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Volume 23 | Number 7605 | 2 RiyalsWednesday 1 August 2018 | 19 Dhul-Qa’da I 1439 www.thepeninsula.qa

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Price of super gradepetrol for a litre.

There will not be any change in petrol and diesel prices in August. The price of premium grade and super grade petrol in August will remain the same as in July, according to the new list issued by QatarPetroleum.

Price of premium grade petrol for a litre.

Price of premium gradediesel for a litre.

FUEL PRICE

Qatar to award $85bn worth of projects in coming years

DOHA: Qatar is set to award an estimated $85bn worth of planned projects in the coming years.

Of these planned, but una-warded projects, about $9.1bn worth projects are under study, $31.7bn of projects are at some stage of tendering while $44bn of projects are in designing stage.

About $12.1bn of projects are planned or under way in the oil and gas project market. Upstream projects account for the biggest share of oil and gas projects in Qatar, about 55 percent. Upstream and downstream together account for more than 90 percent of the oil and gas projects market in Qatar with a combined value of $20bn share by value, leading market and business intelligence platform MEED revealed yesterday.

The biggest oil and gas

projects planned or under way in Qatar are: $6.4bn Bul Hanine Field Redevelopment Project: (Phase I); $2bn North Field Gas Development; $700m Barzan Gas Development - Offshore (Phase 2).

According to MEED, Qatar’s 10 biggest construction clients together have about $55.1bn worth of projects in execution. Qatari Diar is the biggest project client in Qatar by value of projects in execution, with about

$18.5bn of projects under construction.

Barwa Real Estate Company is Qatar’s second biggest con-struction client with about $10.9bn worth of projects under construction. Msheireb Prop-erties is third biggest with about $5.7bn of projects in execution. Qatari Diar’s biggest project is the $17bn mixed-use Lusail Development.

In the Power and Water sector, about $31.9bn of power and water project contracts were awarded in Qatar from January 1, 2008 up to May 31, 2018. Since 2008, the annual value of power and water project contract awards in Qatar has typically been in the range of $1bn-$3bn a year. This is punctured in 2008 and 2015 by two spikes in awards values. The market peaked in 2008 with $8.4bn of awards including: Ras Girtas Power & Water Project; Qatar Transmission Phase VIII. Ras Laffan Common Cooling Water System Power and water project contract awards have slowed in 2018, with only $195m of awards from January to May.

With huge gas reserves and considerable oil wealth, Qatar has enormous potential to generate abundant project opportunities, particularly in the natural gas sector as it is the top exporter of liquefied natural gas globally.

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SATISH KANADY THE PENINSULA

Qatar to launch campaign to educate workers about rights

DOHA: The State of Qatar has affirmed its commitment to the promotion and protection of all rights and freedoms for all resi-dents in accordance with inter-national human rights standards.

“Qatar will spare no effort to contribute to the efforts of international community for promoting and protecting the rights of children and women with provision of security, development and basic services in various fields,” said Najat Al Abdullah, Director of the Department of Family Affairs in the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs.

He was speaking at an event to mark the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons organized by The National Committee for C o m b a t i n g H u m a n Trafficking.

The celebration was held at Inter-Continental Hotel with the participation of the Ministry of Interior, the International Labour Organization office in Doha, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and US embassy among others.

The day highlights the importance of human trafficking as it is one of the greatest con-temporary challenges, and not only on a particular category, but it is becoming more widespread than before.

The event was organized under the patronage of H E Dr

Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi, Minister of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs.

“The National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking will conduct an awareness cam-paign to advise and guide workers at various workplaces and labor camps to educate them about the laws against human trafficking,” said Dr. Khalifa Al Abdullah, a member of the com-mittee and representative of the Public Prosecution.

These campaigns will take place in collaboration with the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Interior.

“Also there will be bro-chures to be distributed among

house maids to educate them about their rights and Qatar has emerged as one of the top countries which attaches highest importance to safe-guarding human rights,” Dr. Khalifa said.

He added that the committee is preparing annual reports on human trafficking and also spreading awareness about it through organizing conferences and symposiums to educate people.

The committee also coop-erates with many international agencies in this regard and exchange studies and legislations with them in this field.

Houtan Homayounpour Director of the ILO Project Office in Qatar, said that human traf-ficking is a crime that is linked to

people’s movements and therefore is not limited to a particular cat-egory. “This requires serious work and international and regional cooperation to eliminate and prevent it,” he said, adding that millions of men, women, children and workers around the world are suffering from forced labor and trafficking which adversely affects their future.

He also praised Qatar’s signing of a memorandum of understanding with the United States on dealing with issues related to human trafficking, as well as the opening of an ILO office in the State of Qatar which he said reflected the seriousness of the State in dealing with this crime and contributing to its elimination regionally and internationally.

$85bn

$55.1bn $31.9bn

$12.1bnworth of planned projects

worth of construction projects in execution

power and water project contracts were awarded

in the oil and gas project market

Ashghal commences A-Ring Road Development projectTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: As part of its efforts to enhance traffic flow and ease congestion in the centre of Doha, the Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ commenced imple-mentation of the A-Ring Road Development project.

Eng. Mohammed Arqoub Al Khaldi, Head of Doha City Projects in Ashghal’s Roads Projects Department, said: “The

importance of the project is that it will develop a vital road char-acterised by its heavy traffic movement as it connects many commercial and residential areas as well as development projects in Doha such as the Msheireb Downtown Doha project.”

Eng. Mohammed Arqoub Al Khaldi explained that the project aims to enhance the capacity of the A Ring Road by increasing the number of its lanes from two to

four lanes in each direction along the road length of about 6.7 km. This is in addition to developing some of the streets perpendicular to the A-Ring Road, and devel-oping service roads on both sides of the road.

Eng. Al Khaldi added that the A-Ring Road project includes the development of nine intersec-tions, which will contribute to enhancing the traffic flow and improving movement in the area.

This includes converting Dar Al Kutub Roundabout to a signal-controlled intersection, as well as developing all of Al Rifaa Intersection, Al Diwan Inter-section, Hamad Al Kabeer Inter-section, Nasser bin Khalid Inter-section, Al Kahrabaa Inter-section, the AKA Msheireb Intersection, the AKA Al Asmakh Intersection, and the AKA Sofitel Intersection.

The project also includes

increasing the number of parking bays, installing street lighting, constructing pedestrian and cycle lanes, providing road signs and pedestrian crossings to enhance road safety, and landscaping. Infrastructure services will also be developed as part of the project, such as upgrading the storm water drainage system to avoid water accumulation during the rainy season, and developing the

existing potable water network, irrigation network, and drainage network.

Ashghal has started imple-menting the first phase of the project which has been divided into five phases. Implementation of the other four phases will start in the coming period. All phases will be completed by the end of 2019.

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SIDI MOHAMED THE PENINSULA

Mwani signs pact with Ukraine Sea Ports AuthorityTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The maritime trade between Qatar and Ukraine got another boost as Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) and Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) signed memo-randum of cooperation yesterday.

The agreement aims to establish cooperation and active alliances between the two coun-tries in maritime industry.

Minister of Transport and Communications H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti and the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure

Volodymyr Omelyan witnessed the memorandum signing cer-emony. They also held talks in Kiev and discussed Qatar-Ukraine aspects of cooperation in the fields of maritime transport and ports, exchange of expertise in the vital industry, as well as launching new navigation routes and investment opportunities in seaports.

They also discussed coop-eration in aviation industry and potential investment cooper-ation in the field. The two min-isters also discussed a number of matters of common interest.

The memorandum of coop-eration was signed by Mwani Qatar CEO Captain Abdulla Al Khanji and USPA Head Raivis Veckagans.

The signing ceremony was attended by Charge d’Affaires of the Qatar Embassy in Ukraine Aisha Mohamed Al Ghaffari.

The agreement signing is a part of series of measures taken by authorities to expand Qatar’s mar-itime trade. Many steps have been taken in the past to expand con-nectivity of ports in the country.

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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs H E Dr. Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah met yesterday with US Under-Secretary of Defense Policy, John Rood. They discussed bilateral relations and means of strengthening them. The meeting was attended by the Military Attache of the State of Qatar to the US, Brigadier General Yousef Mohammed Al Kuwari.

Defence Minister meets US defence official

Of the planned, but unawarded projects, about $9.1bn worth projects are under study, $31.7bn of projects are at some stage of tendering while $44bn of projects are in designing stage.

02 WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018HOME

HMC highlights significance of breastfeeding THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Noting that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life offers significant health benefits for both mother and child, lactation experts at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) say family support, espe-cially from a woman’s spouse, is the key to successful breast-feeding.

Speaking about the impor-tance of breastfeeding on the occasion of World Breastfeeding Week, Dr Amal Abu Bakr Arbab, HMC Lactation Consultant and Program Lead for the Women’s Wellness and Research Center’s Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), says creating awareness about the importance of breast-feeding among mothers and fathers is a priority. She says learning to breastfeed effectively is a process that takes time.

“Education about the

positive benefits breastfeeding brings to babies and their mothers should be our greatest priority. We need to educate mothers, fathers, and other family members about how breastfeeding can positively impact the health of both baby and mom. We also need to help families understand that breast-feeding is a learning process which can take time and is acquired through observation and teaching,” said Dr Arbab.

Breast milk provides all the energy and nutrients that an infant needs. It promotes sensory and cognitive development and protects the infant against a number of infectious and chronic diseases. Exclusive breastfeeding reduces infant mortality from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneu-monia and helps ensure a quicker recovery from illness. Breastfeeding has also been

shown to strengthen the bond between mother and child, aid in postpartum recovery, reduce the risk of postpartum bleeding, anaemia, breast and ovarian cancers, and hypertension.

“During the first few months of life, infants should be exclu-sively breastfed, meaning they

only receive breast milk and no other food or drink. Exclusive breastfeeding is rec-ommended for the first six months of life, with continued breast-feeding and appro-priate complementary foods up to two years of age. Breastfeeding is the natural and rec-ommended way of feeding all infants,” notes Dr. Arbab.

“According to the World Health Organi-zation (WHO), infants

who are not breastfed are at an increased risk of illness that can compromise their growth and raise their risk of death or disability. Around 1.3 million deaths globally can be prevented each year by exclusive breastfeeding,” said Dr Arbab.

She noted that the WWRC’s

Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is recognized by the WHO. She says it is important for families to know that the WWRC’s Breastfeeding Clinic provides essential services and support to mothers who want to success-fully breastfeed, including mothers who are having diffi-culties breastfeeding.

WWRC’s Breastfeeding Clinic operates daily between 7.30am to 12 noon and plans are underway to introduce an evening clinic. The clinic receives upwards of 15 women each day.

To mark World Breast-feeding Week until August 7, HMC will host a number of events across its network of hos-pitals for staff, patients, and vis-itors. An exhibition gallery will be set up in the main entrance at WWRC and will include edu-cational resources and presen-tations on breastfeeding.

Community participation will be vital in 2022 Cup preparations THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Two Josoor Institute alumni delegates who attended the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia have taken major strides towards achieving their personal football dreams.

Josoor Institute is a centre of excellence for the sports and events industries that is inspired and developed by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC).

TV Director Hamad Sultan Al Kuwari, and a graduate in Sports Management, Eman Al Khamiri, recently returned from Russia after being picked by Josoor Institute to take part in the SC’s Observat ion Programme.

Al Khamiri described attending the 2018 FIFA World Cup as “a huge responsibility”, but one she relished, “As I aspire to become one of the first woman graduates to work in sports management in Doha”.

Similarly, Al Kuwari, who works as a Senior Director at Al Kass Sports Channels, said the Russian trip has helped him to further his dream to become the first Qatari to join FIFA’s

production crew for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.

Both delegates hold Profes-sional diplomas in Football and Sports Management from Josoor Institute and have participated in several of its workshops and programmes.

Al Kuwari said the Russian trip added hugely to his profes-sional skills and production competencies. “Attending the World Cup in Russia gave me a rare and valuable insight into what awaits Qatar in four years’ time. I learned first-hand that the secret to success is teamwork, particularly when it comes to media coverage, which

is the façade of any sporting event,” he said.

Al Kuwari, said he used to believe the success of sports competitions was mainly the result of the successful organi-sation of games and football matches; a notion he said he has had to rethink following his visit to the Russian tournament.

“I thought the World Cup was just about the matches, but I’ve learned there’s far more to it than just the games; such as the logistics and organisational issues outside the stadium. I’ve also learned that the community plays an important role in the success of such events. For

instance, 6,000 volunteers aged 16-years and over were mobi-lised in Moscow and positively interacted with fans and vis-itors.” Al Kuwari believes Qatar should follow Russia’s com-munity-focused lead and encourage volunteering among the public, as the country will be visited by more than one million football fans in 2022. “It’s impos-sible to simply rely on official authorities, so all community members should be encouraged to consider volunteering or helping out,” he said.

As part of her Russian expe-rience, Al Khamiri visited the Sochi Stadium, where she

learned not only about the organisation of games but also the management of facilities, stadium logistics, media cov-erage, security and surveillance operations, the entry and exit of attendees, players and teams. Face recognition technology used to capture fans on camera was also among the many areas that caught her attention.

“The visit was a golden opportunity to gain expertise on the organisation of an interna-tional event like the World Cup. I was focused on learning so I could later transfer my knowledge to Josoor Institute to be implemented at the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar,” said Al Khamiri.

“On a personal level, it was an opportunity to prove myself and my ability to assume responsibilities and tasks at a World Cup level and exchange expertise with participating del-egations,” she said.

Al Khamiri, who also holds a Sports Management degree from Qatar University (QU), believes that joining Josoor Institute is a key step for Qataris looking to contribute or play a role in the 2022 FIFA World

Cup™. “I’m keen to play my part in Qatar’s World Cup. And joining Josoor Institute was essential in terms of learning new skills that will further my ambitions and goals.”

She said that after leaving university her skills had been boosted by the practical pro-grammes and workshops run by Josoor Institute in partnership with QU. “At Josoor Institute, we applied the skills we’d learned at university in very specific and particular fields. For instance, professionals with expertise at international universities and sports clubs provided insight into sports marketing, which we had learned only as a concept at university.”

TV director, Al Kuwari said he has also benefitted greatly from Josoor Institute’s pro-grammes, and has taken part in the organisation’s Sports Lead-ership Summit in 2017, exclu-sively delivered with Geor-getown University in Wash-ington, D.C. Al Kuwari says he is “confident Qatar will rise to the occasion and organise a hugely successful FIFA World Cup tournament in four years’ time”.

Hamad Sultan Al Kuwari attending a match at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia as part of the SC’s Observation Programme. RIGHT: Eman Al Khamiri, speaking at a meeting.

QNA

DOHA: The State of Qatar has strongly condemned and denounced the explosion that occurred in a checkpoint in Lamitan City of Basilan island in southern Philippines and left several people dead and injured.

In a statement issued yes-terday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the State of Qatar’s firm position in rejecting violence and ter-rorism regardless of motives and reasons, reaffirming sol-idarity with the Filipino gov-ernment in all procedures it takes to maintain safety and stability.

The statement expressed the condolences of the State of Qatar to families of the victims and the government and people of Philippines, wishing a speedy recovery for the injured.

The State of Qatar has also strongly condemned and denounced the explosion that occurred in the province of Farah, western Afghanistan and left several people dead and injured.

In a statement issued yes-terday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the State of Qatar’s firm position in rejecting violence and ter-rorism regardless of motives and reasons. The statement expressed the condolences of the State of Qatar to the fam-ilies of the victims and the government and people of Afghanistan, wishing a speedy recovery for the injured.

The State of Qatar expressed its denouncement and condemnation of the car-ramming attack that took place in Tajikistan that killed tourists from Switzerland, The Netherlands, and the US. There were also injuries to others from Switzerland, The Netherlands, and France.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs renewed in a statement released yesterday the State of Qatar’s firm position of rejecting violence, and terrorism regardless of its causes and motivations.

The statement also expressed the State of Qatar’s condolences to the families of the victims, and their gov-ernments, wishing those injured a speedy recovery.

Qatar condemns attacks in Philippines, Afghanistanand Tajikistan

Adopting healthy lifestyle can prevent bladder cancer FAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

DOHA: While smoking is a leading cause for bladder cancer, exposure to some chemicals including hair dye can increase the chances of developing the disease, says an expert.

Risk factors for bladder cancer also include exposure to other carcinogens at work place, age, gender, chronic bladder infection and heredity. However pre-ventive steps and early detection can be a life-saving tool and the key to successful treatment of bladder cancer, says Dr Mohammed Ussama Al Homsi, Senior Consultant, Oncology Department at Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR).

“Smoking is a leading cause of bladder cancer. Other risk factors are con-nected to some professions, occupational exposure to chemicals including hair dyes and sprays. These particles can travel through air enter the lungs and possibly move through the blood stream and cause bladder cancer,” said Dr Al Homsi.

July was Bladder Cancer Awareness Month. HMC conducted awareness cam-paign including on the social media as part of its continuous effort to reduce the incidence of cancer in Qatar.

As part of the campaign Dr Al Homsi has spoken about signs and symptoms of bladder cancer and highlighted the importance of prevention, early detection and necessity to adopt a healthy lifestyle. It was published on HMC’s Facebook page. Bladder cancer occurs when abnormal cells within the bladder grow in an uncontrolled way. It can be treated

based on how far it has moved into the wall of the bladder.

Symptoms of bladder cancer includes, asymptomatic hematuria, presence of three or more red blood cells visible in a properly collected urine specimen without evidence of infection), painful urination and the need to urinate often than usual. While at an advanced stage of the disease symptoms would be ina-bility to urinate, lower back pain, loss of appetite and weight loss and foot swelling.

Dr Al Homsi says that early detection of bladder cancer increases that chance of successful treatment and prevention and early detection can save lives.

“Stop smoking and do not ignore other symptoms such as blood in the urine, frequent urination and pain when urinating. Finding bladder cancer early, increases the chance of successful and easy treatment, with survival rates reaching 40 to 90 percent,” he said.

“Bladder cancer can be prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle including diet, physical activity and by staying away from smoking,” he added.

Bladder cancer is the ninth most common cancer worldwide and it occurs in men more frequently than it does in women and usually affects older adults, though it can happen at any age.

Risk factors for bladder cancer also include exposure to other carcinogens at workplace, age, gender, chronic bladder infection and heredity.

Minister of Transport and Communications H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti and the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure, Volodymyr Omelyan, witness the signing of MoU.

Mwani signs pact with Ukraine Sea Ports AuthorityCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Within a short period of time, the port has reached a global port connectivity coverage with 40 ports spanning over three continents.

Hamad Port, which was opened in December 2016, is not just vital to Qatar’s infrastructure but also drives the region’s development and growth.

The Port, which is one of the largest ports in the region, is set to play a major role in maritime trade by becoming a tran-shipment hub in the region. By becoming a transhipment hub, the $7.4bn port will be able to serve the business and trade of

the neighbouring countries. The Port has played a crucial role in overcoming the unjust siege imposed by the blockading countries, as the number of vessels calling at the port and volume of goods has been grown consistently since start of its operation.

The Port received 803 ships in the first six months of the current year and handled 644,824 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) containers in January-June period while handled 631,076 break-bulk cargo in the same period. It handled 132,325 bulk cargo; 341,793 heads of cattle and 32,084 units of vehicles in the first six months of the current year.

03WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018 HOME

MoI mulls comprehensive system to ensure sports safetyTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Ministry of Interior’s Establishments and Authorities Security Department recently held a meeting with sports asso-ciations and clubs in the country to discuss the safety require-ments for the sports season 2018-19, to ensure the success of sports tournaments in an atmosphere of comfort and safety.

The department’s Assistant Head, Brigadier General Jassim Al Hail, said the meeting is not the first of its kind and was pre-ceded by many other coordi-nation meetings to discuss all organisational, safety and training aspects, and based on the future vision to promote cooperation with Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and Qatar Stars League (QSL).

He added that the meeting sought to discuss all the aspects r e l a t e d t o

security and organisation of sports tournaments, to reach a comprehensive system that ensures organising safe sports tournaments and prevent any risks that may pose a danger to the security of fans and players.

Al Hail highlighted the importance of good security and organisation preparations for

sports events in terms of equipping fields with tools and equipment for the departments to handle their security role. He also highlighted the importance of having a control room within each stadium to make binding decisions in a timely manner and communicate with those in charge within the stadium.

He said that it is important to have a system that introduces the audience and players to the pro-cedures that need to be taken while entering, exiting and watching events. He also said it is important to work together to build a vision for securing major sports events and providing safety for all.

Head of the Stadium Security Department, Captain Mubarak Bilal Al Ali, said the aim of the meeting is to set the cooperation mechanisms between the min-istry and the related entities in sports. He added that the coop-eration is not limited to football

but also covers all sports since it is part of the same system.

