THURSDAY Vol. XXXVII No. 10156

July 21, 2016Shawwal 16, 1437 AH www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals GULF TIMES

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SPORT | Page 12BUSINESS | Page 1

Doha Bank posts half yearly net profi t of QR708mn

Froome tightens grip on title

In brief

REGION | Blaze

Fire breaks out inDubai skyscraper Fire broke out at a 75-storey residential tower in Dubai yesterday, the fifth blaze in a skyscraper in the United Arab Emirates in recent years. Flames leapt out of windows toward the top of the Sulafa tower in the upscale Marina district, and 10 to 15 storeys appeared to have been charred. Burning debris floated toward the ground and firefighters approached the site with sirens blaring. In March, a fire broke out at a residential tower in the nearby Emirate of Ajman. On New Year’s Eve, a blaze hit a landmark downtown hotel in Dubai; in February last year, fire broke out at a 79-storey residential tower in Dubai, and in November 2012, a 34-storey Dubai residential building was partially gutted. Page 4

EUROPE | Brexit

Merkel accepts Britain’s decision Germany and Britain yesterday agreed that Prime Minister Theresa May needed time to prepare for talks to leave the EU, after London took the first step towards Brexit by giving up its presidency of the European Union. On her first foreign trip since taking off ice in the wake of Britain’s seismic referendum, May told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that her government would not ask to leave the European Union before the end of 2016 in order to plan a “sensible and orderly departure”. “We will not invoke Article 50 until our objectives are clear, which is why I’ve said already this will not happen before the end of this year,” May said in Berlin, referring to the formal EU mechanism to leave the bloc. Page 13

WORLD | Internet

Facebook Messenger tops a billion usersFacebook said yesterday the number of users of its Messenger application had topped 1bn, a key milestone as it seeks to expand the platform to new services. The growth in Messenger gives greater reach to Facebook, which is moving to create a “family” of applications beyond the social network. “As part of this journey to 1bn, we focused on creating the best possible experiences in modern day communications,” said Facebook vice president David Marcus in a statement. Facebook itself has more than 1.6bn users, and WhatsApp, another messaging application acquired by Facebook for some $20bn in 2014, also counts more than a billion users.

Phase-out of incandescent light bulbs continues

The import and sale of 40-60 watts incandescent tungsten bulbs will be banned in Qatar

from November this year.Qatar General Organisation for

Standards and Metrology at the Min-istry of Municipality and Environment (MME) said yesterday that the initiative was part of implementing its 2010-2020 strategy, which includes its vision to have only high-quality products in the country whether locally manufactured or imported, and help consumers opt for the best products of high standards.

Besides, it is part of the organisa-tion’s scheme to conserve energy and maintain a clean and healthy environ-ment. In this regard, the organisation has launched a publicity campaign to create awareness about the purpose of the ban and the date when it will take eff ect. The authorities will conduct searches in co-operation with the enti-ties concerned in the country to ensure that the targeted bulbs are not circu-lating in the local market, a statement

issued by the organisation said.A ban on the import and sale of tung-

sten 75 and 100 watt light bulbs has come into eff ect in Qatar on May 1.

Tungsten (incandescent) bulbs use much more power than energy-saving LED ones as well as give off more heat.

Meanwhile, Dr Mohamed bin Saif al-Kuwari, MME assistant undersecretary for standardisation and metrology af-fairs, has said the companies importing the new energy-saving air condition-ers would be responsible for providing maintenance for such appliances.

He told local Arabic daily Arrayah that the companies importing and dis-tributing the new energy-saving air conditioners would also be responsible for providing suitable spare parts for all their products. In addition, the dealers are expected to provide consumers with adequate warranty that could range from fi ve to seven years.

Dr al-Kuwari said that currently there might be no private workshops other than the dealers that could repair the new types of ACs. “However, after the passage of one year and the wide-spread use of these energy saving ACs, new workshops and centres capable of maintaining them would normally emerge. During the fi rst year every-body knows that these products will be maintained by the distributors under the terms of the warranty.”

Dr al-Kuwari pointed out that a meeting was held in January with the importers of the new ACs where special stress was made on the issue of mainte-nance and spare parts.

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, held a meeting at Al Bahr Palace yesterday. Talks during the meeting dealt with relations between Qatar and the UAE and ways to advance them in various fields, particularly with regard to strengthening co-operation within the framework of the GCC in order to ensure further progress, security and stability for the people of the GCC states. The two sides also reviewed the latest regional and international developments and exchanged views on a number of issues of common concern. The meeting was attended by a several ministers, UAE’s National Security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Aff airs Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The Abu Dhabi crown prince was on a one-day visit to Qatar. Page 2

Doha meeting

To save consumers from charges like trespass and encroachment, the CRA has cautioned them to be aware of privacy issues

Qatar’s Communications Regu-latory Authority (CRA) has alerted consumers to exercise

caution while using apps like Poke-mon Go that use location services and personal data.

The warning comes in the backdrop of players venturing into dangerous and prohibited places in their quest of capturing the virtual creatures in the wildly popular Pokemon Go, a free-to-play location-based augmented reality mobile game.

In a statement, the CRA said it has observed media reports, social media comments and stray incidents where safety and privacy of individuals and businesses may have been compro-mised while using augmented reality apps that use geolocation services.

“In this regard, CRA would like to alert all citizens and residents in Qatar to exercise caution while using apps like Pokemon Go, Geocaching, Waze, etc. Pokemon GO app, although not available offi cially in Qatar, uses mapping soft-ware to create a virtual reality game, and allows users to ‘catch’ the game charac-ters on smart phone screens at various

physical locations,” the statement said.Advising consumers to keep safety

fi rst and foremost on their mind while using apps like Pokemon Go, the CRA has provided the following advice: “The safety of the users, especially children, is of utmost importance and it must be ensured that virtual reality combined with outdoor locations entails exercis-ing same precautions as you would in any other outdoor setting.

“The app urges users to be aware of their surroundings while walking around in public. And, if you use the app while driving, you are putting your and others’ lives in danger. So ensure that you don’t play while driv-ing and obey all traffi c laws.”

To save consumers from charges like trespass and encroachment, the CRA has cautioned them to be aware of privacy issues. “The app access-es other applications in your smart phone – location services, camera, etc. Be careful when sharing your lo-

cation details with strangers through the app. Besides, be aware that al-though the app features ‘PokeStops’ on public or private properties, you should be respectful of others’ privacy as unauthorised entry to private prop-erty or offi cial buildings/areas may be considered trespassing. It is safer if you don’t go to unknown areas.”

Consumers have also been advised to have a good understanding of their data plan and monitor their usage.

“The app works with GPS, which means it may use a lot of data. Be aware of your data plan, and if unsure, check with your service provider to avoid bill shocks.”

The CRA noted that it took its con-sumer protection mandate “very seri-ously”.

“We will continue to engage with relevant external authorities and service providers to increase custom-er benefi ts while safeguarding their rights,” the statement added. Page 10

Caution on use of apps like Pokemon Go

Saudi council revives decree

Saudi Arabia’s top clerical body has

renewed a 15-year-old edict that the Poke-

mon game franchise is un-Islamic, Saudi

media said yesterday, although the fatwa

made no mention of the successful new

Pokemon Go mobile game. The General

Secretariat of the Council of Senior Reli-

gious Scholars said it had revived a 2001

decree against a Pokemon card game in

response to queries from believers. Page 4

New map lays out brain’s cerebral cortexReutersWashington

Neuroscientists acting as car-tographers of the human mind have devised the most compre-

hensive map ever made of the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for higher cognitive functions such as abstract thought, language and mem-ory.

Using MRI images from the brains of 210 people, the researchers said yes-terday they were able to pinpoint 180 distinct areas in the cerebral cortex, the

brain’s thin, wrinkly outermost layer made of so-called gray matter.

These areas were present in both the left and right hemispheres of the cer-ebral cortex.

More than half, 97 of them, were pre-viously unknown.

The researchers nailed down the specifi c function of some of the areas, but said they were only scratching the surface on understanding what all of the areas did.

The map could assist in the study of brain maladies such as autism, schizo-phrenia, dementia and epilepsy, and shed light on the diff erences between

the brains of people with such condi-tions and healthy people, the research-ers said.

Neuroscientist Matthew Glasser of Washington University in St Louis, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature, said the map also may be useful in neurosurgery, helping sur-geons avoid damaging important brain areas involved in speech or movement.

“The cerebral cortex underlies most of human cognition, providing such functions as speech production and understanding, ability to use tools, ability to make decisions, et cetera,” Glasser said.

“Indeed, it is responsible for the stuff that makes us human, and the cortex has expanded dramatically in humans relative to our closest living relatives, the apes.”

The regions were mapped based on features such as cortical thickness and the amount of insulation, called myelin, around nerve-cell connec-tions.

The researchers also used MRI data on cortical activity when people carry out tasks such as listening to stories, computing math problems and looking at other people making various facial expressions.

“We consider this to be the most ac-curate and detailed map of human cer-ebral cortex published to date,” Wash-ington University neuroscientist David Van Essen said.

German neurologist Korbinian Brod-mann published a landmark fi rst map of the cerebral cortex in 1909.

Glasser said the new one also will not be the last word on the subject.

“Think of this as version 1.0 of the brain map.

It is very likely that better data or more eyes on the problem will identify improvements, perhaps for a version 2.0 in the future,” Glasser said.

Neuroscientists have devised the most comprehensive map ever made of the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for higher cognitive functions like abstract thought, language and memory.

Erdogan declares state of emergencyDPAAnkara

Turkey yesterday declared a state of emergency across the country for three months in the wake of last

week’s failed coup attempt.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an-

nounced the state of emergency in a live television broadcast, saying it is not against democracy, rule of law or freedoms, but rather is aimed at protect-ing these values and strengthening them.

These are “necessary precautions vis a vis the threat of terror, democracy, rule of law. The measure is to protect basic rights and freedoms,” he said following National Security Council and cabinet meetings in Ankara.

Erdogan also tried to assure markets and investors, saying economic reforms would continue.“There will be no liquid-ity problem,” he said.

The last state of emergency in Turkey was lifted in 2002 in two provinces where it remained in force after having been in

place in various areas of the south-east for 15 years.

Meanwhile, President Erdogan has said he believes foreign countries may have been involved in the failed coup at-tempt, though he declined to name any.

Speaking through an interpreter in an interview with broadcaster Al Jazeera, Erdogan also dismissed suggestions that he was becoming authoritarian and that Turkish democracy was under any threat.

“We will remain within a democratic parliamentary system, we will never step away from it,” he said. Page 15

President Erdogan speaking during a news conference in Ankara yesterday.

QATAR

Gulf Times Thursday, July 21, 20162

Emir holds talks with Abu Dhabi crown prince

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and the Crown

Prince of Abu Dhabi and Dep-uty Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates, (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, held a meeting at Al Bahr Palace yesterday.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan conveyed the greet-ings of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan to the Emir and his wishes of fur-ther progress and prosperity to the Qatari people.

HH the Emir reciprocated the UAE president’s greetings and wishes.

Talks during the meeting dealt with relations between Qatar and the UAE and ways to advance them in various fi elds, particu-larly with regard to strength-ening co-operation within the framework of the GCC in order to ensure further progress, secu-rity and stability for the people of the GCC states.

The two sides also reviewed

QNADoha

Ambassador hailsQatar-UAE ties

The UAE ambassador to

Qatar Saleh in Mohamed al-

Amri said that the visit of the

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

and Deputy Supreme Com-

mander of the UAE Armed

Forces, Sheikh Mohamed bin

Zayed al-Nahyan to Qatar and

his meeting with HH the Emir

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad

al-Thani, reflect the depth of

the relations that bind the

two countries, and will have

a positive impact on bilateral

ties as well as inter-Gulf rela-

tions.

Ambassador al-Amri said that

the historic Qatar-UAE ties are

getting deeper and stronger

day by day. The relations

have the advantage of direct

communication between the

two leaderships and officials,

he said.

the latest regional and inter-national developments and ex-changed views on a number of issues of common concern.

The meeting was attended by

several ministers, UAE’s National Security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Aff airs Sheikh Man-

sour bin Zayed al-Nahyan and members of the accompanying delegation.

Following the talks, the Emir hosted a luncheon banquet at Al

Bahr Palace in honour of the ABu Dhabi crown prince.

Earlier, the Emir led well-wishers to welcome the Abu Dhabi crown prince and the ac-

companying delegation at Doha International Airport.

The crown prince was also wel-comed by several ministers, sen-ior offi cials and UAE ambassador

to Qatar Saleh bin Mohamed al-Ameri. Later in the evening, the Emir led well-wishers to see off the crown prince and the ac-companying delegation.

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani receiving the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Doha yesterday.

Qatar opens new embassy HQ in Brussels

The new headquarters of Qatar’s embassy in Brus-sels was inaugurated yes-

terday.The inauguration ceremony

was attended by Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Aff airs Didier Reynders, HE the Minister of State for For-eign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Mureikhi along with a number of Belgian offi cials and high-level

representatives of European in-stitutions as well as Arab and foreign ambassadors accredited to Belgium and representatives of the North Atlantic Treaty Or-ganisation (Nato).

In a speech on the occasion, Reynders commended the depth of relations between his country and the State of Qatar and expressed his delight at the progress attained at the level of partnership.

While lauding the visit of Belgian economic delegation headed by Princess Astrid to the State of Qatar in March 2015 and

the magnitude of the business delegation that visited Qatar, he said that the mission contrib-uted to strengthening the exist-ing partnership between the two countries and opening prospects for other new partnerships.

The deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Belgium attributed the steady growth in bilateral relations to the impor-tance attached by the two sides to these relationships, adding that the inauguration of this building refl ects the progress of these relations.

He pointed out that the new headquarters of the embassy of Qa-tar reaffi rms Qatar’s commitment to a more eff ective and construc-tive cooperation with the Brussels-based international institutions as well as with all other actors operat-ing in the capital of Europe.

HE the Minister of State for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Mureikhi said that the value of this building is not only in its architecture but also in the con-solidation of the concepts of de-velopment of relations between Belgium and Qatar.

QNABrussels

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Aff airs Didier Reynders and HE the Minister of State for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Mureikhi inaugurating the new embassy headquarters in Brussels.

QATAR3Gulf Times

Thursday, April 21, 2016

HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Aff airs Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaidal-Mahmoud holding talks with the ambassador of the United Kingdom to Qatar Ajay Sharma in Doha yesterday. They discussed bilateral relations and ways of enhancing them in various fields, as well as issues of common concern.

Deputy PM meets UK envoy

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HH the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani and HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani sent cables of congratulations to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on his country’s Independence Day.

HE the Chief of Staff of the Qatari Armed Forces Major General Ghanem bin Shaheen al-Ghanem held separate meetings with the ambassadors of Bangladesh and South Korea to Qatar, Achod Ahmed and Park Heung-Kyeong.

Emir sendsIndependenceDay greetings

Chief of Staff meets envoys

In brief

Woman to be jailed, deported for forgery

Expatriate gets 3-month jail term for DUI

The Court of Appeal has upheld a rul-ing of the Court of

First Instance against an Asian expatriate accused of counterfeiting an offi-cial stamp on her marriage certificate.

The Court of First In-stance had sentenced the

woman to one year in jail and ordered her deporta-tion. However, an upper court later overturned the ruling and suspended the sentence and deportation order, local Arabic daily Al Sharq reported.

The woman had submit-ted her marriage certifi cate to

the department concerned in Qatar for attestation. Howev-er, the employee in charge re-alised that the stamp attrib-uted to the Qatari embassy in her home country had been counterfeited, according to the daily.

The woman was arrested and further scrutiny of the

document confi rmed the forgery.

In court, the woman denied any wrongdoing and said she had paid a man (the equiva-lent of) QR600 in her home country to get her marriage certifi cate attested because she wanted to use it to get a visit visa for her family members.

A Doha Criminal Court has sentenced an In-dian expatriate to

three months in jail for driv-ing in an intoxicated state.

The court also fi ned the man QR10,000 and ordered

the suspension of his driv-ing licence for a month be-cause he jumped a red light, local Arabic daily Arrayah reported.

According to the details of the case, the man was driv-

ing recklessly on D-Ring Road under the infl uence of alcohol and nearly caused an accident.

A police offi cer saw the man and stopped him and the traffi c police also ar-

rived at the spot. The man was eventually arrested and a blood test proved that he had consumed alcohol.

Accordingly, the court found the man guilty and convicted him.

Ministry recallsMaserati models

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC), in collaboration with Alfardan

Sports Motors, has announced the recall of Maserati Quattroporte and Ghibli models of 2014-2016 to replace the screws of the rear toe-in adjustment rods.

Alfardan Sports Motors is the dealer of Maserati vehicles in Qatar.

The recall campaign comes within the framework of the ministry’s ongoing eff orts to protect consumers and ensure that car dealers follow up on ve-hicle defects and repairs.

The MEC has said it will co-ordinate with the dealer to fol-low up on maintenance and repair works and communicate with customers to ensure that the necessary repairs are carried out.

The ministry has urged all consumers to report violations to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud De-partment through the call cen-tre (16001), e-mail (info@mec.gov.qa), Twitter (@MEC_Qatar), Instagram (MEC_Qatar) and the MEC mobile app for Android and iOS (MEC_Qatar).

South Indian fi lm opens to sell-out shows in Qatar

A fi lm featuring a su-perstar from India is giving cinema opera-

tors in Qatar a lot to cheer about even before its re-lease.

Going by initial reports, Rajinikanth-starrer Kabali - which releases in Qatar and other GCC countries today - is witnessing a huge demand and seats are fi lling up fast.

More than 20 shows of the Tamil-language gang-ster-drama movie have been sold out for the opening day at a couple of cinemas - City Center Doha and Asian Town, it is learnt.

While details from other halls are awaited, sources said the fi lm is expected to do really well as Rajinikanth has a huge and dedicated fan following.

The craze surrounding

Kabali comes at a time when many multiplexes in Qatar are reportedly witnessing poor footfall, particularly on weekdays. The situation has worsened in the summer, say sources.

Kabali, though, can pro-vide some relief to the cin-ema operators by giving a big boost to revenues, they point out.

The local response to Kab-ali has been “unprecedented”, according to an offi cial of Qa-tar Bahrain Cinema Company (QBCC), which manages halls at City Center Doha, Asian Town and some other malls in the country.

Together, these two cinemas will have more than 20 daily screenings of the fi lm on Day 1.

At Asian Town, a popular destination among expatri-ate workers on the outskirts of the Industrial Area, near-ly all shows at the four halls have been sold out for today and the demand is also high

for tomorrow. Even shows scheduled for 3.30am on Friday were almost sold out.

As each hall can accom-modate around 500 people at Asian Town, thousands are expected to watch the movie there today alone.

“It is after a considerable period that we are seeing such a response to a fi lm in Qatar,” said the QBCC offi -cial, who also reported that the fi lm was witnessing an equally good response at the company’s three halls in Al Khor Mall.

At City Center Doha, where the fi lm will have nine screenings on the opening day (including the 1am show on Friday), thousands more are expected to catch their favourite star in action this weekend.

Speaking to Gulf Times, Qatar Cinema and Film Dis-tribution Company general manager A Najdi, too, said the advance bookings have been

impressive for screenings at The Mall and Landmark. The Mall, in particular, has re-portedly seen heavy bookings for the fi rst two days.

The fi lm has generated much interest in India and also garnered international atten-tion, with reports saying that businesses in some southern Indian cities have given their employees the day off tomor-row (when the fi lm releases in India) so that they can attend screenings of the fi lm. The companies apparently an-ticipated that many employees would be reporting sick in or-der to see the fi lm.

Posts on social media showed that Doha-based fans of the superstar were also eagerly waiting for the fi lm’s release and many planned to watch the open-ing show of Day 1. One of them is an Indian chartered accountant, who will be watching the fi lm at Novo Cinemas. Page 17

By Ramesh MathewStaff Reporter

Fire breaks out in under-construction mall

A fi re broke out at the un-der-construction Tawar Mall near Dahl Al Hamam

Park in the Duhail area of Doha, yesterday morning.

Emergency responders were rushed to the spot and the Min-istry of Interior tweeted a little after 11am that Civil Defence personnel had contained the fi re and there were no casualties.

The exact cause of the blaze and extent of damage were, however, yet to be ascertained.

Some sources told Gulf Times that yesterday’s blaze at Tawar Mall was put out “in less than two hours”.

This comes some three-and-a-half months after a fi re broke out

in a section of the upcoming Mall of Qatar near Rayyan Sports Club.

Tawar Mall, which is expected to open by the last quarter of this year, will have more than 312 shops and restaurants, including 59 new concepts and fl agship stores, as well as a 12-screen cinema.

Other attractions include wide corridors with natural light, a panoramic restaurant, an external music water fountain, an internal fountain, a boutique hotel with 122 rooms and a souq.

Promoters of the mall had earlier stressed that Tawar Mall would showcase a number of features and facilities support-ing local traditions and customs.

Black smoke emanating from the upcoming Tawar Mall yesterday.

Lawyers meet murder convicts

The defence team for the three Indian expatriates convicted in the murder

of an elderly Qatari woman is ex-pected to fi le an appeal by July 27.

This was revealed after a four-member team yesterday met two of the three convicts at the Cen-tral Prison.

The team included Doha-based legal activist Nizar Ko-cheri and S Suresh Kumar, a lawyer from Nagercoil in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu who arrived in Doha af-ter being deputed by the South Asian Fishermen Fraternity.

Gulf Times reported yester-

day that a Doha appeals court had upheld the death sentence awarded to two of the three ac-cused by a trial court for the murder. The third defendant was given a life sentence.

The woman was murdered at her home towards the end of 2012 and the capital punishment was awarded on December 31, 2014. The Court of Appeals up-held the death sentence on May 30 this year.

Yesterday, accompanied by a staff member from the Indian embassy, Kocheri and Kumar held deliberations with Alagappa Subramaniam and Chinnadurai Perumal, who were awarded the death sentence. The lawyers met them separately and heard their version of the case.

They, however, could not meet Sivakumar Arasan, the third convict who was given a life term, as he was apparently taken out for a health check-up.

Speaking to Gulf Times after the meeting, Kochery and Ku-mar said they would move their appeal in the highest court by July 27. The local legal system mandates that an appeal in a case should be fi led within two months of a judgment. “We went through the court papers and are exploring all possibilities,” said Kochery.

Kumar said he would press upon the Indian federal and Tamil Nadu governments to bear the fi nancial expenses in the case. The lawyer is expected to return to India early today.

By Ramesh MathewStaff Reporter

QC launches school project in Gaza

Qatar Charity (QC) has started implementing the Kamal Al O’hood

(Fulfi lling Pledges) School project in the Gaza Strip.

Under this initiative, the school is to be established - to-wards the east of Jabalia Camp in the northern area - and equipped.

Around 600 male and female students from the northern area are expected to benefi t from the project, which is being imple-mented at a cost of QR2.2mn. It is fi nanced by philanthropists from Qatar and executed by QC in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Educa-tion.

Dr Ziad Thabit, undersecre-

tary in the Ministry of Educa-tion and Higher Education in the Gaza Strip, thanked the govern-ment and people of Qatar and commended QC’s eff orts in the service of the Palestinian peo-ple in general and the education sector in particular.

The education sector suff ers from a shortage of schools and teachers. Around 200 schools are needed for the sector’s re-quirements to be met, QC has said in a statement.

On behalf of the ministry, Thabit expressed happiness at the implementation of the project. “I hope support for this vital sector continues because of the great impact it has on im-proving the quality of education

in Gaza,” he said. Mohamed Abu Halloub, QC’s

offi ce director in the Gaza Strip, said: “This project aims to pro-vide primary education to stu-dents living on the eastern side of Jabalia, mainly the Ezbit Abd Rabu territory, which is con-sidered relatively remote due to the multiple Israeli assaults that have hit the area during the past three wars on the Gaza Strip.”

QC had earlier implemented a project to supply public schools with science laboratories. It had also carried out a project through which it provided 60 schools with alternative energy to over-come the problem of powercuts in the Gaza Strip.

Further, QC is implement-

ing the Ibhath project that is fi nanced by the GCC through Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah. The funds off ered for the project, which aims to en-courage scientifi c research in the Gaza Strip, amount to over QR7,000,000.

In May, QC also announced the initiation of the second stage of the “Cycling for Education” initiative, which was launched last year in co-operation with Qatar Cyclists. The initiative aims to collect QR5,000,000 to rebuild a girls’ school in Gaza with a capacity of 1,000 stu-dents.

The initiative’s fi rst stage re-sulted in the collection of more than QR2,000,000.

QATAR/REGION

Gulf Times Thursday, July 21, 20164

Saudi renewsfatwa againstPokemonReuters/AFPDubai/Riyadh

Saudi Arabia’s top cleri-cal body has renewed a 15-year-old edict that the

Pokemon game franchise is un-Islamic, Saudi media said yes-terday, although the fatwa made no mention of the successful new Pokemon GO mobile game.

Nintendo’s augmented real-ity app, in which players walk around real-life neighbourhoods to hunt and catch virtual cartoon characters on their smartphone screens, has become an instant hit around the world.

The General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Religious

Scholars said it had revived a 2001 decree against a Pokemon card game in response to queries from believers.

The council argued that the mutations of the creatures in the game, who are given specifi c powers, amounted to blasphemy by promoting the theory of nat-ural evolution.

“It is shocking that the word ‘evolution’ has been much on the tongues of children,” the fatwa read.

It also said the game contained other elements prohibited by Is-lamic law, including “polythe-ism against God by multiplying the number of deities, and gam-bling, which God has forbidden in the Qur’an and likened to wine

and idols”. The fatwa added that symbols used in the game pro-moted Japan’s Shinto religion, Christianity, Freemasonry and “global Zionism”.

In Saudi Arabia, home to Is-lam’s two holiest sites, cinemas are banned and women’s sports are discouraged as promoting sin.

The pre-Islamic era is dis-missed as the age of ignorance and its relics are deemed un-godly, and some clerics even see patriotism as tantamount to idolatry.

Users of the game walk around their real-life neighbourhoods in search of scores of “pocket monsters”, which emerge super-imposed on the phone screen via the camera.

Middle Eastern states are of-ten wary of social media use by their growing youth popula-tions, and authorities in Kuwait and Egypt have already warned that players might be tempted to point their smartphones at re-stricted locations such as royal palaces, mosques, oil facilities or military bases.

Pokemon Go uses smartphone satellite location, graphics and camera capabilities to overlay cartoon monsters on real-world settings, challenging players to capture and train the creatures for battles.

It has already been blamed for a wave of crimes, traffi c viola-tions and complaints in cities around the globe.

The BMW M4 GTS and M2 Coupe.

New BMW M models wow Qatar

Blaze rips through Dubai skyscraper

Alfardan Automobiles has welcomed the BMW M4 GTS and BMW M2 mod-

els to Qatar this month.“Bringing motor racing genes

wrapped in an exciting de-sign and coupled with unlim-ited everyday usability, these exceptional M models off er a combination that has defi ned the character of the M automo-biles from the start and mus-tering a large following of loyal M fans globally,” the company said in a press statement yes-terday.

The BMW M4 GTS is a spe-cial edition car limited to 700 units to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the BMW M3.

The new model combines powerful, motor sport-inspired looks with high-performance technology to further enhance the capabilities and appeal of the BMW M4.

The limited-edition model

comes with a six-cylinder in-line turbo engine with innova-tive water injection technology to give the 3.0-litre unit a sub-stantial power boost.

The water injection system raises the engine’s output sig-nifi cantly – to 368kW/500hp – and increases torque to 600Nm (442lb-ft), giving it the ability to accelerate from a standstill to 100km/h (62mph) in a mere 3.8 seconds and hits a limited top speed of 305km/h (189.5mph). The standard-fi tted seven-speed M Double Clutch Trans-mission (M DCT) selects the optimum ratio for every driving situation with no interruption in the fl ow of power as it makes its way to the rear wheels.

The driver can also select gears manually using either shift paddles on the steering wheel or the selector lever.

The Drivelogic shift pro-grammes and Launch Control

have been re-tuned to the en-gine’s increased output.

The weight-minimised, ex-clusive M light-alloy wheels in star-spoke 666 M Styling are forged and polished, and come in Acid Orange.

Joining the limited-edition M4 GTS is the model that made its Middle East debut at the Qa-tar Motor Show – the BMW M2 Coupé. It comes as a successor to the BMW 1 Series M Coupé and continues the tradition of the compact high-performance BMW sports cars that started over 40 years ago with the BMW 2002 turbo.

With the M2 Coupé’s pow-erful six-cylinder in-line engine, with automatic or manual gearbox, producing 272kW/370hp and 465Nm, rear-wheel-drive agility, light-weight aluminium M Sport suspension and extrovert styl-ing, it has all the ingredients to

deliver sheer driving pleasure.With the lightweight alu-

minium front and rear axles from the BMW M3/M4 models, forged 19-in aluminium wheels with mixed-size tyres, M Ser-votronic steering with two settings and suitably eff ective M compound brakes, the new BMW M2 Coupé has raised the bar once again in the compact high-performance sports car segment when it comes to driv-ing dynamics.

The electronically control-led Active M Diff erential, which optimises traction and direc-tional stability, also plays a sig-nifi cant role here.

Even greater driving pleas-ure is on the cards when the Dynamic Stability Control sys-tem’s M Dynamic Mode (MDM) is activated.

MDM allows wheel slip and therefore moderate, controlled drifts on the track.

DPA/AFPDubai

Fire ripped through a 75-storey, 285-m-high residential tower in Dubai yesterday, forcing police to

evacuate the area in the latest of a series of skyscraper blazes in the Gulf state.

Firemen managed to extinguish the fi re after evacuating the building lo-cated in Dubai Marina with no injuries or deaths reported, the head of the de-partment, General Rashed al-Matrousi, said, without referring to how it broke out.

“The fi re broke out on the 60th fl oor and extended to the 70th due to the wind.

Self-extinguishing devices prevent-ed the blaze from aff ecting the apart-ments,” he added.

The blaze caused chaos on streets around area with people returning from work unable to reach their homes as police blocked nearby roads to avoid any injuries from falling debris, Abu Dhabi-based The National newspaper reported online.

The tower is the 23rd tallest building in Dubai and 127th tallest in the world.

Fires have hit several high-rise build-ings in the United Arab Emirates, famed for its record-breaking skyscrapers.

On New Year’s Eve a huge blaze ripped through the luxury Address Downtown Hotel, injuring 16 people just a few hours before a spectacular fi reworks display nearby.

In November last year, fi re engulfed three residential blocs in central Dubai and led to services on a metro line being suspended, although no one was hurt.

In February, a blaze gutted one of the emirate’s tallest buildings, also in the Dubai Marina neighbourhood.

It destroyed luxury fl ats in the Torch tower and prompted authorities to

evacuate nearby blocks.In March, a high-rise residential

tower caught fi re in Ajman, north of Dubai.

The building was evacuated and no casualties were reported.

In 2012, a huge blaze gutted the 34-storey Tamweel Tower in the nearby Jumeirah Lake Towers district.

It was later revealed to have been caused by a cigarette butt thrown into a bin.

Explosionkills foursoldiersin AdenAgenciesAden

A blast in the southern Yemeni city of Aden killed four soldiers and

wounded six, the city’s security administration said, in an attack claimed by Islamic State.

The militant group said it had detonated an explosion among a group of soldiers in the port city, according to a statement posted to its online news agency Amaq.

One eyewitness said the bomb, which hit a checkpoint in the central Caltex area of the city, was planted in a plastic bag by a roadside.

Security offi cials and other witnesses said the blast was set off by a suicide bomber detonat-ing an explosive vest.

