Volume 22 | Number 7278 | 2 RiyalsFriday 8 September 2017 | 17 Dhul-Hijja 1438 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

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Emir meets Foreign Minister of OmanQNA

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with

Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs of the Sul-tanate of Oman, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, and his accompanying dele-gation at Al Bahr Palace yesterday.

At the outset of the meeting, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah conveyed the greetings of H M Sul-tan Qaboos bin Said of the Sultanate of Oman to the Emir and his wishes of best of health and success to the Emir and further progress and prosperity to the Qatari people. The Emir for his part entrusted the Omani Minister with his greetings and wishes of best of health to HM Sul-tan Qaboos bin Said of Oman and further devel-opment and progress to the Omani people.

During the meeting, they reviewed fraternal relations and prospects for developing and

enhancing them, as well as the most important regional and international issues of common

concern, especially the latest developments in the Gulf crisis.

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, at Al Bahr Palace, yesterday.

Emir sends message to UK Prime MinisterEMIR H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has sent a written message to Prime Min-ister of the United Kingdom, Theresa May, pertaining to bilateral relations and means to develop them. Qatar’s Ambas-sador to the UK, Yousef bin Ali Al Khater, delivered the mes-sage, during a meeting with Colonel John Clark, UK Prime Minister’s Assistant for Mili-tary Affairs yesterday.

Kuwait Emir, Trump discuss resolving Gulf crisis

Washington

Agencies

US President Donald Trump has offered to mediate in the current Gulf diplo-

matic crisis between Qatar and three of its neighbours, saying “we will be most successful in fighting against terrorism with a united” Gulf Cooperation Coun-cil (GCC).

The Emir of Kuwait, H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, yesterday expressed his hope that resolution could be reached for the current ongoing Gulf crisis reiterating his deter-mination to resolve the crisis. “I am optimistic that the solution will come in the very near future,” he said. “The hope has not ended yet,” said Sheikh Sabah.

Speaking at a joint press

conference held yesterday at the White House with President Donald Trump, Sheikh Sabah said he believed negotiations were still possible.

Sheikh Sabah said he was confident that feuding Arab countries would overcome their differences as Qatar was ready to negotiate and he expressed confidence in the “wisdom of our brothers in the Gulf”.

A response he had received by Qatar revealed that Doha would not accept the 13 demands, he said, adding that the solution was for all sides to sit down at one negotiating table, and outline “points that may harm the region and the inter-ests of our friends.”

On the demands, he said that “any matters that affect sover-eignty are unacceptable to us,” underlining that Kuwait

guarantees it would put pressure on Qatar to prevent its exit from the GCC, Kuwait news agency (KUNA) reported.

Trump offered to mediate the crisis and said he believed the dispute could be solved “fairly easily.”

Trump said: “I would be will-ing to be the mediator,” “I would be willing to do so, and I think you’d have a deal worked out very quickly,” Trump said. “I

think it’s something that’s going to get solved fairly easily.”

President Trump hailed efforts by Sheikh Sabah to settle the Gulf crisis and applauded Kuwait’s “critical contributions to regional stability”.

Trump said he appreciated the Emir’s thus-far efforts to end the dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.

Trump said all the countries

involved — members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — are “essential partners” with the United States in efforts to crack down on extremism, including the fight against Islamic State group. “We will be most success-ful with a united GCC,” he said. “We will send a strong message to both terrorist organisations and regional aggressors that they cannot win.”

→ Continued on page 2

Emir of the State of Kuwait, H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, with US President Donald Trump during a joint press conference at the White House yesterday.

Al Attiyah, Mattis hold phone talksMINISTER of State for Defence Affairs, H E Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah held a telephone conversation with US Defence Secretary-General James Mattis, yesterday. The Directorate of Moral Guidance at the Ministry of Defence said in a press statement that, the two sides discussed the mil-itary cooperation between the two friendly countries, especially counterterrorism operations, as well as the lat-est developments concerning the Gulf crisis.

Al Jazeera scribe barred from event in IsraelJERUSALEM: Prime Minis-ter Benjamin Netanyahu has banned Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem bureau chief from attending a seminar about freedom of speech, officials said. The Israeli government press office said that Netanyahu had demanded Walid Al Omary be excluded from the conference. The event was focused on the limits of freedom of expression. The press office said Netan-yahu reiterated his intention to close Al Jazeera in Israel.

Emir, Trump hold talksQNA

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held a tele-phone conversation with President of the

United State of America, Don-ald Trump.

During the call, the two leaders discussed the latest developments related to the Gulf crisis in light of the State of Kuwait’s efforts of to resolve it through diplomatic means and dialogue between all par-ties to ensure security and stability of the region.

President Trump briefed the Emir on the results of his talks with the Emir of the State of Kuwait, H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, in this regard.

The Emir expressed appre-ciation for the generous efforts of the Emir of Kuwait as well as his keenness to pursue resolv-ing the current dispute. The Emir also welcomed the posi-tion of the US President on the need to resolve this crisis through dialogue to ensure the unity and stability of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

In this regard, the Emir stressed the firm position of the State of Qatar on resolving dif-ferences through constructive dialogue that does not affect the sovereignty of States.

The Emir and US President also discussed means of sup-porting and strengthening the strategic cooperation relations between the two friendly coun-tries in various fields.

The Peninsula

Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdul-

rahman Al Thani said Qatar welcomes dialogue but first illegal siege on Qatar should be lifted. He expressed his regret for the plan for a military action as an alternative for solving the diplomatic dispute which was revealed by the Emir of Kuwait H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al jaber Al Sabah during his joint conference with US President Donald Trump in Washington.

The Minister told Al Jazeera that efforts of HH the Emir of Kuwait are highly appreciated by Qatar and by Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Regarding the list of 13 demands, he said anything that

affects sovereignty of any state is not accepted as has been stated by HH the Emir of Kuwait. He said Qatar’s posi-tion was clear from the beginning of the crisis that the solution must be through dia-logue based on principles of not affecting sovereignty or violat-ing international laws.

He said the 13 point demands were clear to anyone that the demands affect the sov-ereignty, which is why US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had said the demand must be implementable and realistic. The Minister said such demands have become part of the past.

“We have learned from the statement of HH the Emir of Kuwait that there are efforts to find mechanisms to sit for dia-logue and these mechanisms

must not have preconditions and this was the demand of HH the Emir of Kuwait. Qatar is ready to discuss any issue with-out dictation.”

Regarding the illegal siege the foreign minister said these countries must lift the siege and in order to create suitable con-ditions for negotiations, the environment must be free of pressures and illegal measures.

He expressed his surprise against considering military action against member of GCC and a brother country. It is a matter of sadness to think about solving a diplomatic matter by force which is a clear violation of international laws and all international conven-tions which aim at solving dispute in peaceful manner.

Plan for military action as alternative to settle differences regrettable: FM

Emir of Kuwait H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah expressed his hope that resolution could be reached for the current ongoing Gulf crisis reiterating his determination to resolve the crisis. “I am optimistic that the solution will come in the very near future,” he said. “The hope has not ended yet.”

Trump said: “I would be willing to be the media-tor... I would be willing to do so, and I think you’d have a deal worked out very quickly. I think it’s something that’s going to get solved fairly easily.”

02 FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017HOME

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent a message to Lebanese President Michel Aoun, about relations between the two brotherly countries and ways of developing them. Ambassador of Qatar to Lebanon, Ali bin Hamad Al Marri, delivered the message during a meeting with the Lebanese President yesterday.

Emir sends message to Lebanese President

Sky Jewellery Directors Akash Jacob John and Amith Varghese John together hand over the key of the Lexus Car to Marnith R Dapidran (Coupon No.410862), the Mega Prize winner of Sky Jewellery “Gold N Drive Season 7” promotion. Sky Jewellery Group General Manager Cyriac Varghese, HR Manager Tinju Soman, Chief Accountant Rejeesh Nair, and Media Coordinator Samson Samuel are also seen.

Sky Jewellery gifts car in promotional campaignThe Peninsula

Sky Jewellery’s one of the most successful promotional campaign — Sky Golden Drive season 7 —

had a grand ending the other day. The campaign over a period of

time had given away almost 2.5 kg gold to winners across the region. However, all eyes were on the Lux-ury Lexus car — the mega prize of the campaign. The draw took place in the midst of a fine evening gathering in the Gold Souq at Deira Dubai. The gathering witnessed the announce-ment of Marnith R Dapidran from Philippines with coupon Number 410862 as the much awaited winner of the grand Lexus Car. Sky Jewellery Directors Akash Jacob John and Amith

Varghese John jointly in the presence of Sky Jewellery officials handed over the keys to the winner at a private function in the office premises.

During the tenure of the cam-paign, Sky Jewellery had announced lucky 100 winners bagging different lucky prizes starting from one Tola to ½ kg gold and the brand new Lexus Car.

“The campaign all across the region had tremendous support from the public. The lucky prizes clubbed with lots of free gold coins during the season had literally captured the mar-ket and we are immensely thankful to our loyal customers who made the promotional effort a huge success” said Babu John, Managing Director of Sky Jewellery Group.

QNA

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education invited students, parents and all relevant educational entities to use its mobile application to learn about the many services that it offers so as to

enhance communication among schools, fami-lies and all stakeholders.

The Ministry said the back-to-school cam-paign that it is currently organising ahead of the new academic year includes the introduction of parents to the services available on the applica-tion, which goes in line with the ministry’s development of its electronic services as well as with the Qatar smart government projects. The

application is available on Android’s Google Play, Apple’s App Store and Windows Phone Store.

The application provides the Ministry’s edu-cational services and makes them available on smart phones for students, parents and staff.

Through the application, parents can learn about their children’s assignments and monitor their attendance, grades and behaviour, while stu-dents can access their assignments and learn about their attendance and grades and also communi-cate with their teachers. In addition, the application provides services for staff, including salaries, leaves and annual evaluation. The public can benefit from the school search service and also learn about uni-versities, apply for scholarships and review the high school final examination grades.

QA airfreight demand rebounds despite siegeThe Peninsula

Qatar has seen air-freight demand return to pre-block-ade levels following the introduction of

new shipping routes from Asia and Oman.

In the weeks following the announcement of blockade in June, Qatar Airways Cargo saw 160 percent year-on-year increases in imports as the gov-ernment requisitioned air freight capacity to airlift food in.

To keep up with a shift from a usual daily 180 tonnes of perishable goods to 900 tonnes, the carrier brought in third-party aircraft including military C17s, B747Fs, A300Fs, A330Fs and Ilyushins.

Chief Cargo Officer at Qatar Airways Ulrich Ogiermann told The Loadstar the “illegal” block-ade had provided some initial challenges but the carrier had reacted “swiftly” and proven its “resilience”.

He added: “Managing such a precipitous increase in imports fully stress-tested Qatar Airways

Cargo’s facilities. Thankfully, we had planned well ahead for com-mercial growth. “These investments proved more than capable of accommodating the demand, serving grateful import-ers and restocking supermarket shelves with ample supplies of fresh produce overnight.”

The carrier also increased frequencies to Hong Kong from 17 freighters a week to 21, upped capacity into the Indian sub-continent and increased charter capacity globally.

Ogiermann said food inven-tory levels were now “fully

restocked”, adding: “While the majority of imports now come by ship, we continue to manage the national air cargo require-ments using leased freighters, leaving our commercial opera-tions at full capacity.

“We have also seen some benefits from the blockade: we have proven our resilience, retained business and custom-ers and have expedited some of the plans we had in place.”

Qatar has been actively investing in the agriculture and food sector, through Hassad Food, in line with a “food security” pol-icy to increase the quality and quantity of crop production by 2030. And because of the block-ade, the country brought forward plans to develop its own dairy industry, which have seen Qatar Airways Cargo begin the trans-port of 4,000 Holstein cows.

“We began these livestock shipments on more than 20 B777 charter freighters to Doha,” said Ogiermann. “This is the first time Qatar has experienced an airlift of this magnitude to sup-port the establishment of a new industry.”

To keep up with a shift from a usual daily 180 tonnes of perishable goods to 900 tonnes, Qatar Airways Cargo brought in third-party aircraft including military C17s, B747Fs, A300Fs, A330Fs and Ilyushins.

Half million attend Eid Al Adha events at Mall of QatarThe Peninsula

Mall of Qatar celebrated Eid Al Adha with over half a million visitors in

a wonderful extravaganza, in line with its commitment to providing one-of-a-kind enter-tainment and fun-filled activities for all. A spectacular few days, Mall of Qatar hosted an array of amazing and mag-nificent mall-wide activities from over 100 performers for families and visitors of all ages. Multiple MOQ LIVE Stage Shows were performed on the Oasis stage, in addition, to live broadcastings of Al Rayyan TV and Qatar TV.

Children also met their favourite Baraem characters during live stage shows and take part in many memorable activities, games and competi-tions. Furthermore, visitors

from across Qatar enjoyed the special occasion and took part in the MOQ Shop and Win draw.

“We are pleased to have welcomed so many visitors to our spectacular Eid Al Adha celebrations that took place throughout the mall during this celebratory season. It was a great success and we hosted a large array of memorable activities for families and friends. Our live stage shows were a great hit and enjoyed by many every day. We would also like to thank all of our partners that took part in our Eid celebrations,” said Rony Mourani, General Manager, Mall of Qatar.

“At Mall of Qatar, we are more than just a shopping mall, we are a destination dedicated to providing our visitors with a diverse selection of leisure and entertainment.”

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education mobile application can be used by parents to keep track of children’s grades and behaviour.

Education Ministry mobile app can help monitor student attendance

The Oasis stage show at Mall of Qatar.

Kuwait Emir & Trump hold talks to solve crisis

Continued from page 1

Speaking about the long-stalled Palestinian-Israeli-peace talks, Trump said there is a “chance” for a Middle East peace settlement, long one of the most elusive goals of US diplomacy. “I think we have a chance of doing it,” he told reporters during the press conference. “We’re going to give it our best,” Trump added, noting that both sides wanted peace and that the US had “tremendous talent” working on the problem.

President Trump and Sheikh Sabah held a round of official talks dealing with the long-standing relations between the two countries and means to develop ties.

According to KUNA, the two sides exchanged views on these topics and stressed the need for the countries involved in the Gulf feud to discard their differences.

Trump said in remarks before the session that he would discuss with H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, the Gulf cri-sis and means to resolve it, considering the State of Kuwait to be a “great part-ner” for the United States in dealing with regional issues.

H H Sheikh Sabah, in his remarks to reporters, expressed hope that the bilateral talks with the US President would come with “positive results”.

RAMALLAH: Israel’s Ofer court has issued varying sentences against 39 underage Palestinians in August and imposed hefty fines on them, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said in a statement. Last month, 59 underage Pales-tinians were placed into custody at Ofer prison, of which 40 were detained from their homes, 10 from the streets, three at military crossings, four were summoned, and two for not having work permits. Among those detainees, four were arrested after being shot and 13 were physically assaulted during their detention. The sentences handed to them vary from a month to 32 months. The commission said the hefty fines constitute a clear theft in the name of law and a part of the Israeli courts’ policy of looting money from the families of prisoners, and burden them with results of the detention of their children in occupation prisons, especially with the continuous rise in the value of fines.

DODOMA: Gunmen shot and badly wounded Tanzania’s most outspoken opposition figure yesterday near his home in the capital, the government said, in an attack that shocked the East African nation known for its relative peace and sta-bility. Lawmaker Tundu Lissu of the Chadema party, who recently faced criminal charges after he called President John Magufuli a dictator, was wounded by an unknown assailant in Dodoma, said Home Affairs Minister Mwigulu Nchemba. Lissu was shot in the stomach, leg and arm, said Dr Charles James, a regional medical officer. A statement from the oppo-sition party said the lawmaker was “seriously wounded.”

TUNIS: Tunisia’s two main parties yesterday gave parlia-mentary backing to Prime Minister Youssef Chahed’s new cabinet, handing him the initiative to push sensitive eco-nomic reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund. Chahed’s cabinet needs strong support to reform public sector wages and overhaul the pension system to improve national finances. Infighting and social protests have kept past gov-ernments from pushing through tougher austerity reforms.

Chahed on Wednesday named 13 new ministers includ-ing heads of the interior, defense and finance ministries. He appointed Taoufik Rajhi, one of his advisors from the Islam-ist Ennahda party, to a new economic reforms ministry in a deal that ends weeks of party infighting over posts.

Rached Ghannouchi, the head of Ennahda party, called his 69 lawmakers in parliament to give a vote of confidence to the coalition government which includes ruling Nidaa Tounes, Machroua Tounes, the Republican and Massar parties.

Israeli court convicts 39 Palestinian children in August

03FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Syria opposition slams UN envoy’s statementIstanbul

AFP

Syria’s opposition yester-day criticised the UN’s Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura after he urged it to be “realistic” and

said it had not won the country’s six-year war.

“These statements are, to say the very least, shocking and dis-appointing,” said Nasr Al Hariri, head of the opposition’s negoti-ations delegation, at a press conference in Istanbul.

He said De Mistura was well aware “which party has cooper-ated positively to advance the political process and which is the obstacle,” in reference to Syria’s government.

De Mistura on Tuesday urged the still-fractured Syrian oppo-sition to form a unified delegation ahead of a next round of peace talks tentatively sched-uled to take place in Geneva next month.

“Will the opposition be able to be unified and realistic enough to realise they didn’t win the war?” he said.

He added that Syria’s gov-ernment could not “simply announce victory” despite its recent advances, and that “the only answer is a political process”.

The main opposition camp, the High Negotiations Commit-tee (HNC), whose delegation Hariri heads, insists that Syrian President Bashar Al Assad must leave office as part of any peace deal.

That stance has put the HNC at odds with two other opposi-tion groups, known as the Moscow and Cairo platforms.

De Mistura has in recent weeks upped the pressure on the groups to unite and said he believed they would be meeting again in Riyadh in the coming weeks, after talks there last

month failed to produce a compromise.

But Hariri said the so-called Geneva track was “losing its credibility because of the way it is being manipulated by some international parties, particularly Russia.”

Moscow is a close ally of Syr-ia’s government and has developed another negotiations track in the Kazakh capital Astana that the opposition sees as an attempt to hijack interna-tional peace talks.

HNC chief Riad Hijab also slammed De Mistura’s com-ments, saying on Twitter that they reflected the “defeat of UN mediation.”

“Time after time, De Mistura implicates himself with unstud-ied statements that reinforce our call for a new UN approach on Syria,” he said.

More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began with anti-gov-ernment protests in March 2011.

Successive rounds of peace talks have failed to reach a nego-tiated solution to the conflict.

Beirut

Reuters

An aid convoy arrived at Deir Al Zor in eastern Syria yesterday, bringing

supplies to soldiers and civilians days after the Syrian army broke a three-year Islamic State siege, Syrian state media reported.

The Syrian army and its allies reached Deir Al Zor on Tuesday in a sudden advance following months of steady progress east across the desert. The army yesterday advanced against militants in a pocket they still hold further west, pro-Damascus media reported.

State TV broadcast footage of scores of residents cheering

with relief in Deir Al Zor as the convoy arrived.

The United Nations esti-mated that 93,000 civilians living under Islamic State siege in Deir Al Zor had been in “extremely difficult” conditions, being supplied only by air drops.

The 40 trucks that reached the area carried basic needs such as fuel, food and medical sup-plies to civilians, and included two mobile clinics, state news agency SANA reported.

The army also holds another besieged enclave at the city’s air-base, separated from its advancing forces by hundreds of metres of IS-held ground.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday

that the army had not yet con-nected with that enclave, and was working on expanding its corridor from the west.

