QNA — DOHA

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani mourned yesterday the death of H M Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimur of the Sultanate of Oman, who passed away on Friday evening.

H H the Amir stressed, in a statement by the Amiri Diwan, that H M Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimur was a great leader characterised by wisdom, mod-eration, and long-term vision.

H H the Amir added that the late Sultan dedicated his life to serve his country and his Ummah, calling for dialogue and for rejecting violence and extremism.

The statement said that the news of H M Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimur’s passing was received with hearts filled with faith in Allah and his Provi-dence, and with great sorrow and deep sadness. The statement added that the loss was of a great leader who was wise, moderate, and long-term oriented, who dedicated his life to serve his country and his Ummah, calling for dialogue and for rejecting violence and extremism. The statement also said that Oman saw a compre-hensive renaissance in all fields during the Sultan’s rule.

H H the Amir prayed to the Almighty Allah to recompense His Majesty Sultan Qaboos fully for his good deeds, to have mercy on his soul and to rest it in peace in paradise along with martyrs and the faithful, and prayed that Allah helps the royal family, the Omani people, and the Arab and Islamic nations with patience and solace on His Majesty’s loss.

“Indeed, to God we belong and to God we shall return,” the statement said.

H H the Amir also ordered the announcement of three days

of mourning in the state.Later, Amir H H Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani; Deputy Amir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani sent cables of condolences to H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of the Sultanate of Oman on the death of H M Sultan Qaboos, praying to the Almighty Allah to have mercy on his soul and to rest it in peace in par-adise, and to inspire the royal family and the Omani people with patience and solace.

H E the Prime Minister and Interior Minister also expressed his condolences on social media.

“Our condolences to our brothers in the Sultanate of Oman on the demise of Sultan Qaboos bin Said, may Allah forgive him. We pray to Allah, the Exalted, the Majestic, to

bless him with the mercy, to dwell him in His spacious par-adise, and to give patience and solace to his relatives, Omani people, and the Arab and Islamic nations. We belong to Allah and to Him we will return,” said H E the Prime Min-ister and Interior Minister in a tweet yesterday.

The Speaker of the Shura Council, H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud, also sent a cable of condolences to Chairman of Oman Council of State, H E Yahya bin Mah-foudh Al Mantheri, and to Chairman of Oman Shura Council, H E Khalid bin Hilal bin Nasser Al Maawali, on the death of H M Sultan Qaboos, praying to the Almighty Allah to have mercy on his soul and to rest it in peace in paradise, and to inspire the royal family and the Omani people with patience and solace.

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This is a sad day for all the Gulf people, as for the brothers in Oman. With great sorrow, we received in Qatar the news of the departure of Sultan Qaboos to the mercy of Allah The Almighty, leaving behind a rising country and a great legacy that everyone cherishes. It is a great loss for the Arab and Islamic nations. We offer condolences to the brotherly Omani people and we pray to Allah for His Majesty the Supreme Paradise.

Amir mourns H M Sultan QaboosQatar announces three days of mourning

QNA — MUSCAT

H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq bin Taimur Al Said was announced as the new Sultan of Oman, in succession to the late H M Sultan Qaboos bin

Said. Delivering a televised speech during his inaugu-ration ceremony yesterday, H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq said Oman will continue the legacy left behind by the late leader H M Sultan Qaboos, heading further towards progress and development.

H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq affirmed that the late H M Sultan Qaboos, had laid strong foundations for the development of Oman since ruling in 1970. He reaffirmed that Omanis would continue on the legacy left behind by the late H M Sultan Qaboos, adding that the Armed Forces, security apparatus, and other state entities will continue to maintain and preserve the Sultanate’s achievements.

The foreign policy of Oman will remain true to the vision

set by the late H M Sultan Qaboos in bolstering cooper-ation with brothers in the GCC and the Arab world without interfering in the affairs of others. Peace and coexistence will remain as cornerstones of

Oman’s relation with the world, he noted.

Earlier, Oman’s Diwan of Royal Court announced the death of H M Sultan Qaboos on Friday evening. The Diwan declared a three-day period of national mourning for the public and private sectors.

The Defence Council in Oman called upon the Royal Family Council to convene in order to determine who shall assume power. Oman News Agency reported that the Defence Council said that it received a reply from the Royal Family, in which they said that out of gratitude and appreciation to H M Sultan Qaboos, they appointed the person the late Sultan chose in his will, announcing H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq bin Taimur Al Said as the Sultan of Oman.

‘Oman to continue path laid by Sultan Qaboos’

H M Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimur H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq bin Taimur Al Said

Qatar–France 2020 Year of Culture beginsRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

Two distinct cultures shared one stage in a grand musical celebration serving as an ideal way to mark the beginning of the Qatar-France 2020 Year of Culture set to be an exciting 12 months filled with festivals, art exhibitions and performances.

Featuring French and Qatari compositions, the concert was presented by Qatar Museums on Friday at the Opera House of Katara Cultural Village- a distinguished cultural hub.

Under the baton of renowned French conductor Marc Piollet, the Qatar Philhar-monic Orchestra (QPO) per-formed with young award-winning French pianist Lise de la Salle to the delight of a capacity audience which included H E Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari, Minister of State, H E Franck Gellet, Ambassador of France to Qatar, Ahmad Al Namla, CEO of Qatar Museums and other VIPs.

The concert opened with QPO’s performance of Doha Secrets Symphony by Qatari composer Haamed Hussein Naama who was present at the event. The Doha Secrets

Symphony symbolises H H Father Amir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani’s vision for the State of Qatar from its birth to its present place in the world.

With Lise de la Salle on the piano, QPO played Camille Saint-Saëns’ Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22 – known as one of his

most popular piano concertos – and Hector Berlioz’ Sym-phony Fantastique, Op. 14 – an iconic programme symphony which tells the story of an art-ist’s love for a beautiful woman.

In his speech before the concert, the State Minister underlined the big impact the Year of Culture initiative among

partner countries while high-lighting the strong relationship between Qatar and France.

“Since the programme was established in 2012, it was clear to us, that the French Republic – with its distinctive cultural position on the world’s map and the heritage of its civilization – would be an ideal partner nation. As we officially launch this edition, we are confident that it will be both successful and distinctive,” he said.

Gellet shared the same view saying, “2020 is an exceptional opportunity to celebrate the strength, depth and dynamism of the relationship of friendship and partnership that unite our two countries through culture and art which are the common language amongst communities and societies of the world. “For Qataris, it will be an opportunity to better understand our dynamism of creativity and our cultural institutions, and, for the French, to explore Qatar’s culture, history and ambitions.”

With regard to the events and activities for the Year, Gellet said focus will be on visual art, cinema, music, and culinary art as well as scientific, academic and university coop-eration. �P2

H E Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari, Minister of State, speaks before the concert celebrating the opening of Qatar-France 2020 Year of Culture at Katara Opera House on Friday.

Al Nuaimi: Justice Ministry making efforts to speed up adjudication processSANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

Minister of Justice and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs H E Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi has said that the Ministry is working to increase number of judges and members of the Public Prose-cution, expanding the estab-lishment of specialised courts, and opening new benches of the courts to further speed up adjudication process.

Speaking at First Lawyers Forum organised by the Qatari Bar Association yes-terday at Sheraton Hotel, H E the Minister stressed con-tinued efforts by the Ministry of Justice in the light of its business strategy to convert all its services into electronic services, which will positively reflect on achieving speedy justice.

H E the Minister com-mended the efforts of the Supreme Judiciary Council, the Public Prosecution, and the efforts of the Ministry of Interior, and other existing

bodies through the introduction of modern technology in law enforcement and the pro-motion of speedy adjudication in civil, administrative, and criminal cases to ensure a com-plete justice.

H E Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi said that Qatar, under the wise lead-ership, is sparing no effort to provide the necessary envi-ronment to achieve complete justice by updating the legis-lation in force, and enact new laws to facilitate litigation procedures and enforcement of judgments to achieve justice in all its dimensions in all areas.

H E the Minister said that the State is keen to support the institutions concerned with achieving justice, foremost of which is the national judiciary, by maintaining its inde-pendence as a guarantee of justice for all.

The Minister praised theme of the Forum, ‘Achieving Com-plete Justice’, which constitutes important indications of its challenges. �P2

Amir, Putin hold phone talks, discuss regionaldevelopmentsQNA — DOHA

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held a tele-phone conversation yesterday with H E President Vladimir Putin of the friendly Russian Federation.

During the phone call, they discussed a number of regional and international issues of common concern, especially the latest developments in the region, including Libya, and ways to calm down and reduce tension in order to establish security and regional and international peace.

The close relations between the two friendly countries and means to boost them were also reviewed during the phone conversation.

Iran says its military ‘unintentionally’ shot down Ukraine plane

QNA — TEHRAN

Iran said its military “uninten-tionally” shot down the Ukrainian commercial jet near Tehran that crashed and killed everyone on board, in a statement cited by Iranian state television yesterday.

Tehran cited “human error” as the cause and said Iran’s armed forces regretted that it had led to the deaths of those on board the plane.

All 176 people on board the Ukrainian International Air-lines (UIA) Boeing 737 airliner died when it crashed in a field shortly after take-off on Wednesday morning.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani confirmed that an initial investigation concluded that “regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash”. He tweeted yesterday that “Investigations continue to identify and pros-ecute this great tragedy and unforgivable mistake.”

02 SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020HOME

QPEM discusses best ways to treat children

FAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

The best methods to treat acutely injured or unwell children are being discussed by more than 600 professionals from across the globe over three days in Doha.

The 4th Qatar Pediatric Emergency Medicine Con-ference (QPEM) 2020 explores numerous pathways that are aimed at helping the medical fraternity across the world deliver comprehensive care in their respective communities.

The conference is being hosted by the Department of Emergency Medicine at Sidra Medicine and Hamad Medical Corporation. Key topics include resuscitation care, trauma man-agement and evidence for best practice, quality and patient safety, sepsis care, toxicology, neonatal emergencies as well as fluid management in

paediatrics. “The conference focuses on all areas of paedi-atric care including medicine, trauma and surgical. Partici-pants at the conference have the chance to enhance their knowledge on a variety of key points such as the recognition and management of common, yet potentially serious condi-tions in patients,” Dr. Mohammed Alamri (pictured), Director, Pediatric Emergency Centers, HMC, told The Peninsula.

The inter-professional con-ference has gathered physi-cians, nurses, paramedics and emergency medical technicians, allied health practitioners and pharmacists and they will hear from 40 local and international speakers.

Delegates can also attend separate sessions related to the latest research studies and patient experience within an emergency department setting.

“We are discussing updated information and research on important diseases of children. Each year, we discuss different

aspects of paediatric emer-gency. The conference presents best evidence for the investi-gation and management of common and critical pediatric medical and traumatic emer-gencies,” said Dr. Khalid Al Yafei, Senior Attending Phy-sician, Emergency Medicine at Sidra Medicine. He presented a lecture on neonatal emergency care and how babies might present uncommon diseases or problem.

In Qatar, children between the age of 0 and 18 are seen at Sidra Medicine. The paediatric emergency centres at HMC receive children with medical emergencies between the age of 0-14 years, but those with trauma and surgical emer-gencies are assessed, stabilized

and transferred to Sidra Medicine.

Dr. Barbara Blackie, Edu-cation Lead and Emergency Physician at Sidra Medicine and Co-Chair of QPEM scientific committee, said, “The goal of the conference is to share the research and methods of caring acutely injured or unwell children. Our focus is not only on hospitals like HMC and Sidra Medicine but also on approaching staff from smaller clinics in the country, in order enhance their skill on how to manage and send such cases to bigger hospitals.”

Speakers at QPEM 2020 include from countries such as the US, the UK, Oman, and Kuwait. Dr. Sami Alfarsi, a con-sultant on paediatric emergency

from Oman, in his presentation highlighted on severe sepsis, recovery and treatment. “Con-ferences such as QPEM are important as they give the opportunity to learn the updated practices in paediatric emergency care and allow to connect with experts from across the world,” said Dr. Alfarsi, who is attending QPEM for the third consecutive year.

QPEM 2020 being held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Doha commenced on Friday and will conclude today. QPEM 2020 is an Accredited Group Learning Activity (Category 1) as defined by the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners- Accreditation Department and is approved for a maximum of 20 hours.

More than 600 professionals from across the world attend the 4th Qatar Pediatric Emergency Medicine Conference (QPEM) 2020 at Grand Hyatt, yesterday. PIC: ABDUL BASIT/THE PENINSULA

Justice Minister visits pavilion at Book FairQNA — DOHA

The Minister of Justice and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, H E Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi, visited yesterday the Ministry’s pavilion at the 30th Doha Inter-national Book Fair.

H E the Minister viewed the legal publications provided by the Ministry of Justice’s pavilion. His Excellency also toured a number of pavilions

participating in the exhibition.H E the Minister praised the

efforts of the Fair organisers, and the role of the Ministry of Culture and Sports in organising this event, which reflects the civilized face of the State, stressing that Qatar today takes its rightful place among civi-lized countries thanks to the care and attention that the wise leadership gives to knowledge and culture. His Excellency noted that the Ministry of

Justice was keen to participate in this Fair to bring its legal services closer to the public, inform citizens of the latest legal services and legislation that interest them in various areas of their activities and daily transactions, and provide presentations and explanations that enhance communication with various groups of the public, especially legal groups or dealers with the Ministry and its affiliated sectors.

The Minister of Justice and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, H E Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi, during a visit at the Ministry’s pavilion at the 30th Doha International Book Fair, yesterday.

HMC’s Ambulance Service responds to 571 calls in Sealine area during camping seasonTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Since the start of the current camping season, Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Ambulance Service has responded to 571 calls from the Sealine area.

“As part of their regular duties, Ambulance teams respond to reported emer-gencies throughout the country 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing world-class medical care for people in the unfortunate event of a serious, potentially life-threatening incident. HMC’s Ambulance Service coverage in the Sealine area allows us to quickly respond to all emergency calls from campers near the Sealine resort and surrounding areas,” said Abdulaziz Al Yafei,

Assistant Executive Director of the Ambulance Service.

“We have increased our presence in this area during the weekends and now have 11 ambulances at the ready. There are also two helicopters available to respond

to incidents in places that ambulances can’t reach, which is especially important in cases of severe injuries, and other incidents where individuals require urgent medical care and transfer to the Emergency Department at Hamad General or Al Wakra Hospital,” added Al Yafei.

He said that between November 1, 2019 and January 4, 2020, a total of 571 calls from 999 were received at the National Command Center requesting an ambulance to the Sealine area. He said of these calls, 280 patients complained of general sickness, 142 patients were treated for injuries sus-tained as a result of car and motorcycle accidents, and 149 cases involved general com-plaints of injury not associated

with car or motorcycle accidents.

Al Yafei said the Ambulance Service’s fleet is prepared to respond to all emergency calls

from campers near the Sealine resort and surrounding areas during the camping season. He said the new 4x4 ambulances have been modified to cope

with the special terrain in the Sealine and surrounding areas, providing them with great flex-ibility and the ability reach patients quickly and safely.

An injured person is being taken care of by HMC's Ambulance Service team at Sealine area.

The 4th Qatar Pediatric Emergency Medicine Conference (QPEM) 2020 explores numerous pathways that are aimed at helping the medical fraternity across the world deliver comprehensive care in their respective communities.

Qatari composer Haamed Hussein Naama with renowned French conductor, Marc Piollet, acknowledges the audience’s ovation after the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra’s brilliant performance of his composition, Doha Secrets Symphony, on Friday at Katara Opera House.

FROM PAGE 1

Aisha Ghanem Al Attiya, Head of Year of Culture at QM, expressed excitement over the launch of the ninth edition of the programme.

“Qatar-France 2020 will include a series of exhibitions, festivals and events which will be held in both nations over the next twelve months. We hope

that the initiative will help to strengthen the already well-established ties which Qatar and France share, and create platforms where ideas, thoughts and appreciation can be exchanged in a spirit of openness and collaboration.”

Among the rich lineup of events are exhibitions of works of Pablo Picasso at Fire Station

Garage Gallery, Yto Barrada at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, and artists from Qatar and the region at the Palais de Tokyo; screenings of works from the Doha Film Institute at the Cannes Interna-tional Film Festival; and pres-entation of Qatar Culture Week at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris.

The Minister of Justice and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, H E Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi, said that the Ministry has developed the service of documentation, certification and proof of history of contracts and documents of all kinds, which contributes to facilitating litigation proce-dures to ensure the rights of the people. The Minister said that Qatar ranked first in the world in the classification of the ease of real estate property registration proce-dures issued by the World Bank for the year 2020.

The Minister also praised the role of lawyers in achieving the goals of noble profession in defending rights and consolidating the prin-ciple of the rule of law, which is confirmed by item (14) of the basic principles on the role of lawyers adopted by the United Nations Con-ference to prevent crime and the treatment of criminals in September 1990 in Havana.

At the end of his speech, H E the Minister expressed his hope that this forum would come out with prac-tical recommendations that achieve the desired goals, wishing those in charge of it success.

Qatar–France 2020 Year of Culture opens with French classics

Al Yafei said the Ambulance Service’s fleet is prepared to respond to all emergency calls from campers near the Sealine resort and surrounding areas during the camping season.

Al Nuaimi: Justice Ministry making efforts to speed up adjudication process

FAJR SUNRISE 05.01 am 06.21 am

W A L R U WA I S : 12o↗ 19o W A L K H O R : 13o↗ 19o W D U K H A N : 14o↗ 19o W D O H A : 14o↗ 20o W M E S A I E E D 12o↗ 20o W A B U S A M R A 12o↗ 19o

PRAYER TIMINGS WEATHER TODAY

HIGH TIDE 05:51 – 16:38 LOW TIDE 13:29 – 00:00

Strong wind and high sea / Thundery rain at north areas at first.

Minimum Maximum14oC 20oC

ZUHRMAGHRIB

11.42 am05.05 pm

ASR ISHA

02.43 pm06.35 pm

03SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020 HOME

ExxonMobil Foundation donates QR1.8m to support EAA project in AngolaTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

ExxonMobil Foundation has contributed QR1.8m to a school construction project overseen by Education Above All Foundation (EAA) for the second year running.

T h e c o n t r i b u t i o n announcement was made during the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2020 award ceremony on January 11.

Saleh Al Mana, Vice-Pres-ident and Director of Gov-ernment and Public Affairs, ExxonMobil Qatar, presented a ceremonial donation check to Ousman Camara and Noof Al Jafairi, EAA Youth Advisory Board members during the tournament’s closing session yesterday.

They were joined by Nasser Bin Ghanim Al Khelaifi, President, Qatar Tennis Fed-eration, and Alistair Routledge, President and General Manager, ExxonMobil Qatar.

The donation is ExxonMo-bil’s third to the project, with a total of $2m having been contributed since 2018. To date, the foundation’s part-nership with EAA has helped launch the initiative in Angola, and is supporting the con-struction of 25 new primary

schools in the country in col-laborat ion with Rise International.

The project is part of the Educate A Child (EAC) pro-gramme, which operates under the EAA umbrella to provide out of school children faced with barriers to edu-cation including poverty, cul-tural barriers, and conflict-affected environments an opportunity for a full course of quality primary education.

“Like Education Above All, at ExxonMobil Qatar we’re strong believers in the power of education to transform lives. Our partnership with the organization has been so suc-cessful, and we’re pleased to continue to support its critical mission of providing quality early education to children around the world so they can improve their quality of life and fulfil their aspirations for a better future,” said Saleh Al

Mana. “In Qatar, the National Vision 2030 remains a key driver of our work, and as such, education is a main com-ponent of our outreach pro-grams, particularly science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) edu-cation. We’re especially

committed to providing high quality support to science and math educators through our local partners, ensuring young people receive the best pos-sible STEM education. Every country needs leaders who are equipped with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to

build a better and more sus-tainable future, and we’re helping to nurture this next generation of leaders,” he added.