He said this meeting and the

upcoming ones are not only limited to discussions on the security requirements of the

2018-19 sports season, but also aim to touch on the security strategy in the long term.

The officials of the Ministry of Interior’s Establishments and Authorities Security Department and representatives of sports associations and clubs during a meeting to discuss the safety requirements for the sports season 2018-19.

The meeting sought to discuss all the aspects related to security and organisation of sports tournaments, to reach a comprehensive system that ensures organising safe sports tournaments and prevents any risks that may pose a danger to the security of fans and players.

SC’s new mobile app offers a set of services to workers THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) has launched a smartphone app to help construction workers improve their professional and personal lives during their time in Qatar.

Following an initial pilot with 250 workers, ‘Madad SC Workers’ has been rolled out to all 22,000 workers engaged on SC infrastructure projects. The word ‘madad’ means ‘help’ in Arabic. Initiated by the SC’s Workers’ Welfare Department and Special Projects Office, in collaboration with Qatar Inno-vation Community, the app was developed to leverage the over-whelming number of workers who use smartphones and would benefit from a customised platform capable of enhancing their everyday lives.

The app gives users a set of services, including streamlined finance and remittance options, easy communication with family and friends, increased awareness of leisure and social activities, access to health and nutrition advice, access to SC’s work grievance hotline, partic-ipation in regular surveys, storing soft copies of personal documents, such as Qatar ID and passport, access to all key

emergency telephone numbers, and location maps of ATMs, parks and health centers.

Led by the SC’s Projects Advisor, Oscar Liebana, in col-laboration with local tech experts A101, the app was developed following an intensive consultation period with SC workers. During the devel-opment phase, workers at Lusail Stadium were asked for their feedback on the features, func-tionality and design of the app, which is intended as a one-stop shop for all their needs.

“This app helps us to provide support for workers whenever and wherever they need it,” SC’s Workers’ Welfare Executive

Director Mahmoud Qutub said.“It also allows us to establish

direct communication with them, which we know from experience is vital. The intro-duction of an app designed spe-cifically for workers is yet another example of the SC using innovation to protect the welfare of workers building stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup,” Qutub added.

Liebana added that involving workers in the process was key to designing an app that benefits them. “Their feedback was critical and has led to the first version of an app that should enhance many aspects of their life in Qatar.”

SC achieves huge success in workers’ welfare.

Qatar Chamber to implement ATA Carnet system from today THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Chamber will start today to officially implement the temporary export-import document system ATA Carnet in the admission of goods to the country, joining 77 other coun-tries that employ the system.

In a statement issued yes-terday, Qatar Chamber said that, as the entity concerned with the issuance and guaran-teeing, it will begin to issue special registers to be available for the business community, noting that business owners and customers can apply for ATA Carnet either by visiting the chamber’s member affairs department or registering online on its website. The reg-ister is then issued in return for a fixed fee and is valid for a year for commercial samples and six months for on-display goods and professional equipment.

The implementation of the system in cooperation with the General Authority of Customs and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Qatar is one of the important steps that will enhance Qatar’s status as an attractive investment desti-nation and a global center for trade and business, Qatar Chamber said, adding that this will stimulate the conference and tourism sector and support Qatar’s readiness to host the 2022 World Cup.

The temporary export-import document system is an international customs doc-ument that allows the tem-porary import of goods for up to a year without the obligation to take any fees, taxes or customs procedures. The system covers all goods, pro-vided that they are re-exported and imported during the period

approved by the customs authorities

The system enables mar-keting representatives, exhib-itors and travelling busi-nessmen to carry out the customs procedures at a pre-defined cost, and visit several countries without delay in the procedures. It ensures the facilitation and simplification of customs procedures through borders and reduction of routine requirements, in addition to allowing exporters and importers to use one doc-ument to complete all customs procedures in 77 countries that apply the system.

ATA Carnet covers all goods such as commercial s a m p l e s , p r o f e s s i o n a l equipment, goods specific for exhibitions, markets and entertainment events, pro-vided that they are re-exported

and imported during the period approved by the relevant customs authorities.

The system covers jew-ellery, clothing, watches, leather products, different types of products, equipment, antiques, paintings and other artworks, exhibition pavilion requirements, broadcast equipment, audio and video equipment, cinematography and musical instruments, clothing, theatre objects, seminar and meeting equipment, display, repair machines, maintenance and equipment using surgeons, archaeologists, entertainment performers, lecturers and athletes.

However, the system does not cover perishable and dis-posable goods, or those that will be subject to processing or repair.

Qatar Chamber has announced earlier this year that it is the national guarantor of the implementation of the system in the State of Qatar, as required by the international convention on the temporary admission of goods the presence of a national guar-antor that guarantees customs duties and rights in the event of the return of goods tempo-rarily entered.

The chamber organised a number of introduction work-shops on the ATA Carnet system on a weekly basis in July to introduce the system and how to use it as well as the legal sides related to its imple-mentation, the advantages and guarantees and how to deal with it, the mechanism of issuing the system, and the electronic registration. The workshops also touched on customs procedures and customs responsibilities and rights.

Ashghal begins A-Ring Road Development project

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1In order to reduce the

impact of construction works on the area’s residents and visitors during the project period, all entrances to residential areas and commercial establishments will remain open to traffic, in addition to maintaining the same number of lanes on the A-Ring Road along the imple-mentation period.

Ashghal will also implement a number of measures to reduce noise from construction works, such as using special equipment that produce less noise, imple-menting excavation works

during certain hours of the day to minimise inconvenience for area’s residents, and using water

tanks to spray water during excavation works to control the resulting dust.

Qatar to award $85bn worth of projects in coming years

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Over the coming two years, Qatar’s economy is expected to benefit from the improvement in oil prices and projects required to host the FIFA 2022.

Qatar has so far weathered the impact of the blockade by establishing new trade routes and by drawing on its abundant reserves of capital.

Qatar’s broad resilience to the boycott, is due to its large net asset position, high per capita income, hydro-carbon reserves and relatively low fiscal and external break-even oil prices, which provide a significant shock absorption capacity, MEED noted.

The implementation of the system in cooperation with the General Authority of Customs and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Qatar is one of the important steps that will enhance Qatar’s status as an attractive investment destination and a global center for trade and business, Qatar Chamber said, adding that this will stimulate the conference and tourism sector and support Qatar’s readiness to host the 2022 World Cup.

04 WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018 HOME / MIDDLE EAST

Radio Olive & Radio Suno receive ‘The Sheikh Jassim Cup’The Sheikh Jassim Cup Trophy Tour Team has visited Radio Olive 106.3FM and Radio Suno 91.7FM Stations. The directors of Radio Olive & Radio Suno Ameer Ali & Krishnakumar, respectively, received ‘The Sheikh Jassim Cup’ from the representatives of QFA, Nabeel and Muhammed Hashim, in the presence of Sheikh Falah bin Ghanim bin Al Thani. The final match of the Sheikh Jassim Cup 2018 between Al Duhail & Al Rayan is scheduled for today at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium (Al Sadd Sports Club).

Vodafone Qatar launches three Oppo smartphonesTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Vodafone Qatar has launched three budget friendly Oppo Smartphones. The Oppo F7, A83 Pro and A71K are priced at QR1,249, QR649 and QR499 respec-tively.

New and Existing Vodafone customers will also receive up to 7GB of free data and free accessories such as a phone case and screen protector.

The Oppo F7 sports a 25-MP selfie camera and comes with various features including a notch display, facial recognition and the latest Android OS. On the memory front, Oppo F7 offers a 4GB RAM and a 64GB internal storage.

The OPPO A83 Pro features a 5.7-inch HD+ LCD display and a single 13MP rear camera sensor with an LED flash while at the front, there is an 8MP camera for selfies. The device is a dual-SIM phone and the storage is expandable up to 256GB. The Oppo A71k screen

size is 5.2-inch long and is light-weight at just 137g. It has 16GB of internal storage and the primary camera sports a 13MP sensor while the selfie snapper lies a 5MP sensor.

“We are delighted to bring customers these innovative yet affordable Smartphones that will appeal to social media enthusiasts who love to click selfies. Oppo devices are proving to be hugely popular globally and we’re certain people in Qatar will love them,” commented Diego Camberos, Chief Operating Officer, Vodafone Qatar.

UN, Turkey, Iran, Russia talk Syrian charter committeeANATOLIA

MOSCOW: The UN’s Syria envoy has discussed with representatives of Turkey, Iran, and Russia the formation of a committee to rewrite Syria’s

Constitution, he said yesterday.

The informal consul-tations took place on day two of the 10th round of Syria peace talks in the Astana format in the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi. After the gathering, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura told journalists that the meeting had been “useful”.

Earlier the regime and opposition each submitted to de Mistura a list of 50 candidates to represent them on the committee.

In addition to the for-mation of a constitutional committee, the 10th round of Syrian talks is focused on the latest situation in de-escalation zones in Idlib, the return of ref-ugees, and the release of prisoners. Last week, the regime began a military buildup in southwestern Idlib in a bid to attack Syria’s northwestern Turkmen Mountain region, which is located within the de-escalation zones. Idlib is set to be a top issue during the Astana meeting, as the Turkish delegation is expected to stress the importance of maintaining the cease-fire regime in the region.

Syrian army gains full control of Yarmouk Basin from IS: Report REUTERS

AMMAN: The Syrian army and its allies has taken full control of the Yarmouk Basin in south-western Syria after routing Islamic State (IS) militants, the Hezbollah group’s Al Manar TV said yesterday.

The basin borders Israel and Jordan and had been the last embattled pocket of the southwest after a sustained advance by President Bashar Al Assad’s forces into the longtime rebel stronghold.

The Iranian-backed Hez-bollah has fought alongside Assad’s forces as he has turned

the tide of the civil war against rebels and militants with the help of Russian air power since 2015.

The army seized Islamic State’s main redoubt in the town of Shajara on Monday, which left just a few villages in the hands of an IS-affiliated faction, the Khalid Ibn Al Walid army, that had controlled the Yarmouk Basin.

The rural area has been the last wedge of southwestern Syria with continued fighting, with the army having taken control of the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and most of Deraa province to

the east. Between 1,000 and 1,500 IS insurgents who had been holding their ground in the area yielded under intensive Russian bombing from the air, a regional intelligence source said. Hundreds of air strikes also prompted thousands of civilians to flee and caused untold civilian casualties, according to another Western intelligence source.

Assad is in his strongest position since the early days of the seven-year war that has killed half a million people. Completing his recovery of the southwest would leave rebels largely confined to a stretch of territory in the northwest.

Ooredoo’s YuppTV service offers free streaming of Asian language programmesTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Ooredoo and YuppTV announced yesterday the launch of the YuppTV service in Qatar, which offers a host of Asian language programmes with no data charges.

Ooredoo is the exclusive distributer of the streaming service in Qatar and the com-pany’s Hala and Shahry sub-scribers can now benefit from the latest content by paying only the subscription fees: daily (QR3), weekly (QR15) or monthly (QR45).

YuppTV offers live TV, entertainment, music, news and movies in a host of Indian lan-guages such as Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telegu and more. The service is available via smartphone and once sub-scribed, content is free to stream and download.

With a YuppTV sub-scription, users can watch popular channels such as Aaj tak, Colors, Zoom, Surya, Manorama, Reporter, Jaya TV, the Gemini TV channel and many more.

To enjoy the service, users just need to send an SMS con-taining ‘SUB YCD’, ‘SUB YCW’ or ‘SUB YCM’ for daily, weekly or monthly subscriptions to the number 92970.

Ooredoo has launched the service in partnership with YuppTV to cater for the growing demand for digital content across Qatar. Ooredoo has stated that more digital enter-tainment services and partner-ships will be announced in the future.

142,000 tonnes of dates sold at Local Dates Festival THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Third Local Dates Festival at the Souq Waqif has attracted more than 39,000 visitors and more than 142,000 tonnes of dates sold since the start of the festival on July 19.

The festival will continue until August 4 and being organised by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), in collaboration with t h e W a q i f M a r k e t Administration.

It offers many varieties of fresh dates at affordable prices. Also, the number of local

participating farms increased from 57 last year to 73 this year.

The total sales of fresh dates on Monday included 82.618kg of khalas, 20.971kg Shishi, 23.822kg Khanizi, 9.919kg Barhi and 5.248kg of other types. The number of vis-itors to the festival since its inauguration is about 39, 500 visitors of different age.

The festival comes within the framework of supporting farms and encouraging them to display and market their products and providing fresh dates to people at lower prices compared to the markets. Dates for sales at the Local Dates Festival.

MEC recalls 2015-17 Benz GLC-Class THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Ministry of Economy and Commerce, in collaboration with Nasser Bin Khaled Automobiles, dealer of Mercedes Benz vehicles in Qatar, has announced the recall of Mercedes Benz GLC-Class model of 2015-2017 over possible defect on the right and left C-pillar.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce, in collabo-ration with United Cars Almana (After Sales), dealer of Dodge and Chrysler vehicles in Qatar, has also announced the recall of Dodge Charger and Chal-lenger models of 2015-2017 and Chrysler 300C models of 2015-2016 over potentially missing informative spare tire label.

The ministry said the recall campaigns come within the framework of its ongoing efforts to protect consumers and ensure that car dealers follow up on vehicle defects and repairs.

Hollywood film producer Jordan Horowitz to speak at NU-Q convocation ceremony THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Famed Hollywood film producer Jordan Horowitz (pictured), a Northwestern University graduate, will speak at Northwestern University in Qatar’s 2018 Convocation Ceremony for its incoming class of students on September 2.

Horowitz is best known for producing the Academy-winning musical comedy-drama La La Land, which was nomi-nated for a record 14 Academy Awards in 2017. It won six, including Best Director for Damien Chazelle and Best Actress for Emma Stone. The much-honored La La Land was also awarded Best Picture at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, PGA, and Critics Choice Awards.

NU-Q’s Convocation marks the beginning of the academic year and will welcome the Class of 2022 after a week of orien-tation activities. The event is the first formal occasion of the year, and this year it will mark the first event of the University’s 10th year anniversary celebration.

Attended by Northwestern’s administration and faculty in full

academic regalia, students will hear from Dean Everette E. Dennis and NU-Q’s Student Union President Alessandra El Chanti, in addition to the keynote speaker.

“As a successful film pro-ducer and entrepreneur, Mr. Horowitz’s professional and life experience as a master story teller will inspire our new stu-dents as they begin their aca-demic journey,” said Dennis. “He is an excellent representative of Northwestern’s alumni com-munity, which is a network of graduates around the world working in the field of media and communication.”

Horowitz earned his degree from Northwestern’s School of Communication in the US in 2002. Following his graduation, he co-founded a film and tele-vision production company,

Original Headquarters, with his wife, writer/director Julia Hart.

His filmography portfolio includes 12 movies, including two recently released produc-tions: Fast Color and The Master Cleanse, as well as a TV show, Counterpart, which has received favorable reviews.

Previous films, in addition to La La Land, include Little Boxes, Miss Stevens, The Keeping Room, You are Here, Garden of Eden, Save the Date, Meet Monica Velour, and The Kids Are All Right – the latter of which received four Academy Award nominations and won the Golden Globe for Best Picture.

During Horowitz’s visit, NU-Q will screen La La Land for the community followed by a discussion of that film and other work he has produced.

As undergraduates, NU-Q students major in communi-cation (media industries and technology) or journalism and strategic communication. The Class of 2022’s first year will coincide with NU-Q’s 10-year anniversary, which will be marked with a series of cele-bratory events throughout the year.

05WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Iran remains wary on Trump’s offer of talksAP

TEHRAN: Iran reacted skepti-cally yesterday to US President Donald Trump saying that he’s willing to negotiate with his Iranian counterpart “anytime,” but top officials did not reject a sit-down out of hand.

Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, a senior cleric and member of the influential Expediency Council, said Trump’s suggestion on Monday that he would be willing to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani should not be categorically rejected.

“It should be discussed in the Supreme National Security Council,” said Nategh Nouri, who is also a former aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Nategh Nouri said “we have to contemplate” the gesture, but also cautioned “we should not rejoice over this offer and not get excited.”

“Trump may take advantage of this over-excitement,” he said. “It could be a test for us.” Trump pulled the US out of a deal with several major powers and Iran earlier this year that was meant to prevent Tehran from devel-oping nuclear weapons. He’s also said, however, that as renewed sanctions kick in, he expected Iran would call and offer to return to the negotiating table, and that “we’re ready to make a real deal.”

On Monday he said he could meet with the Iranians with “no preconditions,” adding that “if they want to meet, I’ll meet anytime they want.” Former President Barack Obama held

a brief phone call with Rouhani in 2013, as the talks that led up to the nuclear deal were getting underway. It was the first time the presidents of the two coun-tries had spoken since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the storming of the US Embassy, which led to the severing of diplomatic ties.

In his first public comments after the remarks, Rouhani himself avoided mentioning Trump’s comments, instead stressing the need for the other nations involved in the nuclear deal to forge ahead with their pledges of trying to salvage it.

“Today we are at a very critical point in history regarding the nuclear deal, and Europe’s transparent measures to compensate for the United States’ unlawful withdrawal from it are very important for the Iranian nation,” Rouhani said after talks with new British Ambassador Rob Macaire.

Britain, along with China, Germany, France, Russia and EU, are negotiating with Iran on preserving the deal.

Arab-Israeli poet Dareen Tatour, 35, reacts at the magistrate court after being sentenced to five months in prison, in Nazareth, Israel, yesterday.

Israeli court jails Arab poetREUTERS

JERUSALEM: An Israeli court jailed an Israeli Arab poet for five months yesterday after convicting her of incitement to terrorism for a poem and remarks she posted on social media during a wave of Pales-tinian street attacks.

Dareen Tatour, 36, posted on Facebook and YouTube a video of herself reading out her poem “Resist, My People, Resist”, as a soundtrack to

footage of masked Palestinian youths throwing stones and fire-bombs at Israeli soldiers.

Tatour published her poem in October 2015 during a spate of deadly Palestinian stabbing, shooting and ramming attacks on Israelis. She was arrested a few days later, and prosecutors said her post was a call for vio-lence. She denied this.

Her case became a cause celebre for freedom of speech advocates in Israel and abroad. It drew attention to the

advanced technology used by Israeli security agencies to trawl through social media to identify and arrest users suspected of incitement to violence, or of planning attacks.

Tatour said her poem was misunderstood by the Israeli authorities as it was not a call for violence, rather for non-violent struggle.

US-backed negotiations on a Palestinian state in territory Israel captured in a 1967 war have been stalled since 2014.

Tense count as Zimbabwe opposition claims victoryAFP

HARARE: Zimbabwe’s oppo-sition MDC party yesterday claimed victory in the historic elections, setting the scene for a showdown with the ruling ZANU-PF that has held power since independence in 1980.

Senior MDC official Tendai Biti said party leader Nelson Chamisa had won the presi-dential race, and alleged that the authorities were delaying the publication of results.

“The results show beyond reasonable doubt that we have won the election and that the

next president of Zimbabwe is Nelson Chamisa,” Biti said.

“We are however seriously concerned about evidence of interference... there is a delib-erate delay in announcing the results. This delay is totally unacceptable.” President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, has

also said he was confident of victory in Zimbabwe’s first election since former leader Robert Mugabe was ousted.

“The information from our reps on the ground is extremely positive! Waiting patiently for official results as per the consti-tution,” Mnangagwa said.

Counting on in violence-marred Mali elections AFP

BAMAKO: Counting was under way in Mali following a key presidential election that saw balloting halted at hundreds of polling stations because of violence in restive regions of the poor Sahel country. Despite the violence, candidates and authorities praised Sunday’s first round of voting, relieved that the violence — which included the torching of polling stations and assaults on elec-toral officials — caused no casualties.

Security was a central issue during the campaign, in which 73-year-old President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is seeking re-election with the international community hoping the poll will strengthen a 2015 peace accord. On Monday evening, Keita’s coalition announced the incumbent seemed “largely ahead” in the results.

“He is in a good position to get a second term,” Maha-madou Camara, a spokesman for the president, said.

Leading the pack of his 23 challengers is Soumaila Cisse, 68, a former finance and economy minister, who lost by a wide margin in the 2013 election that brought Keita to power.

In his first public comments after the remarks, Rouhani himself avoided mentioning Trump’s comments, instead stressing the need for the other nations involved in the nuclear deal to forge ahead with their pledges of trying to salvage it.

06 WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018ASIA

National Registry of Citizens draft list in Assam snowballsIANS

NEW DELHI: The controversy over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam snow-balled further yesterday with BJP President Amit Shah claiming that the NDA government had the courage to do what the Congress lacked on identifying foreigners as West bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee warned of a “bloodbath and civil war” over the BJP’s “attempt to divide people”.