Islamic State mortar fire on neighbourhoods still surrounded near the air base killed at least seven civilians and wounded dozens more yesterday, the Brit-ish-based monitoring group said.

The army also advanced against Islamic State militants in countryside east of the city of Hama, a media unit run by Damascus ally Hezbollah reported. The advance, which saw forces recapture two vil-lages there, is part of efforts to drive the militants out of an iso-lated pocket of territory they control east of Hama and Homs.

Israel hits Syria site reportedly used for chemical weaponsDAMASCUS: Syria’s army accused Israeli warplanes of hit-ting one of its positions yesterday, killing two people in an attack that a monitor said targeted a site where the regime allegedly pro-duces chemical weapons.

The site near the Syrian town of Masyaf, between the central city of Hama and a port used by the Russian navy, is reportedly used by forces from Syria’s allies Iran and the Hezbollah.

Israel has previously carried out strikes believed to be target-ing the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah, which fought a dev-astating war with the Jewish state in 2006.

The strike hit a training camp and a branch of the Sci-entific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), an institution that Washington has accused of helping develop the sarin gas used in a deadly attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhun in April.

President Bashar Al Assad’s government has blasted such accusations as “fabrications,” and Syria’s army yesterday did not mention the SSRC in its state-ment on the Israeli strikes.

“Israeli warplanes at 2:42 am today fired a number of missiles from Lebanese air space, target-ing one of our military positions near Masyaf, which led to mate-rial damage and the deaths of two members of the site,” the statement said.

“Syria’s army warns of the serious repercussions of such acts of aggression on the secu-rity and stability of the region,” it added.

Trucks carrying food aid arrive in the northeastern Syrian city of Deir Al Zor yesterday, as the first supplies since government troops broke IS siege are delivered via a newly opened road.

Aid convoy reaches Syria’s Deir Al Zor after 3-year siege

Minister offers to quit if Buhari seeks re-electionKano

AFP

A Nigerian Minister has promised to quit if Presi-dent Muhammadu Buhari

(pictured) decides to seek re-election, claiming the ailing leader had earlier vowed to serve only one term.

Women’s Affairs Minister Aisha Alhassan said she would back former vice-president Atiku Abubakar for the presi-dency at the next election in 2019 rather than the incumbent. “If today Buhari decides to go for re-election... I will go and kneel before him and tell him, ‘Father, I’m grateful for the opportunity you have given me to serve in your cabinet but you know Atiku

is my mentor, staying around you will portray me as a hypo-crite and I’m not one’, that is if Atiku declares his interest to contest,” she told BBC Hausa radio.

Speculation has been rife in

Nigeria about whether Buhari, 74, will stand again, after he has spent much of the year in a Lon-don hospital with an undisclosed illness.

The government maintains he is back at work, although he has kept a low profile since returning from the British cap-ital last month. Buhari has skipped and cancelled weekly cabinet meetings, chairing his first gathering of senior minis-ters in five months last week.

Alhassan disclosed her alle-giance on Wednesday after being asked whether Buhari had told anyone he planned to run in 2019. She said: “In 2015 prior to the election, when Buhari decided to contest following intense pressure, he declared

that he was going to serve one tenure, that is four years. “And to date no-one can claim Buhari has expressed any desire to stand for re-election in 2019.”

Buhari made Alhassan wom-en’s minister after she narrowly failed to be elected to run the eastern state of Taraba, making her the country’s first female state governor.

Abubakar, whom Buhari beat to be the All Progressives Congress (APC) party’s presiden-tial candidate for 2015, nominated her for the ministe-rial post. The former customs service chief, 70, who served as vice-president under former president Olusegun Obasanjo in the 2000s, is widely tipped to try again for the top job.

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway (left) and King Abdullah II of Jordan (centre) tour the Sahara Forest Project Launch Station in the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba, yesterday.

Jordan launches project to grow crops from seawaterAqaba

AP

Water-poor Jordan has launched a project using seawater to produce crops

with clean energy. Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Crown Prince Haa-kon of Norway, which contributed most of the $3.7m cost, inaugurated the facility yesterday in the kingdom’s Red Sea port city of Aqaba.

Haakon said he was “impressed by the way innovative ideas have been translated into a plant the size of four football fields.” The facility, surrounded by rocky desert, uses seawater to cool greenhouses. Desalinated seawater irri-gates crops, such as pesticide-free cucumbers. A small desalination sta-tion is irrigated by solar energy.

Opposition lawmaker shot at in Tanzania

Tunisia’s new govt gets party backing

Syria’s opposition criticised the UN’s Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura after he urged it to be “realistic” and said it had not won the country’s six-year war. De Mistura urged the still-fractured opposition to form a unified delegation ahead of a next round of peace talks tentatively scheduled to take place in Geneva next month.

04 FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017ISLAM

TAWHEED (Islamic monothe-ism) is the greatest foundation of Islamic belief. In fact, a per-son is considered as Muslim if he/she accepts that there is

no god worthy of worship but Allah and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) is His slave and His messenger to humankind.

Almighty Allah says in the Noble Quran (what means): “Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heav-ens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi (literally, a footstool) extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.” [Quran 2: 255]

In these marvelous verses, Allah describes Himself as The Only One - Most Powerful, Ever-Living Lord of us. Tawheed is the bedrock of Islam and it states that it is Allah Who has created the universe with whatever is in it and administers it. What we deduce from the operation of the universe and call ‘natural laws’ are, in fact, Allah’s regu-lar ways of creating things and events and administering the universe.

According to Islam, all religions revealed to the prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, have the same essence and knowledge of Tawheed and unity of Allah, but, with the time, the message was misinterpreted, mixed with super-stition, and degenerated into magical practices and some rituals. That was the same message with which Adam, may Allah exalt his mention, was sent down to earth, the same knowledge that Allah revealed to Nooh (Noah), Ibraheem (Abraham), Moosa (Moses) and ‘Eesa (Jesus), may Allah exalt their mention, and the last Prophet sent to humanity, Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sal-lam ( may Allah exalt his mention ).

Islam rejects characterizing Allah in any human form or depicting Him as favouring certain individuals or nations on the basis of wealth, power, or race. However, our human minds are often in search of understanding the concept of Allah in materialistic ways, although we are not capable to completely com-prehend this concept. When Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) contemporaries asked him about Allah and Allah revealed a chapter for this question in the Quran known as Soorah Al-Ikhlas (Chapter No. 112 of Quran) which is con-sidered as the motto of Tawheed. In this chapter Allah the Almighty Says (what means): “Say (O Muhammad), “He is Allah, [who is] One. Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor was He begotten. Nor is there to Him any equiv-

alent.” [Quran 112:1-4]The Creator must be a different

nature from the things created, because if He is of the same nature as they are, He will be temporal and will, therefore, need a maker. If the maker is not tem-poral, He must be eternal. But if He is eternal, He cannot be caused. If noth-ing apart from Him causes Him to continue to exist, He must be Self-Suf-ficient and Self-Subsistent. If He does not depend upon anything for the con-tinuance of His own existence, this existence can have no end. The Creator is therefore Eternal and Everlasting Allah Says (what means): “He is the First and the Last” [Quran 57:3].

The Creator does not create only in the sense of bringing things into being, in other words, He is not only a Starter, He also preserves everything, takes them out of the existence, and is the ultimate cause of whatever happens to them.

‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) the fourth Muslim Cal-iph, is reported to have said: “He is being but not through the phenomenon of coming into being. He exists but not from non-existence. He is with everything but not physical nearness. He is different from everything but not by physical sep-aration. He acts but without the accompaniment of movements and instruments. He is the One, only such that there is none with whom He keeps

company or whom He misses in his absence.”

In Islam, Allah is known by His Names and Attributions and the manifestation of these names in the universe.

Another aspect of Tawheed in Islam is that it implies the equity and unity of all people in their relation with Allah. Thus, people of different social strata were not created by separate deities with varying levels of power, since this would violate Tawheed by putting bar-riers between them. Instead, social dimension of Tawheed states that the same Allah created everyone, and so all people have the same fundamental essence. In fact, the noblest person in Allah’s Sight is the one who is most Allah-conscious.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Your Lord is One. You are from Adam and Adam was created from dust. An Arab is not superior to a non-Arab, nor a white person over a black person, except for his/her piety and righteous-ness.” [Ahmad]

When an individual pronounces the testimony: “Ash-hadu An-Lailaha Illa-llah Wa Ash-hadu Anna Muhammadan Rasoolullah” (I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and I testify that Muhammad (PBUH) is the Messenger of Allah), believing in it and acting upon it, he experiences a noticeable change in his life.

By understanding who his Lord is as well as the purpose of his creation, he will be able to achieve success in this life and the next. This success emanates from the following points:

1 A believer in this testimony can never be narrow in outlook. He believes in Allah, Who is the Creator of the heav-ens and the earth, the Master of the universe and its Sustainer. After this belief, he does not regard anything in the world as a stranger to himself. He looks on everything in the universe as belonging to the same Lord he himself belongs to. Allah Almighty Says (what means): {Say (O Muhammad): ‘To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth?’ Say: ‘To Allah.’} [Quran 6:12]

His sympathy, love and service are not confined to any particular sphere or group. His vision is broadened, his intel-lectual horizon widens, and his outlook becomes as liberal and as boundless as is the Kingdom of Allah. How can this width of vision and breadth of mind be achieved by an atheist, a polytheist or one who believes in a deity supposed to possess limited and defective powers like a man?

2 This belief produces in man the highest degree of self-respect and self esteem. The believer knows that Allah Alone is the Possessor of all power, and that none besides Him can benefit or harm a person, or provide for his needs, or give and take away life or wield authority or influence. This conviction makes him indifferent to, independent on, and fearless of all powers other than those of Allah. He never bows his head in homage to any of Allah’s creatures, nor does he stretch out his hand before anyone else. He is not overawed by any-body’s greatness. This attitude of mind cannot be produced by any other belief.

3 Along with self-respect, this belief also generates in man a sense of modesty and humbleness. It makes him unosten-tatious and unpretending. A believer never becomes proud, haughty or arrogant. The boisterous pride of power, wealth and worth can have no room in his heart, because he knows that whatever he pos-sesses has been given to him by Allah, and that Allah can take away just as He can give. In contrast to this, an unbeliever, when he achieves some worldly merit, becomes proud and conceited because he believes that his merit is due to his own worth. In the same way, pride and self-conceit are a necessary outcomes and concomitants of ‘Shirk’ (association of oth-ers with Allah), because a polytheist believes that he has a particular relation with deities, which does not exist between them and other people.

4 This belief makes man virtuous and upright. He has the conviction that there is no other means of success and salvation for him except purity of soul and righteousness of behavior. He has perfect faith in Allah Who is above all needs, is related to none and is abso-lutely Just. This belief creates in him the consciousness that unless he lives rightly

and acts justly, he cannot succeed. No influence or underhand activity can save him from ruin.

As to those who do not believe that there is any Being having power over them, to whom they should be responsi-ble for their good or bad actions; therefore, they consider themselves independent to act in whatever way they like. Their own fancies become their gods and they live like slaves of their wishes and desires. Allah Says (what means): {Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah, knowing (him as such), left him astray, and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart, and put over his vision a veil? So who will guide him after Allah? Will you not then remember?} [Quran 45:23]

5 The believer never becomes despondent. He has a firm faith in Allah Who is The Master of all the treasures of the earth and the heavens, Whose grace and bounty have no limit and Whose power is infinite. This faith imparts to his heart extraordinary con-solation, fills it with satisfaction and keeps it filled with hope. Although he may be met with rejection from all sides in this world, faith in and dependence on Allah never leave him, and on that strength he goes on struggling. Such pro-found confidence can result from no other belief than belief in Allah Alone.

6 Faith inspires bravery in man. There are two things which make a man cowardly: (a) fear of death and love of safety, and (b) the idea that there is someone else besides Allah who can take away life, and that man - by adopt-ing certain devices- can ward off death. Belief in ‘La ilaha illallah’’ blocks and drives away both these ideas. The first idea goes out of his mind because he knows that his life and his property and everything else really belong to Allah, and he becomes ready to sacrifice his all for the pleasure of Allah. He gets rid of the second idea because he knows that no weapon, no man or animal has the power of taking away his life; Allah alone has the power to do so. A time has been ordained for him, and all the forces of the world combined cannot take away anyone’s life before that time.

It is for this reason that no one is braver than the one who has faith in Allah. Nothing can daunt and haunt him: not even the strongest tempest of adver-sity and the mightiest of armies.

7. The belief in ‘La ilaha illallah’ cre-ates an attitude of peace and contentment, purges the mind of jeal-ousy, envy and greed, and keeps away the temptations of resorting to base and unfair means for achieving success. The believer understands that wealth is in Allah’s Hands, and He apportions it out as He Wills; that honour, power, repu-tation and authority - everything - is also subjected to His Will, and He bestows them as He Wills; and that man’s duty is only to endeavor and to struggle fairly.

www.islamweb.net

Tawheed – The essence of Islam

05FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017 ASIA

Protest against Myanmar

Govt to grant Rs75,000 worth of scholarships to 1,000 studentsJaipur

IANS

HUMAN Resource Develop-ment (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar yesterday said there will soon be a 'Prime Minis-ter scholarship' under which Rs 75,000 per month will be given to the best 1,000 tal-ented students.

"We are starting the PM Scholarship, a note will go to the Cabinet soon... (under which) best 1,000 talented students will get Rs 75,000 per month now," he said while addressing the convo-cation ceremony at Manipal University in Jaipur.

Javadekar said there were three reasons contributing to the 'brain drain' in the country.

"I always wonder why our best of the best brains go to foreign countries - because they have three difficulties here. First, in for-eign countries they get best of the best research labs, then they get best of the scholarships so they can sur-vive and maintain themselves, and then they get the best guidance.”

"Now we are bringing all these three things together.”

The Minister also said that with Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA), they are leveraging Rs20,000 crore which will be used in extending loans to the edu-cational institutes "for creating research infrastruc-ture here".

BJP & Congress spar over Lankesh murderBengaluru

IANS

The BJP and the Con-gress continued to spar over the gunning down of senior jour-nalist Gauri Lankesh

yesterday as her family and the journalist fraternity demanded a swift and transparent probe into the murder.

Senior Congress leader Mal-likarjun Kharge said he would not go into assumptions, but it must be “anti-progressive” peo-ple who killed Lankesh.

“I don’t want to say now that this party has killed her or that party has killed. But I am sure that anti-progressive people and those who are opposed to Gauri Lankesh might have taken advantage of this situation,” Kharge said.

Hitting back at the Congress for attempting to pin the blame on it for the killing, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the Con-gress was trying to give a clean cheat to Karnataka Chief Minis-ter Siddaramaiah.

“The onus is on Siddara-maiah to ensure proper investigation. Law and order in the state is in his hands,” BJP

General Secretary P Muralidhar Rao said.

He also described Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi as an “irresponsible leader” for blaming the BJP on the issue.

“We have seen, if there is any irresponsible leader in this world, he is Rahul Gandhi...if there is a party which is in the hands of an irresponsible leader, it is in the hands of Rahul Gan-dhi,” Rao said.

Rao’s remarks came in the wake of Rahul Gandhi’s accusa-tion that silencing dissent was part of the BJP’s ideology.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati said there was “a deep conspiracy” behind Lankesh’s murder and demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) not only in Lankesh’s case but also that in the killings of Narendra Dab-holkar, Govind Pansare and M M Kalburgi.

“The way independent jour-nalists, intellectuals and writers are being eliminated, prima facie this looks like part of a larger conspiracy. The central govern-ment should order NIA probe into these matters,” Mayawati said in a statement.

She also linked these killings with cow vigilantism, “love jihad” and “Ghar Wapsi” cam-paigns, and asked the state governments to get serious on these issues, which she lamented “has not happened yet”.

Meanwhile, a group of edi-tors, writers and media professionals from South Asia, the United Kingdom and Aus-tralia on Thursday joined together to demand swift action in the incident.

The South Asia Media Defenders Network, an informal association of editors and media practitioners, which stands for the rights of journalists under pressure, expressed sadness and anger at the gunning down of Lankesh.

The network includes names of Siddharth Varadarajan, Nidhi Razdan, Pradip Phanjoubam, Tarun Basu, Vijay Naik, Kavita Bajeli-Datt, Mahendra Ved, Rita Payne, John Zubrzycki, David Brewer and William Horsley.

These journalists, along with others in the association, said

that they stood in solidarity with Lankesh’s family and her col-leagues in and outside the state, and demanded a full, impartial investigation into her death and the circumstances leding to it. They sought that the killers and conspirators be brought to justice.

The network urged the media and civil society organi-sations to robustly pursue a campaign to ensure that there was no let-up in the investiga-tion, so that the killers, their backers and conspirators were brought to book.

Another journalists’ body, the Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA), also con-demned the killing and sought speedy probe into the matter.

Lankesh’s family, mean-while, said they would wait for the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to find the culprits and would only approach the court if it failed.

“We will give all the cooper-ation the SIT needs,” Lankesh’s brother Indrajit Lankesh said. “We will wait for the SIT to give us information and clues on the killers.”

Congress likely to replace Bihar chiefNew Delhi

IANS

The Congress may appoint a new Bihar chief in place of Ashok Choudhary fol-

lowing recent turbulence in the state unit which saw senior leaders of the party being sent to Patna to stave off any possi-ble break-up.

Sources said Choudhary was not present at the meetings held by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi with party legis-lators from the state on Wednesday and yesterday.

Leader of Congress Legis-lative Party Sadanand Singh later said they discussed how to strengthen the party in the state in the aftermath of the

collapse of the grand alliance when the JD-U decided to snap ties with Rashtriya Janata Dal and rejoin hands with the BJP to form government in the state in July. Congress was the third ally in the alliance.

A Congress legislator, who did not want to be named, said the leadership was unhappy with Choudhary over reports about possible defections.

The legislator said that Choudhary had been state unit chief for over four years and there is a strong view among senior leaders that the party should appoint a new face at the helm in the state.

“The change will be made keeping the caste equations in mind,” he said.

Two sentenced to death for 1993 blastsMumbai

AFP

An Indian court sentenced two convicts to death yesterday in connection

with the country’s deadliest bombings, a series of blasts that rocked Mumbai two decades ago and claimed more than 250 lives.

Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan and Taher Merchand were con-victed of conspiracy and murder in the 1993 blasts and handed the death penalty in the case’s final sentencing yesterday.

“It was a historic judgement and its impact will reverberate for years,” public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said.

A key figure in the attacks, Abu Salem, was sentenced to life imprisonment, along with Kar-imullah Khan, for their roles in the 12 bomb blasts that killed

257 people and injured hun-dreds more.

India had to agree that Salem would not receive the death penalty when he was extradited from Portugal.

A fifth man, Riyaz Siddiqui, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, Nikam said.

The sentences come after a special court in Mumbai con-victed the men in June on a range of offences in the attacks. Another accused, Mustafa Dossa, died of a heart attack shortly after the convictions.

The court had acquitted a seventh man, Abdul Quayyum, for lack of evidence.

The men were found guilty of involvement in coordinated bomb attacks on the Mumbai stock exchange, the headquar-ters of Air India and a shopping centre in March 1993.

The attacks were believed

to have been staged by Mum-bai’s Muslim-dominated underworld in retaliation for anti-Muslim violence that had killed more than 1,000 people a few months earlier.

Salem went on the run after the 1993 attacks and was only extradited from Portugal in 2005.

Salem is a former associate of Dawood Ibrahim, India’s most wanted criminal, who allegedly masterminded the 1993 blasts.

Yesterday’s hearing con-cluded the long-running case that at its outset involved 189 defendants.

