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Volume 22 | Number 7171 | 2 RiyalsWednesday 24 May 2017 | 28 Sha'baan 1438 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

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Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended the graduation ceremony of the 8th batch of the National Service recruits at Al Shamal Training Camp, yesterday. → See also page 2

Emir attends graduation of National Service recruitsQatar Summer Festival to be biggest this yearRaynald C RiveraThe Peninsula

The upcoming fourth Qatar Summer Festi-val (QSF) will be the longest and biggest yet, Qatar Tourism

Authority (QTA) said yesterday.

To be held under the theme “Colour Your Summer”, the nationwide festival will com-bine shopping and hotel promotions, live entertainment and rides and games running from June 22 to September 5, more than twice its usual duration.

“The incidence of both Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha during the summer months this year created the perfect opportunity for us to merge the Eid Celebra-tions in Qatar and Qatar Summer Festival into a contin-uous, two-month long festival. In addition to having a longer QSF, tourists will also have more to choose from in terms of entertainment, shopping dis-counts and hotel offers,” Mashal Shahbik, Director of Festivals and Tourism Events at QTA, said at a press conference yesterday.

While the festival activities will begin on June 26, shopping promotions will start on June 22 to allow shoppers enjoy dis-counts in the last few days of Ramadan in preparation for Eid Al Fitr. QSF is delivered by the private sector, with QTA’s guid-ance and support. Malls, hotels and destination management companies will provide enter-tainment events and special packages, while the QSF center-piece and family-favourite, the Summer Entertainment City, will be delivered by local events management company, QSports.

→ Continued on page 8

Emir condoles with British Queen & PM QNA

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent yesterday cables of con-

dolences to H M Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Theresa May on the victims of the explosion that took place in Manchester city. He wished the injured a speedy recovery. A Foreign Ministry statement condemned the attack and expressed full solidarity with the UK government. It also expressed Qatar's condolences to the families of the victims. → See also page 15

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Sheikha Moza reaffirms role of education QNA

HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Education Above All

Foundation, stressed the ability

of education to transform and enlighten the lives of youth, expressing regret over millions of children around the world who are not able to reach their potential because of conflict.

In an article in Time maga-zine, Sheikha Moza said that a quarter of the world’s school-aged children—about 462m— live in conflict-ravaged countries.

→ See also page 3

To be held under the theme “Colour Your Summer”, the nationwide festival will combine shopping and hotel promotions, live entertainment and rides and games running from June 22 to September 5.

02 WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017HOME

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with the first distinguished recruits of the 1st Battalion (university degree holders) and the 2nd Battalion (secondary certificate holders).

QNA

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday honoured the first distinguished recruits of the 1st Bat-

talion (university degree holders) and the 2nd Battalion (secondary cert i f icate holders).

The ceremony began with the National Anthem, then Chairman of the National Serv-ice Authority Brigadier Saeed Hamad Al Nuaimi hailed the event which is the fruit of the Emir's continuous support for National Service projects in par-ticular, and for the Armed Forces projects in general.

He stressed that the National Service witnessed a qualitative leap in training and armament which reflects the level of readiness of the armed forces, noting that the National

Service has specialised forces in each branch of the Armed Forces.

After that, the National Serv-ice recruits performed a parade accompanied by a variety of military performances, includ-ing land and sea infiltration, landing and ambush, hostage clearance, stadium riots, in addition to the Civil Defence and other military performances.

The number of National

Service graduates in the 8th batch was 650 recruits of uni-versity and secondary degrees holders who underwent military and academic training during the training period, including infantry training, fitness, light weapons and shooting, field and combat skills, riot control, chemical defense, civil defense and first aid, as well as religious and cultural programmes and lectures.

Emir attends graduation eventof National Service Recruits

The National Service witnessed a qualitative leap in training and armament which reflects the level of readiness of the Armed Forces. The National Service has specialised forces in each branch of the Armed Forces.

Qatar Academy Al Khor celebrates graduation of its first cohortThe Peninsula

Qatar Academy Al Khor (QAK) celebrated the graduation of its first

cohort, the Class of 2017, yes-terday, at its new campus in Al Khor.

Buthaina Ali Al Nuaimi, President of Qatar Foundation’s (QF) Pre-University Education (PUE), opened the ceremony by highlighting the positive impact Qatar Academy Al Khor has had on the local community and its commitment to supporting QF’s mission and vision.

In her speech, Al Nuaimi emphasized PUE’s commitment, along with all other QF schools and universities, “in laying the foundation for lifelong learning and empowering our future gen-erations to thrive in a global environment.”

Ali Al Fadala, Chairman of

the Board of Governors, QAK; Hamad Hamdan Al Mohannadi, Guest Speaker and Director of the Department of Heritage at the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage; and Aisha Al Megbali, Director, QAK, also addressed the attendees, praising the stu-dents’ achievements.

Also present were members of QF’s leadership team, Qatar Academy administrators, and members of the wider commu-nity, while graduates’ families and teachers joined the celebra-tions marking the culmination of many years of hard work and achievement.

QAK Director Al Megbali, reflected on the occasion, say-ing: "Today we celebrate our students; the leaders of tomor-row and a true reflection of our unique identity and culture. Moving forward, the memories of QAK will continue to

empower them, remind them of their roots, and mark the begin-ning of their journey towards success. QAK is determined to be the foundation of excellence on which a strong and vibrant Al Khor will continue to grow and thrive as a community. Good luck to our first graduat-ing students; QAK will always be your home.”

The class Valedictorian, Noora Ibrahim Al Mohannadi, and Salutatorian, Saad Essa Al Muhannadi, also reflected on their individual experiences at QAK, highlighting how the school’s vision encourages stu-dents to strive for academic excellence and become respon-sible citizens. During the ceremony, Awards for Excellence in all disciplines were distributed, as well as the Honors Awards to Noora Ibrahim Al Mohannadi and Saad Essa Al Muhannadi.

A student receiving an award during the ceremony.

03WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017 HOME

Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani with Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Abdurrahman M Fachir in Doha yesterday. They discussed bilateral relations.

New York

QNA

H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the Chairperson of Educa-tion Above All Foundation, stressed the ability of edu-cation to transform and

enlighten the lives of youth, expressing regret over millions of children around the world who are not able to reach their potential because of conflict.

In an article in Time magazine, Sheikha Moza said that one quarter of all the world’s school-aged children, about 462 million young people, live in countries devastated by conflict.

Last month, the Unicef reported that more than one in five school-age chil-dren living in war zones is missing out

on schooling. In most of these conflicts, schools, teachers and students are vic-tims of targeted attacks. There have been

a series of attacks on schools in at least 21 countries experiencing armed con-flict since 2013, HH Sheikha Moza noted.

Her Highness voiced concern over the alarming levels of conflict and humanitarian crisis around the world that are endangering not only the United Nation’s global development goals, but also the credibility of the international order that the UN represents.

She noted that the UN Security Council (UNSC) is the body charged by the UN Charter to ensure international peace and security. Yet this key institu-tion is broken exactly where it is needed most: to hold those who commit mass atrocities and grave violations of inter-national law to account.

Time after time, members of the UNSC do not use their power of veto

responsibly. Perpetrators are not held to account for their actions and oppor-tunities to prevent conflict and establish peace are lost, she added.

Sheikha Moza said that the October attack on a school in Idlib in Syria, that left 21 children dead and many others wounded after an educational complex, which included a kindergarten, an ele-mentary school, two middle schools and a secondary school, was targeted is a possible war crime as described by a senior UN official. Yet the UN Security Council failed to unite and condemn this atrocity, meaning that there have been no consequences for the perpetrators.

Until government armed forces and non-state armed groups are held accountable for attacking schools, the violations and the violence will not stop,

Sheikha Moza underlined, stressing that to make children safe as they learn, all states must adhere to the international laws and resolutions that protect educa-tion and the rights of children. Justice and security alone will not bring education to the millions of children who need it.

Her Highness underlined that qual-ity education is well known to strengthen economies and improve health outcomes. It also makes an important contribution to conflict prevention and post-conflict recovery for communities. Sheikha Moza stressed that those delivering the world aid development budgets should recog-nize the long-term value of investing in secure, quality education. They should acknowledge the potential of education to prevent and heal conflict as well as build resilience within communities.

Sheikha Moza: Education must enlighten youth

The Peninsula

Al Jazeera Media Network yesterday announced the launch of its daily channel on Snapchat’s Discover

which the network sees as one of the key mediums for its dedicated Arabic content aimed at engaging and inspiring a generation of empow-ered and conscious Arab youth.

Commenting on the launch, Dr Yaser Bishr, Executive Direc-tor of Digital for Al Jazeera said: “This is not simply another attempt to fill a millennial niche. Al Jazeera has assembled a team of young storytellers consisting of journalists, influencers and creative talents from around the region to produce the Arabic content for our Snapchat audience.”

He emphasised: “Our digital content is carefully curated and shared among the receptive Snapchat community with an aim to bring them news, current affairs and captivating content.” By bringing the storytellers closer

to the audience, the stories Al Jazeera pub-lishes will offer the news and issues that their audiences are passionate about. The content has been curated and created with a truly regional and authentic focus. Young people in the Arab world are socially

conscious and do care about politics, human rights, social diversity and justice; as much as they do about lifestyle and entertain-ment. By listening to the needs of the audience when creating content, Al Jazeera is able to focus on sharing more targeted

stories of interest and value to a younger generation.

Dr Mostefa Souag, Acting Director General of Al Jazeera Media Network, stated: “By partnering with Snapchat to push storytelling forward, Al Jazeera continues to work towards informing and empow-ering our younger audience in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond, through various new and innovative platforms.”

Younger audiences con-tinue to seek smart, thought-provoking digital sto-ries and news. With Snapchat seeing a rise of over 12 million users in the Mena region, Al Jazeera believes it’s an ideal place to reach these audiences.

Al Jazeera launches Arabic content on Snapchat Discover

Foreign Minister holds telephone talks with French counterpartFOREIGN MINISTER H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani held yesterday a telephone con-versation with French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian.

The Foreign Minister con-gratulated his French counterpart on being chosen as the new Minister of For-eign Affairs, wishing him success in his mission.

The two sides also dis-cussed bilateral relations and the means to enhance them, in addition to discussing regional and international issues of joint interest.

Fazeena Saleem The Peninsula

The focus on creating awareness and introduc-ing new treatment

methods for diabetes in the Gulf region including Qatar is prom-inent due to the high prevalence of the condition, says a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer for diabetes care medications and devices.

"We see the GCC region as an important area. Our radars are always on Qatar and the other Gulf countries because of the high increasing number of peo-ple with diabetes," Maziar Mike Doustdar, Executive Vice Presi-dent, International Operations at Novo Nordisk told The Peninsula, on sidelines of a press event held at their headquarters in Copen-hagen, Denmark.

"We take them into consid-eration in creating awareness about prevention and early detection of diabetes as well as in introducing new medicines and treatment methods," he added.

He also referred to the suc-cessful partnership Novo Nordisk had in Qatar with Action on Diabetes in creating awareness about the disease.

Diabetes remains one of Qatar’s largest health issues, with over 16.7 percent of adult Qataris being diagnosed already. Six percent of Qataris have abnormally high sugar levels and are likely to develop diabetes, unless lifestyle modifications are made. If the diabetes challenge is not addressed and lifestyles not modified, as many as a quarter of all Qataris may have diabetes by 2030 according to the Inter-national Diabetes Federation.

Further, Doustdar also dis-cussed about the 'Global Diabetes Challenge' during the

event. He highlighted on the frisk of 642 million people becoming diabetic by 2040, the high prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes as well as about the importance of creating aware-ness. It also included about addressing risk factors, early diagnosis, access to care and better outcomes. He also out-lined the nature of Novo Nordisk's global operations.

Among all people with dia-betes , only 50 percent have been diagnosed, of whom about another 25 percent receive care, 12.5 percent achieve treatment targets and only around six per-cent of people with diabetes live a life free from diabetes-related complications. Doustdar sees a clear role for their International Operations in providing treat-ment for those people who need it so that they can live their lives to the full.

"Only around half of the peo-ple living with diabetes around the world are diagnosed, and only half of these people receive treatment. we therefore have an obligation and an opportunity to increase awareness and access to care across the world," he said. Novo Nordisk is currently the market leader in diabetes care products , and supplies half of all insulin and holding a 23 percent share of the total diabetes value market.

Novo Nordisk highlights partnership with Qatar's Action on Diabetes

H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser voiced concern over the alarming levels of conflict and humanitarian crisis around the world that are endangering not only the United Nation’s global development goals, but also the credibility of the international order that the UN represents.

"We see the GCC region as an important area because of the high increasing number of people with diabetes," says Maziar Mike Doustdar, Executive Vice President, International Operations at Novo Nordisk.

The Peninsula

As Ramadan begins end of this week, Hamad Medical Corporation

(HMC) is reminding patients who take daily medication and plan to fast to consult their physician before changing tim-ing and dosage.

During Ramadan, all adult Muslims who fast are required to refrain from tak-ing any food, liquids or oral drugs between dawn and sunset.

However, those with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart and kidney diseases, as well as conditions like epi-lepsy, require daily medication

to effectively manage their condition and prevent compli-cations. If these individuals wish to fast, they are advised to consult their physician or pharmacist before making changes to their medication routine.

According to Dr Moza Sulaiman Al Hail, Executive Director of Pharmacy at HMC, several studies have shown that patients often change the intake time and dosage of their medication without first seek-ing medical advice.

“This behavior could alter the pharmacological proper-ties of a drug and impact the effectiveness of the medica-tion and the patient’s tolerance of the drug.” She

went on to explain that unsu-pervised changes to medication timings can render a medicine useless and also cause serious health complications.

During Ramadan, most patients who require daily medications are able to work with their healthcare team to safely make adjustments so that medicines can be taken between sunset and dawn. However, Dr Al Hail urges patients to get medical advice before making any changes.

Dr Al Hail added: “Your doctor and pharmacist can be really helpful in these circum-stances. They can help you manage dose adjustments, such as switching to a once a

day regimen, which works well for most antibiotics, or to a sustained release formula for certain antihypertensive med-ications,” she noted.

Dr Al Hail went on to urge all patients who are ill to be vigilant during Ramadan. “If sick patients do fast, they should do so under the medi-cal supervision of their doctor, pharmacist, or another health professional familiar with their condition and medical history,” she said.

She also cautioned the public to avoid excessive use of non-prescription pain med-ications and antacid drugs, particularly without first con-s u l t i n g a m e d i c a l professional.

HMC reminds patients on medication timingMinistry announces subsidised rates for sheep during RamadanThe Peninsula

THE MINISTRY of Economy and Commerce yesterday announced that imported and locally-bred sheep will be sold at subsidised rates to Qatari nationals during the Holy month of Ramadan. Locally-bred sheep will be available for consumers at QR1,000 and Jordanian at QR850.

The decision came into effect yesterday and sheep at reduced rates will be available during the Holy month. The demand for mutton dur-ing the month of fasting increases in the local community and the government provides sheep at subsidised rate and a citizen is allowed to buy only two sheep.

The sheep will be sold at the outlets of Widam (Qatar Meat and Live-stock Company) in Doha, Al Shamal and Um Salal market. Prices for slaughtering and packing is QR16 and QR34 for porter said the ministry yesterday in statement. The buyers will be required to show their Qatari IDs at the outlet. The initiative has come as part of a special Ramadan initiative launched by the Ministry under the theme #Aqal_Min_Al_Wajeb, translated as “#the_least_we_can _do”. The ministry pointed out that it has agreed with Qatar Meat and Livestock Company to import 30,000 sheep of Arab origin which are highly demanded by the locals.

Foreign Minister meets Indonesian Minister


The Peninsula

The Primary Health Care Corporation’s (PHCC ) Research Section in the

Department of Clinical Affairs and its Department of Work-force Training and Development have initiated a rolling staff research training programmeme.

The programmeme is part of PHCC’s commitment to sup-porting Qatar’s National Health Research Strategy (NHRS), to provide the best quality of evi-dence-based health care for the people of Qatar, within a knowl-edge-based economy. It was designed to support and equip primary care clinicians and other allied staff with the right tools and capabilities to undertake research within a multidisciplinary environment.

The main objective of this programme is to support staff to develop the skills and competencies necessary for the good conduct of high quality research. The approach is hands-on, con-t e x t u a l i s e d a n d workshop-focused, allowing for full and active participant interactions. The course,

accredited by the Qatar Coun-cil for Health Practitioners (QCHP) as a Category 1 Contin-uing Professional Development (CPD) Activity, is designed in modules, and delivered by a partnership team of research experts and trainers drawn from Qatar’s Academic Health System (AHS) including PHCC, Weil-Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCMC-Q) and Sidra Medical and Research Center, Qatar. This training team provides practical, scenario-focused examples and facilitate group-based activities that allow

participants to develop the skills necessary for conducting good research, including eth-ics and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of research participants.

By this approach, the PHCC Staff Research Training pro-gramme is designed to help meet the goals of PHCC’s Research Readiness in order to fully implement the Primary Health Care Research Strategy within the context of the NHRS.

The programmeme targets to train 100 new PHCC staff every year. Between 2015 and

this year around 270 staff from different disciplines have been trained, a number of whom are already participating in research projects.

This year, PHCC also plans to provide more advanced training to some of the staff which have already been trained. In the first batch of training in 2017, 55 staff members completed their training. The second batch will undertake once-weekly five-week training at Al Thu-mama Health Center, starting on September 14.

PHCC Research Section holds training programme

Participants at the training programme .

CMC favours allocating ground floors for commercial useMohammed Osman The Peninsula

Upon a proposal and report of the Serv-ices and Facilities Committee of the Central Municipal

Council (CMC), the council yes-terday passed a recommendation urging the Ministry of Municipal-ity and Environment to allocate certain percentage of the ground floors of multi-storey buildings for commercial purposes.

The council has urged upon the Ministry to study the possi-bility of allocating specific

percentage of the ground floor of the residential or administra-tive multi-storey buildings for commercial outlets. The minis-try has also been recommended to identify the geographical areas where this proposal can be implemented and "these areas be treated on priority".

The recommendation was based on a proposal made by a member of the council and rep-resentative of the constituency No. 16, Mohammed Saleh Al Khayareen. In his proposal, Al Khayareen had indicated that “due to the development plans, demolishing of old buildings and

hike in rent prices” shortage in shops and commercial outlets had become a notable phenom-enon in many residential areas.

The officials from the Minis-try of Municipality attended a meeting held by the Services and Facilities Committee said the ministry conducted study on the same issue including in Al Wakra and Al Khor. The study recom-mended that 10 percent of the ground floor at any multi-storey building to be allocated for busi-ness and the allocated area in the building should not exceed 100 meters.

The ministry is planning to

have commercial outlets in the towers area and the plan includes real estate market and commercial streets, said the offi-cials from the Ministry of Municipality during the meeting.

During the 38th session of the council held yesterday, the council also passed recommen-dation on treating the villages and farms in the outskirts of the cities same like any residential houses rather than considering them resort facilities.

Al Khayareen also presented to the council a proposal urging Kahramaa to deal with the

residential houses in the outside areas as normal permanent houses of citizens instead of con-sidering them as chalets or resorts. Because of this policy Kahramaa is making people who have no alternative houses to live in the city, pay QR 44,000 to 350,000 to get water and elec-tricity supplies.

The legal status of these properties have been determined by the State Properties Depart-ment which considered these houses as resort facilitates rather than permanent residential because they are out out of the

urban plan and accordingly Kah-rama decided the fees of water and electricity supplies, said Mubarak Ali Al Sulaiti, Director of Legal Affairs at the Qatar Gen-eral Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa).

