Volume 24 | Number 8034 | 2 RiyalsFriday 4 October 2019 | 5 Safar 1441 www.thepeninsula.qa

Championsaim higher

BUSINESS | 17 SPORT | 01

‘Invest in Qatar’ attracts huge

response from foreign investors

Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani during the annual celebration of World Teachers’ Day held at the Qatar National Convention Center, yesterday. A line-up of Their Excellences Sheikhs, Ministers and members of the diplomatic corps attended the ceremony along with a number of educators and school administrators.

PM attends World Teachers’ Day celebrations

SANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

Qatar celebrated World Teachers’ Day yesterday by honouring 100 teachers in a ceremony which was attended by Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Addressing the ceremony, held at the Qatar National Con-vention Center (QNCC), Minister of Education and Higher Edu-cation, H E Dr. Mohamed bin Abdul Wahed Ali Al Hammmadi said that Qatar’s National Vision aims to transform Qatar, by 2030, to a developed country capable of realising sustainable development.

“This can be achieved by uti-lising an education system that

copes with modern international standards, where educators play a vital role in preparing the stu-dents for the future,” H E the Minister added.

H E the Minister said that Qatar’s national policies are centred on the advancement of human resources, and the teachers are at the forefront of this policy, and this celebration is a vivid indication of Qatar’s interest in teachers. Following

the directives of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the State of Qatar has achieved all international standards and guidelines concerning the status of teachers including their security and job satisfaction.

He said that Qatar is attracting quality teachers from all over the world as teachers working in the government sector are from 56 nationalities, and those in the private

education sector are from 105 nationalities, which indicates Qatar’s openness to the world despite the unjust blockade.

H E the Minister of Education and Higher Education confirmed that the State of Qatar’s annual celebration of World Teachers’ Day is an appreciation of the role of teachers, in accordance with the joint recommendation of International Labour Organi-sation (ILO) and Unesco on the status of teachers.

During the celebration, H E the Minister of Education and Higher Education honoured 100 veteran teachers for their excellent services in the field of education in Qatar.

The ceremony was attended by Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social

Affairs, H E Yousuf bin Mohamed Al Othman Fakhro; President of Planning and Statistics Author-ities, H E Dr Saleh bin Mohammed Al Nabit; Qatar Uni-versity President Dr. Hassan Al Derham; President of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) Dr. Ahmad M Hasnah; President of Community College of Qatar (CCQ) Dr Mohammed Ibrahim Al Naimi, number of senior officials

at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and heads of diplomatic missions in Qatar.

The ceremony also witnessed a special reception of new teachers, where new teachers from several countries including Oman, Jordan, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, United Kingdom, USA, Bulgaria and Turkey walked to the podium. �P2

‘Teachers at the forefront of Qatar’s national policy’ 100 teachers honoured

Qatar University awards vegetable factory pilot projectQNA DOHA

Qatar University awarded the contract for engineering, procurement services, supply and installation of the cultivation equipment at its Vegetable Factory Pilot Project with Chiyoda Corp of Japan and Chiyoda Almana Engineering.

The two firms have a proven track record of successful implementation of projects in the State of Qatar, mainly in the energy sector, as well as implementing other projects

related to the environmental sector.The Centre for Sustainable

Development at the QU College of Arts and Sciences is creating inte-grated knowledge and collaborative arrangements to solve the pressing issues of sustainable development of water and food security, pre-serving and protecting the envi-ronment in Qatar, while reducing and adjusting the long-term impacts of climate change.

Within the framework of Qatar University’s support through its research centres and research

projects related to food security, a research team has been formed to explore innovative solutions to meet the challenges of national food security in the State of Qatar.

The research team has reached out to several companies in Qatar and abroad to explore possible col-laborations to achieve the team’s technological and scientific vision. The research team also adapts and develops project ideas to national environmental conditions, particu-larly with regard to cooling systems and power supplies.

The research team selected Chiyoda for its expertise and advanced technology in the field of agriculture and vegetable pro-duction. This new technology is char-acterised by the absence of a link between production and environ-mental factors, which helps maintain the continuity of production and product quality and safety, the statement notes. The technology pro-posed by Chiyoda is compatible with national environmental conditions in terms of water scarcity, limited space and high temperatures.

Qatar’s National Vision aims to transform Qatar, by 2030 and this can be achieved by utilising an education system that copes with modern international standards, where educators play a vital role in preparing the students for the future,” H E the Minister of Education and Higher Education said.

Qatar committed to ensure LNG supplies: Al KaabiTHE PENINSULA/DOHA

Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi has said that Qatar is committed to ensure continued availability of reliable LNG supplies to world markets, promote greater growth in the LNG industry and to serve the growing needs of its clients.

In his address to the 21st minis-terial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow, H E Al Kaabi stressed the importance of

natural gas in meeting the economic and environmental challenges facing energy consumers around the world.

“Many countries around the world are searching for the right balance of reliable and secure sources of energy, which can drive their growth, while addressing envi-ronmental concerns at the same time. In this effort, many are discovering the versatile, flexible, economic, and environmental qualities of natural gas as a key enabler in the journey to achieve a lower-carbon economy,”

H E the Minister said.The Minister led the State of

Qatar’s delegation to the 21st minis-terial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

“We all have the same objective: To place natural gas at the heart of the energy industry as a fuel of the future to affirm our true belief that natural gas is a cornerstone in the energy transition and a destination fuel, not merely a transition fuel,” H E the Minister added.

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum is a gathering of the world’s

leading gas exporting countries, and was set up as an international gov-ernmental organization with the objective to increase the level of coordination and strengthen the col-laboration among Member countries. GECF also seeks to build a mech-anism for a more meaningful dia-logue between gas producers and consumers for the sake of stability and security of supply and demand in global natural gas markets.

H E the Minister held several high-level meeting on the sidelines of forum. �P2

By teachers, minds are built and societies thrive. The State of Qatar celebrates, on October 5, World Teachers’ Day and today we are here to celebrate them and honour their generous role and efforts in spreading the greatest message of education which leads to the nation’s renaissance. Thanks; Messengers of Knowledge.

Media City’s Board meeting issues decisionsQNA/DOHA

The Media City Board of Directors held its third meeting yesterday morning under the chair-manship of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Media City Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani.

The meeting reviewed the agenda, took appropriate decisions, discussed the regulations governing the Media City, and reviewed a number of different tenders, especially the details of the tender for the selection of permanent buildings in Lusail City, as its infrastructure and envi-ronment, is an appropriate location for the Media City project, which contributes to achieving the objectives set for this project.

Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani said that Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani issued a decision to join Saud bin Abdullah Al Attiyah to the Board of Directors.

He stressed that having Saud Al Attiyah onboard is a step forward and represents an integration of members with their different specialities.

During the past period the Board of Directors has adopted the organisational structures of the city, the charter of professional honour, in addition to the organisational decisions that facilitate the establishment of the media city.

Moment of truth: Barshim ready for biggest show on home soil

02 FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019HOME

Amir sends greetings to President of Germany

Amir condoles with Indian President, PM

Amir sends greetings to President of Iraq

Qatar participates in GCC Chief of Staff Meeting

DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

sent yesterday a cable of con-

gratulations to President of the

Federal Republic of Germany,

Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on

the anniversary of his coun-

try’s Unity Day. Deputy Amir H

H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad

Al Thani also sent a cable of

congratulations to President

of the Federal Republic of Ger-

many Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Prime Minister and Interior Minis-

ter, H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser

bin Khalifa Al Thani, sent a cable

of congratulations to German

Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel on

the anniversary of her country’s

Unity Day. QNA

DOHA:Amir H H Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

sent yesterday a cable of con-

dolences to President of the

Republic of India Ram Nath

Kovind, and Prime Minister

Narendra Modi on the victims

of floods in east and north of

India. Deputy Amir H H Sheikh

Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani

sent a cable of condolences

to President of India, Ram

Nath Kovind, and Prime Min-

ister Narendra Modi on the

victims of floods in east and

north of India. Prime Minister

and Interior Minister H E Sheikh

Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa

Al Thani sent a cable of con-

dolences to Prime Minister of

the Republic of India Narendra

Modi on the victims of floods in

east and north of India. QNA

DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

sent yesterday a cable of con-

gratulations to President of the

Republic of Iraq, Barham Salih,

on the anniversary of his coun-

try’s Independence Day.

Deputy Amir H H Sheikh

Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani

sent a cable of congratulations

to President of the Repub-

lic of Iraq Barham Salih on the

anniversary of his country’s

Independence Day.

Prime Minister and Interior Min-

ister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin

Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani sent

a cable of congratulations to

Prime Minister of the Repub-

lic of Iraq Adil Abdul-Mahdi on

the anniversary of his country’s

Independence Day. QNA

DOHA: The State of Qatar

participated in the extraordi-

nary meeting of the Chiefs of

Staff of the Gulf Cooperation

Council (GCC) that was held

in Riyadh yesterday. Qatar’s

delegation to the meeting

was headed by H E the Chief

of Staff of the Qatari Armed

Forces Lieutenant-General

(Pilot) Ghanem bin Shaheen Al

Ghanem. The meeting discussed

a number of topics aimed at

enhancing the future of the Gulf

defence policy and strength-

ening coordination in the areas

of military cooperation among

member states in line with a uni-

fied strategy that serves the GCC

joint security. QNA

OFFICIAL NEWS

Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani during the annual celebration of World Teachers’ Day held at the Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC), yesterday.

PM attends World Teachers’ Day celebrationsFROM PAGE 1

A veteran teacher Nasser Saleh Al Khulaki, who was honoured yesterday, presented flag of Qatar to his colleague, a new Qatari teacher, Abdullah Mohammed, the embodiment of the continuation of generations.

In his speech, H E the Minister stressed that as the Ministry looks forward to a more effective role for teachers in achieving Qatar National Vision. The Ministry has stipulated the achievement of the highest indicators of integrity and transparency in the public service in the educational system, through the implementation of criteria and selection methods according to high qualifications, because progress in education depends on the qualifications and experience of teachers and their human qualities.

He added that in light of the future directions, the Ministry will continue to develop its educa-tional visions to overcome all the difficulties and challenges, espe-cially the demographic challenge, and the increase in demand for education and the opening of new schools annually, and this requires the recruitment of more teachers in light of the scarcity of qualified teachers in the region.

He renewed the Ministry’s commitment to support teachers and safeguard all their rights in accordance with national policies and international conventions.

The Minister stressed the importance of the role of teachers in Qatar schools, to renew the ministry’s vision of the teaching profession, in accordance with an approach that takes into account the diversity and indi-vidual differences of children, and respect their dignity and cul-tural specificities, and expand their perceptions, so that they can compete with their peers at the global level.

The Minister also called on students and all partners of the educational process to share the

Al Kaabi holds talks with Iran, Russian ministers FROM PAGE 1

The Minister of State for Energy Affairs and the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, met with Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, the Min-ister of Petroleum in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The meeting dealt with the latest developments in the field of energy and issues of mutual interest.

Al Kaabi, held discussions with Alexander Novak, the Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation in Moscow.

Discussions, which was held during His Excellency’s visit to the Russian capital to attend the 21st Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, cen-tered on cooperation in the field of energy.

Al Kaabi also held cooperation talks with Igor Sechin, the CEO, Chairman of the Management Board, and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Russia’s Rosneft in Moscow yesterday. The meeting tackled various issues of common interest in the energy field.

Fahd bin Mohammed Al Attiyah, Ambassador Extraor-dinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Qatar to the Russian Fed-eration, also attended the meetings.

Minister of State for Energy Affairs and the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, holding talks with Alexander Novak, the Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation in Moscow. BELOW: H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, with Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, the Minister of Petroleum in the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the sidelines of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum’s Ministerial Meeting in Moscow, yesterday.

QU female engineers invent firefighting robotDOHA THE PENINSULA

Four recent female graduates from Qatar University’s (QU) College of Engineering have designed and tested a fire-fighting robotic vehicle. This robotic vehicle is the first of its kind to be completely designed and built in Qatar by Qatari female engineers.

The four graduates who are

from the College’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering fully designed, built and integrated and tested the vehicle which can be remotely controlled and is kitted with a 360 panoramic camera that streams live video to a mobile phone or to a central control room. The robot is also equipped with a gas detector that feeds back gas levels to the firefighters on the ground. The four students

are Al Maha Al Shamari, Jawaher Al Sulaiti, Ghader Al Sharshani and Bashayr Al Mehaiza, under the supervision of Dr. Jamil Renno.

The four engineers have now been adopted by Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) and they are enhancing their design to make it more suitable for putting off fires in oil and gas facilities. The team have held several fruitful meetings with

governmental and commercial stakeholders with a view to launch a Qatari company that will produce these robotic vehicles and deploy them at sites in Qatar.

This effort fits within Qatar National Vision 2030 as a step towards diversifying the economy and contributes towards the transformation of the Qatari economy into a knowledge-based economy.A demonstration of the firefighting robot.

Minister of Education and Higher Education, H E Dr Mohammed Abdul Wahed Ali Al Hammmadi honouring the teachers.

joy of the teachers in Qatar and express their gratitude, respect and appreciation, and give them the consideration and social status they deserve, because they are the source of inspiration and the keys to the future we want.

H E Dr. Al Hammadi expressed his sincere gratitude and appreciation to Prime Min-ister and Interior Minister of H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, for the continuous support and guidance to the Ministry of Edu-cation and Higher Education, and his keen to sponsor and attend this annual ceremony.

A documentary film was screened which showed conti-nuity of the generations of teachers in the performance of their message was presented generation after generation.

Qatar condemns shooting that targeted civilians in AfghanistanQNA/DOHA

The State of Qatar expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation of the shooting incident that targeted civilians in Ghazni province in south-eastern Afghanistan, which led to a number of deaths and injuries. In a statement issued yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the State of Qatar’s firm stance on rejecting violence and terrorism regardless of the motives and causes.

Qatar condemns explosion in Somalia

QNA/DOHA

The State of Qatar expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation of the explosion that took place in the Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia and led to deaths and injuries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated Qatar’s firm stance on rejecting violence and terrorism.The statement expressed the condolences of Qatar to the victims’ families and to the government and people of Somalia, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

03FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019 HOME

Qatar University participates in Global Innovation Summit 2019THE PENINSULA/DOHA

Professor Mariam Al Maadeed, Vice-President for Research & Graduate Studies at Qatar University (QU), represented QU and participated in the Global Innovation Summit (GIS) 2019, which took place in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The GIS is organized by the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils (GFCC) annually, of which QU is an active member since 2016.

The GFCC is a network of leaders and organizations from around the world committed to the implementation of compet-itiveness strategies to drive inno-vation, productivity, and pros-perity for their nations, regions, and cities. The GFCC convenes high-level leaders from business, government, academia, civil society, and global think tanks for vibrant discussions on the state of global competitiveness and ways to enhance innovation capacity worldwide. Qatar Uni-versity co-leads one of the GFCC initiatives together with Uni-versity of Zurich on ‘Optimizing Innovation Alliances,’ a joint-policy taskforce and report that outlines best ways and emerging models for fostering innovation in universities in alliance with industry and government.

Qatar University President Dr. Hassan Al-Derham, is cur-rently playing a semi-leadership role with the GFCC University and Research Leadership Forum’s new initiatives on shaping the future of universities in light of the fourth industrial technological revolution.

The summit was held in the presence of Altay Kulginov, Mayor of Nur-Sultan and host of the event, GFCC President Deborah Wince-Smith, GFCC Chairman Charles Holliday Jr. and other distinguished members, partners and sponsors.

On behalf of QU, Prof. Mariam Al Maadeed presented ‘The Qatar University Case: Development of a National Uni-versity Transformation Strategy for Impact and Competitiveness.’ She gave a brief about QU and explained the new QU transfor-mational strategy 2018-2022 and explained how it was inspired by Qatar National Vision 2030. In this context, Prof. Mariam highlighted QU’s inno-vative contributions to Qatar’s mega initiatives such as some of the new technologies that have been deployed in preparing 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.

Prof. Mariam participated in several sessions including a panel discussion entitled ‘Indus-tries in Transformation — Building New Industries and Boosting Productivity in Today’s Economy,’ and a University and Research Leadership Forum workshop that discussed the future of universities in light of the fourth industrial revolution,

called University 4.0. The University 4.0 is a new

GFCC initiative bringing col-lective efforts from senior uni-versity leaders across the globe together with senior research and development, industry, and strategy leaders in order to con-ceptualize and explore pathways for emergence and new models of universities shaping future industry 4.0, society 4.0, and economy 4.0. Prof. Mariam brought perspectives from Qatar, QU, and the QU transformation strategy on this emerging and critical topic for universities and h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n transformation.

Furthermore, Prof. Mariam had the opportunity to meet with HE Ambassador of Qatar to Kazakhstan, Ahmed Ali Al Tamimi, as well as senior offi-cials from different Kazakh uni-versities, in order to initiate potential collaborations between them and QU.

Professor Mariam Al Maadeed attending at the Global Innovation Summit 2019.

Police College marks graduation of diving & paragliding coursesTHE PENINSULA/DOHA

The Police College celebrated the graduation of diving and paragliding courses for the third batch of students yesterday in presence of Minister of Justice & Minister of State for the Council of Ministers Affairs, H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi.

The ceremony was also attended by Major General Dr. Abdullah Yousef Al Mal, Advisor to the Minister of Interior and, Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of Police College and a number of department directors and parents.

The Police College is the first in the region to offer spe-cialised courses such as diving, paragliding, thunderbolt and other courses as part of the cur-riculum. These will enhance self-confidence and capacity of decision-making and enduring difficulties.

The diving and parachuting

Attorney-General meets Gambian officialsQNA/DOHA

Attorney-General H E Dr. Ali bin Fetais Al Marri met yesterday with a number of advisers and officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Economy in the Republic of The Gambia, at the end of their participation in a training workshop, organised by the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center (ROLACC) in Doha under the title Corruption and Ribery in Civil Services.

ROLACC has concluded the three-day training workshop which was presented for the Gambian delegation, tackling the legal and practical aspects of anti-corruption-related matters on national and international levels in addition to other topics concerning the rule of law and anti-corruption. The workshop was delivered by a lineup of professors from Sussex University, Hamad bin Khalifa University and Ahmed bin Mohamed Military College. The workshop comes as an episode within the series of workshops presented by the ROLACC in the context technical and training support it offers to African countries. Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center (ROLACC) activities are carried in cooperation with the United Nations and its agencies.

Attorney-General H E Dr Ali bin Fetais Al Marri with the officials from the Gambia.

Minister of Justice & Minister of State for the Council of Ministers Affairs, H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi, with the graduates.

courses also add a lot to the future police cadres so that the police officer, along with his

knowledge of the Law and Police Sciences, will acquire many skills to help him perform his job

efficiently and professionally. Maj. Gen. Dr. Abdullah Yousef Al Mal commended the graduate

students with the course badges. He also honoured Qatari Amiri Air Force and Lekhwiya Force for

their involvement and contri-bution in the implementation of the courses.

04 FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019HOME

Make teaching profession first choice for youngsters: UnescoSANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

Unesco has called on governments in all over the world to improve employment and working conditions for teachers, and to make the teaching profession the first choice for young people.

“We call upon governments to make teaching a profession of first choice for young people,” said Daniello Padilla a representative of Unesco while speaking at a ceremony held yesterday at the Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC) yesterday to celebrate World Teachers’ Day.

On behalf of the Director, Unesco Regional Office in Doha, Anna Paolini, Daniello Padilla delivered the joint United Nations message to celebrate World Teachers’ Day this year.

Padilla said that with the theme ‘Young Teachers: The Future of the Pro-fession’, Unesco recognize the critical importance of reaffirming the value of the teaching mission.

“We also invite teacher unions, private sector employers, school prin-cipals, parent-teacher associations, school management committees, edu-cation officials and teacher trainers to share their wisdom and experiences in promoting the emergence of a vibrant teaching force,” said Padilla.

He said that without a new gener-ation of motivated teachers, millions of

learners will miss out, or continue to miss out, on their right to a quality education.

“With teachers being underpaid and undervalued, attracting and retaining talent is a challenge. Attrition rates are rising rapidly worldwide, due in part to precarious employment and scarce opportunities for continuous profes-sional development. Furthermore, there is a lack of resources for children with special education needs and disabilities, refugees and multilingual pupils,” said Padilla. He said that today, it is urgent to take action as the figures given by the Unesco Institute for Statistics (UIS) are quite worrying: the world needs almost 69 million new teachers to meet the Education 2030 Agenda.

“Global inequalities could directly increase, as 70 percent of sub-Saharan countries face acute shortages of teachers, rising to 90 percent at sec-ondary level, said Padilla.

He said that such problems are even more prominent in rural and crisis-affected areas in developing countries. Teachers, particularly women, risk iso-lation and violence. The resulting flux of teachers to urban areas leave rural schools short-staffed.

He added to counter this situation, the pivotal role of teachers in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals was reaffirmed at Unesco’s Global Education Meeting and at the 11th Policy Dialogue Forum of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030. To succeed in this, education systems need an injection of fresh thinking on how to recruit, train, incentivize and retain the brightest minds for 21st century classrooms.