The culprits sentenced Thursday were detained and tried separately from other sus-pects in the case as they were arrested towards the end of a previous trial, in which 11 peo-ple were sentenced to hang for perpetrating the deadly blasts.

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said he would not go into assumptions, but it must be ‘anti-progressive’ people who killed Lankesh.

Blame game

Hitting back at the Congress for attempting to pin the blame on it for the killing, the BJP said the Congress was trying to give a clean cheat to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Demonstrators hold placards with the picture of Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh during a 'Not In My Name' protest, in New Delhi, yesterday.

Aactivists rally against the Myanmar government, near the Consulate General of Myanmar, in Kolkata, yesterday.

24 more newborns die in MP district hospitalBhopal

IANS

A hospital in Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh has reported death of 24 newborns -- adding to the

recent spate of infant deaths that took place in different parts of the country.

This is the second such case reported from the state in a week. At least 36 newborns died in a

government hospital in Shahdol in August, according to officials on Monday.

Ninety-six newborns were admit-ted to the Special New Born Care Unit (SNCU) of District Hospital in August, of whom 24 have died, hospital authorities said.

The infants were “afflicted with several problems”.

District Hospital Civil Surgeon Sanjay Khare said that the number

of newborns admitted in the SNCU was more compared to that in July. However, he did not have the details of the exact toll.

Khare said mostly, the newborns who came from far-flung areas died as their condition deteriorated by the time they were hospitalised.

He also said the mortality rate among those born in hospitals or institutionalised set-up was, how-ever, lower.

06 FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017ASIA

South Korea and US deploy THAAD

Seoul

AFP

South Korea and the United States yesterday completed the deploy-ment of a US missile defence system to coun-

ter North Korean threats, sparking demonstrations by res-idents and a diplomatic protest from Beijing.

A convoy of US military trucks carrying four launchers for the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system made their way through an activ-ists’ blockade at a former golf

course in the southern county of Seongju.

Some 8,000 riot police were mobilised to help the convoy get through the 400 protestors stag-ing a sit-in.

Many of the demonstrators had locked themselves into place with chains, while others had used tractors and pickup trucks as barriers.

Police shattered windows to break into the vehicles and tow them away, Yonhap news agency said.

About 20 people were injured in subsequent scuffles, it added.

The system’s powerful radar and two launchers had already

been deployed, infuriating Bei-jing, which fears it could compromise its own missile capabilities.

It has previously retaliated against Seoul with unofficial eco-nomic sanctions.

The installation of the rest of the battery was delayed, osten-sibly on environmental grounds, by South Korea’s new liberal President Moon Jae-In.

But Prime Minister Lee Nak-Yon said yesterday the THAAD deployment was a “difficult yet inevitable decision” Seoul had to make because of North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats.

The North carried out its

sixth and largest nuclear test at the weekend, which Pyongyang said was a hydrogen bomb that could be mounted on a missile. In July it launched two intercon-tinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that appeared to bring much of the US mainland within range.

Residents in the farming region of Seongju fear possible environmental and health risks from THAAD’s radar, and say it could make their area a target in the event of conflict.

Beijing has imposed a tacit ban on Chinese tour groups vis-iting South Korea, and shut down more than 80 stores owned by the Lotte Group—which handed the golf course THAAD site over

to the government—costing it around $440m.

Car firm Hyundai has also seen its first-half China sales plummet by 47 percent.

Beijing lodged a diplomatic protest with Seoul yesterday demanding the withdrawal of THAAD.

“Our stance on the THAAD issue has been consistent and clear,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

“We demanded South Korea and the United States stop rele-vant deployment procedures immediately... in view of the security interest and concerns of regional neighbours, including China.”

Tokyo & Seoul push Putin over sanctionsVladivostok

AFP

JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his South Korean counterpart strug-gled to grind down Russian resistance to new sanc-tions on Pyongyang over its nuclear test as Vladimir Putin appeared to give little ground.

“The international com-munity must unite in applying the greatest possi-ble pressure on North Korea,” Abe said in a speech alongside Putin and South Korea’s Moon Jae-in in Vladivostok.

“We must make North Korea immediately and fully comply with all relevant UN Security Council resolutions and abandon all its nuclear and ballistic missile pro-grammes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner,” Abe said.

South Korea has pushed for more punishment and Moon said that “perhaps the time has come for stronger sanctions” on Pyongyang.

China signalled it would support the UN taking fur-ther measures against North Korea following the test.

Petition seeks to revoke Suu Kyi’s Nobel Peace PrizeOslo

AFP

Thousands of people have signed an online petition calling for the Nobel com-

mittee to revoke Aung San Suu Kyi’s peace prize over the Myan-mar government’s treatment of its Rohingya Muslims.

But the Norwegian Nobel committee has ruled out any such move, saying only that the work which led to the awarding of the prize was taken into account.

The Change.Org petition has gathered over 365,000 signa-tures as of yesterday, reflecting growing outrage over a massive

security sweep in Rakhine state by Myanmar forces after a series

of deadly ambushes by Rohingya militants.

“The de facto ruler of Myan-mar Aung San Suu Kyi has done virtually nothing to stop this crime against humanity in her country,” the petition says.

Suu Kyi was awarded the prize in 1991, while under house arrest at the hands of Myanmar’s military junta, from which she was released in 2010.

She then went on to lead her party through the country’s first credible elections since independence.

But her government has faced international condemna-tion for the army’s response to the crisis as refugees arrive in Bangladesh with stories of mur-der, rape, abuse and burned

villages at the hands of soldiers.

In Oslo, Olav Njolstad, head of the Nobel Institute, said it was impossible to strip a Nobel lau-reate of an award once it has been bestowed

“Neither Alfred Nobel’s will nor the statutes of the Nobel Foundation provide for the pos-sibility that a Nobel Prize -- whether for physics, chemis-try, medicine, literature or peace -- can be revoked. ‘

“Only the efforts made by a laureate before the attribution of a prize are evaluated by the Nobel committee,” he said yes-terday, and not any subsequent actions.

New Zealand’s opposition leads pre-election pollWellington

Reuters

NEW Zealand’s newly invigor-ated Labour Party has widened its lead over the governing National Party, further threat-ening its decade-long hold on power, a poll showed yester-day, as the two party leaders exchanged jabs at their third debate in a week.

National fell 2 points to 39%, while support for the opposition Labour Party was unchanged at 43%, the poll released on the website of the 1 News broadcaster showed.

New Zealand holds a gen-eral election on September 23. The poll still tipped the nationalist New Zealand First as a likely kingmaker, and showed the Green Party would only just make it into parliament.

Jacinda Ardern has almost single-handedly changed the chances of her Labour Party since taking over as leader last month, with her charisma and popularity offsetting some crit-icism over vague tax plans and tighter immigration policy.

National leader Bill Eng-lish, who is pinning his bid on his government’s strong eco-nomic record, said he was not particularly worried about the poll results.

The poll showed support for the New Zealand First Party rose 1 point to 9%, while support for the Green Party remained at 5%.

Islamabad

Reuters

Pakistan’s anti-corruption agency will open a crim-inal investigation into

former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and current finance min-ister Ishaq Dar, it said yesterday.

Sharif was ousted in July after the Supreme Court deemed him unfit to hold office for not declaring a small source of income, and ordered the agency, the National Account-ability Bureau (NAB), to inst igate a cr iminal

investigation into him, his fam-ily and Dar.

The agency said its investi-gation would rely on the evidence collected by a Supreme Court-appointed six-man panel that was investigating the Sharif family’s wealth and included officers from powerful military intelligence agencies.

“The chairman (of) NAB directed that the prosecution of the cases will be followed up vigorously in the concerned Accountability Courts,” the agency said in a statement.

Sharif, his family, and Dar have denied any wrongdoing.

Duterte’s son denies links to drug shipment

Iran prepares aid for RohingyasTehran

AFP

Iran’s Red Crescent said yesterday it has prepared an aid pack-age for Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims as they flee a crackdown by security forces, local media reported.“An emergency, food, life support and hygiene package has

been prepared by the Red Crescent to be sent to Myanmar,” said the head of the organisation, Morteza Salimi, according to the ISNA news agency.

The package would be “immediately sent to the oppressed peo-ple of this country if we receive authorisation from Myanmar,” he said, adding it had been ordered by President Hassan Rouhani.

A convoy of US military trucks carrying four launchers for the THAAD system made their way through an activists’ blockade in the southern county of Seongju.

N Korea threats

Prime Minister Lee Nak-Yon said the THAAD deployment was a ‘difficult yet inevitable decision’ Seoul had to make because of North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats.

People scuffle with riot policemen during a protest opposing the deployment of THAAD system, in Seongju, South Korea, yesterday. RIGHT: Soldiers cheer during a mass celebration in Pyongyang for North Korea’s largest nuclear blast to date.

Anti-graft agency to file charges against Sharif

Manila

AFP

Philippine President Rod-rigo Duterte’s son and son-in-law denied allega-

tions yesterday that they belonged to a drug trafficking gang, with the explosive claims raising questions about the gov-ernment’s bloody anti-narcotics crackdown.

Duterte came to power last year promising to wage a brutal and unprecedented war on drugs.

His son, Davao vice-mayor, Paolo Duterte and son-in-law

Manases Carpio appeared at a Senate inquiry yesterday to answer accusations that they helped facilitate the shipment of crystal methamphetamine worth $125.4m into the Philip-pines from China in exchange for payment.

The allegations emerged last month when a customs broker said that he had heard the names of Duterte’s son and son-in-law mentioned while seeking to expedite the shipment.

But opposition senator Antonio Trillanes at the inquiry accused Duterte’s son of

belonging to a drug trafficking gang, saying the 42-year-old had a tattoo on his back, resem-bling a dragon, that was “proof... of his membership” in the gang.

Paolo Duterte, vice-mayor of the southern city of Davao, told the panel that he had a tat-too but said he could not answer allegations based on hearsay.

Carpio, who is married to Davao city mayor Sara Duterte, also rejected allegations against their family.

“Me and my brother-in-law have been publicly crucified based on rumours and gossip.”

Vice-Mayor Paolo Duterte and his brother-in-law Manases Carpio during a Senate hearing on drug smuggling in Pasay, Metro Manila, yesterday.

Malaysia foils hijacking of Thai tankerKuala Lumpur

Reuters

Malaysian authorities thwarted the hijacking of a Thai oil tanker

yesterday and arrested 10 sus-pected Indonesian pirates on board the ship, a maritime security agency commander said.

A special team from the Malaysian Maritime Enforce-ment Agency (MMEA) stormed

the MT Tanker MGT1, off the coast of the northeastern state of Terengganu, nearly 10 hours after it was reported missing on Wednesday.

While the 10 were detained on the tanker, three suspects on a smaller boat nearby man-aged to escape, and an MMEA vessel has been sent to find them, the agency’s chief, Mar-itime Admiral Zulkifli Abu Bakar, said in a statement.

The boat was spotted near

the tanker by a surveillance aircraft.

“Warning shots were fired from the aircraft when the boat tried to escape but the attempt to stop them failed as the air-craft was running low on fuel,” Zulkifli said.

Zulkifli identified the 10 suspected pirates that were arrested as Indonesian nation-als. None of the 14 crew members on the tanker, all Thais, was hurt.

07FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017 EUROPE

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) signs autographs as she attends an election campaign rally of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Mainz yesterday 17 days before the September 24 general election.

Signature campaign

Madrid

AFP

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy vowed yesterday to take legal action to block an inde-pendence referendum in

Catalonia which he branded an “ i n t o l e r a b l e a c t o f disobedience”.

Rajoy gathered his cabinet for an emergency meeting to formally ask Spain’s Constitutional Court to once again rule against the plebiscite called for October 1. He also said all 947 mayors in Cata-lonia would be warned over their “obligation to impede or paralyse” efforts to carry out the vote which he said is unconstitutional. “This referendum, no matter how much they try to impose it in a hasty, amateur and illegal way, will not take place,” Rajoy said.

Catalonia’s regional parlia-ment, which is controlled by separatists, voted on Wednesday to push ahead with the referen-dum in the wealthy northeastern

region, sparking the country’s deepest political crisis in 40 years.

Spain’s top prosecutor, mean-while, said voting materials would be seized and “criminal charges are being prepared” against the leaders of the Catalan parliament

as well as officials in the regional government who prepared the referendum decree.

General prosecutor Jose Manuel Maza told reporters the officials could be charged, among other things, with disobedience, abuse of power and embezzle-ment. Maza added that regional prosecutors with the aid of police had been told to investigate any actions taken to organise the vote.

The warnings were brushed aside by a Catalan government spokesman, who insisted the ref-erendum would take place despite a “covert state of siege” being imposed by the central govern-ment in Madrid.

“This does nothing to alter the government’s project,” Jordi Turull said. “Faced with this covert state of siege, we now feel obliged to defend our most fundamental rights.”

Catalonia’s president Carles Puigdemont, a lifelong proponent on independence, is hoping to mobilise supporters in a show of legitimacy in the face of Madrid’s

threats to halt the vote by any means possible.

He sent a letter to Catalonia’s mayors yesterday asking them to give notice within 48 hours of what locations they could make available for ballot stations. The Catalan government also began to recruit volunteers through its web page to help stage the referendum.

Ada Colau, the mayor of Bar-celona, the capital of Catalonia where separatists are a minority, would not say if she would allow ballot stations to be set up on municipal property. In a Twitter message she said only that she is always ready “to facilitate partic-ipation in all democratic mobilisations, without putting at risk institutions or public workers”.

Catalonia accounts for about one-fifth of Spain’s economic out-put, and already has significant powers over matters such as edu-cation and healthcare. But Spain’s economic worries, coupled with a perception that the region pays

more in taxes than it receives in investments and transfers from Madrid, have helped push the cause of secession from the fringes of Catalan politics to cen-tre stage.

Adding to the rise in separa-tist sentiment was a 2010 ruling by the Constitutional Court strik-ing down parts of a 2006 autonomy charter which granted new powers to Catalonia and rec-ognised it as “a nation”.

Opinion polls show that Cat-alans are evenly divided on independence. But over 70 per-cent want a referendum to take place to settle the matter, similar to the plebiscite held in Scotland in 2014. The president of the Euro-pean Parliament, Antonio Tajani, warned that an independent Cata-lonia would be left outside of the European Union.

Over 80 percent of partici-pants voted to split from Spain during that symbolic plebiscite—though only 2.3 million of Catalonia’s 5.4 million eligible vot-ers took part.

Athens

AFP

Fr e n c h P r e s i d e n t Emmanuel Macron sketched a plan to

“rebuild” the European Union through wider democracy and public accountability at the start of a two-day visit to Greece yesterday.

Choosing a symbol of ancient Athenian democracy — Pnyx Hill — for his speech, Macron said he intended to present fellow European lead-ers with a “roadmap” to fix Europe for the next decade.

“Our generation can choose to (do this)... we must find the strength to rebuild Europe,” said the 39-year-old centrist, making his first visit to Greece as president. “We share a his-tory and a destiny... we must defend this heritage,” Macron said, with the brightly lit Acrop-olis as his backdrop.

The proposals, which formed part of Macron’s elec-tion campaign platform earlier this year, would be submitted to European citizens early next year for a six-month debate. They include cross-state can-didate tickets for the next European Parliament elections, scheduled for 2019, and more democratic legitimacy for the eurozone.

“Let us put together a euro-zone parliament which would enable the creation of demo-cratic responsibility,” the French president said.

At present, economically weak states such as Greece

decry the powers wielded by eurozone finance ministers to determine long-term fiscal pol-icy. Their body, the Eurogroup, is not elected.

The former economy min-ister and banker argued that losing the EU would be “a form of political and historic suicide,” especially at a time when only a united bloc can protect its cit-izens from cross-border threats such as climate change and ter-rorism. But also, only Europe had a tradition of respecting human rights, equality and social justice, he claimed.

Earlier, with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at his side, Macron delighted his hosts by warning the International Monetary Fund to refrain from demanding cuts beyond those already agreed, in upcoming talks. Greece’s third rescue pro-gramme, currently financially supported by EU states alone, runs to August 2018.

Macron on Wednesday bemoaned that the EU had to turn to outside assistance in the first place to rescue Greece in 2010, noting that this reflected a “lack of confidence” between European member states and institutions.

Greece, on the receiving end of two multi-billion euro rescues in which the IMF has been a part since 2010, has fre-quently complained of the Washington-based lender’s demands for fiscal cuts and labour reform. But Germany in particular has insisted on retaining the IMF, at least in a supervisory role.

London

AFP

Health anxiety, also known as hypochon-dria, cost the British

healthcare system around £56m a year, researchers said yesterday, blaming the Inter-net for a rise in “cyberchondria”.

“We suspect that (health anxiety) is increasing in fre-quency because of what is now called ‘cyberchondria’,” Peter Tyrer, professor in com-munity psychiatry at Imperial College London said during a press conference.

“This is because people now go to their GPs (general practitioners) with a whole list of things they’ve looked up on the Internet, and the poor GP, five minutes into the consultation, has four pages of reading to do,” he added.

At least one in five people in Britain attend medical clin-ics because of “abnormal health anxiety,” researchers from Imperial College Lon-don and King’s College London said in their study.

Despite being told that there was no underlying physical reason for their symptoms, they often push for unnecessary further investigation — such as addi-tional appointments or medical procedures.

When all added up, the cost to the healthcare system is estimated to be at around £56m ($73m) a year. To tackle the problem and help patients, the researchers advised using a cognitive behavioural therapy.

The treatment — already trialled on 444 patients in five different hospitals across England — lessened the con-dition from severe to moderate, with symptoms of anxiety and depression also improving. “The costs of the treatment were more than offset by the savings to health services,” the study said.

Tallinn

AFP

A major cyberattack targets European Union military structures, with hackers

using social media and “fake news” to spread confusion, and governments are left scrambling to respond as the crisis escalates.

This was the scenario facing a gathering of EU defence min-isters in Tallinn yesterday as they undertook a exercise simulating a cyber assault on the bloc — the first mock drill of its kind at such a senior level in Europe.

With countries around the world heavily reliant on comput-ers for everything from defence systems to hospital equipment

to critical infrastructure such as power stations, the cybersphere is seen as the next major theatre for conflict.

Nato now considers cyber-space to be a conflict domain alongside that of air, sea and land. Alliance chief Jens Stolten-berg, who attended the exercise in Tallinn, said Nato had seen a 60 percent increase in cyber attacks on its networks over the last year.

In the exercise, the 28 EU defence ministers were pre-sented with an escalating crisis during an operation in the Med-iterranean Sea similar to the current Sophia naval mission against people-smuggling networks.

“First a drone went down

after a problem with the server at the military headquarters, then another drone was inter-cepted and then a more serious threat with a worm (computer virus)... and then more serious still with the loss of communications with our ships in the Mediterra-nean,” Belgian Defence Minister Steven Vandeput explained.

The ministers were given tablet computers to answer mul-tiple choice questions about how to respond to each fresh devel-opment. “We are not creating programmers from the ministers but we want them to understand that these quickly developing sit-uations could demand quick political decisions—that’s the idea of the exercise,” Estonian Defence Minister Juri Luik said.

Estonian officials said the aim was to improve ministers’ understanding of the kinds of target that could be hit by a cyberattack, the effects such an attack could have and how they could respond — as well as the need for clear, coordinated com-munication with the public on what can be a complex issue.

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said the two-hour exercise was “extremely exciting”. “The adver-sary is very, very difficult to identify. The attack is silent, invisible... it is cost-effective for the adversary because he does not need an army, but only a computer with internet connec-tion,” she said.

Estonia has made digital

issues one of the priorities of its EU presidency, which runs until the end of this year, and yester-day’s exercise was over a year in the planning.

