Withdrawal of siege countries’ products from local … · of Qatar and make it a dependent ......

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Volume 23 | Number 7540 | 2 RiyalsMonday 28 May 2018 | 12 Ramadan I 1439 www.thepeninsula.qa

Dr. Khalid Al-ShafiEditor-in-Chief

OPINION

Holy Ramadan and siege

I think it has become clear to eve-ryone especially for the Gulf society and generally for the

international community that what happened at the QNA hacking night was nothing but personal and indi-vidual interests to control the State of Qatar and make it a dependent state having no say or sovereignty or orientation.

What the blockade countries have done during the Holy month of Ramadan is an unjust siege on the sisterly country Qatar, which is known for its decisive positions on a number of issues that concern the entire region, and I am not here to count Qatar’s stances on issues of Yemen, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Iraq and Somalia rather we will leave history to reflect and reality to witness those positions that will not be forgotten by the Arab and Islamic and whole free world.

Competition for the leadership of the region may not be the sole motive behind attempts to harm the State of Qatar, which has always endeavored to cooperate and show solidarity with the Gulf system but this system has proved its failure and leanness to countries within the GCC organization, as it has been unable to find a solution to the siege imposed on Qatar during the Holy month of Ramadan.

The General Secretariat of the GCC has not moved since the beginning of the crisis, as if the crisis is in the Arctic in the north. Unfortunately the General Secre-tariat kept silent and did not move to find solutions to restore rela-tions between the member coun-tries. When the Secretary General spoke after six months of the blockade, he blamed Qatari media showing his full prejudice against Qatar.

It was better for the blockading states to look at the future of the Gulf region and the real danger it faces and the repercussions of the internal conflicts in the surrounding coun-tries on its security instead of trying to limit the role of Qatar, which has always been in favor of the Gulf system and always enhanced its presence and role for it.

The blessed month of Ramadan, a month of mercy and social solidarity, that keeps relatives in close touch, did not discourage the countries of the blockade from imposing the unjust siege or moving towards things worse than that.

→CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

RAMADAN TIMINGTodays Iftar: 6:21 pm

Tomorrow’s Imsak: 03:07 am

→PAGE 18 →PAGE 19 →PAGE 19

Withdrawal of siege countries’ products from local market hailedTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Government Communication Office (GCO) has said in a statement that products originating from the blockading states, which as a result of the blockade cannot pass the GCC Customs Territory, has to undergo proper import inspections and customs procedures. Qatar Chamber has commended the decision of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce to oblige all sales outlets and consumer complexes to remove all goods imported from the siege countries.

The Government Communication Office stressed that Qatar conducts its trade policy in accordance with all of its multilateral and bilateral agreements, reported QNA. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Eygpt, on June 5, 2017, had unexpectedly announced that they would close its land and sea borders, as well as its airports, territory and airspace, to goods destined for Qatar. These measures impacted all goods passing across (or that could pass across), the Government

Communication Office said in a statement. It added that they further sub-sequently adopted a series of ancillary restrictions and arbitrary exceptions.

To protect the safety of consumers in the State of Qatar and to combat improper trafficking of goods, the Gov-ernment has issued a directive to find new suppliers of the variety of goods impacted, the statement noted.

Chairman of Qatar Chamber (QC) Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani has commended the decision of the Ministry of Economy and Com-merce to oblige all sales outlets and

consumer complexes operating in the country to remove all goods imported from the siege countries: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.

Sheikh Khalifa said in a statement yes-terday, that this decision came in line with the demands made by QC on boycotting the goods and products of the siege coun-tries, in conjunction with the launch of the slogan “Qatar Above the Siege”, where it urged Qatari businessmen to stop the import of goods and products from the siege countries, as a reciprocity.

He pointed out that the countries that closed their land, sea and air ports with the State of Qatar in an unjust siege aimed at undermining the sovereignty of the country and the independence of its decision failed to achieve its objectives, thanks to the wisdom and vigilance of the political lead-ership and its ability to manage the crisis with great tact and diplomacy and the cohesion of Qatar’s people and residents around the leadership.


Amir heads to Kuwait todayDOHA: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will head to the sisterly State of Kuwait today for a visit to meet the Amir of Kuwait H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah.

Amir condoles with Amir of KuwaitDOHA: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent a cable of condolences to the Amir of the State of Kuwait H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah on the death of Sheikha Manal Youssef Al Athbi Al Sabah.

Deputy Amir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani also sent similar cables to Kuwaiti Amir.

Qatar Chamber has commended the decision of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce to oblige all sales outlets and consumer complexes to remove all goods imported from the siege countries.

Iftar cannon reverberates through the agesSIDI MOHAMED THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Among the beautiful annual traditional practices of Ramadan which still attract people is Iftar cannon. Firing of sound shells from the cannon is one of the old custom of Doha since the seventies to inform people about Iftar time.

There are four cannons installed at places including Souq Waqif, Katara, Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab Grand Mosque and Souq Waqif Al Wakrah.

Traditionally, cannons were fired to announce ending of Suhoor and breaking of the fast long before

loudspeakers and other digital gadgets were invented to do the same duty.

Daily, a number of parents accompany their children to watch the breakfast cannon closely, and they also take souvenir photos with Ramadan cannons, as one of the most important aspects of the heritage associated with the Holy month of Ramadan.

The story of Ramadan cannon in Qatar is very old dating back to the establishment of the state of Qatar and despite the development that the Qatar is witnessing in all fields but it has kept this tradition alive.


Qatar’s trade surplus in April at QR14.7bnTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Despite the ongoing siege against Qatar, country’s trade surplus witnessed a sharp jump in April 2018 year-on-year, mainly as a result of increase in exports with the significant rebound in energy prices.

The foreign merchandise trade balance, which repre-sents the difference between total exports and imports, showed a surplus of QR14.7bn, up by QR4.9bn, or 49.3 percent, compared to April 2017.

When compared on monthly basis, the trade balance increased by nearly QR1.4bn, or 10.7 percent, against the previous month (March 2018), preliminary figures released by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) show.

In April 2018, the total exports of goods (including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports) amounted to around QR24bn, showing an increase of 27.3 percent compared to April 2017, and increased by 0.5 percent compared to March 2018.

On other hand, the imports of goods in April 2018 amounted to around QR9.2bn, registering an increase of 3.1 percent over April 2017. However, on a month-on-month (M-o-M) basis the imports decreased by 12.5 percent.


DOHA: The smoking cessation clinics across health centres of the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) have recorded a considerable rate of patients quitting smoking in 2017.

A total of 1584 patients were registered at smoking cessation clinics and an average of 13.1 percent has been able to quite the habit.

→SEE ALSO PAGE 2

People taking pictures of cannon firing.

QR14.7bn Qatar’s trade surplus in April 2018

49.3% QR24bn

QR9.2bn

Increase in trade surpluscompared to April 2017 Total exports of goods

from Qatar in April 2018

Total imports of goods into Qatar in April 2018

Increase in total exports from Qatar was mainly due to higher exports of Petroleum gases and other gaseoushydrocarbons

Cessation clinics see more quitting smoking

02 MONDAY 28 MAY 2018HOME

Cessation clinics see more quitting smokingFAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The smoking cessation clinics across health centres of the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) have recorded a considerable number of patients quitting smoking in 2017.

A total of 1,584 patients were registered at smoking cessation clinics and an average of 13.1 percent has been able to quite the habit.

Smoking cessation clinics are available at several health centres and provide with support and treatment for those wanting to stop smoking. The success rate seen at smoking cessation clinics is considerable and indication of people’s willingness to adopt a healthy lifestyle, says Dr Abdul Hameed Ahmed ALkenji (pictured), Community Med-icine Consultant at the PHCC.

“We have seen a significant success rate for smoker ces-sation at our clinics. It’s a result of our approach to patients,

their readiness to quit smoking and adopt a healthy lifestyle,” Dr ALkenji told The Peninsula.

“Patients attending the clinics receive one-on-one counselling and appropriate nicotine replacement or phar-maceutical support. If they complete four months at the clinics and this time it the course of medical treatment for the smoker then con-sidered as succeeded in quit smoking,” he said.

However, the number of patients registered to quit smoking and the success rate has varied throughout 2017. In the first quarter of the year

a total of 399 patients were registered and 15.3 quit smoking, in the second quarter the total number increased to 423 and the success rate was 14.2 percent, in the third quarter of the year 329 patients registered for and 10.9 percent of them were able to quit smoking, while in the fourth quarter 433 patients were registered and 11.8 percent of them quit smoking.

Tobacco cessation signif-icantly reduces the risk of developing tobacco-prone

diseases such as coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer.

Patients at smoking ces-sation clinics at PHCC undergo a full assessment, including a complete medical history and related evaluations, such as Nicotine dependency test, lung function tests. As part of the assessment, clinicians talk to patients about available treatment options, which include the most modern and effective solutions to quit smoking. Patients between the age of 18 and 60 and above are seen at smoking cessation clinics. They include male and female patients.

Medications such as Varenicline and Bupropion as well as nicotine replacement therapies such as gums, patches or lozenges are pre-scribed for some patients, par-ticularly those who are con-sidered heavy smokers with severe addictions. Any patient who is prescribed medication is closely monitored and the

drug therapy is always pre-scribed as a short-term solution. Psychological support is also a core part of treatment.

“Varenicline is a new medicine we prescribe for patients at the clinic. It decreases the urge to smoke and reduces withdrawal symptoms and is therefore considered a first-line medi-cation for smoking cessation for people without any Medical problems like heart diseases and mental problems and pregnant women ,” said Dr Alkenji. He also said that some patients experience short term side effects including weight gain, change in mood and headaches, which can be controlled.

PHCC introduced its first smoking cessation clinics at the Gharafa Health Centre in 2011 and now the service. Now it has been expanded to several health centers including to those in Mesaimeer, Al Daayen, Leabaib, Al Khor and Muither.

Zakat Fund provides QR7.5m for ‘Basket of Goodness’ Ramadan projectDOHA: The total cost of the “Basket of Goodness” project, which Zakat Fund is implementing in Ramadan, amounted to more than QR 7.5m and benefited 2,781 eligible families. In a statement, the fund said that the annual project was executed ahead of Ramadan in order to help eligible families secure their needs early.

Through the project, the statement added, Zakat Fund deposits financial sums in the bank accounts of beneficiaries of

monthly aid so as to help them in buying their basic needs for Ramadan.

This mechanism in deciding the aids is flexible in implementation, copes with the social development and does not contradict with the religious rules of zakat, the statement added.

Basket of Goodness is one of the sea-sonal projects of Zakat Fund and adds to other projects related to the aid the fund pro-vides around the year.

Dr. Khalid Al-ShafiEditor-in-Chief

OPINION

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

However, all these plans failed thanks to Allah and then to our wise leadership and the awareness of the Qatari people. This siege, has cut off all inter family ties of the Gulf society and insulted the sanc-tities and showed disrespect to all norms and attributed to Qatar all the world’s issues and problems.

In this regard, I can say what kind of neighbours they are? Neighbours who do not respect the Holy month of Ramadan and work to draw benefits of sedition, and for those who defame people. Even preachers, for whom we have all respect, have become the part of chorus of loy-alists to the decision-makers.

We have no doubt that these slander campaigns were not made by the people of the siege countries or at their conviction by any means rather it is a work that stands behind it in the form of a small group that reaps many benefits from it. Therefore, they abuse in various ways to obtain the satisfaction of officials con-cerned in the blockading countries.

We do not want to go into what these countries have committed against the State of Qatar because they have used all pos-sible ways to insult Qatar and tarnish its image. Thank to Allah we are in a better position than before, and we are better without them and whoever doubts that Qatar today is better than yesterday let him come to see this great difference. We have relied on ourselves in many things and Doha has become a destination for everyone from around the world. The clock does not turn back and Qatar has set itself on the a path of development and is moving forward towards perfection and success, God willing.

Holy Ramadan and siege

ROLACC in deal with Foundation for Strategic ResearchTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Doha-based Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center (ROLACC) signed a joint decla-ration of intent with Foundation for Strategic Research in France with the aim of developing research programs, joint cooper-ation and training, and exchanging expertise.

Attorney-General and ROLACC Board Chairman, H E Ali bin Fetais Al Marri, signed on behalf of the centre, while the French foundation’s Deputy Director Jean-François Daguzan represented it.

Under the agreement, the two sides will cooperate in areas of common concern such as fighting corruption, conducting research, training in the areas of internet security, especially in combating hate speech in social networks, in addition to research and training on maritime security and com-bating piracy. The agreement also covers the joint organisation of seminars and meetings with the

possibility of including brochures on research work related to the agreement.

Al Marri said that cooper-ation with the French foundation

is not a coincidence, adding that it comes as a result of the strong and deep ties between the State of Qatar and the French Republic, which has a long

history in the area of supporting freedoms, human rights, edu-cation and other issues that promote the fight against corruption.

QU team wins first place in Destination Imagination ChallengesQNA

WASHINGTON: Qatar University (QU) team won first place in scientific and improvi-sational challenges in the Desti-nation Imagination 2018 held in Tennessee after competing against 1,400 teams from 18 countries and 48 US states.

The finals of the scientific challenge, which concluded on Sunday, witnessed a strong com-petition between the State of Qatar, China and US, but the Qatari team was able to win the gold medal. Various Qatari teams participated this year from schools and QU and took part in different challenges under the supervision of AlFaisal Without Borders Foundation.

Chairman of the foundation, HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al-Thani said the foundation seeks to provide leading educational programs to enhance the capa-bilities of the Qatari youth in order for them to contribute to

innovative ideas which will add to the development and pros-perity of the country.

He added that the Qatari teams that participated in the competition, performed well and gained the approval of all par-ticipants in this global event.

The QU team had qualified to the finals after winning the first place in Destination Imagi-nation-Qatar which was organized by the foundation during the second education fes-tival that was held in Doha last March. Destination Imagination-Qatar works on developing skills, capabilities and qualification of students of all age groups. It also aims to inspire students and make them have interest in dif-ferent subjects such as sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics. It also aims to help the students discover their capa-bilities in social communication, critical thinking, scientific research and to develop these areas.

Advisory Council’s Services and Public Utilities Committee meetsDOHA: The Services and Public Utilities Committee of the Advisory Council held a meeting yesterday chaired by its Rapporteur Mohammed bin Mahdi Al Ahbabi. The Committee continued study of the general debate request on the high rent of shops, and decided to submit its recommendations thereon to the Advisory Council. The Committee also discussed a draft law on road transport of hazardous substances, and decided to invite the Minister of Transport and Communications to attend its next meeting.

A total of 1,584 patients were registered at smoking cessation clinics and an average of 13.1 percent has been able to quite the habit.

Mohammed Salim Mohamed (fourth left), Acting Managing Editor, The Peninsula, and Santhosh T V, Regional Head, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, with winners of the Ramadan Quiz contest conducted by The Peninsula and Malabar Gold, during the prize distribution ceremony held at The Peninsula office in Doha yesterday. PIC: SALIM MATRAMKOT/THE PENINSULA

Attorney-General and ROLACC Board Chairman, H E Ali bin Fetais Al Marri, with Foundation for Strategic Research in France Deputy Director, Jean-François Daguzan, during the signing ceremony.

Winners of the Ramadan Quiz contest announced

Siege countries’ products must undergo inspections and customs procedures: GCO

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1Sheikh Khalifa stressed that the Qatari private

sector, with all its categories, will remain sup-porting the wise leadership in all its decisions. He pointed out that the unjust siege brought out the potential of Qatar’s people and residents, calling for continuing the promotion of the national pro-duction, and focusing on the development of national industries, which reduces imports.

He explained that the Qatar Chamber con-tinues to encourage businessmen and investors to move to the industrial sector, and work on the localisation of industries, especially those relying on modern technology, noting that the past period recorded the emergence of many new industries that boosted domestic production in various sectors, in which the country achieved high rates of self-sufficiency during the year of siege.

Commenting on the Ministry of Economy and Commerce decision which has asked shops and commercial complexes operating in the country to remove all goods imported from blockading countries from the shelves with immediate effect Qatari Twitter users have expressed their support

to it. Residents have expressed their happiness on social media about this initiative asking all res-ident to report about any shop violating the MEC decision. “Every resident should be proud of this decision. Today, we are seeing what H H the Amir said that we do not fear the blockade of these countries against us as we are a thousand times better off without them and Qatar will continue the plan of achieving self-sufficiency,” said a twitterati.

Another one added: “It is a good news and will save time of shopping for us because earlier we were checking every food item before buy it.”

“Remove the siege countries commercial goods” remained top trend on the twitter and the people asked how can we receive the goods of the countries which are imposing blockade on us and closing their borders. “One year is enough we should treat them like they are treating us.”

“The positives of the blockade is more than its negatives. It is time for joint effort between the government and private sector to create self-suf-ficiency in all goods and the country is able to do this,” said Khaled bin Ali Al Kuwari in a tweet.

03MONDAY 28 MAY 2018 HOME

US-Qatar Business Council reviews economic, trade & investment ties THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Minister of Economy and Commerce, H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, met yesterday with members of the US-Qatar Business Council to review the latest developments in economic, trade and investment ties between the two countries and means of boosting them.

Held in the presence of US-Qatar Business Council Chairman Ambassador Anne Patterson and a number of board chairpersons of major US firms operating in Qatar, the Minister of Economy and Commerce reviewed during the meeting the latest state measures to stimulate and attract investments such as the law on foreign investment regulation, which was recently approved by the Cabinet and would open the way for foreign investors to own 100 percent in all sectors and support the entry of foreign investors to the Qatari market.

The meeting also touched on the positive outcomes of the first stage of Qatar’s economic roadshow, which had started in

April in the United States. It also discussed preparations for the second stage of the tour, reported QNA. The first stage saw the Min-istry of Economy and Commerce organise four economic forums between Qatar and the United States in Miami, Washington DC, Charleston and Raleigh. It was organised in cooperation with Qatar Chamber, US Chamber of Commerce, Qatari Businessmen Association, US-Qatar Business Council and a number of official entities in the United States.

The economic roadshow in the four US cities featured

economic forums and bilateral meetings between the two coun-tries; bilateral meetings between Qatari businessmen and their US counterparts; exhibitions in con-junction with the economic roadshow initiative; and round-tables in real estate investment, hospitality, tourism, technology, health and medicine, banking, legal practice, public-private partnerships and infrastructure projects.

Qatar and the United States have close economic and trade relations, reflecting positively on the volume of trade exchange between them, which amounted approximately to QR21bn in 2017. At 6 percent, the United States is Qatar’s seventh trade partner. US companies that operate in Qatar and have Qatari partners amounted to 541, while the number of companies with 100 percent US ownership stood at 117. Moreover, there are 20 US companies operating in the oil and gas industry in the State of Qatar, and more than 50 US firms are licensed under the umbrella of Qatar Financial Center.

Minister of Economy and Commerce, H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, during the meeting with members of the US-Qatar Business Council, yesterday.

The Minister of Economy and Commerce reviewed the latest state measures to stimulate and attract investments such as the law on foreign investment regulation, which was recently approved by the Cabinet.


Ooredoo earns Bureau Veritas certifications to drive growthTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Ooredoo, one of the region’s largest ICT providers, announced yesterday that it is driving Qatar’s digital business growth, thanks to the renewal of three world-class certifications from Bureau Veritas, a global leader in testing, inspection, and certification.

