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BUSINESS | Page 1

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SPORT | Page 1

FRIDAY Vol. XXXVIII No. 10668

December 15, 2017Rabia I 27, 1439 AH www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals

QATAR

ARAB WORLD

INTERNATIONAL

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INDEX

Exhibition givesfi llip to Made inQatar initiativeEmir inaugurates four-day expo

By Ramesh MathewStaff Reporter

Qatar’s manufacturing sector has received a boost with the Made in Qatar expo inau-

gurated by His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday at the Doha Exhibitions and Convention Centre.

The four-day exhibition has the participation of more than 250 local manufacturing companies, besides several Qatari institutions and or-ganisations supporting the growth of industries in the country.

The inaugural ceremony was also attended by HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdul-lah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE the Minister of Energy and In-dustry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, prominent Qatari entrepre-neur HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, several ambassadors and

other diplomats among others.Twenty-one countries have set

up pavilions at the exhibition, or-ganised by the Qatar Chamber un-der the patronage of His Highness the Emir. Many of the pavilions are directly under the aegis of their re-spective embassies while others are represented by their embassies’ af-fi liates.

Soon after the opening, His High-ness the Emir, accompanied by sev-eral dignitaries, toured the exhibi-tion. A major area of the sprawling venue is dedicated to companies from the food and beverages sector. Many companies which started op-erations in this vital sector after the blockade began have displayed an array of products.

Companies making products for diff erent areas in the construction sector and recycled goods have also made their presence felt at the exhi-bition. Indigenous goods from some of the participating countries, par-ticularly handicrafts and souvenirs, are also displayed.

Embassies of France, Italy, Swit-

zerland, Spain, India, Iran, Pakistan, Ukraine, Turkey, Tunisia, Azerbai-jan, Kazakhstan, Kenya and Ethio-pia are among those who have stalls at the exhibition. Some of these participants have said they are look-ing forward to having their own in-dependent outlets in the country’s tourist locations, including Katara – the Cultural Village.

One of them said the economic blockade against Qatar by the Sau-di-led quartet has given a good op-portunity to businessmen from his country to hunt for opportunities in Qatar.

Handicrafts from Ethiopia and Kenya drew a large number of visi-tors on the fi rst day.

Organisations such as Qatar Gen-eral Electricity and Water Corpo-ration, Manateq, Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company and Qatar Development Bank too are among those who have their pavilions.

Speaking to Gulf Times, a Qatar Chamber offi cial expressed happi-ness at the response the exhibition has received this time.

His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani visits the Made in Qatar expo at the Doha Exhibitions and Convention Centre yesterday. Among those with him are HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, Qatar Chamber Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani and Sheikh Nawaf Nasser bin Khalid al-Thani. After inaugurating the exhibition, the Emir, accompanied by several dignitaries, went around many of the pavilions. Twenty-one countries have set up pavilions at the exhibition, organised by the Qatar Chamber.

Gulf rift is taking its toll onordinary people: AmnestyReuters/ QNADoha

Families are being torn apart by the rift between Qatar and three other Gulf Arab states which be-

gan six months ago, Amnesty Interna-tional said yesterday, despite measures to ease the impact of the crisis on ordi-nary citizens.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emir-ates and Bahrain, along with Egypt, imposed travel, economic and diplo-matic sanctions on Qatar in June over allegations of supporting terrorism.

Qatar denies the charge.The human rights group, citing in-

terviews with individuals and Qatari offi cials, said thousands of people had been aff ected by the rift, which has split families, raised food prices and made visits to Islamic holy sites in Sau-di Arabia more diffi cult.

Diplomatic eff orts led by Kuwait to resolve the dispute have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.

The report was based on interviews with 44 aff ected individuals conducted in late November in Qatar as well as meetings with Qatari offi cials.

Despite measures to allow fami-lies in mixed marriages to visit, many were fi nding it diffi cult to comply with procedures required to apply for a “laissez-passer” that allows residents of Qatar to travel to see loved ones in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain or the UAE, the report said.

It said that there was scant, or no, information about the application process on offi cial UAE and Saudi ministry websites, while travel to Bahrain had become more diffi cult since Manama imposed an entry visa requirement for Qatari nationals and residents at a time when the embassy in Doha is closed.

“Aff ected families told Amnesty In-ternational that hotlines announced by the Bahrain, Saudi Arabian and UAE governments were diffi cult to access,” the rights watchdog said.

Lynn Maalouf, Director of Re-search for the Middle East at Am-nesty International, said that by imposing travel restrictions on or-dinary people, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have “violated the right to family life, education and freedom of expression”.

“Since this dispute began in June,

our fears about its potential to rip fami-lies apart have been cruelly and em-phatically realised,” Maalouf said in a statement.

Meanwhile in Rome, the chairman of the National Human Rights Commit-tee (NHRC) Dr Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri yesterday called on the United Nations to issue an international declaration against blockading people that also calls for eliminating civilians from any political disputes.

Al-Marri was speaking to the press following a hearing he had at the Ital-ian Parliament with several members of the Chamber of Deputies to discuss the impact of the siege imposed on Qatar.

The meeting was the last in a series that the NHRC chief held in Italy over the past months to discuss the siege’s impact.

He had called on the Italian Parlia-ment and others around the world to support the victims by condemning the siege as a crime and a collective pun-ishment against the people.

He also discussed the possibility of launching an international initiative against the blockading of people, which became a regular occurrence during times of confl ict and war.

Qatar has faced crisiswith poise, says US

The United States has affi rmed its commitment to fi nding a solu-tion to the current Gulf crisis,

praising the way the Qatari government and people have persevered in the face of adversity.

In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the occasion of the National Day, Ryan Gliha, chargé d’aff aires at the US

embassy in Qatar, said the “United States is proud to celebrate our friend-ship and strategic partnership with Qatar.”

“Over the past year, the US-Qatari relationship has grown even stronger than ever before. Qatar has confront-ed many challenges this year, and has faced them with a poise, grace, and re-silience of which all Qataris should be proud of.”

He added that the United States re-mains committed to assisting Qatar to resolve the current crisis, and applauds the way in which the Qatari govern-ment and its people have persevered in the face of adversity.

“Despite the diffi culties, 2017 has seen so many important milestones for the Qatar-US relationship, pushing to new heights the already extraordinary levels of bilateral military co-opera-

tion, economic investment, educa-tional exchange, and co-operation in the global fi ght against terrorism.”

He stressed that Qatar was one of the fi rst countries to join the US-led anti-IS coalition, adding that Qatar and the US also made new commitments to strengthen and improve partnership and co-operation to combat the threat of terrorist fi nancing globally, with the signing of a memorandum of under-standing.

He stated that this “agreement laid out our mutual commitments for in-creasing information sharing, disrupt-ing terrorism fi nancing fl ows, and in-tensifying counterterrorism activities.”

On trade and investment, the charge d’aff aires said it has hit new highs in 2017.

“There are over 100 American com-panies currently operating in Qatar, and the US will continue working with Qatar to bring in even more,” he said.

“Furthermore, the US remains Qa-tar’s largest import partner and the largest foreign investor in Qatar’s oil and gas sector. The Qatar Investment Authority is well on their way to ful-fi lling its target of investing $45bn in the US before 2021,” Gliha added. To Page 2

Global gas consumption set tojump 53% by 2040, says expertBy Pratap JohnChief Business Reporter

Global gas consumption will in-crease by 53% between 2017 and 2040, the Doha-based Gas Ex-

porting Countries Forum (GECF) said, noting the growth will be led by non-OECD Asia, followed by the Middle East and Africa.

Natural gas will become the fast-est growing fossil fuel, with an annual growth rate of 1.8%, reaching 5,395bn cubic metres (bcm) in 2040, GECF sec-

retary-general Dr S M Hossein Adeli said.The world energy demand is pro-

jected to grow by 1.1% per annum, ris-ing 29% between 2017 and 2040, from 13.8 to 17.8 gigatonne of oil equivalent (Gtoe). And by 2040, fossil fuels are ex-pected to meet 75% of the world’s ener-gy demand, Dr Adeli said while releas-ing ‘GECF Global Gas Outlook 2017’ at the Tornado Tower in Doha yesterday.

The share of natural gas in the glo-bal energy mix will increase from 22% in 2016 to 26% in 2040. Coal will see a 7% decrease (from 27% to 20%), to be gradually replaced by natural gas, re-

newables (17%) and nuclear (6%). Dr Adeli, an internationally ac-

claimed energy economist and diplo-mat, said concurrently the share of oil in the global energy mix will decrease by 3%, to 29% in 2040.

Consumers of natural gas benefi t from its economic and environmen-tal advantages. Therefore, demand for natural gas is expected to grow during the period under review in this outlook, as customers seek an energy source that supports economic development and addresses environmental con-cerns. To Page 2

On behalf of His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, His Highness Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Personal Representative of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, honoured the winners of Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding, at its third session, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Doha yesterday evening. The ceremony was attended by a number of dignitaries, ministers and diplomats besides several intellectuals and writers.

QATAR | Offi cial

Al-Mahmoud reiteratesrejection of US moveHE the Speaker of the Advisory Council Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud yesterday reiterated Qatar’s rejection of the US decision to consider Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. He stressed Qatar’s commitment to the Palestinian cause based on international legitimacy and the Arab peace initiative which calls for a two state solution, with East Jerusalem as a capital to a Palestinian state. Al-Mahmoud was speaking during the extraordinary meeting of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union in Rabat.

QATAR | Parade

Corniche Street to beclosed 2-5pm todayThe security committee for Qatar National Day celebrations yesterday said Corniche Street will be closed from 2pm to 5pm today in both directions from Sheraton intersection to the Museum of Islamic Art intersection for the final rehearsal of the National Day parade. The committee called on road users to take alternative routes during the closure.

QATAR | Reaction

Attack on Somali policecamp condemnedQatar has expressed its condemnation of the attack which targeted a police training camp in the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing and wounding a number of people. A statement released yesterday by the Foreign Ministry reiterated Qatar’s firm position in rejecting violence and terrorism, regardless of their motives or reasons. The statement expressed Qatar’s condolences to the families of the victims and the government and people of Somalia.

QATAR | Commerce

Ruwais Port Marketto open on Dec 17Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) has announced that the Al Ruwais Port Market, located in the north of Qatar, will start operating on December 17. In a post on social media yesterday, Mwani Qatar said the port market would be open on weekdays from 8am to 6pm. Al Ruwais Port Market will be dedicated to the sale of international products arriving by ships that call on the port from across the region, according to a statement by Mwani Qatar.

QATAR | Infrastructure

Main carriageway of Khalifa Avenue openedAshghal yesterday opened a 3.1km section of the main carriageway of Khalifa Avenue, stretching from the west of Tilted Interchange to east of Bani Hajer Interchange. Page 2

Sheikh Jassim honours award winners

QATAR

Gulf Times Friday, December 15, 20172

Entrepreneurs in Qatarhopeful of export orders

Entrepreneurs are hopeful that products manufac-tured in Qatar’s industrial

facilities would be able to gen-erate export orders from within the region and outside once they receive better local and regional exposure.

Speaking to Gulf Times at the opening of the Made in Qatar Exhibition yesterday, Qatar In-dustrial Manufacturing Com-pany (QIMC) CEO Abdul Rah-man al-Ansari said some of their company’s industrial subsidiar-ies are receiving encouraging ex-port inquiries from North Africa and also from within the Middle East.

“One of our companies which is supporting the requirements of the country’s steel industry is exploring all possibilities to export its goods to businesses in such destinations as Morocco and others parts of North Af-rica,” explained al-Ansari who also added that the company is looking for possibilities from Europe, notably England and would enter markets in Canada.

The entrepreneur informed that Qatar Paving Stones, a QIMC subsidiary, is fast estab-lishing itself as a major player in the segment in the region. “Ear-lier, Qatar used to import con-siderable quantities of paving stones from the neighbouring Gulf countries to meet domestic requirements.”

However, with the company enhancing its production capac-ities, it has been able to eff ec-

tively meet the growing demand for paving stones in the country, said al-Ansari.

An offi cial of Azerbaijan em-bassy said companies from his country are showing interest in setting up joint ventures in Qatar. “We have expertise and

a good track record in such ar-eas including agricultural goods and dairy farming,” he said while informing that dairy products from Azerbaijan have been re-ceiving good response in the wake of the blockade against Qatar by the Saudi-led quarter.

The offi cial is hopeful that Az-erbaijan entrepreneurs would be able to set up shop in Qatar in the next few years. A trade analyst at Italian Trade Agency, affi liated to the Italian embassy in Doha, too echoed similar feelings. “There are a number of Italian brands

and entrepreneurs operating in Qatar and some of our compa-nies are doing extremely well in their areas of operations,” he said while expressing hope that their fi rms would explore more opportunities in Qatar in com-ing years.

By Ramesh MathewStaff Reporter

His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani listening to a briefing about a major project by Qatar Development Bank CEO Abdul Azeez bin Nasser al-Khalifa at the Made in Qatar Exhibition yesterday as HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada and Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani look on.

Emir receives message from Azeri president

Deputy PM attends Special

Joint Forces graduation event

Qatar has faced crisiswith poise, says US

Emiri Guard School off icers undergo training courses

His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani re-

ceived a written message from President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, pertaining to bilateral

relations and ways to develop them.

HE the Minister of State for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi received the mes-sage yesterday when he met Az-erbaijani ambassador on Special Foreign Ministry Missions, Sha-hin Abdullayev in Doha yester-day.

The Special Joint Forces celebrated yesterday the graduation of the new

training course 2,3 and 4, under the patronage of HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Aff airs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah and HE the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Ghanem bin Shaheen al-Ghanim at the Joint Special Forces camp.

Commander of the Special

Joint Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Fahd al-Shahwani, said that the course, which be-gan on September 28 and lasted 12 weeks, included programmes that enable the recruit to move from civilian life to military life, which is characterised by discipline and knowledge and the implementation of orders, including fi tness and infan-try with weapons and without weapons and long march and shooting and fi eld and battle skills.

HE Dr al-Attiyah distributed prizes to those who came fi rst in the course.

From Page 1He noted that the US is hon-

oured that American universities are the preferred destination for Qatari students looking for the best education.

“Over 1,400 Qatari students are studying in the US this year, in 42 of the 50 states, and the six American universities here in Qatar continue to grow and ex-pand their campuses and facili-ties.”

The charge d’aff aires said “Qatar remains one of the United

States’ top partners and allies,” and referred to the unprecedent-ed number of high-level US

offi cials who visited Doha, among them Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of De-fence James Mattis, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin.

Gliha said that “these visits symbolise the United States’ commitment to deepening and broadening our bilateral rela-tionship with our Qatari part-ners on all fronts.”

Under the patronage of the Emiri Guard Commander, Deputy Commander of the Emiri Guard Major General Hamad Misfer al-Hajri, presided over the Emiri Guard School’s celebration of the graduation of four training courses at Barzan Camp – the junior staff off icers course, the security course and the protection of personalities, the self-defence course and the joint foundational counterterrorism course.The graduation ceremony was attended by the general inspector,

the assistants to the commander of the Emiri Guard, a number of department and group leaders, in addition to off icers from the Emiri Land Forces, Internal Security Forces (Lekhwiya) and the Joint Special Forces. Speaking at the ceremony, Major Abdullah Jarallah al-Nabit stressed that the school is always keen to develop its training programmes in accordance with the best of military science and in accordance with the directives of the Emiri Guard leadership.

QNADoha

QNADoha

HE the Minister of Municipality and Environment Mohamed bin Abdullah al-Rumaihi and Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani tour the exhibition yesterday. PICTURE: Jayaram Korambil QIMC CEO Abdul Rahman al-Ansari

‘Qatar’s popularity soarsin global community’

Qatar’s popularity has increased in the inter-national community

and many people are inter-ested in visiting the country, Doha resident Sajjad Hussain Choudhry told Qatar Urdu Ra-dio’s live show Haqeeqat yes-terday.

The National Day celebra-tions have created festive en-vironment in the country, the CEO of Pro Events said.

“To contribute in the festiv-ities of the Qatar National Day celebrations, we have been or-ganising cricket matches with star players from Asian coun-tries for the last three years,” he recalled.

This year’s Qatar National Day Twenty20 cricket series between Asian Stars and Qatar Stars will include three cricket matches beginning today at the Asian Town Cricket Sta-dium in the Industrial Area.

The Asian Stars team in-cludes Pakistan’s most suc-cessful captain Misbah-ul-Haq, along with other Pakistani players such as Wahab Riaz, Fawad Alam, Umar Gul, Kam-ran Akmal, Salman Butt and Sami Aslam. India’s Waseef Ja-far and S Badrinath, Sri Lanka’s Tillekratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernado and Bangladesh’s Elias Sunny, Arafat Sunny and Inam ul Haq are also set to play in the friendly series. Hussain added none of the players had any safety concerns because of the

blockade of Qatar.Haqeeqat, which aims to

engage and interact with the large South Asian expatriate community in Qatar, is a joint venture of the Gulf Times and Qatar Media Corp Urdu Radio. The show is hosted by Saif-ur-Rehman.

Log on to Qatar Urdu Radio on Facebook and ‘@QatarUr-duRadio’ on Twitter for feed-back and comments about the show.

Sajjad Hussain Choudhry

New underpass, bridge to ease traffi c

Global gas consumption set to jump

The Public Works Author-ity, Ashghal, yesterday opened a 3.1km section

of the main carriageway of Kha-lifa Avenue, stretching from the west of Tilted Interchange to east of Bani Hajer Interchange.

Senior offi cials were present at the inauguration of the new underpass, including Ashghal’s Expressway Department man-ager Yousef al-Emadi, Traffi c Safety and Engineering Depart-ment manager Brigadier Mo-hamed Maarifi ya, along with

a number of Ashghal’s project engineers.

The opening of the new sec-tion will ease traffi c congestion on the main road and the local approaches in Al Gharrafa and Bani Hajer and improve traf-fi c movement for the residents there.

Ashghal also opened Al Wa-jba Bridge after upgrading the old bridge from two lanes into three allowing for better traffi c fl ow.

Also opened yesterday was a

newly-designed roundabout. The main road, which is the straight section for traffi c on Khalifa Avenue, will go through the centre of the signallised roundabout.

The interchange links north Gharrafa Al Rayyan Street, south Qatar Foundation and west and east Al Luqta Street.

Al-Emadi stressed that the new section will create easy connectivity to the neigh-bouring facilities including Education City, Sidra Medical

and Research Centre and the Qatar National Convention Centre.

“A total of 61% of the con-struction of the project has been accomplished which once completed will be a major artery linking Dukhan Rayyan Corri-dor to Central Doha and serve the Qatar Foundation Stadium for FIFA 2022 World Cup”, he said.

Khalifa Avenue project runs from the Al-Wajbah Pal-ace Interchange (west) to the

Tilted Interchange (east) and along Al-Gharrafa Road from Al-Rayyan Street (south) to Thani bin Jassim Street (north).

The project works include the construction of approxi-mately 11.6km of dual car-riageway with four lanes in each direction replacing a three-lane way besides seven major free-flowing inter-changes, service roads, and auxiliary lanes along sections of the road.

From Page 1The demand for gas in the

power sector increased from 692bcm in 2000 to 1,280bcm in 2016, with an annual aver-age growth rate of 3.9%. This represents 36% of the gas con-sumed in all energy sectors in 2016. The GECF expects that consumption in the power sec-tor will continue to increase by an average growth rate of 2.5% per annum, reaching 2,329bcm in 2040, said Dr Adeli, who is completing his term at the fo-rum shortly.

The global electricity de-mand has been increasing since 2000 and is projected to peak

at 41,235 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2040. Demand for electric-ity grew at an average rate of 3% per annum between 2000 and 2016, and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 2.2% between 2017 and 2040.

Urbanisation and the associ-ated increase in residential en-ergy demand, coupled with in-dustrial expansion, particularly in developing economies such as China and India, are the main drivers propelling electricity demand.

In the long-run, population growth and household wealth are strong drivers for energy demand transformation. The

global population will reach 9.2bn by 2040 - a 1.7bn person

increase from today. This sub-stantial population increase is paired with an 80% increase forecast in average GDP per capita relative to current lev-els.

These demographic and soci-oeconomic trends will catalyse energy demand both directly and via the industrial sector, with the number of households totalling 2.8bn by 2040 (a 33% increase from 2017). Further-more, a growing population with more access to wealth will drive vehicle fl eet expansion by 60%, with 2bn cars on the road by 2040.

Dr Adeli said global GDP is

expected to grow by 3.7% over the next fi ve years, a slight up-swing from the 3.4% seen over the previous fi ve years.

According to Dr Adeli, energy accessibility will become a top priority in the long-term. Most population and income growth will come from Asia and Africa. These two regions currently have the poorest access to en-ergy and the largest fuel substi-tution potential. Biomass and waste support 60% of energy consumption in the domestic sector in developing Asia and 80% in Africa compared to less than 6% in developed coun-tries.

Adeli: sees natural gas be-coming the fastest growing fossil fuel

QATAR3Gulf Times

Friday, December 15, 2017

Qatar Museums elaborates on projects completed in 2017QNA Doha

Qatar Museums (QM) has managed a number of signifi cant cultural and

artistic projects and achieve-ments in 2017, most notably HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Ha-mad al-Thani’s visit on June 20 to the National Museum of Qatar at Doha Corniche to check on the progress of the project.

Also stressed was the an-nouncement by QM Board of Trustees Chairperson HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani during the visit that the offi cial opening of the museum will be in December 2018.

At the level of cultural ex-change, QM launched the annual cultural exchange programme Qatar-Germany, which signifi -cantly contributed to linking cul-tures and enhancing mutual un-derstanding among them.

The year culminated in the opening of the Arab cultural house in Berlin as well as host-ing Germany as a guest of honour at the 28th Doha International

Book Fair, while Berlin’s famous Kraftwerk space was chosen as the location for the largest ever showcase of contemporary arts from Qatar.

Among the global achieve-ments, QM hosted the third edi-tion of The New York Times ‘Art for Tomorrow’ conference with the participation of over 300 world-renowned art and cultural infl uencers from 35 countries.

QM announced that Chile-based practice Elemental has won the Art Mill International Design Competition to design Art Mill, one of the most spec-tacular and historic sites in the centre of Doha that is expected to be one of the world’s leading cul-tural centres in the future.

In 2017, National Museum of Qatar won the international award for Facade Design and En-gineering of the Year at the ABB Leading European Architects Fo-rum (LEAF) Awards in London.

In the area of heritage explo-ration and conservation, QM signed a number of agreements with Qatar University, the British University of York and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and

Activities and Tourism, to ex-plore sunken monuments in Qa-tari waters and study the nature of its marine environment.

QM also launched the cultural season at Zubarah site as well as an executive council for teachers with the aim of making them part of planning for its educational programmes that it organises for schools.

The National Museum of Qatar launched a large student com-petition that includes all state schools and provides a rare op-portunity for school students to off er creative work that will be displayed during the offi cial opening of the new museum.

QM chose 70 residents in Qa-tar from 60 countries to join its new Honorary Cultural Ambas-sadors programme.

QM gallery hosted a major show by celebrated French artist JR in co-operation with Galerie Perrotin, featuring a group of his world-renowned photos and a selection of video works.