The Rajya Sabha was para-lysed on the issue while the Supreme Court stepped into to douse fears that there will be any coercive action on the basis of the final draft that was published on Monday that left out of more than 40 lakh people from the NRC.

The issue rocked the pro-ceedings of the Rajya Sabha with the opposition accusing the ruling party of playing divisive politics ahead of parliamentary elections.

Shah took on the opposition to say that the NRC was a promise made in the Assam Accord signed by late Prime Min-ister Rajiv Gandhi.

“What we have done is in accordance with the Supreme Court directions. We have shown

the courage to do what you could not,” he told the opposition members, adding the gov-ernment was clear on carrying out the process of identifying infiltrators.

Shah, whose remarks accusing the opposition of trying to protect the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants disrupted the Rajya Sabha and forced an adjournment of the House for the day, later dared other parties to clear their stand on Bangladeshi infiltrators.

He said no Indian has been left out of the list. He said the entire process of the NRC was

done under the supervision of the apex court and alleged that Congress did not “have the guts to prepare the list and send back the infiltrators”.

Noting that those not in the draft NRC were suspected for-eigners, he said: “They will have the opportunity to prove their citizenship.” Shah accusing Ban-erjee of indulging in “vote bank politics”.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court yesterday said the final draft of NRC cannot be the basis for any coercive action by any authority.

“What has been published is a complete draft NRC. It can’t be the basis for any action by any authority,” said a bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman as Attorney General K K Venugopal pointed to the serious human problem.

The court was informed by the Attorney General that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) giving the modalities for dealing with the claims and pro-cedures will be prepared by the concerned ministry by August 15.

Fixing August 16 as next date of hearing, the bench observed that the SOP must be fair.

In the Rajya Sabha, oppo-sition leaders asked the

government to address the NRC issue on humanitarian basis.

The House took up a dis-cussion on NRC suspending the Question Hour.

Keeping up her attack on the BJP, Banerjee, who addressed a conclave of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, accused the BJP of trying to divide the people for the sake of votes.

“Only to win the election, only to win the battle, people cannot be victimised. Now they say these people cannot vote also. If they don’t vote, if their list

doesn’t exist, don’t you think they will lose their identity,” Banerjee said. There were also people from Bihar, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu whose names were not in the NRC, she added.

“The situation cannot be tol-erated. There will be a civil war, bloodbath in the country,” she warned.

The Chief Minister alleged that the exercise was being carried out with a political motive.

In Guwahati, former Assam Chief Minsters Prafulla Kumar

Mahanta and Tarun Gogoi slammed Banerjee.

Mahanta said the complete draft NRC was not against the Bengalis and Muslims. “Mamata Banerjee is trying to use the issue for political gains, which is not justified.” Gogoi advised Banerjee to rather concentrate on West Bengal politics, saying “there is no question of harassment of genuine Indian citizens in the name of NRC updation”.

In Lucknow, BSP supremo Mayawati slammed the Modi government over the NRC.

Activists of the Minority Youth Federation shout slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central and Assam state government during a protest rally following the publishing of the first complete draft of the National Register of Citizens, in Kolkata, yesterday.

Karunanidhi to have extended stay in hospitalIANS

CHENNAI: DMK President M Karunanidhi will have to remain in the Kauvery Hospital here for an extended period owing to age related health issues including altered liver function, the hospital said yesterday.

In a statement issued on the 94-year-old veteran pol-itician, the hospital said: “Although there has been res-olution of the condition which led to his hospital admission, an extended period of hospi-talisation will be necessary due to age related overall decline in his general health, altered liver function and haematological parameters.” Karunanidhi, who occupied the Tamil Nadu Chief Minis-ter’s chair for five times and who has never lost an election in the 13 times he has con-tested, was admitted to the Kauvery Hospital on July 28 following a drop in blood pressure.

“He was resuscitated and stabilised in the ICU (intensive care unit) and managed by a team of doctors and nurses,” the statement said.

“There was a setback on his clinical condition on July 29 due to difficulty in breathing. He responded well to medical management and his vital signs are gradually normalised,” the statement said.

According to the hospital, Karunanidhi continues to maintain his vital signs with active medical support.

Meanwhile, Congress President Rahul Gandhi visited Karunanidhi at the hospital.

Gandhi enquired about Karunanidhi’s health from the doctors as well as his son and DMK leader M K Stalin.

Speaking to reporters later, Gandhi said: “I wanted to come and see Karunani-dhiji and stand with him. I met him. He is fine and stable.” Gandhi said Karuna-nidhi had the spirit of Tamil Nadu people in him. “He (Karunanidhi) is a very tough person. He is stable.

SC dismisses plea for recall of Judge Loya case judgementIANS

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court yesterday dismissed a plea by Bombay Lawyers Association seeking a review and recall of its judgement that held that Special CBI court Judge B H Loya had met with natural death and that a PIL was misused for advancing political agenda and to scan-dalise the judiciary.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice D Y Chandrachud rejected the review plea, saying it did not find any merit in it.

In its order, the bench said: “We have carefully gone through the review petition and the con-nected papers, but we see no reason to interfere with the order impugned. The review petition is, accordingly, dismissed.”

Earlier, the bench on April 19 had rejected the plea for a SIT probe into the judge’s death saying: “It gives a sense of anguish that the proceedings were con-verted to scandalise the judiciary bordering on contempt.”

The Bombay Lawyers Associ-ation was one of the petitioners who pleaded for a Special Investigation

Team probe into the death, which the Supreme Court declined.

When Judge Loya died of a cardiac failure on December 1, 2014, he was conducting a trial in a case related to the alleged staged shootout killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in November 2005. Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah was one of the accused in the case but was later discharged.

The recall plea filed by senior counsel Dushyant Dave has said that the “judgement and order passed by this court requires serious reconsideration and upon

such reconsideration deserve to be recalled in the interest of justice and in larger public interest”.

He has contended that the top court committed an error by relying on the report of Commissioner, Intelligence — a police officer — who had conducted an enquiry and reached the conclusion that Judge Loya died of natural causes and that the case did not require an inde-pendent investigation.

Holding as “erroneous” the finding that the Maharashtra government was authorised to hold an inquiry, the review plea has contended that it was a

“purely internal administrative inquiry” which was “secretive” and without any legal footing.

The death of Judge Loya demands an “independent inquiry” under the Commission of Enquiry Act, 1952, or ordered by the High Court or Supreme Court in exercise of its extraordinary powers, said the plea, saying that such an “open and transparent” inquiry, should be in accordance with the prin-ciples of natural justice, involving the summoning of witnesses, cross-examining them, recording evi-dence and permitting parties to adduce evidence.

Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya (centre) arrives at Westminster Magistrates Court in central London yesterday, to attend his extradition hearing.

Law Commission agrees uniform civil code not practical: Muslim bodyIANS

NEW DELHI: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) yesterday claimed that the Law Commission in principle agrees that a uniform civil code (UCC) is not practi-cable in India given the coun-try’s vast diversity and complexities.

The Law Commission has been examining the issue of implementing a common civil law for all communities in India and had invited the AIMPLB yesterday to discuss the Muslim personal law and the desired changes in it.

“First and foremost we made it clear that Muslim per-sonal law is as per the divine decree and nobody is authorised to change it. The Commission was very receptive of our views and the meeting happened in a very cordial atmosphere,” said Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari, who led the AIMPLB delegation.

“The Law Commission Chairman admitted that a uniform civil code is not a prac-tical idea for India and that the government should not even think of implementing it for at least 10 years. We told him that not just 10 years, the idea should be dropped for good,” Umari said.

Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, a

member of the delegation, said the Commission discussed as to what good things from the Muslim personal law can be made part of the Hindu civil code and vice versa.

“We are clear that we cannot tweak our personal law at will. It is based on Quranic injunctions and the Hadith,” he said.

Advocate Niaz Farooqi said that when the delegation requested the Commission that before making any law about Muslims, it should at least consult the community, they were shocked to hear the reply.

“The Chairman said that the government was not even con-sulting the Law Commission on such matters, let alone others. This clearly shows that the Narendra Modi government is more interested in doing pol-itics on Muslim issues than actual reform,” Farooqi said.

AIMPLB spokesman Kamal Farooqui said: “Today we have submitted a detailed note on the questions raised by the Law Commission. The issues per-tained to inheritance, adoption, custody of children, making a will, difference in interpre-tation of Islamic laws among various sects and model nikahnama.” In response to a question, Farooqi said that nikah halala had no backing in the Shariah.

Ready to settle dues, say MallyaIANS

LONDON: Fugitive tycoon Vijay Mallya, who is facing money laundering charges in multi-crore fraud case, yesterday said he has not applied for any clemency plea in Karnataka High Court and is ready to settle dues.

Mallya’s assertion came after he came out of the West-minster court in London which he visited, along with his son Siddharth, to attend proceedings on his extradition trial.

“I have not applied for any clemency plea or a plea bargain in my unconditional offer to the

Karnataka High Court. I am ready to settle my dues... There are no further requests at all,” Mallya said interacting with the media outside the court.

The beleaguered busi-nessman denied the money laun-dering charges against him, terming them “completely false”.

“Allegations of money laun-dering and stealing money are completely false... At the end of the day, the courts will decide. The full amount is also to be determined. “You can’t have a situation where assets are attached based on com-plaints by the banks... And yet, the interest metre is rising everyday.

It’s an inequitable situation. So, let the judiciary decide what is right,” Mallya said.

On the issue of extradition, he said: “As far as extradition case is concerned, I think you all have heard it. That is now for the next hearing on September 12. And I look forward to it.”

Asked why he suddenly decided to settled in London, Mallya said: “I have been trying to settle here since 2015.” The 62-year-old tycoon, who fled the country on March 2, 2016, has been living in London ever since despite summons from Indian courts.

The issue rocked the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha with the opposition accusing the ruling party of playing divisive politics ahead of parliamentary elections and Mamata Banerjee warned of a “bloodbath and civil war” over the BJP’s “attempt to divide people”.

07WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018 ASIA

Pompeo warns IMF against Pakistan bailoutREUTERS

WASHINGTON: U S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned yesterday that any potential International Monetary Fund bailout for Pakistan’s new government should not provide funds to pay off Chinese lenders.

In an interview with CNBC television, Pompeo said the United States looked forward to engagement with the gov-ernment of Pakistan’s expected new prime minister, Imran Khan, but said there was “no rationale” for a bailout that pays off Chinese loans to Pakistan.

“Make no mistake. We will be watching what the IMF does,” Pompeo said. “There’s no rationale for IMF tax dollars, and associated with that American dollars that are part of the IMF funding, for those to go to bail out Chinese bondholders or China itself,” Pompeo said.

The Financial Times reported on Sunday that senior Pakistani finance officials were drawing up options for Khan to seek an IMF bailout of up to $12bn.

An IMF spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that we have so far not received a request for a Fund arrangement from Pakistan and that we have not had discussions with the author-ities about any possible inten-tions.” Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the IMF has its own standards and operating rules when cooper-ating with relevant countries.

“I believe they will handle it appropriately,” he told

r e p o r t e r s , w i t h o u t elaborating.

Pakistan is struggling to avert a currency crisis that has presented the new government with its biggest challenge. Many analysts and business leaders expect that another IMF bailout, the second in five years, will be needed to plug an external financing gap.

Pakistan, which already has around $5bn in loans from China and its banks to fund major infrastructure projects, had sought another $1bn in loans to stabilize its plummeting foreign currency reserves.

Officials in the Trump administration, including U S Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, have criticized China’s infrastructure lending to developing countries, arguing that this has saddled them with unsustainable debt.

The China-Pakistan Eco-nomic Corridor, a series of port and rail improvements asso-ciated with China’s One Belt One Road infrastructure push, has led to massive imports of Chinese equipment and mate-rials, swelling Pakistan’s current account deficit.

Amir Khan (right) of the Pakistani Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party greets Jahangir Tareen, a senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of Imran Khan, on his arrival at the MQM headquarters in Karachi, yesterday.

PTI seeks MQM-P’s support for govt formationINTERNEWS

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s pointman Jahangir Tareen flew into Karachi from Islamabad yesterday evening and invited former nemesis Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) to join Khan-led next federal government.

The MQM-P has won six National Assembly seats — four in Karachi and two in Hyderabad — in the July 25 elec-tions compared to its 24 NA seats in 2013.

With just six seats, the MQM-P has become an important factor in national pol-itics since the PTI cannot form a government on its own and lacks a simple majority in the lower house of parliament.

Tareen along with PTI leaders Arif Alvi, Firdous Shamim Naqvi and Imran Ismail reached the MQM-P’s

temporary headquarters in Bahadurabad area and met with its convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.

Senior leaders Dr Farooq Sattar, Amir Khan, Faisal Sub-zwari, Khwaja Izharul Hasan and Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar were also present.

Talks between the two parties held behind closed doors till 1.10am and an MQM-P source said that Tareen sought MQM-P’s help in the election of speaker, deputy speaker and leader of the house in the National Assembly and offered the party its share in the upcoming federal cabinet.

The source said the MQM-P was not interested in a single ministry and it wanted more powers for the Karachi and H y d e r a b a d l o c a l governments.

Later, Tareen told the media that the PTI had invited the MQM-P to join its government at the Centre for the sake of the

country.He said that both the PTI and

MQM-P got mandate from Karachi and now it’s time to deliver to the people.

Tareen said that the issues of water shortage, garbage col-lection, mass transit, an empowered local government system, devolution of powers came under discussion and the MQM-P was told that all such things were part of the PTI man-ifesto. To a question, Tareen said that the PTI did not offer the MQM-P any ministry as the two parties discussed ways and means to solve the problems of the people of Karachi.

MQM-P convener Dr Sid-diqui said that the coordination committee would discuss the PTI offer on Tuesday (today). However, he hoped that the cooperation between the two parties would go a long way and it would strengthen not only democracy but also the country.

Afghanistan plans to hold presidential election on April 20REUTERS

KABUL: Afghanistan will hold its next presidential election on April 20 next year, an official with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.

Confirmation of the date comes amid preparations for separate parliamentary elec-tions due in October which have been beset by technical and organizational problems as well as accusations of fraud and abuse.

Candidates will not be registered until November, but manoeuvring among potential contenders and their allies is already under way and President Ashraf Ghani himself is widely expected to run for a second five-year term.

Gunmen storm govt building; 11 dead in blastAFP

JALALABAD: Gunmen stormed a government building after multiple explo-sions in an ongoing attack in Jalalabad yesterday that has left at least 11 people wounded, the latest in a series of assaults in the eastern Afghan city.

On the other side of the country in Farah province a roadside bomb apparently intended for security forces hit a passenger bus and killed at least 11 people, as civilians once again bear the brunt of violence in Afghanistan.

“It was a bomb planted by the Taliban to hit security forces but... it got a passenger bus,” Farah provincial police spokesman Muhibullah Muhib said.

“There’s no rationale for IMF tax dollars, and associated with that American dollars that are part of the IMF funding, for those to go to bail out Chinese bondholders or China itself,” Pompeo said.

The law states the “land of Israel” — a reference to all of historical Palestine — “is the historical homeland of the Jewish people”, marginalising the existence of the Arab-Palestinian people inside the country who are citizens, as well as those in the occupied territories who are not.

08 WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018VIEWS

Critics call Israel’s nation-state law ‘provocative and racist’

Critics condemned Israel’s new “nation-state” law saying it delivers a serious blow to the country because

it puts Jewish identity ahead of the nation’s democratic principles while making Arab citizens “permanent foreigners”.

The law will initiate a long-term process that will chip away at the rights and status of Muslim and Christian Arab citizens of Israel, according to opponents.

Adopted with 62 votes for and 55 against last week, the legislation will have a far-reaching impact on social dynamics inside Israel and on the future of peace with the Palestinians and the two-state solution, they say.

‘Historical homeland’The law states the “land of Israel”

— a reference to all of historical Pal-estine — “is the historical homeland of the Jewish people”, marginalising the existence of the Arab-Palestinian people inside the country who are citizens, as well as those in the occupied territories who are not.

It also stripped the Arabic lan-guage of its official status, giving it

instead a vague “special status” des-ignation. Hebrew is now the only official lan-guage in Israel.

Excluding Arab Chris-tians and Muslim cit-izens, the law said: “The state of Israel is the national home of the Jewish people, in which it fulfils its natural, cul-tural, reli-

gious and historical right to self-determination.”

Jamal Zahalka, an Arab member of the Knesset who voted against the law, told Al Jazeera it establishes a new set of rules that will legitimise anti-Arab racism and increase the building of illegal settlements in the

occupied Palestinian territories.“The law will now give illegal

Israeli settlements legal backing and officially get rid of any possibility of establishing a Palestinian state in the occupied territories,” Zahalka said.

Palestinians have long demanded to have their own state in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, which were occupied during the 1967 war.

“The law will also back discrimi-nation against Arab citizens who can be legally prevented from residing in Jewish-only areas,” Zahalka added.

Barry Trachtenberg, presidential chair of Jewish history at Wake Forest University in the US, told Al Jazeera the law is reminiscent of how Jews were treated in the 20th century.

“As a historian of European Jewry, I have to say that I find this announcement to be distressing in the extreme. It wasn’t that long ago that Jews were on the other side of such policies,” he said.

In the first decades of the 20th century, Trachtenberg noted, Jews across Europe demanded to be a legally protected minority in the countries they resided in. The desire to chart their own history with their own language and institutions was widely shared across a wide spectrum of Jewish people, including many Zionists.

Most European countries ignored their wishes and continued to view Jews as an unwanted people. “Now Israel has embraced its own ‘nation-state’ law, which further marginalises the existence of the 20 percent of Israeli citizens who are Palestinian Arabs,” said Trachtenberg.

Israeli intellectual and author Yossi Klein Halevi told Al Jazeera the new law is “an unnecessarily pro-vocative statement that will

undermine the self-confidence of the Arab citizens who now feel that their place in the state of Israel is still uncertain”.

“This new law is a clumsy act that takes us several psychological steps back. While it might not have prac-tical consequences, psychologically it is deeply damaging to the Arab minority,” said Halevi, author of the best-selling book, Letters to My Pal-estinian Neighbor.

While non-Jewish citizens of Israel expressed alarm over the law, ordinary Jewish Israelis won’t see significant changes in their everyday lives, Israeli journalist Seth Frantzman told Al Jazeera.

“In Israel, you will not see people excited or not excited because, for Jewish Israelis, the new law enshrines what already exists,” Frantzman said.

“The law did not bring anything new because the same situation already exists in Israel since the founding of the state.”

Michel Sabbah, the former Arch-bishop and Latin Patriarch of Jeru-salem, told Al Jazeera the “racist” law did not surprise him. He said he suspects it is the first step in a bigger plan to establish more such laws and practices “against Arab citizens”.

The law was passed because the “current leaders of Israel are extremists”, said Sabbah, adding he hopes at one point new Israeli leaders will change the law to one that “treats all citizens of the state equally”.

But for Trachtenberg, history shows where such laws lead: “to seg-regation, racism, oppression, mass incarceration, and ethnic cleansing”.

“There cannot be equality in a state where one people is legally and systematically elevated above the other,” he said.

ALI YOUNES AL JAZEERA

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Cambodia decided the fate of the

nation through a free, fair and just

election.

Hun Sen Cambodia’s Prime

Minister

EU penalty for Google a warning bell over its internet dominance

The European Union’s latest announcement can be described as

conveying a strong war-iness about a U.S. infor-mation technology corpo-ration that has grown into a behemoth, increasing its control over the world of the internet.

The EU’s European Commission (EC) has announced it will impose penalty payments of a record $5 billion on Google.

As a reason for its action, the commission said Google has violated the EU competition law, the equivalent of Japan’s Anti-monopoly Law.

Google is said to have forced mobile device man-ufacturers using Google’s Android smartphone oper-ating system to pre-install its apps as a bundle.

Against the backdrop of its high market share, the EC has judged Google is eliminating other makers’

apps, thereby narrowing down the range of options for consumers. In reaction to this, Google is poised to offer all-out resistance by saying it is not depriving consumers of freedom, among other assertions.

Efforts should be made to settle the dispute over the IT corporation earning huge profits, with a view to securing sound competition.

Such companies as Apple, Amazon.com and Facebook are also offering useful services.

At the same time, there is a strong tendency for companies to gain over-whelming power and oli-gopolize the market once they hold a dominant position. It is necessary to pay attention to the harmful effects of such a situation.

In June last year, the EC also ordered Google to pay $2.7 billion in penalty pay-ments. Google had arranged for its own com-parison shopping website

to be displayed where it would be more con-spicuous than rival websites.