In line with supporting Qatar National Vision 2030 goals of ensuring economic growth, security, and organisational digital transformation, Ooredoo has secured internationally-rec-ognised ISO certifications for the Qatar Data Centre including the ISO 27001:2013 certification for Information Security Man-agement Systems, ISO 22301:2012 certification for Business Continuity Management Systems, and ISO 20000-1:2011 certification for Service Man-

agement System.Ooredoo announced the cer-

tifications at an event held with the French-headquartered Bureau Veritas and the French Ambassador to the State of Qatar. French Ambassador to Qatar Eric Chevallier attended the cer-emony during which the Certi-fications were awarded to Ooredoo Chief Operating Officer Yousuf Abdulla Al Kubaisi. Bureau Veritas recognition enhances strong ties between

Qatar and France, with bi-lateral trade of 2.7 billion Euros in 2017, according to the Embassy of France in Qatar.

Yousuf Abdulla Al Kubaisi, COO Ooredoo, said: “Bureau Veritas certification enables our Qatar Data Centre to provide the most advanced and secure tech-nology services to Qatar’s organ-isations. We are exchanging global best practices to ensure our data security, integrity, and compliance meet international

standards. Ooredoo will continue to expand our information man-agement solutions to support Qatar’s digital business growth”.

Vinoth KP, Acting Certifi-cation Manager, Bureau Veritas, said: “In the fast-paced Digital Economy, Qatar’s organisations n e e d t h e l a t e s t

technology solutions to succeed. Our certifications will enable Ooredoo’s business customers to understand their security vul-nerabilities and risks, defend their business and reputation, and build a competitive edge through high-quality process driven technology services.”

Business customers can lev-erage the Ooredoo Advantage, making Ooredoo “Best for Business”, thanks to its breadth and depth of talent, best fixed and mobile networks, broadest portfolio of ICT services and solutions, and trusted partner for 60 years.

Yousuf Abdulla Al Kubaisi (centre), COO, Ooredoo, and French Embassador to Qatar, Eric Chevallier (third right), along with senior officials from Bureau Veritas and Ooredoo.

Doha Festival City holds Ramadan crafts workshop, Garangao NightTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Families were delighted by activities at the Doha Festival City (DHFC) this weekend where they were able to celebrate Ramadan together.

On Friday, the Doha Festival City celebrated the traditional Garangao Night with more than 10,000 sweet-filled goody bags

that were handed over to the visitors during the event.

The children were encouraged to dress up in tra-ditional Qatari outfits to add even more fun to the free-of-charge celebration at the Doha Festival City. Throughout the rest of the weekend, children got the chance to create with many priceless artworks created for

their families. There are many more activ-

ities taking place throughout the holy month of Ramadan, at the Doha Festival City including live cooking stations, storytelling, henna painting, traditional games, interactive photo booth with traditional dresses, and a permanent wall with 99 Names of Allah display.

Children taking part in Garangao Night at Doha Festival City.

MEC recalls Chrysler-300 C and Jeep Grand Cherokee modelsDOHA: The Ministry of Economy and Commerce, in collaboration with United Cars Almana ( After Sales), dealer of Jeep vehicles in Qatar, has announced the recall of Chrysler-300 C models of 2011, 2012 and 2013 and Jeep Grand Cherokee models of 2012, 2013 and 2014 over the possibility of a defect in the generator, which may cause the engine to stop working.

The Ministry said that it will coordinate with the dealer to follow up on the maintenance and repair works and will communicate with cus-tomers to ensure that the necessary repairs are carried out. The Ministry has urged all customers to report any violations to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department, which processes complaints, inquires and suggestions.

QC, Save the Children UK sign MoU for humanitarian workTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Charity and Save the Children UK organisation signed a memorandum of under-standing (MoU) to benefit from the cooperation aspects of their humanitarian functions.

The MoU aims to create stra-tegic cooperation between the two entities in implementing emergency relief projects, to develop mechanisms to operate in the best manner and to create opportunities for cooperation in all stages of planning and imple-mentation. The MoU promotes the implementations of joint activities between both parties in the emergencies, preparedness and quick responses in case of disasters and coordinate field programs regularly.

Qatar Charity CEO Yousef bin Ahmed Al Kuwari and Save the Children UK Partnerships Manager, Richard Young, expressed their delight with the cooperation between both entities. Young said he hoped the MoU has a positive and effective impact on the quality and com-prehensiveness of the services

and projects done by both organ-izations, especially in rapid responses and relief in disasters and emergencies.

For his part, Al Kuwari said Qatar Charity has high hopes in its cooperation with Save the Children with regards to opti-mizing the services provided in emergencies, especially those related to protecting children and providing them with the appro-priate help in places affected by disasters and conflicts, con-firming Qatar Charity’s com-mitment to international standards. He added that Qatar Charity operates through 28 field offices to enable societies to maintain their dignity achieving social justice through educating the children, cultural devel-opment, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, economic empowerment, social welfare, disaster preparedness and response and housing. Save the Children UK is an international non-governmental organisation that focuses on ensuring each child’s right to survival, education and protection and has nearly 100 years of experience.

Qatar Academy Doha celebrates graduation of Class of 2018THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Academy Doha (QAD), a member of Qatar Foun-dation (QF), celebrated the grad-uation of its Class of 2018 at a ceremony at the Qatar National Convention Center on May 24.

The evening saw the gradu-ation of 89 boys and girls, 40 of whom are Qatari. The students join more than 953 graduates from QAD, which was estab-lished in 1996.

The event was attended by a number of VIP guests, public figures, QF department heads (including Pre-University Edu-cation), as well as Qatar Academy Doha board members, school administrators, faculty, and parents.

Don Macintyre, Qatar Academy Doha Director, addressed the graduates in the welcoming note: “We come together on this special occasion to honor the hard work and ded-ication that has resulted in another 100 percent graduation rate for our senior class.”

He called upon students to make the most of this moment: “We often speak about what the future holds and how high school graduation is the beginning of your crossing to adulthood and future success. This can sometimes mean that

we forget to properly acknowledge the journey you have taken to get to this point, I would suggest that you think carefully about all the people and places that have contributed to your achievement,” he added.

QA alumna Najwa Al Thani, who graduated in 2011, returned as this year’s guest speaker and reflected on her journey: “I’m here to tell you that you were in the real world, but now you will receive your first accreditation

of that fact. You still have a long way to go.” She also encouraged the graduates to insist on achieving their goals: “I ask you all that to honour everyone who has supported you and helped you to get here today, you must commit fully in everything you do. Follow your dreams and pas-sions, and don’t quit until you have achieved greatness and maybe not even then. Also, have the courage to take risks, to dream big.”

The audience also enjoyed a musical collaboration between QAD and Qatar Music Academy. During an emotional speech, this year’s valedictorian, Tanya Shibo, said: “More times than one we have felt drained and done, but even more times than that we’ve smiled at our suc-cesses. Our high school expe-rience was defined by change, and we are not the same people we were four years ago. We’re older. We’re stronger.”

Qatar Academy Doha celebrating the graduation of its Class of 2018 at a ceremony at the Qatar National Convention Center.

Ooredoo has secured internationally-recognised ISO certifications for the Qatar Data Centre including the ISO 27001:2013 certification for Information Security Management Systems, ISO 22301:2012 certification for Business Continuity Management Systems, and ISO 20000-1:2011 certification for Service Management System.


Call for promoting role of Islamic WaqfTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Participants in a forum organised by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs called for the advancement of the Islamic Waqf (endowment) to regain its role in the Islamic economy and enable it to play its active development roles in Muslim societies.

During the last session of the forum, entitled “Waqf and Its Role in the Development of Muslim Societies”, the partici-pants underlined the important role of waqf in developing Muslim societies and building them on a fair basis, and achieving social justice during the Islamic civilisation, before its role was reduced by the colonial tide and intellectual invasions that targeted the waqf culture.

The speakers noted that waqf institutions played an important role in establishing the leading educational institutions in the

Islamic world, including Al Zaytuna, Quaraouiyine and Al Azhar and other scientific strong-holds in the Muslim world, as well as building libraries, hos-pitals and student hotels and securing wages, in addition to other well-known social and developmental roles in all fields.

Director-General of the General Department of Awqaf, Dr Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Thani, said that the waqf in the history of Muslims began

with the Prophet peace be upon him and continued with the com-panions and followers until the present time.

He referred to two types of endowment: the investment endowment, such as properties, land or plantation, and the waqf of places of worship and the like.

He said that the State of Qatar has made great steps in the advancement of the waqf, starting with the enactment of the laws regulating it, and taking all measures to ensure the gov-ernance and transparency of waqf operations, including informing the people on their

waqfs.With regard to the role of the

State of Qatar in the devel-opment of the Islamic waqf, he referred to a Qatari proposal put forward before the unjust siege, represented in the project of the Gulf Waqf Organization in the GCC General Secretariat to reg-

ister and protect waqfs. For his part, Dr. Yusuf

Husaini Nadwi, Head of Imam Ahmad Al-Shaheed University in India, praised the devel-opment achieved by the State of Qatar in the field of waqf, stressing that it represents a model for the rest of the Islamic world that wishes to develop its endowment systems.

He called for the estab-lishment of a comprehensive nation-wide waqf that serves the Islamic countries according to priorities, saying that the waqf in the Islamic world requires a comprehensive development in order to play its desired role.

The four-day forum dis-cussed current vital issues including the responsibility of scholars in consolidating the values of the youth, the renewal of Islamic jurisprudence, the reform of religious education, and the Islamic waqf and its role in development.

The participants at a forum organised by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs.

The participants underlined the important role of waqf in developing Muslim societies and building them on a fair basis, and achieving social justice during the Islamic civilisation.

MME issued 19 demolition decisions this yearTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Committee for Building Maintenance and Demolition at the Ministry of Municipality and Envi-ronment issued a total of 19 decisions for demolition and two for maintenance in last four months of 2018.

A total of six decisions were taken in January and five decisions in Feb-ruary, said a release. In the months of March and April two and eight deci-sions were taken respectively.

The decisions include 19 demolitions and two maintenances. The committee received a total of 64 cases during the past four months, said a release.

The committee is assigned to conduct study about the conditions of ramshackle buildings or those require maintenance.

The job of the committee is to inspect the buildings if it is needed to

do so and to take necessary decisions in this regards- asking for conducting maintenance or demolition partly or completely.

The decisions are to be taken as per the safety requirements according to the specification of the Ministry under the rules and regulations of the Law No. 29 of 2006. The committee is also asked to take appropriate decisions about the targeted building giving a complete con-dition of it including risks posed by the building to the residents, neighbours,

passerby and adjacent facilities.A per the law, the initiatives in this

regards will be taken by the owners of the buildings and the municipality concerned.

The committee is responsible to send the decisions to the municipality concerned within three days from the date of the issuance of the decision in a bid to take the necessary action.

As per the law, the committee is led by the director of Doha Municipality and members of the committee will be director of Al Rayan Municipality, Director of Legal Affairs Department, Director of Urban Planning Department, Director of Technical Affairs Department at Doha Municipality, a representative from General Department of Civil Defense at the Ministry of Interior.The committee is to hold meeting in a month to finalise the requests submitted by the municipalities concerned. A building at Freej bin Abdul Aziz that requires maintenance.

The decisions include 19 demolitions and two maintenances. The committee received a total of 64 cases during the past four months, said a release.


‘Collaboration of various health professions must for better care’THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar University (QU) Health Interprofessional Education Committee held for the fifth consecutive year the Inter Professional Education (IPE) activity titled “Being an effective team player” and aimed to highlight the importance of inter professional collaboration and being an effective team player in health care settings and to reflect through cases how effective communication across team members can enhance patient care.

Held at the College of the North Atlantic — Qatar (CNA-Q), the event engaged a total of 147 students from six professions — medicine, nursing, nutrition, pharmacy, pharmacy technician, and public health. It also drew the participation of 19 facilitators from QU Health (QU colleges of Health Sciences (CHS), Medicine (CMED) and Pharmacy (CPH)), CNA-Q, and University of Calgary in Qatar (UCQ).

The activity started with an icebreaker game themed “Mis-conception game”, in which stu-dents were divided into small groups and shared the biggest misconception the public has about their professions and how they would educate others about this.

The event’s programme fea-tured the screening of a video on “Exploring the Concept of Team Communication and Decision M a k i n g ” . I t a l s o

included a discussion on the blame elements of the profes-sions represented in the video and the human factors that need to be taken into consideration. Also on the programme was an interactive case-based dis-cussion on the impact of faulty communication by the team during which students had to read a case, draw a diagram of the flow of information among the health professionals in this story, and highlight the points of communication breakdown, as well as discuss how such problems could be avoided.

Second-year CHS Human Nutrition student Fatima Abdulla Al Naimi, said: “When students from different health professions collaborate in learning about health care, from and with each other, they acquire knowledge w h i c h y i e l d s h e a l t h enhancement. It was a valuable event where we get to know how different health professions col-laborate to achieve common targets such as patient recovery.

We also had the chance to figure effectiveness of working together, the importance of com-municating with others and the attention to different points of view towards the case.”

Second-year CPH student Ikram Mustapha Zoukh said: “Attending this IPE event and being in a team with different

medical majors opened my eyes on the importance of cooperating and communicating between team members. It is a great expe-rience that prepares us for a brighter, better future for the medical community.”

Third-year CMED student Wadha AlShafi said: “This program allows us to gain

knowledge and skills by enabling collaborative practice which is effective in changing our atti-tudes. It gives us the opportunity to know and discuss cases from different aspects with other stu-dents from different profession. This could help in providing service quality and hence health care quality.”

Healthcare professionals during the IPE event organised by Qatar University at College of the North Atlantic—Qatar.

Al Wakrah Hospital gives tips on fasting to diabeticsTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Before the beginning of the holy Ramadan, the National Diabetes Center at Al Wakrah Hospital hosted workshops for patients planning to fast during the Holy Month.

With sessions, both in English and Arabic, the workshops took place on the evening of May 15 and covered a variety of topics related to fasting with diabetes, including the importance of not making changes to medication regimes without medical supervision, the potential complications of fasting with diabetes, and steps to take in the case of diabetic emergencies, such as low or high blood sugar.

While most patients with Type 2 diabetes are able to fast without com-plications, it is necessary for diabetics who take medication to consult with their healthcare team to ensure they are taking the necessary precautions. With a physician’s guidance, Ragae Dughmosh says many diabetics are able to safely fast and avoid serious health complications.

“The purpose of the workshops was to explain how to fast safely with diabetes and how to avoid complica-tions we often see with diabetic patients who are fasting. Our aim was to help reduce the number of patients we see each year who visit our clinics during, or after, Ramadan due to com-plications they experienced while fasting. The workshop also high-lighted, and corrected, common

misconceptions patients have about fasting with diabetes,” said Dughmosh, Diabetes Educator at Al Wakrah Hos-pital and lead organiser for the event.

The workshops were led by Dr. Khaled Dukhan, Senior Consultant, Diabetes and Endocrinology and four diabetes educators from the National Diabetes Center at Al Wakrah Hos-pital and were open to all patients of the Center as well as those who reg-istered after seeing posters promoting the sessions.

In addition to highlighting cate-gories of patients who can and cannot safely fast, topics of discussion included recommended precautions

for diabetic patients who planned to fast and general nutrition and exercise guidelines.

“We tried to provide attendees with a lot of practical tips associated with fasting. For example, exercise can be an important part of keeping the body and mind healthy during Ramadan but its timing is an important part of managing diabetes. The best time to exercise is two hours after breakfast and exercising before Iftar should be avoided. We also remind patients about the importance of checking their blood sugar frequently during both fasting and non-fasting hours,” added Rajaei Dughmosh.

Patients listen to experts at the workshop hosted by the National Diabetes Center at Al Wakrah Hospital.

Eight Marriott Hotels distribute Iftar kits to cab drivers in QatarTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: As part of its o n g o i n g commitment to the Holy month of Ramadan, Marriott International cele-brated the ninth annual ‘Iftar for Cabs’ initiative at p a r t i c i p a t i n g Marriott Hotels in the Middle East.

Eight hotels in Qatar of Marriott Worldwide Business Councils (QWMBC) participated in the event; The W Doha Hotel & Residences, The St. Regis Doha, The Westin Doha Hotel & Spa, Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel, Sharq Village & Spa, Doha Marriott Hotel, The Ritz-Carlton and the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha.

During the hour of Iftar on May 23, cab drivers who drove through the main entrance of any of the participating hotels received complimentary Iftar packs to break their fast.

Catering teams at each hotel pre-pared Iftar packs which included a diverse selection of food and beverage items. Associates from across various departments within the hotels, including Catering, Administration and Guest

Services joined forces to bring the ‘Iftar for Cabs’ initiative to life.

Launched in 2010, the ‘Iftar for Cabs’ initiative has turned into an annual tra-dition for many cab drivers throughout the region. The initiative has been widely appreciated by hotel owners, local com-munities and transport authorities.

“We thank the cab drivers who support our hotels throughout the year. Iftar for Cabs embodies the spirit of Ramadan and we are extremely proud of our hotel teams as they unite to give back and recognise important members of our community,” said Guido De Wilde, Chief Operating Officer, Middle East, Marriott International.

A staff of a Marriott Hotel in Qatar hands over Iftar kit to a cab driver.

Latest trends in translation technology showcased THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The outcomes of HBKU’s Ninth Annual Interna-tional Translation Conference herald transformative new developments in the trans-lation and interpreting indus-tries.

In late March, the Trans-lation and Interpreting Institute, part of the College of Humanities and Social Science (CHSS) within Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), ini-tiated its Ninth Annual Inter-national Translation Con-ference, under the theme of “Translation in the Digital Age: From Translation Tools to Shifting Paradigms.”

The two-day moot was widely attended, and saw attendance of nearly 260 par-ticipants at the opening cer-emony as well as the active involvement of 35 speakers from close to 20 different countries.

Discourse at the con-ference was wide-ranging, and touched on topics such as machine translation, trans-lation for specific purposes, non-professional translation,

translation for the web, as well a s t r a n s l a t i o n a n d manipulation.

The objective of the con-ference was to showcase ground breaking research in the field of translation tech-nology; highlight increasingly widespread use of digital tech-nology in translation studies and practice; and bring together industry insiders.

A case-in-point of the trending research presented at the conference were the strides

made in the development of speech translation systems as well as the ongoing efforts to combine speech recognition and machine translation tech-nology to build fully automated conference interpreting systems for Arabic to English and English to Arabic support.

The outcomes of the con-ference suggested, among other observations, that machine translation and new technologies are key to a glo-b a l i z a t i o n w h e r e

more translators and more translations will be needed. One of these paradigm shifts is the so-called ‘digital turn’ where translation can no longer be accomplished or even envisaged without the products of technology, which are now taken for granted.

The so-called ‘digital turn’ or ‘paradigm shift’ occurring in the industry – the trend that inspired this year’s conference theme – has made the trans-lation process more effective and time-efficient, but also changed the roles and profiles of translators and expanded the horizons of translation research, as was amply dem-onstrated by the papers pre-sented at the conference.

