Emir ratifies decision on setting up labour panels - Gulf Times

In brief

MONDAY Vol. XXXVIII No. 10706

January 22, 2018Jumada I 5, 1439 AH www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals GULF TIMES

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CI affi rms Qatar currency ratings despite Gulf crisis

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Confi dent Qatar ready for Vietnam semi-fi nal clash

QATAR | Offi cial

MoI rights dept signsMoU with QRCSThe Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Interior (MoI) signed yesterday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) to renew co-operation on training in international humanitarian law and human rights law. The MoU also aims to support vocational and technical rehabilitation and training programmes for inmates of penal and correctional institutions and other co-operation aspects in all fields. The MoU renews the one which was signed in 2006, to include the prospects of a broader joint work on legal, humanitarian and social levels. The MoU was signed by Director of the Human Rights Department Brigadier Abdullah Saqr al-Mohannadi and Secretary-General of QRCS Ali bin Hassan al-Hammadi.

QATAR | Reaction

Kabul hotel attackcondemnedQatar has strongly condemned the attack that targeted a hotel in the Afghan capital Kabul, leaving a number of deaths and injuries. In a statement yesterday, the Foreign Ministry reiterated Qatar’s firm stance on rejecting violence and terrorism, regardless of motives and reasons. The statement expressed Qatar’s condolences to the families of the victims, the government and the people of Afghanistan, and wished the injured speedy recovery.

QATAR | Weather

Strong winds andhigh seas expectedStrong winds and high seas are expected in off shore areas until midday today, the Qatar Met department has said. Northwesterly winds will blow at 15-25 knots before decreasing to 8-18 knots by the afternoon. Slightly dusty conditions are expected in these areas, and it will also be partly cloudy at times. The sea level, meanwhile, may rise to 9ft. The forecast for inshore areas says it will be hazy in some places in the early hours of the day, followed by mild daytime conditions, slight dust occasionally and a cold night. The minimum temperature today is expected to be 11C in Abu Samra and 14C in Doha. Yesterday, the minimum was 11C in Turayna and Karana, while in Doha it was 16C.

ARAB WORLD | Confl ict

Abbas to demand EUrecognise Palestine statePalestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will ask the EU to off icially recognise the state of Palestine when he meets foreign ministers from the bloc today, a senior off icial told AFP yesterday. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki said Abbas will tell the EU it should take the step “as a way to respond” to US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. Abbas will also “reiterate his commitment to the peace process” in the Middle East, Malki said in an interview with AFP.

Qatar-Kuwait talks toenhance bilateral ties

Emir meets Kuwaitidelegation

Al-Attiyah meetsKuwaiti leaders

QNADoha/Kuwait

His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani met, at his offi ce in Al Bahr Pal-

ace, with a Kuwaiti delegation headed by Khalid Nasser al-Roudan, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minis-ter of State for Youth Aff airs.

The delegation included Dr Hamoud Fulaiteh, Director General of the Public Authority for Sports, Sheikh Hamoud Mubarak al-Hamoud al-Sabah, Deputy Director General for Construction and Maintenance of the Public Authority for Sports, Sheikh Ahmad al-Yousuf, Presi-dent of the Kuwaiti Football Federation, and Sheikh Fawaz Mishal al-Sabah, Deputy President of Kuwait Football Association, besides a number of senior Kuwaiti offi cials and sports fi gures.

At the outset of the meeting, the vis-iting minister conveyed the greetings of the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah to His High-ness the Emir, wishing him good health and happiness and the Qatari people more progress and prosperity.

The Emir entrusted the minister with the task of conveying his greet-ings to his brother the Emir of Kuwait, wishing him health and wellness and the brotherly people of Kuwait further development and progress.

The delegation expressed their sin-cere thanks and appreciation to the Emir for the support extended by Qatar to Kuwait in sports, which contributed to the lifting of the FIFA’s suspension of Kuwait Football Association last month and Qatar’s approval to move the 23rd Gulf Cup to Kuwait, as well as Qatar’s great help to Kuwait to ensure the suc-cess of the most important sporting event in the Gulf Co-operation Council.

The meeting reviewed relations be-tween the two countries in youth and sports. It was attended by His High-ness the Personal Representative of His Highness the Emir, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani.

The Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah met yester-day with Qatar’s Deputy Prime Min-ister and Minister of State for Defence Aff airs HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah, on the occasion of his visit to Kuwait.

During the meeting, HE the Dep-uty Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Aff airs conveyed the greetings of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to Sheikh Sabah and his wishes for the ties between the two countries further progress, and prosperity for the two brotherly peoples.

The Emir of Kuwait urged HE al-Attiyah to convey his greetings to His Highness the Emir.

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah and First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad also met with Qatar’s Deputy Prime Min-ister and Minister of State for Defence Aff airs.

During the meeting, they reviewed relations between the two brotherly countries and means of boosting them. Page 2

By Peter AlagosBusiness Reporter

Italy is planning to establish in Qatar manufacturing facilities in agricul-ture and the food industry, ambas-

sador Pasquale Salzano has said.Aside from political and economic

relations, Salzano said Qatar and Italy could also further strengthen co-opera-tion ties in the food manufacturing sec-tor: “I think we can develop also other relations in the food industry,” he sug-

gested on the sidelines of the recently concluded Expo Turkey by Qatar 2018.

“So, we want to bring technology and best practices in the fi eld of agriculture and the food industry in Qatar and vice versa, and to export Qatari products to Italy,” he said.

While the plan to set up the manu-facturing facilities is still in the “nego-tiation stage,” Salzano said a high-level delegation from Qatar’s industrial sec-tor will travel to Italy by the end of the year to explore investment opportuni-ties there.

The visit also aims to attract Ital-ian companies to set up shop in Qatar and for Qatari companies to establish themselves in Italy, the ambassador ex-plained.

“And we will also have a high-level commission under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce and under the patronage of the HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Kha-lifa al-Thani, and in co-operation with Qatar Chamber to organise bilateral ex-changes. This will be held in the second

half of this year,” Salzano said.Aside from tourism, Salzano said

Italy is a global destination for high-technology and industrial machinery – a sector that is gaining much traction among many Qatari businessmen.

“Italy is a diversifi ed country, known for the beauty of its landscape or for ar-tistic culture. Italy is the fi rst country in the world for artistic world heritage listed in Unesco, so it is a very impor-tant cultural destination.

“But Italy is also the second largest economy in Europe as far as industrial

machinery is concerned, so there are many people going to Italy for industri-al machinery or for high-technology or for many diff erent business activities,”

Apart from the industrial sector, It-aly’s defence sector “is one of the most sophisticated sectors in the world in terms of high-technology applied to defence.”

“We now have a very good relation-ship with shipbuilders, and Italy is also a well-known for its helicopters, mili-tary aircraft and aeroplanes,” Salzano pointed out.

Italy plans to set up factories in Qatar for agriculture, food

Emir ratifi esdecision on setting uplabour panelsHis Highness the Emir Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday ratifi ed Cabinet De-

cision No 6 of 2018 on forming com-mittees to resolve labour disputes, the rules and procedures to be followed and the mechanism for implementing their decisions and determining their emoluments.

The law is eff ective starting from the day following its publication in the of-fi cial gazette, the offi cial Qatar News Agency (QNA) has reported.

Earlier, in September last year, the Cabinet had approved a draft decision that lays down the regulations and procedures to be followed by the labour dispute resolution committees.

The draft included provisions on forming committees to settle labour disputes and the scope of their work, as well as the conditions that required the management concerned to refer a dispute between the employer and em-ployee to the labour dispute resolution panel.

It also included “provisions on the grace period in case the management refers a dispute to the committee, the method and procedures to be followed for referrals, appeals to cancel any penalty decision ordered against an employee, the determination period

for the fi rst hearing of the dispute, no-tifying the dispute parties, appearing before the committee, dispute resolu-tion procedures, notifying both par-ties of the procedures and decisions issued by the committee”, QNA had explained.

Earlier, in March 2017, the Cabinet approved a draft law to facilitate the creation of the labour dispute resolu-tion committees. The draft legislation was prepared in view of concerns over workers’ rights and to simplify litiga-tion procedures in labour disputes, ac-cording to QNA.

Also, in August last year, His High-ness the Emir issued Law No 13 of 2017 amending some provisions of the La-bour Law promulgated by law No 14 of 2004 and Law No 13 of 1990, by issuing the Civil and Commercial Procedures law. The law stipulated that a commit-tee or more shall be created at the Min-istry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Aff airs for resolving labour disputes.

This committee alone shall have ju-risdiction over resolving all the indi-vidual disputes resulting from the im-plementation of the stipulations of this law or the employment contract. Also, the members of the committee shall be independent, governed only by the law.

US lawmakers in bidto end govt shutdownAgenciesWashington

US lawmakers appeared to be making moves towards com-promise over immigration re-

form yesterday, while continuing to trade barbs as the government shut-down entered its second day.

A vote is expected to take place early today, with an eye on ending the shut-down before the working week began.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his Democratic counterpart, Chuck Schumer, con-tinued to play the blame game yes-terday as the Senate resumed discus-sions.

However, US media reported they were both keen to have talks to reach a compromise afterwards.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham predicted that there would be a “break-through” that would enable lawmakers to pass a three-week extension and keep the government open until Febru-ary 8.

President Donald Trump spoke by phone yesterday with leaders in Con-gress and several members of his Cabi-

net about the impact of the federal gov-ernment shutdown, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

“We are continuing to work hard to-wards reopening the government and making sure our great military and their families, vulnerable children and the American people are being taken care of,” she added.

The shutdown — which aff ects gov-ernment services that are deemed non-essential — came into eff ect after law-makers had failed to pass short-term spending legislation by a midnight deadline on Friday.

The vote in the 100-member Senate requires a super-majority of 60 mem-bers to halt debate and allow a formal vote on the legislation, which oppo-sition Democrats refused to support without concessions on immigration policy.

As part of the budget fi ght, Demo-crats sought legislation to prevent the deportation of a broad category of young immigrants who were brought illegally into the US as children, known as “Dreamers.”

The shutdown is estimated to cost $1.5bn a day. Page 9

Italian ambassador Pasquale Salzano.

His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani meeting with the Kuwaiti delegation at his off ice in Al Bahr Palace yesterday.

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah meeting in Kuwait City with Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Aff airs HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah.

QATAR

Gulf Times Monday, January 22, 20182

Emir ratifiesCabinet decision

Instrumentof ratification

Qatar-Indonesiaties reviewed

His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday ratified Cabinet decision No 5 of 2018 on the expropriation of some real estate for the public good.The decision is eff ective starting from its date of publication in the off icial gazette.

His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani issued an instrument of ratification, approving a draft air services agreement between the governments of Qatar and Nicaragua signed in the city of Montreal on 27/11/2017.

HE the Minister of State for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi met the Speaker of the Indonesian People’s Representative Council Fadli Zon, who is currently visiting Qatar. The meeting discussed the bilateral relations and ways to boost and develop them, as well as topics of common interest.

OFFICIAL

His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani received a written message from the President of Mali Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, pertaining to ways of developing bilateral relations between Qatar and Mali. The message was delivered by the Secretary-General at the Off ice of the President of Mali Moustapha Ben Barka, when the Emir received him at Al Bahr Palace yesterday.

Kuwait’s Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah met Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Aff airs HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah, yesterday. During the meeting, they reviewed relations between Qatar and Kuwait and means of boosting them. Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad also met HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah. They reviewed relations between Qatar and Kuwait and means of enhancing and developing them. Earlier on arrival in Kuwait, HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah was received by Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad.

Emir receives message from president of Mali

Defence Minister holds talks with Kuwaiti leaders

Registration opens for Rota youth conferenceReach Out to Asia (Rota),

a programme of Edu-cation Above All (EAA)

Foundation, has started reg-istration for its Empower Youth Conference 2018, through its offi cial website at reachouttoasia.org

In its 10th edition, set to be held at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University Student Centre from March 15 to 17, the conference aims to pro-mote a better understanding of youth leadership, service learning and global citizen-ship, under the theme ‘Youth and Eff ective Citizenship’.

Participants will have the opportunity to be a part of its forward-looking agen-da, as they develop their

skills, knowledge and atti-tudes to take on leadership roles and make a positive contribution in society.

Essa al-Mannai, ex-ecutive director, Rota said, “For a whole decade, the Empower Youth Confer-ence has been at the fore-front of youth development in Qatar, and has played a vital role in opening new horizons for the country’s youngsters to evolve into responsible, capable, civic minded citizens who are actively seeking to make their community and the world a better place. This year, Rota is carrying on this cherished legacy by building upon the success

and outcomes of the previ-ous editions of the confer-ence and inspiring as well as mobilising its young delegates to act on the main learning themes of this year’s agenda, which are all geared towards equipping and enabling young people as responsible global citi-zens and empowered young leaders.

Since 2009, Empower has developed a reputation for being the fi rst youth-led conference to focus on equipping young people in Qatar to take active roles in building their communities and having a voice on global issues. Every year the confer-ence intends to create a plat-

form for a larger number of students to learn and engage in Rota’s youth development programme in Qatar.

This year, the three-day event includes a combina-tion of panel discussion, keynote speeches, small group workshops, seminars, off -site activities, exhibi-tion, social programme and youth artistic expression, which are designed to col-lectively build the capacities required to enable young people to take leadership roles in addressing local and international developmental issues of concern, especially in the realm of sustainable development and youth’s ef-fective citizenship.

Al-Mahmoud meets deputy speaker of Indonesian council

HE the Speaker of the Advisory Council Ahmed bin Abdullah

bin Zaid al-Mahmoud met yesterday with the Deputy Speaker of the Representa-tive Council of Indonesia Dr Fadli Zon, and his accompa-nying delegation.

During the meeting, they

discussed bilateral relations between Qatar and Indone-sia and means of supporting as well as developing them, especially in the fi eld of par-liamentary co-operation. In this regard, the two sides agreed to establish a par-liamentary friendship com-mittee.

The meeting also re-viewed Islamic issues, and the role of parliaments of Islamic countries in sup-

porting and defending them in international forums.

The deputy speaker of Indonesia expressed his un-derstanding of the position of Qatar on the current Gulf crisis that called for a dia-logue without preconditions or infringing upon sover-eignty. He also expressed the support of the Indone-sian Parliament for the me-diation of the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-

Jaber al-Sabah to heal the rift between the Gulf states, expressing his hope that the crisis will end soon.

The meeting was at-tended by HE the Advisory Council Deputy Speaker Mohamed bin Abdullah al-Sulaiti, HE the Secretary-General of the Advisory Council Fahd bin Mubarak al-Khayarin, Indonesian ambassador to Qatar Mo-hamed Basri Sidehabi.

QNADoha

Qatar takes part in International Green Week expo in Berlin

Qatar is participat-ing in the 83rd In-ternational Green

Week which began on 19 January in Berlin, Ger-many.

On the sidelines of the exhibition which was at-tended by more than 70 agriculture ministers from various countries, HE the Minister of Municipal-ity and Environment Mo-hamed bin Abdullah al-

Rumaihi inaugurated the Qatari pavilion in the expo.

He also met the Ger-man Minister of Food and Agriculture Christian Schmidt, and a number of ministers participating in the event.

Qatar’s participation in this important interna-tional exhibition comes with its strategic relations with the Federal Republic of Germany and the mu-tual visits between offi cials and dignitaries of the two countries, including the visit of the Qatari Busi-

nessmen Association del-egation in November 2017.

Founded in Berlin in the Golden 20s, the In-ternational Green Week is a one-of-a-kind inter-national exhibition of the food, agriculture and gar-dening industries.

IGW is the origin of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA). This is where over 80 interna-tional ministries and food producers meet — their displays reveal the fasci-nating world of the food and beverage industries.

QNABerlin

HE the Minister of Municipality and Environment Mohamed bin Abdullah al-Rumaihi with German Minister of Food and Agriculture Christian Schmidt.

QATAR3Gulf Times

Monday, January 22, 2018

HE Minister of Culture and Sports Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali met yesterday with Iranian ambassador to Qatar Mohammed Ali Sobhani. Discussions during the meeting dealt with aspects of joint co-operation between the two countries, and ways of boosting and developing them in the fields of culture and sports.

Minister holds talks with Iranian envoy

Attorney General HE Dr Ali bin Fetais al-Marri, who is currently on a visit to the US capital Washington, met yesterday with US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin. During the meeting, they discussed a number of topics and issues of common concern.

Al-Marri meets US treasury secretary

QMIC set to launch services in TurkeyQatar Mobility Innova-

tions Centre (QMIC), the fi rst institutionally

driven start-up organisation in the country, will soon go global by deploying its services in Tur-key and other countries, Gulf Times has learnt.

“We are in the process of de-ploying some of our platforms in other markets such as Turkey and other markets in the region and North Africa. We are in advanced stage of discussions with our strategic partners in Turkey,” said Dr Adnan Abu-Dayya, executive director and CEO, QMIC.

“ Initially, we are launching our Labeeb Internet of Things platform in Turkey. At present we cannot disclose who are the partners as the whole process has not been completed. We will announce the details very soon as we have had discussions for about three-four months and very soon, all the process will be completed,” said Dr Abu-Dayya.

“We have signifi cant assets and we are fully utilising them

By Joseph VargheseStaff Reporter

Dr Adnan Abu-Dayya, executive director and CEO, QMIC.

in Qatar. This is a transition that needs to happen in an organisa-tion as we go from early market to mainstream market. We go from a local market to an international market,” Dr Abu-Dayya added.

“Turkey is one of the major countries and a key market. The synergy between both the coun-tries are great. Turkey is also in the centre of Central Asia and the gateway to Central Asia. We are also targeting North Africa re-

gion. Tunisia is another potential target for us. We are pragmatic in our approach and very cautious in selecting the partners,” noted the offi cial.

According to the offi cial, Labeeb is the fi rst most com-prehensive Internet of Things platform developed in the entire region. “We are using it to de-velop smart cities and improve industrial environment which we call the industrial Internet of

things. These are great advance-ments and can be applied in all the countries to improve living conditions,” he pointed out.

“Moreover, through this step, we are now changing the equa-tion from being a country that imported technology to one that is providing know-how and technology to other countries and organisations,” he added.

QMIC executive director also stated that QMIC was open to suggestions and more know-how from other entities if they can add more value to the exist-ing platforms of the organisa-tion. “This will also help us in improving our effi ciency and can be a great use in our future plans.

“As an institutional start-up company and more of an inno-vation centre, we have adopted a model which is closer to be called a company. We are based on the principles of design, build and deploy based on research and development. We are prob-ably the fi rst organisation that combines national research and development at a large scale with a market delivery capability in Qatar,” added Dr Abu-Dayya.

QMIC was launched in January 2009.

Qatar and Kyrgyzstan sign air services pactQatar and the Kyr-

gyz Republic (Kyr-gyzstan) signed

an air services agreement in Doha yesterday, which would allow the national carrier to expand into the Central Asian country.

The agreement comes with-in the framework of connect-ing Qatar with more air serv-ices agreements, permitting its national carrier to expand its destinations all around the world.

The agreement was signed by HE the Minister of Trans-port and Communications Jas-sim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti and Kyrgyzstan Minister of Trans-port and Roads Jamshitbek Kalilov.

Following the signing cere-mony, the ministers discussed the bilateral relations between the two friendly countries in transport, mobility and avia-tion and the means of further enhancing them.

They also agreed to sign a memorandum of understand-ing (MoU) in the near future in land transport. The MoU will focus on commodities and goods transportation from Bishkek to Doha on all the days of the week.

This comes within the framework of the Belt and

Road Initiative (BRI) that aims to revive the Silk Road, which connects Asia, Africa and Eu-

rope to form an economic belt to help expand economic and cultural exchange.

HE Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti and Jamshitbek Kalilov exchanging the agreement signed between Qatar and Kyrgyzstan in Doha yesterday.

Thimun conference to begin on Jan 24The seventh annual Thimun

Qatar conference will take place from January 24-26

at the Qatar National Convention Centre. The event, which will bring together more than 1,300 Model United Nation (MUN) stu-dents from Qatar, as well as the wider region and beyond, aims to encourage young people to dis-cuss, negotiate, debate, and pro-pose solutions to global issues.

“We are now in the seventh year of Thimun Qatar,” said Lisa Martin, head, Thimun Qatar.

“Despite the current po-litical crisis in the region, we are continuing to develop as a Model United Nations, attract-ing thousands of students from around the world.

“This conference is a won-derful opportunity for young men and women from diff er-ent countries and backgrounds to come together to propose

action-orientated solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues. We at Thimun Qatar are dedicated to foster-ing active global citizens and equipping participants with the skills and tools necessary to become the future leaders of tomorrow,” added Martin.

The theme of this year’s con-ference is ‘Gender Equality and Empowerment for Women and Girls’, inspired by the United Nation’s (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5. In line with the theme, the key-note speech will be delivered by Trisha Shetty, founder and CEO of SheSays India, a youth-led NGO with a focus on youth and civil society engagement to promote gender equality. Addi-tionally, as part of the opening ceremony, Sandev Ferdinando, secretary-general, Thimun Qatar, and Bahia Tahzib-Lie,

ambassador of the Netherlands will address the audience.

During the three-day confer-ence, participants will engage in a simulation of the UN, taking on roles as diplomats to discuss and debate international issues in or-der to develop solutions to some of the greatest challenges facing the global community. Students will also be given the opportu-nity to participate in a variety of committees. Representatives from the United Nations Offi ce on Drugs and Crime will also present during the event, cover-ing topics such as ‘Cyber Crime’, ‘Organised Crime and Gender’, and ‘Human Traffi cking’.

A key aspect of this year’s conference is MUN Impact. The programme will serve as a hub for sharing stories of im-pactful MUN activities, best practices, and ways to support, through action, the SDGs.

Kuwait University students visit QFQatar Foundation (QF)

yesterday welcomed at Education City a delega-

tion of 35 students from Kuwait University.

During the visit, the students were given a comprehensive presentation highlighting QF’s diff erent academic institutes, science and research centres, and community development initiatives.

The delegation also heard how QF’s fl agship development, Education City, serves as a hub

of academic excellence, hous-ing a range of educational facili-ties, from QF schools to partner universities and its homegrown institution, Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

Following the presentation and a short question and answer ses-sion, the Kuwaiti delegation were taken to the open-air viewing platform on the eighth fl oor of QF headquarters, where they were shown the education and research buildings of Education City, and discussed future plans at QF.

Some of the visiting students from Kuwait University listening to a briefing about QF’s Education City yesterday.

Mercedes Benz S-Class models of 2013-2014 recalledThe Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC), in collaboration with Nasser Bin Khaled (NBK) Automobiles, has announced the recall of Mercedes Benz S-Class models of 2013-2014 because the driver seatbelt specifications do not match with factory specifications.The MEC said the recall

campaign comes within the framework of its ongoing eff orts to protect consumers and ensure that car dealers follow up on vehicles’ defects and repair them.The MEC said that it will co-ordinate with the dealer to follow up on the maintenance and repair works and will communicate with customers to ensure that the necessary repairs

are carried out. The MEC has urged all customers to report any violations to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department through the following channels: Call centre: 16001, e-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @MEC_Qatar, Instagram: MEC_Qatar, MEC mobile app for Android and IOS: MEC_Qatar

WCM-Q forum discusses rights and safety of patients, staff The importance of oc-

cupational health and well-being for protecting

patients and staff in healthcare was discussed at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar’s (WCM-Q) Grand Rounds.

Peter Bohan, director, Occu-pational Health and Wellbeing at Sidra Medicine, explained how the rights and safety of patients and staff can be protected by healthcare institutions that im-plement eff ective plans. He also discussed the serious risks posed to the health and well-being of patients and staff by institutions that fail to create or properly fol-low such plans.

Bohan said, “In the health-care sector, inadequate occu-pational health and well-being policies and processes can lead to serious illness or even death for patients. The well-being of medical and administrative staff can also be seriously impacted by poor policies or implementa-tion. For these reasons it is really important to understand that well-being is not an add-on; it is an integral part of management, leadership and processes that must be constantly monitored and never underestimated.”

Bohan outlined the key ele-ments of well-being as physical well-being, psychological well-

being, and social well-being, both at work and outside of work. To achieve these well-be-ing indicators, Bohan said man-agement must ‘buy into’ occu-pational health and well-being and champion the cause for the rest of the organisation.

Services must be aligned to deliver the model, there must be transparency and a willingness to acknowledge things that have gone wrong, and results must be meticulously measured, report-ed and analysed.

Bohan said, “Good leadership is extremely important. Staff need to be inspired in order to be engaged and when this happens

performance across the institu-tion is high and we see positive results in wellness of both staff and patients. We must also rec-ognise that occupational health and well-being in organisations is a constant, not a one-off .”

