BUSINESS | 21 SPORT | 30

Qatar-Kazakhstan Rooney to make

working to boost England swansong
bilateral ties against USA

Monday 5 November 2018 | 27 Safar I 1440 www.thepeninsula.qa Volume 23 | Number 7701 | 2 Riyals

Amir reshuffles Cabinet, restructures boards

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim

bin Hamad Al Thani issued
yesterday Amiri order No. 7 of
2018 reshuffling the Cabinet.
Under the Amiri Order:
H E Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali
Al Nuaimi appointed as Minister
of Justice.
H E Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
bin Turki Al Subaie as Minister
of Municipality and
Environment.
H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari
as Minister of Commerce and
Industry.
H E Yousef bin Mohammed
Al Othman Fakhro as Minister
of Administrative Development,
Labour and Social Affairs.
H E Saad bin Sharida Al
Kaabi as Minister of State for
Energy Affairs and member of
the Cabinet.
H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali
Al Nuaimi, Minister of Justice,
has also assumed the duties of
the Minister of State for Cabinet
Affairs in addition to the duties
of his post. The Amiri Order
annuls any provisions contra-
vening its rules. The order has
come into effect from the date
of issue and is to be published Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Deputy Amir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser
in the official gazette. bin Khalifa Al Thani, with the new Ministers at the Amiri Diwan, yesterday.
Their Excellencies the new
Ministers took the oath before Qatar Petroleum’s
H H the Amir at the Amiri Diwan
yesterday. The oath-taking cer-
New Board named for QIA Board restructured
National Tourism Council
emony was attended by Deputy
Amir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin
DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued
yesterday Decision No. 72 of 2018 restructuring Qatar Investment DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh
Board of Directors formed
Hamad Al Thani. It was also Authority’s Board. Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued
attended by Prime Minister and The decision stipulated that the Board of Directors of Qatar issued yesterday Decision No. yesterday Decision No. 75 of 2018 to form the Board of Directors
Interior Minister H E Sheikh Investment Authority should be restructured as follows: H E 73 of 2018 on restructuring of the National Tourism Council.
Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani as President, H the Board of Directors of The decision stipulates that the Board of Directors of the
Al Thani. E Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani as Deputy Pres- Qatar Petroleum. National Tourism Council is to be chaired by H E Prime Min-
Before the reshuffle, H E Dr. ident, H E Ali Sharif Al Emadi as a member, H E Ali bin Ahmed The decision stipulated ister, with H E Minister of Finance as Vice-Chairman and the
Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi Al Kuwari as a member, H E Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi as a that the Board of Directors of membership of: H E Minister of Culture and Sports; H E Min-
appointed as Minister of Justice member, H E Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani as a member, Qatar Petroleum be restruc- ister of Transport and Communications; H E Minister of
was the Minister of Adminis- H E Dr Hussain Ali Al Abdulla as a member and H E Nasser bin tured with Deputy Amir H H Economy and Commerce; CEO of Qatar Airways Group; Director
trative Development, Labour Ghanim Al Khulaifi as a member. Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad of Government Communications Office; Chairman of Katara
and Social Affairs from January Al Thani as Chairman and Hospitality Company; two representatives from the private
2016; H E Abdullah bin H E Minister of State for tourism sector, selected by the chairman of the Board of
Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie, bin Sharida Al Kaabi, Minister Nabet as Chairman of the Energy Affairs as Vice- Directors.
Minister of Municipality and of State for Energy Affairs and Planning and Statistics Authority. Chairman and Managing The Decision is effective as of the date of issue and is to be
Environment, was the Managing member of the Cabinet, was H H the Amir also issued Director. The members of the published in the official gazette.
Director and CEO of Qatar Rail. Managing Director and Chief yesterday Amiri Order No. 5 of board will include H E Min- H H the Amir also issued Decision No. 74 of 2018 estab-
H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Executive Officer of Qatar 2018 appointing H E Dr. Hassan ister of Finance, H E Minister lishing the National Tourism Council. The decision is effective
Minister of Commerce and Petroleum and Chairman of bin Lahdan Al Muhannadi as of Commerce and Industry, from the following day to its publication in the official gazette.
Industry, was the CEO of QNB Qatargas. Chief of the Court of Nasser Khalil Al Jaidah, Sheikh H H the Amir also issued Law No. 20 of 2018 on Tourism
Group and Chairman of the H H the Amir also issued Cassation. Khalid bin Khalifa bin Jassim Regulation. The Law is effective and shall be published in the
Board of Directors from decree No. 71 of 2018 appointing Al Thani and Saeed Mubarak official gazette.
December 2014, while H E Saad H E Dr. Saleh bin Mohammed Al ÄCONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Al Muhannadi.

Qatar 2022 stadiums receive major award
for sustainable construction practices
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: The sustainable
construction practices at two
2022 FIFA World Cup stadiums
have been recognised as
outstanding by the Global
Sustainability Assessment
System (GSAS).
Both Al Wakrah Stadium
and Al Bayt Stadium Al Khor City
were awarded a Class A* rating
by GSAS, which is administered
in Qatar by the Gulf Organi-
zation for Research & Devel-
opment (GORD).
Al Wakrah Stadium will
have a capacity of 40,000 and
host matches up to the quarter-
finals stage during Qatar 2022,
while Al Bayt Stadium will be a
semi-finals venue with 60,000
seats. Construction at both
venues is due to be completed
soon.
Abdulaziz Ali Al Ishaq, the
Supreme Committee for
Delivery & Legacy’s (SC) Al
Wakrah Project Director, and
Abdulaziz Al Mahmoud, Aspire
Zone Foundation’s Deputy Pres-
ident for Sport Projects, picked
up the respective awards during
the Sustainability Summit 2018,
which was recently hosted in
Doha by GORD.
Commenting on the mile-
stone, Al Ishaq said: “Sustaina-
bility has been at the heart of our
project from day one right from
the design phase, all the way
through to completing the con-
struction of the stadium.
It is an honour to receive this
award, which is testament to the
hard work of everyone involved
in the project.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Nasser Al
Hajri, Al Bayt Stadium Project
Director at Aspire Zone Foun-
dation, said: “We are very proud
of the work done by the Al Bayt
Stadium team to achieve this cer-
tification. Sustainability is at the
core of our work on a daily basis.
This recognition follows the
award given to us by GORD for
the stadium’s design, which also
received the highest possible
rating, thanks to its expression
of local heritage and culture.”
ÄCONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Ashghal partially opens three main
bridges on Al Khor Expressway
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: The Public Works
Authority ‘Ashghal’ yesterday
announced the partial opening of
three main bridges to the public
on Al Khor Expressway project.
The new partially opened
bridges are the first major mile-
stone accomplished on Al Khor
Expressway project, which is
scheduled to be complete in Q4
2019, as the project progress
reached 60 percent. The 33km link
connects Al Khor to Doha via Lusail,
Simaisma and Tinbak and Umm
Garn areas.
Eng Mohammad Al Marri, the
Director of Infrastructure Affairs
in Ashghal; Mohammad Saleh Al
Attan, Director of Al Khor and Al
Thakhira Municipality; Rashed
Meshlesh Al Khaytarein, Director
of Al Dha’ayen Municipality;
Meshal Al Nuaimi, Member of the
Municipal Council; Brigadier
Mohammed Marifiya, Manager
of the Traffic Safety and Engi-
neering Department in MOI, and
a number of Ashghal officials,
were present at the event.
Two of the three lanes in each
direction of the bridge at the
Simaisma Intersection were open
to the public providing a free flow
of traffic to road users coming from
Al Shamal Road via Simaisma Road
and heading to Simaisma.
This opening will signifi-
cantly enhance traffic movement
in the area as it will remove the
old diversion, considerably
reduce travel time and increase
efficiency.
As for the second bridge, two
lanes out of three in each direction
were opened to the public pro-
viding a direct link between Lusail
and the Orbital Road & Truck
Route. This will allow road users
coming from Al Shamal Road and
the Orbital through Al Mazrooah
Interchange to reach Lusail.
The bridge, located at the
interchange connecting Lusail
city with Al Tarfa Road, also
opened two of its three lanes to
provide new travel options for
motorists coming from Al Shamal
Road via Izghawa Interchange
towards Doha and Lusail.
ÄCONTINUED ON PAGE 4
02 HOME MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018

Amir reshuffles Cabinet, restructures boards

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
H H the Amir also issued
yesterday Amiri Order No. 6 of
2018, appointing H E Masoud
bin Mohammed Al Amri as
Advisor at H H the Deputy
Amir’s Office. The Amiri Order
is effective starting from its date
of issue and is to be published
in the official gazette.
H H the Amir also issued
Amiri Decision No. 68 of 2018,
amending some provisions of
Amiri Decision No. 16 of 2014
setting the competencies of the
ministries.
The Decision has come into
effect from the date of issue and
is to be published in the official
gazette.
H H the Amir also issued
yesterday Amiri Order No. 5 of
2018 appointing H E Dr Hassan
bin Lahdan Al Muhannadi as
Chief of the Court of Cassation.
The Amiri Order is effective
starting from its date of issue
and is to be published in the
official gazette.
The Chief of the Court of
Cassation took the oath before
H H the Amir, thereby becoming
the Chief of the Supreme
Council of the Judiciary under
the provisions of the Judicial
Authority Law promulgated by
Law No. 10 of 2003.
The oath taking ceremony
was attended by Deputy Amir
H H Sheikh Abdullah bin
Hamad Al Thani.
H H the Amir also issued
Decision No. 69 of 2018
amending some provisions of
Amiri Decision No 35 of 2014
regulating Qatar General Elec-
tricity and Water Corporation
(Kahramaa).
The decision stipulates that
the affiliation of Qatar General
Electricity and Water Corpo-
ration is to be transferred to the
Minister of State for Energy
Affairs.
The decision also stipulates
that a specialised department
for new and renewable energy
is to be established. The
decision is effective starting
from its date of issue and is to
be published in the official
gazette. H H the Amir also
issued yesterday Law No. 21 of
2018 on organizing business
events. The Law is effective and
shall be published in the official
gazette. Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with H E Dr Hassan bin Lahdan Al Muhannadi, the Chief of the Court of Cassation, at the Amiri Diwan.

Amir issues decree establishing Amir appoints Board of Directors of

Planning and Statistics Authority Qatar Financial Markets Authority
QNA Authority. The Decree is Mohammed Al Nabet as DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Financial Markets Authority is to Abdulrahman Mohammed Yousuf
effective as of the date of Chairman of the Planning Hamad Al Thani issued yesterday comprise H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Jolo, Michael Rayan, Dr Khalid Nasser
DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh issue and is to be published and Statistics Authority. Decision No. 76 of 2018 appointing Hamad bin Qassim Al Abdullah Al Al Khater and Dr Mohammed
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the official gazette. The Decree is effective the Board of Directors of Qatar Thani as Chairman, Yahya Saeed Al Abdulaziz Saleh Al Khulaifi.
issued yesterday Decree H H the Amir also starting from its date of Financial Markets Authority. Nuaimi as Vice-Chairman and the The Decision is effective starting
No. 70 of 2018 establishing issued decree No. 71 of 2018 issue and is to be published The Decision stipulates that the memberships of Sheikh Khalid bin from its date of issue and is to be pub-
the Planning and Statistics appointing H E Dr Saleh bin in the official gazette. Board of Directors of the Qatar Saud bin Fahad Al Thani, lished in the official gazette.

The newly appointed Their Excellencies the Ministers who took the oath at the Amiri Diwan yesterday. FROM LEFT: H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi, Minister of Justice; H E Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
bin Turki Al Subaie, Minister of Municipality and Environment; H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of Commerce and Industry; H E Yousef bin Mohammed Al Othman Fakhro, Minister of Administrative
Development, Labour and Social Affairs; and H E Saad bin Sharida Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and member of the Cabinet.

Deadline for school participation in

Population witnesses 3.2% annual increase
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: The demographic
statistics showed that the total
population of Qatar has
increased from 2.63 million
during September 2017 to 2.72
million at end of September
2018, an annual increase of 3.2
percent.
The figures were given by
the Ministry of Development
Planning and Statistics (MDPS)
in the 57th edition of Qatar
Monthly Statistics report, a
series of statistical newsletters
released on a monthly basis.
The most prominent change
in this issue is the recovery in
the real estate market where the
number and value of properties
sold increased by an annual rate
of 65.4 percent and 82.7 percent
respectively, QNA reported.
The report also highlighted
the most important statistical
changes that occurred in the
country during September 2018
in addition to extracts from the
results of the 2015 Census.
Qatar Exchange witnessed
an annual increase in the value
of shares traded by 11.5 percent,
which led to a rise in the general
index by 18.1 percent.
With regard to Vital Sta-
tistics, a total number of 2,171
live births has been registered
during September 2018, a 3.8
percent increase compared to
August 2018. However, this
increase was offset by a
decrease in the total Qatari live
births by 5.7 percent compared
to last month. On the other hand,
181 deaths were recorded during
the same period, a decrease of
12.6 percent compared to August
2018.
Moreover, September 2018
has experienced an increase in
marriage contracts and in
divorce certificates compared
to August 2018. The total
number of marriage contracts
was 340 contracts, whereas the
total number of divorces has
reached 123 divorce cases;
namely, one divorce for every 3
marriages.
As for Social Security state-
ments, it reached QR84.435
thousand in September 2018, for
15012 beneficiaries in the same
month.
The bulletin showed that the
total electricity utilization during
September 2018 was 4102.0
GWh attaining a monthly
decrease of 1.3 percent and an
annual drop of 6.4 percent.
While the total water con-
sumption has reached 38,338.4
thousand m3 during the same
month attaining a monthly
decrease of 1.3 percent and an
annual drop of 11.0 percent.
As for the data of buildings
permits issued, the total number
of permits has reached 735
permits during September 2018,
recording a monthly increase of
49.1 percent.
As for traffic accidents cases,
a total of 522 traffic cases were
recorded during September
2018, showing a monthly
increase of 9.0 percent. Light
injuries are accounted for the
vast majority of traffic accidents
during the same month, with 87
percent, followed by severe
injuries by 11 percent. However,
12 deaths were recorded, equiv-
alent to only 2 percent of total
traffic accidents.
The bulletin also highlighted
that the total number of regis-
tered new vehicles during Sep-
tember 2018 has reached 4951
new vehicles. The figure showed
a monthly increase of 29.7
percent and an annual increase
of 19.6 percent.
For Banking Sector; Total
Broad Money Supply (M2)
recorded about QR565.6bn
during September 2018, an
annual increase of 0.1 percent
compared with September 2017.
On the other hand, cash
equivalents; including Com-
mercial Bank Deposits, attained
for QR817.8bn during Sep-
tember 2018. The figure has
recorded an annual increase of
2.5 percent compared to Sep-
tember 2017, when deposits
recorded approximately
QR797.8bn.
Holy Quran memorisation announced
QNA
DOHA: The Ministry of Education
and Higher Education has
announced that the deadline for
participation in the 58 annual school
competition in memorizing the Holy
Quran for the 2018-2019 academic
year is February 9, 2019.
The competition is held
annually in coordination between
the Ministry of Education and
Higher Education and the Ministry
of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, in line
with the message of the State of
Qatar in caring for the Holy Quran
and honouring its people, spreading
its teachings among the students.
The Ministry called on the
Supervisors of Islamic education to
give the opportunity for all students
wishing to participate without
exception throughout the period of
registration, and to take full care of
all students and applying to the
competition from all stages.
The Ministry aims to carry out
these competitions to preserve the
Holy Quran in the generations, and
to preserve the Arabic language
because it is the language of the
Holy Quran, and sharpen the moti-
vation of the students to compete in
the fields of science, and to educate
generations created by the morals
of the Holy Quran following the
noble Prophet (PBUH).
The tests run on February 17 and
are open to Qataris and residents
enrolled in public or private schools,
provided they receive a personal
number from the Directorate
General of Immigration, passports
and nationality. And the applicant
chooses to participate in one of the
first levels or the second shall not
be combined, and the applicant shall
abide by the curriculum according
to the years of study, and shall not
have won an award in a similar
contest in the same amount or more
in the past years. Participation in the
second tier is permitted only for
those who memorise seven or more
connected parts of the Holy Quran
or hereafter, and the keeper of the
whole Holy Quran is not allowed to
participate again until one year later.
MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018 HOME 03
04 HOME MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018

Qatar, Russia discuss parliamentary relations
QNA
DOHA: Speaker of the Advisory
Council, H E Ahmed bin
Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud,
met yesterday with Deputy
Chairman of the State Duma
Committee on International
Affairs and a member of the
Council of Foreign and Defence
Policy (CFDP) of the Russian
Federation, Yevgeny Primakov,
currently visiting the country.
During the meeting, they
discussed the parliamentary
relations between the State of
Qatar and the Russian Feder-
ation and ways of supporting
and developing them, as well
as a number of issues of
common concern.
The Speaker of the Advisory
Council expressed satisfaction
with the development of the
Qatari-Russian relations in
various fields, and said he is
looking forward for further
bilateral cooperation in the
coming stage.
For his part, Yevgeny Pri-
makov praised the great
achievements made by Qatar
and the distinguished position
it enjoys both regionally and
internationally, stressing the
desire of the Russian Federation
to develop the two countries’
relations and move them
forward to a new stage of
bilateral cooperation in various
fields for the benefit of both
countries and peoples.
He also stressing the
keenness of the State Duma to
develop parliamentary rela-
tions with the Advisory Council.
The meeting was attended by
the Secretary-General of the
Advisory Council Fahd bin
Mubarak Al Khayarin, a number
of Advisory Council officials
and HE Russian Federation
Ambassador to Qatar Noor
Mohammad Khulouf.
Advisory Council
Speaker appoints
two officials
QNA
DOHA: Speaker of the
Advisory Council H E Ahmed
bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al
Mahmoud yesterday issued a
decision appointing Nasser
bin Ali bin Hassan Al Khater
as Assistant Secretary General
of the Advisory Council.
He also issued a decision
appointing Misfer bin Hamad
bin Mohamed Al Shahwani as
an Assistant Director for the
Speaker of the Advisory
Council’s office of Public
Relations and
Communication.
Mexican President
receives credentials
The Speaker of the Advisory Council, H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud, and the Deputy
Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs and a member of the Council of Foreign of Qatar’s envoy
and Defence Policy (CFDP) of the Russian Federation, Yevgeny Primakov, with other dignitaries.
QNA

DOHA: The President of the

Qatari Armed Forces & British Air Force review ties Qatar 2022 stadiums receive
major award for sustainable
construction practices
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
In awarding the Class A*
rating, Global Sustainability
Assessment System (GSAS)
praised both stadiums’ pro-
motion of sustainable practices,
along with their monitoring and
reduction of environmental
impacts on construction
activities.
During development, the
project teams prioritised waste
recycling, the reuse of materials
and water, and dust
suppression.
The GSAS Trust, an inde-
pendent certification body, cal-
The Chief of Staff of Qatari Armed Forces Lieutenant General (Pilot) H E Ghanem bin Shaheen Al culated the Class A* ratings after
Ghanem with the Air Chief Marshal, Sir Stephen John Hillier, of the British Air Force. They discussed conducting four site audits
relations between the two friendly countries and means of boosting them in various military fields, during the construction process
as well as joint security issues and means of enhancing them. The meeting was attended by senior at both venues.
officers of the Qatari Armed Forces and the British Defence Attache in Doha Colonel (Pilot) Simon Blake. Eng. Bodour Al Meer, the
SC’s Sustainability & design of the stadium building.
Environmental Manager, said:
“We are proud to receive these
prestigious certifications for
two of our stadiums it is a major
achievement for Qatar and the
Supreme Committee for
Delivery & Legacy’s, as we
strive to meet our ambitious
sustainability targets in the
lead-up to 2022 and beyond.”
The SC is overseeing the
development of seven stadiums
in preparation for the 2022
FIFA World Cup, along with the
redevelopment of Khalifa Inter-
national Stadium, which reo-
pened in May 2017.
Each proposed venue is
mandated to achieve a four-star
GSAS Design and Build Certif-
icate, which assesses the level
of sustainability within the
United Mexican States,
Enrique Pena Nieto, has
received the credentials of
Mohammed bin Jassim Al
Kuwari as the Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipo-
tentiary of the State of Qatar
to the United Mexican States
The Ambassador con-
veyed the greetings of Amir
H H Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad Al Thani to President
of Mexico and H H the Amir’s
wishes of good health and
happiness to him and to the
Government and people of
Mexico further progress and
prosperity.
For his part, the President
of Mexico entrusted the
Ambassador to convey his
greetings to H H the Amir,
wishing the Qatari people
more prosperity and progress.
He also wished the
Ambassador success in his
new duties and to work to
strengthen the friendly rela-
tions and cooperation
between the State of Qatar
and the United Mexican
States.