There is a sufficient possibility of similar problems arising in Japan, too. The Fair Trade Com-mission should increase its surveillance over possible unfair business deals.

US IT companies have accumulated a massive amount of personal infor-mation. They are utilizing such information to earn profits through ads and other businesses, thereby rapidly expanding their business operations worldwide. The rise of Chinese IT companies is also remarkable. Many people are anxious about this situation.

In May, the EU enforced the General Data Pro-tection Regulation (GDPR), which obliges personal data to be strictly managed. Although there are con-cerns that ordinary com-panies possessing customer data could also be subject

to punishment, the GDPR’s course of action is under-standable, as it seeks to reinforce arrangements for the protection of personal information.

Moreover, the EU is considering a plan to create legislation aimed at stipu-lating such measures as making transactions trans-parent between website-operating firms and those marketing their products through such sites.

In Japan, the FTC, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and other organs have started discus-sions on setting new regu-lations. How should a com-petitive environment be facilitated while averting excessive restrictions? Efforts should be made to expedite such a study.

US President Donald Trump has criticized the tightened regulations in Europe. Discussions should be calmly promoted to prevent his criticism from becoming a new cause of trade friction.

Initiated by the SC’s Workers’ Welfare Department and Special Projects Office, in collaboration with Qatar Innovation Community, the app was developed to leverage the overwhelming number of workers who use smartphones and would benefit from a customized platform capable of enhancing their everyday lives.

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

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIAL

Ensuring workers comfort

Qatar stands at number one among the regional countries in terms of workers’ rights and welfare initiatives. With a bright track record of protecting

rights of huge workforce of immigrant workers, Qatar has won international accolade time and again and the country is on a constant mission to bring more comfort in the lives of workers.

The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) has launched a smartphone app to help construction workers improve their professional and personal lives during their time in Qatar.

Following an initial pilot with 250 workers, “Madad SC Workers” has been rolled out to all 22,000 workers engaged on SC infrastructure projects.

Initiated by the SC’s Workers’ Welfare Department and Special Projects Office, in collaboration with Qatar Innovation Community, the app was developed to lev-erage the overwhelming number of workers who use smartphones and would benefit from a customized platform capable of enhancing their everyday lives.

The app gives users a set of services, including stream-lined finance and remittance options, easy communication with family and friends, increased awareness of leisure and social activities, access to health and nutrition advice, access to SC’s work grievance hotline, participation in regular surveys, storing soft copies of personal documents, such as Qatar ID and passport, access to all key emergency telephone numbers, and location maps of ATMs, parks and health centers.

As various organizations in Qatar are striving to make immigrant workers’ lives more comfortable, they have also adopted international standards for construction workers’ occupational safety.

Qatar Rail’s Doha Metro project has achieved a great distinction among similar mega projects in the world by reducing its Accident Fre-

quency Rate (AFR) to lowest 0.021.There is continuous improvement in AFR in Doha Metro

project of Qatar Rail which has dropped from 0.034 in June 2017 to 0.021 in June 2018 while industry standard AFR stands at 0.05.

The Doha Metro project has achieved an accident fre-quency rate (AFR) of 0.021 at the 86 percent completion mark, among the lowest AFR ever achieved on any similar mega projects and far below the industry standard.

Qatar Rail and its partners continue to build on and improve this performance with strict accountability and transparency, and through an unwavering commitment to proper supervision, training and education. With more than 560 million man-hours, more than 82,000 work-force and 425, 000 inductions, Qatar Rail imparted training for 1,630,000 hours for its workers to ensure their occupational safety and health.

THE JAPAN NEWS

Kim has broadly committed to the “denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” if the United States and its allies drop their “hostile” policies and the North has made clear it sees an official end to the state of war as crucial to lowering tensions.

09WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018 OPINION

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Cuba’s president changes style not substance infirst 100 days

North Korea, US at odds over path to peace

SARAH MARSH & NELSON ACOSTA AP

JOSH SMITH REUTERS

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has engaged in a non stop series of public appearances during his first 100 days in

office, stopping everywhere across the island nation in an apparent bid to con-solidate his leadership position. But the Castro dynasty is still calling practically all the shots.

Upon taking office on April 19, some had hoped he might move quickly to breathe new life into reforms aimed at

modernizing one of the world’s last Communist-run countries.

But the 58-year-old hand-picked successor of Raul Castro has demon-strated limited room for maneuver in what analysts have called a well orches-trated and only gradual transition from the octogenarian leaders of Cuba’s 1959 revolution.

Diaz-Canel has appeared daily in meetings broadcast on state television with authorities and in communities across Cuba, playing basketball with school students, hearing the concerns of patients at hospitals and inspecting fac-tories to see the challenges they face.

His outgoing approach is starkly dif-ferent from Castro’s behind-the-scenes style and many Cubans have said they are reminded of Castro’s older brother, Fidel, although the bearded revolu-tionary was far more charismatic and unrestrained.

“Every day he is really getting closer to the people, getting to know their problems first hand,” said Lazaro Linares, 45, who struggles to get by on the $20 per month he earns working for a state administered urban garden in Havana.

In terms of substance and problem solving, however, Diaz-Canel has made good so far on the promise made in his inaugural address to defer to his 87-year-old predecessor on key issues.

“Beyond frequent emphasis on the

need to combat corruption ... it is hard to identify as yet a policy agenda fully his own,” said Michael Bustamante, an assistant professor of Latin American history at Florida International University.

It is Castro, for example, who is spearheading the revamp of Cuba’s Soviet-era constitution to overhaul its courts and government, and reflect market reforms opening its economy.

Last weekend, when Diaz-Canel announced his new cabinet, he retained two thirds of the ministers who served under Castro, including those in key posts like defense, trade and foreign relations. Earlier this month new regula-tions defining the scope of the fledgling private sector were released, but the bulk were signed by Castro before he left office. “More than leading the strategic decisions, Diaz-Canel is acquiring a lot of executive management capability in the day-to-day running of the government,” said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a former analyst for the Cuban government who now lec-tures at the University of Texas.

“How long will this situation last? Until Raul Castro and (Jose Ramon) Machado Ventura find it proper,” he said, referring to the Communist Party’s No. 2, an 87-year-old hardline com-munist ideologue. According to some, Diaz-Canel will only have full leeway to implement his own policies when he succeeds Castro in the powerful position as chief of Cuba’s Communist Party, which is expected to happen at the party’s next congress in 2021.

“Diaz-Canel will survive the gener-ation of octogenarians who decided on his promotion and only then will he be able to show his true face, hidden now between com-promises, fears and the roadmap dictated by others,” Yoani Sanchez, a dissident blogger and director of the online news outlet 14ymedio, told Reuters.

While it is still early days, Diaz-Canel has given few hints he might push more aggressively for reforms to address living standards on the island, Cubans’ main concern.

Cuba’s inefficient state-run economy never fully

recovered from the collapse of former benefactor the Soviet Union and now faces declining aid from ally Venezuela and lower Cuban exports.

Most Cubans complain they cannot live off the average monthly state wage of $30 despite free social services and some subsidized food and housing.

Castro had initiated reforms to foster the private sector and foreign direct investment while making state-run companies more efficient, but he faced resistance from Communist Party offi-cials and bureaucrats afraid of losing power. Diaz-Canel has tapped new offi-cials to deal with domestic economic issues under his leadership, according to American University professor of gov-ernment and Cuba expert William LeoGrande. So far, however, he has appeared “more captive than captain,” said Richard Feinberg, an expert on Cuba at the Brookings Institution.

To date, the one economic topic Diaz-Canel has highlighted is cor-ruption, but for many this is more a symptom than a cause of Cuba’s eco-nomic problems. Cubans often argue, for example, that low wages force them to steal from their workplace to get by.

Diaz-Canel’s only big ideological speech to date came at the annual con-gress of the union of journalists.

He has long championed a more critical state media and the cautious roll-out of internet in one of the world’s least connected societies. But in his speech, he appeared to attack alter-native web-based news outlets that have surfaced in recent years, accusing “new revolutionaries” of trying to subvert the revolution.

Washington’s reluctance to declare an end to the Korean War until after North Korea abandons

its nuclear arsenal may put it at odds not only with Pyongyang, but also with allies in South Korea.

The 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the US-led United Nations forces technically still at war with North Korea.

Last week marked 65th anni-versary of the truce, which was com-memorated by the United Nations Command in a ceremony in the for-tified demilitarised zone that has divided the two Koreas since the war. North Korean veterans of the war, which left more than 1.2 million dead, will gather in Pyongyang for a conference.

In their April summit, the leaders of North and South Korea agreed to work this year with the United States and China, which also played a major role in the war, to replace the armi-stice with a peace agreement.

In June, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a statement saying they would seek “to establish new US-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and pros-perity,” using the initials of the North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Kim has broadly committed to the “denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” if the United States and its allies drop their “hostile” policies and the North has made clear it sees an official end to the state of war as crucial to lowering tensions.

Many experts and officials in Washington, however, fear signing a peace deal first could erode the inter-national pressure they believe led Kim to negotiate. It could also endanger the decades-long US military alliance with South Korea, and may undermine the justification for the US troops based on the peninsula.

“Broadly speaking, one side wants denuclearisation first, normalisation

of relations later, and the other wants normalisation of relations first, then denuclearisation later,” said Chris-topher Green, a senior advisor at the International Crisis Group.

North Korea says it has taken steps to halt its nuclear development, including placing a moratorium on missile and nuclear bomb testing, demolishing its only known nuclear test site, and dismantling a rocket facility.

American officials have praised those moves, but remain sceptical. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Congress on Wednesday North Korea was continuing to produce fuel for nuclear bombs.

A spokesperson for the US State Department said while “peace on the Korean Peninsula is a goal shared by the world,” the international com-munity would not accept a nuclear armed North Korea.

“As we have stated before, we are committed to building a peace mech-anism with the goal of replacing the Armistice agreement when North Korea has denuclearised,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

In recent weeks Pyongyang has renewed calls for a declaration of the end of the war, calling it the “first process for peace” and a key way the United States can add heft to its guar-antees of security.

“The adoption of the declaration on the termination of war is the first and foremost process in the light of ending the extreme hostility and establishing new relations between the DPRK and the US,” North Korean state media said in a statement on Tuesday.

After Pompeo visited Pyongyang in June for talks, state media quoted a spokesman for the North’s Ministry of the Foreign Affairs criticising the US delegation for not mentioning the idea of a peace regime.

“It seems quite obvious that even if North Korea is negotiating sincerely, they aren’t going to be willing to give up their nuclear capacity in the

While it is still early days, Diaz-Canel has given few hints he might push more aggressively for reforms to address living standards on the island, Cubans’ main concern.

absence of a peace system that gives them regime security,” Green said.

Many officials in Washington appeared concerned that an early declaration of peace could lead to the collapse of the US-South Korea alliance with calls for US troops to leave the Korean peninsula, he added.

South Korean leaders in 1953 opposed the idea of a truce that left the peninsula divided, and were not signatories to the armistice. The treaty was signed by the com-mander of North Korea’s army, the American commander of the UN Command, and the commander of the “Chinese People’s volunteers”.

While South Korean officials say they are committed to the full denuclearisation of North Korea, they have shown more flexibility in the timing of a peace agreement than their US allies.

South Korea’s Unification Min-ister Cho Myoung-gyon said on Tuesday it is possible to declare an end to war this year.

“We are in consultations with the North and the United States in that direction,” he told a parlia-mentary session, adding that a three-way declaration would be part of an initial phase of denuclearisation.

Meeting North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho in Pyongyang, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou said China supported the reconciliation process between the North and the United States, China’s Foreign Ministry said.

China is willing to work hard with all sides to promote the process of establishing a “peace mechanism” for the Korean peninsula, Kong added, without elaborating.

US President Donald Trump shows the document, that he and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un signed after their summit at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore on June 12, 2018.

10 WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018ASIA / EUROPE

11 dead in southern Philippine explosionREUTERS

MANILA: A bomb exploded in a van in the restive southern Phil-ippines yesterday, killing 11 people at a military checkpoint in what IS militant group called a suicide attack for which it claimed responsibility.

The blast took place on Basilan, the island stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group notorious for kidnapping and banditry, which was the home of the former “emir” of IS militants in Southeast Asia, killed last year by Philippine troops.

A suspected bomber, a soldier, five paramilitary troopers and four civilians, including a mother and her child, were killed and seven people were wounded in the blast, an army spokesman said yesterday.

Vehicle bombings are extremely rare in the Philippines, despite decades of separatist and

violence that have destabilised the Mindanao region and lured foreign extremists.

In a statement carried by its Amaq news agency, IS militants claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing attack, which it cal led “a martyrdom operation”.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque condemned the bombing as a “war crime”, calling it “an illegal use of force, even in times of armed conflict”.

Yesterday’s explosion

happened moments after troops stopped the vehicle and spoke to the driver, who was alone and probably detonated the bomb, the military said.

A soldier who witnessed the attack said in an interview on private-run DZMM radio that the driver spoke in an unfamiliar dialect and may have been foreign.

H o w e v e r , m i l i t a r y spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo said security forces were investigating and there was no basis yet to conclude that the incident was a suicide bombing or had been carried out by a foreigner.

Intelligence indicated that militants planned to build homemade bombs and target army bases, he added.

Basilan is a no-go area for most Filipinos and Western countries typically warn citizens to stay away because of the presence of Abu Sayyaf and

fierce military offensives against its fighters.

Abu Sayyaf is infamous for taking fishermen and crew from commercial ships as hostages and beheading Western captives for whom ransom is not paid.

President Rodrigo Duterte was on a neighbouring island at the weekend and has offered peace talks with several Abu Sayyaf factions.

Duterte’s offer came two days after he approved a law to allow minorities in the region to create a new autonomous area with its own political and eco-nomic powers.

Yesterday’s blast was a “hor-rifying attack” and a “cowardly act” said opposition lawmaker Senator Risa Hontiveros, a backer of the autonomy law who urged that the attack should not

derail moves towards self-deter-mination for the region.

The bombing was a sign extremists were bent on sabo-taging a peace effort that had a chance of success, said security expert Rommel Banlaoi.

“These pro-IS militants will pose a tremendous challenge for the implementation of the Bang-samoro Organic Law,” he said, referring to the autonomy law.

A destroyed structure is seen at the site of an explosion at Barangay Maganda on the outskirts of Lamitan city on the southern island of Mindanao, yesterday.

Thailand asks Britain to extradite former premierAP

BANGKOK: Thailand is seeking the extradition from the United Kingdom of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who fled her country last year ahead of a conviction on a charge of negligence in over-seeing a money-losing rice subsidy program, the country’s prime minister said yesterday.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha confirmed the news to journalists when asked about a report by the Thai-language service of the BBC that an official request had been given to the British government.

He and Thai Foreign Min-ister Don Pramudwinai both described the action as a

standard procedure that went through legal channels, rather than a political matter.

Yingluck was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison. Her government was ousted in a 2014 military coup led by Prayuth.

Yingluck’s conviction had been widely expected, as the military remains firmly in charge and the courts have a record of antipathy toward her politically influential family.

Courts in Western countries are very unlikely to extradite in cases that are determined to be political in nature. If the object of the request objects, the extra-dition process will normally go through the courts, a procedure that can sometimes take years.

Two Koreas hold talks; US detects missile activityREUTERS

SEOUL: North and South Korea discussed reducing tension but didn’t announce any detailed agreements after military talks yesterday, while the United States detected renewed activity at a North Korean missile factory, casting more suspicion over the North’s intentions.

The meeting, the second since June and held in the border village of Panmunjom, was designed to follow on from an inter-Korean summit in April at which leaders of the two Koreas agreed to defuse tension and halt “all hostile acts”.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un also vowed during his separate summit with US Pres-ident Donald Trump in Sin-gapore in June to work toward denuclearisation, but there has been no concrete agreement to accomplish that goal. The North had pursued its nuclear and missile programmes in defiance

of UN Security Council resolu-tions and increasingly severe sanctions.

Generals from the two Koreas exchanged views on a possible cut in firearms and per-sonnel to “demilitarise” the

heavily fortified demilitarised zone (DMZ), as well as joint exca-vation within the area of the remains of soldiers killed in the 1950 to 1953 Korean War.

They also discussed ways to turn the skirmish-prone West

Sea by ceasing firing exercises and withdrawing artillery along the shore, according to South Korea’s defence ministry.

But they did not agree on details, which will be further dis-cussed through working-level talks, the ministry said.

The ministry said last week it plans to reduce guard posts and equipment along the heavily fortified border as an initial step.

The talks were meaningful in “creating understanding” in ways to implement the summit agreement, said Kim Do-gyun, the South’s chief negotiator who is in charge of North Korea policy at the ministry.

Ahn Ik-san, the general leading the North Korean dele-gation at the military talks, said both sides agreed on “some issues”, without elaborating.

At the start of the meeting, Ahn noted South Korean news reports suggesting that he might try to persuade the South to push for a joint declaration with the

United States to formally end the war. “Before determining whether it is true or not, I realised the people of the North and South regard our talks as important,” Ahn said.

The Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the US-led United Nations forces, including South Korea, technically still at war with the North.

Pyongyang sees an official end to war as crucial to lowering tension. It accused US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of making a “gangster-like” demand for denuclearisation during his visit to Pyongyang earlier this month, while rejecting its wish to discuss declaring an end to the conflict.

On Monday, a senior US official said that US spy satellites had detected renewed activity at the North Korean factory that produced the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the US.

North Korean Lieutenant General An Ik San with South Korean Major General Kim Do-gyun (right) during a meeting at the Peace House of the border village of Panmunjom, South Korea, yesterday.

IS militants claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing attack, which it called “a martyrdom operation”.

Man blows himself up on empty Belgium football fieldAFP

BRUSSELS: A man died after blowing himself up on an empty football field in the eastern Belgian town of Verviers in an apparent suicide, the city’s Deputy Mayor Hasan Aydin said yesterday.

“The individual, whose identity is not yet known, blew himself up in the middle of the football field around 0830 (0630 GMT) in the morning,” Aydin said. “He was alone in the middle of the field.”

“Suicide seems the most likely reason for the moment because if he had wanted to cause casualties, the man would have chosen another place at another time,” he added.

“It would seem that he is a European in his fifties and a former career military officer,” the deputy mayor said.

Macedonians urged to approve name deal in referendumAP

SKOPJE: Macedonia’s prime minister is urging his coun-trymen to vote in an upcoming referendum in favor of a deal with neighboring Greece that changes his country’s name to

“North Macedonia.”Prime Minister Zoran Zaev,

speaking in the capital of Skopje yesterday, said the September 30 referendum is an opportunity for people to make a “historic decision.” The agreement ends a decades-old dispute with

Greece that had prevented Mac-edonia, a former Yugoslav republic, from joining Nato and the EU.

The premier urged Macedo-nians to “say ‘Yes!’ and to grab the opportunities offered by the European Union. Let’s say ‘Yes!’

for guaranteed stability and security through Nato membership.”

Greece has long argued that the name Macedonia implies ter-ritorial claims over its own northern province of the same name.

Vietnam military official convicted of abusing powerREUTERS

HANOI: A Vietnamese military court yesterday sentenced the first military official to go on trial in the communist-ruled country’s ongoing crackdown against corruption to 12 years in jail.

Former colonel Dinh Ngoc He (pictured), known by his nickname “Little Baldy”, was convicted of “abusing power in performance of official duties” and “using fake docu-ments”, the news website of state radio Voice Of Vietnam reported.

“The court said the case nature is very serious, directly harming the rightful opera-tions of state authorities... The culprit’s action seriously affected the prestige of the military and the police.”

Vietnamese authorities have since 2016 intensified a crackdown on corruption which has led to the arrest of dozens of high-profile business figures and officials.

Dinh Ngoc He abused his position as chairman of Thai Son Joint Stock Company and his military status to get con-tracts in key national projects, the official Vietnam News Agency said, citing a copy of the indictment.

He also abused his position to obtain military licence plates for his company cars and sub-mitted fake university test cer-tificates to the Communist Party in a bid to increase his salary, the indictment said.

German air force to have ‘flying intensive care’REUTERS

BERLIN: After years of delays and technical challenges, Germany’s air force’s growing fleet of Airbus A400M military transport planes will now include a “flying intensive care station”, top air force and defence ministry officials said yesterday.

Deputy Defence Minister Benedikt Zimmer welcomed the introduction of the medical evacuation capability as a key step forward on the long-troubled procurement pro-gramme, and said additional capabilities would be added in coming months.

He said the aircraft’s low readiness rates were also improving, with eight of 15 available aircraft ready for oper-ational use on average last month. Last year, there were days on which zero aircraft were available for use.

“We are on a good path, but

not nearly at the target that we have for readiness,” Zimmer told reporters at an airfield at Ber-lin’s Tegel airport after inspecting the new modular medical care stations aboard an A400M transport.