Fahad Al Sulaiti, Chief Executive Officer, EAA said, “Sport, as we have seen here today at the tournament, and

education carry the inherent ability to empower indi-viduals. Each can provide opportunities to develop per-sonality and build self-esteem, and provide a pathway to a prosperous life. We thank Exx-onMobil Foundation for their support and dedicate this gesture to all the children who will enjoy social mobility as a result of this donation.”

Mary Joy Pigozzi, Executive Director, Educate A Child said, “ExxonMobil Foundation’s generous contribution will help to reduce the numbers of children in selected countries who are currently missing out on their right to a quality primary education in some of the world’s most marginalised communities. On behalf of each of these children, we extend our thanks to Exxon-Mobil for enabling them to fulfil their right to education.” ExxonMobil alongside EAC and its partner, Unicef are cur-rently working together in Nigeria to enrol more than 500,000 out-of-school children and in Angola with partner, RISE International where 24,000 primary school-children will be given access to education through the con-struction of new schools.

ExxonMobil Foundation has contributed QR1.8m to a school construction project overseen by the Education Above All Foundation for the second year running.

Morocco’s Anouar, Kenya’s Sheila win top honour in Ooredoo Doha MarathonTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Heavy rain failed to dampen enthusiasm for the 2020 Ooredoo Doha Marathon, which Qatar’s leading tele-communications company declared a huge success with a record-breaking 5,000 plus runners making the event the biggest since its inauguration in 2013.

The marathon, a much-anticipated fixture on Doha’s sporting calendar, was held at Museum of Islamic Art Park starting at 6.30am on Friday. The cream of the world’s greatest elite athletes signed up to race 42.2km through the streets of Doha, with profes-sional runners taking their places alongside citizens and residents running in both the full marathon and the shorter distances. A half-marathon, a 10k race and courses for children and families ensured the event was open to eve-ryone, and running through puddles only added to the fun for many of the participants.

Runners from more than 80 countries took part, with the youngest runner aged just 5 years and the oldest an impressive 77 years old.

In the Men’s Full Marathon Open category, Morocco’s Anouar El Ghouz scooped top spot with a time of (2:17:10 hours), while Sheila Chesang, from Kenya, won the Women’s

Full Marathon Open category with a time of (2:40:33) hours. The Full Marathon Master cat-egory was won by Erik Svoboda of Czech Republic and Marie Helene Duvoid of France, while the Half Marathon Open winners were Kenya’s Kibet Alex with a time of (1:06:35 hours), and Andrea Stadler of Ecuador with a time of (1:35:53 hours), and Half Marathon Master winners were Croatian Janez Maroevic and Briton Rachel Knight. 10k Open winners were Said Omar from Somalia and Zineb Karam of Morocco, and 10k Master winners were Qatari Mohamed Al Mulla and Joanne Trow-bridge of the United Kingdom.

Muktar Husen and Nada Al Banna won the 5k Adult races, with Abdelaziz Abdelrahman Suliman and Anna Sanchez Ristol winning the 5k Juniors. The 3k Fun Run was won by Millar Bathgate and Gabriella Franklin, and the 1k Fun Run by Taha Yassine Bhara and Sophia Warren.

Scores of Doha residents lined the streets to witness some incredible performances from the world’s top marathon professionals and to cheer on all runners. Aside from watching the running, the event included several activ-ities for all the family to enjoy in MIA Park, and there was an electric atmosphere both around the race course and in the park.

A post-race celebration, attended by senior Ooredoo representatives, was held at Ooredoo Tower in West Bay to present winners with their prizes and thank the many valuable sponsors. In line with Ooredoo’s corporate social responsibility strategy and its commitment to supporting the communities in which it operates, all funds generated from the Ooredoo Doha Mar-athon each year go directly to a chosen charitable organi-sation. Qatar Cancer Society will be the recipient of this year’s cheque.

Speaking about the event, Ooredoo CEO, Waleed Al Sayed, said: “We’re immensely proud to note this year’s mar-athon was the biggest ever, with participant numbers breaking the already impressive record set in 2018. Judging by the crowds and the incredible atmosphere, we’re confident both runners and spectators enjoyed an amazing

event despite the weather! We extend our congratulations to the marathon winners, but also to each and every partic-ipant who signed up and raced. We welcomed runners from all sectors of the com-munity, including the differ-ently abled, underlining our commitment to making Doha, Qatar and our many events accessible to all.”

Waleed Al Sayed high-lighted the importance of the event as part of Ooredoo’s cor-porate social responsibility strategy, which aligns with the United Nations sustainability goals and Qatar National Vision 2030, and expressed his gratitude to those involved in

organising the event. “Sup-porting sporting events that promote a healthy, active life-style is a key commitment for Ooredoo, and – especially with our slogan being ‘Empowering you to win’ – it was encouraging to see so many people embracing sport and fitness and joining in. I’d like to offer our sincere grat-itude to the stellar line-up of sponsors on board this year, and to the many volunteers, without whose support the event could not happen,” he said.

The annual Ooredoo Doha Marathon, first held in 2013, was designed to encourage Qatari citizens and residents

to embrace an active lifestyle and has grown into a much-anticipated event for experi-enced marathon runners, fitness enthusiasts and novices alike. It is now one of the most popular events on Qatar’s sporting calendar, attracting the cream of the international marathon crop, and is an exciting opportunity for Qatar-based runners to compete against international mar-athon professionals. The mar-athon marks the start of a packed schedule of sporting events throughout the year, as Ooredoo continues to support Qatar’s drive to promote health and fitness amongst its citizens and residents.

Participants during the Ooredoo Doha Marathon.

Draft laws soon to expedite litigation proceduresSANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

The Chairman of the Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) and the President of the Court of Cassation, H E Dr. Hassan Lahdan Al Mohannadi, has said that there are some draft laws which would be issued soon to expedite the litigation proce-dures, including in particular Trade Court Law and the Medi-ation Law in Civil and Commercial Disputes.

Speaking to the media persons on the sidelines the opening ceremony of the First Lawyers Forum organised by the Qatari Bar Association, yes-terday, at Sheraton Hotel, H E Dr. Hassan Lahdan Al Mohannadi said that the draft laws will include innovative provisions and flexible proce-dures that meet the require-ments of trade and investment in the country.

Al Mohannadi said the SJC had taken many measures within the framework of the supreme directives of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to achieve complete justice and develop judicial systems in line with develop-

ments at national and interna-tional levels.

His Excellency said that SJC has been working very hard in the recent period to develop the judicial system in line with the developments taking place in the State of Qatar in various fields and to achieve the Qatar National Vision 2030.

Al Mohannadi added that the SJC had set an integrated and comprehensive plan to develop the judicial system and

achieve complete justice, based on several axes that start from a realistic diagnosis of the problems and challenges faced by justice systems.

He pointed out that the SJC, in its efforts to achieve complete justice, had developed elec-tronic linking with many bodies and institutions within the

framework of developing the justice system to achieve the necessary speed in imple-menting judicial rulings.

Al Mohannadi said that the SJC launched the Implemen-tation Management within the framework of Law No. (3) of 2019 amending some provisions of the Civil and Commercial

Procedures Law. He said that the SJC launched several initi-atives to serve the litigants, such as launching the expenses fund, as well as cooperating with the Charity Authority to pay and settle the implementation of the rulings issued in small financial claims. Rashid Nasser Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Board

of Directors of the Qatari Lawyers Association, empha-sised that the association seeks to achieve complete justice in Qatar in cooperation with the institutions in the State and the relevant authorities.

He added that Qatar is moving forward towards achieving complete justice through the development of the legal profession and judicial facilities and many areas that achieve complete justice, noting that the forum discusses many topics, including the achievement of complete justice, challenges and solutions and challenges of the profession and the role of lawyers’ associ-ations in achieving complete justice.

The First Lawyers Forum discussed yesterday the role of the judiciary in achieving com-plete justice, modern visions of litigation procedures in achieving complete justice, the role of the expert in achieving complete justice, and the role of the lawyer in achieving com-plete justice. The forum also discussed the experience of the Omani Lawyers Association and the experience of the Qatar Bar Association.

The Minister of Justice and Minister of State for the Council of Ministers Affairs, H E Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi (centre), and Rashid bin Nasser Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Qatar Lawyers Association, with other lawyers and officials at the opening of First Lawyer Forum in Doha, yesterday.PIC: ABDUL BASIT/THE PENINSULA

Al Mohannadi pointed out that the SJC, in its efforts to achieve complete justice, had developed electronic linking with many bodies and institutions within the framework of developing the justice system to achieve the necessary speed in implementing judicial rulings.

Runners from more than 80 countries took part, with the youngest runner aged just 5 years and the oldest an impressive 77 years old.

The donation is ExxonMobil’s third to the project, with a total of $2m having been contributed since 2018.

04 SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020HOME

Pediatric emergency medicine must be a collaborative multidisciplinary approach, says health expertTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Though all medical emergencies need to be prioritised unlike adult emergencies, children’s emergency care services are often more complex, and need an approach where multiple specialists are involved simul-taneously, according to Dr. Khalid Mohammed Abdulla Al Ansari, Chair of Pediatric Emer-gency Medicine at Sidra Medicine.

He said that is the under-lying reason why Sidra Med-icine partners with Hamad Medical Corporation’s Pediatric Emergency and other stake-holders, to host platforms for knowledge-sharing such as the Qatar-Pediatric Emergency Medicine (Q-PEM) conference, the fourth edition of which is being held from January 10 to 12.

“When this conference was first initiated a few years ago, one of the organisers’ main pri-orities was that the event should help the entire spectrum of spe-cialists involved in paediatric emergency medicine — from surgeons and physicians, ther-apists and technicians, to

emergency medical technicians and social workers,” said Dr Al Ansari, adding that the areas Q-PEM will focus on what Sidra Medicine, a member of Qatar Foundation (QF), offers the wider community.

“Given the fact that globally, pediatric emergency medicine as a specialised field has been around for barely 20 years, Sidra Medicine has been able to offer Qatar a comprehensive facility in a relatively short time,” said the physician, who is also Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Med-icine-Qatar, a QF partner university.

He said that, in Qatar, emergency cases previously had to be categorised and sent to specialised emergency departments that dealt with a specific trauma or illnesses. “Children who suffered from allergic reactions, fever, gas-troenteritis or pneumonia, for instance, would be treated at a s p e c i f i c e m e r g e n c y department, while those who sustained fractures, wounds that required suturing, and burns were treated in another emergency facility.”

“Since Sidra Medicine opened, children with any emergency condition can be treated under one roof.This means that sick children who require a mix of surgical and medical intervention and even psychological counselling, have access to such expertise – and do not have to be moved to another facility. Additionally, such children, their parents or their caregivers have access to allied health care workers such as dieticians, therapists and social services, again, all in the same hospital,” said Dr Al Ansari.

The benefits of access to such comprehensive paediatric emergency healthcare are being felt by the entire com-munity; Sidra Medicine receives around 40-50 emer-gency cases by ambulance each day, with another 200-250 young patients arriving by public or private transport.

As it is a tertiary care hos-pital, the majority of paediatric emergency cases are referred by other healthcare facilities in the country, both public and private, demonstrating that the

wider medical community is aware that the hospital has the resources to handle them.

Sidra Medicine, according to Dr Al Ansari, has also raised the bar when it comes to pain management in and outside paediatr ic emergency settings.

“Through a procedure called ‘conscious sedation’ – where a child who is in pain is given just enough medication to put him to sleep, allowing us to perform otherwise painful procedures – we can ensure that the child’s visit and stay in the emergency is as pain-free and emotionally stress-free as possible,” he said.

“This is a major step as the hospital has been designated a Level One paediatric trauma care facility, capable of handling the most complex trauma inci-dents in children. ”

Dr Al Ansari also high-lighted that paediatric medical emergencies are universal but it would be an impossible mission if we aimed to have such specialists in every healthcare facility in the world.

“However, what we can do is to share our expertise, our experiences, and our results with others, providing centres that do not offer specialised facilities with the knowledge to

initiate their own protocol,” he said.

“This is why, rather than localising the conference, we opened it to an international audience. And the response has been tremendous; the last few conferences have each seen up to 600 attendees sign up, evi-dence that healthcare profes-sionals are keen to learn more about the best way to treat children.

“Where the Q-PEM con-ference – and Sidra Medicine – are concerned, I would refer to the old adage that it takes an entire village to raise a child; it takes just as many to treat a critically-ill one.”

Dr. Khalid Mohammed Abdulla Al Ansari while attending a pediatric patient at Sidra Medicine.

Doha International Book Fair celebrates Turkish cultureQNA — DOHA

As part of the cultural programme in the 30th edition of Doha International Book Fair (DIBF), a symposium entitled ‘Turkish Culture between Historical Depth and Civiliza-tional Openness’ was held on Friday evening and was attended by a large crowd of DIBF visitors.

It was also attended by Ambassador of Turkey to Qatar H E Fikret Ozer, Professor of History at Qatar University Mustafa Aqil Al Khatib, and Pro-fessor of Turkish Language and Literature at Qatar University Ibrahim Adhamoglu.

The Turkish Ambassador talked about the importance of cultural exchange between countries, which takes place thanks to translations and lan-guage learning.

The ambassador pointed out

that many Turkish intellectuals are keen to learn the Arabic lan-guage, noting the significance of translation in transferring

knowledge and bringing cul-tures closer.

He said that the Turkish Ministry of Culture chose a list

of 250 books on Arab culture to be translated into Turkish lan-guage, of which 150 have been translated so far.

He appreciated some Arab efforts in transferring Turkish culture to Arabic, the most important of which is the he Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding, which has taken upon itself to pay attention to translation.

For his part, Dr. Mustafa Aqil gave a historical overview of the Ottoman Empire and the his-torical circumstances that accompanied its emergence. He also talked about the expansion

of the Ottoman Empire towards Europe until the era of Sultan Selim I.

He also touched on the Turkish civilisation’s attention to human aspects such as endowments, schools, hospitals and architecture.

During the symposium, Dr. Adhamoglu discussed the rela-tions between Qatar and Turkey in the modern era and how they moved to advanced levels in culture and arts and in all fields.

H E Ambassador Fikret Ozer pointed out that many Turkish intellectuals are keen to learn the Arabic language, noting the significance of translation in transferring knowledge and bringing cultures closer.

Ambassador of Turkey to Qatar, H E Fikret Ozer, during the symposium entitled ‘Turkish Culture between Historical Depth and Civilizational Openness’.

Rainfall Emergency Committee removes waterloggingTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The teams of the Joint Rainfall Emergency Committee at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) yesterday has removed over 44.9 million gallons of rainwater across the country from Thursday evening to Saturday morning.

The rainwater was carried in 7,809 tanker loads.

The Committee deployed 268 tankers, 25 water pumps and field teams comprising 629 people to remove the rainwater.

The rainfall emergency teams at the municipalities worked round-the-clock for removing the waterlogging immediately after the rainfall focusing on removing

rainwater from highways at first to ensure a smooth traffic flow, and then moving to public facilities and resi-dential areas affected by the rainfall.

The rainfall emergency teams continued operation during the rains without inter-ruption until waterlogging was cleared from across the country.

A view of the road after the clearing of waterlogging.

More than 20,000 enjoy Aspire Lake FestivalTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Over 20,000 audience have enjoyed the 30-minute show of the 3rd edition of the Aspire Lake Festival which took them on a spectacular visual and musical journey presenting messages of peace, love, family and happiness.

Taking advantage of its diverse and world-class facilities to hold various events, and fol-lowing the great success of the last two editions, Aspire Zone Foundation organised on Friday (January 10) the third edition of

the Aspire Lake Festival, under a theme ‘The Tree of Life’. The stands surrounding Aspire Lake were filled with thousands of excited spectators during the fes-tival’s shows.

The show included four tab-leaus with the participation of 90 exhibitors and 45 kids from Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra in a dazzling half-hour show: the first tableau The Children’s Voice (Coral) who talked about peace, love, family and hap-piness. The second tableau was an opera performance where the opera singer presented a

wonderful melody on the lake. The third tableau The Dance

of the Trees, which included performers acting as leaves while swaying with the breeze. While the fourth tableau wit-nessed the growth of foliage to the end where all performers on the stage participated in to present a wonderful and dis-tinctive show.

The finale was fascinating with a very elegant and dazzling show for fireworks kicked off from the Torch Hotel and the show’s location in the lake, which concluded the

unforgettable show. This type of event is an invitation to everyone to get out of the usual home atmosphere and enjoy every moment of the weekend at Aspire Zone facilities, especially in the mild weather at this time of the year. This is in addition to a dedicated area for food and beverages within the festival.

A large number of car parks have been allocated to the public and coordination with the Traffic Department to facilitate traffic and coordination with security guards to facilitate entry to the public.

A view of the show of the 3rd Aspire Lake Festival held at Aspire Park on Friday. PIC: BAHER AMIN / THE PENINSULA

The Committee deployed 268 tank-ers, 25 water pumps and field teams comprising 629 people to remove the rainwater.

05SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020 HOME

Qatar’s envoy to Tanzania presents credentialsThe Minister of Foreign Affairs and Eastern African Cooperation in the United Republic of Tanzania, H E Prof. Palamagamba John Aidan Mwaluko Kabudi, has received a copy of the credentials of H E Hussain bin Ahmed Al Hamid as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Qatar to the United Republic of Tanzania. H E the Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation wished H E the Ambassador success in his assignments and for bilateral relations further development.

Microsoft teams up with AZF to accelerate digital transformation

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Microsoft has announced that it will team up with Qatar’s Aspire Zone Foundation to accelerate digital transformation within the nation’s sporting industry and share gained insights and knowledge with the world.

Microsoft and the Aspire Zone Foundation signed a mem-orandum of understanding (MoU) on the development of digitally transformative solutions for the Qatari sports industry. By combining core competencies from Microsoft and the Aspire Zone Foundation, the two organ-izations will co-create innovative solutions that are applicable to the local and global sports industry.

The MoU was signed in Doha, between Jean-Philippe Courtois, Executive Vice President and President, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing and Operations, and Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Chief Executive Officer of Aspire Zone Foundation.

“Microsoft’s mission is to empower every individual and organisation on the planet to achieve more,” said Courtois. “Our work with the Aspire Zone Foundation re-affirms our com-mitment to the people of Qatar, by supporting Aspire in its goal of encouraging active lifestyles, spurring economic growth,

building capabilities and driving sustained impact. Our work together will lead to an even more promising future for the development of sports science, medicine, and venues across the country and the region.”

Aspire Zone boasts some of the world’s finest sport training facilities offering a unique sport, sports medicine, research and education destination for the international sports industry. Aspire Zone has played a lead-ership role in the development of innovative concepts in the Sporting Industry across a diver-sified portfolio of Sports.

Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Chief Executive Officer of Aspire Zone Foundation said: “Aspire Zone Foundation has been in the forefront of using advanced tech-nology in various domains of Sports such as Sports training, sports science, sports medicine as well as Sports Events and Venues Management. Under our partnership with Microsoft we intend to accelerate our inno-vation journey in sports tech-nology by taking advantage of Microsoft’s vast array of expertise including Artificial Intelligence, Robotics Process Automation, Machine learning and other

Azure based capabilities.”The MoU calls for an exchange

of ideas through workshops and meetings, with a focus on devel-oping new solutions for the sports industry in Qatar and beyond by using Aspire Zone as a reference. The domain experts and technical personnel in Aspire Zone will assist Microsoft in exploring the creation of such concepts.

Aspire Zone will receive access to Microsoft’s Global Sports Inno-vation Centre (GSIC) in Madrid, Spain, which acts as a meeting point for businesses that support the sporting industry, including technology companies and start-ups. In addition, Microsoft will provide training sessions for Aspire Zone personnel on Microsoft tech-nologies and support with the establishment of an “Aspire Centre of Excellence in Sports Tech-nology”, designed to further drive the innovation agenda.

Microsoft is working closely with its customers to empower them with its trusted and intel-ligent cloud. Earlier this month, the company revealed plans to establish a new cloud datacenter region in Qatar, which will accel-erate the country’s digital trans-formation journey in the sports industry and beyond.

The officials of Microsoft and AZF at the MoU signing event.