Aden has been beset by at-tacks on troops claimed by Is-lamic State and Al Qaeda, and the two groups have gained strength as the government -- backed by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia – has fought against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Despite a 16-month-old Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, the government has struggled to secure Aden, which has seen several bombings and assassinations claimed by IS or Al Qaeda.

On Friday, a suicide bomb-ing claimed by Al Qaeda hit the convoy of Aden governor Aida-rus al-Zubaidi, wounding three people travelling with him.

UN chief: Make sure nuclear deal benefits Iranian people

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged world powers yesterday to ensure a historic nuclear deal with Iran delivers “tangible benefits to the Iranian people” after Tehran complained it was not fully benefiting from sanctions relief.On the first anniversary of a UN Security Council resolution endorsing the deal between Iran and six

world powers, Ban urged all the parties to uphold their commitments to implement the agreement to curb Tehran’s atomic work.“It is of the utmost importance that the JCPOA (Iran deal) works for all its participants, including by delivering tangible benefits to the Iranian people,” Ban said in a statement.Most UN sanctions on Iran

were lifted in January when the UN nuclear watchdog confirmed that Tehran fulfilled commitments under its nuclear deal.But Iran is still subject to a UN arms embargo and other restrictions.In Ban’s first bi-annual report to the UN Security Council on the implementation of those remaining sanctions and

restrictions, he said Iran believes it has yet to benefit from the lifting of sanctions.Ban cited Iran’s complaints over US visa restrictions and the confiscation of Iranian Central Bank assets under a US court order.The United States complained on Monday that Ban overstepped his mandate by referring to Iran’s complaints in the report.

Saudi men play with the Pokemon Go application on their mobiles in Riyadh.

Flames are seen after a fire broke out at residential Sulafa tower in the upscale Marina district in Dubai yesterday.

ARAB WORLD5

Gulf Times Thursday, July 21, 2016

Israel, Guinearenew ties after49-year breakDPATel Aviv

Israel and Guinea ended a 49-year rupture in relations as they renewed diplomatic

ties yesterday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.

The predominantly Muslim West African Republic cut off ties with Israel in 1967 because of the Six-Day War, in which Israel cap-tured the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria.

Israeli Foreign Ministry Direc-tor General Dore Gold signed an agreement with Ibrahim Khalil Kaba, Guinean President Alpha Conde’s chief of staff , in Paris.

“This is an important closing of a circle,” said Gold, according to a Foreign Ministry statement, adding the number of African states that had yet to renew ties

with Israel was growing smaller.“Israel calls on states that

haven’t yet renewed diplomatic relations to follow in Guinea’s footsteps,” he said.

He said Israel helped Guinea fi ght the Ebola virus by donating the largest sum per capita of any country to a fund set up by the United Nations and by sending a mobile clinic.

Israel would also off er the country its know-how in fi elds like agriculture, water manage-ment and security.

Israel and African nations should be “joining hands” in the fi ght against radical Islamic ter-rorism, which threatens not only the Middle East, but also Africa, he urged.

Benjamin Netanyahu paid a fi ve-day visit to four East African states early this month, the fi rst Israeli prime minister to do so in some 50 years.

NGO condemns latestGaza death sentenceAFPGaza City

A Palestinian human rights organisation condemned yesterday the latest death

sentences handed down by tribu-nals in Gaza Strip.

A military court in the coastal Palestinian enclave condemned a local man to death on Tuesday on charges of collaborating with Israel, while death sentences is-sued previously against two oth-

ers were confi rmed by a higher military tribunal.

The Gaza Military Court an-nounced a sentence of death by hanging for the man identifi ed as M.S., aged 59, from the Tuff ah area east of Gaza city on charges of “collaborating with the Israeli occupation.”

The Higher Military Court said it had confi rmed execution or-ders against two other men, one a 49-year-old man from Khan Yunis, by hanging and a Gaza City man aged 38 by fi ring squad.

AFPNablus

A fi re burned a home yes-terday in a Palestinian village where an arson

attack by Jewish extremists a year ago killed a toddler and his parents, residents and authori-ties said.

Inhabitants of the village of Duma in the occupied West Bank and a Palestinian offi cial said they suspected another ex-tremist attack, but Palestinian fi refi ghters had not commented on the cause.

The blaze damaged the home

of Mohamed Dawabsha, located near the house that was fi re-bombed on July 31 last year.

Dawabasha and his wife suf-fered smoke inhalation, but there were no other injuries.

UN Mideast envoy Nick-olay Mladenov said Israel was obliged under international law to protect those living under its occupation.

“I am concerned by reports of yet another arson attack on the home of the Dawabsha fam-ily last night in Duma in the oc-cupied West Bank,” he said in a statement.

“If confi rmed, this despicable act would be the third incident

in this particular village in the last year.”

Israeli police said they were investigating the cause, but that they had so far not found any evidence of a Jewish extremist attack.

Dawabsha said he and his wife heard noises outside their home in the middle of the night.

“We went outside and after-wards we heard an explosion in the bedroom and saw huge fl ames,” he said.

Neighbours assisted them in moving to safety.

Last year’s attack on a fam-ily home in the village killed 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawab-

sha and fatally injured his par-ents.

Five-year-old Ahmed was the sole survivor from the immedi-ate family.

Mohamed Dawabsha is part of the same clan but is not an immediate relative of the fam-ily.

The 2015 attack sparked glo-bal condemnation and drew renewed attention to Jewish ex-tremism, including accusations Israel had not done enough to prevent such violence.

In January, a court charged two Israeli settlers over the fi re-bombing after slow progress in the case led to criticism from

human rights groups and Pales-tinians.

Mladenov said the courts were still moving too slowly.

“Indictments have been made, but the perpetrators of this terrible crime have yet to face justice,” he said.

“I call upon the authori-ties to move swiftly in bringing the perpetrators of this terrible crime, as well as this latest inci-dent, to justice.”

In March, another fi re burned the Duma home of a key wit-ness to the arson attack, but the cause was not clear.

Israeli authorities said at the time they were investigating.

Fire in Palestinian villagea year after deadly arson

A member of the Palestinian security forces inspects a damaged house following a blaze overnight in the village of Duma in the Israeli-occupied West Bank yesterday.

6 Gulf TimesThursday, July 21, 2016

ARAB WORLD

Syrian rebel group investigates beheading of childReutersBeirut

A Syrian rebel group which has received US military backing said it is investi-

gating the beheading of a young child in Aleppo after video foot-age circulated showing the boy being killed by a man activists identifi ed as a member of the group.

Images of a fi ghter cutting off the small boy’s head with a knife matched some of the worst bru-talities committed by the mili-tant Islamic State group, which has killed hundreds of captives in Syria and neighbouring Iraq in the last three years.

Before being killed, the boy is shown on the back of a truck be-ing taunted by several men who say he is from a Palestinian faction which fi ghts in Aleppo in support

of President Bashar al-Assad.“This is a prisoner from the

Quds Brigade. They don’t have men any more so they’ve sent us children today,” one of the men says.”These are your dogs, Bashar, children of the Quds bri-gade,” says another.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the men were fi ghters from the Nour al-Din al-Zinki Movement, a rebel group which has received military sup-

port channelled from Turkey, in-cluding US-made TOW missiles.

US State Department spokes-man Mark Toner said Washing-ton was seeking more informa-tion on what he described as “an appalling report”.

“If we can prove that this was indeed what happened and this group was involved it would give us pause about any assistance or any further involvement with this group,” he told reporters.

In a statement, Nour al-Din al-Zinki denounced what it de-scribed as “the human rights abuses that were shared on social media sites”, which did not rep-resent its policies or practices.

It said it had detained the indi-viduals who were involved in the incident and formed a committee to investigate what happened.”All individuals who undertook the violation have been detained and turned over to the committee

for investigations in accordance with the relevant legal stand-ards.”

In an online statement, the Quds Brigade denied the 12-year-old child was a fi ghter.

It said he was from a poor family living in the Handarat Camp area north-east of Aleppo, which had fallen under the control of rebels.

“The child was ill, evidenced by the presence of a drip in his hand,” the statement said.

The child in the video appears to have bandages round his waist and one of his legs, and a plastic medical tube near his arm.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said it had written to the Secre-tary-General of the United Na-tions asking him to condemn all crimes towards the Syrian people and Palestinian people in Syria.

The letter asked the UN to punish states which support rebel groups in Syria.

Kerry warnsof challengein securingIraq after ISReutersWashington

US Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that the battlefi eld momen-

tum in Iraq and Syria has shifted against Islamic State but the in-ternational community must now also confront the challenge of sta-bilising newly liberated areas.

“The momentum has shifted,” Kerry told an international con-ference to raise funds for Iraq. “The new challenge that we face is securing and aiding for the re-covery of a liberated area.”

Lise Grande, the United Na-tions’ humanitarian co-ordinator for Iraq, warned that without ad-dressing the needs of Iraqis dis-placed by the confl ict, military victories will prove transient.

“The military campaign will have achieved a great short-term success, but perhaps little else of enduring impact,” she said.

The offi cials were speaking as defense and foreign ministers gathered in Washington to raise funding for Iraq and to agree on next steps in the fi ght against Is-lamic State, in particular the mil-itant group’s bastion in Mosul.

Kerry said the goal of the

pledging session was to raise at least $2bn in new aid for Iraq to help communities get back on their feet once Islamic State mil-itants have been driven out.

The battle for Mosul is expected to be diffi cult, but the aftermath could be tougher, Iraqi, United Nations and US offi cials say.

Plans are still being fi nalised to provide urgent humanitarian aid and restore basic services and se-curity for residents and as many as 2.4mn displaced people.

Defence ministers of the US-led coalition against Islamic State were also meeting at Joint Base Andrews outside Washing-ton, followed by a joint session of foreign and defense chiefs to-day to discuss the broader fi ght against Islamic State not only in

Syria and Iraq, but also Libya and recent attacks in Europe.

The United Nations is prepar-ing for what it says will be the largest humanitarian relief op-eration so far this year as terrifi ed people stream out of the path of the advancing Iraqi military and fl ee from the city itself.

They will need shelter, food and water, and sanitation for three to 12 months, depending on the extent of the city’s destruc-tion.

The vast majority of the ex-pected refugees will be Sunni Muslims, many of whom feel disenfranchised by Iraq’s Shia-led government in Baghdad, and that presents what could be an even bigger problem.

Mosul, which Islamic State seized from a collapsing Iraqi army in June 2014, is Iraq’s sec-ond biggest city and home to a combustible mixture of Sunni Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and oth-ers.

Offi cials in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish re-gion, criticised the coalition yes-terday for excluding the Kurds from the Washington gathering, with Masrour Barzani, head of the regional security council, calling it “a travesty” on Twitter.

Although Iraqi and US offi cials have not announced a timetable for moving on Mosul, a senior Baghdad-based diplomat said Abadi wants to advance the start of the Mosul campaign to Octo-ber after the seizure of Fallujah from Islamic State last month.

This month, Iraqi forces backed by US air power retook Qayara air base south of Mosul, which will be turned into a logistics hub for the main assault on the city.

The UN estimates that under a worst-case scenario, more than 1mn people could be displaced from Mosul and another 830,000 from a populated corridor south of the city, adding to the burden of caring for 3.5mn Iraqis already displaced.

Britain doubles military trainers in Iraq

Britain will double its deployment

of troops to train Iraqi and Kurdish

forces fighting the Islamic State

group, defense minister Michael

Fallon told reporters yesterday.

The additional 250 troops will

bring Britain’s contingent of advis-

ers to more than 500, he said, as

allied ministers met in Washing-

ton to plan moves to defeat the

militants.

“We will be sending an additional

250 troops into the theater over

the next few weeks,” Fallon said.

“Other countries are being asked

to look for their contribution to see

what more they can do.”

Earlier, US Defence Secretary

Ash Carter had said the US-led

coalition fighting the Islamic State

group was drawing up a plan to

liberate its remaining bastions.

Allied air power and military train-

ers are helping Iraqi government,

Kurdish militia and Syrian anti-IS

fighters push the jihadists back to

Raqa, Syria and Mosul, Iraq.

There, in the coming months,

commanders hope to defeat the

IS “caliphate” -- its heartland terri-

tory -- but they admit its broader

network will be harder to crack.

Palestinian Doctor Dolittlecares for Gaza’s stray dogsReutersGaza City

Among the many problems Gaza faces, from confl ict to homelessness, power

cuts and a lack of fresh water, Saeed el-Aer has dedicated him-self to an unusual one: stray dogs.

For several months, Aer has been trawling the streets of the territory looking for abandoned canines, winning their confi -dence, feeding them and restor-ing them to health.

“We tour the streets and dis-tribute food for days or a week until they get used to us and then we catch and bring them to the society,” said Aer, referring to the organisation he helped set up, the

Sulala Society for Training and Caring for Animals.

It’s costly and time-consum-ing work.

Aer, a government employee, estimates he has spent as much as $20,000 on caring for 50 dogs so far, including vet bills and the rent on a fenced-in, 2,000 sq-m (0.5 acre) farm where they are housed.

At the farm in Zahra, south of Gaza city on the coast, young volunteers feed the dogs by boil-ing chicken wings and legs in a large pot over a wood-fi red stove.

When the animals are fi rst brought in they are kept on chains.

But as they become more do-mesticated, they are freer to roam and see visitors.

“They know me very well

now,” said Aer, 45.”As soon as I arrive in my car, they pop up from all over the farm and come run-ning to me.”

Dogs are considered unclean in Islam and are usually kept out-side, but there is no ban on them.

Caring for animals and pets is one of the tenets of the faith, and having a guard dog or one that helps with hunting is not un-common.

In fact, Aer has been surprised by the number of Gazans who want to visit the kennels and care for the dogs.

The society’s Facebook page has proved popular.

Volunteers help train and walk the animals through the streets of Zahra.

“I love dogs,” said Nasser Abu

Taqqeya, a 48-year-old father of six from central Gaza, who was planning to adopt a dog called Rex.”I will take him home so my kids will play with him and he will guard my house.”

With several thousand strays estimated to live in Gaza -- a territory that’s barely 40km (25 miles) long, 10km wide and home to more than 1.9mn people -- Aer knows he has his work cut out for some time to come.

But he’s hoping more people will decide to adopt a dog, as long as they are willing to sign up to the rules.

“You have to feed him, off er him water, not beat him,” he said.

If people can’t stick to the rules, he said, “they call us and we will come and take him back.”

Palestinian man Saeed el-Aer trains stray dogs with other boys on the property of the organisation he helped set up, the Sulala Society for Training and Caring for Animals, in Zahra, south of Gaza City.

US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a Pledging Confer-ence in Support of Iraq.

Libyans gather around the remains of a helicopter that crashed near Benghazi yesterday.

Three French soldiers killedin Libya intelligence missionReutersParis/Benghazi

Three French soldiers were killed in a helicopter ac-cident during an intelli-

gence-gathering mission in Lib-ya, President Francois Hollande said yesterday.

They are the fi rst confi rmed Western military casualties since it became known this year that special forces were operat-ing on the ground in Libya.

“At this moment we are car-rying out dangerous intelligence operations (in Libya),” Hollande said in a speech.”Three of our soldiers, who were involved in these operations, have been killed in a helicopter accident.”

France took a leading role in the Nato air campaign that helped rebels overthrow auto-cratic leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The country has since de-scended into chaos.

Western special forces from countries including France, Britain and the United States have sent small teams to western and eastern Libya.

The French have been work-ing alongside forces loyal to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, who launched a campaign against Islamists and other opponents in Benghazi more than two years ago but has rejected a Western-backed unity government in Tripoli.

A spokesman for Haftar’s forces, Ahmed Masmari, said a helicopter carrying three Liby-ans -- a pilot and two techni-cians -- as well as the three French, had crashed on Sunday in the Magrun area about 75km (47 miles) south of Benghazi.

Libyan offi cials had ear-lier said four people died in the crash, all of them Libyan.

Masmari said the French had been gathering intelligence on fi ghters from Boko Haram, after some Malian militants loyal to the group had arrived in the area.

“It was probably a technical problem but the investigation has not fi nished yet,” Masmari said.

However, the Benghazi De-fence Brigades (BDB), a recently formed force of Islamists and other fi ghters, claimed after the helicopter crash that it had shot the aircraft down, killing four people, according to a statement posted on social media accounts close to the group.

The statement said that the helicopter was an M135 belong-ing to Haftar’s forces and that two foreigners and two Libyans were killed when the group shot it down with a rocket.

Pictures purporting to show the wreckage of the helicopter were also posted.

The BDB includes fi ght-ers pushed out of Benghazi by Haftar’s forces.

The group launched a new campaign last month south of the eastern city to regain lost ground.

Fighting has been continu-ing, including in the area around Magrun.

Western powers have been backing Libya’s UN-backed unity government, hoping it will seek foreign support to confront Islamic State militants, deal with migrant fl ows from Libya to Europe, and restore oil pro-duction to shore up the Libyan economy.

But Haftar has so far reject-ed the unity government, and hardliners loyal to him have pre-vented a rival government and the parliament, both based in the east, from formally endors-ing the UN-backed body.

Tunisia stops militant cell plotting attacks in Sousse

Tunisian authorities dismantled

a cell linked to the Islamic State

militant group that was planning

attacks against sites in the coastal

town of Sousse, the interior minis-

try said yesterday.

Tunisian security forces are on

high alert after attacks in Tunis and

Sousse last year, and an attempt by

militants to take control of a town

near the Libyan border in March.

On Tuesday the government

extended a nationwide state of

emergency that gives authorities

additional powers for two more

months.

The interior ministry statement

said the cell had been dismantled

on Tuesday in the Kalaa Kbira area,

and that it “planned to carry out

terrorist acts in Sousse against key

sites in the city”.

It said a number of the cell’s mem-

bers had received combat training

and watched videos on how to

make explosives.

It did not say how many people

had been arrested or give further

details.

Tunisia has faced a growing chal-

lenge from Islamist militants since

its 2011 revolution and transition to

democracy. Off icials estimate that

several thousand Tunisians left to

fight with Islamic State and other

groups in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

AFRICA7

Gulf Times Thursday, July 21, 2016

Several oppositionsupporters arrested in Zambia

Zambian police arrested 28 opposition support-ers yesterday on suspicion

of rioting and making petrol bombs, the latest sign of political tensions ahead of elections on August 11, a senior offi cer said.

The arrests come shortly after the election commission lifted a 10-day ban on campaigning imposed on some parts of the southern African country to prevent violence

Police confronted support-ers of the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) as they destroyed ruling party campaign posters in Kasa-ma, 850km (500 miles) north of Lusaka, Northern province police chief Bonnie Kapeso said.

Other opposition supporters who had camped at UPND vice-president Geoff rey Mwamba’s home then started throwing stones at police, damaging one vehicle.

“We were left with no option but to follow them after they re-treated and hid inside the house. We broke the door and fi shed out the ring leaders,” Kapeso said. “We had to use tear gas.”

Police found seven petrol bombs, she added.

However, the UPND said in a statement they were only empty bottles.

President Edgar Lungu has been in power for just over a year after winning a ballot triggered by the death of his predeces-sor, Michael Sata. Lungu faces a strong challenge from UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema.

ReutersLusaka

DR Congo launches vaccination drive against yellow feverDemocratic Republic

of Congo launched a campaign yesterday to

vaccinate about a million peo-ple against yellow fever over the next 10 days in the capital Kinshasa and a nearby province.

A wider campaign to vacci-nate more than 10mn people in the city and along the border with Angola will have to wait at least two more weeks, however, due to shortages of vaccine and syringes.

“Now I am armoured. Now I have the blood of a soldier,” said Claudy Pindi, who is in his forties, holding up his yellow vaccination card.

Pindi was among the fi rst to be vaccinated in Kinshasa’s Ki-senso district, where four peo-ple are suspected of having died from yellow fever.

Congo’s health minister de-clared a yellow fever epidemic last month after the haemor-rhagic virus spread from An-gola, where 350 people have died since last December in the worst outbreak in decades.

Congo had registered 1,798 suspected cases of yellow fe-ver as of July 11, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), including 85 deaths believed caused by the disease.

Only 68 cases have been lab-oratory confi rmed however, due to a technical problem over the

last three weeks that hindered the shipping of a chemical used in testing.

Over 100 people queued to be vaccinated yesterday under tents set up by health workers on a soccer pitch in Kisenso. Authorities have identifi ed around 80 suspected cases of yellow fever there.

Residents of three health zones in Kwango province, which abuts the Angolan bor-der, will also be vaccinated during the campaign.

“We are very sure we will stop the spread of the virus,” said Gedeon Siama, supervis-

ing nurse for the Kisenso health zone. “At the community level, the monitoring is very active.”

The vaccination drive is the second this year after more than 2mn people were vaccinated in Kinshasa and Kongo Central province in late May.

Health offi cials have also ex-pressed concerns about begin-ning with such a targeted ap-proach in Kinshasa, a chaotic megacity of some 12mn people.

During the last vaccination drive in May, people arrived from outside targeted areas, preventing some local residents from being vaccinated and pro-

voking violence outside some health centres.

Eugene Kabambi, a WHO spokesman in Kinshasa, said authorities were using com-munity leaders and street cam-paigners with megaphones to promote the current drive.

“We’ve avoided a strong publicity campaign. We’ve focused on word of mouth communication,” he said.

The yellow fever vaccine takes one year to manufacture and there currently exist just 8mn doses in the world after stocks were depleted in series of outbreaks earlier this year.

ReutersKinshasa

A man getting a yellow fever vaccine during a ceremony launching a response campaign against yel-low fever in the district of Kisenso in Kinshasa province of D R Congo yesterday.

Ugandan army rescues 38,000 from S Sudan

The Ugandan army said yesterday it had evacu-ated 38,000 civilians

caught up in fi ghting in Juba, the capital of crisis-hit South Sudan.

Most of those taken across the border were Ugandans but “they were joined by hundreds of Ken-yans, Rwandans among other nationalities who wanted to leave South Sudan for their safe-ty,” Ugandan army spokesman Paddy Ankunda said.

Describing the evacuation process in recent days as suc-cessful, the army spokesman said “the total number of civil-ians evacuated from South Su-dan by road under protection of the UPDF (Ugandan army) since the start of the operation has reached 38,000”.

The evacuation operation began on Friday.

The Ugandan army joined the confl ict in South Sudan soon after it began in Decem-ber 2013, fi ghting on President Salva Kiir’s side against a rebel force led by arch-rival Riek Machar, now the country’s vice president. The combat troops

only pulled out late last year.The recent violence in the

capital echoes the fi ghting that fi rst triggered the civil war and marks a fresh blow to a deal reached last year to end the bitter confl ict which began when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup.

Kiir is a member of the Dinka tribe, while Machar is a Nuer, and the dispute has split the country along ethnic lines and caused tens of thousands of deaths.

The Ugandan army’s rescue operation involves a heavily protected convoy of 30 vehicles which have been ferrying peo-ple the 200kms (125 miles) from Juba to the Ugandan border.

Once the evacuees safely reach Ugandan territory, heli-copters take young children, the sick and pregnant women to a hospital in Gulu, in the north of the country, said Ankunda.

These are people who fl ed Juba after deadly fi ghting broke out earlier this month between government forces and the rebels.

The United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, estimated that 10,300 South Suda-nese found refuge in Uganda between Friday and Tuesday.

AFPKampala

UN to bring relief to 6.5mn in MalawiThe UN will launch the largest emergency food relief operation in the history of Malawi, where up to 6.5mn people may require such assistance in the coming months, the UN World Food Programme said yesterday.Malawi is one of the southern African countries worst aff ected by a drought caused by the climatic phenomenon El Nino.

Dry spells last year have also contributed to the drought, which aff ects up to 40% cent of the 16mn population.“I’ve talked with women in rural areas who told me they have enough food for just a few more weeks, after which they will have nothing,” said Ertharin Cousin, WFP executive director who concluded a visit to Malawi yesterday.

Cash crunch hits mass weddings in Nigeria

Low global oil prices have hurt Nigeria’s economy, taking it to

the brink of recession. But the resulting cash crunch has also had a more unexpected eff ect - on mass weddings.

More than 10,000 women have registered for the state-sponsored pro-gramme in Kano, said Abba Sufi , director general of the northern city’s “morality police”, the Hisbah.

“At the moment we have over 10,000 women who have registered for the mass wedding programme and are waiting to be introduced to prospective suitors when the project resumes,” he said.

The matchmaking pro-gramme began in 2012 to help divorcees remarry in Kano state, which has the highest divorce rate in Nigeria.

Under the scheme, the state government pays the bride price and provides furniture and household utensils for the newlyweds.

A total of 1,111 couples tied the knot in an elaborate event at Kano’s main mosque in December 2013. At the time, the Hisbah said it had arranged 4,461 marriages since the programme began.

Nigeria, one of Africa’s main oil producers, depends on the sale of crude for 70% of government revenue but income has been slashed since prices plunged around the world two years ago.

State governments have

struggled to pay public sec-tor wages; the naira has weakened, causing a short-age of foreign exchange, hit-ting investment and key im-ports of goods, fuel and food.

At the same time, infl a-tion has soared to nearly 11-year highs, with predic-tions of more devaluation to come and further rises in the cost of living.

“The cash crunch has compelled us to halt the programme, which has re-

sulted in a huge backlog of women intent on getting the right husbands to marry through the matchmaking process,” said Sufi .

Hajara Umar, a divorced mother of three children, said she registered to fi nd a husband two years ago but has been frustrated because of the lack of funding.

“We are not asking for too much, just the basic things we need to start a new married life,” she said.

Widespread poverty has been blamed for the rising number of divorces in Kano city and the surrounding state, as well as the decline in tra-ditional marriage ceremonies between men and women.

The mass wedding project was seen as a solu-tion to the situation and also at preventing Boko Haram Islamists from re-cruiting disaff ected and impoverished youth for their violent insurgency.

The north’s conservative culture gives a husband ab-solute powers in marriage but men have often abused it and divorced their wives at will.

AFPKano

Brides attending a wedding feast at the Kano state gov-ernor’s off ice after taking part in a mass wedding at the central mosque in Nigeria’s second city of Kano.

Kenya security accused of murder, abduction

Security agencies are killing and abducting men in northeast Kenya suspected of links to Islamist ex-

tremists, a rights group said yesterday, as police challenged them to provide evidence to an independent body.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) docu-mented 34 “enforced disappearances” and 11 suspected “extrajudicial kill-ings” over two years in Garissa, Man-dera and Wajir counties as part of counterterrorism operations in Kenya’s predominately ethnic Somali northeast.

“People in northeastern Ken-ya deserve protection from Al Shebaab attacks, not further abuse from the authorities,” said

HRW executive director Ken Roth.He said the cases documented were

“just the tip of the iceberg.”The report details people taken from

their homes by masked, armed men who did not identify themselves, or being beaten in the streets and driven away in government vehicles.

Some of the disappeared were last seen in police or military custody. No one has been charged with any crime, nor are their families able to trace them.

“Rounding people up and refusing to disclose their whereabouts is a serious crime and only compounds fears and mis-trust in the security forces,” Roth said.

Kenya’s Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) is regularly accused of intimidating or killing suspects.

Both human rights and academic researchers have repeatedly warned

that the heavy-handed approach al-ienates and angers communities, helping drive radicalisation.

Those warnings have been ignored, HRW says, with a range of security agencies employing the same tactics in northeast Kenya under the legal au-thority of Kenya’s National Security Council, headed by the president and other senior offi cials.

“The allegations raised by Human Rights Watch are very serious,” said police spokesman Charles Owino.

“We challenge them to provide all the evidence they have about those al-legations to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, the Witness Pro-tection Unit and the director of Public Prosecutions for a thorough inves-tigation so that action can be taken,” he said.

AFPNairobi

AMERICAS

Gulf Times Thursday, July 21, 20168

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands during an event at a restaurant in Gatineau, Quebec.

Trudeau at his best

GuardianSan Antonio

His lawyer described Mar-ciano Millan Vasquez as nothing more than a humble

goat rancher.A jury disagreed yesterday, con-

cluding that he was a regional boss for the Zetas drug cartel involved in a murderous conspiracy that lead to the deaths of more than 300 people in northern Mexico.

After a brief deliberation, the jury found Millan Vasquez guilty of all ten charges he faced.

The two-week trial took place in federal court in San Antonio, the city where Millan Vasquez was arrested last year.

He now faces life in prison.The counts included posses-

sion of fi rearms in connection with drug traffi cking and distribution of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, killing while engaged in international drug traffi cking, em-ploying minors in drug operations and providing false identifi cation to US authorities.

The prosecution alleged in a court document that between the start of 2009 and July 2015, in Texas and Mexico, “Vasquez, while engaged in drug traffi cking off ences, caused the intentional killing of various indi-viduals.”

US prosecutors pursued Vasquez for alleged crimes that took place in Mexico on the basis that they had jurisdiction given the international impact of the murders and traffi ck-ing.

Millan Vasquez denied the accu-

sations and his defence said that his lack of a criminal record in Mexico indicated his good character.

Court documents indicate he was arrested in Mexico in 2013 on sus-picion of planning to sell marijuana and for possession of AK-47 assault rifl es, but he was cleared by a tribu-nal.

His attorney, Jaime Cavazos, called character witnesses who testifi ed that Millan Vasquez was a “good father”, while Cavazos told the court that his client “had a small ranch in Mexico where he bought and sold pigs, goats and farm ani-mals”, KSAT local news reported.

But a witness testifi ed last week that Millan Vasquez was the Zetas cartel leader in Piedras Negras, a Mexican border town 250km from San Antonio, and personally hacked a six-year-old girl to death with an axe in front of her parents, the San

Antonio Express-News reported.He then ordered her parents

killed, and more than a dozen oth-ers, and forced the witness to watch as punishment for a lost shipment of drugs, according to testimony.

After a senior Zetas member be-gan cooperating with US authorities in 2011, the cartel tried to root out his associates and other potentially disloyal members.

In a roundup of men, women and children, some of them in fact unconnected with the drug trade, cartel fi gures killed more than 300 people in northern Mexican towns and burned their bodies in barrels of acid or with diesel fuel, according to an informant’s testimony reported by the Express-News.

When the man asked about a missing teenager, he said he was told, “ We just fi nished cooking him.”

Cartel boss hacked child to death, says witness in Texas

AFPWashington

Last month was the hottest June in mod-ern history, marking the 14th consecu-tive month that global heat records have

been broken, the US National Oceanic and At-mospheric Administration has said.

“The globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for June 2016 was the highest for the month of June in the NOAA global temperature dataset record, which dates back to 1880,” the agency said in a state-ment.

“This marks the 14th consecutive month the monthly global temperature record has been broken, the longest such streak in the 137-year record.”

The report, issued each month by NOAA, also said the global temperature for the fi rst six months of 2016 was the hottest on record.

The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for June was 0.9C above the 20th century average of 15.5C.

“June 2016 marks the 40th consecutive June with temperatures at least nominally above the 20th century average,” NOAA said.

NOAA also spoke about what it calls the “monthly temperature departure” or record

spikes in heat. It said 14 of 15 of these spikes have occurred since February 2015, signaling that global warming is accelerating.

The planet’s average land temperature in June was 2.23 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the 20th century monthly average, tied at an all-time record for June that was struck last year.

The land temperature also hit a record high for the fi rst six months of the year.

The average sea surface temperature was 1.39 degrees Fahrenheit above last century’s monthly average.

That marked the hottest June and the hot-test January-June period on record.

Experts say global warming is at least par-tially to blame for a number of environmental disasters around the world, from the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef off Australia to wild-fi res raging across Canada.

Last year marked the hottest on record, beating 2014, which previously held the title.