In addition, the work of ac-claimed UK photographer Jessica Fulford-Dobson was on show under the theme ‘Skate Girls of

Kabul’ at QM Gallery in Katara.QM also launched the ‘Impe-

rial Threads: Motifs and Artisans from Turkey, Iran and India’ ex-hibition at the Museum of Islam-ic Art (MIA) and hosted ‘Tamim Al Majd’ art gallery at MIA Park in celebration of national unity.

MIA hosted the second edition of a workshop on the creation of stone tools and weapons in pre-historic times in Gulf countries.

It also hosted leading Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei who praised the State of Qatar’s attention to art and artists.

Among QM achievements too is the decoration of MIA Park with a sculpture by Iraqi artist Dia al-Azzawi titled ‘Hanging Gardens of Babel’.

Cultures from diff erent conti-nents converged at the MIA Park and the history of the expat com-munities of Qatar was showcased as they presented their tangible and intangible heritage at the MIA Community Day event.

QM organised the ‘Powder and Damask: Islamic Arms and Ar-mour from the collection of Fadel Al Mansoori’ exhibition, which showed both edged weapons and

fi rearms that were produced pri-marily in greater Turkey, Iran and India from mid-17th century to mid-19th century.

MIA concluded its MIA Am-bassador programme by honour-ing the winning school teams for their distinguished research ef-forts.

Meanwhile, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Alberto Gi-acometti (1901-1966) exhibition, which opened at Fire Station Artist in Residence, is one of the biggest art events to take place in the region.

It is the fi rst of its kind in the Middle East and featured the works of two of the most impor-tant artists of the 20th century at the same place.

The Fire Station Artist in Resi-dence concluded its fi rst edition of the residency programme in Paris, which takes place at Studio of Qatar at Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris and lasts three months.

Qatari contemporary artist Ebtisam al-Saff ar was chosen to participate in the fi rst edition, while artist Nasser al-Attiya was chosen for the second edition.

Qatar committed to values and traditions: QC chief

Even as Qatar prepares to host the National Day celebrations on December 18, patriotic fervour is moving to its peak. Among the latest attractions are nail art in the national colours.

QND nail art

QNADoha

Board Chairman of Qatar Charity Sheikh Hamad bin Nasser bin Jassim al-Thani underlined the importance of the Na-

tional Day in consolidating the national iden-tity, the inherent values and the distinctive traditions on which the pillars of the State of Qatar have been based as a cohesive entity and a unifi ed and independent country since its es-tablishment.

Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the occasion of Qatar’s National Day, Sheikh Hamad bin Nasser bin Jassim al-Thani said that National Day is a celebration of all the achieve-ments and the progress made during the past decades, and a motivation to move forward.

He stressed that the current circumstances underline the importance of concerted eff orts and co-operation of all citizens and residents to preserve national gains, and maintain the sta-bility and prosperity of the country.

He also stressed the need to continue

strengthening the image of the State of Qatar, which has been known regionally and interna-tionally for its keenness on supporting humani-tarian eff orts to cope with crises and disasters, in addition to its special role in the develop-ment of poor communities and reconstruction projects, in the framework of its keenness to participate in the eff orts to establish peace and stability in the world.

He said that this year’s slogan ‘Promise of Prosperity and Glory’ carries an optimistic view and hope for a future full of dignity, and a homeland where citizens and all residents en-joy prosperity, dignity, protection, security and stability.

Sheikh Hamad bin Nasser bin Jassim al-Tha-ni praised the wisdom of the Qatari leadership in dealing with the Gulf crisis, in accordance with international norms and laws, and the sound and calm diplomatic policies away from media campaigns and the inciting of peoples and individuals in this crisis.

Qatar Charity co-operates with a nearly 500 international partners, the most important of which are the specialised organisations of the

United Nations, in the management of its pro-grammes and services.

Qatar Charity has become one of the strate-gic partners of United Nations agencies in im-plementing the United Nations development plans.

The number of co-operation and partner-ship agreements between Qatar Charity and the United Nations organisations and agencies, the international humanitarian organisations and international and regional donors have so far reached 93 and are worth more than $126.3mn.

Among the most importance agreements in 2017 is a four-year strategic co-operation agreement with UNHCR signed in Geneva, and the agreement signed with the Somali govern-ment to organise co-operation between the two sides in the humanitarian and development fi elds.

Qatar Charity’s regional offi ces were ex-panded this year with two new offi ces opened in Ghana and Kyrgyzstan.

The total number of offi ces through which Qatar Charity currently operates is 26 fi eld of-fi ces and 4 regional offi ces.

The Museum of Islamic Art Park Café is gearing up to open on Qatar National Day from 7am to 11pm. The spectacular National Day fireworks show can be enjoyed from the café, which is located alongside the Corniche, off ering a view of Qatar’s unique skyline. In celebration, guests will be off ered a large variety of delicious foods, snacks and desserts to enjoy. The café’s menu will include customised ‘Cream Puff s’ called ‘Al Adaam’, which have been prepared specially to celebrate National Day with a design inspired by Qatar’s national flag.

Vantage point at MIA Park Cafe

Emir receives greetings fromIndia for Qatar National Day

The warmest greetings have been con-veyed to His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, His High-

ness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the others members of the ruling fam-ily, representatives of the Government of Qatar and the people of Qatar on the occasion of Qatar National Day 2017 on behalf of the Government and the people of India and on his own behalf, by the Indian ambassador P Kumaran.

In a statement released by the Indian embas-sy yesterday, the envoy said: “I wish to convey our deep appreciation of the impressive strides made by the State of Qatar in a number of areas, including education, industry, business, infra-structure, tourism and social development. It is heartening to note that Qatar is well on its way to realising the objectives identifi ed under the Qatar National Vision 2030.

“India and Qatar have deep-rooted ties, nurtured through history by active people-to-people contacts, trade and commerce and cul-tural affi nities. The multi-faceted partnership between the two countries has intensifi ed in re-cent years, driven by a series of high-level visits.

“I want to take the opportunity to renew our gratitude to the leadership and the Govern-ment of the State of Qatar for their hospitality and support to the Indian community in Qatar over the years. It is a matter of pride that the large and diverse Indian community in Qatar is appreciated for its discipline, hard-work and law-abiding nature. As a result, the size of the Indian community has grown over the years to reach nearly 700,000, giving us an opportunity to continue to contribute substantially to the growth and development of Qatar.

“As the Indian community in Qatar joins the celebrations of Qatar’s National Day, we are confi dent that the India-Qatar partnership is poised to scale new heights in the months and years ahead.”

QIB marks National Day with events for staff

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has held an event for employees and their families to celebrate Qatar National Day.

The event was attended by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, chairman; Bassel Gamal, Group CEO; and the executive management of the bank.

Sheikh Jassim said QIB is proud to see its employ-ees partake in the National Day celebrations, which the bank views as an integral part of its mission. “The 18th of December marks an auspicious occasion for Qatar, a day where pride and patriotism resonates throughout the nation. It is a call for all of our employees to come together – citizens and residents alike – to celebrate our beloved country, Qatar.

“Our event is also part of our eff ort to promote in-teraction with the community by actively partaking in events and initiatives that serve the local community, thus reaffi rming the leading role we play as part of our national contribution.”

He added: “As we celebrate this year’s Qatar National Day, and on behalf of the board of directors, the execu-tive management and all the employees of QIB Group, I would like to off er our heartfelt congratulations and greetings to His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and His Highness the Dep-uty Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani, and wish Qatar continued success and progress in the future.”

QIB employees with their families gathered to recog-nise Qatar National Day in the spirit of cherishing the strong traditions and unity of the country. A number of activities took place at the event, including the tradi-tional Qatari Ardha and an employee photography com-petition on Instagram to encourage employees to snap and display photographs depicting their love for and ap-preciation of Qatar.

The event saw the participation of a number of local companies that showcased a variety of local products. Among the participants were Al Sulaiteen Agricultural, Al Jazeera Perfumes, Al Rawda Dairy & Juice products, Dandy Company Limited and the Qatar-based mineral water company, Gulf Water Plant.

Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, Bassel Gamal, the executive management team, employees and their families.

NBK celebrates National Day with off ers on cars

Nasser Bin Khaled (NBK) Automobiles, author-ised general distributor

of Mercedes-Benz in the coun-try, has launched special off ers on 2018 models E 200 and GLC 250 to mark Qatar National Day.

“We are proud to celebrate our National Day with the spe-cial off er. On this precious oc-casion, we would like to con-gratulate our wise leadership and people in Qatar,” Sheikh Faleh bin Nawaf al-Thani, op-erations director – Auto, NBK Holding, said.

“It is through such initiatives we

give back to the community, pro-viding customers with special of-fers to drive away one of our cars at more aff ordable prices,” Sheikh Faleh added.

The special off er is valid until December 31 where car enthu-siasts can buy the 2018 mod-els for a starting price of QR 179,000.

With its distinct, emotive design, exclusive interior and impressive number of innova-tions, Mercedes-Benz is taking a big step into the future with the E-Class. The car is available now in Qatar at the showroom

of NBK Automobiles. Marking the world premiere of

numerous technical innovations that enable comfortable and safe driving on a new level, plus a new dimension in driver assistance – the E-Class sees Mercedes-Benz taking another step closer to its goal of accident-free and autono-mous driving.

The new GLC is in top form. Under all operating conditions the new mid size SUV excels with the outstanding safety that is a hallmark of the brand, the latest assistance systems and energy ef-fi ciency.

A key focus of the totally new in-terior design is the dashboard and the centre console with its fl owing lines. In comparison to its pred-ecessor, the new model is substan-tially more spacious for front and rear occupants alike.

The new GLC features the ‘agil-ity control’ suspension with steel springs and a variable damping system as standard.

NBK Automobiles has built its success by establishing sol-id, longstanding relationships with its customers, and by of-fering a wide range of quality products. The 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 200 and GLC 250 models.

Embassy holiday

The Indian embassy will remain closed

on December 18, on the occasion of Qatar

National Day, it was announced yesterday.

REGION/ARAB WORLD/AFRICA

Gulf Times Friday, December 15, 20174

Iraq hanged 38 religious ex-tremists belonging to the Islamic State (IS) group or

Al Qaeda for terrorism off ences yesterday in the southern city of Nasiriyah, provincial authorities said.

It was the largest number of executions in Iraq on a single day since September 25 when 42 peo-ple were put to death in the same prison.

“The prison administra-tion executed on Thursday in

the presence of Justice Minister Haidar al-Zameli, in Nasiriyah prison, 38 death row prisoners belonging to Al Qaeda or Daesh (IS) accused of terrorist activi-ties,” said Dakhel Kazem, a senior offi cial in the provincial council.

They were all Iraqis but one also had Swedish citizenship, a prison source said.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday declared vic-tory against IS after a three-year campaign by government forces backed by a US-led coalition to retake territory seized by the re-ligious extremists.

Rights watchdog Amnesty In-

ternational has voiced repeated concerns about the use of the death penalty in Iraq, which it ranks as one of the world’s top executioners behind China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.

In a report released on De-cember 5, Human Rights Watch criticised both Iraq’s central gov-ernment and the autonomous Kurdish authorities over mass trials of suspected IS extremists.

HRW said the authorities “ap-pear to be prosecuting all ISIS (IS) suspects in their custody un-der counterterrorism laws, pri-marily for ISIS membership, and not focusing on specifi c actions

or crimes that may have been committed”.

The New York-based group identifi ed 7,374 cases of suspects charged under this law since 2014, and put at 20,000 the total number of people imprisoned for suspected IS membership.

HRW expressed concerns that the broad prosecution of those affi liated with Islamic State “in any way, no matter how minimal, could impede future community reconciliation and reintegration”.

“Iraqi justice is failing to dis-tinguish between the culpability of doctors who protected lives under ISIS rule and those re-

sponsible for crimes against hu-manity,” said Sarah Leah Whit-son, HRW’s Middle East director.

HRW said that it regretted what it called the inconsistent application of a 2016 law grant-ing amnesty to suspects who can show they joined IS or any ex-tremist group against their will and have not committed a crime.

“Execution of fi ghters who surrender or are hors de combat is a war crime,” HRW added.

IS swept across a third of Iraq in 2014 and seized several major cities including Mosul, the coun-try’s second biggest, before a fi ghtback launched in 2015.

Iraq executes 38 for terrorism off encesAFPNasiriyah, Iraq

Lebanon and Syria said yes-terday that they will reopen a border crossing that was

closed fi ve years ago, in another sign of the Syrian government’s increasing control over its terri-tory.

The crossing, called Al-Qaa in Lebanon and Jussiyeh in Syria, was closed in 2012 as fi ghting raged between President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebel fi ght-ers seeking his overthrow.

Assad’s regime has since re-claimed most of the territory once held by the rebels, thanks to a Russian military campaign in support of his forces and deep divisions among the rebels.

Militants from the Islamic State (IS) group had moved into the border area but were pushed out in off ensives by regime forces in Syria and the Lebanese army and militant group Hezbollah on the other side of the frontier.

Ceremonies were held yester-day on both sides of the Al-Qaa/Jussiyeh crossing, which is set to re-open this morning.

It was the only one of the fi ve crossings between Lebanon and Syria that was permanently closed by the war.

The head of Lebanon’s Gen-eral Security agency, Major Gen-eral Abbas Ibrahim, said that the re-opening of the crossing was a moment for celebration after it was closed by “terrorism that targeted the entire region”.

The mainly Christian Al-Qaa area in Lebanon was targeted several times in cross-border at-tacks, including suicide bomb-ings in June last year that killed fi ve people.

Lebanon and Syria to reopen border crossing shut in 2012AFPBeirut

South Sudan is hiking fees for humanitarian group workers and blocking

them from reaching hungry families, even as the oil-rich country appeals for nearly $2bn to help avert starvation amid a civil war, fi ve aid groups told Reuters.

The government and the United Nations announced on Wednesday that South Sudan needs $1.7bn in aid next year to help 6mn people – half its pop-ulation – cope with the eff ects of war, hunger and economic decline.

But aid groups said bureauc-racy, violence and rocketing government fees were stopping their work, despite a promise from President Salva Kiir to allow unhindered access after the United States threatened to pull support to the government in October.

All the aid workers spoke on condition of anonymity, cit-ing fear of expulsion from the country.

Alain Noudehou, the UN’s top humanitarian offi cial in the country, said the increased fees are a major concern.

“This will take away from the resources we have to ad-dress the crisis,” Noudehou, humanitarian co-ordinator for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), said on Wednesday.

Juba announced plans in March to charge each foreign aid worker $10,000 per annual permit but later dropped them.

It revised the fees steeply upwards last month, however, requiring some foreign aid workers to pay $4,000 for a permit – 16 times the old rate.

At least two aid groups have paid, they told Reuters on con-dition of anonymity.

Humanitarian Aff airs Min-ister Hussein Mar Nyout said on Wednesday that he had re-ceived many complaints over the new fees and restrictions on travel for some aid workers.

“This is not in the spirit of the president and we are going to implement the order of the president,” he said.

About one-third of South Sudan’s 12mn population have fl ed their homes since the civil war began in 2013, two years after it won independence from Sudan.

The United Nations de-scribes the violence as ethnic cleansing.

Earlier this year, pockets of the country plunged briefl y into famine.

The economy has nosedived, there is hyperinfl ation, and the government is unable to pay civil servants and soldiers be-cause oil production has col-lapsed and offi cial corruption is rampant.

The confusion over permits delays aid, the organisations said.

“Nobody understands who is giving directives and who is supposed to implement,” said the head of one international aid group in South Sudan.

He said customs have seized his organisation’s IT equip-ment, despite an import tax waiver for aid groups.

Last week, a team of doc-tors said they were denied per-mission to travel outside the capital because they had not received work permits they had paid for.

Another aid group said it is unable to bring in foreign medical staff to complete a government-approved project because authorities said even a consultant visiting South Sudan for a week had to pay $4,000 for a permit that takes months to obtain.

“The fi rst issue is the inher-ent absurdity and impractical-ity of the rules,” said an em-ployee of the aid group. “The second is that laws are being tried inconsistently by four government agencies that are at loggerheads.”

South Sudan expelled the Norwegian Refugee Coun-cil’s country director last year, while some 28 aid workers have been killed this year, with nine shot dead in November alone, according to the United Na-tions.

UNMISS staff are exempt from the work permit require-ment but the government has forced some contractors to pay, in violation of an agree-ment with the UN, an UNMISS spokeswoman said.

Juba is not honouring a simi-lar treaty exempting aid agen-cies receiving US funding, a Western diplomat said.

Broke South Sudan hikes fees, blocks aidReutersNairobi

South Sudan resumes issuing passports

South Sudan has resumed issu-

ing passports after its German

technology provider shut down

the system for a month because

the country failed to pay its bills,

a senior immigration off icial

said yesterday.

South Sudan’s economy has

been battered by a civil war,

now in its fourth year.

“We have resumed our opera-

tion and whoever that is in need

and wants to apply for national

certificates and passports,

we are ready to serve them,”

Lieutenant General Majak Akech

Malok, director general of Na-

tionality, Passport and Immigra-

tion, told a news conference.

The national passports and

immigration off ice said in late

November that it had stopped

giving out passports due to

technical problems.

Then-deputy finance minister

Mou Ambrose Thiik told Reuters

that the passport and national

identification server had been

blocked by its host, German

company Muhlbauer, after the

government failed to pay an

annual software licence fee of

around $500,000.

Akech made no mention of the

government owing Muhlbauer

any money and just said the

stoppage was due to a “techni-

cal error”.

South Sudan’s main income is

from oil but fighting has cut

production to less than a third

of pre-war levels.

Public funds are scarce and civil

servants and soldiers go unpaid

for months, while hyperinfla-

tion has rendered its currency

almost worthless.

Thiik was relieved of his job

by President Salva Kiir in early

December.

Kenyan police accused of rape and assault in election violence: HRW

Kenyan security forces raped, beat and assaulted civilians during violence in recent elections, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday, claims that are rejected by police.“There was widespread sexual violence against women and girls, and sexual attacks on men,” HRW said, in a report titled They were men in uniform.The violence, documented during Kenya’s election in August by HRW and other rights groups, recorded “police use of excessive force against protesters, killings, beatings and maiming of individuals, looting and destruction of property”.The report was based on interviews with 65 women, three girls and three men who were sexually attacked.Kenyan police chief Joseph Boinnet dismissed the report as “utter falsehoods”, and challenged HRW to provide evidence.

Activists have accused Emirati offi cials of re-fusing to address criti-

cism of the UAE’s human rights record and storming out of a UN organised meeting with civil society groups.

Rights groups presented Emirati offi cials with evidence of alleged abuses happening in the country at the UN Uni-versal Periodical Review (UPR) pre-session in the Swiss city of Geneva on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported yesterday.

Each year, 48 UN member states undergo the UPR to as-sess the human rights situation in each and to allow offi cials from those countries to set out what, if anything, they will do to address allegations of hu-man rights violations.

The pre-session gives hu-man rights groups and civil society activists a chance to directly address offi cials about concerns ahead of the UPR ses-sion, which for the UAE, will take place next month.

At Wednesday’s meeting, groups including the UK-based International Campaign for Freedom in the UAE (ICFUAE), Reprieve, and Al-Karama di-rected their criticisms and rec-ommendations to the UAE’s representative, Ahmed Awad, about human rights in the country.

Allegations made by the groups included the arbi-trary arrest of political dis-sidents, torture of prisoners, and restrictions on freedom of speech.

Cases brought up by ICFUAE include that of British national David Haigh, who alleges tor-ture and false imprisonment by Emirati offi cials.

The activists said that Awad responded with a speech say-ing that the United Arab Emir-ates’s record on human rights was no diff erent from that of other countries.

When asked by the chair of the meeting to address the specifi c criticisms made by the rights groups, Awad is said to have called the meeting a “waste of time” and walked out.

He said that the UAE offi -cial’s response to criticism was “symptomatic of the UAE’s in-creasingly dismissive attitude towards international human rights law and yet another ex-ample of its failure to engage seriously with UN mecha-nisms”.

“The past fi ve years have seen an increase in practices of arbitrary detention, torture, and restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly in the country,” he added.

In recent years the UAE has drawn criticism from rights groups for its crackdown on political activists.

In its most recent report on the country, Amnesty Interna-tional said the UAE was carry-ing out enforced disappearanc-es, torturing dissidents, and subjecting political detainees to unfair trials, alongside a raft of other abuses. – Al Jazeera News

UAE delegate ‘storms out’ of UN rights meeting

Saudi Arabia, UAE off icials hold rare talks with Yemen Islamist partySaudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have held rare talks with Yemen’s Al-Islah party, ignoring its close links with the Muslim Brotherhood as they review strategy against Shia rebels.Both countries have outlawed the Brotherhood as a terrorist group and the UAE even sponsored rival Sunni Islamist groups in Yemen.But after the failure of an attempted uprising early this month against the rebels by their erstwhile ally former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, the two governments have been forced to review strategy in their nearly three-year-old military intervention.Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his Abu Dhabi counterpart Mohammed bin Zayed received the Islamist party’s chairman and secretary general in Riyadh late on Wednesday, the off icial Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.It was an opportunity to “review the situation in Yemen and eff orts to restore security and stability for the Yemeni people”, SPA said.Al-Islah was long a major military as well as political force in Yemen but its forces pulled back from the capital and the rest of the north as the rebels took control and are now largely confined to Marib province, east of Sanaa.The movement is nominally part of the alliance supporting President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi but so far it has played only a minor part in the actual fighting against the Houthi rebels.

Nigerian state governors have approved the re-lease of $1bn from the

country’s excess oil account to the government to help fi ght the Boko Haram insurgency.

The account holds foreign re-

serves from excess earnings from sales of crude.

It currently totals $2.3bn, ac-cording to Nigeria’s accountant general.

“We are pleased with the fed-eral government achievements in the insurgency war and in that vein state governors have approved that the sum of $1bn be taken from the excess crude

account by the federal govern-ment to fi ght the insurgency war to its conclusion,” said Godwin Obaseki, Edo state governor.

“The money will cover the whole array of needs which in-cludes purchase of equipment, training for military personnel and logistics,” he told reporters after a meeting of Nigeria’s na-tional economic council.

The release of such a large sum could raise concerns over cor-ruption, endemic in Nigeria.

The next presidential and gu-bernatorial national elections are scheduled for February and March 2019.

Historically, the run-up to elections has seen rampant graft as politicians build war chests to contest the vote.

The insurgency in the north-east is in its ninth year.

Attacks on the military and ci-vilians continue, and large areas are out of government control.

Offi cials have siphoned off funds meant for aid for 8.5mn people in the region.

In October, President Muham-madu Buhari sacked the coun-try’s top civil servant, accused of

having infl ated the value of con-tracts for aid projects, part of a suspected kickback scheme.

The United Nations appealed to donors for $1.05bn to fund hu-manitarian aid in the northeast in 2017, and says it will require an-other $1.1bn in 2018.

Nigeria, which has Africa’s largest economy, has come under fi re for devoting little of its own

resources to humanitarian aid.Military offi cials, speaking on

condition of anonymity, have said troops are undersupplied and underpaid, with weapons, vehicles and other basic equip-ment often in disrepair or lack-ing.

Some have alleged their own offi cers are skimming from al-ready-meagre supplies.

Nigeria to release $1bn from excess oil account to fi ght Boko HaramReutersAbuja

History

Workers gaze at a portrait of former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe after it was removed yesterday from the hall at the ruling Zanu-PF party headquarters in Harare, during the 107th annual conference of the party’s central committee.

