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Qatar economy, World Cup work progressing fast

Volume 23 | Number 7493 | 2 RiyalsWednesday 11 April 2018 | 25 Rajab I 1439 www.thepeninsula.qa

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Qatar Airways to buy five 777 freighters from Boeing; acquires stake in JetSuiteTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Airways and Boeing yesterday signed a letter of intent to purchase five 777 Freighters, valued at $1.7bn at list prices. When a purchase is finalised, it will be posted to Boeing’s Orders and Deliveries website. Qatar Airways also announced that it had taken a minority stake in JetSuite, a leading US private aviation company, as well as an indirect stake in JetSuiteX.

The letter of intent was signed during a ceremony attended by Minister of Finance and Chairman of Qatar Airways, H E Ali Shareef Al Emadi, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, Boeing Com-mercial Airplanes President & CEO, Kevin McAllister.

“The addition of five 777 Freighters is a significant moment for our cargo divi-sion,” said Al Baker. “As the world’s third-largest cargo operator, Qatar Airways continues to invest in fleet expansion. This trans-action will be a reinforcement of our confidence in Boeing to con-tinue to deliver an outstanding product that meets our exacting standards. We expect no less than perfection, and we are confident that Boeing will continue to deliver that”.

Qatar Airways currently operates a fleet of nearly 100

Boeing widebody airplanes and has about 100 more Boeing air-planes on order.

“We are proud of our long-standing partnership with Qatar Airways and we deeply appre-ciate their business and the pos-itive impact on Boeing, our employees, suppliers and com-munities,” said McAllister. “We are honoured that one of the world’s leading international cargo carriers recognises the unmatched capabilities of the 777 Freighter and wants to buy more to lift their growing freight operations”.

The 777 Freighter is capable of flying 4,900 nautical miles with a payload of 112 tonnes (102 metric tonnes). The airplane’s long range translates into signif-icant savings as fewer stops mean lower landing fees, less congestion, lower cargo handling costs and shorter delivery times.

With the investment in Jet-Suite Inc, Qatar Airways will help fuel the growth of Jet-Suite’s private aviation business, which currently focuses on light and very light jets. The investment extends to JetSuiteX, the sibling company to JetSuite, further accelerating the expansion of its acclaimed semi-private air service on the US West Coast and beyond.

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ADLSA and ILO organise workshop on minimum wageQNA

DOHA: The Ministry Admin-istrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs (ADLSA), in collaboration with the Inter-national Labor Organization (ILO), organised a workshop on ‘minimum wage’ in the presence of directors, officials and experts from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Qatar Foundation, Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, National Human Rights Committee, Qatar Chamber and Qatar University.

The workshop discussed the mechanisms and proce-dures for applying a minimum wage to workers subject to the provisions of the Qatari Labor Law No. 14 of 2004.

The workshop reviewed the living and economic factors in the State of Qatar in order to determine the minimum wage taking into consideration the interna-tional experiences of a variety of countries and information on international guidelines and standards for minimum wages. The workshop dis-cussed topics such as the purpose of the minimum wage and problems and gaps that may help to address issues related to it among other issues.

Emir: Qatar will never tolerate supporters of terrorism

QNA

WASHINGTON: Emir, H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has stressed that the State of Qatar does not and will not tolerate people who support and fund terrorism.

H H the Emir explained in statements to the media at the beginning of his bilateral meeting at the White House with Pres-ident of the United States of America, Donald Trump, that the State of Qatar cooperates with the US to stop the funding of ter-rorism around the region.

H H the Emir said that the military cooperation between the two countries is solid and strong, reaffirming that Al Udeid Airbase is the heart of operations in fighting terrorism, and noting that it has been a very successful campaign against the terrorist groups in the region.

H H the Emir added that the Qatari-US relations are strong and well established for more than 45 years, highlighting that the economic cooperation

between the two countries is over $125bn and the two coun-tries are looking forward to double this cooperation in the coming years.

The Emir pointed to his visit to the headquarters of the US Central Command in the city of Tampa, describing it as important and successful, where he met US military leaders. H H the Emir said the visit showed the strong cooperation between the two countries in the military and security fields.

On the Gulf crisis, the Emir thanked the President for his personal efforts and important role in finding a solution to the crisis, praising the President’s personal support to Qatar during the blockade. The Emir also thanked the American people for their support to Qatar.

As for the Syrian issue, H H the Emir said that the State of Qatar and the US are working together to put an immediate end to the suffering of the Syrian people. H H the Emir said that “this matter has to stop

immediately,” pointing out that the two countries will not allow cooperation with a war criminal who killed more than half a million of his own people, so this m a t t e r s h o u l d e n d immediately.

The US President welcomed H H the Emir and the accompa-nying delegation at the beginning of the meeting, and stressed the strength of the personal

relationship between him and H H the Emir even before the US Pres-ident entered the world of politics.

H H the Emir of Qatar “is very popular in his country” and “his people love him,” the US President said, stressing the strength of stra-tegic relations between Qatar and the US and the continuous and excellent cooperation between the two countries.

The US President added that he has been working with H H the Emir for a number of years before the counterter-rorism operations, pointing out that it is important to stop the funding of terrorism in the region, especially in countries that are related to the US, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other countries.

Both sides discussed bilateral

strategic relations between the two friendly countries and ways of boosting and developing them in the different fields, especially in expanding cooperation in economy, investment and the military and defence fields. The meeting also dealt with a number of current regional and interna-tional issues.

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Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, yesterday.

Al Udeid Airbase is the heart of operations in fighting terrorism: H H the Emir H H the Emir of Qatar “is very popular in his country” and “his people love him”: US President H H the Emir and US President discuss the Syria issue

02 WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2018HOME

03WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2018 HOME

Qatar-UK relations stronger despite siege: British envoy

Emir: Qatar will never tolerate supporters of terrorism

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, at the White House yesterday. H H the Emir also met Vice-President of the US, Mike Pence.

Qatar Airways to buy five 777 freighters from Boeing; acquires stake in JetSuite

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1The agreement means that Qatar airways joins JetBlue

Airways and a number of private investors as stakeholders in both JetSuite and JetSuiteX.

JetSuiteX fills a niche in under-served short haul markets and small airports, and enjoys a Net Promoter Score over 90, higher than the major US airlines. JetSuiteX operates its fleet of Embraer 135 aircraft from private terminals in Cali-fornia and Nevada, with no lines, no waiting and no stress, at a price competitive with commercial travel. The Qatar Airways investment will enable faster expansion of this fleet and the ability to reach new destinations, including the potential to bring the semi-private model to additional US regions. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to invest in such unique business as JetSuite and JetSuiteX; we believe that both businesses are complementary to Qatar Airways’ business and maintain the core values and customer focus of our own business,”said Al Baker. “We believe that JetSuite and JetSuiteX deliver a truly class-leading service to the US market with a huge potential for development, and we are very excited to invest in this opportunity alongside JetBlue and the other investors.”

“As an innovator in private aviation, we are proud to have attracted the attention of one of the world’s highest rated and fastest growing airlines,” said Alex Wilcox, Founder and CEO of JetSuite and JetSuiteX. “Qatar Airways shares our focus on customers and product. JetBlue and Qatar Airways together are a dream team of investors, and they will allow us to execute our vision of offering a superior service to the forgotten short haul US air market even more quickly”.

“JetSuite’s innovative JetSuiteX service and customer-focused approach aligns perfectly with our values at JetBlue, which is why we are so pleased that our partners at Qatar Airways are joining us in supporting this venture,” said Robin Hayes, President and CEO, JetBlue. “We look forward to seeing JetSuite further grow on the West Coast and beyond to bring additional air travel choices to customers in underserved markets”.

This investment further supports Qatar Airways’ investment strategy, which already includes minority invest-ments in several other international carriers, such as Inter-national Airlines Group, LATAM Airlines Group, Cathay Pacific and Air Italy.

FAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The strong ties between Qatar and the UK in several areas have further expanded in the past year despite the siege imposed by neighbouring coun-tries, said Ajay Sharma, British Ambassador to Qatar yesterday.

“The UK expects the siege to end soon while we are sup-porting the Kuwait-led medi-cation efforts,” he said, addressing the media.

“The UK has big ambitions with Qatar and they are con-tinuing and they have not changed because of this (regional) dispute. We still have a very high level of ambition to do even more with Qatar than we are doing at present. And we do recognise that dispute has made new areas to do more together,” he said.

“The UK wants the dispute to be resolved as quickly as pos-sible. The UK is fully supportive of the Kuwaiti medication efforts and of course it (UK) is doing its own work through its contacts, its relationships to support the resolution. We want it to be solved as quickly as pos-sible,” he added.

Today (Wednesday) the UK embassy will celebrate the Queen’s birthday in Doha, high-lighting the bilateral relations between the UK and Qatar.

The relations between Qatar

and the UK in the last year have focused more on ways of imple-menting the Qatar National Vision 2030 and supporting Qatar to host a successful World Cup in 2022.

“It is a good time to talk about the relationships between the UK and Qatar as we are going to celebrate birthday of the Queen. One of the things that we will be doing in reception is celebrating the relationship between the UK and Qatar,” said Sharma.

“There is a new spirit of partnership between the UK and Qatar. And that partnership was really focused on two areas last year. The first one was on Qatar National Vision 2030. The second area in which we have done a lot is making sure that Qatar is ready to host a really successful World Cup in 2022,” he added.

In March 2017, a Memo-randum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on how UK could work with Qatar in imple-menting Qatar National Vision 2030, supporting in all areas. In this regard several steps have been taken including UK dele-gations visiting Qatar and holding ministerial-level meetings to review the progress, according to Sharma. Also a ‘Qatar National Vision 2030 officer’ has been appointed at the UK embassy in Doha.

Referring to the World Cup

2022, Sharma said, “We want Qatar to have a really successful World Cup, and we support in different ways by sharing including experts and experience.”

The British Ambassador also said that Qatar would receive Typhoon fighter jets from the UK by the time of the World Cup in 2022, as result of the deal signed between two countries last year. “We expect that the Typhoons will be ready for the World Cup. We certainly see the Typhoons as part of the way of securing the World Cup, and I think the Qatari author-ities certainly see it that way,” he said.

Further mentioning about the defence relationship with Qatar, Sharma said, “We rec-ognise how important is the sta-bility of Qatar to the region, but also to the world. The defence relationship has taken Qatar a really major step forward through the deal for the Typhoon jets. The life span of these aircraft and the relation-ships that it generates is not just small. It involves training, exer-cises and maintenance. So the defence relationship between UK and Qatar will be completely transformed by this.”

He also mentioned that a formal agreement will be soon signed between Qatar and the UK on fighting against terrorism.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1H H the Emir also attended a

working lunch hosted by US Pres-ident, Donald Trump, at the White House yesterday. During the working lunch, the two sides reviewed means of developing the deep bilateral relations and enhancing the strategic part-nership between the State of

Qatar and the United States of America and the prospects of developing them so as to cover the different fields, particularly expanding cooperation in economy, energy, investment and trade exchange in order to serve the interests of the two friendly peoples.

In addition, the two sides

discussed the latest developments of the Gulf crisis as well as the vision of both countries regarding a number of regional and inter-national issues of mutual interest. They also reviewed developments in the region, especially in Syria. Moreover, the working lunch touched on the efforts of both countries in combating terrorism

and ways of boosting cooperation in that area.

Their Excellencies members of the official delegation

accompanying H H the Emir attended the working lunch. On the US side, Vice-President of the United States, Mike Pence,

attended the working lunch along with a number of Their Excel-lencies ministers and senior officials.

QC to take part in Arab Labor ConferenceTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Chamber is participating in the 45th session of Arab Labor Conference which is being held in Cairo from April 8 to 15.

The delegation included Director-General Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi and head of legal department Abdul Aziz Al Kuwari. The chamber’s participation comes within the frame of the dele-gation of the State of Qatar which is chaired by Yousuf bin Mohammed Al Othman Fakhro, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Administrative Devel-opment, Labor and Social Affairs. It comprises QC as a representative of business owners and Qatar Petroleum as representative of workers.

In a statement, Saleh Al Sharqi said that the session discusses a number of topics, including the report of the Director General of Arab Labor Office entitled “The dynamics of Arab labor markets, transformations, and paths of progress” and the social responsi-bility of private sector enterprises, pro-ductivity and roles in improving com-petitiveness and increasing growth.

The agenda of the conference also discusses the 2017 achievements related to labor and relevant topics as well as composition of institutional and regulatory bodies at the Arab Labor Organization. Al Sharqi reiterated Qatar’s support for the efforts being exerted to enhance Arab joint cooper-ation, noting that Qatar Chamber strongly supports any efforts that will lead to achieving integration among Arab chambers for the advantage of developing Arab economy.


Armenian President receives Deputy Speaker of Advisory CouncilQNA

YEREVAN: The President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, met yesterday with Deputy Speaker of Advisory Council H E Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Sulaiti, at the Presidential Palace, on the sidelines of the inauguration of President of the Republic of Armenia.

At the outset of the meeting, the Deputy Speaker conveyed the greetings of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the congratulations of the Emir on assuming the post of the President of Armenia as well as his wishes of more progress and prosperity for Armenia.

President of Armenia entrusted the Deputy Speaker to convey his thanks and greetings to the Emir, on the participation of the State of Qatar in the cer-emony of his inauguration and wished him health and wellness as well as further development for bilateral relations. The inau-guration took place in the presence of a number of leaders,

heads, representatives of a number of countries and members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Armenia.

On the sidelines of the inau-guration, the Deputy Speaker met with Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly

(Parliament) Ara Babloyan.During the meeting, the two

sides exchanged views on the bilateral relations and means of developing joint parliamentary action between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Armenia.

Al Sulaiti discusses cooperation with Ambassadors

Minister of Transport and Communications, H E Jassin bin Saif Al Sulaiti, held separate meetings yesterday with Ambassadors Salah Al Salehi of Tunisia, Hans-Udo Muzel of the Federal Republic of Germany and Rashad Ismayilov of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The three meetings discussed cooperation between Qatar and the three sisterly countries in the fields of transportation and communications and means of further enhancing them.

First local cab booking app ‘Qatar Taxi’ launchedSANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Al Dana company has launched ‘Qatar Taxi’, which is the first Qatari application of its kind for booking cabs at affordable price. The app is safe, reliable and capable to ensure the security, privacy of users and their data in better way compared to any other applica-tions as it is Qatar based, said an official of the company at the launch ceremony.

Sheikh Hamad Al Thani, CEO of Al Dana Company, said: “We are pleased to announce the launch of the first Qatar-based mobile car reservation

application. Looking at the growing need for such unique applications in Qatar, we have developed this application, which will offer excellent

services to our fellow commuters who are increasingly looking for an ease of travel with advanced technologies that protect their personal information in better ways than other applications”.

“Official statistics point that Qatar is witnessing growth in all sectors, thereby attracting many visitors from different countries, in addition to the increasing numbers of citizens and resi-dents, and that’s where the

opportunity for such services lies. The figure is further expected to register an uptick with an increase in the number of events happening in various sectors and fields. This growth will further be enhanced as the date of hosting the World Cup 2022 approaches near.”

Sheikh Hamad Al Thani, added: “While in today’s day and age, it might be easy to develop an app for smart phone users, the biggest challenge lies in maintaining the confidentiality and security of the information of those users. That’s why we have partnered with one of the world’s leading companies in this field, which will be based in

Doha, to ensure the security, privacy and secrecy of our users and their data. This is the biggest USP of our app apart from various salient features, to make the app more user-friendly. We didn’t work to just launch a mobile app, but we sought to have a reliable application without the fear of leaking users’ information,” he continued.

On the sidelines of the event, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim announced that in the coming period, “Qatar Taxi” will pursue several strategic partnerships with ministries and authorities in addition to launching wide range of offers, which will meet the needs of the society.

Qatar, Panama sign deal in cultural & air services fieldsTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The State of Qatar signed a cooperation agreement in the cultural field with the Republic of Panama on the exchange of expertise and holding joint events between the two countries.

The signing took place yes-terday during a meeting between Minister of Culture and Sports, H E Salah bin Ghanem

Al Ali, and Panama’s Vice-Foreign Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation, Maria Luisa Navarro, in the presence of the Republic of Panama’s Ambassador to Doha, Oreste Del Rio Sandoval.

The State of Qatar also signed an air services agreement with the Republic of Panama to open the skies between the two countries. Chairman of the Civil Aviation

Authority, Abdullah bin Nasser Turki Al Subaey, and Vice-Min-ister of Multilateral Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama, Maria Luisa Navaro, signed the agreement.

The agreement provides for opening the skies for national carriers in both countries to operate an unlimited number of passenger and cargo flights between Qatar and Panama with full transport rights.

Minister of Culture and Sports, H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali, and Panama’s Vice-Foreign Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation, Maria Luisa Navarro, at the signing ceremony.

Workshop on Qatar’s accession to UN’s TIR Convention held

President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, met Deputy Speaker of Advisory Council H E Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Sulaiti, at the Presidential Palace, yesterday.

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Ministry of Transport and Communica-tions (MOTC) yesterday held a workshop on Qatar’s accession to the United Nations’ TIR Convention, in collaboration with the International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) as well as several bodies in the country.

The workshop seeks to introduce participants to the details of the Convention, present the objectives and ben-efits of Qatar’s accession to it, define the tasks and responsi-bilities of the parties concerned to activate the Qatar’s accession, as well as agree on a plan of action and timetable to complete the procedures and requirements by the con-cerned authorities in the State to activate Qatar’s accession to the Convention.

Rashid Taleb Al Nabit, Assistant Undersecretary for Land Transport Affairs, at the MOTC said that the ministry, given the unjust siege imposed on Qatar, was keen to take all necessary measures to meet all international agreements signed with friendly countries in the transport and commu-nications sector which shall be respected by all parties, where the land transport sector with all its modes plays a very vital role. “The ministry has facili-tated the movement of inter-national transport and trade, benefiting from the experi-ences and lessons learnt from the development of an inte-grated road transport system in line with best regional and international practices.”

Al Nabit said major projects to develop transport projects were launched and the private sector is taking part in them. He said the share of the private sector in the projects of Hamad Airport, Hamad Port and Doha Metro exceeded 70% of the total implementation of these projects.

Qatar, Russia hold political consultations

The Foreign Ministries of the State of Qatar and the Russian Federation held a round of political consultations in Moscow yesterday. The Qatari delegation was headed by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, while the Russian side was headed by Russian President’s envoy to the Middle East and North Africa and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mikhail Bogdanov. They discussed bilateral relations and means of supporting and developing them, in addition to a number of issues and topics of common concern.

The app is safe, reliable and capable to ensure the security, privacy of users and their data.

Qatar, Iran to boost coastal security tiesQNA

DOHA: The 14th joint meeting of coast guard directors of the State of Qatar and Islamic Republic of Iran took place in Doha yesterday to explore a number of topics related to coastal security between both countries.

Director of Coasts and Borders Security Department, Staff Brig. (Navy) Ali Ahmed Al Badeed, led the Qatari side, while Commander of the Iranian Border Guards, Brigadier General Qassem Rezayee, led his coun-try’s side.

Al Badeed said this regular meeting comes as part of the

agreement signed between Qatar and Iran to coordinate between the coast and borders security departments to discuss security

issues and means of strength-ening then regarding maritime channels and other topics related to coastal security and borders.

Director of Coasts and Borders Security Department, Staff Brig. (Navy) Ali Ahmed Al Badeed, with Commander of the Iranian Border Guards, Brigadier General Qassem Rezayee, at the meet.


QA resumes Erbil, Sulaymaniyah flightsTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Airways announced yesterday that it had resumed service to Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, two important Iraqi destinations.

The airline previously sus-pended service to both routes in November 2017, per the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority’s directive to all international car-riers at the time.

The award-winning airline now operates seven weekly flights to each destination. From

May 1, the airline will further boost its service to Erbil with double daily flights.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “Erbil and Sulaymaniyah have always been two important destinations in the Republic of Iraq, in addition to Baghdad, the capital city, as well as Najaf and Basra. With an abundance of history to unearth at each location, we are pleased to be relaunching our award-winning service to both of these destinations,

offering our passengers yet again a multitude of choice within the Republic of Iraq”.

Qatar Airways operates an Airbus A320 aircraft to both Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, which fea-tures 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy Class. Passengers will be able to enjoy the airline’s superior enter-tainment system, offering a wide variety of entertainment options, including the latest blockbuster movies, TV shows, music and games.

