treatment and working conditions of female representatives at Unite also con-cluded that a quarter of employed offi cers believe allegations of bul-lying were not handled well by the union when they were reported.

Titled Women Offi cers in Unite, the report cited an offi cial who said she felt increasingly isolated at work because of male offi cials talking among themselves. “I have to sit among colleagues who refer to our secretaries as the girls … (They) think it is correct to refer to black people as coloured, talk about chairmen, refer to women as a piece of skirt,” one female of-fi cer said.

One woman told interviewers she was “sexually assaulted by a

senior offi cer in the past”. The re-port did not go into any further details of her case and did not ex-plain whether the woman reported the assault to police or the union. However it is understood that in-cident took place in 2007 before Unite was formed through the amalgamation of three unions.

Another respondent blamed the union’s senior management for failing to commit to inclu-sivity. The report quoted her as saying: “The old-boys network is alive and kicking unfortunately in Unite, where it is who you know and where they come from that matters.”

The fi ndings are contained in the 39-page internal report about the working lives of the union’s 74 female offi cers, who support the union’s members and elected shop stewards on shop fl oors and in offi ces. It was commissioned by Unite’s offi cers national com-mittee (ONC) in February and presented to senior management in May.

Unite’s executive is considering the four-month-old fi ndings.

Howard Beckett, Unite’s exec-

utive director for legal services, said the union had not received any complaint of assault and would have reported any such incident to the police. He pointed out that members are not union employees. “If an offi cer has a complaint about a member, we are restricted to consideration of the suitability of the member to be in the union.

“The union, of course, encour-aged the ONC to consult female offi cers about their experience in the workplaces where our mem-bers work. Len McCluskey (Unite’s general secretary) has actively pro-moted gender balance in the of-fi cer core and women now occupy the most senior positions within the union … as such any allegation of an ‘old-boy network’ is simply untrue,” he said.

The report concluded, however, that a majority of female offi cers agree that Unite colleagues and reps are supportive and interested in what they do – although nearly 40% believe that talking about working concerns with the union and colleagues is seen as a weak-ness.

A gallery assistant poses for a photograph with an untitled artwork by French-born artist Henri Barande, during a press preview to promote the gallery’s forthcoming exhibition of Barande’s work, at the Saatchi Gallery in London yesterday.

Barande artwork

Southern Rail yesterday set a deadline for union chiefs to accept an off er aimed at averting rail strikes – or it will terminate conductors’ contracts and press ahead with changes to their role. The company, which is facing a series of fresh strikes by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union from next week, issued the ultimatum as a “final attempt” to resolve the long-running dispute, which has caused travel chaos for months. Southern said its new off er included a lump sum payment of £2,000 to con-ductors to be paid once the dispute is settled and its plans are fully implemented. Its eight-point off er includes guarantees on conductors’ jobs until 2021 and guaranteed levels of overtime.

Scotland Yard was facing fresh pressure yester-day to publish the full findings of a potentially highly critical report by a former judge into its failed £2mn probe into VIP sex abuse allega-tions. Sir Richard Henriques will submit his report to the Met this week on the conduct of Operation Midland, which was set up following claims of a child sex ring involving Westminster politicians and other establishment figures. Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, 69, who was questioned by police and cleared during the inquiry over false allegations, said the full report should be published to ensure the police could be held properly to account.

The next generation of “Boris bikes” that will carry Londoners around the capital’s streets was unveiled yesterday. The new bicycles will be more comfort-able and manoeuvrable than the existing ones which many cyclists claim are too unwieldy. They will retain popular features of the existing model but will be lighter, have smaller wheels, a lower frame, a new gear hub and a more comfortable seat. TfL signed the new £80mn contract with Serco to main-tain and distribute the fleet of Santander cycles for the next five years. The bikes will be made in Britain for the first time, by Pashley Cycles at its factory in Stratford-upon-Avon, and will be on the streets by 2018.

The nation’s first centre dedicated to combating cyber criminals opens next week, as the threat of online attacks continues to rise. Intelligence bosses at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will target terrorists, hackers and online gangs from their base in central London. The new organisation was created to both respond to attacks and reduce the risk of future threats, while also providing leadership in cyber security. “Our role is helping to make the UK the safest place to live and do business online” said CEO of the centre Ciaran Martin. “So we’re going to tackle the major threats from hostile states and criminal gangs.”

The team behind the James Bond films wants Daniel Craig to return as 007, the spy series’ executive producer said even after the British actor said he would rather slash his wrists than appear again. The 48-year-old star was “absolutely the first choice ... We would love Daniel to return as Bond,” Callum McDougall told BBC radio. Craig said last year he was “over” the role after filming wrapped up on the last instalment Spectre, which went on to gross $880mn worldwide. When asked if he could imagine doing another Bond movie, Craig told London’s Time Out magazine: “Now I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists.”

Take off er or be sacked, Southern Rail tells staff

Police ‘must publish fullVIP abuse report’

City hall unveils new fleetof UK-made ‘Boris bikes’

National anti-cybercrimecentre to open next week

Daniel Craig still firstchoice for Bond: producer

ULTIMATUM DEMANDTRAVEL ANNOUNCEMENT ENTERTAINMENT

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and his wife Susan Williams-Walker walk along the bridge from the hotel to the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, central England, yesterday on the second day of the annual Conservative party conference.

EUROPE

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 4, 201614

Hungary’s prime minister has vowed that Budapest would still reject the EU’s

controversial migrant quota plan, despite low turnout in a referen-dum on the issue invalidating the vote.

A day after 98.3% of voters backed his hardline stance on mi-grants, Viktor Orban hailed the result as an unprecedented man-date to stop Brussels encroaching on national sovereignty.

Orban said that he would in-troduce a bill in the coming days to amend the constitution and refl ect “the will of the people in the spirit of the referendum”.

“In the history of Hungarian democracy, no party or party alli-ance has ever received a mandate of such scale,” Orban told an ap-plauding parliament in Budapest. “We won’t let these 3.3mn people be tricked, or have their opinions downplayed.”

In another blow to the EU four months after Britain voted to leave the bloc, the referen-dum saw Hungarians – or rather, those who voted – almost unani-mously back Orban’s bid to spurn an EU proposal seeking to share migrants around the 28-member

bloc via mandatory quotas.But after a campaign in which

government billboards and TV campaign linked migrants with “terrorism” and crime, the bal-lot was declared invalid with only 40.1% casting valid votes, well below the 50% minimum.

This was due in part to people heeding a call from opposition parties, non-government or-ganisations and activists to boy-cott the referendum or spoil their votes.

More than 230,000 invalid ballots were recorded, a record

for a Hungarian referendum.Comparing immigration to

“poison”, Orban has emerged as the standard-bearer of those op-posed to German Chancellor An-gela Merkel’s “open-door” pol-icy, as the bloc battles its worst migration crisis since World War II.

His referendum hiked further pressure on the quarrelling EU, already weakened by the “Brexit” referendum result – a decision that Orban has blamed on Brus-sels’s handling of the migrant crisis.

EU Parliament President Mar-tin Schulz had warned on Sunday that Orban was playing “a dan-gerous game” by attacking EU treaties to cement his power at home.

Hungarians “did not heed Orban’s call. What the EU now needs is dialogue to deliver solu-tions, not artifi cial tensions”, he tweeted yesterday.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, said that there was “no silver bullet” to solving the migration crisis, but said “a holistic approach” was required.

The European Union migrant quota proposal – spearheaded by Merkel and approved by most EU states last year – aims to ease pressure on Italy and Greece, the fi rst port of arrival for most mi-grants.

But implementation has been slow, with just 5,651 out of a hoped-for 160,000 people re-located so far, with eastern and central European countries in particular opposed.

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz warned that it would be “a mistake” to dismiss the Hungarian referendum.

“There are many states in Europe, which think similarly to Hungary and are unhappy with the politics in Brussels,” he

told German media on Sunday evening. “I said from the start that the relocation plan wouldn’t work.”

More than 400,000 refugees trekked through Hungary to-wards northern Europe in 2015 before Hungary sealed off its southern borders with fences topped with razor wire in Sep-tember.

Other countries on the so-called Balkan migrant trail fol-lowed suit, leaving some 60,000 stranded in Greece.

The EU said last week that it hoped to relocate half of them by the end of 2017.

A deal struck in March with Ankara to halt the infl ux looks shaky in the wake of a coup at-tempt in Turkey in July.

Analysts told AFP that the planned constitutional amend-ment was likely to seek to en-shrine Hungary’s right to decide its own migration policy.

“It looks like (Orban) wants to continue his fi ght with the EU on its migration policy, and the con-stitutional amendment is his way of doing that as it might trigger legal fi ghts” with Brussels, said expert Bulcsu Hunyadi from the Political Capital think tank in Budapest.

Hungary vows to reject EU migrant plan anywayAFPBudapest

Orban: In the history of Hungarian democracy, no party or party alliance has ever received a mandate of such scale.

Schulz: What the EU now needs is dialogue to deliver solutions, not artificial tensions.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yes-terday that the European

Union has failed to fulfi l its pledge to provide €3bn of aid for migrants, a criticism that the EU said was “not correct and not helpful”.

More than 1mn migrants en-tered the EU last year by taking

boats from Turkey to Greece.The numbers taking that

route have tumbled since Turkey agreed to prevent people from setting sail from its shores in re-turn for EU countries approving a fund of €3bn this year to help Turkey improve living condi-tions for some 3mn Syrian mi-grants on its territory.

Erdogan said the EU had not honoured its side of the deal.

“The EU had said it will give €3bn for the migrants,” the

Turkish president said at a sci-ence and technology conference in Ankara. “But time has passed and the year is coming to a close. These people promise but do not deliver.”

A spokeswoman at the Euro-pean Commission rejected his comments, saying that the im-plementation of fi nancial sup-port for refugees in Turkey had accelerated in recent months.

“The EU is living up to its commitments under the EU-

Turkey statement,” the spokes-woman wrote in an e-mail to Reuters. “Suggestions to the contrary, including on fi nancial support for refugees in Turkey, are simply not correct and not helpful.”

Of the €3bn ($3.4bn), €2.24bn had been allocated for both hu-manitarian and non-humanitar-ian assistance, an EU commis-sion spokesperson said, adding that €1.25bn had been contract-ed and €467mn disbursed.

The spokesperson said that the Commission last week signed two direct grants worth €600mn to support Syrian refugees and host communities in Turkey, and that Turkey’s education and health ministries were going to be reimbursed for per capita costs.

Last week, the bloc launched a programme to issue monthly electronic cash grants to benefi t a million refugees in Turkey, also as part of the €3bn.

Erdogan: EU yet to deliver on migrants aid pledgeReutersAnkara

Erdogan: The EU had said it will give €3bn for the migrants. But time has passed and the year is coming to a close. These people promise but do not deliver.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was greeted yesterday by whistles and shouts of

“Get out” after arriving in Dres-den – birthplace of xenophobic movement Pegida – for German reunifi cation celebrations.

The angry crowd also waved signs saying “Merkel must go”

in the east German city, where some 2,600 police were deployed as a security precaution.

Merkel has been under pres-sure at home over her refugee policy that saw an infl ux of nearly 900,000 migrants last year.

Dresden is hosting na-tional celebrations to mark 26 years since the reunifi cation of East and West Germany, with the chancellor and President Joachim Gauck in attendance.

Supporters of Pegida, the group that began in Dresden, also gave Gauck a hostile greeting upon his arrival.

The group initially drew just a few hundred supporters to its demonstrations before gaining strength, peaking with rallies of up to 25,000 people in early 2015.

Though Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) took a drubbing in recent regional polls, she insisted on the side-

lines of yesterday’s celebrations that “mutual respect” and “ac-ceptance of very divergent politi-cal opinions” are needed to meet the challenges facing Germany.

Norbert Lammert, the speaker of the German parliament, took aim at those who “whistle and shout” but who “clearly don’t have the slightest memory of the condition of this city and this region were in before reunifi ca-tion”.

Merkel heckled at Dresden celebrationsAFPDresden

Protesters under umbrellas hold a placard reading ‘Merkel must go’ during celebrations in Dresden marking the German Unification Day.

Thousands of women in black went on strike across Poland yesterday, closing

down restaurants, government offi ces and university classes, and blocking access to the ruling party headquarters in Warsaw to protest against plans for a total ban on abortion.

Legislation proposed by an independent group would for-bid any termination, tightening Poland’s already restrictive rules that allow abortion only in the case of rape, incest or a threat to the mother’s health, or when the baby is likely to be permanently handicapped.

It is unclear whether the con-servative Law and Justice (PiS) government will back the draft law, introduced by the group Ordo Iuris.

But the possibility of new re-strictions has stirred an intense

debate in the staunchly Catholic Poland.

“I didn’t go to work today,” said Gabriela, a 41-year-old market researcher from Warsaw. “They are violating our civic rights, and I wanted to support all the wom-en who may be hurt, who may be denied medical help and forced to have a disabled child ... and I am doing it for my daughter.”

Critics say that the proposed rules would discourage doctors from conducting prenatal test-ing, particularly if procedures carry the risk of miscarriage, or put the life of women with an ec-topic pregnancy at risk.

The draft rules allow for ter-mination if a woman’s life is in direct danger.

Women and doctors could face prison if convicted of caus-ing what the proposed rules call “death of a conceived child”.

Dressed in black, women chanted “We want doctors, not missionaries!” and “Jaroslaw, get out!” in front of the central War-

saw offi ces of PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

Some carried posters saying: “A government is not like a preg-nancy – it can be terminated.”

For PiS, which swept into pow-er a year ago on a promise of more wealth equality and conservative values in public life, the proposed rules pose a dilemma.

It could antagonise the pow-erful Catholic Church if it fails to back the legislation – or fan an even wider public outcry if it does.

Poland remains one of Eu-rope’s most Catholic nations, with about 90% of citizens de-claring allegiance to the church.

But the clergy’s sway over the heart and soul of churchgoers, although still strong in some places, has been waning.

PiS offi cials have been quoted in local media saying that the party may introduce its own pro-posal in parliament that would allow abortion in the case of rape and incest and a threat to

the mother’s health but disal-low terminations of handicapped foetuses.

“The right to life, or as some insist, the right to an abortion, is an important moral challenge for our civilisation, our western

civilisation,” Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski told RMF FM radio.

“Let them have fun,” the minister said of the protesting women, adding: “They should go ahead if they think there are no

bigger problems in Poland.”Offi cial statistics show several

hundred legal abortions are con-ducted in Poland each year.

But activists say many women are denied access to the proce-dure when doctors invoke a legal

right to decline to perform it on moral or religious grounds.

Tens of thousands are done il-legally, activists say, with many women crossing the border to Germany or Slovakia to obtain the procedure.

Women in black shut down Polish government offi cesReutersWarsaw

A young woman waves a black flag as others take part in a nationwide strike in Warsaw yesterday to protest a legislative proposal for a total ban on abortion.

Calais mayor fails in bid to stop wallThe mayor of the northern French port of Calais made a failed bid yesterday to halt construction of a wall aimed at stopping migrants from trying to reach Britain.Natacha Bouchart, who pledged on September 23 to use “all legal weapons in my possession” to fight the barrier, filed an injunction to halt work on the wall.But the local administration immediately overruled the move, allowing the work, which began on September 20, to continue.The British-funded wall, which will be 1km long and 4m high, will pass within a few hundred metres of the sprawling migrant camp known as the “Jungle”, which charities say now houses more than 10,000 people.The right-wing mayor, who initially favoured a wall, now says that there is no need for one because the French government has promised to close down the Jungle camp “as soon as possible”.Britain is paying the €2.7mn ($3mn) cost of the wall, which Calais authorities say will be completed by the end of the year.It is meant to prevent migrants from reaching a bypass road in order to board trucks heading through the Channel tunnel.Bouchart told AFP: “Calais residents are fed up with seeing barriers and barbed wire everywhere. They feel completely hemmed in.”

5,600 migrants plucked from seaAt least 5,650 migrants were rescued yesterday as they tried to reach Europe on about 40 boats, one of the highest numbers in a single day, Italy’s coast guard said.A spokeswoman said one migrant had died and a pregnant woman had been taken by helicopter to a hospital on the Italian island of Lampedusa, halfway between Sicily and the Libyan coast.One coast guard ship rescued about 725 migrants on a single rubber boat, one of some 20 rescue operations during the day.Three were still under way and the spokeswoman said the number saved could reach 6,000 by the end of the day.

