WEDNESDAY 13 JANUARY 2021 www.thepeninsula.qa29 JUMADA I - 1442 VOLUME 25 NUMBER 8501

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Amir receives phone call from PM of GreeceQNA — DOHA

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received yesterday morning a telephone call from Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic H E Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during which he congratulated H H the Amir on the Gulf reconciliation and the positive outcomes of the 41st session of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

During the telephone call, they reviewed the bilateral rela-tions between the two countries and means to enhance them in various domains.

MME signs contract to build container citySANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

To preserve the environment by providing safe alternative storage facility to individuals, entities, the Ministry of Munic-ipality and Environment (MME) yesterday signed a contract with Continental Trading Company to build and operate a self storage container-city in Bojoud area on Al Majd Road opposite Birkat Al Awamer.

The main purpose of the project is to provide alternative storage facility to citizens and expatriates to curb the practice of at random stockpile of their belongings in residential areas, farms and public places that will protect the environment and ensure health and safety.

Minister of Municipality and Environment H E Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie witnessed the contract signing ceremony held at the head-quarters of MME.

“The project will provide necessities for self-storage facilities in an area of 310,884 sq meters which can house 28,000 containers enabling people and companies to store

their belongings in containers provided by the company exe-cuting the project,” said Director of Technical Office at MME, Tariq Juma Al Tamimi. Speaking at a press conference held on the

sidelines of the signing ceremony, Al Tamimi said the project city of containers for self-storage is expected to come into operation within four months.

Assistant Undersecretary for

Environmental Affairs at MME, Eng Hasan Juma Al Muhannadi, said the project will help greatly to curb the practice of random storage in houses, farms and public places which is considered a violation of the provisions of Public Hygiene Law.

“The project will provide an alternative storage facility of self-storage containers in most modern way at competitive

prices,” said Al Muhannadi. He called campers to use city con-tainers facility for storing camping gears after end of the winter season.

“The project is being developed in a strategic location falling close to vital areas and highways which provide ease to transport storage materials from/to the city,” said Al Muhannadi. �P3

Minister of Municipality and Environment, H E Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie, with officials from the Ministry and Continental Trading Co (CTC), after signing the contract between the ministry and CTC. PIC: SALIM MATRAMKOT/THE PENINSULA

Appointments for QVC in Colombo begins todayTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) will reopen its Qatar Visa Center (QVC) in Colombo, Sri Lanka on January 20. The appointment bookings to visit the QVC for Colombo will open today and can be done through the website.

The Ministry announced this on its social media channels. “Appointment booking to visit the Centre can be made through the QVC website starting on January 13, 2021,” MoI said in a statement.

This decision comes within the framework of reopening Qatar Visa Centres abroad.

Qatar recently opened the visa centers in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and the Philippines. QVC also recently started receiving visa applications for Bangladeshi domestic workers.

Egypt reopens airspace to QatarTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Egypt reopened its airspace to Qatari flights yesterday and will allow the resumption of flights between the two coun-tries, agencies have reported.

The lifting of Egypt’s avi-ation ban allowed Qatari flights to cross Egyptian air-space and national carriers from both countries to submit flight operating schedules for approval, Al Ahram newspaper reported. Alex Macheras, avi-ation analyst, tweeted that Egypt officially updates its NOTAMs to remove its airspace ban on Qatar.

MoTC collects data to develop Qatar Freight Master PlanTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

In a bid to establish a modern infrastructure for freight industry across the country as part of an integrated transpor-tation system, the Ministry of Transport and Communications is likely to finalise Qatar Freight Master Plan by end of next year.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) is currently considering the Qatar Freight Master Plan (QFMP), which is expected to be finalised by the end of 2022.

The Ministry said in a statement yesterday that it is on the stage of collecting data and conducting relevant surveys and questionnaires. The effort includes collecting a wide-range of freight-related information on origins, routes and destinations of freight movements, the flow rate of trucks at major junctions, as well as other qualitative and quantitative data on the per-formance of freight industry across Qatar in general.

Field surveys are collecting data needed to develop the QFMP. Extensive data will be collected through traffic counts

on roads, traffic counts on junc-tions using cameras, measuring trip duration on existing roads, classifying the vehicles including all types of trucks, and conducting surveys and questionnaires with employers and staff of construction, logistics, heavy and light

transportation and freight services companies, as well as with harbors countrywide and Hamad International Airport.

Based on this information, a traffic model that simulates the reality can be developed supported by an enhanced capability for understanding how variables are impacting freight activity till 2050, as well as the latest techniques deployed in freight and delivery industry.

The QFMP aims to establish a modern infrastructure for freight industry across the country as part of an integrated transportation system in such a way that upgrades the culture and service of freight in Qatar to the best global standards and practices in terms of traffic safety and least possible envi-ronmental imprint.

It will also contribute to economic and urban growth and an improved road freight for people and visitors of Qatar, thus meeting the Qatar National Vision 2030 objectives for sus-tainability, growing economic productivity, social equity and livable neighborhoods. �P2

QA earns Diamond Standard in APEX Health SafetyTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Airways has achieved Diamond Standard in the Airline Passenger Experience Association’s (APEX) Health Safety Powered by SimpliFlying audit.

The ‘Diamond Standard’ status, which is the highest level attainable, was announced by APEX and global aviation marketing consultancy, SimpliFlying, following a meticulous assessment of the airline’s robust COVID-19 hygiene and safety standards.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Exec-utive H E Akbar Al Baker said: “As an industry leader, we welcome the further recognition of Qatar Airways’ commitment to providing the most rigorous and stringent virus

monitoring, detection and COVID-19 safety programme throughout our end-to-end passenger experience, in existence within the global avi-ation community.

“The awarding of the APEX Health Safety ‘Diamond Standard’ was the result of a thorough and extensive independent audit of the

airline’s comprehensive COVID-19 protection and prevention measures, both on board and at Hamad Inter-national Airport, and reinforces the fact that air travel does not need to be a source of concern to passengers.

“As commercial aviation con-tinues to deal with the challenges

and impact of the global pandemic, we welcome the introduction of this and other relevant COVID-related hygiene and safety reviews, and would encourage other airlines to continue to build passenger confi-dence and assist with the recovery of the industry by participating wherever possible.”

APEX Chief Executive Officer Dr. Joe Leader said: “Qatar Airways’ COVID-19 protocols definitively met the highest marks for the Diamond certification level backed by their extraordinary steps for customer safety. The actions taken by Qatar appear centered around a singular philosophy: how can we innova-tively maximize both our customer service and passenger safety hand-in-hand. �P3

Over 900 vehicles crossed AbuSamra border in first 3 daysTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Over 900 vehicles crossed Abu Samra border in the first three days since the border’s reopening, the General Authority of Customs (GAC) has announced. A total of 835 vehicles exited from Qatar to Saudi Arabia, and 95 vehicles entered Qatar from Saudi Arabia, according to checkpoint records at Abu Samra border, the GAC said in a statement.

The GAC resumed work at the Abu Samra border crossing, following the procedures to reopen air, land, and sea borders between the State of Qatar and the sisterly Kingdom

of Saudi Arabia. The Land Customs Administration started its processes for receiving trav-ellers to and from the country, in coordination with its partners from the government agencies operating at the border crossing.

Director of the Land Customs Department, Murshid Shaheen Al Kuwari, said immediately after receiving instructions to reopen the only land checkpoint between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the department notified relevant agencies to coordinate and determine the readiness of customs operations within the checkpoint. � �P3

The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) is currently considering the Qatar Freight Master Plan (QFMP), which is expected to be finalised by the end of 2022.

Vehicles crossing the Abu Samra border.

The main purpose of the project, expected to come into operation within four months, is to provide alternative storage facility to citizens and expatriates to curb the practice of random stockpile of their belongings in res-idential areas, farms and public places that will protect the environment and ensure health and safety.

The ‘Diamond Standard’ status, which is the highest level attainable, was announced by APEX and global aviation marketing consultancy, SimpliFlying, following a meticulous assessment of the airline’s robust COVID-19 hygiene and safety standards.

02 WEDNESDAY 13 JANUARY 2021HOME

Qatar, Sudan review boosting ties

QNA — DOHA

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul-rahman Al Thani received yesterday a written message

from the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Sudan H E Omar Gammar-Eddin, pertaining to bilateral relations and ways to enhance and develop them.