Giving solution to address the problems of teachers Padilla said: The media and new technologies must be instrumentalized to elevate the teaching profession, and to demonstrate its importance for human rights, social justice and climate change. Govern-ments must also improve employment and working conditions.”

He said that this is all the more urgent given the shortage of young can-didates for the 48.6 million teachers likely to retire in the coming decade.

The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs granted 20 employees of the Labour Inspection Department at the Ministry’s headquarters, the status of judicial officers in relation to the implementation of the provisions of the Labour Law and its implementing decisions. On the sidelines of the oath taking ceremony, Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs H E Yousuf bin Mohamed Al Othman Fakhroo, honoured the judicial officers who contributed to accomplishing the tasks in an outstanding manner in the implementation of the Labour Law and its implementing resolutions.

MADLSA grants 20 employees Judicial Officer status

Portuguese journalist tells stories through art

RAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

Seasoned Portuguese journalist Patrícia Mouzinho documents stories through art in her solo exhibition titled “Journey through my stories” which opened on Wednesday at Katara Cultural Village.

Born in 1972, Mouzinho lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal as a journalist for SIC, a major Por-tuguese TV network. She has been most ly making

documentaries on various sub-jects, both of national and inter-national interest.

“My life as a journalist began 27 years ago. The different coun-tries around the world that I visited created in me mixed feelings expressed in these paintings,” she said.

A self-taught artist, mouz-inho’s artistic career started almost 30 years ago influenced by her grandparents, who were both committed to drawing and painting.

She never had the urge to exhibit her art to the world, pre-ferring to let them live between the walls of family and friends. It was only three years ago when she decided to start showcasing her art for the world to see, from her home country to China and now in Qatar.

“It is my first exhibition here and I’m happy to be in Qatar spe-cially in Katara, a distinctive and beautiful cultural place,” she said. More than 30 paintings, many of which lean towards

cubism, are on show at the exhi-bition launched by Katara General Manager Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti and Portu-guese Ambassador Ricardo Eduardo Vaz Pereira Pracana.

“Katara is witnessing a remarkable development at all levels, especially in the diversity of exhibitions and artists,” said Al Sulaiti, high-lighting that Katara aspires to provide artists and enthusiasts opportunity to exchange expe-riences and build connections

through art that allows the development of skills and openness to different experi-ences and cultures.

“We are confident that these exhibitions enrich the cultural scene in Qatar and contribute effectively and directly to building bridges of communi-cation between different peoples and cultures,” stressed Al Sulaiti.

For his part, the ambassador expressed great pleasure for this cooperation with the Katara, which reflects openness to dif-

ferent cultures.Mouzinho graduated from

the Universidade Autónoma of Lisbon with a degree in Com-munication Science and studied Law at the Universidade Católica. She also enrolled in a Theatre Course at the renowned Instituto de Formação Investi-gação e Criação Teatral and fin-ished a course in Judiciary Journalism.

The exhibition is open for public viewing at Gallery 1 of Building 19 until October 14.

Some of the works by Portuguese journalist and artist Patrícia Mouzinho in her solo exhibition titled “Journey through my stories” which opened on Wednesday at Katara Cultural Village.

QNCECS celebrates World Teachers’ DayTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science (QNCECS) celebrated World Teachers’ Day, which falls on October 5 under a theme ‘Young Teachers Future of the Teaching Profession’, with the participation of a number of Unesco-affiliated schools in a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

Consultant of International Organizations and National Coordi-nator of Unesco-affiliated Schools, Hessa Al Dosari delivered a speech on behalf of the Secretary-General of the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science,

Al Dosari said that the World Teacher’s Day, is celebrated this year under a them ‘Young Teachers The Future of the Teaching Profession’.

“On this occasion, I would like to emphasize that the State of Qatar has spared no effort in preparing and qualifying young teachers in order to provide with young Qatari teachers to the the education sector,” said Al Dosari. She said that the strategy of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education included many training programs and courses to prepare qualified Qatari teachers.

“I extend my greetings and appre-ciation to every teachers all over the world. The success of the educational system in any country means its

progress and excellence, the teacher is a guide in the journey of knowledge and role model,” said Al Dosari.

Addressing the event, Professor Maryam Abdul Jabbar on behalf of Unesco-affiliated schools said “It is an honour for me to take part in this honouring ceremony, which I con-sider a noble medal.”

She said that teachers provide knowledge to students, enlight the minds of children with science and knowledge, and show them the way of the future to participate in the national development wheel.

The students of the Unesco group at Abdulrahman bin Jassem Prepar-atory School for Boys staged a play on the roles of teacher in building future generations, and his social status, and how students can give back to him. A discussion was also held between teachers and students about the importance of World Teachers’ Day.

Hamdan Al Balooshi from Abdul-rahman Bin Jassim Preparatory School for Boys led a seminar entitled ‘Teacher’s Day’, which focused on teacher in general, about the holiness of the teacher and his status.

Eng. Ahmed Al Mansour, an Asso-ciate of Science for Qatar initiative, talked about his personal experience in teaching for the second year in a row, and the reasons that encouraged him to enter this field, and talked about the importance of this great profession.

“We call upon governments to make teaching a profession of first choice for young people,” said Daniello Padilla a representative of Unesco while speaking at a ceremony held yesterday at the Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC) to celebrate World Teachers’ Day.

A view from the the World Teachers’ Day celebrations, organised by Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science (QNCECS).

05FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019 ISLAM

Allah, Islam and our priorities

CLAUDIA SEISE

To have priorities in life is important and natural. All of us have them. All of us should think about and reflect our priorities. What is our main

priority? Why is it our main priority? And what would we actually want to be our first priority in life? For many people, their priority is their work or their studies. For many others, it is their family, children, or friends. Ideally, we arrange our life according to our priorities.

Choose Between Class and AllahWhen I studied in Germany after my

conversion to Islam, Allah taught me what He wants my priorities to be. The prayer times in Germany are an inter-esting challenge throughout the year as in many other places in the Northern hem-isphere. In summer, the day is extremely long and the night is very short. In winter it is the opposite. The day is short and the dark hours of the day are very long. It was in my first German winter after accepting Islam that I realized the tremendous importance of Islam and Allah in my life. The midday prayer, duhr, started at 12.30 pm and the afternoon prayer, asr, started at 1.35 pm. That was just one hour to get my midday prayer done. However, I had

class from 12 to 2 pm. Alhamdulilah, Allah showed me that He was the most important priority in my life. There was no excuse. I had to go and meet Him, despite the interesting and heated dis-cussions in class or the test that was con-ducted during class time. I stepped out of the classroom and onto my portable, mobile prayer room, my prayer carpet. I talked to my Lord, bowed down to Him and showed Him that He is my main and first priority in life.

Our Children or PrayerThe second example that illustrates

the importance of getting our priorities straight is from one of my best friends. When she had her first baby, she told me, she often struggled with observing the prayer times. Her baby was screaming a lot and she had to carry him a lot. Whenever she put him down to try and pray, he would scream at the top of his lungs. She then did not pray and

delayed her prayer. However, when the time for one

particular prayer was almost up, she said, she just put her baby down and prayed. After 30 seconds into the prayer, the baby was asleep. Glory be to our most Merciful Creator. She later told me that it was during this time that she truly understood that her prayer and her con-nection with her Creator was the most important thing in her life. And that nothing can come between Him and her.

Created to WorshipThere are many other examples that

can be cited to illustrate the point. Being a Muslim means to fully submit to Allah. It means to set our priorities straight. It means that Allah, His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and His religion should naturally be our first pri-ority. Why? Because we love Allah. We love His messenger and we love the religion He gifted to us. It is because of

Allah that we feel peace and tranquility in our heart. It is because of Him that we are able to breath, eat, move, and live. Observing our five daily prayers should never be a burden on us. Rather, we should run towards it. It is a relief from the worldly life. It helps us to set our priorities straight. It constantly reminds us of what is really, truly important in this life. Allah created us for the purpose of worshiping Him.

That’s it. That is our task. That is our purpose. Everything else comes after that. Every other responsibility, every other work, task, joy or hobby comes after we have fulfilled our main purpose in life. Realising this can bring true calmness and submission in our life. It does not mean that we will forsake all of our other responsibil-ities. But, it reminds us that everything will pass. Our prayer helps us to under-stand the true purpose in life. Making our prayer our first priority, we submit

ourselves and everything else to Him.

Allah Is In ControlAllah reminds us in Quran that our

property and our children are a test for us (8: 28). He warns us against letting our wealth and children divert us from the remembrance of Allah (63: 9). When we remember to make our most Mer-ciful Creator our first priority, we hand ourselves and our problems and respon-sibilities over to Him. When we put Allah and His religion first, everything else will fall into place. No matter what comes our way, we have our prayer, we have Allah to fall back on. We do not have to be able to manage, control, and under-stand everything. That is not our main purpose in this life. Allah is able to manage everything. He is in control and He understands everything. We just have to worship Him. May He guide all of us to perfect our prayers. Ameen.

www.islamicity.org

Islam and the innate beauty of human natureWILLIAM C CHITTICK

Islamic texts typically begin talk of God’s love by citing the Quranic verse, “He loves them” (5:54), which is to say that God loves human

beings. God’s love is enough to show that people are beautiful, for “God is beau-tiful and He loves beauty.” Human beauty, however, is of two sorts: Innate and recovered. It follows that God’s love is also of two sorts, corresponding to the two sorts of mercy designated in the formula, “In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.”

One of God’s most beautiful names is “form-giver” (musawwir). The name means that all shapes, forms, images, ideas, figures, representations, paintings and sculptures are created by God, directly or indirectly. This, by the way, is a typical Quranic “name” of God. Notice that these are not proper names — unlike “Frank” or “Jane.” Proper names tell us practically nothing about their objects. In contrast, the most beautiful divine names designate positive qualities that appear in creation. Typically num-bered at ninety-nine, they include: Alive, Knowing, Desiring, Powerful, Speaking, Generous, Just, Forgiving, Compassionate. In each case the divine name means that God alone is truly designated by the named quality. Created things receive no more than dribs and drabs of it. As for the name “Allah,” it is simply the Arabic word for God, used by Christians as well as Muslims.

In speaking of the activity of God as form-giver, the Quran addresses human beings with the verse, “He formed you and made your forms beautiful” (40:64). All created beauty can be nothing but the signs, forms, shapes, and images

bestowed by the Form-Giver. In the human case, God formed people “in the most beautiful stature” (95:4). All crea-tures were given beauty, but only human beings were given the superlative form of beauty.

The Quran says that God created Adam as his “vicegerent” (2:30), his rep-resentative on earth. In clarifying what this implies, it says, “He taught Adam the names, all of them” (2:31). The stress here —“all of them” — indicates that the issue is not simply the names of the natural realm, over which Adam was appointed vicegerent, but also the names of the Creator. Without knowing both sides, Adam could not act as God’s intermediary. Adam was given knowledge and recog-nition of all that exists as his own actu-ality. As some of the Quran commen-tators say, he knew the names of all things in all the languages of all of his descendants. In contrast, his descendants possess comprehensive knowledge only as a potential. It is up to them to bring this knowledge into actuality. The quest to know is an inherent human attribute, and people undertake this quest precisely because of love and desire. They want to know.

God, in his love to be known and recognised, created and continues to create the universe. Human beings, in their love to know, attempt to grasp the reality behind the appearances. In the last analysis, there is nothing truly real but the True Reality. Tawhīd, the assertion of divine unity, provides love with its ultimate focus. Love is then the quest to overcome separation between the knower of the names (us) and the named reality (the One God).

I have just summarised countless volumes on theology, philosophy, and

spiritual psychology. These books — few of which have been translated into European languages — provide an extensive library investigating the human phenomenon. Clearly, the approach does not coincide with that of anthropology, archaeology, biology, psychology, or any other modern science, each of which iso-lates a certain aspect of human nature and dissects it without end.

The Islamic approach (not unlike the Christian and Hindu, among others) addresses human nature as a global totality made in the image of the Ultimate Reality. It builds on the primal unity of all things and observes unity’s endless reverberations as it emerges from indistinction. Every attempt to determine a thing coordinates within the infinite sphere of reality must then take into account the center point of the sphere. If that is ignored, people will be talking about some things in relation to other things — useful, practical, and fas-cinating, no doubt, but short-sighted.

In this way of looking at things, the One Reality — the Good, the True, and the Beautiful — is the source of a good, true, and beautiful universe, which has appeared and continues to appear because of God’s love to be known. The quality that separates human beings from everything else is the innate quest to know the Center and rejoin it. This quest appears in the indefinite diversity of human wants and desires, which may or may not be cor-rectly oriented. “Love” is then an appro-priate name for the creative force that drives both the originating movement and the quest to return to the Beautiful.

www.huffingtonpost.com(William C Chittick Ph.D is Professor

of Religious Studies, State University of New York, Stony Brook)

Being a Muslim means to fully submit to Allah. It means to set our priorities straight. It means that Allah, His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and His religion should naturally be our first priority. Why? Because we love Allah. We love His messenger and we love the religion He gifted to us. It is because of Allah that we feel peace and tranquility in our heart. It is because of Him that we are able to breath, eat, move, and live. Observing our five daily prayers should never be a burden on us.

06 FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019GULF / MIDDLE EAST

Protesters clash with police across Iraq, 28 deadAFP BAGHDAD

Thousands of protesters clashed with riot police in Iraq’s capital and across the south yesterday, the third day of mass rallies that have left 28 dead.

Defying curfews, tear gas and live rounds, they gathered by truckfuls to vent their anger against corruption, unem-ployment and poor services in the biggest challenge yet to Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi.

As dusk fell in Baghdad, crowds swelled around the cap-ital’s oil and industry ministry, pledging to march to the capi-tal’s emblematic Tahrir (Liber-ation) Square.

“We’ll keep going until the government falls,” pledged 22-year-old Ali, an unemployed university graduate.

“I’ve got nothing but 250 lira (20 US cents) in my pocket while government officials have mil-lions,” he said.

Most demonstrators carried the Iraqi tricolour while others brandished flags bearing the name of Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) grandson.

Riot police and army troops fired at the ground from auto-matic weapons mounted on mil-itary vehicles, the bullets rico-cheting into the crowd.

Wounded protesters piled into small tuk-tuks to reach hospitals.

“Why do the police shoot at

Iraqis like them? They suffer like us — they should help and protect us,” said protester Abu Jaafar.

The three days of demon-strations have left 28 people, including two police officers, dead and over 1,000 people have been wounded.

More than half of those killed in the last three days have been in the southern city of Nasiriyah, where six pro-testers were shot dead and dozens wounded yesterday alone.

Nearby Amarah has also seen significant bloodshed, with medics and security sources reporting four pro-testers shot dead yesterday.

Later in the day, two pro-testers and a police officer were killed in Diwaniyah, 150km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, and a curfew was subsequently imposed.

Rallies began Tuesday in Baghdad but have since spread across the mainly Shia south, including the provinces of Dhi

Qar, Missan, Najaf, Basra, Wasit and Babylon. Several cities have imposed curfews, but protesters flooded the streets regardless.

The Kurdish northern regions and Sunni western prov-inces, meanwhile, have remained relatively calm.

The grievances echo those of mass demonstrations in Iraq’s south a little over a year ago which were prompted by a severe water shortage that caused a widespread health crisis.

Since then, southern prov-inces have accused the central government of failing to address

profound infrastructural gaps, chief among them youth unemployment.

Tensions have been exacer-bated by the closure of gov-ernment offices in Baghdad and calls by firebrand cleric Moqtada Al Sadr for “a general strike”.

Sadr was behind the last round of major protests in Baghdad in 2016, when his sup-porters stormed the Green Zone, home to some ministries and embassies.

His involvement appears much more limited this time, but if his followers join the protests en masse, the rallies will likely

balloon even further.With Internet access virtually

shut off, demonstrators yes-terday struggled to communicate with each other or post footage of the latest clashes.

Approximately 75 percent of Iraq is “offline” after major network operators “intentionally restricted” access, according to cybersecur i ty moni tor NetBlocks.

The United Nations, European Union and United Kingdom have all appealed for calm, while rights group Amnesty International slammed the response to protests.

Demonstrators gather at a protest during a curfew in Baghdad, Iraq, yesterday.

Iraq-Iran border crossing shut as protests rageAFP TEHRAN

A border crossing between Iraq and Iran has been closed at the demand of Iraqi authorities who are facing a wave of deadly protests, Iranian state television reported yesterday.

The border post at Khosravi, around 570km (350 miles) east of Tehran, was shut during the night and was still closed yes-terday afternoon.

According to Iran’s Fars news agency, pilgrims heading to Iraq could cross the border unhindered at two other posts further south.

The official IRNA news agency, however, reported that one of them was also closed for several hours on the Iraqi side during the night before reopening.

Around 1.8 million Iranian pilgrims visited Iraq last year, according to official figures.

People wave Palestinian flags during a protest against Israeli police inaction to the violent crimes in their towns, in Majd Al Krum, northern Israel, yesterday.

Iran says attack on top commander thwartedBLOOMBERG LONDON

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it thwarted plans by foreign intelligence agencies to kill the commander of its elite Qods unit earlier this year, publishing details of its claims amid a tense standoff in the Gulf.

Several people were arrested in connection with the plot to assassinate General Qassem Soleimani, Guards spy chief Hossein Taeb was cited as saying by Sepah News.

Soleimani, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, is a household name in Iran where he’s feted for helping defeat Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and largely keeping the group out of Iranian territory.

He’s been sanctioned by the US since 2007 and in May this year Washington desig-nated the IRGC in its entirety a foreign terrorist organisation, the first time the label has been applied to an official state institution or a country’s security forces.

Taeb said the plot involved a “team of terrorists” trained in neighbouring countries who planned to place as much as 500kg (1,100 pounds) of

explosives in a tunnel beneath a religious shrine built by Sole-imani’s late father in Kerman in central Iran.

The explosives were to be detonated while Soleimani took part in the annual Shia Fatimiyya mourning ceremony, he said, without giving exact dates for the attack or the arrests. Iran held the Fatimiyya holiday in early February this year.

According to Taeb, the IRGC’s own intelligence services tracked the three-member team as it prepared the attack. He didn’t explain the delay in going public.

Tensions between Iran and many of its neighbours have soared since the US abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran’s economy and oil exports, sev-ering a major source of income for Tehran.

Arab Israelis protest against rising violenceAFP MAJD AL-KRUM, ISRAEL

Arab Israelis protested and held a general strike yesterday to call on police to stop a wave of violence in their communities, a situation the country’s pres-ident labelled a “national emer-gency”.

Arab Israeli lawmakers boy-cotted the swearing in of the new parliament in solidarity with the strike and protesters, who accuse police of neglecting their

communities and allowing crime and violence to flourish there.

“Since the beginning of Sep-tember, 14 Arabs have been killed, leaving 31 orphans behind,” said Ayman Odeh, head of the mainly Arab Joint List alliance in parliament. “Since 2000, 1,385 Arabs have been killed.” The strike and protests were called after two people were killed and a third seriously wounded on Tuesday in Majd al-Krum, an Arab town in northern Israel.

Protesters chanted “the blood of our youth must not be spilled!”. “We want to pressure the government so that they con-fiscate illegal guns so that the murders decrease,” said Samiha Shaban, a 72-year-old resident of Majd al-Krum

In his speech to parliament yesterday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin spoke of “tackling crime and violence that are overtaking Arab society and have become a national emergency”.

Israeli parliament sworn in without new govtAFP JERUSALEM

Israel’s parliament was sworn in yesterday without a new government formed as a dead-locked general election left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scrambling to find a path to extend his long tenure in power.

Members of parliament elected in September 17 polls took their oaths of office in a cer-emony that was to a large degree hollow due to deadlocked coa-lition talks.

The stalemate has even raised the risk that the new par-liament’s term will be extremely short since it could cause yet another election.

It would be the third in the space of a year after April polls

too ended inconclusively, with Netanyahu unable to form a coa-lition afterwards.

The prime minister faces even longer odds this time, and as a result has been seeking to form a unity government that would include his main opponent Benny Gantz and his centrist Blue and White alliance.

At the same time, Netan-yahu’s lawyers are seeking to fend off corruption charges against him at a four-day, closed-door hearing that began at the attorney general’s office on Wednesday.

His unity government efforts have failed so far, with the two sides at odds on a range of issues, including who would be prime minister first in a rotation arrangement.

Israeli President Reuven

Rivlin, in his speech to the new parliament, again called on the rival leaders to come together.

“You, elected officials and leaders of the people, face an opportunity and a chance to form a broad government,” he said. “One that will allow us to put the disagreements between us to one side and to work on finding areas of agreement.”

Blue and White finished with the most seats in the election — 33 compared to right-wing Likud’s 32.

Neither has a clear path to a majority coalition, but Netanyahu received one more endorsement for prime minister than Gantz from MPs, resulting in Rivlin tasking him with forming a government last week.

He has 28 days to do so, but has signalled he may inform

Rivlin before that he is unable to form a government — a political tactic, not a sign he is throwing in the towel.