Qatar Airways serves five

destinations in Iraq. The airline first began flights to Erbil in 2012, followed by the capital Baghdad, Najaf, Basra and Sulaymaniyah.

Qatar Airways enjoyed a record-breaking year in 2017, claiming more than 50 indi-vidual awards across multiple categories, demonstrating its continued commitment to exceeding passenger expecta-tions with its innovative approach to product devel-opment and dedication to cus-tomer experience.

Qatar after siege ‘positively different than before’THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Minister of Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali has stressed that the State of Qatar after the siege isn’t the same country as before, as the State is now positively different and the Qatari community has been and remain an example of civilised societies at Arab, Islamic and global levels.

The Minister’s remarks came on the sidelines of Mental Health Friends Association (Weyak) inauguration of the book titled “Tamim Al Majd”, within the ini-tiative launched by Weyak on November 8 and continued until next May, in the presence of Chairman of Weyak Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani and Weyak Vice-Chairman Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim.

The Minister underlined that the State of Qatar has all human resources that make it among the developed countries in the world, its youth, citizens and residents, who are exemplary in coexistence and civilised life, pointing to the full coordination between Qatar’s ministries and institutions

concerned with culture, awareness and human consciousness.

The Minister said that the ministry’s vision of a conscious society with a genuine conscience in a healthy body emphasises the importance of reading and the book as an important element in enhancing the awareness of the community. “The recent period witnessed the inauguration of Qatari Authors’ Forum, which witnessed the launching of many books and the holding of several seminars which discussed various topics and books,” the Minister added.

The Minister pointed out that the ministry is keen to launch many messages that benefit cul-tural life, whether theatre, artists or poets and make the most of them, stressing that Qatari Authors’ Forum shed light on any book that serves the community as the Culture Ministry strongly supports such useful types of books.

The Minister noted that the book “Tamim Al Majd” which features psychological angle came at the time and that it derived its importance from its association with the speech of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, which came after the siege of the State of Qatar and it was inspiring in every sense of the word. He expressed hope that this book reaches all segments of society and come to its desired results.

He added that culture is an important tool to stimulate pos-itive behaviour and the speech of the Emir was filled with this spirit, which urges for seriousness and diligence of all who live on the land of the State of Qatar and the book was the result of positive

interaction with this historical speech. “Tamim Al Majd” book, which is written by researcher Amer Kamel, one of Weyak vol-unteers, is a reading in the speech

of the Emir on July 21, with enhanced feedback to mental health inspired by the speech by psychological counseling spe-cialist Dr Al Araby Qwaidry, so

that the book has an effective role in serving mental health issues.

The book, which began with the text of the speech, and con-sists of 22 chapters.

Minister of Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali (right) and Chairman of Weyak Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani (left) at the Weyak event.

Minister of Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali’s remarks came on the sidelines of Mental Health Friends Association (Weyak) inauguration of the book titled “Tamim Al Majd”.

Diversion on Al Furousiya StTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ has announced that it will close part of Al Furousiya Street, in the two lanes leading from Al Furousiya Roundabout (Equestrian R/A) towards Al Rayyan Al Jadeed Street, starting from tomorrow for a period of five months, in coordination with the General Directorate of Traffic.

During this period, traffic will be diverted to two temporary lanes parallel to the closed section of Al Furousiya Street.

The diversion aims to enable construction works as part of Al Furousiya Street Development Project, which includes increasing the number of lanes of Al Furousiya Street to four lanes in each direction with a service road on both sides of the street.


ACI appoints HIA’s COO as Regional Board DirectorTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Hamad Inter-national Airport (HIA), Eng Badr Mohammed Al Meer (pictured), has been appointed as a Regional Board Director of the Airports Council Inter-national (ACI) Asia-Pacific.

The ACI Asia Pacific Board is considered the “voice of Asia-Pacific airports”, the largest region of ACI, repre-senting the interests of around 603 airports in 49 countries and territories, which account for over 90 percent of com-mercial air traffic in Asia Pacific.

Following his successful tenure as Special Advisor to the Board of ACI Asia-Pacific since 2017, the Board appointed him unanimously as a Regional Board Director, acknowledging his deep level of commitment in providing leadership and guidance on policy devel-opment in Asia-Pacific.

Commenting on his new appointment, Al Meer said: “It is an honour and a pleasure to be appointed as a member of the ACI Asia-Pacific Board and have the opportunity to share our experience and exchange best practices with our industry leaders. It is also a significant distinction for Qatar’s air transport sector and reflects Hamad Interna-tional Airport’s international recognition.”

“At a time which is critical for the aviation industry and the airports sector within it, I aim to contribute, at the Asia Pacific level, towards the chal-lenges we are facing such as capacity, security, and the environment and use our clear advantage of being part of a global organisation to act in an integrated manner. I look forward to collaborating with my peers in the years to come

and would like to thank ACI board members for their trust,” he added.

Patti Chau, Regional Director of ACI Asia-Pacific stated: “We are honoured to have Eng Badr Mohammad Al Meer join ACI Asia-Pacific as a member of our Regional Board. Hamad International Airport is one of the most dynamic business and transport hubs connecting the world. We look forward to Al Meer’s leadership and contri-bution to this very diverse region.”

HIA, a long-term member of Airports Council Interna-tional, is gearing up to be pre-sented at the 13th ACI Asia Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Narita, Japan, from April 23 to 25. The ACI is the only global trade representative body for the world’s airports. Since its establishment in 1991, ACI has represented its member air-ports interests with relevant stakeholders, like governments and international organisa-tions, as well as, working along them to develop standards, policies and recommended practices while providing training opportunities and information to help airports raise standards.

Kahramaa to retrofit turbines to reduce gas consumptionSANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

DOHA: After saving 36 mmbtu gas worth QR360m last year, Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) announced yesterday to retrofit its power generating turbines that will further reduce its energy consumption.

Kahramaa and GE Power signed yesterday Principles of Cooperation (POC) under a ‘Power Efficiency and Fuel Savings Campaign’. POC will help Kahramaa to better utilise fuel supplies, reduce emissions to support the sustainable development goals of the country.

The idea behind POC is to retrofit old units for generating electricity-turbines to make it fuel (gas) efficient as it is a val-uable resources and needed to be optimised, Abdul Aziz A Al

Mahmoud, a Kahramaa official told The Peninsula on the sideline of the ceremony.

He said that Kahramaa adopted strategy to optimise the use of gas which provided

adequate saving last year. “For example, we recorded seven percent growth in electricity and six percent water generation in 2017 compared to 2016 but no growth in gas consumption was observed due to efficiency policy that saved around 36 mmbtu gas which is approxi-mately QR360m,” said Al Mahmoud.

He said that as per the con-tract, GE Power will retrofit adding new technology and fea-tures to old turbines that gen-erate electricity to improve fuel efficiency.

The POC was signed by Eng Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari, Pres-ident of Kahramaa, and Russell Stokes, President & CEO of GE Power. The signing ceremony was attended by Ryan Gliha, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the US Embassy in Doha.

“GE will help us advance these efforts further with their

solutions and on-the-ground knowledge. Our cooperation will help better utilise fuel supplies, and reduce emissions to support sustainable development,” said President of Kahramaa.

Under the POC, Kahramaa and GE will cooperate to explore ways to drive higher efficiency, flexibility and fuel savings across Qatar’s power sector by utilising the latest technologies in the

power generation sector, enhancing the performance of existing assets, as well as sup-porting Kahramaa in their future plans, he added.

Ryan Gliha said, “Today’s signing helps laying the foun-dation for the transfer of GE’s advanced technology to support the strengthening of Qatar’s power sector, to the benefit of both industry and citizens”.

“By enabling the supply of best in class technology and the modernisation of existing power plants, today’s POC will help Kahramaa to better utilie fuel supplies, reduce emissions and improve asset management, transforming Qatar’s power sector to support the sustainable development goals of the country,” said President & CEO of GE Power, Russell Stokes.

The President of Kahramaa, Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari (centre), with President and CEO of GE Power, Russell Stokes (left), and Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim at the US Embassy in Qatar, Ryan Gliha during a signing ceremony in Doha yesterday. PIC: SALIM MATRAMKOT / THE PENINSULA

Qatar Airways wins five 2018 TripAdvisor AwardsTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Airways announced that it has been named ‘World’s Best Business Class’, ‘Best Business Class: Middle East’ and ‘World’s Top 10 Airline’ by the highly-respected 2018 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards, complementing a growing number of accolades that the airline has received in 2018.

Qatar Airways garnered additional

praise from TripAdvisor as it was recog-nised as a Travelers’ Choice Winner for ‘Airline: Middle East’ and ‘Economy Class: Middle East’.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are delighted to be recognised for our world-class hos-pitality and outstanding quality of product by the valued TripAdvisor travel com-munity, a significant testament of our pas-sengers’ satisfaction in their travel expe-

rience with us. TripAdvisor is one of the most well-

known names in travel, and being awarded World’s Best Business Class and in the Middle East, as well as being named one of the Top 10 Airlines in the World is truly a tremendous achievement.”

TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel website with more than 600 million traveller reviews of airlines, hotels, res-taurants, and attractions worldwide. The

Travelers’ Choice Awards are the highest honours presented by TripAdvisor, and are the only travel industry awards based on millions of reviews from travellers around the world, reflecting “the best of the best” for service, quality, and customer satisfaction.

Last month Qatar Airways received the Apex Passenger Choice award for ‘Best Overall Airline: Middle East’, ‘Best Food and Beverage: Middle East’, ‘Best Cabin

Service: Middle East’, and ‘Best Seat Comfort: Middle East’ by the Airline Pas-senger Experience Association (Apex) during a ceremony at Apex Asia held in Shanghai, where the airline also received a 2018 Five-Star Apex Official Airline rating.

The airline was also in March named ‘Best Regional Middle East/Africa Airline’ by Money magazine’s 2018 ‘Best in Travel’ awards for the second consecutive year.

Kahramaa and GE Power signed yesterday Principles of Cooperation (POC) under a ‘Power Efficiency and Fuel Savings Campaign’. The POC will help Kahramaa to better utilise fuel supplies, reduce emissions to support the sustainable development goals of the country.

Rawabi Hypermarket opened its 7th branch inside Al Noor petrol station, Al Murra, which was inaugurated by Sheikh Khalid Hassan A Al Thani and Abdulla Nayef M N Al Dosari along with Muhammed Abdulla MP, Managing Director of Al Rawabi Group of companies, and other officials.

Rawabi Hypermarket opens its 7th branch

Sport has transformative power: Al ThawadiTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) Secretary-General Hassan Al Thawadi provided remarks during the official opening session of the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime’s special event entitled ‘Crime Prevention and Sustainable Development Through Sports’, during which he discussed the transformative power of sport and Qatar’s vision for the first Middle Eastern FIFA World Cup.

Miroslav Lajcak, President of the United Nations General Assembly and former Slovakian Foreign Minister, opened the event at the UN headquarters in New York, which brought together a wide array of figures including: member state repre-sentatives at ministerial and per-manent representative level, dis-tinguished athletes, sporting per-sonalities, United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors, civil society, academia, the private sector, media, and international organisations.

The date of the event was selected to coincide with the UN’s International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, which falls every year on April 6, in commemoration of the inauguration of the first Olympic Games (1896) of the modern era.

Al Thawadi spoke of the importance of a multilateral approach toward ensuring

sport’s transformative power is properly utilised for the benefit of societies across the world and for the purpose of attaining the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

He said: “Our collective chal-lenge is to convey to the world sport’s power to transcend lan-guages, faiths and culture and unite people. We must ensure that access to sport is facilitated and encouraged at all levels of society, whether as an educa-tional tool in the developing world, or at the organisational level of a mega-event such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup.”

“Hosting the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East is an opportunity that we consider of the utmost importance for the benefit of our wider region and the Arab world as a whole,” he continued.

“We aren’t going to settle for hosting a month of football and then watch the world move on. We view the event as a catalyst for Qatar and the region to accelerate social progress and to build a better future for gen-

erations to come.”The State of Qatar’s Per-

manent Representative to the UN, H E Sheikha Alya bint Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, said: “Qatar’s commitment to improving society through sport is a key pillar in our international cooperation through the United Nations. Today’s event brought together leaders in the field of sport development and show-cased the shared determination that exists to make a difference in society at all levels through sporting initiatives.”

After the event’s conclusion, Al Thawadi attended the unveiling of the “Hey Ya (Let’s Go): Arab Women in Sport” pho-tography exhibition, which was opened by H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, founder and Chair-person of Qatar Museums.

The exhibit, curated by Brigitte and Marian Lacombe, is located at the United Nations’ Delegates’ Entrance, visually showcasing how sports empower Arab women and youths’ daily lives.

SC Secretary-General Hassan Al Thawadi at the opening session of the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime’s special event.

QRCS implements education project in AfghanistanDOHA: Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) implemented the education support project in remote areas in Afghan-istan to improve the education environment and increase the number of male and female students at all grades with a budget of more than $376,000 (QR1.37m).

The project includes pro-viding basic educational requirements of chairs, edu-cational curricula and study materials, as well as sup-porting the education envi-ronment in disadvantaged areas that are difficult to reach and making them attractive to students, QRCS said in a statement.


Sidra Medicine launches several women’s servicesTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Sidra Medicine has launched several new women’s services including a women’s urgent care service to complement a growing number of specialties available for both inpatient and outpatient care.

As a specialty children’s, young people and women’s healthcare organization and member of Qatar Foundation Sidra Medicine is ramping up services through mid-2018 to become a leading center for per-sonalized and family-centered care.

The Women’s Urgent Care service is for Sidra Medicine patients who go into sponta-neous labor, pregnant women under 20 weeks’ gestation as well as patients with urgent gynecological problems. All women who go into labour Sidra Medicine patients will be first seen by the Women’s Urgent Care Unit located in the Plaza Level of Tower D in the main

hospital.Dr. Justin Konje, Executive

Chair of the Women’s Services Clinical Management Group said: “Sidra Medicine is adding capacity for women’s services in Qatar at a crucial time when the need for women’s and maternal care is growing. Our person-alized approach takes into con-sideration not only the patient, but the entire family and will make our multidisciplinary teams of clinicians long-term

trusted partners in our patients’ care. As a private hospital for public benefit, we are proud to operate in tandem with other healthcare providers in the country to continually offer the best standard of care to the people of Qatar.”

In addition to offering new women’s services, Sidra Med-icine is now accepting self-referrals from female patients from the private sector. This means, women in need of obstetrics and gynecology care can refer themselves directly via telephone or face-to-face.

Sidra Medicine’s state-of-the art facility is specially designed to promote healing and comfort and also offers unique wellness services. For inpatient women, in-room facial and body treat-ments are delivered by Biologique Recherché SPA. The healing gardens inside the main hospital provide a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Sidra Medicine also permits fathers or a family member to be

present in the delivery rooms to attend their baby’s birth. The organization provides emotional support programs such as maternal mental healthcare services, education workshops related to breastfeeding and ante-natal classes for parents.

Women considering Sidra Medicine as a private healthcare option, can request to speak to a representative within Women’s Services via 4003-3333. The

Women’s Services Department also offers prospective patients a tour of its birthing suites and other facilities. The Women’s Urgent Care are available on 40031401 or 40031402.

More women’s services will become available through 2018, including female pelvic floor disorder services and repro-ductive medicine. All future clinics will open in a phased manner to allow for quality

testing at every stage.For details about services,

the referral process and accessing care at Sidra Med-icine, patients can call 4003-3333. Sidra Medicine also has a team of financial counsellors to discuss care options, including payments and insurance cov-erage. They can be contacted on 4003-0899 (between 7.00 am to 7.00 pm) or [email protected].

A well-equipped birthing suite at the Sidra Medicine.

More women’s services will become available through 2018, including female pelvic floor disorder services and reproductive medicine. All future clinics will open in a phased manner to allow for quality testing at every stage.

Katara to host Sachal Jazz Concert on MondayAMNA PERVAIZ RAO THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Katara Cultural Village in collaboration with the Embassy of Pakistan in Qatar will host “Sachal Jazz Concert” on April 16.

The event will take place at Katara Drama Theatre (Building No 16) from 8.30pm to 9.30pm. Sachal Studios is home of the internationally acclaimed Sachal Jazz Ensemble. The band is an example of creative genius that reflects Pakistan’s rich culture and heritage locally and interna-tionally. Sachal defines contem-porary Pakistan — a blend of the traditional and the modern.

Addressing a press conference at Katara yesterday Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, Katara’s General Manager said: “This event aims to strengthen relations and friendship between Qatar and

Pakistan. Music is an international language that people around the world communicate through. By hosting this event we hope to present the Pakistani culture in its best form.” Pakistani ambas-sador to Qatar, Shahzad Ahmad, who was also present at the press conference, conveyed his deep

gratitude to Katara for hosting this event which, he said, would be for the benefit of everybody.

He said: “The Pakistani embassy is proud to present the musical maestros of Sachal Jazz Band to the Qatari and expat audience in Qatar and looks forward to an evening of

enchanting melodies.We hope this initiative will introduce the rich musical heritage of Pakistan to the international audience in Qatar and will lead to more such events in future”.

Sachal has earned, with its fusion of traditional classical music with Western jazz, the admiration of music fans and critics across the world. Within days of the release of their first album, they shot to the top of the iTunes jazz charts. Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy made a documentary called “Song of Lahore “on Sachal Jazz Ensemble, which has won spate of awards.

The Sachal Studios Jazz Ensemble has performed worldwide at some of the most prestigious venues and jazz fes-tivals: With Wynton Marsallis at the Lincoln Centre, New York, The Barbican in London,The Marciac Jazz festival in France, Tokyo Jazz

Festival.It has also performed at the United Nations General Assembly. The Ensemble was given the honor to perform at prestigious venue to celebrate Pakistan’s Independence Day.

Pakistani music, for decades, has ruled the hearts and minds of people internationally. Embassy of Pakistan in the State of Qatar is proud to present the musical maestros of Sachal Jazz Band to the Qataris and expat audience in Doha and looks forward to an evening of enchanting melodies. The thought behind this event is to increase cooperation in the field of culture between Pakistan and the State of Qatar and to promote Pakistani music and artists. We hope that this initiative will be an excellent introduction for the international audience in Qatar to the rich musical heritage of Pakistan and will lead to more such events in future.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Qatar, Shahzad Ahmad and Katara’s General Manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, with embassy officials.

12 finalists for WISE AwardsTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), an initiative of Qatar Foun-dation (QF), has announced 12 finalists for its 2018 WISE Awards. Each year, the WISE Awards recognize and promote innovative projects from across the world that address global educational challenges.

The chosen projects tackle pressing educational issues including girls’ edu-cation, early childhood edu-cation, refugee crises, cul-tural exchange, citizenship values, mother tongue lit-eracy, youth employment, entrepreneurship in disad-vantaged communities, deaf education, enhancing teacher motivation, and stimulating critical and cre-ative thinking.

Stavros N Yiannouka, CEO of WISE, said: “Each of the 2018 WISE Awards finalists has constructed an effective and tested solution to a global educational challenge. Whether it’s ensuring funda-mental education for refugees or creating the next gener-ation of empathetic and con-scious leaders, each project is already transforming lives, and provides an inspirational model for others to adopt. This is vital to our mission at WISE, which centers on collaboration.”

The 2018 WISE Awards finalists are,Safe Space Club for Girls, Nigeria; Technology-Based Deaf Education, Pakistan; 1001 Nights Life Skills and Citizenship Edu-cation Program, Canada; Gen-eration, USA; Life Project 4 Youth, France; Ghata, Lebanon; TAK-TAK-TAK, Mexico; African Children’s Stories, Australia; Partners for Possibility, South Africa; ANEER (Action National pour l’Éducation de la petite Enfance en zone Rurale), Morocco; StoryWeaver, India; and One Village One Pre-school, China.

The finalists were eval-uated according to

strict criteria. They must be established, innovative edu-cational projects that have already demonstrated a trans-formative impact on indi-viduals, communities, and society of their context. They also need to be financially stable, have a clear devel-opment plan, and be scalable and replicable.

The WISE Awards winning projects will be announced in July and cel-ebrated at WISE@NY in New York, USA, on Sep-tember 22. In addition to publicity and networking opportunities, each winning project wi l l receive $20,000.