State Minister for Foreign

Affairs H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi received the message during his meeting with Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan to the State of Qatar H E Abd Al Rahim Al Siddig Mohammed.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi receiving the message during his meeting with Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan H E Abd Al Rahim Al Siddig Mohammed.

Qatar Museums makes new archaeological discovery in AsailaTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Department of Archaeology at Qatar Museums (QM) has announced the discovery of new archaeological remains in Asaila, located in the west of Qatar, approximately 12 kilometres east of Umm Bab and said to be one of the oldest archaeological sites in the country.

The initial excavation took place at a burial mound, dating back between 300 BCE and 300 CE. Although the tombs themselves had been robbed already in antiquity, a team from the Department of Archaeology was able to uncover the remains of important indi-viduals, who were buried on top of a plateau in large and carefully con-structed burial mounds together with personal items such as a sword, metal tools and a golden earring.

The sacrificial burial of a camel and its calf was found in a stone chamber attached to one of the human graves. The human remains will be subject to advanced paleoanthropological and molecular analyses, including the study of ancient genetic material. The process is aimed at understanding the migration and dietary habits of people who lived in this region in ancient times.

Ahmad Musa Al Namla, CEO of Qatar

Museums, said: “The recent discovery at Aisala paves the way for a deeper under-standing of past civilisations, which will in turn enable Qatar Museums to trace the influences they have had on shaping Qatar’s heritage. We are honoured to be able to carry out this important archae-ological work to support the preservation of Qatar’s history and traditions.”

Commenting on this finding, Faisal Al Naimi, Director of the Department of Archaeology at QM stated: “Exca-vation is one of the Department of Archaeology’s key focus areas. Qatar’s sites and burial mounds tell the stories of its past inhabitants. Our work at Asaila is part of a wider plan to be implemented over several years to uncover burial mounds in the country, which will provide invaluable insights about how people lived on this land in the past. The findings from the exca-vation will contribute to preserving and documenting Qatari heritage, and linking it to the present day.”

Extensive data revealed that Asaila still has numerous undiscovered archae-ological remains. The newly excavated graves also revealed an untouched burial of a camel in its natural resting position with its legs folded under the body. This suggests that the camel was led into the

burial pit, made to kneel and then slaughtered alongside with its calf. This spectacular finding will provide new information about the domestication and usage of camels and the ritual practices that existed in pre-Islamic Arabia. In 1961, a similar grave containing the remains of a dromedary-Bactrian hybrid camel was excavated at Mezruah.

The Asaila tombs are one of several burial sites that QM plans to excavate as part of the National Priority Research Programme “Human Populations and Demographics in Qatar from the Neo-lithic to the late Iron Age” led by Sidra Medicine and funded by the Qatar National Research Fund (Grant no. NPRP10-0208-170411).

Remains of a camel found in a grave in Asaila.

Hifz Al Naema humanitarian projects benefit over 167,000 in 2020QNA — DOHA

More than 167,000 people and families have benefited from the humanitarian projects carried out by Hifz Al Naema centre last year. The projects included food donations, in-kind donations, awareness activities and others.

The food aid provided by the centre, represented by the food bank department, has the largest number of beneficiaries, as the number of families approved by it increased from 650 last year to 1,600 by the end of 2020. The number of meals reached 204,153 meals benefiting 107,496 workers and 22,516 families.

On the other hand, the “food basket” initiative launched by the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs in cooperation with the centre included three phases — the first benefited 1,100 fam-ilies in May, while the second

and the third benefited 1,500 families in June and July respec-tively. The centre maintained all the precautionary measures followed in the country in light of the difficult conditions the world is witnessing due to the coronavirus pandemic, and was keen to cancel any gatherings related to the mechanism and method of distribution.

Meanwhile, charitable warehouse department at the centre distributed thousands of furniture, electrical and

electronic devices and about 174 tons of clothes to workers and families in need after studying the cases presented.

In addition, the number of beneficiaries from the in-kind donations reached 337 families and workers, and the centre also implemented many sea-sonal projects.

Public relations officer at Hifz Al Naema, Yousef Al Khu-laifi, praised the solidarity of the Qatari community and its great interaction with the centre’s initiatives, especially in light of the conditions resulted by the spread of the coronavirus pan-demic worldwide.

He noted that the centre needs more support from the public and private institutions to help achieve its vision aiming at reducing waste, whether from surplus food or others, and to achieve social solidarity, which in turn will be reflected in the increase in the number of beneficiaries.

The number of beneficiary families approved has increased from 650 last year to 1,600 by the end of 2020. The number of meals reached 204,153 meals benefiting 107,496 workers and 22,516 families.

Mali FM meets Ambassador of QatarMinister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Mali H E Zeini Moulaye met yesterday with Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Mali H E Ahmed Abdulrahman Al Sunaidi. The meeting reviewed aspects of bilateral cooperation and issues of mutual concern.

MoTC collects data to develop Qatar Freight Master PlanFROM PAGE 1

This project is for developing plans for freight routes across the country, be them private or joint. The aim is to reduce freight traffic on road congestion.

It is also preparing a freight route designing guidebook and setting systems and policies relating to

freight, its modes and work hours on well-considered routes in such a way that meets the expectations of developers and freight companies in Qatar. Additionally, the project is establishing an electronic GIS and assistive smart applications to be used by all the concerned bodies in Qatar till 2050.

Upon completing the stage of data collection and surveys, a spe-cialised MoTC team will embark on an integrated and sustainable designing for all freight modes, develop a freight route designing guidebook and develop relevant pol-icies for the miscellaneous freight networks and systems.

Qatari students enrolling in CNA-Q on riseTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

College of the North Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q) has welcomed a new group of students to its winter semester 2021.

This year saw an increase of almost 140% in the appli-cation rate of Qatari students, after announcing that the Col-lege’s Board of Trustees agreed to exempt both Qatari citizens and children of Qatari women from the payment of tuition fees.

In line with the govern-ment’s plan to reduce restric-tions in phases as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the College is following blended learning with 50% attendance. Within this framework, 3 ori-entation sessions were offered to new students; one of them was on campus while the other two took place online.

During orientation ses-sions organised by the Student Affairs department, new joiners toured through the many advanced laboratory and simulation facilities that the campus boasts, and were able to meet highly skilled faculty members who will be leading them through their studies. Furthermore, students have the opportunity to join clubs and a wide variety of sports teams.

More than 3,629 students joined the college for the winter semester, across dif-ferent schools from Business Management and Information Technology to Engineering Technology and Industrial Trades, Health Sciences and Foundation Program.

Commenting on the start of the new semester, Acting President of CNA-Q, Dr. Salem Al Naemi, said, “We are pleased to welcome all new and returning students. CNA-Q is an excellent choice to follow an applied education and prepare for a successful career. We are particularly contented with the increasing number of Qatari students, and hope that the campus life will enable every student to develop not only on the academic level but also on the personal one as well.”

The college is following strict preventive measures to protect its students and faculty members against the corona-virus. The security team has been trained to ensure best practices are set in place. The college has also launched the student “COVID-19 Ambas-sador Program”, designed to provide people with proper protocol regarding the virus prevention.

Early Education Department produces 1,200 video lessonsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Early Education Department has planned for the second semester on several axes, the most important of which is the administration’s will-ingness, through the implementation of its plans, to support the educational field during the second semester.

An example of this support is com-pleting the production of video lessons for the second semester of the foun-dation stage and the kindergarten stage with 550 videos, bringing the total number of lessons and videos made during the current academic year to approximately 1,200 videos, said the Ministry of Education and Higher Edu-cation in a statement.

This came within the framework of the constant and continuous efforts made by the Early Education Department to plan the start of the second semester, and in its endeavours to improve the learning outcomes of school students, and raise the effi-ciency of teachers and coordinators, which will be reflected in the quality of the educational process.

In the same context, schools were provided with semester plans for the second semester early in order for its coordinators and teachers to plan and prepare well from the first day of stu-dents’ attendance in the second semester.

The Department also provided a series of presentations to support the female teachers to raise the academic level of students. With regard to exam-inations and evaluations, the spe-cialised team in this regard has begun

to develop specifications for midterm exams for the second semester to provide schools with them early.

From the perspective of upgrading the level of teachers and coordinators, the Early Education Department pre-pared a series of virtual remote meetings and awareness workshops, and identified a set of important topics, on which these workshops and awareness activities will be presented such as ‘developing the thinking skills and creativity of teachers’.

