king salman arrives today on historic visit€¦ · 'made in qatar exhibition 2016' ......

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Volume 21 | Number 7001 | 2 RiyalsMonday 5 December 2016 | 6 Rabia I 1438

The Peninsula

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will lead well-wishers to welcome the Custo-dian of the Two Holy

Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Ara-bia, who will arrive in Qatar today on a two-day official visit.

The Emir and King Salman will discuss means of enhancing the well-established fraternal relations and the latest developments on the regional and international arenas.

The country is all set for this historic visit, with Qatari and Saudi flags and huge signboards with pictures of the Emir and King Salman adorning the roads and streets across the city.

Qatar's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sheikh Abdullah bin Thamer Al Thani yesterday described the visit as a "consolidation of the distinguished strong historic and fraternal relations between the two brotherly countries."

In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the Ambassador said that the meeting between the Emir and King Salman opens vast prospects for joint action and cooperation in all areas and

emphasises more cohesion and interdependence among the GCC member states.

“The mutual visits represent a chance to enhance the brotherly relations between the two countries and peoples while offering a suitable opportunity

to discuss issues of mutual interest as well as regional and international issues,” said the ambassador.

Bilateral ties are not limited to the formal side between the two governments and officials but have also reached out to the grassroots level, he said, referring to the various events which brought together businessmen in both countr ies , bes ides the increased number of visitors from Saudi Arabia to Qatar placing Doha and other Qatari cities as popular tourist destinations for Saudi families.

Trade and economic relations between Doha and Riyadh present an excellent model of the integration and strength of joint interests between the two countries, the Ambassador said, expressing pleasure over the successful 'Made in Qatar Exhibition 2016' organised by the Qatar Chamber for the first time in Saudi Arabia on the sidelines of the Qatari- Saudi Economic Forum. The ambassador stressed the conformity of the two countries' policies and positions in all Arab issues including Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya as well as counter-terrorism issues, which now threatens the region in

multiple forms.The Palestinian cause and

the efforts aimed at ending the Israeli aggression against Islamic holy sites in Al Quds and achieving the Palestinian national reconciliation have been and remain at the top of Qatar

and Saudi Arabia's diplomatic priorities in all international forums, the the Qatari ambassador added.

The ambassador stressed the great role being played by Qatar in the framework of the Arab coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen within its 'Restoring Hope' and 'Decisive Storm' operations along with the Arab, Islamic and Gulf countries participating in the coalition to protect the legitimate rights in Yemen and repel any malicious attempts to tamper the security of Saudi Arabia which is the security of the Gulf and the entire region.

The Saudi ambassador to Qatar Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Aifan expressed optimism about the success of the visit of King Salman.

Speaking to QNA, Al Aifan said: "I am confident that the talks which will be held, will also provide an important springboard to support the relentless effort to establish a stronger joint action, within the framework of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, to tackle the challenges facing the region."

He stressed the depth of the two countries relations. These relations are old and

well-established, built on strong pillars, he said, adding that the Saudi-Qatar relations go beyond the common interests and bonds of neighbourly relations to be described as a common destiny relationship.

The Saudi ambassador pointed out that the relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar have reached a distinct stage in all areas and at all levels. Economic relations enjoy great support on both government and private sectors, where work is continuing, through the meetings

of the Saudi-Qatari Business Council, for further cooperation between businessmen in the two countries and to overcome any obstacles they may encounter.

He pointed that the Qatari-Saudi trade volume reached about SR7bn in 2015, adding that 315 companies -fully owned by Saudis- and 303 joint companies are working in Qatar with a total capital of SR1.252bn.

Speaking to QNA on this occasion Speaker of the Advisory Council H E Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khulaifi said: “ It

gives me great pleasure on my behalf and on behalf of the Advisory Council's members to welcome King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the king of firmness and determination to honour us with his historic visit to Qatar. "

He stressed the importance of this visit in light of circumstances in the region and taking into consideration Saudi Arabia's political weight, which represent a safety and stability valve for the region's peoples.

→ See also pages 3 & 10

King Salman arrives today on historic visitThe country is all set for the historic visit, with Qatari and Saudi flags and huge hoardings with pictures of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud adorning the roads and streets across the city.

The Palestinian cause and the efforts aimed at ending the Israeli aggression against holy sites in Al Quds and achieving the Palestinian national reconciliation have been and remain at the top of Qatar and Saudi Arabia's diplomatic priorities in all international forums.

Qatar's Ambassador to Saudi ArabiaSheikh Abdullah bin Thamer Al Thani

The relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar are old, well-established and built on strong pillars. It goes beyond the common interests and bonds of neighbourly relations to be described as a common destiny relationship.

Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Qatar Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Aifan

A huge hoarding with pictures of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud displayed at the QNB building on the Corniche, yesterday.Pics: Abdul Basit, Kammutty VP & Mohamad Bwary/The Peninsula

AFH finds opportunities in shifting investment

landscape

02 MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 HOME

Emir inaugurates Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani inaugurated The Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, which is part of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS), in Lusail yesterday. The Emir toured the new building and listened to a detailed explanation on its divisions, programmes and academic mission as well as the research and studies. The Emir also listened to a comprehensive presentation on the Doha Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language which traces the history of the Arabic words over twenty centuries and takes about 15 years to be accomplished.

539 outstandingstudentshonouredQNA

Under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister,

the General Authority for Minors Affairs honoured out-standing students under its auspices at a ceremony held at the Qatar National Conven-tion Center.

The Authority annually honours outstanding students in order to motivate them for further success. This year, 539 honorees have achieved excellent results during the 2015-2016 school year.

In a speech during the ceremony, the Chairman of the General Authority for Minors Affairs Saad Nahar Al Nuaimi commended the patronage of the Prime Min-ister and Minister of Interior in honouring outstanding stu-dents, stressing that this reflects the attention of the State of Qatar and care for all segments of society by devel-oping their abilities in order to be actors in advancing the development of the country and comes in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030 which is based on four key pillars, including human and social development, aims at transforming Qatar into an advanced country.

The Peninsula

Some 20 films, sup-ported by the Doha Film Institute, are tak-ing the spotlight at the Dubai International

Film Festival (DIFF) to be held from December 7 to 14, 2016.

In one of the largest partic-ipations of Qatar-backed projects, 15 films supported by the Doha Film Institute will be screened at the 13th DIFF, sev-eral of them also nurtured at Qumra, the dedicated industry event where the filmmakers had the opportunity to discuss diverse aspects of the film with industry veterans. A number of

these films are competing for DIFF’s Muhr Awards, while two films are showcased in both the Cinema of the World and Ara-bian Nights segments.

Additionally, three films

that are recipients of the Insti-tute’s grants are being showcased in Dubai Film Con-nection, the co-production market of DIFF.

Further, Hafiz Ali Ali, a Qatari producer-director, has been nominated for the pres-tigious IWC Filmmaker Award 2016 of the festival for his project, The Search for the Star Pearl, a feature animation that received the Institute’s grant for development and was nur-tured by industry experts at Qumra earlier this year. Ali will compete alongside Emirati nominees and filmmakers Nujoom Alghanem and Abdul-lah Hassan Ahmed for the

$100,000 award. An eminent jury of experts

will evaluate the potential of the three projects and choose the winner.

Adding to the pride of Qatar, Smicha (Qatar / 2016), a short narrative produced by Innova-tion Films, written and directed by Amal Al Muftah, will mark its world premiere at DIFF.

The film received in-house development support from the Doha Film Institute, and will compete in the Muhr Gulf Short segment.

“We are exceptionally proud of the firm imprint that Qatar will make this year at DIFF. In addition to 15 films

supported by us being chosen for screening in different pro-grammes, we are also delighted with many Qatari talents, nur-tured by the Institute, underlining their credentials at the international festival,” said Fatma Al Remaihi, Chief Exec-utive Officer , DFI.

Among the 15 films to be screened at DIFF that were sup-ported by the Doha Film Institute, six are marking their world premiere. Six feature narratives will mark their MENA premiere at DIFF.

Two films mark their Mid-dle East debut at DIFF in the Muhr Feature and Arabian Nights segments.

20 DFI-supported films in spotlight at Dubai festDFI presence

DIFF to witness one of the largest participations of Qatar-backed projects.

A number of films are competing for DIFF’s Muhr Awards.

Qatar to attend INTOSAI CongressTHE State of Qatar will take part in the 22nd Congress of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), which takes palce ib Abu Dhabi on December 7-11, 2016. The Qatari delegation will be led by President of State Audit Bureau of Qatar Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani.

The event will discuss how INTOSAI can contribute to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustain-able Development, including good governance and strengthening the fight against corruption and professional-isation and what can promote INTOSAI's credibility to become a more prominent international organisation.

The Peninsula

Qatar Charity (QC) distrib-uted 1,500 food baskets to people suffering from

famine in the Tihama city of war-torn Yemen.

The aid was part of QC’s relief campaign launched last month under '#Tihama_Yemen _ famine'.

QC will also distribute 1,500 food baskets in Al Hudaydah at a total cost of QR 900,000.

"QC distributed 500 food baskets to the families affected by famine at Tuhayat District and 1,000 food baskets were

distributed in the three districts (Al Khawkhah - Ad Durayhimi - Tuhayat), which are the most affected districts by the famine in Tihama region," said Nasr Qaed Alzaeem, the Director of QC's office in Yemen.

QC would continue its aid to Tihama regions and Al Huday-dah governorate that was affected by the famine. These efforts would ensure food secu-rity for the families for a month. He praised the generous dona-tion of the Qatari people and the residents in Qatar, especially in such difficult circumstances.

QC's office in Yemen

periodically coordinates the efforts of the humanitarian work in Al Hudaydah governorate, Yemen. In this regard, the office participates in meetings con-ducted by the international organisations and Yemeni offi-cial bodies.

The meeting aimed at pre-senting the current interventions to help the people, provide assistance in the most pressing areas, including food security, health, water, sanitation, shel-ter, addressing the problems hindering the humanitarian work, and identifying the steps that should be followed to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Al Hudaydah governorate.

The meeting took place between the health office in Al Hudaydah governorate, Unicef and Tayba Foundation, in order to facilitate opening a malnutri-tion clinic by QC in the city. The office visited the displaced peo-ple's camp to evaluate their humanitarian conditions and to conduct a mini-survey of the whole situation.

Many displaced Yemeni families are leading a tough life as they have lost their source of livelihood. These families depended on fishing, but fled to other villages due to the current tragic events.

Qatar Charity distributes 1,500 food baskets to famine victims in Yemen

Officials and teachers at the fifth anniversary celebrations of Qatar University ExxonMobil Teachers Academy.

The Peninsula

ExxonMobil Qatar and Qatar University (QU) recently held a luncheon to mark

the fifth anniversary of the annual Qatar University Exxon-Mobil Teachers Academy. The academy is a joint collaboration between ExxonMobil Qatar, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, and QU’s National Center for Education Development, and it took place this year from November 27 to December 1.

A number of senior repre-sentatives from the Ministry of Education and Higher Educa-tion, QU, Teach For Qatar (TFQ) and INJAZ Qatar attended the luncheon. Alistair Routledge, President and General Manager for ExxonMobil Qatar, wel-comed the luncheon attendees and spoke to them about the academy, its purpose and its accomplishments.

“It is an honour to stand before you today to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Qatar Uni-versity ExxonMobil Teachers

Academy,” said Routledge.The Qatar University Exx-

onMobil Teachers Academy is a week-long intensive profes-sional development program led by a group of education experts from Doha and the US. The pro-gramme is designed to help teachers from Qatar’s independ-ent schools build on their expertise, enhance their under-standing of math and science content, and acquire interactive teaching tools that will ignite their students’ passion for math and science.

QU-ExxonMobil Teachers Academy celebrates fifth anniversary

Volunteers in a Qatar Charity aid vehicle in Tihama city of war-torn Yemen.

03MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 HOME

Doha Festival City appoints ELAN Media as media partner The Peninsula

Doha Festival City, set to celebrate the best in lei-sure, retail and hospitality

when it opens its doors in Feb-ruary 2017, has appointed ELAN Media as its exclusive media partner as part of a multi-year deal. ELAN Media will provide best-in-class turnkey solutions to the Mall, which will enable brands to reach up to 20 million visitors per year.

The state-of-the art, in-mall advertising will include three new formats never seen before in Qatar - The Axis, The Run-way and The Torch - all of which are now available to secure ahead of the opening of

Doha Festival City in February.

ELAN’s technology solu-tions are best-in-classand will allow local and international brands to communicate with consumers in an advanced for-mat, in keeping with the full-platform of digital experi-ences planned for visitors to Doha Festival City.

The Axis, which will be situ-ated amongst it’s extensive entertainment zone, will be the first ever 4mm pitch rotating screen deployment in Qatarwitha suspended Altoona digital LED screen with 360 degree visibil-ity. The Torch is set to be the largest Digital out of Home (DOOH) roadside screen in Qatar.

The Peninsula

Visitors at Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) will be able to see a rare monu-

mental stucco panel from Iran dating from the 12th Century.

Following four years of rig-orous conservation and restoration works, the panel, one of the three surviving stucco pan-els from the highly celebrated Saljuk period of Islamic art his-tory, can be now seen at MIA’s permanent galleries.

The conservation project was a partnership between the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) and

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and formed part of the bank’s global Art Conservation Project. Funding from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, one of the world’s largest supporters of arts and culture, supported the conser-vation of the stucco panel, and marked the first time a financial institution ever partnered with Qatar Museums and MIA. The panel, which features a compi-lation of the ’princely cycle’, detailing feasting, hunting, music-making and the enjoy-ment of nature in the traditions of Persianate art and culture, is now on permanent display

in MIA’s permanent galleries. Conservation of the panel

began in November 2012, and took almost four years to com-plete. The project was led by the curatorial and conservation departments at MIA, with addi-tional support from an archaeological illustrator from the University of Pennsylvania.

“The panel is one of only three monumental stucco pan-els from the highly celebrated era of Islamic art history, and the much needed restoration of this iconic and important piece has enabled us to permanently dis-play it to the public, for the

enjoyment of residents and vis-itors in Qatar,” said Daniel Brown, Acting Director, MIA.

“Recognising the impor-tance of preserving cultural treasures for future genera-tions, we launched our Global Art Conservation Project in 2010. We believe our pro-gramme to be particularly relevant in today’s troubled times, where countless sym-bols of local culture and heritage are eroding through decline, neglect, or turmoil", said Arshad Ghafur, President of Middle East North Africa at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

MIA showcases rare 12th century stucco panel

Sidi MohamedThe Peninsula

SMARTPHONE users can now report crimes to the authorities concerned at the Ministry of Interior with a new CID service option on Metrash 2 application.

The new service includes four windows; ‘reporting’ service for informing about cyber crimes, forgery, beg-ging, and violation of intellectual property rights, among others.

The second service has

options for reporting about suspected vehicles, persons, institutions, houses and criminal activities, among others.

A third service gives the option to request for aware-ness lectures, field visits and general requests, while the last service provides contact details to communicate with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) with its hot-line number.

“Metrash2” services ena-bles citizens and residents to obtain a wide range of Minis-try of Interior services online.

Flags of Qatar and Saudi Arabia on the Corniche yesterday. Pic: Abdul Basit/ The Peninsula

Sign of friendshipSmartphone users

can report crimes

on Metrash 2


The Peninsula

Carnegie Mellon Univer-sity in Qatar (CMU-Q) will host the fifth annual

24-hour hackathon on Janu-ary 27 to 28, 2017 at the university’s campus in Educa-tion City.

The CarnegieApps Hacka-thon is an annual programming competition in which univer-sity students work in teams in a 24-hour race to build mobile applications, web applications or games. This year’s event is open to undergraduate stu-dents from all majors from universities throughout the GCC.

Hackathon is organised by

CarnegieApps, a student-led club at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. “We’re excited to continue the great tradition of Hackathon here at CMU-Q, and we’re excited to host students from Qatar and across the region. Hackathon is a great opportu-nity for students to put the skills they are learning to the test, and to meet and share ideas with like-minded ‘hack-ers,’” said Vishan Popat, a business administration stu-dent at CMU-Q and the president of CarnegieApps.

The competition features five categories, including a new one sponsored by Education Above All’s program, Protect Education in Insecurity and

Conflict (PEIC). In the new cat-egory, young developers are challenged to think creatively about how technology can be used to protect children in schools in conflict zones around the world.

Education Above All is an organization established by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser that aims to provide quality and sustainable educa-tion to the poorest and most marginalized of school children.

As with previous years, a panel of professionals will judge the competitors in the categories of best technical idea, best overall app, best design, and best rookie project.

The Peninsula

Qatar University (QU) yes-terday announced the early registration for the

semesters of Winter and Spring 2017. Registration is available via myBanner and continues until the end of the add and drop period for each semester, a press release said.

QU Section Head of Regis-tration Noora Hamad A M Al Marri explained that the Regis-tration Department opened the registration for graduate

students (Diploma, Masters and Doctorate) on December 4, while the registration for under-graduate students who finished their required credit hours will start on December 5 until December 11. The registration’s deadline is on February 2, 2017.

Al Marri noted that students can view the offered courses through the online Course Schedule, and students with dis-abilities can seek assistance to register for courses from the Inclusion and Special Needs Support Center. She also

highlighted the importance to view the registration guidelines which explain how to use myBanner self-service system to add and drop courses.

Al Marri explained that the waiting list for Spring 2017 has been activated starting from the early registration on December 4, 2016 until February 2, 2017. “Students may add themselves to the waitlist courses at the closed sections,” she said.

She also noted that the pay-ment of the tuition fees is mandatory to register.

QNA

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Coun-cil (GCC) Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani stressed that the 37th

session of the GCC Supreme Council, to be held in Bahrain tomorrow, is an opportunity for consultation between Their Maj-esties and Highnesses the leaders of the GCC countries, and to exchange opinion about the ongoing events and develop-ments in the region.

In an interview with Al Sharq, Al Zayani said that the rapid developments in the region require more coordination, con-sultation and integration among GCC countries, in order to pro-tect its achievements and prosperity.

He noted that the GCC coun-tries seek honestly to find peaceful political solutions to all

regional crises and reduce their impact, adding that the conse-quences of the crisis will not only be on the GCC states, but also on the regional and international security and peace.

Al Zayani said that the leaders of the GCC countries have given importance to economy, pointing to the GCC common market which

was established in 2008 and has made many achievements.

He also pointed to the Cus-toms Union which allowed the GCC countries to raise the level of trade exchange from $20bn in 2003 to $140bn in 2015.

He also pointed out that the establishment of the Economic and Development Affairs Author-ity and the Judicial Economic Authority will play a prominent role in the consolidation of the economic cooperation and inte-gration among GCC countries and will strengthen the GCC cit-izens' gains from the common market.

About intervention in the internal affairs of the GCC, the Secretary-General said that the GCC states are aware of the objectives of those interfering in its internal affairs, and are fully aware that this intervention seeks to destabilise their coun-tries and undermine their

cohesion and solidarity, adding that the security cooperation between the GCC countries at all levels is the way to meet this challenge and thwart its plans.

He warned that terrorism is an extraneous phenomenon to our peaceful societies and con-trary to our tolerant Islamic faith.

Dr Al Zayani underlined the GCC countries' great efforts to fight terrorism militarily, economically and socially, adding that there are cooperation agreements and strat-egies between GCC states to combat terrorism.

On Arab political differences, the GCC Secretary-General said that the GCC countries have always stressed that they are part of the joint Arab action and as stated in the statute, the coordi-nation, cooperation and integration among them serve the lofty goals of the Arab nation and in line with the Charter of the Arab League which calls for

closer convergence and stronger bonds to serve Arab and Islamic issues. Therefore, the GCC states make every effort to support the joint Arab action in various fields, and contribute to settling Arab disputes and differences.

On the crisis in Yemen, Al Zayani said that the GCC states are fully aware that the stability of the Republic of Yemen and its security is part of the security and stability of the GCC and therefore it launched the GCC initiative that contributed to the breakthrough of the Yemeni cri-sis. However, the coup by Houthi rebels and Ali Saleh against the Yemeni government complicated the crisis, he added.

