QATAR | Page 28
Chelsea
Convenient stores open at
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GULF TIMES
Amiri Diwan
announces
Eid holidays
The Amiri Diwan has announced that
Eid al-Fitr holidays for the ministries,
other government organs and the
general authorities and institutions
will start on Sunday, June 2 and end
on Monday, June 10. State employees
will resume work on Tuesday June 11.
Eid holidays for Qatar Central Bank
(QCB) and banks and financial
institutions working under the
supervision of QCB and Qatar
Financial Markets Authority (QFMA)
will be determined by the QCB
governor.
Advisory for travellers
to avoid Eid rush
Hamad International Airport (HIA)
and national carrier Qatar Airways
have issued travel advisories to
passengers travelling during the
upcoming Eid al-Fitr holidays and
peak travel season to arrive at the
airport three hours prior to their
flight. In a statement, HIA advised
passengers departing during the
peak Eid period to be sure to check
in online, arrive three hours prior
to their flight and use the e-gates
(if registered) to “avoid queues and
continue enjoying comfortable
and seamless travel” through HIA.
Page 5
RAMADAN THOUGHT
Allah accepts only the
repentance of those who do evil
in ignorance and foolishness
and repent soon afterwards; it
is they whom Allah will forgive
and Allah is Ever All-Knower, All-
Wise. (Qur’an 4: 17)
Prayer times
Fajr....3.16 Zuhr....11.31 Asr....2.56
Maghrib.....6.22 Isha.....7.52
Fasting times
Iftar today ............................ 6.22pm
Imsak tomorrow...............3.06am
‘32,000 firms established since siege’
S
ome 32,000 new companies
have been established in Qatar
since the unjust blockade was
enforced two years ago, Qatar Cham-
ber (QC) Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin
Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani said
yesterday.
This marked an increase of around
34% over the previous two years,
when 24,000 new firms were set up in
the country, he informed.
In a statement yesterday, Sheikh
Khalifa stressed that the local pri-
vate sector “proved its great abil-
ity in dealing with big challenges, as
PM to attend Gulf
summit in Makkah, says
foreign ministry official
H
E the Prime Minister and
Minister of Interior Sheikh
Abdullah bin Nasser bin
Khalifa al-Thani will attend a Gulf
summit in Makkah this weekend,
one of the first high-level meet-
ings with blockading nations since
the embargo was imposed on Qatar
nearly two years ago.
Announcing the attendance of
HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin
Khalifa al-Thani, Qatar’s Ministry
of Foreign Affairs spokesperson HE
Lolwah Alkhater said Qatar has nev-
er been absent from active and posi-
tive participation at all levels — Arab,
Islamic and international.
“It again puts the supreme inter-
est of the region above bilateral dif-
ferences, as the wise leadership has
decided to take part at a high level
with the participation of HE Sheikh
Abdullah bin Nassar al-Thani at the
three Makkah Summits,” she tweeted.
In a separate tweet, HE Alkhater
said the hard and delicate circum-
stances of the region currently and
the rising tension, require wisdom
and responsible handling. “Accord-
ingly, the participation of Qatar,
which enjoys reason and a sense of
responsibility, is considered a na-
tional and humanitarian responsi-
Qatar slams UAE
trade complaint
QNA
Doha
T
he Government Communica-
tions Office (GCO) yesterday
said that the UAE has made a
second request to the World Trade Or-
ganisation (WTO) to refer a complaint
it had lodged about alleged Qatari re-
strictions on the import and sales of
goods, to a dispute-resolution panel.
In a statement, the office said the
supply of goods from the UAE has
been heavily restricted since the UAE,
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt
barred their suppliers from exporting
to Qatar after blockading the country
in June 2017.
The statement noted that Qatar had
pointed out at a previous meeting that
the alleged Qatari restrictions did not
exist, adding that Emirati exporters
may be suffering because they cannot
export to Qatar, but that the responsi-
bility for that lies with the Emirati re-
strictions, rather than with any meas-
ures taken by Qatar.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin
Mohamed al-Thani
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beat
Arsenal 4-1
in final to
win Europa
League
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THURSDAY Vol. XXXX No. 11199
May 30, 2019
Ramadan 25, 1440 AH
www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals
Qatar, Iraq sign pacts
to strengthen relations
bility to achieve the collective secu-
rity and higher interest of the people
of the region,” she said.
A high-level source told Al Jazeera
yesterday the face-to-face between
HE Sheikh Abdullah and top officials
from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and other
countries will take place at the meet-
ing starting today.
The summit is expected to focus
on regional security issues amid
soaring tension between Iran and the
US and its Gulf allies.
His Highness the Amir Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani received
an invitation from Saudi King Sal-
man to attend the emergency Gulf
Co-operation Council (GCC) sum- His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi holding official talks.
mit earlier this week.
“The fact that the Saudis con-
tacted the Amir of Qatar directly Amir holds official talks with Iraqi prime minister
suggests that the tension with Iran
is taken very seriously in Riyadh. QNA They reviewed bilateral relations and and the prime minister witnessed the
So the kingdom is ready to build a Doha the means to enhance them, particular- signing of the second executive pro-
broader-than-usual consensus on ly in economy, commerce, energy, cul- gramme for a memorandum of under-
how to deal with Iran,” Andreas Krieg ture, education, and scientific research. standing for cultural and scientific co-
H
from King’s College London told Al is Highness the Amir Sheikh The two sides also discussed the lat- operation between the governments
Jazeera. Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani est regional and international develop- of Qatar and Iraq in higher education
In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iraqi Prime Minister Adil ments, particularly the developments and scientific research for the aca-
Bahrain and the UAE cut off ties with Abdul Mahdi held official talks at the in the region. demic years 2019/2020, 2020/2021
Qatar and imposed a land, sea, and Amiri Diwan yesterday. Following the session, the Amir and 2021/2022. To Page 28
air blockade on the Gulf state.
“Qatar regrets that the UAE did not
take the opportunity, at that time,
to look into its own restrictive trade
measures. Instead, it circulated me-
dia statements suggesting that Qatar
“confessed” that its instruments vio-
lated WTO rules. That was an unfor-
tunate attempt to seize some small
advantage in the UAE’s continued
media campaign against Qatar, and is
— like so much of the UAE’s rhetoric
concerning Qatar – false,” the state-
ment said.
The GCO stressed that all Qatari
actions taken concerning goods origi-
nating in the UAE have been, and re-
main, consistent with Qatar’s WTO
obligations. The office also said that
WTO rules allow measures aimed
at protecting consumers, including
through requiring accurate statements
about goods, adopting requirements
to ensure human health, product
safety, food sanitation and to address
environmental concerns, highlighting
that Qatar has longstanding laws in
these areas, and will continue to en-
force them rigorously.
they adapted quickly to the block-
ade, in no small part thanks to the
rapid steps adopted by the govern-
ment”, the official Qatar News Agen-
cy reported.
The year 2017 saw the forma-
tion of 15,000 companies, with
the number increasing to 17,000
in 2018. The new companies were
established in a variety of sectors,
such as agriculture, transport and
manufacturing. The years 2016 and
2015 saw the formation of 13,000
and 11,000 companies, respectively.
To Page 11
 Gulf Times
2 Thursday, May 30, 2019

QATAR
Amir condoles with
Japanese emperor QOC celebrates International Day for Challenge 2019
His Highness the Amir Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and
Cabinet approves draft
His Highness the Deputy Amir
Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad
al-Thani have sent cables to
decision on terms for
Emperor Naruhito of Japan
and Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe condoling the victims of a
taking part in tenders
stabbing incident that occurred

in Kawasaki City. HE the Prime
Minister and Minister of Interior
Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin
Khalifa al-Thani also sent a similar
cable to Prime Minister Abe.
Qatar condemns
blast in Thailand
Qatar has expressed its strong
condemnation of a deadly
explosion in Pattani in Thailand.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
has expressed Qatar’s firm
position rejecting violence.
T
he Cabinet’s regular meet-
ing, chaired by HE the
Prime Minister Sheikh
Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa
al-Thani, yesterday approved its
draft decision on the terms and
conditions for the participation
of companies and entities estab-
lished and registered with the Free
Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) has celebrated the seventh edition of the International Day for Challenge 2019, held annually under the Zone Authority and Qatar Finan-
umbrella of TAFISA - The Association For International Sport for All. The committee organised the programme at the Al Tamakon School. cial Center or other entities legal-
The events included various sports activities and a lecture on health education presented by the Qatar Cancer Society. Supervisor of the ly authorised to do so in tenders,
event Afra al-Sada said it aims to raise awareness about sport and the importance of its practice to improve public health. She added that auctions, practices, competitions
QOC has decided to grant those with special needs the chance to participate in this year’s International Day for Challenge. She praised the and direct agreement.
interaction of the students of Al Tamakon School with the events. Under the provisions of the draft
decision, companies and entities,
other than insurance companies and
banks, may participate in tenders,
auctions, practices, competitions
and direct agreements, in accord-
The Cabinet approved the acces-
sion of the State Audit Bureau to the
Economic Co-operation Organisa-
tion of the Supreme Audit Institu-
tions (ECOSAI) as an observer.
The Cabinet also approved the
following:
1- A draft grant agreement on
funding the support for the Inde-
pendence Accreditation Programme
and the partnership programme to
support the Supreme Audit Institu-
tions (SAI) operating in the sensitive
conditions in Audit Bureau in Qa-
tar for the INTOSAI Development
Initiative between the State Audit
Bureau of Qatar and the INTOSAI
Development Initiative.
2- A draft grant agreement on
funding the support for the use

Foreign ministry issues travel advisory for citizens
QNA non-Qatari escorts are travel-
Doha ling, the sponsor must inquire
about the visas and procedures
followed in this regard, the de-
if they are lost. It advised citi-
zens travelling in groups to not
carry large sums of money indi-
vidually and distribute it among
citizens must communicate with
the embassy to receive advice.
The department urged citi-
zens to register on the website
count that the number of work-
ing hours are 8 hours per day, as
well as the holidays and week-
ends.
ance with the terms and conditions
set forth in this decision.
Companies and entities, when
participating in tenders, auctions,
practices, competitions and di-
rect agreement, shall be subject to
the provisions of the Tenders and
Auction Regulation Act and its
of the framework of SAIs per-
formance measurement, and to
enhance e-learning capabilities
by the State Audit Bureau in Qa-
tar for the INTOSAI Development
Initiative between the State Audit
Bureau of Qatar and the INTOSAI
Development Initiative.

T
he Consular Affairs De-
partment at the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs has is-
sued a number of guidelines and
advice to Qatari nationals wish-
ing to travel abroad.
The department emphasised
the importance of ensuring six
months validity of passports and
identity cards, obtaining entry
visas from countries requiring
prior visas and following host
country’s regulations and laws
and travel requirements and in-
ternational aviation regulations.
The Consular Affairs Depart-
ment advised nationals and citi-
zens not to purchase air tickets
from the airlines of the blockad-
ing countries via the Internet.
It also advised citizens to keep
passports, air tickets and valu-
ables in safe places, and not to
pledge a passport or ID card to
any party in any way.
If non-Qatari workers and
partment added.
It urged citizens travelling
abroad to not carry gold jewel-
lery and valuables or interact
with nationals of some countries
that have opposing positions
to Qatar. It also urged citizens
to pay attention to children in
crowded areas and markets.
The department stated that
security services of the host
country should not be allowed
to inspect the place of residence
without permission from the
relevant authority, and empha-
sised the need to ensure the offi-
cial status of persons requesting
personal identity.
It urged citizens to keep handy
the numbers of Qatar embassy
in the host country for reference
when necessary.
The department noted that
passport number and ID number
should be kept in mind when re-
questing the help of the mission
family members. It pointed out
the importance keeping the
money exchange receipt.
When arriving at the airport
of the country of destination,
the Qatari passenger must in-
form the customs officer of the
cash he or she has (if it exceeds
10,000 euros or 10,000 US dol-
lars) before it is discovered to
avoid charges or confiscation.
The department advice citi-
zens to avoid gatherings and sus-
picious places and approaching
strange objects. It also advised
citizens to not wear face cover
such as niqab in countries that
prohibit it. In the event of any
problem, citizens should head di-
rectly to inform the nearest em-
bassy or consulate of Qatar and
notify officials of the problem.
If a Qatari citizen is being in-
vestigated, he or she must head
immediately to inform the State
mission. If there is a terrorist act,
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
before travelling.
The department advised citi-
zens to not bring meat and dairy
products to European countries.
If a citizen wishes to bring food
(not mentioned above), he or she
should not exceed the personal
use (2 kg).
The Department of Consular
Affairs advised Qataris going to
the United States to ensure that
all legal issues related to their
stay in America are resolved,
such as paying traffic fines and
attending US courts. It empha-
sised the importance of ensuring
that electronic devices are free of
any subjects that are against US
laws.
In the case of travelling com-
panions (servants, nannies or
drivers), their passports should
not be kept with the sponsor,
the department said, adding that
the sponsor should take into ac-
The department also advised
to open a bank account for the
worker. If the payment is in cash
then proof of receipt must be
taken. The sponsor must also se-
cure adequate housing. Sponsor
must inform the nearest Qatari
diplomatic mission in case the
worker runs away.
The Department of Consular
Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs urged citizens to see the
website of the Ministry of For-
eign Affairs www.mofa.gov.qa to
know the countries that exempt
passport holders (of all types)
from obtaining visas or require
prior visas through embassies or
visas at the country’s ports upon
arrival.
Citizens can communicate
with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs via the following phone
numbers from inside and outside
Qatar: 40111104-40111000-
40111104.
executive regulations.
Following the meeting, held at
the Amiri Diwan, HE the Minister
of Justice and Acting Minister of
State for Cabinet Affairs Dr Issa
Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi stated
the following:
The Cabinet reviewed topics on
its meeting’s agenda as following:
The Cabinet approved the draft
law on regulating real estate de-
velopment.
The draft law is to replace Law
No 6 of 2014 to regulate real estate
development, in order to keep up
with the recent developments and
activate the real estate market.
The Cabinet approved that
Qatar will host the next edition
of the World Telecommunication
Standardisation Assembly, which
will be held in 2020.
The Cabinet approved the acces-
sion of the Qatar Financial Markets
Authority to the Francophone In-
stitute of Financial Regulation.
The Cabinet takes the neces-
sary measures to ratify:
1. An agreement on the can-
cellation of visa requirements
for holders of diplomatic, private
and official passports between the
governments of Qatar and Nepal.
2. A memorandum of understand-
ing for co-operation in agriculture
and food security between the gov-
ernments of Qatar and Nepal.
The Cabinet took the appropri-
ate decisions on:
1- Draft decision of the Cabinet
to establish a committee on the
real estate development strategy.
2- Draft decision of HE the Min-
ister of Municipality and Environ-
ment on the prohibition of disposal
of waste in non-authorised areas.
3- The letter of the Planning and
Statistics Organisation Chairman
and the Chairman of the Perma-
nent Population Committee on the
annual report of the Committee for
2018. – QNA

Transport ministry to provide medical

examination service for seafarers
QNA to ensure that the require-
Doha ments of international con-
ventions in force are met.”
Such services, he added,

T
he Ministry of Trans-
port and Commu-
nications (MoTC)
announced yesterday that
it has launched a service
regarding medical examina-
tions and medical certifica-
tions for seafarers.
The ministry signed a
memorandum of under-
standing (MoU) with Al
Ahmadani Medical Centre
in that regard. The cen-
tre will provide medical
examinations and fitness
reports for seafarers and
people working on board
vessels in line with the
International Convention
would contribute to en-
hancing the functioning of
Qatar’s commercial and in-
dustrial ports globally with
a view to promoting the
Qatari maritime sector to
the international ranking it
deserves.
Officials of the transport ministry and Al Ahmadani Medical He said that the centre
Centre exchange documents after signing the MoU. has all the required medical
and technical capabilities
on Standards of Training, ing, MoTC’s Assistant Un- as well as qualifications and
Certification and Watch- dersecretary of Maritime approvals from the bodies
keeping for Seafarers Transport Affairs Dr Saleh concerned to be in charge
(STCW 1978), its amend- bin Fetais al-Marri said that of performing medical ex-
ments and with the en- “these services are a part of aminations and issuing fit-
dorsement of Qatar’s Min- MoTCs strategy for plan- ness reports for seafarers
istry of Public Health. ning and developing the and those working on board
Commenting on the sign- maritime transport sector vessels.

Ministry prepares mock tests for students

QNA for the end of the year ex- importance of carrying out the capabilities of students
Doha ams. mock tests in state schools in the mock tests to iden-
The ministry said these according to the schedules tify the strengths and weak-
exams, which have been ap- prepared by the school, in nesses and take the neces-

T
he Student Assess-
ment Office at the
Ministry of Educa-
tion and Higher Educa-
tion prepared mock ex-
ams for subjects included
in the Secondary School
Certificate to support and
raise students’ readiness
plied in all the schools in the
state, have been uploaded
on the ministry’s website,
with mock tests of the na-
tional exams’ materials in
Arabic, English, mathemat-
ics and science for the third,
sixth and ninth grades.
The office emphasised the
line with the quarterly plans
set for this.
The office also prepared
and trained the education
field through holding semi-
nars and training work-
shops. These seminars and
workshops emphasised the
importance of assessing
sary actions.
Due to the importance of
these tests in preparing the
students well for the final
exams, the ministry has al-
lowed parents to access all
mock tests through its offi-
cial website: www.edu.gov.
qa

Huawei launches limited edition of P30 Pro Amber Sunrise

H
uawei Consumer
Business Group has
launched the lim-
ited edition of its flagship
champion, the P30 Pro Am-
ber Sunrise. It is available
in Huawei showroom in Al-
Nasr Street, kiosk in Doha
Festival City and at select
retailers across Qatar.
Amber Sunrise colour of
the Huawei P30 Pro, with
512 GB of storage and 8GB
RAM, will be available for
QR 3,999 and comes with
a gift - the latest Huawei
Watch GT with purchases
made until June 9, 2019.
Huawei Watch GT is worth
QR799.
Inspired by nature, the
new Amber Sunrise col-
our transposes the beauty
of the golden morning sun
in the Huawei P30 Pro.
Shifting between orange
and red, the gradient is
achieved by an innovative
process which also boosts
durability, leading to the
IP68 rating, protecting the
phone against water and
dust.
The Huawei P30 Pro is
powered by the Kirin 980,
Huawei’s fastest chipset
yet along with a 4,200 mAh
battery with 40W Huawei
SuperCharge which can
charge the phone back up
to 70% in 30 minutes. It
also includes GPU Turbo
3.0, which improves gaming
experience by enhancing Huawei P30 Pro Amber
graphics. Sunrise rearview.
 Gulf Times
4 Thursday, May 30, 2019
QATAR
Aster Medical Centre opens registration
for post-Ramadan health checkup facility
A
ster Medical Centre, a division of
Aster DM Healthcare, has opened
registration for post-Ramadan
health checkup at QR69. This facility will
be available until June 30.
The comprehensive services include
Complete Blood Count, Blood Sugar
(fasting), Total Cholesterol, Uric Acid
(Kidney), SGPT (Liver), Blood Pressure,
Dental Checkup, Body Mass Index, Physi-
cal examinations and consultation of a
physician.
Talking on the importance of Post Ra-
madan Health Checkup, Dr Sakir T P,
Family Physician at Aster Medical Centre
Al Rayyan said, “A detailed checkup after
Ramadan will help you to understand the
health benefits of Ramadan.”
The checkup will be available at Aster
centres at Al Hilal (Near Woqod Petrol
Station), C Ring Road (Near Subway Sig-
nal), Industrial Area (Near Street 1 and foot
over bridge), Al Rayyan (Near Shafi Mas-
jid), Al Khor (Near Lulu Mall) and Old Al
Ghanim (Behind New World Centre).
Those who wish to avail this package,
Whatsapp, “HEALTH” to 74799300 or call
Aster Helpline 44440499.
Qatar Visa Centre
opens in Nepal
QNA
Kathmandu
Q
atar yesterday inaugurated
a visa centre in the Nepa-
lese capital Kathmandu as
part of the Qatar Visa Centres Pro-
gramme, to facilitate and streamline
procedures for bringing expatriates
to the country.
The opening of Qatar Visa Centre
in Nepal is part of the opening of 20
centres in eight countries - Sri Lan-
ka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pa-
kistan, Philippines, Indonesia, and
Tunisia. These centres will serve in
speeding up visa procedures.
Nepal is the fifth country where
a visa centre was opened after Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and In-
dia - which have proved to be a great
success in providing premium, sim-
plified and more advanced services.
The centre provides facilities for
those who have initial approval for
entry visas to Qatar where they can
complete the registration of their
biometrics, medical examinations
and the signing of contracts elec-
tronically through a unified chan-
nel, and thus saving time and effort.
The Qatar Visa Centre operates
in a more rigorous and responsible
manner. The centre complies with
international standards that ensure
greater transparency, traceability, as
well as the ability to track and
improve procedures.
Qatar ambassador to Nepal
Yousef Mohamed al-Hail said in a
statement that the opening of Qatar
Visa Centre in Nepal comes within
the framework of strengthening the
relations between the two countries
and the keenness of Qatar to
support these relations.
The inauguration ceremony was
attended by officials from both sides.
Qatar and Nepal officials pose for a photo after the inauguration of Qatar Visa Centre in Kathmandu.
He pointed out that Qatar was keen
to choose Nepal to be among the first
eight countries to launch Qatar Visa
Centre abroad, in order to facilitate
the recruitment of skilled workers, as
well as the completion of procedures
and legal requirements for obtaining
visas to Qatar for the purpose of visit
and residence.
The ambassador pointed out that
these procedures were carried out in
the past after the entry of the expa-
triate to Qatar, but now these cen-
tres will provide these services in
the expatriate country.
“This will ensure the speed of
special procedures for the issuance
of visas and residence permits in
Qatar,” he said, pointing out that
the procedures carried out by Qatar The Qatar Visa Centre building in Kathmandu.
Visa Centres do not affect the inter-
nal procedures of the country of the international organisations. authentication of documents and
expatriate related to travel abroad. For his part, Major Abdullah Kha- scientific qualifications, as well as
Ambassador al-Hail expressed lifa al-Mohannadi, director, Visa other services.
thanks and appreciation to Nepalese Support Services Department at the He pointed out that the upcom-
workers in Qatar and their participa- Ministry of Interior, said that the ing stages of the project will cover
tion in development, stressing that visa centre provides many services all types of visas, whether fam-
Qatar provides an excellent environ- in the first phase, which include, ily, business or tourism and other
ment for foreign employment, which vital data services, medical exami- services will be announced in a
was welcomed by the concerned nation, signing of work contracts, timely manner.
 Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019 5

QATAR
Criminal Studies Institute concludes training
course for employees of Customs

The Criminal Studies Institute of the Public Prosecution concluded yesterday a training course for magistrates and
employees of the General Customs Authority. A total of 25 employees took part in the course, during which head of Al
Rayyah Prosecution Abdullah Mohamed al-Malki and director of the institute Turki al-Qorashi honoured the participants
and presented them with their certificates. The Criminal Studies Institute offers training courses to employees from all
ministries and public authorities in Qatar.

HIA, Qatar Airways issue

advisory for travellers to
avoid Eid holiday rush
H
amad International
Airport (HIA) and
national carrier
Qatar Airways have issued
travel advisories to passen-
gers travelling during the
upcoming Eid al-Fitr holi-
days and peak travel season
to arrive at the airport three
hours prior to their flight.
In a statement, HIA ad-
vised passengers departing
during the peak Eid pe-
riod to be sure to check in
online, arrive three hours
prior to their flight and use
the e-gates (if registered)
to “avoid queues and con-
tinue enjoying comfort-
able and seamless travel”
through HIA.
Passengers travelling
through HIA are reminded
that check-in closes 60
minutes prior to departure.
During security checks,
passengers are also re-
minded to ensure they are
not carrying any prohib-
ited items such as liquids,
aerosols, and gels and to
ensure they pack any liquid
containers in a clear, reseal-
able plastic bag with each
being 100ml or less.
New baggage wrapping
centres are also located near
row three and 10 in the air-
port. Electronic items larger
than mobile phones need to
be removed from bags and
placed in trays for X-ray
screening.
HIA also points out that
small vehicles such as hov-
erboards that are powered
by lithium batteries are
prohibited for carriage and
passengers are advised to
minimise travelling with
pets due to the holiday peak
time.
To assist during the busy
peak period with passengers
returning from Eid holidays,
and for the interest of pas-
sengers convenience and
safety, access to the arrival
and departure curbsides
may be restricted to au-
thorised vehicles only be-
tween 10:30pm and 2am on
June 8 and 9.
Passengers are requested
to proceed to the short-
term car park during these
busy peak periods.
Passengers departing
from HIA are advised to
download the ‘HIAQatar’
mobile app available for
both Andriod and iPhone
for updates and to assist
making the passengers jour-
ney more seamless with re-
al-time information about
flight status, baggage claim,
time and direction to board-
ing gates and food, beverage
and retail offers from Qatar
Duty Free (QDF).
In a separate advisory,
Qatar Airways advised pas-
sengers booked to travel
from until July 15, to arrive
and check in at Hamad In-
ternational Airport at least
three hours prior to de-
parture to avoid any delays
in view of the “upcoming
Eid holiday and peak travel
season.”
6 Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019

QATAR
Ooredoo offers ICC Cricket
World Cup season pass
O
oredoo has an-
nounced it will be
offering a special
ICC Cricket World Cup
season pass that will show
all matches on Ooredoo tv.
The 12th edition of the
most-awaited cricket
tournament is scheduled
to be hosted by England
and Wales from today until
July 14. All matches will be
available live and exclusive
on OSN Cric Xtra 1 and
OSN Cric Xtra 2 on Oore-
doo tv, as part of the new
season pass for a one-time
fee of QR199.
Ooredoo tv customers can
subscribe to the ICC Cricket
World Cup season pass by
switching to Channel 394 on
Ooredoo tv, calling 111 or by
visiting the nearest Ooredoo
shop. Customers who do not
have Ooredoo tv can sign
up by visiting any Ooredoo
shop to collect their set-top
box and subscribe to the ICC
Cricket World Cup 2019 sea-
son pass.
Manar Khalifa al-Mu-
raikhi, director, public re-
lations and corporate com-
munications at Ooredoo,
said of the package: “We
know we have plenty of
cricket fans here in Doha,
and they want access to all
the major fixtures of the
season. We are delighted
to be able to offer them the
opportunity to catch every
match of the exciting ICC
Cricket World Cup 2019,
and at the great-value
price of just QR199 for all
the matches.”
HMC emergency, key services to
remain open during Eid holidays
H
amad Medical Cor-
poration (HMC)
has announced its
operating hours for the Eid
al-Fitr holidays. All emer-
gency and inpatient serv-
ices across HMC’s network
of hospitals will operate as
usual, 24-hours a day, seven
days a week.
“Every day across our
hospital network our teams
deliver high-quality care to
many thousands of patients,
and this Eid will be no dif-
ferent. Our outpatient de-
partments will close for Eid,
but clinical teams across
our hospitals will continue
to provide the highest levels
of patient care in our Emer-
gency Departments and
across many essential serv-
ices throughout the holiday
period. On behalf of eve-
ryone at HMC, I would like
to wish you and your fam-
ily a safe and healthy Eid,”
said Ali Abdullah al-Khat-
er, chief communications
officer at HMC.
HMC’s main emergency
departments at Hamad
General Hospital, Al Wakra
Hospital, The Cuban Hos-
pital and Al Khor Hospi-
tal will all remain open
24-hours a day, seven days
a week. Heart Hospital’s
Emergency Department (for
cardiac patients only), the
National Center for Cancer
Care and Research’s (NC-
CCR) Urgent Care Center
(for patients with symp-
toms associated with ongo-
ing cancer treatments), and
the Women’s Wellness and
Research Center’s Emer-
gency Department (for
obstetrical or gynaecologi-
cal emergencies) will also
operate as per normal tim-
ings. Dialysis services will
also operate as per normal
timings, as will Paediatric
Emergency Centers, which
will remain open 24-hours
a day, seven days a week for
medical emergencies in-
volving patients under the
age of 14 years.
The majority of Outpa-
tient Departments (OPD)
will be closed from Sunday,
June 2 and will re-open on
Sunday, June 9. When OPD
clinics are open, they will
be supported by admin-
istrative and clinical sup-
port services, including
pharmacies.
Outpatient Clinics at
NCCCR will be closed from
June 2 until 6 and a limited
number of clinics will open
from 10am to 12 noon on
June 2, 3, and 6 for patients
with urgent medical needs.
The NCCCR’s Radiotherapy
Unit will remain open dur-
ing its regular hours of 7am
to 3pm, Sunday to Thurs-
day. The Day Care Unit will
be closed on June 4 and 5.
The Heart Hospital’s
non-invasive OPD services
will be open on June 2 and 3 Ali Abdullah al-Khater, chief communications officer, HMC.
but closed from June 4 to 6.
The Communicable Dis- Al Khor Hospital will re- change their appointment,
eases Center will operate open all outpatient clinics can call the Hamad Custom-
morning clinics from 8am on June 11. er Service Center on 16060.
to 12 noon on June 5 and 6 Patients requiring infor- Nesma’ak will be closed
and evening clinics from mation about clinic oper- on June 4, 5, and 6 and will
3.30pm to 7.30pm on June 2, ating hours, scheduled ap- resume regular operating
3, and 5. pointments, or wishing to hours June 7 at 2pm.

Compass International School WISE convenes

Doha to open new campus stakeholders for
N collaboration
ord Anglia Education has
announced that it is ex-
panding in Qatar “due to

T
the ongoing success” of Compass
International School Doha.
The current three campuses
in Madinat Khalifa, Gharafa and
Rayyan will expand to include
Themaid Campus, which is cur-
rently accepting admissions for the
2019/2020 academic year, it has
said in a press statement.
“The new state-of-the-art, pur-
pose-built campus will offer stu-
dents an exceptional learning envi-
ronment - from its well-equipped
science laboratories and theatre to
the 25m swimming pool and spe-
cialist areas for design, technology
and music,” the statement notes.
The campus will accept students
from Early Years through to Year 10
for the 2019/2020 academic year,
offering the International Primary
Curriculum, English National Cur-
riculum and IGCSEs. In the coming
years, the campus will also accom-
modate A levels as well as other vo-
cational programmes (BTEC).
The main language at Themaid
Campus will be English, with Ara-
bic classes available for native Ara-
bic speakers and for international
students as a foreign language.
Nord Anglia Education, with
he World Innovation
Summit for Education
(WISE) – an initiative of
Qatar Foundation (QF) recently
organised a roundtable for key
decision-makers in education
to debate ways of improving
knowledge-sharing and coop-
eration efforts. The event, which
took place in May, was held on
the sidelines of 2019 Concordia
Americas Summit in Bogotá.
Concordia Americas Summit
is Concordia’s flagship regional
symposium convening in Latin
America, which focuses on is-
The design of the proposed new school building. sues across the region. The fo-
rum brought together a number
61 schools across 28 countries, Dr Terry Creissen, executive of high-level speakers, including
has collaborations with world- principal, said: “At Compass Inter- the president of Colombia Iván
renowned institutions such as The national School Doha, our philoso- Duque Márquez – who, during
Juilliard School and Massachusetts phy is ‘Be Ambitious’ and our new the forum, met with WISE repre-
Institute of Technology (MIT), state-of-the-art campus, The- sentatives – and government of-
which “offer students a wealth of maid, demonstrates our ambition. ficials from across the continent.
innovative curricular experiences We look forward to building on our WISE’s roundtable brought
and help children connect with 12 years of academic excellence in together a number of high-level
their future”. Qatar and allowing our unique col- stakeholders, such as the vice-
Through a collaboration with laborations with Juilliard, MIT and minister of higher education for
Unicef, students are encouraged Unicef to grow. Themaid Campus Colombia, Luis Fernando Pérez
to research, develop and debate is an opportunity for students to be Hurtado, the former minister
solutions to the challenges facing inspired by the world of learning in of education for Mexico, Aure-
society. purpose-built facilities.” lio Nuño Mayer, as well as rep-
resentatives from government
agencies, and leaders of Colom-
bian foundations.
During the session, at-
tendees learned about QF’s
vision and initiatives, includ-
ing the innovative programs
led by QF’s Pre-University
Education. Speakers included
Hisham bin Hashim, content
development specialist, Mar-
keting and Events, QF, and Jen-
nifer Yakub, head, Partnership
and Business Development,
PUE Strategic Initiatives, QF.
Elyas Felfoul, director, Part-
nerships and Policy Develop-
ment, WISE, said, “By advancing
important in-person discussions
on education challenges in the
region, WISE is strengthening
ties with its community in Co-
lombia and in Latin America, and
helping to identify and provide
visibility to more impactful ini-
tiatives in the region.”
WISE’s effort at Concordia
Americas Summit kicks off the
planning for WISE@ – a regional
summit to advance innovation
and effective policy-making in
education – in Colombia in 2020.

Civil Defence distributes Iftar meals

Indian embassy
warns against
fake websites
T
he Indian embassy has issued an advi-
sory on fake websites claiming to offer
Indian e-visa to foreign nationals.
In a post on its Twitter page yesterday, the
embassy said it has come to its notice that
some third-party websites are offering Indian
e-visa to foreign nationals.
The websites are as follows: https://www.
evisatoindia.org.in, https://www.evisain-
dia.com, https://www.indianvisaservice.
org, https://www.indiaimmigration.org, ht-
tps://www.evisaindia.org.in, https://www.
indiaonlineevisas.org.in and https://www.
indiaevisa.org
“It is hereby notified that the above web-
sites are ‘FAKE’ and have been found to
be misguiding foreign nationals and dup-
ing them of their money in some cases,” the
advisory said. The General Directorate of Civil Defence has distributed Iftar meals to motorists at different places
The correct website for applying e- in the country as part of “its keenness to communicate with the public and raise awareness of
visa for India by foreign nationals is safety procedures”, the Ministry of Interior has tweeted.
www.indianvisaonline.gov.in

CNA-Q to hold summer sport camps for children

C
ollege of the North Atlantic
– Qatar (CNA-Q) will be
offering inaugural summer
sport camps on campus for children
aged 6 to 15.
The Falcons’ Summer Camp
will run for five weeks from June
23 - July 25, offering three different
sporting disciplines. Campers will
be separated into three age catego-
ries: 6-8 years, 9-12 years and 13-15
years. The two oldest groups will be
separated by gender.
The three disciplines are: Fal-
cons’ Aquatics Camp for swimmers
of all abilities and ages to improve
their technique while having fun in
and out of the water to beheld from
June 23-27; Falcons’ Multi-Sport
Camp - a mix of athletic, recrea-
tional, leisure and creative activi-
ties for each age group from June
30-July 4, July 7-11 and July 14-18
and Falcons’ Football Academy,
in partnership with Future Sport
to develop the skills of youth who
are passionate about football from
July 21-25.
“CNA-Q has state-of-the-art fa-
cilities, including two gymnasiums,
two large, sparkling clean swimming
pools and ample recreation facilities
at our beautiful campus location in
Duhail. We are thrilled to reach out
to the greater Doha community to
offer these summer sport camps in
support of health and wellness for
youth of all ages!” said Tony Mar-
tin, manager, Sport and Wellness at
CNA-Q.
 Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019 7

QATAR

Qatar’s education landscape

showcased at US conference
H
amad Bin Khalifa Univer-
sity (HBKU) and Qatar
University (QU) are partic-
ipating in the NAFSA (Association
of International Educators) 2019
Annual Conference and Expo, a
premier professional learning and
networking event for international
educators, held under the theme
Global Leadership, Learning, and
Change, this week in Washington,
DC.
HBKU and QU delegates are
heading up the Qatar Pavilion
at the event, under the theme of
Study in Qatar.
The dedicated stand serves to
showcase Qatar as an emerging
global destination for higher edu-
cation and research, and the suc-
cesses achieved through its on-
going collaborations with global
partners.
The event that opened on May
26 and ends tomorrow saw the
participation of more than 9,000
industry professionals from 3,500
institutions and organisations
across 100 countries, who ex-
changed valuable insights on all
areas of international education
administration, student services,
research and teaching from a global
perspective.
University delegations included
senior members of management
and international office associates,
who were actively engaged in a se-
ries of events, sessions, and con-
ference hall showcases.
Maryam al-Mannai, vice-pres-
ident for student affairs at HBKU,
said: “NAFSA is a key event on the
international education calendar,
and HBKU is proud to have partici-
pated for the fifth year running.
“The global education ecosys-
tem continues to evolve and adapt,
and the event provides an invalu-
able platform to assess these ongo-
ing developments, compare notes
and evaluate the efficacy of latest
advancements.
“HBKU is at the forefront of
multidisciplinary education in the
region and it is always an excep-
tional honour to represent Qa-
tar and showcase our innovative
teaching methods to the global ed-
ucation community, while gleaning
invaluable information from our
international peers.”
The theme of this year’s confer-
ence sought to encourage reflection
on the status quo in the education
field and how best to overcome
current challenges faced in the
teaching profession.
“Qatar University is the first,
largest, and most prominent in-
stitution for higher education in
Qatar,” Dr Khalid al-Khanji, QU
vice-president for student affairs,
commented. “NAFSA 2019 mir-
rors QU values such as partnership,
international diversity and innova-
tion.
“We attract international stu-
dents because we put our student’s
first. Our key focus is to draw stu-
dents via our specialisation in key
science, technology, engineering
and math areas, by providing an
exciting learning environment and
prioritising research methodolo-
gies.”
More than 200 professional
learning sessions and programmes
were held throughout the duration
of the event, including specialised
pre-conference learning work-
shops, leadership programmes for
presidents, provosts, directors and
managers, signature programmes
supporting global learning, peace
building, risk management and in-
ternationalisation, poster presen-
tations, and a NAFSA community
celebration.
HBKU is a multidisciplinary in-
stitution that regularly collabo-
rates with local and international
partners to promote knowledge ex-
change and showcase its innovative
approach to delivering world-class
graduate programmes.
As a premier national institu-
tion, QU continuously invests and
participates in studies which fur-
ther science and society.
As both a leader in emerging gas
technologies and an environmen-
tally-conscious institution, QU’s
autonomous research units strive HBKU and QU showcase Qatar’s education landscape at
to make an impact on a global scale. NAFSA 2019.