The Department also created opportunity to organise educational meetings through Microsoft-Teams platform to exchange experiences between the teachers, and direct the teachers on how to proceed with the live broadcast lessons to achieve the goal of blended-learning for students.

The Department focused, in its plans for the second semester, on developing the academic aspects of teachers and coordinators, by inten-sifying field visits to schools, moni-toring performance of academic staff.

With regard to learning resources the Early Education Department attaches great importance to kinder-garten learning resources through its revision to meet children’s behav-ioural, value and educational needs.

The Department affirmed the role that kindergarten directors play in pro-viding the required support to teachers and coordinators and the continuous and intensive visits to ensure the appropriate quality of learning out-comes in light of the global conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

03WEDNESDAY 13 JANUARY 2021 HOME

Kahramaa, HBKU to collaborate for research on water THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) and Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) represented by its Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI) have signed a cooperation framework to benefit from QEERI’s laboratories.

The ceremony took place at HBKU’s headquarters in the presence of Pres-ident of Kahramaa, Eng Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari; President of HBKU, Dr. Ahmad M. Hasnah and Executive Director of QEERI, Dr. Marc Vermeersch.

The agreement was signed by Director of Technical Affairs, Eng. Ahmed Al Nasr, on behalf of Kahramaa and by Executive Director of the Institute, Dr. Marc Vermeersch on behalf of QEERI.

This agreement is in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030, which sets economic, social and environmental development as a priority whose achievement is based on scientific research, development and innovation, as well as cooperation between the various state institutions.

Whereas Kahramaa and QEERI aim to increase their efforts to develop the water sector, improve the environment, and build a sustainable economy in line with the goals and objectives of Qatar National Strategy 2018-22, the agreement is to establish cooperation to develop joint projects between them in relation to research projects regarding laboratories and materials, especially those related to the field of water and its quality.

It also includes service agreements for Kahramaa to benefit from the

expertise and resources at QEERI, which to be provided as needed under this agreement. It also includes preparing reports that clarify the achievements and the results of the important research that will be carried out.

Eng Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari said this agreement is important for Kahramaa and QEERI alike, as the two parties benefit from the available expertise available and through which they benefit from the resources set up by the state in the national institutes whose current capabilities and laboratories are equiv-alent to those at the global institute.

He added that by signing this coop-eration framework, Kahramaa will benefit from the laboratories of QEERI in several subjects on top of which is water quality and measures of devices and equipment used in the water sector.

Dr. Ahmad M. Hasnah said: “As an innovative research university that endeavors to support national Qatari entities, HBKU is pleased to strengthen our relationship with Kahramaa through this new agreement. Our collaboration will enable Kahramaa to leverage QEERI’s technical and scientific expertise to support their institutional mandate, and the country’s priorities, in the areas

of renewable energy and water quality. “Our joint activities will no doubt

foster innovation that meets the mutual interests of both institutions, especially toward building a sustainable economy in line with national goals and objec-tives. I am confident our combined efforts will contribute considerably to innovative research and development and amplify our individual efforts on renewable energy.”

In this regard, Dr. Marc Vermeersch said the cooperation with Kahramaa will provide an opportunity for a number of joint research projects to take place. Such projects will support innovation and development in a way that will be reflected on Qatar’s objectives with

regard to a self-sustainable society that meets smart cities’ modern life require-ments. The projects will also support Qatar’s steps towards a green future, achieve an economic and environmental balance, to ensure the sustainability of water, energy and environment projects.”

He added that he is proud of the capabilities and development that QEERI has witnessed over the past few years, including its laboratories’ obtainment of the international ISO certifications, as well as many research papers being approved by reputable international conferences, in a way that contributes to the scientific and economic growth of the State of Qatar.

President of Kahramaa Eng Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari and President of HBKU Dr. Ahmad M Hasnah look on as Director of Technical Affairs at Kahramaa Eng. Ahmed Al Nasr and Executive Director of QEERI Dr. Marc Vermeersch sign the agreement.

Vice-President of Indonesia meets Qatar envoy

Vice-President of the Republic of Indonesia, H E Ma’ruf Amin (top left), met with Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Indonesia, H E Fauziya bint Edrees Salman Al Sulaiti (top centre). The meeting took place via video conference. The meeting reviewed bilateral cooperation and issues of joint interest.

‘Qatar, Kyrgyzstan have huge potential for trade and tourism’AYENI OLUSEGUN THE PENINSULA

Qatar and Kyrgyzstan have the potential to increase trade and tourism links, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipoten-tiary of the Kyrgyz Republic to the State of Qatar H E Chyngyz Eshimbekov (pictured) told The Peninsula.

The Ambassador said that both countries have solid treaties in economic activities and several interest fields. According to the Ambassador, there have been several com-munications at different levels of government and ministries between both countries.

The Kyrgyz-Qatar joint intergovernmental commission on economic, trade, and tech-nical cooperation was held in March 2017 in Doha. He stressed that Kyrgyzstan’s tourism sector is an untapped area for Qataris and residents in the country.

“Tourism is an important part of our economy. Kyr-gyzstan has a lot to offer, and the English Guardian recently listed Kyrgyzstan as one of the top countries to visit in 2021. It’s perfect for visiting during the summer, and we have halal products (for Muslim travellers), mountainous scenery, and more. It is a perfect destination for those who want to escape the summer heat to engage in biking and mountain trekking. We also have winter tourism with skiing centres, which people can explore,” the Ambassador said.

“Qataris are yet to discover the Kyrgyz Republic’s tourism and adventure travel secret. Kyrgyzstan has striking land-scapes that make it the best des-tination for those who want to spend time riding through the picturesque mountain gorges, having a campfire retreat at a rapid riverbank, and falling

asleep in a ‘yurta’ (a traditional tent) counting numerous stars on the night sky. But most of all, visiting people discover people, which makes tourism a prom-ising bridge between Kyr-gyzstan and Qatar,” he added.

The envoy noted that trade is another sector both countries aim to explore. He said that establishing an aviation route for direct flights between Doha and Bishkek would ease further trade and tourism with both

governments’ cooperation.“We still have work to do to

increase trade, but we do have some successful Kyrgyz trade companies here because we are famous for ecologically green products. The primary product we bring here is honey, like the White Mountain Honey, which is famous here.

“We hope that with better transport communication and with the establishment of direct flights between the two coun-tries, this will grow. We are pos-itive that with the support of the two countries’ governments, the aviation lines will be open to facilitate trade, tourism, edu-cation, and more.”

The envoy said unlike other expatriate communities here in Qatar with a larger labour force, the Kyrgyz community of around 600 has the potential to grow. “We have a very tal-ented and educated young gen-eration, and most of the expats

here are highly educated, and they speak English very well. But I think with the coming World Cup in 2022, more people from Kyrgyzstan can be employed in the Qatari economy.”

Ambassador Eshimbekov praised Qatar’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and thanked the government for the aid provided to Kyrgyzstan.

“Qatar was successful in handling the pandemic, with the measures in place and the intro-duction of Ehteraz, it was exem-plary, and we have learned a lot from their methods. Qatar delivered a lot of aid during the peak of the pandemic. Kyr-gyzstan is thankful for the aid delivered. They helped us with oxygen tanks and respiratory equipment. They also sent PPEs and other necessary items which were necessary to help ease the strain of the virus on our healthcare system,” he added.

MME signs contract to build container cityFROM PAGE 1

Director of Technical Office at MME, Tariq Juma Al Tamimi, said that contract has been signed with Continental Trading Company to build and operate for ten years.

He said that project is located at key strategic point close to highways, airport, port, metro station and economic areas, industrial cities of Mesaieed and Ras Laffan.

“The project will help in developing national economy and local trade by providing excellent logistic services which meet the needs of local market,” said Al Tamimi.

Chairman of Continental Trading Company, Abdullah Saif Al Mesalam, said the project will be implemented in coordi-nation with the Ministry of Municipality and Environment to develop necessary logistic facility to support the national economy.

“The company will develop, manage and operate the city of containers of self-storage to ensure a complete logistic service at a place,” said Al Mesalam.

He added that the project will help in getting rid of at random storage which causes safety and health risk.

The purpose of the project is to utilise government land to provide areas for storing camping equipment, buggies, furniture, household items and any other such items in containers.

The project will help people to avoid violating provisions of public hygiene law which causes by pilling up camping gears and other materials in residential areas.

As per the contract, the project will also have other facilities like portable petrol station, grocery shop, prayer area, parking, paved roads, trees and green areas.

