emir, king of morocco discuss boosting ties...→ continued on page 2 ← emir h h sheikh tamim bin...

Volume 22 | Number 7344 | 2 RiyalsMonday 13 November 2017 | 24 Safar 1439 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

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An exclusive interview given by thePrime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, H E Binali Yildirim, to The Peninsula.The second part will appear tomorrow.

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EXCLUSIVE

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Emir, King of Morocco discuss boosting tiesQNA

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and H M King Mohammed VI of Morocco held talks on the bilat-eral relations between the two brotherly countries and prospects for

strengthening and developing them.At the beginning of the talks which was

held at the Emiri Diwan yesterday evening, the Emir welcomed the King of Morocco and the accompanying delegation, expressing hope that the visit would further develop the brotherly relations between the two coun-tries, in order to meet the wishes of the two brotherly peoples and open up new horizons for joint cooperation.

The Emir also congratulated His Majesty the King and the Moroccan people on the

occasion of Morocco’s qualification for the 2018 World Cup finals.

For his part, H M King Mohammed VI expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Emir for his congratulations, expressing his happiness with this visit, which comes in order to strengthen fraternal ties and rela-tions of cooperation between the two brotherly countries.

The two sides reviewed areas of bilateral cooperation at various levels to the benefit of the two peoples, and discussed the develop-ments on the Arab and international arenas.

The talks were attended by Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani. A number of Their Excellencies Ministers also attended the talks.

→ Continued on page 2

←Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and H M King Mohammed VI of Morocco reviewing the guard of honour at the Emiri Diwan yesterday.

QNA

Director of the Government Commu-nications Office H E Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani (pictured)

announced yesterday that Qatar opened an investigation into an alleged attempt to manipulate its currency during the early weeks of a Gulf political crisis, now in its sixth month.

Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed told French news agency AFP that an unnamed global finan-cial institution, partly owned by United Arab Emirates investors, had been instructed to stop trading Qatari riyals across Europe and Asia. The Director said that if the act of finan-cial warfare was proven to be true, it would

be a disgrace and danger not only to Qatar’s economy but the global one as well.

Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed said that one of the financial institutions stopped trading in riyals for a few days and it was only after Qatar reached out to them that they resumed trading. Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed added that Qatar’s intelligence agencies were carrying out an investigation and have engaged with law enforcement officials in the relevant jurisdictions. The Qatari government through its various entities, including the central bank, is working on confirming and identi-fying these reports.

Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed noted that Qatar had become aware of the currency issue in July but was revisiting the issue following

recent media reports. His Excellency then added that there will definitely be an effort to bring Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup 2022 under attack one way or the other.

The Peninsula

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani officially opened the Qatar Law

Forum 2017 yesterday. The opening was attended by Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Addressing the conger-ence, experts said Qatar continues to play an impor-tant role in strengthening the

rule of law the world over.H E Dr Ali bin Fetais Al Marri, Attorney-General of Qatar and President of the Board of Trus-tees of the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Centre hailed the support of the Emir to the judiciary and His Highness’ keenness to consolidate the rule of law, saying His Highness’ patronage to the Qatar Law Forum confirms this support.


Qatar probing currency manipulation bid by UAE

Doha’s proposal to establish Arab network of legal experts discussed QNA

The second meeting of the Committee of Experts and Representatives of the Min-istries of Justice in the Arab States was held

at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Arab League in Cairo to discuss the estab-lishment of the Arab network of legal experts.

Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs of the Arab League Ambassador Fadel Mohammed Jawad, said that the Committee discussed the proposal prepared by the Min-istry of Justice in the State of Qatar regarding the establishment of the network.


Qatar built on principles of justice and equality: AG

Sanaullah Ataullah

The Peninsula

After a successful experi-ment of using recycled construction waste

aggregates in building road, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment is ready with reg-ulations and specifications for recycling construction waste and its usage, said an expert.

“The recycled aggregates are cheaper by upto 50 percent compared to the imported ones, it is environmental friendly and would contribute significantly in reducing the dependency of the country on export”, said Dr

Mohammed bin Saif Al Kuwari, Director of the Center for Envi-ronmental and Municipal Studies. Speaking in an exclu-sive interview with The Peninsula, Al Kuwari said that everything related to law and specifications required for recy-cling construction waste are ready. He added that only set-ting up of a recycling plant was needed to utilise a huge stock-pile of construction waste available at Rawdat Al Rashid.

Recycled construction waste aggregate could be used as mate-rial for making pavements. “There is an estimated 40 million tonnes of construction waste in Rawdat

Rashid and if it is recycled we can get about 25 million tonnes use-ful aggregates – gabbros and limestone,” he added. Regarding the experiments on recycled con-struction waste, Al Kuwari said “we built a road called “green road” from recycled waste at Rawdat Rashid three years ago and now the road is in good con-dition despite being used by trucks carrying huge loads”.

“We did this experiment first time in Middle East and North Africa and registered this inven-tion in an international magazine in the name of Qatar,” he said.


Norms for recycled construction waste soon

02 MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017HOME

The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs (Awqaf) has opened three new mosques to keep up with population

growth in various areas of the country. The Ministry said in a statement that the new mosques are located in Al Mamoura, West-ern Al Mora , and Rawdhat Qadeem, and it can accommodate 2,500 worshipers . The mosques have been equipped with facilities for prayers as well as residences of Imams, Muezzins and guards. Awqaf takes into account population density, engineering, architectural and heritage characteristics, as well as environmental standards and ration-alisation of water and energy consumption.

Ministry of Awqaf opens 3 mosques

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani led well-wishers to welcome H M King Mohammed VI of Morocco and his accompanying delegation upon their arrival yesterday at Hamad International Airport, on an official visit to the State of Qatar. Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani was also present at the airport to welcome H M King Mohammed VI of Morocco. A number of Their Excellencies Ministers were also on hand at the airport to greet the King of Morocco.

The Peninsula

Aiming to provide advanced roads that provides easy access to the 2022 World Cup stadiums, the Public

Works Authority (Ashghal) has started working on a new project to upgrade link roads to Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.

The project features the construction of 5.3 kilometres of roads, with three lanes in each direction, all leading to four sides of the stadium. These roads will facilitate access to bus stations and car parking around the stadium, and will also provide multiple entrances to the Sports Complex where the stadium is located.

These roads will also provide two links to the south and east of Al Khor Express-way which is currently under construction, and a link to Al Egda Street, which is located to the north of the stadium.

The new roads will feature an 8.55m-wide pedestrian path and cycle path, in addition to landscaping and pave-ment works that will also be carried out at the surrounding roads.

In addition, a 7.3 km section of Al Egda Street will be upgraded to include three lanes in each direction, with a 3m-wide pedestrian path provided on each side of the street, starting from the roundabout at the entrance of Al Khor City until reach-ing the northwest side of Al-Bayt stadium.

It will also be connected with Al Khor Expressway, which is considered the main road leading to the stadium.

Eight signal-controlled intersections will be constructed as part of the project,

in addition to four signal-controlled inter-sections that will be constructed at Al Khor Expressway. In addition, two junctions will be provided only for traffic heading to and from the roads surrounding the stadium.

Speed humps will be provided in order to reduce speed at these intersections to maintain the safety of road users.

Additionally, the project includes the construction of a 2.2km long gravity sewer network, a separate surface water drain-age network, and an irrigation network bringing treated wastewater to and around the stadium from the TSE network located near Al Khor Corniche.

Intelligent telecommunications sys-tems (ITS) will be installed in this project, and street lighting will be provided using energy saving LED street lights.

The project is located in the South of Al Khor. Barriers, warning lights and road signs were installed around the construc-tion site to warn off local residents. A community outreach officer was appointed at the project site to inform residents about the project and coordinate with other serv-ice authorities like Al Khor Municipality and other relevant entities. Safety instruc-tions in ‘Ashghal Road Safety Handbook’ and other applicable quality standards are strictly followed on all construction sites.

In addition, all guidelines related to the preservation of environment as well as workplace safety standards and regula-tions for workers, visitors and local residents are fully implemented. Bin Omran Trading & Contracting Company started the project last September.

FIFA 2022: Ashghal upgrades link roads to stadiums

The Peninsula

Young word performers musicians, poets and writ-ers showcased their

creative talents and critical thinking ability at the Open Mic Night, on Saturday at Katara.

Open Mic Night was held under the theme ‘Transforming Obstacles into Opportunities,’ and aimed at encouraging Qatar’s youth to read, write, and think critically about important

topics in society. It gave an opportunity for an opportunity for youth to express themselves and share their work with audience.

Open Mic Night was organ-ised by the youth outreach initiative, the Young Writer’s Program, (YWP) a joint partner-ship between the US Embassy Qatar and the Ministry of Edu-cation and Higher Education.

“This program has a really long term impact. We saw

children at the ages of like five eight and 10 participating. We think this program helps them developing critical thinking, make an argument to commu-nicate their thought. In our point of view that helps a coun-try develop long term leaders , people who can tackle chal-lenges,” William Grant, Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Qatar told The Peninsula speaking on the sidelines of the Open Mic Night.

Performers display talents at Open Mic Night

William Grant, Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Qatar, at the event. Pic: Abdul Basit / The Peninsula

The Peninsula

The General Directorate of Traf-fic at the Ministry of Interior yesterday announced the sixth

public online auction for some 22 fancy car plates.

The auction will start tomorrow 12 noon for three days until 10pm November 16.

As per rules, bidding will start from QR100,000 and participants are required to make a deposit of QR20,000 as insurance, the Minis-try of Interior said yesterday on its official Twitter account.

The person who wins the bid should pay the bidding value within

two working days, failure to pay within the period would result in los-ing the deposit of QR20,000 and the

Department has the right to sell the fancy number plate to the next high-est bidder.

If there are more bids in the final quarter of an hour on some plate numbers , the time will be extended by another 15 minutes.

The fifth online auction conducted by traffic depart-ment for some 22 fancy car plates collected more than QR5.5m.

The highest bidding was for the plate 333300 that was sold for QR638,000 followed by plate number 333222 which collected QR622,000.

The lowest bidding fancy plate was for the number 393399 which collected QR130,000.

Online auction for fancy car plates starts tomorrow

Emir & King of

Morocco discuss

boosting ties

Continued from page 1

On the Moroccan side, the talks were attended by HRH Prince Moulay Ismail, Fouad Aali Al Himma, Adviser to HM the King, and Minister of For-eign Affairs and International Cooperation Nasser Bourita.

H H the Emir and His Maj-esty the King of Morocco held a bilateral meeting, during which they discussed a number of current issues and developments. His Majesty the King of Morocco had arrived at the Emiri Diwan earlier, where he was accorded an official reception ceremony.

Earlier, H H the Emir led well-wishers to welcome H M King Mohammed VI and his accompanying delegation upon their arrival at Hamad International Airport, on an official visit to the State of Qatar. Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani was also present at airport to welcome H M King Mohammed. A number of Their Excellencies the Min-isters were also on hand at the airport to greet the King of Morocco.

Emir to meet Prime Minister of Ethiopia

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will meet with Prime Minis-

ter of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Haile-mariam Desalegn, tomorrow, at the Emiri Diwan. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Ethiopia will arrive today. The Emir, and the Prime Minister will discuss means of enhanc-ing bilateral cooperation relations between the two countries, as well as a number of issues of common interest.

Emir leads well-wishers to welcome King of Morocco

03MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017 HOME

Qatar ‘built on principles of justice and equality’Continued from page 1

The Attorney-General said Qatar was built on justice and equality since it was founded by Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani, who consolidated the prin-ciples of justice and respect to the Judicial authority. “Qatar was built on justice and equality among all to be the basis for its establish-ment, survival and continuity, which is the most valuable prin-ciple,” Al Marri said.

The Attorney-General added that the justice, equality and the consolidation of law in the State has continued throughout history, which has added to its strength and momentum. Al Marri said a number of its leaders practiced justice such as Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani who ruled between litigants, thus re-establishing the history of the glorious Islamic nation at the beginning of its time when the Cal-iphs sat to judge and adjudicate people’s cases.

Al Marri said the path contin-ued in H H the Father Emir’s time, to result in a leap in rule of law that was valued and respected by the world after issuing the permanent constitution of the State.

Attorney General said the con-stitution distinguishes from the rest of the world’s constitutions by the total separation of the three authorities, legislative, executive and judicial. The constitution also gave judiciary its status to enable clarifying the overlapping between the three authorities, which is always an issue in all countries. He said the rules of Islamic laws were considered whilst drafting the per-manent constitution as well as the latest Latin laws and legislations to separate the three authorities. Al Marri said Qatar was able to overcome the doubtful and gray area between the judicial and executive authorities and “truly separate between them”.

President of the Qatar

International Court, Lord Phillips confirmed that the patronage of H H the Emir to the third Qatar Law Forum encourages in mov-ing forward in the search of solutions to issues related to the rule of law and its enforcement. Lord Phillips said Qatar continues to play an important role in strengthening the rule of law not only in the region but also around the world. He confirmed the importance of law enforcement and implementation strengthen-ing on all levels, especially that it will contribute to reducing many

issues and problems in the region and around the world, led by the economic crises, terrorist threats, displacement and refugee issues which are growing rapidly and are in need of effective protection under the law.

US Middle East Peace Envoy Senator George Mitchell, former head of the Northern Ireland peace process said the Qatar Law Forum inaugurated in 2009, now has a big reputation because it encour-ages the efforts exerted to exchange ideas and examine ways to protect the rule of law and

achieve peace, justice and strong institutions.

Mitchell added that rule of law can play an important role in the current crises and turbulent events witnessed in the region. He said through law enforcement, people can reconcile among themselves and overcome crises and conflicts,

especially as this reflects the understanding that everyone is subject to the rule of law, commit-ted to its implementation and work under it. On the existence of peace, justice and strong institu-tions which were the topics discussed in the forum, Mitchell said they comply with the

principles of respecting the rule of law, where these principles are particularly important because they bring all parties together around the negotiating table. He added that if all the countries com-mitted to applying the rule of law, it will be a stepping stone to settle any existing conflict.

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani patronised the opening of Qatar Law Forum 2017 at Doha Sheraton Hotel yesterday. The opening was attended by Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, and a number of Their Excellencies Ministers, judges, members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the State, senior officials and guests from brotherly and friendly countries. H H the Emir also met a number of Their Excellencies high-ranking officials from the brotherly and friendly countries, who were invited to attend the opening of Qatar Law Forum 2017. Talks during the meeting dealt with issues of mutual concern.

serve to move forward our eco-nomic and commercial relations are included. We, as statesmen, are working fast to complete the legal infrastructure in order for our business circles to improve our economic and commercial relations. Taking into consider-ation the opportunities and facilities offered by the econo-mies of Turkey and Qatar, it seems obvious that we will have a much deeper network of eco-nomic and commercial relations in midterm.

To another important ques-tion regarding Turkish base in Qatar and future military coop-eration between two countries, the Prime Minister said: “Our political will to improve our rela-tions in every area inherently includes relations in military, defence industry and security areas as well. Within this frame-work, the desire of both parties is to improve our cooperation in these areas in the future. Today, when we struggle against seri-ous security threats in our region and around the world, we attribute a special importance to this issue.”

“The activities we have been carrying out to deploy the Turk-ish Armed Forces in Qatar are actually a result of a period which has continued since 2014. Therefore, it won’t be right to associate this with the latest cri-sis faced in Gulf Region. The establishment of said military base has resulted from a joint decision given by two countries on the basis of their power of rul-ing. Moreover, Turkey is not the only country who has a military base in the region. Likewise, sev-eral countries are present in Qatar and in other Gulf countries on military level. The military base we are currently establish-ing in Qatar is not targeting any country. On the contrary, it will contribute to the security and stability of the whole Gulf Region.”

On scientific and cultural cooperation between the two countries, he said: “We would like to develop our cultural, edu-cational and scientific relations with Qatar in parallel with the process of our political and eco-nomic relations which is satisfactory.”

“Within this framework, I am pleased that bilateral agreements in cultural and scientific areas were signed thanks to the First and Second Meetings of ‘Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee’ held under the co-leadership of our Honourable President and Emir of Qatar H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and thus, the legal infrastructure is strengthened.”

“I believe that our relations will improve and diversify as a result of the increase of interac-tion between not only our

institutions but also our people through the steps taken to imple-ment the agreements signed in scientific area between TUBITAK in our country and its Qatar equivalent, Qatar Foundation in the scientific area and between concerning ministries in the cul-tural area.”

On blockade of Qatar, he said: “Turkey felt sorry for the breaking out of this crisis between the Gulf countries and contributed immediately the pro-visions needed urgently because of the economic blockade being faced by the people of Qatar. Since the beginning of the men-tioned crisis, we stated on every occasion that we do not find appropriate the sanctions adversely affecting the lives of people of Qatar. We quoted to our addressees in diplomatic efforts which we carried out in the leadership of our President that the primary step for the solution of the crisis is to lift these sanctions.

We also support the valua-ble mediatory efforts of Kuwait within the framework of reach-ing an amicable settlement. We, in the capacity of term president of OIC, shared our recommen-dations with the parties in order to immediately resolve this cri-sis breaking out among the Muslim countries. We wish this issue will be immediately and amicably solved. In this regard, we continue to exert effort and offer suggestions.”

Commenting on recent speech of the Emir of the State of

Kuwait H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah in which he called for calm and maintain the unity of the “Gulf House”, the Prime Minister of Turkey said: “Since the beginning of the crisis, we stated during the communications we made on every occasion that the issue should be solved via dialogue and diplomacy. We think that no other means than dialogue will be useful for any issue. This may only cause the crisis encountered in the Gulf to get deepened. We, as Turkey, will continue to underline that the issue should be resolved within the funda-mental principles of the international law by taking joint action with the international community. We hope that this dispute among the brother coun-tries will be settled amicably by means of dialogue”.

When asked that the coun-tries imposing siege on Qatar have refused to sit on the table to resolve the crisis and instead of dialogue, these countries are pushing for further escalation, so how does Turkey see this crisis in light of the political and secu-rity complications of the region, he said that as Turkey, “Since the very beginning we have wel-comed the positive response of Qatar to the diplomatic efforts in order to solve the issue via dia-logue. Qatar did not leave the efforts paid both by Kuwait and the US unreturned and supported their will to resolve the issues via

diplomatic means with her actions. It is pleasing to see that the efforts of Qatar in this regard continue. Eventually, as I men-tioned previously, the amicable resolution of the issue is essential.”

To a question about possible change in regional alliances due to Gulf crisis, the Prime Minister said: “It is naturally observed by everybody that the current cri-sis has an adverse effect on the consistency among the Gulf countries. However, the Gulf countries are a family and as is the case in all families, some issues may appear also in the Gulf family. We think that sooner or later these issues will be over-come. We hope that the consistency in the Gulf Cooper-ation Council (GCC) is ensured by observing the sensitivities both of the members of ICO and brother countries cooperating with GCC like Turkey.

On Turkey-Russia relations, the premier said: “We have close dialogue and positive agenda in our relations with Russia. Energy, tourism, construction sectors are on the rails. There are only some small difficulties in economy and visa exemption and we are try-ing to overcome these difficulties via negotiation.

Our leaders have a very close dialogue. On September 28, we hosted the President of the Rus-sian Federation Putin in Ankara. This visit has been the fifth face-to-face meeting between Putin and our President in this year. In this visit, the situation in Syria and Iraq was addressed in detail as well as the bilateral issues like economy and energy. Our coop-eration in these areas continues.”

Meetings of Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee has under-taken an important duty as a catalyser in improving our eco-nomic relations. Within this framework, 15 of 30 signed agreements have regulated our economic relations.

Areas such as banking, small and medium-sized enter-prises, prevention of double taxation, health, information and communication technolo-gies , customs and standardisation which can


Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi

Editor-in-ChiefThe Peninsula

His Excellency the Prime Minister of Turkey, Binal i Yildirim, expressed

his country’s sorrow over the outbreak of the current crisis among the Gulf countries, stressing that there is no other way to resolve this crisis rather than diplomatic means, but sit-ting for dialogue to resolve the crisis requires full lifting of the blockade imposed on the State of Qatar. The blockade is inap-propriate measure for settling political differences.