Germany, the largest buyer of the multinational A400M, has received 20 of the 53 A400M aircraft it plans to buy. It has taken years to add certain capa-bilities to the aircraft, and

officials are still working on enhanced protective measures.

With the new medical equipment, the A400M can be configured to carry six medical patients to safety, including two in critical condition, Air Force officials said.

That capacity will be expanded to reach 10 patients in time, surpassing the capability of the existing fleet of C160 Transall transports.

A view of the medical equipment inside the medical version of the Airbus A400M military transport plane at Tegel airport, in Berlin, yesterday.

11WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018 EUROPE

‘Manchester bomber was rescued from Libya’AFP

LONDON: The suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a pop concert in Manchester was rescued by the British navy from conflict-ridden Libya three years earlier, it was reported yesterday.

Salman Abedi, a British man of Libyan heritage, was among 110 Britons and their families evacuated by the ship HMS Enterprise and taken to Malta in August 2014, the Daily Mail newspaper said.

In May 2017, the then 22-year-old blew himself up outside Manchester Arena in northwest England at the end of a concert by Ariana Grande.

Seven children were among the dead.

“For this man to have com-mitted such an atrocity on UK soil after we rescued him from Libya was an act of utter betrayal,” a government source said.

His brother Hashem Abedi, who is currently being held in Libya under investigation over the Manchester attack, was also reportedly evacuated.

An official review published last The Wall Street Journal last year cited a family friend saying that Abedi had travelled to Libya with his father in 2011 to join the Tripoli Brigade militia as it battled the regime of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

A government spokesman

said: “During the deteriorating security situation in Libya in 2014, Border Force officials were deployed to assist with the evacuation of British Nationals and their dependents.”

He added: “The Anderson review into the Manchester attack concluded that the inves-tigative actions taken in relation to Salman Abedi in 2014, and the subsequent decision to close him as a subject of interest, were sound on the basis of the infor-mation available at the time.”

Abedi was born in Man-chester in 1994, to parents who had been granted asylum after fleeing Gaddafi’s regime.

He was in Libya just days before the attack.

UK official warns of no-deal Brexit effectREUTERS

LONDON: British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will visit Paris and Vienna this week to discuss Brexit and warn of the costs to Britain and the European Union of failing to reach a tran-sition deal, his office said.

Hunt was in Beijing on Monday, where China offered Britain talks on a post-Brexit free trade deal, reaching out to London as Beijing remains mired in an increasingly bitter trade war with Washington.

On his return to Europe, Hunt will travel to France and Austria, meeting their foreign ministers Jean-Yves Le Drian and Karin Kneissl, and trying to gain support for Brexit pro-posals set out by Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this month.

“I will be explaining to my counterparts in Paris and Vienna that it is time for the EU to engage with our proposals, or we potentially face the prospect of a no-deal by accident, which would be very challenging for both the UK and EU,” Hunt said.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29 next year, but has yet to finalise a transition deal or agree the outlines of a longer-term trade relationship with its biggest overseas market.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said time was running out for a Brexit deal, and that this was hurting business, when he visited London earlier this month.

While in Vienna, Hunt will also meet the head of the Inter-national Atomic Energy Agency to discuss the future of the Iran nuclear deal, which the United States withdrew from in May.

The British Premier met Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Friday, discussing Brexit and confirming that the topic would be on the agenda of a meeting of EU leaders chaired by Austria in Salzburg in September.

On Monday, her official spokesman denied media reports that the government was planning for the army to deliver food if a ‘no-deal’ Brexit led to delays importing goods from Europe.

EU sanctions Russian firms over Crimea bridgeREUTERS

BRUSSELS: The European Union has imposed asset freezes on six Russian firms for their involvement in the construction of a new road-and-rail bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula, which the bloc says is illegal.

Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 after Ukraine’s pro-Russian president was toppled in an uprising. The West condemned the seizure as an illegal annexation and imposed

sanctions on Moscow.After the annexation, the

Kremlin ordered the building of a $3.6bn bridge to link the peninsula to Russia.

The bridge, part of which was unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in May, has drawn strong rebukes from the EU which says it is a further violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

A statement from the EU Council, which sets the bloc’s foreign and security policy, named six firms that will have their assets in the EU frozen. EU

persons and entities will not be able to make funds available to them, it said.

The companies include three firms —PJSC Mostotrest , SGM and Stroygazmontazh Most OOO — controlled by billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, President Vladimir Putin’s former Judo sparring partner. Construction firm CJSC VAD, engineering firm GPSM and the Zaliv Shipyard were also named.

“Through their actions they supported the consolidation of Russia’s control over the illegally

annexed Crimean peninsula, which in turn further undermines the territorial integrity, sover-eignty and independence of Ukraine,” the Council said.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin said he welcomed the additional sanctions.

“Important warning also for European businesses not to go down same slippery slope,” Klimkin wrote on Twitter.

Russia criticised the sanctions, saying they targeted people living on the peninsula.

“This is a policy of

undermining, directed against Crimea’s residents,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.

Rotenberg brushed aside the sanctions in a social media post, saying work was underway to complete the railway section of the bridge.

“We’re all proud of our work and if someone doesn’t like it that’s not our problem,” a spokesman for Rotenberg quoted him on the Telegram messaging service as saying.

A statement from the EU Council, which sets the bloc’s foreign and security policy, named six firms that will have their assets in the EU frozen.

Europe’s heatwave hits new highAP

BERLIN: The heatwave gripping large stretches of Europe has already been blamed for deadly forest fires and crop failures and now freshwater fish could be its next victims.

Yesterday, Germany was forecast to experience the highest temperatures of the year so far, with the mercury expected to rise as high as 39 C in some regions.

Rivers like the Rhine and the Elbe have soaked up so much heat that fish are beginning to suffocate.

Several of Germany’s nuclear power stations are reducing energy output because rivers used to cool the power plants are too warm.

Meanwhile, the country’s Farmer’s Association is asking the government for $1.17bn in financial aid to help cover losses from this year’s poor harvest.

The oceans, too, have been affected. Authorities in Poland last week banned swimming at over 50 beaches along its Baltic coast, after hot weather led to the growth of toxic bacteria in the unusually warm sea. Water temperatures in the Baltic Sea exceeded 23 Celsius in some places. Emergency water res-cuers told vacationers on hot, sandy beaches not to enter the sea, where thick, green-brown cyanobacteria colonies have grown and pose a health threat.

Police dogs in the Swiss city of Zurich have been getting special shoes to prevent them from burning their paws on the scorching streets. Swiss author-ities have also cancelled tradi-tional fireworks displays in some areas during national holiday celebrations, citing the high risk of forest fires.

Across Europe, forest fires have already caused major damage. In Spain, 27 of the country’s 50 provinces are at “extreme risk” from heat beginning Thursday, the national weather agency said. In neighboring Portugal, the General Directorate for Health warned about dust blowing in from North Africa.

A police water cannon type WaWe-10000 is used to hose water on alley trees, as a drought and heatwave continues in Central Europe, in Bochum, Germany, yesterday.

Migrant rescue ship to resume operationsAFP

MARSEILLE: The French NGO operating the rescue ship Aquarius, which precip-itated a European political crisis in June after both Italy and Malta blocked it from docking with 630 migrants aboard, said yesterday it would return to sea.

“As long as people are trying to cross the Mediter-ranean, the Aquarius is pre-paring to resume its rescue mission. Its departure from Marseille is scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday),” SOS Mediterranee posted on Twitter.

The NGO will hold a press conference alongside members of the Doctors Without Borders aid group before the ship’s launch.

Three European journalists dead in C Africa ambushREUTERS

BANGUI: Three European journalists were killed over-night in Central African Republic (CAR) by uniden-tified assailants who ambushed their vehicle, the mayor of the nearest town said yesterday.

Henri Depele, the mayor of Sibut, around 200km northeast of the capital Bangui, said two Russian and one Ukrainian were killed at around 10pm. Their driver survived the attack.

“According to the driver’s explanations, when they were 23km from Sibut ...armed men emerged from the bush and opened fire on the vehicle. The three journalists died instantly”.

CAR’s presidential

spokesman Albert Yaloke Mokpeme said the bodies of three people “of European appearance” had been found near Sibut by the army but that he did not know their nationality or profession.

A police source, who requested anonymity, said that authorities found a Russian press identification badge on one of them and air-plane tickets for flights from Moscow to Casablanca and Casablanca to Bangui.

Russia has delivered light arms to CAR’s security forces this year and deployed hun-dreds of military and civilian instructors to train them. The country has been ravaged by militia violence since a 2013 rebellion overthrew then-President Francois Bozize.

German court acquits accused in 2000 bombingAP

BERLIN: A German court has acquitted a man accused in an 18-year-old bombing that injured 10 immigrants from eastern Europe, including six Jews.

The 52-year-old man, whose name wasn’t released in accordance with privacy laws, had been considered a suspect in the July 2000 bombing in a Duesseldorf subway station, but at the time authorities couldn’t find enough evidence in the case.

That changed after he allegedly confessed to a fellow prisoner four years ago while incarcerated for another crime, but yesterday a Duesseldorf regional court said there was insufficient evidence to convict him.

The bomb detonated remotely near the group of immigrants, on their way home from German language lessons.

A woman’s unborn baby was killed when hit by a piece of metal.

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire (third left), French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (centre), French Minister of State for Relations with Parliament Christophe Castaner (second right) and French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb (right) attend a debate at the National Assembly, in Paris, yesterday.

French govt wins confidence votesREUTERS

PARIS: The French government yesterday firmly defeated two no-confidence motions put forward by opposition lawmakers over its handling of a scandal involving President Emmanuel Macron’s bodyguard, confirming his solid majority.

Although the two motions had virtually no chance of suc-ceeding, the votes capped a tumultuous two weeks in French politics after a video showing the bodyguard beating pro-testers triggered the most serious crisis of Macron’s tenure.

The motion backed by the conservative opposition party won 143 votes, falling short of the 289 necessary to topple the government, while the one put forward by an alliance of left-wing parties only gathered 74 votes.

Macron’s Republic On The Move party controls an outright majority in the lower house National Assembly and not a single of the president’s MPs broke ranks yesterday.

Despite the parliamentary victories, what has become known as the “Benalla affair”, after bodyguard Alexandre Benalla, has left an impact on Macron’s presidency, denting his popularity and throwing parts of his agenda off schedule.

The 40-year-old president was criticised for firing the aide only after the video showing him assaulting a May Day protester while wearing police gear was revealed by the press, under-mining his claim of building an “exemplary Republic”.

As well as forcing his gov-ernment to postpone a consti-tutional reform, the affair has

pushed Macron down in the polls, with his popularity now at barely 36 percent, according to one recent survey. It has also emboldened a fragmented opposition, which had been floundering since Macron’s landslide victory last year.

The scandal has also raised questions about Macron’s highly centralised governing style and the wide powers conferred on the president under France’s Fifth Republic.

Yesterday, the head of Macron’s party, Christophe Cas-taner, told the enquiry he had fired Vincent Crase, the second man who was seen roughing up protesters with Benalla on the video revealed by Le Monde newspaper.

Crase, who held a security position in the president’s party, was also placed under formal investigation by prosecutors.

Manafort, 69, is charged with bank and tax fraud related to his lobbying activities on behalf of the former Russian-backed government of Ukraine.

12 WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018AMERICAS

Manafort goes on trial for bank and tax fraudAFP

ALEXANDRIA: US President Donald Trump’s former campaign chief Paul Manafort went on trial yesterday on charges brought by the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Manafort, 69, is charged with bank and tax fraud related to his lobbying activities on behalf of the former Russian-backed gov-ernment of Ukraine.

The charges against Manafort — the first member of Trump’s election team to go on trial — were brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, but they are not con-nected to the defendant’s tenure as Trump’s campaign chairman.

Selection of a 12-member jury for “USA vs Manafort” began at 10am before US District Court Judge T S Ellis in a courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia. Jury selection is expected to last a day or two, and the trial is then expected to last about three weeks.

Graying at the temples and somewhat leaner after a month in prison, Manafort was dressed in a dark suit and white shirt when he arrived in court. He appeared relaxed and did not make any remarks.

A few anti-Trump protesters gathered outside the courthouse holding signs reading “Lock Him Up,” “It’s Mueller Time” and “Trump Wouldn’t Spend One Second In Prison For You.” Angelique Brickner, a 53-year-old artist, and her 17-year-old daughter were among the members of the public who snared seats in the packed courtroom.

“I came here because I want

to see justice done and prove to my daughter that there is justice when the world is upside down,” Brickner said.

Manafort, a veteran Repub-lican political consultant who worked for Ronald Reagan and Bob Dole, served as chairman of Trump’s presidential election campaign for three months in 2016 before being forced to step down amid questions about his lobbying work in Ukraine.

He is charged with filing false tax returns for not reporting bank accounts he held in Cyprus and other countries in a bid to hide millions of dollars in income from activities on behalf of Ukraine’s former pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych.

He also stands accused of failing to report the existence of foreign bank accounts to the Internal Revenue Service and bank fraud related to several multi-million-dollar loans he obtained from various banks.

Prosecutors plan to produce nearly three dozen witnesses during the trial, including Mana-fort’s former associate Rick Gates, who is cooperating with the gov-ernment after pleading guilty to lesser charges in February.

Five witnesses have been

Activists hold signs during a protest outside the Albert V Bryan United States Courthouse prior to the first day of the trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, in Alexandria, yesterday.

granted immunity to testify against Manafort. Mueller has indicted more than 30 people so far in connection with his probe into whether members of Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia to help get the real estate tycoon elected.

Trump has denounced the probe as a politically motivated “witch hunt” and denied there was any collusion with Moscow to defeat Democratic presi-dential nominee Hillary Clinton. “Collusion is not a crime, but that doesn’t matter because there was No Collusion (except by Crooked Hillary and the Democrats),” Trump tweeted yesterday.

While Gates and others, including former national security advisor Michael Flynn, have pleaded guilty, Manafort has refused to strike a deal and has insisted on having his day in court. Legal experts said Manafort may be hoping to be found not guilty — or holding out hopes of a pres-idential pardon.

Jonathan Turley, a professor of law at George Washington University, said the odds are stacked heavily against the former A-list political operative. “Mueller only has to secure one conviction on one count to put Manafort away for as much as a decade,” Turley said. Turley also

said he believes “jurors are not likely to identify or empathize with Paul Manafort,” whose lavish spending and lifestyle is outlined in court documents.

Manafort may be “playing a pardon strategy,” he said. “He may feel that he doesn’t have much to lose in going to trial and preserving his chances for a pardon,” he said. “If he coop-erates with Mueller, a pardon is going to be substantially reduced in likelihood.” Manafort has spent the past month in prison after having his house arrest revoked by a federal judge for allegedly tampering with wit-nesses in another pending case.

Trump turns fire on top Republican donorsAFP

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump trained his morning Twitter rage on two of the Republican Party’s leading donors yesterday, berating the powerful Koch brothers as “globalists”, “overrated” and “a total joke.”

Lashing out at the aging industrialists — who have long bankrolled conservative causes — Trump played down the pair’s importance to his party. “Their network is highly overrated, I have beaten them at every turn,” Trump said in a tirade that will shock party bigwigs.

Organizations backed by the brothers, Charles and David, are expected to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the run up to this year’s November Congres-sional and state elections, which are vital to Trump’s political future.

If Democrats wrestle back control of Congress, Trump’s agenda may be dead in the water and the odds of his impeachment would be greatly increased. “The glo-balist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade,” Trump tweeted.

Those comments follow a string of stories suggesting the brothers were not happy with the current administration and considering scaling back their political activities. “They want to protect their companies outside the US from being taxed,” Trump claimed, with the billionaire businessman framing himself as a champion of the people.

“I’m for America First & the American Worker - a puppet for no one. Two nice guys with bad ideas.” The Kochs had been seen as an integral part of Republican efforts to sell Trump’s tax reforms — which have spurred economic activity but exploded the deficit.

Power cuts in CaracasPeople wait for transportation in front of a closed metro station during a blackout in Caracas, Venezuela, yesterday.

Brazil hosts top math prize for first time in Latin AmericaAFP

RIO DE JANEIRO: The world’s top mathematicians will convene in Rio de Janeiro today to find out the new winners of the Fields Medal, the award often dubbed the Nobel Prize for math.

It is the first time that a Latin American country has hosted the International Congress of Mathematicians, which has taken place every four years since the late 19th century and will run to August 9.

Organizer Marcelo Viana, who heads Brazil’s National Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics, or Impa, said the event is a landmark for the region’s biggest country.

“When the first congress was held in 1897 there were practically no mathematicians in Brazil. The fact we’ve been entrusted to organize this gives you an indication of how far we’ve come,” he said.

The institute is based in Rio de Janeiro, where the building, featuring large areas of glass and clean modern lines, blends into the lush growth of the Tijuca rainforest -- a surprisingly wild setting for the austere precision of the activity inside.

One of Impa’s researchers, the Franco-Brazilian mathema-tician Artur Avila, won the last Fields Medal in 2014, along with three others, including the first female laureate, Harvard-edu-cated Iranian Maryam Mirza-khani. She died in 2017, aged 40.

The Fields Medal recognizes outstanding mathematical achievement of candidates who were under 40 years old at the start of the year. At least two and preferably four people are always honored and the announcement is expected at the start of the con-gress today.

For Brazil, just hosting the congress is a win that builds on its ascent in January to the Inter-national Mathematical Union’s

elite Group 5, a club for leading mathematics research nations.

Viana hopes the event will help “promote math among the young.” “In 2006, the (congress) was held in Madrid and all my Spanish colleagues said that the culture of mathematics really took off across the country.” So the Impa will throw its venerable doors open with activities meant to lure in non-specialists and broaden the discussion far beyond mere numbers.

“Normally we’re asked to organize conferences in the most accessible language as possible so that all mathemati-cians can understand. We’re going much further so that children can also understand,” the Impa director said.

Another Brazilian research body, the Serrapilheira Institute, has sponsored 19 black mathe-maticians and two members of indigenous tribes to attend. They will join a round table on gender inequality in the field.

Calmer winds bring hope in battle against California blazeREUTERS

REDDING: Some 3,600 fire-fighters struggling against one of the most destructive wild-fires in California’s history hoped calmer winds would allow them to make more progress in carving out buffers to contain the blaze.

Six people have been con-firmed killed and seven others have been missing since last Thursday. More than 800 homes and 300 other buildings have been reduced to ash and 37,000 people forced to evacuate as the Carr fire consumed 104,000 acres in and around the town of Redding. The firefighters reported some progress on Monday, having carved buffer lines around 23 percent of the fire’s perimeter, up from just 5 percent during much of the past week, thanks to calmer winds expected to remain in the area for two days.

The blaze, so far the seventh most destructive in Californian history, roared without warning into Redding and adjacent com-munities last week after being whipped by gale-force winds into a firestorm that jumped the Sacramento River.

It is the biggest of 17 wild-fires now raging across the state,

fueled by drought-parched veg-etation, triple-digit tempera-tures and unpredictable winds. Two firefighters and at least four civilians were killed, including two young children and their great-grandmother who per-ished while huddled under a wet blanket. Whole neighbourhoods, including the town of Keswick on the outskirts of Redding, were laid to waste as residents fled for their lives in a chaotic evacuation. On Monday author-ities began allowing some to return home, though an esti-mated 37,000 people still remained under mandatory evacuation orders.

To the southwest, the River and Ranch wildfires, known as the 23,000-acre Mendocino Complex, has forced thousands to evacuate as it has threatened 10,000 homes. About 2,000 firefighters are battling the blazes about 240kmnorth of San Francisco, where it has destroyed seven homes since it began on Friday.

Collectively, wildfires that have burned mostly in the US West have scorched 4.6 million acres so far this year, 24 percent more than the average of burned landscape tallied for the same period over the past decade, according to federal data.

Ortega defends parapolice violenceAFP

MANAGUA: Nicaragua’s veteran leader Daniel Ortega defended brutal action by his forces against anti-government protesters on Monday, as the United States warned he and his wife were “ultimately responsible” for deaths and rights violations.

In the latest of a number of foreign media interviews the usually hermetic president is now giving, Ortega told the Euronews and CNN Spanish tel-evision channels the unrest was fomented by the United States.

He described armed and masked paramilitaries seen

cooperating closely with his security forces against the pro-testers as “volunteer police.” And Ortega reaffirmed his rejection of opposition calls for early elections or his resignation.