QA earns Diamond Standard in APEX Health Safety

FROM PAGE 1

APEX Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Joe Leader added: “Having flown recently on Qatar Airways with my family to the Maldives after negative COVID-19 PCR tests, the level of health safe service both in-flight and on-the-ground sur-passed my highest expecta-tions and even surpassed our best-ever pre-pandemic experience on the airline.”

SimpliFlying Chief Exec-utive Officer, Shashank Nigam, said: “Qatar Airways has raised the bar for health safety standards in the industry by initiatives such as providing a face shield to all passengers, using Honeywell’s UV disinfection systems and advanced biosafety measures at its hub in Doha. Taking such hospital-grade in ensuring health safety will help bolster trust among travellers.”

Qatar Airways’ onboard safety measures include the provision of Personal Pro-tective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew and a compli-mentary protective kit and disposable face shields for passengers.

Business Class passengers on aircraft equipped with Qsuite can enjoy the enhanced privacy this award-winning business seat pro-vides, including sliding privacy partitions and the option to use a ‘Do Not Disturb (DND)’ indicator. Qsuite is available on flights to more than 30 destinations including Frankfurt, Kuala Lumpur, London and New York. For full details of all the measures that have been implemented onboard and in HIA, please visit qatarairways.com/safety.

In addition to this, the airline also uses the most advanced HEPA air filtration systems on board all aircraft, and recently introduced Hon-eywell’s state-of-the-art Ultraviolet Cabin System, operated by Qatar Aviation Services, as a further step in the cleaning of its aircraft.

Over 900 vehicles crossed Abu Samra border in 3 daysFROM PAGE 1

Director of the Land Customs Department, Murshid Shaheen Al Kuwari, said the coordination was made with government agencies working at the checkpoint to determine the working mechanism to be followed according to the Per-manent Committee of Abu Samra checkpoint’s directives. He explained that many X-ray machines have been provided recently, working according to the best international specifications.

During a tour inside the Land Customs Department sec-tions, Abdul Rahman Al Obaidli, Head of the Passenger Department, explained and clar-ified all the procedures followed at the port. He confirmed that when directives were received to reopen the border for travelers, the Land Customs Department completed all

administrative and technical procedures required in this regard within 24 hours. Al Obaidli said employees were notified, introduced to the working mechanism, and assigned their duties in shifts as per the expected work.

The Information Systems Department carefully checked all systems, devices, and net-works. A large number of com-puters, network communication systems, and others have been replaced. The Operations and Risk Analysis Department also checked electronic systems (Al-Nadeeb) and other structures. The Financial and Adminis-trative Affairs Department pro-vided all business necessities by replacing seals and docu-mentary tools, providing steri-lizers, protective masks, and gloves.

Al Obaidli thanked the GAC Chairman for his prompt

support in providing all the Land Customs Department’s needs at the checkpoint. He also thanked all customs departments for their prompt response, including the Information Systems Department, Operations Man-agement, Risk Analysis, and Financial and Administrative Affairs Department.

Al Obaidli said the customs procedures would be conducted as before. Customs employees will receive vehicles and ensure that motorists meet the health procedures approved by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the Passports Department’s procedures at the Ministry of Interior (MoI). After that, a thorough inspection is carried out on the vehicles to ensure that they are free of prohibited items before granting them passage. He said that procedures are done quickly, not exceeding five minutes.

As for the precautionary measures related to the COVID-19, Al Obaidli said that applying these measures is within MoPH guidelines through their office in the Abu Samra checkpoint. He explained that the Land Customs Department coordinates with the office to implement all the instructions regarding travelers’ entry and exit.

Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Head of the Land Customs Security Section, said the deployment of customs security personnel from the entrances and exits of the land border was strengthened according to the new work instructions immediately after receiving the instructions to reopen.

He said coordination was made with the Passenger Department regarding the mechanism of work and applying customs procedures.

Kahramaa and QEERI aim to increase their efforts to develop the water sector, improve the environment, and build a sustainable economy in line with the goals and objectives of Qatar National Strategy 2018-22.

92 referred to prosecution for not wearing masksQNA — DOHA

The authorities yesterday referred 92 people to the Public Prosecution for not wearing masks in public. The measure is in line with the Cabinet decision, Decree Law No. 17 of 1990 on infectious diseases.

MoPH: 211 new COVID-19 cases, 111 recoveriesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) yesterday announced the registration of 211 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. Among them 40 were trav-ellers returning from abroad.

Another 111 people have recovered from the virus, bringing the total number of recovered cases in Qatar to 142,938. All new cases have been introduced to isolation and are receiving necessary healthcare according to their health status.

The total number of pos-itive COVID-19 cases recorded in Qatar is 146,279 and there are 3,095 active cases under treatment. The mass vacci-nation is currently under way in the country.

Three arrested for violating home quarantineQNA — DOHA

The designated authorities arrested yesterday three persons who violated the requirements of the home quarantine. The violators, who are currently being referred to the designate prosecution are Tanan Shakron Tantidam Ronjko Lasht, Morali Kreishna Ako La and Osama Ismail Mohammed Al Asi.

04 WEDNESDAY 13 JANUARY 2021HOME

Kosovo Foreign Affairs Minister meets Qatar AmbassadorMinister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of the Republic of Kosovo H E Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla, met yesterday with non-resident Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Kosovo, H E Ali bin Hamad Al Marri. The meeting dealt with reviewing bilateral cooperation and issues of joint interest.

Former minister to chair CCQ Board of TrusteesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Council of Ministers Office Decision No. 14 of 2020 on restructuring the board to include three new members has approved Dr. Hessa bint Sultan Al Jaber to chair the Board of Trustees of the Community College of Qatar (CCQ).

Dr. Hessa is a pioneer in the country’s development process, and she had held several important positions. She is a member of the Shura Council and the third Qatari woman to assume a ministerial position.

In 2013, she was listed among the 500 most powerful Arabs in the world in Arabian Business magazine. Then, she ranked 20th on the 2013 Arabian Business’ list of 100 most powerful Arab women in April.

Moreover, Dr. Hessa holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from George Washington Uni-versity, Washington, DC.

Dr. Nasser Mohammed

Marafih and Dr. Khalid Abdulla Al-Ali were also awarded the honour of membership on the board. Dr. Marafih has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Ooredoo Group since 2006. He also served as Ooredoo Qatar CEO from 2002 until 2011. Dr. Marafih holds a Ph.D. in Com-munication Engineering from George Washington University, USA.

Meanwhile, Dr. Khalid is the

Director of Higher Education Institutional Affairs and the Acting Undersecretary for Higher Education in the Min-istry of Education and Higher Education in Qatar. He has served previously in several educational posts, such as Asso-ciate Vice President for Faculty Affairs, Director of Foundation Program at Qatar University, and the World Commission’s Chair on the Ethics of Science

Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) in UNESCO. Other board members include Vice-Chair, Dr. Ibrahim Mohamed Al Kaabi, and Dr. Rashid Sultan Al-Kuwari, Soud Abdulaziz Al Tamimi, and Dr. Abdulla Ibrahim Al Emadi as members.

CCQ President, Dr. Mohamed Al Naemi, said, “We are pleased to welcome the new members in the College’s board of trustees. As part of our com-mitment to contribute to Qatar National Vision 2030, we look forward to working together to enhance the College’s per-formance and offer the best possible educational services to our students. We also extend our thanks to the previous chairman, Engineer Hamad Rashid Al Mohannadi, and the previous members Dr. Khalid Mohamed Al Horr and Hassan Abdulrahman Al Ibrahim for all their efforts and achievements that strengthened the position of the College and supported its educational process.”

Dr. Hessa bint Sultan Al-Jaber, Chair of CCQ’s Board of Trustees

CCQ President Dr Mohamed Al Naemi

WCM-Q research examines implications of telehealth surge during pandemicTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Institute for Population Health (IPH) of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) has published a scientific review of research detailing the dramatic upswing in the use of telehealth services prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers at the IPH carried out an exhaustive review and analysis of 543 articles on the subject of tele-health published in 331 scien-tific journals during the first peak of the pandemic (from January 1, 2020 to June 10, 2020).

They found that the majority of scientific studies focused on telehealth were con-ducted in the United States, with the next highest number pub-lished in the United Kingdom, followed by Italy, India, Canada, Australia, France, China, Spain, and Singapore, in decreasing order.