Rivlin would then decide whether to ask Gantz to try to form a government or demand that parliament agree on a can-didate with a vote of at least 61 out of 120 members.

The president has set out a unity government compromise that could see Netanyahu remain prime minister, but step aside if indicted while retaining the title.

Gantz would then take over on an interim basis.

Netanyahu says he wants to negotiate based on that proposal, but Gantz has rejected it, saying his Blue and White cannot serve in a government with a prime minister facing a severe indictment.

Landmines in Syria have killed 173 civilians this year: MonitorAFP BEIRUT

At least 173 civilians, including 41 children, have been killed in Syria by landmines and explosive remnants of war since the start of the year, a monitor said yesterday.

Syria’s warring parties have all planted landmines in urban as well as rural areas since the conflict started in 2011.

Across the country, more than 10 million people live in areas contaminated by explosive hazards, the United Nations says.

“Since early 2019, 173 civilians, including 41 children, have been killed by landmines and explosive remnants of war,” said the Syrian Observ-atory for Human Rights.

Of the victims, at least 40 have been killed while digging for truffles, the Britain-based monitor said.

“Every day civilians are losing their lives or being maimed for life due to land-mines and unexploded ord-nances,” said the United Nations Office for the Coordi-nation of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“It is estimated that 2 out of 3 survivors of an explosive hazard incident in Syria will sustain a life-long impairment,” it added on Twitter.

The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) says landmine contamination “hampers” attempts to clear rubble and cultivate agricul-tural land.

The protests have been triggered by what demonstrators say is corruption, unemployment and poor services provided by the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi.

A report said several people have been arrested in connection with the plot to assassinate General Qassem Soleimani earlier this year.

Turkey’s security concerns with Syria ‘legitimate’ANATOLIA / ANKARA

The EU is aware of Turkey’s “legitimate” security concerns in northern Syria, a spokesman said yesterday.

“We are aware of the legit-imate Turkey’s security con-cerns at the border with Syria,” Carlos Martin Ruiz De Gorde-juela said at a news briefing.

Gordejuela underlined the importance that diplomatic talks continue between Turkey and the US to find a solution for a safe zone in the region.

Turkish and US military officials agreed on August 7 to set up a safe zone in northern Syria and develop a peace cor-ridor to facilitate the movement of displaced Syrians.

Israel detains 13 Palestinians in West BankANATOLIA RAMALLAH

Israeli forces rounded up 13 Palestinians in overnight raids carried out across the occupied West Bank, according to the Israeli military.

A statement yesterday read that the individuals had been arrested for “suspected involvement in popular hostile activities”, without elaborating about the nature of these alleged activities.

Israeli army carries out fre-quent arrest campaigns across the West Bank — including occupied East Jerusalem — on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.

07FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019 AFRICA

Nigeria, S Africa pledge ‘early warning systems’ over attacksAFP PRETORIA

The presidents of Nigeria and South Africa yesterday agreed to share intelligence and launch “early warning mechanisms” to prevent attacks on foreign nationals, weeks after xeno-phobic violence in Johannesburg stirred tension between the continent’s largest economies.

Muhammadu Buhari and South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa discussed trade and political ties at the start of Buhari’s three-day state visit, the first by a Nigerian leader since 2013.

The talks were over-shadowed by a recent spate of attacks against foreign workers in South Africa, many of which were directed at Nigerians.

In the wake of the violence, Buhari and Ramaphosa said they would work together on policing and early-warning systems as well as shared intelligence to prevent similar incidents.

“We have agreed to set up mechanisms between our two

countries,” said Ramaphosa, addressing reporters at the pres-idential office.

“Early warning mechanisms will be set up so that when we see there is restiveness in both of our people... we will be able to inform one another.

“Our condemnation of all forms of intolerance and acts of violence remains firm,” he said.

“We are equally committed to upholding the rule of law and ensuring that all those involved in criminal activities, regardless of their nationality, are prose-cuted.” Mobs descended on foreign-owned stores in and around Johannesburg in early

September, destroying properties and looting.

At least 12 people were killed, most of them South African.

Violent attacks targeting for-eigners erupted notably in 2008 and 2015, drawing apologies and introspection in a country that suffered racist white-minority rule for decades and which now prides itself as a “rainbow nation” for people of all colours and communities.

Buhari condemned the latest violence and echoed Ram-aphosa’s calls to pre-empt such attacks.

“Our respective police forces and security agencies must be very alert,” he told the press con-ference. “They must infiltrate the communities and know their thinking”.

The violence sparked fury in Nigeria and triggered retaliatory attacks against South African businesses. Hundreds of migrants were repatriated by Nigerian authorities last month.

Ramaphosa, who has repeatedly apologised for the attacks, reiterated his govern-

ment’s “deep regret”.He dispelled the perception

that xenophobia was only tar-geted at Nigerians and stressed the importance of balancing eco-nomic relations between the countries.

Africa’s most industrialised economy is a magnet for migrant workers seeking better job pros-pects on the continent.

Nigerians make up a signif-icant part of that population, which also includes people from Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Asia.

Most Nigerians in South Africa work in small shops pro-viding cellphone repairs, hair-dressing, mechanics and tai-loring services.

South Africa’s business

involvement in Nigeria is based on larger companies such as its telecoms giant MTN, leading supermarket chain Shoprite and Standard Bank.

“South Africa has a number of large corporations that operate in Nigerian market. In the South African market, many of them are small and medium enterprises,” said Ramaphosa.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari shakes hands with South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa (right) after a joint press conference at Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, yesterday.

Hundreds of Burundian refugees return home from TanzaniaAFP GISURU, BURUNDI

A group of almost 600 Burun-dians who fled political violence in their home country to Tanzania, were yesterday repat-riated “voluntarily”, according to the UN refugee agency and witnesses.

A UNHCR official said on condition of anonymity that “590 Burundian refugees left Tanzania in a convoy of voluntary returnees this morning (Thursday)”.

The group arrived on eight buses in Gisuru in eastern Burundi, where there is a transit centre for returning refugees, witnesses said.

“These returnees will stay in the camp until tomorrow (Friday), before being sent to their home towns with a kit of

supplies to last them three months,” a Burundian official said.

The UNHCR has facilitated

the voluntary return of almost 75,000 refugees since September 2017, under a deal with Burundi and Tanzania.

According to the agency, some 225,000 Burundian ref-ugees are still living in three camps in Tanzania. Another 71,000 are in Rwanda, 45,000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and 43,000 in Uganda.

At the end of August, Tan-zanian Interior Minister Kangi Lugola said that starting from October 1, all Burundian refugees would be sent back home, arguing that their home was now at peace.

Tanzanian government spokesman Hassan Abbas said yesterday that “nobody will be forced to go back.” However he insisted “Burundi is peaceful and they are busy preparing for elec-tions next year.”

“Tanzania respects the inter-national agreements on refugees and will ensure the refugees relocation process is handled

carefully,” he told reporters.Burundi has been in crisis

since 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for a third term and was re-elected in a vote boycotted by most of the opposition.

At least 1,200 people were killed and more than 400,000 displaced in violence between April 2015 and May 2017 the UN says was mostly carried out by state security forces.

Burundian refugees in the camps who spoke to AFP by phone said the situation was calm and that those seeking to return voluntarily were regis-tering with authorities.

In August the UNHCR said in a statement: “While overall security has improved, UNHCR is of the opinion conditions in Burundi are not currently con-ducive to promote returns.”

US reopens embassy in Somalia after 3 decadesAFP MOGADISHU

The United States said on Wednesday it had reopened an embassy in Somalia’s capital, 28 years after it was shut as the country plunged into civil war, highlighting warming ties between the two nations.

Washington closed its embassy during the 1991 over-throw of president Siad Barre’s

military regime which ushered in decades of chaos, however diplomatic relations have strengthened in recent years.

“Today we reaffirm the rela-tions between the American people and the Somali people, and our two nations,” said Ambassador Donald Yamamoto in a statement.

“It is a significant and his-toric day that reflects Somalia’s progress in recent years, and

another step forward in regular-ising US diplomatic engagement in Mogadishu since recognising the federal government of Somalia in 2013.” A permanent diplomatic presence was estab-lished in Mogadishu in December 2018, however was operated out of Nairobi.

The country continues to be wracked by an Islamist insur-gency, and Al-Shabaab militants on Monday staged an attack on

a military base that is a major launching site for US drone oper-ations, as well as a European Union convoy.

US strikes in Somalia surged in April 2017, after President Donald Trump declared the south of the country an “area of active hostilities”. “The United States remains a strong partner to Somalia in its effort to build a stable, credible, and democratic country,” said the statement.

Busses carrying Burundian refugees, as part of a repatriation programme, arrive from Tanzania at the Nyabitare transit site, in the Gisuru commune, Ruyigi province, Burundi, yesterday.

Uganda detains supporters of presidential hopeful over banned red beretsREUTERS KAMPALA

Ugandan security personnel yesterday detained six supporters of pop star and presidential hopeful Bobi Wine for wearing red berets, a banned symbol of his “People Power” pressure group, a spokesman for the movement said.

Wine, 37, whose real name is Robert Kyagu-lanyi, has rattled the government since becoming a legislator in 2017 with a line in caustic criticism that has earned him growing support.

His rising political ambitions and connection with young people via his music have provoked a clamp-down by the government, which has detained some of his supporters and teargassed his rallies.

Joel Senyonyi, spokesman for Wine’s People Power movement, told Reuters the youths were detained in Kabalagala, a suburb in the south of the capital Kampala where they were holding a news conference to denounce the government’s red beret ban.

“The youths were emphasising that we commit no offence when we wear these berets,” Senyonyi said, adding that police stormed the event and detained the six while others fled.

“The beret, it’s our symbol. When we wear

those berets we identify not just with People Power but with the cause for a better Uganda,” he said.

Wine and supporters of the People Power movement that he hopes will help him unseat veteran leader Yoweri Museveni at the next pres-idential election have been wearing red berets and other items of red clothing including shirts and overalls.

Last month however the government banned civilian use of red berets, describing them and other pieces of military wear as “property of the state”.

A file photo of Ugandan musician turned politician, Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine.

DR Congo gold mine collapse toll rises to 21AFP / KINSHASA

At least 21 people have died after an illegal gold mine collapsed in Maniema in eastern DR Congo, the provincial governor said yesterday, a day after the accident.

“There have already been 21 deaths,” Augustin Musafiri, the governor of Maniema, said without giving details.

On Wednesday, Steve Mbikayi, the minister of national solidarity and human-itarian action, tweeted that 14 people had died and three had been hospitalised with serious injuries. A civil society activist Justin Kyanga Asumani yes-terday said there were 25 deaths “because 10 new bodies have been recovered, including nine men and one woman.” He had given a toll of 15 on Wednesday. The collapse took place in the mining region of Kampene, about 180km south of the provincial capital Kindu.

Deadly accidents are fre-quent in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s informal mining sector, where safety is poor. Subsistent miners rush to an area where valuable min-erals are discovered, often digging deep shafts that then collapse.

In May, a public body focussing on subsistence mines had asked the mining ministry to shut down the Kampene site on the grounds it had become “too dangerous”.

6 girls among 8 abducted from Nigerian schoolAFP KANO, NIGERIA

Gunmen abducted six girls and two staff members yesterday from a boarding school in a northern Nigerian region noto-rious for banditry and ransom kidnappings, police said.

Armed men gained entry into the Engravers College, a mixed boarding school in a remote area just south of the city of Kaduna, police spokesman Yakubu Sabo said.

“(They) took away two staff of the college and six female students to an unknown desti-nation,” Sabo said.

The school, which hosts girls and boys, is located far to the west of an area notorious for attacks by the Boko Haram militant group.

Boko Haram grabbed head-lines around the world in 2014 for the abduction of 276 school-girls from the remote north-eastern town of Chibok in Borno state.

The police said they had deployed units “to the area for possible rescue of the victims and arresting the perpetrators.” It said officers were “doing eve-rything possible to secure the release of all the victims unhurt”.

The bursar at the school confirmed the kidnapping.

Five Eritrean footballers go missing in UgandaAFP KAMPALA

Five footballers from Eritrea’s national side have gone missing in Uganda during a regional tournament, an official said yesterday, raising suspicion they may be trying to seek asylum.

Eritrea has been blocked from African football compe-titions in the past because players would often flee while abroad.

The five players have been missing since Sunday, an official from the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associ-ations (CECAFA) said.

“Efforts are being made to trace their whereabouts,” CECAFA’s Rogers Mulindwa said.

Police have been roped into the search effort around Jinja, in eastern Uganda, where the players were last seen, he said, adding that the other members of the squad have been

accounted for. He declined to say whether the players had dis-appeared to seek asylum.

Eritrea have been accepted back into the CECAFA in May after a six year ban due to ten-sions with Ethiopia.

But they had been barred from other continental tourna-ments in the past because their players keep fleeing.

Eritreans are one of the world’s largest group of ref-ugees, fleeing a repressive nation which restricts foreign travel and forces its citizens into indefinite military service.

In 2015 Botswana granted asylum to 10 Eritrean footballers who had refused to return home after a match against the national team.

In 2012, 18 Eritrean players claimed asylum in Uganda after a match there. Another six fled while in Angola in 2007 and 12 more did the same in Kenya in 2009.

Mobs descended on foreign-owned stores in and around Johannesburg in early September, destroying properties and looting. At least 12 people were killed in mob violence.

The UN has been playing a major role to mediate the conflict. The fundamental goal of its efforts was to unify Libya. As a result, the political agreement, also known as the Skhirat Agreement (LPA), was signed in December 2015.

BLOOMBERG

08 FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019VIEWS

Berlin’s diplomatic efforts in Libya: What could be expected?

Libya’s latest civil war, almost in its sixth month now, is still raging on. Since warlord Khalifa Haftar launched his attack on

Tripoli in April in order to capture the capital Tripoli, the seat of the UN-back government, the war has left more than 1,100 dead and over 100,000 displaced.

The international community has been trying to broker peace since 2014. The UN-sponsored National Conference has been a key endeavor in this context. The purpose of this conference was to bring together rival groups in an effort to find a long-lasting political solution to the crisis.

Due to Haftar’s ill-considered offensive on Tripoli, a national dialogue to reconcile Libya’s factions has been postponed, and the elections that were supposed to follow the National Conference now look like an even more distant prospect. The renewed violence has undermined the capital of trust among the belligerents and dented the chances to bring a peaceful solution.

Imposing a military solution to the conflict is a mirage, as only consensus on governance and security sector arrange-ments among key political factions can bring genuine and long-lasting stability to the country.

Germany is expected to organize a peace conference in coordination with the UN to bring together the major stakeholders of the Libyan civil war, including warlord Haftar and UN-backed Government of National

Accord (GNA) Prime Minister Fayez Al Sarraj, according to the German ambas-sador to Libya.Berlin believes if the violence esca-lates further and spreads beyond Tripoli and its environs, the con-sequences would not affect only Libya but also its neighbors in Africa and Europe. Recently German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Parlia-ment the situation in the North Afri-can country risked destabilising the whole of Africa.

Germany wants to be involved in any potential peace process in Libya at this time because Berlin is deeply con-cerned that the continued deterioration of the situation in the country will lead to a larger influx of migrants and refugees to Europe. Berlin might also be concerned about France’s biased approach in favor of Haftar in Libya, which has contributed to worsening the already alarming security and humanitarian situation there.

More political actors hold that an international conference could help put

the different protagonists back on track to find a political solution.

The UN has been playing a major role to mediate the conflict. The fundamen-tal goal of its efforts was to unify Libya. As a result, the political agreement, also known as the Skhirat Agreement (LPA), was signed in December 2015. The agreement was aimed at transcending the country’s political divide after the eruption of civil war in mid-2014 had put an end to the transitional process. The resulting polit-ical agreement led to the establishment of a single Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez Al Sarraj. However, the LPA soon ran into difficulties and ushered in a new phase in the conflict.

Haftar’s ambition to be the “strong man” of Libya remains the principal obsta-cle in unifying the country. It is widely believed that Haftar wants to control Libya through military force. He has continu-ously refused to abide by peace proposals and initiatives.

If it includes all local protagonists, as well as the external friends of Libya, including Turkey, Qatar, and neighboring countries, Berlin’s efforts could succeed in convincing the belligerents to agree on the UN roadmap for stabilisation, unify institutions, and bring security in order to hold elections.

The stabilisation of Libya must be the primary goal of any international engagement. However, many countries that are involved in the peace process have pushed their interests to manipu-late developments on the ground. Such self-serving actions have led to greater uncertainty and impeded a quick resolu-tion to the crisis. As a consequence, peace remains a distant prospect.

Libya’s fragmentation at the polit-ical and security level has effectively invited open competition for the coun-try’s energy resources in several ways. Therefore, Germany must highlight the need for an effective plan to find practical solutions to dispose of the large number of weapons in the hands of militias.

Furthermore, Berlin must encourage specific countries to respect international law. For instance, Egypt and the UAE have been accused of breaking UN arms

embargo on Libya by smuggling weapons, mercenaries and extremists into Libyan territory in order to support Haftar to install a military rule in the country.

France and Italy previously hosted conferences to find a political solution and establish a unity government in Libya. How-ever, the one-sided approach adopted by France and its insistence on sidelining key international forces killed any hopes of reaching an agreement.

However, France and other regional actors (Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia) played a key role in enabling Haftar to take military action against the UN-backed gov-ernment. This has prevented the GNA from imposing its authority across Libya and bringing peace and stability to the country.

Germany has influence in the Euro-pean Union and beyond. Therefore, Berlin has the political capital to persuade key players to support an effective political process in Libya. Recently, Berlin hosted a meeting on Libya, which was attended by the five permanent members (P5) of the UN Security Council as well as Tur-key, Germany, Italy, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Arab League, in addition to Ghassan Salame, the UN special representative for Libya. During the meeting Turkey was represented by Ibrahim Kalin, a special advisor to the president of Turkey and the presidential spokesperson, who highlighted that “Tur-key supports the UN-facilitated political process. A political solution is possible and necessary with the participation of all rel-evant actors in Libya”.

The meeting was a significant move to include relevant actors because the rep-resentation of all the forces in any peace process is of paramount importance in reaching a comprehensive and long-last-ing deal. Otherwise, excluding any regional and international actors will only pro-tract the war and diminish the prospects of a comprehensive peace deal in Libya. Negotiations and a political process are not part of Haftar’s plan; he only cares about expanding his power across the coun-try. Therefore, international and regional powers have a responsibility to reach a consensus and pressure Haftar to bring peace and stability to the country.

FERHAT POLAT ANATOLIA

QUOTE OF THE DAYThe ability to preserve the right to protest is a sign of political and democratic maturity. Moreover, the use of force only fuels the

anger, de-escalation is urgently needed.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General

for Iraq

Don’t escalate the Airbus-Boeing dispute

The world’s longest running and most expensive trade dispute looks set to

end in a destructive shootout - that is, if the US and European Union don’t show some sense.

On Wednesday, the World Trade Organization authorised the US to proceed with tariffs on as much as $7.5bn in European exports, likely including planes, aircraft parts and luxury goods. Unless President Donald Trump’s administration exercises some restraint in imposing these new duties, the two sides are headed for a costly escalation.

The immediate dispute con-cerned aircraft makers. In 2004, the US brought a case at the WTO accusing Airbus - a consortium backed by Britain, France, Ger-many and Spain - of benefiting

from illegal state aid. Europe lodged a similar complaint against the American aerospace giant Boeing. The two sides have been trading claims and coun-terclaims ever since, in what has turned into the biggest case in the WTO’s history. After accepting the US claims, the trade body this week authorized the new tariffs as a remedy; the EU’s case will most likely be decided next year.

Although the Trump admin-istration will surely tout this decision as a victory, there’s not much to celebrate. Impos-ing such tariffs will raise prices for US consumers and act as a drag on the American economy. Airbus’s factory in Mobile, Ala-bama, depends on imported parts to assemble the A320 fam-ily of jets; plenty of US airlines rely on them as well, and have been sounding the alarm. Nor will the EU take this punishment

lying down: It’s threatening to impose duties on some $4bn in US exports if Trump goes ahead. If it prevails in its case against Boeing, it could gain authorisa-tion for even costlier measures.

Such tit-for-tat tariffs are bad enough. But the dispute could do deeper damage to the $1.3 trillion trade relationship between the two sides, to eve-ryone’s detriment. Talks on a new free-trade deal, already stalling, could be fatally under-mined. Other mutual priorities - such as pressuring China to reform its trade practices or overhauling the global trading system - will surely suffer. And tensions between putative allies will needlessly escalate.

More broadly, Trump’s cha-otic trade wars are already having profoundly negative effects on the world economy. A WTO forecast published this week predicted

sharply slowing global trade growth. Last month, the Organi-zation for Economic Cooperation and Development warned that “escalating trade conflicts are taking an increasing toll on con-fidence and investment, adding to policy uncertainty, aggravat-ing risks in financial markets and endangering already weak growth prospects worldwide.”