That “would open the doors to anarchy in the country,” he asserted to Euronews. The inter-views showed that the former leftwing guerrilla who has ruled Nicaragua for 22 of the past 39 years, was digging in despite growing international condem-nation. Three months of turmoil have killed more than 300 people, according to Nicaraguan rights groups and the UN. Ortega disputes that count as “not

correct.” He gave his own death toll of 195, including two dozen police officers, as well as para-militaries, sympathizers of his ruling Sandinista party and other civilians.

Although tensions have diminished in the past week and a half following intense armed operations against protest hubs resentment against Ortega and his wife Vice President Rosario Murillo simmers unabated. On Monday in Leon, demonstrations were held in front of state-run hospitals where some staff have been sacked for treating wounded protesters and expressing sym-pathy with their cause.

Man held in second July assault at Canada parliamentAFP

OTTAWA: An Ottawa man was scheduled to make a brief court appearance here after allegedly assaulting a federal police officer in the second recent violent incident at Canada’s parliament.

The assault occurred late on Monday, a week after another man in an unrelated incident attacked a ceremonial guard on the parliament lawn during the daily changing of the guard parade. Nobody was injured in either incident. An official said there was “no threat to the Parliamentary Precinct” — a four block stretch of government offices around the capital building.

BUSINESSWednesday 1 August 2018

PAGE | 15PAGE | 14Doha Bank announces

FIFA predictions competition winners

Commercial Bank ‘Save & Win’ gives away over 300 prizes

QFC new business inflow increases by 69% in H1, 2018THE PENINSULA

DOHA: With a sharp rise in the number of new Qatar Financial Centre (QFC)- licensed busi-nesses over the last few months, the Doha-based centre has emerged as one of the leading and fastest-growing onshore business and financial centres in the world.

The QFC Authority announced yesterday that it has witnessed a remarkable 69 percent increase in new firms registered under it during the first six month of this year (H1, 2018) ended June 30, compared to the corresponding period last year (H1, 2017). The total number of firms on the QFC platform was recorded as 532 firms as of June 30, 2018.

The newly registered firms come from a wide variety of sectors including information technology, advisory and con-sulting, advertising and mar-keting, legal services and investment clubs.

As well as Qatari firms, the majority of new firms joining the QFC platform have come from Europe, India and Pakistan. There has also been a number of firms joining from the USA and Mena regions.

Since Q1 2010, the QFC has

experienced 322 percent growth in the number of firms joining its platform. In addition, since June 2017 the QFC has seen a notable increase in international firms looking to establish in Qatar.

Commenting on the positive results, Yousuf Mohammed Al Jaida (pictured), Chief Executive Officer, QFC Authority, said: “The

QFC has broken another record in terms of firms joining our platform. We continue to attract a wide range of new companies from Qatar and beyond, all who recognise the attractiveness of the QFC platform and the many opportunities available within the Qatar market. The QFC is a hub for regional firms and it also positive to see the vast increase in interest we are receiving from international firms.”

He added: “With the recent announcement that Qatar’s GDP has grown 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017, and the country’s commitment to open up to foreign investors, Qatar is continuing to prosper and it is no wonder that international busi-nesses are keen to explore the

array of opportunities available.” Al Jaida further added: “The

QFC is a gateway for FDI and innovation in Financial Services. These are areas that we consider of vital importance to Qatar’s development and the realisation of the goals set out in QNV 2030. We will continue our com-mitment to explore and attract businesses in new markets to the QFC platform, and I am confident that the second half of 2018 will further pave the way for the QFC to realise its full ambitions.”

The QFC endeavours to promote Qatar as a lucrative business destination.

Companies that wish to establish a business in the QFC are guided throughout the process by a dedicated QFC rela-tionship manager who assists

them in obtaining a license and operating a business. QFC firms enjoy competitive benefits, such as operating within a legal envi-ronment based on English common law, the right to trade in any currency, 100 percent foreign ownership, 100 percent repatriation of profits, 10 percent corporate tax on locally sourced profits, and an extensive double tax treaty agreement network with 60+ countries. In addition, the Employment Standards Office of the QFC embodies a unique Adminis trat ive Employment Dispute Resolution Centre operating under Interna-tional Labour Organization (ILO) standards providing conciliation and adjudication services free of charge to resolve workplace conflicts.

QSE extends rally on foreign buying; breaks 9,800 markSATISH KANADY THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) yesterday booked a third gain in a row and the broader stock market rallied as sharp gains in banks and real estate stocks propelled the main benchmark index. The market surged in the final hours to break the 9,800 mark to close the month at 9,825.11, up 1.8 percent or 173.32 points from the previous session. The index jumped 8.88 percent in July on the back of banks and indus-trials. The market is 15.27 percent up year-to-date.

The momentum in the

market is being supported by a combination of factors, including an increasing buying interest from foreign investors, stable oil and positive outlook on Qatari banks and institutions by global ratings agencies, added by a sur-prise first half earnings by the banks.

Banking stocks rose 3.67 percent yesterday with the heav-yweight QNB gaining the most by 5.42 percent. QIB surged 3.91 percent as Commercial bank advanced 2.41 percent. QFB was the only laggard in the banking stocks, down by 3.03 percent. The bank yesterday announced it recorded a net loss of QR354m for the first half of 2018. The

bank said it recorded unrealised losses associated with the value of its proprietary investment portfolio.

The real estate sector was up by 1.28 percent. Ezdan advanced 2.26 percent as UDC added 1.16 percent.

The Banks and Financial Services sector led the trading value during July, accounting for 42.79 percent of the total trading value, followed by Industrials, telecoms consumer goods, trans-portation and real estate. Market capitalisation rose by 9.35 percent at the end of July to reach QR 539.85bn. The Banks and Financial Services sector also led trading volume during

the month, accounting for 28.33 percent of the total trading volume.

Foreign institutions were the net buyers yesterday. Analysts said foreign inflows into the region are expected to increase substantially over the next two years.

The first half of 2018 wit-nessed an upsurge in activity by foreign investors, with buying transactions increasing by 41 percent compared to the same period in 2017, reaching QR21.8bn. Sell transactions increased by 21 percent to a QR17.6bn. Increases were largely attributed to the results of the periodic reviews by FTSE Russell

and MSCI at the end of the first half of 2018.

“Firmer oil prices, stable cur-rency pegs, and emerging market index reclassifications helped shield regional stocks from the capital outflows affecting other emerging markets. The MSCI GCC index outperformed once again, climbing 4.7 percent to finish 1H18 11.7 percent”, NBK analysts noted.

The expected inclusion of the Saudi stock exchange in MSCI’s emerging market index and the re-weighting of some Qatari stocks within that same index saw these two markets out-perform the rest of the region in 2Q18, they said.

Since Q1 2010, the QFC has experienced 322% growth in the number of firms joining its platform.

BoJ tweaks monetary policy with inflation target distantAFP

TOKYO: Japan’s central bank revised down inflation forecasts yesterday, making only minor tweaks to a monetary policy that has so far fallen short of lifting prices and boosting the world’s third-largest economy.

There was widespread spec-ulation in the run-up to the Bank of Japan’s two-day meeting that it would adjust its ultra-loose policy, seeking to offset the effects of negative interest rates and its massive bond and asset buying. But the bank offered only marginal adjustments, introducing some flexibility, and revised down further its inflation forecasts through fiscal 2020.

The BoJ has struggled for years to reach the 2.0 inflation rate thought necessary to turbo-charge Japan’s economy, and has defended its decision to maintain

its monetary easing even as other central banks tighten policy.

At a press conference, BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda (pic-tured) acknowledged that the inflation goal would not be met in the next few years, but declined to give a new timeline.

“Like other central banks, we do not indicate detailed schedules,” he said. “Maintaining the momentum will lead to achieving the 2.0 percent target as early as possible. I think that the momentum towards the 2.0 percent is firmly maintained.”

Analysts said the bank was standing by its easing policy and the shifts were intended to shore up the programme by offsetting negative side effects.

“Despite the adjustment, the statement indicates the Bank of Japan is still sticking to the status quo,” said Masakazu Satou,

senior analyst at Gaiame Online. The bank has been criticised

for the consequences of its policy, including concerns that its massive purchases are skewing the bond market and financial markets.

In a nod to those concerns, it said it would seek to keep yields on benchmark 10-year government bonds around zero percent, but added “the yields may move upward and downward to some extent” and said it would “conduct purchases in a flexible manner”.

The bank also said it would shift its purchases of exchange-traded funds away from the Nikkei towards the Topix exchange, to address concerns it is inadvertently hiking stock prices.

- ‘Deflation mindset’ - The BoJ’s aggressive mon-

etary easing has been the key

weapon in the battle against deflation, but the central bank has been forced to regularly abandon deadlines for the 2.0 percent goal.

Earlier this year, it dropped a 2020 target for the figure, and on Tuesday it revised down its forecasts, saying it now expected inflation for fiscal 2018 of just 1.1 percent, rising to 1.5 percent in fiscal 2019 and 1.6 percent for fiscal 2020.

Experts say several factors are keeping prices low, including stagnant salaries.

“The primary reason for weak inflation in Japan to me is that salaries don’t rise,” said Taro Saito, senior economist at NLI research institute. “Workers’ demand for a rise in salaries has not been very strong because your level of living isn’t changing if prices aren’t rising,” he added.

The BoJ has referred to a

“deflation mindset” under which consumers and employers have gotten used to the status quo.

“The mindset and behaviour... became embedded in the economy, and it has been taking time for these factors to change,” it said in a quarterly report on the economy and prices.

With inflation stubbornly low, the BoJ has kept its easing in place even as the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank have tightened policies.

BP quarterly profit strikes $2.8bn on high oil pricesAFP

LONDON: British oil giant BP said yesterday that second-quarter net profit rocketed to $2.8bn, energised partly by high crude prices, and hiked its dividend for the first time in four years.

Earnings after taxation stood at the equivalent of ¤2.4bn in the three months to June, BP said in a results statement.

That compared with a slender profit of $144m in the same part of 2017, when its performance was weighed down by asset writedowns and large tax payments.

“We continue to make steady progress against our strategy and plans, delivering another quarter of strong operational and financial per-formance,” said chief exec-utive Bob Dudley.

“Given this momentum and the strength of our financial frame, we are increasing our dividend for the first time in almost four years.

“This reflects not just our commitment to growing dis-tributions to shareholder but our confidence in the future.”

Rising oil prices translate into rising revenues and profits for energy majors and producer nations.

The oil market has surged on the back of a December 2016 deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Coun-tries (Opec) cartel and Russia to curb output.

14 WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018BUSINESS

9,825.11 +173.34 PTS1.80%

QSE FTSE100 DOW BRENT7,764.02 +63.17 PTS0.82%

25,406.96 +100.13 PTS0.40% Dow & Brent before going to press

$68.69 -1.44

MarketWatch

QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE

QE Index 9,825.11 1.80 %

QE Total Return Index 17,310.75 1.80 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index

- Price 2,378.39 0.73 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 3,858.99 0.73 %

QE All Share Index 2,847.79 1.97 %

QE All Share Banks &

Financial Services 3,518.36 3.67 %

QE All Share Industrials 3,166.76 0.41 %

QE All Share Transportation 2,008.27 0.09 %

QE All Share Real Estate 1,711.25 1.28 %

QE All Share Insurance 3,112.17 0.53 %

QE All Share Telecoms 1,009.76 0.79 %

QE All Share Consumer

Goods & Services 6,298.01 0.07 %

QE INDICES SUMMARY QE MARKET SUMMARY COMPARISON WORLD STOCK INDICES

GOLD AND SILVER

31-07-2018Index 9,825.11

Change 173.34

% 1.80

YTD% 15.27

Volume 10,239,751

Value (QAR) 368,380,410.32

Trades 5,016

Up 29 | Down 10 | Unchanged 0330-07-2018Index 9,651.77

Change 21.38

% 0.22

YTD% 13.24

Volume 8,418,765

Value (QAR) 241,895,196.32

Trades 3,424

EXCHANGE RATE

GOLD QR143.2901 per grammeSILVER QR1.82 per gramme

Index Day’s Close Pt Chg % Chg Year High Year Low

All Ordinaries 6366.2 -2.6 -0.04 6394.3 5834

Cac 40 Index/D 5500.32 9.1 0.17 5657.44 5038.12

Dj Indu Average 25306.83 -144.23 -0.57 26616.71 21600.34

Hang Seng Inde/D 28583.01 -150.12 -0.52 33484.08 27745.85

Iseq Overall/D 6855.79 16.55 0.24 7257.41 6410.26

Kse 100 Inx/D 42712.43 -844.2 -1.94 47144.12 38561.31

S&P 500 Index/D 0 0 0 2872.87 2532.69

Currency Buying SellingUS$ QR 3.6305 QR 3.6500

UK QR 4.7646 QR 4.8319

Euro QR 4.2499 QR 4.3089

CA$ QR 2.7693 QR 2.824

Swiss Fr QR 3.6651 QR 3.7172

Yen QR 0.03239 QR 0.03301

Aus$ QR 2.6811 QR 2.7339

Ind Re QR 0.0527 QR 0.0537

Pak Re QR 0.0292 QR 0.0302

Peso QR 0.068 QR 0.0694

SL Re QR 0.0226 QR 0.0231

Taka QR 0.0425 QR 0.0438

Nep Re QR 0.0329 QR 0.0336

SA Rand QR 0.2754 QR 0.2808

Rising supply of office

space brings rents downMOHAMMAD SHOEB THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar’s real estate market is set to witness an addi-tional office supply of office space of over 720,000 (0.72 million) square metres (sqm) Gross Leasable Area (GLA) in 2018 to the existing stock of 3.89 million sqm, taking the total to 4.61 million sqm by the end of this year.

The additional office supply to the existing stock is likely to put further pressure on the asking rents for office space. Some analysts say that more affordable rents will attract new companies and investors to expand and establish new busi-nesses in Qatar.

The growth in office supply is expected to continue in 2019 adding even more space of about 740,000 (0.74m) sqm, taking the total stock to 5.35 million sqm (GLA) by the end of the year, according to the latest market review by ValuStrat, a leading consulting firm.

Under construction office stock to be completed by 2019 was estimated at 1.36 million sqm GLA. Five office buildings were added this quarter in Fereej Bin

Dirham (B Ring Road), Al Man-soura, Old Salata, Al Hilal (C Ring Road) and Rawdhat Al Khail (C Ring Road), comprising 47,500 sq m GLA.

Projected supply for 2018 has been adjusted downward from 960,000 sqm to 720,000 sqm due to delayed deliveries.

With an average occupancy rate of office spaces ranging between 55 and 65 percent, offices in Salwa Road experi-enced the highest quarterly fall as median monthly asking rents amounted to QR90 per sq m in the area, according to the second quarter 2018 ValuStrat Price Index (VPI), median monthly asking rents for office space in

West Bay were QR145 per sqm, followed by QR120 per sqm in C and D Ring Road and QR117 per sqm in Lusail.

Offices along C and D ring experi-enced an esti-mated 2 percent q-o-q and 8 percent y-o-y fall in median monthly asking rents. This drop was primarily attributed to falling asking rents along C-Ring Road where a number of new offices were added to current stock, levelling occupancy at 65 percent against 70 percent in Q2, 2017.

In terms of retail space supply, as of Q2 2018, the total supply of organised retail space reached 1.8 million sqm, with 376,000 sqm GLA from four malls, which are expected to complete by the end of this year.

Qatar Development Bank (QDB) launched the second phase of Al Furjan Markets which will feature no less than 300 shops distributed across Al Rayyan, Umm Salal, Al Khor and Al Wakrah expected to be com-pleted by 2019.

Based on GLA and population figures, shopping centre GLA of Qatar is 680 sqm per 1,000 capita, compared to the GCC average of 588 sqm per 1,000 capita.

Events such as Qatar Summer Festival (QSF) and Garangao drove higher con-sumer spending during the quarter. The median monthly rent for medium line shops (between 100 sqm and 250 sqm) in organised retail space was QR340 per sq m. While median monthly rent for street retail shops in Doha was QR230 per sqm.

In an effort to maintain healthy occupancy, landlords in newer shopping malls introduced incentives by absorbing opera-tional expenses and lowering service charges.

Doha Bank announces FIFA predictions competition winnersTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Doha Bank took the initiative to engage with football fans across the country with its ‘FIFA Winner Predictions’ campaign. The competition was open throughout the 2018 World Cup and attracted 3000 entries.

The ten lucky winners of the grand prize, ‘My Book Qatar’, were announced on 20 July, 2018 at Doha Bank’s head-quarters. The 10 winners who made the right predictions for the game can now enjoy over 1,000 instant “BUY ONE GET ONE FREE” and over 300 exciting offers at the most pres-tigious hotels, fine dining restau-rants, cafés, leisure spots and health and fitness spas. With the

‘Doha Bank My Book Qatar’ app they will get unprecedented savings and generating priceless moments.

The ‘FIFA Winner Predic-tions’ competition, which was open to locals and expatriates alike, featured just four easy steps to entry and presented par-ticipants with an exciting and highly competitive challenge.

Dr. R. Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank said: “Football brings people together, and the ‘FIFA Winner Predictions’ com-petition enabled us to further engage with customers and Doha Bank Fans on all social platforms. The contest allowed Doha Bank followers and loyal fans to share in the thrill of the tournament.”

The growth in office supply is expected to continue in 2019 adding even more space of about 740,000sqm, taking the total stock to 5.35 million sqm by the end of the year, according to the latest market review by ValuStrat.

15WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018 BUSINESS

BREAK TIMEVILLAGGIO & CITY CENTERCROSSWORD NOVO Pearl Qatar

MALL

Note: Programme is subject to change without prior notice.

LANDMARK

ROXY

AL KHOR

ASIAN TOWN

Mission Impossible - Fall Out (2D/Action) 10:00, 10:30, 11:30am, 12:00noon, 1:00, 1:30, 2:30, 3:00, 4:00, 4:30, 5:30, 6:00, 7:00, 7:30, 8:30, 9:00, 10:00, 10:30, 11:30pm & 12:00midnight Hotel Transylvania 3 (2D/Animation) 10:00am, 12:00noon, 2:00 & 4:00pm Still Born (2D/Horror) 6:00 & 10:00pm The First Purge (2D/Horror) 8:00pm & 12:00midnight Teen Titans Go (2D) 10:30am, 12:30, 2:30, 4:30 & 6:30pmMamma Mia (2D) 8:30 & 11:00pm Ocean’s Eight (2D/Action) 10:00am, 3:00 & 8:00pm A Prayer Before Dawn (2D) 12:30, 5:30 & 10:30pmQalb Omnah (Arabic) 10:00, 2:40, 7:20pm & 12:00midnight Ant-Man And The Wasp (2D/Action) 12:10, 4:50 & 9:30pm Skyscrapper (2D/Action) 10:00am, 12:15, 2:30, 4:45, 7:00, 9:15 & 11:30pm Mission Impossible - Fallout (3D/IMAX/Action) 11:00am, 2:00, 5:00, 8:00 & 11:00pm

Mission Impossible 6: Fall Out 5:30, 7:00, 8:00 & 11:00pm Teen Titans Go (2D/Animation) 2:30 & 7:00pmHotel Transylvania 3 (2D/Animation) 2:00 & 3:45pm The Incredibles (2D/Animation) 5:00pmSaheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3 (2D/Hindi) 4:30pm Junga (2D/Tamil) 2:15pm Mohini (Tamil) 8:45pm Skyscrapper (2D/Action) 9:45pm Koode (Malayalam) 11:15pm Happy Wedding (2D/Telugu) 11:30pm

ROYAL PLAZA

Mission Impossible 6: Fall Out 2:30, 5:30, 8:45 & 11:00pm Teen Titans Go (2D/Animation) 2:15, 4:00 & 7:00pmSkyscrapper (2D/Action) 3:00pmThe Incredibles (2D/Animation) 5:00pmHotel Transylvania 3 (2D/Animation) 5:15pm Teefa In Trouble 5:45pm Dhadak (Hindi) 8:30pm Junga (2D/Tamil) 8:45pm Mohini (Tamil) 11:30pm Happy Wedding (2D/Telugu) 11:00pm

Mission Impossible 6: Fall Out 2:15, 5:30, 6:45, 8:15 & 11:00pm Teen Titans Go (2D/Animation) 2:30, 3:45 & 5:00pmThe Incredibles (2D/Animation) 4:00pmHotel Transylvania 3 (2D/Animation) 2:00pm Dhadak (Hindi) 9:00pm Mamma Mia (2D/Comedy) 4:30 & 7:00pm Junga (2D/Tamil) 8:45pm Skyscrapper (2D/Action) 9:15pm Mohini (Tamil) 11:00pm Happy Wedding (2D/Telugu) 11:30pm

Mohini (Tamil) 7:00 & 10:00pm Junga (Tamil) 7:00, 9:30, 10:00pm Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3 (2D/Hindi) 6:30pm Saakshyam (Telugu) 6:30pmNiraali (Malayalam) 9:30pm

Mission Impossible (Action) 11:15am, 2:15, 5:15, 8:15 & 11:15pm Junga (Tamil) 11:45am, 2:45, 8:45 & 11:45pmHotel Transylvania 3 10:45am, 1:00 & 3:15pm Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3 (2D/Hindi) 5:45pm Mohini (Tamil) 5:30, 8:30 & 11:30pm

Mission Impossible (Action) 12:30, 3:30, 3:40, 6:30, 6:50, 9:30, 10:00, 11:20pm & 12:30am Saakshyam (Telugu) 12:30, 6:30 & 9:30pm Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3 (2D/Hindi) 3:30pm & 12:30am Teen Titans Go (Animation) 12:30, 2:40, 4:50, 7:00 & 9:10pm

Teefa goes to Poland to bring Anya to Pakistan to marry gangster Butt’s son but gets into trouble with Anya’s gangster father and the police.