Ashghal partially opens 3 main bridges on Al Khor Expressway

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Bader Darwish, Highway Projects
Department Assistant Manager stated
that the project team are gearing up with
construction works highlighting that
these three bridges were opened to the
public ahead of the scheduled time. He
also explained that Al Khor Expressway
project is a key arterial road in Qatar
parallel to Al Shamal Road and con-
necting to several major ring roads as
well as the Orbital, noting that it will
provide road users with a much easier
access to 15 residential areas and key
business, leisure, service and sport areas.
Meshal Al Nuaimi, member of the
Central Municipal Council for constit-
uency 18 commented, “I would like to
thank Dr. Eng. Saad bin Ahmad Al
Muhannadi President of the Public
Works Authority and the project’s team.
The opening of the interchanges is key
to ease access to areas, specially the
partial opening of the interchange that
connects Orbital Road from Rawdat Al
Hamama to Lusail, which reduces future
traffic on Al Shamal Road.”
Mohammed Saleh Al Atan, Director
of Al Khor and Al Thakhira Municipality,
said that the opening of three bridges as
part of Al Khor Expressway will reduce
travel time for those coming from Al
Shamal to the coastal areas such as
Simaisma, Lusail and others. He added
that the project will provide a free traffic
flow once completed.
In November 2016, the Public Works
Authority launched the construction
works to upgrade Al Khor Expressway
providing it with 5 lanes in each
direction in addition to 2 emergency
be expanded to accom-
modate 10,000 vehicles
per hour.
Al Khor Expressway
caters to 15 residential
areas throughout its
stretch from Doha to Al
Khor including
Simaisma, Umm Garn,
Tinbak, Wadi Al Banat,
Rawdat Al Hamama in
addition to Lusail, the
Pearl, Legtaifiya and Al
Tarfa Road.
Travelling on Al
Khor Expressway will
LEFT: The officials during the opening of new section of provide FIFA World Cup
Al Khor Expressway yesterday. RIGHT: A view of the new fans with access to two
section of the expressway. PIC: BAHER AMIN / THE PENINSULA of the 2022 FIFA sta-
diums, namely Lusail
lanes on a 33-kilometre stretch between Stadium and Al Bayt Stadium. The access
Al Khor Road and Qatar University will also be easier to Al Rayyan Stadium
Street in Doha, and improve the safety through the Orbital Road & Truck Route
as well as the vehicle capacity. Unlike as well as several sports facilities such
the previous two-lane layout, which as Al Khor and Simaisma’s Youth
only accommodates 4000 vehicles per Centres, Al Khor Sport Club, Lusail Sport
hour, the project’s 5 lanes’ capacity will Complex and Doha Gulf Club.

Workshop to tackle illegal financing

DOHA: The General Authority of Customs
organised a regional workshop about financing
terrorism in collaboration with the World Customs
Organization. The workshop started yesterday
and will continue till November 8.
The aim of the workshop is to contribute to
enhancing the knowledge and customs challenges
to curb illegal financial flows and money laun-
dering, as well as to identify the Organization’s
tools and best practices to build customs capacity
in the face of this phenomenon. The workshop
was inaugurated by Mohammed Abdullah Al
Maadid, Assistant Chairman of the General
Authority of Customs, and attended by Mubarak
al Buainain, director of the Customs Training
Center, other officials also attended the workshop.
The workshop provides an opportunity to
discuss current international, regional and national
initiatives to combat illegal financial flows and
money laundering, as well as to share experiences
among participants on enhancing practical
progress in their respective countries, which will
contribute to the fight against all organized crime
and the preparation of appropriate reports.
The workshop was attended by 60 partici-
pants, including officials who directly contribute
to the development of customs policies as well as
senior officials who head the investigation or
smuggling structures, those responsible for
customs operations at ports, a number of
department heads and officials in the General
Authority of Customs. The officials taking part in the workshop organised by the General Authority of Customs.
 MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018
Qatar Airways and Rolls-Royce
launch ‘Innovation for Leaders’
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: Qatar Airways has
announced that it has teamed up
with Rolls-Royce to co-develop
a unique specialised training
programme for the airline’s
national engineers, as part of its
Al Darb Qatarisation programme.
The new ‘Innovation for
Leaders’ programme has been
designed to enable Al Darb par-
ticipants to learn from Rolls-
Royce’s innovation and lead-
ership. Professional experts from
Rolls-Royce will introduce the
airline’s national engineers to a
variety of topics designed to chal-
lenge them.
The programme aims to
enable different individuals to
work together to create inno-
vative solutions that will help
develop their skills further by
exposing them to new
perspectives.
Qatar Airways Senior Vice-
President Human Resources,
Nabeela Fakhri, said: “Qatar
Airways is proud to be collabo-
rating with Rolls-Royce on this
specialised Innovation Pro-
gramme to provide our Nationals
HIA partners with Tarsheed on energy-saving campaign
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: Hamad International
Airport (HIA) through its Memo-
randum of Understanding (MoU)
with Kahramaa in partnership
with the National Programme for
Conservation & Energy Efficiency
“Tarsheed” launched the ‘One
Degree Makes a Difference’
campaign in the spirit of Qatar’s
Annual Sustainability Week.
The initiative champions Tar-
sheed’s objectives on energy con-
versation as part of the Qatar
National Strategy 2018-2022
objectives for saving resources
through conservation and energy
efficiency to achieve eight percent
per capita decrease of electricity
consumption by 2022.
Since November 1, the
airport has increased the AC
temperature by one degree for
a duration of two months, dem-
onstrating simple tactics that
conserve energy and benefit the
environment. Awareness videos
and visuals are on display
throughout HIA’s terminal,
encouraging travellers to par-
ticipate in environmentally-con-
scious practices.
Commenting on the cam-
paign, Abdulaziz Al Mass, HIA
Vice-President of Commercial
and Marketing, stated: “HIA
holds itself to the highest envi-
ronmental standards and to
responsible business practice. A
key component of our contri-
bution to national energy saving
initiatives is cooperation with
instrumental and action-ori-
5th Katara European Jazz Festival kicks off tomorrow
RAYNALD C RIVERA
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: Top jazz musicians from
13 countries are set to enthrall
lovers of the genre at the this
year’s edition of the annual
Katara European Jazz Festival,
which opens tomorrow night.
In its fifth edition, the festival
has grown through the years,
from five participants in its inau-
gural edition to 13 participating
countries this year including
Germany, France, Austria, Spain,
Portugal, Bulgaria, Netherlands,
Hungary, Poland, Switzerland,
Romania, Belgium and Italy
which are members of European
Union National Institutes for
Culture (EUNIC) Cluster in Qatar.
To be held from tomorrow
until Sunday, the five-day music
fest will see two to three nightly
performances starting at 6.30pm
The ‘Innovation for
Leaders’ programme
has been designed
to enable Al Darb
participants to
learn from Rolls-
Royce’s innovation
and leadership.
Professional experts
from Rolls-Royce will
introduce the airline’s
national engineers
to a variety of topics
designed to challenge
them.
with essential insights from both
organisations.”
She said that this is a unique
opportunity for Al Darb partici-
pants to learn from some of the
sharpest business minds in the
aviation industry. “The ‘Inno-
vation for Leaders’ programme
is one of the many initiatives Al
Darb Qatarisation programme is
implementing to support talented
young Nationals to develop their
Mohsin Alshaikh, Manager, Environment Facilities Management, at the HIA, addressing the launch of
the campaign. RIGHT: The launch of ‘One Degree Makes a Difference’ campaign at the HIA departure
terminal, yesterday. PIC: SALIM MATRAMKOT / THE PENINSULA
ented organisations.”
“The airport’s sustainable
practice, comprised of several
energy management programmes
and participation in Airports
Council International (ACI) Airport
Carbon Accreditation program, is
paving the way to mitigate envi-
ronmental impacts wherever we
operate,” he added.
Eng. Abdul Aziz Al Hammadi,
Kahramaa’s Conservation and
Energy Efficiency Department
Manager, commented: “This cam-
paign is part and parcel of Tar-
sheed’s overall goal to decrease
per capita consumption of elec-
tricity, encouraging efficient use
of apparatus and decreasing CO2
emissions. We have just com-
pleted our energy audit for the
airport, including an energy
assessment report which will
increase energy-efficient practices
in HIA’s operations.”
at the Katara Esplanade.
Speaking at a press con-
ference yesterday, the ambas-
sadors of the participating coun-
tries expressed their happiness
to take part in the successful fes-
tival which has grown from
strength to strength every year
since its inception.
“We are proud that the fes-
tival has grown bigger and bigger
every year, up to become a key
event in the local cultural pan-
orama,” said Italian Ambassador
Pasquale Salzano.
Salzano underscored how
music, with particular focus on
jazz, has an important role to
play in communicating feelings
and creating bonds among
peoples being a universal
language.
“Jazz is indeed the best
example we can offer to promote
intercultural exchange. As one
professional skills and fulfil lead-
ership roles in the aviation
industry, as well as provide them
with the opportunity to connect
and learn from the airline’s global
strategic partners,” said Fakhri.
In addition, Rolls-Royce will
also hold a Business Management
and Commercial Awareness
Course in Derby, UK in January
for Qatar Airways’ Nationals,
which will provide them exposure
to topics including: Airline
Strategy, Commercial, Finance
Essentials and Airline
Simulation.
Rolls-Royce Vice-President,
– Customers, David Hynes, said:
“Rolls-Royce is honoured to have
the opportunity to partner with
Qatar Airways to jointly enhance
our knowledge of how to effec-
tively lead innovation in our busi-
nesses. It was great to see our
teams working together so enthu-
siastically to solve real life
problems facing our industries.”
The training is part of Qatar
Airways’ Al Darb Qatarisation
programme, a development ini-
tiative that aims to support
Nationals to become passionate
global citizens and leaders in the
This new initiative follows the
tracks of the existing MoU
between HIA, Qatar Airways and
Tarsheed, which was imple-
mented last year to achieve long-
term sustainability and energy
conservation in line with the Qatar
National Vision 2030. Through
this framework, Tarsheed con-
ducted staff trainings for both HIA
and Qatar Airways on best prac-
tices for electricity and water con-
servation as well as energy effi-
ciency, in addition to planned
energy audits at HIA’s award-
winning passenger terminal and
at Qatar Airways head offices.
Earlier this year, HIA success-
fully retained its Airport Carbon
Accreditation at Level 3. The air-
port’s renewal came after success-
fully reaching Level 3 ‘Optimi-
sation’ status last year in the Air-
ports Council International (ACI)
Airport Carbon Accreditation
Katara General Manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti (centre) with ambassadors and representatives
of member countries of EUNIC Cluster in Qatar participating at the 5th European Jazz Festival, at a
press conference yesterday at Katara Building 18.
of the most significant musical
phenomenon of the 20th
century, jazz represents a fusion
of rhythm and improvisation, a
melting pot of cultures that
The participants pose for a picture.
aviation industry. A Qatari word
that means ‘The Pathway’, Al
Darb highlights the different paths
that individuals can take with
Qatar Airways.
Through initiatives such as its
summer internship programme
and Graduate Developee pro-
gramme, Al Darb provides stu-
dents and graduates with real-life
projects that add to their work
experience and prepare them for
programme. The airport is the first
airport among the Gulf countries
and only the second in the Mena
region to achieve this
accreditation.
HIA is currently targeting to
improve carbon efficiency per
passenger by 30 percent by 2030
against a 2015 baseline and has
achieved significant progress. In
addition to a fuel-saving pro-
gramme aimed at reducing fuel
consumption through operational
practice and driver awareness, the
airport’s Carbon Management
Plan encourages the participation
of the airport’s stakeholders
including passengers, Qatar
Airways and its subsidiaries, gov-
ernment stakeholders, private
operators, and retailers to engage
in environmentally-conscious
practices and reduce carbon
emissions across the airport
campus.
blends Afro-american and
European musical sensibilities,”
he said.
The event will kick off
tomorrow with jazz performers
a successful career at the National
Carrier of the State of Qatar.
A multiple award-winning
airline, Qatar Airways was named
‘World’s Best Business Class’ by
the 2018 World Airline Awards,
managed by international air
transport rating organization
Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best
Business Class Seat,’ ‘Best Airline
in the Middle East,’ and ‘World’s
Best First Class Airline Lounge.’
New statute of Qatar
Motor and Motorcycle
Federation adopted
QNA
DOHA: Minister of Culture and
Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al
Ali issued yesterday a decision
to adopt the new statutes of the
Qatar Motor and Motorcycle
Federation (QMMF), based on
amendments proposed by the
Federation to some provisions
of the statute.
This decision comes in the
framework of the strategy of the
Ministry of Culture and Sports
to empower young people and
develop their capabilities as well
as enhance the level of the sport
in Qatar, and within the coordi-
nation and fruitful cooperation
between the Ministry and
QMMF. The decision also aims
at enhancing QMMF’s inde-
pendence in the management
of its affairs, as the case in the
other sports federations, in
order to enhance the level of the
sport in the state and maintain
its leadership in the interna-
tional sports community.
It also seeks to enable young
people to participate effectively
in the management of the fed-
eration and its sports clubs,
involve them in their decision-
making, and encourage them to
make initiatives and proposals
that will improve sports work,
which reflects the state’s confi-
dence in the youth and their
from Austria and Italy, the latter
to be represented by the “Max
Ionata Trio”, which comprises
three champions of Italian jazz.
Katara General Manager Dr.
HOME 05
Qatar Airways currently
operates a modern fleet of more
than 200 aircraft via its hub,
Hamad International Airport
(HIA) to more than 150 destina-
tions worldwide. Earlier this year,
Qatar Airways revealed a host of
forthcoming global destinations
in line with its expedited
expansion plans, including
Gothenburg, Sweden; Da Nang,
Vietnam and Mombasa, Kenya.
potential and ability in this field.
The QMMF General Assembly
has been formed, including all
sports clubs that exercise any
sports activity of cars and
motorcycles. Within three
months, the General Assembly
would prepare for the election
of the new board of directors as
well as the adoption of QMMF’s
strategic plan and programs, in
addition, to exercise the other
powers provided for in the
statute.
Meanwhile, motor sports
officials praised the new statutes
of the Qatar Motor and Motor-
cycle Federation (QMMF)
adopted by HE Minister of
Culture and Sports Salah bin
Ghanem Al Ali, which aims to
empower young people and
develop their ability to choose
a new board of directors through
a general assembly.
An executive body was also
established in Qatar SC and Al
Sadd, which specializes in
mechanical sports. Qatar SC
hosted the motorcycles activ-
ities at the Batabit centre, while
as Al Sadd hosted motor activ-
ities at Mawater centre. The two
clubs are included in the
members of the General
Assembly of QMMF, in addition
to the other specialized clubs
that practice motors sports, such
as Lusail SC.
Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti
emphasized Katara’s keenness
in organizing important interna-
tional events such as the jazz fes-
tival. He expressed his deep grat-
itude and happiness how the fes-
tival has evolved into a big event
and the great success it has wit-
nessed in the past editions as
shown by to the increasing
number of participants each
year.
“Organising this festival in
Katara for the fifth year in a row
adds to the cultural scene in
Qatar and exposes the visitors of
Katara to a significant form of
music and culture,” said Al
Sulaiti.
The ambassadors said this
year’s performers are among the
most renowned in their coun-
tries’ jazz scene who will be per-
forming their hit songs from their
rich repertoires.
06 HOME
QC set to implement several
development projects in Gaza
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: Qatar Charity (QC) is all
set to implement the devel-
opment projects funded under
“Gaza, the Right to Live”
campaign.
QC said that it would begin
immediately, through its office
in the Gaza Strip, the imple-
mentation of the projects
funded under the campaign.
With generous support
from philanthropists in Qatar,
total donations collected for QC
projects under the joint cam-
paign “Gaza, the Right to Live”
amounted to around QR14.5m,
which constitutes 90 percent
of the total donations of the
campaign amounting to QR16m.
These donations will be
used to support health and edu-
cation sectors and to implement
income generation projects and
those related to the provision
of water and health services
‘The Color Run’
returns to
Qatar next year
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: One of the most
eagerly anticipated events in
Qatar’s sporting calendar is
fast approaching as The Color
Run presented by Sahtak
Awalan: Your Health First
returns to Qatar National
Convention Centre on
January 26, 2019.
The event will mark the
fifth time that The Color Run
— known as the ‘Happiest 5k
on the Planet’ — has been
brought to Qatar by Sahtak
Awalan: Your Health First, the
flagship public health cam-
paign of Weill Cornell Med-
icine-Qatar (WCM-Q).
A large turnout is
expected for The Color Run,
which last year attracted a
record-breaking 9,000 par-
ticipants. As ever, 2019’s
Color Runners will be doused
from head to toe in brightly
coloured powders at 1k
intervals as they make their
way around the course,
before celebrating com-
pletion with friends and
family at the Color Run Finish
Festival.
The 2019 Color Run has a
new ‘Hero Tour’ theme that
will see participants don
capes and other superhero
garb when they collect their
medals at the finish line. The
2019 edition will also feature
the Foam Zone, in which par-
ticipants can enjoy being
covered with bubbles blown
from foam machines.
Tickets can be purchased
by visiting www.thecolorrun.
qa. Since its inception in 2012,
The Color Run has become a
global phenomenon.
Muscat International Jewellery Exhibition to begin on December 11
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: Organised once in a year
as one of world’s top interna-
tional jewellery exhibitions,
Muscat International Jewellery
Exhibition, will be organised at
Oman Convention and Exhi-
bition Centre between
December 11 to 15, 2018 jointly
structured by Oman Interna-
tional Exhibition Centre and
VEGA Intertrade and Exhibition.
This year 9th edition, will
feature a wide range of precious
and authentic gemstones, spec-
tacular pearls, attractive gold
ornaments and fabulous
diamonds.
And the exhibition will be
fuelling jewellery exports of
Muscat in addition to reflecting
to the whole world, the extraor-
dinary dynamism and energy of
and many other social projects.
QC said, such donations
from them reflect the level of
trust QC enjoys in the public
and at the same time increase
its commitment towards donors
in order to expedite the imple-
mentation of the funded
projects according to the best
specifications through its office
in Gaza,
QC extended special thanks
to Eid Charity for donating over
QR7.6m under the campaign to
implement five projects, which
include the operation of seven
health centres to benefit 24,000
people and the provision of
assistance to dozens of patients
with kidney failure, as well as
the provision of prostheses for
200 people. The projects also
include providing safe lighting
for 7,000 families, and main-
taining and rehabilitating
sewage stations benefiting
40,000 people.
4,000 urgent and emergency
surgeries performed at HGH
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: With around 4,000
urgent and emergency surgeries
performed year each at Hamad
General Hospital (HGH), Dr
Abdulla Al Ansari, Acting Chief
Medical Officer, said instilling and
maintaining a safety culture is at
the forefront of his team’s work.
Hamad Medical Corporation’s
(HMC) Acute Care Surgery section
is responsible for all urgent and
emergency general surgery cases
at HGH.
Dr Al Ansari said the 2014
adoption of the World Health
Organisation’s (WHO) Surgical
Safety Checklist, which was
implemented within the Acute
Care Surgery section in cooper-
ation with the Hamad Healthcare
Quality Institute, is an example
of the continued focus on patient
safety. He added that the
WISH’s Doha healthcare week to promote healthy living
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: The World Innovation
Summit for Health (WISH), an
initiative of Qatar Foundation
(QF), has announced the activ-
ities taking place during Doha
Healthcare Week, which kicks off
tomorrow.
The inaugural seven-day fes-
tival will feature a host of work-
shops, health checks, and mental
and physical wellbeing activities.
A wide range of free events will
also promote healthy living and
showcase the services offered by
Qatar’s leading healthcare pro-
viders, including Hamad Medical
the Muscat jewellery sector.
Further, jewellery machinery,
materials, tools, equipment and
accessories will be showcased
at the premier exhibition from
a wide range of manufacturers
and distributors from within the
region and outside.
The premier trade fair will
attract companies from across
the world, including Oman,
Lebanon, India, Qatar, Italy,
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Thailand,
Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey and
UAE.
For the last eight consec-
utive years, MIJEX has been
highly well-received by both
traders and buyers as the exhi-
bition features a wide range of
masterpiece jewellery from
various leading brands and
newcomers from many
countries.
Katara launches Iraqi Cultural Nights
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: Performance of tradi-
tional Iraqi songs and poetry
highlighted the launch of “Iraqi
Cultural Nights” at Katara
Opera House on Saturday.
The event, held within the
Iraqi Cultural week festivities,
was officially opened by Dr.
Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti,
General Manager of Katara,
along with Abdelsattar Al
Janabi, Chargé d’Affaires at Iraq
Embassy.
Hundreds of members of
the Iraqi community along with
other nationalities watched the
show.
The concert began with
poetry reading by prominent
Iraqi poet Alyaa Almalki who
expressed her happiness to
perform in Qatar for the first
time, saying that she was
looking forward to meet local
poets. This was followed by a
traditional music performance
implementation of the checklist
has resulted in improved com-
munication between surgical
teams and led to a 50 percent
reduction in delays in the oper-
ating room.
“Acute care surgery is an
evolving specialty that aims to
ensure timely access to high-
quality emergency surgical care
and improve outcomes for
patients with acute surgical con-
ditions. We continue to be
focused on improving surgical
safety and are delighted to have
successfully implemented the
World Health Organisation’s Sur-
gical Safety Checklist. This simple
checklist has been shown to sig-
nificantly reduce surgical com-
plications and through its imple-
mentation, we have helped
patients achieve faster recovery
rates and improved health out-
comes, including reducing the
Corporation, Primary Health Care
Corporation (PHCC), and Al-Ahli
Hospital.
During Doha Healthcare
Week, members of the public
who answered a call to register
last month will have the oppor-
tunity to visit the Flying Eye Hos-
pital. A fully functioning medical
facility operated by global eye
health charity Orbis, the hospital
is a converted cargo plane that
flies all over the world to provide
medical treatment to those in
need. The aircraft will be based
at the old airport in Doha for the
duration of Doha Healthcare
Week.
Likewise, the 9th Muscat
International Jewellery Exhi-
bition, which is open to both
companies and public, is the
perfect destination for buyers
to seek the most beautiful jew-
ellery and for sellers to boost
business as the event serves as
an ideal platform for brands and
potential buyers to meet under
one roof.
The organizers expect a
whopping 25,000 visitors
during five days of the event,
which will be held in massive
area of 4,000 square meters at
the Convention Centre.
The exhibition will open to
all companies and public on
December 11, 12, 13 and 15, 2018
from 12noon to 10pm. However
on December 14, the exhibition
will open from 4pm to 11pm.
Oman International
Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti (left), General Manager of Katara, and Abdelsattar including paintings
Al Janabi (centre), Chargé d’Affaires at Iraq Embassy, with other officials at the that highlight the
opening of Iraqi art exhibition on Saturday at Katara Building 19.
of Oud by Iraqi musicians and
Iraqi singer Qaes Aladamy’s
amazing rendition of ancient
traditional songs of Baghdad
preserved over centuries
length of hospital stay. The
checklist has also contributed to
reduced waiting lists for opera-
tions,” said Dr Al Ansari.
Various conditions including
acute appendicitis, gallstones,
pancreatitis, intestinal obstruc-
tions, and diabetic foot infections
are among the most common
conditions that require urgent
surgical intervention. Dr Al
Ansari says HMC’s Acute Care
Surgery section, which is com-
prised of more than 50 members,
provides an advanced model of
care for patients who require
urgent and emergency general
surgery.
The WHO Surgical Safety
Checklist is a patient safety com-
munication tool that is used by
nurses, surgeons, anesthesiolo-
gists, and other operating room
professionals to discuss important
details about each surgical case.
Additional highlights include
an exhibition at the QF Recreation
Center and QF Headquarters
showcasing the work of interna-
tionally-renowned photogra-
phers, focusing on the health
effects of war; a special free
screening by Doha Film Institute
of ‘Life: Animated’ in MIA Park on
November 7 at 7pm; a Diabetes
Walkathon at Education City,
organized by QF member Qatar
Diabetes Association on
November 9 at 2pm; football on
the beach at Katara each evening
with ‘Sahtak Awalan – Your
Health First,’ an initiative of QF
partner university Weill Cornell
The organisers of Muscat International Jewellery Exhibition pose
for a picture after announcing the details of the expo.
Exhibition Centre is the sole
state-owned organisation that
is equipped to hold large-scale
exhibitions and trade fairs in the
Sultanate of Oman. Since the
MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018
among traditional singers.
Another traditional Iraqi
performance “Khashaba,” a
Bedouin style music using
special drums, was performed
Members of HMC’s Acute Care Surgery section and Quality team.
It involves a series of steps and
checks that ensure everyone
knows the information they need
to know. HMC is among the first
hospitals in the region to
implement the checklist.
Every operation has a series
of steps that must be performed
correctly every time and Dr
Rashad Al Fkey, Consultant, Acute
Care Surgery and Chairman of the
Perioperative Quality Committee,
said the use of a surgical safety
checklist helps prevent commu-
nication failures and reduces
complications. “The checklist
Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q); and
healthy cooking classes for fam-
ilies at The St. Regis Doha on
November 10. Other activities
include cancer checks by PHCC,
free health check-ups by Al-Ahli
Hospital, an information booth
at Doha Festival City set up by the
Ministry of Public Health, and
workshops aimed at healthcare
professionals around topics such
as nursing, tobacco control, and
diabetes.
Launched in collaboration
with the Ministry of Public Health
and QF, the new community-
focused healthcare festival has
benefitted from the support of
inception in 1985 the centre has
been the main venue in the Sul-
tanate for various events such
as exhibitions, fairs and variety
show. Vega Intertrade and
before an appreci-
ative audience.
Renowned Iraqi
singer Amal Khu-
dayyer brought nos-
talgia to the
audience with a
modern per-
formance of Iraqi
songs that drew the
attention of and
interaction from the
audience.
The concert was
preceded with the
opening of an art
gallery by several
Iraqi artists who are
based in Qatar,
rich Iraqi heritage.
Janabi said that
they are trying the cultural
nights an annual event at
Katara, while lauding the
efforts exerted by Katara to
make the concert happen.
includes a briefing, sign in,
timeout, sign out, and debriefing.
During the briefing, which gen-
erally happens at the beginning
of the day, all team members
meet. During this meeting, the
team is formally introduced to
each other and the various oper-
ations scheduled for that day are
discussed in detail. This is done
to ensure the needs of each
patient can be fully met. Next
comes the ‘sign in’ which occurs
before the induction of anesthesia
and before the first incision is
made,” said Dr. Al Fkey.
local partners including WCM-Q,
College of the North Atlantic-
Qatar, Al Jazeera Media Network,
Qatar Cancer Society, Shangri-
La Hotel Doha, The St. Regis
Doha, and the World Innovation
Summit for Education, an initi-
ative of QF. International partners
include Orbis, The Carter Center,
The Rosalynn Carter Institute for
Caregiving, Nursing Now, and
Alzheimer’s Disease
International.
Doha Healthcare Week runs
until November 12, in the week
leading up to WISH 2018, which
takes place from November 13 to
14.
Exhibition, pioneer in the Middle
Eastern exhibition market and
now one of the most sought-
after exhibition and event
organizers specialized in the
Middle East and North Africa
(MENA) region.
With over 15 years of expe-
rience and expertise in organ-
izing international exhibitions
and events, Vega have a proven
track record establishing stra-
tegic alliances and gaining
support from various gov-
ernment officials in Thailand,
Asean and the Middle East. And
continuously, developing
resources and opportunities to
maximise benefits for cus-
tomers, including integrated
information, services, strategies
and networks to help establish
and expand their business in
these potential markets.
 MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018
Call to develop national material standards
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: College of the North
Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q) hosted
the ninth general Forum for
Materials Technology, sponsored
for the first time by Occidental
Petroleum of Qatar Ltd. (Oxy
Qatar).
The meeting brought together
50 experts from the local and
international oil and gas com-
panies, academic institutions in
Qatar, Danish Institute of Tech-
nology, Ministry of Municipality
and Environment, and Qatar
National Research Fund to
discuss corrosion and failure case
studies. Throughout the meeting,
they examined issues related to
corrosion and materials, as well
as identifying possible research
studies to resolve these problems.
The Forum is working dili-
gently to ensure the standardi-
sation of engineering and infra-
structure materials selection in
the region, which derives from
high-quality field research and
case studies.
Breast cancer awareness
month: Careem to donate
10% of rides’ fare to QCS
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: Careem, one of the
region’s leading technology
organisations, launched a
breast cancer awareness
campaign in partnership with
the Qatar Cancer Society (QCS)
last October.
When a Careem customer
books a ride using the code
“PINKPOWER”, 10% of the
ride’s fare is donated to QCS
during the Breast Cancer
Awareness Month.
According to the World
Health Organisation (WHO),
breast cancer is the most fre-
quent cancer among women,
impacting 2.1 million women
each year and causes the
greatest number of cancer-
related deaths.
In 2018, it is estimated that
627,000 women passed away
from breast cancer, that is
approximately 15% of all cancer
deaths among women. Khaled
Nuseibeh, General Manager of
Careem GCC, said: “The earlier
we educate young women, the
healthier the communities
WCM-Q event aims to improve ethics education
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: Weill Cornell
Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) has
hosted a regional teacher
training course on the subject
of ethics. It was held in collab-
oration with the Unesco Office
for the Gulf States and Yemen,
Unesco Beirut and the Qatar
National Commission for
Unesco .
Twenty-five participants
from Qatar and the wider
region convened at WCM-Q
for the four-day Regional
Ethics Teacher Training
Course, which is designed to
advance pedagogical capacity
for ethics teaching and
improve the quality of ethics
education around the world.
The course forms part of a
multifaceted capacity-building
strategy designed to help
Unesco Member States address
ethical issues arising from
rapid progress in medical and
life sciences.
It was opened by Dr.
Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi,
Under-Secretary of the Min-
istry of Education and Higher
Education; Dr Khaled
Machaca, WCM-Q Associate
Dean for Research, and Dr
Anna Paolini, Director of the
Unesco Doha office.
The ninth general
Forum for Materials
Technology, hosted by
CNA-Q and sponsored
for the first time by
Oxy Qatar, brought
together 50 experts
from the local and
international oil and
gas companies.
The Forum resulted in
working towards the devel-
opment of local standards for
materials selection in Qatar and
the Middle East due to an absence
of material standards in the
region, as most of the current
international standards were
developed based on research
from the North Sea.
Oxy Qatar’s Vice-President
of Operations, Kirby Lindsey,
stated in the opening address,
“Oxy Qatar is delighted to be a
proud sponsor and participant in
become. One of our main goals
at Careem is to give back to our
communities, our region and
our customers and if we help at
least one woman combat the
disease, it would be a great
victory for all of us.”
Mariam Hamad Al Nuaimi,
General Manager of Qatar
Cancer society, said: “We truly
value our partnership with
Careem Qatar and the efforts
set towards reaching out to
their passengers to raise the
awareness of the dangers of
Breast Cancer. We have to
deliver the most important
message at the end of the day,
the earlier a tumour is detected
and treated, the better the
outcomes.”
Participants during the regional teacher training course on the subject of ethics hosted by
Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar.
The course, which was
jointly hosted by WCM-Q’s
Division of Continuing Profes-
sional Development and the
Research Division, taught par-
ticipants the principle methods
and methodologies for the
teaching of ethics, identified
key learning resources, and
provided assessment and
feedback on the teaching skills
of each participant, under the
guidance of experienced
teachers. The highly inter-
active course featured lec-
tures, group work, individual
demonstrations, and group
discussions, led by trainers of
HOME 07
temperature, humidity, sand,
wind, salt water, and direct sun-
light that corrodes and damages
industry infrastructure. Coming
together is an opportunity for the
engineering industry and educa-
tional professionals to build
capacity and create national
standards that will work for
Qatar,” said Farhat. “We proudly
support Qatar as the first nation
in the Middle East to develop
national standards based on the
field experience and studies.”
Samah Gamar, CNA-Q’s VP
– Academic, said, “As the state’s
premier college for technical
education and applied research,
Experts during CNA-Q’s ninth general Forum for Materials Technology, which was sponsored for the
CNA-Q has a long history and
first time by Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd.
wealth of experience in working
closely with the industry partners
this event. Forums such as these efficient operations.” Hanan institutions in Qatar. The to resolve corrosion issues
provide key arenas for us all to Farhat, the Forum Chairman and decision came with an under- ensuring better asset integrity.
share best practices, the latest an instructor at CNA-Q’sa School standing that there is a lack of Actively engaging and contrib-
research and newest technol- of Engineering Technology, corrosion and materials engi- uting to the development of such
ogies. It allows the industry to established the Forum for Mate- neering knowledge and expe- engineering standards is a natural
continue pushing boundaries and rials Technology in 2015 along rience sharing in Qatar’s energy fit for the College in supporting
extending the useful life of our with engineers from the national sector. Qatar’s industries through edu-
assets, which in turn, leads to and international oil and gas “Qatar is unique for its envi- cation, analysis, research and
lower operating costs and more companies, and academic ronmental factors such as high problem solving.”
UCQ Board of Trustees discuss strategic plans
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: Qatar has officially
announced the University of
Calgary in Qatar’s (UCQ) inau-
gural Board of Trustees.
This comes after a new gov-
ernance structure was estab-
lished earlier this year, secured
upon the signing of a five-year
collaboration agreement
between Qatar and UCQ. Now
in its eleventh year of operation,
UCQ is the only Canadian uni-
versity in Qatar and the sole pro-
vider of bachelor’s and master’s
degrees in nursing in the
country.
For the first time all together, The inaugural Board of Trustees of University of Calgary in Qatar (UCQ) during a session at UCQ.
board members from Qatar and
Canada met in Doha this week families in our community. Trustees is an important and Health Sciences and Professor
to discuss current operations and They are catalysts who are necessary step forward for of Virology, Qatar University; Dr
the future strategic plans for the leading healthcare system trans- UCQ,” explained Dr. Marshall. Khalid Al Ali, Director of Higher
University, including next steps formation. Meeting the health “The University of Calgary has a Education Institutions Affairs
in helping to meet the Qatar care goals of Qatar requires edu- proud tradition of academic Department, Office of the
National Health Strategy 2018- cating more nurses and sup- excellence in Canada and around Assistant Undersecretary for
2022. “A healthy future for Qatar porting the development of the world. We are excited to con- Higher Education Affairs and Dr
depends on a workforce that current nurses. I believe UCQ is tribute to the advancement of Nabila Al Meer, Deputy Chief for
includes well educated nurses,” educating the nursing leaders nursing in Qatar by delivering Continuing Care Group and Min-
said UCQ Board of Trustees that will help us get there.” the academic programs that will istry of Public Health Nursing
Chair, Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Jabor Dr Dru Marshall, Provost and help make it possible.” Affairs.
Al Thani. “The University of Vice President (Academic) of the Board members appointed Board members appointed
Calgary in Qatar offers higher University of Calgary, was one by Qatar include Board Chair, by the University of Calgary
education nursing degrees right of three senior university repre- Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Jabor Al include Dr Marshall, Provost
here in our own country. Nurses sentatives who traveled from Thani, Chairman, Qatar Cancer and Dr Sandra Davidson, Dean,
make vital contributions to the Canada for this initial meeting. Society; Dr Asmaa Ali J F Al Faculty of Nursing and Karen
health of their patients and their “The formation of a Board of Thani, Dean of the College of Jackson, General Counsel.
the Unesco bioethics team. professionals to always act in
Among the topics addressed the very best interests of
by the course were patient patients and research subjects.
rights, privacy, confidentiality As such, a sound under-
and informed consent; the UN standing and a solemn appre-
Universal Declaration on ciation of ethics is absolutely
Bioethics and Human Rights; fundamental to the correct
dignity and ethics for profes- practice of medicine and bio-
sional educators; and bioethics medical research. Dr Anna
teaching in the Arab World. Paolini, Director for Unesco
Dr Thurayya Arayssi, Doha office, said, ”Ensuring
WCM-Q Senior Associate Dean the equitable distribution of
for Medical Education and the benefits of science as well
Continuing Professional as ‘health wealth’ to address
Development, said, “Ethical inequalities within and among
behaviour demonstrates our nations, is a central challenge
commitment as physicians, to achieving the 2030 Devel-
researchers and healthcare opment Agenda.
08 HOME MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018
 MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA 09