Peter Bohan speaking at the event.

QATAR


HE Dr Issa Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi and Ramesh Lakhak with Ramesh Prasad Koirala and Shiva Lamsal.

Al-Nuaimi holds talks with former Nepal ministerHE the Minister of

A d m i n i s t ra t i v e Development, La-

bour and Social Aff airs Dr Issa Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi has held talks with Nepal’s former minister of labour and transport man-agement Ramesh Lakhak.

During the meeting, the two sides talked about bi-lateral relations and ways to strengthen and sup-port them, and also held discussions on issues of common interest.

Lakhak thanked the Qatari government for hosting a large number of Nepalese workers, and raised labour-related is-sues concerning migrant workers.

Minister al-Nuaimi, on his part, lauded the Nepalese workers.

Lakhak also congratu-lated the Minister and Qa-tar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and wished success in hosting the mega sports event.

Among the issues dis-cussed was the further easing of procedures for Nepalese workers in Qa-tar, how to attract more skilled Nepalese workers such as doctors, engineers, by simplifying the visa and work permit process. Also, Qatari investment in sec-tors such as hydro-projects and tourism were also discussed at the meeting.

Lakhak said he was

positive about the labour-related steps taken by the Qatari government, which would benefi t Nepalese workers.

The Minister noted that the problems of Nepalese workers would be seriously considered by the Qatar government and solved accordingly.

Lakhak, on his part, re-quested Minister al-Nuai-mi to open a polytechnic school in Nepal to provide free technical skills train-ing for candidates willing to come to Qatar to work.

Nepal’s ambassador to Qatar Ramesh Prasad Koi-rala and adviser to Lakhak Shiva Lamsal also attended the meeting.

Qatar Emiri Land Forces Commander Major General Mohamed bin Ali al-Ghanim met yesterday with the US Central Command Deputy Commander Major General Terrence McKenrick. During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and prospects of co-operation in the field of joint military exercises. After the meeting, Major General al-Ghanim escorted Major General McKenrick on a visit to Um Houta camp, where he briefed him on the working methods and modes of communication between the commanders of the forces.

Major General al-Ghanim meets US commanderBrookings Doha Centre signs MoU with China’s SASSThe Brookings Doha Centre (BDC) and Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to initiate a collaboration on academic research and scholarly exchange between China and the Middle East.As part of the agreement, the BDC and SASS will collaborate to produce research examining policy issues on the political and economic relations between China and the Middle East. They will also convene an annual policy-oriented workshop focusing on issues related to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), according to a press statement by the BDC. The first joint workshop took place last week in Shanghai, China, and brought together prominent experts from China and the Middle East to discuss BRI’s action plan and policy challenges.“We are pleased to establish this collaboration with a top think-tank such as SASS whereby we will produce policy-oriented research on the growing strategic relations between the Middle East and China,” said BDC director Dr Tarik Yousef. “China’s importance to the security and prosperity of the Middle East will expand significantly in the next few decades.”“This collaboration unites the complementary strengths of two leading institutions to generate research and analysis that will provide guidance to academics as wells as policy makers in both China and the Middle East,” said Prof Yu Xinhui, chancellor of SASS. “We are honoured to be working with the Brookings Doha Centre to contribute to achieving the objectives of this partnership.”Initiated by Xi Jinping in 2013, the BRI aims to direct considerable resources towards infrastructure projects, including railway networks, ports, highways, pipelines, utility grids and telecommunication networks across more than 60 countries. It also aims to establish the world’s largest platform for economic co-operation, including policy co-ordination, trade and financial collaboration, and social and cultural co-operation, running through Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

Off icials exchange documents after signing the MoU.

MEC steps up inspection campaigns in malls

The Ministry of Econ-omy and Commerce (MEC) has intensifi ed

inspection campaigns tar-geting malls amid the launch of the second edition of the Shop Qatar Festival, it was announced yesterday.

The inspection campaigns resulted in 21 fi nes for viola-tions including absence of Arabic advertisements and discount statements, non-licensed promotions, failure to display prices before and after

discounts, missing service price tags, failure to display the percentage of discounts, absence of Arabic labels, and failure to display the license in a prominent place, which represent violations of ar-ticle (8) of law No.8 of 2008 and Ministerial Decision No. 5 of 1984 on discounted sales. Each fi ne ranged between QR5,000 and QR6,000.

The inspection campaigns are part of an integrated plan that covers all malls in a bid to monitor the compliance of suppliers (retail outlets) with their obligations under law No. 8 of 2008 on Consumer Protection and ministe-rial decision No. 5 of 1984 on discounted sales.

The inspection cam-paigns come within the framework of the MEC’s eff orts to monitor markets and commercial activities as well as to crack down on price manipulation, uncov-er violations and monitor discounts and promotions, especially during the Qatar Shopping Festival in a bid to protect consumer rights,

The MEC stressed that retail outlet managers and similar stores should take

the initiative and adopt without any further de-lay the “Shop with Confi -dence” mark when it comes to announcing discounts and promotional off ers. The mark should be placed on invoices presented to customers, as it represents clear proof to consumers that the shop concerned has obtained the required license from the MEC and that promotions and dis-counts are being off ered in line with applicable laws and legal regulations.

The MEC warned that retail shops which have ob-tained a license should off er real promotions and refrain from fake and misleading discounts and practices that harm consumers.

The MEC stressed that it will not tolerate any viola-tions of the Consumer Pro-tection Law and its regula-tions and will intensify its inspection campaigns to crackdown on violations.

The MEC said it will refer those who violate laws and ministerial decrees to compe-tent authorities, who will in turn take appropriate action against perpetrators in order to

protect consumer rights.The MEC has urged

consumers to compare the product price before and after the discount and promotional period. Consumers are also enti-tled to inspect the prod-uct label for the discount percentage as well as the actual and discounted price. Consumers should also ask for a detailed in-voice with the actual and discounted price.

The MEC has also urged all customers to report any viola-tions to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud De-partment through the following channels: Call centre: 16001, e-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @MEC_Qatar, Instagram: MEC_Qa-tar, MEC mobile app for Android and IOS: MEC_QatarAn inspector from the MEC during the campaign.

QATAR5Gulf Times


Feet feat keeps podiatry clinic on its toes

The Podiatry Clinic at the Ambu-latory Care Center (ACC) under Hamad Medical Corp, provides

essential care daily to around 100 pa-tients with foot and lower limb injuries and disorders, an offi cial has said.

It is estimated that nearly 80% of patients seen at the clinic are diabetic and hence are seeking specialised dia-betic foot and wound care services.

Dr Talal Khader Talal, a podiatric consultant and head of podiatric serv-ices at Hamad Medical Corp (HMC), said the clinic treats patients of all ages with various diseases of the foot and leg, ranging from congenital defects to injuries sustained as a result of frac-tures and accidents.

“Between May and September 2017, we received around 6,400 patients at a rate of 80 to 100 patients each day. Most of our patients have diabetes and were treated for peripheral neuropathy, which is nerve damage caused by the disease. Diabetic peripheral neuropa-thy is diff erent from peripheral arterial disease, which aff ects the blood vessels rather than the nerves. Diabetes often causes poor blood circulation because high levels of sugar in the blood can lead to hardening of the arteries,” ex-plained Dr Talal.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy usu-ally develops slowly and worsens over time. Some patients have the condi-tion for a long time before they are diagnosed with diabetes, and having diabetes for several years may increase one’s likelihood of developing diabetic neuropathy.

The condition can cause a tingling, burning, or numbness in one’s feet, as well as loss of sensation.

Dr Talal said neuropathy is danger-ous, particularly if left untreated, as the loss of sensation can lead to inju-ries, wounds, and sores going unno-ticed and untreated.

Regular foot exams are an eff ective

way to screen for ulcers, the develop-ment of abnormalities, and the loss of sensation. Dr Talal recommends annu-al checkups with a podiatrist and daily self-examinations.

“Inspecting your feet every day, and seeking care early if you do sustain a foot injury, is essential for good diabe-tes management. If you have diabetes, make sure your healthcare team checks your feet at least once a year – more often if you have a history of foot prob-lems. At the Podiatry Clinic, we advise our patients to check their feet daily for cuts, sores, red spots, swelling, or infected toenails. If patients are unable to see the bottom of their feet, we ad-vise them to use a mirror, or to have a family member complete the checkup,” said Dr Talal.

In addition to examining bare feet daily, Dr Talal said that being physi-cally active, avoiding smoking, and not crossing one’s legs for long periods of time are recommended.

Diabetics are also advised to wear protective shoes that are comfortable and cover the whole foot.

Heels and sandals should be avoided since they expose the foot and don’t provide a level platform, making one more susceptible to injury.

Dr Talal says the podiatry clinic receives around 100 patients each day.

Deepan, the first raff le draw winner of Malabar Gold & Diamonds Festival, receives the prize of 250gm gold from the jeweller’s Qatar regional head Santhosh T V in the presence of other off icials at the Grand Mall branch.

Gold rush!

Dressed in colourful costumes, performers from various European countries continue to entertain spectators at Souq Al Wakrah’s Spring Festival 2018 with a series of entertainment shows. The one-of-its-kind event, which began on January 18, also features a series of unique fireworks display scheduled on January 25 and February 1. Among the highlights include dazzling circus and acrobatic shows, as well as an array of rides and games for all ages. PICTURE: Jayan Orma

Spring festival

QIIB gives students insight into Islamic bankingQatar Academy students

were given insights into Islamic banking and

banking in general during their recent two-day sessions at the QIIB’s main branch on Grand Hamad Street.

The salient features of banking in general and Islamic banking in particular were highlighted at the sessions, which were attended among others by QIIB chief ex-ecutive offi cer Dr Abdulbasit Ah-mad al-Shaibei.

Al-Shaibei spoke with stu-dents about banking, the impor-tance of education and the eff orts to build the future and become successful persons who can serve their country and society.

He said QIIB was “keen to sup-

port education on a permanent basis because education is the foundation to be built.”

The Qatar Academy students were briefed about the services and products being off ered by the bank, such as the types of account, proce-

dures for opening an account, and the cheque book facility.

The students were given an over-view of Islamic banking and how it diff ered from conventional banking and the role of Shariah regulatory framework in Islamic banks in en-

suring strict compliance of all serv-ices and products to Shariah.

An overview of QIIB since its establishment in 1991 and rel-evant phases of the bank’s devel-opment since inception were also provided to the visiting students.

The meeting was also attended by Ali Hamad al-Misifari, QIIB head, human resources and pub-lic services, Mohamed al-Maw-lawi, head, business develop-ment and marketing and Zakaria Jlawi, head, retail.

Qatar Academy students with Dr Abdulbasit Ahmad al-Shaibei at QIIB’s main branch on Grand Hamad Street.

Bank denies report on ‘broadcasting rights’

International Bank of Qatar (ibq) has ‘strongly denied any involve-ment in the alleged proposal worth

$15.56bn to Lega Serie A, the top Ital-ian football division, regarding the League’s broadcasting rights.’

In a statement issued yesterday, Myriam Abou Haidar, Marketing & Corporate Communications manager at ibq stated: “ibq provides core bank-ing services in Qatar and has never engaged in any form of acquisition of broadcasting rights related to any

sport activity, therefore we were ut-terly surprised of the news.

“Consequently, ibq refutes having ever off ered any form of bid to Lega Series A. In fact, ibq has never estab-lished any contact with Lega Serie A in any respect whatsoever and has, as a banking institution, no direct or indirect interest whatsoever in Lega’s broadcasting rights or any other broadcasting rights.

The news is unfortunately ground-less, misleading and fake.”

QATAR

Gulf TimesMonday, January 22, 20186

Offi cers take part in QAF’s riot control courseThe Qatar Armed Forces

has concluded the riot control training course

(No 2) for offi cers and personnel of the Military Police (MP).

The concluding ceremony was held under the patronage of HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah, Deputy Prime Min-ister and Minister of State for Defence Aff airs, in the presence of Staff Major General Mohamed al-Ahbabi, Commander of the Military Police.

The course was held at the Military Police School over four weeks and saw the participation of offi cers and personnel from the Military Police Command and one representative from the Emiri Guard.

The course aimed to equip the participants with the skills

needed to handle mobs and riots while also focusing on the skills required to maintain security at stadiums, in addition to raising the overall level of training for the MP personnel.

The commander of the train-ing course, Lieutenant Abdullah Hamad al-Marri, said that fol-lowing the directives of the MP commander, a fi ve-year plan has been put in place for the benefi t of MP personnel, including pay-ing more attention to develop their skills in controlling riots.

The training course included sessions on dealing with rioters through a number of formations and introducing the participants to sophisticated batons to better control unruly mobs in addition to other necessary tools and

weapons.Some of the participants in action during the course. The participants in the course.

QC backs Al Rastan Bakery to aid displaced in SyriaQatar Charity (QC) has

announced that it has started supporting Al

Rastan Bakery, in conjunction with its ‘Aff ected by Winter’ campaign, to secure the provi-sion of bread on a daily basis to about 60,000 internally dis-placed persons (IDPs) in Homs Governorate, Syria.

The project aims to provide basic food to those displaced to alleviate their suff ering, QC has said in a statement.

Bread will be delivered to the “largest possible number of displaced people and aff ected families without any charge in order to lighten their fi nancial and psychological burden, and reduce the spread of diseases resulting from malnutrition”, the statement noted.

Mohamed Wahi, director of QC’s regional offi ce located in Turkey, said they seek to help Syrians at home with food.

The suff ering of the popula-tion worsened due to the ab-sence of basic food, medicine and clothing.

Now, Qatar Charity is work-ing to provide bread free of charge daily to 11,021 families with 60,000 people, mostly women, children and the eld-erly, in the city of Rastan and its suburbs in Homs Governo-rate.

Wahi said in addition to se-curing flour, fuel, yeast, salt and other baking accesso-ries, the project supports the monthly operating expenses of the bakery, supervises the daily production process and provides workers’ wages and the costs of transporting and distributing bread inside Syr-ia, the statement added.

The total cost of running the bakery for two months in the first stage is about QR1.5mn.

He said IDPs have bread in adequate quantities, helping cover most of their basic needs for this essential item, stress-ing that the project has been “positively and significantly” reflected in the targeted areas within Syria.

Wahi thanked Qatari phi-lanthropists for supporting QC campaigns for the relief of IDPs in Syria.

He also appreciated their

gesture to provide aid to af-fected persons in order to meet their basic needs.

He appealed to such phi-lanthropists to continue with their support.

The number of beneficiaries of the relief projects imple-mented by Qatar Charity has reached 16mn, including both displaced people and refugees within and outside Syria.

QC has implemented many humanitarian and relief projects for Syrian people at a cost of about QR545mn since the beginning of the crisis (in Syria) in April 2011.

Helping with bread is an im-portant way of alleviating the suffering of families besieged in the city of Al Rastan, locat-ed in the northern countryside of Homs Governorate, Qatar Charity said.

The city’s residents have been living under the “suf-focating siege” since the early days of the Syrian crisis, caus-

ing a “severe deterioration in the living conditions of a large segment of the popu-lation in the region”. This is because of the high rates of

unemployment and interrup-tion of supply routes in addi-tion to increase in the prices of commodities controlled by crisis traders, which make it

more difficult for the heads of households to secure the food needed for their families for the continuation of their

daily lives.

The initiative secures the provision of bread on a daily basis to about 60,000 internally displaced persons in Homs Governorate, Syria.

The project aims to provide basic food to those displaced, to alleviate their suffering.

QU co-hosts world university rankings data masterclass

Qatar University (QU), in partnership with Times Higher Education (THE),

has hosted ‘THE World Univer-sity Rankings Data Masterclass’, which discussed how the World University Rankings are built and which data are collected, as well as THE ranking methodolo-gies and plans for teaching ex-cellence.

The masterclass also looked at the performance data of univer-sities in the Arab world and on how rankings and performance indicators can evolve to best meet the developmental needs of institutions in the region.

The event drew the participa-tion of several presidents, fac-ulty, experts and researchers of universities from Qatar, Iran, Oman, South Africa, Turkey, and the UK. Attending the event were QU president Dr Hassan al-Derham, QU leadership, deans, heads of departments, pro-gramme directors, faculty mem-bers and staff .

A presentation by Trevor Bar-ratt, managing director of Times Higher Education, detailed THE’s data credentials and data for the World University Ranking.

Barratt also highlighted the 11 ranking subjects – arts and humanities; social sciences; business and economic; clini-cal, pre-clinical and health; law; education; life sciences; physical sciences; engineering and tech-nology; computer science; and psychology.

He noted that the academic

reputation survey increased from 143,484 votes in 2016 to 144,863 votes in 2017. He also highlighted that THE World University Rankings 2018 Sco-pus Dataset includes 12,431,514 total publications and 62mn citations. On THE World Uni-versity Rankings methodology, Barratt outlined the 13 metrics and fi ve ranking pillars.

Following it was a session on teaching excellence metrics led by Phil Baty, editorial director, Global Rankings, Times Higher Education. On the sidelines of the masterclass, QU hosted a gala dinner at The Ritz-Carlton, Doha. The ceremony featured the screening of a short video on QU and a presentation on “QU Overall Ranking Results” deliv-ered by Cesar Wazen, director of the QU Scholarships and Part-nerships Offi ce.

From left: Phil Baty, Dr Hassan al-Derham and Trevor Barratt.

Negative impact of illegal blockade

Qatar University (QU) president

Dr Hassan al-Derham high-

lighted the negative impact of

the illegal blockade imposed

on Qatar on all areas, including

the academic field and family

relations. He noted that QU

accommodated the national

students affected by the Gulf

crisis and that the university

did not end the service of any

faculty member due to his/her

nationality.

Qatar Sustainability Week from Oct 27Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC), a member of Qatar

Foundation for Education, Science and Community Develop-

ment, has announced that the third edition of Qatar Sustain-

ability Week (QSW) will take place from October 27 to Novem-

ber 3, 2018. The week-long event held under the patronage of

HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Sheikh Abdullah

bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, is designed to actively engage

Qatar’s public and private sector organisations in a wide range

of sustainability-oriented activities. The event also aims to

promote engagement and foster a culture of environmental

sustainability among residents and the wider community.

QSW 2018 will kick-off with one of the week’s most prominent

events, the third edition of the Qatar Green Building Confer-

ence. Taking place from October 28-29, it will be held under

the patronage of HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, vice

chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation.

The two-day event, which will also include the Qatar Sustain-

ability Awards ceremony on October 28, will bring together

industry leaders and sustainability experts to address and

showcase their innovative solutions to Qatar and the region’s

most pressing environmental challenges. Meshal al-Shamari,

director, QGBC, said, “We’re delighted to announce QSW for

the third consecutive year. The main aim of QSW is to contrib-

ute towards our nation’s environmental protection and sustain-

able development goals. We’re looking forward to involving the

entire community in this event, and strongly encourage the

active participation from all community members as well as

those from public and private sector organisations.”

REGION/ARAB WORLD7


Jordan tells US to rebuild trust after Jerusalem moveReuters Amman

Jordan’s King Abdullah told US Vice President Mike Pence yesterday he looked

to Washington to rebuild “trust and confi dence” in moving to-ward a two-state solution in Israel after President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the country’s capital.

With Pence sitting across from him in the royal palace, King Abdullah said Jordan viewed the Israel-Palestinian confl ict as a “potential major source of instability”. He said he had raised his concerns for some time that such a decision on Jerusalem “does not come as a result of a comprehensive settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli confl ict”. He also reiter-ated that East Jerusalem should be the capital of a future Pales-tinian state.

“We hope that the US will reach out and fi nd the right way to move forward in these chal-lenging circumstances,” the king said. At the end of the visit, Pence in remarks to the press said he “agreed to disagree” with King Abdullah on the im-pact of Trump’s move.

Pence said in Egypt on Satur-day and again in Jordan that the United States would support a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians if they both agreed to it.

Trump’s endorsement in De-cember of Israel’s claim to Je-rusalem as its capital drew uni-versal condemnation from Arab leaders and criticism around the world.

It also broke with decades of US policy that the city’s status

must be decided in negotiations between Israel and the Pales-tinians.

Pence told the king that Washington was committed to preserving the status quo of holy sites in Jerusalem.

Jordanian offi cials fear Trump’s move has wrecked chances of a resumption of Arab-Israeli peace talks, which King Abdullah had sought to revive.

They also worry the move could trigger violence in the

Palestinian territories which could spill over into Jordan, where many people are de-scendants of Palestinian refu-gees whose families left after Israel was created in 1948.

“We take no position on boundaries and fi nal status. Those are subject to negotia-tion,” Pence said.

After the meeting, Pence fl ew to a military facility near the Syrian border to meet with US troops. He will fi nish his three-nation Middle East trip in Israel.

Turkish tanks roll into Syria to fi ght Kurdish militiaAFPHassa, Turkey

Turkish troops and tanks entered Syria yesterday to push an off ensive against

Kurdish militia as rockets hit border towns in apparent re-taliation and the United States urged Ankara to show restraint.

Turkey on Saturday launched operation “Olive Branch” seek-ing to oust from the Afrin region of northern Syria the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) which Ankara considers a terror group.

But the campaign risks fur-ther increasing tensions with Turkey’s Nato ally Washington, which has supported the YPG in the fi ght against Islamic State (IS) militants and warned Ankara about distracting the focus from that fi ght.

In its fi rst reaction to the of-fensive, the US State Depart-ment urged Turkey yesterday “to exercise restraint and ensure that its military operations re-main limited in scope and dura-tion and scrupulous to avoid ci-vilian casualties”.

“We call on all parties to re-main focused on the central goal of defeating” IS, State Depart-ment spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said troops crossed into YPG-controlled region in Syria at 0805 GMT, the Dogan news agency reported.

Thirty-two Turkish planes destroyed a total of 45 targets in-cluding ammunition dumps and refuges used by the YPG on the second day of the operation, the Turkish army said.

Turkish troops were advanc-ing alongside forces from the

Ankara-backed rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and were already fi ve kilometres inside Syria, state media said.

An AFP photographer saw more Turkish tanks lined up at the border waiting to cross into Syrian territory.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Ca-vusoglu said in televised com-ments several villages had al-ready been taken in the advance.

But a YPG spokesman claimed Turkish forces seeking to enter Afrin had been “blocked” and that it had hit two Turkish tanks.

The Britain-based Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rights said a total of 18 civilians had been killed so far in the two-day op-eration.

Ankara denied any civilian casualties, with Cavusoglu ac-cusing the YPG of sending out “nonsense propaganda and baseless lies”.

In his fi rst comments on the off ensive since it began, Presi-dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan ex-pressed hope the “operation will be fi nished in a very short time” and vowed “we will not take a step back”.

Following calls from some Turkish pro-Kurdish politicians for people to take to the streets, he warned that anyone protest-ing in Turkey against the opera-tion would pay “a heavy price”.

Police stopped demonstra-tions against the campaign tak-ing place in the mainly Kurdish southeastern city of Diyarbakir and in Istanbul, making arrests, AFP correspondents said.

In a sign of the risks to Tur-key, six rockets fi red from Syria hit the Turkish border town of Reyhanli yesterday, killing one Syrian refugee and wounding 32 people, its mayor said.

A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace yesterday shows Jordanian King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence in the capital Amman.

UN appeals for nearly $3bn aid for YemenAFP Sanaa

The United Nations yesterday made what it said was a record appeal for aid to Yemen, calling

for nearly $3bn in humanitarian relief for the war-torn country.

The $2.96bn will be used to respond to an ever-broadening crisis in Yemen, where war, looming famine and cholera have killed thousands and put millions of lives at risk.

The appeal, made on behalf of UN agencies and humanitarian partners, came as 11.3mn people “urgently require assistance to survive”, UN aid agency OCHA said in a statement.

“A generation of children is growing up in suff ering and deprivation,” OCHA said.

“Nearly 2mn children are out of school, 1.8mn children under the age of fi ve are acutely malnourished, including 400,000 who suff er from severe acute malnutrition and are 10 times more likely to die if they do not receive medi-cal treatment.”

More than 9,200 people have been killed in Yemen since 2015, when a Sau-di-led military coalition intervened to back the country’s internationally-rec-ognised government against rebels.

Another nearly 2,200 Yemenis have died of cholera amid deteriorating hy-giene and sanitation conditions, the World Health Organisation says.

Over the past year, the United Na-tions’ eff orts to address what it has de-scribed as the world’s worst humani-tarian crisis have been hampered by a crippling blockade of rebel-held ports by the Saudi-led coalition.

More than three-quarters of Yemen’s population — 22.2mn people — are now dependent on some form of assistance in Yemen, the United Nations says.

Some 8.4mn Yemenis are also at risk of famine, according to OCHA.