FLIK Mirqab

Ant-Man And The Wasp 10:20, 11:55am, 12:45, 4:25, 10:15pm & 12:25am Junga 11:50am, 3:20, 6:40, 10:10pm & 12:00midnight Hotel Transylvania 3 12:20, 5:15, 6:00, 7:00pm Arabic 1:30pm Ocean’s 8 9:05pm Incredibles 2 11:00am & 3:35pm Mission Impossible 12:20, 2:20, 3:20, 5:20, 6:30, 8:25, 10:35, 11:20pm 3D 10:35am, 1:30, 4:25, 7:35, 9:25pm & 12:20am Teen Titan Go 2:25, 4:00, 6:20 & 8:15pm Skyscraper 11:30am, 1:40, 3:10, 7:20, 9:40, 11:30pm & 12:40am Woman In Times of Blockade 10:20am

TEEFA IN TROUBLE

Qatar leads GCC bonds & sukuk issuance in H1THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The aggregate primary issuance of bonds and sukuk by GCC entities, including central banks local issuances, GCC sovereign and corporate issu-ances, totaled $95.25bn in H1 2018, a 9.64 percent increase from the total amount raised in H1 2017.

Qatar led the GCC issuances in terms of total value raised, Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) noted in its ‘GCC Bonds & Sukuk Market Survey.’

Central Bank local issuances are Fixed Income securities issued by GCC central banks in local currencies and with short maturities for the purpose of

regulating levels of domestic liquidity.

During H1 2018, a total of $32.77bn was raised by the GCC central banks, namely by the Central Bank of Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. The Central Bank of Kuwait raised the highest amount with KWD 4.77bn ($15.88bn), representing

48.59 percent of the total amount raised by CBLIs through 22 issu-ances, followed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, which raised a total of BHD2.99bn ($7.95bn), as per publicly available figures, Markaz said.

The GCC Bonds and Sukuk market is composed of bonds and sukuk issued by GCC Sov-ereign, corporate entities and financial institutions, for financing purposes in local and foreign currencies. A total of $62.57bn was raised in the GCC bonds market in H1 2018, a growth of 33.27 percent from $46.95bn raised in H1 2017.

Qatari issuers led the GCC in H1 2018, raising a total of $19.97bn through 47 issuances

and representing 31.9 percent of the total value raised in the GCC.

Saudi Arabian entities raised $17.37bn from 10 issuances, up by 68.4 percent as compared to $10.31bn raised in H1 2017, making up 27.76 percent of the market. The UAE based issuers raised $15.39bn during H1 2018, up by 21.9 percent as compared to $12.6bn raised in H1 2017 and represented 24.6 percent of the total market.

Total issuances by Kuwaiti entities dropped to $0.20bn rep-resenting 0.3 percent of the total market as compared to $10.50bn raised in H1 2017 or 22.4 percent of the total market.

Omani issuances raised a total of $8.63bn through 7 issues

representing 13.8 percent of the market and 13.2 percent above $7.62bn raised in H1 2017. Bah-raini entities represented 1.6 percent of the total issuances, raising $1bn through a single issue.

Sovereign issues continued to dominate the GCC bonds and Sukuk market in H1 2018 con-tributing 60.2 percent to the overall market with a total value of $37.68bn as compared to $24.0bn in H1 2017.

Total value raised by cor-porate entities in H1 2018 increased by 8.45 percent, to $24.89bn in H1 2018 from $22.95bn in H1 2017. Saudi Arabia Government raised a total of $6.87bn out of which

SAR29.99bn ($5.87bn) were through domestic bonds and $11bn were through US Dollar denominated Bonds and Sukuk.

Qatar, Oman, Sharjah and Bahrain governments raised $12bn, $6.5bn, $1bn and $1bn respectively. Kuwait was the only GCC sovereign entity not tapping the international bond markets in H1 2018.

Conventional issuances raised $50.17bn, or 80.19 percent of the total amount raised in GCC bonds and sukuk market during H1 2018.

Sukuk raised $12.39bn, 30.84 percent lower as compared to $17.93bn raised in H1 2017 and represented a share of 19.81 percent of the market in H1 2018.

Commercial Bank ‘Save & Win’ gives away over 300 prizesTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Over 300 Commercial Bank customers have already received cash prizes totalling QR1,830,000 with the Bank’s ongoing ‘Save & Win’ campaign. The ‘Save and Win’ campaign rewards savers with 365 cash prizes over a year, including a QR1m grand prize for one lucky customer.

The latest monthly prize dis-tribution ceremony was held on July 23, at Commercial Bank’s Bin Omran branch. The 29 winners selected by electronic draw received varying cash prizes bringing the running total of

winners to 302 of the eventual 365. During the remaining two

months of the campaign, a further 63 cash prizes will be awarded to lucky Commercial Bank cus-tomers, including and one grand-prize winner of QR1m which will be awarded in the next few months.

Commercial Bank’s EGM for Retail & Consumer Banking Amit Sah said: “Commercial Bank’s innovative and original campaign, ‘Save & Win’, provides ongoing encouragement for our customers to develop good saving habits, combined with the opportunity to win cash prizes. During the next two months, we look

forward to giving away more prizes to our customers. So keep saving with Commercial Bank – you could become our first Save & Win millionaire!”

All Commercial Bank cus-tomers with a minimum average balance of QR10,000 each month

in their basic Current or Saving account are automatically entered into the monthly elec-tronic draw. Each QR1,000 in the account qualifies for an entry coupon into the draw, so the more money customers succeed in saving, the greater their chance

to win one of the cash prizes. In addition, customers can earn double coupons for every QR1,000 average balance incre-mental gain on the previous month, thus further improving their chances to win. Customers can qualify for the grand prize

draw of QR1m if they maintain a minimum average account balance of QR10,000 for the last three consecutive months.

All winners are notified fol-lowing the draw, and there is no restriction on the number of prizes that customers can win.

Commercial Bank officials with the latest winners of the bank’s ‘Save & Win’ campaign, at Commercial Bank’s Bin Omran branch.

Qatari issuers led the GCC in H1 2018, raising a total of $19.97bn through 47 issuances and representing 31.9%of the total value raised in the GCC.

ARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA

DOHA: New Al Rayyan coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena is planning an aggressive tactical assault when his team takes on football giants Al Duhail in the Sheikh Jassim Cup final at Al Sadd Stadium today.

In today’s title clash, Arrua-barrena wants his team to take the ‘upper hand and dominate proceedings from the kick off’ and push Al Duhail on the defensive.

“We try and force Al Duhail to play the way we want them to play,” Arruabarrena said yes-terday on the eve of the final.

The Argentinian has done his home work on his oppo-nents and is ready for the chal-lenge in the season opener.

“As I was coaching for the last two years in the Middle East, I know most of the clubs and players from the region. I know Al Duhail have a new coach this season and they had excellent results last season,” said the Al Rayyan coach.

Al Duhail coach Nabil Maaloul, who is in his second sting as coach of a QNB Stars League (QSL) club, said his team enjoys an advantage over his opponents.

“Both teams have new

coaching staff and I have a slight advantage over Al Rayyan coach because I coached a Qatari club, El Jaish, a few seasons back and I know the QSL clubs very well,” he said.

Maaloul, who coached Tunisia at the FIFA World Cup in Russia, said his team’s performance in the Sheikh Jassim Cup final will set the tone for the rest of the season.

“We know that this season opening match will helps us in our preparation as we aim to retain the QSL title,” Maaloul said yesterday.

The Tunisian tactician said he aims to carry forward the coaching legacy of Djamel Bemladi, the outgoing coach of Al Duhail.

“I will try to complete the journey of the previous coaching staff, which was very successful and helped Al Duhail to win three championships last season,” added Maaloul.

Last season, Al Duhail won the QSL title and went on to win the Qatar Cup and Amir Cup.

Al Duhail has also qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2018 AFC Champions League and will take on Iranian outfit Perspolis on August 28 and Sep-tember 18 in the two-leg encounters.

Today’s game starts at 7:00pm.

We will try and force Al Duhail to play the way we want them to play: Al Rayyan’s new coach Arruabarrena

I have a slight advantage over Al Rayyan coach because I coached a Qatari club, El Jaish, a few seasons back and I know the QSL clubs very well: Maaloul

SPORTWednesday 1 August 2018

PAGE | 17 PAGE | 18Bale can fill the void

left by Ronaldo, says Lopetegui

More pressureon England’s lone spinner Rashid

Team officials display Al Duhail (left) and Al Rayyan jerseys during a press conference held in Doha ahead of the season-opening Sheikh Jassim Cup match which kicks off at the Al Sadd Stadium at 7.00pm today.

(Year/Champions/Score/Runner up)2002 : Al Khor SC 1-0 Qatar SC2003 : Al Shabab 2-1 Al Wakrah SC2004 : Al Wakrah SC 1-1 Qatar SC (3-1 pen)

2005 : Al Gharafa SC 2-1 Al Ahli SC2006 : Al Sadd SC 2-0 Al Rayyan SC2007 : Al Gharafa SC 4-2 Al Sailiya SC2008 : Al Arabi SC 3-0 Al Rayyan SC2009 : Umm Salal SC 2-0 Al Khor SC

2010 : Al Arabi SC 1-0 Lekhwiya SC2011 : Al Arabi SC 3-2 Umm Salal2012 : Al Rayyan SC 1-0 Al Sadd2013 : Al Rayyan SC 2-0 Al Kharaitiyat2014 : Al Sadd SC 3-2 Lekhwiya SC2015 : Lekhwiya SC 4 - 2 Al Sadd SC2016 : Lekhwiya SC 2 - 0 Al Rayyan SC2017 : Al Sadd SC 4 - 2 Al Duhail

SHEIKH JASSIM CUPRECENT FINALS:

Ambitious Al Rayyan seek positive results on the pitchARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Al Rayyan coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena yesterday said the players have been apprised of the club’s targets in the new season and one of them is playing committed football on the pitch.

Arruabarrena said the pos-itive results will certainly make an impression on the minds of the club fans.

“We have set our goals for the season. We have told our players what are our objectives and what we are expecting from them,” Arruabarrena said yesterday.

“We do not want to say we want to win the title, it is easy to say that. We want our per-formance on the football field to do the talking for us. We have a winning group and I have trust in my players and have confi-dence that they will deliver,” he added.

He informed that during the 15-day pre-season training period the team focused on the tactical and fitness aspects.

“We had a very short period to train but we had a fruitful training. We have been able to explain the tactics to the players and what the coach wants and what the coach in turn expects from them (players),” Arrua-barrena said.

The Argentinian tactician, who spent the last two seasons coaching clubs in the UAE, said some of the injured players are expected to return to training which will help to strike the right balance ahead of the QNB Star League (QSL).

The former Boca Juniors trainer said the job profile of a football coach has changed over

the last few years and it has become a 24-hour job.

“A coach needs to be a multi-tasking one. You need to watch out for the videos of your opponents and accordingly analyze the opponents game to your team players,” Arrua-barrena said.

“You also need to keep a tab on what is happening with the rival teams. You need to know how the teams in your group are performing, so the coaching job is now a 24-hour job,” added Arruabarrena, who spent most of his playing career with Boca Juniors.

He also played for Spain’s Villarreal, AEK Athens and Tigreand Universidad Católic

Arruabarrena, who took over from Danish great Michael Laudrup, said it is a fact that his line-up has just two profes-sional players but said officials of the club have spread the net wide enough to get more pro-fessional players to complete the quota.

“Club officials are looking to bring in more professional players, hopefully in the coming weeks we will be able to fill the spots,” Arruabarrena said.

Al Rayyan player Abdul Rahman Al Karbi said that the club did not win any title but came close to wining the Amir Cup.

“We lost in the final of the Amir Cup and did well in the QNB stars League finishing among the top four, while in the AFC Champions league, we had mixed results,” Al Karbi said.

“It has been a difficult period for the players and the spectators, hopefully we have a great season ahead,” he added.

The regular football season starts on August 4.

Al Rayyan eye aggressive approach against Al Duhail in season opener

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Qatar football giants vie for Sheikh Jassim Cup glory

Mendez wants Al Duhail to continue dominant runCHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar’s football giants Al Duhail will be hoping to get their hands on the Sheikh Jassim Cup when they take on Al Rayyan at the Al Sadd Stadium today.

Al Duhail lost to Al Sadd in last year’s encounter but later went on to clinch a trophy treble to dominate the football scene in Qatar.

Brazilian defender Lucas Mendez, while addressing a pre-match press conference at the Al Sadd Stadium yesterday, said Al Duhail are looking forward to asserting early dominance but are also aware of the threat that Al Rayyan could pose.

“Our ambition is big. The team has to continue the special appearance this season and work hard to retain the titles we won during the last season,” Mendez, 28, said.

“Our confrontation against Al Rayyan will be a real test before the beginning of the QNB Stars League (QSL),” Mendez added.

“We are taking on a strong outfit and we know the strength of Al Rayyan. We also know their special performance and the abilities of their key players. However, we would not be sat-isfied by anything other than the Sheikh Jassim Cup title this time because we lost the same title last season,” Mendez, who has been competing in Qatar since 2014, added.

Al Duhail, under their new Tunisian coach, Nabil Maaloul, will be hoping to fire on all cyl-inders against the Abdulrahman Karbi-led Al Rayyan at the air-conditioned state-of-the-art venue this evening.

Winners of the Qatar League title six times in the last few years, Al Duhail are also going great guns in the AFC Cham-pions League, having reached the knock-out stage unbeaten.

“Now we are in a new season and we want to prove our abilities. Wining the Sheikh Jassim Cup will be the perfect start,” the Red Knights’ captain said.

Al Duhail skipper Lucas Mendez

SHEIKH JASSIM CUP

Al Duhail vs Al Rayyan

Venue: Al Sadd Stadium

Time: 7.00pm

Al Duhail coach Nabil Maaloul (left) and Al Rayyan coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena speak during a press

conference held at the Al Sadd Stadium yesterday. Pictures: Abdul Basit/The Peninsula

REUTERS

MADRID: Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale has the qualities to fill the void left by his fellow forward Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Juventus, the Spanish side’s new manager Julen Lopetegui has said.

Bale struggled to hold on to his place in the starting XI under previous manager Zinedine Zidane and said after his match-winning display in last sea-son’s Champions League final against Liverpool that he craved regular first team action.

Speaking ahead of his t e a m ’ s p r e - s e a s o n encounter against Man-chester United in Miami yesterday, Lopetegui said the 29-year-old Welsh-man’s immediate future was with the Spanish giants.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the main players in the recent history of Real Madrid. He expressed a

desire to

leave and we allowed him to. Gareth Bale is a magnif-icent player, with so many qualities. He can help fill the void,” Lopetegui said.

Ronaldo joined Italian champions Juventus on a four-year contract for €100m ($117.37m) earlier this month, signalling the end of nine years in Madrid.

Lopetegui was keen to stress that the Portuguese’s

departure repre-sented a “fan-

tastic oppor-tunity” for

B a l e , who has b e e n

linked by Spanish media with a move away from the club, to stay and show his talent.

“I don’t walk to talk about hypothetical situa-tions,” Lopetegui said, dis-missing reports of Bale’s possible return to the Premier League with United and his former team Tot-tenham Hotspur possible destinations.

“If this is the squad I have at start of season I’ll be a happy man... he (Bale) is with the team. He’s happy and aligned with our goals. It is the start of an exciting path for us.”

Real begin their season with a UEFA Super Cup clash against Europa League winners and city rivals Atletico Madrid on Aug. 15. They face Getafe in their

opening La Liga match

four days later.

17WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018 SPORT

Bale can fill the void left by Ronaldo, says Lopetegui

Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo to skip MLS All-Star GameAP

ATLANTA: The Major League Soccer (MLS) All-Star Game will feature one of the world’s most storied clubs.

Unfortunately for the more than 70,000 fans expected at Mer-cedes-Benz Stadium, Cristiano Ronaldo is not along for the ride.

After Portugal’s elimination from the World Cup and his transfer from Real Madrid, the five-time FIFA Player of the Year took time off rather than accompany Juventus on its American preseason tour, which includes tonight’s game against top players from Major League Soccer.

The decision will surely be a disappointment to the big crowd that had hoped Ronaldo would make his unofficial debut while touring the United States with the Italian club that has won seven straight Serie A championships.

Juventus acquired the 33-year-old from Real Madrid on July 10 in a deal his new club said was worth €112m ($131.5m) - the largest for a player older than 30.

Also sitting out the US tour, which includes three other exhi-bitions, is Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain. He is coming off a scoreless World Cup in which he didn’t start in the round of 16 loss to eventual champion France.

Most players take three weeks off after the World Cup. Juventus opens its Serie A schedule at Chievo Verona the weekend of Aug. 18-20.

One of MLS’ top new stars, LA Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahi-movic, announced on Monday that

he’s skipping the All-Star match rather than make a cross-country trip to Atlanta. The 36-year-old Swede cited the grind of playing three matches in an eight-day span, including Sunday night’s 4-3 victory over Orlando City in which he scored his first MLS hat trick.

Ibrahimovic ranks second in MLS with 15 goals. He played with Juventus from 2004-06.

“I am disappointed to miss the 2018 All-Star game against Juventus, one of my former c l u b s , ” Ibrahimovic said in a statement. “I want to thank the fans for voting me to the team. My main focus is to score goals and help the LA Galaxy to the playoffs.”

The Galaxy (10-7-5) are unbeaten in nine games and have climbed to third place in the Western Conference.

According to MLS rules, Ibra-himovic will also have to sit out LA’s next match on Saturday against Colorado, one of the league’s worst teams.

New York City forward David Villa also will skip the All-Star Game after missing six matches with a knee injury. Ibrahimovic and Villa were replaced on the MLS roster by Minnesota forward Darwin Quintero and New York Red Bulls midfielder Tyler Adams.

Atlanta shattered the MLS attendance record in its debut season, averaging 48,200 per game, and is on pace to break that mark this year at nearly 52,000 per game. The club already has the five biggest stand-alone crowds in MLS history - each more than 70,000 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The league expects another record crowd for its All-Star

Game, breaking the mark of 70,728 in Houston for the 2010 match in which

Manchester United defeated the MLS

squad 5-2. An extra 1,500 tickets have

been put on sale to meet the

demand.

Klopp optimistic of Mane’s long-term stay at LiverpoolREUTERS

LONDON: Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp (pictured) is hopeful that the optimism surrounding the club will lead to key players, including playmaker Sadio Mane, committing their long-term futures to the Premier League side.

The Merseyside outfit impressed under Klopp last season with the attacking trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Mane spurring the team on to a fourth-placed league finish and the Champions League final.

The club’s progress has led to top players, including Salah and Firmino, signing new long-term contracts earlier this year and Klopp is opti-mistic that Mane will follow suit.

“When I speak about the good mood in the club, that is not only in the stands. We are Liverpool as a team and the boys want to be part of it,” Klopp told British media.

“That’s really cool and it’s a big achievement for the club because these boys, Bobby Firmino, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane, and a lot of the others as well, could play for pretty much any team in the world.

“... It is an improved situation that these players don’t use us and then go. It’s cool but now we all

together have to deliver. Sign your contracts but now, go again.”

The German boss believes Liverpool’s four new signings in the current transfer window are suffi-cient and said the club will not need to replace attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho, who moved to Barcelona in January.

“We don’t need to replace Phil. We need to make a squad for the next year.”

“Out there on the market, there isn’t a Phil Coutinho-light. It’s not there. But there are a lot of good players and we have brought a few of them in,” Klopp added.

Liverpool will play friendlies against Italian teams Napoli and Torino before hosting West Ham United in the opening league fixture on August 12.

Man United hopeful of making one more recruitment: MourinhoREUTERS

LONDON: Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he is confident that the club will sign at least one more player before the Premier League’s transfer window closes on Aug. 9.