Battles rock Yemen port city

as UN warns of ‘living hell’
AFP

HODEIDA, YEMEN: Intensified

fighting shook a key rebel-held
port city on Yemen’s Red Sea
coast yesterday, leaving dozens
dead as the United Nations
warned that children in the
war-torn country face “a living
hell”.
The bloodshed comes
despite growing international
pressure to end a years-long
conflict that has killed thou-
sands and pushed the impover-
ished Arabian Peninsula nation
to the brink of famine.
Fifty-three Houthi rebels
have been killed and dozens
wounded in battles and air
strikes over the past 24 hours in
Hodeida, according to medical
sources in the port city, which
is a key gateway for humani-
tarian aid.
Military officials said Saudi-
led coalition warplanes carried
out dozens of air strikes early
Sunday to support pro-gov-
ernment forces in fighting that
appear to be approaching the
city’s main university.
Houthi media reported air
strikes in Hodeida on Sunday
but did not give a fighter cas-
ualty toll.
Thirteen pro-government
troops were killed, according to
medical sources in Aden and
Mokha, where their bodies were
transported.
Nearly three quarters of the
Over 150 dead in weekend
violence around Hodeida
SANA’A: Yemeni officials say fighting has escalated around the key
port city of Hodeida, with more than 150 combatants killed over
the weekend from both the rebel and government-backed side.
They said yesterday that airstrikes and naval artillery have
pounded rebel positions around the Red Sea costal city, which
government backed-troops launching a major ground assault
seek to wrest from dug-in rebels. Fierce fighting also erupted in
Bayda and Saada provinces.
country’s imports flow through warned that 14 million people Papers and belongings of the staff of Jerusalem Governor’s Office are seen scattered around the
Hodeida, from where they are across the country face office after a raid by Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Al Ram, northeast of Jerusalem, yesterday.
transported by land to areas imminent famine.
further north. The Hodeida clashes
The port is controlled by
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi
rebels and under blockade by
erupted on Thursday just hours
after the government said it was
ready to restart peace talks with
Israeli forces raid Jerusalem
Saudi Arabia and its allies in a
government coalition.
The UN children’s fund
the Iran-backed Huthis.
The offer followed a surprise
call by the United States for an
governor’s office in West Bank
(Unicef) warned an assault on end to the Yemen war, including
Hodeida city would jeopardise air strikes by the coalition. ANATOLIA According to Palestinian violation of all agreements and
the lives of Yemenis across the Both the coalition and medical sources, three people international law”.
country who depend on its port rebels stand accused of acts that JERUSALEM: Israeli forces suffered temporary asphyxi- The spokesman went on to
for humanitarian aid. could amount to war crimes, yesterday raided the Jerusalem ation from teargas canisters hold the Israeli government
“Yemen is today a living hell and the Saudi-led coalition has governor’s office in the occupied fired by Israeli forces and were responsible for “the repercus-
— not for 50 to 60 percent of the been blacklisted by the UN for West Bank, according to local treated on the spot. sions of these assaults”.
children — it is a living hell for the maiming and killing of residents. The Israeli raid was quickly There was no comment
every boy and girl in Yemen,” Yemeni children in air raids. “An Israeli force stormed the condemned by the Ramallah- from the Israeli army on the
he told a news conference in the According to the World governor’s office in the town of based Palestinian report. Last month, Israeli police
Jordanian capital. Health Organization, nearly Al Ram, northeast of Jerusalem, government. detained Jerusalem governor
The UN has called Yemen, 10,000 people have been killed and searched it,” a local resident In a statement, government Adnan Ghaith and released him
long the poorest country in the in the conflict, though some said. He said Israeli soldiers spokesman Yousef Al Mahmoud two days later.
Arab world, the largest human- rights groups estimate the toll assaulted a number of described the raid as a “dan- Last week, Ghaith was again
itarian crisis in the world, and could be five times higher. employees inside the office. gerous escalation and a flagrant briefly detained by Israeli forces.

Bahrain Shia opposition leader sentenced to life
AP & REUTERS
DUBAI: A Shia cleric who was a central
figure in Bahrain’s 2011 Arab Spring
protests was sentenced to life in prison
yesterday on spying charges.
The ruling by the Supreme Court of
Appeals came after Sheikh Ali Salman was
acquitted of the charges by a lower court
in June. Human rights groups and activists
say the charges against him are politically-
motivated and related to his work as a
leading opposition figure.
The verdict was issued just weeks
before parliamentary elections are set to
take place without the Al Wefaq political
group Salman once led. Al Wefaq, which
was the tiny Gulf nation’s largest Shia
opposition bloc, was ordered dissolved
in 2016 as part of a crackdown on dissent
in the kingdom, which has a Shia majority.
The state-run Bahrain News Agency
reported the appellate court’s decision
yesterday without naming the defendants,
saying three individuals were found guilty
of the spying charges.
Human Rights First, an activist group,
confirmed the ruling refers to Salman. His
co-defendants in the case— Sheikh
Hassan Ali Juma Sultan and Ali Mahdi Ali
Sheikh Ali Salman
Al Aswad — are also former Al Wefaq
officials.
The three faced charges of ‘disclosing
sensitive information to Qatar’ that could
harm Bahrain’s security in exchange for
financial compensation. The state-run
news agency said prosecutors presented
recorded phone conversations as
evidence.
Last year, Bahrain state television
aired the recorded calls between Salman
and Qatar’s then-Prime Minister during
the 2011 protests.
A government-sponsored report on
the 2011 protests and unrest noted Bah-
rain’s opposition had accepted an idea for
mediation by Qatar during the uprising,
but Bahrain’s government had rejected
it. Salman’s supporters say calls to Qatar
were related to those efforts and that
recordings were edited to suggest
otherwise.
Alaswad, who has lived in London
since 2011, has said that the public pros-
ecutor used secret witnesses and a video
from a Bahraini television channel which
experts described as edited and
incomplete.
Salman, in his early 50s, has long been
targeted by Bahrain’s government. In
1994, he was arrested, allegedly tortured
and detained for months without trial
before being deported and forced to live
in exile for over 15 years, according to the
United Nations.
He is currently serving out a four-year
sentence in another trial on charges he
insulted the Interior Ministry, which
oversees police, incited others to break
the law and incited hatred against natu-
ralised Sunni citizens, many of whom
serve in Bahrain’s security forces.
Brian Dooley, a senior adviser at
Human Rights First, said yesterday’s ruling
“confirms there is now no tolerance for
any dissent in Bahrain.”
Amnesty International described the
verdict as a “travesty of justice” and said
Salman is being held “solely for peace-
fully exercising his right to freedom of
expression.”
Wefaq, which has strong links to the
country’s Shia majority, has campaigned
for social and political reforms in the
country.
Iran criticised the verdicts, its state
news agency Irna said.
“These verdicts leave no doubt for
public opinion and the international com-
munity that Bahrain is not looking for
reform but has decided to intensify the
repression,” Irna quoted Foreign Ministry
spokesman Bahram Qasemi as saying.
Bahrain has frequently accused Iran
of interference in its internal affairs.
Tehran denies the accusation.
Bahrain is home to the US Navy 5th
Fleet. The 2011 uprising there was quelled
with help from Saudi and Emirati forces.
Syria ready to
cooperate with
new UN envoy
AFP
DAMASCUS: Syria is ready
to cooperate with new UN
envoy Geir Pedersen as long
as he avoids the methods of
his predecessor, its deputy
foreign minister said in
remarks published yesterday.
Pedersen, who assumes
the role at the end of
November, is the fourth nego-
tiator to have been appointed
the UN’s special envoy to
Syria since the country’s war
broke out in 2011.
A seasoned Norwegian
diplomat, he replaces Staffan
de Mistura, who announced
he is leaving the post last
month after a four-year stint.
“Syria will cooperate
with the new UN envoy Geir
Pedersen provided he avoids
the methods of his prede-
cessor,” Deputy Foreign Min-
ister Faisal Al Meqdad said.