Qatar, UNOOSA discuss cooperation on space science and technologyQNA — VIENNA

Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Austria and its Permanent Representative to the United Nations and inter-national organisations in Vienna, H E Sultan bin Salmeen Al Mansouri, has met with Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), H E Simonetta Di Pippo.

During the meeting, they discussed ways to enhance cooperation between the State

of Qatar and the UNOOSA, in the field of the peaceful uses of space science and technology.

H E the Ambassador stressed the interest of the State of Qatar in keeping pace with technical and technological developments in the space sector, with regard to implementing the goals of the United Nations Program for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, estab-lishing the infrastructure for its activities in the field of outer space, preparing national cadres specialising

in space science and tech-nology and integrating space science and technology into the Qatar National Vision 2030 plans.

For her part, the Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) expressed the Office’s readiness to continue boosting cooperation in implementing future Qatar space programs within the framework of the principle of regional and international cooperation in the use of outer space for peaceful purposes.

Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Austria and its Permanent Representative to the United Nations and international organizations in Vienna, H E Sultan bin Salmeen Al Mansouri, with Director of UNOOSA, H E Simonetta Di Pippo.

Qatar Biobank research helps more than 190 projectsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Biobank – a member of Qatar Foundation (QF) – is aiding the nation’s contribution to enriching biomedical knowledge all around the world, helping the country in its journey towards becoming a regional hub for medical research and expertise.

Due to Qatar Biobank’s efforts, sci-entists now have access to a treasure trove of information collected from Qatar’s population over the past few years to help advance their medical research.

Qatar Biobank’s research access office has so far enabled 193 research projects, with the participation of hun-dreds of researchers from across 22 dif-ferent institutions in Qatar’s healthcare sector. Qatar University leads on the research front, having undertaken 61 projects, followed by Sidra Medicine – also a member of QF – with 31, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar – a QF partner university – with 29, and Hamad Medical Corporation with 22 ongoing research projects.

Qatar Biobank’s research over recent years has already revealed fas-cinating insights into the health of the Qatari population. The Qatar Birth Cohort Study (QBiC), the first mother-child cohort study of its kind in the Middle East, which assesses the role of environmental exposure and genetic factors in the development of chronic diseases, is yet another example of how participation in Qatar Biobank’s research program can create more knowledge about the population and the factors that affect an individual’s life at the onset.

As Qatar embarks on a period vital to its long-term healthcare for citizens - with the National Healthcare Strategy 2018-2022 coming into full effect - it is the opportune time to reflect on Qatar Biobank’s extraordinarily significant work and the importance of partici-pating in the program, which more than 25,000 Qatari residents have already chosen to be part of.

“The success of Qatar Biobank is dependent on the participation of the local population, especially Qataris, and recruiting more than 25,000 partici-pants is a clear indication of the impor-tance our people place on their health now and in the future,” said Dr Asmaa Al Thani, Chairperson of the Qatar Genome Program Committee and Board Vice-Chairperson of Qatar Biobank. “We are proud of our achieve-ments so far as we have effectively empowered Qatar’s medical research ecosystem through our sustained part-nership scheme with leading healthcare

institutions in the country and providing qualified researchers with the right data to enrich their investigations.”

Homegrown researchers in the field of biomedical science have become central to achieving impactful medical research in the long-term. To that end, Qatar Biobank’s experts and scientists have started to aid the devel-opment of fresh knowledge in biobanking and medical research. In 2019, its experts published their research output in 11 renowned, high-impact local and international publications.

Since its official launch, Qatar Biobank has effectively empowered new medical research in Qatar. This will play an important role in early identification of health problems and in taking effective preventative measures for some of the most common health problems as the region deals with a rise in cases of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Homegrown researchers in the field of biomedical science have become central to achieving impactful medical research in the long-term.

By combining core competencies from Microsoft and the AZF, the two organizations will co-create innovative solutions that are applicable to the local and global sports industry.

Kahramaa: Unprecedented performanceindicators for electricity network in 2019QNA — DOHA

Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) has announced that the tech-nical performance of the coun-try’s electrical network witnessed, during the year 2019, a significant improvement and recorded unprecedented levels in the electricity distri-bution networks in the State of Qatar.

The indicator of the number of minutes of electricity loss in the electrical transmission network recorded 0.1785 minutes, which is an unprece-dented record, and the best rate achieved since the start of recording this indicator, where the target in 2019 according to global indicators was 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, the distribution network indicators showed outstanding performance, where the average indicator of power cuts from the subscriber in the distribution network recorded 0.1894 times per sub-scriber, while the target rate in 2019 according to global indi-cators was 0.364 times per subscriber.

The performance indicator of the average periods of inter-ruption in the electrical distri-bution network also witnessed a noticeable improvement in 2019, as it recorded an average of 15.665 minutes per sub-scriber, while the target according to global indicators was 45.5 minutes.

Kahramaa attributed the achievement of unprecedented

levels of performance during 2019 to the efforts and mainte-nance programmes imple-mented by the corporation; replacing old equipment; updating material specifica-tions for network components and replacing overhead lines with ground cables; imple-menting innovative mecha-nisms and programmes that ensure equipment monitoring and troubleshooting faults before they occur; prompt response to faults through emergency offices and work teams in the main regions of the country; and analyzing faults to avoid reoccurrence, as well as organizing workshops to educate contractors on avoiding cable damage during drilling.

06 SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020HOME

QRCS responds to large influx of IDPs in IdlibTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has initiated an emer-gency response to the recent displacement wave in Idlib, northern Syria, where insecurity and armed conflict have affected nearly 4 million Syrians, who are already suffering from terrible living conditions.

In Doha, QRCS’s Disaster Information Management Centre (DIMC) was activated to coor-dinate with QRCS’s represen-tation mission in Gaziantep, Turkey.

QRCS’s medical personnel provided assistance to 177 children, 19 newborns, and 86 women. “Since the eruption of the conflict, we have been working in Syria. Relief aid has been constantly provided for the affected communities in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan,” said Dr Mohamed Salah Ibrahim, Executive Director of Relief and International Development Division at QRCS.

In light of the recent

displacement of around 41,000 Syrian families, he said: “We have intensified our efforts to secure as much aid as possible. We are driven by our firm humanitarian commitments as an active player in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.”

Despite the efforts of

numerous humanitarian aid pro-viders operating there, he asserted, they remained insuffi-cient to meet the critical needs of the internally displaced persons (IDPs).

These include food parcels, readymade meals, heaters, blankets, heating oil, warm

clothes, children’s supplies, and tarpaulins. “Through its repre-sentation mission in Turkey, QRCS is providing food and win-terisation aid for the benefit of 56,000 IDPs across Idlib,” Dr Ibrahim explained.

Under the theme of ReliefIdlib, the plan comprises four main items: heating oil for 13,000 IDPs over two months (40 litres per family per month), at a total cost of QR2,080,000; food parcels consisting of local food products for 20,000 IDPs over one month, at a total cost of QR932,000; blankets for 15,000 IDPs, at a total cost of QR615,000; and tarpaulins for 8,000 IDPs (two tarpaulins per family), at a total cost of QR374,000.

Dr Ibrahim urged all the people in Qatar to extend help to their brothers and sisters in Syria. “The cold weather and home-lessness have combined together to deepen the suffering of the vulnerable families in Syria. They have nothing to protect them-selves against the freezing winter or to feed their kids,” he added.

A representative of QRCS is handing over aid material to a displaced Syrian citizen.

UCQ takes part in ‘2020 International Year of the Nurse and Midwife’THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The University of Calgary in Qatar (UCQ) has announced its participation in the World Health Organisation’s ‘2020 International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.’

“On behalf of the University of Calgary in Qatar, we are hon-oured to recognise the contri-bution of nurses in Qatar and around the world,” said UCQ Dean Dr Deborah White.

“We are grateful to the World Health Organisation for this important designation and are looking forward to oppor-tunities in 2020 to highlight the history of nursing in this country and all the important work nurses do to advance health and wellness here.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Year of the Nurse and Midwife is a major global effort to high-light an acute shortage of these crucial health workers. WHO chose 2020 to celebrate the work of nurses because it is the bicentenary of the birth of the

founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale.

“Nurses and midwives are the backbone of every health system. In 2020, we’re calling on all countries to invest in nurses and midwives as part of

their commitment to health for all,” said WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement issued by the WHO.

According to the WHO, the world needs 18 million more

health workers to achieve and sustain universal health cov-erage by 2030. Approximately half of that shortfall – 9 million health workers – are nurses and midwives.

“The need for more nurses

is at a critical stage in Qatar,” according to Dr White.

“Nurses are leaders in health promotion and as Qatar’s healthcare infrastructure con-tinues to grow, more nurses are needed to meet workforce needs. Nursing has a noble history and a dynamic future. I’m excited at the chance to further profile the nursing profession in the year ahead with some special events and campaigns with our alumni and valued local healthcare partners.”

Established in 2007, the University of Calgary in Qatar is the only Canadian university in Qatar and the country’s exclusive provider of Bachelor and Master degrees in Nursing.

Accredited in Canada and adapted to the local culture, the University’s curriculum pro-vides its nursing students with the knowledge and expertise to become fully-integrated leaders in Qatar’s healthcare sector.

The University of Calgary in Qatar offers two paths to a Bachelor of Nursing degree: a four-year programme for qual-ified high school graduates and a two-year programme for nurses holding diplomas in nursing from recognised insti-tutions. The University also offers a Master's degree in nursing.

This is a programme designed in collaboration with Qatar’s nursing community to further develop leaders in the profession. Applications to UCQ’s programmes are open to Qatari nationals and residents of Qatar through April 1.

The 2020 International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife marked at University of Calgary in Qatar.

According to WHO, the world needs 18 million more health workers to achieve and sustain universal health coverage by 2030. Approximately half of that shortfall — 9 million health workers — are nurses and midwives.

MES conducts teachers’ orientation programmeTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

With an objective to equip teachers with the proven techniques involved in teaching and learning strat-egies, MES Indian School conducted an activity-based workshop for teachers at its Conference Hall yesterday.

Dr N Madhuri Parti from Macmillan Publication was the resource person of the day.

During the session, the paradigm shift in the learning framework and execution of the 21st century learning methodology, ways and means to improve listening proficiency of students through col laborat ive learning strategies, the various ways to understand students for effective knowledge transaction were among the areas dealt with in detail by the resource person.

The session also focused on the importance of teachers being role models to their

students and the need to understand different types of learners, who are broadly classified into auditory, visual, tactile, kinesthetic, sequential, simultaneous, verbal, inter-active, reflective, direct expe-rience, indirect experience and rhythmic learners.

Teachers were engaged with various enriching activ-ities, which have relevance to their classroom management. A question-answer session was carried out in which teachers’ queries were fielded by the resource person, giving them guidance in terms of the strategies, tips and techniques to be used in their classes for the optimum benefit.

The Principal, Hameeda Kadar in her introductory remarks reminded the teachers of their responsi-bilities and commitment to their profession and the school.

Heads of sections and teachers and officials of the MES Indian School attended the orientation session.

A view of the orientation organised by MES Indian School for its teachers.

ICC organises musical event on Kishore KumarTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) recently organised a musical event ‘Kishore Da - Ek Andaz’ at the ICC Ashoka Hall.

Musical event was a tribute to Kishore Kumar led by the Prasad Deshmukh and his team. The team performed different styles of Kishore Kumar.

ICC President Manikantan A P inaugurated the programme and addressed the audience. The programme was conducted by Nayna Wagh, Head of Cul-tural and Education Activities for ICC, with ICC General Sec-retary Seenu Pillai welcoming

the gathering. Appreciation plaque and

certificate were handed over by to all the artistes by the digni-taries. Appreciation plaques were also given to Nisha Agrawal; Chetan Talati and Ashish Gahlawat for their support and cooperation to ICC

for the programme conducted by Museum of Islamic Art and Indian Cultural Centre for the Indian School boys on November 28, 2019 at MIA Park.

The programme was a con-tinuation of the initiative by Indian Cultural Centre along with all ICC associate

organisations, Indian schools and Indian cultural institutions in Qatar, to have cultural shows every week at the Ashoka Hall in the ICC premises, providing a suitable platform and oppor-tunities for associate organisa-tions of different states of India to showcase their culture.

ICC President Manikantan A P honouring the participants during the event.

Qatargas successfully completes installation of artificial coral ridge modules off Banana IslandTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

In line with its commitment to protect the biodiversity in the Qatari marine environment, Qatargas Operating Company Limited (Qatargas), in collabo-ration with the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), has successfully completed the installation of two hundred artificial coral ridge modules off Banana Island.

The artificial coral ridge installation project is testament to Qatargas’ commitment to protect Qatar’s rich offshore biodiversity.

It is aligned with the Envi-ronmental Development pillar of Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030) that calls for pro-

tection of Qatar’s unique envi-ronment and nurture.

The project involved per-forming a marine environmental assessment (MEA) of various recipient marine locations in cooperation with the MME. After an appropriate site assessment, the location was selected to accommodate such imitative.

The design of the artificial ridge modules were studied

carefully to ensure the natural Qatari marine environment, and fabricated locally in Qatar using environmentally friendly materials following the MME’s guidance.

Environmental conser-vation is one of the core beliefs at Qatargas and the company strives to preserve marine life form as part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives.

In line with these initiatives, in 2007 nearly 4,500 living hard corals had been relocated from near-shore pipelines area to a suitable coral reef area during the construction of the LNG expansion projects.

Following this, approxi-mately 3,000 hard corals were transferred during 2012-14 to an

appropriate recipient location north of Qatar. Such initiatives were undertaken in compliance with local and international reg-ulatory requirements and in full cooperation and coordination with the MME.

Qatargas is a pioneer in the LNG industry in installing such artificial coral ridge modules

that quickly evolve into a vibrant and thriving habitat with a rich biodiverse ecosystem.

Creation of such habitats also serve to underline the com-pany’s commitment to protect Qatar’s precious biodiversity and improve its climate resilience.

Qatargas officials during an installation of the artificial coral ridge modules.

The artificial coral ridge installation project is testament to Qatargas’ commitment to protect Qatar’s rich offshore biodiversity. It is aligned with the Environmental Development pillar of Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030) that calls for protection of Qatar’s unique environment and nurture.

07SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020 GULF / MIDDLE EAST

World leaders pay tribute to Sultan Qaboos

AGENCIES — PARIS

World leaders paid homage to H M Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman, who has died at the age of 79 as a wise and moderate leader and a champion of Arab and Islamic nations.

Thousands of citizens par-ticipated in the funeral of H M Sultan Qaboos bin Said at the Royal Familys cemetery in the Wilayat of Bausher yesterday.

The saddened citizens bid farewell to the leader of their blessed renaissance, which extended for about five decades full of great achievements in all spheres and which established solid pillars of security, stability and modern state foundations.

Oman’s Sultan Qaboos transformed the former Arabian Peninsula backwater into a modern state and sought-after mediator while shielding the sul-tanate from a region in turmoil.

The intensely private sultan — the longest-reigning ruler in the modern Arab world — left no apparent heir and the royal family was charged with selecting a successor.

Instead however they opted for the sultan’s own choice, his cousin Haitham bin Tariq, who was named in a sealed letter that Qaboos had prepared in case of a deadlock. Qaboos was born on November 18, 1940, into the cen-turies-old Al-Said dynasty in the southern provincial capital of Salalah, in an isolated country on the margins of the modern world.

Older Omanis recall the capital Muscat had no electricity or running water and the gates of the medieval city were locked at dusk.

The young Qaboos was sent abroad for his education to Britain, attending the elite Sand-hurst Royal Military Academy from where he graduated in 1962.

He went on to join a British infantry battalion in Germany, returning home to bide his time under the close watch of his father, Sultan Said bin Taymur.

Oman is strategically located on the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow seaway through which much of the world’s oil supply passes. Qaboos maintained good ties with nations, a balancing act that made his capital a must-stop for Western and Arab dip-lomats as well as military chiefs

alike. The sultan’s first foreign trip was to Iran, whose shah — along with the British — helped him quell the Marxist insurgency he inherited from his father in the restive Dhofar region.

Muscat would serve as the back channel for talks between the United States and Iran in the lead-up to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

Muscat also maintained close military and economic ties with Britain and the US.

Qaboos channelled revenues from fledgling oil exports into infrastructure, taking the country from having just a handful of primary schools and some eight kilometres (six miles) of paved roads to a modern state with well over 1,000 schools and a massive highway network.

In 1991, he offered a modicum of democracy, creating a Consultative Council — with elected members — to com-plement the State Council — whose members he appointed.

Here are some of the main tributes by world leaders.

Qaboos’ death was “a loss for the region”, said Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, tweeting in Arabic.

Congratulating Oman on its choice of His Majesty Haitham bin Tariq as his successor, he hoped their relations would con-tinue to grow.

Qaboos led Oman “on a path of progress and advancement and managed with great wisdom and sophistication to create a distinguished place for the country among Arab states” said Syria’s President Bashar Al Assad.

Iraqi President Barham Saleh paid tribute to the late sul-tan’s “moderation and wisdom

and the ability to control differ-ences in the interest of the devel-opment and progress of our countries and region”.

“With loss of Sultan Qaboos, the Arab world loses a man of dialogue, wisdom and peace,” Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun wrote on Twitter, paying tribute to “a brother and a friend to Lebanon”.

Qaboos “always worked towards Arab unity and the strengthening of (Arab) solidarity — in the face of the challenges that threaten our countries and peoples”.

“The Gulf, Arab and Islamic nations lost a very important figure and leader,” said Kuwait’s Amir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah.

“We have lost a wise leader in my brother His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman,” said a statement from King Abdullah II of Jordan on Twitter.

This file picture shows H M Sultan Qaboos bin Said attending a function in Abu Dhabi.

H M Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman transformed the former Arabian Peninsula backwater into a modern state and sought-after mediator while shielding the sultanate from a region in turmoil.

Sultan H M Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman, following a swearing in ceremony as Oman’s new leader, yesterday.

New Sultan vows to uphold peaceful policy of QaboosAP — DUBAI

Oman’s new ruler, H M Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, vowed yesterday to uphold his predecessor H M Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s foreign policy approach, which steered the Arab country through Gulf waters by balancing close rela-tions with both the United States and Iran.

The new ruler, who was Oman’s culture minister, spoke after being named successor to Sultan Qaboos, the Middle East’s longest-ruling monarch whose death was announced yesterday. He died at the age of 79 after years of an undisclosed illness.

Sultan Haitham’s message to Omanis and the world was clear: Oman would continue down the path laid by Qaboos as a facilitator of peace.

“We will follow the same line as the late sultan, and the principles that he asserted for

the foreign policy of our country, of peaceful coexistence among nations and people, and good neighbourly behaviour of non-interference in the affairs of others,” he said in his first public remarks as sultan.

The 66-year-old shook hands with the country’s royal family and top military and security brass before witnessing ceremonial cannon fire. The Al

Said family has ruled Oman since the eighteenth century, and once ruled over Zanzibar too, off the coast of Tanzania.

Oman sits on the south-eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, with Iran to its east, Yemen to its west and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to its north.

Oman was the only Gulf Arab country that kept its

embassy in Damascus open throughout Syria’s now 9-year civil war.

In the capital Muscat, sol-diers stood guard and troops stood with machine guns atop SUVs as Omanis gathered along a highway to see the motorcade carrying the sultan’s body for burial.

Thousands also gathered at the Sultan Qaboos Mosque where funeral prayers were held yesterday. The mosque is an architecturally stunning complex of white marble and manicured gardens that reflects how the Sultan modernized his country without eschewing its cultural heritage or building towering skyscrapers like other neighboring Gulf capitals.

Following Islamic tradition, Qaboos was buried before nightfall. His successor was announced by afternoon Saturday.

The speed and manner in which his successor was named suggest the Al Said family wanted to project a sense of unity, continuity and stability as tensions run high in the Gulf amid escalations between Iran and the United States.

Omanis gather in front of the Sultan Qaboos Mosque to perform the funeral prayer for the country’s ruler H M Sultan Qaboos bin Said, in Muscat yesterday.

