SPORT | 12BUSINESS | 01

NPIM acquires

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Tuesday 14 January 2020

19 Jumada I - 1441

2 Riyals

www.thepeninsula.qa

Volume 24 | Number 8136

Enjoy unlimited local data and callswith the new Qatarna 5G plans

Father Amir offers condolences to Sultan of OmanFather Amir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani offered condolences to H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq bin Taimur Al Said of the Sultanate of Oman on the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimur at Al Alam Palace in Muscat yesterday. H H the Father Amir also offered condolences to Their Highnesses the members of the royal family, senior officials and dignitaries, praying to the Almighty Allah to have mercy on the soul of Sultan Qaboos and to rest it in paradise, and to grant patience and solace to his family. H H the Father Amir arrived in the Sultanate of Oman earlier yesterday morning, where he was greeted by H H Sayyid Fatik bin Fahar Al Said; the Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Sultanate of Oman, H E Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and members of the Qatari embassy. H H the Father Amir left Muscat after offering condolences. �P3

Qatar Airways launches codeshare partnership with Deutsche BahnTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Airways yesterday announced a codeshare part-nership with Deutsche Bahn (German railways), offering Qatar Airways travellers seamless connection to and from eight key destinations in Germany.

The codeshare partnership with Deutsche Bahn, one of the largest railways operators in Europe, will provide Qatar Airways passengers with con-nections to eight key cities within DB network such as Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Hannover, Leipzig, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Munich and Hamburg via Qatar Airways’ Frankfurt getaway in Germany.

Qatar Airways currently operates 35 weekly flights between Doha and Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin. Two daily flights from Frankfurt and Munich, and one daily flight from Berlin.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H E Akbar Al Baker, said: “This codeshare agreement between Qatar Airways and Deutsche Bahn further strengthens the ties between Germany and Qatar. We have witnessed significant growing demand between Germany to Qatar and beyond. Our new codeshare destina-tions not only meet that demand, but provide a service

for our valued passengers in Doha, and from dozens of des-tinations globally to new, exciting places to explore in Germany.”

Berthold Huber, Member of the Management Board for Pas-senger Transport of Deutsche Bahn, said: “We are very pleased to further intensify our successful and long-standing Rail&Fly cooperation with Qatar Airways through our new codeshare agreement. The Qatar Airways and Deutsche Bahn codeshare offers our joint customers a seamless, easy and flexible journey to and from different German cities.“

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, ‘World’s Best Business Class’, and ‘Best Business Class Seat’, in recognition of its ground-breaking Business Class expe-rience, Qsuite.

Qatar Airways has added several exciting new destina-tions to its growing network in 2019. The airline will add Luanda, Angola; Osaka, Japan; Dubrovnik, Croatia and San-torini, Greece to its extensive route network in 2020.

QVCs issue over 144,000 visasSIDI MOHAMED THE PENINSULA

Major Abdullah Khalifa Al Mohannadi, Director of the Visa Support Services Department at the Ministry of Interior has said that over 144,000 visas have been issued by the Qatar Visa Centers (QVCs) abroad since they became operational.

“The total number of visas issued by these centers is around 144,136 while the number of visas rejected, so far, is 7,797, some of the applicants from this number faced rejection on being medically unfit,” said Major Al Mohannadi.

Speaking on a video posted on the social media, the official said

that the main goal of Qatar Visa Centers abroad is to ensure entry of only those migrant workers to Qatar who had no criminal records in the native countries and for achieving the objective the author-ities were applying the highest security standards.

The speed of services offered at these centers is on the rise and with every passing day the number of visitors to Qatar Visa Centers abroad is also increasing.

On a daily basis, about 1,800 visitors seek different services such as biometric data processing, medical examina-tions and signing of employment contracts in QVCs.

The QVCs have achieved great transparency. The work contract is offered to the workers before their departure therefore a worker knows with authenticity all the information related to his employment like

salary, profession, job title, attached allowances, annual vacations, among others, said Al Mohannadi.

“The worker has the right to object to the work contract and he may request some changes but that is in coordi-nation and approval with the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs,” he added

“When the expatriate worker arrives at Hamad Inter-national Airport, his biometric are verified,” he said.

Regarding the first visa center opening, he said the first Qatar Visa Center was opened in October 2018 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. �P3

MME upgrades electronic system for issuance of building permitsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Simplifying the procedures further to save time and efforts of service users, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) has upgraded electronic system for the issuance of building permits, certificates of completion of construction of building among other services.

The new amendments which

will come into effect from Feb-ruary 1, 2020 have merged the procedures of obtaining permit for placing board at construction sites within building permit in single application, said the Min-istry of Municipality and Envi-ronment in a statement.

Inspection from Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) at the completion of the building for

warehouses will no more needed in the new system. The new amendments aim at unifying the performance evaluation indi-cators of all service agencies so that they do not exceed 10 days for all types of projects.

The new system was developed by the MME in coor-dination and cooperation with the General Directorate of Civil Defense at the Ministry of

Interior; Kahramaa and the Public Works Authority (Ashghal).

The Ministry explained that the new amendments include making the procedure of applying for site board, a part of the building permit, so that the consultancy firm, the designer or owner, submits one appli-cation for a building permit. The procedure for obtaining a site board license was a separate

requirement from the licensee or contractor to display the details about the project as per the existing system.

The amendments also include the incorporation of the survey report issuance procedure, knowing that this report aims at place markings for indicating the boundaries of the land for which a license or building completion certificate will be issued. �P5

On a daily basis, about 1,800 visitors seek different services such as biometric data processing, medical examinations and signing of employment contracts in QVCs.

Two DFI-backed films get Oscar nominationsAP MUHAMMED AFSAL THE PENINSULA

Two films supported by Doha Film Institute have won yesterday’s Oscar nomina-tions. The Cave, a Syrian civil war film directed by Feras Fayyad has been nominated in best documentary feature category, while Brotherhood, by Montreal-based film-maker Meryam Joobeur won the nomination in best live action short films.

“Congratulations to the entire teams of The Cave and Brotherhood, two DFI-granted films that earned #Oscar nom-inations today! #Qatar #Oscars,” Doha Film Institute tweeted yesterday.

The Cave, tells the story of Syrian doctor Amani Ballour who worked in a fortified underground hospital called ‘the cave’ where she and her team defied constant bom-bardments to save thousands of lives during the five-year siege of eastern Ghouta region.

The Cave director Feras Fayyad was nominated in 2018 too for his Last Men in Aleppo but was unable to attend the Oscars when his visa was rejected because of President Donald Trump’s travel ban. �P4

Libyan partiesexpected to seal truce deal todayAFP — MOSCOW

Libya’s eastern army chief General Khalifa Haftar delayed signing a ceasefire agreement yesterday at talks in Moscow, but Russia’s government said it was hopeful the country’s warring rivals would soon conclude the deal to end nine months of fighting.

Talks on the terms of a ceasefire between Haftar’s forces and the UN-recognised gov-ernment headed by Fayez Al Sarraj went on for seven hours without the two delegations actually meeting, though Moscow noted “certain progress”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sarraj and the head of High Council of State in Tripoli, Khaled al-Mechri, have signed the document, but Haftar and his ally Aguila Saleh “have asked for a bit more time until morning” to study it.

The ceasefire initiative was launched by President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. �P11

LightMe Lusail from tomorrowTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The International Light and Digital Media Festival will begin at Lusail from tomorrow. The four-day event will be a bigger and better Light Art Festival with extraordinary light art installations that will astound visitors.

LightMe Lusail is solidifying Qatar’s position as a Tourism & Cultural Hub, delivering cre-ative and innovative enter-tainment solution, promoting diversity and unity among the local communities, and deliv-ering a clear message of respect

to the international community through the universal language of art.

This is a four-day celebration of fantastic and interactive light works that will illuminate the magnificent Lusail Marina Eastern and South Promenade, turning it into a spectacular fusion of culture, vibrant colours, and artistic sculptures. The fes-tival will feature 2 KM Festival, 12 Art Light Installations, two Boat Routes, LML Cars and Food & Beverages.

The light festival promises to offer an amazing family photo opportunities and vividly

lit scenery, making for a magical experience.

To be held from 5:30 pm to 11:30 pm, light art is an applied art form in which light is the main medium of expression. The festival is for all family members; kids and grown-ups.

This sought-after event is brought by number of renowned companies in Qatar, as it is brought by Qatari Diar, Vibrant, Nakheel Landscapes and hosted by Lusail. The sponsors and partners include Qatar Airways, Katara Hospi-tality, The Ritz-Carlton and EPSON/EDGE. �P4

02 TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020HOME

ACCESS TO FINANCE

QATAR DEVELOPMENT BANK ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2019

TOTAL OUTSTANDINGLOAN AMOUNT (BLN QR)

6.7

ACCESS TO MARKET

15% 25% 22%91%Volume of orders booked for exports

(560 MLN QR)Number of companies that participated in

matchmaking events (79) Number of companies that converted from

non-exporter to exporter (15)Number of Qatari Pavilions that participated

in international exhibitions (22)

GLO

BA

L

LOCALIZATION

1.22Billion Qatari Riyal

VOLUME OF CONTRACTS AWARDED BY LOCAL BUYERS TO QATARI SMES

1,442 Number of B2Bmeetings concluded 25 Number of Workshops

LOC

AL

3,616 39����������� ��� (5.8 MLN QR) Number of registered companies with big buyers Number of exhibitions

1�� GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTINGCONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION IN QATAR

71%

PROMOTE & DEVELOP CAPABILITIES

ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report 2018 Qatar

National Report

State of SMEs Lending Report

Issuance of sectoral reports (cable sector,

detergent sector)

49 Workshops

REPORTS AND STUDIES EVENTS ROWAD CONFERENCE & WORKSHOPS ROWAD AWARDS

Qatar Entrepreneurship

Award & Exhibition

Fikra Award

World Incubation Summit

SME Ecosystem Round Table

INNOVATION AWARD, LAFFAN ALUMINUM FACTORY

BEST EXPORTING SME AWARD, RASSAS BATTERY RECYCLING FACTORY

SELF SUFFICIENCY AWARD, MIDDLE EAST MODIFIED BITUMEN COMPANY

BEST SME BUSINESS AWARD, QINWAN DATES

SUPPORTING GOVERNMENT AGENDA

HOUSING LOANS

TOTALOUTSTANDING 24.3

NUMBER OFHOUSING LOAN

ACTIVE CUSTOMERS 33,510 3%

6%Billion Qatari Riyal

CHEMICAL ELECTRICAL PLASTIC WOOD OTHERS

31 FACTORIES

8 FOOD & BEVERAGE FACTORIES

50MARKETS

22MARKETS IN DEVELOPMENT

IN NUMBER OF MARKETS

14%GROWTH

IMPROVING TRAFFIC FLOW IN THE FIRST STAGE MARKETS

3110

76

5

3,233

AL DHAMEEN

Growth rate in number ofmanufacturing projects����� �������

26%

Growth rate in number ofsecurity food projects

65%

Volume of outstandingloan guarantees

INVESTMENT

Volume of capital deployed forStartups & SMES:

Number of SMEs served: 27

Volume of disbursed����������� ���

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EXPORT TRADE FINANCE

5%FINANCEDCOMPANIES

951

562M

938M

CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT

OVER 5,000~SMES & ENTREPRENEURS

OVER 100TRAININGS & WORKSHOPS

6,600 BENEFICIARIES DEVELOPED IN 2019 WITH 88% GROWTH

QBIC

QST

JAHIZ

NUMBER OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIESOFFERED TO SMES

ISTESHARA

354SERVICES

NUMBER OF SMES INCUBATED & ACCELERATED

Visit qdb.qa for more information

Draft laws on residence, entry, exit & protection of industrial designs discussed QNA — DOHA

The Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the Shura Council held a meeting yesterday, chaired by its Rapporteur H E Ali bin Abdul-latif Al Misnad Al Mohannadi. The committee discussed a draft law on the protection of drawings and industrial designs and decided to complete its study at its next meeting.

The Internal and External Affairs Committee also held a meeting yesterday, chaired by its Rapporteur H E Abdulla bin Fahad bin Ghorab Al Marri. The committee discussed a draft law amending some pro-visions of law No 21 of 2015 regulating the entry, exit and residence of expatriates, and decided to complete its study at its next meeting.

PM meets envoys of Bosnia and Herzegovina, TajikistanThe Prime Minister and Interior Minister, H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, met yesterday with the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the State of Qatar, H E Dr Bisera Turkovic, on the occasion of the end of her tenure in the country. H E the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior wished H E the Ambassador success in her future assignments and the relations between the two countries further progress and advancement. H E the Prime Minister and Interior Minister also met with the Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan to the State of Qatar, H E Khosro Sahibzadeh. During the meeting, they reviewed cooperation relations between the two countries and means of developing and strengthening them.

Prime Minister meets Rwanda’s Minister of Justice

The Prime Minister and Interior Minister, H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, met yesterday with the Minister of Justice of Republic of Rwanda, H E Johnston Busingye, and the accompanying delegation, on the occasion of their visit to the country. During the meeting, they reviewed cooperation relations between the two countries and ways of enhancing and developing them, especially in the legal and judicial fields, in addition to discussing a number of issues of common concern.

Father Amir offers condolences to Sultan of Oman

Father Amir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani with H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq bin Taimur bin Al Said of the Sultanate of Oman at Al Alam Palace in Muscat, during H H the Father Amir's visit to offer condolences on the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimur, yesterday.

Mwani Qatar is ‘Silver Sponsor’ for DIMDEX 2020 THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Bolstering their joint commitment to the devel-opment of a secure national maritime infrastructure, the organising committee of Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) has announced Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) as a ‘Silver Sponsor’ for its seventh edition, which will return to the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) in less than 100 days.

DIMDEX 2020 will be held under the patronage of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and will be hosted and organised by Qatar Armed Forces under the theme ‘Con-necting the World’s Maritime Defence and Security Community’.

H i g h l i g h t i n g t h e

significance of the sponsorship agreement, Staff Brigadier (Sea) Abdulbaqi S Al Ansari, Chairman of DIMDEX, said: “For the upcoming 2020 edition, we are delighted to further strengthen our collab-oration with Mwani Qatar, and welcome the nation’s leading seaport and shipping terminal operator, as a silver sponsor.

This association highlights a common strive towards the progressive development of Qatar’s maritime security sector through advanced tech-nology and infrastructure capabilities. It also forms an extension to one of the integral features and key highlights of DIMDEX: The Visiting Warships Display.”

With the support of Mwani and the facilities of Hamad Port - one of the largest ports in the Middle East with an annual capacity of 7.5 million

twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) - DIMDEX will be able to accommodate visiting vessels of international navies while welcoming patrons to visit and experience the warships and meet the crew. Since its inau-gural 2008 edition, DIMDEX

has welcomed more than 80 naval ships from around the world, to dock at Qatar’s leading seaports.

“The organising committee of DIMDEX is preparing for a record-breaking event that will set new benchmarks in visitor numbers, exhibitor space and commercial deals concluded under its scope. We are hon-oured to make a remarkable contribution to the interna-tional security and defence dia-logue, whilst drawing on the expertise of our esteemed sponsors,” he concluded.

In 2020, participants and exhibitors with significant rep-resentation from Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East are expected to present the latest innovations in the global defence and maritime security industry. As a distin-guished sponsor, Mwani Qatar will benefit from the event’s

unparalleled international exposure.

Hamad Ali Al Ansari, Manager of Public Relations and Communication at Mwani Qatar, said: “We are proud to be part of DIMDEX 2020 as a ‘Silver Sponsor’ and reconfirm our commitment to support events that are aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030.”

“Following the great success in 2018, we look forward to this year’s edition by facilitating and hosting par-ticipating vessels at Hamad Port and providing all the facil-ities and support necessary for them. As a leading event in the global maritime defence and security industry calendar, DIMDEX has become an ideal platform to find appropriate solutions for entities respon-sible for securing sea routes, international borders, and regional waters.”

HMC cautions public against misuse of antibiotics in childrenFAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

As common viral infections are on an increase among children with the advent of cooler months in Qatar, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has cautioned against misuse of antibiotics.

Upper respiratory infections are common among school going children in Qatar and they increase during the winter months from November to Feb-ruary, said Dr. Shihab M Ameen Al Bara-zanji, Consultant at Pediatric Emergency in Al Wakrah Hospital.

“Children present with common flu, cold, fever and cough and the source of infection is vital and transmitted through air. Sometimes it could progress to severe stage but usually will settle with simple medication not antibiotics,” Dr. Al Barazanji said while speaking to media persons yesterday.

“Antibiotics are an important tool in relieving symptoms of bacterial infec-tions and can help patients recover faster, not viral infections. When the virus has caused infection and it will just run its course. Some parents are worried, so they push the doctor to give the child an antibiotic and the doctor prescribes. Here both parents and the doctor are

wrong. Antibiotics are not necessary for the majority of infections seen in the paediatric settings. Parent’s pressure can influence a doctor’s decision about using antibiotics,” he added.

He also emphasised that in such sit-uations children will be consuming anti-biotics when there is no need and they fall into the risk of developing resistance to antibiotics, which is dangerous.

“We at Hamad Medical Corporation work to educate the community not to

take antibiotics when not needed. We notice some awareness among parents about antibiotic use, but it has to be increased,” said Dr. Al Barazanji.

Although respiratory infections cannot be avoided, there are some measures that can help prevent compli-cations and will contribute to the proper management of these diseases.

Dr. Al Barazanji, who is also Assistant Professor in General Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, provided some advice in this regard.

“Children older than six months

should get the flu vaccine during the first months of the cold season as it takes approximately three weeks to provide the immunity needed against flu infec-tions, and it is supposed to be specific for different regions in the world,” he said.

He also highlighted the importance of maintaining personal hygiene of children including washing their hands.

“Once the children are infected must consult a doctor, follow the instructions, avoid sending them to school, give more fluids and keep the children warm,” he added.

Gastroenteritis — an infection of the gut is another common disease among children in Qatar, according to Dr. Al Barazanji.

It causes diarrhoea and may also cause symptoms such as being sick (vomiting) and tummy (abdominal) pain. In most cases the infection clears within a few days, but sometimes it takes longer. The main risk is lack of fluid in the body (dehydration),” said Dr Al Barazanji.

“Gastroenteritis also does not need antibiotics. Keeping children hydrated is the most important. Simple foods like toast or bananas, which are rich in potassium is necessary for maintaining proper bowel activity,” he said.

Dr Shihab M Ameen Al Barazanji, Consultant at Pediatric Emergency in Al Wakrah Hospital.

“Children older than six months should get the flu vaccine during the first months of the cold season as it takes approximately three weeks to provide the immunity needed against flu infections, and it is supposed to be specific for different regions in the world,” Dr. Al Barazanji said.

QVCs issue more than 144,000 visas

FROM PAGE 1

On the work of these centres, Al Mohannadi explained that the operations of these centres are supervised by the Ministry of Interior in terms of visas as well as super-vised by the Ministry of Health in terms of medical examina-tions, the Ministry of Labor in terms of labor contracts and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in terms of certification of documents.

The services at Qatar Visa Centers include fingerprint services, registration of vital data, conducting of medical examinations, signing con-tracts electronically, issuing of documentation and educa-tional qualifications, in addition to other services that will benefit the expatriate workers.

DIMDEX 2020 will be held under the patronage of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and will be hosted and organised by Qatar Armed Forces under the theme ‘Connecting the World’s Maritime Defence and Security Community’.

03TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020 HOME

04 TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020HOME

A file photo of the International Light and Digital Media Festival (LightMe), which will open at Lusail tomorrow.

QNA — DOHA

A meeting was held yesterday for members of the delega-tions taking part in the third meeting of the follow-up committee on the preparation of the operational plan for the strategic plan of the Arab Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ARABOSAI), which is hosted by the State Audit Bureau.

It was attended by deputy chair of the Federal Board of Supreme Audit of Iraq and repre-sentative of the ARABOSAI Gov-erning Board President Dr. Alaa Hatem Kadhim, and heads of the main committees of the organi-zation from the supreme audit

institutions of the State of Kuwait and Oman, in addition to the representative of the Secretary-General of the organ-ization. The meeting follow up the imple-mentation of the stra-tegic plan of the ARABOSAI. Prior to the meeting, H E President of the State Audit Bureau Sheikh Bandar b in Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani met with members of the par-t i c i p a t i n g delegations.

Meeting held on ARABOSAI strategic plan

QICCA and QU launch introductory phase of qualification and preparation of arbitrators programQNA — DOHA

The introductory phase of its Qualification and Preparation of the Arbitrators Program began yesterday at Qatar University (QU).

Organised by Qatar Inter-national Centre for Conciliation and Arbitration (QICCA) of Qatar Chamber in collaboration with the QU’s Centre for Con-tinuing Education, the intro-ductory phase of the training programme, entitled “Concept and Legal Nature of Com-mercial Arbitration”, informs the trainees of the concept and types of arbitration and systems similar to arbitration; types and legal nature of arbitration; as well as to provide them with the requirements of arbitration litigation.

The various stages of the program aim to provide the par-ticipants with the ability to get the idea of commercial arbi-tration and its various

applications, and the procedures for managing the arbitration proceedings between the claimant and the respondent, and how to formulate the arbi-tration rule and its main ele-ments, and implement the arbi-tration rule and the reasons for its invalidity.

The programme targets lawyers and legal advisers, legal and administrative leaders in the public and private sector companies, legal departments, ministries and government institutions, banks and financial

institutions, as well as heads and members of boards and directors of companies, business owners, contractors and commercial agents, as well as arbitrators and experts in the field of commercial disputes, engineers, accountants, and lawyers under training and law students. Recently, QICCA grad-uated 145 arbitrators, including 85 Qatari arbitrators.

All graduates were included in the list of arbitrators regis-tered with QICCA for settlement of commercial disputes.

The various stages of the program aim to provide the participants with the ability to get the idea of commercial arbitration and its various applications, and the procedures for managing the arbitration proceedings between the claimant and the respondent and how to formulate the arbitration rule and its main elements.

Two DFI-backed films get Oscar nominationsFROM PAGE 1

A release issued by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci-ences after the nomination yes-terday describes Brotherhood

as telling the “poignant story of a rural Tunisian father caught in between loyalty to his family and his rigid moral principles.” Selected at the Sundance Film

Festival and the Toronto Inter-national Film Festival, where it won best Canadian short award, the film has won 60 awards in 48 countries.