Rebels slay at least

Hamas hails Tunisian
court ruling against
Israeli visit
ANATOLIA
GAZA CITY: Palestinian group
Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip,
has welcomed a Tunisian court ruling
banning the entry of an Israeli dele-
gation into Tunisia. The delegation
was scheduled to take part in the
conference of World Forum on Inter-
faith Dialogue Ambassadors, due to
be held on Nov. 4-8.
But on Friday, the Tunis-based
Court of First Instance ruled to
prevent the Israeli delegation from
entering the country to attend the
event. “We appreciate the great
Tunisian people and all the Tunisian
organizations that worked hard for
allowing the issuance of this decision,”
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.
The issue was brought to the court by
the National Commission for the Support
of Arab Resistance, an NGO, the Repub-
lican Party and the People’s Movement
against the country’s Tunisian Scouts —
the forum’s organizers.
Iranians stage anti-US march on eve of sanctions
REUTERS
TEHRAN: Thousands of Iranians chanting
“Death to America” rallied yesterday to
mark the anniversary of the seizure of the
US Embassy during the 1979 Islamic Revo-
lution and the imminent reimposition of
US sanctions on Iran’s oil sector.
Students attending the government-
organised rally in the capital Tehran,
broadcast live by state television, burned the
Stars and Stripes, an effigy of Uncle Sam and
pictures of President Donald Trump outside
the former embassy compound.
Hardline students stormed the embassy
on November 4, 1979, soon after the fall of
the U.S.-backed shah, and 52 Americans
were held hostage there for 444 days. The
two countries have been enemies ever
since. State media said millions turned out
for rallies in towns and cities, swearing
allegiance to the clerical establishment and
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The figure could not be independently con-
firmed by Reuters.
Rallies are staged on the embassy
takeover anniversary every year. But
rancour is especially strong this time round
following Trump’s decision in May to
Iranians gather to stage a protest against United States during the 39th anniversary
of the occupation of former US Embassy building in Tehran, Iran, yesterday.
withdraw from world powers’ 2015 nuclear
deal with Iran and reimpose sanctions on
Iran. The deal brought about the lifting of
most international financial and economic
sanctions on Iran in return for Tehran
curbing its disputed nuclear activity under
UN surveillance. Trump said the deal was
weak and favoured Iran. The other signa-
tories —Britain, France, Germany, Russia and
China — remain committed to the accord.
seven civilians in
eastern DR Congo
AFP
BENI: Rebels killed at least
seven civilians and abducted
15 others, including children,
in fresh overnight raids in the
far eastern Democratic
Republic of Congo, civilian
and military sources said.
Fighters of the Allied
Democratic Forces (ADF)
staged two raids Saturday
night in the North Kivu region
bordering Uganda, Teddy
Kataliko, leader of the civilian
administration in Beni dis-
trict, said.
According to his account,
rebels at Mangboko burnt a
lorry driver in his vehicle and
killed six other civilians, while
in Oicha, they killed one
person and abducted 15
others — for a total death toll
of eight. Beni district admin-
istrator Donat Kibwana said
seven people were killed and
15 people were abducted,
including 10 children.
10 VIEWS MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018

Social media’s misinformation

ESTABLISHED IN 1996
battle: No winners, so far
CHAIRMAN
SHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
DR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFI
editorinchief@pen.com.qa

BARBARA ORTUTAY
ACTING MANAGING EDITOR
AP
MOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED
m.salim@pen.com.qa

F
acebook and other social plat-
forms have been fighting
DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR online misinformation and
MOHAMMED OSMAN ALI hate speech for two years.
With the US midterm elections just a
osman@pen.com.qa few days away, there are signs that
they’re making some headway,
although they’re still a very long way
from winning the war.
That’s because the effort risks

EDITORIAL running into political headwinds that

Facebook, Twitter and Google find bad
for business. Some even argue that the
social networks are easy to flood with
disinformation by design - an unin-
Qatar winning praises tended consequence of their eagerness
to cater to advertisers by categorizing

Q atar’s great preparations for the 2022 FIFA World
Cup is winning praise on all fronts. Sport has a
unique power to bring people together and Qatar
is adding many feathers into its cap by hosting several
sport events in the run-up to 2022 Cup and beyond.
In yet another milestone, corporations around the
world can now sign up for the World Corporate Games
2019, which will be held for the first time in the Middle
East in Doha, Qatar. Taking place between November 6
and 9, 2019, the Games is expected to attract around 8,000
international and local participants and will include 24
different sports ranging from dragon boat racing and
ten-pin bowling to football and basketball to golf, tennis
and running in addition to eSports and mindsports.
Rashed Al Qurese, Chief Marketing & Promotion Officer
at Qatar Tourism Authority said: “The hosting of mass
participation events such as this supports our goals for
developing a vibrant sports and recreation tourism sub-
sector in Qatar.” Dr. Maureen Johnston, Founder of the
World Corporate Games, said: “Doha and Qatar together
make an outstanding venue for the Games. The facilities
are among the best in the
world, the ambience of the city
and the magnificence of the
infrastructure together with
legendary hospitality of the
Qataris will create an excep-
Qatar is adding tional experience for every
many feathers participant and visitor.”
into its cap by Qatar hosts close to 80
sporting events and world-
hosting several class competitions across a
sport events in multitude of sporting disci-
the run-up to plines annually. It is the first
2022 Cup and Middle Eastern country to earn
the rights to host the World
beyond. Championships in Athletics
(2019) and the FINA World
Swimming Championships
(2023). Qatar also hosted the 48th FIG Artistic Gymnastics
World Championships for the first time in the Middle East
with the participation of 700 players representing 78 coun-
tries around the world, at the Aspire Dome.
Members of the Executive Committee of the Interna-
tional Sports Press Association (AIPS), who were in Doha,
paid an inspection tour to a number of World Cup facil-
ities. They expressed admiration for what they saw and
for Qatar’s ability that made the State a venue for football
and various sports.
Mitchell Obi, President of AIPS Africa and Vice-Pres-
ident of AIPS, said the whole world is taking about Qatar’s
preparations for the 2022 World Cup, and stressed Qatar’s
readiness to contribute to delivering an extraordinary
event through highlighting Qatar’s remarkable progress
and achievements to the world. Hungarian Zsuzsa Csisztu
was very impressed and said the World Cup stadiums in
Qatar reflect the spirit and originality of the country, as
well as showcase the latest football technology, and added
people can learn from these experiences to build their
sporting facilities. She stressed that the World Cup 2022
will be the greatest in the history of the game.
The hosting of sport events and the admiration and
praises further strengthen Qatar’s position globally and
the interests of their users. the past two years. A similar measure
Caught embarrassingly off-guard from the University of Michigan’s
after they were played by Russian Center for Social Media Responsibility
agents meddling with the 2016 US dubbed the “Iffy Quotient “ - which
elections, the technology giants have gauges the prevalence of “iffy”
thrown millions of dollars, tens of material on social networks - also
thousands of people and what they say shows that Facebook’s “iffiness” has
are their best technical efforts into fallen from a high of 8.1 percent on
fighting fake news, propaganda and March 6, 2017, to 3.2 percent yes-
hate that has proliferated on their terday. Twitter iffiness has also fallen
digital platforms. slightly, from 5.6% on November 6,
Facebook, in particular, has pulled 2016, to 4.2 percent yesterday.
a major reversal since late 2016, when Even at these levels, fake news
CEO Mark Zuckerberg infamously dis- remains huge and may be spreading to
missed the idea that fake news on his new audiences. A team led by Philip
service could have swayed the election Howard, the lead researcher on
as “pretty Oxford’s Computational Propaganda
crazy.” In effort, looked at stories shared on
July, for Twitter during the last 10 days of Sep-
instance, the tember 2018 and found that what it
company called “junk news” accounted for a full
announced quarter of all links shared during that
Facebook, Twitter that heavy time - greater than the number of pro-
and Google have spending on fessional news stories shared during
thrown millions security and that time.
content mod- The team defined junk news as
of dollars, tens eration, sources that published deceptive or
of thousands coupled with incorrect information, often in an ide-
of people and other ological or conspiratorial way, while
what they say business failing to meet criteria such as profes-
shifts, would sionalism, bias, credibility and style.
are their best hold down While the Oxford analysis didn’t
technical efforts growth and produce similar figures for Facebook,
into fighting fake profitability. the researchers did map out how junk
Investors news circulates on the social network
news, propaganda
immediately and found that conspiracy theories
and hate that panicked and and other misinformation once con-
has proliferated knocked $119 fined to a “hard right” audience are
on their digital billion off the now shared more freely among main-
company’s stream conservatives as well.
platforms. market value. Such studies offer imperfect pic-
The social tures of what’s actually happening on
network has social networks, since the services typi-
started to see cally don’t offer researchers untram-
some payoff for its efforts. A research meled access to their data. Twitter, for
collaboration between New York Uni- instance, takes issue with the Oxford
versity and Stanford recently found study, noting that it used a public feed
that user “interactions” with fake news of tweets that doesn’t reflect the fil-
stories on Facebook, which rose sub- tering Twitter does to remove mali-
stantially in 2016 during the presi- cious or spammy material.
dential campaign, fell significantly Tamping down misinformation, of
between the end of 2016 and July course, is anything but easy. Adver-
2018. On Twitter, however, the sharing saries are always finding new ways
of such stories continued to rise over around restrictions. It can also be hard
Time to end impunity for crimes against journalists
Galizia are still waiting for justice, one
THOMAS HUGHES year after she was killed by a car bomb.
AL JAZEERA Today is the Day to End Impunity for
Crimes against Journalists when civil
to distinguish misinformation and
propaganda from legitimate news,
especially when world leaders such as
President Donald Trump are regularly
disseminating falsehoods on social
media.
Politics also complicates matters,
since the social-media companies are
anxious to avoid charges of political
bias. When Facebook, Google’s
YouTube and, eventually, Twitter all
banned the conspiracymonger Alex
Jones for various violations of their
terms of service, Jones and his allies
immediately claimed he was being cen-
sored. President Trump chimed in a few
weeks later with a parallel charge,
claiming without evidence that Google
and other companies were “suppressing
voices of Conservatives and hiding
information and news that is good.”
Twitter, in fact, charges that
researchers such as the Oxford team
define “junk news” too broadly. The
group, for instance, classes conserv-
ative sites such as Breitbart News and
the Daily Caller as “junk” by its cri-
teria. Twitter argues that banning
“media outlets that reflect views
within American society” would
“severely hinder public debate.”
Some critics charge that the very
advertising-based business model that
made Zuckerberg rich is also perfectly
suited for propagandists. Services like
Facebook and Twitter “sustain them-
selves by finding like-minded groups
and selling information about their
behavior,” Dipayan Ghosh, a former
privacy policy expert at Facebook and
Ben Scott, senior adviser at New
America, wrote in a Time Magazine
op-ed earlier this year. “Disinfor-
mation propagators sustain them-
selves by manipulating the behavior of
like-minded groups.”
“They don’t self-regulate,” said
Dora Kingsley Vertenten, a professor
of public policy at the University of
Southern California and CEO of
research consulting firm Trenton
West. “They just want to make a profit,
and what they have done to date is not
nearly enough.”
commented on the killing of
Khashoggi, showing perhaps unchar-
acteristic self-awareness, when he
acknowledged his own criticism of the