“We will follow the same line as the late sultan, and the principles that he asserted for the foreign policy of our country, of peaceful coexistence among nations and people, and good neighbourly behaviour of non-interference in the affairs of others,” H M Sultan Haitham said in his first public remarks as Sultan.

Syria airstrikes leave 10 dead in rebel-held areas despite truceAGENCIES — BEIRUT

Syrian government warplanes struck several rebel-held areas in the country’s northwest yesterday, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens, opposition activist said.

A cease-fire supposedly went into effect Thursday, according to Russia’s Defence Ministry. But Turkey’s Defence Ministry said the truce will go into effect today, without giving an explanation for the differing dates.Russia is a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, while Turkey is a strong sup-porter of some of the insurgents fighting against him. Moscow blamed the insurgents for vio-lating the truce Saturday.

Idlib is dominated by Al Qaeda-linked militants, and is also home to 3 million civilians. The United Nations has warned of the growing risk of a human-itarian catastrophe as people flee the fighting toward the Turkish border.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said seven people were killed by yesterday's air-strikes in the province’s capital city, which is also named Idlib. Airstrikes killed seven people

in the village of Binnish and another four in the village of Nairab. The Observatory is based in Britain and documents the war in Syria through a network of activists on the ground.

The opposition’s Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, said the strike in Idlib city killed six and wounded 30, adding that it hit a busy intersection. It said four people were killed in Binnish.

Different death tolls are common on the immediate aftermaths of airstrikes in Syria.

Government forces have been on the offensive in Idlib for more than three weeks, forcing more than 200,000 people to flee for safer areas further north.

The main aim of the offensive by government forces appears to be reopening the highway linking the capital Damascus with the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest. The highway has been closed in Idlib since 2012 when insur-gents captured several towns along the route.

As the wave of Syrian migrants to Turkey has grown amid turmoil in the region,

establishing a safe zone is key, Turkey's vice-president said.

"To prevent a migration wave, a safe zone over there is important,” said Fuat Oktay.

"We consistently want a land in their own territory where Syrians living in Turkey can return to and those who were displaced in Syria can go."

Oktay spoke after Friday prayers in Istanbul, to the public about how as a neighbour country, Turkey is working to find a solution for the problems in Syria with the work of a Con-stitutional Commission.

"Let the parties, including the current regime, come together and sit at the table.

"They should compromise on a new Constitutional Com-mission and the country will be self-governing and protect its borders with this constitution," Oktay said. He said Turkey has no eye on anyone’s borders or wealth but will not allow a threat along its border. Oktay also stated that Turkey made a deal with Libya on the exclusive economic zone where the mar-itime borders overlap and the two countries can act in accordance in all sorts of under-ground resources.

Sultan Haitham bin Tariq A cousin of Qaboos, Sultan Haitham is a career diplomat whose role as minister of heritage and culture helped project Omani influence. Born in 1954, Haitham bin Tariq graduated from the Oxford University Foreign Service Programme (FSP) in 1979.

He served in several positions in the Gulf state, including the head of a committee that forged the country’s vision for 2040. He also served as the minister of heritage and culture from 2002 until January 2020. The new ruler previously spent 16 years in various roles with the country’s foreign ministry. He also served as the ministry’s undersecretary for political affairs and its secretary general. Haitham was the head of the Omani Football Federation between 1983 and 1986, and also served as special envoy for Sultan Qaboos.

Iraq Prime Minister visits Erbil for talksANATOLIA — ERBIL

Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi arrived in Erbil yesterday for talks with officials in the country’s

northern Kurdish region.The talks are expected to

tackle recent developments in Iraq and current tensions between Iran and the US fol-lowing last week’s killing of top

Iranian general Qasem Sole-imani in a US drone airstrike outside Baghdad airport. Abdul-Mahdi met with president of the Kurdish regional government Nechirvan Barzani.

Protest movements throughout the region could shake up half a dozen regimes.

08 SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020VIEWS

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFIeditorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMEDm.salim@pen.com.qa

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI osman@pen.com.qa

EDITORIAL

IT HAS been almost a decade since Qatar began to celebrate its cultural ties with different countries of the world through cultural exchange programmes to introduce its and other nation’s culture to Qataris and international audience in Qatar.

The annual culture exchange programmes and activities runs throughout the year. These are designed to promote mutual understanding and organising variety of exhibitions, festivals, competitions and events at the Cultural Village Katara and Qatar Museums. These require participations of people representing certain cultures to explore their cultural characters, features, similarities, to make audience understand the similar-ities and differences.

With the conclusion of Qatar-India 2019 Year of Culture last year and the organising Qatar Russia 2018 Year of Culture a year before that, the Cultural Village Katara is now hosting the Qatar–France 2020 Year of Culture, to enable people from the two cultures to explore their similarities and celebrate their differences and introduce their cultures to audience from different parts of the world.

On Friday at Katara, the cultures of Qatar and France shared a single venue in a grand musical cel-ebration serving as an ideal way to mark the beginning of the Qatar-France 2020 Year of Culture which is set to be an exciting 12 months filled with festivals, art exhibitions and performances.

The opening concert was introduced by Minister of State H E Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari, and Ambassador of France to Qatar H E Franck Gellet, in addition to a number of ambassadors, diplomats and media representatives.

Al Kawari noted that French Republic with its dis-tinctive cultural position on the world’s map and the heritage of its civilization would be an ideal partner nation expressing his confidence that this year edition of the cultural year will be successful and distinctive.

As Qatar celebrates its cultural ties, Al Kawari emphasised the relations between the Arab and the Islamic civilisation and French culture which is rooted in the depth of history. He presented the famous poem written by the renowned French writer and poet Victor Hugo as example in which Hugo wrote praise for the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him.

For his part the French Ambassador H E Franck Gellet said; “2020 is an exceptional opportunity to cel-ebrate the strength, depth and dynamism of the rela-tionship of friendship and partnership that unite our two countries through culture and art which are the common language amongst communities and soci-eties of the world.”

Bringing cultures closer

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Quote of the day

Libyan peace talks will be held in Berlin. We hope that the joint efforts by Russia and Turkey will lead to success, and we will soon send out invitations for a conference in Berlin.

Angela Merkel, German Chancellor

Anti-war activists attending a rally against US President Donald Trump in front of the US embassy in Seoul, yesterday.

In his speech this week after the Iranian missile strikes against US targets in Iraq, President Donald Trump offered his version of the adage that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The Islamic State “is a natural enemy of Iran,” the president said Wednesday at the White House. “The destruction of ISIS is good for Iran. And we should work together on this and other shared priorities.”

Trump’s remarks appeared to help tamp down tensions that had skyrocketed after the US strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qasem Sole-imani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, last week in Baghdad. But security officials and analysts say Trump may have sent a mixed message: In the same speech, the president spoke about Iran’s “destructive and destabilizing behavior in the Middle East and beyond,” calling the country “the leading sponsor of terrorism.”

“We don’t understand what President Trump really wants,” said a European official, who like others interviewed for this report spoke on the condition of ano-nymity due to persistent sensitiv-ities over the United States’ han-dling of the Iran crisis. “Is he going to confront Iran’s meddling in the Middle East and push back on the al-Quds Force’s power? Does he want to prevent that the US would have to carry a larger

burden in the Middle East again? Is he offering Iran and the militias a partnership?”

A Middle East intelligence official said Trump’s statement might be perceived by some in Iran as a weakness, projecting apprehension about the US-led coalition’s ability to prevent the Islamic State from gathering more power.

“The problem with his message is that he is telling the Iranians he is worried about the caliphate as well,” the official said. “This is how the radical ele-ments in Iran will interpret it.”

Iran and the militias it con-trols have played a key role in the fight against the Islamic State. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iraqi killed alongside Soleimani, was the deputy leader of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces, one of the most powerful forces fighting ISIS in Iraq.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed in a tweet the importance of Soleimani in the fighting against the Islamic State and other extremist groups, saying that killing the “most effective force fighting Daesh (ISIS), Al Nusrah, Al Qaeda et al - is extremely dan-gerous & a foolish escalation.”

Hassan Hassan, an analyst at the Center for Global Policy, said Trump’s remarks about cooper-ating against ISIS showed that the United States has limited options against Iran and that he ultimately wants a deal despite his “maximum pressure” campaign.

“It just smacked of weakness, especially in response to what Iran publicized as retaliation for the killing of Soleimani,” Hassan said. “There was a way to let Iran have its symbolic revenge

without giving it a political victory by presenting it as a force against extremism.”

In his address, Trump also declared that the Islamic State has been “100 percent” defeated, even as he appealed to Iran to work with the United States in the battle against the group.

The Islamic State has been largely pushed out of Iraq and Syria but maintains a presence in both countries. The group has carried out attacks in Egypt, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen and beyond. Its recent activities include a deadly raid on a military base in Niger, a suicide bombing on a military base in Burkina Faso and the killing of French and Malian soldiers in Mali.

“In the last two weeks alone, ISIS has carried out horrible atrocities in West Africa, including the grisly executions of Christians in Nigeria,” said Rita Katz.

Extremists inspired by the Islamic State also remain capable of attacking the American homeland, as well as US allies and interests in Europe.

Reached via a communica-tions app, an Islamic State member who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Musab said that Trump’s remarks that the group has been defeated were “wishful thinking” and that the activities of Shiite militias and their behavior toward Sunnis in Iraq were what allowed to caliphate to rise in the first place.

“Trump did us a big favor with mentioning a cooperation with Iran against us in his speech,” he said. “So many Sunnis are worried about the Shia and the militias that they might now see us as the only group that can protect them.”

LAURIE GOERING REUTERS

With the sky outside a menacing red, Nerilie Abram’s family is staying inside, with the windows shut and curtains drawn at their home in Canberra, Australia’s smoke-choked capital.

On their return from recent holiday travels, “the kids didn’t want us to open the curtains because outside it looked scary,” said the climate scientist at the Aus-tralian National University.

Family friends who struggle with asthma have left town, she said, and most resi-dents who do venture outside wear disposable masks - though the city, which had the world’s worst air quality for several days in the past week, is running out of those.

“We’re been really caught off-guard by these fires,” said

Abram, a professor who works with the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes.

“Scientifically, it’s not sur-prising. We totally expected that as the climate warmed, fires in Australia would get worse. But the scale of this disaster is something I couldn’t have imagined, and it’s the same for a lot of people in Australia.”

Large swathes of the country are battling wildfires that have killed 27 people and torched more than 10 million hectares (25 million acres) in the wake of the southern-hemisphere nation’s hottest and driest year on record.

The ferocious, fast-moving blazes have con-sumed about 2,000 homes, blanketed major cities from Sydney to Melbourne in thick smoke, killed an estimated

billion animals, and pushed exhausted firefighters to their limits.

And while summer bush-fires are nothing new in Aus-tralia, scientists say these are different.

Their scale and ferocity raise questions about how nature will recover - and the fires are now affecting a much higher percentage of Aus-tralia’s population, they say.

In the well-populated southeast, nearly a third of people are estimated to have been directly affected by this season’s fire and smoke.

In a nation of just 25 million, “most people know someone who’s been affected”, said Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a climate sci-entist at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

That may have political implications in a country that less than a year ago elected a

conservative coalition gov-ernment with close ties to the powerful coal industry and a record of dismissing action on climate change as too costly.

Prime Minister Scott Mor-rison has been verbally abused while visiting fire-hit areas after returning from an ill-timed Hawaii holiday, with angry residents saying his government has done too little to respond and prevent damage.

“People are deeply affected,” said Joe Fontaine, a lecturer in environmental science at Murdoch University in Perth, noting “a deep sense of loss and anxiety in society”.

But it was “a little too early” to tell if the bushfire crisis was shifting views on climate change, he added.

Australia’s brutal fire season stems from a con-fluence of threats, scientists say.

ISIS done or a danger? Trump delivered mixed message in Iran speech

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Scientists paint Australia fires as red alert on climate change

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09SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020 OPINION

Focusing on the African pre-colonial history is among the prerequisites to better under-stand Turkish-African rela-tions. Indeed, Turkey, during its Ottoman past, began to have deep relations with Africa at a time when the world saw this continent as a land to conquer and colonize.

Even though the Ottoman presence was mostly limited to North Africa and some parts of the Horn of Africa, the Ottomans were able to develop relations with many African states on diplomatic, economic and military levels. According to the Turkish Min-istry of Foreign Affairs, good relations were established with the Kingdom of Tim-buktu, which was located around Mali, and with the Kanem Empire, which once occupied the territories of today’s Niger, Chad, north Nigeria and North Cameroon. Thus, military advisers were sent all over Africa to help train armies, envoys were exchanged to strengthen dip-lomatic and commercial rela-tions. These relations came to an end with the intervention of the West in Africa and the resulting dislocation of the Ottoman Empire.

Many decades later, the arrival to power the Justice and Development (AK) Party, in Turkey has breathed a new life into the Turkish-African relationship, making Turkey a key partner for Africa again.

After the foundation of the Turkish Republic, successive Turkish governments ori-ented their plans to their geo-graphic

environment. Nevertheless, Turkey recognized almost all the new sovereign states of the continent, which were all UN members, and wanted to revive diplomatic relations, in particular with the opening of its first post-independence mission in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria, in 1956.

Several decades later, in 1998, Turkey became more interested in sub-Saharan Africa with its project dubbed ‘opening towards Africa’, established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and whose primary objective was to develop diplomatic and com-mercial relations with the continent. The project included high-level mutual visits and the opening of new diplomatic missions in the continent.

But it took a long time until Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party came to power in 2002 so that a turning point in the Turkish-African rela-tionship could be witnessed. The new government in Ankara attached special importance to Africa in its foreign policy and declared 2005 the Year of Africa.

This renewed interest enabled Turkey to obtain the status of observer state within the African Union in 2005. Three years later, in 2008, the first Turkey-Africa Summit was organized with the par-ticipation of 50 African states. This summit aimed at exploring various devel-opment opportunities and building a solid economic relationship. At the end of this summit, the “Istanbul Decla-ration on the Africa-Turkey Partnership” and the “Coop-eration Framework for the

Africa-Turkey Partnership” were adopted. These two doc-uments form the basis of Turkey-Africa cooperation. Since then, this summit has been organized every four years alternately in Africa and Turkey. As a result of these summits, Turkish-African relations have seen unprece-dented development. Turkey joined the African Devel-opment Bank in 2013 and thus became the 78th member state of the African Devel-opment Bank. According to Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkey has been making an annual financial contribution of 1 million US dollars to the African union since 2009.

Economic exchanges have risen to over 170 billion dollars since 2009. Turkish exports to the continent have reached 121 billion dollars while its imports are at the level of 58 billion dollars. Today Turkish investments are clearly visible in Africa. In a matter of a few years, Turkey has managed to establish itself as a competitor to the Western powers already present in Africa due to colonization. Turkish com-panies win major infra-structure contracts, such as the contract to build the Ethi-opian Awash Weldiya Railway, estimated at more than 1 billion US dollars, in addition to airport infrastruc-tures across the continent. Turkey’s investments have helped to reduce unem-ployment by generating jobs throughout the continent. According to a report by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs published in October 2015, “Turkey’s investments

in Africa generated 16,593 jobs in 2014”.

At the diplomatic level, the number of Turkish missions in the continent has increased from 12 to more than 40. This desire to forge a solid diplo-matic relationship is recip-rocal; several African coun-tries have opened diplomatic representations in Ankara. This new energy in Turkish-African relations has been boosted through high-level visits, especially those by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has visited the continent almost 40 times since 2005, first as prime minister, and then as president. During his visit to Gabon in 2013, Erdogan declared: “Africa belongs to Africans; we are not here for your gold but for a win-win partnership.”

Furthermore, the Turkish president in 2011 became the first foreign leader to visit Somalia, which was then faced with a severe food crisis coupled with attacks from armed groups. Somalia has

received significant support to get out of this situation. Tur-key’s intervention in Somalia has changed the course of events and is proof that Tur-key’s goal in Africa is to build a common future with the African peoples. The impact of this relationship is visible on the international scene, where Turkey has in recent years become the standard bearer of the oppressed peoples.

In addition to these eco-nomic and diplomatic rela-tions, developments are observed on the security level as well. Ankara inaugurated its first military base coupled with a training center in the Somalian capital Mogadishu in September 2017 to train and support Somali security forces in their fight against terrorism. According to Aljazeera, the base has a capacity to train at least 1500 soldiers at a time.

As a key partner, Turkey is providing support to interna-tional peacekeeping missions ongoing in Africa. According to a report by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkey is providing support to seven of the nine peace-keeping missions present in Africa and training military personnel from African coun-tries. The most recent military cooperation agreement has been signed with the interna-tionally recognized Tripoli government.

Development Support has become Turkey’s main pri-ority in Africa in recent years. Turkey, through the Turkish Cooperation and Coordi-nation Agency (TIKA), has become one of Africa’s biggest development partners. With 20 offices in Africa, TIKA con-ducts development projects in almost all of the entire continent.

TIKA’s priority in Africa has been defined by Turkey as capacity building for health, education, agriculture, envi-ronment and infrastructure. TIKA has so far carried out numerous projects such as building hospitals and schools, most notably in Somalia and Darfur, in addition to various agricul-tural projects.

In addition to TIKA’s inter-ventions, Ankara’s desire to contribute to the development of Africa was manifested in the women’s empowerment project launched under the auspices of the first lady of Turkey Emine Erdogan in 2016. This project of the African craft market aims to enhance African craft products.

The revenue generated from the sale of the exhibited products will be invested in Africa to support the empow-erment of women.

The presence of Turkey is

A development-oriented approach: Turkey-Africa partnership

This week, Sebastian Kurz took up the job of Austrian chancellor for the second time in his remarkable career - and started an experiment that could create a template for traditional parties across Europe amid the continent’s political fragmentation. Germany, in particular, should take note.

The parties in the second Kurz government have no common agenda, so they’ve agreed to divide up minis-terial portfolios so that they don’t interfere with each other’s attempts to keep election promises. Kurz’s con-servative People’s Party, which won the national

election last September, will govern with the fourth-place Greens.

It was the least bad of several nearly unpalatable options for Kurz, whose pre-vious coalition with the far-right Freedom Party failed miserably. He wanted neither another such alliance nor a traditional deal with the center-left Social Democratic Party - this sort of toothless “grand coalition” has had Germans groaning in disgust for the last two years. Kurz had to go with the Greens, even though, as he told the German daily Bild in his first interview after forming the coalition last week, “the Greens are a party that stands very far apart from us content-wise.” Indeed, the Greens are pro-immigration while the conservatives want sharp limits on the number of newcomers. The People’s Party is focused on cutting taxes while the Greens demand increases in climate-protection spending. Kurz’s

party attaches a high impor-tance to security, the Greens are pacifist. And yet the two managed to work out a 326-page common program and will divide up portfolios in such a way that, at least in theory, each party can still face its voters at the next election.

The Greens got the social security, health and culture portfolios - but more impor-tantly, a new superministry of infrastructure and envi-ronment. This new entity will be responsible for setting Austria on a path toward climate neutrality by 2040, 10 years before the European Union as a whole would like to reach that goal. The Greens got to write the climate and environment part of the common program, and it includes giving Austrians the ability to travel anywhere in the country using public transportation for just 3 euros ($3.35) a day.

Greens leader Werner Kogler has agreed to pursue

this ambitious agenda without raising taxes; he says it can all be done by shifting the existing tax burden toward less climate-friendly activ-ities, such as the use of diesel-guzzling SUVs. A special com-mission will work on changing the tax system in that way, and the infra-structure ministry will put a priority on railroads and clean public transportation when it picks projects to fund.

In exchange for letting the Greens pursue their climate agenda, the People’s Party got control of the economy, foreign policy and, impor-tantly, immigration policy. Kurz doesn’t try to hide that he wants to kick out all immi-grants whose asylum applica-tions are rejected and that he won’t take part in any EU efforts to resettle, for example, the denizens of the overflowing refugee camps on the Greek islands. In the only concession to the Greens’ pro-immigration stance, the cabinet includes a Bosnian

immigrant, Alma Zadic, a Greens appointee, as justice minister.