LightMe Lusail from tomorrow

Shura Council discusses draft law on entry, exit & residence of expatriatesQNA — DOHA

The Shura Council held its regular weekly meeting yesterday under the chair-manship of the Speaker of the Shura Council, H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud.

At the outset of the meeting, the Shura Council discussed a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. 21 of 2015 regulating entry, exit and residence of expatriates. After discussion, the council decided to refer the said draft law to the Internal and External Affairs Committee for study and to report on it to the Council.

During its session, the Council reviewed the memo of the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers (cabinet) regarding the measures taken by the Council of Ministers on the Shura Council’s recom-mendations related to traffic accidents in the State of Qatar, as the cabinet had taken a number of decisions to reduce traffic accidents in the country. Upon the recommendations of

the Shura Council, the cabinet decided to form a committee headed by a representative from the Ministry of Interior and with membership of rep-resentatives from the National Tourism Council, the Ministry of Transport and Communica-tions, the Public Works Authori ty and Qatar Petroleum.

The committee will put in place an integrated plan to develop the Sealine area, improve the level of traffic safety in it and reduce risks there, while studying the requirements and the means necessary to achieve this. The committee shall submit a report on the results of its work and recommendations

to H E the Minister of Interior to present the report before the Council of Ministers.

The Council also reviewed the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers’ memo regarding the measures taken by the Council of Ministers on the recommendation of the

Shura Council related to a draft law on the concession granted to Qatar Fuel Company (WOQOD) for marketing, selling, transporting, and dis-tributing gas and petroleum products. The recommen-dation included the necessity of unifying standard

specifications to obtain a fuel station license at the end of the concession period.

The Shura Council thanked and appreciated the esteemed government for interest and response to its recommenda-tions and appreciated the measures taken in this regard.

The Speaker of the Shura Council, H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud, at its regular weekly meeting, yesterday.

The Shura Council decided to refer the said draft law to the Internal and External Affairs Committee for study and to report on it to the Council.

OFFICIAL NEWS

DOHA: Qatar has expressed its strong condemnation and denun-ciation of the attack that targeted a local police patrol south of the city of Mosul, Iraq, wounding two police-men. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated Qatar’s firm stance reject-ing violence and terrorism, whatever motives and causes. In the state-ment, Qatar wished the wounded a speedy recovery. QNA

Qatar strongly condemns attack in Iraq

Qatar condemns attack on school and police station in Kenya

Doha: The State of Qatar has strongly condemned the attack that targeted a school and a police station in Gar-issa County, Kenya, which killed three teachers and injured a child.In a statement yesterday, the Minis-try of Foreign Affairs reiterated the State of Qatar’s firm position reject-ing violence and terrorism, whatever the motives and reasons. The state-ment expressed condolences of the State of Qatar to the victims’ fami-lies, the government and people of Kenya, wishing the injured a speedy recovery. QNA

Speaker of Shura Council condoles with Oman Sultan

The Speaker of the Shura Council, H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud, offered condolences to H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq bin Taimur Al Said of the Sultanate of Oman on the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimur during his visit to Oman, yesterday.

05TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020 HOME

Italian Enrico Mestica School thanks Qatar for rebuilding school complexQNA — ROME

The Enrico Mestica School in the city of Macerata in the Italian Republic has sent a letter of thanks to the State of Qatar for its contribution of ¤5.6m for rebuilding of its school complex after the damage caused by the earth-quake that struck the country in 2016.

In the letter, the teaching staff, students and their fam-ilies extended their thanks to the State of Qatar for standing with them in this ordeal, pointing out that the geo-graphical dimension between the two countries was not a barrier to the Qatari support, which was a message to them that they are not alone in this ordeal.

The letter underlined the great suffering by students in their transportation to the schools that were hosting them due to continuous earth shakes and the psychological effects on them. The Qatari support through the reconstruction of the complex had a great impact on the students and mitigated these effects.

The city of Macerata of the Italian Republic has celebrated the reopening of its school complex, after the damage caused by the earthquake that struck the country in 2016.

The reconstruction of the school is part of a Memo-randum of Understanding signed between Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and Italian Government to donate ¤5.6m to rebuild areas

destroyed by earthquake. QFFD witnessed the stone laying ceremony of the foun-dation of the school.

The school complex includes several basic facil-ities, including a nursery, primary and secondary schools, as well as a gym-nasium. The complex was built on an area of 24,000 square meters.

This project aims to ensure that the right to education of the children of Macerata is preserved and the educational services are resumed. This project will restore the hope and confidence of the people who were victims of the earth-quake misfortune. This step is ones of the steps that leads to achieve the sustainable devel-opment goals.

The city of Macerata of the Italian Republic celebrating the reopening of its school complex, after the damage caused by the earthquake that struck the country in 2016.

MME upgrades electronic system for issuing building permitsFROM PAGE 1

The new amendments included obtaining the survey report by submitting the appli-cation through the website. It is issued through the system for each new license or building completion certificate, and the cost of the survey report is also included in the building permit fees or building completion certificate.

The new amendments will abolish the inspection by Kah-ramaa, at the stage of com-pletion of construction for warehouses only, which was

used to be mandatory for issuing construction completion certificate and to get service connection.

The amendments also include the inclusion of payment of fees for the delivery of services of Kahramaa in the first invoice for warehouses only. The amendments also include incorporating the appli-cation for connection to sewage network into the building permits system. The amend-ments also included the abo-lition of the inspection of tele-communications service

providers at the stage of building completion. The con-struction completion fee payment procedure has also been incorporated into the pro-cedures for requesting a con-s t r u c t i o n c o m p l e t i o n certificate.

MME launched the elec-tronic system for building licenses on February 10, 2014 to be inclusive of all transac-tions and procedures required by the construction. The system includes all relevant authorities and required approval in the State to finish the issuance of

the building permit. The electronic system works

to transfer the transactions to all parties involved in the

process of issuing building permits.

A-G meets Rwanda’s Minister of Justice

Attorney-General H E Dr Ali bin Fetais Al Marri met yesterday with Minister of Justice of the Republic of Rwanda, H E Johnston Busingye, who is visiting the country. The meeting reviewed joint cooperation in the legal and judicial fields and ways of enhancing bilateral work in this field.

Education Ministry pavilion at Book Fair draws crowds THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The pavilion of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education at 30th Doha Inter-national Book Fair witnessed a great turnout by school students and teachers and various groups of society.

The Ministry is holding activities and events that suit the ages and tendencies of vis-itors, in order to attract their attention and highlight the importance of reading through recreational and educational activities, making it attractive and varied for all visitors.

The participation of the Ministry in the Book Fair comes as part of its endeavours to establish bonds between culture and science lovers and those who want to learn more through the programs pre-sented in the pavilion.

The activities include plays, competitions, comics and read stories and scientific experi-ences that benefit students in particular.

The Doha International Book Fair is running in the Doha Exhibition and Con-vention Center (DECC) and it will continue until January 18, which is an appropriate oppor-tunity for family members to learn more about the activities that universities and other edu-cational institutions participate in.

Samah Hossam from Al Salam Elementary School for Girls said that the students of the second elementary class presented the activity (legends of the story) that encourages school students to read moti-vational, and a play was pre-sented about Muslim scholars

and the West, such as Ibn Al Nafees and Einstein, and the idea of the play returns from two students who carry out sci-entific research in the school.

Teacher Dhawi Mohamed Al Mansoori, responsible for learning resources from Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud Model School for Boys, said: “We participated in the com-petition (the library that pro-motes reality) that seeks to activate technology within the educational process, and attract students to knowledge and reading through their use of electronic programs and modern phone applications.”

The Juwairiya Bint Al-Harith Primary School for Girls participated in a theatrical presentation entitled (tourist notes), and the presentation included a narration of a story and then activities, and the story was about the most famous landmarks in Qatar such as Qatar Islamic Museum, Qatar National Museum, Aspire Park, and Souq Waqif. Al-Faisal International Academy also presented a variety of anecdotal series entitled (The World’s Box).

The Literary Path Department at Al-Huda Primary School for Girls reviewed the Shadow Fantasy Theater, which was presented in a different and new way through transparent and lighting, in addition to an activity entitled: (I make my own small fingertips factory) which is specialized in the category of the child who invites him to make his own theatre.

Ministry of Education pavilion at 30th Doha International Book Fair.

Armed Forces’ Chief of Staff meets Chinese Military AttacheChief of Staff of the Qatari Armed Forces, H E Lieutenant General (Pilot) Ghanem bin Shaheen Al Ghanem, met yesterday with China’s new Military Attache to Qatar, on the occasion of assuming his duties. During the meeting, H E the Chief of Staff wished the new military attache success in his duties. The meeting was attended by a number of senior officers of the Qatari Armed Forces. He also met with Kuwait’s new Military Attache to Qatar Colonel Nasser Abdullah Al Hejaili, on the occasion of assuming his duties.

The Ministry's pavilion at the Book Fair is promoting book reading, through recreational and education activities.

06 TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020HOME

Compass’ Rayyan Campus awarded LabelFrancÉducation accreditationTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Compass International School Doha (Compass) announced that its Rayyan Campus has been awarded the Label-FrancÉducation accreditation for its French Bilingual Programme. Compass is the first school in Qatar with a French-English programme to receive the accreditation. This pres-tigious accreditation is granted by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and based on the advice of a joint ministerial advisory committee composed of representatives from the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education, the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE), the French institute (IF) and Mission Laïque Française, a non-profit organisation.

LabelFrancÉducation is granted to schools promoting the French lan-guage and culture as part of their cur-riculum. At Compass International School Doha’s Rayyan Campus, the French Bilingual Programme educates children for the future with an edu-cation in both French and English.

Children from Year 1 to Year 6 are immersed in both languages and are taught by one French native speaker teacher and one English native speaker teacher. The children are taught English and French as stand-alone languages to develop knowledge and skills in both languages. Maths and the International Primary Curriculum,

which covers all other subject areas linked together by a common theme, are taught in both languages.

Amandine Goffart, Bilingual Lead at Compass International School Doha, said: “Receiving the LabelFrancÉdu-cation accreditation is an incredible achievement for our French Bilingual programme which is now in its fifth year at our Rayyan Campus. At Compass International School Doha, we truly believe in the power of bilingual learning as a way to prepare our children for the 21st century. This accreditation demon-strates the outstanding bilingual edu-cation that our students receive every day and we are delighted to have received this prestigious accolade.”

Compass International School Doha is one of Qatar’s leading schools, providing the very best of British and international curricula for over 13 years. As part of premium education provider Nord Anglia Education, the school offers children a truly unique international learning experience across four campuses: Gharaffa, Madinat Khalifa, Rayyan and the newest, state-of-the-art campus, Themaid, which opened in September 2019. Children are educated for the future with enhanced learning through collaborations with world leading organisations; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),The Julliard School and Unicef.

Amandine Goffart, Compass Bilingual Lead, and Hadrien Laroche, Cooperation and Cultural Affairs Counsellor, at the French Embassy in Qatar.

Principal of IIS receives award Ideal Indian School (IIS) Principal Syed Shoukath Ali receiving the award for the school’s academic excellence in the 32nd Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Gulf Principals’ Conference, under the aegis of Council of CBSE Affiliated Schools in the Gulf region, held in Jaipur recently. He was awarded for the school’s excellent performance in the Class XII CBSE Examinations.

Camera enthusiasts practise digital photography at QNLTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

A short digital photography course started at Qatar National Library on January 11 with the aim of teaching participants basic photography skills including types of photography, compo-sition rules, and parts of Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras.

The four-session course explores exposure triangle, light painting and manually control of a DSLR camera. Par-ticipants also have the chance to put their new skills into practice with photography exercises at the Library.

Aspiring photographer Hassan

Ayman commented after the workshop: “Photography is my hobby and of course I would like to improve my skills. It was useful to attend this session, as it not only gave me a chance to learn the basics of using a professional camera, but also to meet others with similar aspirations and interests.”

Nadia Mohamed, a participant at the event, said: “I recently purchased a camera, but it was difficult to fully make use of it or understand its more advanced features. Thanks to the Library’s sessions, I can now better use the advanced features of my camera.”

Participants attending the photography course at Qatar National Library.

Katara amber show has made Qatar a prominent player in amber industry, says expertTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The International Amber Exhi-bition which Katara Cultural Village is organising every year will help promote the amber tradition in Qatar and enhance the country’s position in the global amber industry, an inter-national amber expert has said.

Giedrius Guntorius, CEO and General Manager of Amber Trip, an annual amber exhi-bition held in Lithuania, and one of the biggest amber exhibitions in the world, said that the huge success of the second Katara International Amber Exhibition has made Qatar a prominent member in the international amber community.

The second edition of the four-day Katara amber exhi-bition concluded on Saturday. There were exhibitors and par-ticipants from 13 countries this year, with more than 90 stalls exhibiting a wide and exciting array of products.

“It’s kahraman, kahraman everywhere,” Guntorius said, referring to the Arabic word for amber. “I am visiting this show for the first time and I am really excited to see that this country has a strong and deep amber culture like my own country Lithuania. It’s a kahraman life in Doha,” he added.

Guntorius, who has been in the amber industry from early 1990s, first as a businessman and now as an organiser of the Amber Trip, said that Qatar’s huge interest in amber will be reflected in the increased par-ticipation from this country in

Amber Trip. Amber Trip is being organised for 17 years and this year’s show will be held from March 11 to 14.

“Last year, we had around 20 participants from Qatar in the show and this year we are expecting 50 individuals and companies to participate,” he said. “We have more visitors from Middle East this year and will have special prayer rooms at the expo for these visitors.”

Qatar and Kuwait are two leaders in amber in the Middle East now, he said. The second amber exhibition in Qatar is a testament to the huge

popularity and acceptance of the first show. “It’s easy to organise a first show. You can do it and forget it if you want, but to organise it a second time, and which means to continue it in the coming years, means something else. This shows the first show was a huge achievement. I thank Katara Cultural Village for inviting me to this exhibition,” he said.

Amber demand is going up

all over the world, as are the prices. According to industry sources, 600 tonnes of amber raw materials are mined every year, and Russia is the leader, contributing 400 tonnes. The prices too have seen a significant increase in the past several years, going up from ¤300 per kilo-gramme in 2006 for Fractions 20-50 GR, which is the standard amber, to ¤3900 per kilo-gramme in 2014. But since then,

the prices have seen a decline.Guntorius said that amber

is the gold of Lithuanians, in the same way as oil is considered the black gold in the Gulf region. “We and people in Europe and Baltic region use amber for a variety of purposes like jew-ellery, and in rings, lamps, chairs etc. It’s also used as a cos-metic as its powder is used for amber massage to smoothen skin,” he said.

The second edition of the four-day Katara amber exhibition concluded on Saturday. There were exhibitors and participants from 13 countries this year, with more than 90 stalls exhibiting a wide and exciting array of products.

Giedrius Guntorius, CEO and General Manager of Amber Trip, an annual amber exhibition held in Lithuania, and one of the biggest amber exhibitions in the world, said that the huge success of the second Katara International Amber Exhibition has made Qatar a prominent member in the international amber community.

MoCI detects 160 violations in DecemberTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has caught 160 viola-tions during inspection campaigns carried out in December.

The violations were non-com-pliance with compulsory pricing, non-Arabisation of bi l ls , announcing an offer without obtaining the necessary license from the competent department, exhibiting products that have expired, non-compliance with the

bulletin prices of vegetables and fruits, failure to announce prices and violations related to description of the commodity and adver-tisement or displaying prices in a manner that contains false or deceptive data.

The penalties included adminis-trative closure and financial fines which vary between QR5,000 and QR30,000 according to the laws and decisions governing the work of con-sumer protection departments.

The Ministry confirmed it will be

firm against all those negligent and not complying with the consumer protection law and its executive regulations.

It also confirmed it will intensify its inspection campaigns to control such practices and refer all vio-lators to the concerned entities to take the appropriate measures against them to protect the consumer.

The Ministry called on all con-sumers to report any violations to the Ministry.

07TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020 HOME

Woqod opens Umm Al Seneem Petrol StationTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Fuel ‘Woqod’ opened Umm Al Seneem (Ain Khalid-2) Petrol Station yesterday, that raised its number of various petrol stations to 99.

Woqod’s Managing Director & CEO, Saad Rashid Al Muhannadi, said: “We are pleased to open new fixed petrol station in Umm Al Seneem (Ain Khalid -2). Woqod aspires to expand its petrol station network in the country to meet the rising demand for petroleum products and achieve the goal of providing customers with access to

best-in-class products and services at their convenience and comfort. Woqod has recently accelerated the process for the construction of new petrol stations to meet the fuel and energy needs of the country. Woqod team would like to extend their gratitude to all concerned governmental and private entities that con-tributed to the completion of this project.”

Umm Al Seneem (Ain Khalid -2) Petrol Station is spread over an area of 20000 square meters and has three lanes with nine dispensers for light vehicles, which will serve

Umm Al Seneem / Ain Khalid area and their neighborhood. Umm Al Seneem (Ain Khalid -2) Petrol Station offer round-the-clock services to residents, and include Sidra convenience store, Manual Car Wash, Oil Change and Tire Repair, and sale of LPG cylinders “Shafaf”, in addition to sale of gasoline and diesel products for light vehicles.

Al Muhannadi added that Woqod is currently over-seeing the implementation of 13 new petrol stations, which most of them will be opera-tional in the first quarter of year 2020.

Q-PEM ends with appreciation from partners and attendeesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The 4th Qatar Pediatric Emer-gency Medicine Conference (Q-PEM) 2020, hosted by Sidra Medicine in partnership with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), concluded yesterday in Doha amid praise and appreci-ation from partners and attendees.

Held from January 10 to January 12, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Q-PEM witnessed the participation of more than 400 healthcare professionals from across the world including phy-sicians, nurses, paramedics and emergency medical technicians, allied health practitioners, and pharmacists.

The conference which aims to provide a high-quality, evi-dence-based update for eve-ryone in the emergency sector and urgent care for children, covered key topics including resuscitation care, trauma man-agement, quality and patient safety, sepsis care, toxicology, neonatal emergencies and others.

Key highlights from this year’s Q-PEM included inter-active sessions related to dis-aster management; nurses beyond bedside; and drug abuse

testing. Sidra Medicine’s flagship Qatar Poison Center, the country’s first dedicated toxicology and poison helpline, also covered challenging cases as a knowledge sharing exercise. The session was par-ticularly well received by organizations from other Gulf states seeking to replicate similar poison helpline services.

Delegates at Q-PEM partic-ipated in a variety of sessions discussing the latest research

studies and patient experience within an emergency department setting. Others took part in the pre-conference workshops that tackled Pedi-atric Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS), Pediatric Procedural Sedation Programs, and Emer-gency Management of Pediatric Airway.

As a tertiary care hospital and academic medical center, Sidra Medicine is committed to enhancing the healthcare

services for the women and children of Qatar and beyond, by offering opportunities for healthcare professionals to improve, expand their knowledge, and stay updated on the latest breakthroughs in research and best practices.

Prof. Khaled Al Ansari, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Sidra Medicine, said, “Sidra Medicine is an active voice in global healthcare discussions, e n s u r i n g t h a t f i e l d

professionals are constantly refining their practice and ulti-mately contributing to better patient care. Thanks to our affiliation with Qatar Foun-dation, platforms like Q-PEM allow us to jointly address, with local and international peers, partners and thought leaders, specific topics that would guar-antee every child gets the ade-quate care and support whenever and wherever they need it.”

“I am very happy with the turnout the conference wit-nessed. I would like to thank our international speakers, our key partners including Hamad Medical Corporation for their support and everyone who helped us bring so much value to pediatric emergency med-icine through this conference,” Prof. Al Ansari added.

Dr Mohamed Al Amri, Director of HMC’s Pediatrics Emergency Centers, noted that the conference, now in its fourth year, is yet another example of how the two organ-izations are working together to advance and strengthen pediatric healthcare in the country.

He said, “Q-PEM focused on many of the challenges facing pediatric and emergency phy-sicians and other healthcare professionals involved in the clinical care for children. The conference emphasised the practical application of evi-dence-based topics and pro-vided an important platform for attendees to increase their knowledge and enhance their competence by bringing new skills to the diagnosis and man-agement of pediatric disorders.”

Dr. Khalid Al Yafei speaking at the Qatar Pediatric Emergency Medicine Conference 2020 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. RIGHT: Dr. Khalid Al Ansari, Dr. Sami Al Farsi from Oman and Dr. Zaid Al Harbish from Kuwait at the event.

Katara to host general assembly of GlobalPublic Diplomatic Network from January 20QNA — DOHA

Cultural Village Foundation - Katara announced yesterday that it will host the 6th general assembly of the Global Public Diplomatic Network which is to be chaired by the State of Qatar and represented by Katara. The assembly will be held from January 20 to 22. It is expected that the meeting will witness wide international participation.

A press conference is scheduled to be held in Katara on Thursday, January 16th, to announce the activities of the sixth general assembly meeting.

The press conference will be attended by Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, General Manager of the Cultural Village Katara, President of the Inter-national Public Diplomatic Network, Eng. Darwish Ahmed Al-Shaibani, Secretary-General of the Network, and Dr. Khaled Aba Al-Zemat, Assistant Sec-retary-General of the Network.

In 2017, Qatar became a member of the Global Public Diplomacy Network and received its presidency from Turkey on May 4, 2019 at a cer-emony in Istanbul. The Global Public Diplomacy Network

was founded by public and cul-tural institutions of nine coun-tries (Philippines, Sweden, Korea, Taiwan, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Singapore and Turkey) in Seoul, South Korea, in 2014.

Ooredoo’s eShop promotion offers value for new Shahry 5G, Qatarna 5G customersTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Customers of Ooredoo’s new 5G packages can get even better value for their money when using the telecommunications leader’s advanced online eShop to sign up, in the promotion running until January 18, 2020.

In order to encourage cus-tomers to experience just how quick, easy and efficient it is to use its digital channels, Ooredoo is offering all new cus-tomers who sign up to a new Shahry 5G or Qatarna 5G pack online at its eShop an amazing 25 percent off on the monthly pack price for six months, said the company in a press release yesterday.