Iraq’s Supreme Federal Court yesterday ruled against calls by lawmakers to delay a parliamentary election, expected to be called for May, to allow hundreds of thou-sands of people displaced by war to return home. Politicians, including Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, argued delaying the election would be unconstitutional. The election must be held “within the timeframe provided by the constitution,” the court said in a statement. Parlia-ment is expected to meet today to validate May 12 as the date for the ballot, as suggested by the govern-ment, or agree another date in May. Abadi is seeking re-election, building on a surge in his popularity among Iraq’s majority community after leading the three-year fight against Islamic State militants, supported by a US-led coalition. “Postponing the elections would set a danger-ous precedent, undermining the constitution and damaging Iraq’s long-term democratic develop-ment,” the US Embassy in Baghdad said in a statement on Thursday. The United States had shown understanding for Abadi’s move in October to dislodge Kurdish fighters from the oil rich northern region of Kirkuk, even though the Kurds are traditional allies of Washington.

Bahraini police said yesterday they had arrested 47 people on charges linked to terrorism, includ-ing plots to assassinate “public figures”, as well as filing charges against another 290. Authorities have cracked down hard on dis-sent since mass street protests in 2011 which demanded an elected prime minister and constitutional monarchy in the kingdom. In a statement released by Bahrain’s police force yesterday, the interior minister said law enforcement had arrested 47 “terrorist agents” and foiled attacks across the country, including planned killings of “of-ficials and public figures”. Police had also transferred the cases of 290 wanted persons and suspects to the public prosecutor’s off ice, it said. The statement did not speci-fy the dates of the arrests but said they were part of “one of the most important preventive operations”, triggered by “attacks on police” and a fire at a Saudi Aramco oil pipeline in Bahrain last year.

Supreme Court rules against election delay

Bahrain arrests 47, charges 290 in mass crackdown

LEGAL

POLITICS

Court condemns German woman to death for IS supportAFPBaghdad

An Iraqi court said yesterday it had condemned to death by hanging a German woman of Moroccan

origin after fi nding her guilty of belong-ing to the Islamic State group.

She is one of hundreds of foreign militants held by Iraqi authorities, who in December announced the defeat of IS after a gruelling three-year battle.

The German was sentenced for pro-viding “logistical support and helping the terrorist group to carry out crimes,” said court spokesman Abdel Settar Bayraqdar.

“The accused admitted during in-terrogations that she left Germany for Syria then Iraq to join IS with her two daughters, who married members of

the terrorist organisation,” he said. The woman, who was not identifi ed, has 30 days to appeal, after which she could be executed, said legal expert Ezzedine al-Mohamadi.

She is believed to be the fi rst Euro-pean woman to be sentenced to death in Iraq in relation to IS.

A judicial source told AFP that one of the woman’s two daughters had been killed while with the militants.

The German media has reported that a German named Lamia K and her daughter left Mannheim in August 2014 and were arrested by Iraqi forces during the fi nal stages of the battle to oust IS from its stronghold Mosul last July.

At least two other German women are also in prison in Iraq, whose authori-ties have not offi cially said how many militants were taken prisoner during the battle against IS.

United Nations Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Yemen Jamie McGoldrick gives a press conference in the capital Sanaa, yesterday.

US vice president arrives in Israel

US Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Israel yesterday for a visit that will see him warmly welcomed by Israeli leaders but snubbed by the Palestinians, deeply angered by the White House’s Jerusalem policy. The visit, initially scheduled for De-cember before being postponed, is the final leg of a trip that has included talks in Egypt and

Jordan as well as a stop at a US military facility near the Syrian border. Arab outrage over Presi-dent Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on December 6 had prompted the cancellation of several planned meetings ahead of Pence’s tour. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is refusing to meet Pence because of the declaration.

AFRICA


5 killed in Kinshasa anti-Kabila protestReutersKinshasa

Congolese security forces yesterday shot dead at least fi ve people and fi red tear gas to disperse a banned

protest against President Joseph Kabila organised by the Catholic church, a UN peacekeeping mission in the country said.

Kabila’s refusal to step down at the end of his mandate in December 2016 has trig-gered a series of street protests in which scores have been killed in Kinshasa.

It has also emboldened armed rebel groups in diff erent parts of the country.

A Reuters witness saw police and para-military troops fi re volleys of tear gas and shoot into the air outside the Notre Dame cathedral in the capital Kinshasa.

Florence Marchal, spokesman for the UN mission (MONUSCO), also said 33 people were wounded and that 49 arrests had been made across the country.

As well as Kinshasa, protests erupted in the central Congolese diamond-mining town of Mbuji-Mayi.

“We haven’t yet established the nature or cause of the injuries,” Marchal added.

A police spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

The instability has stoked fears that the vast, mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo could slide back into the wars that killed millions in the 1990s, mostly from hunger and disease.

“I marched today for a simple reason: I want to bring up my children in a coun-try that respects human rights,” protester Pascal Kabeya, a 40-year-old market trader, told Reuters where a few hundred had gathered in a suburb of Kinshasa.

“Kabila has done his two terms. He should leave now and give a chance to someone else”.

The chief of police for Kinshasa city General Sylvano Kasongo Kitenge had warned in a statement overnight that the protest was banned and that “no attempt

to disturb public order will be tolerated anywhere in Kinshasa.”

Kasongo, surrounded by several armed police, visited the road leading to Notre Dame where a protest was happening, ordering everyone to go home, a Reuters witness saw. “Mass is over, the priests should now go home, and everybody else should go home. If you refuse, we will use force and shoot tear gas, let that be very clear,” he told them.

The violence echoed that of New Year’s Eve, when Congolese forces killed at least seven people in the capital during a pro-test by Catholic activists.

Under a deal mediated between the church and Kabila’s opponents, the pres-ident was to step down at the end of last year, paving the way for an election early this year.

But he reneged on the deal and the poll has been repeatedly delayed — it is cur-rently loosely scheduled for the end of 2018.

Diplomats, including the United States, British and Swiss embassies had all put out statements encouraging the Congolese to march to pressure Kabila to respect the deal.

“We applaud Congolese citizens ex-

ercising their constitutional right to as-semble peacefully in support of the full implementation of the,” the US and Brit-ish embassies said in a joint statement. “Those who do not protect these rights must be held accountable.”

The Roman Catholic Church has emerged as a harness for opposition to Kabila’s eff orts to stay in power with no mandate, while his political opposition remains feeble and fragmented.

Kabila, who has been president his fa-ther was killed in offi ce in 2001, blames the electoral delays on the logistics of voter registration.

Demonstrators kneel and chant slogans during a protest organised by Catholic activists in Kinshasa yesterday.

Juice startup puts Malian fl avours in a bottleAFPBamako

Scarlet hibiscus petals in-fuse their fl avour in a giant pot of liquid, where green

leaves picked from the west Af-rican kinkeliba shrub also swirl.

With a pinch of ginger and some baobab fruit, the concoc-tion is ready to be tasted.

Aissata Diakite’s juices are part of an all-natural health startup which the 28-year-old Malian launched in December, blending traditional fl avours with an engi-neer’s eye for detail.

The idea of launching a range of entirely natural fruit juices us-ing locally sourced products from the African savannah came from her childhood in Mopti, a region in central Mali through which the Niger River fl ows.

And it was there, while study-ing agribusiness in France, that the project came to fruition.

“When I was a student, I used to come back to Mali on holi-day and I would drive through rural agricultural areas to meet the farmers, to understand the seasons and how to manage the

off -season,” she explains ani-matedly.

And last month, she launched her line of ‘Zabbaan’ juices after meeting prospective buyers at the ‘Invest in Mali’ forum.

The business takes its name from the zaban — or saba senega-lensis, a shrub-like tree native to the Sahel region which grows predominantly on riverbanks and in woodlands, whose fruit and leaves are highly prized.

The forum was not for the fainthearted: Mali is struggling with a militant insurgency across large swathes of its rugged terrain — including Diakite’s home re-gion — which are currently being patrolled by several international military forces.

“Coming to Mali today is an act of faith,” admitted Presi-dent Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in a speech at the forum’s opening.

Nonetheless, investors pledged some 34bn CFA francs ($63mn) to an array of business-es, from solar energy to cement and packaging.

“Producing what we consume, that’s how we create jobs and wealth,” Industrial Development Minister Mohamed Aly Ag Ibra-

him said a week later at the for-mal launch of Zabbaan.

And he hailed Diakite as “an inspirational young woman” who had “returned from abroad

to invest in her country and suc-ceeded in that challenge”.

There are 10 juices in the range, each bearing names like “the king”, a punchy mango and

baobab mix, “the duke” — za-ban and baobab, or “the war-rior” which blends hibiscus with mint and baobab, with names evoking the pomp of the

Mali Empire, which ruled large sections of west Africa for 400 years.

It was her grandmother who told her stories about Mali at the height of its power when it was a world-renowned centre of learn-ing, she told AFP.

Her recipes are based on leaves, fl owers and fruits from the African savannah, “most of them growing wild” with fresh, local products one of the trade-marks of the range.

“We work with a network of farmers who supply us, who of-ten work on lands passed down through the family,” she says.

“And these products are also used in traditional African medi-cine.”

In order to break into new mar-kets and start exporting overseas, the company is also in the proc-ess of obtaining organic certifi -cation.

Bamako’s small but growing middle class is taking note.

Zabbaan now produces around 1,000 bottles a day at its produc-tion facility in the capital which are mostly sold at supermarkets in Bamako for 500 CFA francs ($0.90) a go.

The juice, which is pasteur-ised, comes in brightly-coloured 300ml bottles, which are made of recyclable plastic.

But even this foothold in a nas-cent market was hard won.

“It’s not easy to grow a net-work of suppliers like that,” Di-akite said. “It took me about three years.”

On the factory fl oor, where the latest batch is ready, the produc-tion team is in full swing.

Before it can be bottled, the product — “the prince” in this case — must be tasted.

And it’s a job for the whole team.

“Some people think that this one lacks ginger, so we are changing that and adding a bit more,” says Lala Coulibaly, who is responsible for quality control and hygiene.

With 65 employees on the payroll, Diakite has now set her sights on the export market, with the company due to start ship-ping juices to France in February.

And she’s also working on a new line of products: the extrac-tion and export of pure essences that will also bear the label: “Made in Mali”.

Aissata Diakite (left) tastes juice at her startup in Bamako.

Ethiopia rejects

‘arbitration’ in

dam disputeReutersAddis Ababa

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has rejected a call by Egypt for

World Bank arbitration in a dis-pute over a hydroelectric dam Addis Ababa is building along its share of the Nile.

The two countries are at odds over the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renais-sance Dam, with Cairo fearing the project would restrict wa-ters fl owing down from Ethio-pia’s highlands and through the deserts of Sudan to its fi elds and reservoirs.

The Horn of Africa country, which aims to become the con-tinent’s biggest power exporter, says the $4bn dam will have no such impact.

With discussions deadlocked for months over the wording of a study on its environmental im-pact, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry proposed late

last month that the World Bank be allowed to help settle the dis-pute.

“Seeking professional sup-port is one thing, transferring (arbitration) to an institution is another thing. So we told them that this is not acceptable with our side,” the state-run Ethio-pian News Agency quoted Haile-mariam as saying.

The agency, which spoke to Hailemariam upon his return from Cairo on Friday, said he re-jected the proposal and said: “It is possible to reach agreement...through cooperation and with the spirit of trust”.

After his meeting with the Ethiopian leader, Egypt’s Presi-dent Abdel Fatah al-Sisi pledged not to let diff erences over a con-struction of the dam ruin rela-tions with Addis Ababa.

Countries that share the river have argued over the use of its waters for decades — and ana-lysts have repeatedly warned that the disputes could eventu-ally boil over into confl ict.

Spotted hyena returns to Gabon park aft er 20 years

A spotted hyena has been sighted

in a Gabon national park for the

first time in 20 years, conserva-

tionists said over the weekend,

the latest large predator to have

returned to a region where many

had gone locally extinct.

The Bateke Plateau National

Park lies close to Gabon’s border

with the Republic of Congo.

Its forests and grasslands once

teemed with wildlife, including

many large mammal predators,

but the ecosystem was decimated

by decades of poaching.

Off icials said a spotted hyena

had been caught on camera traps

in the park for the first time in two

decades giving hope that more

large mammals might return after

years of conservation eff orts.

The sighting comes two years

after a lone male lion was pho-

tographed by camera traps after

returning.

“The return of these large

carnivores is a great demonstra-

tion that the eff orts of our rangers

and partners are having a positive

eff ect on Bateke wildlife,” profes-

sor Lee White, director of Gabon’s

National Parks Agency said in a

press release.

The spotted hyena was so

unknown in recent memories that

when researchers showed local

park rangers the photographs

from the camera traps they did

not know the species.

But village elders in communi-

ties north of the park instantly

recognised the hyena, research-

ers said.

The sightings are a far cry from

when researchers first set up their

camera traps in 2001.

That year all they photo-

graphed in Bateke was a lone

antelope and multiple poachers

crossing into the park from the

Republic of Congo.

The lion first spotted in 2015

has since made the park his

home. But he has yet to be joined

by any others.

“This lion...has been continu-

ously photographed during his

three-year reign of the park, but

remains alone, calling for a mate,”

the researchers said.

President sacks Mogadishu mayor

Somalia’s president yesterday fi red the mayor of the capi-tal Mogadishu in an appar-

ent bid to defuse moves towards greater autonomy for the city.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed named current informa-tion minister Abdirahman Omar Osman to the post of Mogadishu mayor and governor of the Banadir administration, the region that in-cludes the city, according to a state-ment from his offi ce.

Osman replaces Thabit Abdi Mohamed who has served just nine

months in offi ce. Immediately after the mayor’s fi ring, government se-curity forces were deployed across Mogadishu to forestall any poten-tial protest against the move.

Earlier, Mohamed’s supporters in the city council had nominated him to head an autonomous Bana-dir administration, hoping to secure for the city and surrounding area equal status to Somalia’s six regional states, which have their own presi-dents and enjoy a greater degree of autonomy. The central government is opposed to any such eff orts.

Gambians enjoy freedom post-Jammeh, but criticise economyBy Emil Touray, AFPBanjul

One year ago, Gambians wept for joy as Yahya Jammeh went into exile,

bringing the curtain down on a brutal 22-year rule.

Today, many say freedom of speech in this small west African state is a right they cherish un-der President Adama Barrow’s administration.

“There is a democracy, every-body feels free. Disappearances without a trace — all that’s over now,” said teacher Kalipha Dam-pha, referring to the dreaded work of the National Intel-ligence Agency (NIA) and the “Junglers,” as Jammeh’s death squad was called.

But The Gambia’s faltering economy has barely improved and tensions over mass unem-ployment are rising.

Today, many are now asking when the better days they were promised will come.

“Food prices are still the same, salaries have not increased, the health sector is a shambles, the education sector is a farce,” Is-maila Ceesay, a professor of po-litical science at the University of The Gambia, stated bluntly in an AFP interview.

In terms of the economy, he argued, Barrow’s government is simply “following and inherit-ing the ideas of Yahya Jammeh,” albeit minus the state of terror.

The new government lacks a coherent vision for transform-ing a country heavily dependent on seasonal tourism and agri-culture, he charged.

In his New Year’s address, Barrow said progress had been made, but also pointed to the entrenched problems he inher-ited.

“Our coff ers not only (have

been) emptied, but we are (also) loaded with huge debt,” he said.

“The country has debts of more than a $1bn, which is a staggering 120% of debt to GDP,” he said.

“This is equivalent to each household owing about $4,500.”

Despite this burden, The Gambia now has more than four months rather than under one month of import cover, the cost of government borrowing has fallen sharply, infl ation has start-ed to decline and growth this year is expected to reach 3.8%, com-pared to 2.2% in 2016, he said.

In the run-down streets, though, frustrations run deep.

“In the cold season we can still have no water or electrici-ty,” Mati Gomez, a market seller, told AFP.

Another area of concern lies in the ranks of military and former military who may still have ties with Jammeh-era fi gures.

A dozen mutinous soldiers are currently on trial over an at-tempted coup in July after months being held without charge, and a regional troop deployment still has a mandate to protect the pop-ulation while domestic security forces are reformed.

As a sign of the changed times, there is a push for the new freedoms to be enshrined in law, and for justice to redress the crimes of the past.

Journalists who once wrote anonymously or self-censored for fear of joining dozens of col-leagues who did jail time under Jammeh are now leading the push to reform Draconian libel and sedition laws.

Saikou Jammeh, secretary general of The Gambia Press Union, told AFP the organisa-tion was “working to reform the media laws and bring them in line with international stand-ards,” specifi cally targeting leg-

islation used to “stifl e dissent”.Several victims of mistreat-

ment during the Jammeh era and the families of dozens of people forcibly disappeared, thrown into wells or buried in shallow graves, want Jammeh himself to face justice.

Reed Brody, a human rights lawyer who successfully helped build the case against Chad-ian dictator Hissene Habre, said the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission and testimony from victims’ groups was slowly progressing.

“We’re talking to victims but also to people who used to work for Jammeh and we know a lot more today about what went on, and about Jammeh’s role, than we did a year ago,” he said.

Jammeh, who fl ed to Equato-rial Guinea, is suspected of hav-ing pocketed $50mn, in addition to committing human rights abuses.

AMERICAS9Gulf Times


Supporters of the presidential candidate for the Honduran Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship, Salvador Nasralla, clash with riot police and soldiers in a protest in Tegucigalpa over the weekend.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said yesterday he would seek a new truce with the ELN group in a bid to salvage peace talks that had been set back after a recent off ensive by the rebel group. The ELN indicated a willingness to resume negotiations. Santos wrote on Twitter that the government’s chief negotiator, Gustavo Bell, “will travel to Quito to explore the possibility of a new ceasefire that will allow peace talks with the ELN to continue.” The president said his decision followed a call from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who urged him to renew dialogue with the leftist guerrillas. Guterres had met with Santos in Bogota earlier this month to discuss the peace process.

Activists blocked roads and clashed with police in Honduras on Saturday as part of nationwide protests against the contested re-election of President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds jailed since Hernandez was declared the winner of the November 26 run-off election. The left-wing Alliance in Opposition against the Dictatorship is heading a protest campaign insisting that the election was stolen from its candidate, former TV anchor Salvador Nasrallah. The opposition called for a “national strike” on Saturday to block the country’s main roads ahead of the start of the president’s new term in off ice on January 27.

Mexico saw a total of 25,339 murders last year, off icial data has shown, after 2017 was already established as a record-breaking year based on killings carried out until November. The interior ministry on Saturday said 2,219 people were murdered in December 2017. Authorities began collecting data in 1997. The homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants meanwhile climbed to 20.51, against 16.80 in 2016, when 20,545 were murdered. Mexico is convulsing from a wave of violence linked to drug traff icking that has left almost 200,000 dead since December 2006, when former president Felipe Calderon’s government launched a controversial military anti-drug operation.

A US Army Apache attack helicopter crashed on Saturday morning in California, killing two soldiers, a spokesman for the Army said. An investigation is ongoing into the crash of the AH-64 Apache helicopter on the sprawling National Training Center at Fort Irwin in southern California, Lieutenant Colonel Jason Brown, US Army spokesman, said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters. Another Army spokesman said that the pilot and the co-pilot were killed, but did not give their names, saying their families had yet to be notified. The crew of soldiers and the aircraft were based in Fort Carson in Colorado and were on a training rotation at the base in the Mojave Desert.

Colombia to seek new truce with ELN rebels

Hondurans block roads in election result protest

Over 25,000 murdered in Mexico during 2017: report

Army helicopter crash in California kills 2 soldiers

DIPLOMACYVOTE VIOLENCE NUMBER CRUNCH ACCIDENT

Trump calls on Senate to change rules on fundingReutersWashington

President Donald Trump said yes-terday if the government shut-down stalemate continued, Re-

publicans should fund the government by changing Senate rules, which cur-rently require a super-majority for leg-islation to advance, but top Republicans immediately dismissed the idea.

Funding for federal agencies ran out on Saturday with Trump and Republi-can lawmakers locked in a standoff with Democrats.

As the shutdown entered its second day, there appeared to be no clear path for a quick end to the crisis.

“The Dems (Democrats) just want illegal immigrants to pour into our na-tion unchecked. If stalemate continues, Republicans should go to 51% (Nuclear Option) and vote on real, long term budget,” Trump said on Twitter.

Trump’s proposal was almost imme-diately rejected by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

Senate Republicans oppose chang-ing the chamber’s rules so that legisla-tion to fund the government and end the current shutdown could pass with a simple majority, the spokesman said.

“The Republican Conference oppos-es changing the rules on legislation,” the spokesman said in an e-mail.

Current Senate rules require a super-majority of three-fi fths of the chamber, usually 60 out of 100, for legislation to clear procedural hurdles and pass.

The Senate will vote at 1am EST

(0600 GMT) today on a bill to fund the government through February 8, unless Democrats agreed to hold it sooner, Mc-Connell said on Saturday.

Democrats say short-term spending legislation must include protections for illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children, known as “Dreamers.”

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of being an unreliable negotiating partner, saying the two sides came close to an agree-ment several times only to have Trump back out at the urging of anti-immigra-tion conservatives.

Schumer “put a lot on the table” in

negotiations on Friday, which Trump accepted then “walked it back,” Demo-cratic Senator Chris Coons said on the Fox News Sunday programme.

Republicans, who have a slim 51-49 Senate majority, said they would not negotiate on immigration until the gov-ernment was reopened.

With elections set in November for a third of US Senate seats and the entire House of Representatives, both sides are manoeuvring to blame the other for the shutdown.

After money for federal agencies ran out at midnight on Friday, many US government employees were told to stay home or, in some cases, work without pay until new funding is ap-proved.

The shutdown is the fi rst since a 16-day closure in October 2013.

Speaking to US troops at a military fa-cility in the Middle East, Vice President Mike Pence said the administration will not reopen talks with Democratic law-makers on “illegal immigration” until the shutdown ended.

“We’re not going to reopen negotia-tions on illegal immigration until they reopen the government and give you, our soldiers and your families, the ben-efi ts and wages you’ve earned,” Pence said.

New York governor vows to reopen Statue of Liberty

As the federal government shutdown

entered its second day yesterday, New

York Governor Andrew Cuomo vowed

to use state money to reopen the Statue

of Liberty before Washington restores

funding to operate the popular tourist

destination.

The site was among many federal

monuments and parks that closed at mid-

night Friday after lawmakers in Congress

failed to agree on a spending plan to keep

the government running, triggering the

first shutdown in four years.

In the hours leading up to the shut-

down, the Trump administration was

working on ways to keep hundreds of

parks open without staff in an eff ort to

avoid public anger, though it was unclear

which ones would close.

“Not all parks are fully open but we are

all working hard to make as many areas

as accessible to the public as possible,”

US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said on

Twitter on Saturday.

In Washington, the Smithsonian mu-

seums and the National Zoo will remain

open through today, using prior-year

funds. In a tweet, the Smithsonian said it

would update its status “as soon as we

know.”

But in Philadelphia, visitors were

turned away at the Liberty Bell, while

tourists in New York on Saturday ex-

pressed disappointment that they were

unable to take the ferry to the island that

houses the Statue of Liberty.

During the last shutdown in 2013, a

number of governors used state funds

to keep certain parks open, including the

Statue of Liberty, which at that time cost

$61,600 per day to reopen.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday,

Cuomo called it a “gross injustice” to

close down the statue, a symbol of Ameri-

can freedoms.

The Democratic governor said he

would use state money to pay for opera-

tions, both because it is an emblem of

New York and the United States and

because the cost is justified from a tour-

ism standpoint.

“We’re going to be talking to the

federal government as soon as somebody

answers the phone,” he said.

In Arizona, Republican Governor Doug

Ducey vowed last week to keep the Grand

Canyon operating using state funds in the

event of a shutdown.

But in South Dakota, home of Mount

Rushmore, Republican Governor Dennis

Daugaard on Friday said he would not

take any action to keep the monument

open during a shutdown.

Pope for end to violence against womenAFP Trujillo, Peru

Pope Francis on Saturday urged Latin America’s faithful to fi ght rampant

violent crime against women including murder, while holding mass in Trujillo, Peru’s largest northern city.

“I wish to invite you to com-bat a plague across our Latin American region: the numerous cases of violent crimes against women, from beatings to rape to murder,” the visiting Pontiff told thousands in Trujillo’s main colonial-era square.

Half of the 25 countries with the greatest number of murders of women are in Latin America, according to UN Women.

In Argentina, the Pope’s homeland, there were at least 254 murders of women in 2016 that authorities think were gen-der-related, which helped spark the online campaign #NotOne-More murder.

“There are so many cases of violence that stay silenced be-hind so many walls,” Francis said, arousing cheers from the crowd. “I’m calling on you to fi ght against this source of suf-fering including legislation and a culture that rejects every type of violence.”