AMERICAS5Gulf Times

Friday, December 15, 2017

Demonstrators rally outside the Federal Communication Commission building to protest over net neutrality rules in Washington, DC. Lead by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, the commission is expected to do away with Obama Administration rules that prevented Internet service providers from creating diff erent levels of service and blocking or promoting individual companies and organisations on their systems.

Net neutrality protest

Fierce winds feed fi res in CaliforniaReutersLos Angeles

California fi refi ghting crews are facing another round of fi erce gusts that

have fed a volatile wildfi re, one of the largest in the state’s his-tory, as they protect homes from fl ames and build control lines.

The so-called Thomas Fire, already the state’s fi fth-larg-est blaze of its kind on record, threatened the communities of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Summerland and Montecito early yesterday after destroy-ing more than 700 homes since it began on December 4, fi re of-fi cials said.

“Firefi ghters will remain engaged in structure defence

operations and scout for op-portunities to establish direct perimeter control,” the Cali-fornia Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a statement, noting that the fi re threatened 18,000 structures.

Gusty Santa Ana winds were forecast to whip up to 80kph early in the morning and peak during the day before decreas-ing by evening, while warm temperatures and single-digit relative humidity persist, the National Weather Service said in an advisory.

The weather conditions will “contribute to extreme fi re be-havior. Any fi res that develop will likely spread rapidly”, the weather service said in an ad-visory.

The Thomas Fire has traveled 43km, blackening more than 953sqkm in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, an area larger than New York City.

The confl agration has de-stroyed 709 single-family homes, damaged 164 others and displaced more than 94,000 people. It was 30% contained as of Wednesday evening.

Many public schools in the Santa Barbara area cancelled classes this week and will not reopen until the annual winter break is completed in January.

Some of the other fi res burn-ing over the past week in San Diego and Los Angeles counties have been largely brought under control.

Investigators determined that the Skirball Fire, which de-stroyed six homes in Los Ange-les’ wealthy Bel-Air neighbour-hood and scorched a building at a winery owned by billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, was started by a cooking fi re at a homeless encampment, au-thorities said on Tuesday.

Plane crashes in western CanadaAFPMontreal

A small airliner carrying 25 people crashed after takeoff Wednesday in

the western Canadian province

of Saskatchewan, causing mul-tiple injuries but no fatalities, police said.

The West Wind Aviation ATR-42 went down about a kil-ometre from the Fond-du-Lac airport at around 6:15pm local time (0015 GMT Thursday), the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

“All 22 passengers and three crew members... have been ac-counted for and removed from the scene of the crash with no fatalities reported,” the RCMP added.

Drone operator caused copter collision: NTSBReutersWashington

A September collision be-tween a small civilian drone and a US Army helicopter

was caused by the drone opera-tor’s failure to see the helicopter because he was intentionally fl y-ing the drone out of visual range, the US National Transportation Safety Board said yesterday.

The incident between a US Army UH-60M Black Hawk heli-copter and a DJI Phantom 4 drone near Staten Island, New York oc-curred as concerns mount over the rising number of unmanned

aircraft in US airspace.The helicopter landed safely

but a 1 1/2-inch dent was found on the leading edge of one of its four main rotor blades and parts of the drone were found lodged in its en-gine oil cooler fan.

The Army said previously that the helicopter was not targeted and that it was struck by a drone being operated by a hobbyist.

The helicopter was fl ying at about 300 feet when the drone struck its side.

The helicopter, which was re-paired within 24 hours, was in the area to provide security during the United Nations General As-sembly. The drone operator inten-

tionally fl ew the drone 4km away, well beyond visual line of sight and did not have an adequate un-derstanding of drone regulations, the NTSB said in a report released yesterday on the incident.

Drones are barred from being fl own out of visual range.

Government and private-sec-tor offi cials are concerned that dangerous or even hostile drones could get too close to places like military bases, airports and sports stadiums.

Earlier this year, the US Federal Aviation Administration banned drone fl ights over 133 US mili-tary facilities. The Pentagon said in August that US military bases

could shoot down drones that endanger aviation safety or pose other threats.

The FAA began banning drone fl ights over 10 US landmarks in September, including the Statue of Liberty in New York and Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, at the request of national security and law enforce-ment agencies.

Earlier this year, the FAA and US Interior Department sepa-rately barred drone fl ights within the boundaries of sites including the USS Constitution in Boston, the Gateway Arch in St Louis and Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.

The Thomas Fire has destroyed over 700 homes already

6 Gulf TimesFriday, December 15, 2017

ASIA/AUSTRALASIA

S Korea calls for ‘new era’ in relationshipwith ChinaDPA Beijing

South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with Chi-nese counterpart Xi Jinping

yesterday evening and called for a “new era” in relations between both countries.”

I wish to solidify the founda-tion for a new era in the relation-ship between the two countries based on trust and friendship between us two leaders,” Moon said, according to Yonhap News Agency, while addressing an au-dience at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.

“I hope the summit today will be the start of a process of fur-ther upgrading the outcome that the two countries and their peo-ple have achieved through the strategic co-operative partner-ship,” he was quoted as saying by Yonhap. Moon is on his fi rst state visit to China since his election

in May and will spend four days visiting Beijing and Chonqing.

The meeting between Xi and Moon is expected to help mend relations between both coun-tries, which hit a low point ear-lier this year following the de-ployment of the United States’ Terminal High Altitude Area De-fence system, known as THAAD, on South Korean territory.

The two leaders will also dis-cuss North Korea and how to halt its ongoing missile and nuclear tests.

Moon spoke of his desire to resolve the crisis “peacefully” during his speech, Yonhap said. China is Pyongyang’s closest ally and largest trading partner, holding enormous sway over the isolated country.

It is seen as key in bringing North Korea to the negotiating table. Besides China and South Korea, the United States, Russia, and Japan make up an informal group seeking to negotiate with

Pyongyang to end its nuclear programme. Moon and Xi’s dis-cussion come two days after an off er from US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to engage in un-conditional talks with North Ko-rea “any time.”

There was a brief disturbance in the visit as a South Korean photojournalist covering Moon’s visit was beaten by Chinese security guards yesterday, ac-cording to South Korean media. Yonhap News Agency reported that the journalist was roughed up by more than a dozen security guards after he was blocked from following Moon as the president visited a South Korean trade fair in Beijing. He will require “inten-sive treatment,” according to the news agency.

A photograph of the unnamed man was released by the news agency. It shows him lying on the ground surrounded by men in black identifi ed as security per-sonnel.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping are seen during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China.

At least 6,700 Rohingya killed in Myanmar violence: reportThomson Reuters Kuala Lumpur

At least 6,700 Rohingya Muslims, including many children, were killed in

the fi rst month of violence that erupted in Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state in August, Me-decins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said yesterday.

The medical charity said the fi rst major survey on the scale of mortality was the “clearest indi-cation yet of the widespread vio-

lence” that began on August 25, which has driven over 600,000 Rohingya across the border to Bangladesh.

Based on interviews at refu-gee settlements in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar region, MSF esti-mated at least 6,700 Rohingya — including some 730 children be-low the age of fi ve — were killed by violence between August 25 and September 24.

The charity, also known as Doctors without Borders, said the fi gures were “the most con-servative” estimates. “We met

and spoke with survivors of vio-lence in Myanmar, who are now sheltering in overcrowded and unsanitary camps in Bangla-desh,” MSF’s medical director Sidney Wong said.

“What we uncovered was staggering, both in terms of the numbers of people who reported a family member died as a result of violence, and the horrifi c ways in which they said they were killed or severely injured.”

Gunshots were the cause of death in most cases. Others were beaten or burned to death

in their houses. “We heard re-ports of entire families who perished after they were locked inside their homes, while they were set alight,” Wong said in a statement.

A top United Nations hu-man rights official said last week that Myanmar’s security forces may be guilty of genocide against the Rohingya.

Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed to co-operate on the repatriation of the displaced Rohingya but rights groups have cautioned against any hasty re-

turn before peace and stability is restored. Responding to MSF’s fi ndings, the charity Save the Children said it was appalled by the loss of life.

“The international community must work to end the violence, bring perpetrators to justice and insist on immediate, full and unfettered humanitarian access to all people in need in Rakhine state,” Bangladesh director Mark Pierce said in a statement.

“Violence against children cannot be tolerated and cannot remain unpunished.”

A man walks past Christmas decorations in front of an office building in Beijing, China.

All lit up

Australia envoy summoned after interference row

Australia’s ambassador to China was summoned to meet with government off icials in Beijing following a wave of criticism this week in Australia about undue Chinese influence in its domestic politics. Spokesman Lu Kang confirmed yesterday the meeting between envoy Jan Adams and the ministry, saying that it was an opportunity to clarify China’s diplomatic position. “Australia should understand very clearly China’s position on issues related to the relations between the two countries,” he said yesterday. Beijing has accused the Australian media this week of “racial paranoia” in its reporting on China. News of the summons was first reported in The Australian newspaper, which said the meeting took place last Friday.

China’s ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, on Monday made formal representations to the acting secretary of the Department of Foreign Aff airs, Penny Williams, The Australian reported. Adams’ meeting followed recent comments by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull about Chinese interference and his announcement of support for a ban on foreign political donations. Fears of undue Chinese influence were revived in recent weeks, after opposition senator Sam Dastyari was demoted by his party then announced his resignation over his links with people connected to the Chinese government. It emerged that he had warned a Chinese businessman that his phone was being tapped by intelligence agencies and that he had defended China

on the South China Sea issue at a news conference held for Chinese media, contradicting his own party’s position. Chinese state media outlet The Global Times responded on Monday by calling Australian media coverage “racial paranoia” that “tarnished Australia’s image as a multicultural society”. “China has no intention of interfering in Australia’s internal aff airs and has no intention of influencing Australia’s political process through political contributions,” the editorial said.This was followed Wednesday with the accusation Western governments were leading a “McCarthyist” witch hunt against overseas Chinese.Concerns about Chinese infiltration have also been raised this week by the governments of New Zealand and Germany.

Four jailed in Singapore over forged Ed Sheeran tickets

An Australian, a Briton and two New Zealanders have been jailed for four weeks each in Singapore for selling forged tickets to an Ed Sheeran concert. The Australian, 56-year-old Paul Cosgrove, was sentenced Wednesday after admitting that he abetted Briton Martin

Keane in a scheme to sneak fans into the British singer-songwriter’s sold-out concert in the city-state using the fake tickets. Keane, 60, was jailed last month after pleading guilty to his role in the crime, alongside two men from New Zealand, Scott Penk and

Michael Hardgrave, who also admitted to selling forged tickets to the November 12 concert. In the first case, Cosgrove gave fake passes to Keane, who used them to take fans past security into the stadium where the concert was taking place, charging them S$250 to

S$300 (US$185 to US$220) each, according to court documents. The off icial price of tickets for the concert was between S$108 and S$248. Sheeran played two dates in Singapore, on November 11 and 12, as part of his tour of Asia. Keane took four fans

into the concert on two separate occasions but was stopped on his third attempt by security staff , who discovered he was using a fake ticket and detained him. Cosgrove was caught 10 days later by immigration off icials as he attempted to cross into neighbouring Malaysia.

Myanmar media condemn arrest of local scribes

Media organisations in Myanmar yesterday joined calls for the release of two local journalists held since Tuesday on the outskirts of the country’s largest city, Yangon, under Myanmar’s Off icial Secrets Act. A statement signed by 12 local media and journalist organisations called for access to the detained journalists and accused the government of “threatening the freedom

of the press,” echoing earlier condemnation from the US embassy and EU delegation in Myanmar.“We believe that journalists have rights to cover news, getting on the ground and in touch with news sources, rights to ask questions and gather information (...) in order to give a complete and accurate report to the audience,” the statement said.

China guards beat journalist covering Moon visit

Chinese security personnel beat and severely injured a South Korean photojournalist covering President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Beijing yesterday, media groups said. The scuff le took place hours before Moon met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in an attempt to ease tensions over the US deployment of a missile defence system in South Korea. The incident occurred at a Beijing convention centre during the opening ceremony of a trade partnership event attended by Moon, who began

his four-day state visit on Wednesday. South Korean photographers protested after security personnel stopped them from following Moon’s delegation. The guards then grabbed one photographer by the neck and threw him to the floor, and seized another’s camera, according to the Korea Press Photographers Association (KPPA). When the guards tried to block journalists from entering another event hall, even though they showed identity cards, a photographer surnamed Lee

objected. More than 15 Chinese guards surrounded Lee and “punched him repeatedly, before even kicking him on the face after he was knocked to the floor,” the KPPA said in a statement, calling the incident an “unimaginable act”. The encounter left him with a bloody nose, a severe injury to his right eye, nausea and dizziness. Off icials from the South Korean presidential off ice and other reporters tried to stop the incident “to no avail”, the association added. South Korea’s KBS News aired

footage showing men in suits dragging and grappling with an unidentified journalist as bystanders shouted “stop, stop, stop” in English and an expletive in Korean. “Who would have thought that state off icials could beat up reporters from a partner country like this at a national event attended by head of state, which is neither a warzone nor a violent protest site,” the KPPA said. “Is this Chinese-style etiquette to invite guests and beat them up in your living room?”

S Korea prosecutors seek 25 years for ex-president’s aideAFPSeoul

The powerful secret con-fi dante at the centre of the sprawling corruption

scandal that brought down South Korean president Park Geun-hye should spend the next quarter of a century in prison, prosecutors demanded yesterday.

Park’s longtime friend Choi Soon-sil — the daughter of her religious guru — was vilifi ed at the massive nationwide pro-tests last year that rocked Asia’s fourth-largest economy and led to Park’s impeachment.

Choi was “the alpha and ome-ga of the scandal”, a prosecutor told the Seoul Central District Court, “the very person who cre-ated a national crisis which re-sulted in the country’s fi rst-ever impeachment of a president”. She “took advantage of presidential authorities to seek personal prof-it, undermined constitutional values and rattled the govern-ment system”, he added. “Please sentence Choi to 25 years in

prison.” He also sought fi nes and asset seizures totalling 126.2bn won – around $116mn.

The 61-year-old is accused of colluding with Park to extort mil-lions of dollars from conglomer-ates, including South Korean gi-ants Samsung and Hyundai, and using her connection with the president to meddle in state af-fairs. Choi denies all 18 charges, including abuse of power, coer-cion and bribery.

The verdict is expected in Jan-uary. If she is convicted the judg-es are not obliged to follow the prosecutors’ sentencing request.

Choi, who wore a black jacket with a prison number pinned on her chest, bowed slightly to the judges before taking her seat next to her lawyers.

She showed no emotion as prosecutors reeled off the accu-sations against her, drinking wa-ter from a cup or resting her chin on her hands. But her defence lawyer Lee Kyung-jae told the court: “25 years in prison? This would amount to telling the ac-cused to die in prison.”

And during a break Choi was

heard screaming outside a side exit, prompting a short adjourn-ment before she shuffl ed back into court, led by the arm by a guard and looking exhausted.

In a statement read to the court earlier, she said: “I always thought I should distance myself from the president but I failed to do so. I did not even realise I was being exploited by other peo-ple around me and now I am left wounded and alone.”

Prosecutors also demanded a four-year prison sentence for the chairman of retail conglomerate Lotte Group, Shin Dong-bin, and six years for a former presidential aide.

The scandal, one of the largest in South Korea’s modern history, has exposed networks of privi-lege among the country’s busi-ness and political elite and has seen a handful of offi cials and business leaders put behind bars.

Lee Jae-yong — heir to the world’s largest smartphone maker — began a fi ve-year prison sentence in August for bribery, perjury and other charges relat-ing to payments made by Sam-

sung to Choi. Lee was found him guilty of paying a total of 8.9bn won ($7.9mn) in return for fa-vours including government support for his succession at Samsung after his father was left bedridden by a heart attack in 2014. He is appealing the verdict.

Park was impeached in March and was taken into custody shortly afterwards.

Her own separate trial on mul-tiple charges including abuse of power, coercion and bribery is continuing after the court ex-tended her detention for six months in October, prompting her defence team to resign in protest.

It is unclear when a verdict might come in her marathon case, which has involved more than 100 witnesses.

But yesterday’s request sug-gests prosecutors will demand a sentence of at least 25 years for her.

“It has been proved beyond any doubt that Choi and the former president colluded to take bribes,” the prosecutor said yes-terday.

BRITAIN/IRELAND7Gulf Times

Friday, December 15, 2017

PM faces ‘muchbigger’ defeaton Brexit dateLondon Evening StandardLondon

Theresa May was yesterday warned she faces a second and “much bigger” defeat

next week when MPs vote on her attempt to fi x the Brexit date in law.

It left Downing Street in a di-lemma over whether to back down or risk being humiliated on an amendment the prime minister personally introduced in a blaze of publicity a month ago.

There were signs of recrimina-tions between No 10 and party whips on Wednesday night after the government suff ered its fi rst Commons defeat on the EU With-drawal Bill. Eleven Conservatives backed a cross-party amendment giving Parliament control over the exit terms next year.

A last-moment minor conces-sion failed to buy off the rebels,

leading to accusations from some MPs that No 10 miscalculated by leaving the olive branch too late. Others said it was the fault of the whips for underestimating the number of rebels.

Government sources told the Standard that the rebels will not have the whip suspended but are likely to be rebuked by Chief Whip Julian Smith.

The leader of Wednesday night’s revolt, former attorney general Dominic Grieve, told the Standard he had no regrets: “I am sorry that I had to rebel but it was necessary because Clause 9 was wholly unsatisfactory and would have undermined parliament’s role in Brexit.”

His ally, former business minis-ter Anna Soubry, said the govern-ment would be wise to withdraw next week’s amendment on fi x-ing the date. “If it is put to a vote I would expect the government to have even more diffi culty than they had on Wednesday night.”

MPs expressed incredulity that talks between ministers and the rebels were suddenly called off last week, which implied either No 10 or Smith misjudged the mood.

May herself unveiled the amendment to fi x the Brexit date as March 29, 2019. A No 10 source said: “There is no change in the government position regarding that amendment.”

But a senior rebel said some of the Tory MPs who abstained on Wednesday night were planning to join the rebels if the amendment went ahead, adding: “They are facing a much bigger vote than the one on Wednesday night.”

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt played down the defeat, saying it would not derail the Brexit proc-ess. “I don’t think it should be a surprise that in a hung Parliament, Parliament wants to reassert its right to scrutinise the process,” he told Radio 4’s Today programme.

He paid tribute to May for get-ting “a fantastic agreement” from Brussels. The Archbishop of Can-terbury has called for a Christmas truce over Brexit. Justin Welby called for a “ceasefi re” on the use of insults, “personalised attacks” and “pejorative terms”.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry arrive to attend the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London yesterday.

A leader of a far right group whose social media posts were retweeted by US President Donald Trump was yesterday ordered not to appear within 500 metres of any rally until a criminal case in Northern Ireland is finished. Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the fringe anti-immigrant Britain First group, appeared at a court in Belfast to face charges of using threatening, abusive or insulting words in a speech at a rally in the city in August. Fransen, 31, was remanded on continuing bail until January 9 on the condition that she is not allowed within 500 metres of any rally or demonstration before the case is finished.

Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay has appeared in court as a witness in the trial of his former chief of staff for rape. Sam Armstrong, 24, is alleged to have raped and sexually assaulted a woman in his boss’s off ice within the Houses of Parliament after a night of drinking, Southwark crown court has heard. Under cross-examination by Armstrong’s barrister, Mackinlay told the court his former employee was “very driven on politics”. Standing in the witness box, dressed in a grey suit, Mackinlay, the MP for South Thanet, said: “He worked long hours, perhaps more dedicated than other staff . He was in a diff erent league in terms of his reliability.”

Ryanair is making contingency plans for disruption to flights after pilot unions in three countries announced strikes for the coming days and two others threatened industrial action. The strikes, which would be the first in Ryanair’s 32-year history, are being organised by pilots demanding an overhaul of the company’s system of contracts and collective bargaining, which they say gives management too much power. Pilots and ground crew in Italy are due to take action first with a four-hour strike today to be followed by a 24-hour stoppage by pilots in Ireland and Portugal on December 20. Pilots in Germany and Spain have said they are considering industrial action.

Robbie Williams has told how he spent a week in intensive care after falling ill backstage. The pop star, 43, told The Sun that he became ill at a stadium in Zurich while on tour in September. “My left arm went numb and I couldn’t stop dribbling out of the side of my mouth. I had a headache and I was also having trouble breathing. I couldn’t get a full breath,” he said. The singer, whose hits include Angels, flew to London for blood tests as well as scans of his heart and brain. “There were some abnormalities found, including something on my brain that looked like blood,” he said. Williams said the experience had taught him to “look after my mind and my body better”.

An NHS app that enables patients to communicate directly with their GP is to be rolled out across London within a year. The NHS Online app was launched in Bexley last month under a national initiative to modernise the way patients interact with the health service. Doctors are “optimistic” about making it available in the capital’s 31 other clinical commissioning groups by the end of 2018, but admit it will be challenging. It is one of several planned advances in the use of digital technology across London’s 1,400 GP surgeries. These include the early stages of using “artificial intelligence” — where computers make decisions to help diagnose a condition and provide medical advice.

Britain First leader ordered to avoid rallies

Tory MP gives evidence informer aide’s rape trial

Ryanair warns of disruptionas more pilots join strike

Robbie Williams revealsrecent health battle

NHS app to let patients‘chat’ with doctors

LEGAL CONTROVERSYAVIATION PEOPLE HEALTHCARE

Royals join families at Grenfell memorialAFPLondon

Britain yesterday marked the six-month anniver-sary of London’s Grenfell

Tower fi re that claimed 71 lives, with most survivors still awaiting permanent housing and voicing scepticism about an offi cial in-quiry into the tragedy.

Members of the royal fam-ily including Princes Charles, William and Harry joined Prime Minister Theresa May, survi-vors and families of the dead at a national memorial service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

“This is a nation that grieves at the unspeakable tragedy, loss and

hurt of that June day,” David Ison, Dean of St Paul’s, told the crowd.

While the service was an op-portunity for quiet refl ection, anger at the disaster is still sim-mering.

The fi re, which started with a faulty refrigerator on the fourth fl oor, engulfed the 24-storey west London tower in the early hours of June 14, rapidly spread-ing up the new cladding on the outside.

The painstaking process to identify all the remains found in the tower took months.

“December 14 will be a spe-cial day for our community,” said Shahin Sadafi , who chairs the Grenfell United survivors’ group.

“We are coming together to re-

member the loved ones we lost in the fi re, to unite as a community and to start to build hope for the future.”

May is under pressure from victims’ families, survivors and political opponents to build con-fi dence in the public inquiry into the fi re. “We will welcome her, but she will have to come and face us and we will be asking those questions of her. It’s not much to ask,” said Sandra Ruiz, who lost her niece in the fi re.

As the service ended, a “Green For Grenfell” banner was held aloft and carried out of the ca-thedral, followed by bereaved relatives carrying white roses and photographs of their loved ones.

Retired appeal court judge

Martin Moore-Bick is presiding over the probe.

However, a 16,000-strong pe-tition called for a diverse panel to assist him, fearing he would not have an understanding of life in-side public housing.

A separate police investiga-tion is under way to determine whether any criminal charges can be brought against individu-als or corporate entities.

It is expected to run until late 2018. In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, May promised that survivors would be guaranteed new homes on the same terms, within three weeks, as close as possible to the north Kensington area where they had been living.

However, of the 208 house-

holds needing rehousing, 118 are facing Christmas in emergency accommodation — many in ho-tels — or living with friends, said Grenfell United.