The promotion is valid for all new Shahry 5G and Qatarna 5G packs and means customers signing up for a new Shahry 5G S pack will pay just QR82 per month instead of the regular

price of QR110, while customers choosing a Shahry 5G XL pack will pay QR206 instead of QR275. Customers opting for Qatarna 5G Silver will pay QR285 per month instead of QR380, and new Qatarna 5G Platinum packs will cost just QR637 per month instead of QR850.

Shahry 5G and Qatarna 5G plan subscribers will never run out of data, with the new plans offering endless access to the internet. Once a customer con-sumes their full allowance for the month, they will still be able to continue connecting to any network at speeds of up to 20Mbps without further charge.

Both new Shahry 5G and Qatarna 5G plans will come with entertainment and lifestyle benefits; Shahry customers can choose from Starz Play, ErosNow, as well as Urban Point, while Qatarna customers

can choose from beIN Connect, Starz Play and Urban Point.

Speaking of the new pro-motion, Manar Khalifa Al Muraikhi, Director PR and Cor-porate Communications at Ooredoo, said: “As part of our corporate strategy, we’re com-mitted to complete digitali-sation. We’ve created our online channels to make proc-esses such as signing up for new services as quick and easy as possible, and we’d love for as many of our customers to try them out as possible so they can see the benefits. We’re delighted to launch this new promotion and hope our cus-tomers enjoy using our eShop as they sign up and save.”

The offer is only available to new customers signing up for a new Shahry 5G or Qatarna 5G pack until January 18, and is only available via the Ooredoo eShop.

Winners of Scientific Excellence Award to be named tomorrowTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Organizing Committee of the Scientific Excellence Award will announce the winners of the 13th Scientific Excellence Award 2020 for its nine cate-gories tomorrow in a press conference, at Wyndham Hotel (West Bay, Doha).

The Award establishes the concepts of excellence and cre-ativity among individuals and institutions by adopting inter-national standards, imple-menting quality programmes and achieving the integration of individual and institutional efforts to improve the educa-tional process outcomes in the State of Qatar.

It also aims to spread the

culture of creativity and scien-tific excellence in the Qatari society and improve learning outcomes.

The objective of the Award is also to motivate all indi-viduals and educational insti-tutions to develop their per-formance and appreciation of

the distinguished scientifically and celebrate their efforts in educational attainment and academic study.

It also encourages and deepens the concepts of excel-lence and enhance positive trends towards knowledge and scientific research among stu-dents and spread the spirit of innovation and competition among them.

The Scientific Excellence Award is considered the most important and the highest honour in the academic field awarded to graduates in general and university edu-cation as well as at the master’s and PhD levels in addition to the distinguished teacher, school, and scientific research.

Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, General Manager of the Cultural Village Katara, receiving the presidency of the Network from Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş, from the former president, and President of Yunus Emre Institute in Turkey.

The bulk of the data shows that immigrants, at least in the US, are a healthy and positive force.

08 TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020VIEWS

CHAIRMAN

SHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

DR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFIeditorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITOR

MOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMEDm.salim@pen.com.qa

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR

MOHAMMED OSMAN ALI osman@pen.com.qa

EDITORIAL

QATAR gives top priority to the region’s stability, security and maintain peace. This was evident when the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, during a visit to Iran, held meetings with Iranian President H E Dr. Hassan Rouhani, and the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, H E Ali Khamenei.

Qatar’s relations with Iran have seen great devel-opments and are growing by the day. In joint press statement, H H the Amir lauded and appreciated Iran’s position after the blockade of Qatar and thanked Iran for providing all the facilities to Qatar and the Qatari people by immediately opening its airspace and sea-ports. The two sides agreed to boost trade and tourism exchange. Terming the meetings as positive and fruitful, H H the Amir said there has always been open channels and discussions with Iran.

Qatar has played significant role in supporting inter-national security and stability through its sponsorship of peace negotiations between conflicting parties in all parts around the world, affirming its essential role in achieving world peace, security and development, through its calm and wise diplomatic approach.

H H the Amir indicated that the visit comes at a sensitive time the region is going through, indicating that it has been agreed with the brothers and with the Iranian President that dialogue is the only solution to the region’s crises, and to reducing escalation.

The Iranian President, meanwhile, praised the ties of neighbourliness and historical friendship between the two countries. H E Hassan Rouhani emphasised the importance of the security of the region, especially the security of waterways in the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman, stressing that the two countries will cooperate and consult to establish and ensure security in these paths. The two sides also agreed to enhance relations in economic and com-mercial fields.

Qatar supports lasting stability in the region by preventing any tension or conflict, which confirms its vital and important role in establishing security, advancing progress and supporting development everywhere in the world, especially the Middle East region.

The efforts led by H H the Amir to maintain peace in the region confirm that Qatar is an important partner and that it is keen to solve differences through dia-logue. The region needs to build bridges of commu-nication and adopt dialogue as the sole way to resolve crises.

Fruitful Iran visit

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Quote of the dayA ceasefire (Libya), yes it is a first step in the right direction, but what you need is a process for consolidation, for reconstruction and a government of unity. There is a long way to go. This has to be a UN-led process.

Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President

Demonstrators hold up a banner to protest against Migrant Protection Protocols, outside of US Customs and Border Protection building in Brownsville, Texas, yesterday.

Public opinion about immi-gration is hard to understand. Americans express more favourable views toward immi-gration since Donald Trump was elected president:

But these poll numbers come with several caveats. First, the surge in support for immigration might simply be a reaction to the xenophobia of the Trump admin-istration and could fade after he leaves office. Second, the polls say little about the salience of the issue to the two sides; opponents of immigration might be more motivated than advocates, and thus fight harder. Finally, it’s worth noting that even now, those who support decreasing immigration outnumber those who back increasing it. And this data is just for the US; other countries may be going in the opposite direction.

Why does the public seem to have an anti-immigration bias? The bulk of the data shows that immigrants, at least in the US, are a healthy and positive force. They are highly upwardly mobile. They make outsized con-tributions to technology and industry. They don’t push down the wages of native-born workers and in the case of high-skilled immigrants they even raise them. They commit fewer

crimes than native-born Amer-icans. They pay plenty of taxes that help support local and state governments. They revitalize dying small towns and blighted neighborhoods. Why are so many Americans wary of what seems on paper like an unadul-terated good?

One possible reason is that Americans, though more positive toward diversity than those in many other countries, also worry that their culture will be diluted by newcomers. Racial prejudice toward immigrants from non-white countries plays a role as well. And politics may also be a factor; because children of immi-grants tend to vote for the Demo-crats, Republicans may fear that immigration poses a threat to their electoral strength.

But on top of all this, anti-immigration sentiment may be intertwined with suspicion of the welfare state. People may over-estimate the amount of public resources spent on immigrants. And they may be less willing to distribute government benefits to people from other countries.

That’s the upshot of a recent paper by economists Alberto Alesina, Armando Miano and Stefanie Stantcheva. The authors conducted detailed surveys with 24,000 native-born people in six developed Western countries - the US, the U.K., France, Germany, Sweden and Italy. What they discovered is a per-vasive tangle of misperceptions.

First, native-born people in all the countries surveyed tend to substantially overestimate the number of immigrants. Across the entire demographic and

political spectrum, people said that the share of immigrants in their countries was about 10 to 15 percentage points higher than it actually was. They also tended to make mistakes about the people coming in, overestimating the share of Muslim immigrants and underestimating the share of Christian ones (except in France). And they tended to underes-timate immigrants’ share of the highly educated workforce. The researchers also found that people tended to assume that immigrants receive more welfare benefits than the native-born.

So many people in rich coun-tries seem to think of immi-gration much the way it’s depicted on the famous poem on the Statue of Liberty - a tired, hungry, poor huddled mass. Even those who normally support the welfare state might be inclined to curb benefits if their country was faced with such a teeming horde of needy newcomers. That incli-nation will be even stronger among those who don’t like the idea of the welfare state in the first place, who blame the poor for their poverty, who simply don’t care about foreigners, or who buy into racist stereotypes. In a follow-up paper, Alesina and Stancheva show mathematically how all of these factors combine to reduce support for welfare.

Sure enough, Alesina and his colleagues found that when they ask people questions about immigration before asking them about redistribution (rather than afterward), their support for the welfare state goes down. Unsur-prisingly, the effect is stronger among conservatives.

THE WASHINGTON POST

Here’s what Puerto Rico has endured over the past two years: a devastating hurricane that killed and displaced thousands of people and plunged the island into months of darkness; an incompetent and corrupt local government; a bungled and halfhearted emergency response from the federal government. Now, even as hurricane recovery remains incomplete, a new natural disaster: a 6.4-magnitude earthquake followed by powerful aftershocks.

“Another blow that we didn’t see coming. . . . I don’t even have any more tears,” lamented a man who lived in one town near the epicenter of the earthquake. The quake that rocked the island on Tuesday displaced about

2,000 people, cut power to most of the island and left about 250,000 people without running water. Casualties were low, with one man killed and nine other people injured. But as was so tragically dem-onstrated by Hurricane Maria in 2017,the aftermath can prove to be even more dan-gerous and deadly if there is not quick and effective action.

Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced has declared a state of emergency, and President Donald Trump fol-lowed suit, approving a decla-ration that will allow for $5 million to be spent on emer-gency services in response to the earthquake. But that hardly compensates for the shoddy way his administration has treated Puerto Rico. Not only did Trump seem to make light of the suffering after Hur-ricane Maria - who can forget

him tossing rolls of paper towels to a crowd in Puerto Rico or how he labeled the revised, high death toll a con-spiracy by Democrats - but he also refused to provide the resources that were so urgently needed.

According to a study pub-lished last yearin the journal BMJ Global Health, “the federal government responded on a larger scale and much more quickly across measures of federal money and staffing to Hurri-canes Harvey and Irma in Texas and Florida, compared with Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. The variation in the responses was not com-mensurate with storm severity and need after landfall in the case of Puerto Rico compared with Texas and Florida.”

Indeed, even today, the

administration is sitting on $18 billion in recovery aid to Puerto Rico that has been approved by Congress. Unlike Florida and Texas - or any other state - Puerto Rico doesn’t have elected repre-sentatives in Congress who can fight for its interests. That - and the fact Puerto Rico is not a key battleground in presidential elections - has made it all too easy for Trump to treat Puerto Ricans like second-class citizens rather than Americans with all the rights of citizenship.

Still, it is worth remem-bering that many Puerto Ricans were forced to leave the island after Maria and are now living - and will be able to vote - in swing states such as Florida and Pennsylvania. Presumably many of them will remember how the island has been treated.

Why hostility to immigration runs so deep in US

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QA Cargo announces freighters to OsakaTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Airways Cargo, one of the world’s leading air cargo carriers, yesterday announced the expansion of its cargo network in Asia Pacific with the launch of a twice weekly Boeing 777 freighter service to Osaka, Japan, effective today.

The Boeing 777 freighter will depart Doha on Tuesdays and Fridays each week, arriving in Osaka on the following day, and returning via Hong Kong. Approximately 200 tonnes of cargo capacity will be offered each way per week, benefitting importers and exporters with increased capacity on the route.

Qatar Airways Chief Officer Cargo, Guillaume Halleux said: “2019 has been a great year for Qatar Airways Cargo and we are glad to start 2020 with the announcement of freighters to Osaka, a major financial centre in Japan. Japan is an important part of our network where we already operate daily passenger flights to both Haneda and Narita airports in the capital

city, Tokyo. With direct flights to Osaka, our customers are offered dedicated freighter capacity for their cargo to and from Japan.”

The airline has a strong belly-hold presence in Asia Pacific with 35 destinations served by the Qatar Airways passenger network and a freighter network of 10 destinations.

The new destination Osaka

will increase the carrier’s freighter network in Asia Pacific to 11 destinations.

Qatar Airways Cargo cur-rently offers more than 250 tonnes of belly-hold cargo capacity each way to Haneda and Narita airports in Tokyo per week.

The new freighters to Osaka will boost cargo capacity to over 450 tonnes weekly to and from Japan. General cargo, hi-tech

goods, electronics, pharmaceu-ticals and perishables will form the majority of exports and imports on the route.

Qatar Airways Cargo has an extensive scheduled road transport network offering alternative routes to over 290 airports around the world. Overnight truck routes are available connecting Osaka with Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita and Nagoya Chubu, six

days a week.2019 was a successful year

for Qatar Airways Cargo and the carrier wrapped up the year with an extremely busy peak season helping deliver cargo for its global customers all around the network.

Focusing on customer cen-tricity, the cargo carrier is expanding its network glo-bally. It recently announced a major expansion in South

America with four new f r e i g h t e r d e s t i n a t i o n s Campinas (Brazil), Santiago (Chile), Bogotá (Colombia) launching on 16th January 2020 and Lima (Peru) launching soon.

Five more Boeing 777 freighters will join its fleet from April 2020 onwards making it one of the largest f r e i g h t e r o p e r a t o r s globally.

The new destination Osaka will increase the carrier’s freighter network in Asia Pacific to 11 destinations.

'Museums: A Message of Culture and Peace' event held at DIBFQNA — DOHA

The main stage of the 30th Doha International Book Fair (DIBF) hosted at the Doha Exhi-bition and Convention Center yesterday evening, a symposium titled “Museums: A Message of Culture and Peace”.

This symposium comes within the cultural activities accompanying the exhibition, addressed by Abdulaziz Al Ishaq, Head of the General Arts Department of Qatar Museums, and J A Forde, Director of Stra-tegic Partnerships and Com-munity Support at Qatar Museums, while the researcher and writer Mukhtar Khawaja

led the stages.Ford noted that Qatar

museums are no different from other museums, as they are an inspiration to those who visited them.

He pointed out that there is a partnership between Qatar Museums and the Ministry of Education and Higher Edu-cation, as museums attract stu-dents from different educa-tional levels, in addition to that a number of exhibitions have been devoted to educational opportunities for students to understand, for example, how to manufacture jewellery and deal with precious stones and their formation and places to

bring them, as these experi-ences that a student has to interpret what he sees with his own eyes in museums.

Visiting museums aimed at opening up the viewer and the reader. It also increases the

number of arts and literature users, so that the follower can see that what is displayed is part of what is around us, he added.

For his part, Abdulaziz Al Ishaq spoke about how

museums affect peace, as they are a space for the conver-gence of cultures and civiliza-tions, pointing out that the main goal of collections within museums is that they are a memory of identity and a part of soft power, and one of its methods is to attract the other through culture and pushdia-logue forward and cultural exchange is also important in this regard.

He explained that one of the missions of Qatar Museums is to export culture abroad, saying: “globalizing the local and making the local global”, because the other will not accept you

unless you accept it in the first place.

He added that most vis-itors who come to Qatar through cruises, the first thing they visit is the Museum of Islamic Art, the National Museum of Qatar and the Souq Waqif, and within two or three hours, they form a look at the country and its people, highlighting that each of the museums has its goals, where National Museum of Qatar focuses on the Qatari identity, and nar-rates the stories of the ancestors and their struggle, as a source of pride and inspiration.

Abdulaziz Al Ishaq spoke about how museums affect peace, as they are a space for the convergence of cultures and civilizations, pointing out that the main goal of collections within museums is that they are a memory of identity and a part of soft power, and one of its methods is to attract the other through culture and push dialogue forward and cultural exchange is also important in this regard.

The Boeing 777 freighter will depart Doha on Tuesdays and Fridays each week, arriving in Osaka on the following day, and returning via Hong Kong. Approximately 200 tonnes of cargo capacity will be offered each way per week, benefitting importers and exporters with increased capacity on the route.

AAB holds Customer Relations Representative Skills Contest

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The National Service Division (NSD) of the Abdullah Abdulghani & Bros Co WLL (AAB), the exclusive distributor of Toyota and Lexus in Qatar, held the National Customer Relations Representative Skills Contest under a theme ‘Customer Delight, Winning Hearts and Minds’.

The Customer Relations Representative (CRR) position was created in 2019 to establish a focal point for all VOC (Voice of Customer).

The VOC pertains to cus-tomer feedback which is con-sidered as most valuable input by the company in order to

make a more delightful expe-rience to the customer.

Present at the Contest were Masayuki Fukumori, Field Operations Manager, Toyota Motor Corporation / Bahrain Representative Office (TMC/BRO) and Kamal Al Hajj – Cus-tomer Service Director. The National Service Department (NSD) team led by Muthusamy Chinappan, Senior Manager – National Service Division and members of the AAB Senior Management Team witnessed the display of competent cus-tomer service skills of all the contestants

A total of 12 Customer Service Representatives went through a process of

elimination rounds. They were assessed based on customer handling skills and technical knowledge.

Fukumori highlighted the importance of VOC to ensure Customer Delight experience and for cont inuous improvement of systems and processes.

The National Customer Relations Representative Skills Contest is one of the many skills contests that AAB is holding annually. It creates the oppor-tunity to continuously improve the standard of Customer Service which manifests the company’s commitment to its corporate value of ‘Customer FIRST’.

AAB officials pose for a group photo during the National Customer Relations Representative Skills Contest.

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in cooperation with Jaidah Automotive, dealer of Chevrolet in Qatar, announced the recall of Chevrolet Silverado models of 2019-2020 due to faulty wiring of battery cables.

The recall campaign comes within the framework of the Ministry’s continuous efforts to protect consumers and ensure that car dealers follow up on vehicle defects and repairs.

The Ministry said that it will coordinate with the dealer to follow up on the maintenance and repair works and will

communicate with customers to ensure that the necessary repairs are carried out.

The Ministry urged all cus-tomers to report any violations to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department, which processes complaints, inquires and suggestions.

MoCI recalls Chevrolet Silverado 2019-2020 models

10 TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020GULF / MIDDLE EAST

Iran denies ‘cover-up’ as anger mounts over downed planeAFP — TEHRAN

Iran denied a “cover-up” yesterday after taking days to reveal an airliner was acciden-tally shot down last week, a disaster that sparked demon-strations and calls for a fully transparent investigation.

The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was shot down by a missile shortly after taking off from Tehran before dawn on Wednesday, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board.

The Kiev-bound airliner was knocked out of the sky hours after Tehran had launched a wave of missiles at Iraqi bases where US troops are stationed in retaliation for the killing of a top Iranian general.

Authorities in the Islamic republic initially denied Western claims based on US intelligence that the passenger plane had been struck by a missile before acknowledging it on Saturday.

Their handling of the matter saw a memorial gathering by students at a Tehran university turn into a demonstration on Saturday evening before it was dispersed by police.

Demonstrations were also held in the capital on Sunday night, according to unverified videos shared on social media, but it was difficult to assess how many people took part.

“In these sorrowful days,

many criticisms were directed at relevant officials and author-ities,” said government spokesman Ali Rabiei.

“Some officials were even accused of lying and a cover-up but, in all honesty, that was not the case,” he said.

“Lying is intentionally and knowingly faking the truth. Lying is covering up. Lying is knowing a fact and not expressing it or twisting the truth.”

The spokesman said all details provided by officials prior to Saturday’s revelation had been based on the infor-mation available to them at the time. “All of those who expressed opinions on those days, at the peak of America’s psychological war against the Iranian nation... did so based on existing information at the time.”

Germany called on Iran to allow people to show their grief and “protest peacefully and freely”. Its foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr described as “very worrying”

videos reportedly showing security forces cracking down on demonstrators.

Tehran’s police chief said officers had been ordered to show “restraint” after the latest gathering on Sunday night at iconic Azadi Square south of the city centre.

“The police treated the people who had gathered with patience and tolerance” at the demonstrations, said General Hossein Rahimi.

“The police did not shoot at the gatherings at all because a restraint order (had been issued) for police in the capital.”

President Hassan Rouhani promised a “thorough investi-gation” into the disaster in a phone call with Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, his office said.

The majority of those on Flight PS752 were Iranians and Canadians, including dual nationals. Other victims were Ukrainians, Afghans, Britons and seven Swedes as well as 10 people who reside in the Scan-dinavian country.

“We must strive to ensure that such a shocking incident is not repeated anywhere in the world,” Rouhani said.

The president noted the dis-aster occurred at a time of heightened tensions in the region after a US drone strike killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3.

“We must all join hands to bring security back to the region and allow peace to prevail,” he added. Iran has come under

mounting international pressure to ensure its investi-gation into the tragedy is full and transparent.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a memorial event in Edmonton for the 57 Cana-dians who lost their lives that “this tragedy struck our Iranian-Canadian community”.

“We want to assure all fam-ilies and all Canadians that we will not rest until there are answers,” the Canadian leader said. “We will not rest until

there is justice and accountability.”

Iran has invited experts from Canada, France, Ukraine and the United States to take part in the investigation.

Despite footage from the site of disaster appearing to show bulldozers clearing the area, the Revolutionary Guards’ top commander denied any evi-dence had been tampered with.

“We didn’t touch anything,” said Major General Hossein Salami.

An Iranian woman walks beneath a poster honouring the victims of an Ukrainian passenger jet accidentally shot down in the capital last week, in front of the Amirkabir University in Tehran, yesterday.

Syrians loading their belongings into a truck before driving away from Maaret Al Numan in the northwestern Idlib province, yesterday.

US troops clear rubble from Iraq base days after Iran strikeAP — AIN AL ASAD BASE, IRAQ

US troops cleared rubble and debris from a military base housing American soldiers in western Iraq yesterday, days after it was struck by a barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles in a major escalation between the two longtime foes

The Iranian attack was in retaliation for the US drone strike near Baghdad airport that killed a top Iranian commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, prompting angry calls to avenge his slaying.

A reporter touring the Ain

Al Asad base yesterday saw large craters in the ground and damaged military trailers as well as forklifts lifting rubble and loading it onto trucks from a large area the size of a football stadium.

The air base in Iraq’s western Anbar province is a sprawling complex about 180km west of Baghdad shared with the Iraqi military and housing about 1,500 members of the US military and the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State militant group.

It was struck by Iranian

missiles on Wednesday in Iran’s most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the US Embassy in Tehran. The proxy attack raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East although both sides have since then indi-cated there would not be further retaliation on either side, at least in the short term.

The US said no American soldiers were killed or wounded in the Iranian attack. “There were more than 10 large mis-siles fired and the impact hit several areas along the airfield,” said Col. Myles Caggins, a

spokesman for the US-led coa-lition fighting Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria. He added that the explosions created large craters, knocked over concrete barriers and destroyed facilities that house dozens of soldiers.