Sidra Medicine opens registrations for paediatric surgeons congress

S
idra Medicine has an-
nounced that the regis-
tration link for WOFAPS
(World Federation of Associa-
tions of Paediatric Surgeons)
2019 is now live.
WOFAPS will be hosted by
Sidra Medicine in Qatar for the
first time from November 1 to 3
at the Qatar National Conven-
tion Centre.
Dr Mansour Ali, chair of Pae-
diatric Surgery at Sidra Medicine
and the Middle East WOFAPS
representative, said: “With the
2019 WOFAPS’ scientific committee members. theme Moving Collaboration,
Education and Training Beyond
Borders, Qatar will be welcom-
ing the brightest and innovative
thought leaders in the surgical
and medical field.”
“In a matter of months after
opening our inpatient hospital
in January 2018, we have done
much to do be proud of, includ-
ing the conjoined twin separa-
tion, surgeries for young patients
with short bowel syndrome, epi-
lepsy, bladder exstrophy, cranio-
facial deformities, congenital
heart diseases, orthopaedic
challenges, and much more,” he
said. “We look forward to shar-
ing our success stories with our
global peers at WOFAPS 2019
and learning from them in re-
turn.”
WOFAPS 2019 aims to cover
the most cutting edge advances
in paediatric surgical care in ad-
dition to addressing the current
challenges impeding optimal
surgical care for children in high
and low income countries.
More than 1,000 surgeons
from all over the world are ex-
pected to join the congress.
Applicants can register and get
additional details about abstract
submissions at www.wofaps.org
“WOFAPS 2019 is an excel-
lent opportunity for surgeons
in the Middle East, Africa, Asia
and South America in particu-
lar, where many surgeons have
to deliver care in resource-chal-
lenged settings. This will be a
major theme of the conference.
Along with my colleagues from
the Department of Surgery, I en-
courage our surgical peers and
affiliates from around the world
to join us at WOFAPS 2019, ” Dr
Ali continued.
8 Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019

QATAR
Qatar Charity holds Quran contest for non-Arabic speaking children
T
he men’s branch of Qatar Charity (QC) Centre for
Community Development in Al Khor held a Quran
contest for children from non-Arabic speaking
expatriate communities in Al Khor and Al Dhakira, in
cooperation with the Friends Cultural Center (FFC), a Qatar
Charity community development center for Asian expatriate
communities in Qatar.

The competition came as part of the social programme
entitled “Tawasul” implemented by the center in Al khor, in
cooperation with FCC.
The competition, in which 35 students, aged 6 to 13 years,
took part, aims at encouraging participants to learn Tajweed,
phonetic rules of Qur’anic recitation, in order to read the
Holy Quran properly. The contest also included a lecture on
the importance of fasting and the blessed month of Ramadan.
In a statement, Abdul Nasir Aramkottukuzhi, coordinator
of the contest, said “The intent of this Quran recitation
competition is to encourage younger children to learn and
practice the correct recitation of the Holy Quran, and thus
to improve their recitation skill”, pointing out that all the 35
participants performed exceptionally. He also thanked Qatar
Charity for providing all support to conduct this event.
“We really struggled to find the winners as the
competition was very tight. I am sure this type of
competition will increase the interest of children in learning
and understanding the correct recitation of the Holy Quran”,
said, Abdul Haque cherikkammal, a member in the judging
panel for the contest.
The first winner, Aisha Abdul Nasir, a 5th-grade student
at the Alkhor International School, said, “I am delighted
to attend this Holy Quran recitation competition. The
competition increased my confidence level and improved my
recitation skill”
It is worth mentioning that Qatar Charity, through the
“Tawasul” programme, aims to provide cultural, social,
and educational services to the non-Arabic-speaking
communities in Al Khor and Al Dhakira, and enhance
communication among them.

Qatar Charity receives Zakat al-Fitr Qatar Charity’s radio programme

to benefit 474,000 people worldwide “Omniaty”
advocates for orphans worldwide
‘Omniaty’ which literally
means ‘my wish’ is an English-
language live radio programme
transmitted via Qatar Radio
during the holy month of
Ramadan. It seeks to grant
simple wishes of children
and orphans from all over the
world.
In order to understand the
impact of the programme and
the interaction of listeners with
it, we talked to the programme
presenter Ms. Manar Magdy
Zahran.
What is this programme?
This programme gives non-Arabic speakers in Qatar as in Qatar to support projects and
listeners information on the well as some Arabs who prefer activities that benefit children
issues of children and orphans to listen to this programme. and orphans around the world
and makes them aware of Qatar What do you aim through in order to provide a better life
Charity’s activities, events, this radio programme? to them.
programmes, and humanitarian The programme aims to How do listeners interact
and developmental projects introduce to listeners the wishes, with the programme?
dreams and aspirations of many We always get feedback
Q atar Charity (QC) continues to distribute Zakat al-Fitr
worldwide, benefiting 474,000 people in 25 countries
worldwide.
The value of Zakat al-Fitr for each person is 15 Qatari
riyals, which can be paid through Qatar Charity’s website
and app using credit or debit card. It also can be given by
implemented worldwide. It also
encourages them to get involved children around the world,
and achieve social solidarity
through SMS and
participants interact with the
the
in humanitarian activities and
Also, Qatar Charity continues to receive donations, dialing 44667711 around the clock, in addition to paying by granting their wishes. program through social media.
support those in need.
including Zakat Al Fitr, from philanthropists in Qatar until Zakat al-Fitr at Qatar Charity’s headquarters, branches, This programme is a valuable They lavish praise on it as it the
the morning of Eid Al Fitr, as it seeks to increase the number and collection points at shopping complexes. Who is your target audience?
We target a large segment of opportunity for philanthropists first of its kind in Qatar.
of beneficiaries of the Zakat Al Fitr project.

Qatar Charity distributes Eid clothes to over 3,000 orphans worldwide

Q
atar Charity (QC) continues to distribute clothes to
orphans across the globe to bring the joy of the Eid al-Fitr
celebration to underprivileged children, benefiting more
than 3,000 orphans whom it sponsors in 24 countries around the
world.
The distribution the Eid clothes, which comes as part of Qatar
Charity’s “Ramadan, the Gift of Giving” campaign for the year 144
AH, has been completed in some countries, while in some other
countries, it continues. Each orphan gets new clothes and shoes.
Somalia
Qatar Charity’s office in Somalia distributed Eid clothes to 250
orphaned boys and girls in the capital, Mogadishu. It also handed
over these clothes to other 250 orphans in Hargeisa, Somaliland.
Palestine
Some 250 orphans of the Gaza Strip sponsored by Qatar
Charity benefited from its Eid clothing project.
Sudan
Besides, Qatar Charity implemented the Eid clothing project
in Sudan to benefit 200 orphans during a ceremony held in the
Sudanese capital Khartoum.
Albania
Qatar Charity’s office in Tirana, Albania has provided the
opportunity to orphans to select their new clothes in cooperation
with the clothing stores.

QU, Huawei partnership to empower
next generation of ICT leaders
Q
atar University College of
Engineering (QU-CENG)
yesterday signed an MoU
with Huawei Technologies In-
vestment Co Ltd – Qatar, which
will see the first Huawei Author-
ised Information and Network
Academy (Haina) programme
launched in Qatar.
The MoU was signed by QU-
CENG dean Prof Abdelmagid
Hammuda and Huawei Technol-
ogies CEO Frank Fan, in the pres-
ence of QU president Dr Hassan
al-Derham, Huawei Technolo-
gies vice president Farhan Khan,
Huawei representatives and QU
leadership, faculty and staff.
Huawei will deliver its train-
ing and certification pro-
grammes to QU through Haina,
while promoting QU as a train-
ing organisation to its students
and customers base for Haina-
based programmes and selected
professional programmes ac-
cording to QU’s capability and
capacity.
Additionally, Huawei will pro-
vide Huawei Certification Acad-
emy Instructor (HCAI) training
for professional instructors for
each course direction.
QU will provide classroom and
other teaching facilities to ac-
commodate Huawei ICT equip-
ment for the Haina programme,
as well as professional instruc-
Mall of Qatar is bringing ‘super heroes’ for Eid al-Fitr celebrations.
‘Super heroes’ to enhance
immersive activities for
Eid at Mall of Qatar
T
o celebrate Eid al-Fitr, Mall
of Qatar is bringing DC’s The
Justice League, Nickelodeon’s
Dora The Explorer and Ice Age char-
acters Sid and Diego for exclusive
shows along with immersive activa-
tions for visitors of all ages.
Superman, Batman, Wonder
Woman and The Flash will regale
their fans who can train alongside
The Justice League during interac-
tive shows on the Ooredoo Stage per-
formed over the five days of Eid al-
Fitr at 2pm, 5pm and 9pm.
“After each show, snap a selfie with
your favourite super heroes during
the Meet & Greets. Participate in ac-
tion-packed games and experiences
and test your Super Hero abilities in
Papa John’s releases new promotional video
A scene from Papa John’s new brand video.
QU and Huawei officials at the MoU signing ceremony yesterday.
tors to become Huawei certified
academy instructors.
The university will also add the
Haina certification course as an
extension course for the QU cur-
riculums, liaise with local net-
working industry – in particular
government entities and insti-
tutions – to promote and deliver
Haina network training across a
wider outreach of population in
activation areas located in West Gate
2 and East Gate 2. Mall of Qatar will
make sure every visitor joins the Jus-
tice League Academy to fight to save
the world,” according to a statement.
Mall of Qatar is also giving visitors
the opportunity to sing along with
three other famous characters, Nicke-
lodeon’s Dora the Explorer and Sid and
Diego from Ice Age, who will be per-
forming live from the Ooredoo Stage.
Dora will delight little ones at 11am,
3.30pm and 7pm and Ice Age Sid and
Diego will captivate the crowd at
11.50am, 4.15pm and 7.40pm, every
day during Eid al-Fitr.
“We are very excited to announce
our wonderful Eid al-Fitr celebra-
tions. Our entertainment programme
the ICT realm within Qatar, and Prof Abdelmagid Hammuda
work with Huawei to develop a said: “Through this MoU, Qa-
training schedule that meets stu- tar University CENG showcases
dents’ needs. its commitment to providing
Both parties will monitor the students with opportunities to
Haina programme and offer heighten their skills and com-
suggestions for continuous im- petencies and to enhance their
provement, explore opportuni- knowledge in the field of infor-
ties for alliances, and seek to ad- mation and communications
dress the ICT skills requirements technology. This opportunity
within the Qatar ICT landscape. will help students stay in close
represents an opportunity to attract
shoppers and its success encourages
us to continue bringing more world-
class shows to Qatar. We hope that
our visitors will enjoy their favourite
characters, some of which will visit
the Middle East for the first time, as
we continue our dedication to cre-
ating wonderful memories for the
whole family, “said Stuart Elder, Mall
of Qatar CEO.
As part of the Summer in Qatar
festival organised by National Tour-
ism Council, roaming artists will
also entertain kids throughout the
mall and shoppers can enter the raffle
draws for a chance to win cash prizes
and super cars for every QR200 spent
at any of the retailers.
P
apa John’s International
has released a new brand
video ‘It’s time for sharing’,
to observe the holy month of Ra-
madan, it was announced yester-
day in a statement.
Produced in collaboration with
the Jawad Business Group and
the Tender Hearts Arena, the vid-
eo follows a 12-year-old boy’s day
of fasting from Suhoor to Iftar,
where a surprise visit to a local
school supports the charitable
focus of Ramadan, as well as the
joy of sharing pizza with friends
and family.
‘It’s time for sharing’ focuses
touch with technological ad-
vancements and innovations in
China, and to interact with ex-
perts easily.
“We are proud to roll out our
flagship global CSR programme
in Qatar in partnership with a
leading educational institution
such as Qatar University, and in
collaboration with the Ministry
of Education and Higher Educa-
Temperatures
soar in many
places as
summer sets in
People in Qatar expe-
rienced a scorching
Wednesday yesterday
as temperature soared
to 46C in some places,
weather charts showed.
The Qatar Met
department had said
in a tweet on Tuesday
that high temperatures
were expected to
continue in the coming
days, urging people to
avoid direct sunlight.
According to the
weather report, a maxi-
mum temperature of
46C was recorded yes-
terday in Abu Hamour,
the Qatar University
area, Sheehaniyah and
Batna, followed by 45C
in Doha (airport area),
Turayna, Karana, Ghu-
wairiyah and Jumayli-
yah, 44C in the Hamad
International Airport
area and Abu Samra.
Other places with
temperatures above
40C were Mesaieed at
42C and Wakrah at 41C.
Yesterday’s mercury
levels were an increase
over the temperatures
recorded on Tuesday,
when the highest was
44C in Sheehaniyah,
Batna and Karana,
and 43C in Doha, Abu
Hamour and Turayna.
Today, the maxi-
mum temperature is
expected to be 43C
in Abu Samra, 42C in
Doha, 41C in Dukhan,
and 40C in Wakrah and
Mesaieed.
The detailed forecast
for today says hot
daytime conditions
are expected along
with slight dust in
some places as well as
clouds.
Fine conditions will
prevail offshore, and
there could be some
clouds at times.
on the true values of Ramadan;
kindness, humility, peace and
spirituality.
It highlights how support and
encouragement helps children to
manage the fast, as the time will
come to celebrate and eat with
friends and family.
The Ramadan brand video
forms part of a wider creative
marketing campaign for Papa
John’s International in Europe,
the Middle East and North Af-
rica.
‘It’s time for sharing’ is avail-
able to view on Papa John’s Qatar
YouTube account.
Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019 9
QATAR
tion in Qatar. The Huawei acad- and country, contributing to the
emy will equip Qatari youth with growth of our economy. Initia-
the necessary skills and know- tives such as this one between
how to lead the country’s journey Qatar University and Huawei
to become a knowledge-based demonstrate the power that
society and support digital trans- cooperative action can have in
formation in Qatar,” said Fan. shaping the future of a nation,”
“Developing the technology said Dr Ibrahim al-Nuaimi, un-
capabilities of Qatar’s youth will dersecretary of the Ministry of
have a significant impact on the Education and Higher Educa-
smart evolution of our society tion.
QNB, Mastercard join
hands again for ‘Mega
Summer’ promotion
Q
NB Group has launched the new
‘Mega Summer’ campaign in part-
nership with Mastercard to reward
its customers for their card usage.
The QNB Cards Mega-Summer Campaign
is the largest and most rewarding card cam-
paign in the region, and will take place from security and safety while delivering the most
May 30 to September 25. rewarding experience to our loyal custom-
This year’s campaign offers customers ers” said Heba al-Tamimi, general manager,
who spend with their QNB Mastercard credit QNB Group Retail.
or debit cards a chance to win the iconic As- On the partnership, Somu Roy, Country
ton Martin DB11 V12 in a raffle draw. manager (Kuwait and Qatar) Mastercard
Cardholders can also win up to QR25,000 said: “By rewarding consumers with price-
in cash back for their weekly purchases, said less opportunities for using their credit and
QNB, which is the largest financial institu- debit cards, this exciting campaign encour-
tion in the Middle East and Africa. ages the migration of customers towards
Each cumulative QR100 spent locally on digital banking.
QNB Mastercard credit cards will grant the
cardholder a chance to enter the raffle draw,
while each cumulative QR100 equivalent spent
in foreign currency abroad or for online shop-
ping using a QNB Mastercard credit or debit
“As a strategic partner to QNB, Mastercard
continues to work towards unlocking the po-
tential that digital payments have to offer to
everyday consumers by delivering unparal-
leled consumer-centric lifestyle offerings.
card will grant the cardholder three chances.
QNB’s launch of this campaign “demon-
strates the bank’s desire to reward” its cus-
tomers for their daily card usage as part of
its “continuous efforts to recognise and re-
The opportunity to win an Aston Martin is
among the many other benefits of entering
this draw, and we encourage our cardholders
to participate and get the chance to take part
in priceless experiences.”
ward” its customers for their daily banking
transactions and offer them a “unique and
seamless” banking experience.
“We are very proud and pleased with the
launch of this year campaign, as it further
QNB Group’s presence through its sub-
sidiaries and associate companies extends
to some 31 countries across three continents
providing a comprehensive range of ad-
vanced products and services.
demonstrate QNB’s commitment to bring The total number of employees is more
about the best value proposition to our card- than 30,000 operating through 1,100 loca-
holders. QNB’s world class award-winning tions, with an ATM network of more than
card products are built on very high levels of 4,400 machines.
Vodafone Qatar’s Flex woos
cricket World Cup fans
V
odafone has an-
nounced the launch
of a limited edition
Flex Postpaid plan for QR125
through which fans in Qatar
can watch the ICC Cricket
World Cup 2019 live on their
handsets exclusively on
WAVO at no additional cost,
plus get 6GB each month
free data for six months.
“The limited-edition
Flex Plan is a great offer for
cricket enthusiasts, who can
now watch Live World Cup
matches in addition to having until July 14, 2019. Addition- Vodafone’s partnership
the flexibility to use their plan ally, customers upgrading to with WAVO is one of several
on data as well as internation- Flex 150 and above such as Red designed to provide custom-
al and local calls. Flex is one of Postpaid plans can also en- ers with exclusive promo-
our most popular products joy watching the ICC Cricket tional offers and deals.
due to the freedom it gives World Cup 2019 for free. The business has recently
its users, so we are pleased Existing customers can signed a host of other part-
to further enhance this offer, also get the subscription nership agreements that add
continuing our commitment to watch the games live on value to customers in a vari-
to connecting customers to WAVO with a 100% value- ety of ways with brands and
the people and things that back on one-time QR200 businesses including Ta-
matter most,” chief operating subscription fee. More infor- labat, the Entertainer, Ang-
officer Diego Camberos said. mation is available on www. hami and Qatar Airways, ac-
The Flex 125 Plan is available vodafone.qa/iccworldcup. cording to a statement.
 Gulf Times
10 Thursday, May 30, 2019

QATAR/RAMADAN

A glimpse of Paradise
T
he greatest pleasure of the
dwellers of Paradise will be the
sight of their Lord. When the
dwellers of Paradise see Him, they will
forget everything, including all the
types of pleasure that they had previ-
ously enjoyed.
The bounty of seeing Allah in Para-
dise is one of its distinct features, and
is a means of Allah The Almighty hon-
ouring its dwellers:
{“[Some] faces, that Day, will be ra-
diant, Looking at their Lord.”} [Qur’an,
75: 22-23]
Meaning that the faces of the believ-
ers will be beautified and joyful as a re-
sult of their looking at the Face of their
Lord, as was stated by Imam Al-Hasan
may Allah have mercy upon him.
Allah The Almighty also Says: {“For
Doha Bank group chief executive Dr R Seetharaman and other officials at the Doha Bank Suhoor. them who have done good is the best
[reward] — and extra…”} [Qur’an, 10:
26] The ‘best reward’ in this verse re-
fers to Paradise, and the ‘extra’ is to be

Doha Bank names Al Dana given permission to look at the Face of

Allah. The Prophet, sallallaahu `alaihi
wa sallam (may Allah exalt his men-
tion), clarified in the following nar-
ration: Suhayb, may Allah be pleased

winners at Suhoor banquet with him, reported: “The Messenger

of Allah, sallallaahu `alaihi wa sal-
lam, said: “When the inhabitants of
Paradise enter it, Allah, the Glorious
and Exalted, will say to them: `Do

D
oha Bank has recently hosted a
special Suhoor banquet wherein
it also announced the winners of
its ‘Al Dana’ savings draw.
“Doha Bank strongly believes in the
importance of engaging with its cus-
tomers and clients as they represent a
key pillar that keeps the bank motivated
and inspired to continuously develop
and grow,” said Sheikh Abdul Rehman
bin Mohamad bin Jabor al-Thani, man-
aging director, Doha Bank.
During the holy month, the value of
these engagements is amplified with the
unique spirit of Ramadan, and “we are
delighted to have hosted our partners in
success at this year’s Suhoor event and
look forward to many more in the fu-
ture,” he said. He was accompanied by
Ahmed Abdul Rahman Yousuf Obaidan,
Doha Bank vice president, and Ali Ibra-
him Abdullah al-Malki, board member
of Doha Bank as well as other distin-
guished guests from clients to some of
the nation’s most prominent business
figures.
“Ramadan is a special occasion of the
year to celebrate the spirit of unity and
togetherness, and at Doha Bank, we are
delighted to have marked the holy month
One of the winners of Al Dana savings scheme.
with a splendid Suhoor gathering, which
also provided an excellent opportunity
to reaffirm our commitment to further
enriching our offerings to meet and ex-
ceed the needs and expectations of our
customers,” said Dr R Seetharaman,
Doha Bank group chief executive.
A total of 64 Doha Bank custom-
ers won prizes in the first and second
monthly draws of Al Dana 2019, Qatar’s
most popular savings scheme that boasts
the biggest prize pool in the country. As
many as three Al Dana account holders
took home 1mn Doha Miles each in sal-
ary transfer draws, while two walked
away with QR50,000 each. In addition,
59 customers won QR5,000 each in daily
draws.
you wish for me to give you anything
more?’ They will reply: `Have You not
made our faces bright? Have You not
brought us into Paradise and delivered
us from Hell?’ Then, Allah will remove
the Veil (that screens Him from the
believers); the (dwellers of Paradise)
will then feel that they have not been
awarded anything dearer to them than
looking at their Lord.” [Muslim] Then
he, sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, re-
cited the verse (i.e., the 26th verse of
Chapter Yunus).”
Having known the greatest bounty
and pleasure which the dwellers of
Paradise will attain is looking at the
Face of their Lord, it becomes evident
how deprived the sinners are and how
great their loss is. They will be pre-
vented from seeing the Face of their
Lord, as Allah The Almighty Says
(what means): {“No! Indeed, from
their Lord, that Day, they will be par-
titioned”} [Qur’an, 83: 15]
Reward for women in Paradise
Allah The Almighty clarifies (what
means): {“And whoever does right-
eous deeds, whether male or fe-
male, while being a believer - those
will enter Paradise and will not be
wronged, [even by as much as] the
speck on a date seed.”} [Qur’an, 4:
124] This reflects the kindness of Al-
lah The Almighty and informs us that
as small as the ‘speck’ on the date
seed, which is a reference to the very
fine membrane that covers it.
In this verse, Allah The Almighty in-
forms women specifically that He will
not wrong them, provided they fulfil the
condition in it (which means): {“Who-
ever does righteousness, whether male
or female, while he is a believer— We will
surely cause him to live a good life, and
We will surely give them their reward
[in the Hereafter] according to the best
of what they used to do.”} [Qur’an, 16:
97] Imaam Ibn Katheer may Allah have
mercy upon him said, “This is a promise
from Allah to anyone from the children
of Aadam, whether male or female, who
perform good deeds, which (of course)
are those deeds that are in accordance
with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah
of His Messenger, sallallaahu `alaihi wa
sallam, and who perform them whilst
ration ought to put their mind at ease.
Umm ‘Umaarah, may Allah be pleased
with her, went to the Prophet, sallal-
laahu `alaihi wa sallam, and said, “O
Messenger of Allah! Why are women
not mentioned in the Qur’an as much
as men are?” So Allah The Almighty
revealed the verse (which means):
{“Indeed, the Muslim men and Mus-
lim women, the believing men and be-
lieving women, the obedient men and
obedient women, the truthful men
and truthful women, the patient men
and patient women, the humble men
and humble women, the charitable
men and charitable women, the fast-
ing men and fasting women, the men
who guard their private parts and the
women who do so, and the men who
remember Allah often and the women
who do so – for them Allah has pre-
pared forgiveness and a great reward.”}

Ooredoo team visits young patients He will deal fairly and equally with
both males and females in terms of
accepting their good deeds; He will
their hearts believe in Allah and His
Messenger, that they will live a good life.”
If women still doubt their reward in
[Qur’an, 33: 35] [At-Tirmithi]

Article source: http://www.is-

not wrong anyone by even an amount the Hereafter, then the following nar- lamweb.net/emainpage/

at HMC in Ramadan CSR initiative

T
eams of Ooredoo vol-
unteers paid a sur-
prise visit to children
at Hamad Medical Corpora-
tion (HMC) as part of its on-
going Ramadan CSR activity
schedule.
They spent time with
young patients at HMC, en-
gaging them in storytelling
and colouring activities, and
surprised them with gifts
and gift vouchers.
Children also had the
opportunity to take pho-
tos with hospital staff and
Ooredoo volunteers, and the
teams of volunteers thanked
the staff for all their efforts
in looking after the young
patients throughout the
year.
Speaking about the ongo-
ing Ramadan CSR activity
schedule, Manar Khalifa al- A team of Ooredoo volunteers during HMC visit.
Muraikhi, director PR and
Corporate Communications our practical support for our can be difficult and stress- hopefully bring a little cheer
at Ooredoo, said: “Ramadan local communities, in line ful for many of us, espe- to their day.” Ooredoo will be
is the ideal time of year for with our corporate respon- cially children, so we were continuing its schedule of
us to plan and carry out ac- sibility strategy. We know delighted to be able to visit CSR activities until the end
tivities that demonstrate spending time in hospital young patients at HMC and of Ramadan and Eid.

GWC powers Youth Company’s drive

T
he Youth Compa-
ny’s yearly Ramadan
volunteer initiative
“7asanat Olympics” has
been reaching out to thou-
sands of people across Qatar
for the sixth year running.
The initiative’s various ac-
tivities, supported by GWC,
the leading provider of lo-
gistics and supply chain
solutions in the country,
began on the first day of Ra-
madan and will conclude at
the end of May.
“A main driver for the
company’s purpose and
passion over the last 15
years has been and will con-
tinue to be our enthusiastic
support for the local com-
munities,” said GWC Group
CEO Ranjeev Menon. “Now
Volunteers waiting to distribute Iftar boxes.
as we witness the sixth year
of our commitment to the
success of the 7asanat Ol-
ympics, we continue our
tradition of supporting
youth, entrepreneurship,
and volunteerism in our
CSR efforts,” he explained.
A total of 70 volunteers en-
gaged in a number of initia-
tives including distributing
Iftar boxes at traffic lights at
maghreb time, hospital vis-
its for patients who cannot
be with their families, and
targeted clean-ups of Qa-
tar’s beaches.
The volunteers also vis-
ited various community
centres as part of their
outreach, including the
Muaither Residential Com-
pound for the Elderly, Step
by Step, Omega Center, and
Hope Center for children
with special needs. The
event also included a Ga-
rangao children’s festival on
the 14th night of Ramadan.