Another aspect emerging from the conference was the renewed emphasis on the col-laborative and multidisci-plinary nature of translation studies. Similarly, it was pointed out that the digital turn had been quite familiar to researchers from other disci-plines for years. Recent years have witnessed tremendous expansion of multidisciplinary research in many countries.

Experts on dais during a session at HBKU’s Ninth Annual International Translation Conference.

The Inter Professional Education (IPE) activity, at the College of the North Atlantic—Qatar, engaged a total of 147 students from six professions — medicine, nursing, nutrition, pharmacy, pharmacy technician, and public health.


Katara’s Ramadan activities draw huge crowdsTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Katara Cultural Village has been attracting huge crowds with diverse activities that make it the perfect venue to spend Ramadan nights.

Ramadan events at Katara represent a mix of culture, art, religion, sports, entertainment, shopping and feasting that are distinct with a Qatari traditional touch.

Firing of the traditional Ramadan cannon announces the time of Iftar at the Cultural Village every day, in the presence joyous crowds gathered to witness a historic tradition being revived. A man wearing tradi-tional dress roams around the beaches and night markets at Katara, beating a drum to keep the crowds awake throughout night. He is called Misahir in the local language.

Ghabka in the car, the Ramadan drive-thru night market at Katara has become a big crowd puller, with about 40 stalls offering a wide range of takeaways, from coffee to burgers, sandwiches and pas-tries. A huge screen at the end of the market is adding colour to the festive mood.

Katara has announced a pho-tography competition based on Ghabka which opened from

yesterday and runs until June 6. The contestants are required to capture the best images from Ghabka and submit their entries by June 12. The contest is open to Qataris and expatriates. The first prize winner will get QR10,000 while the second and third prizes are worth QR7,000 and QR5,000, respectively.

Meerat Ramadan, the Ramadan souq at Katara, offering diverse consumer products at affordable prices has also been attracting large number of people since its opening two weeks before Ramadan. The Katara Play Station Championship will be held at the venue from Ramadan 15 to 20, along with other games and entertainment activities for children and families.

Religious lectures by prom-inent scholars focusing on Ramadan and other related topics are taking place at the Katara mosque every day.

With the onset of the Holy month, Katara has started several religious competitions, most importantly the Katara Prize for Quran Recitation and the Quran memorisation contest for children. About 100 contestants from across the globe are com-peting for the top positions of the Katara Prize for Quran Recitation while 50 children, including girls, are participating in the Quran memorisation contest.

Preparations are underway at Katara to celebrate Garangao in a big way, with colourful activ-ities for children and families on the 14th of Ramadan.

Coinciding with Ramadan, Katara has launched a rare ini-tiative to give drinking water to pigeons and other birds during summer. For this purpose, Katara is distributing specially made wooden boxes to the public free of cost. There are many takers for the boxes which can be installed in open areas and ter-races of buildings.

The Katara Beach Volleyball Championship is currently underway while the Ramadan Chess Championship concluded on Saturday.

A series of art and cultural workshops are also taking place as part of the Ramadan activities. A workshop on the Kufi script being used for writing the verses of the Holy Quran and another workshop on creative works began yesterday. The first one will continue until June 12 while the second one will conclude on June 6.

An exhibition of products made by Qatari households is now open at Building 19 and in front of building 15. It will run until June 2.

Children pose for photo with mascots at the Meerat Ramadan at Katara.

KINDI participates in strategic grant consortiumTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The KINDI Center for Computing Research (KINDI) at Qatar University College of Engineering (QU-CENG) recently participated in the strategic grant consortium “Platform Grants” funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The Open University (UK) has established a consortium of selective top 17 research labs around the world, and KINDI is one of them. The consortium has been awarded a research g r a n t e q u i v a l e n t t o US$1,906,905 (QR6,940,077.06) for the next four years.

The main objective of this project is to build collaborative research relationships with

these partners around the globe including KINDI, and engage in various pilot projects and empirical studies in the areas of “Secure, Adaptive, Usable Software Engineering”.

This grant will allow the project team to enhance the existing partner networks in these areas and to develop impact pathways for their research, going beyond the

scope and lifetime of individual research projects.

KINDI Director, Dr Noora Fetais, said: “We are proud to be a part of this grant which refers to the high quality research the centre is providing in collaboration with local and international partners in a way that makes a good difference in the cyber security research outcomes.”

Ghabka in the car, the Ramadan drive-thru night market at Katara has become a big crowd puller, with about 40 stalls offering a wide range of takeaways, from coffee to burgers, sandwiches and pastries.

Participants at the Ramadan Chess Championship which concluded on Saturday at Katara Building 15.

A view of the KINDI Center for Computing Research at Qatar University College of Engineering.

08 MONDAY 28 MAY 2018HOME / MIDDLE EAST

Turkish President slams oppn’s election promisesANATOLIA

TURKEY: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday sought support in the June 24 early elections in order to execute Turkey’s long-term plans.

Speaking at his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s rally in southern Isparta province, Erdogan said the upcoming elections are “the most important elections” in the coun-try’s history.

“We will either take our 16-year achievements much higher [levels] or allow the ‘dem-olition alliance’ [the opposition] to spoil all these,” he said.

For the first time in Turkish political history, political parties will go to election after forming alliances. Turkey’s ruling AK Party and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) will enter the race as the People’s Alliance.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), newly-formed Good (IYI) Party, Felicity

(Saadet) Party and Democrat Party (DP) will participate as the Nation Alliance.

Criticising his rivals’ election promises, Erdogan said: “We will never allow ‘demolition alliance’ [opposition] to prevent us and to sabotage our projects.”

In a televised speech on Friday, CHP presidential can-didate Muharrem Ince pledged to stop Turkey’s massive Canal Istanbul Project and not to con-tinue domestic car productions, if elected. “I am expecting from you very strong support for Tur-key’s bright future,” Erdogan told locals. Turkey has never

abandoned unity, togetherness, and brotherhood despite attacks from inside and outside of the country, Erdogan said, referring to FETO, PKK, and Daesh terror groups. He announced that Turkey has neutralised 4,480 terrorists in Syria’s Afrin since the launch of Operation Olive Branch.

Erdogan also noted that anti-terror operations also neu-tralized 419 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq and 405 terrorists inside the country.

Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralised” in their statements to imply that the ter-rorists in question either surren-dered or were killed or captured.

The president will continue his rallies in Balikesir yesterday. Erdogan is expected to hold rallies in 30 provinces during his election campaign.

Last April, the parliament passed a bill for early elections on June 24, cementing Turkey’s move to a presidential system.

In the April 2017 referendum, Turkish voters had approved the switch from a parliamentary system to a presidential one.

Erdogan has served as

president since 2014 — Turkey’s first popularly elected President. Before that, he served as Prime Minister, from 2003 to 2014.

Should he win the June 24

election, Erdogan would be Tur-key’s first leader under the pres-idential system, doing away with the prime minister’s post, among other changes.

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during a rally of ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Balikesir, Turkey, yesterday.

Criticising his rivals’ election promises, Erdogan said: “We will never allow ‘demolition alliance’ [opposition] to prevent us and to sabotage our projects.”

Iran says security forces to clamp down on protestsREUTERS

DUBAI: Iranian Security Forces will “resolutely confront” unrest that could be exploited by the United States and other enemies, a judiciary spokesman said yesterday, after a wave of protests across the country mainly about economic issues.

The likely return of US eco-nomic sanctions after Wash-ington withdrew from an Iranian nuclear deal with world powers has triggered labour unrest and protests in Iran in the past few weeks by various groups, including teachers and truckers.

Earlier in May, at least two people were killed in the southern city of Kazeroon when protesters set fire to a police station.

Iran’s ruling elite are anxious to prevent any repeat of unrest in late December, when people staged demon-strations in 80 cities and towns over poor living standards, some calling on Shiah Muslim

clerical leaders to step down. “Judicial and security bodies... will resolutely confront any group or individual that want to compromise the country’s security,” said Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the judiciary’s news website Mizanonline reported.

“I urge families not to let their children be fooled by psy-chological warfare... launched by the enemy, especially Zionists (Israel) and Americans, and not let counter-revolution-aries infiltrate crowds of pro-testers with legitimate demands.

“These days, Americans and Zionists have become so desperate that they are reaching out to the most despi-cable individuals and ter-rorists,” he said.

President Hassan Rowhani has assured Iranians that their oil-reliant economy can with-stand new sanctions, after the United States walked out of Iran’s nuclear deal with major powers on May 8.

Four dead in Yemen air strikeAFP

SANA’A: A woman was among four people killed in an air strike that hit a petrol station in Yemen’s rebel-held capital late on Saturday, medical sources said.

Eleven people were wounded in the air strike on Sana’a, they said.

Witnesses said it took place just before sunset as people pre-pared to break the dawn-to-dusk Islamic fast of Ramadan.

It was not immediately clear who had carried out the strike.

Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition that has been fighting the Houthi rebels since 2015 to shore up the interna-tionally recognised government, is active almost daily in Yemen.

The official SPA news agency did not provide details on when or how they died. The report came as coalition spokesman Colonel Turki Al Maliki said air defences had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone that targeted the international airport of the southern city of Abha. An exam-ination of the debris showed the

drone was manufactured by Iran and used by the Houthi rebels, Maliki said in a statement late on Saturday cited by the SPA.

The coalition launched a military intervention in Yemen in 2015 after the Iran-allied Houthis expelled pro-gov-ernment forces from Sana’a and went on to seize swathes of the

country. The conflict has left nearly 10,000 people dead, tens of thousands wounded, and mil-lions on the brink of famine in what the United Nations has called the world’s worst human-itarian crisis. In addition, more than 2,200 others have died from cholera and millions are on the verge of famine.

People stand in front of a petrol station one day after it was hit by air strikes in Sana’a, Yemen, yesterday.

ANATOLIA

SYRIA: Bashar Al Assad regime yesterday airdropped leaflets in Syrian province of Idlib, threat-ening the civilians in the region.

The leaflets, bearing the title “Choose your destiny” and a photo of a dead Syrian, were dropped from a helicopter onto Idlib's Sarmada, Ram Hamdan villages and a refugee camp in Kemmune village.

“Continuing holding a gun in your hand means you are taking side with dead people. If you want to live, put your guns down. Don't gamble on your life,” the note read.

The note threatened the Syrians with death and said that it is their “last chance.” “You have no other choice. You will either put your guns down or you will definitely die. Make use of this last chance, put your guns down and improve your situ-ation,” the note warned.

Located in northern Syria near the Turkish border, last May, Idlib was declared a “de-escalation zone” in which acts of aggression are expressly forbidden.

Syria has just begun to emerge from a devastating civil war that began in early 2011 when the Bashar Al Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unex-pected ferocity. UN officials say hundreds of thousands of people

have been killed in the conflict. Russian fighters were among dozens of pro-government forces killed in eastern Syria this week in a deadly wave of attacks by Islamic State group jihadists, Moscow and a monitor said yesterday.

After the collapse of its so-called “caliphate” last year, IS now only holds tiny pockets of Syria, mainly in the vast desert stretching to its eastern border.

This week, the militants

ramped up their hit-and-run attacks on regime positions there, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.

The deadliest was on Wednesday, when IS targeted a group of Syrian and allied Russian fighters near the town of Mayadeen in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

“There were 35 pro-gov-ernment forces killed, including at least nine Russians. Some of

those Russian nationals were government troops, but not all of them,” said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman. The remaining 26 were all Syrian forces, he said. A steadfast ally of President Bashar Al Assad, Moscow has helped his army recapture swathes of territory since 2015 by providing air strikes and ground troops.

There are also widespread reports of private Russian mer-cenaries on the ground.

Moscow’s defence ministry said yesterday four of its servicemen were killed in clashes in Deir Ezzor. Two were military advisers supporting Syrian artillery operations and died immediately, and another two died of their wounds in a Russian-operated military hos-pital in Syria.

IS claims attack - Russia did not specify when, where, or whether IS was involved, but it appeared to be the same incident as the IS attack reported near Mayadeen. The militant group itself claimed it attacked regime forces in eastern Syria on Wednesday. The assault was the largest in series of IS guerilla raids on regime positions this week.On Tuesday, 26 regime forces were killed in a surprise IS attack in desert areas of the neighbouring province of Homs, according to the Observatory.

And a pair of IS assaults between Saturday night and yes-terday morning killed at least 11 pro-regime forces in Deir Ezzor. “The latest attack brings to 76 the number of Syrian troops and allied Iranian and Russian forces killed since the escalation,” Abdel Rahman said yesterday.

He said the uptick came the day after the last IS fighters were bussed out of southern parts of Syria’s capital Damascus, including the ravaged Pales-tinian camp of Yarmuk, in a negotiated withdrawal.

Assad regime airdrops leaflets to threaten Syrians

People inspect the damaged buildings and wrecked cars after an explosion was carried out with a bomb-laden vehicle in Idlib, Syria, yesterday.

Iftar cannon reverberates through the agesCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The cannons are still the same but have become more modern with the passage of t ime and scientif ic advancement. Cannon Iftar is one of the most important Ramadan feature that eve-ryone enjoys, not just the children even older people like to see it to recollect their past memories.

“It is important not to neglect such beautiful customs and traditions. It provides a source of joy to children and also teaches them about our traditional heritage. We thank author-ities who have installed Iftar canons at four different places which can also be visited by general public,” said Jassim Mohamed.

Qatar’s trade surplus in April at QR14.7bn

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The year-on-year increase in total exports was mainly due to higher exports of Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons (LNG, conden-sates, propane, butane, etc) reaching QR14.1bn approxi-mately in April 2018, i.e. an increase of 22.9 percent, Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals (crude) reaching QR3.9bn nearly, increased by 41.5 percent, and increase in the Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous min-erals (not crude) reaching QR 2.1bn, increased by 83.7 percent.

In April 2018, Japan was at the top of the countries of des-tination of Qatar’s exports with close to QR4.7bn, a share of 19.6 percent of total exports, followed by South Korea with almost QR4.1bn and a share of 17.1 percent, China with about QR2.6bn, a share of 10.7 percent.

During April 2018, the group of “Motor cars and other passenger vehicles” was at the top of the imported group of commodities, with QR0.6bn, showing a decrease of 4.9 percent compared to April 2017. In second place was “Parts of Balloons etc; Parts of Aircraft, Spacecraft Etc” with QR0.3bn, increase of 19.0 percent and in third place was “Electrical Apparatus for Line Telephony/Telegraphy, Tele-phone Sets Etc; Parts Thereof” with QR0.2bn, showing a decrease of 35.5 percent.

09MONDAY 28 MAY 2018 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

A general view after Cyclone Mekunu hit Salalah in Oman on Saturday.

Cyclone toll in Oman and Yemen rises to 11AFP

SALALAH: The death toll from a cyclone that battered southern Oman and the Yemeni island of Socotra has reached 11, while eight sailors are still missing, authorities said.

Cyclone Mekunu hit Oman’s Dhofar and Al Wusta provinces on Friday after intensifying from a category one to a category two cyclone, with winds of up to 170km per hour after it made landfall on Socotra on Thursday.

Oman’s civil defence service on Saturday reported two deaths, adding to an earlier toll of a man and a 12-year-old girl.

“The third is an Asian man who was missing but his body was found late on Saturday in Dhofar” province, spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Saeed Al Badaei said at a press conference.

“The fourth is a young Omani man who was swept away in his car by flooding,” he added.

Socotra’s governor Ramzy Mahrous said yesterday that the death toll on the island remained seven — five Yemenis and two Indian sailors. A further eight Indian sailors remain missing.

The southeastern part of the island remains cut off, but authorities are working to access the area and assess damage, Mahrous said.

Around 1,000 families on Socotra, with a population of

around 60,000, were evacuated after their homes were damaged.

The main road linking the airport to Hadibo, the island’s main city, has been reopened, Mahrous said.

Oman’s meteorology direc-torate announced late Saturday that “the direct effects of the tropical system are over.”

Cyclone Mekunu has now been downgraded to the cat-egory of “deep depression”.

Late on Saturday it struck Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter, one of the world’s most arid deserts, with ongoing heavy rains and strong winds.

The Saudi meteorological authority said on Twitter that winds blew at 60km per hour, kicking up blinding dust storms.

Rains are expected to con-tinue for two more days, drenching the area with more than 100 millimetres (four inches) of rain, almost six times its annual average, Amman-based weather experts WASM

Boats docked at Gaza City harbour, yesterday.

said on Twitter.Meanwhile, Oman yesterday

advised all private sector estab-lishments in Dhofar region to shut down for three days after Cyclone Mekunu hit the southern part of the Gulf Arab country, causing extensive damage that halted operations at Salalah port.

The labour ministry declared a three-day holiday for com-panies and establishments in the private sector, state news agency

ONA reported.The central bank, meanwhile,

issued a circular announcing a three-day holiday starting yes-terday for money exchange houses, banks, finance and leasing companies in Dhofar.

Cyclone Mekunu hit southern Yemen and the coast of neigh-bouring Oman over the weekend, resulting in several fatalities.

Salalah Port Services Co said that operations at the port had

been halted because of the damage caused by the cyclone and that it would take a minimum of 72 hours to “make the port safe”.

Sembcorp Salalah Water and Power Co, which operates an electricity generation and sea-water desalination plant in Oman, said its water production plant had been shut down temporarily owing to rough seas because of a tropical storm.

Oman advised all private sector establishments in Dhofar region to shut down for three days after Cyclone Mekunu hit the southern part of the Gulf Arab country, causing extensive damage that halted operations at Salalah port.

Gazans to breach Israeli sea blockadeGAZA CITY: Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will try to breach Israel’s blockade by boat this week in a fresh challenge to Israeli forces following weeks of deadly protests and clashes, organisers said yesterday.

Few details were given on the plans, but organisers said the boat would depart tomorrow at 11am (0800 GMT) carrying patients needing medical care, students and job-seeking uni-versity graduates.

The boat also brings “dreams of our people and their aspira-tions for freedom”, organiser Salah Abdul-Ati said in a press conference at Gaza City’s port on the Mediterranean coast.

He called on the United

Nations and other international bodies to protect the boat leaving from the enclave run by Islamist movement Hamas.

Organisers said it would be the first attempt of its kind from the Gaza Strip.

Its intended destination was not announced.

Boats off the strip are gen-erally limited to six nautical miles offshore, and the Israeli navy regularly fires warning shots at Palestinians who breach it. The boat would likely face long odds at making it past Israeli forces.

The plan comes ahead of the eighth anniversary on Thursday of a deadly raid on Turkish-reg-istered Mavi Marmara -- part of

a flotilla of six vessels seeking to break Israel’s blockade and enter Gaza.

Nine Turkish activists were killed in the operation, and another died in hospital in 2014.

Mass protests and clashes began on March 30 along the fence separating Gaza and Israel.

At least 119 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests and clashes broke out, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry.

No Israelis have been killed during that time.

Low-level demonstrations along the border have continued since protests peaked on May 14, when at least 61 Palestinians

were killed as tens of thousands of Gazans protested the US transfer of its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Israel says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop mass incursions into its territory.

It accuses Hamas, with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, of seeking to use the protests as cover to carry out violence.

The Gaza Strip has been under Israeli blockade for more than a decade.