Although no soldiers were killed, he said several were treated for concussions from the blast and are being assessed by professionals. Myles added that troops received notification the missiles were on their way thanks to early warning systems, and troops were moved out of

harm’s way. He described sol-diers who lived through the attack as “warriors.”

The Ain Al Asad air base was first used by American forces after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, and later saw American troops stationed there amid the fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. President Donald Trump visited the sprawling air base in December 2018, making his first presidential visit to troops in the region. Vice President Mike Pence has also visited the base.

UK summons Iran’s envoy over ambassador’s arrest in Tehran

ANATOLIA — LONDON

Britain summoned Iran’s ambassador to the UK yesterday for explanation on its ambassador’s brief arrest in Iran by security services at the weekend.

“In relation to the arrest of the UK’s ambassador over the weekend, I would say this was an unacceptable breach of the Vienna convention and it needs to be investigated,” a statement by a Downing Street spokesman said.

He said: “We are seeking full assurances from the Iranian government that this will never happen again. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has summoned the Iranian ambassador today to convey our strong objections.”

British Ambassador Rob Macaire was briefly detained on Saturday during demon-strations in Tehran over the shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner by Iranian forces.

Russia: Civilians can flee Idlib via three new checkpointsREUTERS & ANATOLIA — MOSCOW/TEHRAN

Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement yesterday that civilians could leave what it calls a de-escalation zone in Syria’s Idlib Province via three new checkpoints.

The ministry said it had received many requests from Syrian civilians in Idlib in areas controlled by armed groups to return to their homes in territory controlled by Syrian government forces.

The Russian military warned armed groups to allow people to leave Idlib if they wanted to.

Russia and its allies halted air strikes in Idlib on Sunday as a ceasefire agreed with Turkey came into force, residents, rebels and respondents said, although few were optimistic the truce would hold.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri said yesterday that Iranian com-panies will participate in the reconstruction of war-torn Syria.

“Iranian private sector com-panies are willing to participate in reconstruction of Syria,” Jahangiri said during a meeting with Syria’s Prime Minister Imad Khamis.

Khamis is visiting Iran for talks with officials following the killing of top general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone airstrike in Iraq earlier this month.

Iran retaliated with the firing of a dozen ballistic missiles on Iraqi airbases housing US troops.

Iran and Lebanese group Hezbollah are strong allies of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime, the forces of which have been fighting opposition groups in a deadly civil war since 2011.

Jordan court jails Israeli man for illegal entry

AP — AMMAN

A Jordanian court sentenced an Israeli man yesterday to four months in prison and fined him $1,450 for illegally crossing into the country and possessing drugs, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

Konstantin Kotov, 35, crossed into Jordanian ter-ritory on October 29. He pleaded guilty to crossing the border into Jordan illegally but pleaded not guilty to the drug possession charge, saying it was meant for personal use. Kotov did not say why he traveled to Jordan and wrongly claimed that having a small amount of marijuana was legal in Israel.

Israeli law doesn’t allow any possession of marijuana, though amounts smaller than 15 grams are considered to be for personal use and carry a lesser charge. The Jordanian state security judge rejected Kotov’s argument, saying he had violated Jordanian law.

Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty 25 years ago, but relations have cooled in recent years over the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process and Israeli policies in annexed east Jerusalem, where Jordan has custodianship over Muslim holy sites.

Israeli FM threatens to assassinate NasrallahANATOLIA — OCCUPIED JERUSALEM

Israel’s foreign minister yesterday threatened to assassinate Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

“Nasrallah has not stopped attacking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or threat-ening Israel,” Israel Katz wrote on his Twitter account.

“As his distress grows, his eloquence increases. In the meantime, he is forced to go down another floor into the bunker in the face of warnings from his Iranian patrons about the possibility of his assassination,” he said.

“If Nasrallah challenges Israel — that won’t help him either,” Katz said, referring that Nas-rallah’s hide shelter won’t save him.

Israel claims that Nasrallah lives in a bunker for years for fear of being assassinated.

Following the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in a US drone airstrike earlier this month, Nasrallah vowed to retaliate against Israel.

Although welcoming his killing, Israel has denied any involvement in Soleimani’s assassination.

The Iran government spokesman said all details provided by officials prior to Saturday’s revelation had been based on the information available to them at the time. “All of those who expressed opinions on those days, at the peak of America’s psychological war against the Iranian nation... did so based on existing information at the time.”

Left-wing parties in Israel unite ahead of pollsAFP — OCCUPIED JERUSALEM

Israel’s left-wing Meretz and Labor-Gesher parties announced yesterday they have joined forces ahead of March 2 elections to boost their chances against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing base.

Israel’s political scene is in turmoil ahead of the third national vote in less than a year after neither Netanyahu nor his centrist rival Benny Gantz were able to form a coalition following two polls last year.

With Israel’s two major political blocs almost neck-and-neck, smaller parties and coalitions could emerge as potential kingmakers after the upcoming elections.

The new left-wing joint list called “Emet” — “truth” in Hebrew — was agreed by Labor-Gesher leader Amir Peretz and Meretz head Nitzan Horowitz, who want to join forces against the prime

minister’s Likud party. “Peretz and Horowitz stressed

the message of union and hope of political change which will be at the social heart and the political direction of the next government after the end of the Netanyahu era,” they said in a joint statement.

Labor-Gesher and Meretz won six and five seats respectively last September in the 120-seat Knesset and must clinch at least 3.25 percent of total votes cast in order to enter the legislature after the March polls.

“To have a chance at replacing Netanyahu, the things we have in common are more important than our differences,” Peretz said at a press conference alongside Horowitz.

Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving leader and has vowed to con-tinue his premiership despite being indicted in three separate corruption cases.

He has sought parliamentary

immunity, but even if he faces court he does not have to step down until all avenues of appeal have been exhausted.

Netanyahu’s main rival Gantz, who heads the Blue and White alliance, praised the leftist parties for coming together.

“I am glad that things worked out and applaud the unification,” he said.

“There should be a party to the left of Blue and White, which is a party at the centre of the political stage.”

But Horowitz rebuffed Gantz’s comments, suggesting right-wing Israelis “can vote for Blue and White”.

Three far-right alliances were in talks Monday aimed at uniting ahead of polls, according to Israeli media.

Defence Minister Naftali Bennett yesterday ruled out his New Right party joining an election pact.

11TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

AFP — ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called for a permanent ceasefire in Libya following a meeting in Ankara yesterday.

“We are exerting efforts for the ceasefire to be permanent,” Erdogan said in a televised press conference a day after a fragile truce was established.

“We have discussed the urgent necessity of putting an end to the escalation on the ground to guarantee a lasting ceasefire,” Conte said.

“The ceasefire might result in a precarious measure if it isn’t included in a larger col-lective effort of the interna-tional community aimed at guaranteeing the unity, sta-bility, sovereignty of Libya,” he added. Erdogan and Conte were meeting as the heads of Libya’s warring parties came together in Russia, where they were expected to sign an agreement ahead of an international summit due later this month in

Berlin. Erdogan said he hoped United Nations forces would help enforce the ceasefire.

“Right now talks are

continuing in Moscow,” he said. “I have information from my friends a while ago that the talks are continuing in the positive

direction. “I think it will be a right move if the UN is tasked as an observer to strongly maintain the peace process.”

Al Shabaab extremists kill three teachers in Kenya, abduct oneAP — NAIROBI

Al Shabaab extremists killed three people in an assault early yesterday in eastern Kenya, its fifth attack in thirteen days, police said.

The militants from neigh-bouring Somalia attacked Kamuthe town in Garissa county at 2 am, setting fire to a police post and destroying a tel-ecommunication mast, police said in a report seen by The Associated Press.

Three non-Muslim teachers were killed and a Muslim one was abducted, the report said. Another teacher was wounded. The attackers spared the life of a female nurse due to her gender, it added.

Al Shabaab is claiming responsibility for the attack in a terse statement within its “latest news” posted on its official website, Shahada.

Al Shabaab has vowed ret-ribution on Kenya for sending

troops to Somalia since 2011 to fight the militants. The group has carried out numerous attacks on Kenya, killing hundreds.

Earlier this month, the Al Qaeda-linked group attacked a military base used by Kenyan and US forces, killing three Americans and destroying aircraft and other machinery.

Since December, Al Shabaab has increased the fre-quency of its attacks in five Kenyan counties that border Somalia and that the gov-ernment has named as hotspots for extremism. They are Lamu, Garissa, Wajir, Tana River and Mandera counties.

Kenya’s security forces have been caught inadequately prepared for the recent attacks in these counties, said security analyst and former US Marine Andrew Franklin, who is a longtime resident in Kenya.

The extremist group, which

is based in Somalia, has waged an increasingly effective eight-year violent campaign and the Kenyan government has failed to treat this threat with the seri-ousness it deserves, said Franklin.

Al Shabaab’s stepped up campaign in the five counties have hampered local author-ities by cutting their lines of communication, transportation and by forcing schools to close, Franklin said.

Recent attacks on buses in Lamu county apparently brought China to suspend con-struction work at Lamu port, said Franklin. Vehicles going to Lamu county already must have a police escort, according to a government directive.

Al Shabaab has resumed destroying telephone masts which will paralyze communi-cations in the affected counties and damage commerce due to disruption in mobile money networks, he added.

Macron presses West African leaders over Sahel insurgencyREUTERS — PARIS

President Emmanuel Macron pressed five West African leaders yesterday to denounce anti-French sentiment in their countries over Paris’s handling of an insurgency by militants, or risk France withdrawing troops from the region.

Macron summoned the leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mauritania to the southwestern French town of Pau to discuss the battle against the insurgents in the Sahel, an arid region just below the Sahara desert.

France, the former colonial power, has 4,500 troops in Mali and the wider Sahel, but security has been progressively worsening.

Militants linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State have strengthened their foothold, making large swathes of ter-ritory ungovernable and stoking ethnic violence, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Criticised in France for allowing French troops to get

bogged down and facing growing hostility in West Africa

for failing to restore stability, Macron and the French gov-

ernment are becoming increas-ingly frustrated.

“In the last few weeks a certain narrative has developed that France’s presence is no longer wanted... and for that we need a clarification,” Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly told France Info radio on Sat-urday. Macron said in December he wanted the West African leaders to clarify whether they want and need “our presence”. “I can’t have French troops on the ground in the Sahel when there is ambi-guity (by authorities) towards anti-French movements and sometimes comments made by politicians and ministers,” he said.

French troops were hailed as heroes in 2013, when their intervention helped prevent a militant push to the Malian capital Bamako.

But their standing has slipped as the security situation deteriorated. At least 89 local soldiers were killed in a sus-pected militant attack on an army base in Niger this weekend, four security sources said.

Malawi to probe bribery attempts in alleged poll fraud case

AFP — BLANTYRE, MALAWI

Malawi’s anti-graft body said yesterday it probe alleged attempts to bribe judges tackling a case linked to a controversial election which handed President Peter Muth-arika a second term.

The opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the United Transformation Movement (UTM) have said the May 21 poll last year was marred by fraud.

Mutharika narrowly won, beating MCP candidate Lazarus Chakwera by 159,000 votes. Opposition leaders say the result sheets were tam-pered with and petitioned the country’s top court in August to annul the results.

Presidential election results have never been chal-lenged in court since Malawi’s independence from Britain in 1964.

Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday said it had received a complaint from Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda alleging bribes had been offered to the five judges presiding over the case.

“I can confirm that we received the complaint from the chief justice,” ACB head Reyneck Matemba told AFP, adding that he could not release “names of the sus-pects” for the time being.

Judiciary spokeswoman Agnes Patemba confirmed the case would be handled by the ACB. Mutharika has dismissed doubts on the official results, which show he won 38.57 percent of the vote to Chakw-era’s 35.41 percent.

UTM candidate Saulos Chilima came third with 20.24 percent. Sporadic demonstra-tions have since broken out across the southern African country, with protesters demanding the ouster of the electoral commission’s head over her handling of the vote.

“There is a clear intention by some of the parties to the case to compromise the judi-ciary,” said Malawian law pro-fessor Danwood Chirwa.

Niger sacks military chiefs after deadly militant attackAFP — NIAMEY

Niger replaced two top military brass yesterday, four days after a militant assault on an army base left 89 dead in the biggest single loss in the country’s history.

The new armed forces chief of staff is General Salifou Modi, who replaces General Ahmed Mohamed, the government said in a statement read on national radio.

The new head of the army is Brigadier General Seidou Bague, replacing Sidikou Issa.

The decision was made by a cabinet meeting shortly before Niger President Maha-madou Issoufou left for Pau, southwestern France, for a summit on the crisis in the Sahel.

It brings together a summit of the so-called G5 countries -- Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Mali and Mauritania — with France, the former colonial power in

the region, who is leading the fight against the insurgents.

According to UN figures, militant attacks in Burkina, Mali and Niger last year left 4,000 dead.

Niger declared three days of national mourning after the attack on Chinegodar camp in western Niger last Thursday.

It was carried out by attackers arriving in vehicles and on motorbikes.

The raid occurred in the same region, Tillaberi, where 71 soldiers were killed in December — a loss that deeply shocked the country.

Mohamed and Issa had been appointed to their jobs only in 2018.

Modi, 57, was a member of the Supreme Council for the Restoration for Democracy (CSRD), the official name of the military junta which staged a coup in 2010, returning the country to civilian rule after elections in 2011.

FROM LEFT: Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Chadian President Idriss Deby, French President Emmanuel Macron, Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou and Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore during a ceremony in Pau, south-western France, in memory of the seven French soldiers who were killed in Mali in November 2019.

Libya ceasefire talks in Moscow adjournedAP — MOSCOW

Talks in Moscow about bringing an end to Libya’s long-running civil war have been adjourned for the night after the country’s rival governments yesterday considered ceasefire proposals from Russia and Turkey.

Fayez Sarraj, the head of Libya’s UN-recognised gov-ernment in Tripoli, and his rival Khalifa Haftar met with top diplomats and military officials from Russia and Turkey for the talks that lasted about seven hours.

The negotiations were held behind closed doors, and Sarraj and Haftar didn’t meet directly. A tentative truce came into force on Sunday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Sarraj signed the draft agreement, but that Haftar requested more time to consider it.

“They have a positive view of the document and asked for extra time until the next morning to decide,” Lavrov said of Haftar and his delegation. “I hope they will make a positive decision. Russian and Turkish represent-atives will continue to offer their assistance.”

The truce marks the first break in fighting in months. There were immediate reports of violations by both sides, however, raising concerns it might not hold.

The civil war had been on the brink of a major escalation. Various foreign players back Libya’s rival governments, and

they have recently been stepping up their involvement in the oil-rich nation’s conflict.

Libya plunged into turmoil after the 2011 civil war that ousted and killed long-time dic-tator Muammar Gaddafi.

The eastern government is supported by France, Russia and key Arab countries, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Turkey, Italy and Qatar support the Tripoli government, which has faced an offensive by Haftar’s forces, which closed in on the capital.

Russia has maintained con-tacts with both conflicting parties in Libya, but the gov-ernment in Tripoli has recently charged that Russian military contractors were fighting alongside Haftar.

Asked on Saturday about Russian private security com-panies in Libya, Russian Pres-ident Vladimir Putin responded

that “if there are Russian cit-izens there, they do not rep-resent the interests of the Russian state and do not receive any money from the Russian state.”

Putin noted that merce-naries were sent to Libya from Syria’s rebel-held province of Idlib alongside Turkey’s border, voicing hope that a lasting truce will help end the deployment of foreign fighters to Libya.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this month that his country was sending military personnel to Libya to support Sarraj’s gov-ernment. Sarraj visited Istanbul for talks with Erdogan Sunday

before heading to Moscow.The negotiations follow the

deals struck by Russia and Turkey to coordinate their action in Syria, where Moscow has shored up President Bashar Assad’s government and Ankara has backed his foes.

Putin discussed the situ-ation in Libya with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who visited Moscow on Saturday. The Russian leader welcomed Germany’s plan to hold a Libya peace summit in Berlin early this year.

In Putin’s conversations on Sunday with French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, they also emphasised their

support of the planned summit in Berlin.

Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said that prep-arations for a Libya conference in Berlin are “in the home stretch” after weeks of consul-tations. He said the plan is for it to be held in January, but things aren’t yet so far advanced that a date can be officially announced.

Turkey’s Erdogan, speaking at a joint news conference Monday with the Italian prime minister, said he was hopeful that the Moscow meeting would form the basis for the Berlin meeting.

“My wish is for a cease-fire on a solid foundation to be the

basis of peace for the future of our Libyan siblings and Libyan friends,” he said.

Seibert indicated that Sunday is one possibility for the conference. He was responding to a question about a report by CNN Turk that Erdogan would visit Germany on Sunday to attend the meeting. Erdogan’s office later confirmed that he will visit on Sunday, but didn’t specify why.

“Such a Berlin conference could only be the start of a longer process, and it must of course ultimately be certain that Libyan interests are at the forefront,” Seibert said. “Such a Berlin conference is certainly not the end of anything.”

Turkey and Italy urge permanent truce in Libya

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right), with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in Ankara, yesterday.

Fayez Sarraj, the head of Libya’s UN-recognised government in Tripoli, and his rival Khalifa Haftar met with top diplomats and military officials from Russia and Turkey for the talks that lasted about seven hours. Sarraj signed the draft agreement, but that Haftar requested more time to consider it.

12 TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020ASIA

Australian ‘megablaze’ brought under control

AGENCIES — SYDNEY

Exhausted firefighters said they had finally brought Australia’s largest “megablaze” under control yesterday, as wet weather promised to deliver much-needed respite for coun-tryside ravaged by bushfires.

New South Wales fire-fighters said they finally had the upper hand in the fight against the vast Gospers Mountain fire on Sydney’s northwestern out-skirts, which has been burning for almost three months.

Visiting the area yesterday, New South Wales Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said there was a “small area of burning still to complete” but the “containment prognosis looks promising”.

The fire seared an area of national park three times the

size of Greater London and lit several connected blazes totalling over 800,000 hec-tares. As residents and author-ities continued to come to grips with the sheer scale of the

devastation, the Bureau of Meteorology forecast some fire-grounds areas could get up to 50 millimetres (two inches) of rain in the next week, a relief after a prolonged drought. If

that forecast bears out, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said it would be “all of our C h r i s t m a s , b i r t h d a y , engagement, anniversary, wedding and graduation presents rolled into one. Fingers crossed.” Dozens of other fires are yet to be controlled.

The climate-change-fuelled fires have prompted an inter-national outpouring and dona-tions from around the world to help communities and animal populations. Australia’s unique flora and fauna has taken a cat-astrophic hit, with an estimated one billion animals killed, and countless trees and shrubs burned away. The country’s

environment minister Sussan Ley has warned that in some areas, koalas may have to be reclassified as endangered.

The government has ear-marked an initial $50m to spend on helping with the wildlife recovery.

“This has been an ecological disaster, a disaster that is still unfolding,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announcing the emergency fund.

This weekend, Sydney will host a charity gig to benefit fire services, the Red Cross and animal welfare organisations.

In Thailand, a troupe of ele-phants and school students held a silent march at a Thai

elephant camp yesterday to pay their respects and raise awareness for the millions of animals killed in Australia's raging bushfires.

Elephants and their mahouts held up placards saying "Pray for Australia," with pictures and cartoons of animals at the event organised by the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace & Royal Kraal.

"Today I want to send my support to all wild animals in Australia. I want all the animals to hang in there, and I want all of them in Australia to stay alive," said primary school s t u d e n t L a k s a p o r n Loetpiriyakamol.

The members of the Australian Department of Defence search for deceased wildlife killed by bushfires on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, yesterday.

Australian PM slumps in polls amid bushfire angerSYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s (pictured) approval ratings have nosedived as he faces wide-spread anger over his handling of the deadly bushfire crisis, according to a poll released yesterday.

The Newspoll survey showed 59 percent of Australian voters are dissatisfied with the conservative leader’s per-formance overall, and only 37 percent were satisfied, an abrupt reversal since his shock election win last May.

Morrison has been criticised heavily for his response to the months-long crisis — which included going on holiday to Hawaii, making a series of gaffes and misleading statements about his government’s actions, and forcing angry victims to shake his hand. “The damage on Morrison’s personal ratings amounts to an eight-point drop on approval to 37 percent and an eleven point rise on disapproval to 59 percent,” wrote poll commen-tator William Bowe.

Modi reaches out to new Sultan of OmanIANS — NEW DELHI/MUSCAT

In a warm gesture to strengthen India’s bilateral relationship with Oman, Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday extended congratulations to the newly anointed H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.

“I heartily congratulate H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said on taking over as Sultan of Oman. I am confident that under his leadership, Oman will continue to progress and prosper and contribute to global peace. India has millennia old relations with Oman. We look

forward to working hand in hand with H M Haitham to further strengthen our strategic partnership,” Modi tweeted on Monday.

The 66-year-old H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq succeeded his cousin H H Sultan Qaboos bin Said who passed away on January 10.

He was named as the suc-cessor in Qaboos’s will and by the royal family. As Sultan, he also holds the position of Prime Minister, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Minister of Defence, Finance and Foreign Affairs.A He has

previously served as minister of heritage and culture and undersecretary and secretary general of the ministry of foreign affairs. He is well known among diplomatic circles glo-bally. A graduate of the Uni-versity of Oxford and a sports enthusiast, H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq is seen as modern and westernised in his outlook.

In his first public speech, he asserted that he will continue to pursue Sultan Qaboos’ peace-oriented foreign policy and focus on Oman’s economic growth.

Diplomatic relations

between India and Oman were established in 1955 and upgraded to strategic part-nership in 2008.

Oman has been supportive of India’s bid for permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

India was Oman’s third largest trade partner for both imports and non-oil exports in 2018. Oman is also home to around 8,00,000 Indians with majority of them as workers and professionals like doctors, e n g i n e e r s , c h a r t e r e d accountants, nurses and teachers.

Soldiers take part in the rehearsal for the Republic Day parade early morning in New Delhi, India, yesterday.

Republic Day rehearsal

Probe begins into JNU violence in IndiaIANS — NEW DELHI

A team of nearly a dozen Delhi Police Crime Branch sleuths stationed at Jawaharlal Nehru University has started a probe into the January 5 campus violence, according to a senior Crime Branch official.

