Qatar, UNHCR working to ease procedures for asylum seekers

HISHAM ALJUNDIDOHA

THE Ministry of Interior (MoI) is working with the United Na-tions High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to offer asylum to those who cannot get back to their countries, a top official of the ministry has said.

Director of the Human Rights Department at the MoI Brigadier Abdullah Saqr al Mu-hannadi said asylum seekers in Qatar have several ways to apply for the status. “An asy-lum seeker can apply through a website which we are working on at the moment. They can come directly to us at the Hu-man Rights Department at the MoI, or they can apply through the UNHCR,” he said.

Once acquiring the status of refugee, an asylum seeker can receive an array of rights such as financial aid, accom-modation, education, health-care, and work authorization with full freedom to practice his religion, he said.

Qatar has been following democratic and transparent steps and has many mecha-nisms for laws related to citi-zens or expatriates, Muhan-nadi said.

In this regard, he pointed to the abolition of the sponsor-ship law in exchange for a new contractual relationship be-tween employer and job seeker.

He also pointed to the national protection mecha-nisms in the country with the establishment of bodies such

as human rights departments at ministries of interior and foreign affairs, the National Human Rights Committee in 2002, and the committees to combat human trafficking.

The recent political asy-lum law issued by the state is a unique statute at the regional level.

He elaborated the role and mechanism for applying for asylum in Qatar, its nature, the advantages of obtaining this right, and the reasons that can lead to stripping of the right or refusal to grant the same.

Qatar, he noted, has played a pioneering role in this con-text at the national, regional and international levels, thus contributing to the services provided and the fulfilment of the interests of both citizens and residents.

Muhannadi pointed to the permanent residency in a structured legislative frame-work as part of these efforts and services, and outlined the reasons for its issuance, the categories covered, the condi-tions and the exceptions for obtaining them.

Qatar, UNHCR working to ease procedures for asylum seekersMoI setting up website to receive applications from asylum seekers, says official

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, attended the closing session of WISH 2018 on Wednesday. (HHOPL/AR AL-BAKER)

Al Bidda Switchgear hogged the limelight at the second edi-tion of SME Excellence Awards ceremony on Wednesday as it

topped the list of 50 best small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The list was prepared by Qatar Development Bank (QDB) in collaboration with Qatar Chamber and Qatar Exchange. Qatar Central Bank (QCB) Governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saoud al Thani handed over the awards to the representatives of all the top 50

SMEs selected this year. “In addition to serving as a role model for other aspiring businessmen and companies in Qatar, the success of SMEs instills a spirit of healthy competition in the private sector that compels every market player to remain vigilant and persevere towards achieving excellence in their respective trades,” the QCB governor said in a statement. —SATYENDRA PATHAK PAGE 12

QCB governor honours top 50 SMEs

SHEIKHA MOZA ATTENDS CLOSING CEREMONY OF WISH 2018

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORKDOHA

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation (QF), at-tended the closing ceremony of the fourth World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) on Wednesday.

WISH – an initiative of QF – in collaboration with the World Health Organisa-tion (WHO) has announced a global database of Chief Nurs-ing Officers (CNOs).

The database will become a digital communications plat-form for CNOs to share ideas and concerns with each other, wherever they are in the world.

At the closing ceremony, the delegates were encouraged to return to their communities and seek innovative ways of solving pressing health issues.

The final day of the sum-mit also featured a speech on tackling depression by swim-ming legend Michael Phelps calling for action on the effects of climate change on health, and a message from the Direc-tor General of WHO.

Delivering a keynote speech on anxiety and depres-sion, Phelps, record-breaking Olympic swimmer who suf-fered from mental health is-sues throughout his career, said: “I didn’t know it at the time, but four years ago, things

happened in my life that indi-rectly led to me standing on a stage in Qatar in front of some of the world’s leading health-care experts today.”

Other topics discussed on the second day of the summit included providing healthcare to remote areas, how health-care systems plan for the long term, and safety in maternity.

Former President of Ire-land and Chairperson of The Elders, Mary Robinson, was another keynote speaker on the second day, with her speech focusing on the ill-effects of climate change on global health.

Continued on page 20

WISH, WHO to establish global nursing database

Paraguay renames school after QatarASUNCION The Municipal Board of Villa Elisa city in Paraguay has ap-proved a resolution to change the school name of “3839 Marangatu” to the “State of Qatar” in recognition of the state visit paid by the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani to Paraguay last month and the school’s students participated in the welcome ceremony.

Head of the city’s municipality Ricardo Adolfo Estigarribia briefed Acting Charge D’affaires at the State of Qatar’s Embassy to Paraguay, Abdurahman Ahmed Alsuwaidi on the resolution to complete the procedures and the municipal board’s approval of the resolution, during their meeting in Asuncion. (QNA)

DOHA The initial public offering (IPO) by Qatar Aluminium Manu-facturing Company (QAMCO) was oversubscribed 2.5 times. The oversubscription was confirmed by Qatar Petroleum (QP), the sole founder of QAMCO. “The suc-cessful subscription of the IPO reflects the strength of Qatar’s economy, and the confidence in the State’s economic policies pursued under the Qatar National Vision 2030 which support the development of Qatar stock market,” Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum HE Saad bin Sherida al Kaabi said. PAGE 12

DOHA Qatar has welcomed the recent announcements by Twitter to strengthen privacy considerations and the overall safety of users. A statement by the Government Communication Office said Qatar welcomes the

steps Twitter is taking to end

the malicious misuse of its ser-

vice, including taking down automated spam bots.

“Qatar recognises that many of Twitter’s efforts (to remove the more than 8-10 mil-lion fake accounts a week) have helped remove some of the weaponised propaganda and hate speech spread against our nation during the current blockade.”

“Twitter plays a vital role in enabling individual freedoms. “We hope all of Qatar’s residents and citizens abide by Twitter’s Terms of Service to protect such free-doms. Twitter is a public channel, and users should be treated with dignity and respect at all times,” the statement said. (QNA)

QAMCO shares oversubscribed 2.5 times

Qatar welcomes Twitter move to strengthen privacy policy

THE Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) Hassan al Thawadi has called on the international community to recognise the power of sport dur-ing the inaugural Paris Peace Forum, according to the SC’s official web-site. “The World Cup breaks down barriers and stereotypes – it promotes inclusion and interaction between peoples from all over the world”, said Thawadi. PAGE 2

2022 WC has power to unify Middle-East, says Thawadi

MoI sets up office to receive permanent residency applications

HISHAM ALJUNDIDOHA

THE Ministry of Interior (MoI) has established an office to receive applications for permanent residen-cies.

Reema al Mana, legal consular at the MoI, said the office has been set up to receive applica-tions for perma-nent residencies from those who fulfil the requirements.

Mana said this on the sidelines of round table meetings held by the Doha International Centre for Inter-faith Dialogue (DICID).

She said a digital plat-form has been created

through the MoI’s website and through the Metrash2 application on smartphones, to receive applications.

The applicants for permanent residency

should be of good conduct and

reputation and they should not have pre-viously been convicted of a dishonour-

able offence unless they

have been reha-bilitated in accord-

ance with the law. She said the applicants

should have enough knowl-edge of Arabic and must have sufficient and stable income to cover their expenses as well as of those who depend on them.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs HE Dr Khalid bin Mohammed al Attiyah met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the US State Department in Washington DC on Wednesday. The meeting discussed a number of issues of interest to the region.

ATTIYAH MEETS POMPEO

THURSDAYNOVEMBER 15, 2018RABI AL-AWWAL 7, 1440

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President of Rwanda arrives in Doha

PRESIDENT of the Republic of Rwanda and Chairman of the current session of the African Union, Paul Kagame arrived in Doha on Wednesday for an official visit to the country. The

president and his accompanying delegation were greeted upon arrival at Hamad International Airport by the Minister of Com-merce and Industry HE Ali bin Ahmed al Kuwari. (QNA)

Botswana receives credentials of Qatari ambassadorMINISTER of International Affairs and Cooperation of Botswana Unity Dow received on Wednesday a copy of the credentials of HE Abdullah Hussein al Jaber as Qatar’s non-resident Ambassador

Extraordinary and Plenipotenti-ary to Botswana. The minister wished the envoy success in his duties and further devel-opment to bilateral relations between the two countries. (QNA)

2022 WC has power to unify M-E: Thawadi


SECRETARY-GENERAL of the Supreme Committee for De-livery & Legacy (SC) Hassan al Thawadi has called on the in-ternational community to rec-ognise the power of sport dur-ing the inaugural Paris Peace Forum, according to the SC’s official website.

Thawadi took part in a panel session entitled ‘Working out for Peace-Building and Rec-onciliation’ on day two of the event, which hosted world lead-ers and international organisa-tions in an effort to enhance cooperation in order to tackle global challenges and ensure durable peace.

The forum got underway on November11 while Armi-stice Day commemorations were being held across the globe to mark a hundred years since the end of the First World War. More than 80 world lead-ers and heads of state attended the event, including the Amir of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, British Prime Minister Theresa May, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

During the panel discus-sion on sport as a resource for inclusion, reconciliation and peace-building, Thawadi said the 2022 FIFA World Cup had the power to unify the Middle East, break down stereotypes and foster both cultural under-standing and tolerance.

“The World Cup breaks down barriers and stereotypes – it promotes inclusion and in-teraction between peoples from all over the world”, said Tha-wadi.

“The sporting industry in the Middle East must be an en-gine for economic growth and creating jobs. Our legacy ini-tiatives seek to provide people with the skills to take advantage of this,”, he added.

Thawadi urged the inter-national community to recog-nise the power of sport when it comes to promoting peace and providing social and economic stimulus.

He said: “International or-ganisations must recognise the role of sport and its power to impact meaningful change in society. Sport’s potential is of-ten underestimated and it’s our duty to ensure that this changes at global policy level.”

Joining Thawadi on the panel were Massimiliano Di Cola, from the Taekwondo Hu-manitarian Foundation, Oliver Dudfield, head of Sport for De-velopment and Peace, Com-monwealth Secretariat, and former footballer Youri Djor-kaeff, who won the 1998 FIFA World Cup with France and is now president of the non-profit Youri Djorkaeff Foundation, which uses the power of football to help children grow up health-ier, stronger and happier. The panel was moderated by Pascal Boniface, Director of the French Institute for International & Strategic Affairs.

SC Sec-Gen Hassan al Thawadi.

Cabinet nod to draft decree allocating land to Kahramaa

QNADOHA

THE Cabinet at its weekly meeting chaired by Prime Minister HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Tha-ni at Amiri Diwan on Wednes-day, approved a draft decree allocating land to Qatar Gen-eral Electricity and Water Cor-poration (Kahramaa) for the establishment of an electricity and water production plant.

The Minister of Justice and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs HE Dr Issa bin Saad al Jafali al Nuaimi read out the agenda and deci-sions of the meeting.

The Cabinet took the nec-essary measures to ratify the Maritime Transport Agree-ment between the govern-ments of the State of Qatar and the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire.

The Cabinet then reviewed the following topics and took

the appropriate decisions thereon:

1 The letter of HE the Min-ister of Transport and Com-munications on the proposal of Transport Company (Kar-wa) regarding the amendment of the terms and conditions of the concession contract for the management and opera-tion of taxis signed between the company and the four franchise companies.

2. The letter of HE the Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs on the results of the study prepared by the ministry in coordination with the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Cabinet’s General Secretariat on identifying procedures and controls necessary to send and transmit government corre-spondences.

3. The results of the third session of the Joint Qatari-Tajik Economic, Commercial

and Technical Cooperation Committee.

4. The letter of the Minis-try of Transport and Commu-nications on the 2017 annual report of the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA).

The CRA regulates the Telecommunications and In-formation Technology sector, postal sector and access to digital media, with the aim of providing advanced telecom-munications services that serve all parts of the State.

The report included the CRA’s work programmes, achievements and quest for regulation for the future in or-der to develop the telecommu-nications sector and telecom-munications infrastructure and to protect the consumer.

5 The proposal by the Ministry of Municipalities and Environment to accede to the Minamata Convention on mercury and the views of some bodies in this regard.

PM MEETS UKRAINE’S FIRST VICE PM

Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani with Ukraine’s First Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiv in Doha on Wednesday. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen them, especially in the economic and trade fields. (QNA)

QFFD, WHO ink $3 mn deal to eradicate diseases in Africa

QNADOHA

THE State of Qatar, represented by the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), signed a $3mn grant agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO), to control and eradicate a number of marginalised tropical dis-eases, which are still widespread in Af-rica, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

The agreement was signed by QFFD’s Deputy Director-General for Development Projects Misfer Hamad al Shahwani and WHO Regional Di-rector for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti on the sidelines of the World Innova-tion Summit for Health (WISH) on Wednesday.

The grant comes in line with the pledge made by QFFD on behalf of the Government of Qatar during the International Conference on Tropical Diseases in Africa, organised by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic De-velopment in cooperation with WHO in Kuwait in October last year.

The funding is a significant boost to ongoing efforts by the Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Ne-glected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN), a five-year project which was launched by the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) in 2016 to support African countries to reduce the burden of five most prevalent Neglected Tropical Diseases in Africa, including Lym-phatic Filariasis (LF), Onchocerciasis

(Oncho), Soil Transmitted Helmin-thiasis (STH), Schistosomiasis (SCH) and Trachoma (TRA).

The programme covers 47 African countries with one or more diseases, including 36 countries with five or more diseases. It directly benefits be-tween 300-400 million people a year. Between 700 and 800 million tablets of drugs are provided annually by pharmaceutical companies.

Currently, only about 30 percent of people with or with some of these diseases are receiving treatment. Most of those in need live in rural and re-mote areas, which requires consider-able efforts to reach them through international and local voluntary organisations in order to distribute medicines and financial contributions from international institutions.

The agreement also aims to cover 100 chemical treatments for the pre-vention of marginalised diseases by 2020. The programme will run for two years from 2018 to 2020.

Masfer al Shahwani said in a statement,“This contribution will help African countries to control and mitigate these diseases, thereby sup-porting poverty alleviation, improving economic production and ensuring a decent life for those affected in Africa”, he said.

For her part, the WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti expressed her gratitude to the State of Qatar for its donation.

The agree-ment was signed by QFFD’s Depu-ty Director-General for Development Projects Mis-fer Hamad al Shahwani and WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti on Wednesday.

QFFD signs $1.5mn deal with UN for cholera response in HaitiTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

THE Qatar Fund for Devel-opment (QFFD) has signed a contribution agreement with the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office, hosted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The contribution of $1.5 million represents a significant effort to reduce the spread of cholera in Haiti.

The agreement was signed at the World Inno-vation Summit for Health (WISH) on November 13 by Sultan bin Ahmed al Asiri, QFFD manager of country programmes, and Jennifer

Topping, executive director of the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office.

“This agreement is a completion of the Qatar

Fund for Development’s mission to empower popu-lations through the promo-tion of multiple sectors, including health sector, in

addition to adopting global leading practices and fos-tering innovative solutions in the provision of health services,” said Asiri.

“The generous contri-bution of the Qatar Fund for Development advances significantly the efforts of the UN in Haiti to eradicate cholera. The UN Haiti Mul-ti-Partner Trust Fund today supports a new approach to cholera eradication through halting transmissions, in-vesting in water and sani-tation, as well as building community engagement,” said Jennifer Topping.

The UN Haiti Cholera Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund is implemented

jointly by UNICEF, PAHO/WHO and UNDP in Haiti together with national partners and provides the framework to support the UN’s new approach to chol-era in Haiti. Its most imme-diate purpose will be to pro-vide support for a new three track approach to cholera response.

The approach focuses on intensifying immediate efforts to cut transmission of cholera and improve ac-cess to care and treatment, as well as addressing the longer-term issues of wa-ter, sanitation and health systems, and ensuring com-munity engagement and support.

QFFD, Al Jazeera sign pact to enhancemedia support for humanitarian workTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

THE Qatar Fund for De-velopment (QFFD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Al Jazeera Media Net-work to promote media support for humanitarian and developmental work, and to spread the culture of human rights and in-ternational humanitarian law, on the sidelines of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH).

The MoU entails organ-ising workshops and train-ing activities in the field of media covering the human rights and international

laws, as well as launching initiatives aimed at spread-ing the culture of develop-ment and human rights as a basic human right and a

common goal between both institutions.

The MoU was signed by Sami al Haj, director of Al Jazeera Center for Pub-

lic Freedoms and Human Rights at Al Jazeera Media Network, and Ali Abdullah al Dabbagh, deputy director general for planning at the QFFD.

“This agreement will contribute to highlighting the cooperation in the field of developmental and hu-manitarian work as a funda-mental human right around the world, where there are many unique achievements in the field of development and humanity that can be highlighted and recognized as well as the reproduction of its experience,” said Dab-bagh.

“The signing of the MoU with QFFD,which is

concerned with the coordi-nation and implementation of development assistance projects in the region and all over the world, reinforc-es the concept of interna-tional cooperation, which is the main objective between both partners, in addition to promoting the role of hu-manitarian work,” said Haj.

The two institutions seek to enhance the role of media in highlighting the great efforts of humanitar-ian organisations to allevi-ate the suffering of com-munities in times of conflict and crisis, to enable them to be heard, and to receive humanitarian and develop-ment assistance.

The MoU was signed by Sami al Haj, director of Al Jazeera Center for Public Freedoms and Human Rights at Al Jazeera Media Network, and Ali Abdullah al Dabbagh, deputy director general for planning at the QFFD.

The agreement was signed at the WISH by Sultan bin Ahmed al Asiri, QFFD manager of country programmes and Jennifer Top-ping, executive director of the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office.

Armed Forces conclude joint exercise with US forcesTHE Armed Forces concluded on Wednesday a joint exer-cise between the Qatari Amiri Land Forces and friendly US forces (Eastern Action 19) un-der the patronage and in the presence of the Chief of Staff of the Qatar Armed Forces HE Lieutenant-General (Pilot) Ghanem bin Shaheen al Gha-nem.

The exercise that contin-ued for one year aimed at en-hancing the combat readiness

of the ground forces and to meet the challenges of the fu-ture with high tactical speed.

The training included sev-eral stages, including training in the United States, process-ing exercise management and the simulators, training in the military decision-making process, the work of the staff, operations orders and the concept of operations and concluded with counterattack implementation. (QNA)

Poetry night at QNL tomorrow


ARABIC, Spanish and French poets will come together at Qatar Nation-al Library’s (QNL) ‘Poetry Night’, to be held in collaboration with the French Institute of Qatar, and Qa-tar Poetry Center (Diwan Al Arab), part of Qatar Ministry of Culture and Sports on November 16, 2018, at 6pm.

The event is being organised glob-ally by the Arab World Institute in Paris and is being held at the Library.

Organised under the theme ‘The

journey, the night’ will highlight the importance of cultural understand-ing. Guests will have the opportu-nity to listen to poets from Qatar, Belgium, Spain, France, Tunisia

and Uruguay.The event was launched by the

Arab World Institute in 2016 to bring together poets and celebrate the beauty of the written word in memory of the attacks in Paris in November 2015.

In 2017, it was simultaneously celebrated in eight Arab cities - Doha, Algiers, Beirut, Fez, Khartoum, Jed-dah, Riyadh and Tunis.

The evening will also feature musical interludes by Yassine Ayari, head of Arab Music at Qatar Music Academy, and renowned guitarist Luis Manuel Vargas Salas.

Ministry recalls Toyota 86 modelTHE Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI), in collabora-tion with Abdullah Abdulghani & Bros Co, dealer of Toyota ve-hicles in Qatar, has announced the recall of Toyota 86 model of 2013 over a potential defect in the engine valve spring.

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

The ministry said it will co-ordinate with the dealer to fol-low up on the maintenance and repair works and will commu-nicate with customers to ensure that the necessary repairs are carried out. (TNN)

Event will promote cultural awareness

MURAIKHI MEETS IFRC OFFICIAL: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs HE Sultan bin Saad al Muraikhi met with Undersecretary-General for Partnerships at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Dr Jemilah Mahmood in Doha on Wednesday. They reviewed a number of issues of common interest. The meeting was attended by a number of foreign ministry officials. (QNA)

‘Casa’ to highlight Italian marine life at Katara 8th Dhow Festival

SANTHOSH CHANDRANDOHA

AN Italian Casa, a pavilion that showcases Italian marine life, will be one of the highlights of the 8th edition of Dhow Festi-val at Katara Cultural Village on November 20.

The pavilion, the first-time initiative of Italian Embassy Traditional Dhow Festival in Qatar, will showcase Italian traditions.

A team of seven artisans from Italy will arrive in Doha for the event.

Announcing the participa-tion of Italy in Dhow Festival on Wednesday, Italian Ambas-sador to Qatar HE Pasquale Salzano said, “Italy and Qatar have long tradition of marine life and many common features.

Our Casa at the festival will offer an opportunity for young gen-eration to know about our long history of traditional marine

life, different from the modern life, that is known to everybody. Sharing knowledge on common ground of our ancient traditions

at the sea during Dhow Festi-val will strengthen our bonds as well as encourage tourists to visit both Italy and Qatar.”

The envoy added that dem-onstration of making Capri San-dals, Italian Pizza and ancient techniques of making fishing net as well as music band will be another highlight of Italian pavilion at the festival.

“Casa Italia at the festival intends to pay a tribute to the ancient trades of former Italian seaside villages that are popu-lar destinations of Italy today,” Salzano added.

The press conference was attended by Director of Beach Management at Katara and Di-rector of the Katara Traditional Dhow Festival Ahmed al Hitmi and officials of Italian embassy in Qatar.

Italian Ambassador to Qatar HE Pasquale Salzano with other officials at Katara in Doha on Wednesday. (HANSON K JOSEPH)

QC sponsors AidEx 2018 in BrusselsTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

QATAR Charity (QC) is partici-pating in AidEx 2018, a two-day global humanitarian and devel-opment aid event, being held in the Belgian capital Brussels with the attendance of a num-ber of organisations concerned with humanitarian assistance and international development.

The event will discuss the positive impact of technology in the digital age on humanitarian and development work.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the event, Yousef bin Ahmed al Kuwari, CEO of Qatar Charity (QC), said, “Qatar Charity’s participation in this significant international event comes in line with its belief that the global challenges faced by humanitarian workers are too complex that the governments, NGOs or private sector cannot address them singlehandedly.”

He underlined the impor-tance of the event, as it brings all of them together to share knowledge and solutions that

will help them build a better fu-ture for humanity.

He explained that the spon-soring of AidEx 2018 by QC is part of its strategy to use tech-nology to serve and fulfill its mission and objectives.

“Moreover, the use of new technology has helped the char-ity to effectively communicate with its partners and donors, and reachout to the largest number of beneficiaries at the lowest cost.It has also been

able to find more innovative solutions to humanitarian chal-lenges and launch better ini-tiatives that are more creative and influential, with the help of technology,” he said.

On the sidelines of the event, under the patronage of QC, an exhibition will be organ-ised on humanitarian and de-velopment action, in addition to meetings and panel discus-sions, which will be attended by 3,000 personalities interested

in humanitarian affairs.QC will also organise a

panel discussion on the role of the digital revolution in pro-viding access to education and employment for refugees, dis-placed people and vulnerable communities. It will be moder-ated by Mohammed al Ghamdi, assistant to the CEO of QC.

The discussions will include the educational challenges associated with providing in-come sources to school-aged refugees, displaced children and youth, and review two ini-tiatives of the charity to address these challenges.

QC’s sponsoring of the event comes in line with its fo-cus in the recent years on the investment in new technology and smart apps to increase its revenues in order to reach out to the largest possible number of people in need across the globe. This also comes in ac-cordance with the launch of a number of innovative hu-manitarian initiatives such as Taqat, Rofaqa and World Refugee School.

Yousef bin Ahmed al Kuwari, CEO of Qatar Charity at the opening ceremony of AidEx 2018.

QCS drive to raise awareness about men’s common cancers TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

QATAR Cancer Society (QCS) has launched ‘Our Strength is Our Health’ campaign to raise awareness of the most com-mon forms of cancer among men, especially prostate and lung cancers, as part of marking November as Men’s Health Awareness Month.

Dr Hadi Mohamad Abu Rasheed, head of profes-sional development and sci-entific research department at QCS, said, “‘Our Strength is Our Health’ campaign aims to raise awareness about the risks to men’s health -- espe-cially cancer, the importance of early detection of cancer, and prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancers, through lectures and workshops across the country.”