With 14 months in a row now setting records for heat, 2016 — now half over — is on track to be another scorching year.

NASA climatologist Gavin Schmidt said that while the high temperatures are in part tied to the El Nino weather pattern — related to warm waters in the Pacifi c Ocean — around 60% comes from “other factors, including the very strong Arctic warming”.

Last month ‘was hottest June’

Canada to hold fi rst Zika vaccine test on humansAFPMontreal

A Canadian university said Tuesday it will con-duct the world’s fi rst Zika vaccine test on hu-mans as health authorities scramble to coun-

ter the explosively spreading virus.The Zika vaccine that’s under development will be

administered to humans “in the coming days”, Uni-versite Laval, based in Quebec City, said in a state-ment.

“We’re very proud to be part of the fi rst interna-tional team in the world to complete all of the steps in the regulatory process,” said Gary Kobinger, doc-tor of microbiology and professor of medicine at the university, who is overseeing the study.

Kobinger noted that development of the Zika vac-cine was authorised by the US Food and Drug Ad-ministration and Health Canada. Until now, vaccines have been tested on mice.

Zika virus is transmitted primarily by mosquitoes and there is no existing treatment or vaccine for it.

The virus is capable of causing serious birth defects and has travelled quickly through Latin America.

Kobinger, a global authority on vaccines, is a re-searcher at CHU, a hospital centre affi liated with the university.

CHU is conducting the study in collaboration with two centres in the United States.

“CHU de Quebec-Universite Laval is one of the three leading research centres involved in the vaccine study and we’re very proud of that,” said Gertrude Bourdon, president and CEO of CHU.

More than a dozen pharmaceutical companies, in-cluding France’s Sanofi and India’s Bharat Biotech, are working on developing a Zika vaccine, according to the World Health Organization.

The WHO has forecast sharp growth in the out-break in the Americas, with as many as 4mn people infected.

The cartel boss said he had a clean record in Mexico

AMERICAS9Gulf Times

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Thomson Reuters FoundationNew York

North American forests will not fi ght climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide at levels once hoped for because the trees may not grow big enough, a

study said yesterday.The new research challenges previous studies that said

trees could grow larger due to higher temperatures brought on by global warming, said the authors of the study pub-lished in the journal Ecology Letters.

Typically, up to a third of carbon-dioxide emissions from human activity, such as automobile driving or steel production, is absorbed by forests, the study’s authors said.

Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.

But if temperatures get too high, tree growth is inhib-

ited and the absorption rate diminishes, said senior author Margaret Evans, a professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

“There is a tipping point,” she said.“A warmer climate becomes a bad thing instead of a good thing.”

Looking ahead at warmer temperatures likely in the coming decades, trees in the US

southwest north to the Rocky Mountains, Canada and Alaska could grow as much as 75% slower than normal by 2075, the researchers said.

By 2075, the average temperature in North America could be about 6C higher than it was in 1925, under a worst case scenario, the researchers said, using data from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Some increases in tree growth are still likely in the Pacifi c Northwest, parts of Florida, the northeastern part of Que-bec in Canada and its maritime provinces, they said.

Team Trump tries to put scandal to bedAFPCleveland

Freshly crowned Republican presi-dential nominee Donald Trump tried yesterday to draw a line under a pla-

giarism scandal that has rocked his cam-paign, with a staff er off ering to resign.

Having prevailed in his remarkable run to the Republican White House nomina-tion, Trump turned to his next task of qui-eting questions about his campaign’s pro-fessionalism and healing party divisions.

A Trump staff er admitted to using Michelle Obama quotes in a speech deliv-ered by Melania Trump at the Republican convention, apologising and off ering to resign over the plagiarism row — an off er however rejected by the nominee.

Melania Trump had “always liked” the current fi rst lady and had “read me some passages from Mrs Obama’s speech” over the telephone as examples of what she wanted to tell the convention on Monday, said the staff er, Meredith McIver.

“I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ulti-mately became the fi nal speech.

I did not check Mrs Obama’s speeches. This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused,” she said.

“No harm was meant.”After a roller-coaster campaign that

saw Trump defeat 16 rivals and steamroll stubborn party opposition, the tycoon said it was time to “go all the way” and beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in Novem-ber.

“This is a movement,” he told the del-egates via video link.

When the brash real estate mogul came down the escalators of Trump Tower in New York 13 months ago to announce his

candidacy, few experts gave him even the faintest chance.

His campaign has defi ed political norms — embracing racially infl ammatory poli-cies, off ending key voting blocs, eschew-ing big-spending advertising campaigns and relying on saturated media coverage above campaign structure.

“It’s unbelievable.It’s surreal.I’m so proud of my father,” said Trump’s

eldest daughter and businesswoman Ivan-ka Trump, often described as his secret weapon.

“He’s the ultimate outsider and he did it. We are so proud of him.”

Around the convention fl oor, Trump’s victory was far from universally wel-comed.

Many delegates clapped politely after his victory, a few angrily walked out or voiced their unease.

But some delegates who supported oth-ers in the primaries were already lining up behind Trump.

“Everybody realizes now that the family infi ghting is over, we do in fact have a can-didate, and I would hope that 99 percent-plus of Republicans get behind that candi-date moving forward,” said Gary Inmon, a Texas delegate bound to Senator Ted Cruz but who is now solidly behind the nomi-nee.

As the last vestiges of Republican resist-ance were quashed, there were fresh signs that the party establishment had thrown its lot in with Trump in a bid to beat Clinton.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie led delegates in declaring Clinton “guilty” and encouraged visceral chants of “lock her up”.

Speaker of the house of representa-tives Paul Ryan, who hesitated to endorse Trump earlier this year, sounded like he was all-in at the convention.

“The Obama years are almost over. The Clinton years are way over,” Ryan said.“Two-thousand sixteen is the year America moves on.”

The Trump campaign will hope that

disdain for Clinton will unite the party and make a series of missteps — like the pla-giarism scandal — irrelevant.

“The party is unifi ed, we’re all here, I will bet you if you polled this place, there is not one vote for Hillary Clinton in this building,” former key Trump lieutenant Corey Lewandowski told AFP.

“People are ready for a fundamental and unequivocal change in Washington and the person who is going to bring that is Donald Trump.”

On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr, the candidate’s eldest son, made a sweeping speech peppered with personal anecdotes that humanised his father.

The married father of fi ve touched on themes of economic inequality and job creation, promised health care for “our most vulnerable citizens” and vowed to improve public education.

As in Melania Trump’s speech the night before, similarities were noted between phrases in the junior Trump’s keynote and an article published in a conservative pub-lication.

But he was saved from controversy when the author of the May 2 article in American Conservative, FH Buckley, stepped forward to say he had been a prin-cipal speechwriter.

“So it’s not an issue,” Buckley told Time.com.

Another son, Eric Trump, will also make the case for his father, while two senators whom Trump vanquished in the primary race, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, will also speak.

Trump’s vice presidential pick, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, addresses the con-fab as well.

Clinton wasted no time seeking to capi-talise on Trump’s party victory.

“Donald Trump just became the Repub-lican nominee. Chip in now to make sure he never steps foot in the Oval Offi ce,” she said in a fundraising tweet.

AFPWashington

Twitter found itself em-broiled in controversy yesterday after banning

an editor at the conservative Breitbart website for fuelling a stream of abuse that drove Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones to quit the social network.

The move banning Milo Yiannopoulos, the website’s tech editor known for provoca-tive posts, sparked protests from his supporters but praise from others, while sparking de-bate over free speech rights for social media users.

The move by Twitter sparked a hashtag war with Yiannopou-los supporters using #FreeMilo and his critics #LoveForLeslieJ.

Yiannopoulos wrote after the ban that “Twitter has con-fi rmed itself as a safe space for terrorists and Black Lives Mat-ter extremists, but a no-go zone for conservatives”.

The suspension came a day after Jones, who is African American, said she was leaving Twitter after being bombarded by trolls likening her to an ape and making other racist insults.

“I leave Twitter tonight with tears and a very sad heart. All this cause I did a movie. You can hate the movie but the shit I got today... wrong,” the “Saturday Night Live” comedian and ac-tress said late Monday.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey re-sponded with a tweet back to Jones saying he was “following” and asking her to contact him directly.

Yiannopoulos’s Twitter ac-count, which had more than 338,000 followers, was later blocked.

“People should be able to ex-press diverse opinions and be-liefs on Twitter,” the company said in a statement.

“But no one deserves to be subjected to targeted abuse on-line, and our rules prohibit in-citing or engaging in targeted abuse or harassment of others.”

Yiannopoulos’ critics said he incited followers to bombard Jones with racial comments, while his supporters claimed he was being targeted for his views.

Jones announced that she was fed up with the hateful comments around the release of Ghostbusters, an all-female re-make of the 1984 classic.

One slur referred to the death of Harambe the gorilla, who was shot dead in May.

The 48-year-old Jones re-sponded to the abuse by tak-ing screenshots and retweeting many of the slurs, saying they had made her “numb”.

Sara Levine, welcomed the move to ban Yiannopoulos, tweeting, “Racists shouldn’t be allowed to silence others. Twit-ter did right to ban him”.

But John Nolte responded, “Basically, the corporate fas-cists at @Twitter silenced someone for criticizing and mocking a rich and powerful movie star.”

Twitter’s actions were likely to intensify a debate on how so-cial media regulates off ensive or inappropriate conduct.

Both Twitter and Facebook have banned thousands of sus-pected jihadists for seeking to incite or celebrate violence, and also have targeted users for cer-tain kinds of harassment and insulting commentary.

Matthew Ingram, a Fortune magazine writer who also blogs for the Nieman Journalism Lab, however suggested that this time, Twitter may have gone too far.

“I know this isn’t going to be a popular opinion, but I don’t think Milo said anything to Les-lie Jones that deserves a perma-nent ban,” Ingram tweeted.

Twitter bans editor of conservative site

A supporter of Trump yells at protesters near the Republican National Convention.

Crime on the rise in Canada: govtAFPOttawa

Crime in Canada rose last year for the fi rst time in more than a decade, in part because of an increase in fi rearm use, the government statistical agency

reported yesterday. Violent crime increased 6% in 2015, mostly because of a rise in robbery, homicide, attempted murder and gun-related violations, Statistics Canada said.

Attempted murder and violations involving fi rearms were 22% higher than the previous year.

The average crime rate was highest in western Canada, in line with past trends.

In the Northwest Territories and Yukon — where large proportions of the population identify as Indian and so-cial inequalities persist — the crime rate has been rising for several years. Yukon’s crime rate is four times higher than the national rate. Alberta province saw a particular uptick in crime, especially in its two largest cities, Calgary and Edmonton. A drop in oil prices has kept that province in a severe recession for two years, with unemployment rates doubling to 8%.

Gaga calls off engagementPop diva Lady Gaga and actor Taylor Kinney have called off their engagement, reports said Tuesday, more than a year after she thought she had found the right match. The singer has in recent days appeared without her engagement ring in photos she posted on Instagram from the resort town of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where she has been volunteering at a charity for needy children. Neither artist or their representatives have commented. E! News said it was unclear who initiated the split but that they had agreed to keep it private. The 30-year-old Lady Gaga last year showed off on Instagram a simple, heart-shaped engagement ring from Kinney. Kinney popped the question to Gaga over a Valentine’s Day dinner last year at a New York restaurant owned by her family. Gaga has said that she had trouble in the past sustaining relationships as partners were often intimidated by her success or uncomfortable with her openness about sex.

Forests ‘not the climate remedy hoped for’

Having secured the nomination Trump is consolidating his hold over the party

ASEAN

Gulf Times Thursday, July 21, 201610

Piracy down, but not out, in treacherous watersBy John Grafilo, DPA Kuala Lumpur

The owner of a tanker grew fran-tic earlier this year after failing to contact the ship while it was

traversing the pirate-infested Malacca Strait, the world’s busiest sealane.

The owner contacted the Indonesian police, who immediately dispatched two navy vessels to locate the missing tanker, which was loaded with 4,000 tons of marine gas oil.

After two days of scouring the seas aided by intelligence and air surveil-lance from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, the vessel was located and the Indonesian navy recovered the ship, arresting nine suspected pirates and rescuing unharmed its 20-member crew.

The Malacca Strait is a global ship-

ping super highway, which serves as the shortest route between the Indian Ocean and the Pacifi c Ocean.

Each year more than 120,000 ships pass through these waters, making the strait a magnet for pirates and thieves.

Karsten von Hoesslin of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organ-ized Crime said “an enormous number of islands are available for the pirates’ use as hiding places and bases.”

“The width of the Malacca Strait varies from only 10 nautical miles (18.5km) in the south to 125 nautical miles (231km) in the north, which re-duces the time during which pirates have to expose themselves and enables them to carry out their business with relatively small ships,” he said.

But increased patrols by Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand have greatly reduced recent attacks, according to Ahmad Puzi bin Abdul Ka-

har, director general of Malaysia Mari-time Enforcement Agency.

“We have plugged loopholes in our operations and further boosted co-or-dination,” he told DPA.

Malaysian Defence Minister His-hammuddin Hussein said air surveil-lance patrols as well as intelligence information sharing among the four countries — Malaysia, Thailand, Sin-gapore and Indonesia — have boosted anti-piracy operations.

The intensifi ed co-operation has yielded positive results in containing the problem in the Malacca Strait, ac-cording to the International Maritime Bureau, an global anti-piracy watch group.

The bureau’s data showed that in the fi rst quarter of this year there were only four incidents of low-level thefts in the strait, with no reports of hijackings, compared with over 100 attacks — in-

cluding 13 hijackings — recorded in the fi rst three quarters of 2015.

But Ian Storey, a fellow at the Sin-gapore-based Institute of South-East Asian Studies, said concerned govern-ments need to do more than just inten-sify law enforcement.

“Piracy can never be completely eradicated in South-East Asia due to geographical factors, poor socio-eco-nomic conditions and corruption,”

he told DPA.“The aim is to reduce the problem to

that of a nuisance rather than a major security threat.”

Storey specifi cally cited the need for governments to address the prob-lem of poverty among communities in the coastal areas, which are the natural breeding grounds of pirates.

“Regional states need to focus great-er attention on tackling the root causes of the problem, specifi cally reduc-

ing poverty and underemployment in coastal communities,” he said.

Von Hoesslin called on governments to address problem of corruption, especially in Indonesia, where the highest number of piracy-related incidents occur.

“Maritime agencies must receive better pay in order to stamp out the tra-dition of ‘moonlighting’ within the po-lice and navy, which directly facilitates opportunities for organised crime,” said in a report entitled The Econom-ics of Piracy in South-East Asia, which was released in May.

But the problem of piracy in South-East Asia goes beyond the Malacca Strait and further into the Sulu-Celebes Sea area where attacks perpe-trated by Abu Sayyaf rebels, Philippine Islamists, have intensifi ed.

More than 100,000 ships and 18mn passengers pass through the Sulu-Celebes Sea tri-border area between

Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philip-pines annually, with cargo worth an es-timated $40bn.

In March and April, suspected Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Phil-ippines seized two Indonesian and one Malaysian vessel, taking hostage a to-tal of 18 crew members Storey said the joint announcement recently of de-fence chiefs of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines to establish safe transit corridors for ships passing through the area “is a step in the right direction.”

But he expressed ambivalence over the plan to replicate the Malacca Strait Patrols (MSP) in the Sulu Sea-Celebes Sea area.

“The MSP has provided a deterrent eff ect over the past decade — it remains to be seen if that deterrent eff ect can be replicated in the Sulu-Celebes Sea which has a much longer culture of lawlessness than the Malacca Strait,” he said.

Myanmar military admits soldiers killed villagersReutersYangon

Five villagers were killed by sol-diers during an interrogation in Myanmar’s northern Shan

State, a senior general said yester-day, in a rare admission by Myanmar’s still-powerful military which prom-ised to prosecute the perpetrators.

Witnesses have told Reuters that sol-diers rounded up dozens of men in the remote village of Mong Yaw, in an area riven by a long-running ethnic insur-gency, on June 25 and led fi ve men away.

The bodies of the fi ve were found in a shallow grave a few days later.

Lieutenant General Mya Tun Oo, one of Myanmar’s highest-ranking offi cers and the chief of military in-telligence, told a news conference in Yangon that a court martial was un-der way and that the verdict would be made public.

The military also pledged help for the victims’ families.

“The court martial found that they violated the rules, failing to follow certain procedures, that led to the death of the victims during the inter-rogation,” said Mya Tun Oo.

He did not say how many soldiers were being tried or what charges they faced.

Such a public admission of wrong-doing by soldiers from a top general in

the presence of the international me-dia is unprecedented.

The armed forces have occasionally acknowledged troops have been at fault in previous incidents, but have usually done so in vaguely worded of-fi cial statements.

The military’s response this time suggests a heightened sensitivity about the army’s image as it tries to present itself as a responsible partner in Myanmar’s democratic transition and seeks closer ties with its Western counterparts.

The military is forging a delicate partnership with Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who swept to power after a historic election in November.

The armed forces, which ruled the former Burma for nearly half a cen-tury, still control three security min-istries and a quarter of the seats in parliament.

“Every soldier has to follow rules and regulations while investigating prisoners or detainees regardless of whether they are related to insurgents or regular citizens,” said Mya Tun Oo,

adding that the military would take action against the perpetrators ac-cording to the law.

“The military will take the best care and support of the victims’ families,” said Mya Tun Oo, without giving the details.

Myanmar’s armed forces have often been accused by human rights groups and Western governments of abuses during decades of confl ict with ethnic armed groups in the country’s lawless border zones.

Campaigners such as Amnesty In-ternational say it is extremely rare for troops to be held accountable for al-leged abuses, or for such allegations to be investigated transparently.

“After the incident in Mong Yaw we ordered an investigation commis-sion with three members, led by the vice-commander of the northeast command, very quickly,” said Mya Tun Oo.

“They visited the area, met with the families of the victims and supported them according to their needs.”

Villagers said the military vis-ited Mong Yaw and gave each family 300,000 kyat ($250) “as a gesture of sympathy”.

The deaths of two other men in a separate incident in the same area were also being investigated.

“They were shot dead when riding a motorbike near the military convoy, but we don’t know who shot them.

We don’t know who they are,” said Mya Tun Oo.

Villagers have said the two men were brothers and that their bodies were found in a ditch close to where the other fi ve victims were buried.

Mong Yaw lies in a remote corner of northern Shan State, where thou-sands of people have been displaced by decades of fi ghting between the military and ethnic insurgents.

Last year the military lost hundreds of men in a bid to re-take a rebel-held region bordering China.

Local human rights activists helped exhume all seven bodies in Mong Yaw and record their injuries.

Campaigners expressed surprise that the military was taking the al-legations seriously, saying they had spent decades documenting similar incidents.

Despite the latest admission, fear and mistrust of the military that has fes-tered for years in places such as Mong Yaw is unlikely to disappear quickly.

On July 11, Major General Kyaw Kyaw Soe had invited the bereaved families to an army facility near the northern city of Lashio.

Reuters reporters trying to attend were ordered by soldiers to leave.

“He said he would fi nd justice for us,” said Aye Lu, an 18-year-old wom-an whose husband was among the fi ve killed, after the meeting. “I don’t be-lieve him.”

Deputy Major General and chief of military intelligence Mya Tun Oo addresses a press conference in Yangon yesterday.

MH370 search to be discussed at meeting

AFPKuala Lumpur

Transport ministers from Australia, China and Malaysia will meet Friday to discuss the future of the frus-

trating deep-sea search for missing fl ight MH370, offi cials said yesterday.

The Australia-led search is scouring the seafl oor within a designated 120,000sq km belt of remote Indian Ocean where author-ities believe the Malaysia Airlines passen-ger jet may have gone down.

Searching is expected to be completed possibly in the next few weeks, and the three countries have said the hugely ex-pensive high-tech sonar operation far off western Australia will not be further ex-panded without “credible” new evidence pointing to a crash site.

“The search has been unprecedented in both size and scale, conducted in some of the world’s most isolated waters and at times in extremely challenging weather,” Australia’s Transport Minister Darren Chester said yesterday.

“The meeting will provide an opportu-nity to refl ect on achievements to date and discuss next steps as we near completion of the 120,000sq km search area,” he added.

The Boeing 777 vanished March 8, 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard, mostly Chinese nationals. The cause of its disappearance is unknown and remains one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.

Friday’s meeting will be held in the Ma-laysian administrative capital Putrajaya and will also be attended by Malaysia’s Liow Tiong Lai and China’s Yang Chuantang.

Thai junta raffl e seeks to bring tax returns onlineBy Orathai Sriring and Pairat Temphai-rojana, Reuters Bangkok

Want to win a million baht? Go for e-payment,” says Thai-land’s junta, off ering a lucky

draw as an incentive to use a new online payment scheme for business, in an ef-fort to bring some of the massive infor-mal economy onto the books and boost tax revenues.

As Southeast Asian economies strug-gle and tax income misses budget targets, Thailand’s fi nance minister is hopeful a nationwide e-payment scheme will add tax revenue of 100bn baht ($2.9bn) a year to the coff ers.

Finance Minister Apisak Tantivo-rawong has estimated the move will save banks and businesses a combined 75bn baht a year though other policymakers expect it could take some time for busi-nesses to change their habits.

Cash and cheques now make up 80% of transactions.

A coup in May 2014 ended months of political unrest, but the generals have struggled to revive Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy as exports and consumption remain weak.

To promote the scheme, the junta will next year off er consumers and merchants a monthly lucky draw of cash awards worth 7mn baht ($200,400) for a year.

Transactions made through the system will qualify for a chance to win.

Some 5.5mn baht will be for e-payment customers, with the biggest prize of 1mn baht and the rest for business operators that install electronic data capture (EDC) machines.

“This should make people go for e-payment quickly,” Apisak said, adding the junta aimed to bring big and small businesses into the e-payment system.

Under the system, transaction infor-mation is sent to the revenue depart-ment, so the government “can see all trade fl ows, making tax avoidance more diffi cult,” said Krisada Chinavicharana, head of the ministry’s fi scal policy offi ce.

Tax evasion in Thailand is a major problem for the government.

Former Finance Minister Sommai Phasee estimated evasion may have cost Thailand 30% of VAT revenue.

In the fi scal year ended in September 2015, tax revenue was about 2.3tn baht, down 9% from the budget target, with VAT at 709bn baht.

Thai tax revenue is equivalent to about 17% of GDP.

The junta is also urging small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to register a single accounting book by giv-ing them tax incentives and no tax retro-active checks, which will help expand the tax base and prevent fi rms from avoiding taxes by keeping two books — one for tax authorities and the other for banks.

From 2019, banks will have to use the same accounts companies’ submit to the tax authorities as the basis for lending decisions.

“We think this policy is a good step, and it will tend to decrease the informal sector,” said Kiatipong Ariyapruchya,

senior country economist of the World Bank for Thailand, adding Thailand’s informal economy accounted for half of GDP between 1999-2007.

Thailand has about 2.7mn SMEs — some 700,000 are registered and only about 450,000 pay taxes, according to the Offi ce of Small and Medium Enter-prise Promotion.

Under the master plan, a new money-transfer system, PromptPay, will enable people to transfer money and make e-payments using a mobile phone or na-tional identifi cation card linked to a bank account from October.

The scheme will later be widened to include complete electronic tax services and all government payments.

Electronic payments will be more convenient but some expressed concern about privacy.

“It will be good in a sense that it will prevent employees from taking money from the cash register, but it won’t be good because the tax man will know eve-rything,” said Panisa Boonchaiwattana, a coff ee shop manager in Bangkok, who said she would use an EDC machine.

“The idea of the government moni-toring your bank account is kind of in-timidating,” said Raweeras Poochareon, owner of tie-dye textiles shop in Chiang Mai.

“I feel like I lose my privacy. I refuse. I wouldn’t win the lotto anyway.”

Bank of Thailand Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob expects it may take some time before the scheme gains general acceptance as it requires a change in be-haviour.

“I think Thai people are quite recep-tive to new technology. For smaller busi-nesses, there will be a challenge,” he said.

“But it will take time, it won’t be that one day we have this proper system, push the button and people will switch.”

A customer signs on a payslip as she pays by credit card at a department store in Bangkok.

Visitors walk through the Orchid Extravaganza as part of the Singapore Garden Festival. Over 10,000 orchid plants will be displayed in conjunction with the Singapore Garden festival that runs July 23-31.

Orchid extravaganza

Indonesia bans police and soldiers from playing Pokemon Go

Indonesia is banning police and military personnel from play-ing Pokemon Go while on duty,

offi cials said yesterday, after the defence minister warned the smart-phone game was a security threat.

It came as the Jakarta presidential palace also prohibited playing the popular game around the premis-es, with signs appearing that read “Playing or hunting Pokemon is for-bidden in the area of the palace”.

Indonesians have joined the fren-zy for Pokemon Go, which has be-come a worldwide hit since launch-ing two weeks ago and has already been blamed for a wave of crimes, traffi c violations and complaints in cities around the globe.

Despite Pokemon Go not yet be-ing offi cially available in Indonesia, many have downloaded it illegally and taken to the streets to hunt for virtual “pocket monsters”.

But its popularity has caused con-cern among the security establish-ment’s top echelons, with offi cials suggesting its high-tech capabilities could be put to use in spying.

“Spying can come in diff erent forms,” said hardline Defence Min-ister Ryamizard Ryacudu, adding that the game was “just not right”.

The military will soon issue an or-der banning all personnel from play-ing Pokemon Go during work hours as it seeks to protect high-security sites, military spokesman Tatang

Sulaiman told AFP. The order will note concerns that devices being used to play the game can send data over the Internet to other countries.

Police offi cers across the country were already sent an order on Tuesday banning them from playing the game while on duty, a spokesman said.

“We are worried that police of-fi cers may become addicted and we don’t want that because a police offi cer’s duty is to serve the pub-lic. The job requires hard work and concentration,” said national police spokesman Boy Rafl i Amar.

At the presidential palace, press chief Bey Machmudin said the ban had been introduced as “this is the president’s offi ce not a playground”.

AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA11Gulf Times

Thursday, July 21, 2016

North Korea said yesterday that it had conducted a ballistic missile test that

simulated preemptive strikes against South Korean ports and airfi elds used by the US military, a likely reference to the launches of three missiles on Tuesday.

The North’s leader, Kim Jong Un, supervised the exercise that successfully tested the simulated detonation of nuclear warheads mounted on missiles, its offi cial KCNA news agency reported.

It did not give the date of the exercise, as it customarily re-ports activities of its leader with-out dates or locations.

Rodong Sinmun, the ruling Workers’ Party’s offi cial newspa-per, carried photographs of Kim with military aides, apparently observing a ballistic missile ex-ercise.

North Korea fi red three bal-listic missiles that fl ew between 500km and 600km into the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s

military said, in defi ance of UN Security Council resolutions and the latest in a series of provoca-tive moves by the isolated coun-try after a series of nuclear weap-ons tests.

“The drill was conducted by limiting the fi ring range under the simulated conditions of mak-ing preemptive strikes at ports and airfi elds in the operational theatre in South Korea where the US imperialists’ nuclear war hardware is to be hurled,” KCNA said. “And it once again exam-ined the operational features of the detonating devices of nuclear warheads mounted on the ballis-tic rockets at the designated alti-tude over the target area.”

Yang Uk, a senior researcher at the Korea Defence and Secu-rity Forum and a policy adviser to the South Korean navy, said that there was little fi rm evidence to suggest the North had succeeded in developing a nuclear warhead for missiles.

“However, it is a reminder that they are continuing to pursue nuclear warhead development, and that itself is an escalation of

risks for us,” he added.Tuesday’s missile launches

were seen as a show of force a week after South Korea and the United States chose a site in the South to deploy the Termi-

nal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system to counter threats from the North.

North Korea had threatened a “physical response” to the move.

“The idea seems to be to sig-

nal that (US) war plans cannot succeed because if we activated them, the North Koreans would strike as we made the attempt,” said Joshua Pollack, editor of the US-based Nonproliferation Re-view.

Late on Tuesday, North Korean state media called US ambassa-dor to South Korea Mark Lippert a “mentally-deranged hooligan” and “a heinous war maniac” for fl ying in a US fi ghter jet earlier this month.

Reclusive North Korea occa-sionally publishes insults of US and South Korean offi cials.

The North and the rich, demo-cratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 confl ict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

The North regularly threatens to destroy Japan, South Korea and the South’s main ally, the United States.

The US air force said Lippert fl ew in a familiarisation fl ight in an F-16 on July 12 to gain bet-ter understanding of the US and South Korea’s joint defence against North Korea.

N Korea: Missile test simulated attack onSouth ports, airfi eldsReutersSeoul

Two men read a copy of the Rodong Sinmun newspaper showing coverage of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un overseeing a ballistic missile test conducted by the Hwasong artillery units of the KPA Strategic Force, in a public square in Pyongyang yesterday.

“Now we’ll begin a mathematics re-view assignment for

members of the 27th expedition-ary unit of the distance learning university,” the woman’s voice crackled over the radio. “Turn to page 459, question 35; 913, ques-tion 55; 135, question 86.”

Isolated North Korea has re-started coded radio broadcasts, presumed to be targeted at its spies, for the fi rst time in 16 years this month, South Korea said.

The messages, a recording of which was broadcast by South Korean TV channel KBS, were disguised as a mathematics les-son for distance learners and re-appeared on North Korean radio station Voice of Korea in the early hours of Friday.

North and South Korea are still technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, and tensions are running high.

North Korea, which has car-ried out a string of rocket and nuclear weapons tests in defi -ance of UN Security Council resolutions, said yesterday that it had conducted a ballistic mis-sile test that simulates strikes against South Korean ports and airfi elds used by the US military, apparently referring to three missile launches on Tuesday.

The radio messages, also known as numbers stations, work by broadcasting strings of seemingly random numbers over shortwave signals to an agent in the fi eld.

The technique, a method of

sending one-way secret messag-es, dates to the French Resistance in World War II and is still in use by some governments today.

South Korea jams most North Korean radio frequencies but Pyongyang-based Voice of Korea broadcasts on shortwave signals which can be picked up far be-yond the Korean peninsula, and are diffi cult to jam.

The receiving agent, armed with a radio and a pen, uses an easily concealed pad with corre-sponding letters on it to listen to and decrypt the secret message.

“(North Korean) numbers broadcasts have been on hold for quite some time but have re-cently resumed, something we think is very regrettable,” Jeong Joon-hee, a spokesman for South Korea’s unifi cation ministry, told a media briefi ng yesterday.

It was not clear whether the signals were meant to deceive or deliver genuine instructions.

“I can’t speak to their inten-tions, but we hope that the North will refrain from an old practice like this and behave in a manner that’s conducive to improving South-North ties,” Jeong said.

Seoul has also operated a numbers station, former agents told Reuters in 2013.

Offi cials at the National Intel-ligence Service were not imme-diately able to confi rm their use.

South Korea’s station is known as “V-24” to amateur radio en-thusiasts who have tracked the source of the signal to a location somewhere south of the Demili-tarised Zone separating the two Koreas, and has been known to begin with a scratchy rendition of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No 8.

Pyongyang resumes coded spy broadcastsBy James Pearson, ReutersSeoul

Persistent heavy rain yes-terday caused widespread disruption in the Chinese

capital, Beijing, forcing the delay and cancellation of hundreds of fl ights and the closure of some subway stations.

Beijing’s steamy summer months are often marked by dra-matic rainstorms, one of which in 2012 killed 37 people.

At a meeting of the top gov-ernment body, the Politburo standing committee, President Xi Jinping urged offi cials to be prepared for rescue work and fl ood control eff orts as China is in its fl ood season, the offi cial Xinhua news agency said.

