In brief

MONDAY Vol. XXXVIII No. 10699

January 15, 2018Rabia II 28, 1439 AH www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals GULF TIMES

published in

QATAR

since 1978

Economic forum set to boost Qatar-Turkey ties

BUSINESS | Page 1

QATAR

REGION

ARAB WORLD

INTERNATIONAL

COMMENT

BUSINESS

CLASSIFIED

SPORTS

22, 23

1-5, 12-16

6-11

1-8

2-6, 24

7

7

8-21

INDEX

25,801.00+246.00+0.96%

9,174.66+38.80+0.42%

64.30+0.50

+0.78%

DOW JONES QE NYMEX

Latest Figures

SPORT | Page 1

Confi dent Qatar take on China in crunch clash today

QATAR | Offi cial

Emir gets verbal messagefrom Kazakhstan presidentHis Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani received yesterday a verbal message from Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev pertaining to bilateral relations and means to advance them in diff erent fields. Kazakhstan’s Special Envoy for Middle East and Africa Baghdad Amreyev conveyed the message, during a meeting with HE Minister of State for Foreign Aff airs Saad bin Sultan al-Muraikhi yesterday. The meeting was attended by a number of Foreign Ministry off icials.

ARAB WORLD | Confl ict

Trump’s peace eff orts‘slap of the century’Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas denounced US President Donald Trump’s peace eff orts as the “slap of the century”, at a key meeting yesterday on the White House’s declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. In a wide-ranging two-hour speech, Abbas reiterated he would not accept the Trump administration as a mediator in peace talks with Israel and called for an internationally-led process. He also accused Israel through its actions of ending the 1994 Oslo peace accords that form the basis of Palestinian ties with the Jewish state, saying the Palestinians would study all strategies for responding to it. Page 7

EUROPE | Politics

SPD aims to improvedeal with MerkelLeading members of Germany’s Social Democrats yesterday said they would press for improvements to a coalition blueprint agreed with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, seeking to win over sceptical party members who can torpedo the deal. Social Democrat (SPD) leaders must sell the deal to party members before a congress on January 21 at which delegates vote on the agreement, clinched on Friday after 25 hours of exploratory talks. Only then can they move ahead with formal negotiations. But by holding out to their members the prospect of a better deal, the SPD leaders ran into swift push back from a senior conservative – sparring that underlines the diff iculties the two groups still face before finalising a full coalition agreement.

AMERICA | Security

US offi cial defendsearly-warning systemsA top US off icial yesterday defended government early-warning systems after a false missile alert terrified Hawaii, in what a congresswoman called an epic failure that emphasised the need for talks with North Korea. The Pacific archipelago was already on edge over fears of a North Korean attack when the phones of residents and tourists blared the alert just after 8am (1800 GMT) on Saturday. Page 9

PM gets message from Kuwait

HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani received a written message from Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah, pertaining to bilateral relations and ways to enhance them in all fields. The message was delivered by Kuwait’s ambassador to Qatar Hafiz Mohamed al-Ajmi during a meeting yesterday with HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.

Sidra opens newhospital building,delivers fi rst babyBy Joseph VargheseStaff Reporter

Sidra Medicine, the high-tech world-class, premier healthcare facility in the region for children,

young people and women and a member of Qatar Foundation, delivered its fi rst baby yesterday as the hospital opened the new building and welcomed the fi rst inpatients.

“Baby Mariam, weighing 3.1kg, was the fi rst to be delivered at the hospi-tal, that too with her father witness-ing the birth in the operating theatre,” announced Dr Justin Konje, chair, Women’s Services Clinical Manage-ment Group, Sidra Medicine. He was addressing a press conference to mark the opening of the inpatient facility of the hospital.

“We have admitted nine child pa-tients at the hospital. So, including the delivery of the newborn baby, the total number of people admitted at the hos-pital is 10,” said Dr David Sigalet, chair of the Department of Surgery.

Sidra Medicine presently works on referrals from Hamad Medical Cor-poration and the Primary Health Care Corporation. It will start receiving re-ferrals from private hospitals this year onwards.

The fi rst inpatients seen by Sidra Medicine are children requiring low-risk surgeries and women undergoing elective C-sections. These services will be increased through mid-2018 to in-clude more complex paediatric surger-ies, specialist paediatric services in neu-rology and cardiology, among others, as well as deliveries, focusing on high-risk pregnancies.

“The opening of the main hospital at Sidra Medicine marks the achievement of another major milestone in the expan-sion of healthcare facilities in the country. The new hospital will further enhance the healthcare provided for women and children and reinforce our commitment to improving the health and well-being of the people in Qatar,” HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari said in a statement.

Prof the Lord Darzi of Denham, vice chair of the Board of Governors at Sidra Medicine, told the press conference: “As part of Qatar Foundation, Sidra Medicine is a true embodiment of the country’s wider, long-term eff orts to build a world-class healthcare and re-search infrastructure in Qatar, and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser’s specifi c focus on transforming the care of women and children. Qatar Founda-tion, with Her Highness Sheikha Moza at the helm, has been a powerful force for progress. It has established Qatar as a leader in education, science and com-munity development.”

“Sidra Medicine off ers specialised treatment for the citizens and resi-

dents of Qatar. It will help them avoid the trouble of travelling abroad as well as spending large amounts of money for treatment. We will be able to use the facilities in the hospital to attract more patients from outside Qatar standing in the world as a beacon of excellence in healthcare. The safety and comfort of our patients is of utmost importance and we look forward to welcoming them,” said Peter Morris, CEO, Sidra Medicine.

Sidra Medicine will open its Emer-gency Department by the middle of this year. It will also accept regional and in-ternational referrals for women, young people and children who need its spe-cialist expertise.

The press conference was also at-tended by other offi cials of Sidra Medi-cine including, Dr Abdulla al-Kaabi, executive chair, Children’s Services Clinical Management Group, executive vice chief medical offi cer and member of the Board of Governors; Dr John Fergu-son, chief medical offi cer; Morag Gates, chief operating offi cer and Dr Rashid al-Ali, division chief, Biomedical Infor-matics. Page 24

An exterior view of Sidra Medicine. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil

The number of passengers using e-gates at Hamad International Air-port (HIA) has registered a quan-

tum leap of more than 1mn between 2016 and 2017.

As many as 2,462,470 passengers used the e-gates during 2017, compared to 1.41mn in 2016, it was announced yesterday.

The fi gure for 2017 included 1,280,564 arrivals and 1,181,906 departures from the country.

“A total of 20 new e-gates with 10 each in the departure and arrivals lounges will be opened soon,” Airport Passports Sec-tion head Major Khalid Mohamed al-Mulla said in a statement.

The e-gates services provided by the Ministry of the Interior (MoI) to all citi-zens and residents are free of charge, and saves time and eff ort of the passengers.

“HIA currently has 40 electronic gates, including 19 in the arrivals lounge and 21 in the departures lounge, which facilitate the smooth entry and exit of passengers,” he explained.

The e-gates work with identifi cation of travellers’ vital data including fi nger-prints, iris scan and personal travel docu-ments. They are easily accessible for the passengers with availability of the assist-ance by staff s of Airport Security and Air-port Passports departments. The e-gates

are located in a place parallel to the pass-port counters.

Qatar citizens and residents travelling via HIA can use e-gate facility at the en-try and exit points for quick completion of passport control procedures. All residents above 18 years old with ID cards can take advantage of this facility.

The procedures of using e-gates are very simple. The passenger has to fi rst place the ID card or passport on the e-reader. Then the fi rst glass barrier will be opened and the passenger will reach the middle of the gate. The system will match the data of identity with iris scan or fi ngerprint. Once the information is

verifi ed, the gate will open automatically. Major al-Mulla pointed out that the

system of e-gates at HIA has been lauded by the International Civil Aviation Organ-isation as a distinctive model.

He said that the airport passport de-partment has opened an offi ce next to the e-gates to activate the service using ID cards of the residents over 18. He stressed that the use of the ID card does not require prior registration or payment of any fees.

The offi cial called on residents to use the e-gates at HIA to facilitate the com-pletion of their travel without having to stand in front of the passport counters. Page 4

Over 2.4mn travellers used e-gates at HIA in 2017

Travellers using the e-gates at HIA (file picture supplied by the MoI).

Qatar monitoringSheikh Abdullah’s ‘detention’ in UAEAgenciesDoha

Qatar has been closely monitoring the reported detention of Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al-Thani, who

in a video was seen as saying he is being held against his will in the UAE.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson HE Lulua al-Khater told Qatar News Agen-cy (QNA) that Doha was closely moni-toring the situation, but due to the total severance of ties with the UAE “it is dif-fi cult to clearly establish the circum-stances surrounding the situation”.

She said despite that, Qatar prin-cipally stands with the protection of rights for every individual and affi rms the entitlement of his family to pursue all legal means for the protection of his rights.

“We have seen similar behaviour, in the past, by the siege countries where rights of individuals and offi cials alike are violated in total contravention of international norms, conventions and laws with no clear purpose or valid rea-soning,” she added.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al-Thani, a controversial member of Qatar’s royal family, emerged as an unlikely mediator in August, weeks after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha.

Yesterday Sheikh Abdullah released a video statement, also broadcast by Qa-tar-based Al Jazeera television, showing him seated in an armchair warning that he was afraid something could happen to him that will be blamed on Qatar.

“I am currently in Abu Dhabi. I was a guest of Sheikh Mohamed. I am no longer a guest; I am a prisoner,” he said in the video, which was widely circu-lated on social media.

“I want to make clear that the people of Qatar are innocent,” he said. “Sheikh Mohamed bears full responsibility for anything that happens to me.”

“They told me not to leave. I am afraid that anything could happen to me, and the people of Qatar would be blamed. So I just wanted to inform you that if anything happens to me, the people of Qatar are innocent,” added Sheikh Ab-dullah.

Emirati offi cials were not immedi-ately available for comment.

In August, Sheikh Abdullah met Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman but Doha was quick to point out that he was in Saudi Arabia on a personal mission and did not represent the government.

Riyadh had tried to present him as someone who opposes His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Sheikh Abdullah appeared frequent-ly on Saudi and UAE television pro-grammes expressing his views in sup-port of the measures against Doha.

Majed al-Ansari, a professor at Qatar University, said Sheikh Abdullah’s ap-parent detention could be seen as part of a wider “trend of behaviour” by Saudi Arabia and the UAE in dealing with high-profi le Arab personalities that may be used as leverage.

In November, Lebanese offi cials al-leged that Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri was being held hostage by Saudi authorities.

Hariri appeared on television from Saudi Arabia on November 4 to an-nounce his resignation, but retracted it when he returned home.

Riyadh denied detaining Hariri, but the intervention of several countries, including France, led to his release and allowed him to travel two weeks later with his wife while their son and daugh-ter remained in Saudi Arabia.

In a similar situation at the end of November, former Egyptian prime min-ister Ahmed Shafi q accused Abu Dhabi in a videotape of detaining him and preventing him from travelling, after he expressed his desire to run for president in Egypt.

Abu Dhabi accused Shafi k of lying be-fore allowing him to travel alone with-out his family. He had been living in the UAE since 2012.

“This is now the way that Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi deal with their friends,” al-Ansari told Al Jazeera.

Sheikh Abdullah is no more useful to them because their plan to use him to serve their purpose has miserably failed, he added.

Late in the evening, sources quoted Abu Dhabi offi cials as denying the de-tention report, saying Sheikh Abdullah was hosted as a guest and he was free to go wherever he wanted to go.

Lactalis to compensate victimsAFPParis

The chief executive of France’s Lactalis group yesterday vowed compensation for victims of

salmonella-tainted baby milk, as he re-vealed that recalls were now under way in 83 countries.

Emmanuel Besnier, giving his fi rst interview in nearly 20 years as head of the family-controlled company, told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper that the recall involved more than 12mn

packages of Picot, Milumel, Celia and other brands of powdered baby milk.

“We are going to draw the lessons from this crisis and set out an even stricter hygiene framework, in col-laboration with the authorities,” he said.

Asked why he had not publicly ad-dressed earlier parents’ concerns as worries about the outbreak intensifi ed, Besnier said: “It’s true, by nature I’m not very forthcoming.”

“In a crisis like this, we act fi rst, and perhaps I didn’t take the necessary time to explain things.” Page 15

QATAR

Gulf Times Monday, January 15, 20182

‘Shop Qatar, other QTA events helping local companies to expand’

Shop Qatar 2018, along with other events or-ganised by Qatar Tour-

ism Authority (QTA), pro-vides a golden opportunity for small Qatari companies to grow and expand their op-erations, some events organ-isers and local fashion brand offi cials have said.

“Shop Qatar and other QTA events have given us the platform to elevate our brand to the Qatari audi-ence,” Q-Label’s marketing and public relations man-ager Pooja Adam told re-porters on the sidelines of a press briefi ng on Shop Qatar recently.

“It is important for us to be seen by Qataris as a

benchmark for modest wear where ‘East Meets West,’ so that is our main aim as a brand,” she pointed out.

Q-Label, a local brand launched in 2017, took part in the recently-held Ara-bian Fashion Show at Mon-drian Doha, one of the main events of Shop Qatar last week. All its travel wear de-signs and collections (Eu-ropean Infl uences) and in-house production are done in the country.

Adam said that they have been keen to be part of the QTA event, which she be-lieves will help them grow.

Citing the success of the Heya Arabian Exhibition last year, she noted that more people have noticed Q-Label and its customer base expanded.

“The Arabian Fashion

Show was our second show in Qatar in the last four months,” Adam added.

About the impact on lo-cal companies of the unjust blockade, she pointed out that the siege on Qatar even helped them to reach more clients.

Echoing Adam’s view, Design Creationz (sister company of Q-Label) ac-count executive Primrose Fernandes said the blockade has not made a single dif-ference in their operations. Design Creationz operates with a small team and man-ages events in Qatar.

“What I see from my con-tacts from day to day, when I deal with designers not only from Qatar but inter-nationally, they are really very interested to open new markets here, it is like a new

opportunity for them,” she said, adding, “These include Italian, Spanish, German, Hong Kong, Indonesian, and Chinese brands, as well as Turkish and Lebanese brands.”

“They see this blockade as an opportunity for them to start business here and it is really interesting. It has created many opportuni-ties,” she stressed.

Citing the success of Heya, Fernandes said, “Many embassies in Doha also partnered with us and each country sponsored two designers to participate at Heya. I haven’t felt the siege has aff ected us a bit.”

Shop Qatar also provided a booth for local companies like Q-Label at Mall of Qatar, along with other startup and home-based enterprises.

By Joey AguilarStaff Reporter

From left: Primrose Fernandes, Q-Label sales manager Daniela Lesanu and Pooja Adam at a press briefing on Shop Qatar. PICTURE: Joey Aguilar

QATAR

Gulf Times Monday, January 15, 20184

Deputy PM receives messages from FMs of Bangladesh, Kazakhstan

HE the Deputy Prime Min-ister and Foreign Min-ister Sheikh Mohamed

bin Abdulrahman al-Thani re-ceived yesterday a written mes-sage from Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, pertaining to bilateral rela-tions and means to support and develop them.

HE Minister of State for For-eign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi received the message during a meeting with Bangla-desh ambassador to Qatar Achod Ahmed.

The meeting was attended by several Foreign Ministry offi cials.

HE the Deputy Prime Minis-ter and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani has received a written message from Kazakhstan Min-ister of Foreign Aff airs Kairat Abdrakhmanov, pertaining to bilateral relations and ways of advancing them.

The message was handed to HE the Minister of State for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi, during his meet-ing yesterday with Kazakhstan’s special envoy for the Middle East and Africa Baghdad Amreyev.

The meeting was attended by a number of offi cials at the Foreign Ministry.

HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani met yesterday with Interpol Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) executive director Noboru Nakatani and the accompanying delegation, on the occasion of their visit to Qatar. During the meeting, they reviewed areas of co-operation between Qatar and Interpol and ways of developing them, especially in the security fields, in addition to a number of issues of common concern.

PM meets Interpol official, US charge d’affaires, Malaysian envoy

HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani met yesterday with US charge d’aff aires to Qatar Ryan Kleha. Talks during the meeting covered co-operation relations between the two countries and ways of promoting them in various fields.

HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani met yesterday with Malaysian ambassador to Qatar Dato’ Ahmad Fadil bin Shamsuddin. During the meeting, they reviewed aspects of co-operation between the two countries and prospects for their development and enhancement, in addition to discussing a number of issues of mutual interest.

Al-Khulaifi meets envoy from Iran

HE the Director General of Public Security Staff Major General Saad bin

Jassim al-Khulaifi met yester-day with Iranian ambassador to Qatar Mohammed Ali Sobhani. During the meeting, they dis-cussed a number of topics of common concern.

Official

People with fl u advised against visiting patients in hospitalsA senior offi cial of Ha-

mad Medical Corpora-tion (HMC) has advised

that people suff ering from fl u or common cold should not visit friends and family in hospital.

Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, deputy chief medical offi cer and head of infectious diseases, HMC, emphasised how important it is for people with fl u or common cold symptoms to avoid visiting patients until these symptoms subside completely.

“While the fl u is generally not a life-threatening condition for a young healthy individual, it can make someone who is already sick or recovering from a medical condition very ill and can com-plicate their illness and prolong their stay in the hospital,” he explained, adding, “People who are sick with symptoms of respi-ratory tract infections shouldn’t visit someone in hospital at any time of year, but this advice is particularly important during the fl u (winter) season when the

fl u virus and several other res-piratory (fl u-like) viruses are in circulation.”

Healthy hospital visitors are instructed to sanitise their hands when they arrive at the hospi-tal and before they leave. They should also cover their cough or sneeze with a tissue or their sleeve, and sanitise their hands after coughing or sneezing.

Dr al-Khal suggested that in-dividuals who feel sick should stay at home to avoid spreading the fl u and focus on getting well. He said that anyone experienc-ing fl u symptoms should rest,

drink plenty of fl uids, and take fever-reducing medicine. Those who have other chronic diseases like asthma or heart disease and who have fl u-like illness (fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, body aches) should seek medical attention immediately.

Flu symptoms can include fever of 38C or higher, chills, harsh and barking cough, runny nose, headache, vomiting/nau-sea, body aches, sore throat and general weakness.

Dr al-Khal added that mem-bers of the public who are ex-periencing fl u symptoms should seek treatment from their pri-mary care provider and avoid going to the Emergency Depart-ment unless they have existing health conditions that put them at risk for severe infl uenza. Preg-nant women are at increased risk for severe infl uenza and should seek medical attention if they develop fl u symptoms.

“This year we are seeing an increased number of patients

with infl uenza-like-illness at our emergency departments. Many of these cases are not an emergency and can be treated at community-based health centres. For most in-dividuals, the best treatment for fl u is staying at home, drinking plenty of fl uids, sleeping, and tak-ing anti-fever medication. Unless you are over the age of 65 or un-der the age of two, have diabetes, a heart, lung, or kidney condi-tion, or immunosuppression, it is usually not necessary to visit a hospital for treatment of the fl u,” advised Dr al-Khal.

Anyone who is having diffi -culty breathing is experiencing shortness of breath, chest pain or severe abdominal pain, con-fusion, sudden dizziness, or se-vere vomiting, should, however, seek medical attention.

The best way to prevent the fl u is to get the fl u shot, wash hands thoroughly, avoid touch-ing eyes, nose, and mouth when outside, and avoid contact with individuals who are sick.

Dr Abdullatif al-Khal

Qatar Post reopens Rayyan, LuLu Old Airport branches

Qatar Post has offi cially reopened its newly re-branded branches in Al

Rayyan and LuLu Old Airport.The events held yesterday

were attended by Qatar Post chairman and managing di-rector Faleh al-Naemi, COO Hamad al-Fahida and several other senior offi cials.

Al Rayyan branch showcases Qatar Post’s new brand initiative and strategy which represents its digital ambition arising from the transformation of its serv-ices from traditional to hi-tech.

Aside from the big change in services, the Al Rayyan branch’s state-of-the-art fa-cility also refl ects the new strategy of working on the physical change of Qatar Post.

With the success of the re-branding campaign which started with the main post of-fi ce building, Al Rayyan branch becomes the fi rst to be opened with the new-look Qatar Post logo and brand colours.

Chairman Faleh al-Naemi said, “Qatar Post is not just a service provider but an organi-sation that has historically been a part of the daily life of the peo-ple and we are ready to continue to do so in a much greater way with renewed vigour and focus.”

COO al-Fahida said, “Our rebranding campaign, launched last year, has been very successful. The transfor-mation has helped us provide much better and effi cient serv-ices to the customers and we are well poised to take service delivery to the next level.”

More Qatar Post rebranded branches are scheduled to open in the coming months with Al Mansoura and Souq Al-Ali branches topping the list.

Qatar Post is fully embracing the digital age and diversifying its product and services port-folio while investing in e-com-merce and teaming up with key business partners both in Qatar and globally.

More than 7.2mn people benefi ted from QRCS projects in 2017

Research receives certificate from Belmont International Forum

More than 91,000 people in Qatar and 7.2mn in-ternationally have ben-

efi ted from Qatar Red Crescent Society’s (QRCS) various projects in 2017, it was announced.

QRCS’ operations covered 25 countries in the fi elds of health-care, shelter, water and sanita-tion, food security, training, and other relief aid.

“QRCS’ 2017 results further show a fi rm belief in its strategic mission of social development in

Qatar, as well as relief of the vul-nerable around the world,” said QRCS president Dr Mohamed bin Ghanem al-Ali al-Maad-heed, who chaired a recent board of directors’ meeting aimed at mapping the organisation’s strategy and action plan for the coming 12 months.

The meeting was attended by Dr Aisha Yousef al-Mannai, vice-president, and all the board mem-bers Dr Abdul-Salam al-Qahtani, Mohamed al-Yami, Fatima al-

Khulaifi , Saleh Ali al-Mohannadi, Dr Abdullah al-Naimi, Dr Talal al-Abdullah, Ali Hassan al-Ham-madi, Dr Khaled al-Sulaiti, and Omar Hussain Alfardan. Execu-tive directors of QRCS divisions were also present.

“In co-operation with the government, non-governmental organisations, individual and in-stitutional donors, we redoubled our eff orts and conducted projects worth QR167,047,749,” he noted.

QRCS’ major operations were

conducted in Syria (refugees in Turkey and Lebanon), Palestine (Gaza and the West Bank), Afghan-istan, Iraq, and Somalia — together taking a cost of QR124,310,878.

At the local front, QRCS man-ages three Workers’ Health Cen-tres and three Medical Commis-sion Units commissioned by the Ministry of Public Health. These health facilities served 716,000 and 92,940 clients, respectively.

More than 90,000 people had access to QRCS’ social services

in Doha and Al Khor, including healthcare, academic assistance, economic empowerment, and other social development off er-ings, at a total cost of QR13mn.

QRCS also recruited 433 vol-unteers in 2017, and newcomers were reported to have contrib-uted eff ectively to diverse pro-grammes, events, and activities, registering a total of 4,108 vol-unteering hours.

“As a new year begins, it is im-portant to review the work done

during 2017, particularly the past challenging six months,” Dr al-Maadheed said.

“The successive crises and disasters in the Mena region are exacerbating and posing diffi -culties for humanitarian action. Like any other fi eld of activ-ity, it is necessary to have ad-vantageous settings in order to achieve our humanitarian goals. Therefore, making progress re-quires working harder in the face of challenges,” he noted.

A joint Qatari-European-American scientific research on food, water and energy has been awarded a scientific and technical certificate from the Belmont International Scientific Research Forum and the European Union for Urban Cities.The scientific research was about the formulation of a sustainable strategy for food, water and energy resources (FWE) in urban areas by improving the co-operation between food, water and energy systems for a period of three years starting from January 2018 and ending in December 2020. Some international donors, including the Qatar National Research Fund, are financing this research.The Qatar team is headed by director of the Municipal and Environmental Studies Center Dr Mohammed bin Saif al-Kuwari, representing the Ministry of Municipality and Environment and the researcher of the Qatar Institute for Environmental and Energy Mohammed al-Hashri, while Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) is represented by Prof Dr Abdul Karim Ahmed, where the Qatar team is involved with European and American scientific research centres.The Qatar team, in co-operation with universities, national institutions, and specialised research centres, is carrying out this important scientific research to serve Qatar National Vision 2030, and the National Development Strategy 2017-2022, and achieves the sustainable strategy for food, water and energy resources in Qatar.Eighty-eight scientific researches were presented in the first phase, of which 40 researches qualified to compete in the final stage in December, while the short list comprised 15 scientific researches and papers. The Qatari-European-American joint scientific research has won the scientific and technical certificate to provide innovative solutions to challenge the relationship between food, water and sustainable energy.The 17 sustainable development goals called for in the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Plan call for a holistic approach to address the growing demand for food, water and energy, increase linkages and build the foundations for sustainable human life.The Qatari team participating in the global project will also organise a symposium, where the ministry will invite scientists and researchers from ministries, institutions, universities and national research centres related to food, water and energy in the country to present the idea of the project and discuss the objectives and expected outputs. (QNA)

How HIA e-gates work

QATAR5Gulf Times

Monday, January 15, 2018

Open seminar on

Qatari families

The Doha International Family In-stitute (DIFI), a member of Qatar Foundation (QF), in collaboration

with the Ministry of Administrative De-velopment, Labour and Social Aff airs, will hold a public seminar titled ‘Qatari Families: Strengths and Challenges’, at the Qatar National Convention Centre from tomorrow.

The seminar will discuss the fi ndings of a study on Qatari families, as part of a larger DIFI research project on Arab Fam-ily Strengths in Qatar, Jordan, and Tuni-sia.

Noor al-Malki al-Jehani, executive director, DIFI, emphasised that families are the basic, foundational social units in every society, and that healthy individu-als within healthy families are essential to the core of a healthy society.

“It’s the responsibility of society, and in everyone’s best interest, to help create a positive environment for all families. Therefore, the purpose of our research is to identify the factors that are associated with strong, Arab families, the challenges they face, and how they rely on their strengths as individuals, family units, members of communities, as well as the wisdom of their cultural and religious beliefs, to meet these many challenges,” said al-Jehani.

The two-day seminar will include the following four panel discussions: ‘Mari-tal Relationships’, ‘Parenting’, ‘Culture’, and ‘Financial Aspects’.

On the fi rst day, Dr Abdallah Badah-dah, director, the Family Research Divi-sion, DIFI, and Dr John DeFrain, pro-fessor emeritus of family science in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, College of Education and Hu-man Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA, will present the research fi ndings.

Ministry launches private boat mooring fi elds projectThe Ministry of Transport and

Communications (MoTC) has announced that it has start-

ed implementing a project to build mooring facilities for private boats at all harbours in the country.

Work has begun across all the har-bours simultaneously and the project is planned for completion within 18 months, the ministry has said in a press statement.

The MoTC has assigned the project to Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar), which will implement it in collaboration with private sector companies.

The goal is to provide some 1,000 moorings in accordance with lat-est global standards and systems at harbours in Al Wakrah, Al Khor, Al Zakhira and Al Ruwais, through di-rect co-ordination with the Ministry of Municipality and Environment’s Fisheries Department, which is con-cerned with harbour aff airs.

The project comes within the MoTC’s strategy related to planning for the marine transport sector and its development.

“The project is a great, right solu-tion providing moorings for private boaters. It follows a considerable rise in the number of private boats reg-istered lately by the ministry,” said Dr Saleh Fetais al-Marri, director of Maritime Transport Planning and Licensing and general supervisor of Maritime Transport Aff airs at the MoTC.