The council’s recommenda-tion urged the corporation to accept these houses and reduce the supply fees.

The council has also passed during the meeting recommen-dations demanding the competent authorities to build highway link-ing Al Khor with Al Shamal city besides approval of street names at the Education City.

Sidi Mohamed The Peninsula

The Islamic Da'wa Organisation office in Doha is all set to serve iftar meals to around 50,000 people in

the country during forthcoming holy month of Ramadan.

“More than 35,000 fasting people in Qatar benefited from the 'Breaking Fast' project last year and this year it will serve around 50,000 people. Last year, iftar meals' cost was about QR8 million and this year we are set to serve five million people around the world,” said Direc-tor-General of the Organisation's office in Qatar Sheikh Hammad Abdul Qader.

“The people who will be served from the 'Breaking Fast' project will be from poor families from Asian, African com-munities. Motorist and other people rushing for iftar will be given meals on the roads,”, Abdul Qader added in an interview with The Peninsula.

“Also we are coordinating with other charity organizations to implement The 'Breaking Fast' project in many coun-tries, and the cooperation is not only on the 'Breaking Fast' project but also on many other humanitarian projects like water projects, educational projects, health and combating poverty among other,” he added.

Replying to a question about the countries the organisation will focus this year, he said that the organization would focus on the countries which had excep-tional situation like wars, conflicts, floods, and drought like Somalia, Mali and Nigeria.

“The number of countries which ben-efited from the organisation’s projects last year was 35. Only in Africa, the organisation is working in 42 countries,” he said.

About the prominent projects the organization was currently working on specially in Africa, he said: “The

organisation is implementing a lot of economical, health and educational projects in countries like Senegal, Gam-bia, Uganda, and Somalia. The projects are like orphan sponsorship and drilling of wells, and building houses for poor people among others."

“Only last year, 142,000 poor peo-ple have benefited from Zakat al Fiter (it is form of charity given to the poor at the end of Ramadan) in 35 countries”.

About the aids that the organization was providing to Syria, he said that it had provided many relief projects for the dis-placed Syrian in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon. "The aids include building res-idential villages, accommodation supplies and other aids like food stuff

and medical supplies in addition to orphan sponsorship and contributing to the treatment of patients."

Abdul Qader also said that the last projects which the organization com-pleted in Syria were provision of food aids like rice, sugar, cooking oil, dates etc. and other supplies for children."

“We appreciate Qatari donors and the government for their attitude of help-ing poor people and all people in the world know that Qatar has accelerated efforts to provide relief to refugees,” he added.

Abdul Qader appealed to all philan-thropists to donate more in Ramadan and to help their poor brothers around the world.

The Peninsula

Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) has announced that a new Middle East Respira-

tory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) case has been confirmed for a 29 years old, resident in Qatar, marking the third MERS-CoV case to be confirmed in the country this year and bringing the cumulative number of confirmed MERS-CoV cases since 2012 to 21 cases among whom 7 have died.

The patient is a camel worker and had complaints of fever and dry cough for several days.

He sought a medical attention in Hamad General Hospital where an X-Ray investigation suggested a severe pneumonia. Consequently and as he reported an occupational frequent contact with camels, fur-ther samples were withdrawn from the patient. He ultimately tested positive for MERS-CoV according to Hamad Medical Corporation laboratories.

Despite his stable condition, the patient was admitted to hospital, in consistence with the national infec-tion prevention and control protocol for confirmed and suspected MERS-CoV cases to ensure the appropriate medical attention. However, neither a history of contact with similar cases nor a recent travel outside the coun-try was reported for the patient who has no comorbidities.

Once the case has been con-firmed, the rapid response team of the Health Protection and Commu-nicable disease Control (HP & CDC)

department at the MOPH, accompa-nied with the team from Animal Health Department, Ministry of Municipality and Environment, have started a field investigation to assess the possible source of the infection and to verify whether any of the patient contacts has suspected symp-toms according to the WHO standard case definition. Consequently, all traced contacts will be monitored over a period of two weeks, while those who develop suspected symp-toms will then be subjected to c o n f i r m a t o r y l a b o r a t o r y investigation.

The Ministry of Public Health advices citizens and residents, in par-ticular those with comorbidities or low immunity, to abide to cough eti-quette and handwashing with soap and water thoroughly and avoid unnecessary contact with sick animals.

MOPH proclaimed that Health Protection &CDC Hotlines 66740948 & 66740951 are accessible 24/7 to respond to any notification or enquiry related to infectious diseases.

Ministry announces new MERS-CoV case

Islamic Da'wa Organisation's iftar to benefit 50,000

More than 35,000 fasting people in Qatar benefited from Islamic Da'wa Organisation's 'Breaking Fast' project last year.

This is the third MERS-CoV case to be confirmed this year and brings the cumulative number of confirmed cases since 2012 to 21, among whom 7 have died.


The Peninsula

Following a call by international organisations that raised the alarm, Qatar Charity (QC) has begun final-ising a campaign to combat the cholera epidemic in Yemen. The

campaign is expected to benefit 40,000 people.

It will focus on providing drinkable water in the areas most in need, in order to pre-vent people from using polluted water that results in the infection, and to support health centers to offer treatment and medicine for the affected people, especially as most health centers have been affected by the Yemeni crisis.

Mohammed Al Kaabi, Director of Qatar Charity’s Relief Department, said: "QC has followed the Yemeni cri-sis since its beginning and has launched emergency relief campaigns and projects in various regions. However, the magnitude of the current crisis is great and our brothers are in danger. International or g a ni sa t i ons ha v e launched repeated appeals to accelerate the fight against the spreading chol-era epidemic in Yemen, which prompted us to launch this campaign, which we hope will bene-fit 40,000 people.”

Moreover, he appealed to the generous donors to

respond quickly to support the campaign, pointing out that every passing day the suf-fering increases and many lives may unfortunately be lost while they could have been saved if the necessary support had been available.

Through certain stocks, benefactors in Qatar are urged to donate for the benefit of their affected brothers in Yemen. The stocks are: “Water supply” which is worth 100QR,

the "food basket" which is worth 300QR, and "medical services" with a worth of QR500. Donation to this campaign is also available using one of these means: send a text message “sms” having “YEAV” symbol to 92632 to donate 50QR, and to 92642 to donate 100QR, and to 92428 to donate 500QR.

Donors can also donate to the campaign via e-mail to QC qcharity.org or via the hot-

line: 44667711, or through the collection points and QC’s self-service devices in the malls.

The United Nations has announced that an estimated 7.6 million people are living in areas vulnerable to the transmission of cholera in Yemen. The UN also mentioned the inadequate sani-tation and assured that all displacement places and shelters are at risk of transmission of the disease. Besides, Red Cross stressed that 180 people have died of the disease since late April, and the situation requires immediate intervention from international and regional organizations to reduce the risk of the spread of cholera in Yemen.

QC bid to combat cholera epidemic in Yemen

Amna Pervaiz Rao The Peninsula

Not only schools will remain open this Ram-adan but many private

schools are also going to have final-term exams in the Holy month of fasting that is caus-ing nervousness among children, parents and teachers.

Ramadan is likely start on Saturday and the final-term examinations will begin in first week of June as well. Children have to put extra efforts during the summer season to cope up with rules and regulations associated with Ramadan.

A student of ninth grade from British School in Doha told The Peninsula: “I have been fasting since three years now but as per our annual schedule, final-term exams are going to be held during the Holy month of Ramadan. We have to put extra effort dur-ing the revisions of our syllabus.”

“The timings have been rescheduled for Ramadan and our school will be from 8:30am till 12:30pm while we will have a half-hour break from 11am till 11:30am,” he added.

Meanwhile, a number of anxious parents have urged upon the Ministry through social media to hold exami-nations before the fasting month. They are requesting the Ministry to schedule the examinations from 8am instead of 10am.

Recently The Peninsula asked about any changes in private schools timing during the holy month of Ramadan from Hamad Al Ghali, Direc-tor of Private Schools Licensing, at the Ministry of Education he said:

“Private schools in Qatar teach some different 23 cur-riculums, and accordingly each school has different school days, and its own school hours therefore we cannot ask them to reduce or

increase their timing.”“Private schools are not

obligated with the timing cir-cular issued by the Ministry of Education for government schools. Schools are free to adjust their timing in the way they prefer and does not affect their annual teaching and learning plans,” he had added.

Expressing concerns, a number of parents stressed that it was not appropriate to hold examinations during Ramadan. A mother said: “Change in the timings of schools does not make any major difference as we pray late night and this disturbs our time management habits and we cannot give proper time to our kids during the holy month of Ramadan. As we were aware of the schedule due to the annual plan of school, we started preparing them from the first and sec-ond term.”

Ramadan falls at the end of May and will last for one month. Additionally it will clash with GCSE and A-Level exams. “Last year during the holy month of Ramadan, we had two exams consec-utively just with a gap of three hours between. These exams were held during summer vacations as schools were off during Ramadan last year,” said Numrah Malik, a student of A-Level.

“This year we have to manage preparing exams while fasting. We have four exams back to back then just a ten-day gap and again four exams. The students which have biology have to give three extra papers which will be more challenging,” she added.

Qatar Charity appealed to generous donors to respond quickly to support the campaign, pointing out that every day many lives may unfortunately be lost while they could have been saved if the necessary support had been available.

Raynald C Rivera The Peninsula

KidzMondo Doha, a one-of-a-kind children’s theme park at Mall of Qatar,

expects to see an increase in vis-itors as Ramadan and summer break near with upcoming cam-paigns and opening of more establishments.

Regarded as the "city of edu-cation and entertainment," KidzMondo Doha features an interactive kid-sized city devel-oped for and managed by children, between the ages 2 and 14. Covering an 8000sqm area,

the self-sufficient city comprises over 80 real-life simulation activities across 63 unique estab-lishments allowing children to dress up and role-play realistic tasks.

“KidzMondo Doha is a rep-lica of real life as a miniature city with 63 unique establishments, 43 of which are already open. We expect the rest of the establish-ments to open in the next three to six months,” Eman Baker Abu El Hawa (pictured), General Manager of KidzMondo Doha, told The Peninsula recently.

Two of the soon-to-open establishments will be a big

surprise to the Doha community, she stressed.

While KidzMondo has already established presence in several countries, KidzMondo Doha is unique in itself with activities catered especially to children here as Qatar-based companies set up their own zones in the city such as Qatar Airways and Ooredoo which launched their own establish-ments very recently.

As Ramadan and summer break approach, the theme park expects to witness more visitors not only because many prefer indoor entertainment during

summer months, but due to a number of campaigns to be launched soon.

“We do have Ramadan and summer campaigns. During Ramadan, we are organising Garangao and lots of other activ-ities such as summer camp, Corporate Social Responsibility activities and charities, that’s why we expect the number of attendees to increase,” said El Hawa.

Since its opening, Kidz-Mondo has seen children flocking to its various activities which support their social, artistic, creative and cognitive

development to help them become well-versed individu-als in preparation for the professional world of adults.

“KidzMondo Doha offers a different experience to children in Qatar so the response has been very encouraging since we opened. The children really like engaging in the activities,” she said, adding they also cater to schools.

“We are receiving more than five schools per day and around 300 to 550 children on a daily basis, which means we are doing a great job in Doha. We are look-ing forward to covering all

schools and responding to all tastes of children with our activ-ities,” said El Hawa.

KidzMondo Doha expects more visitors during Ramadan

Parents and children worry about exams during fasting days

A Qatar Charity- supported health clinic in Yemen.

The Peninsula

The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) has announced a series of engaging activi-

ties for the public in celebration of the Holy month of Ramadan.

Activities taking place include lectures by well-known

speakers discussing a variety of subjects such as Ramadan, Islamic History and Islamic Art; storytelling sessions for chil-dren; family activities where children can make their own Ramadan lanterns, or weave a rug out of paper and the popu-lar MIA Bazaar on Saturday evenings from 5pm until

midnight, selling food and hand-icrafts for the whole family.

In addition, MIA will be cel-ebrating Garangao, a traditional children's party celebrated after the breaking of the fast on the 14th night of Ramadan, when half of the fasting month is over. Garango will take place at MIA on June 7 with an evening of activities, storytelling and tra-ditional gift giving.

Salem Almarri, Deputy Director of Learning and Out-reach at MIA, said: “We are delighted to offer a range of fun, family friendly activities for everyone to enjoy and take part in at MIA in celebration of the Holy month of Ramadan. Our activities have been designed to offer something for every-one, bring the family together and through a range of inter-active and engaging events, educate visitors and enable them to discover the richness of Islamic heritage through art this Ramadan.”

MIA announces series of Ramadan programmes

Jaguar XF 2013-15 models recalledMINISTRY of Economy and Commerce announces recall of Jaguar XF models of 2013-2015 because of a fuel leak under the vehicle.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce, in collabora-tion with Alfardan Premier Motors, dealer of Jaguar vehi-cles in Qatar, has announced the recall of Jaguar XF mod-els of 2013-2015 because of a fuel leak under the vehicle.

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

The Ministry said that it will coordinate with the dealer to follow up on the maintenance and repair works and will communicate with customers to ensure that the necessary repairs are car-ried out. The Ministry has urged all customers to report any violations to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Com-mercial Fraud Department.


Minister of Energy and Industry, H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada (second right), and Ambassador of Russia, Nurmakhmad Kholov (centre), cut the ceremonial cake to celebrate the Russian National Day, along with Director of Department of Protocol, Ambassador Ibrahim Yousif Abdullah Fakhro (second left) and other officials, at the Ritz-Carlton, Doha yesterday. Pic: Kammutty V P / The Peninsula

Russian National Day celebrations

The Peninsula

Some 580 teachers from more than 300 private, public, and interna-tional schools across Qatar have completed

the Haseen Internet safety and security awareness programme for students.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) has collaborated with the Min-istry of Education and Higher Education (MoEH) to make Ara-bic and English cyber safety multimedia content available which can be integrated into subject classes.

The joint efforts between the two ministries have produced a portal with a search engine for a number of educational activ-ities related to Internet safety, designed using multimedia (video, animation, written and audio files, online self-assess-ments etc.), said Fawzia Al-Khater, Assistant Undersec-retary for Educational Affairs at the (MoEH).

Training workshops were recently held by (MOTC) and (MoEH) where teachers have been educated on the cyber safety topics that Haseen

covers along with best practices and the use of Haseen search engine.

The participants are now ready to act as Haseen ambas-sadors and cascade the training to other staff within their schools.

The two ministries empha-sizes the importance of cyber safety education for all, espe-cially children, who should be able to learn and develop in safe, supportive and respectful envi-ronments. Schools also have a responsibility to provide safe online environments and teach children how to use technology in positive and productive ways.

“We are glad to have achieved our goal; providing such a number of Haseen

ambassadors, which deeply reflects the importance of rais-ing cyber safety awareness amongst young people, as well as instructors and parents,” said Reem Al Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Soci-ety Development at MOTC.

Haseen targets students from grades 1 to 12. It provides students with fundamental ICT competencies and knowledge to safeguard the responsible, safe, and ethical use of technologies.

It offers teachers an online portal, which has almost 150 learning resources on cyber safety topics in different for-mats. The portal also provides over 350 detailed learning activities that use the learn-ing resources and can be used with children at schools dur-ing Arabic, English and Ethics classes.

Teachers can choose the educational resources (anima-tion, video, worksheets, audio clips, animated quizzes and interactive web programs) that provide cyber safety content integrated with into the lesson, and the student can then prac-tice using the activities attached to the resource.

580 school teachers get training on cyber safety

The Peninsula

Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is advising the public to take basic health and safety precau-

tions as the Qatar Meteorology Department has forecast strong winds for the coming days. Blowing dust kicked up by strong winds is expected to cre-ate hazy conditions across the country and could pose health hazards to those with sinus allergies and respiratory infections.

Those most at risk of contracting respiratory infections, including infants and young children, the elderly, people with a history of asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, individuals with heart dis-ease, pregnant women and those who work outdoors, such as construction or delivery workers, are advised to be par-ticularly cautious.

Residents with asthma and other respiratory conditions are encouraged to use nebulizers and bronchial dilata-tors directly after the onset of asthma symptoms and those with persistent coughs should also visit their nearest healthcare center if they experience symptoms.

Dust consists of tiny solid particles floating in the air, which can get past the lungs’ natural defenses and harm sensitive lung tissue. Fine particles can irritate the lungs and trigger allergic reactions or asthma attacks. Prolonged exposure to airborne dust can cause chronic breathing and lung problems, as well as heart disease.

HMC is recommending the public take the following precautions during dusty weather:

* Avoid going outside during high winds or low visibility when dust levels are particularly harmful. Keep your win-dows and doors closed.

* When outside, cover your nose and mouth with a mask or damp cloth to lessen the particles of dust being inhaled.

* When driving, keep the car’s win-dows closed, and opt for air conditioning instead of fresh air.

* Avoid rubbing your eyes. If possi-ble, use protective eyewear such as airtight goggles. If your eyes become irritated, rinse with water. Be especially careful if you wear contact lenses.

* Those who are prone to bad aller-gies should start using antihistamines before symptoms begin.

HMC cautions on windy weatherThe Peninsula

Grand Hyatt Doha Hotel and Vil-las, in partnership with Qatar Airways is gearing-up for the

Holy month of Ramadan to bring back one of the city’s most popular tents; ‘Ramadanak’.

This year the tent will be held in ‘Al Maha’ and ‘Majlis’ where the Ara-bian spirit of Ramdan will be encompassed. As the sun sets, the city comes to life as families and friends head out to break their fasts with an iftar buffet and indulge in the local fla-vours of the city.

The hotel atrium and lobby lounge ‘AL Maha’ will be converted into a vast entertainment and seating area, mak-ing it the perfect place for families and friends to gather during the holy month of Ramadan and enjoy top quality Shi-sha ,while enjoying the Iftar or Sohour buffet.

The Iftar and Sohour buffet , as well as dining space, will be available this year in Arabic restaurant ‘Majlis’, which will be expanded to include a tent built on the terrace so guests can enjoy var-ied seating options.

This year the Iftar buffet at the Grand Hyatt is a carefully crafted international buffet with flavors catering to all tastes. A variety of live stations will be set up to provide a mouth-watering selection of Arabian flavors such as grills and tradi-tional dishes alongside international cuisines.

Ramadanak’s buffet will be full of its famously extensive dessert selec-tion that includes the Arabian specialties that only appear during the holy month, to satisfy those with a

sweet tooth, or for the guests who crave something to celebrate the mag-nificent traditions of the month.

Also available for guests looking for a late night sohour is the sohour tray, which gives the feeling of a homemade meal with a unique Hyatt twist. There will be dishes available to vegetarians and light eaters and the sohour tray includes dishes such as fatouch, shakshouka, hou-mous and labneh. Timings: Iftar- served between 6pm-8.30pm; Sohour- served between 10pm-1.30pm.

The Peninsula

Qatar Diabetes Association (QDA)- member of Qatar Foundation has started the

first workshop of the 4th Diabe-tes Educator Graduate Certificate programme for health care prac-titioners in Qatar.

The programme is devel-oped by The Michener Institute of Education at UHN (Canada), a leader in applied health sci-ence education. It is primarily offered online via distance

education for a period of 6 months with 1 live onsite work-shop in Qatar.

The programme started online on March 2017 and will be ending in August 2017 with 30 Health Care Professionals from the public and private sectors of Qatar participating in the programme.