The campaign focuses on prostate and lung cancers that are the most common among men in Qatar.

“Non-African American men above the age of 50 years should undergo screening for prostate cancer even if they have no family history of the disease. African American men who are at the age of 45 years and have a first-degree relative (father, brother or son) diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age (younger than 65 years) should undergo screening test. Men aged 40 years and above should go for screening if they have more than one first-degree relative who had prostate cancer at an early age. If there is a warn-ing symptom, all men should undergo screening for pros-tate cancer, regardless of their age,” said Abu Rasheed.

“Your doctor will use the test results, together with your age, medical history and fam-ily history, to assess the risk of you having prostate cancer. If the risk is high, you may need a biopsy of prostate tissue. This test is done to confirm if you have a tumour,” he said.

He also stressed the impor-

tance of early detection of lung cancer.“If you are of 55 years and above, a regular smoker or had quit smoking within the last 15 years, or having at least 30 packs of cigarettes a year, you should go for a screening test,” Abu Rasheed said.

One can reduce the risk of developing lung cancer by quitting smoking, avoiding passive smoking and using personal protective equip-ment at workplaces against

chemicals that contribute to lung cancer. Some cleaning chemical used at home and wood smoke are also risk fac-tors to developing lung cancer, according to Abu Rasheed.

“Be physically active for at least 30 minutes per day (4-5 times a week), eat vegetables, fruits, whole grains and leg-umes, reduce the use of red meat and avoid processed food to reduce cancer risk,” he added.

The campaign focuses on prostate and lung cancers that are the most common among men in Qatar.

DICID chief praises residents for discipline in ongoing blockade

QNADOHA

CHAIRMAN of Doha Inter-national Center for Inter-faith Dialogue (DICID) Dr Ibrahim bin Saleh al Nuaimi has said that the citizens and residents of Qatar have dem-onstrated exemplary sense of responsibility and loyalty to-wards the country through-out the ongoing unjust siege to defeat the designs of those who imposed it.

In his opening speech at the ninth DICID roundtable held under the title ‘State of Qatar: Citizens and Expa-triates Defy the Blockade’, Nuaimi said that the resi-dents stood in solidarity with citizens defending the sover-eignty, independence, rights and resources of the country.

Nuaimi said the round-table comes in time for the International Day for Toler-ance which is annually held on November 16 to remem-ber the values of coexist-ence, harmony and building of world peace. He added that with the conflicts seen around the world, it is neces-sary to promote such values.

He said the unjust siege is one of the most important issues facing the residents of Qatar and therefore the cen-tre chose it as a title for the ninth roundtable. He added that the roundtable com-plements the eighth edition which was titled ‘Communi-ties under the Siege: Soli-darity and Challenges’ and discussed challenges arising from the siege.

Nuaimi said although the siege caused initial shock and anxiety, it showed rare dis-cipline of citizens and resi-dents taking into account the exceptional circumstances.

At the opening session, Archbishop Makarios of Qa-tar touched on the resistance of the citizens and residents towards the challenges of the unjust siege, which he as-serted has failed and has not succeeded in achieving any of its objectives.

The 9th roundtable fo-cused on two main topics: ‘Challenges of the Blockade and Its Consequences’, and ‘Citizens and Expatriates Facing the Siege Together’.

Representatives of a number of stakeholders

from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Qatar University, Hassad Food Company and the Hajj and Umrah cam-paigns of Qatar discussed the two topics.

The first topic addressed the challenges of the siege and its consequences on citi-zens and expatriates, includ-ing the politicisation of Hajj and Umrah, the harassment of citizens and residents and obstacles placed by the Saudi authorities to de-prive them from performing these rituals.

The participants also discussed obstacle faced by people to travel to the siege countries in a flagrant viola-tion of freedom of movement and ownership and family reunification.

The participants pointed out that since the begin-ning of the crisis, Qatar has adopted a rational stance by calling for dialogue to resolve differences, and has taken many measures at all levels through specialised interna-tional bodies and organisa-tions to ensure its interests and the rights of its people.

NTSC educates Asian schools principals about traffic safety


THE National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), in coop-eration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Edu-cation, organised a meeting of the principals of Asian schools in the State at the headquarters of the Gen-eral Directorate of Traffic on Wednesday.

The meeting was intend-ed to present the vision and mission of the committee to educate the entire school

family, including students, teachers and principals, as well as parents on traffic safety principles.

Addressing the meet, Dr Ebtisam Naji, the educational expert at the committee, in-troduced the committee and its role in reducing the num-ber of deaths and injuries re-sulting from traffic accidents.

Dr Naji also stressed the importance of the role of schools in instilling the con-cepts of traffic safety among students through curriculum and summer activities.

Dr Naji pointed out that the NTSC had issued a gen-eral educational curriculum for traffic safety, which was launched and distributed to all schools in Arabic and Eng-lish in 2013. A guide has been published on pedestrian safe-ty for children from KG level to third grade.

The meeting emphasised the role of the schools in maintaining the safety of its students from traffic accidents near the school and the re-sponsibility of each principal to ensure the availability of

traffic signs and speed bumps near school premises along with the allocation of safe pe-destrian paths for students.

She also noted the impor-tance of adherence to safety conditions in buses, in terms of the number and age of stu-dents and the availability of safety belts for each student.

She also encouraged schools to participate in ac-tivities such as the traffic week, allocate a day of traf-fic safety in the school and organise art exhibitions on that topic.

Dr Ebtisam Naji addresses the principals of Asian schools at a meeting on traffic safety principles in Doha on Wednesday.

Nation 03Thursday, November 15, 2018


IN line with its commitment to groom a cadre of well-grounded and astute national leaders, Qa-tar Leadership Centre (QLC) hosted HE Dr Hamad bin Ab-dulaziz al Kuwari, adviser to the Amiri Diwan and former minis-ter of culture, arts and heritage, at the St Regis Doha in the latest edition of the centre’s ‘Meet a Leader’ series.

Dr Kuwari, who has been at the vanguard of Qatar’s in-ternational diplomatic efforts as ambassador to France, the US, the UNESCO and the UN during the course of his career, spoke to QLC National Leader-

ship Program participants in at-tendance. His lecture described how his illustrious public service career enabled him to acquire invaluable knowledge through nearly five decades of leadership experience.

“Assuming a leadership position necessitates one view-ing challenges as opportunities to develop and thrive,”he said highlighting the importance of determination and ambition when facing crises. “Taking ad-vantage of opportunities, build-ing diplomatic relationships that are based on mutual respect and understanding, in addition to constantly acquiring diverse knowledge are all best practices of leadership. A leader views

crises as opportunities and the blockade against Qatar is a per-fect case-in-point.”

Participants from the cen-tre’s three National Leadership Programs – namely, Govern-ment Leaders Program, Rising Leaders Program and Executive Leaders Program – routinely meet notable local and inter-national industry leaders from across private, public and gov-ernment sectors as part of their core curriculum.

Acting Executive Director of QLC Dr Ali Jassim al Kubaisi explained: “Through the ‘Meet a Leader’ series, National Leader-ship Program participants are able to ask direct questions and engage in constructive discus-

sion with our esteemed guests. This access helps them achieve a greater appreciation of the op-portunities and challenges these successful leaders have encoun-tered during their careers.”

Dr Kuwari has held several prestigious offices since launch-ing his career in the government in 1972. He served as a career diplomat, including as an am-bassador during the later stages of his professional occupation, to nations across the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. From 1997 to 2014, he was a member of the Advisory Board of the Co-operation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. At home in Qatar, he has served as Minis-ter for Information and Culture

in 1992 and later as Minister for Culture, Arts and Heritage from 2008 to 2016. Notably, he is also a recipient of the highest Qatari distinction – the Hamad Bin Khalifa Ribbon – as well as international accolades, includ-ing the National Order of Merit of the French Republic.

Founded upon the directive of the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani in 2010, the centre is a cornerstone in achieving the national develop-ment goals outlined by the state and serves as a management development institute that ac-tively develops leadership tal-ent among Qatari professionals who work in executive positions across the local economy.

Qatar Leadership Centre hosts Kuwari in ‘Meet a Leader’ series

Dr Kuwari’s lecture described how his illustrious public service career enabled him to acquire invaluable knowledge through nearly five decades of leadership experience.


OOREDOO Money services are now available at all Al An-ees premium dealer branches across Qatar, the telecom provider announced on Wednesday.

Thanks to the partner-ship, Ooredoo Money cus-tomers will be able to access all the services they need at any Al Anees branch, includ-ing depositing cash, adding new beneficiaries, learning about how the Ooredoo Mo-bile Money facility works, and more.

Customers who want to send money home via Oore-doo Money can visit their nearest Al Anees outlet and start transferring money through Ooredoo Mobile Money and MoneyGram – a leading money transfer ser-vice provider -- to over 200 countries worldwide. Cus-tomers can also send money to bank accounts in selected countries and mobile wallets using AlDar Exchange and Ooredoo Exchange services.

Ooredoo Money of-fers simplified and essen-

tial financial services such as international and local transfers, mobile top-up and international airtime top-up. Ooredoo Mobile Money is easy to use and completely secure with a 4-digit mPIN - one-time password feature -- and free notification on every log-in.

With Ooredoo Money, customers can receive money overseas within 10 minutes from over 500,000 Money-Gram outlets across the globe, and use AlDar exchange ser-vices to send money directly to bank accounts in 11 coun-tries. The Ooredoo Money service ‘International Top Up’ option also allows customers to recharge any prepaid mo-bile number across the world and purchase data bundles for selected countries.

Customers can benefit from all the services of Oore-doo Mobile Money instantly by using their Ooredoo Mo-bile Money App, or simply by dialling *140# anywhere, anytime. The Ooredoo Mo-bile Money app is available in seven languages: Arabic, English, Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali, Tagalog and Nepali.

Ooredoo Money services through Al Anees outlets

Nation04 Thursday, November 15, 2018

Qatar exhibition to open in RussiaTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

QATAR Museums will present ‘Qatar Contemporary: Art and Photography’ exhibition as part of the Qatar-Russia 2018 Year of Culture programme at the Manege Central Exhibition Hall in St. Petersburg.

The exhibition is being presented in the framework of VII Saint Petersburg Interna-tional Cultural Forum.

Organised under the pa-tronage of Qatar Museums’ Chairperson HE Sheikha al Mayassa bint Hamad al Thani, the exhibition will be open from November 19 to Decem-ber 10, 2018.

The exhibition is support-ed by the Doha Film Institute and Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar.

The exhibition, which is the largest of its kind from Qa-tar to be hosted in Russia, is divided in two parts. Building a Vision: Photography from Qatar features over 250 photo-graphs from 60 photographers of 28 different nationalities liv-ing in Qatar.

It is curated by Dr Giles Hudson and Sheikha Maryam al Thani. Also to be displayed are 200 photographic treas-ures from Qatar Museums’ his-torical collections, being exhib-ited together for the first time.

States of Transformation, the second part of the exhibi-tion, is curated by Dr Bahaa Abudaya. It features 100 con-temporary works from 46 art-

ists of 13 different nationalities from Qatar’s local art scene.

Commenting on the ex-hibition, Sheikha Reem al Thani, director of Exhibitions,

said: “The exhibition cel-ebrates the past, present and future of Qatar. Our country has undergone massive trans-formations over the past few years, resulting in a variety of experiences and perspectives. We are honoured to bring those stories to audiences in Russia for the first time and look forward to future cultur-al exchanges between our two countries.”

The photographic section of the exhibition provides an introduction to the visual land-scape of Qatar and showcases the work of contemporary photographers based in the country. Sections are devoted to photographic portraiture, architectural photography and more experimental work.

The latter part of the exhi-bition is dedicated to artworks by contemporary Qatari art-ists, including participants of the Artist in Residence pro-gramme.

Three thematic sections present over a hundred works by Qatari artists and sculp-tors, such as Maryam Al Se-maitt, Hana al Saadi, Fahad al Obaidly and Abeer al Kuwari. Each of them demonstrates a personal interpretation of dy-namic changes in the cultural and material life of the coun-try, as well as the views and perceptions of Qatari society.

Qatar Museums puts final touchesto the ‘Syria Matters’ exhibition


PREPARATIONS are complete for the ‘Syria Matters’ exhibition organised by the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in Doha as part of its 10th an-niversary celebrations. The exhibition is the first of its kind in the region and is due to open to the public on November 22.

Co-curated by Dr Julia Gonnella, director of MIA, and Rania Abdellatif, the exhibition features more than 100 iconic pieces including Syrian pre-Islamic artefacts, orientalist paint-ings and photographs, as well as precious works of Islamic art from Syria’s rich history: early Qurans, medieval manuscripts, glass, ceramics, textiles and colourful tiles. It will also show new-ly conserved elements of a former wooden inte-rior decoration from a private Damascus house.

Some of these pieces are important loans from the various Qatar Museums collections, notably the Orientalist Museum, as well from the Qatar National Library, the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Museum and other private col-lections.

They are complemented by rare treasures from the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Lou-vre in Paris, Berlin’s Museum of Ancient Near Eastern Art the Berlin State Library, the British Library and the Türk ve Eserleri Müzesi in Is-tanbul.

Some of the most important pieces on dis-play include: A bird of prey, sculpted in basalt, from the archaeological site of Tell Halaf in Northern Syria, dating from the early 9th centu-ry BCE (Museum of Ancient Near Eastern Art, Berlin); a Palmyra relief with a camel, dating from the first half of 3rd century CE (Collection of Sheikh Saoud bin Muhammad Foundation);

paintings from QM’s Orientalist Collection in-cluding ‘The Great Caravan at Palmyra’ circa 1785, Louis-François Cassas (1756-1827) and ‘Damascus’, circa 1860 by Edward Lear (1812-1888); the so-called Cavour Vase, which is the most spectacular examples of a very small group of richly decorated cobalt blue and purple enameled and gilded glass vessels made in Syria or Egypt in the late 13th century CE (MIA Col-lection); and a precious gilded blue flask made in the mid-12th century CE in or near what is today the Syrian city of Raqqa, situated on the Euphrates in the north-east of the country (MIA Collection).

As part of QM’s pledge to safeguard Syria’s unique cultural legacy, visitors will be able to encounter some of Syria’s most iconic World Heritage sites, such as Damascus, Palmyra and the citadel of Aleppo, that have seen so much suffering during the war, in a specially designed immersive film experience by the French com-pany Iconem.

Ajyal fest to celebrate local talents with 16 ‘Made in Qatar’ moviesTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

QATAR’S home-grown film industry marks another mile-stone with the Doha Film Insti-tute (DFI) showcasing 16 cap-tivating Made in Qatar films presented by Ooredoo at the 6th edition of Ajyal Film Festi-val to be held at Katara Cultur-al Village from November 28 to December 3, 2018.

Made in Qatar presented by Ooredoo, will once again shine the spotlight on home- grown talents with 16 films by Qatari directors and Qatar-based filmmakers, highlighting the diversity of creative talent in Qatar that also underlines the remarkable growth of the country’s film sector.

The films will vie for the Made in Qatar Awards, chosen by a jury that includes Turkish Actress Tuba Unsal, Dr Amal Mohammed al Malki, Found-ing Dean of the College of Hu-manities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa Univer-sity and Irish filmmaker Collin McIvor.

Made in Qatar will once again present two film pro-grammes with narratives and

documentaries and includes the world premieres of recent-ly completed projects from

previous Qatar Film Fund recipients - Amal al Muftah’s Sh’hab, Naif Al Malki’s I Am

Not My Father, Mahdi Ali Ali’s Amphitheatre, and Nasser Goes to Space by Mohamed al Mahmeed.

“Made in Qatar holds a spe-cial place in the Ajyal Film Fes-tival programming, highlight-ing our local creative talents and inspiring young filmmak-ers to pursue their ambitions in filmmaking right here in Qatar,” said Fatma Hassan al Remaihi, Festival Director and DFI Chief Executive Officer.

She added, “The quality of the films being produced in Qatar demonstrates an exciting path that our young filmmak-ers are forging in the industry. This year’s impressive slate of accomplished films stands out with bold subjects and brilliant narrative styles. We are proud of the contribution of our young talents to building a vibrant creative industry in Qatar. We have been honoured to work with these talented filmmak-ers, grow alongside them and amplify their cinematic voices through this annual event.”

This year’s Made in Qatar section at Ajyal consists of two programmes of shorts that in-clude narratives, documenta-ries and reflective essays.

A still from the film ‘Sh’hab’.

A still from Mahdi Ali Ali’s film ‘Amphitheatre’.

Nepalese minister meets Dr Kuwari, attends WISH


DEPUTY Prime Minister and Minister for Health and Popula-tion of Nepal Upendra Yadav on Wednesday held a meeting with Minister of Public Health HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al Kuwari on the sidelines of the World Innovations Summit for Health (WISH) being held in Doha.

They discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries in health and medical sectors. They also explored the means to enhance Nepalese migrant workers’ lives in Qatar, as well as investments in public health, medical education, hydro-power, agriculture and trade, including establishment of a training centre for Nepalese workers in Nepal. The discus-

sions included exchanging medical professionals, sharing of experiences and collabora-tion among medical institutions of Nepal and Qatar.

Later in the afternoon, Ya-dav took part in a high-level panel discussion at WISH and delivered statement on Nursing and Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In order to achieve the goal of UHC, a holistic approach, multi-sectoral cooperation and collaboration is a must for the low-income or least developed countries (LDCs), he said.

Referring to the provision in the Constitution of Nepal that ensures the Right to Health to provide free basic health ser-vices for all, he said the coun-try has established a dedicated fund called ‘Bipanna Fund’, i.e., fund for the poor and deprived citizens.

Yadav said Nepal has annu-al capacity to bring out around 10,000 nurses every year with various specialisations. He pointed out that Nepal won Disaster Risk Reduction Award by United Nations Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2017 which was awarded to nurses for the first time at the global level.

He also mentioned that Ne-pal is in a process to develop and implement nursing and midwifery policies for the fu-ture needs of the country as well as meeting the international norms and standards for quali-tative and competitive human resources.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal also attended a min-isters’ luncheon organised in honour of the heads of delega-tions to the summit by the Gov-ernment of Qatar.


QATAR Airways passengers on board flight QR279 from Doha to St. Petersburg were treated to an exclusive surprise per-formance by members of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO), who were travelling to Russia for a unique concert in St. Petersburg, in celebration of the Qatar-Russia 2018 Year of Culture.

Members of the orchestra, equipped with trumpets, trom-bones, tubas and horns, delight-ed passengers on board the air-

craft with a live performance of Qatar Airways’ original board-ing music composed by local Qatari musician and songwriter Dana al Fardan.

Qatar Airways Senior Vice-President Marketing and Corporate Communications Salam al Shawa said, “At Qa-

tar Airways, we are passionate about the arts, and we believe that music has the power to unite people across different cultures. This special onboard concert celebrates our support of the Qatar-Russia 2018 Year of Culture and builds on our commitment to continuously

provide our passengers with an unsurpassed experience whenever they travel with us. We thank the members of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra for providing our passengers with this unique and beautiful musical experience.”

The Qatar Philharmonic

Orchestra are travelling to St. Petersburg to take part in the VII St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, where they will perform a concert titled ‘28’, referring to the unique diver-sity of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra and its eclectic mix of musicians from 28 countries.

HIA wins big at FTE Asia Awards 2018


HAMAD International Air-port (HIA) won the ‘Best Customer Experience’ Ini-tiative Award at the Future Travel Experience (FTE) Asia Awards 2018 which took place in Singapore. It won the award for transforming its terminal and bringing the FIFA World Cup experience to its travellers. The award distinguishes the most cus-tomer-centric ‘on the ground’ initiatives over the last 12 months and marks HIA’s fourth consecutive win at FTE Asia Awards.

Judged by an expert panel and criteria that evaluated the airport for initiatives that had an overwhelmingly positive impact on its customers, HIA was recognised for its suc-cess in merging its state-of-the-art facilities, hospitable culture and love for football. HIA delivered a month-long FIFA World Cup celebration during 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia in partnership with the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), the organisation responsible for tournament infrastructure for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Commenting on the award, HIA’s Chief Operating Officer Eng Badr Mohammed al Meer stated: “We are hon-oured to be recognised for our outstanding customer experi-ence at this year’s FTE Asia Awards. At HIA, we strive to deliver truly unique and au-thentic experiences that leave

a lasting impression on every traveller that visits our state-of-the-art terminal.”

FTE Founder Daniel Cole-man stated: “Everyone at Fu-ture Travel Experience would like to congratulate HIA on its success at the 2018 FTE Asia Awards. The FIFA World Cup Fan Zone is a great ex-ample of an airport embrac-ing creativity to provide pas-sengers with a unique and memorable experience.”

The award-winning air-port, in addition to launching an Airport Football Fan Zone, broadcasted live matches in three themed viewing areas and transformed the iconic yellow Lamp Bear area of HIA into a football pitch to host games and activities for passengers. The airport Fan Zone welcomed as many as 2,600 active participants on a single day, with a total of 50,000 active participants from around the world who enjoyed month-long World Cup festivities at Qatar’s world-class airport. As part of the festivities, a digital portal was installed at the terminal to provide foot-ball fans at HIA the unique chance to interact directly with fellow football fans in Russia through interactive live streams of different Rus-sian landmarks during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, in-cluding Kamergersky Lane, Revolutionary Square, Tsvet-noy Boulevard in Moscow, Bolshaya Morskaya street and Dvortsovaya Square in St Petersburg.

HIA officials receive the ‘Best Customer Experience’ Initiative Award at the FTE Asia Awards 2018 in Singapore recently.

QA to fly four times a week to Montreal from December


QATAR Airways will introduce an additional weekly flight to its popular Doha-Montreal route from December 17, 2018, providing more flexibility for both business and leisure pas-sengers travelling to and from the Canadian city.

The additional service will be operated by the airline’s Boeing 777 aircraft, taking the route to four-times-week-ly, with flights scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Qatar Airways Group

Chief Executive Akbar al Baker said, “We are pleased to introduce this extra week-ly service on one of our most popular routes for our long-haul Canadian passengers. Qatar Airways has one of the shortest connection times for Canadian travellers to the

Far East – the Montreal to Doha journey is just 12 hours and 20 minutes, with one of the lowest connection times in the industry.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank Canadian travellers for their continued support and for

choosing to fly with a world-class airline that puts service excellence at its core. This additional service comes just in time to meet the peak winter holiday season, and will offer passengers travel-ling to and from Montreal even more flexibility and

convenience when making travel plans.”

The airline will continue to use its state-of-the-art Boeing 777 aircraft on the additional route, featuring a two-class Economy and Busi-ness Class configuration of up to 412 seats, with 24 seats in Business Class and 388 seats in Economy Class.

Passengers travelling to Montreal in Business Class can look forward to relaxing in one of the most comfort-able, fully-lie flat beds as well as enjoy the five-star food and beverage service, which is served ‘dine-on-demand’. Passengers can also take advantage of the airline’s award-winning in-flight en-tertainment system, Oryx One, offering up to 4,000 en-tertainment options.

Flights scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

QPO surprises QA passengers with exclusive onboard performanceOrchestra to perform for the first time in Russia

Nation 05Thursday, November 15, 2018

INTERCONTINENTAL Doha The City has launched a brand new Cuban lounge La Vista 55, located sky high on the 55th and

56th floors of InterContinental Doha The City, offering residents of Qatar a unique Cuban concept in the heart of West Bay.

A fusion of the vibrant atmos-phere and intricate flavours of vin-tage Havana, La Vista 55 brings a piece of Cuba to Doha and debuts an authentic menu curated by our new Cuban Chef Klaesvirs Leyva Riva, and a live band directly from the island nation. Escape to the streets of Havana and watch the sun set and moon rise from the 55th floor, offering panoramic views of West Bay.

“We are very excited to bring a piece of Havana to Doha

through a project we have been passionately working on as part of our commitment to offer an enhanced food and beverage ex-perience for all our guests,” said Gilles Longuet, General Manager of InterContinental Doha The City. “With our live band from

Cuba, authentic Cuban tapas and signature beverages, and the best views in town, La Vista 55 will definitely impress and delight our visitors.

“Take the plunge and indulge in the exciting menu featuring authentic specialty tapas and sat-

isfy your cravings for mouth-wa-tering Papas Rellenas, tantalising Empanadas de Ropa Vieja, and divine Ceviche Cubano. Don’t forget to try both classic Cuban beverages and signature La Vista 55 liquid blends.”

