over 143,000 register for road pm, us congress representative …€¦ · 10/09/2018 ·...

Volume 23 | Number 7645 | 2 RiyalsMonday 10 September 2018 | 30 Dhul-Hijja I 1439 www.thepeninsula.qa

BUSINESS | 21 SPORT | 28IAAF Continental Cup: Dominant Haroun wins in Ostrava

Corporate captains hail successful

Berlin Forum

More than 1,000 ships called at Hamad Port in 8 monthsSACHIN KUMAR THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Hamad Port has achieved yet another milestone as it received more than 1,000 vessels in eight months of the current year, showing that the Port continues its march towards success. The Port, which is one of the largest ports in the region, received 128 ships in August, said Qterminals in a tweet.

It had received 936 ships during January to July period, taking the total count of ships called at the port to 1,064 so far this year.

The Port witnessed increased traffic in various segments in August. The bulk cargo category saw the highest increase as it handled 31, 392 tonnes bulk cargo in August compared to 8,005 tonnes such cargo in July, showing a whopping rise of 292 percent.

The Port handled 63,858 tonnes of break bulk cargo in

August compared to 61,280 tonnes of cargo in the previous month, reflecting a rise of four percent.

The Port also handled 112,749 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) containers last month, Qter-minals said. Qterminals was set up by Qatar Navigation (Milaha) and Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) to manage the port. The Port handled 10,946 heads of cattle and 4,929 vehicles in August.

The half yearly performance of the port has been robust in the current year.

The Port received 803 ships in the first six months of the current year and handled 644,824 TEUs containers in January-June period while handled 631,076 break-bulk cargo in the same period. It handled 132,325 bulk cargo; 341,793 heads of cattle and 32,084 units of vehicles in the first six months of this year.

S i n c e c o m m e n c i n g

operations in December 2016, Hamad Port has modernised the way Qatar handles imports and exports and has helped in facili-tating the growth and diversifi-cation of the country’s economy. Within a short period of time, the port has reached a global port connectivity coverage with 40 ports spanning over three conti-nents. The port has seen tre-mendous growth in a short duration and is further cementing Qatar’s position as a regional maritime hub.

Ports in Qatar have played significant role in defeating the unjust siege imposed by block-ading countries by ensuring smooth supply of goods for resi-dents of Qatar.

In 2017, the ports in Qatar handled 1.26 million tonnes of general cargo, 772,835 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units containers, 857,429 cattle heads and 578,654 tonnes of aggregates and 3,869 vessels.

Over 143,000 register for road

to 2022 volunteer initiativeTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy’s volunteer initiative has been hailed as an overwhelming success after more than 143,000 people registered within the opening week.

In total 143,967 people have so far signed up to the initiative, which invites people from Qatar, the region and the world to reg-ister their interest in becoming a volunteer on the road to 2022.

It was launched on Sunday, September 2, and will remain open, as excitement around first FIFA World Cup to be held in the Arab world continues to gather pace.

Mead Al Emadi, the SC's Community Engagement Manager, said the instant success of the programme and diversity of applicants is further proof of Qatar 2022's strong regional appeal, SC reported on its official website yesterday.

“Football is the worlds game, and we have said from day one of the 2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process that this would be a tournament not only for Qatar, but also the entire MENA region and Asia.

“The incredible number of people we have seen register their interest already and breadth of backgrounds and nationalities among them further demonstrates this to be the case. I am pleased to say the launch has already been an overwhelming success.”

She continued: “This is only the beginning though. The portal will remain open so I encourage anyone who is interested in playing a part during these exciting years in the history of our region to visit www.seeyouin2022.qa and get involved. I can promise it will be a wholly rewarding experience.”

Of the thousands of would-be volunteers to register, more than 160 nationalities were rep-resented, with 22 MENA nations among them, including Qatari, Omani, Jordanian, Saudi Arabian, Emirati and Bahraini once again outlining the uni-versal appeal the biggest sporting event to ever take place in the region brings with it.

More than 7,200 Qatari nationals were among those to put their names forward to vol-unteer, while over 10,000 Omanis and 9,800 Jordanians also applied.

There has also been 12,000 Egyptians, 10,500 Moroccans and 8,000 Algerians, making up the highest represented North African nations.

With over 20,000 appli-cants, India is the best repre-sented country by nationality while the most common age range of applicants was among the 18-25-year-old bracket.

Volunteers can register and contribute towards numerous Qatar 2022 milestones, including stadium launches and

test events. They will support a range of functions, including event management, hospitality, marketing, communications, audience management, security, medical services and more.

The SC's event to launch vol-unteer registration also hosted a panel session involving Mohammed Saadon Al Kuwari, Ambassador of SC; Faisal Al Shanfari from Oman and member of the Arab Federation for Voluntary Activities; and Mohamed Essoussi, from Tunisia, who was a volunteer during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Essoussi, who spent time volunteering with FIFA’s anti-doping unit during Russia 2018, said: “There are many advan-tages to volunteering. It gives you the chance to meet people from all over the world. You also have the opportunity to rep-resent your country and region.I volunteered as I wanted to give a good image of Arab youth. Now I have returned from Russia, I feel very proud at what I achieved.”

PM, US Congress Representative review bilateral ties

Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani met yesterday with Republican Representative, Mark Sanford, the Representative for South Carolina’s First Congressional District in the United States, on the occasion of his visit to the country. The meeting reviewed the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, as well as issues of mutual concern.

Qatar Airways offers discount on premium, economy ticketsTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Airways will launch a special promotion from today. The flag carrier said yesterday that passengers booking from September 10 to 18, 2018 can enjoy up to 20 percent off in premium all-inclusive fares and up to 30 percent off in economy all-inclusive fares to many exciting destinations as well as triple Qmiles for Privilege Club members

“Passengers are invited to plan their next trip with Qatar Airways and take advantage of up to 20 percent off in premium all-inclusive fares and up to 30 percent off in economy all-inclusive fares,” said the airline in the press release.

“Additional offers include a 10 percent discount voucher to be used at Qatar Duty Free on bookings made on

qatarairways.com, special rates on hotel bookings made via booking.com, car rentals and Al Maha meet and greet services are available for bookings made on qatarairways.com,” it added.

Privilege Club Platinum and Gold members will earn Triple Qmiles, Silver and Burgundy members will earn Double Qmiles during the offer period.

Qatar Airways Chief Com-mercial Officer, Ehab Amin, said: “Travel is one of the greatest experiences we can reward our-selves and our loved ones with. It enriches our lives, fulfils our ambitions, and gives us the courage to embrace our journey of self-discovery. There are so many remarkable places around the world just waiting to be dis-covered – from natural wonders and diverse landscapes, to thriving cosmopolitan cities.

→CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

1,416 new firms registered in August

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Ministry of Economy and Commerce has registered 1,416 new companies in August said the business process report issued yesterday.

According to the report, the number of new major business records reached 972, while the number of new sub-registries reached 444 records.

Limited liability com-panies accounted for 61 percent of the major business registers, while the category of single owner limited lia-bility companies in second place with 28 percent, and the individual institution came in third place with 10 percent.

In August, construction companies topped the list of the most registered activities, with 227 registrations.

→CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

More than 7,200 Qatari nationals were

among those to put their names forward to

volunteer, while over 10,000 Omanis and

9,800 Jordanians also applied. There has also

been 12,000 Egyptians, 10,500 Moroccans and

8,000 Algerians. With over 20,000 applicants,

India is the best represented country by

nationality.

1,064 936 803

292% 31,392

63,858112,749 4,929

Total ships received by the port in eight months

Total ships at Hamad Port during Jan to July

Total ships received in first six months of 2018

Rise in bulk cargo movement in August against July

tonnes Total bulk cargo handled in August

,,,,tonnes Break bulk cargo handled in August

112,749 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unitscontainers handled in August

4,,,,929 Vehicles handledat the Port

ALL-ROUND PERFORMANCE BY HAMAD PORT

02 MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018HOME

Qatar, Somalia discuss ways to boost bilateral ties

Minister of Transport and Communications H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti with the Minister of Commerce and Industry of Somalia, Mohamed Abdi Hayir. The two officials discussed the bilateral relations and means of further enhancing and developing them in all fields particularly in transport sector. The meeting also touched on a number of matters of common interest.

Importance of human rights action plans discussedTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The National Human Rights Action Plan Committee held its first consultative meeting with organisations concerned with the promotion and protection of human rights in Qatar.

The meeting was organised within the framework of the consultative process accompa-nying the preparation of the plan, as confirmed by the guide-lines and best practices of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNCHR), QNA reported.

The preparation process should be accompanied by con-sultation with stakeholders in the promotion and protection of human rights.

The meeting was opened by Acting Director of Human Rights Department at the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Faisal Abdullah Al Hanzab.

The programme included two presentations. The first was on the importance of national human rights action plans and was presented by the committee member and Director of the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Interior, Brig-adier Abdullah Saqr Al Mohannadi.

The second presentation discussed the formation of the committee on the preparation of the national action plan for human rights in Qatar, and

presented by the committee member and Secretary General of the National Committee for Education, Culture and Science Dr Hamda Al Sulaiti.

It should be noted that the formation of the committee was a decision of the Cabinet at its ninth ordinary meeting of 2017 under the chair-manship of the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Ahmed Hassan Al Hammadi.

The formation of the com-mittee comes within the framework of the State’s efforts to establish a state of law and institutions, the subject of which is the promotion and protection of human rights as a strategic option.

This is emphasised in Qatar National Vision 2030 in the first national development strategy (2011-2016) and 2018-2022.

Amir greets President of TajikistanDOHA: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent yesterday a cable of congratulations to the Pres-ident of the Republic of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, on the anniversary of his country’s Independence Day.

Deputy Amir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani also sent a cable of congrat-ulations to the President.

Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani sent a similar cable of congratulations to the Prime Minister of Tajikistan, Kokhir Rasulzoda.

QA promotion begins todayCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“Qatar Airways now fly more people, on more aircraft, to more destinations than ever before. We are truly living the essence of our brand - ‘Going Places Together’ - and we invite customers, existing and new, to be inspired to share in this ethos and plan their latest adventure with Qatar Airways today,” he added. Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft flying to business and leisure desti-nations across s ix continents.

HMC’s Ambulance

Service launches

awareness videos

DOHA: Hamad Medical Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Ambulance Service has released a series of videos as part of a campaign to raise awareness among community about the necessary guidelines that must be followed in medical emer-gency situations.

The Ambulance Service’s ‘Know the 5 to save a life’ is a national awareness campaign. The videos available on HMC’s official website and social media pages highlights five ways in which people can help the service provide fast and effective care.

It demonstrates hypo-thetical situations focusing on ‘Know the 5 to save a life’ mes-sages to follow in an emer-gency. The five guidelines are — ‘dial 999 immediately’, ‘know your location’, ‘answer all ques-tions asked’, ‘follow all instruc-tions given’ and ‘give way to ambulances on roadways’.

‘Know the 5 to save a life’ campaign previously ran in 2013 and is being re-run to reinforce the key messages and educate new residents.

“Qatar’s population has grown significantly and this has led to increased demand on our Ambulance Service. In order to be able to provide the best pos-sible support as quickly as pos-sible, it is important that members of the public follow the campaign’s five key steps,” said Brendon Morris, Executive Director, Ambulance Service said during relaunch of the campaign in May.

In 2013 the Ambulance

service received 132, 000 calls and it increased to 250,000 in 2017. In the first five months of this year number of calls has seen an increase of eight percent from 2017 in the number of calls.

In order to be able to provide the best possible support as quickly as possible, it is vital that members of the public follow the campaign’s five key steps.

‘Dial 999 immediately’ means the sooner you call, the sooner the ambulance can get to you; ‘Know your location’ means as soon as the ambu-lance service knows where you are, the sooner ambulance can be sent; ‘Answer all questions’ means all extra details you can provide are critically important to helping save a life.

‘Follow all instructions’ means that important instruc-tions can be given over the phone to help you save a life. Sometimes this is as simple as going out to wave the ambu-lance. ‘Give way to ambulances’

FAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

The Ambulance

Service’s ‘Know the

5 to save a life’ is a

national awareness

campaign. The videos

available on HMC’s

official website and

social media pages

highlights five ways

in which people can

help the service

provide fast and

effective care.

The National Human

Rights Action Plan

Committee held its

first consultative

meeting.

Amir sends cable to Moldova President DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent a cable to President Igor Dodon of the Republic of Moldova to congratulate him on his safety from the traffic accident he suffered, wishing him a speedy recovery, good health and wellness.

03MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018 HOME

Qatar, Canada to promote relationsMinister of State for Foreign Affairs H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi yesterday received a copy of the credentials of the Ambassador of Canada to Qatar, Stefanie McCollum. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs wished the new ambassador success in her mission, assuring to provide all support to upgrade bilateral relations between both countries and promote areas of cooperation in various fields.

Al Ahli signs education agreement with WCM-QFAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Under a new initiative, medical students at the Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) are now able to receive training at the Al Ahli Heart Center.

An education affiliation agreement was signed yes-terday, between the two entities in this regard.

The open-ended agreement allows selected students from WCM-Q to learn about cardiac clinical investigations and pro-cedures as well as surgical pro-cedures conducted at the Al Ahli Heart Center.

The agreement was signed by Khaled Emadi, the CEO of Al Ahli Hospital and Dr Robert Crone, Vice-Dean for Clinical and Faculty Affairs at WCM-Q.

Jamal Hamad, the Deputy

CEO, Al Ahli Hospital, Dr Abdul Azziz Abdul Wahab Hussain, Chief of Medical Staff, Dr Abdur-razzak Gehani, Chairman of Al Ahli Heart Center and Dr Thurayya Arayssi, Senior Asso-ciate Dean, Medical Education, WCM-Q were also present at the event.

The training programme will be directed by Dr Gehani and the team at the Al Ahli Heart Centre.

“Al Ahli Hospital has included training and education

among its goals. We aim to play an important role in medical education and support students in Qatar,” said Emadi addressing media persons.

“Being a private institution we see our contribution to medical education as part of our social responsibility,” he added.

One or two students at WCM-Q who choose to pursue a career in cardiology will be trained on monthly basis, though the campus has a total of 100 students eligible for the programme.

“Private medicine has become an increasingly important component of the healthcare system. The agreement with Al Ahli Hospital Heart Center provides a new training dimension for our stu-dents, allowing them to learn from experts and to experience both complex and basic medical procedures provided to the people of Qatar in the private sector,” said Dr Crone.

He also said that the collab-oration between WCM-Q and Al Ahli Hospital may further expand from cardiology to other disciplines as well.

WCM-Q has graduated 335 students and many are still in their post graduate training. While, 20 have completed training and are practicing med-icine in different disciplines.

Khaled Emadi, the CEO of Al Ahli Hospital, and Dr Robert Crone, Vice-Dean for Clinical and Faculty Affairs at WCM-Q, during the signing ceremony, yesterday. PIC: HUSSAIN SAYED

Minister of Culture and Sports discusses ties with AU official

Minister of Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali with the Commissioner of Social Affairs of the African Union (AU), Amira Al Fadil, and her accompanying delegation, currently visiting the country. During the meeting, they discussed aspects of cooperation in the fields of culture and sports between the State of Qatar and the AU Commission on Social Affairs.

The open-ended agreement allows selected

students from Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar

to learn about cardiac clinical investigations

and procedures as well as surgical procedures

conducted at the Al Ahli Heart Center. One or

two students at WCM-Q who choose to pursue

a career in cardiology will be trained on a

monthly basis, though the campus has a total

of 100 students eligible for the programme.


Qatar, Arab League meet to discuss regional issuesTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The 150th session of the Council of the Arab League at the Level of Permanent Represent-atives began yesterday in Sudan.

Qatar is taking part in the Permanent Representatives meeting with a delegation headed by Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the Arab League, Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al Sahlawi.

At the outset of the meeting,

Sudan’s Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League, Abdel Mahmoud Abdel Halim, wel-comed Al Sahlawi on assuming his new position, wishing him success in his duty.

The meeting will discuss the political developments of the Palestinian issue, the situation in Syria, in addition to the recent developments in the sit-uation in Libya and Yemen in the light of the results of the

meeting of the UN envoy to Yemen with the Yemeni parties in Geneva, in addition to the preparation for Arab partici-pation in UN meetings and the estab-lishment of the mechanism of coordination and Arab action with a number of international parties, ahead of Arab partici-p a t i o n i n m e e t i n g s scheduled for this month.

Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the Arab League, Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al Sahlawi, at the meet.

QFFD, QRCS to provide health care for 600,000 in Mosul

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Fund for Devel-opment (QFFD) and Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support the United Nations 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan in Mosul, Iraq.

Under the agreement, QRCS will rehabilitate and operate the Mosul General Hospital for eight months, serving the city’s 500,000 population, as well as 100,000 indirect beneficiaries, said a release. The agreement was signed by Misfer Hamad Al Shahwani, Director of Development Projects, QFFD; and Youssef Abdullah Al Sada, Executive Director, QRCS.

According to the action plan, QRCS’s mission in Iraq will coordinate with Iraq’s Ministry of Health and Nineveh’s Provincial Council to create a joint technical team, which will identify the damage in the hospital’s premises and the medicines, medical equipment, and other supplies required.

At the same time, the pro-vincial council and hospital’s management will supervise the selection of medical profes-sionals to be hired. Throughout the duration of the project, the plan will be under constant revision, to make necessary

corrections and adjustments wherever needed.

Al Shahwani stressed the importance of this grant and its great compatibility with the interest of Qatar in improving the livelihoods of communities around the world.

“QFFD pays great attention to health projects, in order to promote the health and well-being of the beneficiaries,” said Al Shahwani.

He said that in cooperation with Iraq’s Ministry of Health and QRCS, this grant represents a renewed hope for the people of the city and its surrounding areas, serving up to 600,000 beneficiary”.

“This project will contribute to the development of the region and help the local community to withstand difficult living con-ditions, by meeting a vital human need: health care,” said Al Shahwani.

Al Sada, valued this generous contribution from QFFD, “a new episode of Qatar’s track record in helping the Iraqi people for years now. A key asset of this support is the strong, coordinated partnership between QFFD as a major donor and QRCS as a leading humanitarian provider in many crises”.

“This intervention is important as the Mosul General Hospital is the only medical service provider in western Mosul (Wadi Hajar), offering primary and secondary health care for the districts and out-skirts of the city,” he said.

“In addition to reducing the morbidity and mortality rates, the project will encourage the displaced households to return to their home districts, as all basic services will be available, particularly health care,” he added.

Misfer Hamad Al Shahwani, Director of Development Projects, QFFD;, and Youssef Abdullah Al Sada, Executive Director, QRCS at agreement signing ceremony.

Under the agreement,

QRCS will rehabilitate

and operate the Mosul

General Hospital for

eight months, serving

the city’s 500,000

population, as well

as 100,000 indirect

beneficiaries.

1,416 new companies registered in AugustCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

It was followed by 91 reg-istrations for service activities and transactions clearance, then building material trading companies with 49 registra-tions, followed by the public goods trading with 31 registration.

According to the report, the number of commercial licenses issued, modified or renewed during August was 5,341 and the number of licenses issued by the min-istry reached 823, while 448 licenses were amended, and 4070 licenses were renewed.

The number of companies closed during last August was 182 companies, and the pro-portion of closed companies of new companies was 8.21 percent.

Contractors led the list of cancellation activates with 53 percent, followed by building material companies 18 percent, public goods trading came third with 12 percent, fourth was cleaning com-panies with 10 percent, fol-lowed by electronic appli-ances with 7 percent.

The number of transac-tions carried out in branches of the ministry during the month of August was 25,471 transactions.

In the field of intellectual property rights, the report pointed out that the number of new patent applications last August reached 48 appli-cations, and 258 patent appli-cations have been renewed.

The number of certifi-cates issued in the field of copyright and related rights in August was 17and the number of judicial seizures of the intellectual property department reached 13 during August 2018


Qatar Philharmonic opens concert seasonRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

DOHA: In yet another first for Doha audience, Qatar Philhar-monic Orchestra performed Richard Strauss’ Symphonia Domestica on Saturday at Katara Opera House to an applauding audience as a fitting start to the 2018/2019 concert season.

It was the first time for Strauss’ symphonic masterpiece, which he dedicated to his family, to be played in an Arab country, says Kurt Meister, Executive Director of Qatar Philharmonic. “Symphonia Domestica has been performed in Europe and America, but never in Arab coun-tries. It’s an important piece to start the season,” Meister told The Peninsula.