He said that the GCC states are still supporting the interna-tional efforts in this regard, and the efforts of UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in order to reach the desired solution to begin the

reconstruction process.He added that everyone

knows that the Gulf Cooperation Council attaches great importance to Yemen, as it is a neighbour and brother and an active member in many GCC organisations and insti-tutions in various fields such as education, health, media, youth and others.

About the Syrian crisis, Al Zayani stressed that what is hap-pening in Syria is a painful tragedy, adding that the GCC countries' stance was principled and unchanged, which is to stop the bloodshed and support a peaceful political solution in accordance with the Geneva 1 agreement as the basis for any political solution that preserves Syria's unity, sovereignty and independence, and achieves the aspirations of the Syrian people. GCC has multiple political and diplomatic roles in this regard, he said.

GCC summit an opportunity to discuss issues: ZayaniChallenges

Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani says rapid developments in the region require more consultations and integration.

The 37th session of the GCC Supreme Council will be held in Bahrain tomorrow.

QIB officials deliver lecture on banking at Independent SchoolThe Peninsula

A delegation from Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Qatar’s leading Islamic

Bank, recently visited Ahmad bin Hanbal Independent Boys School to deliver an educational lecture about the banking and finance industry in Qatar.

The visit is part of QIB’s edu-cation programme on “Financial Literacy” which is specifically focused on cultivating basic financial knowledge among high school students in Qatar, said a press release.

The visit was led by Bassel Gamal, QIB’s Group CEO, who was welcomed by Ahmed Hus-sein Al Rahimi, Licence holder and Principal of Ahmad bin Hanbal Independent School. The visit’s objective was to create awareness among students on the important role of banks in everyday life.

It was organised as part of QIB’s social responsibility pro-gramme whereas the Bank is engaging with the local

community and collaborating with society’s institutions to support dif-ferent social activities. QIB’s commitment to supporting the educational sector is originating from the bank’s belief that today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders.

Gamal addressed the stu-dents by referring to the Government’s investment in education and the recent speech of the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

QIB’s Group CEO gave a brief overview of the history of banks and the increasingly important role of banks in the daily life of individuals and businesses as well as in any country’s economic development and growth.

He spoke about the difference between conventional banking and Islamic banking, highlight-ing how Islamic banks have recently developed innovative Shariah-compliant banking solu-tions to cover all the financial needs of individuals, institutions and companies.

Gamal also stressed the importance of developing a

savings attitude from a young age for each individual to have control over his finances saying that “it is important to learn how to earn the money necessary to pay for what we really need, to save for what we want in the future and not to forget to help the ones in need along the way”

Finally, he talked about QIB’s active role in supporting and investing in Qatar’s youth through its summer internship programmes and by sponsoring Qatari students to complete their studies in various fields of education.

Ahmed Hussein Al Rahimi, Licence holder and Principal of Ahmad bin Hanbal Independent School, said: “I was very pleased to welcome senior ranking rep-resentatives from QIB who were very motivated to raise aware-ness and encourage students to pursue the banking industry, spe-cifically, the Islamic one. This is very important and will contrib-ute to the development of our economy and implementation of Qatar’s 2030 vision.”

QIB officials during a visit to Ahmad bin Hanbal Independent Boys School recently.

CMU-Q Hackathon goes regional for 2017

QU announces registration for semesters


Pakistan expats seek home varsity in QatarIrfan Bukhari The Peninsula

In a bid to address the growing need for afford-able higher education for expatriate children, Paki-stani community leaders

have ratcheted up efforts for the establishment of a Pakistani public sector university’s cam-pus in Qatar.

Talking to The Peninsula, Malik Qaiser Awan, President, Pakistan Education Forum, said the Forum in collaboration with Pakistan Business Forum and Pakistan Welfare Forum was making efforts to establish a campus of International Islamic University, Islamabad, in Qatar.

“We talked in length on the subject with President of Paki-stan, Mamnoon Hussain, during his recent visit to Qatar and he assured us of his support for accomplishing the task. Defi-nitely we have to go through many phases but with the sup-port of the President of Pakistan, we will reach a fea-sible option” he added.

He said they were trying that the matter should be taken up at the level of governments. "Only for an operational pub-lic sector university of Pakistan it is possible to fulfil criteria set by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. As its fee structure will be economical and affordable, expats not only from the Pakistani community

but also from other countries will be able to seek admissions,” Awan added.

Riyaz Ahmed Bakali, Founding Director, The Future Generation Group of schools, said that Pakistani expats were facing three kinds of issues regarding higher education of their children: economic, social and lack-of-choice. “With the opening of new private univer-sities, the problem will be resolved.”

Expats have been com-plaining about difficulties being faced by them regarding higher education of their children. Hafeezullah says: “The commu-nity is facing serious problems regarding higher education of their children. Either schools operating here should start undergraduate classes with affiliation of universities or a Pakistani university should open a campus here as higher education is very expensive here. Ultimately, expats send their children to Pakistan for graduation and post-gradua-tion. If they are girls then mothers have to shift with them that causes great inconvenience to the families.”

Higher Education

Efforts on to set up campus of International Islamic University in Qatar.

beIN wins major award in Dubai The Peninsula

beIN won the prestigious award of ‘Broadcast Trendsetter of The Year

2016’ in the recently held Broad-cast Pro Middle East Summit & Awards in Dubai. The judging panel unanimously agreed that beIN has made huge strides within the broadcast and media industry in the current year.

In 2016, beIN consolidated its position as the leading regional Pay-TV network, as the company continued to attract global content partners to its platform. Within the past few months, beIN has partnered with AMC, BBC, Bloomberg, CBS, Dreamworks, Discovery, Fox, Scripps and Turner to bring pre-mium entertainment content to its screens, besides consolidat-ing its position in the sports content space. On the sports front, beIN entered into a multi-year exclusive deal with IOC to

broadcast future Olympic Games through beIN.

On the global media scene, beIN made two bold moves of acquiring Hollywood studio Miramax and leading Turkish Pay-TV operator Digi Turk. Both companies add significant value

to beIN through the synergies that these acquisitions can cre-ate for the group.

The Broadcast Pro ME Awards cover a broad range of categories to reward excellence in various fields across the broadcast workflow, from

production and post-production to traditional broadcast and new media platforms like OTT. The event is an annual gathering of the prominent regional media. The winners are chosen by a panel of judges from across the MENA region with varying tech-nical skills within broadcast industry to ensure it is fully com-petent to judge the nominations.

Yousef Al Obaidly, Deputy CEO of beIN MEDIA Group, said, “This award is a true reflection of beIN’s achievements and con-tributions to the media industry in the MENA region. In the past few months, beIN has truly emerged as a global media pow-erhouse that is focused on growth and customers’. We thank the judges for bestowing this prestigious award on beIN.”

Faisal Al Raisi, Manager of Digital Projects, accepted the award on behalf of beIN in Dubai.

Faisal Al Raisi, Manager of Digital Projects, accepting the award on behalf of beIN, in Dubai.

IPC opens second branch in DohaThe Peninsula

The International Physio-therapy Centre (IPC), a premium private rehabil-

itation clinic, has opened its second branch on Al-Waab Street (opposite Villaggio).

It opened its first branch last year.

The opening of the second clinic in Al Waab is a boost for people of all ages suffering from a range of physical problems including chronic back and neck pain, sports injuries, post-surgi-cal weakness, paediatric and neurological issues. The clinics in Markhiya and Al Waab offer a variety of rehabilitation tech-niques including physiotherapy, chiropractic, osteopathy, paedi-atric physiotherapy and pilates ensuring every patient has the appropriate treatment plan for them.

Founder Sheikh Mohammed H F Al Thani said: "The International Physiotherapy Centre was established to help the Doha community access high-quality local care. I have seen far too many friends and family travel abroad for quality care, and as a young Qatari I am

convinced we need to do more here locally.

Whilst it has certainly been challenging, we are delighted that we are opening our second clinic and will continue to work hard to deliver high-quality services to the community. I would especially like to thank the Ministry of Public Health, which has been very supportive and helped us navigate all the different ministries and approvals along the way!"

Tamara Hasan, the British General Manager and

Co-Founder, added: "What really sets us apart is our constant focus on quality. We have hired only the best medical profes-sionals from the US, Canada, UK, Australia and Europe and our clinics provide world-class healthcare in a high end, private and discrete environment.

We understand that Sheikh Mohammed HF Al Thani and Ms Hasan intend to provide further new services in the future, which they intend to announce in due course."

Sheikh Mohammed added:

"Our passion is to improve the health and well being of our patients. Seeing someone enter the clinic unable to walk or in excruciating pain and seeing them leave visibly better is what drives us to do more. I am very passionate about this — and as with our first clinic, a percent-age of any profits made will be donated to local charities."

One can find out more about the International Physiotherapy Centres in Markhiya and Waab at www.theipcentre.com, or on 4466 1318 / 4435 0340.

International Physiotherapy Centre (IPC) founder Sheikh Mohammed H F Al Thani. RIGHT: The IPC branch.

The Peninsula

More than 2,300 win-ter camps have been registered during

2016 /2017 winter camping season in all land and sea areas. The Ministry of Munic-ipality and Environment asked all campers to follow

camping rules or face action.Saad Ibraheem Al Kaabi,

General Coordinator for camping during winter, said that inspectors of Environ-mental Protection, Reserves & Wildlife Department will pay inspection visits to see how campers comply with the regulations.

Over 2,300 camps registered

From left: Nikhil Joseph, Senior Manager, Cistomer Relationship Management, Aster; Dr Sameer Moopan, CEO Aster DMH Qatar; Jotshna Dey, President, Indian Women Association (IWA) Qatar; Renu Malhotra, Vice-president, IWA; and Latha Pathmanbhan General Secretary, IWA, during the press conference in Doha yesterday. Pic: Abdul Basit/ The Peninsula

IWA's inter-school quiz on Dec 9The Peninsula

Indian Women's Association (IWA), a non-profitable organisation affiliated to

Indian Cultural Centre under the aegis of the Embassy of India will be hosting their 20th Inter-School Quiz competition, IWA- Aster Kids Brain Quest’16 on December 9, 2016 at Birla Public School.

This quiz contest, started in 1986, has grown in prestige and stature and has now entered its glorious 20th year. This year the quiz will be hosted by Siddhar-atha Basu, a reputed quiz master of India. A special show from

mentalist Aathi is also scheduled for the event.

Jotshna Dey, President, Indian Womens Association-Qatar, said: “We are happy to announce the 20th edition of our Inter- School Quiz Compe-tition associating with Aster DM Healthcare. The quiz competi-tion is open for students of classes seven to nine. Alkhor International School, Bhavan’s Public School, Birla public School, Stafford Srilankan School, Ideal Indian School, DPS- Modern Indian School, Doha Modern Indian School, Shanthinikethan Indian School, Bright Future International

School, MES Indian School, Phil-ippine School Doha, and Philippine International School will be representing their stu-dents for the quiz competition.Entry passes of IWA- Aster Kids Brain Quest’16 are VIP tickets QR50 and Open seating at QR20, available at ICC and the participating schools. Contact [email protected] for reser-vations and enquiry”

Dr Sameer Moopan, Chief Executive Officer, Aster DMH Qatar, said: “It gives us immense pleasure to be a part of the most prestigious and much awaited interschool quiz competition of the State of Qatar."

International Ethics Summit discusses challengesAmna Pervaiz Rao The Peninsula

Texas A&M University Qatar opened its three-day International Ethics Sum-

mit yesterday at the Hamad bin Khalifa University student center.

Topics discussed included ethical responsibility and risk in an age of globalisation, ethics in research and development, modern humanitarianism, and how institutional structures can shape ethical cultures.

Several presentations con-sider challenges unique to the Gulf and address the emergence of western education in the region and its effects on society and institutions.

“International Ethics Sum-mit is the tenth event of Texas A&M University. The idea behind this conference was about ‘Eth-ical Leadership in Industry and Business, the responsibilities and risk in the global era’. We will have discussions with the industry leaders for next two days. 80 participants are taking part in this conference from 35 different institutions, 27 out of 80 participants are from Qatar institutions, 20 countries are

here for this conference. The main idea was to go across the academic principles. It’s not a typical academic conference. This conference will become a regular forum next year and we will look forward to the second edition”, Hassan Bashir, Asso-ciate Professor of Liberal Arts at TEXAS University and Confer-ence Chair, told The Peninsula.

“It always feels great to have such kind of events here in Qatar. These kind of events help

us improve the education sys-tem. The stakeholders and finance department experts will share their experiences, which will help us fine-tune our future plans. The topic today is very rich in content, this conference will help us interact with expe-rienced gentlemen and ladies from different parts of the world,” Dr Muhammad Yousef Al Mulla, Managing Director and CEO at Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) told The Peninsula.

From left: Dr Eyad Masad, Vice Dean, Texas A and M University at Qatar (TAMUQ); Dr R Seetharaman, CEO, Doha Bank; Dr Joyce Marie Alexander, Dean, Texas A and M University, USA; and Dr Mohammed Yousef Al Mulla, MD and CEO, QAPCO, at the summit. Pic: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula


HMC suggestssteps against winter illnesses

The Peninsula

As Qatar transitions from the hot summer months to the cooler season, Hamad Medical Corpo-ration (HMC) is advising

residents to safeguard against com-mon illnesses that usually occur during the winter months.

HMC’s Senior Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Dr Saad Al Nuaimi, said common illnesses are on the rise during the cooler months. These include the flu, colds, norovirus, cold sores, sore throats, painful joints, asthma and heart attacks.

“As the weather changes in Qatar and across the GCC region, there will be a noticeable change in the spectrum of illnesses that people are exposed to. These ill-nesses are more common in winter and might affect a large percent-age of the population, especially schoolchildren,” Dr Al Nuaimi said.

According to Dr Al Nuaimi, flu outbreaks are most concerning for vulnerable populations, especially those aged 65 and above, and those with long-term health conditions such as diabetes and kidney dis-ease. “The best way to prevent the flu is to get the vaccine. The flu vaccine provides good protection against the flu and lasts for one year. However, those with exist-ing health conditions should see

their doctors for advice about the flu vaccination,” he said.

He explained that heart attacks are more common in winter. “There may be an increase in heart attacks because cold snaps increase blood pressure and put more strain on the heart. Your heart has to work harder to maintain body heat when it's cold. It is highly recommended to stay warm in your home, or make sure to wrap up warm when you go out,” Dr Al Nuaimi advised.

Dr Al Nuaimi said another unpleasant common winter illness is norovirus, also known as the win-ter vomiting bug. “Norovirus is an extremely infectious stomach bug. It can strike all year round, but is more common in winter and in places where you have large gath-erings of people, such as shopping malls, hotels and schools. Though the illness is unpleasant, its symp-toms are usually over within a couple of days,” he said. He recom-mends people with norovirus drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.

Those with asthma are reminded of the importance of tak-ing their medications as prescribed and keeping their inhalers close by. “Cold air is a major trigger of asthma symptoms such as wheez-ing and shortness of breath. People with asthma should be especially careful in winter,” said Dr Al Nuaimi. He added that regular moderate exercise, such as fast walking or cycling, could help keep asthma symptoms under control.

“Many people with arthritis say their joints become more painful in winter, though it's not clear why this is the case. Mild exercise such as swimming can improve stiffness of the joints."

Health Care

Physician cautions people against asthma, flu, heart attack, norovirus, joint pains, and cold sores.

QDF opens new Omega store at HIAThe Peninsula

Qatar Duty Free has opened a new Omega store, providing travel-

lers to Hamad International Airport (HIA) Doha with the latest collections from one of the world’s greatest Swiss watchmakers, and further expanding the range of high-end boutiques on offer to passengers shopping in the airport’s Fashion Avenue.

The new Omega store in HIA is one of only two Omega boutiques in the GCC and offers travellers shopping in Qatar Duty Free more than 120 extraordinary timepieces to choose from — providing an abundance of gift ideas to travellers looking to buy a spe-cial present for their loved ones this coming holiday season.

Omega is world-renowned for its innovation and quality, and is immortalised in history as the first watch to be worn on the moon, and has been seen by millions over the dec-ades on screen on the wrist of Hollywood-favourite, James Bond. Omega produces some of the finest and most-desired timepieces demanded by glo-bal travellers including the

popular Speedmaster, Sea-master and Constellation ranges, together making the brand a preferred choice among watch enthusiasts everywhere.

Senior Vice-President Qatar Duty Free, Luis Gasset said: “Visitors to Qatar Duty Free will discover an excep-tional shopping experience and a range of products and brands that will surprise and delight them. We are very proud to expand our range of luxury boutiques to welcome Omega, which is a great addition to our world-class shopping hub. “Global travellers have voted Qatar Duty Free as one of the

world’s top five airports for shopping thanks to our com-mitment to providing them with the very best shopping experience, personalised serv-ices, and delivering products and brands that meet world-wide demands for the very latest trends.”

The new Omega store in HIA is one of only two Omega boutiques in the GCC

Passengers will receive expert buying advice when shopping in-store and all watches are sold with an inter-national warranty.

Qatar Duty Free was recently announced as a glo-bal favourite becoming one of

the world’s top five airports for shopping in the 2016 Skytrax World Airport Awards among the more than 12.5 million travellers who voted.

Hamad International Air-port (HIA), the home of Qatar Duty Free, was announced as the world’s fifth ‘Best Airport for Shopping,’ as well as the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ for the second consecu-tive year at the 2016 Skytrax World Airport Awards in March. At the same time HIA leapt into the ‘World’s Top 10 Best Airports’ ranking and became the first ever Middle Eastern airport to achieve the honour.

The new Omega store at Hamad International Airport (HIA).

Varied fare by HBKU Press at book fairThe Peninsula

There is something for everyone at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press (HBKU Press) booth at this

year’s Doha International Book Fair. Located at booth B48 in the Doha Exhi-bition and Convention Center, HBKU Press showcases a variety of titles that appeal to readers young and old and to those interested in literature or academics.

There is a wide selection of unique local and international titles for children. Qatari author Muneera Saad Al Romaihi’s

children’s book, Manal’s World, tells a whimsical tale of an imaginative, wheel-chair–bound girl who doesn’t let her disability stop her from making friends and playing like any other child. The title character of the story, Manal, helps out another lonely girl by extending to her the hand of friendship, proving that being compassionate and kind can bridge the gap between apparent differences between children.

Manal’s World and several other chil-dren’s titles are also available for little ones to be enjoyed electronically, with

tablets available featuring the books that bring the characters to life and allow kids to read interactively.

HBKU Press will also release local Qatari author Abdulaziz Al Mahmoud’s debut children’s graphic novel, 'Arhama', which tells the story of the famous young adventurer who refuses to attend school, thinking that he can be the greatest sailor alive using only his talent.

One can meet the author and get a signed copy of 'Arhama' from the HBKU Press booth on Thursday, December 8, from 7pm to 8pm.

Experts at autism symposium shed light on problemThe Peninsula

Qatar Foundation’s Pre-University Education (PUE) has held a sym-posium to provide an overview of

the prevalence, diagnosis and treatment of autism among children in Qatar and abroad, at Awsaj Academy in Education City.

The Autism Symposium 2016 brought together more than 400 guests,

between international autism special-ists from the World Innovation Summit for Health’s (WISH) Autism Forum, local education service providers, parents of children with autism and other key stakeholders who have been instrumen-tal in the development of Qatar’s National Autism Plan.

Speaking about the importance of the symposium, Abeer Al Khalifa, Direc-tor of Academic Affairs, PUE, Qatar

Foundation, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to bring the autistic serv-ices community and the autism parents network in Qatar together to talk with each other and to listen to outcomes of international studies, which we, in turn, can apply to our own services at Renad Academy.”

The gathering, sponsored by WISH and Sidra Medical and Research Center (Sidra), was led by Dr Muhammed

Waqar Azeem, Chair of the Qatar National Autism Working Group. Dr Azeem told the conference that going by current global estimates, there are likely to be between 3,000 to 5,000 young people below the age of 18 with autism in Qatar.

He told the conference that autism assessment input is not just received in the clinical setting, but also more gen-erally through family input, which he

described as “hugely important”.“I’ve always believed that families

play a critical role in children’s lives, especially when it comes to children with autism. It’s of paramount impor-tance to help them develop skills and strategies that will be useful to make their everyday lives easier. Children with autism often need more of a tailor-made approach to be successful in day-to-day functioning," said Dr Azeem.