“True Cuban hospitality awaits you at La Vista 55 and we look forward to welcoming you all,” added Longuet.

For reservations and enquir-ies, one can call +974 4015 8888 or email [email protected]. Also visit the website at intercontinental.com/dohathecity or connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/IC-DohaTheCity), Twitter (https://twitter.com/ICDohaTheCity) and Instagram (http://instagram.com/icdohathecity).


DOHA College for the first time marked STEAM Week, an inter-national initiative that invites or-ganisations and schools around the world to celebrate careers

and studies in the fields of science, technology, engi-neering, art and mathemat-ics.

At Doha College Primary, visitors from Stem Xplorers conducted interactive experi-ments and also offered view-ings of 360 degrees films on science and astronomy in a dome tent.

Artist Bridget Dunn ran workshops with students, while the youngest students enjoyed ‘Little Engineering’

sessions. Science teachers visiting from the second-

ary school conducted loud and blazing experi-

ments using some less conventional fuels to the delight of the older primary students.

At Doha College Secondary, Year 9 stu-dents were privileged to have the guidance of Royal Air Force experts and the Smallpei-ce Trust, who assisted them with their ‘Air-craft Design Challenge’.

Each student team represented a small company that designed and flew a motorised model aircraft, carrying out the role of project manager, resource manager, finance manag-er, marketing officer and product designer.

Explaining the significance of STEAM, Ondrea McSwiggan, Enrichment and ECA Coordinator at Doha College Primary, said, “STEAM Week is one of the key enrichment days at Doha College and an educational ap-proach to learning that uses these subjects as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue and critical thinking.

“Throughout the interactive and engag-ing week, students developed their creative skills through expertise from our secondary department, extra-curricular outside pro-viders, local artists and businesses. It really has been an outstanding week of learning.”

Slice of the West For events and press releases email [email protected] or call (974) 4000 2222

Doha College first STEAM Week a big success

CITY Centre Rotana Doha, one of the leading hospital-ity properties in the Qatari

capital, announced that its Body-lines Fitness & Wellness Club has bagged the “Favourite Signature Treatment in Doha” award dur-ing the Oh Lala Spa and Wellness Awards 2018 ceremony.

The award was bestowed for the “Ginger Lily Oil” massage, which is considered as antibiotic, antispasmodic, anti-depressant, and which helps in digestion, re-lieves nausea, rejuvenates the skin, and reduces inflammation. In addition, it is a good sedative and brings peace and calmness to the mind. The result was based on readers voting on the magazine’s

website and based on a panel of independent judges.

On this occasion, Sena Catak, Director of Marketing & Commu-nications at City Centre Rotana Doha, said, “We are delighted that Bodylines Fitness & Wellness

has won the “Favourite Signature Treatment in Doha” for the year 2018 during the Oh Lala Spa and Wellness awards ceremony for our “Ginger Lily oil” massage. At Bo-dylines, we always strive to select and offer the best treatments to

our customers to help them main-tain a healthy activity and pursue a distinctive lifestyle.”

Bodylines Fitness & Wellness club at City Centre Rotana Doha offers a range of exclusive offers that encourage sports and enjoy the benefits and facilities within the club.

The club provides visitors with high-level services through the latest equipment, jacuzzi, steam rooms, sauna and out-door swimming pool. Visitors and guests can select from the array of Bodyline personal bou-quet available within the club’s treatments menu and enjoy the diverse services such as massage body scrub and others.

City Centre Rotana Doha bags ‘Favourite Signature Treatment in Doha’ Award

s


LA Cigale Hotel’s re-nowned chefs shined during the “Salon Cu-linaire” competition

which was recently organ-ised as a part of the Hos-pitality Qatar exhibition that was held at the Doha Exhibition and Conven-tion Center for three con-secutive days. More than 320 leading chefs compet-ed across 28 categories.

La Cigale Hotel Kitch-en and Pastry chefs par-ticipated in 10 different categories and won 15 ex-clusive awards.

On the first day, Gold Medal was bagged for best Wedding Cake and Bronze Medal for Live Cooking.

The second day was marked by one Gold Med-al and Trophy for Choco-late Showpiece, one Gold and one Silver Medals plus one Trophy for Fruit and Vegetable Carving,

two Bronze Medald for Fruit and Vegetable Show-piece and one Gold Medal for Live Cooking Signa-ture Dish.

On the third day, La Cigale Chefs bagged one Bronze Medal for Bread Showpiece, one Silver Medal for Live Cooking Signature Dish and one Sliver and one Bronze Medals for Ice Carving.

The event concluded by a Special Trophy presented to Chef Michael Boongal-ing, La Cigale Hotel, who was awarded as Best Artist of the Year 2018.

“We are very proud of the outstanding success of our participating chefs who were all awarded. It was a great opportunity to prove our exception-al hospitality and high standards and to show the high level of professional-ism of our chefs,” said An-war Aboul Hosn, Assistant Director of Marketing at La Cigale Hotel.

La Cigale Hotel chefs excel at Salon Culinaire

Glimpses of the first STEAM Week.

Ambassador of Netherlands HE Bahia Tahzib-Lie with some students from Breda University during their orientation visit to Katara on Wednesday.

NETHERLANDS’ BREDA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS VISIT KATARA

Intercontinental Doha The City offers new Cuban lounge: La Vista 55

06 Thursday, November 15, 2018

La Cigale Hotel Kitchen and Pastry chefs participated in 10 different categories and won 15 exclusive awards.

KABUL: Over 700,000 Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan to their embattled home country so far this year, according to a report published on Wednes-day. The International Or-ganization for Migration (IOM) noted 700,056 people have returned to Afghanistan since January 1. The vast majority of them around 671,000 returned from Iran, mainly due to the ongoing economic crisis in that country. In the past week alone, over 12,000 have returned from neighbouring Iran. (DPA)

Over 700,000 Afghans returned from Iran, Pakistan in 2018

ISLAMABAD: Fearing for the safety of his kin, Aasia Bibi’s counsel Saiful Malook has approached the United Na-tions to ensure his family’s security. Aasia Bibi had been acquitted by the Supreme Court off blasphemy charges on Oct 31. He said about threats from sections of law-yers and it is difficult for him to practice in the prevailing situation. Malook expressed concerns about his family’s safety in Pakistan. He said he had written to the UN office in Pakistan seeking security for his family. (DPA)

Aasia Bibi’s lawyer concerned over his family’s security

NEWS IN BRIEF

AFPCOLOMBO

SRI Lanka’s parliament on Wednesday voted out the bit-terly disputed government of former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse, removing one con-troversial figure but leaving the country in a power vacu-um.

The island nation has been in crisis since the president sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 and replaced him with Ra-japakse, who served as presi-dent until being voted out three years ago.

On Tuesday the Supreme Court overruled the presi-dent’s dissolution of parlia-ment and halted preparations for a snap election, in a major boost for the ousted prime minister.

In stormy scenes Wednes-day, legislators gave their ver-dict on the two rivals -- with a

majority in the 225-member assembly supporting a no-confidence motion against Rajapakse.

Parliament also passed motions declaring illegal the November 9 proclamations made by President Maithri-pala Sirisena to enshrine the power shift.

The result however does not automatically mean that Wickremesinghe, who has re-fused to leave the prime min-

ister’s residence, has won the constitutional showdown.

An aide of Sirisena said that he was most likely to hand over power to Wick-remesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) after Rajapakse failed to defeat the no-trust move.

A cabinet member loyal to Sirisena, Media Minis-ter Dayasiri Jayasekara said Wednesday’s vote was “uneth-ical” as it was rushed despite

their protests. However, he said the president would re-solve the power vacuum “in a very short time”.

The UNP leader, who left his bunker at the Temple Trees official residence for the first time in nearly three weeks to go to parliament, still hailed the vote.

“This is a victory for the people,” Wickremesinghe told reporters, condemning the president’s actions as “illegal”.

Sri Lanka parliament sacks Rajapakse

In ‘top shape’, Duterte skips summit meetingsREUTERSSINGAPORE

PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte skipped several meetings at an Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore on Wednesday, prompting the 73-year-old’s office to issue a statement scotching speculation that it was due to ill health.

“We assure the nation that his aforementioned absence has nothing to do with his physical health and wellbe-ing which have been the sub-ject of speculation,” spokes-

man Salvador Panelo said in a statement. “The president’s constantly punishing work schedule is proof that he is in top physical shape.”

Panelo named four sched-uled events that Duterte had not attended on Wednesday, during which the president “took power naps” to catch up on sleep, and said he would also skip a gala din-ner with the leaders of nine Southeast Asian nations, US Vice President Mike Pence and several others.

Duterte’s health has been a constant source of speculation

since he disappeared from public view for a week last year, and he has said openly that he is tired and would like

to step down before the end of his term ends in 2022.

Last month Duterte’s office revealed that he had undergone a colonoscopy and he told reporters that a biopsy had shown he did not have cancer.

The constitution provides for the public to be told of the state of health of an incum-bent president, if serious.

If a sitting president dies, is permanently disabled or re-moved through impeachment, the vice president succeeds to serve the remaining years in a six-year, single term.

Philippines’ Prez Rodrigo Duterte.

Town vice mayor, aide killed in attack in northern PhilippinesMANILA: A town vice mayor and his aide were killed in an attack on Wednesday by unidentified gunmen in the northern Philippines, police said.

Vice Mayor Alfred Concepcion was travelling in a convoy with his daughter Aleli, who is also mayor of the town of Balaoan in La Union province, 252 kilometres north of Manila, when the attack occurred. The gunmen blocked the path of the two vehicles along a highway in Balaoan and opened fire at the politicians, said Chief Superintendent Romeo Sapitula, a regional police director.

The vice mayor and his security aide Michael Ulep were rushed to a nearby hospital, but were both declared dead on ar-rival due to gunshot wounds, Sapitula said.

The mayor also suffered gunshot wounds, but was recovering in hospital under tight security, he added. Additional police offic-ers have been dispatched to track down the perpetrators, Sapit-ula said. Director General Oscar Albayalde, national police chief, assured the families of the victims that authorities would “get to the bottom of the case” and catch the suspects. (DPA)

Sacked PM Mahinda Rajapakse.

China closely monitoring crisisBEIJING: China on Wednesday said it was closely following the escalating political crisis in Sri Lanka and hoped that the politi-cal parties could solve it by themselves.

In the latest development in the island nation, the country’s Parliament passed a no-confidence motion against the govern-ment headed by the controversially appointed Prime Minister Ma-hinda Rajapaksa. The former strongman is perceived to be close to China and awarded many investment deals to Beijing. “China is traditional friend and neighbour of Sri Lanka. We are closely follow-ing the situation unfolding in Sri Lanka,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a press briefing. (IANS)

Controversial remarks on Pakistan and Kashmir land Shahid Afridi in hot water

TRIBUNE.COM.PKISLAMABAD

CRICKET star Shahid Afridi on Wednesday drew flak on social media for his remarks on the Kashmir issue, forcing him to issue a clarification.

“I say Pakistan doesn’t want Kashmir. Don’t give it to India either. Let Kashmir be independent. At least human-ity will be alive. Let people not die. Pakistan doesn’t want Kashmir. It can’t even manage its four provinces.

“The big thing is humani-ty. People who are dying there, it is painful. Any death, be it from any community, is pain-ful,” he can be heard saying in a video that went viral on so-cial media on Wednesday.

The video drew a strong backlash with Twitterati lam-basting the former cricketer for his ‘unpatriotic comments’.

Afridi then issued a state-ment on Twitter, where he said that,” My comments are being misconstrued by Indian media! I’m passionate about my country and greatly value the struggles of Kashmiris. Humanity must prevail and they should get their rights.” He added that the clip is in-

complete and has been taken out of context.

Afridi said that “Kashmir is unresolved dispute and un-der brutal Indian occupation. It must be resolved as per UN resolution. Myself along with every Pakistani support Kash-miri freedom struggle. Kash-mir belongs to Pakistan.”

FM Qureshi rules out possibility of peace talks before India electionsISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has ruled out possibilities of any progress in peace talks with India before the upcoming general elections in the neighbouring country. He was speaking to the media after attending a meeting of the stand-ing committee on foreign affairs, chaired by Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed in Islamabad.

Qureshi said he briefed the committee on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s foreign policy. The participants of the meeting strongly condemned atrocities being committed by the Indian security forces in the Indian-administered Kashmir.PRIME Minister Imran Khan’s recent visits to Saudi Arabia and China and Pakistan’s bilateral relations with India and Afghanistan were also discussed during the meeting. (TRIBUNE.COM.PK)

Bangladesh police fire rubber bullets, teargas to disperse opposition protest

REUTERSDHAKA

BANGLADESH police fired rubber bullets and teargas at a group of opposition party supporters in the capital, Dhaka, on Wednesday as ten-sion soared weeks before a general election.

Activists of the Bangla-desh Nationalist Party (BNP) responded to the police ac-tion by setting fire to police vans and cars, as well as sev-eral motor-bikes, according to police and media.

“Our force was attacked without any reason. They were only trying to ease the traffic flow but suddenly they were targeted,” said Masudur Rah-man, a spokesman for the Dha-ka Metropolitan Police.

The BNP supporters were accompanying an election can-didate who was picking up elec-tion nomination papers from the party’s offices in the city. Police initially asked the group numbering more than 500 to disperse because they were creating a traffic jam but an al-tercation ensued and fist-fights broke out between the BNP supporters and police.

The BNP said that at least 12 of its supporters were in-jured. Police said at least 20 officers were hurt.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir denounced the police action as an “injustice”, and part of a government plot to exclude the party from the Dec. 30 election.

REUTERSCOX’S BAZAR, BANGLADESH

BANGLADESH has begun preparations to repatriate an initial batch of Rohingya Mus-lims to Myanmar on Thursday, but it is still unclear if any of them want to return, humani-tarian officials said.

Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed in late October to begin the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refu-gees, even though the United Nations’ refugee agency and aid groups say doubts persist about safety in Myanmar.

There are also concerns that the Rohingya don’t want to go back.

The repatriation of the first group of 2,200 refugees is set to officially begin on Thursday and officials in Myanmar say they are ready for them.

Bangladesh has vowed not to not force anyone to return and it has asked the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to make sure those short-listed to return really want to go back.

Bangladeshi Relief and Re-patriation Commissioner Abul Kalam said the UNHCR had begun interviewing families.

“We are expecting feedback from them today,” said Kalam.

When pressed on whether the process would begin on Thursday, Kalam said: “That is our plan, but we want to ensure a voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return.” UN rights boss Michelle Bachelet called on Bangladesh on Tuesday to halt the repatriation plans, warning their lives would be at “serious risk”.

A UNHCR spokesman in Cox’s Bazar said the agency on Tuesday began to assess wheth-er any of the refugees wanted to return. One source told Reu-ters the agency had yet to find a single family who wanted to go back.

“They are also not find-ing all the families on the list as many have fled to others camps,” the source added.

A second source said none of the 11 families interviewed had agreed to return. “Today is not too different,” the source said on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, dozens of Rohingya families on the list of refugees set to be repatriated began fleeing camps in Bang-ladesh. Last week, more than 20 individuals on the list told Reuters they would refuse to return to Rakhine.

Volition in question ahead of Rohingya return to Myanmar

US Vice President Mike Pence (right) shakes hands with Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Singapore, on Wednesday. (AFP)

SINGAPORE: The violence which drove 700,000 Rohing-ya Muslims from Myanmar into Bangladesh was “without excuse”, US Vice President Mike Pence told Aung San Suu Kyi in stinging comments on Wednesday.

On the sidelines of a sum-mit in Singapore Pence piled the pressure on Myanmar’s de facto leader, calling for an ex-planation of the jailing of two Reuters journalists over their coverage of the crisis.

Suu Kyi has seen her rep-utation as a rights defender shredded by her refusal to speak up for the Rohingya, a stateless group reviled in the Buddhist-majority country.

She has already had an Amnesty International hon-our revoked this week and

faced sharp words from Ma-laysia’s prime minister at a usually tepid meeting of Southeast Asian nations in Singapore.

In direct marks as he sat next to Suu Kyi, Pence con-demned the “violence and persecution” against the Roh-

ingya as “without excuse”.Then in a front-on chal-

lenge to Myanmar’s civilian leader, Pence said he was “anxious to hear about the progress” being made to hold the perpetrators accountable.

On Thursday a long-de-layed–and heavily criticised

–plan to repatriate Rohingya was set to begin, despite dire warnings their safety will be in jeopardy if forced to return to Myanmar. The process has undergone several false starts before.

The Rohingya crisis has tarnished Myanmar’s reputa-

tion among large sections of an international community which helped shape its tran-sition from outright military rule. Suu Kyi has no power over the army, which retains autonomy over all security matters. But she has come un-der fire for not doing more to speak out against the gener-als’ excesses.

She has also been criti-cised for her failure to speak up for two Reuters report-ers jailed for seven years for breaching a colonial-era state secrets act after reporting on the extrajudicial killing of 10 Rohingya men during a military crackdown last year. Pence called their case “deep-ly troubling”, adding the US placed a “premium... on a free and independent press”.

Sitting next to Suu Kyi, Pence condemned ‘violence and persecution’ of Rohingya as ‘without excuse’

Pence takes Suu Kyi to task over treatment of Rohingyas

Widodo calls on ASEAN leaders to address Rohingya crisis SINGAPORE: Indonesian President Joko Widodo has called on South-east Asian leaders to ad-dress the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

“I believe the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is ready to help the Myanmar government create [a] conducive situation in Rakhine state where freedom of movement is respected without discrimination and development is realized inclusively,” Widodo said late Tuesday evening, according to Indonesian national news outlet Antara News. Widodo noted that the Rohingya crisis had aroused anxiety and caused a dip in global confidence, adding that if the crisis went unheeded, it would have a detrimental impact on Myanmar in particular and ASEAN in general. He made the comments to reporters during a plenary session at the 33rd ASEAN summit that is under way in Singapore. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed also sharply denounced Myanmar’s de factor leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday evening, saying she was “trying to defend what was indefensible” in comments. (DPA)

07Thursday, November 15, 2018Pakistan / SA / Philippines / SEA

ESTABLISHED SEPTEMBER 3, 2006

PRINTED AT ALI BIN ALI PRINTING PRESS

HAMAD BIN SUHAIM AL THANI CHAIRMANADEL ALI BIN ALI MANAGING DIRECTORDR HASSAN MOHAMMED AL ANSARI EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Women’s Anger Still Isn’t Taken Seriously

“WOMEN’S anger is not taken seriously as politically consequential and valid, in part because women are sucked

back into a maternal or wifely aesthetic framework,” Rebecca Traister said in a recent interview with The Masthead, The Atlantic’s membership programme. “We need to understand their fury as politically and socially catalytic.”

In November, as part of The Masthead Book Club, members read Traister’s Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger. Members discussed the book on The Masthead forums with Atlantic staff, and submitted questions for Traister via video.

●Is female anger really always taken less seriously? While reading the book, a member reminded me of the phrase, “When mama’s unhappy, everyone’s

unhappy.” It seemed to her that, especially when women invoke their roles as wives and mothers when angry, their anger is extremely effective. — Caroline Kitchener

Rebecca Traister: That is historically the context in which women have been offered what power is on the table. Their power is within a domestic sphere, within familial relationships. But if the only way we can invoke our authority is by making a comparison to a domestic and maternal sphere, that’s a very limited scope. Part of what this book is about is the fact that women’s anger is not taken seriously as politically consequential and valid, in part because women are sucked back into a maternal or wifely aesthetic framework. And we need to understand their fury as politically and socially catalytic.

●Are movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp making a difference? — Barbara Didrichsen, Masthead member

Traister: Sure, they are making a difference insofar as there’s actually a difference in how consequences are being

meted out. For years, even for very specific men about whom allegations have been made, those allegations were out in public for years and years and years. Nobody did anything about it.

I reported on sexual-harassment allegations against Bill O’Reilly when I was a young reporter in 2004. He remained the top anchor of Fox News, a network that was so powerful, it propelled presidents into office. So am I shocked by what has happened in the past year, that some of those very specific men lost their perches? Yes. But we should also remember that they didn’t lose their power.

It’s important to note that the No. 1 book on the best-seller list is written by Bill O’Reilly. He may have lost his perch at Fox, and that’s important, but he has not lost his voice, or his ability to make millions of dollars.

●Do you think that the Ford-Kavanaugh hearings, and Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, might allow women to hear each other in new ways, and make greater strides against institutional oppressions? — Barbara Kellam-Scott, Masthead member

Traister: What happened with Brett Kavanaugh long-term is going

to be formative—ultimately, probably, catalytic—in a way that’s hard to recognise right now. What was made visible to so many Americans in those weeks of September and early October is going to have a galvanising effect on young people.

I do some of the work I do today because I sat and watched Anita Hill 27 years ago in high school. There are young and old people whose lives and views of how power works in this country and is abused has been shaped by what has just happened. I believe that 30 years from now, there’s going to be a journalist telling us about how Ana Archila and Maria Gallagher demanding Jeff Flakelook at them in the eyes in the elevator was a catalytic, communicative movement, a way of channelling the fury of so many millions of women who are isolated in their homes, who couldn’t be in that elevator and couldn’t be at that protest, but felt their fury communicated. We’re going to say that was a moment of political import, in ways that we can’t predict now.

CAROLINE KITCHENER AND BRIGID MCCORMICK

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

In her new book American writer Rebecca Traister tackles the history of female’s anger and how it can transcend into political movement

Opinion

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THE OPINION AND ANALYSIS PAGES ARE THE AUTHORS’ OWN. QATAR TRIBUNE BEARS NO RESPONSIBILITY.

(Tribune News Service)

HAVING long criticised US policy in the Middle East, President Donald Trump has outlined the contours of a fresh approach to the region. Last month, his administration unveiled its new Syria strategy, marking a departure from

a mission focused on countering the Islamic State (or ISIS) to one aimed at containing Iran. But these new plans don’t consider a critical challenge: the shifting alignments in the region, which have intensified following the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Alignments in the Middle East have long been shifting tectonic plates. For decades, regional powers—particularly Iran, Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey—have competed to maximise power against the backdrop of interventions by Russia, the United Kingdom, and, later, the United States. Until recently, the United States and its regional allies—Israel, the majority of the Arab Gulf states, and Turkey—were aligned against Iran. In the aftermath of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, it seemed certain that these regional powers, backed by Washington, would succeed in isolating Iran. But myriad domestic, regional, and international factors have combined to obviate this long-standing status quo. The most significant result of these developments has been Turkey’s drift away from the United States and towards Iran and Russia.

There are several reasons for Ankara’s emerging alignment with Tehran and Moscow. First, the ascension of Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the Turkish presidency in 2014—a move that marked his consolidation of power after over a decade as prime minister—signaled a shift in the country’s politics. Erdogan’s worldview shares many tenets with those of Iran and Russia. Like Moscow and Tehran, Ankara is now more anti-Western than at any point in recent memory. In that sense, Turkey is pivoting away from NATO and towards the two revisionist powers.

Erdogan’s beliefs shape his perception of the regional order. The Turkish president appears to see himself as the rightful heir to Muslim leadership. He has gone so far as to claim that his “is the only country that can lead the Muslim world.” This makes the House of Saud less of an ally and more of a competitor.

Indeed, the Khashoggi murder is only the latest in a series of developments that have exacerbated tensions between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. In the ongoing rift in the Arabian Gulf, in which Saudi Arabia and its allies severed ties with Qatar (because of Qatar’s assertive and independent foreign policy, Ankara joined Tehran in supporting Doha. For Turkey, the Gulf state was an important ally whose regional outlook aligned with its own. And the two countries’ economic ties were also important to Ankara. Even before the crisis, Turkey had signed a military protocol with Qatar and opened its first military base in the region in 2015. More recently, Turkey signed a deal to purchase Russian-made S-400 missile systems, prompting US Defence Secretary James Mattis to warn Turkey that it should reconsider the move, as NATO wouldn’t be able to integrate these weapons into its order of battle.

These developments have occurred against the backdrop of the Syrian conflict, where the United States and Saudi Arabia have remained united by a long-standing partnership, their respective enmity to-wards Iran, and the ongoing war in Yemen. For Tur-key, the Iran-Russia combine now seems to be a better fit than NATO. Ankara is preoccupied with stabilising Syria, even if this means that President Bashar al Assad remains in power. This objective aligns with Iranian and Russian goals. Moscow and Tehran have worked closely together in Syria—with Russia providing air

cover to Iran’s ground troops—to secure both Assad’s grip on power and their own regional status. Both they and Turkey have an interest in preserving Syria’s ter-ritorial integrity, which could help them avoid a possi-ble regional fragmentation and state failure that could spill over and threaten their own survival.