As Kurz explained to Bild, the two parties have agreed “not to negotiate minimalist compromises, but to choose a new way of cooperation - in my opinion a very modern and promising way in terms of democratic politics. We have quite deliberately defined which party should take the lead in which areas.” The arrangement is designed to avoid the kind of paralysis of eternal negotiation that has struck the German gov-ernment. It also relieves the parties of political responsi-bility for actions that their voters find distasteful: It is understood from the start that People’s Party ministers will be tough on immigration and the Green ministers will do everything in their power to get Austrians to switch from cars to public transportation.

The division of labor is rel-atively easy with the Greens because they’re a party

focused on a relatively narrow set of issues. The conserva-tives, a traditional umbrella party, essentially are letting the experts do their thing on the environment and climate - just as the voters appear to have requested by giving the Greens their best-ever election result and propelling them into a government coa-lition for the first time.

This should be a tempting model for other European countries where climate issues top the political agenda, including the Nordics and the Netherlands. But it’s especially intriguing for Germany, where the Greens are the second-most popular party after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Demo-crats. The rifts between the two political forces are quite similar to those seen in Austria. So if the Austrians manage to divide up the work of gov-ernment without getting in each other’s way, a similar arrangement could work for their bigger neighbor, too.

Austria’s Conservatives and Greens stage a bold experiment

MOUSTAPHA ABDELKERIM IDRIS ANATOLIA

LEONID BERSHIDSKY BLOOMBERG

The arrival to power the Justice and Development (AK) Party, in Turkey has breathed a new life into the Turkish-African relationship, making Turkey a key partner for Africa again.

A file picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud inspecting a military guard during an official welcoming ceremony at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu.

very visible through a number of other organiza-tions such as the Turkish Red Crescent, the Diyanet and Maarif foundations, as well as some other NGOs. These organizations work in the fields of sanitizing water, opening wells and providing health and education services even in remote regions of the Sahel.

In the educational field, Maarif Foundation, which manages the Turkish schools in Africa, contributes to the training of thousands of African youth. More impor-tantly, since 2005 Turkey has offered training oppor-tunities to thousands of young Africans through scholarships granted by YTB, the Turkish agency respon-sible for scholarship programs.

In 2018; more than 11,000 young Africans were trained in Turkish univer-sities. This outstretched hand policy has earned Turkey a special image among Africans.

As of today, the rela-tionship between Turkey and Africa has reached its peak. This relationship based on the principle of forging a win-win partnership will allow African countries and Turkey to build a better future for their respective people and help each other on the international scene.

Africa must be able to choose its partners according to its priorities and to be inspired by the devel-opment models of emerging economic powers.

The Sahel region, which is destabilized by armed groups that profit from the situation in Libya, must turn to its new partners in order to wage a decisive fight against its armed groups. Turkey could be an important partner in the fight against terrorism at the continental level.

Outlining the impor-tance of cooperation with Africa in counterterrorism, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an article for the Aljazeera news website: “The people of Turkey and Africa are also united in their experience with terrorism. As a country facing crucial challenges including ter-rorism, regional instability and the refuge crisis, we can relate to the predicament in which our partners such as Uganda and Kenya find themselves.

Moving forward, we pledge to work with our African allies and friends more closely on counterter-rorism, among other issues”. Africa’s relationship with Turkey proves once again that south-south cooper-ation is still possible.

10 SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Iran ‘accidentally’ shot down Ukrainian plane

ANATOLIA — ANKARA

Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said yesterday that a Ukrainian aircraft was “accidentally” hit by an Iranian missile early this week that killed 176 people on board.

In a written statement, the top military authority said as a result of a “human error”, the plane was accidentally shot down by the air defence system while it was passing over a “sensitive military point”.

Iran was on the alert to pos-sible US threats to attack many points in Iran after launching a dozen ballistic missiles targeting the US troops in Iraq, it noted.

Under these sensitive and crisis conditions, the plane approached a delicate military centre of the Islamic Revolu-tionary Guards Corps (IRGC),

and its height and stance seemed to be hostile, it said.

The plane in question was unintentionally targeted under these conditions, it added.

“Armed Forces’ internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the hor-rific crash of the Ukrainian plane & death of 176 innocent people,” President Hassan Rouhani (pictured) said on Twitter.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disas-trous mistake. My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences,” Rouhani said.

“Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations,” said Iran’s Foreign

Minister Javad Zarif. “Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster,” he said on Twitter.

Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of IRGC’s Aerospace Division, said the elite forces take full respon-sibility for shooting down the plane. Speaking at a press con-ference in Tehran, he said the Ukrainian plane was hit after being detected as a cruise missile by the air defence system.

“When the US announced that they will hit 52 points in Iran, the attack and defence units were in a place on 100% alert,” he said. “I will accept all the responsibilities for this incident.” He said the operators of the air defence system were informed that a cruise missile was launched towards Iran and

due to the direction of the flight the plane was accidentally iden-tified as a cruise missile.

“We will obey any decision by officials,” he added.

The Fars News Agency said on Friday the cause of the crash would be announced after a meeting of accident investi-gators, including experts from Iran and abroad.

The US, Britain, and Canada said on Thursday they had evi-dence suggesting an Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down the Ukraine International Airlines passenger jet.

This photograph released yesterday by the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, shows people standing and analysing the fragments and remains of the Ukraine International Airlines plane Boeing 737-800 that crashed outside the Iranian capital Tehran.

Iran to send black box to FranceIran will send the black box of the Ukrainian plane which it “accidentally” downed to France, officials said yesterday. Speaking to state-run IRNA, Hassan Rezaeifar, Director-General of the Iran Civil Aviation Organization, said: “We asked coun-tries, including Canada, France and the US to send essential software and hardware to Iran to download information from the black box, but these countries rejected Iran’s offer.” He said Iran does not have the technology to download this crucial information.

Iran also offered to send the black box to a reputable labo-ratory in countries like Ukraine, Sweden, England, Canada and the US but this offer too was rejected. As a last resort and with the agreement of all of the above countries, it was decided to send the black box to France.

“Armed Forces’ internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane & death of 176 innocent people,” President Hassan Rouhani said on Twitter. “The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake. My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences."

Turkey expects Russia to convince Haftar for ceasefireANATOLIA — ANKARA

Turkey expects Russia to convince Libya’s renegade general Khalifa Haftar for a cease-fire, the country’s foreign minister said yesterday.

“Turkey’s expectation from its Russian friends is to convince general Khalifa Haftar for a ceasefire in Libya based on what was agreed upon by the Turkish and Russian presi-dents,” said Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking at a joint news con-ference with his Ghanaian

counterpart Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey in Istanbul.

On Wednesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin urged a cease-fire in Libya by January 12 following a meeting in Istanbul. The UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli welcomed the call for cease-fire while Haftar rejected the call.

When it comes to a political solution, Turkey has no problem with dialogue with anyone, including Haftar, Cavusoglu

said, but firstly Haftar will have to abide by the cease-fire and stop the aggression, then go to the political process.

”Some neighbouring coun-tries in the region are trying to disrupt this cease-fire,” the foreign minister said and accused France of undermining effort for peace in Libya.

“It is France that has caused the chaos in Libya to continue by giving all kinds of support, including weapon to an illegit-imate administration,” Cavu-soglu said and added France, at

the same time, is speaking out against Turkey.

On April 4, Haftar launched an offensive to capture the capital Tripoli from GNA. According to the UN, over a thousand people have been killed since the start of the oper-ation and more than 5,000 injured.

Since the ouster of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: one in eastern Libya supported mainly by Egypt and the United Arab

Emirates and the other in Tripoli, which enjoys the UN and international recognition.

Meanwhile, commenting on cease-fire in Idlib, which will start just after midnight today,, Cavusoglu said: “I hope the ceasefire in Idlib that gets effective tonight will be per-manent. I hope Russia can keep the Assad regime under control and convince the regime that the only solution is the political solution,” he said.

On Friday, Turkey’s National Defence Ministry

announced that Turkey and Russia “have agreed on the implementation of the cease-fire within the Idlib de-esca-lation zone, stopping the air/ground attacks, preventing loss of life and new migratory flows with the purpose of contributing to the normalization of life.”

Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said Turkey not only in Africa, but also in the world works for peace and stability, adding: “I know and appreciate your efforts in Libya and the Middle East.”

Tunisia’s prime minister-designate, Habib Jemli (right), defence minister candidate, Imed Darouich (left), and Justice Minister, Hedi Gdiri, attend a plenary session at the parliament in the capital Tunis.

Parliament rejects Tunisian govtANATOLIA — TUNIS

The government of Tunisian Prime Minister-designate Habib Jemli fell yesterday after a no-confidence vote in parliament.

The Jemli government failed to get a vote of confi-dence from the Tunisian

assembly, Rachid Ghannouchi, the parliament speaker announced following the vote.

The government managed just 72 votes with 134 deputies against, Parliament Speaker Rachid Ghannouchi announced after the session that lasted more than 10 hours. Along with the Ennahda Party, other

lawmakers announced support for the government, but oppo-sition parties said they would not support. According to the Constitution, if the government established by the first party fails to win a vote of confidence, the president appoints an inde-pendent person to form a new government.

South Africa Presidentvows to restore powersupply to full capacityAFP — JOHANNESBURG

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday said the country’s debt-laden power utility Eskom would not be privatised and pledged to restore it to full capacity.

Rolling blackouts were implemented several times last year to prevent the grid col-lapsing and resumed last weekend despite a gov-ernment promise not to ration power during the first two weeks of January.

Eskom chair Jabu Mabuza stepped down Friday in protest.

“Eskom will be restored to becoming a company that can provide energy,” said Ram-aphosa, speaking at the 108th birthday celebration of the ruling African National Con-gress (ANC) party.

“We are not going to pri-vatise Eskom,” he added. “We are going to strengthen Eskom so that it can deliver energy as it should.” Eskom, which sup-plies 95 percent of South Africa’s electricity, has been crippled by poorly designed coal-fired power stations, as well as decades of misman-agement and alleged cor-ruption under former national president Jacob Zuma.

It has amassed 450bn rand ($31bn, ¤28bn) in debt, which economists warn is a major threat to Africa’s most indus-trialised economy.

Ramaphosa yesterday urged Eskom management to rapidly restore its ailing power stations and promised gov-ernment assistance for the task.

He said new power plants faced a “number of design challenges” that needed to be

fixed.South Africa’s government

has pledged 128bn rand (around $8.9bn) to Eskom over a three-year period that began in February 2019.

The president has also announced plans to divide Eskom into three subsidiaries: generation, transmission and distribution, by March 2020.

“It is too big to fail and we will not allow Eskom to fail,” said Ramaphosa, addressing supporters sporting the ANC’s black, green and yellow in the central city of Kimberley.

But pressure has been piling on the president, who was re-elected in May on a promise to revive the economy.

The International Mon-etary Fund warned last year that continuous bailouts to state-owned entities were not sustainable and that growth could not be generated by gov-ernment spending alone.

This week, the World Bank cut its economic growth forecast for South Africa from 1.0 percent to 0.9 percent in 2020 due to electricity supply concerns.

“This has a negative impact on our economy and on the lives of our people,” said Ram-aphosa, who pledged to speed up “the pace of economic growth”. He added that the country would seek alternative sources of energy from private companies and gas shipments, and pledged to reduce South Africa’s carbon footprint.

“We will step up our investment drive... reduce the cost of doing business, and see to the creation of jobs,” he said.

“For all these efforts to succeed, we must ensure the stability of electricity supply.”

Refugees shot dead in Libya were pushed out of UN facilityAP — KHARTOUM

Two Eritrean asylum-seekers were shot dead in the Libyan capital, just days after the UN refugee agency pressed them to leave its facility citing over-crowding.

The UNHCR confirmed the deaths in a statement saying it’s “deeply saddened” by the killings a day earlier in Tripoli.

Three refugees said that the men were among dozens forced out of the UNHCR-run Gath-ering and Departure Facility at

the beginning of January. The three spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

The facility was promoted as an “alternative to detention” but when the numbers of ref-ugees increased, the UN offered money and pressed new arrivals to leave. The slain ref-ugees were among those who accepted the money and left.

They were among thou-sands held in Libya’s detention centers where abuses are rampant. The country is a major

waypoint for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East to Europe.

Libya is governed by dueling authorities, one based in the east and one in Tripoli in the west, with each relying on different militias for support. The east-based government has been trying to capture the capital since April.

An AP investigation has found that in a country without a functioning government, huge sums of European money have been diverted to intertwined

networks of militiamen, traf-fickers and coast guard members who exploit migrants.

The militias torture, extort and otherwise abuse migrants for ransoms in detention centres under the nose of the UN, often in compounds that receive millions in European money, the AP investigation showed. Many migrants also simply disappear from detention centres, sold to traf-fickers or to other centres.

The UN has said the situ-ation in Libya is highly complex.

Lebanon ‘regrets’ loss of UN voting privilegeAFP — BEIRUT

Crisis-hit Lebanon yesterday said it “regrets” being among seven countries stripped by the United Nations of voting priv-ileges in the General Assembly for failing to pay their dues.

The UN decision could “harm Lebanon’s interests, its prestige and reputation,” the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run National News Agency.

The ministry which “regrets” the move called for a solution to be found “as quickly as possible”, saying the s i tuation “could be corrected”.

The finance ministry later said Lebanon’s arrears would be paid tomorrow. It was not immediately clear how much Beirut owed the United Nations. On Friday the United Nations said seven countries — Lebanon, Yemen, Vene-zuela, Central African Republic, Gambia, Lesotho and Tonga — have fallen behind in their financial contributions and would not be able to in the 74th session of the General Assembly.

11SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020 ASIA

Protesters slam Modi visit as citizenship law protests rageAFP — KOLKATA

Thousands of angry protesters took to the streets to tell India’s leader he was unwelcome in Kolkata yesteday, in the latest rally against a citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims.

Widespread street demon-strations, and occasionally deadly clashes, have gripped the Hindu-majority nation since the law was approved by parliament last month.

Police said nearly 30,000 protesters took to the streets of Kolkata to denounce Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi’s visit, with many linking hands to form human chains that spanned miles through the streets of the eastern megacity.

“What we are fighting for is the future of India,” Surita Roy, a woman who joined the rally, said.

A crowd mobbed the city’s airport and chanted “We are

against fascism” as the Indian leader’s plane touched down before he transferred to a mil-itary helicopter that carried him to the house of West Bengal state leader Mamata Banerjee -- a vocal critic of Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist government.

Police stopped protesters from following Modi to the chief minister’s house, but Banerjee told journalists after their meeting that she had asked him to repeal the law “for the larger interests of the country” and then joined the street protests herself.

Critics say the law is a pre-cursor to a national register of citizens that many among India’s 200 million Muslims -- around 15 percent of the country’s pop-ulation — fear will leave them stateless. Many poor Indians do not have documents to prove their nationality.

Modi has in turn accused his political opponents of “mis-leading” and “inciting” people against his Hindu nationalist government.

His party has launched a door-to-door campaign in a bid to dispel “misinformation” about the law, which they insist is not discriminatory.

At least 27 people, mostly Muslims, have been killed during clashes with police after defying restrictions on demonstrations in several states of the country.

But hundreds of thousands of protesters have continued to meet public across the country and demand a rollback of the law. Students from leftist groups protesting against new citizenship law, in Kolkata yesterday.

A tourist boat sails among lotus flowers in the Red Lotus Lake outside Udon Thani, Thailand, yesterday.

Red Lotus Lake

Bus catches fire in India; at least 20 dead, 21 hurtAP — LUCKNOW

At least 20 people were killed when a double-decker bus caught fire after ramming into a truck on a highway in northern India, police said.

Another 21 people were taken to a hospital, some of them in critical condition, fol-lowing the crash late Friday, said senior police officer Mohit Aggarwal.

Many of the bodies were burned beyond recognition after the fire swept through the bus, he said.

The accident occurred near Kannauj, a town about 200 kilometers (125 miles) southwest of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.

Police suspect the truck driver lost control over the vehicle, leading to the collision with the bus. The truck driver escaped, police said.

Deadly bus accidents are common in India. Around 150,000 people die every year on India’s roads, often because of reckless driving, badly maintained roads and vehicles o v e r c r o w d e d w i t h passengers.

In September 2018, a bus carrying pilgrims from a Hindu temple in the hills of southern India plunged off a road and killed at least 55 people.

India blows up luxury high-rises over environmental violationsAFP — KOCHI

Two luxury waterfront high-rises in southern India were reduced to rubble in controlled explosions yesterday in a rare example of authorities getting tough on builders who break environmental rules.

The 19-floor H2O Holy Faith complex of 90 flats -- overlooking Kerala state’s famous lush backwaters -- was the first to go down, collapsing in just a matter of few seconds.

A thick grey cloud of dust and debris cascaded down after officials detonated explosives drilled into the walls of the building, which had been occupied for several years until the Supreme Court ruled last May that it was constructed in violation of coastal regulations.

Minutes later, the twin towers of Alfa Serene — separated by a narrow stretch of backwaters — tumbled down with an ear-splitting noise. The remaining two complexes will be razed on Sunday.

A crowd of onlookers who flocked to nearby terraces and roads watched the demolition, after officials onboard heli-copters conducted aerial surveys. India has seen a con-struction boom in recent years but developers have often ridden roughshod over safety and other regulations, and with the connivance of local officials.

The inhabitants of the razed apartment blocks in the well-off Maradu district of Kochi city had bought their 343 flats in good faith and now face

a lengthy legal fight to recoup their money. Some had invested their life savings.

Sirens went off on Saturday warning people gathered for the demolition to remain at a safe distance while ambulances and fire engines stood on standby.

Ahead of the work, nearby residents told AFP they were worried about the impact of the demolition on their homes.

“When they were demol-ishing the swimming pool, some of the houses in our neighbourhood developed cracks, we are really worried,” said Divya, who has moved into temporary accommodation.

Over 2,000 residents living in the neighbourhood were evacuated as a part of safety measures.

North Korea says will resume US talks if demands fully metAFP — SEOUL

North Korea said yesterday it had received Donald Trump’s letter wishing a happy birthday to leader Kim Jong Un, but warned it would only return to nuclear talks if Washington fully accepts its demands.

The US president and Kim have held three meetings since June 2018 but negotiations over denuclearisation have been largely deadlocked since the breakup of a summit in Hanoi last February.

Before the collapse of that meeting, Trump had said that he and Kim had an excellent rela-tionship — and had even “fallen in love”.

Kim Kye Gwan, North Korea’s foreign ministry adviser, said on Saturday that Trump’s congratulatory letter to Kim had arrived in the isolated state directly from the United States.

“As acknowledged by the world, it is true that the personal relations between (Kim Jong Un) and President Trump are not bad,” he said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

However, it would be “absent-minded” to expect Pyongyang to resume dialogue because of that warm personal relationship, the statement

continued. On the gridlocked nuclear talks, he said that reo-pening dialogue would only be possible in the case of Washing-ton’s “absolute agreement” on the issues raised by North Korea in previous talks.

But the senior official was sceptical about the US accepting these demands, saying: “We know well that the US is neither ready nor able to do so. We know... the way we should go and will go on our way.” At a meeting of his ruling party in December, Kim Jong Un declared an end to North Korea’s mora-toriums on nuclear and intercon-tinental ballistic missile tests.

The self-imposed ban on such tests had been a centrepiece of the nuclear diplomacy between Pyongyang and Wash-ington over the past two years, which has seen little tangible progress. Yesterday’s statement on KCNA came a day after South Korea’s presidential security adviser said Trump had asked Seoul to deliver his birthday message for Kim Jong Un.

North Korea has never offi-cially confirmed Kim’s age or date of birth -- but on January 8, 2014, basketball star Dennis Rodman sang him “Happy Birthday” before an exhibition match in Pyongyang. Trump and Kim’s personal relationship,

while rocky, appears to have warmed significantly since their pre-2018 animosity that saw them exchange insults and threats of war.

However, Kim Kye Gwan accused Washington of trying to manipulate any warm feelings between the pair for political gain.