Leyen said the drill showed the importance of “informing each other and to include the economy in case a major cyber attack spreads in critical infra-structure of the EU economy”.

The devastating WannaCry ransomware attack that hit more than 200,000 users around the world in May, causing chaos in Britain’s National Health Service and halting production at numer-ous factories, was a stark signal of hackers’ power to wreak havoc.

But Nato and the EU are also on their guard against Russia d e p l o y i n g s o - c a l l e d

hybrid tactics — combining cyber warfare and misinformation as well as conventional boots on the ground — as it did in Crimea to destabilise and ultimately annex a region.

In the last couple of years Lithuania and Latvia have warned they were coming under hybrid attack, accusing Moscow of waging a propaganda cam-paign to sow dissatisfaction among ethnic Russians in their territory.

Estonia itself was hit as far back as 2007 by one of the first major cyberattacks, suffering a blistering assault on official state and bank websites. The onslaught was blamed on Rus-sian hackers, though the Kremlin denied involvement.

Pristiana

AP

Ramush Haradinaj, a divi-sive ex-prime minister of Kosovo and a former

guerrilla fighter, was nominated yesterday as the country’s new premier and tasked with creat-ing a new Cabinet.

President Hashim Thaci said on his Facebook page that he had issued a decree to give Haradinaj, leader of the center-right Alliance for the Future of Kosovo party, “the mandate to

form the new government.”The 49-year-old Haradinaj

served as prime minister before for three months from December 2004 to March 2005 before resigning to face a UN tribunal for his role in Kosovo’s 1998-1999 war for independence from Ser-bia. He is a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Harad-inaj was cleared twice of war crimes charges by the UN tribunal.

Parliament elected a new Speaker three months after the country’s June 11 election, approving Kadri Veseli of the

Democratic Party of Kosovo in a 62-52 vote. Besides running the poor country’s economy, Harad-inaj will also have a tough diplomatic job because Serbia still regards him as a war crim-inal. Kosovo suspended EU-sponsored talks with Serbia earlier this year after Haradinaj was arrested in France on a war-rant from Serbia. A French court refused to extradite him.

Haradinaj told reporters he would present a new Cabinet tomorrow at parliament, which will vote on his leadership.

“The duty of all of us is to revive the country and bring hope back,” Haradinaj said.

Veseli’s coalition of three political parties of former lead-ers of Kosovo’s war of independence from Serbia, with only 39 lawmakers, secured votes from an ethnic Serb group and a minor Albanian one to gain a majority in the 120-seat par-liament. Veseli urged the opposition to join the new Cab-inet in passing reforms to improve the economy and to reduce unemployment.

Madrid to block Catalonia independence bid ‘Cyberchondria’ costs the UK health service £56m a year

Macron outlines plan for Europe revival

Former guerrilla fighter nominated Kosovo PM

EU defence ministers put to test in mock cyberattack

Emergency meet

Rajoy gathered his cabinet for an emergency meeting to formally ask Spain’s Constitutional Court to once again rule against the plebiscite called for October 1.

Catalonia’s regional parliament, which is controlled by separatists, voted on Wednesday to push ahead with the referendum in the wealthy northeastern region.

08 FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017VIEWS

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

QUOTE OF THE DAY

We should head towards a European Monetary Fund but this should in no way be mixed up with a (euro zone) budget.

Emmanuel MacronFrench President

Qatar reiterated that it has continued its efforts to promote the principle of “the responsibility to protect” as a tool for the prevention of atroci-ties, out of its commitment to the

collective security of mankind as a common responsibility of all member states of the United Nations and consistent with its contin-uing policy and efforts to put an end to serious violations of international humanitar-ian law and international human rights law.

Qatar also stressed that it stepped up its efforts as a member of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect to advance this important principle, appointed a senior government official as a focal point on the responsibility to protect and, in the same con-text, joined initiatives to restrict the use of the veto right in the face of mass atrocities.

This came in Qatar’s statement delivered by Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations H E Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani (pictured) before the interactive dialogue on the Responsibility to Protect meeting that was held in New York yesterday.

In the framework of international efforts to uphold the principle of the responsibility to protect, Qatar hosted a meeting on the responsibility to protect from January 24 to 25, 2017 to discuss the issue of accountability as a tool for the prevention of atrocities, and the role of the responsibility to protect in combating violent extremism, Her Excellency said, adding that event was held in coopera-tion with the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect along with the par-ticipation of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states and the UN Office of special advisers on Genocide Prevention of the Responsibility to Protect and the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force as well as a number of government organisations.

She added that Qatar hosted, from April 24 to 25, 2017, seventh annual meeting of the Global Network of R2P Focal Points of the Global Network for the Responsibility to Pro-tect to discuss the challenges and opportunities for accountability for mass atrocity crimes. In this context, the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies plays an important role in promoting humanitarian law and human rights and preparing research and proposals on ways to address the chal-lenges related to the vulnerability of States and the means to achieve stability in them, H E Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations said.

Twelve years have passed since the adop-tion of the 2005 World Summit Outcome, in which Member States reaffirmed their com-mitment to the responsibility to protect, and that decision was a historic turning point for the responsibility of the international com-munity to protect the population from mass atrocities and to translate it into the spirit and letter of the Charter of the United Nations, in which the international community affirmed its belief in the fundamental rights and dig-nity of the human beings and in advancing human life in greater freedom,” she said.

Qatar reiterates efforts to end violation

of international human rights lawQNA

H E Qatar’s Permanent Representa-tive to the United Nations said while we are aware of the lessons of history and the legal principles that concern human-ity and have contributed to changing the course of history take a long time to be enshrined in the human conscience, we have no doubt that this principle, which has become one of the most important legal principles that the world needs today, will find its way as a well-estab-lished principle of international law due to the increasing number of conflicts and their nature and the extent of their civilian casualties, and the responsibility of the international community to pro-tect them.

Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, H E Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, pointed out that the lack of protection of civilians resulted in atrocities and gross violations of

human rights, leading the population to mass

migration across borders and conti-nents, with serious humanitarian and security consequences due to unprecedented waves of refugees in modern history, pointing out that the realisation of the principle of the responsibility to protect on a global scale could prevent the crises expe-rienced by the world in the recent past by using human and physical capacities in the process of develop-ment and the stability of societies. Hence, the responsibility to protect is of paramount importance for the maintenance of world peace and security, and should receive more attention in the United Nations, she said.

Her Excellency said while we agree with the Secretary-General’s report on the gap between the commitment to the principle of responsibility to pro-tect, the reality faced by populations subjected to mass atrocities and the importance of implementing the prin-ciple of accountability for such crimes as a preventive measure, we are satis-fied with the commitment of the Secretary-General to the responsibil-ity to protect, a key element in his vision for preventive agenda, which will add to the steps and achievements made since 2005 to promote this criti-cal principle for human beings and ensure international consensus on legal mechanisms to protect the lives of millions of people ravaged by con-flict and gross violations of human rights.

Despite recognising the importance of the interactive dialogue in the Gen-eral Assembly on the responsibility to protect and the role that dialogue has played to advance this principle since its inception, the current international situation and the shared responsibility of Member States for the protection of civilians require the inclusion of the responsibility to protect in the agenda of the General Assembly to reflect the important role of the General Assem-bly in matters related to the prevention of violations of human rights and the maintenance of international peace and security and to translate the 2005 General Summit resolution in this regard.

She hoped that the next stage will see an international consensus on the implementation of the principle of the responsibility to protect so that civilians enjoy the protection guaranteed by international law. No doubt that the inclusion of this topic on the agenda of the General Assembly would be an essential step towards achieving that goal, she said, appreciating the efforts made in the preparation of the ninth report of the Secretary-General, which contained valuable proposals and ideas on the responsibility to protect and accountability as a tool for the preven-tion of atrocities.

She announced that Qatar added its voice to the statement of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect as a member state of the Group.

Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, H E Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, pointed out that the lack of protection of civilians resulted in atrocities and gross violations of human rights, leading the population to mass migration across borders and continents, with serious humanitarian and security consequences due to unprecedented waves of refugees in modern history, pointing out that the realisation of the principle of the responsibility to protect on a global scale could prevent the crises experienced by the world in the recent past by using human and physical capacities in the process of development and the stability of societies.

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

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

msalim@pen.com.qa

The Atlantic hurricane season first brought in Harvey that flattened tens of thousands of homes as Washington, DC, weathered its own political storm — apparently more powerful

than the Category Four Hurricane which devastated Texas. As if the bedlam in the White House was not enough, nature sent winds ripping across the Cow Boy State, to be followed by another in the backyard of the United States— the Caribbean.

Hurricane Irma has destroyed Barbuda — a part of the tiny island nation of Antigua and Barbuda on the leeward side of the Category 5 storm. The Red Cross said 1.2 million people have been hit with estimates saying the figure may rise to 26 million. It is important that the international community come forward to help the weak Caribbean nations that largely rely on foreign aid in times of natural calamities. Irma, which packed winds of 185 miles per hour, is barrelling in a north-westerly direction with other island states like Dominican Republic and Haiti threatened with devastation.

With Irma forecast to reach Florida around Sep-tember 10, the United States is bracing for another possible hit, though a much weaker one compared to Harvey.

Irma in Barbuda has caused devastation on an apocalyptical stage. Pictures showed homes, hutments, and shops destroyed over lengthy stretches. As people tried to come to terms with the loss, they found support

in one another. Survivors talked of tying themselves up with tethered ropes so as not to be swept away by the tempest. The pain of lost livelihoods, missing children and relatives was tempered by a feeling that said: We are all in it together.

In these tempestuous times, storms are not spared political overtones. Even before the Caribbean has been able to take stock of the damage, the United States is in the spotlight for

predicted damage. Evacuations have started from Flor-ida and the neighbouring state of Georgia. Though France sent firefighters to its former colonies hit by Irma, American tycoon Richard Branson’s talk of his Caribbean island estate being swept away made headlines.

Senate Republicans have scaled up the demand for storm aid to $15bn as a seemingly bipartisan support for relief threatens to take an ugly turn. Badgered by Trump’s incendiary ways, Democrats have tied the sup-port for federal relief aid with the White House’s digging in over the debt ceiling.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has a job to do in the aftermath of Harvey and the run up to Irma striking the Florida coast. Chaos in the White House coupled with administrative failings might lead to added complexities. Though Trump has succeeded in evading the ‘Katrina label’ that stuck with George W. Bush, he has to tread cautiously with relief efforts. Kat-rina killed 1,833 people and gave a bad name to the then Republican administration, it is hoped Harvey and Irma will not become the monikers of a wobbly administration.

Allegorical tempests

Nature is bountiful and niggardly. Storms Harvey and Irma show it can also bring devastation of humungous proportions.

ED ITOR IAL

09FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017 OPINION

home or host country, were on hold.I had a temporary work permit, but as a pending

asylee, I did not fit into any clear bureaucratic cate-gory, which meant I couldn’t apply for a permanent job, or officially pursue my studies. I was told appli-cations are normally processed within a month when I submitted mine in San Francisco. Two years later, I was still waiting.

After a prolonged period with no news, I went to the asylum office in San Francisco to inquire about my case.

“Speak English?” asked a woman on the other side of the glass. I nodded, yes. Then, I started to explain the dire situation I was in. I told her how I had been waiting for months. I told her how this legal limbo was affecting me.

“Work permit?” she interrupted.Yes, I replied.“Go work then. We are here to

help you.” I left the office, to return to my torment where insecurity, fear and uncertainty loomed. I was sure a bleak future awaited me.

In November 2015, I was finally elevated to “asylee” status. My first act as a legal US resident was to go to a bank to open a savings account. But after checking my immigration status and tapping on his keyboard for a while, the bank manager turned and told me: “I am sorry, but you can’t open an account with us as your immigration status does not fit into our categories. You either have to be a permanent resident or a citizen. We do not have a category called ‘asylee’ or ‘refugee’.”

In that moment, it became clear to me: Securing asylum was only the beginning of a life-long jour-ney of a neither-nor state. Meanwhile, my idea of home was becoming increasingly romanticised and I became confused - perhaps I could just return?

Germany’s small parties vie to be kingmaker

The upcoming German election’s major contest — the one between Angela Mer-kel’s Christian Democrats and Martin Schulz’s Social Democrats — has been marked by an absence of intrigue and sus-

pense. The same doesn’t apply to the heated contest among the smaller parties that are vying for third place. Unlike the two main parties, they are in a real head-to-head race whose outcome may determine the shape of the next government.

Monday’s debates among the leaders of these smaller parties — the left-wing Die Linke, the Greens, the Bavarian Christian Social Union, the lib-eral Free Democratic Party and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) — showed that the options for a workable ruling coalition after the election are extremely limited. On the surface, this lineup resembled the debates US networks ran among the less popular Republican candidates dur-ing last year’s presidential primary season — a spectacle for political junkies featuring colorful poli-ticians without a chance at real power. But in 2017 Germany, the smaller parties are not a sideshow.

An INSA poll published on Monday, after the main, sleep-inducing debate between Merkel and Schulz, showed both of the main parties down slightly compared with the previous poll, conducted in late August, losing points to the FDP and the AfD. Without reading too much into these fluctuations, one can still see how Merkel’s safe, lulling, lackluster campaigning style may irritate some voters who want to see politicians take stronger positions and slug it out as they do in other countries.

The smaller parties inhabit a different Germany than the relatively complacent one of Merkel and Schulz. It’s not the “Germany in which we live well and like living” to which Merkel’s campaign slogan appeals but a much smaller (40 percent of the Ger-man voters), bitterly divided nation that is actively

unhappy with the way it’s governed. Fighting for votes in it is more like contesting a free-for-all Dutch election than an orderly German one, and it requires different skills and energy levels. So on Monday, there were plenty of altercations and dra-matic personal dynamics for the viewers to gnaw on.

Die Linke’s Sahra Wagenknecht and the AfD’s Alice Weidel went at each other over immigration; at one point, the AfD candidate tried to damn her adversary with faint praise, calling her “the only rea-sonable person in her party,” but Wagenknecht threw it right back: “You could say that about yourself.”

The FDP’s Christian Lindner and the Greens’ Cem Oezdemir clashed loudly over US nuclear weapons, which the Greens want out of Germany and the FDP considers essential for security. With the anchors maintaining a brisk tempo, the “Five-Way Fight” was a superb spectacle, up there with the best US and French examples of the art. On the social networks, comparisons with the Merkel-Schulz snoozefest were overwhelmingly in favor of the “Five-Way Fight.”

But it’s Merkel who will most likely form the next German government, and nothing can stop Schulz’s party from taking second place. So the more enter-taining — and perhaps more principled and less compromise-prone — politicians are confined to the role of potential kingmakers.

The AfD is the exception. No other German party will touch it with a barge pole because some of its prominent members are Holocaust deniers. It’s only in the game for its own sake: The better it performs,

the tougher on immigration the next centrist gov-ernment will have to be, something Dutch nationalists have taught European neighbors.

But the others are coalition contenders. If Schulz wins over 30 percent — a stretch given current poll results — he might just put together a government with Die Linke and the Greens (they both need to improve on their current poll showing, too, to make that possible).

Merkel would like to work with the FDP, as her party has traditionally done, but a two-way coalition would need both, especially the FDP, to put on a much stronger performance on election day than in the current polls. A three-way configuration with the FDP and the Greens, however, looks immediately workable as far as the numbers go.

The problem with the arithmetic is that it’s abstract. Based on the content of the debate and the fundamental disagreements it revealed, it’s hard to imagine the Greens doing a deal with the FDP, the Merkel allies of the CSU or even Die Linke. Bringing Lindner and Oezdemir together to negotiate a coali-tion agreement is a task that would overtax even Merkel, with her talent for bringing about unusual compromises.

Both Oezdemir and Wagenknecht showed them-selves as too radical for meaningful negotiations with Schulz. Since the smaller parties are fighting it out in a divided nation, they are driven to the extremes of their positions. That makes it harder to retreat post-election and play the traditional coali-tion game.

While the German election is boring to

If exile is characterised by an endless feeling of estrangement, seeking political asylum is a perpetual state of anxiety.

When I started the process of claiming asylum in the United States, an apparently safe and democratic country, I assumed it would help seal off the trauma of my life in Eritrea, the country I had fled. I hoped it would open a new chapter.

But as I embarked on the journey of asylum, I realised that there is a compre-hensive dehumanisation process at the heart of it all. The deeper you descend into the legal process of escape, the more you are required to prove who you are, prove the horrors of your experience, while all the time revisiting the very things that forced you to flee.

As part of my claim, I had to request testimonies, collect evidence, and continu-ally delve back into the most traumatic moments of my past. I had to re-examine my life in intense detail, checking with friends and former colleagues the exacti-tude of my own memories.

“So when, exactly, were we taken to the labour camp?”

“Do you remember the exact month the University of Asmara was closed?”

“Do you remember when they rounded us up in the ... ?”

All this, only to remain in a limbo state. It took me more than two years and four months to be interviewed by US Citizen-ship and Immigration Services. For the duration of that time, I was designated as a “pending asylee”. My rights to receive any state help or services, from either my

Being stateless in the United States

Sachsen’s CDU Premier Stanislaw Tillich (left) and CDU Secretary-General Peter Tauber (right) applaud German Chancellor Angela Merkel after her speech at electoral meeting in Torgau, eastern Germany.

But home is no longer there. It is a surreal dream, a pas-tiche of images that cascade in my mind without reason. Neither am I present here, nor in my home. No matter how hard I try, I am forever an outsider who speaks with a heavy accent. But maybe these places are not so different. I fled from a police state where freedom of movement is nearly nonexistent, where official papers and endless checkpoints restrict your travel. I used to think that securing political asy-lum would rescue me from this world for good.

But even once my place in the US was secure, it seemed I was once again frozen in place. My first attempt to journey abroad — for an international film festival and forum on human rights that was held in Geneva, Switzerland in March 2016 — failed because I couldn’t get my travel documents in time. I had to participate via Skype.

A similar thing happened when I tried to travel to Norway in March 2017 to participate in a congress hosted by my organisation, PEN Eritrea. Because of travel document delays, we were forced to postpone the congress. Meanwhile, I also had to cancel my plans to travel to the UK in June 2017. It was not only a matter of securing a valid travel document, but also dealing with the demanding entry visa applications, where most consular offices have their cautionary notices on their websites, “You are advised to apply at least two months before your scheduled travel.”

In July 2017, five years after arriving in the US, I was allowed to travel outside of US borders for the first time to attend PEN Eritrea’s congress in Norway. Expecting the inev-itable hassles and delays by the immigration office at the airport, I arrived at check-in hours before the departure time.

I could clearly read the confusion on the immigration officer’s face as he leafed through the pages of my travel doc-ument. After finally making sure that I had secured a Schengen visa, he asked: “Which country’s passport is this?”

“It’s a travel document for a stateless,” I replied.He grabbed his phone and started to make calls. Each

time he read the title of the document, my country of origin, my travel destination and the office that had issued the document.

In between the calls he would turn to me and politely say: “I just want to make sure I’m not missing anything. I have not seen this document before and don’t want to make mistakes.” After around 30 minutes, I was cleared. I was on my way. “Where are you from?” the lady over the counter asks me. I take a deep breath before answering. “I’m not from here, I’m not from there; I don’t belong anywhere.”

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outside watchers because of the lack of a central conflict, its aftermath may turn out to be more exciting.

Christian Obendahl of the Lon-don-based Center for European Reform has argued that a Merkel-led minority government is a realistic scenario. It would, he wrote, be better for German democracy than another bland “grand coalition” between the CDU and the Social Democrats because Merkel would need to work with the different opposition parties on specific issues.