Egypt has also kept its border with Gaza largely closed in recent years, but has opened it for the entire Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Israel shells Gaza; 3 Palestinians martyredGAZA CITY: Three Palestinians were martyred in an Israeli shelling of the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, according to the Health Ministry.

In a statement, ministry spokesman Ashraf Al Qidra identified the martyrs as Hussein Al Amor, 25, and Abdul Halim Al Naqah, 28, in the shelling that targeted the eastern border of Khan Younis city in southern Gaza Strip.

A third Palestinian, who was identified as Naseem Al Amor, 25, succumbed to his wounds sustained during the Israeli shelling.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee, for his part, said an Israeli tank shelled a Hamas watch tower in the southern Gaza Strip.

He said the shelling came in response to a roadside bomb attack near a security fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

On Saturday, Israeli warplanes struck two Hamas positions in Gaza, with no injuries reported.

Since March 30, more than 115 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured by Israeli gunfire

during anti-occupation rallies along Gaza border.

The protesters demand their return to their homes in

historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

US proposes UN sanctions against six senior South Sudan officialsUNITED NATIONS: The United States has proposed the UN Security Council impose sanctions against several South Sudanese ministers and officials, accusing them of obstructing peace efforts and blocking humanitarian assistance to civilians, according to a draft resolution.

Security Council diplomats are due to meet for negotiations on the text on Tuesday and a vote is scheduled for Thursday. A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, Britain or the United States to pass.

The council sanctioned several senior South Sudanese offi-cials on both sides of the conflict in 2015, but a U.S. bid to impose an arms embargo in December 2016 failed.

In November, Russia said it would be counterproductive to impose further targeted sanctions or an arms embargo on South Sudan. The proposed measures would freeze the assets and ban travel for the six officials, including Defense Minister Kuol Manyang Juuk, former army chief Paul Malong, Minister of Information Michael Lueth, and deputy chief of defense for logistics in the South Sudan Army Malek Reuben Riak Rengu.

It also targets Koang Rambang, governor of Bieh State, who the United States accused of leading military attacks and obstructing aid to civilians; and cabinet affairs minister Martin Elia Lomuro.

South Sudan, which split off from its northern neighbor Sudan in 2011, has been gripped by a civil war sparked by political rivalry between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar.

Mawien Makol, South Sudan’s foreign affairs spokesman, told Reuters the government was aware of the new sanctions proposal from Washington.

Guinea’s new PM unveils governmentCONAKRY: Guinea’s new Prime Minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana has unveiled his government without making major changes to the cabinet of his predecessor who quit after deadly protests over local elections, state media reported yesterday.

While the defence, foreign affairs and justice ministers remain in their posts, the economy portfolio has been handed to new-comer Mamadi Camara, Guinea’s ex-ambassador to South Africa, according to a decree read out on state media.

At his official nomination on May 24, Fofana had acknowl-edged the current “difficult relationships with certain social and political partners”.

An economist by training, Fofana replaced Mamady Youla who resigned on May 17 following demonstrations against the results of February local elections, which were won by the ruling party. Opposition leaders had decried the vote — the first of its kind since a military dictatorship ended a decade ago — as unfair and fraudulent. At least a dozen people were killed in the violence.

South Africa’s oppn rejects report on split in partyJOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA), the biggest opposition to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC), dismissed as “rumours and gossip” a Sunday newspaper report that said the party was about to split.

The City Press, citing unnamed sources, said at least five senior MPs unhappy with the direction the party was taking under leader Mmusi

Maimane were planning to form a breakaway “true liberal party” ahead of elections next year.

The report said the split came amid “serious tensions over race, transformation and other policy positions” under Maimane, a 37-year-old occa-sional preacher who became the DA’s first black leader in 2015.

But the DA said in a statement that the party was

“united and ready to bring change in 2019”. “The reports in the City Press today are nothing more than rumours and gossip,” the statement said, adding that the story did not name any sources.

Maimane has been trying to broaden the appeal of a party that traditionally relied on the support of white South Africans since he replaced Helen Zille, a white anti-apartheid activist who has caused the DA

leadership headaches since her departure. Zille was asked to lead the new breakaway party, City Press reported.

She did not answer calls seeking comment.

Zille was sidelined by Maimane last year over a series of tweets in which she said colo-nialism wasn’t “only negative”, prompting a public backlash and providing the ANC with ammu-nition to dismiss the DA as a racist, white party.

Blogger appeals against jail sentenceALGIERS: An Algerian blogger has appealed against a 10-year prison term, his lawyer said yesterday, after global rights groups condemned the severity of the sentence.

Merzoug Touati was convicted on Thursday of providing intel-ligence to “agents of a foreign power” likely to damage Algeria, by a court in Bejaia, east of Algiers.

The 30-year-old blogger submitted his appeal the following day and was feeling “optimistic”, his lawyer Boubakeur Esseddik Hamaili said.

“I have seen my client, he is doing well and is a tower of strength. He proclaims his innocence as he has done nothing but exercise his rights guaranteed by the constitution,” the lawyer added. Touati has been in prison since his arrest in January 2017, over an online video interview with an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman and a Facebook post in which he called for protests against a new financial law.

During his trial the court dropped three additional charges including incitement against the state, which his lawyer said carries the death sentence.

Rights groups have raised serious concerns over the new law, noting that the legislation is a clear breach of international law and threatens the basic rights of Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem.

10 MONDAY 28 MAY 2018VIEWS

Palestinians risk losing Jerusalem ID over Israel loyalty law

“Exile is like death,” Ahmad Attoun, a member of the Pales-tinian Legislative

Council (PLC), told. “I can’t explain my relationship to Jerusalem. It is part of my soul.” “Jerusalem is now just a few metres away from me, but I can’t enter. There are no words to describe the pain we are feeling,” he said.

Attoun, along with PLC members Mohammad Totah, Mohammad Abu Teir and former Palestinian minister Khaled Abu Arafeh, were forcibly deported from occupied East Je-rusalem in 2011 after Israel’s interior minister revoked their Jerusalem resi-dencies over allegations of “breaching loyalty” to the Israeli state.

Attoun’s deportation from the city put his life in disarray. He only sees his family on weekends when they travel to Ramallah, where he now resides. His eight-year-old daughter has never experienced living with her father.

“I wish I could see her just once in her school uniform when she comes home,” Attoun said, noting that his family has continued to reside in Jeru-salem despite his expulsion.

“Despite the suffering, in my heart I know we are right. In the natural order, I must return to Jerusalem.”

On April 29, Israel’s Interior Min-ister Aryeh Deri upheld the depor-

tation of the four parliamen-tarians, after Israel’s par-liament passed a law in March granting the interior minister full power to revoke the Jeru-salem resi-dencies of Pales-tinians over alle-gations of “breaching alle-giance” or “loyalty” to the Israeli state.

Rights groups have raised serious concerns over the new law, noting that

the legislation is a clear breach of international law and threatens the basic rights of Palestinians in oc-cupied East Jerusalem.

Palestinians fear the legislation will speed up the expulsion of Pales-tinians from the city, and be used to target Palestinians who criticise the Israeli state.

Israel occupied and subsequently annexed East Jerusalem in 1967 — a move which was not accepted by the international community — with the exception of US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Israeli

control over the occupied city in December 2017.

Palestinians residing in East Jeru-salem following Israel’s occupation were not granted Israeli or Palestinian citizenship, but were instead issued Jerusalem residency ID cards, which can be revoked by Israel at any time.

Last year, Israel revoked the resi-dency of 35 Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem, including 17 women and four minors, according to Israeli rights group Hamoked.

Since 1967, almost 15,000 Pales-tinians have had their Jerusalem IDs revoked, mostly for failing to prove to Israeli authorities that Jerusalem or Israel was the centre of their life.

Attoun and the other Palestinian parliamentarians were targeted by Israel in 2006, after being elected to the PLC on the list of the Hamas-affil-iated Change and Reform Movement in Jerusalem. Israel considers Hamas, one of the most popular Palestinian political parties, a “terrorist” organisation.

Abu Arafeh was appointed the Pal-estinian Minister of Jerusalem Affairs.Following the elections, then Israeli interior minister Roni Bar-On initiated the process of revoking their Jeru-salem residencies over allegations of being “disloyal” to the Israeli state, owing to their membership to the PLC.

The four were subsequently sen-tenced to prison. Attoun, Totah and Abu Teir all spent four years behind bars, while Abu Arafeh served three years. Upon their release in 2010, they received an official deportation notice from Israeli authorities, notifying them that they had just 30 days to leave Israel’s territory.

The parliamentarians decided to fight the decision. Attoun, Totah and Abu Arafeh launched a nonviolent movement inside the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Jerusalem, where they erected tents and lived inside the building in protest of Israel’s decision for a year and a half. Abu Teir was arrested by Israeli forces two days prior to the action.

However, in September 2011, members of Israel’s special police unit, disguised as lawyers, entered the ICRC headquarters, and violently dragged Attoun out of the building. Totah and Abu Arafah were arrested in similar fashion a few months later.

Attoun spent four months in Israel’s Al Moscobiyeh detention in Jerusalem, before being forcibly trans-ferred to Ramallah.

On that December day, he was told by an Israeli soldier at Israel’s Qalandiya checkpoint, standing between him and his home: “Now you are in the West Bank, and you will never return to Jerusalem.”

The exiled parliamentarians won an appeal against the interior minis-ter’s decision in the Israeli Supreme Court last year. However, the Israeli government was given a six-month period to formulate legislation that could uphold their decision.

The new “breach of loyalty” legis-lation also applies to cases in which Palestinians pro-vided false infor-mation to acquire their Jerusalem resi-dences or have committed crimes.

Danny Shenhar, head of the legal department at Hamoked, told Al Jazeera that there were two other cases in which Palestinians had their Jerusalem residency status revoked owing to allegations of “breaching loyalty” or “allegiance” to the state.

One of the cases was Abed Dawiyat, a teenager who threw stones at an Israeli vehicle in Jerusalem in late 2015, resulting in the death of the driver. He was convicted of man-slaughter and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

The two other teens who were with Dawiyat at the time were also facing the revocation of their Jeru-salem residencies after being accused of abetting the crime. However, their cases are still pending.

Shenhar said that the decision to retroactively apply the “breach of loyalty” law to these cases that occurred years ago “contravenes any idea of the rule of law”.

Under international humanitarian law, Israel, as an occupying power, cannot demand allegiance from an occupied population. However, “this is exactly what Israel is doing,” Shenhar noted. “We adamantly oppose this law,” he added. “The decision is flawed on so many grounds.”

Palestinians in East Jerusalem are considered protected persons, and under international law, their forcible transfer from the city is prohibited.

“Through this decision, Israel is leaving Palestinians stateless,” Shenhar told.

JACLYNN ASHLY AL JAZEERA

QUOTE OF THE DAY

While explaining the outcome of my summit

with US President Trump held last week, I relayed

the message that President Trump is firmly willing to end his country’s hostile relationship with North Korea should Chairman Kim make a decision on

complete denuclearization and implements it

Moon Jae-in South Korean President

Congo begins giving Ebola vaccine to medics

Congo began admin-istering an experi-mental Ebola vaccine to medical

staff in the northwestern city of Mbandaka to tackle an outbreak of the virus believed to have killed 26 people since early April.

The World Health Organization (WHO) hailed the vaccinations as a “par-adigm shift” in how to fight the disease which killed more than 11,300 people in a West African epidemic between 2013 and 2016.

The WHO is sending over 7,540 doses of the vaccine to the central African country, 540 of which have been earmarked for Mbandaka, a city of about 1.5 million where four Ebola cases have been

confirmed. In a ceremony attended by health minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga, health workers in blue overalls and rubber gloves administered the vaccine developed by US drug company Merck , marking the start of a complex effort to ring-fence the virus before it gets out of control. The other vaccines will be given to medical staff at a nearby hospital. People who had contact with Ebola victims will come later.

“This is a new phase in our response, another pillar in the fight. We must con-tinue the monitoring of con-tacts,” Ilunga said.

Ebola causes hemor-rhagic fever, vomiting and diarrhoea and spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. When a new case is diagnosed, all people who

might have been in recent contact with the patient are traced and vaccinated to keep the disease from spreading.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom said the outlook for dealing with the new outbreak, the ninth in Congo since the disease made its first known appearance in the 1970s, was brighter than when the West African epi-demic was reported.

Mbandaka lies on the Congo River with regular transport links to the Kin-shasa, raising concerns that the virus could spread to the capital where 10 million people live. The need to keep the vaccine at 80 degrees Celsius below freezing (minus 112 Fahr-enheit) in a humid region with erratic electricity supply has further compli-cated the operation.

“It’s concerning that we now have cases of Ebola in an urban centre, but we are much better placed to deal with this outbreak than we were in 2014,” Tedros told health ministers at the start of the WHO’s annual assembly in Geneva.

The WHO’s head of emergency response Peter Salama said use of the VSVEBOV shot means regions with Ebola out-breaks can in future expect more than just containment with basic public health measures such as isolation and hygiene.

“It’s the first time in the midst of an outbreak ... that we’re using this as a way to stem transmission,” Salama told in a telephone interview. “It’s an important moment that changes the way we’ve seen Ebola for 40 years.”

QNB, in April, had revised up Qatar’s overall real GDP to 2.8 percent for 2018, from 2.5 percent previously.

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM [email protected]

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI [email protected]

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIAL

On stronger footing

Qatar’s economy has proven its resilience once again. The foreign merchandise trade balance of Qatar, which represents the difference between total

exports and imports, has showed a surplus of QR14.7bn in April 2018, an increase of about QR 4.9bn or 49.3 percent compared to April 2017, and an increase by nearly QR1.4bn or 10.7 percent compared to March 2018. According to the preliminary figures of the value of exports of domestic goods, re-exports, and imports for April 2018, released monthly by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, the total exports of goods (including exports of goods of domestic origin and re- exports) amounted to around QR24bn in April, showing an increase of 27.3 p e r c e n t c o m p a r e d t o A p r i l 2 0 1 7 . The trade figures are not the only data that have demon-strated strength of Qatar’s economy as various other figures released earlier have also confirmed strength of economy.

QNB, in April, had revised up Qatar’s overall real GDP to 2.8 percent for 2018, from 2.5 percent previously. The revised 2018 forecast was mainly because of three reasons.

First, QNB had recently raised its forecast for oil prices from $55/b to $63/b, which would lead to higher incomes and spending in the non-hydro-carbon sector.

Second, QNB now expects a sharper rebound in hydro-carbon output as maintenance on LNG production facilities appears to have been dragged out in 2017, but should now be completed.

Third, the economic impact of the blockade has been less than expected and QNB has, therefore, reduced the expected drag from the blockade on 2018 GDP.

QNB noted in its weekly ‘economic commentary’ , Qatar’s GDP growth in the

fourth quarter of 2017 was held back by the hydrocarbon sector. The latest data showed an unexpected drop of 6.4 percent in hydrocarbon production in Q4 from the pre-vious quarter.

Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde had said, on February 13 this year, that the steady growth in Qatar’s non-oil economy is a reflection of the country’s good diversification policy. Qatar’s growth in the non-oil sector is pretty much on a par with the non-oil growth in the oil importing countries, the IMF Chief had said in a roundtable discussion on “Stra-tegic Outlook: Qatar in its New Era”, at Qatar University.

Deputy Managing Director of the International Mon-etary Fund (IMF) Tao Zhang , in the second week of April, had praised the economic policies of Qatar and its success in overcoming economic crises affecting the global economy. REUTERS

Under the outgoing government -- led till last July by Nawaz Sharif, three times prime minister -- the economy had appeared to be doing well.

11MONDAY 28 MAY 2018 OPINION

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Budding Moon-Kim ties risks undermining Trump pressure

China is proving to be expensive date for Pakistan

KANGA KONG BLOOMBERG

MIHIR SHARMA REUTERS

When Donald Trump abruptly scrapped their planned summit, Kim Jong Un sought out

someone he knew would come over for a chat: South Korean leader Moon Jae-in.

Moon’s surprise meeting with Kim on Saturday shows he’s willing to do what it takes to keep diplomacy on track and avoid a return to threats of war over North Korea’s nuclear program. Moon called the gathering a meaningful attempt to clear up “some difficulties in communication” as the two leaders shared warm words on the northern side of their border.

More significantly, Moon secured the restart of minister-level inter-Korean talks on June 1, followed by a dialogue between military leaders and a Red Cross meeting to reunite families separated by the war. North Korea, which canceled the talks earlier this month in a sign of reemerging tensions, said the two leaders agreed to “meet frequently in the future.” Moon pledged to visit Pyongyang later this year.

For the moment, Moon has main-tained an appearance as a neutral mid-dleman who can bridge the gap between Trump and Kim, two reactive leaders who create a high risk of miscalculation.

Yet over the longer term, Moon’s desire to cut a peace deal with North Korea during his single five-year term means Trump could find it harder to enforce his “maximum pressure” cam-paign if talks break down again.

Kim has now separately met Moon and Chinese President Xi Jinping twice in the past three months, and both leaders have pledged to strengthen ties

with his regime. South Korea and China account for almost all of North Korea’s land borders, so their support is essential for enforcing sanctions ramped up last year after Kim declared the ability to strike the US with a nuclear weapon.

“With South Korea and China already talking to the North, it’s hard for Trump to reignite his campaign at this point or after the summit fails,” said Namkoong Young, who has advised South Korea’s Unification Ministry and the Foreign Ministry on policy for almost 10 years.

“In Trump’s thinking, his ‘maximum pressure’ would’ve resulted in Kim kneeling and returning to dia-logue in surrender anyway if it reached the boiling point,” he said. “But Moon interrupted this by reinstating inter-Korean exchanges.”

Trump’s team believes the “maximum pressure” campaign to strangle North Korea’s economy is working, and Kim’s regime will have to come to the table eventually, according to a person familiar with the adminis-tration’s thinking. North Korea’s push to get the summit back on track shows that it’s probably looking for sanctions relief, even as Kim retains concerns about his own security.

Even so, Trump has clashed with both China and South Korea over the best approach to dealing with Kim, as well as on issues like trade.

Before canceling the summit last week, Trump said that China had eased up enforcement of sanctions on its border. Bloomberg News reported Friday that China is still severely restricting cross-border trade, although optimism is growing that commerce will once again increase.

North Korea’s Gateway to China Is Optimistic Regardless of Trump

Moon, meanwhile, didn’t get an advance warning from Trump that he was canceling the summit even though the leaders had met only 48 hours earlier. He expressed frustration immediately afterward, calling the move “very regrettable.” South Korean officials have since attributed the communications gap to time differences.

China, South Korea and the US all

back denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but differ on how to make that happen. The Trump-Kim summit hit a snag after North Korea lambasted Vice President Mike Pence and National Security Adviser John Bolton for sug-gesting it give up its nuclear weapons before receiving anything in return -- the so-called Libya model.

“Chairman Kim clearly appealed once again that his intent to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula is firm,” Moon said. “What’s unclear for Chairman Kim, in my opinion, is not his willingness for denuclearization, but whether he can certainly trust the US saying that it’ll end hostile relations and guarantee the security of his regime after his denuclearization.”

In a conciliatory statement Friday aimed at getting the summit back on track, North Korea said it favored a “Trump formula” to resolve tensions and praised the president for agreeing to meet Kim. His regime has couched denuclearization in global terms and called for a step-by-step process, saying it would have no need for nuclear weapons once its leadership felt secure.