Migrant kills Afghan teenAn 18-year-old Afghan migrant was stabbed to death in public in eastern Germany by another teenage migrant, police said yesterday.The victim suff ered severe chest injuries and died on the way to hospital.The suspect, a 17-year-old unaccompanied migrant from Gambia, was arrested at a refugee centre three hours after the stabbing.The incident occurred on Sunday near a migrant centre for minors where the Afghan teen lived, police in the city of Ludwigsfelde in the state of Brandenburg said.

EUROPE15Gulf Times

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Russian President Vladimir Putin has suspended a treaty with Washington

on cleaning up weapons-grade plutonium, signalling that he is willing to use nuclear disarma-ment as a new bargaining chip in disputes with the United States over Ukraine and Syria.

Starting in the last years of the Cold War, Russia and the United States signed a series of accords to reduce the size of their nuclear arsenals, agreements that have so far survived intact despite a souring of US-Russian relations under Putin.

However, yesterday the Rus-sian president issued a decree suspending an agreement, which was concluded in 2000, which bound the two sides to dispose of surplus plutonium originally in-

tended for use in nuclear weap-ons.

The Kremlin said it was taking that action in response to un-friendly acts by Washington.

It made the announcement shortly before Washington said it was suspending talks with Rus-sia on trying to end the violence in Syria.

The plutonium accord is not the cornerstone of post-Cold War US-Russia disarmament, and the practical implications from the suspension will be lim-ited.

But the suspension, and the linkage to disagreements on oth-er issues, carries powerful sym-bolism.

“Putin’s decree could signal that other nuclear disarmament co-operation deals between the United States and Russia are at risk of being undermined,” Strat-for, a US-based consultancy, said in a commentary. “The decision

is likely an attempt to convey to Washington the price of cutting off dialogue on Syria and other issues.”

US State Department spokes-man John Kirby said in a state-ment yesterday that bilateral contacts with Moscow over Syria were being suspended.

Kirby said Russia had failed to live up to its commitments under a ceasefi re agreement.

Western diplomats say an end to the Syria talks leaves Moscow free to pursue its military opera-tion in support of Syrian Presi-dent Bashar al-Assad, but with-out a way to disentangle itself from a confl ict which shows no sign of ending.

Russia and the United States are also at loggerheads over Ukraine.

Washington, along with Eu-rope, imposed sanctions on Rus-sia after it annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014 and

backed pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Putin submitted a draft law to parliament setting out under what conditions work under the plutonium accord could be re-sumed.

Those conditions were a laun-dry list of Russian grievances to-wards the United States.

They included Washington lifting the sanctions imposed on Russia over Ukraine, paying compensation to Moscow for the sanctions, and reducing the US military presence in Nato mem-ber states in eastern Europe to the levels they were 16 years ago.

Any of those steps would in-volve a complete U-turn in long-standing US policy.

“The Obama administration has done everything in its power to destroy the atmosphere of trust which could have encour-aged cooperation,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a state-

ment on the treaty’s suspension. “The step Russia has been forced to take is not intended to worsen relations with the United States.

“We want Washington to un-derstand that you cannot, with one hand, introduce sanctions against us where it can be done fairly painlessly for the Ameri-cans, and with the other hand continue selective cooperation in areas where it suits them.”

The 2010 agreement, signed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, called on each side to dispose of 34 tonnes of plutonium by burning it in nu-clear reactors.

Clinton said at the time that there was enough of the material to make 17,000 nuclear weapons.

Both sides back then viewed the deal as a sign of increased co-operation between the two former Cold War adversaries.

Russian offi cials alleged yes-

terday that Washington had failed to honour its side of the agreement.

The Kremlin decree stated

that, despite the suspension, Russia’s surplus weapons-grade plutonium would not be put to military use.

Putin suspends nuclear pactReutersMoscow

Analysts say Putin’s decree could signal that other nuclear disarmament co-operation deals between the United States and Russia are at risk of being undermined.

Greek police fi red pepper spray at pensioners pro-testing yesterday against

cuts in their state income.Thousands of pensioners re-

sponded to a protest call by the communist opposition and ten-sions boiled over as their protest march approached the prime minister’s residence.

One group of protesters at-tempted to breach the cordon of riot police guarding the build-ing, while others attempted to overturn a police car, according to an AFP correspondent.

Police responded with a lim-ited amount of pepper spray, but protesters returned before being dispersed.

Reacting swiftly, Nikos Toska, minister for citizens’ protec-tion, took responsibility for the use of the gas irritant and an-nounced a ban on “all use of tear gas on protests by pensioners and workers”.

The leftist Syriza party of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, when it was in opposition, regu-larly decried the use of tear gas on protesters.

Its use was widespread during anti-austerity protests at the

beginning of the decade, to the point of aff ecting whole neigh-bourhoods of the Greek capital.

The elderly protesters yes-terday shouted slogans such as “We can’t live on €400 ($450)” and “Let the rich pay for the cri-sis”.

The demonstrators have been

angered by 15 successive cuts in their pension payments, most recently in April, as part of a massive reform of the retire-ment system demanded by the country’s European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) creditors.

The overall eff ect has been

cuts of 25-55% to pensions, ac-cording to Ika, the largest social security organisation in Greece.

Six out of 10 Greek retirees re-ceive pensions of less than €700 per month, a pensioners group said last week, money which in some cases whole families de-pend on.

Greek police pepper spray pensionersAFPAthens

A pensioner stands in front of riot police after they used pepper spray during a protest in Athens.

Five men accused of the shock murder of top Krem-lin critic Boris Nemtsov in

central Moscow faced the jury yesterday as their trial opened at a Russian military court.

Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and prominent opposition politician who openly criticised President Vladimir Putin, was gunned down late at night on February 27 last year as he walked home with his girl-friend across a bridge just yards from the Kremlin.

The suspects, all ethnic Chechens from Russia’s volatile North Caucasus, pleaded not guilty as they stood in a glass cage, after being brought in to the packed courtroom under armed guard.

Nemtsov’s killing was the highest-profi le slaying of a Putin foe since the former KGB agent took the reins in 2000.

His family and friends insist the authorities have not uncov-ered the real masterminds of the alleged contract hit.

“The murder of Boris Nemtsov has not been solved,” said lawyer Olga Mikhailova, who represents his family. “The organiser ... has not been found and has not been brought to justice.”

The man prosecutors say was the shooter – Zaur Da-dayev – was a commander in Chechnya’s interior ministry troops and Nemtsov’s support-ers have pointed the fi nger at those around the Kremlin-loyal

strongman leader of the region Ramzan Kadyrov.

Nemtsov – who had a run-ning feud with Kadyrov – was at the time of his killing probing Moscow’s covert deployment of troops to Ukraine and his murder sent a chill through Russia’s mar-ginalised opposition.

The full trial opened after months of stalling as investi-gators failed to detain Ruslan Mukhudinov, a low-ranking Chechen security offi cial who they say paid the suspects some 15mn rubles ($240,000) to kill Nemtsov.

Jury trials are relatively unu-sual in Russia and are only used for very serious off ences punish-able by a life sentence.

Vadim Prokhorov, a lawyer for Nemtsov’s family, said the judge wants to complete the trial “by the end of the year” but that it could last longer.

The fi ve defendants – Dadayev, Anzor Gubashev, Shadid Guba-shev, Temirlan Eskerkhanov and Khamzat Bakhayev – are accused of carefully plotting the killing and shadowing Nemtsov from September 2014.

All of the men insist they are innocent and say that any con-fessions they made were beaten out of them by Russian security offi cers.

One more suspect apparently blew himself up with a grenade as security agents tried to detain him.

Prosecutors say Nemtsov, who at the time of murder was serving as a regional lawmaker in Yaro-slavl, a city north of Moscow, was followed on the night of the

murder as he headed from a cafe on Red Square.

They say Dadayev shot at him six times, causing four fa-tal wounds, then jumped into a getaway car driven by Gubashev.

Putin claimed that the murder was a “provocative” act aimed at discrediting the Kremlin and said he was personally taking control over the investigation.

The head of Russia’s Investiga-tive Committee said earlier this year that the case was “solved”.

Nemtsov’s family have how-ever challenged investigators for not questioning Chechen leader Kadyrov – who dismissed all claims of involvement and pub-licly praised the alleged gunman Dadayev – and other high-rank-ing Chechen offi cials.

So far only Mukhudinov has been named as an organiser but offi cials say he has fl ed Russia, and Nemtsov’s allies say no cred-ible motive has been put forward.

Offi cials reportedly also tried to charge Mukhudinov’s boss – Chechen interior ministry of-fi cer Ruslan Geremeyev, a close relative of Kadyrov’s right-hand man – but those attempts were stifl ed.

Nemtsov’s murder was the lat-est in a string of killings of Krem-lin critics in Russia and echoed the gunning down of crusading journalist Anna Politkovskaya a decade ago.

Five men have been sentenced to up to life in jail for carrying out a 2006 contract hit on the reporter in the entrance of her Moscow apartment building, but those who ordered her killing have never been found.

Five go on trial in Russia over murder of NemtsovAFPMoscow

Estonia’s parliament has elected surprise candidate Kersti Kaljulaid as the fi rst

woman president of the tech-savvy Baltic state, breaking a month-long political stalemate.

The non-aligned 46-year-old member of the European Court of Auditors responsible for keeping watch over EU fi -nances, won the support of 81 of Estonia’s 101 lawmakers.

A mother of four and a grand-mother, Kaljulaid will take over as Nato nation’s fi fth president since independence in 1991 as Tallinn gears up for the EU’s rotating six-month presidency next July.

The head of state plays a largely ceremonial role in the eurozone country of 1.3mn peo-ple and is elected by parliament or electoral college rather than direct public vote.

Women’s rights are already highly developed in Estonia, but Kaljulaid’s election is still seen as an important fi rst.

Her background as an auditor

is likely to go down well in the fi scally conservative nation.

With its debt-to-GDP ratio hovering around 10%, Tallinn has long insisted other eurozone members ought to adopt its strict fi scal discipline.

Kaljulaid was nominated last week as a dark horse candi-date after favourites, including former foreign minister Ma-rina Kaljurand and former prime minister and European commis-sioner Siim Kallas, failed to win in two previous rounds of voting in August and September.

Although Kaljulaid has had a successful international career over the last 12 years as an EU auditor, she is not a household name in Estonia.

“Kaljuoulaid is rather un-known by the Estonian public and she will need to present her views to the people,” Tonis Saarts, a political scientist at Tallinn University, told AFP. “Therefore the fi rst period of her presidency will most likely focus more on domestic aff airs rather than international rela-tions, making her a very diff er-ent head of state than the pred-ecessor Toomas Hendrik Ilves.”

Known for his sharp tongue and fondness of bow-ties and tweeting, Ilves gave the role a strong international dimension due to his fl air for foreign aff airs.

A trained biologist specialis-ing in genetics, Kaljulaid also holds an MBA from University of Tartu.

In the late nineties she worked as investment banker at Hansa-pank that was later taken over by Swedbank.

In 1999, Kaljulaid joined the offi ce of then Estonian prime minister Mart Laar as an eco-nomic policy adviser.

In early 2000s she managed the Iru power plant near Tallinn.

She also co-hosted a weekly radio programme on politi-cal and economic aff airs for the popular Kuku Radio station and has said she views education

and health as key areas of con-cern.

Kaljulaid has also described herself as economically con-servative with a strong liberal streak on social issues.

Her daughter and son from her fi rst marriage are al-ready grown-ups, while her two younger sons are 11 and 6-years-old.

Husband Georgi-Rene Mak-simovski, a publicity-shy com-munication engineer, gave up his public service career to sup-port her work at the European Court of Auditors.

Estonia’s head of state gives legislation its fi nal seal of ap-proval after checking its consti-tutionality.

Presidents can remain in of-fi ce for up to two consecutive fi ve-year terms at a time.

Surprise candidate voted Estonia’s fi rst woman presidentAFPTallinn

Kaljulaid: Estonia’s fifth president since independence in 1991.

Russia’s FSB security service said yesterday that it had detained a

Ukrainian journalist for spy-ing, sparking the latest diplo-matic scandal in the bitter feud between Kiev and Moscow.

Journalist Roman Sush-chenko – who has worked for Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform since 2002 – was detained in Moscow “while conducting espionage activi-ties”, the FSB told Interfax news agency.

Russia’s security service said that Sushchenko, 47, is a serving colonel in Ukraine’s military intelligence and was “collecting state secrets ... that could damage the defence ca-pability of the state if leaked abroad”.

Pro-Western Kiev blasted the allegations and portrayed Sushchenko’s detention as the latest aggression in the stand-off over Moscow’s 2014 annex-ation of Crimea and support for separatist rebels fi ghting in eastern Ukraine.

“Russia has defi nitively con-demned itself to isolation from the civilised world,” Prime

Minister Volodymyr Groysman wrote on Facebook.

He slammed the detention as “further evidence of mas-sive and systematic abuses of human rights through perse-cution, arrests and trials on trumped-up charges”.

In May, former army pilot Nadiya Savchenko was released by Moscow in a prisoner swap after being found guilty of the murder of two Russian journal-ists in east Ukraine at a high-profi le trial that drew interna-tional condemnation.

The Ukrinform news agency said that Sushchenko – who works as its Paris correspond-ent – was detained on Septem-ber 30 after he arrived in Mos-cow on holiday.

Russian lawyer Mark Feigin, who defended Savchenko, told AFP that he was being held at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison.

Kiev called for the Sush-chenko’s immediate release and demanded Russian au-thorities allow Ukrainian dip-lomats to access to him.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted that the detention was “the stand-ard security agency work” and said that Sushchenko did not have permission to work as a journalist in Russia.

Ukrainian journalist arrested for ‘spying’AFPMoscow

Kazakh media boss jailedAFPAstana

A court in Kazakhstan has jailed the head of the main journalist union for

six years for tax fraud, in a case he blasted as a political hit job.

Seitkazy Matayev – a former spokesman for veteran president Nursultan Nazarbayev – has stayed unfl aggingly loyal in pub-lic to the Central Asian nation’s leader, but accused senior of-fi cials, including the parliament speaker, of initiating the case.

The court in capital city As-tana also handed a fi ve-year term to his son, Aset Matayev, the head of the private KazTAG news agency, and ordered the confi scation of property belong-ing to the pair.

Both Matayevs were detained in February and accused of de-frauding the state to the tune of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes.

The father and son previously denied the allegations against them and said the charges were designed to put “pressure” on the media and “limit freedom of speech”.

The mayor of Parma quit Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) yesterday in the latest sign of turmoil within the party that represents the biggest threat to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.Federico Pizzarotti’s surprise election in the northern city in May 2012 was the first major breakthrough for M5S, which had been founded by comedian Beppe Grillo just three years earlier.

However, Pizzarotti’s relations with the movement’s national leadership cooled quickly after he rowed back on a campaign promise to close the city’s rubbish incinerator.One of M5S’s most independent voices, 42-year-old Pizzarotti won plaudits for his overall management of Parma, a city of around 200,000 people, but he became increasingly isolated within the movement.

He was suspended from the party in May after he announced he was under criminal investigation over the way he appointed the head of the city’s opera house.Even after he was cleared last month, the party did not reinstate him.Pizzarotti said he would not resign as mayor and was considering running either as an independent or with another party when his mandate expires next year.

Parma mayor quits Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement party

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 4, 2016

INDIA16

New Delhi continues to bemost polluted city: WHOIANSNew Delhi

New Delhi’s air is the worst among world megaci-ties, the World Health

Organisation (WHO) confi rmed recently, even as a network of air quality sensors reported fi ne particulate matter (PM2.5) lev-els were almost four times above daily safe levels, on average, for the seven-day period from Sep-tember 22 to 28, 2016.

For long-term exposure, these 24-hour levels are nearly 11 times above the WHO health stand-ards.

Over the monsoon, Delhi’s air was relatively cleaner because the rain and wind diminished the impact of pollutants. But with the season changing, three of our fi ve sensors in the National Capital Region (NCR) registered “poor” to “very poor” air qual-ity levels from September 22 to 28, meaning prolonged exposure aff ects healthy people and “seri-ously impacts” those with exist-ing disease.