He stressed that his country is linked to the State of Qatar

with friendly and cooperative relations, which resulted in the signing of 30 agreements, half of which are related to economic cooperation, while the remain-ing ones cover various fields of political, cultural, scientific, security and military coopera-tion. He made it clear during the interview that the Turkish base in Qatar is not directed against anyone and its presence there contributes to the security and stability of the Gulf region.

Binali Yildirim is the 27th Turkish Prime Minister. He served before his election as leader of Justice and Develop-ment Party in various positions and executed a number of giant development projects specially when serving as the Minister of

Transport, Marine and Commu-nication. As well, he served as Senior Advisor to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and member of the parliament.

Despite his continuous engagements, he devoted part of his time to talk to Qatari dai-lies for second time with his interview with Dr. Khalid Mubarak Al-Shafi, Editor in-Chief of The Peninsula Newspaper.

The interview covered many areas, starting with the bilateral relations of Qatar and Turkey; regional and international issues; Turkey’s relations with Russia, the European Union, the United States; the Syrian crisis and bilateral relations with Iraq.

His reception to us during the interview reflected the depth of the relationship between the brotherly countries of Turkey and Qatar and the friendly feel-ings of the Prime Minister to Qatar as leadership and people. So welcome to the full interview.

On Qatar-Turkey brotherly relations and on preparations tak-ing place for holding the third meeting of the Supreme Strategic Committee at the level of the lead-ership of the two countries, the Prime Minister said the Supreme Strategic Committee which was established between Turkey and Qatar and held under the leader-ship of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani serves as an important mechanism to improve the bilateral relations in every area.

Through these meetings, the question on the best means to strengthen our relations in differ-ent areas is addressed on both technical and political level. This

will result in a qualitatively improved cooperation between two countries. Hence, the bilat-eral cooperation projects which have been initiated in a variety of areas is deepened over time in such a way that it can include new areas.

When asked whether he was seeing any obstacles or difficul-ties preventing further cooperation between the two countries, he said: “The relations between Qatar and our country have reached an excellent level thanks to the recent connection between our people and also the common political will which is put forward by our leaders. There is no obstacle or challenge against the deepening of our cooperation, and we have a precise determi-nation and will necessary to overcome the future problems.”

On bilateral investments and increase in bilateral trade in future, the Prime Minister said: “First of all, I would like to express our appreciation for the steps taken for the improvement of the economic and commercial rela-tions between two countries. Between 2011 and 2016, Qatar investments into our country were at a level of $1.29bn. We believe that the interest of Qatari inves-tors into our country will continue to increase. The main reasons for this can be summarised as the excellent political relations between two countries and the positive differentiation of the Turkish economy of itself through many parameters on global and regional level in the last 15 years.”

As a reminder, it can be noted

that Turkey is the 13th biggest economy of the world and the 5th biggest economy of Europe in terms of the purchasing power parity. It has a strong public finance and banking system. Dur-ing the first two quarters of this year, it has a growth rate of 5% and 5.1%, respectively, and in the third quarter the growth rate will hopefully reach double digits. Within the next 3 years, an annual growth rate of 5.5 % is expected. Another feature of Turkey which makes it unique in terms of for-eign investments is that it is the door opening to Europe, Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Thanks to a four-hour flight from Istanbul, it will be possible to reach an extensive market with a population of 1.5 billion people which constitutes one forth of the world economy. We call our Qatari brothers to benefit from the economic opportunities offered by Turkey.

To a question about the imple-mentation of signed bilateral agreements, he said: “Recently, there has been a remarkable increase in the bilateral agree-ments signed thanks to our strengthened cooperation. How-ever, implementation of the agreements is as important as their signing. We are making huge efforts to complete as soon as pos-sible the legal processes necessary for the signed agreements to be immediately put into practice. I believe this has led us to have suc-cessful results.”

From the economic perspec-tive, it can be seen that since its foundation, the Committee


Qatar-Turkey relations reach new heightsAn exclusive interview given by the Prime

Minister of the Republic of Turkey, H E Binali

Yildirim, to “The Peninsula” newspaper.

Between 2011-2016, Qatar’s investments in Turkey were around $1.29bn and I believe that the interest of Qatari investors will continue to increase.

Turkey-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee has undertaken an important duty as a catalyser in improving our economic relations. Within this framework, 15 of 30 signed agreements have regulated our economic relations.

$1.29bn

The Supreme

Strategic Committee

established

between Turkey

and Qatar and

held under the

leadership of Emir

H H Sheikh Tamim

bin Hamad Al Thani

and President

Recep Tayyip

Erdogan serves

as an important

mechanism to

improve the

bilateral relations

in every area.

Qatar did not leave the efforts exerted by Kuwait and the US

unreturned and supported the move to resolve the issue via

diplomatic means.

Turkey will continue to underline that the issue should

be resolved within the fundamental principles of the

international law by taking joint action with the international

community.

Gulf countries are a family and as is the case in all families,

some issues may appear also in the Gulf family.

The activities we have been

carrying out to deploy the

Turkish Armed Forces in Qatar

are actually the result of an

agreement reached in 2014.

Therefore, it won’t be right to

associate this with the latest

crisis in the Gulf region.

For the implementation of the

agreements we are making

huge efforts to complete the

legal processes as soon as

possible.

We would like to develop our cultural,

educational and scientific relations with

Qatar in parallel with the process of our

political and economic relations which

is satisfactory.”

“In foreign policy, on some topics we agree with Russia and in some others we do not. Our view is to take the issues we don’t agree into parentheses and coop-erate on the issues that we agree. Thus, we clearly see the benefits and concrete outputs of this coop-eration both in bilateral sense and in the efforts to overcome the cri-sis in Syria. We would like to continue in this route.”

To a question on how can Tur-key reconcile its membership in Nato, the European Union and with the US on the one hand and the existing cooperation with Rus-sia on the other, he said Turkey has been a part of Europe for cen-turies. Also, Turkey is a member of Europe-Atlantic and Europe institutions founded following the Second World War.

“Actually, we are among the founders of many of these institu-tions. Progression in the EU membership process is in the hands of the EU. The mentioned allegiances are still valid. This

reality does not create any obstacle to pursue active policies in the Mid-dle East, Africa, Asia and Pacific as well as with our neighbours and close geographies. Axis shift discus-sions are not meaningful to us. All our actions and partnerships are complementary.”

“Russia is an important coun-try of the region. Our relations with Russia including the areas of tourism, energy and student exchange is multidimensional and comprehensive. Naturally, these relations are not and cannot be an alternative to our Nato member-ship and our relations with Nato allies or our EU membership proc-ess. Both our efforts with Russia for the resolution of the crisis in our region and our bilateral rela-tions are focused on increasing peace and prosperity. Thanks to these efforts, for example cease-fire in Syria was achieved and de-conflict zones were established there. Both our partners from the EU and our Nato allies pay impor-tance to the efforts and opinions

of our country. Naturally, we con-tinue and will continue to most clearly express our opinions on the issues that we could not agree.”

On future of the Turkish-Euro-pean dialogue for Turkey’s full membership in the Union, he said that the foundation of Turkey-EU relations is the accession process. This has not changed despite the ups and downs.

“The main reasons for our nation’s loss of confidence are that EU’s double-standard approach to Turkey as well as the fact that the chapters were not opened during our accession process due to the EU’s political blockades and lack of cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

Moreover, it is very alarming for us that the anti-Islam and xenopho-bic tendencies are getting stronger in Europe, votes of populist and extreme rightist parties are increas-ing in the national elections. This situation unfortunately reinforces the negative feelings in some EU member states against Turkey, which is a candidate country for the EU and where the Muslims consti-tutes most of the population.

However, as the Mr. President expressed, the EU should know this that the remedy of the EU’s problems is Turkey, Turkey’s full membership.

In addition to the accession process, the update of the Customs Union, visa liberalisation dialogue for the Turkish citizens and Finan-cial Assistance for the Refugees which is provided to extend aid to the Syrians are the other impor-tant subjects in our agenda with the EU. Positive developments in these areas play important role in t overcoming confidence crisis.

( Second part tomorrow)

Turkish base in Qatar is not directed against anyone and its presence contributes to the security and stability of the Gulf region

Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi, Editor-in-Chief of The Peninsula with H E Binali Yildirim, Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey.

Since the beginning of the

Gulf crisis, we have clearly

stated that we do not find the

sanctions appropriate.

Turkey felt sorry for the

breaking out of the crisis

between the Gulf countries

and contributed immediately

the provisions needed urgently

because of the economic

blockade being faced by the

people of Qatar.

Our political will to improve

our relations in every area

includes relations in military,

defence industry and security

areas as well.

We have very close dialogue

and positive agenda in our

relations with Russia.


The Peninsula

Ooredoo announced yes-terday that its Ooredoo Money service has

launched a new ‘Bank to Wal-let Transfer’ feature in collaboration with Qatar National Bank.

The new service will allow any Ooredoo Money customer, with a bank account in Qatar, to conveniently and securely transfer money from their bank account directly to their Ooredoo Money Wallet. A maximum of QR10,000 can be received in a Full Wallet per day. Once deposited in the wallet, customers can then transfer the money interna-tionally, 24 hours a day using Ooredoo Money partners Mon-eyGram or Aldar Exchange at one of the best exchange rates available in Qatar.

With the new feature how-ever, anyone with a bank account in Qatar can quickly and easily send money to their Ooredoo Money Wallet using their Ooredoo Money Wallet IBAN number. To begin trans-ferring money, customers can discover their IBAN number by logging into the Ooredoo Money app and opening the ‘My Wallet Info’ tab or by dial-ling *140*[your mPIN]*6*6#.

Ooredoo launches ‘Bank to Wallet Transfer’ feature

Mohammed Osman

The Peninsula

As part of the general development strat-egy, Medical Care Group and Al Ahli Hospital yesterday

inaugurated Al Ahil Heart Center. The specialised centre was opened by Sheikh Abdullah bin Thani Al Thani, along with the CEO of the Medical Care Group Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi, and other medical staff at the centre.

“We are proud to announce the opening of Al Ahil Heart Center which is center for excel-lence. We have equipped this centre with cutting-edge tech-nology for diagnosis and treatment in all aspects of car-diology care ranging from prevention, clinical, non-inva-sive and interventional cardiology and different types of heart sugeries,” said CEO of the Group Khalid Al Emadi dur-ing a press conference held following the official opening of the Al Ahil Heart Center.

The center has well experi-enced and distinguished doctors and specialists on all fields of cardiology, surgery, intensive care and five of them are con-sultants, three are specialists on Cardiac catheterisation and team of nurses and technicians in our cardiac catheterisation laboratory along technicians, cardiac critical care nurses and general cardiac nurses.

The heart center has ten rooms linked to monitoring network

through which the doctors can make necessary follow up to the patient’s situation, and new rooms for heart surgeries, new rooms for Cardiac Catheterization have been added said Al Emadi.

Our future plan includes opening of bone centre, centre for rehabilitation and group of clinics at Al Wakra including intensive care unit said Al Emadi.

The centre is integrated heart center which include two rooms for catheterization, ten rooms for intensive care, five rooms for inpatients and pro-vided with the latest technology, in addition to open heart sur-gery and operation room for beating heart said Al Emadi.

“ All rooms in this Heart Center are linked to a monitor-ing network through which doctors can make necessary fol-low to the patient’s situation, and additional operating theat-ers for open heart and beating heart surgeries, as well as new rooms for Cardiac Catheterisa-tion have been added,” said Al Emadi.

The center has introduced new cutting-edge technology in the examining of heart exertion and receive patients who suffer from accelerating heart beat around the clock and provide them the necessary medical care within 17 munities which is above the world standard, said Dr Abdurrazzak Gehani, cardi-ologist and head of the center.

Dr. Gehani said diabetic service is one of the very impor-tant service along the the service

of receiving acute heart attack patients where the get immedi-ate cordial valve and opening the block. This is very important service available around the clock. The life of patient suffer-ing from acute heart attack can be saved within the first two hours, but in Al Ahli Heart Center we provide medical service within 17 munities from the time he/she arrive to the emergency to the time of opening valve, to the catheterisation, said Dr Gehani.

Dr Jamal Saleh Hammad, Deputy Chief Excutive Officer of

Al Ahli Hospital said in general the hospital is equipped with the latest medical equipment, and the strategy of the hospital is to keep pace with latest develop-ments in this field, and the center is to provide with all serv-ices provided with global heart centres. The centre’s integrated services are not only in terms of technologies for cordial diagno-sis and treatment but also the team and areas of specializa-tions he added.

For his part, Dr Atef Ben Youssef, Consultant Cardio-vascular Surgeon, pointed out

that “our aim is to improve the logistic services and all what we have are the global stand-ard and our focus is on the quality of the services related to hear surgeries. We are car-rying out very sophisticated operations like coronary artery bypass surgery which is being conducted with beat-ing heart here in Al Ahli hospital. Additionally, we con-duct change of valves and amending the valve is one of the difficult operations which are being carried out here also he added.

Al Ahli Heart Center inaugurated

Sheikh Abdullah bin Thani Al Thani (right), along with the CEO of the Medical Care Group, Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi (left); Dr Abdurrazzak Gehani (centre), cardiologist and head of the centre; and other medical staff at the centre, inaugurating Al Ahil Heart Center. Pic: Salim Matramkot / The Peninsula

The Peninsula

The National Museum of Qatar won the interna-tional award for ‘Façade

Design and Engineering of the Year’ at the ABB LEAF Awards, which was held at the Royal Horseguards Hotel in London on September 21.

The National Museum is an architectural masterpiece designed by world-renowned French architect Jean Nouvel and is due to open in Decem-ber 2018. Its interlocking discs are inspired by the desert rose and evoke the life of the Qatari people between the desert and the sea. The museum will com-bine historic objects and contemporary influences, open-ing up a dialogue around the impact of rapid change. It will give voice to Qatar’s heritage whilst celebrating its future.

ASTAD Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Ali Al-Khalifa said: “Recognitions of this level reaffirms our commitment and attention to detail throughout the development of complex mega projects. We have been

working together with Qatar Museums to ensure the highly complex National Museum of Qatar is brought to life safely and sustainably. I am confident it will soon prove to be one of the Middle East’s most iconic landmarks.”

Qatar Museums Chief Exec-utive Officer and Special Advisor to the Chairperson, Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al Mah-moud said: “The National Museum highlights our commit-ment to fulfilling the cultural goals of the 2030 Qatar National Vision, contributing towards creating a strong and sustainable cultural infrastruc-ture for Qatar. The highly anticipated museum will be a thriving hub for the public, stu-dents , and museum professionals. It will redefine the role of a cultural institution, fostering a spirit of participa-tion and providing the conditions for discovery to thrive.”

The design of the museum is an organically propagating series of interlocking disks that surround the structure,

creating a ring of gallery spaces circling a central court. It will include permanent and temporary galleries, a 220-seat auditorium, two cafes, a restaurant, a gift shop, sepa-rate facilities for school groups and VIPs, heritage research centres and conservation laboratories.

The museum is built around Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al

Thani’s original palace, one of Qatar’s most recognisable land-marks and a building that served as a monument to a his-toric way of life in Qatar. This palace has a unique historical significance for the State of Qatar and has been recently fully restored. The palace will be a fitting central exhibit within the National Museum when it opens.

National Museum of Qatar wins award

The officials of National Museum of Qatar with the award.


He said that the idea of establishing the network seeks to develop current Arab legal experts’ guide by employing networking techniques at the Arab level in the field of foren-sic experts and providing an electronic database. The meet-ing was held to support the Arab joint action in the legal and justice fields at the level of the Council of Arab Ministers of Justice through the introduc-tion of solutions as well as modern and innovative mech-anisms in the exchange of the best technical solutions among the ministries of justice and judicial systems at the level of Arab countries, to activate the support and consolidation of achieving justice at the level of member States.

The results of the work of the Committee will be submit-ted to the next meeting on Novermber 22.

Proposal to establish Arab network of legal experts discussed

The Peninsula

Minister of Finance H E Ali Shareef Al Emadi under-lined that convening the

“Enriching the Middle East’s Eco-nomic Future Conference” on a regular basis since its first ses-sion in 2006 reflects the conviction and insight of the State of Qatar for the importance and necessity of establishing a peaceful and constructive dialogue.

Addressing the opening of the 12th Enriching the Middle East’s Economic Future Confer-ence, the Minister of Finance said that the conference is being held amidst economic, political, secu-rity and other challenges facing the world, and many threats to the world’s order and security.

The Minister of Finance

stressed that the successive developments in the Middle East require dealing with them in a manner that respects the prin-ciples of international legitimacy in its true sense and not only monitors all violations of inter-national humanitarian law.

“World countries, the United Nations and other international and regional organizations must assume their responsibilities and always adhere to the rule of law and the resolutions of interna-tional legitimacy,” he said.

“We must recognize the fact that the stability and economic growth of the countries of the Middle East and all other coun-tries is linked to achieving political stability,” HE the Min-ister said, adding that security challenges in the region continue to be a major obstacle to politi-cal and economic reforms and sustainable development

The Minister of Finance said in his speech to the Conference on Enriching Mideast Economic Future that the world is still

looking for factors to stimulate economic growth as an impor-tant input to achieving social justice and sustainable development.

He stressed that achieving political, economic and social stability, especially in develop-ing and least developed countries, requires the interna-tional community to develop renewable and effective formu-las for fruitful cooperation among countries.

He stated in this regard, the State of Qatar, thanks to wise leadership, has focused its efforts on providing development assistance and meeting its inter-national obligations in many regions of the world.

HE AL Emadi stressed that Government seeks to achieve prosperity, well-being and

sustainable development of the people of Qatar through achiev-ing the National Vision 2030 and its associated national strategic plans.

The Minister of Finance con-sidered the phenomenon of terrorism and extremism to be one of the most important chal-lenges facing the world and the Middle East in particular, point-ing out that there are many patterns of terrorism, including state terrorism, occupation and organized crime.

His Excellency noted that the State of Qatar has, more than once, affirmed its condemnation and rejection of this abhorrent phenomenon, which contradicts the teachings, values and princi-ples of all the heavenly religions which prohibit killing and call for peace and human dignity.

Conference reflects Qatar’s belief in constructive dialogueMinister of Finance H E Ali Shareef Al Emadi

said that the world is still looking for factors

to stimulate economic growth as an important

input to achieving social justice and sustainable

development.


The Peninsula

Qa t a r C h a m b e r announced yesterday that Widam Food Company “Widam” would sponsor ‘Made

in Qatar 2017’ exhibition as spon-sor of food sector.

Scheduled to begin from tomorrow, the expo will be organised by Qatar Chamber in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Industry in an area of 20,000 sqm at the Doha Exhi-bition & Convention Center (DECC). The four-day exhibition is expected to see participation of over 300 companies and fac-tories from Qatar.

Qatar Chamber Director -General Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi, and Chief Executive Officer of Widam Food, Abdul-rahman bin Mohammed Al Khayarin, signed the sponsorship agreement at the chamber venue. Qatar Chamber Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani attended the signing ceremony.

“Made in Qatar Exhibition is considered the biggest promo-tional event for locally-produced items of different kinds, affirm-ing the desire of local companies

and factories to take part in the expo which attracts every year the leading manufacturers and producers in the country,” Abdul-rahman bin Mohammed Al Khayarin said.

Widam is one of the key serv-ice providers of fresh meat which is being produced through a host of production and storage stages.

Al Khayarin assured that this year’s edition of the exhibition will be of high success despite the siege imposed on Qatar, noting that industrial sector has been greatly developed over the recent years thanks to the great efforts and ambitious plans established to motivate the investment envi-ronment in industry sector and developing local industries.

The state offered number of initiatives and incentives

including finance programs, business incubators, new mar-kets and exhibitions to promote local products and encourage the investment in industrial sector, he added.

“The country also enhanced partnership between public and private sectors which is real cat-alyst for economic diversity,” he noted

Widam’s CEO praised the great development achieved by local industries which adopted ISO systems and become more competitive to imported products.

Speaking about protecting local products, he said the newly-issued law affirmed the country’s keenness on protecting industries and local production and attract-ing more investments in this

sector. The exhibition aims to attract more investments in the industry sector and promote the locally-made products to ease dependence on imported items.