reflects the international community’s confidence in the
Qatari talent of organising international events.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Yemen is today a
living hell — not for
50 to 60 percent of
the children — it is a
living hell for every
boy and girl in Yemen.
Geert Cappelaere
Unicef MENA Regional
Director
T
he murder of Saudi journalist
Jamal Khashoggi is extraor-
dinary, not because of the brutal
way he was killed, nor because those
who did it are unlikely to be held to
account. It is extraordinary because it
has become international news in a
world where violence against jour-
nalists is increasingly the norm.
In 2017 alone, 78 journalists were
murdered, and thousands more
assaulted or imprisoned for their
work. On average, only one in 10 of
those who commit violence against
journalists are convicted of their
crimes. In countries like Mexico,
where 12 journalists were murdered in
2017, virtually no perpetrators are
convicted.
Even in Europe, a supposedly safe
place for journalists to work, there are
worrying cases of murders of jour-
nalists. The family of Maltese investi-
gative journalist Daphne Caruana
society calls on governments to take
action and bring to justice those who
are guilty of killing journalists such as
Khashoggi and Galizia.
But these violent acts do not occur
in isolation, nor are they the only
threat facing journalists today. Among
the international leaders who have
condemned Khashoggi’s murder is
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, who without apparent irony
said: “From the person who gave the
order, to the person who carried it out,
they must all be brought to account.”
Since the attempted coup in 2016,
Erdogan’s government has systemati-
cally destroyed the independent media
in Turkey. Currently, 174 journalists are
in prison, including Ahmet Altan and
five other media workers whose life
sentences were upheld by a Turkish
court a few weeks ago, calling into
question the fairness of these trials.
US President Donald Trump also
media. When asked to comment on
the implications of the Saudi
involvement in Khashoggi’s murder,
Trump said: “There’s a lot of stake,
maybe especially so because this man
was a reporter, there’s something,
you’ll be surprised to hear me say that,
there’s something really terrible and
disgusting about that.”
Just days later, the US president
chose to celebrate violence towards
journalists, when he expressed
support for Republican Congressman
Greg Gianforte, who was found guilty
of assaulting a Guardian journalist in
2017. He told a rally in Montana: “Any
guy that can do a body slam, he’s my
kind of… he’s my guy.”
Since announcing his campaign
for presidency, Trump’s vilification of
the press has been relentless whether
at rallies, White House press confer-
ences or through more than 1,000
critical tweets.
 MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018
What happens if the Democrats take the House?
T
o begin with, no one knows or
can predict what will happen
in the US midterms on
November 6. Polls used to be
very accurate. We, as the public,
viewed them as predictors of voting.
LARRY BEINHART As a commercial product employed
both by political campaigns and busi-
AL JAZEERA
nesses, they were disciplined by the
demands of the market and had been
one of the few true successes of the
social sciences.
Yet something went wrong.
Almost all the major political events of
the past dozen years - the election of a
black president, the collapse of the
Democratic majority in his first mid-
terms, his re-election, the nomination
of Donald Trump, the election of
Donald Trump, plus a Republican
sweep of the house and senate - have
Mandatory charges for
plastic bags important step
toward reducing waste
YOMIURI SHIMBUN
E
nvironmental pollution from
plastic waste is an increasingly
visible problem. Even if it is dif-
ficult to halt the use of plastic
products overnight, efforts must be
made to steadily reduce the volume of
plastic waste produced in our daily
lives.
The Environment Ministry has
compiled a draft of the plastic
To halt resources recycling strategy. The draft
environmental sets a numerical target for reducing
the use of disposable plastic con-
destruction, it
tainers, among other goals.
is indispensable Plastics are synthetic resins made
to move toward mainly from oil. They are light and
lowering the prices have superior durability, but they do
not easily decompose in the natural
of biodegradable
world, thus posing a problem in terms
plastics that of environmental conservation.
decompose Plastic waste is accumulating in the
in the natural sea, and by one estimate, its weight
will exceed that of fish by 2050.
environment.
Japan ranks second globally after
been shocks and surprises.
At this point, we can’t consider the
polls to be much more than guesses.
Informed, calculated, well-considered
guesses, but still guesses. The con-
sensus of those guesses is that Demo-
crats will take the House of Repre-
sentatives and the Republicans will
hold the Senate. Let’s start with that
scenario.
It would make for fabulous drama.
More outrageous than House of Cards,
not quite as murderous as Game of
Thrones. The Democrats will control
the house committees, meaning
they’ll control investigations and they
will have subpoena power.
Donald Trump, his family, and a
multitude of his appointees have been
accused of committing a wide-
ranging and colourful assortment of
the United States in terms of the
volume of single-use plastic con-
tainers discarded per capita, including
plastic bags and delicatessen con-
tainers at supermarkets. In the
current circumstances, in which there
are no available materials to replace
plastic, it is essential to refrain from
its use as much as possible.
The pillar of the draft strategy is to
make it mandatory to charge for plastic
bags at supermarkets and convenience
stores. Restrictive measures, including
charging for or banning the use of
plastic bags at such places, have already
been introduced by more than 60
countries. Plastic bags account for a
meager 1 percent or so of the total
domestic use of plastics. Even so, it can
be said that a shift to charging for them
is symbolic as a countermeasure against
plastic waste, because these bags are a
product familiar to each household.
By taking advantage of the
adoption of this system, it is imper-
ative to enhance awareness of
reducing plastic waste.
According to the ministry, the
charging system has already been
introduced at many supermarkets
across cities, wards, towns and vil-
lages eager to take measures to deal
with plastic bags. In contrast,
however, almost no progress has been
made in having convenience stores
adopt the system.
Behind this is the fact that there
are fewer customers at convenience
stores who bring shopping bags along
crimes. So far, the Republican
majority has been able to block any
real investigations. With a Democratic
majority, they will go forward with
broad and endless publicity.
One possibility is a constitutional
crisis. If recent history is a guide, the
Trumpettes will claim extreme and
unprecedented versions of executive
privilege plus newly invented theories
of why they don’t have to answer
questions. Congress and congres-
sional committees have the authority
to declare witnesses - or those who
refuse to be witnesses - in contempt
and detain them. However, the pro-
cedure, by agreement and by custom,
is that Congress does not carry out
contempt proceedings by itself. It
refers them. To whom? To the
Department of Justice.
In recent decades, the Department
of Justice has dishonoured that obli-
gation when it suited their politics. In
1982, Anne Gorsuch was Ronald Rea-
gan’s head of the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency (EPA). Like many EPA
administrators appointed by Repub-
lican presidents, she thought it was
her mission to diminish and destroy
the agency she was in charge of.
Congress disagreed. They asked
her to turn over documents. She didn’t
do so. The House voted to cite her for
contempt. It was referred to the
Department of Justice, where it died.
The same happened with “EPA
Assistant Administrator Rita Lavelle in
1983, White House Counsel Harriet
Miers in 2008, White House Chief of
Staff Joshua Bolten in 2008, Attorney
General Holder in 2012 and IRS
Director Lois Lerner in 2014”. At that
point, Congress can attempt to assert
its authority by going to court for a
writ of mandamus, compelling gov-
ernment officials to carry out their
duties, or by changing the process and
reclaiming the right of enforcement.
Best guess is that if they do either,
it goes to the Supreme Court.
Then there are two best guesses.
The five Republican, conservative
judges - including Anne Gorsuch’s
son, Justice Neil Gorsuch - vote to
protect their guys whatever the cir-
cumstances. The other possibility is
that Chief Justice John Roberts would
not want the Supreme Court under his
watch to lose the rest of its respect
and moral authority in the eye of the
US public.
If so, he may swing from the rhe-
torical law and order side to the actual
law. (It’s a shame that the judicial and
political systems are so degraded that
any hope boils down to the possibility
that just one person has a moment of
honour, putting principle above
partisanship).
Even if key members of the
administration manage not to testify,
House committees should be able to
get enough information to make it
clear that crimes have been com-
mitted. If so, who actually prosecutes?
On the federal level, it is, once again,
with them, compared with those
going to supermarkets. Many conven-
ience store customers bring home
cold drinks and hot bento box meals
in different bags, thus enhancing the
demand for plastic bags. There is
concern that if such bags are charged,
customers will switch to other stores
where free bags are available.
To make the charging of plastic
bags take root at convenience stores,
across-the-board mandatory imple-
mentation of the system could be a
realistic option.
Reducing the consumption of
plastic bottles is also important. China
and some Southeast Asian countries
have begun to restrict imports of
waste plastics for environmental
reasons. Among Japanese waste
plastic dealers who have lost their
foreign outlets for exports, there has
been an increasing number of cases in
which the disposal of waste plastics
has fallen behind due to a sharp
increase in inventory.
It is necessary to further ramp up
the domestic recycling rate for waste
plastics. Switching from plastic con-
tainers to paper boxes is another
effective measure. If more people
carry a water flask around, too, it will
lead to curbing the use of plastic
bottles.
To halt environmental destruction,
it is indispensable to move toward
lowering the prices of biodegradable
plastics that decompose in the natural
environment.
OPINION 11
the Department of Justice, which is
part of the executive branch,
answering to the president.
The states, however, are sep-
arate entities with their own
attorney generals. Certain federal
violations are also state violations.
For example, if Trump and the
Trump family cheated, failed to
report, or committed some sort of
fraud in their federal taxes, they
would almost certainly have done
exactly the same with their state and
even city taxes. The attraction of
high-publicity prosecutions is great.
The Office of the New York
State Attorney General has given us
a president (Martin Van Buren), a
vice president (Aaron Burr), a
senator, and two governors. One
Manhattan district attorney became
governor, another, Thomas Dewey,
very nearly became president.
If a House majority votes to
impeach, it would be the equivalent
of an indictment. Then it goes to the
Senate for a “trial.” In the very
unlikely event that Democrats get a
one or two seat majority there, it
still requires a two-thirds vote to
“convict”, to remove the person
from office.
If you’re a pollster, it looks like
a 1 out of 6 shot that Republicans
keep the House. If you’re betting,
you can get much better odds,
about 1:2. Should that happen,
expect that whatever you don’t like
about Donald Trump, from his hair
to his rump, from his anti-immi-
grant policies to the destruction of
the commitment to liberal
democracy, the demonisation of
the press and the end of truth, to
double, double-bubble, quadruple.
So hunker down, find the
psychic fallout shelters, and watch
old Marx Brothers movies to have
something to laugh about.
D-RING ROAD
POST BOX: 3488
DOHA - QATAR
editor@pen.com.qa
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OFFICE
TEL: 4455 7741 / 767
FAX: +974 4455 7758
MANAGING EDITOR
TEL: 4462 7505
DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR
TEL: 4455 7769
LOCAL NEWS SECTION
TEL: 4455 7743
BUSINESS NEWS SECTION
TEL: 4462 7535
SPORT NEWS SECTION
TEL: 4455 7745
ONLINE SECTION
TEL: 4462 7501
info@pen.com.qa
PUBLIC RELATIONS
TEL: 4455 7613
pr@pen.com.qa
ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT
TEL: 4455 7837 / 780
FAX: 4455 7870
adv@pen.com.qa
CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT
TEL: 4455 7857
adv@pen.com.qa
SUBSCRIPTION &
DISTRIBUTION
TEL: 4455 7809 / 839
FAX: 44557819
info@tawseelqatar.com
All thoughts and views
expressed in these columns
are those of the writers,
not of the newspaper.
All correspondence
regarding Views and
Opinion pages should be
send to editor-in-chief
office or mailed to the
editorinchief@pen.com.qa
12 ASIA
Delhi’s iconic Signature
Bridge opens amid fracas
IANS
NEW DELHI: After missing
many deadlines, the iconic and
much-awaited Signature Bridge
on the Yamuna was inaugurated
yesterday by Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal and will open for
the public from today.
The opening came after a
clash between BJP and AAP
workers at the site, with BJP
Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari,
also an MP, punching a
policeman during the fracas
before order was restored.
Claimed by the government
to be the country’s first asym-
metrical cable-stayed bridge,
with the gesture ‘namaste’, the
bridge will help people to enjoy
a panoramic view of the city
from 154-metre high observation
deck — to be opened in around
two months.
“Some final work is left in the
high observation deck and it will
be opened earlier next year,
while the roads will open from
Monday,” an official said.
The 575-metre-long sus-
pension bridge, proposed in
Kashmir power
supply restored
after heavy
snowfall
IANS
SRINAGAR: Power supply
was restored yesterday to 90
percent of Srinagar city and
most rural areas of the
Kashmir Valley after over-
night heavy snowfall
damaged transmission towers
and snapped surface and air
links with the rest of India.
After an unprecedented
Valley-wide breakdown,
electricity supply was
restored in 90 percent areas
of Srinagar and in nearly 70
percent rural areas, officials
said.
Hashmat Qazi, the Chief
Engineer (Electric Mainte-
nance) of Kashmir, said elec-
tricity supply would be
restored everywhere within
hours.
“Due to transmission
failures, our supply was on
Saturday cut down to just
80MW. On Sunday we are
supplying around 1,000MW.
We are facing problems in
south Kashmir areas where
some of our transmission
towers have been damaged.
This will take a day or two for
complete restoration.” After
Saturday’s snowfall, the
Valley was plunged into
darkness, affecting even Sri-
nagar’s major hospitals.
It was the first time the
Valley got snow in November
since 2009.
Qazi said falling trees also
disrupted power supply lines.
Air and surface links
between the Valley and the
rest of the country remained
suspended.
Poor visibility forced sus-
pension of all flights from the
Srinagar airport since Sat-
urday afternoon while heavy
snowfall in the Jawahar
Tunnel area closed the Sri-
nagar-Jammu highway.
Snowfall also hit the Sri-
nagar-Leh highway and the
Mughal Road that connect the
Valley with the Ladakh region
and Jammu region’s Rajouri
district. Traffic within the
Kashmir Valley too was
affected as snow piled up on
the roads, making them
slippery.
Authorities said nearly
500 people caught in heavy
snowfall in Peer Ki Gali on the
Mughal Road and the Jawahar
Tunnel area of Srinagar-
Jammu highway had been
rescued.
Claimed by the
government to be
the country’s first
asymmetrical cable-
stayed bridge, with
the gesture ‘namaste’,
the bridge will help
people to enjoy a
panoramic view of the
city from 154-metre
high observation deck
— to be opened in
around two months.
2004 and approved by the Delhi
cabinet in 2007, will reduce the
travel time between North and
North-East Delhi.
The bridge, connecting
Wazirabad across the river
Yamuna, will take vehicular
pressure off the existing
Wazirabad bridge.
It will also connect the Outer
Ring Road on the western bank
of the river with Wazirabad road
on the eastern side.
Dedicating the bridge to the
Maneka turns on own party after tiger shot dead
AFP
NEW DELHI: A cabinet minister
accused a party colleague
yesterday of ordering the
“ghastly murder” of a tiger and
vowed legal action after the
man-eating animal was shot in
the country’s west.
The big cat blamed for killing
more than a dozen people was
shot dead on Friday night after
a months-long search, capping
one of India’s most high-profile
tiger hunts in decades.
But the shooting in the
Gearing up for Festival of Lights
Cutomers buy fireworks and crackers ahead of Diwali festival in Amritsar, yesterday. Firecrackers
are used during celebrations for Diwali, the ‘Festival of Lights’, marking the victory of good over evil.
Central govt not spending enough
on health and education: Tharoor
IANS
KOLKATA: Emphasising on the
need for a social security buffer,
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor
yesterday said the successive
governments at the Centre have
been underspending in the
health and education sectors.
“We are grossly under-
spending both on health and
education as a percentage of
GDP and government’s budget,”
he said.
There is a “prime need of
social security buffer”, not nec-
essarily in the form the
people of Delhi, Kejriwal said
people should ask political
parties about the works done by
them before voting.
“Don’t get into the politics of
those building temples, else your
son will become a priest and not
an engineer. Before voting ask
the parties how many schools,
hospitals or bridges they built. If
they fail to count, tell them they
can’t get your vote.
“For the development of the
country, the governments should
build schools, hospitals and
bridges and not temples or
statues,” Kejriwal said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
leader added that “it is the time
for the people to think if they
want bridges or statues.” The
bridge was inaugurated in the
presence of Delhi Assembly
Speaker Ram Niwas Goel,
Deputy Chief Minister Manish
Sisodia and Cabinet Ministers
Imran Hussain, Satyendar Jain
and Gopal Rai among others.
Sisodia, in his address, said
the bridge will be a landmark
and a tourist destination.
“Delhi was famous for India
forests of Maharashtra state
sparked immediate controversy
and allegations the kill was
unethical and illegal.
Maneka Gandhi, a staunch
animal activist and part of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s
cabinet, accused the state forest
minister of hiring a “trigger-
happy shooter” to slay the tiger.
“It is nothing but a straight
case of crime”, said Gandhi, a
member of the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP), describing the
shooting as a “ghastly murder”.
“I am definitely going to take
government is now giving, he
said.
According to him, insurance
companies are the “gainers”
with the government backed
insurance scheme.
“For example, we discovered
90 per cent of government
expenditure in the crop insurance
scheme — Fasal Bima Yojana —
has gone to insurance companies
and only 10 per cent has been
paid out to farmers. That is a bad
idea,” he said at an interactive
session organised by the Indian
Chamber of Commerce.
He underlined the need for
A view of the cable-stayed ‘Signature Bridge’ after its inauguration in New Delhi, yesterday.
Gate and Qutub Minar but will
now be known for this bridge.
The bridge got its first pylon after
we came to power. The work
done before that was only 10-15
per cent,” he said.
The inauguration was fol-
lowed by a laser show. The
Twitter page of the bridge was
also started.
Ahead of the inauguration,
BJP and AAP activists clashed,
up this case of utter lack of
empathy for animals as a test
case. Legally, criminally as well
as politically,” she posted on
Twitter.
She accused the state’s forest
minister Sudhir Mungantiwar —
also from the BJP — of ignoring
appeals to call off the hunt for
the tiger known officially as T1
and popularly as Avni.
The Supreme Court had
issued a hunting order for T1 in
September, ruling that she could
be killed if tranquilisers failed.
Several appeals were made
massive government investment
in the public sector hospitals,
primary and community
healthcare sector where
treatment will be free.
“If we have a decent infra-
structure available at the public
sector hospitals, the question of
needing a subsidised insurance
scheme should not exist,” he
said.
Tharoor said people’s
expenditure on their own health
is increasing and the rising cost
of treatment is problematic for
daily wage earners and poor
families.
MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018
with BJP leader Manoj Tiwari
attacking AAP workers and
punching a policeman who
intervened.
Tiwari got into a scuffle
with AAP workers before the
function started at the site,
leading to the violence. The BJP
leader later blamed the AAP for
the trouble.
Tiwari yesterday accused
AAP legislator Amanatullah Khan
against the death sentence.
Forestry officials acknowl-
edged to Indian media that no
vet was present during the hunt,
as required by the Supreme
Court order.
The Indian branch of the
People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals said the tiger
slaughter was about “satisfying
a hunter’s lust for blood”.
The big cat was blamed for
13 deaths since June 2016 but
animal activists said she was
trying to protect her young.
A team of more than 150
BJP ministers back
seers’ demand for
law on Ram temple
IANS
NEW DELHI: A number of
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Ministers including Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath yesterday seconded
a demand by Hindu seers for
an ordinance or law for
construction of the Ram temple
in Ayodhya.
Speaking at an event at
Bikaner in Rajasthan, Yogi Adi-
tyanath said: “Light an extra
lamp for Ram this Diwali as you
see your sentiments taking
shape, because the work will
soon begin there (Ayodhya). The
time has come to fulfil that
resolve. After Deepawali, we
will move forward.” Union Min-
ister Uma Bharti said no one
could stop a Ram temple at
Ayodhya.
“A grand temple will be
built, nobody can stop it. Rama
Lalla will keep presiding where
he is now,” she said.
Giriraj Singh, another Union
Minister, said in Bihar’s Nawada
that “no power in the world”
could come in the way of Ram
Mandir in Ayodhya.
“The (Supreme) Court has
taken several matters in the
middle of the night. So if they
have time for terrorists, why not
for Ram who is the object of
faith for 125 crore Indians?
People had high hopes, their
hopes were dashed and that is
why they are filled with anger.
No power in the world can
come in the way of Ram
Mandir,” Singh said.
Minister of State for Law
and Justice P P Chaudhary said
and his party workers of man-
handling him and described it
as “unfortunate”.
Tiwari said he had gone to
the event on the invitation of the
Delhi government.
“I was listening to (Delhi
Chief Minister) Arvind Kejriwal
speech. I was standing near the
inauguration venue and then I
was pushed by Khan,” Tiwari
told the media.
people had spent months
searching for T1, using a paraglider
and dozens of infrared cameras
while sharpshooters had ridden
on the backs of elephants.
T1 was shot by Asghar Ali Khan,
son of India’s most famous hunter
Nawab Shafath Ali Khan, who was
meant to be leading the hunt but
was not present Friday night.
The senior Khan defended
his son’s actions as “a reflex
action of self-defence” as the
tiger turned on the hunting party
after being struck by a tranqui-
lizer dart.
he “personally” felt that a law
should be brought for con-
struction of a Ram temple at
Ayodhya.
“Ram Mandir should cer-
tainly be built. We want a
judgment on this at the earliest.
It is the desire of 85 percent of
the population that a judgment
on it should come fast,”
Chaudhary said.
“I cannot speak on behalf
of the government, but my per-
sonal opinion is that since the
court is taking very long in this
matter, a legislation can be
brought,” he added.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief
Minister Dinesh Sharma said it
was the government’s right to
decide where to install Ram’s
idol.
“Whether Ram’s idol will be
installed or not, nobody has a
right to discuss this mater but the
government. Government has
the right to decide whose idol it
installs and where. If there is a
need to install Ram’s idol, then it
is our duty to do it. And people
should not worry about it. The
opposition at this moment is
worried,” Sharma said.
The Congress, however,
dismissed the BJP’s pitch as
plain politics ahead of
elections.
“After a gap of five years,
and as the election approaches,
they (BJP) remember the Ram
Mandir. What were they doing
till now? There was a BJP gov-
ernment before and even now...
one should not politicise the
issue,” former Haryana chief
minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda said.
 MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018
Criminal proceedings begin
against rioters in Pakistan
AGENCIES
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has
started criminal proceedings
against rioters involved in
destroying property during the
three-day countrywide protests
against a Supreme Court verdict.
The ministry yesterday
released initial pictures of the
miscreants involved in vandal-
ising property and harming
common citizens during the
demonstrations, which ended
on Friday after the government
reached an agreement with the
protesters.
The ministry also appealed to
citizens to cooperate with the police
and the Federal Investigation
Agency in identifying the rioters.
“We will release more pic-
tures of those involved in rioting
and destroying public property
in the coming days,” a statement
from the interior ministry read.
“The interior ministry
received pictures from the
special branch and other sources.
We have asked the police and the
FIA for their cooperation in iden-
tifying the perpetrators,” the
statement said.
It further requested citizens
to inform the police and FIA
after identifying the agitators.
The Interior Ministry also
directed the police and FIA to
take action after identifying the
perpetrators.
On Saturday, the Interior
Ministry assured of action
against elements involved in
destroying properties and
harming common citizens. The
ministry said it was in the
process of identifying such ele-
ments and that action will be
15 dead as
truck hits
31-car line-up
in China
AFP
BEIJING: An out-of-control
truck ploughed into a 31-car
line-up in northwest China
killing 15 people and injuring
44, authorities in the city of
Lanzhou said yesterday.
The accident occurred
Saturday night as the driver
of the heavy duty articulated
truck lost control on a
downhill stretch of
expressway and collided with
cars lining up at a toll booth,
Lanzhou’s propaganda
department said.
Ten of the 44 hurt sus-
tained serious injuries,
authorities said. The big rig
driver Li Feng was put under
investigation and police
watch, according to the
official news agency Xinhua.
The semi-trailer was reg-
istered to Li’s home north-
eastern Liaoning province,
more than 2,000 kilometres
from the scene of the
accident. It was Li’s first time
driving the stretch of road, the
China Daily said.
State broadcaster CCTV
aired video from the scene
showing heavy snow and
many crippled and twisted
vehicles.
Deadly road accidents are
common in China, where
traffic regulations are often
flouted or go unenforced.
Last week a scuffle
between a bus driver and a
passenger caused a bus to
plunge from a bridge into a
river in southwest China,
killing all 15 people on board.
According to authorities
58,000 people were killed in
accidents across the country
in 2015 alone. Violations of
traffic laws were blamed for
nearly 90 percent of acci-
dents that caused deaths or
injuries that year.
Nearly 500 people
have been booked
for rioting in Karachi.
A total of 12 cases
have been registered
initially against
‘unknown suspects’
but the miscreants
would soon be
identified with the
help of CCTV footage
and social media
videos, the police
said.
taken against them.
Khadim Rizvi, Afzal Qadri
were among 500 booked for
rioting In Karachi and a total of
12 cases have been registered
against the rioters, police said.
The cases have been registered
initially against ‘unknown sus-
pects’ but the miscreants would
soon be identified with the help
of CCTV footages and social
media videos, police added.
FIR registered against more
than 100 protesters who were
involved in vandalism in
Islamabad. Almost 12 arrested.
Warrants for 19 persons under
Section 3 of MPO are issued by
the District Administration who
were involved in violence and
incitement.
Meanwhile, the husband of
a Christian woman at the centre
of a blasphemy case has pleaded
for international help to leave
the country, saying he feared for
his family’s safety.
Sri Lanka’s ousted PM says US, Japan freeze aid over crisis
REUTERS
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s deposed
Prime Minister Ranil Wick-
remesinghe said the United
States and Japan had frozen
more than a billion dollars of
development aid after his abrupt
dismissal raised doubts about the
future of democracy in the
island.
The move to hold back
project financing, along with the
EU’s warning it could withdraw
duty-free concessions for Sri
Lankan exports if it didn’t stick
to commitments on national
Sri Lankan activists during a demonstration in Colombo yesterday. Sri Lanka’s main Tamil party
urged the President to reconvene parliament and end a worsening political crisis.
Rohingya teen injured in firing at Bangladesh-Myanmar border
AFP
COX’S BAZAR: A Rohingya
refugee boy was shot and injured
on the Bangladesh-Myanmar
border as multiple rounds were
fired from a Myanmar border
security post, an official said
yesterday.
Nurul Islam, 15, was grazing
cows when 17 rounds were fired
The request by Asia Bibi’s
husband Ashiq Masih came a
day after he criticised a gov-
ernment deal with hardline
Islamists that left her in legal
limbo, and called on authorities
to protect her.
Bibi — who had been on
death row since 2010 on blas-
phemy charges — was acquitted
by the Supreme Court on
Wednesday, triggering large
street protests by ultra-conserv-
ative Islamists who paralysed
Pakistan for three days, blocking
roads and disrupting traffic.
The government reached a
deal on Friday to end the pro-
tests by agreeing to a travel ban
preventing Bibi from leaving the
country, and saying it would not
object to hardline movements
appealing the verdict.
An appeal has now been
filed with the court against Bibi’s
release.
Masih criticised the gov-
ernment deal, saying it was
“wrong”.
“I request President Donald
Trump to help us to leave (the
country), and I request the prime
minister of the UK to do their
level best to help us, to grant us
freedom,” said Masih, in a video
message also requesting help
from the Canadian prime
minister.
Wilson Chowdhry, of the
British Pakistani Christian Asso-
ciation, said that the family was
resting its hopes on the US,
Britain or Canada to grant them
asylum and help them reach a
place of safety.
“These nations have the
largest Pakistani Christian com-
munities,” Chowdhry said.
reconciliation, will further strain
the economy, Wickremesinghe
said in an interview.
President Maithripala
Sirisena fired him last month
after months of tensions within
the government and appointed
Mahinda Rajapaksa as premier
in a shock move that has plunged
the nation into a political crisis.
Rajapaksa is a former pres-
ident who led the country to a
military defeat of Tamil sepa-
ratist guerrillas in 2009 but who
has since faced widespread alle-
gations of human rights abuse
and targeting of Tamil civilians.
from Myanmar’s Rymongkhali
security post, Border Guard
Bangladesh (BGB) spokesman
Major Iqbal Ahmed said.
“Islam was lucky as a bullet
scratched his elbow,” he said,
adding the boy lives in Balukhali
refugee camp in Bangladesh’s
southeastern Cox’s Bazar district.
The BGB would send a
protest letter to their Myanmar
Destroying drugs
Afghan security forces destroy 13 tonnes of drugs in Herat, Afghanistan, yesterday.
6 Pakistan banks suspend debit card use abroad
INTERNEWS bank’s instructions.
“It has come to our notice that
KARACHI: At least six Pakistani few banks have even withdrawn
banks have suspended usage of the facility of cards being used
their debit cards outside the outside Pakistan,” Qamar said.
country after a bank suffered a “Some are (however) allowing
cyber-attack last week that this facility upon instructions of
siphoned off Rs2.6m to the their customers only.”
dismay of its unsuspecting Yesterday, the central bank
consumers, people in the know asked commercial banks to
have said. ensure safety of their payment
They said six banks have so cards from security breach after
far stopped the facility of debit fraudulent overseas transac-
cards in overseas markets. tions, using Bank Islami’s debit
Abid Qamar, chief spokesman cards, were unearthed over the
of the State Bank of Pakistan weekend.
(SBP), said that banks took various While Bank Islami claimed
measures to protect their infor- that all monies — Rs2.6m
mation technology systems from (approximately $19,500) —
cyber-attack following the central withdrawn from the bank
Wickremesinghe, who has
challenged his dismissal and
The United States has held
off on a nearly $500m aid pro-
vowed to remain prime minister
until parliament voted him out,
gramme for building of highways
and improving land adminis-
said there were international tration by the government-
concerns about a government funded Millennium Challenge
led by Rajapaksa. Corporation (MCC), Wickremes-
“Countries are sensitive, they inghe said.
have concerns (about a gov- Japan had also put on hold
ernment led by Rajapaksa) dem- plans to extend a soft loan of
ocratic countries have concerns,” $1.4bn for a light railway project,
he said in the interview con- he said. “A lot of projects are held
ducted in the prime minister’s up, the Millennium Challenge,
official residence in a colonial- the Japanese loan,” he said.
era bungalow where Wick- The Sri Lankan embassy in
remesinghe is camping along Washington has been informally
with his supporters. told by the MCC that around
Tamils push parliament
to end political impasse
AFP
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s main
Tamil party yesterday urged the
president to reconvene
parliament and end a worsening
political crisis, as the minority
ethnic community emerge as
kingmakers in the power struggle.
The Tamil National Alliance
(TNA) could tip the balance should
parliament be recalled this week to
decide between two rivals both
claiming the lawful right to head the
government. The TNA has already
said it would vote against Rajapaksa
in a no-confidence motion when
parliament reconvenes.
Both rivals have been
counterparts, the Border Guard ugees and the UN,” he said.
Police, over the shooting, he said. Bangladesh and Myanmar
A local Bangladeshi official, officials last week said some
speaking on condition on ano- 2,000 Rohingya refugees would
nymity, said the incident might return to their homeland in
be aimed at delaying the repa- Myanmar’s western Rakhine state
triation of Rohingya refugees, set as part of a repatriation deal.
to begin in next week. More than 720,000 of Myan-
“Otherwise, why would they mar’s stateless Rohingya fled a
fire at the Bangladeshi ground? brutal military crackdown in
It is to create pressure on the ref- August last year, taking shelter
ASIA 13
accounts, using its cards, have
been credited to the accounts of
customers, an international
payment scheme put the trans-
actions at around $6m.
The SBP said the banks that
halted their foreign plastic cards’
operation are likely to come
back online soon. “We expect
such facilities will be restored
as banks upgrade their systems
to meet any cyber-attack chal-
lenge in future,” Qamar said.
“Banks are required to
inform SBP and peer banks of
any imminent threat that comes
to their knowledge and SBP will
take all possible actions to safe-
guard the banking system,” he
added.
$480m will be on hold because
of the latest situation in the
country, a Sri Lankan foreign
ministry official separately
confirmed.
An official at the Sri Lankan
Ministry of Megapolis and
Western Development also con-
firmed the freeze on the Jap-
anese loan, imperilling the
project.
An official at the Japan Inter-
national Cooperation Agency
said the agency was closely
monitoring political develop-
ments and the railway project
loan had been withheld.
marshalling numbers behind the
scenes, worrying civil society
groups who protested Sunday in
the capital Colombo against the
horse-trading.
TNA legislator Dharmalingam
Sithadthan said the president had
called the Tamil legislators to a
meeting Wednesday -- the same day
parliament was expected to
reconvene. “We have asked the pres-
ident to immediately call parliament
and end this crisis,” TNA legislator
Dharmalingam Sithadthan said.
The Sunday Times of
Colombo newspaper described
the sacking of the prime minister
as “sheer political expediency”
and outside the law.
in crowded camps in Bangladesh
and bringing with them har-
rowing tales of rape, murder and
arson in a military crackdown.
Investigators have said
senior Myanmar military officials
should be prosecuted for gen-
ocide in Rakhine, but the country
has rejected these calls, insisting
it was defending itself against
militants.
14 ASIA
US, South Korea to begin
delayed military drills
REUTERS
SEOUL: The United States and
South Korea will begin small-
scale military drills today that
were delayed during talks with
North Korea, days after
Pyongyang threatened to restart
work on its nuclear programme
if international pressure does
not ease.
The Korean Marine
Exchange Program was among
the training drills that were
indefinitely suspended in June
after US President Donald
Trump met North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un in Singapore and
promised to end joint, US-South
Korea military exercises often
criticised by the North.
A spokesman for South
Korea’s Ministry of Defence
confirmed a round of training
would begin near the southern
city of Pohang, with no media
access expected.
About 500 American and
South Korean marines will par-
ticipate in the manoeuvres, the
Yonhap news agency reported.
Pyongyang slams HRW report on abuse
AFP
SEOUL: North Korea yesterday
slammed a report by Human
Rights Watch which said physical
abuse of women was rampant
in the isolated nation.
In its report released on
Thursday, the US-based rights
group said North Korean police
and other officials prey on
women with near-total
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (centre) speaks as Vietnam’s Health Minister Nguyen Thi
Kim Tien (right) looks on after the inauguration of a medical centre in Ho Chi Minh City, yesterday.
French PM dodges rights
questions in Vietnam
AFP
HO CHI MINH CITY: France
does not “sweep anything under
a rug” when it comes to the issue
of human rights in Vietnam,
French Prime Minister Edouard
Philippe insisted yesterday, after
sidestepping questions over the
Asian country’s dismal record
on dissent.
His comments came on the
final day of a state visit to
Vietnam, that was largely aimed
at drumming up business deals
with one of Asia’s fastest-
growing economies as both
sides signed contracts worth a
total of nearly $12bn.
But the French premier
would not be drawn on the
Communist government’s han-
dling of dissent, which includes
The Korean Marine
Exchange Program
was among the
training drills that
were indefinitely
suspended in June
after US President
Donald Trump
met North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un
in Singapore and
promised to end
joint, US-South Korea
military exercises
often criticised by the
North.
In Washington last week, South
Korea’s defence minister said
Washington and Seoul would
make a decision by December
on major joint military exercises
for 2019. Vigilant Ace, sus-
pended earlier this month, is one
of several such exercises that
have been halted to encourage
impunity. HRW drew on inter-
views with more than 50 North
Korean escapees to chronicle
gruesome details of abuses per-
petrated by security officers such
as border guards, but also
civilian officials.
In its response yesterday, the
North’s Korean Association for
Human Rights Studies said the
“preposterous” report was “a
part of political scheme
jailing people for posting their
opinions about hot-button
issues on Facebook.
More than 50 activists, rights
campaigners and bloggers have
been put behind bars in 2018,
one of the harshest crackdowns
in recent years.
When questioned by
reporters in Ho Chi Minh City,
Philippe insisted, “We do not
sweep anything under the rug,
but we have discussions with the
Vietnamese authorities that do
not go through the press”.
“We do it in forums that are
going well, the way we have
always done,” Philippe said after
inaugurating a French medical
centre in the city.
A source familiar with the
meetings between the two gov-
ernments said human rights was
dialogue with Pyongyang. The