In December 2015, week-long analysis of data from the sen-sors showed Delhi’s air pollution was one-and-a-half times worse than in Beijing.

In 2012, with 1mn deaths, Chi-na reported the highest toll from PM2.5 and PM10 pollution. At the time, India followed, report-ing 621,138 deaths, nearly 10% of the global toll (6.5mn deaths) as-sociated with outdoor and indoor air pollution.

However, between 2011 and 2015, in a comparison of megaci-ties with population above 14mn, Delhi’s ambient air pollution lev-els were worse than Beijing and Shanghai.

Most air pollution deaths are caused by fine, invisible par-ticles, called PM2.5, about 30 times finer than a human hair. These pollutants, if inhaled deep into the lungs, can cause heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and respiratory diseas-es, and are known to pose the greatest risk to human beings. Their measurement is consid-ered to be the best indicator of the level of health risks from

air pollution, according to the WHO.

Up to 97.5% of Delhi’s 16.8mn people live in urban areas, and the city has a density of 11,297 persons per sq km - making it one of the densest regions in the country - according to Census 2011 data.

“Air pollution continues to take a toll on the health of the most vulnerable populations - women, children and the older adults,” said Dr Flavia Bustreo, assistant director general at the WHO.

Some 3mn deaths every year are linked to exposure to outdoor air pollution, according to the WHO. Nearly 90% of air pollu-tion-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, with nearly two out of three oc-curring in WHO’s Southeast Asia region (of which India is a part) and the Western Pacifi c region.

Ineffi cient modes of transport, household fuel and waste burn-ing, coal-fi red power plants, and industrial activities are the major sources of air pollution, WHO said.

Reliance andDassault signpartnershipafter jet dealDassault Reliance Aerospace to focus on research and development of defence projects in India

AgenciesNew Delhi

India’s Reliance Group and France’s Dassault have signed a lucrative defence partner-

ship as part of a fi ghter jet deal agreed between the two nations last month, the companies said yesterday.

India signed a contract to buy 36 Rafale fi ghter jets for €7.9bn ($8.8bn), France’s biggest ever such sale, as the nation seeks to bolster its military in the face of China’s growing clout.

Dassault, which is building the aircraft, agreed under the terms of the deal to invest about 50% of the value of the contract in India.

It has teamed with Indian bil-lionaire tycoon Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group in a joint venture called “Dassault Reliance Aero-space” to focus on research and development of unspecifi ed de-fence projects in India.

The partnership “illustrates our strong commitment to establish ourselves in India and to develop strategic industrial partnerships under the ‘Make in India’ policy promoted by the Indian govern-ment,” Dassault CEO Eric Trap-pier said in a joint statement.

Ambani added that the deal was “a transformational moment for the Indian aerospace sector.”

However, the companies did

not say how much of Dassault’s estimated Rs300bn ($4.5bn) required investment would be poured into the joint venture.

Reliance said the off set con-tract is India’s biggest ever.

Ambani, whose Reliance has virtually no experience of defence manufacturing, hopes to turn his company into a major defence fi rm over the coming years.

The agreement with Dassault is a bet that Reliance can build manufacturing facilities at a site in Nagpur to feed into Dassault’s supply chain, or for future Indian government orders of the Rafale jet.

The partnership will also focus on promoting research and de-velopment projects under the In-digenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured programme - a new initiative of India’s Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Senior executives said in May that Reliance had bid for Rs840bn in government contracts, but was yet to win any.

India, the world’s top defence importer, is conducting a $100bn upgrade of its Soviet-era military hardware, facing border disputes with its northern and western neighbours, China and Pakistan.

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi has moved to reduce India’s reliance on expensive imports and called for the manufacturing of defence equipment locally.

Modi’s government has raised the limit on foreign investment in the defence sector and encour-aged tie-ups between foreign and local companies.

The Rafale purchase was fi rst mooted in 2012 but has faced ma-jor delays and obstacles.

India entered exclusive nego-tiations on buying 126 Rafale jets four years ago, but the number of planes was scaled back in frus-trating negotiations over the cost and assembly of the planes in In-dia.

Modi announced on a visit to Paris last year that his govern-ment had agreed in principle to buy the jets.

But the deal continued to be held back by disagreements such as Delhi’s insistence about a per-centage of the contract being invested in India - known as the off set clause - before it was even-tually signed in September.

Dassault, till date, has delivered more than 8,000 military and civil aircraft to more than 90 countries over the past 60 years, with nearly 28mn fl ight hours.

It reported revenues of €4.20bn last year.

Dassault fi rst established itself in India after the sale of Mirage 2000.

Its Rafale was chosen by India in 2012, following a competitive bidding process that was initiated in 2007.

It was inducted by the French Navy in 2004 and then in 2006 by the French Air Force.

As on June 30, 2016, 152 Rafale aircraft had been delivered.

Other Indian companies with an interest in defence and aero-space include Tata Group, Mahi-ndra Group and Larsen & Toubro Ltd.

Arundhatito publishsecond novel next yearAFPNew Delhi

Au t h o r A r u n d -hati Roy

( p i c t u r e d ) yesterday an-nounced that her second novel will be published in 2017 - 20 years after she won the Booker Prize for her debut one.

Roy, an activist and outspoken government critic, said through her publishers that The Ministry Of Utmost Happiness would be released next year.

“I am glad to report that the mad souls (even the wicked ones) in The Ministry Of Utmost Hap-piness have found a way into the world, and that I have found my publishers,” Roy said in a state-ment.

Her literary agent David God-win said: “Only Arundhati could have written this novel. Utterly original. It has been 20 years in the making. And well worth the wait.”

The 54-year-old has published a range of non-fi ction works in-cluding about her time in India’s jungles researching the country’s Maoists who are fi ghting for land rights.

But this will be her fi rst novel since The God of Small Things, published in 1997 about twins growing up in Kerala which earned her the prestigious prize.

One of India’s most famous and polarising authors, Roy faced arrest for sedition for challenging India’s right to rule over Jammu and Kashmir in 2010.

Roy also criticises the United States as a global empire estab-lished through violence, rails against Western multinationals and decries the excesses of capi-talism.

She recently featured on the cover of Elle magazine, saying she wanted to break the myth of the typical Indian beauty.

Asaram’s condition stable, says AIIMSIANSNew Delhi

The health of contro-versial spiritual guru Asaram, who is accused

of allegedly raping a girl, was “stable,” a medical board set up by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences told the Su-preme Court yesterday.

The board told the bench of Justices A K Sikri and N V Ra-mana that its “fi nding from the extent of completed evalua-tion reveal petitioner’s medical condition as ‘stable’.”

However, the seven-mem-ber board, in its report, said that the “coronary, carotid and prostate evaluation remained incomplete as the petitioner refused to undergo the requisite tests.”

Asaram was exam-ined by the medical board for three days from September 19.

The top court had, on August 11, ordered Asaram’s ex-amination by

an AIIMS medical after he sought interim bail to travel to Kerala for ‘Panchkarma Ay-urveda’ treatment.

The appeal was earlier re-jected by the Rajasthan High Court which said it was not a fi t case for granting bail as the trial was almost nearing end.

The Supreme Court had also rejected his plea for interim bail on August 11 and 29.

Asaram is lodged in the Jodhpur Central Jail since Sep-tember 2, 2013, and is being tried under the provision of Protection of Children from Sexual Off ences Act (POCSO).

The 72-year-old guru was arrested after a 16-year-old girl lodged a police complaint on August 20, 2013, accusing him of sexually assaulting her

at his ashram in Jodhpur.On an earlier occa-

sion, Asaram was exam-ined by a panel of AIIMS doctors and the medi-cal board had said he

needed no sur-gery and could be treated through medi-cations.

In this photograph taken on March 15, 2016, a blanket of smog ex-tends over a densely populated neighbourhood adjacent to the main airport in New Delhi.

Carcasses pile up as Dalits protest against prejudiceAFPAhmedabad

On the outskirts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home city, the stench

from cow carcasses littering the roadside is overpowering as In-dia’s lowest social caste keeps up protests against deep-rooted dis-crimination.

Dalits stopped collecting car-casses more than two months ago in Gujarat after the brutal beating of four Dalit youths accused of

killing a cow, considered sacred in India.

A video of the public fl ogging carried out by upper-caste cow-protection vigilantes in Gujarat went viral, triggering outrage across the country.

“Our Dalit brothers were thrashed so severely merely for doing what has been their work for centuries,” said Somabhai Yu-kabhai, 49, among those who have stopped collecting and skinning dead cows, a traditional and grisly job restricted to Dalits.

“I would rather starve to death

than collect the dead cows,” said the father of three, as a dog feasted on calf remains on the outskirts of Gujarat’s largest city Ahmedabad.

“The fi ght now is about our dignity. We will not sit quietly now,” he added.

The carcasses are seen by crit-ics as an embarrassing eyesore Modi who has long hailed Gujarat as a shining example of India’s economic progress.

His party also risks losing votes at upcoming elections because of the fury about the attack in July.

Dalits have sizeable numbers

in Gujarat and two other states gearing up for next year’s polls, experts say.

The attack, during which the youths were stripped to their waists before being fl ogged, shows violence is still being meted out to Dalits six decades after In-dia banned caste discrimination.

Authorities have concluded a wild lion, not the four youths, killed the cow and the youngsters were legally skinning the animal for its leather.

Police this month formally fi led charges against their attackers.

The incident was a tipping point for many Dalits, who feel they can no longer tolerate such attacks, said charismatic Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani.

“Economic exploitation on one hand and caste-based violence on the other has completely frus-trated them, especially the youth,” said Mevani, a 35-year-old lawyer.

“The Una (village) incident proved to be the last straw.”

The violent protests that erupt-ed in July over the attack, leav-ing one police offi cer dead, have passed for now.

But Dalits have kept up their strike against collecting the car-casses, although municipal author-ities have taken over in some areas.

Activist Mevani said Dalits would end their strike over the carcasses only if the state govern-ment vowed to stamp out caste oppression and gave fi ve acres of land to every Dalit family aff ected.

At a skinning fi eld strewn with cow remains in Gujarat’s Suren-dranagar district, Dalits said the strike was hurting them fi nancially.

Dalits have traditionally and legally made a living from the car-

casses - including by selling hides to tanneries and fat to soap makers.

But they said they were tired of being relentlessly targeted by hardline Hindus belonging to cow-protection squads and were prepared to keep up the strike.

“Even when we are transport-ing hides or bones, we are targeted by cow mobs. We are asked to cough up bribes or face beatings,” said local Dalit activist Natubhai Parmar.

He added: “But we will not bow down this time. We are prepared for a long fi ght.”

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar congratulates a student who won a prize in a competition held as part of the Wildlife Week organised at Patna Zoo yesterday.

Prize for student

INDIA

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 4, 2016

17

French President Francois Hollande has welcomed India’s ratification of the Paris Agreement, and recalled the key role India played in the adoption of the agreement on climate change in December last year. Hollande welcomed the ratification on the symbolic day commemorating Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, a statement from the French embassy said yesterday. “This decision, coming after the decision of the Environment Ministers of the European Union, brings us closer to the entry into force of the Paris Agreement before the end of the year,” it quoted Hollande as saying. Hollande recalled that India played a key role in the adoption of the agreement in December 2015.

HDFC Bank yesterday announced that it has selected software major Adobe’s ‘Marketing Cloud’ platform to deliver personalised digital experiences to its 37mn customers. The bank has developed a comprehensive e-mail marketing solution based on the Adobe platform that will span multiple outbound channels including e-mail, SMS, social and mobile apps. “We are excited about partnering with yet another industry leader and leading brand like HDFC Bank to drive their digital transformation agenda and help them engage with their customers in a multi-screen, digital world,” Kulmeet Bawa, managing director, South Asia, Adobe, said in a statement.

Diff erences in the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh once again came out in the open yesterday when Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav feigned ignorance about announcement of certain party candidates for the forthcoming assembly polls. Akhilkesh Yadav, who is also the chairman of the party’s state parliamentary board, said: “I do not have idea about any list being released by the party.” The Samajwadi Party earlier named seven candidates for the polls and replaced 14 candidates announced earlier. Shivpal Singh Yadav, Akhilesh’s uncle who recently replaced him as the state unit chief of the SP, released the new list. He said that “in politics, no one knows what will happen the next day.”

Hundreds of Rashtriya Janata Dal workers in Bihar’s Siwan district took to the streets yesterday to protest against their own government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the arrest of former party MP Mohamed Shahabuddin. Shahabuddin surrendered in court and was sent back to jail after the Supreme Court cancelled his bail on Friday. They protested against the state’s decision challenging the RJD strongman’s bail which resulted in its cancellation. “Slogans against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar were also raised,” a district police off icial said. The RJD is an ally of the ruling grand alliance of Janata Dal-United and Congress in Bihar. Most of the protesters are considered to be supporters of Shahabuddin.

Rebutting fraudulent messages circulating on social media about the issue of a list of region-wise declarations made under the black money scheme, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said it was committed to strict confidentiality. “CBDT clarifies that no off icial list of region-wise declarations has been issued. The Income Tax Department is committed to maintaining strict confidentiality of declarations made under the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) 2016,” Finance Ministry said. The government asked people not to pay any heed to such fraudulent messages circulating on social media. Unaccounted wealth worth Rs650bn was declared by 64,275 people under the scheme. Given the tax rate, penalty and surcharge of 45%, this can fetch the government a little under Rs300bn.

France welcomes Indiaratification of Paris deal

HDFC Bank to useAdobe platform

Akhilesh has ‘no idea’about candidates

RJD workers protestagainst own govt in Bihar

I-T dept committed to‘strict confidentiality’

CLIMATE DIGITAL EXPERIENCESELECTIONSHAHABUDDIN ROWDISCLOSURES

Police call off searchafter Baramulla attackAgenciesSrinagar

A massive search operation to hunt down militants who escaped after a failed

attempt to attack an army camp in north Kashmir’s Baramulla town was called off yesterday morning, offi cials said.

The search which lasted more than six hours, was launched soon after a two-hour gunfi ght outside the camp of counter-insurgency 46 Rashtriya Rifl es (RR) in Janbazpora stopped late Sunday night, a senior police of-fi cer said.

“After six hours, the search operation was called off and traf-fi c restored in the area,” he said.

Border Security Force (BSF) constable Nitin Kumar was killed and constable Parminder injured when a group of heav-ily armed guerrillas attacked the

camp on Sunday night.“The two troopers got suspi-

cious of some movement. When they tried to fi nd out the cause, they were fi red upon by militants using grenade-launchers.

One of the grenades exploded, seriously injuring Nitin,” BSF’s Kashmir Frontier Inspector General Vikash Chandra said.

Parminder was hit in his leg.Despite his injuries, Nitin

fi red at least 20 rounds while Parminder fi red 48 rounds.

“Nitin Kumar succumbed to injuries in a hospital. But we re-pulsed the attack,” the IG said.

“We have seized a wirecutter, which points towards the terror-ists’ intention. They should ide-ally have been killed, but they es-caped due to darkness and ground conditions,” the BSF offi cer said.

The forces are on high alert to face any eventuality, he said.

Police said that ‘fi dayeen’ mili-tants attacked the army camp out-

post at around 10.30pm on Sun-day. The latest attack comes two weeks after a similar raid killed 19

soldiers and ratcheted up tension between India and Pakistan.

“They used grenades and heavy

automatic gunfi re as cover in their attempt to enter the camp,” the senior police offi cer said.

Policemen take part in search operations in a sugarcane field near the Indian-Pakistan border Chakri post, about 20km from Gurdaspur, yesterday.

Pigeon with‘threateningnote’ detainedAFPNew Delhi

Police said yesterday they have taken a pigeon into custody after it was found

carrying a warning note to Prime Minister Narendra Modi near the nation’s heavily militarised bor-der with Pakistan.

Border Security Force (BSF) of-fi cers found the bird at Pathankot in Punjab, where Pakistan-based militants launched a deadly at-tack on an Indian Air Force base in January.

“We took it into custody last evening,” Pathankot police in-spector Rakesh Kumar said by telephone.

“The BSF found it with a note in Urdu saying something like ‘Modi, we’re not the same people from 1971. Now each and every child is ready to fi ght against In-dia’,” Kumar said.

The neigbours fought their third and last full-blown war in 1971.