With fears of recession rising, the last thing the world needs is another costly and senseless bat-tle between the US and Europe. If it were possible to roll back the clock, both sides would be better off. In the early 1990s, the US and the EU had an agreement on sup-port for the large jet-makers, but it fell apart over allegations that Europe was breaching its terms. Finding a similar accommoda-tion now would be far preferable to the endless Boeing-Airbus score-settling.

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

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

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

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIAL

New athletic superstars

Fans have witnessed riveting performances in the first seven days of (IAAF) Athletics Championship Doha 2019 currently being hosted at the Khalifa

International Stadium, Qatar’s iconic sports venue.The last seven days saw some nail-biting finishes in

many competitions as sporting rivalries pushed these ath-letes to bring out their best in Doha. This was evident in the men’s and women’s pole vault championships, women’s high jump, women’s javelin and many more. Sprinters were on top form and set the tracks on fire while middle and long-distances witnessed some keenly fought contests.

The championship also saw a few emerging stars in the world of athletics much to the delight of fans who have been waiting to see an athlete step out of Usain Bolt’s shadow. Instead of just one superstar, Doha 2019 has seen many like Noah Lyles, Sam Kendricks, Christian Coleman and Tajay Gayle. Athletes like Noah and Coleman were on the cusp of stardom and came in as favourites, while others like Gayle displayed great composure and cha-risma of a star sportsman.

Another endearing takeaway from the World Championships is the wins by supermoms Shelly-Ann Fra-ser-Pryce of Jamaica and Alisson Felix of USA. The two women made impressive return to competitive sports and gave a major boost to the morale of other sportswomen in general and athletes in par-ticular by proving that they need not put an end to their career after childbirth, but can come back to the highest level after maternity break.

Jamaican Fraser-Pryce staked her claim as one of the greatest female sprinters of all time by storming to victory in the women’s 100 meters final while Felix broke Bolt’s record for the most world titles, grabbing her 12th overall and first as a mom as part of the first mixed-gender 4x400m relay team.

President of the IAAF Sebastian Coe hailed Doha Worlds, saying it is one of the

biggest editions ever, saying not many championships were held of this scale before.

To grow the sports further IAAF needs to take Cham-pionships to places where it has not been gone before, like in Doha, and it is a sure shot way to win new fans and followers for the new superstars of the tracks and fields.

Only a couple of days to go before the curtains come down on one of the biggest sporting events in the world, fans should head to the Khalifa International Stadium for a glimpse of the magical moments only an athlete in top form can create.

The last seven days saw some nail-biting finishes in many competitions as sporting rivalries pushed these athletes to bring out their best in Doha. This was evident in the men’s and women’s pole vault championships, women’s high jump, women’s javelin and many more.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) with Libya’s Prime Minister Fayez Al Sarraj in the courtyard of the Chancellery, in Berlin.

In the United States, with historic traditions of compromise and conflict resolution, lethal violence and military-style weapons are also spreading. Recently, governments from Japan to Uruguay have warned their citizens to take precautions if they travel to America.

09FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019 OPINION

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To impeach or not to impeach: Why Democrats changed their minds

After years in Afghanistan, I’m going to an America I don’t recognise

LARRY BEINHART AL JAZEERA

PAMELA CONSTABLE THE WASHINGTON POST

The Democrats can win with impeachment. They can win with impeachment even if they don’t win the second

half of the process, the trial, in the US Senate. On Monday, September 23, that seemed like a very iffy idea. The problem was this. The part of the process that the Democrats control is the first part, akin to an indictment.

The presumption is that the public still believes in the idea - to some degree, even in politics - of innocent until proven guilty. Since a guilty verdict requires two-thirds of the Senate, which is under control of Republicans who have been extremely partisan and in nearly absolute lockstep in their party loyalty, a non-guilty verdict seemed absolutely guaranteed. A non-guilty result in the trial part would be expected to vindicate the president. Both Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump appear to have believed that logic. That’s why Pelosi resisted impeachment and Trump’s attitude appeared to be “bring it on!” On Tuesday, September 24, Pelosi suddenly and unexpectedly changed her position.

At that point, success for the Dem-ocrats seemed possible. But only if they were able to navigate a tricky, twist-ing, clever route. They would have to lay out the case against the president with such great clarity and undenia-bility in the process of producing the indictment that if Senate Republicans voted against it, it would be seen as strictly partisan politics. An even bet-ter trick would have been to draw out the impeachment investigation right up to November 2020, the election time, and never let it go to the Senate.

Hearings like those on the Mueller report and Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination did not bode well. The process, alternating five-minute seg-ments (or the like) for the members on each side, and all the members using their minutes to grandstand, was constructed to end with fog and mud. Trump’s record at surviving accusations and investiga-tions did not bode well. It seemed that whatever didn’t kill him - and nothing did - only made him stronger with his base and with the Republican Party where he had a level of support that was beyond all comprehension. To achieve success, Democrats would have to overcome that. It would require levels of creativity, focus, and discipline significantly higher than they have displayed so far.

It seemed at that point that a phone call between Trump and Volodymyr Zel-ensky, the president of Ukraine, was the main issue. Trump remained so confident that he not only promised to produce a “transcript” of that call by Thursday, he actually did so. There is a reason to doubt that it is complete and accurate. But he did release it.

On Thursday, September 26, Trump

World cracked open.Trump’s version of the phone call was

self-damning. There was also a mysteri-ous whistle-blower complaint. It should have automatically gone to Congress. But it had been snatched up and hid-den by the Justice Department. That, too, came out on Thursday. It turned out that the document had been sent to the people who were accused in the document - Trump and Attorney Gen-eral William Barr - and they decided to bury it. That’s a level of self-dealing, cover-up, and corruption so obvious and clear that everyone gets it. On Mon-day, impeachment looked like it would be an undisciplined stumble through a muddy swamp in a thick fog. By Thurs-day, it was as if the fog had lifted and a clear route above the mud was revealed. Those two pieces of paper have laid out the grounds for impeachment. They do more than that. They contain a witness list and say where the evidence is buried.

The first round of hearings was run by Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Schiff showed that he had the discipline, focus, and the demeanour to do the job successfully.

Here, let us throw in two bits of utter speculation. The first is that Pelosi had seen the two documents before she changed her position. The second is that Trump’s screeches of “treason” aimed at the whistle-blower are a tell. Trump accuses others, loudly and often, of the things he himself has done.

At the beginning of the week, impeachment seemed like a march through an unmapped minefield. At the end of the week, no matter what happens in the Senate, it looks like it will be a success.

My office here overlooks a well-tended rose garden, surrounded by high con-crete walls and scrolls of

razor wire, which the neighborhood cats have learned to navigate unscathed. Beyond, though, danger lurks: car bombs, kidnappings, shootouts between insurgents and police.

Every time I venture into the streets, I pass spots where friends have been killed and convoys of American soldiers ambushed. When a few suspiciously quiet days pass, I start wondering how soon the next bomb will explode, whether any American troops will be killed or whether the number of Afghan casual-ties will be high enough to merit mention in my newspaper.

In repeated stints as a correspond-ent here, I have seen public hopes rise and fall, peace dangled and snatched away again. I have miraculously escaped injury, except for smashing a tooth on a helicopter bulkhead. But I have run out of new ways to describe the sorrow and horror I have witnessed again and again.

As I prepare to leave Afghanistan and full-time newspaper reporting after most of three decades spent as a foreign cor-respondent, I’ve been looking forward to putting hardship and conflict behind me: to taking up a saner life of reflective writing, traveling, caring for needy ani-mals and sipping mimosas at my village pub in Virginia. Instead, I find myself bracing for what awaits me back home, where an angry political and cultural gulf has opened up - strife that I won’t be able to escape by waving my pass-port at an airport immigration officer.

Overseas, I’ve always been an observer of someone else’s struggles. I have politely absorbed anti-American diatribes, insisted on my standing as a neu-tral party and kept taking notes. If asked about my religious or political beliefs, I

have demurred or downplayed them. I have taken many physical risks, but I never took a side or had to summon the real moral courage that comes with it.

Now, from a distance, I have watched my prosperous, law-abiding society turn into a battleground, with mass shoot-ings in schools and malls and places of worship, diatribes drowning out debate, online anonymity unleashing vengeful fantasies, institutional safeguards being jettisoned, the press pilloried as a pub-lic enemy, and people hesitant to speak to strangers in checkout lines.

After so many years of carefully sep-arating my personal and professional selves, I know that when I return to the United States, I’ll feel more exposed - and more compelled to take a stand for my convictions. No flak jacket and headscarf will wait by the door to keep me physi-cally and emotionally armored while in foreign surroundings.

Just over a year ago, something ter-rible happened at the first newspaper where I worked after college, covering boat shows and city council meetings and hanging out at waterfront bars. An angry man with a shotgun opened fire on the offices of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, killing five staff members.

I read about the tragedy over the inter-net, sitting in my bunkered office 7,000 miles away. I thought back to that cramped and collegial newsroom 45 years ago, full of eager young reporters like me. Then I looked out at my perimeter of concrete and razor wire and thought: I don’t know my own country anymore.

I first came to Kabul during Taliban rule, a time of fearsomely imposed order that followed a nasty civil war. The reli-gious vigilantes put a swift end to crime and chaos, but they lashed men for being late to prayer and women for letting their ankles show. As a Western guest, I was treated with respect but required to cover

everything except my face. At night, turbaned gunmen stood guard outside my hotel room door.

When Afghan and American forces over-threw the Taliban in 2001, Afghanistan became an instant laboratory for democ-racy-building. Money flowed in and do-good-ers came from across the world to help modern-ise ministries and draft a new constitution. Inter-national largesse built schools, repaired roads and installed irrigation systems. During the first presidential election in 2004, I was moved to tears as I watched vil-lagers line up in a school

to mark ballots printed with emblems of lamps, lions or trees, because so few could read. Over the next decade, a new generation of Afghan men and women studied English, became computer-liter-ate and began running for public office.

But the past kept pushing back. Eth-nic warlords clashed over political spoils, opium poppy production resurged, and subsequent elections were marred by fraud and threats. The Taliban reemerged as a nimble insurgency, while Afghan forces backed by the United States and Nato struggled to compete.

Even with America aiding and defend-ing them, many Afghans resented the United States. Some were susceptible to Taliban propaganda that equated Western democracy with immorality and drink. Some turned on their US mentors or supe-riors; in 2014, a visiting American general was shot dead by a young Afghan sol-dier in uniform.

The country’s first post-Taliban president, Hamid Karzai, often railed about American “occupiers” bombing Afghan villages. Its current president, Ashraf Ghani, took office as a US ally, but he and many Afghans worried that US peace talks with the Taliban were a pretext for American forces to aban-don them.

I understood these concerns and pri-vately shared some of them. In other parts of the world, from Chile to the Philippines, I had witnessed the tragic consequences of US alliances with tyrants. Yet I bristled when people denounced the United States as an arrogant hegemon, and I clung to the belief that it could still be a role model for the world, built on values and laws that could withstand turmoil at home.

In Afghanistan, I got to know engi-neers from Texas, veterinarians from Maine and lawyers from Harvard who had signed up to help build a modern democratic state. I met professors who came to teach at the American university in Kabul, even after the Taliban kidnapped two of their colleagues. I did not always agree with American policy, but I still believed in the American spirit.

Today, I am one of the few American civilians left in the country, and most oth-ers are confined to guarded compounds. I watch the news from home through an Afghan prism: TV broadcasts start with the latest Taliban attack, then switch to the latest American mass shootings or angry presidential tweets.

Recently, I approached some shop-pers to talk about the peace negotiations. One man asked me sharply where I was from. Almost without thinking, I replied, “Canada.” It was a way to avoid argument - and a confession to myself. For the first time since Taliban rule, I felt uncomfort-able revealing my nationality.

Experts on Afghanistan tend to blame its ills on tribalism, warlords and religious absolutism. They advise stronger insti-tutions over personal rule and rational debate over Kalashnikov culture. But

Democrats have to lay out the case against the president with such great clarity and undeniability in the process of producing the indictment that if Senate Republicans voted against it, it would be seen as strictly partisan politics.

as I follow the breakdown of Ameri-can public life today, I see signs that, for all our supposed sophistication, we are not immune to the same vis-ceral forces.

I see it in the spread of anti-vaccine sentiment, which I first encountered while reporting on efforts to eradi-cate polio in poor areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. I see it in the grow-ing legal crackdown on abortion, after years of covering the extreme restric-tions Afghan village culture imposes on women’s personal rights. In Afghani-stan, four decades of war have left the country awash in weapons and violence, and the US Embassy regularly warns foreign visitors to watch out for terror-ist kidnappings and armed robberies.

In the United States, with historic traditions of compromise and conflict resolution, lethal violence and mili-tary-style weapons are also spreading. Recently, governments from Japan to Uruguay have warned their citizens to take precautions if they travel to Amer-ica. One of them bluntly described it as a “gun society.”

I still cherish America, the home of Lincoln and Steinbeck, Copland and King, whose charter enshrines the rights to question authority and pursue happiness. I am still prepared to defend its ideals and institutions. But I am unsure I will know how to navigate what it has become in my absence - how to find the right bal-ance between caution and connection.

In Afghanistan, I know who the enemy is and how to protect myself, ducking inside shops and keeping away from military convoys. When I return to America, though, I fear I will be entering a strange landscape without a compass. I listen to today’s political rhetoric, thick with contempt and belligerence, and it sounds like an alien language.

An Afghan man rides an auto-rickshaw next to a hill of brightly painted homes in Kabul.

10 FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019ASIA

Bangladesh’s Premier arrives in India; several agreements to be signedAP/IANS NEW DELHI

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in New Delhi yesterday for a visit during which both countries are expected to sign several agree-ments.

Hasina will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today and is also scheduled to address a World Economic forum meeting during her four-day visit.

Hasina is also expected to seek support for her country’s plan to push Myanmar to take back Rohingya Muslims who fled violence and repression there in what has become one of Asia’s largest refugee crises in decades. Bangladesh is looking for coop-eration from India, China and Japan to speed up the process.

While Bangladesh has taken the vast majority of Rohingya ref-ugees — more than 700,000 — an estimated 40,000 Rohingya also have taken refuge in parts of India.

Dilip Sinha, a retired Indian diplomat who has served in Bang-ladesh, said India and Bangladesh should join hands in resolving this issue with Myanmar. “Both will benefit from such a cooperation,” Sinha said.

The two nations will also likely discuss their own migrant

issues. Dhaka plans to raise the issue of sharing of the Teesta river waters, and also the National Register of Citizens (NRC) during the talks.

Hasina will attend the WEF Country Strategy Dialogue on Bangladesh at Hotel Taj Palace and join a reception to be arranged in her honour at Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.

This morning, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will call on her at Hotel Taj Mahal.

Tomorrow, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi would call on her. Noted Indian film-maker Shyam Benegal, who is directing a film on Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, will also call on her.

On October 6, Hasina will leave Delhi for home in the evening.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, briefing reporters in Dhaka on her visit, said Hasina is set to discuss a number of bilateral issues, including the killing of Bangla-deshis by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) along the border and a framework agreement on common rivers including Teesta, with Modi today.

According to Momen, around 10 to 12 bilateral agreements are set to be inked, including in the areas of youth and sports, shipping, economy, ocean research, fixation of standard of products, commerce, education, ICT and establishment of economic zones.

The two sides will also discuss increased connectivity through rivers, sea, rail, road and air, overall trade and commerce, people to people connect, and cooperation in the energy sector.

There is also a possibility that a standard operating procedure will be signed regarding import and export using Chittagong and Mongla ports.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Sec-retary Shahidul Hoque told reporters that, during the visit,

the two sides will discuss pur-chasing of arms from India under a $500m line of credit which will be given by New Delhi.

About the killing of Bangla-deshis by BSF along the border, Momen said that there have been some deaths recently.

“But these were the instances where Bangladeshis went to India to seize their (Indians’) property and to steal. They were beaten to death by the Indians.” “Earlier, BSF used to kill people by shooting,” he said, and stressed that Bangladesh wanted zero killing along the border with the neighbour country.

Momen also said that a framework has been prepared regarding the seven common

rivers between and Bangladesh and India, including the Teesta, but did not go into details, Dhaka Tribune said.

Foreign Secretary Haque said details of the framework will be provided after the official visit.

Bangladesh and India have inked over 100 agreements in the last 10 years, 68 of which were concluded in the last three years alone. India also rolled out three lines of credit to Bangladesh worth $7.5bn including $200m grants for different development projects.

The decades-old land boundary and maritime issues have been solved, but the equi-table share of the Teesta river water remains unresolved.

The Assam’s citizenship

exercise of NRC has also raised concern in Bangladesh as many fear that those rendered non-cit-izens of India may be pushed into Bangladesh.

The foreign ministersaid they would raise the NRC issue and the pending Teesta water sharing deal during the talks.

The BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement for regional and sub-regional connectivity between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, and energy sector coop-eration will also be discussed.

Officials will also discuss cel-ebrating the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the 50 years of dip-lomatic ties between Bangladesh and India next year.

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (centre) arrives at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, yesterday.

Businessman alleges cheating by Pala legislatorIANS THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

A Mumbai-based Keralite busi-nessman Dinesh Menon has alleged that Mani C Kappen, Pala legislator, cheated him of Rs3.25 crore, a charge that was denied by Kappen.

The issue resurfaced yes-terday when Shibhu Baby John, senior RSP leader, posted on his Facebook wall an email statement of Kappen, given to the CBI.

It said Menon whom he had introduced to then Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan (2006-11) and his son later had some cash dealings for allotment of shares of the Kannur Airport Ltd.

Reacting to it, Kappen said he would take legal action against Menon for spreading canard. “I have not given any statement to the CBI against Balakrishnan. John is using a forged letter and that’s what he has posted on the Facebook. I owe money to Menon and I gave him Rs25 lakh and a few cheques, which bounced,” said Kappen.

But Menon told the media in Delhi he was introduced by Kappen to Balakrishnan when he was the Home Minister and it was just a courtesy meeting.

“I have had no dealings with either Balakrishnan or his son. It’s Kappen with whom I had dealings. He took Rs3.50 crore promising me shares of Kannur Airport Ltd. But all I got was a letter stating shares can’t be allotted.

“Kappen then returned me Rs25 lakh, and gave me a few cheques. He said he would give me two acres land at the famous tourist destination Kumarakom in Kottayam. Later I found that he had pledged that land. After his cheques bounced, I filed a case which is pending in the court,” said Menon.

Balakrishnan refused to comment on the claims saying he was unaware of the issue.

First Cabinet reshuffle of second Modi govt soonIANS NEW DELHI

After coming back to power with a thumping majority this May, the Modi government is all set to go for its first Cabinet reshuffle very soon.

Sources say, the reshuffle can take place as early as in the next 15 days.

Informed sources said that a major inclusion in the new Cabinet can be Suresh Prabhu, who is likely to make a comeback, after he was dropped from the Cabinet when Modi took oath on May 30, this year. The former Shiv Sainik is tipped to head the Commerce and

Industry Ministry. Right now, the portfolio is being handled by Piyush Goyal.

One of the reasons Prabhu didn’t make the cut was an over-whelming feeling within the BJP that Prabhu failed to garner div-idends for the party in spite of holding portfolios like Railways which plays a key role in influ-encing the electorate.

Prabhu is a chartered accountant-turned-politician who was poached from the Shiv Sena when the BJP’s ally refused to send him to the Cabinet from it’s share, during Modi’s first tenure.

In spite of the economy not being in the best of shape and

continued job losses in key sectors like automobile, Nirmala Sitharaman seems to have saved her meaty portfolio of Finance. Sitharaman has been on a spree to make amends in pursuit to inject adrenaline rush into a weary economy, including the latest cut on corporate tax from 30 percent to 22 percent, which was hailed by Modi as “historic”.

Merger of banks and with-drawal of enhanced surcharge for FPI (Foreign Portfolio Investors) are twin major deci-sions that seems to have done the trick for her.

Modi, however is expected to bring in more technocrats and

people with core expertise for ministries that are crucial for the economic turnaround of the country.

Right now there are 58 min-isters in the union council of ministers and just 24 out of them are of Cabinet rank. Many min-isters who are shuttling between many portfolios will be divested of some of their responsibilities, say sources.

For example, Narendra Singh Tomar holds Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Rural Devel-opment and Panchayati Raj port-folios. Or for that matter, Ravi Shankar Prasad is entrusted with responsibilities of Law & Justice, Communications, Electronics &

Information Technology — three key ministries.

Chances are, some of them may be relieved of the addi-tional burden, given the important role they play also for the organisation. Tomar is the Haryana election in charge, while Prasad is the key BJP face to communicate from the party platform, after the death of Arun Jaitley.

It’s the first ever Cabinet reshuffle after the Modi gov-ernment swept back to power with 303 seats.

With the box of Article 370 ticked, the goal of this reshuffle w i l l b e e c o n o m i c turnaround.

Journalists hold placards as they attend a protest against the communication blockade by government in Srinagar, yesterday.