He stressed that the project aims to regulate private boat mooring op-erations within modern anchoring spaces, constructed to global stand-ards and specifi cations to fulfi l private boaters’ needs and expectations. It also aims to keep boats safe from dan-gerous weather events such as storms and high waves, provide smoother private boat movement and preserv-ing people’s belongings. Besides, it will support the private sector in a way that helps boost Qatar’s economic de-velopment, he added.

Dr al-Marri said the project’s most important feature is the optimised use of the potential of Qatar’s harbours and establishments, aiming to reduce cost, observe environmental and sus-tainability standards and codes, and apply the world’s best practices in terms of project design and execution.

He said there are 436 mooring slips

at the Al Wakrah harbour, 324 at Al Ruwais, 200 at Al Khor and 28 at Al Zakhira. Planning for these mooring slips has taken into consideration all boat sizes, which means each mooring slip can accommodate more than one boat and part of the project is to in-crease the number of moorings in the future, the statement notes.

The MME’s Marine Fishing Har-bors Section head, Hamad Murshid al-Muraikhi, said the project would contribute to serving many private boat owners and reduce the burden on fi shing harbours.

Upon project completion, the cur-rent fi shing harbours will be cleared of private boats, mooring fi elds reorgan-ised and redistributed, and new serv-ices will be provided, helping fulfi l the fi shermen’s desire that fi shing har-bours should be exclusive to only ships and boats that have a licence from

the MME’s Fisheries Department.Environment standards and codes

have been observed for the project, aiming to preserve the environment and marine resources, al-Muraikhi said. He also stressed that the allo-cation of mooring fi elds for private boaters will not take place at the same harbours where fi shermen’s ships and boats operate, but adjacent to them.

Nabil Alkhaldi, engineering direc-tor at Mwani Qatar, said the mooring fi elds project is a major public-private partnership in Qatar. He noted that the private sector plays a key role in its implementation based on the consid-erable attention the country pays to enhancing and bolstering the private sector’s role and contribution to de-velopment projects countrywide.

The project implementation plan has been endorsed by the bodies con-cerned and the plan is to complete and

deliver the project in roughly a year and a half, he added.

The Al Zakhira harbour’s mooring fi elds are to be completed and deliv-ered in 10 months, Al Khor harbour’s in 14 months and Al Wakrah and Al Ruwais harbours’ in 18 months, the offi cial informed.

Project works include constructing mooring slips at a length of 22m for boats and 10m for cruisers, as well as groynes for which “we use sustaina-ble, eco-friendly materials”, he noted.

Implementing an eco-friendly project has been the focus of attention of all stakeholders and parties involved in the project, involving the use of eco-friendly materials and techniques that help preserve the environment and liv-ing marine resources, Alkhaldi added.

QIB promo off ers 5 fully-paid 2018 FIFA World Cup prizes

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), in partnership with Visa, will grant fi ve fully-paid

packages to fl y to Russia and at-tend the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-fi nal matches.

Visa is the offi cial payment partner of the FIFA World Cup.

In the run-up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia scheduled to take place from June 14 to July 15, QIB has announced that it is cel-ebrating the long-awaited event with its customers.

The promotion will run from January 15 to April 15.

Each of the fi ve packages to be won will cover the expenses for two individuals — the lucky win-ner and one companion.

The fully-paid packages will cover the airfare cost, deluxe accommodation, tickets for a 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-fi nal match with pre-match hospital-ity, and a guided tour to the city of Saint Petersburg, courtesy of Visa.

“The 2018 FIFA World Cup is the biggest and most an-ticipated football event world-wide. QIB is excited to grant

five lucky Visa cardholders the chance to watch live the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia,” said QIB gen-eral manager Personal Banking Group D Anand.

“Football is well-rooted in Qa-tar and we are proud to take an active role in the FIFA World Cup and let our customers live the ex-perience as Qatar is getting ready to host the next FIFA World Cup in 2022” he added.

Customers who use their Visa credit cards locally or interna-tionally, and those who use their Visa debit card internationally for a minimum of QR5,000 dur-ing the month, will be eligible to enter the monthly draw, which will select one winner every month.

Customers who will use the same cards for a minimum of QR15,000 during the three-month campaign will also get two chances to win the fully-paid 2018 FIFA World Cup pack-ages.

For more information and terms and conditions, visit www.qib.com.qa.

The Beaches and Islands Section at the General Cleaning Department of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment has conducted a cleaning campaign at the north and northwest beaches. The campaign, which started on January 1, had two phases. In the first phase, the beaches extending up to Abu-Zaluf were cleaned. Carcasses of a dead dolphin and dugong were found at Al-Arish. During the current week, beaches extending from Al-Arish until Al-Zubarah are to be cleaned.

Beach clean-up

Branded cases for iPhone recalledThe Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC), in collaboration with Dareen International Co Qatar, has announced the recall of Victoria’s Secret liquid glitter iPhone cases over the possible breakup of

the ornamental cover and the leak of the liquid within which could result in skin rashes and burns.The MEC urged customers to immediately stop using the product and return it to the outlet for a refund of the

‘Strong Qatar laws ensure women’s safety’Qatar has set an example for wom-

en’s safety in the world, Doha resident

Amina Khan told Qatar Urdu Radio’s

live show Haqeeqat yesterday.

“Qatar has very strong laws when

it comes to the safety of women.

We can be out after midnight alone

without worrying about anything.

This sense of security for women is

not common in many countries in the

world these days,” Khan said.

“Truth is that apart from all the

facilities Qatar provides, sense of

security is a major motivation for

people to live here. Many migrants

don’t feel secure wearing gold or

carrying expensive items outside

in the night, but here in Qatar we

don’t worry about such things,” she

asserted.

Khan closely works with the

Nepalese community in Qatar and

frequently participates in events to

create awareness about the laws of

Qatar.

“There are many people who are

not fully aware about the laws of Qa-

tar, especially when it comes to traff ic

laws, so we routinely conduct events

to inform people about road safety

among other subjects.”

Haqeeqat is a joint venture of the

Gulf Times and Qatar Media Corp

Urdu Radio. The show, hosted by

Saif-ur-Rehman, aims to engage and

interact with the large South Asian

expatriate community in Qatar. Log

on to Qatar Urdu Radio on Facebook

and ‘@QatarUrduRadio’ on Twitter

for feedback and comments about

the show. Amina Khan and Saif-ur-Rehman

Dr Saleh Fetais al-Marri Hamad Murshid al-Muraikhi Nabil Alkhaldi.

A Quick Look

1,000 moorings to be provided

across 4 harbours – Wakrah, Al Khor,

Al Zakhira and Al Ruwais

Al Zakhira harbour’s mooring fields

are to be completed and delivered

in 10 months, Al Khor harbour’s in 14

months and Al Wakrah and Al Ruwais

harbours’ in 18 months

Project works include constructing

mooring slips at a length of 22m for

boats and 10m for cruisers

Upon project completion, the cur-

rent fishing harbours will be cleared

of private boats and, mooring fields

reorganised and redistributed

total purchase amount.The MEC said the recall campaign comes within the framework of its ongoing eff orts to ensure that product dealers follow up and repair product defects in a bid to protect consumers.The MEC has urged all customers to report

any violations to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department through the following channels: Call centre: 16001, e-mail: info@mec.gov.qa, Twitter: @MEC_Qatar, Instagram: MEC_Qatar, MEC mobile app for Android and IOS: MEC_Qatar

and delight is evident in the driving dynamics derived from i-Activ All-Wheel Drive.

“The assurance of i-Ac-tiv All-Wheel Drive comes through its sensors, which take into account factors like steering angle, throt-tle inputs and wheel-spin along with temperature and use of wipers to paint a clear picture of the outside condi-tions.

“i-Activ All-Wheel Drive can adjust power output more than 200 times per second, using 27 diff erent variables, to ‘predict’ what the road conditions look like,” the statement explains.

The brand-new Mazda CX-9 is the “ultimate blend of stunning sophistication and family SUV”.

It is the fi rst Mazda to fea-ture the breakthrough Sky-activ-G 2.5T petrol engine, delivering breakthrough performance and bringing new levels of driving pleas-ure.

The direct injection tur-bocharged engine provides

more immediate power and torque for eff ortless accel-eration and overtaking, even when towing and carrying loads.

The smooth ride and ath-letic responses are further enhanced with the latest ad-vances in Skyactiv Technol-ogy, of which CX-9 boasts the full suite.

The addition of intelligent i-Activ AWD monitors and even predicts road condi-tions.

QATAR

Gulf Times Monday, January 15, 20186

Safari Group has announced that it is launching the “Safari Win 10 Nis-san Patrol Car Promotion” today.

This is the fi rst mega promotion from Safari this year, the Safari Group said in a press statement.

Five draws will be held as part of the promotion, with two Nissan Patrol vehi-cles given away in each draw.

To avail of the opportunity to win the 2018 Nissan Patrol, customers need only make purchases worth a minimum of QR50 to be eligible for a raffl e coupon.

In the statement, Safari Group director and general manager Zainul Abideen said that the promotion would be available at all Safari outlets.

Safari has also launched a number of

new off ers as part of its mega promotion, besides musical game shows.

The musical shows are free events that would be held in the food court of Safari Mall from today until Wednesday (Janu-ary 17), and will be led by famous artistes from Doha.

Abideen expressed gratitude to cus-tomers for their support over the years.

Customers “gave tremendous sup-port” to the “Safari Win 20 Toyota Cam-ry Car Promotion”, which started in 2017 and ended this month, it was observed.

“The best part is that the winners of these promotions have mostly been com-mon people from all walks of life and dif-ferent nationalities. Safari’s promotions have always got tremendous support,” the statement adds.

Nissan Patrol promotion starts at all Safari outlets

Abideen: expressed gratitude to loyal customers for their support

CRA fully meeting need for national scarce resourcesThe Communications Regula-

tory Authority (CRA) has met the full and diverse range of

“national scarce resources” needs, such as numbering, domain names, and spectrum, it was announced in a statement yesterday.

Throughout 2017, the CRA said it allocated 100,000 mobile numbers to service providers, registered 3,272 new Qatari domain names, issued 1,311 spectrum licences, and assigned 649 frequencies.

“The CRA is keen to ensure the ef-fective management and allocation of the ‘national scarce resources’ and to meet all current and future needs. The CRA also ensures that the use of such resources is rationed in a fair and transparent manner,” said CRA president Mohamed Ali al-Mannai.

In the fi eld of spectrum manage-ment, in 2017 the CRA issued 407 import authorisation licences (up by 12% from 363 licences in 2016), is-sued 1,082 type approval certifi cates for radio and telecommunications terminal equipment (RTTE), and re-ceived 22,317 custom clearance ap-plications.

Furthermore, the CRA received 56

spectrum interference cases (down by 33% from 84 in 2016) and con-ducted six quality of service inves-tigations relating to the consumers’

complaints received throughout 2017 (down 45% from 11 investigations in 2016).

The CRA conducted two routine inspections on 546 shops that sell radio and telecommunication equip-ment (up by 180% from inspections on 195 shops in 2016) and issued 257 violation notices for shops that were selling telecoms devices and equip-ment without having the required licences.

The CRA also played a signifi cant role in supporting spectrum require-ments of three major events during the year: the National Day celebra-tion, the fi nal round of the Superbike World Championship, and FIA World Touring Car Championship.

It has made considerable eff ort to encourage the uptake of “.qa” do-main names, which allow local busi-nesses to secure a reliable and reach-able name on the Internet and ensure that they refl ect their Qatari identity when they provide services to their local and international customers.

Throughout 2017, the CRA regis-tered 3,272 new domains (up nearly 10% from 2,981 in 2016), which indi-cates that Qatari domain extensions

“are serving the Qatari market and community well”.

Also, the total number of registered Qatari domains reached 20,253.

In the fi eld of numbering man-agement, in 2017 the CRA allocated 100,000 new mobile numbers and 10,000 fi xed-line numbers to service providers.

As of December 31, 2017, a total of 8.1mn mobile and 1.46mn fi xed line numbers have been allocated.

Throughout the year, 29,466 mo-bile numbers were ported and 5,914 mobile numbers were returned under the mobile number portability serv-ice.

In addition to mobile and fi xed-line numbers allocation, the CRA assigned 15 numbering resources for other services that include toll free, public service, and licenced operator service.

Furthermore, with the emergence of new services like M2M/IoT and the need to keep the numbering plan in pace with the global technological developments, the CRA is working to update the national numbering dis-tribution table and policy, which will be issued in 2018.

Al-Mannai: The CRA ensures that the use of ‘national scarce resources’ is rationed in a fair and transparent manner.

Katara gearing up for Winter Festival 2018Keen to present a wide array of entertainment shows and cultural events, Katara – the Cultural Village is set to host the fifth edition of the Winter Festival from January 18 to 22, it was announced.The festival will feature performances, folklore shows, amusing events and informative competitions from 4pm to 9pm at Katara’s esplanade.In addition, residents and visitors will get to buy traditional and artistic pieces from Katara’s traditional Souq.The Souq hosts a diverse range of pavilions off ering products such as textiles, perfumes and unique art pieces.The festival will also see Al Gannas Association participating with an exhibition and educational workshops for young falconers, as well as Al Da’oo and Hudad Al Suloqi.In addition, the organisers of Al Galayel

Championship will host an exhibition of collectables and equipment from previous championships.The Ministry of Municipality and Environment is scheduled to organise “winter planting” workshops for children, Katara said in a statement.A campaign on health awareness and free medical checkups for the public will be conducted by the Syrian American Medical Centre, Al Hayat Medical Centre, Bin Muftah Centre, Naseem Al Rabeeh Medical Centre, Value Medical Centre, and Boston Medical Care.Tamim Toast Master International Club will off er entertaining shows on the art of public speaking and classic poetry.Bedaya Centre is participating with a display of new business startups aimed at educating the public on the various services provided by each project.

National Car Compa-ny, the sole agent of Mazda in Qatar, has

announced the introduction of the all-new 2018 Mazda 6, CX3 and CX9 in the country.

The new models, all made in Japan, come with free fi ve-year “unlimited kilometre” warranty along with road-side assistance, National Car Company has said in a state-ment.

The models are on display at the Mazda showroom in Al Nasr, Doha.

As an ancient Japanese tradition, horse-mounted archers believed that the key to mastering their skill was for horseman and mount to achieve “oneness”.

This is known as Jinba It-tai, or “horse and rider as one”, and is the engineering inspiration for the new-gen-eration Mazda vehicles, the statement notes.

The Mazda 6 is a personal sports sedan with “every-thing in the cockpit dedicat-ed to helping you celebrate driving through a direct feel-ing of being at ‘one’ with the vehicle”.

New-generation Skyactiv Vehicle Dynamics, realised as a result of the Mazda human-centric development philos-ophy, debuts with the adop-tion of G-Vectoring Control to take the trademark Jinba Ittai driving experience to a new level.

“Engineered to respond precisely to your every wish as if it were a part of you, the Mazda 6 off ers unprecedent-ed linearity in acceleration, cornering and braking to take Mazda’s world-famous unity between car and driver to a still higher level,” the state-ment adds.

The CX-3 is a driver’s “companion for whatever the road may throw its way – from the urban sprawl to the great outdoors”.

It is a vehicle designed to meet the needs of a new gen-eration of car buyers, sup-porting creative, adventur-ous lifestyles.

The interior off ers a high-quality and sophisticated feel that complements the exte-rior design.

Attention was paid to eve-ry detail, including the cohe-siveness of designs and qual-ity of materials.

Mazda’s commitment to making vehicles that thrill

National Car Company brings in all-new Mazda 2018 models

The Mazda 6 (above) and the Mazda CX3 (below).

REGION/ARAB WORLD7Gulf Times

Monday, January 15, 2018

US-led coalition to build border force in SyriaAFP Beirut

The US-led coalition fi ghting the Is-lamic State group said yesterday it was working to create a 30,000-strong

border security force in northern Syria, drawing sharp condemnation from Turkey.

With the offensive against IS winding down, the coalition and its allies in the Syr-ian Democratic Forces alliance were begin-ning to shift their focus to border security, coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon said.

“There is a goal of a final force of approx-imately 30,000,” about half of whom would be retrained SDF fighters, he said.

“There are approximately 230 individu-als that are training right now in the border security force. That’s an inaugural class,” Dillon said.

Backed by the US-led coalition’s air strikes, special forces advisers, and weap-ons, the SDF has ousted IS from swathes of northeastern Syria.

Its Kurdish and Arab members now control territory bordering Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and Syrian govern-

ment forces to the west. Turkey reacted sharply to news of the border force yes-terday, saying it would “legitimise a terror organisation”.Ankara is fiercely opposed to the SDF, which is dominated by the Kurd-ish People’s Protection Units (YPG) — con-sidered by the Turkish government to be a “terrorist” group.

“Rather than end its support to the PYD-YPG, these steps taken to legitimise a terror organisation and to make it permanent in the region are worrying,” said Ibrahim Ka-lin, spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Accepting this state of affairs is abso-lutely not possible,” Kalin added.

Top SDF media official Mustefa Bali con-firmed the creation of the border force, and said training had already begun.

“We are transitioning to a new phase of co-ordination between us and the interna-tional coalition,” Bali said.

“The wide areas and cities that were lib-erated need someone to protect them.”

Bali said the new units would be de-ployed along the Turkish border and adja-cent to territory held by Syrian troops, but did not immediately respond to a question on rules of engagement in those areas.

Turkey has often targeted YPG positions in northern Syria and yesterday, Erdogan threatened to attack the Kurdish-held area of Afrin in northern Syria “in the days ahead”.The SDF’s relationship with regime forces is less tense.

Since last year, a “de-confliction line” cutting diagonally across eastern Syria has largely kept the two forces from clashing.

There was no immediate reaction from the Syrian government to the border force announcement. The coalition declined to comment on possible military protocol when it came to Turkish or regime troops.

Dillon said the force was primarily part of a broader strategy to “prevent the resur-gence of IS”.

“With the fight against IS, as the re-maining pocket continues to go away, we know that doesn’t mean the end of Daesh,” he told AFP, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

“We’ll have to make sure that there is se-curity that can be maintained,” he said.

Dillon said SDF troops in Syria’s east were already co-ordinating with Iraqi forc-es across the border to target any “transient movement” by IS fighters between the two countries.

Protests mark Tunisia uprising anniversaryAFP Tunis

Tunisians yesterday marked seven years since the uprising that

launched the Arab Spring, with fresh protests and some peo-ple expressing pride but others anger over persistent economic problems.

The North African country is seen as having had a relatively smooth democratic transition since the January 14, 2011 top-pling of President Zine El Abi-dine Ben Ali after 23 years in power.

But seven years later, anger has risen over new austerity measures after a year of rising prices, with protesters again chanting the 2011 slogans of “Work, Freedom, Dignity”. Yes-terday, several hundred people took part in rallies in the capi-tal Tunis, responding to calls to demonstrate from a powerful labour union and several politi-cal parties.

Security was tight as protest-ers poured through checkpoints

into Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the epicentre of the 2011 dem-onstrations, but no incidents were reported.

Demonstrators chanted against “poverty and hunger” as they marched up the avenue, accusing “thieves” of having stolen the country.

Outside the offi ces of the pow-

erful UGTT trade union, demon-strator Foued el-Arbi waved an empty basket marked “2018”.

“This empty basket sums up our situation seven years after the revolution,” said the philos-ophy professor.

But others expressed their pride over the uprising that un-seated Ben Ali.

The revolution “is the best thing that could have happened, despite the hardships...As long as there are people (who be-lieve), there is hope,” said Mo-hamed Wajdi.

A wave of peaceful protests and night-time unrest hit cities and towns across the country over the past week, after hikes in value-added tax and social se-curity contributions introduced in early January.

The interior ministry says it has arrested more than 800 people suspected of taking part in violence, theft and looting since the unrest began.

Protesters’ demands have in-cluded a review of the 2018 aus-terity budget and more effi cient measures to fi ght enduring cor-ruption.

More than 1,000 people took part in yesterday’s protest out-side the UGTT offi ces. “The people want the fall of the 2018 budget,” some chanted, echo-ing 2011 calls for the fall of the regime.

Hundreds more gathered after Ennahdha, an Islamist party that is part of the ruling

coalition, and Prime Minister Youssef Chahed’s Popular Front party also called for demonstra-tions.

President Beji Caid Essebsi marked the anniversary by at-tending the opening of a youth centre in the working-class Tunis suburb of Ettadhamen, which saw clashes between young protesters and police this week.“This year we will start to take care of the young,” he said. “The revolution for freedom and dignity...was in eff ect led by the young.”

Several local residents turned out to air their frustration.

“He says he will help us, and then he goes back to his palace,” said Mouna, a high school stu-dent.

Tunisia’s 2011 revolt was sparked by the self-immolation of a fruit seller in desperation at police harassment and unem-ployment.

On January 14, 2011, Ben Ali fl ed to Saudi Arabia, inspiring similar revolts across the region in what became known as the Arab Spring.

Tunisia has been praised for

its steps towards democracy in the years since, compared to countries now wracked by war such as Syria or Yemen.

A new constitution was adopted and legislative and presidential polls held in 2014.

But authorities have strug-gled to revitalise Tunisia’s economy, including after deadly militant attacks in 2015 dealt a major blow to the key tourism sector.

Seven years on, youth un-employment is more than 35%, according to the International Labour Organisation, while in-fl ation was more than 6% at the end of last year.

On Saturday, Essebsi an-nounced an increase in aid to the needy and improved health care as part of social reforms.

The action plan, costing more than 70mn dinars ($28.5mn), will benefi t more than 120,000 Tunisians, according to the au-thorities.

Tunisia has secured a 2.4bn-euro ($2.9bn) IMF loan in return for a reduction in its budget deficit and financial reforms.

A total of 25 people were killed in the recent unrest that hit several towns and cities across Iran, the judiciary said yesterday, with 465 still under arrest. “Twenty-five people, ordinary citizens and our own forces, were killed during the recent troubles,” said judici-ary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejeie, according to the Mizanonline news agency. “None were killed by shots from the security forces because they were ordered not to use their weapons,” he added. He provided no details on how the members of the security forces or civilians were killed, including six protesters who died while trying to storm a police station in the central province of Isfahan. The figure was four more than the death toll announced during the unrest that spread across the country between December 28 and January 1. “At most, there were 465 people un-der arrest across the country as of yesterday, while a certain number have probably been released since then,” Ejeie said, adding that the number included 55 in Tehran. Reformist lawmaker Mahmoud Sadeghi had said on Tuesday that 3,700 people were arrested during the protests.

25 killed in recent unrest: judiciary

AGITATION

Bomb wounds Hamas member in LebanonReutersBeirut

A bomb blast wounded a member of the Palestin-ian group Hamas in the

Lebanese city of Sidon yester-day, destroying his car as he was about to get in.

The target, Mohamed Ham-dan, was not a publicly known Hamas fi gure in Lebanon.

A statement from Hamas, the group that controls Gaza, confi rmed he was a member of the group, without detailing his role, and said “initial indi-cations” suggested Israel was behind the bombing.

There was no immediate

comment from Israel.Al-Manar television, run

by the Lebanese political and military group Hezbollah, described Hamdan as an im-portant fi gure in Hamas, add-ing that he appeared to have a security role and was being tracked by Israel.

The blast took place around noon (1000 GMT), the Leba-nese army said in a statement.

Security forces sealed off the site of the explosion, in a northern residential district of Sidon, 40km south of Beirut.

The blast destroyed Ham-dan’s silver BMW and sent a column of smoke into the sky, footage from the scene broad-cast by Lebanese television

stations showed.Fire fi ghters doused the vehicle. A leader of the Palestinian Fatah move-ment in Lebanon said Hamdan was involved in operations in Israel.”The incident has Is-raeli fi ngerprints,” Mounir al-Maqdah, the Fatah offi cial, told Reuters. Hamdan was “slightly wounded” in the attack, a Ha-mas offi cial in Sidon, Ayman Shanaa, told the Palestinian television station Paltoday.

Witnesses said the man tar-geted in the attack appeared to have been wounded in the leg.

He was taken to hospital, where he was being treated.

Sidon is home to two of the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting in West Bank city of Ramallah, yesterday.

People shout slogans during demonstrations on the seventh anniversary of the toppling of president Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, in Tunis, yesterday.

Army seizes dozens of villages in advance on baseAFPBeirut

Syrian troops have recap-tured dozens of towns and villages from militant

fi ghters, a monitor said yes-terday, bringing them closer to a key military airport in the country’s northwest.

“In the past 24 hours, regime forces have taken at least 79 villages in the southern parts of Aleppo province, an area near the Abu Duhur military airport,” said Rami Abdel Rah-man, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.

Russia-backed regime troops are aiming to reach the Abu Duhur base as part of a weeks-long assault against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is dominated by Al Qae-da’s former Syria affi liate. The off ensive has seen Syrian forces seize surrounding territory in the provinces of Aleppo and Hama as they close in on Abu Duhur, which lies just inside the Idlib province.

They briefl y broke into the air base this week from the south but were ousted in a fe-

rocious counter-off ensive by militants and rebels.

With the latest push in Alep-po province, Abdel Rahman said, army troops were seek-ing to open a new front on the airport’s northern and eastern fl anks.

“Regime troops lost control of those villages in southern Aleppo province in 2012,” he said.

“They are advancing quickly now because of HTS’ collapse, and the withdrawal of its fi ght-ers and those of other groups from the area,” Abdel Rahman

added. Syrian daily Al Watan, which is close to the govern-ment, also reported that the army was “encircling” the air-port.

The airport straddles the border between Aleppo and Idlib, the last province in the country outside the govern-ment’s control.

In addition to the base, the regime hopes to secure a key patch of highway running through Idlib that links the northern city of Aleppo with the capital Damascus further south.

Members of the Syrian government forces stand on a tank in Jabal al-Hass in the southern part of Aleppo province as they advance towards the Abu Duhur military airport in the ongoing off ensive against opposition fighters, yesterday.

Abbas calls Trump peace off er ‘slap of the century’AFPRamallah

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas de-nounced US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace eff orts as the “slap of the

century” yesterday after the White House recog-nised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Abbas also said Israel had “ended” the land-mark Oslo peace accords of the 1990s with its ac-tions, while branding the US ambassadors to the UN and to Israel, Nikki Haley and David Fried-man, a “disgrace”.

“We said ‘no’ to Trump, ‘we will not accept your project’,” Abbas said at the start of a key meeting of Palestinian leaders on how to face Trump’s declaration. “The deal of the century is the slap of the century and we will not accept it,” he added, referring to Trump’s pledge to reach the “ultimate deal” — Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Abbas made his comments at the opening cer-emony of the meeting taking place yesterday and today in a marathon speech that lasted some two hours.

The meeting was called in the wake of Trump’s December 6 declaration on Jerusalem that deeply angered the Palestinians.

Abbas had previously said the United States could no longer play any role in the Middle East

peace process after Trump’s move. Yesterday, he said the Palestinians were calling for an interna-tionally led process in which the United States was not the mediator.

He said the Ramallah meeting must take deci-sions on how to move forward.

“I am saying that Oslo, there is no Oslo,” Abbas said, referring to the agreements that led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority and envi-sioned a fi nal resolution to the confl ict.