The note was apparently signed by the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) “so we are investigating the matter very seriously,” Kumar said.

It is not the fi rst time birds have become embroiled in the often deadly decades-old rivalry be-tween the two nations.

But it comes as tensions esca-late over a raid on an army base in Uri in Kashmir two weeks ago.

The pigeon found carrying a message has been detained.

Bogotaurgedto keepseekingpeaceReutersCaracas/Lima

Latin America bemoaned Colombian voters’ rejection of a peace deal with Marxist

insurgents but regional leaders urged Bogota to keep pursing ef-forts to end the longest-running confl ict in the Americas.

Regional countries were heav-ily involved in drafting a plan to end the 52-year confl ict.

Havana hosted four years of peace negotiations while Chile, Cuba, and Venezuela acted as guarantor and observer coun-tries.

Nations from leftist-run Ven-ezuela to centre-right Peru la-mented the outcome of Sunday’s referendum, the “No” camp won by less than half a percentage point.

“Very unfortunately, a minor-ity expressed itself, due to media attacks, a psychological war and war propaganda,” Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said, calling the vote “unbeliev-able.”

Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski warned the peace deal is “going to be very diffi cult to re-negotiate”.

Others in the region, includ-ing the centre-right government in Argentina, said they would support reviving a peace plan, as both sides in the war have said they would.

“We still stand with Colom-bia,” Argentina’s Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra said on Twitter. “Peace is built step by step, day by day. Wisdom in Colombia’s leadership will be key.”

Colombians who voted against the deal put forward by centre-right President Juan Manuel San-tos argue it was too lenient on the Farc rebels by allowing them to re-enter society, form a political party, and escape jail sentences.

Foreigners had celebrated the peace agreement without un-derstanding its implications, they say.

Colombia’speace deal inlimbo aftershock voteReutersBogota

Colombia’s government and Marxist Farc guerril-las yesterday scrambled to

revive a plan to end their 52-year war after voters rejected the hard-negotiated deal as too lenient on the rebels in a shock referendum result that plunged the nation into uncertainty.

Any renegotiated peace accord now seems to depend on whether the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) could accept some tougher sanctions against them.

“No” voters, who narrowly won Sunday’s vote, want assurances the rebels will hand in cash earned from drug smuggling, spend time in jail, and earn their political fu-ture at the ballot box rather than get guaranteed unelected seats in Congress.

Both President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo Londono, the top Farc commander better known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, put a brave face on the referendum setback after their teams had ne-gotiated for four years in Havana.

They vowed to keep working to-gether.

“I will keep seeking peace until the last minute of my term,” San-tos said. “Count on us, peace will triumph,” Timochenko added.

Latin America’s longest con-fl ict has killed 220,000 people, displaced millions and brought atrocities on all sides.

Santos, whose political stock has taken a buff eting with the re-

sult and whose term ends in mid-2018, planned to meet all political parties.

Chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle off ered to re-sign, but the president is unlikely to accept that and in fact asked him to return to Havana to re-open new talks.

International exhortations for Colombia to stay on the path to peace came fl ooding in.

“We’re saddened by the slim victory for ‘No’,” said Ecuador’s foreign minister, Guillaume Long amid a chorus around Latin Amer-ica.

The deal was rejected by a razor-thin margin of less than half a per-centage point, just 54,000 votes.

Turnout for the vote was a pal-try 37%, refl ecting some apathy from “Yes” supporters who had assumed an easy win, in addition to bad weather that deterred vot-ers.

Following the result, peace re-searchers dropped Colombia from a list of favourites for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Colombian markets dipped in trading yesterday in disappoint-ment at the rejection of a deal that may complicate government ef-forts to keep its agency ratings and pass the tax reforms to compen-sate for lost oil income.

The vote will also dent Santos’ hopes for a boom in foreign invest-ment in mining, oil and agriculture in Latin America’s fourth-largest economy.

The United Nations applauded the maintenance of a ceasefi re in Colombia despite the vote and said its special envoy, Jean Arnault,

would also travel to Cuba to help the process.

“We would have hoped for a diff erent result, but I am en-couraged by the commitment expressed (by Santos and Timo-chenko),” UN chief Ban Ki-moon said. “I count on them to press ahead until they achieve secure and lasting peace. Colombians, even those who backed the “No” vote, expressed shock at the out-come and uncertainty about the future.

“We never thought this could happen,” said sociologist and “No” voter Mabel Castano, 37.”Now I just hope the government, the opposition and the Farc come up with something intelligent that includes us all.”

The peace accord reached in late August and signed a week ago off ered the possibility that rebel fi ghters would hand in their weap-ons to the United Nations, confess their crimes and form a political party rooted in their Marxist ide-ology.

The Farc, which began as a peasant revolt in 1964, would have been able to compete in the 2018 presidential and legislative elections and have 10 unelected congressional seats guaranteed through 2026.

That enraged “No” supporters, including powerful former presi-dent Alvaro Uribe, who argued the rebels should serve jail terms and never be permitted to enter poli-tics.

Uribe, a onetime ally who has become Santos’ fi ercest critic, may now hold the key to any potential re-negotiation.

Police arrest journalistsreporting on Rio evictionsGuardian News and MediaLondon

Brazilian police have arrest-ed a prominent community journalist in the Alemao

favela complex of Rio de Janeiro, underlining the authorities’ of-ten weak respect for media free-dom, particularly when it comes to coverage of poor neighbour-hoods.

Rene Silva, the founder of Voz da Comunidades (Community Voice), was detained alongside a photographer, Renato Moura, on Saturday night as they attempted to report on the forced relocation of residents who had reoccupied their demolished homes in the Skol community.

Police fi rst seized Moura to prevent him from taking pic-tures of the evictions. Silva used his mobile phone to live-broad-cast what was happening, until he was handcuff ed, pepper-sprayed and taken to the police station where he was charged with contempt of authority and trespass.

When other community ac-

tivists attempted to record what was happening, they too came under assault from police using teargas and rubber bullets. Video of the start of the incident shows police harassing the journalist and knocking a phone from his hand.

Silva said he had only been do-ing his job. “The police wanted to prevent our access. They didn’t want to let us get there. We in-sisted, we explained we were me-dia, but they didn’t want to allow it,” he told the Guardian.

Another reporter, Raul San-tiago, from the Papo Reto Collec-tive, noted that such intimida-tion was common and called on the police to stop their repression of independent voices.

Community journalists have reported from the frontline of the confl ict between police and gang members – a confl ict that has re-sulted in the deaths of numerous residents, often at the hands of the authorities.

Silva became one of their best-known fi gures when he live-tweeted a huge military and police operation to “pacify” the Alemao favela in 2010.

Media freedom organisations called on the authorities to re-spect freedom of expression. “All journalists must be allowed to report freely on sensitive topics without fear of retribution,” said Andrew Downie, Brazil repre-sentative of the Committee to Protect Journalists. “The CPJ has consistently called on authori-ties to put an end to these kind of procedures by law enforcement offi cers

“In addition to ensuring the rule of law, a key part of policing is guaranteeing the safety of all members of the media covering public protests.”

Brazil has long been one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, environ-mentalists and social activists. According to the CPJ, attacks on the press have increased in the past year as a result of increasing political polarisation.

Since 2013 there have been more than 300 attacks on jour-nalists attempting to cover pro-tests in Brazil, mostly by police, according to the Brazilian Asso-ciation of Investigative Journal-ism.

Temer keen to end‘fi scal populism’ReutersSao Paulo

Brazilian President Michel Temer said he wants to “vaccinate” the country

against “fi scal populism” with constitutional reform limit-ing increases in public spending that he expects to be approved by Congress.

Temer said without the con-stitutional reform, Brazil’s public debt could reach 100% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2024, and he appealed to business lead-ers and the media to campaign in favour of its approval.

“On taking over the presidency, we had a mission, to inoculate Bra-zil with a vaccine to make it im-mune to fi scal populism,” he said.

The fl agship reform, which would limit increases in public spending to below the infl ation rate of the previous year, will face its fi rst hurdle in a special com-mission of the lower house this week.

The measure could receive fi nal Congressional approval before the end of October, but investors who have snapped up Brazilian assets on hopes of mar-

ket-friendly reforms are nerv-ously eyeing proposals to water down its impact in coming years.

In a reminder of the enormous budgetary challenge facing Latin America’s largest economy, which lost its coveted investment grade rating last year, data last week showed Brazil’s primary budget defi cit hit a record 22.267bn reais ($6.88bn) in August, well above market expectations.

“Our legislators have an un-equivocal commitment with the priorities imposed by the situa-tion of Brazil,” said Temer, who offi cially took power last month when his left-leaning predecessor Dilma Rousseff was impeached.

“The origin of this economic crisis was essentially domestic and fi scal,” he told a business fo-rum in Sao Paulo.

While economists say Bra-zil’s $2tn economy could emerge from its worst recession in dec-ades in the fi nal quarter of this year, unemployment in Latin America’s largest country is ex-pected to continue rising.

Data from statistics agency IBGE showed the unemployment rate rose to 11.8% in the three months through August, slightly above ex-pectations in a Reuters poll.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos speaks after the results of the Farc peace referendum in Bogota.

A girl tries to repair her umbrella that was broken by the wind, in the commune of Cite Soleil, in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, yesterday. Hurricane Matthew took aim at densely populated Haiti and Jamaica yesterday, packing winds that could sweep away flimsy buildings and bringing torrential rain that could trigger deadly landslides and floods.

Hurricane threat

18 Gulf TimesTuesday, October 4, 2016

LATIN AMERICA

In Uruguay, green school ‘plants seeds’ for planetReutersJaureguiberry, Uruguay

A building made of tyres and glass and plastic bot-tles, off the grid and non-

polluting: a village in Uruguay is home to a fully sustainable school - and a bold experiment in green citizenship.

On this winter morning in the southern hemisphere, the tem-perature is 7.5 degrees Celsius

(about 45 degrees Fahrenheit) in Jaureguiberry, a tiny community of 500 inhabitants an hour’s drive east of the capital Montevideo.

But inside primary school number 294, which opened a few months ago, the air easily rises to a mild 20 degrees.

“We are doing fi ne, with a more than 50% charge only from solar energy,” said Alicia Alvarez, 51, the school’s director, pointing to energy storage units.

“I turned the light down a little

so as not to waste it,” she said.Opened last March to children

between the ages of three and 12, it claims to be the fi rst public school in Latin America that is totally green.

The school is not connected to the national electricity grid.

From the outside, its environ-mental bona fi des are evident: colourful recycled tyres at the entrance, solar panels covering its roofs, big windows overlook-ing kitchen gardens.

Behind the project is the US architect Michael Reynolds, 70, known as the “garbage warrior” for his long career in building self-suffi cient projects with dis-carded products.

Reynolds developed what he calls “Earthship Biotecture” -- buildings designed to independ-ently sustain human life.

He has built “Earthships” all over the world, from the US state of New Mexico and Easter Island in Chile to Ushuaia in Argentina

and Sierra Leone -- though he has faced cynics along the way.

“People called me an idiot: building with garbage, what a fool, you’re a disgrace to the ar-chitectural community,” he said.

“You know, I was trying to contain sewage and treat it and do all of these things that archi-tects didn’t do.” In Jaureguiberry, about 2,000 tyres, 3,000 glass bottles, 1,500 plastic bottles and 12,000 cans were put together with wood, glass and cement to

fashion the new school.The project, supported by a lo-

cal charity and a detergent com-pany, is estimated to have cost $300,000, according to Uru-guayan media.

Though it can accommodate 100 students, for now the school has 39, with a wide range in ages. Some are just starting out in pre-school and others are in their fi -nal year before university.

All of them are excited to be in a school so unique and close to

nature. “It’s a school full of life,” said a smiling Paula, seven, who was concocting with her friends a list of things to do, and not to do, to take care of the planet.

This morning, in the class led by teacher Rita Montans, 45, the students are participating in a workshop of creative writing and brainstorming on the theme of environmental protection.

Each off ers a proposal. “Don’t throw away trash.” “Protect plants.”

PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN19

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Taliban enter Afghan city of KunduzTaliban fi ghters pushed

into the centre of the northern Afghan city of

Kunduz yesterday, taking con-trol of the central intersection where they raised their fl ag a year ago in their biggest success of the 15-year-old confl ict.

Witnesses and police said the insurgents, who entered the city in the early hours, were attack-ing the governor’s compound and police headquarters, while some offi cials were seen fl eeing to the airport.

With fi ghting also intensi-fying in the strategic southern province of Helmand, the attack on Kunduz, a day before a major international donors’ confer-ence in Brussels, underlined Af-ghanistan’s precarious security situation and the Taliban’s abil-ity to strike important targets.

Footage posted by the Afghan Taliban on social media showed fi ghters in Kunduz walking around the empty streets, de-scribing how they had captured army strongpoints and taken prisoners. Reuters could not

verify the authenticity of the footage.

The Taliban’s main spokes-man, Zabihullah Mujahid, said its forces were treating residents “with kindness” and working to restore the city to normality.

The fi ghters appeared to have slipped through a defensive se-curity line set up around Kun-duz, entering the city itself from four directions before clashes broke out, witnesses said.

Military helicopters fl ew over-head and gunfi re could be heard in Kunduz, where a year ago to the day Afghan troops backed by US air strikes and special forces were battling to drive out Tali-ban militants who had overrun the city.

Witnesses saw Taliban fi ght-ers armed with AK-47 assault rifl es, machine guns and rock-et-propelled grenades walking around deserted streets, enter-

ing homes and taking positions on rooftops.

Afghan offi cials said special forces were being sent to Kunduz and the city would not be lost.

Brigadier General Charles Cleveland, spokesman for the Nato-led Resolute Support mis-sion in Kabul, said the situation in Kunduz was “fl uid” and US forces were ready to assist.

“Our Afghan partners are responding to the increased Taliban activity within the area, and US forces have multiple as-sets and enablers in the area to provide support,” he said in an emailed statement.

The renewed attack on Kun-duz forced offi cials to cancel a ceremony planned yesterday to commemorate the fi rst an-niversary of a US air strike that destroyed a hospital run by the international charity Médecins Sans Frontières.

The assault on Kunduz came as the Taliban stepped up attacks in diff erent parts of Afghanistan, including in Helmand, where they are threatening the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.

Yesterday, Taliban fi ghters, positioned just across the Hel-mand river from the city centre,

ReutersKunduz

took control of Nawa district to the south, killing a district police chief, offi cials said.

Heavy fi ghting also continued along the main road to Tarin Kot, the provincial capital of Uruz-gan, also in the south, where a Taliban raid on September 8 sparked fears of another collapse like that in Kunduz last year.

The raid on Tarin Kot was beaten back, but it alarmed se-curity offi cials because the mili-tants were able to enter the city without signifi cant resistance after police abandoned dozens of checkpoints.

The fall of Kunduz last year was one of the most serious blows to the Western-backed government since the with-

drawal of most international troops in 2014.

Although the insurgents abandoned Kunduz after a few days, the capture of a provincial capital underlined their grow-ing strength and exposed weak-nesses in the Afghan security forces, which control no more than two-thirds of the country. The city has remained eff ectively besieged ever since.

“Every day the militants come to the city and are pushed back by security forces,” said Amrud-din Wali, a member of the pro-vincial council, as he stood with security forces on the edges of the city. “There is killing and fi ghting every day.”

Eff orts at reviving peace talks

Policeman stand alert during fighting between Taliban militants and Afghan security forces in Kunduz yesterday.

“The insurgents, who entered the city in the early hours, were attacking the governor’s compound and police headquarters, while some offi cials were seen fl eeing to the airport”

Pakistan accuses India of fresh fi ring across border

Pakistani and Indian troops yesterday exchanged fresh fi re across their de facto

border in Kashmir, Pakistan’s military said, following an over-night militant raid on an Indian army camp in which one trooper was killed.

No casualties were reported in the latest skirmish, which came fi ve days after India said its troops had crossed the border to carry out “surgical strikes” across the Line of Control which separates the disputed territory – a claim Pakistan has fl atly denied.

“Indian troops yet again re-sorted to unprovoked fi ring after midnight at the Line of Control (LoC) in Iftikharabad sector and Pakistani troops befi ttingly re-sponded,” Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday, adding the exchange ended in the morning.