South Korea is reviewing ways to address North Korea’s security con-cerns, including turning the current armistice into a peace agreement, a senior Moon administration official said on Sunday. Moon said he would seek a trilateral summit with Trump and Kim to officially end the war if their meeting is successful.

Still, there’s no sense of a consensus yet on denuclearization. Moon side-stepped a question Sunday on whether Kim clearly mentioned if he would agree to the US demand for complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization, saying that the two sides would need to discuss it at working-level talks.

The US-South Korea alliance could take a hit if Moon intentionally exag-gerated Kim’s commitment to denu-clearization, according to Namkoong, who also teaches inter-Korean politics at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

“The stakes of this summit are big,” he said. “If the Trump-Kim summit suc-ceeds, Moon will win big. If it doesn’t, he will lose a lot.”

A new government is expected to take office in Italy next week after one of the longest periods of

post-election flux in its history, but the fraught gestation might prove child’s play by comparison with what comes next.

We’re about two months away from elections in Pakistan — elec-tions that are almost certain to be shrouded in controversy, one way or another. And, worryingly for Pakistan, it appears that the economy is weakening, just in time for the instability that might follow from the country’s turbulent politics.

Under the outgoing government -- led till last July by Nawaz Sharif, three times prime minister — the economy had appeared to be doing well. In fact, a new energy seemed to have infused Pakistan’s entre-preneurs and investors; in the last

fiscal year, the economy grew at 5.8 percent, the fastest rate in 13 years.

That now appears set to change. Economists polled by Bloomberg worry that, in the coming year, growth will slow to 5.2 percent -- a full percentage point below the government’s own optimistic forecast.

The problem is that much growth in the recent past has been unbalanced, depending particularly on investment from China in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — a branch of Chinese Pres-ident Xi Jinping’s world-spanning Belt and Road Initiative — and on Pakistani government spending that matches the CPEC’s aims. China’s big bet on Pakistan’s infra-structure has to be paid for somehow, in part through the pur-chase of Chinese heavy engineering and other inputs.

Those imports have helped swell Pakistan’s current account deficit by 50 percent, to a record high of over $14 billion. Pakistan’s central bank has devalued the cur-rency twice but has felt that it has few options other than running down the country’s foreign-exchange reserves. Over the past fiscal year, a third of the reserves have evaporated.

These are the classic signs of a fragile economy that is failing to tighten its belt where needed. To give the outgoing government some credit, it tried to correct course slightly in its annual budget last month, which cut infra-structure spending by 20 percent.

As the economists polled by Bloomberg point out, however, that’s going to affect growth going forward. Meanwhile, the govern-ment’s other expenditures — on wages, pensions and so on — went up by 20 percent. There’s an election on, after all. And, of course, the pampered Pakistan military had its budget raised by 20 percent.

Many analysts expect that Pakistan is going to have to turn to the International Monetary Fund in a few months, particularly if its reserves continue to dwindle at this rate. Even the rabidly anti-Western opposition leader, Imran Khan, has reportedly admitted in private that he would approach the IMF for help if he’s elected.

The problem is that Pakistan’s leaders have put all their eggs in one basket. The CPEC may have some advantages for Pakistan’s economy — for one, it has helped address the country’s chronic power shortage -- but the costs are worrisome. China forces Pakistan to buy Chinese equipment for use in Chinese projects, shredding its reserves; then Beijing extends loans to cover the purchases, which sends Pakistan’s debt soaring.

Pakistan’s external debt is now $91.8 billion — up 50 percent since Nawaz Sharif was sworn in as prime minister almost five years ago. The public debt-to-GDP ratio

Moon’s surprise meeting with Kim on Saturday shows he’s willing to do what it takes to keep diplomacy on track and avoid a return to threats of war over North Korea’s nuclear program.

is 70 percent, far higher than most of the country’s peers. And about two-thirds of the early loans from China have been extended at a usurious rate of interest - seven percent, according to some experts.

The next government -- even if it’s again led by Sharif’s party -- will have to recognize that Pakistan’s China-first economic model has broken. Frankly, it looks awfully odd for Pakistan to be bankrupted by China and then to approach the West -- in the form of the IMF — for help. China and Pakistan may be “iron friends,” but this isn’t what friends do to each other.

The truth is that the cure for Pakistan’s economy is obvious -- just difficult for politicians to implement. Pakistan needs to be integrated with the global economy, not just with China’s extractive state.

Only after Pakistan begins to export more to the world will it be able to pay for what investment it needs. Currently, the exports-to-GDP ratio is below 10 percent, far lower than other countries in the region. The Sharif government began struc-tural reform with some enthu-siasm, but that effort faded as it ran into heavy weather politically.

The reform program needs to be revived, and forms of funding and building infrastructure must be found that don’t leave Pakistan dependent on expensive Chinese financing. Till that happens, even fast growth won’t be sufficient to paper over the Pakistan economy’s essential fragility.

12 MONDAY 28 MAY 2018ASIA

Modi remembers Savarkar & NehruIANS

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday paid glowing tributes to Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar in his monthly radio address “Mann Ki Baat” even as he briefly paid respects to independent Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the latters 54th death anniversary.

Modi also urged the people to shun low-grade plastic and imbibe environmental respon-sibility. He exhorted people of all ages to play traditional sports and games as they not only make us physically and mentally sharp but also inculcate values in us.

Nehru, also the longest serving Prime Minister of India, passed away on May 27, 1964.

However, Modi chose not to speak much on Nehru and confined himself to just paying respects to the former Prime Minister in one sentence. Modi then quickly moved on to Savarkar, who was born in the month of May.

“Today is May 27, the death anniversary of the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawa-harlal Nehru ji. I render my pranam (respects) to Pandit ji,” Modi said as he quickly added: “Memories of this month are also linked with Veer Savarkar.”

Modi said that it was also in the month of May in 1857 when the Indians rose against the British oppression for the first time.

“It is indeed sad that we kept on calling the events of 1857 only as a rebellion or a sol-diers’ mutiny for a very long time. It was Veer Savarkar who boldly expostulated by writing that whatever happened in 1857 was not a revolt but was indeed the First War of Independence,” Modi said.

He said it was an “amazing coincidence” that the month which witnessed the first struggle for Independence was the month in which Savarkar was born.

“Savarkar ji’s personality

was full of special qualities. He was a worshipper of both shastra (weapons) and shaastras (knowledge).

“Generally, Savarkar is renowned for his bravery and his struggle against the British Raj. But besides these sterling qualities, he was also a striking poet and a social reformer who always emphasised on goodwill and unity,” Modi said.

Born on May 28, 1883, Savarkar was arrested for his anti-British activities in 1910 and sent to the notorious Cel-lular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to serve life imprisonment. However, Savarkar secured his release in 1921 on the condition that he would not work against the colonial government ever after.

Quoting former Prime Min-ister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Modi said that Savarkar meant “bril-liance, sacrifice, penance, sub-stance, logic, youth, an arrow and a sword” Noting that India will host the global World Envi-ronment Day celebrations on June 5, the theme for which will be “Beat Plastic Pollution”, Modi said it was an important achievement as the country had a growing role in the world towards mitigating climate change.

Noting that in the past few weeks, parts of the country wit-nessed dust storms, strong winds and unseasonal heavy rains which led to a loss of lives and damaged goods, he said: “Whenever we face a torrid summer, or floods, incessant rains or unbearable cold, eve-rybody becomes an expert, analysing global warming and climate change. But does empty talk bring about any solutions?”

Telangana okays insurance cover to farmersIANS

HYDERABAD: The Telangana government yesterday decided to provide insurance cover of Rs500,000 to farmers in the state.

The state Cabinet, in a meeting presided by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, approved the scheme of life insurance to farmers through Life Insurance Corporation of India.

The government will pay premium amount of Rs2,271 per farmer per year and in case of the insured farmer’s accidental or natural death, the nominee will be paid Rs 500,000.

All farmers between the ages group of 18 to 60 years will be eligible for the scheme.

According to an official

statement, the total budgetary provision for this scheme will be Rs10bn. Premium for all will be paid by August 1 every year.

The scheme will be for-mally announced on June 2, the state formation day while it will be formally launched on August 15 by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

He will distribute certif-icate of insurance among some farmers formally.

Later, MLAs will continue distribution of certificates in their respective constituencies.

The government said though the premium amount is higher, it has gone for life insurance to infuse self-con-fidence among farmers.

The announcement came close on the heels of the launch of crop investment support

scheme in the state.Under the scheme launched

on May 10, farmers will get Rs8,000 per acre each every year as crop investment support.

The government plans to spend Rs120bn every year under this scheme, benefiting 5.8 million farmers. The financial assistance will be for two crops each year.

The state cabinet also approved the proposal to create seven zones and two multi-zones for appointment and transfers of government employees.

After the cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister left for New Delhi to meet President Ram Nath Kovind to request him to revise the earlier Presidential orders with regard to the zones.

IANS

SRINAGAR: Nineteen Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were injured in a road accident here yesterday, police said.

The accident occurred after a CRPF vehicle went out of the driver’s control in the city’s Bemina area and turned turtle.

One critically injured trooper is being airlifted to Delhi even as a contro-versy of sorts began over the circumstances those led to the accident.

CRPF inspector general (IG), Ravideep Sahi said the vehicle had turned turtle after it was attacked by two stone pelters and the driver of the vehicle would have over-run the two pelters had he not swirled the vehicle towards one side that caused the accident.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar, Ismail Imtiyaz Parray said the CCTV footage recorded at the site of the accident does not confirm any stone pelting when the accident occurred in the area.

Army won’t stop Islamabad from improving ties with India: Ex-ISI chiefIANS

NEW DELHI: Former ISI chief, Lt. Gen. Asad Durrani, who has triggered a controversy in Pakistan with a book he co-authored with his once-rival Indian spymaster, says that the army and the intelli-gence agency of his country have never stopped any civilian government in Islamabad from improving ties with India if done on the basis of “sound principles” of international relations.

“The common belief (that civilian governments in Pakistan are subservient to the military when it comes to critical foreign policies) is seriously flawed. No one ever prevented a civilian government from improving relations with India - if it did that according to sound principles of relations between nations. Oth-erwise, even a military ruler like (Pervez) Musharraf could come to grief,” Durrani told IANS in an email interview from Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief was denied a visa for the launch of the book, “The Spy Chronicles: RAW ISI And The Illusion Of Peace”, which was released jointly by former Vice President Hamid Ansari, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Union minister Yashwant Sinha in New Delhi on May 23.

He has since been sum-moned by Pakistan Army asking him to explain his position on views attributed to him in the book of dialogues that throws light on the perspectives, assumptions and observations of the two spymasters on Kashmir; Hafiz Saeed and 26/11; Kulbhushan Jadhav; surgical strikes; the deal for Osama bin Laden; how the US and Russia feature in the India-Pakistan relationship; and how terror undermines the two countries’ attempts at talks.

Asked about his remarks in

a pre-recorded video played at the book launch in which he blamed the “Indian deep state” for being instrumental in denying him a visa, Durrani said: “Every country has a ‘deep state’- at times called ‘establishment’ or ‘nomenclatura’ (of the Soviet era) and is composed differently.

“India and the US have some of the most powerful ones. They keep the political leadership ‘in line’.” Replying to a question about current border tension between India and Pakistan with talks stalled and all sports and cultural exchanges at a standstill, the former ISI chief said nothing was “forever” in ties between the two nuclear-armed nations.

“Thaws and freezes will come and go in the foreseeable future. The single most important factor that holds back is India’s entrenched belief that the ‘status quo’ suited her better. Any major change, even if seemingly of some good, would create a dynamics

that India might not be able to control,” he pointed out.

In the book, Durrani suggests that instead of having “a con-fidant of each Prime Minister, a team headed by someone con-sidered suitable by the major political parties, the foreign office and the military”, should be engaged for talks “to ensure their long-time relevance”.

Asked how was it possible when neighbourhood policy of the two countries changed with their dispensation, Durrani said: “Precisely for that reason. If there was wider participation there might be more chances that the policies would not be fiddled with ‘too much’. Indeed, the gov-ernment of the day has the pre-rogative but in most cases was unlikely to ride roughshod like (US President Donald) Trump.” Asked if he agreed with his Indian counterpart’s assertion that India should talk directly with the Pakistan Army, the

former military general said: “Dialogues take place at multiple levels -- official and unofficial. But a political umbrella for the process is the sine qua non (essential condition) for (its) success.” About Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s remarks that India and Pakistan need to talk to solve all their disputes, including Kashmir, Durrani said it wasn’t unprecedented for any military chief to advocate peace talks.

“I can’t read his (Bajwa’s) mind. But hardly any chief before him said anything different. (Former military dictator General) Zia ul Haq even used ‘cricket diplomacy’.” About Musharraf’s four-point formula to solve the Kashmir issue between the countries, he said it was quite popular in Jammu and Kashmir. “But remember what I said about ‘sound principles of international relations’. If ignored even the best of ideas

would not work-like they didn’t in the period you have men-tioned.” The four-point formula was floated in 2006, when Man-mohan Singh was the Indian Prime Minister. It advocated no re-drawing of borders in Kashmir but allowing free movement across the region for people on both sides of the Line of Control.

It suggested self-governance or autonomy but not inde-pendence for the state divided between India and Pakistan.

The military ruler also sug-gested phased withdrawal of troops from the region and working out a mechanism jointly so that the road map for Kashmir was implemented smoothly.

The idea never took concrete shape though it was for the first time that a Pakistan ruler was departing from a historical stance of seeking plebiscite for Kashmiri people according to the UN resolutions.

Modi chose not to speak much on Nehru and confined himself to just paying respects to the former prime minister in one sentence.

Two expressways around Delhi openedREUTERS

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said yesterday he expected around a 30 percent drop in the number of vehicles entering Delhi, as he opened two new expressways around the capital aimed at decongesting its streets and reducing deadly pollution.

A damning report by the World Health Organisation this month said India was home to the world’s 14 most polluted cities, with Delhi ranked sixth most polluted. Air quality has worsened over recent winters, prompting Modi’s office to directly monitor measures to clean up the capital’s air.

“The expressways will greatly benefit the people of Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) by reducing pollution and will bring down traffic jams,” Modi said.

The NCR is a rapidly urban-ising and polluted area around New Delhi that is one-third the size of New York state, but houses 2.5 times more people.

Illegal crop burning in farm states surrounding New Delhi, vehicle exhausts and swirling construction dust have

contributed to what has become an annual crisis.

The 135km six-lane Eastern Peripheral Expressway was built in 17 months at a total cost of around Rs110bn ($1.62bn), the government said.

More than 50,000 vehicles that transit the capital city on their way to other destinations

would no longer need to enter New Delhi, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told reporters on Saturday.

It offers signal-free connec-tivity and is the first green highway fully lit by solar power, has drip pumps for watering plants alongside the highway and has rain water harvesting.

Modi also opened an initial stretch of an 82km Delhi-Meerut highway, which is India’s first 14-lane.

Modi’s administration is marking its fourth year in office this weekend and has vowed to speed up infrastructure devel-opment as it heads into a national election in 2019.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the Digital Art Gallery before inaugurating the Delhi-Meerut Expressway in New Delhi, India, yesterday.

Tejashwi mocks Nitish for questioning demonetisation benefitsIANS

PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav yesterday mocked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying the latter had supported demoneti-sation but was now questioning it, and soon he will describe demonetisation as the biggest scam of India.

A day after Nitish Kumar

questioned the benefits of the much-hyped demonetisation move to the common people and slammed banks that allegedly helped the rich and powerful to manage their cash following the central government’s November 8, 2016 move, Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, said: “Our beloved Nitish Chacha took another sharp U-turn.”

Yadav, the former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister tweeted: “He (Nitish Kumar) supported demonetisation but is now ques-tioning it. He is always years behind in understanding the issues, difficulties and demands of common people. Don’t be sur-prised if he calls demonetisation the biggest scam of India.” Kumar on Saturday surprised not only his ally Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP) leaders here but his own party leaders when he questioned the benefits of demonetisation. “I was supporter of demoneti-sation... but how many people benefited from it? Some powerful people shifted their cash from one place to another,” the Bihar CM said at a meeting with bank offi-cials here. It is for the first time that Nitish Kumar, who is also the president of the Janata

Dal-United (JD-U), a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally, has ques-tioned the demonetisation move of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

Incidentally, Nitish Kumar’s utterances against the December 2016 demonetisation move came on a day when the BJP was cele-brating completion of four years of the Modi government.

19 CRPF troopers injured in Srinagar accident

13MONDAY 28 MAY 2018 ASIA

Pakistan to hold national & provincial polls on July 25

INTERNEWS

ISLAMABAD: It’s official – the 2018 general elections in Pakistan will be held on July 25, as President Mamnoon Hussain has signed the summary sent to him by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), proposing July 25-27 as the possible poll dates.

A cursory look at the last three general elections in Pakistan shows that the upcoming electoral exercise will be held in the hottest season ever and this, according to experts, can negatively impact the voter overall turnout.

But they believed a lot will depend on how the political parties will hold their election campaigns.

Already three major political parties – Bilawal Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party, Shahbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N and Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf – are gearing up for the poll bout.

With now the poll date fixed, the contours of caretaker gov-ernments in the Centre and in the four provinces are yet to be decided.

The nation-wide electoral exercise for the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies will be held on the same day, officials said yesterday.

There are several records related to the upcoming elec-tions, like for the first time, over 100 million registered voters will be eligible to take part in polls.

The final electoral rolls could be furnished only after the holding of the belated national census, which was last held in 1998.

Similarly, the elections are

to be held after a key constitu-tional amendment, which envisaged merger of the Fed-erally-Administered Tribal Areas

with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa along with the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas.

The general election held on

October 10, 2002 had yielded 41.8 per cent turnout, whereas the turnout in next elections on February 18, 2008 was recorded

at 44.1 per cent. However, voters showed great interest in exer-cising their right to vote in 2013 elections, conducted on May 12, as the turnout shot up to a healthy 55.02 per cent.

Interestingly, the 1997 elec-tions had even showed below 40 per cent turnout though polls were held on February 03, which is deemed as a conducive environment for voters to come out and take part in polling activity.

The five-year constitutional term of the National Assembly and the Punjab Assembly will end on May 31 while the Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balo-chistan assemblies will complete their terms on May 28.

Of about 106 million regis-tered voters, 59.2 million are male and 46.7 million female voters, showing an ever-increasing gender gap of over 12.5 million, which despite several drills could not be sig-nificantly reduced.

KP assembly approves bill to merge tribal regionsAP

PESHAWAR: The assembly of n o r t h w e s t e r n K h y b e r Pakhtunkhwa province approved a bill yesterday to merge the tribal regions along the Afghan border with its territory, paving the way to granting equal rights to about 5 million people in the restive area.

The milestone step comes after both houses of parliament had earlier approved granting equal rights to the tribes that have been governed by discrim-inatory laws since British colonial rule. The bill now goes to President Mamnoon Hussain to be signed into law.

Haji Abdul Rehman, a tribal elder from the Mohmand tribal area and member of the Grand Tribal Jirga (Council), welcomed the step saying it will give the tribes rights other Pakistanis enjoy, in addition to bringing development and facilities to the region.