Turkey is also concerned about the Kurds. Iran is perhaps better positioned than the United States and NATO to help assuage Turkish concerns regarding the future of the Kurds. Although apparently no party wishes to see the Kurds split from their respective states, Iran—like Turkey—seems to feel acutely threatened by an empowered Kurdish population. For both Iran and Turkey, the dismemberment of Syria and a Kurdish split from the country could lead to a slippery slope emboldening their Kurdish populations and creating a threat to their territorial integrity and national unity.

Iran, Russia, and Turkey all still harbour a certain distrust of one another. And their distrust is rooted in a history of rivalry. After all, the three countries have fought one another in devastating wars and competed for power in the region. At the same time, they currently have a number of shared interests and common threat perceptions, leading them to work closely together in several areas, including in the military and economic realms.

In the morass of Middle East geopolitics, Turkey appears to be the big winner, capitalising on this realignment to improve its image in the Muslim world as a leading nation willing to stand up to Saudi Arabia—

whose closer relationship with Israel and leading role in the disastrous war in Yemen have tarnished its reputation. Ankara is keen maximise its leverage in future negotiations in Syrian. Indeed, the success of US Syria policy depends in part on Turkey. As a result, Washington should understand Ankara’s main regional objectives and assess NATO’s ability to forestall an undesired shift in the regional balance of power.

Turkey’s ostensible realignment will likely affect the new US campaign in Syria and the viability of Washington’s Middle East policy as a whole. In response to this development, the United States should consider using its seat at the table to show that it has both the means and the political will to contribute to a stable Syria. It should signal that it can be an honest broker—although this would probably be a tough pill to swallow, given that almost any viable peace agreement will leave Assad in place. Assad has committed countless atrocities, including using chemical weapons against his own people, but the prospects of the United States removing him from power are increasingly dim. Rather than remaining focused on Assad’s removal, the Trump administration should look at the bigger picture and secure US interests in the region. Critically, Syria can’t remain a safe haven for international terrorist groups to plan attacks around the globe—as they have done recently with disrupted plots targeting Germany and the Netherlands.

As reports of the events surrounding Khashoggi’s death grew increasingly horrifying, Saudi Arabia provided $100 million to the United States to help stabilise Syria. But it appears Riyadh won’t be able to buy its way out of this situation. That money may be enough to prolong the transactional US-Saudi relationship a while longer. But it will do little to halt the momentum of a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape, in which Iran, Russia, and Turkey are emerging as a coherent bloc. These three countries’ alignment—rooted in shared interests in Syria—could transcend that specific theater and lead to a more fundamental realignment of power throughout the region, with long-term implications for the United States.

Is Major Realignment Taking Place In The Middle East?

ARIANE MTABATABAI AND COLIN P CLARKE TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

In the Middle East geopolitics, Turkey appears to be the big winner, capitalising on a realignment with Iran and Russia to improve its image as a leading nation willing to stand up to Saudi Arabia

SOME situations are so horrible that the best way to try to make them right is to clean house and start all over.

That’s why we’re squarely behind the US Olympic Committee’s move to shut down USA Gymnastics as a governing body over the sport because of its bungling of the disgusting sex abuse scandal that has embroiled the sport.

USA Gymnastics seemed more concerned with protecting itself than protecting the thousands of young girls — many of them in Texas — whose safety should have been its priority. The Olympic Committee is taking a big step toward fixing systemic problems that have festered for decades.

A complete overhaul is long overdue.This is the organisation that employed ex-team doctor

Larry Nassar, who sexually abused more than 120 women and girls under the guise of medical treatment at the now-shuttered Karolyi Ranch training facility near Houston, and at Michigan State University.

If not for the courage of gymnasts, including world champion Simone Biles and her Olympic teammate Aly Raisman, speaking out about their abuse at the hands of Nassar, he might still be preying on girls instead of serving a 40- to 175-year prison sentence.

It’s frightening that numerous survivors testified in Nassar’s trial that they notified USAG trainers and coaches, detailing abuse suffered at the hands of Nassar — but were either ignored or convinced they were mistaken. We understand why Raisman, who is one of dozens of women suing USA Gymnastics, believes the national organisation knew or should have known about the abuse.

And USA Gymnastics’ response to the scandal did not instill confidence that it could put its own house in order.

Consider that USA Gymnastics president and CEO Kerry Perry resigned after nine months on the job following a series of tone-deaf responses to the scandal. For example, the organisation hired a coach, Mary Lee Tracy, who had defended Nassar after his arrest. Critics rightly saw it as a sign the organisation was not serious about changing its culture. Three days later, Tracy was asked to resign.

Perry’s resignation followed several other high-profile departures, including the head of the women’s programme and coordinator for the women’s national team. The organisation is in search of its fourth CEO in the last year.

And in Texas, after an investigation by the Texas Rangers of the training facility that was run by former national women’s gymnastic team coordinators Bela and Martha Karolyi, Nassar was indicted on six more counts of sexual assault of a child. Former trainer Debra Van Horn was indicted on one count. Last month, former USAG President Steve Penny was indicted on a charge in Texas that he tampered with evidence in the Nassar case.

In many ways, the Olympic Committee had no choice but to revoke USA Gymnastics’ control over the sport. A new organisation can start to right the ship.

Olympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland, in a letter to the gymnastics community, said “you deserve better.”

She’s right. Hundreds of aspiring Olympic athletes deserve a shot at pursuing their dreams in a safe and healthy environment with leaders who put them first, above all else.

Shut Down US Gymnastics To Save

The Sport For Women

Women’s anger is not taken seriously as politically consequential and valid, in part because women are sucked back into a maternal or wifely aesthetic framework

Erdogan’s worldview shares many tenets with those of Iran and Russia. Like Moscow and Tehran, Ankara is now more anti-Western than at any point in recent memory

The Khashoggi murder is only the latest in a series of developments that have exacerbated tensions between Turkey and Saudi Arabia

08 Thursday, Novermber 15, 2018

IANSSINGAPORE

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday raked up with US Vice President Mike Pence the issue of ter-rorism sponsored from Paki-stan pointing out that “all the traces or all the leads in global terror attacks ultimately lead to a single source”.

During a meeting on the sidelines of the East Asia Sum-mit here, Modi told Pence that political mainstreaming in Pakistan of people involved in terror activities should be a matter of concern for the in-ternational community.

The two leaders discussed a host of other issues including the roles of their respective na-tions in ensuring a free Indo-Pacific region and cooperation in defence and trade sectors.

Briefing media after the meeting, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said during the discussion on terrorism, Pence referred to the coming 10th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai Terror Attacks.

“In this context he greatly appreciated the cooperation which has been built between the United States and India on counter-terrorism,” Gokhale said.

“In response, the Prime Minister, while thanking him for these words also reminded him that in one way or another

all the traces or all the leads in global terror attacks ultimate-ly lead to a single source, a sin-gle place of origin,” he added.

“In that context he did

point out that the mainstream-ing of the people involved in Mumbai terror attacks in a po-litical process which had taken place in a recent election in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern not just to our two countries but to the inter-national community.”

This was a reference to the Mumbai terror attack master-mind Hafiz Saeed’s party con-testing the general elections in Pakistan in July this year.

The Foreign Secretary said that Modi referred to his speech in Singapore in June at the Shangri-La Dialogue in which he had outlined India’s vision of the Indo-Pacific.

Leads in all terror probes point to one source, Modi tells Pence

ABU DHABI: A four-year-old Indian boy died on a flight due to epileptic seizures on his way back from Saudi Ara-bia after performing Umrah with his family. The Oman Airways flight, flying from Jed-dah to Kozhikode in Kerala, made an emergency landing in Abu Dhabi on Monday afternoon after the tragic incident, the airlines said. The boy, identified as Yahya Puthiyapurayil developed epi-leptic seizures 45 minutes after the take-off, a relative told the Khaleej Times. (IANS)

Boy returning from Umrah dies on flight

SYDNEY Three men have been found guilty of plotting bomb attacks in the Australi-an city of Melbourne in 2016, according to a court ruling made public on Wednesday. The men were charged with planning to attack prominent sites in Australia’s second city on Christmas Day that year in what authorities described as “an imminent terrorist event” inspired by Islamic State. A jury found the men - Abdullah Chaarani, 27, Ahmed Mohamed, 25, and Hamza Abbas, 23 - guilty on November 2. (REUTERS)

Three found guilty of plotting 2016 Melbourne attacks

SINGAPORE Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he was willing to discuss a peace treaty with Russia -- two countries still technically at war with each other -- during a meeting with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. The two lead-ers met face-to-face on the sidelines of the regional As-sociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Singapore. Both countries are seeking to try to end a thorny territorial row that has dogged relations since the end of World War II. (AFP)

Abe willing to talk WWII peace treaty with Putin

MOSCOW Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny says he is now allowed to leave Rus-sia, after previously saying that he had been stoppedFROM doing so at an airport in Moscow. The dissident blogger posted a picture of himself on Instagram onWEDNESDAY at a passport security point at an airport in the Russian capital.NAVALNY plans to attend a hearing of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. (DPA)

Kremlin critic Navalny allowed to leave Russia

NEW DELHI President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among others who along with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday paid tributes to the nation’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary.WHILE Kovind “remem-bered” Nehru in a tweet, Modi from Singapore tweet-ed: “We recall his contribu-tion to our freedom struggle and during his tenure as Prime Minister.” (IANS)

Kovind, Modi, Sonia pay tributes to Nehru

NEWS IN BRIEF

AFPDOUALA

TWENTY-FIVE separatists were killed in fighting in a res-tive English-speaking region of Cameroon, security officials said Wednesday.

“Twenty-five ‘Amba Boys’ were killed in three clashes” on Tuesday in Mbot, a village near the town of Nkambe, a source in the capital Yaounde said, confirming a security source in the troubled Northwest Region.

“Amba Boys” refers to sepa-ratists who last year launched an armed campaign for the independence of Cameroon’s two anglophone regions, which they call Ambazonia.

Photos obtained by AFP from a source close to the secu-rity services showed about 10 bodies lined up on the ground. Weapons, mainly shotguns, were placed alongside.

A source close to the secu-rity services said the fighters had set up a base in a school in Mayo Binka, a few kilometres (miles) from Nkambe.

Two security officials told AFP that the armed forces did not suffer any losses in the clashes.

Insurgents kill 25 in restive Cameroon

THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATIONLONDON

GETTING the chilli-turmeric ratio in mango pickle right, learning to thread an eyebrow or honing drumming skills?

For Robin Chaurasiya, founder of anti-trafficking charity Kranti, meaning revolu-tion, making the unconvention-al choice - to help a sex worker’s daughter become a drummer - was obvious.

“Why would you need train-ing in stitching or becoming a beautician, especially when you are an excellent drummer?” Chaurasiya asked in an inter-view ahead of the opening of the Trust Conference in Lon-don on Wednesday.

India is home to the larg-est number of slaves globally,

with 8 million out of a global total of 40 million, according to the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation.

Most of more than 23,000 trafficking victims rescued in 2016 were women and girls, ac-cording to government data.

Rescued survivors have traditionally been put up in government and charity-run hostels and given vocational training in skills like em-broidery and basket weaving and more recently computer training.

But anti-trafficking chari-ties in India are increasingly focusing on teaching skills that survivors are passionate about or can help them return to the community and find work, rather than simply engaging them in some activity.

“It is more about healing and happiness,” Chaurasiya said. With Kranti’s help, the sex worker’s daughter, Sheetal, went on to win a scholarship to study in the United States.

“The (charities) I went to before Kranti never asked me what I wanted to do. They just wanted us to clear school and get married,” Sheetal, now 24, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“I had only seen boys play the drums. I had no idea I could learn it too.”

She performs occasionally,

but prefers to teach the instru-ment and also gives leadership lessons in Mumbai schools.

The benefits of teaching unusual skills to women who were rescued from brothels was highlighted in September, when about 20 female welders and carpenters helped to re-build flooded homes in India’s Kerala state.

“The skills of stitching and embroidery that were given ear-lier do not have a market,” said Hasina Kharbhih, founder of anti-trafficking charity Impulse NGO Network, which set up a social business selling clothes, bags and home furnishings.

The company, Impulse Social Enterprises, is training about 400 trafficking survivors to make its products, which are sold online.

Indian trafficking survivors dream of drums and saws

IANSSRIHARIKOTA

INDIA successfully launched its latest communication sat-ellite GSAT-29 with its heavi-est rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III) on Wednesday evening in a copy-book style.

The GSLV-Mk III rocket on its second developmen-tal flight slung the 3,423 kg GSAT-29 satellite in a geosyn-chronous transfer orbit (GTO) from where it would be taken up to its final geostationary orbit.

Precisely at 5.08 pm the GSLV-Mk III rocket with a strong deep growl rose into the sky breaking free from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

The 43.4-metre tall rocket weighing about 640 tonnes furiously rushed to the skies with a thick orange flame at its rear carrying the GSAT-29.

The GSLV-Mk III with a capacity to carry four-tonne satellite, is a three stage/en-gine rocket with two strap-on motors powered by solid fuel. The second stage is a core liq-uid fuel booster and the third is the cryogenic engine.

Just over 16 minutes into its flight, the rocket put into orbit the GSAT-29 satellite.

Speaking about the mis-sion, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chair-man K. Sivan said: “The sec-ond successful mission of GSLV-Mk III marks the entry of the rocket into operational phase after completing the de-velopmental phase. This mis-

sion is important regarding GSLV-Mk III and GSAT satel-lite series.”

The Indian space agency had flown a similar rocket on June 5, 2017 with GSAT-19 satellite. Prior to that ISRO had flown another rocket with 3.7 tonne dummy payload in 2014 to test its in-flight structural stability and aero-dynamics. According to ISRO, GSAT-29 with a life span of 10 years is a multi-beam satel-lite that carries Ka/Ku-band high throughput communica-tion transponders intended to meet the communication

requirements of users, includ-ing those in remote areas.

In addition, several new technologies such as Q/V-band payload, data trans-mission through optical communication link will be demonstrated. This will help

in realising future advanced satellites, ISRO said.

The satellite also carries geo-high resolution camera.

India currently has two operational rockets -- the Polar Satellite Launch Vehi-cle and GSLV-Mk II -- with a lift-off mass of 415 tonnes and a carrying capacity of 2.5 tonnes.

India puts into orbit for-eign satellites for a fee using its lighter rocket PSLV. Rev-enue for launching satellites depends on the weight of the satellite -- higher the weight, higher will be the revenue.

Foreign customers are yet to come for GSLV-Mk II rocket. The GSLV-Mk III when it graduates from its development flight status to operational flight status may look at flying heavier foreign satellites.

“The first operational mis-sion of GSLV-Mk III will be none other than the second moon mission -- Chandrayaan --slated in January 2019,” Si-van said, adding that the cost of the rocket is around Rs 300 crore and it will be used for India’s human space mission planned in 2020.

GSAT-29 is a multi-beam satellite that carries high throughput communication transponders

ISRO’s GSAT-29 launch giant leap towards manned space mission

‘India to be $10 tn economy by 2035’NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday said Indian economy will quadruple to $10 trillion by 2035 riding on business-friendly policies, struc-tural reforms and transparency in governance.

“India is growing at a fast rate and will be a $5 trillion economy in another 7-8 years. By 2035, it will be a $10 trillion economy and we are preparing for that in an aggressive way,” he said in a recorded message at the inauguration of India Inter-national Trade Fair (IITF).

Prabhu said that no country can grow unless companies

grow and their growth is depend-ent on interactions with rest of the world and the business-friendly policies of the govern-ment that saw India climb from 142 to 77 rank on Ease of Do-ing Business in last four years.

“India is constantly im-proving and we want to take it beyond 50 and later even higher. India’s ranking globally is increasing due to domestic policies. We are making struc-tural reforms, we are bringing in transparency. We deal with complete transparency in public procurement.”

The Minister said IITF is India’s flagship event where

participants from across the globe take part. The 38th IITF, being organised in less than one-fourth of the area at Pragati Maidan due to ongoing renova-tion and construction, has 17 countries participating in it.

“I am sure this will show-case India’s capabilities... This is an event where businesses meet, policy makers meet to ex-change ideas, to shape together a good future for humanity and to make world a better place by increasing your toplines and bottomlines and that can only happen when governments allow businesses to grow,” he said. (IANS)

Foreigners visiting India on e-visa clock new high

IANSNEW DELHI

A total of 18.78 lakh foreign-ers visited India this year within the first 10 months on e-visa -- four times more than the 4.47 lakh figure registered in 2015 and the highest so far. The maximum number of visi-tors who availed of this facil-ity were from the UK, the US, China, France and Germany.

A home ministry release said that arrivals between January and October, 2018 also broke last year’s record

when 17 lakh foreigners visited India on E-visa or Electronic-visa, citing liberalization of the visa regime by India as a reason for the spike in figures.

The fee collection this year till October 31 was $ 137,527,270 which was $ 105,558,496 in 2017.

The top five coun-tries whose nationals availed E-visa services are the UK (2,921,432), the US (2,213,393), Chi-na(1,270,224), France (1,071,855) and Germany (89,863).

Boko Haram kills 16 in Nigeria, dozens missing

AFPKANO

BOKO Haram jihadists have killed at least 16 farmers and left dozens missing in the lat-est attacks in restive northeast Nigeria’s Borno state, militia and residents said on Wednes-day.

The civilian militia fighting the Islamists found 15 bod-ies in fields around Kazaa and Daraa villages, five kilometres (three miles) outside the gar-rison town of Monguno on Tuesday.

A farmer was also shot dead while working near Gre-mari village, 13 kms from the state capital Maiduguri.

“Yesterday our members recovered 15 bodies from farms around neighbouring Kazaa and Daraa villages who were killed by Boko Haram on Monday,” militia leader Ibra-him Liman told AFP.

“Another 35 people have not been seen and a search will continue today (Wednesday) to find them,” he said.

The farmers were most-ly from camps in Monguno housing people displaced by the nine-year Islamist insur-gency.

SC reserves order on Rafale dealIANS

NEW DELHI

THE Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its ver-dict on four petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into 36 Rafale fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation even as the government admit-ted that there was no sovereign guarantee by the French gov-ernment backing the deal.

On pricing, the court asked Attorney General KK Venugo-pal not to respond to the con-tentions raised by the petition-ers until the court decides to look into it.

“The discussion on pricing will come only if we decide... so long that is not there,” the bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan

Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph told the AG. The AG also op-posed the judicial review of the Rafale deal.

He said that if the cost of weaponery and avionics comes in public domain, it will be used by the adverseries to make out the weaponery fitted in Rafale.

A three-hour-long hearing saw Attorney General KK Venu-gopal telling the bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph that “though there is no sovereign guarantee from France (government), there is a letter of comfort.”

India is home to the largest number of slaves globally, with 8 million out of a glob-al total of 40 million

Rafale is not govt-to-govt pact: Congress NEW DELHI The Congress on Wednesday claimed the agreement to purchase the 36 French Rafale jets was not a government-to-government deal.

Keeping up the attack over the Rafale “scam”, Congress also said the French defence major was a “non-compliant” company and the Modi government should not have entered into a deal with it. “It was a deal between the government of India on one side and Dassault Aviation, a private entity on the other. Since the French government was not involved in the negotia-tions, how can it be government-to-government deal?” ques-tioned Congress leader Kapil Sibal. (IANS)

ISRO’s GSLV-MkIII D2 mission carrying high throughput communication satellite GSAT-29 takes off in Sriharikota on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with US Vice President Mike Pence (right) in Singapore on Wednesday. (AFP)

The GSLV-Mk III with a capacity to carry four-tonne satellite, is a three stage/engine rocket with two strap-on motors powered by solid fuel

The two leaders discussed a host of other issues including the roles of their respective nations in ensur-ing a free Indo-Pacific region and cooperation in defence and trade sectors

India / World 09Thursday, November 15, 2018

Gulf / Middle East10 Thursday, November 15, 2018

Hamas calls Israeli minister’s resignation a ‘victory for Gaza’Isarel’s defence minister Lieberman describes truce deal as ‘capitulating to terror’, withdraws support to govt

AFPGAZA CITY, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

ISLAMIST movement Hamas called Israeli Defence Min-ister Avigdor Lieberman’s resignation on Wednesday following a controversial ceasefire deal a “political vic-tory for Gaza”.

Lieberman described the ceasefire ending the worst escalation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since a 2014 war “capitulat-ing to terror” and said he was quitting his post.

Lieberman also called for early elections after a sharp disagreement over the Gaza ceasefire deal, throwing the government into turmoil.

Lieberman also said his party was quitting Prime Minister Benjamin Netan-yahu’s coalition, leaving the premier with only a one-seat majority in parliament.

Elections are not due until November 2019, but Lieberman’s resignation in-creases the likelihood of an earlier vote.

“What happened yes-terday–the truce combined with the process with Hamas –is capitulating to terror,” Lieberman told journalists in explaining his reasons for resigning.

“What we’re doing now as a state is buying short-term quiet, with the price being severe long-term damage to

national security.” He added later: “We should agree on a date for elections as early as possible.” Netanyahu has defended Tuesday’s ceasefire deal that ended the worst es-calation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since a 2014 war.

An official from Netan-yahu’s Likud party hit back at speculation that early elec-tions would be called and said the prime minister would take charge of Lieberman’s portfolio at least temporarily.

“There’s no obligation to go to an election in this time of security sensitivity,” the official said on condition of an-

onymity. A Likud spokesman said later in the day that Ne-tanyahu had begun consulta-tions with heads of parties in his coalition to stabilise it.

The party of far-right Ed-ucation Minister Naftali Ben-nett, a Netanyahu rival, was threatening to withdraw from the coalition if he was not giv-en the defence portfolio. The ceasefire held on Wednesday, but Netanyahu was seeking to combat criticism of the deci-sion.

Hamas portrayed the ceasefire as a victory and thousands of residents of the blockaded enclave took

to the streets late Tuesday to celebrate. On Wednesday, Gazan demonstrators burned pictures of Lieberman and sweets were handed out in the streets, while Hamas called his resignation a “vic-tory.” The Egyptian-brokered truce was announced by Gaza militant groups, including Hamas, on Tuesday.

A diplomatic source fa-miliar with the agreement said it involved returning to arrangements put in place following the 2014 war, but warned: “The situation re-mains very precarious and can blow up again.

Palestinians burn a poster depicting Israel’s Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman as they celebrate after Lieberman announced his resignation, in Gaza City, on Wednesday. (REUTERS)

Palestinian killed by Israeli gunfire

GAZA city: A Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire in the border area of the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the enclave’s health ministry and a security source said.

The man killed was identified as Nawaf al-Aatar, 20, and a Gazan se-curity source said he was fishing at the time near the border fence. (AFP)

Turkish FM calls for international probe into scribe’s murder

REUTERSANKARA

AN international investigation into the murder of Saudi jour-nalist Jamal Khashoggi is es-sential, Turkey’s foreign min-ister said on Wednesday, and reiterated Turkish decisiveness to solve the murder.

“We will do whatever it takes to bring the murder to light. We have shown the evi-dence to all those who wanted to see,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told the parliament.

Turkey previously said it would cooperate in an inter-national investigation, and had called for a UN probe.

Meanwhile, a senior Turkish official proposed on Wednesday that suspects in the killing of Saudi journal-ist Jamal Khashoggi be tried in a Turkish court observed by international human rights groups.

Khashoggi, a critic of de facto Saudi ruler Prince Mo-hammed bin Salman, was killed in Saudi Arabia’s Istan-bul consulate last month in a hit which Erdogan says was or-dered at the “highest levels” of the Saudi government.

Turkish authorities have prepared an extradition re-quest for 18 suspects detained in Saudi Arabia, which in-

cludes a 15-man team that Turkey says arrived in Istan-bul shortly before the killing and carried it out.

“Let the human rights units from all respected organisa-tions, from the United Nations to the European Union, come and watch this trial,” said Omer Celik, spokesman for President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party.

“Let them judge whether the trial fits the standards of international law,” Celik, a for-mer minister, told a news con-ference.