The picture shows Girls Summit for the Malala Fund, organised by the Girls Center for Education held in Zaria, northern Nigeria in November 2016.

PHCC: Significant increase in number of medical devices at health centresQNA

DOHA: The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has revealed a significant increase in the number of medical devices used in its 23 health centres, in addition to the preparation of four new centres which will be inau-gurated this year with the latest equipment according to the international standards approved by the World Health Organization.

PHCC will officially open next month two new health centres, Al Wajba and Muaither, as well as two other centres by the end of this year, Al Jamaa and Al Waab.

In a statement, Director of the Engineering Medical Device Department at PHCC Musameh Menahi Al Qahtani said that the four new health centres are equipped with more than 2000 modern medical devices, including radiology, medical analysis, dental, physiotherapy, medical furniture and other devices.

He revealed a big increase in the use of devices in all health centres. For example, fully equipped dental clinics will be increased from 89 to 125 units by the end of 2018, an increase by 40%. Mean-while, the number of radi-ology units used in health centres will be increased from 21 to 25 units by the end of 2018.

He noted that the total number of medical devices of all types and specialties is currently more than 10,000 devices distributed on 23 health centres in Qatar and other new centres that will be opened soon.

He said that all devices are linked to one electronic system, which shows the results of tests in all gov-ernment medical bodies, including health centres, clinics of HMC and Sidra Medical Center, in order reduce any human error and protect the privacy of the patient.

Al Qahtani also revealed 3 mobile units for the National Oral Health project, which is intended to examine students in schools and to operate in some emergencies when needed, noting a plan to have 4 more units in the near future.


INJAZ Qatar announces ‘Job Champions Competition’ winners

AMNA PERVAIZ RAO THE PENINSULA

DOHA: INJAZ Qatar announced the first “Job Champions Compe-tition” winners in Qatar and certified all the participants, recently in the presence of INJAZ Qatar Board members, the French embassy officials, organ-izers, partners and volunteers who were involved in the competition.

The Job Champions Compe-tition was organised by INJAZ Qatar in partnership with the French Embassy and Thales; a French company that has had business ties with Qatar for over three decades. The competition was open to all university stu-dents currently studying one of the business or engineering majors such as Marketing, Accounting, Finance, HR, Engi-neering and IT.

Through a multi-module programme that ended in a challenging competition last week, hand-picked students

were taught a range of skills crucial for job-readiness in both the private and public sectors. The competition required each team of students to come up with a solution to a real-life challenge related to Thales’s business.

Six teams of four students each, took part in the pro-gramme. Team ‘Illimitables’, consisting of El Tayeb Mohammed (from Qatar Uni-versity), Reem Khalid Al Mahmoud (Qatar University), Omar Hicham Khodr (Texas A & M) and Aseel Wazwaz (Qatar University) won the competition with their innovation – a SMART PORT.

The SMART PORT aims to decrease the stress on Hamad Port’s container operations. The students created a command system that would control the arrival and placements of con-tainers, according to each ship’s arrival, in an efficient and timely manner, thereby managing the storage space at the port. With

the port ready to invest more funds for expansions next year, the low-cost SMART PORT pro-posed solution would potentially result in considerable savings.

The four-member winning team will progress to module 4 of the program; which is an

all-expenses paid, three-week internship with Thales in France in July 2018. The winners, thrilled at winning the grand prize, observed how Job Cham-pions surpassed all their expectations.

Omar Hicham Khodr, a

sophomore Mechanical Engi-neering student at Texas A & M University in Doha, and one of the winners, said, “My expec-tation was that there would be short training sessions and a simple competition at the end. But it was far more than that

– it even taught us how to shape your character and personality, to aim to become a CEO of a company.”

Speaking at the ceremony, Sheikha Hanadi bint Nasser Al Thani, Chairperson of INJAZ Qatar said, “In the current job environment, soft skills are just as important as earning an aca-demic qualification. In fact, as the world becomes more con-nected, the need for interper-sonal skills, behavioral adapt-ability and a positive attitude have become so crucial, that top businesses across the globe consider such training on par with receiving a university degree. That is why initiatives such as Job Champions Com-petition are both necessary and effective.”

Emad Al Khaja, CEO of INJAZ Qatar, too spoke at the ceremony. “It’s a very proud moment for Injaz Qatar. We have all worked on the Job Champions Competition for quite a while. A lot of effort and thought has gone into organ-izing the programme. Though this was the first edition of Job Champions, Injaz Qatar has been working on providing career development pro-grammes for Qatar’s youth for the past ten years.”

FROM SECOND LEFT: Frederic Sallet, Thales CEO; Eric Chevallier, French Ambassador to Qatar; Sheikha Hanadi bint Nasser Al Thani, INJAZ Chairperson; Abdulla Abdulaziz Al Subaie, Qatar Rail CEO and Emad El Khaja, INJAZ CEO, with the contestants during the awarding ceremony of the Job Champions Competition held at Four Seasons Hotel, yesterday. PIC: BAHER AMIN / THE PENINSULA

The Job Champions Competition was organised by INJAZ Qatar in partnership with the French Embassy and Thales, a French company that has business ties with Qatar for over three decades.

Qatar Foundation’s EDI to host iSTEMed 2018 ConferenceTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Education Devel-opment Institute (EDI), part of Qatar Foundation’s (QF’s) Pre-University Education (PUE), is to hold its iSTEMed 2018 Conference at the Qatar National Convention Centre from Friday.

The purpose of iSTEMed 2018 is to enable educators to under-stand how to create authentic engagements for students across

the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The conference will involve edu-cators, leaders, and students from across schools and universities within Qatar.

The opening keynote speech will be delivered by Dr. Gina Cherkowski, Founder and CEO of the STEM Learning Lab in Canada. Other notable interna-tional speakers include Senior TED Fellow Cesar Harada, an

inventor, environmentalist, and entrepreneur living in Hong Kong, who will, along with deliv-ering workshops, be working alongside teachers and students to build and test an ‘aquatic drone’. Jennifer Wathall, a leading author and speaker, will be offering hands-on training in concept based mathematics. The three-day long conference will also include more than 25 work-shops given by local and

international presenters in the areas of STEM education.

Following a plenary session on April 15, (Sunday) from Cesar Harada, the event will conclude with a series of com-munity sessions where stu-dents will be able to attend alongside teachers. Topics for these sessions will range from creating whole school STEM initiatives to computer coding for younger students.

Over 5,000 benefit from Aster free health packageDOHA: Aster DM Healthcare, the largest private healthcare provider in the State of Qatar, has created a new history of free health packages.

As many as 5,017 people availed free health packages with 23 tests offered by Aster on the occasion of World Health Day as a part of their CSR initiative, Aster Volunteer. The free tests were held at Aster Medical Centres in C Ring Road, Al Hilal, Al Rayyan, Industrial Area, Al Khor, Old Al Ghanim and Aster Hospital in Mathar Qadeem on April 6, 2018 from 6.30am to 11am.

Aster’s free health package includes a series of lab tests such as Lipid Profile (comprises of 5 tests), Complete Blood Count (comprises of 14 tests), Uric Acid (Kidney related), ALT

(SGPT) related to liver, Blood Sugar and a Doctor Consul-tation. World Health Day is observing every year on 7th April to draw worldwide attention towards the impor-tance of global health and to raise the common public awareness towards health issues and concerns.

Stating on achievement, Dr. Sameer Moopan, Chief Exec-utive Officer, Aster DM Healthcare- Qatar said, “We had started the campaign well in advance and collected reg-istration through our Whatsapp number. In fact, over 7,200 people had registered for the event and we closed regis-tration on Thursday. The camp was open to all residents of Qatar and large number of expatriate families and bach-

The patients receiving free tests.

Qatar to attend Geneva International Exhibition for Innovation todayDOHA: The State of Qatar, represented by Qatar Scientific Club (QSC) of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, will partic-ipate in the Geneva Interna-tional Exhibition for Innovation, which kicks off today and continues until April 15, with the participation of inventors from more than 40 countries around the world.

QSC Executive Director Hareb Al Jabri has said that QSC’s plan is to participate in the forums of inventions, whether local, regional or international, and Geneva International Exhibition for Innovation is among the important international exhi-bitions, which QSC has partic-ipated in and achieved good results.

He added that this partici-pation is considered extensive, as QSC has six Qatari inven-tions, including an invention that participates on behalf of the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). He expressed hope that the Qatari delegation will achieve good results, especially that the criterion for choosing to participate in this interna-tional exhibition was to obtain the gold medal in the regional exhibitions.

Al Jabri explained that the

QSC inventions participating in the exhibition are an inter-active robot that provides innovative instructions for learning sign language for deaf children at an important stage of their development, by the Qatari inventor Mohammed Hassan Al Jafiri, and a project designed to monitor the health status of workers at their work sites, where the device con-nected to give an alert to the main device in the event of any problem to the worker, by innovator Rashid Al Mohannadi. In addition, the project by the inventor Saleh Safran is an electronic safety valve used to prevent gas leakage, in the event of a leak, the device automatically shuts off the source of gas.

Also, QSC is also partici-pating with the reservoir water cooler by the innovator Mohsen Hussein Al Shaikh and inno-vator Nasser Mohammed Al Marri is innovatively involved in making movable homes sup-ported by interior furniture.

The Qatari invention, which participates on behalf of the General Secretariat of GCC, is an integrated system for fighting fire in vehicles by innovators Mohammed Al Mohannadi and Salem Al Shahwani.

Lekhwiya hosts FIEP meeting to discuss responding to terror attacks in open spacesDOHA: The Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) yesterday hosted a meeting for the New Technologies and Logistics Committee of the International Association of Gendarmeries and Police Forces with Military Status (FIEP), to discuss mech-anism for responding to terrorist attacks in open spaces with the participation of 15 countries from the association’s member states.

Participants in the meeting reviewed the experiences of their countries in combating ter-rorist operations from a logis-tical perspective and infor-mation systems, and discussed enhancing capabilities and exchanging information and

expertise in security areas among member states.

In this context, Brig. Ibrahim Khalil Al Mohannadi, Head of the Legal Affairs Department at Lekhwiya and member of the National Counter-Terrorism Committee, said that terrorism has become a serious threat to the world as a whole and not only to a specific people, which requires concerted efforts to confront this phenomenon especially by the security insti-tutions, which need more coop-eration and coordination among them as the most important authority that directly responds to terrorist operations.

He highlighted the impor-tance of the new technology for

security institutions, especially in light of the current challenges and risks and the great developments taking place in the world, referring to Lekhwiya’s varied experience in this area, which has successfully managed to use the latest technology systems in many tasks and duties, carried out and supervised by national cadres of young officers.

These meetings help to exchange experiences in the field of training and coordi-nation between training policies, conduct comparative studies between the various methods, programs and plans in force in each country, and facilitate the exchange of information and experiences between the

competent authorities within each of the forces involved in the rescue operation in mountain areas, Al Mohannadi added.

Al Mohannadi expressed hope that the meeting would be an opportunity to enhance cooper-ation among member states, to be a platform for strengthening

capacities and exchanging infor-mation and experience in the security areas.

Qatari delegation represent-ative at the meeting Major Khamis Mohamed Al Muraikhi said the meeting is an opportunity to promote the cooperation between the FIEP member states

in combating terrorism which has become a danger to the whole world. This phenomena requires uniting efforts to face it, especially from security entities which need to greater cooperation and coor-dination as they are the first responders to this serious scourge, he added.

elors have availed the facility”.“This initiative by Aster Volun-

teers reinforces our commitment to making quality healthcare acces-sible to all. Aster Volunteer pro-gramme are testimony to our effort to empower individuals who want to make a positive difference in the society and extend a helping hand to the less fortunate” he added.

Aster Volunteers, is a

healthcare and wellness initiative of Aster DM Healthcare that focuses on spreading hope, and connecting people who would like to help with those in need. Aster Volunteer already con-ducted activities like free medical camp, free health packages, awareness sessions and dress & winter jacket distributions for fishermen earlier this year.

The delegates at the meeting.

09WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2018 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Smoke billows behind destroyed buildings in the former rebel-held town of Saqba in the Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of Damascus, yesterday.

Palestinian children run as they participate in the footrace organised as part of the “Great March of Return” events in Khan Yunis, Gaza, yesterday.

Experts to inspect attack site in Syria as US ponders responseREUTERS

BEIRUT/UNITED NATIONS: International chemical weapons experts will go to the Syrian town of Douma to investigate a suspected poison gas attack, their organisation said yesterday, as the United States and other Western powers consider military action over the incident.

US President Donald Trump, who had been due to travel to Peru on Friday, cancelled a trip to Latin America to focus on responding to the Syria incident, the White House said. Trump on Monday warned of a quick, forceful response once responsibility for the attack was established.

France and Britain also dis-cussed with the Trump adminis-tration how to respond to the incident. Both stressed that the culprit in the incident still needed to be confirmed.

At least 60 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in Saturday’s suspected attack on Douma, then still occupied by rebel forces, according to a Syrian relief group.

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s government and its ally Russia have said there was no evi-dence a gas attack had taken place and that the claim was bogus.

The incident has thrust Syria’s seven-year-old conflict back to the forefront of international concern and pitted Washington and Moscow against each other again.

Russia and the United States were headed for a showdown at the United Nations over how to respond to the Douma attack.

Aggravating the volatile situ-ation in the region, Iran, Assad’s other main ally, threatened to respond to an air strike on a Syrian military base on Monday that Tehran, Damascus and Moscow have blamed on Israel.

In Syria, thousands of militants and their families arrived in rebel-held parts of the country’s northwest after surrendering Douma to government forces.

Their evacuation restored Assad’s control over the eastern Ghouta, formerly the biggest rebel bastion near Damascus, and gave him his biggest battlefield victory since 2016, when he took back Aleppo. The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Syria had been asked to make the necessary arrangements for the deployment of an investigation team.

“The team is preparing to deploy to Syria shortly,” it said in a statement.

The mission will aim to determine whether banned muni-tions were used, but will not assign blame. Doctors and witnesses have said victims showed symptoms of poisoning, possibly by a nerve agent, and reported the smell of chlorine gas.

The Assad government and Russia both urged the OPCW to investigate the allegations of chemical weapons use in Douma,

a move apparently aimed at averting any U.S.-led action.

“Syria is keen on cooperating with the OPCW to uncover the truth behind the allegations that some Western sides have been advertising to justify their aggressive intentions,” Syria’s state news agency Sana said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Min-ister Mikhail Bogdanov said there was no threat of the situation in Syria resulting in a military clash between Russia and the United States. TASS news agency quoted him as saying he believed common sense would prevail.

Any US strike is likely to involve naval assets, given the risk to aircraft from Russian and Syrian air defence systems. A US Navy guided-missile destroyer, the USS Donald Cook, is in the Mediterranean.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that any strikes would not target the Syrian government’s allies or anybody in particular, but would be aimed at the Syrian government’s chemical facilities.

Speaking alongside Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Macron said a decision on whether to carry out military strikes would be made in the coming days after more consultations with the United States and Britain. Last year, the United States launched strikes

from two Navy destroyers against a Syrian air base. A US action similar to last year’s would likely not cause a shift in the direction of the war that has gone Assad’s way since 2015.

A European source said European governments were waiting for the OPCW to carry out its investigation and for more solid forensic evidence from the attack to emerge. Any plan by the United States and its allies to take military action was likely to be on hold until then, the source said.

Trump met at the White House with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Trump gave no hints about potential US action, but Al Thani told reporters, “We cannot tolerate, with a war criminal” like Assad.

The UN Security Council is due to vote on three draft resolutions on chemical

weapons attacks in Syria on Tuesday, setting up a showdown between the United States and Russia.

The United States has requested the Security Council vote at 3pm on a proposal for a new inquiry into chemical weapons in Syria. The reso-lution was likely to be blocked by Russia, which will put two draft resolutions on Syria of its own to a vote because it does not agree with the US text, diplomats said.

“This is basically a diplo-matic set-up,” said Richard Gowan, a UN expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “Russia will inevi-tably veto the U.S. resolution criticising Assad, and Wash-ington will use this to justify military strikes,” he said. “A breakdown at the UN will also make it easier for France to justify strikes.”

Russian UN Ambassador

Vassily Nebenzia accused the United States, France and Britain of stoking international tensions by engaging in a “confrontational policy” against Russia and Syria.

France said it would respond if it was proven that Assad’s forces carried out the attack. A Russian warplane flew over a French warship at low altitude in the eastern Mediterranean this weekend, a deliberate breach of inter-national regulations, a French naval source said on Tuesday.

The weekly magazine Le Point said the Russian plane had flown over the frigate Aqui-taine and was fully armed. The Aquitaine is equipped with 16 cruise missiles and 16 surface-to-air missiles. It is currently operating off Lebanon alongside US ships as part of France’s contingent fighting Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

Israel confirms video of soldier shooting Palestinian in GazaAFP

JERUSALEM: Israel’s m i l i t a r y y e s t e r d a y confirmed the authenticity of a widely shared video showing a soldier shoot a Palestinian on the Gaza border followed by rejoicing, actions that have added to scrutiny of the army’s use of live fire.

The video comes at a highly sensitive time for Israel’s military, which has faced mounting criticism over its use of live fire on the Gaza Strip border, where 31 Palestinians have been killed since late March as mass protests have led to clashes.

But the army alleged that the December 22 shooting in the video it said left the Palestinian with a leg wound followed rioting and warnings from troops.

Palestinians said it was proof that Gazans were being shot along the border

fence while posing no threat to soldiers.

Israeli right-wing min-isters meanwhile defended the actions of the soldiers in the video, which began to spread widely on Monday night.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the sniper deserved a medal — but that the soldier who filmed it should be demoted.

The army said in a statement that “the video depicts a short part of the response to a violent riot, which included rock hurling and attempts to sabotage the security fence, and lasted about two hours.”

It alleged the warnings including firing into the air were ignored.

“A single bullet was fired towards one of the Pales-tinians who is suspected of organising and leading this incident while he was a few metres from the fence,” it said.

Children run to demand refugees’ right to returnANATOLIA

GAZA CITY: Scores of Palestinian children took part in a marathon in the Gaza Strip yesterday as part of rallies to demand the return of refugees to their towns and villages in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

“We are organizing this race to raise awareness among children about the right of refugees to return,” Maryam Zaqout, the director of the Culture and Free Thought Association, an NGO which organized the race, said.

“Our main goal is to revive the Palestinian issue in the memory of children,” she said. Participants raised banners affirming the right of Palestinian refugees to their hometowns in historical Palestine. “I will return” read one of the banners waved by participants in the race, which was held in the southern city of Khan Younis. “We are partici-pating in this race to emphasize our right to return to our lands,” 16-year-old Malik Baraka said.

“This is a peaceful way to introduce our fundamental rights to the world, the most important of which is the right of return,” he said. Since March 30, Palestinians have been converging on the Gaza Strip’s eastern border with Israel as part of activities to demand the return of refugees to their towns in historical Palestine.

UN: Thousands detained in Libya face appalling abusesAP

CAIRO: Libyan militias, including some affiliated with authorities, are holding thou-sands of prisoners in prolonged arbitrary and unlawful detention that includes torture, the United Nations said yesterday.

Men, women and children across the country have been rounded up based on “tribal or family links and perceived political affiliations,” and held with “little or no recourse to judicial remedy or repara-tions,” while armed groups roam free with impunity, the

organization said in its report.UN’s High Commissioner

for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said “the sheer horror and arbitrariness of such detentions” hits both victims and families, adding that “violations and abuses need to stop - and those responsible for such crimes should be held fully to account.”

He urged Libyan authorities to take urgent action, with support from the international community. “Rather than reining in armed groups and integrating their members under state

command and control struc-tures, successive Libyan govern-ments have increasingly relied on them for law enforcement, including arrests and detention; paid them salaries; and provided them with equipment and uni-forms,” the report said.

As a result, their power has grown unchecked and they have remained free of effective gov-ernment oversight, it added.

Libya plunged into chaos after the 2011 uprising that over-threw and killed longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Today the country is ruled by rival govern-ments in the capital, Tripoli, and

in the east, each backed by a loose array of militias. Abduction has also emerged as a lucrative trade amid the breakdown of authority. Gunmen kidnapped the mayor of a town south of Tripoli on Saturday, and last month the mayor of the capital itself was abducted from his home. The Tripoli mayor was later released.