“We have been deceived by the US, being caught in the dia-logue with it for over one year and a half, and that was the lost time for us,” his statement said, adding that Kim Jong Un’s “good personal feelings” about Trump would not influence any future talks.

“There will never be such negotiations as that in Vietnam, in which we proposed exchanging a core nuclear facility of the country for the lift of some UN sanctions,” it added.

“There is no need for us to be present in such talks, in which there is only unilateral pressure, and we have no desire to barter something for other thing at the talks like traders.” The adviser also warned Seoul against trying to act as a mediator between the US and the North: “The South Korean authorities had better not dream a fabulous dream that we would return to the dialogue with thankful feelings for the birthday greetings.”

‘South Korea’s Moon seeks to punish top prosecutor’BLOOMBERG — SEOUL

South Korean President Moon Jae-in wants to punish the coun-try’s top prosecutor, who is heading an investigation into former and current officials government, for disobedience, local TV outlet Channel A reported, citing an unidentified government official.

Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl should be held “accountable for his wrong-doing,” the official said, according to Channel A. “We’re currently reviewing which law clauses can be applied to his case.”

Moon’s office declined to comment, while a phone call to the Justice Ministry was unan-swered outside of office hours. An email sent to Yoon’s office outside work hours also went unanswered.

Yoon, a Moon appointee, is overseeing probes related to indicted former Justice Minister Cho Kuk. The Yonhap News Agency reported that his office sent prosecutors to a presidential committee overseeing national development Thursday afternoon to search for evidence relating to alleged election interference.

Yoon also sent investigators to Moon’s office Friday to request “crime-relevant materials” but the Blue House rejected, presi-

dential spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said in a text message.

Friction between Moon’s office and Yoon intensified after the Justice Ministry reassigned key prosecutors and Yoon lieu-tenants investigating scandals involving the president’s aides, just three months before a par-liamentary election. The shakeup came days after Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae took office, pledging to carry out Moon’s reforms and re-balance the “almighty” pros-ecutors’ power.

The reassignments were included in 32 appointments announced by the Ministry of Justice Wednesday. Three pros-ecutors recently named to senior posts under Yoon were on the list.

South Korea President’s Biggest Headache Is Prosecutor He Picked Choo blamed Yoon for forcing her hand by not sub-mitting a reorganization plan for his department that she said she requested. He “disobeyed my order to make reassignment pro-posals,” Choo said at a parlia-mentary session Thursday.

An image of Choo’s text mes-sages captured by a local press camera late Thursday showed that she was asking her ministry to look up punishment law clauses because she wants to exercise her authority as the supervisor. She didn’t identify who she wants to punish.

Australia wildfires merge into inferno; man injuredAP — BURRAGATE

Two wildfires merged to form a massive inferno in south-eastern Australia and a man suffered serious burns protecting a home, in a night of treacherous conditions during the nation’s unprece-dented wildfire crisis, officials said yesterday.

Authorities were assessing the damage after firefighters battled flames fanned by strong winds through the night and

lightning strikes sparked new blazes in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia’s most pop-ulous states. Conditions were milder Saturday and forecast to remain relatively benign for the next week.

“In the scheme of things, we did OK last night,” said Andrew Crisp, Victoria’s emer-g e n c y m a n a g e m e n t commissioner.

New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters that

officials were “extremely relieved” the fires were not more destructive overnight.

A man suffered burns pro-tecting a home near Tum-barumba in southern New South Wales and was airlifted to a Sydney hospital in serious condition to undergo surgery, Fitzsimmons said.

Several f i ref ighters received minor burns and one suffered shortness of breath, but they were not admitted to a hospital, he said.

With no heavy rain expected, the 640,000-hectare blaze that formed overnight when two fires joined in the Snowy Mountains region near Tumbarumba, close to the Victorian border, is expected to burn for weeks, officials said.

The fire crisis in Australia has killed at least 26 people, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and scorched an area larger than the US state of Indiana since September.

India, China agree to set up military hotlineIANS — NEW DELHI

In an effort to keep peace and tranquillity along the borders, India and China have agreed to set up a military hotline between Indian Army’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) and Western Theatre Command (WTC) of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, said Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on yesterday.

General Naravane said that

the proposal for the hotline has been accepted by both sides after all procedural issues were resolved.

During an annual press conference, the Army Chief said: “As far as the hotline between India and China is concerned, proposals have been in the pipeline for a long time.

“The proposal has been accepted and procedural aspects have been ironed out. I am glad to say that we have now resolved the issue.”

At least 27 people have been killed during clashes with police after defying restrictions on demonstrations in several states of the country.

12 SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020ASIA

Taiwan PresidentTsai re-electedfor a second termAFP — TAIPEI

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen declared a landslide victory in yesterday’s election as voters delivered a stunning rebuke of Beijing’s campaign to isolate the self-ruled island and handed its first female leader a second term.

Tsai, 63, announced her victory as thousands of jubilant supporters cheered and waved flags outside her party head-quarters with the ongoing vote count revealing an all but unassailable lead.

“Taiwan is showing the world how much we cherish our free, democratic way of life and how much we cherish our nation,” she told reporters.

Her main rival, Han Kuo-yu of the China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party, had conceded defeat shortly beforehand.

Official results showed Tsai was romping ahead with 57 percent — more than eight million votes — yesterday evening. Han trailed behind with 38 percent.

The Central Election Com-mission was still counting votes when Tsai declared, but Han knew he could not close

the gap. The result is a huge blow for Beijing, which has made no secret of wanting to see Tsai turfed out and the KMT take her place.

Over the last four years it ramped up economic and dip-lomatic pressure on the self-ruled island, hoping it would encourage voters to support Tsai’s opposition.

But the strong arm tactics backfired and voters flocked to her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), fuelled in part by China’s hardline response to months of huge and violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

Tsai pitched herself as a defender of liberal democratic values against the increasingly

authoritarian shadow cast by China under President Xi Jinping.

Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to retake the island one day, by force if necessary.

Her campaign frequently invoked Hong Kong’s protests as a warning of what might lie ahead should China one day take control of Taiwan.

During her victory speech on Saturday night Tsai said she was committed to dialogue with China’s leaders and wanted peace.

But she called on Beijing to halt its sabre rattling towards Taiwan and respect the idea that only the island’s 23 million inhabitants can decide its future.

“I also hope that the Beijing authorities understand that democratic Taiwan, and our democratically elected gov-ernment, will not concede to threats and intimidation,” she said.

Tsai is loathed by Beijing because she refuses to acknowledge the idea that Taiwan is part of “one China”.

But China is also Taiwan’s largest trade partner, leaving the island in a precariously

dependent relationship.Han, the 62-year-old mayor of the southern city of Kaohsiung, favoured much warmer ties with China — saying it would boost Taiwan’s fortunes — and accused the current adminis-tration of needlessly antago-nising Beijing.

But his campaign struggled to gain momentum or escape the perception that he was too cosy with Taiwan’s giant neighbour.

“The citizens of the Republic of China have already made their decision and as a candidate I obey the outcome of the election,” he said in his concession speech, using Tai-wan’s official name.

Tsai’s victory is the second

major electoral setback for Beijing in recent weeks.

In November, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp scored a landslide win over pro-Beijing parties in district elec-tions as the city convulses with months of anti-government protests.

“Tsai’s landslide victory is like a slap in the face to Beijing as Taiwanese voters say no to its intimidation,” Hung Chin-fu, a political analyst at Taiwan’s National Cheng Kung University, said

Joshua Eisenman, a foreign affairs expert the University of Notre Dame, said all eyes will be watching China’s response.

“Will the hardline position towards Tsai... be continued or

will Beijing adopt a more ‘soft sell’ approach that is more carrot and less stick?” he said.

Taiwanese voters have watched events in Hong Kong closely because the financial hub is run on Beijing’s “one country, two systems” model.

China has suggested the same model could one day be applied to Taiwan if the island ever came to be controlled by Beijing.

But an increasing number of Taiwanese voters are spooked by that proposal.

“I don’t want Taiwan’s democracy to turn into how Hong Kong is now,” said Dennis Wu, a doctor, as he cast a vote for Tsai in the capital Taipei.

Incumbent Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen waves to her supporters after her election victory at a rally in Taipei, Taiwan, yesterday.

Students clad in traditional Japanese wear enjoy at the end of a 'coming-of-age ceremony' at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo, yesterday. Every January, Japanese turning the legal age of 20 celebrate 'Coming of Age Day.'

Celebrating legal age

2 US troops killed in Afghanistanbomb explosionAP — KABUL

Two US service members were killed and two others injured when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, the US military said in a statement yesterday.

In keeping with defense department rules, the US mil-itary did not identify the service members.

The Taliban immediately took responsibility for the attack. Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said it occurred in the southern Kan-dahar province. More than 2,400 US service members have been killed in Afghanistan.

Last year was one of the deadliest even as the United States engaged in peace talks with the Taliban insurgents, who immediately took respon-sibility for the attack.

Earlier, both NATO and Afghan officials had confirmed a roadside bomb hit a US army vehicle yesterday, without men-tioning casualties.

The Taliban now control or hold sway over roughly half of Afghanistan. The militants con-tinue to stage near-daily attacks targeting Afghan and US forces.

Pakistan deniespolio-relatedtravel curbsINTERNEWS — ISLAMABAD

Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza has refuted media reports while reporting of new polio cases that any new travel restrictions had been imposed on Pakistan.

In a statement over the weekend, Mirza said the World Health Organization Emer-gency Committee recommen-dations were first made in May 2014 and had since then been periodically reviewed and extended for all the countries infected by polio virus.

He said Pakistan imple-mented the same immediately as a responsible member of international community and has been doing so since then.

Mirza refuted the reports of any additional recommen-dations imposed by WHO committee for incoming inter-national visitors traveling to Pakistan.

Pakistani scientist honoured withChina’s highest scientific award

INTERNEWS — ISLAMABAD

Renowned Pakistani scientist Prof Dr Attaur Rahman has been awarded the ‘China Interna-tional Science and Technology Cooperation Award 2020 - the highest scientific award of China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping conferred the prestigious honour upon Dr Rehman during a ceremony organised at the Great Peoples Hall in Beijing, according to an official statement,

The well-known scientist has been awarded in recog-nition of his contributions in the field of chemistry and the numerous strong collaborations that he has developed with China in the fields of organic chemistry, genetics, pharma-cology, agricultural sciences, virology, nanotechnology and

other emerging areas.Prof Rahman is the most decorated scientist of Pakistan having many accolades under his name including Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Hilal-e-Imtiaz and the highest national award Nishan-e-Imtiaz.

Currently, he is serving as Chairman of the Prime Minis-ter’s Task Force on Science and Technology, Vice Chairman on the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Technology-Driven Knowledge-Economy, and Co-Chairman Task Force on Infor-mation Technology.

He has also served the nation as a Federal Minister of Science and Technology, and Founding Chairman of Higher Education Commission (HEC).

The acclaimed scientist obtained his PhD in organic chemistry from Cambridge Uni-versity in 1968.

Pakistan FM to visit Iran, US in bid to defuse regional tensionsINTERNEWS — ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is scheduled to begin his regional trip today with a visit to Iran for offering Pakistan’s help for defusing tensions prevailing in the Arabian Gulf in the aftermath of the assassination of senior Iranian commander Gen Qassem Soleimani by the United States in an airstrike in Baghdad.

He would later on January 13 visit Riyadh and then travel to Washington on January 17, a senior diplomatic source said.

Qureshi would tour the three capitals for meeting his counterparts to convey Paki-stan’s desire to help in de-escalating the situation.

Qureshi has made a

number of telephonic contacts with his counterparts over the situation. More recently, he spoke to Russian and Iraqi foreign ministers.

The foreign minister, meanwhile, met the new Iranian ambassador in Islamabad, Seyyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini, at his chambers in the Parliament House.

Qureshi told Amb Hosseini that Pakistan was determined to play its “positive role” for ending tensions in the region.

The Iranian ambassador said that Tehran was clear that it did not want escalation.

He, however, said that the countries counselling restraint need to, at least, first verbally condemn the incident.

Only afterwards can they ask the countries in the region

and outside to de-escalate. He said those countries needed to stop treating the aggressor and the sufferer, the murderer and the slain, and terrorists and their victims equally, a diplo-matic source revealed.

The foreign minister, on this occasion, recalled that the statement issued by the Foreign Office on January 3 had called for avoiding uni-lateral actions and use of force.

Hosseini expressed similar sentiments in his speech at a condolence meeting for Gen Soleimani later in the evening. He did not name any specific country on both occasions, but it is well known that Iranians have not been very com-fortable with the position taken by Islamabad on the incident.

Man infected with mystery virus in China dies after outbreakREUTERS — SHANGHAI

A 61-year-old man has died from pneumonia in the central Chinese city of Wuhan after an outbreak of a yet to be iden-tified virus while seven others are in critical condition, the Wuhan health authorities said yesterday.

In total, 41 people have been diagnosed with the pathogen, which preliminary lab tests cited by Chinese state media earlier this week pointed to a new type of coronavirus, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said in a statement on its website.

It said the pathogen was an “unknown cause of viral pneumonia”.

Two of them have been dis-charged from hospital and the rest are in stable condition, while 739 people deemed to have been in close contact with the patients have been cleared, it said.

The man, the first victim of the outbreak that began in December, was a regular buyer at a seafood market in the city, who had been previously diag-nosed with abdominal tumours and chronic liver disease, the health authority said.

Treatments did not improve his symptoms after he was admitted to hospital and he died on the evening of Jan. 9 when his heart failed. He tested

positive for the virus, it added.The commission added that

no new cases had been detected since Jan. 3.

The Wuhan health authority also said that the patients were mainly vendors and purchasers at the seafood market, and that to date no medical staff had been infected, nor had clear evidence of human-to-human transmission been found.

The World Health Organi-zation (WHO) said on Thursday that a newly emerging member of the family of viruses that caused the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreaks, could be the cause of the present outbreak.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause infections ranging from the common cold to SARS. Some of the virus types cause less serious disease, while some like the one that causes MERS, are far more severe.

The outbreak comes ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays in late January, when many of China’s 1.4 billion people will be travelling to their home towns or abroad.

The Chinese government expects passengers to make 440 million trips via rail and another 79 million trips via air-planes, officials told a news briefing on Thursday.

Official results showed Tsai was romping ahead with 57 percent — more than eight million votes — yesterday evening. Han trailed behind with 38 percent.

Work on CPEC projects to be acceleratedINTERNEWS — ISLAMABAD

The pace at which projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are being imple-mented would be accelerated in the coming weeks and months, said Minister for Planning, Devel-opment and Special Initiatives Asad Umar.

Talking to Chinese Ambas-sador Yao Jing on matters relating to CPEC and bilateral economic cooperation, the minister

expressed his satisfaction at the progress on various projects under CPEC.

He emphasised that the establishment and operational-isation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Pakistan was cur-rently the government’s top pri-ority as SEZs would lead to joint-venture agreements in manufac-turing, which would integrate enterprises from both sides.

The minister stressed the need for Pakistani

manufacturing industries to be included in the global value chain by partnering with Chinese com-panies. The ambassador assured the minister that the Chinese government was keen to promote such relationships between businesses and manu-facturing industries of both the countries. The minister empha-sised that the huge potential in the sector could be explored by modernising its various sub-sectors.

13SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020 EUROPE

N Ireland assembly reopens after 3-year deadlockAFP — BELFAST

Northern Ireland’s assembly reopened yesterday following three-year’s of political deadlock after rival nationalist and unionist parties agreed to a new power-sharing deal with Brexit looming.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster was later appointed as first minister, and effective head of government, while Republican Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill will serve as her deputy.

The region’s devolved assembly at Stormont collapsed in January 2017 over a scandal caused by the runaway costs of a renewable energy scheme.

Its 90 members have since sat only for one-off sessions, with numerous rounds of acri-monious negotiations failing to reach a solution, leaving basic services unattended.

But they returned on Sat-urday after Pro-Irish repub-licans and pro-British unionists struck a deal on Friday under the threat of a new regional election if they missed the latest deadline to reconvene on Monday.

Foster said she was “deeply humbled” to be reinstalled as first minister, heading a new executive that features several prominent women.

“The last three years have focused too much on division and recrimination,” she said.

“There’s plenty of blame to go around but the time has come to move forward with res-olution.” The UK government in London promised a large cash injection into the small but strategically important province if the republican Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) found an agreement.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald told reporters that the party was “ready to do business” after the deal was agreed.

Foster called the draft power-sharing agreement “fair”, while Downing Street said it was “a balanced package,” adding that the precise amount of new funding would be spelled out when agreement was reached.

“History is being made,” said Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney after both sides confirmed their support for the devolved government.

It can help “show that pol-itics in Northern Ireland can be

a force for good and brings people together,” he said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the breakthrough “an extremely positive development for the people of Northern Ireland”.

Friday’s deal came with thousands of the region’s healthcare workers on strike.

The latest talks were launched in the wake of a December 12 UK general election that saw both the DUP and Sinn Fein lose votes to smaller groups.

Analysts attributed the losses to voter frustration at their inability to reach a com-promise that could let a gov-ernment in Belfast take care of the region’s daily needs.

A 1998 peace accord that ended three decades of violence over British rule of Northern Ireland in which thousands died requires the two main parties to share power.

The lack of an executive was especially fraught with danger for the region because of his-toric changes to its trade rules being imposed by Britain’s pending withdrawal from the European Union.

Northern Ireland’s border with the Republic of Ireland becomes a UK-EU land frontier on Brexit.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s EU withdrawal agreement puts pressure on

local authorities to maintain frictionless trade while pre-serving an open border on the island of Ireland.

Negotiations to revive Stormont have been stuck on disagreements over the use of the Irish language and a mech-anism giving minority parties

veto rights. The draft accord requires the executive “to provide official recognition of the status of the Irish language in Northern Ireland” and to “respect the freedom of all persons... to choose, affirm, maintain and develop their national and cultural identity”.

It also eliminates the veto mechanism and compels the parties to build consensus on issues of dispute.

The UK government addi-tionally promises to deliver a new financial package for the region that allows outstanding public sector salaries to be paid.

First Minister Arlene Foster and party colleagues are pictured as politicians in Northern Ireland returned to the Stormont Assembly after backing a deal to restore devolution in Belfast, Northern Ireland, yesterday.

Berlin will host Libya peace talks,says German Chancellor MerkelREUTERS — MOSCOW

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Libyan peace talks will be held in Berlin, as Turkey and Russia appealed to the north African nation’s warring factions to enter a ceasefire.

“We hope that the joint efforts by Russia and Turkey will lead to success, and we will soon send out invitations for a conference in Berlin,” Merkel said yesterday during a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

She stressed that the United Nations would lead talks if a meeting were to take place in Berlin, and that Libya’s warring parties would need to play a major role to help find a solution.

The aim was to give Libya the chance to become a sov-ereign and peaceful country, Merkel said.

Putin expressed support for the process, saying it was a “timely” idea and necessary to bring the conflict in Libya to an end. The comments came days after Turkey and Russia urged Libya’s warring parties to declare a ceasefire.

Fayez al-Serraj, head of Libya’s internationally recog-nised government, said he wel-comed the peace initiative by Russia and Turkey.

“The condition is the with-drawal of the attacking party, which does not seem willing to do so”, he said after holding

talks with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in Rome on Saturday.

Libyan forces loyal to eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar said this week they had taken control of the strategic coastal city of Sirte in a rapid advance preceded by air strikes.

Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army was also con-sidered responsible for a deadly drone attack on a military academy in the capital Tripoli.

Conte said on Saturday he expressed his “consternation” to General Haftar for the January 4 attack in Tripoli, after meeting him in Rome earlier this week.

“We are working hard as a government for the immediate goal of a ceasefire and to steer the conflict towards a political solution,” Conte said.

Turkey backs al-Serraj’s Tripoli-based Government of National Accord and has said it will send military advisers and possibly troops to reinforce its support, while Russian military contractors have been deployed alongside General Haftar.