Germany has never had a fed-eral minority government, and such an experiment would be exciting to watch. At the very least, it would allow the smaller parties to show their strengths and weak-nesses to voters in a high-stakes, four-year political game.

It’s hard, however, to imagine Merkel wanting to play this game in what may be her last term in power. She may use the threat of a minority government in coalition talks with Schulz, but she will want to extend the current, safe, boring alliance.

If she fails at that, German poli-tics will be a lot of fun to watch and the next election may end up a lot more open and less predictable than the current one. The divided nation, relatively small as it is, will then prevail.

The writer is a Bloomberg View

columnist. He was the founding

editor of the Russian business daily

Vedomosti and founded the opin-

ion website Slon.ru.

Abraham T ZereAl Jazeera

Leonid BershidskyBloomberg

Germany has never had a federal minority government, and such an experiment would be exciting to watch. At the very least, it would allow the smaller parties to show their strengths and weaknesses to voters in a high-stakes.

Neither am I present here, nor in my home. No matter how hard I try, I am forever an outsider who speaks with a heavy accent.

10 FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017AMERICAS

Sarasota

AFP

With Hurricane Irma aiming squarely at south Florida, offi-

cials ordered hundreds of thousands of people to evacu-ate yesterday, amid worries that fuel shortages and traffic bottlenecks could thwart the mass exodus.

In a state with a population of more than 20 million, Gov-ernor Rick Scott warned people on both coasts to be ready to get out before Irma arrives, with the brunt of the storm forecast to strike south Florida late tomorrow.

Experts hope to avoid mass casualties by ushering residents out of the riskiest areas, in what could be the largest US evacua-tion since Hurricane Rita forced 3.7 million people to leave Texas and Louisiana in 2005.

“Look at the size of this storm. It’s huge. It’s wider than our entire state,” Governor Scott told a press conference, warning of 10 feet of storm surge, enough to reach the roofs of many homes. “Be prepared to evacu-ate,” he warned. “We can’t save you once the storm starts.”

Already, 31,000 people have fled the Florida Keys chain of islands, and tens of thou-sands along the southeast Florida coast were expecting mandatory evacuation orders by midday. About 150,000 peo-ple in Miami Beach and other barrier islands off Miami are being told to leave.

Sign of the growing alarm about the damage Irma could wreak in the southeast US,

authorities in the neighbouring state of Georgia ordered the mandatory evacuation of the city of Savannah and other coastal areas, affecting more than 300,000 people.

In Miami Beach, people were filling the trunks of their cars with water and other pro-visions, and sharing contact information with their neigh-bors as they prepared to hit the road. The only way to drive out of the Florida peninsula is northward, and motorists leav-ing Miami have found many gas stations cordoned off with yel-low tape, signaling they were closed due to lack of fuel.

Lines of cars, some more than a dozen deep, snaked around those that remained open. Often those lines jutted into the main roadways, caus-ing traffic to pile up. “People are freaking out,” said Yasmine Herrera, a hair stylist.

Traffic has started to pile up on main highways, as cars heading north bottleneck near the larger cities, including Miami, Fort Myers and Sarasota. Elderly residents, those in small hospitals and people living in mobile homes were among the first to be evacuated.

In Miami-Dade County, which is home to some 2.7 mil-lion people, those in coastal zones nearest the Atlantic were under mandatory evacuation. “Leave now. The roads are going to get worse the longer you wait,” Governor Scott said Thursday morning. He urged people to use apps like Gas-Buddy and Florida511 to check for open fuel stations and traf-fic conditions.

Marigot

AFP

Hurricane Irma yes-terday pounded the Caribbean on its potential collision course for the United

States, shredding homes, prompt-ing thousands to flee and killing at least six people.

Up to a million people were ordered to leave coastal areas of Florida and neighbouring Geor-gia — the biggest mass evacuation in the US in a dozen years. “It will be truly devastating,” warned the head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brock Long.

Barrelling across the Carib-bean, the rare Category five hurricane wielded monster winds and torrential rain, wreaking destruction on tiny islands like St Martin, where 60 percent of homes were wrecked. “It looks as if an enormous lawnmower descended from the sky and drove over the island,” witness Marilou Rohan told NOS public broadcaster.

“Houses have been flattened. People are helpless, you can see it in their eyes,” Rohan added, say-ing desperate people were looting supermarkets. In its westward rampage, Irma packed winds of up to 295km per hour, an intensity that it sustained for 33 hours — the longest of any storm since satellite monitoring began in the 1970s.

Devastation was left in the storm’s wake. The international Red Cross said 1.2 million people had already been hit by Irma, a number that could rise to 26 million.

On many islands, roofs were ripped off buildings as if by a giant’s hand, shipping containers were tossed aside like matchsticks and debris flung far and wide, and airports, sea ports and mobile phone networks were knocked out.

St Martin, a pristine island resort divided between France and the Netherlands, suffered the full fury of the storm. France said four had died and 50 were injured, two of them seriously. Sixty per-cent of homes were so damaged that they were uninhabitable.

The Netherlands said the storm killed at least one person and injured several others on the Dutch part of St Martin, where communications were all but cut off. The Netherlands said it was racing to provide food and water for 40,000 people over the next five days, while France said more than 100,000 packages of com-bat rations were en route.

A 200-member French team flew in to Guadeloupe to coordi-nate rescue efforts, headed by Overseas Territories Minister Annick Girardin. Britain said it was sending two warships to help vic-tims in the Caribbean, and earmarking £32m ($41m) in aid. The first vessel was expected to reach affected territories soon.

Irma also laid waste to Bar-buda which suffered “absolute devastation” with up to 30 per-cent of properties demolished, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said. “Barbuda now is literally

rubble,” he said.More than half of Puerto

Rico’s population of three million was without power, with rivers breaking their banks in the cen-tre and north of the island where Governor Ricardo Rossello acti-vated the National Guard and opened storm shelters sufficient for up to 62,000 people. Irma was expected to hit the northern edges of the Dominican Republic and Haiti later, continuing past east-ern Cuba before veering north towards Florida. Cuba moved 10,000 foreign tourists, many of them Canadians, away from beach resorts in the exposed part of the island, and hiked its disas-ter alert level to maximum.

US President Donald Trump has already declared a state of emergency for Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Florida, and the southern US state of Georgia ordered the mandatory evacuation of the city of Savan-nah and other coastal areas.

The Sunshine State is expect-ing to face the brunt of the storm tonight, with forecasters warn-ing of sea-level surges of up to 25 feet above normal tide levels. Tourists in the popular Key West islands were packing their bags on a mandatory evacuation order, with a similar order for residents due to follow. Irma hit the Caribbean even as two other tropical storms, Jose in the Atlantic Ocean and Katia in the Gulf of Mexico, were upgraded to hurricane status.

An aerial photograph taken and released by the Dutch department of Defence shows the damage of Hurricane Irma, on the Dutch Caribbean island of Saint Martin. RIGHT: Cars piled on top of one another in Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the French Collectivity of Saint Martin.

Irma leaves Caribbean ‘flattened’Fuel shortages and bottlenecks hamper Florida mass exodus

Hurricane Irma (left) and Hurricane Jose are pictured in the Atlantic Ocean in this NOAA satellite handout photo.

A view of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Sint Maarten Dutch part of Saint Martin island.

Washington

AFP

SpaceX successful ly launched a secret US Air Force space plane yester-

day ahead of the arrival in Florida of Hurricane Irma.

Live images broadcast by the California aerospace company showed a Falcon 9 rocket carry-ing the unmanned X-37B drone lifting off at 10am (1400 GMT) from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center. The recoverable first stage of the launch vehicle then landed at Cape Canaveral Air Force Sta-tion less than 10 minutes later.

There were concerns

SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, would be forced to postpone the launch as Hurricane Irma threatens to batter Florida. But skies were clear yesterday. It was SpaceX’s second mission for the Pentagon this year follow-ing a secret satellite launch in May and the private company’s first launch of the X-37B.

Previous X-37B launches had been performed by the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Mar-tin and Boeing.

The X-37B, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is one of two known craft of its type in the US Air Force’s fleet

and part of a classified program whose details are shrouded in secrecy.

A resuable shuttle, yester-day’s launch is its fifth mission since its maiden flight in April 2010. “The fifth OTV mission continues to advance the X-37B’s performance and flex-ibility as a space technology demonstrator and host platform for experimental payloads,” the Air Force said in a statement.

“This mission carries small satellite ride shares and will demonstrate greater opportu-nities for rapid space access and on-orbit testing of emerging space technologies.”

Bogota

AFP

Pope Francis urged Colombians yesterday to reject “vengeance” for the sufferings of their civil conflict and promote forgiveness to

overcome lingering resentments as the country seeks lasting peace. Cheering crowds greeted the 80-year-old Argentine pontiff as he prayed for the country to heal the wounds of war—though some warned that forgiveness was hard after so much violence.

Francis spoke alongside President Juan Manuel Santos, who has overseen a controversial peace deal with the FARC rebel force and a ceasefire with the last active guerrilla group, the ELN. “The steps taken give rise to hope, in the conviction that seeking peace is an open-ended endeavor, a task which does not relent, which demands the

commitment of everyone,” Francis said. “May this determination help us flee from the temptation to vengeance and the satisfaction of short-term partisan interests.”

In a balcony address later to crowds of young people near Bogota’s cathedral, Francis urged them to “dream big” for the country’s future. “Your youthfulness... makes you capable of something very difficult in life: forgiving. Forgiving those who have hurt us,” he said.

FARC leader Rodrigo Londono also hailed the Pope, tweeting his thanks to Francis “for support-ing the peace and defending social and environmental justice.” Colombians narrowly rejected the accord in a referendum last year. A reworked version was later pushed through Con-gress. Santos thanked Francis for coming to “encourage us to take the first step toward rec-onciliation,” in a speech yesterday.

SpaceX launches secret US military space plane Pope urges forgiveness in Colombia

Devastation

Devastation was left in the storm’s wake. The international Red Cross said 1.2 million people had already been hit by Irma, a number that could rise to 26 million.

US President Donald Trump has already declared a state of emergency for Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Florida, and the southern US state of Georgia ordered the mandatory evacuation of the city of Savannah and other coastal areas.

BUSINESSBUSINESS

FROM LEFT: Dato Sri Mustapa Mohammed, Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry, Myanmar’s Minister of Planning and Finance Kyaw Win, Philippine Undersecretary of Trade and Industry Ceferino Rodolfo, Thailand’s Director General Department of Trade Negotiations Boonyarit Kalanamit, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Tran Qouc Khanh, link arms during the opening ceremony of the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers’ meeting in Manila, yesterday.

ASEAN Economic Ministers’ meet

PAGE | 12PAGE | 12

Amazon seeks bids for HQ2; to invest $5bn

May’s Brexit battle returns to parliament

Dow & Brent before going to press

Friday 8 September 2017

Oil mixed as Irma disrupts recovery work

CEO of QSE re-elected as WFE board member

Weekly real estate value jumps to QR1.22bn: Ezdan report

London

Reuters

Oil futures moved in opposite directions yesterday, with a boost from US refiners restarting

after Tropical Storm Harvey being countered by disruptions caused by Hurricane Irma.

Brent crude futures were up 11 cents at $54.31 a barrel by 1356 GMT, close to their high-est since May 25, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 27 cents to $48.89, still near a three-week high.

US Gulf Coast facilities were slowly recovering from the dev-astating effects of Harvey, which hammered Louisiana and Texas almost two weeks ago, shutting key infrastructure in the heart of the US oil and natural gas industry.

As of Wednesday, about 3.8 million barrels of daily refining capacity, or 20 percent of the US total, was shut in, though a number of refineries and petro-leum-handling ports were restarting.

US refiner Valero’s five refineries located on the Texas Gulf Coast are in the process of ramping back up, Chief Execu-tive officer Joe Gorder said yesterday.

Also affecting prices was support from a weakening US dollar. Because oil is priced in the US currency, a lower dollar makes it less expensive for for-eign buyers.

The dollar index was down 0.53 percent at 91.800.

At the same time, prices were weighed down by fears that Hurricane Irma in the Car-ibbean could interrupt crude shipments in and out of the United States. Irma hit

Caribbean islands overnight with wind speeds up to 185 miles per hour (295 km/h) and was heading for Florida, where fuel shortages were reported as retailers struggled to keep up with demand from customers filling tanks ahead of the storm’s landfall, expected this weekend.

Another Atlantic storm, Jose, is following on Irma’s heels and has been upgraded to hurricane strength by the US National Hurricane Center. Yet another hurricane, Katia, is developing in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Demand may continue to be distorted as multiple hurri-canes make their way across the Caribbean,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at futures brokerage OANDA.

In Libya, the Sharara oil-field, the country’s largest, was resuming production on Wednesday after the reopening of a valve on a pipeline shut by an armed group for more than two weeks, oil industry sources said.

“The upside (to oil prices) was limited by the lifting of the force majeure of Libya’s Sharara crude oil exports,” Tamas Varga of PVM oil brokerage said.

The Peninsula

Qatar Stock Exchange’s (QSE) CEO Rashid bin Ali Al Mansoori has been ree-

lected a board member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) during its 2017 annual meetings held in Bangkok.

The meeting also witnessed the election of board member representing the world’s differ-ent regions, including the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe-Middle East-Africa, QSE said in a statement yesterday.

Al Mansoori was elected by the WFE’s general assembly to represent the Europe-Middle East-Africa region for a three-year term.

The QSE CEO expressed his satisfaction for being elected as a board member of WFE, which is the largest international plat-form for world stock, futures and options exchanges.

“Winning the elections for the post of WFE board member is an important achievement for Qatar Stock Exchange and an

indication of its prominent regional and global position,” Al Mansoori said. “We are happy to be part of an organization that represents markets worldwide that are fair, transparent, well-regulated and that play an important role in the economies of our respective countries.”

WFE is a central reference point for the securities industry, and for exchanges themselves. It offers members guidance on their business strategies, and on improvements and harmonisa-tion of their management practices. In addition, it devel-ops and promotes standards in markets, publishes research on topical subjects, supports reform, international cooperation and coordination among regulators. WFE exchanges are home to more than 45,000 listed compa-nies and the WFE statistics database covers more than 350 indicators and 70 years of data from exchanges worldwide.

Al Mansoori held several meetings yesterday and on Wedenesday with senior officials

of a number of Arab and inter-national stock exchanges and addressed a number of issues of concern to exchanges and investors.

WFE reflects the commit-ment of member stock exchanges to generally accepted interna-tional standards to promote investments. WFE is an impor-tant reference point for many international investors about the investment atmosphere in the member markets.

Established in 1995, the Doha Securities Market (DSM) officially commenced operations in May 1997. Since then, it has grown to become one of the leading stock markets in the GCC region.

DSM was later renamed the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE). It currently has 45 listed compa-nies. The primary aim of QSE is to offer local and international investors a platform through which they can trade fairly and efficiently.

The Peninsula

The combined value of real estate transactions during the fourth week of August

(20 to 24) reached QR1.22bn, showing a record increase of 516 percent compared to QR199m worth of deals inked during the previous week, Ezdan Holding Group’s latest weekly report on real estate said.

This remarkable increase in

the value of transactions was because of exceptional deal for the sale of hotel located in Raw-dat Rashid in Doha at a

whooping price of QR1bn. The area of the hotel is 56,369square metres (sqm) at the rate of QR17,700/sqm.

This big valued deal reflects the investors’ confidence in the booming hospitality and tour-ism sector.

The Ezdan report also said that the number of real estate transactions during August reached QR2.2bn showing growth by 22 percent

comparing to the previous month’s QR1.8bn .

The combined value of real estate transactions during the first week of August (July 30 to August 3 ) reached QR617m, and the during the second week of August (6 to 10) stood at QR203m and the third week of August (13 to 17) mounted to QR199m, said the report quoting data from weekly reports published by the Department of Real Estate

Registration at the Ministry of Justice.

The reports expected that the real estate sector will continue witness growth during this month (September) due to strong confidence of the local and glo-bal investors in the real estate market as well benefiting from the strong Qatari economy which is making massive investments in mega projects and other developmental activities.

Brent up at $54.31

Brent crude futures were up 11 cents at $54.31 a barrel by 1356 GMT, close to their highest since May 25.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 27 cents to $48.89, still near a three-week high.

Rashid bin Ali Al Mansoori at the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) 2017 annual meetings in Bangkok. The three-day event will conclude today.

Exceptional deal

This sharp jump was because of an exceptional deal for the sale of hotel at a price of QR1bn.

QSE main index dropped 125.10 points last weekThe Peninsula

Qatar Stock Exchange’s (QSE) main index lost 125.10 points, 1.42 per-

cent, last week when the bourse closed yesterday at 8,675.46 points.

Trading value during last week decreased by 28.93 per-cent to reach QR442.19m compared to QR622.18m.

Trading volume decreased by 25.15 percent to reach 18.85 million shares, as against 25.18 million shares, while the number of transactions fell by 30.96 percent, to reach 5,772 transactions as compared to 8,360 transactions.

After the Eid Al Adha hol-idays the market resumed trading on September 6 and witnessed trading for only two days during the week.

Market cap fell by 1.37 percent to reach QR470.15bn as compared to QR476.71bn at the end of previous week.

When compared on daily basis, the QSE index dropped 9.09 points, or 0.10 percent, yesterday compared to Wednesday’s closing.

The volume of shares traded decreased to 7.08 mil-lion from 11.77 million on Wednesday and the value of shares decreased to QR172.59m from QR269.60m on Wednesday.

8,675.46-9.09

0.10%

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DOW

12 FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017 BUSINESS

Amazon seeks bids for HQ2; to invest $5bnWashington

AFP

US online giant Ama-zon announced plans yesterday for a second North American head-

quarters, calling on cities to submit proposals for a new hub in which it will invest more than $5bn.

The second headquarters, to be called HQ2, will be “a full equal to our Seattle headquar-ters,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and chief executive, in a statement.

“Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-pay-ing jobs. We’re excited to find a second home.”

The announcement high-lights the extraordinary growth of Amazon, which was founded two decades ago as an online bookseller and has grown into one of the world’s largest retail-ers, diversifying into streaming video, cloud computing and other sectors.

The company, which has more than 380,000 employees worldwide, said it would add as many as 50,000 jobs for the new headquarters. It is already the eighth-largest US employer.

Amazon said it will be seek-ing bids from metropolitan areas with more than one mil-lion people—of which there are about 50 in the US—and with a “stable and business-friendly environment.”

Cities ‘that think big’-It said it would consider

“urban or suburban locations

with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent” and is aiming for “communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options.”

Amazon’s campus in the northwest US state of Washing-ton currently employs more than 40,000 people scattered across 33 buildings and 750,000 square meters (8.1 mil-lion square feet) of office space, according to a company fact sheet.

Amazon has dozens of warehouses and data centers around the world and has invested heavily in artificial intelligence, resulting in its Echo “smart” speakers and its voice-controlled Alexa digital assistant.

The company recently bought up-scale US grocery chain Whole Foods Market for more than $13bn, which will help its ambitions in that sector.

Company founder Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post newspaper and the private space exploration firm Blue Origin, briefly overtook Bill Gates as the world’s richest individual earlier this year due to a surge in Amazon’s share price.

New jobs

Amazon has more than 30,000 employees and it would add as many as 50,000 jobs for the new headquarters.

Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Finance Mardiasmo (right) hits the gong during the opening of 4th Asia Fixed Income Summit (AFIS) 2017 in Nusa Dua on Indonesia resort island of Bali, yesterday.