Akshat Awasthi and Rohit Shah, ABVP members, whose faces emerged during a TV channel sting, refused to join the investigation, police said, hoping they would join the probe today. The official said the police called up a “masked woman”, iden-tified as Komal Sharma, but her phone was found to be switched off. “A notice has been sent to her to join the investigation. She is a student of Delhi University’s Daulat Ram College,” said the official.

The police have so far issued notices to nine accused asking them to join the inves-tigation. Seven out of the nine suspects are from Left organ-isations. Out of the seven accused, three — JNUSU Pres-ident Aishe Gosh, Bhaskar Vijay and Pankaj — joined the investigation yesterday.

First case of new virus behind China outbreak found in Thailand: WHOAFP — GENEVA

The World Health Organization confirmed yesterday the first case in Thailand of a new virus from the same family as SARS that is behind a Chinese pneu-monia outbreak.

The UN health agency said a person travelling from Wuhan, China, had been hos-pitalised in Thailand on January 8 after being diagnosed with mild pneumonia.

“Laboratory testing subse-quently confirmed that the novel coronavirus was the cause,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said in an email, referring to the new virus.

WHO said it might soon host an emergency meeting on the spread of the new virus.

The case marks the first outside of China, where 41 people with pneumonia-like symptoms have so far been diagnosed with the new virus in the central city of Wuhan, with one of the victims dying last Thursday.

The episode has caused alarm due to the spectre of SARS, or Sudden Acute Respi-ratory Syndrome, which in 2002-2003 killed 349 people in mainland China and another 299 in Hong Kong, whose economy was hit hard by the epidemic’s devastating impact

on tourism. The WHO has con-firmed that the outbreak in China has been caused by a previously unknown type of corona virus, a broad family ranging from the common cold to more serious illnesses like SARS. It stressed that it was not surprising that the virus had spread beyond China.

“The possibility of cases being identified in other coun-tries was not unexpected, and reinforces why WHO calls for on-going active monitoring and preparedness in other coun-tries,” it said in a statement.

It pointed out that it had issued guidance on how to detect and treat people who fall ill with the new virus, and stressed that China’s decision to rapidly share the genetic sequencing of the virus made it possible to quickly diagnose patients.

WHO has not recom-mended any specific measures for travellers or restrictions on trade with China, but stressed Monday it was taking the situ-ation seriously. “Given devel-opments, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will consult with Emergency Committee members and could call for a meeting of the committee on short notice,” it said in a statement.

China-bound scorpions seized in Sri Lankan airport stingAFP — COLOMBO

Sri Lanka’s customs yesterday arrested and fined a Chinese man accused of trying to take 200 venomous scorpions out of the country in his checked-in luggage.

The man was suspected of

trying to get the scorpions back to China to extract the venom, officials said.

The live arachnids were dis-covered by security officials at Colombo International Airport in plastic containers packed in the man’s luggage that was to be checked in. “We detained the

passenger and launched an investigation,” customs spokesman Sunil Jayaratne said. “We have not placed a value on the 200 scorpions, but traf-ficking in live wildlife has become a lucrative trade.” The suspect was fined 100,000 rupees ($550) and the scorpions

confiscated before the man was allowed to return home, Jayaratne said. Sri Lanka has about 18 species of venomous scorpions, but only one is fatal to humans. It was not known if the confiscated arachnids were deadly. The island nation has strict laws on wildlife and

fauna, but smuggling attempts are increasingly frequent. Three years ago, authorities destroyed 45kg of China-bound rare bird nests — the main ingredient in soup that is considered a del-icacy in China and other Asian countries — that was seized from traffickers.

Indonesia jails US man for over 9 yearsAP — DENPASAR, INDONESIA

An Indones ian court sentenced an American man to 9 1/3 years in prison yesterday after finding him guilty of selling cocaine and marijuana on the resort island of Bali.

Police said Ian Andrew Hernandez of California was arrested last May with 10 small plastic packs containing 6.6 grammes of cocaine and a pack with 23.7 grammes of marijuana at his rented house on the island.

The raid on the house fol-lowed a tip from a member of

the community. Police also seized electric scales, ciga-rette papers and a cellphone allegedly used to receive orders for drugs from tourists through text messages. The indictment said Hernandez confessed that the devices and drugs were his.

Hernandez, 31, sat silently as a panel of three judges at Denpasar District Court handed down the punishment. They also ordered him to pay a fine of 1bn rupiah ($72,885) or serve two more months behind bars.

“The defendant did commit a crime that

has tarnished Bali as a tourist destination,” said Presiding Judge Koni Hartanto. “What he has done is contrary to government efforts to fight drug trafficking.” Hernandez declined to speak to reporters on his way back to prison.

Prosecutors had sought a 14-year sentence, but the judges said they reduced the penalty because Hernandez regretted his acts and promised to reform.

Hernandez’s lawyer, Made Suardika Adnyana, told the court that his client accepted the verdict.

Indonesia has strict drug

laws and convicted traffickers are sometimes executed by firing squad. More than 150 people are on death row, mostly for drug crimes. About a third are foreigners.

Eighteen people convicted of drug-related offenses have been executed under the current administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Last year, a Frenchman was sentenced to death on Lombok, an island next to Bali, for smuggling 3kg (6.6 pounds) of ecstasy, before a higher court commuted his sentence to 19 years in prison.

Ian Andrew Hernandez (right) of the US attends his trial at Denpasar court on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, yesterday.

The fire seared an area of national park three times the size of Greater London and lit several connected blazes totalling over 800,000 hectares.

13TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020 ASIA

Lahore HC annuls Musharaff’s death sentenceINTERNEWS — ISLAMABAD

The Lahore High Court (LHC) yesterday termed as ‘unconsti-tutional’ the formation of a special court that had tried Pakistan's former president and retired general Pervez Mush-arraf for high treason.

It also ruled that the amended Article 6 of the Con-stitution, under which Mush-arraf had been found guilty, could not be applied in the case ‘ e x p o s t f a c t o ’ (retrospectively).

Article 6 of the Constitution was modified through the 18th Amendment in 2010, while the case against Musharraf con-cerned events that happened before that.

The decision came in response to a petition filed by Musharraf challenging the for-mation of the special court for the high treason case against him.

Musharraf had been handed the death penalty in December

last year after being found guilty on five counts in a 2-1 majority verdict.

Subsequently, Musharraf had approached the LHC with three petitions, filed earlier this month.

The former president had challenged not only the con-viction but also the formation of the special court that handed him the death penalty for high treason, as well as the com-plaint filed against him by the government of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif that resulted in the trial.

However, the court had only admitted the petitions chal-lenging the formation of the special court and the complaint registered against the former president. Subsequently,

hearings into the case had pro-ceeded before a three-member bench of the high court in the provincial capital.

The bench, comprising Justice Syed Mazaher Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti and Justice Chaudhry Masood Jahangi, had earlier yesterday reserved its verdict in the case after hearing arguments from the gov-ernment and Musharraf’s lawyers.

The government yesterday also presented in court the summary and other records related to the formation of the special court set up to try the former president for high treason. In a hearing last week, the court had asked the gov-ernment for the records after

hearing the testimony of a legal expert this regard.

Additional Attorney-General Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan told the court that the consti-tution of a special court to try Musharraf under Article 6 of the Constitution was not part of the agenda of federal cabinet

meetings of the government of former premier Nawaz Sharif.

“The special court was con-stituted without the formal approval of the cabinet,” Khan said in court. Khan also main-tained that the charges filed against the former president were flimsy since, under the

emergency powers of the exec-utive, fundamental rights could be suspended.

Last week, a legal expert had told the court that the con-stitution of a special court to try former president Pervez Mush-arraf was not done according to the law. “The complaint filed against the former president was not filed through the right authority,” Barrister Ali Zafar had testified.

Zafar had maintained that whenever Article 6 mandated that a case be filed against a high-ranking official, the federal cabinet was endowed with the authority to have the final say on the issue. “Who will give permission to the author-ities to file such a complaint?” Zafar questioned.

“Under these circumstances, the grounds for the filing of the case are questionable. No meeting of the federal cabinet was held to discuss the case, according to my knowledge,” Zafar told the bench.

Severe weather in Afghanistan, Pakistan leaves 54 deadAP — KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

Severe winter weather has struck parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, with heavy snowfall, rains and flash floods that left at least 54 people dead, officials said yesterday as authorities struggled to clear and reopen highways and evacuate people to safer places.

In Pakistan, where 30 people were reported killed, much of the damage struck southwestern Balochistan province. Imran Zarkon, chief of provincial disaster man-agement, said 14 died there in the past 24 hours, mainly when roofs collapsed amid heavy snowfall.

Heavy snowfall had forced closures of many highways, with some parts in the province under six inches of snow.

Eleven people were killed in eastern Punjab province, bat-tered by heavy rains, and five others died in the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir, officials with the state-run emergency service said.

The divided Himalayan region has witnessed heavy snow fall in recent days and power cuts have been reported. Emergency services said they

were struggling to provide food and other items to snow-hit areas.

In Afghanistan, harsh weather conditions led to the death of at least 24 people, according to the ministry for disaster management.

The ministry’s spokesman,

Ahmad Tameem Azimi added that flash floods destroyed 131 residential houses located mostly in the country’s south, west and northern provinces.

Hasibullah Shaikhani, a press officer with the disaster management ministry, said most highways in Afghanistan

were closed due to heavy snowfall and fears of avalanches.

Residents of the Afghan capital, Kabul, where temper-atures dropped to -15 degrees Celsius, abandoned driving and struggled to get to work on snow-covered roads.

A woman walks after heavy snowfall in Quetta, Pakistan, yesterday.

China says HRW chief barred from Hong Kong over protest supportAP — BEIJING

China said yesterday it barred the head of Human Rights Watch from entering Hong Kong due to the group’s support for the territory’s ongoing protest movement.

F o r e i g n M i n i s t r y spokesman Geng Shuang said Human Rights Watch had insti-gated “anti-China activists” to “engage in radical violent crimes, and incite separatist activities hyping Hong Kong independence.”

Groups such as Human Rights Watch were responsible for the current unrest in Hong Kong, and “deserve sanctions and must pay a price,” Geng told reporters at a daily briefing.

Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch’s executive director, had planned to launch the organisation’s annual world report in Hong Kong this

week but was barred from entering on Sunday and put on a flight back to the United States.

Roth said in video posted to his Twitter account that the report’s focus is China’s efforts to “deliberately undermine the international human rights system.”

China pledged last month to sanction organisations that it said “performed badly” in relation to anti-government protests that have roiled Hong Kong for more than seven months.

The National Endowment for Democracy and Freedom House were among the other groups cited for sanctions.

Mass demonstrations underpinned by distrust of China’s ruling Communist Party began in Hong Kong in June.

Protesters rallied initially against a bill that could have

seen criminal suspects sent to face trial on the mainland. Although the legislation was later withdrawn, protesters’ demands expanded to include calls for universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality.

A former British colony, Hong Kong was handed over to Chinese rule in 1997 with a guarantee that it could retain its own political, legal, eco-nomic and social freedoms under the rubric of “one country, two systems.” But protesters say their liberties have been steadily eroding.

Roth has visited Hong Kong numerous times and he said this is the first time he has been denied entry.

The last time he visited the city was in April 2018 to hold a press conference about Human Rights Watch’s report on gender discrimination in the Chinese job market.

Top judge in protest-hit Hong Kong defends legal systemAFP — HONG KONG

Hong Kong’s top judge yesterday delivered a passionate defence of the city’s legal system as it struggles with a backlog of protester trials and accusations of bias from all sides.

The semi-autonomous city has an independent, British-style judiciary — viewed as one of the bedrocks of the financial hub’s identity and a key factor differentiating it from mainland China.

Its courts have been over-loaded during seven months of sometimes violent democracy protests that have seen more than 6,500 people arrested, of whom around a thousand are undergoing or have completed legal proceedings.

Since the protests began, “many commentaries have been given as to the work of the courts and many views have been expressed regarding our judges”, Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma said.

“A lot of these have been fair, but unfortunately, some have proceeded on miscon-ceptions and misunder-standings,” he added in a speech to mark the opening of the legal year.

Ma, who will retire early next year, emphasised the impartiality of the judiciary and its obligation to ensure fair trials.

“Judges look only to the letter of the law and to the spirit of the law, and nothing else. Political, economic or social considerations... simply do not enter into the equation,” he said. In November, China condemned a Hong Kong court’s decision to overturn a ban on face masks worn by democracy protesters.

Afghan President at police graduation eventAfghan President Ashraf Ghani inspects a guard of honour during police officers’ graduation ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan, yesterday.

A file photo of Pakistan's former president and army chief, General retired Pervez Musharraf

With nothing to lose, loners build future in China’s hollowed-out northREUTERS — HEGANG, CHINA

Li Hai is a nobody in China. But the 32-year-old ship mechanic became a minor Internet sensation last month after posting a video of his everyday life in a largely forgotten coal city in the country’s far north.

Resource-rich cities like Hegang in Heilongjiang province helped power China’s economic miracle. But as their coal, minerals and timber dwindled, their mines and industries declined. Populations shrank as the young fled south

in search of jobs and opportunities.

With China’s economic growth at a 30-year nadir and living costs chronically high, cheap homes in hollowed-out cities are pulling a small tribe of frugal and independent-minded millennials to Heilongjiang.

Hegang was the cheapest real estate market among China’s 321 larger cities in 2019, a big attraction for Li when he was house-hunting last year.

Li had few friends in his home city of Zhoushan

2,000km to the south. He had become estranged from his parents and his landlord was bent on raising his rent.

Often out at sea for a stretch of six months, Li’s thinking was to build a base in Hegang and keep a lid on costs.

“Many drifted here to buy homes as a fail-safe,” said Li, who paid 750 yuan ($100) per square metre for a top-floor flat in a low-rise housing estate. Apartments in Beijing cost 80 times more.

“If something happens to them, at least they have a

home.” Wary of frauds and tricksters, Li has few friends, who, like him, prefer not to go out. “You need money to socialise,” said Li, who earns 60,000 yuan ($8,640) a year.

When not in bed with a novel, he would be posting pos-itive product reviews online to get extra cash.

“Social classes are fixed,” Li said. “The poor can never achieve anything. When you encounter problems, if you can solve it, great. There’s not much you can do otherwise.” Not all recent Hegang arrivals are as

fatalistic. Zheng Qian, 26, moved to Hegang in October, and is now able to save half of his 5,000 yuan-a-month earnings from Internet marketing.

The Guangzhou native, who mostly keeps to himself, aspires to be a live-streaming star.

Last month, Zheng posted a video of himself throwing boiling water that instantly froze in Hegang’s frigid air.

The seconds-long clip won him 20 million views on ByteD-ance’s Douyin, a popular short-video app.

Pakistan, Iran foreign ministers meet in TehranQNA — TEHRAN

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Tehran.

During the meeting, they discussed relations between Pakistan and Iran and ways of enhancing them in various fields, in addition to current developments in the Middle East and tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Pakistani Foreign Minister stressed the need to make joint efforts to avoid conflict and not to destabilise peace and stability in the region, according to Associated Press of Pakistan.

For his part, the Iranian Foreign Minister expressed his country’s support for Paki-stan’s diplomatic efforts to achieve regional peace and ease tensions in the region.

On Sunday, the Pakistani foreign minister met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and they discussed diplomatic efforts to ease tension in the Middle East.

The former president had challenged not only the conviction but also the formation of the special court that handed him the death penalty for high treason.

14 TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020ASIA

Volcano shuts down Manila; tens of thousands fleeREUTERS — MANILA

Schools and businesses shut across the Philippine capital yesterday as a volcano belched clouds of ash across the city and seismologists warned an eruption could happen at any time, potentially triggering a tsunami.

Thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes around Taal, one of the world’s smallest active volcanoes, which spewed ash for a second day from its crater in the middle of a lake about 70km (45 miles) south of central Manila.

“The speed of escalation of Taal’s volcanic activity caught us by surprise,” Maria Antonia Bornas, chief science research specialist at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and

Seismology, told reporters.“We have detected magma.

It’s still deep, it hasn’t reached the surface. We still can expect a hazardous eruption any time.” Authorities warned that an eruption could send a tsunami surging across the lake.

More than 24,000 people have been evacuated from the volcanic island and the area immediately around it — nor-mally a popular tourist spot.

“We got scared of what could happen to us, we thought the volcano was going to erupt already,” said Marilou Bald-onado, 53, who left the town of Laurel with only two sets of clothes after she saw the huge ash cloud build.

Some tourists ignored the dangers and travelled to towns close to the volcano to get a

better look. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience for us,” Israeli tourist Benny Borenstein said as he snapped photos of Taal from a vantage point in Tagaytay City, about 32km away.

To the southwest of the volcano, the towns of Agoncillo and Lemery were coated by a thick layer of ash, making roads impassable.

Agoncillo’s mayor, Daniel Reyes, told DZMM radio some homes and part of a building had collapsed under the weight of the fallen ash.

In nearby Talisay Batangas, Vice Governor Mark Leviste said rain had turned ash to mud and trucks were needed to evacuate more people from remote communities.

“There is no power. Even water was cut, so we are in need of potable water,” he said. “We are in need of face masks.”

In Manila, masks sold out quickly after residents were advised to wear them if they

had to go out. Some wore hand-kerchiefs across their faces as they breathed air tainted by the smell of sulphur.

Streets that would normally be snarled with some of the world’s worst traffic were largely empty in the city of 13 million people.

Schools and government offices were closed on official orders. The stock exchange sus-pended trading and many private businesses shut for the day too.

Classes in some cities in the

capital will remain suspended today, officials said.

Flight operations at Manila’s international airport partially resumed, authorities said, after more than 500 flights were delayed or can-celled on Sunday.

One flight that did land carried President Rodrigo Duterte, who was coming back from his home city of Davao in the southern Philippines. He had been unable to fly on Sunday because visibility was so low.

One of the most active vol-canoes in the Philippines, Taal has erupted more than 30 times in the past five centuries, most recently in 1977. An eruption in 1911 killed 1,500 people and one in 1754 lasted for a few months.

The island has been showing signs of restiveness since early last year.

The Philippines lies on the “Ring of Fire,” a belt of vol-canoes circling the Pacific Ocean that is also prone to earthquakes.

A youth living at the foot of Taal Volcano rides an outrigger canoe while the volcano spews ash as seen from Tanauan town in Batangas province, south of Manila, yesterday.

A resident cleans mud and ash from his car after Taal Volcano began spewing ash over Tanauan town, in Philippines, yesterday.

New Zealand volcano eruption death toll hits 20 AP — WELLINGTON

An Australian man who was injured in a volcanic eruption in New Zealand more than a month ago has died, becoming the 20th victim of the disaster, officials said yesterday.

Paul Browitt and his two daughters were caught in the December 9 eruption on White Island. The body of Krystal Browitt, 21, was among six recovered from the island in the days after the eruption.

Paul Browitt and his daughter Stephanie Browitt, 23, survived the eruption and were transferred to Alfred Hospital in their hometown of Mel-bourne three days after the disaster.

A police statement con-firmed Paul Browitt died on Sunday night as a result of injuries from the eruption. A hospital statement said he had been critically ill.

Maria Browitt, the wife and mother of the victims, had remained on a ship while her

family took a day trip to the island. Of 23 victims who remain in hospitals in New Zealand and Australia, at least five are listed as in critical con-dition, health authorities said. Authorities did not comment on the conditions of two victims in Sydney at the request of relatives.

Alfred Hospital said it was continuing to give specialised burn care to two volcano victims transferred there. They are Stephanie Browitt and Lisa Dallow, 48, of Adelaide.

The hospital said one of the patients was in critical con-dition and the other was in stable condition. Dallow’s

husband Gavin Dallow, 53, and daughter Zoe Hosking, 25, were killed on the island.

White Island, also known by its Maori name, Whakaari, is the tip of an undersea volcano about 50km off New Zealand’s North Island and was a popular tourist destination before the eruption.

Many of those killed and injured were from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Ovation of the Seas.

Many people have ques-tioned why tourists were still allowed on the island after New Zealand’s GeoNet seismic mon-itoring agency raised the vol-cano’s alert level on November 18 from 1 to 2 on a scale where 5 represents a major eruption, noting an increase in sulfur dioxide gas, which originates from magma.

New Zealand authorities are investigating the circumstances around the disaster.

The volcano remains at an alert level of 2, indicating mod-erate to heightened unrest.

China police kill kidnapper armed with explosivesAFP — BEIJING

Police in China shot and killed a kidnapper who held three people hostage using a homemade gun and explosive devices, local authorities said yesterday, in a rare case involving firearms in the country.

The incident took place in Hohhot, capital of the northern Inner Mongolia region, on Sunday at around 11:00am (0300 GMT).

The suspect, surnamed Zhou, had fired the gun as a threat, Hohhot police said on their account on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.

Later that evening, officers “decisively shot and killed the suspect” before successfully removing the explosive devices from the hostages.

The case is under further investigation, they said.

Incidents involving homemade explosives have occurred elsewhere in China, such as northeast Liaoning province, where three people were injured in an attack on a police station last March.

In July 2018, a 26-year-old man set off a small explosion outside the United States embassy in Beijing, injuring his hand and sending smoke into the air.

Still, gun violence is rare in China, where the gov-ernment tightly restricts the ownership of firearms.

There are no official sta-tistics on gun-related deaths.

Last March, a person wielding a gun killed five people in Inner Mongolia before being arrested.

In June 2017, a bomb blast killed eight people and injured dozens outside a kin-dergarten in eastern China and in November the same year, three people were shot dead and six others wounded in southern Guangdong province.

A file photo shows elite soldiers taking part in a mission to retrieve bodies from White Island after the December 9, 2019 volcanic eruption, off the coast from Whakatane in New Zealand.

Japan military drillsParatroopers take part in an airborne exercise of Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force’s 1st Airborne Brigade at Narashino training ground in Funabashi, Chiba prefecture, Japan.

Musicians ‘play Ghosn’ by squeezing into instrument cases in web crazeAFP — TOKYO

Yamaha has warned musicians in Japan against stuffing them-selves into their instrument cases to mimic the escape tech-nique allegedly used by fugitive ex-tycoon Carlos Ghosn.

Ghosn, who faces financial misconduct charges in Japan, managed to slip past authorities at the end of December

reportedly by smuggling himself on board a plane inside an audio equipment box.