Speaking at the event, Dr Abdulla Al Hamaq, Executive Director of Qatar Diabetes Asso-ciation— Qatar Foundation, said; “This programme offers an

excellent opportunity for enabling health care providers to become p r o f e s s i o n a l d i a b e t e s educator.”

“It provides the latest updates on the clinical management of diabetes with an emphasis on educational and behavioural change strategies proven to sup-port people with diabetes to improve their health outcome.” added Dr Al Hamaq.

For the last 4 years 100 health care providers have taken part in this programme.

QDA workshop for health care practitioners

Participants at the workshop of the 4th Diabetes Educator Graduate Certificate programme, organised by Qatar Diabetes Association (QDA), member of Qatar Foundation.

The Peninsula

A healthy lifestyle is a key aspect of the Qatar Pub-lic Health Strategy

2017-2022, set to be formally launched later this year by the Ministry of Public Health.

The strategy states that the top three risk factors for mor-tality in the State of Qatar are overweight and obesity, high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels, and the combina-tion of these risk factors significantly increases the chances of developing chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease.

“Cardiovascular disease and diabetes are the major non-communicable diseases caused by unhealthy lifestyles and could be controlled through following

healthy lifestyle habits such as physical activity, low salt intake, tobacco control and a healthy diet that includes veg-etable and fruit consumption,” said Sheikha Dr. Al-Anoud Al-Thani, Manager of Health Promotion and Non-Commu-nicable Diseases at the Ministry of Public Health.

‘’It is incredibly important to ensure that people are in con-trol of their own health. This means giving them the knowl-edge they need to make their own healthy decisions. Health information on the internet and the mainstream media can often be very confusing, so it is vital that the strategy will provide people with appropriate infor-mation to follow a healthy lifestyle,’’ explained Sheikha Dr. Al-Anoud Al-Thani.

The strategy outlines a number of healthy lifestyle objectives, including increasing public awareness of healthy nutrition and physical activity and establishing more wellness services in primary health care centres.

"Qatar is not alone in the challenges resulting from unhealthy lifestyles habits. Countries right across the world are battling to reverse the rise of diseases caused by unhealthy lifestyles,’’ stated Sheikha Dr. Al-Anoud Al-Thani.

‘’The good news is that we know the risk factors that cause these diseases. If we are to reverse the trend and improve the health of the population, col-lective action is needed from all sections of society,’’ Sheikha Dr Al Anoud Al Thani said.

‘Ramadanak’ at Grand Hyatt Doha Hotels & Villas

New Public Health strategy aims to promote healthy lifestyle

The Peninsula

With participation of 30 schools, the Ministry of Education and

Higher Education held the sec-ond edition of a campaign, 'Fina Khair' launched by RAF for Humanitarian Services, under the patronage of Qapco.

The campaign aims to enhance the value of

responsibility among the students under the theme of “You are Effi-cient”. The campaign targeted 9000 students through 200 edu-cational meetings and more than 30 workshops and training sessions.

The campaign included competitions of initiatives and programs on responsibilities where each school was asked to present three initiates and

accordingly a total of 90 initia-tives and 360 activities were presented said Fatima Al Ubai-dali, Director of Programs and activities at the Ministry of Education.

Schools who won the con-test were honoured by the ministry and organisers during a ceremony. Three schools were honored with awards valuing QR 120,000.

Second edition of 'Fina Khair' held

The Ministries emphasise the importance of cyber safety education for all, especially children, who should be able to learn and develop in safe, supportive and respectful environments.


Legacy in focus on 2nd day of World Stadium CongressThe Peninsula

The second day of the World Stadium Con-gress focussed on a ‘round-the-world tour’ of global stadia and

venues. Moderated by beIN Sports’ presenter, Angus Scott, the sessions highlighted the role of stadia and sporting venues in creating central meeting points for communities.

Serving as more than ‘game-day’ facilities, the key learnings from the sessions highlighted the role of venues and tournaments in building up the communities they serve.

One of the stand-out pres-entations for the day was from Isabel Gultresa, CSR Senior Man-ager for the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, who

presented on ‘Generation Amaz-ing’, an initiative by the local organising committee to create a healthy, sustainable society through the 3 main programmes:

Healthy Generation, Green Gen-eration and Inclusive Generation.

Other notable presentations included venues showcase pres-entations for the Matmut Atlantique Stadium Bordeaux utilised for the Euro 2016 tour-nament, the proposed new football stadium for Chelsea FC, Stadium Krasnodar to be utilised for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Singapore Sports Hub, FC Bar-celona’s Camp Nou, Amsterdam Arena and the world-famous AT&T Stadium.

As the congress came to a close, the event boasted an incomparable senior and diverse speaker attendance across all four days, functioning as a pre-cursor to 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar and other sport and stadia projects all across the world.

As the congress came to a close, the event boasted an incomparable senior and diverse speaker attendance across all four days, functioning as a precursor to 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar and other sport and stadia projects all across the world.

Officials and other participants at the World Stadium Congress event.

Katara to showcase 'hospitality in various Muslim nations’The Peninsula

The Cultural Village Foun-dation-Katara is gearing up to host the Katara

Ramadan Festival, which will offer an amazing array of activ-ities and events under the theme ‘hospitality in various Muslim nations’.

Katara Ramadan Festival 2017 focuses on 12 Arab and Islamic countries, showcasing their traditions and customs specific to the holy month of Ramadan, as announced dur-ing a press conference at Katara’s amphitheater yesterday.

Katara General Manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, said, “Stemming from Katara’s keenness to build communica-tion bridges between people from all walks of life and to spread religious spirit amongst the community, organisers of the festival have made provi-sions for 31 events, all of them connected or related to the Ramadan theme. These events include seminars, Islamic lec-tures, exhibitions, traditional games, beach sports and chil-dren games. Islamic lectures and seminars are organized in cooperation with RAF founda-tion, Qatar Charity, and the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs.”

Another event that is being held due to popular demand is the Holy Quran memorisation competition aimed to encour-age and promote spirituality and strengthen the religious values amongst children. As in the previous year, Katara’s

mosque will host Tarawih prayer followed by Islamic gatherings and lessons each day. Katara’s beachfront will come alive with beach volley-ball and football matches scheduled to take place in the evenings. A new addition to the festival will be traditional games, which are divided into two categories; brain-teasers and fun games. Registration for these traditional games com-petitions started on Monday.

Besides the games, cultural and fine art tents will be set up at Katara’s Southern area, and will include several rich cultural lectures presented by a-number-of prominent Qatari intellectuals and various workshops.

Katara’s visitors are guar-anteed a tradit ional Ramadan-like ambiance, as the Iftar Cannon will be installed at Katara’s southern area and fired daily at Maghrib prayer. In addition, two characters, the Mesaharati and the story teller, will be roaming around Katara’s premises to entertain the pub-lic. Moreover, Katara will bring back the popular treasure hunt contest, which will be con-ducted at Katara’s premises and Meerat Ramadan.

The ongoing Meerat Ram-adan market, being held at Katara’s southern area, offers provisions from renowned food and beverage suppliers Qatar. The produce and food items on offer are priced in a way that enables Katara’s visitors to meet their grocery require-ments at a low cost, during the month of Ramadan.

Step by Step Center holds ‘Talent Show’Amna Pervaiz Rao The Peninsula

Step by Step Center (SBS) has organised ‘Talent Show’ in collaboration with Banana

Island and Minor Hotels at Al Mirqab Boutique Hotel, Souq Waqif yesterday.

The show was attended by Olcay Connor, Principal of SBS, Nasreen Sharif, Managing Direc-tor of SBS, representatives from Banana Island and Minor Hotel as well as parents of the students and other officials.

The programme started with a solo dance performance, key-board performance, play by superheroes and dinosaurs class – “Ginger Bread Man”, another performance of group song by superheroes and dinosaurs class, performance by a group of chil-dren on ‘Every Day Heroes’ and a solo song performance.

During the event, Olcay told The Peninsula that: “These type of events help students to encour-age and participate in different activities which build confidence in them. The hard work of our staff is portrayed by our students today. The vision of our Center is, we are committed to taking each student one step further in the journey of learning and independence.”

“We are very thankful to Banana Island for inviting our stu-dents every Tuesday for cooking classes hosted at Banana Island. Recently they paid a visit and got an opportunity to work on their cooking skills,” she added.

Parents of children agreed on need of having such activi-ties that are commensurate with their mental, psychological and physical abilities. They also stressed on significance of sup-porting their families and encouraging them to live normally.

Jaime A Mudaly, parent at the event, said: “Children feel very happy participating in such events, this plays a big role in

building their confidence. The efforts that staff has put together reflects their commitment towards their students. Their hard work was clearly witnessed by the flawless performances of children.”

The Center positively encourages active involvement of parents in different areas. SBS provides home training for par-ents and caretakers, as well as ‘drop in’ sessions, which are intended to support and equip parents for their role.

Nasreen Sharif, Managing Director at SBS, said during the event: “I’d like to thank all the our generous sponsors, they have been kind throughout our

journey. Step by Step Center has grown to be a trusted place for special needs children, by their parents. We have opened our doors to more than 300 children, who taught us many important lessons of life, brought smile on our face, amazed us, and gave us unconditional love.”

“I would like to thank all parents for trusting us and giv-ing us an opportunity to try to make a difference in their child’s life. I also as a parent of a spe-cial needs child, am thankful for who he is for all the joy he brings in our life and wouldn't want him in any other way. He has inspired me to do what I’m doing today,” she added.

Participants at the event.

Ooredoo sponsors Qatari Armed Forces graduation event

The Peninsula

In the framework of the imple-mentation of the Global Programme for the Doha

Declaration, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organised a training workshop on life skills using sports in order to prevent crime among youths.

The programme was held on Monday in Vienna with partici-pation of representatives of the FIFA and the support of Qatar. The Executive Director of UNODC and a number of staff members of the Office, as well as the representative of Qatar, and a gathering of officials, experts and representatives of

the concerned authorities attended the programme.

The new initiative named ‘Line up Live up’ is part of Doha Declaration Global Programme's operational projects, with the aim of promoting the role of sport in youth crimes prevention whereas teams of young people who have received a training programme within the Doha Declaration projects led the workshop to provide skills and training to protect young people from the dangers of crime, vio-lence and drug abuse.

Major-General Abdullah Yusuf Al Mal, Adviser to the Min-ister of Interior and Chairman of the Doha Declaration Follow-up Committee, presented the Qatari

side's speech at the opening cer-emony, expressing his country's support for the work of the UNODC to prevent youth crimes through sport. He added that the sport is an essential tool for pre-venting young people from crime and drugs, as well as being a real means of establishing a culture of respect for law, peace and rap-prochement between peoples.

Through this initiative, UNODC, in collaboration with other partners and experts in the world, is supporting Member States in a pioneering way to provide an opportunity for young people at risk to protect them from crime, violence and drugs and to transform these young people into pioneers In their

societies as they spread sports values ??and noble principles, so as to present their experience

to the youth of the world, said Dr. Al-mal. He urged Member States to communicate with the

UNODC to disseminate the impact of the initiative as widely as possible.

Life skills training through sports to prevent youth crimes

The Peninsula

Under the patronage of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the 8th batch of recruits were graduated from

the Qatari Armed Forces — National Serv-ice Graduation in an event that was officially and exclusively sponsored by Ooredoo.

Alongside the Emir, senior military offi-cials, ministers and parents of recruits

attended the ceremony. Sheikh Saud bin Nasser Al Thani, CEO, Ooredoo Group, attended the function in addition to senior executives from the company.

The 8th batch of National Service recruits, which included 650 recruits, received military and academic programmes and training in infantry, fitness, light weap-ons, shooting, field battle skills, and civil defence, along with programmes on first aid,

community culture, self-development and religious programmes during the course period.

Waleed Al Sayed, said: “It was an hon-our for Ooredoo to help support such a prestigious and important event for our country and 2030 Qatar National Vision. I applaud all the graduates who completed National Service today, as well as the Qatari Armed Forces team who trained them.”

Officials kicking off the function.


Work on Aquatic Fisheries and Research Centre endsThe Peninsula

The Public Works Authority, Ashghal, yesterday announced completion of the con-struction work of

Aquatic Fisheries and Research Centre stretching over 101,000sqm in Ras Matbakh.

It is expected that the pro-duction capacity of the fish hatchery unit will reach 2.4 mil-lion larvae through four seasons of hatchery per year. The pro-duction capacity of the shrimp hatchery unit is expected to reach 2 million larvae through four hatchery seasons per year and the final production of shrimp is 6 tonnes per year per season.

Engineer Abdul Hakim Ahmed Al Hashemi, Head of Public Projects Section, Build-ings Project Management Department-Ashghal, confirmed

that the project was built accord-ing to the highest standards of construction quality and design, as well as the country standard specifications and green build-ing system pursued by Ashghal since 2010.

He added: “the facility, located in Ras Matbakh, has a value of approximately QR237.7m, and stretches over 101 thousand square metres. The centre is a scientific institution specialised in marine environ-mental research and studies fish farming, aiming to help monitor and protect marine ecosystems, develop and increase local fish production, support biodiversity and train national human force on using modern technologies in aqua culture”.

Al Hashemi clarified that the research centre project is made up of three main units; a marine finfish hatchery, a marine shrimp hatchery, and various buildings specified for scientific and administrative laboratories, in addition to services and a sup-plement buildings.

The fish and shrimp farming unit includes a number of sub-units and facilities, including a

water pumping station, a marine fish hatchery, incubation units, fattening fish, a fish pond processing unit and six different laboratories.

The administrative office building contains two floors, including 28 administrative offices, two meeting rooms, and a lecture hall.

The centre also includes a number of buildings and other

related services such as gener-ating rooms and electricity control, as well as buildings for feed stores, maintenance work-shops, workers' dormitories, staff accommodation, shaded boats, marine boats parking, car parks and landscapes.

The project aims to establish a national centre specialised in marine applied aquatic studies and researches, and equipped

with the latest equipment and techniques to benefit all the sci-entific institutions concerned with the marine environment.

The centre can carry out researches and studies that require testing the living marine organisms, and to identify kinds of fish and crustaceans that are most economically feasible in Qatar’s environmental and cli-mate conditions.

The newly-built Aquatic Fisheries and Research Centre in Ras Matbakh.

The project aims to establish a national centre specialised in marine applied aquatic studies and researches, and equipped with the latest equipment and techniques to benefit all the scientific institutions concerned with the marine environment.

Over 100 activities likely at Summer Entertainment City

Continued from page 1“We are proud to bring Qatar the world’s

largest obstacle course, largest trampoline park, an exceptional food court, live enter-tainment, and 30 amusement park rides. There will be more than 100 activities for the whole family at Summer Entertainment City from June 26 to September 5. Taking place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC), Summer Entertainment City will fea-ture entertainment, sports, food, and fun on a level never seen in Qatar,” said Ghanim Al Mohannadi, Deputy Chairman of QSports.

QSF is reviving its collaboration with local comedy pioneers Doha Comedy Festival. Meanwhile Iconic Events will be presenting Hollywood comedian Marlon Wayans for the first time in Qatar.

The festivalwill also feature a music con-cert on August 18 by Nawal Al Kuwaitiyah and Saudi superstar Mohamad Abdo, cour-tesy of Rotana Group.

The fourth Mindsports World Champion-ships will also be hosted at DECC between August 19 and 27, allowing visitors to the Summer Entertainment City to enjoy the international skills tournament expected to attract 1,500 mindsports enthusiasts from over 40 countries.

Over half of Qatar’s hotel establishments have partnered with this year’s QSF, repre-senting a 35 percent increase from last year. Seventy-seven hotels and hotel apartments are offering special packages, which include offers to pay for two nights and stay for three in hotels, and pay for five nights and stay for six in hotel apartments.

Select establishments will provide addi-tional incentives including free transfers to and from Hamad International Airport, free breakfasts, late check-outs, free meals for children when accompanied by their parents (a maximum of three children per family), free return trips to cultural and retail landmarks.

QTA has partnered with Discover Qatar, Qatar Airways Holidays’ destination man-agement company to offer discounted travel packages. Visitors to Qatar during the festi-val can take advantage of a range of accommodation offers at Qatar’s hospitality sector, when booking through WeGo.

In addition, Qatar Airways transit pas-sengers can also take advantage of +Qatar, a unique stopover package designed to give visitors the opportunity to discover Doha with free luxury hotel stays and complimentary transit visas. Launched earlier this month, the campaign continues throughout the sum-mer season.

The Festival is set to kick off with attrac-tive shopping discounts that reach up to 50 percent. In addition, shoppers who spend QR200 at any of the participating retail out-lets throughout the festival can enter the QSF mega-raffle draw to win cash prizes and a super luxury car on September 5.

QTA also announced the launch of Qatar Events Calendar (www.visitQatar.qa/calen-dar), an online guide for all tourism events taking place in Qatar available in Arabic, Eng-lish, German, Italian, French, and Turkish.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds plans major initiatives this RamadanThe Peninsula

Malabar Gold & Diamonds, one among the big five global jew-ellery retailer strengthens its

CSR activities in the GCC and Far East region this Ramadan, embracing the spirit of giving. Such month long activ-ities are planned in association with like-minded organisations from the respective countries to benefit the needy. Over 60,000 special Iftar meals / kits will be distributed during this period.

In Qatar, the group will be provid-ing Iftar meals to over 1,500 labourers through their tents located in Al Khor and Industrial Areas.

In UAE, over 42,500 Iftar meals /kits will be provided to the residents in association with various like-minded organisations like Sharjah Charity International, Emirates Red Crescent, Al Rahma Charitable Trust, Dubai KMCC, various labour camps and masjids throughout this holy month. 18,000 Iftar meals will be

provided at Sajaa Industrial area, Sharjah, in an air conditioned tent which is set up with the support of Sharjah Charity International.

Over 2,000 Iftar meals will be provided in association with Emirates Red Crescent in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain & UAQ regions. The company will also distribute special Ramadan kit to the 100 families which will have enough grocery for 15 days in association with Emirates Red Crescent.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds asso-ciates with Al Rahma Charitable Trust to provide 500 meals at the respec-tive tents. The company also associates with Dubai KMCC to pro-vide 2,000 meals for the needy. Malabar Gold & Diamonds also pro-vides 18,500 Iftar meals across the various labour camps and nearby masjids where the group operates.

In Oman, the group provides over 4,500 Iftar meals at Ruwi Street, Mus-cat. The company also provides special Ramadan kit to the under priv-ileged people which includes the

grocery which will be enough for a person to break the fast for 30 days during Ramadan. 1,500 such kits will be distributed in Ruwi, 500 each in Sohar and Salalah.

In Bahrain, the group is planning to provide over 4,500 Iftar meals to the workers at different labour camps located all over Bahrain like Askar, Akker, Jau, Arad, Hidd etc. Like in pre-vious years, they will be associating with Discovery Islam, Al Hedaya Cen-tre and Friendship Society for Blinds, UCO Parents Care to carry out such activities during Ramadan.

In Kuwait, the group will provide Iftar meals to over 3,000 labourers in different parts of various governorates in Kuwait like Fahaheel, Mahboula, Fintas, Abu Halifa, Mina Abudullah, Mina Al Soor, Jahra, Jaleeb, Al Shu-waikh. In Kuwait, the group associates with various like-minded organisa-tions such as Kuwait Kerala Muslim Association, Kuwait KMCC, Kuwait Islamic Group, etc. to conduct vari-ous CSR initiatives during the holy

month of Ramadan.In Singapore, 500 Iftar meals will

be distributed in an open ground near Angulia Mosque, Farrer Park. Com-pany will also distribute around 25,000 water cups in the various mas-jids during the holy month.