Qatar Philharmonic’s final concert for the previous season was a sold-out and acclained show which featured composi-tions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Edvard Grieg and Aram

Khachaturian. It was important, therefore, to follow it in similar vein with an opening per-formance of massive composi-tions for the opening concert which people had looked forward to, said Meister, adding Symphonia Domestica was a compostion that required a huge orchestra .

A tone poem in six interlaced movements, Symphonia Domestica is a symphonic piece which Strauss said “reflects a day in my family life.”

The 101-piece orchestra’s applauded performance cap-tured the essence of Straussian tradition playing the piece which combines drama and humour and reflects Strauss’ daily life.

With a long flourishing life and precocious talent, Strauss commands an entire century of music and has an exceptional place in the world of opera.

“Richard Strauss was one of the most important composers of the 20th century. He

composed a lot of symphonies and operas which are performed around the world,” Meister said.

Another highlight of the concert was Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, the last symphony he composed which also became known as Jupiter Symphony for

its grandiose, majestic and Olympian quality.

Born in Salzburg, Austria, Mozart was a very young musical prodigy who began composing music at age 11. Though his illus-trious career was cut short by his sudden death at age 35, he left

some 600 compositions which included operas, sonatas, chamber music, symphonies and pianistic and religious pieces enjoyed around the world till now.

Qatar Philharmonic per-formed under the baton of

Stephanos Tsialis, who is cur-rently the chief conductor and artistic director of Athens State Orchestra.

The concert was a prelude to more exciting shows in store for music aficionados during the 2018/19 season packed with both old favourites as well as contem-porary music pieces. During the season, Qatar Philharmonic will be playing favourites such as Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, Rachmaninoff’s Third Symphony and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.

Music lovers can also look forward to the fourth instalment of Video Games Live, The Music of Frank Sinatra and two opera concerts-one featuring tenor Napoleón Domínguez and the other World’s Greatest Opera Hits featuring four international singers performing music of Mozart, Donizetti, Bizet, Gounod, Verdi and Puccini, among others.

Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra opens concert season with a performance of Strauss and Mozart symphonic masterpieces at the Katara Opera House on Saturday. PIC: QASSIM RAHMATULLAH. / THE PENINSULA

WISH offers opportunity for public to tour Orbis flying eye hospital in November

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), an initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF), has announced that the world’s only fully-functioning accredited eye hospital on board an aircraft will be visiting Doha this Fall. It will coincide with the WISH 2018 summit, which takes place on November 13 to 14 at Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC).

The Orbis Flying Eye Hos-pital, operated by global eye health charity Orbis, is a fully converted cargo plane and state-of-the-art teaching facility complete with operating room, classroom, and recovery room. The aircraft will be landing ahead of the summit in order to allow healthcare professionals and Qatar-based supporters of Orbis to tour the plane.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to hear about ‘Qatar Creating Vision’, an ini-tiative funded by the Qatar Fund for Development and implemented by Orbis. These events will all take place during the inaugural Doha Healthcare Week, a week of healthcare-related community-based events taking place immedi-ately before WISH 2018.

WISH’s biennial Doha summits have quickly become major highlights of the global

healthcare calendar for the thousands of high-level policy-makers, academics, and pro-fessionals who attend. They are also a key platform for the dis-semination of healthcare inno-vation and best practices.

The aircraft is being hosted in Doha through Qatar Airways’ longstanding support of Orbis and, for the first time, WISH is offering 20 members of the public the opportunity to have an exclusive tour of the plane on November 6, the first day of Doha Healthcare Week. In addition, Orbis’ elite team of eye care specialists will host Preferred Practices Workshops with doctors and nurses working in Qatar, in part-nership with Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health.

Nick Bradshaw, Partner-ships Manager, WISH, said, “ Eye health is one of nine themes forming the focus of this year’s summit, and the Orbis team will also have a presence within QNCC at the summit itself, during which they will have the opportunity to interact with the local and international healthcare experts in attendance.”

Florence Branchu, Head of Partnerships, Middle East, Orbis, said, “We are excited to be working with WISH 2018 to offer residents of Qatar this unique opportunity to visit our Flying Eye Hospital, which has been restoring sight all around the world since 1982. “We look forward to welcoming the members of the public selected by WISH and our local partners on board this unique aircraft, to celebrate the incredible mile-stones of the Qatar Fund for Development through the ‘Qatar Creating Vision’ initiative.”

Qatar residents aged over 16 who are interested in visiting the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital should apply by September 13, by emailing [email protected]

An operation being conducted inside the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital.

Workshop on judicial power to monitor ‘Al Azab’THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Ministry of Municipality and Environment is organising a five-day workshop on judicial power to monitor animal farms locally called ‘Al Azab’.

The workshop which was kicked off yesterday, is being organised by the Livestock Department at the Ministry in collaboration with Center for Envi-ronmental and Municipal Studies to educate the inspectors about procedures of judicial power for regular inspections or those carried following com-plaints about the violations.

The participants were also told to collect enough information about the complaint like name of com-plainer, type of complaint, place and type of vio-lation. Then the inspector will head directly to site to conduct the inspection an catch the violation.

Workshop aims at providing practical knowledge to the inspectors which they would need for their works educating them how to implement the laws and regulations in this regard. The participants at the workshop on judicial power to monitor animal breeding farm.

MEC recalls selectmodels of DucatiDOHA: The Ministry of Economy and Commerce, in collaboration with Al Fardan Motorcycles, dealer of Ducati Motorcycles in Qatar, has announced the recall of Ducati Panigale 1299, Panigale 1299 S and Panigale 1299 R final edition models of 2015-2018 because the front brake piston may get a crack under high stressful condi-tions.

The Ministry said the recall campaign comes within the framework of its ongoing efforts to protect consumers and ensure that bike dealers follow up on vehicles’ defects and repair them.

The world’s only

fully-functioning

accredited eye

hospital on board

an aircraft will be

visiting Doha this

fall. It will coincide

with the WISH 2018

summit to be held on

November 13 and 14

at QNCC.

DOHA: The Ministry of the Interior will organise today a press conference on the permanent Residency Law No. 10 of 2018 and the proce-dures for granting the Permanent Residency Card .

The meeting will be attended by Brigadier Abdullah Salem Al Ali from the Office of Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Brigadier Mohammed Ahmed Al Ateeq, Director General of Passports and Brigadier General Salem Saqr Al Muraikhi, Director of Legal Affairs Department, to talk about the law and privi-leges that PR Card holders will receive as well as the conditions that must be met by residents who are entitled to apply for Permanent Res-idency card, the application mechanism and other proce-dures related to the Law.

MoI to hold meet on Permanent Residency today


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NU-Q sets up Media Innovation LabTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Students, faculty, and staff at Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) will have access to a new Media Innovation Lab (MIL), which will bring inno-vative ideas together with theory and technology to develop original concepts and solutions to address challenges in the media world.

“The MIL is designed to stimulate curiosity, encourage interdisciplinary conversations, and enable our students to create tangible change in the media industry around them,” said Everette E Dennis, dean and CEO at NU-Q. “It will also serve as a springboard to turn big ideas into practical products and processes.”

The MIL was the result of a working group created at NU-Q to explore how students, faculty, and staff could use the new building as a platform for inno-

vation and a possible futures lab. Each year, the MIL will

address a specific media-centric theme by arranging a series of workshops, lectures, and activ-ities around it. This year the theme is “Virtual and Aug-mented Reality in Storytelling and Media.” As part of that theme, it will invite experts in the industry to visit NU-Q.

This year, the first expert will be Emmy-winning virtual reality producer and editorial director of enterprise and

immersive experiences at TIME, Mia Tramz. Tramz, responsible for launching TIME’s company-wide VR and AR platform in both production and business development, will share her expertise on innovative and immersive storytelling. In addition to speaking about the current state of the technology being used in media and sharing her story, Tramz will host several workshops on content creation for the NU-Q community.

In October, the theme will be on the technical aspects of VR and AR, with a lecture and training session on equipment and recording content. In November, the MIL will provide a session on designing a project plan for the creation of a com-plete VR project, from idea for-mation through going live.

For students, faculty, and staff working in the MIL, there will be an array of AR and VR

equipment to support media content creation and con-sumption. The equipment includes various headsets such as Oculus Go, Samsung Gear,

Google Daydream, HTC Vive Pro, and the Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream, among other technologies.

In addition to mentorship

and access to technology, a grant program will also be offered to students for ideas related to virtual and aug-mented reality.

NU-Q student Omer Alaoui experiments with the MIL’s new Oculus Go VR headset.

The MIL was the result

of a working group

created at NU-Q to

explore how students,

faculty and staff could

use the new building

as a platform for inno-

vation and a possible

futures lab.

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Re, a global multi-line reinsurer and a reinsurance subsidiary of Qatar Insurance Group has been ranked 27th among top fifty global reinsurers by international credit rating agency, A.M. Best.

The new assigned ranking affirms Qatar Re’s very strong capital base and well diversified portfolio, which is coupled with global business diversification, serving global reinsurance markets.

Qatar Re’s new ranking was assigned on the basis of unaffil-iated Gross Written Premium (GWP) in 2017. Besides having a strong track record of opera-tional performance and robust underwriting, the reinsurer also wrote non-life reinsurance business worth QR1,626m in 2017.

Licensed as a Class 4 rein-surer by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), Qatar Re is headquartered in Bermuda. Through its branch offices located in major reinsurance hubs in Zurich, London, Dubai, Singapore, and a Service Company in Doha, Qatar Re writes all major property & cas-ualty and specialty lines of

business. Connecting its years of experience and expertise at technical underwriting, Qatar Re services its customers with acuity and dexterity. Qatar Re continues to benefit from a rating of ‘A/Stable’ from S&P Global Ratings and ‘A (Excellent)’ from A.M. Best. QIC derives its financial strength from its parent Qatar Insurance Group. As of 30th June, 2018, Qatar Re has a net shareholders’ equity of QR697m.

Commenting on this recent achievement, Khalifa Abdulla Turki Al Subaey, Group Pres-ident & CEO of QIC Group stated, “We are extremely delighted with Qatar Re’s recent ranking. This development is a very sig-nificant milestone in QIC

Group’s growth strategy. It clearly demonstrates how the Board of Directors’ vision that was for-mulated in 2012 is being accomplished and also highlights the trust and level of con-fidence of QIC Group’s shareholders and investors. Today, our international portfolio generates more than 70 percent of the total

Gross Written Premium (GWP), contributing significantly towards the national economy and facilitating the realization of Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030.”

He further said, “In order to support the rapid expansion of Qatar Re, we have made signif-icant enhancements in group-wide risk management and have incorporated new strategic deci-sions to further support the growth of the company. Qatar Re’s dynamic growth and new ranking is a key driver for ena-bling more capital injection and efficient capital management to further grow its book of business and expand its global franchise, both in terms of product offerings and geographies.”

Khalifa Abdulla Turki Al Subaey, Group President & CEO, QIC Group.

Qatar Re ranked 27th among top 50 global reinsurers

Al Wajbah Health Centre opens toreferrals for psychology servicesTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Support Clinic at Al Wajbah Health Centre has begun to offer psychological therapies for patients. The Support Clinic team includes psychologists and social workers who can help patients address common mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety.

Dr Fatema Musa, Head of the Mental Health Programme at Primary Health Care Corpo-ration (PHCC) said, “The avail-ability of psychological ther-apies at PHCC brings much needed services closer to the homes of our patients, saving them a visit to hospital to receive these important services.”

The newly opened Al Wajbah Health Centre delivers confidential primary care psy-chological therapies to patients aged 18 or above, who are already registered at any health centre. Patients can be referred by a physician to the Support Clinic. If the person has not yet registered as a patient at a Health Centre, you can visit the PHCC website https://eservices.phcc.qa/location or go to the local health centre to complete the registration procedures.

The Support Clinic at Al Wajbah health centre delivers a

range of psycho-logical therapies in a safe environment. For example, one-to-one cognitive behavioural inter-ventions to address a wide range of issues such as depression, anxiety, s t r e s s o r bereavement.

A l W a j b a h Health Centre, which opened in May 2018, is a Wellness Center that is unique not only in Qatar but in the region. It pro-vides comprehensive health services through family med-icine clinics, which i n c l u d e s t h e treatment of non-communicable dis-eases, follow-up of pregnant women and postpartum, healthy women, healthy children and periodic immunisations. The centre also has laboratory, pharmacy, radiography and ultrasound, Physiotherapy services

Al Wajbah Health Centre also has other wellness services that focus on health promotion, such as a gym, swimming pool,

sauna, steam and massage services. The specialised clinics are equipped with the latest equipment.

Support Clinics were previ-ously established at Rawdat Al Khail, Leabaib and Al Thumama health centres. All patients age 18 years and above across the country now have access to primary care psychological therapies.

The Support Clinic at Al Wajbah Health Centre.

CNA-Q’s 17th academic year makes strong startTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q) successfully began its 17th academic year with new Qatari leadership and a further increase to the student popu-lation.

The total number of students reached 2,500, which is the largest in the College’s history, across the four schools of Business Studies, Engineering Technology and Industrial Trades, Health Sciences and Information Technology.

CNA-Q also welcomed Prof. Khalifa N Al Khalifa as its first Qatari President. Prior to joining CNA-Q, Prof. Al Khalifa was a full Professor and Dean of the College of Engineering, and Founding Director of the Qatar Transportation and Traffic Safety Center at Qatar University. Prof Al Khalifa brings decades of expertise and leadership to CNA-Q as a prestigious researcher and educator.

“I extend a warm welcome to new and returning students as they start the new academic year,” said Prof Khalifa. “I am pleased to assume the role of President at CNA-Q, an institution that has built a strong reputation for being a quality edu-cation institute with state-of-the-art facil-ities and cutting edge technology, giving top technical training to Qatar’s young leaders. Under my leadership we are a national College, with a focus on educating the workforce of Qatar’s future.”

New students were welcomed to CNA-Q with a comprehensive orientation

facilitated by the Student Affairs Department and the Registrar’s Office. Students toured through the many advanced laboratory and simulation facil-ities that the campus boasts, and were able to meet highly adept faculty members who will be leading them through their studies. A series of events and activities, including club fairs and health and wellness ses-sions, are planned for the first weeks to ensure students are comfortable on campus and knowledge about how to

succeed academically and personally on campus. Since its inception in 2002, CNA-Q has grown to offer 30 diploma and certificate programs, graduating of thou-sands students from full-time programs who have populated the workforce in Qatar or pursued further education.

This year marks the 17th year that CNA-Q has been providing high-quality experiential technical education in Qatar to support the State’s strategic vision to educate, develop and retain young Qataris.

The students and faculty members attend the orientation event at the College of the North Atlantic-Qatar.


DFI to screen 12 films at Toronto festivalTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Continuing the track-record of presenting Arab and international talent to the world at major film festivals, 12 films supported by the Doha Film Institute (DFI) are being screened at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival which began on September 6 and ends on September16.

This builds on the strong show of films backed by the Institute at the recent Sarajevo and Venice film festivals. Among the 12 films, four are marking their world premiere while eight have their North American pre-mieres, one of which is in the

Special Presentations showcase. Fatma Al Remaihi, Chief Exec-

utive Officer of DFI, said: “It has been an exceptionally rewarding year for the alumni of the Doha Film Institute, with several films being chosen for international film festivals, including now at Toronto. We are truly delighted to present

the works of our emerging talents as well as works by accomplished filmmakers that have been sup-ported through our Grants and co-financing initiatives and nurtured through our annual industry event, Qumra. The 12 films at Toronto present distinctive narratives that celebrate the power of films to inspire and move audiences worldwide.”

In the Masters’ section are screening are Turkish auteur and 2014 Palme D’or winner and 2016 Qumra Master Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s The Wild Pear Tree and Divine Wind by the established Algerian filmmaker Merzak Allouache.

Also marking their world pre-miere at Toronto are Look at Me

directed by Nejib Belkadhi to screen in the Contemporary World Cinema programme, Freedom Fields-a documentary by Naziha Arebi screening in TIFF Docs and Brotherhood- a short film in the Short Cuts segment, directed by Meryam Joobeur.

The six films to celebrate their North American premieres at

Toronto in the Discovery section and Wavelengths programme are A Kasha by hajooj kuka, nurtured at DFI’s annual industry event Qumra; Screwdriver by Bassam Jarbawi; Too Late To Die Young by Dominga Sotomayor, a 2018 Qumra project; The Day I Lost My Shadow; The Load by Ognjen Glavonić, about Vlada; and Long

Day’s Journey into Night by Gan Bi. In the Special Presentations segment is Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki’s Capharnaüm, which won the Jury Prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, a gritty film about a child who rebels against the life imposed on him and launches a lawsuit against his parents.

A scene from the movie, Screwdriver.

Among the 12 films,

four are marking their

world premiere while

eight have their North

American premieres,

one of which is in the

Special Presentations

showcase.

CRA to focus on innovation at Telecom World 2018THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Mohammed Ali Al Mannai (pictured), President of the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) is leading a high-level delegation to represent Qatar at the Telecom World 2018, organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Durban, South Africa, to be held from September 10 to 13.

ITU Telecom World 2018 is an annual international event that brings SMEs, entrepreneurs and innovators, heads of states and governments, heads of international organisations, ministers and regulators of ICT and related sectors. ITU Telecom world 2018 will include a world-class forum, international exhi-bition and awards program.

CRA is continually exploring challenges faced and creative solutions being adopted by industry leaders and other reg-ulators through outstanding

events such as the World Telecom World. The theme for this year’s Telecom World event is “Innovation for smarter digital development”, which is close to CRA’s mandate and strategy.

“The mission of the ITU is aligned with CRA’s objective of enabling the development of a sustainable digital society for the social and economic benefit of people in Qatar, through a forward looking, transparent and consistent regulatory framework. This is an excellent forum for us

to talk about our initiatives and learn from the experience of other regulators and industry leaders from around the world so that we can improve the expe-rience of telecom consumers in Qatar, and enable the availability of innovative, high quality com-munications services in the future,” said Al Mannai.

This year the event will focus on innovations in technology, policy and strategy for smarter digital development and includes ministerial round tables and panel sessions to discuss inno-vation in spectrum policy and regulatory frameworks, new business models for new tech-nologies in Internet of things (IoT), 5G networks, Industry 4.0, the creative potential, regulatory and ethical challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital citi-zenship, data security and e-skills. It’s worth mentioning that Reem Al Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary for Digital

Society Development Affairs, the Ministry of Transport and Com-munications (MoTC), will take part as a panelist and speak in one of the forum sessions under the title of “Smart cities: innova-tions in sustainable urban living”.

CRA continually monitors the latest trends and best prac-tices across the globe to enable development of a sustainable, connected, digital society through the implementation of innovative and effective regu-latory instruments, regulations and policies across the ICT sector in Qatar. As the United Nations specialised agency for infor-mation and communication technologies (ICTs), ITU allocates global radio spectrum and sat-ellite orbits, develops the tech-nical standards that ensure net-works and technologies seam-lessly interconnect, and strives to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide.

Safari launches another megapromotion worth 10kg of goldTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Safari Hypermarket is offering another big promotion at its all outlets from today in which the customers can win 10kg of gold through a raffle system.

The customers can partic-ipate by obtaining a coupon on purchasing goods worth QR50 from any Safari outlet, said a release. There will five lucky draws in this mega promotion which starts today. The prize of each lucky draw is 2kg of gold. Four winners will be selected in each lucky draw. The winner of first prize will get 1kg gold, 500g for second prize winner, 300g for third winner and 200g for the person on the fourth position. Ten lucky winners including Qataris, Indians, Nepalese and Pakistanis received 10 Nissan Patrol cars during the last Safari

mega promotion which ended on August 2. Safari ensures shopping with valuable gifts through lucky draws.

Safari Group Director and General Manger Zainul Abideen said it was a historic moment in the retail industry when Safari presented QR1m as first prize. Also he showed his confidence on the valuable customers of Safari by saying that they will definitely accept “Win 10kg Gold Promotion” with highest enthu-siasm like all the previous promotions.


QU research highlights treatment burden on patients with kidney failuresTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar University College of Pharmacy’s (QU-CPH) Qatari national MSc student Asmaa Jafour Al Mansouri recently defended her thesis titled “Assessment of treatment burden and its impact on quality of life in chronic kidney disease patients in Qatar: a mixed method study”.