It encourages local compa-nies to do their best to improve and develop their products, which will make Qatari products globally competitive.

Qatar Chamber Director Gen-eral Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi said that Manateq’s support to the event strongly reflected its com-mitment to developing industrial sector in Qatar.

He praised the key role played by the company to moti-vate businessmen to invest in industry sector, noting that the company provides host of distinct services including an integrated, developed infrastructure and investment incentives which thereby attract businessmen and enhance the development of industry sector in the State.

Al Sharqi said that Widam’s sponsorship to the exhibition reflects its great interest to sup-porting and developing Qatar’s industry.

Widam sponsors ‘Made in Qatar’ as food sector partner

The Peninsula

Ooredoo Group announced yesterday that Ooredoo Myanmar will signifi-

cantly expand its network and infrastructure to offer the wid-est and fastest 4G network in the country. By the end of 2017, Ooredoo’s superfast 4G network is expected to reach more than 15 million people across 200 towns, which will significantly enhance their data experience and allow them to enjoy the Internet even more.

The upgraded Ooredoo 4G Pro network has been designed to offer the fastest browsing speeds in Myanmar with speeds

of up to 500 Mbps, which is three times faster than the current mobile Internet speed offered by the existing 4G networks.

With this upgrade, Ooredoo customers will be able to take advantage of the extra speeds and smooth browsing to stay in touch with their loved ones, enjoy live broadcasting, stream their favourite music, watch on-demand ultra HD videos and take part in real-time gaming.

Sheikh Saud bin Nasser Al Thani (pictured), Group Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo, said: “With this launch, Ooredoo is keeping its promise to continue to focus on its core mission – to make the Internet available and

enjoyable for everyone. We have been ahead of the curve in the markets where we operate to deliver the best data experience. Our network modernisation pro-gramme is successfully bringing 4G and 4G+ services to our cus-tomers, enriching their daily digital lives.”

Vikram Sinha, CEO of Oore-doo Myanmar said: “Our goal is to enable our customers to enjoy the Internet more by offering them higher speeds and enhanc-ing their daily data experience. Our continuous investments in the network bring us closer to making the highest theoretical speeds a daily reality to our cus-tomers and put Ooredoo

Myanmar on an evolutionary path to 5G.”

To achieve this significant upgrade in a timely manner, Ooredoo has partnered with two leading network technology pro-viders – Nokia and ZTE, which have significant expertise to ensure on-time rollout and opti-mal performance to place Ooredoo at the forefront of net-work technology in Myanmar.

Ooredoo’s cutting-edge net-work upgrade uses a combination of Carrier Aggre-gation, 4x4 MIMO, 256 QAM and License Assisted Access (LAA) to deliver a potential download speed of up to 500Mbps at selected locations by early 2018

to enhance network perform-ance for the customers.

Ooredoo announces major network expansion in Myanmar

“Made in Qatar Exhibition is considered the

biggest promotional event for locally-produced

items of different kinds, affirming the desire of

local companies and factories to take part in

the expo which attracts every year the leading

manufacturers and producers in the country,”

Abdulrahman bin Mohammed Al Khayarin said.

Qatar Chamber Director-General Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi, and Chief Executive Officer of Widam Food, Abdulrahman bin Mohammed Al Khayarin, during the sponsorship agreement signing at Qatar Chamber venue.

The Peninsula

The Office of the Vice -President for Research and Graduate Studies at

Qatar University (QU) recently hosted an event to unveil QU’s new internal research grants.

The event provided researchers and students with the opportunity to meet QU pre-award team and get acquainted with the organisa-tion’s various internal funding opportunities.

QU VP for Research and Graduate Studies Prof Mariam Al-Maadeed outlined the guid-ing principles of the new internal research grants. She noted that the new grants align with QU’s research challenges and support the national research priorities, while encouraging interdisciplinary research that engages multi-ple academic units such as colleges and research centers with complementary back-grounds. Prof Mariam Al-Maadeed highlighted the National Research Capacity Building program, which will offer a grant to support Qatari faculty develop their research profile.

Director of Research Sup-port Office Dr Aiman Erbad noted that there are five types of internal grants available at QU -- Seed Grant, Student Grant, Collaborative High Impact Grant, Concept Devel-opment Grant, and National Research Capacity Building Grant -- depending on who is applying and the reason for the funding. Dr Aiman Erbad noted that the addressed research problems should align with the national research pri-orities and needs in order to ensure impact. “Industry will be involved in setting the pri-orities and as partners in the research activities. The grants will be performance-driven with clear outcomes in sight. QU developed its internal grant to accelerate innovation and enable researchers to take their ideas to the next step and develop concepts that have commercial potential.”

QU’s internal research grants unveiled

The Peninsula

As part of its ongoing commitment to social responsibility, Qatar Airways continued its long-standing support

of autism awareness at the inaugu-ral Autism Awareness Fundraising Gala hosted by the Embassy of Qatar and Autism Speaks in Wash-ington DC on November 8.

Established in 2005, Autism Speaks is an organisation dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.

“Qatar Airways is proud to lend its support to the inaugural Autism Awareness Gala Fundraiser and to join the Embassy of the State of Qatar in continuing efforts to expand autism awareness and cre-ate communities that are more inclusive – both on the ground and in the air,” said Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive, Qatar Airways.

“We are deeply committed to accommodating all of our passen-gers on every leg of their journey, which is why we actively educate our staff and crew on how to most effectively offer support to those with autism and their families,” he added. Held at the iconic John F Kennedy Center for the Perform-ing Arts in Washington DC, Qatar

Airways joined Ambassador of Qatar to the United States, Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani; Pres-ident and Chief Executive Officer of Autism Speaks, Angela Geiger, and other distinguished guests, including honourees Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA), Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), Michelle Car-bonell and Dr Vikram Patel to honour the theme of this year’s gala: “Together for Autism: Ensur-ing Acceptance and Accessibility.”

Qatar Airways further extended its support of Autism Speaks by donating four Business Class tick-ets to any destination across its extensive route network of 150 glo-bal destinations. To keep the momentum of the gala event pro-gressing, the tickets are to be auctioned with the proceeds, as well as the proceeds of the gala, to go directly to Autism Speaks to sup-port its mission.

“The support of global organi-sations like Qatar Airways is invaluable to the autism commu-nity. It is through partnership and collaboration that we can enhance lives today and accelerate a spec-trum of solutions for tomorrow. It is encouraging to see Qatar Airways continue to support the autism community, following in the foot-steps of the State of Qatar, which has led the world in raising aware-ness of autism globally,”said Geiger.

QA backs autism awareness driveThe Peninsula

More than 20,000 out-patient visits have been recorded

between June and August of this year at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC)’s three new hospitals in the Medical City.

In recent months the Qatar Rehabilitation Institute (QRI), the Ambulatory Care Center (ACC), and the Women’s Well-ness and Research Center (WWRC), have started to deliver a number of inpatient and outpatient services, with thousands benefitting from the care delivered. The new Med-ical City hospitals are at the heart of the biggest healthcare facilities expansion in the region.

The Qatar Rehabilitation Institute (QRI), one of the region’s largest tertiary reha-bilitation hospitals dedicated to delivering personalized, patient-centered, rehabilita-tive care, was the first new Medical City hospital to open its doors. Thousands of patients have benefitted from the state-of-the-art facilities and care offered at the hospi-tal’s outpatient clinics, including physical medicine and rehabilitation, hydrother-apy, speech therapy, adult neuro occupational therapy, adult neuro physiotherapy and day rehabilitation. Since March the facility has also cared for a number of inpatients. wThe Ambulatory Care Center (ACC), which when fully open will

offer day care surgery to thou-sands of patients each year, has also opened a number of new clinics in recent months, including outpatient podiatry services.

The Women’s Wellness and Research Center (WWRC), which will be one of the larg-est tertiary hospitals in the region once fully open, is cur-rently serving outpatients at its Uro-Gynecology, Gynecology-Oncology and Colposcopy and Hormone Replacement Ther-apy (HRT) Clinics as well as the Newborn Screening Unit.

Dr. Abdulla Al Ansari, Act-ing Chief Medical Officer for HMC, said the new facilities are helping to transform the care delivered to patients. He said, “In recent months we have

seen more and more services delivered from the wonderful new hospitals in Medical City with thousands of patients being treated in what are world-class facilities supplied with the latest and most advanced equipment.

The new services are designed to provide a safe and friendly environment to our patients and their families, in line with HMCs vision of patient-centered care. Each service move is very carefully planned to ensure we can deliver the highest quality and safest care. Early feedback from our patients, their fami-lies, and the clinical teams starting to deliver services at the new hospitals has been fantastic.”

HMC’s Medical City hospitals benefit many


“The research work had started in 2010 when we came to know that there was huge stockpile of construction waste at Rawdat Rashid, said Al Kuwari adding that studies and experiments had been conducted in Qatar and UK form 2010 to 2015 looking for the best way to utilise it in place of exporting expensive aggregates..

Regarding the import of aggregates, he said that if we start recycling the

construction waste that heaped up at Rawdat Al Rashid, the import of aggre-gates would be reduced over 30 percent. “Qatar needs about 30 million tonnes of aggregates per year now, said Al Kuwari and we can produce about 10 million tonnes materials annually through recy-cling the construction waste,” he added

Speaking on the response of private sector for recycling the waste, Al Kuwari said that some plants are being set up to recycle the construction waste.

Speaking on the requirements for

setting up recycling plants, Al Kuwari said that there is a center for waste recycling at the Ministry of Municipality and Envi-ronment, the interested candidates can approach to complete the procedures required for setting up plant and picking up the constriction waste from Rawdat Rashid for recycling.

Ministry of Municipality and Environ-ment announced on Thursday that it has amended the Qatar Construction Speci-fications (QCS) allowing uses of recycled construction wastes.

Norms for recycled construction waste soon


The Peninsula

Es’hailSat, the Qatar Satel-lite Company, exhibited at the 3rd Global SatShow

conference and exhibition held on November 9 -10 at Halic in Istanbul.

This is the third year for the Global SatShow event, dedi-cated to the entire value chain in the satellite industry, as well as space technology, broadcast, ICT and telecommunications sectors. The company show-cased Es’hail-1, currently transmitting high quality, pre-mium DTH television content from the 25.5°/26° East neigh-borhood for leading channels such as Al Jazeera and beIN Sports, and Es’hail-2, the com-pany’s second satellite scheduled for launch soon.

In addition to providing transmission and expansion opportunities for established news and sports channels, a growing number of Arabic and regional channels are choosing Es’hailSat to launch their

services in the MENA region. Al Rayyan, Qatar TV and Al Kaas Sport Channel recently launched their channels exclu-sively on Es’hail-1.

Es’hailSat is also pushing ahead with plans to expand its satellite fleet. Es’hail-2, a new high-performance satellite with sophisticated anti-jamming capabilities will be positioned at the 26° East hotspot position for TV broadcasting, signifi-cantly adding to the company’s ability to provide high quality, premium DTH television con-tent across the Middle East and North Africa. And discussions are ongoing with customers and stakeholders to define the requirements for new satellites - Es’hail-3 and Es’hail-4.

With a commitment to pro-viding broadcasters with secure and independent satellite transmission, Es’hailSat is building its own teleport, located at a dedicated and secured site north of Doha. The new facility will provide satel-lite TT&C and capacity

management together with a wide range of teleport services such as uplink, downlink, con-tribution, multiplexing, encoding, playout and broad-casting. The high-tech teleport will also provide back-up stu-dios for TV channels and serve as a disaster recovery facility for broadcasters.

Ali Al Kuwari, President and Chief Executive Officer of Es’hailSat, said: “We have had tremendous growth since our commercial launch in 2013 with utilization rate of Es’hail-1 at higher than industry aver-age. With our new state of the art teleport nearing completion and Es’hail-2 scheduled to be launched soon, Global SatShow gives us the right platform to engage with customers and partners, and showcase our capabilities and future plans. We see this exhibition as an important element in our strat-egy to attract customers who value broadcasting independ-ence and quality of service with focused coverage”.

Es’hail-1 and Es’hail-2 showcased at Istanbul Global SatShow 2017

Officials during the third Global SatShow conference and exhibition held on November 9 and 10 at Halic in Istanbul.

Sanaullah Ataullah

The Peninsula

Souq Hal Qatar, a month long exhibition for foods and non-food items with the participation of more than 30 Qatari productive

families and their hand made products, began at Hyatt Plaza Shopping Mall, Gate No.2 yesterday.

The exhibition will run until December 8 and will open from 9am to 10pm on weekdays, 9am to 11pm on Thursdays and 2pm to 11pm on Fridays.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by Qatar Chamber Board Member, Ibthihaj Al Ahmedani, Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Khaled Bin Hamad Al Thani on behalf of Sheikh Khaled bin Hamad Al Thani, Sheikh Khalifa bin Khaled bin Hamad Al Thani , Vice-Chair-man of Hyatt Plaza Shopping Mall, and many VIPs and dignitaries.

“The exhibition that is being held in collaboration with Qatar Chamber (QC) aims at encourag-ing home-made businesses and entrepreneurs and supporting them by providing free spaces to display their products in the Mall,” said Al Ahmedani .

Speaking with the media on the sideline of the ceremony, Al Ahmedani said that home�made business and productive families sector enhances “Made in Qatar” slogan and expands the contribu-tion of the locally�produced items inside and outside the country.

Regarding the role played by Qatari businesswomen in the national economy, Al Ahmadani said that female exhibitors regis-tered strong presence in the expo. They displayed their products in highly�innovated mechanisms which were highly acclaimed by visitors of the mall, she pointed out. “The exhibition will support productive families, home-made

and handcrafts entrepreneurs,” said Sheikh Khalifa Bin Khaled Bin Hamad Al Thani Vice Chairman of Hyatt Plaza Shopping Mall. He said that the exhibition will pro-vide a platform for local micro-enterprises to showcase a wide range of goods produced by home-based businesses including clothes, food, perfumes and acces-sories, he added. “This is our first step and we will create more ini-tiatives in the coming months to support the SMEs”, said Feroz Moideen, General Manager of Hyatt Plaza Shopping Mall.

Souq Hal Qatar expo promotes home-made items

Ibthihaj Al Ahmedani (third right), Board Member of Qatar Chamber, cutting a ribbon with Sheikh Khalifa bin Khaled bin Hamad Al Thani (third left), Vice-Chairman of Hyatt Plaza Mall, and other guests on the opening of Souq Hal Qatar at Hyatt Plaza yesterday.Pic: Abdul Basit / The Peninsula

The exhibition will run

until December 8 and

will open from 9am to

10pm on weekdays,

9am to 11pm on

Thursdays and 2pm to

11pm on Fridays.

The Peninsula

Qatar Museums (QM) is set to launch educational cultural activities at Al

Zubarah Unesco World Herit-age Site, which will offer participants hands on experi-ence with tradit ional practices.

Al Zubarah is Qatar’s larg-est heritage site and is one of the best-preserved examples of an 18th century merchant town in the Gulf region, giv-ing rise to the varied cultural workshops that will be open to the public.

Starting on Friday and running until 3 March 3, the specially designed practical and artistic workshops will take place every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On Thursday’s and Saturday’s, the event will run from 2pm to 8pm, and from 10am to 8pm on Friday’s.

During the weekend activ-ities, there will be a selection of traditional food and drinks on offer for residents and vis-iting tours to enjoy. In addition, visitors will get a unique opportunity to inter-act with craftsmen as they create fishing nets, get beau-tiful henna art done, and enjoy a range of traditional music.

This initiative comes as part of QM’s continued efforts to increase awareness of Qatar’s history, develop youth

appreciation and respect for heritage, and put local com-munities, young and old, in touch with their past.

For the first time in Qatar, one of the workshops will introduce participants to tech-nical ly involved and complicated way craftsmen used to make purple dye by using traditional techniques to extract the dye from shellfish that were used in Qatar. Par-ticipants will learn how a certain shellfish gland respon-sible for the purple colour was extracted and put directly on cloth under the heat of the sun to generate the colour of the Qatari flag.

The second workshop will introduce participants to the Neolithic period through pot-tery practice, while the third workshop will look at Arabic coffee as a symbol of gener-osity by teaching children to make Arabic coffee and serve it to guests.

The last workshop will teach participants to install a part of a traditional ceiling, doorsill and window sill made of danshal — a type of tree that grows in Zanzibar and which has been traditionally used as timber in constructions. The participants will get familiar with materials used in the con-servation of historic buildings and have the opportunity to try their own hands at build-ing and restoring structures.

QM to launch educational cultural activities at Unesco heritage site

QNA

The Cultural Village Foun-dation , Katara is gearing up to host the 7th Tradi-

tional Dhow Festival, which is held in accordance to its keen-ness to preserve the maritime heritage, seized to occur from November 14 to 18.

This year’s festival is sought to be a one of its kind edition, due to its wide regional and international participation that will be witnessed by the follow-ing countries; Qatar, Kuwait,

Oman, Iraq, Turkey, India, Greece, Zanzibar and Iran.

The Traditional Dhow Fes-tival is at the forefront of the cultural and heritage events hosted annually by Katara.

The 7th edition of the festi-val comes in with a bundle of surprises, including the wide participation of different coun-tries which will provide Katara’s audiences with an opportunity to observe new maritime tradi-tions by different cultures, the statement added.

The Chairman of Katara’s

7th Traditional Dhow Festival Organizing Committee, Ahmad Al Hitmi , said that as for the opening of the third Fath Al Kheir Voyage, it is arranged to head from the State of Qatar to the State of Kuwait, endur-ing the sailing trip to the Sultanate Oman, on Friday, the 17th of November, at 4:00 pm. The Dhow will be equipped with 16 Qatari sailors and will be led by the Captain Mohamed Youssef Al-Sada. The voyage is scheduled to return to the State of Qatar as

the citizens and expatriates, alike, festively celebrate Qatar’s National Day “.

The festival will also feature a number of traditional activi-ties, that will include: Dhow exhibition, Traditional Perform-ances & Crafts, Fish Market, Dhow cruises, Traditional Café, and Operetta under the theme “ Promise of Prosperity and Glory” . As well as workshops for chil-dren and students, and Al Saliyah, which is a throwing nets show at the sea-shore,Al Hitmi added.

Katara to host Traditional Dhow Festival

The Peninsula

Investment in interior projects in Qatar’s commer-cial, residential, retail,

hospitality, medical and edu-cational developments sectors is likely to reach $1.5bn, said a report market analysts Ven-tures. Details of the report will be revealed today at interior design exhibition- INDEX Qatar, which will begin today at Doha Exhibtion and Conven-tion Centre.

Jaafar Shubber, event director at INDEX Qatar, said: “This region and Qatar espe-cially will play host to some of the world’s biggest events over the next decade; it is easily one of the most exciting places to be for interior designers and architects at this moment in time. “Huge developments are underway across the region, from hotels, to malls, whole new residential neighbour-hoods and stadiums. The opportunities are endless for what continues to be a bur-geoning industry in the region.

“INDEX is here to help unite our most creative design minds with the international suppliers and manufacturers that bring some of the best fur-niture, décor and furnishings to the market. Combined with our stellar agenda of Design Talks speakers, our first ever INDEX promises to be the one must-attend event for all industry professionals looking to embrace Qatar’s interior design market.”

All aspects of interior design will be showcased dur-ing INDEX Qatar, designed to offer interior designers, archi-tects and procurement managers the ultimate crea-tive platform on which to network and source some of the finest furniture and décor found anywhere in the world.

Interior design expo begins today at DECC

The Peninsula

Sidra Medicine, Qatar Foun-dation Qatar’s new hospital for children,

young people, and women, will mark World Diabetes Day tomorrow with patient-focused activities designed to educate and empower the community. The activities reflect Sidra’s approach to helping patients manage and understand the condition through education and the application of new technologies.

Tomorrow from 8am to 3pm, families visiting the Out-patient Clinic (OPC) can take part in a variety of fun and edu-cational activities to learn more about diabetes and understand how to manage risks and lead a healthier lifestyle. Specialist doctors and nurses will be on hand to answer questions and provide advice on managing the condition in children.