In Malaysia, the group provides 1,000 special Ramadan Kit to the under privileged people which includes the grocery which will be enough for a person to break the fast for 15 days during Ramadan. The com-pany also provides 650 Iftar meals which will be distributed in masjids and orphanages.

Since its inception in 1993, Mala-bar Group has been actively involved in CSR activities with the aim of cre-ating a difference to the community in and around their area of operations. The importance of CSR activities for Malabar Group has grown over the decades and the group sets aside a fixed percentage of its net profit for the benefit of the needy in the respec-tive markets it operates in.

HBJ Foundation earmarks QR6m for charity activitiesThe Peninsula

The Jassim and Hamad bin Jassim Charitable Foun-dation (HBJ Foundation)

has earmarked QR6m for dis-tribution of cash and food among poor people in Qatar during upcoming holy month of Ramadan.

Some 3,000 Qatari and expatriate families at the rate of 60 percent and 40 percent respectively will benefit from the charity projects and the dis-tribution will begin from Ramadan 1, said Fawaz Al Shammari, Head of Supporting Services at HBJ Foundation.

Al Shammari was speaking at a press conference held to announce the Ramadan pro-grammes of the Foundation.

HBJ Foundation will spend more than QR13m on the projects of Ramadan in Qatar and abroad this year, he added. The Foundation earmarked QR6.7m for the activities and projects inside Qatar and QR6.5m for abroad during Ramadan.

More than 10,000 fasting people will be offered Iftar meals in a tent at Al Mirqab Al Jadid and 3,000 people will be provided Iftar meals at their homes with a total cost of project amounting to

QR700,000.Regarding projects abroad,

Al Shamari said: “The Founda-tion is distributing food baskets worth QR5.5m in 12 Arab and African countries. More than 2.2 million people are expected to benefit from this project. The beneficiary countries are Ethi-opia, Somalia, Sudan, Mauritania, Indonesia, Paki-stan, Yemen, Morocco, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iraq and Myanmar."

First time, the Foundation will set up Iftar tents in Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Within a few days, 10 tonnes of dates worth QR1m will be dispatched to countries including Pakistan, China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, South Korea, India, Nepal and Indonesia. The dates will be dis-tributed in coordination with embassies of Qatar to the ben-eficiary countries.

The countries were selected for the projects as per the sta-tistics issued by the United Nations according to their per capital income and number of poor people in each country.

The priorities were given to the countries affected by war and natural disasters like droughts, floods as QR1m had been allocated for each Ethio-pia and Somalia.

QU Dept of Student Development signs MoU with Best Buddies Qatar The Peninsula

The Department of Student Develop-ment at Qatar University (QU) yesterday signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) with Best Buddies Qatar to promote collaboration in the area of social engagement and the inclusion of individuals with special needs in the society.

The MoU was signed by QU Director of Student Development Haya Al Attiya and Best Buddies Qatar Executive Director Laalei Abu Alfain in the presence of officials from both institutions.

The terms of the agreement include col-laboration between both institutions on the establishment of Best Buddies Qatar Club within QU. Both institutions will also collab-orate on organizing joint seminars and workshops related to the inclusion of

individuals with special needs, as well as the participation in national events related to individuals with special needs.

Commenting on the agreement, Haya Al Attiya said: “We are pleased to collabo-rate with Best Buddies Qatar to promote social engagement and the inclusion of indi-viduals with special needs in the society. This Memorandum of Understanding aligns with Qatar University’s ongoing efforts to raise community awareness on the importance of inclusion, and the organization’s commit-ment to instill in students a sense of social and civic responsibility, broadening their knowledge about the world.”

Laalei Abu Alfain said: “We are keen of Qatar University’s pivotal role in the soci-ety. This Memorandum of Understanding aligns with the objectives that Best Buddies Qatar strives to fulfill through its various pro-grams and activities."

QU Director of Student Development Haya Al Attiya and Best Buddies Qatar Executive Director Laalei Abu Alfain signing the MoU.

09WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Trump promotes his goal of peace without detailsJerusalem

Reuters

US President Donald Trump used his cen-trepiece Holy Land speech yesterday to reaffirm his commit-

ment to peace between Palestinians and Israelis, but he offered no new details on how to achieve a goal that has eluded US leaders for decades.

Rounding out a 28-hour stay in Jerusalem, Trump praised Pal-estinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alike, say-ing both were ready for peace. But he avoided any mention of a Pal-estinian state and did not address a campaign promise to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jeru-salem, something Netanyahu yearns for.

"I had a meeting this morning with President Abbas and can tell you that the Palestinians are ready to reach for peace," Trump said in a speech at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

"Making peace, however, will not be easy. We all know that. Both sides will face tough decisions. But with determination, compromise, and the belief that peace is possi-ble, Israelis and Palestinians can

make a deal."While Trump has spoken fre-

quently in the months since taking office of his desire to achieve what he has dubbed the "ultimate deal", he has not fleshed out any strat-egy that he or his administration might have towards achieving it.

Trump has appointed his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as a senior adviser on brokering an Israel-Palestinian deal, while Jason Greenblatt, formerly a lawyer in his real estate group, has taken the day-to-day role of liaising with leaders and officials in the region on the nitty-gritty of a solution.

The last talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, led by former US secretary of state John Kerry, broke down in April 2014

after around a year of largely fruit-less discussion.

While both Netanyahu and Abbas reiterated during Trump's visit a commitment to peace, both also face domestic constraints on

their ability to manoeuvre or compromise.

Netanyahu must deal with opposition from right-wing nationalist elements within his coalition who oppose any

Palestinian state being created in occupied territory where hun-dreds of thousands of Jewish settlers now live.

For its part, Abbas's Fatah party is at sharp odds with the

Islamist group Hamas, which is in power in Gaza, leaving no unified Palestinian position on peace.

During his time in the region, part of a nine-day foreign trip that has taken in Saudi Arabia and will be followed by the Vatican, Italy and Belgium, Trump spent barely an hour with the Palestinians. He travelled 8km south from Jerusa-lem to Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, to see Abbas.

Given the pressure his young presidency is under in Washing-ton, analysts have praised famously off-the-cuff Trump's careful sticking to script so far on his maiden overseas tour.

At the same time, his verbal commitment to tackling the con-flict has not been matched by bold ideas or new initiatives.

Instead, he appears keen to build confidence and assure Abbas and Netanyahu of wider Arab sup-port in the region for peace moves, in the hope they might see fit to take steps and negotiate themselves.

"I intend to do everything I can to help them achieve that goal," Trump said after meeting Abbas, speaking with the 50th anniver-sary of Israel's capture of territories that Palestinians seek for their own state approaching early next month.

"I had a meeting this morning with President Abbas and can tell you that the Palestinians are ready to reach for peace," US President Donald Trump said in a speech.

US President Donald Trump is welcomed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and children with flowers at Presidential Palace in Bethlehem, yesterday.

Men put off a fire after an explosion in the Al Zahraa neighbourhood of Homs city, yesterday.

Five dead in Syria car bomb attacksDamascus

AFP

Five people were killed yes-terday in two car bomb attacks targeting minority

neighbourhoods in Syria and claimed by the Islamic State group.

Citing a security source, IS's propaganda agency Amaq said IS fighters were responsible for the blasts near the capital Damascus and in third city Homs. The first explosion killed four people and wounded 30 near the Al Zahraa neighbour-hood of Homs city, state news agency SANA said.

Most residents of Al Zahraa belong to the same Alawite sect

as President Bashar Al Assad, and the neighbourhood has been repeatedly targeted by IS.

The bomber drove the vehi-cle towards a checkpoint where security forces opened fire, det-onating the explosives inside, SANA reported.

"Some of those with minor injuries have already left hospi-tal," Homs Governor Talal Barazi told state television.

The second blast claimed by IS took place on the road south from the capital to Sayyida Zeinab mausoleum.

Police opened fire on a vehi-cle near a checkpoint which turned out to be carrying explo-sives and blew up, killing one civilian and wounding another,

SANA said. In March, twin sui-cide attacks at Sayyida Zeinab killed 74 people, most of them Iraqi pilgrims.

The bombings come two days after the government announced it had taken full con-trol of Homs, following the evacuation of rebels from the last neighbourhood under their control.

The Russian-supervised evacuation from the Waer dis-trict was the latest blow to the rebels by government troops backed by their Russian and Ira-nian allies. Since December, the rebels have lost their former bastion of Aleppo and nearly all of the areas they controlled in Damascus.

Lagos

AFP

One of Nigeria's most prominent traditional rulers is facing a legal

challenge to his right to be king, in a fresh controversy after claims he publicly snubbed a fellow monarch.

Two princes have asked a court to nullify the appointment of the Oba (king) of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, 14 years after his coronation as the paramount ruler of Nigeria's biggest city.

Princes Adedoyin Adebiyi and Rasheed Modile said in their submission to the high court in Lagos that the king was not a direct descendant of the first oba of Lagos.

The embattled Akiolu, 73, last month came under fire for snubbing the Ooni of Ife, Adey-eye Ogunwusi, at a public event in Lagos.

The Ooni of Ife is the most powerful and influential mon-arch among the Yoruba people of southwest Nigeria, the coun-try's second biggest ethnic

group after the Hausa-Fulani. Historically, the ooni or any

king in Yorubaland was revered and considered "the sovereign, second in rank to the gods."

Akiolu denied disrespect-ing the 42-year-old ooni and also rejected the latest claims about his legitimacy, saying he was a member of the royal family whose installation was in line with tradition.

"By native law and customs and by law, I am the bona fide Oba of Lagos," he was quoted

as telling the court by local media.

The princes' case, which predates the ooni controversy, underlines the continued prominence of traditional rul-ers in Nigeria as key figures in society, despite their lack of formal powers.

Akiolu said his appointment was approved by the Lagos state government based on the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n o f kingmakers.

The case was adjourned until June 19.

Leyth Tevfik, an animal keeper, plays with a white lion at Zevra Park's Zoo in Baghdad, yesterday. It is reported that the 10-month-old white lion is one of the 30 white lions all over the world. Leyth Tevfik also said that, looking after a white lion is very exciting experience.

Rare white lion in Baghdad

2 peacekeepers dead in Mali ambush: UNBamako

AFP

Two UN peacekeepers were killed and a third wounded yesterday in

an ambush in restive north-ern Mali, the nation's UN mission said. The troops were patrolling on foot near Aguel-hok, which is close to the border with Algeria, when they were attacked, accord-ing to a statement from the multinational UN force, MINUSMA.

A military source said that the soldiers belonged to Chad's contingent.

Stationed in Mali since July 2013, MINUSMA has just over 12,000 military and police personnel working on what is considered the UN's most dangerous active peace-keeping deployment.

The attack was the latest in "a wave of violence in the last weeks," MINUSMA chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif was quoted in the statement as saying. A UN peacekeeper from Liberia was killed and nine others injured early this month in a rocket and mor-tar attack near Timbuktu.

The attack, like many oth-ers in the last weeks, was claimed by a powerful alli-ance, the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a fusion of three Malian groups with previous Al Qaeda links.

It is headed by Iyad Ag Ghaly, a former leader of the group Ansar Dine.

Nigerian 'king' in court over legitimacy claims

US envoy endorses Libya's UN-backed govtTripoli

Reuters

The US ambassador to Libya pledged Washing-ton's support for its

UN-backed government and urged rival factions to avoid civil war, as he made a brief visit to the country yesterday for the first time in nearly three years.

Peter Bodde, who is based in Tunis, and Marine General Thomas Waldhauser, the top US military commander over-seeing troops in Africa, flew into Tripoli for two hours to meet the prime minister of Lib-ya's Government of National Accord (GNA) and other sen-ior officials.

The trip comes after uncer-tainty over US policy in Libya

following Donald Trump's elec-tion as president in November. Trump said in April he did not see a role for the United States in Libya apart from defeating Islamic State.

"The visit today demon-strates the continued commitment of the United States to the Government of National Accord and to politi-cal reconciliation in Libya," Bodde told reporters.

The GNA has struggled to function since arriving in Tripoli in March last year, fail-ing to resolve deep-rooted security and economic crises in western and southern Libya.

Factions that control a par-liament in eastern Libya have rejected it, as has the military commander they are aligned with, Khalifa Haftar.

Somali pirates hijack Iranian vessel BOSASSO: Somali pirates hijacked an Iranian fishing vessel yes-terday to use as a base to attack bigger, more valuable ships, the mayor of a Somali town said, part of an upsurge in attacks follow-ing years of relative calm. "A group of Somali pirates captured an Iranian fishing vessel and are using it as a mother ship in order to hijack (other) ships," Ali Shire, the mayor of Haabo in the northern semi-autonomous region of Puntland, said. "The Iranian fishing vessel does not have a licence (to fish) in Puntland," he added.

Local fishermen have been angered by the return of unlicensed international fishing vessels to Somali waters, blaming them for reducing the local catch. The region is also suffering a severe drought that threatens to tip the Horn of Africa nation back into famine.

They struck again, this time in UK’s Manchester. Terror has shocked Britain at a time the nation was fixated on the upcoming elections and Brexit was the word repeated in the press more often

than May, Corbyn or London. The suicide attack in the city known for football

and its music scene has jolted not only Britain but also Europe, which has struggled to cope with heightened tensions in the midst of attacks in France, Germany and Britain. On March 22 this year, a man drove his car into pedestrians at London’s Westminster Bridge. The attacker then stabbed a police officer to death near the Houses of Parliament. Four people lost their lives in the assault that also triggered a debate on whether British forces were sufficiently prepared to take on the might of dangerous militants.

The attack in the Manchester Arena late on Monday night killed 22 people and injured scores. Casualties include children and several teenagers. The arena was hosting a pop concert by US star Ariana Grande. Britain has been under a “severe” alert level since 2014 that means an attack is likely. Terror assaults in the continent have been taking place with increasing frequency and the attackers have preyed on unlikely and vulnerable targets like a Christmas market in Berlin, a concert hall in

Bataclan or Bastille Day revellers in France.

As expected, the Islamic State has claimed the latest attack. The terror group that is under sustained assault in the Middle East has lost its traction in the region. As a measure to keep its profile from taking a beating, IS has taken to

misguiding people in Europe to launch revenge attacks. It is a way of trying to scare the West into submission — one of the major aims of the group.

Islamist lone wolf attacks have made concerts and other merry –making occasions their targets as it is well nigh impossible for security forces to shield them totally against assaults. Moreover, the egregious militant ideology that considers enjoying dance and music as immoral plays behind the motive to make concerts their targets.

Termed a callous terrorist attack by Prime Minister Theresa May, the incident led to suspension of the election campaign. But the opposition Labour party would be waiting in the wings to criticise lax security measures and blame the government’s intelligence apparatus for having failed to thwart it.

The second worst terror attack in Britain’s history has proved that Europe is becoming increasingly vulnerable to Islamist attacks. US President Donald Trump, while speaking in Israel, condemned the Manchester attack and reaffirmed his call to “drive terrorists out”.

It is likely that IS planned the attack to send a message to the West even as the American president toured the Middle East and railed at the scourge of terror in his address to the Muslim world.

10 WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017VIEWS

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]

Vulnerable targets

QUOTE OF THE DAY

It will onlystrengthen our resolve to work with our British friendsagainst those who plan and carry out such inhumane deed.

Angela MerkelGerman Chancellor

Islamic State is targeting spots and events in Europe that are difficult to guard.

The dynamics of Turkey’s relationship with the US have ebbed and flowed since Turkey’s entry to Nato in 1952. Despite facing the existential Soviet challenge, Turkey and the US have

been through challenging times in their relation-ship during the Cold War era.

The infamous Johnson letter sent to the Turkish prime minister in 1964, the American withdrawal of Jupiter missiles from Turkey, as a result of a unilateral decision, in 1962, the American economic and military embargo imposed on Turkey in 1975, and the clandes-tine American support to the military coup in 1980 were some of the issues poisoning bilat-eral relations.

On the other hand, Turkey’s transition to liberal democracy in the early 1950s; its staunch support for the US-led containment policy towards the Soviet Union; its contribu-tions to European security; as well as its pursuit of a pro-Western foreign policy in the Middle East during much of the Cold War seem to have strengthened Turkey’s place in the Western community on security and identity grounds.

The end of the Cold War, the emergence of non-Western centers of power, the gradual ero-sion of the western liberal order and the new strategic openings in Turkey’s neighborhood have set in motion new dynamics in bilateral relations over the last quarter-century.

It would not be wrong to argue that the last three decades have witnessed Turkey’s attempts at increasing its strategic autonomy in foreign and security relations while benefit-ing from its Western connections.

A more pragmatic and interest-driven logic appears to have shaped Turkey’s approach to the West more profoundly than an ideational rationality sanctifying the preservation of Tur-key’s western identity at all costs. This trend has gained more salience during the reign of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) over the last fifteen years.

The more emphasis the AK Party govern-ments have placed on Turkey’s “strategic autonomy” and the closer the US has got to Turkey’s vicinity through its military involve-ments in the Middle East, the more tension has arisen in the bilateral relations between Tur-key and the US.

Shrinking worldThe transformation of the “alliance-based”

relationship first to “strategic partnership” in the late 1990s and then to “model partnership” in the late 2000s seems to have now entered a new phase with the Donald Trump administra-tion adopting more of a “transactional” approach toward Turkey.

Similar to other members of Nato and many emerging powers, Turkey has been per-sistently trying to develop its economic and strategic relations with non-Western powers.

The globalisation process and the shrinking of the world seem to dictate a more global and interest-driven outlook in the foreign policies

Turkey and the US: Past, today and tomorrowTarik OguzluAnatolia

of many states, Turkey being no exception.

The latest manifestation of this emerging trend in global politics can be best seen in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visits to Russia, India and China before his final stop in Washington to meet Trump for the first time after he won the presidential election in Novem-ber last year.

Whether or not Erdogan wanted to deliver the message that Turkey is not alone in its strategic options, such a multi-dimensional and multi-directional foreign policy outlook seems to be the order of the day.

It is of vital importance that Turkey’s improving relations with Russia and China not come at the expense of its dec-ades-old institutional relations with Western actors, through both Nato and the EU.

The density, scope and institutional thickness of Turkey’s economic and stra-tegic relations with Western actors can in no way be compared to its burgeoning relations with Russia, China and other emerging powers.

The gradual erosion of the ideational glue in Turkey’s relations with the West should not lead us to conclude that pro-spective memberships in the Eurasian Economic Union, BRICS or the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation would com-pensate Turkey’s estrangement from the key pillars of the Western community.

Washington visitThat said, the latest visit of Erdogan to

Washington and his upcoming visit to Brussels toward the end of May will reveal the determination of Turkish leadership to preserve the gains of Turkey’s Western connections. However, for Turkey’s rela-tionship with Western actors to remain on solid grounds, particularly with the US, the latter would do well to respect Tur-key’s priorities in Syria.

Unlike the US, Turkey borders the Middle East and whatever happens there is bound to have direct consequences on Turkey’s national interests, of which the preservation of Turkey’s internal societal peace and territorial integrity stand out.

Turkey describes the ouster of the Assad regime as a must in order for all the negative con-sequences of the never-ending civil war in

Syria to come to an end. Even if this can-not be achieved soon, the fight against Daesh, a bloody terrorist organisation, should not be waged in cooperation with other terrorist organisations, the PKK and its sister organisation in Syria, the PKK/PYD.

This point was strongly underlined by Erdogan during the press conference he held together with Trump after their one-to-one meeting in the White House.The American military support to PKK/PYD forces for the retaking of Raqqah from Daesh runs the risk of these weapons ending up in the hands of the PKK.