biggest combat-readiness war
game ever staged in and around
Japan has gone ahead, however,
with nuclear-powered aircraft
carrier USS Ronald Reagan
joining Japanese destroyers and
a Canadian warship in the ocean
off Japan — another key player
in the effort to pressure North
Korea.
North Korea warned on
Friday that it could restart
development of its nuclear pro-
gramme if the United States
does not drop its campaign of
“maximum pressure” and
sanctions.
“The improvement of rela-
tions and sanctions are incom-
patible,” a foreign ministry
official said in a statement
released through state-run
KCNA news agency. “The US
thinks that its oft-repeated
‘sanctions and pressure’ lead to
‘denuclearisation.’ We cannot
help laughing at such a foolish
idea.” North Korea has not
tested a ballistic missile or
nuclear weapon for nearly a
fabricated by the hostile forces...
to tarnish the image of the
DPRK”, the state Korean Central
News Agency reported, using the
country’s official acronym.
“It is also an extremely dan-
gerous provocation aimed at
reversing the tide of peace and
prosperity on the Korean
peninsula,” the statement said,
branding the women inter-
viewed as “human scum”. In the
brought up during talks on
Friday, the day of Philippe’s
arrival. “The human rights issue
was addressed in the talks. The
Vietnamese authorities’
attention has been drawn to a
list of individual cases,” said the
source. The French premier’s
visit coincides with the recent
release of a draft cybersecurity
decree, which outlines how the
draconian bill would be
implemented.
It is expected to come into
effect in January, and observers
say that it mimics China’s
repressive web control tools.
It would require tech com-
panies to store data in the
country, remove “toxic content”
from websites, and hand over
user information if requested by
the government.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and China’s Culture Minister Luo Shugang (centre right) pose for a
picture alongside the DPRK and Chinese artistes at the Mansudae Art Theatre in Pyongyang, North Korea.
year, and has said it has shut-
tered its main nuclear test site
with plans to dismantle several
more facilities.
In recent weeks, North
Korea has pressed more sharply
for what it sees as reciprocal
concessions by the United States
and other countries. “As shown,
the US is totally to blame for all
the problems on the Korean
HRW report, one anonymous
former textile trader in her 40s
recounted being treated like a
toy “at the mercy of men”.
“On the days they felt like it,
market guards or police officials
could ask me to follow them,”
where they forced physical
encounters, she said.
“It happens so often nobody
thinks it is a big deal. We don’t
even realise when we are upset,”
Nun who lost Manila deportation
battle returns to Australia
AFP
MELBOURNE: An elderly
Australian nun who lost a long
legal battle with Manila to stop
her deportation attacked Phil-
ippine President Rodrigo
Duterte’s “reign of tyranny” as
she returned home yesterday.
Sister Patricia Fox, who
spent almost three decades
working with Philippine
labourers, farmers and urban
poor, was accused of illegally
engaging in political activism
as Duterte’s government
cracked down on foreign critics
on its soil.
The 71-year-old apparently
angered the fiery president by
joining a fact-finding mission
in April to investigate alleged
abuses against farmers,
including killings and evictions
by soldiers fighting guerrillas
in the southern Philippines.
Welcomed by supporters at
Melbourne airport, Fox told
reporters she was happy to be
‘2019 to be Year of Turkish Culture in Japan’
ANATOLIA
NAGOYA, JAPAN: Turkey’s
foreign minister yesterday said
that the year 2019 will be cele-
brated as Year of Turkish
Culture in Japan.
Mevlut Cavusoglu’s remarks
came during his visit to a
Turkish-Japanese Cultural and
Trade Association in Nagoya city
of Japan, where he met Turkish
citizens living in the country.
Cavusoglu said that Turkey’s
Culture and Tourism Minister
Mehmet Ersoy will also visit
Japan as part of Year of Turkish
Culture events.
On Turkey-Japan relations,
the Turkish foreign minister said
MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018
peninsula including the nuclear
issue and therefore, the very one
that caused all those must untie
the knot it made,” Friday’s
statement said.
American officials have
remained sceptical of Kim’s
commitment to give up the
nuclear arsenal he has already
amassed, however, and Wash-
ington says it won’t support
she added. Pyongyang maintains
that it protects and promotes
“genuine human rights”, and
says there is no justification for
the West to try to set human
rights standards for the rest of
the world.
“Physical violence in North
Korea is an open, unaddressed,
and widely tolerated secret,” said
HRW Executive Director
Kenneth Roth.
home but had found it hard to
leave.
“At present, the Philippines,
the human rights abuses are
just increasing and it is a reign
of tyranny at present,” Fox said.
“There has been a culture
of impunity for a long time and
it is getting worse.” Fox had
been arrested briefly on charges
of violating her visa’s terms
against activism in the Philip-
pines and the slow turning
wheels of the country’s
bureaucracy began moving to
strip her of her papers.
Immigration authorities last
week refused to extend her
tourist visa and ordered the
71-year-old out by Saturday.
She decided to return to
Australia rather than risk being
forcibly removed.
Church figures have previ-
ously criticised Duterte’s pol-
icies, particularly his signature
war on drugs that has left
almost 5,000 people dead since
he took office in 2016.
that his country wants to boost
ties with Japan.
“Our aim is to increase trade
and investment mutually as well
as remove barriers for any
[future] investment,” Cavusoglu
said. “Now we are making effort
on how we can improve our
relations,” Cavusoglu said. “The
actualising of investments in
Turkey and our close cooper-
ation on regional issues rein-
force even more our relations
with Japan in all areas,” he
added.
During his visit, Cavusoglu
said, he will meet Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as
well as other ministers and
media representatives. Earlier,
easing international sanctions
until more verified progress is
made.
South Korean President
Moon Jae-in, meanwhile, has
forged ahead with efforts to
engage with North Korea in
recent months, raising US con-
cerns that Seoul could weaken
pressure on North Korea to give
up its nuclear weapons.
Japanese author
reveals plan for
library of works
AP
TOKYO: Japanese author
Haruki Murakami announced
yesterday that he is working
to set up a library that will
showcase his works and also
serve as a meeting place for
research and international
exchanges.
The library would archive
his books, various stages of
drafts of his novels, materials
he used to write his books,
and his translation work, as
well as his massive collection
of music, which plays a key
role in his stories, he said.
The library is planned at
Waseda University, his alma
mater in Tokyo.
“I’m more than happy if
those materials can con-
tribute any way for those who
want to study my works,”
Murakami said at a joint
news conference. “I hope it
would create an opportunity
for cultural exchanges.”
Media-shy Murakami said it
was his first formal news con-
ference in 37 years. Though
he interacted with fans on
several occasions this year,
including hosting his radio
programs twice and
appearing before fans at a
book event in New York,
Murakami yesterday agreed
to pose only for still cameras.
Murakami began writing
in Tokyo before graduating
from Waseda in 1975. His
debut novel, “Hear the Wind
Sing,” came out in 1979, and
the 1987 romantic novel
“Norwegian Wood” was his
first best-seller.
the foreign minister wrote on
Twitter: “We are in Japan upon
the invitation of my Japanese
counterpart Taro Kono, to
discuss the momentum gained
in #Turkey-#Japan cooperation,
and to exchange views on
regional and international
issues.” “We started our visit to
Japan with a meeting in Nagoya
with our esteemed citizens who
constitute an important tie
between #Turkey and #Japan
thousands of kilometers away
from home,” he added.
“FETO is also a threat to the
countries where they are cur-
rently present.” “They [FETO]
continue its activities in Japan,”
he added.
 MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018
New Caledonians vote
to keep ties with France
REUTERS
PARIS: The South Pacific archi-
pelago of New Caledonia voted
against independence from
France yesterday in a long-
awaited referendum that capped
a 30-year long decolonisation
process.
A “yes” vote would have
deprived Paris of a foothold in
the Indo-Pacific region where
China is expanding its presence,
and dented the pride of a former
colonial power whose reach
once spanned the Caribbean,
sub-Saharan Africa and the
Pacific Ocean.
Based on provisional results
and with a participation rate of
nearly 80 percent, the “No” vote
stood at 56.9 percent around
1300 GMT, local TV station NC
La 1ere reported on its website.
“The New Caledonians have
chosen to remain French...It is a
vote of confidence in the French
republic, its future and its
values,” President Emmanuel
Macron said in a speech on
French television.
The referendum was the first
UK dismisses reports of Brexit deal with EU
AP
LONDON: Prime Minister
Theresa May’s office yesterday
dismissed as speculation reports
that Britain and the European
Union were close to striking a
divorce deal after reaching a
compromise on the intractable
issue of the Irish border.
Downing Street said “nego-
tiations are ongoing” and that a
Sunday Times report claiming a
proposed agreement had been
reached on future customs
arrangements at the Ireland-
Northern Ireland border was
“speculation.”
Theresa May’s
former senior
adviser dead
REUTERS
LONDON: Jeremy Heywood,
the former head of Britain’s
civil service and a senior
adviser to Prime Minister
Theresa May on implementing
Brexit, died aged 56 yesterday
following illness, May’s office
said in a statement.
As Cabinet Secretary from
2012 to late 2018, Heywood
helped oversee the prepara-
tions for Brexit — Britain’s
biggest political and eco-
nomic shift — and provided
politically impartial advice to
ministers, including May.
Some eurosceptics have
accused the civil service, the
non-political administration
responsible for the smooth
functioning of government,
of being biased against Brexit
and of trying to soften the
terms of Britain’s departure
from the European Union.
May said in a statement
that Heywood had “worked
tirelessly to serve our country
in the finest traditions of the
Civil Service and ... is a huge
loss to British public life”.
Heywood was diagnosed
with cancer in 2017, took a
leave of absence in June, and
announced he was stepping
down permanently in late
October.
In the statement
announcing his retirement in
October, he said on Brexit he
was “particularly proud of the
work Whitehall has done in
seeking to bring clarity, shape
and practical options to the
table for Ministers to discuss.”
President Emmanuel
Macron said he
understood the
disappointment of
those who wanted
independence, but
added that the French
state would ensure
liberty, equality
and fraternity for
everyone.
auto-determination vote to be
held in a French territory since
Djibouti in the Horn of Africa
voted for independence in 1977.
Voters in the largely self-gov-
erning territory had been asked
the question, “Do you want New
Caledonia to gain full sovereignty
and become independent?”
Macron said he understood
the disappointment of those who
wanted independence, but added
that the French state would
However, UK and EU offi-
cials have said in recent days that
a deal is getting closer and could
be sealed this month.
May’s deputy, David Lid-
ington, said on Friday that nego-
tiators were “very close” to an
agreement. Irish Deputy Prime
Minister Simon Coveney said “I
think it is possible to get a deal
in November.”
Britain is due to leave the EU
on March 29, but London and
Brussels have not reached an
agreement on their divorce
terms and a smooth transition to
a new relationship. The
stalemate has heightened fears
Man completes swim around Great Britain
REUTERS
MARGATE BEACH: Adventurer
Ross Edgley (pictured) became
the first man to swim around the
coast of mainland Britain as he
completed a 1,780 mile-trip to
make a triumphant return to dry
land in Margate yesterday.
The 33-year-old, from
Grantham, Lincolnshire, had left
the Kent town on June 1,
swimming in a clockwise
direction. He had not set foot on
Russian March
People holding a banner that reads, “Russian power, royal power” as they take part in the Russian
March, organised by nationalists and activists of far-right political groups, to mark the National
Unity Day, in Moscow, yesterday.
ensure liberty, equality and fra-
ternity for everyone.
“The only loser is the temp-
tation of contempt, division, vio-
lence and fear; the only winner
is the process of peace and the
spirit of dialogue,” Macron said.
Tensions have long run deep
between pro-independence
indigenous Kanaks and
descendants of colonial settlers
who remain loyal to Paris.
Over the past decade, rela-
tions between the two groups
have improved markedly, but the
“no” vote outcome was well
below some early polls, which
could encourage nationalists to
try for a new referendum in
coming years.
Some 175,000 out of the
280,000 people living on the
archipelago were eligible to vote.
Posters calling for a “no” vote
said that “France is the only
chance” while proponents of inde-
pendence called in their posters
to vote for “a multicultural, in sol-
idarity, peaceful nation”.
During a visit to the archi-
pelago in May, Macron acknowl-
edged the “pains of colonisation”
that the U.K. might leave without
a deal in place, leading to chaos
at ports and economic turmoil.
An October EU summit that
had been billed as the deadline
for a breakthrough ended with
the talks still deadlocked.
The key obstacle is the Irish
border, which will be the UK’s
only land frontier with the EU
after Brexit. Britain and the EU
agree there must be no customs
posts or other barriers that could
disrupt businesses and residents
on either side or undermine
Northern Ireland’s hard-won
peace process.
But the two sides have not
land once and slept in a support
boat.
Edgley, who swam up to 12
hours a day, battled through
strong tides, hundreds of jellyfish
stings and had to cope with a
disintegrating tongue caused by
salt water during his Great
British Swim.
He expended an estimated
500,000 calories during the
journey, and ate more than 500
bananas to provide him with a
constant source of energy.
Activists display flags in front of the headquarters of the pro-independence Union Caledonienne
(UC) following the referendum on New Caledonia’s independence from France in Noumea, yesterday.
and saluted the “dignified” cam-
paign for autonomy led by the
Kanaks. He and his adminis-
tration sought to strike a neutral
tone on the vote.
First discovered by the
British explorer James Cook, the
New Caledonia archipelago lies
more than 16,700km from
France. It became a French
colony in 1853.
Under colonial rule the
Kanaks were confined to
agreed on how to do that. Britain
rejected the EU’s proposal — to
keep Northern Ireland in a
customs union with the bloc —
because it would impose new
customs and regulatory checks
between Northern Ireland and
the rest of the UK.
According to the Sunday
Times, a proposed solution would
keep all the UK in a customs
union — but with an exit clause
to mollify pro-Brexit British law-
makers who worry the UK will
be bound to the EU forever.
May faces a battle to get a
deal approved by her Cabinet —
which is split between
In mid-August, he broke the
world record for the longest
stage sea swim of 73 days set by
Benoit Lecomte, who swam
across the Atlantic Ocean in
1998.
This was Edgley’s latest
record-breaking feat. In April
2016, he completed the world’s
longest rope climb, equivalent
to the height of Mount Everest.
That was two months after he
completed a marathon while
pulling a car.
reserves and excluded from
much of the island’s economy.
The first revolt erupted in 1878,
not long after the discovery of
large nickel deposits that are
today exploited by French miner
Eramet’s subsidiary SLN.
More than a century later, in
the mid-1980s, fighting broke
out between supporters of inde-
pendence and those who wanted
to remain French, amid festering
anger over poverty and poor job
supporters of a clean break with
the EU and those who want to
keep close economic ties to the
bloc — and past an equally
divided Parliament.
May has already lost two top
ministers, Boris Johnson and
David Davis, over her Brexit
blueprint. Others could follow in
a bid to make her change course.
And pro-Brexit Conservative
lawmakers have openly mulled
attempting to oust May with a
no-confidence vote and a party
leadership contest.
So far, the prime minister has
stood her ground and her oppo-
nents have blinked.
French far-right leads
in EU election poll
REUTERS
PARIS: France’s far-right
Rassemblement National (RN)
party jumped ahead of Pres-
ident Emmanuel Macron’s
LREM for the first time in a poll
of voting intentions for May
2019 European Parliament
elections.
An Ifop poll published yes-
terday showed the centrist
Republic on the Move (LREM)
with 19% of voting intentions
compared to 20% at the end of
August, while far-right leader
Marine Le Pen’s RN — formerly
the National Front — rose to
21% from 17% previously.
Together with the seven
percent score of sovereignist
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan and one
percent each for “Frexit” parties
led by former Le Pen associate
Florian Philippot and Francois
Asselineau, far-right parties won
a combined 30% of voting inten-
EUROPE 15
opportunities.
A 1988 massacre in a cave on
the island of Ouvea left 19 indig-
enous separatists and two French
soldiers dead and intensified
talks on the island’s future. A
1998 deal provided for a refer-
endum on independence to be
held by the end of 2018.
Under the terms of that deal,
in the event of a no vote two
further referenda can be held
before 2022.
Eight kids hurt
in slide collapse
at UK funfair
AP
LONDON: British emergency
services said eight children
have been hurt when an
inflatable slide collapsed at a
fireworks display in southern
England.
The accident happened as
thousands gathered on Sat-
urday to watch Bonfire Night
fireworks in Woking, 40km
southwest of London.
Journalist Andy Datson
said he saw up to 40 children
playing on the slide, which he
estimated was about 30 feet
tall and “looked pretty
flimsy.”
Witnesses said an air
ambulance arrived and fam-
ilies were evacuated from the
site after the incident.
Surrey Police said “a
number” of children had
fallen from the slide. The
force said eight children had
been taken to hospitals with
“potentially serious
injuries.”
Communities across
Britain hold fireworks dis-
plays to mark the anniversary
of Guy Fawkes’ failed 1605
plot to blow up Parliament.
tions, up from 25% end August.
The poll asked nearly 1,000
French people on October 30
and 31 who they would vote for
if the European Parliament
elections were to be held the
next Sunday.
The conservative Les
Republicains party led by
Laurent Wauquiez slipped two
percentage points to 13%, while
the far-left France Insoumise
led by Jean-Luc Melenchon fell
from 14 to 11%.
Melenchon was widely crit-
icised and mocked after yelling
at police officers during a raid
of his party offices as part of an
anti-corruption inquiry.
In an Odoxa-Dentsu poll
released mid-September,
Macron and Le Pen’s parties
were neck-and-neck at around
21%, while the conservative Les
Republicains came third with
14% and Melenchon’s France
Insoumise fourth with 12.5%.
16 EUROPE
Merkel’s CDU
faces split on
party’s course
REUTERS
BERLIN: German Chancellor
Angela Merkel’s Christian Demo-
crats (CDU) argued yesterday
over whether they should return
to a more conservative agenda
once she steps down as party
chair as contenders to succeed
her gear up for the leadership
race.
Support for their Social
Democrats (SPD) coalition
partner meanwhile hit a record
low, according to a poll pub-
lished hours before senior
members of both the CDU and
the SPD were due to discuss the
parties’ future courses in closed-
door meetings.
Merkel announced last week
that she would step down as CDU
party leader in December,
ending an era of nearly two
decades in which she shifted the
party gradually from the right to
the centre.
Her decision followed two
regional votes in which Merkel’s
centre-right bloc and the left-
leaning SPD suffered their worst
election results in decades while
the ecologist Greens and the far-
right Alternative for Germany
(AfD) gained support.
Italian leader calls
WWI a warning to
Europe to co-exist
AP
ROME: Italy’s president has
recalled World War I’s roots
in “aggressive nationalism”
and urged young people to
remember the conflict’s
lessons while striving for
peaceful co-existence.
Italian head of state
Sergio Mattarella (pictured)
attended several ceremonies
in Italy yesterday as part of a
week of observances marking
the 100th anniversary of the
war’s end.
Mattarella said the war
demonstrated the “incapacity
of the European ruling class”
to pursue “national aspira-
tions and interests in a
peaceful” way and surrender
to “aggressive nationalism”
and quests for power.
Mattarella said an “active”
memory for the victims of
wars can shore up freedom
and peaceful co-existence as
“irreversible” choices for
Europeans.
Poland votes in local runoff election
AP
WARSAW: Poles voted
yesterday in local runoff elec-
tions to choose the mayors of
several key cities, including
Krakow and Gdansk, and more
than 640 other towns and
smaller localities.
The first round on October
21 saw the populist Law and
Justice party now ruling Poland
strengthen its showing in
regional assemblies but lose
CDU Deputy Chair
Armin Laschet warned
against moving the
CDU more to the right,
adding that, the CDU
should stick to its
centrist course.
Health Minister Jens Spahn,
one of the three contenders to
replace Merkel as party leader,
said the CDU had watered down
its profile by becoming too cen-
trist in the past years.
“Parties must differ from
another again more strongly,”
Spahn told Welt am Sonntag
newspaper. “The way we view
people and society is fundamen-
tally different from the one of the
Social Democrats,” he added.
Spahn is one of the fiercest
critics of Merkel’s decision in
2015 to welcome more than a
million refugees from Middle
East.
Spahn ruled out a coalition
with the anti-immigration AfD.
He also accused the AfD of
Ukrainian activist dies 3 months after acid attack
AFP
KIEV: Ukrainian anti-corruption
campaigner Kateryna Gandzyuk,
seriously injured in an acid
attack in July, has died in
hospital, supporters and the
government said yesterday.
“Katya (Kateryna) is dead.
Details will be available in a
while,” posted a Facebook group
that publishes updates about
Gandzyuk’s health and news on
the investigation into the shock
Spain finds Brazilian man
guilty of murder spree
AP
MADRID: A jury in Spain found
a Brazilian man guilty of killing
his aunt, uncle and two young
cousins and ruled unanimously
that the slayings were premed-
itated, a Spanish news agency
reported.
The jury at the trial in
Guadalajara, near Madrid, was
not convinced on Saturday by
Patrick Nogueira’s defence that
he had stabbed his relatives
because he was mentally dis-
turbed and suffers from alco-
holism, the private news agency
Europa Press reported.
Nogueira’s aunt and uncle
were in their early forties and his
cousins were 1 and 4 years old at
the time of the 2016 slayings. He
was 19. A witness testified that
Nogueira took a selfie with the
mayoral races outright in
Warsaw, Poznan and Lodz to a
centrist pro-European Union
coalition led by the Civic
Platform party.
The results highlighted deep
divisions between Poland’s
cities, which have many liberal
voters, and the country’s rural
heartland, which remains
largely supportive of Law and
Justice despite accusations it has
taken an authoritarian direction
and its conflicts with the
The headquarters of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party is pictured during a
CDU party leadership meeting in Berlin, yesterday.
wanting to roll back European
integration and tolerating anti-
Semitism within its ranks.
CDU deputy chair Armin
Laschet warned against moving
the CDU more to the right. “I’m
convinced that such a policy shift
would be wrong,” Laschet said.
The CDU should stick to its cen-
trist course, he added.
The candidate most likely to
stand for a continuation of Mer-
kel’s course is CDU party sec-
retary general Annegret Kramp-
Karrenbauer who is expected to
comment on her candidacy in
the coming days.
The third candidate is Frie-
drich Merz who would stand for
a shift towards the low-tax,
business-friendly right-wing
attack in the ex-Soviet country.
Ukrainian President Petro
Poroshenko confirmed the news
and offered condolences to Gan-
dzyuk’s relatives at a meeting with
representatives of the Ukrainian
community in Turkey’s Antalya,
where he is on an official visit.
“I appeal to law enforcement
officers to do everything possible
so that the murderers of Kat-
eryna Gandzyuk are found, put
on trial and punished,” Poro-
shenko tweeted.
dismembered bodies, which he
had chopped up and put into
plastic garbage bags.
Prosecutors said Nogueira
was a psychopath who planned
the slayings, even taking
garbage bags with him. They
said the defendant, who arrived
in Spain in early 2016, sent a
different friend in Brazil a series
of WhatsApp messages about
the murders and photos of the
bodies during and after the
killings.
To conceal the crime, pros-
ecutors said Nogueira chopped
up his aunt and uncle with tree-
pruning shears. About a month
after the slayings, neighbours
complained of a bad smell
coming from the house and
authorities found the bags with
the bodies inside. Nogueira
faces decades behind bars.
European Union.
Runoff voting is taking place
in 649 municipalities. Results
from exit polls conducted during
the runoff races are expected to
be released when polling sta-
tions close on Sunday night.
Official returns are not expected
until today at the earliest.
The centrist opposition is
favoured to win in Krakow and
Gdansk The local elections kick
off a string of votes setting
Poland’s course.
conservatism that Merkel has
pushed into the background.
The CDU seems to be split
over its leadership question. An
Emnid poll for Bild am Sonntag
showed that 44% of party
members backed Merz and 39%
favoured Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Support for Spahn was at 9%.
Ahead of the separate
meetings of senior SPD and CDU
members in Berlin yesterday,
SPD deputy chair Ralf Stegner
said his party would not remain
in the coalition “at any price”.
“If the coalition does not
drastically and rapidly change
its work mode and image, it
cannot and will not last,” he said.
The SPD was Merkel’s coa-
lition partner in her first term
Johannes Hahn, the EU com-
missioner responsible for bloc
enlargement negotiations and
neighbourhood policy, said he
was saddened by the news from
Ukraine.
“Attacks against civil society
activists are unacceptable,”
Hahn tweeted.
Gandzyuk, 33, who worked
as an adviser to the mayor of
Ukraine’s southern city Kherson,
was leaving home early on the
morning of July 31 when a man
Survivor Giuseppe Giordano (centre) reacts outside the morgue in Casteldaccia near Palermo on
the southern Italian island of Sicily, yesterday.
Six Italian regions on alert; storm toll 30
AFP
ROME: Floods have killed 12
people on the southern island
of Sicily, nine of them from the
same family, rescue services
said yesterday, taking the week’s
toll across Italy past 30.
Six Italian regions remain on
high alert for storms.
The bodies of nine people
were found in their house in
Casteldaccia in the Palermo
region, next to a small river
which had burst its banks,
rescue services said.
MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018
from 2005 to 2009, in her third
from 2013 to 2017 and now again
in her fourth and final ruling
coalition. The SPD has been
weakened by Merkel’s centrist
course and a more right-wing
CDU could make the centre-left
party more attractive to mod-
erate voters.
A Forsa poll for RTL/n-tv
broadcasters showed yesterday
that support for the SPD plunged
to a record low of 13% while Mer-
kel’s CDU/CSU bloc rose to 27%.
The pro-immigration Greens
jumped to 24% to become the
second-strongest party, the poll
showed. The AfD fell to 13%
while the pro-business Free
Democrats (FDP) and the party
The Left both stood at 9%.
poured about a litre of acid over
her and ran away.
Gandzyuk was immediately
hospitalised in a serious con-
dition, with burns on 30 percent
of her body, including her upper
torso, arms, and face.
Gandzyuk was an outspoken
critic of corrupt practices in law
enforcement agencies, particu-
larly the police. The country has
seen an increase in attacks on
anti-corruption activists and
campaigners.
The victims included
children aged one, three, and 15.
Three other members of the
family managed to escape, one
by climbing a tree, the Agi news
agency reported.
After flying over Castel-
daccia yesterday, Sicilian pros-
ecutor Ambrogio Cartosio
described a “total disaster”.
Officials have opened an
investigation to determine
whether houses built near the
river met legal safety norms.
In a separate incident, a
44-year-old man was found
Shooting in
Sweden leaves
seven injured
AP
HELSINKI: Swedish police
said seven people have been
wounded and 12 arrested in
a shooting allegedly linked to
biker gang members near the
country’s second city of
Goteborg.
Police said yesterday that
patrols rushed on Saturday
evening to the small indus-
trial town of Molnlycke,
southeast of Goteborg, where
they found “several injured
people” following a shooting
outside an entertainment
venue that was hosting a
party.
Police said events leading
to the shooting were unclear.
It is being investigated as an
attempted murder.
According to the Gote-
borgs-Posten newspaper,
several of the wounded have
links to the biker gang.
Polish health
officials issue
measles warning
AP
WARSAW: Polish health offi-
cials are calling on people to
vaccinate themselves and
their children after measles
cases were reported in the
region around Warsaw.
Health Minister Lukasz
Szumowski said 17 recent
measles cases in the Mazovia
Province all resulted from
parents failing to get their
children vaccinated.
The Polish cases come as
the World Health Organi-
zation has reported tens of
thousands of measles cases
across Europe.
At a news conference yes-
terday, Szumowski and other
health officials stressed that
measles vaccinations are safe.
Measles is a highly conta-
gious disease and WHO says
it is one of the leading causes
of death worldwide in young
children. It’s easily prevented
with a vaccine.
dead in his car near Vicari, also
in the Palermo region.
He had been trying to reach
a service station to help a col-
league trapped there. A pas-
senger in the car is still missing.
Rescue workers are also
searching for a doctor forced by
the storms to abandon his car
near the town of Corleone after
trying to drive to work at the
hospital there.
Two other people, a man
and a woman, died after their
car was caught in the floods in
the region of Agrigente.
 MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018
US President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Pensacola, Florida, yesterday. RIGHT: Former US President Barack Obama during a campaign rally at Morehouse College, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Trump, Obama clash in final pitches to voters
AP
WASHINGTON: No longer
reluctant to speak out, former
president Barack Obama
delivered a closing argument for
Democrats that seeks a firm
check on President Donald
Trump’s policies in tomorrow’s
midterm elections.
Obama and Trump were
offering competing visions for
the country in a split screen of
campaigning yesterday, seeking
to galvanize voter turnout in the
fight to control Congress and
governors’ mansions.
Obama was traveling to
Gary, Indiana, on behalf of
Neil Armstrong’s
memorabilia
fetches $7.4m
at Dallas auction
AP
DALLAS: Memorabilia that
belonged to the first man to
set foot on the moon, Neil
Armstrong, has fetched more
than $7.4m at auction.
Dallas-based Heritage
Auctions said the item that
sold for the highest price,
$468,500, at Saturday’s
auction was Armstrong’s
spacecraft ID plate from
Apollo 11’s lunar module
Eagle. Also sold were a
fragment from the propeller
and a section of the wing from
the Wright brothers’ Flyer, the
first heavier-than-air self-
powered aircraft, which each
sold for $275,000.
The flight suit Armstrong
wore aboard Gemini 8, the
1966 mission that performed
the first docking of two
spacecraft in flight, brought
the astronaut’s family
$109,375.
Two dead after
Amazon building in
Baltimore collapses
AP
BALTIMORE: Two people
were killed when part of an
Amazon distribution ware-
house collapsed amid severe
weather, a spokeswoman for
the retail giant said.
The men worked for an
outside company and not
Amazon, spokeswoman
Rachael Lighty said. No one
else was injured when severe
storms with strong winds tore
through Maryland on Sat-
urday, she said.
“First responders remain
onsite assessing the damage.
The safety of our employees
and contractors is our top pri-
ority and at this time the
building remains closed,”
Lighty said in an email.
Obama and Trump were offering competing
visions for the country in a split screen of
campaigning yesterday, seeking to galvanize
voter turnout in the fight to control Congress
and governors’ mansions.
Senator Joe Donnelly, D-Ind.,
who faces a stiff challenge from
Republican businessman Mike
Braun. Later in the day, the
former president was cam-
paigning in his hometown of
Chicago for businessman J.B.
Migrants, part of a caravan traveling from Central America en route to the United States, walk by
the road that links Metapa with Tapachula, Mexico, yesterday.
Caravan pushes through Mexico
AP
ISLA: Thousands of wary
Central American migrants
resumed their push through
Mexico yesterday, a day after
arguments over the path ahead
saw some travelers splinter
away from the main caravan,
which is entering a treacherous
part of its journey.
The majority of the roughly
4,000 migrants are now headed
toward the town of Cordoba,
Veracruz, which is about 200km
up the road.
The daily trek will be one of
the longest yet, as the exhausted
group of travelers tries to make
Three Girl Scouts among four dead in Wisconsin hit-and-run crash
AP
LAKE HALLIE: A western
Wisconsin community yesterday
was grieving the deaths of three
Girl Scouts and an adult who
were while collecting trash along
a rural highway when police say
a pickup truck veered off the
road and hit them before
speeding away.
Authorities have not released
the names of the girls or the
woman who were struck by the
Pritzker, Democrats’ nominee for
Illinois governor.
Obama has taken on a more
public role this fall after
refraining from offering a full-
blown counterpoint to Trump’s
policies, which have sought to
progress any way it can.
The arduous trip has already
taken its toll.
A day prior, the group was
beset by divisions as migrants
argued with caravan organizers
and criticized Mexican officials
before setting out on their own
for Puebla and Mexico City.
Some were disappointed
after caravan organizers unsuc-
cessfully pleaded for buses after
three weeks on the road. Others
were angry for being directed
northward through the Gulf
Coast state of Veracruz, calling
it the “route of death.”
A trek via the sugar fields
and fruit groves of Veracruz
truck on Saturday in Lake Hallie,
including the name of a fourth
girl who survived but was in
critical condition at a hospital in
Rochester, Minnesota. The girls
were members of Troop 3055
and were fourth-grade students
at Halmstad Elementary School
in adjoining Chippewa Falls,
which is about 145km east of
Minneapolis.
“Our hearts are broken for
the girls and families of the Girl
Scouts of the Northwestern Great
dismantle Obama’s legacy.
Without invoking his name,
Obama has accused Trump of
lying and “fear-mongering” and
warned Democrats not to be
distracted.
Trump has punched back,
accusing Obama of leaving
behind a trail of broken promises
on trade, the economic recovery
and a promise during his presi-
dency that patients could keep
their doctors under his health
care law.
Trump was holding Sunday
afternoon rallies in Macon,
Georgia, and Chattanooga, Ten-
nessee, in support of Republican
Brian Kemp, who is running for
takes them through a state
where hundreds of migrants
have disappeared in recent
years, falling prey to kidnappers
looking for ransom payments.
Authorities in Veracruz said
in September they had dis-
covered remains from at least
174 people buried in clandestine
graves, raising questions about
whether the bodies belonged to
migrants.
But even with the group
somewhat more scattered, the
majority of migrants trekking
through Veracruz yesterday
were convinced that traveling
as a large mass was their best
hope for reaching the US.
Lakes,” CEO Sylvia Acevedo of
Girl Scouts of the USA said in a
statement yesterday. “The Girl
Scout Movement everywhere
stands with our sister Girl Scouts
in Wisconsin to grieve and
comfort one another in the wake
of this terrible tragedy.”
Lake Hallie police Sgt Daniel
Sokup said the pickup, a black
Ford F-150, crossed a lane and
veered into a roadside ditch,
striking the victims. Other
members of the troop were
Georgia governor, and Rep.
Marsha Blackburn, who is
seeking an open Senate seat in
Tennessee.
The White House pushed
back against claims that
Trump’s recent steps to secure
the US southern border were
motivated by the upcoming
election.
Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo said in an interview
with CBS’ “Face the Nation” that
the president’s moves had
nothing to do with electoral
politics.
“I’ve been involved in scores
of conversations about stopping
illegal immigration from Mexico
New dinosaur species
found in Argentina
AFP
BUENOS AIRES: A team of
Spanish and Argentine paleon-
tologists have discovered the
remains of a dinosaur that lived
110 million years ago in the
center of the country, the
National University of La
Matanza revealed.
The remains came from
three separate dinosaurs from
the herbivorous group of sau-
ropods, the best known of
which are the Diplodocus and
Brontosaurus. This new species
has been named Lavocatisaurus
agrioensis.
“We found most of the
cranial bones: the snout, the
jaws, a lot of teeth, also the
bones that define the eye
sockets for example and, in that
way, we were able to create an
almost complete recon-
struction,” said Jose Luis Car-
ballido, a researcher at the
Egidio Feruglio museum and
the national council of scien-
tific investigations.
Parts of the neck, tail and
back were also found.
“Not only is this the dis-
covery of a new species in an
area where you wouldn’t expect
to find fossils, but the skull is
almost complete,” added
Carballido.
The remains belonged to an
adult of around 12 metres in
length, and two minors of
pickup up trash from the
opposite shoulder.
The 21-year-old driver,
Colton Treu of Chippewa Falls,
sped off but later surrendered
and will be charged with four
counts of homicide, Sokup said.
It was unclear if Treu had an
attorney who could speak for
him.
Sokup said it was not imme-
diately known if there were
other factors that might have led
the driver to leave the road.
AMERICAS 17
and never once has there been a
discussion of the political impact
in US domestic politics,” Pompeo
said.
“It has always been about
securing the safety of the
American people and securing
our southern border.”
Trump is sending up to
15,000 US troops to the border
to stave off a caravan of
migrants slowly making its way
through southern Mexico, hun-
dreds of miles from the border.
Trump has also announced
plans to try to end the constitu-
tionally protected right of birth-
right citizenship for all children
born in the US.
around six to seven meters.
The paleontologists said the
dinosaurs moved around in a
group and died together.
“This discovery of an adult
and two juveniles also signifies
the first record of a group dis-
placement among the rebba-
chisaurus dinosaurs,” said study
lead author Jose Ignacio
Canudo of Zaragoza
University.
The area in which the fossils
were found is unusual for dino-
saurs as it would have been a
desert with sporadic lakes in
that era.
Sauropods were the biggest
creatures ever to walk the
planet. It is believed that Super-
saurus could reach up 33 to 34
metres in length and Argentino-
saurus might have weighed up
to 120 tons.
They were herbivorous
quadrupeds with long necks
and tails, massive bodies and
small heads.
But the discovery in
Neuquen, published in the sci-
entific journal Acta Palaeonto-
logica Polonica, remains a huge
surprise.
“While one can imagine
that this group of sauropods
could have adapted to move in
more arid environments, with
little vegetation, little humidity
and little water, it’s an area in
which you wouldn’t be looking
for fossils,” said Carballido.
The Minneapolis Star
Tribune reported that the crash
happened before a hill and there
were no blind spots, Sokup said
it was “not an unsafe area.”
But Cecily Spallees, a per-
sonal care attendant at a group
home near the crash site, said
that drivers regularly speed on
that stretch of road.
“I’m always telling one of my
residents that he shouldn’t walk
this strip at night,” Spallees said.
“It’s not safe.”
18 AMERICAS MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018