A key finding of the review was that 7.7 percent (42/543) of the published scientific articles focused on the provision of tel-ehealth related to COVID-19. The other 92.3 percent (501/543) of the articles reported pro-vision of healthcare support for a wide variety of communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, HIV and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and stroke. The research also noted that the vast majority of studies were conducted by scientific professionals in high-income countries, raising concerns that

lack of telecommunications infrastructure in lower income countries might lead to wid-ening inequity across various population subgroups with the increasing use of telehealth.

A further observation of the WCM-Q study is that many countries relaxed previously strict laws and regulations relating to telehealth in order to allow healthcare profes-sionals to continue to treat their patients while physical dis-tancing protocols were in place t o r e d u c e d i s e a s e transmission.

This raises the concern that regulations designed to ensure accountability, ethical medical practice, and patient data privacy have been removed extremely rapidly, which could cause unexpected challenges. Furthermore, some insurance companies did not provide cov-erage for healthcare delivered via telehealth approaches, posing a headache for patients, administrators and healthcare professionals.

The first author of the study, D r . S a t h y a n a r a y a n a n Doraiswamy, Assistant Director of the IPH, said, “Many legal and practical barriers to the delivery of telehealth were removed very quickly as governments and healthcare systems reacted to the urgent need to provide care while observing physical distancing protocols to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. This has undoubtedly saved many lives, but our review also reveals that there is an urgent

need to establish a global con-sensus on definitions, bound-aries, protocols, monitoring, evaluation, and data privacy.”

The WCM-Q study, titled Use of Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Scoping Review, has been published in the prestigious Journal of Medical Internet Research. The other authors of the study are Dr. Ravinder Mamtani, Vice Dean for Student Affairs-Admissions, Population Health, and Lifestyle Medicine, Dr. Sohaila Cheema, Assistant Dean for the IPH, and Dr. Amit Abraham, Instructor of Popu-lation Health Sciences/Projects Specialist.

The study also pointed to a need to update the curricula of medical schools and continuing professional development pro-grams to ensure healthcare pro-fessionals have the skills

needed to provide high-quality care via telehealth approaches.

Dr. Cheema said, “Our research highlights that the extraordinarily rapid growth of telehealth during the pandemic presents a huge opportunity for the healthcare sector to lev-erage technology to both expand and enhance the delivery of care. But urgent work is needed to ensure we have the correct training and regulatory frameworks to provide telehealth in a way that protects the rights, safety and dignity of those giving and receiving care.”

Dr. Cheema added: “It is also crucial that the global com-munity takes steps to ensure that people in low- and middle-income countries are also able to reap the benefits of this new boom in telehealth.”

Authors of the WCM-Q study, FROM LEFT: Dr. Sathyanarayanan Doraiswamy, Dr. Amit Abraham, Dr. Ravinder Mamtani and Dr. Sohaila Cheema.

Research into Global South gains new momentum at Northwestern QatarTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

A new book on data journalism in the Global South by associate professor at Northwestern Qatar, Eddy Borges-Rey (pictured) focuses on the tran-snational debates on how jour-nalism is taught by exploring overlooked practices and approaches from Chile, Qatar, Zimbabwe, and a host of other regions of the world.

In explaining the rationale behind the project, Borges-Rey emphasized that “there is no longer one single definition of journalism,” adding that “the ideal of journalism constructed after the golden era that fol-lowed the 1920s remains important but has become only a portion of a larger, evolving, k n o w l e d g e - b u i l d i n g phenomenon.”

By advancing an under-standing of journalism that takes different forms in dif-ferent countries, owing to the unique forces and dynamics that can be found in each place, the book, Data Journalism in the Global South, “advocates against the reductionist view that journalism only occurs in democratic societies, and that objectivity is the only lens

through which reality can be measured,” Borges-Rey said.

While he and his co-authors, journalism scholars Saba Bebawi and Bruce Mutsvairo, confront a schol-arship that is still very much centered on Western concerns, he noted that the traditional and static model of data journalism is responsible for dismissing emerging research from the Global South as “descriptive and exploratory in nature.” And, he continued, it also uses “lan-guage barriers and differing scholarly traditions” as criteria to exclude non-Western

researchers from contributing to mainstream debates.

“If you really are for inclusion and diversity, these should not really be challenges or obstacles at all,” Borges-Rey said. “In fact, diversity in approaches, themes, theories, and methodologies, when openly welcomed and ade-quately nurtured, has the potential to shake the pristine, monolithic structure of our current mainstream disciplines, and to further expand the limits of what we often take for granted.”

Borges-Rey also explained

that he and his co-authors want to demystify traditional academic discussions that have been imposed on research from and about the Global South. “By providing a platform to amplify the voice of scholars from the Global South, we hope those voices will eventually find their way into the center of the academic debate and will be able to generate a much-needed cross-polli-nation,” he said.

The project is the first in a series, Palgrave Studies in Jour-nalism and the Global South. It was selected by BookAuthority to be included in their list of Best New Journalism Books of 2020, and “has been well-received,” according to Borges-Rey, “especially by members of the Global South community, who feel represented.”

At Northwestern Qatar, Borges-Rey teaches courses on mobile journalism, data jour-nalism, and social media for journalists, amongst others. Before obtaining his PhD in Media and Communication from the University of Malaga in Spain, Borges-Rey worked as a broadcast journalist, media p r o d u c e r , a n d P R practitioner.

DI to continue blended learningQNA — DOHA

The Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI) administration announced that it would continue with the remote and blended education for Spring 2021 to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

A broadcast message sent to students stated that in-person teaching in the classroom would be for small numbers, while remote education will be for first-year students and courses with large numbers. Hence, the blended learning will be for the rest of programmes, following the Ministry of Education and Higher Education directions in Qatar.DI Director of Communi-cation and External Relations Department Ali Menadi Al Kaabi said that the Institute has invested in educational plat-forms to ensure the smoothness

of the learning process. “Despite the challenges

posed by the pandemic, the various online platforms enabled faculty members and students to engage in the teaching and learning process including direct audio and video communication, the exchange of files and media, as well as the creation of private rooms for discussions and other features,” he added.

Information Technology Department, in cooperation with the Teaching and Learning Office, is preparing the classrooms with the necessary equipment, testing, and improving its performance for the students as DI is aiming to expand in blended education in the future. DI had issued a decision last March to continue studying remotely as a precaution to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Textbook by Texas A&M faculty member publishedTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Assistant professor of petroleum engineering at Qatar Foundation partner university Texas A&M University at Qatar, Dr. Nayef Alyafei (pictured) has published the second edition of his textbook, Fundamentals of Reservoir Rock Properties.

Alyafei said he wrote the textbook after his first semester teaching the reservoir petro-physics course for Texas A&M at Qatar petroleum engineering students. The book covers the essential concepts of rock properties aiding students, petroleum geoscientists, and engineers to understand petroleum reservoirs. Alyafei is a Class of 2009 petroleum engineering graduate of Texas

A&M at Qatar who earned his Ph.D. at Imperial College London before returning to Texas A&M at Qatar as a faculty member. In 2018, Alyafei was named the university’s Alumnus of the Year and in 2020 was named an Energy Influencer by The Way Ahead, a publication of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Ali Bin Abdullah Intersection partial closureTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has announced a partial closure of Ali bin Abdullah Intersection, on the lanes heading from Al-Koot Fort Intersection to Al-Mirqab Roundabout and vice versa, starting January 17 in coordi-nation with the General Direc-torate of Traffic.

The closure aims to enable expansion and upgrading

works at Grand Hamad Street and Ali bin Abdulla Street, within Doha Central Devel-opment and Beautification Project – Package 3.

During this period, road users wishing to use this direction on Ali bin Abdullah Street, can make U-Turn on Grand Hamad Street to reach the other side of the Inter-section, or use the alternative roads to reach their destina-tions, as shown on the attached

map.The Public

W o r k s Authority will install road signs advising motorists of the closure and has urged all road users to abide by the speed limit, and follow the road signs to ensure their safety.

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Sidra Medicine, a Qatar Foun-dation entity, has appointed Dr. Barbro Fridén as its Chief Exec-utive Officer. Dr. Fridén has extensive experience in both the public and private healthcare sectors in Sweden and the Middle East.

Prior to joining Sidra Med-icine, Dr. Fridén was the CEO of Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Ajman and before that, the CEO of Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Scandinavia’s largest teaching hospital. Dr. Fridén was previously the Hospital Director of the Children’s Hos-pital at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden.