The northwestern city Trujillo is still struggling to rebuild after deadly devastating fl oods one year ago.

More than 130 people were killed across Peru between Janu-ary and April 2017 in heavy rains, fl oods and landslides fuelled by the El Nino weather phenom-enon, which also left at least 300,000 homeless.

Hardest-hit was Peru’s north-ern coastal region.

Francis acknowledged that many families still could not rebuild their homes after the fl oods — then warned of the “storms” of organised crime.

The high crime rate means fewer educational and work op-portunities, preventing young people “from building a future with dignity,” Francis said.

The mass took place on a stretch of beach in Huanchaco, a town in Trujillo some 560km north of Lima.

Huanchaco is popular with surfers and known for its dis-tinctive reed watercraft known as “caballitos de totora.”

The Pope then boarded his Popemobile to visit Trujillo’s impoverished “Buenos Aires” neighbourhood, which was es-pecially hard hit by last April’s fl ooding.

“We will see if the Pope brings along some blessings. And if we can recover com-pletely from everything lost in the floods. We need him to bring some mercy,” said local resident Lidia Garcia.

As on Friday, Francis was ac-companied by Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

The visit is a change of pace after a politically charged fi rst day in the South American coun-try where the Pope railed against “great business interests” for endangering the Amazon and its indigenous people.

And he lashed out at corrup-tion in politics.

“There is so much damage done by this...thing that infects everything,” Francis said. “And it’s always the poorest and the environment that get the short end of the stick.”

On Friday, he sounded a stark warning about the future of the rainforest and tribe members, saying they had “never been so threatened.”

States reliant on tourism oppose coastal drillingReutersMiami

The Trump administration’s deci-sion last week to exempt Florida from its national off shore drill-

ing plan was based in part on the state’s argument that a spill would cripple its crucial tourism industry.

But several other states opposed to oil and gas drilling off their coasts are similarly dependent on tourism, ac-cording to a Reuters review of economic data — a fact that could make it hard for the administration to reject similar requests, and complicate its eff orts to expand drilling.

The Interior Department this month proposed opening up virtually all US coastline to drillers as part of Repub-lican President Donald Trump’s plan to boost domestic energy production, leading the governors of every state along the Atlantic and Pacifi c seaboards — except Maine and Alaska — to object.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said last week that he was removing Florida from consideration after meeting with its Republican governor, Rick Scott.

That surprised offi cials in other states and prompted Democratic lawmakers to accuse Zinke of favouritism — a charge he has denied. It also disappointed the oil industry, which had been eager to drill in the region.

“For Florida, we have to remember we are a tourism state. One out of every six jobs in our state is tied to tourism. So, I oppose off shore drilling,” Scott told Fox News in an interview after the announcement.

In announcing his decision, Zinke said that “Florida is clearly unique” and mentioned its recreation-centred coast.

Indeed, tourism is massive in Florida.Visitors to the state spent $111.7bn

there in 2016, according to the state’s tourism marketing corporation, Visit Florida, accounting for about 12% of the state’s gross domestic product.

But tourism makes up about 11% of the economy of neighbouring Georgia, 10% of the economies of South Carolina

and Maine and nearly 7% of the econo-my of New Jersey.

South Carolina’s Republican gov-ernor, Henry McMaster, has said he is seeking an exemption from the drilling plan, while Georgia’s Republican gov-ernor, Nathan Deal, said he was con-cerned about drilling in coastal Georgia.

A spokeswoman for Maine’s Republi-can governor, Paul LePage, said LePage generally supported Trump’s eff orts to expand domestic drilling but was still reviewing the off shore drilling proposal.

In New Jersey, Governor-elect Phil Murphy, a Democrat who takes offi ce this week, has said he will fi ght drilling off the coast and called Interior’s plan a “ticking time bomb.”

Outgoing Republican Governor Chris Christie, a Trump ally, is also “stead-fastly opposed,” his spokesman, Brian Murray, said.

Most other states along the Atlantic coast, like Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina and New York, have tourist industries that contribute between 4% and 6% of their GDP.

On the West Coast, California’s tour-ism industry also contributes about 5% to the economy — but the full dollar fi g-ure exceeds Florida’s at $126bn, accord-ing to state tourism fi gures.

Zinke has said he will meet with every governor who has concerns about his off shore drilling proposal in a process that could take a year.

Protesters fl ock to women’s marches against TrumpAFPLos Angeles

Protesters took to the streets en masse across the United States on Saturday, hoisting anti-Donald Trump placards, banging drums and

donning pink hats for a second Women’s March opposing the president — one year to the day of his inauguration.

Hundreds of thousands of marchers assembled in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, Chicago, Denver, Boston and other cities nationwide, many donning the famous pink knit “pussy hats” — a reference to Trump’s videotaped boasts of his li-cense to grope women without repercussions.

Protestors hoisted signs emblazoned with slogans like “Fight like a girl”, “A woman’s place is in the White House” and “Elect a clown, expect a circus.”

The largest demonstrations were in cities where Trump performed poorly at the polls: the Los An-geles mayor said estimated turnout in his city was 600,000, while New York police estimated about 200,000 protesters.

In Manhattan, a diverse crowd descended on Central Park West, the avenue that borders the city’s beloved park and arrives at the foot of the Trump International Hotel — part of the magnate-turned-commander-in-chief’s real estate empire.

“We live in an alternate universe — it is so bad,” said Althea Fusco, 67, who travelled to the city from upstate New York with two neighbours.

“I see an erosion of democracy,” she said.Speakers at the New York rally included activ-

ist and actress Rosie Perez and entertainer Whoopi Goldberg, who emphasised that “we are here to say — as women — we’re not taking it anymore.”

Throngs of demonstrators paraded in Los Ange-les, where actress Natalie Portman was among the celebrities pumping up the crowd: “Because of you the revolution is rolling.”

“The way Trump has treated women and still been elected — I want him to be aware that we are coming together as a powerful force and we’re go-ing to change this,” said 44-year-old artist Heath-er Arndt in the California metropolis.

The marches aim to build on the movement launched last year when more than 3mn peo-ple turned out nationwide to voice opposition to Trump.

The weekend of demonstrations is aimed at translating enthusiasm into political action with the theme “Power to the Polls” — a message designed to drive voter registrations and maximise women’s in-volvement in the 2018 midterm elections.

The president meanwhile posted a deadpan tweet referencing the rallies protesting his policies, urging people to “get out there and celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months.”

“Beautiful weather all over our great country, a perfect day for all Women to March,” he wrote.

Many of the demonstrations indeed took place under sunny skies but marchers in Park City, Utah — where the annual Sundance Film Fes-tival is underway — braved chilly temperatures and steady snow to make their voices heard, led by celebrities including activist and actress Jane Fonda.

This year’s edition of Sundance took on a politi-cal bent in light of the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct, a campaign that has rippled through Hollywood and beyond since scores of ac-tresses levelled sexual assault allegations against disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Crowds in the North Carolina city of Charlotte heard an address from its fi rst black female mayor, while Washington protestors rallied at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial and marched to the White House, speaking out on a raft of issues ranging from immigrant protections to racial equality to sexual assault.

“We feel like our work isn’t done and that there’s so much more that we need to fi x,” said Tanaquil Eltson, 14, who also participated in Washington’s 2017 march.

“I know the world around me isn’t happy col-ours; it’s scary. But I’m excited to be able to fi x it,” she said, clad in a red and blue Superwoman outfi t.

More than 300 towns and cities had organised anniversary marches and rallies.

People hold up signs at a Women’s March in New York City on Saturday.

10 Gulf TimesMonday, January 22, 2018

ASIA/AUSTRALASIA

N Korea’s Olympic participation will aid peace: SeoulReutersSeoul

Seoul welcomed confi rma-tion by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

that 22 North Korean athletes would compete in next month’s Winter Olympics, saying yester-day it would aid peace and the easing of tensions on the Korean peninsula.

In the fi rst of a series of pre-paratory visits, North Korean music and arts offi cials arrived in South Korea to inspect sites for performances during the Olym-pics.

“North Korea’s participation in the Olympics will be a cata-lyst for building peace and easing tensions on the Korean penin-sula,” said South Korea’s presi-dential Blue House in a statement released.

The visit to the South marks the fi rst by North Koreans since

South Korean President Moon Jae-in took offi ce in May last year and sought to re-engage with the North. “President Moon has previously stressed that the Pyeongchang Olympics should be an important turning point in solving North Korea’s missile is-sues,” the Blue House statement said.

The seven-member North Korean delegation, led by mu-sician Hyon Song-wol, will check venues for performances by a 140-strong art troupe at the Olympics. The offi cials are scheduled to spend two days inspecting art centres in Seoul and Gangneung city, which will also host several of the Olympic events.

South Korean broadcaster YTN reported the delegation had arrived in Seoul early yesterday under a heavy police presence, then boarded a train to Gangwon province, where the Olympics will be held from February 9-25.

The two sides also agreed to plans for another team of North Korean sports offi cials to inspect Olym-pic venues and accommodations from January 25-27, South Ko-rea’s unifi cation ministry said.

In a diplomatic breakthrough after a year of escalating ten-sion over the North’s nuclear and missile programme, the IOC an-nounced on Saturday that North Korea will send 22 athletes to the Winter Games and compete in three sports and fi ve disciplines. North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency released a commen-tary criticising some South Ko-rean politicians and media who have questioned Pyongyang’s motives in reaching out even as it refuses to honour repeated United Nations Security Council resolutions targeting its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programme.

“There is no doubt about the sincerity and authenticity of the DPRK to improve the North-

South relations and to ensure successful Olympics,” KCNA said, referring to North Korea by its offi cial name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Until the IOC confi rmation, a fi gure skating pair were the only North Koreans to have secured a spot at the Games through the conventional qualifying compe-tition, although they lost their place after failing to register.

Sunday’s North Korean del-egation had been scheduled to visit on Saturday but cancelled just before the visit with no ex-planation. Offi cials from both Korea’s used a cross-border hot-line to quickly reschedule the visit.

Also on Sunday, South Korean offi cials said Pyongyang had ac-cepted proposals for South Ko-reans to travel to North Korea for joint athletic training at the Masikryong Ski Resort and a cul-tural event at Mount Kumgang, a once popular tourist area.

A bus transporting a North Korean team which will inspect an art venue for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics arrives on the Grand Unification Bridge near the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea.

S Korea in a swoon as megastar visitsAFPSeoul

South Korea went into swoon mode yesterday — at the feet of a party apparatchik

from the North. Hyon Song-wol is, however, no dourly-dressed, suit-wearing bureaucrat from the nuclear-armed nation, but the leader of Pyongyang’s most popular girl band.

Cameras followed her every move as the glamorous song-stress swept through Seoul at the head of a North Korean delega-tion sent to inspect performance venues for the Pyeongchang Ol-ympic Games.

Wearing a fur muffl er and ex-uding an air of confi dent calm, Hyun was unfazed by the throng of cameras that followed her everywhere. Believed to be in her late 30s or early 40s, Hyon is as close to a megastar as North Korea probably has. Her “Excel-lent Horse-like Lady” — a term describing a smart and energetic woman — was a big hit in the

2000s. She is also a politically powerful fi gure as an alternate member of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party’s central com-mittee.

Hyon was once rumoured to be a former girlfriend of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and became the subject of lurid and — as it turned out — incorrect 2013 reports in the South that she and a dozen other musicians had been executed for appearing in porn movies.

North Korea watchers dismiss speculation over her ties with Kim, saying in the deeply patri-archal North, romantic partners of leaders past and present are forced to keep a low profi le. Hyon heads the 10-member Moran-bong Band — the public face of North Korean soft power.

The all-female outfi t perform a mixture of Western-style pop and patriotic North Korean num-bers. Their style — highly unusu-al in the conservative North — is seen as quaintly provincial in the South, with its slick, image-obsessed pop scene, and it has

also earned them a cult following among North Korean watchers. The band is not expected to make the trip south for the Games next month, but other musical groups — as well as hundreds of “cheer-leaders” will be there.

Hyon’s presence in the run-up to the international event — which until recently was marked by global tensions over North Korea’s missile and nuclear pro-gramme — is seen by some as the latest attempt to capitalise on the appeal of its performers.

South Korea’s voracious media followed her every move Sunday, with tiny details about her fa-cial expressions and fashion style making headlines. Hyon’s attire — from her shoes to an expensive-looking fur — drew intense debate, with one fashion analyst likening her style to the US fi rst lady.

“I think she was trying to emulate the style of Melania Trump... and trying to showcase the image of being rich by wear-ing the fur,” Heo Euna, head of Korea Image Strategy Institute, told Yonhap news agency.

Hyon Song-wol (centre), leader of North Korea’s popular Moranbong band, arrives at the Gangneung Arts Center where one of the planned musical concerts is due to be held, in the eastern city of Gangneung.

Vehicles travel amid smog on a polluted day in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China.

Foggy day in Chinese city

New Zealand’s Rocket Lab launch vehicle enters orbitDPA Wellington

New Zealand-based space company Rocket Lab has successfully launched

its Electron rocket and deployed satellites into orbit for the fi rst time yesterday.

“Today marks the beginning of a new era in commercial ac-cess to space,” Rocket Lab CEO and founder Peter Beck said in a statement. The 17-m long black rocket, named Still Testing, lift-ed off from Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand’s North Island, the world’s fi rst privately-owned orbital launch site.

It follows an inaugural test carried out in May in which the Electron rocket made it to space but not to orbit after a commu-nication error forced controllers

to terminate the fl ight. It is the second of three test launches planned ahead of commercial operations and the fi rst carrying customer payloads. “Reaching orbit on a second test fl ight is signifi cant on its own, but suc-cessfully deploying customer payloads so early in a new rocket programme is almost unprec-edented,” Beck said.

Rocket Lab’s mission is to re-move barriers to commercial space by providing frequent launch opportunities.

“This success should instil confi dence in Rocket Lab’s cus-tomers, starting a busy 2018 launch schedule,” said Kris Walsh, former director of Nasa launch programmes for Boe-ing. New Zealand’s Minister for Economic Development David Parker said the country was well positioned to support further

development of the space in-dustry.

“Our natural advantage of clear skies and seas, and rela-tively low levels of air traffi c make us an attractive location for space activity,” Parker said.

In the coming weeks Rocket Lab engineers will analyse the data from yesterday’s launch. Rocket Lab has fi ve Electron ve-hicles in production, with the next launch expected to take place in early 2018.

The rocket uses 3D-printed engines and is designed to send small payloads, such as imag-ing and communications satel-lites weighing up to 150kg, into space.

Rocket Lab plans to launch more than 50 times a year. Al-ready signed customers include Nasa, Spire, Planet, Moon Ex-press and Spacefl ight.

Hundreds rescued after bushfires at Sydney’s National ParkHundreds of hikers and tourists were rescued after fires raged through Australia’s Royal National Park, just south of Sydney, off icials said yesterday. Local firefighters are battling two out-of-control blazes in the park near Wattamolla, the state’s Rural Fire Service said, as thick plumes of smoke were seen drifting near the city. “Avoid the area,” the fire service said.”If you remain in the Royal National Park keep yourself informed and monitor conditions.”The fires have already destroyed

more than 600 hectares of the park, despite an all-night eff ort by more than 100 firefighters, supported by water bombers and aircraft, to contain it. A smaller fire nearby was extinguished on Saturday by firefighters,as park authorities announced that the area would remain closed for the next two days.Despite poor phone reception in the area, hundreds of tourists were rescued by boat from the beach areas of the park by fire services and police. Authorities also sent 70,000 text alerts to

people in the area. Local media said there were more than 1,000 visitors in the park when the fires first broke out.The 150-sq-km Royal National Park is the second most-visited park in the eastern state of New South Wales, with more than 3mn local visitors and tens of thousands of foreign tourists each year. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fires, which they say appear to have been deliberately lit on Saturday. The temperature on the day was around 30C.

100 in Indonesia’s Papua feared dead from malnutrition, measlesA measles outbreak is feared to have killed about 100 malnourished people in Indonesia’s Papua, an off icial saidyesterday, highlighting a health crisis in the country’s easternmost province. A total of 69 toddlers have died in the remote Asmat region, said Papua military spokesman Mohamed Aidi, while reports on the ground suggest 27 people have died in an equally remote and mountainous district named Oksibil. “We have received reports from villagers that the outbreak is also happening in Oksibil district and our staff have confirmed that, but we still need to check how many people have died,” Aidi told AFP.

“Measles is not dangerous, it’s a mild disease. But because those children are malnourished, they can’t cope in that condition.” The government and military have sent medical teams and are supplying villagers with medicine, vaccines, medical equipment and nutritious food in Asmat. But the diff icult terrain means the team will not arrive in Oksibil until today at the earliest, Aidi added. Both areas suff er from a severe shortage of doctors and health facilities as well as poor infrastructure and communications networks, delaying news of the outbreak. About 129,000 people live in Asmat, a swampy region criss-crossed by rivers that can only be accessed by

a flight from Papua’s capital Jayapura followed by a helicopter and boat ride. The district of Oksibil has a population of 4,000. To reach some of the villages, people must walk for about a day. “We have sent aid, now we are making sure that it is actually distributed to those remote villages and not just stocked in a warehouse,” said social aff airs minister Idrus Marham. Jakarta proclaimed western Papua to be part of Indonesia after a self-determination referendum in 1969 which some regarded it as a sham. When President Joko Widodo took off ice in 2014 he vowed to speed up the development in infrastructure in Papua to speed up economic growth.

BRITAIN/IRELAND11Gulf Times


Cladding fi rms ‘hikingprices for fi re safety work’London Evening StandardLondon

Companies were accused of cashing in on the rush to make tower blocks safe as

it emerged they are hiking charg-es for materials and work.

Local authorities may face bills totalling hundreds of millions of pounds more than expected for safety work commissioned fol-lowing the Grenfell fi re tragedy. In one case, the estimate for re-cladding a residential block in south-west London has almost doubled in three months.

The work on the council block in Southfi elds was estimated at £5.5mn when it was commis-sioned in October, but an update to Wandsworth councillors has now warned that “highly volatile market forces” were pushing it closer to £9.9mn.

“These works are now well under way with the erection of scaff olding almost complete and removal of cladding having com-menced,” said a report to coun-cillors.

“However, recent and highly volatile market forces aff ecting the provision of materials and labour associated with such re-cladding works subsequent to the Grenfell fi re have resulted in costs substantially increasing.”

A second Wandsworth council block was expected to cost “sub-stantially in excess of the initial estimates” despite being put to tender only last month, leaving the borough facing a bill for both buildings £12mn higher than ex-pected.

London Councils, the umbrel-la for the capital’s local authori-ties, said it was “very concerned” that price surges such as those in Wandsworth went higher than the extra costs resulting from Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of building regulations and fi re safety.

“In the light of increasing costs in the marketplace, and the initial fi ndings of Dame Ju-dith’s review, we are carrying out further work to create an ac-curate picture of the costs which boroughs are facing,” it told the Standard.

In September, its capital-wide survey found councils faced bills totalling £402mn.

Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan, who is also a Wandsworth councillor, accused companies of making “excessive profi ts” after the Grenfell tragedy.

She said: “It is horrifi c that fi rms are doubling the price to reclad blocks covered in fl am-mable cladding. They are holding councils to ransom.

“Dozens of people lost their lives in an horrifi c event because profi ts were put before people — and now some companies seek to profi teer further. They should honestly be ashamed of themselves.”

The ministry of housing said: “Owners are responsible for en-suring properties are safe... we expect them to fund fi re safety measures.”

Ukip leader Bolton loses confidence voteGuardian News and MediaLondon

Ukip’s leader, Henry Bol-ton, has unanimously lost a vote of confidence

from the party’s national ex-ecutive committee, plunging it into renewed chaos and poten-tially a fourth leadership elec-tion in just 16 months.

Bolton’s was the only vote in favour of his staying in the role after an emergency meeting to consider the fallout from his re-lationship with a much younger party activist who was found to have sent racist text and social media messages.

The vote does not compel Bol-ton to step down, but it will trig-ger an emergency general meet-ing of the wider party to formally decide his fate.

A statement from the party chairman, Paul Oakden, said the NEC heard a statement from Bol-ton, after which members “asked a number of questions pertaining to that coverage”.

It said: “At the conclusion of that discussion, the committee took the decision to hold a vote

of no confi dence in the leader-ship of Henry Bolton. The vote was carried unanimously with the exception of the leader.”

The emergency meeting will take place within 28 days, unless Bolton were to resign before-hand. There was no immediate word from Bolton as to what he would do.

In interviews before the meet-ing yesterday, Bolton said he had done nothing wrong in his rela-tionship with Jo Marney.

Bolton has come under in-creasing pressure after social media and text messages from Marney emerged in which she used racist terms about Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s fi ancee, among other off ensive language.

Bolton said a new leadership election to replace him would be “unviable” for Ukip’s fi nances and could fi nish it as a party.

“If the NEC decides to go down the route of months of fur-ther infi ghting and further nega-tive media scrutiny by deciding to pass a vote of no confi dence in me, then I think that the reality is that the party is probably over,” he told ITV’s Peston on Sunday show.

A man runs during snow fall in Buxton, Britain, yesterday.

People queue to pay their respects to Dolores O’Riordan, singer with the Cranberries, outside St Joseph’s Church during a public reposal in Limerick, Ireland, yesterday.

Blanketed in snow

Fans pay tribute

Scotland insulateswelfaresystem fromausterityGuardian News and MediaEdinburgh

Scotland’s new social se-curity system will include an unprecedented degree

of independent scrutiny – with the express intention of future-proofing the powers against the kinds of austerity measures that have devastated vulnera-ble groups in the rest of the UK.

Scotland’s Social Security Minister, Jeane Freeman, an-nounced yesterday there will be a Scottish Commission on Social Security, an independent body that will scrutinise any proposed changes to the new system – and give its view of their compliance with human rights protocols – before Holyrood can vote on them.

The new powers, part of the package promised to the Scottish parliament after the 2014 inde-pendence referendum, require Holyrood to shape the country’s fi rst social security system.

Freeman has previously de-scribed the process, which ac-counts for 15% of Scotland’s total benefi ts bill and will aff ect 1.4mn people, as “the biggest transfer of powers since devo-lution began”. Eleven benefi ts are being wholly transferred, including disability living allow-ance and personal independence payments, along with the op-portunity to top up existing pay-ments and create new ones.

The government has also pledged to establish a Scottish social security agency before the next Scottish parliament elec-tion in 2020 to work in parallel with the UK system.

The Social Security (Scot-land) bill is now at stage two of its legislative journey, with the Scottish government and oth-ers bringing amendments to the initial framework. The creation of the commission answers directly concerns raised by anti-poverty groups before the festive break.

Irresponsiblecompany chiefs to facehuge fi nes: PMGuardian News and MediaLondon

Irresponsible company bosses who “line their own pockets” while failing to protect work-

ers’ pension schemes are to be hit with huge fi nes, under plans to be announced by Theresa May’s government within weeks.

Writing in the Observer after a week which saw the collapse of Carillion, the construction and outsourcing giant, with a defi -cit in its pension scheme of up to £900mn, the prime minister says her government will act urgently to stamp out “abuse”.

A total of 28,000 members of Carillion’s 13 pension schemes are facing a cut to their retirement funds.

Other measures being consid-ered for inclusion in a white pa-per in March would give regula-tors new powers to block or place conditions on takeovers that are deemed to put pension schemes at risk. The regulator will also be given the power to request infor-mation about how companies run schemes.

Reviving a commitment with which she launched her premier-ship – to govern “not for a privi-leged few, but for every one of us” – May says that while govern-ments should not get involved in day-to-day management of busi-nesses, the state should act now “in favour of ordinary working people”.

While the measures will be welcomed by millions of workers, May’s move to intervene directly in the fi nancial aff airs of companies is likely to antagonise Tory backers in the City.

Referring to company bosses

who put their own fi nancial in-terests, and those of sharehold-ers, above their workers, May says “tough new rules” will be introduced to tackle the behav-iour of “executives who try to line their own pockets by putting their workers’ pensions at risk – an un-acceptable abuse that we will end”.

It is understood that the pen-sions regulator will be given specifi c powers to issue punitive fi nes on company directors in cases of clear wrongdoing. Criti-cising a business culture which too often prioritises immediate fi nancial rewards over long-term stability, she adds: “Too often we’ve seen top executives reap-ing big bonuses for recklessly putting short-term profi t ahead of long-term success. Our best businesses know that is not a responsible way to run a busi-ness and those who do so will be forced to explain themselves.”

Among radical potential meas-ures that have been discussed in Whitehall are plans that would leave individual executives per-sonally liable for hefty fi nancial punishments if their companies’ pension schemes collapse. One proposal is for regulators to be em-powered to claw back executives’ bonuses after a company and its pension system go to the wall.