The report puts the number of detainees at around 6,500 held in official prisons overseen by the Justice Ministry, but notes that no statistics are available for those held by other ministries or informal armed groups.

Kenyan poll body sends top official on compulsory leaveREUTERS

NAIROBI: Kenya’s elections commission has sent its chief exec-utive on three months’ compulsory leave pending an audit, it said, without giving a detailed reason for the move.

The Independent Electoral and

Boundaries Commission said on Twitter on Monday that its board had decided to send CEO Ezra Chiloba on leave after a majority vote to expand the scope of an audit “on some procurement matters”.

It was not immediately clear what procurement issues the com-mission is investigating or what

impact the audit could have.Commission spokesman

Andrew Limo said that the tweet was accurate but declined further comment. Chiloba did not immedi-ately reply to a request for comment. The commission was frequently at the centre of controversy during Kenya’s extended elections season

last year, in which around 100 people were killed.

Several days before the Aug. 8 vote, a top official from the com-mission was found dead in unclear circumstances, adding to a climate of fear surrounding the vote for Kenyans who saw their 2007 election descend into ethnic violence.

14 hurt in new fires at Nigerian camp for displaced peopleKANO: At least 14 people sustained burns in a fresh outbreak of fires at a camp housing tens of thousands of people displaced by Boko Haram jihadists in northeast Nigeria, according to an aid agency. The outbreak comes just two weeks after a blaze at the camp, located at Rann, about 175km east of the Borno state capital Maiduguri, killed five people.

“There have been three separate fires reported,” stated a memo from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) circulated among international aid agencies in Maiduguri. The incidents, which occurred over a number of days, resulted in “reported 14 injuries (and) estimates that over 1,000 shelters have been burned,” said the memo, which blamed flying embers from “cooking of food”.

Kaka Ari, a civilian militia member assisting the military in fighting Boko Haram in the town said fires had ruined hundreds of tents. The camp shelters refugees as well as internally-displaced people.

US President Donald Trump, who had been due to travel to Peru on Friday, cancelled a trip to Latin America to focus on responding to the Syria incident, the White House said.

Metrash2 through its dozens of existing available services has already made things simpler, easier and faster for the residents and nationals alike.

It scarcely matters what did actually happen on that “border”. What matters is what and how BBC, or any other self-designated honorary club member of “Western Media” says happened. But what about the truth? What did actually happen?

10 WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2018VIEWS

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK [email protected]

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM [email protected]

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIAL

Making lives easier

The introduction of new electronic services by various government entities is doubt making people’s everyday lives more easier. These steps

are also taking Qatar to achieve strategy targets set in “e-Government 2020”.

The General Directorate of Traffic has now launched vehicle registration (Istimara) renewal via Metrash2. The new service will enable vehicle owners to complete vehicle registration renewal electronically and get the card delivered at the given address or collect them from Traffic Service Centres as per their convenience.

Metrash2 through its dozens of existing available services has already made things simpler, easier and faster for the residents and nationals alike.

It is evident of the fact that the total transactions through Metrash2 in March this year reached at 1,87,000 and 1,215 transactions for Istimara renewal only though the service was under trial.

All over the world, technology and innovation are enhancing people’s everyday lives. For government

entities, technology also offers new opportunities to connect with or meet the needs of people in a simple, fast and flawless manner.

The strategy, “Qatar e-Gov-ernment 2020“, had also been formulated years ago with same vision to make people’s daily lives easier and reduce dependance on paper to advance and promote environ-mentally-friendly practices.

The aim was to serve members of the public – whether they are citizens, resi-dents or visitors – and making them able to access e-Gov-ernment services that are simple, secure, and available anytime, anywhere.

Also to provide easier, simpler, and faster ways to businesses and private organizations to register and operate their businesses.

Another objective attached with the strategy was the fact that through e-Government, public sector entities will be confident they are providing better services to people and businesses, are more efficient, and are achieving better overall outcomes for the nation.

At the launch of new Istimara service, Brigadier Mohammed Saad Al Kharji, General Director of the General Directorate of Traffic stressed the importance of electronic traffic services in general, as they had tangible impact on the mitigation of procedures, and the movement of individuals.

Abdul Rahman Ali Al Maliki, ADG of Information Systems Directorate said that this service will save the time of visitors instead of going to the service centers. e-Government saves the time of people as they no longer need to make many trips to government offices also providing them a better user experience, when paper forms and certificates are not required. By achieving targets set for digitization, the government bodies will also increase their productivity, trans-parency and efficiency.

‘Western media’ and mass deception

“Gaza-Israel border: Clashes ‘leave 16 Pales-tinians dead and hun-dreds injured’.” That is a

typical BBC headline when Israeli sol-diers start killing, with coldblooded pre-cision, defenseless Palestinians. “Pales-tinian officials say,” they would then add, “at least 16 people have been killed by Israeli forces and hundreds more wounded during protests at the Gaza-Israeli border ... The Israeli military said soldiers had opened fire after rioting.”

Where did this particular noncom-mittal news prose come from, this lan-guage of equivocation, this pathological penchant for the passive voice, systemi-cally compromising truth as you report it — what does diction of inbred prevari-cation mean, what would people around the globe reading these lines think had transpired on the “Gaza-Israel border” as BBC puts it?

It scarcely matters what did actually happen on that “border”. What matters is what and how BBC, or any other self-designated honorary club member of “Western Media” says happened. But what about the truth? What did actually happen? Who had lethal firepower at hand, who had bare bones and flesh exposed? One of the few Palestinian journalists who could tell the world the truth of what happened, Yaser Murtaja, was targeted by an Israeli sharpshooter and deliberately murdered. So, the world is at the mercy of BBC or the New York Times, etc, to say what actually

happened.What is

the distance, the difference, between what actually hap-pened as Pal-estinians experienced it, walking like innocent gazelles in front of a gang of vicious human hunters, and what the BBC, or CNN, or New York Times, etc, say what happened?

This “Western Media” has historically posited itself initially as the opposite of the news as used to be broadcast in the Soviet Bloc, or China, or “Third World” in general, which was branded as “state-controlled,” “propaganda,” and therefore false, and thereby posited itself as “independent”, “objective”, “fair” and “truthful.”

That political branding has now reached the point of normative self-des-ignation of truth. It was, perhaps para-doxically — perhaps not, a rank char-latan like Donald Trump, now the pres-ident of the United States, who first put

this “Western Media” on the defensive by out-branding them with his own “alternative facts”. His lies and charla-tanism are one brand of news as opposed to “Western Media.”

This very “Western Media” is now in a state of self-defensive shock. It thinks itself under the threat of manipulative disinformation, as best evidenced in the Cambridge Analyticascandal where we learned private companies “mine data” from social media in order to manip-ulate critical masses of voters in national elections. In Cambridge Analytica, this “Western Media” has found a match for itself, a brand new competitor. Cam-bridge Analytica is a big shining mirror in front of “Western Media” outper-forming them in their old-fashioned practices and branding.

Today, the BBC is integral to the propaganda machinery of Israel - and the evidence for this is out there for the whole world to see anytime Israelis go on a rampage slaughtering Palestinians as they have been doing since March 30, when people of Gaza began commemo-rating their Land Day. The Israeli army began targeting and deliberately mur-dering Palestinians, as BBC and other specimen of the brand “Western Media” consistently softened the blow of this vicious massacre of defenseless people. The BBC made that crime against humanity — for which all the top politi-cians of the settler colony must be arrested and tried in a court of law - pal-atable, explainable, even justified.

The visual and verbal strategies of BBC for compromising the truth of what the Israelis have historically done and continue to do today are quite simple if not altogether crude and banal. They need to send their staff to get more advanced degrees in Newspeak. Their Newspeak is sophomoric and cliche.

Take a look at any of their coverage: First, show a close up of Palestinians’ raised fists and open mouths and angry faces and raised flags — they are threat-ening, aren’t they?: violent, dangerous, and menacing. Make sure the frame of your camera is quite tight. Don’t ever open the frame to show Israeli sharp-shooters nearby firing live ammunition at thousands of defenseless and unarmed civilians protesting the sys-temic theft of their homeland facilitated by British colonialism. That will defeat the purpose, expose the lie, and ruin the brand.

Then comes the real gimmick: Use

scare quotes: Put “leave 16 Palestinians dead and hundreds injured” in quo-tation marks to compromise its truth. Your own reporters on the scene are deaf, dumb, and blind — they don’t see Palestinians are being killed and wounded by those Israeli sharpshooters — so attribute the “report” —not the truth — of their slaughter to Palestinian sources - that’ll compromise the veri-table power of the report. “They” say so many are killed or wounded — the BBC does not acknowledge the truth of these dispensable Palestinians being maimed and murdered.

Doubly, cast doubt on the truth - “Palestinian officials say” so many are wounded and killed — not BBC - for BBC keeps its official reporting of facts only if Israelis are killed or wounded.

When it comes to the paralysing accusation of anti-Semitism against Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party, BBC is front and centre, bold and brave, but when it comes to the slaughter of defenseless Palestinians, the BBC’s cameras and words stand right behind the Israeli soldiers, speaking and showing things from their point of view.

BBC is not the only item in this brand of “Western Media.” The New York Times is worse, the CNN worse than both of them together, ad infinitum, ad nauseam.

“Western Media” is a brand, a gimmick, a commodity fetishism at the service of systemic mass deception in “the West” itself and around the globe - and BBC is a paramount example of it.

The best and most formidable force against mass deception of the brand “Western Media” is simple truth-telling. Contrary to the liberal Zionist deceptive prose, the Palestinian predicament is not complicated at all. It is in fact very simple and it has a very simple solution. It is not the story of two peoples with two narratives. It is the story of one people with truth and another European settler colony (Zionists — liberal or hardcore) with wanton cruelty and violence.

Israel is the last powerful remnant of European colonialism. With astonishing charlatanism it banks on an entire history of Jewish dispossession and Jewish suffering in order to dispossess and cause suffering on Palestinians, steal their land, build a garrison state and put it at the disposal of the con-tinued colonial and imperial interest of Euro-American imperialism.

HAMID DABASHI AL JAZEERA

QUOTE OF THE DAY

History will record this as the moment when

the Security Council either discharged its

duty or demonstrated its utter and complete

failure to protect the people of Syria. Either way, the United States

will respond.

Nikki Haley US Ambassador to UN

US, China should work to eliminate unilateralism in trade

Neither country should embark on a fruitless trade war. Realising

their responsibility to underpin the international economy and trade system, both the United States and China should strive to find a solution that will not give rise to turmoil.

The United States unveiled a draft list of punitive duties on Chinese goods, as Washington views China’s infringement of intel-lectual property rights as problematic. The list covers about 1,300 items, which center on high-tech products, representing more than ¥5 trillion in Chinese goods. China plans to implement retaliatory measures, on the same scale, involving US

products. Beijing unveiled a list of duties on 106 key US products, including soy-beans, automobiles and aircraft.

The latest moves came on the heels of similar actions taken by the two countries: The United States took steps to restrict steel and aluminum imports, while China implemented retaliatory duties on more than ¥300 billion in 128 items of US goods. Intensi-fying trade frictions would inflict a major blow on both economies. The bilateral discord between the United States and China, which make up a combined 40 percent of the world economy, would inevitably effect the global economy as a whole.

Taking into account their positions as economic

powers, both countries have to do their utmost to avert a game of tit for tat. The infringement of intellectual property rights in China is a deep-rooted issue pointed out also by Japan and the European Union. The Chinese government strictly regulates foreign capital in such key industries as auto-mobiles. Foreign companies advancing into the Chinese market have been effec-tively forced to transfer their technology to Chinese com-panies and other entities.

Companies of developed economies cannot ignore the fast-growing, mega market of China. China’s heavy-handed restrictions take shrewd advantage of trade partners’ weak points. Such restrictions can also be considered to be fundamen-tally the same as the

methods taken by US Pres-ident Donald Trump, in that they are devoid of the spirit of reciprocity.

The Chinese gov-ernment regards itself as a defender of free trade in the US-China trade friction. This situation was created by the shallow thinking of Trump, who disregards interna-tional trade rules and focuses on bilateral trade.

To rectify China’s infringement of intellectual property rights, it is essential for developed countries to strengthen their cooper-ation. In dealing with the problems concerning the transfer of technology, Japan, the United States and European countries have discussed making a joint appeal to the World Trade Organization. These efforts should be promoted steadily.

THE JAPAN NEWS

11WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2018 OPINION

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Social media looks like thenew addiction of masses

Nigeria’s foggy talk with Boko Haram fighters

NOAH SMITH BLOOMBERG

RAFIU AJAKAYE ANATOLIA

With facebook enduring a wave of public crit-icism for its cavalier approach to user

privacy, it’s becoming more apparent how important social media has become. I suspect it will be many years before the true scale and scope of the changes are appre-

ciated, and even then much will never be fully understood. The era when humans interacted mainly by gathering in physical space, or maintained personal networks through one-to-one connections, has drawn to a close, and the next generation won’t even really under-stand what that era was like. Social media has changed the meaning of human life itself.

It has also made a lot of money and investors have given companies like facebook Inc., Snap Inc., and Twitter Inc. multibillion-dollar market valuations.

There’s even an argument that the true economic value created by these companies is much greater than their profits — or, in Snap’s case, their potential future profits — suggest. For the most part, the services are free to use. But given how much time people spend using them, it’s probably true that they would be willing to pay a lot to keep being able to enjoy social media. In economics, this is known as con-sumer surplus — the amount of value that consumers get without having to pay for it.

But many of us who lived through the shift from Internet 1.0 to the new age of social media can’t help but feel a nagging worry. In addition to concerns about privacy, electoral influence and online abuse, social media seems like it has many of the qualities of an addictive drug.

Research isn’t conclusive on whether social-media addiction is real. But it certainly has some neg-ative side effects that loosely resemble the downsides of recrea-tional drugs. In 2011, psychologists Daria Kuss and Mark Griffiths wrote a paper that found:

Negative correlates of [social media] usage include the decrease in real life social community partici-pation and academic achievement, as well as relationship problems, each of which may be indicative of potential addiction.

Meanwhile, a number of more recent studies find similarities between social-media use and addictive behavior. And experiments found that smartphone deprivation induced anxiety among young people, a phenomenon that certainly has parallels to drug withdrawal.

That certainly doesn’t mean that everyone who uses social media is a junkie. Evidence shows that mod-erate usage is not harmful. That fits with my own experience — I find that I derive great enjoyment from facebook, which I use in moder-ation, but am often made anxious and irritable by Twitter, which I use much more.

It’s the heaviest users who may be in the most danger — a recent survey found that a quarter of Americans are online “almost con-stantly.” And social-media use is going up relentlessly worldwide:

Whereas once the internet offered an escape from the real world, now the real world is a much-needed escape from the internet.

Now, it’s important to emphasise

that just because a product harms some people doesn’t mean it’s bad for society overall. Cars kill tens of thousands each year in the US alone and certainly pose a much bigger threat than social-media addiction. But no one thinks about banning auto travel, since the benefits for our economy and social lives are so huge.

Other economists, however, the-orise that addiction can result from short-sightedness. If people are more oriented toward the short term than they realise, they may incorrectly believe that they’ll be able to exert self-control and stop using an addictive substance in the future.

When the addiction becomes too strong to quit, they may find them-selves trapped in a situation they never would have chosen had they known what they were getting into. This interpretation of addiction seems especially likely, given the fact that people who haven’t been addicted don’t know what it’s like.

Junkies would pay quite a lot for their fix, but that doesn’t mean the money would be well-spent.

Much more research is obviously needed before we conclude that social media is like tobacco. And even if it is, the harm would need to be very substantial in order to get government policy involved in lim-iting social-media use. That seems unlikely. But even if social media is worth the costs, it still means that much of society’s resources — capital investment, and the time and effort of the smartest workers. And that’s a disquieting thought. Whereas Karl Marx declared that religion is the opiate of the masses, our modern capitalists may have invented a better one.

The writer is a Bloomberg view col-umnist. He was an assistant pro-fessor of finance at Stony Brook Uni-versity, and he blogs at Noahpinion.

Nine years after attempts to crush the insurgency in the northeast region with mil-itary firepower reached a

stalemate, Nigeria has said it is exploring negotiations with Boko Haram. The war against Boko Haram has displaced millions and claimed over 20,000 lives.

If the militants agree to lay down arms, Abuja said it would grant them amnesty, safe passage and rehabilitation.

Nigeria’s secret police chief Lawal Daura first revealed the amnesty proposal amid “ongoing negotiations” on February 26. It was corroborated about a month later by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“This country has suffered enough of hostility. Government is, therefore, appealing to all to embrace peace for the overall devel-opment of our people and the country,” Buhari said.

Nigeria’s resort to dialogue fol-lowed rising violence by the group. International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report last week that violence by the militants and herders-farmers crisis claimed over 300 lives in March alone.

On February 19, the Boko Haram faction allied to the Daesh abducted

some 112 schoolgirls and a boy from northeastern Dapchi town in Yobe state — mirroring a similar mass kidnapping of 276 girls some four years earlier in neighboring Borno. At least 113 of the girls taken in 2014 remain in captivity. All but one of the 113 taken from Dapchi have been freed.

Boko Haram killings and destructions have also continued in neighboring Cameroon. On Thursday, 20 houses in Far North Zamga town of the Francophone country were razed with deaths reported in attacks earlier this month.

Opposition to dialogueCiting the atrocities by the group

and its continuous violence despite negotiation claims, Nigeria’s main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) says the amnesty offer is misplaced.

Prominent nonprofit organisa-tions have also rejected the idea. They called for accountability for all violators of human rights.

“We believe that granting amnesty to Boko Haram would be an open violation of the Nigerian Constitution and international law and would entail a virtual denial of justice for victims,” Socio-Economic

Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) said.

Fears of impunity and rights violations are compounded by gov-ernment’s earlier chest-thumping that it has “technically defeated” the militants. But followers of the crisis say the dialogue and amnesty offer may well be a genuine way out of the crisis.

Nnamdi Obasi, senior advisor on Nigeria at the ICG, said the talk of amnesty marks a significant shift from the country’s initial claims of military victory.

“Given the government’s con-tinuing inability to impose its own solution to the conflict, the pro-longed suffering this insurgency has inflicted on civilians in the northeast and the huge cost to the country, the government’s exploration of dia-logue [with] the insurgents is under-standable,” Obasi told .

Challenges aheadBeegeagles, West Africa’s most

authoritative defense and security blogger, agrees, adding that whereas the local army has largely curtailed Boko Haram’s activities, the mili-tants are yet to be dealt a knockout blow. There is no telling if and when that day shall come, he cautioned.

“However weakened, the menace which the terrorists pose to civilians was again exemplified in the Dapchi abductions and the attack on outlier communities on the edge of Maiduguri a few days ago. For how long should civilians endure that?’ he said.

Analysts say several challenges lie ahead. Boko Haram is clearly divided, each faction with varied disposition to dialogue. Who is Nigeria talking to, and how genuine are those speaking for the militants?

The country had been down this road before. In October 2014 when the Goodluck Jonathan adminis-tration announced a cease-fire which it said followed agreements by both parties to talk, Boko Haram chief Abubakar Shekau promptly issued an audio message dismissing such agreement.

The latest attempt is not without its own troubles.

“The government’s engagement with the insurgents is still quite foggy. It is not clear if it is engaged with only (Abu Musab) Al Barnawi’s ISWAP, or

Negative correlates of (social media) usage include the decrease in real life social community participation and academic achievement, as well as relationship problems, each of which may be indicative of potential addiction.

Daesh, or whether there are also some elements of Shekau’s faction that are disposed to talks,” according to Obasi.

“And even for ISWAP, it’s also not clear if the leaders the gov-ernment is talking with are firmly representative of the entire group.”

Beegeagles said the Al-Barnawi’s group appears open to talk — a presumption based on claims that the faction was behind the Dapchi abduction which was promptly resolved through what Abuja called ‘back-channel’ negotiations.

Unlike the 2014 rebuttals, neither faction has dismissed the latest claims about ongoing talks.

But this is hardly a guarantee of any concrete outcome, warned Ryan Cummings, director of Johannesburg-based Signal Risk, who said both sides must watch out for and prevent spoilers that may derail the new efforts.

Fears of impunity and rights violations are compounded by government’s earlier chest-thumping that it has “technically defeated” the militants. But followers of the crisis say the dialogue and amnesty offer may well be a genuine way out of the crisis.