Another risk is that the strengthening of PKK/PYD’s political and administrative autonomy in a post-Daesh Syria might offer a sanctuary to PKK units in northern Syria. Similar to what happened in north-ern Iraq in the wake of the US-led wars against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in 1991 and 2003, northern Syria might end up becoming the new military sanctuary of the PKK.

Syrian KurdsThis is anathema to Turkey. Neither

Sinjar in northern Iraq nor anywhere in northern Syria should become the new Kandil for the PKK. It is just too early to say — based on leaks from the bilateral meet-ing in the White House — whether the Americans have acquiesced to Turkey’s rationale and decided to continue their war against Daesh in closer military coopera-tion with Turkey instead of the PKK/PYD. But still the image that the US seems poised to project regarding the PKK despite Tur-key’s continuous objections does not fit the letter and spirit of the Turkish-American relationship as per their Nato alliance.

For the two sides to overcome the problem of trust in their relations, the Americans would do well to stop giving military aid to the PKK/PYD and extradite Fetullah Gulen to Turkey. In return, Tur-key can try to do its best to make a distinction between the PKK/PYD and the Syrian Kurds who do not support them. It is in Turkey’s national interest to make it possible for the Syrian Kurds to see their future in closer economic and political cooperation with Turkey rather than jockeying for extra-regional support for their parochial ethnic aspirations.

Similar to how it has transformed its relations with the Kurds of northern Iraq, Turkey’s adoption of a more liberal-inte-grationist approach rather than a realist-exclusionary one would better suit its interests in this case.

Turkey is quite adamant in its convic-tion that the war in Syria must end very soon because the longer it lingers, the more its vital national interests are jeop-ardised. If global and regional powers see the continuation of the civil war in Syria in their interests, then no one should doubt that Turkey would take unilateral steps to clear its border of all terrorist elements.

The writer is a professor of political science

and international relations at Antalya Interna-

tional University.

Unlike the US, Turkey borders the Middle East and whatever happens there is bound to have direct consequences on Turkey’s national interests, of which the preservation of Turkey’s internal societal peace and territorial integrity stand out.

ED ITOR IAL

11WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017 OPINION

available for comment. In addition to the Supreme Court investigation, Temer faces growing calls for his impeachment and a legal battle over the alleged illegal funding of his 2014 campaign, when he ran as the vice presidential candidate to Rousseff.

Protests in several Brazilian cities this week were relatively small. But analysts said the possibil-ity of an increasingly isolated, lame-duck president clinging to power could bring hundreds of thou-sands of angry Brazilians onto the streets, as was the case last year.

With more than 14 million Brazilians unem-ployed and many frustrated by the government’s austerity agenda, Temer’s popularity is languishing near single figures.

Some allies have already abandoned his coali-tion and the coming days will determine whether he has enough support in Congress to weather the storm.

“Temer should only stay on if he is able to get his coalition to approve the reforms. If not, he has to step down,” said José Anibal, a leading member of the Brazilian Social Democrat Party (PSDB), the president’s main ally.

Opponents seeking Temer’s ouster filed eight separate impeachment requests on Thursday. Any impeachment would take at least six months, gen-erating further uncertainty that could smother an incipient recovery in Brazil’s $2 trillion economy, according to economists, government officials and lawmakers.

Temer and his most trusted aides, including Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles, worked the phones furiously over the last two days to convince politicians and investors to back him amid what some analysts are calling the worst crisis since Bra-zil returned to democracy in 1985.

“We need to convince the political class that there is no better option for Brazil at this moment,” said a presidential aide who asked for anonymity to speak freely. “This is not about Temer but is about investment, generating new jobs and improving the lives of Brazilians.”

Temer’s critics argue he is not fit to govern after meeting in the presidential residence with Batista and allegedly endorsing — or at least not reporting - his efforts to derail the Operation Car Wash investigation into political kickbacks and bribery at state-run companies, particularly oil firm Petrobras.

Batista handed a recording of the conversation

50,000 troops to Afghanistan? Trump has to decide

A new Afghanistan war strategy approved last month by President Donald Trump’s top military and national security advis-ers would require at least 50,000 US forces to stop the advance of the Taliban

and save the government in Kabul, according to a classified US intelligence community assessment.

US intelligence and national security officials familiar with the assessment tell me that it was drafted in April, and that it provided estimates of necessary troop strengths for various strategic options. But it found that if an ambitious war plan approved by the National Security Council’s princi-pals committee got a green light from the president — a big if — more than 50,000 US troops would be needed.

That proposed strategy would place the US on a new war footing and in a deeper partnership with the Afghan government in its current campaign against the Taliban. It would also remove arbitrary timelines for withdrawal set by President Barack Obama.

The new estimate from the intelligence commu-nity envisions significantly more US forces in Afghanistan than the current levels of around 8,400 US troops currently fighting there. It is also more than the modest troop increase for Afghanistan of around 5,000 that was reported last week.

One reason the new war strategy would require more troops is that it envisions using US forces in a support role that until now has relied on outside con-tractors. Using contractors for functions like vehicle maintenance and other logistical aid have meant that US forces deployed to Syria and Iraq have largely focused on war fighting and training locals. This has kept the total number of US troops artificially low, while increasing the overall cost of the US presence.

Spokesmen for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Security

Council declined to comment for this column. But other US officials familiar with the internal delibera-tions tell me Trump has signaled he is in no mood to escalate America’s longest war. Indeed, he has com-plained to close aides in the last month about how great powers throughout history —from Alexander’s Macedonians to the British Empire — have failed to pacify the country.

Trump’s national security adviser, H R McMaster, takes a very different view. For the last five weeks he has lobbied the national security cabinet and the president with a slide presentation on Afghanistan that features photos from Kabul in the 1970s when it resembled a modern capital. That was before the Soviet coup of 1979, before the rise of the Mujahideen in the 1980s that drove the Soviets out, and before the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s and early 2000s that provided a safe haven to Al Qaeda before the September 11 attacks.

According to US officials familiar with McMaster’s presentation, the message was simple: Afghanistan is not necessarily destined to be a safe haven for terror-ists or a wasteland run by warlords. What’s more, McMaster has argued strongly that the counter-ter-rorism mission against the Taliban and other Islamic

insurgents is contingent on the government of Presi-dent Ashraf Ghani surviving.

On this last point, there are no guarantees. While the Taliban has not been able to control territory in major population centers, it has expanded its reach and influence since the end of US combat operations in the country in 2015. One national security official described the current strategy inherited from Obama as “losing slowly.” This official said the Taliban will overrun the government eventually if more outside resources are not deployed.

Last week, Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said the current war between Ghani’s government and the Taliban was a “stalemate.” He added: “That stalemate will deterio-rate in the favor of the belligerents. So we have to do something very different than what we’ve been doing in the past.”

Jack Keane, a retired four-star Army general who is an ally of McMaster’s, told me that a strategy to support Ghani’s government is not only the best plan, but it also has a good chance of succeeding. “In sur-vey after survey, for every year we have been doing this, the polling reflects overwhelmingly that 70 to 80 percent of the Afghan people reject the Taliban,”

Brazilian President Michel Tem-er’s refusal to resign in the face of a Supreme Court investigation raises the prospect of a drawn-out fight for survival by an

unpopular leader that would stall reforms, deter investors and leave Latin America’s largest economy adrift.

Legal experts and some of Temer’s political allies said his determination to fight corruption allegations could prolong a political crisis for months. That could halt congressional passage of measures needed to pull Brazil from its worst-ever recession, including moves to ease labour regulations and raise the pension age.

The prospect of Brazil tumbling back into political paralysis just a year after the impeachment of former President Dilma Rousseff sent the benchmark Bovespa stock index toppling 9 percent on Thurs-day, its biggest daily decline since the 2008 financial crisis.

Details of a plea bargain deal by exec-utives of the world’s largest meatpacking company JBS released on Friday showed Temer is accused of attempts to obstruct a sweeping corruption investigation and of receiving $4.6 million in bribes — shocking even Brazilians inured to three years of the graft probe.

In a strongly worded televised address on Saturday, a defiant Temer said a secret recording by JBS Chairman Joesley Batista had been edited to deliberately incrimi-nate him. He asked the Supreme Court to suspend its investigation until the record-ing’s integrity could be verified.

“Brazil will not be derailed. I will con-tinue to lead the government,” Temer said from the podium in the presidential palace, denouncing Batista as a ‘criminal’ who fled to New York before the storm surrounding his plea deal broke. Batista was not

President’s bid to dig in risks leaving Brazil with lame duck

US Marines during a patrol near Fire Base Fiddler’s Green in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.

to prosecutors as part of a plea bargain deal. Testimony by JBS executives released on Friday also accused former Presi-dents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Rousseff of accepting tens of millions of dollars in bribes and named scores of other pol-iticians. Lawyers for Lula said he was innocent. Rousseff denied any wrongdoing in a statement.

Brazil’s securities regulator is probing JBS and other com-panies controlled by the Batista family for possible insider trading of foreign exchange futures and shares ahead of the announcement. JBS said in a statement the trades were part of its dollar hedging strategy.

The Supreme Court investigation would normally take months if not years but given the political climate, justices are expected to expedite a decision on whether Temer should be tried. Legal experts said the evidence in the case appeared to be strong.

“The Supreme Court investigation could take a long time, but it starts off with strong evidence, the recording of the Batista meeting and a series of other videos,” said Rafael Mafei, a law professor at the University of Sao Paulo. “This would be the quickest way out of this crisis.”

If the Supreme Court accepts charges of obstruction of justice and corruption against Temer, the lower house of Congress would have to authorize his trial. That, like impeachment, would require approval by two-thirds of the chamber.

The president would be suspended immediately pending trial and may be forced to quit.

The fate of his presidency could also be sealed by Brazil’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) if it decides to annul the Rousseff-Temer ticket’s victory in the 2014 election because it received illegal campaign donations.

The case, due to open on June 6, was expected to last months, but the crisis will speed up proceedings. However, Temer can appeal any adverse ruling.

If Temer is removed, the speaker of the lower house would take over for up to 30 days while Congress picks a new president to serve the rest of the presidential term until the end of 2018. Potential candidates floated by politicians include Temer’s economic chief, Meirelles - a favorite of investors - and the head of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Carmen Lucia Rocha.

Any leader picked by lawmakers, however, would likely lack the legitimacy to pursue the unpopular pension and labor reforms before the general elections in late 2018. “That leader would be weak given how discredited this Congress is,” said Senator Ronaldo Caiado, a member of Temer’s alliance who has called for his resignation. “Only someone with the backing of the ballot could carry out the reforms we need.”

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he said. “Supporting a government that is attempting to meet the needs of its people, despite their ineffi-ciencies and despite the level of corruption that is there, still makes the most sense.”

In the abstract, Keane is right. Yet Trump has avoided making a commitment to heavy military involvement recommended by the NSC principals committee. Initially, McMaster had hoped to brief the president on a final strategy and get a decision in the first week of May. The hope was that the president would be able to present the plan at the Nato summit in Brussels on May 25, so the allies would be asked to contribute to a cohesive strategy. White House officials now tell me they don’t expect there will be time on the president’s schedule this week for Afghanistan.

Obviously Trump is a busy man. Between the president’s first for-eign trip, the latest allegations that he inappropriately shared classi-fied intelligence with Russia’s foreign minister and the aftermath of his chaotic firing of FBI Director James Comey, the White House has to attend to many urgent matters. But with the spring fighting season getting into full swing in Afghani-stan, the government in Kabul does not have the luxury of time.

The writer is a Bloomberg view col-

umnist. He was the senior national

security correspondent for the Daily

Beast and covered national security

and intelligence for the Washington

Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

Eli LakeBloomberg

The new estimate from the intelligence community envisions significantly more US forces in Afghanistan than the current levels of around 8,400 US troops currently fighting there.

Alonso Soto & Anthony BoadleReuters

12 WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017ASIA

New Delhi

IANS

Eight months after the surgical strikes on terror-launch pads, the Indian Army yes-terday said it

damaged several Pakistani mil-itary posts with heavy artillery firing in a "very recent" puni-tive assault along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir as part of its pre-emptive and pro-active strategy to curb cross-border militant incursion.

The army also released an undated video that showed some military posts in a forested area being bombed with heavy artillery fire, and smoke and flames billowing after the explosions.

The Pakistan Army, how-ever, dismissed the claim of the assault along the Line of Con-trol in the Naushera border sector of Rajouri district.

Backing the army's strategy, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said the government supported the action to counter terrorism in the valley "to ensure peace in Jammu and Kashmir".

"The Indian Army is taking preemptive and measured actions to counter terrorism in the valley and disengage Paki-stan (military) posts across the LoC supporting terrorism."

The operation was to give "a befitting reply to the Pakistan military which aids infiltration into the Indian side", Army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Ashok Narula told reporters outside the Defence Ministry.

"The Pakistan Army has been providing support to armed infiltrators by engaging our forward troops from their

weapons emplacements and pill-boxes closer to the Line of Control," the official said.

"A recent action by our troops in the Naushera sector has caused some damage to Pakistan Army posts. This is part of our overall strategy to coun-ter terrorism."

Asked when the assault took place, Maj. Gen. Narula said it was a "recent, very recent" operation.

He said the army has been undertaking the "punitive fire assaults across the LoC" to stop militants from crossing over under Pakistani cover fire.

Militant infiltration from across the border is likely to increase with the onset of the summer as melting of snow starts to open up the traditional routes of incursion.

Maj. Gen. Narula said the Pakistan Army would not even hesitate to target civilians to aid militants.

Punitive assault

The army released an undated video that showed some military posts in a forested area being bombed with heavy artillery fire, and smoke and flames billowing after the explosions.

The Pakistan Army, however, dismissed the claim of the assault along the Line of Control in the Naushera border sector of Rajouri district.

Army destroys Pakistan posts along LoC: India

Gandhinagar

IANS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said that Africa was a top priority

for his government's foreign and economic policy and pitched for an Asia-Africa Growth Corridor with the support of Japan.

Modi, who officially inaugu-rated the 52nd Annual Meetings of the African Development bank (AfDB) at Mahatma Man-dir here, said India's partnership with African countries was free of any conditions and will remain demand-driven.

"After assuming office in 2014, I have made Africa a top priority for India's foreign and economic policy," he said.

The five-day annual meet-ing of AfDB, being held in India for the first time, is being attended by 54 African regional members and 27 non-regional member countries of

the organisation. Around 3,000 delegates are taking part in the event with the theme 'Trans-forming Agriculture for wealth creation in Africa'.

Finance Minister Arun Jait-ley, in his remarks, said there was possibility of disruption in global economy due to inward looking policies of some advanced countries and this has danger of frittering away gains of globalisation. He said Afri-can economies were growing at a faster pace and noted that "21st century would not be Asia's alone but would belong equally to both Asia and Africa".

Jaitley said India leaves it to its partners to decide their pri-orities and believes this is the most enduring model of taking the relationship forward.

Referring to "High 5s" pri-ority areas of AfDB that cover energy, healthcare and pharma, agriculture, Industrialisation and e-Governance, Jaitley said

these were similar to agendas of the government. He said there was huge possibility of the agriculture sector in Africa ben-efiting from the Indian experience. Modi, in his speech, said that India was working with the United States and Japan to support development in Africa.

Modi's remarks comes days after China launched its One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative that seeks to connect China with major markets including those in Africa, Middle East and Cen-tral Asia. India has not joined OBOR. Modi recalled his conver-sation with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his visit to Tokyo last year and said they discussed commitment for enhancing growth prospects.

"In our joint declaration, we mentioned an Asia Africa Growth Corridor and proposed further conversations with our brothers and sisters from Africa," he said.

NEWS BYTES

INDORE: At least 21 pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh's Indore district were killed and six others injured when their bus plunged in a gorge in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi yesterday, officials here said. The accident occurred at around 6.30pm as they were returning to Rishikesh from the Gangotri when the vehicle fell into the 100-foot deep gorge after the driver lost control, said tehsildar D D Sharma. The pilgrims were a part of 57 persons from two areas of the district who had journeyed to the hill state, he added.

21 pilgrims dead in Uttarakhand

African Development Bank (ADB) President Akinwumi Adesina speaks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at ADB's annual general meeting in Gandhinagar yesterday.

Modi pitches for Asia-Africa corridor

Kolkata

IANS

Seething with anger, jour-nalists protested across West Bengal yesterday

against police "brutalities" on them while covering the march to secretariat programme of the Left parties.

Journalists brought out silent rallies, organised tool down protests and submitted deputations in Kolkata and the districts in protest against "police barbarism" and in sol-idarity with their injured colleagues who faced the wrath of the security forces in their line of duty.

While police have claimed only three media persons were injured, journalists on field duty on Monday have out the figure

at over 20. Some of the jour-nalists had to be taken to hospital after the "savage police attack".

In Kolkata, a large number of journalists and electronic media camerapersons partici-pated in a silent rally from Rabindrasadan in south Kolk-ata to the city police headquarters Lalbazar in the central part of the metropolis.

The rallyists, many of them women, tied black clothes on their faces and carried aloft posters reading "We want jus-tice" and "Stop attacks on journalists".

Representatives of journal-ists also submitted a deputation to Governor Keshari Nath Tri-pathi seeking his intervention to stop such assaults.

Rallies were also taken out

by journalists in South 24 Par-ganas and West Midnapore districts, while media persons in Birbhum district submitted deputation to the district authorities.

A number of journalist associations across the state have empathised with their wounded colleagues.

The injured journalists have pointed fingers at Deputy Com-missioner, STF Murli Dhar Sharma, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Apara-jita Rai and Assistant Commissioner Pradip Dam.

Meanwhile, state Parlia-mentary Affairs Minister and senior Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee yes-terday expressed regret for the way journalists were beaten up by police.

Court seizes Jagdish Tytler's passportNEW DELHI: A court here yesterday seized Congress leader Jagdish Tytler's passport and directed the CBI for appropriate action after it was revealed that he gave false information dur-ing its renewal that no criminal case is pending against him. Special Judge Bharat Parashar gave Tytler's passport to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), asking the agency for suitable action as he gave wrong information to the passport office that "no criminal case is pending against me". However, Tytler's counsel told the court that it is a bona fide mistake.

Kerala to set up dog poundsTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government has decided to set up dog pounds in each of the state's 14 dis-tricts to shelter stray dogs whose population in the coastal state is said to have touched 6.50 lakh. "We will set up the dog pounds in every district on two-acre plots of land owned by the government," Local Bodies Minister K T Jaleel told the media here yesterday. The statement comes a day after a 50-year-old man was mauled to death by a pack of strays in a city suburb. Jaleel said legal steps are also underway on the issue in the apex court.

Guwahati

IANS

An Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi-30 fighter jet with two pilots on

board went missing from near the Indo-China border in Assam yesterday morning. A search has been launched to trace the aircraft and pilots.

The Sukhoi took off from the IAF Tezpur air base, located only about 172 km from Indo-China border in Arunachal Pradesh, on a rou-tine training mission.

"A Sukhoi-30 aircraft air-borne from Tezpur today on a routine training mission lost radar and radio contact approximately 60 km from north of Tezpur town in Assam," said Tezpur-based Defence PRO Lt. Col. Sombit Ghosh.

"The aircraft is over due and actions have been initi-ated," he said.

According to a statement issued by the IAF, the jet was a part of a two-aircraft for-mation, and lost radar and radio contact with the con-trolling station at around 11.10 am. Search and Rescue oper-ations have been activated to locate the aircraft and the pilots.