4th Asia Fixed Income Summit

London

Bloomberg

Emirates, the world’s biggest long-haul airline, is hold-ing out for assurances

about the future of Airbus SE’s A380 program before commit-ting to an order for more of the double-decker aircraft.

While Airbus is pushing for a deal at November’s air show in Dubai, where the carrier is based, concern that the value of used A380s will plummet if the slow-selling model is cancelled represents a major sticking point, together with the current list price, Emirates airline Pres-ident Tim Clark (pictured) said in an interview yesterday.

“I know they would like us to do something,” Clark said in London. “At the moment we are not at that state of readiness. We need copper-bottomed under-takings that they would do everything they needed to do to keep the program going. We don’t want to be left with aircraft that have no value.”

Airbus announced in July that it will slash A380 produc-tion to eight jets a year in 2019, down from 15 this year and 28 in 2016, casting doubt over the model’s future. That plan won’t change even if the Toulouse, France-based aircraft manufac-turer gets another purchase contract before the end of this year, unless the number of planes bought was unexpectedly high, Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said at the time.

Emirates is already the No. 1 superjumbo buyer, with 97 A380s in operation out of firm orders and commitments for more than 140 planes.

Airbus offered an enhanced version of the A380 in June fea-turing fuel-saving winglets, which combined with an already-announced layout revi-sion accommodating 80 more people would shave 13 percent from costs per seat.

Emirates is exploring the upgrade with a view to buying 20 more planes, though Clark, who originally campaigned for

a more significant upgrade fea-turing new engines, has said he doesn’t need the extra capacity.

Emirates also needs to con-sider how to deal with its oldest 25 A380s, which are due to be replaced by the last 25 planes of its existing order. It’s possible that the original airliners, some of which the carrier owns, may

be retained to augment capac-ity, Clark said. Airbus was already planning to slow A380 production to one aircraft a month as of May 2018. The reductions outlined in July mean that the company is no longer breaking even on a per-plane basis. Airbus gave up long ago on recouping the program’s ¤25bn($30bn) in development costs.

Clark, who spoke at the 2017 Aviation Festival, said that Emir-ates plans to reverse reductions in US capacity over the next six to nine months.

The airline cut flights earlier this year following a slump in demand linked to curbs that US President Donald Trump’s administration imposed in response to concerns about ter-ror threats and security standards at Middle Eastern airports.

Emirates aims to restore twice-daily flights to Boston, Los Angeles and Seattle and a daily service to Fort Lauderdale, Flor-ida, Clark said.

Emirates may hold back order over A380 concerns

Goldman Sachs could increase staff in FrankfurtFrankfurt

Bloomberg

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. could increase its Frankfurt staffing as

much as fourfold as the bank deals with the fallout of Brexit, according to a senior executive.

“We talked various times about doubling our staff” in Frankfurt from the current level of about 200, and there are scenarios where it could “triple or quadruple,” Wolf-gang Fink, the co-chief executive officer for Ger-many, said yesterday at a conference in the city.

Fink’s comments raise the prospect of a far bigger staff-ing boost than what the US investment bank has already signaled. Morgan Stanley, Cit-igroup Inc. and UBS Group AG are also all relocating jobs to the German financial capital to ensure they can do busi-ness throughout the European Union following the UK’s withdrawal from the bloc.

Frankfurt has emerged as a particularly popular desti-nation for banking business leaving London, with Deut-sche Bank AG CEO John Cryan saying Wednesday that it’s the best-placed European city to pick up business.

Goldman Sachs’s Frank-furt headquarters are in a high-rise building outside the financial district, but the bank is scouting for new office space, people familiar with the matter have said.

The bank has contin-gency plans for potentially doubling its Frankfurt head-count, and the final set-up will depend on the outcome of the Brexit talks, a Goldman spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

Vienna

Reuters

Austria’s Oberbank will sign a deal with Iran this month enabling it to

finance new ventures there, its chief executive said, among the first European lenders to do so since sanctions were eased.

The deal Tehran struck in 2015 with six major powers lifted many sanctions in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities and techni-cally paved the way for international business deals with Iran.

However, many banks have stayed away for fear of inadvert-ently breaking remaining US sanctions, which could lead to huge fines.

Oberbank, Austria ’s

seventh-biggest lender, with a balance sheet of roughly ¤20bn ($24bn), is due to host a signing ceremony on September 21 at its headquarters in the city of Linz with envoys from Iran’s central bank and Finance Min-istry, its Chief Executive Franz Gasselsberger said.

Executives from 10-12 Ira-nian banks will also be present for the signing of the agreement, which will enable Oberbank to provide credit for Austrian com-panies doing business in Iran, Gasselsberger told Reuters yesterday.

“I think we are the first European bank (to reach such an agreement),” Gasselsberger said in a telephone interview, adding that he was relying on information from the Iranian authorities.

“Evidently some Germans and Italians are also negotiat-ing,” he said, adding that a Danish bank was also in talks. He declined to name any of those companies, but Denmark’s Danske Bank said in January that it was negotiating with Iran’s central bank.

The Oberbank agreement with Iran covers projects by Austrian companies in Iran last-ing more than two years, in areas that were previously under sanctions.

Oberbank already finances exports to Iran in areas such as food, Gasselsberger said.

“We have very concrete projects in the fields of infra-structure, rail, health, hospital construction, factory building, photovoltaics, hydro power,” Gasselsberger said.

Oberbank set to finance Austrian projects in Iran with new deal

French CGT power and oil workers to join labour reform strikeParis

Reuters

Oil and power sector workers from France’s CGT trade union will

join a 24-hour nationwide strike next week to protest against the government’s planned labour reforms but limited support from other unions could blunt its impact.

CGT oil sector workers will join the protest and block

all inbound and outbound deliveries of petroleum prod-ucts to refineries and depots, a union official said.

French oil and gas major Total, Europe’s biggest refiner which operates five refineries in France, said it had taken measures to protect consumers.

A CGT union official at Total said the strike on Tues-day was unlikely to lead to a production halt. He added the

oil sector was however ready for an unlimited strike if other industries took that course in the following days.

F r e n c h P r e s i d e n t Emmanuel Macron’s (pic-t u r e d ) g o v e r n m e n t announced reforms on August 31 to loosen labour regulations and drive down unemploy-ment, which drew criticism from unions.

However, France’s biggest trade union the CFDT, and the

smaller hardline FO union, which usually ally with CGT, have decided not to call their members out next week.

CGT workers in the power sector will also join the strike, which could potentially lead to a drop in output at nuclear and hydro electricity genera-tion sites.

The CGT, which has its roots in the French Commu-nist movement, has also decided not to join the far-left

party of Jean-Luc Melenchon in protests planned for Sep-tember 23rd in a sign that opposition to Macron’s plan is divided.

CGT oil sector workers kicked off rolling strikes last year over contested labour reforms by the previous government.

The strikes led to fuel shortages after refineries shut down for over two weeks, dis-rupting fuel distribution.

May’s Brexit battle returns to parliamentLondon

AFP

British lawmakers began debating yesterday a landmark bill to end Brit-

ain’s membership of the European Union, with Prime Minister Theresa May gearing up for a major battle. The bill provides for the repeal on Brexit day of the 1972 European Communities Act that conferred Britain’s membership, and also converts estimated 12,000 existing European regulations into British law.

Ministers say it is the first step in implementing last year’s referendum vote for Brexit, and will provide legal continuity to ensure no “cliff-edge” when Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019. But critics warn it repre-sents an unprecedented “power-grab” by giving the government broad powers to

amend the EU laws as they are transferred without proper par-liamentary scrutiny.

A House of Lords committee said it “weaves a tapestry of del-egated powers that are breath-taking in terms of both their scope and potency”, and the opposition Labour party has vowed to vote against it.

May’s Conservative party lost its majority in the House of Com-mons in a snap election in June, but her alliance with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party means the first stage of the bill should pass.

However, she is vulnerable to rebellions on her own side as the legislation comes under detailed scrutiny in the coming weeks, while at least seven more Brexit-related bills are expected before Britain leaves the EU. Inte-rior minister Amber Rudd was said by several newspapers to be unhappy with the plans.

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15FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017 BREAK TIME

Yesterday’s answer

BABY

BLU

ES

ALL IN THE MINDABORIGINE, ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA, AYERS ROCK,BLUE MOUNTAINS, BONDI BEACH, BOOMERANG, BRISBANE, CAIRNS, CANBERRA, DARLING, DARWIN, DIDGERIDOO,GREAT BARRIER REEF, HOBART, KANGAROO, KOALA BEAR, MELBOURNE, MURRAY, NEW SOUTH WALES, NORTHERN TERRITORY, PERTH, PLATYPUS, QUEENSLAND,SOUTH AUSTRALIA, SYDNEY, TASMANIA, ULURU, VICTORIA, WALLABY, YARRA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

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Of Ladybug And

Cat Noir

Conceptis Sudoku: Conceptis Sudoku is a number-

placing puzzle based on a 9×9 grid. The object is to

place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so

that each row, each column and each 3×3 box

contains the same number only once.

CROSSWORD

CONCEPTIS SUDOKU

Yesterday's answer

MALL

LANDMARK

ROYAL PLAZA

ASIAN TOWN

NOVO — Pearl

ROXY

American Made (2D/Action) 10:00am, 12:20, 2:40, 5:00, 7:20, 9:40pm&12:00midnight IT (2D/Horror) 10:10am, 12:00noon, 12:50, 3:00, 3:30, 6:00, 6:10, 8:50, 9:00, 11:30pm & 12:00midnightAl Khalya (2D/Action) 10:00am, 12:10, 3:15, 4:50, 8:30 & 9:30pmTerminator 2 (2D/Action) 12:30, 5:45 & 11:00pm Car Go (2D/Animation) 10:00am, 12:00noon, 2:00, 4:00 & 6:00pm London Heist (2D/Action) 8:00, 10:00pm & 12:00midnight Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature (2D/Animation) 10:00am, 12:00noon, 2:00, 4:00 & 6:00pm Wish Upon (2D/Thriller) 8:00, 10:00pm & 12:00midnightAnnabelle 2 (2D/Horror) 10:00am, 2:40, 7:20pm & 12:00midnight The Glass Castle (2D/Drama) 11:30am, 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30pm & 12:00midnight The Hitman's Bodyguard (2D/Comedy) 10:00am, 12:20, 2:40, 5:00, 7:20, 9:40pm & 12:00midnight IT (2D IMAX/Horror) 10:00am, 12:45, 3:30, 6:15, 9:00 & 11:45pm

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Car Go (2D/Animation) 2:00 & 3:45pm

The Glass Castle (2D/Drama) 4:45pm The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature (2D/Animation) 5:30pm London Heist (2D/Action) 7:00pmIT (2D/Horror) 7:00, 9:15 & 11:45pm Al Khalya (2D/Arabic) 9:00pmVelipadinte Pushtakam (2D/Malayalam) 11:30pm

Velipadinte Pushtakam 12:00noon, 12:30, 2:45, 3:15, 3:45, 5:30, 6:00, 8:15, 8:45, 11:00, 11:30, 01:45 & 02:15am Neruppuda (Tamil) 12:15 & 9:00pm Baadshaho (Hindi) 1:00pm Kathanayagan 2:45 & 11:30pm Daddy 6:30pm

The Nut Job 2 (Animation) 4:00 & 6:00pm Terminator 2 (Action) 8:00 & 10:50pm

Car Go (2D/Animation) 12:00noon & 2:00pm Yudham Sharanam 2:30, 5:30 & 8:30pm

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AL KHORThe Nut Job 2 (Animation) 11:30am & 1:30pm

Emoji 10:30am & 2:30pm Despicable Me 3 11:30am & 3:00pm

Captain Underpants 12:30 & 4:30pm Daddy 9:15 & 12:00midnight

IT 3:30 & 6:15pm Neruppuda (Tamil) 6:30pm Kathanayagan 8:30 & 11:15pm Terminator 2 (Action) 3:30 & 6:00pm Velipadinte Pushtakam 9:00 & 12:00am

Yesterday's answer

SPORT16 FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017

Lyon spins Australia to crushing victory

Cycling: Froome extends Vuelta leadSanto Toribio de Liebana,

Spain AFP

Chris Froome extended his Vuelta a Espana lead over Vincenzo Nibali to 1min

37sec yesterday as Belgium’s Sander Armee claimed the 18th stage.

Armee edged out Alexey Lut-senko and Giovanni Visconti in a time of 4hr 09min 39sec for the 169km ride from Suances to Santo Toribio de Liebana as the general classification favourites allowed an early 20-strong breakaway group to fight for the stage win.

“Today in the breakaway with 20 guys we had a big gap and I knew I was one of the 20 guys who could win the stage,” said Armee.

“Everything has to come together and I managed to win because I had a really good last 15km. I was really strong there.”

Over 10 minutes back on Armee, Froome staved off a series of attacks in the chasing group with the help of his Sky teammates before accelerating himself in the final 600m to leave Nibali trailing.

The Briton picked up 21 sec-onds on the Italian to stretch his

overall lead with just two com-petitive days of racing to go before Sunday’s parade around central Madrid.

Froome is now a huge favourite to become just the third

rider ever to win the Tour de France and Vuelta in the same year, and the first since the Vuelta was moved to after the Tour in the cycling calendar back in 1995.

“As soon as I made an accel-eration on the last climb, Wout Poels was straight on the radio saying ‘Nibali is dropped, keep going’, and I think that was exactly the result we were look-

ing for today,” said Froome.The four-time Tour winner

had lost 42 seconds to Nibali on Wednesday as he paid for his efforts in winning the only indi-vidual time trial of the race a day earlier.

However, Froome made amends as only Alberto Conta-dor and Michael Woods could stay with his attack on a cate-gory three climb to the finish.

“Yesterday was a tough stage for me and it feels great to extend my lead again by 21 seconds to Nibali,” added Froome.

“I certainly think a lot of guys paid for making such a big effort yesterday and Nibali was one of those.”

In his final race before retire-ment, Contador remains fifth overall but edged four seconds closer to a place on the podium, 1min 17sec behind Wilco Kelderman.

Fabio Aru, the 2015 Vuelta champion, gained 12 seconds on the Froome group to move up to eighth overall. Another undulat-ing route awaits in today’s 149.7km 19th stage from Caso to Gijon before Saturday’s decisive mountainous queen stage that finishes with a climb up the Alto de l’Angliru.

West Indies’ Jason Holder celebrates the wicket of England’s captain Joe Root during the third international Test match at Lords cricket ground in London, yesterday.

Holder leads Windies recovery at Lord’s London

AFP

West Indies captain Jason Holder starred in a dramatic fight-

back as wickets tumbled on a remarkable first day of the third and deciding Test against Eng-land at Lord’s yesterday.

When bad light eventually ended play, England had slumped to 46 for four in reply to West Indies’ seemingly medi-ocre 123 all out -- a deficit of 77 runs -- with the three-match

series all square at 1-1.Dawid Malan and Ben

Stokes were both 13 not out after towering paceman Holder had taken two for 18 in six overs.

It seemed England would have the upper hand when Stokes returned Test-best fig-ures of six for 26 in 14.3 unchanged overs either side of tea.

But never before had a Test at the ‘home of cricket’ started so late in the English season and the 19 overs England faced Mon-day was time enough for a

collapse of their own in still heavily overcast conditions on a green-tinged pitch affected by a fungal infection.

England rapidly declined to 24 for four in a match that would surely have been halted a lot earlier for bad light before the advent of floodlights at Lord’s.

Mark Stoneman was caught behind for one off Kemar Roach before fellow left-handed opener Alastair Cook (10) fell in similar fashion.

Tom Westley then saw his prospects of an Ashes tour place fade whem he was plumb lbw to Holder for eight -- his fifth successive single-figure score in Test cricket.

Holder struck at the start of his next over to have opposing captain and star batsman Joe Root well caught for just one by Kieran Powell in the slips.

Malan, on his Middlesex home ground, survived the hat-trick.

Earlier, Stokes’s figures sur-passed his previous Test-best of six for 36 against Australia at Trent Bridge in 2015.

Chittagong, Bangladesh

AFP

Nathan Lyon spun Australia to a series-levelling win over Bangladesh yesterday with a 13

wicket match-haul in the sec-ond and final Test.

Chasing 86 for victory on a deteriorating Chittagong pitch, the visitors lost their top three batsmen before completing a seven-wicket win in the final session of the fourth day.

Glenn Maxwell, who hit the winning six to take his score to 25, and Peter Handscomb, on 16, helped Australia bounce back from their loss in Dhaka last week. Bangladesh had been on a high after their historic first Test win over Australia. But Lyon brought them back to earth with a bump this time.

The off-spinner, who received the man of the match award, set up the win for the Steve Smith-led side after returning career-best match figures of 13-154.

Lyon claimed a third successive six-wicket haul to

dismiss Bangladesh for 157 in their second innings.

He took his series tally to 22 wickets, the most by an Australian bowler in a two-match contest.

Opener David Warner also stood out with two successive centuries in the series including 123 in Australia’s first innings

that helped secure a crucial 72-run lead. “We played some good cricket at times. To restrict them to what we did in the first innings was great. There wasn’t a great deal in the surface for Lyon, but he was remarkable,” Smith said of Lyon’s 7-94 that helped restrict Bangladesh to 305 in the first innings.

Australian cricketer Nathan Lyon (second right) celebrates with team-mates after the dismissal of the Bangladeshi cricketer Mominul Haque during the fourth day of the second cricket Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong, yesterday.

West Indies (I innings):K Brathwaite c Bairstow b Anderson ..................10

K Powell c&b Stokes ................................................39

K Hope c Bairstow b Anderson ...............................0

S Hope c Cook b Roland-Jones ............................. 29

R Chase b Stokes ......................................................18

J Blackwood b Roland-Jones ....................................1

S Dowrich c Cook b Stokes .........................................1

J Holder b Stokes .........................................................9

D Bishoo (not out) ................................................... 13

K Roach c Anderson b Stokes ..................................0

S Gabriel b Stokes .......................................................0

Extras (LB-1, NB-2) .................................................... 3

Total (all out) ..........................................123Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-22, 3-78, 4-78, 5-87, 6-100,

7-101, 8-119, 9-123, 10-123.

Bowling: Anderson 16-7-31-2; Broad 12-5-24-0; Ro-

land-Jones 11-4-32-2; Stokes 14.3-6-22-6 (2nb); Ali

4-0-13-0.

England (I innings):A Cook c Dowrich b Roach ......................................10

M Stoneman c Dowrich b Roach ..............................1

T Westley lbw Holder .................................................8

J Root c Powell b Holder ............................................1

D Malan (batting) ..................................................... 13

B Stokes (batting) .................................................... 13

Total (for 4 wkts) .................................... 46Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-15, 3-19, 4-24.

Bowling: Roach 8-3-21-2; Gabriel 5-1-7-0; Holder

6-1-18-2.

SCOREBOARD

Bangladesh (I innings): ........................ 305Australia (I innings):M Renshaw c Rahim b Mustafizur ..........................4

D Warner c Imrul b Mustafizur ............................123

S Smith b Taijul ......................................................... 58

P Handscomb (run out) ......................................... 82

G Maxwell c Rahim b Mehedi .................................38

H Cartwright c Soumya b Mehedi.........................18

M Wade lbw Mustafizur ............................................8

A Agar b Shakib ....................................................... 22

P Cummins lbw Mehedi ............................................4

S O’Keefe (not out) .....................................................8

N Lyon c Imrul b Mustafizur .....................................0

Extras (B-8, LB-3, W-1) ........................................... 12

Total (all out) ..........................................377Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-98, 3-250, 4-298, 5-321,

6-342, 7-346, 8-364, 9-376, 10-377.