Body of disabled Gazan exhumed

Palestinian off icials exhumed the body of a disabled

Gazan man yesterday as part of eff orts to prove

Israeli forces shot him in the head during recent

protests and clashes. “Ibrahim Abu Thurayeh’s body

was exhumed this morning for another autopsy

to refute Israeli claims that come as an attempt

to evade their responsibility for this crime,” said

Mohamed sl-Najjal, the deputy justice minister in

the Gaza Strip. Najjal said the Palestinian authori-

ties in Gaza decided that “in order to refute the

occupation’s claims, the bullet in his head must be

presented to international parties,” he added.

He said “the results of this autopsy will be presented

to international parties including the ICC (Interna-

tional Criminal Court).”

Suspected militants have shot dead an Egyptian Christian in the volatile northern Sinai region, a security off icial said yesterday, the latest in a series of attacks on the country’s Christian minority. The 35-year-old man was attacked while he was walking with his brother late Saturday in the district of Al-Safa in al-Arish, the capital city of northern Sinai, the chief of the local security depart-ment, Major-General Reda Selim, said according to local media.Security forces sealed off the area and were hunting for the assailants, the off icial said, adding that the victim’s brother was not injured in the incident.It was not immediately clear whether the man was known to his assailants. Christians make up around 10% of Egypt’s population of nearly 95mn people.In recent months,extremists have stepped up attacks on Egypt’s Christians and their places of worship. Last month, nine people were killed in back-to-back attacks on a Coptic church and a nearby store in Cairo. In April, twin suicide bombings on Palm Sunday at two Coptic churches killed at least 47 people and prompted Egypt to declare a nationwide state of emergency. The following month, at least 28 people were killed in an attack on a bus carrying Coptic Christians on a journey to a mon-astery in southern Egypt.

Christian gunned down in restive Sinai region

UNREST

AFRICA

Gulf Times Monday, January 15, 20188

4 Congo soldiers hacked to death in restive Kasai

AFPKananga, DR Congo

Men armed with machetes yes-terday killed four soldiers in an attack near the main Kananga

airport in Kasai, an opposition strong-hold in the south of the Democratic Re-public of Congo, residents said as ten-sions returned to the restive region.

The assailants attacked the soldiers as they were sleeping in their tent, the sources told AFP, adding that they then set fi re to the tent.

“An army vehicle arrived not far from my house and I saw four bodies of sol-diers that they were transporting as well as another soldier with blood all over his body and wounds,” one resident said by telephone.

The regional army commander, Brig-adier General Marcellin Assoumani Issa Kumba, confi rmed the attack but said he could not confi rm the death toll.

“We are in full pursuit of these ban-dits,” he told AFP, adding that “the situ-ation is under control for the moment.”

A large contingent of soldiers could be seen patrolling the Kananga

airport, while the streets of the city of around 1mn inhabitants were deserted and churches called off Sunday services.

Early this month, three suspected mi-litiamen were killed in fi ghting with sol-diers near the airport.

The violence in Kasai erupted after a tribal chieftain known as the Kamwina Nsapu, who rebelled against the regime of President Joseph Kabila, was killed in August 2016.

More than 3,000 people have died in the region and some 1.4mn have been displaced since then.

Two UN experts were killed in March last year while investigating violence in the region, where the United Nations has counted more than 80 mass graves.

Elections were supposed to take place by December 2017, but they were repeat-edly postponed — offi cially because of the violence in Kasai.

Kabila, 46, has been in power since 2001, at the helm of a regime widely criticised for corruption, repression and incompetence.

The International Federation for Hu-man Rights in December accused the au-thorities of committing “crimes against humanity perpetrated to create chaos”.DR Congo soldiers fire a mobile artillery piece in Matombo, 35km north of Beni, North Kivu.

Zuma question to be dealt with over time: Ramaphosa

ReutersJohannesburg

The new leader of South Africa’s ruling Af-rican National Congress (ANC) party, Cyril Ramaphosa, has said the question of wheth-

er President Jacob Zuma should step down would be addressed “as time goes on”.

There has been widespread speculation that Ramaphosa and his allies are lobbying ANC mem-bers to oust Zuma as head of state in the coming weeks, but he made no mention of Zuma’s future in a closely watched speech on Saturday.

Ramaphosa won the race to succeed Zuma as ANC leader last month, narrowly defeating former cabinet minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Zu-ma’s ex-wife, in a bitter leadership contest that had threatened to split the 106-year-old ANC.

In the interview to South Africa’s eNCA televi-sion station, Ramaphosa said the issue of whether the ANC would push for Zuma to step down as president “will be dealt with, you know, as time goes on”.

In a statement issued in response to the inter-view, South Africa’s presidency said Zuma and Ramaphosa had agreed to hold regular meetings “to ensure synergy between the governing party and government.”

Ramaphosa said Zuma was a “deployee of the ANC” and that the ANC “dictates to all of us”.

He added that he knew South African people were impatient for change but that “we should not humiliate President Zuma.”

Zuma, who orchestrated the removal of former president Thabo Mbeki in 2008 after succeeding Mbeki as ANC leader, no longer holds a top ANC post.

Zuma’s presidency, tainted by corruption accu-sations which he denies, has tarnished the image of Africa’s oldest liberation movement and seen the economy slow to a near-standstill.

Markets have rallied since Ramaphosa’s elec-tion as ANC leader in December, as investors have warmed to his promises to root out corruption and kick-start economic growth.

Any sign that Zuma could step down before his second presidential term ends in 2019 has tended to lift South African assets, including the rand cur-rency.

Ramaphosa faces a diffi cult balancing act as he struggles to unite a party which has been beset by bitter infi ghting for the past year.

A faction within the ANC opposed his bid for party leader and is more closely aligned with Zuma.

Liberia ruling party expels outgoing president SirleafReutersMonrovia

Liberia’s ruling Unity Party has expelled the country’s outgo-ing president, Ellen Johnson

Sirleaf, who is accused by party leaders of meddling in last year’s presidential elections in which its candidate suff ered a bruising defeat.

Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been in pow-

er for 12 years, denies the party’s al-legations that she held inappropri-ate private meetings with election magistrates before the October 10 vote.

Four other party offi cials were also expelled, the party said in a statement distributed yesterday.

“The behaviour of the expelled persons...constitutes sabotage and undermined the existence of the party,” said the statement announc-ing the decision, which was taken by

the party’s executive committee late on Saturday.

A senior offi cial in Johnson Sirleaf’s offi ce declined to comment on the decision.

The president and other offi cials were not immediately available yes-terday for comment.

Former soccer star George Weah defeated the Unity Party’s Joseph Boakai in a landslide, marking the fi rst democratic transition of power in Liberia — a nation founded by

freed American slaves — in over 70 years.

Johnson Sirleaf was not allowed to run for re-election due to consti-tutional term limits.

A split between her and Boakai burst into the open during the cam-paign.

The statement said Johnson Sirleaf and the other members had violated rules, including a require-ment to support all Unity Party can-didates in elections.

Weah will be sworn in later this month.

Johnson Sirleaf won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for helping se-cure peace after civil wars from 1989-2003.

Weah, who in 1995 became the only African to win FIFA World Play-er of the Year, now faces sky-high expectations from his base of young supporters. Others, who see him as lacking the experience and knowl-edge for the job, remain sceptical.

Senegal arrests 16 for Casamance massacre

AFP Ziguinchor, Senegal

Senegalese police have arrested at least 16 people suspected of involvement in a January 6 mas-

sacre of 14 young men in the troubled region of Casamance, sources said yes-terday.

The arrests are the fi rst in connec-tion with the killings in the region sep-arated from the rest of Senegal by The Gambia and which has been the target of an independence campaign for more than 35 years.

A rebel movement in the area has

blamed the massacre on a feud in the illegal teak logging industry, ending a period of relative calm in the region.

Around 20 men were collecting wood in the protected forest of Bayo-ttes, close to the regional capital of Ziguinchor when a 15- to 20-strong armed group attacked them. The government says 10 were shot dead, two were stabbed to death and one was burned. Half a dozen more were wounded. Days later a 14th body was found.

Four of the victims of the killings in the village of Toubacouta were mem-bers of a local forestry surveillance committee, the APS news agency re-

ported, quoting a witness. One resi-dent told AFP yesterday that he and 15 others, including a woman, had been detained by troops in the early hours in Toubacouta. “They combed the vil-lage,” said the man, who would not give his name.

A local youth association head, Ab-dou Sane, was quoted by APS as say-ing that “19 young men and a woman were arrested this morning by police. They are being held at Ziguinchor po-lice station.”

Army chief of staff General Cheikh Gueye meanwhile said his troops had “yet to fi nger anyone” but “we are in no hurry.”

Zambia eases cholera curbs

Zambia yesterday re-laxed rules imposed to curb the spread

of cholera as the number of new cases being re-ported has halved, Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya said.

Schools and some mar-kets will be allowed to re-open, Chilufya told a news conference in Lusaka.

Police arrested 55 peo-ple in the capital on Friday after residents rioted over a curfew and ban on street vending.

The outbreak has killed 74 people since October 4, including 68 in Lusaka, Chilufya said.

The number of new cases has fallen to around 80 from 164 a week ago.

Of the more than 3,200 cases reported in total, more than 3,000 have been in Lusaka.

All government and private schools will re-open on January 22, but Zambia’s two largest pub-lic universities will re-main closed for now.

President Edgar Lungu last month directed the military to clean markets and unblock drains to help to fi ght the spread of the waterborne disease.

Cholera causes acute watery diarrhoea.

It can be treated with oral hydration solu-tions and antibiotics but spreads rapidly and can kill within hours if not treated.

AMERICAS9Gulf Times

Monday, January 15, 2018

Whistleblower Manning seeks US Senate seatAFPWashington

Whistleblower Chelsea Manning, jailed for leaking classifi ed information, is seeking election to the US Senate in the state of Maryland, says a document

seen by AFP on Saturday.Manning has now gone from prison to US senatorial can-

didate in less than a year during which she often made head-lines, as the fame and infamy she gained by leaking a trove of classifi ed documents follows her after release.

The Federal Election Commission document, fi led Thurs-day, lists Chelsea Elizabeth Manning of North Bethesda, Maryland, as a Democratic candidate for the Senate.

Manning, now 30, was an army intelligence analyst sen-tenced to 35 years in prison in 2013 for leaking more than 700,000 classifi ed documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The revelations by Manning, who is transgender and was then known as Bradley Manning, exposed covered-up mis-deeds and possible crimes by US troops and allies.

Her actions made Manning a hero to anti-war and anti-secrecy activists but US establishment fi gures branded her a traitor.

Then-president Barack Obama commuted Manning’s sen-tence, leading to her release in May.

The Democratic Senate incumbent is Ben Cardin, who was fi rst elected in 2006 and is the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

US President Donald Trump has labeled Manning a traitor. He also tried to bar transgender personnel from the military but federal courts ruled against that ban.

Manning wrote on Twitter in September that she was barred from entering Canada due to criminal convictions in the United States and posted an image of a document. The document said Manning had committed a crime outside the country that “would equate to an indictable off ence, namely treason” in Canada and which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment.

20 dead as search grinds on for California mudslide survivorsReutersLos Angeles

The search for survivors of the deadly mudslides in parts of California’s Santa

Barbara County continued yester-day even as hopes dwindled to fi nd anyone alive, offi cials said.

“We’re still in rescue mode and we still hope to fi nd someone alive, although the chances of that are becoming slim,” said Justin Coop-er, a spokesperson for the multi-agency response team.

The death toll rose to 20 yester-day with four people still missing, Cooper said.

Another 900 emergency per-sonnel arrived this weekend to join the relief eff ort conducted by more than 2,100 personnel from local, state and federal agencies, includ-ing the US Coast Guard, the US Navy and the American Red Cross.

The ramped-up rescue eff ort is in response to urgent requests for

additional manpower made earlier in the week.

Heavy rains last Tuesday soaked the area near Montecito, north of Los Angeles, where vegetation had

been stripped away by the largest wildfi re in California’s history last month.

Sodden hillsides gave way, un-leashing a torrent of mud, water,

uprooted trees and boulders onto the valley below and killing people aged three to 89.

The destruction covered 78sq km, according to the California

Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and forced the partial closure of one of California’s most celebrated coastal roads, the heav-ily used Highway 101.

Offi cials ordered residents in most of the southeastern corner of Mon-tecito, which is east of Santa Barbara, to leave their homes for what was likely to be one or two weeks.

Many fl ed to nearby Carpinteria, where local resident Tessa Nash said they were communicating via a Facebook page called Carpinte-ria Swap, which is usually focused on buying and selling secondhand goods.

In the last few days, Nash said, it has been carrying informa-tion about community-led blood drives and transportation tips.

“We’re really joined together,” she said.

“We’re aff ected here in Carpin-teria in the sense that we’re taking these people in and a lot of people are out of work because they can’t travel. It’s a trickle down eff ect.”

Santa Barbara County Fire Engineer Rick Pinal navigates through a muddy home destroyed by mudflow and debris backyard in Montecito, California.

Govt offi cial defends early-warning systems after Hawaii ‘failure’AFPHonolulu

A top US offi cial yesterday de-fended government early-warning systems after a false

missile alert terrifi ed Hawaii, in what a congresswoman called an epic fail-ure that emphasised the need for talks with North Korea.

The Pacifi c archipelago was al-ready on edge over fears of a North Korean attack when the phones of residents and tourists blared the alert just after 8am on Saturday.

Emergency management offi cials later admitted “the wrong button was pushed” during a shift change.

But it took them nearly 40 minutes to issue a corrected message.

Hawaii’s governor said there was no automatic way to cancel the false alarm, meaning it had to be done manually.

Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard issued her own advisory of the false alarm much earlier after directly checking with civil defence offi cials, she told ABC News ‘This Week’.

“It’s an epic failure of leadership,” said Gabbard. “It was unacceptable that this went out in the fi rst place, but the fact that it took so long for them to put out that second message, to calm people, to allay their fears that this was a mistake, a false alarm is something that has to be fi xed, cor-rected with people held accountable,” she told the programme.

The alert, which read “BALLISTIC

MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHEL-TER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL”, sent people rushing for safety whether in a bathtub, a basement, a manhole or cowering under mattresses.

The Federal Communications Commission, which is responsible for Emergency Alert System procedures, promised a “full investigation.”

The erroneous message came af-ter months of soaring tensions be-tween Washington and Pyongyang, which claimed it had successfully tested ballistic missiles that could deliver atomic warheads to the United States, including the Hawai-ian islands popular with tourists.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen urged people “not to draw the wrong conclusion” from the Hawaii incident.

“I would hate for anybody not to abide by alert warnings coming from government systems,” she said yesterday on Fox News.

“They can trust government sys-tems, we test them every day. This was a very unfortunate mistake, but these alerts are vital, seconds and minutes can save lives.”

She said her department is work-ing with state and local authorities “to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Vern Miyagi, administrator of Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency, confessed at a press con-ference that “we made a mistake,” for which he apologised.

“We’ve spent the last few months trying to get ahead of this whole

threat, so that we could provide as much notifi cation and preparation to the public,” he said, pledging to investigate what happened and to avoid a repetition.

He said a rule has already been put in place ordering that two peo-ple be present before the button is pushed to issue an alert.

A cancellation message “tem-plate” will also be created to avoid a delay like that on Saturday, the report said.

“What happened today was to-tally unacceptable,” Hawaii Gover-nor David Ige said.

The false alarm highlighted a broader issue — the risk of acci-dental nuclear war, said Gabbard, a Democrat and Iraq war veteran.

“We have got to get to the un-derlying issue here of, why are the people of Hawaii and this coun-try facing a nuclear threat coming from North Korea today? And what is this president doing urgently to eliminate that threat?” she said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’.

“I have been calling on President Trump to directly negotiate with North Korea,” Gabbard said.

President Donald Trump recently said that, under the right circum-stances, he would be willing to speak directly with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, with whom he has traded sharp words over Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear tests.

The White House said Trump was briefed about the Hawaii incident, but called the alert “purely a state ex-ercise.”

An electronic sign reads ‘There is no threat’ in Oahu, Hawaii, in this photo obtained from social media.

Trump: Immigration deal ‘probably dead’AFPWashington

US President Donald Trump yesterday appeared to give up for dead a bipar-tisan deal on immigration, blaming

Democrats as the aftershocks of his vulgar disparagement of African countries and Haiti rumbled Washington’s political bat-tlegrounds.

Trump came back on the issue in a pair of early morning tweets three days after reportedly referring to African and Haitian immigrants as coming from “(expletive) countries,” triggering global condemnation.

“DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don’t really want it,” Trump tweeted, referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program at the heart of the immigration impasse.

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the country illegally as children — so-called “dreamers” — face deportation unless a compromise can be reached that would grant them rights to stay.

A bipartisan deal to resolve the dreamers problem in return for changes demanded by Republicans in the way visas are allo-cated collapsed in acrimony Thursday with Trump’s remarks, which were widely de-nounced as racist.

“I think this man, this president, is tak-ing us back to another place,” John Lewis, a Georgia congressman who was on the front lines of the 1960s civil rights movement, said yesterday on ABC’s ‘This Week’. “I think he is a racist.”

Senator David Purdue, a Republican from Georgia, called charges that Trump is rac-ist “ridiculous” and his reported remarks

a “gross misrepresentation” of the White House meeting on immigration.

But other Republicans, pained by the turn of events, spoke out against the president as debate over the slur spilled into television talk shows yesterday.

“I can’t defend the indefensible,” said Mia Love, a Haitian-American congresswoman from Utah who campaigned on Trump’s be-half in the country’s Haitian community.

“I still think that he should apologise,” she said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’.

“I think that there are people that are looking for an apology. And I think that that would show real leadership.”

Trump’s remarks were confi rmed by Sen-ator Dick Durbin, a Democrat who attended the White House meeting, after it was re-ported by the Washington Post and other media.

But Trump has stuck with a vague denial that he used such language, and so far has made no move to apologise, hurting pros-pects for a deal on DACA and making life uncomfortable for Republicans as they look ahead to mid-term elections this year.

The president sought to shift from the de-fensive by portraying Democrats as not truly interested in an immigration deal.

“They just want to talk and take desper-ately needed money away from our Military,” he tweeted.

“I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us be-come strong and great again, people com-ing in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! #AMERICA FIRST,” he said.

Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican who has been critical of Trump, said Democrats were serious about a bipartisan deal on immigration.

He said the compromise presented to the

White House Thursday would end a visa lot-tery system and so-called chain migration under which legal immigrants can bring in family members. The dreamers would be al-lowed to stay but not become US citizens, according to Flake.

The senator from Arizona said Trump’s remarks came in reaction to an element of the deal that would reallocate the visas given out in a lottery to immigrants who are cur-rently in a protected status, like Haitians and the dreamers.

“I believe there is a deal to be had,” he said.

Trump announced in September he was scrapping the DACA program but delayed enforcement to give Congress six months — until March — to craft a lasting solution.

Last Tuesday, however, a federal judge or-dered the government to keep DACA going pending resolution of court challenges to the president’s decision.

Meanwhile, dimming prospects for a 2018 spending agreement means lawmakers will have to resort to a temporary funding ex-tension to avert a government shutdown on January 19.

Protesters demonstrate against President Donald Trump during a rally in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals near Trump Tower in New York on October 5, 2017.

Suspect held in fatal ‘swatting’ case

A California man accused of making a hoax call, that led police in Kansas to kill an unarmed man, was in a Wi-chita jail on Saturday after his fi rst court appearance

in the “swatting” case, local media reported. Tyler Barriss, 25, who made a video appearance on Friday from Sedgwick County jail, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, giv-ing a false alarm and interference with law enforcement.

Barriss was accused of “swatting,” in which a caller falsely reports an emergency requiring a police response, usually by special weapons and tactics, or SWAT, teams, authori-ties said. He made the call from Los Angeles on December 28, prosecutors said. A Wichita police offi cer fatally shot Andrew Finch, 28, after law enforcement offi cials rushed to his home following a phone call falsely reporting that hostages were being held there.

In his fi rst on-camera interview since his arrest, Barriss told CBS television affi liate KWCH12 from jail late on Friday: “I feel remorse for what happened. I never intended for any-one to get shot and killed.” He said he had been paid for mak-ing “numerous” swatting calls in the past.

“People were sending money to have that done,” he told KWCH when asked what inspired him to make the December 28 call, although he would not confi rm that he was paid for it.

Barriss also said he started swatting after he and his grand-mother were targets of a similar hoax call in 2014.

“People have said before: ‘People could die; someone could get shot and killed. Why do you do that?’” he told KWCH. “I guess it could have happened to me, to my grandmother.”

10 Gulf TimesMonday, January 15, 2018

ASIA/AUSTRALASIA

Exiled Cambodian opposition members set up new movementReutersPhnom Penh

Foreign-based members of Cambodia’s dissolved opposition party have

launched a movement to demand the release of its detained leader and to call for free and fair elec-tions and possibly protests.

The Supreme Court dissolved

the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in November at the request of the government of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Party leader Kem Sokha was ar-rested in September and is accused of trying to overthrow the gov-ernment with American help and of espionage — charges he denies and says are politically motivated ahead of a general election in July.

Former CNRP leader Sam Rainsy said in a tweet yesterday that the Cambodia National Rescue Move-ment (CNRM), launched on Satur-day, would provide a new structure that nobody can harm or dissolve.

“The CNRM can launch ap-peals to the people to organise peaceful protests, to workers to go on strike and to the armed forces to side with the people,” Sam Rainsy tweeted, along with a

statement. Sam Rainsy, a former CNRP leader who lives in exile in France, did not say it was call-ing for any protests at this point. It was not immediately clear how widespread the backing for the new movement was among CNRP members.

According to the statement, the CNRM’s members include Sam Rainsy, his wife Saumura Tioulong and deputy presidents

of the now dissolved CNRP, Eng Chhai Eang and Mu Sochua. “We invite our compatriots from all walks of life, regardless of their political affi liation, to join the CNRM in order to protect the will of the Cambodian people through free, fair and inclusive elections,” the statement said. They said in the statement that they also demand the release of Kem Sokha and other politician

prisoners of conscience. Huy Vannak, undersecretary of state at the Interior Ministry, called the movement “desperate” and that Sam Rainsy is “a serial loser.”

“I advise the people on this list about the spirit of the Cambodi-an Supreme Court’s decision on the prohibition of political rights and to avoid taking illegal or guerrilla acts leading to the harm of innocents and the destruc-

tion of Cambodians,” he said. The Supreme Court’s decision also banned more than 118 CNRP members from politics ahead of the general election on July 29.

Rights groups have decried an ongoing crackdown against the political opposition and inde-pendent media.

One group called the CNRP’s dissolution the death of democ-racy in the country.

Flaming Iranian tanker sinks in East China SeaReutersBeijing

An Iranian oil tanker has sunk after burn-ing for more than a

week following a collision on January 6 in the East China Sea, Chinese state media said yesterday, add-ing that large amounts of oil are burning in the sur-rounding waters.

The stricken tanker,

called the Sanchi, which had been adrift and on fi re following the accident with the freighter CF Crystal, had “suddenly ignited” around noon, China Central Televi-sion (CCTV) said.

“Currently it has already sunk,” CCTV said, citing the Shanghai maritime search and rescue centre. It showed video of a tower of billowing black smoke that it said reached as high as 1,000m, and fl ames on the

surface of the water. The ship sank before 5pm, the broadcaster said.

China’s State Oce-anic Administration said that because the hull of the ship had detonated, a large amount of oil in sur-rounding waters was on fi re, according to the of-fi cial Xinhua news agency. The Administration said it would expand the scope of its monitoring and “quick-ly ascertain the spread and

drift of overfl owing oil” from the wrecked ship.

A Chinese salvage team on Saturday recovered two bodies from the tanker. Another body, presumed to be one of the Sanchi’s sailors, was found on Mon-day and brought to Shang-hai for identifi cation. The Sanchi’s crew consisted of 30 Iranians and two Bang-ladeshis.

Iranian offi cials said the remaining 29 crew mem-

bers and passengers of the tanker were presumed dead. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sent mes-sages of condolence to the families of the crew and called for an investigation into the accident, Iranian state media reported.

Chinese Foreign Min-ister Wang Yi earlier told his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif by telephone that “as long as there is 1% of hope,

China will continue to make 100% eff ort” to res-cue and recover the crew. The tanker, owned by Na-tional Iranian Tanker Co, was carrying almost 1mn barrels of condensate, an ultra-light crude oil, to South Korea.

It collided with the CF Crystal, which was carry-ing grain from the United States, about 160 nautical miles (184km) off China’s coast near Shanghai.

Smoke and flames coming from the burning oil tanker Sanchi at sea off the coast of eastern China.

China revokes academic title of professor accused of sexual harassment

China’s Education Ministry yesterday revoked the prestigious academic title of a university professor accused of sexually harassing students, state media said, in a case that has sparked national media coverage and a nascent #MeToo movement in the country. Beihang University in Beijing said last week that it removed Chen Xiaowu from his teaching

posts after an investigation found he had engaged in “sexual harassment behaviour” that seriously violated professional ethics and the school’s code of conduct. The Beijing Youth Daily had previously reported Chen saying he had done “nothing illegal”, but Reuters was unable to reach him for comment as the university declined to provide Chen’s telephone

number and said he was refusing interviews.The university’s investigation was launched after former Beihang student Luo Xixi publicly accused Chen of sexually harassing her 13 years ago in an online blog that promptly went viral after it was posted on Jan 1. “The ministry decided to revoke Chen Xiaowu’s status as a Yangtze River Scholar,”

Chinese state radio said, referring to an academic award given to individuals in higher education.The ministry also authorised the university to relieve Chen of his appointment and took back his award funding, it said. It did not give further details.In her post, Luo said Chen made an unwanted sexual advance after luring her to his sister’s house, and that

he relented only after she burst into tears ... Luo also accused Chen of harassing several other students.Luo, who now lives in the United States, said she was inspired by the #MeToo social media movement that started in October in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations in the US entertainment industry, and encouraged others to come forward

and share their own experiences under the hashtag. Luo’s allegations, combined with another public post from a Peking University graduate, have inspired students from more than 50 universities to issue open letters demanding more eff ective oversight and a reporting system to deal with sexual harassment on their campuses.

S Korean held after double murder at

Hong Kong hotelAFPHong Kong

A South Korean has been arrested for the sus-pected murder of his

wife and young son at the luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel on Hong Kong’s harbourfront yesterday, offi cials said.

Police rushed to the hotel after receiving a report yester-day morning that a man and a woman, both aged 42, were fi ghting.

The woman and a boy aged six were found dead at the scene while the man was ar-rested on suspicion of murder and taken to hospital, police said.

The suspect was believed to have consumed alcohol and appeared unconscious in the hotel suite with minor wounds to his hand and face, police assistant district com-mander Chan Tsz-Leung told an evening press conference.

The woman suff ered mul-tiple cuts and wounds to her neck and wounds were also found on the throat of the boy.

Police retrieved a fi ve-inch-long knife at the scene, Chan

said. The motive for the kill-ings remained unclear, with the suspect still in hospital and unfi t to talk to police.

Local news site Apple Daily said the couple and their son had checked into the fi ve-star hotel a few days beforehand.

A source with knowledge of the investigation told AFP that a friend of the suspect had warned authorities in South Korea he was potentially sui-cidal shortly before the inci-dent.

The Ritz-Cartlon is locat-ed on the top fl oors of Hong Kong’s tallest skyscraper — the International Commerce Centre — and is famous for panoramic views of the city and its Victoria Harbour.