Some 42 families have moved into permanent accommodation, while a further 48 have accepted off ers for permanent new hous-ing but are still living in tempo-rary quarters.

Many families do not want to accept temporary accommoda-tion, fearing they will be parked there and forgotten about.

“We continue to do everything we can to support those aff ected, and take the necessary steps to make sure it can never happen again,” May told parliament on Wednesday.

Third person chargedover arson attackGuardian News and MediaLondon

A third person has been charged with the murders of four children who died

in an arson attack on their fam-ily home in Greater Manchester. David Worrall, 25, was charged with four counts of murder, three of attempted murder and one of arson with intent to endanger life.

Worrall, of Worsley in Salford, appeared at Manchester and Sal-ford magistrates court yesterday and was remanded in custody until a crown court hearing today.

The third charge came a day after three-year-old Lia Pearson became the fourth child to die after the targeted attack on their home in Walkden, Salford, at 5am on Monday.

The toddler’s sisters Demi, 15, and Lacie, seven, and brother Brandon, eight, were also killed in the blaze.

The mother of the children, Michelle Pearson, remains in a serious condition in hospital and it is unclear whether she has been told of the deaths of her four chil-dren.

Her 16-year-old son and his friend, of the same age, survived the fi rebomb attack on their home in Jackson Street, where dozens of fl owers and tributes have been left.

Two other suspects — Zak Bol-land, 23, and Courtney Brierley, 20 — along with Worrall are due to appear at Manchester crown court today accused of the arson attack.

Bolland and Brierley appeared in court on Wednesday charged with three counts of murder, four of attempted murder and one of arson with intent to endanger life.

That indictment was laid be-fore the death of Lia and it was be-lieved they would now be charged with four counts of murder and three of attempted murder.

Detectives have said there had been previous incidents at the victims’ home. It is understood police were called to the property at about 2am, three hours before the fi re.

The force has referred itself to the Independent Police Com-plaints Commission, which is routine when someone dies after contact with the police.

Deporting EU roughsleepers illegal: courtGuardian News and MediaLondon

A Home Office policy to deport rough sleepers from countries in the

European Economic Area (EEA) has been ruled unlawful by the high court after a challenge brought on behalf of two Polish men and a Latvian.

Since 2016 the Home Office has designated rough sleeping as an abuse of EU free move-ment rights in its administra-tive removal policy.

The court ruled that the Home Office’s position was contrary to EU law. It also found the policy was discriminatory and amounted to an unlawful systematic verification of the EEA nationals’ rights to reside.

Hundreds of EEA nationals detained under the policy may now be entitled for compensa-tion for unlawful detention.

Three EEA nationals – Gu-nars Gureckis from Latvia, and Mariusz Perlinski and Mariusz

Cielecki from Poland – faced removal action because they were sleeping rough.

The legal challenge was brought by the Public Interest Law Unit (PILU) and North East London Migrant Action (NEL-MA). The Aire Centre, a charity which promotes European law rights, provided evidence.

The Home Office may now face claims for unlawful de-tention where it has detained individuals on the basis of its policy. Those who have been removed from the UK and face a 12-month re-entry ban may also be entitled to have that ban lifted and be readmitted to the UK.

The Home Office launched Operations Adoze and Gopik to remove rough sleepers from the UK even if they were working or had permanent right of resi-dence.

The evidence showed that the initial questioning and verifica-tion was part of a blanket policy, which only occurred because, under the terms of the policy,

EEA nationals rough sleeping were presumed to be abusing their rights of residence.

This was also why this group was specifically targeted by im-migration enforcement teams who were often assisted by the police and local authorities.

A NELMA spokesman said: “In reality, many homeless peo-ple targeted by the Home Office have fallen on hard times and are working but unable to afford accommodation.

“The numbers of European nationals sleeping rough have been steadily increasing since 2010. But rather than making substantial or systematic at-tempts to provide solutions to homelessness through ac-commodation and employ-ment support, local and na-tional authorities have opted to add enforcement measures to austerity policies. We hope this decision will put an end to a social policy which used im-prisonment and deportation as solutions to eradicate home-lessness.”

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson visit the National Maritime Museum in London yesterday.

Museum visit

Davis rebuked overBrexit impact papers

David Davis has escaped the pos-

sibility of being held in contempt of

parliament over the non-existence

of Brexit impact assessment

papers, but was criticised by the

Speaker, John Bercow, for being

unclear to MPs when he discussed

the matter. Bercow, giving a rare

public rebuke to a minister, also

told the Commons it was “most re-

grettable” that Davis had redacted

some information from the papers

when they were handed over to

the Brexit select committee, and

that it took so long for this to hap-

pen. The ruling follows complaints

to the Speaker by Labour’s Chuka

Umunna and others that Davis was

in contempt of parliament over

a Commons opposition motion

passed on November 1 that called

for the Brexit impact assessments

to be released. After the motion

there was a long delay in passing

any papers to the Brexit select

committee, and when they arrived

some MPs complained they were

mainly background notes culled

from public sources.

EUROPE

Gulf Times Friday, December 15, 20178

Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual marathon press confer-

ence yesterday to reinforce his reputation as the country’s guarantor of stability.

Putin, who has been in power as president or prime minister for more than a decade and a half, announced last week that he would run for another six-year term as president in March, giving him just three months to campaign.

He said yesterday that he would run as an independent, but still counts on broad sup-port from political parties and the general populace.

During the televised presser lasting more than three and a half hours, Putin repeatedly in-sisted that, under his rule, Rus-sia has managed to overcome the turbulence that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

“Young people do not re-member and do not even know what happened in the 1990s and the early 2000s, and they can-

not compare it with what there is now,” Putin said.

Further noting stability in the Russian economy, Putin said the country has overcome a reces-sion of the past three years.

He noted that direct foreign investments have doubled this year to $23bn.

Russia has managed to sur-pass the shocks to its economy in 2014-15, a sharp reduction in prices for energy commodi-ties, and “external restrictions, so-called sanctions”, Putin told the audience of more than 1,000 reporters.

“With confi dence, I can say that the sanctions have not had as much impact as the reduc-tion in prices for oil,” Putin said, adding that Russia has also be-come the world’s top exporter of grain, with a record harvest of more than 130mn tonnes this year.

Putin is almost certain to win re-election.

The country’s largest inde-pendent pollster, Levada Cen-tre, said last week that 70% of the Russians who intended to vote in the upcoming election would vote for Putin, according to a nationwide survey.

Putin was challenged during the press conference by a rival candidate,socialite-turned-politician Ksenia Sobchak, about the state of the political opposition.

Sobchak, who was in the au-dience, questioned the Russian president on whether opposi-tion leader Alexei Navalny was being oppressed.

In response, Putin again re-minded the audience of the tur-bulence that Russia experienced after the Soviet dissolution.

Putin equated Russian oppo-sition movements with former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s political machina-tions in neighbouring Ukraine.

“Would you want dozens of Saakashvilis running around in our streets?” Putin told Sobchak.

Putin earlier described Saa-kashvili’s ambitions to over-throw Ukraine’s president as “spitting in the face of the Georgian people and spitting in the face of the Ukrainian peo-ple”.

Saakashvili – who led Georgia in a war against Russia in 2008 that was brief but devastat-ing for his country – has been

leading a protest movement in Ukraine in recent months after entering the country illegally amid a mass brawl on the Polish border between his supporters and Ukrainian authorities.

Last week, in a move that bolstered Putin’s reputation for stability, he announced that Russia had accomplished its mission in Syria after defeat-ing the extremist group Islamic State (IS) group.

A “signifi cant portion” of Russia’s troops would soon return home, Putin said in a speech at an airbase in north-western Syria.

That move ahead of the elec-tion was a way to clear away potential liabilities, said Rus-sia expert Mark Galeotti, senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations Prague.

“The prospect of casualties in Syria is not at all popular,” Galeotti said by e-mail. “This is a way of reassuring the Russian populace.”

Putin also praised Russia’s accomplishments in Syria dur-ing the conference, saying that the defeat of insurgents has paved the way for a political set-tlement to the confl ict.

You’re safer with me in charge, Putin tells RussiaDPAMoscow

QUESTION TIME: Russian TV personality and opposition activist Ksenia Sobchak asks Putin a question during his annual end-of-year news conference in Moscow.

Flanked by soldiers in com-bat dress, European lead-ers inaugurated yesterday

a landmark defence co-operation pact that EU President Donald Tusk said was “bad news for our enemies”.

Twenty-fi ve countries – all of the EU member states except Denmark, Malta and Britain, which is leaving the bloc – are joining the so-called permanent structured co-operation on de-fence, or PESCO.

It aims to get EU states to work more closely and spend mon-ey more eff ectively on defence projects, including the develop-ment of new weapons.

After half a century of frus-trated eff orts to integrate Euro-pean defence capabilities, Rus-sia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and claims of state-spon-sored cyber attacks gave the idea fresh impetus.

“For many years the strong-est argument against PESCO had been the fear that it would lead to the weakening of Nato,” Tusk said at the launch at a summit in Brussels. “But it is quite the op-posite – strong European defence naturally strengthens Nato.”

“This is why PESCO is not only good news for us, but it is also good news for our allies and bad news for our enemies,” he said.

The EU’s diplomatic chief Fe-derica Mogherini, who helped bring the French- and German-backed plan to fruition, hailed the

agreement as a “historic decision that turns the EU into a credible security provider globally”.

A host of policy diff erences with Washington and US Presi-dent Donald Trump’s repeated complaints about Europe not spending enough on its own de-fence spurred EU leaders to move quickly.

Fears have grown that the US would not honour its long-standing commitment to come to Europe’s aid, and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has said the bloc “cannot and should not outsource our se-curity and defence”.

“We see that around the world there is a strong need for the EU to be active as a point of reference, as a player, as oth-ers are taking diff erent direc-tions,” Mogherini said yesterday in an apparent swipe at Trump’s “America fi rst” approach.

But a question mark hangs over the funding for PESCO, with the €1.5bn-a-year European Defence Fund still awaiting fi nal approval.

Mogherini said she would press EU leaders to include fund-ing for defence in the bloc’s budget “so that this Europe of security and defence is fi nanced at an adequate level”.

A fi rst batch of 17 projects in-cludes a Belgian-led eff ort to de-velop submarine drones to tackle mines at sea.

Other proposals include a German-led “crisis response operation core” aimed at speed-ing up the deployment of troops to emergency situations, though initially this will begin with a

low-key implementation study.Past eff orts to integrate EU de-

fence have been frustrated – fi rst by French reluctance and later by fi erce British opposition to any-thing resembling a “European army”.

The initiative has the back-ing of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), in part be-cause it requires countries to in-crease their spending on defence, a priority for the US-led alliance.

“I welcome the initiative to

strengthen European defence be-cause I believe that will be good for the European Union, for Eu-rope and for Nato,” the alliance’s chief, Jens Stoltenberg, said.

But he warned that PESCO projects must work in harmony with Nato.

“We cannot risk ending up with confl icting requirements from EU and from Nato to the same nations,” Stoltenberg said as he arrived at the summit.

And with one eye on Brexit,

he cautioned that non-EU allies must be as fully involved in PES-CO as possible.

When Britain quits the bloc in 2019, 80% of Nato’s defence ex-penditure will come from non-EU states, he said, highlighting the importance of co-operation rather than competition.

Under PESCO statutes, as a non-EU state Britain will be able to take part in specifi c missions but will have no decision-making role.

EU inaugurates jointdefence co-operationAFPBrussels

ABOVE AND BEYOND: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel take part in a group photo on the launching of the Permanent Structured Co-operation on defence, or PESCO, a pact between 25 EU governments to fund, develop, and deploy armed forces together, during an EU summit in Brussels.

A wave of strikes and street protests swept across Greece yesterday against

leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ latest austerity measures in keeping with the country’s third bailout package since 2010.

The motto of the protests – “Poverty, taxes, unemployment – you crossed all lines” – was ad-dressed at Tsipras’ cabinet.

Bus, tram and underground drivers stopped working before the morning rush-hour in Ath-ens.

In Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki, only one bus per line circulated.

Ferries connecting the Greek islands remained docked and some inland fl ights were also grounded during a four-hour strike by air traffi c controllers.

International fl ights were not aff ected.

Schools were closed and doc-tors treated only emergency cases, while the media stopped broadcasting news at midnight on Wednesday and were set to resume 24 hours later.

An estimated 20,000 people demonstrated against austerity in Athens and another 8,000 in Thessaloniki.

The largest labour unions, the public sector ADEDY and the private sector GSEE, backed the protests.

Greece has been bailed out three times since 2010 by eu-rozone member states and the International Monetary Fund to prevent a default and reduce the risks of other members of the monetary union.

The third bailout was agreed in May.

The €86bn ($101bn) package, which runs until August 2018, is supposed to be the last.

After that, Athens is expected to return to fi nancial markets for funds.

In return, Greece had to com-mit to sweeping structural re-forms and austerity measures, which have been highly unpopu-lar domestically.

Angered by seven years of aus-

terity, amid which their average income dropped by a quarter and unemployment soared to the highest in the European Union, Greeks have routinely gone on strike in protest.

Earlier this month, Greece and its European creditors reached a preliminary agreement on re-forms it needed to implement in order to secure more bailout money.

So far, €40.2bn of €86bn have been paid out, and Greece is hop-ing that the latest agreement will unlock another €5.5bn.

The latest steps, which trig-gered the new protest, include limiting the right of labour un-ions to call strikes and loosening rules for fi ring workers.

Greece, however, has more work to do to secure the release of the next tranche.

“The next steps will now be for the Greek government to im-plement” the agreed to reforms, Eurogroup chair Jeroen Dijssel-bloem said on December 4.

Most of the reforms could be implemented before Christmas and the rest at the start of 2018, allowing eurozone ministers to release the tranche when they meet on January 22, he said.

Protests against austerity sweep across GreeceDPAAthens

HO-HO-OH NO! A woman in a Santa Claus is seen as she takes part in a demonstration marking a 24-hour general strike against austerity in Athens.

Four teenagers were killed and seven seriously in-jured after a train and a

school bus collided outside the town of Perpignan in south-western France yesterday, the interior ministry said.

TV images showed ambu-lance and emergency serv-ice vehicles near the crossing where the collision occurred.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe described the crash as a “terrible accident” and said on Twitter that he was heading to the scene, more than 850km (530 miles) from Paris.

“All emergency services have been mobilised and a crisis co-ordination unit set up,” an offi -cial at the local Millas townhall told Reuters.

The interior ministry said that seven people in the bus, which was carrying teenag-ers aged between 13 to 17, were seriously injured among the 19 aboard.

A spokeswoman for French national rail company SNCF said that the train was running at 80kph at the time of the ac-cident and 25 people were on board.

Three of those were slightly injured.

France has suff ered several train incidents in the past few decades.

In 2013, a train derailment in central France killed at least six people.

One of the deadliest was in 1988, when a commuter train heading into Paris’s Gare de Lyon crashed into a stationary train, killing 56 people, after its brakes failed.

Four children die in school bus collisionReutersParis

Turkey’s largest city Is-tanbul has resolved to change the names of

almost 200 streets in a mass renaming campaign, largely to remove any association with the alleged mastermind of the 2016 failed coup Fethullah Gu-len, a report said yesterday.

The move was agreed by the city’s municipal council, the state-run Anadolu news agen-cy said.

Turkey accuses Gulen of plotting the failed coup in July 2016 aimed at unseating Presi-dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Gulen, an Islamic preacher based in the United States, de-nies the charges.

Ankara has since embarked on a mass purge aimed at re-moving any trace of Gulen’s infl uence from public life, ar-resting tens of thousands of people in the process.

Two streets in the Eyup dis-trict of Istanbul called Gulen Street will in future be named after Omer Halisdemir, a sol-dier killed in the coup who shot dead a top coup plotter.

Another 25 smaller streets called Gulen Street will also have their names changed to remember themes and heroes who emerged from the at-

tempted coup.Gulen is a common name in

Turkey.There have been repeated

reports of people called Gulen moving to change their sur-name on the grounds it is now stigmatised.

Four streets called Parallel Street are also changing their names, Anadolu said.

The word “parallel” has also become loaded in Turkey as the authorities often refer to Gulen’s group as the Parallel State Structure (PDY), a term his organisation rejects.

Any road with the name as-sociated with a former media interest of Gulen is also chang-ing its name.

This applies to streets named Zaman (Time – a pro-Gulen newspaper), Samanyolu (Milky Way – a pro-Gulen TV channel), and Cihan (World – a pro-Gulen news agency).

The campaign is not just aimed at names associated with Gulen.

Kandil (oil lamp) Street will have its name changed as this is also the name of the group of mountains in northern Iraq where the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has its base.

Names deemed morally inappropriate will also be changed.

Street names altered to remove Gulen linkAFPIstanbul

Belgium closes Catalan leader’s caseA Belgian court formally closed extradition proceedings against deposed Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont yesterday, after Spain dropped the European arrest warrant against him.Puigdemont and four of his deputies fled to Belgium in October to avoid charges of rebellion, sedition and misusing public money in relation to Catalonia’s independence drive, prompting Madrid to seek their return.But in a surprise move the Spanish Supreme Court withdrew the European arrest warrants last week and yesterday a Belgian judge off icially ended the case in Brussels.

INDIA9Gulf Times

Friday, December 15, 2017

Scorpene-class sub inducted into navyIANSMumbai

Heralding it as a signifi-cant new era to boost the country’s defence

and security, Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday com-missioned the country’s first indigenously-built Scorpene-class submarine INS Kalvari into the Indian Navy.

He formally unveiled the com-missioning plaque and shook hands with naval offi cers, before taking a quick voyage in the sub-marine.

The vessel is named after the fi rst Foxtort-class submarine - INS Kalvari - which was induct-ed into the navy on December 8, 1967. This indigenous version comes days after the golden jubi-lee of the navy’s submarine wing.

This is the fi rst conventional submarine to be inducted into the navy. Kalvari means Tiger Shark.

Modi was received at the Na-val Dockyard by navy chief Sunil

Lanba and presented a 100-man Guard of Honour.

He thanked France for its help and collaboration in developing the Scorpene submarines, which encompass superior stealth and combat capabilities.

“It signifi es strengthening of the growing strategic ties between India and France,” Modi said.

The Scorpenes were being built by the Mazagaon Dockyard Ltd (MDL) here under Project 75 with transfer of technology from a foreign collaborator -- DCNS of France.

He said the INS Kalvari will provide a signifi cant boost and synergise the country’s defence, economic, technical and interna-tional powers, along with people power on the global arena.

It will play a crucial role in In-dia’s security and regional stabil-ity, he added.

Modi said India was fully alert with regard to its global, strategic and economic interests in the In-dian Ocean.

“India’s humanitarian com-mitment to national security and

diplomacy makes us stand apart in the world. So, a safe and secure In-dia is good not just for this country but for entire humanity.”

He said India was playing a cru-cial role in confronting “all chal-lenges emanating from the high seas, be it terrorism, piracy, nar-cotics smuggling or illegal fi sh-ing” for the countries in the Indian Ocean rim.

In her address, Defence Min-ister Nirmala Sitharaman said submarines were “lethal, potent and cutting platforms in modern warfare, essential for peace and deterrence”.

INS Kalvari is manned by a team comprising eight offi cers and 35 sailors with Captain S D Mehen-dale at the helm.

The commissioning will aug-ment the off ensive capability of the Indian Navy and the Western Naval Command in particular.

The second in the series of six submarines in this project, INS Khanderi is currently undergoing sea trials and all the submarines are due to be inducted gradually into the Indian Navy by 2020.

Filmmakers told toensure women’s safetyThomson Reuters Foundation Mumbai

The government has issued a rare diktat to its powerful movie moguls, reminding

Bollywood to keep women safe from the sort of sex abuse al-legations poisoning the US fi lm industry.

Minister for Women and Child Welfare Maneka Gandhi wrote to major production houses, asking them to comply with the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act, which stipulates a series of proc-esses to protect women at work.

“Bollywood fi lmmakers are eth-ically and legally accountable for the safety of not only their direct employees but of all outsourced and temporary staff as well,” read a tweet posted by Gandhi’s ministry, quoting from her letter.

Firms with 10 or more employ-ees must set up committees to look into complaints of sexual harass-ment and ensure that female staff know their workplace rights.

Despite such laws, activists say very few of cases of sexual harass-ment are reported to the police in an industry, like Hollywood, that

is run by men and operates by its own rules.

The vast majority of Bolly-wood’s biggest producers and fi lm-makers come from promi-nent fi lm families who until re-cently controlled most of the high-profi le and lucrative industry.

Tales of sexual harassment have begun to surface in Mumbai, home to the world’s biggest fi lm indus-try, following a wave of similar ac-cusations against Hollywood pro-ducer Harvey Weinstein.

More than 50 women have claimed that Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them over the past three decades.

Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.

But Bollywood has all the same elements that make it easy for men to exploit wannabe stars eager for fame and fortune.

Thousands of young boys and girls fl ock to the Bollywood capital Mumbai every year seeking fi lm parts and are often exploited by agents who promise roles in ex-change for favours.

While some big Bollywood names have been charged with rape and harassment, they have rarely lost their peers’ support.

Ameerul Islam, who has been sentenced to death by the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court for raping and mur-dering a Dalit law student near Perumbavoor town, Kochi, last year, is taken away by police in Kochi yesterday.

Death for rapist

Oppositionsupport for parliamentsession urgedIANSNew Delhi

The government is ready to discuss all issues, includ-ing those to be raised by

the opposition, Parliamentary Aff airs Minister Ananth Kumar said here yesterday, adding he would request all MPs to work “full time” to dispose of the business.

“The government is ready to discuss and debate any issue. Sev-eral issues will be raised by the opposition and the government will obviously give its response,” he said when asked if Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi’s allegations against his predecessor Manmo-han Singh and others vis-a-vis their meeting with Pakistani dip-lomats would disrupt the Houses.

“It is also the opposition’s re-sponsibility to run parliament. The prime minister has sought the opposition’s co-operation for the smooth functioning of Parlia-ment,” he said.

Kumar said 25 bills are listed in the Lok Sabha and 39 bills are pending in the Rajya Sabha which would be taken up and disposed “according to priority”.

The most important business would be the Supplementary De-mands for Grants, which is the fi rst one after the implementation of GST; the 123rd Constitutional Amendment for setting up of Na-tional Commission for Backward Classes as a constitutional body; and the bill against triple talaaq, he said.

Besides, the government would also bring bills to turn three ordi-nances into acts, which include on the GST compensation to states and Amendments to the Indian Forest Act and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

However, a belligerent op-position is ready to corner the government on Modi’s allega-tions against Manmohan Singh, former vice president Hamid

Ansari and others, as also the disqualifi cation from Rajya Sabha of veteran socialist leader Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar An-sari.

“The prime minister has lev-elled very serious allegations against a former prime minister, former vice president, former army chief and a few retired dip-lomats that they were conspiring along with Pakistan. The govern-ment must tell the parliament as to what kind of conspiracy it was,” senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told media persons af-ter the all-party meeting.

“If the allegations are true, the government must take action. If they are false, then those level-ling such wild allegations must be punished,” Azad, the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, added.

Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, wondered as to how the govern-ment would do justice to 25 bills in just 14 days.

“Besides, a parliament session is not meant to just transact the government business. There are several other important matters of public concern which need to be discussed apart from the op-position’s issues,” he said.