Turkey says the suspects should be tried in a Turkish court because the crime oc-curred on its territory, even though it was inside a Saudi diplomatic mission. Riyadh has said the suspects will be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia.

A screen showing Jamal Kashoggi during an event in Istanbul. (AFP)

Trump names John Abizaid as new US envoy to Saudi ArabiaWASHINGTON: -President Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped John Abizaid, a top US general from the Iraq war who has studied the Middle East for years, as ambassador to Saudi Arabia amid growing friction between the longstanding allies. Abizaid is a fluent Arabic speaker of Lebanese Christian descent who headed US Central Command -- which covers the Middle East -- during the Iraq war from shortly after the US invasion in 2003 through 2007. The 67-year-old wrote his master’s thesis at Harvard University about Saudi Arabia, studying how the kingdom makes its decisions on defense spend-ing, in a paper that won acclaim in academic circles. Trump, who quickly forged a close relationship with Saudi Arabia upon taking of-fice, has been forced to criticize the kingdom and its powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, after a team from the kingdom killed Jamal Khashoggi, inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. (AFP)

Pro-govt forces halt Yemen port offensiveAFP

HODEIDA, YEMEN

FORCES loyal to Yemen’s gov-ernment on Wednesday halted an offensive on the lifeline port of Hodeidah as the United Arab Emirates, a key member of the pro-government coali-tion, threw its weight behind “early” UN peace talks.

Three military officials said that pro-government forces were “ordered” to stop their assault against the Iran-linked Huthi rebels until fur-ther notice, but would resume operations should the insur-gents attack. The UN is push-

ing for peace talks by the end of the year, and Sweden said it is ready to host them. The

developments came after the offensive on Hodeida by pro-government forces and the

Saudi-led coalition, including the UAE, appeared to stall. Af-ter 12 days of clashes, Hodeida was “quiet” and its port was “operating”, Gargash tweeted.

“We are working closely with the UN on expanding hu-manitarian assistance for all areas of Yemen,” he added.

On the ground in Hodeida, a relative calm was holding for a second full day, and de-spite the thundering sound of jets flying overhead, no major fighting was reported. Burnt out cars were seen on the streets of the city, whose port serves as a key lifeline to the impoverished country.

Yemeni pro-government troops stand in front of a damaged building in the port city of Hodeidah, Yemen, on Tuesday. (EPA-EFE)

European weapons fuelling Yemen conflict, says EU Parliament

REUTERSSTRASBOURG

TOUGHER checks on Euro-pean Union arms exports are needed and sanctions should be imposed on those countries that flout the bloc’s rules, the European Parliament said on Wednesday.

EU lawmakers said Euro-pean arms were stoking the conflict in Yemen, where a Saudi Arabia-led coalition is battling Iran-backed Houthi re-bels. Arms sales to Saudi Arabia by EU states undermined the European arms control effort, they said. “In Yemen, European

weapons are fundamentally responsible for the war taking place,” said German EU law-maker Sabine Losing, who is leading efforts to hold EU gov-ernments to account.

The European Parliament’s call to strengthen checks is non-binding but it the second time in less than a month that EU law-makers have passed a resolu-tion urging limits on arms sales following the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“The Common Position on arms exports must be imple-mented effectively. That in-cludes, among others, a sanc-tions mechanism,” Losing said.

Iraq recovers property worth millions after illegal sale

AFPBAGHDAD

THE Iraqi government said Wednesday it had retaken ownership of a piece of prop-erty in Baghdad worth mil-lions of dollars after it was un-lawfully sold to a government official’s wife.

In a statement to journal-ists, the Integrity Commission said it had worked with Bagh-dad authorities to recover the land in Kadhimiyah district.

“The Baghdad-Karakh ap-peals court issued a decision to seize the property, which amounts to 12,642 square me-tres, from the wife of a leading official in the previous govern-ment and re-register it in the name of the Mayorality,” the statement said.

“The land registration in the name of the official’s wife has been nullified, as well as all subsequent registrations,” it added.

The northern neighbour-hood of Kadhimiyah is home to a revered Shiite shrine, as well as some of the city’s most luxurious properties -- priced at up to $10,000 per square metre.

German singer jailed in Turkey for 6 years on terrorismDPA

ISTANBUL

A Turkish court has sentenced a German-Kurdish singer who has been held in Turkey since June to six years and three months in prison for member-ship in a terrorist organiza-tion, her lawyer said.

The singer, whose stage name is Hozan Cane, will ap-peal against the ruling by the court in western province of Edirne, according to her law-yer, Newroz Akalin. This was the third hearing in the case

against Cane, who is to remain in jail in Istanbul.

Cane was arrested in June in Edirne after police stopped the campaign bus she was on

for the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP).

The singer, who is from Cologne, had supported the HDP in its election campaign.

She is accused of member-ship in the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). An indictment seen by dpa cites some of her social media posts which were allegedly in favour of the PKK.

A series of arrests of Ger-man citizens in Turkey has led to tensions between Berlin and Ankara over the past year.

There are still five German citizens in Turkish custody on alleged terrorist charges. Last month, a court in south-eastern Turkey sentenced a 29-year-old German man.

US chose wrong path on sanctions, will be defeated, says Rouhani

REUTERSGENEVA

THE United States has chosen the wrong path in reimposing sanctions on Iran and will be defeated, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednes-day, according to the Tasnim news agency.

Washington reinstated sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry on Nov. 5 as it seeks to force the Islamic Republic to accept tougher curbs on its nuclear programme, halt its

development of ballistic mis-siles as well as its support for proxy forces in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

“The Americans will defi-nitely be defeated in this path. The path they have chosen is wrong and incorrect,” Rouhani said. “If they are being honest and they are looking for region-al security, this is not the path. If they are being honest and re-spect the Iranian people, this is not the path.” He added, “They have made themselves more infamous in the world”.

Lebanese Christian civil war foes shake hands after 40 yearsBEIRUT: Christian rivals from the Lebanese civil war, Samir Geagea and Suleiman Frangieh, shook hands with each other on Wednesday, marking a formal reconciliation to end more than four decades of enmity. Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF) political party, and Frangieh, head of the Marada party, have been foes since the early days of the 1975-1990 civil war.

The two parties had armed militias during the conflict that battled against each other. The war, which drew in regional powers, included fighting between the country’s main sects and rival factions within those sects. (REUTERS)

Calls for end to Yemen war offer little hope for hungry childrenREUTERSTAIZ, YEMEN

LYING on a dust-covered bed in a hospital ward in the Yem-eni city of Taiz, 10-year-old Ghazi Mohammed barely has enough energy to watch doc-tors and nurses examine his emaciated body.

The boy weighs 8.5 kg (18 lb), less than a third of the av-erage weight of a child his age. He fled hunger and poverty in his mountain village last year to find only more suffering in Yemen’s third largest city Taiz. “This shows that the hu-manitarian aid that comes to

Yemen does not reach people who really need it. Distribu-tion remains random,” said his doctor, Amen al-Asli.

Western powers who have for three years provided arms and intelligence to the Sau-di-led coalition waging war against Houthi insurgents in Yemen are now pressing for an end to a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 peo-ple and pushed the country to the brink of famine.

The West toughened its stance after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi policy, at Ri-yadh’s consulate in Istanbul

on Oct. 2. His death sparked a global outcry and exposed Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on dissent and aggressive foreign policy, including its role in the war in Yemen, which has been criticized by human rights groups and US lawmakers.

But calls for an end to the fighting have come far too late for millions of Yemeni civil-ians, including children, who face acute malnutrition and hunger in a complex, multi-sided war.

“They need a complete care, here in the hospital and later at home. Of course it de-pends on the parents’ finan-

cial condition as malnutrition can hit the whole family,” said Youssef al-Salawi, another doctor.

In Taiz, children fighting for their lives in hospitals are traumatised by daily artillery fire, rockets and anti-aircraft guns as Saudi-backed govern-ment forces battle the Iran-aligned Houthis along pulver-ised streets.

The United Nations says out of 29 million Yemenis, 22 million need some form of humanitarian assistance, almost 18 millions are consid-ered hungry and 8.4 millions are severely hungry.

Malnourished one-year-old Abdulqudous Hadi lies on a bed at a malnutrition treatment ward at Al-Thawra hospital in Hodeida, Yemen. (REUTERS)

The singer, whose stage name is Hozan Cane, will appeal against the ruling by the court in western province of EdirneHozan’s counsel

German-Kurdish Hozan Cane.

US lawmakers’ bill seeks to punish China over Uighurs

AFPWASHINGTON

A BIPARTISAN group of US lawmakers introduced legislation on Wednesday seeking to punish China over its “human rights abuses” of the majority-Muslim Uighur population in the country’s west, a move that drew immediate anger from Beijing.

Legislation introduced in both the Senate and House of Representatives seeks to toughen Presidentd Trump’s administration’s response to what the lawmakers say are gross violations of human rights in China’s Xinjiang

Uighur Autonomous Region.The bill urges US

authorities to impose targeted sanctions on members of China’s government, the ruling Communist Party and state security apparatus, as well Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Quanguo and other officials “credibly alleged to be responsible for human rights abuses in Xinjiang and elsewhere.”

China’s Uighurs have faced unprecedented surveillance in recent years, and the United Nations has determined that up to one million Uighurs have been rounded up in detention camps.

NEWS IN BRIEF

HAVANA: Cuba announced on Wednesday it will pull thousands of its doctors out of Brazil in response to President-elect Jair Bolsonaro’s “direct, contemptuous and threatening” remarks about its medical aid programme. The far-right leader repeatedly criticised the Communist-run island’s ‘More Doctors’ programme -- which sends thousands of Cuban doctors to work in deprived areas of Brazil -- and said his government would introduce changes. “In the light of this unfortunate reality, the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba has decided to discontinue its participation,” a statement released by the ministry said. (AFP)

Cuba to pull thousands of doctors from Brazil in Bolsonaro rowMADRID: The Spanish government declared war on alternative medicine like acupuncture or homeopa-thy on Wednesday, announcing it plans to eliminate from health centres what it considers a health risk. The plan, unveiled by the science and health ministers, aims to avoid the “potential harmful effects” of these practices “when they are used as an alternative or a complement to treatment” which itself is based on “proof and scientific rigour,” the government said in a statement. “Many people still believe that some treatments work despite there being no scientific proof avail-able,” it read. (AFP)

Spain government declares war on alternative medicine

REUTERSPARADISE, CALIFORNIA

THE search for remains of victims in the charred ruins of the northern California town of Paradise was set to in-tensify on Wednesday, while firefighters stepped up their nearly week-long efforts to contain the state’s deadliest-ever wildfire.

A National Guard con-tingent of 100 military police trained to seek and identify human remains will reinforce coroner-led recovery teams, cadaver dogs and forensic an-thropologists already scouring the ghostly landscape, left by a fire that has killed at least 48 people, some burned beyond recognition.

Two hundred twenty-eight had been listed as missing, but on Tuesday night local county sheriff Kory Honea said those numbers were highly fluid as some individuals may simply have fallen out of touch during chaotic evacuations.

The grim search is concen-trated in the little that is left of Paradise, a Sierra foothills town in Butte County, Califor-nia, about 175 miles north of San Francisco, that was over-run by flames and largely in-cinerated last Thursday.

The killer “Camp Fire,” fed by drought-desiccated scrub and fanned by strong winds, has capped a catastrophic California wildfire season that experts largely attribute to prolonged dry spells that are symptomatic of global climate change.

Wind-driven flames roared through Paradise so swiftly that residents were forced to flee for their lives with little or no warning.

Anna Dise, a resident of Butte Creek Canyon west of Paradise, told KRCR TV that her father, Gordon Dise, 66, was among those who died in the fire. They had little time to evacuate and their house col-lapsed on her father when he

went back in to gather belong-ings.

Dise said she could not drive her car because the tires had melted. To survive, she hid overnight in a neighbour’s pond with her dogs.

“It (the fire) was so fast,” Dise said. “I didn’t expect it to move so fast.” The Butte

County disaster coincided with a flurry of blazes in Southern California, most notably the ‘Woolsey Fire’, which has killed two people, destroyed more than 400 structures and at its height displaced about 200,000 people in the mountains and foothills west of LA.

US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and California Governor Jerry Brown were scheduled on Wednesday to pay a visit to both of the sites, which President Don-ald Trump declared a disaster areas, making federal emer-gency assistance more readily available.

The fatality count of 48 from the Camp Fire far ex-ceeds the previous record for the greatest loss of life from a single wildfire in California history - 29 people killed by the Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles in 1933.

The origins of both fires are under investigation.

Search intensifies for victims of California’s deadliest wildfire

Search and rescue crew from Calaveras County comb through a home destroyed by the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, on Tuesday. (REUTERS)

Toll rises to 48, highest in California history; 228 still missing

Squatting Rome migrants demand better lodgingsAFPROME

AS political temperatures simmer in Italy over undocumented migrants, a group of mostly Africans squatting in an abandoned penicillin factory on Rome’s northeast outskirts on Wednesday demanded more dignified lodgings.

“We are human beings, not Martians,” a Senegalese spokesman for the group, John, said as journalists were shown around the premises, where some 500 migrants live among expired chemicals, asbestos and rats.

“We’ve been told we’re soon going to be evicted. But

lodgings are a human right,” he said. “Give us an alternative!”

The visit served as a counterpoint to a separate media event put on Wednesday at a military airbase near Rome by Italy’s far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, who met dozens of African migrants recently evacuated from Libya by the UN.

Salvini is at the forefront of efforts to make it harder for migrants rescued at sea to be taken to Italy.

Since the coalition he is part of came to power in June, he has refused to allow several ships carrying migrants rescued in the Mediterranean to dock at Italian ports.

His League party is also

behind a planned decree that would make it easier to evict and expel migrants, strip some of Italian citizenship, and re-

duce access to temporary “hu-manitarian protection” resi-dency permits.

At the airbase Salvini

insisted that “Italy is a welcoming, generous and supportive country” -- but warned would-be immigrants that “the only way to arrive is by plane, not by inflatable dinghy”.

Italy currently has around 146,000 migrants held in the country’s reception centres for asylum-seekers, down from 183,000 at the end of 2017.

Around half the migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Africa to Europe head for Italy, according to the UNHCR refugee agency.

Since January this year, more than 2,000 have died on the perilous trip, which UN-HCR called “the world’s dead-liest sea route for refugees and migrants”.

REUTERSLONDON

PRIME Minister Theresa May put forward her draft European Union divorce plan on Wednesday but faced immediate opposition from some of her own members of parliament and political allies as well as other British parties over what one called a “botched deal”.

Her minority government means May is the weakest British leader in a generation, yet she must try to get her Brexit deal, struck after more than a year of talks with the EU, approved by parliament before leaving the bloc on March 29, 2019.

“I’m confident that this takes us significantly closer to delivering on what the British people voted for in the referendum,” May told parliament. Britons voted 52-48 percent in favour of leaving the EU in 2016.

The British cabinet began meeting at 1400 GMT to discuss the accord. The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported two ministers who strongly supported Brexit would quit.

May’s plan is an attempt to forge a balance between those who want Britain to maintain close links to the world’s biggest trading bloc while having full control over issues such as immigration and judicial oversight.

“We will take back control of our borders, our laws and our money, leave the Common Fisheries Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy, while protecting jobs, security and the integrity of the United

Kingdom,” May said of the deal.But Brexit campaigners

in May’s Conservative Party, which for three decades has been divided over Europe, said it was a surrender to the EU and they would vote it down.

UK PM hails Brexit deal but must sell it to doubtful ministers

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron considers the draft Brexit deal agreed by UK and EU negotiators as an encouraging sign but remains cautious as the text still needs to be examined in detail, said government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux. “It’s an encouraging sign considering what happened in the last weeks or months, but we obviously remain very prudent,” said Griveaux on Wednesday. “We will take the time to examine the draft deal in detail and there will be an agreement when heads of states and governments have had the possibility to go through the draft text in detail,” he added, reporting Macron’s comments to cabinet. (REUTERS)

Draft deal ‘encouraging’ but France still cautious

AFPWASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump is reported to be preparing a reshuffle at the White House -- fuelled by fallings out between his wife and senior staff -- after a week of angry brooding over midterm elections that weakened his grip on Congress.

The start to the second half of Trump’s first term is enveloped in gloom as the president surveys the damage from the midterms, tension with some of America’s closest allies, and now turmoil inside the administration.

The biggest name on the chopping block, according to multiple US media reports, is chief of staff John Kelly.

A retired Marine Corps general, he has often been nicknamed “the adult in the room” during Trump’s drama-prone administration, even if critics say he has done little to temper the president’s

most damaging outbursts.Now Kelly’s days are

numbered, according to the unconfirmed but mounting leaks to US media.

His position, tenuous for months, has been undermined further by First Lady Melania Trump’s anger that Kelly refused to promote some of her aides, US media reports say.

Nick Ayers, a 36-year-old chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence and renowned political consultant, is reportedly high on Trump’s list as a replacement.

Another expected reshuffle casualty is Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, a Kelly ally who oversees the politically sensitive task of carrying out Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Among her critics has been National Security Adviser John Bolton, who last month was widely re-ported to have had a shout-ing match with Kelly right outside the Oval Office over Nielsen’s performance.

Trump expected to reshuffle staff in White House turmoil

Trump should have shown ‘decency’ on Paris attacks anniversary: France

REUTERSPARIS

US President Donald Trump, who attacked his French counterpart in a series of tweets on Tuesday, should have shown “common decency” instead since the country was mourning the anniversary of deadly attacks in Paris, a French government spokesman said.

In five posts sent on the same day France marked the anniversary of the 2015 attacks that killed 130 people, Trump blasted the key US ally over its near defeat to Germany in two world wars, its wine industry

and President Emmanuel Macron’s approval ratings.

When asked on Wednesday about the US leader’s Twitter posts, French government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux was critical.

“Yesterday was November 13, we were marking the murder of 130 of our people,” Griveaux said. “So I’ll reply in English: ‘common decency’ would have been appropriate.”

Trump posted the tweets after returning to Washington from a weekend in Paris to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One where strained relations between the American president and European allies were on full display.

On Tuesday, he rejected Macron’s warnings against the threat of nationalism, made during an emotional ceremony.

On the Paris attack anniversary, Trump on Twitter blasted the key US ally over its near defeat to Germany in two world wars, its wine industry and President Emmanuel Macron’s approval ratings

‘Whitaker’s appointment as acting AG is legal’

AFPWASHINGTON

THE US Justice Department insisted on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general was legal, despite Whitaker not having been confirmed by the Senate.

Faced with questions from constitutional scholars and a court challenge by the state of Maryland, the department issued a 20-page opinion which argued that conflicting laws gave the president room to appoint an unconfirmed official to the top Justice position.

They also argued that previous presidents made similar interim appointments of cabinet-level officials who had not gone through the Senate

confirmation process.“Mr Whitaker’s

designation is no more constitutionally problematic than countless similar presidential orders dating back over 200 years,” said the opinion by the department’s Office of Legal Counsel.

“Although an attorney general is a principal officer requiring Senate confirmation, someone who temporarily performs his duties is not,” it said.

Trump named Whitaker to the job on November 7 after firing attorney general Jeff Sessions after 18 months of acrimony related to the ongoing Russia collusion investigation that threatens Trump.

Whitaker had been Ses-sions’ chief of staff and liai-son to Trump for just over one year.

Stanley the giraffe, other exotic animals survive Malibu wildfireMALIBU: Stanley the giraffe and about 140 other creatures were safe after their small California exotic animal park was largely destroyed by the fierce wildfire that swept through the mountains above Malibu, the park’s owners said.

Stanley, who became a cause celebre on social media, rode out the firestorm at the Malibu Wine Safari along with other large, exotic animals because the risk of moving them was too great, Dakota Semler told Reuters in an interview this week.

“The worst rumours out there are that we completely neglected our animals, which isn’t true. We’ve been here with them the whole time,” said Semler, whose family owns the park.

“It’s dangerous to transport an 18 foot giraffe in a 12 foot trailer. Most exotics are very hard to transport. You risk shock and injury,” Semler said.

Stanley’s fate became the subject of a social media outcry after a photo of the giraffe appeared online, seemingly showing him abandoned at the property. (REUTERS)

‘Stanley’ the giraffe at the Malibu Wine Safari in Malibu, California, on Tuesday. (REUTERS)

Italy’s Interior Minister and deputy PM Matteo Salvini (centre) wel-comes a group of 51 migrants from Niger, entitled to international protection, upon their arrival at the Mario De Bernardi military airport in Pratica di Mare, south of Rome, on Wednesday. (AFP)

Europe / Americas 11Thursday, November 15, 2015

Qatar Central Bank Governor hands over the awards to the winning SMEs


QNB, the largest financial in-stitution in the Middle East and Africa, has received the “Best Foreign Exchange Pro-vider in Qatar” award by the Global Finance Magazine.

The annual award, con-sidered one of the most pres-tigious in the banking and fi-nance world, recognises best foreign exchange providers in 104 countries around the world.

It encourages innovation and technological advance-ment in the banking sector and aims to boost banks’ role

in foreign exchange risk man-agement.

The ranking was also based on input from re-nowned industry analysts, corporate executives and technology experts.

QNB’s repeated winning of this award is a firm ac-knowledgement of the bank leadership’s focus on devel-

oping innovative banking so-lutions.

Global Finance, a maga-zine specialised in global finance and economics, con-ducts comprehensive surveys and research studies on the growth, innovation, and prof-itability of financial institu-tions around the world and announces the best banks in each categories.

QNB group’s presence, through its subsidiaries and associate companies, now ex-tends to more than 31 coun-tries across three continents providing a comprehensive range of advanced products and services.

QNB declared ‘best foreign exchange provider in Qatar’

QAMCO shares subscribed over 2.5 timesTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

THE initial public offering (IPO) of Qatar Aluminium Manufacturing Company (QMACO) shares were sub-scribed over 2.5 times as Qatar Petroleum (QP) has announced the closure of the IPO.

The IPO which began on October 30 and ended on November 12 offered a total of 273.425 million ordinary shares, representing 49 percent of the issued share capital of QAMCO, QP said in a statement on Wednes-day.

Minister of State for En-ergy Affairs and President and CEO QP HE Saad Sher-ida al Kaabi, said: “This IPO

followed the directive of the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani to cre-ate a strong investment climate and encourage a

long-term savings culture for Qatari citizens. The suc-cessful subscription of the IPO reflects the strength of Qatar’s economy and the confidence in the country’s economic policies pursued under the Qatar National Vision 2030, which support the development of Qatar stock market.”

The IPO was over-subscribed 2.5 times the amount of shares offered to individual investors. Allocation of shares is ex-pected to be finalised and announced on Sunday, and any refunds to shareholders will be made on the same date. Individual applicants will be advised of their sub-scriptions via SMS, the QP statement said.

Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO QP HE Saad Sherida al Kaabi


CITING Ukraine’s 4 percent economic growth and the ease of doing business there, its Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Devel-opment and Trade Stepan Kubiv has urged Qatari busi-nessmen to invest in his coun-try.

Qatar is one of Ukraine’s significant partners in the Arab world, he said in a meet-ing with Qatar Chamber (QC) officials in Doha on Wednes-day.

QC board members Mo-hammed al Obaidli and Adel al Mannai, Director-General Saleh Hamad al Sharqi, rep-resentatives of Qatari and Ukrainian companies, and Ukraine’s ambassador to Qa-tar attended the meeting be-sides the delegates accompa-nying the deputy PM.

Kubiv said his country achieved positive economic reforms and had moved from “stable” to “positive” status in Moody’s rating.

The Ukrainian economy recorded a 4 percent growth during the current year, he said, adding that it had

achieved great development in ease of doing business, accord-ing to global rankings.

Kubiv affirmed that the visits by the leaderships of the two countries had laid strong foundations to build coop-eration and contributed to the increase in trade volume. The visits also paved the way for increased cooperation be-tween the private sectors of the two sides.

During these visits, Kubiv said, Qatar and Ukraine had signed many MoUs and agree-ments that contributed to im-proving the bilateral relations.

The deputy prime minis-

ter said Ukraine has created a conducive investment climate for public-private partner-ships. Ukrainian laws are for local and foreign investors equally, he pointed out, af-firming that his country has a promising vision that aims to attract foreign investments.

He invited Qatari busi-nessmen to invest in his coun-try in energy, agriculture, in-frastructure and SMEs.