“Our thoughts are with the family of the guests involved at this very diffi cult time,” a hotel spokesperson in Hong Kong told AFP, declining to com-ment further as an investiga-tion was ongoing.

In a separate incident, Hong Kong police are investigating the murder-suicide of a couple found dead at a public housing estate near the border with mainland China, local media reported.

PNG volcanic burst sparks more evacuations

Thousands of residents of an island near a Papua New Guinea volcano have been evacuated after escalating eruptions sparked fears of a possible landslide and tsunami, authorities and reports said yesterday. The previously dormant volcano, more than 500m (1,640ft) high, on the northern island of Kadovar off PNG erupted on January 5 with all 600 residents evacuated. But volcanic activity significantly escalated in recent days, culminating in a big blast on Friday, the Rabaul Volcanological Observatory (RVO) said. “Big rocks were blasted out and there was a significant amount of material involved,” the RVO told local news website Loop PNG. “The rocks were glowing red ... previous to this blast, it was observed that the fracture, which was apparent in the initial aerial photos, running from the summit dome down to the coast, had apparently widened.” More than 3,000 residents on surrounding islands Biem and Ruprup were also evacuated, local

reports said, after fears a second volcano on Biem had also erupted. Local volcanologists have yet to confirm the second eruption, with the RVO saying the tremors could be from the ongoing activity on Kadovar. PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said his government was supporting the evacuations as he warned of a possible tsunami. “The terrain around the (Kadovar) volcano is very steep, so this increases the risk of a large landslide that could trigger a tsunami,” O’Neill said in a statement yesterday. “Tsunamis can travel hundreds and thousands of kilometres across open water, so communities must be ready if there is a landslide.” He added that flights had been cancelled and all ships and boats not involved with the evacuation eff ort were to keep clear of the area. Tsunamis can be triggered by undersea earthquakes or due to the eruption or collapse of volcanoes located on coastlines, according to the United States Geological Survey.

16 injured from boat explosion in southern ThailandReutersBangkok

A tourist speedboat carrying 31 passengers exploded in front of Phi Phi Le island in the southern Thai-land province of Krabi yesterday, injuring 16, mostly

tourists from China, the Phi Phi police told Reuters. The speedboat, named “King Poseidon”, was ferry-

ing 27 Chinese tourists from the nearby resort island of Phuket to Phi Phi before its engine caught fi re and ex-ploded injuring 14 tourists and two crew members, the police said, adding that the authority is still investigating the cause of the explosion.

Out of the 16 injured, six are in a severe condition, Phi Phi hospital staff told Reuters, adding that seven people have been sent to hospitals in Phuket for further treatment and nine have been discharged. Beach resorts and islands in southern Thailand are major tourist attractions, par-ticularly during the high season from November to March.

BRITAIN/IRELAND11Gulf Times

Monday, January 15, 2018

Harder theBrexit, worsethe outcome,warns SturgeonReutersEdinburgh

Scottish leader Nicola Stur-geon yesterday said there was a “golden opportuni-

ty” to argue for Britain to remain in the European single market after Brexit, as no-one had yet demonstrated the benefi t of loosening trade ties with the EU.

Sturgeon, whose nationalist SNP runs the devolved Scottish government, said there was no al-ternative to EU membership that could deliver the same economic benefi ts. The SNP will today pub-lish a study of the economic im-pact of Brexit on Scotland.

She said Prime Minister Theresa May must defend whatever trade option the government chose to pursue with hard evidence, dam-aging the economy as little as pos-sible.

“There is zero credible evidence to suggest leaving the single mar-ket will bring any benefi t to our economy. Indeed, as our analysis will show — the harder the Brexit, the worse will be the outcome,” Sturgeon said.

May is preparing for the start of talks about Britain’s trade rela-tionship with the EU once it is no longer a member.

Agreeing a united stance has been made harder by infi ghting in May’s Cabinet and Conservative

Party over their vision for the new relationship with the EU, while the biggest opposition party, Labour, is also split on the best way for-ward.

Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr, Sturgeon again urged for Labour to sign up for Britain to remain in the single market, but leader Jeremy Corbyn said mem-bership of the market was depend-ent on being a member of the EU.

“So I don’t quite understand why she would keep saying join the single market when leaving the EU means you leave the single market,” Corbyn told the ITV’s Pe-ston on Sunday programme.

“You have to make a special re-lationship with the EU,” he said, adding that there were “aspects of the single market” he would want to challenge such as state aid rules.

May has said she is targeting the closest possible economic ties with the EU after Brexit to reduce future problems for companies, but also wants to reduce immi-gration and restore sovereignty by ending the jurisdiction of the Eu-ropean court.

The British government has also said it is seeking a one-size-fi ts-all Brexit that would suit all parts of the UK, ruling out the possibil-ity of a second referendum on in-dependence, a vote Sturgeon said she would be able to have a view on by the end of the year.

But Sturgeon’s party says con-tinued single market membership would be the option that best re-fl ects the fact that a majority of Scots vote in the 2016 referendum to stay in the EU.

“(Those defending Brexit) have completely failed to explain how their approach could even re-motely come close to replacing the enormous lost trade and invest-ment,” Sturgeon said.

“That means there is now a golden opportunity for those moderate voices who are making the case for Scotland and the UK to remain in the single market.”

Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer arrives to speak at the Fabian Society New Year Conference in central London.

Labour to vote against EUwithdrawal bill: CorbynGuardian News and MediaLondon

Jeremy Corbyn has said La-bour will vote against the EU withdrawal bill at its third

reading because of concern about a lack of protection for parlia-mentary democracy and human rights.

The Labour leader confi rmed for the fi rst time that his party planned to vote against the bill, but also said he would not heed calls from within his party and from outside to commit the UK to staying inside the European single market.

Over the weekend, human rights organisations including the Equality and Human Rights

Commission, Amnesty Interna-tional, Liberty, the Fawcett So-ciety and the National Aids Trust warned that the bill, which re-turns to the House of Commons tomorrow, “will not protect peo-ple’s rights in the UK as the gov-ernment promised”.

Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, has said Labour would propose an amendment to the withdrawal bill to retain the EU charter of fundamental rights in British law.

Corbyn said he would direct his MPs to vote against the bill when it returned to the House of Commons. “If our tests are not met by the government, we will vote against the bill,” he told ITV’s Peston on Sunday.

“We’ve got a vote coming up

this week on the EU withdrawal bill. We’ve set down our lines on that which are about demo-cratic accountability, protection of workers and environment and consumer rights, human rights across Europe.”

It is understood Conservative rebels who defeated the gov-ernment in December over an amendment designed to protect a parliamentary vote on the fi nal deal are unlikely to vote in sig-nifi cant numbers against the fi -nal bill and are minded to wait to see any changes proposed by the House of Lords.

Corbyn was yesterday also asked if his party would defi -nitely rule out calling a second referendum on the terms of the EU withdrawal. “We are not sup-

porting or calling for a second referendum,” he said. “What we have called for is a meaningful vote in parliament and that is the one area that I think parliament has asserted itself just in the vote before Christmas.”

Asked if he was saying Labour would never support a second referendum, the Labour leader would only say his party was not calling for one.

The shadow foreign secre-tary, Emily Thornberry, said a second referendum was not the party’s policy, but public opinion would be a signifi cant factor. “If 90% of the popula-tion was now saying we must stay in the European Union and we must not leave … then that would be a challenge that would

be there for all of us who are democrats,” she told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.

“But at the moment and as things currently stand we pro-ceed in good faith, we do as we are instructed and we are leaving the EU.”

Pro-EU Labour MPs have ratcheted up eff orts over the past week for Corbyn to harden Labour’s Brexit policy to back continued membership of the single market and the customs union.

On Saturday, the MP Wes Streeting told the Fabian Soci-ety’s annual conference Corbyn was the single biggest barrier to a policy that would “command a majority in the Commons and a majority in the country”.

UK must stay in customs union to avoid Irish hard border: SmithGuardian News and MediaLondon

Owen Smith, the shadow Northern Ireland sec-retary, has waded into

the row about Labour’s Brexit stance, warning the return of border posts in Northern Ireland will be unavoidable without the UK “eff ectively retaining mem-bership of the single market and the customs union”.

Jeremy Corbyn expressed re-

newed scepticism about some aspects of the single market yesterday, and repeated his as-sertion that it is not possible to remain inside the single market without being a member of the European Union.

Smith said: “I fi nd that slight-ly puzzling, because it is clearly possible for us to be outside the EU and inside the single market, as is Norway and other coun-tries.”

As he prepared to visit North-ern Ireland and the Irish Repub-

lic this week to meet politicians and trade unions, marking a year since the power-sharing agree-ment at Stormont collapsed, Smith said the logical way to prevent the return of a hard bor-der was to sign up to the rules of the single market and customs union.

Asked about Labour’s policy, he said: “The position we’ve got at the moment is very clear, which is that we’ve got to stay in for the transitional period. The position is equally that there has

to be a solution to the Northern Irish border, and my view is that can’t be reached without eff ec-tively retaining membership of the single market and the cus-toms union.”

He added: “That is an argu-ment that I’m consistently mak-ing within the Labour party.”

Smith believes the practical implication of the withdrawal agreement Theresa May struck with the EU27 member states before Christmas is that the UK will end up eff ectively remaining

inside the customs union and the single market.

“It is incredibly important for the peace process that we do not have, cannot counte-nance, a hard border on the island of Ireland,” he said. ”At the moment the government appears to me to be conceding that the only way in which they deliver on their guarantee of not having that, is that we re-main aligned with the rules of the customs union and the sin-gle market; or that they come

up with some, frankly fantasy, solution.”

Two key paragraphs in the agreement say that if the fi nal UK-EU deal does not obviate the need for border-checks, and a separate solution cannot be found for Northern Ireland, the UK will “maintain full alignment with those rules of the internal market and the customs union, which, now or in the future, sup-port north-south co-operation”.

May was forced to tweak the language to meet objections

from DUP’s Arlene Foster and Irish Prime Minister, Leo Var-adkar.

Smith, the MP for Pontypridd, was brought back into the shad-ow cabinet after the general election in June. In 2016, he un-successfully challenged Corbyn for the leadership.

Speaking in advance of his trip to Belfast and Dublin, he urged the new Northern Ireland secre-tary, Karen Bradley, to intervene to get power-sharing back on track.

Brexit vote may bereversed, feels FarageReutersLondon

Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage yesterday said he was increasingly concerned that

a vote for Britain to leave the Eu-ropean Union could be overturned by a powerful group of the bloc’s supporters.

In an interview with the Ob-server newspaper, Farage, former head of the eurosceptic UK In-dependence Party, said a well-organised and funded group of campaigners that wants to remain in the EU was drowning out those who want to leave.

“The Remain side are making all the running,” said Farage. “They have a majority in parliament, and unless we get ourselves organised we could lose the historic victory that was Brexit.”

Last week, Farage said he was warming to the idea of holding a second vote on Britain’s member-ship of the EU to settle the argu-ment — an idea written off by oth-er Brexit campaigners who urged the government to press on with exit talks with the bloc.

In 2016, Britons voted 52% to

48% in favour of ending its mem-bership of the EU.

Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out a second referen-dum, saying her government was seeking an amicable divorce with the EU which will safeguard the economy and enable Britain to se-cure trade deals with other coun-tries.

But some Brexit campaigners fear her approach has led to the watering down of several of their demands, including the ability to reduce immigration and to reclaim sovereignty by leaving the juris-diction of the European Court of Justice.

Several pro-EU campaigners say the need for a second referen-dum has become more pressing because public opinion is show-ing some signs of turning against Brexit as the diffi culty of negotia-tions to leave the bloc becomes in-creasingly clear.

On Thursday, a ComRes poll for the Daily Mirror newspaper of 1,049 adults showed that although more people think there should not be a second referendum (51% to 43%), if there were to be a re-run, voters say they would opt to stay in the EU by 55% to 45%.

Tories ‘right to take creditfor EU-imposed policy’Guardian News and MediaLondon

The Conservatives are right to take credit for an EU policy to protect custom-

ers from credit card charges, the party’s chair has said, after widespread mockery of a party promotional tweet.

Hidden surcharges on using credit cards imposed by retailers, airlines and ticketing companies, which can be as high as 20% of the costs, will be banned after an EU–wide directive, but Brandon Lewis said it was right the Con-servatives were able to promote the decision while the UK re-mained a member.

“We are fully represented and part of that process of mak-ing those decisions,” Lewis told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, saying Conservative MEPs had backed the measure. “We’ve got to spread that message much more widely about the things we are doing.”

Theresa May’s offi cial Twit-ter account tweeted that “we’ve

banned credit card charges” on the day the new regulations were introduced, without mention of the European Union.

Guy Verhofstadt, the Brexit representative for the EU parlia-ment, tweeted it was “refresh-ing to see so many embracing the benefi ts of EU legislation”, and the LibDem leader, Vince Cable, said the Tories were “claiming a popular policy that they had nothing to do with”.

The Labour MEP Clare Moody replied to May’s tweet saying: “No, you haven’t. This is an EU initiative from which all EU citi-zens will enjoy, not instigated by UK government.”

The ban on charges is among 2,557 new EU regulations and changes made since the UK vote to leave the EU in 2016, accord-ing to new data released by the House of Commons library.

The research, which was re-quested by the pro-EU campaign Best for Britain, found 1,602 new EU regulations had become applicable since June 24, 2016, though they may not all be appli-cable to the UK.

Lord Malloch-Brown, who chairs the group, said: “These regulations show, clearly, how intertwined we are with Europe. These rules are not the Brus-sels diktats that the few on the extreme right pretend they are. They are rules to protect us from rogue practices and dodgy busi-nesses.

“I guess Lewis thinks ‘we’ is also MEPs, EU commission and 26 other governments. It’s just shameless and shows how the Tories try to use Europe for their own ends.”

Lewis, the former immigration minister who replaced Patrick McLoughlin as party chair, has been charged with re-engaging with the party’s dwindling mem-bership, especially refortifying the party’s online war against Labour.

Over the weekend, Lewis said the party would distribute a “toolkit” of videos and GIFs for party activists to use online but told the Sunday Telegraph he was conscious that many Conserva-tive supporters felt uncomforta-ble engaging in the debate online.

Brandon: “We are part of that process of making those decisions”

“There is zero credible evidence to suggest leaving the single market will bring any benefi t to our economy”

BRITAIN

Gulf Times Monday, January 15, 201814

Girlfriend of Ukip chiefsuspended for racist textsGuardian News and MediaLondon

The girlfriend of Ukip leader Henry Bolton has been sus-pended from the party after

reportedly making racist remarks about Meghan Markle.

Jo Marney, 25, sent a series of messages to a friend in which she made highly off ensive comments about Prince Harry’s fi ancee and black people, according the Mail on Sunday. In a statement to the paper, Marney said she apologised “unreservedly” for the “shocking language” used in the messages, but said they had been “taken out of context”.

Bolton, 54, whose relationship with Marney is under investiga-tion by the party, yesterday said she had been suspended “imme-diately upon us receiving this in-formation”.

The Ukip leader sent the mes-sage in reply to a young party member who urged him to publicly call for Marney to have her mem-bership removed.

“She has to go or he and Ukip

are doomed if we let this behaviour happen in the party,” the teenage activist said.

In a series of messages report-edly sent by Marney to her friend she referred to Markle as a “dumb little commoner” with a “tiny brain”. She also apparently claimed that Markle would “taint our royal family”.

When her friend suggested her comments were “racist”, Marney reportedly replied “lol so what”.

Peter Whittle, leader of Ukip’s delegation in the London Assem-bly, also called for Marney to be “expelled altogether” for the “dis-graceful remarks”.

Meanwhile former Ukip leader-ship candidate Ben Walker called for Bolton to resign, accusing him of having “deeply fl awed judge-ment”.

Bill Etheridge, a Ukip MEP, also called for Bolton to quit.

“A quick resignation is now es-sential to allow the party to re-group and campaign properly for Brexit,” he said.

Party chairman Paul Oakden said he decided to suspend Mar-ney’s party membership immedi-

ately after he was made aware of the messages.

“Ukip does not, has not and never will condone racism,” he told the Mail on Sunday.

The report of Marney’s use of highly off ensive language about people from diff erent ethnic back-grounds comes as Bolton faces an investigation into his controversial private life by senior party offi cials.

The Ukip leader confi rmed that he had a “change in my relation-ship status” in recent weeks, al-though denied reports that it had involved “a clandestine aff air with a young lady who happens also to be a member of Ukip”.

He said he had already made clear on social media that he had recently been spending time “with somebody who has become in-creasingly important to me”.

Yesterday he was accused on Twitter of being in Marney’s com-pany when he appeared on televi-sion in mid-October.

In a letter to members, Oakden said the national executive com-mittee ruling body agreed to dis-cuss the leader’s private life at a special meeting in

Missing girl foundwith mother in SpainGuardian News and MediaLondon

A four-year-old girl who went missing with her mother has been found

safe and well in Spain, a high court judge has said.

Elliana Shand, also known as Elliana Richards, who has been missing with her mother, Jessica Richards, since last summer, is the subject of care proceedings.

At a hearing in the family di-vision of the high court in Lon-don, justice Hayden said the girl was found by police in Spain.

He also indicated that plans were in place to return Elliana to England in the next few days.

After the hearing, Eileen Doy-le, her paternal grandmother, said she and her husband Sean were “over the moon”.

The judge had praised the couple, whose son Craig is Elli-ana’s father, for the eff orts they had made to trace their grand-daughter. He also praised the work of British and Spanish po-lice and Foreign Offi ce staff .

Elliana disappeared from her London home with her mother,

who has mental health prob-lems, after social services staff at Barking and Dagenham coun-cil intervened.

Hayden had made a number of appeals for information on the mother and daughter’s whereabouts.

In an unusual move for care proceedings, Hayden had ruled that detail of the case could be made public and pictures of El-liana and her mother were re-leased to the media.

In December he urged anyone with information about Elliana to call police immediately. At the time he said: “I am very con-cerned indeed about Elliana and her mother. It is imperative that they are found so that we can be sure they are safe.” Her paternal grandfather, a Liverpool fan who campaigns for victims of the Hillsborough disaster, had also begged for help.

He said: “Please think if you have seen them. We know Jes-sica loves Elliana to bits. But Jessica is schizophrenic and El-liana is very small. They must be somewhere. Someone must have seen them. They both need help.”

(Left to right) British actors Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams and Eddie Redmayne pose on the carpet after arriving to attend the world premiere of the film Early Man in London yesterday.

Early Man premiereNew appeallaunched tohelp solvestudent’smurder

London Evening StandardLondon

A business student killed when gunmen fi red a vol-ley of shots through his

front door was a victim of sus-pected mistaken identity, police said.

James Owusu-Agyekum, 22, died from four bullet wounds to his back and one to his arm after two gunmen walked past his open door in Harlesden and opened fi re.

As he lay dying in the arms of his mother, he told her: “Mum, I haven’t done anything to anyone...I don’t like trouble.”

More than a year on from his murder, detectives and his family renewed an appeal for informa-tion and released images of the two young suspects on pedal cy-cles. Police believe a feud between two rival gangs in Harlesden led to the shooting of the “gentle gi-ant” who worked for a west Lon-don shipping company to fund his studies.

A £20,000 reward is on off er for information leading to the con-viction of his killers.

An inquest heard that Owusu-Agyekum was shot on Novem-ber 2, 2016, by one of two sus-pects who then fl ed to the nearby Stonebridge Estate on bicycles.

Police described the victim as a popular young man from a devout Christian family, who had recently taken time out from his studies to care for his disabled mother.

Detectives said it was “likely James had been mistaken for someone else”. Detective chief in-spector Dave Bolton, leading the investigation, said: “James’s fam-ily has lived with the torment of knowing his killer is still free for more than a year now. I am doing everything I can to change that.

“We are releasing images of two suspects we would like to speak to in connection with our investiga-tion.

“I would urge anyone who rec-ognises these people to contact us; all information will be handled in strictest confi dence and could be key in helping to bring a small level of comfort to James’s family.”

Government‘preparing tohalt’ black cabrapist’s releaseGuardian News and MediaLondon

Justice Secretary David Gauke is seeking legal advice on how to prevent the release of the

serial sex attacker John Worboys following mass public outcry, the Conservative party chairman has said.

Brandon Lewis said Gauke, who became justice secretary in last week’s Cabinet reshuffl e, was taking advice on whether to launch a judicial review of the Pa-role Board’s decision to release the black-cab rapist John Worboys af-ter less than 10 years.

“The secretary of state for jus-tice will be doing everything he can to make sure this man stays behind bars,” Lewis told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show, amid reports that Cabinet ministers had pri-vately warned Gauke that the de-cision to release Worboys could be unlawful because of an apparent failure to consult victims.

Worboys was jailed indefi nitely in 2009, with a minimum term of eight years, for drugging and sexually assaulting female pas-sengers. He has been linked to 102 complaints, making him one of the country’s most prolifi c sex off end-ers. He has been convicted of 19 off ences relating to 12 victims.

The decision to release him was met with criticism from those who questioned why all of the com-plainants who came forward had not seen their cases brought to trial.

Lewis said the government would proceed with a judicial re-view if it received the advice that it would be a successful route to keeping Worboys behind bars.

“Obviously if the advice is that

we can go forward with judicial review in a positive way then we will look to do that,” he said. “I think every victim out there, every friend and family, everyone who has read about this case, will want to know we are doing everything we can.”

Lewis said he understood wide-spread public anger and victims’ distress about the decision to re-lease Worboys. “I absolutely un-derstand. I know someone who has been through this and been a victim of this but even anybody out there who is reading about this will appreciate just how awful this will be for victims to think about someone like this being out on the street,” he said.

The ministry of justice con-fi rmed it was looking at the op-tion of judicial review after it was fi rst reported in the Sunday Times. “The secretary of state is minded to move forward only if there was a reasonable prospect of success,” a spokesman said.

The terms of Worboys’ licence are not yet fi nalised and victims will have a chance to give their views to the Parole Board on suit-able conditions before his release.

Victims and campaigners are understood to have already been looking at options for judicial re-view. Sarah Green, from the End Violence Against Women Coali-tion, said victims would “hope-fully have some relief at this news”.

Amid signs of a growing politi-cal backlash to Worboys’ release, Anna Soubry MP, a former busi-ness minister, criminal barrister and friend of one of Worboys’ victims, told Nick Hardwick, the chairman of the Parole Board, that the “statutory process has been breached and the decision to re-lease Worboys is not lawful”.

Soubry urged Hardwick to “make full inquiry to ensure that some grave error has not been made”.

In a letter sent on Friday and seen by the Guardian, she raised “very serious concerns about the process by which the board has decided to release John Worboys”.

Soubry warned that the trauma suff ered by at least one of Wor-boys’ victims had been com-pounded by her views not being taken into account by the Parole Board.

According to Soubry, her friend was asked in November last year if she wanted to be kept updat-ed about Worboys’ sentence or whereabouts and she replied that she did. However, she was not told at any time he was to be moved or considered for parole or that there was any change in the sentencing regime.

The victim did not know he was about to be released until January 4 when a BBC reporter called her for a reaction. Soubry told Hardwick that there had been “a fundamen-tal error in the process leading to the decision to release Worboys” because at least one of the vic-tims was denied a right to be heard about his release.

Zac Goldsmith, the MP for some of the victims, is also understood to have written to Hardwick.

Harriet Wistrich, a lawyer rep-resenting one of the victims from Worboys’ criminal trial and anoth-er complainant, said: “My clients are keen for anything to be done to stop the release of Worboys, who they are both convinced remains a danger to women … Such a chal-lenge would be unprecedented but, in this case, at the very least they deserve an explanation and an opportunity to be consulted”.

Animal welfare groups seek higher standards for farmed chickensGuardian News and MediaLondon

New welfare standards for farmed chickens have been demanded by a large

coalition of European animal protection groups, including the RSPCA, in a bid to address grow-ing concerns about inhumane conditions in the intensive and

large-scale production of meat.Supermarkets and restaurants

are being urged to sign up to the new blueprint, which represents the fi rst time a single set of re-quirements has been agreed on across the continent.

The complexity of the lengthy supply chain and ugly side of the chicken business was exposed last year when a Guardian and ITV News investigation into the 2 Sis-

ters operation revealed workers al-tering food safety records for poul-try processed at the fi rm’s plant in West Bromwich. The UK’s largest supplier of supermarket chicken temporarily shut the plant follow-ing undercover fi lming which also revealed poor hygiene standards.

To help curb some of the cruell-est aspects of the business – which sees fast-grown, over-bred birds collapsing under their own weight –

the new standard stipulates the use of higher welfare breeds. It also bans inhumane live bird shackling during slaughter, and specifi es more natural light and space, room to perch and “enrichment” items such as straw and vegetables for pecking. The au-thors of the pan-European guide-lines are urging retailers and food service businesses across Europe to commit to raising welfare standards across their entire chicken supply

chain by 2026. Marks & Spencer is the fi rst retailer to have signed up to the higher standards.

Broiler chickens – those raised for meat only – are produced more than any other farm animal for meat, by far, with a staggering 950mn slaughtered each year in the UK alone, and 50bn worldwide. This is expected to increase rapidly and by 2020 to become the larg-est meat sector in the world. Fast

food chain McDonald’s, tradition-ally a beef-focused business, now sells more chicken than beef and expects that by 2020 it will source more than 10 times the volume of chicken it does at the moment.

“Despite rapidly growing de-mand, there has been little progress made in improving the welfare of the majority of chickens bred for their meat,” said Sophie Elwes, farm animal welfare specialist at

the RSPCA. “The scale of suff er-ing is substantial, including the use of fast-growing breeds which can contribute to painful conditions such as severe lameness and heart defects. This January it will have been 10 years since chicken welfare was highlighted by celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and sadly there hasn’t been as much progress as we hoped there would be.”

Bolton: under attack

EUROPE15Gulf Times

Monday, January 15, 2018

A salmonella scandal at French dairy group Lac-talis has aff ected 83

countries, where 12mn boxes of powdered baby milk are being recalled, the company’s chief executive said yesterday in an interview with French media.

Emmanuel Besnier, scion of the secretive family behind one of the world’s biggest dairy groups, was speaking publicly for the fi rst time since an outcry erupted over claims the compa-ny hid the salmonella outbreak at a plant making the product.

“We must take account the scale of this operation: more than 12mn boxes are aff ected,” he said, adding that distribu-tors would no longer have to sort through the produce to fi nd the contaminated powder. “They know that everything has to be removed from the shelves.”

The health scare intensifi ed last week after France’s biggest retailers including Carrefour, Auchan and Leclerc admitted that products recalled in De-

cember had still found their way onto shelves.

Besnier, who was summoned to the French fi nance ministry on Friday, promised compensa-tion for all the families aff ected.

His promise came two days after Lactalis widened a product recall to cover all infant formula made at its Craon plant, regard-less of the manufacture date, in a bid to contain the fallout from a health scare that risks damaging France’s strategic agribusiness in overseas markets.

Besnier said that the conse-quences of this health crisis for consumers, including babies aged under six months, were at the forefront of his mind.

“It is for us, for me, a great concern,” he told the Journal du Dimanche.

Hundreds of lawsuits have been fi led against the group by families who say their children got salmonella poisoning after drinking powdered milk made by the company.