Managing Director and Member of the Board of Gov-ernors at Sidra Medicine, Mohammed Khalid Al Mana said, “We are delighted to have Dr. Barbro Fridén join us at Sidra Medicine. Her leadership experience in obstetrics and gynecology and experience in having led women’s and chil-dren’s hospitals in Sweden, will be a tremendous asset to our patient care model as we embark on strengthening and expanding our services in Qatar.

"We look forward to Dr. Fridén’s stewardship over the next chapter of our journey towards achieving our overall vision of becoming a beacon of learning, discovery and excep-tional care.”

Dr. Fridén said, “I am excited to be joining Sidra Med-icine during this dynamic phase as the healthcare organization is poised for new opportunities for growth. Together with our diverse multidisciplinary teams, I look forward to building on Sidra Medicine’s legacy of providing quality care and a personalized patient experience with excellent medical outcomes built on a strong research foundation of precision medicine.”

Dr. Fridén is well recog-nized within her field having

won “Leader of the Year”, a national award in Sweden in 2015 as well as “Influencer of the Year” in 2014, a life science business national award. Dr. Fridén sits on the board on a variety of government and commercial boards related to healthcare including a leading medtech company and Sophi-ahemmet, a non-profit healthcare provider under royal stewardship that con-ducts education, healthcare and research.

Dr Fridén received her medical degree from Umeå University in Sweden, special-izing in obstetrics and gyne-cology with a subspecialty in reproductive medicine and IVF. She was also a visiting research fellow in reproductive med-icine at the University of Cali-fornia. She holds a PhD in Medicine from Gothenburg University.

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Football fans were treated to a special occasion on Qatar National Day, as the 48th Amir Cup final became the first official match to be played at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. The 40,000-capacity venue is the fourth Qatar 2022 stadium to be inaugurated with just under two years to go until the country hosts the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and Arab world.

As part of the festivities on December 18, 2020, the Com-munity Engagement Division of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) part-nered with various stake-holders, notably the Ministry of Culture and Sports and Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum (QOSM), to operate a Fan Zone outside the stadium.

A range of activities and cul-tural offerings were offered both prior to kick-off and after the final whistle. This included roving and on-stage perform-ances from various community groups, including Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana, Hungary, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pal-estine, Sudan, and Uganda.

“What we wanted to achieve with the Fan Zone was to not only celebrate the opening of another World Cup venue but also to highlight the diversity of Qatar’s many com-munities,” said the SC’s Stake-holder Relations Senior Manager, Khaled Al Suwaidi.

“Their excitement for Qatar 2022 has been unwavering, so it was great to see our local communities get involved and make a contribution to the festive atmosphere we created on National Day,” he added.

“I would like to thank our community groups, along with our valued stakeholders – par-ticularly the Ministry of Culture and Sports and Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum – for their

support in organising the Fan Zone. After a difficult year for everyone, it was great to see so many smiling faces enjoying the festivities and marking the inauguration of the fourth Qatar 2022 venue,” Al Suwaidi continued.

The Ministry of Culture and Sports, tasked with nurturing a growing and inclusive cultural

environment throughout Qatar, organised a series of activations at the Fan Zone. These included traditional activities such as folkloric games that form the backbone of a vibrant sports culture in Qatar.

“The Ministry’s participation was primarily through the Nomas Educational Center, which set up a majlis for vis-itors to engage. It showcased a traditional musical instrument known as a rababa, and hosted falconry, along with a wide variety of traditional games,” said Aisha Al Mahmoud, Director of PR & Communica-tions at the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

“It was important for us to showcase Qatari culture at the country’s most prestigious foot-balling event on our National Day, an occasion that was made even more special with the inauguration of Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, which will host matches during Qatar 2022,” she added.

Additionally, the Ministry

organised a robust display ded-icated to Al Rayyan SC’s her-itage, widely recognised as one of Qatar’s most widely sup-ported football teams. This included both video content and a photography exhibition.

A Qatar Museums initiative, QOSM activations at the Fan Zone included children’s activ-ities inspired by the colours of the Olympic rings, a mini five-a-side football match, and live colouring of football jerseys with the emblem of Al Rayyan SC.

“We are delighted with the enthusiastic response to the activations organised by the Qatar Olympic & Sports Museum during the Amir Cup final. Particularly, these activa-tions were designed to inspire communities across Qatar to lead an active lifestyle, which we see as one of the key leg-acies of hosting large sporting events like the Amir Cup and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” said Qatar Museums CEO Ahmad Al Namla.

05WEDNESDAY 13 JANUARY 2021 HOME

I am excited to be joining Sidra Medicine during this dynamic phase as the healthcare organization is poised for new opportunities for growth.

Dr. Barbro FridénCEO, Sidra Medicine

A range of activities and cultural offerings were offered both prior to kick-off and after the final whistle. This included roving and on-stage performances from various community groups, including Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana, Hungary, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Palestine, Sudan, and Uganda.

Community engagement enhances Amir Cup final Fan Zone experience

People taking part in a range of activities at the Fan Zone.

QRCS provides assistance for refugees in Bangladesh

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The representation mission of Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) in Bangladesh has carried out multiple activities for the Myanmar refugees and host communities, funded by the donations of charity payers in Qatar.

In cooperation with Bang-ladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS), a new project was ini-tiated to provide adequate shelter for the Myanmar ref-ugees. The construction of 100 shelters commenced at Camp#18 in Cox’s Bazar, fol-lowing months of delay due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Responding to the outbreak, QRCS is promoting personal hygiene practices among the

most vulnerable groups at camps. Together with BDRCS, QRCS distributed 1,000 hand-washing containers to refugee families at Camp#18.

The field personnel launched an awareness cam-paign to advise the beneficiaries as to washing hands regularly with soap and water, given the fact that hands are the most common medium transmitting the virus from person to person.

A water well was dug by QRCS’s mission to secure drinking and personal cleaning water at the camps. Another three water wells are being in progress at other camps.

Executive Director of Relief and International Development Division at QRCS, Faisal Mohamed Al Emadi ,

emphasised the importance of QRCS’s humanitarian activities in Bangladesh, amid lack of services.

“Last year, QRCS offered $2.6m worth of aid for those in need. We reached out to over 728,000 beneficiaries with health, shelter, food, water, and sanitation aid,” said Al-Emadi.

The projects done by QRCS in Bangladesh include con-struction of water and sani-tation facilities and collection of solid waste to preserve public health, improvement of health care services by deploying and operating a field hospital, training and remuneration for local medical professionals, dis-tribution of food and nonfood items, provision of safe shelter up to the Sphere Project standards, and installation of solar lighting systems.

Other activities include the deployment of medical delega-tions in several vital specialisa-tions, emergency winterisation relief for those affected by cold weather, flash floods, or tropical storms, construction of water and sanitation at the quarantine facility operated by QRCS inside the field hospital, operation of two health centers at Camp#E8 and Camp#19 to offer primary health care services and supply of medications and medical consumables.

One of the shelters being built under a project implemented by QRCS in Bangladesh.

Sidra Medicine appoints Dr. Barbro Fridén as CEO

Dr. Barbro Friden

Kahramaa electricity distribution shows high performanceTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The distribution network of Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) achieved the highest level of performance in 2020 while ensuring uninterrupted service.

According to a Kahramaa statement, the performance index for the average number of outages for subscribers was a new rate of 0.1672 times for each subscriber, recording 12 percent improvement.

The targeted average was 0.364 and this reflects a remarkable improvement. This indicator is calculated by dividing the number affected by outages during the year on all of the consumers.

The performance index for average interruptions also wit-nessed an improvement of 26 percent in 2020 after recording an average of 11.666 minutes per subscriber as the target rate was 45.5 minutes.

The technical performance

of the distribution network in 2020 witnessed a significant improvement registering unprecedented levels for the first time in the history of the elec-trical system, the statement said.

The response speed index for distribution network faults recorded an unprecedented average in terms of response times for faults by various emergency offices marking a record time of 55 minutes while the average repair index reached 1.40 hours.

06 WEDNESDAY 13 JANUARY 2021GULF / MIDDLE EAST

The Government Communications Office said the government submitted its resignation in light of developments in the relationship between the National Assembly and the government.

Kuwait ministers submit resignations to Prime MinisterREUTERS — KUWAIT CITY

Kuwaiti ministers handed in their resignations to the prime minister yesterday, the Government Communications Office (CGC) said.

Prime Minister H E Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah must submit the resig-nations to the Amir H H Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, for approval. Three main Kuwaiti newspapers earlier said Sheikh Sabah was expected to do so.