Bowling: Mehedi 38-6-93-3; Mustafizur 20.5-2-84-4

(w1); Shakib 31-3-82-1; Taijul 21-1-78-1; Nasir 6-2-14-

0; Mominul 2-0-6-0; Sabbir 1-0-9-0.

Bangladesh (II innings):T Iqbal st Wade b Lyon ............................................ 12

S Sarkar c Renshaw b Cummins ..............................9

I Kayes c Maxwell b Lyon ........................................ 15

N Hossain c Smith b O’Keefe ...................................5

S Al hasan c Warner b Lyon .....................................2

M Rahim c Wade b Cummins ................................ 31

S Rahman st Wade b Lyon .................................... 24

M Haque c Cummins b Lyon ................................. 29

M Hasan (not out) ....................................................14

T Islam b Lyon ..............................................................4

M Rahman b O’Keefe .................................................0

Extras (B-12) .............................................................. 12

Total (all out) ..........................................157Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-32, 3-37, 4-39, 5-43, 6-97,

7-129, 8-149, 9-156, 10-157.

Bowling: Cummins 11-3-27-2; Lyon 33-11-60-6;

O’Keefe 22.2-6-49-2; Agar 5-1-9-0.

Australia (II innings):M Renshaw c Mushfiqur b Shakib ....................... 22

D Warner c Soumya b Mustafizur ..........................8

S Smith c Mushfiqur b Taijul ...................................16

P Handscomb (not out) ..........................................16

G Maxwell (not out) .................................................25

Total (for 3 wkts)......................................87Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-44, 3-48.

Bowling: Mustafizur 5-1-16-1; Shakib 6-1-35-1; Taijul

4-0-26-1; Nasir Hossain 0.3-0-10-0.

SCOREBOARD

Sky’s British cyclist Christopher Froome celebrates retaining the red jersey on the podium of the 18th stage of the 72nd edition of “La Vuelta” Tour of Spain cycling race, a 169 km route from Suances to Santo Toribio de Liebana, near Potes, yesterday.

MotoGP rider blames injury on ParmesanMisano

Reuters

British MotoGP rider Cal Crutchlow has blamed his latest injury, a sev-

ered tendon in his left index finger, on hard cheese.

“Cutting Parmesan’s a dangerous thing,” the LCR Honda rider told reporters at Italy’s Misano circuit ahead of Sunday’s San Marino Grand Prix.

“I wish I could give you a story like I had to fight a bear or something good.

“Lucy (his wife) does the cooking. I’m a terrible cook so I don’t bother. But I was cutting the cheese to go with my dinner...and the knife came out of the cheese and went straight in my finger.”

Crutchlow said he went to bed and woke up the next morning with his finger still bleeding, at which point he decided to get it seen to and was referred to hospital, where he then needed surgery.

17FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017 SPORT

Mickelson is captain’s pick for Presidents Cup team

New YorkAFP

Phil Mickelson will maintain his record of being the only player in history to take part in all 12 Presidents Cups after being chosen as a captain’s

pick by US skipper Steve S t r i c k e r o n Wednesday.

Mickelson, the 47-year-old five-time major winner, was selected along-

side Charley Hoffman as Stricker completed

his 12-man line-up for the September 28-October 1

Ryder Cup-style event at Liberty National in New Jersey.

International Team captain Nick Price meanwhile opted for Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo and India’s Anirban Lahiri for the event.

“He is so valuable in the team room and is a tremendous partner on the golf course,” Stricker said of Mickelson’s selection.

Mickelson’s Presidents Cup call-up will be his 23rd consecutive team appearance for the United States, a sequence which stretches back to 1994.

He has a record of 23-16-12 and will have the chance to surpass Tiger Woods’ record for most matches won in Presidents Cup history, which stands at 24-15-1.

Mickelson is hitting form at the right time, grabbing a share of sixth place at last week’s Dell Technologies

Championship, his best finish in a stroke-play event this season.

Stricker also enthused about Hoff-man, who just missed out selection as an automatic pick.

“Charley has played well all year and had a great summer. He’s shown a lot of fight and will be a great addition to our team,” Stricker said.

Price meanwhile said he had no hes-itation in bringing in talented Argentine Grillo, one of four Presidents Cup rook-ies in his line-up. Grillo, the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2016, has posted two top-10 finishes this season as well as 11th place finishes at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and The Players Championship.

“Emiliano has always been on our radar since earning the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award last year,” said Price. “He’s an explosive player who can make a lot of birdies, and he’s proven he can win on Tour.”

Meanwhile Lahiri, 30, will return for his second Presidents Cup campaign -- experience that Price said was instrumental in his selection, even though he finished six places off of the automatic qualifying spots.

“With Anirban at No. 16 in the stand-ings, picking him may surprise some people, but my captain’s assistants and I felt like the team needed an additional player who has experienced Presidents Cup pressure before,” Price said.

The United States have enjoyed near-blanket dominance in the Presi-dents Cup over the years, losing the title only once -- in 1998 -- since it was first staged in 1994.

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Wallabies on potentially hostile turf for home test against Springboks Sydney

Reuters

Australia will have the unfamiliar experi-ence of heading into

potentially hostile territory for a home test match when they take on a resurgent South Africa side in the Rugby Championship in Perth tomorrow.

Western Australian rugby has been in open rebellion since the Western Force were kicked out of Super Rugby and the chance to make some kind of point to the Australian Rugby Union at the team’s home stadium will be too good an opportunity to pass up.

Australia coach Michael Cheika is hoping the pro-tests will be limited to the wearing of T-shirts in Force blue and suggested the Wallabies could be an agent of conciliation to the Perth public.

“There’s been a lot of talk amongst the team around what Saturday is going to mean, in perhaps a symbolic sense from us as the team to the people over here,” Cheika told report-ers in the city on Thursday.

Australia could cer-tainly do with a win after sinking to fifth in the world in the wake of a loss to Scotland at home in June and back-to-back defeats to the All Blacks to open the Rugby Championship.

It is not all gloom on the pitch, however, with a fine performance in the narrow 35-29 defeat to the world champions in their last out-ing in Dunedin offering plenty to build on.

Cheika was forced to make two changes to his starting side and chose to make two more to a pack he thinks the Springboks will try and bully.

Stephen Moore’s deci-sion to be at the birth of his child gives Tatafu Polota-Nau the start at hooker and offers 20-year-old Jordan Uelese the chance to make his test debut off the bench after just 28 minutes of Super Rugby.

With Western Force winger Dane Haylett-Petty ruled out for the rest of the year with a bicep tear that will require surgery, Reece Hodge will stand in.

The Springboks could hardly be in a better place, riding high at number three in the world having

rebounded from their appalling 2016 to win all five tests so far in 2017.

Coach Allister Coetzee made just two changes to the side that beat Argentina 41-23 in Salta two weeks ago, bringing Ross Cronje back at scrumhalf after injury and giving Pieter-Steph du Toit a run at lock in place of the rested Franco Mostert.

“Even though we trav-elled to three continents in 10 days, this group has the desire to get better, and learn from previous expe-riences,” said Coetzee.

“The performance in Salta was not perfect, but we are looking forward to the next opportunity to improve as individuals and as a team.”

Elsewhere, the All Blacks are looking to unleash a “beast” against Argentina in their Rugby Championship clash on Sat-urday as they seek to continue to build depth and put pressure on a resurgent South Africa.

Coach Steve Hansen had promised to experi-ment with his team and duly made seven changes to his starting side for the match in New Plymouth tomorrow.

With Liam Squire rested from the side that beat the Wallabies in their opening two matches and Jerome Kaino still out as he deals with a personal issue, Hansen handed rookie loose forward Vaea Fifita his first start.

D-backs clinch record 13th win in a row Los Angeles

AP

The Dodgers were cruis-ing along with a 21-game lead in the NL

West. Now, it’s been cut in half.

What a difference a week and a half made, all at the h a n d s o f t h e Diamondbacks.

Pinch-hitter Adam Rosales doubled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and Arizona overcame a rare deficit to win 3-1 on Wednesday night for its fran-chise-record 13th straight win.

The D-backs’ winning streak is the second longest in the majors this season behind Cleveland’s current 14 in a row.

They swept the Dodgers for the second consecutive week for the first time since September 2005 to keep a comfortable lead in the wild-card race. Los Angeles has lost two series for the first time all year.

Ketel Marte singled lead-ing off the seventh against Luis Avilan (2-2). Rosales fol-lowed with a double to deep center, scoring the speedy Marte. David Peralta singled and J.D. Martinez was inten-tionally walked to load the bases.

Daniel Descalso was hit by Avilan, forcing in Rosales and extending Arizona’s lead to 3-1.

The Dodgers have lost a season-high six in a row and 11 of 12, with six of those defeats to the second-place D-backs. Los Angeles still owns baseball’s best record at 92-47.

“There’s really nothing to say but we got to get a win,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Jimenez fires 64 to share 1st round leadCrans-Montana, Switzerland

AP

Miguel Angel Jimenez fired a 6-under round of 64 to be in a three-way tie for the lead after the European Masters first round

yesterday.Aged 53, Jimenez had seven birdies and a sin-

gle bogey on the picturesque Swiss Alps course to share the top of the leaderboard with 30th-ranked Tyrrell Hatton of England and Scott Hend of Aus-tralia. Jimenez also competes on the senior tour and already holds the European Tour record as the old-est winner. At 50, his 2014 Spanish Open title was his 21st on the tour.

Six players were one shot behind the leaders, including Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand. The Euro-pean Masters is also an Asian Tour event.

Among five players on 4 under was American golfer Daniel Im, who aced the 175-yard (160-meter) eighth hole with a seven iron.

Wie out of Evian Championship Los Angeles

AFP

Michelle Wie withdrew from next week’s Evian Championship yesterday, citing medical advice following surgery to

remove her appendix.The 27-year-old, who has not played since

pulling out before the final round of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open on August 27, said doctors had advised to her to rest rather than travel to France for the final major of the season.

“Unfortunately my doctors have advised me to continue resting which means I have to with-draw from @evianchamp next week,” the 27-year-old Wie wrote in a post on Instagram.

London

AFP

England’s Manu Tuilagi has suffered another injury blow that looks certain to sideline him from the autumn inter-

nationals just after he returned to action following a long layoff, his club Leicester said yesterday.

The centre will have surgery and faces an estimated 12 weeks’ recovery time after suffering a knee strain during the Tigers’ Pre-miership opener against Bath at the weekend.

That match, which Leicester lost, was his first Premiership appearance for eight months after recovering from knee trouble.

Tuilagi, 26, has not started a Test since 2014 due to repeated injury setbacks.

The player, who has a history of indis-cretions, was sent home from an England training camp in August along with Denny Solomona, reportedly for being drunk.

But England head coach Eddie Jones said this week that the two players could return to the squad as long as their attitude was right.

Leicester said Tuilagi’s latest injury was a strained meniscus in his left knee.

“This is not the knee that Manu injured last season, and this is not a major injury in the context of what kept him out for the first half of this year,” Leicester head coach Matt O’Connor told the club’s official website.

Australian Wallabies rugby player Bernard Foley receiving a pass during the Captain's Run ahead of their Test match against the New Zealand All Blacks in Sydney in this August 18 file photo.

Tuilagi suffers fresh injury setback

English centre Manu Tuilagi

Phil Mickelson of the United States in action during the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston in this September 3 file photo.

18 FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017SPORT

Mbappe embarks on new adventure with PSGParis

AFP

Kylian Mbappe takes cen-tre stage on Friday as the French league returns from the inter-national break with

Paris Saint-Germain taking on Metz where they will unleash their lat-est marquee recruit.

The 18-year-old starlet joined PSG on a season-long loan from champions Monaco in a deal that includes the option to buy Mbappe for a fee rising to 180m euros ($215m), the second most expen-sive transfer in history.

“It’s a great pleasure to join this club, it’s one of the best in the world,” Mbappe said as he was unveiled at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.

“It’s extremely ambitious and wants to become the best.

“It’s putting everything in place to make that goal more than pos-sible and that’s important to me.”

The France international is set to make his PSG debut away at rock-bottom Metz on Friday with Unai Emery’s side chasing a fifth successive win to maintain their perfect start to the season.

Metz are the only team without a point in Ligue 1 this term and need no introduction to Mbappe who scored a hat-trick against them in a 5-0 Monaco victory last February.

Emery confirmed Mbappe was ready for selection, and an injury to Angel Di Maria while on World Cup duty with Argentina could prompt the Spaniard to thrust the teenager into a fearsome front

three alongside world-record sign-ing Neymar and Edinson Cavani.

“These are players who for the most part have won everything already, it’s going to be a reward-ing experience,” Mbappe said of his new team-mates. “I have a lot to learn and a lot to prove.”

Di Maria is set to miss several weeks with a thigh problem, while Italian midfielder Marco Verratti remains suspended with several of PSG’s South American contingent only expected back on Thursday.

Monaco, level with PSG at the

top, will attempt to extend their record 16-match winning run away to Cote d’Azur rivals Nice, whose third-place finish last season is swiftly fading from memory.

The title holders raided Serie A to draft in Montenegro striker Ste-van Jovetic and Senegal forward Keita Balde from Inter Milan and Lazio respectively to try and fill the void left by Mbappe.

Monaco also have an in-form Radamel Falcao to call upon, the Colombian has scored a league-leading seven times in four outings

and earned his country a vital World Cup qualifying point in Tues-day’s 1-1 draw with Brazil.

Nice have lost three times already this season, only once less than all of the 2016-17 campaign, and were trounced 3-0 by top-flight newcomers Amiens last time out.

Unbeaten Bordeaux face Marcelo Bielsa’s Lille on Friday, while Lyon host Guingamp on Sun-day with consecutive draws having somewhat stalled their early-sea-son charge.

Berlin

AFP

Franck Ribery is relishing Bayern Munich’s Cham-pions League showdown against Paris Saint-Germain with the French veteran insist-

ing he will not retire even if the Germans win this season’s European title.

Bayern are at Hoffenheim on Saturday in the Bun-desliga, but open their Champions League campaign at home to Anderlecht next Tuesday having also drawn Paris Saint-Germain and Celtic, who face the French league giants in Glasgow on the same day.

PSG then host Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern at the Parc des Princes on September 27 in a key showdown which could decide Group B.

“Paris is a lot stronger than last season, it will be a super game. I hope we are all in top form. And we need to go out thinking ‘we’re Bayern. We fear no one. Wherever we play, we win’,” Ribery told German daily Bild.

“Anyone who fears Paris, stays in Munich.”Last month, PSG paid 222m euros ($266m) for Ney-

mar and signed French striker Kylian Mbappe on loan with an option to buy him next year in a deal that could reach 180m euros.

Ousmane Dembele cost Barcelona 148m euros from Borussia Dortmund as the Catalan giants seek to replace Neymar.

Ribery said inflated transfer fees are a sign of the times.

“I can only say that those responsible need to understand again that playing football is a joy, it’s fun and you play for your shirt and for the fans,” he commented.

“I don’t know what I’d have been worth when I was 25, perhaps a lot of money, but it doesn’t matter.

“When I wanted to be a professional, my aim was to play on television, so my family could see me. I didn’t play for money.”

The 34-year-old Ribery has been at Bayern since 2007 and his current contract expires next June.

He was part of the Bayern team which beat Borus-sia Dortmund 2-1 in the 2013 Champions League final in London when Arjen Robben scored the winner.

However, former France star Ribery says he will not hang up his boots even if the Bavarians lift the tro-phy in next May’s final in Kiev.

Bayern star Ribery relishing PSG clash

Paris Saint-Germain’s French forward Kylian Mbappe (left) and team-mate Brazilian forward Neymar shake hands as they take part in a training session at the Ooredoo - Camp des Loges in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, on Tuesday.

EPL to close transfer window before seasonLondon

AFP

English Premier League clubs voted yesterday to close the 2018 close-sea-

son transfer window before the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

Following complaints by managers that transfer activity disturbs their preparations, clubs will not be able to register new players before the season starts.

The transfer window in Europe’s other major leagues runs until August 31, meaning clubs outside England could buy players from English top-flight teams after the new Premier League deadline.

“Premier League clubs have today agreed to a rule amend-ment that will see the summer transfer window in any year end at 17:00 on the Thursday before the start of the season,” the Pre-mier League said in a statement.

“This is for Premier League clubs only and has no bearing on other leagues and competitions.”

Europe’s other major leagues -- Spain’s Liga, Italy’s Serie A, the German Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1 -- now face a decision about whether to fall into line with England.

Juventus CEO Giuseppe Marotta says Serie A’s 20 clubs are in agreement to “set the end of the transfer window on July 31” in Italy.

“The transfer window is exhausting,” he said recently. “It’s become a circus.”

The Premier League’s move was announced following a meeting of club officials and is not believed to have been agreed unanimously.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger gave his backing to the decision before it was announced.

“Even in the games, you sit there before the games and

even in players’ minds they have no clarity,” he told reporters at his weekly press conference.

“Are they in? Are they out? Are they half in? Are they half out? Are they tapped up in the afternoon of the game by peo-ple who want to get them out? It’s not the way to work and it’s uncomfortable.

“Every single manager in the league would agree that it’s time to kick that out before the sea-son starts and not continue to have players in the dressing room who are half out and half in.”

England’s Football League -- the second, third and fourth tiers -- is not affected by the move.

Premier League clubs spent a record £1.4bn (on new players during the 2017 close-season window.

The window closed last Thursday, three weeks after the new season had started.

Peruvian newspapers depict on their frontpages the country’s mood after the national football team defeated Ecuador by 2-1 in their 2018 World Cup Russia qualifier played in Quito, on Tuesday, bringing renewed hopes to be eligible for qualification for the tournament in Russia,

Bonucci and Higuain top Serie A earnersMilan

AFP

AC Milan’s Leonardo Bonucci and former Juventus teammate

Gonzalo Higuain are the top Serie A earners but their wages fall short of European stars Neymar and Lionel Messi, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported.

Italy defender Bonucci, 30, and Argentina striker Higuain, 29, both pocket an estimated 7.5m euros (annu-ally, the Italian sports daily said.

Bonucci joined AC Milan from Juventus in July and his salary does not include bonuses which would boost his annual earnings to 10m euros.

Brazil striker Neymar became the world’s top-paid player with a salary of 30 mil-lion euros in a record deal with Qatar-owned Ligue 1 club PSG this summer. Bar-celona’s Lionel Messi is set to earn the same amount once his new deal with the Cata-lan giants is signed.

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, once the highest earner, is paid a reported 22 million euros after tax by European champions Real Madrid.

Juventus forward Paulo Dybala comes third on the Serie A list on seven million euros, followed by teammate Douglas Costa and Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Don-narumma, who now both earn six million euros.

Juventus boss Max Allegri is the highest earning Italian coach on seven million euros -- nearly double his nearest rival Inter Milan’s Luciano Spalletti (4m).

Female ref relishing historic Bundesliga debutBerlin

AFP

Germany’s Bibiana Stein-haus hopes to avoid making headlines when

she makes history on Sunday by becoming the first woman to ref-eree in one of Europe’s top leagues.

The German Football Asso-ciation (DFB) confirmed yesterday that Steinhaus will take charge of the Bundesliga clash between Hertha Berlin and

Werder Bremen on Sunday at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

“My anticipation for the first game in the Bundesliga is, of course, huge,” said Steinhaus.

“I am delighted that this great challenge, for my team and I, will finally get going,” she added having sat out the first two rounds of German league games this season.

However, the 38-year-old police officer hopes to stay out of the headlines.

“I don’t want any, then

everything will have gone well,” she said in an interview before her appointment was announced.