Likely fearing loss of political influence in the region, hardliner religious Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party, however, opposed the process saying the region’s pop-ulation should have been con-sulted before any decision was taken.

Outside the assembly hun-dreds of the party’s charged sup-porters tried to block entry to the

assembly; police used batons and tear gas to disperse them. Protesters threw stones injuring six policemen, damaging vehicles belonging to media outlets in the process, said police officer Kamal Hussein.

Maulana Lutfur Rehman of JUI said in the assembly that the tribes have a right to determine their fate.

The regions remain effec-tively lawless and in recent years have become a haven for militants.

Neighboring Afghanistan

also expressed reservations over the process saying it should have involved a consensus among the region’s residents.

The Afghan presidential palace said in a statement Sat-urday that the Afghan gov-ernment has repeatedly shared its concerns through diplomatic channels with Pakistan and the international community regarding any unilateral moves along the Durand Line that sep-arates the two countries.

“There is a military situation in the Federally Administered

Tribal Areas. Any decision should have been made while the situation was clam where the real desire of its people could be reflected,” said the statement, adding that “any military and political approach without bilateral consultation regarding the tribal regions will be seen as unilateral and against the 1921 pact between British India and Afghanistan.”

Islamabad rejected Kabul’s stance saying Parliament’s decision reflects the will of the people.

Police officers stand guard at the assembly building during a demonstration against the constitutional amendment bill for the merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, in Peshawar, Pakistan, yesterday.

Implementation of reforms to enhance literacy rate: ExpertINTERNEWS

ISLAMABAD: The literacy rates are expected to be enhanced in all provinces of Pakistan, especially the federally administered tribal areas (FATA), which are being merged into the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.

Official sources say that this is expected following implementation of educa-tional reforms and projects introduced by the gov-ernment in its record sixth federal budget 2018-19, which is being termed it a leap-step forward to bring revolution in education sector in Pakistan.

A new education pro-gramme called ‘100 100 100’ introduced by the federal government in federal budget 2018-19 will give further boost to literacy rate including in KP and FATA besides attracting large number of students to schools, colleges and universities.

While terming the new education programme a sig-nificant step forward to promote literacy rate and education sector, senior edu-cationist and economics expert, Prof Dr Muhammad Naeem said it was a landmark programme of the government.

“This will increase stu-dents’ enrolment in public sector schools viz-a-viz encourage them to get higher education in their selected subjects without financial woes,” he said.

Under this new pro-gramme, 100 per cent Paki-stani children would be enrolled in schools, 100 per cent children will be retained in schools and 100 per cent will graduate from schools.

The new programme is expected to help promote women education especially in rural areas and would dis-courage dropout of female students in particular and poor students in general.

In spite of the fact that education is now a devolved subject, the federal gov-ernment is still helping prov-inces in the education sector based on special needs.

“I think great responsibil-ities are now rest on the shoulders of provincial gov-ernments to introduce such like goal oriented programmes to enhance education besides providing better facilities to students at their doorsteps,” Dr Naeem says.

Bangladesh: 100suspects detainedin anti-drug crackdownAP

DHAKA: Security officials in Bangladesh said they raided an area in the capital on Saturday and detained at least 100 suspects as part of a nationwide anti-drug crackdown, amid accusations that extrajudicial killings have taken place during the drive.

Over 60 suspected drug peddlers have been killed and over 3,000 suspects detained across Bangladesh in the crackdown, according to tallies by officials and local media. The campaign was launched earlier this month on orders by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Officials and local media have said the deaths occurred in shootouts between security officials and suspects or during raids, but rights groups have called the killings extra-judicial. The country’s main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has said many of its leaders and activists have been the target of the security agencies in the name of curbing the illegal drug trade. The crackdown is expected to continue for a few more weeks.

Hundreds march in Hong Kong to mark Tiananmen crackdownAFP

HONG KONG: Hundreds marched through Hong Kong yesterday ahead of the 29th anniversary of China’s crackdown on democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Semi-autonomous Hong Kong is the only place on Chinese soil where the anniversary is openly marked with a famous vigil in Victoria Park on June 4 each year. The march is an annual precursor to the main event.

Organised by a group of veteran democracy activists, protesters demanded justice for the victims of the crackdown and also urged the Chinese gov-ernment to release Liu Xia, widow of Nobel Peace Prize lau-reate Liu Xiaobo, who continues to be under house arrest since her husband’s death in custody last year. Protesters shouted “Accountability for the massacre! End one-party dictatorship,” and held banners reading: “Mourn June 4, Resist Authoritarianism” as they walked from the business district of Wan Chai to Beijing’s liaison office in the city.

The disqualification of

pro-democracy lawmakers from parliament and the banning of some activists from standing for office has heightened concern that Hong Kong’s cherished freedoms are being steadily eroded by Beijing.

Pro-Beijing figures have said recently that calling for an end to one-party dictatorship is “illegal” and that anyone who does so could run the risk of being disqualified from running for election.

“This is our freedom, our right, and also our belief. We do not hesitate to continue saying our slogan. We believe that only by ending the one-party dicta-torship can we build democratic China,” said Albert Ho, chairman of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Move-ments of China, which organised the march. Ho said that around 1,100 people attended the protest.

Residents said they were marching to ensure the bloody crackdown was not forgotten.

“If nobody talks about it, the next generation will never know about this history,” said a woman who gave her name as Mrs Ho, and attended the protest with her son.

“China’s Communist Party will not listen to citizens and people’s voices. Although I was not born at that time, I heard my parents talk about it and I knew Hong Kong people went on the streets... to fight for their democracy and rights,” added another protester who gave his name as Kelvin.

However, the turnout figures for the march and vigil have

dropped in recent years as many young Hong Kongers are frus-trated by the lack of progress on political reform in the city.

They disagree with the vigil’s main message of democrati-sation in China, saying the focus should be on Hong Kong, not the mainland.

Student unions will not attend the longstanding vigil in Victoria Park this year and have

boycotted it for the past three years.

Hundreds -- by some esti-mates more than a thousand -- died after the Communist Party sent tanks to crush demonstra-tions in the square in the heart of Beijing on June 4 1989, where student-led protesters had staged a peaceful seven-week sit-in to demand democratic reforms.

Protesters hold a banner which reads “March For Democracy in China” as they take part in a procession in Hong Kong, yesterday to commemorate the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing.

INTERNEWS

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has proposed a ban on political parties from collecting money from aspiring electoral candi-dates.

“No political party shall receive any amount from any of its prospective candidate in the name of party fund for issuance of party ticket to that candidate,” a draft code of conduct prepared by the ECP for the coming general elec-tions reads.

The draft code will be

discussed with the political parties having representation in parliament at a consultative meeting convened by the ECP on May 31.

As a normal practice, all the major political parties collect a huge amount from the aspiring candidates seeking party tickets for a national or provincial assembly seat in the general elections in the name of ‘application fee’. The fee is non-refundable and goes to the ‘party fund’ irrespective of whether the application is accepted or rejected.

It is yet to be seen how political parties will react to the clause of the proposed code of conduct, especially those that have already raised money from ticket applicants. If the clause remains intact in the final code of conduct, the amount collected from the pro-spective candidates will probably have to be refunded.

According to the proposed rules of the game, the District Returning Officer and Returning Officer shall be responsible to ensure implementation of the code of conduct.

Poll body mulls banning parties from collecting ‘funds’ from candidates

For the first time, over 100 million registered voters will be eligible to take part in polls.

14 MONDAY 28 MAY 2018ASIA

US officials in North Korea to prepare for summitREUTERS

SEOUL/WASHINGTON: US offi-cials crossed into North Korea yesterday to hold talks on prepa-rations for a possible summit, a US newspaper reported, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un reaf-firmed his commitment to meet with US President Donald Trump.

Both Pyongyang and Wash-ington are pressing ahead on plans for a summit after Trump pulled out of the proposed June 12 meeting on Thursday, only to reconsider the decision the next day. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said earlier that he and North Korea’s Kim had agreed during a surprise meeting on Sat-urday that the possible North Korea-US summit must be held.

The Washington Post, citing a person familiar with the arrange-ments, said Sung Kim, a former US ambassador to South Korea and former nuclear negotiator with the

North, was leading the prepara-tions on the US side.

The American diplomat crossed into North Korean ter-ritory with Allison Hooker, the Korea expert on the White House National Security Council, as well as a Defence Department official, the Post said. They met with Choe Son Hui, the North Korean vice foreign minister, the Post said.

A US official confirmed there were plans for Sung Kim, who cur-rently is US ambassador to the Philippines, to lead an American delegation to meet North Korean officials on the border this weekend for summit preparations in the event that the Singapore meeting goes ahead.

Pentagon official Randall Schriver was part of the US team for talks at the border on the summit agenda, the official said. However, the official did not know whether the US representatives were in place. The Post said the

meetings were expected to con-tinue today and tomorrow.

The White House did not immediately comment on the planning talks in the region.

The United States has demanded the “complete, veri-fiable, and irreversible” disman-tlement of North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. Pyongyang has rejected unilateral disar-mament and has always couched its language in terms of denuclear-isation of the Korean Peninsula.

American officials are scep-tical that Kim will ever fully abandon his nuclear arsenal, and Moon said North Korea is not con-vinced it can trust security guar-antees from the United States. “However, during the US-South Korea summit, President Trump clearly emphasized that we may see not only the end of hostile rela-tions but also economic cooper-ation if North Korea denu-clearises,” Moon said.

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in speaks during a press conference at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, yesterday.

S Korea: Kim commits to summit, denuclearisationAP

SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-in said yesterday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un committed in their surprise meeting to sitting down with President Donald Trump and to a “complete denucleari-sation of the Korean Peninsula.” The Korean leaders’ second summit in a month saw bear hugs and broad smiles, but their quickly arranged meeting on Saturday appears to highlight a sense of urgency on both sides of the world’s most heavily armed border.

At the White House, Trump said negotiations over a potential June 12 summit with Kim that he had earlier cancelled were “going along very well.” Trump told reporters that they are still considering Singapore as the venue for their talks. He said there is a “lot of good will,” and that denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula would be “a great thing.” The Koreas’ talks, which Moon said Kim requested, capped a whirlwind 24 hours of diplomatic back-and-forth. They allowed Moon to push for a US-North Korean summit that he sees as the best way to ease ani-mosity that had some fearing a war last year.

Kim may see the sit-down with Trump as necessary to easing pressure from crushing sanctions and to winning security assurances in a region surrounded by enemies.

Moon told reporters yes-terday that Kim “again made clear his commitment to a com-plete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,” and that he told the South Korean leader he’s willing to cooperate to end con-frontation and work toward peace for the sake of the suc-cessful North Korea-US summit.

Moon said he told Kim that Trump has a “firm resolve” to end hostile relations with North Korea and initiate economic cooperation if Kim implements “complete denuclearisation.” “What Kim is unclear about is that he has concerns about whether his country can surely trust the United States over its promise to end hostile relations (with North Korea) and provide a security guarantee if they do denuclearisation,” Moon said.

“During the South Korea-US summit, President Trump said the US is willing to clearly put an end to hostile relations (between the US and North Korea) and help (the North) achieve economic prosperity if North Korea con-ducts denuclearisation,” he said.

Moon said North Korea and the United States will soon start working-level talks to prepare for the Kim-Trump summit. He said he expects the talks to go smoothly because Pyongyang and Washington both know what they want from each other.

Kim, in a telling line from a dispatch issued by the North’s state-run news service earlier

yesterday, “expressed his fixed will on the historic (North Korea)-US summit talks.” During Saturday’s inter-Korean summit, the Korean leaders agreed to “positively cooperate with each other as ever to improve (North Korea)-US relations and establish (a) mechanism for per-manent and durable peace.”

They agreed to have their top officials meet again June 1. Moon said military generals and Red Cross officials from the Koreas will also meet separately to discuss how to ease military ten-sions and resume reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

The Korean summit came hours after South Korea expressed relief over revived talks for a Trump-Kim meeting.

Despite repeated references to “denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula” by the North, it remains unclear whether Kim will ever agree to fully abandon his nuclear arsenal.

The North has previously used the term to demand the United States pull out its 28,500 troops in South Korea and withdraw its so-called “nuclear umbrella” security commitment to South Korea and Japan. The North hasn’t openly repeated those same demands after Kim’s sudden outreach to Seoul and Washington.

Moon has insisted Kim can be persuaded to abandon his nuclear facilities, materials and bombs in a verifiable and irre-versible way in exchange for credible security and economic guarantees. Moon said yesterday that the North’s disarmament could be still be a difficult process even if Pyongyang, Washington and Seoul don’t differ over what “complete denuclearisation” of the peninsula means.

‘Kim Jong-Un’ poses for selfies in SingaporeREUTERS

SINGAPORE: Surprised Singa-poreans pursued North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un yesterday before realising the portly man with slick black hair near the Marina Bay Sands hotel was an impersonator. “It looked like the real Kim Jong-Un, but later I realised it’s not the real one,” said Sagar Admuthe who was visiting from Mumbai, after several selfies with the dopple-ganger against a backdrop of the city’s bay.

“When you see him, it’s very difficult to make out.” The Aus-tralian-Chinese man posing as the North Korean leader calls himself only Howard X and said he was appearing to wish success for a summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump to negotiate an end to the North’s nuclear programme.

Howard X also made an

appearance as Kim at the Winter Olympics in Gangneung in South Korea in February, bewildering North Korean cheerleaders who initially thought their leader had walked into a hockey stadium.

“I think the two leaders will sit down and they’re going to

have a great time, because really they have the same personality,” he said yesterday. “They are going to be best friends right after this meeting.”|

Howard X said Kim’s rise as the third leader of North Korea in 2011 has proved lucrative for

him, jump starting a new career in films, commercials and private functions, most often in his home town of Hong Kong.

“I said that guy looks a lot like me, and I thought, wow, I need to do something with this and make some money,” Howard X added. “This is my normal body,” he said, when asked if he had to put on weight to impersonate the North’s leader.

“But he’s fatter, and I can’t catch up... it’ll damage my health.” Howard X, who is a musician by training and said he still produces Brazilian music sung in Chinese, said his partner known as Dennis Alan imper-sonates Trump. Although he could not join him this week, both will return before the summit.

“Hey Donald, I’m already in Singapore, waiting for you to turn up,” Howard X said.

Howard X, an Australian-Chinese impersonating Kim Jong-Un, poses with a durian at the Esplanade in Singapore, yesterday.

US warships sail near South China Sea islandsREUTERS

WASHINGTON: Two US Navy warships sailed near South China Sea islands claimed by China yesterday, two US officials said, in a move likely to anger Beijing as President Donald Trump seeks its continued cooperation on North Korea.

The operation was the latest attempt to counter what Wash-ington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters.

While this operation had been planned months in advance, and similar operations have become routine, it comes at a particularly

sensitive time and just days after the Pentagon uninvited China from a major US-hosted naval drill. The US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Higgins guided-missile destroyer and the Antietam, a guided-missile cruiser, came within 12 nautical miles of the Paracel Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors.

The US military vessels carried out maneuvering opera-tions near Tree, Lincoln, Triton and Woody islands in the Paracels, one of the officials said.

Trump’s cancellation of a

summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has put further strain on US-China ties amid a trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies. Critics of the operations, known as a “freedom of navigation,” have said that they have little impact on Chinese behavior and are largely symbolic. The US military has a long-standing position that its opera-tions are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and that they are separate from political considerations.

Satellite photographs taken on May 12 showed China appeared to have deployed truck-mounted

surface-to-air missiles or anti-ship cruise missiles at Woody Island.

Earlier this month, China’s air force landed bombers on disputed islands and reefs in the South China Sea as part of a training exercise in the region, triggering concern from Vietnam and the Philippines. The US military did not directly comment on oper-ation, but said US forces operate in the region on a daily basis. “We conduct routine and regular Freedom of Navigation Opera-tions (FONOPs), as we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future,” US Pacific Fleet said in a statement.

Malaysian financier in crosshairs after poll upsetAFP

KUALA LUMPUR: Baby-faced playboy Jho Low, a financier at the centre of Malaysia’s 1MDB mega-scandal, may find his days of hobnobbing with celeb-rities and splurging on property and art are numbered as the new government pledges to bring him to justice.

Suspected of being a key figure in one of the world’s biggest frauds along with ousted leader Najib Razak and his cronies, the chubby, bespec-tacled businessman has become a lightning rod for public fury at the controversy. He led a high-rolling lifestyle after allegedly stealing huge sums from 1MDB. He hung out with celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, partied with Paris Hilton, and reportedly spent vast sums in New York’s hottest nightspots. As investigations into the controversy accel-erated, the Malaysian took to a luxury yacht allegedly bought

with stolen cash and sailed around Asia, until the vessel was seized off Bali recently as part of 1MDB-linked probes.

The Wall Street Journal reported that he was on the Thai holiday island of Phuket earlier this month awaiting the election results. His current whereabouts are unclear. But time could be running out for the flamboyant 36-year-old after Najib’s scandal-mired coalition suffered a shock defeat at the May 9 poll in large part due to public anger at 1MDB. The new government, headed by Najib’s ex-mentor Mahathir Mohamad, has reo-pened probes into the sophis-ticated fraud and wants to haul Jho Low — whose full name is Low Taek Jho back to Malaysia.

Abdul Razak Idris, a former senior officer from the anti-graft agency which led probes into the scandal until they were shut down under Najib, said he believed Low was the mastermind.

The Cayman Island-registered vessel Equanimity, which is reportedly worth some $250m and is owned by Jho Low, a former unofficial adviser to the Malaysian fund 1MDB, sits in waters off Tanjung Benoa on the Indonesia’s resort of Bali.

Moon told reporters that Kim “again made clear his commitment to a complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,” and that he told the South Korean leader he’s willing to cooperate to end confrontation and work toward peace for the sake of the successful North Korea-US summit.

15MONDAY 28 MAY 2018 EUROPE

Disabled protesters end Polish Parliament sit-inAFP

WARSAW: Young disabled Poles yesterday called off their sit-in protest in the Polish Parliament after 40 days of sleeping on its floor in a bid to persuade the rightwing government to boost their meagre living allowance.

The move came as the spring session of Nato’s Parliamentary Assembly was being held in the Polish parliament over the weekend.

In connection with the event, Polish authorities blocked off the corridor where the protesters were camped out, leaving them access to only one bathroom and cutting them off from shower facilities and the outside world.

“After 40 days of continuous humiliation and contempt from the current government, we are suspending our protest in par-liament,” Iwona Hartwich, who had been protesting alongside her 23-year-old son Jakub, told reporters gathered outside the parliament building in Warsaw yesterday.

“We’re worried about our children’s wellbeing. We’ve been cut off from facilities,” she said.

Confined to a wheelchair,

Jakub is one of some 10 disabled young protesters demanding a new monthly benefit of $141 in addition to the modest state pay-ments of around 210 euros they currently receive.

“We’ll never understand why people with disabilities are being condemned to live in poverty,” Hartwig added.

Poland’s conservative Pres-ident Andrzej Duda said that more work was needed to find “solutions that will serve dis-abled people”.

Lech Walesa, Poland’s com-munist-era freedom icon and Nobel Peace Prize winner, rallied behind the protesters on Monday calling for solidarity with their cause.