Snapshots from the campaign conducted by Doha Municipality in the Najma and Mansoura areas.
Inspection campaign targets
abandoned vehicles, hygiene
D
oha Municipality’s Gen-
eral Control Department
has conducted an in-
spection campaign in the Najma
and Mansoura areas of Doha,
targeting abandoned vehicles,
encroachments on public roads
and violations of advertisement
and public hygiene regulations.
The initiative resulted in the
detection a number of viola-
tions and removal of various
encroachments in accordance
with the relevant municipal laws
and regulations, the Ministry of
Municipality and Environment
(MME) said in a statement.
The campaign was carried
out in co-operation the Gen-
eral Cleanliness Department and
Rescue Police (Al Fazaa) patrols.
Meanwhile, the statement
said Al Rayyan Municipality’s
Al Gharafa office carried out 85
inspection tours, where new
buildings were inspected and 29
site cleanliness certificates were
issued accordingly.
Iran’s Supreme Leader says
govt will not negotiate with US
Reuters
London
I
ran will not negotiate with
the United States, Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khame-
nei said yesterday, after Presi-
dent Hassan Rouhani signalled
talks with Washington might be
possible if sanctions were lifted.
Washington withdrew last
year from an international nu-
clear deal signed with Tehran
in 2015, and it is ratcheting up
sanctions in efforts to shut down
Iran’s economy by ending its in-
ternational sales of crude oil.
US President Donald Trump
condemned the accord, signed
by his predecessor Barack
Obama, as flawed for not being
permanent and for not cover-
ing Iran’s ballistic missile pro-
gramme and role in conflicts
around the Middle East.
Trump said on Monday he
32,000 firms established during blockade: Qatar Chamber chairman
From Page 1
The QC chairman said a
number of factors helped the
country defeat the blockade,
including the economic and
legislative environment, sound
strategic plans as well as co-
operation among all bodies, and
trade relations with friendly
countries.
He noted that the blockade
had no impact on Qatar’s econo-
my, affirming that the shock fac-
tor of the blockade was swiftly
absorbed thanks to co-operation
among all actors as well as the
In addition, the office issued
15 violations reports with seven
of them resolved through rec-
onciliation on payment of the
was hopeful Iran would come to
negotiating table to reach a new
deal: “I really believe that Iran
would like to make a deal...
and I think that’s a possibility
to happen.”
Khamenei was quoted as say-
ing on his website: “We said be-
fore that we will not negotiate
with America, because nego-
tiation has no benefit and carries
harm.”
Khamenei said Iran had no
problems negotiating with Eu-
ropeans and other countries,
but added, “We will not nego-
tiate over the core values of the
revolution. We will not negoti-
ate over our military capabili-
ties.”
Earlier in the day, Rouha-
ni had taken a more positive
stance.
In remarks carried by state
television, he said: “Whenever
they lift the unjust sanctions
and fulfil their commitments
resilience of the economy.
Sheikh Khalifa said the
number of factories increased by
around 17% to reach 823 in 2019,
compared to 707 factories in
2016 - as 116 new factories were
established. The number of per-
mits for establishing factories
reached 613 with total invest-
ments of QR34bn, compared to
466 permits in 2016 with invest-
ments of QR31bn.
The QC chairman said all
these achievements were a re-
sult of the blockade, as it allowed
the establishment of factories
with no restrictions. Previously,
stipulated fines. The other eight
were referred to the security de-
partments concerned.
Also, the State Property Unit
and return to the negotiations
table, which they left them-
selves, the door is not closed.”
“But our people judge you by
your actions, not your words.”
Khamenei has the final say in
all major policies under Iran’s
dual system, split between the
clerical establishment and the
government.
He is also the head of the
armed forces.
Iranian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Abbas Mousavi said
on Tuesday that Iran saw no
prospect of negotiations with
the United States.
Last week the Pentagon an-
nounced the deployment of
900 additional troops to the
Middle East, and extended the
deployment of another 600
service members in the region,
describing it as an effort to bol-
ster defences against Iran.
Speaking with reporters en
route to Indonesia yesterday,
the principles of GCC economic
integration prevented a coun-
try from expanding in a certain
industry if it was already exist-
ing in one of the GCC member-
countries.
Further, he stressed that the
blockade provided a strong
impetus towards achieving
many significant accomplish-
ments, including accelerating
the country’s economic strate-
gies, expanding agricultural and
industrial projects, increasing
outward investments, promot-
ing local investment and attract-
ing more foreign investments to
QATAR/REGION/ARAB WORLD
at the MME conducted five reg-
ular inspection campaigns, with
three violations being issued and
resolved through reconciliation.
acting US Defence Secretary
Patrick Shanahan said the ad-
ditional troops announced last
week would be going to Gulf
states. Without giving details
or evidence, Shanahan said
that while the Iranian pos-
ture had changed recently, the
threat remained.
He added that sending mili-
tary assets into the region, such
as deploying bombers, Patriot
missiles and accelerating the
movement of an aircraft car-
rier strike group to the Middle
East, had helped deter attacks
against Americans in Iraq.
US national security adviser
John Bolton also said yesterday
naval mines “almost certainly
from Iran” were used to at-
tack oil tankers off the United
Arab Emirates this month, and
warned Tehran against con-
ducting new operations.
Mousavi dismissed Bolton’s
remarks as a “ludicrous claim”.
the local market. It also included
providing more incentives to
the private sector for promot-
ing local industries, increasing
production, enhancing relations
with friendly countries and ac-
tivating trade with countries
around the world.
Highlighting the chamber’s
role during the blockade, he said
it had sought - since the begin-
ning of the blockade - to remove
all obstacles faced by the private
sector.
This was achieved through
the co-operation relations it has
with related entities in the State
Vehicles, heavy equipment removed in Al Shamal Municipality
Al Shamal Municipality’s General
Control Section, in co-operation
with the security department
concerned, carried out an
inspection campaign over two
days to spot and remove aban-
doned vehicles and equipment.
The campaign resulted in the
removal of five abandoned vehi-
cles and heavy equipment.
In addition, the owners of aban-
doned vehicles who were noti-
fied through stickers, removed
25 such vehicles, the Ministry of
Municipality and Environment
(MME) said in a statement.
Al Rayyan Municipality’s Al
Gharafa office conducted 105
regular inspection campaigns,
with 53 warning stickers being
pasted on abandoned vehicles
there.
Besides, 40 violation reports
were issued with 34 of these set-
Sudan bankers lead strike as
pressure mounts on generals
AFP
Khartoum
H
undreds of workers
at Sudan’s banks and
government offices,
including the key oil ministry,
went on strike for a second day
yesterday to demand the coun-
try’s ruling generals step down.
The two-day strike, which
one protest leader said was
“90% successful”, aimed to
pressure the military council
that took power after ousting
longtime president Omar al-
Bashir in April to hand over to
civilian rule.
The Alliance for Freedom
and Change protest movement
called the strike after the sus-
pension of talks over the shape
of a transitional authority.
“The strike was successful,”
protest leader Ahmed Ismail
told reporters late yesterday,
adding that all the sectors that
and other chambers around the
world. Sheikh Khalifa said QC
urged merchants and business-
men, from the first day of the
blockade, to urgently find alter-
native means to import goods,
especially food.
The chamber also co-ordi-
nated with various government
agencies concerned to form spe-
cialised committees to address
all obstacles and ensure the con-
tinued flow of goods from abroad
without interruption, and also
launched several initiatives to
support national products.
During the blockade, QC has
tled through reconciliation after
paying the stipulated fines, while
six other violations were referred
to the relevant security enti-
announced they would partici-
pate took part in the two-day
campaign.
“According to our assess-
ment it was 90% successful.”
Another protest leader Ba-
bikir Faisal said that since the
talks were suspended last week,
there had been “no break-
through” in negotiations with
the generals. “There is no of-
ficial communication with the
military council.”
Protest leaders warned that
if the generals did not respond
to their demands, further es-
calatory measures like launch-
ing civil disobedience would
be planned. Thousands of em-
ployees of government offices,
banks, private sector firms and
the docks of Port Sudan ob-
served the two-day strike, say-
ing only civilian rule can lift
Sudan out of its political crisis.
Yesterday, the capital’s air-
port began to return to normal
after scores of staff had stopped
held meetings with more than
200 trade delegations to discuss
mutual investment opportuni-
ties and the possibility of estab-
lishing economic partnerships
and alliances in light of the in-
centives, facilities and benefits
for investment proposed by Qa-
tar and the governments of those
countries.
Sheikh Khalifa affirmed the
role played by the chamber as an
important part of the self-suffi-
ciency strategy, noting that the
private sector proved it was a real
partner in the economic process.
The private sector has become
Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019 11
ties for necessary legal action
against the offenders. Fines col-
lected for the period amounted
to QR60,900.
work on Tuesday, although the
flights of Sudanese airlines
Badr, Tarco and Nova remained
suspended. But outside the
central bank headquarters in
downtown Khartoum, hun-
dreds of employees along with
workers from other banks, the
oil ministry and telecommu-
nications sector held a dem-
onstration against the military
council, an AFP correspondent
said.
Carrying Sudanese flags,
banners and placards reading
“civilian rule”, they chanted
slogans against the generals.
The demonstrators said they
were striking and protesting
after a group of soldiers report-
edly attacked bank employees
on Tuesday.
“We are here to say that we
reject the military government
and what happened to central
bank employees,” said protester
Somaya Osman, an employee of
telecoms company Zain.
an active partner in the overall
development process, especially
in light of the considerable con-
fidence and concrete support of
the government for this sector,
which has enabled it to con-
tribute strongly to food security
projects and meet the needs of
the local market for food prod-
ucts, especially poultry and milk.
He said Qatar’s non-oil ex-
ports increased by 35.1% in 2018
according to certificates of ori-
gin issued by Qatar Chamber.
The total value of these ex-
ports amounted to QR24.4bn
compared to QR18.05bn in 2017.
 Gulf Times
12 Thursday, May 30, 2019
HOL STIC
Wellbeing
Your skincare needs to be Vegan
By Ghanim al-Sulaiti
In many columns I’ve written about
the importance of introducing
veganism into our everyday lives.
Whether it’s through consuming a
plant-based diet, or ditching plastics
for recyclable, sustainable materials
—there’s a reason 2019 is labelled
‘The Year of the Vegan’. The vegan
food industry alone has recorded
20 percent growth over the last
year as more people have switched
to way a life that is cruelty free for
animals, doesn’t contribute to meat
and dairy industries that are killing
the Earth, and is instead full of
health benefits for the long-term.
The growing demand for all things
vegan has made other industries
take notice, especially skincare and
beauty. It’s because the ingredients
found in a face cream, for example,
are often plants or fruits that are
classed as vegan. It can be said that:
If it’s good to ingest, then it’s typi-
cally great to apply topically.
Vegan beauty and skincare means
the absence of animal ingredients —
and major brands are switching to
vegan products in a bid to meet the
growing demand. Perhaps the big-
gest benefit to come out of the vegan
beauty movement is that it’s pushing
customers to become more aware
of what’s inside the products that we
use in the bathroom, and it’s leading
to more people wanting to assess
ingredients of such products prior to
a purchase.
People are starting to question and
research what they’re buying, and in
essence — it’s empowering individu-
als with knowledge that leads to the
following realisation: nothing can be
more beneficial for our skin than a
100% natural ingredient.
In addition to this, the future of the
beauty industry is not just vegan,
but it’s ‘not animal-tested’. Animal
Wellness Meal Plan
Baked Pakoras:
Ingredients:
• 1 medium potato, peeled and sliced in thin, small slices
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 tsp carom seeds
• 2 tbs chopped mint leaves
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 6 tbs chickpea powder
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Olive oil to grease
For the yogurt dip:
• 1 cup of yogurt
• A handful of finely chopped mint
Method:
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Add one spoon of water at a time
while you are mixing. You want thick consistency. Make medium
sized-pancake-shaped pakoras on a baking tray covered with baking
paper, or you can use muffin tins, if that is more convenient for you.
Bake for 20 minutes in a preheated oven on 250 Celsius.
For the yogurt dip all you need to do is mix all the ingredients
together and Enjoy The Taste of Eating Right!
testing still exists today for many
products, but more companies
are waking up to the fact that it’s
both unnecessary, and inhumane.
There’s still a lot of work to be done,
but introducing brands into the
market that are centred around
the ethics of Veganism will act
as a catalyst that will lead to the
following example: Let’s say I have
two face oils, both promising to
improve the elasticity and vibrancy
of my skin. One is made from 100%
natural ingredients, and the other
has chemical additives to attempt
to replace the true power of nature
and has also been tested on animals
— it’s clear that for the majority of
us, it’s a no-brainer as to which face
oil we would choose. Natural and
ethical wins every time.
As part of my portfolio of my ethical,
vegan businesses here in Qatar, I
have launched a flagship store for
my vegan alchemist brand. I wasn’t
looking to enter a market whereby
my products will change and adapt to
compete with the fast-moving nature
of the skin industry. Instead, my
company is set around vegan values
that remain at the heart of my brand.
Values that mean the only ingredients
found throughout the range are prov-
en to heal, nourish, feed, rejuvenate,
replenish, hydrate and restore the
health of the skin—our biggest organ.
They’re also ethical, vegan values that
extend across my company. From
the violet miron glass, a sustainable,
recyclable material, that some of our
products are bottled in, to the paper
we send our invoices on, I’m focused
on my commitment to veganism and
sustainability, and I’m able to deliver
that commitment through my ethical
choices at the company.
When it comes to skincare, I like to
keep things simple. In fact, there
is an art to the simplicity of vegan
skincare products, and less really is
more. Performance wise, vegan skin
and beauty products are consid-
ered superior since they have lesser
ingredients in them.
The important takeaway here, is that
there’s a vegan alternative not just
to everything in your fridge…but to
everything in your bathroom, cabinet
or washbag. Not only will making
the switch benefit our planet in the
long term, but your skin will reap the
rewards from day one.
 The author is an expert in vegan
wellbeing and health.
Instagram handle: @Ghanim92 
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbs chopped coriander
leaves
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup of water
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 grated cucumber
Show them how it’s done
By Reem Abdurrahman Jassim
al-Muftah
R
egular exercise is a key to
happy and healthy mind.
As adults, it seems we only
truly understand this concept
when it’s too late and then always
regret why we didn’t start earlier.
What do we do now? We need
to learn from our mistakes and
help our children develop and
understand the holistic benefits
of regular exercise from an early
stage before it’s too late for them
too. Through my personal expe-
rience as an example, I would like
to highlight certain experiences
that developed and supported a
positive wellness attitude in me
from the start.
As a young child, I saw my
father and mother consistently
motivating me to be active and
to eat well so I can ‘grow big,’
‘strong’ and of course, ‘smart.’
What I did not know was that
it would be the actual key to my
overall well-being! My father in-
itially ignited my love for playing
sports as he was a football player
himself. Growing up with him,
playing football with my siblings
and I, taking me out for a brisk
walk around the neighbourhood
after dinner or asking me to help
Learning doesn’t have a graduation date
By Sanah Thakur
A child attends school at the age
of 3. He spends between five to
eight hours a day, across 14 years,
organising facts, theories and
critical opinions about the way the
world works and his potential role
in it. He learns about numbers and
words, chemicals and motion, the
body and the brain. This knowledge
is departmentalised and built on
through further exposure, often bi-
ased in accepting new information.
The child now believes that the
pursuit of this external knowledge
is what creates the foundation for
his identity. He knows more about
the world he lives in rather than the
world that he is, and that is OKAY. A
high school diploma, validates that
it is okay. The child is now ready
for the world. But he’s ready with
knowledge he began automati-
cally acquiring from the age of 3.
His resume has been updated, but
his knowledge is outdated. One
day in his future, he is faced with
a challenge he wasn’t ‘educated’
about. His identity was built on the
knowledge he accumulated – as
a boy, a doctor, religious, a hard
worker – and it failed him. The
conflict disturbs him, the illusion-
ary identity shatters around him.
A failure to unlearn and relearn
leaves him arrogant in perception.
He is now useless to the world he
prepared for.
What are we learning?
Why are institutions still educating
us about the wrong things? Why do
we realise so late that self-care and
awareness, a persistent curios-
ity for learning is as important as
Faith over fear
By Shefa Ali
When I realised Ramadan is nearly
him with his handyman chores
and gardening were all helping
shape my future lifestyle. On
the other end, my mother would
continuously show and explain,
with her own hands, what I
should eat and why; a balanced
diet composed of all the neces-
sities our growing bodies need.
Watching my father maintain his
physical activity and simultane-
ously watching my mother pre-
pare and cook our food is what I
believe was the foundation of my
healthy lifestyle today. Parents
are critical in laying this founda-
tion for their children, you have
to practise what you preach, es-
pecially at home and even more
so, in the kitchen and the great
outdoors. Children need to see
their role models being healthy
and active and understand that
it really IS a necessary element
to life.
Yes, I started to understand
the important role that physi-
cal activity and food played in a
careers and families? Opinions are
being voiced every day, with no
acceptance of mistakes, no space
for growth and more importantly,
no desire to unlearn and relearn.
Change is only fashionable when
it’s a diet, new versions are devel-
oped only in technology and infor-
mation increases in value, the fur-
ther away it is from us. The internal
world, beyond the facts of physical
functions, still stays a stranger. The
paradox, however, is that we spend
our whole lives within it. Though
there are no concrete answers,
the path forward lies in redefining
‘compulsory education’.
ending there was a little cloud
of sadness, knowing we will say
goodbye to this beautiful month
until next year. It has been a
beautiful month filled with fasting,
prayer and time spent with loved
ones. It has also been a time of
togetherness, contentment, faith
and reflection.
Lately, the discussions that I have
been having with both, friends and
coaching clients makes me believe
that omnipresent fear is one of the
biggest obstacles in our peace,
happiness and general progression
in life.
balanced and healthy lifestyle,
but then I started understand-
ing emotional and social factors
too. Being in a school that offered
physical education and after-
school sports activities and with
the strong support of my parents,
engaging in various sports defi-
nitely further instilled in me my
While knowledge is accumulated
about the outside world, a desire
to inquire and learn about ones’
mind should be strengthened and
maintained for years to come. Old
associations and patterns of think-
ing should be replaced and new
versions of ourselves should be cel-
ebrated. The journey of healing a
critically conditioned mind, begins
with an awareness of its world.
Learning as conditioning
The behaviourist approach in Psy-
chology presents learning as a proc-
ess of conditioning and imitation.
Every piece of information is learnt
When I say fear, I don’t necessarily
mean terror. But, what I am refer-
ring to is all the things that make
us anxious, nervous, tense and that
which brings on the need for us to
want to control our surroundings.
The root cause of fear is distrust.
When we are betrayed, injured or
abused, we decide that the world
and those around us cannot be
trusted. In this way, we lose that
faith which is so vital in life.
What is the answer? My antidote to
fear is to firmly root myself in God
(by whatever name, whatever form
you choose). When I remind myself
wellness values. When children
have a passion for sports or even
at least try to engage, they learn
things like self-discipline for try-
outs and commitment to team
practices while learning rules,
sports etiquette and how to be
a team player. Simultaneously,
they experience so much through
through associations made and
strengthened with repetition in expe-
rience over time. Perspectives about
the world have been conditioned into
our lives and it is on this condition-
ing that we manifest our behaviour.
Can you even begin to picture the
number of associations we have,
stored within our brains? Some asso-
ciations are positive and beneficial to
our lives, manifesting into healthy be-
haviours. On the other hand, certain
associations create negative patterns
of thinking and behaviour. And in this
world of hyper sharing, these nega-
tive patterns are excused with an
arrogant reinstatement of ones’ ‘right
that God is always with me, always
for me, I never feel afraid, regard-
less of the circumstances going on
around me.
Yes, colleagues or family members
and friends may betray us, they
may deeply hurt us, but if we give
ourselves to God, if we make our
relationship with Him our first pri-
ority then we will never be broken
inside; we will always be cared for.
God had a plan for us long before
we even realised, we are being
prepared for it. Never forget to
trust God, because with that trust
the results will be beautiful.
sports such as the principles of
competition and sportsman-
ship. Let’s not forget to men-
tion the emotional experiences
they go through that help them
develop their emotional matu-
rity. For example, being exposed
to different social surroundings
and events, dealing with team-
mates and coaches or even the
tougher challenges such as not
making the team, losing or even
getting injured. An element of
sports is definitely beneficial to
a child’s upbringing and engag-
ing in sports with them is even a
better way of being an active role
model.
Now let’s go back to how this
leads to a happy and healthy mind,
as adults, we now understand that
when we physically exert our-
selves, our bodies release neuro-
transmitters (signals) that help
balance our body’s reactions to
stress and pain, in turn, releasing
a rush of ‘happiness’ through our
bodies and regulating our mood.
The more we exercise, the more we
can get addicted and realise how
good it feels to be active on a regu-
lar basis. Children cannot easily
understand this, but we still have
to try and convince them of this
truth is by showing them exactly
how it works, and that is where
we come in, where our personal
choices make a difference on oth-
ers. Children are easily influenced,
so let’s use it to our advantage and
lead by example. Motivation and
role models are key in our com-
munity, so if you haven’t already,
take this as an opportunity to take
control of your own lifestyle, but
also show those around you how
it’s done, especially our young.
 The author is a wellness advocate
and influencer @keys2balance.
to an independent opinion’. Living in
a new world with an outdated mind
creates conflict and distress within
oneself, and therefore it manifests
into vicious cycles of thinking that
create disorders such as anxiety and
depression.
Reconditioning
One day, the educated child is told
that he is weak. The conscious
mind quickly highlights the schema
(framework) for the word ‘weak’,
listing associations made in the past.
‘Weak’ to him means; disappoint-
ment, incompetent, useless. His
self-esteem has been affected and
demotivation strikes in. Imagine
however, that instead of giving up, he
identifies this reaction and works on
unlearning the negative associations
with that word. He actively associates
other words with his identity and
understand that ‘weak’ also means
‘not as strong’, ‘lower in value only in
comparison’, sensitive and providing
space to reach ‘stronger’. He now
uses this as motivation to strengthen
this new association.
Redefining education
Acclaimed philosopher, J Krishna-
murti said that apart from main-
stream violence, it is also violence
when we torture ourselves to fit
into a particular pattern established
by society, condemning ourselves
to conform to a pattern. Conflict
starts when there is an accumula-
tion of knowledge, as a girl or boy,
as a Christian or Muslim, as rich or
as poor – as opposed to learning.
Learning requires discipline, in the
sense of being committed to aware-
ness of what is going on within your-
self. Breaking the protective layers
of centuries of conditioning, that has
designed a blue print for our every
action. An individual who claims to
be an expert is arrogant in unlearn-
ing and relearning as the world
changes. But a lifelong student is al-
ways humble to the limits of his/her
own learning and working to build
on it. It’s time we redefine education,
balancing a curiosity of the internal
and external world equally, healing
minds, one word at a time.
 The author can be contacted on
Instagram @sincerelysanah
Being calm about everything al-
lows your mind to find solutions.
Calmness is also a state of trust.
Instead of overthinking and over
reacting just surrender for that
moment and allow yourself to
receive guidance for what doesn’t
make sense. It’s easy to get caught
up with the stresses and struggles
of daily life, but faith is an active
decision. Choosing faith over fear
is a decision I make every day.
 The author is a consultant and
coach. Instagram handle: @miss_
shefa, Website: missshefa.com

Jordan’s king tells Kushner peace
possible only with a Palestinian state
Reuters
Amman
J
ordan’s King Abdullah
told US President Donald
Trump’s adviser Jared Kush-
ner yesterday that a lasting Mid-
dle East peace can come only
with the creation of a Palestinian
state on land captured by Israel
in a 1967 war and with East Jeru-
salem as its capital.
Kushner is leading a US del-
egation to the Middle East this
week.
US officials have said the
trip, which began in Rabat and
will include Jerusalem, is partly
aimed at bolstering support for
a late June conference in Bah-
rain, in which Kushner is to
unveil the first part of Trump’s
long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian
peace plan.
A palace statement said Ab-
dullah, who aides say has been
deeply concerned about the
plan, told Kushner Israel had to
withdraw from the West Bank
that Israel captured in the 1967
Arab-Israeli war.
Jordan is worried the plan
could jettison the two-state so-
lution that is backed by the Unit-
ed Nations and most countries
around the world.
The Palestinians want to es-
tablish a state in the West Bank,
East Jerusalem and the Gaza
Strip, all territory Israel cap-
tured in the 1967 war.
Regime strikes on Syria
militant enclave kill 15
AFP
Beirut
T
he latest strikes in the
fiercest wave of regime
bombardment on a mili-
tant enclave in northwestern
Syria killed at least 15 civilians
yesterday, a war monitor said,
despite calls to halt the attacks.
Air strikes by Russian and
government warplanes, some
using barrel bombs, and shell-
ing have claimed a mounting
civilian death toll over the past
few weeks.
The violence, which comes
despite a truce deal brokered
by Moscow and Ankara in Sep-
tember, has caused mass dis-
placement and heightened fears
of the worst humanitarian ca-
tastrophe in Syria’s eight-year
conflict.
The United States and the
United Nations demanded an
end to the bombardment on
Tuesday, as strikes by Damas-
cus killed 27 people — the sin-
gle highest civilian death toll in
the region since the regime in-
creased its attacks in late April.
But the aerial bombardment
yesterday did not relent against
Idlib province, most of which is
controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-
Sham, a group dominated by
former members of Al Qaeda’s
Syria affiliate.
According to the Britain-
based Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights monitoring or-
ganisation, seven of yesterday’s
victims were killed in an air raid
on the village of Sarja.
A father and his three chil-
Court condemns seventh Frenchman to death for IS membership
AFP
Baghdad
A
Baghdad court sentenced
a Frenchman to death
yesterday for joining the
Islamic State group, bringing to
seven the number of French mil-
itants on death row in Iraq.
Yassin Sakkam was among 12
French citizens transferred to
Iraqi authorities in January by
a US-backed force fighting the
militant group in neighbouring
Syria.
“I admit to having sworn al-
legiance” to IS, he told the court,
saying he was paid $70 (62 eu-
Jordan’s King Abdullah meets with Senior White House Adviser Jared Kushner in Amman, yesterday.
Amman has been particularly
sensitive to any changes of status
in Jerusalem after the Trump’s
administration’s decision to rec-
ognise it as Israel’s capital.
Jordanian officials have also
been worried by the US drive to
This picture taken yesterday shows smoke plumes rising following reported Syrian government forces’
bombardment on the town of Khan Sheikhun in the southern countryside of the militant-held
Idlib province.
dren were killed in the village
of Bara and four other civilians
died in strikes in the towns of
Hbeit and Areen, said Observa-
tory chief Rami Abdel Rahman.
“The bombardment by the
regime and Russia continues
to be intense on several areas.
The Russian strikes are focused
on Khan Sheikhun but have not
caused any casualties for now,”
he said.
Syrian state news agency
SANA reported one woman was
killed by jihadist shelling on
northern Hama.
The civilian death toll has
mounted in and around Idlib in
recent days, reaching more than
270 over the past month, ac-
cording to the Observatory.
In villages struck by regime
raids, excavators have dug new
graves and civilians buried the
dead stealthily at dusk to avoid
ros) a month. Sakkam, who
was dressed in a yellow prison
uniform and sported a closely
cropped goatee, said he regretted
his decision to join IS, and asked
to be pardoned.
Iraq has taken custody of
thousands of militants in recent
months after they were captured
by the US-backed Syrian Demo-
cratic Forces during the battle to
destroy the IS “caliphate”. They
include hundreds of foreigners
suspected of IS membership,
raising the question of whether
suspected IS militants should be
tried in the region or repatriated.
France has long insisted its
adult citizens captured in Iraq
dismantle the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency (UN-
RWA) that provides services to
about 5mn Palestinian refugees
across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
and the West Bank and Gaza.
Jordan hosts the largest con-
being targeted by more air raids.
Despite the surge in attacks
the government has not an-
nounced an all-out offensive
to retake the entire militant en-
clave, a large area which is home
to almost 3mn people.
Analysts predict that Presi-
dent Bashar al-Assad and his
allies will continue to chip away
at the area but not unleash a
major assault that would create
chaos on Turkey’s doorstep.
The regime is likely to con-
tinue applying sustained mili-
tary pressure whilst attempt-
ing to preserve the fragile truce
agreement reached in Russia
last year to spare the region a
large-scale humanitarian dis-
aster.
On Tuesday, Syria’s UN
envoy Bashar Jaafari said Da-
mascus “will spare no effort”
to end the militant control of
or Syria must face trial locally,
while reiterating its opposition
to capital punishment.
Iraqi law provides for the
death penalty for anyone joining
a “terrorist group” — even those
who did not take up arms.
Sakkam, now aged 29, left
France in late 2014 to fight for IS,
posting pictures online of him-
self carrying arms and speaking
to multiple media outlets about
the group.
He became one of the most
notorious militants from France,
which has been seeking his ar-
rest since 2016.
Kurdish authorities detained
him in Syria in 2017. His brother
centration of UN-registered
Palestinian refugees. Officials
have expressed concern that
Trump’s peace plan would even-
tually pave the way for revoking
the right to return for refugees in
the kingdom.
Idlib, according to comments
carried by SANA.
UN deputy aid chief Ursula
Mueller, however, told the Se-
curity Council that a further
escalation would threaten hu-
manitarian assistance for the
region’s residents.
She said some 270,000
people had been displaced by
the fighting in Idlib since late
April. Aid agencies have been
forced to suspend their work
in some areas, she said.
At least 23 medical facilities
have been hit since April 28,
including two medical facili-
ties that have been attacked
twice, said David Swanson,
a spokesman for the UN hu-
manitarian office.
Five health workers have
died and seven others were in-
jured as a result, he said
yesterday.
Karim carried out a suicide at-
tack at the Iraqi-Jordanian bor-
der in 2015, according to the
French Center for the Analysis of
Terrorism.
Also yesterday, an Iraqi court
sentenced 24-year-old Tuni-
sian Mohamed Berriri to death
for joining IS, after a hearing
lasting less than an hour.
Berriri, also dressed in a yel-
low prison uniform, admitted
to joining IS, saying he thought
it was “defending the weak”,
but said he now regretted do-
ing so.
Sakkam and the six other
French citizens handed death
sentences in recent days have
Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019 13
ARAB WORLD
Trump has touted the US short of their core demands. “The deal of the century will
peace plan as the “deal of the Dozens of Jordanians holding not pass. Down with the US,”
century”, but the Palestinians placards denouncing Kushner’s chanted protesters who includ-
have boycotted the Trump ad- visit staged a small protest on ed figures from Jordan’s main-
ministration since it recognised Tuesday night near the heavily stream Islamist movement, the
Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and fortified US embassy in the Jor- country’s largest opposition
anticipate the plan will fall far danian capital. group.
UN envoy calls for stop
to Idlib air campaign
DPA
Beirut/New York EU seeks civilian protection
The European Union called yesterday for a ceasefire
T
he UN’s Syria envoy called for a stop to fight- in Syria’s Idlib province and said Russia, Turkey, Iran
ing after government forces intensified air and the Syrian government must protect civilians un-
strikes on rebel-held areas in the province of der siege. At least 180,000 people have fled an surge
Idlib yesterday, killing at least 15 civilians. in violence in the province in northwest Syria, the last
Late last month, forces of Syrian President major stronghold of rebels who have fought against
Bashar al-Assad, supported by Russian air pow- President Bashar al-Assad’s government since 2011.
er, initiated a massive campaign against rebels in Government bombing has killed dozens in the
Hama and Idlib, the last major opposition strong- past three weeks. The Syrian government says it is
hold in Syria. responding to attacks by Al Qaeda-linked militants.
In New York, UN envoy Geir Pedersen called for “We expect the Syrian regime and the Astana guaran-
a stop to the air compaign, saying it puts 3mn civil- tors to fulfil immediately their responsibilities and
ians in Idlib at risk of being killed. commitments, and ensure the immediate protection
Speaking on the Syrian peace process, he warned of civilians,” the EU’s top diplomat Federica Mogherini
that the lasting divisions in Syrian society put the and its humanitarian aid chief Christos Stylianides
country at risk of a “no war, no peace” scenario that said a statement, referring to Russia, Turkey and Iran’s
will prevent the country from reintegrating into peace efforts.
the international community, in comments after a
closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council.
But he said he believed he was “very close” to fi- nomic and diplomatic steps” as long as the assault
nalising a committee to draft a new constitution for on Idlib continues, but added that Russia had as-
Syria. sured the US it was not ready to support a full-scale
His predecessor struggled to gain agreement offensive there.
from the government and opposition on who would On Tuesday, Assistant Secretary General for Hu-
be on the committee. manitarian Affairs Ursula Mueller said the fight-
The US top envoy to Syria, James Jeffrey, echoed ing in Idlib has resulted in the confirmed deaths of
the call for a ceasefire and said Washington will more than 160 civilians and the displacement of
keep heightening pressure on Syria through “eco- some 270,000 people.
124 migrants rescued from drowning
DPA said yesterday. The rescue op- long-time dictator Muammar
Tripoli erations took place off Libya’s Gaddafi.
western town of Zuwara on The North African country
Tuesday after the two boats’ has since become a major tran-
L
ibya’s coastguard rescued engines stalled, the navy said. sit route for migrants trying to
a total of 124 migrants The rescued migrants in- reach Europe by sea.
after their boats broke cluded 20 children. Libya de- Thousands of migrants have
down during Europe-bound scended into chaos following been rescued or have died in
journeys, the country’s navy the 2011 revolt that toppled perilous journeys to Europe.
30 days to appeal. The remain- the government in Paris to “do group, a capital offence in Iraq,
ing five French suspects face everything possible to stop this the judiciary said. The move
trial in the coming days. fatal chain of death sentences” follows the repatriation to
Iraqi courts have dealt with a and to try them “on our soil”. Tajikistan late last month of 84
steady flow of militants — with On Tuesday, Foreign Minister children of nationals convicted
500 foreign men and women Jean-Yves Le Drian said France by Iraqi courts of membership
already found guilty of having was stepping up efforts to stop of IS or other militant groups.
joined IS. Iraq executing those convicted. That came after dozens of
None of those sentenced to France’s rights ombuds- children were flown to Rus-
death have so far been execut- man yesterday said the coun- sia and after France and Ger-
ed. try must stop the “inhumane many repatriated the children
The trials have been criti- treatment” of children of mili- of women nationals detained in
cised by human rights groups, tants stranded in Syria who are Iraq. Baghdad declared victory
which say they often rely on not being allowed to come to over IS in 2017 but the group’s
evidence obtained through tor- the country. cross-border “caliphate” was
ture. Meanwhile, Iraq repatri- only eliminated when US-
In a statement sent to AFP, ated to Turkey yesterday 188 backed fighters conquered its
a group representing the fami- children of Turks accused of last scrap of territory in Syria
lies of French militants asked belonging to the Islamic State in March.
 Gulf Times
14 Thursday, May 30, 2019

AFRICA
TRAGEDY
Death toll in DR Congo
boat disaster rises to 47
The death toll from a weekend boat disaster in
the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to
at least 47 people, with dozens more possibly
missing, local authorities said yesterday. The
boat capsized in rough waters on Lake Mai-
Ndombe on Saturday, the latest in a string
of deadly accidents in Congolese waters. On
Monday, authorities reported 32 people had
died in the accident on a boat that was unfit
for transport. Its owner has been arrested. The
death toll has risen to 47, Simon Mbo Wemba,
mayor of the lakeside town of Inongo, said.
He said around 400 people could have been
onboard the vessel.
REPRIEVE
Comoros president
pardons 17 opponents
Comoros President Azali Assoumani has
pardoned 17 jailed opposition figures in a
decree issued yesterday, days after taking office
following an election critics say was rigged to
consolidate his grip on power. Among those freed
in the presidential decree was Hassane Ahmed
el-Barwane, secretary general of the main Juwa
opposition party, who was sentenced to seven years
in prison for assaulting a soldier. All those pardoned
were jailed for up to 20 years on charges linked to
unrest that followed a controversial constitutional
referendum last year. Four others sentenced to life
on charges of attempting a coup and threatening
state security had their terms reduced to 20 years.
POLITICS
Madagascar leader
eyes parliament win
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina said
yesterday that he believed his party and allies
were on course for a majority in the country’s
new parliament, but the opposition alleged that
“anomalies” had been detected in the vote. The
election commission is counting votes from
the election, which took place on Monday, with
provisional results expected on June 15. “Today,
according to the trends at the independent
election commission, our group of parties are
ahead and on track for a majority, even if it isn’t
official,” Rajoelina told reporters to Paris. “We will
wait for the final results of course,” he added after
talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
DIVISIVE FIGURE
Angola former rebel chief
to be buried on Saturday
Angola’s main opposition party, the former rebel
movement UNITA, said yesterday it planned to
go ahead with a public funeral this weekend
for its ex-leader Jonas Savimbi after a dispute
with the government over the handling of his
remains. Savimbi, a charismatic, controversial
warlord who fought Angola’s socialist
government in a 27-year civil war, was killed in
a battle against the People’s Movement for the
Liberation of Angola (MPLA) government forces
in February 2002. His death paved the way for
a peace deal bringing an end to one of Africa’s
longest and bloodiest conflicts, which erupted
after independence from Portugal in 1975.
MOURNED
Poppy, last of Gorillas in the
Mist, dies in Rwanda
The last of the Gorillas in the Mist made famous by US
primatologist Dian Fossey is believed to have died in
Rwanda, her organisation says. “The Dian Fossey
Gorilla Fund is sad to announce that Poppy, the last
living gorilla featured by famed primatologist Dian
Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist, is believed dead,” the
group said late on Tuesday. Poppy — who Fossey
remarked in her journals was a “little darling...
winsome and appealing” — would have been about
43. She is survived by five offspring. Her sister Maggie
was actress Sigourney Weaver’s favourite gorilla
while filming Gorillas in the Mist — a movie about
Fossey’s work adapted from her book of the same
name. Fossey was murdered in Rwanda in 1985.

Ramaphosa
retains Mboweni
and Gordhan in
slimmer cabinet
Reuters
Pretoria

S
outh Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa
yesterday retained Tito Mboweni as finance
minister in a new, leaner cabinet, following
on from a pre-election pledge to reform and revive
an ailing economy and attract foreign investors.
Ramaphosa, who was sworn in as South Africa’s
president on Saturday for his first full five-year
term, trimmed the cabinet from 36 ministers to 28.
That will serve as an early barometer of his abil-
ity to push through change more efficiently, hav-
ing struggled to implement tough reforms since he
succeeded scandal-plagued Jacob Zuma last year.
The leaner cabinet was meant to reduce govern-
ment spending, Ramaphosa said.
“All South Africans are acutely aware of the great
economic difficulties our country has been experi-
encing and the constraints this has placed on public
finances,” he said in a televised national address.
“It is therefore imperative that in all areas and
spheres of government, we place priority on revi-
talising our economy while exercising the greatest
care in the use of public funds.”
Ramaphosa’s ruling African National Congress
(ANC) saw its majority cut in national elections two
weeks ago.
His long to-do list includes generating jobs, act-
ing against entrenched corruption in and outside
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari being sworn-in yesterday during his inauguration ceremony in Abuja. the ANC, resolving policy uncertainty in the min-
ing sector and speeding up reforms of power utility
Eskom and other state-owned entities.
Markets are likely to welcome the reappointment

Low-key inauguration
of Mboweni, a former central bank governor who is
well respected by investors.
He was first appointed to the position in October
and has spoken out about trimming government
spending and selling some state companies that are
acting as a drain on public finances.
Investors will also scrutinise Ramaphosa’s deci-

for Buhari’s second term

sion to retain David Mabuza as deputy president.
Last week, Mabuza had requested a delay in his
swearing-in to parliament to clear his name before
an ANC integrity commission, following allega-
tions of impropriety during his decade-long pre-
miership of the mineral-rich eastern Mpumalanga
province. He has denied all wrongdoing.
Reuters sence abroad for medical treatment. fortunes over the next four years. ment to a better Nigeria,” he said in Nigeria’s economy grew by 1.93% Mabuza was finally sworn in on Tuesday after he
Abuja But he won a clear endorsement Nearly a quarter of the workforce a tweet. last year, its fastest pace since the was cleared by the ANC of bringing the party into
in February’s election with 56% of is unemployed and most of its 190mn Buhari refused to disclose de- recession. disrepute, weakening the rand.
the vote. people live on less than $2 a day. tails of an ailment that caused him Growth of 2.1% is forecast by the The currency extended its losses yesterday, in

N
igerian President Muham-
madu Buhari was yesterday
sworn-in for a second term
at a low-key inauguration ceremony
in which he surprised many by not
delivering a speech.
The 76-year-old former military
leader faces a long list of challeng-
es, including combating a sluggish
economy, high unemployment and
a decade-old insurgency.
His four-year first term, in which
he rarely gave public addresses, was
overshadowed by speculation about
his health and marked by a long ab-
Standing beside his wife, he took
the presidential oath at an open-air
ceremony in the capital Abuja that
the government had previously said
would be low-key to cut costs.
It was mostly attended by officials
linked to the government, military
or ruling All Progressives Congress
(APC) party.
Foreign dignitaries will be invited
to celebrations on June 12, a national
holiday, commemorating the 1999
return to civilian rule.
Buhari will need to create jobs if
he is to turn around the country’s
“Our expectation is that Mr Pres-
ident will now focus more on the
issue of security, employment and
agriculture because these are the
core areas,” said Basil Ejidike, who
chairs the APC in southern Anam-
bra state.
Some social media users were
critical of the absence of a speech.
Software developer Tosin Olug-
benga called it was a “missed op-
portunity”.
“It is an opportunity for the pres-
ident to speak to Nigerians and give
further assurance of his commit-
to seek treatment in Britain for five
months in 2017.
Critics said that meant he was
largely absent at a time when Af-
rica’s biggest economy was reeling
from the recession it sank in to in
2016 — its first in 25 years — after
prices of its main export oil fell.
His supporters said he ran an ef-
fective administration and delegat-
ed to his deputy when overseas.
Buhari now has a second chance
to turn campaign promises into pol-
icies aimed at stimulating economic
growth.
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
for this year, though that would be
among the slowest rates in Africa.
Tackling insecurity across much
of the country is already a priority.
The military is fighting Boko Har-
am militants and an offshoot linked to
Islamic State in the northeast, while
contending with communal violence
over grazing land in central states.
A separate surge of bandit attacks
and other violence in the northwest
has forced 20,000 to flee to neigh-
bouring Niger since April, the UN
refugee agency said on Tuesday.
part reflecting worries that Mabuza could taint
Ramaphosa’s reform agenda.
Ramaphosa kept on Pravin Gordhan as public
enterprises minister. The ministry oversees state-
owned companies including Eskom.
The management of Eskom’s restructuring is
key to reviving the economy after power cuts in the
past year undermined broader efforts to kick-start
growth.
The president also appointed Gwedwe Mantashe
as mining and energy minister after combining the
two ministries. Mantashe had previously headed
the mining ministry.
Naledi Pandor, previously higher education min-
ister, was appointed as foreign affairs minister.