The opposition refused to buy the government’s argument that winter sessions have been delayed or truncated in the past too, saying the government “de-liberately” delayed and short-ened the session as the “entire Cabinet including the prime minister was busy campaigning in Gujarat”.

However, Ananth Kumar said he would request members of parliament to work “full time” to make the most of the 14-day ses-sion. “The parliament’s produc-tivity has increased over the last few years. We expect this session too will be very smooth and pro-ductive. I request all MPs to work full time,” he said to the point of cramming 25 bills in 14 days.

Surveys forecast BJP victory in Gujarat pollsAgenciesNew Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling group will sweep an election in Gu-

jarat, surveys showed yesterday, shaking off the most serious challenge yet from a combined opposition.

The election for a new state assembly in Gujarat is seen as a litmus test for Modi ahead of a national election in 2019. Voting closed yesterday.

A win would help him dis-

miss critics who said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s support base was eroding after last year’s shock move to ban high-value currency notes in the fi ght against graft, and poor implementation of a national sales tax this year hit businesses.

The Congress party led by Ra-hul Gandhi and teaming up with regional politicians has run a tough campaign aiming to weak-en Modi in his home base and rouse public discontent over lack of jobs and a softening economy.

But three separate television exit polls at the close of the fi -

nal round of voting yesterday showed the BJP winning more than 100 seats in the 182-mem-ber state house, well clear of the half-way mark of 92 required to rule.

Congress, the main opposition party, will win 70-74 seats, the polls showed, better than in the past but not enough to oust the BJP from power.

Another exit poll, conducted by a Today’s Chanakya group, gave the BJP a two-thirds victory.

The actual votes will be count-ed on Monday and exit polls and other surveys have often gone

wrong in India, where millions vote. The Congress party said it was too quick to call the election based on exit polls.

The BJP has ruled Gujarat since 1998, with Modi as its chief minister for more than a decade before he became prime minister three years ago.

Modi yesterday cast his bal-lot in Ahmedabad and then hit the streets again, showing off his inked fi nger as he walked, surrounded by hundreds of sup-porters.

Meanwhile, the Congress complained to the election

commission that Modi had held a roadshow in Ranip area. The Congress accused the elec-tion commission of ignoring the BJP’s and Modi’s violations of the model code of conduct. Congress activists staged a demonstration outside the offi ce of the poll panel in New Delhi.

There were several complaints regarding malfunctioning EVMs in and around Vadodara city, halting polling temporarily.

Earlier separate exit surveys released for state polls held in Himachal Pradesh showed Mo-di’s party emerging as a winner.

The Supreme Court will today pronounce its order on the plea for interim relief on a batch of petitions seeking stay of various central and state government notifications mandating the linking of Aadhaar with various schemes including taking exam by the students, availing scholarship, cremation and treatment of HIV positive patients. The government has already issued 139 notifications mandating the linking of the Unique Identification Number with various schemes. The court indicated it will address the government plea for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with the opening of new bank accounts in its order to be pronounced today.

Eight extremists of a newly formed Left wing group were killed in an exchange of fire with police in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem yesterday, police said. The incident occurred in Tekulapalli forests of the district, adjoining Chhattisgarh. The slain extremists were members of the CPI-MLs’ Chandr Pullareddy Baata group, which was formed in July this year by some Maoist earlier associated with CPI-ML Jana Shakti group. The gunbattle took place during a combing operation by police in the forests. A police off icer said the combing operations were launched following a tip-off about the presence of extremists.

One of the “Chennai Six” group of ex-British soldiers jailed in India was dragged to a psychiatric hospital and force-fed anti-psychotic tablets during his time in jail, a London court considering whether to extradite tycoon Vijay Mallya was told yesterday. Mallya, 61, is wanted in India on fraud and money-laundering charges relating to his defunct Kingfisher Airlines. The businessman, co-owner of the Force India Formula One team, who moved to Britain in March last year, says the case against him is politically motivated and is fighting extradition on several grounds including a claim that jail conditions in India are incompatible with British human rights laws.

Bollywood’s multi-faceted talent Neeraj Vora, an actor, writer and director known for his humorous streak on and off screen, died in Mumbai early yesterday, months after being comatose, his family member said. Vora’s younger brother Uttank Vora said he died at 4am at a Andheri hospital. Vora was 54. Vora wrote Rangeela, directed Phir Hera Pheri and acted in Bol Bachchan among several other projects. For months altogether, a room in filmmaker Firoz Nadiadwala’s home was converted into a fully functional ICU for Vora. Born in a Gujarati family, Vora came to be known in the film industry for the way he tackled humour through his acting, writing and directorial projects.

A class VIII girl, who had been battling for her life for a week after she was gang-raped and then set on fire, died in a hospital in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, yesterday police said. The 15-year-old victim, who had been admitted to the Medical College Hospital, succumbed to her injuries yesterday morning, Bhangarh police station chief Ravi Bhushan Pathak said. Both the rape accused, who tried to burn her alive to conceal the crime, have been arrested. The crime took place in Deval village on December 7 when the girl was alone at home. The two youth barged in and after raping her, poured kerosene on her and set her ablaze.

Order on interim reliefin Aadhaar case today

Eight Maoists killed inTelangana gunfight

Mallya extradition hearing told of jail abuse

Writer-actor-filmmakerNeeraj Vora dies at 54

Student gang-raped and set ablaze dies

LEGAL MILITANCYTRIAL OBITUARY CRIME

Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds up his inked finger after casting his vote in Ahmedabad yesterday.

PAKISTAN

Gulf Times Friday, December 15, 201710

The government of Pa-kistan’s Khyber Pa-khtunkhwa (KP) province

has decided to ban the renam-ing of the buildings, roads and other facilities named after the personalities of national and provincial stature in order to prevent controversies and litiga-tion.

The Performance Manage-ment and Reforms Unit at the chief secretary’s offi ce has pre-pared a policy in this regard, which will be notifi ed soon, the relevant offi cials said.

The offi cials said the provin-cial policy was aimed at stream-lining the process and regular-ising the existing mechanism through which roads and build-ings were named.

The three-page policy docu-

ment notes that over the last 15 years, a haphazard increase has been observed in the naming and renaming of buildings and roads by both ‘authorised and unau-thorised’ authorities.

It adds that there’re many instances about the people’s representatives and the people themselves naming public prop-erties on one or another pretext or without following legal pro-cedure.

The document says that this practice has been so often and unnoticed that it results into the issues like changes in revenue records, public and institutional inconvenience in terms of postal addresses and identifi cation, variation in information with the Bureau of Statistics, Statis-tical Division, Election Com-mission of Pakistan, and general mapping.

“Provincial government does not have any policy to this ef-

fect, except approval of the competent authority. Therefore, framing of laid down procedure is imperative for regularise the process in the best public inter-est,” it noted, adding that for the purpose, guidelines of federal establishment code are being adopted.

Under the policy, public as-sets have been classifi ed into two categories of district and pro-vincial assets.

The district assets would in-clude schools, basic health units, rural health centres, district roads and tehsil (an administra-tive sub-division of a district) properties, while the provin-cial government assets would include category D and above hospitals, colleges, universities, police stations/lines, A-catego-ry sports facilities, rest houses, tourist spots, roads, bridges and chowks owned by the commu-nication and works department,

KP Highways Authority and ir-rigation department.

Under the policy, no district or provincial asset would be named after a government servant or public representative while he/she is alive.

Also, no assets would be named after a foreigner without the approval of the federal gov-ernment.

The policy says that the public assets could be named after the founder of the nation, persons who remained at the forefront of the freedom movement, na-tional and provincial person-alities with unblemished record, and heroes who have laid down their lives in the defence of the country.

In addition to this arts and cultural institutes could be named after dead artists of na-tional fame, while the same principal will be followed in case of sports facilities, archaeology

museum, educational institu-tions, libraries, scientifi c and technical institutions, principal donors of any building or insti-tution built for charity and liv-ing and dead heads of friendly states.

The provincial and district assets will be named after fol-lowing a proper procedure and all recommendations will have to be approved on a summary by the chief minister.

The administration depart-ment shall be case processing department for all such recom-mendations forwarded by other departments and districts.

At district level, the district council will recommend the naming of a public asset and the relevant deputy commissioner will forward the same to the lo-cal government secretary for onward submission to the ad-minstra6tion department.

At the provincial level, such

requests from the departments will be placed before the pro-vincial cabinet for approval fol-lowed by the chief minister’s nod.

Also, a regularisation com-mittee headed by the additional chief secretary will regularise the facilities already named in other than prescribed manner after the collection of district wise reports from across the province.

Performance Management and Reforms Unit deputy co-ordinator Fahd Ikram Qazi said that there were no guidelines in place, which led them to issue the policy.

He said that the naming and renaming of assets without due procedures were causing po-litical, religious and sectarian issues.

“The policy will be imple-mented following the approval of the chief secretary,” he said.

KP govt prepares policy on renaming of facilitiesInternewsPeshawar

A decade after Pakistan’s fi rst female leader Benazir Bhutto was as-

sassinated, her son Bilawal is striving to reclaim his moth-er’s mantle, the latest act in a Shakespearean saga of tragedy and power.

But reviving the wilted for-tunes of his family’s politi-cal dynasty ahead of a general election due next year will be a tough ask for the Oxford-edu-cated scion, who at age 29 has never held political offi ce.

His family once dominated Pakistani politics.

Grandfather Zulfi kar Ali Bhutto founded the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and as-cended to the highest civil of-fi ce in the land, followed by Benazir, who became prime minister twice and was running a third time when she was killed in a gun and bomb attack on December 27, 2007.

Since her death the PPP has seen its fortunes plunge, and few are willing to bet on Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, now the party’s chairman, shepherding it back to glory.

But there are fl ickers of life.When Bilawal took the stage

at the PPP’s golden jubilee cel-ebrations in Islamabad last week, surprised observers put the crowd at around 25,000, higher than recent rival gather-ings.

Much like his charismatic mother, Bilawal was forthright at the lectern, confronting militants infesting Pakistan and the powerful military alike.

“We have to continue our progressive struggle and de-feat the conspiracies of dicta-torship,” he thundered as the crowd roared.

But away from the podium he cuts a shyer persona.

“My mother often said that she didn’t choose this life, it chose her,” he tells AFP at his family home in Karachi. “The same applies to me.”

Bilawal’s grandfather Zulfi kar forged the PPP in southern Sindh province 50 years ago, his slogan of “roti, kapra, makkan” (“bread, clothing, shelter”), turning the party founded by a feudal landlord into Pakistan’s fi rst populist force.

“He gave every Pakistani a sense of pride,” beams Bilawal.

But Zulfi kar was deposed by General Zia-al-Haq in a coup and hanged in 1979 despite an international outcry.

Benazir, as her son would be decades later, was thrust into the spotlight.

Following Zia’s death in 1988, she was elected prime minister at the age of 35.

Her government was un-dercut by military interference and allegations of corruption, however, and despite becoming prime minister twice she never completed a term.

Ousted in 1996, Bhutto spent most of the military dictator-ship years of Pervez Musharraf in self-exile, returning in 2007 to contest another election.

However, hopes sparked by her return were shattered by her assassination weeks later.

Her murder was pinned on religious extremists, with a UN investigation accusing Mush-arraf of failing to provide suffi -cient security.

“It was a bitter blow for those who had hoped for a diff erent Pakistan,” says Ayesha Jalal, of the centre for South Asian studies at Tufts University.

That includes the Bhuttos.“If they stopped assassinat-

ing us, then my mother would be in the foreign offi ce and I

would still be a student,” says Bilawal.

Bilawal was named PPP chairman after his mother’s death but, still just a student, he returned to Oxford.

His father Asif Ali Zard-ari – nicknamed “Mr 10 Per Cent” over the many corrup-tion claims against him – took control as the party swept the 2008 elections, presiding over its years of decay, fuelled by al-legations of corruption and in-competence.

Questions linger over Bila-wal’s ability to lead the PPP if power still ultimately rests with Zardari.

Bilawal argues that his youth is an asset: “I have time on my side.”

Reports suggest that he plans

to contest his mother’s old seat in Sindh.

He dismisses concerns over his own security, saying: “We don’t give in to fear.”

But observers note the pro-tection surrounding Bilawal, his elite status and time abroad could be sequestering him from voters.

His task is a lonely one, the bachelor admits.

“If I was to say I had a life, that would be a lie,” he tells AFP. “Netfl ix is a lifesaver.”

Analysts say that he faces an uphill battle in 2018, with cricketer-turned-opposition stalwart Imran Khan on the ascent and the ruling party of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif clawing at support.

Some Pakistanis want more

than just another scion.“Under the dynastic poli-

tics, democracy has been laid to rest,” said Karachi resident Sardar Zulfi qar.

But attendees at the golden jubilee have faith, clinging to the PPP’s progressiveness as Pakistan remains locked in a tug-of-war between religious extremism and democratic moderates.

Asma Gillani, 52, has sup-ported the party since she fi rst listened to Zulfi kar on the radio as a child, right up to the mo-ment she lost hearing in one ear as she was hit by the blast wave in the attack that killed Benazir.

As Benazir’s young son takes the stage she remarks: “God willing he will lead this coun-try.”

Benazir Bhutto’s untested son Bilawal takes up his destinyBy David Stout, AFPKarachi

In this photograph taken on November 18, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari speaks during an interview with AFP at his home in Karachi.

Concerns after order to expel global aid groupsDPAIslamabad

Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by Pa-kistan’s war on terrorism

and natural disasters might stop receiving vital assistance after the government ordered the ex-pulsion of several international aid groups, activists said yester-day.

Pakistani authorities have asked about a dozen interna-tional groups to wind up their operations within two months, an interior ministry offi cial said, seeking anonymity.

The Open Society Founda-tion, run by a billionaire Ameri-can philanthropist, and the Ac-tionAid charity are among the groups that have been ordered to leave, the offi cial added.

The move is part of a drive the government began two years ago after suspicions that some global non-government organisations were being used as front for spy-ing by Western countries.

“It will complicate the hu-manitarian situation for com-munities displaced by the war or marginalised by the social norms,” said Taimur Kamal, a rights activist in Peshawar.

“There are hundreds of thou-sands of people who depend on aid for shelter, food, healthcare and sanitation,” Kamal added. “And the funding comes from the groups being expelled.”

Inayat Khan, an aid worker in the northern town of Mansehra where a killer earthquake in 2005 displaced millions of people, shared the same concerns.

“I am not sure if the govern-ment alone can help people still needing assistance more than a decade of the earthquake,” said Khan, who works for a local group being funded by a British charity. “Expelling groups be-hind the vital operation will not be appreciated.”

A spokesman for the interior ministry did not respond to que-ries about how the government would manage the humanitarian fallout of the decision.

The action against aid groups stems from suspicions that the Save the Children charity ran a fake vaccination drive to help the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) fi nd out Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

American Navy SEALs fl ew in on helicopters and killed bin Laden in 2011 inside the com-pound that the Al Qaeda chief had been using as hideout for years in the northern Pakistani city of Abbottabad.

Save the Children denied the allegations, but a Pakistani doc-tor who allegedly lead the vac-cination campaign is still in jail.

The government of Paki-stan has made another move to allay the con-

cerns of the opposition in the Senate for the passage of the Constitutional amendment to pave the way for the delimita-tion of constituencies.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbassi has called a meeting of parliamentary leaders of both the Houses of Parliament – the Senate and National Assembly – to discuss the Fata Bill and passage of the Constitutional amendment

from the upper house.The sources were hopeful

that in meeting today, a con-sensus would be reached to allow for passage of the Con-stitutional amendment in the Senate as well as for bringing the Fata reforms bill in the Na-tional Assembly.

According to sources, the government has approached the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to get support with the assurance that all the con-cerns of the PPP with regard to the census provisional re-sults would be removed if they support for the passage of the Constitutional amendment from the Senate.

PM calls parliamentary leaders’ meeting to discuss delimitation

InternewsIslamabad

Abbasi: called the leaders’ meeting to discuss the Fata Bill and passage of the Constitutional amendment from the Senate.

The political parties demanding early polls may end up

helping the formulation of a caretaker set-up for a longer

period as the census 2017 has almost ruled out the pos-

sibility of early polls.

The stand-off between the government and the opposi-

tion in the Senate over the constitutional amendment,

required if elections due in August next year are to be

based on the 2017 census, may delay the election 2018

but it can’t be held early.

Early polls can only be held on the basis of the 1998

census but this would be unacceptable to Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Baluchistan and Islamabad Capital

Territory (ICT) as they gain additional seats in the National

Assembly on the basis of the 2017 census.

The option of holding elections on the basis of 1998

census may suit Punjab but it would be like depriving KP,

Baluchistan and ICT of their due representation in parlia-

ment.

Even if the political parties – the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

(PTI) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) – and the

provincial governments, particularly KP and Baluchistan,

agree to have less representation in the National Assem-

bly, this case is bound to go to the court of law.

Any legal mind could easily assess what a court of law

would decide in such a matter as the census 2017 has al-

ready been carried out and created additional representa-

tion for KP, Baluchistan and Islamabad Capital Territory .

Because of this scenario, holding of elections on the basis

of the 1998 census is almost impossible now.

The off icial result of the census 2017 will be announced in

April next year.

The provisional result of the latest census, however, has

already been announced.

According to the Constitution, general elections would be

held on the basis of last off icially announced census.

As of today, the last off icially announced census is that of

1998.

The constitutional amendment bill, which has been

passed by the National Assembly but is stuck in the upper

house, makes way for holding the 2018 polls on the basis

of 2017 census while ensuring that the delimitation of

the electoral constituencies is completed by the Election

Commission of Pakistan on the basis of provisional results

of the 2017 census to avoid delay in the next general

elections.

The process of delimitation will take five to six months.

If the constitutional amendment bill is not passed by the

Senate, the delimitation process will start after the April

2018 notification of 2017 census.

It would mean that the delimitation of constituencies will

only be completed by September or October 2018, after

which the election schedule would be announced.

Census report fi nalisation process may delay elections due next year

This is the wettest December since 2012InternewsIslamabad

After a gap of several years, major parts of Pakistan have received simultane-

ous winter showers in Decem-ber, an occurrence that experts believe will prove benefi cial for the winter crops.

According to the Pakistan Me-teorological Department, yearly data shows that this December is the wettest since 2012.

This year capital city Is-lamabad has received heaviest amount of rain.

It has also rained in Lahore, where the previous three De-cembers had witnessed no showers.

A senior meteorologist said a westerly wave aff ected the upper parts of the country on Monday and caused light and moderate showers coupled with snowfall in hilly areas.

This wave was expected to come to an end early yesterday morning in all areas except for the Malakand division, the ex-pert added.

“After 2012, Decembers have remained mostly dry in Paki-stan. However, this year almost the entire Pakistan has received showers, which are good for winter crops,” he added.

Sharing the details, he said that in December 2012 Islama-bad received 87mm of rain, while this December 58mm of rain has been recorded.

Lahore has received 17mm of rain.

He said that in several parts of the country it was the fi rst win-ter shower.

“Malamjabba has received 10” of snow, Kalam 7 and Murree 1’ of snow. After this spell, which is expected to be followed by gusty cold winds, the temperature may further drop in the country,” he said.

In the past 24 hours the low-est temperature, -8° Celsius, was recorded in Kalat, followed by Quetta at -6°C, and Dalban-din, Kalam and Parachinar with -5°C.

Foggy conditions are likely to prevail over plains of Punjab and upper Sindh during night and morning hours.

Rs1,000 allowance for students

Students in government secondary schools for girls in the northwest tribal area of Bajaur Agency will receive Rs1,000 (over $9) per month on 80% attendance, Assistant Political Agent Anwarul Haq said.He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a cash-based transfer programme (CBT) launched by the education department with the financial support of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to help increase enrolment and attendance in girls’ schools by providing a monthly stipend to students.The off icial said that 25 government girls schools have been selected for the programme.Initially, students of middle and high girls schools would get the monthly stipend.The facility would be extended to all government schools later.

PHILIPPINES11Gulf Times

Friday, December 15, 2017

Rebels ‘may be used to justify martial rule’Manila TimesMakati

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has expressed alarm over the mention of the National People’s

Army (NPA) as among the reasons for ex-tending military rule in Mindanao, fear-ing it would pave the way for a nationwide declaration of martial law.

Drilon raised the question during the joint session of Congress to discuss the extension of martial law and the suspen-sion of the privilege of habeas corpus in Mindanao.

“When Martial Law was imposed last May 23 and extended last July 22, the NPA was never mentioned.

Now, their activities are cited to jus-tify the one-year extension,” Drilon said.

He noted that the communist rebellion had existed for four decades. “Is this now

a prelude to declaring martial law nation-wide?” Drilon asked.

Unlike the Maute group, the Bangsam-oro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the Abu Sayyaf whose activities are limited to Mindanao, the NPA has a national scope.

“Is it just matter of time before we con-vene again in this plenary to discuss the expansion of martial law beyond Mind-anao?” Drilon asked.

Defence Secretary Delfi n Lorenzana told the joint session the threat posed by the NPA in Luzon and Visayas was manageable.

“I think the reason why the NPA in Mindanao is included is because of the intensity…45% of the NPA in the whole Philippines are in Mindanao. And they are creating havoc, especially in eastern Mindanao,” Lorenzana explained.

Drilon also questioned the basis of the martial law extension, citing the opinion of Supreme Court Associate Justice Fran-cis Jardeleza that martial law required a state of rebellion.

Since there is no longer a state of re-bellion as admitted by the resource per-sons present in the joint session, there is

no reason to extend martial law further, Drilon said.

Drilon’s Liberal Party (LP) released a resolution expressing its opposition to the martial law extension, citing the absence of an actual, continuing or persisting re-bellion in Marawi.

An imminent threat of rebellion is like-wise not a ground to extend martial law, it argued, more so the need to secure the rehabilitation and promotion of stable de-velopment in Mindanao.

The President should use his other pow-ers and prerogatives to ensure security in Mindanao, the LP said.

Buhay party-list Rep.Jose “Lito” Atienza also questioned the

constitutional basis of the request of the president to extend martial law in Mind-anao for one year, saying the charter lim-ited martial rule to 60 days.

“Considering that this Constitution was framed and approved by the people in a plebiscite when the country was liber-ated from an indefi nite Martial Law of Mr Marcos. And the overwhelming cry of the people then was, ‘never again’ should it be

allowed. Are we starting now to dismantle that steadfast and overwhelming desire of our people not to be subjected to indefi nite martial law once again?” Atienza asked.

For other senators, the decision to ex-tend martial law for another year will pro-vide a political and psychological boost to the country’s security forces.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto 3rd, one of the 14 senators who voted in fa-vor of the martial law extension, explained that he voted “yes” because martial law was an eff ective deterrent to the wide-spread illegal activities of political war-lords, and narco-politicians who helped fi nance the Marawi siege and other rebel-lious acts in Mindanao.

Senator Panfi lo Lacson, who also voted in favor of the extension, said that apart from the psychological boost that it would give to the military, martial law could also help discourage abuses.

Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito said he voted in favor of the motion further ex-tending martial law because it would help establish a conducive atmosphere for business and tourism in Mindanao.

Bishop wants execs behind vaccination punishedManila TimesQuezon City

Government offi cials responsible for the Dengvaxia mess should

be punished, Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga, Bataan said on Wednesday.

“Life is not an experiment. Life is not trial and error,” Santos said.

He lamented that more tan 800,000 children were endan-gered because of the negligence and irresponsibility of govern-ment offi cials.