On Wednesday, an educa-tional session will address the importance of early screening for gestational diabetes which develops during pregnancy and how to manage the condition during pregnancy. The talk delivered by Sidra experts will focus on advice and guidance for women at risk or already diagnosed with gestational dia-betes. Patients and families are welcome to visit the informa-tion table at the OPC (Level 4), from 8am to 2.30 pm. The edu-cation session takes place at the OPC (Level 5, C5- 401 A&B) from 12 noon to 1.30 pm.

Sidra’s patient and family-centered approach to care also focuses on educating patients, their families on the manage-ment of blood sugar by balancing nutrition and exer-cise with insulin therapy and supporting the emotional as well as physical consequences of diabetes.

Sidra Medicine to mark World Diabetes Day

An unprecedented environmental disaster has gripped the Indian capital. New Delhi and its adjoining areas are facing the worst spell of smog in nearly two decades.

Several issues are exacerbating the problem to deadly levels. Farmers who harvested crops in states neighbouring the capital are burning their stubbles, sending smoke into the air. Pollution from vehicles and construction projects are making things worse. Masks, once worn by tourists coming from world over, are now a common sight, being worn by one and all on the streets of the capital.

Dangerous PM 2.5 particles, which are small enough to enter people’s bloodstreams, peaked at 742 microgrammes per cubic meter. The World Health Organization’s safe limit for the particles is 60. As recently as last week, the smog was 10 times worse than that recorded in Beijing. Some parts of New Delhi have pollution 40 times the WHO-recommended safe level.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently described the city as a “gas chamber”, and the government introduced several emergency measures, including shutting down a coal-fired power plant and polluting brick kilns, and introducing the controversial “odd-even” programme, in which cars can be driven only on alternating days of the week depending on their licence plate numbers in an effort to curb traffic.

It was also mulling a plan to spray water over its capital to combat the toxic smog.

A major study published last month in the Lancet, a British medical journal, found that pollution was responsible for more yearly deaths than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. The problem is affecting every country on the planet. The Lancet also estimated that some 2.5 million Indians die each year from pollution.

Air pollution can be checked. Measures such as banning fireworks at all social events and environment-friendly initiatives like using CNG engines for public transport and phasing out old commercial

vehicles can, to a certain extent, address the problem. More research on the root cause of the problem need to be undertaken.

With the air quality in the capital and adjoining cities consistently deteriorating and with unabated stubble burning in the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and even parts of Delhi, authorities need to come out with concrete steps and appropriate measures to tackle the air pollution crisis created by the smog.

10 MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017VIEWS

E S T A B L I S H E D I N 1 9 9 6

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

[email protected]

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

[email protected]

Gasping for breath

QUOTE OF THE DAY

We have to recover the sensible, practical, enterprising and dynamic Catalonia... that has contributed so much to the progress of Spain and Europe.

Mariano Rajoy

Spanish Prime Minister

With the air

quality in the

Indian capital

and adjoining

cities consistently

deteriorating and

with unabated

stubble burning in

the Indian states

of Punjab, Haryana

and even parts of

Delhi, authorities

need to come out

with concrete steps

and appropriate

measures to tackle

the air pollution

crisis created by

the smog.

The State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Morocco have diplomatic rela-tions since 1972, based on a mutual will and an unlimited common aspi-ration to develop and expand the

areas of cooperation to serve the interests of both countries and peoples.

The distinct relations between the two countries have been enhanced by mutual vis-its, most importantly was the visit of HM King Mohammed VI of Morocco to Doha in 2002, and the visit of Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to Marrakesh in the same year, as well as his visits to Tangier in 2005 and Rabat in 2011.

H M King Mohammed VI of Morocco also visited Doha in 2012 and 2016. Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visit Mar-rakesh in 2013.

Qatar and Morocco have succeeded to open up new broad horizons for cooperation, represented in the exchange of visits and development programs, and the holding of the joint higher committees which undoubt-edly contributed to the progress of development between the two countries, and the convergence of common visions.

The relations between the two countries have upgraded to strategic partnership, based on the vision and good leadership of the lead-ers of the two countries, Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and HM King Mohammed VI. The two leaders worked together to strengthening relations and devel-oping cooperation between the two countries in all fields.

In the past 36 years, more than 45 agreements and Memorandums of Under-standing (MoU) have been signed. In 1981, an agreement was signed to regulate the employment of Moroccan workers in Qatar, in addition to a media agreement between the two sides. In 1987, an agreement was signed on air transport. In 2003, the two sides signed a protocol for cooperation in the administrative field.

In 2011, a partnership agreement was signed to establish a joint Qatari-Moroccan investment authority, a MoU for tourism cooperation; a MoU for cooperation in the mineral field; an additional protocol to the agreement on the regulation of the employ-ment of Moroccan workers in Qatar signed in 1998; a mutual administrative assistance agreement to enable the proper application of the Customs Act and to prevent; investigate and combat crimes; and a protocol for cul-tural cooperation in the restoration of castles, forts, archaeological sites and historical mon-uments in Qatar.

In addition, an agreement has been signed on the exemption of nationals of the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Morocco with dip-lomatic and private passports and the service of visa requirements. The two sides also signed a letter of intent on industrial coopera-tion in the field of chemical fertilizers; the executive program of the scientific and tech-nical cooperation agreement in the field of

Qatari-Moroccan relations... 45 years of strategic partnershipQNA

specifications, standards and quality control; a MoU between Qatar Central Bank and the Bank of Morocco; and a MoU between Qatar Olympic Commit-tee representing the sport sector in Qatar and the Ministry of Youth and Sports in the Kingdom of Morocco in the field of sports.

The two countries also have mutual agreements in the fields of culture, arts, education and media.

In 2013, the two countries signed an agreement to avoid double taxation, prevent tax evasion in respect of income taxes; a MoU for Qatar’s contribution to financing development projects in the Kingdom, a scientific and technical cooperation agreement; a bilateral cooperation agreement in the field of infrastructure projects; and a coopera-tion and twinning agreement between the Court of Cassation in Morocco and the Court of Cassation in the State of Qatar.

In 2014, an agreement was signed in the field of maritime transport, in addi-tion to a Memorandum of Understanding on the mutual recogni-tion of certificates in accordance with the international agreements for train-ing and rehabilitation; a MoU on cooperation in the field of endowments and Islamic affairs; a MoU in the field of social development; an executive pro-gram of the cooperation agreement in the field of youth; and an agreement of cooperation and exchange between Qatar News Agency and the Moroccan official news agency, the Maghreb Arab Press (MAP).

The two countries also signed two agreements relating to the financing of agriculture and fishing sector projects, the first agreement on the financing of agricultural projects with a grant of

$202 million and the second agreement on the financing of fishing projects with a grant of $69 million. In addition, the two sides signed a cooperation agree-ment in the field of security, an agreement in the field of air transport, and a cooperation agreement between the Kingdom of Morocco and the State of Qatar for the conservation of biodi-versity and wild animals and their habitats.

In 2015, a cooperation agreement was signed between Qatar Rail and the Moroccan National Railways, as well as a strategic cooperation and partnership agreement between Qatar Airways and the Moroccan national carrier, Royal Air Maroc.

In 2016, the sixth session of the Qatari-Moroccan High Supreme Com-mittee was held in Doha. The session resulted in the signing of several agree-ments and memorandums of understanding in various fields, includ-ing an agreement on legal and judicial cooperation, a memorandum of under-standing between Qatar’s National Committee for International Humani-tarian Law and Morocco’s National Committee for International Humani-tarian Law, in addition to an agreement in the field of maritime transport and a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the fields of oil, gas, renewable energy and electricity.

On the economic side, Morocco’s Ministry of Economy reported that trade exchange between Morocco and Qatar has witnessed an important development, rising from 517 million dirhams in 2010 to 681 million dirhams in 2014 with an annual growth rate of 21%. Aluminum and plastic products represent the bulk of Moroccan imports from Qatar, while Morocco exports to Qatar include mainly food products and furniture.

The human and social dimension was present in the pace of cooperation between the two countries, in line with the boom in the economic relations between the two countries. This is reflected in the Qatari efforts to imple-ment social projects in Morocco, in particular the contribution of the Qatar Fund for Development to financing the construction of a university hospital in the north of the Kingdom worth $300 million.

In implementation of the directives of the Emir and with special funding from His Highness, two projects out of 5 projects were completed in the city of Rachidia in southern Morocco, to sup-port the education and health sectors, including a blood and dialysis center and a school complex for elementary and preparatory schools.

The State of Qatar has also allocated $88 million in support for a project to assess desert and semi-desert areas in southern Morocco, which will benefit the southern provinces of Morocco, especially Guelmim, Tan-Tan, Laayoune and Tata.

Qatar and Morocco have

succeeded to open up

new broad horizons for

cooperation, represented in

the exchange of visits and

development programs,

and the holding of the joint

higher committees which

undoubtedly contributed to

the progress of development

between the two countries,

and the convergence of

common visions.

ED ITOR IAL

11MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017 OPINION

In return, senior officials from the Trump administration, particularly Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, have rarely discussed human rights con-cerns during their meetings with Duterte.

According to leaked documents, the White House even supports Duterte’s anti-drug campaign. The US president went as far as praising the Filipino leader for doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem”.

It must be said that Trump and Duterte also share ideological affinity. They are both besieged populists, who present themselves as the true rep-resentative of “the people” against the liberal establishment.

Deeply unpopular at home, Trump has openly embraced and seemingly envies international strongmen, who exercise almost total control over their respective countries. As for Duterte, he relishes the support and attention of global leaders like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.

But there are also pragmatic factors at play. Duterte has recognised, albeit reluctantly, the sig-nificance of US alliance in moments of crisis.

When ISIL-affiliated fighters laid a months-long siege on Marawi, the Philippines’ largest Muslim majority city,

The much-anticipated meeting between two of the world’s most controversial leaders is set to take place on November 13. US President Donald Trump is

expected to hold bilateral talks with his Filipino counterpart, Rodrigo Duterte, ahead of the East Asia Summit in the Philippines.

By and large, many are expecting a convivial hobnob between the two popu-list leaders, who have promised to make their respective nations great again. While some have welcomed the burgeon-ing Duterte-Trump bromance as a much-needed respite for a troubled alli-ance, others have been critical of the US president’s open embrace of strongmen like Duterte.

During his early months in office, Duterte repeatedly insulted US officials, including former President Barack Obama who criticised his bloody drug war. Duterte’s scorched-earth campaign has reportedly claimed thousands of lives since 2016, drawing condemnation from human rights groups, international media and Western capitals.

Amid growing disagreements with tra-ditional allies like Washington, Duterte adopted an “independent” foreign policy, which saw the Philippines drawing closer to China and Russia. In return, US’ chief rivals offered state-of-the-art weapons and large-scale investment deals.

Within months, Duterte downgraded security ties with America, threatening to expel US soldiers stationed in the Philip-pines and cancelling major war games in the contested South China Sea. He also restricted US access to Philippine bases under the newly implemented Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

All of a sudden, the US seemed on the verge of losing its oldest ally in Asia, with China rapidly filling in the vacuum. The election of Trump, however, precipitated an unmistakable recovery in bilateral ties.

In particular, this was due to the Trump administration’s explicit and con-scious decision to prioritise strategic cooperation with Asian allies over promo-tion of human rights and democracy values. The Filipino president, who has consistently shunned criticising Trump, has been visibly pleased.

If anything, Duterte has been all praise for Trump in the past year, welcoming closer bilateral cooperation against com-mon concerns such as terrorism. Ahead of his meeting with the US president, he promised that his country will “remain to be the best of friends with America”.

Trump and Duterte: A budding bromance

Washington provided desperately needed Special Forces assistance, high-grade intelligence, and weapons to the Philippine military.

Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, a former defence attache in Washington, thanked the US for playing a “vital” role in defeating ISIL elements in Marawi. Duterte has also acknowledged the deep and unshakable bond between the Pentagon and Philippine military, which has played a key role in shaping and taming the Filipino president’s erratic defence policy.

During his meeting with Trump, Duterte is expected to discuss ways to enhance counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics cooperation, where both allies share common concerns. It’s doubtful, though, whether there will be any substantive discussions on trade and investment issues as well as the South China Sea, where Duterte is exploring joint energy development with Beijing.

The two leaders will also tackle continued cooperation in areas of disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, given the Philippines’ vulnerability to extreme weather events. Duterte, however, made it clear that he won’t welcome any discussion on human rights lest he will tell the US leader to “lay off”.

Though the US administration has been under pressure to raise Duterte’s drug war in Manila, Trump will likely focus on building rapport and personal friendship with his Filipino counterpart. It is far from impossible to expect an all-smil-ing picture, showing the two leaders making the controversial Duterte fist bump gesture after their meeting. Duterte is determined to show that even the US president is behind him, while Trump is eager to display his personal diplomacy and ability to win back estranged allies.

This will likely anger their liberal critics at home, but will keep one of the world’s longest-standing alliances on an even keel. In many ways, Trump and Duterte are a perfect match and will likely keep their bromance going over the coming years.

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Actions speak louder than unfounded accusations

In light of the many accusations circulated by international bodies against the State of Qatar, many of those basing their accusations on con-tributions from ‘anonymous sources’, we are getting used to hearing the same headlines

over and over again. Different media outlets con-tinue to cash on phrases revolving around labor and human rights.

Reality however lays in a different dimension to the one these newspapers and channels live in. The allegations brought forward time and time again have made it difficult to differentiate between facts and fiction. Journalists, organizations and media

outlets that were renowned for their

professionalism, have lost credibility.The questions being asked primarily revolve

around treatment of laborers and migrant workers. The international community and international organizations have the right to raise fingers but only when they are basing their claims on facts. But these acts qualify to be condemned if what we keep hearing continues to be based on such weak and unproven allegations.

The steps taken by the State of Qatar and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy for ensuring the dignified treatment of laborers and migrant workers in such a short time period have been nothing short of astonishing.

The Wage Protection System that was recently passed ensures there is a strict system in place to monitor the payment transactions to workers by their employers. Effectively, the country has intro-duced a cashless system in which salaries of these laborers are documented and hence ensures timely payments.

In the state of Qatar, migrant workers have a higher life expectancy than they would in their respective home countries and have free-access to incredible health care facilities.

The philanthropic organizations in Qatar are doing an immense job at home towards migrant workers stemming from our belief that ‘charity begins at home’.

It is common to see nationals and expats stand-ing shoulder to shoulder with these charity organizations to care for the migrant worker popu-lation and ensure their well-being. These local charity organizations have a constant monitoring mechanism to check the conditions of these work-

ers and offer humanitarian support and aid.The critics can see a lot more if they decide to

open their eyes, and remove the prejudice and hate that is clouding their vision towards Qatar and the World Cup 2022. They can see the campaigns being run for the welfare of laborers. They can see locals opening their homes to workers on a daily basis for lunches and dinners. Unfortunately, these acts are completely disregarded by a multitude of media outlets and journalists.

The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Leg-acy has done a tremendous job in enforcing the toughest conditions for their contractors and sub-contractors to ensure the well-being of workers, workers living conditions and worker safety. They have raised these standards again and again to the point where construction companies complain about how difficult it is to be compliant.

Recently, a new residency law came into effect that abolished the sponsorship (kafala) system and guaranteed greater flexibility, freedom and protec-tion to Qatar’s more than 2.1 million expatriate work force. Expatriate workers have the freedom to change jobs subject to conditions set by the law.

They say actions speak louder than words and Qatar believes in actions. Yet we still see the same systematic approach by these bodies to target Qatar and its right to host the FIFA World Cup 2022 for the first time in the Middle East.

It makes one wonder if the statements have ulterior motives besides the well-being of these workers. Is it really a matter of human rights they are talking about? If that is the case, then why is the State of Qatar the only country been singled out while more pressing issues around the world go

Zaid Al-Hamdan

The Peninsula

Richard Javad Heydarian Al Jazeera

In the state of Qatar, migrant workers

have a higher life expectancy than

they would in their respective home

countries and have free-access to

incredible health care facilities.

In many ways, Trump and Duterte

are a perfect match and will likely

keep their bromance going over the

coming years.

unnoticed?In other countries, govern-

ments are nailing sidewalks to prevent the homeless from sleep-ing or loitering on them. In other countries we see mass incarcera-tion of certain ethnic groups in the prison system.

These pressing violations go unnoticed while no time is wasted in expressing “concerns” and “alarms” over the potential risk of worker safety in Qatar.

We call upon FIFA to continue to work hand in hand with the State of Qatar to deliver an extraordinary event in the region. We also trust the sponsors of FIFA will exercise good judgement and disregard these baseless accusa-tions. This world cup will provide an unprecedented opportunity to grow their brand loyalty in the region. 2022 will be a year in which a breathtaking event will finally be held in the Middle East. While keeping worker safety and the environment as priorities, a World Cup will be delivered that will leave a lasting legacy. Expect Amazing!

The writer is Executive Man-ager of Ajyal Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte during the gala dinner marking Asean’s 50th anniversary in Manila, yesterday.

12 MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

NEWS BYTES

Attacks in Central Africa capital leave 7 dead, over 20 injuredBANGUI: Four people were killed and over 20 wounded when grenades were thrown into a concert in the capital of the chron-ically unstable Central African Republic, while revenge attacks later left another three people dead, the UN peacekeeping force and a local official said yesterday. In the first serious incident of violence in Bangui this year, the assault late Saturday saw two unidentified attackers hurl grenades at a cafe called “On the Crossroads of Peace” during a performance, said Herve Verhoosel, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force MINUSCA.

Yemen rebels deny US claim about Iranian missile SANA’A: Yemeni Houthi rebels have directly rebutted US asser-tions that a missile launched into Saudi Arabia earlier this month was manufactured by Shia ally Iran. Col Aziz Rashed, a spokes-man for rebel-allied forces, said that the missile intercepted by the Saudis near the capital Riyadh on November 4 was “Yem-eni-produced.” The US contends that the ballistic missile was Iranian-made and remnants of it bore “Iranian markings.” Rashed added however that if the rebels could obtain “strate-gic weapons from any state, we would not hesitate one moment.”A Saudi-led, US-backed coalition allied with Yemen’s interna-tionally recognised government has been at war with the rebels since March 2015.

Kenyan woman gives birth to rare quintupletsNAIROBI: A Kenyan woman gave birth to naturally-conceived quintuplets yesterday, however the first two baby boys died shortly after being born in a small town in the west of the country. There is a one in 60 million chance of a mother falling pregnant with five babies, without hormone treatment, experts say. The mother, Jacintah Akinyi, 30, “started delivering at home. By the time she arrived at this hospital, she had two babies that had passed on,” said director of the hospital. She further gave birth to two girls and a boy, who were doing well. All the babies weigh between 1.6 and 1.9 kilogrammes. Malago said the woman had not con-sulted with any doctors throughout her entire pregnancy.

6 kidnapped cargo crewmen freedLAGOS: Six members of a cargo ship kidnapped last month off the coast of Nigeria’s Port Harcourt have been freed, their Ger-man employer said yesterday. “Peter Doehle Schiffahrts-KG are pleased to report that the six crew members of her con-tainer vessel Demeter who were taken hostage on October 21 and have spent the past two and a half weeks in captivity, were released and are now safe,” the Hamburg-based group said in a statement.

Beirut

AFP

Dozens of civilians have died in artil-lery fire and Russian bombard-ment of two

displacement camps and sur-rounding territory in eastern Syria, a monitor said yesterday in a new toll.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said ongoing heavy bombardment in the Deir Ezzor province had killed 50 civilians, including 20 children, since late Friday night.

The new toll was nearly double the Britain-based mon-itor’s count on Saturday of 26 dead. The bombardment has targeted territory along the Euphrates River, as well as vil-lages and displacement camps full of people fleeing fighting in the Syrian border town of Albu Kamal.

Russian-backed Syrian regime forces and allied mili-tia seized Albu Kamal from the Islamic State group on Thurs-day but the militants retook it late on Saturday. Yesterday, Russian air strikes on two river crossings along the Euphrates killed 11 civilians, according to Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

“Five civilians, including two children, were killed in the

strikes on Al Soussa crossing about five kilometres east of Albu Kamal,” Abdel Rahman said. “Six civilians were killed in raids on another river cross-ing 20km north of the town,” he added.