The research study is the first to explore and describe treatment-related burden and quality of life among kidney failure patients — both pre-dialysis and patients receiving dialysis — in Qatar. It was

conducted at Fahad Bin Jassim Kidney Center, a member of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).

It is supervised by CPH Asso-ciate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Practice, Dr. Ahmed Awaisu, CPH Professor of Social and Administrative Pharmacy, Dr. Mohamed Izham Mohamed Ibrahim, and Aca-demic Director of Postgraduate Program-Taught at University of Auckland School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Dr Nadir Kheir.

The study found that a con-siderable proportion of patients

suffered from treatment-related burden and deterioration in quality of life at a varying degree of seriousness. It further docu-mented that marital status, edu-cational level, employment status, co-morbidities such as type 2 diabetes, number of med-ications, and pill burden were all factors that significantly led to higher perceived treatment burden.

Furthermore, the study indi-cated that higher treatment-related burden should be taken into account in the management strategies of kidney failure and the identified factors that

increase treatment-related burden should be considered when designing health care inter-ventions directed towards this patient population.

Asmaa Jafour Al Mansouri noted that chronic kidney disease (CKD) in general and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in particular contribute to high health and economic burden worldwide. She said: “In ESRD patients requiring dialysis, the number of pre-scribed medicines is typically very high. Management of CKD is associated with not only eco-nomic burden as a result of resources utilization and loss of

productivity, it also leads to high treatment burden and impaired health-related quality of life (HR-QOL).”

She added: “Our study con-firmed the existence of treatment and medication-related burden among patients with CKD. We propose that pharmacists have an important role in decreasing medication-related burden asso-ciated among CKD patients. This will improve HR-QOL, save costs, and improve outcomes of care in patients with CKD in Qatar.”

Dr. Ahmed Awaisu said: “This project about treatment-related burden and its impact on quality

of life in patients with kidney failure in Qatar is highly signif-icant and relevant to Qatar National Health Strategy for the purpose of improving health out-comes. Asmaa Al-Mansouri did this project to gauge the current situation and propose future directions for minimizing this burden and improving outcomes.”

“I am very proud that she did an outstanding job and has done a project that would potentially have an impact on practice, developing strategies for improving health care, and policy in Qatar,” he added.

World-class academics join HBKU faculty

PMG marks Pakistan Defence Day to pay tribute to national heroes PMG celebrated Pakistan Defence Day on September 6 to pay tribute to the brave national heroes of Pakistan. Mohammad Jamil Sharif, owner of Rabshah Fashion, was the chief guest of the occasion. Billa Pir and other PMG members, including Attiq Rasheed, Aamir Butt, Sheraz Ali Khan and Shaukat Ali Naaz also attended the ceremony.

Expert calls on parents to emotionally back kids returning to school THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Anxious feelings are normal and expected during times of transition or change returning to school after holidays and it can be more challenging for some children, said Dr Khalid Abdulla Al Yafei (pictured), Senior Consultant, Pediatrics at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).

“Returning to school after summer holidays can be a chal-lenging time as children move from holiday mode to the daily routine of going to bed early and waking up early. This tran-sition can be especially stressful for first-timers starting school and for children who are prone to anxiety. Children may cry, have temper tantrums, com-plain of headaches or stomach pains, become withdrawn or irritable,” said Dr Al Yafei.

Dr Al Yafei said that while most children are capable of accepting change, some will have a difficult time adjusting to the transition from summer holidays to being back in school. He said anxious children and teens may worry about many different school-related issues, such as teachers, friends, fitting in, and being away from their parents.

Parents can provide important emotional support for their children as they ease back into the school year. He has recommended parents talk to their children about the pos-itive experiences associated with returning to school and help them get excited about learning new things and making new friends.

“School can provide a val-uable opportunity for children to develop and practice social skills and even to practice

overcoming anxiety. However, if your child’s anxiety persists, reach out for help. Your primary healthcare doctor may be able to offer advice or rec-ommend a support service or therapist, and the school nurse may also be able to offer assistance,” said Dr Al Yafei.

Dr. Al Yafei stressed the importance of parents creating and maintaining an envi-ronment that supports their child’s physical needs, including a calm and quiet environment during bedtime and sufficient sleep. He said children need between eight to ten hours of sleep each night and he cau-tions parents to limit the time their child spends with elec-tronic gadgets such as video games, smartphones, tablets, and laptops, especially prior to bedtime. He said it is also important for children to eat a healthy and balanced diet and to get daily exercise, both of which will help stimulate con-centration and allow children to feel their best while at school. He suggested meals that are rich in nutrients and minerals, especially during breakfast. He added that consumption of caf-feinated drinks and fatty foods, which are known to cause obesity and irregular heart rates, should be avoided.

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) has received a distinguished selection of world-class educators and renowned researchers to join the University’s teaching faculty as of the Fall 2018 semester.

As an evolving institute of teaching excellence, HBKU’s multidisciplinary degree options recently expanded to include six new academic degrees, including both master’s and doctoral pro-grammes — a development that invited the arrival of a new cohort of faculty members to support these degrees.

Explaining the contribution the incoming faculty is expected to have on the degree cur-riculum, Professor and Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, Dr Yousef Haik, said, “The success of our University is ultimately determined by the human capital we engage — in short, it is the quality of educators whose capacity and experience will

breathe life into our research programmes and classroom dis-cussions to motivate great research outputs. Coming into our new degree programmes at a formative stage, these edu-cators will indeed sculpt the very way in which these programmes will develop for years to come.”

Commenting on her decision to join HBKU as part of a pio-neering group of instructors that will deliver these new degree offers, Assistant Professor of the Islamic Finance programme, Dr Dalal Aassouli, said, “CIS’s new programmes bear significance

for the advancement of Islamic scholarship in academic areas concerning humanities, global affairs, and finance. As a lifelong academic, I was immediately attracted by HBKU’s innovative conceptualisation of research degrees whose overarching scope covers a number of per-tinent disciplines, particularly with a view towards the regional I s l a m i c m a r k e t developments.”

She continued: “As an edu-cator, I am driven by my stu-dents’ successes and gradual

realisations of academic mile-stones. By joining HBKU, I am dedicated to impart my own knowledge and experiences to a new generation of promising thought leaders in Islamic fields of study.”

Likewise, the College of Science and Engineering’s (CSE) progressive academic pro-grammes are unique offerings that aim to encourage knowledge-sharing in areas which carry transformative potential for the management capabilities of procurement and

logistics specialists involved in modern supply chain networks.

CSE Assistant Professor within the Logistics and Supply Chain Management programme, Dr Tareq Al Ansari, said, “The programme seeks to com-plement Qatar’s projected eco-nomic needs for trained spe-cialists who may effectively con-tribute to optimised and efficient logistics management tools that integrate the full supply chain for both inbound and outbound logistics movements resulting

from the country’s booming trade networks. We aim to play a pioneering role in helping stu-dents develop core knowledge in purchasing, negotiation, pro-duction planning and various modes of transportation man-agement, following the highest standards of the supply chain management profession.”

Responding to real-market demands in the application of Islamic scholarship to global affairs and finance, HBKU’s

CIS added a Master of Science in Islamic Art, Architecture and Urbanism; a Master of Arts in Islam and Global Affairs; and a PhD in Islamic Finance and Economy.

Similarly, CSE’s new degrees offer graduate education in health and supply chain man-agement through a new Master of Data Analytics in Health Man-agement; a Master of Science in Logistics and Supply Chain Man-agement; and a PhD in Logistics a n d S u p p l y C h a i n Management.

Dr Tareq A Al Ansari Dr Dalal Aassouli

Educational games on high demandSAFA RAMADAN AL SAWWAF THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Educational aids and games like pingo and letters’ jungle which help students learning fast are on a high demand in the local market, said a market player.

“Other most selling school stationery are colours, colouring books and those used in handwork like wool yarns, cutting papers and stickers among many more,” Ashraf Radwan, Director of the Project and Marketing of Fekra Events And Marketing Company told The Peninsula.

He said that the Fekra Company was supplying sta-tionery and educational aid and learning games to all school level including nursery, kinder-garten, primary and secondary. “Pingo games are available in English and Arabic and being used to teach students with ease a number of subjects like Arabic language, general sciences and English,” said Radwan.

He said that Pingo consists cards of beautiful colours and each card contains a letter and a picture of an animal beginning with the same letter written on the card so that the child can learn pronunciation and

spelling. “The ‘letters of jungle’ game is also available in Arabic and English,” said Radwan adding that It is a game that con-tains a coloured carpet which could be played individually, bilaterally or collectively.

He said that it consists of cards written on each letter with pictures of the animal that starts with the same letter written on the card which is used to sim-plify subjects such as Arabic, English and general sciences, and the biography of the Prophet (PBUH) through which teachers and families can teach their stu-dents and children the biography of the Prophet and other teachings of Islam in a very easy, simple and enjoyable way.

“Children insist on buying latest model school bags, pen and other stationery when they came to know through com-mercial advertisements running on various TV channels,” said Radwan. He said that proper educational aid should be selected according to the age group of the students to improve their educational level.

“It is very difficult for parents to convince their children to buy a suitable edu-cational aid or stationery while shopping,” said Radwan adding that the guardians should make their children agree before entering the shop to spend certain amount which will be helpful to buy the suitable items.

Giving tips to cut the expen-ditures of school stationery, he said that the parents should utilise promotions offered by the outlets specially on the occa-sions like back-to-school ahead of new academic year, Eid Al Fit and Eid Al Adha.

Speaking about the prices of stationery in local market, Radwan said, “Prices are suitable for all as the parents react positively regarding the prices of stationery.” He said that the company Fekra Events and Marketing is running an outlet at the Quality Hyper-market, Al Aziziya Branch.

He said that the company also offers a lot of services such as design and implementation of puppet theaters.

The Company produces recorded plays that deal with beautiful stories in order to provide the sermon and lesson. “We also provide masks for each play and stage special plays through a specialised team equipped with high efficiency and full management for the world of children,” said Radwan.

He said that the company furnishes the nurseries, kinder-gartens and schools with tables, chairs and games such as swing and educational tools and stationery.

Dr Yousef Haik

A child, with his parent, buys school stationery at a shop in Doha.

HBKU’s

multidisciplinary

degree options

recently expanded

to include six new

academic degrees,

including both

master’s and doctoral

programmes.

09MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018 MIDDLE EAST

Regime, Russia in fresh air raids on IdlibAFP

BEIRUT: Regime and Russian air raids pounded Syria’s last major rebel bastion of Idlib yesterday after an overnight lull, killing at least one child, a monitor said.

It was the second day of bom-bardment on the militants and rebel-held province and adjacent areas, after key powerbrokers in Tehran failed to reach a deal to avert a government assault.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said heavy attacks resumed on the north-western region near the Turkish border around midday yesterday.

“Regime helicopters dropped more than 60 barrel bombs on the village of Hobait in Idlib’s southern countryside, killing at least one young girl” and wounding six other people, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

In the neighbouring province of Hama, Russian jets carried out more than ten strikes on rebel positions in the village of Al

Latamneh, he said.The raids wounded five rebels

and knocked the village’s under-ground hospital out of action, just a day after strikes damaged a similar health facility in Idlib’s southern town of Hass.

Some of the heaviest bom-bardment in weeks hit Idlib and nearby areas on Saturday, killing at least nine civilians before coming to a halt by the evening, the Observatory said.

More than half of Idlib is held by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS),

an alliance led by Syria’s former Al Qaeda affiliate, while most of the rest is held by rival rebels. The regime controls a southeastern chunk.

HTS and rebels are also present in adjacent areas of the neighbouring provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia.

Hundreds of families have fled Idlib’s southeastern areas since Saturday, when Russian and regime strikes on the region were the most violent in a month, the Observatory said.

Idlib’s health chief Munzer Al Khalil said on Saturday he feared “the most catastrophic crisis” in Syria’s seven-year war.

He said he had travelled to Geneva to urge diplomats and UN officials to help prevent a “catastrophe”.

The United Nations has warned that any military cam-paign in Idlib could push up to 800,000 people to flee their homes. The leaders of regime allies Russia and Iran met with the president of rebel backer Turkey in Tehran on Friday, but failed to reach an agreement to

avoid a military assault. The rebel-held region of Idlib and adjacent areas are home to almost three million people, half of whom have been displaced from other areas in the country,

according to the UN.Regime troops have for

weeks been massing around Idlib, after President Bashar Al Assad’s regime retook control of other areas of the country earlier this

year. More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions dis-placed since Syria’s civil war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-Assad protests.

Displaced Syrians rest in the shade of a truck as they arrive with their belongings to a camp in Kafr Lusin near the border with Turkey in the northern part of Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province, yesterday.

“Regime helicopters

dropped more than

60 barrel bombs on

the village of Hobait

in Idlib’s southern

countryside, killing

at least one young

girl” and wounding

six other people,

Observatory head

Rami Abdel Rahman

said.

Iraqi women walk in the street after a week of violent protests in Basra, yesterday.

Calm returns to Basra aftera week of violent protestsAP

BASRA, IRAQ: A sense of calm returned to Iraq’s southern city of Basra yesterday after a week of violent protests over unem-ployment and poor public services that left at least 15 people dead and threatened stability in the oil-rich region.

Troops sent from Baghdad have reinforced police, and gov-ernment offices and markets reopened after a quiet night. Municipality workers were out in force cleaning up the streets and carting away debris from the clashes.

The oil-rich region and other cities in Iraq’s southern Shiah heartland have been

convulsed by the most serious protests in years, with residents complaining of power outages, filthy tap water and soaring unemployment.

In recent days, protesters have attacked government offices, political party head-quarters and the Iranian con-sulate. Many blame their woes on neighbouring Iran’s outsized influence on Iraqi politics and are calling for radical change.

On Saturday, a spokesman for an alliance of powerful Shiah militias vowed to respond against “those who are carrying out acts of arson and sabotage.” The local commander, known as Abu Yasser Al Jaafari, said the lack of response thus far should

not be taken as a sign of weakness.

Hours later, masked gov-ernment troops in combat fatigues deployed in the city, setting up checkpoints and riding through the city centre in black pickup trucks with heavy weapons mounted in the back. Security forces in Humvees deployed at intersections.

Naqeeb Al Luaibi, a local activist, said protest organisers have decided to suspend the demonstrations after receiving death threats from Iran-backed militias. The militias accuse them of colluding with the US, which has long worked to curb Iranian influence in Iraq, alle-gations denied by the activists.

Khamenei urges Iran’s military to ‘scare off’ enemyREUTERS

DUBAI: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Iran’s armed forces yesterday to increase their power to “scare off” the enemy, as the country faces increased tension with the United States.

His statement came just before Iran’s elite Revolu-tionary Guards said it fired seven missiles in an attack on Iraq-based Iranian Kurdish dissidents that killed at least 11 people on Saturday.

“Increase your power as much as you can, because your power scares off the enemy and forces it to retreat,” Khamenei’s official website quoted him as saying at a graduation ceremony for cadets of Iran’s regular armed forces.

US President Donald Trump in May withdrew from Iran’s nuclear agreement with world powers — a deal aimed at stalling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities in return for lifting some sanctions — and ordered the reimposition of US sanctions that had been suspended under the deal.

“Iran and the Iranian nation have resisted America and proven that, if a nation is not afraid of threats by bullies and relies on its own capabil-ities, it can force the super-powers to retreat and defeat them,” Khamenei said during a visit to Iran’s Caspian port city of Nowshahr.

State television also

showed Khamenei praising Iranian naval forces in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Yemen, while speaking to their commander via videolink.

Shiah power Iran rejects accusations from Saudi Arabia that it is giving financial and military support to Yemen’s Houthis, who are fighting a government backed by a Saudi-led military coalition of Sunni Arab countries.

Meanwhile, a senior mil-itary official said Iran had capability to export the know-how to produce solid rocket fuel, the state news agency IRNA reported. Solid fuel rockets can be fired on short notice.

“In the scientific field, today we have reached a stage where we can export the tech-nology to produce solid rocket fuel,” said Brigadier General Majid Bokaei, Director-General of Iran’s main defence university, quoted by IRNA.

Iran said earlier this month it planned to boost its ballistic and cruise missile capacity and acquire modern fighter planes and submarines to boost i ts defence capabilities.

On Saturday Iran dis-missed a French call for nego-tiations on Tehran’s future nuclear plans, its ballistic missile arsenal and its role in wars in Syria and Yemen, fol-lowing the US pullout from I r a n ’ s 2 0 1 5 n u c l e a r agreement.

84 dead in fighting in Yemen’s Hodeida after talks failAFP

KHOKHA, YEMEN: Clashes and air strikes have left 84 people dead around Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeida since the collapse of UN-brokered peace talks, hospital sources said yesterday.

The sources in Hodeida province, controlled by Houthi rebels, said 11 soldiers and 73 insurgents had been killed since the talks were abandoned on Saturday.

Dozens of rebels and at least 17 soldiers had been wounded.

The pro-government coa-lition, which includes Saudi and UAE air forces, has been pushing to close in on Hodeida, the entry

point for some 70 percent of Yemen’s imports including food and aid, since June.

The coalition yesterday was positioned to attempt to seize the main road linking Sana’a, the rebel-held capital, to the port city, a military official said.

The road is a key supply route for the Houthis.

In July, the coalition announced a temporary ceasefire in Hodeida to give a chance to UN-brokered peace talks. But UN attempts to hold peace talks between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and the Houthis, linked to Saudi Arabia’s archrival Iran, were abandoned on Saturday, sparking fears of an escalation

in the conflict. The rebels refused to leave Yemen for Geneva, saying the UN had not met their demands — including a plane to transport their wounded to nearby Oman and a guarantee their delegation would be allowed to return to Sana’a.

In 2014, the Houthis seized control of a string of Red Sea ports and the capital, driving the government out of Sana’a and the president into exile.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the conflict to bolster President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, recognised by the UN as Yemen’s president. They now control Yemen’s airspace.

Nearly 10,000 people have since been killed and the country

now stands at the brink of famine.

A Yemeni man drives his motorbike past burning tyres as protesters demonstrate against inflation and the rise of living costs in the country’s second city of Aden, yesterday.

Israeli police detain two Palestinian girls in JerusalemANATOLIA

JERUSALEM: Israeli police yesterday detained two Palestinian girls as they left East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al Aqsa Mosque compound.

“Police forces held my 15-year-old daughter shortly after leaving the mosque,” her mother Jihad Al Razzam said.

She said her 21-year-old niece was also detained.

No information was yet available about the reason of their detention.

Earlier, Israeli forces arrested an employee with Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, a Jordan-run organisation responsible for overseeing the city’s Islamic sites.

Tension has mounted in the Palestinian territories — including occupied East Jeru-salem, where the Al Aqsa is located — since US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

For Muslims, the Al Aqsa represents the world’s third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the “Temple Mount”, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Iran Guards confirm missile strikes in IraqAFP

TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolu-tionary Guards confirmed yesterday they had launched deadly missile strikes against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq the previous day.

“The terrorists’ head-quarters... was successfully struck by seven surface-to-surface rockets on Saturday by the missile department of the Guards’ aerospace force,” it said on its Sepah News website.

The statement added that their drone division was also involved.

Fifteen people were killed in the rare cross-border attack on the Kurdistan Dem-ocratic Party of Iran, which is blacklisted as a “terrorist” group by Tehran, a KDPI spokesman, Soran Louri, said yesterday.

Around 30 others were injured, according to local medical sources.

The move against

UNRWA is only

the latest blow

to Palestinians

delivered by Trump.

It follows cuts in

US development

aid to Palestinians

in the West Bank

and Gaza as well

the administration’s

decision last year to

recognise Jerusalem

as Israel’s capital.

10 MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018VIEWS

Trump’s anti-Palestinian agenda will ultimately hurt Israel

The UN Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, has tended to the needs of Palestinian refugees for nearly seven decades. But if

President Donald Trump has his way, it will soon be out of business.

His administration said it would cease funding the UN agency, which was launched in 1949 to provide for more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes in what is now Israel. Relying on volunteer donors — of which Washington has been the largest — UNRWA has had its mandate renewed repeatedly by the UN General Assembly as the Israeli-Pales-tinian conflict has dragged on. Over the decades, the population of Palestinian refugees in the occupied territories and now-semi-permanent camps in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon has ballooned to around 5 million, encompassing the descendants of the original exiles.

The White House, along with Israel’s right wing, argues that the rolls of recog-nised refugees should be limited to those alive in 1949 — a move at odds with other UN operations that also confer refugee status upon the descendants of the displaced. At a conference in Wash-ington last week, Nikki Haley, Trump’s envoy to the United Nations, bemoaned the “endless number of refugees that continue to get assistance” and how “the

Palestinians con-tinue to bash America.”