"Help from civil adminis-tration and military authorities has also been sought for the search and rescue effort," the statement said. Official sources said the aircraft took off at 9.30am from Tezpur air base but lost radar and radio contact near Arunachal Pradesh's Doulasang area, a border area adjoining China, 60km north of Tezpur. Tezpur is one of the three air bases of the IAF in the country that hosts the Sukhoi.

Last year one Sukhoi 30 MKI crashed near Nagaon town of Assam while on a routine sortie.

Bengaluru

IANS

Hundreds of Indian techies working as software engineers or

providing back office serv-ices to global firms are setting up a pan-India trade union to protect their jobs amid layoffs by many IT firms, including Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Cognizant, said a function-ary of a employees forum yesterday.

"We have already filed an application with the Tamil Nadu Labour Department to register our Forum as an all-India trade union to protect our interests, especially jobs, as many IT firms are termi-nating employees at a short notice without adequate compensation," Forum for IT Employees (FITE) Joint Sec-retary Aruna Giri said.

Admitting that thousands of IT employees across the country benefitted from well-paid jobs and perks over the years when the going was good, Giri alleged that the IT firms were no longer what they were in the past, as they have started to fire more than hire.

"The need for a common platform is not just to protect our jobs, but guard our rights as citizens under the law of the land. For various reasons, including the nature of the industry, which provides more services than goods.

IAF Sukhoi jet goes missing in Assam

Indian techies forming union to protect jobs

Journalists protest 'police brutalities'NEW DELHI: More than 40,000 candidates have registered online for admissions to undergraduate courses at Delhi Uni-versity (DU) since Monday, the varsity announced yesterday. The most sought after courses are B A (Hons) English, B Com., B Com.(Hons.), B A (Hons.) Economics and B A Programme. "We have received a very good response. The total appli-cants are 40,143, of whom 28,864 have already filled their personal details sections," a varsity statement said. Of the candidates who have filled in personal details, 16,137 are male and 12,720 female.

40,000 register for DU admissions

Journalists taking part in a protest after media personnel were injured covering clashes between police and demonstrators in Kolkata, yesterday.

13WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017 ASIA

Attack on Afghan army base leaves 10 deadKandahar

AFP

At least 10 Afghan sol-diers were killed when militants attacked their army base in the southern

province of Kandahar, the defence ministry said yesterday, in the latest attack on Western-backed forces.

The assault in Shah Wali Kot district late Monday came just a day after 20 Afghan policemen were killed when Taliban fight-ers stormed their outposts in the neighbouring province of Zabul. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the Kandahar attack, but it comes as Taliban insurgents intensify their annual spring offensive and their strength is growing, more than 15 years after they were toppled from power in a US-led invasion.

"Last night the enemies of Afghanistan attacked Achakzai camp of army corps 205 in Shah

Wali Kot district," the defence ministry said in a statement, without identifying the attackers.

"Ten brave army soldiers were martyred and nine others wounded. The wounded soldiers were taken to hospital and they are in stable condition."

The attack marks another setback for Nato-backed Afghan forces. It comes just a month after the Taliban killed at least 135 soldiers in the

northern province of Balkh in the deadliest insurgent attack on an Afghan military base since 2001.

During the Zabul attack early Sunday, local officials made des-perate calls to Afghan television stations to seek attention because they were unable to contact senior authorities for help, highlighting the disarray in security ranks.

As of February only about 60 percent of Afghanistan's 407 dis-tricts were reported to be under government control, with the authorities in Kabul struggling to counter the ascendant Tali-ban, according to the US watchdog agency SIGAR.

The battlefield losses have raised concerns about the capac-ity of Afghan forces, beset by unprecedented casualties and blamed for corruption, desertion and "ghost soldiers" who exist on the payroll but whose salaries are usurped by fraudulent commanders.

Even the fortified Afghan

capital is gripped by insecurity. Gunmen stormed an interna-tional guest house late Saturday that left a German aid worker and an Afghan guard dead and a Finnish woman kidnapped.

Kabul police said they were investigating the incident as a "terrorist" attack, suggesting that the Taliban may have been behind it, but there has so far

been no claim of responsibility. The Taliban launched their

annual "spring offensive" in late April, heralding a surge in fight-ing as the US tries to craft a new Afghan strategy. US Defense Sec-retary Jim Mattis last month warned of "another tough year" for security forces in Afghanistan. US President Donald Trump is considering sending thousands

more troops to break the stale-mate against the resurgent militants.

US troops in Afghanistan number about 8,400 today, and there are another 5,000 from Nato allies, who serve mainly in a training and advisory capac-ity. The troop strengths are a far cry from the US presence of more than 100,000 six years ago.

Insurgency

The assault in Shah Wali Kot district came just a day after 20 Afghan policemen were killed when Taliban fighters stormed their outposts in the neighbouring province of Zabul.

Afghan National Army soldiers patrolling the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar, yesterday

Quetta

AFP

Pakistani officials claimed yesterday they have arrested the mas-

termind behind several attacks that killed scores of people in the restive south-west, including a devastating blast targeting lawyers in the city of Quetta last year.

Officials in Balochistan province released video showing the confession of the alleged militant, named as Saeed Ahmad Badini, a former madrassa student in his early thirties.

Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, spokesman for the provincial government, told reporters in Quetta that Badini had con-fessed to the bomb blast targeting the city's lawyers as they gathered at a hospital in August last year. More than 70 people were killed.

Badini also admitted an attack on a police training col-lege in Quetta last year which killed more than 60 people, and on a Sufi shrine which killed 52, Kakar said, without offering further evidence. Pakistani officials have in the past released videotaped con-fessions from militants said to be responsible for multiple large-scale attacks.

Pakistan arrests top militant in Balochistan

The European Union's ambassador to the Phil-ippines said yesterday

that he will seek clarification about Manila's decision to reject new grants from his grouping, while he defended the foreign aid programme as promoting development.

Ambassador Franz Jessen said he will meet next week with Philippine Foreign Sec-retary Alan Peter Cayetano to discuss the matter. Philippine officials said last week that President Rodrigo Duterte approved not to accept $280m in EU grants for 2017 to 2020 to discourage the bloc from interfering in Phil-ippine internal affairs.

EU envoy in Philippines defends grants

Duterte declares martial lawin MindanaoManila

AFP

Philippine President Rod-rigo Duterte declared martial law yesterday in

the southern region of Mind-anao, after deadly clashes between security forces and Islamic State group-linked mil-itants in a major city there.

The announcement, made by his spokesman at a press conference in Moscow where Duterte was on an official visit, fulfills an often-repeated warn-ing by the president that he would enforce military rule to quell security threats.

”As of 10:00pm Manila time Duterte has declared martial law for the entire island of Mind-anao,” spokesman Ernesto Abella said in the nationally televised briefing. Abella said martial law would be in place for 60 days, in line with constitutional limits on the use of military rule.

Martial law is particularly sensitive in the Philippines because it was used by dictator Ferdinand Marcos to remain in power during his two-decade reign, which ended in 1986 with a “People Power” revolution.

Mindanao is made up of a large island of the same name, plus smaller islands, and the region of about 20 million peo-ple makes up roughly one third of the mainly Catholic country. Abella and Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana later clarified martial law applied to all of Mindanao.

Abella said Duterte would cut short his trip to Moscow and

return to the Philippines.The announcement came

after security forces battled dozens of IS-linked gunmen in a built-up area of Marawi, a city of about 200,000 people in Mindanao, on Tuesday.

Marawi is about 800 kilo-metres (500 miles) south of Manila, the nation’s capital.

One policeman and two sol-diers were killed in the clashes, which began when police and soldiers raided a house where they believed Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnap gang and Philip-pine head of IS, was hiding. Photos posted on social media by residents showed the gun-men walking through the streets of Marawi and placing black flags that looked similar to those used by IS.

The Abu Sayyaf, based on the most southern islands of Mindanao, has kidnapped hun-dreds of Filipinos and foreigners since the early 1990s to extract ransoms. The militants beheaded an elderly German early this year and two Canadians last year after ransom demands for many millions of dollars were not met.

It has also been blamed for the country’s worst terrorist attacks, including the 2004 bombing of a ferry in Manila Bay that claimed more than 100 lives. The US State Department offers a $5m bounty for Hapi-lon because of his alleged terrorist acts against US citi-zens, including the 2001 kidnapping of three Americans in the western Philippines—two of whom were killed.

Pakistan presses ICJ for early hearing of spy caseIslamabad

Internews

Pakistan has requested the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to expedite

the hearing of the Indian spy case, whose execution was stayed on May 18. Sources said that the ministry of foreign affairs sent a letter to the ICJ’s registrar, expressing Pakistan’s desire for a quick hearing, pref-erably over the next few weeks.

Sources say that the request was made in view of the upcoming elections for ICJ judges, scheduled to be held in November.

However, a senior official believed that the ICJ might resume the hearing of the case in October. ICJ’s order: Legal experts blame FO for ‘poor’ case handling

“The government (however) wants the hearing (to be held in the) next six weeks,” he said.

Islamabad

Internews

Scores of jobless and con-tractually employed PhD degree holders yesterday

staged a protest demonstration outside the Higher Education Commission (HEC) building in Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

Holding placards, the pro-testers blocked the main road in front of the HEC headquarters.

The protesters, who com-pleted their doctorate degrees

under the HEC scholarship schemes recently, said they were suffering a lot because of the ineffective job placement policy of the commission.

“The PhD scholarship scheme consumed lots of mon-etary resources and years of human efforts on part of the degree scholars but the benefit of the scheme could not be achieved,” said Dr Sher Ali, one of the protesters.

Before availing the scholar-ship we had signed an agreement

with the HEC under which we would serve in Pakistani univer-sities for five years. But the HEC is now providing us only one year’s job under an interim placement programme.”

He equated the HEC with a factory which produced goods but made no arrangements for marketing. Another protester, Dr Qasim Ali, said after complet-ing the PhD programme, the scholars were not being pro-vided jobs in the universities of Pakistan.

PhD degree holders stage protest in Pakistan

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte upon his arrival at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport, yesterday. Rodrigo Duterte will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin today.

Duterte arrives in Russia

Bus attendants looking for passengers during rush hour in Karachi, yesterday.

Waiting for passengers

14 WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017ASIA

South Korea's ousted president goes on trialSeoul

AFP

South Korea's ousted president Park Geun-Hye, grim-faced and brought to court in handcuffs, went on trial

yesterday over a sprawling cor-ruption scandal that saw millions take to the streets and led to her downfall.

Only two months after leav-ing the presidential palace in disgrace, Park appeared at the Seoul Central District Court with a badge bearing her prisoner number pinned to her blue trou-ser suit, and no make-up.

She avoided meeting the glance of her longtime secret confidante and co-accused Choi Soon-Sil. The trial, expected to last for months, is the final act in the drama that engulfed Park, the daughter of a dictator who went on to be elected president her-self before being sacked by the country's top court.

Presiding judge Kim Se-Yun, who heads a three-man panel -- there is no jury -- asked her: "What is your occupation, the

accused Park Geun-Hye?"She responded: "I don't have

any occupation." Park, 65, is the third former South Korean leader to stand trial for corruption.

She was impeached by par-liament in December after mass demonstrations -- fuelled by economic and social frustrations -- demanding her removal over a scandal centred on Choi, her friend of 40 years, and implicat-ing some of the country's top businessmen.

Park was detained soon after her dismissal — yesterday's court session was her first public

appearance since then -- and indicted on 18 charges including bribery, coercion and abuse of power for offering governmen-tal favours to tycoons.

Cosy and corrupt ties between South Korea's business and political elites have endured for decades. But the trial could shed new light on the links between Park and the bosses of the family-run conglomerates that dominate Asia's fourth-big-gest economy.

They include Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong, who is being tried separately, and Shin Dong-Bin, the chairman of retail giant Lotte, the South's fifth-biggest con-glomerate, who was among the accused yesterday.

On her most serious count, Park is accused of taking or seek-ing bribes totalling 59.2 billion won ($52 million) for Choi or herself, most of which went to non-profit foundations which Choi controlled.

Prosecutors told the court that Park and Choi colluded in receiving seven billion won from Shin last year.

Park met Samsung's Lee in

July 2015 and told him she hoped the succession at the world's big-gest smartphone maker "would be resolved smoothly under her government", asking him to sup-port the foundations, according to prosecutor Hwang Woong-Jae. Park is also accused of letting Choi, who has no title or secu-rity clearance, handle a wide range of state affairs including senior appointments. She has

previously blamed Choi for abus-ing their friendship.

In a calm and measured voice the former head of state denied all the charges against her. Choi and Shin also denied the accusations, with Choi's law-yer calling the case "politically motivated".

Half-sobbing, Choi herself told the court: "I feel very sorry for causing President Park to

stand trial like this. President Park is not a person who could be lured by any bribes."

After the hearing adjourned for the day Park was put back into handcuffs and returned to the detention centre where she is being held. Courtroom 417 was packed, with spectator Lee Jae-Bong, 70, telling AFP: "I am here to witness a new chapter of his-tory being unfurled.

Only two months after leaving the presidential palace in disgrace, Park appeared at the Seoul Central District Court with a badge bearing her prisoner number pinned to her blue trouser suit, and no make-up.

Corruption scandal

Former South Korean president Park Geun-hye arriving for her trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, yesterday.

Hong Kong AFP

Hong Kong police yes-terday arrested 21 Uber drivers for car-

rying passengers without a proper permit following an undercover operation, in the latest setback for the ride-hailing giant. The sting comes as the San Francisco company has encountered regulatory roadblocks around the world, despite its huge popularity, and after five Uber drivers in the southern Chinese city were found guilty of operat-ing without proper licences in March.

Those drivers were arrested in a police swoop in 2015 after furious traditional cabbies smashed up their own taxis with hammers and called for authorities to act over unlicensed cars. Police spokesman Edwin Lau told reporters 20 men and one woman had been arrested.

"We sent decoys on many trips, eventually we took all the evidence," Lau said, describing the undercover operation that took place ear-lier this month. The drivers were arrested for illegally carrying passengers for reward and for not having third party insurance, he said.

Uber is the most promi-nent of several smartphone apps that are shaking up the traditional taxi landscape in cities around the world.

UN vows to tighten sanctions on North KoreaUnited Nations AFP

The UN Security Council yesterday vowed to push all countries to tighten

sanctions against North Korea as it prepared for a closed-door meeting called in response to the latest missile launch.

In a unanimous statement backed by the North's ally China, the council strongly condemned the test-firing on Sunday and instructed the UN sanctions committee to redouble efforts to implement a series of tough

measures adopted last year.The council also agreed to

"take further significant meas-ures including sanctions" to force North Korea to change course and end its "highly destabilising behaviour".

The US-drafted statement was agreed on the eve of the emergency meeting requested by the United States, Japan and South Korea to discuss a course of action on North Korea.

The United States has for weeks been negotiating a new Security Council sanctions res-olution with China, but US

ambassador Nikki Haley said last week that no final draft text had been clinched.

"This is the same movie that keeps playing. He continues to test. We've got to do action," Haley told MSNBC television.

"You know, some say, 'Oh, but sanctions haven't worked'. First of all, when the entire inter-national community speaks with one voice, it does work," she countered.

"It lets them know that they are on an island and we're all against them and that they need to correct their behavior."

North Korea on Sunday launched the Pukguksong-2, described by Washington as a

medium-range missile, from Pukchang in South Pyongan province.

It traveled about 500km before landing in the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea's armed forces.

The launch was the latest in a series this year as Pyongyang steps up its efforts to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States.

"These actions threaten regional and international secu-rity," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

'Conspiracy bill' draws backlash in JapanTokyo

AP

Japan's lower house approved a bill yesterday allowing authorities to punish those

found guilty of planning serious crimes, legislation that oppo-nents say could be used to undermine basic civil liberties.

The proposed legislation, called the "conspiracy bill," still requires upper house approval.

The government says it's needed to fight terrorism and organized crime, especially before the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Lawmakers speaking in support of the legislation pointed to the explosion late Monday in Manchester, England, that killed at least 22 people as a reason for backing the bill.

But thousands of Japanese have taken to the streets

to protest what they see as the latest effort to unduly increase police powers. Opposition law-makers referred to it as an "evil law."

Japan's history as a police

state before and during World War II has made many here wary of granting the govern-ment powers that might impinge on personal privacy and other rights.

Myanmar Buddhist body bans hardline groupYangon

AFP

Myanmar's top Bud-dhist body has banned hardline

group Ma Ba Tha, according to a document sent out yes-terday, a move aimed at curbing the movement's influence amid rising Islamophobia.

Myanmar has been gripped by deepening reli-gious tensions that have repeatedly spilled into vio-lence, partially attributed to anti-Muslim rhetoric spread by nationalist groups like Ma Ba Tha. The Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, Myan-mar's highest Buddhist authority, sent a letter to gov-ernment ministries yesterday ordering the group to cease all activities by mid-July or face prosecution.

"People, either as individ-uals or as a group, cannot take any actions under the name of Ma Ba Tha," said the letter, which was seen by AFP and carried the signature of several monks including sen-ior figures from Ma Ba Tha.

"Ma Ba Tha signboards across the country are to be taken down completely by July 15 at the latest," the Sangha committee added, warning any infractions would be punished under both Buddhist and civil law.

But Ottama, a Ma Ba Tha

monk in Yangon, said the group still planned to hold its annual meeting this weekend despite the ban.

"The most certain thing is that we will hold the Ma Ba Tha conference on the 27 and 28 of this month," he said.

A statement from the group said the official confer-ence would be cancelled, but there would now be a meet-ing to discuss the Sangha committee's decision instead.

The Sangha's sanction comes just weeks after the same committee, which rep-resents the upper echelons of the clergy, banned the coun-try's most notorious monk Wirathu from preaching for a year. Once dubbed "the face of Buddhist terror," the Manda-lay-based monk has led calls for restrictions on the country's minority and frequently spews vitriol online warning of an Islamic takeover.

Wirathu has since made several public appearances with his mouth taped shut to symbolise how he has been silenced by the authorities, and this month made a pro-vocative visit to the north of Rakhine State. Religious ten-sions have soared since a group of Rohingya Muslims attacked police posts on the border with Bangladesh last October, sparking a bloody military crackdown that has drawn widespread interna-tional condemnation.

Indonesia & Vietnam boats clash in South China SeaJakarta

AFP

Indonesian and Vietnamese vessels have clashed in the South China Sea after the

Indonesian coastguard briefly captured fishing boats allegedly operating illegally in its waters, an official said yesterday.

The world's biggest archipel-ago nation has been trying to stop foreign vessels fishing in its territory without permission and has embarked on a campaign of publicly blowing up captured foreign boats.

Jakarta has detained 11 Viet-namese sailors following the confrontation around Indone-sia's Natuna Islands, while one member of its own coastguard is being held by Hanoi.

The Indonesian coastguard Sunday spotted five Vietnamese trawlers fishing in the exclusive economic zone around the islands, on the fringes of the South China Sea, said senior Indonesian fisheries ministry official Rifky Effendi Hardijanto. They detained the fishing boats but a Vietnamese coastguard boat appeared and demanded

they be released, before ram-ming the trawlers in a bid to free them.

The fishing boats managed to escape but one sank during the confrontation. Most of the Vietnamese fishermen escaped by jumping into the sea, Hardi-janto said.

"We (Indonesia and Viet-nam) have agreed to resolve the incident through diplomatic channels and will work hard so similar incidents won't happen again," Hardijanto said.

There have been repeated clashes between Chinese and

Indonesian vessels around the Natunas recently.

Beijing claims nearly all of the resource-rich South China Sea — through which $5 trillion in trade passes annually —despite partial counter-claims from Taiwan and several Asean members.