The toll from earlier artil-lery fire and air strikes on two displacement camps and sur-rounding villages rose to 39 after 13 civilians succumbed to their wounds, the Observatory said yesterday.

Albu Kamal is the last sig-nificant Syrian town IS controls. Losing it would cap the group’s reversion to an underground guerrilla organisation with no urban base. The United States and Russia issued a presiden-tial joint statement saying there was “no military solution” to the war in Syria after their leaders met briefly on the sidelines of a regional summit in Vietnam.

Syria: 50 dead in artillery fire, Russian strikes

7.3 magnitude quake in Iraq damages Iranian villages ANKARA: At least eight villages were damaged in Iran after an earthquake with magnitude of 7.3 struck Iraq yesterday, Iran’s state TV reported. “The quake was felt in several Iranian provinces bordering Iraq ... Eight villages were damaged ... Electricity has been cut in some villages and rescue teams have been dispatched to those areas,” TV reported. The strong earthquake hit large parts of Iraq, including the capital Bagh-dad, an Iraqi meteorology official said. The US Geological Survey put the quake at 7.3 magnitude, which placed the epicentre south-west of the city of Halabja along the Iraq-Iran border.

Juba

AFP

South Sudanese troops have withdrawn from around the residence of powerful

former army chief Paul Malong, a week after a tense standoff over his bodyguards sparked fears of clashes in the capital.

In a press statement yester-day entitled “Misunderstanding Resolved”, army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said a peaceful res-olution had been found to a dispute over the number of bod-yguards in Malong’s service.

Lul Ruai said scores of troops had been deployed around Malong’s house as he had failed to comply with an order that he release most of his government-appointed body-guards to return to their former duties.

“Withdrawal came about after Gen. Paul accepted (a) presidential order on reduction of his bodyguards,” the army statement says.

Lul Ruai said troops were withdrawn after a “security review was undertaken which indicated lack of real security

threats to the government in particular and residents of Juba in general (and) to reduce and eliminate uncertainty created by deployment of security forces.”

The move was also an attempt “to build confidence between the Government and General Paul.”

Malong is a hardline ethnic nationalist whose dismissal in May by President Salva Kiir had sparked fears of a clash between his supporters and troops loyal to the president, although that never materialised.

The deployment of troops around his house last Friday saw people holing up at home for fears of clashes.

Malong, who belongs to Kiir’s majority Dinka tribe, is widely regarded as the master-mind behind fighting that erupted in Juba in July 2016 that killed hundreds of people.

The clashes also crushed hopes of a power-sharing gov-ernment between Kiir and Riek Machar, his former deputy turned rebel chief, who is a member of the Nuer tribe.

South Sudan has been

gripped by a brutal civil war that has lasted nearly four years. Ini-tially putting the Dinka and the Nuer against each other, the conflict has metastasised, draw-ing in a variety of ethnic groups and grievances.

The general, who is under house arrest, was one of three senior South Sudan officials who was hit by US sanctions in Sep-tember on charges of fomenting and profiting from the civil war.

Canada followed suit last week, with Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland saying the sanctions related to individuals “linked to human rights viola-tions and corruption”.

South Sudan gained inde-p e n d e n c e a f t e r t h e Christian-majority south split from the Muslim north in 2011 after a 22-year civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people.

But the world’s youngest nation quickly fell into civil war in December 2013 after Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup, with the conflict leaving tens of thousands dead and forc-ing a third of its 12 million people out of their homes.

Beirut

AP

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri said yesterday he will return to his coun-

try “very soon” amid a political crisis that erupted when he announced his sudden resigna-tion on November 4 in Saudi Arabia.

In a live interview shown on his Future TV, Hariri said he had resigned to protect Lebanon from imminent danger, although he didn’t specify who was threatening the country.

“I am free,” Hariri told the interviewer, apparently seeking to show he was not being detained by the Saudis. He said he would return to Lebanon “in days.” He spoke after pressure from Lebanese officials, who said his resignation was not accepted because it was declared in Saudi Arabia.

Many Lebanese have sus-pected Hariri was placed under house arrest as part of a Saudi plan to unravel a coalition gov-ernment he had formed last year with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

But he said his resignation was his decision, dismissing reports he was forced to quit a unity government with Hezbol-lah. His resignation was designed to “cause a positive shock” in Lebanon, Hariri said, warning against what he said was Iranian interference that is ruining rela-tions with other Arab countries. Lebanon President Michel Aoun said before the interview that the “mysterious circumstances for Hariri’s stay outside the country makes all his positions question-able and in doubt and not of his own volition.”

A dual Lebanese-Saudi national, the Saudi-allied Hariri unexpectedly announced his resignation on November 4 in a pre-recorded message on Saudi TV, criticizing Iran and Hezbol-lah, and saying he feared for his safety. His father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri, was killed by a car bomb in Beirut in 2005. Hariri’s family lives in Riyadh.

Hariri had not been heard from since but met with foreign diplomats, and appeared with Saudi royalty and in Abu Dhabi.

Earlier yesterday, thousands of people attending Lebanon’s annual marathon used the event to urge Hariri to return home.

Hariri was a regular partic-ipant in the marathon, giving the international sports event a big boost. This year, President

Michel Aoun encouraged run-ners to call on Hariri to return. Organisers say more than 47,000 participated in the marathon.

Spectators along the mara-thon course wore hats and held signs reading “Running for you” and “Waiting for you.” Large bill-boards with pictures of Hariri rose overhead, and a local TV station showed an hour-long profile and interview with Har-iri from last year. One woman raised a placard reading: “We want our prime minister back.”

Ibrahim Al Masri, a 37-year-old Hariri supporter, said the Lebanese didn’t know if it was Hariri’s choice to stay in Saudi Arabia. “Whatever he chooses, we are with him. We want him to first come to Lebanon. We will

die for him,” Al Masri said.Joanne Hamza, a physical

education teacher who wore a cap with a picture of Hariri on it, said he was missed at the race.

“But in a sense, his absence has been unifying. All Lebanese, from all sects, are missing their leader. This is somehow reas-suring but we still want him with us.” In the northern city of Tripoli on Saturday, unknown assail-ants burned posters of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a sign of the rising tensions. Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk tweeted that those acts did not reflect the “true feel-ings” of the people of Tripoli or Lebanon, and called for the per-petrators to be brought to justice.

Hariri says he will return to Lebanon soon

Youmn Ahmad, an artist, paints a portrait of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Al Hariri, who has resigned from his post, during the annual Beirut Marathon, in Beirut, Lebanon, yesterday.

People gather at a street after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Erbil in Iraq, yesterday.

Istanbul

AP

Turkey has dismissed as “utterly false, ludicrous and groundless” a

report that Turkish officials may have discussed paying millions of dollars to have a US-based cleric kidnapped.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Spe-cial Counsel Robert Mueller was investigating an alleged plot involving former US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and his son to hand Fethullah Gulen over to Ankara for as much as $15m.

Turkey blames the cleric and his supporters for a July 2016 military coup attempt that killed 250 people. Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, has denied being behind it.

The Turkish Embassy in Washington reiterated demands late on Saturday for the United States to extradite Gulen so he can stand trial. The embassy rejected “all allegations that Turkey would resort to means external to the rule of law” to get Gulen back on Turkish soil.

Troops withdraw from ex-army chief’s house in South Sudan

Turkey denies report of plan to kidnap Gulen

The US and Russia

issued a presidential

joint statement

saying there was “no

military solution” to

the war in Syria after

their leaders met

on the sidelines of a

regional summit in

Vietnam.

13MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017 ASIA

Congress hails

victory in MP

by-electionBhopal

IANS

Congress candidate Nilan-shu Chaturvedi was yesterday declared

elected to the Madhya Pradesh Assembly from Chitrakoot con-stituency, defeating his BJP rival by 14,133 votes.

The Congress hailed the victory as an “indication of change”, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav termed it a sign of increasing distrust and resistance of peo-ple in the BJP, while Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accepted the result as the people’s mandate.

Chaturvedi led right from the start of vote count at 8am and kept increasing his winning lead, officials said. After 19 rounds of counting, he worsted the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Shankar Dayal Tripathi.

According to a statement from the office of the chief elec-toral officer here, Chaturvedi received 66,810 votes and his BJP rival 52,677 out of the 126,903 votes declared valid.

It said that by the end of the fifth round, Chaturvedi had established a lead of over 10,000 votes over Tripathi and at the end of the tenth, was ahead by 17,959. However, Tri-pathi then rallied and by the end, had shrunk the lead to 14,133.

The election to the constit-uency in Satna district was called after the death of sitting Congress legislator Prem Singh. A total of 12 candidates were in the fray including nine independents.

Chouhan said, in a tweet, that he accepted the result as

the people’s mandate was the real basis of democracy. Thank-ing the people for their support, he said development works in the area would continue unabated.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted: “The winds of change are in the air. Many thanks to the people of Chitrakoot for their faith and trust in the Con-gress party.”

In his reaction, Akhilesh Yadav said the aftermath of this would be seen in the Gujarat polls too.

“Defeat of BJP in Chitrak-oot assembly bypoll is showing the direction of wind. People now have understand the real-ity of GST and demonetisation. The result is a sign of increas-ing distrust and resistance of people towards BJP. Now, wind of BJP’s defeat will reach Gujarat too,” he said in a tweet.

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Southeast Asian Nations Summit gala dinner in Manila, Philippines, yesterday.

Modi interacts with world leaders in PhilippinesManila

IANS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with world leaders, including

US President Donald Trump, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, at a gala dinner reception hosted by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte here on Sunday ahead of this year’s India-Asean and East Asia Summits.

In a tweet attached with a picture, External Affairs Minis-try spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said Modi spoke to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Chinese Premier Li at the gala dinner to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the for-mation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)

here. Kumar said that Modi engaged in a “warm and cordial conversation” with Li.

“Engaging conversation with a friend. PM @narendramodi with Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of Russia at the Gala Dinner #Manila,” he said in a separate tweet. Another tweet by Modi showed him smiling warmly and shaking hands with President Trump.

Modi arrived here earlier yesterday on a three-day visit to the Philippines to attend the 15th India-Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) and the 12th East Asia summits to be held here tomorrow.

This is the first Prime Min-isterial visit from India to the Philippines in 36 years since the visit of Indira Gandhi in 1981.

This year marks the 25th year of the India-Asean dialogue

partnership and the golden jubi-lee of the formation of the Asean regional bloc.

Ahead of the summits, Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Duterte here today. He is also scheduled to hold a bilat-eral meeting with Trump today.

Similar meetings between Modi and other visiting leaders are also being arranged on the sidelines of the summits.

Modi is also likely to partici-pate in special celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Asean, Regional Comprehensive Eco-nomic Partnership (RCEP) Leaders’ Meeting and Asean Busi-ness and Investment Summit.

The business is being held to boost New Delhi’s close coop-eration to further enhance trade ties with Asean member-states that constitutes 10.85 percent of India’s overall trade.

14 dead, 9 missing in Andhra boat tragedy Vijayawada

IANS

At least fourteen tourists, including six women and two children, were

killed and nine others miss-ing as a boat capsized in Krishna river near this city in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district yesterday, officials said.

The incident occurred at Ibrahimpatnam Ferry Ghat. There were 38 tourists on boat belonging to a private operator and coming to Pavitra Sangam at Ibrahim-patnam from Bhavani Island. Overload is suspected to be the cause of the accident.

A total of 15 people were rescued with the help of locals.

Nat ional Disaster Response Force personnel joined divers in the rescue operations, but these were hampered with the sunset.

The incident occurred around 5.20pm when the tourists, most of them hailing from Ongole town in Pra-kasam district, were coming to Pavitra Sangam for reli-gious rituals.

Survivors said they boarded the private boat as the boats of the Tourism Department were not available.

Tourism Minister Akhila Priya ordered probe into the incident.

NIA arrests 3 of inter-state gang

The National Investiga-tion Agency (NIA) has busted an inter-state

gang of cheats and nabbed its three members from Dholpur in Rajasthan, the agency said yesterday.

The gang used to cheat people on the pretext of exchanging Fake Indian Cur-rency Notes (FICN) or unbilled gold biscuits on attractive rates. The NIA recovered 20 gold biscuits of 100 grams each from their possession and is conducting searches in Mumbai and Kolhapur (Maharashtra). The genuine-ness of the gold is also being verified.

“During the preliminary examination, it was revealed that an inter-state gang had been active since long in the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi and West Bengal. They lured people on the pretext of exchanging high-quality FICN or unbilled gold biscuits on attractive rates,” an official said.

Hunt for Sasikala kin’s hidden wealth to resume todayChennai

IANS

One of the largest and long-est search operations for unaccounted wealth by

the Indian tax officials, going on at the premises of jailed AIADMK leader V K Sasikala’s kin and their business associates, entered its fourth day yesterday before being temporarily concluded, said a senior tax official.

Sasikala, currently serving her jail sentence for corruption, was a confidante of the late

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jay-alalithaa and lived with her for decades.

“The search has been tem-porarily concluded on Sunday so that our officials and also the search parties get some respite. We will resume the process in 20-25 premises on Monday,” the official, who did not want to be identified, said.

“All the documents will be kept in a safety cupboard or in a room in those premises and the occupants of the house would be prohibited from opening those

cupboards or the rooms“We have to complete our

work in the premises where search operations were carried out,” he added.

Declining to comment on the amount of cash, jewellery and property documents alleg-edly seized as per some reports, the official said: “It only shows their imagination. I need not confirm or deny this imagination.”

The official said the depart-ment waited for the individuals and companies associated with

Sasikala to file their tax returns for the year and based on the filing and the data with the IT depart-ment, the searches was carried out to detect tax evasion.

After analysing the docu-ments and obtaining clarifications, tax demand would be raised, the official said.

The searches were con-ducted in connection with unexplained routing of cash post-demonetisation through shell companies allegedly con-nected to Sasikala and her nephew T.T.V. Dinakaran, who

heads one of the wings of the ruling AIADMK.

The IT department will look at the routing of funds within India whereas other agencies will look into the routing of money outside India, the official said. “We have information about shell companies and the search is in connection with their operations,” he said.

A decision on freezing the bank accounts of the searched persons and companies would be taken only after collating the data from the seized papers.

Pollution spikes in Delhi amid warningsNew Delhi

AFP

Air pollution in New Delhi worsened again yesterday and officials warned of lit-

tle relief in sight from the smog, which has even caused one air-line to cancel flights to the world’s most polluted capital.

The US embassy website yesterday showed levels of the smallest and most harmful air-borne pollutants reached 676, about 27 times the World Health Organisation’s safe maximum.

Delhi authorities have halted all construction, shut brick kilns and banned lorries from

entering the city but pollution levels have remained stubbornly high, hovering around hazard-ous levels for six days in the city and other parts of north India.

An effort to restrict private cars collapsed Saturday after India’s top environmental court objected to exemptions for women, VIPs and motorcycles.

Doctors have declared a public health emergency and more than 30,000 schools across northern India have closed, though classes are scheduled to resume today.

Air quality typically worsens before the onset of winter as cooler air traps pollutants near the ground and prevents them from dispers-ing into the atmosphere.

New education policy by DecGandhinagar

IANS

Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar yesterday said the first

draft of the new National Education Policy will come out by December end.

The policy is being prepared by a nine-member panel headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K Kastur-irangan. The Human Resource Development Minister said the panel held its fifth meeting two days earlier.

“They have said that we can have the first draft of the policy by December end.... It will be implemented as soon as possible after it has been debated (in Parliament),” Javadekar said.

“Defeat of BJP in

Chitrakoot assembly

bypoll is showing

the direction of

wind. People now

have understand the

reality of GST and

demonetisation. The

result is a sign of

increasing distrust

and resistance of

people towards

BJP. Now, wind

of BJP’s defeat

will reach Gujarat

too,” a Congress

spokesperson said.

Commuters lead a horse on a road as they make their way through heavy smog in Amritsar yesterday

14 MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017ASIA

Pigeons fly on a street amid heavy smog in Lahore yesterday. Large swathes of Pakistan see a spike in pollution at the onset of winter due to crop burning and the fact that cooler air traps particulates close to the ground, preventing them from dispersing — a phenomenon known as inversion.

Afghan National Army (ANA) commandos taking part in a military exercise at a training centre in Herat. ANA soldiers participated in the exercise mission to demonstrate their combat training in front of members of the local and international media.

$52.4m project

launched to

fight poverty Islamabad

Internews

The $52.4m Balo-c h i s t a n R u r a l Development and Community Empow-erment Programme

(BRDCEP) was launched yesterday.

The five-year programme of the Local Government and Rural Development Depart-ment (LG and RDD) has been funded by the European Union.

The provincial government, Balochistan Rural Support Pro-gramme (BRSP), National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) and Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) will help the LG and RDD in completion of the programme.

The main focus of the pro-gramme is to support the Balochistan government in reducing the negative impact of economic deprivation, pov-erty and social inequality and empower resilient communi-ties to actively participate in identifying and implementing socio-economic development activities on sustainable basis in partnership with local authorities.

The programme, benefiting 1.9 million people, will be implemented in eight districts of the province: Jhal Magsi, Kech, Khuzdar, Qilla Abdullah, Loralai, Pishin, Washuk and Zhob.

Federal Minister for Postal Service Maulana Ameer Zaman, Provincial Minister for Planning and Development Dr Hamid

Achakzai, Minister for LG and RDD Sardar Mustafa Tareen, Senator Nawabzada Saifullah Magsi, former chief minister of Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, Adviser to Chief Minis-ter on Forest, Wildlife and Livestock Obaidullah Babat, MPA Mir Jan Muhammad Khan Jamali, Sanaullah Baloch, former federal minister for social welfare, spe-cial education and women development Zubaida Jalal and P and D Secretary Asfandyar Kakar spoke on the occasion and shared their views on the programme.

All speakers lauded the EU’s support and Rural Sup-port Programmes Network’s work in the province. They appreciated efforts of BRSP, NRSP and RSPN for their con-tribution in reducing poverty in the province.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of the programme, EU Ambassador Jean-François Cautain said that core compo-nents of the BRDCEP included bottom-up approach and for-mulation of development policy framework.

CJP to take up Sharif’s appeal for joint trial next weekIslamabad

Internews

Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar is all set to hear two important

petitions next week — one filed by deposed premier Nawaz Sharif and the other by PTI lead-ers Asad Umar and Shireen Mazari.

Sharif’s petition seeks a review of a part of the Supreme Court’s July 28 verdict in which the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been directed to file three separate corruption references against him. Sharif wants the three references to be clubbed together.

The PTI leaders, mean-while, have requested a probe into the party accounts of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)

and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for allegedly receiving funds from foreign sources.

The petitions from Sharif and the PTI leaders were pre-viously returned by the Supreme Court registrar with objections. The petitioners had then appealed the decision, which will now be heard by the CJP.

If Sharif and the PTI leaders succeed in convincing the CJP into admitting the petitions, then he may set aside the objections and ask the Registrar Office to allot petition numbers and fix the cases before relevant benches for initial hearing.

The CJP will take up the PTI leaders’ appeal on November 15 and that of Sharif on November 16.

Sharif’s petition was filed through Khawaja Haris under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, making the federal government, NAB, the accountability court and his children as respondents.

The deposed PM requested the Supreme Court to declare that the July 28 verdict direct-ing NAB to file three separate references against him “is as per incuriam, being repugnant to the provisions of Articles 4, 9, 10-A, 13 and 25 of the Constitution”.

On October 20, the SC Reg-istrar Office had returned Sharif’s constitutional petition raising objections.

Sharif, through his counsel, again filed an appeal against the objections raised by the Regis-trar Office.

SHC Chief Justice takes notice of unusual punishmentsKarachi

Internews

Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Shaikh has taken

notice of unique punishments being awarded to criminals by subordinate courts and has asked the related district and sessions judges to present a report.

Karachi’s district and ses-sions courts had awarded unusual punishments to criminals like: standing on the road with a placard, staying in the mosque for two hours on every Friday and regularly praying for three years.

The SHC Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Shaikh took notice of these unusual pun-ishments being awarded to the criminals after charges were proved against them.