Yair Lapid tweeted “I welcome the US decision to stop funding UNRWA. Aside from pro-viding cover to terror, UNRWA is responsible for the fact that the 750,000 people they registered originally (most of whom have since died) became 5.5 million fake ref-ugees. UNRWA lost sight of its purpose long ago.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many other leading Israeli politicians cheered Trump’s decision. Meanwhile, UNRWA officials are scrambling to raise funds from the European Union and Arab countries, adamant that their mission is necessary until a meaningful peace is achieved.

“There is only one thing that perpet-uates the situation of refugees, including Palestinian refugees, and that is the extraordinary failure of the international community to bring about a just and fair and inclusive solution to the conflict,” Pierre Krähenbühl, UNRWA’s

commissioner general, said to The Washington Post’s Ruth Eglash.

The move against UNRWA is only the latest blow to Palestinians delivered by Trump. It follows cuts in US devel-opment aid to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza as well the administra-tion’s decision last year to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, widely seen as a dismissal of Palestinians’ claims to East Jerusalem as their future seat of government.

The Trump administration’s approach has alienated the already enfeebled Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, who is the key inter-locutor in any peace deal with Israel. While Trump’s lieutenants insist they are blazing a path toward a new grand bargain, it has become abundantly clear that the White House is in ideological lockstep with Netanyahu and his gov-ernment, which includes ministers who openly claim the Palestinians will never have their own state.

According to reports, Abbas claimed that Trump envoys have even floated the prospect of a joint Palestinian-Jor-danian confederation rather than Pales-tinian independence. “His negotiations have put me in a position where I have nothing to lose. Why should I talk to them?” Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said to The Post. “They have disqualified themselves from any role in the peace process and destroyed all prospects of peace.”

Khaled Elgindy, a fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Middle East Policy, told the Intercept: “Past US administrations were also slanted toward the Israelis, but what’s different today is that the usual mitigating factors in decision-making, such as American national security interests and the desire to at least appear evenhanded, no longer seem to be present. Instead we have domestic politics and ideology in their purest form dictating US policy on this issue.”

This may have disastrous short-term consequences for Palestinians dependent on UNRWA assistance. Trump’s move surprised Israel’s security establishment, which fears a humani-tarian crisis. Those concerns are shared

by many in Washington.Sen Dianne Feinstein tweeted

“Further impoverishing Palestinians only empowers extremists, undermines the PA and harms Israel’s security. Com-pletely cutting off funding to UNRWA is inhumane and undermines our own interests in the region.”

But there are long-term dangers for Israel as well. Netanyahu has embraced an ever more strident nationalism, pushing through a controversial national-identity law that undercuts minority rights. Abroad, he flirts with authoritarian leaders willing to back Israel in international forums — even if they have track records of anti-Semitism.

“Publicly, Arab dictators say full peace with Israel will only be possible when the Palestinian issue is solved, but in private, they are continuously drawing closer to Israel,” wrote Haaretz’s Anshel Pfeffer. “Indeed, their joint interests in confronting Iran and the Islamic State easily trump any true Arab solidarity with the Palestinians.”

All of this has made Netanyahu dominant in Israeli politics, but it has fueled growing anger abroad. As Trump and Netanyahu seemingly pile more dirt on the coffin of the two-state solution, comparisons to apartheid-era South Africa have become more common.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanc-tions movement, which urges foreign governments and corporations to boycott Israel as long as it maintains its occupation over Palestinians, has become an increasingly important factor in the politics of peace. And as bipartisan support for Israel fades in the United States, Netanyahu’s right-wing stances leave Israel more vulnerable to censure.

“The alliance between Israel’s allies and ultra-nationalists in Europe and the US has become a central theme of the BDS campaign’s messages. In this respect, the Trump era has been good for the movement,” Nathan Thrall, an expert on Israeli-Palestinian politics, wrote in the Guardian. “So has the Netanyahu government, whose attacks on BDS have been among the greatest drivers of publicity and recruitment for the campaign.”

ISHAAN THAROOR THE WASHINGTON POST

QUOTE OF THE DAYThe country needs

continued dialogue and understanding

about the way forward. There seems

to be a commitment and a seriousness to

set the country on the track of democracy.

Abiy Ahmed Ali

Ethiopian Prime Minister

Global marches seek urgent action on climate change

More than 18,000 people marched in Paris as part of an interna-

tional mobilsation to show popular support for urgent measures to combat climate change in advance of a San Francisco summit.

Crowds overflowed a plaza in front of City Hall before marching east to the Place de la Republique, carrying an urgent message that it’s up to the public to put global warming at the top of the political agenda.

“Planet in Danger,” read some banners. Activists around the world encouraged “Rise for Climate” protests before the summit taking place September 12-September 14. California’s governor

pro-posed the event after President Donald Trump vowed to pull the US out of a landmark 2015 climate accord.

The international agreement was negotiated in France, and the French capital’s march was more successful than ones held Saturday in other French cities or elsewhere in Europe.

Environmental groups said the organised hun-dreds of events around the globe Saturday to high-light the issue.

Thousands of people took to the streets of San Francisco, marching about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the city’s piers to City Hall. Demonstrators banged drums, sang and hoisted signs that said “Rise for climate justice” and

“Not a penny more for dirty energy.” They called for politicians to spearhead a transition to 100 percent renewable energy. Police estimated that 18,500 took part in the Paris march, while organizers put the number at some 50,000.

Several hundred people gathered in France’s southern port city of Mar-seille. Several dozen called for an end to the use of fossil fuels outside Lon-don’s Tate Modern art gallery. Only about two doz-en showed up in Bar-celona, Spain.

The front-page of France’s daily Liberation newspaper featured a call from 700 French scientists for the government to “move from incantations to acts to move toward a carbon-free society.”

The language was a ref-erence to French President Emmanuel Macron’s use of the phrase “Make our planet great again,” a takeoff on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” cam-paign slogan.

The signing scientists also called for “strong and clear political choices” and said “solutions are available.”

The march in Paris, organized with the theme “Change the system, but don’t change the climate,” was both festive and serious.

One protester, Manuel Bibes, denounced the plastic that inundates daily life. Another, Rodgrigo de la Vega criti-cised the practice of driving down the road to buy bread.

Qatar’s oil,

gas and

petrochemicals

sector has

emerged as the

leading industry

attracting nearly

two-fifth of the

total top talent

accounting for

39 percent of the

total hired across

Qatar.

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM [email protected]

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI [email protected]

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIAL

Qatar attracting talent

A recent survey has revealed that companies in Qatar are on a hiring spree and this trend is expected to continue in the coming years. According to the

latest MENA Job Index Survey, Qatar remains a booming and competitive market, with many talented profes-sionals looking to make their next big break.

The survey has indicated that hiring intentions are on the rise in Qatar. The majority of Qatar employers (82 percent) are planning to hire in the next three months, and the outlook continues to improve as 90 percent of employers are planning to hire in the coming year.

Qatar’s oil, gas and petrochemicals sector has emerged as the leading industry attracting nearly two-fifth of the total top talent accounting for 39 percent of the total hired across Qatar. This was followed by real estate and construction (36 percent), healthcare and medical (34 percent), engineering and design (32 percent), and banking and finance (30 percent), reveals the findings of a survey released yesterday.

Eight in 10 working respondents (81 percent) claim that their company has hired new employees in the last

6 months, with 63 percent having hired new employees in the last 3 months. Looking ahead, more than seven in 10 Qatar employers who plan to hire over the next three months expect to fill up to 10 different jobs.

Talent acquisition by companies shows the strength of Qatar’s economy which has won laurels from world over.

Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde had said, in February this year, that the steady growth in Qatar’s non-oil economy is a reflection of the country’s good diversification policy. Qatar’s growth in the non-oil sector is pretty much on a par with the non-oil growth in the oil importing countries.

Deputy Managing Director of the International

Monetary Fund (IMF) Tao Zhang , in the second week of April, had praised the economic policies of Qatar and its success in overcoming economic crises affecting the global economy.

The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Qatar has risen by around 27 percent last year, which shows that the trust of global investors on the country’s economy is intact. Qatar attracted close to 1bn ($986m to be precise) inward FDI during last year compared to $774m in 2016, according to the ‘World Investment Report 2018’ released by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Increase in FDI in Qatar is commendable consid-ering the overall trend in the region was not encour-aging as the region saw a declining trend in attracting foreign funds.

AP

As the first Afghan-

run election

since the Taliban

regime fell in

2001, the October

20 poll is seen

as a democratic

milestone and a

make-or-break step

toward successful

presidential

elections in April.

11MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018 OPINION

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Protecting democracyis an arms race

Weeks away, critical Afghan elections threatened by violence

MARK ZUCKERBERG BLOOMBERG

PAMELA CONSTABLE THE WASHINGTON POST

When you build services that connect billions of people across countries and cultures, you’re

going to see all of the good that humanity can do, and you’re also going to see people try to abuse those services in every way possible. Our

responsibility at Facebook is to amplify the good and mitigate the bad.

This is especially true when it comes to elections. Free and fair elec-tions are the heart of every democracy. During the 2016 election, we were actively looking for tradi-tional cyberattacks, and we found them.

What we didn’t find until later were foreign actors running coordi-nated campaigns to interfere with America’s democratic process. Since then, we’ve focused on improving our defenses and making it much harder for anyone to interfere in elections.

Key to our efforts has been finding and removing fake accounts — the source of much of the abuse, including misinformation. Bad actors can use computers to generate these in bulk. But with advances in artificial intelli-gence, we now block millions of fake accounts every day as they are being created so they can’t be used to spread spam, false news or inau-thentic ads.

Increased transparency in our advertising systems is another area where we have also made progress.

You can now see all the ads an adver-tiser is running — even if they aren’t targeted to you. Anyone who wants to run political or issue ads in the United States on Facebook must verify their identity.

All political and issue ads must also make clear who paid for them, in the same way as TV or newspaper advertisements. But we’ve gone even further by putting all these ads in a public archive, which anyone can search to see how much was spent on each individual ad and the audience it reached. This greater transparency will increase responsibility and accountability for advertisers.

As we’ve seen from previous elec-tions, misinformation is a real chal-lenge. A big part of the solution is getting rid of fake accounts. But it’s also about attacking the spammers’ economic incentives to create false news in the first place.

And where posts are flagged as potentially false, we pass them to independent fact-checkers — such as the Associated Press and the Weekly Standard — to review, and we demote posts rated as false, which means they lose 80 percent of future traffic.

We’re not working alone. After 2016, it became clear that everyone - governments, tech companies and independent experts — needs to do a better job of sharing the signals and information they have to prevent this kind of abuse.

These bad actors don’t restrict themselves to one service, and we shouldn’t approach the problem in silos, either. That’s why we’re working more closely with other technology companies on the cybersecurity threats we all face, and we’ve worked with law enforcement to take down accounts in Russia.

One of the biggest changes we’ve made over the past year is not to wait for reports of suspicious activity. Instead, we look proactively for

potentially harmful election-related content, such as pages registered to a foreign entity that post divisive content to sow mistrust and drive people apart. When we find them, our security team manually reviews the accounts to see whether they violate our policies. If they do, we quickly remove them. For example, we recently took down a network of accounts in Brazil that was hiding its identity and spreading misinfor-mation ahead of the country’s presi-dential elections in October.

For the US midterm elections we’re also using a new tool we tested in the Alabama Senate special election last year to identify political inter-ference more quickly.

This enabled us to find and remove foreign political spammers who’d previously flown under the radar. And last month, we took down hundreds of pages, groups and accounts for creating networks that were deliberately misleading people about their identities and intentions.

I’m often asked how confident I feel about the midterms. We’ve made a lot of progress, as our work during the French, German, Mexican and Italian elections has shown. In each case, we identified and removed fake accounts and bad content leading up to the elections, and in Germany we worked directly with the government to share information about potential threats.

The investments we continue to make in people and technology will help us improve even further. But companies such as Facebook face sophisticated, well-funded adver-saries who are getting smarter over time, too. It’s an arms race, and it will take the combined forces of the US private and public sectors to protect America’s democracy from outside interference.

The author is chief executive officer of Facebook.

In the lawless days of Afghanistan’s civil war, Zardad Faryadi was a young militia commander with a uniquely cruel reputation.

From a highway checkpoint near Kabul, he extorted money from travelers and enforced his demands by threatening to let loose a menacing man who was later executed for killing 20 people, according to human rights reports. Faryadi fled the country but wound up serving 13 years in a British prison for conspiring to torture and take hostages in Afghanistan.

Today, at 54, he is back home and attempting to run for parliament in elections scheduled just over six weeks from now. He seems like a changed man — reflective and eager to defend the rights of nomadic groups backing his candidacy. But he and 35 other can-didates have been barred from running for legislative seats because of ties to illegal groups.

As the first Afghan-run election since the Taliban regime fell in 2001, the October 20 poll is seen as a demo-cratic milestone and a make-or-break step toward successful presidential elections in April. But the election is already under violent threat from Afghan insurgents, who have attacked local election offices and bombed a voter ID card site in the capital, killing 57 people. Now, disputes and protests among Afghans over the election are posing a threat to the polls from within.

Opposition groups charge that the new voter ID system is inadequately

protected from fraud. And the closed-door process that barred some candi-dates such as Faryadi while approving others viewed as abusive or corrupt has led to charges of political manipulation and bribery as well as angry protests that shut down the central election office for nearly two weeks.

“I have not been shown any evi-dence against me. I want nothing to do with violence or factions,” Faryadi said in a recent interview. He denied he had committed the wartime brutalities that sent him to prison and asserted that other candidates with ongoing criminal dealings had bribed their way back into the running.

“This election has become a business,” he said. “If I had money and political influence, I would be back on the list, too.”

The list of barred candidates also includes some puzzling names, including Fawzia Koofi, 43, a liberal longtime legislator and outspoken activist for women’s rights. She has been banned from seeking reelection based on complaints by unknown indi-viduals in her native Badakhshan province who claimed she was affil-iated with an illegal group.

“When I first heard about this, I laughed,” Koofi said in an interview. “I have spent my career struggling against these kinds of abusive people and war-lords, and now they say I am one of them?” She said she suspected the com-plaint came from political adversaries but has no way to know because the

process was secret. If she could see the charges, she said, “I would happily fight this in court.”

Election officials deny that the vetting process was flawed or manipu-lated. They said they sent written expla-nations to all barred candidates but that they could not name individuals who had brought complaints to protect them from reprisal. More than 100 other can-didates were disqualified on technical grounds, such as being younger than 25 or actively serving in government office.

“We have taken our decisions inde-pendently, based on evidence from people and verified by many gov-ernment departments,” said Ali Reza Rohani, spokesman for the Inde-pendent Electoral Complaints Com-mission. He said all candidates are “welcome to prove” that officials had barred them or restored others “through bribery or political pressure,” and that it is also their right to protest “in a civil manner.”

Election monitoring groups, though, worry that the contretemps will perma-nently taint the election’s credibility. Even with international guidance, they noted, several previous elections have been badly marred by fraud — including the 2014 presidential election that led to a US-brokered power-sharing deal between the two top can-didates, current Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

Yousuf Rashid, head of the Fair and Free Elections Forum of Afghanistan, said that because the country has a weak judicial system, violent clashes and crimes often go unresolved in any formal way. As a result, festering per-sonal, tribal or wartime feuds can be injected into elections, with no way to know which side is telling the truth.

“People come and say, ‘He killed my brother,’ or ‘He stole government prop-erties,’ but this is not the mandate of the election commission,” Rashid said. In one case, he noted, a group complained that a candidate had orchestrated the massacre of 120 people in a mosque. “If the commission decides that A or B killed 120 people,” but without a public process, “everything becomes politi-cized. It can create a disaster.”

This headline-grabbing drama has overshadowed the efforts of lesser-known candidates, some of whom are entering politics for the first time. It has also obscured the struggles of others running in conflict-ridden or Taliban-controlled districts that

Key to our efforts

has been finding and

removing fake accounts

— the source of much

of the abuse, including

misinformation.

Bad actors can use

computers to generate

these in bulk. But with

advances in artificial

intelligence, we now

block millions of fake

accounts every day as

they are being created

so they can’t be used

to spread spam, false

news or inauthentic

ads.

are so dangerous they cannot hold campaign events or meet with constituents.

Little attention has been paid to the unprecedented bid by the small community of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus to send their first-ever repre-sentative to parliament. A Sikh leader from Jalalabad city, Awtar Singh Khalsa, had planned to run, but he was killed July 1 while traveling in a convoy there that was bombed by insurgents.

His son Narinder Singh Khalsa, 37, was wounded by shrapnel in the attack. A shy man who runs the family herbal medicine business, Khalsa is now reluctantly running in his father’s place to speak up for their religious minority. “We have not picked up arms to threaten or fight anyone,” he said. “We are harmless people, but we have not been given our rights.”

The challenges are just as tough for Nazari Turkman, a legislator from Kunduz who is running for ree-lection. Kunduz has been overrun twice by the Taliban and retaken by Afghan security forces with US support. During the last election in 2009, Turkman said, the Taliban controlled about 10 percent of the district where most of his supporters live. Now, he said, they control 90 percent of it.

“I have not been able to visit there so far. I don’t have enough guards,” he said by phone from Kunduz city. He said four people in the area have already been killed by the Taliban for participating in pre-election activities.

When the campaign starts several weeks from now, Turkman said, “I will visit the district once at any cost. It is impossible to go there twice.”

Afghan security forces inspect the site of a suicide attack in Kabul.

12 MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Small plane crashes in South Sudan, 19 dead AFP

JUBA: Nineteen people were killed yesterday when a small plane crashed into a lake in the centre of South Sudan, while four survived, a regional official said.

Regional information min-ister for the Eastern Lakes state Taban Abel Aguek said a plane, carrying 23 people, had crashed in the central town of Yirol as it came into land.

“The number of people we have confirmed dead is 19 people and four people sur-vived,” said Abel, adding that two children were among the survivors as was an Italian citizen.

He said the Anglican Bishop of Yirol, Simon Adut, was con-firmed among the dead.

The pilot and co-pilot, a staff member with the International

Committee of the Red Cross, a Ugandan who runs a private clinic in Yirol, a government official and two army officers were also confirmed dead.

“The whole town is in shock, the shops are closed, some people have taken their relatives for burial. It is a commercial plane that crashed,” Abel said.

“When the plane was landing the weather was foggy

and this was not a good situation for plane landing.” The UN broadcaster Radio Miraya posted a picture on its Twitter account of the twisted wreckage of the plane submerged in water.

Overloading of planes is common in South Sudan, and this was believed to have con-tributed to the crash of a Soviet-era Antonov plane upon takeoff in Juba in 2015 which left 36 people dead.

In 2017, 37 people had a miraculous escape after their plane hit a fire truck on a runway in northwestern Wau before bursting into flames.

South Sudan was plunged into civil war in December 2013, when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of planning a coup, leaving tens of thousands dead and millions displaced. The crashed plane is seen in Lakes State, South Sudan, yesterday.

Regional information

minister for the

Eastern Lakes state

Taban Abel Aguek

said a plane, carrying

23 people, had

crashed in the central

town of Yirol as it

came into land.

Nigeria restores normalcy in town after Boko Haram attackAFP

KANO, NIGERIA: Nigeria’s military yesterday said it had restored order after Boko Haram fighters took control of a town in the country’s remote northeast, sparking fears about the group’s resurgence.

Scores of militants believed to be loyal to a faction backed by the Islamic State group overran troops in Gudumbali on Friday.

The toll from what was the Islamist extremists’ first major seizure of a town in two years was put at least eight by civilian militia sources, although the Nigerian army denied there were casualties.

It also followed a series of recent deadly attacks on troops, which have called into question

repeated government and mil-itary claims that Boko Haram is weakened to the point of defeat.

Nigerian Army spokesman Brigadier General Texas Chukwu, said: “The encounter took place when the insurgents attacked the community, set some buildings ablaze and quickly withdrew from the community.

“However, no human cas-ualty was recorded in the encounter. The troops have regrouped and normalcy has been restored. The troops have also been reinforced with addi-tional troops to dominate the general area.” A military source in Maiduguri said troops returned to a deserted town yes-terday morning, indicating that Boko Haram had withdrawn voluntarily at some point on

Saturday. “Residents are yet to return to the town having fled to other places to escape the attack. The fighters looted the (military) base before leaving,” he said.