Pompeo defends temporary waivers for Iran oil

BLOOMBERG
NEW YORK: Secretary of State Michael
Pompeo (pictured), defended the
temporary waivers granted to eight coun-
tries to continue buying Iranian crude oil
for now against Congressional critics and
others who say the US is being too lenient
on the Islamic Republic.
The comments on “Fox News
Sunday” come a day before US sanc-
tions on Iran’s energy and shipping are
due to snap back following President
Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw
from the 2015 multilateral nuclear
agreement.
“The president’s policy of maximum
pressure will be fully in place come
tomorrow,” Pompeo said during the
interview. “Watch the Iranians. That’s
who really understand the importance
and the impact of the effort that we’re
undertaking.”
Pompeo said the US moves have
“had an enormous impact already.”
Iranian crude oil exports have already
been reduced by over 1 million barrels
a day and will continue to fall, he added.
Pompeo wouldn’t say if India and
China are receiving waivers, or if they’d
delivered commitments to stop their
buying. India, Japan and South Korea
are among those approved, and that
China is in discussions on terms but is
among the eight, according to two
people familiar with the discussions.
The waivers are aimed at countries
that “need a little bit more time” to get
Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo said the
US moves have “had
an enormous impact
already”. Iranian crude
oil exports have already
been reduced by over
one million barrels a
day and will continue to
fall, he added.
their purchases down to zero, Pompeo
said, a comment consistent one made
on Friday, when he said waivers were
being given to importers who’ve made
“important moves” toward shunning
Iranian oil.
The pressure group United Against
Nuclear Iran, led in part by former
Senator Joe Lieberman, lashed about the
waivers, tweeting on Friday that the
administration had “caved.”
Republican Senators Ted Cruz of
Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida also
took issue with the waivers.
“Sanctions waivers being given to
key purchasers of Iranian oil, most
alarmingly China, give Iran a financial
reprieve, and should be eliminated as
soon as possible,” Rubio said in a press
release on Friday. Cruz said it was
important that “final policy imposes
maximum pressure” on Tehran.
“No one’s going to argue that Sec-
retary Pompeo is not tough on Iran,”
Pompeo said on Fox, pushing back
against those who want further sanc-
tions on Iranian banking by saying
that “the Iranian banks that engage
in sanction able behavior will be
sanctioned by the Department of
Treasury.”
In a separate interview on CBS’s
“Face the Nation,” Pompeo said hun-
dreds of businesses have left Iran since
Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal,
and any European companies doing
business there won’t do business with
the US.
“The whole world understands that
these sanctions are real,” Pompeo said.
On Friday, Trump said in a statement
that the US remains open to reaching a
“new, more comprehensive deal” with
Iran that blocks its nuclear-weapons
program, saying Tehran faces a choice
between “its destructive behaviour” or
“economic disaster.”
The administration’s strategy is to
punish Iran so severely that it’s com-
pelled to negotiate a permanent end to
its nuclear ambitions, as well as what
the US calls its “malign behaviour” in
the Middle East.
In granting waivers, Washington is
trying to ensure that global oil prices
don’t spike, especially in the middle of
the US election season.
Asked on CBS whether Iran could
restart its nuclear program, Pompeo
said, “We’re confident that the Iranians
will not make that decision.”
Pompeo also said economic sanc-
tions on North Korea won’t be lifted until
the country completely ends its nuclear
program in a verifiable fashion.