The Department of Health claimed that 830,000 children were inoculated with Dengvaxia since 2016.

Santos said thousands of families in his diocese were also aff ected by the vaccine contro-versy.

The Senate will resume its in-

quiry into the vaccine controver-sy today, with former president Benigno Aquino 3rd possibly in attendance.

Aquino confi rmed on Wednes-day that he received the invita-tion of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired by Senator Richard Gordon, to attend the inquiry on the vaccine mess.

Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino 4th said the former president will be present in today’s public hear-ing.

Senate Majority Leader Vice-nte Sotto 3rd stressed the need for a mechanism that will shield the country’s Food and Drug Ad-ministration from being “cor-rupted” by giant pharmaceutical companies.

“People’s lives are at stake here. It’s always better to err on the side of caution. Let the axe fall on whoever is responsible. Someone needs to take responsi-bility on this,” he said.

“In the case of the P3.5bn den-gue vaccine, the role played by the FDA in allowing the use of the dengue vaccine should be exact-ed with appropriate sanctions,” Sotto said.

Sanofi Pasteur on Wednesday maintained that that it followed Philippine regulatory procedures when it entered into an agree-ment with the Department of Health to supply the agency with Dengvaxia.

“Sanofi Pasteur, being a mul-tinational company is bound by rules on transparency and anti-corruption.

Likewise, Sanofi Pasteur wants to assure Filipinos that dengvaxia is safe especially those who in-tend to protect themselves from another attack of dengue.

Its effi cacy has been proven in clinical trials and even Philip-pine medical experts attest to its eff ectiveness,” it said in a state-ment.

Former Philippine president Benigno Aquino, former budget secretary Florencio Abad (L), and former executive secretary Paquito Ochoa (R) take an oath during the continuing hearing on the dengue vaccine manufactured by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi at the Senate in Manila yesterday.

NPA rebels parade for the media.

Maute recruiter who used social media faces rebellion chargesManila TimesMakati

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has fi led inciting to rebellion charges against the widow of a slain Islamist

leader for recruiting fi ghters to reinforce the Maute terrorists in Marawi City.

Karen Aizha Hamidon, 36, was charged with 295 counts of inciting to rebellion un-der Article 138 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to Section 6 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Republic Act 10175). She allegedly used online messag-ing apps and social media to recruit fi ght-

ers to help the Maute group, who led a fi ve-month siege in Marawi City in May.

The ruling was approved by Senior Deputy State Prosecutor offi cer in charge Amor Robles and Acting Prosecutor Gen-eral Jorge Catalan Jr.

The criminal charges were fi led be-fore the Taguig City Regional Trial Court, which was assigned by the Supreme Court to try the Maute rebels.

Hamidon allegedly used messaging apps Telegram and WhatsApp, where in-vestigators said she was “prolifi c in her recruitment and promotion activities for ISIS” or the Islamic State.

In her defencse, Hamidon said the mes-

sages did not contain her name, and that she was an Islamic missionary who had used social media for religious purposes.

The prosecutors replied: “As to her ar-guments that she was not committing any crime at the time she was arrested and at the time her mobile phone was seized, and all the aforequoted social media posts do not bear her name, these arguments are evidentiary in character which are best ventilated in a full-blown trial.”

The Justice department dismissed the complaint that Hamidon committed rebellion or insurrection under Articles 134 and 135 of the Revised Penal Code, saying it was “devoid of merit, mis-

placed and totally erroneous.”Hamidon said she was a former call cen-

tre agent and fl ight attendant who had no means to take arms against the govern-ment.

She claimed her marriage to slain An-sarul Khalifa Philippines leader Jaafar Maguid “made her life to be of special in-terest to arresting persons”.

She also said she was only “instigated” by an undercover agent to commit crime.

Hamidon was arrested on October 11 at her residence in Taguig City and was placed in detention at the National Bu-reau of Investigation headquarters in Manila.

Duterte: Not enough support for federalismManila TimesMakati

President Rodrigo Duterte has admitted that his push for a federal form

of government does not have enough public support.

He however, maintained that a shift to the federal sys-tem should begin by granting wider autonomy to Muslim Mindanao through the Bang-samoro Basic Law, or else the Moro rebels would again be forced to take up arms.

“Problem is Filipinos are not ready for a federal type. It doesn’t seem to ring a bell in the Visayas and Mindanao. But…I don’t want to…but you already know that if nothing happens to the peace talks, you (reporters) would be there in Mindanao covering a ter-rible situation in our country,” the president said in remarks

during a Christmas party with Malacañang reporters Tuesday night.

The proposed Bangsamoro measure, which languished in Congress during the previ-ous administration, was the product of a March 2014 peace agreement with the Moro Is-lamic Liberation Front (MILF). The president said the age-ing leaders of the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) were tired of armed struggle.

“The ageing echelons of the [MILF] and the [MNLF], they want to go out in a better po-sition; a state wherein they have done something for the country. They want to end the armed confl ict,” Duterte said.

The proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law was crafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Com-mission dominated by MILF men, and submitted to Con-gress by the palace in August.

Philippine President Duterte with troops during a visit to Marawi in August.

Soldier killed in Zamboanga discoManila Times Zamboanga City

A government soldier was killed and three others were injured in a shoot-

ing incident inside a disco bar in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga Sibu-gay, police said yesterday.

The slain soldier was iden-tifi ed as Pfc Gerald Jan Aujero Cordero, 27, and a native of Sultan Kudarat’s Isulan town; and the wounded infantrymen as Corporal Seperino Randes Damacino, 26; and Corporal Giovanie Diodor, 27; and Al Gerald Santos, 36, a civilian.

The soldiers, members of the 53rd Infantry Battalion and assigned with the 102nd Infan-try Brigade in Ipil town, were shot at dawn Wednesday in-side the Planet Disco near the Army headquarters.

All the wounded were

rushed to the De Villa Hospital while police continued its in-vestigation into the shooting.

Police gave little details of the incident and the inves-tigator in-charge with the case, PO2 Romer Anggot, did not answer phone calls from journalists following up the progress of the investigation.

It was unclear whether the shooting was connected to a brawl or if policemen or sol-diers or communist rebels were involved in the deadly attack.

The brigade headquarters and the 1st Infantry Division, and even the Western Mind-anao Command did not release any information.

A member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) and his son were shot dead by unknown men, believed to be members of the New People’s Army (NPA), in Quezon on Wednesday night, the military said yesterday.

Drilon feels the NPA may be used to widen martial law

12 Gulf TimesFriday, December 15, 2017

SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL

Indo-Nepal borderlength ‘maychange’ afternew surveys

Tribune News ServiceNew Delhi

The length of the 1,751-kil-ometre porous border between India and Nepal

could change as many areas left out during the previous mapping will be added after a re-demar-cation process, offi cials engaged in the ongoing survey of the in-ternational border have said.

Offi cials said the length of the boundary was calculated much before the British rule but it was realised that the mapping was not done conspicuously and some areas were not included in the process of demarcation.

A bilateral boundary working group headed by the respective surveyor generals of both the countries came together and decided to re-demarcate the boundary for which a survey was conducted between 1980-2007.

Boundary strip maps were created after the survey and they are currently being replicated on the ground, offi cials said.

“It would be after the com-pletion of the groundwork that we can talk of the length of the border, which will change as many areas that were left non-demarcated will be included,” Pankaj Mishra, deputy surveyor general (technical) of the Dehra-dun-based Survey of India, said.

The ground demarcation ap-proved by surveyor generals of both the countries will ensure the restoration of existing pillars and installing new ones wherever the boundary was not marked. There were nearly 4,000 pillars, most of which were damaged or have dis-appeared over the decades.

The maps for demarcation on 98% of the length has been ap-proved. However, there are still political issues over the remain-ing 2% of the border length on which the Union ministry of external aff airs is in talks with Nepal. Once the government re-solves the status of the 2% of the border area, the fi nal agreement would be signed.

Bangladesh LiberationWar papers go onlineBy Mizan RahmanDhaka

A large number of rare doc-uments on the 1971 War of Liberation have been

uploaded on a website to make these easily accessible to the people.

Liberation War e-Archive Trust posted the documents on-line on the occasion of the 46th anniversary of Bangladesh’s vic-tory in 1971, said a press release in Dhaka yesterday.

The documents include records of the Red Cross from 1971 to 1975 containing impor-tant information on the home-coming of the refugees, includ-ing those who were stranded in Pakistan during the war, docu-ments of Rotarian International on refugees, original copies of the reports published in diff erent international newspapers in the last 17 days of December 1971 and some reports of the Venstakusten newspaper published in Swedish language, the release added.

Speaking on the release of the documents for the public, Liberation War e-Archive Trust

founder and director Sabbir Hossain said, “we are collecting various documents on the War of Liberation from diff erent librar-ies and archives in the US. Work is underway to post more docu-ments online in future”.

Records and documents on the Liberation War have not been easily available to Bangladeshi readers for long, trust chairman Shanta Anwar said, adding: “We are working to make the infor-mation and records on the war easily accessible to the people of the country”.

Since its inception in 2007, the Liberation War e-Archive has collected numerous records, write-ups, articles, research pa-pers, newspapers, books, lists of freedom fi ghters, photographs, audios and video footage, docu-mentaries and movies on the War of Liberation, the release said.

Because of the vastness of the contents, the e-Archive is also working as a research material source for the South Asia divi-sion of Exeter University in UK.

The uploaded documents are available on the following web-site: http://www.liberationwar-bangladesh.org/

Executive magistratesabusing power: courtBy Mizan Rahman Dhaka

The high court observed that some executive magistrates are abusing

their power by running ‘mo-bile courts’ from their offi ces instead of visiting the scene of incident, as they should.

The bench of justice Quazi Reza-ul Hoque and justice Mo-hamed Ullah made the obser-vation while hearing another case on the abuse of power by a mobile court.

The case pertained to the three-month imprisonment of former civil surgeon of Laxmi-pur, Dr Salahuddin Sharif, by the Sadar sub-district execu-tive offi cer (UNO) on the charge of assaulting the additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Laxmipur. The order was deliv-ered at a mobile court.

However, the high court ex-empted ADC Sheikh Morshed-ul Islam and UNO Kamruz-zaman from the order issued by it against them after they

sought unconditional apology.The bench, however, directed

the authorities not to post the duo in places where they can abuse their power. “We ask the secretaries of law, public admin-istration, and home not to post them in places where they can get the opportunity to abuse their power,” the court bench said.

On December 5, the court had summoned the duo to ap-pear before it and explain the three-month imprisonment of a former civil surgeon of the district for allegedly assaulting the ADC. The court issued the order following a writ petition fi led by Supreme Court lawyers Kamal Hossain Niazi and Ash-faqur Rahman.

It also issued an order ask-ing the authorities to explain why the misuse of the mobile court to settle personal grudges should not be declared illegal.

On December 4, Dr Sharif was sentenced to three months’ im-prisonment by a mobile court led by Kamruzzaman for allegedly assaulting Sheikh Morshedul.

The matter had started af-

ter a brawl near a kindergarten school. The two, Dr Sharif and Sheikh Morshedul, got into a scuffl e over who would go fi rst through a narrow school gate to drop off their children.

Dr Sharif was arrested, but a Laxmipur court granted him bail on a 5,000 taka bond.

“Though our social condi-tions make mobile courts nec-essary, they are sometimes ac-cused of abusing their power, which is not acceptable,” the court observed.

“In some cases, it seems ex-ecutive magistrates are running the mobile courts to protect their own interests and to fl aunt their power, in violation of the law. In a civilised country, it is unthinkable for a government offi cer to abuse power in this manner,” the court added.

Rights activists have been protesting against the mobile courts run by executive mag-istrates since 2007. The mobile court ordinance was promul-gated in 2007 during the regime of the army-backed caretaker government.

Attack ‘worstnightmare,’says family ofUS bomberReutersDhaka

Zulifi kar Haider hoped his daughter would live the American dream when she

married a fellow Bangladeshi living in the US, but that dream turned into a nightmare when the family saw pictures of her husband wounded after alleg-edly trying to set off a bomb in a crowded New York commuter hub.

Haider’s family had been worried when his son-in-law, Akayed Ullah, 27, missed a regu-lar call to his wife on Monday.

Their worry only worsened when his wife screamed as she found online pictures of Ullah, down on the ground with appar-ent injuries to his stomach after the bomb ignited but failed to detonate.

“Even in our worst night-mares, we could not have fore-seen this,” Haider, 62, said fol-lowing two days of questioning by Bangladesh’s counterterror-ism police.

Haider, a jewellery showroom accountant in Dhaka, said his family was stunned by the news that Ullah had been charged by the US with terrorism off ences after he tried to detonate a bomb strapped to his waist in a pedes-trian tunnel leading to Times Square, injuring himself and three others.

“There was never any indica-tion he would do this. I think it’s a conspiracy,” Haider said.

He recalled being elated when Ullah’s family called from the US

in December 2015 asking for the hand of his daughter, Jannatul Ferdous Jui, now 25.

The couple wed in Bangladesh the following month.

Jui continued to live in Bang-ladesh while she fi nished her studies and gave birth to their son, who is now six months old.

“We were very excited. I hoped my daughter would go to the US, and my son-in-law would then help get my son over there,” Haider said, meeting Reuters at his house in a middle-class neighbourhood in central Dhaka. “What else do parents want?”

The white-bearded Haider said he could not understand how Ullah, who had lived in the US since 2011, could have com-mitted the attack.

“Only God knows what hap-pened to him in America,” Haid-er said.

US President Donald Trump reiterated his call for tougher immigration rules following Monday’s attack, which came less than two months after an Uzbek immigrant killed eight

people by speeding a rental truck down a New York City bike path.

Islamic State claimed respon-sibility for the October attack, while Ullah claimed allegiance to the militant group, according to US federal prosecutors.

Haider said he feared Mon-day’s incident could lead to a backlash against Bangladeshis living in the US.

Jui fi nished her bachelor of arts degree in accounting from a Dhaka college in March. When Ullah last came visiting in Sep-tember after their son was born, they planned to get a passport for her to possibly join him in the US sometime in 2018.

“He spent most of the time with his six-month-old son when he came down,” said Haid-er. “He is not much of a social person. He does not really have friends, not into gossiping. He has never brought any friend to our house.”

Haider’s family has not been able to talk to Ullah since the failed bombing. Bangladesh po-lice, meanwhile, have questioned Haider as well as his wife, daugh-ter and his 22-year-old son.

Their phone call records have been scanned.

Bangladesh’s counterterror-ism chief, Monirul Islam, told Reuters earlier they have found no links of Ullah with any mili-tant group in his home country.

But the chief added that in-vestigations were continuing and the family was under sur-veillance. “I no longer want my daughter to go to America,” Haider said. “I just want our son-in-law back.”

Rohingya refugees wait for food distribution at the Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, yesterday.

Waiting for food

Bangladeshis pay tribute at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial in Dhaka, Bangladesh, yesterday.

Sri Lanka govt approves PPP for ‘Port City’ tunnel linkAgenciesColombo

The government has green-lighted a proposal by the Ministry of Megapolis and

Western Development to enter into a public-private partnership (PPP) with Port City developer CHEC Port City Colombo Ltd. to build a tunnel linking the road network of the mainland and an artifi cial island.

A proposal presented by Min-ister Champika Ranwaka seeking approval to enter into a public-private partnership to carry out the underground Marine Drive extension work with the de-veloper, a subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company managed by state-owned China Communication Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC) Group, was approved by Cabinet, Cabi-net co-spokesperson Gayantha Karunathilaka told journalists.

Ranawaka has informed the Cabinet in his proposal that the tunnel will contribute to Co-lombo “by way of a North-South link connecting the Airport Highway to Marine Drive, while increasing the width of the Galle Face Green without disturbing the heritage buildings of the Old Parliament Building, Galle Face Hotel building, etc.”

Further, the minister envisaged that the tunnel can also provide an underground road connection

to the Shangri-la Hotel area.The proposal to set up the

public-private partnership comes as a result of a request made by the Ministry of Mega-polis and Western Development for a proposal on a Build Oper-ate and Transfer (BOT) basis for undertaking the required studies and fi nancing of the construc-tion of the underground Marine Drive Extension Project from Chaithya Road to Marine Drive near Kollupitiya Railway Station,

with access to the Port City. In response the company has

informed the ministry that it would be willing to “consider sponsoring the technical feasi-bility study cost of the Marine Drive Extension up to the tun-nel’s connection point” provided that the company is given fi rst preference in the undertaking, Ranawaka informed the Cabinet in his proposal.

The company has already com-menced technical feasibility stud-

ies on the project, while the Road Development Authority (RDA) has started an environmental im-pact assessment as well.

However, the company has now requested for signing a memorandum of understanding in order to justify the costs to its principals and to ensure that the government will evaluate and ne-gotiate the public-private part-nership project on an exclusive basis, minister Ranawaka noted.

As the Ministry of Megapolis

and Western Development has already sent the company a re-quest for a proposal, the project will be considered a solicited proposal, the minister stated.

The signed memorandum of understanding will outline that the project company be granted exclusivity or fi rst right of re-fusal subject to negotiations to give confi dence to the project company to undertake further investments in the underground Marine Drive Extension Project.

“He is not much of a social person. He does not really have friends, not into gossiping. He has never brought any friend to our house”

THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH13Gulf Times

Friday, December 15, 2017

Slaughtering by the People of the Book

Types of Haram meats and animals

Slaughtering the Halal way

The basic rule regarding the food and meat of the People of the Book is that it is Halal. A Muslim can eat their food and marry their women,

as stated in the following Ayah: “This day are (all) Tayyibat (good and pure things) made lawful unto you. The food the People of the Book is lawful unto you and yours is lawful unto them. (Lawful unto you in marriage) are (not only) chaste women who are believers but chaste women among the People of the Book when you give them their due dowers and desire chastity not lewdness nor secret intrigues. If any one rejects faith, fruitless is his work, and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good).” (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:5)

People of the Book specifi cally means Christians and Jews. Scholars have discussed in great detail exactly what is meant by the expression “People of the Book” and whether or not that meaning would change with time. The majority of scholars say that the meaning of People of the Book has not changed and should not change with time, even if the Christians and Jews deviate more in their path from the True Path and regardless of how much they practise of their religion.

The reasons for this understanding are very simple. First, all or most of these deviations existed even before the revelation of the Qur’an to our Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, yet Allah subhanahu wa ta’aala called them the People of the Book. Second, Allah subhanahu wa ta’aala did not mention it in the Qur’an – and He surely knows that they are going to change. We should not, therefore, pay attention to these changes, and should treat them, in every way in which we deal with them, as who they are – the People of the Book.

Rasheed Ridhaa, a respected scholar

who lived at the turn of the century, said in his book of Tafseer: “Allah prohibited us from marrying Mushrik women, yet He subhanahu wa ta’aala also permitted us – in a clear and direct manner in the same Ayah – to marry the women of the People of the Book. Since marriage is more important than eating, we should not, therefore, put any restriction on the rulings derived from the Ayah regarding their food or who they are.” (Tafseer al-Manar, VI/p353).

It should be pointed out that the Dhabeehah of the People of the Book is Halal regardless of whether their country is considered to be part of the Daar-ul-Harb (at war with Muslims) or Daar-us-Salaam (at peace with Muslims). Imam Nawawee has reported on the consensus of scholars on this matter (al Majmuu’a, V9/P68).

Haram food is always haramAll scholars have understood food in the

above Ayah to refer to meat or Dhabeehah of the People of the Book. One should now ask the question: Are all the types of food and meat used by them Halal for us? The answer to that can be summarised by stating that what our Deen has shown us to be Haram will always be Haram. Therefore, all the rulings discussed above apply to their Dhabeehah with one exception – the invocation of the Name of Allah over the slaughtered animal. The same conditions for the Halal requirement of Dhabeehah, are considered again, this time with the People of the Book in mind:

1. According to Ayah 5:5 mentioned Muslims can only eat good and pure meats. Therefore, the fl esh of swine, blood, dead animals, etc are not permissible for the Muslim to eat – even items (eg pork) currently eaten by the People of the Book.

2. No names other than that of Allah subhanahu wa ta’aala should be invoked over the animal. If such is done, the

Dhabeehah becomes Haram according to Abu Hanifah, Shafi ee and Ibn Hanbal. That is the ruling if we actually hear these names invoked at the time of slaughtering. If we do not actually hear them, scholars have said that the ruling is not to ask about it. This ruling is supported by the majority of scholars.

3. According to Abu Hanifah and Ibn Hanbal, the Dhabeehah of the People of the Book is not Halal unless they invoke the Name of Allah over it. According to Malik and Shafi ee, however, invoking the Name of Allah subhanahu wa ta’aala is not a requirement, and the Dhabeehah is Halal. This latter opinion is supported by the following:

*The fact that the above Ayah declares their meat to be Halal without imposing any restrictions such as the invocation of the Name of Allah over the animal. Therefore, their meat is Halal for us as long as it does not belong to one or more of the 10 Haram categories discussed here (see box).

*In a Hadith narrated by Aa’isha, radhiallaahu ‘anha, she said: “Some people told the Prophet that some people brought them meat and they did not know whether the Name of Allah had been spoken over it or not. The Prophet said: ‘Speak the Name of Allah over it and eat’.” (Reported by al-Bukhari and Abu Dawood). This Hadith shows that non-Muslims were not used to invoking the Name of Allah during the time of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and that the invocation was required of Muslims because the Prophet had told them to invoke Allah’s Name before eating. That can be interpreted to mean: because their meat is permitted for you, you can eat it, just by mentioning Allah’s Name over it, and it does not really matter whether or not they had invoked Allah’s Name over it

because it is not required of them. Allah subhanahu wa ta’aala has

permitted us to marry women of the People of the Book, and it is well established that the husband cannot force his wife to be a Muslim or to practise Islamic worship. Similarly, we cannot ask the People of the Book to invoke Allah’s Name over an animal they slaughter, because they are not required to do so.

If one considers Ayah 7:121 of Surah al-An’aam: “Eat not of (meats) on which Allah’s name has not been pronounced” together with the fact that the People of the Book do not invoke Allah’s Name, one may get confused. But the paradox is answered by considering the following: The meat of the People of the Book is exempted from the restriction. The Qur’an prohibits Muslims from marrying Mushrik women but at the same time has exempted women of the People of the Book from the prohibition, as mentioned in the same Ayah. By analogy, a similar exemption applies to the case of their Dhabeehah.

Based on this discussion and other evidences, the following conclusions have been drawn:

1. All meats prohibited in Islam are always prohibited, even if the People of the Book eat them.

2. If a Muslim hears a Christian or a Jew invoking the names of other than Allah subhanahu wa ta’aala, he should not eat from that Dhabeehah. But if he does not hear them, he should not ask about it, either.

3. We cannot force the People of the Book to invoke Allah’s Name when slaughtering. Hence, their Dhabeehah is Halal even without the invocation.

4. The slaughtering procedure used by the People of the Book should not kill the animal before slaughtering it.

The fi rst thing Muslims are supposed to know about food is what types of animals and meats are Haram for consumption. Some Haram items are mentioned in the Qur’an, and some in the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa

sallam.The Qur’an says: “Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood,

the fl esh of swine, and that on which has been invoked the name of other than Allah; that which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless you are able to slaughter it (in due form); and that which is sacrifi ced on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffl ing with arrows: that is impiety. This day those who reject Faith have given up all hope of your religion: so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But if any is forced by hunger, with no inclination to transgression, Allah is indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Surah al-Ma’idah 5:3)

This Ayah is a further explanation of a previous Ayah in the same Surah, which says: “Lawful unto you (for food) are all four-footed animals, with the exceptions named: But game animals are forbidden while you are in the Sacred Precincts or in pilgrim garb: for Allah does command according to His Will and Plan.” (Surah al-Ma’idah 5:1) It is cited here with reference to a main issue in Usoolul Fiqh, namely, “The default nature of things: Halal or Haram,” a topic that Muslims should be aware of, since it is the foundation for a good understanding of all the rulings relating to food and eating.