The Beijing city government issued an orange alert, the sec-ond highest in China’s four-tier

warning system, over the rain, and warned it could continue overnight, with 100mm (3.9”) of rain expected in some areas.

More than 200 fl ights were cancelled at Beijing’s main inter-national airport, and a handful of subway stations shut, the gov-ernment said.

Pictures on social media showed cars making their way slowly through fl ooded streets in parts of the city.

Some high speed rail services were also delayed, the rail au-thority said.

There were no reports of any casualties.

Large parts of central and east-ern China have been inundated with rain this summer, killing more than 200 people.

Since Monday, 13 people have been killed and 62 have gone missing amid rains in north and northwest China, Xinhua said.

Heavy rain disrupts trains and fl ights in BeijingReutersBeijing

PROOF OF LIFE: Two girls standing by a window are seen enjoying the rain in Beijing yesterday.

Taiwanese lawmakers and fi shermen headed to an island in the disputed

South China Sea yesterday to protest at an international tri-bunal ruling which undermined Taipei’s claims there.

Eight lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progres-sive Party and the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) boarded a military plane to the Taiwan-controlled Taiping island in the Spratlys archipelago.

Five fi shing boats decorated with Taiwanese fl ags and ban-ners reading “Protect fi shing rights, safeguard sovereignty” also set sail to Taiping from southern Pingtung county to protest at the perceived threat to fi shermen’s livelihoods.

The fi shermen waved to on-lookers, who shouted their sup-port and set off fi recrackers as their boats departed.

Those boats will arrive in fi ve to six days’ time.

The protests come after the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled last week that China has no historic rights to its claimed “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea and had violated the Philippines’ sover-eign rights in Manila’s exclusive economic zone.

Crucially for Taiwan it also ruled that Taiping, the largest island in the Spratlys chain, was legally a “rock” and not entitled to its own exclusive economic zone, undermining Taiwanese claims to waters surrounding the island.

Taiwan last week sent a war-ship to the South China Sea “to defend maritime territory”, with President Tsai Ing-wen rallying troops on the frigate’s deck a day after the ruling.

“The ruling is absolutely un-acceptable. It is necessary for us to visit Taiping at this time

to show the international com-munity that it is an island, not a rock,” said KMT lawmaker Johnny Chiang, who was part of the protest visit.

The lawmakers watched a display of combat skills by the coastguard stationed on Taip-ing as well as visiting facilities that show the island is self-suf-fi cient.

They are due to return in the afternoon.

When the fi shermen arrive in Taiping they will receive drink-ing water from the island in a bid to prove it is more than just a

rock and is fi t for human habita-tion, a spokesman for the group said.

Taiwan last year inaugurated a solar-powered lighthouse, an expanded airstrip and a pier as part of eff orts to strengthen defence capabilities on Taiping island.

There is also a farm, water well, hospital and temple on the island.

Taiping island is 0.51sq km (0.19sq miles) and most of its inhabitants work for the coast-guard, which has about 160 staff there.

Each year about 200 fi shing boats operate in the waters near Taiping island.

The Spratlys are also claimed in part or whole by China, Viet-nam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

Taiwan’s government rejected the arbitration court’s ruling, saying it “severely jeopardised” Taiwan’s rights.

It said that the judgment has no legally binding force since the tribunal did not formally invite Taipei to take part in its proceedings or solicit its views.

Taiwanese authorities have said they will continue to send aircraft and ships for patrol mis-sions to the region and expel any foreign boats that enter its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone despite the rul-ing.

Taiwan lawmakers, fi shermen protest at disputed South China Sea islandAFPTaipei

This handout picture taken and released yesterday by the off ice of KMT lawmaker Johnny Chiang shows a general view of Taiping island in the South China Sea, before a group of lawmakers landed on the island onboard a military plane.

Candidates in an elec-tion in Hong Kong in September must pledge

that the city is an “inalienable” part of China, and anyone who advocates independence could be banned from standing, the head of the Electoral Aff airs Commission (EAC) said.

EAC chairman Justice Barn-abas Fung Wah made his com-ments after the commission and the Hong Kong govern-ment drew anger by saying that candidates for the legislative council – which includes pro-democracy and independence activists – were required to declare in a new Confi rmation Form that Hong Kong falls di-rectly under the central gov-ernment in Beijing.

The Hong Kong government also said that advocating and promoting independence was “contrary” to that declaration and could render a candidate ineligible.

The EAC said that anyone making a false declaration was “liable to criminal sanction”.

Hong Kong is part of China but governed by separate laws under a “one country, two sys-tems” framework agreed with Britain when it was handed back from colonial rule in 1997.

“The introduction of the Confi rmation Form has sound legal basis.

The measure (is) entirely based on legal and procedural considerations,” Fung told lawmakers on Tuesday, ac-cording to a printed version of the remarks.

Relations between Hong Kong and Beijing have frayed in recent years over pro-democ-racy protests, a failed bid for electoral reform, and instances where Hong Kong residents say Beijing is breaking the “one country, two systems” agree-ment – such as the alleged abduction of fi ve Hong Kong booksellers known for their gossipy books about China’s leaders.

There is also a small but vo-cal minority of activists calling for outright independence.

“There have been comments and proposals in the public are-na which have deviated from ‘one country, two systems’ and the constitutional status of Hong Kong as prescribed in the Basic Law. In this regard, there are public concerns on wheth-er candidates fully understand the Basic Law,” Fung said.

Beijing’s chief representa-tive in Hong Kong, Zhang Xiaoming, said in a separate speech yesterday that allow-ing independence activists to run for offi ce – or even use the election as a platform for their ideas – would be a breach of the “one country, two systems” framework, public broadcaster RTHK reported.

A candidate who fails to submit the Confi rmation Form may be asked for further in-formation and election offi c-ers, with input from the Justice Department, may declare the candidacy invalid, according to the EAC.

The EAC is an independent statutory body that oversees elections in Hong Kong.

Legislative Council elec-tions are on September 4.

HK poll body says candidates ‘must issue China pledge’ReutersHong Kong

Hong Kong family reveals terror of German train attackRelatives of a Hong Kong family injured in a brutal axe attack by an Afghan refugee on a German train have revealed details of the assault.The elder daughter of the Yau family told local media that her parents tried to defend her sister’s boyfriend when the axe-wielding teenager went for him.“Originally the assailant was attacking my sister’s boyfriend and when my mother and father saw, they went up to get in the way and then they got injured,” Sylvia, 30, told the Hong Kong-based Apple Daily newspaper on Tuesday night.Both the boyfriend, Edmund Au-yeung, 30, and Sylvia’s 62-year-old father are in intensive care with serious head injuries, the paper reported.Her sister Tracy, 26, and mother, 58, were also injured, while Sylvia’s 17-year-old brother was unharmed.The 17-year-old attacker injured a total of five people in the assault on Monday, which was claimed by the

Islamic State (IS) group. He was later shot dead.A video released by the group on Tuesday purportedly shows “Mohammed Riyadh” – knife in hand – announcing that he would carry out an “operation” in Germany, and presenting himself as a “soldier of the caliphate”.Sylvia and her husband, who travelled to Germany on Tuesday night accompanied by off icials from Hong Kong’s immigration department, told how their family had been enjoying their holiday before the attack.“My father-in-law’s friends received pictures and said they were having lots of fun,” said Sylvia’s husband, who was not named.The attack happened around 9.15pm (1915 GMT) on the train between the town of Treuchtlingen and Wuerzburg in Bavaria, southern Germany.

See also page 14

Five dead after seaplane crashes

Five people were killed yesterday after a seaplane crashed into a bridge during its inaugural flight in China’s eastern port city Shanghai, according to local authorities.Ten people were on board the Joy Air flight when it crashed, authorities in the Jinshan district said.The five other passengers were injured, one critically.The plane, a Cessna 208B, was headed for Zhoushan in the neighbouring province of Zhejiang.The passengers – among them off icials, entrepreneurs and journalists – were invited guests on the inaugural flight to showcase a new Joy Air venture.The Chinese airline wanted to rent the plane to tourists in the future.

BRITAIN

Gulf Times Thursday, July 21, 201612

Hyde Park turns to ‘warzone’ as mob, police clashLondon Evening StandardLondon

Five police offi cers were in-jured, one of them stabbed, when “horrifi c” violence

erupted among as many as 4,000 teenagers in Hyde Park.

At least two youths were knifed as a mob clashed on Tuesday night with offi cers called to a wa-ter fi ght and party organised on social media.

Extraordinary video footage posted on Twitter shows one youth being stabbed in the street after he is chased through traffi c on Park Lane. In a separate attack in Hackney, dozens of riot offi cers were pelted with missiles as they closed down an illegal “block party” on an estate.

Several offi cers were injured and three police vans were dam-aged.

Offi cers were also called to deal with reports of disorder and fi ght-ing among 300 people at Burgess Park in Camberwell. There were frayed tempers on the commuter network too, with fi ghts report-edly breaking out among pas-sengers battling to board packed trains on the hottest day of the year. One man was arrested after punches were thrown at Clapham Junction station.

Witnesses in Hyde Park de-scribed how the banks of the Ser-pentine turned into a “war zone” as hundreds of youths clashed with riot police. Initially, local uniform offi cers were called to police a large crowd gathered in the park for what some described

as a spontaneous water fi ght.The trouble began as police

tried to stop people setting up sound equipment for an unli-censed music event which had been advertised online.

Suddenly offi cers came under a hail of bottles and missiles and one was stabbed in the hand as they were surrounded by a mob.

Eye witness Waqqas Nawaz told BBC Radio London “about 300-400 people” had gathered “throwing bottles at the police”. He described how police had “made a chain line across Marble Arch” to restrict people’s move-ment and try to calm the situa-tion.

Riot offi cers were called in and the group were driven back to Marble Arch where 500 remained until midnight, hurling bottles at

the ranks of police and chanting: “Black lives matter.”

A breakaway group stormed a nearby branch of McDonald’s, causing terrifi ed staff to fl ee downstairs as dozens of teenag-ers leapt over counters to clear the racks of food.

Buses were diverted from the streets around Park Lane, which was littered with broken glass, as the last remaining youths were detained or dispersed.

Riot vans blocked off Oxford Street to prevent the crowd from spilling into the shopping dis-trict. Met commander B J Har-rington, who is in charge of public order, said: “The people of Lon-don this morning are waking up to what is unacceptable criminal violence.

“Initially there was a good-

natured crowd but offi cers be-came aware of a group setting up a sound system and an unlicensed music event and decided this was not safe. They went to deal and negotiate with them but were met with a horrifi c level of violence.

“Offi cers came under attack and one was stabbed. People in the crowd were carrying knives and intent on serious violence. That’s not acceptable.”

He denied the disturbance, which involved a “hard core” of about 100 people, had anything to do with the “Black Lives Mat-ter” movement.

The hot weather was no excuse for violent criminal behaviour, he said, adding: “Does the weather cause people to be violent? My personal opinion is no, that’s not the case.”

Heat causebeing probedas soldier diesduring trainingLondon Evening StandardLondon

Army chiefs are investigating whether an infantry sol-dier who died on a training

course was overcome by heat.The soldier, from The Rifl es

regiment, died in the Brecon area of Wales on Tuesday — Britain’s hottest day of the year so far.

It comes after three soldiers died during an SAS training exer-cise in the Brecon Beacons on one of the hottest days of 2013.

Temperatures peaked at just above 30C (86F) in Brecon on Tuesday, the Met Offi ce said.

The soldier, a corporal on a course to become a sergeant, is understood to have got up around dawn and fallen ill around 9am, before the full heat of the day.

But temperatures were already around 25C, according to some reports.

The cause of death is still not clear but is not believed to have in-volved a fi rearm, vehicle accident or fall.

The army will probe whether it may have been heat-related and if lessons learnt from the 2013 trag-edy were properly followed with new procedures to reduce the risks of casualties.

The soldier who died was a re-cruiting instructor based at the Catterick military base in North Yorkshire. His next-of-kin have been informed.

Three years ago, Lance Cor-porals Edward Maher and Craig Roberts were pronounced dead on the Brecon Beacons after suff ering heatstroke during a 16-mile SAS test march.

Corporal James Dunsby died from multiple organ failure in Bir-mingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hos-pital more than two weeks later. A coroner ruled that neglect played a part in their deaths.

An army spokeswoman said: “We can confi rm that a soldier from ITC Catterick died on July 19 while conducting pre-course

training for the Platoon Sergeants’ Battle Course in Brecon.”

Police also confi rmed yester-day that a 16-year-old boy died in a river after playing in the water with friends.

His body was recovered from the River Etherow near Hyde, Greater Manchester, yesterday.

Jack Pullen was in the river Etherow when he got into dif-fi culty on Tuesday afternoon. Greater Manchester police (GMP) said they had recovered the body of the Longdendale high school pupil from the river in the vil-lage of Broadbottom, Tameside, shortly before 5.45pm. Offi cers said that while the river appeared shallow and calm there may have been strong undercurrents and hidden hazards beneath the sur-face. Greater Manchester police are investigating reports that the youngster became trapped be-tween a bridge and a log.

A 46-year-old drowned after jumping into a fast-fl owing river to cool down on Monday. The man, who has not been identifi ed, leapt into the River Trent in Stap-enhill, Burton-upon-Trent.

Emergency services were called at 10pm following a report that a man was having diffi culties in the water. He was pulled out by res-cue teams and taken to Burton’s Queen’s Hospital but died a short time later.

The Platoon Sergeants’ Battle Course is run three times a year. It is described on the army website as “both mentally and physically demanding”.

Captain Doug Beattie, who has taken the course and run pre-courses, said: “It needs to be de-manding and I don’t think there should be any call that it shouldn’t be demanding, I don’t think any-body would want that.

“But being a demanding exer-cise does not mean you do not do your risk assessments and take all precautions so that people don’t get injured. We cannot speculate in this case and need to wait and see what the cause was.”

Seven-year-old Olivia Coyte feeds pigeons in St James’s Park in London yesterday.

Feeding fun

BRITAIN13Gulf Times

Thursday, July 21, 2016

May echoesThatcher andblasts Corbynon spendingAgenciesLondon

A confi dent Theresa May echoed Margaret Thatcher in her fi rst Prime Minister’s

Questions yesterday afternoon, accusing Jeremy Corbyn of press-ing for over-spending.

Responding to the Labour lead-er calling for an end to austerity, she snapped: “He calls it austerity — I call it living within our means.”

May also mocked Labour’s record on women.

“In my years here in this house I’ve long heard the Labour Party asking what the Conservative Party does for women, well it just keeps making us prime minister!,” she said, as her husband Philip looked on from the public gallery.

“The Labour Party may be about to spend several months fi ghting and tearing itself apart. The Conservative Party will be spending those months bringing this country back together.”

Labour MPs looked solemn as May was widely deemed the vic-tor in her fi rst outing in the weekly clash.

Tory MPs roared approval as she mocked Labour’s leadership tur-moil, calling Corbyn “a boss who doesn’t listen to his workers, a boss who exploits the rules”.

Leaning forward, she teased: “Remind him of anyone?”

Observers said that line was de-livered in a style uncannily remi-niscent of Thatcher, who governed from 1979 until 1990.

Corbyn hit back with a jibe about austerity, telling MPs: “I know this is very funny for Con-servative members, but I don’t suppose many Conservative MPs

have to go to food banks.”The brief exchange saw May set

out her battle lines against Labour on spending and home ownership. Corbyn attacked the £450,000 limit for starter homes set out in government policies, saying that it was too high.

But May pointed out that it re-fl ected everyday life for people in his Islington constituency.

Often the only taste of parlia-mentary business that members of the public regularly get, the box-offi ce drama known colloquially as PMQs is seen as a barometer of how well party leaders are doing and they spend hours preparing for it.

May, who after six years as in-terior minister is no stranger to tough questions in parliament, oc-casionally referred to a fi le of notes as she was grilled on topics rang-ing from education to the Nice at-tacks.

“It is the single most nerve-wracking thing you’ll ever do in your life,” former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith told ITV.

“It is like driving a car down a

narrow road at 100-miles-an-hour whilst having to look in your rear-view mirror to see what is go-ing on behind you, and if anybody is there trying to smash your car up from behind. It is just impossible.”

Having navigated the session with no major stumbles, May’s fi nal question was from an old po-litical rival.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, whose party spent fi ve years in coalition with the Con-servatives before losing almost all its lawmakers at last year’s elec-tion, recalled running against May for a parliamentary seat in 1992.

“She has come a long way since we were on the hustings together in north west Durham,” he said.

May responded: “Little did the voters of north west Durham know that the two unsuccessful candi-dates in that election would be-come leaders of two of this coun-try’s political parties.”

“Although I would point out...my party is a little bit bigger than his.”

May, who styles herself as a serious, down-to-earth and un-fl ashy leader.

Police offi cer underprobe caught speedingLondon Evening StandardLondon

A senior Scotland Yard of-fi cer who is under inves-tigation after arranging

for riot squad offi cers to visit her children’s school has been caught speeding.

Deputy assistant commissioner Maxine de Brunner is understood to have been caught speeding in a 30mph zone in south London about six months ago and given a £100 fi xed penalty notice.

A Met spokesman said: “Whilst off duty the offi cer received a fi xed penalty notice for speeding. The matter was immediately disclosed to the offi cer’s line manager in line with Met policy.”

De Brunner is facing a miscon-duct investigation after she asked for Met offi cers and dogs, horses and cars to be made available to entertain pupils at her son’s pri-vate school in Surrey.

The event was due to be held in June at a reported cost of £10,000. It was cancelled when senior of-fi cers ruled it was an inappropriate use of resources. De Brunner, 50, organised a similar event at Chin-

thurst School in Surrey, where pupils were allowed to “wear riot gear, helmets, hold truncheons and try on handcuff s”, in June 2014.

The Met said it often supported school and community engage-ment events in London but had asked Hertfordshire Police to carry out a misconduct investigation af-ter receiving an “internal report” on the matter.

De Brunner, a former head of anti-corruption, has not com-mented on the allegations. Last month, the offi cer, who is in charge of the Met’s savings programme, was criticised by an employment tribunal for discriminating against a male chief inspector.

Chief inspector Adrian Denby was in charge of a riot unit when de Brunner objected to meeting another offi cer wearing a towel as he was walking from a shower to changing rooms at a police sta-tion. Denby was later placed on restricted duties and had his pro-motion opportunities curtailed. The Central London Employment Tribunal found he was the victim of sexual discrimination and that elements of de Brunner’s evidence were “not credible”.

Corbynwins legalfi ght inleadershipballot caseGuardian News and MediaLondon

Jeremy Corbyn will be a de-fendant in the legal challenge to his automatic inclusion on

the Labour leadership ballot, the high court has decided.

Lawyers for the Labour leader successfully argued he had a right to be heard in the case because his interests were not the same as those of Labour’s general sec-retary, Iain McNicol, who had previously been the only named defendant in the case brought by a Labour donor. Corbyn and McNi-col will have separate legal teams.

The legal challenge, brought by former parliamentary candidate Michael Foster, contests the deci-sion of Labour’s national execu-tive committee to allow Corbyn on the ballot paper without having to secure nominations from Labour MPs.

McNicol was being sued in a representative capacity but Cor-byn requested to be added to the proceedings as second defendant.

On Tuesday, high court mas-ter Victoria McCloud heard that Corbyn’s “personal interest in the subject matter of this litigation is pressing and obvious and dis-tinguishes him from the general body of members represented by McNicol”.

McCloud said it was clear Cor-byn had a personal interest in the case. “The extent to which the court should err towards inclu-siveness in an action inevitably depends on the facts but in this case the court fi nds that Corbyn is a member of the Labour party who is particularly aff ected and particularly interested in the proper construction of the rules, and his interest in that regard is of a signifi cantly diff erent qual-ity than that of other members,” she said.

Labour’s NEC voted 18-14 in a secret ballot after a tense six-hour meeting that Corbyn, as the incumbent, was not subject to the rule that forces candidates to show they have the backing of 20% of the party’s MPs and MEPs.

Boost for government asemployment rate at a highLondon Evening StandardLondon

Theresa May’s new govern-ment was boosted yes-terday after offi cial data

showed employment hit its high-est rate since records began.

The fi gures, relating to the peri-od just before the EU referendum, show that almost three quarters of all people aged between 16 and 64 were in work. The unemployment rate also dipped under the sym-bolic fi ve percent mark for the fi rst time in more than a decade.

It comes as ministers desperate-ly try to highlight the economy’s strength going into the Brexit vote, while experts warn of diffi culties to come. Chancellor Philip Ham-mond said the statistics showed “the fundamentals” of the econo-my are solid.

He added: “While the decision to leave the European Union marks the beginning of a new phase for our economy, the message we take to the world is this: our country remains open for business and we are the same outward-looking,

globally-minded, big-thinking country we have always been.”

The employment rate in the three months to May was 74.4%, the highest since comparable records began in 1971.

A total of 31.7mn people were in work, 176,000 more than for the three months to February and 624,000 more than a year earlier. Almost 23.2mn were working full time, an annual rise of 401,000, and 8.52mn were part-time, up 223,000 on the year before.

The last time the unemploy-ment rate dropped under 5% was in 2005 during Tony Blair’s ad-ministration. Figures yesterday showed it fell to 4.9%.

During the referendum, new Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green had warned of job losses if the UK quit the EU. Yes-terday he said the government would have to work to minimise any impact of Brexit, which may show in the next round of statis-tics.

He said: “We’ve now got to get on with the new reality, the British people have spoken. It’s one of the key tasks for government, to look

at what could go wrong and stop it happening.”

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said the robust employ-ment market up to May could have been helped by stronger than ex-pected GDP growth.

But he pointed to other research — the REC/Markit report on jobs — that showed permanent em-ployment placements fell in June for the fi rst time since September 2012.

Markit’s UK business outlook report for last month also suggest-ed that hiring intentions were the weakest since early 2013.

Archer said: “We strongly sus-pect heightened uncertainty and concerns among businesses fol-lowing the Brexit vote, as well as a weakening economic perform-ance, will take an increasing toll on the labour market.”

ING economist James Smith said: “This data is pre-Brexit and thus assumes little relevance for the Bank of England when they meet to decide on the amount of stimulus to add at the start of Au-gust.”

Queen Elizabeth II awards professor Dame Ann Dowling the insignia of the Member of the Order of Merit during a private audience at Buckingham Palace in central London.

Her long-term love popped the question over the weekend so it’s hardly surprising that Pippa Middleton can’t stop showing off her new diamond sparkler. The Duchess of Cambridge’s little sister couldn’t wipe the smile off her face as she flashed her engagement ring from hedge fund millionaire James Matthews as she left home yesterday morning. Dressed in a chic and feminine floral dress, 32-year-old Pippa beamed with joy.

Royal honour

A reason to smile

Universities in England are already announcing a tuition fee increase above the £9,000 limit before Parliament has even finished debating plans which would pave the way to raise fees. Tuition fees for 2017 are listed on Durham, Kent and Royal Holloway websites as £9,250. MPs will vote in the autumn on whether to allow an increase in tuition fees. The government will support an increase if universities can show they have high quality teaching. Announc-ing a higher level of fees of £9,250 was attacked as “disgraceful arrogance from some universities” by the Liberal Democrat education spokesman John Pugh. The proposal to raise fees is “not a done deal”, says Pugh.

A total of £4.5bn a year could be earned if Lon-doners were to rent out their homes when going on holiday, it was claimed. Homes in the capital are left empty for an average of two-and-a-half weeks every year, according to a Populus survey. Families are being chased by firms that off er to find tenants while they are away, and even clean up afterwards. Merilee Karr, founder of Under-TheDoormat, one of the new sharing economy start-ups, said: “There are over 600,000 homes in London that sit empty for four each year, and over 100,000 homes are empty for 10 weeks or more. There is a huge opportunity for homeown-ers to make some money”.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it would take far too long for him to apologise for the “rich thesau-rus” of rude comments and insults he has directed at world leaders and others over the years. Johnson, a former journalist with a talent for trenchant com-ments that his critics say sometimes tip over into untruth, said his utterances over a three-decade career had often been “misconstrued”. Johnson first made his name in the early 1990s as a correspond-ent in Brussels writing highly coloured stories about the EU. Since then he has continued to court controversy, for example accusing US President Barack Obama of nurturing an ancestral dislike for the British empire.

Police and Tube staff yesterday launched a cam-paign to encourage passengers to report hate crime, including incidents sparked by the Brexit vote. They vowed to investigate all incidents as part of the #WeStandTogether campaign to pro-vide reassurance that the Underground is safe for all passengers. Transport for London was unable to say whether the UK’s decision to leave the EU had resulted in increased attacks. One woman passenger said she was the victim of an incident two days ago at Covent Garden station when her head scarf was pulled by a man who pulled “monkey faces”. She said: “I was not harmed but I was very upset.”

A man has been arrested on suspicion of at-tempted murder after a glamour model who appeared in the reality TV series Geordie Shore died in a fall from a block of flats. Aimee Spencer, 27, suff ered critical injuries after she fell from a first floor window in Chichester Terrace just after 9am on July 11 in Brighton, East Sussex. Spencer - known by her stage name Carla Mai - died from her injuries a week later at the city’s Royal Sussex County Hospital. The 28-year-old suspect is from Brighton. A woman, also 28, has been detained on suspicion of possession of a class A drug with intent to supply. Both have been bailed until September 5.

Universities announcefees above £9,000 limit

‘£4.5bn a year up for grabs ifLondoners rent out homes’

Johnson refuses to apologise for insults

Campaign against travelhate crime launched

Man arrested after deathof Geordie Shore star

EDUCATION ECONOMYPEOPLE INITIATIVE CRIME

Britain relinquishes rotating EU presidency

Britain will no longer take on the

rotating EU presidency as planned

next year, relinquishing the role in

the wake of the Brexit vote, Prime

Minister Theresa May’s off ice said

yesterday. May informed European

Council president Donald Tusk in a

phone call on Tuesday evening, their

first since she took over from David

Cameron last week. “The prime min-

ister suggested that the UK should

relinquish the rotating presidency of

the Council, currently scheduled for

the second half of 2017, noting that

we would be prioritising the negotia-

tions to leave the European Union,” a

spokeswoman said. “Tusk welcomed

the prime minister’s swift decision

on this issue which would allow the

council to put alternative arrange-

ments in place,” she said. The presi-

dency of the council - the gathering

of national ministers from the EU’s

28 member states - rotates among

members every six months.

EUROPE

Gulf Times Thursday, July 21, 201614

Germany is likely to face more Islamist attacks, its interior minister said yes-

terday, although he played down any link between the govern-ment’s open-door refugee policy and Monday’s axe assault aboard a train in Bavaria.

Anti-immigrant party Alter-native for Germany (AfD) has seized on the train attack to criti-cise Chancellor Angela Merkel’s migrant policy, under which some 1.1mn people entered Ger-

many in 2015, many fl eeing war in Syria and beyond.

“You cannot say there is no connection between refugees and terrorism, but the danger was high before and remains high, regardless of questions about refugees,” Interior Minis-ter Thomas de Maiziere said.

A 17-year-old who had sought asylum in Germany was shot dead by police after severely wounding four people from Hong Kong who were travelling on the train near the city of Wuerzburg and injuring another woman while fl eeing the scene.

The perpetrator was initially

thought to be Afghan but de Maiziere said yesterday there were indications he was from Pa-kistan.

Offi cials have said the attacker came to Germany as an unac-companied minor and registered as a refugee in June 2015 at Passau on the Austrian border.

The train attack came just four days after a Tunisian delivery man drove a truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing 84 people.

The militant group Islamic State (IS) has claimed both at-tacks.

De Maiziere said the govern-ment had introduced a range of measures to improve security in the last year but warned that Germany should brace itself for further attacks.

“Like several EU countries, like the whole EU, Germany is also in the target area of international terrorism ... the situation is seri-ous,” de Maiziere told reporters.

Investigations so far pointed to the train attacker being a “lone wolf” who had been spurred into action by Islamic State propa-ganda, said de Maiziere.

It is unclear how the youth be-came radicalised.

He was living with a foster family and had a part-time job at a bakery.

De Maiziere said Germans would have to get used to more video surveillance and police offi cers on the streets, and also urged mosques to help Muslims integrate.

“We need the active co-oper-ation of Muslims living here, in-cluding the mosque communities working here.

“They, too, must make a con-tribution to integration, to pre-vention and to spotting the radi-calisation process early on,” he said.

Germany fears more ‘lone wolf’ attacksReutersBerlin

A radiation student wearing a coat with wires hanging out triggered a fi ve-hour

bomb alert in central Brussels yesterday before police managed to detain him for questioning, police said.

Brussels is on high alert for Belgian national day celebra-tions taking place today, and re-mains tense following Islamic State (IS)-claimed suicide bomb attacks at the airport and in the metro on March 22 that left 32 people dead.

Police backed by bomb dis-posal teams cordoned off part of central Brussels where they sur-rounded the suspect individual, who aroused suspicion because he had on a long winter jacket on a hot day.

“He was studying waves and radiation. He has just been de-tained and police will begin questioning him now,” Brussels

police spokeswoman Ilse Van de Keere told AFP.

Police said that the “belong-ings” he was carrying were harmless.

“When the bomb disposal robot moved towards the per-son under surveillance, he made some very worrying statements that led us to fear that he had ex-plosives on him,” Brussels police spokesman Christian De Con-inck told RTL-TVI television.

“He was a student who was going to do his studies in radia-tion.

“So all the belongings he had on him, which were very suspect, were in fact harmless.”

Photographs in local media showed the man on his knees at gunpoint.

Footage showed troops, police and fi refi ghters in and around the cordoned-off area at Place de la Monnaie, with the streets largely deserted in what is normally a very busy shopping district near the Brussels opera house.

The latest apparent false alarm

comes a month after a man with psychiatric problems who was carrying a fake suicide belt full of salt and biscuits triggered a major anti-terror operation at a Brussels shopping mall.

Last week’s deadly Nice lorry

attack set off a fresh wave of un-ease in Belgium and the latest incident, even if it proves to be a false alarm, will add to nerves as the country prepares to celebrate its national day today.

Belgium is the main source per

head of population of Islamic militant recruits going from the European Union to fi ght with IS in Syria, causing deep con-cern that they will return home battle-hardened and even more radicalised.

Radiation student held over bomb alert in BrusselsAFPBrussels

Belgian soldiers patrol a Brussels square after a man was seen wearing a thick coat with wires protruding from underneath in the city centre.

French lawmakers approved a six-month extension of emergency rule yesterday

after last week’s truck attack on holiday crowds in Nice, the third deadly assault in just 18 months for which Islamist militants have claimed responsibility.

President Francois Hollande’s Socialist government, accused by political opponents of doing too little to avert the attack that killed 84 people and injured hun-

dreds, also said that it would step up strikes against Islamic State (IS) in its strongholds in Iraq and Syria.

A year from elections, Hol-lande is under intense pressure as opponents accuse his adminis-tration of police failings over the tragedy.

A Tunisian man was able to drive a 19-tonne truck along a packed sea-front promenade, mowing down people in the Bastille Day crowd, before he was shot dead by police.

In a sign of other tensions, the outer wall of a mosque in Lyon

was spray-painted in red with the words “leave or die”, local prefect Michel Delpuech said.

And Paris’s police prefect can-celled an open-air fi lm festival as well as plans to turn the Champs Elysees boulevard into a summer pedestrian zone.

The extension of exceptional search-and-arrest powers for police was approved by 489 votes to 26 shortly before dawn in France’s National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, but not without renewed calls for an inquest.

Christian Estrosi, regional

government head in the greater Nice area, said policing was light-er than Prime Minister Manuel Valls claimed, and that concrete blocks were not deployed to seal roads off during the national hol-iday festivities of July 14.