The war against Boko Haram has displaced millions and claimed over 20,000 lives.

Anti-reservation march

12 WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2018ASIA

Indian activists from the Bhartiya Arakshan Mukti Dal political organisation protest against a caste-based reservations system for government employment in Allahabad, yesterday. Hundreds of security forces enforced a curfew on a tense district on April 4 after a mob set fire to the homes of two political figures from the country’s low-caste Dalit community.

Anil Kapoor inaugurates Malabar Gold & Diamond’s 215th showroom in KolhapurTHE PENINSULA

MUMBAI: Malabar Gold & Diamonds, one among the BIG five jewellery retailers globally, inaugurates its 215th showroom in Kolhapur, Maharashtra on 8th April. The new outlet was inau-gurated by Bollywood star Anil Kapoor, in the presence of management team members of Malabar Gold & Diamonds, other dignitaries, well-wishers & guests.

The showroom showcases a wide array of signature col-lections that fits the style and taste of all age groups. The product range includes daily wear, casual wear; party wear, to bridal wear under its Brides of India collections and 18-karat light weight jewellery. The

showroom also have its various sub-brands such as Mine, Era, Ethnix, Divine, Precia and Starlet.

The store is all set to give the customers an all new shopping experience and exhibits the finest collection of BIS hall-marked gold jewellery, IGI, GIA certified diamonds and PGI cer-tified platinum jewellery in latest designs for the jewellery lovers. Each piece of jewellery comes with detailed price tag, buy-back guarantee, lifelong maintenance and 1-year free insurance. “The group is planning to set up more show-rooms as well as manufacturing units in the country, eventually generating more employment opportunities and enhancing initiatives like the Centre’s Make

in India,” said M.P. Ahammed, Chairman – Malabar group.

The hallmark of Malabar Gold & Diamonds is its well-designed strategy in providing jewellery that suits every cus-tomer’s taste and regions tra-dition. It has jewellery manu-facturing units in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, West Bengal and also has overseas manufacturing facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE which makes the company to deliver the quality products in time at the best price. The company owns and operates 215 stores spread across 9 countries. Currently, Malabar Group provides employment for 12,000 people and also spends 5% of its profit for CSR activities.

Bollywood star Anil Kapoor inaugurating the 215th showroom of Malabar Gold & Diamonds in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, in the presence of management of Malabar Gold & Diamonds, other dignitaries, well-wishers and guests.

Sri Lankan corporals arrested on anti-Muslim riot chargesCOLOMBO: Sri Lankan police have arrested two army corporals for their suspected involvement in anti-Muslim riots in the central highlands district of Kandy last month, police said yesterday.

It was the first arrest of serving soldiers for the worst sectarian violence since 2014. It was not immediately clear if any more senior officers are suspected. At least two ex-military officials have also been arrested.

Scores of mosques, Muslim homes and businesses were destroyed as Buddhist mobs ran amok for three days early last month in Kandy, a district previously known for its diversity and tolerance.

An officer at the police spokesman’s office told Reuters 342 suspects have been arrested. The corporals were arrested on Monday. Muslims comprise about nine percent of Sri Lanka’s pop-ulation of 21 million. Buddhists make up about 70 percent and Hindus about 13 percent.

The government ended a full-blown 26-year civil war by defeating mostly Hindu Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels in 2009, with claims of atrocities on both sides.

India says shelling by Pakistan kills two soldiers in KashmirAP

SRINAGAR: Two Indian soldiers were killed in firing by Pakistani troops along the highly militarized frontier that divides Kashmir between the two rivals, India’s army said yesterday.

Indian army spokesman Col. Nitin Joshi said Pakistani soldiers used mortars and automatic gunfire overnight to strike at Indian positions

in Sunderbani sector along the Line of Control in vio-lation of the 2003 cease-fire accord between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Joshi called the Pakistani firing and shelling “unprovoked and indiscriminate” and said Indian soldiers retaliated “strongly and effectively.”

Both countries regularly accuse each other of initiating border skirmishes leading to casualties on both sides.

In Pakistan, security offi-cials said they responded to Indian fire after coming under attack. Two security officials said Pakistani troops targeted an Indian post from which rockets were fired toward a Pakistani post in Kashmir.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said there was no loss of life on the Pakistani side.

Indian court asks report on efforts to rehabilitate bonded labourersREUTERS

MUMBAI: An Indian court has ordered the labour ministry, police and New Delhi government to report on efforts to rehabilitate people rescued from bonded labour, after allegations that many did not receive support they were legally entitled to.

The order issued by the Delhi High Court on Monday came in response to a petition claiming that the government has failed to provide rehabil-itation, including jobs, edu-c a t i o n a n d c a s h compensation.

“The government has the responsibility to rehabilitate these workers,” said Nirmal Gorana, convener of the National Campaign Com-mittee for Eradication of Bonded Labour, who filed the petition last week.

The petition included a list of bonded workers who were rescued over the last two years but had not been rehabilitated, as well as details of people who have been reported as trapped in bonded labour but have not been freed.

Police must provide a list of all cases registered with them during the past five years, “especially of child victims who have been treated as bonded labourers”, said the court order.

Farmer ends life, names Modi in suicide noteIANS

MUMBAI: In a major embar-rassment for the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a Maharashtra farmer yesterday ended his life by consuming poison in his farmland, blaming the ruling NDA government for his step.

A suicide note was recovered from his person in which he has named several persons starting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and held the government for taking the extreme step and sought help for his family.

The 50-year old farmer has been identified as Shankar Bhaurao Chayre, from Rajurwadi village in Yavatmal district, among the worst-hit in the country due to the agrarian distress.

Nearly 12 hours after the incident, the family refused to take over his body from the Vasantrao Naik Medical College Hospital morgue for the last rites.

The family demanded that either Modi should visit them to understand their problems or the state government should hand over the full compensation before they would accept the body.

Stunned by the devel-opment, Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavalamban Mission (SNSSM) President Kishore Tiwari announced he will visit the bereaved family today.

“We shall provide an immediate relief of Rs 100,000 to the family. Chayre leaves behind his wife, their three daughters (including one married) and a son. We have decided to adopt them by providing them full education, or if they are already qualified, with gainful employment to help the family survive,” Tiwari said.

According to information available, the distraught Chayre went to his farmland this morning and attempted to hang himself from a tree.

Modi to lead BJP’s fast tomorrow against Parliament washoutIANS

NEW DELHI: In an unusual action, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will observe a day-long fast tomorrow to protest against the washout of the second part of Parliament’s budget session due to continious disruptions, which the BJP blamed on the Congress.

While BJP President Amit Shah will observe a hunger strike in Hubli in Karnataka, party MPs will fast in their constituencies.

“The Prime Minister will observe a fast even while engaged in his official duty and official engagements,” BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narsimha Rao told IANS.

Modi’s decision, which may be the first time a Prime Minister is observing a fast, will be part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s day-long hunger strike that day to protest against the disruption of Parliament by the opposition.

The opposition Congress termed the fast by the Prime Min-ister as a “farce” and said he should apologise over the way his party had “denigrated and disrespected” parliament.

“They have disrespected and denigrated the highest temple of democracy. So Prime Minister should publicly say that he is sorry that is why he is holding this fast on April 12 to tender this apology to various sections of India’s pop-ulation,” Congress Communications incharge Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters.

Earlier on Monday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi led the party’s day-long fast at the Rajghat in Delhi over alleged increasing atrocities on Dalits, adivasis, and minorities and dubbed the Modi government as “anti-Dalit” while vowing to defeat the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The fast in Delhi was marked by controversies as 1984 anti-Sikh riots accused Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar were asked to leave the Rajghat before Rahul Gandhi’s arrival. Also, a picture showing some Delhi Con-gress leaders eating “chole bhature” at a restaurant before the protest -- also held at district headquarters by party leaders across the country to promote harmony in society -- went viral on social media.

The controversies gave the Bharatiya Janata Party an oppor-tunity to attack the Congress, saying the main opposition party was a “danga master” (master of riots) and Tytler and Sajjan leaving the stage was its “acceptance of guilt”.

Myanmar minister to visit Rohingya camps as Dhaka seeks refugees’ returnREUTERS

DHAKA: A Myanmar government minister will visit Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh today, officials said, a rare trip Dhaka hopes will help speed the return home of hundreds of thou-sands of the neighbouring nation’s Muslim minority.

Win Myat Aye, Myanmar’s min-ister for social welfare, relief and resettlement, will speak with some of the roughly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims the United Nations and aid groups say fled a military crackdown in their Buddhist-majority country since last August.

“So many people of his country are here and it’s their

moral obligation to see their con-ditions,” Mohammed Abul Kalam, Bangladesh’s refugee relief and rehabilitation commis-sioner, said.

“His country may want to show the global leaders that they are sincere to repatriate. Bang-ladesh expects to resolve the problem soonest, as it is a huge

burden for this country, which we cannot bear.” The Myanmar min-ister confirmed last week that he was visiting Bangladesh.

Kalam will accompany Win Myat Aye on the visit to the camps in Kutupalong, where many refugees live in shacks made of bamboo and plastic sheets that are unlikely to

withstand heavy rains and storms brought by the monsoon season when it starts in June. A Bangladesh foreign ministry official said his country wanted to show the visiting minister the challenges it was facing in hosting the refugees in the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar, bordering Myanmar.

The opposition Congress termed the fast by the Prime Minister as a “farce” and said he should apologise over the way his party had “denigrated and disrespected” Parliament.

Student protests rattle Bangladesh for a third dayDHAKA: Hundreds of university students across Bangladesh blockaded roads yesterday in a third day of protests against what they say are discriminatory quotas for government jobs.

Students took to the streets in Dhaka and elsewhere despite assurances from the government that it would review the con-troversial quota system. The mass protests roiling campuses across the country have been among the biggest faced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her decade in power. At Dhaka University — where more than 100 were injured in clashes with police in recent days — students vowed to stage sit-ins until the government reform the quota system. “We’ll continue our agitation until the author-ities accept our demands,” said Rahat, one of the roughly 500 stu-dents camped out at the university’s main square.

The protest was largely peaceful, with no repeat so far of the tear gas and rubber bullets fired by police to disperse crowds.

But outside the camps, traffic was brought to a standstill as protesters blocked roads in the nation’s capital.

The protests also spread to private campuses for the first time since the demonstrations erupted on Sunday, drawing hundreds to the streets.

13WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2018 ASIA

INTERNEWS

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Pres-ident Mamnoon Hussain prom-ulgated four ordinances to give effect to tax amnesty scheme for whitening of local and offshore hidden assets, while for benefi-ciaries the government has not announced immunity from pros-ecution under anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws.

The government, for the time being, backed out from the announcement of lowering property tax rates and acquiring the right of taking over the

properties by paying the owners higher than the declared prices.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had announced to acquire the right to take over property to discourage tax evasion and keep a check on the realty sector. The government also did not lower the income tax rates for the Association of Persons, which would still pay maximum 35 percent rates.

However, individuals’ income tax rates have been cut with effect from July, who will now pay highest rate of 15 per cent plus a fixed tax for the two highest income slabs. It appears

that the Federal Board of Revenue tried to recoup some of the losses that it sustained due to the prime minister’s decision to steeply cut the income tax and property tax rates.

The Financial Action Task Force’s objections to the amnesty scheme also forced the government to withhold the decision to give immunity from prosecution under National Accountability Ordinance, Federal Investigation Agency Act, Election Commission of Pakistan Act, Anti-Money Laun-dering Act, Anti-Terrorism Act and Anti-Smuggling Act. The

president promulgated Foreign Assets Declaration and Repatri-ation Ordinance 2018, Pakistan Economic Reforms Protection Act Amendment Ordinance 2018, the Voluntary Declaration of Domestic Assets Ordinance 2018 and Income Tax Amendment Ordinance 2018.

These ordinances will take effect from April 10 and the window to avail the schemes will close on June 30 this year.

“All the four ordinances will have overriding effects on all the existing laws but the proceeds of the crimes cannot be legalised under these pieces of

legislation,” said Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Miftah Ismai. To a question, Dr Ismail said that immunity could not be provided to those who made assets through corruption; therefore, the government did not specifically mention the NAB Ordinance under the clause of immunity.

Dr Ismail said that the issue of acquiring the right to take over properties would be decided in consultation with the provinces, adding that this would be enforced through the Finance Bill that the government would table on April 27.

Pakistan backs ordinances to whiten black money Azerbaijan votes today for new presidentANATOLIA

BAKU: Azerbaijan will head to the polls today to elect its new president, who will serve the country for the next seven years.

A total of eight candi-dates, including current Pres-ident Ilham Aliyev will compete for the presidency.

The Azerbaijan Central Election Commission estab-lished 5,641 polling stations in Azerbaijan and abroad.

According to official data, there are more than 5 million registered voters in the country. Citizens living abroad will use the ballot boxes in Azerbaijani embassies. Physically dis-abled citizens will also be able to vote using temporary ramps established at 1,455 polling stations.

Authorities will bring the ballot box to the bedridden, so they can cast their votes at home. Web cameras were installed at 1,000 polling sta-tions throughout the country, which can be followed live on the AMSK webpage on Election Day. The election will be monitored by 59 countries, 890 foreigners from 60 inter-national organisations and 58,175 local observers.

Australia, New Zealand closely monitoring China activity in Vanuatu AFP

SYDNEY: Australia and New Zealand said yesterday they were closely monitoring developments while down-playing a report that China wants to establish a permanent military base on the Pacific nation of Vanuatu.

However, Vanuatu and China both insisted yesterday there were no plans for Beijing to open a military base in the Pacific nation after a report suggesting the Asian giant was pushing the proposal sparked concern in Australia and New Zealand.

The Sydney Morning Herald said Beijing had approached Port Vila about the possibi l i ty , potential ly upsetting the delicate strategic balance in the region.

China has been aggres-sively growing its military and pushing its footprint deeper into the Pacific, forging closer links by showering nations with development money.

The Herald, citing multiple sources, said Beijing’s military

ambition in Vanuatu would likely be realised incremen-tally, possibly beginning with an access agreement allowing Chinese naval ships to dock routinely for refuelling.

This arrangement could then be built on, it added, with intelligence and security figures in Australia, New Zealand and the United States becoming increasingly worried about China’s growing influence. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who travelled to Vanuatu last weekend with Britain’s Prince Charles, said she was con-fident of Canberra’s strong relationship with Port Vila.

“I’m not aware of a mil-itary offer being made by China to Vanuatu,” she said, noting that the Vanuatu gov-ernment had said to the news-paper it was not aware of such proposal.

While China has been investing in infrastructure around the world, to date it has only established one military base — in Djibouti in northern Africa.

Fiji braces for 2nd cyclone in a weekREUTERS

SYDNEY: Fiji was bracing yesterday for the second potentially destructive cyclone to hit the Pacific island nation in just over a week, with authorities advising residents to prepare survival kits and be ready for evacuation.

Cyclone Keni was upgraded earlier yesterday to a Category 3 storm and is expected to bring winds of up to 170km an hour when it makes landfall later in the day.

Parts of Fiji are still cleaning up after Cyclone Josie hit over the Easter weekend, leading to major flooding that killed six people. Many people who were evac-uated to shelters have only just returned to their homes and some roads remain closed.

Islamabad seeks travel ban on US diplomatAP

ISLAMABAD: Police have requested a travel ban on an American diplomat involved in a vehicle crash that killed one Pakistani man and injured another over the weekend in the capital Islamabad.

The Interior Ministry yes-terday confirmed it received the

request from Islamabad police to prevent military attaché Col. Joseph Emanuel Hall from leaving the country.

Pakistan had lodged a formal protest with US Ambas-sador David Hale over the death Saturday of Ateeq Baig, 22, after Hall allegedly ran a red light and hit Baig’s motorcycle.

Police briefly detained the

American, but did not arrest him because he has diplomatic immunity. The US Embassy expressed sympathy for the victims’ families and assured full cooperation with the investigation.

The embassy issued a security alert restricting the movement of government per-sonnel in Islamabad.

INTERNEWS

LAHORE: As many as 148 bills were passed by the provincial assembly of Punjab during the last four years, the performance report issued by the Punjab Assembly (PA) revealed yesterday.

As per details, a total 162 bills were introduced in the PA from June 2013 to May 2017 of which 148 were passed in the house that is the largest assembly of Pakistan having 369 members.

As the assemblies in Pakistan are going to complete

their mandatory five-year tenures by the end of next month, Punjab Assembly has issued its report of last four years to apprise the voters what their elected representatives have done for them as Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA).

The breakdown further

shows that 31 bills were passed in the first parliamentary year while 37, 46 and 34 bills were adopted during the second, third and fourth parliamentary years respectively.

The issuance of the said report is the project funded by the European Union (EU)

through its initiative ‘Strength-ening Subai Assemblies Pakistan’. Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan said on the launch of the report that it was the first of its kind of report ever published in which the per-formance of the assembly during was narrated in detail.

Punjab provincial assembly passes 148 bills in four years

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visits the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, yesterday.

Scottish Minister visits Forbidden City

Xi pledges to promote global prosperityMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED THE PENINSULA

BOAO, HAINAN: The people of China are forging ahead and have demonstrated the strength of the nation in the last four decades through keeping pace with the progress of the times, said Pres-ident Xi Jinping, while pledging to promote global prosperity, in a keynote speech at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference.

The conference which opened in China’s southern island province of Hainan was themed “An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity.”

“Each age and generation have their own challenges and missions. China has come a long way, but it has to overcome new challenges on its way ahead,” Xi said. “Over the last four decades, the Chinese people have signifi-cantly unleashed and enhanced productivity in China through hard work with an unyielding spirit,” Xi said

The Chinese President called for people around the world to work together towards a com-munity with a shared future for mankind and make Asia and the

world peaceful, tranquil, pros-perous, open and beautiful.

“With the future in mind, we need to treat each other with respect and as equals,” said Xi. “With the future in mind, we also need to promote dialogue and share responsibility, engage in cooperation for win-win results, uphold inclusiveness and seek harmony without uniformity, as well as treat nature with respect and treasure our planet.”

Xi Jinping said that in a world aspiring for peace and devel-opment, the cold-war and zero-sum mentality look even more out of place. “Putting oneself on a pedestal or trying to immune

oneself from adverse develop-ments will get nowhere,” said Xi.

Addressing the conference, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the past four decades saw changes not only in China but also in its active relations with the world. The Belt and Road Initiative, he said, “can contribute significantly to a more fair, peaceful and prosperous world”.

Proposed by Xi in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to achieve policy, infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes, thus building a platform for international coop-eration to create new drivers of growth.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said the past 40 years witnessed “the success of the Chinese policy of economic reform and opening-up” adding that “my talks with the leadership, the government and circles of China confirmed my impression that China is committed to con-tinue along this road and this would be in interests of both

China and global partners.” Pakistan’s Prime Minister

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in his address, said “President Xi’s his-toric Belt and Road Initiative has become a global public good, ben-eficial to all and bringing equality to an unequal world. This strategic initiative is a win-win proposition and brings shared prosperity for all.” The Prime Minister of Sin-gapore Lee Hsien Loong said he is

very glad to hear President Xi to announce further steps to open the financial sector, protecting intel-lectual property rights and increasing imports, in order for China to go further in the direction. Lee also said the Asian Infra-structure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative are “two major efforts by China to con-tribute to the regional structure and regional prosperity.”

Since 2013, more than 80 countries and international organisations have signed coop-eration agreements with China. The Belt and Road Initiative may be China’s idea, but its opportu-nities and outcomes will bene-fit the world, Xi said. “China has no geopolitical calculations, seeks no exclusionary blocs and imposes no business deals on others,” he added.

A view of a session of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2018 in Boao, south China’s Hainan province, yesterday.

The Chinese President called for people around the world to work together towards a community with a shared future for mankind and make Asia and the world peaceful, tranquil, prosperous, open and beautiful.

REUTERS

SOUTH CHINA SEA: In a span of 20 minutes, 20 F-18 fighter jets took off and landed on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, in a powerful display of military precision and efficiency.

The nuclear-powered warship, leading a carrier strike group, was conducting what the US military called routine training in the disputed South China Sea yesterday, headed for a port call in the Philippines, a defence treaty ally.

The United States is not alone in carrying out naval patrols in the strategic waterway, where Chinese, Japanese and some Southeast Asian navies operate, possibly increasing tensions and risking accidents at sea.