It is significant to highlight here that the district and ses-sions courts in Karachi had awarded such unusual punish-ments in three different cases.

A few days ago, Addi-tional District and Sessions Judge Haleem Ahmed asked a criminal arrested for keep-ing illegal weapons, to regularly pray five times a day for the next three years.

The CID Police had filed a case against Yusuf Khan in 2014 for keeping illegal weap-ons. The case was heard for three years. In its verdict, the court announced that if Yusuf Khan would leave any prayer, he would be jailed for seven years and fined Rs50,000.

In another case, a district and sessions court had asked a person to stand on road with a placard for two hours on every Friday, warning people to ride a motorcycle carefully.

Taliban splinter group splits further over tacticsPeshawar

AP

A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban has been further split into

two groups in an apparent blow to Jihadis operating against Pakistani forces.

A video statement yester-day said the Hizbul Ahrar group, formed in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan a day earlier, will be headed by the militant commander Mukar-ram Khan. Khan had earlier served as an important com-mander and spokesman for the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group.

The statement said Khan left Jamaat-ul-Ahrar over dif-ferences with its chief.

FPSC to hold one paper a day

To ease off the pressure on candidates appear-ing in Central Superior

Services (CSS) examinations, the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) has decided to hold one paper a day, unlike the previous prac-tice where the aspirants would appear in two papers a day.

The FPSC took the deci-sion at a time when the federal cabinet is scheduled to take up the proposed restructuring of the commis-sion after pressure mounted about the low passing rate in the examination.

Dozens leave closed Australia refugee camp in PNGSydney

AFP

Dozens of refugees have left a shuttered Australian camp in Papua New

Guinea but hundreds more are refusing to move, detainees said Sunday, as New Zealand’s leader repeated an offer to resettle some of them.

Australia sends asylum-seekers who try to reach the country by boat to two Pacific camps on PNG’s Manus Island or Nauru for processing under a tough immigration policy.

Around 600 men refused to leave the Manus detention cen-tre after it was closed on October

31 following a PNG Supreme Court ruling that it was uncon-stitutional, citing fears for their safety outside.

While some have moved to three transition centres on Manus, 423 remain holed up in the camp despite no water and electricity and limited food sup-plies, Kurdish-Iranian detainee and journalist Behrouz Boochani said yesterday.

Boochani said the men were “struggling with starvation” and rationing the little food they were allowed to bring in to the camp.

“The people are saying that we are determined to stay and they feel if (they) leave the prison

camp and go to another prison camp (they) will lose everything and their lives,” he added.

Australian and PNG author-ities insist all three transition centres built to house the refu-gees provide basic services including food and water.

But Boochani said those who moved there have complained of harsh conditions.

The refugee has also filed for leave to appeal a PNG Supreme Court ruling Tuesday against restoring basic services to the camp, with the case to be heard in court today.

PNG authorities have warned the refugees they had up to this weekend to go to the new

locations or face being forcibly removed.

The deadline to move came as New Zealand’s Prime Minis-ter Jacinda Ardern repeated her offer to take 150 refugees from Manus and Nauru.

Australian leader Malcolm Turnbull snubbed Ardern’s offer when she raised it in bilateral meetings in Sydney a week ago.

She told reporters on the sidelines of the APEC meetings in Vietnam Saturday she would have a “substantive” conversa-tion with Turnbull at the upcoming East Asian Summit in the Philippines.

”I see the human face of this and I see the need and the role

New Zealand needs to play. I think it’s clear that we don’t see what’s happening there as acceptable, that’s why the offer’s there,” she said.

”It continues to be the easi-est option is to go through Australia given the screening that’s already occurred of those refugees... I’m interested in the fastest route.”

Canberra has struggled to transfer refugees from Manus, who are barred from resettling in Australia, to third countries including the United States.

So far, just 54 refugees have been accepted by Washington, with 24 flown to America in September.

Rohingyas wait for weeks on beachAh Lei Than Kyaw

Reuters

Some 1,000 Rohingyas des-perate to leave Myanmar are camped on this

exposed, sun-baked beach on the Bay of Bengal waiting for a boat to carry them to sanctu-ary in Bangladesh.

Having kept northern parts of Rakhine State virtually off limits since it launched a coun-ter-insurgency operation there in late August, Myanmar’s mil-itary made a rare show of openness on Sunday by taking foreign journalists to see one of the beaches from which Rohingya are trying to escape.

Well over 600,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh to find

shelter in the refugee camps, the living victims of what a top UN official has called “ethnic cleans-ing”. Myanmar, a mostly Buddhist country, has denied such accusations, insisting the military’s clearance operation was necessitated by national security concerns.

For the Rohingya at Ah Lei Than Kyaw, some 5km south of the mouth of the Naf river, the beach is a kind of purgatory. Mohammad Eidnou, a 19-year-old labourer, sold his house and belongings but he and his fam-ily have spent everything surviving for the past two months and have no money to pay the $50 a head that boat-men are demanding to take them to Bangladesh.

The five-year

programme

of the Local

Government and

Rural Development

Department has

been funded by the

European Union.

Combat readiness

Smoggy drill

15MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017 ASIA

Trump offers to mediate in sea rowManila

AFP

US President Donald Trump offered yes-terday to mediate in a territorial dispute over the resource-

rich South China Sea, after years of Chinese island-building in the contested waters.

Trump’s surprise proposal to insert himself into the decades-long row risked a backlash from China, which has repeatedly said the United States has no role to play in what it insists is a series of bilateral issues.

“If I can help mediate or arbitrate, please let me know... I am a very good mediator,”

Trump told Vietnamese Presi-dent Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi during an official state visit.

Trump’s comments came shortly before Chinese President Xi Jinping began his own state visit to Vietnam, in the capital Hanoi.

China claims nearly all of the strategically vital sea, through which $5 trillion in shipping trade passes annually. It is also believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits.

Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims in the sea, and the dispute has long been seen as a potential trigger for conflict in Asia.

Vietnam has courted support from Washington in the row, as

it and other claimants have been powerless to stop China’s efforts in recent years to cement its claims by building artificial

islands in disputed areas.Those islands are capable of

serving as military bases, and some of the rival claimants are concerned that China will soon establish de facto control of the waters.

Tensions over the sea spiked this year when Vietnam sus-pended an oil exploration project in an area of the sea also claimed by Beijing, reportedly over pres-sure from its powerhouse communist neighbour.

In 2014, China moved an oil rig into waters off Vietnam’s coast, sparking violent protests in several Vietnamese cities.

Trump’s offer came just before he flew to the Philippine capital of Manila for another regional summit.

However, his proposal was not immediately accepted by the Philippines, which under Presi-dent Rodrigo Duterte has sought to defuse tensions with China over the row in favour of closer economic ties.

“We thank him for it. It’s a very kind, generous offer because he is a good mediator. He is the master of the art of the deal,” Phil-ippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said when asked about Trump’s offer.

“But of course the claimant countries have to answer as a group or individually and not one country can just give an instant reply because mediation involves all of the claimants and non-claimants.”

Xi makes state visit to VietnamHanoi

AP

Vietnam gave Chinese President Xi Jinping the red carpet treatment

yesterday at the start of a state visit, as the two communist neighbours try to broaden their economic ties and work on resolving territorial dis-putes in the South China Sea.

Xi and Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Viet-namese Communist Party, reviewed an honor guard and headed for talks behind closed doors. It was Xi’s first overseas trip since consoli-dating his power at a party congress last month.

Xi and US President Don-ald Trump, among others, just finished an Asia-Pacific eco-nomic summit in the Vietnamese coastal city of Danang.

Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang said that his country wants to end disputes in the South China Sea through peaceful means.

“It’s our policy to settle disputes in the East Sea through peaceful negotiations and with respect for diplo-matic and legal process in accordance with international law, including the UN Con-vention on the Law of the Sea,” he said, referring to the South China Sea.

Quang made the com-ments yestserday during a joint news conference with Trump. Trump had offered during a meeting earlier Sun-day with Quang to serve as a mediator on the South China Sea disputes.

Vietnam and China, along with four other governments, claim all or parts of the South China Sea, which is believed to sit atop rich natural resources and occupies one of the world’s busiest sea lanes.

China in recent years has built artificial islands and increased its militarization there, drawing criticism from Washington, which argues that the U.S. has a national interest in freedom of navi-gation in sea lanes critical for world trade.

Vietnam has become the most vocal opponent of Chi-na’s moves after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte softened his country’s stance on China.

Anti-Trump protest erupts before meetManila

Reuters

Riot police used water canon to prevent hundreds of protesters reaching the

US embassy in Manila yesterday, just a few hours before the arrival of President Donald Trump in the Philippines for a regional summit and the last leg of his Asia tour.

Carrying placards declaring “Dump Trump” and “Down with US Imperialism”, the left-wing protesters were blocked by police in riot gear with shields and batons, and then showered with jets of water from a fire engine.

“Trump is the CEO of the imperialist government of the US, said 18-year-old student Alexis Danday after the protest-ers were scattered. “We know he is here to push for unfair trea-ties between the Philippines and the US.”

Trump arrived in the Philip-pines at around 5pm (0900 GMT) for meetings with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and other East Asian nations, fresh off an Asia-Pacific summit and bilateral visit in Vietnam.

In Hanoi earlier yesterday, Trump said he was prepared to mediate between claimants to the South China Sea, where four Asean countr ies

and Taiwan contest China’s sweeping claims to the busy waterway.

“If I can help mediate or arbitrate, please let me know,” Trump said at a meeting with Vietnam’s president, Tran Dai Quang. “I’m a very good media-tor and arbitrator.”

In August, foreign ministers of Southeast Asia and China adopted a negotiating frame-work for a code of conduct in the South China Sea, a move they hailed as progress but one seen by critics as a tactic to buy China time to consolidate its power.

The framework seeks to advance a 2002 Declaration of Conduct (DOC) of Parties in the South China Sea, which has mostly been ignored by claim-ant states, particularly China, which has built seven man-made islands in disputed waters, three of them equipped with runways, surface-to-air missiles and radars.

The framework will be endorsed by China and the 10 nations of Asean in Manila today, a diplomat from one of the regional bloc’s countries said.

The Philippines will be Trump’s last stop on a mara-thon tour that has taken him to Japan, South Korea, China as well as Vietnam. Despite Trump’s “America First”

policy, the visit should provide some reassurance that Wash-ington remains committed to a region that Beijing sees as its strategic domain.

The increasing use of the phrase “Indo-Pacific” by Trump and his team during their Asian tour this week, instead of the more common “Asia-Pacific” term has been seen by analysts as an effort to depict the region as more than China-dominated.

Pacific Rim nation leaders agreed in Vietnam on Saturday to address “unfair trade practices”

and “market distorting subsidies”, a statement that bore the imprint of Trump’s efforts to reshape the global trade landscape.

The summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) countries in Vietnam put on show the contrasting vision of the

“America First” policy with the traditional consensus favouring multinational deals that China now seeks to champion.

Trump will meet Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in

Manila, where he will try to shore up relations strained by the mer-curial Duterte’s notorious anti-US sentiment and his enthu-siasm for better ties with Russia and China.

Others who will be in Manila for the summit meet-ings include Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Russian Prime Min-ister Dmitry Medvedev and leaders from Japan, Canada, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand as well as the leaders of the member states of Asean.

US President Donald Trump with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his partner Cielito Avanceno before the Special Gala Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Asean in Manila, Philippines, yesterday.

Myanmar arrests Buddhist monkYangon

Reuters

Myanmar pol ice arrested yesterday an ultra-national ist

Buddhist monk who has a history of stoking sentiment against Rohingya Muslims, the country’s beleaguered minority, a Myanmar news-paper reported.

Parmaukkha was held under an arrest warrant for his role in an unauthorised protest outside the US embassy in Yangon last year, according to The Voice’s website.

The monk was detained when he went to Dagon Myo-thit (North) police station in Myanmar’s biggest city to apply for permission to pro-test outside a municipal building.

That protest concerned a local issue unrelated to the crisis in Rakhine state, where a military campaign has forced more than 600,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh since late August.

Canadian premier charms ManilaManila

Reuters

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hopped from one table to the

next, chatted with people and posed for selfies yesterday at a fastfood chain store in Manila, charming residents of the Phil-ippines capital for the second time in two years.

Trudeau, in Manila for a summit of regional leaders, dropped in at an outlet of fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp after a visit to a nearby women’s clinic that advocates family plan-ning, a touchy subject in the Catholic-majority Philippines.

He greeted nearly everyone in the store, shaking hands and exchanging hugs with fans after ordering fried chicken and a strawberry float.

“Can I get it to go? I’ll eat it in the car,” Trudeau said, before going behind the counter for a photograph with Jollibee staff.

Earlier, when he landed at Clark airport, a smiling Trudeau

waded into a crowd of children gathered to greet dignitaries arriving for the summit, exchanging high fives and wav-ing to others.

During his last visit to Manila, Trudeau won a Twitter poll with the hashtag #APE-Chottie that asked people to vote for the most attractive leader at the Asia Pacific Eco-nomic Cooperation summit in 2015.

“He’s so handsome! And he’s very nice,” said 29-year-old Rina Aparicio, among the customers at the fastfood out-let. “I asked for a selfie and he said yes right away.”

Outside the store, hundreds of people screamed and shouted as Trudeau got into his car, waving what appeared to be hastily written placards say-ing “Welcome to the Philippines!”

Trudeau visited the first Jol-libee store in Winnipeg, Canada in January, a country with hun-dreds of thousands of Filipino immigrants.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau carries a baby girl during his visit at Likhaan Center for Women’s Health, a non-governmental organisation in Tondo city, Metro Manila, yesterday.

Trump’s surprise

proposal to insert

himself into the

decades-long row

risked a backlash

from China, which has

repeatedly said the

United States has no

role to play in what

it insists is a series of

bilateral issues.

16 MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017EUROPE

Barcelona

AP

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy urged Cat-alans yesterday to oust separatists from their regional parliament in an

early election he has called for December 21.

Rajoy told members of his con-servative Popular Party in Barcelona that “we want a mas-sive turnout to open up a new period of normalcy.”

Rajoy’s visit to Catalonia’s main city was his first to the northeast-ern region since he used extraordinary powers to stifle its secession push. After Catalonia’s Parliament voted October 27 in favor of declaring independence, Rajoy responded by firing its gov-ernment, dissolving its parliament and calling the early election.

Spain’s Constitution says the nation is “indivisible.”

“It’s urgent to return a sense of normality to Catalonia and do so as soon as possible to lower the social and economic tensions,” Rajoy said Sunday. “The threat of the separatists is destructive, sad and agonizing. Secessionism has

created insecurity and uncertainty.”

Polls show a tight race ahead in Catalonia between separatists and those who want the region to remain a part of Spain. In Brussels yesterday, those favoring inde-pendence for Catalonia rallied near the European Union quarter.

Rajoy’s conservative Popular Party has won three national elec-tions in Spain since 2011, but it won less than 10 percent of the vote in

Catalonia’s regional election in 2015. It continues to poll behind several other parties in the region, including the pro-business Citizens and the Socialists, which are both against secession.

Rajoy defended his decision to temporarily take over running the region under the Constitution, which allows central authorities to intervene in regions whose offi-cials have gone outside the law. Catalonia’s separatists, and even some moderates, have criticized the measures as heavy-handed.

“Exceptional measures can only be taken when there is no other option, and we adopted them to stop the increasing attacks to peaceful coexistence” in Catalo-nia, Rajoy said. “For centuries, centuries, Catalonia and Spain have built a country that is multi-cultural and diverse, and the separatists won’t be allowed to break the ties that bind us.”

Apart from the Catalonia gov-ernment takeover, a judge has jailed 10 separatist leaders while investigating their roles in promot-ing secession. Catalonia’s deposed president and four former mem-bers of his Cabinet have fled to Brussels where they will fight

Rajoy tells Catalans to vote separatists out of office

extradition. Rajoy linked the continued eco-nomic recovery of Spain, and especially Catalonia, to the removal of pro-independence parties from power.

Over 2,000 companies have relocated their

headquarters from Catalonia due to fears of being cast out of the European Union’s common market in the case of secession. Employment numbers also showed that Catalonia fell behind other parts of Spain in October.

Paris

Reuters

Two years after militants killed 130 people in coor-dinated attacks across

Paris, French officials say there remains an unprecedented level of “internal” threat.

With Islamic State losing ground in Iraq and Syria, hundreds of French citizens — and in some cases their children — are expected to attempt to return to France, leaving the government in a quandary over how to deal with them.

For the first time as presi-dent, Emmanuel Macron will pay tribute on Monday to the victims of the mass shootings and sui-cide bombing that took place across Paris and in the city’s northern suburb of Saint-Denis

on November 13, 2015.The attacks, the deadliest on

French soil since World War Two, prompted the country to strike back, joining international military operations targeting IS and other Islamist militant groups in Iraq, Syria, Libya and elsewhere.

There has also been the pas-sage of more stringent French legislation, with the most recent law, effective this month, giving police extended powers to search properties, conduct elec-tronic eavesdropping and shut mosques or other locations sus-pected of preaching hatred.

Conservative politicians say the regulations don’t go far enough, while human rights groups express alarm, saying security forces are being given too much freedom to curtail

rights. Macron - often parodied for his ‘on the one hand, on the other hand’ policy pronounce-ments - has emphasised the need to balance security and liberty. While he has ended the state of emergency brought in after the attacks, heavily armed soldiers still patrol the streets of Paris daily, and barely a week goes by without a police operation to round up suspects.

According to the interior ministry, extraordinary meas-ures have helped intelligence agencies thwart more than 30 attacks in the last two years. Last week, the police arrested nine people and another was appre-hended in Switzerland in a coordinated counter-terrorism operation.

French prosecutor Francois Molins has said that while larger

cells are still plotting, more attacks are likely to come from isolated individuals using “low-cost” methods such as cars or knives to kill.

“We are witnessing a new bout of isolated actions, 11 since the beginning of the year, which supports the idea of an increas-ing endogenous threat,” he told franceinfo radio.

Of particular concern is what to do about hundreds of French citizens who went to fight with IS and may now seek to return home, now that the militant group has lost nearly all the ter-ritory its self-proclaimed caliphate ruled in Syria and Iraq.

Visiting Abu Dhabi last week, Macron said those returning would be studied on “a case-by-case” basis. “Some of them will be coming back (by their own

means), others will be repatriated and some, in specific circum-stances, will be facing trial with their families in the countries where they are currently, Iraq in particular,” he said.

Molins said the French secret services estimates that around 690 French nationals are now in Iraq and Syria, including some 295 women. Estimates from late 2015 suggested around 2,000 French citizens had gone to fight with IS.

“A majority doesn’t want to come back to France given the legal proceedings they face upon their return. But some women, widows, with their children, are inclined to travel back,” Molins said. “We should not be naive. We are dealing with people who are more ‘disappointed’ than ‘sorry.’”

nationalism than Orban’s Fidesz.“We need to work for four

more years to strengthen our achievements to the point that they are irreversible,” Orban said.

The 54-year-old premier has been widely criticised by West-ern allies for eroding democratic freedoms, which he and Fidesz deny.

He has become unassailably popular at home, especially since 2015, when Hungary became the main land route into the EU for around a million Middle Eastern migrants who crossed the Balkans

on their way to Germany and other rich countries further north.

Orban and Fidesz say hostil-ity towards them is being whipped up as part of a conspir-acy by George Soros, a Hungarian-American financier who has long contributed to “open society” causes around the world, including in his native Eastern Europe.

In his speech accepting his party’s endorsement, Orban said he was fighting against “globalist” views that threaten the EU’s Christian nations and their moral

foundations, for which he blamed Soros.

“Some countries in Europe decided to transcend Christian-ity and their own national character,” he said. “They want to step into a post-Christian, post-national era.”

“To execute Soros’s plan they want to root out governments which represent national inter-ests around Europe, and that includes us,” he said. “They act like Soviet agitprop agents once did. We old war-horses know them by their smell.”

Budapest

Reuters

Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban accepted his

ruling Fidesz party’s endorse-ment yesterday to lead it into an election next year, saying he needed another four year term in power to make his transformation of the coun-try “irreversible”.