It said troops also responded to unprovoked Indian fi ring in Nezapir and Kailer sectors.

The latest exchange came after suspected militants fi red on an army camp in the Indian Kashmir town of Baramulla late Sunday killing one trooper, be-fore being repelled.

Senior local police offi cial Imtiyaz Hussain Mir yesterday told media between two and four militants were involved in the attack, which also injured one trooper.

AFPIslamabad

At least six killed in market blastAt least six people were killed and 35 wounded yesterday, when an improvised explosive device tore into a crowded marketplace in a northern Afghan province on the border with Turkmenistan, off icials said.The bomb, hidden on a bicycle, exploded as farmers gathered in Darzab district of the province of Jawzjan on market day, but there was no immediate word on who was

responsible.“People usually come from surrounding villages on Monday to do their shopping in the city,” said Reza Ghafoori, a spokesman for the provincial governor.“Enemies of the people of Afghanistan put an improvised explosive device on a bicycle and targeted our innocent countrymen who were there to buy their needs.”

have failed to produce results, but Afghanistan’s international partners are expected to agree to maintain billions of dollars

in funding for the government over the next four years at a two-day meeting in Brussels this week.

Pakistani Kashmiri protesters shout slogans as they carry eff igies of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Indian army chief General Dalbir Singh during a demonstration in Muzaff arabad, the capital of Pakistan-administrated Kashmir, yesterday.

“There is a big civilian popu-lation around the camp because of which we could not go all out. Otherwise there would have been civilian casualties. They took advantage of the darkness and used civilian houses as a shield to escape,” he said.

Indian Kashmir police chief Danish Raja said up to fi ve peo-ple were wounded at two other places along the Line of Control.

“There was a ceasefi re viola-tion in Sawjian and Shahpur in Poonch sector. Five people have been injured. One has minor in-

juries and four subsistential. The fi ring has stopped.”

Tensions have been high in the region since the killing of a young Kashmiri separatist in July, which was followed by weeks of im-posed curfew and deadly protests in the Indian-controlled portion.

On September 18, 19 Indian soldiers were killed in an attack on the Uri army base, which In-dia blamed on Pakistan-backed militants.

Last week India launched what it termed “surgical strikes” across the LoC in what would be

a signifi cant blow to Pakistan, which prides itself on its military prowess. Pakistan said troops had not crossed and two of its soldiers had been killed in small arms fi re.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since they gained inde-pendence from Britain seven dec-ades ago, two of them over Kash-mir. Both claim the region in full.

A number of armed separatist groups in the Indian-controlled part of the picturesque territory have for decades been fi ghting to break free from New Delhi.

Feud between MQM chapters escalates

A tug of war between Fa-rooq Sattar-led Mutta-hida Qaumi Movement

(MQM) – Pakistan and the Lon-don-based leaders of the party is deepening by the day.

A day after Sattar announced the MQM has elevated him as the party’s convener, a furious London offi ce revoked his ba-sic membership, accusing him of betraying Altaf Hussain and joining hands with the estab-lishment.

The London-based lead-ers – Mustafa Azizabadi, Qasim Ali Raza, Wasay Jalil and Mu-hammad Ashfaq – said Nadeem Nusrat was the elected convener of the MQM.

Sattar was earlier the party’s senior deputy convener.

“Nadeem Nusrat is the elect-ed convener of the MQM and no one else can take his place with-out the nod of the party founder [Altaf Hussain], who, consti-tutionally, has been given the fi nal authority in such sensitive matters by the Rabita Commit-tee and workers,” said the state-ment.

According to the MQM’s con-stitution, the Rabita Committee and workers have empowered Altaf to make sensitive decisions like appointment of convener, and “this power will remain with him during his lifetime”, reads the statement.

The London-based leaders, who the MQM-Pakistan has al-ready disowned, criticised Sat-

tar, saying he could not force his decisions upon others given his status as the parliamentary leader – a status granted to him by the Rabita Committee after approval of the party founder.

They said Dr Sattar was ex-pelled from the party for “strik-ing a deal with the establishment and continuously betraying the party founder and his policy”.

The London-based leaders reiterated that MQM’s elected representatives in the assem-blies and parliament should re-sign or disassociate themselves from Sattar and his likeminded people.

“Since Sattar is no longer the parliamentary leader, the MPs are independent to make their decisions. Those who are not re-signing or breaking ties with him will face disciplinary action in future as well as social boycott,” the statement said.

The MQM-Pakistan spokes-person Aminul Haq said the party, under the leadership of Sattar, has already amended the constitution and expelled Aziza-badi, Raza, Jalil and even Nusrat from the Rabita Committee.

“The statement from overseas cannot be associated with us nor it can aff ect us legally,” he said, adding that the London-offi ce could not make or announce any such decisions.

“MQM-Pakistan recognises its August 23 policy and will continue to work for the better-ment of the country,” Haq said, adding that after the amend-ment in the MQM constitu-tion only the local leadership is entitled to make decisions.

InternewsKarachi

40% of population is aff ected by malnutritionMalnutrition aff ects 40% population of Pakistan and lack of awareness is aggravating the problem, said University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) vice-chancellor Prof Iqrar Ahmad Khan yesterday.He was addressing a workshop on Higher Education Commission’s Technology Development Fund at the New Senate Hall in Faisalabad. The event was arranged by US Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Agriculture and Food Security.“Although we have surplus food but 40% of our population is malnourished,” the UAF vice-chancellor said, adding the country had surplus wheat reserves of 10m tonnes and was one of the largest producers of milk and meat but despite the fact, malnourishment was increasing day by day.He maintained that research papers should not be piled up in the libraries and instead be transformed into goods and services to address the problems of a common man. He said the HEC had initiated a scheme worth Rs2.9bn in which researchers would come up with proposals to ensure food security in the country. The agriculture sector has been facing problems in the last decade as the post-harvest losses of crops are touching 35%, he added.Experts believe malnutrition is a pathological condition resulting from the deficiency of one or more nutrients and has a wide range of clinical manifestations.Children are amongst the worst-aff ected groups. In 2001, it was noted that malnutrition caused 54 per cent deaths in children living in developing countries.A survey conducted by the World Health Organisation revealed that improved nutrition is crucial in reducing the under five-year mortality, especially in developing countries.Every year, 800,000 children die in Pakistan and 35% of these occur due to malnutrition. The risk of death is nine times higher for a child suff ering from malnutrition as compared to a child with a balanced diet.Similarly, 61% children in Pakistan suff ered from iron deficiency anaemia, 54% from Vitamin A deficiency, 40% from Vitamin D deficiency and 39% from zinc deficiency.The issue of malnutrition could only be addressed by long term initiatives such as food security, child protection, empowerment of women and early childhood development programmes.

Govt faces growing burden of mounting debt

Pakistan’s economy is at the crossroads with two important developments

taking place: the completion of the International Monetary Fund loan programme worth $6.64bn last week and the next budget being the last one by the PML-N government.

These developments have left little room for progress in the economy. The country has received the IMF amount over

three years and it is yet to start paying off its external debt, which has swelled to $73bn over a period of long time.

For Pakistan this colossal debt couldn’t have come at a worse time as the country is already struggling with shrinking ex-ports and slowdown in remit-tances. These challenges may not allow the government to keep the current all-time high foreign exchange reserves main-tained for long.

What is worse is that the gov-ernment is making close to no eff ort to improve the persisting

conditions it only makes promises and committees for betterment without any concrete results.

The challenges to the econo-my from external fronts would not play in isolation. They would impact the economic decision-making at internal fronts as well.

For example if the foreign ex-change reserves again reach be-low the effi cient levels then they would reduce the country’s ca-pacity for imports, as it has hap-pened multiple times in the past.

At its extreme, the low reserves would impact import of raw mate-rials by local industries and thus

compromise on gross domestic product (GDP) of the country.

Secondly, experiences sug-gested that political govern-ments used to give maximum incentives to industries and ordinary citizens in their last budget presentations so as to gain the popular vote.

Policy makers would present these motivations in a bid to convince voters to re-elect them. However, this form of popular decision-making usually proves damaging in the long run.

The current all-time high of foreign exchange reserves has

not come easy - it is the result of signifi cant foreign debt. Pa-kistan’s story of debt collection is not over yet and the country is bound to accumulate more as the government is planning to raise another $1 billion through the issuance of a Eurobond.

The government should realise that collecting loans is not the so-lution; it needs to boost exports in order to keep reserves high.

A three-member group of re-searchers belonging to the Institute of Business Management (IBM) and Pakistan Institute of Devel-opment Economies said in their

abstract paper last week, “foreign aid and its volatility have a negative impact on economic growth in Pa-kistan under currently prevailing macroeconomic policies.”

Another group of researches be-longing to Bahria University and Applied Economic Research Cen-tre, University of Karachi, said that external debt keeps impacting ex-port performance in the long run.

The group suggested that the government should improve the regional trade agreement and should avail the opportu-nity of Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) plus status.

InternewsKarachi

PHILIPPINES

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 4, 201620

Senators urge Duterte to act like a statesmanBy Ellen Cruz, DPA Manila

Philippine senators yesterday cautioned President Rodrigo Duterte to moderate his language and act like a statesman

as he countered attacks on his deadly war on drugs.

Senator Richard Gordon said the president was “falling on his own sword” for being “too noisy” in publicly expressing his desire to combat the drug menace.

Senator Panfi lo Lacson, a former police chief, said it was “appropriate” that Duterte issued an apology to the Jews for his remarks about Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, but it should be his last.

“There have been a lot of times, so it’s should be his last apology. He should just be careful in what he says,” the senator said.

Duterte, on Friday, lashed out at his critics for comparing him to Hitler in his war on drugs.

“Hitler massacred 3mn Jews. Now, there are 3mn drug addicts (in the Philippines) ... I’d be happy to slaughter them,” he said.

Nazi Germany under Hitler murdered ac-cording to some estimates as many as 13mn non-combatants during World War II in what would be known as the Holocaust, with Jews being the largest group targeted. Some 6mn Jews are believed to have died.

The president said on Sunday that he “pro-foundly and deeply” apologised to the Jews saying it was not his intention” to denigrate the memories of the Jews killed during the reign of Hitler.

“The president is noisy, too noisy. It is just right for him to express his anger against drugs, but he must not make too much noise and say ‘I will kill you,’ it’s not right,” Gordon said.

“That is why he is falling on his own sword, because he is talking a lot, prompting accusa-tions that it was really what is happening in the country,” he added.

“We have to protect the country from bad statements and the president has the duty to be a statesman,” he said.

Duterte’s response to comments has been aff ecting the Philippines’ relations with other countries.

The United Nations, the European Union, the United States and human rights groups have

expressed alarm at the rising number of drug suspects being killed, reminding Duterte to fol-low the rule of law.

Describing the EU as hypocrites, Duterte said the bloc is trying to “atone” for its sins and “guilt feelings” over occupying other countries in the past.

“I have read the condemnation of the Eu-ropean Union. I’m telling them, ‘(expletive)

you’,” Duterte said last month.Duterte has also expressed regret for his re-

mark on President Barack Obama in response to US criticisms of human rights violations.

Because of the remark, the US leader can-celled a meeting with Duterte during a re-gional summit in Laos early last month.

Gordon, who chairs the justice commit-tee holding hearings on extrajudicial killings,

said the international community should not be so alarmed because the Senate is investi-gating the war on drugs.

“The law has not been thrown (out), so don’t be afraid of the Philippines because the Senate is investigating,” Gordon stressed. He added that the police department is probing policemen involved in the questionable kill-ings of suspects.

Retired Philippine police off icer Dionisio Abude, accused by Senate witness and self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato of being a member of a death squad in the southern city of Davao, shows a newspaper clipping during a Senate hearing in Manila yesterday on the alleged extrajudicial killings under President Rodrigo Duterte’s crime war. Abude denied he was part of a vigilante group that supposedly killed over 1,000 upon Duterte’s orders as former Davao mayor.

Police holdbombingsuspectsBy Al Jacinto, Manila TimesZamboanga City

Police yesterday arrested three men who are sus-pected as Abu Sayyaf bombers in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines. They said three

other men escaped a police operation in the village of Canelar near downtown Zamboanga and that author-ities were tracking down the terrorists whose group is tied to the Islamic State.

The names of the suspects were not immediate-ly available but police said one of the men allegedly checked in at the Atilano Pension House and used the name Alfad Fahad Kulayan. Police did not say if the name was fi ctitious or not but sources said the identi-ties of those arrested were Jabar Ignohassim, 24, and Asde dela Cruz, 27, both of Jolo town in Sulu province, and Abdula Yusof, 26, of Talipao town, also in Sulu, one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

It was unknown whether the room was searched by the police although it said operatives seized from those arrested three hand grenades, a.45-caliber pis-tol and four magazines loaded with bullets; 3 rolls of time fuse, two blasting caps and at least a dozen cell phone batteries; and two motorcycles. Police said the suspects were believed to be followers of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Alhabsy Misaya, whose group was tagged as behind a spate of terrorism in Sulu province and ransom kidnappings in Sabah, Malaysia.

The arrest of the trio coincided with celebration of the month-long Hermosa Festival in honour of the Virgin Mary.

Mayor Beng Climaco has appealed to all hotel own-ers here to ensure an effi cient and eff ective profi ling of guests to help authorities in their anti-crime and anti-terrorism eff orts.

“Hotel owners should require submission of valid identifi cation cards of all transient guests as this can be part of the security measures not only of the said establishments, but of the city as a whole. In cases of emergencies, the profi ling records can be coordinated with the authorities or concerned agencies,” she said.

Climaco added that the profi ling of hotel guests should be done all year round. “The responsibility to secure the city does not rest on the shoulders of the police, military and the local government alone, but should be a shared responsibility of all sectors,” she said.

Two pension houses were previously bombed in Zamboanga City.

In October 2011, at least 11 people were killed in a bomb explosion that ripped through a room inside the Red Palm Pension House and at a cockfi ghting arena during the Hermosa Festival.

Albay beauty crowned Miss World 2016By Ma Lisbet K EsmaelManila Times

Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray outshone 23 other can-didates and was declared

Miss World Philippines 2016 on Sunday night at the Manila Hotel.

Gray, a Filipino-Australian, represented the province of Bicol

where her grandmother and great grandmother were born.

The 5’9 1/2” mestiza is a fashion and commercial model, singer and blogger.

She also holds a black belt in choi kwang do.

The crowd favourite not only bagged the crown, she also romped off with most of the special awards.

Gray was named Best in Fashion

Runway, Best in Swimsuit and Best in Long Gown.

Behind the glamorous look of the 22-year-old stunner, the much-awaited question and answer por-tion of the pageant showed her compassion for society when she was asked why she deserves the title.

“To be a Miss World is to pass the torch that burns with passion and purpose. I would dedicate my voice

and essence to carry that torch and to set tangible causes alive,” Gray gracefully answered.

She emphasised her personal advocacy, the “Paraiso Bright Be-ginnings Project,” where she raises funds for the education of children in Tondo, Manila.

“I would focus on passing this torch to empower others because I believe together, there is no dark-

ness in this world that we cannot surpass,” she said.

Completing the Top 5 circle of winners were First Princess Ari-enne Calingo, Second Princess Ivanna Pacis, Third Princess Marah Munoz and Fourth Princess Ray-mundo Lemonon. Gray will repre-sent the country in the Miss World 2016 pageant to be held on Decem-ber 20 in Washington DC.

Miss World Philippines 2016 Catriona Elisa Gray (centre) poses with other winners (from left) Sandra Raymundo Lemonon, Ivanna Kamil Pacis, Arienne Louise Braga Calingo, and Marah Munoz.

Pygmy sperm whale rescuedBy William Jun Garcia, Manila Times San Fernando City, La Union

A 6.5ft long pygmy baby sperm whale was res-cued over the weekend by the La Union Rescue Team, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Re-

sources and the City Fisheries and Aquatic Manage-ment Council (CFARMC) from coastal area in Carlatan Village in his city.

The sperm whale, which weighed 1,000kg, had swum toward the shore and was discovered by a local fi sherman who lives nearby.

According to Dr Chris Apilado, a CFARMC veteri-narian, the whale bore two deep cuts, one near an eye and the other on the tail. “Maybe it was caught and was being fi shed out from the water by handy fi shing hook but it was able to wiggle out,” Apilado said, who closely examined the injuries while the sperm whale was still fl oating in the water.