Kashmiri journalists protest ‘media gag’REUTERS SRINAGAR

Journalists in Kashmir yesterday staged a small silent protest against what they say has been a “media gag” by Indian authorities that has badly affected their ability to work in the disputed region for the last 60 days.

Carrying placards and wearing black badges, more than 100 Kashmiri journalists gathered inside the Kashmir Press Club premises in Srinagar to stage a protest, as street protests are still restricted.

“End information clampdown”, “Stop criminalising journalists”, “Journalism is not a crime”, read placards held up during the silent protest.

The government has provided an Internet connection at a media centre set up for journalists, but reporters say this is insufficient and it lacks privacy.

“There’s no privacy. Some 300 journalists use that facility daily and it is crowded. It is also being moni-tored and we are under surveil-lance,” said Ishfaq Tantray, General Secretary of the Kashmir Press Club.

A government spokesman in Kashmir was not immediately reachable for comment.

The President of the Kashmir Press Club, Shuja Thakur said that they had several times approached the government in Kashmir for restoration of mobile and Internet services for journalists.

Fear of epidemic outbreak in waterlogged PatnaIANS PATNA

After floods, residents of Patna now fear for outbreak of epidemic with stagnant rain water emitting stench and animal carcasses floating around. It has simply added to their woes of staying indoors for around a week, surrounded by 4-6 feet

deep stinking water.There seems no end to their

miseries. They fear for outbreak of diseases, like dengue, viral fever, jaundice, skin ailments, allergy and breathing problems.

“We are living in a hell-like situation since Saturday. It’s a perfect setting for waterborne and communicable diseases with most areas still waterlogged and

carcasses of animals, like dogs, pigs and cows, floating in stinking water,” said Ashok Kumar Singh, a retired government officer and resident of Rajendar Nagar, one of the worst waterlogged local-ities in the heart of Patna, said.

“We are surviving due to help from youths engaged in relief and rescue activities on their own in this man-made

disaster-like situation,” Singh said.

Singh said he had been living here since early 70s, but it was the first time when water didn’t recede even five days after rainfall.

“The water level is still dan-gerous outside my house. Me and my wife are senior citizens and our children are abroad. We can’t leave the house due to chances

of theft. It’s pathetic situation for many like us,” he said.

Though there has been no rain since Sunday night, thousands in the worst waterlogged localities, like Kankarbagh, Rajendra Nagar, Patliputra Colony, Rajeev Nagar, Bazar Samiti and Bahadurpur, are struggling for essential items, like food, drinking water, candles and milk.

Hasina is expected to seek support for her country’s plan to push Myanmar to take back Rohingya Muslims who fled violence and repression there in what has become one of Asia’s largest refugee crises in decades and around 10 to 12 bilateral agreements are set to be inked.

11FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019 ASIA

Pakistan, Taliban call for resumption of Afghan peace talksANATOLIA ISLAMABAD

Pakistan and the Taliban yesterday agreed on the need for “earliest resumption” of stalled Afghan peace talks with the US in a bid to end the 18-year-long conflict in Afghanistan, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.

The agreement came during a meeting between the Taliban leaders and Pakistani officials held at the foreign ministry in the capital Islamabad.

A 12-member delegation of the Afghan Taliban arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday night on the invitation of the Pakistani government, marking the first-ever visit of a Taliban delegation to Islamabad in years.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other senior officials yesterday morning welcomed the Taliban delegation, led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, upon their arrival at the venue.

The Pakistani foreign minis-try’s statement said: “Pakistan has maintained for several years that there is no military solution to the complex situation in Afghanistan. An inclusive peace and reconciliation process, involving all sections of the

Afghan society, was the only, practical way forward,” the statement quoted Qureshi as saying.

During the meeting, it was emphasised that “reduction of violence by all parties to the con-flict was necessary to provide an enabling environment for the resumption of the peace process at an early date,” it added.

Qureshi assured the Afghan delegation that his country would continue to support all

efforts to achieve permanent peace in the war-torn country, according to the statement.

During the meeting, Taliban leader Mullah Baradar praised Pakistan’s role as a facilitator in the Afghan peace talks.

Taliban leaders told Qureshi that the Taliban are ready to resolve the Afghan conflict through negotiation, according to a senior official of Pakistan’s foreign ministry.

“Meeting between Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban delegation is likely to be held soon in Islamabad,” the official said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Zalmay Khalilzad, a top US peace negotiator, along with his team already arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday before the Taliban delegation.

On September 9, US Pres-ident Donald Trump abruptly canceled a meeting with repre-sentatives of the Afghan gov-ernment and Taliban at the U.S. Camp David retreat.

Trump declared the peace talks with the Taliban “dead” citing a recent attack in Afghan-istan’s capital Kabul which killed a dozen people, including a US service member.

The raging Afghan conflict is

in its 18th year, with thousands of lives lost and millions forced to flee their homes. The UN has repeatedly urged that opportu-nities for peace in the region be seized.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan last month asked Trump to resume peace talks

with the Taliban during their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. Meanwhile, Sediq Seddiqi, who is a spokesman for the Afghanistan presidency in Kabul, said the peace process would only prove fruitful when it’s owned by Afghan people and

led by the Kabul government.He blamed the Taliban for

the continued violence in the country even during the landmark presidential elections held on September 28.

The Taliban have so far refused to talk directly to the government in Kabul.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomes Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (left), who is leading a Taliban political delegation, upon his arrival at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.

National security intimately linked to economy: Pakistan Army ChiefINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

Pakistan Army Chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that National security is intimately linked to economy while pros-perity is the function of balance between security needs and economic growth.

Addressing the concluding session of a seminar on ‘Interplay of economy and security’ hosted by him in Rawalpindi, he said the aim of various discussions and seminars is to bring stake holders at one platform to formulate rec-ommendations for a synergistic way forward.

He apprised the business community about improved internal security environment of the country which has enabled space for increased economic activity.

He said accessibility and responsiveness of the gov-ernment economic team to business community and dis-played understanding between public and private institutions are good signs for intended positive trajectory in economic activity. The government’s economic

team, on the occasion, apprised business community about initi-atives introduced by the gov-ernment to facilitate businesses and the encouraging results of stabilisation efforts on national economy.

The business community shared suggestions with the gov-ernment team to further improve environment for ease of doing businesses and assured the gov-ernment that they will cooperate

in implementation of government reforms. They said they will also play their part by paying taxes and investing in a socially and economically responsible manner.

The Army Chief, at the end, thanked all participants for pur-poseful utilisation of the joint forum by stake holders for dis-cussion and seminars leading to formulation of policy recommendations.

A file photo of Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa addressing the 54th Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, on February 17, 2018.

Bill seeks rise in retirement age for judgesINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

Two Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers have moved a private members’ constitutional amendment bill in the National Assembly, seeking increase of three years in the retirement age of the Supreme Court judges.

Sponsored by Syed Fakhar Iman, elected from Khanewal, and Amjad Ali Khan, elected from Mianwali, the bill said in Article 179 of the Constitution, for the expression “sixty-five” the expression “sixty-eight” shall be substituted. It was tabled along with several other bills on Tuesday. Article 179 says a judge of the Supreme Court shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-five years, unless he sooner resigns or is removed from office in accordance with the Constitution.

The statement of objectives and reasons of the bill said that keeping in view best practices it seeks to enhance the retirement age of judges of Supreme Court from 65 to 68 years. It said in few Common-wealth jurisdictions, the retirement ages of the superior judiciary are more than Pakistan.

Reportedly, Supreme Court judges of Canada and Fiji retire at 75 years, and the judges of the superior courts of Australia, Kenya, Maldives, News Zealand, South Africa, Uganda and United Kingdom retire at the age of 70 years. In the US, there is no retirement age for judges of the Supreme Court and they serve for life unless they opt to retire sooner.

According to the statement, it is an established fact that a judge begins to acquire more and more skill and expertise once he decides the maximum cases. The years on the bench mature a judge and retiring at the age of 65 years amounts to retiring a highly qualified person at the peak of his profession.

Existing law provides for the retirement of the most experi-enced, productive and reliable Judges of the superior courts. The knowledge and wisdom that a judge acquires on the bench is a national resource and it would be highly beneficial to get benefit out of it as long as pos-sible, it said.

JUI-F leaders want to meet Nawaz in jailINTERNEWS/ISLAMABAD

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) lawmakers have requested Punjab Home Department to issue permission for them to meet incarcerated former premier Nawaz Sharif.

The letter, dated October 2, was written by JUI-F Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidari, parliamentary leader Maulana Asadur Rehman and the parliamentary leader in the KP Assembly Muhammad Akram Khan Durrani.

The Home Department has not responded to the request so far.

A JUI-F spokesperson said that if the meeting was allowed to take place, the leaders will inquire after Sharif’s health and will also deliver party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s “special message”.

Sharif is currently in Kot Lakhpat jail, where he is serving his sentence after being con-victed in a corruption case.

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet Minister of Housing, Construction and Cultural Affairs, deputy leader of the ruling United National Party (UNP) and presidential candidate, Sajith Premadasa, delivers a speech during a party convention in Colombo, yesterday. Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has given up his bid to become president in November’s elections, conceding his party’s candidacy to his deputy, Sajith Premadasa.

Sri Lanka presidential candidate

Bangladeshi troops accused of assaulting Rohingya girlAFP DHAKA

The Bangladesh military said yesterday that it had ordered an investigation after a Rohingya family in a refugee camp accused army troops of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

The inquiry comes as around a million Rohingya in vast camps in Bangladesh face increasing hostility two years after fleeing a military offensive in Myanmar.

Mohammad Osman, an elder brother of the alleged victim, said three soldiers entered their shanty at the Nayapara Rohingya camp on Sunday evening and sexually assaulted his sister.

A spokesman of the Bang-ladesh Armed Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah ibn Zaid, said they were investigating.

“We have formed a probe committee to investigate the incident and find out the facts. If (they are) found guilty, exem-plary punishment will be given,” ibn Zaid said. Doctor Shaheen

Abdur Rahman said the girl was examined at the central hospital in Cox’s Bazar but he refused to comment on the findings due to court restrictions.

A spokesman of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said they were also investigating the incident.

“We are aware of the reports. In such cases, indi-viduals are entitled to medical, physical and psychological support, as well as access to due process,” UNHCR spokesman Joseph Tripura said in a statement.

Tensions have risen in recent weeks with an increas-ingly frustrated Bangladeshi government enacting several measures making life harder for the refugees. These include blocking mobile Internet, con-fiscating SIM cards and mobile phones and filing hundreds of cases for illegally obtaining cit-izenship cards.

UN experts have expressed “serious concerns” about the restrictions.

Over 0.5m complaints received on PM’s citizen portal resolved: GovtINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s Federal Cabinet has been informed that the federal government is leading the provincial governments in redressal of citizen complaints received at Prime Minister’s Pakistan Citizen Portal.

The cabinet was informed recently that so far 1.173 million users had registered themselves on the portal with 100,300 inland users, 103,000 overseas Pakistanis and 4,000 foreigners. Province-wise data reflects 568,000 users from Punjab, 284,000 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 137,000 from Sindh, 35,000 from Islamabad, 12,000 from Balochistan, 7,000 from Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 1,000 from Gilgit-Baltistan are registered at the portal.

According to the report pre-sented to the cabinet, the federal government had resolved 509,153 out of 553,125 com-plaints. In Punjab, 392,292 com-plaints were resolved with 88 percent redressal rate. Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa secured 87pc on the score card by resolving 100,635 out of 116,050 com-plaints. In Islamabad, 9,909 complaints were resolved out of 11,137. The Balochistan gov-ernment resolved 6,166 com-plaints out of 7,782, securing 79pc redressal rate. The Sindh government, however, lagged behind all other governments with merely 40pc redressal rate and could only resolve 38,268 out of 95,894 complaints.

The cabinet was informed that out of the 37,029 complaints that had been pending since more than 90 days, 84pc com-plaints pertained to the Sindh government.

It was told that on the basis of the nature and feedback received from the citizens, various policy initiatives were taken to facilitate them.

Various success stories where the citizens were provided relief were also shared with the cabinet. Prime Minister Imran Khan and the cabinet members appreciated the performance of the Pakistan Citizen Portal.

Pakistan has maintained for several years that there is no military solution to the complex situation in Afghanistan. An inclusive peace and reconciliation process, involving all sections of the Afghan society, was the only, practical way forward,” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.

12 FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019ASIA

N Korea hails test of submarine-launched missileREUTERS SEOUL

North Korea said yesterday it had successfully test-fired a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from the sea to contain external threats and bolster self-defence, ahead of fresh nuclear talks with the United States.

The launch on Wednesday was the most provocative by North Korea since it resumed dialogue with the United States in 2018 and a reminder by Pyongyang of the weapons capa-bility it has been aggressively developing, including intercon-tinental ballistic missiles, ana-lysts said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un “sent warm congratu-lations” to the defence scientists who conducted the test, state news agency KCNA said, indi-cating he did not attend the launch as he has at previous tests of new weapons systems.

The new type of SLBM, called Pukguksong-3, was “fired in ver-tical mode” in the waters off the eastern city of Wonsan, KCNA said, confirming an assessment by South Korea’s military on Wednesday that the missile was launched on a lofted trajectory.

“The successful new-type SLBM test-firing comes to be of great significance as it ushered in a new phase in containing the outside forces’ threat to the

DPRK and further bolstering its military muscle for self-defence,” KCNA said.

DPRK is short for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The test “had no adverse impact on the security of neigh-bouring countries,” KCNA said but gave no other details about the launch.

Photos released in the North’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper, whose front two pages featured the test, showed a black-and-white painted missile clearing the surface of the water, then the rocket engine igniting to propel it into the sky.

A State Department spokes-woman called on Pyongyang to “refrain from provocations” and to remain committed to nuclear negotiations.

South Korea expressed strong concern and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe con-demned the launch, saying it was a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

North Korea rejects UN

Security Council resolutions that ban Pyongyang from using bal-listic missile technology, saying they are an infringement of its right to self-defence.

Talks aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes have been stalled since a second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Vietnam in February broke down in disa-greement over nuclear disarmament.

North Korea fired the missile hours after announcing it would resume talks with the United States by holding working-level negotiations on October 5.

North Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Myong Gil, arrived at the Beijing airport yes-terday with other North Korean officials and booked flights to Stockholm, Sweden, Yonhap reported, citing an airport official.

“We’re going for the DPRK-US working-level nego-tiations,” the negotiator Kim told reporters in Beijing, according to Yonhap. “There’s been a new signal from the U.S. side, so we’re going with great expectations and optimism about the outcome.”

The Pukguksong-3 appeared to be a new design that has enhanced range and stability compared with a version tested in 2016, three analysts said.

It was probably launched

from a test platform and not a submarine, which would be the final stage of testing, said Kim Dong-yub, a military expert at Kyungnam University’s Institute of Far Eastern Studies in Seoul.

State news agency KCNA released photos and a report in July of leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting a large, newly built submarine, but an unnamed South Korean military source said on Thursday that the

submarine appears to be still incomplete, Yonhap news agency reported.

Leader Kim Jong Un’s absence at the test is “extremely unusual,” Kyungnam University’s Kim said, probably meant to contain the political fallout that could result in the upcoming talks falling apart before they even start.

On Wednesday, South Korea’s military said the missile

flew 450km and reached an altitude of 910km. It was likely a Pukguksong-class weapon, as the North’s earlier submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) under development were known.

South Korean Defence Min-ister Jeong Kyeong-doo said the Pukguksong, or Pole Star in Korean, would have had a range of about 1,300km on a standard trajectory.

A photo show what appears to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) flies in an undisclosed location.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un “sent warm congratulations” to the defence scientists who conducted the test, state news agency KCNA said.

Spokesman defends Duterte as ‘very hygienic’AFP/MOSCOW

President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman defended the Phil-ippine leader as “very hygienic” and nice-smelling after he was mocked on social media for looking dishevelled in a meeting with the Russian Prime Minister.

The 74-year-old Duterte was in Russia on a working visit and sat down for the talks with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday.

In pictures of the meeting, Duterte was seen in a rumpled suit with his tie hanging loose as the two posed for pictures and shook hands.

Reacting to the photo online, Russian Twitter users jumped on Duterte’s appearance.

“Was Duterte getting ham-mered all night?” one asked. “Did he just come back from a pub?” asked another.

In a text statement to

reporters, his spokesman Sal-vador Panelo insisted that Duterte “does not look unkempt”.

“He feels suffocated and very uncomfortable if the tie is tightly in place in the collar,” Panelo said. “The president is very hygienic. His body emits a refreshing scent as observed by people who meet up close to him.”

Duterte is known as a casual dresser who has a history of turning up to international and major events in relaxed attire.

Duterte said he hates socks and claims he owns no suits and does not like formal wear because the clothes irritate his skin.

He chews gum in public, even when meeting world leaders such as Chinese Pres-ident Xi Jinping, which he says is meant to ease pain from a spinal condition.

HK to ban face masks in protest crackdown: ReportsAFP HONG KONG

Hong Kong will soon ban the wearing of face masks at public protests, local media reported yesterday, in a clampdown on pro-democracy rallies that have rocked the strife-torn city.

Seething public anger against Chinese rule of the semi-auton-omous city has underscored increasingly violent confronta-tions between police officers and demonstrators, with no sign of an end to nearly four months of unrest.

Protesters have used face

masks to avoid identification — along with yellow helmets, goggles and respirators to protect themselves from tear gas and police projectiles.

Officials plan to deter future gatherings by introducing the ban under a colonial-era emer-gency law that bypasses the city’s legislature, according to the South China Morning Post.

City leader Carrie Lam is expected to announce the measure on Friday, the Post reported.

Pro-Beijing lawmakers in the financial hub have renewed their calls for Lam to introduce the

emergency ordinance since Tuesday, when protests in Hong Kong overshadowed 70th anni-versary celebrations for the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

In the worst day of violence since the protests movement began, police shot and wounded a teenager who attacked officers with a stick, and fired a record 1,400 rounds of tear gas to dis-perse crowds across the city.

“If we had the law... then this would have a deterrent effect on some people,” lawmaker Eliz-abeth Quat said yesterday.

“We are not talking about

peaceful protesters. We are talking about people who use illegal violence.”

But pro-democracy law-maker Dennis Kwok said the emergency law would signal “the beginning of a slip towards an authoritarian state”.

“The authorities by now should have listened to the Hong Kong people. Their yearning for freedom, liberty and democracy, is not going to go away,” he said.

“The anti-mask law at least gives investors some hope that it could be a way to cool down the protests,” said Steven Leung, at UOB Kay Hian (Hong Kong).

“Some protesters might think twice if they can be identified during protests.”

Hong Kong’s protests were ignited by a now-scrapped plan to allow extraditions to the mainland. But after Beijing and local leaders took a hardline they snowballed into a wider movement calling for democratic freedoms and pol ice accountability.

With Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam seemingly unwilling or unable to find a political solution, police have been left to battle increasingly radicalised protesters.

‘Over 11,500 have fled violence-hit Papuan town’REUTERS JAKARTA

Indonesian authorities said yesterday more than 11,500 people have been evacuated from the town of Wamena in the easternmost province of Papua since dozens died during clashes last month in the area.

Located on the western half of the island of New Guinea and long racked by a simmering sep-aratist insurgency, Papua encompasses Indonesia’s two easternmost provinces and has a distinct ethnic Melanesian population.

There has been a spike in

protests and unrest since late August after Papuan students in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second city on the island of Java, were taunted and attacked by a mob chanting racial epithets over accusations they had desecrated a national flag.

In some of the worst bloodshed in decades in Papua, 33 people died and scores were hurt during clashes in Wamena on September 23.

Government offices and homes were burned down, and 250 cars and motorcycles destroyed, as indigenous Papuans and security forces clashed.

The government and some Papuan independence activists said 25 of the 33 who died there were migrants from elsewhere in the country.

Between September 23 and October 2 Indonesia’s air force had flown 7,467 people out of Wamena on Hercules planes, while 4,179 people had left on commercial flights, said Harry Hikmat, an official at Indonesia’s social ministry.

Ahmad Musthofa Kamal, a spokesman for the Papuan police, said the situation in Wamane was now stable and that shops and markets were open again.

Security officers stand guard as residents from Wamena arrive with Indonesian military aircraft following riots, at Sentani Airport, in Jayapura, Papua, yesterday.

Scientists find toxic fungus near Great Barrier ReefREUTERS MELBOURNE

A highly poisonous fungus, with toxins that can be absorbed through the skin, has been identified for the first time in the rain forest near the Great Barrier Reef, scientists said.

The Fire Coral fungus, which is better known in South Korea and Japan as being among the world’s most poi-sonous mushrooms, was found near Cairns in northern state of Queensland, scientists from James Cook University said.

“If found, the fungus should not be touched, and definitely not eaten,” said Matt Barrett, an expert on fungi at the univer-sity’s Australian Tropical Her-barium. “Of the hundred or so toxic mushrooms that are known to researchers, this is the only one in which the toxins can be absorbed through the skin.”

If eaten, the distinctive red fungus causes a horrifying array of symptoms: stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever and numbness are followed over hours or days by the skin peeling off the hands and feet, and the shrinking of the brain, he added.