“We have seen Chinese ships around us,” Rear Admiral Steve Koehler, the strike group com-mander, told a small group of

reporters on board the three-decade-old carrier.

“They are one of the navies that operate in the South China Sea but I would tell you that we have seen nothing but profes-sional work out of the ships we have encountered.” Navies in the western Pacific, including China and nine Southeast Asian coun-tries, have been working on a code of unexpected encounters

(CUES) at sea to avoid conflict.The USS Theodore Roo-

sevelt’s presence in the South China Sea comes days after China’s massive air and naval drills in the area, in what some analysts described as an unu-sually large display of Beijing’s growing naval might.

The United States has criti-cised China’s apparent militari-sation of manmade islands and carried out regular air and naval patrols to assert its right to freedom of navigation in stretches of a sea China claims largely as its own.

“This transit in the South China Sea is nothing new in our planning cycle or in a reaction to that. It is probably by happen-stance that all that is happening at the same time,” said Koehler, who gave a tour of the carrier to Philippine military officials and watched flight operations aboard the 100,000-tonne warship.

14 WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2018ASIA

Kim makes 1st official mention of US talksAFP

SEOUL: North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un discussed future talks with the US at a party meeting, state media reported yesterday, in his first official mention of dialogue with Wash-ington ahead of a planned summit with President Donald Trump.

Trump agreed last month to a landmark summit with the nuclear-armed North — which would be the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader — but no specific dates or venue have been set, with questions mounting over Pyongyang’s participation.

At the meeting of party offi-cials Monday, Kim discussed the “development of the north-south relations at present and the prospect of the DPRK-US dialogue”, the official KCNA news agency said, referring to the North by its official acronym.

He delivered a report “on the development of the recent situation on the Korean peninsula”, including the sep-arate summit with South Korea to be held later this month, it said. In a growing rap-prochement on the Korean

peninsula, Kim is scheduled to meet the South’s president Moon Jae-in for a rare inter-Korean summit on April 27. Trump has agreed to meet Kim for a his-toric US-North Korean summit to discuss denuclearisation as soon as next month.

But the North had remained publicly silent on the US summit since its leader’s invitation to talks was delivered to Trump by South Korean officials last month.

As officials in Washington scrambled to prepare for the prospective meeting, the weeks-long silence had reportedly made the White House nervous that Seoul had overstated the North’s willingness to negotiate over its own nuclear arsenal.

Kim’s remarks on Monday break that public silence, although he did not specifically refer to a “summit” with Trump.

Following multiple media reports of back-channel talks between the Cold War rivals, Trump said Monday he planned to meet Kim in “May or early June”. “I think there will be great respect paid by both parties and hopefully there will be a deal on denuking,” he said.

“Hopefully it will be a

relationship that will be much different than it has been for many, many years.”

North Korea’s recent fre-netic diplomatic activity marks a stunning turnaround after a year of heightened tensions which saw the North fire mul-tiple missiles and carry out its most powerful nuclear test, further isolating the regime and triggering a fiery war of words with Trump.

Since sending a high-profile delegation along with athletes to the Winter Games in the South in February, Kim has made his international debut with a visit to Beijing -- his first overseas trip since taking power in 2011.

The North’s foreign minister Ri Yong Ho arrived in Moscow on Monday after making stops in Beijing, Azerbaijan and other former Soviet republics.

Ri also paid a visit last month to Sweden, which acts as a diplomatic go-between for Washington and Pyongyang.

If the summit does take place, many remain sceptical about the whether a meeting between the two notoriously unpredictable leaders can succeed.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (centre) attending the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang, yesterday.

‘Go home to vote’: Malaysian Twitter users, firms offer to pay travel costsREUTERS

KUALA LUMPUR: With a general election called for midweek on May 9, Malaysians took to social media yesterday to offer funding to help people return to their home towns to vote, while some companies offered employees days off.

The election could prove to be the toughest test of the ruling coalition’s 61-year grip on power, with embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak under pressure to deliver an emphatic win. Najib is struggling to appease Malaysians unhappy with rising costs and a multi-billion dollar scandal at a state fund he founded.

The 64-year-old leader is expected to retain power, but analysts predict a tough fight from his old mentor and the country’s most seasoned cam-paigner, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is a

spry 92. Opposition leaders and rights activists said the Wednesday polling date would probably dent voter turnout and benefit the ruling Barisan Nasional.

The government has not yet called a public holiday on what will be Malaysia’s first weekday

poll in nearly two decades. Several Twitter users

stepped up, saying they had set aside funds ranging from 150 ringgit ($39) to 1,000 ringgit ($259) to pay for flights or bus rides home for those needing assistance, and many offered carpool rides.

Activist sentenced to 13 years in VietnamAP

HANOI: A court in northern Vietnam sentenced a dissident to 13 years in prison yesterday after finding him guilty of attempting to over-throw the government. He was the seventh activist to be jailed in the past week as Communist authorities step up a crackdown on dissent.

The official Vietnam News Agency said Nguyen Van Tuc, 54, was convicted of affiliating with an outlawed group named Brotherhood for Democracy in a half-day trial at the People’s Court in Thai Binh province.

Tuc was also ordered to serve three years of house arrest after finishing his prison sentence.

“The criminal acts com-mitted by defendant Nguyen Van Tuc are particularly serious, directly impacting national security,” VNA quoted the verdict as saying.

Court officials declined to comment.

VNA said Tuc joined the group in 2014 and served as its vice president. The group was a “reactionary organi-zation that operated illegally aimed at attempting to abolish the leading role of the Communist Party of Vietnam and overthrow the people’s administration,” it said.

East Timor parties start campaign for electionAP

EAST TIMOR: East Timor’s political parties kicked off a month of campaigning yesterday for new parlia-mentary elections due in May with promises to boost devel-opment in one of Asia’s poorest nations.

It will be the second parlia-mentary election in less than a year for East Timor’s fledgling democracy. A minority gov-ernment formed after elections last July and led by the Fretilin party collapsed in January after its policy program and budget were defeated in parliament.

Independence hero Xanana Gusmao, who is leading an alliance of three opposition parties including his National

Congress for Timorese Recon-struction, urged East Timorese to elect the grouping to “strengthen and improve our country in order to bring devel-opment to free people from poverty.” Fretilin Secretary-General Mari Alkatiri also vowed development by cre-ating more special economic zones. “We promise to free society from poverty,” he told a crowd in Manatuto district.

East Timor, a former Por-tuguese colony, was occupied by Indonesia for a quarter century. It gained inde-pendence after a U.-sponsored referendum in 1999 but reprisals by the Indonesian mil-itary devastated the East Timorese half of the island of Timor.

Philippine court hears arguments to remove judge REUTERS

MANILA: The Philippine Supreme Court began hearing arguments yesterday on a government bid to invalidate the appointment of the court’s top judge, whom President Rodrigo Duterte is calling an “enemy” who needs to be removed.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s fellow high court judges will decide on merit of argu-ments for and against a petition, referred to as a “quo warranto”, by the government’s chief

lawyer, for alleged violations in the appointment process.

The embattled judge, the Philippines’ first woman chief justice, is facing challenges on several fronts and is on a leave of absence to prepare for pos-s i b l e i m p e a c h m e n t proceedings.

Duterte makes no secret of his dislike of Sereno. Sereno appeared at a Supreme Court session in the city of Baguio, to defend herself against Calida’s petition. Dozens of her sup-porters, holding streamers and

denouncing some of the judges, held a protest outside the court. Nearby, anti-Sereno protesters called for her resignation.

Sereno has voted against several of his controversial pro-posals, including extending martial law on a restive island and allowing late dictator Fer-dinand Marcos to be buried in a cemetery for national heroes, but Duterte denies instigating two attempts to remove her.

Sereno has until now refrained from blaming Duterte but directly questioned his inten-

tions in a speech on Monday.“Mr President, if you have no

hand in this, why did Solicitor-General Jose Calida, who reports to you, file the quo warranto?”, she asked.

“Surely, you must explain this unconstitutional act”.

Within a few hours a furious Duterte lashed out at Sereno and indicated he was ready to use his influence over the legislature to get rid of her.

“I’m putting you on notice that I’m your enemy and you have to be out of the Supreme

Court,” he told reporters before heading to an Asian leaders’ forum in China.

“I will see to it. And after that, I will request Congress go to the impeachment right away.” The nearly 300-seat house returns from a recess next month and will convene for a plenary vote on the impeachment complaint, which accuses Sereno of failure to fully declare her earnings.

If passed, an impeachment trial will be conducted in the upper house, with the 22 sitting Senators as judges.

A motorcyclist is seen between Parti Islam Se-Malaysia flags in Bangi, Malaysia, yesterday.

US patrols disputed South China Sea

Sailors prepare FA-18 Hornet fighter jets for take off during a routine training aboard the US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt in the South China sea, yesterday .

The nuclear-powered warship, leading a carrier strike group, was conducting what the US military called routine training in the disputed South China Sea yesterday, headed for a port call in the Philippines, a defence treaty ally.

15WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2018 EUROPE

N Ireland marks 20 years of peace dealREUTERS

BELFAST: The leaders who brokered a peace deal for Northern Ireland in 1998 marked its 20th anniversary on Tuesday by warning that a hardening political divide and Britain’s exit from the EU were creating new dangers for the region.

Former US President Bill Clinton and ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair joined Irish and Northern Irish politicians in Belfast to mark the breakthrough on April 10, 1998 that called an end to 30 years of sectarian vio-lence in which around 3,600 people died.

But the collapse early last year of the power-sharing administration at the heart of that deal meant there was no devolved government to greet them — and little sign of the province’s Irish nationalists and pro-British unionists resolving the differences that have again divided them.

“We have to be very, very careful,” said former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, who chaired the talks that led to the agreement, when asked by Irish state broad-caster RTE if there was a danger of a return to violence. “Nothing

in life is guaranteed.”Northern Ireland was

quickly transformed by the deal, with the Irish Republican Army, responsible for most of the killings, agreeing to give up its weapons and the British army dismantling its armed check-points and withdrawing.

But while the outbreaks of violence have all but ended, the region’s politics has become more polarised - leading in January 2017 to the collapse of devolved power-sharing for the first time in a decade.

The supporter base of Northern Ireland’s liberal parties has shrunk, allowing the combined vote of the more divisive Democratic Unionist and Sinn Fein to grow from around 34 percent in 1998 to 56

percent at the last election in 2017. In recent months the rhetoric from both sides has hardened.

“Compromise has to become a good thing, not a dirty word and voters have to stop pun-ishing people who make those compromises and start rewarding them,” said Clinton, whose role in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement is celebrated as one of the key legacies of his chequered presidency.

“The only thing that would be calamitous would be to let the whole thing die,” Clinton said. “To ...go back to hell instead of going into a future.”

The political tensions have been heightened by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, with some Irish

nationalists highlighting the risk of next year’s departure leading to the reinstatement of a hard border between the UK province and Ireland, inflaming nation-alist opinion.

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to do a deal with the region’s largest pro-British party, the Demo-cratic Unionists, to prop up her government has fanned nation-alist rhetoric.

“The Tory government has

actively encouraged the most negative, intransigent and sec-tarian elements of political unionism to attack and undermine the Good Friday Agreement,” Gerry Adams, the former Sinn Fein leader who also helped negotiate the agreement, said in a speech on Tuesday.

Brexit, he said, was a direct threat to the Good Friday deal.

Some unionists pointed the finger instead at the Irish

government, saying its suggestion that Northern Ireland might be governed by EU rather than British regulations - or that it might unite with the Republic of Ireland in the coming years - risked inciting pro-British militants.

“I hope people realise that some of the things they are saying are dangerous,” David Trimble, head of the Ulster Unionist Party, the largest pro-British party in Northern Ireland in 1998, told RTE.

The members of The Class of 1998 Good Friday Agreement, (clockwise) British diplomat Jonathan Powell; former Alliance leader Lord Alderdice; former First Minister of Northern Ireland David Trimble; British politician Reg Empey; former Northern Ireland Secretary of State Paul Murphy; former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams; US Senator George Mitchell; former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, former Northern Ireland first minister Seamus Mallon and former Northern Ireland politician, Monica McWilliams, during a special event to mark the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, at Queen’s University in Belfast, yesterday.

Arms seized as Bosnia arrests two suspected IS militantsAFP

SARAJEVO: Bosnian police arrested yesterday two men suspected of being part of a jihadist movement, seizing weapons and IS parapher-nalia, prosecutors said.

“A certain quantity of arms was found, as well as grenades, ammunition, auto-matic rifle magazines, knives, combat vests and flags looking like IS insignia,” a prosecutors’ statement released yesterday said.

It did not elaborate whether the suspects planned to commit terrorist acts.

Their age or identity was also not revealed.

In December, a 25-year-old Bosnian man, in pos-session of a large quantity of weapons, was arrested in Sarajevo.

He had already been sen-tenced in 2016 to a year in prison for having joined the ranks of the IS militants group in Syria in 2013.

Romania destroys contaminated potatoesAP

BUCHAREST: Romanian public health officials have destroyed 1,100 kilograms of Egyptian potatoes after tests showed they had brown rot disease.

The ministry of agriculture said yesterday that the contam-inated potatoes were shipped to Romania’s Black Sea port of

Constanta from Egypt. Labo-ratory tests confirmed they had the disease, which can contam-inate water and soil.

The ministry said there is no “chemical or biological method” to eradicate “this damaging organism,” and that tainted potatoes could have had an “extremely severe” economic impact if they infest water

supplies.It said authorities were exer-

cising extra vigilance in pro-tecting the European Union member from other tainted veg-etables and plants.

The National Statistics Institute says 8,000 tonnes of potatoes were imported from Egypt in 2017, a sharp increase from the previous year.

Seven arrested over Catalan secession linkAP

MADRID: Spanish authorities yesterday detained seven people in Catalonia as part of a crackdown on disturbances associated with the region’s attempts to secede from Spain, saying one of those arrested is suspected of terrorism.

The Guardia Civil said it arrested a woman believed to be a leader of Catalonia’s so-called Committees for the Defense of the Republic — a grassroots group that organises protests. Those groups have been behind the blocking of road and train lines in Catalonia to press their demand for independence.

The Guardia Civil statement didn’t explain the legal grounds for the terrorism charge for the woman, but some Spanish

officials have described the group’s actions as sabotage.

Also yesterday, the Catalan police force Mossos d’Esquadra detained six men on suspicion of public disorder offenses during tense protests outside the region’s parliament in January.

A large crowd gathered outside when lawmakers attempted to elect Carles Puig-demont, a pro-independence leader who is now a fugitive, as Catalan president.

The three pro-inde-pendence parties in the Catalan parliament said the arrests amounted to “judicial perse-cution” of the separatists by Spain’s central authorities.

Secessionist groups planned street protests in Catalonia in the wake of the arrests.

A member of the Republic Defence Committees (CDR), separatist group, leaving her apartment building escorted by Spanish Guardia Civil guards in Viladecans, near Barcelona, yesterday.

Poisoned spy’s daughter discharged from hospitalREUTERS

SALISBURY: Yulia Skripal has been discharged from hospital more than a month after she was poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent together with her father, a former Russian spy, the English hospital treating them said yesterday.

Yulia and Sergei Skripal, 66, a former colonel in Russian mil-itary intelligence who betrayed dozens of spies to Britain’s foreign intelligence service, were found unconscious on a public bench in the English city of

Salisbury on March 4.With Britain accusing Russia

of being behind the nerve agent attack, the affair has blown up into one of the biggest Russia-West crises since the Cold War. Russia denies any involvement in an attack on the Skripals.

The two were in a critical condition for weeks and doctors at one point feared, even if they survived, they might have suf-fered brain damage. But the Skripals’ health since then has begun to improve rapidly.

Yulia, 33, has been dis-charged from Salisbury District

Hospital, Christine Blanshard, medical director of the hospital, said and her father could be dis-charged in due course.

“We have now discharged Yulia,” Blanshard said. “This is not the end of her treatment, but marks a significant milestone.”

“Her father has also made good progress. On Friday, I announced he was no longer in a critical condition. Although he is recovering more slowly than Yulia, we hope he too will be able to leave hospital in due course.”

Yulia has been taken to a secure location, the BBC said.

The Salisbury District Hospital is seen after Yulia Skripal was discharged, in Salisbury, Britain, yesterday.

“Northern Ireland today is unrecognis-able to the Northern Ireland of two decades ago. New challenges emerge but could be met through coura-geous political leader-ship.”

Former US Senator George Mitchell

UK’s fraud office appoints interim directorREUTERS

LONDON: A new director of Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has been selected and is expected to take up the position later this year, the government’s chief legal adviser said yesterday.

The announcement comes 10 days before SFO head David Green ends a six-year stint at the top of the investigator and pros-ecutor, whose criminal cases include investigations into major companies such as Barclays, GSK, Airbus and Rolls-Royce.

The ruling Conservative Party had pledged last May to scrap the agency and fold it into the broader National Crime Agency. But that plan drew fierce criticism from lawyers and anti-corruption groups and was dropped from the party’s two-year policy programme one month later.

Attorney General Jeremy Wright, who oversees the SFO,

said in a statement that SFO chief operating officer Mark Thompson would become interim director while the selected candidate completed the final stages of the appointment process and

managed an exit from their current job.

The British government only began the lengthy process in December of hunting for a replacement for Green, who has said he will be stepping down “just after lunch” on April 20.

Having fended off the ruling party’s move to end its inde-pendence, the SFO and gov-ernment have begun talks about how it is funded and whether its core annual budget of roughly $50m needs to be increased, Green has said.

It was also said yesterday that it was bringing on board new artificial intelligence tech-nology, by enterprise infor-mation management company Open Text, to slash the hefty costs of trawling through mil-lions of documents in investigations.

SFO’s chief technology officer Ben Denison said the amount of data handled by the

digital forensics team has quad-rupled in the last year. One case has generated over 50 million documents and another looks set to generate roughly 80 million, he said.

The SFO has often been crit-icised by lawmakers over its efforts to bring companies and senior individuals to book.

But during Green’s tenure, the agency has been praised by politicians for securing deferred prosecution agreements with Rolls-Royce and Tesco, yielding combined fines of around 630 million pounds, and filing unprecedented criminal charges against Barclays and former senior executives over alleged wrongdoing in the credit crisis era.

In its high-profile investiga-tions into benchmark interest rate rigging, six traders have been convicted and eight acquitted. Five more are standing trial this week — one in absentia.

Attorney General Jeremy Wright said in a statement that SFO Chief Operating Officer Mark Thompson would become interim director while the selected candidate completed the final stages of the appointment process and managed an exit from their current job.

16 WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2018EUROPE

Hungary’s oppn daily set to shut downREUTERS

BUDAPEST: One of Hungary’s two national opposition dailies will shut down today due to financial problems, its publisher said, in a sign of rapidly deteri-orating prospects for media freedom after the landslide re-election of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The closure of Magyar Nemzet will be a milestone in the gradual disappearance of independent media in Hungary that western EU leaders and international rights groups say underlines the country’s slide into authoritarianism.

The 80-year-old daily is owned by tycoon Lajos Sim-icska, once an ally of the right-wing nationalist prime minister

who fell out with him and became one of his staunchest opponents in the election campaign.

Simicska’s media holdings, once highly profitable, incurred heavy losses after he fell out with Orban and his publications were deprived of government advertising.

“Due to the financing problems of Magyar Nemzet, the owners have decided to cease media content production activity from April 11, 2018. Therefore Magyar Nemzet and its online version mno.hu will close,” the publisher said in on its website.

The timing of the announcement, two days after Orban won a two-thirds majority for the third time with

the ability to amend the consti-tution to entrench his power, suggests the newspaper’s closure had polit ical dimensions.

“Simicska dedicated his past year to revenge (against Orban), and his media portfolio was a conduit for that,” Policy Solu-tions analyst Tamas Boros said.

“Now that he sees Orban with another two-thirds majority, it was no longer worth his while.”

“He sees the results, antici-pates government revenge, and is shutting down unprofitable media organisations.”

Magyar Nemzet publisher’s also closed Lanchid Radio, a sister radio station, late yes-terday and seek buyers for other Simicska group outlets.

Journalists of Hungarian broadsheet, Magyar Nemzet, work on the last edition, in Budapest, yesterday.