The all-party work and pen-sions committee has recommend-ed a system of “mega fi nes” on executives who crash their com-panies and their pension schemes. The committee chair, the Labour MP Frank Field, says such fi nes would act as a “nuclear deterrent” against abuse and negligent ap-proaches to pensions.

Steve Webb, a former pensions minister and now director of pol-icy at the pensions company Royal

London, said: “The last Conserva-tive manifesto fl oated ideas of tackling fi rms who put executive pay and dividends ahead of the pension fund, and the Carillion scandal has given that new ur-gency.

“The prime minister will want to see bonuses clawed back from executives who steer a company onto the rocks, and will want new powers to block takeovers that could threaten the pension scheme. The government could also make sure that ‘recovery plans’ to tackle pension scheme defi cits are tougher, putting the pension fund further up the queue relative to dividends and bonuses.

“The Treasury and the busi-ness department will be hostile to these sorts of ideas and will not want regulators interfering in the business decisions of corpo-rate Britain. Despite the idealistic rhetoric, I would expect any ac-tual action to be some years away and reserved only for the most extreme cases.”

May’s pledge comes as she faces renewed criticism from some Tory MPs for a lack of willingness to back radical policies. Nick Boles, a former minister, warned last week of a timidity at the heart of her ad-ministration.

Field said: “The prime minister said when she fi rst entered Down-ing Street that she would be on the side of hardworking British people and those who were the under-dogs.

“The reforms suggested by the committee – including mega-fi nes on individuals who crash their companies and pension funds – gives her an opportunity to get on the front foot with this agenda.”

Sharp jump in Scotland drug deaths sparks alarmAFPEdinburgh

Scotland has seen a sharp rise in the number of drug deaths as years of abuse

by the so-called “Trainspotting generation” fi nally take their toll, prompting calls for a rethink on drug policy.

“I’ve seen a lot of death,” said

Derek Harper, 57, a former drug addict from the once drug-rid-den Edinburgh neighbourhood of Leith, where the 1996 fi lm Trains-potting was set.

“Half the people at school (are now) dead (from) drugs; half the people I live with in my area (are now) dead with drugs,” he said, es-timating he had lost “hundreds” of friends in the last four decades.

The number of drug-related

deaths rose to 867 in 2016 and the last comparative data showed Scotland had the highest rate in Europe at 110 deaths per million in 2014 — fi ve times higher than the European average.

“I used drugs for 38 years solid. I took cannabis, heroin, prescrip-tion drugs, crack cocaine, LSD, mushrooms, all the stuff . I was spiritually bankrupt. I was ill,” said Harper.

“Back in the late 1970s this place was riddled with ‘China White’ heroin, and people were get-ting found in stairs, pubs, clubs, houses, just overdosing because it was that pure.” Harper has been clean for years and now shares his experience at Serenity Cafe, a support organisation sandwiched between the Scottish parliament and a clutch of homeless hostels where discarded needles remain a

problem. The blockbuster success of Trainspotting, based on Irvine Welsh’s novel about coming of age in the 1980s in Leith, made Scot-land’s drug underworld famous around the world.

The area is now a noted hipster hangout with trendy pubs and a Michelin-starred restaurant. But some older residents still live in deprived residential towers strug-gling with a lifetime habit.

David Liddell, chief executive of the Scottish Drugs Forum, re-vealed how years of abuse are fi -nally catching up on long-term users. “The ‘Trainspotting genera-tion’ was coined on the back of the book and the fi lm to highlight this group who have been using since the 1980s...when there was the big explosion of heroin use,” he said.

Liddell said Scotland’s drug problems are linked to poverty and

deprivation, pointing out that it also had the highest drug problem per head of population at around 61,500 from a population of fi ve million.

“We have people who have been using for 20 or more years, so their bodies have suff ered as a conse-quence of that continued drug use, and are now more vulnerable to overdose and drug-related deaths, sadly”, he said.

“It is horrifi c that fi rms are doubling the price to reclad blocks covered in fl ammable cladding. They are holding councils to ransom”

EUROPE


Germany’s centre-left So-cial Democrats (SPD) voted yesterday to be-

gin formal coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, bringing Europe’s top economy a step closer to a new government after months of deadlock.

At a special party congress in the western city of Bonn, 372 out of 642 party delegates backed SPD chief Martin Schulz’s push to approve a preliminary coalition deal painstakingly hammered out with Merkel’s Christian Demo-cratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) bloc.

The thumbs-up will come as a huge relief to Merkel, staving off the threat of snap polls or the un-appealing prospect of leading an unstable minority government.

It also means a reprieve for Schulz, who had staked his po-

litical future on a “yes” vote, de-spite initially rejecting another stint as Merkel’s junior coalition partner.

“One must not rule at any price,” he said. “But neither should one be prepared to pay any price to decline to rule.”

“We are relieved, the result shows that we had to fi ght for this majority,” Schulz said.

The vote, which was closely watched in Germany and abroad, paves the way for negotiators to launch in-depth negotiations this week.

If the talks are successfully concluded, a new government could be in place by mid-March – nearly six months after Sep-tember’s tricky election.

Germany’s political break-through is likely to be welcomed in capitals across Europe, eager to see an end to the political im-passe in a pivotal member state that has left key EU policy deci-sions on hold.

French President Emmanuel

Macron has been openly rooting for a repeat grand alliance in Ber-lin, given the enthusiasm among the pro-EU SPD for some of his more ambitious reform plans such as installing a eurozone budget and fi nance minister.

Macron “is waiting for a part-ner”, Schulz, a former European Parliament chief, said in an im-passioned speech to delegates ahead of the vote.

He urged the SPD to seize the chance to lead reforms for deeper EU integration and help counter the rise of right-wing populists across the continent.

“Only a strong and united SPD can make our country and Eu-rope stronger,” he said. “We can halt the right-wing wave across Europe.”

The vote outcome was far from certain after leading SPD mem-bers savaged a coalition blueprint thrashed out by the three parties this month, complaining the 28-page document contained too many concessions on issues such

as migration, taxes and health-care.

Germany has been stuck in political limbo since September’s inconclusive general election saw mainstream parties bleed sup-port to the far-right AfD (Al-ternative for Germany), which tapped into anger over Merkel’s open-door refugee policy.

Stung by his party’s worst re-sult in decades, Schulz initially vowed to go into opposition but then caved to pressure to recon-sider after Merkel’s attempt at a novel tie-up with two smaller parties collapsed in November.

The U-turn angered many grassroots Social Democrats, who believed that some time on the opposition benches would help the 150-year-old party re-gain its fi ghting spirit.

Schulz faced fi erce resistance from the party’s left and youth wings, who criticised the prelim-inary coalition agreement as fall-ing short of campaign pledges.

The 28-page coalition blue-

print that lays the basis for future government policies promises more spending on childcare, ed-ucation and pensions as well as joining France in a push to over-haul the EU.

But the SPD failed to secure a tax hike for the rich or a restruc-turing of the country’s two-tier healthcare system.

Yesterday Schulz admitted that the party did not get every-thing on its wish list and vowed to extract more concessions in the formal coalition talks.

He also pledged to resist the CSU’s demand to cap migrant arrivals at 200,000 a year and promised that any future coali-tion government would be put up for review after two years.

Yesterday’s vote was tense un-til the last minute.

A recount was held after an in-itial show of hands was too close

for the SPD offi cial in charge of the count to call.

Merkel, often dubbed the world’s most powerful woman, has been hamstrung on the global stage as the domestic drama has played out, and she is increasing-ly described by commentators as entering the twilight of her rule after more than 12 years in power.

While she has now overcome a key hurdle towards clinching a fourth term as chancellor, it’s not yet a done deal.

Schulz has pledged that any fi nal coalition agreement will be put to a vote by some 440,000 rank-and-fi le party members – leaving Merkel’s fate once again in the hands of the SPD.

Germany’s SPD backs talks with Merkel’s partyAFP/ReutersBonn

SPD delegates hold up their voting cards during the party congress in Bonn.

Schulz speaking to the media at the SPD’s party congress in Bonn.

Germany has inched closer towards forming a new government after the

centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) gave its lukewarm endorsement of a renewed Ange-la Merkel-led “grand coalition”.

At the special SPD congress in Bonn that welcomed leader Martin Schulz’s main speech with sarcastic applause and saw standing ovations for his fi erc-est critics, the party’s delegates nonetheless gave a cautious

green light to the second and fi -nal stage of coalition talks with Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democrats.

“The SPD must and will be visible, audible and recognis-able!” said Schulz at the end of a week of rallying support at party offi ces across the country.

The former president of the European parliament defended the results of the initial phase of exploratory talks, insisting that the resulting coalition paper rep-resented “a revolution” in Ger-man education policy, as well as “a manifesto for a European Ger-many”.

“If we want to shape things in and for Europe, then we cannot wait a few more years,” Schulz said. “Important decisions have to be made now – not in three, four, fi ve years.”

But the reaction of the 600 delegates to his speech remained reserved throughout.

When Schulz said he had fi elded a call from the French president, Emanuel Macron, on Saturday, there were audibly sar-castic groans from members who would prefer their party to emu-late the more overtly left-leaning policies of the British Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

In the wake of September elections at which the SPD were punished with the worst na-tional election result since Ger-many became a federal republic in 1949, many supporters believe the party needs to reinvent itself in opposition.

The lukewarm endorsement of Schulz’s speech contrasted with enthusiastic applause for the 28-year-old leader of the Young Socialists, the SPD’s youth branch.

Kevin Kuehnert, who has be-come the most prominent face of the internal campaign against a renewal of the alliance that has

governed Germany for the past four years, said that he felt his party was trapped in an “endless loop” of coalition-forming under Merkel: “We don’t want to, but we have to.”

Around Bonn’s World Con-ference Centre, many SPD sup-porters sported red gnomes’ hats – a reference to conservative politicians who have dismissed the campaign of Keuhnert’s co-alition-sceptics as “the uprising of the dwarves”.

“Let’s be dwarves today,” the Young Socialist leader said in his speech, “so that one day we can again be giants.”

A garden gnome stands on the desk of SPD delegates from Thuringia during the party’s extraordinary congress in Bonn.

Schulz’s speech greeted with sarcastic applauseBy Philip OltermannGuardian News & Media

Tens of thousands of peo-ple took to the streets of northern Greece’s biggest

city Thessaloniki yesterday, police said, in a long-running row be-tween Athens and Skopje over the use of the name Macedonia.

Athens argues that the name Macedonia suggests that Sko-pje has territorial claims to the northern Greek region of the same name, of which Thessaloniki is the capital.

The region was the centre of Al-exander the Great’s ancient king-dom, a source of Greek pride.

Police said that more than 90,000 demonstrators had joined the protest in Thessaloniki, or-ganised by hardline clerics, far-right leaders, and Greek diaspora groups.

Protest leaders said that at least 400,000 people had turned up.

“We estimate there were at least 400,000 people. It is impressive,” rally organiser Anastasios Porgia-lidis told AFP.

Some minor scuffl es erupted between the protesters and anar-chists who had organised a coun-ter-demonstrators, prompting police to intervene with tear gas.

The rally drew members of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party who had gathered around the statue of Alexander the Great along with lo-cal clergy.

Representatives from the main opposition party, New Democ-racy, were also present despite a tacit order from its liberal-minded leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis to boy-cott the protests.

Cretans in traditional costume who travelled from the southern island with their horses, as well as people from northern Greece wearing costumes from the Mac-edonian wars era a century ago, crowded at the White Tower on the Thessaloniki waterfront from early in the morning.

Police said that 284 buses had transported people from around Greece to the port city.

Greece and Macedonia returned to the United Nations last week hoping to reach a compromise that could end the 27-year dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name.

Greece’s objections to the use of the name Macedonia since the Balkan country’s independence in

1991 have hampered the tiny na-tion’s bid to join the European Un-ion and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato).

“We want to warn our politi-cians not to dare to betray us. Macedonia is Greek and this is not negotiable,” said protester Dimitris Triantafi llidis, 50, a shop owner from the northern regional district of Pieria.

The UN negotiator Matthew

Nimetz – a 24-year veteran on the issue – said last week that he was “very hopeful” that a solution was within reach.

Despite the nationalist fervour that is also being fed by Golden Dawn, Greeks appear to be less militant on the issue than in the past.

In 1992, more than 1mn people – 10% of the population – joined a rally in Thessaloniki to proclaim that “Macedonia is Greek”.

According to a survey conduct-ed for Greek radio station 24/7 by the Alco polling group, 63% of re-spondents said they thought it was in Greece’s best interests to seek a mutually acceptable solution at the UN talks.

And the Greek Orthodox Church, which is traditionally op-posed to the use of the term Mace-donia from Skopje and led the 1992 rally, appears to have distanced it-self from yesterday’s events.

Its leader Archbishop Ierony-mos reportedly told Prime Minis-ter Alexis Tsipras on Thursday that “national unity is needed ... (not) protests and shouts”.

Tsipras, who is expected to meet with his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev in Davos next week, said in an interview published yes-terday: “If there is an opportunity for a solution, it would be a na-tional stupidity not to make good use of it.”

However, he told Ethnos news-paper that he could understand “the concerns and sensitivities” of the Greeks of the north.

Macedonia is known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Mac-edonia (FYROM) at the United Nations, although the Security Council acknowledged that this is a provisional name when it agreed to membership.

If a deal is reached at the UN talks, it will be put before Greek parliament for approval, with the government expecting the com-promise name to be approved de-spite opposition within some par-ties.

Greeks protest over Macedonia name rowAFPThessaloniki

Spain wants ex-Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont arrested if he travels to Denmark for a university debate from his Belgian exile, Madrid prosecutors said yesterday.The prosecution service said that it would “immediately” have a Supreme Court judge issue an arrest warrant for the secessionist leader, sacked by Madrid after the Catalan parliament declared independence on October 27, and urge Denmark to hand him over.Puigdemont fled to Belgium in late October after Madrid sacked his cabinet over their breakaway attempt, but is eyeing a return to power after pro-independence parties won an absolute majority in regional elections in December.At home, however, he risks arrest on charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.Several fellow separatist lawmakers are already in custody in Spain over their role in the regional parliament that unilaterally declared independence on October 27 last year.Spain’s general prosecutor off ice said on Saturday that “it’s inadmissible that the privilege of parliamentary immunity should be interpreted as impunity.”A final decision will rest with the Spanish judge who will have to act in record time to issue the warrant for examination by Danish authorities.

Spain wants Catalan ex-leader arrested if he goes to Denmark Czechs

headed for tight vote: pollReutersPrague

Czech voters are equally split ahead of a presi-dential vote on January

26-27 between an academic who promises a better relation-ship with the European Union and incumbent Milos Zeman, who has used his time in offi ce to push closer ties with Russia and China.

A poll by Kantar TNS for Czech Television shows voters leaning 45.5% for Zeman and 45% for Jiri Drahos, who is a former head of the Academy of Sciences.

In the poll, which canvassed 1,522 respondents, some 9.5% were undecided or not answer-ing.

Drahos also had a slightly higher number of “certain” vot-ers than Zeman.

The 73-year-old Zeman has courted the far-right in rejecting migrants from Muslim countries while pursuing warmer relations with Russia and China and snip-ing at the press.

The incumbent won the fi rst election round with 38.6% of the vote.

Drahos, 68, fi nished second on 26.6% with support from liberal voters attracted by his policies favouring European Union inte-gration.

The vote is seen as a referen-dum on Zeman, who has been in offi ce since 2013.

Most candidates who lost in the fi rst round of voting endorse Drahos, which helps him narrow the gap.

A man dressed as an ancient Greek soldier poses at the foot of a statue of Alexander the Great as people started gathering in Thessaloniki yesterday for the protest.

INDIA13Gulf Times


AAP to movecourt after 20lawmakersdisqualifi edIANSNew Delhi

In a big blow to Delhi’s rul-ing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), President Ram Nath Kovind

yesterday approved the election commission’s recommendation to disqualify 20 of its MLAs for hold-ing jobs in government despite laws forbidding the practice.

While the Bharatiya Janata Par-ty hailed the move, the AAP said it would approach the courts against the decision.

The Congress, however, accused the BJP and the Election Commis-sion for delaying the disqualifi ca-tion to help AAP get its nominees elected to the Rajya Sabha.

Following the president’s ap-proval, the union law and justice ministry issued a notifi cation say-ing that the president has held that the 20 members of the Delhi legis-lative assembly stand disqualifi ed under 15 (1) (a) of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act.

These 20 MLAs are Alka Lam-ba, Adarsh Shastri, Sanjeev Jha, Rajesh Gupta, Kailash Gehlot, Vi-jendra Garg, Praveen Kumar, Shar-ad Kumar, Madan Lal Khufi ya, Shiv Charan Goyal, Sarita Singh, Naresh Yadav, Rajesh Rishi, Anil Kumar, Som Dutt, Avtar Singh, Sukhvir Singh Dala, Manoj Kumar, Nitin Tyagi and Jarnail Singh.

The election commission on Friday recommended disquali-fi cation of the 20 AAP MLAs for holding offi ce of profi t as parlia-mentary secretaries, giving its opinion to the president on a com-plaint by advocate Prashant Pa-tel, a member of the Hindu Legal Cell, in June 2015, who petitioned then president Pranab Mukherjee against the appointments.

The application by Patel said 21 AAP MLAs, including Jarnail Singh (Rajouri Garden) who re-signed to contest the Punjab As-sembly polls last year, were ap-pointed parliamentary secretaries

to ministers in the Delhi govern-ment in violation of the law and Constitution.

The BJP state unit welcomed the approval, saying the decision had contributed to the protection of democratic values.

“With his speedy decision, the president has made a major contribution towards protecting democratic values.

“The people of Delhi feel that these AAP MLAs must return all fi nancial benefi ts they have taken after the date on which a circular on their appointment and facili-ties was issued,” said state party chief Manoj Tiwari.

Congress Delhi chief Ajay Maken said that if the decision of disqualifi cation had come earlier, the AAP could not have been able to get its candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha, and alleged a deal be-tween the AAP and the BJP, which explained why the disqualifi cation was delayed by over a month.

The AAP said that it will now approach the high court against this “extremely unconstitutional, unethical and biased decision of the EC”.

“If required we will go to the Su-preme Court. The Constitution is supreme and is the law of the land and has been protected by our ju-diciary time and again,” said party supremo Arvind Kejriwal.

Kejriwal’s media advisor Na-gendar Sharma said “the Modi government appointed EC’s” or-der was silent on MLAs not being given an opportunity to be heard.

“What was their pecuniary gain and there is no mention of latest Supreme Court 2014 judgment on offi ce of profi t”

“Mark my words: This non-opinion by puppet EC and consid-ered order of president will lead to humiliation of institutions, like in Uttarakhand and Arunachal cas-es,” he said. “For Modi government nothing matters – not even dignity of president – when he decides to hit below the belt as always,” he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an event in New Delhi yesterday.

Election commissioner Om Prakash Rawat was yesterday appointed the chief election commissioner by President Ram Nath Kovind, succeeding Achal Kumar Joti, an off icial statement said. Kovind also appointed former union finance secretary Ashok Lavasa as an election commissioner. Rawat will take the charge tomorrow after Joti demits off ice today. A 1977-batch IAS off icer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre who had been serving as union heavy industries and public enterprises secretary when he retired in 2013, Rawat was appointed as election commissioner in August 2015.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was conferred the “Ideal Chief Minister” award by former president Pratibha Patil at Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad in Pune yesterday. Receiving the award, which singles out the most ground-breaking and high-impact work done by chief ministers in their respective states, he said: “It is a great honour for us to be conferred with this award as it is the voice of the youth of India. Odisha’s transformation is a work in progress and I am joined in this mission by the 45mn people who make Odisha. We will continue our journey as we continue to grow, together.”

Veteran CPI-M leader Khagen Das, convenor of Tripura’s ruling Left Front and a former Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha member, died in Kolkata yesterday following a cardiac arrest. Das, 80, a former Tripura minister, leaves behind his wife and two daughters. His body was taken to Tripura capital Agartala in the evening. It would be donated to the government-run Gobinda Ballav Panth Medical College and Hospital in Agartala today. Hundreds of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leaders and workers accompanied Das’s body from the airport to the Tripura assembly, party off ices and his residence at Ramnagar on the city outskirts.

A dacoit died at a Ranchi hospital yesterday morning after villagers thrashed and chopped off his hand after he was caught during a raid along with a gang of criminals in Jharkhand’s Giridih district. Police said the dacoits had barged into two houses in Ekdawaria village on Saturday night and looted jewellery and other belongings worth over Rs700,000. Villagers learnt of the dacoity and gathered in large numbers, carrying traditional weapons. The criminals fled the village but one of them was caught. He was beaten up and one of his hands chopped off by the irate villagers. He was later admitted by police to a hospital.

The Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) has launched ‘Roadkills’ – a citizen science initiative – to collect data on mortality of wild animals on roads, irrigation canals or railway lines in India. The data collected would be useful to researchers and infrastructure planners across the country to help in reducing wildlife mortality, install wildlife crossing structures at the identified locations and also improve passenger safety whenever a road or railway line is planned or upgraded, the WCT said in a statement. According to the WCT, at least 99% of wild animals or species killed in road accidents were never recorded.

Rawat named chiefelection commissioner

Naveen Patnaik conferred‘Ideal Chief Minister’ award

Veteran CPI-M leaderDas dies at 80

Dacoit dies after handchopped off by villagers

Wild animals’ accidentaldeaths to be recorded

APPOINTMENT HONOUREDOBITUARY CRIME INITIATIVE

Demonetisation a successstory of India, says ModiIANSNew Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said some “people” tried to sabo-

tage “demonetisation” but the exercise was seen through suc-cessfully because the nation stood behind the decision.

In an interview given to TV channel Times Now, Modi, without referring to anyone specifi cally, said “they” tried to derail the demonetisation exer-cise through various means to “save corrupt people”.

“People tried to start a fi re, they even attempted to incite riots, they knocked on Supreme

Court’s door, they tried every-thing possible. These attempts were to save those who were hoarding black money, to save corrupt people, to save the dis-honest,” he said.

The prime minister said de-monetisation was not just a change of currency and the way it was carried out got the world’s respect.

“Several small countries of world tried to carry out de-monetisation in their lands but retreated. It is India’s great success that this was not just a change of one currency with another, but the way country’s federal structure, it’s govern-ance, it’s common man, RBI’s role... is enough to get it respect

of the world,” he said.Ahead of his visit to Davos

in Switzerland today for the World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he looked forward to sharing his vision for India’s engagement with the international commu-nity.

“The existing and emerging challenges to the contempo-rary international system and global governance architecture deserve serious attention of leaders, governments, policy-makers, corporates and civil so-cieties around the world,” Modi said in a pre-departure state-ment here.

“In recent years, India’s en-gagement with the outside

world has become truly and ef-fectively multi-dimensional, covering political, economic, people-to-people, security and other spheres,” he said.

“At Davos, I look forward to sharing my vision for India’s future engagement with the in-ternational community.”

Modi will be the fi rst prime minister from India to partici-pate in a forum meeting in two decades after the then prime minister H D Deve Gowda in 1997.

Explaining the signifi cance of Modi’s visit during a media briefi ng here on Friday, Vijay Gokhale, secretary (economic relations) in the ministry of ex-ternal aff airs, said that in 1997,

the Indian economy was well below $1tn whereas it is now above $2 trillion.

The main event in Davos will be the keynote speech of Modi at the plenary session on Janu-ary 23.

In his statement, Modi said that apart from the events for the World Economic Forum, he looked forward to separate bilateral meetings with Swiss President Alain_Berset and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.

“I am confi dent that these bilateral meetings will be fruit-ful and give a boost to our rela-tions with these countries and further strengthen economic engagement,” he said.

Haryana CM attackedas rapists roam freeIANSNew Delhi

Terming Haryana the ‘Rape State of India’, the Con-gress yesterday said that it

was shocking that the attitude of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khat-tar and his government was more on shifting blame instead of acting against the culprits.

“It is shocking to see that every single day when we open a news-paper or see TV, one feels that Haryana is looking like the ‘Rape Capital’, the ‘Rape State of India’,” Congress spokesperson Sushmita Dev told media persons here.

“What is more appalling .... is the attitude of the chief minister of Haryana, Khattar, who clearly rather than concentrating on preventing such heinous crimes against women and taking seri-ous action against the culprits of such rapes is more involved or focused more on making political statements and (playing a) blame game.”

Haryana recently has seen sev-eral cases against women with the most recent being gang rapes of two minor Dalit girls.

A delegation of senior leaders including former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had also met the state governor to seek prompt action against the cul-prits, and demanded that instead of a one-time compensation, the Haryana government should give a permanent government job to one of the victim’s family.