It was most likely that the fungus occurred naturally in Cairns, although instances have also been reported from Indo-nesia and Papua New Guinea, Barrett said in a statement. “The fact that we can find such a dis-tinctive and medically important fungus like Poison Fire Coral right in our backyard shows we have much to learn about fungi in northern Australia.”

Nine dead as typhoon lashes South KoreaAFP BUSAN

At least nine people were killed and several others missing after Typhoon Mitag lashed South Korea with heavy rain and strong winds, authorities said.

The storm hit southern parts of the country on Wednesday night, prompting flood warnings and triggering landslides in affected areas.

A total of nine people were killed across the country as of Thursday afternoon, the Min-istry of Interior and Safety said, but the toll was expected to rise with several people still missing.

A woman in her 60s was found dead after her home was buried in a landslide in the southern port city of Busan and around 600 rescue workers were trying to locate three others

believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.

Park Young-hak was inside his tool she — later buried in the landslide — and said he escaped after hearing a loud “roar”.

“When I ran out to see what it was the house next to me had already disappeared,” Park said.

More than 1,000 homes were damaged and over 1,500 people evacuated their houses in advance, the ministry said.

13FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019 EUROPE

Four officers, attacker dead in Paris stabbingAFP PARIS

A man wielding a knife stabbed and killed four officers at the police headquarters in the heart of central Paris yesterday, before being shot dead.

The premises were cordoned off after the lunchtime attack in the historic centre of Paris, usually thronged with tourists, and a dozens of police and emer-gency vehicles had converged at the scene, a journalists reported.

At least one metro station in the vicinity of the building, which is close to Notre-Dame cathedral and other major tourist attrac-tions, was closed.

Sources said the attacker was shot dead by police in the courtyard of the building, where he was employed.

The man worked in an administrative capacity but it was not immediately clear what his precise work role was.

An emergency message was broadcast over loudspeakers at the courthouse next door, announcing “an attack” at the police headquarters and stating the area was “under

surveillance”.Interior Minister Christophe

Castaner, who was due to visit Turkey l, postponed his trip to visit the scene of the attack.

“People were running eve-rywhere, there was crying eve-rywhere,” said Emery Siamandi, and interpreter who was in the building when the attack happened.

“I heard a shot, I gathered it was inside,” he added. “Moments later, I saw police officers crying. They were in a panic.”

Investigators suspect a workplace dispute sparked the deadliest attack on police in France in years, sources said, but there were no immediate further details.

The Paris prosecutor is at the scene, but anti-terror agencies have not been involved at this stage.

“Did he snap, or was there

some other reason? It’s still too early to say,” Loic Travers, head of the Alliance Police union for the Paris region, told BFM television.

There was no immediate indication of the possible motives of the attacker.

France has been rocked since 2015 by a succession of attacks blamed on jihadists, which have included both large synchronised assaults and isolated knife and gun attacks, killing more than 250 people. The country remains

on high alert after these attacks.In January 2015, two men

armed with Kalashnikov rifles stormed the Paris offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people.

A policewoman was killed just outside Paris the following day, while a gunman took hos-tages at a Jewish supermarket, four of whom were killed.

On November 15 that year, France was hit by the worst terror attacks in its history.

IS jihadists armed with

assault rifles and explosives struck outside a France-Germany football match at the national stadium, Paris cafes, and the Bataclan concert hall in a coordinated assault that left 130 people dead and more than 350 wounded.

Thousands of French police officers demonstrated in Paris yesterday for better working conditions in a rare protest by the force, against the backdrop of a spike in suicides within their ranks.

Emergency personnel stand near an air ambulance helicopter after a knife attack, on the Pont Marie near Paris prefecture de police (police headquarters), yesterday.

Von der Leyen to save cash by living in Brussels officeBLOOMBERG BRUSSELS

The new president of the European Union’s executive arm plans to live in a small studio inside the headquarters of the institution she will be leading, her spokesman said.

Even though Ursula von der Leyen will earn more than $27,000 per month, she won’t rent an apartment in Brussels.

Instead she will stay in a “small retreat” of approximately 25 sq metres at the Berlaymont office building, which houses the European Commission.

The move is intended to avoid additional expenditure on security, her spokesman said, which would be necessary if she rents an apartment or a room in a hotel, like her predecessor Jean-Claude Juncker. The arrangement is also practical

because the German head of the Commission won’t be stuck in the Belgian capital’s infamous traffic jams, her aide said.

The EU Commission pro-poses, monitors and enforces legislation across the 28-nation bloc and other members of the European Economic Area. It has the authority to negotiate free-trade agreements and the power to block mergers between cor-porate behemoths.

Juncker has complained in the past that the president of the Commission isn’t entitled to an official residence. Instead the president must use their salary to secure accommodation in Brussels.

Von der Leyen, a mother of seven, will keep her family resi-dence in Hanover, where her husband also works. She used to live in her Berlin office when she was defence minister in Germany.

Estonia’s EU energy candidate questioned on climate credentialsREUTERS BRUSSELS

Estonia’s candidate for European energy commissioner, Kadri Simson, insisted yesterday that she is committed to climate goals as she was pressed by EU lawmakers over her country’s reluctance to back the bloc’s ambitions for zero emissions by 2050.

Questioned about her policy on fossil fuels as Estonia’s former energy minister, Simson backed incoming EU chief executive Ursula von der Leyen’s pledge to propose legislation to make the European Union carbon neutral by mid-century.

Simson was speaking during her confir-mation hearing.

Von der Leyen’s team is facing more headwinds than any of its predecessors, amid concerns about possible conflicts of interest, corruption or financial irregularities among several candidates for commissioner.

The EU executive, which has the sole right to propose European laws and is the guardian of the bloc’s treaty, is made up of one commissioner per member state, nom-inated by his or her government for the next five years.

Estonia, which relies on fossil fuels, including high-polluting oil shale, for over three quarters of its power generation, was one of four EU states refusing to back the 2050 targets at an EU summit earlier this year.

It is home to the two largest oil shale-fueled power plants in the world - making

the tiny nation the EU’s most carbon intensive economy in the bloc — as it has sought to break reliance on energy imports from Russia.

That has made the choice of the Estonian as energy commissioner the target of crit-icism from climate campaigners.

Sources said the attacker was shot dead by police in the courtyard of the building, where he was employed.

EU and Ireland sceptical of a Brexit breakthrough after Johnson’s offerREUTERS DUBLIN

The European Union and Ireland said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit proposals were unlikely to yield a deal, with Dublin bluntly warning that Britain was heading towards a no-deal exit unless it made more concessions.

The EU said it fully backed Ireland and that while it was open to discussions, it was still unconvinced about Johnson’s plan — cast by British officials as the final offer to avert a no-deal Brexit on October 31.

Just 28 days before the United Kingdom is due to leave the EU, both sides are posi-tioning themselves to avoid blame for a delay or a disorderly no-deal Brexit.

Johnson said he wants an agreement but insists there can be no further Brexit postponement.

The cool reception from Brussels to Johnson’s proposal indicates just how far apart the two sides are on the first departure of a sovereign state from the EU, which was forged from Europe’s ruins after World War II.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who is key to any pos-sible deal, said he did not fully understand how the British pro-posals might work and that Dublin could not sign up to a treaty that did not safeguard an open Irish-British border.

Varadkar’s deputy, Irish

Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, went further, saying that if Johnson’s proposals were final then a no-deal Brexit lay ahead.

“My judgement is that Boris Johnson does want a deal and that the paper that was pub-lished yesterday (Wednesday) was an effort to move us in the direction of a deal. But...if that is the final proposal, there will be no deal,” Coveney told parliament.

European Council President Donald Tusk said the bloc remained fully united behind Ireland.

“We remain open but still unconvinced,” Tusk said.

Johnson made what his office said was his final Brexit pitch to the EU on Wednesday, offering a possible compromise on the most contentious issue that initially drew a cautious welcome by the EU.

Johnson went further than many expected on trying to solve the dilemma over the border between British-ruled Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland - with a pro-posal for an all-island regulatory zone to cover all goods. This would replace the so-called “backstop” arrangement he says he cannot accept.

Besides the concession, however, Johnson proposed giving Northern Ireland’s insti-tutions the ongoing power to abide by or exit the regulatory zone — a possible step too far for Ireland and the EU.

European Energy Commissioner-designate Kadri Simson of Estonia attends her hearing before the EU Parliament, in Brussels, yesterday.

Man admits in UK court trying to rob Arsenal starsAFP LONDON

A man admitted in a London court yesterday to trying to rob Arsenal footballers Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac in the British capital earlier this year.

Ashley Smith, 30, of Archway in north London, pleaded guilty to attempting to steal watches from the duo in the Hampstead neighbourhood of the city on July 25.

He appeared at Snares-brook Crown Court by video link to admit the attempted ambush of World Cup winner Ozil, 30, and 26-year-old Kolasinac.

Footage of the incident on social media showed the Bosnia defender Kolasinac, who joined Arsenal in 2017, chasing off two moped attackers who were wearing helmets.

The club’s former Germany midfielder Ozil can be seen in his black Mercedes sports utility vehicle before he reportedly took refuge in a Turkish restaurant.

Judge Sheelagh Canavan ordered Smith be held in custody until he is sentenced at the same court on November 1.

Jordan Northover, 26, has also been charged over the incident and is due to appear before magistrates today.

Macron seeks to placate French citizens over pension reformsAFP PARIS

French President Emmanuel Macron will face citizens to debate a controversial pension reform plan that has sparked protests by train drivers, pilots, lawyers, doctors and police as the country’s powerful unions flex their collective muscle.

Macron’s move to modernise France’s retirement system is part of an election pledge to put the country on a solid financial footing — a mission that calls for

painful changes in a country where many people have seen their spending power decline.

Macron’s government has been the target of more than a year of protests by so-called “yellow vests” who say he does not understand the day-to-day struggles of ordinary citizens faced with rising prices for products and services and shrinking income.

Three hours have been set aside for the meeting between the president and citizens in the southern French city of Rodez in

the Aveyron region, where a third of the population is over 60.

During his 2017 presidential campaign, Macron had pledged not to touch the legal retirement age of 62 for most workers.

But Jean-Paul Delevoye, leading a reform project, has proposed making a full pension available only from 64. People who retire earlier would have to accept a lower pension: five percent less for someone who stops working at 63, for example.

Delevoye has also suggested

cancelling the more advanta-geous pensions enjoyed by some professions, including public transport and utilities workers, sailors, notaries and even Paris Opera workers.

The government has vowed to hold consultations with labour representatives while the bill is debated in parliament, with a vote expected next year.

An opinion poll published yesterday said 43 percent of French people oppose the reform.

The country has seen two

massive public transport strikes in recent weeks by tram and train workers opposed to changes they say will force them to work for longer.

Another transport strike is planned from December 5.

There have also been pro-tests by lawyers, nurses, doctors and airline pilots.

On Wednesday, thousands of police took to the streets of Paris, with pension reform among their gripes.

The labour action adds to the pressure already brought to bear

by “yellow vests” protesting around France every Sunday for most of the past year.

Last week, the government unveiled a draft 2020 budget with tax cuts of $10bn for house-holds in response to the uprising, making it unlikely Macron will honour his pledge of balancing the government’s books by 2022.

Right-wing president Nicolas Sarkozy raised France’s retirement age from 60 to 62 in 2010 despite months of protests that brought millions onto the streets.

14 FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019EUROPE / AMERICAS

Merkel warns against racism on anniversary of German reunification REUTERS KIEL

Chancellor Angela Merkel made a veiled attack on the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on the 29th anniversary of German reunification yesterday, saying economic grievances in the east were no excuse for racism.

In a speech marking the anniversary, Merkel cited a gov-ernment-commissioned report that found economic discrep-ancies between the eastern and western parts of Germany and which said people in the east feel like second-class citizens.

But the Chancellor said that this was no justification for verbal attacks on foreigners under the guise of free speech, and that such attacks threatened democracy in Germany. Shortly after she spoke, about 600 people took part in a far-right rally in Berlin.

Merkel did not mention the anti-migrant AfD by name but it has stronger support in eastern parts of Germany and made big

gains in elections in two eastern regions last month.

“It should never be the case that disappointment with pol-itics, however significant, be accepted as a legitimate reason to marginalise, threaten or attack others because of their skin colour, religion, or sexual orien-tation,” Merkel said in the northern city of Kiel.

“The values of our consti-tution must guide each and every debate in our country,” she said.

“In concrete terms this means, ‘Yes’ to open debate, ‘Yes’ to tough demands from politics, ‘No’ to intolerance, ‘No’ to mar-ginalisation, ‘No’ to hate and anti-Semitism, ‘No’ to living at

the expense of the weak and minorities.”

Merkel’s conservatives and their Social Democrat (SPD) coa-lition partners have accused the AfD, the largest opposition party in parliament, of legitimising a language of hate that spurs violence.

They have said the AfD manipulates the grievances of eastern Germans — about lower wages and pensions, an exodus of young people, plans to phase out coal and the challenge of integrating a record influx of ref-ugees — to make political gains through populism.

The AfD, which entered par-liament two years ago in elec-tions that were shaped by dis-quiet over Merkel’s decision in 2015 to welcome almost 1 million migrants, says it has always dis-tanced itself from violent, far-right extremists.

The deadly shooting of a pro-immigration conservative poli-tician in June and a rise in anti-Semitism have fuelled debate about the anti-immigrant speeches of some AfD leaders.

The party has about 10 percent support in western regions and is polling at around 14 percent nationally.

The report cited by Merkel showed east Germany’s eco-nomic strength has risen to 75 percent of the west German level from 43 percent in 1990. Employment is at a high in the

east and wages there are 84 percent of those in the west, it showed.

The report found that less than 40 percent say reunification was worth it and less than half are happy with democracy in Germany.

“A lot has been achieved in the past 29 years. In the west as

well as in the east, people are all in all happier with their lives than at any other moment since reunification. But we also know that this is not the whole truth,” Merkel said.

“We must all learn to under-stand why reunification for many people in eastern states is not only a positive experience.”

Russian PM in Cuba as US sanctions biteAFP HAVANA

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev began a two-day visit to Cuba as the island nation looks to shore up economic support amid severe fuel shortages it blames on US sanctions.

Medvedev was welcomed in Havana by Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.

They were due to hold a press conference in the afternoon.

“Cuba and Russia have the highest level of exchanges and political dialogue, which has proved fruitful and useful,” said

the foreign ministry, which pub-lished a photo on its website of the two men meeting at Havana’s airport.

Medvedev’s visit comes at a crucial juncture for Cuba as it faces fuel shortages due to a US embargo — first imposed in 1962 — targeting ships transporting Venezuelan oil, Cuba’s main supplier of crude.

Washington accuses Cuba of providing military support to Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, whom the US is trying to oust in favor of his domestic rival Juan Guaido.

In recent weeks, hours-long queues have formed at service

stations, the number of buses and trains running have fallen, air conditioning has been turned off in state companies and many state employees have been told to stay at home.

This crisis — which the gov-ernment says is “cyclical” — underlines the importance of solidarity offered by allies China and Russia, whose Foreign Min-ister Sergey Lavrov visited the island in July.

Commercial exchanges increased by 34 percent in 2018 to $388m and that figure should approach $500 in 2019, according to Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Yuriy Borisov.

Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel (left) and Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev reviewing a guard of honour during a ceremony at the Revolution Palace, in Havana, yesterday.

Three dead in small plane crash near Michigan airportAP/DEWITT TOWNSHIP

Three people died and three others were injured when a single-engine plane heading from Indianapolis crashed yesterday near Capital Region International Airport in mid-Michigan, authorities said.

The six-passenger plane was on its way to the Lansing-area airport when it went down about 9am.

“I know that it was coming in on the approach and that’s when something went wrong,” airport spokesman Spencer Flynn said.

The plane was at capacity and included a pilot and co-pilot, said Clinton County Sheriff Larry Jerue. Names of those onboard weren’t imme-diately released.

The Federal Aviation Admin-istration said the Socata TBM 700 plane left Indy South Greenwood Airport at 8am yesterday, according to WRTV-TV.

The airport received an emergency alert from the plane, said airport public safety and operations chief Eric Patrick. He wasn’t sure if the alert came before or after the crash.

The plane was largely intact at the crash site and Patrick said the plane wasn’t part of scheduled commercial service at the airport.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Authority were heading yes-terday to the area.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel signs autographs ahead of a ceremony on the German reunification in Kiel, yesterday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that economic grievances in the east were no excuse for racism.

Perurian President to swear in new cabinet as rebellion in Congress fizzles outREUTERS LIMA

Peru’s centrist President Martin Vizcarra will unveil a new cabinet today as a dramatic challenge to his leadership by dozens of dismissed lawmakers earlier this week appeared to fizzle out.

No public institution or foreign power has backed the right-wing opposition’s charge that Vizcarra illegally dissolved Congress on Monday by invoking a nuclear option in the constitution that also forced him to replace his cabinet.

At a ceremony at the Presi-dential Palace, Vizcarra will swear in 19 ministers, including Harvard-trained public admin-istrator Maria Antonieta Alva as the new finance minister, two sources who asked not to be named said.

It was the latest sign that Peru, the world’s No.2 copper producer and one of Latin America’s most open economies, was moving on from its worst political crisis in two decades, with dismissed lawmakers’ cries of “coup” fading from headlines in local media.

Peru’s electoral authority said it was organising new leg-islative elections for January 26, a timeline proposed by Vizcarra that the Organization of American States called “a con-structive step” toward over-coming the crisis.

Police have largely lifted a

lockdown on streets in downtown Lima, where thou-sands of Vizcarra’s supporters rallied to demand former law-makers physically leave Con-gress earlier this week.

Former lawmakers who refuse to recognise Vizcarra as president have said they will ask the country’s top court, the Con-stitutional Tribunal, to intervene. But their critics warn they could face criminal charges for con-tinuing to insist they are still lawmakers.

The opposition’s attempt this week to anoint Vice-President Mercedes Araoz as interim pres-ident fell apart after Vizcarra supporters charged her with usurpation of functions and the military and police reaffirmed their loyalty to Vizcarra.

Vizcarra said his decision to dissolve Congress and call for new legislative elections was a constitutional and necessary way to end a year-long stand-off with the opposition over his proposed reforms for stamping out entrenched graft.

He blamed the majority opposition party Popular Force, led by jailed former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, of trying to use democratic insti-tutions to shield their members and allies from criminal probes.

The opposition said Vizcarra has fanned widespread outrage over back-to-back graft scandals in recent years in order to orchestrate an unconstitu-tional power grab.

Europe needs to increase military spending, says Dutch PremierREUTERS AMSTERDAM

Europe needs to increase military spending to keep the transatlantic Nato alliance alive in the face of rising threats from Russia, China and elsewhere, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said yesterday.

Europe has no alternative to its alliance with the United States, Rutte said in a speech. “We can’t guarantee our own security. But Europe can and should do more.”

To protect Nato, Europe needs to heed the call of US Pres-ident Donald Trump and increase military spending, the Dutch

prime minister said.We might not like it, but the

days in which Europe could for a minimal fee find shelter under the American safety umbrella are over.”

Nato members in 2014 agreed they would increase military spending to 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) by 2024.

Dutch military spending has been increased by 25% since 2014, but still only reached 1.2% of GDP last year.

Dutch government plans to further increase spending on defence in the coming years. “But we have to be honest, that won’t get us at 2% by 2024,” Rutte said.

Zelenskiy seeks to allay fears over separatist regionsAFP KIEV

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday called on the nation not “to give in to provocations” after protests broke out against giving war-ravaged separatist-held territories in the east broad autonomy.

More than a 1,000 protesters rallied in central Kiev on Wednesday after Ukrainian, Russian and separatist negotiators this week agreed on a roadmap for the regions held by Kremlin-backed rebels.

The peace plan envisages special status for such territories if they conduct free and fair elections under the Ukrainian constitution.

The announcement sparked anger in Ukraine where broader autonomy for the separatist-held regions remains an explosive

issue. A new rally is planned for today. The Ukrainian conflict between Kiev

forces and Russian-backed fighters broke out in 2014 and has since claimed more than 13,000 lives.

“I respect the constitutional right of every Ukrainian to protest, I hear you and trust me — I will never betray Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a video address to the nation yesterday.

The 41-year-old president, who came to power in May, implored Ukrainians to keep a cool head and not to “give in to manipulations and provocations of some individuals.”

“They really want to use you,” he said. He said all of society would be involved

in drawing up new legislation on the status of the separatist-held territories known locally as Donbass.

“All of us understand that Donbass is Ukraine,” he said.

Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin could meet for the first time as early as this month in talks aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The provisional agreement of a plan for the separatist-held regions was a key condition set by Moscow for a meeting.

Such a meeting would also be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been spearheading the drive for peace in Ukraine, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The roadmap for the separatist-held Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk People’s Republic has been dubbed “the Steinmeier formula”, after the former German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who proposed it.