The resignation of the cabinet, formed on December 14, had been expected.

The CGC said the gov-ernment submitted its resig-nation in light of developments in the relationship between the National Assembly and the government.

Kuwait has the most open

political system in the Gulf region, with a parliament wielding power to pass legis-lation and question ministers, although senior posts are occupied by ruling family members.

Frequent rows and dead-locks between cabinet and par-liament have led to successive government reshuffles and dis-

solutions of parliament, ham-pering investment and eco-nomic and fiscal reform.

The latest standoff

complicates government efforts to tackle a severe liquidity crunch caused by low oil prices and COVID-19 by pushing

through a debt law that has faced legislative gridlock.

The Amir has final say in state matters.

Kuwait Prime Minister H E Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah receiving the resignation of cabinet ministers at Seif Palace yesterday.

Oman Sultan’s eldest son to succeed him under new lawREUTERS — DUBAI

H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman will be succeeded by his eldest son Dhi Yazan, according to a new basic law published yesterday that creates a new position of crown prince and establishes succession from ruler to the eldest son.

H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq had announced plans for the constitutional change on Monday, a year after the death of his predecessor, H M Sultan Qaboos bin Said. The new basic law was published yes-terday in the official gazette.

The late H M Sultan Qaboos named his cousin Haitham as his preferred successor in a sealed envelope to be opened after his death should the royal family disagree on the suc-cession line. The family went with his choice.

The new law also retains an elected advisory Shura Council, the lower house of parliament.

Jordan sentences man to death for stabbings at tourist siteAP — AMMAN

Jordan yesterday sentenced a man to death by hanging for a 2019 stabbing attack at a popular tourist site that wounded eight people, including foreign tourists and their guide.

A state security court found the man guilty. It sentenced another man to life in prison and a third to seven years for allegedly aiding in the attack at the Roman ruins of Jerash, the state-run Petra news agency said.

The family of the suspect, who was subdued and appre-hended immediately after the attack, identified him at the time as Mustafa Abu Tuameh, a 22-year-old resident of a nearby Palestinian refugee camp.

They said he was very poor and had recently become more religious but was not affiliated with any armed group.His lawyer, Mekhled Dwaikat, said he would appeal.

The attack in Jerash, some 60km north of the capital, Amman, cast a shadow on Jor-dan’s vital tourism industry, which over the past year has been decimated by the coro-navirus pandemic.

The wounded included three Mexican tourists and a Swiss woman. Along with the tour guide, three other Jorda-nians, including two security officers and a bus driver, were also hurt before the attacker was subdued and arrested.

Lebanon to impose 24-hour curfew from tomorrowAGENCIES — BEIRUT

Lebanese authorities tightened a nationwide lockdown, including an 11-day, 24-hour curfew, amid a dramatic surge in coronavirus infections and growing criticism of uncoordi-nated policies many blame for the spread of the virus.

News of the restrictions to be implemented starting tomorrow morning sparked panicked grocery buying as people lined up outside of supermarkets to stock up, raising fears the crowds could further spread the virus.

Lebanon had only just announced a nationwide lockdown last week. But many, including the health minister and officials on a government com-mittee, considered it to be too lenient because it exempted many sectors, such as florists, plant nurseries and factories. Hospitals, meanwhile, were running out of beds amid rapidly multiplying COVID-19 cases.

Critics have said uncoordi-nated and hesitant policies wavering between relaxing restrictions and shutting down were behind the failure to contain the virus.

For instance, despite a rise in infections, the government relaxed restrictions ahead of Christmas and New Year’s

celebrations, hoping to boost a crumbling local economy as thousands of Lebanese expats arrived in the country.

Daily infection rates have since hovered above 3,000, hitting an all-time high of over 5,000 last week. Doctors and experts say the extent of the spread has yet to be

felt, predicting numbers will skyrocket in the coming days, overwhelming health facilities in the country of nearly 6 million.

Despite the nationwide lockdown announced last week, a soccer match was allowed to take place in the northern Tripoli province on Sunday with an

audience and was aired on TV.Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti

Ministry of Health reported yes-terday 494 new cases of coro-navirus (COVID-19) in the past 24 hours, bringing the total of confirmed cases in the country to 155,335.

The Ministry’s spokesman Dr. Abdullah Al Sanad said that

one death has been recorded in the past twenty-four hours, bringing the number of deaths in Kuwait to 946, adding that the patients in intensive care units have reached 47.

Israel may include children over the age of 12 in groups receiving COVID-19 vaccines within the next two months if research shows this is safe, a top health official said on Tuesday.

Vaccinating at a world-record pace, Israel says it aims to have administered one or both shots to 5 million of its 9 million citizens, and reopen the economy, by mid-March.

Elderly Israelis and adults with medical conditions or jobs in critical high-risk sectors have been given priority. But with Israeli officials anticipating more regular vaccine ship-ments, the eligibility categories have been expanded.

Nachman Ash, national coordinator on the pandemic, predicted that pharmacological research would establish that the minimum age threshold for the vaccines could be safely lowered from 16 to 12, and FDA approval for such use secured, by March. “The fact that children under the age of 16 are not cur-rently getting vaccinated is cer-tainly troubling, in terms of the ability to achieve herd immunity,” he told 103 FM radio.

Near empty bread shelves are pictured inside a supermarket after people hoarded food as authorities are discussing the latest measures to implement to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday.

Netanyahu removes Trump from his Twitter banner photoREUTERS — OCCUPIED JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu dropped US Pres-ident Donald Trump from the banner photo of his Twitter account yesterday in an apparent break with a political al ly facing possible impeachment.

A photo of Netanyahu sitting next to Trump at a White House meeting had long taken pride of place on the official @netanyahu account, testimony to the conservative Israeli leader’s close ties with the Republican president and his popularity in Israel.

Early yesterday, another photo, showing Netanyahu being injected with the coro-navirus vaccine, topped the page, along with the slogan for Israel’s inoculation campaign: “Citizens of Israel, we are returning to life”.

Netanyahu had kept the photo of his meeting with Trump, long in lockstep with him over a tough policy towards Iran and the Palestinians, on the site even after the Republican president’s defeat by Democrat Joe Biden. No explanation was given on Netanyahu’s site for Trump’s disappearance, a day before the US House of Repre-sentatives was expected to begin considering his second impeachment on after last week’s storming of the Capitol.

Rights group calls Israel an ‘apartheid’ stateAP — OCCUPIED JERUSALEM

A leading Israeli human rights group has begun describing both Israel and its control of the Palestinian territories as a single “apartheid” regime, using an explosive term that the country’s leaders and their supporters vehemently reject.

In a report released yes-terday, B’Tselem says that while Palestinians live under different forms of Israeli control in the occupied West Bank, blockaded Gaza, annexed east Jerusalem and within Israel itself, they have fewer rights than Jews in the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

“One of the key points in our analysis is that this is a single geopolitical area ruled by one government,” said B’Tselem director Hagai El Ad. “This is not democracy plus occupation. This is apartheid between the

river and the sea.”That a respected Israeli

organisation is adopting a term long seen as taboo even by many critics of Israel points to a broader shift in the debate as its half-century occupation of war-won lands drags on and hopes for a two-state solution fade.

Peter Beinart, a prominent Jewish-American critic of Israel, caused a similar stir last year when he came out in favour of a single binational state with equal rights for Jews and Palestinians. B’Tselem does not take a position on whether there should be one state or two.

Israel has long presented itself as a thriving democracy in which Palestinian citizens, who make up about 20% of its population of 9.2 million, have equal rights. Israel seized east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 war — lands that are home to nearly

5 million Palestinians and which the Palestinians want for a future state.

Israel withdrew troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but imposed a blockade after the resistant movement Hamas group seized power there two years later. It considers the West Bank “disputed” territory whose fate should be deter-mined in peace talks. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in 1967 in a move not recognised inter-nationally and considers the entire city its unified capital. Most Palestinians in east Jerusalem are Israeli “residents,” but not cit-izens with voting rights.

B’Tselem argues that by dividing up the territories and using different means of control, Israel masks the underlying reality — that roughly 7 million Jews and 7 million Palestinians live under a single system with vastly unequal rights.

“We are not saying that the degree of discrimination that a Palestinian has to endure is the same if one is a citizen of the state of Israel or if one is besieged in Gaza,” El Ad said. “The point is that there isn’t a single square inch between the river and the sea in which a Pal-estinian and a Jew are equal.”