Vanessa Bonitalla said her fi sherman husband, Ding Carpio, saw the mammal at about 4am on Fri-day. They rushed to the sea and were surprised to see an injured “dolphin” and tried to push it farther into the sea but it cannot move so they called for help from village guards.

Sally Gacayan, a BFAR staff , said the sperm whale would be brought to the BFAR custodial quarters in Casantaan village in Santo Tomas, La Union.

Gacayan said they would try to keep the mam-mal alive by fi rst treating its wounds until it is strong enough to be released into the sea. A vehicle from the La Union Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Manage-ment Council transported the injured whale, which was placed in a rubber boat fi lled with sea water.

The pygmy sperm whale is one of the several aquat-ic species that is endangered.

It was the second stranded whale found in the coastal area. In October 2014, a 12-ton, 20-foot long giant sperm whale, died while it was being rescued by a backhoe and burly men at the nearby village of Lingsat Marine Sanctuary. It was eventually buried in village.

Army probes ‘coup plot’ against new presidentThe Armed Forces of the

Philippines (AFP) is in-vestigating reports on the

alleged recruitment of soldiers and policemen to oust President Rodrigo Duterte.

“News about these seeming disturbances within the mili-tary are unknown to us, these are things that we take seriously so

we will look into it,” said Brig Gen Restituto Padilla Jr., AFP spokes-man.

Padilla issued the statement after Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco revealed the alleged plan of Liberal Party members Sena-tor Antonio Trillanes 4th and some elite businessmen to topple Duterte.

Trillanes led two coup at-tempts against the administra-tion of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, now a repre-sentative of the second district of Pampanga.

Padilla however belittled any move to destabilise the govern-ment, saying soldiers and mili-tary offi cials have shown their

full support to the commander-in-chief during his series of visits to various military camps in the country.

“The Commander-in-chief gave priority to visit military installations to personally in-teract with soldiers, the presi-dent is warmly accepted and welcomed by the Marines, the

Airmen and the sailors,” Padilla said.

He added that the soldiers’ morale are high especially now that Duterte pledged his com-mitment to look after their wel-fare.

He cited in particular Execu-tive Order No 3 that increases the combat pay of troops to a fi xed

P3,000, a six-fold increase from P500 per month.

“The morale of our soldiers, especially those assigned in dan-gerous areas, is high. They saw these benefi ts as a fi tting recog-nition of their sacrifi ces,” Padilla explained.

He maintained that AFP of-ficials are not aware of the sup-

posed rumblings in the mili-tary.

“This is a serious matter that is why we are looking into it and investigating it thoroughly,” the offi cial said.

“Any threat that may aff ect the republic or the safety of the president is always a serious threat.”

SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL21

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Bangladesh, US agree on deeper security tiesBangladesh and the United

States have agreed on im-portance of a deeper and

stronger partnership in address-ing mutual security concerns while upholding the values of human rights and fundamental freedom.

The consensus came at the fi fth Bangladesh-United States Security Dialogue held in Dhaka where the host sought enhanced training, equipment, and logis-tics support from Washington in areas of counter-terrorism, disaster management and the UN peacekeeping, offi cials of the

foreign ministry said yesterday.The daylong dialogue covered

a wide range of issues related to security partnership between the two countries, including strategic priorities and regional security, defence co-operation, civilian security co-operation, UN peacekeeping and counter-terrorism, said a joint press statement.

“Both sides agreed on the importance of a deeper and stronger partnership in address-ing mutual security concerns while upholding the values of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” it said.

Additional foreign secretary Kamrul Ahsan led the Bang-ladesh delegation comprising

representatives of diff erent min-istries and government organi-sations while Deputy Assist-ant Secretary of State William Monahan headed the US team comprising representatives from the Departments of State and Defence.

United States ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat and embassy offi cials also attended the dialogue.

The two countries have been holding the dialogue regularly since April 2012.

Bangladesh and the United States recognised the shared threats they face and that coun-tering violent extremist groups such as ISIS, said the statement.

At the dialogue, the US del-

egation appreciated Bangla-desh’s policy of ‘zero tolerance’ towards terrorism and violent extremism, and not allowing its territory to be used for ter-rorist activities against other countries, it said.

They also applauded the Bangladesh government’s ef-forts to control terrorist ac-tivities in the aftermath of the Holey Artisan attack by involv-ing all relevant agencies, and the launch of a specialised Counter-terrorism and Trans-national Crime (CTTC) unit under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), the statement added.

It further said, “The US del-egation also commended Bang-ladesh for its contribution to

international peace and security through participation in the UN peacekeeping operations and also in the Global Peace Opera-tions Initiative, funded by the United States”.

The Bangladesh delegation appreciated the US assistance and support in further improv-ing its disaster preparedness and response capabilities through joint Disaster Response Exer-cise and Exchange (DREE), con-struction of 600 multipurpose cyclone shelters in coastal belts, and provision for fast-mov-ing boats to Bangladesh Coast Guard which has minimised the response time to prevent armed robberies within its maritime boundary, it said.

By Mizan RahmanDhaka

Lanka to bring in new anti-terror law: PM

Sri Lanka will soon bring in a new anti-terrorism law, Prime Minster Ranil Wick-

remesinghe has said. Wickremes-inghe was addressing a joint press briefi ng with New Zealand pre-mier John Key in Auckland where he is on a visit. “We hope to be able to bring in the draft law soon,” Wickremesinghe said.

“The government had ap-pointed a committee to look at the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and to draft a new counter terrorism bill. This will be done to meet international stand-ards,” said Sagala Ratnayake, law

and order minister who is part of Wickremesinghe’s delegation in New Zealand.

Human rights groups have pointed to the draconian nature of the PTA which was enacted in 1979 during the early days of the LTTE militancy. During the LTTE’s over three-decade armed campaign to set up a separate Tamil state, many LTTE activists were held under the PTA.

International rights groups have urged the Sri Lankan gov-ernment to repeal the PTA and release those held under its provisions.

New Zealand and Sri Lanka will establish high commissions in each other’s countries, New Zealand PM Key said.

“Sri Lanka has embarked on a courageous course to rebuild the country after a generation-long civil war, and we are keen to sup-port that process both politically and by growing our strong eco-nomic relationship.

“Establishing high commis-sions in Wellington and Colom-bo in the next few years will help support that process,” he added.

Key said the two Common-wealth countries discussed re-ducing trade tariff s, working to-gether on boosting tourism and bringing more students to study in New Zealand.

They also talked about mixed member proportional (MMP) system, as Sri Lanka is considering introducing a

AgenciesAuckland

Ranil Wickremesinghe: “The government had appointed a committee to look at the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and to draft a new counter terrorism bill.”

Nations must stop allowing use of soil for terror: Nepal

Saarc member-states must ensure that their territories are not used

by terrorists for cross-border terrorism, Nepal, the current chair of the regional grouping, said yesterday.

Taking exception to the re-cent developments between India and Pakistan following a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri sector where 19 Indian soldiers were killed, Nepal called upon all mem-ber-states to create conducive regional environment for the 19th Saarc Summit.

Pakistan was scheduled to host the 19th Saarc Summit in Islamabad in November, which now stands postponed until further notice after India pulled out from the summit.

But as the chair of Saarc, Nepal was cautiously follow-ing the events unfolding in the region.

With the new statement, which followed intense diplo-matic pressure on Nepal, the Himalayan nation has gradu-ally shifted its stance and was now toeing the Indian position.

Indian ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae met Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prach-anda” on Friday and urged him to make the country’s stand clear on terrorism and as to what Nepal thinks about the recent spike in tension at the India-Pakistan border.

This could be the reason be-hind Nepal’s change of mind, sources here said.

Nepal strongly believes that an environment of peace and stability is essential for re-gional co-operation, said the foreign ministry statement, adding: “To achieve peace and stability in the region, Saarc member-states must, among others, ensure that their re-spective territories are not used by terrorists for cross-border terrorism.”

“Nepal unequivocally con-demns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and expresses its solidarity in the global fi ght against terrorism. Nepal has always condemned all acts of terrorism in our region.”

Most recently, Nepal had condemned the Uri terror attack.

The statement said Nepal regrets that the regional en-vironment is not conducive to host the 19th Saarc Summit scheduled for November 9-10 in Islamabad.

“The host country, Paki-stan, has informed the chair of Saarc of the postponement of the summit. As the cur-rent chair of Saarc, Nepal un-derscores creating a regional environment for the summit. Nepal will initiate necessary consultations on successfully holding the 19th summit with the participation of all mem-ber states,” said the statement.

IANSKathmandu

proportional representation system.The Sri Lankan PM said his

country is considering introduc-ing the MMP system for its own parliament.

Wickremesinghe, who is mak-ing the fi rst visit by a Sri Lankan prime minister to New Zealand, said Sri Lanka also wants to study New Zealand’s political system.

Trade between the two coun-tries is growing, mainly be-cause of rising demand for milk powder in Sri Lanka.

Key said Sri Lanka was an in-creasingly attractive market for exporters, and he hopes to boost trade between the two countries.

Wickremesinghe is in New Zealand for three days.

“Nepal unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and expresses its solidarity in the global fi ght against terrorism”

Ranil arrives in India on 3-day trip today

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will arrive in New Delhi today

on a three-day visit.He will hold bilateral talks

with Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi tomorrow, according to the Indian external aff airs ministry.

His visit assumes signifi cance as India last week pulled out of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit that was scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November citing Pakistan’s sponsorship of terrorism in the region.

The Indian move came after the September 18 cross-border terror attack on an army garri-son at Uri in Jammu and Kash-mir that claimed the lives of 19 soldiers.

Following India’s move, Af-ghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhu-tan also followed suit citing the same reason, virtually isolating Pakistan in the region.

Sri Lanka has not pulled out but has said that a Saarc Summit would not be possible without the presence of India.

Tomorrow, Wickremesinghe will also hold meetings with External Aff airs Minister Su-shma Swaraj, Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.

Later in the evening, he will call on President Pranab Mukherjee.

The Sri Lankan prime minister will attend the opening plenary of the India Economic Summit on Thursday before leaving for Colombo in the evening.

IANSNew Delhi

Rail project with Myanmar gets greenlight

The long-cherished Bang-ladesh-Myanmar rail link is at long last set to

kick off as the Asian Develop-ment Bank (ADB) has approved around 120bn taka ($1.5bn) for the mega project.

The project was taken up 58 years ago for connectiv-ity between tourist town Cox’s Bazar and commercial capital Chittagong.

Bangladesh Railway (BR) has already invited tender for the 180.34bn taka Dohazari-Ramu-Cox’s Bazar and Ramu to Gun-dum on Myanmar border dual gauge rail line project.

Of the total project cost,

60.34bn taka will come from the national exchequer while the remaining 120bn taka ($1.5bin) will be available as project assistance from ADB.

ADB will release $1.5bn in four phases for the Trans Asian Rail Line Network under the South Asia Sub-regional Eco-nomic Cooperation (SASEC) railway connectivity invest-ment programme while con-struction work of the project is expected to begin in June next year.

Mofi zur Rahman, deputy di-rector of the project, said the ADB has decided to release $1.5bn for the project and the development partner has re-leased the matter in its website on September 28.

He said ADB will release

$300mn in fi rst phase, $400mn in second phase, $500mn in third phase and $300mn in fourth phase.

“We are about to complete the land acquisition work and have already invited tender for the project and the deadline for submission of tender is No-vember 28 next”, Rahman said, adding that it may take up to the middle of the next year to complete all tender procedures.

According to sources in the railway ministry, construction of the project is likely to begin in July 2017 and it is expected to be completed by 2021 while an ADB team has completed the updated feasibility study of the project.

The 128km rail line would go through Chandanaish, Satka-

nia and Lohagara sub-district of Chittagong district, Chaka-ria, Ramu, Cox’s Bazar Sadar, and Ukhiya sub-districts of Cox’s Bazar district and Gum-dum sub-district of Bandarban district.

Under the project, an 88km track will be constructed from Dohazari to Ramu, 12km from Ramu to Cox’s Bazar and an-other 28km track from Ramu to Gundum of Nakhyangchhari sub-district of Bandarban on Myanmar border.

Bangladesh Railway sources said the project work was de-layed due to the uncertainty of fund from the development partner.

The much-delayed project cost on account of conversion into dual-gauge now stands

at 180.34bn taka from its original cost.

On July 6, 2010, the National Economic Council (ECNEC) ap-proved the project for constructing the single-line metre gauge track from Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar via Ramu and Ramu to Gumdum.

On September 9, 2014, the Bangladesh government decid-ed to turn the single line metre track project into dual gauge project. At that time, the project cost increased to 180.34bn taka.

The project has to compen-sate to the people, who will be aff ected due to the acquisition of some 1,742 acres of land.

According to the planning ministry, once the project is implemented, it would play an important role in raising the GDP growth, considering the

economic hub of Chittagong and tourism capital Cox’s Bazar.

According to BR sources, the project will establish a link with Trans-Asian Railway Corridor that aims to serve cultural exchanges, trade and commerce within the region of South-East Asia.

The then government con-ducted feasibility study to con-struct the rail line from Dohaz-ari to Cox’s Bazar in 1958 and later Japan Railway Technical Service also conducted another feasibility study between Feb-ruary 11 and March 25 in 1971.

But the project remained shelved after the independ-ence of Bangladesh and another round of feasibility study was conducted when the Awami League government came to power in 1996.

By Mizan RahmanDhaka

People leave Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Dhaka yesterday. The mosque, designed by Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum, is a winner of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

Award-winning designSiblings desert rebel outfi t, surrender

Bangladesh’s off er to militants to return to normal life without fac-

ing police actions has started paying as three siblings, al-leged members of banned out-fi t Hizb-ut Tahrir, yesterday surrendered to the police in southwestern Jessore district town.

Police said that the three - two brothers and one sister - decided to return to normal life against the backdrop of re-cent Holey Artisan Bakery and Sholakia terror attacks.

Of the three, the youngest sibling has completed mas-ter’s from Dhaka University and was a primary member of the militant outfi t, police said.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police (Khulna Range) M Moniruzzaman said that in a bid to return to normal life, they have decided to surrender

to police. “The siblings, who were among Jessore’s black-listed militants, were on the run after getting bail last year. The blacklist of 11 militants in Jessore also includes three other members of the family.”

On August 11 and 21, four Hizb-ut Tahrir militants sur-rendered to law enforcers in Jessore.

Inspector General of Police Shahidul Haque earlier assured that the youths who joined militancy can avail a second chance by getting back to nor-mal life if they are willing.

Police will not harass them further if they leave militancy and return to normal lives, the police chief said at a programme in Cox’s Bazar on July 24.

Meanwhile, Benazir Ahmed, director general of Rapid Ac-tion Battalion (RAB), on July 18, announced 1mn taka re-ward if any activist of militant outfi ts returns to normal life and gives specifi c information about their activities.

By Mizan RahmanDhaka

By Katherine Haddon/AFPLondon

After years as the court jester of British politics, Boris Johnson now has one of its top jobs as foreign minister.

But while his star dimmed after the Brexit vote, insiders say his ambition to be prime minister has not.

His path to Downing Street may not be that straightforward, despite the standing ovation the man credited with taking Britain out of the EU got at the Conservative conference in Birmingham, central England, on Sunday.

Boris, as he is widely known, must now help to deliver Brexit and will eventually have to put his name to a deal which could prove deeply divisive among the party and voters.

“Johnson doubtless still wants to run the country in some distant day,” said Paul Goodman, editor of the infl uential ConservativeHome website and a former MP.

“He knows well that his best means of doing so now – and in future – is to get on with the day job.”

Popular with the public, the ex-mayor of London is seen by many voters as a breath of fresh air for capers like getting stuck on a zipwire at the 2012 London Olympics and fl attening a Japanese schoolboy while playing rugby.

In a typically bravado performance on Sunday, he invoked JK Rowling and the Kardashians, Brexit and the Iraq war in arguing why Britain should stand up for liberal democracy and capitalism.

But his appointment in July was greeted with incredulity by many on the world stage.

A clip of US State Department spokesman Mark Toner struggling to keep a straight face at the news went viral online, while Sweden’s former foreign minister Carl Bildt said: “I wish it was a joke.”