Ghana jabs back against malaria’s devastation

By Stacey Knott, AFP from the deadly mosquito-born The vaccine is an additional country,” said Justice Arthur, the
Cape Coast, Ghana disease and babies were Gha- tool in the fight against malaria, doctor running the Cape Coast
na’s first vaccine recipients last but does not represent a magic clinic.
month in the southern town of bullet. If the campaign is widened

A
bigal Aguanyi, a trader
and mother in the West
African nation of Ghana,
knows first-hand how dangerous
malaria can be — her two-year-
old niece nearly died from it.
So when she heard that a new
vaccine was being rolled out
against the disease, that across
the world kills a child every two
minutes, she was one of the first
to sign up her baby daughter.
The World Health Organiza-
tion (WHO) says 219mn people
were infected with malaria in
2017, more than 90% of cases oc-
curred in Africa.
In Ghana alone, there were 5.5mn
confirmed cases of malaria last
year, and many more suspected.
Six-month-old Blessing,
Aguanyi’s daughter, has received
the first injection, like 360,000
other under two-years-old in
Ghana, Malawi and Kenya, the
three countries taking part in the
landmark vaccine campaign.
Children are especially at risk
Cape Coast, 150km west of the
capital, Accra.
Blessing will have three fur-
ther doses up to the age of two
under the programme, which will
enable health officials to evaluate
the vaccine’s effectiveness.
Aguanyi said that she would
urge other parents to bring their
children for the free jab.
“Because of money con-
straints, some wait till their
child’s situation is critical,”
Aguanyi said. “When they bring
them to the hospital, the child
will be very weak, or even die.”
Known by its lab initials RTS,S,
the vaccine is the result of more
than three decades of develop-
ment and almost $1bn in invest-
ment.
It has been developed by Brit-
ish pharmaceutical giant Glaxo-
SmithKline in partnership with
the PATH Malaria Vaccine Ini-
tiative and financed by the Gavi
public-private global health
partnership.
It was found to prevent ap-
proximately four out of 10 ma-
laria cases, according to the
WHO, which supports Ghana’s
health ministry in rolling out the
vaccine.
Traditional preventive meas-
ures remain crucial, such as
sleeping under treated bed nets,
spraying rooms with insecticide
and eliminating pools of stag-
nant water beloved by mosqui-
toes for breeding.
For the medics who see daily
the impact of malaria on chil-
dren, the vaccine is a big step
forward.
Ellen Apraku, a nurse, ex-
plained to waiting parents when
to come back for the remaining
injections.
She and her medical colleagues
voiced hopes that the vaccine
could one day replicate the suc-
cess of the polio vaccine.
“I hope this will help us to
be able to eliminate malaria, so
Ghana can be a malaria-free
out, it will be a good starting
point for child immunisation and
a means for medics to help pre-
vent the infection of parents too,
the doctor said.
Sabina Atta also brought her
six-month-old daughter Susan-
na for vaccination.
“If we prevent it from the start,
it will help,” she said.
Malaria killed 435,000 people
worldwide in 2017, according to
the WHO.
“Malaria is one of the oldest
documented, most devastat-
ing maladies in our history,” said
Owen Kaluwa, Ghana’s WHO
chief.
“We, in Africa, bear the brunt
of its toll.”
Malaria is spread to people
by mosquitoes, which transfer
the parasite while sucking blood
from humans.
“The disease saps our produc-
tivity and prosperity,” Kaluwa
said. “It keeps our people in pov-
erty.” A baby receives vaccine by a nurse at the maternity ward of the Ewin Polyclinic in Cape Coast, Ghana.
 Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019 15

ACCIDENT
US Park Service officials
die in Yukon plane crash
Two top safety officials for the US National Park
Service in Alaska were killed in a Memorial Day
crash of a single-engine airplane in Canada’s Yukon
territory, officials said on Tuesday. Jeff Babcock,
head of aviation safety for the Park Service in
Alaska, and Eric Benson, the agency’s Alaska safety
officer, died when their Cessna 170B crashed
shortly after takeoff from Whitehorse, the Yukon
capital and largest city in the western Canadian
territory, officials said. The crash occurred at about
5.30pm on Monday and the victims were identified
on Tuesday by Heather Jones, chief coroner for
the Yukon government. The two men were on a
personal trip and not on Park Service business.
IN THE DOCK
Activist faces jail for
harbouring migrants
An Arizona activist charged with harbouring two
undocumented migrants yesterday faced trial
in a case likely to set a precedent over what aid
US citizens can give to illegal border crossers.
US Border Patrol agents arrested Scott Warren
in a January 2018 raid near Ajo, Arizona after
they found two migrants hiding in the shower
of a ramshackle building used by humanitarian
groups. The 36-year old faces two felony counts
of harbouring the undocumented migrants and
one felony count of conspiracy to transport the
two men. The university geography instructor
could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted
of all charges.
DRUG ABUSE
Victim’s father testifies in
Oklahoma opioid trial
The father of a university football player who died
of a drug overdose yesterday provided emotional
testimony about the personal cost of the nationwide
opioid epidemic during the second day of trial
in a lawsuit by the state of Oklahoma accusing
drugmaker Johnson & Johnson of fuelling the crisis.
Craig Box testified that he never suspected his son
Austin was abusing prescription painkillers until
after he was discovered unconscious at a friend’s
house in 2011. Holding back tears, Box said he only
learned after the death of the 22-year-old University
of Oklahoma linebacker that his son had once been
prescribed opioids and must have turned to the
streets to get more.
AMERICAS
DIPLOMACY
Trump to decide next year
on START extension
US President Donald Trump will not decide until
next year whether he will extend a nuclear treaty
with Russia, a White House aide said yesterday in
Washington. Extending the ‘New START’ treaty is
under discussion within the administration “and
a decision the president will make next year,”
Tim Morrison, a director at the National Security
Council, said at an arms control forum hosted
by the Hudson Institute. Trump has criticised
the treaty, which sets limits on the number of
nuclear weapons Russia and the United States
can have. But supporters of the accord say it
is important because it created a monitoring
regime to verify compliance.
POLITICS
Firm at centre of Canada
scandal heads to trial
A judge ruled yesterday there was sufficient
evidence in a corruption case to try SNC-Lavalin,
the Canadian engineering giant at the centre of
a political scandal that has rocked Prime Justin
Trudeau’s government. The company spent
months openly lobbying the federal government
for an out-of-court settlement of fraud and
bribery charges linked to its dealings in Libya.
But allegations that Trudeau’s aides brought
improper pressure on his attorney general to
settle the case spilled out in an angry public split
that tarnished the prime minister’s golden boy
image. The specifics of the ruling are under a
publication ban.

Judge to hear
Charging Trump was not war crimes
case against
an option, says Mueller
Reuters
Navy SEAL
Reuters
San Diego
Washington

T
he judge in the court-martial of a Navy SEAL

S
pecial Counsel Robert Mueller
said yesterday his investiga-
tion into Russia’s interference
in the 2016 election was never going
to end with criminal charges against
President Donald Trump and indi-
cated it was up to Congress to de-
cide if impeachment proceedings
are justified.
In his first public comments since
starting the investigation in May
2017, Mueller said Justice Depart-
ment policy prevented him from
bringing charges against a sitting
president, telling reporters it was
“not an option we would consider.”
But he also said his two-year in-
vestigation did not clear Trump of
improper behaviour and pointed out
there were other ways to hold presi-
dents accountable.
“The Constitution requires a
process other than the criminal
justice system to formally accuse a
sitting President of wrongdoing,”
Mueller said as he announced his
resignation from the Justice De-
partment.
Democrats in Congress are de-
bating whether to try to move ahead
with impeachment, an effort that
is almost certain to fall short in the
Republican-controlled Senate.
The White House and several
top Republicans said it was time to
move on to other matters, while sev-
eral Democratic presidential candi-
dates called for impeachment.
“What Robert Mueller basically
did was return an impeachment re-
ferral,” Senator Kamala Harris said
on Twitter.
“Given that Special Counsel Mu-
eller was unable to pursue criminal
charges against the President, it falls
to Congress to respond to the crimes,
lies and other wrongdoing of Presi-
dent Trump — and we will do so,”
said Jerrold Nadler, the Democratic
chairman of the House of Represent-
atives Judiciary Committee.
A redacted version of Mueller’s
report was published in April, con-
cluding that Russia repeatedly in-
terfered in the 2016 election and
that Trump’s election campaign had
multiple contacts with Russian offi-
cials, but did not establish a crimi-
nal conspiracy with Moscow to win
the White House.
Mueller’s report also declined
to make a judgment on whether
Trump obstructed justice, although
the report outlined 10 instances in
which Trump tried to impede the
investigation, including seeking to
have Mueller fired.
“If we had confidence that the
Special Counsel Robert Mueller makes a statement about the Russia investigation at the Justice Department in Washington, DC.
president clearly did not commit a
crime, we would have said so,” Mu-
eller said.
“We did not, however, make a de-
termination as to whether the presi-
dent did commit a crime.”
Trump, who has repeatedly de-
nounced Mueller’s investigation as
a “witch hunt” and “hoax” meant to
hobble his presidency, said the mat-
ter was settled.
“Nothing changes from the Mu-
eller Report,” he said on Twitter.
“There was insufficient evidence
and therefore, in our Country, a per-
son is innocent. The case is closed!
Thank you.”
Mueller, who headed the FBI from
2001 to 2013, said he would not elab-
orate beyond what was contained in
his 448-page report, signalling to
Democrats that he was unlikely to
provide them more ammunition for
impeachment if he were to testify on
Capitol Hill.
“Beyond what I’ve said here today
and what is contained in our written
work, I do not believe it is appropri-
ate for me to speak further,” he said.
He did not take questions after
making his statement.
The House Judiciary Commit-
tee’s top Republican, Representa-
tive Doug Collins, said relitigating
Mueller’s findings would only divide
the country.
“It is time to move on from the
investigation and start focusing on
real solutions for the American peo-
ple,” he said.
Only one Republican so far, Rep-
resentative Justin Amash, has said
Trump has committed impeachable
offences.
“The ball is in our court, Con-
gress,” he said on Twitter.
Mueller’s investigation ensnared
dozens of people, including several
top Trump advisers and a series of
Russian nationals and companies.
Among them are his former cam-
paign chairman, Paul Manafort,
who is serving 7-1/2 years in prison
for financial crimes and lobbying
violations, and his former personal
lawyer, Michael Cohen, who re-
cently began a three-year sentence
for campaign-finance violations
and lying to Congress.
Since the report’s release, Demo-
cratic lawmakers have tried without
success to get the unredacted report
and underlying evidence.
Barr now is leading a review of the
origins of the Russia investigation in
what is the third known inquiry into
the FBI’s handling of the matter.
Trump harbours suspicions that
the Democratic administration of
President Barack Obama started the
investigation in 2016 to undermine
his presidency.
platoon leader accused of war crimes in Iraq
is expected to hear arguments today on de-
fence motions to dismiss the charges or otherwise
remove the lead prosecutor and the judge himself
from the case.
The hearing comes 12 days before Special Op-
erations Chief Edward Gallagher is set to go on trial
charged with killing a helpless, wounded Islamic
State fighter in his custody and of shooting two un-
armed civilians, a schoolgirl and an elderly man.
The case, being conducted at US Naval Base San
Diego, has attracted the attention of President
Donald Trump.
Pre-trial proceedings for the past month have
focused on accusations by Gallagher’s attorneys
that prosecutors and their investigators illegally
snooped on the defence and reporters covering the
case to try and pinpoint leaks of sealed information.
Gallagher, 39, a decorated career combat veteran,
has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including pre-
meditated murder, two counts of attempted murder
and obstructing justice.
He asserts that he is wrongly accused and that
fellow SEAL team members testifying against him,
several under grants of immunity, are disgruntled
subordinates who fabricated allegations to force
him from command.
His defence team has argued that the case should
be dismissed altogether on grounds of alleged mis-
conduct by the Navy prosecutor, agents of the Na-
val Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and the
presiding judge.
The defence specifically has accused Navy law-
yers of conducting illegal surveillance of defence
attorneys and news media by way of electronic
tracking software secretly embedded in emails sent
to the defence.
In court, prosecutors have said the e-mail “au-
diting tools” they used were designed merely to
detect the flow of emails without revealing their
content.
The judge, Navy Captain Aaron Rugh, has said he
did not ask for or order any such surveillance, but
the defence contends he was apparently aware of it,
calling into question his impartiality.
Barring an outright dismissal, which is seen as
unlikely, the defence is asking that the lead pros-
ecutor, Commander Christopher Czaplak, be dis-
qualified from the case.
He also has entered a motion seeking recusal of
the judge.
If those motions are denied, and the case other-
wise remains on track, jury selection is set to start
on June 10. The trial originally had been due to start
last week but was postponed over the misconduct
allegations.
Trump weighed in on the case publicly in March,
when he ordered Gallagher moved to less restrictive
pre-trial confinement “in honour of his past service
to our country.”
Last Friday, Trump said he was considering par-
dons for two or three American servicemen charged
with war crimes, but might wait until they stood
trial before deciding.
Trump did not name the cases in question.
But the case of Gallagher, whose defence team
includes a Trump personal lawyer, Marc Mukasey,
is believed to be among those under review.

Oklahoma braces for ‘worst-case scenario’ as floodwaters rise

Reuters “The rain has been coming some 10,000 people, was work- flooding and storms in Oklaho-
Atlanta fast and furiously and it all has to ing as designed and being pa- ma, according to the state’s De-
drain through the rivers,” Patrick trolled around the clock by the partment of Health.
Burke, a meteorologist at the Oklahoma National Guard. The US Army Corps of Engi-

R
esidents of Oklahoma and
Arkansas near the swollen
Arkansas River yesterday
prepared for flooding, moving
valuables to higher floors of their
homes as Tulsa’s mayor urged
thousands to be ready to flee in
the event of a “worst-case sce-
nario.”
More than a week of violent
weather, including downpours
and deadly tornadoes, has dev-
astated the central United States,
bringing record-breaking floods
in parts of the two states, turn-
ing highways into lakes and sub-
merging all but the roofs of some
homes.
More rain is forecast, and the
flooding is expected to spread,
according to the National
Weather Service (NWS) and local
officials.
NWS Weather Prediction Center,
said in an interview yesterday.
More heavy downpours were
forecast through yesterday night
over much of the two states, with
between 2.5cm to 7.6cm expect-
ed, he said.
By early June, rivers are ex-
pected to crest to the highest lev-
els on record all the way down to
Little Rock, Arkansas, Burke said.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma’s second
largest city, Mayor GT Bynum
warned that the city’s 70-year-
old levees were being tested “in
a way that they have never been
before.”
“Please prepare for the worst-
case scenario that we’ve had in
the history of the city,” he said
late on Tuesday.
So far, he added, the 32km
levee system, which protects
Staff at the Harvest Church
West Tulsa, which sits behind a
levee a few blocks from the Ar-
kansas River, moved furniture
and sound and office equip-
ment from the basement to the
church’s second floor and relo-
cated staff out of the neighbour-
hood.
“For levees that are 70 years
old, they’re holding well but
they’re not designed to hold the
pressure this long, which is what
the fear is at this point,” Chuck
Barrineau, the church’s lead pas-
tor, told Reuters.
He said a colleague was spend-
ing yesterday gathering clean-
ing supplies and canned goods
to distribute to neighbours as
needed.
At least six people have died
as a result of the latest round of
neers has raised the release of
water from the Keystone Dam, in
northeastern Oklahoma on the
Arkansas and Cimarron rivers
about 55km from Tulsa, into the
river system to 275,000 cubic feet
per second to stop the dam from
overflowing.
A plague of extreme weather
has upended life in the region,
with more than 300 tornadoes
touching down in the Midwest in
the last two weeks.
Several tornadoes touched
down on Tuesday evening in
Kansas, damaging homes, up-
rooting trees and ripping down
power lines, according to the
NWS.
Tornadoes also pulverised
buildings in western Ohio, killing
one person, and injuring scores A TV news crew broadcasts from a destroyed neighbourhood in north Dayton where a powerful tornado
of others. touched down on Tuesday morning in Dayton, Ohio.
 Gulf Times
16 Thursday, May 30, 2019
ASIA
Thai opposition says ‘not too
late’ as pro-army talks falter
Reuters
Bangkok
T
hailand’s main opposition
Pheu Thai party yester-
day urged other parties
that contested a March election
to reject a coalition offer by a
pro-army party seeking to keep
the ruling junta chief as prime
minister.
The appeal came as pro-
junta Palang Pracharat’s bid to
cement a coalition government
faltered when at least two of
its presumed allies - the pro-
establishment Democrat Party
and Chart Thai Pattana - ex-
4 poachers
shot dead in
Bangladesh
gunfight
AFP
Dhaka
F
our people accused of
poaching threatened
Bengal tigers were shot
dead by Bangladesh po-
lice yesterday during a gun-
fight in a mangrove forest,
officials said.
Rapid Action Battalion
(RAB) police challenged armed
men on a boat in the Sun-
darbans, the world’s largest
mangrove forest, spokesman
Mizanur Rahman said.
The poachers opened fire
sparking the battle, Rahman
said. Four bodies, guns and
ammunition were found on
the boat.
The four were identified as
members of a gang accused of
poaching in one of the largest
habitats for endangered Ben-
gal tigers and Irrawaddy dol-
phins, local RAB official Tajul
Islam said.
“These gangs have become
a major threat to wildlife con-
servation,” in the mangroves,
Islam said.
The Sundarbans, much of
Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon
Runners participate in the world’s highest marathon - Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon - in the foothills of Mount Everest in the Solukhumbu
district of Nepal yesterday. More than 224, including 160 foreigners from 30 countries and local runners, took part in the world’s highest
marathon to mark the anniversary of the first summit of the peak by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953.
Vietnam police bust $170mn gambling ring
DPA
Hanoi
A
uthorities in north-central
Vietnam arrested nine
people for alleged involve-
ment in a $170mn gambling ring,
pressed new reservations and
conditions.
Negotiations are going on two
months after the election, held
nearly five years after the then-
army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha
seized power from a Pheu Thai
government in 2014, the second
military coup in a decade.
Pheu Thai, which leads the
seven-party Democratic Front
alliance that has accused the
junta of manipulating the elec-
tion, seized on the two par-
ties’ reluctance and urged unity
against military dominance of
government.
“It is not too late for any par-
ty to change their mind,” said
which is a Unesco world her-
itage site, is swarming with
people accused of murders
and abductions as well as
poaching.
At least 120 people have
been killed in clashes with the
RAB since 2004, while anoth-
er 400 have been arrested on
the rivers and canals that cross
the mangrove.
Some 200 surrendered
their weapons to police in
exchange for cash, legal aid
and mobile phones. That
led Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina to last year declare
the campaign against the
outlaws as a success.
Last week, authorities said
the tiger population in the
Sundarbans, which also in-
cludes parts of India, has
grown for the first time in two
decades.
A tiger census released
by the forestry department
showed the number of the big
cats on the Bangladeshi side of
the border to have increased to
114 from 106 four years ago.
Numbers had fallen from
440 in 2004 to 106 tigers in a
2015 census.
state media reported yesterday.
Police made the arrests on
Tuesday in Thanh Hoa City,
where the suspects allegedly ran
a website allowing players to bet
on online games using virtual
cash purchased from the ring, the
Vnexpress news site reported.
Pheu Thai’s secretary-general
Phumtham Wechayachai.
No one party won a majority
in the House of Representatives
in the election, but Palang Pra-
charat has an advantage under
junta-written electoral rules
that require the 250-seat up-
per house Senate, appointed by
the junta, to vote along with the
500-seat lower house for prime
minister.
That effectively gives Palang
Pracharat a 250-seat advan-
tage in the race to the 376 votes
- a majority of members of both
houses of parliament - it needs
for its bid to ensure Prayuth
stays on as prime minister.
Hasina visits Japan
Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, left, shakes hands with Japan’s Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe at the start of their meeting at Abe’s official residence in Tokyo yesterday.
Nepal hikes social security spending in budget
Reuters
Kathmandu
N
epal’s finance minister yes-
terday hiked social security
payments and civil servant
salaries as he presented the annual
budget for the Himalayan repub-
lic’s ruling communists.
The Nepal Communist Party
was elected to power with a re-
sounding majority in 2017 but
Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, a
moderate, has been criticised for
not fulfilling election promises to
raise social security allowances.
Finance Minister Yuba Raj
Khatiwada, a former central
Authorities estimated that
nearly 4trn Vietnamese dong
($170mn) worth of transac-
tions went through the opera-
tion, Thanh Hoa police said in a
statement posted on its website
late Tuesday.
The alleged ring leader, Tran
But in order to govern, a ma-
jority in the House of Represent-
atives would be necessary.
Palang Pracharat would need
to ally with almost all the non-
aligned parties to get the 251
seats it needs in the lower house.
The Democrats - bitter op-
ponents of Pheu Thai in the past
- have said that amending the
post-coup constitution would
be a condition for joining any
Palang Pracharat government,
Democrat spokesman Rames
Rattanachaweng said late on
Tuesday.
And Chart Thai Pattana
member Varawut Silpa-archa
also said that Palang Pracharat
bank governor, announced
about 1.3mn people above 70
years of age will now get about
$30 a month in benefits - a 50%
increase in a popular scheme
introduced 25 years ago.
Widows, the disabled and or-
phans will have their monthly
allowances doubled to $20, a
step that will benefit another
900,000 people, he said.
Khatiwada said civil serv-
ants, teachers, army and police
personnel will have their basic
salaries increased by 18-20%.
The changes begin on July 17,
the start of the next fiscal year.
“The salary hike will raise
the morale of the civil servants
Quang Truong, 30, remains at
large.
Gambling is only legal for
Vietnamese citizens at a single
casino on Phu Quoc Island off
the southern coast.
Online betting remains
banned.
has not yet agreed to his party’s
unspecified conditions.
“What we proposed has not
been answered,” Varawut said,
adding, “If we are unable to join
the Palang Pracharat coalition
then we are ready to perform our
legislative duty in parliament.”
Palang Pracharat’s leader Ut-
tama Savanayana told report-
ers yesterday that his party was
willing to wait for agreement.
“We are confident that we can
still form a government but at
this time we are talking about
policies with other political par-
ties as well as how to best use our
personnel. At the end I believe a
deal can be reached.”
and make them deliver effective
public service,” he said.
The leader of the opposition
Nepali Congress party, Sher
Bahadur Deuba, criticised the
budget, telling reporters the
government would struggle to
implement the increases.
Khatiwada said about two-
thirds of the total budget out-
lay of $13.71bn would be raised
from revenue collection and
foreign grants. The rest will
be met from internal as well
as external borrowings from
multilateral agencies.
Nepal has no commercial
borrowings from international
agencies, officials say.
Cambodia union
leaders convicted
of leading anti-govt
protest acquitted
Reuters
Phnom Penh
A
Cambodian court has
acquitted six promi-
nent union leaders who
had been convicted of insti-
gating violent anti-govern-
ment protests, amid threats
from the European Union to
suspend the Southeast Asian
country’s duty-free trading
access.
The European Union began
a formal procedure last year to
strip Cambodia of its “Every-
thing but Arms (EBA)” initia-
tive, following a July general
election that returned Prime
Minister Hun Sen to power af-
ter 33 years in office and gave
his party all parliamentary
seats.
“This (the acquittal) is
strange and rare in Cambodia,”
said Ath Thon, the president
of the Coalition of Cambodian
Apparel Workers’ Democratic
Union, one of the six leaders
found not guilty.
Hun Sen last year ordered
authorities to ease pressure
on labour union leaders, in-
Spy chief: Lanka
failed to arrest
Easter bomber
despite warning
AFP
Colombo
S
ri Lankan authori-
ties failed to arrest
the extremist who led
the Easter Sunday attacks
that killed 258 people de-
spite mounting evidence
against him, the country’s
top intelligence official said
yesterday.
Sisira Mendis told a parlia-
mentary probe into security
lapses leading to the April 21
suicide bombings that the at-
tacks led by Zahran Hashim
could have been avoided if he
had been detained.
“He was reported for hate
speech. He had come to the
attention of the authori-
ties before the attacks,” said
Mendis, who is the chief of
National Intelligence.
“Police could have at least
detained him for questioning
when there were these reports
against him.”
Official sources said Hash-
im came to the attention of
the authorities following a
violent clash with a moder-
ate Muslim group in his vil-
lage in eastern Sri Lanka two
years ago. However he was
not arrested.
The national parliament
yesterday began investigat-
ing the circumstances that
allowed a known Islamist
group to stage the audacious
attack targeting three Chris-
tian churches and three luxury
hotels.
Mendis, who is tasked with
Khatiwada announced a 50%
increase in the controversial
“constituency development”
fund, which is meant to be
spent by members of parlia-
ment on development activi-
ties in their areas. Critics say
the funds could be used for
political gains.
Khatiwada made no major
tax changes but said agricul-
ture- and export-oriented local
industries would get incentives.
No details were given of that.
The budget set aside money
for railway connectivity with
neighbours China and India.
Work on this will begin in two
years, Khatiwada said.
cluding speeding up or drop-
ping any pending court cases
against them, following moves
by the European Union to end
the EBA.
Cambodia’s Appeal Court
on Tuesday acquitted the six
union leaders, all of whom had
been given suspend jail terms
of between eight months and
four and a half years for lead-
ing anti-government pro-
tests in 2013 and 2014, Touch
Tharith, a spokesman for the
Appeal Court, said yesterday.
Tharith did not give a reason.
During one protest in 2014,
military police opened fire on
stone-throwing textile work-
ers who were demanding
higher wages. A human rights
group said at least four people
were killed and more than 20
wounded.
Thon attributed the release
to EU pressure on Hun Sen’s
government.
“Under pressure from the
European Union, the govern-
ment has solved some cases,”
said Thon.
“But in public, they say
they don’t follow anyone’s
demands”.
co-ordinating various state
spy operations, said Sri Lan-
ka’s main police intelligence
unit, the State Intelligence
Service (SIS), had not taken
seriously the warnings of an
impending assault.
Ten days prior to the at-
tacks, Sri Lanka’s police chief
Pujith Jayasundara had issued
a warning that Hashim’s Na-
tional Thowheeth Jama’ath
(NTJ) could target churches
and other places.
But this was not followed
up and no security plan was
put in place as a result of fur-
ther intelligence received from
neighbouring India which had
questioned a jihadist in their
custody, according to official
sources.
The government has admit-
ted failure to prevent the at-
tacks that also killed 45 foreign
nationals and wounded nearly
500 people in the worst act of
violence in Sri Lanka since its
civil war ended.
President Maithripala
Sirisena subsequently sus-
pended Jayasundara and dis-
missed his top defence official.
Sri Lanka is under a state
of emergency since the at-
tacks, but Sirisena announced
on Monday that he will allow
the tough laws to lapse within
a month because the secu-
rity situation was “99 percent
back to normal”.
The mainly Buddhist nation
of 21mn people was about to
mark a decade since ending a
37-year-long Tamil separatist
war when the Islamic extrem-
ists struck.
Myanmar
hardline
monk faces
arrest
Reuters
Yangon
A
court in Myanmar has is-
sued an arrest warrant
for a nationalist Buddhist
monk, Wirathu, on a charge of
sedition, police said yesterday.
Wirathu is known for his rhet-
oric against minorities, particu-
larly the Rohingya community,
but he has also been critical of
the civilian government of Aung
San Suu Kyi and supportive of
Myanmar’s powerful military.
Police spokesman Myo Thu
Soe said the arrest warrant had
been issued on Tuesday by the
western district court in Myan-
mar’s main city, Yangon.
He did not give a reason for the
warrant.
At recent rallies, Wirathu has
accused the government of cor-
ruption and criticised it for try-
ing to change the constitution
in a way that would reduce the
power of the military.
“This sedition accusation is
bullying him,” Thu Saitta, an ally
of Wirathu, said.
“We won’t say what we will do
if he is arrested, but it is certain
that we won’t be calm.”
Wirathu is the most promi-
nent of the nationalist monks to
gain growing political weight in
Myanmar since a transition from
military rule began in 2011.
The police spokesman said
the warrant had not yet been
received by police in the central
city of Mandalay, where Wirathu
is based.
Wirathu was banned by Myan-
mar’s highest religious authority
from preaching for one year un-
til early last year because of hate
speech.
He has often targeted Rohingya
Muslims, more than 700,000 of
whom fled an army crackdown
in Rakhine State in 2017 that UN
investigators said was carried out
with “genocidal intent”.
The law under which Wirathu
faces possible arrest prohibits
bringing “hatred or contempt”
or exciting disaffection towards
the government. It carries a
prison sentence of up to three
years.
 Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019 17

ASIA/AUSTRALASIA

Papua New Guinea PM resigns, throwing gas deal into doubt

AFP tion as Prime Minister of the in- US-China rivalry. The govern- money would not go to ordinary capacity. “We have always been elite. “O’Neill’s departure has the analyst Readul Islam. “That’s
Port Moresby dependent state of Papua New ment’s purchase last year of 40 Papua New Guineans, local firms known for the wrong reasons,” potential for a wholesale shift in happening regardless of the situ-
Guinea, effective immediately” Maseratis to ferry foreign dig- or the regions. A similar deal in O’Neill said. A parliamentary the policy direction taken by PNG’s ation with the PNG prime min-
read the letter that was obtained nitaries around Port Moresby’s the last decade has failed to bring vote on a new prime minister is government,” said Jonathan Ritchie ister,” said Islam, warning that

P
apua New Guinea’s embat-
tled prime minister stepped
down yesterday, capping a
months-long political crisis and
calling a multi-billion-dollar
French and US-backed gas deal
into question.
Facing a string of cabinet res-
ignations and a vote of no con-
fidence he looked sure to lose,
veteran leader Peter O’Neill told
parliament he had handed his let-
ter of resignation to the country’s
governor general.
“I hereby tender my resigna-
by AFP.
O’Neill said he had decided
to step down “in the interests
of ongoing political stability in
our country” citing the need for
“economic confidence and social
unity.”
For eight years O’Neill had led
the rugged and ethnically diverse
nation, which is home to over
800 languages. But he had been
heavily criticised for endemic
corruption and chronic underde-
velopment, in a country that has
increasingly become a venue for
few fully paved roads during an
APEC summit became emblem-
atic of his tenure. But the break-
ing point appeared to have been a
recent $13bn deal with Total and
ExxonMobil to extract, pipe and
ship liquefied natural gas (LNG)
overseas.
The deal angered powerful
regional and tribal leaders, who
suggested they were not getting a
fair share. Finance minister James
Marape – from the Hela province
in the highlands – was the first
to resign in protest, saying the
wealth to a country where only
13% of citizens have regular ac-
cess to electricity. O’Neill had
earlier promised to resign, but
subsequently took court action in
a bid to cling to power, prompting
physical confrontations in parlia-
ment.
But yesterday O’Neill finally
resigned. In a valedictory speech,
he touted his achievements in of-
fice, including hosting the 2018
APEC summit, a vast under-
taking for a developing country
with limited central government
expected to take place as soon as
today morning.
The fractured opposition had
rallied around National Alliance
Party leader Patrick Pruaitch as
their alternative prime minister.
But it remains to be seen if that
deal will hold, with opposition
leaders set to meet later today to
try and reach consensus.
Experts said O’Neill’s departure
could see an end to big-ticket in-
frastructure projects that many be-
lieve have benefited only Port Mo-
resby and the country’s connected
of Melbourne’s Deakin University.
“But the suspicion of at least some
informed Papua New Guinean ob-
servers is that it will result only in
the rearranging of the deck chairs,”
he wrote ahead of O’Neill’s depar-
ture.
Whoever takes power is likely
to look again at how benefits are
distributed from an LNG project
that would almost double Papua
New Guinea’s gas exports. “The
sticking point has been the ben-
efit-sharing agreement with local
landowners,” said Rystad Energy
any delay to the project could be
damaging. Papua New Guinea “is
in competition with other LNG-
producing countries and projects
in trying to capture a possible un-
dersupply of LNG developing in
the mid-2020s,” he told AFP.
“I think all the project partici-
pants are aware that this is a race
and the ones that can deliver the
project quicker and lowest cost
will benefit and delay will add to
the cost and decrease the com-
petitiveness of the PNG LNG ex-
ports.”

Japanese police
search home of
stabbing attacker girl Hanako Kuribayashi and a concerns about Iwasaki. They the attack, Japan’s government
AFP
Tokyo 39-year-old parent identified as told local officials that he had not said it would review measures to
government official Satoshi Oya- held a job for a long time and had ensure the safety of children trav-
ma, a Myanmar specialist. “hikikomori tendencies,” using a elling to and from school.

J
apanese police yesterday
searched the home of the man
behind a stabbing rampage in
the town of Kawasaki a day earlier
that killed two people, including a
child.
The 51-year-old attacker, iden-
tified by police as Ryuichi Iwasaki,
died after stabbing himself after
the rampage, and his motives for
the horrifying assault remain un-
clear. Yesterday police searched
his home, not far from the scene
of the morning attack, seizing un-
specified material, public broad-
caster NHK reported.
Local media said Iwasaki was
living with relatives in their 80s,
but gave no further details. His
occupation was unknown. Police
had no comment on the investi-
gation and declined to offer any
further details about the attacker.
The rampage in the town south of
Tokyo on Tuesday morning killed
two people — 11-year-old school-
Seventeen more people, mainly
young children, were injured, ac-
cording to authorities. Iwasaki
crept up silently behind pupils of
the Caritas school as they waited
for a bus and began slashing ran-
domly at them with knives held in
both hands before fatally stabbing
himself in the neck.
Local media, citing police
sources, said yesterday that the
attack took less than 20 seconds
to unfold and that two additional
knives were discovered inside the
attacker’s backpack, which he had
left at a nearby convenience store.
Limited details emerged late
yesterday about the attacker, al-
though his motive remained un-
clear. NHK, citing local officials,
said the suspect had been living
with his uncle and aunt and that
they and other relatives had con-
sulted with Kawasaki city offi-
cials 14 times between November
2017 and January 2019 over their
term in Japanese for people who
shut themselves off from the out-
side world, often for years.
But his relatives subsequently
told the city to hold off contact-
ing Iwasaki, officials said. Neigh-
bours said they had little interac-
tion with the middle-aged man.
A female neighbour told Kyodo
news agency that Iwasaki had said
good morning to her 40 minutes
before carrying out the attack,
an interaction she described as
unusual. The news agency said
Iwasaki was believed to have
gone to local schools as a child,
but there was no confirmation.
A man who identified himself as
having taught Iwasaki in junior
high school — when the suspect
was around 14 — told NHK he was
“not the kind of child who stands
out”. “He and his friends would
shove each other playfully, but he
didn’t attack anyone violently,”
the teacher said. In the wake of
Japan has one of the lowest
rates of violent crime in the de-
veloped world, and it is common
for even young children to take
public transport alone to and from
school. “The whole government
will work in unison to ensure the
children’s safety,” government
spokesman Yoshihide Suga told
reporters after a ministerial meet-
ing on the issue.
The attack shocked Japan,
where violent crime is vanishingly
rare, in part because of strict reg-
ulations on gun ownership. Yes-
terday morning, people were still
arriving at the scene of the attack
to lay flowers and other tributes
to those killed. Mourners in Japan
sometimes bring drinks or food
that the deceased enjoyed to their
gravesites, and bottles of soda and
juice could be seen at the scene of
the attack.
The school will be closed for
the rest of the week.
People pay their respects next to flower tributes at the crime scene where a man stabbed 19 people, including
children, in Kawasaki, yesterday.
Father held in Japan for using stun gun to discipline children
A Japanese man was arrested visible injuries on the girls, the children by their parents, paving
yesterday for using a stun gun police official said. A series of the way for passage of a revised
to discipline his three children, high-profile child abuse cases in law during the current session.
police said, the latest in a series recent years has shaken Japan, More than 50 countries —
of child-abuse cases that have including the death last year of mostly in Europe — have laws
prompted legislators to seek a a five-year-old girl, Yua Funato, prohibiting corporal punishment
ban on corporal punishment. whose father beat and starved of children in the home, which
The 45-year-old man in the her in the name of discipline. some researchers say is an inef-
southern city of Kitakyushu told Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fective form of discipline.
police he used a stun gun on his said at the time her death was Japan would be the third coun-
two daughters, aged 17 and 13, “soul-crushing” and he promised try in Asia to institute such a
and 11-year-old son “when they steps to prevent more deaths. ban after Mongolia in 2016 and
didn’t follow the rules”, a police Legislators in the powerful lower Nepal two years later. The child
official told Reuters. house of parliament on Tuesday abuse case is the latest incident
The boy suffered a minor burn unanimously approved a plan involving children that has
on his arm and there were no to ban corporal punishment of shocked Japan.