“We visited the very poor fam-ily in Kurukshetra.....the father and the mother of the young vic-tim who was kidnapped and bru-tally raped and left to die. She was a young mind and had just scored 95% in her school exams and her parents had dreamt that she will go on to become a professional and strengthen the family. Today if a girl of 15 is raped and killed, can any parent be compensated with a onetime compensation of Rs400,000” Dev asked.

She also demanded Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi address the issue in his monthly radio talk.

Senior party leader Kumari Selja, who was also present, sought Khattar’s resignation.

“We want that chief minister to resign on moral grounds... This is a complete incompetent govern-ment,” said Selja.

CPI-M rules out pollpact with CongressIANSKolkata

The CPI-M’s central com-mittee yesterday ruled out, by majority vote, any “un-

derstanding or electoral alliance” with the Congress in its draft po-litical resolution, with general sec-retary Sitaram Yechury saying the fi nal decision will be taken in the party Congress slated to be held in Hyderabad in April.

Reiterating that the party’s main task was to defeat the BJP govern-ment at the centre and its policies, which have carried out “unprec-edented assaults” and imposed “unprecedented burden” on India and its people, Yechury said the electoral tactics would be decided by the states at the time of polls.

In order to meet the “threat” from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the central committee - which concluded its three-day session yesterday - called for mo-bilising “all secular democratic forces”. “As per the draft political resolution which was adopted by

the central committee with a 55-33 vote, appropriate electoral tactics will be undertaken, which will en-sure maximum pooling of popular votes against the BJP.

“How that will be done, when elections come, at that time de-pending on the concrete situa-tion state to state, we will take a call. But the line that the party will follow, is the policy that will be defi ned by the highest forum, the party congress, on the basis of which things will be worked out.”

To a specifi c query on whether the party would enter into a tie-up with the Congress, Yechury said: “The amended form of the po-litburo draft has been adopted by the central committee...as per the draft, there would be no under-standing or electoral alliance with the Congress.

“Since 2002, we have always said there is no electoral front or alliance with the Congress, be-cause it represents the interest of the Indian ruling classes.”

Reminded that the CPI-M-led Left front had forged an electoral understanding with the Congress

in West Bengal during last year’s assembly polls, Yechury said “electoral tactics are electoral tac-tics” but the political resolutions taken here would determine the party’s political or tactical lines for the next three years based on the fi nal decision by the party con-gress.

He said the amended draft, for-mulated through three meetings of the politburo and the central committee, will be placed before the party congress. “Two months ahead of the congress, the draft will be released to the party rank and fi le. That will be done in mid-February. All units and members have the right to submit amend-ments to the draft resolution. All amendments will be placed at party congress,” he said.

Party insiders said the central committee resolution marked yet another victory of former party general secretary Prakash Karat and his loyalists, who are strongly opposed to any truck with the Congress because of its “fondness for neo-liberal and pro-capitalist policies”.

Four workers were killed after fire broke out at a Vadodara factory yesterday.

Fatal blaze

INDIA


Protest erupt asbus fares hikedState transport bus fares were hiked throughout Tamil Nadu within a week of a union strike for increased wages and pension benefits that ended on January11. The minimum fare increase is 20% while the maximum is 54% in economy and luxury buses. A state government release said the hike was to supplement increased fuel prices, cost of new buses and spare parts and wages for transport unions. However, it pointed out that the fares were still less than that of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh state transport buses. The revision came after six years of fare freeze.The move sparked state wide protests with people taking to streets, shouting slogans and garrisoning transport off ices. Those who had booked online protested after revised rates were collected while boarding. Daily wage workers, off icegoers and students said the hike was unaff ordable. Many blamed the transport unions for the poor management and maintenance of government vehicles.

Five men drown at seaFive men died at sea near the town of Vedaranyam, southern Nagapattinam district. The victims – Praveenkumar, Bharath, Yugendran, Kanishkar and Rajamani – all in their twenties and had been participating in a religious event. Police said 20 youths had taken a boat which got bogged in slush some distance from the shore. The men jumped into the sea in a bid to swim to shore but the tide swept the five youths deeper. Five of the survivors sustained injuries and have been hospitalised.

Tiruporur to hostdefence expoFederal Defence minister Nirmala Seetharaman has announced that a defence expo will be held in April at Tiruporur, Kancheepuram. Speaking at a defence industry meet in Chennai, she said the expo will highlight land, naval and international homeland security operations of nearly 80 countries.“Till 2016, all defence expos have been held only in New Delhi. When Manohar Parikkar was defence minister, it was held in Goa in 2017. Now, after I took charge as defence minister, the expo will be held here.” Nirmala is a native of Trichy in Tamil Nadu.

Lyricist getslegal reliefTamil film lyricist Vairamuthu got legal relief after the Madras High Court stayed a petition filed against him in a blasphemy case. Judge M S Ramesh asked the complainant, D Murganantham, and the prosecution to file their counter aff idavits by January 25. Meanwhile, two hosts of a film show on Sun TV were pulled up for joking about Tamil film actor Suriya’s short stature. The hosts Niveditha and Sangeetha, reportedly commented that Suriya, would need a stool to match his lanky co-star Amitabh Bachchan, in an upcoming project. Fans demanded legal action and staged protests outside the Sun TV off ice. However, the actor dismissed the incident.

Teenager diesafter punishmentA sports teacher and the principal of a private school at Perambur in Chennai were arrested after a 15-year-old boy died after being punished for turning up late for school. Reports said Narendran and four other boys were asked to crouch round the school grounds. He fainted midway and was declared dead at the Stanley medical college hospital. Investigations are underway.

Noted journalistGnani dies at 65Noted journalist/filmmaker V Sankaran alias Gnani, 65, died of a stroke at his residence in Chennai. He had been on dialysis for the past one year. He is survived by his wife and son Manush who is a cinematographer.

Tamil NaduRoundupBy Umaima Shafiq

Goa tourist taxistrike called off

Legislators likely tobeat vandalism rap

IANSPanaji

Goa’s tourist taxi op-erators yesterday withdrew their strike

following a written assur-ance that pending fi tness cer-tifi cates would be issued to all tourist taxis by January 24 and the government would stop installation of speed governors on their vehicles.

The three-day strike, which caused immense hardship to tourists and locals, was called off soon after representatives of the taxi operators met Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, along with Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo, at the chief minister’s offi cial residence here.

“We are only withdraw-ing the strike after a written assurance by Lobo, that he would resign from the BJP if the promise to provide fi tness certifi cates to all taxi opera-tors, without fi tting of speed

governors by January 24, is not fulfi lled.

“We still do not believe the chief minister, but we are giv-ing the government an op-portunity to right the wrong,” Laxman Korgaonkar, spokes-person for the North Goa Tourist Taxi Association, told reporters here.

The strike had started on Friday, in order to protest against mandatory fi tting of speed governors and alleged harassment by police and transport offi cials, he added.

Lobo told reporters that as far as installation of speed governors is concerned, the state government would fi le an intervention petition in the Supreme Court, seeking re-lief for the taxi drivers in Goa, where speeding is not “pos-sible” since it is a “small state and has narrow roads”.

The Supreme Court order on speed governors on tourist taxis came last year, following a petition by Delhi-based NGO Suraksha Foundation.

AgenciesThiruvananthapuram

Protests have got louder after reports emerged yesterday that Kerala

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijay-an was planning to withdraw cases fi led against six legisla-tors for vandalism inside the assembly in 2015.

Vijayan has taken up the is-sue with the concerned de-partments.

On March 13, 2015, then fi -nance minister K.M. Mani was presenting the budget for a new fi scal when the CPI-M-led opposition took a stand that Mani, who was under a cloud over allegedly taking a bribe from a bar owner, will not be allowed to present the budget.

That day chaos broke out in the Assembly, with angry Left leg-islators throwing the Speaker’s chair out of the dais and damag-ing microphones. The damage was estimated at Rs600,000.

Then speaker N Sakthan asked for a Crime Branch probe which found that now Local Self Government Minis-ter K T Jaleel, now CPI-M leg-islator E P Jayarajan and four ex-legislators from the CPI-M besides K Ajith of CPI had caused the ruckus.

V Sivankutty, a former MLA, asked Vijayan to withdraw the case. He told the media yester-day that there cannot be two punishments for one act.

“The then speaker who should have acted impar-tially functioned as a stooge of the government and first suspended us and then a po-lice case was registered,” he said.

Congress legislator and former minister K C Joseph said that if Vijayan withdrew the case, he would move the court.

“We will go to any extent to prevent the case from be-ing withdrawn. The law is the same for the common man and legislators,” said Joseph.

Delhi policebook factoryowner over 17 fi re deathsIANSNew Delhi

The bodies of 11 out of 17 people who died in a ma-jor fi re in a factory here

on Saturday evening have been identifi ed and the establishment’s owner arrested, police said yes-terday.

Of the victims in the fi re in Ba-wana area, 11 – nine women and two men – have been identifi ed, deputy commissioner of police Rajneesh Gupta said.

Those dead were identifi ed as Baby Devi, 40, Afshana, 35, Son-am, 23, Reeta, 18, Madeena, 55, Rajjo, 65, Sukhda, 42, Khusna, 47, Soni, 21, Suraj, 20 and Ravi Kant, 18.

Gupta said a forensic team has reached the spot to investigate the reason for the blast, while the owner of the plastic factory which was also used as a warehouse for fi re crackers has been arrested.

Manoj Jain was taken into cus-tody on Saturday night after a brief interrogation as police fi led charges against him under sec-tions for negligent conduct with respect to fi re or combustible matter, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, caus-ing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others under the Indian Penal Code and the Ex-plosives Act, he said.

“Jain runs the factory which he had taken on rent since January 1 this year,” said Gupta, adding that according to an injured labourer, packing of crackers was being done at the factory.

Delhi Industries and Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain told reporters that a probe

committee has been set up and strict action will be taken after the report is submitted.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal yesterday announced an ex-gratia of Rs500,000 to the next of kin of the dead.

Kejriwal also assured the sur-vivors that a probe would be launched into how a licence was given to the establishment and who sanctioned the same.

Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manoj Tiwari also announced a compensation of Rs50,000 each to the victims of the accident.

Gupta said the fi re in Bawana industrial area was reported to the police control room around 6.20pm, following which 10 fi re tenders rushed to the spot. The blaze was doused in three hours.

The victims were trapped in the basement and the fi rst and second fl oors when the fi re spread from the basement to the fl oors above, the offi cer said.

Meanwhile the Delhi unit of the Congress yesterday demanded a judicial probe into the tragedy.

“We demand a judicial inquiry into the fi re since the magisterial inquiry ordered by the state gov-ernment is meant to save its own departments. We also demand a judicial inquiry for a fair probe,” Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken told reporters after visiting the spot.

The Congress leader said there should also be an in-quiry into the f u n c t i o n i n g of all Delhi government departments co n ce r n e d ,

like the Delhi Fire Service, land, industries, and pollution, as well as the municipal corporations.

The former minister also con-demned North Delhi mayor Preeti Agarwal for what he called her “insensitive statement”.

“She spoke insensitively. She has no moral right to continue in the post and the Bharatiya Janata Party must take action against her,” Maken said.

Th ex-minister was referring to Agarwal’s alleged video wherein she is heard saying: “The licence of this factory is with us. That’s why we cannot speak on the is-sue.”

The Congress leader said la-bourers at the factory had told him that the premises was locked from the outside when the fi re broke out.

“There was rampant unau-thorised construction on the premises, which obstructed pos-sible escape routes,” he alleged.

He said over 50 labourers were working at the premises on Satur-day, which is a holiday.

Hitting out at the Delhi govern-ment, Maken said that the Inten-sive Care Unit (ICU) of the Bawana government hospital was also not operational for a long time.

“People told me the ICU has been lying closed for the last

two months. It is saddening to learn that the hospital

ICU in an industrial area was not op-erational. We demand the government make the ICU opera-

tional as soon as possible,” he added.

Rajput Karni Sena members stage a protest ahead of the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat in Ahmedabad yesterday.

Indian commandos of the first batch of the Jammu Kashmir Armed Police (JKAP) take part during a passing out parade at the Sheeri training centre, some 60km northwest of Srinagar, yesterday.

Passing out parade

Irrfan Khan, Vidya Balan win Filmfare best actor awardsActor Irrfan Khan won the Film-fare Best Actor in a Leading Role (male) award for Hindi Medium while Vidya Balan bagged the Filmfare Best Actor in Leading Role (female) award for Tumhari Sulu at the 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards here.Actor Rajkumar Rao bagged two awards. He won the Best Actor in a Supporting Role (male) for Bareilly Ki Barfi, and also Critics’ Award for Best Actor (male) for Trapped.Meher Vij won the Best Actor in a Supporting Role (female) for Secret superstar. Actress Zaira

Wasim won the Critics’ Award for Best Actor (female) for the same film.Konkona Sen Sharma won the Best Debut Director Award for A Death In The Gunj. Receiving the award from Jaya Bachchan and Sonali Bendre, Konkona said, “Thank you so much... It’s unbelievable. I would like to thank Jio Filmfare. I would like to extend my biggest thank you to my team.”Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari won the Best Director Award for Bareilly Ki Barfi.Amit V Masurkar bagged the Best Original Story Award for his

Oscar-nominated film Newton. The film, Newton, also won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film. Hindi Medium won the Best Film (popular) award.Like last year, Jio Filmfare award ceremony had created a special space for celebrating short films. This year, Jackie Shroff won the Best Actor in Short Film Award for Khujli. Neeraj Ghaywan won the Best Short Film Award for Juice.Filmfare Best Playback Singer (male) award went to Arijit Singh for Roke Na Ruke Naina from Badrinath Ki Dulhania. Meghna Mishra won the Best Playback

Singer (female) award for Nachdi Phira from Secret Superstar.Iconic music composer and singer Bappi Lahiri won the Jio Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. Actress Vidya Balan, who handed over the award to the legend, mentioned: “It’s a very special moment for me. Bappi has given the most successful song of my career.”After receiving the award, the music composer said: “Thank you Jio Filmfare. I am very happy. I would like to dedicate it to my parents, wife and my full family. It’s a hard work of 46 years.”Irrfan Khan Vidya Balan

Hundredsof womenthreaten toend livesin fi lm rowIANSJaipur

Thousands of women bran-dishing swords yesterday took out a ‘Chetavani Ral-

ly’ or a warning march in Rajas-than’s Chittorgarh town to cau-tion the authorities to stop the release of the fi lm Padmaavat or else be prepared for ‘jauhar’ by them.

Among the protesters were women, said to total 1,908, who have already registered for per-forming ‘jauhar’ (committing suicide by jumping into fi re) in Chittorgarh.

The protesters began their march from the Chittorgarh Fort and ended it at the main market in the town where they submitted a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to district collector Indrajeet Singh.

The memorandum said that the march was taken out to en-sure that Rani Padmini’s honour was maintained and the screen-ing of the fi lm, which is set for release on January 25, be stopped or else the Rajput women will perform ‘jauhar’ on January 24.

Shri Rajput Karni Sena spokesperson Vijendra Singh said that the body will approach cinema hall owners across the country in the next three days to request them not to screen the Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie.

“Yesterday, we contacted around 100 cinema halls in the National Capital Region and they have given in writing that they will not screen the fi lm,” Singh said.

However, he warned that in case cinema halls screened the movie, they will be responsible for the consequences.

A few cinema halls in Ahmedabad, Faridabad and Bal-labhgarh were engaged in ad-vance booking for the fi lm and hence they had to face the com-munity’s wrath, he added.

Singh said the organisation had called for a shutdown across the country on January 25 to pro-test against the fi lm’s screening.

PAKISTAN15Gulf Times


The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) cabinet has ap-proved the much-delayed

amendments to the KP prosecu-tion law, which binds the police to seek the opinion of prosecu-tors before the registration of police cases, as well as sharing their case diary with them.

The proposed amendments, which the cabinet approved at a recent meeting and are likely to be tabled in the provincial as-sembly for approval for enforce-ment, were cleared by the law department in June 2016 but remained in limbo due to the po-lice department’s reservations.

They were fi rst drafted in light of the decision of the cabinet’s 46th meeting in order to prop-

erly combat militancy.The prosecution department

has come under criticism from the Supreme Court last month over its poor performance.

An offi cial at the prosecution directorate said that the amend-ments proposed minor changes.

He said the police department was miff ed at the amendment to Section 8 of the law, which re-quires the police to share their case diary with the district pub-lic prosecutor’s offi ce.

The offi cial said that previ-ously, the police department only had to share a copy of the fi rst information report (FIR) with the prosecutors.

He said that they conducted several meetings with the police departments to gain their ap-proval on this change.

“We told them that we are your lawyers, and for the suc-

cessful pleading of the cases, you have to share everything with us,” the prosecution department offi cial said.

He stressed that the sharing of the case diary with prosecutors would help them prepare and plead cases before the courts.

The offi cial said that another amendment to the same section had been made to remove am-biguity regarding legal opinion or guidance given by the district public prosecutors.

He said that previously, there was no mechanism available for the resolution of the aggrieved people’s complaints regarding the prosecutors’ opinion, except them approaching the courts to record their grievances.

He said after those amend-ments, the aggrieved person could approach the department in writing against the district

prosecutor’s opinion and that he would direct him to revisit the legal opinion and writing.

The offi cial said that this would greatly help litigants as they would not need to fi le ap-peals with the courts against the prosecutor’s views, thereby re-ducing the courts’ caseload.

The proposed amendment to Section 2 of law’s Clause 8, which provided for sharing the FIR with the prosecutors, has been substituted with words “On registration of FIR, the of-fi ce in-charge of the police sta-tion or investigation, as the case may be, shall send a copy of FIR along with the fi rst case diary to district public prosecutor (DPP) of the district concerned, who on receipt shall inspect the same and issue necessary directions to in charge of the police station or investigations, as the case may

be, and shall also inspect, scru-tinise and provide guidelines and assistance during the whole investigation process of various cases so registered in the dis-trict.

“Provided that fi rst case diary is to be sent on the request of the DPP by the investigation offi cer concerned within 48 hours in heinous cases like those regis-tered under Anti-Terrorism Act and cases having impact on so-ciety at large.”

Section 4 of Clause 8 which provided for seeking legal opin-ion of the DPP during investiga-tion, has been replaced with one providing for seeking prosecu-tor’s opinion and guidance be-fore the registration of the case as well as during the investiga-tion.

Sub-Section 4 would be in-serted in the clause 8 providing

for in case of any ambiguity re-garding legal opinion or guid-ance so tendered by the DPP and the same is brought in to the at-tention of the director general (prosecution) through an ap-plication of an aggrieved person and which upon examination by department to be against the law, then the director general shall issue directions to the DPP for revisiting his opinion and guidance.

Sub-Section 4B says the di-rector general, if not satisfi ed with the DPP opinion, can assign the same to the director general (legal) of the directorate for fur-ther examination and opinion and in accordance with law.

“Opinion so tendered by the director (legal), after fi nal ap-proval, shall be issued, which shall be followed by the police,” it read.

Changes to prosecution law get KP cabinet nodInternewsPeshawar

Recycling

A man collects empty earthen lamps so they can be relit at the Bari Imam Shrine in Islamabad.

The health department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is set to launch

a three-year Integrated Health Systems Strengthening project across the province, and Serv-ice Delivery Support project in two designated districts.

The projects are intended to improve patient care and en-sure that the delivery of health services at public sector hos-pitals focus on immunisation, mother and child care as well as training of staff , according to a document.

A summary in this connec-tion has been sent to the chief minister for approval, it has been learnt.

The Integrated Health Sys-tems Strengthening will cover the entire province, whereas the Service Delivery Support is aimed at strengthening the capacity to deliver integrated, quality and equitable health services in Swabi and Karak districts.

The USAID-funded projects will be implemented through JSI Research and Training In-corporated, Jhpiego Corpora-tion, Contech International, Rural Support Programmes Network, and Palladium Inter-national to strengthen systems and service delivery.

The local Pakistani partner organisations will focus on the district and community levels, while international partners will provide technical assist-ance at the provincial levels under the projects.

The projects seek to improve level of health leadership, workers’ performance, gov-ernance, fi nancing, spending effi ciency at federal, provincial and district level and integrat-ed, equitable, quality services in targeted districts based on epidemiological ranking and political willingness to im-prove health services.

The health department wants to ensure the Minimum Health Service Delivery Pack-age (MHSDP) by adopting in-novative, technical approaches and the best practices.

The use of targeted techni-cal assistance at the provin-cial level to reinforce the gov-ernment’s commitment and enhancement of capabilities

to carry on the work beyond the life of the projects in line with the federal standards and documentation of public and private sector delivery systems with focus on a few key inter-ventions.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be the focus of provincial-level systems strengthening and service delivery activities; if proven successful, the suc-cessful interventions and ac-tivities will be propagated to rest of the provinces, regions and territories of Pakistan with the support of federal govern-ment.

The Integrated Health Sys-tems Strengthening Project, developed in a way that could be replicated in other prov-inces, will adapt successful in-novative approaches to bring community health solutions, voice and accountability and de-radicalisation of youth by actively engaging the private sector and community health workers.

It aims at building a fl exible health system while engaging stakeholders at all levels is the best way to attain a high per-forming health system that can be sustained in future.

To achieve the purpose, it will focus on increasing in-vestment in health with im-proved accountability, build-ing the skills and capacities at individual, institutional and systems levels, bringing clar-ity in roles and responsibilities of diff erent institutions and organisation engaged in re-form, developing vertical and horizontal linkages among in-stitutions and organisation for rolling-out the reforms agenda in a harmonised manner.

Additionally, the project aims to enable the health de-partment in performing realis-tic and rational planning along with output-based budget-ing, institutionalising quality of care through compliance to standards at health facilities, inculcating the culture of use of information and scaling up interventions following moni-toring, evaluation and learning approach.

The programme to be im-plemented shortly will focus on immunisation, mother and child care, emergency serv-ices and training of staff at the public sector hospitals of the province.

Province to boost health systems, service deliveryInternewsPeshawar

801 Baluchistan NGOs deregisteredThe Baluchistan government has cancelled the registration of 801 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) after they failed to apply for renewal in the given time.Off icial sources said yesterday that under the National Action Plan, it was compulsory for the NGOs working in various sectors of the province to apply for renewal of registration.They said that the department concerned had published advertisements in all local and national newspapers, asking the NGOs to apply for renewal of their registration.“Out of the total 1,204 NGOs, only 403 sent applications and were granted renewal certificates,” sources said.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has raised concerns and

sought an explanation from the Afghan refugees’ commissioner after the United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UN-HCR) introduced a new syllabus for schoolchildren at the refugee camps.

In a notifi cation issued yester-day, the provincial home minis-try termed the fresh changes in the syllabus for grades one to six as being “anti-Pakistan”.

The syllabus contained con-tent including showing the Pak-Afghan border as the controver-sial Durand Line, projecting India

as a friendly country to Afghani-stan, showing Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir as part of India, and displaying the Afghanistan fl ag on every page.

The changes were made with-out the approval of provincial or federal departments.

Apart from the nature of these revisions, the KP government also questioned the timing of the revisions in the school syllabus.

The development came a day after Pakistan and the US clashed at the United Nations.

The US urged Pakistan not to give sanctuary to terrorist organ-isations while Pakistan demand-ed that the Trump administra-tion address safe havens inside Afghanistan and its income from the narcotics trade.

The exchange took place on

Friday at the UN Security Coun-cil meeting on the issue of Af-ghanistan’s relations with its Central Asia neighbours, and the link between peace and security.

Deputy US Secretary of State John Sullivan said that the US cannot work with Pakistan if it continued to give sanctuary to terrorist organisations and that the country needed to stop this and join eff orts to resolve the Af-ghan confl ict.

Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi strongly countered that Afghanistan and its partners, especially the US, needed to address the “chal-lenges inside Afghanistan rather than shift the onus for ending the confl ict onto others”.

It must be noted that a radio tower that was streaming mes-

sages from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) into Pakistan’s territory was destroyed on Thursday by the country’s armed forces on the Pakistan-Afghani-stan border in North Waziristan.

The radio station was set up near Dwa Toi and was allegedly transmitting enemy’s propagan-da, a security offi cial said.

On Friday, Pakistan’s ambas-sador to the US, Aizaz Chaudhry, said that Pakistan wanted to send back Afghan refugees and any Taliban and Haqqani Network el-ements present along with them to their own country.

He said that the Afghan refu-gees had become a security threat for Pakistan.

Concerns raised over new UN syllabus for Afghan studentsInternewsPeshawar

Lodhi: pointed out that Afghanistan and its partners, especially the US, needed to address the ‘challenges inside Afghanistan rather than shift the onus for ending the conflict onto others’.

The education department of Sindh province has de-cided to include the teach-

ing of life skills in the curriculum for primary schools in eight dis-tricts of the province.

Life skills will be taught to students in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Khairpur, Shaheed Benazirabad, Dadu and Kamber-Shahdadkot districts.