Italian leader to restart coalition talksREUTERS

ROME: Italian President Sergio Mattarella (pictured) will hold a second round of talks about the formation of a coalition government on April 12 and 13, his office said yesterday, with no indication that any breakthrough is at hand.

Mattarella has the power to name a prime minister, but elec-tions on March 4 resulted in a hung parliament and a first round of consultations ended in stalemate last week.

Since then, the various political blocs seem to have drifted even further apart, firing daily barbs at each other and showing no sign of wanting to lay aside the rancour of the election campaign and work together on a joint project.

Financial markets have so far shown little alarm about the

prospect of prolonged deadlock in Italy, one of the euro zone’s most heavily indebted nations.

The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement emerged as the largest single party from last month’s vote, while a rightist alliance, including the anti-migrant League and Silvio Ber-lusconi’s Forza Italia, won the biggest bloc of seats.

5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio has suggested forming a gov-ernment with the League, but has refused to countenance any accord with Berlusconi, who has been convicted of tax fraud and is standing trial for bribing wit-nesses — a charge he denies.

The League unexpectedly overtook Forza Italia at the ballot box and its chief, Matteo Salvini, has assumed the mantle of

leader of the conservative bloc. He has rejected the suggestion that he should split from his allies to hook up with 5-Star.

Looking to put on a display of unity, rightist leaders will see the president together tomorrow, rather than meeting him sepa-rately, as they did in the initial round of consultations.

However, Di Maio has not budged on his refusal even to talk with Forza Italia. There is “zero percent chance that 5-Star will go into government with Berlusconi and the centre-right crowd”, he said on Twitter on Monday.

“Di Maio, right now, interests me less than zero,” the League’s Salvini responded.

The third force in parliament, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), has reiterated that it has no intention of helping either side to form a government and plans

to spend the coming parlia-mentary term in opposition after suffering a stinging defeat last month.

With coalition talks appar-ently going nowhere, political leaders have gone back on the campaign trail for regional elec-tions later this month, suggesting they will wait for these to pass before considering the sort of painful compromises needed to form a government.

If Mattarella fails to overcome the impasse he would have to call new elections, almost certainly in the autumn, but a senior source in his office said he was determined to avoid this.

Italy has a long history of finding a way out of apparently intractable political stalemate and its shortest-lived parliament in the modern era lasted two years.

EU unlikely to hit target of halving road deaths by 2020AFP

BRUSSELS: The EU admitted yesterday it is unlikely to hit its target of halving road deaths by 2020, saying that efforts to improve safety reduced fatal-ities by just 300 last year.

A total of 25,300 people were killed on EU roads in 2017, and 135,000 were seriously injured.

The bloc has poured money into its plan to make the conti-nent’s roads safer but the number of deaths has barely fallen from the 26,000 seen in 2013.

The EU’s transport commis-sioner Violeta Bulc acknowl-edged the target of halving road deaths between 2010 and 2020 was no longer realistic.

“At this rate we will be struggling to reach our goal of

halving road deaths by 2020.” Road deaths in the EU fell

from 54,900 in 2001 to 31,500 in 2010 but the decline since then has slowed considerably, stagnating in 2013 to 2014 and even rising slightly in 2015.

As a proportion of the pop-ulation, there were 49 deaths per million EU inhabitants in 2017, down from 50 the year before, but there is a gulf between the safest and most dangerous countries.

Sweden with 25 deaths per million population and Britain with 27 were the top per-formers, way ahead of Romania on 98 and Bulgaria on 96.

The European Commission, the bloc’s powerful executive branch, will come out with new proposals next month to improve safety.

Magnitude 4.7 quake rocks central Italy AP

MILAN: A magnitude 4.7 quake shook residents and structures early yesterday in a region of central Italy that had been struck by a series of powerful quakes in 2016. No deaths or injuries were reported.

Mayors in towns affected did, however, report some damage from the temblor, which struck just before dawn, and said that checks were under way. Schools in some towns were closed for the day, while a local train line was reopened after being closed temporarily.

The quake struck near the town of Macerata in the Marche region, which is still recovering from powerful quakes in October 2016 that caused widespread damage but no deaths.

Poland urges Russia to return presidential jet wreckageAFP

WARSAW: Poland’s President Andrzej Duda yesterday demanded that Russia hand over the wreckage of a 2010 presi-dential plane crash that has stoked friction with Moscow and divisions at home as Warsaw

marked eight years since the disaster.

President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria were among the 96 people who died in the crash in Smolensk, western Russia, on April 10, 2010.

Poland’s governing rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) party, led

by Kaczynski’s twin brother Jaroslaw, has long insisted the crash was no accident, with a new probe suggesting it was trig-gered by an explosion.

The previous liberal gov-ernment blamed bad weather and errors by the Polish pilots and two Russian air traffic con-trollers for the crash, regarded by some as Poland’s worst post-war disaster.

“The plane wreckage is probably the most important evidence in this case — it’s still in Russia and the Russian authorities don’t want to hand it over,” Duda said.

“One can only ask why the Russians don’t want to return the wreck,” he added, after laying floral tributes on the graves of Kaczynski and his wife in the southern Polish city of Krakow.

Warsaw has repeatedly asked Moscow to hand over the wreckage and black boxes, but each time Russia has said it will only do so when its own inquiry is finished.

Ties have been strained since the crash, and also since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, as well as the recent spy poisoning row that prompted a string of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions between Russia and the West.

Later oyesterday, Duda called for unity among Poles as he unveiled a controversial monument to the victims of the crash in the capital Warsaw.

“I believe that this mon-ument will unite us, regardless of our views, regardless of political stripes or beliefs; it belongs to everyone and is for everyone,” Duda told several thousand people gathered in the square for the unveiling.

Known for his highly divisive us-against-them brand of pol-itics, Jaroslaw Kaczynski used the ceremonies to call for “the unity of all Poles” at a time when the opinion poll ratings of his gov-erning PiS party are plunging, amid public outcry over generous bonuses for its ministers.

The Leader of the Law and Justice ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, addressing the crowd after the monument unveiling ceremony marking the 8th anniversary of Smolensk air disaster, at the Pilsudski Square, in Warsaw, yesterday.

If Italian President Sergio Mattarella fails to overcome the impasse he would have to call new elections, almost certainly in the autumn.

10 IS militants jailed for planning Barcelona attacksAFP

MADRID: Ten members of a jihadist cell linked to the IS militant group (IS) who planned attacks in Barcelona and to film a decapitation were sentenced to 8 to 12 years in jail yesterday.

The defendants included five Moroccans, four Span-iards and a Brazilian, the National Court, which handles terror cases, said in a ruling.

They were “ready to wage an attack against institutions such as the police, banks or Jewish institutions in Spain at any time, or to join the ranks of IS,” it added.

The cell was based in Terrassa, not far from Bar-celona, the Catalonian capital.

France arrests 14 over vicious attack on policeAFP

PARIS: Twelve men and two women were arrested yesterday over a brutal attack on two officers called to a New Year’s Eve party in a Paris suburb, an assault that shocked France after a video of the female officer’s beating circu-lated on social media.

The government vowed to crack down on urban violence after the attack, which occurred after the officers became sep-arated from the bulk of the force intervening to halt a party in Champigny-sur-Marne, east of the capital.

They had been called to clear 300 to 400 people attempting to see in 2018 at an unauthorised warehouse party.

Footage that soon went viral showed the 25-year-old policewoman writhing on the floor as she was kicked by the crowd, as well as revellers

flipping over a car.The 14 people arrested,

aged 16 to 20, are suspected of striking the officer, filming the scene or not aiding a person in danger, police sources said recently.

During searches of their homes, some suspects were found with clothes worn by people seen in the video of the attack, and a pellet-filled grenade which police suspect was taken from the scene, sources close to the inquiry said.

Some of the suspects were known to security forces.

“All those responsible have been arrested,” Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said.

The policewoman’s fellow officer, a 48-year-old captain, had his nose broken after being punched in the face, but the assault was not filmed, and investigators have not found his attackers.

May, Trump & Obama not invited to royal weddingREUTERS

LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May has not been invited to the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19, a British government source said.

Harry, grandson of Queen Elizabeth and younger brother of Prince William, will marry Markle, an American actress best known for her role in the TV series “Suits”, at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

The wedding guests will be people who have an existing

direct relationship with the groom or the bride or with both, said a source at Ken-sington palace, the official res-idence of William and Harry.

An official spokesman for the palace said: “It has been decided that an official list of political leaders — both UK and international — is not required for Prince Harry and Ms Mar-kle’s wedding. Her Majesty’s Government was consulted on this decision, which was taken by The Royal Household.”

The Telegraph newspaper and other British national

media said US President Donald Trump and his prede-cessor Barack Obama had not been invited.

There had been some spec-ulation that the Obamas might be invited due to the personal rapport between the former president and Harry, but it would have been diplomati-cally awkward to invite the Obamas and not the Trumps.

The British government source said there had been no expectation from May’s office that the prime minister would be invited.

17WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2018 AMERICAS

Zuckerberg tells lawmakers ‘I’m sorry’ for data abusesREUTERS

WASHINGTON: Facebook chairman Mark Zuckerberg offered apologies to US lawmakers yesterday as he made a long-awaited appearance in a congressional hearing on the hijacking of personal data on millions of users.

Reading from his written tes-timony, Zuckerberg repeated a statement he had previously made, saying the misuse of data “was my mistake, and I’m sorry.” “It will take some time to work through all of the changes we need to make, but I’m committed to getting it right,” Zuckerberg told a Senate hearing.

Zuckerberg was making his first formal appearance at a

Congressional hearing, seeking to allay widespread fears ignited by the leaking of private data on tens of millions of users to a British firm working on Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.

The scandal has sparked fresh calls for regulation of social media platforms, and Facebook in the past week has sought to stem criticism by endorsing at least one legislative proposal, which would require better labeling and disclosure on political advertising.

Senator Charles Grassley, chair of one of the committees holding the hearing, said the scandal involving the British firm Cambridge Analytica “was clearly a breach of consumer trust and a likely improper

transfer of data.” The revelation on data mishandling “has exposed that consumers may not fully understand or appreciate the extent to which their data is collected, protected, transferred, used and misused,” Grassley said. Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook in his Harvard Uni-versity dorm room in 2004, is fighting to demonstrate to critics that he is the right person to go on leading what has grown into one of the world’s largest com-panies. Facebook faces a growing crisis of confidence among users, advertisers, employees and investors after acknowledging that up to 87 million people, mostly in the United States, had their personal information harvested from the

site by Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy that has counted US President Donald Trump’s election campaign among its clients.

Zuckerberg, who has never testified in a congressional hearing, said in written tes-timony on Monday that he had made mistakes and had held too narrow a view of the social net-work’s role in society.

“Now we have to go through every part of our relationship with people and make sure we’re taking a broad enough view of our responsibility,” he said.

Facebook hired several outside consultants to help coach Zuckerberg, even holding mock sessions to prepare him for ques-tions from lawmakers. In an

olive branch on Friday, Zuck-erberg threw his support behind proposed legislation requiring social media sites to disclose the identities of buyers of online political campaign ads. Twitter Inc also said on Tuesday, for the first time, that it supports the bill, called the Honest Ads Act.

US lawmakers have dis-cussed legislation that would strengthen data privacy protec-tions and enforcement. Tighter regulation of how Facebook uses its members’ data could affect its ability to attract advertising revenue, its lifeblood.

Zuckerberg on Monday met some lawmakers privately, lis-tening to their concerns before they will have a chance to inter-rogate him in public.

Trump lashes out at FBI after raids on lawyerREUTERS

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump reprised his angry attacks on law enforcement yesterday following FBI raids targeting his personal lawyer that were related to a federal investigation into possible collusion by Trump campaign aides with Moscow.

In two brief Twitter mes-sages, Trump lamented that “attorney-client privilege is dead,” apparently restating his long-held view of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s inves-tigation. He did not elaborate.

FBI agents executed a series of search warrants on Michael Cohen’s office and home on Monday, law enforcement offi-cials said. One source said Cohen was under investigation for activity including possible bank and tax fraud and possible cam-paign law violations.

The searches, which Trump denounced on Monday as dis-graceful, were a dramatic new development in a series of probes involving associates of the

Republican president.“The raid is seismic,” Dem-

ocratic US Senator Richard Blu-menthal, a former US attorney, told MSNBC yesterday, adding that such searches by the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicate the possibility that a crime was committed.

The investigations have dogged Trump since he took office last year, prompting him to publicly criticise Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investi-gation, and to suggest

periodically that he might try to have Mueller dismissed.

Monday’s events renewed concerns that Trump could try to act against Mueller, who was appointed last year by the Justice Department to investigate alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election and potential col-lusion by Trump’s campaign. Critics have said that if Trump tried to remove Mueller it would

amount to interference in the investigation.

“It would be suicide for the president to want to talk about firing Mueller. The less the pres-ident said on this whole thing, the better off he would be, the stronger his presidency would be,” Republican US Senator Chuck Grassley said in an interview on the Fox Business Network.

Grassley is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is among congressional panels conducting their own Russia probes.

Frank Montoya, a former senior FBI official, said it was extremely rare for the bureau to get the authority to search a law-yer’s office, let alone a residence.

“No question, a search warrant for a lawyer is an extraordinary act,” he told Reuters. “Factor in that, in this instance, it was the president’s own attorney. Unprecedented.” Montoya said the warrant regarding Cohen would have required rigorous scrutiny above and beyond the normal warrant process.

“Everyone involved in this process, including the judge who signed the warrant, understood the scrutiny that would follow its execution,” he said. “As such, everyone in the process would have done their damnedest to make the warrant as bulletproof as possible.” Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen M. Ryan, said on Monday

prosecutors seized communica-tions between Cohen and his clients based in part on a referral by Mueller.

The attorney-client privilege Trump referred to is intended to encourage open communications between lawyers and their clients, so that lawyers can provide sound legal advice. But the privilege is not absolute, and there is an exception for com-munications made to further a crime.

US Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer renewed a call by his party for bipartisan legislation to protect the US special counsel.

Moscow has denied US intel-ligence agencies’ findings that it meddled in the 2016 presidential campaign and sought to tilt the race in Trump’s favor. Trump has denied any collusion by his campaign.

Mueller’s probe has so far led to five people, including four connected to Trump, pleading guilty to charges, many of them related to making false state-ments to investigators.

Trump’s Homeland Security Adviser Bossert resigns

REUTERS

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security Adviser, Tom Bossert (pictured), has resigned at the request of new National Aecurity Adviser, John Bolton, an administration official said yesterday, marking the latest departure from the White House of a senior adviser.

Bossert, a former deputy national security adviser to President George W. Bush, had overseen the administration’s response to the Hurricane Maria disaster in Puerto Rico, as well as cybersecurity policy. An official said Bolton, who started his new role on Monday, urged Bossert’s departure.

“The president is grateful for Tom’s commitment to the safety and security of our great country,” White House spokes-woman Sarah Sanders said in

a statement.“Tom led the White House’s

efforts to protect the homeland from terrorist threats, strengthen our cyber defenses, and respond to an unprece-dented series of natural dis-asters,” she said.

Bolton’s arrival at the White House also prompted the departure of Trump’s national security council spokesman, Michael Anton.

The partial purge raised concern from Democratic Senator Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who told CNN Bolton “seems to be swiftly moving to eliminate or to move toward an early retirement several of the president’s advisers.” Jamil Jaffer, a former chief counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and associate counsel to Bush, said it was a “huge mistake” to force Bossert out.

“Tom is a very smart and highly skilled national security leader who has been a beacon of principle, capability, and discipline in an otherwise chaotic White House,” he said.

“Letting Bossert go at a time of heightened threats and when there is significant churn on the overall national security team is a yet another unforced error.” Bossert joins a long list of senior officials who have resigned or been fired since Trump took office in January 2017.

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with senior military leaders at the White House in Washington, DC.

The members of the Arizona National Guard listen to instructions at the Papago Park Military Reservation in Phoenix.

Over 1,000 Texas troops headed to Mexico borderAFP

EL PASO: Texas will send more than 1,000 National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border, in response to President Donald Trump’s call for the military deployment to the southern frontier, the state announced yesterday.

An initial 250 Texas military personnel were sent to the border over the weekend. The Texas Military Department said the initial deployment was command and planning staff, along with support aircraft, vehicles and other equipment.

The department announced yesterday it would activate 300 reserve troops this week, and each of the following weeks, for a total of more than 1,000 troops. “The number of people

coming across the border has increased more than 200 percent over this time last year,” Governor Greg Abbott said.

“The addition of National Guard on the border has proven to have a meaningful impact to reduce the flow of people and illegal activities coming across the border.” Texas already had approximately 100 troops at the border prior to Trump’s request. They were first activated in 2014 and have been serving in an “observe and support” role, offi-cials said.

The additional troops will be tasked with assisting border patrol agents by carrying out surveillance, communications, and other tasks. The US Defence Department last week signed an order calling for as many as 4,000 National Guard personnel

to assist at the southern border.National Guard troops are

normally commanded by gov-ernors. The border state of Arizona has also responded to the federal request, deploying 225 members of its Guard on Monday.

The defense department said the troops would not carry out law enforcement activities without federal approval and would be armed for self-defense when necessary.

Trump has indicated he might keep troops at the border until his promised border wall is built.

The deployment has heightened tensions with Mexico, whose President Enrique Pena Nieto on Monday ordered a review of its bi-lateral cooperation with the US.

Argentina will not recognise Venezuela vote: MacriAFP

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina will not recognise the result of next months’ Venezuelan presidential election, which is being boycotted by the main opposition parties, Pres-ident Mauricio Macri (pictured) said yesterday.

Macri was speaking after talks in Buenos Aires with vis-iting Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, during which they discussed the Venezuela crisis.

“We are not going to val-idate the result of the election on May 20,” said Macri. “It does not have any value, even if Mr Maduro insults me, we will not recognise him as a democratic president because there has not been a democracy in Venezuela for some time.” Despite presiding over an economic collapse, Socialist President Nicolas Maduro is seeking a second six-year term in elections which the opposition coa-lition claims are effectively rigged in advance.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Macri said the crisis would be “top of the agenda” at the Summit of the Americas, which begins Friday in Lima. The center-right Argentine president said countries agreeing that the elections have no validity will discuss at the summit what measures could be taken against Maduro’s gov-ernment. Rajoy said that “unfortunately the problem is of such magnitude that it already affects the entire region and has overflowed all borders.” Oil-rich Venezuela’s crushing economic and political crisis has caused widespread shortages of basic goods, in addition to hyper-inflation which the Interna-tional Monetary Fund expects to run to 13,000 percent this year.

In two brief Twitter messages, Trump lamented that “attorney-client privilege is dead,” apparently restating his long-held view of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. He did not elaborate.

18 WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2018AMERICAS

Mexico lets independent ‘Bronco’ run for presidentAFP

MEXICO CITY: A Mexican court ruled yesterday that controversial independent candidate Jaime “The Bronco” Rodriguez can run for president, even though elec-toral authorities found he failed to collect the required signatures.

A tough-talking former rancher who does not shy away from controversy or cussing, Rodriguez will now be the fifth candidate on the ballot for the July 1 election, along with veteran leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the front-runner; con-servative Ricardo Anaya; ruling-party candidate Jose Antonio Meade; and former first lady Mar-garita Zavala, a fellow independent.

Mexico’s electoral court ruled that the National Electoral Institute (INE) erred in not letting Rodriguez contest its March decision to exclude him from the

ballot.The INE had found that more

than half the two million signa-tures submitted in support of his candidacy were forged, photo-copied or invalid due to other irregularities. But the court said the INE failed to “respect the

guarantee of a hearing during the review process.” “God is great, thank you,” Rodriguez wrote on Twitter after the ruling. “#NoSur-render.” The election will be the first time Mexico has allowed independent presidential candi-dates in its modern history.

The independents have next to no chance of winning, but could play spoilers by stripping votes away from the three main candidates. In Rodriguez’s case, he could cut into front-runner Lopez Obrador’s vote in the north of the country.

Both are seen as tough-talking anti-establishment types, but Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor, is not well known in the north, whereas the cowboy hat-wearing Rodriguez is instantly recognizable as a native. Rodriguez made history in 2015 by becoming the first independent ever to be elected governor in Mexico. But he also

has a penchant for landing in hot water, such as when he warned school children about the dangers of teen pregnancy by saying, “No one loves a fat girl.” Zavala, the wife of ex-president Felipe

Calderon (2006-2012), will for her part likely cut into the vote for fellow right-wing candidate Anaya. The court also gave the INE 10 days to review the signa-tures submitted by another

would-be independent can-didate: moderate leftist Armando Rios Piter, known as “The Jaguar,” who has also appealed electoral authorities’ ruling excluding him from the ballot.