So far French offi cials have re-ported 35 cases of infants getting salmonella from the powder, while one case has been reported in Spain, and another case is be-

ing investigated in Greece.An association representing

victims says the authorities are underestimating the number of cases.

“There are complaints and there will be an investigation with which we will fully collab-orate. We never thought to act otherwise,” Besnier said.

Created in 1933 by Besnier’s grandfather, Lactalis has be-come an industry behemoth with annual sales of some €17bn ($20.6bn), with products in-cluding Galbani ricotta and mozzarella in Italy.

With 246 production sites in 47 countries, its list of products also features household names like President butter and Societe roquefort.

Two of those brands, Picot and Milumel baby milk, were the subject of chaotic international recalls issued in mid-December after dozens of children fell sick.

The scandal deepened this month when French investiga-tive weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported that state inspectors had given a clean bill of health to the Lactalis site in Craon, north-west France, in early September.

They failed to fi nd the sal-monella bacteria that had been detected by Lactalis’s own tests in August and November, which were not reported to the author-ities.

The company said it was not legally bound to report the con-tamination.

Yesterday the French authori-ties welcomed Lactalis’ pledge to compensate victims of the Salmonella contamination, but said a judicial investigation to

determine who was responsible would continue.

“Paying compensation is good, but money cannot buy everything,” government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said in an interview on BFM TV.

“It is the job of the investiga-tion to determine where failings occurred and who is to blame,” he said, adding that “responsi-bilities were shared”.

Besnier did not say how much the damages might amount to.

Implementing the global re-call will be challenging.

Privately owned Lactalis ex-ports its baby food products to 83 countries across Europe, Af-rica and Asia.

“It’s not easy to evaluate the number of items that need to be returned because we don’t know what’s been consumed already,” Besnier said in the interview with Journal du Dimanche.

Friday’s recall was the third in a month and Lactalis has come under fi re for its response.

Besnier has also been criti-cised for failing to speak out publicly during the salmonella scare.

While his family is France’s 11th wealthiest, according to a 2017 ranking by Challenges magazine, the dairy tycoon has long shunned the public lime-light and schmoozing with poli-ticians.

His workers nickname him the “invisible man”.

“We’re a discreet business. In this region there is a mentality of ‘work fi rst, speak later’,” he said.

But he acknowledged lessons had been learned during the past few weeks.

Lactalis contamination scare aff ects 83 nationsAFP/ReutersParis

A man walks past a placard which reads ‘Lactalis aff air, partial unemployment at Celia factory’, in Craon, western France.

A passenger plane skid-ded off the runway late on Saturday, just metres

away from the sea as it landed at an airport in northern Turkey, local media images showed.

The Pegasus Airlines fl ight had taken off smoothly from the capital Ankara and landed in Trabzon, but skidded off the runway in the northern airport.

No one was injured or killed in the landing.

Dramatic images from CNN Turk broadcaster showed the plane dangerously hanging off

a cliff several metres from the Black Sea, its wheels stuck in mud.

Other images from Dogan news agency showed smoke emanating from the trapped plane.

Pegasus Airlines confi rmed in a statement yesterday that there were no injuries reported

among the 162 passengers on-board as well as two pilots and four cabin crew after they were evacuated.

The cause of the incident was not known but an investigation is under way, the Trabzon gov-ernor’s offi ce said.

One of the passengers, Fatma Gordu, said panic erupted on-

board during the landing.“We tilted to the side, the

front was down while the plane’s rear was up. There was panic; people shouting, screaming,” she told state-run news agency Anadolu.

The airport was temporarily shut before reopening yester-day morning.

Turkish plane goes off runway metres away from seaAFPAnkara

The Pegasus Airlines aircraft is seen after it skidded off the runway at Trabzon airport by the Black Sea.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is considering joining French President

Emmanuel Macron at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Da-vos next week in what could turn into an epic clash of competing world views with US President Donald Trump.

Merkel, who has been strug-gling to put together a govern-ment since a German election in September, had been expected to skip the annual gathering of leaders, chief executives, bank-ers and celebrities in the Swiss Alps for a third straight year.

But after clinching a prelimi-nary coalition agreement with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) on Friday, German offi -cials said Merkel could travel to Davos after all, possibly setting up a major confrontation with Trump, who is expected to speak on the fi nal day of the forum.

An appearance would sig-nal Merkel’s return to the world stage after months of political limbo in which she has avoided the limelight and been dismissed

by some in the German and in-ternational media as a spent force.

It would also allow her and Macron, who is scheduled to speak at the forum on January 24, two days before Trump, to reaffi rm their commitment to reforming the European Union after Britain’s decision to leave, and to defend liberal democratic values in the face of Trump’s “America First” policies.

Merkel’s spokesman Steff en Seibert was coy last week when asked whether she might attend the WEF, which will run from January 23-26 under the ban-

ner “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World” and will at-tract some 60 heads of state and government.

But after clinching a pre-liminary deal with the SPD, the chances that she could attend appear to have risen.

German offi cials said no fi nal decision had been taken and that Merkel may wait for the outcome of an SPD congress in Bonn next Sunday – where the party will formally decide whether to enter coalition talks with her conserv-atives – before committing.

Offi cials at the WEF said they believed Merkel was still consid-

ering whether to attend.If she does, it is unlikely that

she or Macron would overlap with Trump, who is expected to arrive on the afternoon of Janu-ary 25.

This year’s forum will be opened by Indian Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi on January 23.

Britain’s Theresa May, Cana-da’s Justin Trudeau and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu are also expected, as well as celebrities such as actress Cate Blanchett and musician Elton John.

Last year’s gathering took place in the week leading up to Trump’s inauguration and was headlined by Chinese Presi-dent Xi Jinping, who signalled his readiness to fi ll the vacuum in global leadership created by America’s shift inward.

Since then, Trump has pulled the United States out of the Trans-Pacifi c Partnership, a free trade deal with Asian countries, announced a withdrawal from the Paris climate accord and threatened to torpedo an agree-ment between Western powers and Iran aimed at curbing its nuclear programme.

He has stirred fears of confl ict

with North Korea by engaging in an escalating war of words with its leader Kim Jong-un.

Last week, he stirred inter-national outrage by referring to Haiti and African nations using an expletive, according to mem-bers of Congress who attended a meeting in the White House.

On Saturday, some 500 dem-onstrators marched in the Swiss capital Bern to protest against Trump’s plans to attend the WEF.

“There are very few things in the world that unite countries as much as their antipathy towards Trump and what he is doing,” said Ian Bremmer, president of political risk consultancy Eura-sia Group, and a regular at Dav-os. “In the United States he may have 40% who approve of what he’s doing. In the Davos crowd it is closer to 5%.”

The visit by Trump will be the fi rst by a US president since Bill Clinton in 2000.

He will be accompanied by a large delegation that is expected to include his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Merkel has had a frosty rela-

tionship with Trump, who ac-cused her during his campaign for the presidency of “ruining Germany” by allowing hundreds of thousands of refugees, many fl eeing war in the Middle East, into the country in 2015.

She was hailed in some West-ern media as the last defender of liberal democratic values after Trump’s victory.

Since then, the election of Macron, a pro-European cen-trist who, like Merkel, supports free trade and the global rules-based order, has given her a powerful ally in the confronta-tion with Trump.

Macron is slated to speak for 45 minutes in the evening of January 24 in Davos, a ski resort in eastern Switzerland.

“My instinct tells me that Macron will go big,” said Robin Niblett, director of the Chatham House think tank in London. “He won’t just talk about Eu-rope. He will try to take up the mantle of the free world under Europe’s wing.”

If he is joined by Merkel, who has made seven appearances at the WEF since becoming chan-cellor in 2005, that message may resonate even louder.

Merkel could join Macron in Davos for epic clash with TrumpBy Noah Barkin, ReutersBerlin

Merkel, Macron and Trump at last year’s G20 summit in Hamburg.

Eight die, 38 hurt in Portugal blazeAFPLisbon

Fire ripped through a lo-cal community centre in northern Portugal where

dozens of people were watching a weekend football match, kill-ing eight and injuring another 38, offi cials said yesterday.

Nine people with severe burns were taken by helicopter to hos-pitals in Porto and Lisbon, emer-gency response chief Carlos Pereira told AFP.

Civil protection offi cial Paulo Santos earlier said between 50 and 60 people were hurt.

“It happened very fast. The whole fl oor was in fl ames with-in fi ve minutes,” survivor Julio Dias told the daily Publico. “In the panic, many people massed against the doors and it was im-possible to open them.”

He said a few minutes later rescue workers forced open a door using ropes tied to an all-terrain vehicle.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa headed to the scene yesterday.

Offi cials said the fi re broke out around 9pm (2100 GMT) on Saturday on the fi rst fl oor of the building in a village near Tonde-la, which lies between the north-ern towns of Coimbra and Viseu.

Many had taken part in an am-ateur card tournament, playing Sueca, a popular game in Portu-gal, and were watching football match, they said.

Local mayor Jose Antonio Je-sus said the fi re was caused by the explosion of a wood-burn-ing stove, which let off a “large quantity” of carbon monoxide.

The Tondela fi re service said the blaze was brought under control after an hour.

The area was hit by a series of deadly wildfi res in October.

Six hurt in housing block explosion

Six people have been injured in an explosion at a residential housing block near the Italian city of Milan, news agency Ansa reported yesterday.Two apartments in the top floor of the block in the town of Sesto San Giovanni were completely destroyed in the explosion, which was likely caused by a gas leak, the local fire brigade said on Twitter.A 73-year-old man was seriously injured after suff ering burns, but no one was in life-threatening condition, Ansa said.

Russia deploys moremissiles to CrimeaReutersMoscow

Russia deployed a new divi-sion of S-400 surface-to-air missiles in Crimea on

Saturday, Russian news agen-cies reported, in an escalation of military tensions on the Crimean peninsula.

Russian annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, triggering eco-nomic sanctions by the Europe-an Union and United States and a tense stand-off in the region.

The US said in December that it planned to provide Ukraine with “enhanced defensive ca-pabilities”, which offi cials said included Javelin anti-tank mis-siles.

Moscow’s latest deployment represents the second division armed with S-400 air defence systems on the peninsula, after the fi rst in the spring of 2017 near the port town of Fedosia.

The new division will be based next to the town of Sevastopol and will control the airspace over the border with Ukraine, the RIA news agency reported.

The new air defence system, designed to defend Russia’s bor-ders, can be turned into combat mode in less than fi ve minutes, Interfax news agency quoted Viktor Sevostyanov, a com-mander with Russia’s air forces, as saying.

Russia’s defence ministry says that the S-400 systems, known as “Triumph”, can bring down airborne targets at a range of 400km and ballistic missiles at a range of 60km.

They were fi rst introduced to the Russian military’s arsenal in 2007, the ministry said.

Minority Norway govt formed

Three parties have formed a minority government in Norway, four months after parliamentary elections.“We will find good, joint solutions for Norway,” Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg pledged yesterday in Oslo.She said that the new government will focus on job creation and poverty reduction, and better integrate migrants in the labour force.The minority government is made up of Solberg’s Conservative Party, the right-wing populist Progress Party, and the Liberals.It is backed by the centrist Christian Democrats.Progressive Party leader Siv Jensen said that Norway would tighten its immigration policy, including the relocation of family members, and higher demands for Norwegian citizenship.Minority governments are common in Norway.

Gulf Times Monday, January 15, 2018

INDIA16

Tamil NaduRoundupBy Umaima Shafiq

Hot air balloonfestival beginsin Pollachi

The fourth annual hot air balloon festival started in Pollachi, about 56km from Coimbatore city, on January 10.The festival organised by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Board, with ten sports companies has nearly 40 hot air balloons powered by helium. The balloons are tethered to SUV vehicles. Over 2,000 visitors ascend these balloons daily which give a short trip on air while moored to the vehicles. The flights are held only during daylight hours.Badru Toufiq, a regular visitor said: “The longer un-tethered balloon flights cover nearly 20km covering aerial radii of Pollachi, Anamalai, Valparai and Kerala. These can be chartered for Rs15,000 per passenger. This year the festival began at Chennai’s Loyola College and came by road here. January is a preferred month to attract public who visit hometowns for Pongal harvest festival.” This year ten balloons have come from the UK, US, Germany, France and Netherlands. First designed in 1914 by French engineer Albert Caquot, tethered balloons were used for barrage and watchtower work during the two World Wars. Later its spherical shape was modified into elliptical for commercial purposes and its fuel was changed from hydrogen to helium. Tamil Nadu is fast becoming a popular destination for adventure sports.

Police searchfor man inmarriage scam

Police are on the lookout for 57 year-old Purushotaman who duped eight women into marrying him and amassed millions of rupees.Purushotaman, a widower with a teenage daughter from Coimbatore, allegedly colluded with a couple running a marriage bureau service. The couple chose wealthy widows and divorcees for Purushotaman. He charmed his ‘wives’ with romantic talk and glamorous credentials. He managed to dupe Indira Gandhi, a Chennai-based college lecturer of Rs10.45mn from sale of her ancestral house. Similarly he convinced Kumudavalli in Coimbatore to sell her farmland for Rs30mn to finance a ‘civil suit’ that he claimed would bring in Rs170mn. He played similar tricks on three other women and has now gone underground. Police have arrested the marriage bureau owners and begun a search for Purushotaman. In a separate case, Coimbatore police are searching for Shruthi, 21, who allegedly duped four foreign grooms of millions of rupees over four years. She and her parents and brother posed as film personalities and lured the grooms into getting engaged to her.

Bus strike endsafter high court appoints arbitrator

A state-wide government bus strike for wage hike that went on for eight days was called off on January 11, after the Madras High Court ordered a court off icial to arbitrate between the trade unions and the government. Former judge E Padmanabhan was appointed as arbitrator.A Soundarajan, a leader of the Centre of Trade Unions (CITU) said, “We are ready to accept the current wage revision of 2.44%, but we do want our demand for 2.57 % to be fulfilled in the future.”Meanwhile the state government had released Rs7.5bn towards pension benefits, wage arrears and bonuses of these unions. The bus strike crippled the state’s economy as passenger and daily parcel services were aff ected.The end of the strike was a major relief for the public ahead of the harvest festival of Pongal and long weekend.

Former top judges join criticism of Chief JusticeAgenciesNew Delhi

Four former senior judges yesterday released a letter in support of a group of Su-

preme Court judges who on Fri-day openly criticised the way the top court was functioning.

The retired judges – including a former Supreme Court judge and a chief justice of the Delhi High Court – confi rmed they had is-sued an open letter to the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra after four Supreme Court judges held a press conference on Friday in which one of them warned that the nation’s democracy was under threat because of the way the top court was being run.

The four sitting judges of the Supreme Court had criticised distribution of cases to judges and raised concerns about judi-cial appointments in the nation’s highest court under Chief Justice Misra.

Misra has not responded to their allegations.

“We agree with the four judges that though the chief justice of India is the master of roster and can designate benches for alloca-tion of work, this does not mean that it can be done in an arbitrary manner such that sensitive and important cases are sent to hand-picked benches of junior judges by the chief justice,” the former judges said in the open letter yes-terday.

The letter was drafted and signed by P B Sawant, a former Supreme Court judge; A P Shah, former chief justice of the Delhi High Court; K Chandru, a former judge of the Madras High Court, and H

Suresh, a former judge of the Bombay High Court.

Two of the retired judges said it was important to support the group of Supreme Court judges because they had taken the bold step of speaking out publicly to protect the sanctity of the most important institution of India.

The four judges – J Chela-meswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph – who are the most senior after Misra in that order on Friday rebelled against the chief justice over allo-cation of cases, saying the admin-istration of the top court was “not in order”.

The public outburst by judges prompted Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi to hold an emergency meeting with his law minister on Friday but the government has re-fused to comment.

The four former judges said in the statement that all rules and norms must be laid down clearly for allocation of cases.

“This must be done immedi-ately to restore public confi dence in the judiciary and in the Su-preme Court,” the former judges said.

They also released a letter they

wrote to Misra a couple of months ago, conceding that he was the master of roster but that was “not a recognition of any superior au-thority, legal or factual of the chief justice over his colleagues”.

In a related development, a seven-member delegation of the Bar Council Of India (BCI) yester-day met Chelameswar at his resi-dence and discussed the issue for around 45 minutes.

Earlier the delegation met some other judges of the Supreme Court including R K Agrawal, A M Khanwilkar and Arun Mishra.

The BCI on Saturday decided to send a delegation to meet a majority of the Supreme Court judges so that the crisis can be re-solved at the earliest.

“The council is of the unani-mous view that it is an internal matter of the Supreme Court. The council has hope and trust that the judges of the Supreme Court will realise the seriousness of the issue and in future may avoid any such situation that politicians or political parties could take undue advantage of and or which could cause harm to our judiciary,” the BCI said in a statement on Satur-day.

In UP, Akhilesh wakes up to challenge the BJPIANSLucknow

Banished into political hi-bernation after a humili-ating drubbing in the 2017

assembly elections, the Sama-jwadi Party (SP) of late seems to have got its voice and bearings back, led by its young leader and party chief, former chief minis-ter Akhilesh Yadav.

After a gap of almost 10 months, the Yadav scion has, in the past one month, not only been vocal in his criticism of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government but has also estab-lished the “missing connect”

with party cadres, specially the youth.

Reduced to 47 in a 403-mem-ber assembly, the SP has been struggling to remain centre-stage even as the 325-member-strong Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gallops from one electoral victory to another in the state. Yadav has been meeting party workers from every nook and corner of the state in the past few weeks for their feedback on what went wrong in the as-sembly polls where its numbers shrank from a high of 224.

He has also begun work on setting the caste combinations and demographic arithmetic right. Party insiders say that

“bhaiyya-ji” - as he is fondly called by his followers - has decided to stop sulking at the electoral losses and rather gar-ner strength to take on the BJP’s might with renewed vigour. Ya-dav is said to have worked the wires with opposition party leaders in December 2017, trying to forge a front that could collec-tively counter the BJP’s might.

This came as a surprise to many, mostly those who think Yadav is hesitant in getting off the high horse and getting into “realistic” politics of “some sense, camaraderie”.

Yadav not only initiated a process where opposition party leaders were brought on the

same page against what the SP terms as manipulation of the electronic voting machines (EVMs) but has also author-ised state party leaders to begin similar talks with like-minded leaders and legislators in other parties.

“We are trying to take the help of all parties in exposing the BJP,” state spokesman and former minister Rajendra Chowdhary said. Yadav himself has pointed out that he has “understood the game of the BJP” and would now “take on the electoral war of the BJP in their own style”.

“Loha, lohe ko katta hai, ab hum Bhajpa ko usi ki bhasha mein samjhayenge (in a battle of

equals, the BJP will be paid back in its own coin)”, Yadav declared at a recent press conference.

The SP is already admitting in its fold leaders of various castes like Nishads, Thakurs and Brah-mins – and a lot of Muslims have also returned to the party in the past few weeks. The party has so far distanced itself from the Congress and is focusing on rebuilding its cadre and boost-ing the morale of the crestfallen faithful. But is this enough? Opinion is divided.

While political observers see a shift in Yadav’s attitude of late and view it as a welcome sign that he is trying to unite the opposition forces and si-

multaneously rebuild the SP, they feel a sustained campaign against the BJP government, both at the national and state levels, is the need of the hour. Reining in the lumpen cadre in the party is another challenge. At a recent press conference, his cadres took over the audi-torium, forcing journalists to leave in a huff.

Yadav fi nally apologised for the unruly behaviour of his party cadres. Clearly, he realises the pitfalls of being caught in the old image of the party. Now, time will tell how much he can change his own party, make it battle ready and challenge the might of the so far unstoppable BJP.

Death toll from helicoptercrash rises to six: offi cialAgenciesMumbai

Searchers have recovered two more bodies from the wreckage of a heli-

copter that crashed off India’s west coast, taking the death toll to six, an official said yes-terday.

The helicopter went down on Saturday shortly after take-off from Mumbai with two pilots and fi ve employees of state oil and gas fi rm Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.

“So far the hospital has said that six bodies have been re-covered from the crash. One person is still missing,” B P Sharma, chairman of state heli-copter company Pawan Hans that leased the aircraft, said.

“Search and rescue opera-tions continued overnight and are still underway. More parts of the helicopter have also been found.”

The helicopter lost contact with air traffi c control at around 10.30am roughly 40 nautical miles off the west coast of India above the Arabian Sea.

It was supposed to land at the off shore oil rig Bombay High at 11am.

Images from the Indian Navy yesterday showed rescue crews near fl oating debris.

Divers were searching for the missing pilot, the navy said.

The navy and coast guard had sent ships and planes on Sat-urday to search for the downed helicopter.

The ONGC offi cials were identifi ed as P N Sreenivasan,

Pankaj Garg, Jose Antony, R Sarvanan and V K Bindulal Babu, all based in Mumbai.

The two pilots have been identifi ed as V C Katoch and Ramesh Oathkar.

India’s civil aviation minis-ter said air crash investigators would launch an inquiry.

ONGC, India’s top oil pro-ducer, has oil and gas fi elds off the coast of Mumbai.

Pawan Hans helicopters rou-tinely ferry ONGC employees and offi cers to Bombay High, some 160km off shore.

In 2015, a Pawan Hans chop-per crashed after taking off from the oil rig and killed two pilots.

In 2003, a helicopter hired by ONGC crashed off the Mumbai coast, killing 28 peo-ple aboard.

People gather to take a dip at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati during the annual Magh Mela festival in Allahabad yesterday. The Magh Mela, which is known as a mini-Kumbh Mela, started on January 2 and ends on February 13 with auspicious bathing dates throughout the 45 day period.

Festive dip

Mourners carry the body of ONGC off icial P N Sreenivasan who died in the helicopter crash, in Mumbai yesterday.

Leave us alone, says Loya’s family

Dismissing any “suspicions”

over the death of Special Judge

Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, his

family yesterday appealed to the

media, lawyers, NGOs and others

“not to harass” them. Address-

ing a hurriedly convened press

conference, Anuj Loya and other

relatives said that for the family,

Judge Loya’s death in December

2014 was a sad and private matter.

“The family has been traumatised

since his demise. We are pained

by the chain of events in the past

few days. We don’t want any probe

in his death. There’s no suspicion

in the matter (of his death),” Anuj

said, with other members of the

Loya flanking him. “Though tragic,

there is no controversy. No need

to politicise it. Let it remain non-

controversial. We don’t want to be

victims of politicisation,” the fam-

ily’s lawyer Ameet Naik said.

INDIA17

Gulf Times Monday, January 15, 2018

Netanyahu arrives inIndia on six-day trip

26 arrested overstone attack onNitish convoy‘Hindutva’ has nothing to

do with Hinduism: writer

Hope acrimonybetween India, Pakistan ends soon: Mehbooba

IANSNew Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday set aside protocol to personally re-

ceive his Israeli counterpart and “friend” Benjamin Netanyahu with a warm hug as he arrived here on a six-day visit to step up growing trade as well as military and strategic ties between the two countries.

This is the fi rst visit to India by an Israeli prime minister since Ariel Sharon came in 2003.

As Netanyahu and his wife Sara stepped on the red carpet at the airport here, a smiling Modi embraced the Israeli leader and then shook hands with the cou-ple.

“Welcome to India, my friend Netanyahu! Your visit to India is historic and special. It will further cement the close friend-ship between our nations,” Modi tweeted in English and Hebrew.

Netanyahu quickly respond-ed. “Thank you to my good friend Narendra Modi for the warm welcome.”

“Very much appreciate the gesture,” the Jerusalem Post quoted Netanyahu as saying.

Modi and Netanyahu, who have developed a close friend-ship, exchanging greetings on social media on various occa-sions and hugging each other heartily, will hold talks on a range of issues today after Presi-dent Ram Nath Kovind formally welcomes the Israeli leader at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The visit, which marks 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, comes six months after Modi became the fi rst In-dian prime minister to visit the Jewish state in July last year.

Before embarking on the fl ight to India, Netanyahu said his trip was intended to strengthen bi-lateral relations “even more”.

“This visit is an opportunity

to enhance co-operation with a global economic, security, tech-nology and tourism power,” he said. “Modi is a close friend of Israel and of mine and I appreci-ate the fact that he will accom-pany me on extensive parts of my visit.”

He said strengthening re-lationship between Israel and “this important world power... helps us with security, the econ-omy, trade, tourism and many other aspects”.

The Congress criticised Modi for what it called “hugplomacy”. It posted a video hashtagged “hugplomacy” on its offi cial Twitter handle, capturing a few “awkward” moments in Modi’s meetings with world leaders including US President Don-ald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and also Netanyahu.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the meme

video, alleging that the oppo-sition party had “lost its sense and balance” which “does not behove a mature political par-ty”.

Human Resource Develop-ment Minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said: “Modiji’s infl uence as world leader is increasing. Today a sur-vey found him at No 3 in popu-larity as a world leader.”

In a sign of growing impor-tance to the ties with Israel, the government yesterday renamed Delhi’s Teen Murti Chowk as Teen Murti-Haifa Chowk after the Israeli city.

Modi and Netanyahu laid a wreath at the iconic Teen Murti war memorial where they were received by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and Foreign Secre-tary S Jaishankar.

The two leaders paid homage to Indian soldiers who fell in the battle of Haifa during World War I.

Netanyahu’s entourage in-

cludes the largest-ever delega-tion of Israeli business people of some 130.

According to Israeli newspa-per Haaretz, these businessmen include senior executives of Aeronautics Defence Systems – an Israeli drone maker currently under criminal investigation by the police’s international crimes division.

At least nine commercial agreements are expected be signed during the visit. These include memorandums of un-derstanding on gas and oil, re-newable energy, aviation, indus-trial research and development, cybersecurity, reciprocal invest-ments, supplementary medi-cine, space research and joint movie productions, Haaretz said.

Today morning, Netanyahu will lay a wreath at Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gan-dhi. Tomorrow, he will fly to Agra to view the iconic Taj Ma-hal.

At least 25 people including 10 women, have been arrested in connection with stone-throwing on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s convoy in Buxar district, an off icial said yesterday, adding a high-level probe is underway.“In the last two days, 26 persons have been arrested,” the off icial said in Buxar.Upset over lack of development, a group of villagers on Friday stoned the convoy in Nandan village during the chief minister’s visit, injuring nearly a dozen security personnel.According to police, when Nitish Kumar was passing through the village, some people urged him to visit the area inhabited by Dalits which they claimed was neglected.But the chief minister ignored the plea, angering the villagers who attacked his convoy. Some youths also shouted slogans against the chief minister.

IANSKolkata

Describing the cur-rent political situation as “not conducive for

anybody”, veteran writer Nay-antara Sahgal has called for re-jecting the idea of “Hindutva” which is “creating violence” and has “nothing to do with Hinduism”.

“Right now, it is a very dif-ferent situation. In the present political situation, the forces are trying to stamp out all dis-sent and disagreement. People who disagree with them are be-ing killed. The last person was Gauri Lankesh.

“Not only writers, people who are transporting cattle have been

killed. On suspicion of storing beef, people are being killed,” the writer told IANS.

“Remedy is to throw out Hindutva and reject it. This is creating violence. It is a very dangerous ideology and has nothing to do with Hinduism. Many writers have been speak-ing and writing against this ideology,” Sahgal said on the sidelines of the Apeejay Kolka-ta Literary Festival 2018 here on Saturday evening.

She said Hinduism was “not a terrorist creed” and did not advocate violence.