Indonesia maintains it has no maritime disputes with China in the South China Sea and does not contest ownership of reefs or islets there. But Beijing's claims overlap Indonesia's exclusive economic zone around the Natunas

The Council also agreed to "take further significant measures including sanctions" to force North Korea to change course and end its "highly destabilising behaviour".

Tough measures

Protesters shouting slogans as they protest against an anti-conspiracy bill outside the parlliament building in Tokyo.

Hong Kong police arrest Uber drivers

15WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017 EUROPE

22 dead in Manchester suicide bombing

Paris

AFP

Wo r l d l e a d e r s expressed shock and horror yester-

day after the suicide bombing in Manchester.

Here are some of the reactions:

United States President Donald Trump

condemned the "evil losers" behind the attack, saying: "I won't call them monsters because they would like that term. They would think that's a great name.

Germany German Chancellor

Angela Merkel voiced "sor-row and horror", adding: "This suspected terrorist attack will only strengthen our resolve to work with our British friends against those who plan and execute such inhuman acts. I assure the people in Britain: Germany stands by your side."

RussiaRussian President

Vladimir Putin said he was ready to increase anti-terror cooperation with Britain after "this cynical, inhuman crime."

France French Pres ident

Emmanuel Macron voiced "horror and shock."

Australia Australian Prime Minis-

ter Malcolm Turnbull said the attack was "especially vile, especially criminal, especially horrific because it appears to have been deliberately directed at teenagers. Surely there is no crime more rep-rehensible than the murder of children.

France to step up security measures Paris

Reuters

THE French government has given instruc-tions to organisers of sporting and cultural events in the country on security measures after the Manchester attack, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said.

"We have given a certain number of instructions to the organisers of sporting and cultural events to make sure our citi-zens are best protected everywhere," Collomb said in a televised statement.

He added that a government note would be circulated to police chiefs on this measure.

Manchester

Reuters

British police yester-day identified the suicide bomber who killed 22 people, including children, in

an attack on a crowded concert hall in Manchester, and said they were trying to establish whether he had acted alone or with help from others.

The suspected attacker was named as Salman Abedi, aged 22. Two US officials who have been in contact with British authorities said he was believed to have travelled to Manches-ter from London by train.

“Our priority, along with the police counter-terrorism net-work and our security partners, is to continue to establish whether he was acting alone or working as part of a wider net-work,” Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said.

Police raided houses in the northern English city and arrested a 23-year-old man after Monday evening’s attack, the deadliest in Britain for 12 years. Prime Minister Theresa May called it an act of “sicken-ing cowardice” targeting “defenceless children and young people”.

Islamic State, now being

driven from territories in Syria and Iraq by Western-backed armed forces, claimed respon-sibility for what it called a revenge attack against “Crusad-ers”, but there appeared to be contradictions in its account of the operation.

“All acts of terrorism are cowardly,” May said in a state-ment outside her Downing Street office after a meeting with British security and intel-ligence chiefs. “But this attack stands out for its appalling sick-ening cowardice, deliberately targeting innocent, defenceless children and young people who should have been enjoying one of the most memorable nights of their lives.”

She said security services were working to see if a wider group was involved in the attack, which fell less than three weeks before a national elec-tion. The election campaign has been suspended for now as a mark of respect.

May spoke to US President Donald Trump, French

President Emmanuel Macron and several other foreign leaders yes-terday about the attack, her spokesman said. She also visited the police head-quarters and a children’s hospital in Manchester.

“PLEASE RETWEET”Desperate parents and

friends posted heart-wrenching messages and pictures on social media in the search for their loved ones who had been at the concert by Ariana Grande, a US singer who has a large number of young and teenage fans.

“ P l e a s e . . . p l e a s e retweet. Looking for my daughter and her friend,” Michael MacIntyre wrote on Twitter, alongside an image of his daughter Laura and her friend Eilidh.

Police raided a property in the Manchester district of Fal-lowfield where they carried out a controlled explosion. Wit-nesses in another area, Whalley Range, said armed police had surrounded a newly built apart-ment block on a usually quiet

tree-lined street.Manchester remained on

high alert, with additional armed

police drafted in. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said more police had been ordered onto the streets of the British capital.

Monday’s attack was the deadliest in Britain since four British Muslims killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London’s transport system in 2005.

Attacks in cities including Paris, Nice, Brussels, St Peters-burg, Berlin and London have

shocked Europeans already anx-ious over security challenges from mass immigration and

pockets of domestic Islam-ist radicalism.

Witnesses related the horror of the Manchester blast, which unleashed a stampede just as the con-cert ended at Europe’s largest indoor arena, full to its capacity of 21,000.

US President Donald Trump condemned the "evil losers" behind the bomb attack. "So many young, beautiful, innocent people living and enjoying their lives murdered by evil losers," Trump said after meeting Palestinian Presi-dent Mahmoud Abbas in

the occupied West Bank."I won't call them monsters

because they would like that term. They would think that's a great name."

Queen Elizabeth held a minute’s silence at a garden party at Buckingham Palace in London. Macron and senior French min-isters walked to the British embassy in Paris to sign the con-dolence book.

�Election campaign suspended�Islamic State claims responsibility

Vikki Baker and daughter Charlotte, 13, hug outside the Manchester Arena in Manchester.

British Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the "appalling terrorist attack" and suspended her campaign ahead of a general election on June 8 along with chief opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Britain shocked

World leaders slam attack

Police officers arrange floral tributes in St Ann's Square in Manchester yesterday.

Bomber's parents came from Libya Manchester

Reuters

The suspected suicide bomber, 22-year-old Sal-man Abedi, was born in

Manchester in 1994 to parents of Libyan birth, US security offi-cials said, citing British intelligence officials.

His parents emigrated from Libya to London before mov-ing to the Fallowfield area of south Manchester, where they

have lived for at least 10 years, the officials said.

Police raided a house in Els-more Road in Fallowfield earlier yesterday.

A 23-year-old man arrested by police in a separate move in south Manchester in connec-tion with the attack was believed to be Abedi’s brother, news reports said.

Abedi had a sister named Jomana Abedi, the US security officials said.

Forensics investigators work at the entrance to the Manchester Arena, yesterday.

Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, yesterday.

16 WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017EUROPE

Green protest

Anastasiades urges Cypriots to settle peace firstNicosia

AP

The Greek Cypriot president of ethnically divided Cyprus urged Turkish Cyp-

riots to accept his proposal to deal first with the toughest issues holding back progress in trou-bled reunification talks rather than trying to address everything in one go.

President Nicos Anastasia-des said a peace deal could come much quickly than expected, if the issues of post-reunification security and how much territory each side would administer are settled before other issues such as governance are taken up.

The talks, which have marked significant progress over the last two years, are now at a standstill while both sides try to

set the terms for a final summit in Switzerland.

UN envoy Espen Barth Eide is expected to shuttle between the two sides this week in search of a compromise formula pav-ing the way for the summit.

Anastasiades said breaka-way Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci's proposal to dive into a give-and-take process on all issues at the summit would

lead nowhere and risk foisting responsibility for the failure on his shoulders.

"I can't possibly accept something that won't lead any-where just so there won't be deadlock," Anastasiades said.

He said that he would be willing to stay in Geneva "as long as it takes" to reach an overall peace deal, if his proposal is accepted.

SNP insists Scotland's right to chose BrexitEdinburgh

Reuters

The Scottish National Party (SNP) will insist on Scotland's right to decide its own future as Britain leaves the

European Union, according to a policy document to be published yesterday.

First Minister Nicola Stur-geon of the SNP will ask voters in a June 8 general election to "strengthen Scotland's hand against an extreme Brexit that will put tens of thousands of Scottish jobs at risk."

Sturgeon runs Scotland's devolved government and her party has most of the Scottish seats in Britain's national par-liament at Westminster.

"This election won't decide whether or not Scotland will become independent, but a vote for the SNP will reinforce the right of the Scottish Parliament to decide when the nation should be given a choice on its future, and will make sure that Scotland’s future is always in Scotland's hands," she said, ahead of the launch of the pol-icy document.

Polls show the SNP set to easily win in Scotland in the June vote, although the Conserv-atives will take some seats from

them as the issue of keeping the United Kingdom together takes centre-stage.

Scots rejected independence by 10 percentage points in 2014 and support for secession since then is little changed.

But Sturgeon argues a new choice is needed because Scots, along with the Northern Irish, voted to keep their EU member-ship, clashing with voters in

England and Wales who voted to leave the European Union.

The Scottish parliament, dominated by independence parties, has given her a fresh mandate to seek a new referen-dum. But that has been rebuffed by Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May, who says this is not the time to consider inde-pendence with Brexit in the offing.

May is seeking a one-size-fits-all model for Britain as it leaves the EU and has called a general election to strengthen her hand in the arduous nego-tiations that lie ahead.

But Scotland's government has sought a separate deal to fit its distinct economic needs which it says has been ignored by London. That has strained the ties that bind the United Kingdom together.

"With the prospect of a ree-lected and increasingly hardline government at Westminster, it is more vital than ever that Scot-land's voice is heard," Sturgeon said, describing her party as "the only effective opposition to the Tory government".

May's party says the SNP is using Brexit as an excuse to fur-ther its nationalist cause and open up a divisive question that it says was already settled in 2014.

Ukraine backs tough TV language rules Kiev

AFP

UKRAINE'S parliament yes-terday backed tough limits on the amount of Russian allowed to be aired on television in a step that is likely to raise the Kremlin's ire.

A bill requiring major channels to broadcast at least three-quarters of their pro-grammes in the Ukrainian language passed parliament by an overwhelming 269-15 margin.

The bill was adopted just a week after Ukraine blocked Russia's most popular social media networks and a top internet search engine in a self-proclaimed effort to pre-vent Kremlin propaganda from reaching the crisis-torn former Soviet state.

Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko vowed to sign the legislation and bemoaned the amount of Russian still spo-ken on Ukrainian airwaves.

"I have drawn the atten-tion of channel owners and managers on several occa-sions to the inadmissibly low amount of Ukrainian spoken," Poroshenko wrote on Facebook.

"On some channels the ratio was at 15 percent! Gen-tlemen, have you forgotten what country you live in?!"

Moscow has long accused the former Soviet republic of persecuting its Russian speakers.

Poland school honours 87 Jewish girls expelled under NazisWarsaw

AP

A school in Poland unveiled a plaque yesterday that commemorates 87 Jewish

girls who were expelled in 1939 during the Nazi occupation of the country.

The event in Krakow is one in a growing number of efforts by teachers and children to com-memorate the Jews who lived in Poland before the Holocaust, which was perpetrated by Nazi

Germany largely in occupied Poland.

The event was held to mark the 125th anniversary of the founding of the No. 2 middle school in Krakow, which before World War II was an all-girls school.

Lital Beer, director of Yad Vashem's Reference and Infor-mation Services, said her researchers worked for nearly two years at the school's request to determine the fate of the 87 girls.

She said 21 were killed in the Holocaust and 24 survived, but the fate of the others could not be determined.

The task of tracking down girls was made especially diffi-cult due to the fact that many of them changed their names more than once, first taking on Hebrew names if they settled in Israel, and then changing surnames again upon marriage.

It was not clear if any of the girls are still alive.

The research project began

nearly two years ago when prin-cipal Gabriela Olszowska contacted Yad Vashem after finding a trove of records that included a list of the 87 Jewish girls expelled on December 9, 1939, following orders from the German Nazi authorities.

Beer also said that Yad Vashem gets a lot of requests to do private research for individ-uals, and is usually not able to accommodate most of them, but gave special attention to this case.

"I was very moved by the principal's initiative to research the girls and commemorate them".

"We want to embrace those initiatives as much as we can," Beer added.

Zvia Fried, who conducted much of the research for Yad Vashem, took part in the cere-mony, saying by phone from Krakow that it was "very mov-ing" and included prayers led by a rabbi and a Roman Catholic priest.

Probe team raids Russian director's propertiesMoscow

AFP

Russian investigators yes-terday raided the home of a radical director and

his Moscow theatre in a probe linked to alleged embezzlement of state funds.

Investigators accompanied by masked security officers raided Kirill Serebrennikov's Moscow flat and the state-funded Gogol Centre theatre where he is artistic director, Russian television showed.

The powerful Investigative Committee said the raids were linked to the suspected embez-zlement between 2011 and 2014 of around $3.5m "allocated to develop the arts", although Ser-ebrennikov has not been charged.

"I am in complete shock, " he said.

The raid drew condemna-tion. "Searching his flat is undoubtedly an act of intimi-dation," film director Pavel Bardin wrote on Facebook.

Novelist Lyudmila Ulitskaya told Meduza news site: "They are trying to steal from us the most valuable thing that is hap-pening in our country: our culture."

The Kremlin denied there any political element with spokesman Dmitry Peskov tell-ing journalists: "there is no politics nor (anything to do

with) creativity here."Serebrennikov has revolu-

tionised Moscow's theatre scene with radical stagings of new plays and reinvented classics.

He has also staged a ballet at the legendary Bolshoi theatre.

As a film director he has received critical acclaim, win-ning prizes at the Cannes and Rome film festivals while his 2012 film "Betrayal" was nom-inated for the prestigious Golden Lion at Venice.

Actors at the popular thea-tre were shut inside and had their phones taken away as they came to rehearse Serebrennik-ov's contemporary staging of Nikolai Gogol's satire "Dead Souls," Russian television reported.

The theatre's PR director Nika Gruzdeva said there were about 50 people inside.

Serebrennikov, whose venue receives funding from the Moscow city budget, has fallen out of favour with Rus-sia's cultural authorities in recent years.

He has condemned increas-ing censorship of the arts.

"They say we're the state and we'll decide what the peo-ple need and don't need. Everything is going back to the most pathetic Soviet mental-ity," he told independent TV Dozhd last year.

Theresa May's party says the SNP is using Brexit as an excuse to further its nationalist cause and open up a divisive question that it says was already settled in

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP will ask voters in a June 8 general election to "strengthen Scotland's hand against an extreme Brexit that will put tens of thousands of Scottish jobs at risk."

Independence

Activists from Greenpeace during a protest outside the venue of the 8th Petersberg Climate Dialogue, in Berlin, yesterday.

Bond star Roger Moore deadLondon

AFP

British actor Roger Moore, who played James Bond over two decades with a

suave wit, died yesterday aged 89, drawing tributes for his portrayal of the womanising superspy and his charity work.

"It is with a heavy heart that we must announce our loving father, Sir Roger Moore, has passed away today in Swit-zerland after a short but brave battle with cancer," his chil-dren said in a statement on Twitter.

"We are all devastated," Deborah, Geoffrey and Chris-tian said. "Thank you Pops for being you, and for being so very special to so many people."

Moore shot to fame as the smooth-talking adventurer Simon Templar in British tel-evision show "The Saint" in the 1960s, and also starred along-side Tony Curtis in "The Persuaders" in the 1970s.

But it was not until 1973, at the age of 45, that he won the role that for many fans would come to define him, as Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond.

His 007 debut in "Live and Let Die" was followed by six more Bond films, bowing out with 1985's "A View to a Kill".

Known for his ironically raised eyebrow and deadpan quips, Moore's take on Bond

was more tongue-in-cheek than that of his manly prede-cessor Sean Connery.

"I'm not that cold-blooded killer type. Which is why I play it mostly for laughs," he once said.

But with seven appear-ances as the character he fondly called "Jimmy Bond", he

outgunned Connery and all the other actors to have played the role.

Moore was also one of the last of the old-school movie stars, who counted Frank Sinatra and David Niven among his friends and lived in luxury in Switzerland and the French Riviera.

A file photo of British actor Roger Moore during a 'James Bond photocall' at Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes.

17WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017 AMERICAS

NEWS BYTES

Latest viral video: Sea lion in Canada pulls girl into waterMONTREAL: Video of a sea lion grabbing a little girl and yank-ing her into the water at a wharf on Canada’s Pacific coast has gone viral and prompted warnings against the dangers of feeding wild animals. The drama was filmed on Saturday at Steveston Fisherman’s Wharf in Richmond, British Colum-bia and as of Monday it has been viewed more than 11 million times on YouTube. The sea lion was swimming leisurely, close to the wharf and occasionally sticking its head up out of the water as a dozen or so tourists watched and fed the animal. At one point a girl sat down on a ledge of the wharf, with her back to the water. The sea lion suddenly lurched up, grabbed her by her clothes and pulled her backward into the water with a big splash, as onlookers scream. A man jumped in and pulled the girl out of the water. They walked away from the scene quickly. “The more and more we feed wild animals, the more and more we’re putting ourselves at risk for those situations,” Danielle Hyson, a senior marine mammal trainer at the Vancouver Aquarium, told the Vancouver Sun. On the video, the sea lion rises up out of the water a first time before grabbing the girl. “So he’s letting the people know that he’s starting to get frustrated. And in that situation, the people should have backed off right away,” Hyson said.

LA art dealer gets jail for bilking clients out of $1mLOS ANGELES: A former Los Angeles art dealer who prose-cutors say embezzled more than $1m from clients including former Walt Disney Co President Michael Ovitz was sentenced to six months in jail. Perry Rubenstein, 63, was also ordered to pay $1.1m in restitution to Ovitz and a second victim, Michael Salke, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Rubenstein pleaded guilty in March to two counts of grand theft by embezzlement in connection with the sale of art by Takashi Murakami and Richard Prince. Prosecutors say that in 2012 Rubenstein sold a Murakami art on behalf of Salke but failed to turn over all of the proceeds to him. The following year, Rubenstein sold two Prince paint-ings for Ovitz but never turned over the money to his client, according to prosecutors. The Los Angeles Times reported that Rubenstein was a high-profile art dealer in Manhat-tan before moving to the West Coast, where celebrities such as rocker Neil Young and artist Shepard Fairey attended the opening of his new gallery. Ovitz, 70, helped found Creative Artists Agency in 1975 and served as president of the Walt Disney in the late 1990s.

Lula faces new graft chargesBRASILIA: Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been charged by prosecutors who said the leftist politi-cian was the mastermind behind the country’s biggest bribery scheme. Lula, a founder of the Workers Party (PT) that con-trolled Brazil’s presidency from 2003 until last year, is already facing five separate trials on corruption charges with a ruling in the first expected by July. Under Brazilian law, it is now up to a federal judge to decide if Lula will stand trial for the lat-est charges. Prosecutors accused Lula of leading a scheme in which politicians and executives at state-run oil company Petrobras received bribes from companies seeking contracts for public projects. If Lula were convicted in any of the tri-als, and the ruling was upheld by a second court, he would be legally disqualified from running and likely go to prison.

10 years jail for Morales aideLAPAZ: President Evo Morales’s ex-girlfriend Gabriela Zap-ata was sentenced to 10 years prison on corruption charges yesterday, capping a steamy case that also involved alle-gations of a hidden love child. Zapata, a former manager at the Chinese engineering group CAMC, was accused of using her influence with the president to win $560m in govern-ment contracts. She began dating Morales in 2005, when she was 18 years old. Morales, 57, said the affair ended two years later.

Washington

AFP

The White House yes-terday delivered to Congress a proposed budget for 2018 that would make deep cuts

in programs for the poor as well as diplomacy and foreign aid, while boosting defense spend-ing and border security.

The plan claims it would help balance the budget within 10 years — in large part by rolling back benefits that have helped tens of millions of lower-income Americans, including those who helped send Donald Trump to the White House.

The plan, a reported $4.1 tril-lion for 2018, is certain to undergo major changes on Cap-itol Hill, where lawmakers rarely approve a president’s budget wish list in its original form.