Lula has TV in prison, but prefers to read: ReportAFP

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil’s ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva could be watching tele-vision and sunbathing but so far prefers staying in his prison cell with a book, local media reports said yesterday.

The leftist former two-term president also has eight assistants, including four body-guards and drivers.

Frustratingly, they’re all on the outside, of course, and current President Michel Temer is considering stripping the priv-ilege, a spokesman said.

But in many ways Lula, who was locked up Saturday to start a 12-year prison sentence for corruption, is very lucky.

The cell, inside federal police headquarters in the southern city of Curitiba, is lightyears from the hellish conditions endured by many Brazilian prisoners.

Not for him cells so crowded that inmates take turns to sleep, or facilities run by gang leaders, or jailhouse power struggles in which prisoners are stabbed, clubbed to death and even beheaded.

This is a modern, well-designed building, as Lula knows: it was inaugurated under his presidency on February 2, 2007. His name’s on the plaque downstairs.

As for the cell, measuring about 160 square feet (15 square meters), it isn’t even a proper lock-up. It’s a room, nicknamed “the headquarters,” usually reserved for lawyers or others working in the building who need a place to sleep.

And because it’s not a police building, not a standard prison, Lula doesn’t have to have his head shaved or wear a uniform.

There’s a private shower and toilet, hot water and a cupboard.

As a special favor to Lula, he was allowed a television.

On Sunday, his first full day of incarceration, he used it to watch his beloved Corinthians football team beat Palmeiras to win the Sao Paulo championship.

But Lula, arguably the most influential Brazilian politician for decades, isn’t too suited to this quiet, if comfortable existence.

“The closest friends and aides of Lula are worried that he could sink into a depression in jail,” Folha de S.Paulo columnist Monica Bergamo wrote Tuesday in a piece claiming to reveal much of Lula’s new private life.

According to Bergamo, Lula’s biggest problem is the isolation.

He’s a leader used to talking all day and — as anyone attending his often tear-filled, high-energy speeches knows -- a good part of the night.

Bergamo’s column reports that Lula’s lawyers unpacked the ex-president’s suitcase on Sat-urday and went shopping to pick up the sheets, towels, pillows and soap that the police facility

doesn’t provide. They even debated whether he could bring his own supply of chocolate, but in the rush forgot to pack an anti-snoring device that Lula uses, she wrote.

Leftist front-runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the National Regeneration Movement shows a present given to him for attending a meeting with the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico in Mexico City, yesterday.

Rodriguez will now be the fifth candidate on the ballot for the July 1 election, along with veteran leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the front-runner; conservative Ricardo Anaya; ruling-party candidate Jose Antonio Meade; and former first lady Margarita Zavala, a fellow independent.

The supporters of Brazilian former President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, camp in the surroundings of the Federal Police headquarters, where the ex-president is serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption, in Curitiba, yesterday.

Peace process at risk after arrest of ex-rebel: Colombia’s FARCREUTERS

BOGOTA: Colombia’s peace deal with the former FARC rebels is at risk of failure after the arrest of a soon-to-be congressman from the now-political party on drug traf-ficking charges, the group said yesterday.

Seusis Hernandez, known by his nom de guerre Jesus Santrich, was indicted by US grand jury for conspiring with three others to export 10 tonnes of cocaine, worth $320m in street value, to the United States, Colombia’s attorney general said on Monday. He will remain in

Colombian custody until a US request for extradition is for-malised, the Attorney-General said. Hernandez was a rebel negotiator for more than four years at peace talks between the government and the FARC, which kept its initials but renamed itself the Revolu-tionary Alternative Common Force when it became a political party.

The talks resulted in an accord that ended more than 52 years of fighting between the two sides and prompted more than 12,000 FARC fighters and sympathizers to hand in thou-sands of weapons, in what the

government says is an irre-versible peace process. “With the capture of our comrade Jesus Santrich the peace process finds itself at its most critical point and threatens to be a true failure,” soon-to-be FARC Senator Ivan Marquez said.

Marquez said Hernandez’s arrest is a “set-up” and called for a meeting with the United Nations Colombia mission and the government.

“This is a farce that has been put together to trick Colombian and international opinions. Extradition would be a violation of the accords, the failure of the peace process,” Marquez said.

Ivan Marquez (centre), Amparo Sandino (left) and Pablo Catatumbo, members of the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force (FARC) political party, during a press meet in Bogota, yesterday.

Mississippi prison comes under fire during federal trialAP

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI: The state of Mississippi has “aban-doned its responsibility to provide basic needs” to inmates at a privately run prison that is excessively violent and fails to provide proper medical care, an attorney for the prisoners said.

The American Civil Lib-erties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center sued the state over conditions at East Mississippi Correctional Facility, which is home to 1,200 inmates, 80 percent of whom have been diagnosed with a mental health problem.

The Mississippi Department of Corrections “receives report after report and does nothing. That is the definition of delib-erate indifference,” plaintiffs’ attorney Erin Monju said in closing arguments.

Warden Frank Shaw tes-tified during the five-week trial that the prison follows protocol and the facility is no worse than any other. Attorneys for the government defended the facility, including its regular use of solitary confinement.

“Coloring books and timeout isn’t going to work for criminals,” Defence Attorney William Siler said.

The prison, located outside of Meridian, is operated under

a contract with the Utah-based Management and Training Corp. MTC is footing the bill of the legal defense team, but lawyers are defending the state of Mississippi. Plaintiffs say the state has been aware and com-placent of the prison’s uncon-stitutional conditions.

In a SPLC news release sent after Monday’s closing argu-ments, Jody Owens, SPLC’s managing attorney for Missis-sippi, said the state’s Department of Corrections “allows this prison to fail at even the most fundamental tasks.” “The result is a place so dangerous and so violent that it shocks corrections experts, yet the department keeps handing taxpayer money to private companies to run the prison and its services,” Owens said.

The state’s attorneys said the groups suing Mississippi have an agenda and want to lit-igate private prisons out of business.

“We need to get out of their (MTC’s) way and let them run their prison,” Siler said.

Privately run prisons can be a political hot potato. Law-makers often tout their lowered costs and better performance than state-run facilities, but opponents point to under-staffing, health care cuts and a lack of transparency.

Panama weighs more action in fight with VenezuelaAP

PANAMA CITY: Panama’s Foreign Minister says her country may take further retaliatory measures against Venezuela if the neighbouring nation doesn’t reverse diplo-matic and trade bans announced last week.

Isabel de Saint Malo said that “let’s hope Venezuela revises some things, because otherwise Panama will have to take coherent counter-measures.” Venezuela banned key Panamanian businesses from operating on its territory after Panama’s government put Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on a list of Venezuelan officials deemed to be at “high risk” for laun-dering money. The ban included businesses of Pan-amanian President Juan Carlos Varela and Copa, one of the few airlines still oper-ating within Venezuela.

Panama then pulled its ambassador from Venezuela and asked Venezuela to recall its emissary. Panama is keeping its embassy in Caracas open with a skeleton staff.

Brazil’s Temer nominates new slate of ministersREUTERS

SAO PAULO: Brazilian Pres-ident Michel Temer has offi-cially nominated 11 new ministers, the government’s official bulletin said yesterday, giving continuity to the government’s reform program ahead of the general elections in October.

While the names were previously known, the formal nomination will allow the officials to take up their posts.

It is common in Brazil to see heavy ministerial turnover during an election year, as ministers leave office in order to run for elected positions. Among the min-isters nominated are the fol-lowing: Marcos Jorge de Lima as industry and commerce minister, Wellington Moreira Franco as mining and energy minister, Eduardo Guardia as finance minister, Esteves Colnago as planning minister, and Helton Yomura as labor minister.


VILLAGGIO & CITY CENTERCROSSWORD NOVO Pearl Qatar

MALL

Note: Programme is subject to change without prior notice.

LANDMARK

AL KHOR

ASIAN TOWN

Hurricane Heist (2D/Action) 10:00, 11:00am, 12:00noon, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 8:30, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00pm & 12:00midnight Acts of Violence 10:00am, 12:00noon, 1:00, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, 10:00, 11:00pm & 12:00midnight I Kill Giants (2D) 10:00am, 12:10, 2:20, 4:30, 6:40 & 8:50pm Red Sparrow (2D) 10:00am, 3:00, 8:00 & 11:00pm Tomb Raider (2D/Action) 10:00am, 12:30 & 3:00pm A Quiet Place (2D) 5:30, 7:20, 9:10 & 11:00pm Black Water (2D) 12:45, 5:45 & 10:45pm Status Update (2D) 11:00am, 4:00 & 9:00pm Ready Player One (2D/Action) 1:15, 6:15 & 11:15pm Etlouly Barra (2D/Arabic) 10:00am, 2:00, 6:00 & 10:00pm Talq Sena3y (2D/Arabic) 12:00noon, 4:00, 8:00pm & 12:00midnight Ready Player One (3D/IMAX) 11:00am, 2:00, 5:00, 8:00 & 11:00pm

Sudani From Nigeria (2D/Malayalam) 11:30am, 2:30 & 9:30pm Blackmail(Hindi) 11:30am, 5:00 & 11:15pm I Kill Giants 7:30pm Chal Mohan Ranga (Telugu) 2:30pm Peter Rabbit (2D/Animation) 2:30, 4:15, 6:00 & 7:30pmStatus Update (2D/Comedy) 5:00pm Acts of Violence (2D/Action) 7:00 & 11:30pm Baaghi 2(Hindi) 7:30 & 11:30pm A Quiet Place (2D/Horror) 10:00pm Black Water (2D/Action) 9:30pm

ROYAL PLAZA

Chal Mohan Ranga (Telugu) 2:15 & 11:15pm Sudani From Nigeria (2D/Malayalam) 2:30, 4:45, 7:00 & 11:15pm Peter Rabbit (2D/Animation) 2:30, 4:15, 6:00 & 7:30pmI Kill Giants 5:00 & 9:00pm A Quiet Place (2D/Horror) 9:30pm Acts of Violence (2D/Action) 7:15pm Black Water (2D/Action) 9:15pm Baaghi 2 (Hindi) 2:15 & 11:00pm

Peter Rabbit (2D/Animation) 2:15, 4:00 & 5:45pmBlackmail (Hindi) 2:00 & 6:30pm Sudani From Nigeria (2D/Malayalam) 2:15, 9:00 & 11:00pm Ready Player One (2D/Action) 2:30 & 9:00pmBaghi 2 (Hindi) 4:30, 9:00 & 11:15pm I Kill Giants 4:30pmBlack Water (2D/Action) 7:00pmActs of Violence (2D/Action) 7:30 & 9:15pm A Quiet Place (2D/Horror) 11:30pm

Chal Mohan Ranga (Telugu) 6:15pm Sudani From Nigeria (Malayalam) 6:30, 8:45, 9:00, 11:00 & 11:30pm Blackmail (Hindi) 6:30pm Rangastalam(Telugu) 6:30pm Baghi 2 (Hindi) 9:45pm

Blackmail (Hindi) 10:30am, 3:45, 6:00, 9:00 & 11:30pmBaaghi 2 (Hindi) 11:15am, 4:00 & 8:45pmPeter Rabbit (Animation) 12:00noon, 2:00 & 4:00pm Sudani From Nigeria (Malayalam) 1:15, 6:30 & 11:45pm A Quiet Place (Horror) 2:00, 6:45 & 11:30pm Chal Mohan Ranga (Telugu) 8:45pm

FLIK MirqabA Quiet Place 12:35, 7:00, 8:55, 10:50pm & 12:45amActs of Violence 2:20, 4:20, 6:20, 8:20, 9:30, 10:20, 11:30pm & 12:20am I Kill Giants 11:20am & 4:50pm Pacific Rim: Uprising 3:45pm Black Water 1:30, 8:30 & 10:45pm My Perfect You 11:20am, 7:35 & 10:50pm Peter Rabbit 10:30am, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:35, 4:30, 5:35, 6:30 & 7:35pm Ready One Player 10:50am, 1:55, 3:25, 5:00, 8:25, 9:35pm & 12:35am 3D 6:30pm Red Sparrow 10:25pm Sudani From Nigeria 10:20am, 1:00, 3:40, 6:20, 9:00 & 11:40pm Tomb Raider 11:10am, 2:30, 6:05, 8:05 & 11:30pm

BAAGHI 2

Ronny, is hired by ex-lover Neha, to track down her daughter Riya, who has been kidnapped.

DOHA: Mitsubishi Elevators & Esca-lators organised fun filled family get-together for their employees and their families. More than 225 members and their families attended a family fun day recently in Sealine Beach Resort at Mesaieed.

ETA MELCO Family Fun Day aims for ‘work-life’ balance that encourages employees to bring their professional and personal lives together in a positive way, providing an opportunity for the staffs and their families to engage with each other in more enjoyable at personal level, outside the work environment.

The event proved to be very suc-cessful with the participation of 200 plus families. Everyone enjoyed a day out and

had a great time with wide range of fun games and sports activities. It was the perfect opportunity for employees to engage their relationship with their col-leagues and their families.

Different games were organized for men, women and children. The sporting and fun activities for the par-ticipants included Musical Pizza for Gents, Ladies and Children. The par-ticipants took part in football penalty shoot in open goal for Gents, Cricket,Beach Volley Ball and Football for Boys. Jumping castle was also arranged to keep children busy. ETA MELCO Family Fun day ended with prize distribution for all the winners and Children take away with Surprise Gifts.

Mitsubishi Elevators & Escalators holds Family Fun Day at Sealine Beach

The Westin Doha Hotel & Spa wins two FACT Dining AwardsTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Westin Doha Hotel & Spa was recently honoured with two prestigious awards during the fourth annual FACT Dining Awards, which recog-nizes every year excellence in the food and hospitality industry.

This year, The Westin popular F&B outlets won the Best Saturday Brunch as decided by critic’s choice, and the Favourite Friday Brunch as decided by public online voting.

For the second year in a row, “Favorite Friday Brunch” was announced for the well-known “Bubbalicious brunch” at Sea-sonal Tastes; the imaginative and interactive signature res-taurant that features a wide array of International dishes. “The Best Saturday Brunch” for Sabai Thai which continues to

be Doha’s favorite authentic Thai food.

Thrilled by this accom-plishment, Rui Eduardo, Director of Food & Beverage of The Westin Doha Hotel & Spa, said:“since the opening of the hotel in 2016, we strive to raise the hotel’s standards and

present world- class cuisine to our guests.”

He added: “We are so honored to receive such signif-icant awards,which recognizes the uniqueness of our facilities and showcases our commitment toward creating innovative and exceptional services.”

The Westin Doha Hotel & SPA team members.

Olive International School organises orientation for KG-1DOHA: To make the school journey an exciting, successful, positive and happy experience a three day student’s orientation programme was conducted at Olive International School for KG 1 at Abu Hamour Campus.

The first day started with a warm welcome on 3rd April, 2018 and welcome badges were given to the children which made them feel like stars. The occasion was addressed by

Principal Jacob K M in which he highlighted to encourage pos-itive attitude of children at home and encourage constructive interaction.

The programme started with a prayer and a welcome song by the staff. Specific information about the school policies, pos-itive relationship between parents and teachers and all the support necessary to make early learning activity and

play a priority in the home was highlighted by the teacher. Class demo was presented by different teachers to make parents aware about the methodology used for the teaching.

Fun filled games for parents and kids highlighted the day. cake cutting ceremony and return gifts were given to the children. The day ended with a Thank You note by the coordi-nator Amrapali Rajput.

The orientation programme, including a cake cutting ceremony, was addressed by Principal Jacob K M.

Over 225 employees and their familites attended the family fun day at Sealine Beach Resort in Mesaieed.

20 WEDNESDAY 11 APRIL 2018MORNING BREAK

FAJRSHOROOK

03. 58 AM

05. 16 AM

11. 35 AM

03. 05 PM

05. 57 PM

07. 27 PM

ZUHRASR

MAGHRIBISHA

PRAYER TIMINGS

HIGH TIDE 01:30 – 14:30 LOW TIDE 09:30 – 19:00

Slight dust and partly cloudy to cloudy

with chance of rain at places thundery at

times.

WEATHER TODAY

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

Minimum Maximum 24oC 33oC

Chamber music concert series launchedRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Chamber Music Society of Qatar (CMSQ) and the embassies of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom yesterday announced the launch of the International Chamber Music Concert Series for Peace and Unity.

The series will see the six diplo-matic missions bring world class artistes to Qatar to perform alongside well-known Doha-based musicians to inspire the local community and promote unity and peace through a celebration of each of the country’s unique art and culture.

“Music brings us all together and it kindles in us great values such as love, self-belief, empathy, solidarity non-violence, peace and unity among others. Music is an eloquent, compre-hensive language that allows us to express what is happening inside us and around us, and helps us reflect upon the times and circumstances in which we live today,” concert pianist Sonja Park, co-founder of the recently established CMSQ, said at a press con-ference yesterday at Mondrian Doha Hotel.

Dutch Ambassador Dr. Bahia Tahzib-Lie shared similar view, saying, “Music has such a strong convening power that brings people from all dif-ferent backgrounds together and makes people realise that the interests that we share together are far stronger that the forces that drive us apart. Music can help facilitate unity and peace, values that every member of the European Union is working for every single day.”

Park said CMSQ was founded to create a platform for world class con-certs to be held in an intimate setting.

“Through these concerts, we would like to create an unparalleled intimate experience for both the performing artistes and the audience, thereby intensifying the magical exchange of emotions and moods between them,” she added.

For the kick-off of the series, the French Embassy brings to Qatar mezzo-soprano Ambroisine Bre, one of opera’s fast-rising stars, who will

be performing along with prominent Doha-based musicians Sonja Park (piano), Dmitri Torchinsky (violin) and Hassan Moataz El Molla (cello). Titled

“Centenary of Claude Debussy,” the concert will take place on April 17 at 7pm at Mondrian Doha and feature masterpieces by the acclaimed French composer who died 100 years ago.

The concert is free to the public on a first-come, first-served basis and supports Moving Young Artists (MYA), a non-profit foundation which nur-tures young talents in Qatar while promoting appreciation of classical music. Concert-goers may make donations at the show to benefit MYA.

“We wanted this concert to be accessible to all, so entry is free. We wish to encourage the development of music sector in Qatar and support Moving Young Artists which will organise the second edition of Qatar National Music Competition in October,” said French Ambassador Eric Chevallier.

British Ambassador Ajay Sharma said the Embassy will invite an up-and-coming British musician to perform in Doha for this initiative.

“Music is a powerful tool that brings people together, across

languages, cultures and borders. Qatar and the UK already enjoy strong musical links, and through these events we hope to inspire a new gen-eration of musicians,” Sharma said.

Expressing pleasure at the Belgian embassy’s participation in the concert series, Belgian Ambassador to Qatar Bart De Groof said, “It’s not too widely known that Belgium has a rich her-itage of composers who wrote intimate music for small audiences, taking delight in the universality of the language of music. Belgium as a small-scale country produced some of the f inest small-scale masterpieces.”

Austrian Ambassador Dr Willy Kempel, said, “Music is the external language of our inner feelings, thus connecting us to ourselves and the world around us in more than one way.”

Those who wish to watch next week’s concert may book their place at http://institutfrancais-qatar.com or contact [email protected].

FROM THIRD LEFT: Dr. Bahia Tahzib-lie, Netherlands Ambassador to Qatar; Eric Chevallier, French Ambassador; Sonja Park, Managing Director of MYA and co-founder of CMSQ; Ajay Sharma, British Ambassador; Bart De Groof, Belgian Ambassador and Dr. Willy Kempel, Austrian Ambassador, with other officials during a press conference to launch the International Chamber Music Concert Series for Peace and Unity held at Mondrian Doha Hotel, yesterday.PIC: BAHER AMIN/THE PENINSULA

Music brings us all together and it kindles in us great values such as love, self-belief, empathy, solidarity non-violence, peace and unity among others. Music is an eloquent, comprehensive language that allows us to express what is happening inside us and around us, and helps us reflect upon the times and circumstances in which we live today: Sonja Park

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