Turkish food festival opens at Shangri-LaThe Peninsula

Turkish food festival ‘A Culinary Jour-ney to the Bosphorus’ has been launched at Shangri-La’s Sridan res-

taurant for Turkish cuisine lovers.The festival, which runs until Decem-

ber 14, showcases the well-known restaurant’s expanding range of authen-tic Turkish delicacies for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day but Friday.

Ryan Sonson, Executive Chef at Shangri-La, Doha, said, “The idea of this promotion is to offer a far wider variety of choices within Sridan Restaurant’s five tan-talising culinary sections: hot buffet, cold buffet, mezzes and salads, grills, and desserts.”

Chef Taylan Yucel and Chef Necdet Kaya – both here from Shangri-La Bos-phorus in Istanbul – have transformed the Sridan buffet into a spread worthy of a sul-tan, said Sonson. The restaurant has largely retained its existing décor for the Festival except for the addition of traditional Turk-ish ‘Evil Eye’ decorations in crisp white and brilliant blue. But in an unusual twist, the universally recognised motifs have been cunningly concealed around Sridan so that visitors may find, photograph, and post them on social media in order to be entered into a lucky prize draw.

The grand prize sponsored by Turkish

Airlines is a pair of round-trip, business-class tickets to Istanbul for three nights’ stay at the famous Shangri-La Bosphorus.

The prize draw is open to all Doha res-idents over 21 holding a valid Qatar residency permit. To participate, one has to visit Sridan and look for hidden ‘evil eyes’. Take a picture or a selfie with one, and share with Shangri-La on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtags

#TurkishAirlines #EvilEyeatSridan and #ShangriLaDoha. The lucky winner will be selected at random and announced on December 18 via social media.

The Turkish Festival runs until Decem-ber 14 for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and features iconic traditional dishes, such as Sucuk Ekmek, Doner Garnituru Ile, Pilic Topkapi, Tarcini Kuzu Incik and Begendi, and Leverek Buhulama.

The wife of Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Demirok (fifth left) with Shangri-La Doha officials and staff at the launch of Turkish food festival at Sridan restaurant. Pic: Salim Matramkot/ The Peninsula


Ties with Qatar very strong: China envoyIrfan Bukhari The Peninsula

Ambassador of China to Qatar Li Chen yes-terday said

that China aspires to combine its One Belt One Road initiative with Qatar's vision for development hoping that it would bring “great common pros-perity” to both countries.

“The Silk Road Eco-nomic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road also named as One Belt One Road (OBOR) is the greatest initiative and we want to cooperate with many countries economi-cal ly , cultural ly including Qatar to increase inter-connec-tivity between them,” the ambassador said while talking to The Peninsula after an informal session in which a tourism docu-mentary on China was screened for media. The event was organ-ised to mark Qatar-China Cultural Year (2016) that is set to end soon.

Li Chen said that the lead-ership of both countries had attached importance with the OBOR initiative meant for eco-nomic and infrastructure development.

Chen said that relations between two countries were seeing new heights since 2014 when the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani vis-ited China.

"During this visit the deci-sion to build relations on strategic partnership was

taken," the ambassador said.He said that bilateral trade

was growing with the passage of time. “Although on seeing the figures (financial), one may note a slight decrease but it is due to drop in oil and gas prices but the volume is increasing,” he said. He said that this phe-nomenon (oil prices impact) was not being witnessed only in case

of China-Qatar trade but also in China’s trade with other regional countries and Qatar’s trade with other countries of the world.

To another question, he said that the countries were importing large number of goods from China including Qatar and with the growth of bilat-eral relations this import would also grow. “Till now only consumer goods were being imported from China, now more and more countries are importing heavy machines and automobiles,” he added.

Economic relations were more than trade, he said, adding many Chinese companies were cooper-ating with Qatari companies on various projects like Hamad Port, highway, Lusail stadium, Lusail city etc.

In the field of financial cooperation, Chen said some Chinese banks have branches in Qatar and Qatari banks have

branches in China.“We want to broaden

mutual investments between China and Qatar to the greatest scale,” he said. Chen said that 2016 was marked as Qatar-China Year of Culture in which both countries hosted a number of events in China and Qatar for cultural exchanges.

To another question about the possibility of China’s win-ning the project of making long-distance railway network between GCC countries, Chen said: “We have not heard any-thing from them yet. But, we are willing to engage in such big projects like GCC rail network,” he added.

Chinese Ambassador Li Chen during a meeting held at Shangri-La Hotel. Pic: Kammutty VP/ The Peninsula

Bilateral Ties

China aspires to combine its One Belt One Road initiative with Qatar's vision for development: Li Chen

Ten firms chosen for Social Responsibility Awards

Fourth Ajyal Youth Film Festival ends today

Sidi Mohamed The Peninsula

Ten companies have been chosen among 45 compa-nies which applied applied

for Social Responsibility Awards (SRA).

“The categories of the awards include the best local bank, the best big, medium and small companies, the best real estate sector company among others”, Sheikh Thani bin Ali bin Saud Al Thani, Award Com-mittee Chairman said yesterday in a press conference further announcing the 4th edition of Social Responsibil-ity Conference to be held from December 7 to 8. “The award aims to encourage companies and Qatari institutions to adopt

the best international practices in social responsibility, and to encourage them of creating initiatives which serve the society and contributes of eco-nomic development”, he added.

The press conference was attended by Faleh Al Hajri, Act-ing Editor-in-Chief of Al Sharq and other top officials from Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF), Islamic Dawah Organization and Primary Health Care Corporation.

The 4th edition of the Con-ference will also witness the launching of 4th edition of the white book 2016 about “social responsibility practices for com-panies and institutions” under the patronage of Sheikh

Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani, the Governor of Qatar Central Bank (QCB).

Al Hajri said that “the main goal of the conference is to encourage companies and insti-tutions to develop strategies regarding social responsibility. The second day of the Confer-ence titled “Qatar and Africa Day” will gather Qatar charita-ble organisations and some governmental institutions under one roof to discuss Qatari aid to Africa”.

He also added that the con-ference would shed light on the Qatari efforts in humanitarian field in Africa, mentioning Qatari charitable organisations were making great efforts of provid-ing aid to people across the world.

The Peninsula

The fourth Ajyal Youth Film Festi-val will mark its closing ceremony today with the red carpet screen-

ing of The Red Turtle (France, Japan).Unaided by dialogue and carried

along by Laurent Perez Del Mar’s mag-ical score, it is a visually stunning tale that has all the deep feeling of a famil-iar myth. The film is directed by Academy Award-winning Dutch ani-mator Michaël Dudok de Wit. The MENA premiere of the film, which celebrates the themes of humanism and compas-sion, at 7pm will follow the closing ceremony, where the winners of Ajyal Competition in the three categories — Mohaq, Hilal and Bader — chosen by over 550 young Ajyal Jurors will be feted.

With the theme of positive social change, the festival over the last five days had seen the participation of 70 thought-provoking films, inspiring the youth and stimulating discussions about relevant issues that affect them globally. The line-up included 24 features and 46 short narratives/documentaries, from 33 countries.

Today, celebrated actor Meg Ryan will address the Ajyal Jurors, speaking about her first feature-length directo-rial debut Ithaca (USA), which will screen at 3pm at Katara 12- Theatre A. The tale of a young telegraph delivery boy in the small town of Ithaca, USA, during World War II, Ryan’s sure-handed direction underlines the power of speaking out clearly against a world forever embroiled in conflict.

Audiences can also watch Seasons (France, Germany) directed by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud at 4.30pm at Katara 12- Theatre B, a new docu-mentary that narrates adventures from the point of view of many creatures

against the backdrop of climate change as human activity increases its impact on the continent.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (New Zealand) by Taika Waititi will be screened at 3pm at Katara Drama Theatre.

Serbia’s entry for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film last year, Enclave (Serbia, Germany) directed by Goran Radovanović about a young boy who is taken to school every day in an armoured vehicle accompanied by sol-diers, will be screened at 7.30PM at Katara 12- Theatre B.

Do not miss Sonita (Iran, Germany, Switzerland) by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami, a powerful and deeply movie cinema set in Tehran, where an 18-year-old Afghan refugee dreams of being a world-famous rapper, at 6.30PM at Katara 12 – Theatre A.

The final day screenings also include two films that have captivated world audiences this year: I, Daniel Blake (UK, France, Belgium) directed by Ken Loach, the Palme d’Or winner at Cannes this year. Laying bare one of Great Britain’s most damaging social ills, the film will screen at 9.30pm at Katara 12- Theatre A.

The final screening at Ajyal this year is of The Salesman (Iran, France) by Asghar Farhadi at 10.15 PM at Katara 12 – Theatre B, a brilliant, complex story of two people suddenly at odds in a space contaminated by uncertainty and mistrust. The film won the prizes for Best Screenplay and Best Actor at Cannes this year.

Tickets are priced QR25 for general screening, and are available for pur-chase 24 hours a day at ajyalfilm.com or from the Ajyal Katara Main Box Office in Katara Building 12 or Ajyal FNAC Ticket Outlet, FNAC Qatar (at Lagoona Mall).

FROM LEFT: Dr Mohammed Salih Ibrahim, Deputy GM of RAF; Sheikh Thani bin Ali bin Saud Al Thani, Chief of CSR Committee; Falih Hassan Al Hajri, Al Sharq Acting Editor-in-Chief; Hassan Al Oubeidly, Support Fund; Shaikh Hammad Abdulqader Al Shaikh, Director General of lslamic Dawah Organisation; and Mohamad Ali Al Mahmoud, Head of Medicine Purchase Department at PHCC at the press conference at St Regis Hotel yesterday. Pic: Kammutty VP/ The Peninsula

The Peninsula

Locally-produced honey showcased at farmers’ markets attracted a large

number of customers last week.

Vegetables and other fresh pro-duce taken directly from local farms also saw good business.

The markets sold a total of 114kg honey at the weekend (December 1 and 3). Al

Mazrouah Yard in Umm Salal sold the highest amount — 61kg honey, followed by Al Khor-Dakhira market with 33kg. The sale of honey at Al Wakrah market reached 20kg.

The Peninsula

Arab filmmakers showcasing their films at the fourth Ajyal Youth Film Festival, presented by Doha

Film Institute, are enthused by the pos-itive response from the young Ajyal Jurors.

“It is not often that you get the opportunity to interact with the jury, and here in Ajyal, meeting with the young juror was important for me as a filmmaker to understand their percep-tion,” said Ely Dagher, whose film Waves’98 (Lebanon) screened in com-petition in the Bader Shorts Film Programme. The recipient of Doha Film Institute’s Grant, the film won the Palme d’Or with its depiction of the complex relationship of contemporary Beirutis to their troubled home city.

The sentiment was echoed by Faiza Ambah, the director of Mariam (France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia), about the epony-mous protagonist who finds her life suddenly becoming very complicated when France passes a law that bans

Muslim women from wearing head-scarves in public institutions.

“Resonating with Ajyal’s themes of women empowerment and positive change, the film made an emotional connection with the audiences. They were really engaged with the film, and were clapping and laughing,” said Ambah. She says the film has helped bring perception shifts about Muslims, and puts forth the message that women empowerment is really about the free-dom to exercise one’s choice.

Saudi filmmaker Mohammed Sal-man was pleasantly surprised with the informed comments from the Ajyal Jurors to the screening of his film Yel-low (Saudi Arabia) about the personal relationships that long-term taxi driv-ers in Dammam have with their vocation.

Ajyal marks the third festival entry

for Yellow, and Mohammed says the fes-tival brought the film to a wide young audience. “They asked interesting ques-tions about the film, which shows they had built a relationship with it, and being here at Ajyal helps to reach out to more people in the industry.”

Basil Khalil, whose Ave Maria (Pal-estine, Germany, France), which screened at Ajyal, and was nominated for the Oscars, says it was made to sup-port his submission to the Doha Film Institute to make a full-length feature film. That project A Gaza Weekend is the recipient of the DFI Grant. On Palestine, films making strong inroads at interna-tional festivals, Basil says films serves as the only voice left for the community to express their views to the world.

“We work under so many restric-tions that we feel there is nothing to lose, and it makes us more brave and driven.”

Young jurors impress filmmakers

Ely Dagher, whose film Waves’98 (Lebanon), was screened at the festival.

Faiza Ambah, the director of Mariam.

Demand for honey surges at farmers' markets

08 MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 MIDDLE EAST

Fighters from the Hashed Al Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Units) drive a lorry transporting military vehicles near the village of Ayn Nasir, south of Mosul, yesterday, during the ongoing operation against Islamic State (IS) group.

Anti-IS operation in Mosul

Aleppo

AFP/Reuters

Suspected Russian air strikes killed at least 46 people in opposition-held parts of Syria yesterday, a monitor

said, as government forces advanced in fierce clashes with rebels in east Aleppo.

Syria's government is wag-ing an offensive to recapture all of second city Aleppo, and it has so far captured more than 60 percent of the eastern districts that fell to rebels in 2012.

Rebels in Aleppo have told the United States they will not leave their besieged enclave in the city after Moscow called for talks with Washington over their withdrawal, signalling they will fight on even as their top com-mander was wounded.

A Syrian military source said the army aimed to take full con-trol of Aleppo within weeks, after seizing swathes of the city’s rebel-held east in an advance poised to deal a major blow to the rebellion against President Bashar Al Assad.

With more than 30,000 people uprooted by the latest fighting, residents who fled east-ern Aleppo for government-held areas early in the war began returning to the Hanano district recently captured from the rebels to inspect their homes.

In Idlib province, in north-west Syria, at least 26 civilians were killed in suspected Rus-sian strikes on the town of Kafr Nabel, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

An eyewitness said that

warplanes hit several places in the town, including a local mar-ket. The Observatory says it determines whose planes car-ries out raids according to their type, location, flight patterns and the munitions involved.

The group said 18 people were also killed in suspected Russian strikes on the town of Maaret Al Numan, where a pho-tographer saw rescue workers and residents trying to pull sur-vivors from the rubble at a vegetable market.

The monitor reported two additional deaths, one in an ear-lier strike on Maaret Al Numan and another in Al Naqir, also in Idlib.

And it said six civilians, four of them children, had been killed in a government barrel bomb attack on the town of Al-Tamanah in the south of Idlib.

Russia is a staunch ally of President Bashar Al Assad's gov-ernment and began a military intervention in support of Damascus in September 2015.

Moscow says it is targeting "terrorists" and has dismissed reports of civilian casualties in its strikes.

Ramallah

AP

Palestinian President Mah-moud Abbas tightened his hold on the governing Fatah

party and shut out a key rival, according to results yesterday of leadership elections in the move-ment that has dominated West Bank politics for decades.

The election comes as sen-ior Fatah members are battling behind the scenes to succeed Abbas one day. The 81-year-old leader has given no sign that he plans to retire from the

presidency or his top jobs in Fatah and the Palestine Libera-tion Organization.

On Saturday, more than 1,300 Fatah delegates confirmed Abbas' continued Fatah leader-ship role by acclamation and elected 18 members of the move-ment's top decision-making Central Committee. Top vote get-ters were Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian uprising leader jailed by Israel, and Jibril Rajoub, a former West Bank security chief. Both are seen as potential Abbas successors, and their strong showing could improve their

eventual succession bids.Barghouti is serving multi-

ple life terms after being convicted in deadly attacks and has no imminent prospects of release, but remains by far the most popular Fatah leader. Party officials have mentioned the pos-sibility of Barghouti joining forces from behind bars with another Fatah leader in filling the role of president.

While Abbas cemented his control over the movement, the re-election of party stalwarts and Abbas loyalists is bound to affirm Fatah's public image as a stale,

aging movement that has failed to deliver on Palestinian dreams of statehood and is out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Palestinians. Diana Buttu, a former legal adviser in Abbas' self-ruled government, noted a lack of diversity in the Fatah leadership body, with only one woman among the 18 members and most of the remaining men in their 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Fatah leaders "believe that they are entitled to these posi-tions," she said. The re-election of party veterans "is saying to me that they don't have a vision for

the future." The elections took place during a Fatah conference that was also meant to block the return of Mohammed Dahlan, a former Abbas aide who fell out with his boss several years ago and went into exile.

Several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emir-ates, have been pressing Abbas to allow Dahlan, a millionaire businessman, to reclaim a lead-ership position in the West Bank. In arranging the conference, Abbas effectively blocked Dah-lan's return to the top ranks of Fatah. During the conference, the

delegates approved Abbas' long-standing political program of setting up a Palestinian state through negotiations with Israel even though the strategy has hit a dead end. Gaps have been too wide between Abbas and Israeli hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu, in power since 2009, to allow for meaningful negotiations.

Asked about the challenges ahead, including dealing with Don-ald Trump in the White House, Rajoub said: "We will be open to any efforts to revive the peace process according to the rules set by the international community."

Dubai

Reuters

IRANIAN President Hassan Rowhani demanded yester-day that Barack Obama block an extension of sanctions passed by the US Congress, saying Tehran would other-wise “firmly respond”.

In a speech to parliament, Rowhani denounced legislation passed by the US Congress to extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) for 10 years as a violation of Tehran’s nuclear deal with six major powers. The deal curbs Tehran’s nuclear programme in return for the lifting of interna-tional financial sanctions.

“America’s president is obliged to exercise his author-ity by preventing its approval and particularly its implemen-tation ... and if this gross violation is carried out we will firmly respond,” Rouhani said in the speech, carried live by state television. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law, the White House said on Friday.

The US Congress move was a blow to Rowhani, a prag-matist who engineered the diplomatic opening to the West that led to the nuclear deal. US officials have said the ISA renewal would not infringe the nuclear agreement.

Jerusalem

AFP

Israel was embroiled in fresh controversy yesterday over its purchase of submarines

from German company Thys-senKrupp after reports that the country's arch-enemy Iran holds a stake in the firm.

The attorney general had already ordered police to look into allegations of improper con-duct in the planned purchase of the submarines, and reports of Iran's link to the company have fuelled more criticism.

Israel sees Iran as its main enemy in the region, and sug-gestions that the Islamic republic

would benefit from the Jewish state's defence purchases have made headlines. Media reported that Iranian holding company IFIC continues to own a 4.5 per-cent stake in the German firm.

"Israeli money, Iranian prof-its," a headline in the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said yesterday. ThyssenKrupp said that IFIC

owned around seven percent of the company until May 2003, when it fell below five percent, without providing details on the size of its current stake, if any.

Reports at the time said the United States had pressured ThyssenKrupp to reduce Iran's stake to below five percent.

The Iranian state's

representative on the company's supervisory board was also removed.

Israel is reportedly negotiat-ing to buy the three submarines at a combined price of ¤1.2bn ($1.3bn), to replace the oldest vessels in its existing Dolphin fleet, which began entering serv-ice in 1999.

Dubai

AFP

A Bahraini court yesterday upheld three death sen-tences and seven life

terms against a group convicted of killing police including an Emirati officer in a bomb attack, a judicial source said.

The same appeals court adjourned to December 12 the trial of Bahrain's Shia opposi-tion chief, cleric Ali Salman, after the court of cassation overturned in October a nine-year jail term for allegedly inciting hatred and calling for regime change by force.

The court of cassation had ordered a retrial in the case of the 10 defendants found guilty of planting a bomb in March 2014 in a Shia village west of Manama that killed an Emirati

officer and two Bahraini police-men. The appeals court upheld the three death sentences and life terms for the other seven defendants, who were also stripped of their citizenships.

The Emirati officer was part of a Saudi-led Gulf force which rolled into Bahrain in March 2011 to boost Bahraini security forces in quelling a month-long protest led by the island's Shi-ite majority.

In the case of the opposi-tion leader, Salman had been sentenced in July 2015 to four years in jail after being con-victed of inciting hatred in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.

But the appeals court in May more than doubled his jail term to nine years after reversing an earlier acquittal on charges of calling for regime change by force.

Bahrain court upholds three death sentences

Controversy hits Israel submarine deal over Iran link

46 dead in Idlib air raid; army advances in Aleppo

In Aleppo, government forces advanced against rebels in east Aleppo, taking two small neigh-bourhoods and pushing into a third, state media said.