Senior members of the rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) government have also met with them, but have failed to agree on all their demands.

Poland’s Family and Labour Minister Elzbieta Rafalska said the government has agreed to increase the existing disability allowance to 245 euros.

Rafalska also told the Gosc Niedzielny weekly that the gov-ernment had tabled legislation boosting funding for costly

physiotherapy, a move she said would allow disabled people to “save over 120 euros” a month.

But the protesters said the measures fell short of their expectations and have stuck to their demand for an extra 120 euros per month in cash.

The sit-in has drawn crit-icism from some PiS lawmakers who argue it has been orches-trated by the liberal opposition

to tarnish the government’s image.

Insisting they are apolitical, the protesters have flatly denied the allegation.

Since coming to power in 2015, the PiS government has come under heavy criticism at home and abroad over a slew of reforms that critics say erode democratic standards and the rule of law.

The European Union launched legal action against the PiS government last December over reforms that it fears will limit judicial independence.

But the PiS administration has also gained popularity among some Polish voters for its generous social spending, including a new monthly child benefit and lowered pension age.

Disabled people and their parents leave the Polish Parliament, in Warsaw, Poland, yesterday.

Brexit supporter rules out Prime Minister bidBLOOMBERG

LONDON: Outspoken Brexit supporter and frequent government critic Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured) said he’s not going to challenge Prime Minster Theresa May for her job.

“I don’t wish to be prime minister, I’m very happy as a backbench minister in Par-liament,” Rees-Mogg said on the BBC’s “Andrew Marr Show” yesterday.

“Of course I wouldn’t chal-lenge the prime minister. The prime minister has my full support.”

Rees-Mogg chairs the European Research Group, a caucus of Conservatives who

want maximum distance from the European Union.

He said he expects the prime minister to deliver on promises to leave the customs union and

to not allow a transition period out of the bloc to drag on too long.

Separately, The Mail on Sunday reported that Rees-Mogg bought a house next to the Houses of Parliament, stoking speculation that he may make a

bid to become the next Conserv-ative Leader.

The Sun on Saturday said Tory grandees have a plan to replace May with Environment Secretary Michael Gove, another outspoken critic of EU mem-bership, as soon as Brexit occurs in March 2019, with Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson tapped to lead the party into the next scheduled election in 2022.

The prime minister will bring the European Union Withdrawal Bill back to Parliament in June for votes that will become a showdown between the rival factions of the Conservative Party. That will happen right before a crucial summit with EU leaders to negotiate the

departure terms.The most contentious issue

remains the border between Northern Ireland, part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland, a member of the EU.

Keeping the border open without checks on trade may require Britain to stay in a customs union with the bloc, an outcome strongly opposed by Rees-Mogg and his allies. A tran-sition period, agreed in March, in which the status quo is main-tained allows more time to come up with a solution.

May has put off difficult Brexit votes until now, because with no majority in the lower House of Commons, she couldn’t be sure of prevailing.

The EU Withdrawal Bill suf-fered multiple defeats during consideration in the upper House of Lords, meaning that the gov-ernment is now asking the Commons to reverse 15 amend-ments, including dealing with the customs union issue.

Tom Watson, deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party, said on Sunday that he didn’t know how party leadership would instruct its members to vote on the bill, and said no decision has been made on whether the party would enforce discipline on the decision.

Labour backs staying in a customs union with the EU, while May has so far ruled out such a step.

Lightning storms disrupt London airport travelAP

LONDON: British meteorolo-gists said thousands of lightning strikes hit the UK during a powerful overnight thunder-storm, and a London-area airport reported flight disrup-tions yesterday after an aircraft refueling system was damaged.

London Stansted Airport said that a lightning strike dis-abled the fueling system “for a period this morning. Engineers have been on site and have now restored the system, however flights may still be subject to d i v e r s i o n , d e l a y o r cancellation.”

More than 200 flights were delayed at Stansted.

Another 31 departures and 18 arrivals were cancelled, according to FlightStats, which provides data on commercial aviation.

London-area airports were busier than usual, since Britain is in the middle of a long holiday weekend, and many school-children also have a half-term break this coming week.

Budget airline Ryanair, which has a big presence at Stansted, couldn’t say how many of its flights had been affected at the airport, but was offering full refunds to some.

The Ireland-based airline apologised to those affected passengers, but said the disrup-tions were beyond the com-

pany’s control.“A number of flights have

regrettably been cancelled at Stansted Airport this morning due to an earlier airport fueling system failure, caused by a lightning strike,” a Ryanair spokesman said.

“All affected customers are being contacted and advised of their options of a full refund, a free transfer on to the next available flight or a free transfer on to an alternative routing.”

Meteorologist Charlie Powell said information sug-gested there were “somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 strikes across the UK during the overnight period.”

A general view as lightning strikes over the city of London, in Britain, yesterday.

Jacob Rees-Mogg said that he expects the prime minister to deliver on promises to leave the customs union and to not allow a transition period out of the bloc to drag on too long.

London launches cashless payments for buskersAFP

LONDON: London is intro-ducing a contactless payment scheme for buskers in what organisers said would be a world first, Mayor Sadiq Khan said yesterday as he unveiled a partnership with tech company iZettle.

Under the “Busk in London” programme, street musicians in the British capital will be able to accept non-cash payments with contactless cards, wearable technology and chip and pin.

“Now, more Londoners will be able to show their support to the capital’s brilliant, talented street performers,” Khan said at the launch of the scheme, calling the city “a powerhouse of music”.

Charlotte Campbell, a full-time busker who has been tri-alling the technology for two weeks, said she had noticed a “significant” increase in contributions.

“I believe if street per-formers like myself don’t adapt to the cashless society we are edging towards, we’re at risk of becoming a dying art,” she said.

The project allows per-formers to set a fixed amount of money to donate and accept contactless payments from passers-by.

iZettle and Busk in London have started rolling the feature out to performers across the city and the company said it would make it available to more charity organisations, NGOs and small businesses.

3 Ukrainian soldiers dead in clashes with rebelsAFP

KIEV: Three Ukrainian serv-icemen were killed in fighting with pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country as fighting intensified in the region, Kiev said yesterday.

Ukraine’s defence ministry said one soldier was killed in fighting late on Saturday. The country’s security service (SBU) later yesterday confirmed two other servicemen were killed in shelling in the Luhansk region.

“In addition, four of our servicemen were injured in

varying degrees of severity,” Dmytro Gutsulyak, spokesman for the Ukrainian defence min-istry, said.

The situation in eastern Ukraine has seen an uptick in violence in recent weeks.

Two Ukrainian soldiers and four civilians were killed in fighting last week.

The chief monitor of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) special mission to Ukraine Alex-ander Hug temporarily left the conflict zone last week due to a “serious deterioration of the

security situation”, the organi-sation said.

More than 10,000 people have been killed since the Moscow-backed insurgency broke out in April 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Russia of funnelling troops and arms across the border to fan the flames of the conflict.

Moscow has denied the alle-gations despite overwhelming evidence that it has been involved in the fighting and its explicit political support for the rebels.

Spanish police arrest fugitive bank robberAFP

MADRID: Spanish police said yesterday they had arrested a 66-year-old man who is suspected of robbing nine banks since he fled prison last month while on furlough.

The man, who the author-ities believe has been robbing banks for over 35 years, was arrested at a hotel in Getafe, where he was spending the night, police said in a statement.

He had been on the run since April when he failed to return to the Alcala Meco prison near Madrid where he was serving time for bank robbery after being released on furlough.

Police said the suspect used the same technique in his robberies — he would dress formally, show a pistol to bank staff while calmly demanding cash and then flee the scene on public transportation.

He is suspected of carrying out his most recent bank rob-beries in Madrid, the nearby city of Toledo and the Medi-terranean port on Alicante.

Bulgaria food agency reports bird flu outbreakREUTERS

SOFIA: Bulgaria’s food safety agency authorities reported yesterday an outbreak of the bird flu virus on a duck farm in the northeastern village of Stefanovo and said birds on the farm were being culled.

It is the second outbreak of bird flu at the facility since October, when more than 10,000 ducks were culled.

Bulgaria has reported a handful of outbreaks of bird flu since December, some of them involving the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu virus.

At the farm in Stefanovo wild and other birds and has been banned within it, as has the sale of eggs and poultry, the food safety agency said on its website.

‘A T-Rex in Paris’

16 MONDAY 28 MAY 2018EUROPE

Thousands counter AfD rally in BerlinAFP

BERLIN: Thousands of demon-strators for and against the far-right faced off in mass rival rallies in Berlin yesterday, where calls of “We are the people” were met with chants of “Go away, Nazis” and techno music.

Police officers were deployed to keep groups apart and prevent clashes, as far-left militants vowed to “sabotage” the march by the anti-immigrant, Alter-native for Germany (AfD) party.

On Twitter, Berlin police said they had to use pepper spray to stop “demonstrators from trying to break down barriers” sepa-rating the rallies at Berlin’s Leip-ziger Square.

They also announced bridge closures to avoid AfD demon-strators running into opponents.

The counter-demos, organised under the banner “Stop the hatred, Stop the AfD”, were triggered by a call from the far-right party for its supporters to march in the capital “for the future of Germany”.

According to police, “several thousand” AfD supporters answered the call, assembling at

Berlin’s main train station shortly after midday before making their way to the iconic Brandenburg Gate.

Many of them were waving Germany’s black, red and gold flag and carrying blue balloons, the colour of the AfD.

Their chants of “Merkel must go” and “We are the people” were occasionally drowned out by whistles, jeers and out-stretched middle fingers from counter-demonstrators in side streets cordoned off by rows of police.

The AfD march marks the first public show of strength by the nationalist outfit since it

became the largest opposition party.

Scheduled to address the crowd are top AfD figures Joerg Meuthen and Alexander Gauland, who regularly rail against Chan-cellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow in large numbers of mainly Muslim refugees at the height of Europe’s migrant crisis.

“Merkel caused such chaos,” 41-year-old AfD member and teacher Christine Moessl said.

After initially predicting 10,000 AfD supporters would show up, organisers later said they would be happy with a turnout of 5,000.

Berlin AfD chief Georg Pazderski said ahead of the march that many still feared being “stigmatised” for showing their AfD colours, even after the party took nearly 13 percent of the vote and won its first seats in the national parliament in last year’s elections.

Thousands joined the main counter-demo, staged by an alliance of political parties, unions, student bodies, migrant advocates and civil society organisations.

Walking under a hot Berlin sun, supporters waved rainbow

flags and carried banners with messages like “No to racism” and “Go away, Nazis”, while chanting “the whole of Berlin is against the AfD”.

One of the loudest counter-demos was organised by some 100 clubs from Berlin’s leg-endary techno scene, who were using boats and floats on the river Spree and a convoy of DJ-carrying trucks to “bass away” the AfD.

Although the vast majority of counter-demonstrators are expected to be peaceful, members of the far-left extremist

Antifa movement have on their website called for “chaos”, urging sympathisers “to sabotage the AfD rally using all necessary means”.

Berlin police have deployed 2,000 officers, drafted in from across Germany, to keep the peace.

Founded in 2013 as an anti-euro party, the AfD rose to prominence by capitalising on widespread anger over the arrival of over a million asylum seekers in Germany since the year 2015.

It now holds more than 90

seats in the Bundestag where its presence has changed the tone of debate.

Just this month, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel earned herself a formal rebuke from the parliamentary speaker for describing immigrants as “head-scarf girls, welfare-claiming, knife-wielding men and other good-for-nothings”.

Merkel’s left-right coalition government has responded to the AfD’s rise by tightening asylum policies, but the party continues to climb in opinion polls.

Alternative for Germany (AfD)’s demonstrators holding placards and flags during a “demonstration for the future of Germany”, in Berlin, yesterday.

Seven hurt in German theme park blazeAFP

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Seven firefighters were injured in efforts to put out a massive blaze at Germany’s largest amusement park, police said yesterday, as it reopened to visitors despite extensive damage to some areas.

The fire at Europa-Park started early Saturday evening in a storage facility before engulfing the Pirates of Batavia boat ride, completely destroying the attraction.

It took some 250 fire-fighters until the next morning to extinguish the inferno, which sent huge columns of black smoke into the air.

Dramatic images of the raging fire were widely captured by visitors to the theme park in Rust, southwestern Germany

and shared on social media.Some 25,000 people had to

be evacuated from the park, but none suffered any injuries.

The local Offenburg police said in a statement that the blaze had left seven firefighters “lightly injured”, without giving details.

All of them were able to leave hospital after receiving medical attention.

Europa-park opened its doors as normal yesterday, although large sections of the Dutch and Scandinavian-themed areas remain closed because of fire damage.

Europa-park’s chief exec-utive Michael Mack tweeted his thanks for the rescue services, saying Saturday had been “a sad day” for the park.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

24 arrested as Austrian police raid houses growing marijuana

On Twitter, Berlin police said they had to use pepper spray to stop “demonstrators from trying to break down barriers” separating the rallies at Berlin’s Leipziger Square.

Four Russian soldiers dead in clash with terroristsAP

MOSCOW: A clash with “terrorists” in eastern Syria killed four Russian soldiers and wounded others, the Russian Defense Ministry said yesterday.

Russian and Syrian gov-ernment troops and pro-gov-ernment gunmen have been fighting members of the IS mil-itant group in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour where the

extremists resumed their attacks against government forces and their allies in recent weeks.

The Russian ministry said that the dead were military advisers attached to a Syrian army unit in the Deir el-Zour.

In a statement reported by Russian news agencies, the min-istry said “two Russian military advisers, who controlled fire of the Syrian battery, died at the scene.” It says five others were

wounded, two of whom died in a Russian military hospital.

The ministry said 43 insur-gents were killed in the nighttime battle.

The Russian statement came two days after the IS militant group said its fighters launched a surprise attack on Wednesday from two axes on a joint Syrian and Russian forces convoy west of the town of Mayadeen, killing 15 Syrian and Russian soldiers.

IS militants destroyed five army trucks and armored vehicles and damaged a rocket-launcher, IS claimed in a statement.

In the same area, IS fighters stormed three Syrian army checkpoints killing eight soldiers and captured five others, the group said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear if IS was speaking about the same area where the Russian advisers were killed.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said IS fighters launched two new attacks in Deir el-Zour on Saturday near the town of Mayadeen and the town of Boukamal near the Iraqi border.

The Observatory said five days of fighting in Deir el-Zour killed 76 troops and pro-gov-ernment gunmen as well as 25 IS fighters.

AP

BERLIN: Austrian police said they have arrested 24 suspects in an investigation of a Serbia-based drug ring that allegedly rented houses in and around Vienna to grow marijuana.The federal criminal police office said the arrests came during raids of 14 grow sites in Vienna and surrounding Lower Austria province on Friday.

The raids were part of an international investigation launched in late 2017.

Police said yesterday that the suspects rented the houses with forged documents and turned them into indoor farms.

They think the group pro-duced at least 888 kilos (1,958 pounds) of marijuana since February 2017 and sold it for an average of 3,900 euros per kilo, or nearly $4m in all.

Two suspects were already in custody. Of those arrested, 24 are Serbian. Albania has become the largest producer of outdoor-grown cannabis in Europe. The potent plant has been described as “green gold” for farmers. While the Dutch government only tolerates the cultivation of up to five can-nabis plants, and people are only allowed to carry up to five grams of weed each.

Specialists assemble the bones of a skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus dinosaur at the Jardin des Plantes Museum ahead of the exhibition “A T-Rex in Paris”, yesterday.

Italian premier-designate gives up on efforts to form govtREUTERS

MILAN: Italian Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte (pictured) gave up on efforts to form a government yesterday after the president apparently rejected his pick for the economy ministry, increasing the likelihood of another election this year.

Conte, a little-known law professor with no political expe-rience, took his list of ministers to President Sergio Mattarella in a bid to end a two-month political stalemate.

But the president rejected

Conte’s candidate to the Economy Ministry, the 81-year-old eurosceptic economist Paolo Savona.

Before Conte or Mattarella had finished their meeting, far-right League leader Matteo Salvini said that the only option now was to hold another election, probably later this year.

“In a democracy, if we are still in democracy, there’s only one thing to do, let the Italians have their say,” Salvini said in a fiery speech to supporters in central Italy.

Salvini and 5-Star leader

Luigi Di Maio had met Matta-rella informally yesterday to try to find a solution.

“The problem is Savona,” the coalition source said, explaining that the economist had not sufficiently softened some of his more eurosceptic positions.

Yesterday, Savona tried to allay concerns about his views in his first public statement on the matter.

Savona has been a vocal critic of the euro and the EU, but he has distinguished credentials, including as industry minister in the early 1990s. “I want a

different Europe, stronger, but more equal,” he said in a statement.

Last week, Savona’s known criticism of the euro and German economic policy further spooked financial markets that were already concerned about the future government’s will-ingness to reign in the massive national debt, worth 1.3 times its annual output.

Outgoing Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said that the problem was not Savona, but the coalition’s economic plan, which is “clearly unsustainable”.

Padoan also said the parties

should have vocally ruled out a proposal put forward in Savona’s most recent book, which said Italy should draw up a “plan B” for the country to leave the eurozone with as little damage as possible if it should prove necessary.

In his statement, Savona said his position on debt was the same as that forged by the potential coalition allies in their programme — which says it will be reduced not through aus-terity or tax cuts, but through targeted investments and pol-icies that boost economic growth.

17MONDAY 28 MAY 2018 AMERICAS

Budget feud brews as Trump warns shutdownAP

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has warned Congress that he will never sign another foot-tall, $1 trillion-plus government-wide spending bill like the one he did in March. His message to lawmakers in both parties: Get your act together before the next budget lands on my desk.

After a brief government shutdown earlier this year, Dem-ocrats and Republicans now agree on the need for budgeting day-to-day operations of government by the old-fashioned way.

That means weeks of open debate and amendments that empower rank-and-file law-makers, rather than concen-trating power in the hands of a few leaders meeting in secret.

But Capitol Hill’s dysfunction is so pervasive that even the most optimistic predictions are for only a handful of the 12 annual spending bills to make it into law by October 1, the start of the new

budget year. The rest may get bundled together into a single, massive measure yet again.

The worst-case scenario? A government shutdown just a month before Election Day, November 6, as Republicans and Democrats fight for control of the House and possibly the Senate.

Trump is agitating for more money for his long-promised border wall with Mexico. So far, he has been frustrated by limited success on that front.

“We need the wall. We’re going to have it all. And again,

that wall has started. We got $1.6bn. We come up again (in) September,” Trump said in Michigan last month. “If we don’t get border security, we’ll have no choice. We’ll close down the country because we need border security.”

At stake is the funding for daily operations of government agencies. A budget deal this year reversed spending cuts that affected military readiness and put a crimp on domestic agencies. A $1.3 trillion spending bill swept through Congress in March, though Trump entertained last-minute second thoughts about the measure and promised he would not sign a repeat.

The demise of the annual appropriations process took root after Republicans took over the House in 2011 and is part of a broader breakdown on Capitol Hill. The yearly bills need bipar-tisan support to advance, which has grated on tea party lawmakers.

GOP leaders such as House

Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and his predecessor as speaker, Ohio Republican John Boehner, have preferred to focus on other priorities.