For this purpose, chapters will be included in the curriculum

of classes three to fi ve regard-ing physical abuse, self-esteem, human rights, girls’ education, developmental changes, health and hygiene, personal hygiene, gender equality, marriage rights, violence and self-defence, peer pressure, communication, and decision-making.

The chapters based on life skills will be made part of sci-ence, Sindhi, Urdu, English and social studies textbooks in the academic year 2018-19.

The Sindh Textbook Board, Jamshoro has already started de-veloping the curriculum.

After the initial year, the in-clusion of life skills in the cur-riculum will be reviewed and expanded for the academic year 2019-20.

Dr Fouzia Khan, head of the education department’s curricu-lum wing, told Express News that after the passage of the Sindh School Education Standards and Curriculum Act, the provincial education department will start working on introducing life skills in the curriculum.

She added that changes were also introduced in the curriculum at secondary level.

Since primary school students are younger than secondary stu-dents, the language to teach them concepts like self defence and physical abuse needs to be ap-propriately chosen, Khan said.

She added that the curriculum wing was also receiving advice from experts in this regard.

A training course was jointly organised by a non-governmen-tal organisation, Aahung, and the education department at a gov-ernment school for girls located in Korangi No 6.

During the course, the stu-dents were given information on

sexual abuse, self-confi dence, human rights, education for girls, health, self defence, matrimonial rights, peer pressure, sources of communication, and decision-making.

The teachers who conducted the training had been earlier trained by Aahung.

Around 30,000 students and 1,500 teachers have so far re-ceived training on life skills at 200 government schools.

Another session will start to-day, in which around 700 teach-ers will be trained on how to im-part life skills to students.

Life skills to be included in Sindh school curriculumInternewsKarachi

Supreme Court bans new law collegesInternewsLahore

The Supreme Court of Pa-kistan has barred all uni-versities across the coun-

try from awarding affi liation to new law colleges.

A two-judge bench of the top court was hearing a suo motu case at the Lahore Registry yes-terday, regarding substandard law colleges.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, also ordered vice-chancellors of universities with affi liated law colleges to submit a signed re-port detailing their admission criteria, the quota of students, and the results produced by the colleges.

The chief justice also ex-pressed displeasure over non-appointment of a vice-chancel-lor in Punjab University.

However, the chief secretary assured the court that a vice-chancellor would be appointed soon.

Chief Justice Nisar also di-rected the vice-chancellors of all universities to inspect affi liated institutions.

He said that he was at a loss to understand how every university introduced its own educational standards, adding: “Everyone is doing what he wants to.”

The chief justice said that substandard law colleges must be closed down, adding that it is his dream to see one education system in the country.

“Unfortunately we have not strengthened our institutions … rather, the institutions of the country are being weakened,” he added.

The chief justice stressed the need for producing competent lawyers instead of those who “sell paan during the day and practise law in the evening”.

He vowed to reform the stand-ard of law education in the coun-try within six weeks.

The top judge also dismissed authenticity of the National Testing Service (NTS), saying that the system was no good.

“Why not eliminate entry tests in the study of law? If for-gery is the way to become a law-yer, let’s wrap up this system then,” he said.

PHILIPPINES

Gulf TimesMonday, January 22, 201816

Palace rules out police force under Bangsamoro lawBy Catherine S ValenteManila Times

President Rodrigo Duterte will not allow the creation of a regional armed and

police forces under the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), Malacanang has said.

Palace spokesman Harry Roque issued the statement in reaction to Buhay party-list Rep. Jose “Lito” Atienza’s declaration that several provisions of the BBL draft are unconstitutional, including the creation of a Bang-samoro police and constitution-al agencies such as Commission on Audit and Commission on Elections.

Roque reiterated that the president himself is opposed to a provision allowing a Bangsam-oro political entity to have full control of its police force.

“Neither will PRRD (Presi-dent Rodrigo Roa Duterte) al-low regional police,” Roque told Manila Times in a text message.

Atienza, during a roundtable interview with Manila Times editors and reporters, said he would support the bill granting wider autonomy to Mindanao but “without its unconstitu-tional provisions.”

“As it is, the proposal is highly doubtful. It has a lot of demands which are not within constitutional limits,” Atienza said. “Why do they have to

push for a Bangsamoro police, or constitutional offices like CoA (Commission on Audit) and Comelec (Commission on Elections)? The Constitution will not allow that,” he added.

But Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Jesus Dureza said the Palace-endorsed ver-sion of BBL already addressed the issues on the controversial provisions of the measure.

“I suggest they read the new version first before they an-nounce those statements,” Du-reza said.

The BBL, which will serve as an enabling law of the Compre-hensive Agreement on Bang-samoro signed between the Aquino government and the

Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2014, will create a Bangsam-oro entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

It was crafted by the Bang-samoro Transition Commis-sion (BTC), which formally turned over the draft measure to Malacanang on July 17 last year.

Malacanang has endorsed the version of the BBL submit-ted by the BTC.

The measure failed to pass in the previous administration because of the bloody Mama-sapano clash, where 44 elite police were killed by several as-sailants, among them members of Moro groups. The bill also

faced questions on its consti-tutionality.

On Wednesday, Dureza said the president may issue an ex-ecutive order in the event that BBL does not hurdle Congress.

“President Duterte said he would push for the passage of the Bangsamoro bill and will even go to the extent of resort-ing to an executive issuance to hasten it if Congress itself fails to approve it,” Dureza said in a statement.

“Stressing that he can use the inherent powers of the presidency, he is ready to carve out through an executive order the area for the Bangsamoro for their self-rule,” he added.

A fisherman casts his net before sunset in Baseco district, Metro Manila.

Hard work

Archbishop’s call to strive for truthManila TimesCebu City

“Pray for renewal, truth for all,” Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma said in his homily

during the 6am Sinulog Pon-tifical Mass at the Basilica Mi-nore del Santo Nino de Cebu church yesterday.

“Before the Lord we should feel “small”, we have noth-ing to brag about,” Palma ex-plained.

The archbishop also urged the Catholic faithful to pray for priests especially since 2018 is the Year of the Clergy of Consecrated Life. He also reminded the people to con-tinue to be prayerful just like the late Cebuano Archbishop Teofilo Camomot who is a candidate for sainthood.

Despite the slight drizzle, the Basilica Minore del San-to Nino de Cebu church was filled with devotees.

Meanwhile, Senior Supt. Renato Dugan, chief Police Community Relations Of-ficer in Central Visayas, said no untoward incidents were reported, at the time of this writing yesterday afternoon, and the crowd estimate was 1mn which is relatively similar to that in 2017.

Like last year, the Sinulog grand parade started in Baran-gay Carreta going to the Cebu City Sports Complex in Fuente Osmena.

Dugan told Manila Times

that cellphone signals shut-down in specific routes of the Sinulog parade brought posi-tive impact in terms of secu-rity measures especially on

possible bombing incidents. The National Telecommu-

nications Commission turned off the signal in some cell sites of the Sinulog route between

2pm and 6pm on Saturday and 8am until further notice yes-terday.

Law enforcement augmen-tation from different towns

and cities in Cebu was placed at 7,672 including members of the Armed Forces of the Phil-ippines and the Philippine Na-tional Police.

Senator says waistline limit must for copsManila TimesManila

Senator Panfi lo Lacson yes-terday welcomed a move of the National Police Com-

mission (Napolcom) to remove the height requirement for as-piring policemen but advised the commission to consider setting a waistline limit for those who want to enter the force.

Lacson, who heads the Sen-ate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, said the Napolcom made the right deci-sion to do away with the height requirement because there are good traits that should also be considered other than height.

Napolcom had been requir-ing those who want to enter the Philippine National Police to be at least 1.62 metres tall (5’4”) for male and 1.57 metres tall (5’2”) for female applicants.

“That is right, why would you deny someone who is intelligent and has integrity from entering the police force just because (he lacks the height)?” he said in a radio interview.

The Napolcom, in a state-ment on Friday said, “Starting with the April 22, 2018 police examinations, there shall be no height requirement for the (PNP) entrance exam appli-cants as long as they are bach-elor’s degree holders and not more than 30 years old.”

The senator, however, said

if the Napolcom would re-move the height requirement it should consider having a waistline limit.

Lacson, who served as the PNP chief of then-President Joseph Estrada, said requiring applicants to maintain a 34-inch waistline is a way of in-stilling discipline in those who want to join the PNP.

He added that with the Na-polcom removing the height limit and having no policy on waistlines, chances are there would be policemen who are 5 feet 2 inches tall but with a waistline of 44 inches.

“How can you expect a po-liceman chase a snatcher or a pickpocket on the street if he has a a big belly?” the senator said.

Lacson, during his term as PNP chief, was able to instill discipline in police personnel through a no-kotong (extor-tion) policy, a 34-inch waist-line limit and an order to return recovered stolen vehicles.

He said police officers must be fit, trim and properly dressed at all times in order to earn respect of the people.

But if the PNP would impose such policy on waistlines, ac-cording to the senator, all rank-ing officials of the police force including the PNP chief must also comply.

“Leadership by example for me is second to none. There is no substitute,” Lacson said.

4,694 Filipino workers fl ew out daily last year: think-tankBy Nelson BadillaManila Times

The Rodrigo Duterte ad-ministration failed to provide jobs to more

than a million Filipinos last year despite the country reg-istering high gross domestic product (GDP) fi gures, ac-cording to a think-tank.

Ibon Foundation, an inde-pendent research organisa-tion, said based on data from the Philippine Overseas Em-ployment Administration (POEA) 1,281,506 Filipinos were hired by various compa-nies to work abroad from Jan-uary to September 2017.

That is equivalent to 4,694 Filipinos going abroad each day in order to look for better jobs, Ibon pointed out.

The group said the continu-ing exodus of Filipino workers is “disappointing” consider-ing that the country’s GDP from January to September last year was pegged at 6.7%.

Despite POEA’s announce-ment that more than a million jobs were produced last year, around 663,000 of 40.9mn employed Filipinos lost their

jobs in 2016, based on Ibon’s computation.

It noted that the job lost was the highest since 1997.

Data from the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) showed that there were 821,000 lost jobs in 1997.

At that time, former Presi-dent Fidel Ramos claimed that he had transformed the Phil-ippines into one of the eco-nomic tigers in southeast Asia.

Ibon also noted that the un-employment rate last year saw a 9.2% increase.

The employment drop was the highest among members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations.

The group also revealed that the labour force participation rate (LFPR) dropped to 63.7%, the worst in three decades.

The lowest LFPR was 63.1% which happened “during the severe economic crisis in 1985,” Ibon recalled.

The group explained that “the vast reserve army of un-employed gives employers huge leverage to peg wages at a low, combining with gov-ernment’s cheap wage policy to keep wages down and con-tractualisation unabated.”

Devotees take part in the annual Santo Nino feast in Manila, yesterday.

Classes as usual amid volcano threatBy Neil AlcoberManila Times

Despite challenges posed by Mayon Vol-cano’s high level of

unrest, the Department of Education (DepEd) has said education in the area con-tinues, adding that it has closely co-ordinated with concerned offices to ensure that learners, teachers and personnel are safe and well-informed.

Since January 13, the Edu-cation department, through its Regional Office, led by Director Ramon Fiel Abcede, has implemented interven-tions and has been closely monitoring the situation.

Based on the January 17 re-port of DepEd Region 5, of the

33 schools used as evacuation centres, 445 classrooms were occupied by 8,583 families or 33,064 individuals.

There are 17 schools within the seven-kilometre perma-nent danger zone.

To minimise class in-terruptions, a number of schools have been holding double-shift classes.

The DepEd is fast-tracking release of funds to affected school divisions of Albay, Legazpi City, Ligao City and Tabaco City for speedy con-struction of 208 temporary learning spaces to enable the 16,791 affected learners to continue attending classes.

It is working with local government units (LGUs) to provide alternative evacu-ation centres for affected residents.

SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL17


Tensions in Rohingya camps ahead of planned relocationTensions mounted yester-

day at refugee camps in Bangladesh holding hun-

dreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims over an operation to send them back to Myanmar, from where they have fl ed fol-lowing a military crackdown.

Dozens of refugees stood holding cloth banners oppos-ing their transfer as United Na-tions Special Rapporteur Yang-hee Lee visited camps along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border over the weekend. Some refu-gee leaders said Bangladesh military offi cials had threatened to seize their food ration cards if they did not return.

Under an agreement signed last week, Myanmar is set to receive Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh at two reception centres and a temporary camp near their common border starting tomorrow and contin-uing over the next two years.

The refugees refuse to go back unless their safety can

be guaranteed and Myanmars grant their demands to be given citizenship and inclusion in a list of recognised ethnic mi-norities. They are also asking that their homes, mosques and schools that were burned down or damaged in the military op-eration be rebuilt.

Over 655,500 Muslim Ro-hingya fl ed to Bangladesh after the Myanmar military cracked down in the northern part of Ra-khine state in response to mili-tant attacks on security forces on August 25. The United Na-tions described the operation as ethnic cleansing of the Ro-hingya, which Myanmar denies.

Rohingya elders said that Bangladeshi army offi cials have called or met them over the last two days, asking them to pre-pare lists of families from their camps for repatriation. Four of them said they were among more than 70 camp leaders – representing thousands of refugees – who met army of-fi cers at the Gungdum camp on Saturday.

“When we said we can-not provide the lists because

people are not ready to return, they asked us to bring their WP cards,” said Musa, a leader at the Gungdum camp, referring to relief cards provided by the UN’s World Food Programme.

Rashedul Hasan, a spokes-man for the Bangladesh army, said he was not aware of army men threatening to take away food cards.

Hundreds of refugees queue up at relief centres across the camps each morning to col-lect food using the cards. These centres are managed by the Bangladesh army.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has repeatedly said Rohingya returns need to be voluntary.

“UNHCR has not been part of discussions (on repatriation) to date, but has off ered support to engage in the process to ensure that the voices of refugees are heard,” Caroline Gluck, a senior protection offi cer for the agency, said by e-mail on Saturday.

“The pace of returns should be determined by the refugees themselves.”

By Zeba Siddiqui, ReutersGungdum

A Rohingya child sits on the floor while his mother waits in a queue to collect aid supplies in Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, yesterday.

63 held in Lanka following clashes

Sixty-three people were ar-rested following violent clashes in southern Sri Lan-

ka yesterday, local police said.The violent clashes erupted

between the police and protest-ers yesterday afternoon in Ka-taragama, around 280km away from capital Colombo, when a police offi cial allegedly gunned down a youth who was riding a motorcycle and had defi ed police orders.

Police said the youth had re-fused to stop for police inspec-tion despite warnings.

Following the youth’s death, a large mob had attacked the local police station. Security had been tightened in the area.

Police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekera said the policeman who had allegedly shot the youth had been arrested while police chief Pujith Jayasundara had de-ployed a special team to probe the incident.

IANSColombo

Police lose rifl e as elephants charge

Sri Lankan police who were charged by elephants as they staked out a canna-

bis farm dropped an automatic rifl e as they ran for their lives, sparking a hunt yesterday for the missing weapon.

Policemen who had been camp-ing out near the plantation in a bid to catch crooks turned tail and scarpered after the huge creatures started hurtling after them.

“The constables dropped their weapons and fl ed to save their lives when the elephants charged,” a statement said.

Offi cers were now looking for the T56 automatic assault rifl e in the bush at Lunugamvehera, 225km (140 miles) south of the capital Colombo.

Sri Lanka has strict laws pro-tecting elephants, which are considered sacred. However, about 200 jumbos are killed an-nually by farmers who say wild elephants stray onto their land and destroy their crops.

About 50 people are killed in wild elephant attacks annually.

Sri Lanka’s elephant popula-tion has dwindled to just over 7,000, according to the latest census, down from an estimated 12,000 in 1900.

AFPColombo

Lawmaker’s son found dead in Dhaka fl at

A Bangladeshi lawmaker’s 27-year-old son was found dead in a fl at in

the capital Dhaka, police said yesterday.

The body of Aneek Aziz, the son of Satkhira-1 Member of Parliament Mustafa Lutfullah, was found hanging in the NAM Bhaban on Dhaka’s Manik Miah Avenue.

The body was hanging from a ceiling fan with wires around his neck. There were no other signs of injury on his body, said Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station in-charge Ganesh Biswas.

Police believe it to be a case of suicide.

The family has also been un-able to provide any information on the matter.

“Things will become clear af-ter the post-mortem,” Lutfullah told the media.

Lutfullah is a leader of the Bangladesh Workers Party. He was elected the MP of Satkhira-1 in the previous election.

Aziz received his diploma from Khulna City Polytechnic and signed up for his IELTS exams to apply abroad. He was also taking a photography course.

Nepal extends term of probe panels

Nepal has extended the tenure of two transi-tional justice mecha-

nisms by a year, which was established with the man-date of investigating war-era rights violation-related cases, authorities said.

Nepali President Bidya Devi

Bhandari approved an ordi-nance paving way for the ex-tension of the term of Truth and Reconciliation Commis-sion (TRC) and Commission of Enquiry on Enforced Disap-pearance (CEED), which were also mandated to provide jus-tice to the victims of the armed confl ict that ended in 2007 in Nepal.

“As the president approved the ordinance, the term of the

two transitional mechanisms has been extended by a year,” Bhesh Raj Adhikari, an aide to the president, told Xinhua, on Saturday.

The Nepal government had forwarded the ordinance two weeks ago regarding the ex-tension of these two crucial commissions. The two com-missions were initially set up in February 2015, eight years after the government and

then rebel Maoist party signed the landmark Comprehen-sive Peace Accord (CPA) that ended armed confl ict in the Himalayan nation.

The commissions are man-dated to launch a probe into all cases of human rights abuses committed by both the Mao-ist party and the state forces during the 10-year confl ict (1996-2006) that claimed over 13,000 lives while leav-

ing thousands displaced and disappeared.

The two commissions will study and investigate around 60,000 complaints related to murders, rapes, and disappearances, offi cials said.

Confl ict victims complain that they are not getting justice even 10 years after the signing of the comprehensive peace deal between the government and the then rebels.

IANSKathmandu

Ex-deputy PM sees China as role model

Nepal’s former deputy prime minister Su-jata Koirala said yes-

terday that China’s ongoing rapid economic development is a role model for Nepal as the Himalayan country is as-piring to achieve prosper-ity through socio-economic transformation.

Koirala, who is also a leader of the Nepali Congress party, highly praised the remark-able development of China at a seminar organised by Kathmandu School of Law in Bhaktapur of Nepal.

“China has achieved as-

tounding economic growth while at the same it has re-duced the poverty rate signifi -cantly in recent years. These positive transformations in China are exemplary espe-cially for other least developed and smaller countries like Ne-pal which are struggling hard to achieve socio-economic growth,” she said.

Koirala, who is also a former foreign minister, said Chi-na’s long-standing policy of non-interference in other country’s internal aff airs is commendable.

Koirala said the relationship between China and most of the South Asian countries includ-ing Nepal is growing smooth and steadfast, noting that

China has been helping them to build infrastructure and connectivity projects in recent years.

Khadga K C, a professor in international relations, said that Nepal can benefi t from the peaceful rise of China. “Nepal can follow China’s economic model,” he said.

China donates solar power generation system: China yesterday donated over 32,000 sets of solar power generation system to Nepal to enhance its domestic capacity in

combating climate change.The donated items included

32,000 sets of household so-lar power generation system (10Wp) and 325 sets of so-lar power generation system

(1,200Wp), battery, control-ler, LED bulb and case that include status indicator and system cable.

Addressing the ceremony, Ram Prasad Lamsal, joint sec-retary at Nepal’s ministry of population and environment, expressed gratitude to the Chinese government for the support.

“The support provided by China is instrumental to ad-dressing the problems of envi-ronment and climate change. It will also benefi t our people from the perspective of health and saving time,” Lamsal said.

According to the Nepal gov-ernment, the sets will be dis-tributed by the Alternative En-ergy Promotion Centre (AEPC)

IANSKathmandu

in the districts highly aff ected by a devastating earthquake in 2015.

Ram Prasad Dhital, executive director, AEPC, said, “The big-ger power generation systems with high power will be used for the community schools, health centres and local gov-ernment offi ces while the low power systems will be used for the households in cluster areas.”

Former deputy prime minister Sujata Koirala

Bangladesh teachers protest exclusion from nationalisation plan

Teachers and employees of educational insti-tutions that were ex-

cluded from the third phase of nationalisation of non-MPO (monthly pay order) insti-tutions in Bangladesh have started an indefi nite sit-in and a symbolic hunger strike in Dhaka.

They are pushing the gov-ernment to meet their demand for releasing the fi nal gazette notifi cation for nationalisa-tion of non-MPO institutions.

Saleh Uddin, vice-president of central committee of Bang-ladesh Private Primary School Teachers’ Association, said yesterday that the third phase of nationalisation has not been implemented, though it was announced by the prime minister.

“The teachers in the fi rst and second phases of nation-alisation are getting govern-

ment facilities, while nothing has been done to implement the third phase, which was supposed to be implemented on January 2014,” he said.

The protesters said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had announced nationalisa-tion of 26,193 private primary schools in 2013. According to the prime minister’s list, 960 private primary schools were to be included in the nation-alisation in the third phase.

In February 19, 2015, 533 schools were nationalised through a notifi cation and were brought under govern-ment control in January 1, 2014.

On February 22, 2017, a gov-ernment order was issued for 519 out of 533 primary schools. On March 23, 2017, a draft ga-zette for nationalisation was published.

Most of these teachers have been working without pay since January 1, 2014, as a fi nal gazette notifi cation was not published.

AgenciesDhaka

A woman journalist climbs during a training of rock climbing of the first Women Journalists Everest Expedition at Pharping, near Kathmandu, yesterday.

Preparing for Everest expedition WB signs $300mn loan for Nepal quake reconstruction

The World Bank yester-day approved a $300mn loan for Nepal as the

impoverished nation strug-gles to raise money to rebuild almost three years after an earthquake killed thousands and fl attened homes.

Nearly 9,000 people died when a 7.8-magnitude quake struck in April 2015, destroy-ing more than half a million homes.

Only one in ten of those homes has been rebuilt as the third anniversary of the dis-aster looms and Nepal faces a $1.2bn shortfall in reconstruc-tion funds, the World Bank said.

“The gap has decreased” through this loan, said Kam-ran Akbar, a disaster risk management specialist at the global fi nancial lender.

“We understand that there is still a requirement but there are also others who are

supporting Nepal,” he said.Kathmandu estimated the

recovery bill from the dev-astating quake at $6.7bn but costs quickly spiralled.

The government has faced mounting criticism over the slow pace of reconstruction.

Political wrangling meant Nepalis who lost everything waited nearly a year before re-ceiving their fi rst instalment of a promised housing grant.

In September 2016 the gov-ernment increased the hous-ing grant by 50%, sending costs soaring.

The National Reconstruc-tion Authority is current-ly distributing the second tranche of three payments.

International donors pledged $4.1bn for recon-struction after the quake – the strongest to hit Nepal in 80 years – and the World Bank approved a $200mn loan at the time.

The deal yesterday also in-cluded $80mn for a livestock project and another $60mn credit for vocational training.

AFPKathmandu


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Studies link dietaryinfl ammation tocolorectal cancer

A lot has been written and discussed about the detrimental eff ects of excessive consumption of red meat, white bread and sugar-laden drinks. Pooled data from two new major health studies suggests that these foods increase infl ammation in the body, which in turn is associated with a higher chance of developing colon cancer.

What makes for a healthy diet overall also appears to promote a cancer-free colon, according to senior researcher Dr Edward Giovannucci, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health in Boston, US. Previous studies have linked diet factors with colon cancer, but there’s been no clear explanation why that might be, he added. Giovannucci and his colleagues suspected that infl ammation promoted by what a person eats could be at least one way in which diet could infl uence risk.

To test this possible connection, the researchers gathered data on more than 121,000 people from two studies – the Health Professionals Follow-up Study

and the Nurses’ Health Study – in which people were followed for 25 years to track potential infl uences on their health.

Participants fi lled out food questionnaires

every four years. Those questionnaires helped researchers determine a dietary infl ammation “score” for each person. There were 2,699 cases of colorectal cancer that occurred during follow-up. The investigators compared the foods these people ate against the diet of people who didn’t develop colon or rectal cancer. People who ate the most infl ammatory foods were 37% more likely to develop colon cancer and 70% more likely to develop rectal cancer, compared with those who had the lowest infl ammation diet score, the fi ndings showed.

Processed meat, red meat, organ meat, refi ned fl our and sugary drinks were among the foods linked most to cancer-related infl ammation, Giovannucci said. On the other hand, green leafy vegetables, dark yellow vegetables, whole grains, coff ee and fruit juice appeared to reduce infl ammation. A person appeared to achieve the greatest anti-infl ammatory eff ect from their healthy diet if they also refrained from alcohol, noted Dr Wafi k El-Deiry, deputy director of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Giovannucci said the study is best viewed as looking at a general pattern of healthy eating.