The army and allied forces are nearly three weeks into an operation to recapture all of Syr-ia's second city, divided between regime and rebel forces since 2012. Tens of thousands of civil-ians have fled the offensive,

which has made steady gains and threatens to deal Syria's opposi-tion its worst defeat of the country's five-year civil war.

State television said that the army had captured the districts of Karm Al Tahan and Myessar and advanced into the Qadi Askar neighbourhood. The operation has already seen some 60 percent of east Aleppo fall to the govern-ment, and rebels are increasingly

under pressure in the remaining southeastern districts under their control. State news agency Sana said the air force was dropping leaflets over rebel-held areas urg-ing "militants to abandon their weapons and... allow civilians and the sick and wounded to leave."

Damascus says rebels are preventing civilians from leaving the east and attempting to use them as human shields.

Fatah party ends conference with boost for Abbas

Syrian men and Civil Defence volunteers, also known as the White Helmets, evacuate victims from a building following an air strike on a vegetable market in Maaret Al Numan, in the northern province of Idlib, yesterday.

Firm response unless Obama stops sanctions renewal: Iran

Rebels to stay

Rebels in Aleppo have told the United States they will not leave their besieged enclave in the city after Moscow called for talks with Washington over their withdrawal, signalling they will fight on even as their top commander was wounded.

09MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 ASIA / AFRICA

Call for peace ahead of Ghana presidential voteAFP

Accra

Ghana is internationally renowned for being a peaceful country on a continent scarred by ethnic clashes, dicta-

tors and crime. As the heated campaign

enters its final stretch, there is an increasing call for peace in Ghana, where its reputation for stability has made it an attractive destina-tion in Africa for investors.

Ghana's presidential candi-dates — including front runners Nana Akufo-Addo and incumbent John Mahama — last week signed a declaration "against electoral violence, impunity and injustice."

After signing the accord, Mahama said "our democracy and progress is too precious to be gambled away on a quest to attain or hold onto power."

Unlike fellow West African

nation Nigeria, plagued by ethnic rivalry and suspicion, Ghana at independence emphasised unity.

In the days before the hotly contested presidential vote on December 7, Rastafarians in the West African country say they have the answer. "It's because we've put Ghana first before eve-rything," said Martin Quarpong, a Rastafarian in his late 30s wear-ing a green and orange tie-dye shirt with his hair in a black

head-wrap. "We see ourselves as one people and we think about our future."

Despite their dreadlocks and love of tie-dye, in many ways the ubiquitous Rastafarian commu-nity in Ghana embodies the country's commitment to peace.

Their message of one love isn't so different from that of ordi-nary Ghanians on the street who pride themselves on respecting each other — and the democratic process. "Rastafarians contribute a lot during and after election time. Everything we do is peace, peace, peace," Quarpong said in Ghana's coastal capital of Accra.

A black and white portrait of the late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, a Rastafarian idol, is painted on the wall beside post-ers advertising a "Peace in Ghana" concert featuring local reggae stars Ras Kuuku and Jah Wyz. Just because Quarpong believes in peace over politics doesn't mean he won't vote.

Peace move

Ghana's presidential candidates — including front runners Nana Akufo-Addo and incumbent John Mahama — last week signed a declaration "against electoral violence, impunity and injustice."

A man rests by posters advertising concert of local and international artists of the reggae scene at the beachside Rising Phoenix hotel in Accra.

Fake US embassy in Ghana shut downReuters

Accra

Authorities in Ghana have busted a fake US embassy in the capital Accra run by

a criminal network that for a decade issued illegally obtained authentic visas, the US State Department said.

Until it was shut down this summer, the sham embassy was housed in a run-down, pink two-storey building with a corrugated iron roof and flew a US flag out-side. Inside hung a portrait of President Barack Obama.

"It was not operated by the United States government, but by figures from both Ghanaian and Turkish organised crime rings and a Ghanaian attorney practising immigration and criminal law," the State Depart-

ment said in a statement.Turkish citizens, who spoke

English and Dutch, posed as con-sular officers and staffed the operation. Investigations also uncovered a fake Dutch embassy, the State Department said. Officials in the Netherlands were not immediately reacha-ble for comment yesterday.

The crime ring issued fraud-ulently obtained but legitimate US visas and false identification documents, including birth cer-tificates at a cost of $6,000 each, the statement said.

During raids that led to a number of arrests, authorities also seized authentic and coun-terfeit Indian, South African and Schengen Zone visas and 150 passports from 10 different countries along with a laptop and smart phones.

The statement did not say how the gang obtained the authentic visas. And the State Department did not say how many people were believed to have illegally entered the United States and other countries using visas issued by the crime ring, which used bribery to operate unhindered. "The criminals run-ning the operation were able to pay off corrupt officials to look the other way, as well as obtain legitimate blank documents to be doctored," the statement said.

There was no immediate comment from Ghana's Crimi-nal Investigations Division.

Visas for Western countries are in high demand in Africa and embassies say the visa market is a big target for organised crime. The real US embassy in Ghana is a prominent

and heavily fortified complex in Cantonments, one of the capi-tal 's most expensive neighbourhoods. Lines of peo-ple queue outside each day for visa appointments and other consular business.

The fake embassy was open three mornings a week and did not accept walk-in appoint-ments. Instead, the criminals advertised on billboards in Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast and brought clients from across West Africa to Accra where they rented them hotel rooms in nearby hotels.

US authorities conducting a broader security operation were tipped off about it and assem-bled a team including the Ghana Detectives Bureau and police as well as other international part-ners to shut down the ring.

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma addressing at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban yesterday.

Zuma pushes to overturn probeAFP

Johannesburg

South African President Jacob Zuma has launched a court challenge to a

watchdog probe that raised allegations of misconduct against him, an affidavit showed yesterday, as he fights to hold on to power.

Zuma, who last week beat back an attempt within ruling ANC party to unseat him, has been under pressure since the probe uncovered possible crim-inal activity in his relationship with the Guptas, a wealthy busi-ness family.

The president, who came to power in 2009, has faced grow-ing calls to resign over multiple graft scandals and the country's poor economic performance, with unemployment at a 13-year high.

The watchdog instructed

Zuma to set up a judicial inquiry into the allegations that the Guptas had influence over min-isterial appointments and lucrative government contracts. "To accede to that instruction... would be to abdicate my responsibility," he said in the affidavit quoted in South Afri-can papers yesterday.

"(I) cannot be instructed by anyone as to when I should appoint a commission of inquiry."

The affidavit was lodged in Gauteng High Court on Friday. "We look forward to opposing this application," the main opposition Democratic Alliance party said. "This is a desperate move by Jacob Zuma."

The ANC is due to elect a new leader at the end of next year, ahead of the 2019 general election when Zuma, 74, must stand down after serving two terms.

Somali pirates free hostages held for nearly 5 yearsSOMALI pirates have freed 26 Asian sailors held captive in a small fishing village for more than four years, an official and a maritime expert said.

The sailors — from China, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Tai-wan — were seized when the Omani-flagged FV Naham 3 was hijacked close to the Sey-chelles in March 2012.

Their period of captivity is one of the longest among hos-tages seized by pirates in the Horn of Africa nation. "We are very pleased to announce the release of the Naham 3 crew early this morning," said John Steed, East Africa region man-ager for the Oceans Beyond Piracy group. "The crew is staying overnight in Galkayo. They will arrive in Nairobi at 18.30 local time tomorrow."

He said they were in the hands of authorities in Galmu-dug, in central Somalia, and would be repatriated on a UN humanitarian flight before being sent back to their home countries.

Mayor Hirsi Yusuf Barre said the "crew did not say if ransom was paid".

Steed said one member of the crew had died during the hijacking while two suc-cumbed to illness. Among those released, one was being treated for a gunshot wound to the foot and three were dia-betic. The sailors were held in Dabagala near the town of Harardheere, about 400km northeast of Mogadishu.

Relatives of MH370's missing seek help in MadagascarAP

Antananarivo

Relatives of some of the 239 people who were on a Malaysia Airlines plane Flight MH370 that vanished in

2014 arrived in Madagascar to ask for help in the search for debris from the missing aircraft that may have drifted across the Indian Ocean.

Half a dozen relatives travelled to Antananarivo, Madagascar's capital, ahead of meetings with community leaders and a journey to coastal areas to talk to villag-ers about the missing plane.

"We hope that we can raise awareness, teach them about how to identify debris, how to collect debris, what to do with it when they find it," said Grace Nathan, a Malaysian whose mother was on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The Boeing 777 jet is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean after deviating from its flight

path from Malaysia to Beijing on March 8, 2014. "Mobilizing the local population is a good start," said Nathan.

Nathan and her fellow travellers plan to talk to church leaders and non-govern-mental groups that can spread the word in rural communities that are "not so savvy with the Internet" and might not even have heard about the missing plane.

The relatives who arrived in Madagas-car included Malaysians and Chinese who flew from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They were met at the airport by Blaine Gibson, an American who found a piece of debris in Mozambique that officials say was almost certainly a horizontal stabiliser from a Flight 370 wing.

He has also collected pieces of poten-tial debris in Madagascar.

A Frenchman who lost family mem-bers on the missing flight was expected to join the group of relatives after arriving on a separate flight.

Mass burial for victims of Uganda unrestAFP

Kampala

The bodies of 51 unidenti-fied victims of fierce fighting in a local kingdom

in Uganda's restive Kasese region were buried in a mass ceremony yesterday, officials said.They were among nearly 90 people killed in fighting last month between palace guards of a tribal monarch and security forces in the western region, said Kasese district official Geof-frey Sibendire Bigogo.

"No relatives had turned up to claim them. It is a painful exercise but we had no way out," he said. "The bodies were rot-ting away and the stench is

unbearable considering such (a) high number."

The government accused Rwenzururu King Charles Wes-ley Mumbere of stoking a secessionist rebellion and stormed his palace on Novem-ber 27, a day after his palace guards attacked local officers, according to police.

The local monarch was taken to the capital Kampala where he was charged with murder. The death toll from the clashes stands at 87, although local reports suggest the real number could be more than 100.

Ugandan government and local authorities agreed to Sun-day's mass burial, but ordered DNA samples to be taken from

every corpse to attempt to iden-tify them later. "Each of the dead has been buried in separate grave so that once relatives show up the bodies can be exhumed," said Bigogo.

Explaining why so many bodies were not identified, he said: "Some of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition dur-ing the raid at the palace."

Another local official, Alex Byamugisha, said: "We may never know how many people could have died as security barred us from accessing the sites where clashes took place."

Kampala alleges that king-dom hardliners want to secede and establish an independent state they call the Yiira.

Relatives of some passengers of MH370 address journalists at the Gassy Country House Hotel in Antananarivo yesterday ahead of a search of the country's beaches for debris from the missing plane.

The large territorial gains the Syrian government is making in Aleppo is giving credence to our worst fears – that Bashar Al Assad could finally establish control over

the entire rebel-held city. Even his staunchest opponents may not have doubts on this possibility. A number of factors are working in Assad’s favour, the latest being the election of Donald Trump as US president, which has given carte blanche to Assad and his ally Russia to do whatever they want in Syria, without facing the risk of retribution or rebuke. Secondly, the West has chosen to look the other way as the Syrian regime continued to commit war crimes and failed to support the opposition in a meaningful way. The opposition has also been plagued with disunity and failed to represent all of Syrians.

The army has seized 60 percent of the former rebel stronghold in east Aleppo and is building on its gains. The rebels are suffering the harshest blows since they seized more than half the city four years ago. Tens of thousands of people are fleeing the city,

hundreds have been killed, hospitals and schools have been destroyed and the regime forces are determined to retake the city at any cost – even if that means wiping out the entire population. Assad will go down in history as a dictator who swam across the rivers of blood of his own people.

So, will Assad finally win? No. His victory, if he achieves it, will be Pyrrhic. The insurgency will continue for years, and rebels, ousted from cities, will move to the countryside and then again to the cities and try to avenge the killings and destruction carried out by Assad. This is a war that has dragged on for five years, and driven five million Syrians into exile and killed at least a quarter of a million people. Every Syrian has been affected and the whole country is a wasteland. Assad is too toxic to rule the country and he will not be accepted by the Arab world and the international community, except by a few of his allies. He will get a broken Syria and will rule over an economic wasteland afflicted with so many ills.

Asking Assad to cede power at this stage to pave the way for a negotiated end to this conflict would be meaningless because he is beginning to ‘taste victory’. But his ultimate victory would depend on the response of the international community. Recognising Assad would be a travesty of justice and an injustice to millions who have sacrificed everything for change.

10 MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 VIEWS

E S T A B L I S H E D I N 1 9 9 6

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

[email protected]

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

[email protected]

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORHUSSAIN AHMAD

[email protected]

Setback in Aleppo

QUOTE OF THE DAY

What›s the use of Aung San Suu Kyi having a Nobel prize? We want to tell Aung San Suu Kyi, enough is enough... We must and we will defend Muslims and Islam.

Najib Razak Malaysia’s Prime Minister

This is a war that has dragged on for five years, and driven five million Syrians into exile and killed at least a quarter of a million people.

The visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Qatar due to begin tomorrow comes within the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad

Al-Thani’s keenness to promote the excellent relations between the two countries and take them to greater heights for the benefit of the two brotherly peoples.

The Qatari - Saudi relations are an excel-lent model for cooperation and integration between the two sisterly countries, which share historic ties and deeply-rooted bonds of love and brotherhood. Bilateral relations between the two countries enjoy a permanent coordination in most issues of concern for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) or the Arab region, particularly the situation in Syria, Yemen and the Palestinian cause along with the need to achieve an international solution to the Libyan issue based on the United Nations resolutions.

This historic visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is an extension of several meetings, which brought together the two leaders this year, including the friendly meet-ings held on the sidelines of GCC forums or private visits as well as the continuous and permanent communications and messaging which clearly reflect the depth of relations between the two countries.

The visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Doha to offer condolences on the death of the late H H the Grandfather Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani reflected the strength and durability of these distinctive bilateral ties .

This year witnessed continuous and ongo-ing meetings and communication between HH the Emir and his brother the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques at various official occasions, including their meeting on the occasion of HH the Emir’s participation at the Closing Ceremony of Raad Al Shamal Exercise in Hafr Al-Batin in March at the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

H H the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud also met during the Summit of the GCC Lead-ers and the US President Barack Obama in Jeddah in May before meeting again in August in the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud’s residence in the Moroccan city of Tangier.

The meetings which brought together HH the Emir and his brothers Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Inte-rior and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense stress the continuous communication between leaders of the two countries.

Confirming the unity of destiny of the two brotherly countries, the State of Qatar took part in the North Thunder Exercise within the Arab coalition forces to protect the legitimacy in Yemen against the Houthi coup in support of the unity of the Gulf and Arab ranks while

Qatar & Saudi Arabia: Historical

ties and continued cooperation

QNAstressing that what threatens the King-dom of Saudi Arabia is a threat to the State of Qatar.

The State of Qatar was keen to par-ticipate in the North Thunder Exercise, in which 20 Arab, Islamic and friendly countries took part, in addition to its participation in the Peninsula Shield

Force aimed at consoli-dating the concept of Islamic Arab Force troops’ strength to face any provocative attempts.

The Establishment of the Qatari-Saudi Coordination Council in 2008 came as a step toward activating and developing the cooperation between Qatar and Saudi Arabia to realise the aspirations of the leadership in the two countries and agreeing on full coordina-tion in various fields in addition to developing bilateral relations in political, security, fiscal, economic, trade, invest-ment, cultural, media and other fields to achieve interests of the two countries and the two brotherly peoples.

The council is considered to be a fur-therance to the march of the GCC and realisation of its objectives of achieving coordination, integration and intercon-nection in all fields between the Member States and strengthening the linkages and cooperation between the peoples of the GCC countries in various fields.

The Council held four sessions, the first of which was in Riyadh, and most recent was in Doha 2013 when ways to develop cooperation in military, secu-rity, economic, trade, agriculture, cultural and media areas were discussed.

Reflecting the meanings of integra-tion between Doha and Riyadh, the Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that the competent authorities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia will implement the directives of the leaders of the two countries with regard to the continuous coordination for the implementation of joint projects in order to achieve the Qatar National Vision 2030 as well as the vision of Saudi Arabia 2030.

This came following the talks that took place between HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and HRH Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, during his visit to Qatar in May, during which fraternal

relations between the two brotherly countries and ways to support them were discussed.

The strong relations between the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are reflected in the overall popu-lar and economic relations between the two countries.

Qatar is the favourite tourist desti-nation for families from Saudi Arabia. The country received 2.18 million visi-tors during the first nine months of 2016, of which more than one million visitors were from the GCC countries and Saudi Arabia topped the list of exporting markets for tourism to the State of Qatar, where the total number of visitors from Saudi Arabia to Qatar exceeded 740,000 visitors between January and September 2016, repre-senting an increase of 8% compared to the same period last year.

The trade volume between the two countries in 2015 reached about QR 7bn of which QR 1.8bn for the benefit of the State of Qatar, and QR 5.1bn for Saudi Arabia. 315 companies — fully owned by Saudis — are operating in Qatar in addi-tion to 303 joint companies with a total capital of QR 1.252bn. These companies work in several fields including trade, contracting, engineering, construction, jewellery, transport, medical services and other fields of investments.

Thanks to this activity, Qatar Cham-ber of Commerce and Industry chose the city of Riyadh as the first foreign station for the “Made in Qatar” fair which was held in November with the participation of more than 200 Qatari industrial companies.

Doha and Riyadh agree on the need to restore the balance to international oil prices. The two countries have joined efforts in and outside the Opec in order to set a fair price for oil to revive global economy and bring gains for producing and exporting countries. It is worth men-tioning that Doha hosted the international negotiations on oil prices, and coordi-nated positions with Saudi Arabia to bring momentum to Qatar’s efforts on this important topic.

The Qatari-Saudi relations are an excellent model for cooperation and integration between the two sisterly countries, which share historic ties and deeply-rooted bonds of love and brotherhood.

Doha and Riyadh agree on the need to restore the balance to international oil prices. The two countries join efforts in and outside the Opec in order to set a fair price for oil to revive global economy and bring gains for producing and exporting countries.

ED ITOR IAL

around 100 senators. Although senators would be covered by parliamentary immunity and other bene-fits, they would not receive parliamentary indemnity, a measure championed as a useful means to save public money.

The vocation of the new Senate, however, is ambiguous. It would have no institutional obligation to represent the interests of the regions, and politi-cal membership would seem to continue to frame its organisation. Senators would also remain mem-bers of their territorial institutions. This “part-time” nature of the Senate has raised doubts about the organisation of its agenda and its effective capabil-ity to commit to institutional responsibilities.

The participation of territorial autonomies in the Senate would not aim at federalism. It would coexist with a significant reduction of the legislative powers of the regions, in favour of the exclusive compe-tence of the state. The acknowledged reason for this revision is to rationalise the distribution of compe-tencies also in the light of the huge case law of the Constitutional Court, which for years has been called on to arbitrate the conflicts of attribution between the state and the regions. The new text of the Constitution, however, does not rule out the opening of a new season of conflicts, due to the for-mal suppression of cooperative instruments in the design of relations between the state and the regions and the restoration of the supremacy of the state.

The reform aims to promote the efficiency of the institutional system and to favour political stability. The drastic reduction of the lawmaking powers of the Senate should help a faster adoption of laws. The deprivation of the Senate’s vote of confidence should make governments less dependent upon unstable majorities. However, the stability of gov-ernment is strictly connected to the nature of the

How Facebook hurt the Syrian Revolution

“Will I die, miss? Will I die?” asks a Syrian boy in panic. The recent video shot in a wrecked hospital in Aleppo in the aftermath of a chlo-

rine gas attack went viral on social media. Just a few months earlier, Aleppo hit the newsfeeds with another shocking image of an injured child: five-year-old Omran Daqneesh sitting in an orange ambulance chair.

Aleppo has been one of the highest trending news on social media in the United States for a while now. People express anger, sadness, disappointment; they like and share; they tweet. And what of it? Nothing changes in Aleppo.

At the same time, across the ocean, in the US, there has been a heated discussion about the major role social media played in the recent elections. Some have argued that Donald Trump’s tweets got him more media coverage and attracted voters’ atten-tion while fake news, which spread on social media, helped him seal his victory.