Johnson had previously caused plenty of off ence, with his remarks. This has come back to haunt him in his new job.

Johnson’s colourful style contrasts sharply with Prime Minister Theresa May’s no-nonsense approach and the two have clashed in the past.

“They can’t stand each other,” a source who worked closely with Johnson before the referendum said, speaking anonymously.

“He’s not strategic – he’s a journalist at heart, thinking about tomorrow’s headlines,” the source added, referring to Johnson’s former career.

But he is one of a trio of eurosceptics nicknamed “the three Brexiteers” May has appointed to deliver EU withdrawal, apparently on the basis of “you break it, you own it”.

The prime minister herself campaigned quietly for Britain to stay in during June’s vote.

Her decision to appoint him surprised many following a chaotic post-referendum period in which Johnson’s stock surged and plunged.

After playing a central role in securing the Brexit vote, he was hailed by eurosceptics but became a hated fi gure for many of the 48% of Britons who voted to remain.

Crowds even gathered outside his London home to jeer him.

Johnson was then favourite to replace outgoing premier David Cameron before abruptly announcing

he would not stand after fellow Brexiteer Michael Gove said he “cannot provide the leadership” needed.

Many commentators thought that had ended his top-level political career before May handed him one of Britain’s great offi ces of state.

Despite his clownish persona, Johnson does have plenty of characteristics that qualify him to be top diplomat.

“People forget that he’s actually fearsomely intellectual. He’s well-travelled, well-versed, knowledgable,” said Victoria Honeyman, a politics lecturer at Leeds University.

But Honeyman warned it could be “impossible” to deliver a popular Brexit deal because Britons have such diff erent views of what they want to happen – with consequences for his ambitions.

“He’s kind of at a crossroads,” she said. “If Brexit negotiations go well, then his political career will continue to rise and he might well be feted as another leader.

“If they don’t go well, it might be that his support ebbs away.”

P.O.Box 2888Doha, Qatar

editor@gulf-times.comTelephone 44350478 (news),

44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) Fax 44350474

Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-AttiyahProduction Editor: C P Ravindran

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 4, 2016

COMMENT22

GULF TIMES

In more ways than one, the United States proved up to the task as their meticulous preparations and renewed team spirit helped them beat Europe to clinch the Ryder Cup on Sunday for the fi rst time since 2008.

With Cup veteran Phil Mickelson playing a pivotal role as on-course leader, Patrick Reed injecting passion and inspired golf into the mix and skipper Davis Love III ensuring that every player had a vested interest in the outcome, the US won 17-11.

The balance of power in the biennial team competition shifted as the Americans avoided what would have been a damaging fourth defeat in a row, and it was underpinned by the work of an 11-man task force set up after their heavy loss in 2014.

Following Europe’s victory by 16-1/2 points to 11-1/2 at Gleaneagles in Scotland, the PGA of America established a task force, including eight current and former players, to identify how the US could compete more successfully.

The number of automatic qualifi ers was reduced from nine to eight to boost the number of captain’s picks to four, with the fi nal wildcard choice being

announced just fi ve days before the start of the Ryder Cup.

There was also a return to the successful system adopted by 2008 winning US captain Paul Azinger, who

wanted his players to be fully engaged in the entire process and relied on the input of the automatic qualifi ers for his wildcard selections.

“Just because we got kicked around for so long, you keep losing, you feel like you’ve got to do something diff erent,” said Love, who was brought back by the task force for a second stint as captain.

Love had guided the US to a 10-6 lead heading into the fi nal day in 2012 but the team lost by 14-1/2 points to 13-1/2 in what is known to European fans as the “Miracle at Medinah.”

Mickelson was also a key member of the task force, having scathingly criticised the tactics of 2014 captain Tom Watson immediately after the US loss at Gleneagles, saying that the players had been left out of the process.

While Mickelson was jubilant on Sunday after his team had regained the cherished Ryder Cup trophy with a sizzling display in the last-day singles, he cautioned that what had been ushered in by the task force was only a foundation for the future.

“We’ve got some work to do,” said the 46-year-old after competing in a record-equalling 11th Ryder Cup this week. “The thing about this is that we need to build on this, otherwise, it’s all for naught. We created a very solid foundation this year.”

Even after being overlooked, Watson showed up at Hazeltine to help as a vice-captain. The Americans fi nally built a true team without ego, after that quality seemed to be so predominant in recent defeats.

US up to the Ryder Cup task at Hazeltine

Brexiteer Boris’s leadership hopes on hold

How to escape the new normal of weak growth

The number of automatic qualifi ers was reduced from nine to eight

Tackling the most urgent problems confronting the world economy will require action by multiple actors – not just central banks

By Michael SpenceMilan

There is no question that the recovery from the global recession triggered by the 2008 fi nancial crisis has

been unusually lengthy and anaemic. Some still expect an upswing in growth. But, eight years after the crisis erupted, what the global economy is experiencing is starting to look less like a slow recovery than like a new low-growth equilibrium. Why is this happening, and is there anything we can do about it?

One potential explanation for this “new normal” that has gotten a lot of attention is declining productivity growth. But, despite considerable data and analysis, productivity’s role in the current malaise has been diffi cult to pin down – and, in fact, seems not to be as pivotal as many think.

Of course, slowing productivity growth is not good for longer-term economic performance, and it may be among the forces holding back the United States as it approaches “full” employment. But, in much of the rest of the world, other factors – namely, inadequate aggregate demand and signifi cant output gaps, rooted in excess capacity and underused assets (including people) – seem more important.

In the eurozone, for example, aggregate demand in many member countries has been constrained by, among other things, Germany’s large current-account surplus, which

amounted to 8.5% of GDP in 2015. With higher aggregate demand and more effi cient use of existing human capital and other resources, economies could achieve a signifi cant boost in medium-term growth, even without productivity gains.

None of this is to say that we should ignore the productivity challenge. But the truth is that productivity is not the principal economic problem right now.

Tackling the most urgent problems confronting the world economy will require action by multiple actors – not just central banks. Yet, thus far, monetary authorities have shouldered much of the burden of the crisis response. First, they intervened to prevent the fi nancial system’s collapse, and, later, to stop a sovereign-debt and banking crisis in Europe. Then they continued to suppress interest rates and the yield curve, elevating asset prices, which boosted demand via wealth eff ects.

But this approach, despite doing some good, has run its course. Ultra-low – even negative – interest rates have failed to restore aggregate demand or stimulate investment. And the exchange-rate transmission channel won’t do much good, because it does not augment aggregate demand; it just shifts demand around among countries’ tradable sectors. Infl ation would help, but even the most expansionary monetary measures have been struggling to raise infl ation to targets, Japan being a case in point. One reason for this is inadequate aggregate demand.

Monetary policy should never have

been expected to shift economies to a sustainably higher growth trajectory by itself. And, in fact, it wasn’t: monetary policy was explicitly intended to buy time for households, the fi nancial sector, and sovereigns to repair their balance sheets and for growth-enhancing policies to kick in.

Unfortunately, governments did not go nearly far enough in pursuing complementary fi scal and structural responses. One reason is that fi scal authorities in many countries – in particular, in Japan and parts of Europe – have been constrained by high sovereign-debt levels. Furthermore, in a low interest-rate environment, they can live with debt overhangs.

For highly indebted governments, low interest rates are critical to keep debt levels sustainable and ease pressure to restructure debt and recapitalise banks. The shift to a high sovereign-debt-yield equilibrium would make it impossible to achieve fi scal balance. In the eurozone, the European Central Bank’s commitment, announced in 2012, to prevent debt levels from becoming unsustainable is politically conditional on fi scal restraint.

There are also political motivations at play. Politicians simply prefer to keep the burden on monetary policy and avoid pursuing diffi cult or unpopular policies – including structural reforms, debt restructuring, and the recapitalisation of banks – aimed at boosting market access and fl exibility, even if it means undermining medium-term growth.

The result is that economies are stuck in a so-called Nash equilibrium, in which no participant can gain through unilateral action. If central banks attempt to exit their aggressively accommodative policies without complementary actions to restructure debt or restore demand, growth, and investment, growth will suff er – as will central banks’ credibility, or even their independence.

But exit they must, because expansionary monetary policies have reached the point at which they may be doing more harm than good. By suppressing returns to savers and holders of assets for a protracted period, low interest rates have spurred a frantic search for yield.

This takes two forms. One is rising leverage, which has increased globally by about $70 trillion since 2008, largely (though not entirely) in China. The other is capital-fl ow volatility, which has driven policymakers in some countries to pursue their own monetary easing or to impose capital controls, in order to prevent damage to growth in the tradable sector.

It is past time for political leaders to show more courage in implementing structural and social-security reforms that may impede growth for a time, but will stabilise their countries’ fi scal position. More generally, fi scal authorities need to do a much better job of co-operating with their monetary counterparts, domestically and internationally.

Such action will probably have to wait until the political consequences of low growth, high inequality, mistrust of international trade and investment, and the loss of central-bank independence become too great to bear. That probably won’t happen right away; but, given the rise of populist leaders seizing on these adverse trends to win support, it may not be too far off .

In this sense, populism can be a benefi cial force as it challenges a problematic status quo. But the risk remains that, if populist leaders do secure power, they will pursue policies that lead to even worse results. - Project Syndicate

Michael Spence, a Nobel laureate in economics, is professor of economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.

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Populism can be a benefi cial force as it challenges a prob-lematic status quo

COMMENT

How to make protocols stickLive issues

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 4, 2016 23

It’s a cinch once thedust settles – as geography so dictates, India and Pakistan will have no choice but to bank on this very route to restore goodwill

By Kamran Rehmat Doha

Even as India and Pakistan spar over the semantics of last week’s attacks on Pakistani soil, the fi rst visible collateral

damage is evident in the form of cultural disengagement with the banning of Pakistani artistes in India and a tit-for-tat screen scrapping of Indian fi lms in Pakistan.

If only this was some fi gment of imagination and not bleeding reality, but such is the fate of more than one-fi fth of humanity that makes up the nuclearised South Asian neighbourhood that trouble often fi nds them like a curse.

It should never have come to this, but clearly, with the onset of another winter of discontent, it appears that piece of mind is going to replace peace of mind. Consider.

Superstar Salman Khan is at the receiving end of an incredibly vicious campaign with even his identity being questioned for merely making the distinction that the banned Pakistani artistes weren’t terrorists!

After being pointedly questioned by a female journalist in New Delhi what he felt about Pakistani artistes being ordered to leave India, Khan said: “They are artistes. We have killed the terrorists. Artistes are not terrorists. These are two diff erent subjects. They

come to our country after acquiring visa, and it’s our government which allows them the work permit.”

Khan, then, threw back the same poser to the journalist, asking her if she thought “artistes were terrorists”, leaving her speechless.

But this was enough fodder for the media to unleash a storm, familiarly led by agent provocateur Arnab Goswami on prime time, and ultra-rightwing parties like Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) to fuel it.

At a subsequent presser, MNS chief Raj Thackeray launched into the Bollywood icon, thus: “If Salman

Khan loves Pakistan so much then he should go and shoot there. He should seek a work permit from Pakistani authorities.”

The MNS has since threatened to ban Khan’s fi lms if he continued to back the banned Pakistani artistes.

During the tirade, Thackeray also took a pot shot at Khan’s assertion that the Pakistani stars, who came to work in Mumbai, were “artistes, not terrorists”.

“They may be informers, if not terrorists. They must be passing on information about India back home,” the MNS chief bristled.

Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande went a step further, suggesting Khan “needs to be taught a lesson” and that “if he has so much love for Pakistani artistes, he should migrate there.”

But Khan is not the only one in a corner, if unbowed; renowned fi lmmaker Karan Johar is fretting after being pressured to remove Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Khan’s essay from his forthcoming release Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (Oh, Heart, I’m In A Quandary), giving his predicament a literal meaning!

Johar also questioned the wisdom of banning artistes as a solution,

pleading with ultra nationalist forces to leave the fi lm fraternity that, he said, only “promotes and sells peace and love”, alone.

But in a refl ection of how stressed he feels, he admitted in an interview to being scared, and has, reportedly, dropped plans to host Fawad Khan as the fi rst guest in the new season of his popular TV show Koff ee With Karan.

Interestingly, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMMPA), which passed the ban resolution at their annual general meeting, were not as severe in reaction despite setting the ball rolling.

They simply asked the members “henceforth, not to work with any artistes, singers or technicians from Pakistan until the situation of hostilities between Pakistan and India subsides and the government of India declares that all is well with Pakistan and India.”

Not everyone buys into the ban, however.

Rahul Aggarwal, a member of IMMPA, resigned from the association in a poignant letter that will strike a chord with the art loving people of both India and Pakistan, and it deserves to be quoted, in part, if only to make hawks on either side trying to throw art with the proverbial bathtub heed sense.

Taking up the cudgels, Aggarwal wrote: “Art is above politics and as the custodians of this art; it is our responsibility to bring people together rather than divide them.”

In a bold departure from the sabre-rattling on either side of the divide, Aggarwal painstakingly, pointed to what united the people of the two countries than pander to the base sentiment: “The people of these two nations are one and alike, thus it is the need of the hour for us to stick together. The Indian and Pakistani people are suff ering from the same plague, which

is fundamentalist terrorism. It is more important than ever for us not to fall prey to this calamity.”

“Banning one another is not the solution, rather bringing everyone together and showing the world that terrorism cannot divide these two great nations can become a beacon for acceptance and hope, two characteristics that are the complete opposites of the fundamentalists that want us to go to war with one another,” Aggarwal drove home.

Like its Indian counterpart, Pakistani media, too, has been swayed by hyper-nationalism lately, and as a result of the bedlam, Indian fi lms have been temporarily banned although several Pakistani artistes – like the courageous Salman Khan, Karan Johar and Rahul Aggarwal on the Indian side – have spoken out against treating art and artistes as a “soft target”. One of the saddest parts of this harvest of hate sown by warmongers is how artistes have fallen prey to a war-like situation not of their making.

They are being coerced to condemn the other to prove their identity and patriotism and when they choose to stick to their artistic roots, they are called names and asked to leave.

Pray, what have they done to deserve this? Whatever happened to art not knowing boundaries? Are they not supposed to be over and above notions of war? Are they not reckoned to be ambassadors of peace, love and goodwill through the most creative tools known to us?

It’s a cinch once the dust settles — as geography so dictates, the two countries will have no choice but to bank on this very route to restore goodwill — soft CBMs — eventually.

So let’s recognise and respect these borderless assets, not put them through an ordeal!

The writer is Community Editor.

Spare art and artistes, please!

By Marie G McIntyreTribune News Service

QUESTION: I work in a medical practice

in which the staff regularly fails to follow established protocols. Although I know there should be consequences for ignoring the rules, we haven’t been able to make that work with our employees.

Writing people up seems to have no eff ect, probably because they know they won’t be fi red. We’ve considered deducting money from their bonus pay, but we’re afraid that might hurt morale. What other consequences can be used with professional adults?

ANSWER: When employees appear to be willfully noncompliant, managers tend to view punishment as the logical solution. In reality, however, imposing negative consequences should be the last step, not the fi rst. So let’s start by

considering whether your focus on penalties might be premature.

People disregard rules for many reasons. Unless managers explain the purpose of a policy, employees may have no idea why it matters. Also, some procedures may not be as clearly defi ned as management thinks. With complex processes, people can have trouble remembering all the steps. And sometimes they fi nd an easier way to accomplish the same result.

To assess this particular situation, ask yourself a few relevant questions. Have these protocols been specifi cally defi ned and communicated in writing? Are visual reminders provided at appropriate points? Has management thoroughly explained why the procedures are important? Are employees frequently reminded of those reasons?

If you haven’t already done so, try asking the staff why they aren’t following the desired steps. Unless they’re being deliberately stubborn, which seems unlikely in a medical practice, they may be able to point out fl aws and suggest improvements. When

an entire group fails to comply, the problem often lies with the policy, not the people.

Finally, remember that consequences can also be positive. Instead of issuing warnings or withholding money, you might publicly praise those who do well or give them an extra bonus. But if, after all your eff orts, some obstinate employees still ignore proper procedures, then its time to replace those meaningless write-ups with pre-termination notices.

InappropriatelanguageQ: I recently sent several e-mails in which I referred to my managers as idiots. Unfortunately, they saw these messages and were not pleased. When they called me in for a discussion, I admitted that my language was inappropriate and that I deserved a reprimand.