Ardern mural in Melbourne

NZ Treasury website
attacked 2,000 times
Reuters
Wellington
N
ew Zealand’s Treasury
chief said yesterday
that the Treasury web-
site was attacked 2,000 times
in two days by hackers seeking
access to budget details, a day
after the country’s opposi-
tion party leaked details of the
economic plan. “We identified
Australia
pilots hit
ing investigated by police. The
opposition National Party on
by lasers
Tuesday revealed what it said
were details from the budget, in South
using them to attack the plan
and deriding it as “all spin
and no substance” — a move
National Party leader Simon
China Sea
Bridges furiously defended
yesterday. AFP
“You read my lips: The Na- Sydney
tional Party has acted entirely
appropriately,” Bridges told

multiple and persistent at-
tempts to gain unauthorised
access to our systems, and
specifically budget related in-
formation,” Treasury Secretary
Gabriel Makhlouf told Radio
New Zealand.
He did not say where those
attacks came from, but said
they were deliberate and oc-
curred “not once, not twice but
in fact over 2000 times.”
The leak of the budget in-
formation has sparked a furore
around the much-anticipated
budget — due today — that
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
has promised would overhaul
reporters in Wellington. “We
have done nothing illegal.
There has been no hacking to
obtain the information we’ve
obtained.”
Bridges had said on Tuesday
that the budget would see rises
in defence, forestry and inter-
national aid spending, which
he said fell outside the “well-
being” initiatives Ardern had
indicated she would focus on in
the plan.
Finance Minister Grant
Robertson has said some of
Bridges’ details were incorrect,
without specifying which ones,
and that he had asked the Na-
A
ustralia’s military has
confirmed that Navy
pilots were targeted
with lasers during flights in
the hotly contested South
China Sea, with informal
Chinese militia vessels be-
lieved to be behind the at-
tacks.
Beijing has become more
assertive in the area, stoking
tensions with rival claimants
A mural of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is seen on a silo in the suburb of Brunswick in Melbourne, Australia. in Southeast Asia as well as
Canberra and Washington —
traditionally the dominant
naval and air power in the
Asia-Pacific region.
The Australian Defence

Aussie teen who ‘egged’ senator

the approach to the nation’s tional Party to stop releasing Force said “assets operating
accounts. The attacks are be- details ahead of time. across the region have ob-
served an increase in the use
of hand-held lasers by some
New Zealand teachers go on
donates to Christchurch victims
vessels”. In this specific in-
cident, helicopter pilots fly-
‘mega strike’ for more pay ing from the HMAS Canberra
were marked with lasers as
Close to 50,000 New Zealand primary, intermediate and secondary they took part in the months-
school teachers went on a day-long “mega strike” yesterday, in the AFP William Connolly, nicknamed Two GoFundMe pages set up to has today been transferred to long Indo-Pacific Endeavour
country’s largest-ever industrial action. More than half of the county’s Sydney “Eggboy”, made international raise money to cover Connol- the Christchurch Foundation 2019 exercise.
schools were closed as teachers demanded higher pay and better headlines when he cracked an egg ly’s legal fees and to “buy more and Victims Support,” he said, “With regards to the in-
work conditions. “Chronic underfunding of education over the last over controversial then-senator eggs” quickly attracted thou- adding that he didn’t need the cident mentioned ... the

A
decade has left teachers underpaid and overworked, which means n Australian teen who
more teachers than ever are leaving the profession,” strike organisers egged a far-right sena-
said. Members of the two teachers unions, the Educational Institute tor over his offensive
and the Post Primary Teachers Association, held more than 50 rallies comments about the Christch-
and marches throughout New Zealand, including a march on Parlia- urch mosque attacks says he
ment in Wellington. Talks with the government have stalled since has donated almost A$100,000
starting over a year ago. It is the third time primary school teachers (US$69,000) raised for his le-
have gone on strike since the Labour government came to power in gal defence to the victims of the
2017 and the first time secondary teachers have joined them. shootings.
Fraser Anning’s head at a press
conference after the massacre of
51 Muslim worshippers.
Anning, who has since lost his
seat in Australia’s parliament,
triggered outrage by claiming
the attack in neighbouring New
Zealand was the result of Mus-
lim immigration to the country.
sands of dollars in donations.
Connolly wrote on Instagram
late Tuesday that he had “decid-
ed to donate all monies to help
provide some relief to the vic-
tims of the massacre... it wasn’t
mine to keep”.
“Finally!!! After a huge
amount of red tape, $99,922.36
money as a law firm acted pro
bono for him.
“To the victims of the Trag-
edy, I whole heartedly hope that
this can bring some relief to you.
Keep spreading the love.”
Connolly in April was let off
with a police caution for the in-
cident.
Royal Australian Navy pi-
lots involved were examined
as a precautionary measure
and cleared of any injury by
medical staff.” La Trobe Asia
director Euan Graham was
an academics invited on the
HMAS Canberra as it moved
from Vietnam to Singapore.
 Gulf Times
18 Thursday, May 30, 2019
BRITAIN
Campbell’s expulsion is spiteful, stresses Watson
Guardian News and Media
London
L
abour’s deputy leader,
Tom Watson, has said the
decision to expel Alastair
Campbell for voting LibDem was
spiteful and members who voted
for other parties in the European
elections should be given an am-
nesty.
In a rebuke to Labour’s HQ,
Watson said members who voted
for other parties should be lis-
tened to rather than punished.
Campbell, Tony Blair’s former
spin doctor and a leading advo-
cate for a people’s vote, admitted
Scotland
sets out
rules on
referendum
Reuters
Edinburgh
S
cotland’s pro-independ-
ence government has set
out new rules on refer-
endums in the hope of holding
another secession vote in the
second half of 2020 if Britain’s
parliament gives the go-ahead.
A bill presented to the de-
volved Scottish parliament yes-
terday aims to give clear ground
rules that are legally watertight
for any referendum vote.
In 2014, Scots rejected leaving
their 300-year-old union with
England and Wales by 55% to
45%. Polls say support for inde-
pendence has grown since, but
a majority still back the current
UK political structure.
Results from last week’s Eu-
ropean election, in which Nicola
Sturgeon’s pro-EU Scottish Na-
tional Party (SNP) increased its
share of the vote to take three of
six EU parliament seats assigned
to Scotland, appear to have
strengthened Sturgeon’s hand
and show the antipathy to Brexit
north of the English border.
Sturgeon’s government wants
to give visibility and purpose to the
discontent in Scotland over Brit-
ain’s exit from the European Union.
That puts extra pressure on a UK
government and parliament riven
by political acrimony and unable to
decide the shape of Brexit.
“Just published a bill to set the
rules for an independence refer-
endum — to allow the Scottish
people to choose our own future
rather than having a Brexit future
imposed on us,” Sturgeon tweeted.
The bill prepares for a seces-
sion vote which the UK govern-
ment says it will not allow.
That position is untenable,
Sturgeon argues.
“It is essential the UK govern-
ment recognises that it would be
a democratic outrage if it seeks
to block such a referendum — in-
deed, any such stance would, in
my view, prove to be utterly un-
sustainable,” she said in a state-
ment.
Bercow should not remain
as speaker, demands Miller
Guardian News and Media
London
J
ohn Bercow should not be
allowed to stay on longer as
speaker in light of last year’s
damning report about sexist bul-
lying in parliament, Maria Mill-
er, the chair of the women and
equalities committee, has said.
Miller said MPs should take a
stand against Bercow, after he in-
dicated he wanted to stay in the
chair until Brexit was resolved,
contrary to previous expectations
that he would leave the post soon.
Bercow faced calls to step
down after last October’s re-
port by Dame Laura Cox, but
the pressure ebbed away after
friends privately suggested he
was planning to step aside in July.
“The Cox report was clear that
the House of Commons needs a
wholesale change in leadership
to address an unacceptable cul-
ture of bullying and harassment,”
Miller said.
after polls had closed that he had
voted Liberal Democrat.
The expulsion of Campbell led
to a torrent of admissions from
senior Labour figures that they
had also voted for other parties
in protest at the party’s position
on Brexit and the hashtag .Expel-
MeToo was briefly trending on
Twitter.
The former Labour home
secretary and party chairman
Charles Clarke said he had also
voted Liberal Democrat in the
election, while the ex-defence
secretary Bob Ainsworth said he
voted Green.
Fiona Mactaggart, a former
Labour minister, admitted she
First Minister of Scotland and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader, Nicola Sturgeon, meets members of the
6VT Edinburgh City Youth Cafe in Edinburgh yesterday, as she promotes the Referendums (Scotland) Bill and
young voter engagement.
“The Cox report specifically
includes the Speaker in that rec-
ommendation, the most senior
person in the House of Com-
mons. No MP should stand by
and allow the Speaker to contin-
ue in his post.”
Cox’s inquiry suggested that
senior house staff, including Ber-
cow, would not command the
confidence to pursue necessary
changes to the system for dealing
with harassment and bullying.
Bercow told friends and other
MPs he was planning to depart in
summer 2019, but gave no public
confirmation and then changed
his mind after the UK failed to
leave the EU in March.
He told the Guardian: “I’ve
never said anything about going
in July of this year. Secondly, I do
feel that now is a time in which
momentous events are taking
place and there are great issues
to be resolved and, in those cir-
cumstances, it doesn’t seem to
me sensible to vacate the chair. If
I had any intention to announce
also voted LibDem and said it was
“time for us all to declare: ‘I am
Spartacus.’”
Watson said members who had
voted elsewhere to send a mes-
sage to Labour had been right
about the party’s lack of clarity
on the issue of a second refer-
endum, compared with parties
such as the Greens, LibDems and
the SNP.
“It is very clear that many
thousands of Labour party mem-
bers voted for other parties last
week,” he said. “They were dis-
appointed with the position on
Brexit that a small number of
people on the NEC inserted into
our manifesto. They were send-
on that matter … I would do so to
parliament first.”
Bercow also told Conserva-
tive leadership candidates that
they would not be able to push
through a no-deal Brexit without
MPs’ approval. The idea parlia-
ment could be sidelined was “for
the birds”, he said.
He insisted that he maintained
strict impartiality and simply
stood up for MPs’ rights, but his
statement infuriated Brexit sup-
porters who view him as biased
against the UK’s departure from
the EU.
James Duddridge, a Conserva-
tive MP who previously tried to
raise support for a no-confidence
motion in the Speaker, said:
“Bercow does not want to resolve
Brexit. He wants to block it. He
wants to veto the referendum
result and will abuse the role of
Speaker to advance his cause. He
is even trying to comment on the
leadership campaign. Pompous,
egocentric, undemocratic and
dishonourable.”
ing the NEC a message that our
position lacked clarity, and they
were right.
“It is spiteful to resort to ex-
pulsions when the NEC should
be listening to members. The
politics of intolerance holds no
future for the Labour party. A
broad church party requires plu-
ralism and tolerance to survive.
There should be an amnesty for
members who voted a different
way last week. We should be lis-
tening to members rather than
punishing them.”
On Tuesday night Campbell
said members of Jeremy Corbyn’s
staff were among those who sent
messages of support for his de-
John Cleese: criticised
cision. He said he would appeal
against the expulsion and warned
Labour faced electoral oblivion
unless it clarified its position.
He tweeted: “Among many,
many messages of support have
been some from Corbyn’s of-
fice, shadow cabinet, MPs,
union leaders and party staff
including one telling me there
is a mountain of e-mails from
members who responded to
mobilisation e-mail by saying
no to campaigning and not vot-
ing Labour.” In a statement of
support for Campbell, Clarke
said he had been a member
for 47 years but had also voted
LibDem. “I was not aware that
Johnson to
face court
over alleged
Brexit lies
Guardian News and Media
London
B
oris Johnson has been
summoned to court to face
accusations of misconduct
in public office over comments
made in the run-up to the EU
referendum.
The ruling follows a crowd-
funded move to launch a private
prosecution of the MP, who is the
frontrunner in the Tory leader-
ship contest.
Johnson lied and engaged in
criminal conduct when he repeat-
edly claimed during the 2016 EU
referendum campaign that the
UK sent £350mn a week to Brus-
sels, lawyers for a 29-year-old
campaigner, who launched the
prosecution bid, told Westminster
magistrates court last week.|
A legal team assembled by
Marcus Ball, who has accused
the former foreign secretary of
misconduct in public office and
raised more than £200,000 to
finance the prosecution, laid out
their case in front of the district
judge, Margot Coleman.
The case concerned the “now
infamous claim” by Johnson
about the £350mn, according to
Lewis Power QC, who said the
case was not about preventing or
delaying Brexit.
Coleman ruled yesterday:
“The allegations which have
been made are unproven accusa-
tions and I do not make any find-
ings of fact. Having considered
all the relevant factors I am sat-
isfied that this is a proper case to
Alastair had voted Liberal Dem-
ocrat in the European election
until I heard him say so on tel-
evision on Sunday evening. His
expulsion from Labour party
membership is a disgrace and
only compounds Labour’s cur-
rent political difficulties.”
The former lord chancellor
and Labour peer Lord Falconer
said it remained unclear whether
the rules had been followed cor-
rectly.
“I don’t think they have. The
rules say you’re not allowed to
support another political party;
does voting for another politi-
cal party and only saying you’ve
done it after the event involve
issue the summons as requested
for the three offences as drafted.
The charges are indictable only.
“This means the proposed de-
fendant will be required to attend
this court for a preliminary hear-
ing, and the case will then be sent
to the crown court for trial. The
charges can only be dealt with in
the crown court.”
The next hearing at Westmin-
ster magistrates court is expected
to take place in three or four weeks
and will be purely administrative,
but Johnson will have to attend.
He and his legal team will be asked
if he intends to contest the case.
It would then be sent to a
crown court, probably South-
wark, where it would be listed
for a preliminary hearing. At this
point, Johnson’s team would be
expected to seek to have the case
dismissed.
A full trial, which would take
place in front of a jury, would not
be expected to take place for an-
other six months, by which time
Johnson could be prime minister.
The offence of misconduct in
public office carries a maximum
sentence of life imprisonment,
according to the Crown Prosecu-
tion Service website.
Acting for Johnson, Adrian
Darbishire QC, told the court
last week that the application by
Ball had been brought for politi-
cal purposes and was a “political
stunt”.
“Its true purpose is not that
it should succeed, but that it
should be made at all. And made
with as much public fanfare as
the prosecution can engender,”
John Cleese’s London
tweet sparks anger
Guardian News and Media
London
T
he Fawlty Towers ac-
tor John Cleese has been
criticised for repeating his
2011 claim that London was no
longer an English city.
Cleese, 79, tweeted his friends
abroad agreed with his observa-
tion, adding: “So there must be
some truth in it.”
The comedian described Lon-
don, where 59.9% voted in favour
of remaining in the EU, as “the
UK city that voted most strongly
to remain in the EU”.
Last year, the Monty Python
comic announced he was moving
to the Caribbean because he was
disappointed with Britain.
Tanja Bueltmann, a professor of
history at Northumbria Univer-
sity and an EU rights campaigner,
said Cleese’s comments were de-
signed to stir up emotions around
the current debate on Brexit, but
argued it pointed to a much larger
issue of how British people talked
about immigration.
‘supporting another political
party’?” he told BBC Radio 4’s
Today programme.
“If it was an offence under
the rules, then I suspect thou-
sands, maybe tens of thousands,
of members of the Labour party
at the European elections broke
the rules and that’s not a tenable
position.”
Falconer, who said he had
voted Labour and did not back a
second referendum, said the de-
cision to swiftly expel Campbell
was “bound to have been taken
high up the chain” and said it
would send a message about
what the disciplinary process
would prioritise.
he said. “The application rep-
resents an attempt, for the first
time in English legal history,
to employ the criminal law to
regulate the content and quality
of political debate. That is self-
evidently not the function of the
criminal law.”
However, in her ruling yes-
terday, the judge said she was
satisfied there was a prima facie
case for the allegation that there
had been an abuse of the public’s
trust in a holder of office.
She referred to statements pro-
vided by Ball’s team from mem-
bers of the public that addressed
the impact that “the apparent
lie” had had on them. She also
cited the contention by Power that
“there will seldom be a more seri-
ous misconduct allegation against
a member of parliament or mayor
than to lie repeatedly to the voting
public on a national and interna-
tional platform, in order to win
your desired outcome”.
A central plank of the case put
forward by Ball’s team was that
Johnson, as an MP and previ-
ous mayor of London, “lied and
misled” the public about the cost
of EU membership and used the
“platforms and opportunities
offered to him by virtue of his
public office”.
Coleman’s ruling noted that, as
mayor, Johnson signed off several
letters in that capacity when ex-
pressing his views on Brexit. His
then chief of staff, Edward Lister,
was also said to have informed the
mayor’s staff that it was “official
mayoral policy” to support the
case for leaving the EU.
“I find it hypocritical that
someone who is actually liv-
ing abroad feels the need to
make a point like this,” she
said. “Why do some British
people not see themselves as
immigrants if they’ve moved
elsewhere?
“We see cases of British people
referring to themselves as expats,
detaching themselves from the
term immigrant.”
Kuba Jabłonowski, a social
science researcher based in
Bristol, said he was shocked
when he saw the tweet. “He
claims to care deeply about
Britain and its cities, but seems
to know very little about them,”
he said.
Jabłonowski added there
were other UK cities, includ-
ing Edinburgh, Bristol, Man-
chester and Glasgow, that
voted to remain in even bigger
numbers. “If he doesn’t know
that, then why is he com-
menting on it? When I say
things on Twitter, 700 people
read it, but when he does, mil-
lions read it.”

Labelling of child asylum seekers as adults ‘leading to abuse’
Guardian News and Media
London
C
hild asylum seekers are
suffering abuse due to the
Home Office and local au-
thorities wrongly classifying them
as adults, the Guardian has learnt.
Evidence of children being
physically attacked, neglected or
abandoned when wrongly treated
Police cuts could
see increase in
miscarriages of
justice: expert
Guardian News and Media
London
A
usterity cuts in the police
force could lead to an in-
crease in miscarriages of
justice, a leading forensic scien-
tist has warned, as constraints
on funding lead to in-house fo-
rensic teams performing more
selective tests.
Speaking at the Hay festival,
Angela Gallop, who worked on
cases including Stephen Law-
rence, the Cardiff Three, the
Yorkshire Ripper and James
Bulger, said she feared there
could be a rise due to cognitive
bias in the police force, as they
were both investigating crimi-
nals and performing forensic
tests themselves, instead of em-
ploying third parties.
“I have got huge admiration for
the police. Obviously there are
some not so good officers among
them but, by and large, I think
they do a difficult job really well.
Quite a lot of my career has been
supporting the police,” she said.
“But they have been under the
cosh with cuts and austerity, be-
cause forensic science is a very
small part of their budget but a
very large part of their external
spend … it sticks out like a sore
thumb. So when they’re think-
ing about cutting things, an easy
thing to cut is their forensic sci-
ence budget. To try and make up
for that, they’ve brought more of
the work in-house.”
Gallop estimated that 80% of
forensic science has now been
taken in-house.
“I worry about cognitive bias,”
she said, citing research by Lon-
don University that found foren-
sic scientists were more likely to
find the results they were looking
for if they went in expecting it. “I
can’t imagine an organisation of
people, however good they are,
can at the same time hunt down
criminals and also produce im-
partial independent scientific
evidence. I worry about that.”
When she started working in
forensic science in the 70s, she
Artist avoids jail term
for stalking model
Daily Mail
London
A
renowned artist who
stalked a model for 12
years after painting her
has been banned from going near
her ever again.
Walter Kershaw, 78, and Cath-
erine Mitchell, 48, were in a rela-
tionship for a year after she posed
for him in 2006 – but when she
broke it off he became obsessed
and refused to accept it was over.
He embarked on a “preda-
tory” stalking campaign and was
eventually jailed two years ago
after breaching a restraining order
multiple times. However, the pen-
sioner has now been hauled back
to Manchester Magistrates’ Court
after he began hounding the mod-
el again on Christmas Eve, telling
her he still “adored” her.
He narrowly escaped jail after
admitting breaching the order
again but was banned from con-
tacting Mitchell for life.
Kershaw, who has been
dubbed Britain’s first street art-
as adults, puts further pressure on
the Home Office after a court of
appeal ruling last week found the
department’s assessment policy
to determine the age of young asy-
lum seekers was unlawful.
The Home Office has been or-
dered to scrap the policy and de-
vise a new one.
Laura Gibbons, a solicitor at
Greater Manchester Immigration
Aid Unit, has challenged chil-
was employed by the Home Of-
fice, she said. “How proud we
were to be in the Home Office and
not employed by the police – but
that is not the case any longer.”
She said another “direct result
of austerity” was that testing has
become “commoditised”, mean-
ing police asked scientists to per-
form fewer and more particular
tests. “The narrower your focus
in forensic science, the more likely
you are to introduce a self-fulfill-
ing prophecy. If you only test for
certain things, you will only find
certain things. The dangers are
absolutely there, however good
you are. It is a serious concern.”
On the cases she felt she could
have contributed to, Gallop said
she felt the parents of Madeleine
McCann had been “badly served
by forensic science, partly be-
cause some of it was done in a
country that has got a little less
structure than we have. But a
little was done in this country,
a very sensitive DNA technique
was used, and I think it was
over-interpreted. And I think
that added to the problems.”
She also said she was “not at all
happy” about the conviction of
Brian Parsons, a Devon man who
was found guilty of murdering
Ivy Batten, 84, in 1987 after fibres
from a hammer and gloves used
in the crime were found in his
car and coat. Parsons’ attempted
to appeal his conviction several
times but it was upheld in 1999.
He served 15 years of a life sen-
tence and was released in 2003.
“Interestingly enough, one of
the lawyers involved, who later
became a judge, has said in re-
cent times that the one case he
worries about is the Parsons
case. And the police force who
did an investigation of the origi-
nal police investigation, I know
the chap who lead that, and he
says he’s very worried about it
because they could never pin it
down.
“So if you get a judge and a po-
lice officer and a forensic scien-
tist saying we think something
is wrong with a case, then that is
very worrying.”
ist, became famous in the 1970s
for his large public murals. He
appeared in numerous inter-
views on BBC TV and radio, and
counted Bob Monkhouse and
George Best among his fans.
Kershaw first met Mitchell
in 2006 when she asked him to
paint her. They went on to have a
relationship despite the 30-year
age gap, and he painted three
portraits of her. But when she
broke up with him a year later,
Kershaw began following her
around her local supermarket,
driving past her home and turn-
ing up at her mother’s house. He
also put an oil portrait of Mitch-
ell in the window of his art gal-
lery in Littleborough, near Ro-
chdale, where they both live.
Police first ordered Kershaw to
keep away from Mitchell in 2009,
and a restraining order was made
in 2013. He was also banned from
displaying any image of Mitchell.
But he repeatedly continued to
harass her and in 2017, after he
approached her in a supermarket,
was jailed for 26 weeks.
Then, on Christmas Eve, Ker-
dren wrongly assessed as adults
through the courts many times.
She said that of 67 people the
unit had worked with since July
2017 more than half – 36 – had
been age disputed. Of these cas-
es, 93% have been successfully
challenged, the majority using
legal action. Research by the unit
found that one 14-year-old child
was wrongly assessed as 22.
The Refugee Council also
Queen’s medal for poet laureate
Queen Elizabeth presents Simon Armitage with The Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry upon his appointment as poet laureate during an audience at Buckingham
Palace in London yesterday.
More skilled workers from
abroad needed, govt told
Guardian News and Media
London
T
he list of occupations
eligible for the UK’s
non-European skilled
work visas should be expanded
“as soon as possible”, with the
uncertainty caused by Brexit a
major consideration, govern-
ment advisers have said.
The migration advisory com-
mittee (MAC) said psycholo-
gists, occupational therapists,
vets, archaeologists and web
designers were among the pro-
fessions that should be added to
the official shortage occupation
list (SOL).
In a review published yes-
shaw spotted Mitchell close to
a park, walked over to her and
said: “I adore you.”
Three days later he cornered
her mother Marjorie, 74, while
she was shopping. Mitchell told
the court: “The incident at the
park left me very concerned for
mine and my mother’s safety.
I don’t know what he might do
or what he is capable of. He has
no regard for the conditions of
his restraining order and I just
want him to leave me alone.” Her
mother added: “I was shocked.
It’s predatory behaviour.”
In previous police interviews
Kershaw said he was “smitten”
with Mitchell and described her
as a “very beautiful woman”.
Richard Birtwhistle, defend-
ing, claimed he had bumped into
Mitchell by ‘chance’.
But sentencing Kershaw to
20 weeks in jail, suspended for
a year, district judge Alexandra
Simmonds told him: “This isn’t
the first time you have breached
the order – it is the fourth, fifth
and sixth time you have breached
the order.”
works with this group of chil-
dren. Between July and Sep-
tember last year they dealt with
92 new cases of young people
assessed as adults. Of these, 41
have been found to be children
with 45 cases still ongoing.
Gibbons warned: “This is
a safeguarding disaster in the
making.” One child who was ac-
commodated with adults said: “I
was bullied and my bed was slept
terday, the committee said its
recommendations would mean
putting about 2.5mn workers,
or 9% of the total workforce,
on the list, whereas the cur-
rent figure was fewer than 1%. It
said the expansion would come
mainly from the inclusion of
more health and IT jobs.
Prof Alan Manning, the chair
of the committee, said: “The
labour market is very differ-
ent now from the last SOL re-
view in 2013. Unemployment is
lower, vacancies higher and free
movement no longer providing
the ready supply of workers it
once did for some employers. In
addition, there is considerable
uncertainty surrounding Brexit
and the future immigration
Gearing up
Danny Buckley places a US flag on an electricity pole to
festoon the streets of Doonbeg village ahead of a visit
by US President Donald Trump to his golf course in the
County Clare village of Doonbeg, Ireland.
BRITAIN/IRELAND
in by adults. I was forced to sleep
on the floor in the same room as
the adult. I was under constant
threat from this adult. He would
grab me by the neck and push me
around all the time.”
Other children reported:
 Being particularly scared at
night when forced to sleep alone
 Being denied education
 They were unable to manage
things such as shopping, cook-
system. Together these factors
lead to a high level of employer
concern.”
The review said Brexit uncer-
tainty and the resulting reduc-
tion in EU migration was one
of the two main factors cited
by employers, the other being
growing demand.
It recommended lifting re-
strictions, such as those relat-
ing to seniority or speciality,
from a number of occupations
on the list, including medical
practitioners, social workers,
artists and a number of differ-
ent categories of engineering,
“as there is sufficient and over-
whelming evidence of a UK-
wide shortage”.
The committee said the ma-
ing and doctors’ appointments
by themselves
 They sometimes cried
themselves to sleep
Unaccompanied child asy-
lum seekers often arrive in the UK
without identification documents.
There is no foolproof scientific test
to determine the age of a child or
young person. Best practice is for
professionals to carry out an age
assessment over a period of time.
jority of requests from employ-
ers relating to artists were with-
in animation, visual effects,
sound effects and the computer
gaming industry.
Jane Gratton, the head of
people policy at the British
Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Expanding the shortage occu-
pation list will help businesses
access the skills they need when
they can’t recruit locally. But
the ending of free movement
will present significant costs
and challenges for employers.”
There are currently 34 occu-
pations with 143 job titles on the
list. The main benefits it confers
are priority in the event of the cap
being reached for tier-two work
visas issued by the Home Office
British expat’s death
not homicide: police
Guardian News and Media
London
T
he investigation into
the death of a British
expatriate whose body
was found in the Bahamas
with serious head injuries is
“not being treated as a homi-
cide”, according to Caribbean
police.
The body of Dannie Lea, 29,
a personal trainer from Stoke-
on-Trent who had served a
prison term in the UK for deal-
ing cocaine, was found on a
lawn in Eastern New Provi-
dence, Nassau, on May 19.
Police have not confirmed
the cause of death but local
media reported that he had
suffered serious head injuries.
He was barefoot and dressed
only in his underwear when he
was found by a security guard
in the yard of a home in a gated
community, according to local
newspapers.
Caribbean police said they
were investigating the circum-
stances surrounding his death
but that it was “not being
treated as a homicide”.
Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019 19
Child asylum seekers receive
more support than adults and
cannot be forcibly removed from
the UK until they have turned
18. However, there are cost im-
plications for local authorities
and both the Home Office and
some local authorities have been
accused of “exporting’” these
children to the north of England
having assessed them as adults
simply by looking at them.
and exemption from the resident
labour market test (RLMT).
The cap on skilled worker
numbers operates on an annual
quota of 20,700, with a fixed
number of spaces available each
month. The MAC review was
commissioned by the Home
Secretary, Sajid Javid, in April
last year after the cap was hit.
Being employed in a profes-
sion on the SOL also grants
exemption from the £35,000
minimum income threshold
and incurs lower visa fees.
The MAC said the govern-
ment had accepted its recom-
mendations to abolish the cap
on tier-two visas and the RLMT
but that this was unlikely to
happen until 2021 at the earliest.
A Royal Bahamas police
force spokeswoman told the
BBC a postmortem examina-
tion had been completed but
the results have yet to be made
public.
Lea, who has an 11-year-old
son, is thought to have moved
to the Bahamas to try turn his
life around.
Friends and family paid trib-
ute to Lea, who had reportedly
been working as a personal
trainer and an oil engineer on
the Caribbean island.
Lea’s ex-partner, who
wished to remain anonymous,
told MailOnline: “Dannie was
a kind and gentle-natured man
with a young son and large fam-
ily.” A Foreign and Common-
wealth Office spokeswoman
said: “Our staff are supporting
the family of a British man fol-
lowing his death in the Baha-
mas, and are in contact with
the Bahamian authorities. Our
thoughts are with them at this
difficult time.” Staffordshire
Police said: “This incident is
being dealt with by the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office and
no referrals have been made to
Staffordshire police.”
 Gulf Times
20 Thursday, May 30, 2019
EUROPE
Merkel government
vows climate action
AFP
Berlin
C
hancellor Angela Merkel’s
government has pledged
a new climate strategy
by September as it scrambles to
tackle what has become Germa-
ny’s hottest political issue.
Merkel’s coalition took heavy
losses in Sunday’s European Par-
liament elections at the hands of
the ascendant Greens in what is
seen as an indictment of Berlin’s
plodding progress on tackling
global warming.
Young voters in particular –
energised by the “Fridays for
Future” school strikes, anti-coal
protests and a passionate cam-
paign from leading YouTube
stars – abandoned the main-
stream Christian Democratic
Union (CDU)/Christian Social
Union (CSU) and Social Demo-
crats (SPD) in droves.
Environmental groups de-
mand that Germany fast-for-
ward its phasing out of dirty coal,
currently targeted for 2038, and
better promote zero-emission
cars that remain a rare sight on
German roads.
Merkel, who acknowledged on
CNN that “we have to give better
answers” to the planetary chal-
lenge, met ministers of her “cli-
mate cabinet” yesterday to dis-
cuss how Germany should meet
its carbon reduction targets.
Afterwards, Merkel’s office
reaffirmed Germany’s intention
“to meet the 2030 climate targets
to which it has committed itself
internationally” – a 55% cut in
emissions from 1990 levels.
“This means significant addi-
tional CO2 reductions year after
year,” said her spokesman Steffen
Seibert, stressing that Merkel’s
government “sees this as a key
focus of its work”.
“The government will in Sep-
tember make the fundamental
decisions on the laws and meas-
ures and the cabinet will adopt
them by the end of the year,” he
added.
The far-right AfD (Alternative
for Germany) party has also come
under fire from its youth wing
for its scepticism about climate
change.
In an open letter, the youth
wing urged party leaders to ad-
mit that “man influences the
Most Germans find Merkel heir
is not yet fit to replace her: poll
Reuters
Berlin
A
ngela Merkel’s heir
apparent, Annegret
Kramp-Karrenbauer,
is not ready to succeed her as
chancellor, a poll showed yes-
terday, in a setback to their
party’s plans for a smooth lead-
ership transition.
Merkel, Europe’s longest-
serving leader, began a stage-
managed gradual exit from
politics in October last year,
when she said her fourth term
as chancellor would be her last.
In December, the leadership
of her conservative Christian
Democrats (CDU) passed to
Kramp-Karrenbauer in what
was widely seen as the begin-
ning of a handover of power.
But the survey by pollster
Detention of Catalan separatists ‘arbitrary’: UN report
AFP
Madrid
T
he detention of three sep-
aratists facing trial for a
failed bid to prise Catalo-
nia from Spain in 2017 is “arbi-
trary”, experts mandated by the
United Nations have concluded
in a report released yesterday.
The assessment by independ-
ent experts, commissioned by
the UN Human Rights Council
but not speaking in the name of
the United Nations, called for the
Merkel: her coalition took heavy
losses in Sunday’s European
Parliament elections in what was
seen as an indictment of Berlin’s
plodding progress on tackling
global warming.
climate” and that asserting oth-
erwise was “difficult to under-
stand.”
Germany long earned plaudits
as a clean energy pioneer, and
Merkel was dubbed the “climate
chancellor”, for pushing renewa-
Forsa showed 70% of Germans
believed Kramp-Karrenbauer
was not yet suited to taking over
as chancellor.
They wanted Merkel to stay
on instead until 2021, when the
legislative term is due to end.
Even 52% of CDU support-
ers believed that Kramp-Kar-
renbauer, widely known by her
initials AKK and sometimes
dubbed “mini-Merkel”, was not
up to being chancellor, accord-
ing to the poll for broadcaster
RTL, for which Forsa surveyed
1,501 people on Monday and
Tuesday.
The poll followed a batch
of ill-judged comments from
Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, and
speculation that Merkel – dis-
missed by the chancellor –
could quit early for a big Euro-
pean Union job in Brussels.
On Tuesday, Kramp-Kar-
release of the trio and compensa-
tion.
“The deprivation of liberty of
Jordi Cuixart, Jordi Sanchez and
Oriol Junqueras is arbitrary,” the
panel wrote in the Spanish ver-
sion of the report.
It argues that the detention of
the three men, which has last-
ed over a year and a half, goes
against the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and the UN’s
International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights.
The report focused only on
the three men, and not six oth-
Environmental activists from ‘Campact’ take part in a protest in support of German climate targets and
against the climate policy of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, with an activist dressed as CDU
chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, at the Chancellery in Berlin.
bles while committing to phase
out nuclear power by 2022 and
now coal by 2038.
However, green activists now
feel that progress has stalled and
demand a far earlier end to coal
and the combustion engine, as
well as dramatic shifts in trans-
port, agriculture and other fields.
Germany is now set to miss its
2020 target of cutting CO2 emis-
sions by 40% from 1990 levels.
It is currently on course for
only a 32% reduction.
Since the European election,
criticism has been raining down
from all sides, not just environ-
mental groups.
Friedrich Merz, a conserva-
tive former investment fund boss
with designs on Merkel’s job,
charged that “the CDU must ask
itself why, after 14 years of hav-
ing a ‘climate chancellor’, we are
missing our climate targets, bur-
dening households and compa-
renbauer faced criticism from
across Germany’s political
spectrum after she called for
rules about expressing online
opinions before elections in re-
sponse to a YouTube video that
criticised her party.
Kramp-Karrenbauer denied
promoting censorship.
Her other gaffes have includ-
ed poking fun at trans-gender
people in a carnival speech, and
addressing attendees at high-
profile CDU meeting as Social
Democrats.
Merkel this month reaffirmed
that she would leave politics al-
together after her fourth term,
dismissing speculation that she
could take a big EU job.
Kramp-Karrenbauer said
in comments published this
month that she had no ambition
to succeed Merkel as chancellor
until 2021.
ers also in jail awaiting trial in
the Supreme Court in Madrid,
because the trio’s British lawyer
Ben Emmerson took their cases
to the UN.
He predicted the prosecutions
put Spain “on a collision course
with the UN”, calling the analy-
sis a “warning shot” from the UN
which Madrid should ignore “at
its peril”.
“If Spain cannot show it can be
able to behave like a democracy, it
has no place at the heart of mod-
ern Europe,” Emmerson told re-
porters in London.
nies with the highest electricity
prices in Europe and at the same
time losing strategic and cultural
control over the issue”.
The poor poll result has also
heightened tensions between the
two uneasy coalition allies.
A day after the ballot box
drubbing, the SPD Environment
Minister Svenja Schulze voiced
her frustration about the CDU’s
foot-dragging on her climate bill,
saying that she could not “take
responsibility for further delays”.
The Greens’ politician Cem
Ozdemir held out special criti-
cism for Transport Minister An-
dreas Scheuer of Bavaria’s con-
servative CSU party, saying that
so far he had “sabotaged any se-
rious climate policy”.
Scheuer said in a statement
that his philosophical approach
was to “allow, facilitate and en-
able – not to prohibit, demonise
and raise costs”.
They came, they saw, they conquered
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a gathering in Istanbul to mark the 566th
anniversary of the conquest of the city by Ottoman Turks.
But Irene Lozano, who heads
new public diplomacy agency
Global Spain, told AFP that the
UN-mandated experts were
“victims of a disinformation
campaign” by the Catalan inde-
pendence movement, which had
“skewed facts”.
Sanchez and Cuixart, respec-
tively ex-president and current
leader of the Catalan separatist
civic groups ANC and Omnium
Cultural, were jailed in October
2017 as the secession effort was
underway.
Junqueras, Catalonia’s former
The pressure group also be-
lieves Germany must shutter
seven coal plants by 2022 and
completely phase out the pollut-
ing energy source by 2030.
And Kaiser demanded a shift
away from “industrial agricul-
ture” and toward organic farm-
ing.
Germany’s new climate law
will look at the energy sector,
housing, transport, industry,
agriculture and forestry, and
waste management, government
spokesman Seibert said.
It will also address “CO2 pric-
ing” to factor in the economic
cost of emissions, which can take
the form of a carbon tax or trad-
ing of emissions certificates.
In one fresh proposal, Housing
Minister Horst Seehofer suggest-
ed tax deductions yesterday for
green building renovations, such
as insulating walls and roofs and
replacing old heating systems.
vice-president, was detained in
November.
The three men are being tried
for their role in the organisation
of a secession referendum on Oc-
tober 1, 2017 despite a court ban,
and a subsequent short-lived
declaration of independence.
Like the other six who are in
jail, they are accused of rebellion,
a controversial offence defined as
“rising up in a violent and public
manner”.
That charge is rejected by their
supporters and some legal ex-
perts who say there was no vio-
Rights body slams
France’s treatment
of militants’ children
AFP
Paris
F
rance must stop the
“inhumane treatment”
of children of religious
But France is reluctant to
bring back foreign fighters or
their families after suffering
a wave of deadly religious ex-
tremist attacks that have killed
more than 250 people since
2015.
extremists stranded in Syria It has said it would consider
who are not being allowed to requests for their return, but
come to the country, its rights only on a case-by-case basis.
ombudsman said yesterday, Since March it has repatri-
warning that Paris was flout- ated five orphans and a three-
ing its UN obligations. year-old girl whose mother
The statement by France’s was sentenced to life in prison
Human Rights Defender in Iraq.
Jacques Toubon came as con- In April, France’s State
troversy intensifies over the Council, which rules on the
reluctance of French authori- constitutionality of policies
ties to take in the children of and laws, rejected several re-
French citizens affiliated with quests to intervene, saying it
Islamic State (IS) extremists in was a French diplomatic mat-
Syria and Iraq. ter outside the council’s juris-
“The French state needs to diction.
adopt effective measures al- “Finally, a national author-
lowing the halt to the inhu- ity has condemned France and
mane and degrading treatment urged it to respect its inter-
of children and their mothers national and European obli-
and put an end to the viola- gations,” said lawyer Marie
tions of the rights of the child,” Dose, who represents several
Toubon said. of the affected families, after
He alleged violations of the Toubon’s statement.
UN Convention on the Rights Lawyers William Bour-
of the Child, to which France is don and Vincent Brengarth,
a signatory. who represented families who
The human rights defender sought the opinion, welcomed
leads an independent state the recognition “of the ex-
institution set up in 2011 and treme seriousness of the viola-
enshrined in the constitution tion of fundamental rights”.
to defend people whose rights “We expect that the French
have been violated. authorities will organise the
Toubon had been asked to repatriation (of the children) as
give an opinion on the issue by soon as possible,” they said in a
the lawyers of several families statement.
with French citizens held in The grandparents of two
Syria and Iraq. children stranded with their
According to the French for- French extremist mother at a
eign ministry, some 450 French camp in Kurdish-held Syria
citizens linked to IS are either filed a lawsuit with the Euro-
detained by Kurdish forces in pean Court of Human Rights
northern Syria or being held in earlier this month over France’s
refugee camps. refusal to allow them home.
Violent muggers caught in Venice
Italian police apprehended seven people yesterday, claiming
victory in a months-long quest to catch gangs of teenage muggers
who have terrorised Venice in recent months.
Those detained included four minors, a police statement said.
Three were placed in jail, one was placed under house arrest, and
three were sent to a community centre for youth criminals.
In one particularly brutal incident, two of the suspects, aged 16
and 19, are believed to have robbed a man in January in the centre
of Venice using a brass knuckle, leaving him with multiple face
injuries.
Other crimes, including burglaries in public sector offices and a
high school, took place in Mestre, the mainland suburb separated
from Venice’s historic lagoon districts.
Those apprehended yesterday acted with others whom police are
still investigating.
Officers raided the homes of a dozen other teenage suspects,
and one was arrested after being found in possession of 200g of
marijuana.
No one hurt after
guard fires gun on
Czech PM’s plane
A bodyguard accidentally fired
his gun aboard a government
plane carrying billionaire Czech
Prime Minister Andrej Babis
from an EU dinner but no one
was hurt, police and media said
yesterday.
“We can confirm an accidental
shot during a gun check aboard
a government plane” late on
Tuesday, Czech national police
spokeswoman Lenka Sikorova
told AFP. “The incident occurred
in a detached area. No one else
was in danger.”
Babis’s spokeswoman Jana
Adamcova told AFP that
“something like that happened”
but declined to elaborate.
Czech media said the bodyguard
was trying to unload his gun
shortly after Babis had boarded
in Brussels and the plane was
preparing for take-off.
Carrying a total of 22 people, the
flight left about an hour later, said
the Aktualne.cz news site, adding
that the bullet hit a meal cart.
lence during the secession bid. Spain’s judiciary denies this,
The working group pointed to however.
the “non-existence of elements Referendums may be allowed
of violence and the absence of under the Spanish constitution,
convincing information on facts but this also pledges the “un-
attributable” to the trio. breakable unity” of Spain.
That “generated conviction As such, the constitution
among the working group that would need to be reformed before
the criminal accusations against any independence referendum is
them aim to constrain them due allowed.
to their political opinions”. The Spanish ambassador to
The experts also said that Britain Carlos Bastarreche has
holding a referendum “is al- branded the report “clear inter-
lowed in Spain for a large range ference” designed to attack the
of themes, including the present image of the judicial system in
case”. Spain.