So why is it that social media can help win an election in one country and cannot stop a month-long massacre in another?

Erica Chenoweth, a professor at the School of International Studies at the University of Denver, has argued that social media is helping dictators, while giving the masses an illusion of empowerment and political worthiness.

At a recent lecture at Columbia University, when asked for an example where social media played a negative role in a social movement, Chenoweth paused a little to finally say, “what comes to my mind now is Syria.”

Indeed, social media hurt the Syrian uprising. It gave the Syrian people the hope that the old dicta-torship can be toppled just by uploading videos of protests and publishing critical posts. Many were convinced that if social media helped Egyptians get rid of Hosni Mubarak, it would help them overthrow Bashar Al Assad.

Social media didn’t highlight the differences in the political structures of Egypt, Tunisia and Syria. The absence of a developed political opposition in Syria didn’t come to the mind of those young pro-testers eagerly posting on Facebook and Twitter. Egypt had decades of experience with political oppo-sition to the regime and Syria didn’t.

But with a society under constant and pervasive surveillance, how could the Syrians develop a mature political opposition? The brief period of political relaxation following the death of Bashar’s father, Hafez Al Assad, in June 2000, could’ve been an oppor-tunity to start this process.

But the Damascus Spring, as this period of intense political and social debate was later called, ended in the autumn of 2001 with serious government repressions.

In March 2011, it looked easy to be in opposition on Facebook; it was a great platform for those who wanted to protest. The Facebook page “Syrian Rev-olution” was just a click away and its followers quickly grew above 100,000. What few people knew in Syria was that the administrator was actually a Syrian liv-ing in the safety of Sweden and that only 35 percent of those liking the page were Syrians actually living in Syria.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the numbers turning up sometimes at scheduled protests were low. Many were waiting for a huge sit-in to be in Umayyad Square in the heart of Damascus, or at least in Abaseen Square near the big stadium. It never happened.

Instead, the regime was able to organise major counter-marches in the same squares. The differ-ence is that Assad wasn’t relying on Facebook to gather the crowds. He had some loyal supporters who would volunteer to turn up and the rest of the crowd would get volunteered - that is to say,

various state institutions would force its workers to rally … or else. Social media also limited social move-ments to only one tactic: street demonstrations. Crowds of protesters were easy targets for killing (live ammunition was widely used) and mass arrests, quickly shrinking the numbers of those willing to come out.

People react virtually while not much is chang-ing on the ground. The number of actual protests on the ground for Syria had declined by 2013. The feel-ing that social media gives you that you’ve done your bit by posting online is one reason for this demobilisation.

The few attempted boycotts would also fail for the same reason. In December 2011, activists tried to organise a trade boycott, encouraging shops to close down; many refused to do it after they saw all the shops that were burned in Deraa after a similar initiative.

The use of social media also made activists and regular protesters highly vulnerable. When the regime allowed direct access to Facebook (which had been only accessible through VPN until then) in February 2011, it was clear that it is doing so to facilitate sur-veillance and the targeting of the protest movement.

Many were arrested for just sharing a photo, com-menting or uploading a video. Facebook-organised protests also allowed the regime to know in advance the location and prepare its crack-down accordingly.

11MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 OPINION

Riham Alkousaa Al Jazeera

Italians voted a referendum yesterday on the reform of the Constitution. The goal of the reform is to modernise the Italian

state by changing significant parts of its func-tioning and organisation. The reform touches on many matters. The pillars are the aban-donment of the parliamentary system where the Chamber of the Deputies and the Senate have equal powers – the so-called “perfect bicameralism” – and the recentralisation at the state level of a number of regional leg-islative powers.

Since 1948 both chambers have passed laws by voting on exactly the same text, and both have had the prerogative to hold confidence votes on the executive. The 2016 reform introduces a differentiated form of bicameralism where the Senate loses most of its powers. Laws would be approved only by Chamber of Deputies, and the Senate could only input the law-making in various forms. Perfect bicameralism would be maintained only in a few, well-defined cases (e.g., constitu-tional reforms, electoral laws, the implementation of EU law and policies, fundamental functions, and the organisa-tion of local governments).

The Senate would also lose the prerog-ative to hold confidence votes, so that the government would be accountable only to the Chamber of Deputies. The new Senate would represent territorial institutions (regions and local governments) at the state level, not citizens. Regions would elect the members of the Senate in conformity with the choices expressed by the people voting for the election of the regional organs. This verbose formula is a compromise between those who supported direct election and those who preferred its abandonment. The concrete modalities for the election of the Senate are still under discussion, but in the last few days the government has reassured that people will be able to vote for the Sen-ate in the regional elections. Membership of the Senate would be reduced from 315 to

Italy’s referendum: A spectre haunting Europe?Marta SimonciniAnatolia

A Syrian man connecting to his Facebook account at an internet cafe, in Damascus, recently.

electoral system. It has been claimed that instability is only marginally connected to the bicameral system, as it derives from the fragmentation of the political party system. Its aban-donment cannot ensure by itself lasting executives, but its coinciding with a new electoral law system for the Chamber conferring a large majority to the executive – now at the exam of the Constitutional Court – might favour this outcome.

The many problematic legal aspects of the reform and the intense political conflict that characterised its adoption – as it is perceived as a creature of the government – suggest that we should expect delays and uncertainty in its implementa-tion. Yet, the reform would not solve by itself Italian problems, which are deeply rooted in the poor enforcement of laws and in maladministration, and not in the (still-byzan-tine) lawmaking process. The key challenges that Italy should face are the inefficiencies of public administration, the aver-age long length of judicial proceedings, and the poor fiscal fidelity, which favour corruption. The incapability of the political class to respond to widespread unemployment and to support effective economic growth makes things worse. The banking system and the recapitalisation of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), one of the biggest Italian banks, are particularly problematic. The bail-in of retail investors has been frozen until the referendum in order not to affect the political situation. The government has supported a rescue plan to be carried out with private funding. It has been observed that the outcome of the referendum may affect the implementation of this plan, as the future of the government is linked to it. Whatever the results of the referendum, how-ever, the bail-in procedure is not definitely excluded and the systemic dimension of the bank cannot rule out a further public rescue either.

At the beginning of the electoral campaign the prime minister wagered his job on the outcome of the referendum. Most of the referendum campaign has been exacerbated by the endorsement or the opposition to the government of Mat-teo Renzi, with the consequence that factors of political opportunity rather than of constitutional merit have domi-nated the Italian political debate. A negative outcome of the referendum would probably involve the resignation of Renzi, even if he kept a majority in Parliament. New elections, how-ever, are not a short-term option as long as the electoral law for the Senate still needs revision after a 2014 ruling of the Constitutional Court declared some parts unconstitutional.

Considering the delicate position of Italy in Europe, this political instability might affect the credibility of Italy in the markets, and a wave of financial speculation with an increase of the spread cannot be ruled out. This context explains why, despite his clash with Renzi on austerity poli-cies, the German minister of the economy, Wolfgang Schäuble, recently endorsed the reform. In addition, the Movimento 5 Stelle , the main force of opposition, has an ambiguous approach to European economic integration.

The reform aims to promote the efficiency of the institutional system and to favour political stability. The drastic reduction of the lawmaking powers of the Senate should help a faster adoption of laws.

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More importantly, social media created the illusion that one can change and chal-lenge the events on ground by being active online. Aleppo has been severely bombed since September 2015 with the Russian intervention. This year, when news erupts that the situation is catastrophic, thousands of Syrians around the world protest … by changing their Facebook profile picture.

People react virtually while not much is changing on the ground. The number of actual protests on the ground for Syria had declined by 2013. The feeling that social media gives you that you’ve done your bit by posting online is one reason for this demobilisation.

In this regard, Syria is like Palestine, where calls for a third Intifada have not materialised into actions, despite the grow-ing number of Israeli violations.

In fact, this trend is obvious, not just in the Middle East, but globally. In the 1990s, before the advent of social media, around 70 percent of nonviolent social movements succeeded while this number plummeted to only 30 percent in the Facebook and Twit-ter era.

Social media, of course, is not the only reason why the Syrian uprising failed. But it is something that Syrian revolutionaries should think about when thinking about the future of their movement.

Facebook posts cannot defeat an unscru-pulous dictator armed with a brutal repressive apparatus and resolved to use it at will.

Riham Alkousaa is a Syrian journalist covering refugees in Europe and conflict in Syria. She is currently a masters’ student of Politics and Global Affairs at Columbia Uni-versity, Graduate School of Journalism.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

12 MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 ASIA / PHILIPPINES

Philippine Vice-President to quit CabinetAP

Manila

The Philippine Vice-P r e s i d e n t s a i d yesterday that she will resign her Cabinet post, citing "major differ-

ences in principles and values" with President Rodrigo Duterte and an unspecified plot to remove her from the vice presidency.

Leni Robredo (pictured), a human rights lawyer and respected political newcomer, said in a statement that she will tender her resignation today as housing secretary, an appoint-ment made by Duterte, but will stay on in her elected post as Vice-President.

In the Philippines, presidents and vice presidents are separately elected and have often come from rival political parties, like Duterte and Robredo.

"I will not allow the vice pres-idency to be stolen. I will not

allow the will of the people to be thwarted," Robredo said without elaborating. "I will continue to serve the Filipino family and ful-

fill their dream for a better life."Her resignation comes amid

a political storm Duterte has faced over his decision to allow

the burial of long-dead dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the coun-try's Heroes' Cemetery and a bloody crackdown against ille-gal drugs that has alarmed Western governments and human rights watchdogs.

Robredo is the second key official to resign from Duterte's administration in less than a week. Maria Serena Diokno quit as head of the government's his-torical commission on Tuesday to protest Duterte's decision to allow Marcos' burial in the hal-lowed cemetery. Diokno has since joined street protests by anti-Marcos groups condemning the November 18 burial, which was secretly carried out while left-wing petitioners were pre-paring to appeal a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the president's decision to authorise the entombment.

Robredo cited her opposition to the burial, the drug killings, Duterte's plan to reimpose the

death penalty and "attacks against women" among the issues on which she differed with Duterte, who took office on June 30. The last straw, she said, was when she was notified by Cabi-net Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. through a cellphone message about the president's order for Robredo "to desist from attend-ing all Cabinet meetings" starting today. Evasco said Duterte decided to bar her from Cabinet meetings because of her "irrec-oncilable differences" with the Duterte administration. Duterte's move, Robredo said, made it impossible for her to do her work.

The VP said the budget for government agencies dealing with housing has been signifi-cantly slashed, her recommended appointments have not been acted on and an executive order aiming to make her agency, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, effective has not been signed.

Japan plans to boost anti-missile defencesINCREASINGLY worried about North Korea’s grow-ing arsenal of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, Japan is considering buying and deploying the United States’ most advanced anti-missile system. After South Korea, Japan would be the second country in Northeast Asia to acquire the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system — Washington agreed to begin deploying THAAD in South Korea this July.

Japan’s government plans to appropriate around 200bn yen ($2bn) in the third sup-plementary budget for fiscal 2016 after the first.

Usually this budget is reserved for public works projects to simulate the econ-omy, so it is sign of Tokyo’s growing concern that it would even consider using this budget. To date, North Korea has conducted two under-ground nuclear tests and fired off more than 20 ballistic mis-siles this year.

One of the missiles landed in the Sea of Japan — also known as the East Sea — less than 200 nautical miles (370km) from the shoreline of Japan. There is growing speculation that the North is getting close to developing a deliverable nuclear weapon by marrying a miniaturized nuclear warhead to a missile. At the time of the second test, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the threat from Pyongyang was in a “different dimension” than previous tests.

Defence Minister Tomomi Inada is planning to make a trip soon to Guam in part to examine the THAAD system first hand. Washington deployed the THAAD system to Guam in 2013 because of the looming threat from North Korea. Pyongyang has successfully tested intercon-tinental ballistic missies with sufficient range to potentially reach Guam.

Indonesians rally for tolerance after blasphemy protestsAP

Jakarta

Tens of thousands of Indo-nesians rallied in the centre of the capital Jakarta yes-

terday, calling for tolerance and unity after massive protests by conservative Muslims against the city's minority Christian governor.

The crowds filled a major traffic circle in the heart of the city and sprawled into its main thoroughfares.

The demonstrators waved "We Are Indonesia" signs and a giant red-and-white national flag was held aloft by hundreds of people.

The capital of Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has been rocked in the past month by two major protests

against Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who is being prosecuted for alleged blas-phemy. The movement against Ahok, who is the first ethnic Chi-nese to be governor of Jakarta and the first Christian in half a century, has raised communal tensions and challenged Indone-sia's reputation for practising a moderate brand of Islam.

A demonstration against Ahok on Friday drew at least 200,000 people. An anti-Ahok protest on November 4 attracted at least 100,000 people and turned violent, with one dead and dozens of protesters and police injured.

Hard-line Muslim groups are demanding Ahok's immediate arrest. Police say his detention is not necessary and have called for the legal process to be respected.

The rally coincided with a weekly car-free morning in Jakarta when a central artery of the city is handed over to pedestrians for a few hours.

Police estimated 30,000 peo-ple turned up, said Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono.

Organisers called it the "Parade of Indonesian Culture"

and it featured traditional dances from Sabang in westernmost Aceh to Merauke in easternmost Papua. National leaders of polit-ical parties under the pro-government coalition behind President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, an ally of Ahok, delivered short speeches on the importance of keeping the ethnically diverse

nation united."We have to fight to materi-

alise the aims of our independence. That will not hap-pen if we are scattered, blaspheming, humiliating each other and no longer trust each other," Surya Paloh, chairman of the National Democratic Party, said from the main stage.

People attend a rally calling for national unity and tolerance in central Jakarta yesterday.

Major differences

Leni Robredo cites "major differences in principles and values" with President Rodrigo Duterte.

Robredo is the second key official to resign from Duterte's administration in less than a week after Maria Serena Diokno quit as head of the government's historical commission to protest Duterte's decision to allow Marcos' burial in the hallowed cemetery.

Suu Kyi must stop Rohingya 'genocide': Malaysian PMAFP

Kuala Lumpur

Aung San Suu Kyi must step in to prevent the "geno-cide" of Rohingya

Muslims in Myanmar, Malaysia's Prime Minister said yesterday as he mocked the Nobel laure-ate for her inaction.

Addressing a 5,000-strong rally in Kuala Lumpur, Najib Razak said the Myanmar gov-ernment must stop the bloody crackdown in its far west that has sent thousands of Rohingya fleeing, many with stories of rape, torture and murder.

"What's the use of Aung San Suu Kyi having a Nobel prize?" Najib asked a raucous crowd.

"We want to tell Aung San Suu Kyi, enough is enough... We must and we will defend Mus-lims and Islam," he said. "We want the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) to act.

"Please do something. The UN do something. The world cannot sit and watch genocide taking place," said Najib.

More than 10,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh in recent weeks, the United Nations said on Wednesday, escaping a bloody army crack-down in the north of Rakhine state.

Arrivals in Bangladesh said horrifying stories of gang rape, torture and murder at the hands of Myanmar's security forces.

Myanmar has denied alle-gations of abuse, but has also banned foreign journalists and independent investigators from the area.

Muslim-majority Malaysia has recently upped its criticism of Myanmar for its handling of the crisis.

Last month it summoned the Myanmar ambassador, while around 500 Malaysians and Rohingya marched to the

embassy in the Malaysian cap-ital carrying banners denouncing the "genocide."

A senior minister has called on Asean, the ten-country Southeast Asia bloc, to review Myanmar's membership, while a strongly worded statement from the foreign ministry Sat-urday accused Myanmar of engaging in "ethnic cleansing."

But analysts said the issue is a convenient smokescreen for Najib, who is fighting allegations he took part in the looting of bil-lions of dollars of public cash through state fund 1MDB.

AP

Jakarta

Indonesian rescuers yesterday recovered body parts in the sea where a police plane with 13 people aboard is believed to have crashed after

takeoff. The light aircraft lost contact on Satur-day on the way to the island of Batam off the southeast coast of Sumatra island near Singapore. All those aboard, including five crew and eight police passengers, are feared dead, officials said.

The M28 Skytruck plane is believed to have plunged into 24-meter (79-feet) deep waters, said

National Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo.

He told a news conference that body remains probably of the victims were found in the area where villagers earlier retrieved a seat and a bag containing a cellphone and police documents.

TV footage showed police uniforms and other clothing also were retrieved from the sea.

Search teams involving Indonesia's navy, cus-toms office and maritime police as well as aircraft from Singapore were scouring a 518-sqkm sea area for the wreckage of the aircraft, Soelistyo said, adding that divers also were deployed.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak gestures while addressing ethnic Rohingya Muslim refugees during a gathering in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Remains found of Indonesian plane

Police carry a bag containing debris and belongings recovered from an aircraft carrying 13 police personnel which went missing on Saturday in Batam, Riau Islands, Indonesia, yesterday.

A woman dances with others during Sindh Culture Day in Karachi, yesterday.

Cultural dance

13MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 PAKISTAN / AFGHANISTAN

Islamabad

Internews

The power of military courts to try civilians is likely to end in a month as the government of Pakistan does not

appear interested in extending the relevant amendment to the Constitution, which will lapse on January 2.

On January 3 last year, par-liament passed the 21st Constitution Amendment, bring-ing the civilian suspects of terrorism under the jurisdiction of the military courts which are otherwise meant to try person-nel of the armed forces for disciplinary reasons or for offences mentioned in the

schedule of the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952. According to Min-ister of State for Interior Affairs Baleeghur Rehman, “since the situation is under control now, there is no need to extend such wartime legislation”.

The amendment extended the scope of scheduled offences of the PAA. It envisaged trial by military courts of those who claim or are known to belong to any terrorist group or organisa-tion using the name of religion or a sect, those who take up weapons or wage a war against Pakistan or attack the armed forces or law-enforcement agen-cies; those involved in kidnapping for ransom; possession or stor-ing of explosives, firearms or suicide jackets; using or design-ing vehicles for terrorist acts;

providing or receiving funding from any foreign or local sources for terrorism; “overawing” the state or any section of the public or a sect or religious minority and creating terror or insecurity in or outside the country.

Earlier, civilians could only face a court martial if they “seduce, or attempt to seduce” persons subject to the PAA or if they were working at military installations or employed at tem-porary military setups.

Another anti-terrorism law, the Protection of Pakistan Act (PoPA), also lapsed in July after completing its two-year term.

The government was initially indecisive about its renewal but days before PoPA’s expiry it con-stituted a high-level team to discuss the revival of

the legislation with the political parties.The amendment related to the military courts was passed with a sunset clause of two years.

While the law is set to expire in a month, there is no progress in the law ministry for extending it. An official of the ministry said that the authorities were await-ing a signal from the interior ministry for preparing the draft of a bill in this regard.

He said the interior ministry was monitoring progress on the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism and the mili-tary courts had been given the powers to try civilians as its part.“The interior ministry has consulted the law ministry over the military courts and the lat-ter advised it to forward a written proposal if it wanted to

extend the powers of military court for a certain period,” he said.

After the interior ministry submits the proposal, the law ministry will begin the process to table the bill in parliament. Political circles, however, believe that the government is not in a position to extend the military courts’ powers without the support of other parties. The opposition PPP’s Senator Saeed Ghani, when contacted, said the powers of military courts given under the 21st Amendment could not be extended without the approval by a two-thirds major-ity in parliament, which the ruling PML-N lacked. “The PML-N government has not made any contact with the PPP to get its support,” he said.

Military court trials of terror cases to endNo extension

While the law is set to expire in a month, there is no progress in the law ministry for extending it. The authorities were awaiting a signal from the interior ministry for preparing the draft of a bill in this regard.

The government is not in a position to extend the military courts’ powers without the support of other parties.

Islamabad

Internews

The Supreme Court of Paki-stan is likely to adopt a decisive course of action

in the Panamagate case next week in view of the imminent retirement of Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali on December 31.

Justice Jamali heads the five-judge larger bench which is hearing a slew of petitions in connection with the Panama Papers which revealed in April that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s three children had stashed money in offshore companies.

While Justice Jamali will remain in office till the last day of the month, a full-court ref-erence and farewell dinner will be hosted in his honour on December 15 due to winter recess in the apex court. The recess will end on January 2.