Orban, who has steered Hungary into confrontation with the European Union by campaigning against immi-gration, asserting control over the media and courts, and criticising efforts to deepen European integration, received a unanimous 1,358 votes at a party congress to remain Fidesz leader for two more years. With an election five months away, he leads all contenders and looks likely to secure a third con-secutive landslide.

“There is no mood for a change of government in Hungary, so much as a mood for a change of opposition,” Orban said to laughter and applause, referring to disar-ray within the centre-left.

Polls show the centre-left likely to be overtaken at the next election by the far-right Jobbik party, seen as leaning even further towards ethnic

Hungary’s Orban to fight next election

Re-elected chairman of the governing FIDESZ party, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, reacts on the podium beside elected party deputy-chairman and Minister of State for Family and Youth Affairs, Katalin Novak, during the party congress in Budapest, yesterday.

France frets over internal threat two years after attacks

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (centre) and Leader of the Catalan Popular Party (PPC) Xavier Garcia Albiol (second right), applause during their meeting in Barcelona, yesterday.

Brussels

AFP

The violence that broke out late on Saturday in central Brussels after the qualifi-

cation of the Moroccan national football team for the next World Cup injured 22 police officers, police told Belga news agency.

Riot police were sent out to control a crowd of about 300 people after the final whistle, at one point firing water canon at small groups of stone-throw-ing revellers. “Unacceptable aggression in the centre of Brus-sels -- living together means respect, also for the police who are committed to our safety day and night,” Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon said Sun-day on his twitter account.

A reporter on the scene said calm had mostly returned by 2030 GMT, about two hours after the end of the match, though a heavy police presence remained through the night. Cars were burned, shops looted and street furniture damaged, police said. Morocco defeated Ivory Coast 2-0 on Saturday night in Abidjan to qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the coun-try’s first appearance at the finals since 1998. Brussels has a big Moroccan population, many liv-ing in the Molenbeek district.

Spanish PM’s visit to

Catalonia’s main city

was his first to the

northeastern region since

he used extraordinary

powers to stifle its

secession push. After

Catalonia’s Parliament

voted October 27 in

favour of declaring

independence, Rajoy

responded by firing its

government, dissolving

its parliament and calling

early election.

Moroccan World Cup celebrations injure 22 cops in Brussels

London

AP

Britain says Foreign Secre-tary Boris Johnson has spoken to the husband of

a British woman imprisoned in Iran as pressure mounts on the Conservative government to step up efforts to free her.

The Foreign Office says Johnson and Richard Ratcliffe spoke by phone yesterday, but did not elaborate further.

Dual UK-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is serving a five-year sentence for plotting the “soft toppling” of Iran’s government.

Earlier this month, Johnson told lawmakers that Zaghari-Ratcliffe was “teaching people journalism” when she was detained last year. Her family and employer insist she was simply visiting her family.

Yesterday, Environment Secretary Michael Gove said “I don’t know” when asked what Zaghari-Ratcliffe was doing in Iran. Family and friends say the confusion has put Zaghari-Rat-cliffe at risk of a longer prison sentence.

Britain accused of hurting case of woman jailed in Iran

President leads in Slovenia pollsLJUBLJANA: Slovenian Presi-dent Borut Pahor was in a tight lead in a presidential runoff after 5.1 percent of votes counted, the election commission said shortly after the polls closed yesterday. Pahor, who is running for his second five-year mandate, won about 53 percent of the vote while his opponent, an ex-comedian and the mayor of the city of Kamnik Marjan Sarec, got 47 percent.

Pahor, a veteran politician known as the “King of Insta-gram” for his frequent use of social media, led by a large mar-gin after the first round of voting on October 22. But his runoff opponent has since narrowed the gap. Slovenia’s presidency carries no executive powers, but the office-holder proposes a prime minister and his or her opinion on important issues holds weight.

17MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017 EUROPE

NEWS BYTES

Germany probes cash fund at Paris embassyBERLIN: Germany’s foreign ministry said yesterday it was prob-ing past unusual billing practices at its Paris embassy after reports of an undeclared cash fund to pay staff for special events. Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel had ordered a “special inspec-tion” into the allegations, which first emerged amid a dispute with two former employees, the ministry said in a statement. In the case first reported by Le Monde daily, a former butler and head waiter had accused the embassy of using fake invoic-ing practices to channel money into a fund used to give staff undeclared cash for overtime work. The men claimed they were fired for criticising the system, which had been used during events organised at the ambassador’s residence on behalf of private companies such as BMW and Mercedes. Le Monde esti-mated that staff had received “hundreds of thousands of euros” in cash payments since 2007.

White truffles fetch €75,000 at Italian auctionALBA: A lot of around 850 grammes (1.9 pounds) of white truf-fles was sold for ¤75,000 ($87,500) in a top Italian auction yesterday. The buyer from Hong Kong placed their winning bid via satellite at the World Alba White Truffles Auction at the Grinzane Cavour castle in Piedmont, northwestern Italy. Isa-belle Gianicolo of the National Truffle Study Centre noted that the auction price was “symbolic” and did not necessarily reflect the true market price, since the proceeds were donated to char-itable causes. Nevertheless, dry conditions this year had sent the market price soaring to ¤6,000 per kilogramme from ¤3,000-4,000 last year, she said. A recent drought influenced the quantity, “but not the quality of the truffles,” Gianicolo said. “The situation has recently improved slightly, but it’s clear that it’s not going to be a great year. There certainly aren’t going to be very large truffles up for auction, even if they’re still very good truffles,” she said.

Swiss broadcaster says two journalists held in Abu DhabiGENEVA: Two journalists covering the opening of the Abu Dhabi Louvre museum for Swiss public broadcaster RTS were arrested and held for two days, their employer said yesterday, slam-ming an attack on press freedom. Journalist Serge Enderlin and cameraman Jon Bjorgvinsson were arrested in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday while they were shooting images at an outdoor market, the broadcaster said. RTS “condemns the vio-lation of press freedom targeting its journalists,” RTS chief Pascal Crittin said on Twitter. The men, who had arrived in the coun-try early last week and who were accredited to cover the opening of the new Louvre museum, were held for more than 50 hours, with no possibility to communicate with the outside world, the broadcaster said.

Berlin

Reuters

German Chancellor Angela Merkel yester-day urged party leaders negotiating a tricky three-way coalition

government to show more willing-ness to compromise, as support for her conservative bloc plunged to the lowest level in more than six years.

Merkel’s conservatives, who bled support to the far-right Alter-native for Germany in a September 24 election, are trying to forge an alliance with the pro-market Free Democrats (FDP) and the left-lean-ing Greens which is untested at the national level. Despite three weeks of exploratory talks, the unlikely partners still have to overcome dif-ferences over climate protection, energy, transport, immigration and euro zone policy.

Speaking ahead of a meeting

in which party leaders were expected to sum up progress made so far and bridge some gaps, Mer-kel said all parties had first exchanged their views and then consolidated the approaches by highlighting their differences.

“Now in this third phase, the task is to find compromises,” Mer-kel said, adding that there was still a lot of work to do.

“But from my point of view, a solution can be reached with good-will,” Merkel said. “If this will be achieved, we’ll not know before the end of the week, however.”

FDP leader Christian Lindner put the onus on Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and her Bavar-ian CSU allies, saying his party and the Greens had already given ground. “The Greens and the FDP have moved. Now it’s up to the conservatives to show some flex-ibility. I assume there is goodwill from all sides,” Lindner said.

Katrin Goering-Eckardt from the Greens said she wanted to see a leap from the other negotiation partners. But CSU leader Horst See-hofer declined to comment when asked by reporters what compro-mises he was willing to offer.

The Greens made concessions on Tuesday by no longer insisting on fixed dates to ban cars with combustion engines and to shut down coal-fired power stations.

The FDP gave ground by accepting more modest income tax cuts than an election campaign pledge of up to ¤40bn in relief. Lindner also dropped an election manifesto pledge to phase out the ESM euro zone bailout fund.

Merkel wants to have an agree-ment in principle by Nov. 16 on moving ahead to formal coalition negotiations to form a black-yel-low-green government—dubbed a “Jamaica coalition” because the par-ties’ colours match those of that country’s flag. With less than a week to go, the exploratory coalition talks are not only complicated by the dif-ferences between the parties, but

London

AP

British Prime Minister Theresa May is caught in a vise of pressure from

both sides of the Brexit debate as she tries to get a key plank in the government’s plans for leav-ing the EU through Parliament. The European Union (With-drawal) Bill returns this week to the House of Commons, where it will face a flurry of amend-ments from lawmakers.

The bill is designed to pre-vent a legal vacuum by converting some 12,000 EU laws into British statute on the day the UK leaves the bloc in 2019. Legislators are scheduled to hold several days of debate and

votes starting Tuesday.But many lawmakers claim

the bill gives the government too much power to amend legisla-tion without parliamentary scrutiny. They will try to pass amendments to water down those powers.

And opponents of Brexit — both from the opposition and from May’s Conservative Party — will seek to give Parliament a binding vote on the final divorce deal between Britain and the EU. Meanwhile, sup-porters of Brexit are pressuring May not to give ground by com-promising with the EU or with anti-Brexit lawmakers.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Environment Sec-retary Michael Gove, leading

euroskeptics in May’s Cabinet, warned the prime minister in a note to stand firm in the ambition of making Britain “a fully independent self-govern-ing country by the time of the next election” in 2022, the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported.

The note published by the newspaper accused some min-isters of not preparing for Brexit with “sufficient energy.”

May, weakened by the Con-servatives’ poor showing in a snap June election, has little room to maneuver. She relies on a small Northern Ireland party to prop up her minority government and is caught between warring factions in her Cabinet.

London

Reuters

Prince Charles led the annual ceremony to hon-our Britain’s war dead,

yesterday, laying a wreath on behalf of 91-year-old Queen Elizabeth to mark Remembrance Sunday as she watched the serv-ice from a balcony.

Breaking with her usual cus-tom of placing the wreath at the Cenotaph on Whitehall in central London, the queen asked her eld-est son to take on the role, in part because of the demands of the ceremony for someone in their 90s.

A two-minute silence was held at 1100 GMT and wreaths were laid at the foot of Britain’s main war memorial by senior royals and political leaders including Prime Minister Theresa May and the leader of the main opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn.

The queen and her 96-year-old husband, Prince Philip, watched from the balcony of the nearby Foreign Office.

Royal historian Hugo Vick-ers said the queen had slightly

stumbled during last year’s serv-ice. “One of the most important things with the queen as she gets older is not to put her in any sit-uation where she might be uncomfortable or things might

be difficult,” he said.“It requires a certain amount

of standing around and then it involves the queen carrying something quite heavy and walking backwards.”

But he rejected the notion that it symbolised something more significant, saying it was “another step that we realise that we have an ageing monarch, and it’s very important that we should not put too much pres-sure on her”.

The head of state has been gradually reducing her workload and younger royals, including the 68-year-old Charles, have been taking up some of her duties.

Philip retired from public life in August but was keen to attend the annual ceremony, which commemorates the fallen of two World Wars and later conflicts.

The queen has missed the wreath-laying ceremony only six times in her 65-year reign.

May under pressure from two sides as Brexit crunch looms

Prince Charles leads Remembrance Day ceremony

Merkel for compromise as coalition talks in final stage

Berlin

Reuters

Support for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives has fallen to the lowest level in

more than six years, according to a poll yesterday, as they prepare for more talks on a coalition deal with the environmentalist Greens and a pro-business party.

The weekly Emnid survey for

Bild am Sonntag newspaper showed only 30 percent would vote for Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc if there were a federal election this Sunday, down 1 percentage point.

This is the lowest reading for the conservatives in this survey since October 2011 and marks a slump in support since the Sep-tember 24 election, in which Merkel’s bloc won 32.9 percent.

Support for conservatives falls to 6-year low

Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for exploratory talks about forming a new coalition government in Berlin, Germany, yesterday.

also by splits within the political parties themselves— espe-cially within the conservatives and Greens. A breakdown of the talks could mean fresh elections in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, since the Social Democrats (SPD) —the sec-ond biggest party—have made clear they have no appetite for joining another ‘grand coalition’ under Merkel. A survey by Emnid for Bild am Sonntag newspaper showed only 30 per-cent would vote for Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc if there were a federal election this Sunday, down 1 percentage point. This is the lowest reading for the conservatives in this survey since October 2011 and marks a slump in support since the Sept. 24 election, in which Merkel’s bloc won 32.9 percent.

Merkel’s conservatives,

who bled support to the

far-right Alternative for

Germany in a September

24 election, are trying to

forge an alliance with the

pro-market Free Democrats

(FDP) and the left-leaning

Greens which is untested

at the national level.

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May and Opposition Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn attend the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph on Whitehall in central London.

Spakenburg, Netherlands

AP

On a calm, clear morn-ing, historic wooden fishing boats float

tranquilly on the glassy waters of the Dutch harbor of Spakenburg. Yet just over a century ago, they were slamming through the houses lining the harbor as a power-ful storm unleashed flooding that devastated this pictur-esque fishing village.

These days, an innovative new self-raising dike protects the village on the edge of Eemmeer Lake, 50km south-east of Amsterdam. The 300-meter (984-foot) long barrier is concealed in the sidewalk when not in use, and is lifted up to 80 centim-eters (31 inches) by the very floodwaters it is designed to keep out. It’s just the latest example of Dutch ingenuity and planning in this low-lying nation’s constant battle with water — and increasingly, technology like it is becom-ing a lucrative Dutch export.

“We live here in a very vulnerable place,” said Roe-land Hillen, director of the Dutch Flood Protection Pro-gram. “We have to adapt to survive.” That message res-onates with many other flood-prone countries now attending climate change talks in Bonn, where dele-gates from some 195 nations have gathered to discuss rules for implementing the 2015 Paris climate accord. The meeting in the former Ger-man capital, which runs until Friday, is being presided over by Fiji, one of the many small island nations threatened by rising sea levels.

“We will feel the impact of climate change all over the world most profoundly through water,” said Henk Ovink, the Netherlands’ Spe-cial Envoy for International Water Affairs, who is at the Bonn conference. The Dutch government teamed up ear-lier this year with Japan and the UN Environment Program to create a Global Center of Excellence on Climate Adap-tation in the Netherlands that will be formally launched Tuesday on the sidelines of the Bonn conference.

The center aims to “sup-port those who struggle to put climate adaptation effectively into practice in all parts of the world,” the government said.

Housing the water exper-tise center in the Netherlands was a no-brainer.

Dutch flood expertise is big export business

18 MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017AMERICAS

Chilean presidential candidate Alejandro Guillier shakes hands with supporters during a campaign rally in Santiago, Chile.

Chile presidential campaign

Los Angeles

Reuters

Disneyland has shut down and decontaminated two cooling towers following

an outbreak of Legionnaires dis-ease that sickened 12 people, nine of them guests or employ-ees at the theme park in Anaheim, county health officials said.

One of the three cases of the respiratory illness not linked to Disneyland was fatal in an indi-vidual who had additional health issues, said Jessica Good of the Orange County Health Care Agency.

The chief medical officer for

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Pamela Hymel, said in a written statement that after learning of the Legionnaires cases, park officials ordered the cooling towers treated with chemicals to destroy the bacteria and shut them down.

Cooling towers provide cold water for various uses at Disney-land and give off a vapor or mist that could have carried the Legionnella bacteria.

Disneyland, which opened in 1955 and attracts tens of thou-sands of visitors a day, is owned by The Walt Disney Company.

Hymel said that local health officials had assured them that there was no longer any risk to

guests or employees of the park.There was no information on

the condition of the remaining 11 victims, due to patient confi-dentiality laws.

Good said an investigation of Legionnaires cluster discov-ered that the 12 people sickened by the serious lung disease had traveled to, lived in, or worked in Anaheim during the month of September.

Ten of the victims, who ranged in age from 52 to 94, were hospitalised.

Legionnaires disease is caused by the Legionella bacte-ria and can cause potentially fatal respiratory illness and pneumonia. Older people and

those with health issues are par-ticularly at risk.

According to the Orange County health agency Legionella is becoming more common in the United States and in Orange County, where 55 cases have been reported through October 2017, compared with 53 for all of 2016 and 33 in 2015.

Symptoms develop 2 to 10 days after exposure, the OCHCA said, and include fever, chills, cough, muscle aches, and head-aches. It is treated with antibiotics, which can improve symptoms and shorten the length of illness.

The disease is not contagious.

Texas

Reuters

The tiny Texas town reeling from a gun massacre that killed 26 churchgoers buried the first of the victims

on Saturday, in a remote ceme-tery where a series of funerals is being held this week.

Richard Rodriguez, 64, and his wife, Therese, 66, both can-cer survivors, were buried in a corner of Sutherland Springs Cemetery with 250 family members and friends looking on.

The cemetery is a mile from Sutherland Spring’s First Baptist Church where gunman Devin Kelley killed 26 people and wounded 20 last Sunday, before taking his own life.

Rodriguez, a retired railroad worker, was fun-loving and a devoted family man, his younger brother Tony Rodriguez said before a church service earlier in the day in the nearby city of La Vernia.

“He was happy, joyful, always joking around. He loved his family,” Rodriguez said

through tears. “He was always there when we needed him.”

Shortly before the couple were buried, the gunman’s first wife spoke publicly for the first time since the massacre.

Tessa Brennaman said she lived in constant fear of Kelley, a former airman, and said he had once placed a handgun against her head and threatened to kill her.

“He just had a lot of demons or hatred inside of him,” Bren-naman, 25, told CBS’s “Inside Edition.” In 2012, while stationed at an Air Force base in

New Mexico, Kelley received a court-martial conviction for physically abusing Brennaman and fracturing his infant step-son’s skull.

At the Grace Bible Church in La Vernia where the Rodriguez funeral service was held, about 500 people gathered to hear trib-utes to the couple, who were married in 2006. Rodriguez’s first wife died 15 years ago.

His only child, daughter Regina Rodriguez, 33, said it was a small comfort that her father and Therese died together, deeply in love and inside their place of worship.

“What a perfect way to leave this world, not one of them going through mourning and burying each other, because I know that my dad couldn’t do it again,” she said.

The Rodriguez burial at the cemetery in Sutherland Springs, which has been burying the town’s dead since the 1850s, is the first of a series of grim buri-als this week, including eight members of the same family.

That family included a mother who was 18 weeks preg-nant and an 18-month-old girl.

The unborn child was among the 26 killed by Kelley.

On Saturday, the First Bap-tist Church said it would open its

sanctuary to the public on Sun-day as a memorial to the dead.

“The scene of this unspeak-able event has been transformed

into a beautiful memorial that celebrates and pays tribute to the lives that were lost,” the church said in a press release.

Texas town holds first burials after massacreCouple buried

Couple buried in a

corner of Sutherland

Springs Cemetery

with 250 family

members and

friends looking on.

A series of funerals

is being held this

week in a remote

cemetery in the

Texas town.

Caskets for Richard and Therese Rodriguez arrive at the cemetery after the husband and wife were killed in the shooting at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in Texas, US.

Legionnaires sickens 12 in California Ex-intelligence chiefs say Trump is being manipulated by PutinWashington

Reuters

Two former top US intelli-gence officials said yesterday they fear Pres-

ident Donald Trump is being manipulated by Russian Pres-ident Vladimir Putin, after Trump said he believed Putin was sincere in denying Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Former CIA Director John Brennan and ex-National Intel-ligence Director James Clapper both said Trump was mishan-dling Moscow ties even as a special counsel investigates possible collusion between Trump’s campaign team and Russia.

“I think Mr Trump is, for whatever reason, either intim-idated by Mr Putin, afraid of what he could do, or what might come out as a result of these investigations... It’s either naiveté, ignorance or fear in terms of what Mr. Trump is doing vis-à-vis the Russians,” Brennan said in an appearance with Clapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Clapper added that foreign leaders who roll out the red carpet for Trump are able to manipulate Trump.

“I do think both the Chinese and the Russians think they can play him,” Clapper said.

Their comments came after Trump told reporters over the weekend that he had spoken with Putin again over allega-tions of Russian meddling in the presidential election and that the Russian president again denied any involvement.

“I really believe that, when he tells me that, he means it,” Trump told reporters. “I think he is very insulted by it, which is not a good thing for our country.”