The 65-year-old has refused to shed light on how he ghosted out of Japan to Lebanon, but that has not stopped a string of Internet users “playing Ghosn” by posing in cases usually meant to protect big instruments.

In one picture posted to

Twitter, a young woman curled up inside a padded green harp case, while another post appeared to show somebody standing in a double bass gig bag.

The stunts have not chimed with Japanese instrument man-ufacturer Yamaha, however, who sounded a note of caution warning people against the trend.

“There have been a large number of tweets showing people climbing into large instrument cases,” tweeted Yamaha Wind Stream, the com-pany’s account for information on wind instruments.

“To avoid the possibility of a tragic accident, please do not do this... Musical instrument and audio equipment cases are designed to hold musical

instruments and audio equipment. Please use them cor-rectly.” Ghosn, arrested on financial misconduct charges in 2018, jumped bail and fled in mysterious circumstances to Lebanon, where he gave a ram-bling press conference last week.

The Wall Street Journal reported that he was snuck on to a private jet in Osaka in a large case for audio equipment, which

was later found at the back of the cabin. The newspaper cited unnamed sources close to the investigation in Turkey as saying that holes had been drilled into the container to ensure the busi-nessman could breathe.

The report was accompanied by a picture of a large black case which The Wall Street Journal claimed was the one used by Ghosn.

Austrian BASE jumper rescued from side of Thai cliff AP — BANGKOK

An Austrian BASE jumper was rescued in southern Thailand yesterday after being stuck for hours almost 200 meters above the ground when his parachute became snagged on the rocky side of a cliff.

Nearby residents of Phat-talung province spotted 28-year-old Johannes Grasser dangling by his parachute cords at about 8:30am. BASE jumping stands for building, antenna, span and earth, the four common objects from which such jumpers launch their descent. Rescue workers took more than two hours to hike to the cliff’s top before they could lower local rock climber San-thiti Rompothong by rope to reach Grasser at about 2pm.

A video showed onlookers

gasping as the dramatic rescue was taking place. The rescuer attached a rope to a harness on Grasser, who was then lowered about 50 meters (yards) to a ledge which has an entrance to a cave through which the two could move to safety.

The mountain’s name, Khao Ok Talu, means “Hole Through the Mountain.” “The rescue took so long because it took us hours to get up to the high spot where he jumped off the cliff,” said Kittipong Chusongseang, who was part of the rescue team. “It was a long hike up and a long walk down.” Grasser suffered light injuries when the wind banged him against the moun-tainside, Kittipong said.

Grasser had been part of a BASE jumping team that per-formed a show on Thai Chil-dren’s Day on Saturday.

3 reported deadin China trainerplane crashAP — BEIJING

A pilot and two students were killed yesterday when their trainer aircraft crashed in the central Chinese province of Hubei, state media reported.

The brief report did not give the type of aircraft but said the apparent accident occurred shortly after noon outside the Hubei city of Yichang, about 1,100km southwest of Beijing.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Yichang lies on the edge of the North China Plain and gen-erally enjoys moderate winter temperatures. The aviation school, Yichang Aviation Academy, is a subsidiary of the vast HNA group, which has lately expanded from running Hainan Airlines into managing hotels and a range of other leisure outlets both within and without China.

Schools and government offices were closed on official orders, while the stock exchange suspended trading and many private businesses were shut yesterday in Manila.

15TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020 EUROPE

UK's Queen agrees grandson Harry, wife Meghan can exit senior royal role REUTERS — SANDRINGHAM, ENGLAND

Queen Elizabeth has reluctantly agreed to her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s wish for a more independent future after the British royal family held crisis talks yesterday to resolve a widening rift among the Windsors.

Harry and his American actress wife will now begin a “period of transition” that will see them split their time between Britain and Canada as they also seek a lifestyle less encumbered by royal duties and

to end their reliance on public funding.

It comes after what the 93-year-old queen described as “very constructive discus-sions” between herself, Harry, his elder brother Prince William and his father and heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, at the monarch’s rural San-dringham estate in eastern England.

A final decision on the future of the couple, officially the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will be determined in days, she said in a statement.

“My family and I are entirely

supportive of Harry and Meg-han’s desire to create a new life as a young family,” Elizabeth said.

“Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.” The statement was highly unusual both in its informal tone and its personal nature, addressing the couple by name rather than by their titles.

Meghan, who is currently in

Canada with their infant son Archie, had been expected to join Monday’s discussion by telephone.

The royal crisis was trig-gered when Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, publicly announced last week that they wished to step back from royal duties and spend more time in North America.

Although there had been initial discussions about their future, neither the queen nor Charles were consulted beforehand, a step seen as hurtful and premature by a family whose roots go back

through a thousand years of European history It also exposed suspected divisions in the Windsor family and prompted soul-searching over what it means to be royal in the 21st century.

Harry and Meghan say they want a “progressive” new role for themselves and financial independence. As one of the world’s most glamorous couples, they have also made clear that they were struggling with the intense media scrutiny.

Last year, they announced legal action against a British tabloid, and Harry said papers

had been bullying his wife in a way reminiscent of the hounding his mother Princess Diana had suffered before her death in a Paris car crash in 1997.

But it is unclear how they will pull off a partial pullback from royal roles — which some media have dubbed “Megxit” in a play on Britain’s tortuous Brexit departure from the European Union — or who will pay for a transatlantic lifestyle. Currently, they are mainly funded by money from Prince Charles’s Duchy of Cornwall estate.

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson (second right) and Britain’s Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith (left) stand with Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster (right) and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill in Belfast, UK, yesterday.

Johnson hails N Ireland’s future after devolution restoredAFP — BELFAST

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised a “bright future” for Northern Ireland yesterday as he visited Belfast to mark the reopening of its power-sharing devolved government after a three-year hiatus.

The British province has been run by officials since the two main parties, the pro-London Democratic Unionists (DUP) and the republican Sinn Fein, fell out in January 2017.

The power vacuum came at a critical time, as Northern Ireland faces uncertainty over its relationship with London and Dublin following Britain’s looming exit from the European Union.

“Never mind the hand of history on my shoulder... I see the hand of the future beck-oning us all forward,” Johnson told reporters after meeting assembly members and visiting Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

“And I hope that with

goodwill and compromise and hard work on all sides it will be a very bright future indeed.” Varadkar also hailed “what is a really good day for Ireland and for the United Kingdom”.

At its reopening on Sat-urday, the assembly chose DUP leader Arlene Foster to be first minister and effective head of the government, while Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill was made her deputy.

After meeting them both, Johnson praised Northern Ire-land’s politicians for having “put aside their differences, stepped up to the plate and shown leadership”.

He said his government would support the assembly politically and financially, with funds particularly directed to the health service, which has been hit by strikes.

Johnson did not confirm reports that London would be giving at least £2bn (¤2.34bn) to the province.

Power-sharing was set up under the 1998 Good Friday agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland after decades of sectarian violence that killed thousands.

The devolved government collapsed in January 2017 over a scandal caused by the runaway costs of a renewable energy scheme championed by Foster.

After years of negotiations that led nowhere, the DUP and Sinn Fein last week approved an agreement drawn up by the British and Irish governments.

“The Good Friday Agreement is back up and running again with power-sharing here in Northern

Ireland,” said Varadkar.One factor in the break-

through was the threat of elec-tions if there was no deal.

In the UK-wide election last month, the DUP and Sinn Fein

both lost votes to smaller parties, in part due to public frustration at the protracted stalemate.

The assembly will also have a future say over Brexit

arrangements, which will see Northern Ireland take on a special trading status in order to avoid checks on its land border with EU member Ireland.

French strike rumbles on as PM, unions defiantAFP — PARIS

Parisians again battled stam-ina-busting commutes yesterday as a transport strike dragged on into its 40th day, with both the French government and hardline unions digging in on the pension reforms that sparked the standoff.

There was still major dis-ruption on the Paris metro and the national railway system, even after Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced a major concession to unions at the weekend.

But the situation was somewhat improved from pre-vious weeks, with all Paris metro lines now open — though most only during peak hours —and the trains running slightly more regularly.

National rail operator SNCF said eight out of ten high-speed TGV trains were operating, although slower regional trains were more affected.

It also said that the number of its staff observing the strike had fallen to 4.3 percent, the lowest rate since the strike began, but 22.5 percent of

drivers still walked off the job.“We are going to go to the

end” in implementing the pension reforms, Philippe said on France 2 television late Sunday.

“Those who incite (workers) to continue the strike are leading them perhaps into a dead end... I think that they need to assume their responsi-bilities,” he said.

“I think you know the

phrase — ‘you need to know how to end a strike’. We are not far now,” he added.

Philippe announced on Sat-urday that he would drop plans for a “pivot age” that would raise the official age for a full pension to 64 from 62, a move welcomed by more moderate trade unions such as the CFDT.

President Emmanuel Macron, who has sought to stay above the fray throughout the

crisis by relying on Philippe to deal with the unions, called the change “a constructive and responsible compromise.” But the more hardline CGT, FO and Solidaires unions were standing firm, calling for the strike and protests to continue, including another major demonstration on Thursday.

“When you can’t convince with ideas you use good old-fashioned methods like repression,” said CGT leader Philippe Martinez as he denounced Phi l ippe ’s comments.

He described the concession announced by the premier as no more than a “smokescreen.. to make us work longer.” Dem-onstrators in the capital on Sat-urday, some masked and hooded, broke shop windows and set fires along their protest route, and threw projectiles at police in riot gear who responded with tear gas.

The government is not budging on its overall plan to rationalise the country’s 42 existing pension regimes into a single, points-based system it says will be fairer and more transparent.

French CGT union leader Philippe Martinez (centre) meets people as he arrives at a gathering of on-strike workers at the RATP bus depot of Vitry-sur-Seine, near Paris, yesterday.

Climate protest in Germany'Fridays for Future' activists stage a die-in during a protest in front of the Siemens headquarters after the German engineering group said it would fulfil its contractual obligations to a controversial coal mining project in Australia’s outback, in Munich, Germany, yesterday.

Germany, France to push EU to end shredding of male chicksAFP — BERLIN

Berlin and Paris will join forces to end mass shredding of male chicks at the EU level by the end of 2021, agriculture ministers Julia Kloeckner and Didier Guillaume said yesterday.

“It’s time to end the shredding of chicks. France and Germany should be the European motor to advance on this issue,” Guillaume said during a visit to his German counterpart.

Germany’s presidency of the bloc in the second half of 2020 is an opportunity to push forward on the issue, Kloeckner said.

In many poultry businesses, male chicks are separated from females soon after hatching and killed, as they do not produce eggs and generate less

meat. Tens of millions of males are shredded in each country per year.

Producers say that there is no practical, affordable and cruelty-free alternative.

France and Germany now plan to bring together industry groups, companies, researchers and campaign groups to “share scientific knowledge” and “implement alternative methods”.

“We welcome this scheme and the fact that non-govern-mental organisations are involved, but we expect clear regulatory commitments,” said Agathe Gignoux of CIWF, a French NGO.

German farmers’ group ZRF warned that “apparent solu-tions” via the law without a technical plan could depress domestic egg production in favour of imports.

Five contenders vie to lead UK's Labour PartyAP — LONDON

Britain’s opposition Labour Party said yesterday that five lawmakers will contend to lead the party as it tries to rebuild support and regain power after last month’s elec-toral drubbing.

Labour is choosing a new leader to replace Jeremy Corbyn, who is stepping down after the left-of-centre party suffered its worst election result in almost a century.

The party said Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips, Keir Starmer and Emily Thornberry had all met the threshold of securing nom-inations from at least 22 Labour lawmakers and would advance to the next stage of the contest. A sixth contender, Clive Lewis, dropped out after failing to get enough backers.

Labour is one of Britain’s two dominant political parties, but hasn’t won a national election since Tony Blair’s third consecutive victory in 2005. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives won 365 of the 650 House of Commons seats in the December 12 election, while Labour took 203, its worst total since 1935.

The party is enmeshed in a blame game for the defeat, with some members accusing the socialist Corbyn of veering too far to the left and making lavish spending promises that voters regarded as unrealistic. All five contenders are calcu-lating how far to distance themselves from Corbyn, whose left-wing approach retains strong support among rank-and-fi le Labour members, many of whom have joined the party since he was elected leader.

Starmer received the most backing, with 89 nominating him. The next-highest total was 33 for Long-Bailey, a Corbyn protégé and the party’s business spokeswoman.

Starmer, a relative centrist, may struggle to win over party members wary of a return to the middle-of-the-road “new Labour” of the Blair era.

Prague, Taipei ink partnership deal

AFP — PRAGUE

Prague and Taipei signed a partnership agreement yesterday.

The move is expected to revive an ongoing dispute between the Czech and Chinese capitals that has soured Czech-Chinese rela-tions despite a campaign by Czech president Milos Zeman for closer ties.

Prague mayor Zdenek Hrib, from the anti-estab-lishment Pirate Party, can-celled a twinning agreement with Beijing in October in protest at Chinese insistence on a one-China policy.

Hrib hailed the new twinning with Taipei as “most beneficial” for both parties yesterday, citing “shared dem-ocratic values, respect for fun-damental human rights and cultural freedoms.” Taiwan has been ruled separately from China since the end of a civil war in 1949, but under its “One-China” policy, Beijing considers it a part of its ter-ritory, with reunification by force an option.

Power-sharing was set up under the 1998 Good Friday agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland after decades of sectarian violence that killed thousands.

16 TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020EUROPE

Robert Abela sworn in as Malta’s new Prime MinisterREUTERS — VALLETTA

Lawyer Robert Abela, 42, was sworn in as Malta’s Prime Minister yesterday, succeeding Joseph Muscat who resigned over his handling of investiga-tions into the murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Abela was elected leader of the ruling Labour Party in a vote among the party members on Saturday. The son of a former Maltese president, he was first elected to parliament in 2017 and has little political experience.

Hundreds of supporters lined Valletta’s Republic Street to greet the new prime minister who waved to the crowd from a balcony in the presidential palace after the swearing-in ceremony.

Abela has vowed to put more focus on social issues, par-ticularly living standards and pensions, and has proposed offering free medicine for

pensioners. He has also promised to strengthen the rule of law and boost good gov-ernance —ssues for which Muscat was repeatedly criticised.

Muscat announced his res-ignation last month over accu-sations of having protected his chief-of-staff and childhood friend Keith Schembri and others linked to Yorgen Fenech, a prominent businessman who has been accused of being an accomplice in Caruana Galizia’s murder.

Fenech has pleaded not guilty to complicity in the 2017 murder. His arrest in November sparked the

resignation of tourism minister Konrad Mizzi, who formerly served as energy minister, and Schembri, who denied any wrongdoing.

Abela has made no announcement of any cabinet reshuffle and has promised continuity.

Sven Giegold, a German member of the European Par-liament for the Green party, who was a constant critic of Muscat’s rule, said Abela faced a difficult challenge.

“Abela deserves a chance, but scepticism is appropriate,” Giegold said in an e-mailed statement, adding that Abela had been a one-time legal adviser to Muscat.

“Malta must finally comply with European rules when it comes to anti-money laun-dering, the independence of the judiciary and banking super-vision,” he added, referring to issues that have been scruti-nised by both the EU Com-mission and EU parliament.

Malta’s newly-sworn in Prime Minister Robert Abela poses for a picture as he greets supporters outside the Presidential Palace after taking the oath of office, in Valletta, yesterday.

‘Grieving nations’ to discuss legal action over downed plane: UkraineREUTERS — SINGAPORE

Five nations whose citizens died when an airliner was shot down by Iran last week will meet in London on Thursday to discuss possible legal action, Ukraine’s foreign minister said.

Speaking at the sidelines of an official visit to Singapore yes-terday, Vadym Prystaiko said the countries would also discuss compensation and the investi-gation into the incident. All 176 people on board the flight died in the crash on Wednesday, minutes after the plane took off from Tehran airport.

Prystaiko said suggestions

from Iran that the Ukrainian International Airlines plane was downed as it flew near a sen-sitive military base during a time of heightened tensions were “nonsense”. He said Tehran had agreed to hand over the plane’s black boxes to Kiev for investigation.

“We have created this group of foreign ministers from the grieving nations. On January 16, we will meet in person in London to discuss the ways, including legal, how we are fol-lowing this up, how we are prosecuting them (Iran),” Prys-taiko said.

He said the five nations also

included Canada — which had at least 57 passport holders aboard the doomed flight — Sweden, Afghanistan and a fifth country which he did not name. Canada has previously said that these four countries and Britain had established a coordination group to support victims’ families.

Many on board were Ira-nians with dual citizenship.

After days of denials, Iran said on Saturday its military had shot down the plane in a “dis-astrous mistake”. Prystaiko said Ukraine was not informed by Iran that it would be taking responsibility before that public announcement.

Tehran said its air defences were fired in error while on alert after Iranian missile strikes on US targets in Iraq, and that the airliner was mistaken for a “hostile target” after it turned toward a sensitive military base of the elite Revolutionary Guards near Tehran.

“This is nonsense because our plane was recorded and confirmed — was going within the international route which was given by the dispatchers...Nothing was extraordinary,” Prystaiko said, adding that investigators said the pilot’s last words were “everything is ok on board and I am switching to

auto pilot.”“I have seen this infor-

mation on media that our plane changed the route...Yes, because it was hit by rocket! It was already dying.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, in a rare step, apolo-gised to the nation and accepted full responsibility. Senior Guards commander Amirali Hajizadeh said he had informed Iran’s authorities on Wednesday about the unintentional strike, a comment that raised ques-tions about why officials had publicly denied it for so long.

Prystaiko said all involved had to be held to account.

Two US Air Force men found dead at Germany baseAFP — FRANKFURT AM MAIN

Two US Air Force airmen were found dead last week in Germany, the base where they were stationed said in a statement yesterday, adding that an investigation into the cause is underway.

The men, both aged 20, “were found unresponsive in a dorm room” in the early evening of January 9, the 52nd Fighter Wing based at Spang-dahlem airbase in western Germany said in a statement.

Efforts to revive them failed and medics pronounced them dead around 20 minutes after the bodies were discovered.

“It is always very difficult to lose valued members of our team,” 52nd Fighter Wing commander Colonel David Epperson said, offering “sin-cerest and heartfelt condo-lences” to the soldiers’ families.

The men had served in the maintenance squadron belonging to the fighter wing.

Suspect admits slaying Slovakia journalist as trial opensAFP — BRATISLAVA

One of four suspects charged in the 2018 murder of Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak pleaded guilty in dramatic testimony yesterday, in a case that has rocked the nation.

But the main suspect in the case, Slovak businessman Marian Kocner, pleaded not guilty to ordering the assassination of the journalist who had been probing his business activities.

The murder triggered mass pro-tests that toppled then-premier Robert Fico and has become a lightning rod for outrage against high-level cor-ruption in the country.

Former professional soldier Miroslav Marcek (pictured) admitted

to being one of two gunmen who killed Kuciak and fiancee Martina Kusnirova at their home near the capital Brati-slava in a gangland-style hit in Feb-ruary 2018.

“I am guilty,” Marcek, 37, told the jury at the Special Criminal Court in the western city of Pezinok, a town some 20km outside the capital Bratislava.

“I knocked on the door, Mr. Kuciak opened, I shot him in the chest,” Marcek told the court. “Unfortunately, I saw that there was one more person, she ran into the kitchen and shot her there,” he added, referring to Kus-nirova, before apologising to the vic-tim’s families.

“Seeing them on TV and seeing

their pain made me tell what hap-pened,” he said. “I’m sorry, but I can’t undo it.”

Masked, armed police officers pro-vided tight security at the court building where the parents of both Kuciak and Kusnirova attended the trial.

“If convicted, the accused face a minimum 25 years to life impris-onment,” Jana Tokolyova, a spokes-woman for the special prosecutor’s office, said.

Last month, Zoltan Andrusko, one of the accused who was an interme-diary in the murder plot, was sen-tenced to 15 years in jail after agreeing a plea bargain. He will be testifying at this trial.

Prosecutors argue that Andrusko served as a go-between in the murder, hiring gunmen Marcek and his cousin Tomas Szabo at the request of his friend Alena Zsuzsova, who was in turn following orders from mas-termind Kocner.

According to the indictment, Kocner decided “to get rid of Jan Kuciak physically and thus prevent further disclosure of his (Kocner’s) activities” after failing to find “any dirt” to discredit the journalist.

The protests triggered by the murder that forced populist Fico to quit as prime minister, paved the way for the election of liberal anti-cor-ruption activist Zuzana Caputova as president last March.

Robert Abela vowed to put more focus on social issues and to strengthen the rule of law and boost good governance.

Former members of the Catalan government Carles Puigdemont and Antoni Comin (left) attend their first plenary session as members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, yesterday.

Catalan separatists take seats as EU lawmakersREUTERS — STRASBOURG

Catalan separatist leaders Carles Puigdemont and Antoni Comin took their seats in the E u r o p e a n P a r l i a m e n t yesterday, vowing to force their secessionist cause onto Europe’s agenda just days after Spain repeated its call for their arrest.

The two politicians, both of whom live in self-imposed exile in Belgium, have long been sought by Madrid over their role in defying Spanish courts to hold a 2017 referendum on independence and the short-lived secession declaration that followed.

“This is a historic day for us,” Puigdemont told reporters outside the EU Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg, flanked by cheering supporters as he prepared to head into his first parliamentary session.

“We are here to remind people that the Catalan crisis is not an internal matter, it is a European one.”

Puigdemont and Comin were elected as European par-liamentarians (MEPs) last May but were unable to return to Spain to take oaths and collect credentials for fear of arrest.

However, their status shifted last month when the Court of Justice of the

European Union (CJEU) ruled that another separatist leader Oriol Junqueras, also elected an MEP in May, was entitled to immunity.

Junqueras, who remained in Spain, was sentenced to 13 years’ prison in October over his role in Catalonia’s 2017 breakaway bid.

After Spain’s Supreme Court ruled last week that the sen-tencing barred him from immunity as an MEP, the European Parliament on Friday revoked his mandate.

Puigdemont called for Jun-queras to be allowed to carry out the mandate he had been handed by voters.

Greece postpones retrial in tourist’s beating deathAP — ATHENS

A Greek court yesterday indef-initely postponed the retrial of seven suspects on murder charges over the 2017 fatal beating of a Texan tourist on an island resort.

The postponement was granted following a request by some of the defendants’ lawyers, who were trying separate cases on the same day.