If Justice Jamali retires before giving any decision in the case, then a new bench will be constituted by his successor Justice Mian Saqib Nisar. How-ever, Justice Jamali, while hearing the case on October 31, had observed that ‘time is short’ and that “we have a lot of work to do”.Legal experts believe the next week will be crucial in the Panamagate case. A Supreme Court official said that before his retirement Justice Jamali might give the last ruling of his career in this case.

The hearing of case will resume on December 6, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s lead counsel Naeem Bukhari will continue his arguments against

the alleged corruption of the ruling Sharif family. On the last date of hearing, Bukhari had ensured the bench that he would conclude his arguments in 35 minutes.

Independent experts believe the top court cannot give a final ruling without hold-ing a detailed inquiry into the matter. They believe the judges are not in the mood to disqual-ify Premier Sharif on the basis of available evidence.

Of all the petitioners, three are in favour of a judicial com-mission, but the PTI and the ruling PML-N are not interested in the formation of the commis-sion.The Sharif family’s counsel Akram Sheikh said it was his personal opinion that the top court should decide the case itself as the petitioners have failed to present substantial evi-dence against his clients to establish their case.

Sheikh, who has a long legal career spanning 44 years, claimed that he would quash all the allegations against his clients and would conclude his arguments, most likely, in one day.Sources close to Sheikh said he had taken up the case after he was satisfied with the evi-dence, which have been provided by Sharif’s children to establish the money trail.Another member of the Sharif family’s legal team said it was a ridiculous claim of the PTI that Sharif family owned lux-ury London flats prior to 2006, adding that they were well-pre-pared to respond to the Al Towfeek case judgment, wherein these properties were attached by a UK court.

Islamabad

Internews

Succumbing to the pressure of political parties, the gov-ernment of Pakistan is

considering for the fifth time an extension in the stay of Afghan refugees in two phases till 2018.

As the voluntary repatria-tions came to a halt on Friday for a routine winter break, the gov-ernment is likely to formally announce another extension in plans for the return of refugees.According to the population pro-file of the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (Safron), there

are about 1.3 million refugees holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards while about 0.6 mil-lion are unregistered. Similarly, only about 33 percent are resid-ing in camps while 67 percent are off-camps. Among them, 74 per-cent refugees were born in Pakistan and about 70 percent of them are below the age of 24.

The repatriation drive gained momentum when earlier this year the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) urged the federal government to send back the refugees to Afghanistan.

The year 2016 saw 381,246 or the maximum number of

refugees return to their country. The spike in returns coincides with the introduction of tighter border management controls at the Torkham border between Pakistan and Afghanistan on June 1.

The Safron ministry recently shared a document with the members of an all parties’ con-ference at the ministry where the plan for repatriation was dis-cussed and agreed upon. The APC was held after the federal cabinet on November 9 proposed that the Safron ministry create consensus among political par-ties about the extension date.

Karachi

Anatolia

Bangkok police have arrested a prime suspect in Pakistan’s deadliest fac-

tory fire, which killed over 250 workers in the southern port city of Karachi in 2012, officials and the accused’s family confirmed on Saturday.

Abdul Rehman Bhola, 46, an activist for the Muttehida Quami Movement (United National Movement or MQM), a major opposition party with strong roots in Karachi, was arrested in a police raid on a hotel in Bangkok’s red light district Fri-day evening, reported Thailand English daily the Bangkok Post, quoting senior police and Inter-pol officials.

He was tracked by Thai Interpol following a Pakistani arrest warrant, the newspaper reported, adding that the sus-pect was being repatriated to Pakistan.\ Bhola’s wife, Samina Bano, told reporters in Karachi that her husband had been on the run for the last several months on the “advice” of the party leadership.

A police investigation found that the country’s worst indus-trial disaster was not an accident but a “planned act of sabotage and terrorism,” as the factory owners failed to pay a heavy extortion fee demanded by the accused and his accomplices. Bhola and other suspects had acted on the directives of Ham-mad Siddiqui, then-head of MQM’s organizing committee.

Islamabad

Internews

The first-ever Pakistan Film Festival kicked off on Friday night with a

largely-attended red carpet reception at United Nations Headquarters in New York in the presence of some of the biggest Pakistani stars, ambassadors accredited to the UN, community members, media and movie buffs.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, who was the chief guest, congratulated the Pakistan Mission to the UN for organizing the two-day festival that will showcase at Asia Society top-rated Paki-stani movies over the weekend, saying that cultural events such as this one played a key role in promoting bet-ter understanding among peoples of the world.Paki-stan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi, who took the initiative to hold the festival, read out a welcome address, saying the films from Pakistan will con-vey the energy and dynamism that defines today’s Pakistan.

In his brief remarks, Eli-asson, the UN deputy secretary-general, also said that art, film and music build bridges across cultures and promote peace through inter-cultural understanding.He welcomed Pakistani film stars to the United Nations, saying, “You have given life to this building.” “You have already conquered Pakistan, now you will conquer New York,” he said, as applause rang out.

Pakistani actors, who travelled to New York from Pakistan, included Mahira Khan, Mawra Hocane, Nabeel Qureshi, Saba Qamar, Waja-hat Rauf, Yasir Hussain, Sheheryar Munawar, Asim Raza, Tooba Siddiqui, Adeel Hussain, Sanam Saeed, Jer-jees Seja (JJ), Producer, Afia Serena Nathaniel and Mehreen Jabbar.

The films to be screened include two brand new ones, which will premiere in New York, Dobara Pher Say and Lahore Say Agay. Others will include Actor in law, Paki-stan’s Oscar nomination, Mahe Meer, Oscar award win-ner Sharmeen Obaid’s animated film, 3 Bahadur, Dukhtar, Dance Kahani and Ho Mann Jahan.Ambassador Lodhi told the gathering that the festival has been organ-ized to both acknowledge the remarkable revival of Paki-stan’s cinema and to showcase and celebrate it.

An Afghan refugee boy pushes a wheel barrow with oranges at the main fruits and vegetables market in Islamabad, yesterday.

Afghan refugees may get another extended stay in Pakistan till 2018

Next week crucial for Panama case hearing

Suspect in Karachi factory fire caught

First-ever Pakistan Film Festival opens in New York

14 MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 INDIA

Naval personnel demonstrate a marching exercise in front of the Gateway of India during the Navy Day celebrations in Mumbai, yesterday.

Navy Day celebrations

Don't misuse Jan-Dhan accounts: Govt

New Delhi IANS

Frustrated over "No Cash" messages displayed out-side banks and ATMs,

residents of an east Delhi local-ity yesterday organised a 'pooja' of an ATM, praying that it dis-penses some cash.

The unique worship was organised in east Delhi's Jagat-puri area, where over 50 local people went to the State Bank of India ATM and worshipped the cash dispensing machine.

Bhola, a resident of the area, said: "The ATM of the SBI has not been dispensing cash since demonetisation, so we per-formed its pooja, so that it dispenses some cash."

"We did this to highlight the problems the people of Jagat-puri area are facing since the government demonetised

currency notes," the man in his 30s said. Another man, Punit Tiwari said, "Earlier, we used to see couples and elders going for morning and night walk, but nowadays we can find couples running their vehicles on the streets looking for the ATMs with cash."

On November 8, the govern-ment demonetised `500 and `,000 currency notes to curb black money and corruption.

People have been queuing up at branches of banks, ATM kiosks and post offices to with-draw cash, which has been in short supply for over three weeks now.

With private consumption being grossly affected by the cash crunch because of the demonetisation of high value bank notes, industry chamber Assocham on Sunday urged the government to ramp up

expenditure in order to partly limit the major impact on India's GDP.

"With 86 percent of the cash out of circulation and replen-ishment facing difficulties, the Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) in the third quarter is expected to see a size-able reduction to the extent of at least 35-40 percent and slightly lower in the fourth quar-ter," the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India said in a statement here.

"In terms of expenditure, PFCE, popularly known as -- India consumption story -- accounts for close to 60 per-cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product at current prices and 55 percent at con-stant prices (base 2011-12)," it said pointing to the enormity of the figures involved in case of the GDP.

Bhubaneswar

IANS

Odisha Police yesterday busted a currency exchange racket in

scrapped notes with the sei-zure of over `1.42 crore and arrest of eight persons in Sambalpur district. The Sam-balpur police also recovered two pistols, five live rounds of bullets and a car from their possession.

The police have seized `1,42,91,000 out of which `85,62,000 is in newly-intro-duced denomination notes.

Sambalpur SP Akhilesh-var Singh said `85 lakh in new currency notes and `24 lakh in scrapped currency were seized from the arrested persons.

"It would not be possible to get such a large amount of new denomination notes without the involvement of bank officials. Questioning is on and the police will probe to elicit information how they managed to get so much of new currency," Singh said.

A bank official's involve-ment has been established in the case an he is among the arrested persons, the police officer added. "Prima facie, it appears that a bank official was involved in the trading of the scrapped notes. Involvement of more bank officials cannot be ruled out," said the Sambalpur SP.

Singh said a businessman, who was among the eight arrested persons, was hoard-ing the currency notes to evade tax.

New Delhi

IANS

After a sudden surge in deposits in Prad-h a n M a n t r i Jan-Dhan Yojana accounts showed

up various inconsistencies, the government yesterday again cautioned such account hold-ers not to allow their deposits to be misused in the wake of the November 8 demonetisa-tion move.

"Investigation being con-ducted by the Income Tax Department across India into the sudden surge in cash depos-its in Jan Dhan accounts have revealed various inconsisten-cies," a Union Finance Ministry release here said.

"Undisclosed moneys of approximately `1.64 crore deposited by persons who have never filed returns of income being below the taxable limits, into their Jan Dhan accounts have already been detected at Kolkata, Midnapore, Ara (Bihar), Kochi and Varanasi.

"`40 lakh has been seized from one such account in Bihar, Undisclosed income so detected will be brought to tax as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, apart from other actions depending upon the outcome of investigations," it added. Meanwhile, Prime

Minister has urged Jan Dhan account holders to hold on to the black money deposited by elements seeking to launder ill-gotten wealth.

"I want to tell holders of Jan Dhan accounts that they should not withdraw this money. Write to me if someone intimidates you. I am trying to figure out how it (the money) can come to you," Modi said at a public meeting in Moradabad, in Uttar Pradesh. Over 25 crore Jan Dhan accounts for financial inclusion have been opened in the country as on November 25 last. However, there were reports that the poor are being "used" by black money hoard-ers and huge amounts are being deposited in their Jan Dhan accounts does not stand up to scrutiny.

Delhiites protest with 'ATM pooja'People queue outside an ATM to withdraw cash in Kolkata, yesterday.

Sudden surge

Investigation being conducted by the Income Tax Department across India into the sudden surge in cash deposits in Jan Dhan accounts have revealed various inconsistencies

`40 lakh has been seized from one such account in Bihar.

Currency exchange racket busted in Odisha

Chandigarh

IANS

A 22-year-old dancer at a marriage function in Punjab's Bathinda dis-

trict, was killed when an intoxicated man, enraged at being refused a dance, fired at her from close range, police said yesterday.

The victim, Kulwinder Kaur, had refused to dance with a guest who was drunk and was carrying a weapon freom which he fired at her in a rage.

Police have registered a case of murder and booked four people, including the alleged killer, the marriage palace owner and two friends of the killer.

Station House Officer (SHO) Daljit Singh said that the accused was absconding after the incident.

The incident took place late on Saturday evening during a marriage function at Aashirwad Marriage Pal-ace in Maur Mandi town of Bathinda, nearly 200km from here.

Kulwinder Kaur, who was reportedly two months pregnant, fell on the stage even as her colleagues of the dance and orchestra troupe continued their perform-ance. They realised only moments later that she had collapsed.

Carrying of weapons is banned under law during marriage functions and at marriage palaces.

In an incident last month, a self-styled godwoman, Sadhvi Dev Thakur, and her accomplices had gone on a firing spree during a wed-ding function near Karnal town in neighbouring Har-yana, leaving a woman guest dead and two others injured.

Thiruvananthapuram

IANS

Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac was attacked yesterday by the

opposition over the way he han-dled the post-demonetisation situation in the state, causing dif-ficulties to both salaried class and pensioners. The Congress-led United Democratic Front and the state BJP severely criticised

Professor of Economics-turned-Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac for the sufferings of virtu-ally every section of the society since the central government's demonetisation move.

Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the assembly Ramesh Chennithala told reporters that it pained him when Issac went personal against him as he (Chennithala) talked about the minister's

callous attitude and the manner in which he handled staff payments.

"While the Finance Ministers in other states chalked out plans to mitigate the sufferings of peo-ple, Issac did not come out with any crisis management meas-ures and conducted a meeting of banking officials only at the eleventh hour, which com-pounded the crisis," Chennithala said. "Hence, there was a heavy

burden on the state treasuries and banks that disburse the sal-aries and pensions," said Chennithala, challenging the minister to publish the minutes of the meeting that he held with the bank officials.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and state unit spokesperson PK Krishnadas said that going by his statements, Issac appears to be a bundle of contradictions. "For 22 days, he

kept speaking about the coop-erative banks' issue and the CPI-M held a hartal and spread panic among the people. The state cabinet could have taken the decision to toe the line of the Centre within 24 hours..."

"After creating a panic-like situation, the state finally agreed to go the the central government way. In Tripura, where also the CPI-M rules, there appears no panic at all.

New Delhi IANS

The government yesterday revised upwards the amount of black money

disclosed under Income Dec-laration Scheme (IDS) to `67,382 crore, even as it did not take into account two high-value disclosures.

"After final reconciliation, the revised figure of actual dec-larations received and taken on record was ̀ 67,382 crore which had been made by 71,726 declarants," the Finance Min-istry said in a statement here on IDS 2016. "On Oct 1, 2016, it was announced that declara-tions totalling `65,250 crore were received from 64,275 declarants, subject to reconcil-iation," it said. The Income Tax Department did not take into consideration the `13,860 crore declaration made by Ahemda-bad-based Maheshkumar Champaklal Shah, which was reported prominently, as well as another made from Mumbai.

"Among the declarations received, there were two sets of declarations of high value

which were not taken on record in the above figure because they were found to be suspicious in nature being filed by persons of small means," the statement said. It said a family of four headed by Abdul Razzaque Mohammed Sayed, resident of Bandra, Mumbai, made a total declaration of `2 lakh crore which was rejected by the Department as three out of the four PAN numbers were origi-nally in Ajmer which were migrated in September 2016 to Mumbai, the place of the declarations.

"After due enquiry it was found that these declarants were persons of suspicious nature and very small means, and the declarations could have been misused," the ministry said. "Therefore, after due con-sideration, the Income Tax Department decided by November 30, to reject these two sets of declarations of ` 2 lakh crore and `13,860 crore respectively. The Department has commenced enquiries against these declarants to determine the intention behind these false declarations," it added.

Neemuch

IANS

Cash amounting to `49,70,000 was recov-ered from a car here in

which four persons were trav-elling, police said yesterday.

Neemuch Cantt Police Sta-tion Incharge Yogesh Singh Sisodia said: "During a routine

search of vehicles, a box con-taining the cash was recovered from a car. Four youths hailing from Indore, Ujjain and Mand-saur were travelling in the car."

According to Sisodia, even though over-the-counter exchange of demonetised notes in banks has been discontinued, the illegal trade of converting black money into white goes on

unabated. When the cash was counted, `32 lakh was found in `2,000 denomination notes, he said. The remaining amount was in bundles of 100, 50, 20 and 10- rupee denomination notes.

Police cited the youths as saying that they were going to a local trader to exchange his old notes. They would have made a profit of 21 per cent in the deal.

IDS bags `67,382cr unaccounted money

`49.7 lakh recovered from car in MP

Woman shot dead for refusing a dance

Kerala opposition blames minister for cash hassles

15MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 INDIA

Brides wait for their turn to take vows during a mass wedding in Ahmedabad, yesterday.

Mass wedding

Amritsar

IANS

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani yester-day unambiguously named Pakistan for supporting cross-

border terror and shared Prime Minister Narendra Modi's con-cern over the threat that has endangered "peace in the entire South Asian region".

Ghani and Modi spoke in the presence of Islamabad's top dip-lomat Sartaj Aziz, who appeared shocked with the Afghan Presi-dent's remarks at the inaugural function of the 6th ministerial 'Heart of Asia conference - Istan-bul Process on Afghanistan' held in this Punjab city near India's border with Pakistan.

While Ghani was unequivo-cal in asserting that Pakistan was the source of cross-border ter-ror in his country, Modi didn't name any nation but urged the world to act against "those who support, shelter, train and finance" terrorists.

The Afghan President said the Pakistan military was selec-tive in fighting terrorists and sought to know what was being done to "prevent the export of terror".

"The state-sponsored sanc-tuaries exist in Pakistan. As Mr. Kakazada, one of the key figures in the Taliban movement, recently said if they didn't have sanctuary in Pakistan, they wouldn't last a month," Ghani said. He directly addressed Aziz, Pakistan's de facto foreign pol-icy chief, and said no amount of financial assistance can help sta-bilise the war-ravaged Afghanistan if "support to terror-ists" continued from the neighbouring country.

Ghani thanked Pakistan for its pledge to donate $500m for Afghan reconstruction but said: "This fund, Mr. Aziz, could very well be used for containing extremism because without peace any amount of assistance will not meet the needs of our people." "Afghanistan suffered the highest number of casualties last year. This is unacceptable. Some (countries) still provide sanctuary for terrorists."

The Prime Minister, how-ever, called for collective will to fight terrorists. "We must dem-onstrate strong collective will to defeat terror networks. Support for peace alone is not enough. It must be backed by resolute action," Modi said.

"Silence and inaction against terrorism in Afghanistan and our region will only embolden ter-rorists and their masters."

The conference, attended by representatives of over two dozen countries and interna-tional groupings, was aimed at finding ways to help Afghanistan, battling decades of unending war, in its political and economic transition. Modi emphasised that bilateral and regional commit-ments of assistance for Afghanistan's development must continue and increase. He said India's commitment to the

country was "absolute and unwavering".

Ghani earlier appreciated India's unconditional support for the economic development of his country and said the expansion of the key Chabahar port

between India, Iran and Afghan-istan was very important for regional trade and connectivity. He spoke about India's assistance in the construction of Salma dam -- officially called the Afghan-India Friendship Dam -- that was

inaugurated in June by Modi along with Ghani in Herat province.

The President said the Chabahar port development project "is very important for connectivity and commerce".

India & Afghanistan urge action against terrorMove against terror

While Ghani was unequivocal in asserting Pakistan was the source of cross-border terror in his country, Modi didn't name any nation but urged the world to act against "those who support, shelter, train and finance" terrorists.

Ghani thanked Pakistan for its pledge to donate $500m for Afghan reconstruction.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) shakes hands with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani during the 6th Heart of Asia (HoA) Ministerial Conference in Amritsar, yesterday.

Chennai

IANS

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa suffered a cardiac arrest yesterday

evening and is being treated by a team of specialists at Apollo Hospitals, the hospital said.

In a statement issued here, the hospital said: "She is being treated and monitored by a team of doctors including car-diologists, pulmonologists and critical care specialists."

The 68-year-old AIADMK supremo was admitted to the hospital for treatment of fever

and dehydration on September 22. The doctors later said she needed a longer hospital stay as she was suffering from infec-tion, and put her on respiratory support. According to Apollo Hospitals, a team of specialist doctors -- cardiologists, respi-ratory physicians, consultants for infectious diseases, diabe-tologist and endocrinologist -- treated her.

Recently Apollo Hospitals Chairman Pratap C Reddy told media that Jayalalithaa is returning to normalcy and all her vital organs are function-ing well.

Kolkata

IANS

A fire broke out at the plush South City Mall here early yesterday.

There was, however, no report of casualty, a fire department official said to reporters on an enquiry about the incident.

The fire started at around 9am from the false ceiling of the food court on the mall building's third floor, he also said. "There was thick smoke coming out from the food court. The fire has been con-trolled completely. Overall, 21 fire tenders were deployed and no casualty was reported," the official said.

The fire was under con-trol by 11.30am with the timely intervention of con-trolled officials and the fire force. However, an official informed that the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.