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on the same show that the criticism leveled against Trump’s management of relations with Russia and China was “ridiculous.”

“President Trump is not getting played by anybody,” Mnuchin said.

Trump also took a swipe at Obama-era intelligence offi-cials Brennan, Clapper and former FBI Director James Comey, calling them “political hacks” and questioning the findings of a US intelligence report that concluded that Rus-sians sought to tilt the election in Trump’s favor.

Facing sharp criticism, Trump walked back from some of those comments on Sunday, saying he has faith in the intel-ligence leaders he has hired.

Brennan yesterday called Trump’s criticism of him a “badge of honour,” and Clap-per suggested said Trump’s denial of Russian interference in the election “poses a peril to the country.”

When asked, Brennan declined to say whether he knows of any intelligence to suggest that the Russians have compromising or damaging information on Trump.

A dossier penned by a former British spy contains unverified claims that Russia does have embarrassing infor-mation on Trump.

Supplies sent to space station after Virginia launchFlorida

AP

A load of supplies rock-eted toward the International Space

Station yesterday, this time from Virginia’s eastern shore.

Nasa’s commercial ship-per, Orbital ATK, launched the cargo ship just after sunrise from Wallops Island, aboard an unmanned Antares rocket.

The Cygnus capsule should reach the orbiting lab Tuesday. It’s loaded with 7,400 pounds of cargo — including lots of chocolate and vanilla ice cream, and frozen fruit bars, for the six station astronauts.

This marked Orbital ATK’s first launch from its home turf in more than a year. The last time it made a space station delivery, it used another com-pany’s rocket flying from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Crowds gathered at Wal-lops on the chilly morning and cheered as the rocket soared toward the southeast. Sunrise made it hard to see the launch farther afield. The field of visibility stretched from New England to the Carolinas. A launch attempt on Saturday was nixed after a plane strayed into the restricted airspace. Sunday’s try was almost foiled by a couple of boats that briefly wandered into the keep-out zone.

Harassment case puts Senate candidate under spotlightCalifornia

AP

News that a sitting Califor-nia senator is being investigated for sexual har-

assment against a young female employee has put a fresh spotlight on a legislative leader this week as he begins a bid against the state’s first female US senator.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, the Democratic leader of the state Senate, heads

the committee in charge of human resources employees who handle workplace com-plaints. De Leon also rents a room in the Sacramento home of Democratic Sen. Tony Men-doza, the man accused of improper conduct, de Leon spokesman Anthony Reyes said.

Mendoza is accused of repeat-edly inviting a young woman who worked in his office through a fel-lowship program to the house, although she never went. Mendoza

said in a statement that he would never knowingly abuse his authority, though his statement didn’t address the allegation that he invited her to his home.

Late on Saturday, the Sacra-mento Bee reported that a second young woman has accused Men-doza of behaving inappropriately toward her when she was a 19-year-old intern in his district office in 2008. A spokesman for Mendoza said the woman’s alle-gations were “completely false,”

the Bee reported.The woman, now 28, came

forward with her allegations after media reports this week of the Senate investigation into Mendo-za’s reported behavior toward the first woman, according to the Bee.

De Leon said through spokesmen that he did not know about the complaint against Mendoza or his alleged invita-tions to the young woman. De Leon’s allies have downplayed the two senators’ relationship.

But De Leon’s handling of impropriety at the Capitol will likely play a role in his U.S. Senate bid against Sen. Dianne Feinstein, one of California’s most prominent women in politics and a powerful US senator. “It really does feel like we’re at this inflection point with sex harassment allegations where suddenly they’re being taken seri-ously,” said Kim Nalder, director of the Project for an Informed Electorate at California State University-Sacramento.

19MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017 AMERICAS

The island of Manhattan is pictured from an aeroplane that departs from LaGuardia airport in New York, New York, US.

Caracas

AFP

Luber Faneitte has lung can-cer but there’s no medicine to treat it. She cannot make

ends meet. Crime is rampant in her neighbourhood.

And she fears that if Vene-zuela defaults on its $150bn debt, which is considered likely, things will get worse.

Faneitte, 56, lives on the 18th story of a decrepit building in downtown Caracas. In her fridge there is only water. Meat is a lux-ury of the past because of

inflation that the IMF projects will hit 2,300 percent in 2018.

“We get by on grain, and that is just when we can get it. We make a kilo last two or three days,” Faneitte said.

She is on disability from her job as a civil servant and survives on a bare pittance, equivalent to $8.70 per month. She depends on food the government sells once a month at subsidized prices to offset the shortages of just about everything.

Last time she brought home two kilos of beans, a kilo of rice, two liters (quarts) of cooking oil,

a kilo of powdered milk and four kilos of flour.

But it went fast. Faneitte lives with a daughter and four grand-kids. They all depend on her income.

Cendas, an NGO that moni-tors the cost of living in this oil-rich but now destitute nation, says that in September it took six times the minimum wage to pro-vide for the average family.

Although she has nothing to cook, Faneitte leaves the gas stove running to save on matches.

The faucet drips, day and

night. But she has no money to fix it, and water -- like other util-ities -- is practically given away by the government.

Politically, the idea of Vene-zuela declaring default is seen as offering a possible short-term boost for widely unpopular Pres-ident Nicolas Maduro, who has his eye on elections next year.

As oil prices are down -- petroleum accounts for 96 percent of the country’s hard-currency revenue -- Venezuela has cut down on imports to save money for debt service, worsen-ing the seemingly endless

shortages of basics, even such stuff as soap and toilet paper.

If Maduro declares default, it would free up money to buy imports, do election campaign-ing and thereby ease the risk of street protests.

But analysts say the long-term impact of defaulting would be disastrous. Venezuela would be mired in lawsuits by creditors and see its assets frozen abroad, said Alejandro Grisanti of the consultancy Ecoanalitica.

Maduro has said he wants to refinance and restructure Ven-ezuela’s debt. But the idea of

default is seen as looming.“I don’t know if that is what

Venezuela needs to open its eyes,” said Faneitte. “What I do know is that we are going to go hungrier and be more in need.”

She does not know how things got so bad but she sure is feeling the effects.

She gave up chemotherapy in January because of the acute shortage of medicine to treat her cancer.

She made that tough decision after struggling for years over whether to buy food or treat her disease.

Venezuelans’ misery likely to worsen with debt default

Ciudad Juárez

AFP

A group of Mexicans who served with the US military in Viet-nam and Iraq only to be deported held a

Veterans Day protest in the bor-der city of Ciudad Juarez.

A stone’s throw from the bridge between Juarez and El Paso, Texas, the deportees dem-onstrated with the flags of their US military units.

“We served a country that has cheated us,” said Jose Fran-cisco Lopez Moreno, 64. Many Mexicans have served in the US military in exchange for expe-dited residency.

But these veterans were deported for committing crimes, despite risking their lives in far-flung combat.

“It is so unfair. They sepa-rated us from our families, and we are alone here with no health care or assistance of any kind,”

said Lopez, who served in Viet-nam but was deported to Mexico in 2004.

Veterans in the United States receive pensions and health care.

Local officials estimate there are about 300 deportees.

“For as long as I live, even if I die on this side, I will always love the US flag. That was my life,” said Ivan Ocon, who served

in Iraq in 2003 but last year was deported to his homeland.

“It was like having a house come crashing down on top of you, to have them turn their backs on you after all that,” he added.

“You think that you would

not be deported because you were part of something so great, but in the end, they throw you out just the same,” he said.

“We want to go back. That’s what we are asking Donald Trump. We fought for your coun-try,” he said.

Trump has brought US-Mexican ties to their lowest point in many decades, seek-ing to build a border wall he first said he would force Mex-ico to fund.

He later backtracked on that idea.

Deported Mexicansprotest on USVeterans Day

300 deportees

Veterans deported

for committing

crimes, despite

risking their lives for

America in far-flung

combat.

Local officials in

Mexico estimate

there are about 300

deportees who are

seeking better rights.

Mexican veteran soldiers, who said they served in the US Army in Vietnam and Iraq under the promise of becoming a citizens but ended up as deportees, protest at the border between the US and Mexico during Veterans Day in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

7 found dead after Rio de Janeiro police operationRio de Janeiro

AFP

Seven people have been found dead in a Rio de Janeiro suburb after what

police said was an operation against armed criminals but locals called a massacre.

The security services said an elite police unit and army troops raided the Complexo do Salgueiro favela in Rio’s Sao Goncalo suburb at dawn on Saturday.

The officers, supported by three armored vehicles, “detected armed resistance on the part of the criminals,” a statement from the security services said.

After the raid, which net-ted a rifle, seven pistols and other items, the local homicide department opened investiga-tions into “the deaths of seven people following the action at the site.” Six of the seven have been identified, the police said, but they provided no names or any details about how and when they died.

Local media quoted inhabitants of the favela -- the term for Rio’s many poor, largely unregulated neighbor-hoods, where drug trafficking is rife -- as saying the police opened fire on a crowd attending a street party. Globo television quoted witnesses saying they had seen masked police close off the streets before the shooting began.

Meanwhile, several thou-sand Brazilians demonstrated on Friday against government austerity measures, including a labour law that will soon come into effect.

Demonstrators were also protesting against a highly-unpopular pension reform project and the wave of pri-vatization recently announced by President Temer’s government.

Boston

AP

Boston’s art scene is getting a Dutch treat with a twist: a flurry of donated 17th-

century masterpieces that experts say will change the city’s museum landscape for decades to come.

First, collectors gifted the Museum of Fine Arts with 113 leading Golden Age masterpieces — including a prized Rembrandt portrait and works by Rubens and Brueghel — and established a new center dedicated to the study of Dutch and Flemish art.

Now, the Harvard Art Muse-ums have been bequeathed 330 drawings dating to the 1600s. Practically overnight, scholars say, the gifts have made Boston a global center for the period.

“I can’t remember a time when a city has been a benefici-ary of such significant gifts in such a short time,” said Arthur Whee-lock Jr., a curator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington and a leading expert on Rembrandt, Vermeer and the other Dutch masters who left such an indeli-ble mark on the art world.

Boston-area collectors Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo and

Susan and Matthew Weatherbie last month donated works by 76 artists to the Museum of Fine Arts. The gift included funding for a new research library and a Center for Netherlandish Art at the museum, the first of its kind in the US.

It’s the largest gift of Euro-pean paintings in the museum’s history and will nearly double in size its collection of Dutch and Flemish paintings.

The collection includes Rem-brandt’s 1632 portrait of Aeltje Uylenburgh, a cousin of Rem-brandt’s wife-to-be. Experts say the work is in nearly

perfect condition. Other donated paintings include landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes and still lifes, some of which are included in “Masterpieces of Dutch and Flemish Painting,” a new exhi-bition that runs through Jan. 15 at the MFA.

Then, last week, the Har-vard Art Museums were pledged a trove of drawings — including works on paper by Rembrandt and his students — by George Abrams, a Harvard-educated lawyer who has amassed a vast collection and had donated 140 other sketches in past years. Select

pieces are on display through mid-January at Harvard, where the government of the Nether-lands knighted Abrams to recognize his contributions to the art world.

Harvard Art Museums direc-tor Martha Tedeschi called the most recent gift “truly trans-formative,” saying it will help make Boston “a major destina-tion for the study and presentation of Dutch, Flemish and Netherlandish art.”

Together, the donations mean Boston now boasts one of the largest US collections of Golden Age art.

In Boston, a Dutch treat of donated Golden Age masterpieces

Schwarzenegger calls for public health warning on fossil fuelsBonn

Reuters

Arnold Schwarzenegger, former California gover-nor and Hollywood actor

and film producer, issued a chal-lenge yesterday to governments to start labelling fossil fuels with a public health warning that their use could cause illness and death.

He lauded the World Health Organisation (WHO) for sealing a 164-nation tobacco control pact in 2003 that led to consumers of cigarettes and cigars being alerted to the health risks of smoking, including lung cancer.

A similar accord could be put in place for products derived from fossil fuels such as oil and

coal, which emit planet-warm-ing gases when burned, said the politician and environmental activist.

“Wouldn’t it be great now if they could... make the same pact with the rest of the world to go and say, ‘Let’s label another thing that is killing you - which is fossil fuels,’” he said to applause on the sidelines of UN climate talks in Bonn.

Schwarzenegger suggested telling customers at petrol stations that “what you pump into your tank may kill you”, and plaster-ing oil tankers driving along highways with messages that their contents are dangerous to health. “Here’s a challenge for you guys,” he said, directly address-ing WHO Director-General

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who spoke at the same event.

Schwarzenegger lamented that environmental pollution - estimated to kill more than 9 million people per year in all its forms - was rarely discussed at conferences on climate change. About two-thirds of those deaths are from air pollution.

“This is a massive tragedy - and as depressing and terrifying as it is, we are not talking about it enough,” he said.

In his own political career, his campaign team found that talking about polar bears or degrees of temperature rise was not an effective way to commu-nicate the threat of climate change to the public.

Island of Manhattan

20 MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2017MORNING BREAK

FAJRSHOROOK

04.30am

05.49 am

ZUHRASR

11.18 am

02.25 pm

MAGHRIBISHA

04.49 pm

06.19 pm

PRAYER TIMINGS

HIGH TIDE 02:00 – 12:45 LOW TIDE 05:30 – 20:15

Moderate temperature daytime

with slight dust to blowing dust at

places.

WEATHER TODAY

Minimum Maximum

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

22oC 29oC

Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi honoured for countering siege countries’ narrative on Gulf crisis

The Peninsula

By his own initiative, Actor Abdul Aziz Jas-sim, who played the leading role in “Dirat Alez” drama, recently

honoured Dr. Khalid Mubarak Al-Shafi, Editor-in-Chief of The Peninsula, along with several other media persons who have a leading role in the society.

Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi was hon-oured as distinguished media and academic personal who appeared during the current Gulf crisis as one of the strong defendants of the nation’s sovereignty and Inde-pendence away from the unjust ongoing blockade imposed on Qatar.

On this occasion, Dr. Khalid

LEFT: Actor Abdul Aziz Jassim honouring Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi, Editor-in-Chief of The Peninsula, at a function in Doha. RIGHT: Awardees with Abdul Aziz Jassim at the event.

ROTA training initiative provides core humanitarian skills for youth The Peninsula

Youth from across the region attended yester-day workshops on

‘Disaster Response Project Cycle’, ‘Rapid Needs Assess-ment’, and ‘Humanitarian Co-ordination Mechanisms as part of the MENA Youth Capac-ity Building in Humanitarian Action (MYCHA) training, organised by Reach Out To Asia (ROTA), a programme of Education Above All.

The three-day youth train-ing initiative provides participants aged 18–30 with the core humanitarian skills to plan and execute small-scale social and community develop-ment projects in crisis-affected contexts.

In addition to the arranged sessions, the event successfully created an environment that encouraged meaningful dis-cussions on the topic of youth as vital actors in humanitar-ian response. The training also offered youth participants an unparalleled networking opportunity where they were able to engage with profes-sionals with experience in the field and the trainers oversee-ing the workshops. Aisha Al Homaid from Qatar charity said: “Today’s workshops were

of great importance to us as youngsters and future human-itarian actors in the field. We were provided an overview of the main challenges that we might face as well as under-standing the humanitarian standards, in addition to the priorities in emergency response and the importance of the quality of response.”

Essa Al Mannai, Executive Director, ROTA, said: “The MYCHA training got off to a brilliant start yesterday — it’s inspiring to witness youth brimming with enthusiasm and ideas on how they plan to make a tangible impact in their local communities. Today’s sessions

delved deeper into how to effectively respond to a crisis situation and the lifecycle of a humanitarian project to famil-iarise participants with how to see a community project through from planning to implementation.”

MYCHA is organised by ROTA in partnership with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Inter-Agency Network for Edu-cation in Emergencies, Human Appeal, Qatar Red Crescent, Doha Institute, United Nations Envoy on Youth, and United Muslims Relief.

Youth from across the region attending MYCHA training, organised by Reach Out To Asia, yesterday.

Al-Shafi expressed his gratitude to actor Abdul Aziz and his team and stressed the need of integrat-ing roles between art and media in order to serve the homeland spe-cially in this current situation.

Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi also appre-ciated the work of artistes and the way they were dealing with unjust

blockade with their humour. The theatrical performances

of ‘Dirat Alez’ continues at Qatar National Theater and was started two weeks ago and witness huge appreciation from people. It is being performed by famous Qatari actors and other artistes from Arab countries.

‘Tamim Al Majd’ fame artist unveils latest worksRaynald C Rivera The Peninsula

Prominent Qatari artist Ahmed Al Maadheed of ‘Tamim Al Majd’ fame yesterday unveiled his latest

works depicting four iconic Italian per-sonalities and characters, who left an indelible mark in Italy and in the world.

The four colourful portraits Al Maad-heed created in his travel to Italy perfectly hang on the rustic walls of Sasso, a recently opened Italian restau-rant located at Al Hazm Mall. They represent various spheres of life includ-ing science, art, love and exploration. “I created these paintings on the four sub-jects for around two months,” Al Maadheed told The Peninsula at yester-day’s unveiling.

To get the real inspiration on the four subjects of his art he himself chose, he travelled to Italy visiting particular places such as Florence and Venice where he also painted his works. It is an impor-tant part of Al Maadheed’s process of creating his works to get the feel of the place and the right inspiration for his

subjects to paint them the way they should be, he said. In doing so, he was able to shed a new light on the already known subjects in Italian history and lit-erature through the works as well as bring authentic Italian ambience to the community here.

One of the paintings portray Nobel

Prize winner Rita Levi Montalcini, who is an icon in Italy when it comes to Med-icine, while another painting is of Marco Polo, a famous explorer who was one of the first Westerners to take the Silk Road to China. One of the more interesting works is the portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci in which Al Maaheed combines

three images in one frame, namely the face of Da Vinci himself, his famous Mona Lisa painting, and the image of Fetrovian man in which Leonardo expressed beliefe in a homogeneity and harmony between the human body and the universe. The famous fictional char-acter Juliet from the play Romeo and Juliet, whose plot is based on an Italian tale completes the series.

What makes the paintings special is not only Al Maadheed’s unique way of articulating the character of his subject through the expression of the face but also his use of hues to tell the story of the subjects of his paintings, such as using red for the portrait of Juliet which is sup-posed to symbolise love and blue for Marco Polo to depict exploration and adventure. Al Maadheed is a contempo-rary Qatari artist who, through his works, embraced the world. For him, art is a universal language and a means of edu-cating people and serving the causes of the nation and humanity. The most important of these works is the image of H H the Emir known as “Tamim the Glorious”.

Ahmed Al Madheed (right) speaking at the unveiling of his latest paintings at Sasso Restaurant in Al Hazm Mall yesterday. Pic: Kammutty VP / The Peninsula

Manateq sponsors ‘Made in Qatar’ as economic zones partnerThe Peninsula

Qatar Chamber h a s announced

that Economic Zones Company “Manateq” would sponsor ‘Made in Qatar 2017’ exhibi-tion as an economic zones partner, according to a press release issued.

Scheduled to be held between November 14 and 17, the expo will be organised by Qatar Chamber in cooperation with the Min-istry of Energy and Industry on an area of 20,000 sqm. at the Doha Exhibition & Convention Center (DECC). Held under the patronage of the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the four-day exhibition is expected to see partic-ipation of over 300 companies and factories from Qatar.

Qatar Chamber Director General Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi and Chief Executive Officer of Manateq Fahad Rashid Al Kaabi signed the sponsorship agreement at the chamber venue. Qatar Chamber Chairman H E Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani attended the signing ceremony. Comment-ing on the agreement signing, Manateq’s CEO said: “Made in Qatar Exhibition is indeed a remarkable initiative by Qatar Chamber in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Industry, that highlights the milestones achieved in the growth of the economy of the State of Qatar.”

For his part, Al Sharqi said that Manateq’s support to the event strongly reflected its commitment to developing indus-trial sector in Qatar.

Qatar Chamber Director-General Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi and CEO of Manateq, Fahad Rashid Al Kaabi, signing the agreement.

emir, king of morocco discuss boosting ties...→ continued on page 2 ← emir h h sheikh tamim bin...

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