The Portuguese boss expressed his hopes of signing two new recruits after United’s 4-1 defeat by Liverpool in the pre-season Inter-national Champions Cup last weekend in the United States but now says one addition seems more probable.

“I am confident I will get one, but I think two I am not going to get which is not a drama,” Mourinho told beIN SPORTS. “In every pre-season it happens the same with every club which is the manager wants more.

“It’s our nature, you always want more for your team but then club decisions are different and normally you don’t get what you want which happened during all my career.

“So if I get one player until the end of the market, that’s fine.”

United have struggled to impress in pre-season with a patchy squad that has been

depleted through injuries and key players resting after the World Cup in Russia. Their sole pre-season win came against AC Milan last week.

The club’s inconsistent per-formances has led Mourinho to express his frustration on multiple occasions throughout the U.S. tour, including criticising individual players and United’s lack of transfer activity.

Goalkeeper Lee Grant, however, has dismissed the notion that Mourinho is unhappy with the squad.

“From what we’re getting from the inside it (the atmosphere around the camp) has been nothing but positive,” Grant told Sky Sports. “The messages we are getting from the manager are positive ones and that is important for us going forward.

“His attitude and demeanour around the place is great and that is helpful for us especially when we are under-manned and we are working our hardest.”

United play Champions League holders Real Madrid and German champions Bayern Munich in their next two friendlies before hosting Leicester City in the opening league fixture on Aug. 10.

er than make a cross country to Atlanta. The 36-year-old

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Bayern will not sell striker LewandowskiREUTERS

MUNICH: Robert Lewand-owski wants to leave Bayern Munich but the Bundesliga champions will not sell the prolific striker in the current transfer window, manager Niko Kovac has said.

Poland international Lewandowski has been Bay-ern’s top scorer in three of the last four seasons since joining the club in 2014 and has reached the 40-goal mark in each of the last three campaigns.

His exploits have helped the club extend their domestic dominance, winning four German league titles in as many years but local media reports say Lewandowski, whose contract at Bayern runs until 2021, has been eager to find newer pastures.

“There is nothing new with Robert. The status is that he will not leave the club because he’s our top striker. And certainly we don’t want to give him away and won’t give him away,” Kovac told Sky Sports.

“It’s true that Robert is thinking about playing some-where else. Naturally, one thing is what he wants, the other is what we want.

“We are FC Bayern, we have a top striker. We cer-tainly will not let ourselves be persuaded from the outside, that’s the way to do it. Robert has a contract... he will cer-tainly stay here as long as possible.”

Former Eintracht Frankfurt and Croatia manager Kovac also said that he does not expect the transfer situation to hinder Lewand-owski in the upcoming campaign.

Bayern start their league campaign against Hoffenheim on Aug. 24.

18 WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018SPORT

Kohli’s India eager to cement No 1 status with series win in EnglandAFP

LONDON: India may be the world’s top-ranked Test side but they still face accusations they are lions at home and lambs abroad.

But a series win in England, where Virat Kohli’s men begin a five-Test campaign at Edgbaston today, would go some way to ridding India of that unwanted tag.

In the past five years, India have won just one of their six Test series outside of Asia, against a struggling West Indies.

Their overall Test record in England is uninspiring -- six wins from 57 matches and three series victories -- 1971, 1986 and 2007.

But if the current prolonged hot weather in England con-tinues, the upcoming series may well be played on dry and dusty pitches, more akin to the sur-faces that are found in India, rather than traditional green English seamers.

Also, while doubts persist about England’s ability to cope should either one of veteran new-ball duo Stuart Broad and James Anderson get injured, India do at least have some pace-bowling depth.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah may be unfit for the first Test but the likes of Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav have shown themselves to be capable operators outside of Asia.

Anderson is a master of con-ventional swing, but India may

have the edge if conditions favour reverse-swing during what will be England’s 1,000th Test match.

“They seem to have got a good variety of bowlers and strength in depth in their pace bowling,” said England opener Alastair Cook.

“In the last ten years I’ve played them, they haven’t had the option of playing five or six different types of seamers,” added Cook, England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer, whose highest score of 294 was made against India at Edgbaston in 2011.

Meanwhile India captain Kohli, one of the outstanding batsmen of his generation, will be desperate to prove he can score runs in England.

He managed a meagre 134 in five matches during his maiden Test series in England in 2014, which India lost 3-1 with one draw.

But Mohammad Azharuddin, the India batting great, believes everything is now in place for Kohli to have a successful series.

“I think he will perform won-derfully well,” Azharuddin said in Delhi.

“He has led India in so many Test matches, so I don’t think he will have any pressure now as far as leadership is concerned.”

England captain Joe Root, who like Kohli is at his best when leading from the front, comes into the series having converted only three out of 23 fifties since his Test-best 254 against

Pakistan in 2016 into hundreds -- a poor return for a player of his ability.

Batting could hold the key to the series and there are question marks against both top-orders.

England, following a 1-1 drawn series with Pakistan, are sticking with Keaton Jennings in the hope of at last finding a reliable opening partner for Cook, while India’s Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara have both been struggling for runs.

“We are not worried at all,

because both are really quality batsmen,” said India’s Ajinkya Rahane of his top-order colleagues.

“It just takes one good innings to get into your rhythm.”

India would appear to have the edge in spin bowling but off-break bowler Ravichandran Ashwin has rarely performed as well outside of Asia as he has in the sub-continent.

Left-armer Ravindra Jadeja is an experienced campaigner while left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has forced his

way in after impressing during the preceding one-day series.

White-ball form also led England to recall Adil Rashid even though the leg-spinner has not been playing red-ball cricket for Yorkshire this season and he could team up with off-spinner Moeen Ali.

“He’s a very good bowler,” said Rahane of Rashid.

“Wrist-spinners, we all know they are wicket-takers -- and right now, in England weather-wise, it’s like playing in Mumbai or Chennai.”

England’s Joe Root and India’s Virat Kohli pose with the series trophy at Edgbaston, Birmingham, Britain, yesterday. The first of five Test matches between the two sides start today.

ENGLAND VS INDIA

LONDON: Teams and offi-cials for the first Test between England and India at Edgbaston, Birmingham, starting today (1000 GMT):

England: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root (capt), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow (wkt), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

India (probable): Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (wkt), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav

Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK), Chris Gaffaney (NZL)

TV umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA) Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)

THE TEST TEAMS

Boxing Day Test back on NZ domestic scheduleAP

WELLINGTON: New Zealand will play Sri Lanka in a Boxing Day Test match in Christchurch in one of the highlights of a heavy domestic cricket schedule for the 2018-2019 summer.

But a projected day-night Test against Bangladesh - which would have been the second pink ball Test in New Zealand after last season’s pioneering match against England at Eden Park - is off the schedule after a change of heart by Bangladesh officials.

India remain the headline act of a summer containing 40 days of international cricket, but will not play a Test. Instead, they will meet New Zealand in five one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches.

Sri Lanka will play two Tests and three ODIs in December and January, before the India tour, and Bangladesh will round out the summer with three Tests and three one-dayers in February and March.

The decision to award the Boxing Day Test to Christchurch suggests New Zealand Cricket sees the South Island town’s Hagley Oval as New Zealand’s premier cricket venue, ahead of Eden Park which hosted a World Cup semifinal in 2015 and is the sport’s traditional home.

Eden Park will host only two Twenty20 matches this summer, against Sri Lanka on Jan. 11 and India on Feb. 8 as New Zealand Cricket moves gradually towards an alter-native cricket venue in Auckland. The 60,000-seat stadium is in a residential area and subject to restrictions around night-time events.

Hagley Park and Welling-ton’s Basin Reserve will each hold two of the five Tests New Zealand will play at home this summer and Hamilton’s Seddon Park will host the other.

Bangladesh considered playing a day-night Test at Hamilton from Feb. 28 but has now rejected the pro-posal, citing insufficient preparation.

“We were hopeful we would get it across the line but ultimately Bangladesh thought they weren’t pre-pared enough for it,” NZC chief operating officer Anthony Crummy said. “They haven’t played a day-night test, nor have they had a lot of preparation in their own first class cricket.”

More pressure on lone spinner RashidAFP

BIRMINGHAM: Adil Rashid faced further pressure ahead of his controversial recall to the England Test side for their series opener against India at Edgbaston when it was announced yesterday he would be the lone specialist spinner in their XI.

The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that off-spinner Moeen Ali had been left out from a 13-man squad.

That leaves Yorkshire leg-spinner Rashid as England’s sole designated slow bowler, although his county colleague Joe Root, the England captain, can supplement his top-order batting with occasional off-spin.

England have also omitted uncapped Essex seamer Jamie Porter.

Top-order batsman Dawid Malan remains in the XI, with all-rounder Ben Stokes and Surrey left-arm quick Sam Curran pro-viding seam bowling support to the veteran new-ball pairing of James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the first of a five-Test series starting today.

Rashid’s recall for his 11th Test but first in England pro-voked a furious response given he signed a limited-overs only

contract with Yorkshire for this season.

Yorkshire and England greats Geoffrey Boycott and Michael Vaughan are among those who’ve slammed the decision to call-up Rashid without him having first played any red-ball County Champi-onship cricket this term.

Former opening batsman Boycott was scathing in his column for Britain’s Daily

Telegraph published yesterday, accusing Rashid of being a “spoilt brat”.

“He should never have been handed a Test recall,” insisted Boycott.

“In two years England have gone around in a circle. By picking Rashid, they are selecting the unselectable: a player who will not play four-day Champi-onship cricket for Yorkshire because his heart is not in it, but

he will play for England in Test matches. Absurd? Yes.”

Vaughan had previously labelled Rashid’s selection “ridic-ulous”, with Rashid responding angrily by saying his former team-mate’s remarks were “stupid”, while suggesting York-shire’s less than enthusiastic r e a c t i o n h a d b e e n “disrespectful”.

Boycott said Rashid had responded to Vaughan’s

comments like a “spoilt brat”. “Trashing a great England captain and superb batsman does not go down well with the cricketing public,” insisted Boycott, who went into a self-imposed exile from international cricket for three years at the height of his career in the mid 1970s.

“Let me tell Adil that Vaughan will be remembered as one of the greatest England cap-tains and an elegant, superb batsman. In 10 years nobody will remember Adil’s Test match performances.”

Meanwhile England con-firmed Jos Buttler as Root’s vice-captain for the Test series.

Buttler was only recalled to the Test set-up by new national selector Ed Smith for the two-match series against Pakistan earlier this season. But having deputised for England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan in limited-overs internationals, he has now been given a formal leadership position in the Test set-up as well.

Anderson, England’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker, had been assisting Root since the start of the last Ashes after Stokes was stood down from the vice-captaincy position following an alleged late-night incident in September.

England’s Adil Rashid during nets at Edgbaston, Birmingham, Britain, yesterday.

SA milestone becomes a millstone for SteynREUTERS

MUMBAI: Dale Steyn admits overtaking Shaun Pollock to become South Africa’s highest wicket-taker has become some-thing of a millstone around his neck but he is determined to prove he still has lot more to offer than merely claiming a 422nd Test victim.

The 35-year-old paceman has been closing on Pollock’s tally of 421 wickets for a couple of years but, limited by injury to three Tests since November 2016, has managed only to reach, not pass, the milestone.

Having proved his fitness on the

recent tour of Sri Lanka, however, Steyn wants to get the record in the bag as quickly possible and move on with the rest of his career.

“Actually, it’s like a bit of a burden now,” he said in an interview.

“I hope it just gets out of the way and we can just carry on. Because there’s more wickets in me than 421. I have got 500 plus on the horizon so I don’t know why we are so consumed on one number.

“When I am bowling it’s like ‘you’re gonna get there, you’re gonna get there’. I know I am, but I’m not interested in getting there,” he added.

“What I am interested in doing is

performing well for my country, taking wickets and winning cricket games. If I can do that, those records, that fame and all the other things you want with profes-sional sport will come.”

Steyn’s 421 wickets have come in 88 Ttests at an average of 22.64 and he is regarded as one of the sport’s greatest fast bowlers for his ability to take wickets in all conditions.

His injury problems began in December 2015, and about a year later he broke his right shoulder and tore three major muscles during the first Test against Australia in Perth.

In January this year, he made a

comeback after 13 months on the side-lines only to injure his heel when he opened the bowling in the first test victory over India at Newlands.

After another six months out, he returned for the two-Test series in Sri Lanka needing three wickets to overtake Pollock. He picked two in the opening Test but went wicketless in the second.

“I actually quite enjoyed Sri Lanka,” Steyn said at a GoPro promotional event.

“The interesting thing is that lot of people have been saying he’s injured, he’s struggling and everything like that. But I probably just got through the hardest test of my career and I’m absolutely fine.”

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar recorded their first victory at the ongoing Qatar Goodwood Festival at Goodwood Racecourse yesterday with Al Shaqab Racing’s colt Watan winning the fifth race in an impressive fashion.

Watched by the President of Qatar Olympic Committee, H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, Watan, the chestnut colt won the six-furlong race reserved for two-year-old maidens. The winning horse was schooled by Richard Hannon and was steered by Ryan Moore to victory yesterday.

The five-day Festival will see a wide range of races with the world’s top Arabian and Thor-oughbred horses.

The trophy presentation cer-emony was held after the race.

Khalifa bin Mohammed Al Attiyah, Executive Director of Al Shaqab, received the first place trophy. Trainer Hannon and the famed jockey Moore received their trophies as well.

Also present during the first day of the Festival, were the Duke of Richmond, owner of Goodwood Racecourse, Hamad bin Abdulrahman Al Attiyah,

President of Qatar Equestrian Federation, Nasser bin Sherida Al Kaabi, General Manager of Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC), Abdulla Rashid Al Kubaisi, QREC Racing Manager, and numerous horse owners and trainers from around the world.

The races of the Qatar

Goodwood Festival will con-tinue today on the second day of the Festival with seven races and the most important of which will be the Qatar International Stakes (Gr 1/PA).

Al Attiyah, Executive Director of Al Shaqab, was very pleased with the Watan’s win as it was a race for maidens and

Watan is one of the horses bred by Al Shaqab Racing.

“Watan’s win today at Qatar Goodwood Festival is very special”, said Al Attiyah, “espe-cially as he was bred by Al Shaqa as a son of Toronado, who himself won the Sussex several years ago. We consider this win very signif-icant to us at this stage.”

“Arguably we have started to reap the rewards of our attention to breeding in Al Shaqab and the performance and form of Watan today are a demonstration of this. He excelled and won the race impressively. We will run Watan in tougher races in the near future as he is up to that.

We will maintain Al Shaqab’s policy of paying due attention to breeding because we want Al Shaqab’s breeding to be prominent in this type of racing. We have been working to this end and we have the oppor-tunity to realise better results and to enhance breeding in Al Shaqab”, he added.

19WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018 SPORT

Murray battles back to advance in Washington AFP

WASHINGTON: An emotional Andy Murray made a triumphant return to hardcourts Monday in his first match on the surface for nearly 17 months, outlasting Mackenzie McDonald at the ATP Washington Open.

The three-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one, who missed 11 months with a right hip injury and surgery last January, defeated the 80th-ranked American 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Murray, who has fallen to 832nd in the rankings, needed seven match points to subdue McDonald, squandering five before being broken in the 10th game of the final set before breaking back and finally ending matters after two hours and 37 minutes.

“I fought hard and I had to,” Murray said.

“The movements and stuff were fine. I didn’t break down. It lasted pretty well.” The 31-year-old Scotsman unleashed a primal scream and a right fist-pumping frenzy of joy after McDonald hit a forehand long

on the final point. “I enjoyed getting through that one. You could see it in the celebration,” Murray said.

“That was a tough match. It could have gone either way. It was nice to get it.” Murray had not played in a hardcourt match since March 2017 at Indian Wells, where he lost in his opening match.

“I hadn’t played in darkness or under the lights in a really long time and I felt my rhythm was off,” Murray said.

“I was struggling on my serve. I cut the unforced errors a little bit in the second set and started serving better.” Murray booked a second-round match Wednesday against British fourth seed Kyle Edmund, who had an opening bye.

“I’ll have to play much better if I want to win that match, more aggressively,” Murray said.

“It will help having one more match under my belt.” It was Murray’s first experience with a serve clock, which will be used at the US Open this year.

“Without a shot clock, that would have been a three-hour match,” Murray said. “It’s a

positive change for tennis.” After making his return from January hip surgery last month at Queens and Eastbourne, Murray skipped Wimbledon and began preparing for the hardcourt campaign.

His lone win on grasscourts came over Swiss Stan Wawrinka, another three-time Grand Slam winner fighting back from a left knee injury. The world number 198 had a first-round match against US qualifier Donald Young rained out.

Murray’s first hardcourt match in nearly 17 months, delayed three hours by rain, turned when he broke in the penultimate game of the second set and again on his fifth break chance in the opening game of the third set.

Murray, whose best Wash-ington finish was a runner-up effort in his 2006 debut, served for the match in the 10th game but squandered five match points, four of them on errors, and McDonald broke back to 5-5 when Murray netted a forehand to end the 12-minute game.

At 30-30 in the 11th game, McDonald stuck his racquet over the net to play the ball, losing the

point on a violation quickly called by French umpire Arnaud Gabas. McDonald then hit a forehand long to give Murray another chance to serve for the match.

Murray, who surrendered four double faults and won only five-of-15 second-serve points in the first set, broke to open the second set but swatted an ugly forehand well wide to sur-render a break in the next game, slamming a ball to the court in frustration at what in top form would have been a routine shot.

Both held serve until the ninth game, when McDonald sent a forehand wide to hand Murray the break and a 5-4 lead. Murray held on a service winner to force a third set.

Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri booked a second-round match against third-ranked defending champion Alexander Zverev of Germany by defeating Russian Evgeny Donskoy 6-4, 6-1.

US wild card Noah Rubin beat Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-4 to reach a second-round match against US second seed John Isner.

Andy Murray celebrates a shot against Mackenzie McDonald during the Citi Open at the Rock Creek Tennis Center in Washington , DC on Monday.

Azarenka outlasts Bondarenko in San JoseREUTERS

MIAMI: Former world number one Victoria Azarenka outlasted Kateryna Bondarenko 6-3 6-7(7) 7-5 at the Silicon Valley Classic on Monday to set up a highly-anticipated second-round clash with top-seeded Garbine Muguruza on Wednesday.

Azarenka took the first set comfortably but faced stiffer resistance in the second from the Ukrainian, who battled hard against the 29-year-old Bela-rusian on a night when her pow-erful first serve lacked its usual accuracy.

Azarenka committed 12 double faults and was broken four times but did just enough

to edge the defensive-minded Bondarenko, who sent a backhand long on match point to put an end to the marathon match. Elsewhere, Australian Ajla Tomljanovic defeated Spaniard Georgina Garcia Perez 6-4 6-1 to set up a second-round meeting with second-seeded American Madison Keys.

Nineteen-year-old Sofia Kenin defeated Paraguayan Veronica Cepede Royg 6-4 6-4 and American Danielle Collins fired three aces and won 76 percent of her first service points to dispatch compatriot Danielle Lao 7-6(2) 6-3.

Greek Maria Sakkari cruised to a comfortable 6-2 6-2 win over American Christina McHale,

who committed eight double faults and was broken five times.

Today’s action will see 23-times grand slam champion Serena Williams face off against Australian Johanna Konta in their first-round duel in San Jose.

Andy Murray celebrates a shot against Mackenzie McDonald during the Citi Open at the Rock Creek Tennis Center on July 30, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Meanwhile, hard work and peak fitness are the major con-cerns for world number two Caroline Wozniacki as she starts her first run to the US Open as a Grand Slam champion.

The 28-year-old Dane cap-tured her first major title in

January at the Australian Open, downing current world number one Simona Halep in the final, and the 2009 and 2014 US Open runner-up approaches the hard-court campaign ahead of New York with new confidence.

“It feels great to have won my first Grand Slam. It was a great two weeks,” Wozniacki said on Monday. “At this point, you have to keep on working hard and try to be in the best shape possible heading into the US Open. That’s all you can do.”

Wozniacki was sharp as she reached Melbourne, coming off a title in the 2017 season-ending WTA Championship in Sin-gapore, beating Venus Williams in the final.

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus returns a shot to Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine during Day 1 of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic at Spartan Tennis Complex in San Jose, California on Monday.

Watan winning The Nginious! Swiss Gin EBF Maiden Stakes during the opening day of the Qatar Goodwood Festival at the Goodwood racecourse in the UK yesterday. RIGHT: Hamad bin Abdulrahman Al Attiyah, President of Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) giving away the trophy to The Qatar Wintage Stakes (1) winners.

Al Shaqab Racing’s Watan wins at Qatar Goodwood Festival

20 WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2018HOME