"The shops were yet to open when the fire broke out. Only the morning film shows were on. Everybody has been evacuated," said West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sovan Chatterjee.

Panic struck moviegoers and workers at the mall.

"We were working down-stairs. Suddenly we heard a fire alarm but were not sure what happened. Then we were told to evacuate the mall," a worker inside the mall said. Around the time when smoke was seen at the popular mall, none of the shops had opened and the only place where people were seen was near the movie the-atre with the morning shows running.

"We saw a family of four entering the theatre for a show. All those at the movie halls were immediately evac-uated after the alarm," another worker said.

"We were watching a movie and suddenly the screen turned black. We got very scared as we were asked to evacuate the place from the back door," a woman, who went to watch 'Kahaani 2', said to reporters during an interaction.

Chengalpattu

AFP

A small scythe, a crowbar and a bundle of canvas bags are all that Kali and

Vedan carry when they venture into the fields of southern India to catch some of the world's deadliest snakes.

Their skills, passed from generation to generation of the Irula tribe they belong to, are crucial for the production of anti-venom in a country with the world's highest number of deaths from snake bites.

Since it began in the 1970s, the Irula snake-catchers' coop-erative on the outskirts of the southern city of Chennai has rev-olutionised the treatment of snake-bites in India, enabling it to produce enough anti-venom to supply hospitals across the

country. It also provides much-needed income for the Irula, one of the region's most deprived groups, who used to hunt snakes and sell the skins but lost their livelihood overnight when India banned the practice in 1972.

Kali learned the intricate skill of tracking and then catching snakes from his father, whose abilities were renowned in the small community.

Now the 36-year-old uses those same skills to catch snakes for the cooperative, which keeps them for a month under licence from the government and har-vests their venom before returning them to nature.

Non-lethal amounts of venom from four snake species are injected into horses, which then produce antigens that are used to make antivenom for all bites. That is the only reliable

treatment for a human bitten by a venomous snake, although the Irula also use herbal treatments that they say give them more time to reach a hospital.

India has 244 snake species and the four most venomous, the cobra, krait, Russell's viper and saw-scaled viper, are found throughout the country. Thou-sands of people die every year from snakebites in India, still a predominately rural economy where farmers run the risk of being bitten every time they go into their fields. The extractor takes out the snake, gripping it below the head, which he places in front of a thin piece of leather that has been stretched over the top of a small glass jar to imitate skin. As the snake opens its jaw and sinks its fangs into the leather covering, the deadly liq-uid drips into the jar.

The snake-catching tribe saving lives in India

A snake catcher extracts venom from a cobra at the venom extraction centre of the Irula snake-catchers co-operative on the outskirts of Chennai.

Amritsar

IANS

Reiterating that his country "is committed to lasting peace in Afghanistan and

the region", Pakistan's de facto foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz yesterday said only one country cannot be blamed for rising ter-rorist violence in the region.

"The first and foremost in our view is continuing violence and acts of terrorism claiming scores of human lives. This needs to be addressed urgently and effec-tively through collective efforts," Aziz said at the 6th ministerial 'Heart of Asia Conference - Istanbul Process on Afghanistan' in this Punjab city near India's border with Pakistan.

"It's simplistic to blame only one country for the recent upsurge in violence. We need to have an objective and holistic view," Aziz said at the two-day conference.

Aziz said Pakistan had "been making serious efforts for facil-itating peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban that have not yet produced

positive results". "We need to make an objective evaluation of our efforts for peace and stabil-ity in Afghanistan."

Aziz said his government stood in solidarity with the elected government and people of Afghanistan in furthering the objective of peace, stability and development. "In our view, there is no military solution to the

Afghan conflict and all our efforts should be to achieve a politically negotiated settlement through an Afghan-led Afghan-owned process." Advocating the need to promote connectivity across the borders, the diplomat said Paki-stan was committed to enhancing facilitation for tran-sit of Afghan goods through Pakistan.

Don't blame one country for terrorism: Aziz

Jayalalithaa suffers cardiac arrest: Apollo

Fire breaks out at Kolkata shopping mall

16 MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 EUROPE

French Canadian singer Garou (centre left) is flanked by French TV host Nagui (centre right) and guests as they stand under the board displaying final number of the evening of the 2016 French Telethon fundraising television event against muscular dystrophy, at Hippodrome de Longchamp in Paris, yesterday.

Clocking funds

PM's fate at stake

If the centre-left Renzi’s proposals to streamline a 68-year-old parliamentary system are voted down, he has vowed to resign.

If Renzi wins, the country’s youngest ever prime minister will be energised in his bid to transform Italy.

Rome

AFP

Italians went to the polls yesterday in a constitu-tional referendum on which reformist Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has

staked his future.Whatever the outcome of a

vote being anxiously watched in capitals across Europe and carefully scrutinised on trading floors around the world, it will lead to change.

If the centre-left Renzi’s proposals to streamline a 68-year-old parliamentary sys-tem are voted down, he has vowed to resign.

That would usher in a period of political uncertainty and potential economic turmoil for the country and its European Union allies.

If Renzi wins, the country’s youngest ever prime minister will be energised in his bid to transform Italy.

Victory for Renzi will mean a new mandate to pursue reforms he sees as key to unshackling Ita-ly’s creativity from influence of a

self-serving political caste that has exploited institutional weak-ness to stymie change.

“If we miss this chance it won’t come back for 20 years,” he warned voters before cam-paigning was suspended.

Voters, who have been known to head to the beach rather than the ballot box when less important referendums have fallen on a sunny day, have spent weeks passionately embracing the pros and cons of

the proposed reforms.A bumper turnout looks like

the only prediction anyone can make with any certainty, as polls have been banned since Novem-ber 18. Up until then the “No” camp was leading comfortably—but with a quarter of the electorate undecided, Renzi is counting on a silent majority of shy reformers to pull off a sur-prise turnaround.

The campaign has also sent many voters back to their high school textbooks to reconsider the merits of a much-loved constitu-tion, producing an invigorating national discussion that has recalled Scotland’s 2014 inde-pendence referendum more than the rhetorically-charged Brexit or US presidential debates.

Renzi wants to drastically scale back the size and powers of the parliamentary second chamber, the Senate.

Under his proposed reforms, a body of 315 directly-elected and five lifetime lawmakers will become one with only 100 members, mostly nominated by the regions.

The body would also be

stripped of most of its powers to block and revise legislation, and to unseat governments.

Other changes involve trans-ferring some regional powers to national government, making it easier to get major infrastructural works approved, and abolition of a costly policy agency in Rome.

Inevitably in light of his pledge to stand down should he lose, the vote has also become something of a referendum on Renzi’s personality and record

after just over 1,000 days in office. “I’m voting Yes because I want Italy to change. I don’t like it as it is now,” said Rome mar-ket trader Marina Marabitti.

But in a reflection of how the campaign has gone, her vote was set to be cancelled out by the man she works alongside six days a week.

“I would be for ‘Si’ (Yes) if it was not for Renzi. I can’t stand him,” said Giancarlo Sallusti.

“Renzi was wrong from the

start to personalise the vote by saying he would quit if the No camp wins,” said young voter Elena Piccolo, a student in Naples.

“In doing so he concentrated the country’s discontent on him-self,” she added.

Overseas there has been strong support for Renzi with US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker all openly calling for a “Yes” vote.

Berlin

AFP

A radical marxist suspected of belonging to a left-wing extremist group

accused of terrorism by Turkey has been arrested in Germany, judicial sources said.

The 55-year-old citizen of the Netherlands, whose name was given as Musa A, was arrested in Hamburg, Germa-ny’s federal prosecutor said.

The man is thought to be a “leader” of Revolutionary Peo-ple’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C) — a radical marxist group outlawed by Ankara after allegedly staging several attacks and assassinations against

police, the security services and US interests in Turkey.

The prosecutor said he was carrying out several roles in Europe, principally fundraising for European arm of DHKP-C.

German authorities believe that such fundraising could be used to finance terrorist activ-ity and the acquisition of weapons.

Musa A. will appear in court today before a judge who will rule whether to remand him in custody.

In August 2015, the DHKP-C claimed responsibility for an attack in Istanbul by two of its militants on police guarding the offices of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. No one was hurt.

Évry, France

AFP

A 17-YEAR-OLD boy has been charged and held in connection with an attack on French police by youths who threw molotov cocktails at officers, leaving two with severe burns, prosecutors said.

The boy has been charged with “complicity in the attempted murder of persons of public authority,” said Eric Lallement, prosecutor from Evry, south of Paris.

The unnamed youth is the first to be charged over Octo-ber incident that led to angry wildcat protests by police over mounting attacks on officers.

On October 8, four officers were injured when a group of around 15 youths from a housing estate in the Paris suburb of Viry-Chatillon swarmed their cars and threw Molotov cocktails at them.

A 28-year-old male officer suffered very serious burns on his hands and body and is still in hospital, while his 39-year-old female part-ner was badly burned on the hands and face, police said.

Moscow

Reuters

US President-elect Donald Trump is a clever man and will quickly under-

stand his new responsibilities, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with NTV TV.

Putin has spoken previously of his hope that Trump will help restore US-Russia relations, and

analysts said he was unlikely to want to dial up anti-Western rhetoric before Trump’s inaugu-ration in January.

“Trump was an entrepreneur and a businessman. He is already a statesman, he is head of US, one of the world’s leading coun-tries,” NTV quoted Putin as saying in the interview on www.ntv.ru yesterday.

“Because he achieved success

in business, it suggests that he is a clever man. And if (he is) a clever man, then he will fully and quite quickly understand another level of responsibility. We assume that he will be acting from these posi-tions,” Putin said.

Putin’s comments appeared to address criticism from Trump’s opponents who say his unconven-tional actions since the election - including railing at the cast of a

Broadway show and early-morn-ing invective on Twitter - show Trump is out of his depth.

China lodged a diplomatic protest on Saturday after Trump spoke by phone with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, the first by a US President-elect or pres-ident since Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recogni-tion from Taiwan to China in 1979, acknowledging Taiwan

as part of “one China”.Speaking about Russia’s rela-

tions with the West, Putin said attempts to create a unipolar world had failed: “The situation is changing. I think it is not a secret to anyone, everyone sees it, that many of our partners already prefer to stick to princi-ples of international law, because the world’s balance is being gradually restored.”

Kiev

AFP

Five Ukrainian police were killed by friendly fire in which officers mistook

colleagues for burglars, officials said yesterday.

Three burglars initially escaped the crime scene amid a gunfight between different security forces, although they were later detained.

“Last night a devastating tragedy took place that killed five police officers,” Anton Gerashchenko, a lawmaker and advisor to interior ministry, wrote on Facebook.

The regional police force

confirmed the incident, while President Petro Poroshenko wrote on Twitter “the causes of this painful tragedy must be investigated and all the guilty must be punished.”

The deadly mix-up came as special police staked out a “dan-gerous gang of burglars” in small town of Knyazychy, some 30km east of Kiev, Gerashchenko said.

Two undercover police from criminal investigation depart-ment were watching the scene as special police prepared to detain the gang. “But a tragic series of chance events ruined the plan,” Geraschenko said.

A burglar alarm went off in a house nearby, prompting

arrival of the State Guard Serv-ice—a police force that protects property—whose officers promptly detained the two undercover police. The special police officers then mistakenly thought the burglars had cap-tured their undercover colleagues and opened fire.

A firefight between special police and the National Guard officers lasted just a few min-utes but killed five.

“Two State Guard Service officers, two undercover police and a KORD special police officer were killed,” Gerashchenko said. The gang of three burglars fled the scene but were detained as they travelled back to Kiev.

Europe holds its breath as Italy votes for change

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi casts his vote for the referendum on constitutional reform as he is flanked by his wife Agnese, in Pontassieve, near Florence, yesterday.

An armed policeman stands guard as police experts examine a crime scene in Knyazychy, some 30km east of Kiev, yesterday where five policemen were killed in a friendly fire.

Germany arrests militant ‘leader’

Teen charged over fire bomb attack on police in France

Putin terms Trump clever and successful man

Five Ukraine policemen dead in friendly fire mix-up

17MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 EUROPE

Fishermen line the banks of the River Mersey as the sun rises behind the skyline of Liverpool, northern England, yesterday.

Skyline silhouette

Britain's Prince Harry wears a traditional headdress during an official visit to Surama, Guyana.

Tribal touch

Greens win

Greens-backed independent Alexander Van der Bellen swept 53.6 percent of the votes, while his rival of anti-immigration Freedom Party received 46.4 percent, projections showed.

Vienna

AFP

Austria’s Freedom Party conceded defeat yesterday in its bid to elect Europe’s first far-

right president, as projections showed its candidate Norbert Hofer lagging behind in a bitterly fought election re-run.

Greens-backed independent Alexander Van der Bellen, 72, swept 53.6 percent of the votes, while his rival of the anti-immi-gration Freedom Party (FPOe) received 46.4 percent, projec-tions showed.

The official result of the mar-athon presidential election, which lasted nearly a year, is not expected before today, but the party conceded defeat within min-utes of poll projections released, shortly after voting ended.

“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr Van der Bellen,” FPOe chief strategist Herbert Kickl told Aus-trian media.

The outcome deals a crush-ing blow to Hofer who already narrowly lost to Van der Bellen in a first runoff in May, which

was then annulled over ballot counting breaches.

His defeat will also see EU leaders breathe a sigh of relief in the wake of the anti-establish-ment tide sweeping many countries following Brexit and Donald Trump’s shock election victory in the US.

Gun enthusiast Hofer had vowed to “get rid of the dusty establishment”, seek closer ties with Russia and fight against “Brussels centralising power”.

Observers feared that a win for the Austrian far-right could trigger a domino effect with key elections next year in France, Germany and The Netherlands.

Populist groups across Europe, on the right and the left, have benefited from a growing sense of unease about globalisa-tion, multiculturalism, rising inequality, and austerity cuts.

The Austrian vote was being held on the same day as a high-stakes referendum in Italy, which could bring about the resigna-tion of its prime minister and renew chaos in a bloc already weakened by Britain’s shock vote in June to quit the EU.

One worrying aspect for EU decision-makers was that Hof-er’s rise to power might also pave the way for a return to govern-ment of his popular FPOe, founded by ex-Nazis.

Some 6.4 million Austrians were eligible to vote in yester-day’s election.

The official result will only be known once the postal vote has been tallied today.

Back in May, this is what had swung the ballot in favour of ex-Greens party chief Van der Bellen, 72, who beat his rival by just 31,000 votes.

“The new president has to unify the country, this long elec-tion has polarised society,” voter Katharina Gayer said in Vienna.

The far-right candidate had largely avoided inflammatory rhetoric, instead tapping into public anxieties about record immigration and rising unemployment.

His polished style saw him triumph in a first round in April, knocking out candidates from the two main centrist parties that have dominated Austrian poli-tics since 1945.

One worrying aspect for EU decision-makers had been that a win for Hofer might also have paved the way for a return to government of his poll-leading FPOe, founded by ex-Nazis.

Helsinki

AFP

A GUNMAN shot dead three women, including a local council official, as they were leaving a restaurant in a small Finnish town on Saturday night, police said.

Investigators cited by the SST news agency yesterday said the municipal council head and two local journal-ists were killed in the town of Imatra by a man who was swiftly arrested.

The 23-year-old suspect, had a record of violent crime, police said.

He was interrogated yes-terday but the motive for the attack remained unclear and the attacker could have picked his victims at random, investigators said.

No other suspect was being sought. Finland enjoys relatively low crime rates compared to other European nations but, with many Finns keen hunters, it has one of the biggest gun own-ership rates in the world. Town mayor Pertti Lintunen confirmed that among the victims was social-democrat council leader Tiina Wilen-Jappinen. Names of the slain journalists were not revealed.

Imatra is a small lakeside town of 17,000 people in southeastern Finland.

London

Reuters

Britain could pay in to some EU programmes after Brexit but the govern-

ment will take back control of its own money and will no longer spend large amounts in Brussels, Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said yesterday.

Businesses, investors and opposition lawmakers are clamouring for clarity on gov-ernment’s negotiating position before it triggers the formal exit procedure from the EU by the end of March.

Last week, Brexit minister David Davis said Britain could pay into EU budget to get access to bloc’s single market of 500 million customers, easing fears that the government is heading for a “hard Brexit” involving a clean break with the bloc.

But Johnson, speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr television programme, declined to confirm whether that was a priority for government, saying ministers were considering several options.

“I’ve always thought that there were aspects of EU coop-eration ... where actually ... to be part of that in the future might be a good idea, certainly would be a good idea if it involved pay-ing in,” Johnson said, referring to

the Erasmus student exchange programme and Horizon pro-gramme for research.

“(Paying in for single mar-ket access) is obviously something that David Davis is considering. That doesn’t mean that a decision has been taken.”

“The crucial thing to under-stand is very large sums of money will be coming back to this country which ... could be spent on priorities like national health service,” said Johnson, who campaigned for Britain to leave the EU on a “battle bus” that had written on its side: “We send the EU £350m a week, let’s fund out NHS instead.”

Johnson has been criticised for saying health service could benefit to such a large extent during the campaign and since then has found some of his comments have come back to haunt him.

Brexit spokesman for Labour Party, Keir Starmer, called on government to offer parliament more clarity on its plans. “Government must put its basic plan before parliament so we can discuss it, at the moment ... we are all going through trying to find fragments of evidence as to what approach they are going to take,” Starmer said.

But Johnson said govern-ment was clear in its aims.

Málaga, Spain

AFP

Spanish authorities said 92 migrants travelling in five makeshift boats were res-

cued off Spain’s coast. Among those rescued were

63 people from sub-Saharan Africa, officials said without specifying their nationalities, and 29 Algerians.

Most of the migrants were taken to the port of Malaga in southern Spain, following a

“complicated” rescue operation in rough seas around 49 nauti-cal miles from the coast, a maritime rescue officials said.

The group included three women and a child and a boy who had to be hospitalised after suffering from hypothermia.

Also, Spanish authorities stopped 22 migrants hiding in a lorry who were trying to enter Melilla, a Spanish enclave in north Africa which, along with another enclave called Ceuta, are the only land borders

between Africa and the EU.Authorities used a system

that detects heartbeats to detect migrants, said Irene Flores, a spokeswoman for Melilla gov-ernment. The 22 were taken to a migrant centre in Melilla where they will be eligible to lodge a request for asylum. The lorry driver and his assistant were detained.

The Spanish interior minis-try has said more than 11,600 migrants and refugees arrived in Ceuta and Melilla last year.

Bobigny, France

AFP

A French court upheld a 25 year prison sentence handed to a former Rwan-

dan intelligence agent jailed in France’s first trial over African country’s 1994 genocide.

Pascal Simbikangwa was found guilty of genocide and complicity in crimes against humanity in a landmark 2014 trial that marked a turning point in France’s approach to geno-cide suspects living on its soil.

Simbikangwa, a 56-year-old former presidential guard mem-ber who insists he is innocent, launched an appeal in October prompting a six-week trial that

was decided by nine jurors and three magistrates.

His legal team blasted the decision as “botched”.

“We were naive—we wanted to believe that he would not be sentenced in advance,” his law-yer Fabrice Epstein said as she left the court in Bobigny outside Paris.

She said the proceedings had been treated as a wider trial on the genocide that left more than 800,000 people dead, “rather than the trial of Mr Sim-bikangwa” alone.

Lawyers for the five activist groups that were civil parties in the case meanwhile left the courtroom to applause from supporters.

Alain Gauthier, head of the Civil Plaintiffs Collective for Rwanda, hailed the decision. “This legitimises the fight we’ve been leading for 20 years with-out any glory,” he said.

The International Federation of Human Rights and Human Rights League, which were also among the civil parties, said the ruling gave a voice to “victims who have been waiting for jus-tice to be done for more than 20 years”.

Previously, France, widely considered to have supported the Rwandan Hutu regime that carried out the bulk of the kill-ings, had been accused of dragging its feet on prosecuting cases.

Since Simbikangwa went on trial, two other Rwandans have been prosecuted in France over the genocide—Octavien Ngenzi and Tito Barahira, who are both appealing life sentences they were handed in May.

Simbikangwa, who has been confined to a wheelchair since a car crash in the 1980s, was accused of organising road-blocks where Hutu militia murdered many of their victims, mostly members of the Tutsi minority.