Yesterday’s postponement was the second, after the court in the western town of Patras deferred the case last week to give the newly hired lawyer representing the dead man’s family time to familiarise himself with the case.

Bakari Henderson, a 22-year-old from Austin, died in July 2017 after being beaten in the street following an argument in a club in Laganas resort area of Zakynthos island in western Greece.

New Spanish govt to tackle Catalonia via negotiationAFP — BARCELONA

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s new government took office yesterday facing the challenge of finding a solution to the Catalan crisis after controversially agreeing to start talks with the separatists.

Catalonia’s oldest and largest separatist party, the ERC, demanded the negotia-tions over the region’s place within Spain in exchange for its crucial abstention in a con-fidence vote last week that saw Sanchez sworn in for another term.

Under the deal, his Socialists agreed to open talks between the central and sepa-ratist governments to “unblock the political conflict over the future of Catalonia”, and then put to a regional vote any agreements which these nego-tiations produce.

“The Catalan question has been Spain’s main problem for the past five or six years and it is the first time that someone decides to tackle it through a negotiation,” said Ernesto Pascual, professor of political science at the Open University of Catalonia.

Separatists want to discuss the possibility of holding a legally binding referendum in Catalonia, as well as an amnesty for their leaders who were sentenced in October to lengthy jail terms over a failed 2017 independence bid.

But the Socialists have

already said that such a refer-endum would be impossible.

The agreement between the Socialists and the ERC calls for an “open dialogue of all pro-posals” but stresses that the results of the talks must respect the “legal and democratic order”.

“A self-determination ref-erendum in Catalonia is not possible according to the Spanish constitution,” said con-stitutional law professor Xavier Arbos.

Reforming the constitution to allow a region to hold a self-determination would require the support of a qualified majority in parliament, which looks unlikely since Spain’s major parties, including the Socialists, are opposed.

What will most likely happen is that the talks will end in “an agreement to clarify and set in stone what are the region’s powers, which would create a special position for Catalonia” within Spain, said historian Joan Esculies.

The wealthy northeastern region, which has its own dis-tinct language and culture, already enjoys significant powers over health and edu-cation, and has its own police force. But a significant part of the population of around 7.5 million people wants even more powers to protect the lan-guage and culture, and com-plains of a lack of investment by the central government in the region.

17TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020 AMERICAS

Trump defends decision to attack Iran's generalREUTERS — WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump yesterday defended his decision to kill Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, contending Soleimani posed an impending threat to the United States but also saying the threat “doesn’t really matter” given the military leader’s history.

“The Fake News Media and their Democrat Partners are working hard to determine whether or not the future attack by terrorist Soleimani was ‘imminent’ or not, & was my team in agreement,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

“The answer to both is a strong YES., but it doesn’t really matter because of his horrible past!”

Democrats, who are trying to pass legislation to rein in Trump’s ability to wage war on Iran without lawmakers’ approval, sharply disagreed.

“You cannot take military action against another nation without congressional consent unless to defend against an imminent attack,” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said on Twitter.

“It’s clear now this was an illegal action. That also has made America less safe,” he said, noting an NBC News report that Trump had

authorised the killing of Sole-imani seven months ago.

Since confirming Soleimani was killed by a US air strike in Baghdad, administration offi-cials have claimed they acted because of an imminent risk of attacks on American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.

Democrats and a few Republicans in Congress have questioned the justification of the attacks and said they have not been given adequate, detailed briefings.

Some have also argued that the US Constitution gives Con-gress, not the president, the authority to declare war, and called for the Senate and House of Representatives to act to take that authority back from the White House.

Reflecting deep divisions in Washington over Trump’s Iran

policy, the House voted nearly along party lines last week to pass a resolution that would force the president to seek con-gressional approval for further military action against Iran.

Three of Trump’s fellow Republicans backed the reso-lution and eight Democrats —who control a majority in the House — voted against it.

A companion measure has been introduced in the Senate but there has been no word on timing of a vote, giving uncer-tainty about Trump’s impeachment trial.

Last week, Trump posited in an interview that Iran had been poised to attack four American embassies before Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike on January 3. But on Sunday, US Defense Sec-retary Mark Esper said he did not see specific evidence that Iran was planning an attack.

“What the president said was that there probably could be additional attacks against embassies. I shared that view,” Esper said. “The president didn’t cite a specific piece of evidence.”

When pressed on whether intelligence officers offered concrete evidence on that point, Esper said: “I didn’t see one with regards to four embassies.”

Democrat Cory Booker exits 2020 presidential raceAFP — WASHINGTON

Citing a lack of funds, US Senator Cory Booker (pictured) dropped out of the Democratic presidential nomination race yesterday, a move that leaves a less diverse field vying to face Donald Trump in November’s election.

“It’s with a full heart that I share this news,” Booker said in a statement on the eve of the last Democratic debate before Iowa kicks off the nomination voting on February 3.

“Our campaign has reached the point where we need more money to scale up and continue building a campaign that can win — money we don’t have, and money that is harder to raise because I won’t be on the next debate stage,” Booker said.

The New Jersey senator said his role as a juror in the

upcoming impeachment trial of President Donald Trump would further cramp his fundraising abilities, “because the urgent business of impeachment will rightly be keeping me in Washington.”

Perhaps more than any candidate, the 50-year-old Booker, a skilled orator with a million-watt smile, had chan-neled unity, hope and optimism

on the campaign trail. “I believed to my core that

the answer to the common pain Americans are feeling right now, the answer to Donald Trump’s hatred and division, is to reignite our spirit of common purpose to take on our biggest challenges and build a more just and fair country for everyone,” he said.

Early on, the crowded Dem-ocratic field was praised for being the most diverse in history.

But the departure of Senator Kamala Harris, who dropped out in December, and now Booker leaves just one black candidate, Deval Patrick, among the dozen remaining Democratic hopefuls.

But the former Massachu-setts governor is barely regis-tering in the polls.

All six candidates in today’s

debate are white: former vice-president Joe Biden, senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg and billionaire activist Tom Steyer.

Candidate Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur of Taiwanese descent, and Tulsi Gabbard, who is Samoan-American, failed to qualify for yesterday’s debate stage.

Obama-era Cabinet member Julian Castro called it quits last week.

Yang was the only can-didate of colour on the debate stage in December, and he poignantly called it “both an honor and disappointment.”

Booker, an effervescent presence on the trail, had called for a revival of civic grace, saying moral clarity was nec-essary in trying times.

He earned praise from Dem-ocratic voters for advocating for criminal justice reform and stronger gun safety laws. He also called for raising taxes on the wealthy, and sought reforms to the health care system.

But his campaign never caught fire, and in recent months he languished at around two percent support nationally.

Trump, in typical fashion, sarcastically mocked Booker as he exited the race.

“Now I can rest easy tonight,” the president tweeted. “I was sooo concerned that I would someday have to go head to head with him!”

Booker earned a flood of praise and gratitude from fellow Democratic candidates, however, and some commen-tators have speculated about him as a possible vice presi-dential pick.

Hotter temperatures could kill 2,000 more a year in US: StudyAFP — PARIS

A rise in temperature of just two degrees Celsius could lead to an additional 2,100 deaths from injuries every year in the US, researchers said yesterday, highlighting another danger posed by global warming.

Most of the extra fatalities would be men aged 15-34 years due to a heightened risk of drowning and road traffic acci-dents, with alcohol con-sumption tending to rise in line with temperatures.

Researchers from Britain and the US studied the number of deaths from injuries on a state-by-state basis for every year between 1980 and 2017.

The deaths were classed either as accidental — from vehicle crashes, falls, drowning and so on — or intentional, from say assault and suicide.

They then tracked unusual temperature changes for each county over the same period and found that deaths from injuries tended to rise during warmer months, particularly in populous southern states such as California, Texas and Florida.

The authors of the study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, said the findings indicated a strong link between the risk of dying from injury and rising global temperatures triggered by climate change.

“These new results show

how much climate change can affect young people,” said Majid Ezzati, senior study author and a professor at Imperial College London. “We need to respond to this threat with better pre-paredness in terms of emer-gency services, social support and health warnings.”

Data from the National Center for Health Statistics analysed by the team showed that in the 1980-2017 period, 4.1 million boys and men died from injury compared with 1.8 million girls and women.

They found that warmer temperatures increased the risk of dying from drowning and transport accidents, linked to increased swimming, driving and alcohol intake.

They used a statistical model to predict the number of additional deaths in a given year depending on whether temperatures warm 1.5C or 2C.

These are the temperature targets that nations agreed to work towards in the 2015 Paris climate accord. The team found that 1.5C of warming would bring an additional 1,600 deaths each year; 2C of warming would see around 2,100 more.

With just 1C of warming since pre-industrial times so far, Earth has already experi-enced a cascade of deadly climate-related disasters that kill thousands of people and displace millions each year.

Machete attack suspect pleads not guilty to charges

REUTERS — WHITE PLAINS The man accused of stabbing at least five people in a machete rampage at the home of a Hasidic rabbi during a Hanukkah celebration pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges yesterday.

A federal grand jury indicted Grafton Thomas, 37, late last week with additional counts of hate crimes for the December 28 stabbing of members of the Orthodox Jewish community in Monsey, New York, bringing the number of federal charges he faces to 10.

Each count carries a maximum prison term of life.

Thomas attended his arraignment in White Plains, a suburb north of New York City, in orange jail fatigues as members of his family sat in the courtroom and waved at him.

He spoke only briefly to answer the judge’s questions, confirming his name and age and saying that he has taken the drug Prozac.

Federal prosecutors have said Thomas targeted his victims because of their Jewish faith. In a criminal complaint filed last month, they cited journals they seized from the suspect’s home containing ref-erences to Adolf Hitler, Nazi culture and the Black Hebrew

Israelites movement, identified by extremism experts as an anti-Jewish hate group.

Thomas also faces state charges for the attack, which his attorney, pointing to his cli-ent’s long history of mental illness, has said was likely an expression of psychosis rather than bigotry.

The Monsey attack capped a string of incidents in which Jews have been physically attacked or accosted in the New York metropolitan area in recent weeks, including a shooting at a kosher super-market in New Jersey that left two members of the Hasidic community dead.

A courtroom sketch shows Grafton Thomas, a suspect in an attack at a Hasidic rabbi’s home during his arraignment at federal court, in White Plains, New York, yesterday.

You cannot take military action against another nation without congressional consent unless to defend against an imminent attack: Senator Chris Murphy

Iran crash: Trudeau vows to pursue justiceREUTERS — EDMONTON

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his voice sometimes breaking, told a vigil for some of those killed in an Iranian plane disaster that he would “pursue justice and accounta-bility” for what happened.

Iran says it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner on Wednesday, killing 176 people. Fifty-seven Canadians died, most of them of Iranian descent, in one of the biggest

single losses of life Canada has suffered in 40 years.

“You may feel unbearably lonely, but you are not alone. Your entire country stands with you, tonight, tomorrow, and in all the years to come,” Trudeau told a standing-room crowd of 2,300 in a basketball gym-nasium in Edmonton, Alberta, home to 13 of the victims.

As Trudeau spoke, boxes of tissues were passed among the mourners who packed the bleachers. Photos of the dead

stood on the stage, beside arrangements of rose petals, candles and plates of dates.

“This tragedy should have never occurred, and I want to assure you that you have my full support during this extraor-dinarily difficult time ... you give us purpose to pursue justice and accountability for you,” said Trudeau, who has demanded Canada take part in the crash probe.

“We will not rest until there are answers.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking at a memorial service for the victims of the Ukrainian Airlines flight PS752 crash in Iran at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton, yesterday.

Rap superstar Cardi B mulls political careerAFP — NEW YORK

Rap superstar Cardi B is floating the notion of a political career, saying she could “shake the table” as a member of US Congress.

“I think I want to be a pol-itician. I really love gov-ernment even tho I don’t agree with Goverment,” the brash artist from New York’s Bronx borough tweeted over the weekend.

“I do feel like if I go back to school and focus up I can be part of Congress. I have sooo much ideas that make sense. I just need a couple of years of school and I can shake the table,” the rapper known for hits like “Bodak Yellow,” “Money” and “I Like It” said.

The rap superstar has gotten political in the past, famously encouraging her fans in an expletive-laden clip to “vote for Daddy Bernie” in 2016, warning that foreign women “gonna get deported if Trump is president.”

She’s throwing her celebrity behind Sanders this presidential nomination season as well.

Body camera video records moment officer is hit by train

AP — CEDARTOWN

Body camera video showing the moment an officer in Georgia was hit by a train while on duty has been released by police yesterday.

Polk County police officer Andy Anderson suffered a con-cussion, six broken ribs, a broken elbow and a broken shoulder bone in the collision near Rockmart on Tuesday, news outlets reported.

The moment of impact was recorded on a new kind of technology: a 360 degree body camera that gives a broader view of the officer’s location.

Anderson was so focused on catching the suspect that he didn’t realise how close he was to the tracks, according to Polk County Police Chief Kenny Dodd.

“We call that tunnel vision in law enforcement,” Dodd said. “You get so focused on the task at hand that you forget about your surroundings.”

Anderson is expected to make a full recovery. The suspect, Jayden Moats, 18, got away and hasn’t been arrested, police said.

18 TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020AMERICAS

US sanctions 8 Venezuelans over National Assembly riftBLOOMBERG — CARACAS

The US sanctioned Venezuelan lawmaker Luis Parra (pictured) and officials who tried to block Juan Guaido, whom the Trump administration has recognised as the country’s rightful leader, from being re-elected president of its National Assembly.

Parra, 41, was once Guaido’s ally but turned on him and sided with President Nicolas Maduro this month in a bid to take over the Assembly. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a web posting yesterday that Parra and seven other Venezuelans

had been added to its sanctions list.

“Treasury has designated seven corrupt National Assembly officials who, at the

bidding of Maduro, attempted to block the democratic process in Venezuela,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “These and other designated

officials can have sanctions removed if they side with the people of Venezuela and Juan Guaido as their legitimate leader.”

Maduro’s security forces stopped many opposition law-makers from entering the National Assembly on January 5, forcing Guaido to hold an off-site election where 100 deputies voted to re-elect him as head of the legislative body.

Days later, the opposition lawmakers pushed past armed guards to reclaim the assembly. Electricity was cut off at one point, prompting lawmakers to read the attendance list with the

help of mobile phone lights and without microphones.

Outside, armed civilian groups known as colectivos cor-nered and forcibly removed a group of journalists and law-makers, beating and stealing from some of those gathered.

The attempted takeover of what was Venezuela’s last dem-ocratic institution has deepened the standoff between Maduro and Guaido, who last year was recognized as the legitimate leader by more than 50 countries.

While Parra said in an interview last week that he had “a permanent channel of

communication” with the US since he claimed the presidency of the assembly, special envoy to Venezuela for the US gov-ernment Elliot Abrams said his assertion was “absolutely false.”

Venezuela, a formerly pros-perous petrostate, has spiraled into misery after decades of misrule under Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez.

The failure of their socialist program has been exacerbated by a plunge in oil prices and US sanctions.

Crucial oil infrastructure is defunct, hyperinflation has ravaged the economy and food and medicine are scarce.

Mexican President vows justice for massacre victimsREUTERS — LA MORA

Mexico’s president pledged that those behind a massacre that killed nine members of a US-Mexican family of Mormon origin will be punished and that the truth surrounding the crime will eventually come out.

In a speech before extended family members near the US border, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also promised to keep relatives appraised of the investigation into the ambush carried out by cartel gunmen two months ago.

“There will be justice,” he declared, addressing the small crowd from an outdoor stage set against the rugged moun-tains that surround the town of La Mora, home to the victims.

November’s gangland attack on a remote stretch of road in northern Sonora state killed three mothers and six children when their vehicles came under heavy gunfire then were torched.

Two rival gangs, factions of the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels, are known to fight over lucrative cross-border smug-gling routes in the area.

Security experts say evi-dence gathered so far suggests the massacre was carried out by the Juarez faction known as La Linea and may have a been a case of mistaken identity.

Lopez Obrador said the investigation was making progress, but did not give details.

Earlier in the day, he met privately with relatives of the victims for about an hour, after traveling nearly four hours by car to the town.

La Mora, like other northern Mexican settlements where rel-atives of the large families live, was founded decades ago by breakaway Mormon leaders who fled the United States seeking a safe haven for their polygamist beliefs.

Lopez Obrador was warmly received during his visit.

“Thank you for being here

at such a painful time,” said Margaret Langford in brief remarks in Spanish, describing her family as broken.

“I love this country,” she added, “and it hurts me to my soul that I can’t live here.”

Langford recently left La Mora, like many other relatives

who have fled saying they no longer feel safe, abandoning homes with once-tidy gardens now overrun with weeds.

Loretta Miller, grandmother to four of the children killed, estimates that 80% of her brothers- and sisters-in-law and their families have left and

do not plan to ever return.Mexican authorities has so

far arrested seven suspects in the case. At least two other arrests of suspects linked to La Linea have been made in the United States, but it is unclear if they are connected to the massacre.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador shaking hands with a resident before an event at La Mora ranch, Bavispe, Sonora state, in Mexico, yesterday.

Power restored in quake-hit Puerto RicoREUTERS — SAN JUAN

Puerto Rico’s public power utility said yesterday it has restored electricity to almost all the island, nearly a week after the strongest earthquake in more than a century knocked out all power and caused at least $110m in damage.

Nearly 5,000 people left homeless by a series of quakes have taken refuge in gov-ernment shelters, officials said yesterday, in addition to hun-dreds if not thousands more people who are sleeping outside their homes.

Public power utility PREPA, also known by its Spanish acronym AEE, announced power was restored to 99 percent of homes and businesses while also urging people to conserve energy because the largest generating plant on the Caribbean island remains offline.

PREPA shut down the power grid as a safety pre-caution amid a series of earth-quakes including one of 6.4 magnitude last Tuesday that damaged nearly 600 buildings and killed at least one person.

The Costa Sur plant, largest power plant in the US territory with a capacity of 970 mega-watts, remained out of com-mission after suffering severe

earthquake damage and could take up to a year to repair.

As long as it remains offline, the remaining power plants will need to run at or near capacity to meet demand of about 2,000 megawatts.

“We urge you to moderate your use of electricity for system stability,” PREPA said on Twitter yesterday.

The island of three million people has about 1.5 million electricity customers, with

power restored to 99% of them, PREPA said.

Governor Wanda Vazquez, who assumed office five months ago when her prede-cessor resigned amid a political scandal, has estimated damage at $110m, although the news-paper El Nuevo Dia put the figure at $460m just based on its survey of officials in the municipalities of Ponce, Guanica, Guayanilla, Yauco and Utuado.

A barber giving free haircuts to people at a shelter in Guanica, Puerto Rico, after a powerful earthquake hit the island, yesterday.

Officials propose to add California butterfly for threatened list

These and other designated officials can have sanctions removed if they side with the people of Venezuela and Juan Guaido as their legitimate leader: Steven Mnuchin

AP — SAN DIEGO

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed adding a California butterfly to the list of threatened species, officials said.

The agency wants the Hermes copper butterfly added to the list in recognition of the threats it faces in its home region of San Diego County, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The service filed its pro-posal on January 8, estimating it will take a year to finalise the listing and draw up critical habitat plans for the butterfly.

A public comment period for the listing is expected to run through March 9.

The Hermes copper lives only in Mexico’s Baja Cali-fornia and California’s San Diego County, which has a high concentration of endan-gered species, federal wildlife officials said.

The butterfly is among a suite of local species suffering from urban sprawl and wild-fires that have altered the landscape in recent decades, officials said.

The San Diego Biodiversity Project and the Center for Bio-logical Diversity first peti-tioned to list the Hermes copper in 1991.

The brown and orange butterfly is adapted to the fire-prone habitat of San Diego, said Tara Cornelisse, a senior scientist at the center.

During earlier regimens of smaller, scattered fires, the Hermes copper would move between burned areas and blossoming sites, Cornelisse said. “It can maintain that, but with urban development in San Diego and the presence of more wide-ranging fires, its habitat is more degraded. That’s what has caused it to become endangered.”

Armed conflict in Colombia could heat up in 2020: MediatorREUTERS — CALI

Armed conflict in Colombia could heat up in 2020 and there could even be bombings in cities if dissidents from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) follow through with plans to pressure the government into a new peace deal, an expert mediator said yesterday.

Henry Acosta, who tra-versed the Andean country for more than a decade to help bring the FARC and government together for peace talks that eventually lead to a 2016 deal, said he fears a resurgence in

conflict as rebels who rejected demobilisation push for consti-tutional reform they believe would guarantee political, eco-nomical and social change

The 71-year-old economist based his assessment on the declaration made by some former FARC commanders who returned to arms last year. They cited what they called a breakdown in the accord, which ended the FARC’s part in a con-flict that has killed more than 260,000 people and displaced millions.

“It’s a big risk because (the dissidents) have said that there won’t be pitched battles but

rather urban warfare. Well, if there are no battles, there will be bombings in urban areas,” Acosta said in an interview with Reuters at his house on the out-skirts of the city of Cali.

“There are different commu-nications that say in 2020 will see the start of the operations that they are announcing,” Acosta said, lamenting the slow pace of the reintegration of some 13,000 former FARC members into Colombian society.

Commanders of the dissi-dents, which according to intel-ligence sources number around 2,500 combatants, also announced a coordination of

efforts with guerrillas from the National Liberation Army (ELN). President Ivan Duque’s gov-ernment ended talks with the ELN after it said it would not suspend kidnappings or attacks.

“Colombia is very close to having a second war or a second conflict,” the peace facilitator said, adding that the objectives of any attacks would be the properties of politicians or state-owned businesses.

Acosta said he was willing to build bridges between the government and the dissident rebels and called on them to negotiate so as to avoid esca-lating confrontation.

Anez govt using army against Bolivians: MoralesANATOLIA — ANKARA

Bolivia’s former president Evo Morales said yesterday that Bolivians are providing their own security due to the de facto government’s alleged use of the armed forces against its citizens.

“How can peace and democracy be guaranteed in a state without rights if the de facto government of Bolivia uses, by decree, the FFAA (Bolivian Armed Forces) to slaughter and persecute the defenseless people?” Morales asked on Twitter.

He added that this situation leads people to provide their security with autonomous peasant patrols in rural, com-munity watch and other ancestral forms for their safety.