17th Lok Sabha will miss prominent faces, strong voices
IANS
New Delhi
I
n last three decades of In-
dia’s electoral history they
were the strong voices of
their party, states and respective
constituencies in Lok Sabha but
their voices will not be heard in
the 17th Lok Sabha, which gave a
decisive mandate to the Narendra
Modi government.
Prominent among them, who
influenced the national politics
for decades, are Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) veterans L K Advani,
Murli Manohar Joshi, Sumitra
Mahajan, Hukumdev Narayan
Jaitley opts
out of new
govt due
to ill health
Agencies
New Delhi
F
inance Minister Arun Jait-
ley has asked Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi not to
give him a ministerial position in
the new government due to on-
going health problems.
Jaitley’s absence will leave
Modi without one of his most
important lieutenants as he be-
gins his second five-year term
in power following the Bharatiya
Janata Party’s landslide election
victory earlier this month.
Jaitley said in a letter to Modi,
issued to the media yesterday,
that he had faced serious health
challenges in the last 18 months
and needed to recuperate.
“I should be allowed a rea-
sonable time for myself, my
treatment and my health, and,
therefore not be a part of any
responsibility, for the present,
in the new government,” Jaitley
said in the letter.
A spokesman of prime minis-
ter’s office declined to comment
on Jaitley’s letter to Modi.
Aside from holding one of the
most important positions in gov-
ernment, Jaitley, a 66-year-old
lawyer-turned politician, was
also the cabinet’s main commu-
nicator with the media, one of
the ruling party’s most articulate
voices in parliament, and was a
strong campaigner in the recent
election despite his poor health.
Jaitley: opts out
Decision on Congress chief
to be taken at CPP meeting
IANS
New Delhi
A
meeting of the Congress
Parliamentary Party
(CPP) will be held on June
1 and a decision on the new lead-
er of the party in the Lok Sabha is
likely to be taken then.
The meeting will be presided
over by United Progressive Alli-
ance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Party president Rahul Gandhi,
whose offer to resign has been
rejected by the Congress Work-
ing Committee, may also address
the meeting, sources said.
The meeting will be attended
by newly-elected MPs of the par-
ty in the Lok Sabha and the party
MPs in Rajya Sabha.
Meanwhile, sources said Rahul
Gandhi has accepted that he will
lead the party in the Lok Sabha
where its strength, from a paltry
Yadav, former prime minister H
D Deve Gowda, former Congress
leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikar-
jun Kharge and his deputy Jyoti-
raditya Scindia.
The BJP veterans didn’t con-
test the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as
they were denied tickets on age
ground while Gowda, Kharge and
Scindia, who were bitter critics
of Modi, tasted defeats in their
respective constituencies.
Advani, who was the old-
est member in the outgoing Lok
Sabha at 91 years, has represent-
ed the Gandhinagar constituency
in Gujarat since 1991 and has
been winning the last five general
elections by big margins.
A diabetic, Jaitley’s health is-
sues became worse after he had a
kidney transplant in May last year.
He skipped presenting an in-
terim budget in February as he
was in hospital in the United
States receiving cancer treat-
ment.
Finance ministry officials said
Jaitley had been largely work-
ing from home for the past three
weeks while undergoing treat-
ment.
Senior government officials
said replacing Jaitley would be
difficult, as few BJP leaders pos-
sessed appropriate experience
for the finance portfolio.
With India’s economy slowing
and unable to create enough jobs
for the millions of youth entering
the labour market every year, any
new finance minister faces the
task of finding funds for an addi-
tional stimulus without blowing
out the budget deficit.
Modi, who will take the oath of
prime minister today for his sec-
ond term, could assign Railways
and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal
or bring in someone from outside
the party to fill the post.
Goyal, 54, presented the inter-
im budget for Jaitley in February
and has filled in for him before.
The new government is ex-
pected to present a full budget
once it takes office.
Modi, 68, has invited the heads
of countries who are in the Bay
of Bengal Initiative for Maritime
and Economic Co-operation
(BIMSTEC) to the swearing-in.
However, Pakistan is not a
part of the alliance and so Modi
avoided inviting Pakistan Prime
Minister Imran Khan.
The BJP swept 303 of the 542
contested parliamentary seats to
win a second five-year term.
Meanwhile, Modi yesterday
met Jaitley at his residence.
Modi arrived at Jaitley’s home
at 8.55pm.
The meeting lasted about 25
minutes. It is learnt that Modi
urged him to reconsider his deci-
sion not to be part of the the new
cabinet.
44, has gone up to 52. Sonia Gan-
dhi will remain UPA chief and
the family/dynasty will distance
itself from day-to-day affairs of
the party.
An interim working president
with two or more working vice
presidents in a loosely-formed
presidium will run the party op-
erations and plan for elections
and campaigns.
K C Venugopal may emerge
as the interim president while
Prithviraj Chauhan could be one
of the vice presidents.
Given that the Congress has 23
MPs from the south, it appears
that a south Indian will helm
the party for the time being. Or
alternatively, appoint Jyotiradi-
tya Scindia as the working presi-
dent and have the youth brigade
around him to turn the party’s
fortunes around.
The Congress had fielded 421
candidates across the country
If Advani had contested, he
could have become the oldest MP
ever to fight the Lok Sabha elec-
tions after Ram Sunder Das of
the Janata Dal-United, who won
from Hajipur in 2009 at age 88
and ended his stint at 93.
Advani, remembered mostly
for the ‘rath yatra’ he undertook
in 1990 to press for the demo-
lition of the Babri mosque and
building a temple in its place in
Ayodhya, has served as deputy
prime minister and home min-
ister.
His yatra, however, created the
momentum that led to the dem-
olition and large-scale riots but
also established the BJP as a ma-
Family members of BJP workers who were allegedly killed in political violence in West Bengal are seen at the Howrah station yesterday. The BJP has specially invited them to his swearing-
in ceremony today.
8,000 guests to attend
Modi’s swearing-in event
IANS
New Delhi
A
t least 8,000 guests will
attend the swearing-in of
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan
today, making it the biggest-ever
event held in the historic premis-
es.
While the guests attending
the event will be treated to high
tea, President Ram Nath Kovind
will host a private dinner for the
leaders from BIMSTEC (Bay of
Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sec-
toral Technical and Economic
Cooperation) countries as well
as Kyrgyz President Sooronbay
Jeenbekov and Mauritian Prime
Minister Pravind Kumar Jug-
nauth – who have all confirmed
their presence.
Steel magnate L N Mittal is
but only 52 of them got elected
marking the second dismal per-
formance by the party in the
second successive general elec-
tions.
The Congress won the maxi-
mum number of 15 seats in Ker-
ala, followed by eight each in
Punjab and Tamil Nadu. In many
states and Union Territories,
it could not even open its ac-
count. Among the party leaders
who lost were four members of
the CWC, the highest decision-
making body of the party.
But the Young Turks are deter-
mined to dislodge the old guard.
Sachin Pilot and Scindia are in
the forefront to back Rahul Gan-
dhi in his “clean-up” attempt.
Sources said that in his outburst
at the CWC meeting after the Lok
Sabha defeat, Gandhi had selec-
tively targeted the old guard. The
Young Turks, all of whom had
tasted defeat, were spared.
jor political force in the country.
Besides Advani, party veterans
Joshi, Mahajan, Shanta Kumar,
Kalraj Mishra and Bhagat Singh
Koshyari also didn’t contest Lok
Sabha polls.
Joshi, who won in 2014 from
Kanpur, was the BJP president
between 1991 and 1993 and has
also represented Allahabad and
Varanasi in parliament. In 2014,
he was shifted to Kanpur after the
party decided to field Modi from
Varanasi. He also held several
posts in the federal government.
Advani and Joshi are consid-
ered three top leaders of the BJP
after late prime minister Atal Bi-
hari Vajpayee who shaped the BJP
also expected to be present.
“It will be the biggest-ever
event at the Rashtrapati Bha-
van. At least 8,000 people are
coming,” Ashok Malik, press
secretary to the president, told
IANS.
The size of the gathering is
seen as a reflection of the mas-
sive mandate received by Modi
in the Lok Sabha elections. Both
his Bharatiya Janata Party and
National Democratic Alliance it
leads have improved their tally
compared to 2014.
The swearing-in will be held
in the forecourt of the Rashtra-
pati Bhavan, the same venue as
in 2014. The event then was at-
tended by about 5,000 guests.
The high tea will have snacks,
including samosas, and paneer
items apart from sweets, while
at the president’s dinner, the
visiting foreign dignitaries will
Congress workers assemble outside party president Rahul Gandhi’s
residence to appeal him to withdraw his offer to step down from the
party’s top post, in New Delhi yesterday.
which alone won 303 seats in the
just-concluded elections.
Mahajan was elected the
speaker in the 16th Lok Sabha but
she did not contest the general
elections this time.
In 2014, she got elected to the
lower house for the eighth time.
She is currently the longest-
serving woman member and has
represented the Indore constitu-
ency of Madhya Pradesh since
1989.
As a minister she held the
portfolios for Human Resource
Development, Communications
and Petroleum.
Hukumdev Narayan Yadav,
a five-time Lok Sabha MP, was
be treated to “Dal Raisina” – a
special delicacy of the Rashtra-
pati Bhavan that takes 48 hours
to cook - among other delicacies.
The prime minister will also
attend the dinner, along with
some officials.
With the swearing-in sched-
uled for 7pm, the dinner will be
light as it will be served a little
late in the evening.
The BIMSTEC leaders attend-
ing the event include Bangla-
deshi President Abdul Hamid,
Sri Lankan President Maithripala
Sirisena, Myanmarese Presi-
dent U Win Myint, Nepali Prime
Minister K P Sharma Oli and
Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay
Tshering.
Thailand will be represented
by its Special Enovy Grisada
Boonrach.
Former prime minister Man-
mohan Singh, Congress presi-
INDIA
known for oratory skills in the
lower house. Yadav, a social-
ist leader who served as head of
panchayat, was elected as MLA
and entered the Lok Sabha in
1977.
Since then, he has represented
Madhubani parliamentary con-
stituency but chose not to con-
test this time.
Gowda, the former prime min-
ister and a strong voice from Kar-
nataka for the past three decades,
couldn’t enter parliament for the
first time.
He was expecting a sixth win
in a row from Tumkur but was
defeated by BJP’s G S Basavaraju.
Kharge, who was leader of the
dent Rahul Gandhi and United
Progressive Alliance chairperson
and senior Congress leader So-
nia Gandhi will attend the event,
party leaders said.
However, West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee will
not attend, alleging the BJP was
using the ceremony “to score po-
litical points”.
The BJP hit back, saying she
was looking for “excuses” to
avoid attending the event.
“The oath-taking ceremony is
an august occasion to celebrate
democracy, not one that should
be devalued by any political party
which uses it as an opportunity
to score political points,” Baner-
jee said.
The Trinamool Congress
chief’s remark came after media
reports said at least 70 family
members of slain BJP activists in
West Bengal had been invited to
Nadda may succeed
Shah as BJP president
IANS
New Delhi
T
he Bharatiya Janata Party’s
organisational architect
Amit Shah is set to join the
new cabinet, and the decks are
being cleared for the baton to be
handed over to Health Minister J
P Nadda as the new president.
Nadda is expected to work
closely with Shah even after he
demits office.
Maharashtra, Jharkhand and
Haryana will hold assembly elec-
tions in September.
Nadda will then oversee the elec-
tion campaign strategy. Thereafter
there is a possibility of polls in Jam-
mu and Kashmir and even in Kar-
nataka where the coalition appears
to be skating on thin ice. Early next
year, the battle for Delhi will gain
precedence over everything else.
Fifty nine-year-old Nadda is a
Rajya Sabha member who keeps a
Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019 21
Congress party in the 16th Lok
Sabha, had served as a minis-
ter - Labour and Employment,
Railways and Social Justice and
Empowerment in the Manmohan
Singh-led government.
He lost from Gulbarga parlia-
mentary constituency in Karna-
taka by a margin of 95,452 votes
against BJP’s Umesh G Jadhav.
Scindia, the young face of
Congress in the outgoing Lok
Sabha, also tasted defeat for the
first time in his electoral career.
A close associate of Congress
president Rahul Gandhi, Scindia
was defeated by BJP’s Krishna Pal
Yadav from Guna parliamentary
constituency of Madhya Pradesh.
the ceremony as “special guests”.
This is being seen as a message
to Banerjee ahead of assembly
elections in 2021.
The chief minister took ex-
ception to the BJP’s claim that
54 people had been “murdered
in political violence” in her
state.
Congratulating Modi for tak-
ing over as the prime minister
again, Banerjee said she had
planned “to accept the constitu-
tional invitation” and attend the
oath-taking ceremony.
“However, in the past one
hour, I am seeing media reports
with the BJP claiming that 54
people have been murdered in
political violence in Bengal,” she
said.
Calling the claim “completely
untrue”, she said: “There have
been no political murders in Ben-
gal.”
low profile but is also parliamentary
board secretary of the BJP. Nadda
is known as a master strategist in
his party. The party had given him
charge of Uttar Pradesh in the re-
cent elections. The BJP bagged 62
out of 80 Lok Sabha seats. Apna Dal
bagged two against a caste calculus
driven combine of BSP and SP.
Educated at St Xaviers School
in Patna, Nadda did his B A from
Patna College, Patna University
and LL B from Himachal Pradesh
University, Shimla. He is a three-
time MLA in the Himachal assem-
bly. He came to the upper house
from Himachal Pradesh and was
appointed a minister in 2014.
He now has to meet the exacting
standards set by Shah. With the
BJP securing a fresh beach head
in the south in Telengana where it
has won four seats along with 23
in Karnataka, Nadda is expected
to focus on operation south to ex-
pand the BJP’s footprint and be-
come truly pan-Indian.
 Gulf Times
22 Thursday, May 30, 2019

INDIA
CONTROVERSY
Mother changes name of
son named after Modi
A Muslim woman who had named her new born son
after Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi
has now changed the baby’s name to Mohamed
Altaf Alam Modi. Mehnaaz Begum said there was
considerable pressure on her from society and
community which made her change the name.
“Some family members had even refused to
participate in the ceremonies that take place after
child birth and so I decided not to encourage any
more controversies and change his name. He still
has Modi in his name,” she said. Meanwhile, a fresh
controversy is brewing over the date of birth of the
child. Begum had earlier claimed that her son was
born on May 23, the day the Lok Sabha election
results were announced. However, the local hospital
has said the child was born on May 12 and the
mother changed the date to get popularity.
INVESTIGATION
ESIC scam in maternity
leave benefits unearthed
A scam is unravelling at the Employees State
Insurance Corporation (ESIC) regional office in
Faridabad in Haryana over maternity leave. An
ongoing investigation reveals that scores, not
dozens, of women employees of private sector
companies took insurance and other maternity
Leave benefits four or more times a year by
declaring fake deliveries. This was done by
submitting forged medical reports in connivance
with contractors and departmental officers at
the ESIC. Maternity Leave is a paid holiday of
26 weeks. The preliminary probe was launched
after an internal audit of the ESIC revealed a
dozen such cases in a year. Top sources in the
federal Ministry of Labour and Employment said
the benefits could have been exploited in other
regions of the country as well.
ACCIDENT
Major fire hits girls’
hostel, 5 hospitalised
Five inmates of a girls’ hostel were hospitalised
after being rescued from a major fire that
engulfed the building in Janakpuri area of New
Delhi yesterday, officials said. More than 50
other inmates were evacuated safely. “The fire
was reported at 3.05am. Over 50 girls have been
evacuated and five others have been admitted
to hospital,” said Atul Garg, director of Delhi
Fire Service. According to officials, the fire was
sparked by a short circuit in the basement of the
building and soon spread to the ground and first
floors. The incident came days after 23 teenage
students, including 16 girls, were killed in a blaze
at a coaching centre in Sarthana area of Surat in
Gujarat. On Monday, the Delhi government wrote
to the Fire Service asking it to inspect every
coaching centre in the city.
FACILITY
Delhi Secretariat may
have a crèche soon
The Delhi government is planning to set up a
crèche at the Delhi Secretariat to help working
parents. In a letter, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia directed the Secretary, Women
and Child Development, to explore the possibility
and feasibility of a crèche after it was brought to
his notice that such a facility was needed for the
children of parents working at the Secretariat.
He said that all employers must help employees
to balance their professional and personal life.
“It is a matter of great pride that a large number
of workforce in the Delhi government consists
of women. However, work-life balance for
working women, especially working mothers, is
not easy and it is the responsibility of employer
organisations to improve working conditions of
women,” Sisodia said in the letter.
ART
Korean cultural show to
conclude in Delhi tomorrow
Calligraphy, ancient pottery, ink paintings and
landscape photographs from the culturally-
rich South Korea are part of an exhibition
that will conclude in New Delhi tomorrow.
Titled “Impressions: A Journey Backwards”,
the muti-dimensional exhibition takes visitors
through a journey in time, starting from
ancient Korea’s Goryeo dynasty rule to the
modern-day photographs of its four distinct
seasons. Encapsulating the Korean spirit, the
exhibition’s 31 artworks are from the reserved
art collection of the Korean Cultural Centre
(KCC). Beginning with a video on calligraphy
techniques around the world, the exhibit
showcases big and small calligraphed panels.
It even allows visitors to try their hand at the
craft.

Retired soldier
declared illegal
immigrant in
Assam, detained
Reuters “I am an Indian, very much an
Guwahati Indian and will forever remain an
Indian.”
Ullah was born in July 30,

P
olice detained a retired
soldier and serving police
officer yesterday after a
court declared him a foreigner,
in one of the most controver-
sial outcomes of the country’s
effort to clamp down on illegal
immigration from neighbouring
Bangladesh.
Millions of people in the
1967 to Mohamed Ali, a resident
of Kalahiklash village in As-
sam’s Kamrup district. As per
the records he joined the army
in 1987 and worked in different
capacities.
“He also received a Presi- A banner for Ayushman Bharat, commonly known as the “Modicare” healthcare scheme, is pictured at a gate at a hospital in Gurgaon in Haryana.
dent’s Certificate in 2014 for his
promotion to the rank of Junior
Commissioned Officer (JCO) in

Modi healthcare plan

northeastern state of Assam are
scrambling to prove their citi-
zenship after the government,
led by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party,
mandated residents of the state
to produce documents proving
2012,” said Wadud.
“Post retirement, he joined
the Assam police. However,
there was a Foreigners Tribunal
case against him suspecting his
citizenship credentials,” he said.
Earlier in 2017, the Foreign-

won hearts, and votes

that they or their families lived
in the country before March 24,
1971.
Police said they sent Mo-
hamed Sana Ullah, 52, to a de-
tention centre in Assam based
on the order of a Foreigners’
Tribunal.
“He served the Indian army
for 30 years but was declared as
a foreigner and as per prescribed
ers’ Tribunal had served a notice
against retired Junior Commis-
sioned Officer Azmal Haque, a
resident of Chaygaon area in
Kamrup district. The opposi-
tion Congress yesterday urged
Chief Minister Sarbanaanda
Sonowal to take note of reports AFP would have benefited most. Sabir Ali, an impoverished played a larger role (in the elec- more staff and implement more
of harassment of genuine Indian Sitapur “It has certainly been wel- weaver who got a Modicare card tion outcome) than anyone had reforms in what remains a dys-
citizens. comed as a welfare measure by for himself and his family to use anticipated,” said political ana- functional healthcare system,
“A total of 44 people have so the poor and probably contrib- at any of the 15,000-odd par- lyst Parsa Venkateshwar Rao. experts say.

norms we have sent him to the
detention camp,” Mousumi Ka-
lita, a senior police official in As-
sam, told journalists.
“We only abide by the tribu-
nal’s order and are not aware on
what grounds or why he was de-
clared a foreigner.”
Ullah’s lawyer said it was a
case of mistaken identity as the
order cited his client as a labour-
er who came to India after 1971
without legal documents.
Ullah’s family said they had
Assam land records going back
to 1935. Lawyer Aman Wadud,
who has handled dozens of cases
of illegal immigration in Assam,
said he would challenge the or-
der in a higher court today.
Speaking to reporters as he
was shoved inside a police ve-
hicle on the way to the deten-
tion centre in the border town
of Goalpara, Ullah said he was
heartbroken.
“This is the reward I got after
serving for 30 years in the In-
dian army,” said Ullah, currently
a deputy inspector in the border
wing of the Assam police.
far committed suicide in Assam
after not finding their names in
the draft NRC (National Regis-
ter of Citizens) published by the
Assam government last year,”
Congress leader Apurba Kumar
Bhattacharyya said.
Much of the over 4,000km
border between India and Bang-
ladesh is porous. Hundreds of
thousands of people have moved
to India from Bangladesh since
its New Delhi-backed war of
independence from Pakistan in
1971.
The BJP, which increased its
parliamentary majority this
month after a general election,
has promised to identify all mi-
grants living in the country ille-
gally, give citizenship to all non-
Muslims from neighbouring
Muslim majority countries such
as Bangladesh and Pakistan, and
expel the rest.
The BJP made electoral gains
in Assam and neighbouring West
Bengal state by pledging to act
against immigrants, accused by
some locals of taking jobs and
resources.
W
hile Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s na-
tionalist tub-thump-
ing has been widely credited
with his recent election win,
another factor was one he kept
relatively quiet about: Modi-
care.
Despite some teething prob-
lems and a dire need for further
reforms and more spending,
this huge initiative launched
last year – one of the world’s
largest publicly funded health-
care programmes – has made a
difference.
“This scheme has infused a
sense of belief in the poor that
if they fall sick they will get
treatment without spending a
rupee,” said Anil Agarwal, chief
medical superintendent at a
hospital in Sitapur, a city in Ut-
tar Pradesh with some of India’s
worst health indicators.
Indeed, voting data from the
mammoth election that ended
last week with a landslide for
Modi showed particularly strong
support for his right-wing party
in poorer areas where people
uted to (Modi’s) electoral victo-
ry,” said K Srinath Reddy, presi-
dent of the non-profit Public
Health Foundation of India.
The flagship programme,
dubbed Modicare, covers hos-
pital costs up to Rs50,000
($7,200) for the poorest 40% of
Indians, or some 500mn peo-
ple, in a country where the av-
erage annual income is about
Rs100,000.
Even before Modicare, or
the National Health Protection
Scheme (NHPS), was intro-
duced in September, treatment
was largely free at government
hospitals.
But patients still had to shell
out for diagnostics and medi-
cines, which make up a big chunk
of the costs of hospital care, as
well as for implants like stents.
Private clinics were out of
reach for many, with a consulta-
tion alone costing some Rs1,000
– a large amount for millions liv-
ing on less than Rs130 a day.
But now poorer people can
visit these clinics, providing
they sign up to the scheme.
ticipating hospitals, had a cyst
removed from his forehead.
“It was unbelievable to hold
the card in my hands,” Ali told
AFP, his head bandaged at the
Sitapur district hospital.
“I used the card and I didn’t
have to spend a single rupee on
my treatment.”
Until recently only a quarter
of India’s population had any
health insurance, forcing hun-
dreds of millions to pay out of
their own pockets, go to quack
doctors or just skip treatment.
An estimated 60mn Indians
are pushed below the poverty
threshold every year paying
for medical care, while a report
last year by The Lancet medi-
cal journal found substandard
healthcare was responsible for
some 1.6mn deaths a year.
Almost 2mn people have ben-
efited from the scheme so far,
with the government allocating
some $1.2bn since the launch.
The costs are shared between
federal and state governments
60:40.
“Schemes such as Modicare
“The overall message that has
gone out is that Modi is willing
to help the poor.”
In his second term, however,
Modi will have to iron out some
of the scheme’s teething prob-
lems, with some hospitals com-
plaining they cannot recoup
what they spend.
“We can’t cope with (receiv-
ing) Rs9,000 for a caesarean
section which would include
stay of the patient, fees of the
anaesthetist, paediatrician,
medicines and so on,” said Dr V
K Monga from the Indian Medi-
cal Association.
“But corrective steps are be-
ing taken. The health sector is
overall satisfied now with the
scheme,” he told AFP.
Reddy of the Public Health
Foundation of India also said
the scheme needed more finan-
cial resources.
“If the state governments too
can be stimulated to increase
their health budgets, the scheme
will become sustainable.”
More broadly, Modi needs
to build more facilities, train
The newly re-elected prime
minister has promised to hike
health spending to 2.5% of GDP
by 2025, from 1.15% now - one
of the lowest in the world - but
it is unclear if this will suffice.
Critics also say that Modi-
care helps unscrupulous private
providers - already accused of
over-diagnosing and carrying
out unnecessary surgeries -
boost profits.
Ali too has his complaints.
“I live nearby the hospital so
I can come, but if someone lives
outside the city, they will strug-
gle with the number of times
they are expected to visit the
hospital,” he said.
“They make us run around a
lot.”
But the family of Vindeshwari
Devi, who has had her uterus
removed at the same Sitapur
hospital, is satisfied.
“I think this scheme is good
and it will only get better,” said
Sunil Kumar, a daily-wage la-
bourer and Devi’s son-in-law.
“For those who have nothing,
it means a lot.”

Water crisis grips Chennai

Trouble brews in Mani’s party
as leaders fight over chief’s post
IANS
Thiruvananthapuram
has violated the party’s discipline.
“As per the by-laws of the
party, a chairman is elected by
SC dismisses Karti’s plea for
return of Rs10 crore deposit
IANS
As soon as the supporters of New Delhi
Jose K Mani came to know that
Abraham has submitted a letter
Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi told
Karti.
Karti’s lawyer approached
the bench saying since he is

T
the state committee of the party to the CEO, they expressed their he Supreme Court back in India, the money de-

T
rouble has broken out in
Kerala Congress (Mani),
the third biggest ally of
the Congress-led United Demo-
cratic Front.
Veteran politician and Kerala
Congress-Mani chairman K M
Mani dies last month and since
then the party leadership has
been divided with a section
aligned with working chairman
P J Joseph and the other led by
Mani’s son Jose K Mani, a Rajya
Sabha member.
Yesterday, the organisational
secretary of the party, Joy Ab-
raham, wrote to Chief Election
Officer Teeka Ram Meena stat-
ing that Joseph has been elected
the party chief. But some party
members have expressed dissent
on the decision.
Party legislator Roshy Augus-
tine told reporters that Abraham
but no such meeting has taken
place, hence such a letter makes
no sense,” said Augustine.
Earlier, Mani was the undis-
puted leader of the Kerala Con-
gress (Mani) since its formation.
Mani held the dual posts of
chairman of the party and par-
liamentary party leader in the
state assembly.
The Kerala assembly ses-
sion opened on Monday. As per
the norms, if the parliamentary
leader of the party remains ab-
sent due to any reason then the
deputy leader of the assembly
takes over the responsibilities.
Hence, in the absence of Mani,
Joseph took his seat in the front
row of the opposition benches.
Now, the leaders close to Jose
K Mani are not in a mood to al-
low Joseph to take over the post
of party chairman.
anger by burning Abraham’s ef-
figy in Kottayam’s Pala, which is
also the hometown of Mani.
“Recently a faction of the
Communist Marxist Party
merged with that of the CPM,”
a legislator close to Jose K Mani
told IANS requesting anonymity.
“But no one asked that faction
to replace their present secre-
tary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan,” said
the legislator. In 2010, Joseph
merged his party with Mani. Of
the five legislators in the party
today, three owe their allegiance
to Jose. Apart from Joseph,
the other legislator is Mons K
Joseph, who has all along been
the closest aide of Joseph.
To counter Abraham’s letter to
the CEO, the Mani faction has now
written to the Election Commis-
sion stating that their new party
chairman is yet to be decided.
yesterday dismissed
a plea by Congress
leader P Chidambaram’s
son Karti for the immediate
refund of his deposit of Rs
10crore, and told the newly-
elected Lok Sabha member
to “pay attention” to his
constituency.
Karti Chidambaram is facing
proceedings in cases linked to
Aircel-Maxis and money laun-
dering. One of the cases in-
cludes the Foreign Investment
Promotion Board (FIPB) clear-
ance to INX Media for Rs305
crore of foreign funds, when
his father was the finance min-
ister.
Residents fetch drinking water from a well on the outskirts of “Every time you go abroad
Chennai yesterday. Water levels in the four main reservoirs you deposit Rs10crore. Ok. We
in Chennai have fallen to one of its lowest levels in 70 years, will refund Rs10 crore but next
according to media reports. time you go we will say deposit
Rs20 crore,” a bench headed by
posited with the court should
be refunded.
The court asked, “Why are
you after Rs10 crore deposited
in the court?”
Karti Chidambaram claimed
he raised loans to deposit Rs10
crore and was paying interest
on it. But the court refused to
grant him any relief.
Earlier, the court allowed
Karti to travel to the UK, the
US, France, Germany and
Spain in May and June this year
on condition that he deposit
Rs10 crore with the court. The
court had said it would be re-
turned to him upon his return.
A similar order was passed
by the court in January regard-
ing Karti’s overseas travel. The
court had said it would “come
down heavily”, if he does not
co-operate.