Joaquin Guzman in dock

for biggest US drugs trial
AFP
NEW YORK: Joaquin “El
Chapo” Guzman (pictured),
goes on trial in New York today,
accused of running the world’s
biggest drug cartel and spending
a quarter of a century smuggling
more than 155 tonnes of cocaine
into the United States.
The mammoth trial in a
Brooklyn federal court, which
will cost millions of dollars and
is expected to last more than
four months, will see one of the
world’s most notorious crim-
inals face the US justice system.
Prosecutors spent years
piecing together a sweeping
case against Guzman, who was
extradited in 2017 after twice
escaping prison in Mexico — first
hidden in a laundry cart, then
slipping down a tunnel that
reached his prison shower.
Guzman has been branded
the world’s biggest drug lord
since Colombia’s Pablo Escobar,
who was dubbed “The King of
Cocaine” and was one of the
wealthiest men in the world until
police shot him dead in 1993.
Experts say the government
has a near water-tight case
likely to send Guzman, 61, to a
maximum security US prison for
the rest of his life. But at what
price?
“Is it going to stop even one
additional pound of cocaine
from coming into the United
States? Probably not. The
machine keeps rolling,” says
Rob Heroy, a North Carolina
lawyer who has defended other
Mexican drug barons.
The Sinaloa cartel that
Guzman founded in 1989 is still
hugely powerful. His co-
defendant Ismael “El Mayo”
Zambada remains at large, and
violent drug trafficking con-
tinues unabated in Mexico.
Last year, there was a record
29,000 murders in Mexico. In
the United States, opioid
addiction has spiraled into an
epidemic. In 2016, an average
of 174 Americans died every day
from drug overdoses.
Jury selection will be con-
ducted in security conditions
reserved only for the most dan-
gerous defendants. US District
Court Judge Brian Cogan will
preside over the process behind
closed doors.
The 12 jurors, with six alter-
nates, will remain anonymous.
US Marshals will escort them to
and from court every day.
These ordinary men and
women will determine whether
Guzman -- the diminutive father
of two whose nickname means
“shorty” -- is guilty or not of 11
trafficking, firearms and money
laundering charges.
According to the indictment,
the Sinaloa cartel, which
Guzman is accused of leading
from 1989 to 2014, became “the
largest drug trafficking organi-
zation in the world... with thou-
sands of members.”
US prosecutors contend that
from 1989 to 2014, the cartel
smuggled at least 340,892
pounds (154,626 kg) of cocaine
into the United States, as well as
heroin, methamphetamine and
marijuana, raking in $14 billion.
Guzman pleads not guilty,
but the government has pre-
sented so much evidence --
more than 300,000 pages and
at least 117,000 audio recordings
— that the defense complains
Fishing time
they haven’t had enough time A woman casts a net to catch fish on a dock at a fishermen’s market in Valparaiso, Chile, yesterday.
to review it all.
Heroy estimates the trial
will cost US taxpayer “more than
$50m,” a price tag that includes
protection programs for at least
some of the several hundred
witnesses expected to testify.
“It’s probably set up to be
Mayor of Utah city dead in
the most expensive trial in the
history of the US,” he said.
Even Guzman’s lawyers are
in the dark as to all the former
‘insider attack’ in Afghanistan
associates, hired hands or rivals AP death and felt “completely and one tour in Afghanistan.
who have turned informants. humbled by the service and the “Brent was a hero, a patriot,
Some of the informants NORTH OGDEN, UTAH: The ultimate sacrifice offered by this a wonderful father, and a dear
have already been absorbed into mayor of a Utah city was killed brave and selfless soldier.” friend,” US Sen. Orrin Hatch of
the US witness protection during an attack in Afghanistan “Devastating news,” Utah Lt. Utah said on Twitter. “News of
program, given new identities while he was serving with the Gov. Spencer J. Cox wrote on his his death in Afghanistan is dev-
and homes around the country. state’s National Guard, author- Facebook page. “”I hate this. I’m astating. My prayers and love
Others are already in jail, housed ities said. struggling for words. I love are with Jennie and his 7 young
in special wings to protect them North Ogden Mayor Brent Mayor Taylor, his amazing wife children. His service will always
from reprisals. Taylor died on Saturday in an Jennie and his seven sweet kids. be remembered.”
If cooperating with the gov- apparent “insider attack” in Utah weeps for them today. This At the time of his
ernment can endanger their Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, war has once again cost us the deployment in January, Taylor
lives, and those of their families, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. best blood of a generation. We told local media that, as an intel-
it can also help reduce their own Another US service member must rally around his family.” ligence officer, he will be
sentences. whose name was not immedi- Taylor, 39, was deployed to assigned to serve on an advisory
“No one is going to have ately released was being treated Afghanistan in January with the team training the staff of an
pictures of him (Guzman) car- for wounds sustained in the Utah National Guard for what Afghan commando battalion.
rying cocaine, taking the attack, US military officials said. was expected to be a 12-month “Right now there is a need for
suitcase with money,” said In a statement, Utah Gov. tour of duty. Taylor, an officer my experience and skills to serve
Heroy. “The case is going to be Herbert said he was “heart- in the National Guard, previ- in our nation’s long-lasting war
based on these informants.” broken at the news” of Taylor’s ously served two tours in Iraq in Afghanistan,” he said.

Yoga studio shooter posted racist, misogynistic videos

AP
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA: A
brooding military veteran and
former teacher who appeared to
rail at women and blacks in a
series of poorly lit videos shot two
women to death and wounded five
other people at a Florida yoga
studio before killing himself.
The Friday evening shooting
at a busy upscale shopping plaza
jolted the state capital and police
said they were still searching for
a motive that led to the deaths of
a Florida State University student
and a well-known local doctor
who was a member of the school
faculty.
But details about 40-year-
old Scott Paul Beierle (pictured),
began to emerge in the hours
after, including that he had once
been banned from FSU’s campus
and had been arrested twice for
grabbing women even though
the charges were ultimately
dropped.
Beierle, who had moved to the
central Florida town of Deltona
after getting a graduate degree
from FSU, appeared to post a
series of videos on YouTube in
2014 where he insulted women if
they dated black men, said many
black women were “disgusting”
and described himself as a
misogynist.
A Tallahassee police
spokesman would not confirm
or deny the videos were Beierle’s.
However, the man speaking in
the videos looks like Beierle and
biographical details mentioned
in the videos match known facts
about Beierle, including details
about his military service. Also,
the poster’s YouTube username
included the word “Scott,” Bei-
erle’s first name. The existence
of the videos was first reported
by BuzzFeed.
In one video, the man said
promiscuous women deserved
to be crucified and he suggested
putting up land mines to keep
people from crossing into the US
from Mexico.
In another video, the man
who appeared to be Beierle
likened his adolescent self to
Elliot Rodger, a 22-year-old who
killed six students and wounded
more than a dozen others near
the University of California,
Santa Barbara, before killing
himself in 2014. Rodger was a
self-identified “incel,” short for
“involuntary celibate.”
Tallahassee police say
Beierle shot six people and
pistol-whipped another after
walking into the yoga studio that
sits on the second floor of a
shopping center located near the
city’s fashionable midtown
neighborhoods. Tallahassee
Police Chief Michael DeLeo said
some in the studio showed
courage by trying to stop him.
Witnesses at the shopping center
described how people who had
been in the studio ran away,
seeking shelter in nearby bars
and restaurants as shots rang out.
Police responded within a
few minutes, but by then Beirele
had fatally shot himself, leaving
police to search for a motive and
a community to wonder what
prompted the violence.
“It’s a place that brings me
joy and peace, and I think it’s
ruined,” said Katie Bohnett, an
instructor at the yoga studio who
skipped her normal Friday
practice to meet a friend for
dinner. “This monster ruined it.”
Police said Beierle acted
alone but they were still looking
into what prompted the shooting.
He was originally from New
York, had served in the military of the classroom because of “his
and once was a teacher in Mar- odd leering, inappropriate com-
yland. After his military service, ments and general demeanor.”
he wound up attending FSU. “I know that myself and
Kristi Malone, who had a several of my female colleagues
graduate class with Beierle, said made a point to never be alone
in a Facebook message that she with him even at school because
did not interact with him outside of his odd behavior,” Malone said.
 MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018 HOME 19

SPAIN
At least 3,000 Spaniards reside in Qatar
and work for different sectors. They tend
to enjoy Qatar as their second home
without missing home in Spain.

Bringing tapas and paella closer to Doha

FAZEENA SALEEM
flown in to Doha for the Spanish
THE PENINSULA
Extravaganza Festival. Fernando
Perez Arellano, a celebrity chef
showcased their exceptional
culinary skills to treat the guests.
De Dios offered Spain’s most

T
hey come from the
land of Pablo Ruiz
Picasso and obviously
their interest in art
and culture is
eminent. Having the influence of
Barcelona, football is part of their
culture. Spaniards are also
friendly people, known for their
relaxed lifestyle, cuisine, football
and world-famous folklore and
festivities.
At least 3,000 Spaniards
reside in Qatar and work for dif-
ferent sectors. They tend to enjoy
Qatar as their second home
without missing home in Spain.
Football matches, social
media, LaLiga at Sheraton Grand
and networking events are some
venues that Spaniards in Doha
meet often.
Performances of Qatar Phil-
harmonic Orchestra at Qatar
National Library (QNL) is also a
popular entertainment attraction
for Spaniards.
Feeding their huger for
football, there are at least two
official football associations --
‘Peña del Betis’ (from Sevilla) and
‘Peña del Atlético de Madrid’
(from Madrid). In Spain, football
associations are called ‘Peña’.
Bringing the taste of Spanish
cuisine more closer to Qatar, a
four-day Spanish Extravaganza
Festival was organized by the
Spanish embassy in Doha. It cel-
ebrated the best of Spanish gas-
tronomy and culture.
A grand dinner marked the
Perez Arellano, a celebrity chef, and others during the festival
PICS: BAHER AMIN/THE PENINSULA
official opening of the Spanish
Extravaganza Festival. A Spanish
Michelin two-star dinner was
hosted at W Doha Hotel in the
presence of Ambassador of Spain
to Qatar, Belén Alfaro; Com-
mercial Attaché, Miguel Ángel
Fajardo, and several other guests.
“Spanish food is often recog-
nized as one of the top cuisines
in the world, and some tradi-
tional Spanish dishes and recipes
date hundreds of years. Spanish
Extravaganza Festival is aimed
at promoting Spanish cuisine and
culture in Qatar,” said Alfaro, the
was one among the three pre- emblematic dish. There is
sented at the Festival. He pre- nothing better than Valencian
pared and served the signature paella in the Spanish cruise,
and traditional dishes during the which De Dios offered at the Fes-
event including delicious tapas. tival. The delicious ‘paella mixta
‘All i pebre’ made with paprika de carney pescado’ was prepared
spiced octopus and potato with a mix of chicken, duck, beef,
veloute, ‘The blackegg’ made langoustines and clams paella.
with white onion and cuttlefish Music is an integral part of
caviar’ and ‘The almond through Spanish life, it also took centre
the season’ were a treat for the at the Spanish Extravaganza
guests taste buds. Festival. Music and dance per-
Alvaro Fuentes, Daniel formances soothed the guests
Lopez and Javier De Dios also throughout the festival.
Belén Alfaro (Third right), the
new Spanish Ambassador with
embassy officials and visiting
chefs.
new Spanish Ambassador.
“Spain exports agro exports
to Qatar. The festival also show-
cases the quality of Spanish food
products,” she added.
Food has become as integral
to Spain as its rich and tumul-
tuous history, with each region
of Spain – once a collection of
numerous, distinct kingdoms –
boasting their own unique cui-
sines and flavours.
Each regional speciality in
Spain is worth trying, and many
of the top Spanish restaurants are
known by the different regions
they come from. In the main
Spanish cities you can find
Basque, Galician, Asturian and
Valencian (paella) restaurants,
to name but a few of the
renowned regions for local food
specialities. Music and dance performances entertained guests at the Spanish
Four chefs were exclusively Extravaganza Festival.

A grand dinner marked the official opening of the Spanish Extravaganza Festival.

Meet the master chef

FAZEENA SALEEM “The traditional paella is one of fusion cuisine,” he added.
THE PENINSULA the famous dishes we serve. It is LaLiga Lounge’s striker Chef Doha is
commonly made with seafood, but Juan also run classes helping the cosmopolitan,

C
HEF Juan Ramon Sobero
(pictured) has dedicated his
life to the kitchen for more
than 14 years. He has practiced his
art and expertise in prestigious
restaurants all over the world, before
coming to Doha in October 2017.
The young and dashing Chef
Juan is the Chef de cuisine at Doha’s
first sports themed ‘LaLiga Lounge’
dedicated for football enthusiasts at
Sheraton Grand.
He has brought fine culinary
experience from places including
Valencia, Mexico and Florence to
Doha. “Gastronomy is a very inter-
esting field. It’s my passion. With all
my experience, I make guests
remember the cuisine. Majority of
guests we receive are Spaniards. But
we do get considerable number of
Qatari and other guests too,” said
Chef Juan.
Arab guests prefer it with chicken,”
he added.
Originating in Valencia, paella
is a rice dish prepared with seafood.
Of all the foods in Spain, this is the
most popular. In this dish, savory
yellow rice is combined with
tomatoes, onions, peas, shellfish,
squid, clams and chicken
drumsticks.
Speaking about his experience
in Doha and guests, Chef Juan said,
“LaLiga Lounge is very unique in its
concept. The guests, especially
Qataris, are very warm and
respectful people. They make it a
point to make a conversation with
me, when they come for dining,” said
Chef Juan.
“Doha is cosmopolitan, I like the
fusion here. Hopefully, I will be
reflecting it on my dishes soon by
introducing an Arabic and Spanish
community to learn and enhance
I like the
their cooking skills to the next level.
Participants can get the chance to fusion here.
enjoy hands-on cooking classes with Hopefully, I will
him, and learn the secrets of be reflecting
authentic Spanish cuisine and
beyond every first Saturday of the
it on my
month. dishes soon
In September, Chef Juan by introducing
carried out an interesting live an Arabic and
cooking demonstration at
Qatar National Library by
Spanish fusion
preparing different recipes cuisine.
of the traditional Andalusi
cuisine, such as the ‘isfriya’,
a dish of cut chicken breast
sweetened with honey. The
demonstration offered the partic-
ipants the opportunity of learning
some of the dishes that were usually
cooked in ancient days. Andalusi
culinary legacy can still be found in
today’s Spanish cuisine.
20 MORNING BREAK MONDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2018

PRAYER TIMINGS
FAJR 04. 26 AM
SHOROOK 05. 44 AM

ZUHR 11. 17 AM MAGHRIB 04. 53 PM

ASR 02. 28 PM ISHA 06. 23 PM

WEATHER TODAY

26oC 32oC
Minimum Maximum
Moderate temperature daytime and scat-
tered clouds to partly cloudy at places,
mild by night. An aerial view of National Museum of Qatar.
HIGH TIDE 03:30 – 15:00 LOW TIDE 09:00 – 21:45
Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

National Museum of Qatar opens to public in March

THE PENINSULA
DOHA: The National Museum of Qatar
is all set open its doors to the public on
March 28, 2019, says H E Sheikha Al
Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al
Thani.
The Qatar Museums Chairperson
announced on Twitter:
We look forward to open the @
NMOQatar to the public on 28 March
2019 with its magnificent new
building by @ateliersjnouvel. #NMoQ
Designed by Pritzker Prize-
winning French architect Jean Nouvel,
the new NMoQ building on the Doha
Corniche is designed using an inter-
locking disc architecture inspired by
the desert rose.
A July report in The Peninsula
said:
“NMoQ’s collections and conser-
vation teams worked hand-in-hand
to transport the objects into the new,
state-of-the-art storage facilities,
where the collection will be kept until
curatorial fit out begins later this year.”
The new NMoQ building boasts
modern facilities with adaptable func-
tionalities to properly store the
collection.
The transportation of a museum
collection is a long-term, thorough
process which began early.
During the preliminary prepa-
ration phase, the NMoQ team iden-
tified and sorted all collection items
into three categories comprising
artefacts containing organic
materials (e.g leather, textile, wood)
that need to be frozen prior to
entering the new facility, artefacts
with inorganic materials (e.g.
metals, stone, ceramics) that do not
require freezing and disinfection
and fragile items that require
special packing.
This process helped guide the
careful transportation of each artefact
to ensure it was preserved and cared
for properly on the way to its new
home.

Artistes from Qatar to compete

in China Line Dance competition
ANISHA BIJUKUMAR
THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Three ‘country line dancers’ from Doha will

be representing Qatar at the China Cup International
Line Dance Open Competition.
Siobhan Dunn, Zara Dunn and Linus Backstrom,
all students of Dance Doha studio, will be heading
to China on Wednesday to take part in the compe-
tition that will be held from November 8 to 13.
A student at Doha College, Zara is a winner of
First 5G iPhone to the Rising Star Female World Champ 2018, while
Siobhan, an architect, and Linus, a forensic planning
Siobhan Dunn at the World Championship.

hit the stores in consultant, are the Superstar Female and Male World
Champ 2018 respectively.
they moved to Doha we thought
of representing Qatar this time.”
co-judge the competition in
China.

2020: Report Yvonne Dunn, co-owner of Dance Doha, and

parent to Siobhan and Zara, said: “We are pretty
Yvonne and her husband
Steven Dunn, professional
The Qatar team will be com-
peting against teams from USA,
excited about representing Qatar at the competition. dancers and former world China, Korea, Netherlands,
IANS Linus Backstrom The kids have been representing UK till now but since champions, are also invited to Spain, Ireland, Italy and Mexico.

SAN FRANCISCO: The first 5G iPhone is

likely to use an Intel modem, the 8161, and
it could hit the stores in 2020, according
to a report in the Fast Company.
If everything goes as planned, Intel will
be the sole provider of iPhone modems,
said the report.
For prototyping and testing the 5G
iPhone, Intel is reportedly working on a
precursor to the 8161 called the 8060.
To increase transistor density for more
speed and efficiency, Intel is likely to fab-
ricate the 8161 using its 10-nanometre
process.
The performance of 8060 appears to
have triggered a little tension between
Apple and Intel due to “heat dissipation
issues” that would both raise the temper-
ature and hurt battery life.
However, Apple’s current issues with
Intel are not serious enough to cause Apple
to turn to Qualcomm for the supply of 5G
modems, said the Fast Company report,
based on its source. Apple declined to
comment on the report. The first 5G smart-
phone is expected next year.
Android phones from such manufac-
turers as Xiaomi, Oppo and Huawei will
contain 5G modem chips made by
Qualcomm which has claimed that its
modems have managed the heat dissi-
pation issues, the report said.
With $50m debut, ‘Bohemian
Rhapsody’ is no poor boy
AP
NEW YORK: The Freddie
Mercury biopic “Bohemian
Rhapsody” and 20th Century
Fox are — for now, at least -
champions of the world.
“Bohemian Rhapsody,”
starring Rami Malek as the late
Queen frontman, shrugged off
production troubles and
mediocre reviews to debut with
$50m in weekend ticket sales in
US and Canada, and another
$72.5m internationally,
according to studio estimates
yesterday. That was well beyond
expectations, which had pegged
the film closer to $35-40m in its
opening weekend.
But audiences rushed to
theaters to see the widely
praised performance by Malek,
the “Mr. Robot” star, and to hear
Queen’s foot-stomping anthems
like “We are the Champions,”
‘’Another One Bites the Dust”
and the operatic title song.
The movie, which Bryan
Singer directed before being
replaced by Dexter Fletcher,
at times has an almost
concert-like feel, including a
lengthy re-creation of the
band’s 1985 Live Aid
performance.
“It really is a celebration of
Queen and their music, and I
think we did a really good job of
letting people know that that’s
what this is,” said Chris Aronson,
distribution chief for Fox. In
soaring to No. 1, the Fox release
trounced one from Disney, which
will soon own the studio. The Walt
Disney Co.’s lavish, big-budget
“The Nutcracker and the Four
Realms,” despite a production
budget of $125m, opened with just
$20m. “We were hoping for a
stronger start, but we do think
it’s a film that people will find as
we head into the holidays,” said
Cathleen Taff, head of theatrical
distribution for Disney.
Though Disney’s record of
success is the envy of Hol-
lywood, “The Nutcracker and
the Four Realms” marks the
studio’s third misfire this year
following the underperforming
“A Wrinkle in Time” and “Solo.”
The studio’s CGI-stuffed res-
urrection of E.T.A. Hoffmann
story was positioned as an
early holiday season release,
but flopped with critics and
sparked only modest interest
from audiences.
Increasing protein intake can
reduce disability risk in elderly
IANS
LONDON: Increasing the daily amount of protein intake
— known to slow the loss of muscle mass — can help
older adults preserve the ability to perform daily activ-
ities as well as prevent their risks of disability, showed
a research.
The study found that eating more protein can delay
the risk of disability that can obstruct them in performing
basic daily and housekeeping activities independently
including self feeding, bathing, dressing and participating in
social activities. “Our findings support current thinking about
increasing the recommended daily intake of protein to
maintain active and healthy ageing,” said Nuno Mendonca,
lead researcher from Newcastle University in the UK.
For the study, published in the Journal of the American
Geriatrics Society, researchers examined 722 partici-
pants in North-East England, of whom 60 per cent were
women. They provided researchers with information
about their daily diet, body weight, height measurements,
overall health assessment (including any level of disa-
bility), and medical records.
Older adults tend to have a lower protein intake than
younger adults due to poorer health, reduced physical
activity, and changes in the mouth and teeth.