Ryan did throw his weight behind a two-year budget agreement this year that set an overall spending limit of $1.3 trillion for both 2018 and 2019, citing a need to boost the Pentagon.

That, in theory, makes it easier to get the appropriations process back on track. But in the GOP-controlled House, where Democratic votes are generally needed to pass the bills, Demo-crats are complaining that Republicans have shortchanged domestic agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the Envi-ronmental Protection Agency.

That’s not the case in the Senate, where the new chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Alabama Republican Richard Shelby, is determined to get the system working again.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York is on board, as is Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., himself a decades-long veteran of that powerful committee.

“We want this to work,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who criticized the GOP-controlled House for continuing to pack leg-islation with “poison pills.”

For starters, floor debates could lead to votes on conten-tious issues such as immigration, the border wall, gun control and others that some lawmakers might hope to avoid.

Democrats are wary of Republicans trying to jam through the Pentagon spending bill before dealing with some agencies. And Trump could blow up the whole effort at any time.

Trump is prone to threat-ening government shutdowns on Twitter or when he riffs in public, and then backing off when bills are delivered to him.

Many conservative Repub-licans won’t vote for some bills

because they think they spend too much money. That means Democratic votes are a must. But many Democrats are upset over unrelated policy add-ons pushed by the GOP, and they won’t vote for the spending bills unless those provisions are removed, which usually doesn’t happen until end-stage talks.

At the same time, House GOP leaders are distracted by disputes over immigration, and they haven’t made the appropriations bills a priority.

An effort led by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif, to cut or “rescind” $15bn in unspent money has run into greater opposition than anticipated.

Meantime, the chairman of the House Appropriations Com-mittee, Rep Rodney Freling-huysen, R-NJ, is unpopular with some House conservatives, who cite his votes against a recent farm bill and against last year’s tax cut measure, and that may hamper his effectiveness.

US missionary welcomed home by TrumpAP

WASHINGTON: Joshua Holt, a Utah man who traveled to Vene-zuela in 2016 to marry a woman he met online but soon found himself jailed and later branded the CIA’s top spy in Latin America, has been welcomed home by his family and Pres-ident Donald Trump.

Holt, 26, said he was “over-whelmed with gratitude.”

He and his wife, Thamara Caleno, arrived yesterday at Washington Dulles International Airport for a tearful reunion with his parents, Laurie and Jason Holt. A few hours later, Trump welcomed them to the White House.

“Those two years, they were a very, very, very difficult two years,” said an emotional Joshua Holt, sitting next to Trump in the Oval Office. “Not really the great vacation that I was looking for. ... I’m just so grateful for what you guys have done.”

To Holt, Trump said: “You’ve

gone through a lot. More than most people could endure.”

Laurie Holt thanked Trump and the lawmakers for her son’s safe return, adding: “I also want to say thank you to President Maduro for releasing Josh and letting him come home.”

Their release came one day after Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., held a surprise meeting in Caracas with Venezuelan Pres-ident Nicolas Maduro, who the Trump administration says runs a “dictatorship” and just won re-election in a “sham” vote.

Trump, in a tweet, described Holt as a “hostage.” The US con-tended Joshua Holt was held on trumped-up charges.

Months of secret, back-channel talks between an aide to Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Com-mittee, and close allies of Maduro preceded their return. Yet Holt’s release had seemed unlikely even a week ago.

Joining Trump in the Oval Office were Corker, Utah

Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, and Utah Rep Mia Love, all Republicans.

The lawmakers thanked Trump for his support.

The White House learned from Corker on Friday of Holt’s impending release, according to a US official who has closely fol-lowed Holt’s plight and spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the private talks.

Holt and his wife were reu-nited at the Caracas airport with her daughter from a previous relationship, and all three boarded a chartered flight to Washington. “We are on our way home,” Corker tweeted.

When he departed the Caracas airport earlier, Holt said that the ordeal had left him “exhausted.”

Venezuela’s communica-tions minister, Jorge Rodriguez, said their release was a goodwill gesture that followed months of dialogue between the Maduro government and US lawmakers.

US President Donald Trump and Joshua Holt (left), an American missionary who was released by Venezuela, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, DC, yesterday.

Trump’s lawyer again attacks Russian inquiryAFP

WASHINGTON: A top lawyer for Donald Trump yesterday resumed the president’s all-out attack on the investigation into possible collusion with Russia as being “illegitimate,” while acknowledging a concerted effort to turn public opinion against the probe.

The comments from former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani came as Trump lashed out again at what he called “the phony Russia Collusion Witch Hunt.”

For months, Trump has attacked the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller as politically motivated and without foundation.

His latest line of attack, which Giuliani emphasised, was the assertion that a confidential FBI informant, who met with some Trump campaign advisers in 2016 while the bureau was investigating their possible Russia contacts, was a “spy” intent on subverting the Trump campaign.

Those meetings took place during Obama administration.

Asked on “Fox News Sunday” what was wrong with the FBI “trying to figure out what Russia was up to,” Giuliani replied: “Nothing wrong with the gov-ernment doing that. Everything wrong with the government spying on a candidate of the opposition

party. That’s a Watergate, spygate.”“I’m not saying Mueller is ille-

gitimate,” he said. “I’m saying the basis on which he was appointed was illegitimate.”

Democrats have pushed back hard at the attacks on the Mueller inquiry, which began several months after the informant’s involvement. They said it had already produced real results.

Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, tweeted: “I hate repeating myself Mr President, but let me remind you again: Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation has either indicted or secured guilty pleas from 19 people and three companies — that we know of.”

And a Republican senator, Marco Rubio of Florida, said that while spying on a political cam-paign would be wrong, “if there are people operating in this country trying to influence American pol-itics on behalf of a foreign power, it is the FBI’s job to investigate.”

But what Democrats describe as a blunt and concerted effort by the president to delegitimise the Mueller inquiry may be having an effect, to judge by recent polls.

A Monmouth University poll released early this month said the number of Americans who favour Mueller’s probe continuing had dropped from 60 percent in March to 54 percent.

Oklahoma restaurant shooting suspect unknown to victimsAP

OKLAHOMA CITY: The family of a woman and girl who were wounded in an Oklahoma restaurant shooting said that the victims didn’t know the gunman or why he attacked them as they walked into the lakeside restaurant for a birthday party.

Dennis Will said his daughter, 39-year-old Natalie Giles, was grazed by bullets and that her 12-year-old daughter was shot in the stomach during the Thursday night shooting. The suspected gunman, 28-year-old Alexander Tilghman, was shot dead moments later outside the Oklahoma City restaurant by

two armed bystanders.“She said she turned and

saw him, she had no idea who he was,” Will said, recalling a conversation with his daughter.

Will said his granddaughter underwent surgery and was “still in a lot of pain” at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital. The hospital said the girl was in good condition, and Will said his daughter was treated and released.

The mother and daughter, along with a 14-year-old family friend, were shot as they arrived for a birthday party at Louie’s On The Lake in Oklahoma City. Police said the family friend was shot in the arm or wrist, though no updates were provided yesterday.

George H W Bush hospitalisedREUTERS

REUTERS: Former US President George HW Bush (pictured), 93, was taken to a hospital in Maine on Sunday after experiencing low blood pressure and fatigue, a family spokesman said on Twitter.

Bush, the oldest living former US president, will likely remain at Southern Maine Health Care for a few days for observation, said the spokesman, Jim McGrath.

“The former president is awake and alert, and not in any dis-comfort,” McGrath wrote on Twitter.

Bush was hospitalised in Texas last month for treatment of an infection that spread to his blood, and stayed there for nearly two weeks. He was admitted to the hospital a day after he attended the funeral of his wife, Barbara, the former first lady who died on April 17. The couple had been married for 73 years.

On Saturday, Bush attended an American Legion event in Kenneb-unkport, Maine to mark the upcoming Memorial Day with military veterans and his former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, according to a post on Bush’s official Twitter feed.

Trump is agitating for more money for his long-promised border wall with Mexico. So far, he has been frustrated by limited success on that front.

New lava flow crosses onto geothermal plant in HawaiiREUTERS

HONOLULU: A broad lava flow crossed onto the property of a Hawaii geothermal power station yesterday, posing a new hazard as molten rock from the erupting Kilauea volcano bulldozed relentlessly through homes and back-yards.

The lava crossed onto the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) Saturday evening local time, according to the US Geological Survey, having destroyed dozens of nearby houses in the past few days.

Since Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano began a once-in-a-century-scale eruption May 3, authorities have shutdown the plant, removed 60,000 gallons of flammable liquid and deactivated wells that tap into steam and gas deep in the Earth’s core.

Magma has drained from Kilauea’s summit lava lake and flowed around 40km east underground, bursting out of about two dozen giant cracks or fissures near the plant.

“The flow from fissures 21 and 7 was widening and advancing,” Janet Snyder, a spokeswoman for the County of Hawaii, said in an email on the position of lava heading northeast towards PGV at 12:30 pm.

Hawaii Governor David Ige has said the wells are stable.

But lava has never engulfed a geothermal plant anywhere in the world and the potential threat is untested, according to the head of the state’s emergency management agency.

A file photo of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani addressing delegates on the first day of the Republican National Convention, in Cleveland, Ohio.

19MONDAY 28 MAY 2018 AMERICAS

‘Education Department violated privacy law’AP

WASHINGTON: A federal court has ruled that the Education Department violated privacy laws with regard to students defrauded by the Corinthian for-profit college chain.

In a break with Obama administration policy, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced in December that some students cheated by the now-defunct schools would only get a part of their federal student loan forgiven.

In order to determine how much to forgive, the agency analyses average earnings of graduates from similar programmes.

But a California district court ruled that the department’s use of Social Security Administration data in order to calculate loan forgiveness violates the Privacy Act.

The court ordered that the Education Department stop the

practice and stop debt collection from these students.

The court also said that it needs to hear more from the agency and plaintiffs in the class-action suit in order to decide whether or not to compel the agency to return to full loan for-giveness. A hearing is scheduled for June 4.

The decision marks an important victory for students challenging the partial loan for-giveness rule.

Toby Merill, director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending at Harvard University, which is representing the stu-dents, hailed the decision.

“The notion that students got anything other than negative

value from Corinthian has been roundly disproved by student experience and the judgment of employers and the legitimate higher education sector,” Merill said in a statement. “

An Education Department spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.

DeVos said the approach of the Obama administration left room for potential abuse and unfairly burdened taxpayers who ended up paying for those loans with their taxes.

DeVos added that her new procedure will take into account the value a student received from their education and compensate them for what they didn’t get.

But critics slammed the new rule as unfair since tens of thou-sands of Corinthian students have already received full loan discharge under the Obama administration.

They said some students will not be able to get a full refund just by virtue of working a min-imum-wage job in an unrelated field and making some income.

One of the plaintiffs in the suit, Jennifer Craig, borrowed $9,000 to attend a Corinthian medical insurance and billing program in the year 2014, but she never received her diploma because the school shut down in 2015.

She was unable to get a job in her area of study because the

school did not provide her with the necessary practical training.

The Education Department only forgave 20 percent of her loan. Craig says that she and her husband live in poverty and are unable to pay off the remaining 80 percent.

The Obama administration cracked down hard on for-profit colleges accused of fraud and shut down Corinthian and other major chains and tightened reg-ulations for the schools.

The administration spent $550m to fully forgive the loans of tens of thousands of students.

There are currently nearly 100,000 claims from students still pending at the department.

Mexican authorities arrestwife of drug kingpinAFP

GUADALAJARA: Mexican authorities have arrested the wife of the leader of one of the country’s most powerful drug cartels, Jalisco New Generation, in the city of Guadalajara, local media reported.

Rosalinda Gonzalez Valencia, the wife of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” was taken into custody without incident yes-terday by Mexican navy agents in an affluent residential neigh-bourhood, the newspaper Reforma said.

There was no immediate official confirmation of the arrest although the Interior Ministry called a news con-ference for yesterday that was expected to provide details on the development.

Officials cited by Reforma said Gonzalez, who was flown by helicopter to Mexico City

after her arrest, managed the cartel’s finances.

Sources in the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office said security forces, civil defense and emer-gency medical services were put on alert in case of attacks by the cartel.

Mexican troops were deployed to guard approaches to the city, Mexico’s second largest.

On Monday, Guadalajara was shaken by the attempted assassination of Jalisco Labor Secretary Luis Najera, a former state prosecutor who was attacked by armed men in a restaurant in central Guadalajara.

Assailants torched a pas-senger bus after the attack, killing an eight-month-old baby.

Najera suffered only minor injuries in the attack, but seven other people were more seri-ously wounded.

Colombians cast ballots in presidential pollsAP

BOGOTA: For decades, Colom-bians voted with an eye on the bloody conflict with leftist rebels that dominated their country and politics.

But yesterday they were casting their ballots in the first presidential election since the signing of a peace accord with the nation’s biggest rebel group to end the conflict and were weighing issues like corruption, inequality, crime and relations with their crisis-plagued neighbor Venezuela.

The two leading candidates have presented dramatically dif-ferent visions for both Colom-bia’s economic model and the future of its divisive peace process in a polarizing campaign driven by a wave of anti-estab-lishment sentiment.

Leading the polls is conserv-ative former senator Ivan Duque, the protege of former President Alvaro Uribe, the chief critic of the peace deal, but surveys

suggest he is unlikely to get the more than 50 percent of votes required to avoid a June runoff.

He’s being chased by Gustavo Petro, a former guer-rilla and ex-Bogota mayor, whose rise has triggered business concerns he would push Colombia toward the left

and rattle markets.At least two other candidates

trail within reach of obtaining the second spot and a place in any runoff.

“I want to govern Colombia without a rearview mirror, looking forward to the future of our country,” Duque said.

Long lines of voters gathered in Bogota and police frisked people in at least one polling site — a legacy perhaps of when voting centers were targeted by leftist rebels who considered the political system a sham.

Among the early voters was Rodrigo Londono, the former leader of the demobilised Rev-olutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

They put forward Londono as their presidential candidate, but he dropped out after expe-riencing heart issues.

“It’s very moving because this is the fruit of a path that Colombians are building.”

The election has sparked fears on both the left and right of Colombia’s political spectrum, with Duque’s critics cautioning that his presidency would be tantamount to a constitutionally barred third term for Uribe. Though hugely popular among Colombians for improving security and weakening illegal armed groups.

A man displaying a ballot at a polling station during the first round of the presidential election, in Bogota, Colombia, yesterday.

The federal court ordered that the Education Department stop the practice and stop debt collection from these students.

20 MONDAY 28 MAY 2018MORNING BREAK

FAJRSHOROOK

03. 17 AM

04. 44 AM

11. 31 AM

02. 56 PM

06. 21 PM

07.51 PM

ZUHRASR

MAGHRIBISHA

PRAYER TIMINGS

HIGH TIDE 03:15 – 17:00 LOW TIDE 09:45 – 23:15

Hot daytime with slight dust at places and

scattered clouds.

WEATHER TODAY

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

Minimum Maximum 29oC 39oC

US astronautAlan Bean deadAFP

WASHINGTON: US astronaut Alan Bean, the fourth person to walk on the moon, has died, his family announced in a statement released by Nasa. He was 86 years old.

The moonwalker who went on to become a painter died on Saturday in Houston after suddenly falling ill weeks before, the statement said.

He was among the elite group Nasa chose for its third group of astronauts in 1963, having served as a test pilot in the US Navy. He twice ventured into space, originally in 1969 on the Apollo 12 moon landing mission, and later as commander of the second crew to fly to the first US space station Skylab in 1973.

His second foray outside of Earth’s atmosphere saw Bean log a record-breaking 59-day, 24.4 million-mile flight (39.3 million km).

He retired from Nasa in 1981 to embark on a third career as an artist, creating Apollo-themed paintings tex-tured with lunar boot prints or using

acrylics infused with small bits of his mission patches sprinkled with moon dust. Fellow astronaut Harrison Schmitt called Bean “one of the great renaissance men of his generation -- engineer, fighter pilot, astronaut and artist.” Born March 15, 1932 in Wheeler, Texas the future moonwalker earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Texas in 1955.

He is survived by his wife, sister and two children from a prior marriage.

Walt Cunningham, who flew on Apollo 7 and called Bean his best friend of 55 years, said “we are accustomed to losing friends in our business but this is a tough one.” “Alan and I never missed a month where we did not have

a cheeseburger.” In 1994 Bean told The New York Times the otherworldly per-spectives he got in space inspired him to devote the latter half of his life to art, to the surprise of many of his colleagues.

“Every artist has the Earth or their imaginations to inspire their paintings,” he said.

“I’ve got the Earth and my imagi-nation, and I’m the first to have the moon, too.”

This file picture taken in November 1969 shows US Astronauts of the Apollo XII (L-R) Mission Commander Charles “Pete” Conrad, Jr.; Command Module Pilot Richard F. Gordon and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean, pause in front of stairway leading to their mission simulator at the Kennedy Space Center.

Massive beach clean-up for Hong Kong sea turtlesAFP

HONG KONG: More than two thousand volunteers hit the beach on an outlying island of Hong Kong for a mass rubbish clean-up yesterday as environment campaigners warned plastic is killing sea turtles and other wildlife.

There has been increasing concern over the amount of rubbish in Hong Kong waters which washes up on its numerous beaches. Author-ities and environmentalists have pointed the finger at southern mainland China as the source.

Last year, a massive palm oil spillage from a ship collision in mainland Chinese waters clogged Hong Kong beaches.

But there is evidence that Hong Kong is also to blame. In 2016, local media reported that syringes and medical waste washed ashore from clinics in the city.

Yesterday’s clean-up took place on Shek Pai Wan, near Sham Wan — known as “Turtle Cove” — on Hong Kong’s Lamma Island.

Sham Wan is one of the few regular sea turtle nesting grounds in southern China and is closed to vis-itors from June to the end of October, but campaigners said no nests have been recorded in the area in the past six years.

“Turtles aren’t making it to the beach to lay eggs,” said Aquame-ridian campaigner Sharon Kwok, adding that turtles are dying, ending

up tangled in nets, hit by high-speed boats and ships, and most often, because of trash ingestion.

“Turtles are mistaking plastic bags for jellyfish and eating them,” said Kwok, explaining they are inca-pable of throwing them up as they have barbs in their mouths.

Volunteers gathered dozens of bags of trash including drinking straws, forks and spoons, poly-styrene, toothbrushes and plastic bags on the sandy beach.

With much of the plastic waste broken into small pieces, participants needed to use sifters to pick them out. “From a far distance it looks like it is just normal stones and pebbles, but if you look closer, there’s actually quite a lot of small plastics, and

turtles can easily think that is food,” said 14-year-old volunteer Tommy Tsui.

This year seven green turtles have already washed ashore in Hong Kong according to Kwok, but environmen-talists believe more have died and their carcasses have sunk.

Campaigners are urging the gov-ernment to expand the “restricted area” around Sham Wan, extending it beyond the dry-sand beach which is already protected to the rocky shoreline as well as the shallow waters of the bay.

“I hope that they can expand the restricted area further along the sea and the survival rate of turtles will be higher,” said 13-year-old vol-unteer Caitlin Chiu.

He was among the elite group Nasa chose for its third group of astronauts in 1963, having served as a test pilot in the US Navy.

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