1. Dead meatDead animals here denotes those which die without man’s

involvement by slaughtering. Any part cut from a live animal is also considered dead and is not permissible to eat. One exception to this is seafood. Even though we consider sea creatures dead once they are out of the water, the Qur’an clearly states that seafood is Halal: “Lawful to you is the pursuit of water-game and its use for food – for the benefi t of yourselves and those who travel.” (Surah al-Ma’idah 5:96)

There is evidence for this exemption also in a Hadith narrated by Jaber, radhiallaahu ‘anhu, in which he told of a whale they found dead on a beach during one of their expeditions. The Hadith indicated that they ate from it and brought some back with them for the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, to taste.

2. BloodThe blood meant here is the Masfooh, or that which fl ows out of

the animal when it is slaughtered or wounded. It is considered to be Najass (impure and unclean), and is Haram to eat or use in any form. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has strict laws that require the blood of cows and sheep to be thoroughly drained after slaughter, before the meat can be sold to the public.

3. Pig meatAll scholars are in agreement that the meat, fat and every part of

the pig are Haram for the Muslim to consume. It should be pointed out, however, that scholars have diff ered regarding the impurity of the pig, and thus, on the usability of their by-products (eg, skin and fat) in non-edible products such as soap. The discussion of this subject is beyond the scope of this article, and further information can be obtained by consulting scholars or any major Fiqh book.

4. Slaughtering in other than Allah’s nameAnimals over which names other than that of Allah were invoked

at the time of slaughter. All scholars agree that if a Muslim invokes the name of other than Allah over a Dhabeehah then it is Haram to consume.

5. Suff ocated or strangled animalsAs a general rule, for the following fi ve types, if the animal is reached

before death, and is then slaughtered, then it is Halal to eat.6. Animals killed by violent blows or severely beaten.7. Animals that fall from heights and die. Whether to the

ground or into water.8. Animals killed by being gored.As well as being gutted.9. Animals partly eaten by wild beasts.10. Animals slaughtered on stone (altars)In his famous book of Tafseer, Al Qurtubi said: “... this type is in

the slaughtering to other than Allah category, but because many people would be practising this kind of slaughter, it was important to have it as a separate type.” (V6/P57) This is very true, and even today, this type of slaughter is still being widely practised by non-Muslims and by a few ignorant Muslims.

The above are the major kinds of prohibited meat. Other types are also mentioned in the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Today in the West, where all kinds of animals are being consumed and where many people practise animal slaughtering in diff erent ways and for diff erent purposes, it is highly recommended that Muslims learn the Islamic Ahkaam (rulings) regarding foods and meat in as much detail as possible.

The Shar’ee term of Halal slaughtering is Dhakat. Dhakat in Arabic comes from the root idea of making something

become good in smell and taste, and making it complete. Dhakat thus means: “to slaughter an animal in such a way as to make to smell and taste good, because slaughtering releases the blood, enabling the meat to dry faster.” (Al Qurtubi V6/P52). As an Islamic technical term, it means releasing the blood of animals by means of a sharp object from a specifi c place in a specifi c manner, doing it for the sake of Allah Alone, and mentioning His Name over the animal.

Scholars have agreed that the best and most complete way to slaughter is to cut the windpipe (trachea), the gullet (esophagus) and the two jugular veins in the neck. Slaughtering must be performed on the front of the neck without cutting the spinal cord. Scholars, however, have diff ered regarding what constitutes the minimum amount of cutting, and the exact point on the neck where it should take place.

Those who understood the Prophet’s Ahadith to mean “kill” the animal think that cutting the throat and the windpipe is good enough to achieve the killing; and those who understood them to mean “release the blood” insisted that in addition to that, the jugular veins, or at least one of them, must also be cut. The important point is that some scholars recommended that

slaughtering performed from the back of the neck be avoided, because that results in cutting the spinal cord, and thereby killing the animal, before the actual slaughtering.

The actual slaughtering toolThe basic tool to be used in

slaughtering is, of course, a knife. Any sharp edge, however, can be used except teeth, nails, or bone. Examples of materials givinig a sharp edge are: steel, iron, copper, gold, glass, stone, and wood, if it is sharp enough. Kaab ibn Malik, radhiallahu ‘anhu, reported that: “They had sheep that were shepherded by a young woman who noticed at one point that a lamb was dying. When she told me, I broke a stone and slaughtered it, but I told them not to eat of it until I asked the Prophet, who told them to eat it.” (The full version is narrated by al-Bukhari).

And in the Hadith reported by Rafa ibn Khadeej, radhiallahu ‘anhu, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, told the Companions to use “anything that releases the blood, and mention the Name of Allah over it, but do not use a tooth or a nail, for a tooth is bone, and nails are the knives of the Ethiopians.” (Reported by al-Bukhari, Muslim and others). It is said that Ethiopians at that time used to kill their animals in that fashion to show their courage and strength.

In a lengthy discussion of all possible objects for slaughter, Ibn Rushd said:

“It does not make sense to diff erentiate between teeth and bones for he (the Prophet) explained that a tooth is not a good tool by the fact that it is made of bone. And it is well agreed upon in our Madh-hab that anything other than iron is disliked (that is, when iron objects are available) because the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam has said: ‘If you slaughter, then slaughter in the best way. One should sharpen his edge and comfort gently his animal.’” (Bidaiatul Mujtahid VII/p433)

Who should slaughterScholars agree that the person

conducting the slaughtering can be a Muslim or one of the People of the Book. If the person has not reached puberty yet, or is drunk or insane, scholars have diff ering opinions. The Shaafi ’ee School says that their Dhabeehah is Halal, while the Hanbali School says it is not. The Hanafi School says that the insane person’s, and the boy’s, Dhabeehah is Halal if they are aware of what they are doing. The Malikites say the boy’s Dhabeehah is Halal, but not the drunks or the insane person’s because (under the circumstances) they cannot reason. The main issue behind these diff erences is that of Niyyah (intention). Those who consider it to be a requirement, do not accept their Dhabeehah as Halal, and vice versa. All scholars agree that the Dhabeehah of the Murtadd (one who has chosen to give up Islam) is not considered Halal.

Invocation of Allah’s name over the animal

Scholars agree regarding the legitimacy (Mashru’yah) of invoking the Name of Allah over the Dhabeehah, but they diff er on whether it is obligatory (Waajib) or recommended (Mustahabb). In other words, is it considered a requirement, in order for the Dhabeehah to be Halal, or not? Three major opinions of scholars have been mentioned by Ibn Katheer in his Tafseer (V2/P169) in explaining Ayah 121 of Surah al-An’aam. The Ayah says: “Eat not of (meats) on which Allah’s name has not been pronounced: That would be impiety. But the evil ones ever inspire their friends to contend with you. If you were to obey them, you would indeed be Pagans.”

The following is a brief summary of these opinions:

First: That the invocation is a condition for lawfulness. This opinion is held by the majority of scholars, including Abu Hanifah, Malik, Ahmad, Thawree, Ibn Abbas and many others. They say that in the above ayah:

1. The order not to eat implies an absolute prohibition because nothing in the Ayah or elsewhere negates it or says otherwise.

2. The absence of the invocation is considered to be Fisq (impiety) or disobedience. That classifi cation is given only to actions that are considered to be Haram.

3. The prohibition is a general one

and should not be construed to only mean dead animals killed by Mushriks, as some scholars have claimed. The reasoning behind this is that nothing in the Ayah indicates such a restriction or specifi cation, and the fact that prohibition of dead animals and animals killed by Mushriks has been clearly and specifi cally mentioned elsewhere in the Qur’an more than once.

These scholars also used the following Hadith to support their opinion: Aadee ibn Hatem, radhiallaahu ‘anhu, said: “I said: ‘O Prophet of Allah, I send my [hunting] dog and mention the Name of Allah.’ The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, told me: ‘If you send your dog mentioning the Name of Allah and he killed, you eat; but if he eats from it, do not eat. He has caught it for himself.’ I said: ‘I send my dog, and then I fi nd another dog with him, and I do not know which one caught for me.’ The Prophet said: ‘Do not eat, because you only invoked the Name on your dog, and not on the other’.” (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim, among other similar Ahadith).

If the invocation is dropped deliberately, the Dhabeehah is considered to be “dead,” and it is Haram to eat. But if one forgot to mention it, then his slaughter is lawful and the Dhabeehah is Halal.

Second: That invocation is not a requirement, and that if one has not made it (on purpose or just forgot to do

so), the slaughter would be lawful, and the Dhabeehah Halal. This is basically the Shafi ’ee School’s opinion, but is also one of the opinions reported on behalf of Malik and Ahmad.

Third: That it is a condition for the lawfulness of the Dhabeehah, and that if the Muslim does not invoke the Name of Allah, his Dhabaeehah is not Halal. This opinion does not diff erentiate between those who forget to make the invocation from those who deliberately omit it: the Dhabeehah in either case is not Halal. This opinion was adopted by Abdullah ibn Umar, Dawood Ad-dhahiri and Ibn Sereen.

Forgetfulness, however, is a valid excuse for not applying or associating consequences of actions to the doer. Rulings and conditions cannot be applied to the person who did or did not do something because of forgeting. The same concept also applies to cases in which the person is under duress or has done something wrong by mistake.

In conclusion, the correct ruling regarding the requirement of invoking the Name of Allah over slaughtered animals is that the invocation is obligatory (Waajib) for the slaughter to be Halal, and that if one deliberately omits it, his Dhabeehah is Haram to eat. All this relates to cases in which the person performing the slaughtering is a Muslim.

(This article is taken from Al Jumuah Magazine, Vol 9 Issue 2, Safar 1418H)

Inside a new mosque in Qatar.

Allah subhanahu wa ta’aala sent Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, with a message detailing specifi c principles, ways and procedures for his followers to live by with regard

to eating and food. Allah subhanahu wa ta’aala wanted His servants to enjoy life and eat all that is lawful (Halal) and good, to nurture their bodies and enjoy good health both physically and spiritually.

The Qur’an says: “Say: Who has forbidden the beautiful (gifts) of Allah, which He has produced for His servants, and the things, pure and clean (at-Tayyibaat) (which He has provided) for sustenance? ...” (Surah Al-A’raf 7:32)

On the other hand, the Qur’an forbids Muslims from eating unlawful (Haram) and bad foods to protect them from physical and spiritual harm. The Qur’an describes the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam as one who “... allows them as lawful good things (at-Tayyibaat) and prohibits as unlawful bad and evil things (al-Khabaa’ith)...” (Surah Al-A’raf 7:157)

General Rulings on Halal SlaughteringAll scholars are in agreement that a slaughtered animal

can be Halal (lawful) with respect to both the use of its meat for food, and the use of its by-products, if it meets the following three conditions:

1. It is not one of the animals or meats that are Haram (unlawful) for the Muslim to consume.

2. No name other than that of Allah is invoked or mentioned over it at the time of slaughtering.

3. The slaughtering has met specifi c Islamic requirements.

Halal or Haram?

His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani’s participation in the extraordinary summit of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC), which was held on Wednesday in Istanbul, is reaffi rmation of Qatar’s steadfast role in defending the issues of the Arab and Islamic nations, especially the Palestinian cause.

The Emir’s participation in the summit refl ects Qatar’s fi rm belief that the recent American decision on Jerusalem – accepting it as the capital of the state of Israel and the country’s move to shift its embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city – represents a dangerous escalation of the crisis and a provocation not only for the Palestinians but for the Arabs and Muslims, not to mention that it fl agrantly violates all international laws.

The US administration must recognise that its decision on Jerusalem is indicative of its partiality with the state of Israel and that it is directly responsible for any Palestinian blood shed at the hands of the Israeli soldiers.

It must also realise that recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will not change the reality of the holy city.

Spelling out Qatar’s clear stand on the issue, the country’s Foreign Ministry stressed on Wednesday that the US decision on Jerusalem has no eff ect whatsoever on the legal or moral status of the holy city, which is at the heart of millions of Muslims and Christians.

The Qatari Foreign Minister’s spokesperson has called on the United States to back down and reverse its decision.

It is important for Arabs and Muslims to have a unifi ed position that forces Washington to back away from this biased decision that has damaged America’s credibility as a peace sponsor between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Endorsing this position, the Istanbul emergency Islamic summit has come out with a clear stand on Jerusalem that meets the ambitions and aspirations of the Arab and Islamic nations. It has in one voice rejected the US

decision which has isolated the US administration even from its closest allies and friends.

The summit has called on the global community to respond by recognising East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who hosted the summit, said the US move meant that Washington

had forfeited its role as broker in eff orts to end Israeli-Palestinian confl ict.

Echoing Erdogan’s view, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that his people no longer want US involvement in brokering any Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

Describing US President Donald Trump’s decision on Jerusalem as “the greatest crime” and a violation of international laws, Abbas called for the United Nations to replace Washington as a Mideast mediator.

President Trump must realise that his unilateral decision has been rejected by the international community. This was evident in the emergency Security Council meeting held on December 8.

What’s more, President Trump’s decision has serious implications for the security and stability of the region and for the peace process, which centres around the two-state solution.

There is only one way for the US to salvage its honour and respect in the eyes of Arabs, Muslims and the world at large – it should forthwith retreat from its latest decision on Jerusalem, and work to bring the peace process back on track in order to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Gulf Times Friday, December 15, 2017

COMMENT14

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Global community urged to recognise East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine

Ministry of Economy: workingto support national companies

US must heed Qatar’scall to reverse itsJerusalem decision

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Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah

Editor-in-Chief: Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka

Deputy Managing Editor: K T Chacko

QNADoha

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce highlighted the most signifi cant achievements in 2017.

The ministry launched several initiatives aimed at strengthening the partnership between the public and private sectors, in order to encourage the private sector to contribute eff ectively to the national economy and support the national products.

The ministry also updated laws and regulations governing many economic sectors such as consumer, trade and investment.

In a report issued on Wednesday on the occasion of Qatar’s National Day, the ministry said that the economic policies adopted by Qatar during the past years have succeeded in diversifying the sources of income and contributed to building one of the most important economies on the regional and global levels, thus embodying the role played by the private sector in strengthening the national economy in accordance with the approach set by His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030 which aims at building a diversifi ed and competitive knowledge-based economy, leading the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to expect the Qatari economy to grow by 3.1% in 2018, as well as a growth in non-oil GDP by 5.6% in 2017.

Major Economic HubThanks to its economic policies,

Qatar has provided a developed economic model that has established its position as a major economic hub in the region.

The state has succeeded in overcoming the various regional and global challenges, especially the challenges of the illegal siege imposed by the neighbouring countries, and laying the foundation for a new economic phase in which it will rely on its own capabilities, support of national products, and openness to various trading partners around the world, the Ministry said.

In this context, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce has launched several initiatives aimed at strengthening public-private partnership and encouraging the private sector to contribute eff ectively to the national economy and to support the national products.

The ministry has updated laws and regulations governing many economic sectors such as consumer, trade and investment.

In 2017, the ministry worked to support national companies, facilitate the fl ow of Qatari commodities and allow Qatari products to enter international markets.

In this context, HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani, and a number of offi cials at the ministry, held a series of meetings with representatives of the private sector and several government agencies, with the aim of developing and enhancing the means of benefi ting from the international economic and trade agreements concluded by Qatar,

and identifying the most important challenges and diffi culties faced by Qatari producers at the local and international levels.

As part of its eff orts to break the siege, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce announced that Qatar has lodged a formal complaint with the WTO dispute settlement body against the countries that have imposed the siege, for violating the WTO’s core laws and conventions.

In parallel with these eff orts, the ministry has spearheaded the National Product Support Initiative under the slogan “Together to Support National Products”, in co-operation with major commercial and consumer stores, to showcase the national products clearly in a prominent and easy-to-access display area labelled National Products.

In continuation of this initiative in support of the national products, the ministry, in co-operation with Al Meera Consumer Goods Company and BADAYA, has entered into a partnership that will allow emerging national companies to showcase and market their food and consumer products at the country’s largest consumer outlets.

Other government bodies and institutions also played an integral role in supporting the national product initiative launched by the ministry through the implementation of several initiatives, exhibitions and forums in order to support and stimulate national products.

Food SecurityThe Ministry said in its report that

the state has made important strides in supporting plans related to food security.

In this regard, the ministry announced an initiative to establish four fi sh farming and aquaculture projects, in addition to a licence to establish four greenhouse farming projects.

The projects will be able to produce 80,000 tonnes per year of vegetables and fresh fruits, with a production rate of 20,000 tonnes per year for each project.

The project will reach its maximum production capacity within 5 years from the date of signing the contract.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce has been keen on organising and supporting the business sector in Qatar as one of

the most important pillars of the economic diversifi cation policy.

In this regard, the ministry has issued directives on the private shareholding companies concerning the terms of membership of the board of directors, the candidature, the rules of the members’ remuneration and the obligations of the board of directors, as well as the rules of convening the general assemblies of shareholders, and the voting on the election of the members of the board of directors, in accordance with the provisions of the Commercial Companies Law No 11 of 2015.

As part of its eff orts to provide all means of support to commercial companies in Qatar and to enhance the contribution of the private sector to economic development, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce has provided the opportunity for companies of all kinds to adjust their conditions and exempt them from the fees imposed on them.

Single Window ProjectIn order to support the business

environment and encourage the SME sector, the government launched the single window project for investor services at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce to provide integrated and interconnected services, through which the client will be able to complete many transactions related to starting business and obtaining approvals for some business activities immediately without having to visit other institutions or wait.

In addition to these initiatives, the ministry has identifi ed and facilitated the procedures and conditions of building permits for business centres to support small and medium-sized entrepreneurs.

The ministry also launched an e-initiative to grant licences for doing business in homes, in accordance with the decision of the Minister of Economy and Commerce No. (242) for the year 2016 on the terms, conditions and procedures for granting licences to conduct business in homes.

The ministry also announced an initiative to regulate the work of street vendors through the identifi cation of permitted activities and the requirements, standards and conditions of the licensing, as part of its eff orts to support entrepreneurs and small investors.

In addition, the ministry launched the seasonal market for camping accessories by allocating spaces in the Riff a area to eff ectively activate the commercial movement in the local market, support the economy and create a diversifi ed environment that contributes to the growth of the commercial and private sector, in addition to providing the appropriate place for the Qatari merchant and productive families to display their products to the public.

In a related context, the Ministry of Economy and Trade launched an awareness initiative on the abuse of a dominant position in the market, in which it stressed the need for companies to adhere to the rules of fair competition.

Public-Private PartnershipIn 2017, the Ministry of Economy

and Commerce sought to continue its

eff orts to support the private sector by launching initiatives dedicated to consolidating public-private partnerships.

The year saw the fi rst outcome of the public-private partnership projects, with the announcement that the GWC Bu Sulba Warehousing Park is ready ahead of its opening and the operation of storage areas.

In addition, investment opportunities for the development and operation of private schools have been launched to encourage investment in the education sector.

Moreover, the project to transform the old Doha Exhibition Centre into a modern and integrated entertainment city has been announced in order to encourage investment in tourism projects.

The ministry organised workshops for investors in the development and operation of private schools and investors in the transformation project of the old Doha Exhibition Centre into a modern and integrated entertainment city.

During the workshops, investors were informed about the objectives and advantages of investment opportunities in the education and tourism sectors, and their importance at the economic and educational levels for the private sector.

The ministry’s technical committee for the encouragement and participation of the private sector in economic development projects launched this year a public lottery to allocate 119 commercial mixed-use plots in the logistics areas (Al Wakrah, Birkat Al Awamer and Aba Saleel). These commercial plots provide opportunities for private sector investors to participate in the development of the commercial sector in these areas to establish exhibitions, shops, clinics, banks and restaurants.

In order to enhance the partnership between the public and private sectors, the ministry, in collaboration with Manateq company, has implemented logistics projects including the logistics area in Jari Al Samar and the logistics areas in the south of the country (Al Wakrah — Birkat Al Awamer and Aba Saleel). They will provide 8mn square meters of storage areas to cover the needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and ensure logistics services.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce is also working on projects to establish four warehouse areas; Bu Sulba Warehousing Park, Bu Fasseela, Umm Shahrain 1 and Umm Shahrain 2.

These projects will provide the market with 2mn square metres of storage space in 2018 to cover the needs of SMEs and provide storage services of varying areas and at competitive prices to suit their demands.

These projects will stimulate the private sector to invest signifi cantly in this fi eld.

In addition, the ministry sought to open new prospects for investors and owners of SMEs as well as all traders, and to remove their obstacles in order to carry out their business activities and complete their transactions easily.

To Page 15

Production Editor: Amjad Khan

HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani.

COMMENT

Gulf Times Friday, December 15, 2017 15

From Page 14

To do that, the ministry strived to provide additional services in the framework of the smart e-services package for individuals and companies.

In this regard, the commercial agencies service was launched through the ministry’s website.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce announced the development of a programme to issue licences for discounts and promotions through its website.

The new system allows applications to be submitted electronically to ensure quality and timely delivery of the services without having to be present at the ministry’s premises.

The ministry also launched the electronic service of licensing, management and operation of bakeries.

The electronic services launched by the ministry in 2017 also include catering services that allow subsidy card holders to search for the addresses of distributors and access the goods available to each distributor.

Commercial Licence In parallel to its eff orts to promote investment

in Qatar, the ministry has taken the necessary measures to reduce the period of renewal of commercial licenses for shops, with investors now able to renew the licences immediately instead of the 48-hour previous duration.

In the fi eld of intellectual property, the ministry launched the electronic patent registration service to the public and intellectual property agents through its website.

It also provided a service to issue a certifi cate of deposit and preservation of rights electronically to the public and intellectual property agents so as to provide an integrated electronic system of high quality for authors and rights holders, in addition to protecting their literary and artistic works in accordance with applicable laws and international conventions and treaties.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce provided an online trademark registration service for entrepreneurs in order to promote and empower owners of trademarks and intellectual property rights.

In an eff ort to enhance the protection and dissemination of intellectual property rights so as to achieve the intended benefi ts, the ministry organised in 2017 a number of lectures in celebration of the World Intellectual Property Day.

In the fi eld of smart services, the ministry won the best smart application award for the ministerial sector at the Arab level for the second year in a row for its offi cial smart phone application MEC Qatar.

The ministry also won the Digital Government Excellence Awards in Qatar, ranking second in the best service provider through mobile applications, and third best government website, besides getting the fourth place as the best service provider for the business sector.

In 2017, the ministry has endeavoured to continue its eff orts to protect consumer rights by adopting a number of initiatives aimed at breaking monopoly, reducing prices and regulating markets.

In this regard, the ministry’s standing committee for wholesale market management aimed to implement projects that develop markets.

The committee announced the opening of Umm Salal wholesale market to provide the basic needs of fi sh, vegetables, fruits and meat as well as many consumer goods and products.

The ministry announced in 2017 the completion of the implementation of the cabinet decision on excluding some commodities from the application of the provisions of Law No 8 of 2002 on regulating the business of commercial agents.