“The current (political) situ-ation is not conducive not for just writers but for anybody. Anybody, they don’t like, they fi le cases against them. There is persecution and murder and

(there is) a very evil political climate,” Sahgal said.

The much feted writer said India at the time of independ-ence decided to put democracy before development and it also decided to be secular. “This is something to be proud of.”

During the session of ‘Women Writers: Shaping a New India’ at the Festival, an award – the Prabha Khaitan Woman’s Voice Award – in association with Ox-ford Bookstore, was announced.

Applauding the initiative, she said: “I always hate to put a dividing line between men and women. Maybe, it is because that in my family men strongly believe about woman’s rights. I always fi rmly believe in a partnership between men and women.”

IANSJammu

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti yesterday said she hoped

India and Pakistan will soon move away from acrimony and mistrust to a discourse of peace, harmony and friend-ship.

Addressing a passing-out parade of 911 recruits of Jam-mu and Kashmir Police at the Subsidiary Training Centre at Talwara in Reasi district, the chief minister said the state’s people had suff ered a lot due to acrimony, bitterness and hostilities between the two countries.

She said she hoped that better sense would prevail and both countries go back to the days of friendship, am-ity and reconciliation, as was witnessed when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime min-ister.

Mehbooba Mufti said the state’s people had also suf-fered due to violence in the past 30 years.

“When we should be providing them with good schools, hospitals and other amenities of modern life, the demand from border ar-eas comes for the construc-tion of bunkers. This situa-tion has to change. The pain and agony of Jammu and Kashmir’s people should be heard,” she said.

She said the police must play an active role in further-ing the reconciliation process

in the state, and asked them to be more humane while enforc-ing the law.

Mufti advised them to as-sume parenting role more than policing while dealing with law and order situations.

She also asked the police to tackle problems like drug menace and crimes against women. She said she will ad-vise setting up of drug de-addiction centres in every district of the state, given the enormity of the problem.

The chief minister said her government was sensitive to the problems and diffi culties of Jammu and Kashmir police and had already taken many major steps like Kashmir Po-lice Service (KPS) cadre re-view, enhancement of exgra-tia, and increase in promotion quota for constabulary. Security forces yester-

day discovered an improvised explosive device (IED) on the outskirts of Srinagar, averting a tragedy.

Police said the IED was found in Maloora area. “A bomb disposal squad is defus-ing the IED,” a police offi cer said.

On Saturday, the security forces had defused a power-ful IED on the Srinagar-Muz-aff arabad road some distance away from where yesterday’s IED was found.

After militants killed four policemen in Sopore town last week by detonating an IED, senior police offi cers worry that more such devices are likely to be used by them in the coming days.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu on their arrival at the Air Force Station in New Delhi yesterday.

The Himachal Pradesh government is committed to promoting religious tourism in Tattapani village on the Sutlej river bank in Mandi district and restore the natural hot springs there, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said yesterday. The issue of restoration of hot springs at Tattapani, 52km from the state capital Shimla, and hot baths would soon be taken up both with the National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) and the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. Thakur said that religious places like Mahunag, Kamrunag, Shikari Devi and Rewalsar would also be developed for promoting religious tourism with the assistance of the central government. Hot springs in Tattapani were submerged in 2015 after the construction of a dam by the NTPC for the 800-megawatt Koldam hydroelectric project in Bilaspur district.

Low-cost airline AirAsia India yesterday said it would fly passengers from today to seven cities across India at a promotional base fare from Rs99. “The promotional fares start from Rs99 under the dynamic pricing to cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, New Delhi, Pune and Ranchi,” the airline said in a statement. The budget carrier’s parent firm AirAsia will also fly its passengers at Rs1,499 base fare from Indian cities to 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), including Auckland, Bali, Bangkok, Kuala Lampur, Melbourne, Singapore and Sydney. “Passengers can book from Monday up to January 21 and avail the off er to travel from January 15 to July 31,” said the statement. The fare off er is on all flights of the group network, including AirAsia India, AirAsia Berhad, Thai AirAsia, AirAsia X and Indonesia AirAsia X.

A young man was stabbed to death by four people in a south Delhi park when he resisted their attempts to snatch his mobile phone and wallet, police said yesterday. Naresh, 22, a B Tech degree holder but working as a waiter in a restaurant in south Delhi, had gone to visit the park in Tughlakabad with a female friend on Saturday evening when he was stabbed. “Naresh was strolling with his friend when the four men accosted them and tried to snatch his valuables at knife-point. Following an argument, they stabbed him over half a dozen times and escaped with his cell phone and wallet,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Chinmoy Biswal said. The woman told police that the suspects threatened to kill her too when she tried to intervene.

A 17-year-old girl in West Bengal’s East Midnapore has appealed to the district authorities to allow her to kill herself as she has become pregnant after allegedly being raped by a man on the promise of marriage, police said yesterday. “We got intimation from the District Magistrate’s public grievance cell that a girl has sought permission to kill herself after being raped by a man of same village on the promise of marriage,” police officer Jaleswar Tewary said. She felt it would be difficult for her to stay alive as an unwed mother, Tewary added. The victim’s mother alleged that while the accused was absconding, his parents, who had earlier agreed to their marriage, were opposing the proposal now. “A case was registered and the man’s father has been arrested,” the police officer said.

A relay hunger strike by a Delhi University PhD student and his supporters on the campus to demand the arrest of a professor who allegedly made casteist remarks made against him entered the fourth day yesterday. Akshay Kumar from the Department of Buddhist Studies complained to police last week against K T S Sarao. “We will observe the relay hunger strike till Sarao is arrested,” Kumar said. “The police have asked witnesses to record their statements tomorrow (Monday). We will continue the hunger strike in the meantime,” he said. According to Surendra Kumar, a teacher supporting the students, a complaint was filed against Sarao at the Maurice Nagar police station but the police failed to act initially. “The police registered the complaint only after students took out a protest march to the police station,” the research scholar claimed.

HP to restore hot springsat Tattapani, says CM

Fly AirAsia at Rs99 to 7 cities in India

Man fatally stabbed while resisting robbers

Rape victim seeks permission to end life

DU student, supporterscontinue hunger strike

TOURISMAVIATIONCRIME TRAGEDY PROTEST

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and women officers from the Mumbai police take part in the ‘Umang Mumbai Police Show 2018’ in Mumbai on Saturday. The annual celebratory event held by the Mumbai police had several the big stars from Bollywood besides Khan, including Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan who attended the event as a mark of their respect for the city’s law enforcement team.

Stars shine at police show

Kashmir shivers as cold wave continues

Biting winter cold continued in Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir yesterday with the weather off ice giving no indication of any immediate relief. Minimum temperatures remained several degrees below the freezing point in Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region. At minus 15.2 degree Celsius, Leh town was the coldest in Kashmir yesterday. “The cold wave is likely to continue in Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region for at least another seven days,” an off icial of the Met department

said. Kashmir Valley is passing through the 40-day long period of harsh winter cold called ‘Chillai Kalan’ which will end on January 30. The minimum temperature was minus 4.3 degree in Srinagar, minus 4.8 in Pahalgam and minus 5 in Gulmarg yesterday. In Jammu region, Jammu city recorded 5.4 degrees, Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine base camp of Katra 6.4, Batote 3, Bannihil minus 0.6, Bhaderwah 1 degree and Udhampur 1.6 as the minimum temperatures yesterday.

18 Gulf TimesMonday, January 15, 2018

LATIN AMERICA

Ex-S America leadersback Lula petitionAFPRio de Janeiro

Four South American ex-presidents are among more than 170,000 people

who signed a petition support-ing former president Luiz Ina-cio Lula da Silva bid for another term as Brazil’s president, de-spite his corruption conviction.

US fi lm-maker Oliver Stone also signed the online petition sup-porting Lula, whose electoral aspi-rations are at risk of being blocked.

The petition on change.org, titled “Election without Lula is fraud,” comes ahead of a January 24 court ruling on his appeal of a nine-and-a-half-year jail sen-tence issued last July.

Former presidents Cristina Kirchner of Argentina, Jose Mujica of Uruguay, Rafael Correa of Ec-uador, and Ernesto Samper of Co-lombia are among the personalities who have signed the document.

It calls the scheduling of the appeal date “purely an act of persecution” against Lula as his support “grows in the polls.”

Lula was Brazil’s fi rst demo-cratically elected leftist and was

credited with helping lift 30mn Brazilians out of poverty.

He was hugely popular during his 2003-10 two-term presidency, but his reputation was damaged by the steep economic decline un-der his handpicked successor Dil-ma Rousseff who was impeached in 2016 for breaking budget rules.

A court convicted Lula in con-nection with Brazil’s “Car Wash” graft probe, which began with a seemingly run-of-the-mill money laundering investiga-tion but which led investigators to a web of corruption involving much of the country’s political and economic elite.

The appeal court’s ruling could decide whether Lula can take part in October 2018 presi-dential elections in which he is currently the frontrunner.

While Lula could fi nd ways to appeal further, a ruling against him would throw the presiden-tial race into further uncertainty.

Lula, 72, also faces six other corruption cases.

He claims that a “diabolical pact” has been struck between prosecutors, federal police and the media to prevent his return to the presidency.

Venezuela govt, oppositionto hold new round of talksAFPSanto Domingo

The Venezuelan govern-ment and opposition delegates meeting in the

Dominican Republic will hold a new round of talks on Thursday on resolving the crisis facing the country, the Dominican presi-dent said.

Venezuela is in the throes of a deepening crisis caused by fall-ing oil prices, spiralling infl ation and corruption that has ravaged the oil-rich country’s economy.

President Nicolas Maduro has increasingly consolidated power, aided by disarray in the opposi-tion.

“Although we have very im-portant advances, we are still left with pending issues,” President Danilo Medina said.

The two sides will hold fur-ther talks in Santo Domingo on January 18, said Medina, one of those working to encourage the dialogue.

After 10 hours of meetings aimed at fi nding solutions to the

protracted political and economic crises, Jorge Rodriguez, the main Venezuelan government delegate, said there was consensus on the “majority of the points.”

“We remain at the negotiating table...we have some points that I am sure will be resolved” in the talks on January 18, Rodriguez said.

Julio Borges, the main delegate for the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), also highlighted agreement.

But the MUD’s main require-ment in the negotiations is that this year’s presidential election be “free and fair” — something that will be diffi cult to achieve.

The latest round of meetings, which began on Thursday, came after Maduro’s government threatened to ban key opposi-tion parties from the election, while the opposition threatened to resume street protests which cost the lives of 125 people last year.

Venezuela’s all-powerful Constituent Assembly, loyal to Maduro, has ordered the three main opposition parties to re-register with the National Elec-toral Council (CNE) in order to take part in the presidential election.

The rule was imposed after the parties boycotted mayoral elec-tions in December, saying they lacked transparency.

The opposition wants the government to recognise its call for a more neutral CNE, interna-tional observers at the polls, the release of political prisoners and a later timeline for the election.

But analysts believe it is likely the election will be held in the fi rst half of the year, as Maduro seeks to take advantage of oppo-sition disarray.

Salvadoran call centreswelcome USdeporteesReutersSan Salvador

Alexander Ramos was de-ported to El Salvador from the US seven years

ago, forced to leave jobs as a gar-dener and at McDonald’s after getting caught driving without a licence.

Back in his native San Salvador, the 31-year-old brushed up on his English and landed a job at one of the nation’s 70 call centres.

The industry, which employs 47% more people than two years ago based on government data, is now eyeing a growth spurt after the Trump administration said it would end immigration pro-tection for more than 200,000 Salvadorans.

The decision has alarmed Sal-vadoran immigrants, many of whom have lived for years in the US and fear returning to a home-land that frequently features among the world’s most violent nations.

They dread the prospect of seeking jobs in a country where the minimum wage is less than $10 per day and two out of three people work in the informal economy.

The call centres, some run by foreign fi rms including Tampa-based Convergys Corporation and Paris’ Teleperformance SE, could help soften their return with higher paying work making calls and answering customer enquiries.

Neither company said in re-cent public fi lings which cus-tomers are serviced from El Salvador, but Convergys counts AT&T as its biggest client.

Teleperformance has worked with Apple, and said on its web-site that its El Salvador location serves seven international cli-ents, mainly from the US.

Ramos, whose misdemeanour off ence in the US fell short of the kind of crimes that disqualify

some potential call centre em-ployees, earns $600 a month.

That is just over half of what he made in the US but double El Salvador’s minimum wage.

He said he felt safe working in an offi ce rather than a street en-vironment.

Tattoos he wore openly in Cal-ifornia could be misinterpreted as gang-related in El Salvador and make him a target for attack, he said. “The economic situation is a bit better than what you can make anywhere else, and the en-vironment is safe,” he said.

Some Salvadorans fl ed to the US during its 1980s civil war. Others came later, feeling vio-lence, poverty and natural dis-asters.

Many gained temporary pro-tected status (TPS) following destructive earthquakes in 2001, allowing them to live and work legally in the US.

It is unknown how many Sal-vadorans will return home after US President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel TPS from Sep-tember 2019 gave them 18 months to leave or seek lawful residency.

Some call centre executives foresee a larger pool of talent as a consequence of the move.

“There is certainly going to be enough momentum that there is going to be very fast growth,” said Jorge Orellana, who over-sees Contacto Tu Call Center in San Salvador where 250 employ-ees service US insurance, emer-gency and fi nance fi rms.

Both local and foreign com-panies have taken advantage of El Salvador’s English-speaking workers, proximity to the US and low labour and operational costs, he added.

For US clients the location has been an attractive option compared with more distant outsourcing hubs like India and the Philippines. The industry has also landed in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama.

Supporters of opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla march to protest the re-election of Honduras’ President Juan Orlando Hernandez in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Hernandez election opposed

Two killed as strongquake rattles PeruAFPLima

A 7.3 magnitude earth-quake shook southern Peru yesterday, killing at

least two people and injuring 65 others, the South American country’s civil defence agency said.

Local authorities said homes made of adobe collapsed in coastal areas most directly af-fected by the quake, which struck in the Pacifi c, 31kms from the seaside town of Acari in the region of Arequipa, according to the US Geological Survey.

“There are two fatalities in the region of Arequipa and so far 65 injured have been report-ed,” general Jorge Chavez, head of the National Civil Defence Institute, said.

Chavez said military planes were delivering humanitarian aid including tents to aff ected areas.

One person died in the Yau-ca district and another in the Bella Union district, both in the Arequipa region, where rescue workers were trying to help those aff ected, Peru’s Civil De-fence said.

Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski travelled to the region

and fl ew over the quake zone.Speaking to reporters, he at-

tributed the two deaths to ado-be houses collapsing.

The Peruvian navy and the Pacifi c Tsunami Warning Cen-tre in Hawaii ruled out the threat of a tsunami.

Adobe houses were levelled in the coastal town of Lomas and elsewhere in the surround-ing area, Santiago Neyra, the mayor of the nearby town of Caraveli said.

Electricity was out in several municipalities and many roads were closed to traffi c or passable in only one direction, the mayor said.

Structural damage was re-ported to a bridge in Arequipa, said the head of the region’s highway police, Major Alberto Rojas.

In the city of Arequipa, resi-dents ran into the streets af-ter the quake struck at 4.18am (0918GMT). It was felt as far away as Lima.

“Here at the clinic the tremor felt super long,” a pa-tient in a Lima private hospi-tal said.

The earthquake rocked Peru just before Pope Francis was slated to arrive Thursday for a three-day visit after touring Chile.

Peru lies on the so-called “Ring of Fire” — an arc of fault lines that circles the Pacifi c Basin and is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic erup-tions.

The South American coun-try records about 200 earth-quakes a year, most of them going unnoticed by the pub-lic.

The last major earthquake to shake Peru hit in August 2007, killing 595 people.

A 6.3 magnitude quake was felt in southern Peru on the border with Chile last October, leaving four people with slight injuries.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a meeting with representatives of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) alliance in Caracas, Venezuela.

A World Bank economist in charge of the lender’s annual competitiveness rankings denied accusations that the reports treated Chile unfairly for several years. Chilean off icials criticised the World Bank after its chief economist, Paul Romer, said changes to the “Doing Business” report’s methodology caused the South American country’s ranking to decline under socialist President Michelle Bachelet, and that the changes may have been politically motivated. In the interview, economist Augusto Lopez-Claros defended the study, noting that his unit consulted with people both within and outside the World Bank before making big changes.

Venezuela’s oil production has increased to near 1.9mn barrels per day (bpd) after hitting a historic low last year, according to Manuel Quevedo, oil minister and head of state oil firm PDVSA, who vowed 2018 will see output rise to more than 2.4mn bpd. The Opec country is facing an economic crisis, with millions suff ering food and medicine shortages. Venezuela relies on oil for about 95% of export revenue though output has fallen significantly in recent years. “The year 2018 will be one of recovery, after having touched a historic low. We are now near 1.9mn barrels of oil per day, thanks to the workers,” said Quevedo in an interview.

Pope Francis will not be at risk during his trip to Chile this week, despite a series of attacks at churches in the capital Santiago, Interior Minister Mario Fernandez said. Unknown vandals set fire to at least two churches, threw a homemade bomb at one and left pamphlets with threatening messages to the pontiff early on Friday morning, days before his arrival in the South American country. No one was injured, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Fernandez told local radio station BioBio that small groups with limited capabilities were to blame, but he did not name them. “We are not talking about significant groups that are truly dangerous,” he said.

The United Nations is willing to send more resources to Colombia to help the Andean country care for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans fleeing food shortages and economic devastation in their homeland, secretary-general Antonio Guterres said. Guterres is on a two-day visit to Colombia to discuss the progress of its peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) rebels and ongoing peace talks with smaller guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN), which recently re-started attacks after a months-long ceasefire. Venezuelans fleeing acute food shortages, high crime and political unrest have flooded across the border to Colombia.

Police in Guatemala arrested a ruling party lawmaker for involvement in plotting a 2015 killing of journalists. Julio Juarez, of the FCN-Nacion party, was arrested near his home in San Bernardino, Suchitepequez, south of the capital. He is suspected of having masterminded the killings, a spokeswoman for prosecutors said. In December, the 37-year-old lawmaker made a US list of alleged human rights abusers and people engaging in corruption around the world. The two killings took place March 10, 2015 in Mazatenango. Prosecutors with a UN agency already had linked him to the crime last year. “I have not done anything. And all this will be cleared up,” Juarez said.

Economist denies claimsof bias against Chile

Venezuela oil productionrecovering, says minister

Chile government guarantees Pope’s safety

UN to send more aid forVenezuelans in Colombia

Lawmaker arrested inkilling of journalists

CONTROVERSY COMMENTLAW AND ORDER ASSURANCE INVESTIGATION

“Although we have very important advances, we are still left with pending issues”

PAKISTAN19Gulf Times

Monday, January 15, 2018

Pakistan will try to privatise its national airline before general elections due this

year, privatisation minister Dani-yal Aziz said, as the ruling party seeks to restart sales of state-run businesses.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), haemorrhaging money and losing market share to Gulf-based rivals such as Etihad and Emirates, has been hit by man-agement turmoil in recent years and a 2016 plane crash that led to 47 deaths.

The privatisation of loss-mak-ing entities that were draining the exchequer is a key priority for the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) party when it swept to power in 2013.

PIA was among 68 state-owned companies earmarked for privatisation in return for a $6.7bn International Monetary Fund (IMF) package that helped Pakistan to stave off a default in 2013.

Despite some initial success, the process stalled in 2016 after staff protests caused havoc with PIA operations and the govern-ment passed a law that eff ective-ly made it impossible to privatise the airline.

However Aziz, chairman of the Privatisation Commission, told Reuters that new plans have been drawn up to sell off PIA and he would take the proposals to the cabinet committee on privatisa-tion, chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

“Next step would be going to the cabinet committee ... and that’s imminent, maybe even next week,” Aziz said in his Is-lamabad offi ce this week.

The new plans focus on split-ting up the carrier, with the core airline business being separated from vast peripheral operations such as catering, hotels and maintenance, Aziz said.

The core airline would then be sold.

However, to complete the transaction, Aziz said, the gov-ernment would have to pass laws

in parliament to reverse the 2016 legislation that converted PIA into a limited company and ef-fectively barred the government from giving up management control.

The impetus to sell PIA has grown as the airline has piled up huge losses estimated by its former chief executive in March at about $30mn a month.

The airline’s total debt stood at Rs186bn ($1.8bn) at the end of 2016.

When asked how soon a buyer could acquire PIA, Aziz said:

“Tomorrow morning. If you have the money, come and buy it.”

He gave no indication of an ex-pected valuation.

Both Emirates and Etihad had shown interest in buying PIA before the government backed down from privatisation in 2016, the English-language Express Tribune newspaper reported, cit-ing an unnamed offi cial.

Analysts have been sceptical about the government’s ability, or willingness, to take on unions and embark on a privatisation process so close to general elec-

tions likely in July or August.Aziz said that, owing to time

restraints ahead of the elections, the privatisation commission will focus on one state company per sector.

He added that there has been “huge interest” in buying Paki-stan Steel Mills, once the pride of Pakistan’s industrial output but now shut and bleeding cash.

“We will get runs on the board, but the real challenge is to bring to fruition the two big animals: one is PIA and the other one is Steel Mills,” Aziz said.

Pakistan aims to sell airline before pollsBy Drazen Jorgic, ReutersIslamabad

This file picture shows a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane arriving at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad.

Politics is a tricky business in Pakistan’s southwest province of Baluchistan as

no one knows for certain what will happen next.

Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo – the new provincial chief ex-ecutive – epitomizes this uncer-tainty: a member of the Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q), his ascent was made possible by the votes of the so-called dissidents of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N).

This is why 11 of the 14 mem-bers of his cabinet hail from the Nawaz faction.

For the erstwhile ruling party, this is a major shake-up and lends credence to the impression that as a party, PML-N is only seen when it is in power.

Indeed, following the ouster of their government, it suddenly seems as if the party does not ex-ist in Baluchistan anymore.

“The province has slipped out of PML-N’s control,” argues Sabauddin Saba, an Urdu col-umnist based in Quetta. “This is the beginning of the end for the Nawaz league.”

But party leaders have a clear idea about why this is happening.

“The main purpose behind removing (Bizenjo’s predeces-sor) Nawab Sanaullah Zehri was to punish former prime minister Nawaz Sharif,” a PML-N member said on condition of anonymity.

There are also those who ac-cuse the unseen hands of un-democratic forces of engineering this turn of events, but the fact is that mainstream political parties have always struggled to under-stand Baluchistan and its politi-cal culture.

There are no longer any ide-ologically-driven parties in the provincial set-up: people vote not for parties, but for individu-als who bend in the wind when-ever there is an upheaval.

There is a widely held belief here that the ruling PML-N does not understand Baluchistan’s societal structure, its people or their grievances.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) too, it is believed, is ig-norant about Baluchistan, even though they are closer to the politics here.

On the streets, people are dis-appointed with mainstream par-ties, but they are curious about developments in the province, and the subject is discussed at every restaurant and barber shop.

Whatever their individual po-litical allegiances, most agree that these parties have done nothing for the province; core issues have not been addressed and nothing has changed over the past four years.

In fact, Zehri was so isolated in his fi nal days that even Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi – who spent some time in Quetta while the crisis was brewing – was unable to convince members of his own party to get behind the former chief minister.

According to some accounts, PML-N’s Nawab Changez Khan Marri refused to meet the prime minister when he knocked on the latter’s door to canvass for his chief minister – some say that is why Zehri had to step down.

Following Zehri’s, Pa-khtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai has resorted to his tra-ditional rhetoric, addressing a crowd in Pishin, he again spoke of the possibility of merging the Pakhtun belt with Afghanistan as their party’s mandate was not being respected.

This, according to Quetta-based analyst Jalal Noorzai, is because Achakzai feels that he is being sidelined.

This is in spite of the fact that since the 2013 general elections, Achakzai and his party have been the primary benefi ciaries – get-ting fi rst choice of development projects for Pakhtun-dominated areas and enjoying several seats in the cabinet, as well as the cov-eted position of the provincial governor.

However, there is a sense that his party has not delivered on the ground, and districts such as Qila Abdullah – from where most of their leadership hails – contin-ues to be one of the poorest in the country.

A far cry from his outspo-ken past, Sardar Akhtar Mengal seems to be playing the role of a silent spectator this time, divid-ing his time between Karachi and Dubai rather than playing the role of an eff ective opposition leader.

Critics of the Baluchistan Na-tional Party – Mengal (BNP-M) chief say this is because he is angling for a big win in the up-coming general elections, and is also vying for a greater role in the politics of Baluchistan, both for himself and his family.

But for Quetta-based journal-ists, the current political climate is becoming decidedly “undem-ocratic”.

“Tenures of both former chief ministers, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch and Sanaullah Zehri, seemed like ‘controlled democracy’,” says Noorzai.

There are also fears that the Baluchistan Assembly will be dissolved.

“If Bizenjo writes to the gover-nor to do so, the latter will have to abide by the CM’s advice,” Noor-zai maintains.

Although Bizenjo has rejected these rumours, political observ-ers are not convinced.

But whatever happens, one thing is clear: Bizenjo’s appoint-ment means the PML-N will get fewer seats in Baluchistan at the time of the Senate elections.

“Nawaz Sharif is fi ghting hard to win a majority of seats in the Senate polls, but he is currently the underdog,” says Sabauddin Saba.

The eldest son out of fi ve sib-lings, Bizenjo was born in 1974 and completed his early edu-cation from his native town of Shindi Jhao, later earning a master’s degree in English from the University of Baluchistan in 2000.

Although they are a middle-class Baloch family, there are some who consider them “land-lords”.

Retracing the steps of his fa-ther Abdul Majid Bizenjo – who was elected thrice from insur-gency-stricken Awaran district – Quddus Bizenjo commenced his political career from his home-town.

He won a provincial assembly seat for the fi rst time in 2002 and served as minister for livestock until 2007.

In 2008, he was re-elected on a PML-Q ticket and joined Nawab Aslam Raisani’s cabinet as min-ister for livestock, successfully completing his fi ve-year tenure.

In the 2013 general elections, he won his provincial assembly seat with a mere 544 votes – the lowest ever received by a provin-cial assembly candidate – and also served briefl y as deputy speaker of the Baluchistan As-sembly.

PML-N gets humbled in BaluchistanInternewsIslamabad

Bizenjo: had the backing of the so-called dissidents of the PML-N.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s drive in 79 selected districts

for registration of female vot-ers to bridge the gender gap will enter a new phase today, as the male-female voter ratio is to remain 56% to 44% even with 7.3mn new voters to be added to the electoral rolls.

Of new 7,360,279 voters to be added from today, 4,072,433 are males and 3,287,846 fe-males, hence the disparity is obvious.

Previously, within 97,022,591 registered voters database, the male-female disparity stood at 56%-44% with 54,598,173 males and 42,424,418 females.

The addition of the 7,360,279 will not change the ratio.

The question being asked in the ECP and elsewhere is whether the voters who will go to polls late this year with the same disparity, or would the desired results of reducing it at least by half, be achieved.

A few months back, the ECP, duly supported by civil society and some NGOs, had launched a drive in 79 districts where there the male-female gender gap was greater than other dis-tricts.

Under this campaign, there will be door-to-door mobilisa-tion from today, involving mo-bile registration vans.

And this will continue till April 30.