Marjorie McCullough, strategic director of nutritional epidemiology for the American Cancer Society, pointed out that it is important to focus on the overall pro-infl ammatory diet, rather than on the specifi c foods contained in this diet pattern. “Also, the impact is likely to be even greater, as the foods in this pattern capture only some of the foods that are likely to infl uence infl ammation in the body,” McCullough added. “For example, certain spices and food preparation methods are not included, which may have strong eff ects on infl ammation.”

Baxter noted that the people with the highest risk of colon cancer were the outliers in the study – the one-fi fth of participants who were consistently eating a lot of foods that promote infl ammation. Going by the study, published online last week in the journal JAMA Oncology, moderation is advised when adopting dietary habits.

Moderation is advised when adopting dietary habits

Serious defi cit inGerman politicsBy Helmut K AnheierBerlin

Few people outside Germany are familiar with the carica-ture of themselves that many Germans hold in their minds.

Far from the aggressive bully of 20th-century war propaganda, the perfectionist engineer of Madison Avenue car advertisements, or the rule-following know-it-all of the sil-ver screen, the German many picture today is a sleepy-headed character clad in nightgown and cap. Sometimes clutching a candle, this German cuts a naive, forlorn figure, bewildered by the surrounding world.

This fi gure is not new. On the contrary, referred to as “Der deutsche Michel” or “the German Michel,” it was popularised in the 19th century as a character whose limited perspective causes him to shun great ideas, eschew change, and aspire only to a decent, quiet, and comfortable life.

But Michel has now made a come-back. And who can blame him? Ger-many now boasts a booming economy, near full employment, rising wages, and content unions. The fi nancial crisis is long forgotten, public budgets are under control; and the 2015 infl ux of migrants has been relatively well managed.

What bad news there is – industrial scandals (like that at Volkswagen), airline bankruptcies, endlessly delayed infrastructure projects – does little to dampen the general sense of safety and well-being enjoyed by Germany’s Michels. The only real threat, it seems, is the world outside Germany’s borders.

In this sense, last autumn’s election campaign was perfectly suited to Ger-many’s Michels. “A land where we live well and happily,” the campaign slogan of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), resonated with them, as did the rather provincial and mostly empty messages of rival parties. With the exception of the right-wing populist Alternative fur Deut-schland (AfD), the parties displayed a rote civility and drowsy acceptance of consensus that pacifi ed the electorate.

After the election, the real politick-ing began, but even then, pains were taken to obscure those activities from Germany’s Michels. Indeed, though party offi cials had been in place for some time, they waited until the votes were cast before putting their cards on the table, and even then did so behind closed doors. Even the leaks from these closed-door coalition talks were so well managed that they created the illusion that the “Sondierungsgesprache” – that is, the preparatory talks among party offi cials – were politically rather harm-less.

But Germany’s political class, like its ordinary Michels, are in denial. The soporifi c federal elections, the break-down of coalition talks among the CDU, its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Greens, and the Free Democrats (FDP), and the timid dance between the CDU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since then all

point to a serious defi cit in German politics.

The truth is that the various party platforms, meant to inform the elector-ate and provide a basis for coalition talks, reveal a shocking lack of imagina-tion and paucity of new ideas. Second-order issues are presented as red lines, with largely technical questions – for example, about refugee family reunions, a new health insurance scheme no one asked for (Burgerversicherung), or the role of the federal government in fund-ing education – taking centre stage.

Considering the state of Europe and the world – and the hopes many outsid-ers are pinning on German leadership – these issues seem rather marginal. But the real problem is that they are distracting from larger issues relating to, say, the euro, security and defence, migration, infrastructure, and taxation.

Lacking any forward-looking politi-cal visions, German politics has degen-erated to tactical plays being carried out by established players. The CDU, in a War of the Roses with the CSU, can live neither with or without Merkel, while the SPD is unsure of itself and fears further political decline. None of this bodes well for a country whose parlia-ment has already been diminished, after these three parties, during their eight years forming a coalition government, marginalised the opposition and failed to build up new leadership cadres.

Coalition agreements in Germany have always been elaborate documents of a quasi-contractual nature. But there is a growing tendency to plan out four

years of governing, with leaders then using legislative periods not to debate laws, but rather to enact previously agreed policies.

Moreover, no major reform has been successfully implemented in Germany since the 2000s, when Chancellor Ger-hard Schroder pushed through labour-market reforms. No forward-looking reforms of the calibre of Schroder’s Agenda 2010 were even attempted under Merkel in over a decade.

The CDU/CSU and the SPD are now pursuing a grand coalition that would keep Germany roughly on the same path as the last eight years. And, in fact, the 28-page agreement that will allow formal coalition talks to proceed is overly detailed, technocratic, unambi-tious, and lacks vision.

It is thus unsurprising that, though CDU/CSU and SPD negotiators have celebrated the deal as a breakthrough, many, especially in the SPD, are un-happy with the outcome, with some calling for a renegotiation. The SPD now faces a choice: at its upcoming special party congress this weekend, its leaders must decide whether to join yet another grand coalition government that promises more of the same or move into opposition, probably triggering new elections.

But there is another option, which many have ignored: a CDU-led minority government, with Merkel as chancel-lor. Freed of stifl ing coalition agree-ments with a reluctant SPD or a coldly calculating FDP, Merkel could choose her cabinet based on competence and

vision, rather than party politics. She could even appoint ministers from other parties.

Most important, Merkel could fi nally tackle the important issues that have fallen by the wayside in recent years, to which the current coalition agree-ment pays only lip service. This means cooperating with French President Em-manuel Macron to move the European project forward; modernising Ger-many’s public administration system; preparing the labour force for digitisa-tion; and tackling immigration issues.

Parliament is integral to success on any of these fronts. Mainstream par-ties must embrace the kind of open and constructive debate that nurtured parliamentary democracy in Germany’s early years, rather than remaining focused on political tactics.

Michel may prefer the modest policy initiatives and incrementalism that have characterised Merkel’s chancellorships. But a minority government forced to muster coalitions of the willing to address the critical issues confronting Germany and Europe could escape the constraints of Michel’s expectations, freeing Ger-man politics from party tacticians and enabling real and much-needed reform. In other words, the modicum of political insecurity Germany faces today may well be just what the country needs to give rise to new ideas and voices, and a better future. – Project Syndicate

Helmut K Anheier is president and pro-fessor of Sociology at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.

File photo of German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivering a press statement in Meseberg Palace in Meseberg, eastern Germany, on May 20, 2017.

COMMENT

Gulf Times Monday, January 22, 2018 19

Towards universal primary healthcare

Surfers may be swallowing superbugs

Water management is health managementBy Giulio BoccalettiLondon

With climate change accelerating and its eff ects exacerbating other geopolitical

and development crises, the role of environmental protection in preserving and improving human well-being has become starkly apparent. This recognition lies at the heart of the concept of “planetary health,” which focuses on the health of human civilisation and the condition of the natural systems on which it depends.

The concept’s logic is simple: if we try to deliver better health to a growing population, without regard for the health and security of our natural resources, we will not just struggle to make new strides; we will reverse the progress already made. Where things get complicated is in applying the concept, particularly when addressing the nexus of water services, health, and ecosystem integrity.

Since at least 1854, when John Snow discovered that cholera was spread through contaminated water supplies in central London, humans have understood that polluted water is bad for our health. The degradation of freshwater ecosystems often brings disease, just as the protection or strengthening of such ecosystems improves health outcomes.

But, while it is now well understood that progress in one area improves outcomes in another, such co-benefi cial dynamics often are insuffi cient to spur investment in both areas.

For example, investing to protect a watershed can also protect biodiversity and improve water quality in associated rivers, thereby benefi ting human health. But if the goal is explicitly to improve human health, it might be more cost-eff ective simply to

invest in a water-treatment plant.A more compelling dynamic is

complementarity: when investment in one area increases the returns on investment in other areas. In this scenario, investments in protecting a watershed would aim not just to produce returns directly, but also to boost the returns of simultaneous investments in human health. Complementarity produces mutually

reinforcing dynamics that improve outcomes across the board.

A well-functioning water sector already attempts to balance complementary interventions. Indeed, such a system amounts to a multidisciplinary triumph of human ingenuity and co-operation – involving engineering, hydrology, governance, and urban planning – with far-reaching complementary impacts

on both human health and economic development.

In 1933, through the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, the United States established an agency whose purpose was to build hydroelectric dams on the Tennessee River. That eff ort benefi ted industry, agriculture, fl ood control, and conservation throughout the Tennessee Valley watershed, until then one of the country’s most

disadvantaged regions.Since then, governments worldwide

have recognised the potential of water infrastructure to complement other economic and social policies, including those intended to improve health outcomes. It is no coincidence that one of the World Bank’s largest lending portfolios – $35bn worth of investments – comprises water projects.

But understanding the potential of complementarity is just the fi rst step. To maximise results, we must design a coherent strategy that takes full advantage of the dynamic, at the lowest possible cost. The question is whether there is an optimal mix of environmental protection and direct health interventions on which policymakers can rely to maximise investment returns for both.

A recent analysis suggests that, in rural areas, a 30% increase in upstream tree cover produces a 4% reduction in the probability of diarrhoeal disease in children – a result comparable to investing in an improved sanitation facility. But, if that is true, we have yet to determine at what point reforestation becomes a better investment than improving sanitation, let alone increases the returns of other health interventions by the highest possible amount.

Another study found that an estimated 42% of the global malaria burden, including a half-million deaths annually, could be eliminated through policies focused on issues like land use, deforestation, water resource management, and settlement siting. But the study didn’t cover the potential benefits of employing insecticide-treated nets as a tool for fighting malaria, ruling out a comparison of the two investments’ returns.

Worldwide, around 40% of cities’ source watersheds show high to moderate levels of degradation.

Sediment from agricultural and other sources increases the cost of water treatment, while loss of natural vegetation and land degradation can change water-flow patterns. All of this can adversely affect supply, thereby increasing the need to store water in containers – such as drums, tanks, and concrete jars – that serve as mosquito larval habitats. Can we show that ecological restoration of the watershed could do more than just insecticides or mosquito nets to support efforts to reduce malaria (and dengue) in cities?

In all of these cases, fi nding the best option requires knowing not just the relative contribution of diff erent interventions, but understanding their complementarity. In a world of limited resources, policymakers must prioritise their investments, including by diff erentiating the necessary from the desirable. To that end, fi nding ways to identify and maximise complementarity is vital.

Some 2.1bn people worldwide lack access to safe, readily available water at home, and more than twice as many – a whopping 4.5bn – lack safely managed sanitation, severely undermining health outcomes and fuelling river pollution. With a growing share of the world’s population – including many of the same people – feeling the eff ects of environmental degradation and climate change fi rsthand, fi nding solutions that simultaneously advance environmental protection, water provision, and health could not be more important. Global health and conservation professionals must co-operate more closely to fi nd those solutions – and convince policymakers to pursue them. – Project Syndicate

Giulio Boccaletti is Chief Strategy Offi cer and Global Managing Director for Water at The Nature Conservancy.

Live issues

By Asaf Bitton and Madeline PesecBoston

Two years after the death of her husband, Valeria, a 67-year-old grandmother in San José, Costa Rica, lives

alone. Last year, she was diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes, conditions that, while not immediately life threatening, require healthcare to manage. But, thanks to the quality of Costa Rica’s primary healthcare system, Valeria has been able to maintain her independence and her health, even in the absence of family.

Costa Rica, a middle-income country that is committed to universal healthcare for its people, produces better health outcomes, while spending less than most other countries in the world. In fact, Costa Rica has achieved the third-highest life expectancy in the Americas – behind only Canada and Bermuda, and well ahead of the United States. The secret of its success is revealed in our new report, “Building a Thriving Primary Health-Care System: The Story of Costa Rica.”

After her diabetes diagnosis, Valeria was automatically entered into the diabetes chronic-care programme at her assigned clinic, a 10-minute walk from her house. She visits with her primary-care team every three months to have her blood pressure checked, and to make sure her diabetes is under control. And, once a year, a community health worker visits

her home to ensure that it is safe, to administer vaccinations, and to share information about maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

As the global health community works to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 3 – which targets achievement of well-being for all by 2030 – Costa Rica off ers a model to consider emulating. Around the world, chronic diseases are increasing and populations are ageing, making universal access to aff ordable care a top priority. Unfortunately, many patients will suff er far worse health outcomes than Valeria, simply because they are unable to access quality primary healthcare services.

Well-organised primary health systems – which emphasise promotive, preventive, and chronic care, with general practitioners serving as the fi rst point of contact – increase quality and reduce service fragmentation. Studies show that areas with more primary-care physicians have lower mortality and better health outcomes than those with fewer primary-care physicians. Primary healthcare is also a key pathway to achieving universal health coverage, a stated goal of the international community.

Over the past 20 years, Costa Rica’s Department of Social Security has built a primary healthcare system that today reaches nearly every person in the country. Primary providers are the fi rst place Costa Ricans turn when they have a health problem, as practitioners off er acute, chronic, and

preventive services. A similar system has been used successfully in other countries, such as New Zealand, and allows patients and their families to build long-term relationships with providers.

Costa Rica’s approach began with reforms in the 1990s, when the country committed to a few simple changes designed to upgrade its healthcare services. Some of these could be emulated by countries today.

For starters, offi cials in San José merged multiple healthcare agencies into one, giving the new body authority over fi nancing decisions and service delivery – everything from vaccinations to complex surgeries. While a consolidated approach might not work for every country, many could benefi t from a more integrated bureaucratic approach.

Second, Costa Rica divided the country into 104 coverage areas, assigning every citizen a primary healthcare team. This helped providers track health trends more precisely, and allowed for proactive and cost-eff ective health management.

Third, the authorities created multidisciplinary primary healthcare teams capable of delivering preventive care services, such as vaccinations and education, in conjunction with acute and chronic medical support. This holistic approach draws on the combined expertise of physicians, nurses, community health workers, pharmacists, and data clerks.

Finally, the health department created a system to gauge statistically

the quality of the care it was delivering. The data are currently used for ongoing monitoring to improve health-care provision in real time.

These four enhancements have had a dramatic eff ect on the system. Access to primary health care has surged, from 25% of the population in the early 1990s to 93% in 2006. Today, more than 94% of the population is assigned to a specifi c primary healthcare team. Quality has also increased and, thanks to effi ciency gains, the costs are a fraction of what other countries pay.

As countries pursue universal health coverage, they will need proven ways to bring higher quality, more aff ordable care to the underserved. Costa Rica off ers one successful approach. By placing primary healthcare at the centre of the system, the country has improved coverage rates and outcomes, while delivering more personalised treatment.

For patients like Valeria, this has meant a system that is accessible, easy to use, and caring in an ongoing basis. Costa Rica’s reforms have greatly improved her quality of life, and no doubt there are many other patients just like her, in every corner of the world, who could benefi t from a similar approach. – Project Syndicate

Asaf Bitton is the director of primary healthcare at Ariadne Labs, a joint centre of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health. Madeline Pesec is a primary healthcare researcher at Ariadne Labs.

By Ronnie CohenReuters Health

Surfers and body-boarders were three times more likely to have potentially dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria

in their guts than non-surfers, new research from the UK shows.

The fi ndings highlight the omnipresence of superbugs and the peril they might pose even for healthy people participating in water sports, said lead author Anne Leonard, a research fellow at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter Medical School in Truro, England.

“When people think of superbugs and antibiotic resistant-bacteria, they think of the hospital,” she said in a Skype interview. “But there’s evidence

that new resistant genes could be evolving in the environment and getting into people.”

“Protecting our environment will have a multitude of benefi ts,” she said.

Drug-resistant infections could kill 10 million people every year starting in 2050, a previous study estimated.

Because surfers swallow more seawater than other swimmers, Leonard expected to fi nd more antibiotic-resistant bacteria in their guts. But, she said, the study found more than she expected.

Researchers analysed faecal samples collected in 2015 from 273 volunteers, including 143 who were frequent surfers or body-boarders in UK waters.

Surfers and body-boarders had triple the rate of E. coli resistant to the antibiotic cefotaxime in their faecal samples. Thirteen surfers, compared to four non-surfers, carried bacteria

that would continue to grow even if treated with cefotaxime, one of the few antibiotics used to treat serious infections.

Surfers and body-boarders also were four times more likely than non-surfers to have in their bellies E. coli containing a mobile gene that makes bacteria resistant to antibiotics. The gene can pass between bacteria and spread the ability to resist antibiotic treatment.

People likely to have been exposed to antibiotic-resistant bacteria in other environments were excluded from the current study. But because participants were not screened for the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria before surfi ng, researchers cannot positively attribute the presence of bacteria to the coastal waters.

Antibiotic-resistant E. coli can

be harmless, and it is possible that the bacteria might be gone from the surfers’ guts in a matter of months, Leonard said. But antibiotic-resistant bacteria can lead to gastrointestinal symptoms, urinary-tract infections and meningitis.

The United Nations Environment Assembly recently recognised the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment as one of the world’s greatest emerging environmental concerns.

Nevertheless, the study’s fi ndings need not prompt surfers to quit, Leonard said. Surfers concerned about their exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the ocean can try to check the water quality before swimming and may want to avoid surfi ng after heavy rain, when sewage and manure fertiliser is more likely to wash into the sea, she said.

WARNINGInshore : NilOffshore : Expected strong wind

and high sea till midday.WEATHERInshore : Hazy at places at first

becomes mild daytime with slight dust at times, cold by night.

WINDInshore : Northwesterly 05-15/18

KT at places becomes variable less than 05 KT by night.

Offshrore : Northwesterly at 15-25 KT decreases from 8-18 KT by after noon

VISIBILITY : 4-8 KM

SEA STATEOffshore : 5-9 FT, Falls from 3-5 FT

by afternoon.

TODAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

Maximum Temperature : 220c

Minimum Temperature : 140c





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20 Gulf TimesMonday, January 22, 2018

QATAR

Shop Qatar celebrates international fashionAfter a captivating fashion

show led by renowned Bollywood actress Karee-

na Kapoor, Shop Qatar’s Bol-lywood Week wowed the audi-ence once again with a musical concert over the weekend. Music fans were treated to a four-hour performance at the Doha Exhibi-tion and Convention Centre.

Participating malls also hosted a variety of Bollywood-themed pop-up shops inviting mall-goers to create and personalise their own embroidered khussa slippers, bangles and much more.

According to Qatar Tourism Authority, the Bollywood Fash-ion Show at the Mondrian Doha was a dazzling showcase of over 100 saree- and lehenga-inspired dresses by six celebrity design-ers, including Archana Kochhar and Vikram Phadnis. The show was crowned with a guest ap-pearance by Kareena Kapoor in

a bridal gown. The Bollywood Week (January 14-21) was a cel-ebration of the subcontinent’s vibrant culture and arts as part of Shop Qatar.

Shop Qatar also saw the sec-ond of the four weekly raffl e draws at Hyatt Plaza, with 15 winners walking away with two BMW cars and QR500,000 in cash prizes. More than 78,000 vouchers were entered into the draw, representing more than QR15mn of spending throughout the second week of Shop Qatar.

The winners of the QR10,000 cash prizes in the second week’s raffle draw are: Abdul Saleem, Noura Alawi al-Yafi, Mahdi Ali Yousif and Carea Baig while winners in the QR20,000 and QR30,000 prize category are: Rakesh Aitavar and Christo-pher Bag Ao. Mary Anne Ad-ams, Gary Bond, AbdelMoniem Idris Manaa Mojawer and Ezzar

Sofiane each won QR40,000. The QR50,000 cash prize went

to Gireesh Kamal, and both As-maa El Shafey and Mohamed Fakhro won the QR100,000 cash

prize. The BMW 520i prize went to John Calberon while the win-ner of the grand prize, a BMW 730 Li, was Hessa al-Muhannadi. Visitors and residents still have

a chance to win by shopping or dining at any of the festival’s 13 mall partners.

The upcoming draws will be held at 8:30pm on January 25 at

Tawar Mall. The fi nal draw will take place at the closing ceremo-ny at Doha Festival City on Feb-ruary 8 and will feature a special performance by Lebanese singer, Ramy Ayach.

International Week Shop Qatar’s International

Week, which started yesterday and will run until January 27, is set to bring a special line-up of entertainment and activities that celebrate the arts and cultures from all over the world.

A display of the latest trends for 2018 is expected at the Inter-national Fashion Show today at the Mondrian Hotel. More than 100 diff erent looks will be on show. On January 25, the award-winning American duo, the Chainsmokers will be taking to

the stage of the DECC to mark the fi rst concert of their 2018 tour.

Meanwhile, fashion afi ciona-dos wanting to have their hand at design are invited to the three-day certifi ed course with Spanish celebrity designer, Alejandro Re-sta, running from January 21 to 23 at the Ritz-Carlton Doha.

For a traditional shopping ex-perience, festival partner Em-brace Doha is leading shopping tours through Souq Waqif, stop-ping along the way to sample and learn about spices, incense, tra-ditional food, art and clothes.

The week’s upcoming tours include a women’s tour on Janu-ary 25; a men’s tour on Janu-ary 26 and a family tour (free for children under 14) on January 27. Tours run from 5pm to 6.30pm and cost QR150 per person.

The raff le draw saw 15 winners walking away with two BMW cars and QR500,000 in cash prizes.

Bollywood-themed pop-up shops at participating malls.

Shop Qatar features acrobats and other entertainment shows. Unique collections showcased at the Bollywood Fashion Show.

Katara Hospitality honours long-serving employees

Katara Hospitality honoured 42 employees who have served the company for five to 25 years at a special awards ceremony held recently at its headquarters in Lusail Marina District. Katara Hospitality CEO Hamad Abdulla al-Mulla congratulated and thanked the awardees for their loyalty, achievements and dedication throughout their tenure with the company. “Katara Hospitality has witnessed significant expansion and has earned global recognition as a leading hotel

owner, developer and operator,” al-Mulla said. “The achievements that Katara Hospitality earned have all been due to the hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence of our employees,” he noted. “These awards serve as a reward for loyalty, the key to success of any organisation.”“The long years put in by these employees reflect the conducive working environment provided by Katara Hospitality,” the CEO added. Katara Hospitality’s human resources corporate

director Ahmed al-Boainin said the aim of organising the ceremony is to further reinforce the significant role staff members play in the overall success of the company. “This ceremony is evidence of Katara Hospitality’s efforts to ensure our employees are recognised and appreciated for their efforts and puts emphasis on creating a culture where every team member feels connected to the organisation and has a stake in its success,” he added.

Some of the long-serving Katara Hospitality employees who received their awards recently.

A young zebra, which was born recently at the mini-zoo of Al Khor Family Park, is seen with its mother.

Zebra gives birth at Al Khor Park

Katara Winter Festival concludesA large number of Qatar

residents and visitors were treated to a diverse

range of entertainment and business off erings at the 5th Ka-tara Winter Festival, which con-cluded yesterday.

Folk shows, as well as other performances such as the Snow White theoretical play and com-petitions displayed by ‘Anasa W Wanasa’ troupe, enthralled many families and children dur-ing the fi ve-day event.

Festival-goers also had the opportunity to buy traditional artistic pieces while others en-joyed the well-set cafes at Ka-tara’s Traditional Souq, which sell various products such as textiles, perfumes and a unique art collection.

The Bedaya Centre featured business startups aimed at edu-cating the public on the various services each project off ers, and to encourage young adults to ac-tively engage in its business mar-ket. Meanwhile, the Al Gannas Association organised an exhibi-tion and educational workshops for young falconers in their tent at the Katara esplanade.

Organisers of the Al Galayel Championship hosted an exhibi-tion, which showcases collecta-

bles and equipment from all pre-vious championships.

Both Al Galayel and Al Gan-nas pavilions attracted a large number of visitors as the pub-lic rushed to capture pictures with the falcons. Stalls also of-fered traditional food and pastry, among other dishes and sweets.

Some children’s activities

such as drawing, painting and handicraft activities were also held from 4pm to 9pm, in ad-dition to the traditional handi-crafts market.

For the fi fth consecutive year, the festival attracted a large number of visitors from diff erent age groups and nationalities.

Visitors like Abdul Aziz lauded

the festival for coming up with an array of entertainment shows and informative workshops while others were impressed with the children’s activities, games, food, and cultural shows. Participating medical centres also provided various free medi-cal tests at Katara, aimed at rais-ing health awareness.

Children engaged in drawing, painting and handicraft activities at the Katara’s Winter Festival 2018.

Festival-goers get free medical tests.

Emir ratifies decision on setting up labour panels - Gulf Times

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