Nigeria’s military regularly trumpets its apparent successes against Boko Haram but has strongly denied previous reports of army casualties in attacks.

Access to areas outside Mai-duguri, where much of the fighting has taken place, is strictly controlled by the mil-itary, making verification dif-ficult or impossible.

Raids on military bases were a regular occurrence in 2013 and 2014, when the group seized ter-ritory across northeast Nigeria and briefly proclaimed a caliphate. The military source in Maiduguri said Boko Haram

also attacked a naval base in Fishdam, near Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad at about 10:20pm on Saturday.

Fighting lasted into the early hours of Sunday and involved soldiers from the regional security force set up to stop cross-border Boko Haram attacks.

“The navy radioed the Multi-National Joint Task Force for reinforcements and the MNJTF responded by firing mortars on the BH position outside the base,” the source said.

“Subsequently the soldiers were able to repel the attack. It is still not clear the level of cas-ualties inflicted on Boko Haram.” The Nigerian Navy has been conducting operations against Boko Haram fighters based on islands on Lake Chad,

where the borders of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon meet. The Gudumbali attack will raise fears that Boko Haram is again strong and confident enough to take on the Nigerian military and has boosted its arsenal.

It will likely also prompt questions about the policy of returning displaced people to the Guzumala area, of which Gudumbali is the district head-quarters — and elsewhere.

In recent months, the authorities have encouraged thousands of people made homeless by the long-running conflict to return home, insisting it is safe to do so.

But aid agencies dealing with the humanitarian effects of the insurgency disagree, and believe politics are dictating the

returns, as elections approach in February next year.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who was elected in 2015 on a promise to defeat Boko Haram, is hoping to secure a second, four-year term.

The former army general first said Boko Haram was “technically defeated” in late 2015 and recently claimed that Borno was in a “post-conflict stabilisation phase”.

The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction split from long-time leader Abu-bakar Shekau because of his indiscriminate targeting of civilians.

ISWAP is believed to be trying to get the support of local people in the Muslim-majority region by only hitting gov-ernment and military targets.

Outspoken copgunned down inKampala suburbAFP

KAMPALA: An outspoken and critical Ugandan policeman has been assassinated, a police spokesman said yesterday, in the latest in a series of murders of senior officers and politi-cians.

Muhammad Kirumira was gunned down at the gate of his home along with a female com-panion in the Kampala suburb of Bulenga on Saturday night, said police spokesman Emillian Kayima.

“The Uganda Police Force is greatly concerned with the assassination of assistant super-intendent of police Muhammad Kirumira at Bulenga last night,” the spokesman said.

“He was with a lady whom we have been informed is not his wife but someone he knew and she too succumbed to bullet wounds in the hospital where

she was rushed for treatment,” said Kayima.

He said the attackers were reportedly travelling on a motorcycle, a tactic used in the killings of assistant inspector general of police Andrew Kaweesi in March, as well as a senior public prosecutor in 2015 and others.

Kirumira had repeatedly told the media and other police officers that he was a target of assassination.

He was suspended from his role as district commander in January after accusing his col-leagues in a Facebook post of corruption and working with criminal gangs.

Kirumira was awaiting trial on charges of criminal mis-conduct and abuse of authority at the time of his death.

In June this year ruling party lawmaker Ibrahim Abiriga was gunned down.

Ethiopians celebrate the return of Berhanu Nega, 59, leader of an Ethiopian opposition political organization, Ginbot 7 (AG7) in Addis Ababa , Ethiopia, yesterday.

Ethiopia welcomes return of exiled opposition leaderANATOLIA

ADDIS ABABA: Streets in Addis Ababa are decorated with flags (pre-1995 Green, Yellow, Red tricolor with no star in it) to welcome the leader of an opposition party, which recently laid down their arms on the call by Ethiopia’s prime minister.

Patriots Ginbot 7’s (PG7) Berhanu Nega was exiled fol-lowing a controversial 2005 election in which his then party, Kinijit, swept some key constituencies, including election in the capital Addis Ababa.

A claim and counter-claim between Kinijit and the ruling E t h i o p i a n P e o p l e ’ s

Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) triggered vio-lence in which thousands of people were killed and many exiled.

Nega (a Phd. in economics) went to the US and gathered combatants who had been fighting from inside Eritrea, Ethiopia’s northern neighbor.

According to the party’s officials, the fighters of PG7 have returned from Eritrea last week after they laid down their arms and a large scale demo-bilisation and repatriation of the combatants will soon begin.

“We came here primarily, and in short term, to help sta-bilise the country, not for com-petition,” Nega told reporters at the Addis Ababa airport.

Expressing optimism for the reform measures set in motion by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power on April 2, he said: “The country needs continued dialogue and understanding about the way forward.” “There seems to be a commitment and a seri-ousness to set the country on the track of democracy,” he said.

Ethiopia is set to hold its sixth election in 2020.

“We need a legal system that can ensure the conduct of democratic election,” Nega said.

“We should never allow a situation that precipitate elec-toral controversies and vio-lence,” he added.

Mauritania’s ruling party ahead in voteAFP

NOUAKCHOTT: Mauritania’s ruling party has drawn well into the lead in legislative, regional and local elections held earlier this month, the electoral commission said yesterday, in the west African country’s last vote ahead of key presidential polls.

“The Union for the Republic is the leading political party according to provisional results” of the first-round September 1 vote, commission spokesman Mustafa Sidel Moktar said.

The party has so far won 67 of the 157 national assembly seats, compared to 14 for the second-place Islamist party Tewassoul, as well as four of the 13 regional councils and 108 of 219 municipalities, he said.

The turnout was 73.4 percent, Mohamed Vall Ould Bella of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) said, in a country with a registered electorate of some 1.4 million. A second round vote will be held on September 15 to decide 22 national assembly seats, nine regional councils and

115 municipalities. The elections in Mauritania, a frontline state in the fight against Islamist extremists, were seen as a test for head of state Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz seven months before a presidential vote.

The opposition boycotted the last polls in 2013 but a record 98 parties took part this time.

Aziz, 61, who came to power in a coup in 2008, won elections in 2009 and again in 2014 for a second five-year term.

He has been frequently accused by opposition figures of rights abuses.

One dead, 37 injured in Madagascar stadium stampedeAFP

ANTANANARIVO: At least one person was killed and 37 injured in a stampede at a football stadium in Madagas-car’s capital Antananarivo, a hospital official said yesterday.

“In all, there are 41 patients that entered the hos-pital including one dead on the spot and two in fairly pre-carious states,” Oliva Alison Rakoto, Director of the Hrja Hospital, said.

“The two critically injured patients have head and tho-racic trauma.” She said some of the injured have already been discharged.

The stampede occurred at the entrance to the venue just before kickoff between Madagascar and Senegal.

Witnesses said thousands of fans had been waiting outside Mahamasina Stadium since early in the morning, well ahead of the 2:30pm kickoff.

At the hospital, 30-year-old Henintsoa Mialy Harizafy said her uncle had left home around 8am to attend the 2019 Cup of Nations quali-fying match. “We heard he was hospitalised here after being trampled in the stampede.” She added: “I don’t understand why only one entrance gate was open for such a big match.”

Another fan, Rivo Raber-isaona, said his group had joined the queue at 6am. “We were a metre and a half (five feet) from the entrance when the stampede happened. I was trampled in the back, but my rucksack softened the blow.” Despite the crush, the match began on time with 20,000 spectators attending.

Families in the waiting room of the Hjra hospital watched the game on tele-vision and could be heard bursting with joy when the Malagasy national team scored a goal and was able to equalise.

13MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018 ASIA

Modi sets tone for ’19 polls, attacks grand allianceIANS

NEW DELHI: Setting the tone for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday termed the proposed Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) a compulsion of lead-erless grouping with BJP chief Amit Shah asserting that if the party succeeds in next general election, it would remain in power for the next 50 years.

In his concluding remarks on the last day of the BJP National Executive meeting here, Modi said that the BJP does not see “any challenge” and those who failed in government also failed in opposition.

He said the disparate parties coming together was a vindi-cation of his government’s success.

Modi evoked memory of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who passed away last month and gave the call of “Ajeya Bharat” and “Atal Bhajapa.” Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad later briefed the media about Modi’s remarks.

“Today, there is discussion about Mahagathbandhan. People who do not see eye to eye, who cannot walk together, who have no political or ideo-logical understanding, who can’t even tolerate each other are thinking of forging a Mahagath-bandhan and embracing each other. It is the biggest vindi-cation of our success,” Prasad quoted Modi as saying.

“Mahagathbandhan — its leader is not known, the policy is unclear and intention is corrupt. These are so powerful words of the Prime Minister...,” Prasad said.

Referring to the Congress, Modi said that “nobody is pre-pared to accept its leadership. Even small parties are not willing to accept its leadership. Some treat it as a burden.” The Prime Minister said that there should be an effective oppo-sition in a democracy for accountability.

Modi made veiled digs at Congress President Rahul Gandhi saying opposition parties were not prepared to accept Congress leadership, some even regarded it a burden and there was also a situation of the lead-ership not being acceptable within the party.

He accused the party of speaking “lies” and asked BJP workers to fight them while taking the work done by the government in last four years to the people.

Addressing the party workers, BJP President Amit Shah said the hard work of the Prime Minister and his dedi-cation for the country has made him unbeatable.

“Modiji has not taken rest after the 2014 election. He has covered almost 300 Lok Sabha constituencies after becoming the Prime Minister and he will cover the rest of the parlia-mentary constituencies before the 2019 elections,” he said.

“Our Prime Minister works tirelessly for the country. I am sure we will win in 2019 and will remain in power for next 50 years,” Prasad quoted Shah as saying.

“The Congress came to power in 1947 and remained undefeated till 1967,” he said adding that he was not saying this in arrogance but on the basis of government’s performance.

The executive meeting also formed a strategy to reach out to every household involving its workers from booth level to national level and called upon party activists to work tirelessly to strengthen Modi’s hands to turn the country into new India by 2022.

Shah also reviewed party’s preparations for forthcoming assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhat-tisgarh — where BJP is in power — besides Mizoram and Telangana.

The resolution adopted at the end of two-day meeting yes-terday noted that “urban Maoism was being curbed with an iron hand.

It expressed optimism of a ‘Clean Ganga’ by March next year and noted that “corruption, once endemic to Indian system, has largely disappeared” from public domain. It said the BJP will take steps to protect the interests of minorities who fled to India to seek refuge.

A commuter rides a bicycle during heavy rain in Jalandhar in Punjab, yesterday.

Rain lashes Punjab

Tamil Nadu govt to recommend release of Rajiv Gandhi assassinsIANS

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government yesterday decided to recommend to Governor Banwarilal Purohit the release of seven convicts serving life term for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister K Palaniswami.

Jayakumar told reporters that the decision was taken after the Supreme Court asked Purohit to consider the mercy

petition of A G Perarivalan, serving life term for the 1991 assassination of Gandhi, for release under Article 161 of the Constitution.

Jayakumar said though the apex court had given its order in the petition filed by Perar-ivalan, the state government had decided to recommend to the Governor his release as well as six other convicts as they had also sent their mercy petitions.

The other six are V Sriharan alais Murugan, T Suthendraraja alais Santhan, Jayakumar, Robert Payas, Ravichandran and Nalini Sriharan, wife of Sriharan

alias Murugan. They include both Indians and Sri Lankans.

All seven have been in prison since 1991, the year a woman Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew up Rajiv Gandhi at an election rally near Chennai.

Jayakumar said the Supreme Court was the highest court and the cabinet decision was taken based on the basis of its decision.

He said the Governor had to agree with the cabinet decision.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was blamed for the assassination of Gandhi. The Sri Lankan military crushed the Tamil Tigers in 2009.

Sri Lankan delegation to meet Kovind, Modi todayIANS

NEW DELHI: An eight-member Sri Lankan Parlia-mentary delegation led by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya is here on a three-day trip at the invitation of Indian Parliament to strengthen relations between the two countries.

The delegation, which includes MPs of Tamil parties, will call on President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today and discuss issues of bilateral interest.

Leader of the Opposition in Sri Lankan Parliament, R. Sampanthan of Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Douglas Devananda of Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), a former Minister, and Mano Ganesan, a Minister in the Ranil Wickeramasinghe government, are part of the delegation.

Devananda said he would utilize the opportunity to submit to the Indian gov-ernment issues of concern related to Sri Lankan Tamils and the need for a political solution based on the India-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987.

He said he was not par-ticularly enthusiastic about the proposed Constitutional amendment being talked about by the Sri Lankan gov-ernment in relation to Tamils.

The others in the dele-gation are Hakim Rauf of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Nimal Sripala Desilva of Sri Lankan Freedom Party, Gay-antha Karunatilake of United National Party and Vijaya Herath of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna.

Opposition joins hands for nation-wide strike todayIANS

NEW DELHI: Most of the oppo-sition parties yesterday announced their support to the Bharat Bandh called by the Congress and Left Front to protest against the rising fuel prices and have a showdown with the Modi government that has evaded a direct explanation to the non-stop rise in fuel prices.

While parties like the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), DMK, Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Maharshtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) backed the shutdown, the Left has also

declared a nationwide hartal.The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), a

non-NDA party, said although it is against the fuel price hike, it will not support the Bandh. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took a similar stand in Delhi.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) ruling in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana respectively, are also not supporting the call.

In West Bengal, the Tri-namool Congress (TMC) has said it supports the issues raised by parties that have called for a nationwide shutdown, but it is against strikes since these lead to loss of working hours.

However, the party will hold protest rallies across West

Bengal against rising fuel prices.“We support the issues raised

by them. But at the same time, we do not want to waste another working day, especially when our Chief Minister Mamata Ban-erjee is trying to build a new Bengal,” TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee has said.

The Congress wants petrol and diesel to be brought under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which would decrease the price “by Rs 15-18 per litre”. It also wants an immediate reduction in central excise duty and “excessive VAT” in states.

Congress leader Ajay Maken on Sunday said that close to “20 political parties” will take part in the protest.

Left Front Chairman Biman Bose called for a 12-hour strike from 6am to 6pm today across West Bengal in support of the all India “protest hartal” and urged people in the state to make it a grand success.

Karnataka’s ruling JD-S announced it will support the day-long nationwide protest.

“Our party has decided to support the Congress call in protest against the steep hike in fuel prices and other anti-people policies of the NDA-led gov-ernment,” a JD-S official told IANS in Bengaluru.

The Congress and JD-S will also protest against the misuse of the CBI, Enforcement Direc-torate and Income Tax office against opposition leaders.

Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda will join other opposition leaders at a protest rally and meeting in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, state govern-ments across the country braced for the Bandh with senior officials reviewing the security measures and many states deciding to keep schools shut today.

The BJP’s Tripura gov-ernment has ordered all its employees to attend office today and warned that strict action will be taken against absentees.

Acting Chief Minister and Revenue Minister Narendra Chandra Debbarma urged the people to reject the ‘bandh’ and warned that the government would strongly deal with the situation.

Relatives and neighbours of a Kashmiri civil service officer Naveed Jeelani wail as his body was brought home in Srinagar, yesterday. The bodies of Jeelani and his friend Adil Shah were retrieved from the Kolahoi Glacier in Pahalgam valley. Both died while another trekker was injured as they fell in a crevice while coming down from the 4,500-metre-high glacier.

Govt violated procedures in Rafale deal: Kapil SibalIANS

NEW DELHI: The Modi government violated proce-dures in the Rafale deal with the External Affairs Ministry not in the know before it was announced in 2015, alleges senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who wants the government to tell the truth to the people, including the price of the fighter jets.

“You buy 36 Rafales off-the-shelf without informing the foreign ministry. Even the CEO of Dassault did not know 15 days before the announcement. He thought 95 percent of the deal with HAL (Hindustan Aer-onautics Limited) had been done, only five per cent was left,” Sibal said in an interview.

He said then Foreign Sec-retary S Jaishankar was not aware of the deal two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced it

in France on April 10, 2015.In his just-released book,

“Shades of Truth--Journey Derailed”, the former Union minister refers to the fighter jet deal continuing to be a mystery. Modi did not take into confi-dence the then Defence Min-ister Manohar Parrikar, when on a visit to Paris in April 2015, he announced the purchase of 3 6 R a f a l e a i r c r a f t off-the-shelf.

On the eve of Modi’s visit to France, at a customary press conference, Jaishankar told the media that HAL was Dassault Aviation’s partner, thereby sug-gesting that the public sector undertaking was ready to strike the deal.

Modi broke convention by announcing the deal on foreign soil and surprised everyone by snatching it away from HAL. In March 2015, Dassault and HAL had publicly announced that the deal was 90 percent done.

Mourning for the departed dear

Modi made veiled digs

at Congress President

Rahul Gandhi saying

opposition parties

were not prepared

to accept Congress

leadership, some even

regarded it a burden

and there was also

a situation of the

leadership not being

acceptable within the

party.

14 MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018ASIA

Pakistan hints at imposing wealth tax on movable assetsINTERNEWS

ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan may slap wealth tax on movable assets and could further hike customs duty on more than 5,200 tariff lines as it has started giving shape to a mini-budget that will be aimed at arresting the yawning budget deficit.

In order to curb imports, the government also considered reducing the age limit of imported cars from three years to two years and of jeeps from five years to three years, said sources in the finance ministry.

Increasing the regulatory duty on over 900 items, including import of mobile phones, was also on the govern-ment’s list of new taxation measures.

Increase in federal excise duty on cigarettes is also on the cards, according to sources.

However, the most aggressive revenue measure,

which is also highly inflationary, could be to further increase the additional customs duty from two percent to three percent on more than 5,200 tariff lines. This single measure can generate around Rs40bn in additional taxes.

At present, the maximum standard customs duty is 20 percent. The increase will take the maximum applicable customs duty to 23 per cent on the highest slab, which will also enhance sales tax collection at the import stage.

The last PML-N government imposed two percent additional

customs duty to enhance revenue collection and it seems that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is fol-lowing in the footsteps of its political rival.

Finance Minister Asad Umar chaired a meeting on Sunday to review the new tax measures, but he struggled to find an innovative source of collecting additional taxes, said sources in the finance ministry.

As no out-of-the-box idea was presented, the meeting reviewed the possibility of further increasing the tax on cig-arettes and reversing the tax cuts

announced by the last gov-ernment for individuals.

The government has also decided to appoint Hammad Azhar PTI’s MNA from Lahore as an aide on revenue.

Azhar joined the office on Sunday, although no official announcement was made about his portfolio. He is the son of former Punjab governor Mian Muhammad Azhar.

The mini-budget is being introduced to bring down the budget deficit from an antici-pated six percent (or Rs2.3 trillion) of gross domestic product (GDP) to 5.3 percent (or Rs2 trillion).

In case the government manages to take more aggressive measures, the deficit can be further lowered to the already announced target of 4.9 percent of GDP, but chances for this are remote.

Sources said there was no major room to cut development expenditures that could be

lowered to around Rs660bn against the approved Public Sector Development Programme of Rs800bn.

Sources in the finance min-istry added that the government wanted to enhance revenue col-lection by at least 0.7 percent of GDP or Rs260bn.

Its initial estimates showed that due to rupee depreciation against the US dollar, the revenue collection would rise by Rs110bn or 0.4 percent of GDP.

The government needed at least Rs100bn in net revenues from additional measures if it wanted to achieve the collection target of Rs4.435 trillion, sources said.

However, there was also a proposal to enhance the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) target to Rs4.55 trillion through aggressive taxation measures, they added.

Sources said the finance minister discussed the proposal of reversing the income tax relief

to generate Rs75bn in taxes.The effective income tax

exemption ceiling may be halved from the current Rs1.2m annual income. Sources said another key proposal on the direct taxes side was the re-introduction of wealth tax after a gap of 15 years.

However, the government’s hands are largely tied as the Con-stitution does not allow the federal government to impose tax on immovable assets.

The right to collect taxes on immovable property rests with provinces. Sources said because of this reason the government reviewed the possibility of imposing wealth tax only on movable assets, but this could limit its revenues to around Rs20bn.

Wealth tax in Pakistan was first introduced in 1963, but was abolished in 2003. In 2013, the PML-N government introduced an income support levy on net moveable assets of individuals, but this was also scrapped.

Three dead in bomb attack on Kabul commemorationAFP

KABUL: A suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up near a convoy of gunmen commem-orating the death anniversary of a famed resistance leader in Kabul yesterday, killing at least three people, officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest deadly attack in the Afghan capital that comes days after a double bombing at a wrestling club killed at least 26 people.

Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said at least three people were killed and 14 wounded in the explosion that shattered windows and shook nearby buildings in the Afghan capital.

Among the dead was the driver of a car taking part in the commemorations. He veered off

the road and into the front of a shop when the blast happened, witnesses said.

Two of his passengers were wounded, they said.

Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh said two people had been killed and 10 wounded in the blast.

Afghan officials often give conflicting figures for the number of casualties in the immediate aftermath of an attack.

Afghan security forces said earlier they had shot dead a man who had been planning to blow himself up near supporters of Ahmad Shah Massoud.

The Tajik commander led resistance to the Soviet occu-pation in the 1980s and to the 1996-2001 Taliban regime.

The attack came as convoys of gun-wielding men terrorised

Kabul as they commemorated the 17th anniversary of Mas-soud’s death.

Massoud was killed two days before the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington that pre-cipitated the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

Dozens of cars and pickups carrying men armed with heavy weapons and waving flags drove around the city, blaring loud sirens.

At least 13 people were wounded by falling bullets, Majroh told journalists.

On the other side of the country, Taliban fighters attacked a checkpoint in Obe dis-trict in Herat province, killing nine members of the security forces, provincial governor spokesman Jailani Farhad said.

Five others were wounded in the overnight attack that

ended when government-backed reinforcements were sent to the scene, Farhad said, adding that 15 insurgents were killed.

Yesterday’s blatant lawlessness in the capital and the apparent lack of response from security forces ignited a firestorm of angry posts

on social media from Afghans fed up with the constant violence and the government’s inability to protect civilians.

“Why do people have to endure this every year on Sept 9th? Why is the #Afghan govt allowing this?” one social media

user posted on Twitter. “Where is rule of law?” tweeted another.

A double bombing at a wres-tling club in a heavily Shiite neighbourhood on Wednesday killed at least 26 people, including two journalists, and wounded 91.

Afghan security forces inspect the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, yesterday.

Arif Alvi sworn inas President of Pakistan AFP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s new President Arif Alvi was sworn in at a ceremony in Islamabad yesterday, concluding the country’s peaceful transfer of power to its new government after a turbulent election campaign.

His appointment further cements the ruling party’s power after controversial polls in July — which were tainted by claims of military meddling and ballot rigging — saw former cricket champion Imran Khan elected prime minister.

Arif Alvi, a close ally of Khan and one of the founders of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, becomes Pakistan’s 13th president, replacing Mamnoon Hussain.

A vote this week saw him elected by more than a thousand lawmakers from both houses of parliament and the four provincial assemblies.

Khan and his cabinet attended the ceremony led by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, along with armed forces chiefs and senior Islamabad-based diplomats.

Alvi swore to “bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan” and to carry out his duties “in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, soli-darity, well-being and pros-perity of Pakistan.”

Two-tier local govt system in Punjab, 2 provinces likelyINTERNEWS

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is going to introduce a two-tier local government system in Punjab and two other provinces with all-powerful mayors, huge development funds and control over many departments.

Punjab has proposed elimi-nation of the tehsil council level

in the proposed new set-up. In that case, it will only have dis-trict and union councils.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s pro-posal is to retain only tehsil and village councils. Office of the mayor will be designed on the model of London or Washington, meaning a powerful mayor, sources said.

A decision to this effect was taken on Sunday at a meeting in Islamabad attended by

representatives from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balo-chistan. The final decision will be taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan soon, sources said.

The local government would, as agreed, be given one-third of the province’s total annual development budget that would be distributed among the local councils as per their eligibility.

The mayors would be elected

directly with the entire district as the electoral college, not the house. The idea is that people should be allowed to elect a mayor of their choice.

The division between urban and rural areas of a district reintroduced by the previous Shahbaz Sharif government will remain intact.

Local government elections will be held on party basis, as

non-party polls are not possible under the Lahore High Court’s decision in the Imrana Tiwana case. Non-party elections are not even allowed under Article 140 of the Constitution.

Like the local government system of 2001, the powers of over 20 departments will be transferred to district govern-ments, including tourism, transport and sports.

Sundarbans fishermen hold placards as they participate in a climate change demonstration in Mongla, Bangladesh, yesterday.

Anti-climate change efforts by fishermen

Bangladesh calls for pressure on Myanmar for Rohingya repatriationREUTERS

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s prime minister urged the global community, including the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), yesterday to increase pressure on Myanmar to ensure the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled a military crackdown.

“Despite the negative impact on own resources, ecology and local population, we have opened our border to give shelter to a huge number of Rohingya Muslims on humanitarian grounds,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said while inaugurating the regional hub of the IDB in the Bang-ladesh capital, Dhaka.

“I urge the international community to take specific steps to build up pressure on Myanmar to implement the

deal,” Hasina added, without specifying which measures she had in mind.

More than 700,000 Rohingya refugees crossed from the west of mostly Bud-dhist Myanmar into Bangladesh from August last year when Rohingya insurgent attacks on the Myanmar security forces triggered a sweeping military response.

“The IDB cannot remain silent, when Myanmar’s Rohingya citizens are victims of ethnic cleansing,” Hasina added.

There was no immediate comment from the IDB.

The two countries reached a deal in November to begin repatriation within two months, but it has not started, with stateless Rohingya, who face restrictions on their movements in Myanmar, still crossing the border.

The government considered reducing the age

limit of imported cars from three years to two

years and of jeeps from five years to three

years, said sources in the finance ministry.

Increasing the regulatory duty on over 900

items, including import of mobile phones, was

also on the agenda.

15MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018 ASIA

North Korea military parade features floats and flowersREUTERS

PYONGYANG: With no long-range missiles on display, North Korea staged a military parade yesterday focused on conven-tional arms, peace and economic development, to mark the 70th anniversary of the country’s founding.

Line upon line of goose-stepping soldiers and columns of tanks shook the ground before giving way to chanting crowds waving flags and flowers as they passed a review stand where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sat with a special envoy from China, as well as other visiting foreigners.

Kim told the envoy, Chinese parliament chief Li Zhanshu, that North Korea was focusing on economic development and hopes to learn from China’s experience in this regard, Chinese state television reported.

“North Korea upholds the consensus of the Singapore meeting between the leaders of North Korea and the United States and has taken steps for it and hopes the United States takes corresponding steps, to jointly promote the political res-olution process for the peninsula issue,” the report paraphrased Kim as saying.

The parade highlight themes of military accomplishment, national development, and

international engagement at a time when doubts are arising over Kim’s commitment to aban-doning nuclear weapons.

Unlike in previous years, there were no inter-continental missiles on display. And there were no nuclear tests to mark the holiday, as has happened in each of the last two years.

North Korea routinely uses major holidays to showcase its military capabilities and the latest developments in missile technology.

But that has lessened this year, underlining Kim’s stated aim for denuclearising the Korean peninsula and his recent meetings with South Korean

President Moon Jae-in and summits with US President Donald Trump in Singapore and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing and Dalian.

The theme for the celebra-tions this year was economic development and unifying the Korean peninsula, divided since the Second World War.

A huge float was decorated with a modern train, solar panels, wind power plants and dams, under a slogan of “All our might to build economy!”, as North Korean men in construction work wear marched.

Kim Yong Nam, North Korea’s titular head of state, gave a speech at the parade in which he said the country had achieved status as a military power, and would now pursue efforts to strengthen its economy.

Floats on unification also passed by a throng of North Koreans waving unified Korea flags.

“All Koreans should join forces to accomplish unification in our generation. Unification is the only way Koreans can survive,” said an editorial in North Korea’s party newspaper Rodong Sinmun.

Kim Jong Un and his South Korean counterpart Moon will meet in Pyongyang on Sept. 18-20 for the third time this year and discuss “practical measures” towards denuclearisation, offi-

cials in Seoul have said.Despite stalled progress on

talks with Washington, the North Korean leader wants to denu-clearise the peninsula within Trump’s first term, according to South Korean officials.

Trump said on Friday that Kim has sent a letter to him, which he believes will be positive.

Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonprolif-eration Studies said the military component of the parade appeared to be scaled down this year.

“I am very curious to hear

what is in the letter to Trump, because this parade could have been more provocative,” Hanham said, adding satellite evidence showed North Korea continued missile-related activities such as testing solid fuel motors.

Kim was seen laughing and holding hands up with China’s Li as he oversaw the festivities at Pyongyang’s main Kim Il Sung square on a clear autumn day. Kim waved to the crowd before leaving but did not make any public remarks.

North Korea has invited a large group of foreign journalists to cover a military parade and other events to mark the 70th

anniversary of its founding.That includes iconic mass

games that Pyongyang is organ-ising for the first time in five years, a huge, nationalist pageant performed by up to 100,000 people in one of the world’s largest stadiums.

Both the Mass Games and the military parade have been criti-cised by human rights advocates and North Korean defectors for the pressure placed on performers and for painting a distorted picture of the country through stage-managed displays.

But thousands of jovial North Koreans clapped in unison and rallied support for their leader Kim.

Participants wave flowers as they march past a balcony from where North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un was watching, during a mass rally on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang to mark North Korea’s 70th birthday, yesterday.

Filipinos’ trust in Duterte falls to lowest level: SurveyREUTERS

MANILA: Public trust in Phil-ippine leader Rodrigo Duterte dropped to the lowest of his presidency, a survey showed on Saturday, although he still maintained a rating of “very good”.

Trust is used by inde-pendent pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS) to gauge public opinion with a president’s personality.

It fell 8 points in the second quarter to +57 from +65 in an earlier poll. It was the popular leader’s lowest score in nine surveys taken since he took office in June 2016.

To reach each rating, the surveys subtract the per-centage who respond with “low trust” in Duterte from those who said they had “much trust” in him.

SWS surveyed 1,200 people at the end of June, in a week when Duterte abused the faithful during a verbal assault on the Catholic Church after top priests crit-icised his bloody anti-nar-cotics campaign, which has killed thousands of people.

The Philippines is majority Catholic.

Duterte again hit out at the church in a news con-ference on Saturday, calling priests’ groups “the most hyp-ocritical institution in the Philippines today”, with the church facing child abuse cases in the Philippines and elsewhere.

Ramon Casiple, head of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms in Manila, said it was normal for a pres-ident’s rating to fall at the two-year stage of his term.

The survey did not ask respondents to explain their rating. Duterte had enjoyed high trust ratings, peaking at +79 shortly after taking office.

Duterte did not mention the survey results on Saturday and his office did not imme-diately respond to a request for comment.

Bangkok meet fails to finalise climate change rules draftAP

BANGKOK: An international meeting in Bangkok fell short of its aim of completing fruitful preparations to help an agreement be reached in December on guidelines for implementing the 2015 Paris climate change agreement.

The six-day meeting, which ended yesterday, was scheduled to step up progress in the battle against rising global carbon emissions by adopting a com-pleted text that could be pre-sented at the COP24 conference in Katowice, Poland, three months from now.

A primary objective of the 2015 Paris agreement, to which 190 nations subscribe, is to limit the global temperature increase by 2100 to less than 2 degrees Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees, which is vital to the survival of island nations threatened by rising seas. But the absence of guidelines for meeting that goal has led to fears that not enough action is being taken.

There have been notable dis-agreements over fair financing for implementation of the rules by developing countries, and the technical details of their reporting on progress.

Patricia Espinosa, executive

secretary for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said Sunday at the closing press briefing for the Bangkok meeting that progress was made on most issues but nothing was finalized.

The meeting was attended by representatives of most of the countries party to the Paris agreement, as well as the United States, which has announced that it is pulling out of the pact.

Espinosa said there was “limited progress” on the issue of contributions from developed nations to developing countries, adding that she is “hopeful” that future discussions will be pro-

ductive because of the impor-tance of the issue.

“On the core issues of forward-looking climate finance and the degree of flexibility developing countries should be given on the information and reporting requirements for national commitments under the Paris Agreement, negotiators were stalemated in Bangkok,” said a statement from Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy for the Union of Con-cerned Scientists, a US-based activist group.

Harjeet Singh, climate policy manager for ActionAid Interna-tional, said yesterday that a vital

component of the Paris agreement is for wealthy nations to provide financial assistance to developing countries as they fight natural disasters brought by climate change.

But he said wealthy and developed countries “led by the United States and including coun-tries such as Australia, Japan and even the European Union” refused to clearly show “how much money they are going to provide and how that is going to be counted.” Advocacy for the developing countries was led at the meeting by China, said Meyer, but was also supported by others, including India, Iran and Malaysia

Abe visits Hokkaido as quake toll rises to 42AFP

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the quake-hit northern region of Hokkaido yesterday as officials confirmed more deaths, bringing the toll to 42.

Abe toured the city and commercial hub of Sapporo, where Thursday’s 6.6-mag-nitude jolt has left houses tilted and roads cracked.

He also visited hard-hit Atsuma, a small rural town which has seen most of the deaths caused by the quake.

A cluster of dwellings in the town were wrecked when a hillside collapsed from the force of the quake, creating deep

brown scars in the landscape.After visiting local political

leaders and residents at shelters, Abe quickly returned to Tokyo to hold a cabinet meeting where he said the government will release 540m yen ($4.9m) from a reserve fund for the disaster.

“We must create a framework in which the affected municipalities can... take emer-gency measures and rebuild themselves,” Abe said during the cabinet meeting. Abe also reported that the death toll rose to 42, according to local media.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga separately told local media that one person remained missing, Jiji Press said.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (second left) visiting the quake-ravaged city of Astuma, yesterday.

Vietnam denies entry to rights activist to attend World Economic ForumREUTERS

HANOI: Vietnam has refused entry to the Secretary-General of the International Federation for Human Rights, Debbie Stothard, to attend the World Economic Forum to be held in the country next week, the Swiss-based international foun-dation said yesterday.

Hanoi is hosting the World Economic Forum on Asean (The

Association of South East Asian Nations) from September 11 to 13, an event touted as the biggest diplomatic gathering in the Southeast Asian country this year.

Debbie Stothard was unable to enter Vietnam yesterday as she arrived at Noi Bai Interna-tional Airport in Hanoi to attend the event, World Economic Forum spokeswoman Fon Mathuros told Reuters in an

emailed statement. Despite sweeping economic reform and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam’s ruling Com-munist Party retains tight media censorship and does not tolerate criticism.

The country has jailed several human rights activists in recent years, accusing them of attempting to overthrow the state.

“We regret the government’s

decision to deny her entry,” Mathuros said.

“Whatever inconvenience I am being subjected to is nothing compared to the attacks on Vietnam human rights defenders and the media,” Stothard said in a tweet.

“I hoped that hosting the prestigious WEF would help them realise that pluralism, human rights and freedom are necessary to economic devel-

opment,” she said in the tweet.Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry

did not immediately comment on the issue. “Her invitation to the meeting stands and we will con-tinue to facilitate her participation in the meeting,” Mathuros said.

The World Economic Forum on Asean is expected to attract several regional leaders and focus on the innovation needed to propel the region through the next phase of its growth.

“North Korea upholds

the consensus of the

Singapore meeting

between the leaders

of North Korea and

the United States

and has taken steps

for it and hopes the

United States takes

corresponding steps,

to jointly promote the

political resolution

process for the

peninsula issue,” Kim

Jong Un said.

16 MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018EUROPE

Backlash after Johnson’s jibe at Chequers dealBLOOMBERG

LONDON: Boris Johnson (pictured) opened a fresh attack on Prime Minister Theresa May, calling her approach to taking the UK out of the European Union “a humiliation” for the nation.

The former foreign secretary wrote an article for the Mail on Sunday newspaper to savage her policy of keeping Britain closely tied to EU trade rules after Brexit.

“Under the Chequers pro-posal we are set to agree to accept their rules — forever — with no say on the making of those rules,” he wrote. “It is a humiliation. We look like a seven-stone (98-pound)

weakling being comically bent out of shape by a 500lb gorilla.”

Johnson quit the Cabinet in July over the proposal and his latest attack will fuel speculation

about his own leadership ambitions.

The face of the Brexit cam-paign announced last week that he and his wife of 25 years are divorcing. The decision to go public with the split was seen in some quarters as an attempt to

clear the decks in preparation for a Conservative leadership bid.

In a reference to the vexed negotiations over how to avoid a hard border on the island or Ireland, Johnson said the gov-ernment had “wrapped a suicide vest around the British consti-tution — and handed the deto-nator to Michel Barnier,” the chief EU negotiator. His choice of language prompted an imme-diate backlash from within his own Conservative Party.

“I think that there are much better ways to articulate your differences,” Home Secretary Sajid Javid said yesterday in an interview.

Foreign Office Minister Alan Johnson took to Twitter to describe

the comments as “one of the most disgusting moments in modern British politics” and predicted the “political end” of Johnson.

Tom Tugendhat, the chair of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and a former soldier in Afghanistan, wrote on Twitter:

‘Isn’t Funny’“A suicide bomber murdered

many in the courtyard of my office in Helmand. The carnage was dis-gusting, limbs and flesh hanging from trees and bushes. Brave men who stopped him killing me and others died In horrific pain. Some need to grow up. Comparing the PM to that isn’t funny.”

Johnson is popular among grassroots Tories and the book-makers’ favorite to succeed May.

But allies of the prime minister rallied behind her.

Javid said the Chequers plan is the only deal “on the table” and insisted May is “doing a great job.” Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, writing in the Mail, pleaded for unity as Brexit talks enter the final phase. The UK is set to leave the block on March 29.

“We should not rush to judgment on a deal that is still under negotiation,” Hunt wrote. “Nor should we assume that unacceptable further conces-sions will ‘inevitably’ be made on the Chequers proposals. I know this prime minister and she would never recommend a deal inconsistent with what the country voted for.”

Protests over Russian pension reform planAFP

MOSCOW: Thousands of Russians turned out to protest deeply unpopular pension reforms yesterday as the country voted in local elections.

Police arrested more than 150 people who were taking part in nationwide demonstrations called by jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, independent monitor OVD-info said.

At least 2,000 people rallied in central Moscow, a witness said, as the capital held a mayoral election the Kremlin-backed incumbent is sure to win.

“They’re spending money on the army in Syria, in Ukraine, for the president’s friends, but nothing for pensioners,” Olga Chenushka, a 44-year-old finance manager said.

Plans to raise the state pension age to 60 for women and 65 for men has led to a rare outburst of public anger and seen Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings

take a hit. The hike, the first such move

in nearly 90 years, would bring retirement more in line with the West, but critics point out a lower life expectancy means many will never see their pensions.

In Saint Petersburg, a largely young crowd of around 1,000 people shouted “shame” and held signs calling for Putin’s resignation.

“People are demanding the money they have earned. They have the right. But they’re even being denied the right to pro-tests,” Irina Akopenkova, 47, said.

Five people were arrested in Saint Petersburg, two in Moscow, 44 in the Siberian city of Omsk and dozens more in rallies else-where, OVD-info said mid-afternoon.

Google removed Navalny’s advertisements for the rally at the request of the Russian authorities, a close aide of the

opposition leader said at the weekend.

Moscow had previously warned the US Internet giant against “meddling” in the election.

Google’s Russian office said

it required advertisers to comply with local laws, in comments reported by news agencies.

The protest comes as Rus-sians vote to elect governors, local lawmakers and other officials.

The Moscow mayoral election is the highest-profile of the votes, but serious oppo-sition candidates have been kept off the ballot paper in favour of incumbent Sergei Sobyanin.

Police officers detain a protester during a rally against planned increases to the nationwide pension age in St. Petersburg, Russia, yesterday.

Boris Johnson wrote

yesterday that: Under

the Chequers proposal

we are set to agree

to accept their rules

— forever — with no

say on the making

of those rules. It is a

humiliation.

New Italian govt plans to curb Sunday shoppingREUTERS

ROME: The new Italian government will introduce a ban on Sunday shopping in large commercial centres before the end of the year as it seeks to defend family traditions, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said yesterday.

In a bid to spur economic

growth, the then Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti liberalised Sunday trading in 2012, despite pressure from the church and unions who said the country needed to keep its traditional day of rest.

“This liberalisation is in fact destroying Italian families,” said Di Maio, who is head of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement.

“We need to start limiting opening and closing times again”.

Earlier this year, Poland restricted Sunday shopping as the conservative government in Warsaw pushed ahead with what it said was a return to old family values.

The Italian and Polish initi-atives run against a slow liber-alisation of Sunday shopping

hours throughout Europe, where retailers face pressure from a boom in online shopping.