“We intend to bring down this diff erence or disparity be-tween male and female voters to 6mn before the next general election sometime this year,” said Nighat Siddique, Ad-ditional Director General for

Gender Aff airs at the ECP.She conceded that while it

is diffi cult to bridge this gap to a level, the ECP is hopeful of slashing this gap, which pres-ently stood at around 12.7mn, to 6mn.

She pointed out that during the ongoing drive, males were noticeably more forthcoming in getting registered for ob-taining the computerised na-tional identity cards (CNICs) than females, hence the mo-bile teams would make sure to reach out to females.

Electoral experts say that any campaign to get the maxi-mum number of females to obtain the CNICs, and then get registered as voters, is diffi cult unless the political parties and their activists at grass root lev-el get involved.

It is noted that that there are some men are concerned that the images of females on the electoral rolls might be mis-used, possibly leading to dele-tion of a signifi cant number of females from the lists.

In this regard the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan Election Commissions have already been approached by worried men seeking help in getting names of their women withdrawn as registered voters.

“You can’t compel anyone not to seek withdrawal of the names of their females. It is purely optional. We had re-quested the government to consider not providing elec-toral rolls with images of fe-male voters to political parties or candidates,” said a senior ECP offi cial who did not wish to be identifi ed.

He noted that they could ex-pect requests for deletions of female voters during revision of electoral rolls.

ECP campaign to bridge gender gap enters new phaseInternewsIslamabad

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has approached the Su-

preme Court with a request to become party to a pending case seeking directions for making swift arrangements to grant overseas Pakistanis the right to vote before the upcoming gen-eral elections.

The Supreme Court is al-ready seized with petitions moved by a group of citizens – on behalf of Solicitor Moham-mad Dawood Ghazanvi, Farhat Javed and others – stating that denying overseas Pakistanis the right to participate in the democratic process would constitute a refusal by the gov-ernment to carry out its con-stitutional obligations.

The petition highlighted that Pakistani expatriates consider the country their homeland and contribute nearly $18bn in remittances to the national economy every year.

The case came up for hearing last week before a three-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, but the court decided to take up the matter again af-ter stakeholders, including the Election Commission of Paki-stan (ECP), came up with con-crete proposals in this regard.

Imran Khan, Dr Arif Alvi, Sardar Azhar Tariq and others have now moved a fresh ap-plication before the Supreme Court, asking for the imple-mentation of its own 2014 judgment in the Chaudhry Nasir Iqbal case, where the ECP was directed to make all possible eff orts to ensure that expatriates could participate in the general elections and ex-ercise the fundamental rights conferred by Article 17(2) of the Constitution.

Moved jointly by senior counsel Anwar Mansoor Khan and Chaudhry Faisal Hussain, the application asks the apex court to declare that overseas Pakistanis are also citizens of Pakistan and, as such, could

exercise their right of franchise no matter where they live.

The application highlight-ed that the judgment in the Chaudhry Nasir Iqbal case was in line with Khan’s earlier con-tentions, who had pointed out that under Article 189 of the Constitution any directions passed by the apex court was binding on all courts of Paki-stan, as well as executive and judicial authorities, including the ECP.

The petition argued that the ECP could also exercise its powers “in anticipation of an ill that might have the eff ect of rendering the election unfair”, adding that it was legally em-powered under Article 218(3) to exercise its powers pre-emp-tively to avoid a violation of these standards.

They contended that there was no legal bar keeping the commission from implement-ing the earlier judgement of the apex court, but regretted that the ECP failed to comply with the apex court’s judgement.

The PTI enjoys a great deal of support among expatriate Pakistanis and has a strong support base in countries such as the UK and US, and his move is ostensibly aimed at expand-ing his own party’s voter base before the 2018 polls.

PTI approaches apex court in bid to join overseas voters’ caseInternewsIslamabad

Khan: his party enjoys a great deal of support among expatriate Pakistanis.

The Pakistan Humanitarian Forum (PHF) has appreci-ated the recent decision of

the federal government to allow international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) to con-tinue working on humanitar-ian assistance and development projects until the fi nal decision is made on their appeals against registration cancellation.

It however said that the non-approval of its members’ reg-istration requests threatens $124mn of funding in 2018, to

the detriment of more than 8mn possible benefi ciaries.

According to Nargis Khan, policy and communications ad-viser at the PHF, which repre-sents 63 INGOs working in the country, eleven PHF members are in receipt of non-approval letters from the interior ministry.

“The PHF members have dem-onstrated strong support for the government’s oversight of the NGO sector and its regulation. However, the lengthy approval processes and lack of clarity are restricting the NGOs’ ability to deliver valuable services to Paki-stani communities,” she said.

“The impact of non-approval

of 11 PHF members is that more than $124mn funding committed to Pakistan will be lost and more than 8mn benefi ciaries will not be reached in 2018,” Khan added. “These 11 organisations directly employ more than 800 and also work through several national partners and the cumulative re-sult would be loss of thousands of jobs.”

The PHF representative said in 2017, the forum’s member or-ganisations collectively raised $438mn, reached 34mn people with humanitarian relief and development projects together with the government of Pakistan and local partners, and employed

more than 6,000 with only 0.5% being international staff .

“The PHF members work in close co-ordination with the government and receive no ob-jection certifi cates to implement projects. They all have strict fi -nancial systems and submit reg-ular progress and audit reports to the government,” she said.

Khan said that as most of the PHF members in receipt of non-approval letters are in the appeal process, the PHF has asked the government to ensure that the appeal process is fair and trans-parent, that the organisations are given the reasons for appeal rejection, and that the relevant

departments and provincial au-thorities are directed to facilitate INGOs for their work.

“We welcome ongoing dia-logue with the interior ministry and transparency on the imple-mentation of the INGO registra-tion policy and appeals process,” she said. “We recognise and re-spect the full authority of the Pakistani government to vet, register and monitor the service provision of INGOs.”

“Ultimately, our purpose is to work in collaboration with the government of Pakistan to en-sure that services and assistance reach those most in need,” Khan added.

International organisations fear loss of fundingInternewsIslamabad

PHILIPPINES

Gulf TimesMonday, January 15, 201820

Volcano alert level raised as eruptions spew ashReutersManila

The Philippines raised the alert at its restive Mayon volcano by one notch

early yesterday, citing signs of rising magma that could lead to hazardous eruptions.

Residents were evacuated from two villages near the vol-cano, a tourist attraction in Albay province because of its near-perfect cone shape, fol-lowing a “phreatic or steam-driven eruption” on Saturday, and there was a further eruption yesterday.

Saturday’s eruption unleashed ash, rocks and sulphuric odour, and was followed by rumbling sounds and a faint glow in the crater, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Phivolcs raised the alert to level 2, which means that the current activity is “probably of magmatic origin, which could lead to more phreatic eruptions or eventually to hazardous mag-matic eruptions.”

A second ash eruption was

recorded before noon yesterday, but Phivolcs said in a subsequent bulletin that it was maintaining alert level 2.

Mayon’s most destructive eruption was in February 1841,

when lava fl ows buried a town and killed 1,200 people.

It last erupted in 2014, spew-ing lava and forcing thousands of people to evacuate.

“The public is strongly ad-

vised to be vigilant and desist from entering the six kilometre radius Permanent Danger Zone to minimise risks from sudden explosions, rockfall and land-slides,” Phivolcs said. It advised

people experiencing ashfall to cover their noses and mouths with a damp, clean cloth or dust mask. It also said aircraft must avoid fl ying close to the volca-no’s summit.

Those within the slope of the volcano, but outside the six kilo-metre danger zone, were told to take precautionary measures against possible roof collapses due to accumulated ash and rainwater. Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum said the volcano ap-peared due for another eruption as it has been displaying abnor-mal behaviour since late last year.

But Cedric Daep, head of the Albay Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offi ce, said those in evacuation centres may be allowed to return to their homes later in the day, unless Phivolcs raises the vol-cano alert level further.

He said not all residents evac-uated live inside the 6-km dan-ger zone. “We have not reached the critical level,” he said in a radio interview. “Alert level 3 is what we considered critical, 4 is when eruption is imminent, and 5 is eruption in progress.”

More Filipinos reject plan for ‘revolutionary government’By Catherine S ValenteManila Times

More Filipinos reject President Rodrigo Duterte’s threat to

establish a “revolutionary government,” according to the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The poll, conducted from December 8 to 16, showed that 39% of 1,200 Filipino adults surveyed said they disagreed with the establishment of a revolutionary government.

Thirty-one percent agree while the remaining 30% were undecided. Duterte has repeatedly warned that he would declare a revolution-ary government if his enemies destabilise his administration.

The SWS said opposition to a revolutionary government was “stronger” among those who were dissatisfi ed with, or have little trust in Duterte.

Only 16% of them agreed with the idea, while 60% disa-greed. Sought for comment, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr said: “We respect the people’s verdict as being con-sistent with PRRD’s (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) position that he will resort to it only when the State is threatened.”

Duterte’s idea of a revolu-tionary government got sup-port from his base in Mind-anao, which registered a net agreement score of +16.

Other areas were negative. Metro Manila registered –7; Balance Luzon, –16 and the Visayas, –17.

The older population, aged 45 and above, and those with higher education were strong-

ly opposed to a revolutionary government.

Sixty-three percent of re-spondents believed Duterte wanted to change the gov-ernment into a revolution-ary one, while almost half or 48% of the respondents said a revolutionary government was possible under the 1987 Constitution. SWS pointed out that there were no pro-visions for a revolutionary government under the Con-stitution.

A revolutionary govern-ment was established in the Philippines in 1986 by Presi-dent Corazon Aquino to re-instate democracy and draft a new constitution, after the ouster of strongman Ferdi-nand Marcos.

Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Re-form, said Filipinos’ attitude toward a so-called revolu-tionary government affirmed public satisfaction with Du-terte’s performance.

“A real revolutionary gov-ernment comes with support of the people. Why would they support it when they are satisfied with the Duterte performance so far?” Casiple told Manila Times.

The SWS survey was con-ducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide, with 300 each from Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mind-anao.

It had sampling error mar-gins of + or – 3% for national percentages, and + or – 6% each for Metro Manila, Bal-ance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Residents wait for a military truck as they flee home for safety after the Mayon volcano erupted in Camalig town, Albay province, south of Manila, yesterday.

Mount Mayon erupts in Legazpi City, in this still image obtained from social media.

Another child dies after dengue shot in ParanaqueBy Jeff erson AntipordaManila Times

Another child who had been inoculated with Dengvaxia, the world’s

fi rst anti-dengue vaccine, died in Paranaque City yesterday, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) said.

Dante Jimenez, chairman of the anti-crime group, said the latest victim was a student between 9 and 11 years of age. If tests confirmed dengue was the cause of death, the child would be the second reported Dengvaxia victim in Metro Ma-nila.

“The victim died today in Paranaque, but we could not give further details about the child out of respect to the fami-ly,” Jimenez said in an interview with Manila Times.

The child, Jimenez said, died several months after being in-jected with Dengvaxia under the massive immunisation pro-gramme of the Department of Health (DoH).

“We will request the PAO (Public Attorney’s Office) fo-

rensic to conduct examination on the victim to determine if the death is linked to Dengvax-ia,” Jimenez said.

The PAO has already ex-amined seven victims, whose deaths were believed to have been caused by the anti-den-gue vaccine produced by phar-maceutical giant Sanofi Pas-teur.

The first victim was Chris-tine Mae de Guzman, a 10-year-old pupil from Bataan who died six months after re-ceiving the initial dose of the vaccine in 2016. Her body was exhumed recently for further examination.

In December, 10-year-old Anjielica Pestillos of Quezon City died of lupus after receiv-ing Dengvaxia vaccine. The other victims were from the provinces of Bataan, Laguna, Cavite and Bulacan.

PAO Forensic Laboratory Di-rector Erwin Erfe said that in the seven examinations they have conducted, the common findings were extensive organ bleeding and enlarged organs.

The Health department during the administration of former President Benigno Aquino launched the school-based anti-dengue vaccina-tion programme in April 2016. The programme only covered nine-year-old public school students in the National Capi-tal Region, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon).

About 850,000 school chil-dren have been inoculated with the Dengvaxia.

In November last year, Sanofi issued a statement admitting that Dengvaxia could increase risk of hospitalisation for den-gue and severe dengue on indi-viduals who have not been pre-viously infected by the disease.

The government had de-manded a refund from Sanofi Pasteur, adding that the com-pany should also defray the cost of tests for the vaccine’s recipi-ents. Senate President Aquilino

Pimentel insisted, however, that the Health department should not just ask for a refund on unused vaccines, but for the cost of the entire contract.

“All the vaccines were de-fective from the very begin-ning. Therefore, under our laws, we should demand the whole P3.5bn we paid them and not just part of it,” Pimentel said.

He noted that under the Civil Code, the government could have a defective product re-placed or refunded and since there is no possible replace-ment for the vaccine, refund is the only option.

The Senate chief added that even if Sanofi pays the full amount, it will still have to face all liabilities that may arise from putting more than 800,000 children at risk.

The Senate blue ribbon committee is currently inves-tigating the procurement of Dengvaxia.

The Senate health committee chaired by Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito is considering con-ducting a separate hearing into the issue to focus on the health aspect.

“We will request the PAO (Public Attorney’s Offi ce) forensic to conduct examination on the victim to determine if the death is linked to Dengvaxia”

Residents of Pandacan, Manila dance during the Buling-Buling festival to celebrate the feast of the Santo Nino, the district’s patron saint.

Festive celebration

Group vows to block death penalty billBy Ashley JoseManila Times

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)

has vowed to continue its ef-forts to block the passage of the death penalty bill.

“We will not give up in en-gaging lawmakers in work-ing for justice that heals and respects the dignity of the human person,” Rodolfo Dia-

mante, executive secretary of the CBCP-Episcopal Com-mission on Prison Pastoral Care, said in a statement.

The CBCP released the statement following reports that the Senate will continue holding public hearings on the death penalty this month.

Diamante expressed his disappointment that the hearings will be led by

Senator. Manny Pacquiao, who is known to be a Chris-tian.

Call to save Filipina on death rowManila TimesManila

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has called anew on President Rodrigo Duterte to save the life

of overseas worker Mary Jane Veloso who is on death row, after she was convicted of drug smug-gling in Indonesia.

Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People, made the appeal over the

weekend following a decision by the appellate court disallowing Veloso’s testimony against her recruiters, who allegedly tricked her into trans-porting illegal drugs to Indonesia in 2010.

The prelate argued that Veloso should be al-lowed to testify instead of the CA giving her re-cruiters “leeway”. “The president, through So-licitor General Jose Calida, could question the decision of the CA not to allow Mary Jane’s depo-sition. Through the Solicitor General, it should be elevated to the Supreme Court,” Santos said.

Insisting that she was tricked by her recruiters, Veloso was given a last-minute reprieve.

SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL21

Gulf Times Monday, January 15, 2018

Bangladesh, Myanmar meet over Rohingya return todayOffi cials from Bangla-

desh and Myanmar are to meet today to discuss

how to implement a repatria-tion deal, signed on November 23, on the return of more than 650,000 Rohingya who have es-caped an army crackdown since late August.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has for years denied Rohingya citizenship, freedom of move-ment and access to many basic services such as healthcare and education. They are considered illegal immigrants from mainly Muslim Bangladesh.

The authorities have said re-turnees could apply for citizen-ship if they can show their fore-bears have lived in Myanmar. But the latest deal – like the one in 1992 – does not guarantee citizenship and it is unclear how many would qualify.

Today’s meeting in Myan-mar’s capital Naypyitaw will be the fi rst for a joint working group set up to hammer out the details of the November repa-

triation agreement. The group is made up of civil servants from both countries.

Two senior Bangladesh of-fi cials who are involved in the talks acknowledged that much was left to be resolved and it was unclear when the fi rst refugees could actually return. One of the key issues to be worked out was how the process for jointly verifying the identities of re-turnees would work, they said.

“Any return is chaotic and complex,” said Shahidul Haque, Bangladesh’s top foreign minis-try offi cial who will lead Dhaka’s 14-member team in the talks. “The challenge is to create an environment conducive for their return.”

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay said re-turnees would be able to apply for citizenship “after they pass the verifi cation process”.

Zaw Htay added that My-anmar had proposed that a group of 500 Hindus who fl ed to Bangladesh and have already agreed to be repatriated, along-side 500 Muslims, could form the fi rst batch of returnees.

“The fi rst repatriation is im-

portant – we can learn from the experiences, good or bad,” he said.

Bangladesh offi cials said they would begin the proc-ess this month by sharing with Myanmar authorities a list of 100,000 Rohingya, picked at random from among registered refugees.

Haque said Myanmar offi cials would vet the names against their records of residents before the August exodus, and those approved would then be asked if they wanted to go back.

Refugees without documents would be asked to identify streets, villages and other land-marks near their former homes as proof of their right to return, said Haque.

A Myanmar agency set up to oversee repatriation said in a

statement on Thursday that two temporary “repatriation and assessment camps” and one other site to accommodate re-turnees had been set up. Myint Kyaing, permanent secretary at Myanmar’s ministry of labour, immigration and population, told Reuters earlier this month that Myanmar would be ready to begin processing least 150 people a day through each of the two camps by January 23.

As well as checking their cre-dentials as residents of Myan-mar, he said, authorities would check returnees against lists of suspected “terrorists”.

Myint Kyaing declined to comment on how long the re-patriation would take but con-ceded the process after the 1992 agreement had taken more than 10 years.

United Nations agencies working in the camps clus-tered around Cox’s Bazar, in southeastern Bangladesh, have voiced scepticism about the re-settlement plans.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration said their off ers

to help with the process have not been taken up by the two countries.

“Further measures are need-ed to ensure safe, voluntary and sustainable repatriation of refugees to their places of origin and to address the underlying root causes of the crisis,” said Caroline Gluck, a spokeswoman for UNHCR in Cox’s Bazar.

The UNHCR says refugees it has surveyed want guarantees that international agencies will be involved in overseeing the process and more information about the security situation in their home areas.

While many Rohingya say they want to go back to Myan-mar, most of the more than a dozen who spoke to Reuters said they were scared to do so now.

“I am not going back. No one’s going back,” said Hafi -zulla, a 37-year-old Rohingya man. “We are scared to go back without any UN intervention. They can accuse us later, they can arrest us. They may accuse us of helping the militants.”

The military off ensive the refugees fl ed, which was prompted by Rohingya insur-

gent attacks on police and army posts, has been described by the United States and UN as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar re-jects that, saying troops did not target civilians.

“You can have all the agree-ments in the world, and set up all the reception centres and everything, but it won’t make a diff erence unless the conditions in Myanmar are such that peo-ple feel confi dent that they can go back and live in peace, and have equal rights,” said a

Western diplomat in Dhaka.The second Bangladesh of-

fi cial, Refugee Relief and Reha-bilitation Commissioner Mo-hammed Abul Kalam, said the “Rohingyas’ reluctance to go back” was an issue that needed to be addressed.

He said the repatriation proc-ess would cost “millions of dol-lars” but funding details had not yet been agreed and were not expected to be discussed at today’s meeting.

Japan, one of Myanmar’s big-gest aid donors, said on Friday it was giving an emergency grant of around $3mn to help with the return of the Rohingya.

ReutersDhaka/Yangon

Today’s meeting in Naypyitaw will be the fi rst for a joint working group set up to hammer out the details of the November repatriation agreement. The group is made up of civil servants from both countries

Strong winds damage over 300 houses in Lanka

More than 300 houses have been damaged due to strong winds

in the Gampaha district of Sri Lanka, according to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) in Colombo.

Gale force winds lashed across Walpita, Katukirinda and several other areas and houses in Badal-gama, Katukenda, Alugolla, Dicklanda and Heeralugedera ar-eas have been damaged by fallen trees and other debris, a DMC offi cial said.

Trees that have been fallen onto the streets were removed with the assistance of the army, the offi cial added.

Ravi Jayaratne, deputy direc-tor, Disaster Management Cen-tre, said that no deaths have been reported but several people have been hospitalised with injuries.

The National Insurance Trust Fund has deployed 12 teams to estimate the damages to grant insurance compensations for the victims, state radio reported.

A Ceylon Electricity Board spokesman said that additional workers have been deployed to repair the damaged power supply.

IANSColombo

Lanka cabinet approves new visa normsThe Sri Lankan Cabinet has approved a proposal to collect visa charges in US dollars instead of Sri Lankan rupees.The proposal to regularise and update the present method of visa issuing forwarded by Internal Aff airs and Cultural Aff airs Minister S B Navinna was approved by cabinet last week. The proposal includes recommendations to charge a fine of $500 in addition to visa charge from foreigners whose visa period has expired; provide a residential visa for foreign students covering the whole academic period; issue residential visas of up to 10 years for foreigners who remit more than $500,000 to Sri Lanka; issue a permanent residence visa for former Sri Lankans who have already obtained the citizenship of another country who cannot apply for dual citizenship.

Overcrowded train leaves Tongi rail station after the final prayer of “Bishwa Ijtema”, the world congregation of Muslims, on the banks of the Turag river in Tongi, near Dhaka, yesterday.

Return journey Cold wave claims six more lives in Nepal; toll at 50

Intense cold weather in Nepal’s southern region has claimed six more

lives, taking to 50 the death toll due to severe winter conditions in the Hima-layan nation, police said yesterday.

Three people, including two septuagenarians, died in Rautahat district while another three, including a two-year-old child, died in Saptari district on Saturday, they said.

Life has been severely af-fected by the cold waves that hit mainly southern Nepal districts over the past one week.

About 50 people have died of cold wave across the country this winter, with 27 of these deaths taking place

in the southern Saptari dis-trict alone, the Kathmandu Post reported.

In a separate incident, fi ve people were killed in a jeep accident in Sankhuwasa-bha district of eastern Nepal yesterday.

Makalu Rural Munici-pality chairperson Khadga Katuwal was among the de-ceased, according to chief district offi cer Shivaraj Joshi.

The accident took place at Samatar of Bhotkhola Rural Municipality in the district.

The ill-fated jeep en route to Dovan of Bhotkhola Rural Municipality from district headquarters Khandbari met with the accident at

around 12pm.It is learnt that the jeep

carried a team of staff be-longing to National Recon-struction Authority. The reason for the accident is not known yet, the offi cials said.

AgenciesKathmandu

Nine sentenced to death for killing ruling AL leader

A court in southwestern port city of Khulna yes-terday sentenced nine

people, including a former Un-ion Parishad chairman, to death in connection with the murder of Narail town Awami League leader Probhash Roy.

Khulna Speedy Trial Tribunal judge Rab Hawladar also fi ned each of the convicts with 50,000 taka.

The convicts have been identifi ed as Bhadrabila Un-ion Council chairman Shahidur Rahman Mina (52), Ilias Mina (56), Ashiqur Mina (22), Russel Mina (30), Bashar Molla (30), Robiul Molla (25), Enayet Molla (53), Yasin Molla (24), and Ma-mun Mina (28).

All the convicts were present in the dock.

According to the charge-sheet, Roy, president of Bhadrabila Awami League, was hacked to death during a meet-

ing on February 1, 2017 at Mir-para Bazaar in Narail town.

The Khulna Speedy Trial Tri-bunal sentenced 410 persons to death on charges of murders and violation of the explosives sub-stance act in 2017, the highest ever for any year since 2009.

The death row convicts were accused in 171 cases, offi cials in Supreme Court registrar gen-eral’s offi ce told newsmen.

Expressing concern over the high number of accused get-ting capital punishment, human

rights campaigners demanded replacement of death sentence with other punishments.

They urged the government to ban death sentence.

They said that human rights preconditions prohibit end-ing life by anyone including the state.

During the past nine years of the Awami League govern-ment’s rule, the High Court received 887 death references from the trial courts, court offi cials said.

By Mizan RahmanDhaka

Post-fl ood recovery aid for Nepal

More than 31,800 households in southern Nepal’s Te-

rai region, which was aff ected by severe fl oods in August last year, will receive humanitar-ian aid from China, according to an agreement signed last week.

The agreement was signed by Chinese ambassador to Nepal

Yu Hong and the United Na-tions Development Programme (UNDP) Nepal country director Renaud Meyer.

“We hope that we could help the fl ood aff ected people to get back to their normal lives,” Hong said.

She noted that the Chinese government has already provid-ed assistance to Nepal for disas-ter relief right after the massive fl oods last year.

The Chinese aid comes in response to the exten-

sive damage and displace-ment caused by the fl oods in the country’s southern part. A post-fl ood assess-ment conducted by the gov-ernment of Nepal found that 1.7mn people were aff ected by the disaster.

The China funded project will be implemented by the UNDP and is expected to com-plete within three months. The project will be eff ective from early next week.

Meyer said, “We are very

happy to partner with China and receive the generous con-tribution for the recovery of people after the fl oods. We are very grateful for their will-ingness to provide additional funding to the work that UNDP has been doing.”

Meyer said since the people in Terai region are severely af-fected by poverty, the project will enable them to resume their work while the chil-dren will be able to get back to schools.

IANSKathmandu

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Mahmood Ali receives former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka yesterday. Mukherjee will attend a special convocation of Chittagong University tomorrow where he will be conferred honorary DLit degree.

Former Indian president in Dhaka

Gulf Times Monday, January 15, 2018

COMMENT22

GULF TIMES

P.O.Box 2888, Doha, Qatar

editor@gulf-times.com

44350478 (News),

44466404 (Sport),

44466636 (Home delivery)

44350474

facebook.com/gulftimes

twitter.com/gulftimes_Qatar

CHAIRMANAbdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFFaisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka

Deputy Managing EditorK T Chacko

To Advertise advr@gulf-times.com

Display 44466621 44418811

Classified 44466609 44418811

Subscription circulation@gulf-times.com

© 2018 Gulf Times. All rights reserved

Mediterranean-stylediet may lower riskof prostate cancer

The fi ndings of a latest study that men who closely followed a Mediterranean-style diet (including fi sh, boiled potatoes, whole fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, and minimal juices) had signifi cantly lower risk for aggressive prostate cancer (PCa) throw up a new option for a preventive strategy.

The results of the Spanish study have to be read in conjunction with the fact that the four most common cancers occurring worldwide are lung, female breast, bowel and prostate cancer. These four account for around four in 10 of all cancers diagnosed worldwide, according to Cancer Research UK. Lung, breast and bowel (including anus), stomach and prostate cancers have been amongst the most commonly diagnosed worldwide since 1975. More than 1.1mn cases of prostate cancer were recorded in 2012, accounting for around 8% of all new cancer cases and 15% in men, according to the World Cancer Research Fund International.

Going by the latest study published in The Journal of Urology, men who closely followed a Mediterranean-style diet had signifi cantly lower risk for aggressive PCa (Gleason

score above 6 or clinical stage T2b to T4 disease) than men adhering to a “prudent” diet or Western diets. In the Multicase-Control Study on Common Tumours in Spain case-control study, researchers compared the diets of 733 patients with histologically-confi rmed

PCa and 1,229 healthy men (mean age 66 years) from seven provinces in Spain. After completing a 154-item food frequency questionnaire, men’s dietary intake and habits were graded according to how closely they matched the 3 dietary patterns. Western diets commonly contain high-fat dairy products, refi ned grains, processed meat, high-calorie drinks, sweets, convenience foods and sauces, and a low intake of low-fat dairy products and whole grains. A prudent diet centres on low fat dairy products, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and juices.