Emergency rule has been in place since attacks on Paris last November in which Islamist mil-itants killed 130 people.

Another 17 were killed in Janu-ary 2015 in attacks that began with the shooting of journalists working for Charlie Hebdo, a sa-tirical weekly that had published cartoons mocking Islam.

In response to demands from the main right-wing opposi-tion party, Les Republicains, the rollover of emergency rule was extended for six months, to late January 2017, rather than the three months proposed by Hol-lande’s government.

The emergency regime, due to be examined by the upper house Senate later in the day before becoming law, allows police to search homes and arrest people without prior warrant.

It also allows them to tap com-puter and phone communica-tions more freely.

French lawmakers extend state of emergencyReutersParis

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls invoked a constitutional article

yesterday in the lower house of parliament to force through a controversial set of labour reforms for a third time, likely paving the way for their adop-tion into law.

The bill is aimed at relaxing some labour regulations, in-cluding rules governing over-time compensation and union-employer negotiations.

It has sparked months of protest from worker unions and student organisations.

Political parties have been split on the reforms, with some saying that they don’t do enough while others fear they roll back hard-earned worker protections.

Calling it a “text of progress”, Valls said the bill is a great re-form that is indispensable for the future of the country.

The government has argued that it modernises the work force in France, paving the way for business opportunities that will create more jobs.

Article 49-3 allows for the adoption of legislation without a parliamentary vote, unless the lower house passes a no-confi dence motion against the government.

A motion against Valls’ move was not immediately fi led.

There is a 24-hour deadline on such motions.

The measures included in the labour overhaul should be implemented as soon as possi-ble after adoption, government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said yesterday.

France’s socialist govern-ment already used the con-stitutional article to force the labour legislation through on the fi rst two readings, despite fi erce opposition from both sides of the political spectrum.

Yesterday’s third reading was defi nitive.

Protests against the bill have seen violent scuffl es between some protesters and police.

Public sites – including a hospital in Paris – have also been defaced.

Union leaders vowed to con-tinue to mobilise against the reforms to the labour code that had been proposed under new-ly appointed Labour Minister Myriam El Khomri.

Strikes against the so-called El Khomri bill, organised by seven main unions, have prompted fuel shortages, the accumulation of rubbish piles and transportation cancella-tions across France.

The reforms are intended to bring down France’s chroni-cally high unemployment levels, one of the key goals of President Francois Hollande, but have been seen by many as a betrayal of his own Socialist Party’s traditional platforms.

Valls forces through controversial labour reforms a third timeDPAParis

An award-winning jour-nalist working for the on-line investigative website

Ukrayinska Pravda was killed by a car bomb in central Kiev early yesterday morning, in what a senior Ukrainian offi cial called a “cynical murder”.

Pavel Sheremet, a Belarussian known for his outspoken criti-cism of his home country’s lead-ership and his friendship with the slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, was driving to work in the car of the website’s owner when it was blown up.

The killing was a throwback to the days of violence against journalists that Ukraine, under a pro-Western leadership since the 2014 Maidan protests, hoped to have shed.

“I don’t rule out that the cyni-cal murder of Ukrayinska Pravda journalist Pavel Sheremet could be used to destabilise the internal political situation in Ukraine,” said Anton Gerashchenko, a law-maker and adviser to the interior ministry. “The investigation will examine all possible theories for the murder, fi rstly linked to his journalistic activities. Even a Russian connection should not be excluded.”

In Moscow, Kremlin spokes-man Dmitry Peskov, said: “The murder of a Russian citizen and journalist in Ukraine is a very serious cause for concern in the Kremlin.”

Sheremet, who was given Rus-sian citizenship after fl eeing po-litical persecution in Belarus, had told Reuters in October that he did not feel comfortable visiting Moscow any more.

“I’m threatened often and giv-

en hints. Every time I go to Mos-cow, it’s like I’m in a minefi eld,” he said in an interview.

He said Ukraine needed strong, independent media to counter the infl uence of outlets control-led by business tycoons.

“Now the problem of freedom of speech and objective journal-ism is becoming again a serious issue,” he said. “As far as internal politics is concerned, I can see oligarchic games again, black PR, the use of media to settle scores and solve political problems.”

Tributes poured in from col-leagues and Ukraine’s president and prime minister.

Sevgil Musayeva-Borovyk, the editor-in-chief of Ukrayinska Pravda, which has made its name exposing corruption, called him “very brave”.

It was not clear whether the bomb had been set off by remote control or a timer.

Sheremet’s friend Nemtsov, a vocal critic of the Kremlin, had been working on a report exam-ining the Russian military’s role in the Ukraine crisis when he was shot dead in central Moscow last year.

Sheremet led the tributes at his memorial service.

“The last time we met was at

the funeral of Boris Nemtsov, and of course I couldn’t have known that a similar thing would hap-pen to Pavel,” Anatoly Lebedko, leader of the Belarussian opposi-tion party United Civil Party, told Reuters.

In 2002, Sheremet won a journalism prize from the Or-ganisation for Security and Co-

operation in Europe (OSCE) for his reporting on human rights violations in Belarus, including the disappearances of opposition politicians and journalists.

The OSCE called yesterday for action to address the safety of journalists in Ukraine.

The founder of Ukrayinska Pravda, Georgiy Gongadze, was

an investigative journalist who was murdered 16 years ago, his decapitated body discovered in a forest outside Kiev.

The incident helped to pre-cipitate the Orange Revolution of 2004/05, which resulted in an election re-run and the victory of an opposition presidential can-didate.

Ukraine shocked by car bomb murder of Russian journalistReutersKiev

Ukrainian police off icers and security services experts examine the car in which Sheremet was killed.

This handout picture taken on Febrauary 27, 2015 in Kiev and released yesterday by Ukrainska Pravda shows Russian journalist Pavel Sheremet.

Hungary’s right-wing govt launches new anti-migrant media off ensive

Hungary stepped up its anti-migrant rhetoric yesterday with a new media off ensive against refugees, ahead of a vote in October on troubled EU plans to relocate asylum-seekers among member states.Run under the slogan “Did you know?”, the right-wing government unveiled a series of ads on its website blaming recent terrorist attacks in Europe on the refugee crisis, which has been rattling the bloc since 2015.“The Paris attacks were committed by migrants,” reads one slogan in reference to last November’s co-ordinated assaults that left 130 people dead in the French capital.Among the perpetrators were two men who had entered Europe among the flow of Syrians and Iraqis arriving on Greek shores last summer.Other messages warn that “violence against woman has increased exponentially since the start of the migrant wave” and that “in Libya alone, a million migrants wait to come to Europe”.The ads will be published in the print press, broadcast on TV and radio, and plastered on billboards all over Hungary in the coming weeks, the government said.The opposition news website 444.hu slammed the campaign for “solely aiming to spread unlimited xenophobia across the country”.

Man ordered to pay €2,250 fine after insulting German politician via e-mail

The Cologne district court has ordered a man to pay €2,250 ($2,470) for insulting a German politician in their e-mail correspondence.“You must have the IQ of a piece of toast,” the 53-year-old wrote in his e-mail to Hannelore Kraft, the premier of North Rhine-Westphalia.The man wrote two e-mails in which he referenced her proposal to put long-term unemployed people to work helping refugees.He used other profanities and went on to call Kraft and other politicians a “corrupt bunch” who belong in the stocks.Kraft responded to the first e-mail with details about the proposal, the judge said. After receiving a second abusive e-mail, she filed a personal complaint.The accused, who was jobless at the time, claimed he was “frustrated”.

EUROPE15Gulf Times

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chaired a meeting of the National

Security Council in Ankara yes-terday in the wake of the failed coup attempt, with the potential for decisions on new security measures.

The meeting of the council – which brought together civil-ian and military leaders – lasted four hours and 40 minutes, state broadcaster TRT reported.

It was to be followed by a cabinet meeting, also chaired by the president, who arrived in the capital on Tuesday evening for the fi rst time since the failed putsch.

Nurettin Canikli, a deputy prime minister, ruled out the im-position of martial law, speaking ahead of the start of the high-level meetings, according to broadcaster Haberturk.

He added that the measures to be taken will provide stability and fall within the legal frame-work.

All political parties in Turkey’s parliament rejected the coup at-

tempt, which began on Friday and left hundreds dead.

But the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) voiced concern about reprisals against the opposition, with lawmaker Ziya Pir telling DPA that other factions “are afraid of being lynched”.

Pir also charged that the anti-coup street protests have been largely in favour of Erdogan, rather than democracy, creating

a “heated” mood in the country.“Unfortunately, we are seeing

a civilian counter-coup,” he says, but stressing: “Thank God the coup was averted.”

A government offi cial thanked all opposition parties on behalf of the president and the prime minister “for their strong stance against the coup”.

The offi cial stressed there had not been “a single incident” in which a member of the opposi-

tion had been attacked.More than 50,000 civil serv-

ants have been fi red, suspended or detained in the purge that fol-lowed the failed coup, including nearly 3,000 members of the ju-diciary.

Meanwhile, Ratings agency Standard and Poor’s downgraded the nation’s credit rating by one notch – taking the foreign cur-rency rating to BB from BB-plus.

“We believe the polarisation of

Turkey’s political landscape has further eroded its institutional checks and balances,” the agency said, putting its outlook to “neg-ative”.

“We expect a period of height-ened unpredictability that could constrain capital infl ows into Turkey’s externally leveraged economy,” a statement by the agency said, adding that the out-look could be revised if the “in-dependence of key institutions was not eroded”.

The lira dropped further, to 3.07 to the dollar.

Prior to the failed coup, the Turkish currency was trading at about 2.85 to the greenback.

Turkey has demanded the ex-tradition of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic cleric living in self-im-posed exile in the United States, claiming that he was behind the coup attempt.

Gulen, a one-time ally of Er-dogan, denies involvement.

Turkey sent the United States four dossiers on Gulen and has promised to provide ample evi-dence on his involvement.

The US confi rmed receipt of the documents but declined to say they constituted a formal ex-tradition request.

Erdogan chairs topsecurity meetingsDPAIstanbul

Erdogan chairing the National Security Council meeting at the presidential palace in Ankara.

Turkey faced fresh accusa-tions by some Western leaders it was fl outing

the rule of law with its purge of 50,000 people after an attempted coup, as the president gathered security chiefs yesterday for the fi rst time since the putsch.

Authorities have rounded up or sacked tens of thousands of police, judges, teachers and other civil servants from across the state bureaucracy in the aftermath of Friday’s failed bid to seize power by disgruntled elements in the military.

However, the purge has sparked an outpouring of con-cern in Europe with German

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman saying: “Nearly every day we are seeing new measures that fl out the rule of law and that disregard the principle of pro-portionality.”

The putsch left more than 300 dead and caused scenes of devas-tation, especially in Ankara where raids by fi ghter jets and attack helicopters turned parts of parlia-ment and the police headquarters to rubble.

The president returned to the capital late on Tuesday for the fi rst time since the coup and chaired meetings of his national security council, composed of top military brass and security minis-ters, and the cabinet, at his presi-dential palace.

Erdogan was in the Aegean re-sort of Marmaris when the coup

struck and then, narrowly escap-ing the rebel soldiers, fl ew to Is-tanbul where he had stayed since, appearing before crowds of fl ag-waving supporters each night in “vigils” for democracy.

The president told support-ers in Istanbul on Monday that “an important decision” would be announced after the security meeting, without specifying – fuelling fears that the government may impose even tougher security measures.

About 9,300 people have been detained, including 118 generals and admirals accused of treason for allegedly masterminding the plot as well as soldiers, police and judges.

The number of state education ministry personnel suspended has risen by some 6,000 to nearly

22,000, according to reports yes-terday.

Also, 21,000 people working in private education will have their licences removed and banned from teaching in the future.

Even the sports ministry has dismissed 245 personnel.

Turkey’s higher education council also banned academics from work trips abroad and urged those overseas to return home quickly.

The moves amplifi ed European concern that Erdogan was us-ing the coup plot as a pretext to crack down on opponents, with Turkey’s Western allies urging the authorities in the strategic Nato state to obey the rule of law.

Erdogan’s suggestion that the death penalty could be reinstated has sent shockwaves through Eu-

rope, with the EU warning such a move would be the nail in the cof-fi n of Turkey’s already embattled bid to join the bloc.

Ankara says that the coup was masterminded by US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen and the massive crackdown appears to be targeting individuals suspected of any connection to Erdogan’s ally-turned-foe.

Turkey accuses Gulen of run-ning a “terror group” and has stepped up pressure on Washing-ton to extradite him, sending sev-eral “dossiers” it says are packed with evidence about his alleged involvement.

Gulen issued a statement on Tuesday urging Washington to reject the extradition call and dis-missed as “ridiculous” the claim he was behind the botched coup.

The 75-year-old reclusive cler-ic lives in Pennsylvania but retains vast interests in Turkey ranging from media to fi nance to schools and wields infl uence in various arms of the state, including the judiciary and police.

In their fi rst telephone conver-sation since the attempted over-throw, President Barack Obama pledged US assistance to Erdog-an for the investigation into the putsch, which has threatened to once again raise tensions between the uneasy Nato allies.

MPs have meanwhile carried on working in parliament, despite rubble and shards of glass still covering the fl oor after three air strikes on the night of the coup.

Ankara’s police headquarters is in an even worse state, with the 10-storey building gutted by re-

peated air attacks and the air still thick with dust from the rubble.

“I do not know how long the rebuilding will take. But we have started,” a senior police offi cial told AFP at the scene.

The government says that 312 people were killed in the coup, including 145 civilians, 60 police, three soldiers and 104 plotters.

Before the plot erupted, the government had been waging a relentless military campaign against Kurdish rebels in the southeast of the country and their rear bases in northern Iraq.

The Turkish air force launched its fi rst strikes since the abortive putsch against targets of the out-lawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, in a sign Erdogan has regained full control over the armed forces.

Concern in Europe as 50,000 are hit by purgeAFPAnkara

Military coups are rarely good for business but at least one small sector

of Turkey’s economy has seen a roaring trade since a failed army revolt on July 15 – the nation’s fl ag sellers.

Flag manufacturers are work-ing fl at out to meet surging de-mand from patriotic Turks after a faction in the armed forces tried to topple President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his govern-ment on Friday evening.

The coup quickly crumbled but Erdogan urged people to take to the streets daily in support of his government.

“From the fi rst day around 1.5mn fl ags were sold. I expect another 5mn to be sold in the coming days,” said Orkun Altier, owner of fl ag producer Gozde Bayrak.

“Teachers, blacksmiths, can-teen operators, everyone wants fl ags at the moment. I don’t even have one left for myself to hang in my own home,” he said.

Manufacturers say they expect up to 10mn fl ags to be sold in the coming days in Turkey, which has a total population of nearly 80mn people.

They say this would mark the

highest demand since Turkey’s soccer team made the semi-fi -nals in the 2002 World Cup.

Even in calmer times the Turk-ish fl ag – a white star and cres-cent moon against a red back-ground representing the blood of martyrs – is venerated in this proudly nationalistic country.

It is a crime to damage or tear the fl ag or show it any disrespect.

“We had quite a lot in stock, but they have all gone. We have started up new production ... demand is huge. Our public is re-ally sensitive about this subject,” said Selahattin Afsar of Kara-nfi l Bayrak, a fl ag-maker in the western city of Bursa. “Person-ally I was so sad for my country on the night of the coup attempt that I couldn’t think of selling fl ags even though I had so many of them then.”

The fl ag can be seen fl ying from even more buildings and vehicles than usual since the at-tempted coup.

Flags sell for as little as three lira ($1) in Turkey.

“We have increased produc-tion but it takes time to make them,” said Izzet Adar, owner of Aybayrak, who has been making fl ags for the past 25 years. “They are factory-made so it takes two to three days to produce them. Basically everyone in Turkey wants fl ags.”

Patriotic upsurge drives fl ag salesReutersIstanbul

SUPPORT ANYTHING BUT FLAGGING: A young man waves the Turkish flag as others gathered for a meeting in support of the Turkish president on Istanbul’s Taksim Square late on Tuesday.

Turkey has promised to take the toughest action against the US-based cleric whom President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames for last week’s failed coup.But it has also taken a more symbolic step – by cutting the modest state pension of Fethullah Gulen, 75, whose Hizmet (Service) movement operates schools around the world and is also linked to media, finance and business interests.Yesterday the state-run Anadolu news agency reported that the Social Security Service SGK had cut Gulen’s pension and cancelled all his social security rights.He will be deprived of about $380 ($420) a month, said the opposition Sozcu newspaper.Gulen is believed to have substantial financial wealth.Given the hatred that the government bears for Erdogan’s one time ally, it was news to most people that Gulen even was still receiving a pension.Erdogan has charged Gulen has sought to undermine his government by running “a state within a state” and accused him of “terrorism” by instigating Friday’s bloody attempt to overthrow his government.Gulen has denied the claims, while the US government has asked for firm evidence in reply to Ankara’s request to extradite the reclusive spiritual leader from his mountain retreat in Pennsylvania.The Sozcu newspaper reported that Gulen had received 1,283 Turkish lira ($380, $416) a month in October 2014 and would have received his last regular payment on Tuesday.Anadolu also reported that the SGK would take similar measures against other coup plotters.

Gulen hit ... with loss of his pension

Three years ago, critics of Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan rallied

against him in mass protests.Last Friday they were appalled

by a coup attempt against him.Now they fear what may come

next.A gloomy mood pervades Is-

tanbul’s chic, secular neighbour-hood of Besiktas, a left-wing stronghold and centre of opposi-tion against Erdogan.

While most here have no taste for military rule and are grateful the putsch failed, they are also anxious about what they call the subsequent “counter-coup” that has seen thousands detained.

“It appears a witch-hunt is under way,” said 25-year-old university student and bartender

Emre, as he crushed ice in a hip-ster cafe in the district that over-looks the Bosphorus.

Since the failed coup, when F-16s bombed parliament in Ankara and rebel troops nearly captured Erdogan, the government has launched a sweeping purge of suspected conspirators.

Emre, who like many here de-clined to give his full name, said he took part in the 2013 protests against Erdogan and his Islamo-conservative government that were sparked by plans to redevel-op Gezi Park in central Istanbul.

Besiktas and its local Carsi football fan club were at the fore-front of the mass protests, which pitted mostly youthful urban protesters against riot police.

Refl ecting on his confl icting feelings now, shared by many here, Emre said: “I am not back-ing the government, but a coup is never acceptable.”

In recent days, Erdogan has himself fi lled squares with elat-ed supporters, who have waved red-and-white Turkish fl ags and celebrated his victory over the mutineers.

“There is no change in my dissident views about the gov-ernment,” said Emre. “Every-one is now scared of a so-called counter-coup. We hear about the news that steps are being taken in this direction.”

At fi rst glance, life is back to normal in Besiktas, where trendy cafes were packed with a lunch crowd early this week.

But, on most tables, there was only one topic of conversation.

“F-16 jets were fl ying, prayers for the dead were said through the loudspeakers of minarets that night,” recounted Sumbul Celik, a 32-year-old sales representa-tive, of last Friday night.

“That made me think about

the Iranian regime,” she said fearfully. “At fi rst I believed it was Erdogan’s theatre show, but it appears there are (subversive) soldiers among the soldiers. The idea that it really was staged by others is comforting me more.”

She stressed that she opposes the idea of anyone overthrowing an elected government by force.

“Even though I do not approve of Erdogan’s policies, I believe no-one can do this to his own country,” she said.

Celik recounted the passion for change she felt three years ago at the height of the Gezi protests, and added how crushed she feels now.

“At that time, I was very hope-ful, protesting amongst the crowds proudly, my eyes brim-ming with tears,” she said. “Now I am looking for a way to leave this country. We are a tiny minority at the moment. The government

will restore an order that will only strengthen its domination.”

Some people still voiced doubts the coup was real and ar-gued that, either way, Erdogan would take full advantage of it.

“I believe the government will benefi t from it, even if it is not entirely fake,” one young-ster said. “The killing of so many people will serve a purpose. I don’t think there are any people left who dare to speak up against bad governance.”

At a nearby bookshop cafe, 18-year-old Nesrin worried about Erdogan’s calls for citi-zens to take to the streets to rally against the coup attempt.

“We were banned from tak-ing to the streets during the Gezi protests and tear-gassed,” she said. “Now people are told to take the squares. What an irony! I am scared that the freedoms that re-main will be restricted.”

President’s critics glad coup failed but fearful of backlashAFPIstanbul

Academics banned from travel abroadTurkey’s decision to ban academics from travelling abroad is a temporary measure prompted by the flight risk of alleged coup plotters in universities, a government off icial said yesterday.The off icial added that certain individuals at universities were believed to be in contact with cells within the military, without giving further details.Turkey’s High Board of Education has banned all academics from travelling abroad, state-run broadcaster TRT reported earlier.

Embassy targets schools in CambodiaA Turkish off icial in Cambodia has called for the closure of schools that it says are linked to the cleric accused of orchestrating a failed coup in Turkey.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed bitter foe Fethullah Gulen for last week’s bloody failed putsch and has vowed to root out his network of alleged supporters.“We know that Fethullah Gulen is behind the coup attempt and we know Zaman schools are aff iliated with this person,” an off icial from the Turkish embassy in Cambodia told AFP yesterday, referring to the Zaman International School in Phnom Penh.“That’s why our government expects these schools to be closed,” he said, requesting anonymity.In a video posted on the embassy’s Facebook page on Monday, Turkish ambassador Ilhan Kemal Tug labelled Gulen’s movement a “terrorist organisation”.“We have been in close contact with the Cambodian government ... regarding the Zaman schools in Cambodia, and we have requested all kinds of support to be halted,” the ambassador said.The director of the schools, which serve more than 2,000 students in Cambodia from kindergarten to university level, denied formal ties with the preacher.Cambodia’s ministry of foreign aff airs told AFP that it has not received a formal request to shut down the schools.

Coup plotters ‘planned PKK accusation’A document found by investigators seems to indicate the coup plotters in Turkey planned to charge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with aiding the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), considered a terrorist organisation.The charges would have also been made against former prime minister and foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Hakan Fidan, the head of MIT – Turkish intelligence – according to state-run Anadolu news agency and confirmed by a government off icial.The alleged charge would have referred to the peace process – which ultimately collapsed last year – between the government and the PKK leadership, which began secretly in 2009.

Turkey blocks WikiLeaks e-mail dumpAnti-secrecy website WikiLeaks has released nearly 300,000 e-mails linked to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AKP party, with Turkey immediately blocking access yesterday.WikiLeaks said the e-mails came from the party’s web domain akparti.org.tr and mainly related to world aff airs.It said the e-mails, which date between 2010 and July 6 this year, were obtained before the attempted coup of July 16.A Turkish off icial said the WikiLeaks website was being blocked “due to violation of privacy and publication of illegally obtained data”.

Arunachal Pradesh CM wins trust vote

Jayalalithaa writes to PMon Thiruvalluvar statue

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) members yesterday demanded that the central government take steps to stop the construction of a barrage by Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Chhattisgarh government on the Mahanadi river. “This is really unfortunate that in our federal system the interests of the people of Odisha have been completely neglected. We are shocked,” BJD leader Bhartruhari Mahtab said in the Lok Sabha. “Mahanadi contributes to maximum irrigation in our state. The lives and livelihood of the farmers of 15 districts, including Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Sundergarh and Bolangir are fully dependent on Mahanadi,” he said. Mahtab demanded that “immediate steps” be taken by the central government to stop the construction of the barrage.

The Jharkhand High Court yesterday ordered the state government to pay Rs100,000 as compensation within 24 hours to the family of a minor tribal boy allegedly killed in police custody, a lawyer said. The court also issued a notice to the state and sought a reply within six weeks on Rupesh Swansy’s death. The boy was picked up by the Ranchi police from a shop at Bundu, around 50km from Ranchi, on suspicion of being a Maoist supporter earlier this month. The boy’s sister said policemen brutally beat him, resulting in his death. Two police off icials have been suspended and one of their seniors transferred in connection with the alleged custodial death. The state has handed over the case to the Crime Investigation Department.

The Haryana government will now provide incentives, and not subsidies, for construction of toilets in villages, an off icial said yesterday. Till now the government used to subsidise the construction of the toilets. But that policy has been revised and village councils will receive incentives for maintaining cleanliness, Navraj Sandhu, additional chief secretary of the Rural Development Department, said. The government will no longer give Rs12,000 for construction of toilets. Instead, incentives will be given. Earlier people constructed toilets in their homes with the subsidy but never used it. Now the cleanest and most functional public toilet at the district will get an award of Rs10,000 each month, Sandhu said.

BJD opposes barrage on Mahanadi river

Jharkhand told to pay Rs100,00 compensation

Incentives for buildingtoilets in villages

CONSTRUCTION CUSTODY DEATHINITIATIVE

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu yesterday won the floor test in the assembly as 44 Congress legislators and two Independents voted for him. Eleven Bharatiya Janata Party legislators voted against Khandu. The eff ective strength of the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh assembly is 58. Khandu moved the motion for vote of confidence in the government led by him yesterday morning. It was seconded by former chief minister Nabam Tuki. The proceedings were conducted by Deputy Speaker T N Thongdok as Speaker Nabam Rebia had resigned on Tuesday night. Arunachal Pradesh Governor Tathagata Roy had hurriedly convened the session for yesterday and asked Khandu to prove his government’s majority in the assembly.

POLITICS APPEAL

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa yesterday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urgently take up with the Uttarakhand government the issue of installation of a statue of Tamil sage poet Thiruvalluvar in Haridwar. In a letter to Modi, Jayalalithaa requested Modi to accord this issue the highest priority and prevail upon the Uttarakhand government to resolve the matter at the earliest. “It is learnt that the Thiruvalluvar statue is now lying in the Dam Kothi Guest House, Haridwar, in an abandoned condition. The visuals of the statue in this condition beamed on television screens are causing outrage in Tamil Nadu,” Jayalalithaa said. She said Bharatiya Janata Party leader Tarun Vijay had proposed the installation of the statue, and he off ered to raise funds for the purpose.

Gulf Times Thursday, July 21, 2016

INDIA16

Lawyers and journalists clash on court campusBy Ashraf PadannaThiruvananthapuram

Scores of journalists yesterday staged a sit-in at the Kerala High Court protesting at

what they termed was “hooligan-ism” of a section of lawyers.

The lawyers on Tuesday alleg-edly manhandled television crew, including a woman reporter, and locked up the media room saying they were distorting facts after the arrest of a government coun-sel on charges of rape attempt.

The court premises also wit-nessed a pitched battle between the two sides, and the police had a tough time to bring the situation under control.

Women journalists said the lawyers hurled abuses at them be-fore they were fl ushed out of the media room and later while sit-

ting in protest outside. Journal-ists unions also took out protest marches at many places, includ-ing the state capital here, against “the attempts to silence the me-dia.”

The Kerala High Court Advo-cates Association, which has been at the forefront of a campaign against “framing and arresting” its member in the rape case, said it had nothing to explain.

“We have nothing to say. Noth-ing to off er, and we don’t want to speak to journalists,” said its pres-ident S U Nazar. “We are going to meet the (acting) chief justice.”

In a letter to Advocate General Sudhakar Prasad earlier, the law-yers alleged the police misused the media to give extensive publicity to the arrest of government pleader Dhanesh Mathew Manjooran.

He was arrested after a woman raised an alarm saying he had

tried to molest her on a road at the busy Convent Junction in Kochi.

The letter said “the way in which the police published the news and framed the lawyer” are against the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court. However, state police chief Loknath Behera said the complaint was genuine.

“The mode and approach of the police in violating the rulings and fl ashing the news which has un-necessarily tarnished the image of lawyer fraternity at large and the unnecessary comments prefi xed along with the name of the lawyer is improper and needs to be con-demned,” the letter said.

The KHCAA had in the morn-ing convened an extraordinary general body meeting to discuss the issue of alleged “manhandling of certain lawyers by media per-sons inside the High Court build-ing” the previous day.

Gujarat seesmore protestsover attackson Dalit menWe are the poorest but we are not cowards, says a leader of the community

AgenciesAhmedabad

Protesters from the Dalit community blocked roads and attacked government

buses in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat yes-terday in a third day of demon-strations over the fl ogging of four men accused of skinning a cow.

The four Dalit men were last week tied to a car, stripped and fl ogged with sticks by self-styled hardline Hindu cow protectors who then published a video of the attack as a “warning” to others.

The beatings sparked the most serious protests by Dalits in years in Gujarat, with seven youths try-ing to kill themselves in protest by taking pesticide in diff erent parts of the state, an act that further in-fl amed tempers.

A police offi cer was killed on Tuesday during clashes in Una, 340km from Ahmedabad, where the tannery workers were at-tacked.

Cows are revered in Hindu-ism and their slaughter is banned in most states including Gujarat, where Modi ruled as chief minis-ter for a decade and spearheaded a 2011 ban.

Dalits in the state, however, said they earn their livelihood from skinning cows that die natu-rally, buff aloes and other animals, and vowed to fi ght anyone trying to stop them from doing so.

“We are the poorest but we are not cowards,” said Mayur Dab-hia, a leader of the Dalit campaign group in Ahmedabad.

Police are investigating wheth-er the fl ogged men killed the cow or whether it was already dead.

Diff erent regions of the state observed sporadic protests and

partial shutdowns as Chief Min-ister Anandiben Patel visited the village of the four Dalit men in Una of Saurashtra region .

They broke down on seeing Anandiben at their doorsteps. She later claimed all 25 Dalit families in the village were satisfi ed with the government’s action in the as-sault case.

Besides aid, she said, the Gu-jarat government will provide fi -nancial help to these families for the construction of houses and toilets.

A special camp will be held to ensure they get benefi ts of all gov-ernment schemes.

Dalit children studying in Class 5 and above will be enrolled in government model schools for free.

Anandiben said she had or-dered the district administra-tion to complete these tasks in a month’s time and that she will revisit the place after two months to monitor the progress.

Dalits are at the bottom of In-dia’s ages-old social hierarchy, making them vulnerable to at-tacks perpetrated by self-styled cow-protecting vigilantes.

The vigilantes chase trucks transporting cattle and raid slaughter houses.

Several people accused of eat-ing beef have also been attacked,

including a Muslim man who was last year beaten to death by a mob in a town near New Delhi.

Opposition lawmakers disrupt-ed parliament yesterday to protest against the fl oggings in Gujarat and demanded Modi apologise to the victims.

“The recent shocking incident in Gujarat where four Dalit youths were savagely beaten and humili-ated publicly is just one example of the social terror this government condones,” Congress president Sonia Gandhi told supporters.

In the upper house Rajya Sabha, opposition members trooped near the chairman’s podium, raising slogans against the government.

Social Justice and Empower-ment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot expressed regret at the death of the Dalit who consumed poison.

The minister, however, said the issue should not be “politicised.”

Critics say Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s nationalist agenda empowers hardline activists to believe they can take matters into their hands and target minor-ity groups like Dalits and Muslims involved in the cattle trade.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh condemned the attack in Gujarat and said Modi was committed to the protection of low-caste peo-ple.

Bullet train services byby 2024,says PrabhuIANSNew Delhi

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu yesterday said the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bul-

let train corridor would be com-pleted by 2023-24.

Prabhu said the joint feasibil-ity study for the high-speed bul-let train project has already been conducted by the Japanese In-ternational Corporation Agency (JICA).

“Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project has been sanc-tioned with technical and fi nan-cial assistance from government of Japan. Joint feasibility study for Mumbai-Ahmedabad high -speed rail project has already been done by JICA,” Prabhu said in the parliament.