Small shopkeepers in Italy have long sought to overturn Monti’s reform, saying their businesses face unfair compe-tition from the big malls.

Di Maio said that larger stores would also have to close on national holidays.

Germany arrests Afghan nationals for man’s death

AFP

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: German police yesterday took two Afghan nationals into custody on suspicion of killing a 22-year-old German man in a fight in the eastern town of Koethen, prompting calls for calm as anti-migrants tensions flare.

In a short statement, local police and prosecutors said the young man had died late Sat-urday and that “two Afghans were provisionally detained on suspicion of homicide”.

They stressed that all lines of inquiry remained open, and that “the concrete cir-cumstances of the event are not yet known”.

The death comes two weeks after the fatal stabbing of a German man, allegedly by two asylum seekers, in the eastern city of Chemnitz sparked anti-foreigner pro-tests and far-right violence.

Holger Stahlknecht, interior minister of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, told DPA news agency that he deeply regretted “the tragic death” and understood the concerns of citizens. But he urged res-idents to “keep a cool head” amid fears of a repeat of the unrest seen in Chemnitz.

The state’s integration officer Susi Moebbeck wrote on Twitter: “Violence should be condemned anywhere, any place. Time for mourning. Time for prudence. Look after each other.”

Serbian leader’s visit raises tensions in KosovoAP

MITROVICA: Kosovo Albanians yesterday blocked roads and burned tyres on a planned route by Serbia’s president in the former Serbian province, further fueling tensions between the two Balkan foes.

During his two-day trip, Pres-ident Aleksandar Vucic planned to visit a Serb-populated village in central Kosovo yesterday, but

roads leading to the region were blocked by wooden logs, trucks and heavy machinery, preventing him from reaching his destination.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said that opposition by Kos-ovo’s citizens to the visit by Vucic is understandable, but he urged restraint for the sake of peace and reconciliation after the 1998-99 war.

Thaci said on his Facebook

page that the blockade “shows that the pain and war injuries are still fresh.” Thaci added that as Kosovo and Serbia seek to mend ties, “the protests and road-blocking don’t help us.”

“We should know to raise beyond ourselves, beyond the injuries and manifold pain,” said Thaci, who was a rebel com-mander during the war. “We should do this on behalf of peace and reconciliation.”

Kosovo Albanians gather around a barricade while smoke billows from burning tyres as they block access to a village, on the main road between Mitrovica and the village of Banje, in Kosovo, yesterday.

150 pneumonia cases spark health alert in north ItalyAFP

ROME: Authorities have issued health alert after 150 cases of pneumonia were recorded in a week, mainly in towns near the northern Italian city of Brescia.

Suspecting the presence of a pneumonia-causing virus in the water supply, they have taken samples from the dis-tribution network for analysis.

Results are expected in several days.

Autopsies will be con-ducted on a 69-year-old woman and an 85-year-old man who died this week to determine whether they died from pneumonia, according to local media reports.

Pneumonia is usually caused when bacteria, viruses or fungi infect the lungs.

It can be life-threatening, especially among the elderly and those with serious health conditions.

Provincial health services have called on residents to take precautions, including disinfecting tap filters and shower hoses and to let hot water run for a period of time with the windows open before using it.

Hospital emergencies in several municipalities to the south and east of Brescia identified 121 cases of pneu-monia, the health officer in the Lombardy region Giulio Galera said on television interview.

A survey of general prac-titioners found at least 30 other people had been affected.

Germany’s grand coalition approval rating drops: PollREUTERS

BERLIN: Combined support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative alliance and their partners, the left-leaning Social Democrats (SPD), has hit a record low for any such ‘grand coalition’ government, according to a survey published yesterday.

Germany’s two biggest and most established parties have had a torrid summer, blighted by infighting over immigration that is flaring up again after violent right-wing protests in the eastern city of Chemnitz followed the fatal stabbing of a German man, for which two migrants were arrested.

The survey by pollster Emnid for the weekly news-paper Bild am Sonntag had support for Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and their Bavarian allies, the Christian Social Union (CSU), down by one percentage point on the week to 29 percent.

In last September’s

federal election, the CDU/CSU bloc won 32.9 percent of the vote.

The poll put support for the SPD down two points to 17 percent. In the last election, the SPD won 20.5 percent of the vote.

Their combined score of 46 percent was the lowest for any CDU/CSU/SPD coalition — a combination that also held power in 2005 to 2009 and 2013 to 2017 — in Emnid’s poll for the Bild am Sonntag.

The pollster surveyed 2,472 voters between August 30 and September 5.

Support for the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) was unchanged from the previous week at 15 percent, the poll showed.

The far-left Linke gained one point to 10 percent. The ecologist Greens were unchanged at 14 percent and the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) remained at 9 percent.

Support for other parties rose two points to 6 percent.

17MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018 EUROPE

Sweden casts votes

amid migration surgeAP

STOCKHOLM: Sweden went to the polls yesterday in a general election that is expected to be one of the most unpredictable and thrilling races in the Scan-dinavian country for decades amid heated debate on immi-gration.

The election will be Sweden’s first since the government in 2015 allowed 163,000 migrants into the country of 10 million. While far less than what Germany took in that year, it was the most per capita of any European nation.

“This election is a refer-endum about our welfare,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said. “It’s also about decency, about a decent democracy ... and not letting the Sweden Demo-crats, an extremist party, a racist party, get any influence in the government.”

About 7.5 million registered voters choose from almost 6,300 candidates for a four-year term in the 349-seat Riksdag, or par-liament. It’s highly unlikely that any single party will get a majority, or 175 seats.

The latest opinion poll con-ducted by pollster Novus for public broadcaster SVT sug-gested on Friday that Lofven’s ruling Social Democrats would substantially lose seats, but still emerge as the party with the most votes with an estimated 24.9 percent of the ballots.

If realised, it would be a his-torical low for the traditional left-wing party, which has dom-inated Swedish politics in the post-World War II era.

The poll showed that the far-right, anti-immigration Sweden

Democrats — led by Jimmie Akesson — would get 19.1 percent of the votes in what would be a major increase compared to the 13 percent support received in 2014.

The centre-right Moderate Party is set to take to take third place with 17.7 percent.

With a steady rise in popu-larity of the Sweden Democrats, immigration has become the hot topic of the election.

During a heated debate on Friday evening of party leaders, Akesson caused a stir by blaming migrants for the difficulties they often have in finding employment and not adjusting to Sweden.

The broadcaster that aired the televised debate, SVT, afterward called his remarks degrading and against the dem-ocratic mandate of public broadcasting.

Akesson responded that state television shouldn’t take sides, and later announced that he wouldn’t take part in any of SVT’s election programmes yesterday.

At the party’s rally on Sat-urday, he strongly criticised Lofven’s government for

“prioritising” the cause of asylum-seekers.

“This government we have had now . they have prioritised, during these four years, asylum-seekers,” Akesson said, giving an exhaustive list of things he says the government has failed to do for Swedish society because of migrants.

“Sweden needs breathing space, we need tight responsible immigration policies.”

Akesson’s strong rhetoric has

shocked many Swedes since the country has a long tradition of helping those in need.

“Terrible! I just wanna cry when I think about it,” said Veronica Lundqvist, referring to the Sweden Democrats after she left a voting booth in central Stockholm.

“They say awful things. I mean of course we have a lot of refugees here, but we need to take care of them. They come from a terrible place, terrible

wars. We can’t just throw them out.”

But others say the Sweden Democrats are trying to fix a his-torical problem.

Sabina Macri, voting in central Stockholm, said the current political situation has left her questioning her future in Sweden. “We used to be very safe. We used to be a very calm nation,” she said. “And today I feel a bit insecure about the future, especially for my children.”

People vote in the Swedish general elections at a polling station in the suburb of Rinkeby, north of Stockholm, yesterday.

Genoa bridge reconstruction to cost up to $230mREUTERS

CERNOBBIO: Rebuilding Genoa’s collapsed motorway bridge will cost $170-$230m, a local authority official said yesterday.

The work will be undertaken by state-controlled Fincantieri , in cooperation with Autostrade per l’Italia, Giovanni Toti, the governor of the Liguria region, which is centred on Genoa, told a business conference in northern Italy.

Last month’s collapse of the bridge operated by motorway

group Autostrade, which is con-trolled by infrastructure company Atlantia, killed 43 people.

“The reconstruction will cost between 150 and 200 million euros, while 10-12 million will be necessary for the demolition of the old one and more funds should be granted to families and shopkeepers affected by the dis-aster,” said Toti.

The regional governor has been appointed as the coordi-nator for the bridge disaster relief, giving him a powerful voice in the reconstruction initiative.

Italy’s ruling coalition, which comprises the far-right League and anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, has accused Auto-strade of serious oversights in its maintenance of the bridge and said it wants to revoke its motorway concessions.

Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is a member of 5-Star, has said Autostrade must pay for the rebuilding work, but should not be involved in any other way.

But Toti appeared to reject that line. “Fincantieri will have the leadership of the

reconstruction, together with a group of companies that will also include Autostrade,” he said.

Toti said he had asked the government to issue a decree to waive European Union tender rules for public works to fast-track the reconstruction.

A consortium including Fin-cantieri and Autostrade would be the quickest way to rebuild the viaduct, a key piece of infra-structure for both Genoa and the country, he said.

“The port of Genoa generates 1.5 percent of Italy’s gross domestic product ... we have to

focus to give the bridge back to Genoa and its citizens,” said Toti, who is a member of the conserv-ative, opposition group Forza Italia! (Go Italy!).

Toninelli took to Twitter to criticise Toti’s drive to put together a consortium, saying he was using the disaster to win political consensus.

But Toti dismissed the attack: “A ministry that was not able to supervise infrastructure as it should have cannot block local authorities who are working effi-ciently on behalf of their cit-izens,” he said.

Moldovan leader hurt in car crashAFP

CHISINAU: Moldova’s Pres-ident Igor Dodon (pictured) was hospitalised with slight injuries after his car turned over yesterday, the Eastern European country’s security services said.

Dashboard video from the car travelling behind the president’s, released by the security services, shows an oncoming truck moving to overtake before colliding with Dodon’s Mercedes.

A doctor at a hospital in capital Chisinau where Dodon was being treated said the president was scratched and bruised but in a “satisfactory condition”.

Dodon’s mother and one of his three sons, who were travelling with him, were more seriously injured but also in a satisfactory condition, Doctor Mikhai Chekan said.

A security guard was also injured in the collision.

The accident occurred roughly 40km outside Chisinau, Dodan’s press sec-retary Maxim Lebedinskiy said.

T h e p r e s i d e n t ’ s motorcade was driving “according to the rules,” Leb-edinskiy added.

Pro-Moscow Dodon won the presidency in 2016 after beating a pro-European rival in what was dubbed an East-West tug of war.

About 7.5 million

registered voters

choose from almost

6,300 candidates for a

four-year term in the

349-seat Riksdag, or

parliament. It’s highly

unlikely that any

single party will get a

majority, or 175 seats.

No snap poll over Macedonia name hurdle: Greek PMAFP

THESSALONIKI: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras yesterday said his government would complete its four-year term despite disagreement with his coalition partner over a disputed name deal with Macedonia.

Tsipras said his coalition partner Panos Kammenos, head of the nationalist Inde-pendent Greeks party, “will not endanger the country’s recovery and political stability”.

“The country needs political stability,” he told a news conference in Thessaloniki.

Elections are not scheduled for another year but Kammenos has vowed to do eve-rything in his power to block the deal, including leaving the government.

The preliminary agreement with Mace-donia in June, to be confirmed by a refer-endum by Skopje later this month and a Greek parliamentary vote early in 2019, will see the Balkan state renamed North Macedonia.

Tsipras yesterday acknowledged that full implementation of the agreement “will not be easy” as it requires a constitutional revision that the Macedonian government currently lacks the necessary parliamentary

majority to undertake.Greece also has a northern province

named Macedonia, the heart of Alexander the Great’s ancient kingdom, and many Greeks fear the deal will officially enable Skopje to lay claim to their cultural heritage.

There is also concern that most of the world will simply continue to call the neigh-bouring country Macedonia.

But Tsipras insisted that the deal “fully safeguards the history of ancient Macedonia,

which is Greek and is part of our national identity.”

Some 7,000 people demonstrated on Saturday in Thessaloniki in a protest organised by local citizens and church groups.

A small group of protesters threw flares and stones at police, who responded with tear gas into crowds that included children.

Eight people were arrested, two of them minors. Several shops and cars were van-dalised by suspected far-right hardliners.

Search under way for German singer missing at seaAP

BERLIN: A cruise line said German pop singer Daniel Kueblboeck is missing at sea after going overboard from one of its ships off the coast of Canada.

Aida Cruises said in an email that Kueblboeck went overboard from the cruise ship AIDAluna early yesterday.

Aida added that the ship was stopped and returned to the spot off the coast of New-foundland where the 33-year-old singer was believed to have entered the water.

Kueblboeck achieved short-lived fame in the year 2003 as a contestant on the national talent show “Germany Seeks the Superstar.”

The company said an “intensive search” is underway in cooperation with Canadian coast guard.

Thousands march in Barcelona against Catalan secessionAP

BARCELONA: A few thousands Spaniards marched in Barcelona yesterday in favour of national unity and against the separatist movement in northeastern Cata-lonia.

The marchers cheered when

residents hung Spanish flags on their balconies as they went down a central boulevard.

There was a brief moment of tension when the march met a group of around 100 separatist protesters. Both sides traded insults but police moved in between the two groups.

The march came two days before Catalonia’s regional holiday called “La Diada,” which in recent years separatists have turned into a huge rally for their cause of breaking ties with the rest of Spain.

Some pro-union marches carried posters which call for a

“Diada for everyone,” signaling what they call the exclusion of non-separatists from the public celebrations.

Catalonia’s separatist-led government is pushing Spanish authorities to allow an authorised referendum on secession.

Last year, Catalan authorities held an illegal vote on secession and issued an ineffective decla-ration of independence that received no international support.

Also in early September last year, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia had issued orders to

the police to try to prevent the vote, including the detention of various persons responsible for its preparation.

Polls and recent election results indicate that the wealthy region’s 7.5 million residents are equally divided over the secession issue.

Protesters clash with police during a demonstration against the agreement reached by Greece and Macedonia to resolve a dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name, in Thessaloniki, yesterday.

18 MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018AMERICAS

Pence denies his staff

wrote NYT columnAP

WASHINGTON: Vice-President Mike Pence says he’s “100 percent confident” that no one on his staff was involved with the anonymous New York Times column criticising President Donald Trump’s leadership.

“I know them. I know their character,” Pence said in a taped interview aired yesterday by CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Some pundits had specu-lated that Pence could be the author because the piece from the person identified only as a “senior administration official” included language Pence has been known to use, like the unusual word “lodestar.”

The writer claimed to be part of a “resistance” movement within the Trump adminis-tration that was working quietly behind the scenes to thwart his most dangerous impulses.

Pence added his staff to the list of more than two dozen high-ranking administration officials who have denied writing the opinion piece.

“Let me be very clear. I’m 100 percent confident that no one on the vice president’s staff was involved in this anonymous editorial. I know my people,” Pence said on “Face the Nation.

“They get up every day and are dedicated, just as much as I am, to advancing the president’s agenda and supporting every-thing ... President Trump is doing

for the people of this country.”Asked whether he had asked

his staff about the op-ed, Pence said, “I don’t have to ask them because I know them. I know their character. I know their dedication and I am absolutely confident that no one on the vice president’s staff had anything to do with this.”

He repeated his belief that the essay writer should do the “honorable thing and resign.”

Publication of the op-ed fol-lowed the release of stunning details from an upcoming book by Watergate reporter Bob Woodward in which current and former aides referred to Trump as an “idiot” and “liar” and depicted him as prone to rash policy decisions that some aides either work to stall or derail entirely.

Trump has dismissed Wood-ward’s book as a “work of fiction” and the Times op-ed author as “gutless.”

Woodward has said he stands by his reporting. His book, “Fear: Trump in the White House,” is scheduled to be for-mally released on Tuesday, practically ensuring that the debate over Trump’s leadership ability and style will carry over into a second straight week.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a Trump ally, has said the president would be jus-tified in using lie detectors to ferret out the anonymous writer of the Times column. The pres-ident has yet to say whether he’d go that far, but Pence says he’d be willing.

“I would agree to take it in a heartbeat and would submit to any review the administration wanted to do,” he said in a “Fox News Sunday” interview.

In both television inter-views, Pence pushed back on the portrayals of Trump as anything but a thoughtful leader.

“What I see is a tough leader, a demanding leader, someone who gets all the options on the table,” Pence said on Fox News. “But he makes the decisions, and that’s why we’ve made the progress we’ve made.”

Trump has said the Justice Department should investigate and unmask the anonymous New York Times author. He cited national security concerns for what would amount to an extraordinary criminal probe should Attorney General Jeff Sessions decide to pursue one.

Hurricane Florence threatens east coastBLOOMBERG

NEW YORK: Florence has strengthened into a hurricane and continues to intensify rapidly as it moves ever closer to the US Atlantic coast, where it could strike somewhere between South Carolina and Virginia late this week.

Florence was about 1,210 km southeast of Bermuda, with tropical-storm strength winds of 75 miles per hour, just above the 74 mph threshold needed to be called a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory at 11am New York time.

“Florence is forecast to rapidly strengthen to a major hurricane by Monday (today), and is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thursday,” the center said.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster on Saturday

declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the storm.North Carolina and Virginia have taken similar steps.

With this order government agencies will begin to mobilise in anticipation of a hurricane. Now is the time for your family also to prepare and stay tuned for more updates. Plan for the worst, pray for the best.

The northern coast of South Carolina and the Outer Banks of North Carolina are likely to be the areas most impacted by the storm, which could cause $15.32bn in damage if it stays on its current five-day forecast track, said Chuck Watson, a dis-aster researcher at Enki Research in Savannah, Georgia.

Hurricane track and intensity forecasts often have wide margins of error beyond five days, and with Florence computer models have struggled to accurately predict what the storm will do.

New York subway station reopens since 9/11 attacksAFP

NEW YORK: Just days before the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, trains are once again running through a New York City subway station buried when the Twin Towers fell 17 years ago.

People cheered, clapped and held their phones up to record the event as a train rolled to a stop, video footage from the subway station showed.

The Cortlandt stop reo-pened yesterday on the Number One line in what The New York Times described as “the last major piece in the city’s quest to rebuild what was lost.”

The station was under the World Trade Center, whose twin towers collapsed in flames after being struck by airliners commandeered by Al Qaeda militants.

The Metropolitan Trans-portation Authority began rebuilding the stop in 2015, the Times reported.

Venezuela denounces US interferenceREUTERS

CARACAS: Venezuela’s foreign minister accused the United States of seeking an intervention and supporting military conspir-acies, following a report US offi-cials had met with Venezuelan military officers to discuss a coup plot.

The Trump administration held secret meetings with rebel-lious military officers over the last year to discuss their plans to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

The article cited unnamed

American officials and a former Venezuelan military com-mander who participated in the talks.

“We denounce the inter-vention plans and support for military conspirators by the gov-ernment of the United States against Venezuela,” Jorge Arreaza wrote on Twitter. “Even in USmedia, the crass evidence is coming to light.”

Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for the National Security Council, did not deny the report, but said in a statement that the “US policy preference for a peaceful,

orderly return to democracy in Venezuela remains unchanged.”

US President Donald Trump last year said the United States was considering all options with respect to Venezuela, including the “military option.”

The comments brought widespread condemnation from countries around the region as well as from Maduro’s adver-saries in Venezuela.

The country’s economy has collapsed under Maduro, with annual inflation running at 200,000 percent, and staple foods and basic medicine increasingly difficult to obtain.

US midterm elections a chance to ‘restore sanity’: ObamaAP

ANAHEIM: Former President Barack Obama (pictured) said yesterday that November midterm elections would give Americans “a chance to restore some sanity in our politics,” taking another swipe at his successor as he raises his profile campaigning for fellow Demo-crats to regain control of the House.

Obama didn’t mention Pres-ident Donald Trump by name during a 20-minute speech in the key Southern California battle-ground of Orange County but the allusions were clear.

“We’re in a challenging moment because, when you look at the arc of American history, there’s always been a push and pull between those who want to go forward and those who want to look back, between those who

want to divide and those are seeking to bring people together, between those who promote the politics of hope and those who exploit the politics of fear,” he said.