High adherers to a Mediterranean-style diet had a signifi cant mean 33% lower risk for PCa above Gleason score 6 and a 51% lower risk for clinical stage T2b to T4 disease. The other dietary patterns showed little or no signifi cant associations with aggressive disease. “Our results show that a diet oriented towards the prevention of aggressive tumours in the prostate should probably include important elements of the Mediterranean diet such as fi sh, legumes, and olive oil, and suggest that a high intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains might not be enough,” explained lead investigator Dr Beatriz Perez-Gomez, of the Cancer and Environmental Epidemiology Unit at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III in Madrid, according to a news release from the American Urological Association, which publishes The Journal of Urology.

According to the World Health Organisation, cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with about 14mn new cases in 2012. The number of new cases is expected to rise by about 70% over the next two decades. Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, and was responsible for 8.8mn deaths in 2015. Globally, nearly one in six deaths is due to cancer. Approximately 70% of deaths from cancer occur in low- and middle-income countries. Around one-third of deaths from cancer are due to the fi ve leading behavioural and dietary risks: high body mass index, low fruit and vegetable intake, lack of physical activity, tobacco and alcohol use. So the message is loud and clear – cut unhealthy habits and adopt a healthy diet.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide

New debt crisis loomsfor developing worldWestern bank loans for projects in Africa were to be paid off via rising commodity prices. At least that was the theory

By Larry ElliottGuardian News and Media

Global interest rates are rising. Poor countries are fi nding it tough to pay back money borrowed from banks in

anticipation of a commodity windfall that never materialised. Stir in some dirty dealing that has seen funds stolen and what do you have? That’s right: the makings of another debt crisis.

Poor country debt was supposed to have been sorted back in 2005. Now, 13 years later, debt is back albeit in a diff erent form. Last time, the focus was on public debt, money that poor-country governments owed to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and individual rich nations – and which was mostly forgiven as a result of the Gleneagles G8 agreement in 2005. These days, the issue is private-sector debt and while as yet only a handful of countries – mostly in sub-Saharan Africa – are in serious trouble, the warning signs are there. The IMF and the World Bank both know it.

Africa needs more private-sector investment because debt relief and western aid have not been enough on their own to bring about economic

modernisation. And in the years immediately after the 2008 fi nancial crisis investing in Africa was attractive.

Debt relief and better financial management meant African countries looked more stable. The money creation process known as quantitative easing meant western banks and other financial institutions were awash with funds. Ultra-low interest rates in the developed world meant investors were scouring the world for higher yields than they could obtain at home. Many African countries were also exporters of commodities that were in high demand due to China’s rapid growth. Deals were done in which western banks lent money for projects in African countries, with the debt to be paid off by the proceeds of rising commodity prices.

That was the theory. In practice, some ropey deals were done, of which a prime example is the one made in London fi ve years ago between Credit Suisse and Russia’s VTB bank to lend $2bn to two companies in Mozambique backed by the government in Maputo.

The money was supposed to be for a tuna fi shing fl eet and for a navy to protect the boats operating in Mozambique’s territorial waters. Credit Suisse and VTB trousered $200mn between them in fees, but the loans were never revealed to the Mozambique parliament, the IMF, the fi nancial markets or the Mozambique people.

A report into the deal by the corporate investigations company Kroll concluded that the two companies were inadequately managed and had

generated no meaningful revenue. At least a quarter of the money is unaccounted for, with some suspicion that it was spent on military equipment. Jamie Drummond, the director of the development campaign group One says that it is not clear the money ever turned up in Mozambique after being sent to two off shore companies in Abu Dhabi.

For sure, though, not a single tuna has been landed.

Mozambique has paid a heavy price for defaulting on the debt, which has been sold on to vulture funds. The IMF, miff ed at being lied to, has suspended its programme and the loss of fi nancial support has meant public services are being cut. The scandal has rightly attracted the attention of the FBI, which is investigating whether the banks facilitated corruption.

Although this is a particularly egregious example of a deal that has gone badly wrong, Mozambique is not the only country in diffi culty. The Jubilee debt campaign said that at the end of 2017, 28 countries were rated as in debt distress or at high risk of debt distress, up from 22 at the end of 2016, and 15 in 2013. The number of countries classifi ed as low risk has more than halved – from 24 in 2013 to 11 currently.

This is not yet a full-blown debt crisis but it could easily become one. The commodity boom is over, China is growing less rapidly and the cost of servicing loans taken out in foreign currencies is becoming more expensive as interest rates rise in the developed world.

To lessen the threat of a rerun of

what happened during the debt crisis of the early 1980s (when the windfall gains from oil producing countries were recycled into loans to Latin America) action should be taken now.

At the international level, there needs to be better monitoring of how vulnerable countries are to rising debt. There is a certain complacency about the fact that most of the current debt is owed to the private sector; history shows that ultimately it will end up as public debt.

For years, there has been a campaign for a bankruptcy system that would treat countries like companies. This, though, has been relentlessly opposed by countries such as the US and the UK, where the powerful fi nancial sectors make money out of bad debts.

Not only should western governments back a sovereign debt bankruptcy scheme, the should also insist that all new debt include clauses that off er protection from vulture funds, companies that seek to make a profi t on debt they have bought on the cheap.

Developing countries need to do more – a lot more in some cases – to tackle corruption, but so do the banks. One idea is a Transparent Lending Covenant, under which banks would make the full details of loans public. Interestingly, the idea is being pushed by Tidjane Thiam, who took over as chief executive of Credit Suisse after the Mozambique loan was agreed. It’s not hard to see why. The tuna deal stank in every way. It was bad for Mozambique, bad for the City and bad for Credit Suisse.

COMMENT

Gulf Times Monday, January 15, 2018 23

Accelerating Africa’s energy transition

Clearing up nutrition questions

Polls key to bridging LatAm’s social divideDespite a brightening economic picture, many countries need to do more to reduce the huge gap between rich and poor in the world’s most unequal region while ramping up spending on critical infrastructure, health and education

By Sophie HaresTepic, Mexico

Elections across Latin America could help clean up rampant corruption fuelling the region’s deep social and

economic divide as millions vote this year, while Venezuela’s crisis poses the biggest humanitarian threat, analysts and aid workers said.

“Corruption is the scourge of Latin America. The average person might see corruption as something elites do,” said Jason Marczak, director of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center.

“More dramatically, it aff ects those who are less well off . Pilfering of state resources for corrupt reasons means less money is available for public schools or for transportation.”

A report by anti-corruption group Transparency International last October showed roughly one-in-three Latin Americans paid a bribe in the previous year to a public employee, from police offi cers to teachers and hospital workers.

Despite a brightening economic picture, many countries need to do more to reduce the huge gap between rich and poor in the world’s most

unequal region while ramping up spending on critical infrastructure, health and education, experts said.

With poverty levels expected to remain broadly stable, they urged governments to increase longer-term investment in skills development to make sure Latin Americans can maintain their livelihoods and improve living standards.

“There is a big challenge in terms

of human capital formation in Latin America,” said Hugo Nopo, research economist at GRADE, a Lima-based development analysis organisation. “The problem now is that every single additional reduction in poverty is going to be harder to get.”

This year’s six main polls could see more anti-establishment leaders coming to offi ce, and socio-economic policies in countries including Mexico

more targeted at those who have been “left behind”, said the Atlantic Council’s Marczak.

Leftist front-runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to tackle corruption and boost social spending in Mexico if he wins the July vote to govern the country, where cartel violence has pushed murder rates to a record high.

Brazilians will cast their vote in

October as unemployment starts to fall and harsh recession ends in the country shaken by the “Car Wash” bribery case that nearly toppled its president and ensnared politicians and elites across Latin America.

Colombians will vote for the fi rst time since a 2016 peace deal with the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which is fi elding a candidate for the May poll.

Votes are also scheduled for Costa Rica, Paraguay and Venezuela.

“It’s kind of 50/50 at this point, some (countries) are really moving forward — people’s lives are improving greatly — and then you have these other countries that are of real concern,” said Kate Schecter, chief executive of World Neighbours, a non-profi t group working with poor communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Many fear the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela could deepen even further this year as sanctions grip and its oil-based economy continues to crumble after years of painful recession.

Thousands have left the country where crippling food shortages, the world’s highest infl ation rate and a near-collapse of the health system are compounded by violence, which has made Caracas the world’s most dangerous city.

“The prognosis for 2018 is further deterioration, humanitarian emergency, and an increased exodus of Venezuelans,” Robert Malley, chief executive of International Crisis Group, said in a report.

“Sustained domestic and international pressure — as well as guarantees of future immunity — will be required to push the government toward credible presidential elections.”

In Central America, the gang violence and migrant crisis plaguing the disaster-prone region, together with the growing impacts of climate change, are making it harder to keep

people safe, aid workers said.Violence, corruption, hunger and

water shortages in the “Northern Triangle” of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala are expected to continue forcing people to migrate north, despite increasing deportations from the United States.

Walter Cotte, Americas director for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), warned that US President Donald Trump’s decision to end temporary protected status for 200,000 Salvadorans in 2019 could create a “dangerous situation” as remittances dry up and returnees put pressure on El Salvador.

More widely, as shown by last year’s string of disasters — from earthquakes, hurricanes and fi res to fl oods and droughts — the majority of Latin American nations still lack eff ective plans for disaster risk reduction and recovery, he said.

While the Caribbean has vowed to become the world’s fi rst “climate-resilient region” in 2018 after last year’s devastating hurricanes, only about 10 countries in the region have robust disaster prevention and management capacities, said Cotte.

Ecuador is making strides but Peru and Brazil both need more systemic approaches to managing disaster risks, he said.

Some 15 countries “are really in the nursery”, lacking the resources, systems and experience to cope with a predicted rise in disasters, he added.

“Resilience isn’t happening if you don’t have better leadership in policies,” said Cotte.

With Latin America increasingly “at the end of the queue” for aid and investment dollars, more money for projects to boost resilience needs to come from within the region and be better co-ordinated to help vulnerable communities, he noted. - Thomson Reuters Foundation

Live issues

By Charlotte AubinParis

For much of Africa, the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner forms of energy is seen as an environmental

imperative. With fossil fuels comprising a majority – as high as 70% in some cases – of the energy mix, the situation on the continent is indeed ecologically dire.

But Africa’s energy transition is economically urgent as well. Each year, oil subsidies consume 1.5% of the continent’s GDP – roughly $50bn. That is enough money to provide solar power to some 300mn people. If the continent could rebalance its energy portfolio, moving away from hydrocarbons slowly, those subsidies could be reallocated in ways that would yield both environmental and economic benefi ts.

Today, neither oil exporters nor importers are adequately insulated from price shocks. When oil prices declined rapidly in 2015, for example, Africa’s energy importers spent less on oil, while exporting countries suff ered fi nancially. When prices rebounded, the relationship switched: energy-exporting countries’ revenues inched up, while importing countries

struggled to maintain consumption levels.

This is a needless cycle. Integrating cleaner power into national energy systems would not only raise local capacities; it would also free up hydrocarbons for export. The resulting revenue could then be invested into new forms of greener power. Such a transition, which would require cooperation with the oil sector, promises to boost socioeconomic progress.

Among the biggest benefi ts would be the electrifi cation of areas that, under current distribution systems, are literally in the dark. Today, just 30% of Africa has access to reliable electricity. But, with a total capacity estimated at around ten terawatts, installed solar capacity in Africa could broaden access dramatically. In fact, according to some estimates, the increase in solar generation by 2030 could range from 15 to 62 gigawatts.

Fossil fuels are not destined to be phased out anytime soon, but an energy mix that included a signifi cant increase in solar power would have major economic advantages for Africa, especially in areas where agriculture is the largest economic sector. Electrifying agricultural areas would facilitate the storage and transportation of farmed products,

improve food security, and increase farmers’ earning capacity.

In the drive to rebalance Africa’s energy mix, the continent maintains one crucial advantage over developed economies: a clean slate. The relative absence of legacy investments is the principal reason why green power is Africa’s best energy option. Although every country must balance its own energy needs, reliance on renewable sources, and solar power in particular, is the most cost-effi cient strategy for fostering rapid economic development throughout the continent.

Evidence of this potential can be found in the few photovoltaic power plants that have begun operating in Africa. For example, the Senergy 2 solar plant in Senegal sells electricity to the Senegalese power utility at a price that lowers the cost of the energy mix by 50%. Similar solar solutions are being implemented by African telecoms to electrify communication towers.

The best way to accelerate the transition from hydrocarbons to greener forms of energy would be to redirect a portion of national oil subsidies to renewables. This would create stronger incentives to reduce fossil-fuel consumption, while encouraging investment and growth in green-energy output. For Africa’s

rural regions, moreover, such policies would help bring communities out of darkness and lead to the installation of other critical infrastructure that economic growth requires.

But while renewables hold the key to Africa’s long-term prosperity, the continent’s transition to cleaner power should not lead to an immediate, full-scale repudiation of hydrocarbons. The oil sector will still have an important role to play. The industry’s experience on the continent will be needed to navigate the energy transformation. And, because fossil fuels will remain part of the continent’s energy mix, the oil sector must be encouraged to clean up its own act.

This may sound like an impossible alliance. But as policymakers across the continent seek to secure adequate supplies of clean energy to ensure rapid, inclusive economic growth and environmental sustainability, they are likely to fi nd that there is no alternative. Cooperation between old and new energy industries may be the only engine that is capable of powering Africa forward. – Project Syndicate

Charlotte Aubin is CEO of GreenWish Partners, a renewable-power producer dedicated to Sub-Saharan Africa.

By Barbara QuinnThe Monterey County Herald

My goal for today is to clear up questions and comments from readers:

Alana writes: “Thank you for your article on beans. Question: Does bringing beans that have been soaked overnight in water to a boil before discarding the water and adding fresh water for cooking destroy substantial nutrition? This method seems to me to decrease gas. But should I be concerned about the loss of vitamins or anything else?”

Dear Alana,According to food and nutrition

experts at North Dakota State University, the preferred method to prepare dry beans is the “hot soak” method which reduces cooking time. (Less cooking time means less loss of water soluble vitamins such as folate). This method also eff ectively releases gas-producing compounds from beans into the soaking water which we are wise to discard.

Here’s the hot soak method: Place

beans in a large pot and add 5 cups of water for every 1 cup of beans. Heat to boiling and boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 4 to 24 hours. Drain beans and discard soak water. Rinse with fresh cool water. Then add fresh water to cook.

From Terence in Washington: “Your advice about whole grains prompted

me to do a little research at the grocery which suggests that the advice may be nearly irrelevant. This is because of the way the food industry manipulates nutritional information labels, sometimes making them meaningless. It isn’t clear to the consumer whether they are reporting total fi bre or soluble fi bre.”

Terence then notes the content of

dietary fi bre he found on several types of bread: 1 gram in white bread, 1.5 to 2 grams in two brands of 100% whole wheat and 3 to 5 grams in two brands of multigrain whole grain breads.

More research prompted this reader to conclude that “almost all beans are a better source of fi ber than bread. And whole grain or whole wheat does not assure higher fi bre content.”

Dear Terence,You are correct that beans are

generally a better source of dietary fi bre than bread. And that whole grain products have varying amounts of fi ber. (Remember that whole grains contribute many more nutritional benefi ts than just fi ber content.)

Part of the confusion about fi bre on the food label may be that dietary fi bre is still not well-defi ned. The USDA Food and Drug Administration currently includes soluble and insoluble carbohydrates in its defi nition of dietary fi ber. But food manufacturers are not required to list both types on the Nutrition Facts label unless they make a health statement about either of these types. - Tribune News Service

People take part in a demonstration in defence of democracy and the right of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) to be a candidate in the next national elections, in Porto Alegre in southern Brazil on Saturday. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will be tried by the Supreme Court on January 24 in connection with acts of corruption in his government.

WARNINGInshore : Poor horizontal visibility

expected at places at first.

Offshore : Expected poor visibility at places at first.

WEATHERInshore : Hazy to misty/foggy at-

places at first, becomes mild daytime and cold by night.

WINDInshore : Southwesterly-North-

westerly 05-15 KTOffshrore : Northwesterly 05-15 KT

VISIBILITY : 4-8 KM/2 KM

SEA STATEOffshore : 1-3 FT, rises from 2-4 FT

by evening.

TODAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

Maximum Temperature : 260c

Minimum Temperature : 140c

Maximum Temperature : 240c

Minimum Temperature : 150c

Maximum Temperature : 220c

Minimum Temperature : 130c

BaghdadKuwait CityManamaMuscat Tehran

AthensBeirut BangkokBerlinCairoCape TownColomboDhakaHong KongIstanbulJakartaKarachiLondonManilaMoscowNew DelhiNew YorkParisSao PauloSeoulSingaporeSydneyTokyo

Weather

today

Sunny

Sunny

Sunny

Sunny

P Cloudy

Max/min

19/06

23/09

23/17

24/18

12/00

Weather

tomorrow

M Sunny

Sunny

Cloudy

Sunny

M Sunny

Max/min

19/07

21/08

22/15

25/18

08/01

Around the region

Around the world

Max/min

12/07

16/14

30/22

03/01

21/09

21/17

33/23

23/13

20/17

07/03

29/24

29/13

11/04

31/24

-3/-6

23/07

-1/-3

09/08

30/21

05/-5

29/23

24/18

12/-1

Weather

today

M Cloudy

Showers

P Cloudy

M Sunny

P Cloudy

S Showers

M Sunny

P Cloudy

Sunny

P Cloudy

T Storms

Sunny

Rain

P Cloudy

Cloudy

Sunny

P Cloudy

Rain

S T Storms

P Cloudy

M Cloudy

Cloudy

Clear

Max/min

16/08

16/13

32/22

05/-1

20/11

27/19

33/23

25/14

22/17

09/08

31/24

27/16

07/02

31/24

-5/-10

23/06

04/-2

09/04

29/20

03/-2

30/24

22/16

13/02

Weather

tomorrow

P Cloudy

P Cloudy

M Sunny

Showers

Sunny

Cloudy

P Cloudy

M Sunny

M Sunny

S Showers

S Showers

Sunny

S Showers

Cloudy

P Cloudy

Sunny

Rain & Snow

Showers

S T Storms

S Showers

S T Storms

Cloudy

Clear

Fisherman's forecast

Three-day forecast

Dried beans

24 Gulf TimesMonday, January 15, 2018

QATAR

Local farm grows biggest organic tomato in QatarBy Joey AguilarStaff Reporter

A Qatari farm near Al Khor has produced what could be considered as a nation-

al record for the biggest organic tomato in the country, weighing 1.34kg and six times bigger than the average-size tomato.

The ‘giant’ tomato was grown by Agrico, a private Qatari agri-cultural development company producing organic vegetables and fruits, and aims to help the country to achieve food security.

“This is the fi rst time that a natural species of an old Italian tomato is successfully grown in Qatar in a plain organic manner, i.e. without any genetic modi-fi cation or the use of pesticides and chemicals to protect the plant,” Agrico owner and manag-ing director Nasser al-Khalaf told Gulf Times.

After a few trials and errors, he noted that he and his team man-aged to grow traditional species of tomatoes, originally found in Tuscany, Italy in the 19th cen-tury, from seed to fruit. Ancient vegetables are known to be nat-

urally more resistant to many parasites, but noticeably diffi cult to be grown outside their original habitat, according to al-Khalaf.

“This is the challenge that Ag-rico won, growing a fi rst batch of 30 ancient plants, which are now all full of tomatoes,” he said. “This very type of plant usually produces tomatoes, which weigh 600 to 900gm each, although it is not uncommon to harvest 1kg or even 1.5kg single tomato.”

The farm owner stressed that Tuscany jumbo tomatoes are in high demand among starred res-taurants (and an expanding cus-

tomer basis) in Italy due to their sweet and delicate taste. These types of tomatoes also have few seeds and an abundant juicy fi rm pulp that make them ideal for br-uschetta and many other recipes, he added. “Their concentration in healthy minerals and nutrients is much higher than average.”

With the help of food and agri-business enthusiast Dr Salvino Salvaggio, plans to grow ‘ancient vegetables’ pushed through.

“When I was approached by my friend Salvaggio to grow a 19th century species of Italian tomatoes in my farm in Al Khor

I thought he had lost his mind, even more when he added that the tomatoes weigh more than half kilo each,” al-Khalaf said. “But he is a respected profes-sional at Qatar Foundation, so I trusted him.”

“I also thought that this could be a stimulating challenge for our farming company Agrico. Now,

after a few attempts, I am the fi rst to be positively astonished by the incredible size and taste of the jumbo tomatoes,” he added.

Agrico plans to take “this proof of concept” to the next stage by growing more of these species of organic tomatoes to meet the demand in the market, especially for restaurants and customers

in the country. “By harvesting a 1.34kg traditional tomato, Agrico sets a new record in Qatar and demonstrates that the challenge of food security can also be tack-led in a very pragmatic way by growing organic ancient vegeta-bles, which are richer in taste and healthier than many imported al-ternatives,” al-Khalaf explained.

Nasser al-Khalaf shows the 1.34kg organic tomato.

Sidra to become global beacon of patient careBy Joseph VargheseStaff Reporter

Sidra Medicine will become an international beacon of best healthcare practice and high-quality, academically-driven patient care,

noted Prof the Lord Darzi of Denham, vice chair, Board of Governors, yesterday.

Speaking at a press conference to announce the opening of the inpatient facility at Sidra Medi-cine, Lord Darzi said, “It is a memorable day for me personally and for all others at the hospital. I have worked at hospitals in the UK and across the globe. But I never had the opportunity to be part of the opening of such a unique healthcare facility which Qatar is and will be very proud of.”

“As part of Qatar Foundation and its vision, Sidra Medicine is a true embodiment of the country’s wider and long-term eff orts to build a world-class healthcare and research infrastructure in Qatar. It also refl ects the focus of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chair of Sidra Board of Governors in transforming the care for women and children’s services in Qatar,” noted Lord Darzi.

“Sidra Medicine is a fi rst-of-its-kind facility in the Middle East and will become a resource for the entire Gulf region in terms of specialty care for women and children supported by an impressive research infrastructure that will help lead the way in personalised medicine,” pointed out the offi cial.

According to the offi cial, medical care at Sidra Medicine is supported by research aimed at ad-vancing the understanding of the epidemiology and mechanisms of diseases for the people of Qatar. It will help develop personalised, preventative, diag-nostic and therapeutic tools and improve the health outcomes of the women, young people and children of Qatar.

During the press conference, Sidra Medicine of-fi cials highlighted that the hospital has adopted breakthrough technologies to enhance the patient experience and underpin the highest standards of care and patient safety.

The high-tech devices at Sidra Medicine include palm vein recognition technology – a biometric technology that identifi es patients by capturing their vein pattern and which connects with pa-tients’ individual medical records automatically, and a 3D printer which provides models of a pa-tient’s organs such as the heart or the brain to help with treatment planning.

The technology at Sidra Medicine has been de-veloped to ensure patient data, patient experience and patient care are all maintained at the highest standards, while enabling healthcare professionals to spend more time with patients.

Prof the Lord Darzi of Denham speaking at the event.A CT-Scan facility at Sidra Medicine.

Sidra Medicine to deliver about 9,000 babies a year

Sidra Medicine will handle about 9,000 deliveries a year, once it is fully operational, said an off icial of the hospital yesterday. “Around 500 deliveries a month will take place at the hospital in the beginning. By the middle of this year, we will be able to handle about 750 deliveries per month. In total, we will handle about 9,000 deliveries yearly,” explained Dr Justin Konje, chair, Women’s Services Clinical Management Group, Sidra Medicine, while answering a query from Gulf Times. “We will be working in co-ordination with Hamad Medical Corporation’s Women’s Wellness and

Research Center. We have a workable plan to make sure that the deliveries will take place at both the facilities,” he told a press conference.In addition, once fully operational, Sidra Medicine will handle 275,000 outpatient appointments, 11,000 procedures and 100,000 emergency attendances. The hospital will include 10 operating theatres, 400 beds, 100% percent single rooms with a private bathroom, a birthing centre and emergency department.Sidra Medicine also off ers the In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) facility. “The referral for the IVF facility is prescribed by Al Garaff a and Al Rayyan Health centres

at present. However, referral for this facility will be extended to other health facilities soon. Moreover, by the end of the summer this year, all the primary health centres in the country will be able to refer delivery cases to Sidra Medicine,” added Dr KonjeAccording to Peter Morris, CEO of Sidra Medicine, the hospital will be among the top healthcare facilities of the region and the world soon. “Sidra Medicine has started the inpatient services from today. The entire children’s services will be operational by the end of May while the women’s services will be fully rolled out by the end of December this year. Our

results and the quality of the care will reflect on the position of the hospital and you can compare it with any top hospitals in the world, “ said Morris.Sidra Medicine will also accept regional and international referrals for women, young people and children who need its specialist expertise. An international referrals off ice has already handled 117 cases from Bahrain, Egypt, Ghana, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Nigeria, Oman, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and the UAE since Sidra Medicine opened its Outpatient Clinic in May 2016. The most highly sought-after services have been cardiology and

urology, including procedures for treating structural and congenital heart diseases, valve replacements and bladder exstrophy.“Sidra Medicine not only stands for medicine today, but medicine tomorrow, which is why our tripartite focus on patient care, biomedical research and medical education is so important. Researchers at Sidra Medicine are looking for ways to personalise care for every child, young person and mother who walks through our doors by focusing on specific aspects of their condition and personal circumstances,” added Morris.

German Encounters rolls into fi nal weekArt lovers and culture fans

have just one week left to visit the German Encoun-

ters exhibition, on show at the Garage Gallery at the Fire Sta-tion, before it concludes on Janu-ary 20.

The exhibition is a major high-light of the Qatar Germany 2017 Year of Culture, which showcases some of the very best in German contemporary art.

German Encounters features a selection of incredible artworks from the Deutsche Bank Col-lection, one of the world’s most important corporate collections of contemporary art. More than 100 exemplary works on pa-per including photographs, and paintings by 27 artists provide an informative overview of the de-velopment of German art – and thus also of the history of the country – from the 1960s up to

the present day. The fi rst-rate selection of contemporary art features works by Joseph Beuys and by the neo-expressionist painters such as Georg Baselitz and Markus Lupertz; photogra-phers of the Dusseldorf School, including Andreas Gursky, Can-

dida Hofer, and Thomas Ruff ; and hugely infl uential post-con-ceptual artists such as Isa Genz-ken, Rosemarie Trockel and Mar-tin Kippenberger.

The collection also includes renowned fi gurative paintings by Neo Rauch, as well as ab-

stract acrylic works by Katharina Grosse and photographs by An-nette Kelm. The exhibition has proven to be hugely popular with the public, attracting positive reviews and widespread interest across the community.

A full and dedicated educa-tional programme jointly devel-

oped with the Goethe-Institut has provided local audiences valuable insights into the exhibi-tion.

Hosting such exhibitions is an important feature of Qatar Museums’ (QM) commitment to nurturing emerging talent and inspiring an exciting, creative

future amongst artists, local col-lectors, and the viewing public.

“This wonderful exhibition is a truly memorable celebration of the infl uence and signifi cance of German culture and art. At QM, we’re focused on off ering a world-class programme of exhi-bitions and activities, supporting

Qatar’s continued development as a cultural hub,” QM’s chief strategic planning offi cer Khalid al-Ibrahim said. “I urge as many people as possible to take advan-tage of this last opportunity to see such an incredible selection of art over the next few days,” he added.

‘German Encounters’ highlights some of the very best in German contemporary art.The exhibition showcases more than 100 exemplary works.