“On the basis of negotiations held with government of Japan and JICA, the government of In-dia has sanctioned the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed train project with fi nancial and techni-cal assistance from government of Japan for commissioning targeted in 2023-24,” the minister said.

According to the minister, the journey on the 508km high-speed rail corridor will be com-pleted in 2.07 hours with the trains running at a maximum speed of 350km per hour and an operating speed of 320km per hour.

Currently, the fastest pas-senger train in service with the Indian Railways - Duronto - cov-ers the same distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in sev-en hours.

Prabhu said the Japanese gov-ernment will fi nance 81% of the project cost of Rs976bn with an interest rate of 0.1% per annum, to be repaid in 50 years with 15 years of moratorium.

In the last session of parlia-ment, the minister had said the fares of the bullet train will be 1.5 times the current fi rst class AC charges.

In Duronto Express, for exam-ple, the current AC 1st Class fare between Mumbai and Ahmeda-bad is Rs2,200. This means, for the 508km run between the two cities via a dedicated, high-speed corridor the fare will be around Rs3,300.

The ministry expects around 36,000 daily users both ways by 2023, going up to 186,000 by 2053.

Offi cer gets bail to perform last ritesIANSNew Delhi

A New Delhi court yester-day granted three-day interim bail to a senior

offi cial of the Ministry of Cor-porate Aff airs for performing the last rites of his wife and daughter who committed sui-cide on Tuesday.

The Central Bureau of In-vestigation (CBI) Special Judge Gurdeep Singh granted the bail to B K Bansal till July 22.

He was arrested on bribery charges.

The court asked him to furnish a personal bond of Rs50,000 and a surety of like amount.

Upset over two CBI raids at their residence within three days, Bansal’s wife Satyabala, 57, and daughter Neha, 27, al-legedly committed suicide on Tuesday noon.

Both were found hanging from ceiling fans in diff erent rooms of their fi rst fl oor fl at in Neelkanth Apartments in east Delhi’s Madhu Vihar area, po-lice said.

The CBI had raided their fl at on Saturday and Monday morning.

Bansal was arrested on Sat-urday and remanded in two-day’s custody by a special court on Sunday. He was accused of receiving Rs900,000 from Mumbai-based Elder Pharma-ceuticals.

The CBI had also booked the company’s chief operating of-fi cer Anuj Saxena.

During investigation, the CBI is said to have found that the senior offi cer owned 20 proper-ties in Haryana’s Sirsa, Gurgaon and Faridabad as well as Delhi.

All the properties were bought in the last two years and most were in the names of Bansal, his wife and son.

Journalists stage a sit-in protest outside the Kerala High Court yesterday.

Members of the Dalit community block a road during a protest against the flogging of four men accused of skinning a cow, in Ahmedabad, yesterday.

Rahul caught ‘napping’ in Lok Sabha

A video clip showing Congress

vice president Rahul Gandhi ap-

parently dozing off momentarily in

the Lok Sabha yesterday when the

party was heatedly raising the an-

ti-Dalit violence in Gujarat had the

party on the defensive. The video

clip, which showed Gandhi resting

his head on his right hand, with

eyes apparently shut, went viral on

social networking sites. Congress

leader Renuka Chowdhury sought

to give a clarification on the party

vice president’s alleged nap, say-

ing he was just “resting his eyes.

(He) wasn’t sleeping. Can anyone

sleep through that ruckus? We

(MPs) just close our eyes for relief.”

Social Justice and Empowerment

Minister and Bharatiya Janata

Party leader Thawarchand Gehlot,

however, later criticised the

Congress. “We have been saying

that they are not serious about

issues related to Dalits and their

welfare.”

17Gulf TimesThursday, July 21, 2016

INDIA

Police arrest three overgang-rape of student

Mumbai temple acceptsshares as donations

Facebook under fi re forKashmir ‘censorship’

Rajni maniagrips Indiaahead offi lm release

AAP woman activist commits suicide, Sisodia orders probe

AgenciesNew Delhi

Police have arrested three suspects over the alleged gang-rape of a student by

a group of men, some of whom had been charged with a previ-ous attack on her, an offi cer said yesterday.

The 21-year-old Dalit woman has told police she was abducted near her college in Haryana last week by the fi ve men, who then drugged and raped her.

According to relatives quoted in media, she identifi ed all fi ve as the men who had raped her be-fore, in 2013.

Two men were charged over

that attack, but were released on bail while awaiting trial.

“We arrested three of them yesterday,” Pushpa Khatri, a police offi cer involved in the in-vestigation, said without giving further details.

A local court sent the three accused to police custody until Sunday, after a prosecutor asked for them to be remanded for further questioning, an offi cer present at the hearing said.

It was unclear whether the two men already facing charges were among those arrested.

Police said they were still looking for two other suspects in the latest case.

The woman was found uncon-scious in bushes on the side of a

highway last Wednesday night.Her family has said the fi ve

men had issued threats before the latest attack, demanding that they withdraw the case lodged after the 2013 assault.

The family also told media they had been forced to move away from their home district after the 2013 attack because of harassment.

However, some of those ac-cused in the latest case have de-nied involvement, saying they were not in the area on the day of the alleged assault.

The victim’s father said his daughter was determined to fi ght the case and after the sec-ond incident had told him: “I will not give up.”

AFPMumbai

One of India’s most high-profi le Hindu temples said yesterday it now ac-

cepts shares of listed companies as donations in a novel departure from the usual gifts of cash and gold.

Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak tem-ple, which Apple chief executive Tim Cook visited in May, allows generous devotees to transfer their stocks electronically to an account run by the religious site’s trust.

“We have opened up a ‘share and securities’ option for devo-tees globally,” trust chairman Narendra Murari Rane said, adding that the stocks would be converted into cash.

“The stocks cannot be used for trading purposes,” Rane ex-plained.

Hundreds of thousands of worshippers pray at Siddhivi-nayak temple every day, includ-ing cricketers, politicians and Bollywood stars.

It is one of the wealthiest tem-ples in India, receiving donations of around Rs750mn ($11.19mn) a year in cash, silver and gold.

As well as donations, Hindus also seek the blessings of their favoured gods by making reli-gious off erings at shrines, such as fruit, incense sticks and fl ow-ers.

Rane hopes Indians who like to invest on the Bombay Stock Exchange will be inclined to give some of their shares to Siddhivi-nayak in the hope that it will boost their fortunes.

Without credible information or access to communication channels there is an atmosphere of uncertainty

Guardian News and MediaNew Delhi

Facebook has censored doz-ens of posts and user ac-counts after the death of

a Kashmiri separatist militant, who was killed by security forces earlier this month.

Academics, journalists and the pages of local newspapers are among those who have had photos, videos and entire ac-counts deleted by Facebook after they posted about recent events in state.

Burhan Wani, a senior mem-ber of the Hizbul Mujahideen rebel group, was killed by the army on July 8. At least 45 peo-ple died in the violent protests that spread across Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of the killing, and an indefi nite curfew has been introduced by the gov-ernment.

Mobile phone coverage, landlines and Internet services were curbed throughout the state, and police raided newspaper offi ces, seizing thousands of printed copies.

Kashmiris say that the infor-

mation blackout has been exacer-bated by censorship on Facebook.

“There are no papers and we only get two TV news channels,” said Zargar Yasir, a Kashmiri blog-ger and PhD student who said his account was blocked for more than a week, with some posts re-moved, after he linked to a self-authored blogpost about Wani.

“When there’s no news, usually we turn to social media for infor-mation. That way at least we can talk to each other, we can ask our families and friends how they are, if they are OK. But Facebook has taken my account down, so how do I do that now?” said Yasir.

To get round the government’s news ban, reporters have been updating the news websites and posting on social media to keep people informed.

Mubashir Bukhari, a journal-ist writing for Kashmir Monitor paper said: “When I came into work yesterday, I saw that Fa-cebook had removed a video we had posted. The video showed Syed Ali Shah Ghelani, a sepa-ratist leader, condemning the death of Burhan Wani. We have never had anything else removed from our Facebook page.”

Without credible informa-tion or access to communication channels there is an atmosphere of uncertainty in the state.

“There are so many rumours fl ying around, people saying ‘Did you hear about this man who died?’ when the man is still alive. Or did you hear about that shoot-ing here? When actually it hap-pened somewhere else,” said Yasir.

Social media companies such as Facebook are under increasing pressure to limit the spread of extremist propaganda - but have also faced criticism that they have gone too far.

Rizwan Sajid, whose account was blocked after he changed his profi le picture to an image of Wani, said Facebook’s actions amounted to Islamophobia.

“Why is it that only Muslims get blocked? Facebook is be-ing one-sided by supporting the atrocities committed by the Indian army. Other people can say whatever they want, but if Muslims say something, we get blocked. It is not neutral.”

Huma Dar, a Kashmiri academ-ic in California, found that her profi le had been deleted without warning after she posted images of Wani’s funeral last Sunday.

“The day that Burhan was killed, I got messages from friends in India saying some of their photos had been deleted. I thought it had something to do with the Indian government. I live a mile and a half away

from Facebook’s headquarters in America; I never thought it would happen to me.”

Dar, an academic at UC Berkley and California State who teaches a class about cinema and terror-ism, said: “Naturally I post about these things, and I use Facebook as a place to discuss ideas.”

When Dar wrote to Facebook about her account being deleted, she got a response saying that her posts had “violated com-munity standards. The e-mail did not mention which post spe-cifi cally had led to the deletion of her account but said, “one of our main priorities is the comfort and safety of the people who use Facebook, and we don’t allow credible threats to harm oth-

ers, support for violent organi-zations or exceedingly graphic content on Facebook.”

In a statement, Facebook said: “There is no place on Fa-cebook for content that praises or supports terrorists, terrorist organisations or terrorism. We welcome discussion on these subjects but any terrorist con-tent has to be clearly put in con-text which condemns these or-ganisations and or their violent activities. Therefore, profi les and content supporting or prais-ing Hizbul Mujahideen and Bur-han Wani are removed as soon as they are reported to us. In this instance, some content was re-moved in error, but this has now been restored.”

AgenciesNew Delhi

Fans of the balding 65-year-old Tamil su-perstar Rajinikanth are

going mad across India as they prepare for the opening of his latest fi lm Kabali tomorrow.

Several software fi rms in Bengaluru and Chennai have given their employees a day off so they can catch the fi rst showings of the gangster dra-ma.

S Shriram, founder of shop-ping and delivery website Oyethere.com, has booked two Inox screens for Kabali in Chennai for his workforce, the Times of India reported.

A Maruti Suzuki car dealer in Hosur town in Tamil Nadu is selling a model of the Swift decorated with images, graph-ics and quotes from Kabali, the paper reported.

Born Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, Rajinikanth was a bus con-ductor before he made it big in fi lms.

He is a cult fi gure in India, almost deifi ed by this many fans, and usually plays larger-than-life roles.

Srinivas Jayaseelan, a Chennai-based airline ex-ecutive has booked tickets to watch 10 back-to-back shows of Kabali, website fi rstpost.com reported.

Asked if he had similar de-votion for any other actor, Ja-yaseelan was quoted as saying: “I have one father, one mother and one god - who is Ra-jinikanth.”

“Rajinikanth is an icon for people who worship him with religious rituals,” said Sudha G Tilak, a crit-ic writing on Tamil fi lms.

“He is an emblem of all their aspira-tions, his characters have humble roots and fi ght for jus-tice.”

Each of the star’s fi lms is a “time for celebration,” he said.

“Rajinikanth com-mands the same fan

following as a rock star of yes-teryears,” Tilak added.

“His fan base is expan-sive from rickshaw-pullers in Chennai to techies in Silicon Valley who dance down the aisles to the songs in his fi lms.”

Most theatres across Tamil Nadu have sold out tickets for the opening weekend.

“With the average ticket costing Rs600, most ardent Rajinikanth fans are disap-pointed that they couldn’t aff ord the tickets on the fi rst day,” a trade analyst said.

Despite Tamil Nadu govern-ment’s cap of Rs120 on movie tickets, theatre owners have been selling Kabali tickets at fi ve times the original price.

“We are used to paying Rs120 for movie tickets. But this sudden exponential in-crease in ticket price is very unfair. The prices vary ac-cording to the show timings. Early morning shows are sold at Rs500-600 and the prices are slashed through the course of the day,” said Santhosh Ku-mar, a college student.

Some fans are seething over unavailability of tickets be-cause they were allegedly sold in bulk to companies.

“We don’t have issues with the ticket prices. It’s once in two or three years, you get a Thalaivar (Rajinikanth’s) fi lm. If you can’t shell out Rs1,000 for your matinee idol, then what kind of a fan are you,” asks Muralikrishna, a char-tered accountant.

A theatre owner said the tickets were being sold at

such high prices because of the high investment

involved.“The Chengalpet area

rights of Kabali were bought for Rs18 crore (Rs180mn). In order to make profi ts, the fi lm should collect over Rs30 crore.

If the tick-ets are sold at Rs120, it’s impossible to recover the in-vestment in the

fi rst few days,” he said.

IANSNew Delhi

A woman Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activist commit-ted suicide after a party

member, who she accused of sexually harassing her, was re-leased on bail. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has ordered a magisterial probe.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the incident has exposed the anti-women character of the AAP.

The woman, Soni, who lived in outer Delhi’s Narela area with her two daughters and other family members, had fi led a po-lice complaint on June 2 about party colleague Ramesh Wadhwa for harassing her.

“We registered a case against him and arrested him on June 3,” a police offi cer said.

“He was granted police bail on June 4,” the offi cer added.

The case was registered under Sections 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) and 509

(Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), police said.

In her police complaint, Soni alleged that Wadhwa harassed her continuously and asked for sexual favours. She even raised the matter in the party but no action was taken against him, she said.

“On Tuesday, she mixed something in her cold drink and tried to commit suicide around 2pm,” the offi cer said, adding

“she was rushed to hospital, but died around 7pm.”

The offi cer said that Soni was basically unhappy with her party for not taking action against her alleged molester.

Police said Wadhwa had got a stay on his arrest from the court on June 22.

Meanwhile, family members of the woman alleged that Soni went into depression after bail was granted to the accused.

Taking note of the incident, the Delhi government ordered

a magisterial probe into the al-leged suicide.

Sisodia asked North Delhi’s district magistrate to investigate the matter.

“Have ordered magistrate inquiry in AAP activist suicide case in Narela. DM north will do the inquiry,” Sisodia tweeted.

Delhi Women Commission chief Swati Maliwal expressed concern over the incident and demanded stringent action against those behind Soni’s sui-cide.

“Very sad case of Soni sui-cide. DCW counsellor met SHO, ACP and got her FIR fi led. Court gave bail to accused. We demand strictest action in this case,” Maliwal tweeted.

“Suicide case increasing. Many get depressed during bat-tle for justice. DCW to set up special counselling centre for women dealing with depres-sion,” Maliwal said in another tweet.

Attacking the AAP, Delhi unit BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said:

“The real face of AAP has been exposed and the suicide by the woman party worker has estab-lished the fact that it is an anti-women character party.”

“She raised the issue with the party leaders but they kept on ignoring her complaint,” Upad-hyay said, adding, “and it is not the fi rst incident, around six cases have been fi led against AAP leaders for misbehaving with women who either work with them or go to their offi ce to meet them.”

Migrant labourers wait for bus tickets so they can travel back to their respective homes at the Tourist Reception Centre in Srinagar, during a curfew yesterday. Many non-Kashmiri labourers are leaving the valley due to ongoing unrest.

Police escort two men accused of gang raping a woman as they arrive in a court in Rohtak, Haryana, yesterday.

Principal charged with sedition

A school principal and two others in Madhya Pradesh have been charged with sedition for printing an incorrect map of Jammu and Kashmir, police said yesterday, an off ence technically punishable by a maximum of life in jail. The principal was arrested on Monday along with the school’s owner and a printing press owner following a complaint by a rightwing Hindu activist, who

spotted the map in a school diary. Police said hundreds of diaries were printed by the private Green Bells Public School, showing parts of Kashmir within the borders of Pakistan and China. “All of them have been charged with sedition and acting against the national interest,” Satish Dwivedi, a senior police off icer in Shahdol district where the men were arrested, said.

18 Gulf TimesThursday, July 21, 2016

LATIN AMERICA

Rescuers have recovered a second body from a cruise ship that exploded while docked on a river in the Peruvian Amazon, off icials said. Divers are still looking for the bodies of several people missing since Saturday’s blast in the city of Iquitos. The accident happened when a gas container exploded aboard the Aqua Expeditions cruise ship as it was taking on fuel. No tourists were on board at the time. The second body was found by Peruvian navy divers. They had to work carefully because of risks of another explosion, said Oscar Garrido-Lecca Hoyle, director of the Iquitos port. The rest of the bodies are believed to be trapped on the starboard side of the ship, now under water.

Scheduled surgery on imprisoned former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to remove a benign brain tumour has been postponed because of the 82-year-old’s frail health, his doctor said. The operation was to have taken place today on the tumour, which has slowly grown since being detected years ago. But the ex-general’s personal doctor Eduardo Reyes said that, after being admitted to hospital, Noriega was found to be suff ering blood pressure “too high for surgery.” He added that it was risky to expose Noriega to hospital infections “unnecessarily” and the operation had been put off “until new advice.”

Chile has declared that all Bolivian government off icials would need entry visas in passports to visit. The move was a firm rebuke after Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca made an unoff icial visit to Chilean ports this week. The countries have an agreement under which Chile allows Bolivia access to its ports; Choquehuanca had critical words to say, and outraged Chilean off icials who insist they are keeping their side of the deal. But there is no shortage of bad blood between the Andean neighbours. Bolivia lost its access to the sea to Chile in the War of the Pacific in the 19th century, and has stepped up eff orts to get it back under President Evo Morales.

Colombia’s constitutional court has given its approval for a popular referendum on a historic peace deal being negotiated with Farc rebels. “There is a green light for us, the Colombian people, to approve the peace deal with our votes,” President Juan Manuel Santos said. The top court held more than eight hours of deliberations before giving its go-ahead to a government bill on the plebiscite, which has already been approved by Congress. The Colombian government and the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) are in the final phase of four years of talks that it is hoped will result in a peace deal putting to an end a half-a-century of conflict.

Swedish professional extreme skier Matilda Rapaport has died after being caught in an avalanche in the Andes mountains near Chile’s capital Santiago, her sponsor Red Bull said. Rapaport, who was 30 years old, was skiing in a film shoot outside the resort town of Farellones when the avalanche occurred. She died later in hospital after suff ering oxygen deprivation and brain damage. “Matilda was an extraordinary athlete, travelling the world to find her passion, ride steep terrain and share her bright smile,” Red Bull said. Rapaport was an established part of the freeride skiing circuit, in which athletes rapidly descend steep, rocky mountain faces.

Death toll in Peru river cruise blast up to two

Surgery on Noriega brain tumour postponed: doctor

Chile demands Bolivianoff icials have visa for entry

Court backs referendumon peace deal with Farc

Swedish free-skier dies in Chile avalanche

TRAGEDYHEALTHDECISION LEGAL PEOPLE

Superheroes swoop in to a Venezuela in crisisAFPCaracas

Superheroes, wizards and Jedi Knights have descended on the Ven-

ezuelan capital. And while they may not be able to save the country from its spiralling economic crisis, fans at Cara-cas Comic-Con are counting on their heroes to at least help them escape their real-world problems for a while.

For three weekends, through July 31, fans are paying tribute to the worlds of comic books, video games and sci-fi at the 10th Caracas Comic-Con, the local edition of the interna-tional pop culture fest.

It comes at a time when a punishing recession, food shortages, hyperinfl ation and violent crime have left Ven-ezuelans desperate for heroes — or even villains — to come to the rescue.

“It gives us space to breathe in the middle of this political situation,” said Jhoan Guz-man, a 25-year-old chemist who was yesterday wearing the white face paint and red lipstick of his alter ego: Bat-man’s arch-enemy Joker.

“This is an alternative to help us forget the world we’re living in, to enjoy ourselves doing something we love.”

Instead of lining up outside the supermarket for basic ne-cessities, attendees fl ock to a convention hall in a Caracas mall to pay homage to their favourite pop culture phenom-ena: The Avengers, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pokemon and Game of Thrones, among oth-ers.

Some even show up in cos-tume, just like at other Com-ic-Cons worldwide — chief among them the giant gath-ering each July in San Diego — though here the get-ups

are often cobbled together us-ing whatever materials are at hand.

Ann Mary Fayard, a 34-year-old fashion designer, was decked out as Harley Quinn, the Joker’s sidekick, a costume she made from scraps.

“I recycle everything. Whatever cloth is left over, design materials. I save money and tap of my ingenuity,” she said.

“I like ‘cosplay’ (costume role-play) because I can let my imagination fl y. It’s a way to free your mind of so many problems and spend time do-ing something else.”

Venezuela is teetering on the brink of collapse, devas-tated by the global plunge in prices for its main export, oil.

President Nicolas Maduro’s government is struggling to contain the crisis, fuelling op-position calls for an end to 17 years of leftist rule.

The doom and gloom have not kept self-described “geeks” from shelling out 1,800 bolivars (about $3 at the latest offi cial exchange rate) — more than a week’s pay at minimum wage — to attend Caracas Comic-Con.

Convention organiser Dan-iela Paolillo said she expected some 20,000 visitors.

One of the top issues they are talking about, said Paolil-lo, is when they will be able to play Pokemon Go, the wildly popular video game in which players roam the real world hunting for cartoon monsters with their cell phones.

Thyfany Ron, a member of the Pokemon Venezuela fan club, said there is still no local release date for the game.

And it is unclear how safe it would be for players in a coun-try with one of the world’s highest rates of violent crime, where smartphone users are frequent targets on the street.

Men work cleaning up the garbage next to an ecobarrier at Meriti River which flows into Guanabara Bay, in Duque de Caxias, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, yesterday.

River cleanup

Cuba urges Obama to make thaw ‘irreversible’AFPHavana

Cuba yesterday called on US President Barack Obama to make the

former Cold War enemies’ rec-onciliation “irreversible,” as they marked one year since the resto-ration of diplomatic ties.

With the US hurtling toward its November presidential elec-tion, Josefi na Vidal, Cuba’s top diplomat for US aff airs, urged Obama to ensure his successor cannot undo the countries’ his-toric rapprochement.

Obama “can do much more

to make the process irreversible going forward,” she said in an interview published in the rul-ing Communist party’s offi cial newspaper, Granma.

“Cuba has reiterated the im-portance of the president using his executive authority to the maximum to continue introduc-ing political changes.”

Since Obama and Cuban Pres-ident Raul Castro announced the thaw in December 2014, Wash-ington and Havana have taken once-unthinkable steps to mend ties after more than half a cen-tury of enmity.

Obama has relaxed portions of the US embargo imposed since

1962, paving the way for visible changes.

Cruise ships can now sail from Miami to Havana, regular commercial fl ights are due to resume in the coming months, US companies like Airbnb and Netfl ix now operate in Cuba and American hotel group Starwood recently opened a Sheraton in Havana.

But Obama, who visited Ha-vana in March, has failed to per-suade his Republican opponents in Congress to lift the full em-bargo, the main source of linger-ing tension.

Political analysts say neither Donald Trump, the Republican

presidential nominee, nor Hil-lary Clinton, his presumptive Democratic rival, would likely reverse the rapprochement — though they may not make the ongoing negotiations a prior-ity.

Vidal said some of Obama’s changes — including a green light for Cuba to use the dollar and transact with US banks — have still not taken eff ect.

“Our fi nancial transactions continue to be blocked...we are denied all kinds of serv-ices, including our diplomatic missions and offi ces abroad, and banks and foreign entities linked to our country continue

receiving fi nes,” she said.“The US government has not

issued any political statement or legal document explaining to the banks of the world that opera-tions with Cuba are legitimate and will not be sanctioned.”

The US for its part continues pushing Cuba to promise greater human rights protections — a message that has so far received a steely response from the Cas-tro regime.

“Tough conversations on challenging issues such as hu-man rights... lie ahead,” said the US ambassador to Cuba, Jeff rey DeLaurentis, ahead of the anni-versary.

Court order blocking WhatsApp suspendedDPARio de Janeiro

Brazil’s Supreme Court has suspended a lower court’s order blocking

WhatsApp, the latest reversal in an ongoing spat between the messaging service and authorities over access to en-crypted data, Brazilian media reported.

Ricardo Lewandowski, the president of the Supreme Court, said a lower court’s na-tionwide block of the popular messaging service was “dis-proportionate” and violated Brazilians’ right to freedom of expression and access to communication, the daily O Estado de Sao Paulo reported.

A court in Rio de Janeiro had earlier ordered Brazil’s mobile phone providers to suspend support for the service and said it would fi ne the company 50,000 reales ($15,625) a day until it provides authorities with copies of messages sent through its system they seek in a criminal investigation, GloboNews reported.

WhatsApp, which is owned

by social media giant Face-book, has repeatedly said it does not archive or copy user messages.

Earlier this year, the com-pany introduced end-to-end encryption on all of its serv-ices, making it impossible for anyone but users themselves to access their communica-tions.

The order was the third time a Brazilian judge had shut down WhatsApp in simi-lar disputes, and the third time such an order had been reversed by a higher court.

In December, a judge or-dered a 48-hour suspension of the service, which was re-versed by a higher court after 14 hours.

In May, the service was or-dered off -line for three days, then was back online after 24 hours.

In March, a Facebook exec-utive was arrested overnight on charges of obstructing a criminal investigation.

Used by more than 100mn Brazilians, WhatsApp is by far Brazil’s most popular mes-saging service and among its largest markets.

Petrobras ‘inclined to redo’ fuel unit stake saleReutersSao Paulo

Brazil’s state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA is inclined to restart the

process of selling part of BR Distribuidora SA, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said, as a recent bidding round put a low price tag on the fuel distribution unit.

The source, asking for ano-nymity as talks are underway, said preliminary board and management discussions were converging toward selling con-trol of BR Distribuidora to gar-ner a higher valuation.

An initial plan to sell a mi-nority stake was behind the disappointing bids, the source said.

To kickstart the process, Petrobras must tell the three fi rms that placed second-round bids last month that the structure of the deal will change, the source said.

The three bidders were global energy and commod-ity trading company Vitol BV and private-equity fi rms GP

Investments and Advent In-ternational Corporation, the source said.

The 30 fi rms that partici-pated in a fi rst-round bid could be invited to join the reworked stake sale process, the source said. Petrobras said in a securi-ties fi ling that the structure of the BR Distribuidora stake sale will be decided this month.

Neither the board nor man-agement of Petrobras have de-cided yet whether to share or surrender control of the sub-sidiary, the fi ling added.

The media offi ce of Rio de Ja-neiro-based Petrobras, which fully owns BR Distribuidora, declined further comment.

Chief executive offi cer Pedro Parente, who took offi ce in June, wants to sell assets and cut debt without depriving Petrobras of units that generate cash or are core to the business.

Reuters reported in March that Parente’s predecessors favoured selling control of BR Distribuidora as interest in a minority stake faltered.

The discussions will defi ne which model for the deal would bring about the highest price

for BR Distribuidora and max-imise profi ts and dividends for Petrobras, the source said.

A control-sharing mecha-nism in which Petrobras would cede voting control of BR Dis-tribuidora has been widely used in the past by state fi rms, such as Banco do Brasil SA.

According to the source, the violent divergence in valuations led the board and Parente’s team to rethink the plan. Petrobras is seeking a valuation for BR Dis-tribuidora of between 30bn and 40bn reais, the source added. The company had 118bn reais ($36bn) in revenue last year and owns Brazil’s No.

1 gasoline station network.In the June process, bids

valued the company between 10bn reais and 15bn reais, the source noted.

The disposal of a stake in BR Distribuidora is part of a $14.4bn target for asset sales at Petrobras, which is struggling with $130bn in debt, the largest debt of any global oil company.

Potential bidders have re-mained wary of gasoline price caps and fallout from a massive corruption probe.

Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega (left) greets Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro during the celebrations to mark the 37th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution at the Juan Pablo II square in Managua, Nicaragua.

Anniversary marked

PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN19Gulf Times

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Law against honour killings in weeks, says PM’s daughter

Pakistan’s ruling party plans to pass long-delayed legislation against “hon-

our killings” within weeks in the wake of the high-profi le murder of an outspoken social media star, the daughter of Prime Min-ister Nawaz Sharif said yester-day.

The bill will go before a par-liamentary committee as early as today, said Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who is an increasingly in-fl uential member of her father’s ruling party.

The government has faced mounting pressure to pass the law against murders carried out by people professing to be acting in defence of the honour of their family.

The law would remove a loop-hole that allows other family members to pardon a killer.

The brother of social me-dia star Qandeel Baloch, often described as Pakistan’s Kim Kardashian, has been arrested in connection with her stran-gling death and told a news conference he was incensed by her often risqué posts on social media.

Some 500 women are killed each year in Pakistan at the hands of family members over perceived damage to “honour” that can involve eloping, frat-ernising with men or any other infraction against conserva-tive values that govern women’s modesty.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif said the government wanted to pass the law unanimously and had been negotiating with religious par-

ties in parliament.“We have fi nalised the draft

law in the light of negotiations,” she said in an interview. “The fi nal draft will be presented to a committee of joint session of parliament on July 21 for consid-eration and approval.”

Maryam said once the parlia-mentary committee approved the bill, it would be presented for a vote in a “couple of weeks” before a joint session of parlia-ment.

A spokesman for Jamaat-e-Islami, one of the two major reli-gious parties in parliament, said his party would not oppose the bill.

Pakistan’s other main re-ligious political party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, could not be reached for comment but it has only a small number of seats in parliament.

Both religious parties have traditionally opposed legislation empowering women.

The upper house of parlia-ment passed the bill in 2014 but it lapsed after the government failed to put it up for a vote in the lower house because it was pre-occupied with legislation aimed at tackling security problems and economic reforms.

A senior government offi cial said all major parties were now backing the bill and it was likely to be passed in a few weeks by a joint session of parliament.

“The prime minister is tak-ing personal interest,” added a second offi cial and close aide to Sharif. “You will see in com-ing days more will be done, big changes will be announced.”

In a rare move, this week the government became a complain-ant in the police case against

Baloch’s brother accused of her murder, designating it a crime against the state and thereby blocking her family from forgiv-ing their son.

Baloch had long divided opin-ion in the deeply conservative Muslim society with her social media photos and posts.

She was unapologetic about pushing the boundaries of ac-ceptability for women and changing “the typical orthodox mindset” of Pakistanis.

Many viewed her as a disgrace to the cultural values of Islam and Pakistan.

Others hailed her as a “femi-nist icon”.

She ran into political con-troversy last month after her “selfie” photographs with a prominent Muslim cleric, went viral, leading to him being fired from a prominent Muslim council.

After her death, the cleric, Abdul Qavi, told media that her murder should serve as an ex-

ample for others who tried to malign the clergy.

He is being investigated for her murder along with Baloch’s two brothers.

Although government offi cials appeared confi dent of backing for the bill in parliament, it could still face resistance.

The infl uential Council of Is-lamic Ideology, which advises the government on the compati-bility of laws with Islam, warned that it would not support any law that removed the forgiveness loophole, even though the coun-cil considers honour killings a crime.

“Islamic law and the Qur’an say that the right to forgive or punish lies first and foremost with the victim’s family,” said council spokesman Inam Ul-lah.

“So if this bill is trying to com-pletely take away that right from the family, then of course that is against Islamic teachings.

The state cannot completely

take away that right from the family.”

The religious parties and the council hold signifi cant infl u-ence over public opinion and the government fears a backlash if any law passes without their ap-proval.