Steinhaus is on the official list of Bundesliga referees for the 2017/18 season and has been a referee since 2007.

She has already refereed around 80 second division games and been the fourth offi-cial on numerous occasions in the German league, but this will be her first game in Germany’s top flight.

The former swimmer will become the first female ref in any of Europe’s top five leagues and has worked with a fitness coach to make sure she can cope with the tempo of the Bundesliga.

Steinhaus was in the head-lines last year when it emerged she was in a relationship with former top referee Howard Webb. But she does not see her-self as a trailblazer.

“I never planned to break new grounds of emancipation,”

she said at a referee’s training camp in July. “I am only doing what I love.”

She is experienced at the top level having officiated the wom-en’s Champions League final in Cardiff this year and the 2012 women’s Olympic tournament final in London.

Steinhaus has already come across some of the Bundesliga’s top stars after refereeing Bayern Munich’s 5-0 German Cup first-round win at minnows Chemnitz last month.

19FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017 SPORT

Del Potro shocks Federer to book Nadal showdown New York

AFP

Juan Martin del Potro sensationally gate-crashed the US Open again on Wednesday, stunning five-champion

Roger Federer and shatter-ing hopes of a first New York showdown between the Swiss legend and Rafael Nadal.

The Argentine giant, who won his only Grand Slam title in the city in 2009 by beating Federer in the final after seeing off Nadal in the semis, triumphed 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 in front of a spellbound Arthur Ashe Sta-dium crowd.

The 28-year-old will once again face world number one Nadal in the semi-finals on Friday, a stunning achievement for a man who had saved two match points to beat sixth seed Dominic Thiem in the last 16.

Nadal, who will keep his world number one status following third seed Feder-er’s exit, had earlier defeated Russian teenager Andrey Rublev 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in just 97 minutes.

It will be a sixth US Open semi-final for Nadal and 26th at the majors while Del Potro, the 24th seed, will be playing in just his fourth last-four match at the Slams.

For 36-year-old Federer, it was a first Slam loss of 2017 after he had captured the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles to take his career tally to 19.

“I served really good. I hit my forehand as hard as I could and I played a great match. I deserved to win,” said Del Potro who will be in his first Slam semi-final since Wimbledon in 2013.

“This feels like my home court. I played Rafa here in

2009 too. Hopefully I can get the same result on Friday.”

Del Potro, whose career was almost ended last year after undergoing four wrist surgeries, wrapped up the first set thanks to a break in the 11th game secured with a blistering crosscourt pass.

Federer, who had a 16-5 winning record over Del Potro ahead of the quarter-final, levelled the tie after breaking for a 3-1 lead in the second.

However, the match turned in the third set tie-break when Del Potro saved four set points before a weary and error-riddled Federer dropped serve again to trail 3-2 in the fourth.

Victory was Del Potro’s eight minutes short of three hours with a deep forehand as Federer was left to survey the wreckage of 41 unforced errors.

“It’s hard to explain, I didn’t play that badly,” said Federer.

“I just ran into a guy who

was better on the bigger points. I don’t deserve to still be in the tournament.”

Nadal will take an 8-5 record over Del Potro into the semi-final where the winner will face either Kevin Anderson or Pablo Carreno Busta for the title.

“Juan Martin is a top player. When he’s playing well, it’s difficult to stop him. Probably the forehand is maybe the fastest on the tour,” said Nadal, who is chasing his second major of

the year to add to his French Open.

Rublev, bidding to be the youngest man in 17 years to reach the semi-finals, had no complaints over his loss to Nadal.

“He gave me a lesson: 1, 2, and 2,” said the Russian, who lost 16 of the last 19 points of the opening set and finished with 43 unforced errors.

The women’s semi-finals was an all-American affair after CoCo Vandeweghe and Madison Keys set-up a last-four duel.

Yesterday’s other tie saw seven-time major champion Venus Williams facing Sloane Stephens.

American 20th seed Vandeweghe claimed a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 win over the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova, whose brief eight-week stay as world number one ended with Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza taking over.

Vandeweghe’s victory

means that the US Open will have an all-American semi-final line-up for the first time since 1981 after Keys defeated Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-3.

“I won the juniors here when I was 16 and dreamed of playing on the real stage,” s a i d 2 5 - y e a r - o l d Vandeweghe, who also made the semi-finals at the Australian Open, beating then-world number one Angelique Kerber in the process.

The last time four US women were in the semis was 36 years ago when eventual champion Tracy Austin, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Barbara Potter all made it.

Keys, the 15th seed, will be playing in her second Slam semi-final after the 2015 Australian Open.

“It means the world to me,” said Keys, who under-went wrist surgery earlier this season.

Jersey and Vanuatu promoted to WCL Division fourAgencies

Jersey and Vanuatu will meet in the final of the ICC WCL Division 5 tomor-row after commanding semi-final wins

on another action-packed day of cricket in South Africa.

The competition marks the start of their 2023 World Cup qualifying bid, and Vanuatu and Jersey will now fight for the trophy after seeing off Italy and Qatar respectively.

Victory also sees the two sides earn promotion to ICC WCL Division 4, regardless of the outcome tomorrow.

There were wins for Germany and

Guernsey against Cayman Islands and Ghana respectively as the competition heats up ahead of its final day.

Qatar arrived into the match on a high after booking a semi-final place on Wednesday, but they struggled when put into bat and lost influential captain Inam-ul-Haq for just five in the second over to Anthony Hawkins-Kay. Muhammad Tan-veer (5) then departed just four overs later, while Qalandar Khan (4) survived ten overs before falling to Ben Stevens.

None of Qatar’s top five batsman reached double figures as Jersey’s in-form quick bowlers performed superbly – relishing the seamer-friendly

conditions. But Tamoor Sajjad changed the game for Qatar, playing freely and striking the ball with menace and intent. He hit eight fours and three sixes in his knock of 79, before he eventually fell to Cameron Bodenstein – who finished with two for 17 from his 5.3 overs. Hawkins-Kay was the pick of the bowlers for Jersey and finished with four for ten, as his team dismissed Qatar for 152 in 46.3 overs.

Jersey’s run chase started steadily as Peter Gough and Nat Watkins put on 83 for the first wicket. Gough finished on 71 not out, while Watkins (37) and Jonty Jen-ner (33) made telling contributions. Qatar did not enjoy the same seamer-friendly

conditions as Jersey, although Iqbal Hus-sain, Mohammad Nadeem and Sajjad all impressed. The trio all finished with one wicket each, but their failure to remove Gough made the difference as he pro-vided the backbone to the innings in a seven-wicket victory.

Qatar skipper Ul-Haq said: “We have to try hard to stay in the division. We will fight for each other and re-group.”

There were scenes of jubilation at Willowmoore B, where Vanuatu beat Italy by six wickets – thanks in large part again to Patrick Matuataava. Vanuatu won the toss and elected to field, but that did not look like the right choice when

Damian Crowley (65) and Peter Petri-cola (60) steered Italy to 137-2. But the spin of Jelany Chilia got Vanuatu back in the game, and he finished with three for 32. Matautaava, Callum Blake and Andrew Mansale all chipped in with two wickets each as Italy were dismissed for 183.

Vanuatu started positively in reply, with Jonathon Dunn (39) and Joshua Rasu (35) building the innings nicely. But Matautaava, who scored a century on Wednesday to secure a semi-final spot, took over again – hitting 83 off 60 balls with 11 fours and two sixes to see them home by six wickets.

2010Federer held two match points against Novak Djokovic in the

final set but lost to the Serbian, who then lost to Nadal in the

final. Djokovic overtook Federer for world number two with

the triumph.

US Open near-misses for Federer-Nadal matches

2017Nadal breezed past Andrey Rublev in straight sets to reach

the semi-finals, leaving Federer to see off Juan Martin del

Potro later in the day to finally set-up a New York clash with

his Spanish rival. However, nobody told Del Potro, who

downed Federer in four sets.

2011Federer held two match points against Novak Djokovic in a

semi-final for the second year in a row in a rematch but

again lost to the Serbian, who then defeated Nadal in the

final. It was Federer’s second career loss from two sets

ahead and meant 2011 was his first year without a Slam title

since 2002.

2013Federer was within one match of playing Nadal in a quarter-

final but lost to Spaniard Tommy Robredo in a fourth-round

matchup. Robredo had been 0-10 against Federer until his

four-set victory, Federer’s first loss in a hardcourt Slam be-

fore the quarter-finals since 2003. Robredo lost to eventual

champion Nadal in the next round.

2008Nadal lost to Andy Murray in a semi-final and the British star

lost to Federer in the final. Federer won his fifth consecutive

US Open crown and 13th career Slam final, one shy of the

then-record total of Pete Sampras. It was Murray’s first Slam

final.

2009 Nadal lost to Juan Martin del Potro in a semi-final before the

Argentine giant defeated Federer to claim his only Grand

Slam title, rallying from a set and a break down. It was Fed-

erer’s first US Open loss since 2003 and Del Potro’s first win

over the Swiss star after six prior losses.US OPEN

MEN’S QUARTER-FINALS Rafael Nadal (ESP x1) bt Andrey

Rublev (RUS) 6-1, 6-2, 6-2

Juan Martín Del Potro (ARG x24) bt

Roger Federer (SUI x3) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6

(10/8), 6-4

WOMEN’S QUARTER-FINALS Coco Vandeweghe (USA x20) bt

Karolina Pliskova (CZE x1) 7-6 (7/4),

6-3

Madison Keys (USA x15) bt Kaia

Kanepi (EST) 6-3, 6-3

Number one a lifelong dream for Muguruza

Madrid

AFP

Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza hailed her climb to world number one for the first

time as a “dream come true” as the Span-iard will top the new WTA rankings on Monday.

Karolina Pliskova’s US Open quarter-final defeat to US 20th seed Coco Vandeweghe on Wednesday ensured two-time Grand Slam winner Muguruza will become the 24th woman to top the rank-ings in WTA history.

“It is a dream come true, something I always wanted since I was small,” said Muguruza in a video posted on her Twitter feed.

“None of it would be possible without my family, my fans, my team, who are at the grindstone with me every day.

“I want to thank them a lot for their sup-port. I am here thanks to them so I hope to maintain this for as long as possible.” maintain this for as long g as possible.

Garbine Muguruza

Troubled preparation to blame for exit: Federer New York

Reuters

Roger Federer blamed troubled prepara-tions for his US Open quarter-final exit on Wednesday, saying he had spent most

of the time leading up to the year’s final grand slam worrying about his back instead of focus-ing on training.

The 36-year-old Swiss, who was chasing a 20th major title and was hoping to play world number one Rafa Nadal for the first time in Flushing Meadows in the last four, lost 7-5 3-6 7-6(8) 6-4 in a thrilling encounter on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Federer, who skipped the US Open warm-up tournaments because of back pain, said he was fit to play but the damage had been done before the action started in New York.

“The best player won today, by far, and I don’t have a problem with that. I don’t want to take anything from Juan Martin but when you

get injured before a tournament, you are not focused on training or on how to play during the tournament.

“It was a bit the case for me before the U.S. Open. Then I had to play a couple of five set-ters and you start to hurt a little bit everywhere.”

Federer believes that as a result, he was unable to recapture the form he displayed in his victorious campaigns at the Australian Open and Wimbledon earlier this year.

“I never had the feeling I had reached the level I wanted. I forced myself to think that but I never had quite the same rhythm as during the Australian Open, Wimbledon, Indian Wells or Miami,” he explained.

Del Potro now faces Nadal in the semi-finals and Federer believes the Argentine is more likely to beat the Spaniard. “I feel I have no place in the semis and he will have a better chance to beat Rafa, to be honest,” he said.

Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina reacts to his

victory over Roger Federer of Switzerland during

their 2017 US Open Men’s Singles quarter finals

match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis

Center in New York on Wednesday. The Argentine

giant beat Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4.

Roger Federer of Switzerland

(left) greets Juan Martin del Potro of

Argentina after their match on

Wednesday.

FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2017

Actors Shain Boumediene and Salim Kechiouche pose as they arrive during the red carpet event for the movie “Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno” at the 74th Venice Film Festival in Venice.

Venice Film Festival

FAJRSHOROOK

04.00 am

05.17 am

ZUHRASR

11.31 am

03.00 pm

MAGHRIBISHA

05.47 pm

07.17 pm

PRAYER TIMINGS

HIGH TIDE 06:00 – 18:30 LOW TIDE 00:30 – 11:45

Poor visibility expected at places by

early morning. Hazy to misty / foggy

at places at first becomes hot day-

time with some clouds and humid

by night.

WEATHER TODAY

Minimum Maximum

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

31oC 43oC

20 MORNING BREAK

Trump see-saws with catchphrase: We’ll see Washington

AP

When in doubt, Pres-ident Donald Trump has a ready-made

response to any questions: “We’ll see.”

On Wednesday, Trump delivered his go-to line repeatedly. Asked if he would tie debt ceiling legislation to Harvey relief: “We’ll see.” On his plans for an increasingly aggressive North Korea: “We’ll see.” And on efforts to work with the Chinese president: “We’ll see how that works out.”

Trump relies heavily on “we’ll see” in the White House, when parrying questions about national security, pol-icy deliberations and personnel. For the onetime real estate tycoon and busi-nessman who often campaigned as a master deal-maker, the vague phrase is a multitasking placeholder that helps him stall for time, keep his options open and build suspense.

“It goes to the overall negotiating strategy of being unpredictable and noncom-mittal. Everyone stays guessing,” said Sam Nunberg,

a former campaign aide. “He’s always used that.”

During a news conference yesterday, Trump offered up the phrase as he spoke about efforts to pursue a peace deal between Israelis and Palestin-ians. “We have a great group of people. We’ll see what hap-pens,” he said.

Trump has deployed the line throughout the year, as the administration sought to push back against North Korea’s development of its nuclear and missile pro-gramme, as he weighed exiting the Paris climate deal and as he spoke about efforts

to renegotiate NAFTA.A well placed “we’ll see”

also proved a helpful way for Trump to put an aide on ice during a year that has been replete with staff shake-ups. During a contentious mid-August news conference in Trump Tower, the president was asked if he still had con-fidence in Steve Bannon, then a senior strategist. “He’s a good person. He actually gets very unfair press in that regard. But we’ll see what happens with Mr Bannon,” Trump said. Three days later, Bannon was out.

At times, “we’ll see” can

prompt anxiety. On Sunday, Trump exited an Episcopalian church near the White House and was asked by reporters if he would attack North Korea. “We’ll see,” he said, prompting a flurry of questions interna-tionally about U.S. plans for the Korean peninsula.

Trump has used the expression to build suspense, as he did in February when deciding who should replace fired national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump said: “I’ve been thinking about someone for the last three or four days, we’ll see what happens.”

Toronto

AP

Though seldom a smash on the big screen, tennis mov-ies have taken centre court at the

Toronto International Film Festival, where “Borg/McEn-roe” was to open the annual festival yesterday.

The film, starring Shia LaBeouf as John McEnroe and Sverrir Gudnason as Bjorn Borg, is the opening volley in the ten-day Canadian festival, a premiere launching pad for the fall’s most anticipated films. This year, tennis is get-ting perhaps its most serious film treatment yet at the fes-tival, where the Billie Jean King-Bobby Riggs showdown “Battle of the Sexes” is also to premiere, as is the documen-tary “Love Means Zero,” about tennis coach Nick Bollettieri.

The movies arrive con-veniently as the US Open nears its final rounds in Flush-ing, New York. Thus McEnroe, a popular broadcaster, isn’t expected to be in attendance. He has also previously been sceptical of the film, com-plaining that its filmmakers and performers didn’t meet him before starting shooting. McEnroe has been even more dubious of tennis movies — and their unconvincing gameplay — in general. He last year told Vanity Fair, “They are all terrible.”

LaBeouf may not satisfy McEnroe; the actor isn’t left-handed, for one. But LaBeouf has already matched and exceeded McEnroe in tantrum throwing. The Toronto Film Festival will be LaBeouf’s first prominent appearance since his videotaped arrest for pub-lic drunkenness and other charges in July.

LaBeouf was seen yelling at Savannah, Georgia, police officers and claiming that “a

black man arrested me for being white.” LaBeouf later apologised for his behaviour and said, “My outright disre-spect for authority is problematic to say the least, and completely destructive to say the worst. It is a new low. A low I hope is a bottom.”

“Borg/McEnroe” focuses on the rivalry and 1980 Wim-bledon finals between the different-tempered tennis leg-ends. It’s a Swedish

production, directed by the Danish filmmaker Janus Metz Pedersen. The indie distribu-tor Neon is expected to release it this fall, though no date has yet been announced.

While other sports (box-ing, baseball) have seen countless big-screen tales, Hollywood has typically been reluctant to serve up tennis tales. There was Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train,” which featured a tennis star drafted

into a devious murder plot; Woody Allen’s Oscar-nomi-nated “Match Point”; and the 2004 romantic-comedy “Wimbledon.”

Most memorable perhaps was Wes Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums,” which included a flashback of Luke Wilson’s tennis pro having a complete meltdown, commit-ting 72 unforced errors and, mid-match, removing his shoes and socks.

Toronto fest starts with Borg/McEnroe drama

FROM SECOND LEFT: Director Janus Metz, actors Shia LaBeouf, Stellan Skarsgard and Sverrir Gudnason speak at the “Borg/McEnroe” press conference during the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival at TIFF Bell in Toronto, Canada, yesterday.

Mobster musical has Venice singing Venice

AFP

Ammo may be flying but there’s always time for a sing-along: in “Love and Bullets,” a playful mafia

musical premiering at the Venice film fes-tival, the crooks really can croon.

The latest adventure from Italian brothers Marco and Antonio Manetti is an exploration of the power of love to sway even the hardest of hearts — but also a vibrant homage to Italy’s southern city Naples.

“Naples is depicted in the news, in films, books and on TV, as an ugly city gripped by crime,” Antonio told AFPTV. “But just taking a stroll through the streets of the centre shows you the city is not that”. The coastal city at the foot of Mount Vesuvius is the heartland of the ruthless Camorra organised crime group, which was immortalised in the 2008 bestselling film “Gomorrah” by Roberto Saviano and in a popular spin-off television series.

“Lately there has been what I call the ‘Gomorrah’ effect, in which Naples is por-trayed as a dark place. Yes, there’s the Camorra, but it’s also a city that can make you smile,” Marco said.

The plot opens with the funeral of boss Don Vincenzo (Carlo Buccirosso) — nick-named the “King of Fish” — whose grieving, bejewelled widow Donna Maria

(Claudia Gerini) appears to just be hold-ing it together.

To the outside world, the boss is “sleeping with the fishes” after being bumped off in a basin of mussels.

But all is not as it seems. A nurse (Ser-ena Rossi) spots Don Vincenzo alive, and the family rushes to silence her.

Will hired gun Ciro (Giampaolo More-lli) pull the trigger once he realises the nurse is an old flame?

“Love is the motor behind everything that happens,” Gerini said. “Donna Maria comes up with this plan to pretend her husband has died so they can leave and start a fresh life together” beyond the mafia.

“There is crime, but it’s also a story about a Naples made of feelings, of fam-ilies, of colours,” she said.

The film, competing for the prized Golden Lion under its Italian title “Ammore e malavita,” may hope to defend Naples but it also revels in laughing at Neapolitans — who are all too quick to cash in on the mafia cliche.

“We joke that while in Paris the sym-bolic site is the Eiffel Tower, in Rome the Colosseum, in China the Great Wall, in Naples, it’s the Sails of Scampia,” a vast, crime-plagued tower block, Antonio said.

“Instead of complaining, the Neapol-itans turn it into a business, inventing a tour for American sightseers.