He was also accused of arm-ing the militia.

“I was a soldier but after my accident I returned to civilian life,” he told the court earlier this week.

Freedom Party concedes defeat in Austria poll

Alexander Van der Bellen, candidate for presidential election, and his wife Doris Schmidauer (left) leave a polling station after casting their ballots at 6th district in Vienna, yesterday.

UK may back some EU members after Brexit: Johnson

Three women shot dead in Finland

Spain rescues 92 migrants

Jail term for Rwanda genocide convict upheld

18 MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 AMERICAS

End of an era

The Cuban military fired a 21-gun salute and crowds at the entrance to the cemetery sang the national anthem as the ashes entered the cemetery.

Kennedy Center Honourees pose for a group photo after a gala dinner at the US State Department, in Washington. (Seated from left) Actor Al Pacino, singer Mavis Staples, pianist Martha Argerich, singer-songwriter James Taylor; (Standing) members of rock band Eagles, Joe Walsh, Don Henley and Timothy B Schmit.

High achievers honoured

Cuban President Raul Castro salutes next to Venezuelan President Nicolas Mduro (right) and Brazilian former presidents Dilma Rousseff (left) and Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, during the last ceremony to pay homage to the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Santiago. RIGHT: Workers fix a plaque with Fidel Castro’s name at his tomb at Santa Ifigenia cemetery in Santiago, yesterday.

Santiago

AP

Fidel Castro’s ashes were interred in a private ceremony yesterday, ending nine days of mourning for the man

who ruled Cuba for nearly half a century.

The military caravan bear-ing his remains in a flag-draped cedar coffin left the Plaza of the Revolution in the eastern city of Santiago at 6:39 am. Thousands of people lined the two-mile route to Santa Ifigenia cemetery, waving Cuban flags and shout-ing “Long live Fidel!”

The Cuban military fired a 21-gun salute and crowds at the

entrance to the cemetery sang the national anthem as the ashes entered about 40 minutes later.

The ceremony lasted more than an hour and took place out of the public eye after Cuban officials made a last-minute can-cellation of plans to broadcast

the events live on national and international television. Inter-national media were also barred from the ceremony.

Martial music could be heard outside the cemetery, where Ines de la Rosa was among the mourners gathered. She said she would have liked to watch the ceremony on tel-evision, but “we understand how they as a family also need a bit of privacy.”

Fellow mourner Elena Vinales said she wasn’t surprised that the images of the ceremony were not broadcast. “It seems to be a family moment,” she said.

The decision to hold a pri-vate ceremony came the morning after Castro’s brother,

President Raul Castro, announced that Cuba would pro-hibit the naming of streets and monuments after the former leader, and bar the construction of statues of the former leader and revolutionary icon, in keep-ing with his desire to avoid a cult of personality.

“The leader of the revolution rejected any manifestation of a cult of personality and was con-sistent in that through the last hours of his life, insisting that, once dead, his name and like-ness would never be used on institutions, streets, parks or other public sites, and that busts, statutes or other forms of tribute would never be erected,” Raul Castro told a massive crowd

gathered in the eastern city of Santiago.

He said that Cuba’s National Assembly would vote in its next session on the law fulfilling the wishes of his brother, who died last week at 90. The legislature generally holds a meeting in December and under Cuba’s sin-gle-party system, parliament unanimously or near-unani-mously approves every government proposal.

Fidel Castro, who stepped down in 2006 after falling ill, kept his name off public sites during his near half-century in power because he said he wanted to avoid the develop-ment of a personality cult. In contrast, the images of his fellow

revolutionary fighters Camilo Cienfuegos and Ernesto “Che” Guevara became common across Cuba in the decades since their deaths.

Mourning for Castro has been fervent and intense across the country since his death, partic-ularly in rural eastern Cuba, where huge crowds have been shouting Castro’s name and lin-ing the roads to salute the funeral procession carrying his ashes.

“All of us would like to put Fidel’s name on everything but in the end, Fidel is all of Cuba,” said Juan Antonio Gonzalez, a 70-year-old retired economist. “It was a decision of Fidel’s, not Raul’s, and I think he has to be respected.”

Oakland

AFP

Fire crew in California worked into the night sift-ing through the remains

of a warehouse gutted by a blaze during a rave party, with officials saying they fear the death toll could reach 40.

Relatives of dozens of peo-ple missing in the blaze in a district of Oakland near San Francisco continued their anx-ious wait for news. Nine people are confirmed dead so far.

The rickety two-story warehouse was used by artists as a living and work space but had no licence for this, officials said, nor for the electronic dance party under way when the blaze broke out. The cause was not yet known.

Firefighters had to pull out of the building to shore it up when part of the fragile struc-ture and some of the walls began to move.

Sergeant Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff’s department told a news con-ference that about two dozen people who were reported missing had been located.

But at least two dozen more remain missing, he said.

“We don’t know how far into the process we are, because we don’t absolutely have a number of people that we know are deceased inside of there,” he said.

An official, said yesterday the death toll could rise to 40 or even higher.

Most of those who perished in the blaze were thought to have died on the upper floor of

the two-story warehouse known as Oakland Ghost Ship, said Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed.

The sheriff’s office station in Oakland became a center for relatives of the missing. The Salvation Army dropped off 50 meals for them, the San Fran-cisco Chronicle reported.

Daniel Vega said he is look-ing for his brother Alex and his girlfriend, who had said they were going to a party in Oak-land. “If he is dead, if he is in the rubble, fine, I’ll get over it. But I just want to find him,” Vega told the Chronicle.

Some of the missing are from overseas, making identi-fication of victims—thought to be in their 20s and 30s—more difficult. The warehouse had numerous partitions added to the original building.

Friends and families of par-tygoers took to social media to search for news about their loved ones, with some posting information on the event’s Facebook page.

“Please tell me you are safe,” one woman wrote, add-ing a friend’s name, while others posted prayers.

An artist told Fox television affiliate KTVU the fire broke out in the back of building where some 18 artists shared space.

The man, who was not identified, said he tried to help a fellow artist who had broken his ankle to flee the inferno, but was obstructed by the smoke and flames as well as the mess of objects.

“I hope he is OK,” he fur-ther told the station, his voice breaking up.

Castro’s ashes interred in private ceremony

Big Spring, Texas

AP

A woman was killed and seven other people were injured when a semi-

trailer crashed into a bus carrying a group of West Texas high school cheerleaders, authorities said yesterday.

The small activity bus, which was carrying six cheer-leaders and two cheerleader sponsors, was headed home after a football game in Colo-rado City, Texas, when it was hit on Interstate 20 near Big Spring, Iraan-Sheffield School

District Superintendent Kevin Allen told reporters.

The semitractor-traillor, travelling eastbound on I-20, lost control trying to avoid hit-ting a car that had slammed its brakes, said Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Oscar Vil-larreal. The semitrailer then veered across the center median and entered the westbound lanes of I-20, hitting the bus.

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the crash but the road had been wet due to rainy conditions, Villar-real said.

Allen said the crash

happened so fast that the bus was unable to react to the oncoming semitrailer.

One of the cheerleader spon-sors was killed. DPS identified her as 52-year-old Elizabeth Pope of the small West Texas community of Iraan. Pope also ran a computer lab in the dis-trict’s elementary school, Allen said.

The seven injured people were taken to hospitals in Big Spring and Lubbock. Four had been treated and released later in the day.

Eric Finley, spokesman for University Medical Center in

Lubbock, said three remained hospitalised — two in critical and one in satisfactory condition.

The cheerleaders ranged in age from 14 to 17. The other cheerleader sponsor was a 48-year-old woman.

Allen said the school district planned to have counselors at the high school on Monday and Tuesday. The high school has 125 students, while the entire district has about 550 students.

“Nobody in our community has ever gone through this. We are trying to figure out how do we best handle this for our kids,” he said.

1 dead & 7 hurt in cheerleader bus crashCalifornia party fire toll could reach 40

Durham, New Hampshire

AP

A TEAM of New Hampshire researchers is hoping their work in finding disease-caus-ing bacteria in New Hampshire waters leads to a system that will eventually alert the indus-try when a dangerous pathogen is in the waters.

The work of scientists at the University of New Hamp-shire comes as the number of cases of people falling ill from eating raw oysters has spiked.

Researchers found that cases of disease from certain harmful bacteria strains have increased from five in New England in 2000 to 147 in 2013.

Researchers look for cause behind oyster outbreaks

19MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016 AMERICAS

Nothing unusual

The Vice-President-elect said the call was similar in nature to one between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping after the November 8 election.

Members of Lohan School of Shaolin perform a traditional Chinese lion dance during grand opening celebration of Lucky Dragon Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, yesterday.

Dragon dance

Washington

Reuters

US President-elect Donald Trump’s phone conversation with Taiwan Presi-dent Tsai Ing-wen,

which prompted a diplomatic protest from China, was simply a “courtesy call,” Vice President-elect Mike Pence said on NBC yesterday.

Asked whether any shift in policy should be read into the call, Pence said: “I don’t think so.” The call with Tsai was the first by a US President-elect or pres-ident with a Taiwanese leader since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979.

“This was a courtesy call. The democratically elected president of Taiwan called to congratulate the president-elect,” Pence said.

China’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it has lodged “stern representations” with what it called the “relevant U.S. side,” urging the careful handling of the Taiwan issue to avoid any unnec-essary disturbances in ties.

Pence said he was not aware of any contact between the

Trump transition team and the Chinese government since Fri-day, and did not expect Trump’s team would reach out this week to ease tensions with China, which claims Taiwan as its own.

Pence said the call was sim-ilar in nature to one between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping after the November 8 election.

“I think I would just say to our counterparts in China that this was a moment of courtesy. The president-elect talked to President Xi two weeks ago in the same manner. It was not a discussion about policy,” Pence said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Trump lambasted China throughout the U.S. election campaign, pledging to label the

country a currency manipulator on his first day in office.

Asked on ABC’s “This Week” whether Trump would make

good on that pledge, Pence said decisions on policy would come after Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

“It will be for the president-elect to decide whether he implements that policy after the inauguration,” Pence said.

Trump's talk with Ing-wen a courtesy call: PenceTweets: Trump fires back after being mocked Washington

AFP

PRESIDENT-ELECT Don-ald Trump sent a dismissive tweet in response to a com-edy sketch that mocked his penchant for sending tweets.

Trump again lambasted the show Saturday Night Live, on which he is played by actor Alec Baldwin.

“Just tried watching Sat-urday Night Live - unwatchable! Totally biased, not funny and the Baldwin impersonation just can’t get any worse. Sad,” Trump wrote.

In the latest sketch, the President-elect is gently chided by aides for send-ing retweets, one from a high school student, dur-ing a national security briefing.

Kellyanne Conway, campaign manager and senior advisor to the Trump Presidential Transition Team, hugs visitors at Trump Tower in New York, yesterday.

Chicago

Reuters

MURDERS in Chicago have already topped 700 this year, police said, as a surge in vio-lence in the third largest UScity has sent the number of killings to its highest point in nearly two decades.

There were 77 murders in November, according to Chi-cago Police Department, bringing number of murders to 701 for the year to date.

Murders have surged 55 percent from same period last year, according to CPD spokesman Frank Gian-camilli. The rate is highest since 704 people were killed in 1998 and 761 in 1997.

The number of murders in Chicago, a city of 2.7 million, exceeds those in Los Angeles and New York combined.

Much of Chicago’s vio-lence occurs on its poverty stricken west and south sides.

“These are human disas-ter zones. And we have to get to a point where we build infrastructure to improve the communities,” said William Hall, 32, a local pastor and founder of the Acts of Love Campaign in Chicago, a social services organisation.

Trust in the city’s police force has eroded due to a number of high-profile inci-dents, most notably the shooting death of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager, by a white police officer.

Los Angeles

AP

Police investigating a noto-rious gang in a city on California’s central coast

issued a fake press release that the chief credited with saving two men by deceiving gang members who wanted to kill them, but the ruse was criti-cised by news organisations who reported it as fact.

Santa Maria Police Chief Ralph Martin defended the tac-tic when it came to light, saying he had never done such a thing in his 43-year career, but he wouldn’t rule out doing it again.

“It was a moral and ethical decision, and I stand by it,” Martin said. “I am keenly aware and sensitive to community and the media. I also had 21 bodies

lying in city in last 15 months.”The phony announcement

issued in February was discov-ered in court documents and only reported this week by Santa Maria Sun, a weekly newspaper in the city.

The newspaper and local television stations were una-ware the information in the release was false when they reported that two men, Jose Santos Melendez, 22, and Jose Marino Melendez, 23, were picked up for identity theft and handed over to immigration authorities.

In fact, detectives eaves-dropping on the deadly MS-13 gang had raced to home of two cousins in nearby Guadalupe and took them into protective custody after learning hit men were on their way there.

Rio de Janeiro AFP

Brazilians took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro and other cities yesterday to defend

a huge anti-corruption probe against what they said were attempts by the scandal-plagued Congress to shut it down.

Hundreds of people began streaming to Copacabana for the first of what organisers said would be nationwide demon-strations in support of Operation Car Wash, a probe that has

uncovered mass embezzlement by politicians and top executives at state oil company Petrobras and other businesses.

“Car Wash—protected by the people,” read one placard car-ried by a man wrapped in the green and yellow Brazilian flag.

Demonstrators were furious at a vote earlier this week by the lower house of Congress—where many deputies are themselves suspects in criminal probes—to weaken a long-planned anti-corruption bill and to undermine the authority of prosecutors.

The uproar was only the lat-est twist in a series of scandals shaking allies of President Michel Temer who came to power in August after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, promising to put recession-battered Brazil back on track.

Several of Temer’s cabinet ministers have resigned in the face of corruption allegations and this week the Supreme Court ruled that one of Temer’s key political partners, Senate Presi-dent Renan Calheiros, must stand trial on corruption charges.

Protesters were also taking to the streets in the capital Bra-silia, the country’s commercial powerhouse Sao Paulo, and some 200 other cities, organis-ers promised.

In Rio, early arrivals said that the desire to fight corrup-tion was uniting Brazilians who have been bitterly divided all this year over the Rousseff impeachment, which her leftwing supporters saw as a coup mounted by Temer and his centre-right PMDB party.

“It’s the first time where the

people are really rallying together. We hope that today all the factions and ideological divi-sions will join,” said university teacher Sergio Giacomo, 50.

“Here you will find builders, bus drivers, teachers—not just the well-off. We’re workers who are fed up with the institution-alisation of corruption in our country,” said his fellow pro-tester Joana Darc, 51, also a university professor who had come from one of Rio’s gritty suburbs to the well-to-do Copac-abana shoreline.

Cannon Ball

AP

Military veterans started to gather yesterday near the main Dakota Access

pipeline protest camp, where they’ll join several hundred peo-ple who are against four-state, $3.8bn project that’s largely complete.

The group Veterans Stand for Standing Rock will meet in Can-non Ball, about a mile south of the Oceti Sakowin, or Seven Council Fires, camp. Already, a few hun-dred of them have arrived in camp

and the group’s GoFundMe.com page had raised more than $1m of its $1.2m goal by yesterday— money due to go towards food, transportation and supplies.

Navy veteran and Harvard graduate student Art Grayson came to camp because he “couldn’t stand by and watch people being abused,” a refer-ence to contentious and debated clashes between protesters and law enforcement.

“People are fighting for something, and I thought they could use my help,” said the 29-year-old from Massachusetts,

who flew the first leg of the jour-ney, then met up with other veterans and rode from Bismarck in the back of a pickup truck.

“For people to recognise we are here says a lot,” Grayson said, adding though he has finals this week, he told professors “I’ll see you when I get back.”

The government has ordered people to leave main encamp-ment, which is on federal land in southern North Dakota, by today. But demonstrators say they’re prepared to stay, and state and local authorities say they won’t forcibly remove the protesters.

North Dakota authorities have said they’ll move away from a key bridge if demonstra-tors agree to certain conditions, which were outlined in a Mor-ton County Sheriff’s Office news release.

“The question was asked if we would consider pulling back from the Backwater Bridge,” Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney said in the release after a conversa-tion between law enforcement and the organisers with Veter-ans Stand for Standing Rock, “and the answer is yes! We want this to de-escalate.”

Protestors continue to demonstrate against plans to pass the Dakota Access pipeline near Cannon Ball.

Police use ‘fake news’ in sting aimed at gang

Murders in Chicago top 700

Brazilians take to streets against corruption

Veterans gather near Dakota protest camp


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The Peninsula

Qatari high school students who won summer scholar-ships to study in New York in WCM-Q’s Healing Hands essay competition returned

to the college to speak about their experiences. Back in May, four high school students were judged to have written the best essays out of a large number of submissions and were awarded the fully-funded, two-week Doctors of the Future Scholarships to study at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City and Cornell University at Ith-aca, upstate New York.

This year’s winners were Aljohara Salem Al Marri (Al Eman Independent School for Girls), Fatima Mohammed Al Naimi (International School of Lon-don-Qatar), Jassim Ahmed Al Mansoori (The English Modern School) and ImanehQaedi (Al Eman Independent School for Girls). Having completed their summer scholarships, Jassim, Aljohara and Imaneh returned to WCM-Q to give reports about their experiences. The Doctors of the Future Scholarship was launched in 2008 and is organised by WCM-Q’s Student Recruitment and Outreach office, part of the Division of Pre-medical Educa-tion, with the aim of giving promising Qatari high school students the chance to explore the possibilities of a career in medicine.

This year’s programme was the first to feature a week in Ithaca; pre-viously, students spent the full two weeks at Weill Cornell Medicine-New York. Dr. Krystyna Golkowska, WCM-Q’s Associate Professor of English, designed the new Ithaca program to give the students an idea of what it is like to study for an undergraduate degree and to acquaint them with Cor-nell as an institution. During their stay

at Ithaca, the students attended lec-tures on a wide range of subjects and enjoyed experiential learning sessions such as visits to Cornell’s veterinary hospital and to real, working laboratories.

The students then travelled to Weill Cornell Medicine-New York where they spent a week in the labs of Randi Silver, Associate Dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and Professor Of Physiology And Biophysics, and Stefan Worgall, Distinguished Professor Of Pediatric Pulmonology And Chief Of The Division Of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergy And Immunology. At the end of the week, the students presented their results to the lab teams. While in New York the students also toured NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, one the best academic medical centers in the United States.

Imaneh said the scholarship had been “truly inspirational.” “It was a really great experience,” she said. “The

most interesting thing for me was going on rounds in the clinic, getting to talk with patients and having the doctors explain the different cases to us. They showed us CT scans and explained the differences between healthy and abnormal physiology, so we got a real insight into what it’s like to be a practicing doctor. “I have always wanted to study medicine and become a doctor - the scholarship experience has helped show me the way. I’m so glad I had this chance. ” Jassim said: “I enjoyed the experience so much, especially the lectures, which were really interesting. Since I got back I have been inspired to read and learn as much as I can about a wide range of subjects, from DNA and how it replicates through to theories about addiction. The whole experience was very intellectually stimulating.”

Each of the students was presented with a certificate of participation at a ceremony attended by Dr Javaid Sheikh, Dean of WCM-Q, Dr Marco

Ameduri, Associate Dean for Pre-med-ical Education, Dr Rachid Bendriss, Assistant Dean for Student Recruit-ment, Outreach and Foundation Programs, Noha Saleh, Director for Student Recruitment and Outreach, and Dr Krystyna Golkowska, Associ-ate Professor of English.

Dr Golkowska said, “We were extremely impressed by the aptitude and enthusiasm of the students. They worked extremely hard, were open to every new experience, and always had smiles on their faces. We were also very pleased that the students were enriched by the newly created visit to Ithaca and we have plans to continue this next year.” Dr. Sheikh said: “They were excellent ambassadors for their high schools, for WCM-Q and for Qatar. We hope that they will continue their journeys as scholars of science and we welcome them to apply to study here with us at WCM-Q so that they can become physician-scientists able to serve their community.”

Qatari students complete WCM-Q scholarships in US

The winners of Healing Hands competition with Dr Marco Ameduri (left), Dr. Javaid Sheikh and Dr. Rachid Bendriss (right).

king salman arrives today on historic visit€¦ · 'made in qatar exhibition 2016' ......

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