“Bolivia lives a state without rights, where they send irregular groups ‘pititas’ and ‘motoqueros’, converted into de facto government paramil-itary force, fencing homes, beating, requisitioning indi-viduals and violating funda-mental rights with the com-plicity of the Police,” Morales said.

In a separate tweet, the former leader stressed that

peace, reconciliation and unity in Bolivia would “only” be achieved by restoring the rule of law, eliminating paramilitary groups and fighting against ine-quality, discrimination and poverty.

Morales’ remarks came as a response to a tweet of Bolivia’s interim President Jeanie Anez.

“Morales’ statements only show that peace, reconciliation and democracy were never options for him,” Anez said after Bolivian radio Kawsachun Coca Tropico released a recording of Morales.

Anez accused the former leader of having an intention “of sowing terror and violence.”

“If between now and in a little while... I were to return (to Bolivia) or someone else goes back, we must organise as in Venezuela armed militias of the people,” Morales said in the recording. “We were too trusting. The blunder: we did not have a ‘Plan B.”

Morales later confirmed that it was his voice in the recording in an interview with on Sunday, saying people have a right to defend themselves if the new government was attacking them.

Ronan Farrow nominated for book critic prizeAP — NEW YORK

Ronan Farrow (pictured) has already won a Pulitzer Prize and George Polk Award for his reporting on Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement. Now he’s up for a literary honour, a National Book Critics Circle award.

Farrow was among the nominees announced this weekend by the NBCC. His “Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Pred-ators,” which tracks his reporting on allegations of harassment and assault against Weinstein, is a finalist in autobiography. Critics also nominated Chanel Miller’s “Know My Name,” the acclaimed memoir by the woman assaulted by Stanford University student Brock Turner.

The NBCC announced five nominees in each of six com-petitive categories, from fiction to poetry to criticism. Winners will be announced March 12.

Other finalists include Colson Whitehead’s “The Nickel Boys” and Edwidge Danticat’s “Everything Inside” in fiction, Lydia Davis’ “Essays One” for criticism and George Packer’s “Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century” for biography.

Founded in 1974, the NBCC has more than 700 members from around the country.

19TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020 HOME

Early detection is key to slowing progression of glaucoma: ExpertTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Raising public awareness through education about the importance of periodic eye checks and increased knowledge about eye diseases such as glaucoma is promoting more people in Qatar to proactively seek medical assistance related to their eye health, said Dr Zakia Al Ansari, Glaucoma Consultant at Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Hamad General Hospital.

According to Dr Al Ansari, the Ophthalmology Department at Hamad General Hospital receives between 300 and 500 patients each month with various forms of glaucoma. She says glaucoma is the leading cause of irre-versible blindness in the world.

People with glaucoma require lifelong treatment to maintain their vision and if left untreated, the condition can lead to complete blindness. Dr Al Ansari notes that due to many forms of glaucoma having no symptoms, diagnosis is often made at the late stage of the con-dition when damage to the eye has already occurred.

“Due to our efforts toward creating awareness about glaucoma in Qatar, an increasing number of people now seek

medical care concerning the health of their eyes. We believe early diagnosis and treatment are helping many of these people to prevent vision loss,” said Dr Al Ansari.

Dr Al Ansari said that glaucoma is a group of eye con-ditions that damage the optic nerve, the health of which is vital for good vision.

She says the underlying cause of glaucoma depends on the type and stage of the condition and that in most cases, an individual is unaware they have glaucoma until it has caused irreversible damage.

“While glaucoma is one of the

leading causes of blindness in people over the age of 60, it can occur at any age. Many forms of glaucoma have no warning signs and the effect is so gradual that an individual may not notice a change in vision until the con-dition is at an advanced stage,” said Dr Al Ansari.

“Vision loss due to glaucoma can’t be recovered, so it’s important to have regular eye e x a m s t h a t i n c l u d e

measurements of your eye pressure so a diagnosis can be made in its early stages and treated appropriately. If glaucoma is recognised early, vision loss can be slowed or even prevented,” added Dr Al Ansari.

Dr Al Ansari said it is important for people to under-stand that glaucoma is a serious eye condition and that the most common type of glaucoma can only be detected during a com-prehensive eye exam. She said in recent years the health sector in Qatar has taken steps to promote the importance of routine eye checks as the only effective way to protect one’s eye health and prevent vision loss from glaucoma.

She said HMC’s Ophthal-mology Department has also introduced sophisticated imaging technology and various diagnostic procedures to help detect and prevent vision loss from glaucoma, and while tech-nology is important when it comes to correctly diagnosing glaucoma, early detection through regular eye checkups is the key to slowing the pro-gression of it and other condi-tions that can cause vision loss and blindness.

Dr Zakia Al Ansari

According to Dr Al Ansari, the Ophthal-mology Department at Hamad General Hospital receives between 300 and 500 patients each month with various forms of glaucoma. She says glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blind-ness in the world.

BPS receives award for excellence in academics and sportsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Birla Public School (BPS) Doha has received award of excellence in academics and sports during the Gulf Sahodaya Conference of Principals in Jaipur recently. A class X student, Pragati Biswal, who got first rank in Qatar has been among toppers in Gulf and fifth in position in all India CBSE merit marks rank. Similarly

Sarthak Behal stood first in Qatar for Class XII Commerce Stream.

The school got recognition in Sports also, as students got gold medal for badminton in CBSE Nationals and bronze medal in Taekwondo as well.

Chairman, Lukose K Chacko, congratulated students, staff and parents for the outstanding achievements.

Principal A P Sharma receiving the award for excellence in academics and sports for the Birla Public School, Doha, during the Gulf Sahodaya Conference of Principals in Jaipur.

CROSSWORD

The movie is based on the life of Tanaji Malusare, a 17th-century Maharashtrian Marathi military leader.

DARBAR

MALL ROYAL PLAZA

Chhapaak (2D/Hindi) 2:00pm; Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2D/Hindi) 4:45 & 11:30pmDaughter Of The Wolf (2D/Action) 9:15pm; Mission Unstapabol (2D/Tagalog) 7:15pm; Red Shoes & The 7 Dwarfs (2D/Action) 2:00 & 4:50pm; Frozen II (2D/Animation) 3:45pm; Darbar (2D/Tamil) 2:00, 5:30, 8:15, 8:40 & 11:00pm; Stand Up (2D/Malayalam) 6:30pm;

Darbar (2D/Tamil) 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, 9;30 & 12:30pmSpies In Disguise (2D/Amination) 11:00amMission Unstapabol (2D/Tagalog) 3:45pmTanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2D/Hindi) 1:30 & 9:15pm; 1917 (2D/Crime) 1:15 & 9:00pmUnderwater (2D/Action) 4:15 & 12:00pmDarbar (2D/Hindi) 6:00 & 11:30pm

LANDMARK

AL KHOR

Darbar (2D/Tamil) 12:30, 2:30, 3:30, 5:30, 6:30, 8:30, 9:30 & 11:30pmDarbar (2D/Telugu) 12:30pmDarbar (2D/Hindi) 6:30pmStand Up (2D/Malayalam) 9:15pm;

ASIAN TOWN ROXY

FLIK Mirqab Mall

1917 (2D/Crime) 11:15am, 1:35, 3:55, 6:15, 8:35 & 10:55pm Darbar (2D/Tamil) 3:25, 6:30, 9:35 & 10:50pm; Daughter Of The Wolf (2D/Action) 7:00pm; El Folous A.K.A The Money (2D/Arabic) 10:40am, & 4:40pm; Jumanji: The Next Level (2D/Action) 10:35am, 11:20am, 1:00, 1:45, 3:25, 5:50, 8:15 & 10:40pm Miracle in Cell No.7 (2D/Comedy) 3:20, 5:40, 8:00, 10:25pm & 0:45am; Red Shoes & The 7 Dwarfs (2D/Action) 10:50amRichard Jewell (2D/Crime) 1:55, 7:20 & 9:55pmSpies in Disguise (2D/Animation) 10:40am, 12:40, 2:40pmStar Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2D/Action) 11:05am, 4:30pm & 0:30am; Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2D/Hindi) 8:50 & 11:35pmUnderwater (2D/Action) 12:40, 2:35, 4:30, 6:25, 8:55pm & 0:15am The Grudge 8:25, 10:20pm & 0:40am

Chhapaak (2D/Hindi) 10:30am, 11:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:30, 5:00, 5:20, 7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 10:30 & 11:00pmDarbar (2D/Tamil) 10:30am, 1:00, 1:40, 3:00, 4:10, 4:30, 5:50, 7:20, 7:30, 8:00, 8:20, 10:30, 10:50, 11:00 & 11:30pm; Driving License (2D/Malayalam) 11:00am,Frozen II (2D/Animation) 10:30am, 11:00am, 12:30, 2:35, 3:15, 6:20pm; Jumanji: The Next Level (3D/Action) 10:30, 11:00am, 12:30, 12:50, 1:00, 3:20, 5:50, 6:10, 6:30, 8:00 & 11:30pm; Red Shoes & The 7 Dwarfs (2D/Action) 1:15, 2:30, 4:20, 4:45, 6:45pm; Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2D/Hindi) 4:10, 8:30, 8:40 & 11:15pm; Stand Up (2D/Malayalam) 1:35, 4:30, 8:45 & 11:30pm; Underwater (2D/Action) 1:30, 3:20, 9:00, 10;30, 11:00pm

Darbar (2D/Tamil) 2:15, 5:15, 8:15, 8:45 & 11:15pmStand Up (2D/Malayalam) 2:00pm;Chhapaak (2D/Hindi) 4:15pm; Mission Unstapabol (2D/Tagalog) 6:45pm; Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2D/Hindi) 11:30pmRed Shoes & The 7 Dwarfs (2D/Action) 2:00 & 3:45pm; Balloon (2D/Drama) 5:30pm; Underwater (2D/Action) 7:45pm; Richard Jewell (2D/Crime) 9:30pm; 1917 (2D/Crime) 11:45pm

Darbar (2D/Tamil) 2:00, 5:00, 8:00, 11:00 & 11:30pm; Red Shoes & The 7 Dwarfs (2D/Action) 2:00 & 5:15pm; Frozen II (2D/Animation) 3:30pm; Mission Unstapabol (2D/Tagalog) 7:00pm; 1917 (2D/Crime) 9:15pm; Stand Up (2D/Malayalam) 2:00 & 11:30pm; Chhapaak (2D/Hindi) 4:15 & 9:00pm; Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2D/Hindi) 6:30pm

20 TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020MORNING BREAK

FAJR SUNRISE 05.01 am 06.21 am

W A L R U WA I S : 13o↗ 20o W A L K H O R : 09o↗ 20o W D U K H A N : 11o↗ 20o W D O H A : 12o↗ 22o W M E S A I E E D 09o↗ 21o W A B U S A M R A 11o↗ 20o

PRAYER TIMINGS WEATHER TODAY

HIGH TIDE 07:03 – 18:14 LOW TIDE 01:06 – 14:51

Relatively cold daytime with scattered clouds to partly cloudy and chance of scattered rain by night, cold by night.

Minimum Maximum15oC 22oC

ZUHRMAGHRIB

11.43 am05.07 pm

ASR ISHA

02.44 pm06.37 pm

Sparks of Imagination: A book that inspires young writers in Qatar

Kummam Al Maadeed (right), and the cover page of her book.

IRFAN BUKHARI THE PENINSULA

Among a huge collection of thousands of books in numerous languages repre-senting different genres at Doha Inter-national Book Fair, a collection of flash fiction works by Kummam Al Maadeed Sparks of Imagination pulls the attraction of Qatari citizens and resi-dents alike.

‘Sparks of Imagination’, a collection of flash fiction and one random short story, holds within its pages the world of drama, romance, fantasy and more.

Kummam’s name in the field of English fiction writing is not new in Qatar. She after writing two novels ‘The Lost Rose’ and ‘Calling Magic’, which have already won readers’ appreciation far and wide, applied her imagination to create flash fiction scenes in response to a friend’s challenge.

The new book of Kummam at pavilion of Dar Al Sharq also provides insight and tips on the writing process to spark the imagination of those who need it. Nowadays, she is working on a new novel.

In addition to stories, in the end of each scene the reader finds a short writing tip to enrich their experience. “They are few and short, but I hope they will give you the needed push in case you too like to start your own writing career.”

“In the summer of 2019 my friend challenged me to write one story each day for 30 days. The challenge was set to help me break from a really bad writer’s block. The challenge, as she said, would help me have fun and bond with

my inner creative self. It was time to remember to write for me and just enjoy the journey,” Kummam writes in the introduction of ‘Sparks of Imagination’.

She adds: “This challenge made me want to explore my imagination and this is where the title of this book comes from, Sparks of Imagination. It repre-sents how random and versatile my mind is.”

She told The Peninsula that she started writing when she was at Qatar University in 2007 and only managed to get published in 2016.

The writer, who works as Section Head of Media and Publications at Qatar University, talked about the inspiration

behind writing flash fiction collection in just thirty days, saying: “I was having a writer’s block and needed to do a writing exercise to help me break from it. So this was just to jog my mind but when I was done I thought why not share this experience with readers and other writers.”

Regarding the general feedback she had received on ‘Sparks of Imagination’, Kummam says that she was amazed by the great support and love from her family, friends and readers. “They gave me feedback and did their best to get the word out about my book. The best thing I got out of this is that I’m inspiring many of other aspiring writers saying I opened the door for fantasy writing in English

in Qatar.” Talking on Doha International Book Fair, she said: “I believe it’s evolving every year especially with the new local publishing houses and local writers’ participation in it. I wish however that the book fair will bring more English writers from across the globe to be guests and participate in workshops and seminars.”

She says that publishing a book is hard anywhere but since in Doha there is a rarity of writing fantasy in English, she feels lucky that she got an oppor-tunity to bring to people fantasy stories that they like and get the attention for it.

When asked about the future of flash fiction in Qatar, Kummam said that flash fiction was hard to sell anywhere because it was too short. “This is why I added the writing tips in the end of each story to put more value into the book.”

Kummam says that she does not have any favourite flash fiction author. “I actually didn’t know what flash fiction was until I wanted to explain what my summer project was and I stumbled on it by accident.”

She thinks that it is extremely hard to tell the readers a great story in limited word count. “Every word counts. Every word should have a purpose. I believe that I am still inexperienced in the short story field but it was fun to try it out.”

The book includes twelve different flash fiction scenes. Each is different than the other and the writer has tried to write each in a different style. It also holds within its pages one short story, one that came to Kummam as an idea many years ago and she could never figure out how to write it.

AP — TOKYO

Japan is celebrating 'Coming of Age Day', a centuries-old tradition and national holiday to honor those who have turned 20 over the past year.

Held annually on the second Monday of January, 'Coming of Age Day' is a special time for these young adults.

Most of the men dress mod-estly in simple black suits, but many female participants wear flamboyant kimonos with matching purses and embel-lished hairstyles, making the holiday unique for spectators as well.

Tokyo Disneyland is among the most popular locations for the celebration, with hundreds of participants greeted by Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Some even get high-fives from them. The ceremonies last less than an hour, but with the par-ticipants being part of the Selfie Generation, there are, of course, an overwhelming number of selfies taken afterward.

Japanese women wearing kimonos holding balloons as they attend their 'Coming of Age Day' celebration ceremony at Toshimaen amusement park in Tokyo, yesterday.

Japan celebrates 'Coming of Age Day'

Oscars 2020: ‘Joker’ leads pack with 11 nominationsAP — NEW YORK

Female filmmakers were shut out, “Parasite” made history and “Joker” edged out “The Irishman,” “1917” and “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood” in Monday’s Oscar nominations.

Todd Phillips’ R-rated superhero smash “Joker” topped all films with 11 nomi-nations to the 92nd Academy Awards, while Martin Scorsese’s elegiac crime epic “The Irishman,” Quentin Tarantino’s 1960s Los Angeles fairy tale “Once Upon a Time... in Hol-lywood” and Sam Mendes’ con-tinuous World War I tale “1917” all trailed close behind with 10 nods apiece.

Those four were among the nine films nominated for best picture by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sci-ences. The others were: Greta Gerwig’s Louisa May Alcott adaptation “Little Women,” Noah Baumbach’s divorce

drama “Marriage Story,” Taika Waititi’s Nazi Germany romp “Jojo Rabbit,” James Mangold’s racing drama “Ford v Ferrari” and Bong Joon Ho’s class satire “Parasite” - the first Korean film to be nominated and only the 11th non-English best-picture nominee.

“Joker,” which gives the DC Comics villain an antihero spin cribbed from Scorsese, was expected to do well Monday. But the academy’s overwhelming support for a divisive movie that was far from a critical favorite was unexpected. The film’s nominations included best actor for Joaquin Phoenix and best director for Phillips.

Though a record 62 women (or about a third of nominees) were nominated Monday, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences put the most weight behind a handful of swaggering male-driven and man-made movies predicated on virtuosity, spectacle and star

power. For the 87th time, the academy selected all-male directing nominees.

Hollywood, in the midst of a streaming upheaval, also gave Netflix more nominations than ever before: 24. The 10 nomi-nations for “The Irishman” tied the most for a Netflix film, fol-lowing “Roma” last year. Scorsese, a one-time winner for “The Departed,” was nominated for best director for the ninth time. The film also won nods for Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and its de-aging special effects. “We put all of ourselves into this picture,” said Scorsese in a statement.

“1917” followed up its Golden Globes win and strong opening weekend at the box office with nominations not just for its technical achievement (including Mendes’ directing and Roger Deakins’ cinematog-raphy) but for best screenplay, too. “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood” was nominated in just about every category it was

expected to, including Tarantino for directing and screenplay, best actor for Leonardo DiC-aprio and best supporting actor for Brad Pitt. And Hollywood loves little more than a good story about itself.

“It’s a real love story to this industry,” DiCaprio said by phone. “In this movie, Quentin got to do a movie that was a homage to Los Angeles and a place that I grew up in.”

Despite a year in which women made historic gains behind the camera, female directors were again shut out of best director. The most likely candidate was Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”), who was the last woman nominated, two years ago for “Lady Bird.”

“Congratulations to those men,” said Issa Rae, who pre-sented the nominees alongside John Cho. Rebecca Goldman, chief operating officer for Time’s Up said of the lack of women nominated for directing:

“This is why Time’s Up exists - to ensure women in enter-tainment and across industries get the opportunities and rec-ognition they deserve.”

There were many surprises. Awkwafina, who was poised to become just the second Asian American nominated for best actress (the first, 1936 nominee Merle Oberon, hid her South Asian heritage), wasn’t nomi-nated for her acclaimed leading performance in “The Farewell.” Also overlooked for best ani-mated film was “Frozen 2,” the highest grossing animated film ever; Beyoncé, for her “Lion King” song; and the hit docu-mentary “Apollo 11.”

Most glaringly, Jennifer Lopez, long considered a sup-porting actress front-runner for her performance in “Hustlers,” was also denied her first Oscar nomination. Those oversights left the Oscars with their least diverse field since the fallout of #OscarsSoWhite pushed the film

academy to diversify its mem-bership. The only actor of color nominated was Cynthia Erivo, the British actress, for her Harriet Tubman in “Harriet.” (Erivo was also nominated for best song.) Last week, the British film academy nominated only white performers, leading Erivo to decline an invitation to perform.

Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” however, made history for South Korea. Along with the country’s first nomination for best international film, the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or-winner also scored nods for Bong’s direction, best editing and best production design.

No filmmaking couple has had an Oscar nominations morning quite like Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, director of the divorce drama “Marriage Story.” Their movies were each nomi-nated for best picture, best screenplay (adapted for Gerwig; original for Baumbach) and six nominations in total.

Microsoft ends free Windows 7 security updates todayAP — NEW YORK

If you’re still using Microsoft’s Windows 7, your computer might soon be at risk.

Microsoft will stop pro-viding free security updates for the system today, meaning computers using it will be more vulnerable to malware and hacking.

Users who want to protect their computers need to upgrade to Windows 10. They may also need to buy new computers because older machines might not be com-patible with Windows 10.

Tech companies typically phase out older systems after a number of years and focus efforts on updating current versions of software. Windows 7 came out in 2009. Windows 8, which came out in 2012, will have free support end in 2023.

Windows 10 starts at $139 for a basic, “Home” version. Microsoft charges $200 for a “Pro” version meant for busi-nesses and individuals who need its advance features. Windows 10 comes with regular free updates for security and additional fea-tures. Although Windows 10 isn’t likely to be phased out anytime soon, older versions will require those updates to keep working. Microsoft is also ending support today for Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2 operating systems.

Those who run Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Enterprise can buy extended protection for up to three years. But it might be worth-while to just to buy new PCs or get Windows 10.

OnePlus officially announces new 120Hz Fluid DisplayIANS — NEW DELHI

Chinese handset maker OnePlus yesterday announced the official arrival of its newly-minted display with a blazing 120Hz refresh rate, along with with multiple new technologies. According to OnePlus CEO Pete Lau, “this will be the best smart-phone display in 2020”.

With the OnePlus 7 Pro released last May, OnePlus overcame several challenges such as optimising display panels and minimising power consumption to deliver the world’s first 90Hz Fluid Display with QHD+ resolution.

Other features include a QHD+ resolution, the “most accurate” colour accuracy and 4096-level of automatic brightness control, four times of average Android flagships.

17-year-old helps Nasa find planet in habitable zoneIANS — WASHINGTON

Just three days into his internship, little did 17-year-old Wolf Cukier realise that he is going to make history — in helping Nasa discover its first Earth-size planet resting in its star’s habitable-zone — the way our Earth rests in its Goldilocks zone.

In 2019, when Cukier finished his junior year at Scarsdale High School in New York, he joined Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, as a summer intern.

His job was to examine variations in star brightness captured by Nasa’s Transiting Exo-planet Survey Satellite (TESS) and uploaded to the Planet Hunters TESS citizen science project.

“I was looking through the data for every-thing the volunteers had flagged as an eclipsing binary, a system where two stars circle around each other and from our view eclipse each other every orbit,” Cukier said.

“About three days into my internship, I saw a signal from a system called TOI 1338. At first I thought it was a stellar eclipse, but the timing was wrong. It turned out to be a planet,” he said in a Nasa statement.

Nasa last week announced that its Trans-iting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) found a planet in a habitable zone, the range of dis-tances where conditions may be just right to allow the presence of liquid water on the surface.