Ukrainian companies are prepared be part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup projects in Qatar, he said, noting that it has great experience in this field.

Addressing the delegation, Qatar Chamber’s First Vice Chairman Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Towar al Kuwari said Qatar and Ukraine enjoy strong bilateral ties in all eco-nomic and trade areas.

“They [Qatar and Ukraine] established their diplomatic ties 25 years ago. Last year, the trade volume reached $70 mil-lion,” he noted.

Towar said Ukraine’s Pres-ident Petro Poroshenko made a successful visit to Qatar in March 2018, which had con-tributed to boosting bilateral relations.

Invest in Ukraine, Dy PMurges Qatari businessmen

Qatar Chamber First Vice Chairman Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Towar al Kuwari hands over a memento to Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiv, in presence of some Ukrainian delegates and Qatar Chamber officials, in Doha on Wednesday.

Ukraine’s draw Ukrainian economy

recorded a 4 percent growth during the current year and achieved great development in ease of doing business, according to global rankings

Ukraine has created an investment climate that is conducive for public-private partnerships

The annual award, consid-ered one of the most pres-tigious in the banking and finance world, recognises best foreign exchange pro-viders in 104 countries

Al Bidda Switchgear tops 50 best Qatari SMEs list

SATYENDRA PATHAK DOHA

AL Bidda Switchgear, estab-lished in 2013, hogged the limelight at the second edition of the SME Excellence Awards ceremony on Wednesday as it topped the list of 50 best small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) prepared by Qatar De-velopment Bank (QDB) in col-laboration with Qatar Chamber and Qatar Exchange.

A local company, Al Bidda Switchgear is a manufacturing facility for production of LV and MV switchgears in Qatar.

The company’s achieve-ments in successfully supply-ing Qatar Rail with the required switchgear materials and cater-ing to the general need for qual-ity electrical distribution in Qa-tar and the Middle East earned it the first position at the func-tion organised to honour top 50 SMEs in the country.

Held under the patronage of Prime Minister and Minis-ter of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani, the second edition of the SME Excellence 2018 awards saw companies like Rise Enterprise, Computer Station, Nationals Paints Factory and the Creative Union finding place in the top five SMEs this year.

Qatar Central Bank Gover-nor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al Thani handed over the awards

to representatives of all the top 50 SMEs selected this year.

“In addition to serving as a role model for other aspiring businessmen and companies in Qatar, the success of SMEs in-stills a spirit of healthy compe-tition in the private sector that compels every market player to remain vigilant and persevere towards achieving excellence in their respective trades,” the QCB governor said in a state-ment.

“With this SME Excel-lence list, we honour the suc-cess of notable companies, that have distinguished themselves

through endless commitment to their business enterprises. Acknowledgement of their hard work will help them gain cred-ibility in the business commu-nity and help them secure mu-tually advantageous business opportunities with both the private sector and government bodies in Qatar,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, QDB CEO Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Khalifa said, “With the ‘SME Excellence List’, we aim to em-power the SMEs of Qatar and offer them a much wider plat-form to showcase their poten-tial to the industry at large.”

“The success of the maiden event, which was held in the year 2016, enhanced our con-fidence to deliver yet another impactful event this year which is bigger and better with a large number of SMEs coming for-ward and participating in the event,” he said.

Qatar Stock Exchange CEO Rashid Ali al Mansoori said the exchange would provide sup-port to the companies that are selected in this edition of SME Excellence List to be listed on the Qatar Exchange.

Qatar Chamber Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed al Thani hailed the support extended by the government to the private sec-tor in general and the SMEs in particular.

The Qatari government has developed a series of initiatives to support the private sector in its goal to achieve the 2030 Qatar National Vision that en-visions SMEs as a core compo-nent of economic diversification and global competitiveness.

“It is in the country’s inter-est to support the development of local SMEs by empowering them to achieve parity on social and economic levels with their counterparts across the world. Today we are firmly convinced that SMEs in Qatar are a key ingredient to fuelling the coun-try’s economic growth,” Sheikh Khalifa said.

Qatar Central Bank Governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al Thani with other dignitaries at the SME Excellence 2018 awards ceremony in Doha on Wednesday. (JALAL PATHIYOOR)

QDB CEO Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Khalifa

SME success in Qatar sign of

strong support system: QDB

QNADOHA

THE success of a large num-ber of small and medium-sized e n t e r p r i s e s (SMEs) nurtured by the Qatar De-velopment Bank (QDB) reflects the support sys-tems available for them to grow in Qatar, a senior QDB official has said.

In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), QDB Executive Director of Advisory Services and Incubation Ibra-him Al Mannai said Qatar has

adopted wise policies to en-courage entrepreneurship and support SMEs.

According to data released by QDB, the bank granted 417 ser-vices to Qatari e n t r e p r e n e u r s and SMEs last year. The QDB qualified more than 1,000 entre-

preneurs and launched more than 500 local companies into global international markets. The value of the approved guarantees through its Al Dha-meen programme amounted to QR303m in 2017, an in-crease of 17.4 percent.

QDB, the bank grant-ed 417 services to Qatari entrepreneurs and SMEs last year

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018

Oil rebounds as world markets fall for 5th day PAGE 14

QFBA completes ‘Coffee with CEOs’ series PAGE 14

DOW QE GOLD

SILVERWTIBRENT

25,049.99-236.50 PTS

1,212.10+0.89%

14.09+0.81%

10,199.08 -115.54 PTS

35,141.99-2.50 PTSSENSEX

PRICE PERCENTAGE66.11 +0.98%

PRICE PERCENTAGE56.27 +1.04%

QNADOHA

QATAR’S industrial produc-tion index (IPI) declined 2.6 percent year-on-year to 108.8 points in September, the Plan-ning and Statistics Author-ity (PSA) said in a report on Wednesday. On a month-on-month basis, the index fell 1.4 percent, it shows.

The index measures the changes in the volume of pro-duction of a select basket of in-dustrial products over a given period against a chosen period called the base period.

PSA attributed the Sep-

tember decline to decrease in the production volumes those in the mining basket, the group that accounts for 83.6 of the index. The IPI consists of two other main components — manufacturing (15.2 percent) and electricity and water (0.7 percent and 0.5 percent re-spectively).

The mining index showed an annual negative change of 1.2 percent when compared with that of August 2018. It was manly driven down by cuts in the production volumes of crude oil and natural gas by 1.2 percent and other mining and quarrying products by 0.7

percent. When compared that of September 2017, the mining index showed a decline of 3.6 percent.

The index for the manu-facturing sector decreased 3.2 percent in September 2018 when compared with that of the previous month. It was mainly attributed to decrease in production of four groups —chemicals and chemical products by 5.2 percent, ce-ment and other non-metallic mineral products by 3.4 per-cent, printing and reproduc-tion of recorded media by 1.6 percent and basic metals by 1.1 percent. However, an increase

in production was recorded in other four groups — refined petroleum products by 2.9 percent, food products by 2.6 percent, beverages and rubber and plastics products by 1.6 percent each.

On a year-on-year ba-sis, the manufacturing index climbed 2.9 percent, mostly due increase in the production volumes of beverages by 16.2 percent, basic metals by 13.8 percent, printing and repro-duction of recorded media and rubber and plastics products by 6.5 percent each, chemicals and chemical products by 2.9 percent and cement and other

non-metallic mineral products by 0.4 percent.

However the production volumes of refined petroleum products and food products fell by 2.6 percent and 2.1 per-cent respectively during the period.

The index for electricity showed an increase of 4.8 per-cent between September 2018 and August2018, but showed a decline for 2.4 percent when compared against that of Sep-tember 2017.

The index for water showed a month-on-month increase of 4.8 percent and a year-on-year decrease of 9 percent.

Decline driven by miningPSA attributed the September decline to decrease in the production volumes those in the mining basket, the group that accounts for 83.6 of the index

The mining index showed an annual negative change of 1.2 percent when compared with that of August 2018

It was manly driven down by cuts in the production volumes of crude oil and natural gas by 1.2 percent. and other mining and quarrying products by 0.7 percent


CASE studies on recent Qa-tar interiors projects and in-depth property market analy-sis were some of the highlights of the Day 2 of the Index Qatar 2018 exhibition being held in Doha.

The Design Talks, a key component of the exhibition for interior design and fit-out

industry, featured leading in-terior and architectural spe-cialists from around the world as keynote speakers.

Jon Sealy, Head of Inte-rior Design at the Arab En-gineering Bureau presented case studies on recent Qatar interiors projects, while Adri-an Camps, Country Director at Colliers International, gave an in-depth property market analysis and forecast.

The conference’s panel discussion featured Dr Esam Elsarrag, CEO and Founder of UK-based beGREEN Glob-al; Hani Hawamdeh, Chief Technical Officer at the Arab Engineering Bureau, and Dr Alex Amato, Head of Sustain-ability, Qatar Green Building Council.

Discussions touched on promoting sustainability with a focus on innovation, regu-lation, challenges and oppor-tunities in the sustainable design and construction of major projects.

Fatima Fawzy, Design Manager at Msheireb Prop-erties, delivered a keynote on city regeneration using Msheireb Downtown Doha as a case study. She discussed the challenges Msheireb Prop-erties faced in understanding the essence of the old city: of delivering sensitive renewal across the site rather than driving sweeping revolution. She went on to explain that this was achieved through four major delivery pillars — urban planning, sustainability and

maintaining tradition, build-ing design considerations and understanding social require-ments.

Wednesday’s Design Talks were closed by Donald Slade, Operations Director at consulting engineering firm Cundall, who engaged the audience with a talk on well-ness and productivity through design.

Supported by the National Tourism Council (formerly the Qatar Tourism Author-ity), and against a backdrop of sustained growth for the fit-out market across the country, Index Qatar is gathering hun-dreds of international product manufacturers, interior de-sign firms and other visitors at the Doha Exhibition and

Convention Centre.“It is a great pleasure to

welcome so many internation-al companies, speakers, and visitors to Qatar for the sec-ond Index event,” said Event Director Jaafar Shubber.

“We are proud to have organized a dynamic event which directly contributes to the growth of the interiors and fit-out market in Qatar, and we look forward to welcoming the INDEX exhibitor and visi-tor community back to Doha in the near future.”

The show continues until Thursday 15. The registration is free and the exhibition is open to all. Online registra-tion is now closed but you can register on-site at Hall 5 of DECC.

Day 2 of Index Qatar highlights recent Qatari interior projects

Index Qatar is gathering hundreds of international product manufacturers, interior design firms and other visitors at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Demonstrators attend a protest against the budget bill

REUTERSLONDON

THE euro struggled below $1.13 on Wednesday as Italy stuck to its deficit tar-get in a re-submitted draft budget and after confir-mation that the euro zone economy grew at its slow-est pace in four years in the third quarter.

Major currencies trad-ed in tight ranges in Lon-don trading hours, with the dollar below a 16-month high hit this week as inves-tors took profits.

Sterling slipped as in-vestors prepared for Prime Minister Theresa May’s showdown with her cabinet colleagues when she will try to sell her Brexit agree-ment.

Italy re-submitted its draft budget for next year to the European Commis-sion with the same growth and deficit assumptions as a draft rejected last month for breaking European Un-ion rules, but with falling debt, the new draft showed.

That rattled investors in volatile Italian government debt markets and pres-sured the euro.

The single currency fell to $1.1265, down 0.2 per-cent, after trading above $1.13 late Tuesday. The euro hit a 16-month low of $1.1216 earlier this week.

Thu Lan Nguyen, a strategist at Commerz-bank, said she “did not an-ticipate an escalation in the crisis in Italy”, but “much

will depend on how the Eu-ropeans react. We are in a wait and see game.”

Concerns that the row, along with slowing eco-nomic growth, would force the European Central Bank to postpone monetary tightening next year might also hurt the euro, she add-ed.

Euro zone gross do-mestic product rose by 0.2 percent in the July-Sep-tember period, official data showed, confirming its ear-lier preliminary flash esti-mate from Oct. 30.

The numbers were in line with expectations. In-dustrial production in Sep-tember declined 0.3 per-cent month-on-month.

The dollar index ticked 0.1 percent up to 97.383. The index hit a 16-month high of 97.693 on Monday.

Traders are now pre-paring for U.S. inflation data, due at 1330 GMT. Economists polled by Reu-ters forecast consumer price inflation of 0.3 per-cent in October, up from 0.1 percent in September. Any strong reading could fire up dollar bulls expect-ing more Federal Reserve interest rate rises.

“With the outlook for core prices skewed to the upside as wages are set to rise, today’s number will reinforce the Fed’s ap-proach towards gradual and ongoing tightening, keeping USD supported,” ING analysts said in a note to clients.

Red flags over Italy’s refusal to

budge on Budget

Qatar’s industrial production index declines 2.6% year-on-year

Msheireb Downtown Doha’s scale model impresses visitors at Spanish expoTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

HUNDREDS of visitors at-tending the ongoing Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona got to see a scale model of the Msheireb Down-town Doha (MDD), thanks to the Msheireb Properties’ dedi-cated pavilion at the expo.

Besides the model, the pa-vilion also featured three in-teractive areas that illustrated the factors that make MDD a smart city, including its smart home applications, smart city portal and the command and control centre that oversees the entire district.

Msheireb Properties, a leading sustainable property development company and a subsidiary of Qatar Founda-tion for Education, Sciences and Society Development, is the global sponsor of the three-day expo that began Tuesday.

“Since the opening of the

expo, we have received tre-mendous interest from people who are keen to know more about our city district and how we have made a smart city livable,” said Acting CEO of Msheireb Properties Ali al

Kuwari“We are extremely proud

to reflect the image of Qatar as a nation adopting smart city concepts and building them into an interconnected and integrated urban environ-

ment on a world-class scale,” he added.

“The visitors to our pavil-ion, who represent different sectors of businesses and gov-ernments, were overwhelmed by the facilities we presented.

We are looking to turn this at-tention into real interest on the ground.”

Within Msheireb Proper-ties’ booth, visitors can ex-plore the smart home systems and the lifestyle and commu-

nity portal, allowing users to monitor all the smart systems that are integrated in their residences, retail businesses, or corporate offices.

The booth also includes a replica of MDD’s facility

management and operations command and control centre, which shows real-time sur-veillance of the downtown.

Msheireb Downtown Doha is the first downtown regeneration project embed-ding smart city technology and connectivity. From design and planning, to the delivery of infrastructure and trans-portation, the city is smart to its core.

MDD offers residents and companies several impressive benefits, including a conveni-ent transportation system fea-turing Doha’s largest metro station, as well as more than 10,000 underground car parks with a smart system for easy access and navigation.

Barcelona’s Smart City Expo World Congress is an in-ternational platform for com-panies and entities related to smart-city projects and devel-opment to display their lat-est projects, capabilities and technology solutions.

City regeneration using Msheireb Downtown Doha as a case study also remained a highlight

Economy & Business 13Thursday, November 15, 2018


MEEZA, an end-to-end man-aged IT services & solutions provider, will be one of the sponsors for Qatar Central Bank’s (QCB) fifth conference on information security in the financial sector.

The event will be held on November 18-19 at the Shera-ton Grand Doha Resort & Con-vention Hotel, under the pa-tronage of Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani.

MEEZA CEO, Eng Ahmad Mohamed al Kuwari, will be delivering a key presentation on

cyber security threats to indus-try stakeholders.

The conference will throw light on information security, the challenges and infrastruc-ture improvements. The sta-bility of financial system is the fundamental pillar that Qatar Central Bank and other regula-tory bodies seek to achieve.

Speaking about the event, Kuwari said, “We are delighted to be part of the 5th edition of the conference where we will

showcase our latest technology offerings for the companies in-volved in the security domain. Like every year, we have joined hands with Qatar Central Bank (QCB), which has been doing a remarkable work in hosting such conferences for companies to get the updates on the lat-est in the field. We are living in highly challenging times where any security lapse can pose a great threat to the organisation and the industry as a whole.

“I am sure that such plat-forms would prove beneficial for companies and help them to brace for the tough times ahead and be in tune with the latest security solutions to re-main resilient.”

MEEZA joins QCB to host 5th information security conference

REUTERSNEW YORK

OIL prices rebounded on Wednesday on hopes for out-put cuts after a steep drop a day earlier, while a gauge of global stock markets fell for a fifth straight session as de-clines in tech and financial shares pressured Wall Street.

Oil recouped some of the previous session’s heavy sell-off, on the growing prospect of OPEC and allied produc-ers cutting output at a meet-ing next month to prop up the market.

US crude rose 1.53 percent to $56.54 per barrel and Brent was last at $66.56, up 1.66 per-cent on the day. Benchmark Brent has fallen more than 20

percent since early October on concerns about excess supply and slowing demand.

“Maybe some of the fears of extra supplies and reduced demand have finally been priced into the market, but I wouldn’t say that a bottom has set in yet,” said Gene McGil-lian, vice president of market research for Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.

Opening gains for the ma-jor US stock indexes had dis-appeared by the afternoon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 193.61 points, or 0.77 percent, to 25,092.88, the S&P 500 lost 21.91 points, or 0.80 percent, to 2,700.27 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 60.61 points, or 0.84 percent, to 7,140.27.

Financial shares dropped 1.8 percent, while the tech-

nology sector fell 1.0 percent, continuing its decline since October, as Apple shares dropped for a fifth straight session.

US stocks initially got a boost from data showing US consumer prices increasing in line with expectations.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.60 percent.

European shares hit their lowest in two weeks in a broad-based sell-off across oil, mining, technology and banking stocks amid renewed worries about a global eco-nomic slowdown and Italy’s budget crisis.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.10 per-cent, set for its fifth straight daily decline.

In currency trading, the euro rose as traders moni-tored the latest developments between the European Union and Britain on the latter’s de-parture from the economic bloc and Italy’s resubmission of its 2019 budget.

The dollar index fell 0.06 percent, with the euro down 0.03 percent to $1.1286.

US Treasury yields re-versed course and fell as in-vestors fretted that renewed weakness on Wall Street could be signaling much deeper problems in the world’s larg-est economy.

Benchmark 10-year Treas-ury notes last rose 10/32 in price to yield 3.1104 percent, from 3.145 percent late on Tuesday.

Oil rebounds as world markets fall for 5th day

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (AFP)

Oil up on prospect of output cut by OPEC US crude climbs 1.53% as Brent goes up 1.66%

Stock indexes The Dow Jones Industrial

Average fell 193.61 points, or 0.77 percent, to 25,092.88, the S&P 500 lost 21.91 points, or 0.80 percent, to 2,700.27 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 60.61 points, or 0.84 percent, to 7,140.27

Financial shares dropped 1.8 percent, while the tech sector fell 1.0 percent as Apple shares dropped for a fifth straight session.

US consumer inflation rises but oil prices may slow momentum

REUTERSWASHINGTON

US consumer prices in-creased by the most in nine months in October amid gains in the cost of gasoline and rents, pointing to stead-ily rising inflation that likely will keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates again next month.

Though overall infla-tion could slow in the months ahead following a recent slump in oil prices, economists said Fed offi-cials were likely to regard any retreat as temporary and focus on underlying price pressures.

The US central bank, which has a 2 percent infla-tion target, left interest rates unchanged last Thursday af-ter a two-day policy meeting. In its policy statement, the Fed noted that annual infla-tion measures “remain near 2 percent.”

“Fed officials are likely to look past the swings in en-ergy prices that could slow the overall CPI in coming months to see further up-ward pressure on underly-ing prices,” said Ben Ayers, senior economist at Nation-wide in Columbus, Ohio. “As such, we still expect the Fed to raise interest rates in De-cember.”

The Labour Department said on Wednesday its Con-sumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent last month, the big-gest gain since January, af-ter edging up 0.1 percent in September. In the 12 months through October, the CPI in-creased 2.5 percent, picking up from September’s 2.3 per-cent rise.

Excluding the volatile food and energy compo-nents, the CPI climbed 0.2 percent. The so-called core CPI had gained 0.1 percent for two straight months. In the 12 months through Oc-tober, the core CPI increased 2.1 percent after advancing 2.2 percent in September.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI climbing 0.3 percent and the core CPI gaining 0.2 percent in October.

The dollarwas weaker against a basket of currencies after touching a 16-month high earlier this week while

US Treasury yields fell. Stocks on Wall Street initially rose on the inflation data and a rebound in oil prices, which tumbled more than 7 percent on Tuesday, before moving lower.

Oil prices have lost more than a quarter of their value since early October amid a surge in supply and increas-ing concerns about an eco-nomic slowdown. The drag on inflation from oil prices is likely to be offset by a tight-ening labor market, which is spurring faster wage growth.

The unemployment rate is at nearly a 49-year low of 3.7 percent and annual wage growth recorded its largest increase in 9-1/2 years in Oc-tober.

“In the medium- to longer-run we believe this increase in wage growth will both push up business costs as well as support demand, leading to firming price infla-tion,” said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

“In the shorter-run, how-ever, the consumer price outlook will be challenged by the stronger dollar and weaker energy prices.”

The Fed’s preferred in-flation measure, the per-sonal consumption expen-ditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy, increased 2.0 percent for five straight months. Econo-mists believe the core PCE price index slipped just be-low 2.0 percent in October. The government will publish the PCE price index data at the end of the month.

Price index The Labour Department said on Wednesday its Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent last month, the biggest gain since January, after edging up 0.1 percent in September. In the 12 months through October, the CPI increased 2.5 percent, picking up from September’s 2.3 percent rise


QATAR Finance and Business Academy (QFBA) has suc-cessfully completed ‘Coffee with CEOs’ series for the 2018 cohort its Qatarization pro-gramme Kawader.

The event was intended to engage leaders in the finan-cial services sector in Qatar with young motivated Qataris who are working in the finan-cial sector or aim to do so in a casual setting where the CEOs share professional insights and industry wisdom. The Kawad-er programme was kicked off on September 2 and will con-tinue till November- end.

Through this series, the efforts of QFBA paid off well towards shaping the future of new age finance professionals and offered them a way ahead

to achieve success in their fu-ture endeavors.

The CEOs who engaged with young Qataris included Minister of Economy and Trade HE Ali Ahmed al Kuwari & Group CEO Qatar National Bank (QNB); Yousuf al Jaida, CEO and board member, Qa-tar Financial Centre; Khalid al Subeai, Group CEO of Barwa Bank and Fahad Abdullah al Khalifa, GCEO of al Khaliji Bank.

These leaders are inspira-tional figures who have been transforming the Qatari finan-

cial landscape over the years. These powerful personali-

ties shared their invaluable life and career lessons, providing the Kawader participants with unparalleled inspiration and guidance on their ambitious path.

QFBA CEO Dr Khalid al Horr said, “The intent of launching ‘Coffee with CEO” series has been to empower the future generations and imbibe into them best practices early in their professional careers. As you are aware that Kawader has always taken an innova-tive route to enhance students’ out-of-the-box thinking and prepare them towards taking the best decision in challeng-ing times.

“We are grateful that these exemplary leaders have taken time out of their busy sched-ules and offered insightful

strategies to carry forward the growth bandwagon. Our participants have gained im-mensely from these best prac-tices. These will tremendously help them gain global expo-sure.”

Yousuf al Jaida, Chief Executive Officer and board member, Qatar Financial Cen-tre, said, “We are at the centre of financial influx in Qatar. We need bright minds to car-ry ahead our rich legacy and catapult the dynamics. It has been a nice experience for me to come face-to-face with these upcoming finance profession-als. QFBA has contributed in making finance students’ fu-ture bright and towards Qatar National Vision 2030. Qatar Financial Centre will be at the forefront to support any such endeavour of QFBA and lead the young battalion.”

QFBA successfully completes ‘Coffee with CEOs’ series

REUTERSBERLIN

GERMANY’S economy con-tracted for the first time since 2015 in the third quarter as global trade disputes and prob-lems in the auto industry put the traditional growth engine of exports into reverse, raising concerns that a long expansion is faltering.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in Europe’s biggest econ-omy fell 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter, the Federal Statis-tics Office said on Wednesday. That compared with a Reuters forecast of a 0.1 percent drop.

But the Economy Ministry said the upswing would resume in the fourth quarter, adding that the slowdown between July and September had been

a temporary phenomenon as car companies struggled to ad-just to new pollution standards known as WLTP.

“A 0.2 percent contraction isn’t a catastrophe,” Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said in Berlin.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the economy grew 1.1 percent in the third quarter, calendar-

adjusted data showed. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected 1.3 percent.