‘Black Widow’ gangs warned after forced marriage case ruling
Thomson Reuters Foundation
Bogota
G
angs in El Salvador who
force women to wed only
to kill their husbands
for the life insurance are on no-
tice after a top prosecutor won
a landmark conviction of seven
gangsters and said more cases
were to come.
State prosecutor Violeta Oli-
vares, head of El Salvador’s anti-
human trafficking unit, said the
forced marriage conviction was
the first of its kind in the country
and in central America.
Mexico issues
arrest warrant
against former
Pemex chief
Reuters
Mexico City
M
exico issued an arrest
warrant for a former
chief of Mexican oil
company Pemex, government-
owned media said, in the first
blow against ex-president En-
rique Pena Nieto’s inner circle
since a new government took of-
fice promising to clean up politics.
Citing sources at the attorney
general’s office, Mexico news
agency Notimex said a judge had
ordered the arrest of Emilio Lo-
zoya, who headed Pemex from
2012 to 2016.
A Mexican security source
said the reports were accurate.
The attorney general’s office
did not respond to requests for
comment. Lozoya’s lawyer Javier
Coello said he had not received
any official notification of an ar-
rest warrant.
Coello said that after seeing
various media reports on the
subject he filed an injunction
on behalf of Lozoya to get to the
bottom of the matter, and re-
quested to be officially notified
of whether the warrant exists.
“Once the defence verifies if
there is actually an arrest war-
rant, and it knows the contents
of the warrant, it will be able to
take a legal position to execute an
adequate defence,” Coello said in
a statement.
Coello said in a radio interview
that Lozoya was in Mexico, de-
nying some reports that he had
left the country.
In a move related to the case,
Spanish police detained steel
magnate Alonso Ancira on Tues-
day, his company Altos Hornos
de Mexico (AHMSA) said in a
statement. The company sold a
fertiliser plant to Pemex while
Lozoya was at the helm.
Opposition deputy charged
over Venezuela revolt
AFP
Caracas
V
enezuela’s Supreme
Court yesterday charged
a 15th opposition law-
maker with involvement in last
month’s failed uprising against
President Nicolas Maduro.
The country’s top court,
made up of regime loyalists, ac-
cused deputy Rafael Guzman of
“the flagrant commission of the
crimes of betraying the home-
land, conspiracy, instigating re-
volt (and) civil rebellion.”
The charges relate to an up-
rising led by opposition leader
and National Assembly speaker
Juan Guaido — who has not been
charged by the Supreme Court
— on April 30 in a bid to ramp up
the pressure on Maduro to step
down and allow for new presi-
dential elections.
But Guaido — who is recog-
nised by more than 50 coun-
tries as Venezuela’s interim
president — was joined by only
around 30 armed forces mem-
bers and the revolt quickly fiz-
“This is a clear message to the
traffickers. It shows we have spe-
cial legislation that severely pun-
ishes the crime of human traf-
ficking and that we will continue
to investigate and combat this
type of scourge,” Olivares said.
Fit for a movie script, the scam
involved luring country girls to
the city, then making them weep
graveside after their forced mar-
riages ended in murder, as gang
masters looked on.
Earlier this month, seven gang
members, including four women
and three men from El Salva-
dor’s largest gang — the Mara
Salvatrucha (MS-13) — were
The investigation of Lozoya,
who ran Pena Nieto’s 2012 elec-
tion campaign, is the first high-
profile corruption investigation
launched by the government of
President Andres Manuel Lopez
Obrador against the government
he replaced on December 1.
Lopez Obrador won election
by a landslide promising to root
out public sector corruption.
On Monday, the finance min-
istry said it had blocked ac-
counts belonging to Lozoya and
to AHMSA for allegedly carrying
out illegal operations.
The ministry’s money-laun-
dering czar Santiago Nieto said
the case also had links to Brazil-
ian builder Odebrecht, whose
executives have testified about
bribes to politicians across Latin
America.
“Operations with possibly il-
licit resources linked to acts of
corruption were detected, par-
ticularly transfers of financial
resources deposited by Altos
Hornos de Mexico in an Odebre-
cht phantom shell company, and
part of the money reached Lo-
zoya’s accounts,” Nieto said on
Mexican radio.
Coello previously told Reuters
that his client did not receive
bribes from AHMSA or Odebre-
cht and that none of Lozoya’s
work at Pemex has been proven
to have involved corruption.
Last year, investigative news
site Quinto Elemento Lab re-
ported AHMSA paid $3.7mn to
a shell company allegedly set up
by Odebrecht to pay bribes.
Citing documents from Bra-
zil’s Supreme Court, Quinto El-
emento reported that AHMSA
made three wire transfers to
Grangemouth Trading Co’s ac-
count weeks after the steel com-
pany announced the controver-
sial sale of the fertiliser plant to
Pemex.
zled out, although it did spark
two days of deadly clashes be-
tween protesters and the secu-
rity forces.
Maduro’s government re-
sponded by cracking down on
opposition deputies, with the
regime-dominated Constituent
Assembly stripping a dozen law-
makers of their parliamentary
immunity.
Of those charged with in-
volvement in the uprising,
Guaido’s deputy Edgar Zam-
brano has been arrested while
others have either fled the coun-
try, sought refuge in diplomatic
missions or gone into hiding.
Guaido has accused the gov-
ernment of trying to dismantle
the opposition controlled Na-
tional Assembly.
The Assembly however has
been powerless since the Su-
preme Court stripped it of its
powers in 2017.
The court’s latest decision
comes as government and op-
position delegations hold peace
talks in Norway in a bid to al-
leviate Venezuela’s political and
economic crises.
convicted of forced marriage and
given prison sentences of 15 to 30
years, Olivares said.
Known as a fearless lawyer
who has secured more than 30
convictions against human traf-
fickers, Olivares began targeting
the brutal ‘Black Widow’ gang
after a captive bride managed
to escape, and said she now had
more gangsters in her sights.
The conviction exposes the
role of El Salvador’s powerful
street gangs in forced marriage,
which is a form of human traf-
ficking, and the extreme vio-
lence their victims suffered.
The unprecedented case in-
Members of the Argentine Naval Prefecture stand guard as activists of leftist parties and social organisations block the Pueyrredon bridge in Buenos Aires yesterday during a
24-hour general strike called by workers’ unions to demand the government of Argentine President Mauricio Macri to take measures against inflation and keep the campaign
promises.
Anti-austerity strike
cripples Argentina
Reuters
Buenos Aires
A
nationwide strike in
Argentina protesting
austerity measures un-
der President Mauricio Macri
brought the country’s airports
to a standstill and halted work
at key grains ports yesterday,
the latest sign of tension in the
recession-hit nation.
The strike, called by the
country’s main unions, comes
as centre-right leader Macri
tumbles in the polls ahead of
presidential elections in Octo-
Washington has insisted that
the only item for discussion in
the Norway talks should be Pres-
ident Maduro’s removal.
Meanwhile, Maduro, while
describing the opposition as
“extremist” and working on be-
half of the US, promised to make
an effort to resolve the crisis.
“We are going to be showing our
very best good faith...
to be able to find, based on the
platform the parties agreed on,
peaceful, democratic solutions
to help overcome Venezuela’s
conflict,” Maduro said in a tel-
evised address on Monday.
The US has refused to speak to
Maduro on anything but logisti-
cal matters, calling his leader-
ship illegitimate.
While not rejecting the talks
in Oslo, the US stood firm in
its stance. “We note the talks
in Norway. As we have repeat-
edly stated, the US believes the
only thing to negotiate with
Nicolas Maduro is the condi-
tions of his departure,” state
department spokeswoman
Morgan Ortagus told reporters
in Washington.
volved three young women who
were forced to marry, and whose
husbands were killed by gang
members after a month or so of
marriage, Olivares said.
The widows were made to col-
lect the life insurance — from
$30,000 to $60,000 — which was
handed over to gang members.
“It was a mode of operation
that hadn’t been identified be-
fore in El Salvador,” she told the
Thomson Reuters Foundation.
There is no estimate of the
tally of victims — neither the
number of women forced to wed
nor of their murdered husbands.
“The group has been operat-
ber, his popularity with voters
hurt by high inflation, job losses
and a weak peso.
With transport links down
and many schools, offices and
banks closed, streets in central
Buenos Aires were eerily quiet
in the morning ahead of ex-
pected demonstrations sparked
by the powerful CGT umbrella
union.
Closely tied to the Peronist
political opposition, the CGT
is demanding the government
back salary increases that
match high inflation — prices
are up more than 50% over
the last year — and that re-
Honduras unrest
Protesters block a road during a teachers and medical
doctors protest near the presidential palace in Tegicigalpa.
The teachers’ and medical doctors’ unions protested against
the privatisation of education and health and demanded the
resignation of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez.
LATIN AMERICA
ing for several years.. and in ad-
dition to killing men, they also
killed the women so that there
were no witnesses to say they
were forced into marriage.”
To force the women into mar-
riage, victims were beaten by
gang members and told their
families would be hurt if they
refused. The violence was re-
corded on video.
“Video evidence was obtained
showing how the women were
beaten in such an inhumane way
that it almost looked liked they
had been left for dead,” Olivares
said.
The so-called “Black Wid-
duce the tax burden borne by
workers.
In a video posted online, the
union said it had gone on strike
to force change in government
policy as “the economic and so-
cial situation was getting worse
day by day and inflation was de-
stroying the purchasing power
of people’s wages.”
The protests will also target
rising service fees, the result of
government efforts to cut the
deficit under a financing deal
with the International Mon-
etary Fund.
High fees have exacerbated
poverty levels.
ows” group first came to light in
early 2017 when a victim escaped
and reported the crime.
More victims are likely to
come to light in the coming
months, said Olivares, putting
the gang on notice of new cases.
Prosecutors are investigating
forced marriage involving up to
six more possible victims and
dead husbands, and a prelimi-
nary hearing could start early
next year, she said.
“It’s not being ruled out that
there could be other women vic-
tims who could be alive, and also
those who may have been killed,”
Olivares said.
The economic crisis has hurt
Macri’s re-election chances
badly, with the recently an-
nounced Peronist pairing of
Alberto Fernandez and ex-
President Cristina Fernandez de
Kirchner ahead of the president
in polls.
Yesterday, flights from Ar-
gentina’s airports were shut
down as a result of the strike,
while grain exports stopped at
the ports in Rosario, one of the
most important agro-industrial
regions in the world.
The effects of the stoppage
will also be felt in the soccer
world.
Brazilian pop singer
killed in plane crash
Guardian News and Media
Brasilia
G
abriel Diniz, one of
Brazil’s most successful
current pop stars, has
been killed in a plane crash,
aged 28.
His plane took off from the
city of Salvador in Bahia state
on May 27, bound for Maceio
further up the east coast, but
it crashed in bad weather in
Porto do Mato. Diniz was killed
along with two pilots, Linaldo
Xavier and Abraao Farias. The
star had reportedly been trav-
elling to his girlfriend to cel-
ebrate her birthday.
His management confirmed
his death, “with great pain”, to
Us magazine.
The reason for the crash is
not yet clear, but witnesses
reported hearing the plane’s
engine failing. Brazilian media
reported that the Piper PA-28
Cherokee was deemed airwor-
thy, but was not licensed for air
taxi trips such as the one Diniz
was apparently making. It was
instead only meant to be used
for flight training.
Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019 23
“We’re carrying out the neces-
sary proceedings to be able to es-
tablish that other women victims
who are alive can be located.”
Lawyers who gave advice to
gangs about how to apply for and
collect life insurance are also be-
ing investigated, she said.
Gang members preyed on
young, poor women aged 18 to
23 living in rural areas, who were
lured by false promises of jobs as
domestic workers in the capital
San Salvador, Olivares said.
“For the victims it seemed like
an opportunity to get work to be
able to support their families,”
Olivares said.
The “Recopa” final, a South
American cup-winners game
due to be played between Ar-
gentina’s River Plate and Brazil-
ian team Atlético Paranaense,
was postponed until today be-
cause of the protest.
CGT chief Rodolfo Daer told
local radio station Radio Mitre
that the financial crisis would
only get worse if the president
failed to immediately reverse
some of his policies.
Macri hopes that low infla-
tion and a good soy harvest
will alleviate the country’s
economic woes in the coming
months.
Diniz’s father asserted that
Diniz had booked and paid for
the flight, and had not caught a
free ride as some of his friends
had claimed. Brazil’s National
Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC)
is reported to be investigating
the crash, and has suspended
the Aeroclube de Alagoas which
operated the aircraft.
Diniz, who grew up in Joao
Pessoa in the north-east of
Brazil, and built up his mu-
sic career while also working
as an electrical engineer. He
grew a huge following in Bra-
zil, particularly in the wake of
his 2018 hit Jenifer – an up-
beat pop track about a casual
relationship on the dating app
Tinder; it has 237mn streams
on YouTube, and 4.7mn people
follow the singer on Instagram.
Other hits include Acabou
Acabou with the singer Wes-
ley Safadao, who tweeted: “I
will carry your smile and your
friendship with me forever.”
The Liverpool and Brazil
footballer Robert Firmino has
also paid tribute, saying: “The
message of love and joy that
you left here on Earth was in-
credible.”
 Gulf Times
24 Thursday, May 30, 2019
PAKISTAN
Demand highest
in Islamabad for
low-cost homes
Internews
Islamabad
A
round half of the demand
for the 500,000 low-cost
houses proposed by Prime
Minister Imran Khan have come
from the federal capital Islama-
bad, a city which has seen its
population double from 800,000
to more than 2mn over the past
two decades.
This was disclosed during a
meeting of the Senate Stand-
ing Committee on Housing and
Works, which met at the Parlia-
ment House.
During the meeting, the Na-
tional Party senator from Balu-
chistan complained that the
government has not given the
committee sufficient informa-
tion regarding the prime min-
ister’s Naya Pakistan Housing
Scheme.
Housing Secretary Imran Zaib
explained that all such schemes
in the past had failed because the
project was not prepared as per
the public demand.
He added that thus far, they
received a demand for building
some 500,000 houses from seven
different districts of the country.
However, the district leading
Doctor arrested in
blasphemy case
after riots in Sindh
The authorities have arrested
a veterinary doctor over
allegations of blasphemy in a
case that has sparked protests
and rioting in the southern
province of Sindh.
Police in Mirpur Khas district
arrested the vet after receiving
a complaint that he was selling
medicine wrapped in paper
featuring Islamic religious text.
The vet said it happened by
mistake, according to police.
“We have arrested the Hindu
veterinary doctor over
allegations of blasphemy but
he denies the charges,” Javed
Ahmad Baloch, senior police
officer from the district, told DPA
yesterday.
The news sparked riots in
Phuladiyon, a small town in
Mirpur Khas district with a Hindu
majority, where an angry crowd
set fire to the vet’s clinic and
looted shops owned by the Hindu
community.
Baloch said that a timely
response by the police helped
maintain law and order.
At least seven people linked to
the riots and vandalism have
been arrested, he added.
The police officer said that a case
of defiling the Qur’an has been
registered against the vet.
If proven guilty, the accused
could face life imprisonment.
Pakistan, UK to
share financial
intelligence
Pakistan and the UK are all
set to sign Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) for
exchange of financial intelligence
between the two countries
in order to combat money
laundering and terror financing
through mutual co-operation.
Pakistan is establishing
international co-operation to
comply with the conditions
placed by the Financial Action
Task Force (FATF).
Islamabad is currently making
moves to come out from the
FATF’s “grey list”, and such
international agreements will
help show that Pakistan is
seriously pursuing its actions
against proscribed outfits
involved in any crime proceeds.
“A Pakistani delegation is in
the UK to sign the MOU with
UK’s Financial Intelligence Unit,
that will facilitate exchange of
financial intelligence between
the two countries, help enhance
international co-operation,
and support law enforcement
agencies in investigations,” top
official sources confirmed.
all others in terms of demand is
the federal capital, from where
they had received requests to
build some 230,000 houses.
The committee asked for com-
plete information regarding the
project, to be presented after Eid
al-Fitr at a single-agenda meet-
ing.
The committee was then in-
formed that a nationwide sur-
vey at the Union Council (UC)
level will start after the Eid with
the help of the National Data-
base and Regulatory Authority
(NADRA).
The committee also discussed
the Federal Government Em-
ployees Housing Authority Bill
2019.
Zaib said that he will be the ex-
officio chairman of the proposed
authority under the bill.
At this Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP) Senator Khanzada Khan
suggested that an elected pub-
lic representative should be the
head of this authority.
The bureaucrats from the
housing foundation, though, ar-
gued that a public representative
cannot become the head of the
authority as per directions issued
by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Thereafter, the committee
unanimously passed the bill.
This file picture shows an aerial view of the airplane hub at Karachi airport. The Civil Aviation
Authority has extended the airspace closure on its eastern border with India to June 14.
Airspace closure extended
Reuters
Islamabad
P
akistan’s airspace on its
eastern border with India
will remain closed until
June 14, a civil aviation official
said.
This is the latest extension
months after a stand-off be-
tween the two nations.
Pakistan closed its airspace in
Govt files references
against judges over
properties abroad
Internews
Islamabad
T
he federal government
has filed references with
the Supreme Judicial
Council (SJC) against two high
court judges and one Supreme
Court judge for owning prop-
erties abroad.
According to reports, the
three judges did not mention
their properties abroad in their
wealth statements.
The SJC is the only constitu-
tional authority mandated by
Article 209 of the Constitution
of Pakistan to conduct inquir-
Pakistan Muslim League – Na-
waz (PML-N) Senator Chaud-
hary Tanvir Khan said that the
government should ensure that it
gains something from the project
and that it is not a complete
waste.
Zaib stated that there are a
number of foreign investors who
had expressed their interest in
investing billions of dollars in
this project.
He added the investors are also
ready to provide housing loan
for up to 25 years under this pro-
gramme.
During the meeting, Zaib was
asked whether the government
is evicting residents of the 670
houses of the Wehdad Colony of
Quetta.
The housing secretary replied
that the colony was a provincial
project and does not fall under
the ambit of the ministry.
However, he explained that the
provincial government had asked
the ministry for a joint venture
on the colony.
The committee chairman not-
ed that a 100-member delega-
tion of residents from the colony
were perturbed while the com-
mittee was completely unaware
of their problems.
He added that if the colony
February following a suicide at-
tack by a Pakistan-based mili-
tant group in Indian-controlled
Kashmir, which led to aerial
bombing missions on each oth-
er’s soil and a fighter dogfight
over Kashmir.
Foreign carriers using In-
dian airspace have been forced
to take costly detours because
they cannot fly over Pakistan.
The closure mainly affects
flights from Europe to destina-
ies into allegations of incapac-
ity or misconduct against a
judge of the Supreme Court or
of a high court.
Two judges in Pakistan’s
history have been removed
from their post.
Last year, Shaukat Aziz Sid-
diqui was removed from the
post of Islamabad High Court
judge in the light of a recom-
mendation by the SJC over his
controversial speech before
the District Bar Association,
Rawalpindi on July 21, 2018.
In 1973, Lahore high court
judge Justice Shaukat Ali was
removed on the charges of mis-
conduct.
was a joint project between the
provincial government and the
federal ministry, then that would
mean there is a quota for federal
employees in it.
Zaib said that 2,200 units will
be built in the colony over 90
acres of land.
He added they will also start a
project for officers in Basic Pay
Scale (BPS) grade 17 to 22.
The housing secretary further
said that the provincial govern-
ment is overseeing the Gwadar
housing project, in which some
4,000 apartments will be con-
structed after the land is ac-
quired.
He said that registration for
the project are open and that
they have thus far received some
7,000 applications.
The winners will be selected
through a lucky draw.
Further, Zaib revealed that
1,000 will be built in a housing
project in Kuchlak but the project
size has been doubled to 2,200 on
the directions of the prime min-
ister.
He added that they have re-
ceived some 7,500 applications
for this project, and that apart-
ments will be awarded following
a similar procedure to the one for
the Gwadar scheme.
tions in southeast Asian.
“The closure will continue
until June 14,” a spokesperson
for Pakistan’s Civil Aviation
Authority told Reuters, without
giving further details.
Pakistan lies in the middle of
a vital aviation corridor.
The airspace restrictions im-
pact hundreds of commercial
and cargo flights each day, add-
ing flight time for passengers
and fuel costs for airlines.
Man kills HIV positive wife in Sindh
AFP
Karachi
A
man killed his HIV posi-
tive wife yesterday in
southern Pakistan,
where hundreds of people have
tested positive for the virus in
recent weeks, stirring panic and
casting a light on the country’s
dismal public health standards.
Police said the murder took
place in a village near the epi-
centre of the outbreak on the
outskirts of Larkana city in
Sindh province, where thou-
sands have been screened in the
last month.
The victim – a 32-year-old
mother of four – tested posi-
tive in recent days, according
to a local police officer, with her
husband accusing her of having
an extramarital affair.
Bilawal appears before graft
watchdog, father skips out
Internews
Islamabad
P
olice and Pakistan Peo-
ples Party (PPP) work-
ers clashed yesterday as
party chairman Bilawal Bhutto
Zardari appeared before the
National Accountability Bureau
(NAB) in Islamabad in relation
to the fake accounts case.
Former president Asif Ali
Zardari and his son Bilawal were
to appear separately before the
NAB yesterday, but only the lat-
ter turned up.
A joint NAB interrogation
team questioned Bhutto Zardari
for 30 minutes, after which he
left the NAB headquarters.
Sources informed that Bhutto
Zardari was handed a question-
naire by the NAB team.
In the questionnaire, he was
asked 32 questions, which he
has to respond to by June 12.
Sources said that Bhutto
Zardari was questioned re-
garding the accounts of Zardari
Group of companies.
Earlier upon Bhutto Zardari’s
arrival at the NAB headquar-
ters, PPP workers chanted slo-
gans in his favour.
Police used water cannon to
stop them from moving for-
ward.
At D-chowk, PPP work-
ers and police clashed: officers
baton-charged party workers
at several places, and also made
arrests later on.
Earlier, former president
Zardari excused himself from
appearing before the NAB in re-
lation to the fake accounts case,
sources informed.
This will be the second time
that the PPP leader had excused
himself from being present be-
fore the NAB.
The NAB is due to decide
about the former president’s
absence, sources said.
Earlier, in preparation for the
likely arrival of the PPP lead-
ers in the capital, the Islama-
bad administration banned the
entry of jiyalas in the federal
capital.
MP accuses officials of lying
about deadly weekend clash
AFP
Peshawar
A
parliamentarian and civil
rights leader has accused
the authorities of lying
about a violent clash between
Pashtun activists and security
forces over the weekend as ten-
sions soar between the military
and rights group.
Moshin Dawar – an MP and
leading member of the Pashtun
Protection Movement (PTM)
– disputed claims by the mili-
tary that activists assaulted the
military during a protest near
a checkpoint along the Afghan
border on Sunday, saying that
security forces fired into the
unarmed crowd.
“We did not attack any army
checkpoint rather, we were at-
tacked,” Dawar told AFP by
phone from an undisclosed
location where he is believed
to be hiding. “The state and
the state institutions are using
“This morning the husband
strangled (the victim) with a
rope and then hung her from a
tree outside his home,” Roshan
Ali – a police officer in Shikar-
pur – told AFP, adding that the
suspect is now in custody.
Shikarpur district police
chief Sajid Sadozai confirmed
the incident, saying that an in-
vestigation into the killing is
ongoing and that the suspect
had been booked on murder
charges.
Anger and fear continue to
swell in the desperately-poor
villages and suburbs near Lar-
kana affected by the epidemic,
which authorities say could be
linked to either gross negligence
or malicious intent by a local
doctor using tainted syringes.
In rural Sindh – long bridled
by harsh poverty and illiteracy
– access to information about
Zardari (right) and his son Bilawal are under investigation in
relation to the fake accounts case.
The city administration is-
sued orders that PPP workers
from other cities be prevented
from entering the federal capi-
tal, explaining that the pres-
ence of party workers can lead
to chaos.
The administration sealed
the entry routes to Islamabad in
order to stop PPP workers from
arriving.
PPP leaders and workers were
also stopped from reaching
Zardari House.
Bhutto Zardari, before leav-
ing, expressed gratitude to his
supporters for the messages
of support, tweeting: “Despite
(former) CJ (Chief Justice of
Pakistan Saqib) Nisar announc-
ing that I am innocent, the
government has no tolerance
for constructive criticism and
opposition voices, continue to
persecute political opponents.
Luckily I’ve had a lot of prac-
tice.”
In another tweet, the PPP
leader refuted calls for a protest:
“Despite no official call to pro-
test, party workers have begun
to reach Islamabad. In violation
of every Pakistanis democratic
rights of freedom of assembly,
(the) panicked government re-
leased a midnight notification
to harass opponents in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab and
Islamabad. Dartay hain Tab-
delee walay.”
The NAB had summoned
Zardari and his son separately
in the fake accounts case.
force against us, and I will raise
my voice against these excesses
from whatever forum possible.”
He went on to claim that at
least 13 people were killed by
the firing, dismissing earlier re-
ports from the military that just
three activists were killed dur-
ing the melee.
Amnesty International called
for an independent investiga-
tion into the incident earlier this
week, saying that “if the reports
are correct that the army killed
protesters by unlawfully using
live ammunition, this would be
a very serious violation of inter-
national law”.
The incident follows months
of rising tensions between
the two sides, with the mili-
tary publicly and repeatedly
warning PTM leaders to end
their criticism of the country’s
armed forces.
Since bursting onto the scene
last year, the PTM has rattled
Pakistan’s military with its calls
to end alleged abuses by secu-
HIV and other diseases has kept
the large swathes of the popula-
tion in the dark about how the
virus is transmitted.
Health officials say that near-
ly 700 people, many of them
children, have tested positive in
recent weeks as experts warn of
a surge in infection rates across
Pakistan due to the use of un-
sanitary equipment and ram-
pant malpractice – often at the
hands of quack doctors.
Pakistan was long considered
a low prevalence country for
HIV, but the disease is expand-
ing at an alarming rate – partic-
ularly among intravenous drug
users and sex workers.
With about 20,000 new HIV
infections reported in 2017
alone, Pakistan currently has
the second fastest growing HIV
rates across Asia, according to
the UN.
The graft watchdog had sum-
moned them to record their
statements in the fake accounts
case.
The accountability bureau
summoned the former presi-
dent for a second time for ques-
tioning in the investigation
of corruption cases involving
power projects and awarding of
illegal contracts.
The Federal Investigation
Agency (FIA) is investigating
32 people in relation to money
laundering from fictitious ac-
counts, including Zardari and
his son.
Zardari’s close aide Hussain
Lawai was arrested in July last
year in connection with the
probe.
The former president’s close
aide and Omni Group chairman
Anwar Majeed and his son, Ab-
dul Ghani, were arrested by the
FIA in August 2018.
Over 20 benami accounts
at some private banks were
opened in 2013, 2014 and 2015,
from where transactions worth
billions of rupees were made,
according to sources.
The amount, according
to FIA sources, is said to be
“black” money gathered from
various kickbacks, commis-
sions and bribes.
A benami is a transaction that
is considered a form of money
laundering: a transaction in
which property is transferred
to one person for consideration
paid by another.
rity forces against ethnic Pash-
tuns.
Darwar’s claims also come
as the Committee to Protect
Journalists called for the re-
lease of Pakistani journalist
Gohar Wazir, who was arrested
in nearby Bannu this week after
interviewing the PTM leader.
“Gohar Wazir should not
have to face arrest merely for
doing the job of reporting the
news, even reporting on con-
troversial events such as pro-
tests by the Pashtun Tahafuz
Movement,” said Steven Butler,
the CPJ Asia programme co-
ordinator.
A local official confirmed the
arrest of the journalist along
with 22 others, saying that
Wazir had violated a public or-
der ordinance for taking part in
PTM protests.
Pashtuns account for 15% of
Pakistan’s population, with a
majority based in the northwest
and a significant presence in the
southern port city of Karachi.
This picture released by the
Sindh police department shows
the man who killed his HIV
positive wife, looking out from a
police lockup in Sindh’s
Shikarpur district.
 Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019 25

PHILIPPINES

Philippines, Japan sign

deals worth billions
By Ralph Villanueva among others. These markets
Manila Times have preferential tariff arrange-
Delfin Lorenzana ments with the Philippines,” he
added.

B
usiness deals worth nearly “Beyond manufacturing,
P300bn were signed yes- the Philippines is also an ideal

Fishing must terday as President Rod-

rigo Duterte marked the start of
a three-day visit to Japan.
base for high-value Knowledge
Process Outsourcing ventures
to support the global operations

continue in The 26 agreements, worth

a total of P288.8bn and ex-
pected to result in the crea-
of Japanese companies,” Du-
terte continued.
He assured Japanese inves-

disputed tion of 82,737 jobs, include a

memorandum of co-operation
on investment promotion ac-
tors of a competitive and cor-
ruption-free business environ-
ment, and highlighted a recent

waters: tivities between the Depart-

ment of Trade and Industry
and the Japan External Trade
Standard & Poor’s ratings up-
grade.
“At any hour of the day or

Lorenzana Organisation; a memorandum

of understanding (MoU) be-
tween the EMS Group, Tescom
night, you can contact any of
the Cabinet members or your
Filipino lawyers or Filipino
Denki Co Ltd and Outsourcing workers, and you can ask an au-
By Dempsey Reyes Inc for skills training and hu- dience with me in 24 hours and
Manila Times man resource development and I will talk to you, and just let me
deployment; an MoU between know what your problem is and
Advanced World Systems Inc we will kill that problem,” he

F
ilipino fishermen should
continue fishing in con-
tested waters despite a ban
announced by China, Defence
Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.
The summer fishing ban,
which started on May 1, covers
the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East
China Sea and the South China
Sea (West Philippine Sea), where
Beijing has territorial disputes
with the Philippines and other
countries.
“I don’t think the ban cov-
ers us because we also claim the
area…,” Lorenzana said on Tues-
day.
“We have no ban on our fish-
ermen going there; maybe for
(China) they are banning their
fishermen,” he added.
The prohibition, Lorenzana
said, might have been ordered
by Beijing to allow fish stocks
and other maritime resources to
recover “because they have been
fishing heavily in those areas.”
Amid China’s continued
build-up of its presence in dis-
puted waters, Lorenzana also
stressed that there was an agree-
ment not to occupy more areas
in the South China Sea, particu-
larly in the Spratlys, where nine
Alsons/AWS Information Sys-
tems Inc and Ubicom Holdings
Inc on the outsourcing of soft-
ware development, testing and
maintenance projects; a joint
venture agreement between the
Bases Conversion and Develop-
ment Authority and the Meralco
Marubeni Consortium for the
financing, design, engineering,
construction, development,
and operation and maintenance
of New Clark City’s electric
power distribution system; an
MoU between Asia Defence and
Armament Corp, Kenko Tokina
Co Ltd and Diversified Ecozone
Corp for a facility that will sup-
ply customised equipment for
the Philippine military; a let-
ter of intent (LoI) from Tokyo
Battle for Senate posts looms ahead
By Bernadette E Tamayo
Manila Times
declared.
“Well, sort of. But as I am
committed to do this, I place
honour and my persona that
what I guarantee here must be
followed,” Duterte added.
The president underscored
the importance of Japan to the
Philippines, as it is a major
source of foreign direct invest-
President Rodrigo Duterte is seen on his arrival at the Imperial Hotel where he attended a business forum yesterday. With him is his ments and a key trading partner.
partner Cielito Avancena and Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez. The 2006 Japan-Philippines
Economic Partnership Agree-
Gas, creating for an inter-island including but not limited to related products, and manufac- “The Philippines is a natural ment is currently being re-
liquefied natural gas distribu- the design and construction of turing, among others. choice for Japanese companies viewed for possible upgrades
tion network and another LoI ships. Duterte, who is in Japan for looking for the manufactur- that would benefit both coun-
from Japan Marine United Corp Japan also provided 17 LoIs Friday’s 25th Nikkei Confer- ing base in Asean (Association tries, he noted.
and Marubeni Corp for the de- to the Department of Trade ence on the Future of Asia, said of Southeast Asian Nations), Duterte also made a pitch for
velopment of the Philippines’ and Industry, covering multiple the business deals were “a vote and aiming to serve the export the Japanese participation in his
maritime safety capability by fields such as motoring, infra- of economic confidence in the markets of Asean, EU (Euro- government’s Build Build Build
providing maritime expertise, structure, wiring harnesses and Philippines’ bright prospects.” pean Union) and the Americas, infrastructure programme.
in Gordon’s committee. Poe quipped ists that won and most of them have other incumbents are Franklin Drilon, Senate posts. Cayetano and Gatchalian
that because she was an independent, their own committees already when Sherwin Gatchalian, Ana Theresia are both eyeing the Education com-
it would be best if she got the Blue Rib- they were there as incumbents from the Hontiveros, Panfilo Lacson, Leila de mittee chairmanship, Go is interested
bon panel. 17th Congress.” Lima, Emmanuel Pacquiao, Francis in leading the Health panel, while Lac-

islands, shoals and reefs are oc-
cupied by the Philippines.
China in recent years has
taken over Subi (Zamora) Reef,
Mischief (Panganiban) Reef and
Fiery Cross (Kagitingan) Reef,
which were formerly held by the
Philippines.
President Rodrigo Duterte,
who has made an effort to woo
Beijing, has said he could do
nothing against the incursions.
He recently threatened “suicide
attacks,” however, following re-
ports of an increased Chinese
presence near Philippine-held
Pagasa (Thitu) Island.
A
scramble for prime legislative
posts is shaping up in the Sen-
ate, with incumbents looking to
hold off challenges from first-timers,
re-electionists and comebackers.
Committees likely to be the focus of
leadership battles once the 18th Con-
gress opens on July 22 include the Blue
Ribbon, Justice, Education, Health and
Public Services panels.
“Well, they should try and get it if
they can get it,” incumbent Blue Ribbon
Chairman Sen. Richard Gordon said.
Sen. Mary Grace Poe, who won a
fresh six-year mandate in the May 13
elections, and freshman Sen. Francis
Tolentino were reportedly interested
Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd,
who is expected to also face a challenge
from legislators backed by the gov-
ernment during the recent elections,
yesterday acknowledged the problem
of apportioning committee chairman-
ships. Noting that the incumbents
— those elected to six-year terms in
2016 — “had a chance to be elected to
the different committees that they cur-
rently handle,” Sotto said, “there is a
tradition in the Senate that we call the
equity of the incumbent in choosing
the committee chairmanships.”
On the other hand, he added, “There
are new senators and some comeback
senators… there were five re-election-
“Now, we must practice what we
call a consensus-building or the art of
compromise because the newcomers
would want some major committees
and most of these major committees
are being handled by incumbent sena-
tors. That is where the problem lies,”
Sotto added.
“We have to talk to those who would
be willing to forego their committees
and offer another committee. That’s
how it works. It’s not an easy job and it
is not left to the discretion of the Senate
president, contrary to what others have
said. It is always the members of the
majority that vote for the chairman.”
Aside from Gordon and Sotto, the
Pangilinan, Ralph Recto, Emmanuel
Joel Villanueva and Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Joining Poe among those re-elected,
meanwhile, are Juan Edgardo Angara,
Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay, Aquilino
Pimentel 3rd and Cynthia Villar.
Making their Senate comebacks are
Pilar Juliana Cayetano, Manuel Lapid
and Ramon Revilla Jr, while the first-
timers are Tolentino, Christopher
Lawrence Go, Maria Imelda Josefa
Marcos and Ronald dela Rosa.
With the exception of Poe, Binay
and Lapid, all incoming senators were
backed by the administration-linked
Hugpong ng Pagbabago party, which is
expected to lead a challenge for the top
son has already said he would be giving
the Public Order and Dangerous Drugs
Committee to dela Rosa.
Poe, who is willing to give up the
Public Services Committee if offered
the Blue Ribbon panel, said she would
“not insist… out of respect to Sen.Gor-
don.”
She also acknowledged the possibil-
ity of Sotto’s ouster, raising the pros-
pect of both of them joining the minor-
ity bloc.
“I think that if Sen. Sotto is replaced,
there is a real threat that some of us will
not join the majority. If Sotto moves to
the minority, I will join him there,” Poe
said.