Even though I apologised profusely, I’m afraid my bosses may

still be upset with me. Should I send them an apologetic e-mail or just leave it alone and hope they forget?

A: In terms of immediate response, you have probably done enough. After an admission of guilt and a fervent apology, additional grovelling might seem like overkill. And if the meeting with your bosses ended on a positive note, you certainly don’t want to remind them of the problem.

To completely undo the damage, however, you will have to demonstrate that this was a temporary expression of frustration, not a refl ection of your true feelings. Therefore, you must be sure that any future interactions with management are friendly, polite and respectful. While a single misstep might eventually be forgotten, a repeat performance could kill your career.

Marie G McIntyre is a workplace coach and the author of Secrets to Winning at Offi ce Politics. Send in questions and get free coaching tips at http://www.youroffi cecoach.com, or follow her on Twitter @offi cecoach

Who’s in the running for a Nobel Peace Prize?By Lennart Simonsson/DPAStockholm

The freshly signed Colombia peace deal aimed at ending fi ve decades of confl ict is among the main contenders

for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize that features a record 376 diff erent nominations.

The fi ve-strong Norwegian Nobel Committee’s announcement is due on October 7.

The committee has confi rmed that a record 228 individuals and 148 organisations were nominated this year.

It advises those making nominations not to reveal their proposals,

but there are no formal rules against doing so, explaining why some names have become public.

Last year, the committee surprised experts with a vote for the National Dialogue Quartet of Tunisia, an alliance of trade unions,

employers organisations, human rights groups and lawyers.

“The peace process in Colombia is our favourite, the only obstacle would be a ‘no’ in the (October 2) referendum,” says Asle Sveen, a Norwegian historian specialising in the Nobel Peace Prize who runs a website with two other colleagues.

“If there is a ‘yes’ in the referendum, it is very hard to see any candidate that can top that. It would also be in line

with Alfred Nobel’s will,” he tells DPA, referring to the inventor of dynamite who endowed the prize.

In a similar vein, the committee might wish to award the agreement between Iran and six world powers aimed at limiting Tehran’s nuclear capabilities in exchange for lifting sanctions, he says.

Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, who compiles an annual shortlist but is not affi liated with the Nobels - also believes the peace deal between the government of Colombia and the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerilla movement stands a strong chance.

However due to the fact the Colombia referendum is so close to the October 7 announcement, the committee will likely be operating with a backup candidate should the result be a no, he says.

Harpviken tells DPA his favourite was Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina, citing that she was working with “one of the most pressing issues in our time, namely the rights of refugees and migrants.”

Awarding her would also highlight “the situation in Russia for freedom of expression, for human rights.”

The theme of migrants and refugees highlighted in the run-up to the 2015 announcement was “no less critical this year,” he added.

Both Harpviken and Sveen also mentioned the White Helmets, a volunteer rescue group in Syria.

The group recently won the Swedish Right Livelihood Award, along with Gannushkina and others.

Dan Smith, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said in his view “the choice is clearer this year than for a long time. One word only: COLOMBIA!”

An award to Colombia would likely be labelled “premature” by some, he said in an e-mail to DPA.

However, the committee might well be inspired by the 1993 prize awarded to Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk, “architects of the peaceful end of apartheid” in South Africa. That award decision came when “the transition was uncertain”.

Parliamentarians, academics, former peace laureates, as well as current and former members of

the Nobel Committee are among those who have the right to make nominations.

The Greek Academy of Sciences has, for instance, proposed three people on behalf of the Greek islanders who have aided migrants in their trek to Europe across the Aegean.

The trio were Greek volunteers Emilia Kamvysis and fi sherman Stratis Valiamos, as well as Oscar-winning US actress Susan Sarandon, who raised awareness about the plight of migrants.

Meanwhile 1984 peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa has endorsed Pope Francis for a prize.

The Oslo committee has made unexpected picks in the past, sometimes generating controversy.

The 2009 choice of US President Barack Obama is one recent example, as Obama had only been in offi ce less than a year.

China was angered over the 2010 award to imprisoned dissident Liu Xiaobo.

Sveen and Harpviken doubted the likelihood of an award to Edward Snowden, the former US contractor who exposed extensive telephone and internet data collection programmes used by the US National Security Agency (NSA). Nobel prizes are also awarded in literature, medicine, physics, chemistry and economics.

Each prize is worth 8mn kronor ($930,000).

IN THE EYE OF A STORM: Salman Khan, left, has spoken out against banning Pakistani artistes, one of whom, heartthrob Fawad Khan has been forced to leave Bollywood.

Guesses are in full swing over who will win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize as the jury considers a record number of nominations

Three-day forecast

TODAY

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High: 37 C

Low : 24 C

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Weather report

Around the region

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Weather todaySunnySunnyM SunnySunnySunnyP CloudySunnySunny

Around the world

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Max/min31/1829/2232/2616/0733/2231/1430/2532/2629/2725/1531/2534/2618/1130/2513/0935/2720/1321/0922/1628/1632/2623/1131/20

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OFFSHORE DOHAWind: NW 05-15 KTWaves: 2-4 Feet

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High: 35 C

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Hazy at places at first becomes hot daytime with slight dust at times.

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27/14

QATAR

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 4, 201624

College fetes doctors helping train next generationWeill Cornell Medicine–

Qatar (WCM-Q) has honoured the work of

hundreds of local physicians who share their knowledge and expe-rience to help train the college’s doctors of the future.

As part of their medical train-ing, in the final two years of their medical degrees, WCM-Q students spend a total of 55 weeks on clinical clerkships

in affiliated institutions like Hamad Medical Corp (HMC), where they apply their knowl-edge under the supervision of experienced physicians affili-ated with WCM-Q.

Such 467 physicians were honoured with a WCM-Q doc-tor’s white coat, and WCM-Q business cards at a ceremony at HMC’s Hajar Auditorium last Saturday.

Dr Javaid Sheikh, dean of WCM-Q, said the work of WCM-Q’s affi liate doctors is invaluable, both to the education of the next generation of doctors and to the future of healthcare in Qatar.

The affi liates practise in a range of institutions includ-ing HMC, Sidra Medical and Research Center, Aspetar Or-thopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, the Primary Health

Care Corp (PHCC), and Foeto-Maternal Centre.

Dr Sheikh said: “As a medical college, we can teach our student doctors how to diagnose illness-es, how to provide comfort and support, and how to save lives. However, it is the doctors at our affi liate institutions who show them how to put that knowledge into practice.

“Among them, our faculty col-

leagues at WCM-Q’s affi liates have a wealth of experience that can only be learned through dec-ades of work in hospitals, clinics, surgeries and healthcare centres.

“It is this knowledge and wisdom in fi elds as varied as obstetrics, in-ternal medicine, surgery, neurol-ogy, psychiatry and paediatrics that they are passing on to our students.”

Dr Abdulla al-Ansari, deputy chief medical offi cer – surgi-

cal services, at HMC, said the relationship between HMC and WCM-Q is like a marriage that gets stronger every day.

“It is healthy to have a good relationship between a hospital and a medical school. Our rela-tionship has been going for 10 years and it’s getting stronger and stronger,” Dr al-Ansari said.

“WCM-Q students join us for surgery and on our ward rounds

and all the students I have seen are enthusiastic, up-to- date, and very energetic.

“That means we have to keep up with them; when you have en-ergetic students it energises their doctors and teachers.

“They really have a very posi-tive eff ect on the environment and it means they also have good relationships with the nurses and patients.”

WCM-Q honoured hundreds of the aff iliate doctors who share their knowledge and experience with the college’s students.

Silver screen awaits ‘Focus on Qatar’Doha Film Institute’s ‘Fo-

cus on Qatar 2016’ begin-ning tomorrow at the Mu-

seum of Islamic Art will shine the spotlight on the country’s fi lm-makers, who actively pursue the art of documentaries.

Seven short documentaries directed by Qatari talent will be screened to the public tomorrow at 7.30pm, as part of a three-day programme which include di-verse stories inspired from the Qatari heritage, life in the coun-try and the shifting trends in the socio-cultural landscape. All screenings and events at Focus on Qatar are free to the public on a fi rst-come, fi rst-seat basis.

“We are proud of the accom-plishments by our young and emerging fi lmmaking talents, whose stories and vision have struck a chord with audiences in Qatar and the region,” said Fatma al-Remaihi, CEO, DFI.

‘Focus on Qatar’ 2016 will

screen a collection of noteworthy short documentaries that Qatar has produced in the past years, either through the Institute’s training programmes or by inde-pendent directors or by students of educational establishments the Institute has relationships with.

The event highlights the achievements of the home-grown industry, from an increasing tal-ent pool of local creative profes-sionals to a surge in fi lm produc-tion activities (from 15 production houses in 2010 to 46 in 2016).

The documentaries to be screened are: Bader (Qatar, US, Syria/2012) directed by Sara al-Saadi, Maaria Assami and Latifa al-Darwish; Al 7amal (Qatar/2015) by Amal al-Muf-tah; The Palm Tree (Qatar/2015) by Jassim al-Rumaihi; Inside Out (Qatar/2015) by Fahad al-Obaidly and Salwa al-Khalifa; To My Mother (Qatar/2015) by Amina Ahmed al-Bloshi; The

Notebook (Qatar/2015) by Amna al-Binali and Mubarak Al Malik (Qatar/2016) by Aisha R al-Mu-hannadi.

Bader is the story of a young boy trying to fi nd his place in an all-boys’ elementary school. The documentary highlights the boy’s struggle with his identity, and how he comes to rely on po-etry to help him overcome his challenges. The documentary was named Best Film in the Made in Qatar section at the 2012 Doha Tribeca Film Festival and won the Jury Award in Short Documenta-ry competition at Emirates Film Competition, and a special men-tion in the Short Film Competi-tion at the Gulf Film Festival.

Al 7amal looks at the some-times diffi cult lives of the ‘hamali’, the porters who assist shoppers at Qatar’s most-visited market, Doha’s Souq Waqif.

The Palm Tree, winner of the 2015 Ajyal Youth Film Festival

Made in Qatar Award for Best Documentary, is mainly shot us-ing disorienting close-ups, and an observational documentary that shows us how unnatural na-ture can be, and unearths the sci-ence fi ction in reality.

Inside Out explores the rapid and far-reaching transforma-tions which Qatar has experi-enced in recent years, and the ongoing changes taking place to-day. It was developed during the DFI’s 2015 Documentary Lab.

In To My Mother, the director follows her mother Noura, who at 40 years, is at last accom-plishing her dream of getting an education. Married at the age of 11, Noura was never given the chance to go to school. For most of her life, she was the wife and mother society expected her to be. But when her youngest child began his studies, so did she. The documentary celebrates Noura’s tremendous achievement.

The Notebook had won the Special Mention in the docu-mentary category at Ajyal Youth Film Festival 2015. It is a dia-rist fi lm that explores the limits of personal boundaries and the complicated dynamics of inner lives through the life of Nora who is trying to make a fi lm for the fi rst time.

Mubarak Al Malik (Qatar/2015) is a short documentary profi le on artist al-Malik, as he speaks about his artistic practice and how he connects Qatar’s past to its present using classical and contemporary media. The direc-tor captures al-Malik in action as he creates a large-scale mural with spray paint, while he dis-

cusses his inspiration, his love for rugby and the freedom and in-spiration he feels when riding his Harley through the desert.

‘Focus on Qatar’ will also fos-ter insightful discussion on the art and future of documentary fi lmmaking.

On Thursday, a special ‘Al-Jazeera Documentary Network Showcase’ will be held at 7.30pm.

On the fi nal day, ‘Focus on Qa-tar’ will host two industry panel discussions – on ‘The State of Documentary in the Gulf’ at 4pm and on the ‘Next Genera-tion of Documentary Filmmak-ers’ at 7.30pm. The discussions will highlight the opportunities for documentary fi lmmakers including the DFI workshops, grants and the Qatar Film Fund, which supports fi lmmaking in Qatar, and is a forum for local talent to discuss their experi-ences throughout the fi lmmaking process.

A scene from Bader.

Family Institute set to host second international meet

Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) has an-

nounced that the second International Conference on Family Research and Policy will be held at Qa-tar National Convention Centre (QNCC) on Octo-ber 17 and 18.

The conference will once again host re-searchers and policy-makers from across the world, giving partici-pants a platform to address the theme of ‘The Impact of Wars and Confl icts on Arab Families’ as well as discuss the role of public policies in promoting family well-being and protection, DIFI has said in a press statement.

The event’s agenda will address rel-evant issues around six overarching themes: family formation and break-down, social and economic conditions, gender and health issues, the condi-tions of refugees and internally dis-placed families, the impact of wars and confl icts on women, men and children, and the roles and experiences of non-government organisations (NGOs) in responding to the needs of families during and post-wars and confl icts.

Noor al-Malki al-Jehani, executive director of DIFI, said: “Through our conference, I believe we will greatly

enhance research and policy discussions by highlighting new trends in the challeng-es Arab families face as a result of the impact of wars and confl icts.

“We will build on our work in infl uencing regional and interna-tional family research and policy agendas by providing a platform for social scientists, policymakers, NGOs

and CSOs (civil society organisations) to interact and exchange ideas and ex-pertise.”

The conference will feature plenary sessions as well as panel discussions, which will bring together a number of notable speakers and moderators.

The fi rst day will explore a variety of topics focusing on family formation, socio-economic impact of wars on families, and gender dimensions dur-ing confl icts.

The second day will off er a series of sessions, including the experience of NGOs in zones of war and confl ict, post-war family transition and reset-tlement, conditions of Arab refugees and health issues in wars and confl icts.

Details of speakers, sessions and reg-istrations are available online at http://www.difi .org.qa/annual-conference.

Noor al-Malki al-Jehani

QLC executive leaders wrap up Harvard module

Qatar Leadership Centre (QLC)’s Ex-ecutive Leaders completed the In-novation and Change module at

Harvard Business School (HBS) in Cam-bridge, Massachusetts.

The HBS module on September 18-23 was followed by a fi ve-day Learning Journey to Rice University’s Baker Institute in Hou-ston, Texas.

While the Innovation and Change module enhanced participants’ analytic skills, the Learning Journey strengthened their grasp of global energy and health policies, QLC stressed in a press statement.

Such activities are integral parts of QLC’s year-long leadership curriculum for Qatari professionals in the QLC Executive Leaders Programme, the statement notes.

The Innovation and Change module ena-bled the Executive Leaders to sharpen their leadership skills through team activities, discussions and case studies that high-lighted exemplary management theory and practical solutions from the contemporary business and entrepreneurship landscape.

The exclusive sessions highlighted how innovative and thought-based leadership can, and has, infl uenced decision-making in both major multinational corporations and fl edgling startups.

Pooling their collective theoretical and practical knowledge, participants identifi ed and developed strategies and best practices to solve problems based on real-world case studies.

They discussed cases ranging from a port authority project management challenge to Uber’s business model.

The module enabled the Executive Lead-

ers to better adapt to change and employ strategic techniques to improve the per-formance of their organisations.

Next, the Executive Leaders began their Learning Journey at Baker Institute, a think-tank dedicated to energy and health policy research studies.

The fi ve-day visit allowed the Executive Leaders to broaden their horizons, observe and learn about how creative leadership can solve current energy and health challenges facing the global economy.

Participants were able to discuss and in-teract with leading industry practitioners at the institute, which is ranked among the top think-tanks in the world.

The Learning Journey included discus-sions and presentations by current industry experts, followed by site visits for the par-ticipants at the national space agency, Nasa, Texas Heart Institute and Schlumberger, a leading oil and gas company.

“The challenges of today’s modern world compel us as professionals to make a com-mitment to life-long learning and develop-ment,” noted Dr Abdulla bin Ali al-Thani, member of the board of directors and man-aging director of QLC.

“Developing our human capital will be crucial as we forge ahead in our mission of achieving Qatar’s 2030 vision.”

The Executive Leaders Programme is one of three National Leadership Programmes at QLC, the other two being the Rising Leaders and Government Leaders programmes.

The application period for all three pro-grammes is currently open and applications for the 2017-18 cycle will be accepted until October 31.

While the Innovation and Change module enhanced participants’ analytic skills, the Learning Journey strengthened their grasp of global energy and health policies.