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Trump calls on Ukraine, China to probe BidensAFP WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump openly called on China as well as Ukraine to investigate his potential 2020 election rival Joe Biden, doubling down as Demo-crats began interviewing witnesses in an impeachment investigation that has rocked the White House.

Facing possible removal from office precisely for seeking foreign help against his political challengers, Trump said he wanted Ukraine President Volo-dymyr Zelenskiy and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to go after Biden, the leader in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination next year.

“I would say that President Zelenskiy, if it were me, I would recommend that they start an investigation into the Bidens,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.

“If they were honest about it they would start a very simple investigation on the Bidens,” Trump said of Ukraine.

“Likewise, China should start an investigation into the Bidens, because what happened in China is just about as bad as what hap-pened with Ukraine.”

Asked if he would ask Xi to do the same, Trump replied, “It’s certainly something we can start thinking about.”

In a statement, Biden’s cam-paign called the president’s com-ments “a grotesque choice of lies over truth and self over the country.”

Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, said Trump was “desperately clutching for conspiracy theories that have been debunked and dismissed by independent, credible news organisations.”

“Donald Trump is terrified that Joe Biden will beat him like a drum,” she added.

Trump ramped up his effort to shape the public narrative just as the first major witness in the impeachment probe arrived in Congress to provide testimony on allegations that the White House illicitly sought political help from Ukraine for the 2020 election.

Former US special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker was caught up earlier this year in the efforts by Trump and Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani to pressure Ukraine to investigate Biden and Biden’s son Hunter, who had business ties to a Ukraine gas tycoon.

Those efforts culminated in a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which

Trump appeared to tie getting dirt on Biden to military aid for Ukraine.

A US intelligence officer’s whistleblower complaint about the impropriety of Trump’s actions, and a White House record of the call, both released last week, drove Democrats to open the impeachment investi-gation, alleging that the president betrayed his oath of office and jeopardized national security.

Volker could strengthen the Democrats’ case. The whistle-blower complaint depicts him speaking with Giuliani “in an attempt to ‘contain the damage’ to US national security” of Giuliani’s meddling in Ukraine affairs.

A day after the July 25 call, Volker met with Zelenskiy and other senior Ukraine officials and advised them “about how to ‘navigate’ the demands that the president had made of Mr. Zelenskiy.”

House investigators received more potential evidence against Trump on Wednesday when the inspector general of the State Department handed over a package of materials sent to Sec-retary of State Mike Pompeo earlier this year to support an investigation of the Bidens.

Giuliani said media that he sent the package, which was in an envelope labelled “White House.”

The Giuliani package con-tained “disinformation, debunked conspiracy theories, and baseless allegations” regarding the Bidens, Democrats said in a statement after meeting the inspector general.

“These documents also rein-force concern that the president

and his allies sought to use the machinery of the State Department to further the pres-ident’s personal political interests,” they said.

Trump, meanwhile, pressed forward with his strategy of deflecting the allegations by focusing the narrative on the Bidens, as his Republican allies in Congress sought to put brakes on the impeachment probe.

House Minority Leader called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to suspend the inquiry until “transparent and equitable rules and procedures” could be established.

Anything less than a “through, transparent, and fair process would represent a supreme insult to our Consti-tution,” he said.

Trump and Giuliani allege that Biden, as vice-president, tried to block a Ukraine cor-ruption probe into his son’s business partner, using US aid as leverage.

But the record shows that there was no investigation, and that Biden in fact viewed Kiev’s corruption prosecutor at the time as himself deeply compromised.

Trump is also seeking to paint his Democrat accusers “liars.”

In a statement, Joe Biden’s campaign called the president’s comments “a grotesque choice of lies over truth and self over the country.”

Kurt Volker, President Donald Trump’s former envoy to Ukraine arrives at the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, yesterday.

Seven reported dead as WWII-era bomber crashesAP WINDSOR LOCKS

A World War II-era plane with 13 people aboard crashed and burned at the Hartford airport after encountering mechanical trouble on takeoff yesterday, killing seven of them.

The four-engine, propeller-driven B-17 bomber struggled to get into the air and slammed into a maintenance building at Bradley International Airport as the pilots circled back for a landing, officials and witnesses said.

It had 10 passengers and three crew members, author-ities said.

Connecticut Public Safety Commissioner James Rovella said hours after the crash that some of those on board were burned, and “the victims are very difficult to identify.”

Some of the survivors of the crash were critically injured, authorities said. One person on the ground was also hurt in the crash and a firefighter involved in the response suffered a minor injury. No children were on the plane.

The death toll of seven could rise, Rovella said. He said some lives were likely saved by the efforts of people including a person who raced to help the victims and people on the plane who helped others to escape the fire by opening a hatch, Rovella said.

Bernie Sanders to participate in debate after heart procedureBLOOMBERG/WASHINGTON

Bernie Sanders will be on stage at the Democratic debate in Ohio on October 15 despite having a heart procedure that took him off the campaign trail on Wednesday, two campaign aides said.

The Vermont senator, 78,

canceled all of his campaign events “until further notice” after he experienced chest pains at an event in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Doctors inserted two stents in his chest to clear an artery blockage.

Inserting stents is a routine procedure that is performed on millions of Americans each year.

Sanders is the oldest can-didate in the 2020 Democratic field.

Elizabeth Warren is 70 and Joe Biden is 76. The likely Repub-lican nominee, Donald Trump, is 73. But the incident raised questions about whether Sanders is too old to take on the rigors of the White House.

Nationally, Sanders is polling in third among Democrats at 16.8% according to the Real-ClearPolitics average. Biden is leading with 26.2% followed by Warren with 24%.

Sanders has taken on a busy campaign schedule. He was quick to tie signature issue of Medicare for All in with his

health problems, tweeting Tuesday he was feeling good and received good care, but wants to make sure all Americans are given the same access.

“None of us know when a medical emergency might affect us. And no one should fear going bankrupt if it occurs,” Sanders tweeted.

ACLU suit seeks damages for separated immigrant familiesAP PHOENIX

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit yesterday seeking potentially millions of dollars in damages on behalf of thousands of immi-grant families who were sepa-rated from their children at the US-Mexico border.

The ACLU and other attorneys filed a lawsuit in Tucson against past and present Trump administration officials, alleging the government vio-lated immigrants’ rights and deeply traumatised an estimated 4,000 children who were taken from their parents after crossing the border illegally. Most of the families were from Central American and many were asylum-seekers.

Family separations began on a large scale in early 2018 and were widely decried as inhumane. President Donald Trump ended the policy in June

2018 by executive order, and a federal judge in San Diego ordered the reunification of 2,700 children, although advo-cates say many more were separated.

The government carried out family separations without a reunification plan in place. Thousands of parents weren’t told where their children would be placed, and the federal agency that housed the kids after they were taken didn’t always know that they had traveled with a parent.

In this latest suit, the ACLU wants class action status, meaning if it wins, thousands of families who are not plaintiffs can also be compensated. Attorneys didn’t list a dollar amount requested, but have also filed complaints with the Department of Homeland Security that seek $3m per family. Those complaints could be eventually tied into this lawsuit.

Dallas cop gets 10 years in prison for murderAP DALLAS

A white Dallas police officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing her black neighbour in his apartment, which she said

she mistook for her own unit one floor below.

Amber Guyger didn’t appear to show much reaction, at least from the angle of a live camera stream, as the judge read the jury’s sentence. It came a day

after the jury con-victed her of murder in the Sep-tember 2018 killing of Botham Jean.

Guyger’s sen-tence was met with boos and jeers by a crowd gathered o u t s i d e t h e courtroom.

The basic facts of the unusual shooting were not i n d i s p u t e throughout the trial. Guyger, returning from a

long shift that night, entered Jean’s fourth-floor apartment and shot him. He had been eating a bowl of ice cream before she fired.

Guyger said she parked on the wrong floor and mistook Jean’s apartment for her own, which was directly below his, and mistook him for a burglar. But prosecutors questioned how Guyger could have missed numerous signs that she was in the wrong place. They also asked why she didn’t call for backup instead of walking into the apartment if she thought she was being burglarized and suggested she was distracted by phone messages she had been exchanging with her police partner, who was also her lover.

One of the Jean family lawyers hailed the verdict as “a victory for black people in America” after it was handed down.

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger (right) inside the Frank Crowley Courts Building, in Dallas.

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PAGE | 18 PAGE | 19

US coal giant Murray Energy faces

default

Starbucks pays farmers $20m more as coffee crisis deepens

17FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019

QC opens Oman SMEs expo in DohaTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Chamber’s First Vice-Chairman, Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Towar Al Kuwari, yesterday opened the “Oman Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Exhibition 2019” at the Mall of Qatar, in the presence of Oman’s Ambassador to Qatar, Najib bin Yahya Al Balushi.

The opening ceremony was attended by ambassadors from various countries and members of the business sector.

A total of 30 exhibitors from the field of fashion, textiles, antiques, gifts and perfumes are displaying their products in the expo.

The four day exhibition is organised by Oman’s Public Authority for Investment Pro-motion and Export Development (Ithraa) and the Public Authority for Small and Medium Enter-

prises Development (Riyada).Al Kuwari who toured the

pavilions of the expo talked to media following the opening ceremony saying that the exhi-bition that sees the participation of 30 Omani SMEs, portrays the beautiful Omani characteristics in handicrafts, textiles, perfumes and other products.

He added that it is a popular exhibition for the Qatari public, pointing out that displayed products are fully manufactured Omani industries. Al Kuwari added that the exhibition pro-vides an opportunity for Qatari industrialists and craftsmen to meet their Omani counterparts participating in the exhibition to discuss ways of developing craft industry and joint cooperation in this area.

He stressed that the Qatari private sector is continuously engaged with its Omani coun-terpart and there is continuous

cooperation between the two sides in identifying the investment opportunities available in both countries.

Al Kuwari also referred to the workshop hosted by the Qatar Chamber on Wednesday which reviewed investment opportunities in the Port of Duqm in Oman.

For his part, Al Balushi said the exhibition aims to activate trade movement between the two brotherly countries as well as introduce the famous Omani products to Qatari market.

He also noted that these products are of international quality and accuracy, affirming that the expo would help identify cooperation opportunities between Qatari and Omani com-panies including businessmen, in addition to promote the exchange of exhibitions between the two countries for their common interests.

Qatar Chamber’s First Vice-Chairman Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Towar Al Kuwari (third left), with Oman’s Ambassador to Qatar Najib bin Yahya Al Balushi (fourth left) inaugurating the “Oman SMEs Exhibition 2019”, at the Mall of Qatar in Doha yesterday.

QC reviews enhancing cooperation with Turkish private sectorTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Chamber’s (QC) Second Vice-Chairman Rashid bin Hamad Al Athba yesterday met a Turkish delegation comprising of 13 businessmen representing various sectors including infra-structure, tourism, agriculture, industry, education, logistics and food security.

The delegation was led by the Former Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Faruk Celik. QC Board of Director Mohamed bin Ahmed Al Obaidli also attended the event.

The meeting discussed coop-eration relations between both countries and ways of enhancing relations between the private sectors as well as exploring investment opportunities available in both sides.

Al Athba said that Qatar and Turkey enjoy strong and developed cooperation relations covering all aspects. He noted that the Qatari private sector highly welcomes enhancing its

cooperation with Turkish com-panies, especially because Turkish companies have proven a good reputation for their high quality products in the Qatari market.

The delegation includes rep-resentatives of leading Turkish companies in infrastructure, roads and tunnels, agriculture,

tourism, industry, education, logistics and food security, said Celik.

He added that these firms are keen on exploring the Qatari market and establish partner-ships with the Qatari side for the advantages of both countries ‘economies. He pointed out that the delegation includes

companies from Bursa, which is one of the most important Turkish cities and has huge potential in agriculture and industry sectors, noting that there are 18 integrated industrial zones in the city.

Celik praised the devel-opment and progress achieved by Qatar in all fields, describing

Qatar as “a developed country that has managed to achieve many achievements and suc-cesses at all levels,”

He also pointed out that there are many areas of cooper-ation between Qatari and Turkish companies in sectors represented by the delegation, especially since these are strong

and competitive companies that are looking for genuine invest-ments in the Qatari market.

He added that the blockade imposed on Qatar has con-tributed to creating more coop-eration between the two coun-tries, especially as Turkey is one of the first countries that helped Qatar and stood by it during the crisis.

For his part, Al Obaidli said the visiting delegation includes various sectors of high interest to the Qatari side, expressing his hope to forge new partnerships between the two sides in these sectors. He stressed that the State of Qatar welcomes the invest-ments of leading international companies, noting that the gov-ernment provides many incen-tives to encourage more investments.

Al-Obaidli stressed that Qatar attaches great importance to food security, affirming that it has achieved self-sufficiency in various sectors such as dairy by 110 percent and poultry by 124 percent.

Qatar Chamber ‘s Second Vice-Chairman, Rashid bin Hamad Al Athba, and QC Board Member, Mohamed bin Ahmed Al Obaidli, during their meeting with the visiting Turkish delegation led by Former Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Faruk Celik at the QC’s headquarters in Doha, yesterday.

‘Invest in Qatar’ attracts huge response from foreign investorsLANI ROSE R DIZON THE PENINSULA

The ‘Invest in Qatar’ centre at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) is seeing a growing number of applications from foreign investors, espe-cially after the recent issuance of the Law No. 1 of 2019, which regulates the investment of non-Qatari capital in the country’s economic activity, said an MoCI official.

The new non-Qatari capital investment law, which was issued in January, seeks to position Qatar as an attractive destination for foreign invest-ments and support national efforts to promote the country as both an investment hub and a key platform for businesses seeking to expand into foreign markets.

With attractive benefits in place, a growing number of investors from various countries

have already shown their interests to take part in the coun-try’s growing economic activ-ities, said Hamad Al Abdan, Director of Business Devel-opment and Investment Pro-motion Department at MoCI while talking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of a seminar on ‘Investment Prospects in Qatar: Opportunities and Challenges’ which was organised by the MoCI yesterday.

Al Abdan added: “The Invest in Qatar centre is doing very good. We receive an average of seven to eight applications from foreign investors every single day, and this will further increase very soon. We’re going to be full-fledged with the arrival of the Investment Promotion Agency. We liaise with them on all the investment opportunities within Qatar”.

The centre sees foreign investment applications from various countries, said Al Abdan.

“We see a significant number of applications planning to invest in consultancy businesses and energy sector. Some are inter-ested to invest in other markets such as the entertainment and hospitality sectors. We’re seeing a variety of investment applica-tions,” he added.

Earlier during his presen-tation, Al Abdan said the centre serves as a one-stop-shop for inquiries and applications to help foreign investors overcome any obstacles they may face when setting up businesses in the country.

The centre coordinates with the Business Development and Investment Promotion Department at MoCI to identify challenges and constraints, follow up on the implementation of solutions, provide data and guidelines for public services, and create opportunities and investment incentives, he added.

�P19

FROM LEFT: The Director of Legal Affairs Department at Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI), Hilal Mohammed Al Khulaifi; Board Member, Qatar International Centre for Conciliation and Arbitration, Sheikh Dr Thani bin Ali bin Saud Al Thani; Senior Counsel at Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre, Dr Zain Al Abidine Sharar; Director of Business Development and Investment Promotion Department at the MoCI, Hamad Al Abdan; and others attending a seminar on “Investment Prospects in the State of Qatar” (Opportunities and Challenges) at the Ministry’s headquarters in Lusial City yesterday. PIC: SALIM MATRAMKOT/THE PENINSULA

18 FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019BUSINESS

Organised by Ithraa, Oman’s inward investment and export development agency, in partnership with the Sultanate’s Public Authority for Small & Medium Sized Enterprises.

CRUDE

$52.29 -0.35

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QSE FTSE100 DOW

7,077.64 −44.90 PTS0.63%

26,126.59 +47.97 PTS0.18% Dow & Brent before going to press

MARKETWATCH

Turkey fines Facebook for breach of data protection lawsAP/ANKARA

Turkey’s data protection authority says it has imposed a 1.6m Turkish lira ($280,000) fine on Facebook for contra-vening the country’s data laws.

The Turkish Personal Data Protection Council said yesterday that personal data belonging to 280,959 Turkish users, including their names, gender, birth dates, relationship status, religion and search history, were compro-mised in the data breach.

It said Facebook failed to take “the necessary adminis-trative and technical measures” and did not fulfill its “data pro-tection responsibilities.”

Earlier this year, the Turkish authority had fined Facebook $289,000 over a separate data law breach relating to a software bug.

US coal giant Murray Energy faces defaultBLOOMBERG NEW YORK

Murray Energy, the US coal giant that had pressed the Trump administration for help averting bankruptcy, may be headed toward default.

The largest closely held coal miner in America failed to make multiple payments to lenders this week, the company said in a statement. Creditors have agreed not to take legal action until October 14, buying Murray some time to figure out how to shore up its balance sheet, Ohio-based firm said.

Murray Energy is struggling to stay afloat, along with the rest of America’s coal miners, as cheap natural gas and renewable energy resources cut into coal’s share of the US power market. At least four companies including Cloud Peak Energy and Black-jewel have gone bankrupt this year, laying bare the decline of a fuel that once accounted for

more than half of all US power generation. Today it’s less than 25 percent.

Prices for thermal coal, the kind burned by power plants, have slumped, which may have left Murray short on cash, said Lucas Pipes, a coal analyst with B Riley FBR.

“You can’t make payments out of thin air if the money isn’t in the bank,” he said.

The company idled some of its mines in West Virginia last month, citing “severely depressed coal markets.”

Murray’s potential default comes more than a year after the Trump administration’s efforts to subsidize struggling nuclear and coal-fired power plants, par-ticularly ones that Murray sup-plies, failed, shot down by Pres-ident Donald Trump’s own appointed energy regulators. Chief Executive Officer Bob Murray (pictured), an early Trump supporter and a big donor to his campaign, was

instrumental in setting his energy agenda and has hosted multiple fundraisers for him.

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment. The administration has considered other proposals to aid coal plants since, including one that would’ve had the Energy Department use its emergency authority to order grid operators to buy power from coal gener-ators. But US Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in June that there had been no movement on a plan.

The company’s 2024 notes with about $500m outstanding traded at 1 cent on the dollar last month, down from above 60 cents late last year, according to Trace price data.

On Tuesday, US coal miner Foresight Energy failed to make its own interest payment, invoking a 30-day grace period to evaluate options. The shares slid 26 percent on the news to a record low. Murray and

Foresight are inextricably linked: Murray bought a controlling stake in the St. Louis, Missouri-based company that hasn’t posted an annual profit since 2014.

While America’s biggest pub-licly traded coal miners, including Peabody Energy, filed for bankruptcy in recent years, Murray chose to avoid that route. It has left the company at a potential disadvantage as it wrestles with how to manage its debt as opposed to investing money in its business, according

to credit raters.Murray’s forbearance agree-

ments are with lenders holding more than 50 percent of Mur-ray’s loans under a credit and guaranty agreement and those holding more than half of loans under ABL and FILO credit facil-ities, according to the company’s statement.

Murray’s efforts to improve its liquidity will prove chal-lenging as it runs up against a heavy debt load and an industry in secular decline, according to Moody’s Investors Service. US power plants are turning away from coal and toward cleaner and cheaper alternatives and export markets are also under pressure, Moody’s said.

The company has tried to ease the strain before through deals with creditors, including a 2018 debt swap that gave holders 74 cents on the dollar and extended the due date by a year on some term loans. Moody’s labeled that agreement a default.

US jobless claims edge up amid GM strike, factory malaiseBLOOMBERG WASHINGTON

Filings for US unemployment benefits rose to a four-week high, another sign of potential labor-market weakness ahead of Friday’s monthly jobs report, though part of the increase may reflect effects from a strike by General Motors workers.

Jobless claims rose by 4,000 to 219,000 in the week ended September 28, according to Labor Department figures released yesterday that exceeded

the estimate in Bloomberg’s survey of economists. The four-week average, a less-volatile

measure, held at the lowest in about two months while con-tinuing claims fell to the lowest in almost a year.

The third-straight rise in claims shows that a slowdown in manufacturing amid lower global demand and investment may be spreading into the labor market. At the same time, claims remain at tight enough levels to indicate still-solid employment, and the strike by GM workers may have played a role. The GM strike, which began September 15, may have pushed up the

number of people seeking ben-efits. Striking workers are gen-erally not entitled to receive unemployment benefits, but still may file to receive them.

Related industries and firms may have also felt the impact with about 46,000 union employees on strike across several states.State data support the idea that the strike is boosting filings. Ohio saw the largest increase in claims last week, with 2,179. In the prior week, the biggest rise was in Michigan, where claims climbed by 4,258

to 7,831 on manufacturing industry layoffs. The Labor Department’s September jobs report due Friday is forecast to show hiring rose in the month, though overall continues to trend down amid slower global demand.

“As the strike drags into a third week, claims will continue to rise. While nearly 50,000 striking workers are generally not entitled to collect unem-ployment, tangentially related workers can receive them. Underlying labor market

conditions are tight, but the impact of the strike will tempo-rarily inflate the levels,” said Bloomberg Economic Analyst Eliza Winger (pictured).