“This mentality - that you can get away with murder in the name of honour - it has to be

done away with,” said Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, whose docu-mentary on honour killings A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness won an Oscar this year.

“I am hopeful that this law will pass but the change in mindset will talk so much longer...I think Qandeel Baloch’s murder is the tipping point.”

ReutersIslamabad

Maryam Nawaz Sharif

Woman inspector to probe Qandeel’s murder

A female Pakistani police off icer has been assigned to probe the murder of model Qandeel Baloch, off icials said yesterday.Qandeel, a social media celebrity, was strangled to death on July 16, allegedly by her brother in the name of family honour, in Multan, Punjab province, Dawn online reported.Central Police Off icer (CPO) Azhar Akram deployed woman Inspector Attiya Jaff ari following the suspension of two former investigating off icers for showing negligence in the probe.Meanwhile, Qandeel’s alleged killer, her younger brother Waseem, was sent on a 14-day judicial remand on Tuesday, the police could not take him to a forensic lab in Lahore for DNA and polygraph tests to complete the investigation.The police later filed an appeal in the court to get physical remand of Waseem, Dawn online noted.According to a police off icial, the course of investigation requires DNA and polygraph tests to verify, establish and evaluate the truthfulness of

statements of a suspect.CPO Akram said the new woman Investigation Off icer had issued notices to various persons, including Mufti Abdul Qavi and the slain model’s former husband Ashiq Hussain, in the light of the statement of Qandeel’s mother.The police had obtained Qandeel’s mobile phone data and detained her brother.“We are preparing the case in a way that its trial is concluded within three months,” Akram said, adding that a letter had been dispatched to the Karachi corps commander for recording the statement of Aslam Shaheen, the elder brother of Qandeel, who is serving in the army.The CPO disclosed that suspect Waseem had made calls to some people soon after the murder.Meanwhile, talking to Dawn, Qandeel’s father Mohamed Azam and mother Anwar Bibi said the name of Aslam Shaheen was included in the FIR by them mistakenly and they would request the court to exclude his name from the case.

Pakistani pop rock band Mizmaar has collaborated with veteran In-dian singer Shubha Mudgal for its latest single Jogi later this month.The song has been written and composed to juxtapose the musi-cal styles of Mizmaar and Mudgal.“Jogi is an eff ort to compel people to think about coexisting and finding the right path to bring peace in the world,” Mizmaar’s frontman Kashan Admani said in a statement.In Jogi, Mizmaar has featured their new lead vocalist Asad Rasheed who is well-versed with both East-ern and Western styles of singing. He seeks inspiration from a variety of artistes across diverse genres.Some of his inspirations include Linkin Park, Audioslave, U2, Coldplay, Led Zeppelin, David Coverdale (Whitesnake), Mehdi Hassan Khan and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

China will install a 2.5tonne decorative chandelier inside the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Mohamed Ali Jinnah. The gifted chandelier will be made by Chi-nese experts.The signing ceremony of the agreement in this regard was held yesterday in which PM’s Special Assistant Irfan Siddiqui and Chinese ambassador in Islamabad Sun Wiedong represented Paki-stan and China respectively.Irfan Siddiqui said that the two nations attach great respect and aff iliation for Father of The Nation, as is depicted by Chinese gifted chandelier. “The gifted stunning and precious chandelier is a reiteration respect and honour reflected by China” he said adding that the people of China also expressed their marvellous attach-ment to the great Quaid through installing a chandelier to further the beauty of shrine in 1971.

Right groups yesterday called on the Afghan government to end the scourge of child marriages, af-ter a 14-year-old pregnant girl was burned to death in the latest case of violence against women.The family of the girl, Zahra, says she was tortured and set alight by her husband’s family, according to reports citing local off icials in central Ghor province, where the incident occurred.Relatives of the teenager’s husband insist her death was by self-immolation.Zahra, four months pregnant, was also said to be a victim of “baad”, the forced marriage of a girl to a family to settle a dispute, a prac-tice prevalent in rural Afghanistan.Her death last week has sparked shock waves in Afghanistan, with rights groups demanding that the Afghan government bring an end to child marriages.“This is a truly heartbreaking situation in which Zahra faced suff ering beyond comprehension,” Save the Children said in a statement. “Zahra’s is an extreme case of what can happen when a child is forcibly married off .”

Pakistani band collaborates with Indian singer

China to install mega chandelier at Jinnah mausoleum

Afghan teen’sdeath sparks shock waves

ENTERTAINMENT

GIFT

CRIME

Pakistani activists from Al-Badar Mujahideen shout slogans during a protest to denounce recent violence by Indian security forces in the Indian-administered Kashmir in Peshawar yesterday. Some 45 people have been killed in disputed Indian-administered Kashmir during deadly clashes between government forces and demonstrators angered by the killing of a popular young rebel.

Protest

Pricing dispute hits supply of TB drugs in Pakistan

Swiss pharmaceuticals firm No-vartis AG said it has stopped making tuberculosis drugs in

Pakistan in a dispute over pricing, prompting fears of a health crisis due to a shortage of drugs in a coun-try with the world’s fifth-highest TB rates.

As in many developing countries, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pa-kistan (DRAP) sets prices for about 320 critical medicines.

But pricing caps have not been sig-nifi cantly raised since 2001, making it unviable for fi rms to make many of the drugs.

The issue has become particularly acute for TB drugs.

Of 18 companies licensed to manu-facture TB drugs in Pakistan, only four, including Novartis, were making them

this year, said Ayesha Haq, executive director of Pharma Bureau, a trade group representing 20 fi rms in Paki-stan.

Doctors and public health offi cials said shortages could lead to a rise in drug-resistant strains of TB with tens of thousands of patients missing doses mid-treatment.

The drugs include combinations of antibiotics as well as substitutes for patients with complications.

“It’s an emergency in the making,” said Naseem Salahuddin, an infectious disease doctor in Karachi.

With a population of 190mn, Paki-stan has around 500,000 TB patients every year, according to the World Health Organisation.

Rana Iftikhar Anjum, a resident of Multan in Punjab province, said it took him weeks to track down TB drugs for his 15-year-old niece, and Mohamed Rafi q, a pharmacist at a leading Is-lamabad hospital, said he had to pay Rs2,000 ($19) in bribes to get the drugs for his brother, who suff ers from mul-ti-drug resistant TB, from a govern-ment hospital.

Novartis spokesman Dermot Do-herty said the company, which con-

trols around 30% of Pakistan’s TB drug market, was looking to exit the business, and Ahsan Raees, in charge of the company’s regulatory aff airs in Pakistan, blamed the production halt on the price dispute. “If they had given us the price increase, we would never

have done this,” he said.Pfi zer Inc, which controls another

30% of the market, has also seen sup-ply disruptions in recent months, add-ing to shortages, spokeswoman Trupti Wagh said.

She did not elaborate on the disrup-

tions, but said they were resolved last month.

She declined to say whether the pricing dispute was a factor.

A local TB drug maker, Schazoo Zaka, also partially cut production be-cause of the pricing dispute, said Ejaz Qadeer, who heads Pakistan’s anti-TB programme.

Schazoo Zaka did not respond to a request for comment.

While TB medicine is available in government hospitals, at least a third of patients rely on private clinics, where the drugs are hard to come by, health offi cials and patients said.

DRAP Chief Executive Mohamed Aslam said he has recommended a workaround to the health ministry for companies to raise prices for some critical medicines, and a decision could come next month.

Pakistan has raised critical drugs prices on an ad hoc basis over the past 15 years when companies have asked, but drugs fi rms say those increases have not been enough.

Haq, the lobbyist, said companies were seeking an average 30 percent in-crease for regulated drugs to make pro-duction viable.

Formed in 2012 to oversee drug reg-ulation, DRAP this month instituted a fi rst annual price increase since 2001, with increases pegged to infl ation, which last year was at a 46-year low of 2.86%.

Last month, DRAP also allowed for an 8% increase in TB drug prices under a hardship clause, which drug com-panies can apply for once every three years.

DRAP’s Aslam acknowledged that price increases so far were not enough.

About 18 months ago, DRAP recom-mended that at least three dozen drugs be put under a new ‘orphan drug’ pol-icy - for medicines developed to treat rare diseases, and typically with no price cap, so as to give manufactur-ers an incentive to produce for a small market.

“Anti-TB drugs, cardiac drugs, an-ti-cancer drugs - these are critically needed,” Aslam said.

TB is not classifi ed as a rare disease in Pakistan, but listing it as an orphan disease would allow companies to get around current regulations and sell TB drugs at cost price. Sajid Hussain Shah, a ministry spokesman, said work was ongoing on the policy.

ReutersIslamabad

Pakistan has world’s fifth-highest TB rate; Price caps on key drugs not raised significantly since 2001; Drugs firms seek average 30% price hike - lobby

A staff sorts medicines for tuberculosis patients at the government’s tuberculosis centre in Rawalpindi, yesterday.

Taliban attacks threaten disputed district centre

Afghan security forces backed by US air strikes have beaten back Tali-

ban attacks on a vulnerable southern district, government offi cials said yesterday, after a relative lull in fi ghting over the month of Ramadan.

In recent days, Taliban forces launched attacks on the Sangin district centre, an outpost in Helmand province repeatedly threatened by militants over the past year.

“Taliban insurgents attacked our security outposts on Sun-day but faced fi erce resistance from Afghan forces and were pushed back,” said Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Dozens of militants were

killed in the fi ghting, including the Taliban’s shadow district governor in Sangin, Mawlawi Agha, Zwak said.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmad, said his fi ghters had captured the district centre but Afghan and US military of-fi cials rejected that.

US warplanes had conducted at least two air strikes in the 24 hours up to yesterday af-ternoon in support of Afghan troops, but offi cials declined to provide additional details on the fi ghting.

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said on a visit to Af-

ghanistan last week that US forces would have greater free-dom to strike at the Taliban under broad new powers ap-proved last month by President Barack Obama.

Sangin is in a strategic area for the lucrative opium trade, which provides funding for the Taliban, as well as other strongmen.

The district centre is a small, government-controlled en-clave in an area otherwise largely dominated by the Tali-ban, who have increased their stranglehold on the district over the past year.

Fighting intensifi ed in Af-ghanistan after the Taliban announced the start of their annual warm-season off ensive in April, but it tailed off dur-ing the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ended early this month.

ReurtersLashkar Gah, Afghanistan

“Taliban insurgents attacked our security outposts on Sunday but faced fi erce resistance from Afghan forces and were pushed back”

Claim over seanon-negotiable,says ManilaManila TimesManila

Malacanang Palace has hardened its stand on the Philippines’ claim

over shoals and rocks at the South China Sea, saying the country’s economic right over these territories is “non-nego-tiable.”

Presidential spokesman Er-nesto Abella said yesterday that while the government contin-ues to take a diplomatic path in fi nding ways to settle the mari-time dispute with China, the Philippines will not trade off its rights over the sea.

“The Philippines contin-ues along a diplomatic path to fully realise the EEZ (exclusive economic zone) rights granted by the Permanent Court of Ar-bitration (PCA) - engaging in bilateral talks to fi nd mutually acceptable arrangements to RP (Republic of the Philippines), PROC (People’s Republic of China); and consulting with our regional allies,” said Abella.

“We consider our sovereign economic rights, granted by the Law of Nations to be non-nego-tiable,” he said.

Abella issued the statement a day after President Rodrigo Duterte met with US Senator Chris Murphy. In that meeting, Duterte made his position on the matter clear.

Murphy disclosed the result of his meeting with the presi-dent on Twitter.

“In Manila - just out of meet-ing (with) new Philippines Pres-ident Duterte. Assured us he has no plans to negotiate (with) China over islands dispute. We were fi rst US elected offi cials to meet (with) Duterte. Says he will not trade territorial rights to China. Tribunal decision non-negotiable,” said the American lawmaker.

Duterte had earlier pushed bi-lateral talks with Beijing and had wanted former president Fidel Ramos to head the negotiations.

Abella stressed that any ne-gotiations with China will be in accordance with local and inter-national laws.

“Engagement with China to-

wards the peaceful resolution of the issue must be compliant with the Constitution, Interna-tional Law and the rule of law,” he said.

Foreign Aff airs Secretary Per-fecto Yasay Jr on Tuesday re-vealed that he had turned down a Chinese proposal to start bi-lateral talks because Beijing did not want the ruling of the inter-national tribunal tackled.

Yasay said he had met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the recently-concluded Asia-Europe Meet-ing Summit in Mongolia, where the latter warned of a “confron-tation” if Manila insisted on the ruling.

The PCA nullifi ed China’s historic claims on areas in the sea, including Panatag (Scar-borough) Shoal, Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, Ayungin (Sec-ond Thomas) Shoal and Recto (Reed) Bank that is within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“They had insisted for us to not even make any comments about that … and had asked us also to open ourselves for bilat-eral negotiations but outside of the arbitral ruling,” Yasay said.

He said he rejected the off er because it was not consistent with the Philippine Constitu-tion and national interest.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang con-fi rmed that Yasay and Foreign Minister Wang Yi did meet.

“Foreign Minister Wang Yi elaborated on China’s principled position on the current situa-tion, saying that China would like to work in unison with the Philippines if the new Philippine government is willing to resume dialogue and consultation, manage disputes and improve bilateral relations together with China,” Lu said in a translated transcript issued by the Chinese embassy in Manila yesterday.

Lu said the Chinese minis-ter underscored that it is in the fundamental interests of both countries and their people “to move China-Philippines rela-tions back to the track of dia-logue and consultation.”

The PCA’s ruling was also re-jected by Taiwan.

Arroyo release delayeddespite court rulingWe can’t understand what’s causing the delay, say the former president’s lawyers

Manila TimesManila

Police escorts were ready and well-wishers had gathered in anticipation of

her homecoming.But former president Gloria

Macapagal-Arroyo had to remain in her detention cell at the

Veterans Memorial Medical Centre in Quezon City yesterday because her release papers were held up at the Supreme Court (SC).

This was despite the clear wording of Tuesday’s 11-4 deci-sion of the high tribunal that the acquittal and freedom of Arroyo shall be “immediately executory.”

Defence lawyer Laurence Ar-

royo (not related to the former president) came out of the Su-preme Court building in Manila empty-handed, and conceded that his client would have to wait longer for her release.

Another Arroyo lawyer, Raul Lambino, said: “We can’t under-stand what’s causing the delay.”

Only a notice containing the one-paragraph “dispositive por-tion” was all that’s needed for the Sandiganbayan to issue Arroyo’s release papers, Lambino argued.

Unimpeachable sources at the high court told The Manila Times the SC justices had an agreement that the release be done immedi-ately.

Since the ruling states that the acquittal and release of Arroyo from detention shall be “imme-diately executory,” the SC jus-tices agreed that the dispositive portion of the decision should be brought immediately to the

Sandiganbayan, and that there was no more need to wait for the thick offi cial decision and sepa-rate opinions.

The notice was to be signed by the SC en banc Clerk of Court, Felipa Anama, the sources said.

“The decision and the sepa-rate opinions are thick. If we wait for the full decision, Ar-royo’s release will really be de-layed. The agreement was that the dispositive portion be re-leased ahead because the deci-sion is immediately executory,” an SC source said.

The Manila Times learned that after the 12 noon voting on Tues-day of the SC en banc that cleared Arroyo, and the announcement of results by Theodore Te, the SC spokesman, at 2pm, there was no action at all from the offi ce of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Ser-eno to issue the Notice of the Dis-positive Portion.

On Tuesday, Sereno left her offi ce earlier than the 5pm close of business, it was learned.

“It’s obvious Sereno is delay-ing the release, because she lost in the vote,” another SC source said.

Sereno was among the four dissenters who blocked the ac-quittal of Arroyo. The three oth-ers are Associate Justices Anto-nio Carpio, Marvic Leonen and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.

Aside from the ponencia of Associate Justice Lucas Ber-samin that won in the voting, other separate opinions were authored: the concurring opin-ion of Associate Justice Arturo Brion, the concurring and dis-senting opinion of Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, and the dissenting opinions of Leonen and Sereno.

Te, however clarifi ed that there was no delay.

“There is a process that is fol-lowed for all decisions. That is the process that is being followed here,” Te said.

The defence counsel, Laurence Arroyo, said he was told the main decision needed to be circulated among the justices for their sig-natures.

Yesterday, police were seen securing the veterans’ hospital ahead of Arroyo’s expected re-lease.

Ramon de Leon, who identi-fi ed himself as president of the Kongreso ng Maralitang Pilipino, said the public was able to know through the SC ruling that Ar-royo committed no off ense.

“That is why we ask those who detained our former president, you detained her even if she was innocent, have conscience,” de Leon said.

He added that Arroyo’s tor-mentors should be jailed.

China backs Philippine’scontroversial drug warAgenciesManila

China has off ered its support to the Philippine’s con-troversial drug crackdown

pushed by new President Rodrigo Duterte, which has been slammed by rights groups for encouraging extrajudicial killings and vigilante justice.

“China fully understands that the Philippine government under the leadership of Rodrigo Duterte has taken it as a top priority in cracking down (on) drug-related crimes,” China’s embassy in Ma-nila said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

“China has expressed explicitly to the new administration China’s willingness for eff ective coopera-tion in this regard, and would like to work out a specifi c plan of ac-tion with the Philippine side.”

Duterte swept to power in May on a promise to clampdown on drugs, and police have since con-

fi rmed killing nearly 200 people in a two-month crime blitz.

There has also been a surge in killings by anti-drug vigilantes who leave victims’ corpses on city streets wrapped in packaging tape with signs accusing them of being drug dealers.

The statement from the Chinese embassy made no reference to the killings - which have prompted a backlash from domestic and inter-national rights groups - only say-ing fi ghting drug-related crimes was a “shared responsibility of all countries in the world.”

It added: “The Chinese govern-ment has been fi rm and severe in drug control and in punishing all drug criminals in accordance with laws regardless of their nationali-ties.”

Beijing is known to execute drug off enders and in recent years has put to death several Filipinos found guilty of smuggling narcot-ics into China.

On Sunday, Duterte said he planned to ask China why so

many of its nationals were being arrested for illegal drugs in the Philippines.

In a related development, of-fi cials said Muntinlupa City will assist drug users and pushers who surrendered to the police by pro-viding them fi nancial assistance and employment opportunities.

At a Peace and Order Council meeting attended by city offi cials and barangay representatives, Mayor Jaime Fresnedi discussed the city government’s programmes for those who surrendered, such as MAPALAD (Mamamayan at Pamilya Laban sa Droga), a one-stop shop after care programme for relinquished drug users and pushers.

The Barangay Drug Abuse Council will provide fi nancial as-sistance to qualifi ed benefi ciaries, set periodic physical activities and monitor those who surrendered, assist in the conduct of drug fo-rums and awareness and provide transportation for patients under temporary confi nement.

Duterte enjoys 91%trust rating: survey

Manila TimesManila

President Rodrigo Duterte started his six-year term with a record 91% trust

rating, the highest score given to a public official since Pulse Asia started its operations in 1999.

Duterte’s rating is higher than the 85% trust rating of former president Benigno Aquino’s when he started his term in July 2010.

The Pulse Asia survey re-leased yesterday showed that 91% of the 1,200 Filipinos polled from July 2 to 8 trust Du-terte while 8% are undecided.

“President Rodrigo Duterte begins his stint as the coun-try’s 16th president with an overwhelming majority of his constituents expressing trust in him (91%) and practically no one distrusting him (0.2%). The rest of Filipinos (8%) cannot say if they trust or distrust Presi-

dent Duterte,” Pulse Asia said in a statement.

Among geographical areas, the president got the highest trust rating in Mindanao at 97%, followed by the National Capital Region at 92%. He got an 89% trust rating in Luzon and Visayas.

Across socioeconomic classes, trust for Duterte is highest among Classes D and E at 92%, followed by Class ABC at 89%.

A similar survey conducted by Social Weather Stations showed Duterte getting an “ex-cellent” net trust rating of +79.

Informed of the survey re-sults, Malacanang Palace thanked the Filipino people for their “overwhelming support” for the president.

Presidential Communica-tions Secretary Martin Anda-nar said Duterte’s record-high trust rating of 91% is “a hum-bling reminder that the genu-ine and meaningful change that our people aspire for is now be-ing felt.”

20 Gulf TimesThursday, July 21, 2016

PHILIPPINES

De Lima ‘ignorant’ of SC powers, says ex-justice secretaryManila TimesManila

A predecessor of former justice secretary Leila de Lima slammed the now

neophyte senator for being ig-norant of the “vast powers” that allowed an overwhelming major-ity of the Supreme Court (SC) to acquit former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of plunder.

Hernando Perez, who served as

justice secretary in the early years of the Arroyo administration from 2001 to 2003, also warned that criminal counter-charges for incriminating “innocent per-sons” could be fi led against de Lima, who orchestrated Arroyo’s arrest for an earlier case alleging electoral sabotage as chief justice of the previous Aquino adminis-tration.

The same charge could also be fi led against Ombudsman Con-chita Carpio-Morales, the pros-

ecutor of the dismissed plunder case at the Sandiganbayan, the anti-graft court, he said.

Perez lambasted de Lima for casting doubts on the Supreme Court ruling when she claimed on Tuesday that the high tribunal had become a “trier of facts” and should not have reviewed Ar-royo’s case.

“While it is true that the Su-preme Court is not a trier of facts, it has the power to re-examine the evidence presented at the

Sandiganbayan,” said Perez, now president of the privately owned University of Batangas.

“She (de Lima) is wrong. The Supreme Court has the power to review the case via a petition for certiorari,” Perez added.

Under the power of judicial re-view provided under Article XIII, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitu-tion, the high court can review cases when there is “grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.”

As to the possible suits against de Lima and Morales, Perez said that a person who had fi led ma-licious charges without any evidence could be charged with malicious prosecution, which warrants damages under the Civil Code.

They can also be slapped with a criminal case for “Incrimina-tory Machinations” under the Revised Penal Code.

“It is possible that they can be charged if proven that the case

fi led against GMA is without any substantial evidence,” Perez told The Manila Times.

Incriminating an innocent person, under the Penal Code, happens when “any person who, by any act not constituting per-jury, shall directly incriminate or impute to an innocent person the commission of a crime.”

It is punishable by up to 30 days in prison.

Arroyo can even argue that the case fi led against her by the De-

partment of Justice and the Of-fi ce of the Ombudsman was “po-litical,” the former House deputy speaker and representative of Ba-tangas said.

De Lima orchestrated the fi l-ing of electoral sabotage cases in the Pasay Regional Trial Court against Arroyo, which prevented her from leaving the country in 2011 despite the fact the “watch-list” order of de Lima was stopped by a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court.

Dennis Mendoza, 36, puts on finishing touches on toy figurines of President Rodrigo Duterte made of fibre resin, which he sells for 800 to 5,000 pesos ($17-106) inside his workshop in Pasay city, Metro Manila.

A policeman walks past a poster showing support for former Philippine president Gloria Arroyo on display in front of a government-run hospital, where Arroyo has been held since her November 2011 arrest, in Manila yesterday. The Philippine Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a long-running corruption case against Arroyo and ordered her immediate release after almost five years in detention.

SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL21

Gulf Times Thursday, July 21, 2016

Bangladesh says 261 missing amid radicalisation fearsDoctors, engineers and

university students are among 261 people of-

fi cially missing in Bangladesh, with some feared recruited by Islamic militant groups, as the country reels from a wave of deadly attacks.

More than two weeks after Islamists killed 20 foreign hos-tages in a siege at a cafe in Dha-ka, police published a list over-night Tuesday of those missing and urged information on their whereabouts.

“We have to fi nd them,” elite Rapid Action Battalion spokes-man Mufti Mahmud Khan said, without saying how many were suspected to have joined ex-tremist groups at home and abroad.

Bangladesh was spurred into launching a nationwide hunt for people reported missing by their

families in recent times, follow-ing the July 1 siege claimed by Islamic State group (IS).

Police and parents said the fi ve who stormed the Western-style cafe and hacked the hostages to death had gone missing months earlier. At least two gunmen who carried out a deadly attack days later at a massive Eid prayer service had also previously disappeared.

As the list was published on Facebook, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reiterated her secular government’s determi-nation to “root out the scourge of militancy”.

Hasina, who has long denied IS and Al Qaeda have a foothold in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, urged villages to form commit-tees to gather information on those missing.

“We will fi nd out everything - who are patronising them (the militants), who are pro-viding them with arms, money and other support. We will fi nd

out who are misguiding young students,” she told parliament.

The list shows a diverse range of mainly young people who have fallen off the radar includ-ing some from wealthy families and with good jobs, and others at university, long thought by experts to be a recruiting ground for radicals. Local media re-ported yesterday dozens have travelled to the Middle East to join IS.

It includes Tahmid Rahman, son of a former home secretary and election commissioner, who was seen in a video, thought to have been shot overseas, and

released by IS immediately after the siege praising the attackers.

“Back in 2003-4, Tahmid used to be the lead singer of an underground rock band. Then he became one of the top contest-ants of the (talent) reality show Close Up One,” said a friend who did not want to be named.

“After seeing him in the video I felt a shiver down my spine thinking of him holding a ma-chete instead of a microphone. Before he disappeared from his home, he used to tell his fellow musicians to leave music as it is forbidden in Islam,” he said.

“He had a good job at a tel-ecommunications company,” he said of Rahman, whose friends think he went missing about a year ago.

Security analyst Abdur Rob said authorities have until now ignored the issue of Bangla-desh’s missing, adding some may have already joined IS and other groups.

“Had the authorities taken

the issue of missing young men seriously, the terror attacks in Gulshan cafe and in the Eid congregation could have been avoided,” said Rob, a professor at private North South University in Dhaka.

“Still it is not too late. Au-thorities should scrutinise the list, take help from universities to learn who are missing for what reasons and act accordingly,” he said.

“It may go a long way to preventing the next attack.”

Hasina’s government has blamed a string of recent mur-ders of secular bloggers and re-ligious minorities on local not overseas militant groups, along with the opposition whom it ac-cuses of trying to destabilise the country.

But since the siege, it has launched a crackdown on social media sites, saying they are be-ing used to recruit young men to jihadist groups.

Police said a family of fi ve

comprising a doctor, his college professor wife, their two daugh-ters and son in-law have been missing since October.

“We’re probing where they’ve gone,” local police station chief Rafi qul Islam said, while an-other offi cer told local media the family was suspected to have fl own to Syria.

Another on the list, marine engineer Najibullah Ansari, had been missing for over a year when his parents contacted po-lice after this month’s national manhunt.

According to his family, An-sari was last in touch with his brother in January 2015 on Face-book, saying that he was in Iraq fi ghting with jihadists.

“I have come to Iraq. Tell fa-ther and mother not to worry for me. I have come here for jihad,” read the message according to a screen shot seen by local daily Dhaka Tribune.

“I will never return home,” he said.

AFPDhaka

“We will fi nd out everything - who are patronising them (the militants), who are providing them with arms, money and other support. We will fi nd out who are misguiding young students”

5 militants indicted for blogger murder in 2015

A Dhaka court yesterday charged fi ve activists of a banned militant outfi t

for the 2015 murder of popular blogger Oyasiqur Rahman Babu, who wrote against the Jamaat-e-Islami and radical Islamists.

An additional metropolitan magistrate court indicted the Ansarullah Bangla Team mili-tants and fi xed August 4 for dep-ositions by witnesses, bdnews24 reported.

Three of the suspects were presented in the court for the hearing, an offi cial said.

The remaining two are ab-sconding and will be tried in ab-sentia, the offi cial added.

On the morning of March 30, 2015, machete-wielding reli-gious fundamentalists hacked Oyasiqur to death near his home in Dhaka’s Tejgaon area.

Oyasiqur’s attackers tar-geted his neck and head, similar to previous attacks on blog-gers, Ahmed Rajib Haider and Avijit Roy.

According to bdnews24, one of the arrested militants is a madra-sa student from Hathazari area of Chittagong and the other attends a madrasa situated in Dhaka’s Mirpur area.

Locals managed to nab two of the attackers and handed them over to law enforcers while the third suspect was arrested by police later.

According to reports, Oya-siqur worked as a travel agency executive and had over 2,600 friends on Facebook. The blog-ger wrote under pseudonyms on popular blogs.

On his Facebook account, Oyasiqur wrote several notes opposing irrational religious be-liefs, superstitions and radical Islamists.

He was also an admirer of Avi-jit Roy, a US-based Bangladeshi - founder of Mukto Mona, a web forum for South Asian rational-ists - who was hacked to death on February 26, 2015.

Oyasiqur wrote against Jamaat-e-Islami and radical Is-lamist groups. He was also vocal against human rights violations on the religious minorities and indigenous people of the country.

IANSDhaka

A schoolchild presenting flowers to her teacher on Teachers’ Day at a local school in Kathmandu yesterday.

Teachers’ DayBrands won’t quit Bangladesh after attacks, says safety group

The head of a group working on factory safety in Bangladesh for

fashion retailers including In-ditex and H&M expects brands to actually increase sourcing from the country due to im-proving building standards despite attacks claimed by Islamist militants.

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety was set up by more than 200 mostly Eu-ropean brands, retailers and importers in 2013 to improve safety in Bangladeshi factories after the collapse of the Rana Plaza complex in which more than 1,100 people died.

Accord executive director Rob Wayss said much progress had been made since then, with 65% of the safety issues identifi ed at around 1,600 factories already resolved.

“There is no other country where the work that the Ac-cord is doing is taking place and where buyers can have the assurances on safety compli-ance issues that they can have here,” he said in an interview over Skype from Dhaka.

“For many of the brands, Bangladesh is a very impor-tant and good supplier base and ... it is still their plan to increase the amount and types of production that they have here,” he said, stressing that sourcing decisions rest with the brands.

Bangladesh relies on gar-ments for more than 80 per-cent of its exports and roughly 4mn jobs. It ranks behind only China as a clothing supplier to developed markets in Europe and the United States.

Some people working in the garment industry say they fear for the future of the $28bn sector after a group of radical-ised young Bangladeshis killed about 20 people, including 18 foreigners, in an attack on an upscale Dhaka restaurant.

Wayss said some brands had put a temporary halt to for-eign staff travelling to Bang-ladesh, but he expected visits would resume again soon as buyers take up an off er from the government to provide extra security and escorts for foreigners.

He said it is quite likely that the work of the Accord will be extended beyond 2018, when it is currently due to wrap up its work, noting that it still has to introduce safety com-mittees at the majority of factories that supply its brands.

He added that discussions were taking place on a pos-sible extension between the signatories to the Accord, which include brands, global and Bangladeshi trade unions and four non-governmental organisations.

A separate group of most-ly North American brands and retailers including Gap and Wal Mart said last week it is also still committed to Bangladesh.

ReutersBerlin

Switzerland fi les charges against alleged Tamil Tiger fundraisers

Switzerland’s attorney general has fi led charges against 13 people accused

of raising millions of dollars to buy weapons for the Tamil Tigers fi ghters during the civil war in Sri Lanka.

The indictment alleges that the people collected around 15mn Swiss francs ($15.2mn) during the late 1990s and early 2000s to support the organisa-tion, which has the formal title the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

The accused, who have not been identifi ed, come from Switzerland, Germany and Sri Lanka. They have been indicted

with supporting or being mem-bers of a criminal organisation, fraud, false certifi cation, and money laundering, the Offi ce of the Attorney General (OAG) said yesterday.

In 2009, the Sri Lankan gov-ernment ended its 26-year confl ict with the Tamil Tigers, who had been fi ghting for an independent Tamil state in the north and east of the Indian Ocean island.

The OAG did not disclose the names of the accused.

It said money was raised from members of the Sri Lankan community in Swit-zerland through micro-credit loans from a bank in Zurich and channelled through an off shoot known as the World Tamil Co-ordinating Committee.