“The slight decline in GDP compared to the previous quar-ter was mainly due to foreign trade developments: provision-al calculations show there were fewer exports but more imports in the third quarter than in the second,” the Office said. Sepa-rately, Germany’s BDI industry association cut its 2018 export growth forecast to 3 percent from 3.5 percent on Wednes-day, the second cut in as many months.

The third-quarter dip in GDP was the first time the economy has contracted since the first quarter of 2015.

The government had flagged a weaker third quarter last month, citing bottlenecks

in the car sector stemming from the introduction of WLTP as a factor.

“Germany doesn’t have an economic problem but rather an auto sector problem. Due to the sluggish certification of cars, car production had to be noticeably reduced, with col-lateral damage for other sectors too,” said Andreas Scheuerle at DekaBank.

The Economy Ministry said problems adapting to the WLTP had probably shaved up to 0.4 percentage points off third quarter GDP.

“The upturn was merely disrupted during the third quarter,” the ministry said in its monthly report, adding: “Once these special effects have dissi-pated, the German economy’s upturn will continue.”

German economy contracts on weak trade, auto bottleneck

The CEOs who engaged with young Qataris included Minister of Economy and Trade HE Ali Ahmed al Kuwari & Group CEO Qatar National Bank; Yousuf al Jaida, CEO and board member, Qatar Financial Centre; Khalid al Subeai, Group CEO of Barwa Bank and Fahad Abdullah al Khalifa, GCEO of al Khaliji Bank.

The event was intended to engage leaders in the finan-cial services sector in Qatar with young motivated Qataris who are working in the financial sector

Gross domestic product in Europe’s biggest economy fell 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter, the Federal Statistics Office said on Wednesday. That compared with a Reuters forecast of a 0.1 percent drop

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for Mohammed al Meer and Rashed al Mohannadi.

Abdullah al Rawahi heads a six-car entry from the Sultanate of Oman that also includes entries for Zakaria al Shanfari, Saif Abdul-lah al Harthy, Oman-based Shaun McGonigal, Jarah al Tauqi and Hu-maid al Waili.

Saleh bin Eidan returns to the championship and boosts the en-try from Kuwait in a car that was

being refettled against the clock to ensure that it was ready for FIA scrutineering checks.

There is a further entry for Leb-anon’s MERC 3 champion Henry Kahy in a two-wheel drive Skoda Fabia 1.6.

Route changes forced on rally officials by the weather have re-duced the competitive distance from 203.40km to 153.82km, but the event still remains within the 75% re-

quired by the FIA to make it eligible for full championship points.

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TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORKLOSAIL

THE 2018 Manateq International Rally of Qatar gets underway with a brand new ceremonial start against the backdrop of the hustle and bustle of Souq Waqif in downtown Doha on Thursday evening.

All three regional rally titles were decided in Kuwait two weeks ago and that means that individual pride and outright wins are at stake on this weekend’s revised final round in the northern Qatar deserts.

The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) has attracted 15 potential teams on the FIA start-ing list, plus National Rally entrants, and competitors from eight nations to the final round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC). This is despite the conclusion of the respective category battles.

Local hero Nasser Saleh al At-tiyah is still celebrating his record-breaking 14th regional title and the Qatari will also be bidding to break his own record of 13 wins in the Qa-tar round of the regional series.

Mechanical issues cost him and French navigator Matthieu Baumel the chance to shine in 2017 and

opened the door for Rashed al Nu-ami to take his solitary MERC win.

Resistance in the R5 category comes from Czech rival Vojtech Stajf in a Skoda Fabia and fellow Qatari Adel Abdulla, who makes his debut in a Ford Fiesta R5 run by Motortune.

The MERC 2 or Group N cate-gory will see the closest competition with eight Mitsubishi Lancers and three Subaru Imprezas set for battle through Qatar’s northern deserts.

Kuwait’s Meshari al Thefiri has

already clinched the title, but Jor-dan’s Khaled Juma is heading for the runners-up spot in the absence of both he and rival Ihab al Shorafa.

Abdullah al Kuwari returns to the hot seat in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.

The Qatari’s standout perfor-mance so far in the regional rally series was first in Group N and third overall in Jordan in 2016.

Khaled al Suwaidi is a non-start-er but there are further local entries

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Come meet the champions during the ceremonial start of Manateq - Qatar International Rally, the final round of the Middle East championship

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Ceremonial startThursday, 15 November 2018

at 07:05 PM

Prize giving Saturday 17 November 2018

at 05:35 PM

Mechanics work to prepare Saleh Bin Eidan’s Mitsubishi for Rally of Qatar action.

Manateq International Rally of Qatar all set for flag-off from Souq Waqif

Record-breaking Attiyah heads

regional field into season finale

Hamilton cool on F1 expansion to new countriesAFP

LONDON

WORLD champion Lewis Hamilton has questioned Formula One’s poli-cy of organising races in new coun-tries after this month’s announce-ment of the Vietnam Grand Prix.

Hamilton told the BBC that he would prefer to see more stops in countries with a genuine racing tradition, rather than expanding to new markets.

“On the racing side, I don’t know how important it is to go to new countries as such,” said Ham-ilton who sealed his fifth world title last month.

“If you had the Silverstone Grand Prix and a London Grand Prix, it would be pretty cool.”

The Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, will hold a F1 street race from 2020 after signing a 10-year deal.

Formula One has steadily ex-panded beyond its traditional heart-lands, adding races in China, India, South Korea, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, with mixed results.

At the same time, historic Euro-pean races in England, Germany and Italy have come under threat, while France dropped off the circuit for 10 years before returning this season.

“We’ve got a lot of real racing history in England, Germany, Italy

and now in the States it is starting to grow,” said Hamilton. “But you only have one event per year in those plac-es. If it was my business, I’d be trying to do more events in those countries.

He added: “I’ve been to Vietnam before and it is beautiful. I’ve been to India before to a race which was strange because India was such a poor place yet we had this massive, beauti-ful Grand Prix track made in the mid-dle of nowhere. I felt very conflicted when I went to that Grand Prix.

“We had a Grand Prix in Turkey

and hardly anyone came. Cool track, cool weekend but poor audience.”

Formula One has thrived in Singapore, but it didn’t last long in India and South Korea. Vietnam also has scant racing tradition.

Hamilton said: “If you have the German Grand Prix and you’ve got a Grand Prix in Berlin, I think connecting to cities where a lot of people are is probably a good thing, not necessarily going to countries where they don’t know so much about Formula One.”

Vietnamese models attend an F1 ceremony in Hanoi. Vietnam will be the 22nd country in the world to be hosting a Formula One Grand Prix. The 2020 race in Vietnam will be the third F1 GP to be established in south-east Asia following Malaysia and Singapore. (EPA-EFE)

Omani teams prepare the cars for Manateq International Rally of Qatar.

Qatar’s ace rallyist Nasser Saleh al Attiyah.

LIST OF STARTERS (*UNOFFICIAL)

1. Nasser Saleh al Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Ford Fiesta R52. Meshari al Thefiri (KWT)/Saffah al Thefiri (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X4. Adel Hussein (QAT)/Ziad Chehab (LEB) Ford Fiesta R55. Vojtech Stajf (CZE)/Veronica Havelkova (CZE) Skoda Fabia R57. Saif Abdullah al Harthy (OMN)/Salim al Abri (OMN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X8. Mohammed al Meer (QAT)/Ahmad al Fares (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X9. Abdullah al Kuwari (QAT)/Nasser al Kuwari (QAT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X14. Rashid al Mohannadi (QAT)/Yousef Juma (JOR) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX15. Saleh bin Eidan (KWT)/Alexei Kuzmich (RUS) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX16. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMN)/Ata al Hmoud (JOR) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 17. Humaid al Waili (OMN)/Mohd al Mazruii (OMN) M’subishi Lancer Evo VIII18. Zakariya al Shanfari (OMN)/Saif al Hinai (OMN) Subaru Impreza WRX STi19. Jarah al Tauqi (OMN)/Issa al Wardi (OMN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII20. Shaun McGonigal (OMN)/Nathan Marriott (OMN) Subaru Impreza WRX STi 21. Henry Kahy (LBN)/Musa Djiyerian (JOR) Skoda Fabia 1.6

(*subject to FIA technical scrutineering)

2018 Manateq International Rally of Qatar

1. Nasser al Attiyah (QAT) 146pts2. Vojtech Stajf (CZE) 93pts3. Meshari al Thefiri (KWT) 59pts, 4. Roger Feghali (LBN) 38pts 5. Khaled Juma (JOR) 32pts 6. Christos Demostheous (CYP) 25pts 7. Rodolphe Asmar (LBN) 24pts8. Henry Kahy (LBN) 21pts

9. Eddy Karam (LBN) 19pts9. Alexandros Tsouloftas (CYP) 19pts9. Nasser Khalifa al Attiyah (QAT) 19pts 12. Ihab al Shorafa (JOR) 17pts 13. Ahmed Shaban (JOR) 16pts14. Savvas Savva (CYP) 15pts15. Costas Zenonos (CYP) 12pts16. Rony Kanaan (LBN) 11pts

16. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMN) 11pts, etc

2018 FIA MERC 2

1. Meshari al Thefiri (KWT) 117pts 2. Khaled Juma (JOR) 49pts 3. Savvas Savva (CYP) 37pts4. Ihab al Shorafa (JOR) 33pts 5. Costas Zenonos (CYP) 30pts

6. Ahmed Shaban (JOR) 25pts6. George Englezou (CYP) 25pts8. Nasser al Attiyah (QAT) 24pts 9. Abdullah al Rawahi (OMN) 23pts, etc2018 FIA MERC 3

1. Henry Kahy (LBN) 127pts 2. Rony Kanaan (LBN) 39pts3. Panayiotis Xenophontos (CYP) 37pts

4. Asem Aref (JOR) 30pts4. Matthias Njeim (LBN) 30pts4. Constantinos Televantos (CYP) 30pts7. Zacharias Manoli (CYP) 23pts

2018 FIA MERC Junior

Championship for Drivers

1. Matthias Njeim (LBN) 39pts.

2018 FIA MIDDLE EAST RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP: Positions after Round 4

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018

TENNIS

ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS

Afif scores in Qatar’s win over Switzerlandd in Lugano friendly PAGE 19

Qatar Racing’s Roaring Lion wins ‘Cartier Horse Of The Year’ award PAGE 18

fif scoresQatar’s

in overwitzerlandd Lugano endly

AGE 19

DPALONDON

NOVAK DJOKOVIC moved a step closer to a record-equal-ling sixth ATP Finals crown with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Ger-many’s Alexander Zverev in London on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old Serb is now unbeaten at the top of the Guga Keurten group with a 2-0 record.

Djokovic will advance to his eighth year-end champi-onships semi-final if American John Isner beats Marin Cilic or if Cilic wins in three sets af-ter the evening session.

The world number one broke late in the first set and twice in the second set to com-plete the victory in 76 minutes.

“I don’t think it was breathtaking tennis, but a win is a win,” said Djokovic.

“He wasn’t close to his best in the second set so it looked

a bit easier than expected be-cause he served very well in the first set, but it dropped in the second set and allowed me to step in.”

However, Zverev had the first two break point oppor-tunities at 4-4 after Djokovic double-faulted, but the Wim-bledon and US Open champi-on escaped with a drop shot to remain ahead. And a double-

fault from Zverev in the next game gifted Djokovic the set after 48 minutes.

“Obviously I had chanc-es in the first set,” said the 21-year-old world number five.

“If I break him at 4-All, we’ll see where the match goes. I think the match was much closer than the score says.

“Hopefully I still give my-self the best chance to be in the

semifinals.”Djokovic’s run of 22

matches unbeaten ended at the Paris Masters final with a defeat to Karen Khachanov. Djokovic was struggling with flu symptoms at the time.

The same issue returned in London, where Djokovic often used tissues to wipe his nose between games.

“Somehow I managed to gather the strength when I needed it,” said Djokovic.

“I think also it seemed like Sascha was not feeling really great, definitely not playing well, especially from the back of the court.

He made a lot of errors.”The second set was much

quicker as more unforced errors started to build to a match total of 36 for Zverev, and a long backhand con-ceded the first break for a 3-1 Djokovic lead.

“I just started missing un-necessary balls,” said Zverev.

“Novak, when he’s in the rallies, he’s obviously very hard to beat.

AFPLONDON

ROGER FEDERER has hit back at claims he gets preferential treatment from tennis tourna-ments due to his status as one of the sport’s all-time greats.

Federer was responding to controversial comments from French veteran Julien Benne-teau, who said the 20-Grand Slam champion was able to use his reputation to secure favourable scheduling.

Benneteau offered Feder-er’s matches at the last two Australian Opens as evidence, suggesting the Swiss star was granted his preference to play in the evening session to avoid the blistering Melbourne heat.

“Over the last two Australi-an Opens, he played 14 match-es, because he was champion and finalist. And he played 12 or 13 of them in the night ses-sion,” Benneteau told France’s RMC Sport recently.

“On the same day Federer played Jan-Lennard Struff, Novak Djokovic played Gael Monfils.

“Any tournament director would put Djokovic-Monfils on the night session at 7:30pm, right? But no. They played at 2:30pm, in 104 degrees. And Federer-Struff played at night.

“It’s normal that he gets preferential treatment, with everything he’s done. But, in some tournaments, there are big differences in the condi-tions. He has no idea what that’s like.”

But Federer was supported by world number one Novak Djokovic on Monday, with his rival suggesting the six-time Australian Open winner had actually earned the right to “special treatment” for all the good he has done for the sport.

Australian Open tourna-ment director Craig Tiley also released a statement saying the scheduling of Federer’s

matches for the evening was a response to fan demand to watch a “once-in-a-generation athlete”, rather than any desire to cater to tennis’s biggest star.

Tiley is an investor in the Laver Cup, a Ryder Cup-style annual tournament promoted by Federer and his manage-ment group Team8, but denies a conflict of interest.

Asked about the controver-sy, former world number one Federer said that while he does speak to tournament chiefs about scheduling, he doesn’t believe he gets special favours.

“I get asked ‘would you like to play Monday or Tuesday’ sometimes. Sometimes I get asked, ‘Do you want to play day or night?’ Sometimes they go ask my agent,” Federer told reporters after his win over Dominic Thiem at the ATP Fi-nals on Tuesday.

“Sometimes they ask me, you know, Asia wants you to play at night. Yes, sometimes we have our say. But I asked to play Monday at the US Open and I played Tuesday night.

“It’s all good, you know. I’ve had that problem for 20 years in the good way. Some-times I get help, sometimes I don’t. I think there you have it.

“Yeah, sometimes they come ask, sometimes they don’t. But a lot of the facts are not right, just to be clear there, from what I heard.”

Federer is bidding to win his 100th career singles title at the ATP Finals and he made it clear he wanted to draw a line under the favouritism issue.

“I don’t really in feel the mood during a World Tour Fi-nals to discuss that topic, to be honest,” he said.

“The radio interview that happened over a week ago that surfaces now in French, Ju-lien, who is a nice guy, I know him since the junior times, I think all of this has been to-tally taken out of context.”

Earlier, Federer bounced back from his opening day de-feat with a resounding 6-2, 6-3 win over Thiem.

The victory keeps Feder-er’s hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals alive and keeping his impressive 14-1 record of reaching the final four in 16 appearances in tact.

South African Kevin An-derson tops the group with a 2-0 record after he claimed 11 straight games in a one-sided 6-0, 6-1 victory over Japan’s Kei Nishikori.

Federer’s fate rests on how well he plays against Ander-son in the final round-robin matches on Thursday.

“I could win and still not make it,” said Federer. “(It’s) important for me to play a good last match here, try to beat Kevin. He has been play-ing great. He has had a won-derful season.”

The next meeting between Anderson and Federer will be a chance for the 20-time Grand Slam winner to get revenge.

Anderson conquered Federer in a five-set epic quar-ter-final at Wimbledon before going on to his second Grand Slam final in July.

“He played great against me at Wimbledon,” added Federer.

“My first-round match here wasn’t great, so today was better, and I need to keep that up against Kevin, obviously, if I want to have a chance to stay here in London.”

Thiem needs to see results go his way for any chance of qualification after his second straight loss puts him at the bottom of the Lleyton Hewitt group. “I didn’t feel good out there. I was playing very, very bad,” said Thiem.

“I have to get my tennis back. I really want to play a good match. Doesn’t matter if it’s the last one here or not.”

‘The facts are not right’, says the Swiss

Beats Zverev in straight sets

Federer fumes over scheduling row

Switzerland’s Roger Federer in action against Austria’s Dominic Thiem at the ATP Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London on Tuesday. (EPA-EFE)

Agnieszka Radwanska announces retirement


ONE of the grittiest tennis players on women’s Tour, and a former World No.2 Agniesz-ka Radwanska will not be seen in professional tournaments anymore as the 29-year-old has chosen to call it quits.

The short-statured player from Poland announced her decision to end her 13 year-long career due to health rea-sons on Wednesday through a post on her Facebook account.

A runner-up to Serena Williams in 2012, Radwan-ska won 20 WTA titles in her 13-year career. She finished every season between 2008 and 2016 ranked inside the world’s top 15, but was cur-rently ranked 75th and has not won a title since October 2016.

She was the first Polish player to reach a Grand Slam singles final in the Open Era, when she finished runner-up to Serena at Wimbledon in 2012.

She was also one of the most consistent players on tour, finishing in top 10 rank-ings for six straight seasons between 2011-2016.

However, she had been struggling for form and fitness and could not win any title since October 2016.

“Unfortunately I am no longer able to train and play

the way I used to, and recently my body can’t live up to my expectations,” Radwanska, 29, said in a post on Facebook.

“Taking into consideration

my health and the heavy bur-dens of professional tennis, I have to concede that I’m not able to push my body to the limits required.”

In addition to her Wim-bledon final appearance, Radwanska reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open twice, and won the season-ending WTA Finals in 2015.

“I’m hanging the racquet up and say goodbye to the pro tour, but I’m not leaving ten-nis,” she added.

“Tennis is and always has been special in my life. But now it’s time for new chal-lenges, new ideas, equally as exciting as those on the tennis court, I hope.”

Earlier this February, Rad-wanska had made her familiar Qatar Total Open appearance in the 2018 edition but her flight was cut short by the tall Czech player Petra Kvitova who came from a set down to signal the end of the Pole in the Round of 32 in an absorbing match.

Kvitova, who was return-ing after a surgery following a knife attack from an intruder back home, went on to win the title in Doha.

Then, it didn’t seem that Radwanska, who’s best finish in Doha was in 2008 when she lost in the semis to eventual cham-pion Maria Sharapova, wouldn’t be back for another round of her desert swing in Qatar.

Former World No. 2 from

Poland cites health reasons

for her decision

Agnieszka Radwanska during one of her matches during the 2018 Qatar Total Open in Doha.

Agnieszka Radwanska on her arrival at the Hamad Internation-al Airport in February this year.

Curran’s blitzkrieg innings, Buttler fifty rescue England in Pallekele Test

REUTERSPALLEKELE

SAM CURRAN exhibited his six-hitting prowess and Jos Buttler made an enterprising 63 to help England overcome a top order collapse and post 285 in the first innings on the opening day of the sec-ond Test against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

England were reeling at 89-4 when Buttler somewhat steadied the innings before Curran clobbered six sixes in his blistering 64 to help them to a competitive score.

Sri Lanka lost Kaushal Silva in their wobbly reply to be 26-1 at stumps, trailing by 259 runs.

Dimuth Karunaratne was batting on 19 with Malinda Pushpakumara on one at the other end.

Earlier, England captain Joe Root won the toss and un-surprisingly elected to bat as the tourists, 1-0 up in the three-match series, sought to build on their victory in Galle last week.

Stand-in skipper Suranga Lakmal dismissed Keaton

Jennings in the fifth over be-fore the home side’s spinners set about disrupting the rest of the top order.

England named an un-changed side but shuffled their batting lineup and Ben Stokes (19) was unable to justify his promotion to number three, the all-rounder surviving a

review before succumbing to a second to be trapped lbw by Dilruwan Perera (4-61).

Root’s struggle against left-arm spin, meanwhile, com-pounded England’s crisis after the captain, dismissed twice by Rangana Herath in his farewell test in Galle, fell for 14 to Push-pakumara (3-89).

Curran lit up the final ses-sion with his binge-hitting, bringing up his third Test fifty with his fifth six.

The left-hander dominated his 60-run partnership for the final wicket – the only 50-plus stand in the England innings – with James Anderson before being the last man out.

England’s Sam Curran during his whirlwind innings of 64 runs on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy on Wednesday. (AFP)

Skipper Mahmudullah, spinners give Bangladesh the edge

AFPDHAKA

MAHMUDULLAH RIYAD scored his first Test century in more than eight years as Bang-ladesh set Zimbabwe a towering 443-run target to win the second Test in Dhaka on Wednesday.

The hosts began their vic-tory push, reducing Zimbabwe to 76-2 at stumps on the fourth day after Mahmudullah’s un-beaten 101 off 122 balls helped

the side declare the second in-nings on 224-6.

Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan broke a 68-run open-ing stand by removing Ham-ilton Masakadza for 25 after he dropped the Zimbabwe captain on five off debutant pacer Khaled Ahmed. Bren-don Taylor and Sean Williams remained at the crease on four and two respectively, facing a monumental task to win or avoid a loss as Zimbabwe still

trailed the hosts by 367 runs. Zimbabwe lead the two-

match series 1-0 after last week’s victory in Sylhet – their first away Test win in 17 years.

A draw in the game would give them their first Test series win in seven years.

Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad reacts after scoring a century on the fourth day of the second Test against Zimbabwe at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday. (AFP)

Djokovic moves closer to ATP semis

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in action during his group stage match against Germany’s Alexander Zverev. (REUTERS)

BANGLADESH (1ST INNINGS): 522-7 DECLARED

ZIMBABWE (1ST INNINGS): 304

BANGLADESH (2ND INNINGS)

Liton Das b Jarvis ..................................................6Imrul Kayes c Mavuta b Jarvis ................................3Mominul Haque c Chakabva b Tiripano .................1Mohammad Mithun c Chakabva b Raza ............. 67Mushfiqur Rahim c Mavuta b Tiripano ...................7Mahmudullah Riyad ..............................not out 101Ariful Haque b Williams ..........................................5Mehidy Hasan not out ......................................... 27Extras: (b5, lb1, w1) ..............................................7TOTAL: (declared for six wickets, 54 overs) ... 224

Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Imrul), 2-10 (Liton), 3-10 (Mominul), 4-25 (Mushfiqur), 5-143 (Mithun), 6-151 (Ariful).Bowling: Jarvis 11-2-27-2, Tiripano 11-1-31-2, Williams 16-2-69-1(w1), Raza 7-0-39-1, Mavuta 9-0-52-0.ZIMBABWE (2ND INNINGS)

H. Masakadza c Mominul b Mehidy .................... 25B. Chari lbw b Taijul ............................................. 43B.Taylor not out ......................................................4S. Williams not out .................................................2Extras: (b1, lb1) ....................................................2TOTAL: (For two wickets, 30 overs) .................. 76

Fall of wickets: 1-68 (Masakadza), 2-70 (Chari)Bowling: Mustafiz 3-1-2-0, Taijul 13-2-34-1, Khaled 4-1-15-0, Mehidy 7-2-16-1, Ariful 3-1-7-0.Toss: Bangladesh.

SCOREBOARD

ENGLAND (1ST INNINGS)

R. Burns c de Silva b Dananjaya ......................... 43K. Jennings c Dickwella b Lakmal ..........................1 B. Stokes lbw b Perera ........................................ 19J. Root b Pushpakumara ..................................... 14J. Buttler c Karunaratne b Pushpakumara ........... 63M. Ali lbw b Pushpakumara ................................ 10B. Foakes c de Silva b Perera .............................. 19S. Curran c Karunaratne b Perera ....................... 64A. Rashid lbw b Perera ........................................ 31J. Leach b Dananjaya .............................................7J. Anderson not out ................................................7Extras: (b4, lb 3) ...................................................7

TOTAL: (All out, 75.4 overs) ........................... 285

Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Jennings), 2-44 (Stokes), 3-65 (Root), 4-89 (Burns), 5-134 (Ali), 6-165 (Foakes), 7-171 (Buttler), 8-216 (Rashid), 9-225 (Leach), 10-285 (Curran).Bowling: Lakmal 12-1-44-1, Perera 24.4-5-61-4, Pushpakumara 23-4-89-3, De Silva 2-0-4-0, Dananjaya 14-1-80-2.Sri Lanka: K. Silva, D. Karunaratne, R. Silva, K. Mendis, A. Mathews, N. Dickwella, D. de Silva, D. Perera, S. Lakmal(captain), A. Dananjaya, M. PushpakumaraToss: England.