Overall, government spend-ing would be cut by $3.6 trillion over 10 years — with anti-pov-erty programs like Medicaid — which provides health insur-ance to low-income families — and food stamps bearing the brunt of the cutbacks.

It does propose a six-week family leave program for new parents, costing about $20bn over 10 years—a project cham-pioned by Trump’s daughter and key aide Ivanka.

“You have to have compas-sion for folks receiving federal funds, but you also need com-passion for folks paying it,” White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said at a White House briefing with reporters.

The State Department and the Environmental Protection Agency would each see their budgets cut by about a third, while defense spending would increase by more than $50bn, or 10 percent above 2017 levels.

The proposal also adds $2.6bn for border security and immigration enforcement — including $1.6bn for building a wall on the US-Mexican border, one of Trump’s controversial

campaign promises.Mulvaney stressed that

Trump’s budget request reflected an effort to “bring some fiscal discipline” to US spending, and stressed that the 2018 budget was a pro-taxpayer affair.

Mulvaney repeatedly defended the budget against charges it drastically cuts fund-ing for important safety net programs like Medicaid. Trump’s budget counts on the passage of the Republican health care reform bill, which in its repeal of Obamacare would slash federal support for Med-icaid by $800bn over a decade.

“We’re not kicking anybody off of any program who really needs it,” Mulvaney insisted. “We have plenty of money in this country to take care of the people who need help, and we will do that. We don’t have

enough money to take care of everybody who doesn’t need help.”

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the Medicaid cuts would end such benefits for 10 million people, and some Republicans have expressed unease about such changes.

The budget would give states flexibility to impose work requirements for those in cer-tain anti-poverty programs. For example, states would be enti-tled to toughen Medicaid rules on able-bodied Americans who do not have children.

Trump’s budget relies on an optimistic projection of 3.0 per-cent economic growth over the coming years, and assumes that the Trump tax overhaul, still in its infancy, will be deficit-neu-tral, Mulvaney said.

That assumption was

savaged by Democrats as well as some economic experts.

“The entire Trump budget is based on unrealistic growth esti-mates that have already been rejected by many leading econ-omists,” warned Senate Democrat Mark Warner.

Larry Summers, a former treasury secretary and a key economic advisor under Barack Obama, blasted it as “simply ludicrous.” “The Trump administration has not yet made a significant eco-nomic pronouncement that meets a minimal standard of competence and honesty,” he said in a Washington Post column.

The budget leaves Social Security retirement benefits and Medicare untouched, fulfilling a long-held campaign pledge. But it appears to violate his promise not to cut Medicaid.

Washington

AFP

Former CIA director John Brennan said yesterday that he warned Russia last

summer against meddling in the US presidential election but the Russians went ahead and did it, anyway.

“It should be clear to every-one that Russia interfered in our 2016 presidential election proc-ess,” Brennan said in testimony to the House Intelligence Com-mittee, which is investigating possible collusion between Rus-sia and President Donald Trump’s campaign.

“And that they undertook the activities despite our strong pro-tests and explicit warning they not do so,” said Brennan, who served as CIA director from 2013 until January of this year when Trump took office. Brennan told how he called the head of the

Russian intelligence service, the FSB, on August 4 of last year. “I said that all Americans, regard-less of political affiliation or whom they might support in the election, cherished their ability to elect their own leaders without outside interference,” Brennan said. “I said American voters would be out-raged by any attempt to interfere in the election,” he added. Bren-nan’s interlocutor denied any Russian interference but said he would pass on the warning to President Vladimir Putin, the ex-CIA chief said.

Brennan reiterated that the CIA detected in 2016 possible signs of collusion between Trump associates and Russian officials. Those contacts are now being investigated by committees in both chambers of the US Congress and by recently appointed spe-cial counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director.

“I encountered and became

aware of information and intel-ligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Rus-sian officials and US persons involved in the Trump cam-paign,” Brennan said. He said he did not know if this amounted to outright collusion.

“I know there was a suffi-cient basis of information and intelligence that required fur-ther investigation” by the FBI, he added. Trump vehemently denies any collusion and says he is the victim of an unprece-dented witch hunt.

Brennan also addressed news reports that Trump, in an Oval Office meeting this month with the Russian foreign minis-ter and ambassador, shared highly classified information provided by a US ally about an Islamic State group plot to bring down civilian airliners with bombs hidden in laptop computers.

New York Reuters

A federal appeals court yes-terday revived a Wikipedia lawsuit that

challenges a US National Secu-rity Agency (NSA) programme of mass online surveillance, and claims that the government unconstitutionally invades peo-ple’s privacy rights.

By a 3-0 vote, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia said the Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts the Wikipedia online

encyclopedia, can pursue a chal-lenge to the government’s “Upstream” surveillance program.

The decision could make it easier for people to learn whether authorities have spied on them through Upstream, which involves bulk searches of international communications within the internet’s “backbone” of cables, switches and routers. Upstream’s existence was revealed in leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in 2013.

Lawyers for the Wikipedia

publisher and eight other plain-tiffs including Amnesty International USA and Human Rights Watch, with more than 1 trillion international communi-cations annually, argued the surveillance violated their rights to privacy and free expression.

The US Department of Jus-tice countered that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has authorized Upstream and its review of communications between Americans and foreign “targets.” In October 2015, US District Judge T S Ellis III in Bal-timore dismissed the lawsuit,

finding a lack of evidence that the NSA, headquartered in Mar-yland, was conducting surveillance “at full throttle.” Writing for the appeals court panel, however, Circuit Judge Albert Diaz found “nothing spec-ulative” about the Wikimedia Foundation’s claims.

Diaz said the NSA intercep-tion and copying of communications showed “an invasion of a legally protected interest - the Fourth Amend-ment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.”

Budget calls for deep cuts to social safety net

Washington

AFP

President Donald Trump asked two top US intel-ligence officials in

March to help push back against the FBI investigation into his campaign’s possible links with Russia, The Wash-ington Post reported.

In the newest report sug-gesting the White House sought to tamp down the Rus-sia probe, the Post said Trump urged National Security Agency chief Michael Rogers and to Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to publicly deny any evidence of collusion between his cam-paign and Russia during last year’s presidential election.

Citing current and former intelligence officials, the Post said both Rogers and Coats, who was appointed by Trump, did not comply with his request. The president made the request after then FBI director James Comey revealed that the agency had been investigating Russian interference into the election since July 2016.

Last week, US media reported that Trump had pressed Comey himself in meetings and phone calls to pull back on the investigation. The White House has denied that Trump pressured Comey in any way. But the FBI direc-tor, who Trump fired two weeks ago, wrote detailed memos on his discussions with the president that were cited in the media reports.

In February, Trump asked several senior congressmen and intelligence officials to contact journalists and tell them there was no evidence to support the allegations of campaign links to Russia.

Trump asked 2 intel chiefs to deny Russia links: Report

Ex-CIA chief says he warned Russia to stay out of election

Wikipedia can pursue NSA surveillance lawsuit: Court

Changes likely

The plan, a reported $4.1 trillion for 2018, is certain to undergo major changes on Capitol Hill.

The budget leaves Social Security retirement benefits and Medicare untouched, fulfilling a long-held campaign pledge.

Former Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Brennan testifies before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC yesterday.

18 WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017AMERICAS

Quito

AFP

One of the feistiest person-alities in Latin American politics, Ecuador’s Rafael

Correa hands power today to his quieter ally Lenin Moreno, who is tasked with steering a leftist political flagship through trou-bled economic waters.

President for a decade, Cor-rea, 54, is one of a generation of colorful leftist leaders who gov-erned the mineral-rich region over recent decades. But unlike his allies in Brazil, Argentina and Peru, his side managed to win re-election this year. His suc-cessor Moreno, 64, will be sworn in by congress today.

“He is willing to be less con-frontational and to have a softer approach as president to the

opposition and the media,” said Farith Simon, an analyst at San Francisco University in Quito. “He will not change political course but will change the style of government.” Correa’s time in office has been marked by his abrasive personality. He openly criticized his opponents and the media, which he branded as “corrupt” and “lying.”

In the last of his weekly presidential progress reports on Saturday, he ripped up a news-paper live on air. He said he had a “lump in his throat” in sadness at leaving office after 10 years.

Ecuador had been dubbed ungovernable when he came to office in 2007, with seven differ-ent presidents over the preceding decade. He launched vigorous reforms, boosting social spend-ing, curbed oil firms’ profits and

suspended some debt payments that he considered illegitimate. “We succeeded. I am handing over a country totally different from the one I received,” he said recently. Economists warn that the eco-nomic tide has turned, however. Like other Latin American coun-tries, Ecuador has suffered from falling prices for its oil and min-erals. “There is an economic hangover,” said Simon.

The economy soared after Correa took over but fell back last year, shrinking 1.5 percent. Ecuador’s external debt has climbed to more than $25bn — over a quarter of its output.

For Moreno, “it will be very difficult to maintain” the level of social spending, said Simon Pachano, a political scientist at the Latin American Social Sci-ences Faculty in Quito.

Caracas

Reuters

V enezuela’s state prosecutor has panned unpopular President Nicolas Maduro’s plan to

create a grassroots congress, deepening a rare public split among the ruling Socialists as the death toll from two months of unrest hit 51.

Chief State Prosecutor Luisa Ortega stunned the crisis-hit country in March when she lam-basted the Supreme Court for annulling the powers of the oppo-sition-led National Assembly. Since then, she has been a wild card within the publicly homog-enous Venezuelan government, whose foes accuse it of seeking to dodge elections by creating a parallel assembly with powers to rewrite the constitution.

Socialist Party official Elias Jaua, in charge of the “constit-uent assembly” project, confirmed that Ortega had writ-ten him to express her discontent in a letter that was previously leaked on social media. “It is my imperative to explain the reasons for which I have decided not to participate in this activity,” Ortega’s two-page missive reads.

“Instead of bringing stabil-ity or generating a climate of peace, I think this will acceler-ate the crisis,” she said, mentioning it would heighten uncertainty and alter the “unbeatable” constitution launched under late leader Hugo Chavez. Jaua acknowl-edged receipt of Ortega’s letter, but quickly said she was merely expressing a “political opinion,” without any power to change

the situation. “We consider that the only organ the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela’s consti-tution empowers to interpret the constitution is the Supreme Court’s constitutional chamber,” he said at a news conference, in reference to the pro-government top court.

Venezuelans are scrutinizing Maduro’s government and the armed forces for any cracks as protesters take to the streets daily to demand early elections, humanitarian aid to alleviate food and medicine shortages, and free-dom for jailed activists.

While there are no outward signs of major fissures that would destabilise 18-years of ‘Chavista’ rule, demonstrators have been cheered by Ortega’s public dissent and by some pub-lic denunciations of officials by their relatives. While anti-gov-ernment protests have brought hundreds of thousands to the streets, Venezuelans are increasingly concerned about spates of nighttime looting and barricades popping up in many

neighborhoods. Masked youths man roadblocks, turning back traffic or asking motorists for a monetary “collaboration” to be allowed through.

The worst nighttime unrest has largely been concentrated outside the capital, however, with the jungle and savannah state of Bolivar hard-hit over-night. Some 51 buses were burned after a group attacked a transport company in the city of Puerto Ordaz, the prosecutor’s office said. Barricades and clashes with the National Guard were also rippling through the city, according to a witness.

There also was trouble on Monday in Barinas, the rural state where Chavez was born and which is regarded by his supporters as the “cradle of the revolution.” Mobs burned the headquarters of the Socialist Party in the state capital, and clashes and looting raged throughout the day, witnesses and authorities said.

Several opposition leaders have condemned the violence, but the episodes highlight the risks of protests spinning out of their control amid widespread anger at Maduro, hunger, and easy access to weapons in one of the world’s most violence countries. Maduro accuses his opponents of an “armed insur-rection,” backed by the United States, his ideological foe.

His government blames “fascist” protesters for looting and deaths in the unrest since early April. The death toll increased to at least 51 people after a policeman, Jorge Escan-don, died after being injured in Carabobo state and three peo-ple died in protests in Barinas, the prosecutor’s office said.

Cape Canaveral AP

Spacewalking astronauts made urgent repairs at the International Space Station

yesterday, three days after a critical relay box abruptly failed.

The 400km high replace-ment job fell to commander Peggy Whitson, the world’s most experienced female astronaut. She now ties the record for most spacewalks by an American — 10. Even though a second relay box managed the data load just fine after Saturday’s breakdown, Nasa scrambled to put together a spacewalk in order to restore backup capability. The system is vital for operating the station’s solar panels, radiators and robotic equipment.

The failed data-relay unit

— recently refurbished with upgraded software — was just installed in March. Hauling out a spare, Whitson photographed the faulty device to help engineers figure out what went wrong. Then she quickly removed it and bolted down the spare, an identical 22kg box measuring 14 by 8 by 13 inches — officially known as an MDM or multiplexer-demulti-plexer. But when Whitson discovered some metal flecks on some of the bolt holes, she had to pull the spare box back out.

Whitson and Fischer were just out spacewalking on May 12. That excursion was cut short by leaking station equipment, leav-ing two antenna installations undone. So Fischer completed the chore yesterday.

“Here we go again,” French astronaut Thomas Pesquet said

via Twitter as his US colleagues suited up for the spacewalk. As they ventured outside, Pesquet cautioned, “You guys be safe.” It was only the second space-walk for Fischer, a rookie astronaut who arrived at the orbiting lab last month.

After he had installed the antennas, Fischer radioed, “Oh my gosh, it’s so beautiful,” as the station sailed out over the tip of South America and over the South Atlantic. Whitson is more than halfway through a 9 ½-month mission. Currently on her third spaceflight, she’s spent more time off the planet than any other American and, at age 57, is the oldest woman to ever fly in space. Yesterday's excursion put her in third place on the all-time spacewalking list, behind a Rus-sian and fellow American.

Venezuela prosecutor decries Maduro's plan

Spacewalking astronauts tackle urgent station repairs

New York Reuters

A Turkish man prompted a bomb scare aboard a weekend American Air-

lines flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu through a series of outbursts culminating in a des-perate scuffle with crew members and fellow passen-gers, the FBI said in court documents filed late.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation account of Satur-day’s disturbance was furnished in an affidavit supporting the criminal complaint against Anil Uskanli, 25, who was living in California under a temporary visa revoked after his arrest.

Uskanli, making his first court appearance since he was arrested at Honolulu Interna-tional Airport, was ordered by a federal magistrate judge to undergo a psychiatric evalua-tion. He was charged with a single count of interfering with a flight crew, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Uskanli’s brush with the law began at Los Angeles Interna-tional Airport (LAX) hours before he boarded American Airlines Flight 31 without any baggage checked or any carry-on items, except for a laptop.

Authorities disclosed that he was detained and cited for trespassing after entering a restricted area at LAX. But he was allowed through security screening again, and according to the FBI was brought to the plane in a wheelchair due to his impaired condition.

Upon boarding Uskanli sat down in first class and only took his assigned seat at the rear of the plane after several requests. Once airborne, he was observed muttering to himself and repeatedly moving his laptop between the floor space at his feet and a seatback pouch.

In an outburst a short time later, Uskanli began yelling and pounding the lavatory walls when another passenger inad-vertently walked in on him, prompting the plane’s captain to lock down the cockpit. Tensions flared anew when Uskanli, his head wrapped in a blanket, rose from his seat carrying his laptop and started walking toward the front of the plane.

In a bid to block him from the first-class cabin and cock-pit, a flight attendant pushed a drink cart down the aisle then struggled to hold it in place, tell-ing him, “you are not coming in here,” as Uskanli pushed back.

Responding to her pleas for help, several passengers, includ-ing an off-duty police officer subdued Uskanli, and the officer kept him seated for the rest of the flight. Still, crew members became worried his laptop might be a bomb. The crew then initi-ated bomb-threat procedures, moving the laptop to the very back of the aircraft and packing material around it, as the pilot lowered the plane’s altitude to 5,000 feet. It was then that the US military was alerted and dis-patched two F-22 warplanes to escort the airliner. Ultimately, the plane landed safely, no one among the 187 passengers and crew was hurt.

FBI: Unruly passenger aboard Hawaii flight prompted bomb scare

Ecuador at turning point as feisty Correa bows out

Seattle

Reuters

Hawaii will likely suffer more coastal flooding this week driven by

record high tides, a symptom of global warming that could become routine within dec-ades, scientists said.

After a high tide in April broke a 112-year record, com-bining with wave action to flood low-lying coastal areas, similar tides are predicted later this week and twice more during the summer, with water likely to cover roadways and reach buildings near shore. Water levels at or above April’s record tide are now predicted for May 25-27, as well as June 23-24 and July 21-22, Mark Merri-field, a University of Hawaii oceanographer, said.

While so far mostly a nui-sance, rising global sea levels will likely drive similar flood-ing dozens of times per year by 2050, and could pose serious risks during storm seasons, said Chip Fletcher, a dean at the University of Hawaii’s School of Ocean and Earth Sci-ence and Technology.

“First you’ll see it during the highest tides of the year, then during the new moon and full moons,” when peak monthly tides typically occur, Fletcher said. “And then it will start to occur at every high tide, every day.”

As much as 45 percent of the floodwater height during the April event was attribut-able to sea level rise driven by global warming.

Hawaii faces more flooding with record high tides

Unrest continues

Venezuelans are increasingly concerned about spates of nighttime looting and barricades popping up in many neighbourhoods.

The death toll increased to at least 51 people after a policeman, Jorge Escandon, died after being injured in Carabobo state.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa (center) greets supporters on the balcony of the government palace during a military change of guard ceremony in Quito.

This NASA TV video grab shows Astronaut Jack Fischer outside the International Space Station yesterday.

19WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017 MORNING BREAK

HIGH TIDE 02:45 - 16:30 LOW TIDE 09:30 - 22:30

Hot daytime with slight dust.

WEATHER TODAY

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Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

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These camels seem to enjoy the blazing sun as they sit patiently in their arena at Souq Waqif, yesterday. Pic: Qassim Rahmatullah/ The Peninsula

Basking in the sun

Aspetar's medical support for Triathlon starThe Peninsula

In keeping with its pivotal role helping star athletes achieve maximum results,

Aspetar — the orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital in Qatar – has provided med-ical support to Qatari Triathlon star, Abdulla Al Homaidi, at the Ironman Championship 2017 in Australia.

Ironman Australia Cham-pionship 2017 comprised a 3800m swimming event, 180km of cycling and 42km of running.

Dr Mohammed Ghaith Al Kuwari, Acting Director Gen-eral of Aspetar, congratulated Al Homaidi and awarded him an honorary certificate for his remarkable performance at the

championship, saying: “I speak for the whole country when I say I am proud of Abdullah Al Homaidi’s performance. To have done so well in such a dif-ficult sport, which requires very high levels of physical, mental and technical fitness, is a con-siderable achievement.”

Al Homaidi himself said of his achievement: “It was an honour to represent Qatar and raise our flag in front of thousands of participants and spectators. I’d like to thank Aspetar and everyone else for their support, which played a vital role in

keeping me motivated and focused during my triathlon tour in Australia. I look for-ward to working with Aspetar and relevant organ-i s a t i o n s i n f u t u r e competitions to achieve even greater results.”

Aspetar, through its Sports Science Department, will continue supporting local athletes by looking for fur-ther opportunities to collaborate with local sports organisations, and by imple-menting exercise plans to prepare athletes for major competitions.

Ironman Australia Championship 2017 comprised a 3800m swimming event, 180km of cycling and 42km of running.

Abdulla Al Homaidi

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