His appearance — one day after a strongly worded critique of Trump at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — touched on themes of retirement security, climate change and education.

“If we don’t step up, things can get worse,” the former pres-ident told the audience at the Anaheim Convention Center. “In two months, we have the chance to restore some sanity to our pol-itics. We have the chance to flip the House of Representatives and make sure there are real checks and balances in Washington.”

Obama gave shout-outs to seven Democratic candidates in competitive House districts

across California that are con-sidered crucial to the party’s efforts to oust Republicans from control. Four of those districts are at least partly in Orange County, a formerly reliable GOP bastion that went for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

“We’re going to put on our marching shoes, we’re going to start knocking on some doors,

we’re going to start making some calls,” he said to cheers.

Clinton trounced Trump by more than 4 million votes in Cal-ifornia in 2016 and carried Orange County by 9 percentage points. A surge in immigrants has transformed California and its voting patterns. The number of Hispanics, blacks and Asians combined has outnumbered whites in the state since 1998. Meanwhile, new voters, largely Latinos and Asians, lean Democratic.

In Orange County, Repub-licans held a 13-point edge in voter registration 10 years ago but that has shrunk to 3 points while independents, who tend to vote like Democrats in Cali-fornia, have climbed to 25 percent.

Democrats, hoping to build on their 39-14 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation,

are eyeing Republican seats in districts that Clinton won in 2016. Each of the seven candi-dates that Obama campaigned for fit that description.

Obama also highlighted two races in the state’s Central Valley, praising venture capitalist Josh Harder in his bid to unseat four-term Republican Jeff Denham, and T J Cox, who is challenging David Valadao in a district where Democrats hold a 17-point a d v a n t a g e i n v o t e r registration.

He also made a plug for non-profit executive Katie Hill in her Los Angeles-area race to unseat sophomore Republican Steve Knight, who won an under-whelming 53 percent of the vote in 2016.

California Republicans said Obama’s appearance would have little impact and may even help their party.

Let me be very clear.

I’m 100 percent

confident that no one

on the vice president’s

staff was involved

in this anonymous

editorial. I know my

people: Pence Green protestAn activist holding a poster that reads “Colombia free of fracking” in the mobilization to urge world leaders to take action against climate change, in Bogota, Colombia, yesterday.

Shooting at Alabama McDonald’s leaves one dead, four hurtAP

AUBURN: One person is dead and four people have been injured following a shooting at a McDonald’s near Auburn University in Alabama.

Auburn Police said in a statement that officers responded to the restaurant on West Magnolia Ave just before 2:30am yesterday and found a 20-year-old man from Tuskegee dead from gunshot wounds.

Police said four other people, including an Auburn University student, adding that they do not believe the shooting was random and an investigation is ongoing.

Unrest in ChileHuman rights activists with images of people who went missing during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, attend a march and protest ahead of the anniversary of the country’s 1973 military coup, in Santiago, Chile, yesterday.

19MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018 AMERICAS

US cancels meeting with Central American statesREUTERS

SAN SALVADOR: The United States suspended a meeting with Central American officials that was to take place this week, the government of El Salvador said, as the policies of US President Donald Trump test relations in the region.

In a statement issued, the El Salvadoran government said it regretted that US officials had called off the meeting scheduled in Washington among members of the Alliance for Prosperity, a US-led group that seeks to boost economic growth in El Salvador, Hon-duras and Guatemala.

El Salvadoran officials said they were notified of the meet-ing’s cancellation on Friday and would be willing to meet in the future.

“El Salvador is ready to par-ticipate and waiting for this conference to be rescheduled,” officials said in the statement.

The US State Department

did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

José Isaías Barahona, Hon-duras’ deputy foreign minister, said the meeting was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.

“Surely when schedules line up, El Salvador, along with Honduras and Guatemala, will attend the meetings of the Alliance for Prosperity,” he said in an interview.

Marta Larra, a spokes-woman for the Guatemalan foreign ministry, said she had been informed that the meeting had been postponed because the dates did not work well for the Central American countries.

Citing US officials, the Washington Post reported yes-terday that the meeting was cancelled after representatives from El Salvador and Gua-temala said they would not send envoys. But El Salvador said it was planning to attend and did not know why the meeting had been halted.

Supporters of stabbed presidential candidate stage rally in BrazilAFP

RIO DE JANEIRO: Supporters of far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro demonstrated in support of the frontrunner yesterday, who is convalescing after being stabbed while campaigning several days before.

Bolsonaro is hospitalised in the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, which said Sunday that his condition is improving but that he was still receiving nutrients intravenously.

“Bolsonaro was stabbed because he is already elected,” Flavio, one of the candidate’s sons, told some 2,000 cheering

supporters at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach.

He wore the same shirt —yellow with the words “My party is Brazil” — that his father had on when he was stabbed in the abdomen on Thursday during a rally in Juiz de Fora.

The Bolsonaro supporters said a prayer for the candidate’s health and then went into a loud rendition of the Brazilian national anthem.

“I am totally sure that he is the only one who can repair this country and end corruption,” Nilce Ferreira, wearing a Bra-zilian national team jersey, said at Copacabana.

Another gathering of

“Bolsonaristas” — this one in Brasilia — was attended by almost a thousand people, according to media estimates, and a third was to take place in Sao Paulo during the afternoon.

A left-wing activist knifed Bolsonaro in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais on Thursday, claiming to be on a “mission from God.”

It was the latest in a series of bizarre twists in Brazil’s pres-idential contest, from which the most popular candidate, former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was disqualified because he is serving a jail sentence for accepting a bribe, leaving Bol-sonaro the frontrunner.

Brazilian Deputy for Rio de Janeiro and candidate to the Senate Flavio Bolsonaro (centre) with supporters of his father, right-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, during a rally at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, yesterday.

US ‘misleads public’ on Afghan war: NYTANATOLIA

WASHINGTON: American offi-cials have continually issued misleading reports on their progress in Afghanistan after 17 years of war, giving a false impression of realities on the ground, according to the New York Times.

The Times said yesterday while the US officials claim the Afghan government controls 56 percent of the country, in reality it only controls 29 percent.

The report also said Afghan security forces outnumber the Taliban by a ratio of 10 to 1 on the record, but this fails to show that one-third of the Afghan

forces have left their positions without being removed from the payroll.

According to Department of

Defense records, a total of 2,216 US soldiers have died during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

An estimate by the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the US has spent just under $841bn in Afghanistan since 2001.

However, even after spending all this money and effort into fighting the Taliban, military ana-lysts say the Taliban control the majority of territory.

“The war has become more expensive, in current dollars, than the Marshall Plan, which helped to rebuild Europe after World War II. That investment has created intense pressure for

Americans to show the Taliban are losing and the country is improving,” read the report.

The US has not only misled the public on the war in Afghan-istan, but also on the living con-ditions of the country.

According to the Times’ report, in 2010 the USgov-ernment pegged the life expectancy of the average Afghan citizen to be 63 years old, while in 2009 the World Health Organization reported it to be 48, citing a high number of high death rate in early childhood.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) also disagreed with the US government’s estimate, predicting the life expectancy to

be around 51 years old in 2017.The report also showed that

the US denied that the Taliban had briefly taken control over the city of Ghazni in South-eastern Afghanistan last month.

Over the six day siege by the Taliban, in which they took control of most of the city except for a few government facilities, spokesman for the U.S military in Afghanistan Col. Martin L. O’Donnell continually said the Afghan security forces had control over the city.

“They did regain control from the insurgents, but only after six days, and at the cost of nearly 200 police officers and soldiers killed,” the report noted.

The Times said

yesterday while the

US officials claim the

Afghan government

controls 56 percent of

the country, in reality

it only controls 29

percent.

Trump salutes North Korea for parade without nuclear missilesAFP

WASHINGTON: US Pres-ident Donald Trump saluted North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un yesterday for holding a massive military parade “without the customary display of nuclear missiles” to celebrate his country’s 70th anniversary.

“This is a big and very positive statement from North Korea. Thank you To Chairman Kim. We will both prove everyone wrong!” he tweeted.

“There is nothing like good dialogue from two people that like each other! Much better than before I took office.”

The tweet included a quote that said experts believe the missiles were cut from the parade to show Trump North Korea’s com-mitment to denuclearising.

“Theme was peace and economic development,” the US president said.

Trump said on Friday he was expecting a letter from Kim. He has since appeared upbeat about the state of relations.

The two leaders met in June in Singapore, ending a tense months-long standoff over the North’s missile and nuclear tests.

The North Korean leader pledged to work toward the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, following Washington’s demands for a “final, fully verified denu-clearization of North Korea.”

But the momentum lagged after the summit, and late last month Secretary of State Mike Pompeo abruptly canceled a scheduled trip to North Korea, citing a lack of progress on denuclearisation.

Wildfire threat keeps California highway closedAP

SHASTA-TRINITY NATIONAL FOREST: A highway running the length of California remained closed for a fifth day near the Oregon border as a wildfire smothered rural forestlands in smoke and flame.

Officials were trying to determine whether it was safe to reopen a 72km section of Interstate 5 north of Redding. The fire has destroyed

thousands of trees — 20 meters tall — that could fall onto the highway that runs from Mexico to Canada and serves as a main artery for commerce.

Trucks and other traffic were using a smaller road that has added 160km or more and up to eight hours to the journey.

The stretch of highway closed Wednesday as flames flanked the roadway and left the roadway littered with burnt and abandoned trucks.

Although the wrecks have been cleared, the 16,600-hectare fire remained a threat as it chewed through timber and brush in and around Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The blaze had devoured 63.9 square miles and was only 5 percent contained.

Meanwhile to the south, another fire that began Saturday in remote Napa County wood-lands prompted evacuations and threatened about 180 homes.

Elton John announces final world tourREUTERS

WASHINGTON: Elton John took fans down memory lane as he launched his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” world tour that will bring his touring career to an end.

Kicking off in Allentown, Pennsylvania yesterday, John, 71, played his greatest hits in the first of more than 300 shows around the world planned for the next three years.

John announced in January that he wanted to quit traveling to focus on his family, saying his priorities had changed after becoming a parent to two children with his partner David Furnish.

“I have been able to witness a huge amount of social, political and cultural change. I want the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour to cel-ebrate that,” John said in a statement.

Lawyer calls for Dallas copto be charged after shootingAP

DALLAS: The lawyer for the family of a man who was gunned down at his home by a Dallas police officer is calling for her to be arrested and charged, saying the fact that she remains free days after the shooting shows she’s receiving favorable treatment.

S. Lee Merritt, who is repre-senting the family of 26-year-old Botham Jean, said that the family isn’t calling on the authorities to jump to conclu-sions or to deny Officer Amber Guyger her right to due process. But Merritt, flanked by members of the family and Mothers Against Police Brutality, said they want Guyger “to be treated like every other citizen, and where there is evidence that they’ve committed a crime, that there’s a warrant to be issued and an arrest to be made.”

Guyger, a four-year veteran of the police force, hadn’t been charged as of Sunday morning, according to city of Dallas and

Dallas County online records. The police department released her name Saturday night, which was two nights after she shot and killed Jean.

Police Chief U. Renee Hall said the day after the shooting that her department was seeking manslaughter charges against Guyger. But she said that the Texas Rangers, who have taken over the investi-gation, asked her department to hold off because they had learned new information and wanted to investigate further before a warrant was issued.

Police on referred questions to the Rangers. A spokesman for the agency, Lonny Haschel, said in an email that no additional information was available.

According to police, Guyger shot and killed Jean after returning in-uniform to the South Side Flats following her shift. She reported the shooting to dispatchers and she told officers who responded that she had mistaken Jean’s apartment for her own.

Released from jailJorge Tovar (centre) is released from preventive detention after a Peruvian appeals court ordered his release together with his wife Rosario Madueno while dismissing child trafficking charges against the pair, in Callao, Peru, yesterday. The couple had been arrested while trying to leave the country with their twins and in the absence of legislation were incarcerated for 12 months on charges of human trafficking.

20 MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018MORNING BREAK

FAJRSHOROOK

04. 00 AM

05. 18 AM

11. 31 AM

03. 00 PM

05. 46 PM

07. 16 PM

ZUHRASR

MAGHRIBISHA

PRAYER TIMINGS

HIGH TIDE 05:00 – 17:30 LOW TIDE 10:45 – 00:00

Misty to foggy at places by early morning,

becomes hot and relatively humid daytime

with some clouds at times, humid by night.

WEATHER TODAY

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

Minimum Maximum 34oC 40oC

People fly kites during the 20th edition of the International Dieppe Kite Festival in Dieppe, northwestern France. The event, which will last until September 16, gathers people from 34 different countries.

‘Hotel Mumbai’ dubbed an ‘anthem of resistance’REUTERS

TORONTO: “Hotel Mumbai,” about the 2008 attack on a hotel in the Indian city, received a standing ovation at its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, and the cast and filmmakers said they believe that’s because of the human portrayal not only of the victims but also the perpe-trators.`

The film, starring Dev Patel, Armie Hammer and Jason Isaacs, recounts the attack on Mumbai’s luxury Taj Mahal hotel, where dozens of guests and hotel workers were killed during a three-day siege carried out by Islamist militants.

Most of the film is told from the point of view of those trapped in the hotel, and also from that of the gunmen.

“You had a whole lot of people from different back-grounds, racial, ethnic, from different socioeconomic groups who came together in the face of real adversity to survive,” Australian director Anthony Maras told a news conference on Saturday.

“As Dev (Patel) said yes-terday, ‘it’s an anthem of resistance.’” The cast said the film, which also uses tele-vision footage of the siege, brought some of them to tears when they watched the fin-ished version for the first time. Hammer, who plays American hotel guest David, said that the script was “dripping in humanity.”

“You see the toll the attack has on the guests and the staff of the hotel, but you also see it, really for the first time that I can think of, on the actual perpetrators,” Hammer said.

The Hollywood Reporter praised the film’s “nail-biting detail and... an impressive you-are-there quality,” while The Wrap said it “delivers a show-stopping account.”

The siege at the Taj Mahal Hotel was one of a coordi-nated series of attacks across Mumbai in which more than 160 people were killed and hundreds wounded.

“Hotel Mumbai” follows a 2013 Bollywood film, “The Attacks of 26/11,” that was told from the point of view of the Mumbai police.

Film warns of perils of automationAFP

TORONTO: Automation is killing us, warns filmmaker Maxim Pozdorovkin (pictured) in his new documentary “The Truth About Killer Robots,” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The film is also the first ever to be narrated by a robot — a possible sign of what’s to come in the motion picture industry.

“When I started making the movie, the idea of robots killing people was very trendy, people were talking about the theoretical possibilities,” Pozdorovkin said.

Most cautionary tales about auto-mation have considered “what robots will be able to do in the future,” he said.

“But I’m more interested in how technology presently works on us. How is automation transforming us? This is a deeper issue, fundamental to who we are as a species.” The movie considers laws for robots first imagined by Isaac Asimov in the his 1942 short story “Run-around,” which states that machines must not harm humans.

It presents the viewpoints of engi-neers, journalists, philosophers and, through archival footage, Asimov himself.

In the film, Pozdorovkin points to deaths at a VW factory in Germany, in self-driving Tesla vehicles in the United States and from an explosives-carrying robot used by Dallas police to end an armed standoff. The cases raise

questions about accountability, legality and morality. Robots, Pozdorovkin sug-gests, are also job killers, as well as making our minds lazy and fraying our connections to other people.

“We’re talking about massive societal changes,” he said. “And I think it’s going to continue.” Many of the impacts are incremental, as in the case of American truck drivers who are now being tasked with effectively “baby-sitting” robot navigators, for less money.

“Before a truck driver is fully replaced by automation, their wages, their skills and their sense of dignity are slowly being degraded” as they hand over more and more tasks to computers, Pozdorovkin explained.

He explains in the film that robots made to mimic human emotions — or trick us — risk making people less empa-thetic overall.

“Relying on tech, your mind gets lazier,” comments a witness to the Florida highway crash with a semi-trailer that resulted in the decapitation of the owner of the self-driving Tesla car, who was watching a movie at the time.

Aretha Franklin’s dresses to go on auctionAFP

NEW YORK: Weeks after Aretha Franklin’s death, an auction house announced the sale of more than 30 dresses worn by the Queen of Soul.

Julien’s Auctions said the

outfits would go on sale along with items from other musical icons on November 9 and 10 in New York.

Franklin’s outfits, expected to fetch up to $4,000 each, include a red sequined dress designed by Arnold Scaasi, the

late designer best known for dressing US first ladies, which Franklin wore at a 1991 per-formance at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

Other highlights include a knit jacket by luxury brand St. John that Franklin sported when

she was presented the National Medal of the Arts in 1999 by president Bill Clinton.

Franklin died on August 16 from cancer. For her public viewing in her home of Detroit, she was dressed in a different outfit each of the three days.

IANS

NEW YORK: Ever wondered why some people seem to feel less pain than others? The answer could lie in mindfulness, which could be targeted in the development of effective pain therapies, researchers say.

The findings showed that people with higher disposi-tional mindfulness during painful experience showed greater deactivation in a brain region called the pos-terior cingulate cortex — a central neural node of the default mode network.

They also experienced less pain. Conversely, those with lower mindfulness ratings had greater acti-vation of this part of the brain and also felt more pain.

“Mindfulness is related to being aware of the present moment without too much emotional reaction or judgment,” said lead author Fadel Zeidan, Assistant Pro-fessor at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre in North Carolina, US.

“We now know that some people are more mindful than others, and those people seemingly feel less pain,” Zeidan added.

For the study, published in the journal PAIN, the team analysed nearly 100 healthy volunteers to determine if dispositional mindfulness, an individual’s innate or natural level of mindfulness, was associated with lower pain sensitivity and to identify what brain mecha-nisms were involved.

Then, while undergoing functional magnetic reso-nance imaging, they were administered painful heat stimulation (120°F).

Mindfulness can aid in treating chronic pain

Qatari artist opens exhibition at Fire StationRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatari artist Ahmed Al Jufairi showcases 22 works inspired by his experiences as a resident at the renowned Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris – one of the world’s most pres-tigious art residencies.

The exhibition, which opened at the Fire Station yesterday, is entitled Movable Feast alluding to an Ernest Hemingway book of the same title.

“Movable Feast references to the book by Ernest Hemingway on his life as a struggling writer in Paris,” Al Jufairi said at the launch of the exhibition.

Al Jufairi, who just completed a three-month residency in Paris as an extension of Qatar Museums’ (QM) Fire Station: Artist in Residence programme in Doha, said he could relate to Hem-ingway’s experience during an important period in his life as an artist living in the same city.

The works on display created using various mediums reflect Al Jufairi’s fluency as a contemporary transdisci-plinary artist.

Marking the end of a successful residency, the event also featured a public talk, during which the artist shared insights from his journey and experience in Paris.

Humanism, globalisation and land-scape are the main concepts explored by Al Jufairi in his works.

Particularly, the exhibition expresses a contemporary take on

Parisian landmarks as well as the mul-tinational feel of the city and its art scene. In an emotional visualisation of one of the world’s most iconic capitals, the artist sails between the romantic musings of the city and its often hidden darker sides including homelessness and poverty.

Khalifa Al Obaidly, Director of the Fire Station, said: “Ahmed has always used art as a commentary of pressing social issues. His creativity coupled with his intense belief in notions of hope, beauty and resilience, allow him to create works that resonate with audiences of all backgrounds and beliefs. We are incredibly proud of the growth that he has achieved during his time in Paris and are looking forward to watching how he uses these learnings in the future.”

A graduate of Virginia Common-wealth University in Qatar, Ahmed Al Jufairi majored in Painting and Print-making with a minor in Art History. He fuses inspirations that range from Van Gogh, Picasso, Marc Chagall and Andy Warhol with contemporary pop culture and local references.

Held under the patronage of its Chairperson, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Paris Residency is programme takes one talented Qatari creative to Paris for a three-month experience.

Following the success of its Paris Residency programme, QM has recently launched Studio 209 NY, allowing Qatari artists to apply for a

three month resi-dency at the pres-tigious International Studio & Curatorial Programme (ISCP) in New York, USA.Through its interna-tional partnerships, QM is creating the conditions for the cultivation of new talent and creativity, inspiring the next generation of cul-tural producers.

Khalifa Al Obaidly(left), Director of the Fire Station, during the opening of the exhibition by Qatari artist Ahmed Al Jufairi at Doha Fire Station yesterday. BELOW: The works by the Qatari artist. PICS: BAHER AMIN / THE PENINSULA

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