Asked if he was aware of the presence of Russian mer-cenaries in Libya Putin said: “If there are Russian citizens there, then they are not representing the interests of the Russian state and they are not receiving money from the Russian state.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a joint news conference in the Kremlin.

Starmer launches UK Labour leadership bidREUTERS — LONDON

Keir Starmer, the frontrunner in the race to lead Britain’s main opposition Labour Party, has pledged to end feuding within its ranks and take the fight to Prime Minister Boris Johnson if he wins the contest.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said he will step down after the party’s worst general election performance since 1935 handed Johnson’s Conservatives, or Tories, a large majority in parliament.

The Corbyn era, which began in 2015 when the veteran socialist unexpectedly won the leadership, was marked by bitter infighting between the party’s leftist and centrist wings.

“We cannot fight the Tories if we are fighting each other. Factionalism has to go,” Starmer, 57, said yesterday in a speech in Manchester, northern England, to formally launch his leadership campaign.

Starmer urged party sup-porters to stop attacking the achievements of the Labour governments led by Tony Blair and then Gordon Brown between 1997 and 2010, and not to dismiss Corbyn’s record.

“We are not going to trash the last Labour government, but nor are we going to trash the last four years,” he said. “There have been very many important moves.” Despite winning three successive

general elections — the only Labour leader to do so —Blair is unpopular with many within Labour who say he betrayed the left and led the country into a disastrous war in Iraq. “Blairite” is considered an insult by those on that wing of the party.

Centrist Labour supporters say Corbyn’s radical agenda, which included sweeping nationalisations, failed to win over the electorate. They used “Corbynista” as a negative label.

Starmer, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, was Labour’s Brexit policy chief under Corbyn.

He pushed for a second ref-erendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union, but has said that the result of the December general election had “blown away” that argument and Labour should now move on.

He said the future focus should be on ending fiscal aus-terity, investing in public services, and winning public arguments against Johnson, whom he described as lacking principles and a moral compass.

“I’ve never known a time when a radical Labour gov-ernment was so needed,” said Starmer.

In the first stage of the party leadership contest, candidates must seek the backing of fellow Labour members of parliament.

French PM offers concession to unions over pension reformREUTERS — PARIS

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe yesterday offered a major concession to unions contesting his government’s overhaul of the pension system, in a move aimed at ending strikes which are now in their fifth week.

Philippe said in a letter to unions and employers that he was prepared to withdraw plans to raise the retirement age for full pension benefits by two years to 64 if certain conditions were met.

“The compromise that I’m offering... seems to me the best way to peacefully reform our retirement system,” Philippe said in a copy of the letter obtained by Reuters.

He made the concession after talks between the gov-ernment and trade unions to break the deadlock failed on Friday. The CFDT union,

France’s biggest and inclined to accept a limited reform, wel-comed the move, saying in a statement that it showed “the government’s will to find a

compromise”.The concession comes as

tens of thousands of demon-strators marched through eastern Paris against the

reform, which aims to replace France’s myriad sector-specific pension schemes with a single points-based scheme.

The protest turned violent on its fringes with police firing tear gas and charging groups smashing windows and lighting rubbish bins and billboards on fire. The government’s standoff with the unions is the biggest challenge yet of President Emmanuel Macron’s will to reform the euro zone’s second-biggest economy.

Philippe’s government had hoped to create incentives to make people work longer, notably by raising the age at which a person could draw a full pension to 64 while main-taining the legal retirement age at 62.

While supporting the prin-ciple of creating a points-based system, the CFDT was opposed to raising the age for full benefits. Hard-left unions want the reform

to be dropped altogether.The government has argued

that the pension reform, which would be the biggest since World War II, would make the system fairer while also putting it on a more sound financial footing. With one of the lowest retirement ages among industr-ialised nations, France currently spends the equivalent of 14% of economic output on pensions.

Philippe aims to present the reform bill on Jan. 24 so that it can be discussed in parliament starting in mid February with the aim of passing a law before the summer break.

He said in the letter he expected unions and employers to agree on how to ensure the long-term financing of the pen-sions system in April.

If they failed to agree, the government would pass decrees guaranteeing the pension system is in the black by 2027, he said.

Demonstrators take part in a protest called by the ‘Yellow Vest’ in Nantes, western France, yesterday.

Thousands march in Spain’s Basque region for return of ETA prisoners

AFP — BILBAO, SPAIN

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the Basque Country yesterday to demand prisoners linked to the former armed separatist group ETA be transferred to jails closer to the northern Spanish region.

Some 65,000 people marched through the streets of Bilbao, the region’s most pop-ulous city, calling for prisoners dispersed in jails across Spain to be moved nearer to home and for an amnesty, according to municipal police.

Many waved red-white-and-green Basque flags while the crowd chanted “Basque prisoners must return home” as it made its way to city hall.

Spanish government policy has been to keep most ETA pris-oners in jails hundreds of kilo-metres away from the region, which had made it difficult and expensive for relatives to visit.

After coming to power in June 2018, a month after ETA disbanded, Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pledged to start reversing the policy but organisations which work with ETA prisoners com-plain there has been little progress.

The demonstration aimed to show that Basque society does not want “the children of these prisoners to have to travel hundreds of kilometres for a 40 minute visit,” Joseba Azkarraga, the spokesman for Sare, a group which lobbies on behalf of pris-oners told reporters.

A second protest is scheduled to take place in Bayonne, in the French Basque Country, later on Saturday also calling for prisoners to be moved. The treatment of ETA prisoners is a sensitive one for Sanchez’s government, which would be certain to anger victims associations and con-servatives if it made any con-cessions to prisoners.

ETA is blamed for the deaths of over 800 people in a four-decade campaign of bombings and shootings in pursuit of an independent homeland in northern Spain and south-western France.

Sanchez was sworn in last week for a second term after parliament narrowly confirmed him as prime minister thanks in part to the abstention of five lawmakers from Basque pro-independence party Bildu on a confidence vote.

There currently just over 200 people in prison in Spain over their links to ETA, of which only a handful are in jails in the Basque Country.

The region’s devolved assembly at Stormont collapsed in January 2017 over a scandal caused by the runaway costs of a renewable energy scheme.

14 SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020EUROPE

Murder case: Vote for Malta Premier as Muscat exitsAFP — VALLETTA

Malta’s Labour Party was voting to elect its and the country’s new leader after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s downfall over the murder of an investigative journalist.

Muscat, 45, said in December he would quit fol-lowing widespread anger over his perceived efforts to protect friends and allies from a probe into the 2017 slaying of blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Some 17,500 Labour voters are expected to vote for the party’s first mid-term prime minister in history.

Muscat was set to resign Sunday once the results of the election were in.

Two candidates are vying

to take over as Labour leader and prime minister: deputy prime minister and health min-ister Chris Fearne, a 56-year old surgeon, and 42-year-old lawyer Robert Abela.

Fearne, who has the backing of most cabinet members, is favourite to win, but Abela had been closing the gap in the polls in the final week of the campaign, the Times of Malta said.

Neither has criticised Muscat or referred to the Caruana Galizia murder in the run-up to the election. Both have insisted they represent continuity, highlighting their determination to keep the economy on its stellar trajectory.

In an emotional farewell

address on Friday, Muscat said he was “sorry” for the killing, the investigation into which he has been accused of hampering.

“I paid the highest price for this case to be solved under my watch,” he said.

The opposition Nationalist Party slammed Muscat’s “surreal” speech, pointing out that it was Caruana Galiza who had paid that price, according to the Malta Independent.

Muscat’s fall from power followed daily protests led by supporters of the Caruana Galizia family, who accuse him among other things of shielding his chief of staff and childhood friend Keith Schembri, who has been implicated in the murder.

Dubbed the “one woman WikiLeaks”, Caruana Galizia

exposed corruption at the highest levels on the Mediter-ranean island.

She was killed in a car bomb explosion on October 16, 2017 in an attack that made world headlines.

Less than an hour before her death, Caruana Galizia wrote on her blog: “There are crooks everywhere you look. The situation is desperate.”

The journalist’s family had called for Muscat to step down immediately, but support from his party and his own popularity — linked to Malta’s booming economy which shot up 6.6 percent in 2018 — bought him time until the election for a new party head.

Three men are on trial for allegedly detonating the bomb

that killed Caruana Galizia, while a fourth — powerful busi-nessman Jorgen Fenech — was charged as an accomplice after being detained as he tried to leave the country on his yacht.

Fenech’s arrest in November sparked the resig-nation of tourism minister Konrad Mizzi and Schembri.

The murder and probe “cast an indelible stain on Muscat and his administration”, Malta Today wrote yesterday. “Mus-cat’s landslide, back-to-back, electoral triumphs in the midst of great economic success con-trasted heavily with a prime minister who at the end of 2019 was met with a barrage of eggs, vegetables, and sonorous boos every time he exited par-liament,” it said.

Ukraine demandspunishment forIran plane downingAFP — KIEV

Ukraine yesterday demanded that Iran punish those guilty for the downing of a Ukrainian airliner and compensate victims while praising Tehran for coop-erating with an “objective” investigation.

Ukrainian President Volo-domyr Zelenskiy was due to discuss the incident with his Iranian counterpart President Hassan Rouhani, his press office said.

“We expect Iran... to bring the guilty to the courts,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on Facebook, calling also for the “payment of compensation” and the return of remains.

Tehran admitted yesterday that it accidentally downed the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane, killing all 176 people on board on Wednesday, shortly after launching missiles at bases hosting US forces in Iraq.

Rouhani said Tehran “deeply regrets this disastrous mistake”.

Tehran has invited the United States, Ukraine, Canada and others to join the crash investigation.

Kiev said that Iran had cooperated with its experts and it expects an objective probe.

Tehran has handed Ukrainian experts enough data including “all the photos, videos and other materials” to show the investigation “will be carried out objectively and promptly,” Zelenskiy’s office said.

“The political part of the work is finished,” it added.

It published photos of experts examining the scene and close-ups of holes in the fuselage and shrapnel damage.

Ukraine said on Friday its experts dispatched to Iran had

been granted access to the flight’s black boxes, debris from the plane, the crash site and to recordings of conversations between the pilot and the airport control tower.

Oleksiy Danilov, the sec-retary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council which is coordinating the probe, said did not yet have evidence on where the missile was pro-duced, only that it was “launched from Iranian soil.”

Zelenskiy said earlier that Ukraine hoped the inquiry would be pursued “without deliberate delay and without obstruction.”

He urged “total access” for the 45 Ukrainian experts, and in a tweet also sought an “official apology”.

UIA vice president Igor Sos-novsky told a news conference in Kiev on Saturday that Tehran should have closed the airport due to the escalation of regional

tensions following the US assas-sination of a top Iranian general.

“It’s absolutely irrespon-sible,” Sosnovsky said, accusing Iran of failing to protect ordinary citizens while “playing at war.”

“They were obliged to close the airport. Obliged! Then shoot as much as you like.”

Iran said a missile operator shot down the Boeing 737 after mistaking it for a cruise missile at a time when threats were at the highest level.

People mourn in front of a memorial for the flight crew members of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed in Iran, at the Boryspil International airport outside Kiev, yesterday.

Mayor to name Paris street after David BowieAFP — PARIS

A Paris street will soon be named after the late British rock star David Bowie, a local mayor announced.

“There will soon be a Rue David Bowie in the 13th arrondissement of Paris,” Jerome Coumet, mayor of the district said.

The socialist mayor, a pro-fessed fan of Bowie who died in 2016, said a new road near the major Austerlitz station in the southeast of the French capital would bear the name off the music megastar.

“The naming must be approved by the Paris council in February, something which Coumet said would normally happen without problems.

Bowie who created such enduring hits as “Heroes” and “Space Oddity”, “had a strong link with the city of lights”, he added

Bowie would have turned 73 on Wednesday.

Croatia President blames election defeat on ‘fake news’AFP — ZAGREB

Croatia President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (pictured) yesterday blamed sexism and “fake news” for her defeat in elections last week, as well as a rival who split the right-wing electorate she was counting on.

Speaking to journalists in her official Zagreb palace, Grabar-Kitarovic blasted what she saw as often politically biased media in Croatia.

“In Croatia we have not only press freedom, we have com-plete chaos in the media,” she said, alleging that “some criminal organisations are paying” certain outlets. She did not cite specific examples.

Leftist former prime min-ister Zoran Milanovic won the January 5 election and takes up the post during Croatia’s helm at the rotating EU presidency. Issues such as the European Union’s relationship with

post-Brexit Britain and haggling over the bloc’s long-term budget are likely to dominate.

Grabar-Kitarovic said that, with Milanovic, she hoped media reporting in her country “will calm down a bit, because he’s a male”.

Analysts however say that Grabar-Kitarovic’s defeat owed to a poor campaign riddled with gaffes and embarrassing promises, such as one to increase monthly salaries to

8,000 euros - nearly 10 times the current average.

She also invited anger and mockery when she sang at the birthday party of Zagreb’s scandal-hit mayor and promised to bring him “cakes... in prison” if he was convicted on a slew of corruption charges.

The 51-year-old outgoing president denied knowledge of any corruption when she served in government as a minister.

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy calls for the “payment of compensation” and the return of remains.

Six dead as fire engulfs nursing home in CroatiaAP — ZAGREB

A fire engulfed part of a nursing home in northern Croatia early yesterday, killing at least six people, authorities said.

The blaze erupted around 5am in a privately-run nursing home in the village of Andra-sevac, 30km north of Zagreb, the capital. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire.

“Unfortunately, according to initial information we have received, six people died,” Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told reporters after arriving on the scene. “At this moment, we don’t have enough information to be able to say anything else.”

“We need to wait until the authorities finish their job,” Plenkovic added.

Britain seeks extradition of US diplomat’s wife over teen’s deathAFP — LONDON

The British government announced that it has formally requested the extradition of the wife of a US diplomat who left the country after being involved in a car accident that killed a teenager.

The US State Department responded by saying such an extradition would be “an abuse” because the woman had diplomatic immunity.

“Following the Crown Pros-ecution Service’s charging decision, the Home Office has sent an extradition request to the United States for Anne Sacoolas on charges of causing death by dangerous driving,” a Home Office spokesman said.

“This is now a decision for the US authorities.”

The case of Anna Sacoolas, 42, has been a thorn in London’s close relations with Washington, stirring up debates over the limits of diplomatic immunity in cases unrelated to national security.

It has been a political headache for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is cultivating trade relations with Washington in a bid to offset the potential damage of Brit-ain’s withdrawal from the EU.

Briton Harry Dunn, 19, died

on August 27 when his motorbike collided with a car driving on the wrong side of the road near an airbase in North-amptonshire, central England, which is used by the US mil-itary as a communications hub.

Sacoolas admitted in October to being the driver, but has cited immunity while refusing to return to Britain to face justice, as Dunn’s parents demand.

Last month, the US State Department said it was “disap-pointed” that Britain had charged Sacoolas, asserting that in Washington’s view she does enjoy diplomatic immunity in the case.

In a statement, the department said that at the time of the accident and for all of her stay in Britain, Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity.

“It is the position of the US government that a request to extradite an individual under these circumstances would be an abuse,” the department said.“The use of an extradition treaty to attempt to return the spouse of a former diplomat by force would establish an extraor-dinarily troubling precedent,” it said, adding that US remains “engaged with the UK to look at options for moving forward.”

Portuguese judges join Polish lawyers during the ‘March of a Thousand Robes’ a protest against a bill backed by Poland’s right-wing government, in Warsaw, yesterday.

EU judges join protest against Poland's ‘muzzle-law’AFP — WARSAW Hundreds of Polish judges dressed in formal black robes marched in Warsaw yesterday to protest a draft law aimed at punishing justices who question the government’s controversial court reforms.

Senior judges from nearly all European Union member states joined the protest, arguing that the legislation backed by Poland’s right-wing

government undermines judicial independence and the rule of law.

“We have come here to support the Polish judges but we are not politicians,” John MacMenamin, an Irish Supreme Court judge, told reporters. “We are here about the rule of law, not about politics.”

While the government insists the reform will tackle corruption, the opposition says the ruling Law and Justice party

(PiS) wants to gag critical magistrates.

Polish lawmakers approved proposals last month that will allow sanctions against judges who opposed the reforms, which Supreme Court president Malgorzata Gersdorf has denounced as a “muzzle-law”.

Thousands of Warsaw res-idents joined the protest, many waving Polish and EU flags, as they marched from the Supreme Court to parliament.

Talks on future of Harry and Meghan going well, says royal source

REUTERS — LONDON

Discussions regarding future plans for Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are progressing well and should conclude within days not weeks, a royal source said yesterday.

The couple, officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, blindsided the rest of the royal family on Wednesday by unexpectedly announcing they would be stepping back from their roles to spend more time in North America and earn an income.

They did not consult Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, or other members of the royal family before making their surprise announcement on a new website, sussexroyal.com.

Officials spent Friday holding behind-the-scenes meetings about new arrange-ments for Harry and Meghan and things were progressing well, according to the royal source, who added that the aim was to reach agreement within days.

The source said officials had consulted the British and Canadian governments about the issue of the couple’s future.

Meghan is in Canada with the couple’s baby son, Archie, and she and Harry are reported to be considering basing themselves in that country.

Separately, the London Times newspaper reported that Meghan, a former TV actress, had agreed to record a voiceover for Disney in return for the company making a donation to a charity that works to protect elephants.

15SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020 AMERICAS

White House considers dramatic travel ban expansionAP — WASHINGTON

The White House is considering dramatically expanding its much-litigated travel ban to additional countries amid a renewed election-year focus on immigration by President Donald Trump, according to six people familiar with the delib-erations.

A document outlining the plans — timed to coincide with the third anniversary of Trump’s January 2017 executive order —has been circulating the White House. But the countries that would be affected if it moves forward are blacked out, according to two of the people, who spoke on condition of ano-nymity because the measure has yet to be finalised.

It’s unclear exactly how many countries would be included in the expansion if it proceeds, but two of the people said that seven countries would

be added to the list. The most recent iteration of the ban includes restrictions on Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as well as Venezuela and North Korea.

A different person said the expansion could include several countries that were covered in the first iteration of Trump’s ban, but later removed amid rounds of contentious litigation. Iraq, Sudan and Chad, for instance, had originally been affected by the order, which the Supreme Court upheld in a 5-4 vote after the administration released a watered-down version intended to withstand legal scrutiny.

Trump, who had floated a banning all Muslims from entering the country during his 2016 campaign, criticised his Justice Department for the changes, tweeting that DOJ “should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to SC”

The countries on the pro-posed expansion list include allies that fall short on certain security measures. The addi-tional restrictions were pro-posed by Department of Homeland Security officials fol-lowing a review of security pro-tocols and “identity man-agement” for about 200 coun-tries, according to the person.

White House House spokesman Hogan Gidley declined to confirm the plan, but praised the travel ban for making the country safer.

“The Travel Ban has been

very successful in protecting our Country and raising the security baseline around the world,” he said in a statement. “While there are no new announcements at this time, common-sense and national security both dictate that if a country wants to fully participate in US immigration programs, they should also comply with all security and counter-terrorism measures —because we do not want to import terrorism or any other national security threat into the United States.”

Several of the people said t h e y e x p e c t e d t h e announcement to be timed to coincide with the third anni-versary of Trump’s first, explosive travel ban, which was announced without warning on January 27, 2017 — days after Trump took office. That order sparked an uproar, with massive protests across the nation and chaos at airports where pas-

sengers were detained.The current ban suspends

immigrant and non-immigrant visas to applicants from the affected countries, but it allows exceptions, including for stu-dents and those who have established “significant con-tacts” in the US. And it repre-sents a significant softening from Trump’s initial order, which had suspended travel from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen for 90 days, blocked refugee admissions for 120 days and suspended travel from Syria.

That order was immediately blocked by the courts, prompting a months-long effort by the administration to develop clear standards and federal review processes to try to withstand legal muster. Under the current system, restrictions are targeted at countries the Department of Homeland Security says fail to

share sufficient information with the US or haven’t taken necessary security precautions, such as issuing electronic pass-ports with biometric infor-mation and sharing information about travelers’ terror-related and criminal histories.