The ministry informed the commercial agencies of the amendment of the registration data for 35 foodstuff s and consumer goods included in the decision by removing these goods from the register of commercial agents at the ministry.

Market RegulationIn the area of market regulation, the

ministry launched the “Shop with Confi dence” initiative when announcing discounts and promotions in order to ensure transparency of business transactions and foster a climate of trust between suppliers and consumers in order to prevent any infringements and unauthorised or fake off ers.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce issued a circular regulating the mechanism and policy of exchange and return of goods.

The circular included details of the diff erent cases that give the consumer the right to replace the goods or return them for refund.

The ministry has obliged commercial establishments to Arabise invoices, service menus, goods details, and reception and communication services in order to support the right of the consumer to obtain the correct information and data on the goods and services provided to them.

As part of its eff orts to brief the target groups of benefi ciaries and distributors on their rights and duties in subsidised food commodities, the ministry highlighted Law No 5 of 2017 on organising the dealing in subsidised commodities through an awareness publication containing information and advice to raise awareness of the law that features new provisions aimed at regulating access to subsidised goods through designated sale points at commercial markets as well as regulating the circulation of subsidised goods in accordance with the highest quality standards.

To protect the rights of the consumer, the ministry launched an initiative of approved contracts for renting and equipping wedding halls and tents.

A series of consultation meetings were held with the majority of companies specialised in renting and equipping wedding halls and tents in order to discuss the recurring issues of

dealing with clients, particularly in relation to payment, down-payment, postponement of the contracted ceremonies, cancellations and transfers.

As for the ministry’s eff orts to control the markets and ensure that suppliers comply with their obligations under Law No 8 of 2008 on consumer protection and its executive regulations, the ministry issued a circular to the agents and distributors of air conditioners on the regulation of the display, sale and warranty of air conditioners to comply with the ministry’s policy to regulate practice in commercial activities in line with laws and regulations on the protection of basic consumer rights.

On consumer awareness and ensuring their right to access the correct information to make the proper decisions, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce issued a circular to all agents and distributors of vehicles in the country to comply with clearly labelling fuel effi ciency on vehicles starting with 2017 models.

The label demonstrates the energy effi ciency of vehicles through the fuel economy scale.

Automotive SectorThe ministry sought to continue its eff orts

to develop the automotive sector, support competition in maintenance and repair services, and create an optimal competitive environment that will allow the consumer to have multiple options in the areas of car maintenance, security and spare parts, as well as the opportunity for workshops to develop their performance and competition effi ciently and eff ectively, in accordance with Ministerial Decree No. 418 of 2016 on the conditions and regulations regulating the licensing of non-dealer maintenance workshops and supporting fair competition in the after sales services sector in the automotive sector.

The initiative aims to protect consumer rights, develop the automotive sector, support competition in maintenance and repair services, and create an ideal competitive environment that allows consumers to have multiple options in the areas of car maintenance, warranty and spare parts.

In 2017, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce organised the 12th Gulf Consumer Protection Week under the slogan “Towards Secure Electronic Shopping for Consumers”, which coincided with the holding of the celebration of the 12th Gulf Consumer Protection Week organised by consumer protection bodies and administrations in the GCC countries, the event aims to unify Gulf eff orts to expand the umbrella of consumer protection and reach co-operation, in addition to empowering the consumer by providing him with the knowledge and skills to become a conscious consumer, aware of his rights and responsibilities, and actively participate in the defence of consumer issues.

During the holy month of Ramadan 2017, the ministry launched the annual series of “less than obligatory” initiatives, which was designed to cover all aspects of the ministry’s activities related to organisation, support, partnership and motivation, such as the subsidised sheep initiative and the initiative to stimulate the productivity of bakery and cafeterias.

Under this initiative, the ministry announced the list of reduced consumer goods, which included more than 418 items, in addition to the stabilisation of prices of more than 50,000 food and non-food items, in co-ordination with consumer complexes and major outlets.

In the context of initiatives aimed at highlighting the advantages of the Qatari economy and the business environment that will contribute to attracting foreign direct investment, the Ministry of Economy and

Commerce organised in 2017 the activities of economic forums in Southeast Asia, including the Malaysia-Qatar Forum, Singapore-Qatar Economic Forum and the Indonesian-Qatari Economic Forum. These forums formed an important interactive platform that brought together a number of senior offi cials, investors and economists to explore investment opportunities in various sectors.

A number of agreements and memorandums of understanding have been signed on the sidelines of these forums, including the signing of memorandums of understanding and the declaration of intent between Qatar Chamber and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, Qatar Ports and the Port Authority of Indonesia, and the signing of 4 memorandums of understanding between Qatar Chamber and Singapore Business Association and a number of specialised companies in the consulting sector, training, agriculture and construction from both sides.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce witnessed the signing of an agreement and memorandum of understanding between Qatar Chamber and the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Malaysia. Qatar Chamber and the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia signed an agreement on the establishment of a joint business council aiming at enhancing relations between the Qatari and Malaysian business sectors, services and other economic fi elds. A memorandum of understanding was also signed between Qatar Chamber and the National Chamber of Commerce Industry in Malaysia to support diversifi cation of trade and investment between Qatar and Malaysia.

During 2017, the ministry also organised a number of important economic forums in Africa, including the Kenya-Qatar Business Forum in Nairobi and the South African Business Forum in Pretoria, where a partnership agreement was signed between the two sides on hosting major sponsors such as the Olympics and World Cup.

The ministry also organised the Sri Lankan Business and Investment Forum to highlight investment opportunities in various sectors in Qatar, especially trade, agriculture, tourism, energy and other economic fi elds.

As part of its eff orts to enhance the business environment and attract foreign investments, the ministry has also participated in the opening of the programme for the country delegation in Izmir, Turkey, in the presence of Minister of Economy of the Republic of Turkey Nihad Zibekji.

Trade Ties With Turkey And IranA series of meetings were held between

Qatari businessmen and their Turkish counterparts to discuss ways of enhancing trade relations and reviewing the investment opportunities available in the two countries to establish joint ventures in Turkey and in Qatar.

These meetings and bilateral meetings have resulted in the signing of a number of agreements and memorandums of understanding between Qatari and Turkish companies in various fi elds.

During this year, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce held a meeting with some economic development partners and a group of businessmen and executive heads of Iranian companies to discuss ways of strengthening co-operation between Qatar and Iran.

A meeting was also held between HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani, the Minister of Commerce of Iran Mohamed Shariatmadari, and Nihad Zibekji, Minister of Economy of Turkey, and discussed aspects of co-operation between the three countries in economic and trade fi elds.

The meeting was followed by signing a

memorandum of understanding between Qatar, Iran and Turkey on the facilitation of international transport and transit traffi c to support and consolidate economic and trade co-operation.

Qatar-UK RelationsThe Ministry of Economy and Commerce

signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint ministerial committee for economic, commercial and technical co-operation between the governments of Qatar and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

This committee aims to exchange views on trade and investment, co-operation in the World Trade Organisation, and supporting the priority sectors in the fi elds of trade and investment in Qatar and to support Qatar National Vision 2030, as well as supporting commerce and investment sectors in both countries.

As part of its eff orts to strengthen co-operation between Qatar and the United Kingdom, the ministry has recently participated in the fi rst meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on Economic, Commercial and Technical Co-operation between the governments of Qatar and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The two sides agreed to take the necessary steps to promote and develop bilateral relations in order to increase the volume of trade exchange and facilitate the fl ow of goods and services.

The fi rst meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on Economic, Commercial and Technical Co-operation between the governments of Qatar and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland resulted in an agreement with the British side to fund investment projects worth 4.5bn pounds (QR21bn) within Qatar.

The Qatari side also reviewed what was achieved during the past year as part of Qatar’s commitment to invest $5bn in the British economy, in addition to reviewing the investment areas in Qatar and incentives presented to investors. The two sides agreed to co-operate in the fi elds of small and medium-sized enterprises, food security and health certifi cates. British companies were invited to participate in public-private partnership initiatives, as well as presenting technical consultations on the proposed projects.

The two sides welcomed the co-operation between the central banks of the two countries and agreed to hold the next meeting next year in Doha. The British side also welcomed the adoption by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Qatar of 40 British Universities off ering distance education.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce participated in the meetings of the First Working Group on Public-Private Partnership organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in the Swiss capital Geneva, the Director of Economic Policy and Research at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce Saud bin Abdullah al-Attiyah, gave a panel discussion on the strategies and projects of the public-private partnership and its contribution to the achievement of sustainable development goals. He also reviewed the partnership projects in Qatar and the great attention paid by the state to private sector projects, pointing out in this regard to the initiatives launched by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce to support this sector and develop its capabilities to enhance the competitiveness of the national economy.

Presence In ExhibitionsThe Ministry of Economy and Commerce

registered an important presence in the diff erent local and international exhibitions in

2017, including the participation in the “Qatari Markets” exhibition accompanying the 2017 Family Promotion Award that was organised by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Aff airs, the fourth edition of Qatar Information Technology Exhibition and Conference (QITCOM 2017), the second edition of Qatar Government Procurement and Contracting Conference and Exhibition, the Turkish Trade Fair “Expo Turkey in Qatar”, as well as the 2017 Astana Expo and the eighth edition of the Aspire for Sport exhibition and conference held in London.

The pavilion of Qatar participating in Astana Expo 2017 was a success and won many awards. The pavilion won the fi rst place and the Gold Award as the best international pavilion among more than 100 participating, which is considered as an achievement as it is the only Arab pavilion to win this award.

In the same context, the pavilion of Qatar received the best external design by the jury voting of the magazine Exhibitor.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce participated also in the third annual professional exhibition at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Education City and the 11th Career Fair organised by Qatar University.

The ministry has developed a series of periodicals aiming at promoting and developing investment behaviour among the diff erent segments of the society. These publications target investors and entrepreneurs, and off er a range of awareness, investment and economic initiatives, in addition to studies and reports that allow them to know and determine their direction and build their investment and economic plans.

In this context, the ministry has prepared reports and studies on the growing economic role of the health and education sectors to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030.

The Ministry also issued a report on the health sector and confi rmed that the added value of this sector rose from about QR6.2bn in 2011 to about QR10.6bn, which was accompanied by a rise in the contribution of the health sector in the GDP at current prices from 1% in 2011 to about 1.8% in 2015, and from 1% to 1.3% in real prices.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce announced the results of an analytical report prepared on the developmental role of micro enterprises in Qatar which employ less than 10 workers in all its various production operations. The report stressed the importance of the developmental role played by small enterprises in the national economy, which increased from 13,600 in 2010 to about 16,500 in 2015, an increase of 2,900 establishments.

A new study prepared by the ministry on the logistics sector in the country showed that there is a strong and remarkable rise in the developmental role of this sector. The services provided by the transport activities in all its forms and the supporting activities which constitute the bulk of the logistics services increased signifi cantly during the fi rst years of this decade, due to the great attention given by Qatar to this sector as the main nerve of most productive and service activities.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce announced in 2017 the results of an analytical report on the tourism sector and its role in supporting economic growth and achieving comprehensive and sustainable development.

The report said that the tourism sector, which is one of the most important pillars of the economic diversifi cation policy, helping in achieving an added value to the Qatari economy and boosted the state’s trade balance as tourism exports rose from about QR10.2bn in 2010 to about QR24bn ($6.6bn) in 2015.

This increase was driven mainly by the increase in the number of foreign tourists and the high rate of spending on goods and services provided by the diff erent economic businesses.

The ministry has also provided a range of advice to invest in the catering and travel and tourism agencies sectors in order to promote their growth as the main engines of the policy of economic diversifi cation pursued by Qatar. The ministry also provided a range of advice to investors in sectors that would enhance the competitiveness of the national economy, calling for investment in the sector of street vendors as part of the initiative launched based on the decision No. 243 of 2016 of the minister of economy and commerce on the regulations and requirements of licences to have a street vendor business.

Financial EducationIn addition, the ministry provided a set of

advice on the children’s investment portfolio in order to instil fi nancial education in children and enhance their economic behaviour and enable them to manage their future lives independently from their parents in terms of education, marriage and treatment. The ministry also off ered advice in the fi eld of consumption rationalisation and consumer awareness.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce was keen to enhance its presence in social networks thanks to its belief in their important role in achieving the required interaction with the public and learning about their views and opinions. The ministry has worked to utilise all means of social communication as eff ective channels for the dissemination of its activities and informing the public about its initiatives and raising their awareness about topics related to the sectors of trade, economy and consumer protection, and, thus, reaching the biggest possible segment of society and enhancing communication with them.

The ministry’s data indicate swift interaction with the submitted inquiries and complaints, with 99% of inquiries answered in less than 24 hours. The ministry responded to more than 3,000 complaints and inquiries through its diff erent social media channels in 2017.

Some 50,000 new users started following the ministry’s social media accounts, while it published 540 awareness and news posts about the diff erent sectors and received more than 60,000 interactions and more than 10mn views.

MEC working to support national companies

HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani holding talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif in Tehran.

HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Aff airs Sheikh Mohamed in Abdulrahman al-Thani and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu chairing the third session of the Qatar-Turkey Supreme Strategic Committee in Ankara.

16 Gulf TimesFriday, December 15, 2017

QATAR

Air shows, cultural events at Katara

An array of spectacular air shows and activities marked the Qatar Nation-

al Day at Katara – the Cultural Village yesterday, enthralling a large number of spectators.

Katara, which evolved to be a world-class cultural hub, sched-uled 60 events to last until De-cember 19 – a festivity which refl ects the spirit of pride and loyalty to Qatar and its wise lead-ership.

Some of these aerobatic air shows include those organised by Qatar Armed Forces and Al Zaeem College, as well as the ‘air ambulance service’ and ‘aircraft without a pilot’ shows.

Katara also welcomed the ‘Al Adaam’ tour as it stopped for its third station at the village, which began from Sealine beach at 7am and passed by Qatar’s popular landmarks.

Katara general manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti re-ceived ‘Al Adaam’ from world ar-chery champion Abdelaziz Saleh al-Attiyah.

Apart from Katara, the routes included the Museum of Islamic Art, The Pearl-Qatar, Al Khor, Qatar Foundation, Al Shaqab and Aspire Zone, before its fi nal stop at Darb Al Saai.

Children also enjoyed the ‘En-tertaining Train’ as they watch choreographed events at Katara’s waterfront while the Katara es-planade hosted a traditional ‘Ardha’ performance, which at-

tracted many residents and visi-tors.

Restaurants at Katara will off er special menus as part of the Na-tional Day celebration today and will run until December 19.

Qatar Armed Forces hold an aerobatic air show at Katara to mark QND.

Parasailing performances to enthral visitors at Aspire Park

Cultural activities, includ-ing a traditional ‘Ar-dha’ dance led by Aspire

Academy student-athletes and staff , marked the Qatar Na-tional Day (QND) at Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) yesterday.

The event, held at the Aspire Park, was attended by AZF CEO Mohamed Khalifa al-Suwaidi, Aspire Academy’s deputy direc-tor general Ali Salem Afi fa, and other senior staff members from Aspire Logistics, Academy and Aspetar.

The celebration also features a number of attractions such as a falconry and camel corner, family activities, Henna draw-ings and a traditional Majlis sitting. According to AZF, the QND activities will resume to-morrow (Saturday) with thrill-ing events lined up.

From 3pm to 5pm, Aspire Park’s skyline will witness one of the biggest parasailing per-

formances conducted by the Internal Security Force (Le-khwiya), members of which will descend in diff erent formations into the park behind the lake near Al Furousiya Street.

Lekhwiya’s special forces will also showcase outstanding horses and police dogs. These will include displays of various horse formations and barrier jumps, and a tent pegging dem-onstration, an ancient sport during which riders overcome an obstacle course while riding a horse and wielding a sword.

Throughout the weekend af-ter sunset, Aspire Park will also dazzle attendees with its beau-tiful display of maroon LED fl owers on the lake, comple-menting the colourful decora-tions in place around the park.

“The National Day celebration is a testament to Qatar’s success and its blessings, thanks to the leadership of His Highness the

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani,” al-Suwaidi said.

“More than 1,000 employees from 87 nationalities at AZF and its various member organisa-tions (Aspire Academy, Aspire Logistics and Aspetar) were joined by our great student-athletes,” he noted. “They took part in marking this great day to express their love for the coun-try that has given us so many opportunities and celebrate its ongoing achievements and growth.”

AZF, in collaboration with the Doha Film Institute (DFI), will display the ‘Dari Qatar’ fi lm at 5:15pm on Sunday.

Following the screening, DFI will choose the top fi ve winners in the ‘short fi lm’ competition launched earlier this month to mark QND. The short fi lms are inspired by speeches from His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Mohamed Khalifa al-Suwaidi, Ali Salem Afifa and others take part in the traditional ‘Ardha’ dance.

Qatar sporting stars unite to relay fl ag across nationQatar’s sporting heroes

came together yesterday with schoolchildren and

inspirational individuals to stage a unifying and patriotic Team Qatar fl ag relay in celebration of Qatar National Day 2017.

Al Adaam national fl ag was carried around the country’s most iconic landmarks, incorpo-rating multiple sporting activi-ties to spread a message of peace, friendship and solidarity through sport.

The fl ag covered almost 200km across Qatar and involved over 400 participants who rep-resented the depth and diversity of Qatar’s sporting success over recent years. Commenting on the Team Qatar Flag Relay, the Qatar Olympic Committee presi-dent HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, said: “I have been so

humbled to see how the power of sport has brought our nation together through such an inspi-rational and patriotic fl ag relay today.

The values of sport and the val-ues of our nation are intrinsically linked and our Team Qatar fl ag relay provided a wonderful oc-casion to celebrate the achieve-ments and inspirational spirit of our athletes and our country ahead of this year’s National Day. We have showcased the very best of Qatar and the very best of sport in a unifying celebration that spread the Olympic values and transmitted a message of peace, friendship and solidar-ity through our national fl ag — a symbol of our dignity and pride. I would like to pass my thanks on to everyone that participated and contributed to making the

day such a success.” The fl ag re-lay began early in the morning at Sealine Beach in the south of the country with Qatar’s national cycling team showcasing their speed and stamina as they trans-ported the fl ag in a fast-moving peloton 40km to Souq Al Wak-rah. From there it travelled up to the Museum of Islamic Art by motorbike where it was handed to some of Qatar’s most success-ful athletes, including World and Paralympic ParaAthletics medal-lists, Abdelrahman Abdelqader and Sara Masoud and World Junior Weightlifting Champion and senior world silver medal-list Fares Ibrahim, who all joined local schoolchildren to carry the fl ag on multiple legs around the Doha Corniche.

Following a stop at the Qatar Olympic Committee Tower, where

secretary-general Jassim Buenain and vice-presidents Dr Thani al-Kuwari and Sheikh Saud bin Ali al-Thani, celebrated with all staff who have worked to ensure Qatar’s hugely successful sports develop-ment over recent years, the fl ag made its way to Katara by clas-sic cars. From Katara, Team Qatar athletes swum, sailed and rowed across the water with the fl ag to Porto Arabia in the Pearl, before one of Qatar’s fi rst-ever female Olympians, table tennis player Aya Mohamed, transported it by water taxi to awaiting jet skis at Qanat Quartier.

A short jet ski journey around the coast saw the fl ag arrive at Lusail City, Qatar’s newest planned smart city, which will be home to the 2022 FIFA World Cup opening and fi nal matches. An awaiting aeroplane with pilot

Ahmed Abdulrahman fl ew the fl ag high in the Qatari sky be-fore it touched down for the fl ag relay’s most northern stop, Al Khor.

From here, it was collected by Qatar’s motorcycling commu-nity, who led a procession to Qa-tar’s famous equestrian facility, Al Shaqab, in the west of Doha.

The next stop was the Aspire Park, the heart of Qatari sport and home to multiple major glo-bal sporting events over the last 10 years where it was collected by two of Qatar’s most successful male and female athletes of 2017, Mutaz Barshim and Kholood al-Khalaf.

Barshim, 2017 high jump World Champion and IAAF World Athlete of the Year and al-Khalaf, who won two bronze shooting medals at this year’s

Islamic Solidarity Games, ran with the fl ag towards the iconic Khalifa Stadium, which will host the 2019 IAAF World Champion-ships in Athletics in less than two years, and where Mutaz Barshim will be hoping to retain his world title in front of a home crowd.

The fl ag was then passed to HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani who ran the fi nal Aspire Park leg of the relay and handed it to sporting legend, Nasser al-At-tiyah who this year won the FIA Middle East Rally Champion-ship for an incredible 13th time, and also won Olympic bronze in shooting at London 2012.

Nasser led his fellow rally driv-ers the short journey to Darb Al Saai, where they made a grand entrance to the heart of Qatar’s National Day festivities and de-livered the fl ag to HE Sheikh

Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, who had reunited with his fellow torchbearers from the historic 2006 Asian Games Torch Relay. Hassan Matar al-Suwaidi, Mar-souk Saad al-Abdallah, Abdul-lah al-Suwaidi, Khalid al-Amri, Hamad al-Musallam, Abdullab Aman and Khalid al-Khulaifi all had joined for the duration of the Torch Relay, which visited 15 countries and nine cities over the space of 55 days.

HE Sheikh Joaan brought to-gether all of the day’s fl agbearers and fl ag relay participants, Qa-tar’s sporting community, volun-teers and hundreds of members of the public for a ceremonial and patriotic parade, followed by the raising of the fl ag high over Darb Al Saai to conclude the day with a unifying and celebratory grand fi nale.

Team Qatar’s swimmers pass flag to awaiting sailors in Katara waters.

Ashghal celebrates national heritage

The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has carried on with the week-long cel-

ebrations for Qatar National Day in the Ashghal Heritage Village.

The senior leadership of Ash-ghal, including Dr Saad bin Ah-mad al-Muhannadi, president of Ashghal; Abdulla Hamad al-Ati-yya, assistant president; direc-tors, managers and Ashghal staff participated in the major events of the closing day celebrations yesterday.

In this context, Dr al-Muhan-nadi asserted that Ashghal’s par-ticipation in the Qatar National Day celebrations “is to express loyalty and renew our allegiance to the wise leadership of the state, who has spared no eff ort to preserve the nation’s capabilities

and resurgence.” The Ashghal president high-

lighted that the authority’s Na-tional Day celebrations this year

focused on reviving the national heritage in a novel form.

The events included activi-ties related to Qatari heritage,

participation of school students who presented entertainment pieces and stories, in addition to the Ashghal Village that covered a major share of the events, in-cluding various stage shows.

As part of the Qatar National Day celebrations, Ashghal had previously launched the Al Majd Thumbprint mural board, which was distributed on the premises of Ashghal buildings to express employees’ love for Qatar.

The Ashghal president, other offi cials and a number of Ash-ghal staff members marked their thumbprints on the mural. These thumbprints were collected to-gether to form the complete mu-ral that was exhibited during the closure programme of celebra-tions.

Off icials attending the cake-cutting ceremony along with children.

Mutaz Barshim carries the flag during the relay.

Qatar Olympic Committee president HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, HE the Minister of Culture and Sports Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali, sporting legend Nasser al-Attiyah, 2017 high jump World Champion and IAAF World Athlete of the Year Mutaz Barshim and other dignitaries at Al Adaam national flag raising ceremony at Darb Al Saai yesterday, marking the conclusion of the Team Qatar flag relay in celebration of Qatar National Day 2017.