Tamil Tiger leaders in Swit-zerland “devised and im-plemented a systematic and rapid method for obtaining money from the Tamil diaspora in Switzerland,” the OAG said in a statement yesterday.

“As the investigations car-ried out by the Offi ce of the Attorney General of Swit-zerland with the support of the federal police show, sub-stantial sums of money were obtained from the diaspora community using couriers and loans,” it said.

The funding system stopped in 2009 following the end of the civil war, the OAG said.

The matter will now be con-sidered by the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, although no date was given for a hearing.

ReutersZurich

Lanka and EU discuss steps to repeal anti-terror lawsSri Lanka and the European Union have held talks on steps to repeal anti-terror laws during a recent meet in Brussels, the foreign ministry said yesterday.The matters were discussed at the 20th meeting of the EU-Sri Lanka Joint Commission which took place in Brussels.They discussed the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), the release or prosecution of detainees, and the establishment of the transitional mechanisms for truth, reconciliation, justice and reparations. Sri Lanka

also provided updates on the process of drawing up the new constitution, Xinhua news agency reported.The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on the state of implementation of the UN Human Rights Council resolution last year, which was co-sponsored by UN member states and Sri Lanka.“The parties welcomed the recent lifting of the EU ban on export of fish from Sri Lanka. This was achieved due to the extensive improvements made by the government of Sri

Lanka in fisheries management and control, consistent with its international obligations. It was agreed that the close relationship established on fisheries between the two parties will continue,” the foreign ministry said.The Joint Commission also welcomed Sri Lanka’s application for access to the trade concessions under the EU’s generalised scheme of preferences plus as a sign of Sri Lanka’s renewed commitment to meeting its wider international obligations.

Nepal’s inflation soars in JuneNepal’s inflation jumped to 11.1% in the 11th month of last fiscal year from the previous month’s 10% as the prices of both food and non-food items surged, Nepal’s central bank has said. The last fiscal year 2015-16 concluded on July 15.Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank of the country, said prices of food items surged to double digit in mid-June ( end of the 11th month) while standing at single digit in the previous month. Prices of non-food items also witnessed double digit growth in the 11th month of the last fiscal year, Xinhua reports. The higher rate of increase in price indices of vegetables, pulses and legumes, drinks among food items and clothes

and footwear from among non-food items exerted an upward pressure on overall inflation during the review period, the central bank said in its latest macro-economic report released on Friday. The central bank has unveiled the monetary policy for the next fiscal year 2016-17 by increasing the minimum lending requirement for commercial banks in agriculture and hydropower sectors. As per the policy, the commercial banks have to ensure that they lend at least 15% of their entire loan portfolio in these two sectors within mid-July 2017. Earlier, they were told to maintain the lending in these sectors at 12% within the same deadline.

Bangladeshi scholarship winners pose for a group photo after receiving scholarship document paper from Chinese government in front of the Chinese embassy in Dhaka yesterday. Chinese government has awarded annual scholarship to 106 Bangladeshi students for pursuing their bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate’s degrees in various universities across China, an off icial said yesterday.

Scholarship winners

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach fi nds himself in a tricky position. In 1976, he became Olympic fencing champion with the fi ne foil, and so far has negotiated the murky waters of sports politics with the same fi nesse as was required of his specialty.

But now, he will need the cutting thrust of a sabre as he faces mounting pressure to act after a damning report on state-run doping in Russia by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appointed independent investigator Richard McLaren.

According to Dagmar Freitag, the head Germany’s parliamentary sports committee, it’s time for Bach to follow up words about zero tolerance on doping with deeds. “We now need a president of the International Olympic Committee who meets his leadership role and shows strength of leadership,” Freitag said. Many others have voiced similar opinions.

The IOC has deferred making a decision on whether to impose a blanket ban on Russian athletes for the August 5-21 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. It is studying the McLaren report, which revealed how positive tests were made to disappear with the connivance of the sports ministry, intelligence service and other offi cials, and how urine samples were swapped and tampered with at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. The IOC executive board said in reaction Tuesday it would explore the “legal options” for a complete ban on Russian athletes at the Rio Games.

The IOC is also waiting for today’s ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on the eligibility of 68 Russian athletes who have appealed to compete in Rio following the suspension of the Russian athletics federation by athletics ruling body IAAF. McLaren’s report

showed that not only the winter Olympics in Sochi two years ago was aff ected by the cheating; it ran to other events including the 2013 athletics world championships in Moscow.

It looks as if the 62-year-old IOC chief wants to avoid a complete exclusion of Russia from the XXXI Games around the CAS decision and the international sports, but he can’t keep waiting for what the associations do or what the CAS does.

As a young fencer, Bach experienced and suff ered the boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow. Therefore, he knows that a new Cold War in sport would aff ect athletes fi rst and foremost. Nevertheless, he insists the IOC “will not hesitate to take the toughest sanctions available against any individual or organisation implicated.”

First of all though, the IOC lawyers have to explore what legal options there are for a blanket exclusion of Russian athletes for the Olympics and how this is also compatible with athletes’ individual rights. Or is Bach being considerate of Russia because he maintains good relations with President Vladimir Putin?

Corruption expert Sylvia Schenk from Transparency International favours an Olympic exclusion for Russia, but also says that any such decision cannot be the last word. “You can make an example like this, also because the pressure is so great, but you cannot then carry on as usual,” the former athlete said. “The whole anti-doping system has to be put to the test.”

The IOC surely has a great deal on its hands over the next few days.

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As a young fencer, Bach experienced and suff ered the boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow

Young people have been overly complacent when it comes to political participation

By Mohamed A El-ErianLos Angeles

Once again, young people have gotten the short end

of the political stick. The outcome of the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum is but another reminder of a yawning generational divide that cuts across political affi liation, income levels and race.

Almost 75% of UK voters aged 18-24 voted to “Remain” in the European Union, only to have “Leave” imposed on them by older voters. And this is just one of several ways in which millennials’ economic future, and that of their children, is being determined by others.

I am in my late fi fties, and I worry that our generation in the advanced world will be remembered – to our shame and chagrin – as the one that lost the economic plot.

In the run-up to the 2008 global financial crisis, we feasted on leverage, feeling increasingly entitled to use credit to live beyond our means and to assume too much speculative financial risk. We stopped investing in genuine engines of growth, letting our infrastructure decay, our education system lag and our worker training and retooling programmes erode.

We allowed the budget to be taken hostage by special interests, which has resulted in a fragmentation of the tax system that, no surprise, has imparted yet another unfair anti-growth bias to the economic system. And we

witnessed a dramatic worsening in inequality, not just of income and wealth, but also of opportunity.

The 2008 crisis should have been our economic wake-up call. It wasn’t. Rather than using the crisis to catalyse change, we essentially rolled over and went back to doing more of the same.

Specifi cally, we simply exchanged private factories of credit and leverage for public ones. We swapped an over-leveraged banking system for experimental liquidity injections by hyperactive monetary authorities. In the process, we overburdened central banks, risking their credibility and political autonomy, as well as future fi nancial stability.

Emerging from the crisis, we shifted private liabilities from banks’ balance sheets to taxpayers, including future ones, yet we failed to fi x fully the bailed-out fi nancial sector. We let inequality worsen, and stood by as too many young people in Europe languished in joblessness, risking a scary transition from unemployment to unemployability.

In short, we didn’t do nearly enough to reinvigorate the engines of sustainable inclusive growth, thereby also weakening potential output and threatening future economic performance. And we are compounding these serial miscarriages with a grand failure to act on longer-term sustainability, particularly when it comes to the planet and social cohesion.

Poor economics has naturally

spilled over into messy politics, as growing segments of the population have lost trust in the political establishment, business elites, and expert opinion. The resulting political fragmentation, including the rise of fringe and anti-establishment movements, has made it even harder to devise more appropriate economic-policy responses.

To add insult to injury, we are now permitting a regulatory backlash against technological innovations that disrupt entrenched and ineffi cient industries, and that provide people with greater control over their lives and wellbeing. Growing restrictions on companies such as Airbnb and Uber hit the young particularly hard, both as producers and as consumers.

If we do not change course soon, subsequent generations will confront self-reinforcing economic, fi nancial, and political tendencies that burden them with too little growth, too much debt, artifi cially infl ated asset prices, and alarming levels of inequality and partisan political polarisation. Fortunately, we are aware of the mounting problem, worried about its consequences, and have a good sense of how to bring about the much-needed pivot.

Given the role of technological innovation, much of which is youth-led, even a small reorientation of policies could have a meaningful and rapid impact on the economy. Through a more comprehensive policy approach, we could turn a vicious cycle of economic stagnation, social immobility, and market volatility into a virtuous cycle of inclusive growth, genuine fi nancial stability, and greater political coherence.

What is needed, in particular, is simultaneous progress on pro-growth structural reforms, better demand management, addressing pockets of excessive indebtedness, and improving regional and global policy frameworks.

While highly desirable, such changes will materialise only if greater constructive pressure is placed on politicians. Simply put, few politicians will champion changes that promise longer-term benefi ts but often come with short-term disruptions. And the older voters who back them will resist any meaningful erosion of their entitlements – even turning, when they perceive a threat to their interests, to populist politicians and dangerously simplistic solutions such as Brexit.

Sadly, young people have been overly complacent when it comes to political participation, notably on matters that directly aff ect their wellbeing and that of their children. Yes, almost three-quarters of young voters backed the UK’s “Remain” campaign. But only a third of them turned out. In contrast, the participation rate for those over 65 was more than 80%.

Undoubtedly, the absence of young people at the polls left the decision in the hands of older people, whose preferences and motivations diff er, even if innocently.

Millennials have impressively gained a greater say in how they communicate, travel, source and disseminate information, pool their resources, interact with businesses and much else. Now they must seek a greater say in electing their political representatives and in holding them accountable. If they don’t, my generation will – mostly inadvertently – continue to borrow excessively from their future. - Project Syndicate

Mohamed A El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, is chairman of US President Barack Obama’s Global Development Council and author of The Only Game in Town: Central Banks, Instability, and Avoiding the Next Collapse.

Time for the young to assert themselves

How to end hungerBy Hilal Elver and Jomo Kwame SundaramIstanbul/Kuala Lumpur

Last September, world leaders made a commitment to end hunger by 2030, as part of the United Nations Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs). It sounds like a massive undertaking. In fact, the world already produces enough food to feed everyone. So why does the problem persist?

Poverty and hunger are intimately connected, which is why the SDGs target elimination of both. For some-one living at the World Bank’s poverty line of $1.90 per day, food would ac-count for some 50-70% of income. The Bank estimates that almost four-fi fths of the world’s poor live in rural areas, though those areas account for less than half of the world’s popula-tion. The obvious conclusion is that raising rural incomes sustainably is required to eradicate hunger.

That will not be easy. Most develop-ing countries nowadays are burdened by high rates of unemployment and underemployment. And with current economic prospects bleak, especially given low commodity prices, and in-sistence on fi scal austerity continuing in most places, downward pressure on rural incomes is likely to worsen.

But even if countries do manage to achieve inclusive growth, it will not be enough to eliminate hunger by

2030. The only way to do that will be to implement well-designed social protection and scale up pro-poor investments.

According to the World Bank, one billion people in 146 low- and middle-income countries currently receive some form of social protection. Yet 870mn of those living in extreme poverty, mainly in rural areas, lack coverage.

Unsurprisingly, the greatest short-falls are in low-income countries, where social protection covers less than one-tenth of the population, 47% of which lives in extreme poverty. In the lower-middle-income coun-tries, social protection reaches about a quarter of those living in extreme poverty, leaving about a half-billion people without coverage.

In the upper middle-income countries, about 45% of those living in extreme poverty receive social-welfare benefi ts.

This is clearly not good enough. Improved social protection can help to ensure adequate food consump-tion and enable recipients to invest in

their own nutrition, health, and other productive capacities. As such invest-ments sustainably raise incomes, they enable further increases in productive personal investments, thereby break-ing the vicious cycle of poverty and hunger.

Governments, too, have invest-ments to make, in order to ensure that those who are currently mired in poverty reach the point where they can invest in themselves. An early big investment push would generate additional incomes sooner, reducing longer-term fi nancing costs. Moreo-ver, it would boost aggregate demand in a world economy that badly needs it.

The world can afford the needed investment. According to estimates by the Food and Agricultural Organi-sation (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP), it would cost the equivalent of 0.3% of the world’s 2014 income. All that is needed is for wealthier countries to provide budgetary sup-port and technical assistance to the low-income countries that need it. (Most middle-income countries can afford the needed financing them-selves.)

It should not be diffi cult to generate the political will to provide the needed support, at least in theory. After all, it has been more than a half-century since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its Covenant on Economic, Social

and Cultural Rights, which treats the material needs of all persons as a fundamental human right. A few years earlier, US president Franklin D. Roosevelt called “freedom from want” – which, presumably, includes freedom from hunger – one of four essential freedoms of which people “everywhere in the world” should be assured.

Now, with the adoption of the SDGs, governments everywhere are obliged to take responsibility for end-ing poverty and hunger, as well as for creating the conditions for ensuring that both are permanently overcome. The upcoming High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development presents an important opportunity to forge the path ahead, setting near- and medium-term priorities.

Ending hunger and poverty in a sustainable way is morally right, politically benefi cial and economically feasible. For world leaders, inaction is no longer an option. - Project Syndicate

Hilal Elver is UN special rappor-teur on the Right to Food and research professor of global studies at the Uni-versity of California, Santa Barbara. Jomo Kwame Sundaram was assistant director-general and co-ordinator for economic and social development in the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, and received the 2007 Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought.

Bach facing histoughest decision as chief of IOC

Almost three-quarters of young voters backed the UK’s “Remain” campaign

Poverty and hunger are intimately connected, which is why the SDGs target elimination of both

COMMENT

This is the fi fth instalment of a series on Alzheimer’s disease. The fourth part was published in Gulf Times last Thursday and the next in the series will be written by the doctor treating Bill Lyon

By Bill Lyon The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

When I was younger and insuff erably full of myself, I got a kick out of watching old folks

walk. I called it the Geezer Shuffl e. It was like ice skating without the skates. Locomotion six tentative inches at a time, the speed limit of no concern.

And then one day I awoke to fi nd myself in the throes of bladder urgency, propelling myself like a man trying to step safely through a minefi eld. And I swear I heard a familiar taunting voice: “Well, well, smart-ass, look who’s doing the Geezer Shuffl e now.”

Al, of course.My nemesis, Alzheimer’s.Remember: Resist. Persist. Never

give in.

WATCH YOUR STEP

Before you can commence the Geezer Shuffl e, you must get upright. My preferred method is grasping each armrest and rocking back and forth, fl exing my knees, and after three or four accelerated rocking passes, preparing for launch and then catapulting myself. And if I’ve gained takeoff altitude, well done. If not, clear the runway and regroup.(Caution: Sudden bursts of exertion may result in the passing of gas.)

Once upright, the prudent move is to s-l-o-w-l-y gather yourself, survey what is in front of you, and straighten

up, which leads us to perhaps the most important element of them all:

Balance.For me, this is crucial because it

involves all of the dangers for which we must be ever vigilant, namely:

Stairs.Steps.Rugs.Escalators.Anything else lying in ambush that

can trip you up and send you sprawling.(See pets, toys, walkers, etc.)

I’ve taken three tumbles since Al fi rst got his hooks in me. Once was getting out of the car. I pitched forward and braced myself for a jarring hands-fi rst landing. Better the hands being scraped than coming in headfi rst.

The other times I was careless and not concentrating while going down stairs. First the left knee and then, a year later, the right knee. Both are scarred still.

But, again, better the knees than the head.

WHERE AM I? PART 1

I’ve gotten lost, seriously lost, twice. The fi rst time I was still driving and had not been tested for Al. From a distance I realise now that it was a preamble of Alzheimer’s and that awful feeling of being utterly disoriented.

I was in my SUV, it was nearing twilight, the road was dry, and it was rush-hour traffic. I was going on an errand over a route I had driven often... and then, quite without warning, I blanked out. I froze.

What had been a simple task I’ve done a million times suddenly became a confusing jumble. I missed my turn and had to backtrack.

But I didn’t recognise where that led me, and I slowed to a crawl, peering and squinting, looking for something familiar. The farther I went, the more confused I became.

I read the road signs out loud but had no idea what they meant. Should I get off at the next exit? Or the one after that? Or just keep on going? Panic enveloped me.

Al had me by the throat.My breathing was harsh and

labouring.Look, over there, a fi lling station. I’ll

ask for directions. Someone will know where I want to go. Right?

Except I couldn’t talk. I stuttered and stammered and the more agitated I became the more gibberish came out of my mouth.

And I forgot... I forgot where I wanted to go. I gave up trying, got back in the SUV, and drove off .

Directly into oncoming traffi c. I was going the wrong way on a one-way express.

Horns blared, frenzied headlights signalled me, and I frantically jerked my way through a maze of thundering metal and I heard someone screaming - it was me. No way I was getting out of this alive. And I wouldn’t have, but for the grace of God. Eventually my pulse subsided and I called home and, with the aid of ground-control computers (“Recalculating”), I found safe harbour.

WHERE AM I? PART 2

It was July, sweltering, sticky, suff ocating. You know that saying “Only mad dogs and Englishmen venture out in the noonday sun”? Add to that list an idiot in his late 70s with Alzheimer’s who knows better but is anal-retentive obsessive and determined to get in his

daily walk come hell or high water.(You can hear Al laughing.)

For variety’s sake I made a turn at an intersection I normally ploughed on through. And then when I decided to get back on familiar turf I blanked out and had that queasy, ominous feeling I remembered from my SUV horror. I walked faster.

As if that will get you to where you’re going - and, by the way, where is it you’re going again? Of course, going faster only dehydrated me.

If that wasn’t bad enough there came a sudden, urgent message from my bladder. I was, you’ll pardon the expression, hung out to dry. So I wet myself. I was wearing black shorts, thankfully. They were welcome camoufl age.

I confess to feeling shame and guilt and embarrassment... and, yes, immense relief.

I walked on, panic-stricken, past banks and funeral parlours and schools, and looked up to fi nd myself standing in the middle of a median strip with traffi c roaring past on both sides. I had no idea how I got there. It was as though I had been sleepwalking.

But, glory be, there was a familiar landmark. A convenience store. From here I could cruise home, after 90 minutes in the broiling noonday sun, with mad dogs, Englishmen and Al.

TIME-OUT

To the nurses and the podiatrist and the acupuncturist who have written to me since this series began last month. To the therapists and the biochemists and the herbalists, to the pastor and the teachers and the care givers, to the thoughtful donors who offered me vitamins and Depends and Indian spices and crossword puzzles and free MRIs... and a brain scan... and especially to those who have lost loved ones to this insidious disease...

And to the other 2,000 e-mailers with their kind and generous sentiments, my eternal gratitude. I have been overwhelmed by your response to my journal these past five weeks detailing my fight against that gutless little weasel, Al.

But this is not goodbye. It is only time-out. It is my intent to continue the journal from time to time. Having you with me is at once humbling and uplifting.

This was only Round 1.And we’re still here, Al.We’re still here.

Bill Lyon (lyon1964@comcast.net) is a retired Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist.

My battle with Alzheimer’s: Finding my way back

Live issues

Should I take multivitamins during pregnancy?

Letters

By Dr Luisa DillnerLondon

It’s the winner of pregnancy product of the year for Boots, so it has to be something that’s great for pregnant women,

right? Pregnacare Max, according to the Boots website, is “the ultimate formula” for mums-to-be.

It includes not only folic acid and vitamin D at amounts recommended by Britain’s Department of Health, but also zinc, magnesium, niacin, vitamins B6, B12 and C, iron and a host of other vitamins and minerals. All for £19.99 (around QR100) for a 42-day supply.

So is that the price a mother has to pay for the health of her and her newborn?

Well, according to a review of vitamin supplements in pregnancy in the latest Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, the true price may be less.

The article said: “For most women who are planning to become pregnant or who are pregnant, complex multivitamin and mineral preparations promoted for use during pregnancy are unlikely to be needed and are an unnecessary expense.”

Women would be better off , said the bulletin, sticking to vitamin D (10 micrograms a day) and folic acid (400 micrograms before pregnancy and until the end of the fi rst trimester) and spending their money on a healthy diet.

Buying both tablets separately is usually cheaper than multivitamin preparations – Boots sells vitamin D at £1.09 (QR5) for 90 tablets.

But surely the more vitamins your

developing baby gets, the better?This latest review agrees with

guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice): there is no evidence that

anything other than vitamin D and folic acid are needed as supplements in pregnancy.

Folic acid reduces the likelihood of brain and spinal cord defects in babies (anencephaly and spina bifi da) – and higher doses may be needed in women with greater risk of these conditions. The evidence for folic acid is strong.

The research to support vitamin D supplements in strengthening the development of bones and teeth in babies is not as strong, but good enough for the bulletin and Nice to recommend it.

But there is no such recommendation for vitamins C and E.

High levels of vitamin A may cause birth defects, so those supplements are a no-no; iron is needed only for women who are anaemic, as it can irritate the stomach and cause constipation or diarrhoea.

Only research from low-income countries where pregnant women are more likely to be malnourished suggests any benefi t from multivitamins, although advice varies around the world.

Pregnant women in the US are advised to take iron and folic acid supplements, but not vitamin D.

So does it really matter if pregnant women take multivitamins? Probably not, as long as they check the amount of vitamin A in the preparation.

But why spend more on supplements if they won’t make you or your baby any healthier? - Guardian News and Media

Violation ofglobal lawsDear Sir,

The attempted military coup in Turkey is a clear violation of international laws. It is cold comfort that the coup plotters could face the death penalty.

Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan once asserted that “as an established norm .... military coups against democratically-elected governments by self-appointed juntas are not acceptable”.

Military governments invariably subvert democratic principles, violate the most basic human rights and fl out the rule of law with impunity.

A military coup d’etat is an immoral and illegal means to ascend to power.

The replacement of a legitimate

and democratic regime with a military is a licence for massive violations of human rights.

Farouk Araiefarouk.araie@telkomsa.net

A tribute toMubarak Begum

Dear Sir,

An era has come to an end in Indian music with the death of singer Mubarak Begum, best known for crooning the title track of 1961 romantic drama Meri Yaad Aayegi and the hit song Mujhko Gale Lagalo from fi lm Hamrahi. She had an enchanting voice.

Begum, who sang several Hindi film songs and ghazals, mainly between the 1950s and 1970s, had

not been keeping well for the last few years.

She made her Bollywood singing debut with 1949 fi lm Aiye in which she had a solo track with melody queen Lata Mangeshkar.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, Begum worked with the best music directors in the fi lm industry - S D Burman, Shankar Jaikishan and Khayyam - on movies that starred screen legends like Sunil Dutt, Nargis and Rajendra Kumar.

She also used to give regular stage performances and musical concerts.

It is sad that ghazals are waning in this era of popular music. Mubarak Begum’s legacy in ghazal singing will never be forgotten.

In her days she was quite famous among South Asian expatriates in Gulf countries.

Ramesh G Jethwani(e-mail address supplied)

Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist emeritus Bill Lyon with his great-grandson Liam.

Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist emeritus Bill Lyon, 78, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s three years ago, but he has continued to be active, writing, teaching, exercising and playing with his great-grandson Liam in an attempt to fight back against the ravages of this disease, which he likens to “death by inches”. One of the side eff ects of the disease, which he complains about, is shaky hands which makes his cursive writing almost unreadable. He has changed to big block letters.

Please send usyour lettersBy e-mail editor@gulf-times.com

Fax 44350474

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Letters to the Editor

Gulf Times

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to editing, should have the

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may be withheld by request.

Gulf Times Thursday, July 21, 2016 23

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OFFSHORE DOHAWind: SE-NE 03-12 KTWaves: 1-3 Feet

INSHORE DOHAWind: NW -NE 05-15 KTWaves: 1-2 Feet

High: 42 C

Low: 34 C

FRIDAY

Hazy at places at first becoming hot to very hot during day and relatively humid by evening

Sunny

Sunny

Max/min43/3451/3242/3349/3440/3238/3247/3141/29

Weather tomorrowSunnySunnySunnySunnySunnySunnyCloudySunny

Max/min45/3249/3043/3247/3640/3339/3347/31

Max/min34/2530/2332/2629/1736/2415/0829/2630/2632/2931/1831/2432/2824/1633/2622/1636/2635/2428/1619/0929/2231/2525/1325/20

Weather tomorrowSunnySunnyS T StormsS ShowersSunnyShowersS T StormsT StormsSunnySunnyT StormsCloudyShowersT StormsRainP CloudyP CloudyP CloudyP CloudyS T StormsT StormsM SunnyCloudy

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QATAR

Gulf Times Thursday, July 21, 201624

PM opens health centre in Umm SalalThe Prime Minister and

Minister of Interior, HE Sheikh Abdullah bin

Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani opened yesterday Umm Salal Health and Wellness Centre, the third such facility under the Pri-mary Health Care Corporation (PHCC).

HE Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, PHCC managing director Dr Mariam Abdulmalik and Pub-lic Works Authority president Nasser Ali al-Mawlawi and a number of offi cials from the

health sector were present on the occasion.

On the sidelines of the event, Dr al-Kuwari said, “This is the third health centre opened by the PHCC this year. PHCC will open new health centres in the upcoming days that will be built in accordance with the best in-ternational standards, provid-ing quality healthcare for the population.”

Dr al-Kuwari explained: “Umm Salal Centre will off er integrated services for the pri-mary healthcare, and will en-

courage citizens and residents to adopt healthy lifestyles to avoid possible preventable diseases.”

It is expected that the cen-tre will be able to cater to a population of about 50,000 people.

The minister also pointed out that the opening of such ad-vanced health centres showed the commitment of the coun-try in the development of the primary healthcare system and the provision of integrated and comprehensive healthcare for all the individuals of the community.

HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani along with HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, Dr Mariam Abdulmalik and other off icials after the opening of the new health centre at Umm Salal. PICTURE: Emiri Diwan

Dr Abdulmalik said that the new health centre was a replace-ment of the old one and the new one provided several additional services. “It is a Type A health centre that provides wellness services along with other medi-cal services. Umm Salal is the third centre of this nature after Leabaib and Rawdat Al Khail health centres.”

According to Dr Abdulmalik, the new centres are designed to

provide a balance between the physical and mental health of patients. “These services will support the community to en-joy a healthy life through the provision of wellness services and the preventive action by a team of specialists that include doctors, nurses and dietitians,” she added.

Dr Nadia Saleh Ali, manager, Umm Salal Wellness and Health Centre, said that the health cen-

tre has implemented the Clinical Information System (CIS).

Dr Ali said, “Almost all the health centres under PHCC have adopted the CIS system. Through this system, patient information is recorded elec-tronically and accessible from all the health centres under PHCC as well as from any of the Hamad Medical Corporation health facilities. Moreover, all the patients are seen through

an appointment system.”The new health centre has

about 20 doctors, 77 nurses, and 22 administrative staff . It serves the areas of Al Daayen, Umm Salal Mohamed, Umm Salal Ali, Umm Al Amad, and Umm Abiri-ya. In addition, all the patients of the previous health centre have already been moved to the new health centre. The centre works from 7am to 11pm, fi ve days a week.

Biggest wellness and health centre under PHCCThe Umm Salal Well-

ness and Health Centre is the biggest of all the

health centres under the Pri-mary Health Care Corpora-tion (PHCC), an offi cial said yesterday.

“It is of great architectural merit with a unique building lying in 50sq m. It also has dif-ferent wings for a number of clinical practices like family medicine, walk-in clinic, den-tistry, among others,” said Nikki Georgios, executive director of engineering department, PHCC.

According to Georgios, the centre has the largest number of clinics. “It has 64 clinics which allow it to cater to about 50,000

people in the radius of 10km. Therefore, it is expected to serve the community quite well.”

Georgis said that the topogra-phy of the land allowed the de-signer to have a diff erent build-ing for the pool, mosque, and a unique design with the wings. It took more than two-and a-half years to complete the project.

Classifi ed as Type A, the cen-tre provides a number of preven-tive and curative services such as vaccination, mental health serv-ices, cancer screening, physi-otherapy, dermatology, ENT, family medicine clinics, clinic of non-communicable diseases, baby clinic, dental and oph-thalmology clinic. The health

centre also provides laboratory services, pharmacy, radiology, premarital services, home care services and others.

Dr Samya al-Abdullah, ex-ecutive director of operations, PHCC, said, “The health centre has the capacity to cater up to 50,000 people. There are about 36,000 patients registered at the new health centre and out of the 36,000, about 30,000 are regular visitors to the centre as per the records of the old health centre.”

She added, “This is a well-ness health centre. This new health centre has other services that were not available in the old health centre. Such facilities in-

clude a gym, multi depth swim-ming pool, massage and sauna. There are separate facilities for male and female. There is also high advanced equipment for sports to enhance a healthy life-style. It also consists of a swim-ming pool, massage area, sauna and physiotherapy for both male and female.”

The health centre will provide a number of preventative serv-ices such as antenatal, well-baby clinic, well woman clinic and in future we will have a mental health clinic in addition to the general clinic.

The centre also has a phar-macy and laboratory which are highly equipped.

Umm Salal Wellness and Health Centre.

PHCC off icials at the press conference.

The swimming pool at the new health centre. Some of the facilities at the new health centre.

Souq Waqif establishments feel summer pinch

Due to the lack of tour-ists and while many residents in Qatar are

out of the country on vacation, establishments inside Souq Waqif are struggling to attract more customers this summer, it is learnt.

The centuries-old Souq Wa-qif is one of Doha’s top tourist destinations, especially during the cooler months when vari-ous activities and events are held within the area.

Many shopkeepers report “excellent sales” during peak season, which is usually in the winter time. During this peri-od, tourists and residents alike are often seen taking day or night strolls along the cobble-stone-paved streets or explor-ing the Souq’s labyrinth-like lanes.

However, the mood at the Souq changes drastically during the summer when high tempera-tures discourage many residents from frequenting the shops and restaurants. The season is also the time when many Qataris and

expatriates leave the country for holidays.

Feroz, who tends a souvenir shop that sells various antiques, handicraft, and other gift items, said the store would sometimes off er some products at bargain prices to entice customers.

He said the store’s bestsellers among tourists include refriger-ator magnets, key chains, lamps, camel fi gurines, jewellery boxes, and small trinkets, among oth-ers. “Most souvenir shops rely on tourists for sales. But since it is the summer, we do not get as much tourists compared to our peak season in the winter,” he said.

Gilbert, a restaurant staff , echoed the same sentiments, saying daytime operations are often dull during the summer.

“We still get some of our regu-lar customers during the daytime and some occasional walk-ins but that is not enough to boost sales. Sales are better during the weekends but it is defi nitely a far cry from what the restaurant makes during the winter season,” he said.

During events like the Souq Waqif Spring Festival, Gilbert said staff members go on ex-

By Peter AlagosBusiness Reporter

tended shifts, up to 12 hours a day just to accommodate throngs of customers.

“Most restaurants are packed in the winter and they add more tables and chairs outdoors because many cus-tomers prefer al fresco din-

ing to enjoy the mood of the Souq and the festivities, if any. But now, it is completely the opposite,” he said.

According to Ashraf, a store-keeper at Al Sanafer Centre, sales for garments drop as low as 50% during the summer compared

to regular days of the cooler months.

“There are three seasons where most stores make the most profi t - Ramadan, before the onset of school season, and winter; these are good occasions to buy clothes, spices, perfumes and other items,” he said.

Row of souvenir shops at Souq Waqif. PICTURES: Peter Alagos

Restaurants at the souq take in a few customers during the daytime.