The new proposal was also quickly drawing sharp criticism.

“Different Muslim Ban —same xenophobic Adminis-tration,” said Rep Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. “An expanded Muslim Ban will worsen our relationships with countries around the world. It won’t do anything to make our country safer. It will harm refugees, alienate our allies and give extremists propaganda for recruitment.”

An official with Refugees International, a nonprofit that advocates for the displaced worldwide, said the news was very disappointing.

Texas governor to reject new refugeesAP — HOUSTON

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the state will reject the resettlement of new refugees, becoming the first state known to do so under a recent Trump administration order.

In a letter released yes-terday, Abbott wrote that Texas “has been left by Congress to deal with disproportionate migration issues resulting from a broken federal immigration system.” He added that Texas has done “more than its share.”

Texas has long been a leader in settling refugees, taking in more than any other state during the 2018 governmental fiscal

year, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The state has large refugee popula-tions in several of its major cities.

But the Republican governor has tried to stop refugees before, declaring in 2015 that Texas would not welcome people from Syria following the deadly Paris attacks that November. At the time, the administration of former President Barack Obama continued to send refugees to Texas and other states led by Republican governors who were opposed to it.

President Donald Trump announced in November that resettlement agencies must get

written consent from state and local officials in any jurisdiction where they want to help resettle refugees beyond June 2020. Trump has already slashed the number of refugees allowed into the country for the 2020 fiscal year, which ends in Sep-tember, to a historic low of 18,000. About 30,000 refugees were resettled in the US during the previous fiscal year.

In his letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Abbott argued that the state and its non-profit organisations should instead focus on “those who are already here, including ref-ugees, migrants, and the homeless — indeed, all Texans.”

The countries on the proposed expansion list include allies that fall short on certain security measures.

Joe Biden seeks to upstage Buttigieg in fight for CaliforniaAP — LOS ANGELES

Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg chased California votes in dueling events, looking to sway Democrats in the state that delivers the largest haul of dele-gates in the presidential contest.

Appearing at a short-term housing complex for the homeless, Buttigieg promised a new era of help for people living on the streets, while Biden sought to upstage the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor with a formal endorsement from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti attended by fire-fighters. The endorsement was initially announced on Thursday.

Garcetti called Biden a longtime friend, “the right leader at the right moment.” Garcetti was an early supporter of President Barack Obama, in whose administration Biden served as vice-president for eight years.

Buttigieg’s stop highlighted the homeless crisis in Los Angeles, where tent cities line downtown streets and freeway underpasses are frequently

filled with makeshift commu-nities of people with nowhere else to go. He listened intently to stories from residents of the so-called bridge home who described their journey from the streets to the shelter, where they are linked with health services, receive assistance restoring their lives and, hope-fully, locate permanent housing. Residents can stay up to nine months.

Jessica Kelly, who said she once had a career in pharma-ceutical sales, described how her life unraveled after a string of back surgeries led to opioid misuse and, eventually, a heroin addition. After several years without a home, finding a bed at the shelter has been “a blessing for me,” she told Buttigieg.

Buttigieg has said he will invest $430bn to make affordable housing available for over 7 million families while aiming to end homelessness for families with children.

The mayor stressed that homeless was a problem that cuts across communities “of every size, in every climate.” He

has faced criticism in his hometown for being too slow to act, but his campaign said homelessness was cut by 25% during his tenure.

A small but noisy group of Black Lives Matter protesters shadowed his visit, chanting on a sidewalk outside the shelter that Buttigieg was a “fake” and “anti-black.”

A planned outdoor dis-cussion with residents was moved indoors, though the din

of the protesters could still be faintly heard in the room.

Buttigieg said afterward, “It is important to me that I have the support that I do from black residents of South Bend. I know that support is not 100%, and I respect those political differences.”

Candidates are competing for over 400 delegates in Cali-fornia’s March 3 primary, though mail-in ballots will be going out a month earlier, at the

time the Iowa caucuses kick off the presidential election.

Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders has a massive vol-unteer organising effort underway in California, while billionaire Michael Bloomberg has been spending tens of mil-lions on TV advertising across the heavily Democratic state. With Garcetti’s endorsement, Biden is strengthening his position as the favourite within the Democratic

Democratic 2020 US presidential candidate Joe Biden shaking hands with Thomas Ho, a child of a firefighter, as he visits the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City headquarters, in California, yesterday.

Pistol permit applications rise in NY community after attackAP — MONSEY The number of residents seeking to own handguns has risen sharply in a New York community shaken last month by a machete attack that injured five men during a Hanukkah celebration.

The Journal News reported that 73 pistol permit applica-tions have been filed with the Rockland County Clerk’s Office since the December 28 attack at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, a hamlet in the town of Ramapo northwest of New York City.

That compares to 51 appli-cations the office received during the eight weeks prior to the stabbing, County Clerk Paul Piperato told the newspaper.

Sixty-eight of the new applications came from Ramapo residents, including 31

from Monsey.“It’s definitely because of

this incident,” Piperato said, referring to the attack. “In some way, shape or form, they want to defend themselves.”

Chief William Barbera of the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department says an application is the first step in a months-long process. Applicants are required to be fingerprinted and undergo a background check and firearms training before the paperwork is sub-mitted to a licensing officer.

An academy run by veterans of the Israeli Defense Forces has been providing weapons training in Ramapo’s syna-gogues since the machete attack, The Journal News reported. Its trainers have been advising Jewish residents to seek unrestricted pistol permits.

‘Bullitt’ Mustang fetches $3.74m at Florida auctionAP — KISSIMMEE

The Highland Green 1968 Ford Mustang GT featured in the film “Bullitt” was sold yesterday at a Florida auction house for $3.74m

The sale at Mecum Kiss-immee marks the most expensive Mustang ever sold, surpassing a 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake that sold last year for $2.2m, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Owner Sean Kiernan, with his sister Kelly Cotton riding shotgun, drove the car across the auction block at Silver Spurs Arena and then addressed a crowd of about 25,000 before the bidding started.

“This car had sold twice in its life, it’s been in my family for

45 years. Each time it has sold, it was $3,500,” Kiernan said. “So we’re going to start it off at that price and go from there.”

The auction house posted an 11-minute video of the auction on YouTube.

Bidding surpassed $3m in the first minute. The top bid went back and forth between someone present and a bidder on the phone for several minutes before the mystery buyer on the phone won, agreeing to pay $3.4m plus a 10 percent buyer’s premium.

Kiernan’s father, Robert, bought the car after seeing an ad in a 1974 issue of “Road & Track.” The New Jersey family used it as a daily commuter until the clutch gave out in 1980. In the late 1970s, Steve

McQueen, who played the title character in “Bullitt,” tracked down the Kiernans and asked if he could reclaim the muscle car in return for a similar Mustang. His pleas went unanswered.

Robert and Sean Kiernan began working on the Mustang in 2001. After Robert Kiernan’s death in 2014, Sean Kiernan fin-ished the car and revealed it to the world. Following the car’s sale, Sean Kiernan said he doesn’t think a more expensive Mustang will ever be sold.

“As far as Mustangs go, this is it. With dad being down in the record books forever, that’s what matters to me,” he said. “I’ve been at peace with the sale for probably eight months now. We’re just having fun with this.”

A file photo of the 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 car used for Steve McQueen film “Bullitt” during the Paris Motor Show at the Porte de Versailles Exposition Centre in Paris.

Four dead as storm sweeps through southern USAP — BENTON

Authorities said at least four people have died as severe storms sweep across parts of the US South, bringing high winds and unrelenting rain.

The Bossier Parish Sher-iff’s Office in Louisiana said on Facebook that the bodies of an elderly couple were found yes-terday near their demolished trailer by firefighters. A search for more possible victims was underway. That brings the storm-related death toll in the state to three after a man was killed when a tree fell on his home in Caddo Parish.

Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas yesterday morning were clear of the severe thunder-storms that had passed through the night before. One person died on Friday night in Texas when a car flipped into a creek in Dallas.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Mississippi early yesterday. Homes were damaged or destroyed in Mis-souri, Oklahoma and Arkansas on Friday, but no injuries were reported.

Mexico mob burns suspected child murderer aliveAFP — TUXTLA GUTIÉRREZ

An angry mob in southern Mexico burned a man alive, accusing him of abusing and killing a six-year-old girl, authorities said.

The crowd attacked the man in the town of Caca-hoatan after the missing girl’s body was found along the side of a road, said the Chiapas state prosecutor’s office.

They tied him up and beat him, then doused him with gasoline and set him on fire, burning him to death.

Police tried to intervene but were overpowered by the mob, authorities said.

The girl’s family had reported her missing on Thursday.

Lynchings are frequent in Mexico, where an estimated 98 percent violent crimes are never punished.

16 SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020AMERICAS

FBI tightens wiretap protocols after watchdog reportAP — WASHINGTON

The FBI laid out new protocols for how it conducts electronic surveillance in national security cases, responding to a Justice Department inspector general report that harshly criticised the bureau’s handling of the Russia investigation.

The changes, detailed in a 30-page filing with the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveil-lance Court, are meant to ensure that wiretap applications are more closely scrutinised before being submitted for a judge’s approval and that they contain accurate information about the reliability and potential bias of sources whom agents rely on.

The FBI also said additional

t r a i n i n g w o u l d b e implemented.

The filing comes one month after the chief judge of the sur-veillance court — in a rare public directive — ordered the FBI to say how it would correct shortcomings identified in the watchdog report on the bureau’s investigation into ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The inspector general report found that FBI applications to eavesdrop on a former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page, omitted key information about the credibility of sources it was relying on. It also alleged that an FBI lawyer doctored an email used in connection with one of the applications.

In response, the FBI said Friday that it was developing a checklist to be completed during the application process to ensure that all information about a source’s reliability and possible bias or motivation is disclosed to the court. The FBI is also revising a form used to request and renew surveillance so as to “elicit information that may undermine probable cause.”

The report, which also con-cluded that the FBI investigation was opened for a legitimate purpose, produced bipartisan calls for change. Some Demo-crats who had already been skeptical of the FBI’s expansive surveillance authorities raised fresh concerns, while Repub-lican allies of Trump held up the report to argue that agents had

overstepped their bounds and unfairly treated a campaign aide.

The inspector general’s office recommended multiple improvements to the FBI’s sur-veillance procedures and is also conducting an audit.

The surveillance court authorizes the FBI, with a warrant, to eavesdrop on American soil on individuals it believes to be agents of a foreign power. It’s a powerful tool for terrorism, espionage and other national security cases, though critics have said the court functions largely as a rubber stamp for the gov-ernment and without adequate transparency or public scrutiny.

FBI Director Christopher Wray, in a 15-page declaration

included in the filing, said that he plans to issue a bureau-wide email Monday informing the workforce of the changes it is implementing.

“Critically, the FBI must also balance the implementation of these actions with its ongoing responsibility to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States, during a time of ever-present threats to our national security,” Wray said.

“The leadership of the FBI has devoted - and will continue to devote - a substantial amount of time, thought, and effort to striking this balance, while paying scrupulous attention to its duty of candor to the Court and maintaining the trust of the American people,” he added.

Trudeau calls for full probe into plane crashANATOLIA — TRENTON

Responding to Iran’s admission that it “unintentionally” shot down a passenger plane belonging to the Ukraine Inter-national Airlines, Canada’s Premier Justin Trudeau said his government sought a full inves-tigation into the incident.

All 176 people, including 57 Canadians, on board the plane were killed in the incident that took place just after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday.

“We will continue working with our partners around the world to ensure a compete and

thorough investigation, and the Canadian government expects full cooperation from Iranian authorities,” Trudeau said.

Of the passengers, 138 were flying from Tehran to Ukraine’s capital Kiev, then were to board connecting flights to Canada.

“Our focus remains closure, accountability, transparency and justice for the families and loved ones of the victims. This is a national tragedy, and all Canadians are mourning together,” he added.

In a Twitter post, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said:

“The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake.”

Rouhani also tweeted that “investigations continue to identify and prosecute this great tragedy and unforgivable mistake.”

Flight PS752 took off and flew close to a “sensitive mil-itary spot” and the plane was brought down due to “human error.”

“Human error at a time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster,” Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter.

Brazil’s education minister mocked for spelling errorAFP — RIO DE JANEIRO

Brazil’s education minister has been ridiculed on social media for making a spelling mistake on Twitter.

Abraham Weintraub, who is responsible for schools and universities in Latin America’s biggest country, misspelled the Portuguese word for “amazing” in a tweet published on Tuesday evening.

Instead of “impressio-nante,” Weintraub wrote “imprecionante.”

“The fact that the edu-cation minister wrote ‘impre-cionante’ reflects the reality of Brazilian education,” wrote one Twitter user.

Another quipped: “It’s ‘imprecionante’ that he is the education minister.’

Weintraub later deleted the tweet.

It was not his first public orthographical error.

Weintraub, who oversaw deeply unpopular education spending freezes last year, has previously misspelled the Por-tuguese words for “sus-pension” and “paralyzation.”

On Friday, Weintraub shared on Twitter a message of support from Luciano Hang, owner of one of the largest department store chains in Brazil and a supporter of Pres-ident Jair Bolsonaro’s government.

In the Instagram message deliberately riddled with spelling mistakes, Hang said that “only those who do nothing do not make mistakes.”

Bolsonaro appointed Weintraub in April 2019 as the new Minister of Education, replacing Ricardo Vélez Rodríguez. Weintraub is close to Onyx Lorenzoni, the current Chief-of-Staff whom he pre-viously served as Executive Secretary.

Puerto Rico rattled again by another earthquakeAP — SAN JUAN

A magnitude 5.9 quake shook Puerto Rico yesterday, causing further damage along the island’s southern coast, where previous recent quakes have toppled homes and schools.

The US Geological Survey said the 8:54am (1254 GMT) quake hit 13km southeast of Guanica at a shallow depth of 5km. It was followed by several aftershocks, including a mag-nitude 5.2 temblor less than two minutes later.

Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority said outages were reported across much of southern Puerto Rico and crew were assessing possible damage at power plants.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, but Deputy Mayor Elizabeth Ocasio in the southern coastal city of Ponce said that officials closed the city’s downtown area and two other nearby areas because of weakened infrastructure.

“One building completely collapsed,” she said. “There is a lot of historic infrastructure in Ponce.”

Bárbara Cruz, a prosecutor who was in Ponce when the new quake hit, said concrete debris hit the sidewalk as

buildings continued to crumble.“Everyone is out on the

street,” she said.More landslides and

damaged homes were reported, along with severe cracks on a bridge in the southwest coastal town of Guanica.

The quake, which initially had been calculated at mag-nitude 6.0, was the strongest shake since a magnitude 6.4 quake — the most potent to hit the island in a century — struck before dawn on Tuesday, knocking out power across Puerto Rico and leaving many without water.

More than 4,000 people are in shelters, many fearful of returning to their homes, and others unable to because of extensive damage.

The director of Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority, ordered the temporary closure of the company’s largest plant,

which crew had been inspecting for damage caused by earlier quakes.

The ground in southwest Puerto Rico has been shaking since December 28, with more than 1,100 earthquakes, of which more than 100 were felt and more than 66 were of mag-nitude 3.5 or greater.

Nasa reported on Friday that the quakes had moved the land in parts of southern Puerto Rico as much as 5.5 inches (14 centimeters), based on satellite images before and after the temblors.

Víctor Huérfano, director of Puerto Rico’s Seismic Network, told the AP that he expects still more aftershocks as a result of the latest large one.

“It’s going to re-energize an unstable situation,” he said, adding that seismologists are studying which faults were acti-vated. “It’s a complex zone.”

Thousands of Puerto Ricans are still without power and water, and thousands are staying in shelters and sleeping on sidewalks since Tuesday’s earthquake. That temblor killed one person, injured nine others and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and several schools and businesses in the island’s southwest region.

More landslides and damaged homes were reported, along with severe cracks on a bridge in the southwest coastal town of Guanica.

Gold bar found in Mexico was Aztec treasure: Study

AFP — MEXICO CITY

A gold bar found in a Mexico City park in 1981 was part of the Aztec treasure looted by Hernan Cortes and the Spanish conquis-tadors 500 years ago, a new study says.

The 1.93kg bar was found by a construction worker during excavations for a new building along the Alameda, a pictur-esque park in the heart of the Mexican capital.

For 39 years, its origins remained a mystery.

But thanks to specialised X-rays, Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) says it has now confirmed where the bar came from: the Spaniards’ hasty, though temporary, retreat during the so-called “Noche Triste,” or “Sad Night.”

That night — June 30, 1520 — the Aztecs, furious over the slaughter of their nobles and priests, drove the Spanish

invaders from their capital, Tenochtitlan.

The conquistadors escaped with as much looted Aztec treasure as they could carry, including, apparently, the gold bar in question.

“The so-called ‘Noche Triste’ is among the episodes of the conquest that will be remembered this year, and there is only one piece of material evidence from it: a gold bar that sank 500 years ago in the canals of Teno-chtitlan, and which recent analysis confirms came from the (Spaniards’) flight,” INAH said in a statement.

Cortes and his men received a wary welcome from Aztec emperor Moctezuma when they arrived in 1519, but soon became unwanted guests at the palace as they appropriated his treasure and turned him into a virtual hostage.

In June 1520, Cortes — who had launched his expedition in

Mexico without official author-isation — learned that the Spanish governor in Cuba had sent a party of soldiers to arrest him.

He left his lieutenant Pedro de Alvarado in charge at Teno-chtitlan and went with part of his army to fight the arriving

soldiers, ultimately defeating them.

While he was gone, however, Alvarado began to fear the Aztecs would attack him, and had their nobles and priests killed.

The Aztecs revolted, and the S p a n i a r d s r e t r e a t e d

— apparently losing the gold bar along the way.

The study found the bar’s composition matched that of other Aztec pieces from the period.

“This bar is a key piece in the puzzle of this historical event,” INAH said.

An X-Ray detector scans a large gold bar found decades ago in downtown Mexico City.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (centre) speaks during a news conference, in Ottawa, yesterday.

Peru pledges government aid for children of murdered womenREUTERS — BOGOTA

Peru is to start giving government financial aid to children whose mothers were murdered, in a push to address widespread violence against women, a top official said.

Latin America and the Car-ibbean have the world’s highest rates of femicide — the killing of a woman by a man due to her gender — according to the United Nations.

Peru has recorded about 1,200 femicides since 2011 when it was made a specific

crime carrying a longer sen-tence than murder, although activists say the true figure is likely higher.

Now the government is to pay the guardians of children whose mothers were victims of femicide — typically aunts, uncles or grandparents — about $100 a month to look after them until they are 18.

“The economic assistance seeks to satisfy basic and indis-pensable needs, their food, health,” said Patricia Carolina Garces, vice-minister at the women’s ministry.

“It seeks to allow that these girls and boys remain living with their families and aren’t uprooted and taken to chil-dren’s homes so that they con-tinue to live together,” Garces said.

Children who go on to higher education will continue to receive the financial aid, equivalent to a third of the minimum monthly wage, until they complete their studies.

The allowance will also be granted to people with disabil-ities who were cared for by the victim of femicide.

Children will receive free psychological support in dealing with the trauma of losing their mothers and wit-nessing often years of domestic violence, and in some cases, their fathers killing their mothers, Garces said.

In Peru and across Latin America, violence against women is driven by entrenched machismo culture, which tends to blame victims, and gender-based violence is often tolerated, Garces added.

Inspired by the #MeToo

movement, tens of thousands of women have taken to the streets in Peru and across Latin America since 2018 to speak out against domestic and sexual violence and demand justice for victims.

More than a dozen coun-tries in Latin America have passed laws in recent years that define and punish femicide as a specific crime, including El Salvador, Mexico and Colombia.

Similar allowances to children whose mothers were victims of femicide have also

been introduced in Argentina and Uruguay.

Worldwide, a third of all women experience physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives, according to the United Nations.

Many femicide victims in Peru and across Latin America are murdered at home, often by current or former partners or husbands with a history of domestic abuse.

According to official figures, 205 children lost their mother to femicide in Peru last year alone.