Continuing claims, reported with a one-week lag, fell 5,000 to 1.65 million in the week ended September 21, the lowest level in nearly a year.The unem-ployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 1.1 percent. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast that claims would rise slightly to 215,000.

Northern Ireland business leaders slam Johnson’s Brexit planAFP LONDON

Northern Ireland’s business leaders yesterday lashed out at British Prime Minister Boris John-son’s new Brexit plan as costly and unworkable.

Johnson’s strategy would tackle the Irish border issue by taking Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, out of the European Union’s customs union but keeping it aligned with EU member Ireland’s rules and reg-ulations for goods.

“The Prime Minister’s long awaited proposal is hugely dis-appointing,” said Aodhán Con-nolly, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium industry body.

“It is clear that he has not lis-tened to the needs of the Northern Ireland business com-munity or Northern Ireland households.” The plan would effectively create two temporary economic borders, including one in the Irish Sea between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland.

The proposal would create an “all-island regulatory zone” on the island of Ireland covering all goods including agrifood.

This means Northern Ireland sticking with EU goods regula-tions to ensure they are the same on both sides of the border.

The move aims to eliminate all regulatory checks to trade in

goods across the border.Yet Connolly labelled them

unworkable and costly for companies.

“This will lead to complexity, delays, tariffs, VAT and cost rises that will make NI goods less com-petitive and squeeze our household budgets,” he added.

“The measures are predi-cated on intrusive surveillance which will put a burden on business and be disruptive for border communities.

“In short, these proposals are unworkable and unpalatable,” Connolly added.

Ian Wright, chief executive of the Food and Drinks Feder-ation industry organisation, also slammed the plan for shifting the costs onto businesses.

“Unfortunately these pro-posals don’t work for shoppers and consumers,” Wright said.

“That’s because they ask food and drink businesses operating in Northern Ireland to pay, through new bureaucracy and costs, for the government’s ina-bility to agree a comprehensive exit deal.” The Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, whose membership consists of some 1,200 companies, was also critical.

“Businesses are telling us that the potential increased costs will seriously damage business supply lines and indeed business survival,” the organisation said in a tweet.

More Omani products to make inroads in Qatar: EnvoyTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Products by 30 top Omani busi-nesses are on display at an exhi-bition which opened yesterday at the Mall of Qatar. It will remain open to the public until Sunday.

Organised by Ithraa, Oman’s inward investment and export development agency, in part-nership with the Sultanate’s Public Authority for Small & Medium Sized Enterprises, Riyada and Oman’s Embassy in Qatar, the four-day show was designed to introduce Omani SMEs working in the crafts, fashion and food sector to the lucrative Qatari market. The exhibit also aims to boost the Sultanate’s exports of jewelry, food, cosmet ics and fragrances.

Maymuna Al Adawi, Ithraa’s Director of Export Facilitation, said: “Oman’s growing craft, fashion and food industry is dominated by SMEs. And given the underlying skill and talent in our creative industries and their growing international repu-tation, we are confident the Mall

of Qatar show will prove popular with our Qatari hosts. We ran the same show last year in Doha and that proved to be highly suc-cessful, with participating firms winning a sizeable amount of business.”

Held under the patronage of Qatar Chamber’s First Vice-Chairman Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Towar Al Kuwari, the response to participate in the four-day show from Oman’s cre-ative industries sector has been highly favourable.

“Market research suggests that there are clear opportunities for Omani craft, fashion and food businesses to break into Qatar’s sophisticated and lucrative market” remarked Oman’s Ambassador to Qatar Najeeb bin Yahya Al Balushi.

He added: “GCC consumers understand the importance of

provenance and are searching for authentic products, whether that is with food or in the per-sonal care product space.”

Khaled Sam Hosn, CEO of Mall of Qatar, added: “We’re delighted to be hosting the Omani SME show, it’ll give our savvy Qatari shoppers the opportunity to discover the wonders of Omani crafts-manship, fashion and food. I’m sure the participating Omani businesses will make quite an impression.”

Founded in 1996, Ithraa is a government-run, ISO and Investor in People certified inward investment and export promotion agency. The organi-sation provides a range of support services and information to help domestic and interna-tional investors set up in, and export from, Oman.

Top diplomats and senior officials from Qatar Chamber are posing for a group photo with Omani officials along with the representatives of Omani creative Small and Mid-sized enterprises at the Mall of Qatar, yestrday. The Omani firms are shocasing thier products at the mall, which will remain open for the visitors until Sunday.

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19FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019 BUSINESS

Starbucks pays farmers $20m more as coffee crisis deepensBLOOMBERG CHICAGO

Starbucks is giving farmers a cushion against the blow of tum-bling coffee prices, a move that could also protect supplies of the high-quality beans the company needs.

The world’s largest coffee chain operator paid over 8,000 farmers in Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala a premium totaling $20m, according to Michelle Burns, (pic-tured)senior vice-president of global coffee and tea at Starbucks. That’s on top of the regular amounts it pays over futures prices for specialty arabica beans, she said.

With prices falling below pro-duction costs in many countries, shielding those who produce the beans the company purchases is especially important for Star-bucks. Growers from Colombia to Mexico are struggling to compete with ever-rising output from top producer Brazil, where a weaker currency has meant many farmers

there are still making money.“When we looked at what the

cost of production was across the range of countries, it was clear that the Latin American countries had a serious situation in hand,” Burns said in an interview. “When a premium specialty arabica coffee of the highest quality, the arena that we play in, has been impacted, with historically low coffee prices at around $1, there are many countries where that’s not sustainable living.”

As Brazilian output kept expanding, futures fell this year to their lowest in more than a decade on the ICE Futures US exchange and are hovering around $1 a pound. The cost of production in Central America is at least 30 percent higher than in Brazil, according to Carlos Mera, an analyst at Rabobank Interna-tional, a lender to the agriculture industry.

The global coffee crisis has already brought producers together, with countries calling on roasters to pay a fair prices. Colombia even considered

dissociating its coffee sales from futures traded in New York. Prices are unlikely to significantly recover without intervention given the potential for increased low-cost production in Brazil, Jeffrey Sachs, professor of eco-nomics at Columbia University, said in a report this month.

With a global oversupply hanging over the market, Star-bucks said it remains committed to taking further action for the 2019-20 season that started Oct. 1. The company also helps farmers through its nine support centers and a plan to give out 100 million trees by 2025 so growers can replace their aging and diseased plants. So far, almost 32 million trees have been distributed.

“The desire would be that the market has some correction. That would be the ideal state,” Burns said. “If the coffee crisis on pricing continues, we will look at both what we do on the financial side as well as our continued work with what we do with trees.”

Even when the company doesn’t buy directly from farmers,

it asks traders to disclose how much the grower was paid. That helps it determine whether addi-tional payments are needed. Star-bucks wants to ensure that farmers cover their costs and make at least a small profit, according to Burns. The firm’s purchases account for 3 percent of global coffee production and 40 percent of high-quality spe-cialty arabica beans.

The coffee industry has seen significant consolidation with closely held investment firm JAB Holding spending more than $30bn buying companies including Peet’s Coffee, Keurig Green Mountain and Caribou Coffee. Nestle and Italy’s Lavazza have also jumped on the band-wagon. With increased compe-tition, industry executives say there’s been a focus on cutting costs and buying cheaper beans.

‘Invest in Qatar’ attracts huge response from foreign investorsCONTINUE FROM P-17

During the seminar, officials shed light on the new non-Qatari capital investment law. MoCI’s Director of Legal Affairs Department Hilal Mohammed Al Khulaifi, highlighted the investment advantages and incen-tives granted by the new law to non-Qatari investors, and the recent launch of the Investment Promotion Agency in Qatar.

He added that Qatari legis-lators are currently working on issuing a new law to regulate public-private partnerships in the

country, while a new bankruptcy law is expected to be issued to support businesses in distress and offer them the opportunity to restructure.

Dr Imad Nasr Oraibi, legal expert from MoCI, spoke about the most important features of the new law. He reiterated that the law opens the way for foreign investors to own 100 percent ownership in all sectors, as well as support for investors’ entry into the Qatari market. The law also offers investment incentives including allocation of land to

non-Qatari investors to establish investment through the use or rent, exemption from income tax and customs duties, in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations.

Other speakers during the event were Dr Zaine Al Abidine Sharar from the Qatar Interna-tional Court, who discussed the role of foreign investment courts in supporting the country’s investment climate, and Sheikh Dr Thani bin Ali Al Thani, member of the Board of Directors at the Qatar International Centre

for Conciliation and Arbitration, who discussed the different means for resolving investment disputes.

The seminar was also attended by other officials from the MoCI, Qatar Financial Centre, Qatar Chamber, the Investment Promotion Agency, Qatar Free Zones Authority, as well as a group of specialists, experts, judges, lawyers, academics and students from the College of Law at Qatar University, along with members of the business sector in Qatar.

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The film follows an Indian soldier who is assigned to eliminate his former mentor, who had gone rogue.

Note: Programme is subject to change without prior notice.

WAR

War (2D/Hindi) 2:15, 8:30 & 11:15pmAbominable (2D/Animation) 5:00pmSye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2D/Telugu) 2:00, 8:00 & 11:00pm; Asuran (2D/Tamil) 4:30 & 11:30pmSye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2D/Hindi) 5:00pm Ganagandharvan (2D/Malayalam) 2:00pmJoker (2D/Crime) 7:00 & 9:15pmA Shaun The Sheep Movie: Faramageddon (2D/Animation) 6:45pm

Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2D/Telugu) 12:00, 3:00 & 9:00pmWar (2D/Hindi) 11:30am, 2:30, 5:30, 8:30 & 11:30pmJoker (2D/Crime) 11:00am, 1:30, 4:00, 6:30, 9:00 & 11:30pmAsuaran (2D/Tamil) 6:00 & 12:00pm

LANDMARK

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War (2D/Hindi) 12:30, 3:15, 6:00, 6:30, 9:00, 9:15, 11:45pm & 2:45pmSye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2D/Telugu) 12:30, 3:45, & 10:15pmSye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2D/Tamil) 12:30pm & 12:00 midnight.Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2D/Hindi) 3:45 & 7:00pmAsuaran (2D/Tamil) 12:30, 3:15, 6:00, 8:45, 11:30pm, 1:30am & 2:15am

ASIAN TOWN

ROXY

FLIK Mirqab Mall

Abominable (2D/Animation) 10:30am, 12:30, 2:30, 4:40, 6:50 &

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Ad Astra (2D/Adventure) 4:00pm

Ganagandharvan (2D/Malayalam) 10:30am, 1:20, 4:10, 7:00 &

10:00pm

Little Monsters (2D/Comedy) 11:00am & 11:00pm

Namma Veettu Pillai (2D/Tamil) 10:30am, 1:40, 4:50, 8:00 &

11:00pm

Rambo: Last Blood (2D/Action) 3:30, 8:00 & 10:30pm

The Informer (2D/Crime) 11:00am, 1:00, 1:30, 5:30, 7:15 & 10:00pm

A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Faramageddon (2D/Ani-mation) 10:15am, 12:00 & 1:45pmAbominable (2D/Animation) 10:30am, 1:35am, 12:30, 2:30, 3:35 4:30, 6:30 & 8:00pm; Ad Astra (2D/Adventure) 11:25, 1:50, 3:30, 4:15, 9:55pm & 0:20am; Avengement (2D/Action) 11:55pmJoker (2D/Crime) 10:45am, 11:45am, 1:15, 2:10, 3:45, 4:35, 5:35, 6:10, 7:00, 9:25, 10:00, 11:50pm & 0:25am.Rambo: Last Blood (2D/Action) 10:15, 12:20, 1:35, 2:20, 4:20, 6:20 & 8:20pm; Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2D/Hindi) 8:10pm; (2D/Tamil) 6:40, 8:35 & 11:05The Informer (2D/Crime) 11:10am, 1:25, 3:40, 5:55 & 11:25pmWar (2D/Hindi) 6:00, 9:00, 10:20pm & 0:00 midnight.

Asuran (2D/Tamil) 2:30pm; A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Faramageddon (2D/Animation) 5:15pm; War (2D/Hindi) 2:15, 5:30, 8:30 & 11:15pm;Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2D/Telugu) 2:30 & 8:00pm; Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2D/Hindi) 11:00pm Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2D/Tamil) 5:00pmJoker (2D/Crime) 7:00, 9:15 & 11:30pm

ROYAL PLAZA

Asuran (2D/Tamil) 2:00pmWar (2D/Hindi) 2:15, 5:00, 6:00, 8;45 & 11:30pmA Shaun The Sheep Movie: Faramageddon (2D/Animation) 4:30pmSye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2D/Telugu) 2:00 & 8:00pm; Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2D/Hindi) 5:00pm Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2D/Tamil) 2:00 & 11:00pmJoker (2D/Crime) 7:45 & 11:30pmAvengement (2D/Action) 10:00pm

MALL

20 FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2019MORNING BREAK

WEATHER TODAY

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

Minimum Maximum31oC 40oC

HIGH TIDE 09:02 – 19:26 LOW TIDE 02:43 – 16:08

Misty at places at first becomes hot

daytime with slight dust at times, humid

by night.

FAJRSHOROOK

04. 11 AM05. 27 AM

11. 23 AM02.46 PM

05. 20 PM06. 50 PM

ZUHRASR

MAGHRIBISHA

PRAYER TIMINGS

Qatari writer Maryam’s second book to hit shelves soon

THE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatari writer Maryam Al Mansoori, one of the top management consultants in the country, who is presently working as the Chief Support Officer at Barzan Holdings, is set to publish her second book, titled ‘Flight 101”.

Maryam, who held senior management positions in some

of the major organisations across different industries in Qatar, had penned her first book titled ‘The Fourth Floor’ which was pub-lished in 2017.

While her first book dealt mainly with human resources and the corporate culture in Qatar, she has touched upon a variety of subjects in her new book which will be published soon.

“I wanted to write about

issues faced by people in their daily lives. I’ve dwelled upon nearly 30 subjects, each of them presenting ideas, answers and solutions to issues related to eve-ryone’s daily life, regardless of social, educational, cultural, eco-nomic or professional back-ground,” said Maryam.

“For me, the best time for reflection is while I’m traveling. It’s often on long-haul flights that I get uninterrupted time, say about 7 to 10 hours continuously, to think about life and its chal-lenges. I get time to connect the dots and evaluate my life’s journey. It was during one such flight that I got the idea for this book,” she added.

The book, in Arabic and English, is being published by Qatar’s leading publishers Lusail Publishing House.

Khaled Mubarak Al Dulaimi, Managing Director, Lusail Pub-lishing House, said this book dealt with self-development and believed it would make a good read.

“I’m sure this book will inspire the readers and boost their confidence to perform well in their lives. It provides answers to life’s many questions all around us,” said Khaled.

Writer Maryam Al Mansoori with Khaled Mubarak Al Dulaimi, Managing Director, Lusail Publishing House, after signing the agreement to publish her book.

Art knows no boundaries, says Italian artist in solo showRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

Through her 40 mixed media artworks on canvas and porcelain, Doha-based Italian artist Caterina Varchetta succeeds in putting her message across, that art knows no borders and that it promotes dialogue between cultures.

Varchetta’s latest works are on show at her solo exhi-bition dubbed “No boundaries” which opened on Wednesday at Katara Cultural Village and is officially part of the initiative supported by the Italian Min-istry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to promote Italian contemporary art abroad.

“ ‘ N o b o u n d a r i e s ’ embodies at best the close relations between our Coun-tries, that are always eager to reach higher levels of coop-eration, including in the field of culture, where new creative codes of artistic expressions are emerging also thanks to these growing contacts,” said Pasquale Salzano, Ambas-sador of Italy to Qatar at the exhibition launch.

As most of the works were produced during her stay in Qatar, they depict an amalgam of nuances of Italian

and Qatari elements from mediums and colours to shapes and textures. Her output in Doha showcases her use of the red color, bursting into her works as a new, dom-inant force.

Another constant feature in the works deeply asso-ciated with Qatar is the presence of gold — gold as the sun shining in the Country, a source of energy and crea-tivity, but also a gateway to a deeper spiritual essence that goes beyond its connotation as a luxury item. In some of the works, she uses broken nets as a tangible expression of an inner liberation — the quest to reject enforced boundaries and go beyond imposed labels.

“Exposed to local influ-ences and inspired by the landscapes of Qatar, Caterina applies to canvas and

porcelains a very personal artistic language, mixing Italian traditions and Qatari symbols. As a consequence, her artworks engage without limits and restrictions in an open dialogue between two cultures,” said Salzano.

Highlighting the core message of the exhibition which is art without borders,

the Ambassador said: “Art goes beyond any barriers and rejects labels, constrictions and divisions. This is exactly the approach that Italy and Qatar share towards art and culture, which need to remain free and inclusive.”

The exhibition launch wit-nessed the presence of Katara General Manager Dr. Khalid

bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti and a large number of attendees comprising representatives of the diplomatic community, dignitaries, members of the Italian community and Doha’s art community.

“No boundaries” is open to the public at Katara Building 22 Gallery 2 until October 13.

FROM LEFT: Doha-based Italian artist Caterina Varchetta; Katara General Manager, Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti; and Italian Ambassador to Qatar, Pasquale Salzano at the opening of “No boundaries” exhibition at Katara Cultural Village on Wednesday.

Fans flock to IAAF Worlds DohaBritish fans cheering their national athletes during the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 at the Khalifa International Stadium, yesterday. PIC: ABDUL BASIT/THE PENINSULA

Italian astronaut to watch rugby match at Space StationAFP TOKYO

The Rugby World Cup will have its first extra-terrestrial broadcast when South Africa’s game against Italy is beamed to the International Space Station — 408km (253 miles) above Japan, organisers said yesterday.

Governing body World Rugby is pro-viding a special feed of today’s game for Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano, a big rugby fan who this week took charge of the space station.

“Rugby is a fantastic game that cele-brates friendship and teamwork,” the European Space Agency astronaut said in a statement.

“Just like you have to work together to achieve a try, we on board the Interna-tional Space Station have to collaborate with a team of astronauts and ground per-sonnel from all over the world in order to achieve our objective, our ‘try’, which is space exploration, technology and science.”

The match is vital for both sides, with Italy top of Pool B and South Africa unable to afford any slip-ups if they want to reach the quarter-finals. “It is an incredible feeling to know that the Test match on Friday will reach the space station — rugby and Rugby World Cup truly are without borders,” said Italy captain Sergio Parisse.

Nobel buzz for Greta and literature duoAFP STOCKHOLM

Experts are cautious, but bookies are tipping teenage climate campaigner Greta Thunberg for the Nobel Peace Prize next week, while two literature laureates will be crowned after last year’s award was postponed over a sex harassment scandal.

Odds from bookmakers such as Ladbrokes indicate the 16-year-old activist is the one to beat for the Nobel Peace Prize after she launched a school strike that inspired millions to join her “Fridays for Future” movement.

However any prediction carries a great deal of uncer-tainty, since the list of candidates considered by the Nobel Committee isn’t made public, and experts are still divided over whether there is a direct link between climate and violent conflicts.

A day before the Peace Prize announcement on October 11 in Oslo, the Swedish Academy, which awards the Literature Prize, will reveal its choices in Stockholm.

The literary body is at pains to restore its honour after a scandal exposed members’ scheming, conflicts of interest, and a culture of silence and harassment.

Long held up as Sweden’s bearers of culture, Academy members traded barbs in the media and seven of the 18 members resigned. For the first time in 70 years, the 2018 prize was postponed, as the institution found itself without a quorum to make key decisions.

This year, there will be one Literature Prize announced for 2018 and one for 2019, each accompanied by a gold medal and nine million kronor (¤830,000).

Each year since the prizes were first awarded in 1901, literary circles are abuzz with speculation.

Among those mentioned are Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk, Kenyan author Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Albania’s Ismail Kadare, US novelist Joyce Carol Oates and Haruki Murakami of Japan.

Italy to probe Netflix for not filing tax returnBLOOMBERG MILAN

Italian prosecutors are investigating Netflix Inc. after the US streaming company failed to file a tax return, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Milan tribunal opened the probe as the prosecutors believe Netflix has enough of a physical presence in Italy — including fiber optic cables and servers — to qualify as a local business that should be paying taxes, said the people, who asked not to be named as the investigation is not public.

Italy has been cracking down on multinational businesses to ensure they pay their fair share of tax. Gucci owner Kering SA agreed to pay ¤1.25bn ($1.37bn) in May to settle an investigation of the brand’s tax payments from 2011 to 2017. That case has been broadened to focus to individual man-agers’ pay.

Authorities are also targeting other global com-panies. Mastercard Inc. said on Wednesday it is complying with a mandatory tax audit in Italy after reports of raids in its offices by the Italian financial police. The Netflix tax probe was first reported by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

“Netflix is closely working with Italian tax authorities, we pay all the taxes due in Italy and other countries,” the company said in a statement.

Doha-based Italian artist Caterina Varchetta’s latest works are on show at her solo exhibition dubbed “No boundaries” at Katara Cultural Village.