House leaders criticise Severe malnutrition is

allegations on vote-buying
By Glee Jale
Manila Times
‘biggest threat to economy’
By William Depasupil out of three or more Filipinos
Manila Times may have stunted brain devel-

H
ouse of Representatives opment.
leaders yesterday denied “We need to do something for

claims that votes were
being bought in the race to be-
come the next speaker, declaring
that congressmen were “not for
sale.”
Legislators are not “cheap in a
sense that they have an integrity
to maintain,” Majority Leader
Fredenil Castro said in a televi-
sion interview. House Minority
Leader Danilo Suarez, mean-
while, said, “There’s no payout
of P500,000 to P1mn. That’s not
true” in rejecting claims by Dav-
ao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Al-
varez that two aspirants were of-
fering huge sums to secure votes.
Alvarez, who was ousted last
year as House speaker and wants
to regain the post when the 18th
Congress opens in July, made the
allegation on Monday, but did
not identify the alleged vote-
buyers.
Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan
Velasco — said to be Davao City
Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s
personal choice — and minor-
ity-backed Leyte Rep. Martin
Romualdez are reportedly the
current frontrunners.
Velasco has denied allegations
Majority Leader Fredenil Castro.
that he was the one offering
P1mn for the speakership, saying
he doubted that a congressman
would resort to “wheeling and
dealing.”
Romualdez has yet to com-
ment on the matter. He has re-
portedly secured the support of
over 150 congressmen, and, ac-
cording to Suarez, could likely
be endorsed by outgoing House
Speaker Gloria Macapagal Ar-
royo.
Alvarez, who has lost the
favour of Duterte-Carpio de-
spite being an ally of her father,
President Rodrigo Duterte, said
the speakership race would ulti-
mately be won by whoever wins
the chief executive’s backing.
“It depends on who gets the
president’s favour. I don’t con-
sider it vote-buying because
there is no guarantee on the floor
that they will vote for you,” he
said in a radio interview.
Alvarez is hoping to reconcile
with Duterte-Carpio, who called
him “very dangerous and Mach-
iavellian” last week, acknowl-
edging her role as kingmaker,
given speculation that she could
run for the presidency in 2022.
Other candidates for speaker-
ship include Pampanga Rep. Au-
relio Gonzales Jr and former For-
eign Affairs secretary Alan Peter
Cayetano.
The House will elect its new
speaker on July 22.
T
he single biggest threat to
business in the country is
the severe malnutrition
afflicting one third of children
five years old and below, that
results in stunted growth and
brain development, a leading
economist said.
Cielito Habito, former Na-
tional Economic and Develop-
ment Authority (NEDA) di-
rector general, attributed the
problem to the country’s flawed
age-old rice policy that, he
pointed out, has made rice so
expensive for the average Fili-
pino family.
“It is why I personally wel-
come the rice tariffication poli-
cy to the extent that it will make
rice cheaper in the Philippines,”
Habito said in a speech during
the 40th National Conference
of Employers held at the Mar-
riot Hotel in Pasay City.
The traditional restriction
on rice trading, according to
the former NEDA chief, has
made rice in the Philippines two
times more expensive than that
in neighbouring countries.
“Our staple takes 20 to 25%
Cielito Habito: blaming high food costs
of the daily budget of the poor-
est Filipinos. Expensive rice
leaves so little money for the
protein the children need for
proper nourishment of their
brain and body,” he said.
Stunted growth, Habito
pointed out, leads to low intel-
ligence quotient (IQ) because
young children will never reach
their full brain and physical de-
velopment potential.
He explained that 90% of
human brain development hap-
pened before age five, and only
about 10% happened after that
age.
Habito cited a study made
by Finnish and English schol-
ars who made a comparison of
average IQs among member
countries of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean), wherein the Philip-
pines ended up at the bottom of
the list.
“Did you know that the Philip-
pines, among the 10 Asean coun-
tries, is assessed to have the low-
est average IQ? We are the most
dumb among Asean citizens, and
I would link this to the stunting
problem, which has been with us
for a long time,” he said.
The Asean groups the Phil-
ippines, Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Singa-
pore, Thailand and Vietnam
Habito said the stunting prob-
lem has always been at 30 to
40% since the 1980s, and that
the same is true with the gen-
eration at present wherein one
our children. Make food afford-
able, feed the youngest of our
children, not just school-age
children.School feeding is not
good enough because it’s too
late; we have to start from the
mother’s womb when the chil-
dren are still being conceived
and then when they become
infants. That is where we have
to really attack the problem,”
Habito said.
He noted that Peru solved the
same problem in eight years,
saying it was able to cut stunted
growth from 28% to 14%. Hab-
ito said the biggest advantage of
the Philippines over its neigh-
bouring countries is its human
resources, where the “millen-
nials” and the “generation Z” or
those born during the Internet
age are already dominating the
labour force.
“Those from the generation Z
are likely to change jobs as many
as 10 times between 18 and 34
years of age,” he said, adding
that members of this generation
are seeking more purpose and
meaning in their existence and
prefer flexible work.
 Gulf Times
26 Thursday, May 30, 2019

COMMENT
CHAIRMAN
Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka
Deputy Managing Editor
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GULF TIMES
EU elections exposed
the erosion of Europe’s
political middle
The results of the just concluded European Union
parliamentary elections weren’t as bad as supporters of the
postwar order of liberal democracies had feared they would be.
But they weren’t good, either. The nationalist right improved
its position slightly, and the Greens and other left-leaning
parties did better than anticipated. But the real news – and the
real concern – is the continuing erosion of the political middle,
and the strong showing by nationalists in Italy and France. The
takeaway? Support for European solidarity, and even the very

US trade war targets...

notion of a European Union, continues to fragment.
The pressures are considerable. Immigration, in Europe as in
America, has galvanised nationalists to continue their troubling
repudiations of diversity and tolerance. And there are no easy
solutions to the flow of hundreds of thousands of migrants from
Middle East and North African war zones, and from political

Japan then, China now

and economic instability – some of it climate-driven – in sub-
Saharan Africa. That influx has exposed European fractures
and played a significant role in persuading German Chancellor
Angela Merkel, whose Christian Democratic Union party was
trounced in regional elections last fall, to not seek re-election.
It fuelled Brexit, the British vote to leave the European Union –
a process that has foundered so badly that now Prime Minister stage for battles, 30 years apart, with result, the net domestic saving rate clueless about the macro argument
By Stephen S Roach
Theresa May is resigning and the Tories are fighting for the soul New Haven Asia’s two economic giants. actually edged down to 2.8% of national today as he was back then.
of the Conservative Party. It has helped propel nationalists to When Reagan took office in January income by late 2018, keeping America’s In both episodes, the US was in denial,
powerful positions in Italy, Hungary and Austria. 1981, the net domestic saving rate stood at international balances deep in the red bordering on delusion. Basking in the

Of course, this
European voters struggle between
inward-focusing
have delivered yet nationalism and
globalisation-embracing
another liberalism isn’t just a
European phenomenon,
wake-up call to the and the battle is being
governing classes fought on many fronts
at the same time. In
of the EU nations the US Donald Trump
exploited that rift
to win the White House. Scandal-weary Brazil elected far-
right populist Jair Bolsonaro in October. Philippine President
Rodrigo Duterte solidified power in legislative elections earlier
this month despite – or perhaps because of – extrajudicial
killings of suspected drug dealers and addicts that have drawn
international condemnations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and his Hindu nationalists were just overwhelmingly re-elected
in India.
Unfortunately, this broad disillusionment with an
interconnected world comes against the backdrop of a rising
China, which promotes a self-serving vision of globalism,
and an aggressively meddlesome Russia, which is determined
to reassert itself as a power. Trump’s withdrawal of the US
as a leader on the international stage has left a vacuum and
uncertainty about the future of international engagement.
Nationalism helped propel Europe into two devastating
wars in the 20th century, and while the current situation does
not indicate that the world is heading down that road again,
it will face better prospects for peace, mutual prosperity and
respect for fundamental human rights through co-operation
and interconnections. As countries focus more on what they
believe makes their populations unique, they risk obscuring the
commonalities of humankind that the people must rely on to
confront an ever-changing world – and one that is careening
toward existential crisis from global warming, a shared problem
that will require a shared solution.
The EU election results also show us what happens when
leaders of government fail to lead. France’s Yellow Vests
movement is born of similar conditions to the United States’
tea party movement: a sense that national leaders and
dominant multinational corporations have failed to recognise
globalisation’s impacts on small towns and rural areas suffering
moribund local economies and stubborn unemployment,
and the stress that places on local cultures and standards of
living. Growing income inequality reinforces the notion that
governments place the interests of wealth over all others.
European voters have delivered yet another wake-up call to the
governing classes of the EU nations. — Tribune News Service
“
When governments permit
counterfeiting or copying of
American products, it is stealing
our future, and it is no longer
free trade.” So said US president Ronald
Reagan, commenting on Japan after
the Plaza Accord was concluded in
September 1985. Today resembles, in
many respects, a remake of this 1980s
movie, but with a reality-television star
replacing a Hollywood film star in the
presidential leading role – and with a
new villain in place of Japan.
Back in the 1980s, Japan was
portrayed as America’s greatest
economic threat – not only because
of allegations of intellectual property
theft, but also because of concerns
about currency manipulation, state-
sponsored industrial policy, a hollowing
out of US manufacturing, and an outsize
bilateral trade deficit. In its standoff
with the US, Japan ultimately blinked,
but it paid a steep price for doing so –
nearly three “lost” decades of economic
stagnation and deflation. Today, the
same plot features China.
Notwithstanding both countries’
objectionable mercantilism, Japan and
China had something else in common:
They became victims of America’s
unfortunate habit of making others
the scapegoat for its own economic
problems. Like Japan bashing in the
1980s, China bashing today is an
outgrowth of America’s increasingly
insidious macroeconomic imbalances.
In both cases, a dramatic shortfall in US
domestic saving spawned large current-
account and trade deficits, setting the
7.8% of national income, and the current
account was basically balanced. Within
two and a half years, courtesy of Reagan’s
wildly popular tax cuts, the domestic
saving rate had plunged to 3.7%, and the
current account and the merchandise
trade balances swung into perpetual
deficit. In this important respect,
America’s so-called trade problem was
very much of its own making.
Yet the Reagan administration
was in denial. There was little or no
appreciation of the link between saving
and trade imbalances. Instead, the
blame was pinned on Japan, which
accounted for 42% of US goods trade
deficits in the first half of the 1980s.
Japan bashing then took on a life of its
own with a wide range of grievances
over unfair and illegal trade practices.
Leading the charge back then was a
young Deputy US Trade Representative
named Robert Lighthizer.
Fast-forward some 30 years and the
similarities are painfully evident. Unlike
Reagan, President Donald Trump did
not inherit a US economy with an ample
reservoir of saving. When Trump took
office in January 2017, the net domestic
saving rate was just 3%, well below half the
rate at the onset of the Reagan era. But, like
his predecessor, who waxed eloquently
of a new “morning in America,” Trump
also opted for large tax cuts – this time to
“make America great again.”
The result was a predictable widening
of the federal budget deficit, which more
than offset the cyclical surge in private
saving that normally accompanies a
maturing economic expansion. As a
– with the current-account deficit at
2.6% of GDP and the merchandise trade
gap at 4.5% in late 2018.
And that’s where China assumes the
role that Japan played in the 1980s. On
the surface, the threat seems more dire.
After all, China accounted for 48% of
the US merchandise trade deficit in
2018, compared to Japan’s 42% share
in the first half of the 1980s. But the
comparison is distorted by global supply
chains, which basically didn’t exist in
the 1980s. Data from the OECD and
the World Trade Organisation suggest
that about 35-40% of the bilateral
US-China trade deficit reflects inputs
made outside of China but assembled
and shipped to the US from China. That
means the made-in-China portion
of today’s US trade deficit is actually
smaller than Japan’s share of the 1980s.
Like the Japan bashing of the 1980s,
today’s outbreak of China bashing
has been conveniently excised from
America’s broader macroeconomic
context. That is a serious mistake.
Without raising national saving –
highly unlikely under the current US
budget trajectory – trade will simply be
shifted away from China to America’s
other trading partners. With this trade
diversion likely to migrate to higher-
cost platforms around the world,
American consumers will be hit with
the functional equivalent of a tax hike.
Ironically, Trump has summoned
the same Robert Lighthizer, veteran of
the Japan trade battles of the 1980s,
to lead the charge against China.
Unfortunately, Lighthizer seems as
warm glow of untested supply-side
economics – especially the theory that
tax cuts would be self-financing – the
Reagan administration failed to appreciate
the links between mounting budget
and trade deficits. Today, the seductive
power of low interest rates, coupled with
the latest strain of voodoo economics –
Modern Monetary Theory – is equally
alluring for the Trump administration and
a bipartisan consensus of China bashers
in the US Congress.
The tough macroeconomic
constraints facing a saving-short US
economy are ignored for good reason:
there is no US political constituency
for reducing trade deficits by cutting
budget deficits and thereby boosting
domestic saving. America wants to have
its cake and eat it, with a health-care
system that swallows 18% of its GDP,
defence spending that exceeds the
combined sum of the world’s next seven
largest military budgets, and tax cuts
that have reduced federal government
revenue to 16.5% of GDP, well below the
17.4% average of the past 50 years.
This remake of an old movie is
disconcerting, to say the least. Once
again, the US has found it far easier to
bash others – Japan then, China now –
than to live within its means. This time,
however, the movie might have a very
different ending. - Project Syndicate
 Stephen S Roach, a faculty member
at Yale University and former Chairman
of Morgan Stanley Asia, is the author
of Unbalanced: The Codependency of
America and China.

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Semi-trucks drive past shipping containers in the APM shipping terminal at the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California, US, in this May 7, 2019 file photo. China bash-
© 2019 Gulf Times. All rights reserved ing today is an outgrowth of America’s increasingly insidious macroeconomic imbalances.

Modern monetary inevitabilities
By Robert Dugger
Alexandria, Virginia
I
n a recent Project Syndicate
commentary, James K Galbraith of
the University of Texas at Austin
defends Modern Monetary Theory
and corrects some misunderstandings
about the relationships among MMT,
federal deficits, and central-bank
independence. But Galbraith does
not explore what is perhaps the most
important issue of all: the political
conditions needed to implement MMT
effectively.
MMT owes its newfound relevance
to the fact that deflation, rather than
inflation, is becoming central banks’
main concern. For a high-debt, high-
deficit economy like the United States,
deflation is an especially serious
threat, because it delays consumption
and increases debtor anxiety.
Consumers forego major purchases on
the assumption that future prices will
be lower. Homeowners with mortgages
cut back their spending when they see
home prices falling and the equity in
their homes declining. These cutbacks
worry the Federal Reserve, because
they add to deflationary pressures
and could trigger deeper spending
cuts, stock-market declines, and
widespread deleveraging.
The Fed’s inability so far to reach its
2% target for annual inflation suggests
that it lacks the means to overcome
persistent disinflationary forces in
the economy. These forces include
increased US market concentration,
which diminishes aggregate demand by
weakening employee bargaining power
and increasing income inequality;
population ageing; inadequate
investment in infrastructure
and climate-change abatement;
and technology-driven labour
displacement. Making matters worse,
US political gridlock assures continued
commitment to economically
Why the EU election was a win for Macron
By Zaki Laidi
Paris
T
hough the final vote tally
might seem to suggest
otherwise, the European
Parliament elections were a
strategic success for French President
Emmanuel Macron. There are four
reasons why this is so.
First, Macron succeeded in framing
the election as a contest between
progressives and populists. Though
he has been assailed at home in recent
months – including by some on his
own “side” – it is worth remembering
that this message did not emerge out
of thin air. Rather, it harks back to
Macron’s 2017 presidential campaign,
which itself tapped into a broader
political sea change taking place across
Europe. In that election, he overcame
the traditional right-left divide. Two
years later, this was replicated in the
European Parliament elections.
Historically, the Republicans on
the right and the Socialists on the
left have dominated French politics.
Yet these parties’ combined share
of the popular vote was under 15%,
whereas Macron’s La Republique en
Marche ! won 22.4%, and the far-right
National Rally (formerly the National
Front) picked up 23.3%. Behind these
figures is an unprecedented collapse
of the mainstream French right,
which has failed to reconcile identity
politics with traditional liberalism.
Though some French conservatives
have migrated to the National Rally,
much of the centre-right electorate
has gravitated toward Macron’s party,
Live issues
Women in cardiac arrest less likely than men to get help from bystanders
By Saumya Joseph
Reuters Health
W
omen who suffer cardiac
arrest outside of a hospital
are less likely to receive
help from bystanders and
have less chance of survival than men, a
recent Dutch study showed.
The results align with what a separate
study found in the United States last
year: men had an increased likelihood of
receiving bystander support and greater
chances of survival than women.
For the new study, conducted in a
province in The Netherlands, Dr Hanno
Tan at the University of Amsterdam and
colleagues looked at data on more than
5,700 people who had cardiac arrests in
the community. All were treated by the
local emergency medical services (EMS)
– but before EMS arrived on the scene,
only about 68% of women had received
resuscitation attempts by bystanders,
exhausted strategies such as tax
cuts for the rich, at the expense of
investment in education and other
sources of long-term growth. These
conditions cry out for significant
changes in US government spending
and tax policies.
MMT is seen as a way to accomplish
the needed changes. It holds that a
government can spend as much as it
wants if it borrows in its own currency
and its central bank can buy as much
of the government’s debt as necessary
– as long as doing so doesn’t generate
unacceptably high inflation. Both tax-
cut advocates and supporters of public
investment find little not to like.
MMT has been roundly criticised
by economists across the political
spectrum, from Kenneth Rogoff and
Lawrence H Summers of Harvard
University to Paul Krugman of the
City University of New York. All
contend that it is a political argument
masquerading as economic theory. But
Galbraith and Ray Dalio of Bridgewater
Associates see MMT differently. Dalio
argues that MMT is real and, more to
the point, it is an inevitable policy step
in historically recurring debt-cycle
downturns.
In his book Principles for Navigating
Big Debt Crises, Dalio documents
the steps that central banks have
historically taken when faced with
a booming economy that suddenly
crumples under the weight of debt.
The first step (Monetary Policy 1, or
MP1) is to cut overnight official rates
to stimulate credit and investment
expansion. The second (MP2) is to buy
government debt (quantitative easing)
to support asset prices and prevent
uncontrollable waves of deleveraging.
If MP1 and MP2 are insufficient to halt
a downturn, central banks take step
three (MMT, which Dalio calls MP3)
and proceed to finance the spending
priorities that political leaders deem
most essential. The priorities can range
from financing major national projects
owing to efforts by Prime Minister
Édouard Philippe (formerly of the
Republicans).
Moreover, most of those who
switched to La Republique en Marche
! are pensioners who did so despite
being hit hard by Macron’s tax
reforms (some of which have been
reversed). This suggests that Macron’s
progressive-versus-populist narrative
helped to re-mobilize France’s – and
perhaps Europe’s – pro-European
electorate. While the National Rally
performed well and Italy’s right-
wing League party made gains, they
failed to trigger the EU-wide political
earthquake that many had come to
expect.
The second reason the election
represents a victory for Macron is that
his party will now be able to claim
leadership over a pivotal centrist
parliamentary group of 110 members.
The relative losses suffered by the
European People’s Party (EPP) and
the Progressive Alliance of Socialists
and Democrats (S&D), combined with
the surge in support for the Greens,
means that the European Parliament
is entering a period of quadripartite
governance. Provided these groups
are able to compromise, the new
arrangement will probably be an
improvement on the old one, wherein
the EPP and S&D divvied up all of the
jobs. For the first time in the European
Parliament’s history, the number of
MEPs affiliated with the two main
parties represents only 44% of the
total.
A more fluid parliamentary
composition will allow for more ad
hoc majorities to emerge in support
compared to about 73% of men.
“This points to some commonality
here that is happening in multiple
countries. It would be very interesting
to see if that’s the same worldwide,”
Dr Lorrel Brown Toft of the University
of Louisville School of Medicine in
Kentucky, who was not involved in the
study, told Reuters Heath by phone.
Tan’s team found that despite EMS
attempts at resuscitation, only 12.5% of
women survived and were discharged
from the hospital, compared to about
20% of men.
Cardiac arrest involves the abrupt
loss of heart function, breathing and
consciousness. Chest compressions or
CPR administered by bystanders cannot
restore a normal heart rhythm, but it can
buy time until emergency responders
arrive, by maintaining blood flow to vital
organs.
Bystanders play a crucial role, as the
survival of a person in cardiac arrest
depends on how quickly witnesses
Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019 27
COMMENT
“excessive” if it cannot be repaid
because its proceeds were spent in
ways that did not increase national
wealth enough to do so. Debt resulting
from tax cuts that are spent on mega-
yachts would almost certainly be
excessive; debt incurred to improve
educational outcomes, maintain
essential infrastructure, or address
climate change would probably not be.
Accordingly, it will be easier to achieve
political unity if MP3 proceeds are
spent on priorities such as education,
infrastructure, or climate.
The political test for justifying
MP3-financed government spending,
is clear: Will future generations
judge that the borrowing was not
“excessive”? Most Americans born
well after WWII would say that the
debt incurred to win that war was
justified, as was the debt that financed
the construction of the Interstate
Highway System, which literally paved
the way for stronger growth.
As the 1930s and 1940s show, MP3
is a natural component of government
responses to major debt downturns
and the political crises they trigger.
We know much more about what
contributes to economic growth and
sustainability than we did in the first
The Fed’s inability so far to reach its 2% target for annual inflation suggests that it lacks the means to overcome persistent half of the twentieth century. To speed
disinflationary forces in the economy. recovery from the next downturn,
we need to identify now the types of
to “helicopter money” transfers mode. It not only set short- and long- doesn’t even account for the hidden spending that will contribute most
directly to consumers. term rates for Treasury bonds, but also debts associated with infrastructure to sustainable recovery and that in
Achieving political agreement on bought as much government debt as maintenance, rising sea levels, and hindsight will be viewed as most
what to finance and how is essential necessary to finance the war effort. unfunded pensions. For the reasons justified by future Americans. We need
for implementing MP3 effectively. In a MP3 was possible because the war Dalio lays out, a US debt crisis also to design the institutions that
financial meltdown or other national united the country politically and gave requiring some form of MP3 is all but will direct the spending. These are
emergency, political unity and prompt the Roosevelt administration near- inevitable. the keys to building the political unity
action are essential. Unity requires a authoritarian rule over the economy. The crucial question that any that MMT requires. To know what to
strong consensus on what should be The core weakness of MP3/ effort to achieve political unity must finance and how, future Americans
financed. Speed requires the existence MMT advocacy is the absence of answer is what constitutes justifiable can show us the way; we need only
of a trusted institution to direct the an explanation of how to achieve spending. Alexander Hamilton, put ourselves in their shoes. – Project
spending. political unity on what to finance and America’s first Secretary of the Syndicate
In the early 1940s, when the US how. This absence is inexcusable. Treasury, offered an answer in 1781:
entered World War II and winning Total US debt (as a share of GDP) is “A national debt,” he wrote, “if it is  Robert H Dugger is Managing
the war became the government’s approaching levels associated with not excessive will be to us a national Partner at Hanover Provident Capital,
top priority, the Fed entered full MP3 past financial meltdowns, and that blessing.” A government’s debt is LLC.
Three-day forecast
TODAY
Maximum Temperature : 420c
of various policy proposals, given that populist supporters, Macron will claim
Minimum Temperature : 320c
there is so much common ground it as a success.
between La Republique en Marche !, Finally, the election provides a FRIDAY
the S&D, and the Greens. And, as an check on German hegemony within Maximum Temperature : 410c
added bonus, the end of the EPP/S&D the EU more broadly. Germany’s Minimum Temperature : 300c
duopoly also marks the end of German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) SATURDAY
hegemony in the Parliament. has been weakened, and the country’s Maximum Temperature : 420c
Third, the Spitzenkandidaten Greens have grown stronger. For his Minimum Temperature : 310c
process – whereby the largest party part, Macron will find the Greens Fisherman's forecast
grouping selects the president of the much easier to work with on eurozone
European Commission – is likely to reform, especially if they end up
collapse, and this may also work to joining a new German coalition WARNING
Inshore : Nil
Macron’s advantage. The system is government.
a first-past-the-post mechanism in Taken together, these post-election Offshore : Nil
a proportionally elected Parliament, considerations paint a rather positive
Inshore : Hot daytime with slight
and has more to do with partisanship picture for Macron. The question dust at some places
than with democracy, because it gives now is whether he can use his and some clouds
automatic power to the largest group. strength at the EU level to shore up
Offshore : Fine to some clouds
But while the EPP won the his domestic position. This will not at times
most parliamentary seats, its happen automatically. With the fall
Spitzenkandidat, Manfred Weber, of the French right, there may be a WIND
Inshore : Northwesterly- North-
is very controversial. Just before the temptation to position La Republique easterly-05-15 KT
election, he was weakened by the en Marche ! as a new home for right-
political demise of Austrian Chancellor wing French voters. But while this Offshrore : Southwesterly-North-
westerly 03-13/18 KT
Sebastian Kurz, whose government was might capture Paris’s bourgeois 16th
brought down by the release of a video arrondissement, doing so would be a Visibility : 4-8 KM
in which his vice chancellor, Heinz- mistake. Instead, Macron should focus
on securing more of the atomised left, Offshore : 1-3/5 FT
Christian Strache of the Freedom Party,
appears to offer a quid pro quo for particularly those who have moved to Around the region
electoral help from Russia. the National Rally.
Weather Weather
But Merkel still defends Weber, and, As matters stand, La Republique
today Max/min tomorrow Max/min
apart from Macron and Dutch Prime en Marche !’s base remains limited
Baghdad Sunny 43/24 Sunny 43/26
Minister Mark Rutte, most EU leaders to the “winners” of globalisation.
Kuwait City Sunny 44/30 M Sunny 44/29
are reluctant to confront the European Rural, alienated, and economically
Manama Sunny 41/32 Sunny 40/31
Parliament on the Spitzenkandidaten vulnerable voters remain in the
Muscat Sunny 38/32 Sunny 38/32
issue. That may shorten the odds National Rally’s camp. To win them
Tehran P Cloudy 29/17 P Cloudy 26/17
for Margrethe Vestager – who is not over, Macron must reduce the
from the EPP, but who is, in a sense, polarisation between the two parties.
a liberal Spitzenkandidat – while – Project Syndicate
while lengthening them for Michel
Barnier, who is from the EPP but is Zaki Laidi is Professor of
not a Spitzenkandidat. If the Council International Relations and European
succeeds in ruling out Weber and his Affairs at Sciences Po.
Around the world
Weather Weather
provide CPR and notify emergency People may not realise that women today Max/min tomorrow Max/min
services of the event. can suffer cardiac arrests just like men, Athens Sunny 31/18 M Sunny 30/17
In the new study, however, even when Tan told Reuters Health by phone. Beirut Sunny 31/25 P Cloudy 29/23
emergency care was provided promptly, “For a lot of us, cardiac arrest mostly Bangkok S T Storms 33/27 Cloudy 34/27
women were only about half as likely occurs, not in hospital, but in public Berlin M Cloudy 23/14 M Cloudy 24/14
as men to have a “shockable rhythm,” spaces. The bystander needs to know Cairo M Sunny 41/22 P Cloudy 40/22
which is a heart rhythm that can that women can suffer cardiac arrests Cape Town Cloudy 18/12 M Sunny 18/12
potentially be reset with a defibrillator, just as much as men can,” said Tan. Colombo S T Storms 30/26 S T Storms 30/26
to restart the heart, the researchers There are many reasons why women Dhaka S T Storms 34/27 S T Storms 34/26
wrote in the European Heart Journal. may receive less bystander support than Hong Kong S Showers 25/23 T Storm 27/24
This difference, the authors say, may men. Women tend to outlive men and Istanbul Sunny 27/18 Sunny 28/18
point to underlying biologic factors that are more likely to be widowed or live Jakarta S T Storms 33/25 M Cloudy 33/26
cause the shockable rhythm to dissipate alone, raising their chances of having Karachi Sunny 35/28 Sunny 36/28
into a flat line more quickly in women cardiac events when no one is around. London Cloudy 23/13 Cloudy 23/12
than in men. Bystanders may also have inhibitions Manila S T Storms 35/27 S T Storms 35/27
They found, for example, that women about performing chest compressions Moscow S Showers 27/16 Showers 24/13
with cardiac arrest were more likely to on a woman. New Delhi Sunny 44/29 M Sunny 45/30
be suffering from conditions associated Toft notes that even during simulated New York S T Storms 23/18 Sunny 26/17
with a lower shockable rhythm, such as CPR training sessions, female victims Paris Cloudy 21/13 M Cloudy 25/14
stroke or type 2 diabetes. are less likely to receive help than men. Sao Paulo M Cloudy 28/21 Cloudy 28/18
On the other hand, the differences “We need to realise that there are some Seoul Cloudy 26/13 P Cloudy 24/13
observed in the study could also be barriers specific to women and if we can Singapore T Storm 31/26 T Storm 31/27
due to a longer delay before bystanders overcome those barriers and improve our Sydney Sunny 16/08 M Sunny 19/11
recognise that a woman is in cardiac training, we might help women more by Tokyo Clear 27/17 Clear 26/20
arrest. standard CPR,” she added.
28 Gulf Times
Thursday, May 30, 2019
QATAR
Amir holds talks with Iraqi PM
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Prime Minister of Iraq Adil Abdul Mahdi held an official talks session at the Amiri Diwan yesterday. The talks reviewed bilateral relations and the means to enhance them, particularly
in economy, commerce, energy, culture, education, and scientific research. The two sides also discussed the latest regional and international developments. The Iraqi PM and his accompanying delegation were seen off upon departure at Hamad
International Airport by HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, ambassador of Qatar to Iraq Khalid bin Hamad al-Sulaiti and ambassador of Iraq to Qatar Omar Ahmed al-Barazanchi.
Al Meera opens ‘MAAR’ stores at
Msheireb, DECC metro stations
Commuters can get
ready-to-eat food and
drinks with ease
By Joey Aguilar
Staff Reporter
A
l Meera Consumer Goods
Company (QSC) opened
its ‘MAAR’ convenient
stores at Doha Metro Red Line
South’s Msheireb and Doha Ex-
hibition and Convention Centre
(DECC) stations yesterday.
A sub-brand of Al Meera,
‘MAAR’ which literally translates
‘to the act of passing by’, forms
part of the company’s ambitious
expansion strategy aimed at pro-
viding exceptional services to
consumers, particularly metro
passengers, in Qatar.
“The opening of our conven-
ient stores at DECC and Msheir-
eb stations marks an important
milestone towards strengthening
partnership between Al Meera
and Qatar Rail.
‘MAAR’ aims to bring metro
commuters the ease and conven-
ience of quick purchases to save
them time and meet their needs,
while on the go,” Al Meera’s dep-
Iftar boxes distributed to 3,000 HIA staffers
T
o mark the holy month
of Ramadan, Qatar Air-
ways and Qatar Aviation
Services (QAS) distributed Iftar
boxes to approximately 3,000
employees working airside and
landside at Hamad International
Airport (HIA) on May 22, in an
effort to support and recognise
them during the fasting period.
Qatar Aviation Services sen-
ior vice president, Mehmet Mu-
rat Nursel, and his management
team were present onsite to help
distribute the meals and spend
time with staff members.
Qatar Airways senior vice
Senior Al Meera and Qatar Rail officials led the opening of ‘MAAR’ store at the Msheireb metro station
yesterday. PICTURES: Jayan Orma
uty CEO Salah al-Hammadi said
in a press statement.
“As the demand for conven-
ient retail experiences increases,
and the number of residents and
communities in Qatar continues
to grow, we always look for new
ways to adapt our offering,” he
added. “In line with this, part-
president Human Resources,
Nabila Fakhri, said: “The spirit
of Ramadan encourages giving to
others, and these Iftar boxes will
help our employees who are still
working during the Iftar hour
to break their fast and sustain
themselves until they are able to
have Iftar with their families and
friends.
Acknowledging that their
work is hugely appreciated is an
important part of our celebra-
tion of this holy month, and we
are delighted to be able to dis-
tribute these meals to our hard-
working team members.”
nering with Qatar Rail allows us
to reach a new shopper segment
through our neighbouring con-
venience store concept and bring
our unique offering and great
moments to an even wider cus-
tomer base.”
Metro passengers can easily
buy food and non-food items –
Murat Nursel, said: “We want
to recognise the contribution of
all our staff, with special recog-
nition of those who work out-
doors during this holy month.
All employees were invited to
receive the Iftar boxes and spend
time with our senior manage-
ment, as a demonstration of
thanks for the important work
that they do.”
A multiple-award-winning
airline, Qatar Airways was
named ‘World’s Best Business
Class’ by the 2018 World Airline
Awards, managed by interna-
tional air transport rating or-
from doughnuts, croissants, bis-
cuits, sandwiches, coffee, tea and
other drinks to a variety of ready-
to-eat snacks, as well as mobile
phone accessories, among others
– at ‘MAAR’ stores as they head
to various locations. Commuters
can also buy Doha Metro travel
cards at Al Meera branches. It is
ganisation Skytrax. It was also
named ‘Best Business Class Seat’,
‘Best Airline in the Middle East’,
and ‘World’s Best First Class
Airline Lounge’.
Qatar Airways currently op-
erates a modern fleet of more
than 250 aircraft via its hub, HIA
to more than 160 destinations
worldwide.
The airline will add a number
of new destinations to its exten-
sive route network in 2019, in-
cluding Rabat, Morocco; Malta;
Davao, Philippines; Lisbon, Por-
tugal; Mogadishu, Somalia and
Langkawi, Malaysia.
Senior Al Meera and Qatar Rail officials touring the ‘MAAR’ store at Msheireb metro station.
learnt that the company plans
to open around 10 to 15 ‘MAAR’
stores at metro stations: six at
the Red Line, four at the Green
Line; and about four or five at the
Gold Line.
According to Al Meera,
‘MAAR’ stores will offer a diverse
range of high-quality products
and essential goods at competi-
tive prices, giving the commuting
Iftar boxes being distributed by Qatar Airways and Qatar Aviation Services.
Qatar, Iraq sign pacts
From Page 1
They also witnessed the signing of the third executive
programme for a memorandum of understanding
for cultural and scientific co-operation between the
two governments in education for academic years
2019/2020, 2020/2021 and 2021/2022.
The talks and the signing ceremony were attended by
HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh
Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, in addition to a
number of ministers.
On the Iraqi side, the talks were attended by members of
the official delegation accompanying the prime minister.
His Highness the Amir hosted an Iftar banquet in honour
of the Iraqi prime minister and the accompanying
delegation. The banquet was attended by HE Sheikh
Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani and a number
of ministers. Earlier upon his arrival at the Amiri Diwan,
Mahdi was accorded an official reception.
The Iraqi prime minister left Doha yesterday evening,
after his official visit to Qatar. He was seen off at Hamad
International Airport by HE the Prime Minister and Interior
Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani,
Qatar’s ambassador to Iraq Khalid bin Hamad al-Sulaiti and
Iraqi ambassador to Qatar Omar Ahmed al-Barazanchi.
public a “new level of conven- partnership,” said Qatar Rail’s
ience for on-the-go shopping.” strategies and business develop-
“We are pleased to see Al Meera ment chief Ajlan Eid al-Enazi.
opening its mini market at the Echoing al-Hammadi’s state-
metro stations as it is significant ment, he stressed that ‘MAAR’
step in the integration of Qatar will help daily commuters to
Rail’s services. We look forward meet not just their daily needs,
to continuing the enhancement but their hourly needs too. Met-
of the travel experience of pub- ro users can stop by for a quick
lic transport users across our snack, emergency goods and
network through this pioneering much more, on the go”.