Israel’s harshest critics have used the term “apartheid” for decades, evoking the system of white rule and racial segre-gation in South Africa that was brought to an end in 1994.

The International Criminal Court defines apartheid as an “institutionalized regime of sys-tematic oppression and domi-nation by one racial group.”

“There is no country in the world that is clearer in its apartheid policies than Israel,” said Nabil Shaath, a senior adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Lebanon files urgent complaint to UN against Israel flightsAP — BEIRUT

Lebanon will file an urgent complaint with the United Nations against Israel’s daily violations of its airspace amid intensifying drone reconnais-sance and mock raids around the country, the president’s office said yesterday.

President Michel Aoun called for a condemnation of Israel’s “aggression and viola-tions of Lebanon’s sovereignty” and the UN resolution that

brought about the cessation of hostilities between the two countries following their last all-out conflict in 2006.

The two countries remain technically at war and Lebanon has repeatedly complained of Israel’s violations of its airspace and waters.

In recent weeks, Israeli mil-itary jets have carried out several low-altitude flying flights over the capital and other major cities, causing jitters among civilians who are no

strangers to conflict. Warplanes have appeared in Beirut skies, causing loud noise, including on Christmas Eve. The flights ter-rorized residents of the city who have recently survived a massive explosion in the port.

Reconnaissance drones sometimes remain in Lebanese airspace for 24 hours at a time, said a Lebanese military official who spoke on condition of ano-nymity in line with regulations. Israel rarely comments on such missions, but Israeli officials

have said the overflights are necessary because Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah militant is violating the 2006 U.N. reso-lution that bars it from building up its military capabilities and operating near the Israeli border.

Many such raids are often to carry out strikes in neigh-boring Syria, where Israel has been targeting Iranian-backed militias and posts for Lebanon’s Hezbollah group fighting alongside Syrian troops in that

country’s civil war.Israel has expressed

concern, and acted to thwart, increasing Iranian and Hez-bollah presence near its borders, including a stockpile of precision-guided missiles.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a year-end interview, said Israel’s efforts to curb his group’s ability to acquire those missiles have failed, adding that it now has twice as many as it had last year.

Interpol issues notices over Lebanon port blastAP — BEIRUT

Interpol has issued a wanted notice for two Russians and a Portuguese man over explosive material that had been shipped to Beirut and stored at the city’s port for six years until it exploded in August, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The August 4 explosion killed 200 people, injured thousands and caused wide destruction in Beirut.

Most relevant scientific advances on the COVID-19 front have been put online in open-access form and then debated online. Even if they later came out in refereed journals, their real impact came during their early open-access days.

08 WEDNESDAY 13 JANUARY 2021VIEWS

CHAIRMANDR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFIeditorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMEDm.salim@pen.com.qa

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI osman@pen.com.qa

EDITORIAL

KNOWLEDGE is power and education is the foundation of any society. More than anything else, education is a fundamental human right and is essential for the exercise of all other human rights. Countries which have realised these keep education at a high pedestal and invest in it enormously in the hope of reaping an empowered, skilled and knowledgeable society which can take the country to the pinnacles of progress and development.

Qatar has recognised the potential of education long back and has been exerting every effort by investing millions of dollars in the sector, creating a novel crop of finest educators and in turn giving the country’s children a well-rounded growth, so that they become real citizens true to their culture, faith and the country. For Qatar, education is a fundamental pillar of human life and Qatar National Vision 2030.

Speaking at a Shura Council session recently, Min-ister of Education and Higher Education H E Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulwahed Al Hammadi said that the Ministry is providing suitable and legal alternative to tutoring. He was presenting the Ministry’s report on the results of the study of Shura Council’s recommenda-tions on the general debate request presented by a number of Council members about education and higher education.

In a nutshell, the Council’s recommendation aim at the formation of an ideal citizen who believes in his faith and is proud of his country and language. The Council calls for a curriculum development based on the Islamic, Arab and national identity of Qatar society, paying attention to sports and cultural activities.

In its march of education, Qatar has achieved a great deal and is continuing with its efforts to bring in more internationally acclaimed institutions of learning and research to the country to cater to the needs of citizens and residents. Qatar Foundation’s contribution in edu-cation sector in the last couple of decades is enormous and enviable. The vision behind the establishment of Qatar Foundation served as game changer in the field of education in the country. The Education City, with its eight international and one homegrown universities with 8,000 plus students and 13 pre-university institutions, is providing phenomenal contribution to the country. Qatar University, the national university, is being reckoned among the best universities in the world.

Qatar gives equal importance to the education of the children of citizens and residents. There are scores of private and community schools catering to the needs of the diverse expatriate communities in the country. These institutions are operating under the watchful eyes and guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education enjoying every kind of support from the government.

Nurturing true citizens

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Quote of the day

If we don't manage to stop this British coronavirus variant, then we will have 10 times the number of cases by Easter. We need eight to 10 more weeks of tough measures.

Angela Merkel, German Chancellor

An elderly woman claps her hands after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine at a nursing home in Athens, Greece.

The current pandemic will eventually end, leaving us more free to ponder what to keep from all the changes it has wrought. One obvious candidate is open-access scientific journals.

Most relevant scientific advances on the COVID-19 front have been put online in open-access form and then debated online. Even if they later came out in refereed journals, their real impact came during their early open-access days.

Open-access publishing has obvious advantages. The articles are free, the whole world can read them, and the interplay of ideas they gen-erate is easier to track. As sci-entific contributions come from a greater number of dif-ferent countries, including many poorer countries, these factors will be increasingly important. I work at a major US research university, but even so I am frequently unable to gain access to desired academic publications.

To make a new open-access system work would require a number of pieces to fall into place. There is such a path.

The Indian government

has a proposal, called the “One Nation, One Subscription” plan, to buy bulk subscriptions of the world’s most important scientific journals and provide them free to everyone in India. Given the porousness of the internet, and the widespread availability of VPN services, general worldwide access is likely to result. Sci-Hub, based in Russia, already offers open access to many scientific publications.

But why stop there? Rather than just reproducing published articles, the publi-cation process could be opened up altogether. If this Indian initiative happens, or if pirated copies become more common, academic journal publishing could become less profitable. Perhaps the gated publication sources will prove unable to sustain themselves financially, especially as the budgets of universities libraries continue to tighten.

The biggest problem for an open-access regime is how to ensure good refereeing, which if done correctly raises the quality of academic papers. Under the current system, editors decide which papers get refereed, and they choose the identities of the referees. Those same referees are underpaid and underin-centivized, and often do a poor or indifferent job.

Many of the original papers on mRNA vaccines, for example, were rejected

numerous times by academic journals, hardly a ringing endorsement of the status quo. More generally, since publi-cation is currently a yes/no decision, the refereeing system creates incentives to avoid crit-icism and play it safe, rather than to strike out with bold new ideas and risk rejection.

Under my alternative vision, research scientists would be told to publish one-third less and devote the extra time to volunteer refereeing of what they consider to be the most important online postings. That refereeing, which would not be anon-ymous, would be considered as a significant part of their research contribution for tenure and promotion. Pro-fessional associations, foun-dations and universities could set up prizes for the top ref-erees, who might be able to get tenure just by being great at adding value to other peo-ple’s work. If the lack of ano-nymity bothers you, keep in mind that book reviews are already a key determinant for tenure in many fields, such as the humanities, and they are not typically anonymous.

Secondary institutions would spotlight the most inter-esting papers and reviews, and they would aggregate that information into more digestible form - just as Google Scholar helps to track citations. With open-access publishing, it also would be easier to revise

papers to incorporate new data or an author’s change in opinion. Overall, more col-lective effort would be put into improving, revising and inter-preting the most important results.

Under the current system in my own profession - eco-nomics - a large percentage of the top 50 schools will not consider candidates for tenure unless they have some publications in the top three or four journals. Is that such a good system for encouraging innovation and non-conformism?

Critics might argue that under this system more false results would circulate. But keep in mind that this new arrangement would devote much more effort and attention to high-quality, open-access refereeing. Fur-thermore, the status quo is not ideal. It is very hard to find reliable information about how good any given article is, even in a top journal. In reality, many of these results are false, non-replicable or simply irrelevant for real-world problems. People outside the academic process do not have much faith in what is being certified.

The changes the pandemic has forced in academic pub-lishing aren’t all bad. At the very least, they have revealed that there are almost certainly better ways to e