SCOREBOARD

Yeah, sometimes they come ask, sometimes they don’t. But a lot of the facts are not right, just to be clear there, from what I heard.Roger Federer

Unfortunately I am no longer able to train and play the way I used to, and recently my body can’t live up to my expectations.Radwanska in her Facebook post

Sports 17Thursday, November 15, 2018

Sports18 Thursday, November 15, 2018


IZZTHATRIGHT, owned by Injaaz Stud and trained by Mohammed Ghazali Jah-romi, won the Umm Al Houl Cup which was the feature race of the 7th Race Meeting of the Qatar Racing & Eques-trian Club (QREC) run over a distance of 1200 yards at the Al Rayyan racecourse on Wednesday.

Izzthatright was guided to victory by jockey Harry Bentley, and beat the Ibra-him Saeed Ibrahim al Malki trained Shobrom of the Ru-mailah Stud.

Astley Hall ridden by Sal-eem Golam finished third. Hall is owned by Khalifa Bin Sheail KH J al Kuwari, and

trained by Jassim Moham-med Ghazali Jahromi.

The final race of the day over 1800 yards, the Pure-bred Arabian Claiming Race saw Stephan Ladjadj ride the Julian Colin Smart-trained Al Ghawja to victory by two-and-a-half length.

AJS Al Ruwais, sad-dled by Faleh Bughanaim and trained by Hadi Nasser Rashid al Ramzani, came second.

The third place was clinched by Arghad (FR), an-other of Julian Colin Smart-trained horses, ridden by JP Guillambert.

Mathieu Pelletan ensured a fourth-place finish for Ku-foo (FR), trained by Alban Elie Marie De Mieulle.

As per the conditions of the race, bonus is given to the owner & trainer of the horse for horse/s run in the first 5 positions at it’s very next start.

Al Ghawja gallops to Purebred Arabian Claiming Race victory

The Izzthatright team with their trophies.

Izzthatright claims Umm Al Houl Cup

Clinical Selby wins QSF No.1 title

AYENI OLUSEGUNDOHA

ENGLAND’S Daryl Selby put on a squash clinic to beat Egyp-tian top seed Omar Mosaad in three straight games and claim the QSF No.1 PSA Tour Bronze tournament at the Khalifa In-ternational Squash & Tennis Complex in Doha on Wednes-day.

The 36-year-old showed no sign of age in the contest which has a total prize money of $51,000.

“There’s not many sport where 36-year-olds still win titles. So I take inspiration from guys like Roger Federer in tennis who is still top of the game and Nick Matthews (squash champion) who played at a top level,” said Selby who won 11-9, 11-6, 11-6 in 41 minutes.

“But these days with sci-ence and new technology, you can push your body a lit-tle bit more and I hope to do that so I can compete with the youngsters for as long as I can,” he added.

Selby took the first game by making Mosaad uncom-fortable, forcing the Egyp-

tian into committing several stroke points. The first game ball fell to Selby at 10-7 and he close out the game on his second.

In the second game, Selby leapt to big lead and had game ball at 10-6. Mosaad looked tired on court and the English-man wasted no time to seal the

game 11-6.“It’s a long tournament

and I have paled four matches already. Every match takes something from you and to-

day I tried to push hard but he played really amazing,” Mosaad said.

“I guess I was a little bit fatigued today but I am happy

to play in the final today, it doesn’t matter the result.”

Mosaad however showed a glimpse of life in the third to lead 3-1 but the experienced Selby drowned any hopes of a

comeback, forcing errors from the Egyptian to seal the cham-pionship 11-6.

“This was probably my best match. The first game was crucial for me. I put pres-sure on him and I didn’t let him play his game today. I am glad I managed to get it done,” Selby said.

“It’s my first title in a long time and I didn’t expect to win. Playing someone like Mosaad who is the top seed, it was a nice feeling to win against him because he is a great player.”

“I always enjoy coming to Doha. Thanks to the organiz-ers for making us comfortable and putting on this event,” he added.

QSF No.1 Tournament Director Saad al Mohannadi poses with winner Daryl Selby (right) and runner-up Omar Mosaad on Wednesday. (PHOTOS: HANSON K JOSEPH)

The Englishman eases past Egypt’s Omar Mosaad in Doha meet

Egypt’s Omar Mosaad hits a shot against England’s Daryl Selby during the final of the QSF No.1 tournament at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex on Wednesday.

This was probably my best match. The first game was crucial for me. I put pressure on him and I didn’t let him play his game today. I am glad I managed to get it done

Daryl Selby

BEST MATCH

Qatar Racing’s Roaring Lion wins ‘Cartier Horse Of The Year’ award


QATAR Racing’s Roaring Lion was, on Tuesday, re-vealed as the 2018 Cartier Horse Of The Year at the 28th annual Cartier Racing Awards, European horserac-ing’s equivalent of the Oscars.

Owned by Qatar Rac-ing Limited, the outstand-ingly talented and consistent three-year-old colt becomes the fourth Cartier Horse Of The Year in the last five years to be trained by John Gosden at Newmarket, following on from Kingman (2014), Gold-en Horn (2015) and Enable (2017).

Purchased as a yearling by Qatar Racing’s racing manag-er David Redvers at the 2016 Keeneland September sale for US$160,000, the son of Kitten’s Joy enjoyed an out-standing year.

Following excellent per-formances in the 2,000 Guin-eas and Derby, Roaring Lion landed three G1 contests over 10 furlongs in the space of just over two months from July to September. Earlier he had also won the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park, the Juddmonte International at York and the QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes at Leopard-stown.

He followed those suc-

cesses by dropping back to a mile to claim a hard-fought victory on soft ground in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on British Champions Day.

Enable this time picked up the Cartier Older Horse award, adding another award to Gosden’s record. After an injury-interrupted campaign, the star filly returned to her brilliant best at the end of the season when winning a second Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp and

following up in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs.

On the night Gosden be-came only the second trainer to take home a total of five Cartier awards, after Aidan O’Brian achieved the same feat in 2016.

2018 Cartier Racing AwardsCartier Two-Year-Old Colt: Too Darn Hot (John Gos-den)Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly: Skitter Scatter (Patrick

Prendergast)Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt: Roaring Lion (John Gos-den)Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly: Alpha Centauri (Jessica Harrington)Cartier Sprinter: Mabs Cross (Michael Dods)Cartier Stayer: Stradivarius (John Gosden)Cartier Older Horse: Enable (John Gosden)Cartier Horse of the Year: Roaring Lion (John Gos-den)

Qatar Racing’s Roaring Lion won the 2018 Cartier Horse Of The Year at the annual Cartier Racing Awards, European horseracing’s equivalent of the Oscars.

Enable picks Cartier Older Horse award

World Cup qualifying QNB Al Rayyan & Qatar

International Showjumping at QEF from today


TOP class showjumping competition shall continue in Qatar following the just-con-cluded world-class Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) at Al Shaqab with the QNB Al Rayyan and Qatar International Showjumping Competition to be held at the Qatar Equestrian Federa-tion’s outdoor arena.

The first of the two World Cup qualifying events, the QNB Al Rayyan Interna-tional Showjumping Com-petition will be conducted by the Qatar Equestrian and Modern Pentathlon Federa-tion from today (November 15-17).

The riders will not only be competing for glory but, more importantly, to qualify for the International Eques-trian Federation’s FEI World Cup Jumping 2019.

Over 100 entries have been received for these com-petitions.

Equestrian enthusiasts can expect to enjoy exciting and thrilling competitions over the next two weekends.

“I would like to express my sincere appreciation to QNB who, once again, has come to the fore to support both these events together

with ExxonMobil and Al Bal-agh. Their continued support is important to help raise the standard of equestrian sports in Qatar,” said Badr al Darwish, Secretary- General, Qatar Equestrian and Mod-ern Pentathlon Federation.

The mandatory checks for the horses took place on Wednesday

Besides the competition, families can enjoy free pony rides for children as well as

experience al fresco dining provided by specially select-ed food outlets at the venue.

Entry for spectators for both the events is free.

Showjumping timings for the weekendThursday, November 15: 1:30–7:30pmFriday, November 16: 1.30–7:30pm Saturday, November 17: 2–7:30pm

The first of the two World Cup qualifying events, the QNB Al Rayyan International Showjumping Competition will be held at the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s outdoor arena from today.

Stephan Ladjadj astride Al Ghawja after winning the Purebred Arabian Claiming Race.


THE Qatar Football Associa-tion’s (QFA) Awards Commit-tee Board meeting announced on Wednesday the start of vot-ing process for the best player and best Under-23 player as the QNB Stars League’s first leg has come to an end.

The awards presented were for the best player, best Under-23 player, best coach, top scorer (Mansour Muf-tah Award), best referees and Football For All.

Voting forms were sent out after shortlisting 30 players in

each category.QNB Stars League team

coaches, Qatar national team coach, Qatar Olympic team coach, team managers, media representatives, representa-tive of Qatar Football Associa-tion (QFA), representative of Qatar Stars League Manage-ment, as well as president and Board members of the QFA will participate in the final vot-ing process.

The deadline for submis-sion of forms is 20th Novem-ber, 2018.

The voting process will be held in two phases as was the case in the 2017-18 season.

QFA awards committee announce voting process

AFPPARIS

FRANCE midfielder N’Golo Kante refused to have part of his Chelsea salary paid under advantageous tax terms in Jersey or to receive offshore payments for his image rights, according to a Football Leaks investigation published on Wednesday.

The report by French in-vestigative site Mediapart says that six weeks before Kante left Leicester for Chelsea in 2016, a company called NK Promotions was registered in Jersey, in an apparent attempt to pay 10 percent of the play-ers’ income abroad to avoid tax.

Mediapart was unsure whether the company was set up by Chelsea or Kante’s rela-tives.

At first, Kante’s lawyer suggested his client would “approve” the set-up, but last year the 27-year-old insisted

through his tax advisor that he refused to take any offshore payments.

“N’Golo is inflexible, he simply wants a normal sal-ary,” Kante’s tax advisor said in May 2017 in an email sent to Chelsea executives.

“After reading numerous press articles on image rights and tax investigations against players and clubs, N’Golo is increasingly concerned that the set-up proposed to him could be questioned by the tax authorities.

“N’Golo decided that he did not want to take any risks.”

Kante has become a fan fa-vourite in England since win-ning a memorable Premier League title with Leicester in 2016, before lifting the trophy again the following season at Chelsea and being named PFA Player of the Year.

He also started all seven of France’s matches as his coun-try won the World Cup in Rus-sia this year.

Kante turned down offshore payments from Chelsea: Report

Croatia keen to avoid Spain lashAFP

ZAGREB

HAVING finally shaken off their World Cup hangover, finalists Croatia are aiming for their first Nations League victory when they face Spain on Thursday, the side who in-flicted a 6-0 drubbing in Sep-tember.

Coach Zlatko Dalic has named a 25-man squad, in-cluding three new faces, to face Spain at Zagreb’s Maksimir stadium and England on No-vember 18 at Wembley.

“I’m focused on the match against ‘La Furia (Roja)’, we need that victory,” Dalic said earlier this month.

“I know that many people do not believe that our team is capable of winning both games but I reply -- we will do now as we did in Russia, step by step.

“First, Spain,” he told the Jutarnji List newspaper.

Croatia, a country of 4.2 million people, reached the World Cup final for the first time, inspired by playmaker Luka Modric, and despite los-ing 4-2 to France Dalic and his players were welcomed home as heroes.

But only two months later “Vatreni” -- Croatian for “Fiery Ones” -- suffered the humilia-tion of the thrashing by Spain in their first Nations League match.

They improved to draw 0-0 with England in a rematch of the World Cup semi-final, but the game was played in eerie silence at an empty stadium in Rijeka.

UEFA banned fans from the game over the carving of a swastika into a pitch during a Euro 2016 qualifier against Italy. That was just the latest in a litany of offences for racism that has seen Croatia consist-ently punished.

- ‘Fresh blood’ -Because of the lockout against Eng-land, Thursday’s match will be Modric’s first in front of his home fans since the World Cup.

After a superb year that landed him the FIFA player of the year award, the Real Ma-

drid player was nearing full fit-ness, Dalic said.

“After a year of excellent games he cannot be constantly in good shape.

“I never had doubts about Luka ... he is the leader and he will be at a high level.”

Dalic, who repeatedly

stressed that his main goal was to qualify for the Euro 2020, said the team was motivated by a wish for revenge.

“The match, our approach and our fitness will be com-pletely different” compared to the demolition by Spain, he told a press conference Mon-

day.“We are in much better

shape than then. It was a de-bacle and we need to look for revenge... with three points.”

Dalic has rejuvenated the squad with three young play-ers -- forwards Josip Brekalo and Nikola Vlasic and defender Duje Caleta-Car.

Brekalo, who plays for Bun-desliga side VfL Wolfsburg, is set to make his debut against Spain.

“I’m always saying we need

fresh blood,” Dalic said.Cheering from the stands

will be striker Mario Mandzu-kic, defender Vedran Corluka and goalkeeper Danijel Suba-sic, who all retired from inter-national football after Russia.

It will be an opportunity for the trio to bid a symbolic fare-well in front of their home fans.

“They are part of our fam-ily, we should not forget the moments from Russia... We want unity as it was this sum-mer,” Dalic said.

WEEKLONG PARIS SAINT GERMAIN TOUR


AHMED Al Meghessib, a Paris Saint-Germain pro FIFA play-er and professional footballer with Qatar’s top club, Al Du-hail, has been able to see what life is like at the club.

For a week, Ahmed will participate in training ses-sions with the club’s National 2 squad, visit the Parc des Princes and - as a PSG eSports FIFA pro - train at Webedia HQ in the French capital.

“I’m staying for a week here in Paris with the reserve team,” he explained.

“I hope to enjoy the time and the experience I’ll ac-quire at PSG. I’ve been very warmly welcomed by the play-ers and staff, who made me feel at home straight away. We have worked well, in the gym and on the pitch. I’m

looking forward to a week of discovery.”

At the Youth Academy, Ahmed met ex-Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Thiago

Motta, underwent fitness tests and got to talk to some of the club’s youth academy talents, who shared their Rouge-et-Bleu experiences with him.

Qatari talent Ahmed trains with PSG second team

Coach Zlatko Dalic says the World Cup finalist needs victory

Ahmed al Meghessib (second from left) of Al Duhail trains with Paris Saint-Germain National 2 Squad in Paris on Tuesday.

Qatar’s forward Akram Afif (centre) scores his team’s only goal past Switzerland’s goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo next to defender Kevin Mbabu during a friendly match at the Cornaredo Stadium in Lugano on Wednesday. Qatar will play Iceland next week Friday (29 November) as part of their preparation for the AFC Asian Cuyp 2019. (AFP)

QATAR SHOCK SWITZERLAND IN FRIENDLY

Ahmed al Meghessib (left) with former PSG player Thiago Motta.

DPALONDON

FULHAM fired manager Slav-isa Jokanovic on Wednesday and replaced him with Claudio Ranieri, who won an improb-able Premier League title with Leicester City in 2016.

The 67-year-old Ranieri receives a “multi-year” con-tract in taking over for Jo-kanovic, who led Fulham back into the top flight last season by winning the Championship play-offs.

The Cottagers have found the going tougher this cam-paign and sit bottom of the ta-ble with just one win and five points from 12 matches.

“I wasn’t anticipating hav-ing to make this announce-ment related to Slavisa and wish the circumstances were such that I didn’t have to, but our path this season has led me to make what I know is the correct decision, at the right time,” Fulham chairman Sha-hid Khan said.

“Making a change without having the right answer or suc-cession plan was not an option, so having someone of Clau-dio’s calibre ready to accept our challenge was comforting but, most of all, essential.”

Ranieri orchestrated one of the biggest shocks in foot-ball history when 5,000 to 1 outsiders Leicester won the league title in 2016. But he couldn’t re-capture the magic and was sacked in February at the following season with the Foxes just above the relegation places.

Among numerous other stops in his managerial career are Napoli, Chelsea, Juventus, Roma, Inter Milan and, last

season, French club Nantes.“The objective at Fulham

should never be to merely sur-vive in the Premier League,” he said. “We must at all times be a difficult opponent and should expect to succeed.

“This Fulham squad has exceptional talent that is con-trary to its position in the ta-ble. I know this team is very ca-pable of better performances.”

Jokanovic took over Ful-ham in December 2015, bringing an attacking style of football with him to Craven Cottage.

Things clicked last season when the Cottagers used a 23-game unbeaten run to help them finish third before win-ning the play-offs.

It’s been a different story this campaign as they’ve con-ceded a league-worst 31 goals to fall to the foot of the table.

“Slavisa will always have my appreciation and respect for everything he did to return Fulham to top-flight football,” Khan said.

Ranieri’s first game in charge will be November 24 when Fulham host Southamp-ton.

Fulham fire manager Jokanovic, appoint Ranieri as new boss

Croatia’s head coach Zlatko Dalic (right) and midfielder Luka Modric at a press conference at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb on Wednesday. (AFP)

Spain’s national team head coach Luis Enrique (right) and defender Sergio Ramos at a press conference in Zagreb on Wednesday. (AFP)

A file photo of Nantes’ Italian head coach Claudio Ranieri.

Sports 19Thursday, November 15, 2018

‘Misuse of antibiotics makes treatment of infections difficult, says Dr KuwariTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

AS part of a series of activities to mark World Antibiotic Aware-ness Week being held from No-vember 12 to 19, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is advising the public that incorrect use, especially overuse, of antibiotics is making a growing number of infections harder to treat.

“Antibiotic resistance is becoming one of the biggest threats to global health ac-cording to the World Health Organization. We need to change the way in which peo-ple view and use antibiotics,” said the Minister of Public Health HE Dr Hanan Moham-ed al Kuwari while chairing a plenary session on antibiotic resistance during the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) in Doha.

“The need to reduce anti-biotic resistance is being ad-dressed within the Enhanced Health Protection priority area of Qatar’s National Health Strategy 2018-2022. Antibi-

otic resistance not only threat-ens the effective prevention and treatment of infections, but also contributes to higher medical costs, longer hospital stays, and increased mortality,” added Dr Kuwari.

Dr Abdullatif al Khal, HMC’s deputy chief medical of-ficer and head of Infectious Dis-eases, said antibiotics are used to treat or prevent infections, but warned against its misuse.

“Antibiotics are an essential part of many patients’ treat-ment plans as they work by stopping the growth of bacteria that may be causing a problem in the body. When antibiotics

are used incorrectly they can become less effective. Incorrect use of antibiotics, especially overuse, is making it harder to treat many infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and salmonellosis, as the antibiot-ics are becoming less effective,” added Dr Khal.

According to Dr Muna al Maslamani, medical director of HMC’s Communicable Disease Center, antibiotic resistance has risen to dangerously high levels across the world in recent years.

“Every day, our clinicians are witnessing the damaging effects of antibiotic resistance which threaten our ability to

treat common infectious dis-eases,’’ said Dr Maslamani.

Most illnesses are caused by two kinds of germs: bacteria or viruses. Antibiotics can cure bacterial infections only – they cannot cure viral infections, as Dr Hisham Ziglam, senior con-sultant in Infectious Diseases at Hamad General Hospital ex-plained.

“Bacteria are the cause of is-sues such as a sore throat, some types of pneumonia and sinus infections, while viral infections include common colds, most coughs, and the flu,” said Dr Ziglam.

Dr. Ziglam added: “It is es-

sential that people understand that if they regularly misuse an-tibiotics they are putting their health at risk, because when they really need antibiotics for a serious condition, they may not work effectively.”

Sheikha Moza attends WISH2018 closing ceremony

Continued from page 1

SHE also recalled pre-vious Chairs, Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan, and called for “a world where everyone enjoys the right to health, a thriving environment, and a peaceful planet to bequeath to subsequent generations.”

A panel discussion was chaired by Lord Ni-gel Crisp, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health in the UK Parliament’s House of Lords. Lord Crisp is also co-chair of the ‘Nursing Now’ cam-

paign, which aims to promote nurses’ role in healthcare and nursing as a profession.

WISH CEO Sultana

Afdhal said, “WISH 2018 has shown that in-novation in healthcare can take many forms, from the technology being introduced by young entrepreneurs to exceptional ideas that are being devel-oped by academics, policymakers, NGOs, and the healthcare in-dustry. We need to fo-cus on putting the best ideas into practice.”

The ceremony was also attended by a num-ber of dignitaries, health ministers, and policy-makers from around the world.

HE Sheikha Hind bint Ham-ad al Thani, vice-chairperson and CEO of Qatar Founda-tion, on Wednesday met with record-breaking Olympic swimmer and mental health campaigner Michael Phelps at the ‘Friendship Bench’ at the World Innovation Sum-mit for Health (WISH) 2018.

The ‘Friendship Bench,’ an evidence-based interven-tion tool created in Zimba-bwe, aims to create a safe place for people struggling with anxiety and depression to find help. The bench was recently at the Global Min-isterial Summit on Mental Health in London, and used by the Duke and Duchess of

Cambridge.HE Sheikha Hind and

Phelps then visited Dairo Vargas’ ‘Father and Son’ in-teractive painting. Specially commissioned for WISH, the piece was brought to life by Colombian-born Vargas alongside summit attend-ees, who were given the op-portunity to make their own artistic contribution to the painting.

Following his attendance at WISH, Phelps visited QF Headquarters in Education City, where he learned about QF’s various education, sci-ence and research, and com-munity development entities and initiatives. (TNN)

Sheikha Hind, Phelps discuss mental health

CATHERINE W GICHUKIDOHA

AN innovation that will break the language barrier between patients and their healthcare providers was showcased at the Innovation Hub at the just con-cluded World Innovation Sum-mit for Health (WISH).

iCommunicate, is an inno-vation by Qatar-based Munira Aden, who works as a nurse at Sidra Medicine and Dalal al Sharshani, who is a nurse at Hamad Medical Corporation. The innovation was show-cased at the ‘Young Innova-tors’ section.

iCommunicate is a simple to use but highly effective way of using cards with pictures and different languages as a communication tool in hospi-tals to allow patients, nurses and physicians to communi-cate even if they don’t speak

the same language. Speaking to Qatar Tribune,

Aden said, “iCommunicate consists of wordings in English and Arabic languages as well as pictures and symbols. The aim of the innovation is to improve the communication between patients and families with their healthcare providers.”

The cards include illustra-tions of what the physician would like to ask, for instance whether the head is aching. “If the physician and the pa-tient speak different languages they can communicate using the pictures. The patient will just point at the picture and the physician will understand where the patient is ailing from,” said Munira.

According to her, prior to creating these cards they asked patients and nurses about the most common sen-tences they use on a daily ba-

sis and that’s how they created iCommunicate.

“Our vision is to provide high quality care to our pa-tients. These cards will help. We will go step by step and in the future we might develop an application.”

According to her, currently,

the innovation is in Arabic and English languages only, but they will focus on other lan-guages as well.

She said that they were in-spired to create iCommunicate, because being nurses they con-fronted the language barrier everyday. “We see nurses and

healthcare providers who strug-gle to communicate with their patients and their families”, she remarked.

Talking about the opportu-nity at WISH, Munira said, “It’s a great opportunity because through this conference we are able to show our concerns by creating solutions to problems that people generally face.”

Sharshani said that they got a positive feedback from other nurses as well on the innova-tion. “This is a useful innova-tion, which can contribute in its own way to improving Qatar’s healthcare sector through im-proving communication.”

Both Aden and Sharshani are studying Masters of Sci-ence in genomics and precision medicine at Hamad Bin Khalifa University and developed their idea during a module on entre-preneurship offered as part of the programme.

Qatari nurses innovate to breaklanguage barrier with patients

iCommunicate is an innovation by Qatar-based nurses Munira Aden (Sidra Medicine) and Dalal al Sharshani (HMC).

HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al Thani, vice-chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, with Michael Phelps.

Today’s adolescents more fragile: PHCCAN official of the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has said that cases of anxiety and depression in high school kids are on the rise.

Dr Sadriya al Kohji, head of Child and Adolescent Ser-vices Development and Health Promotion at PHCC, who took part in a panel discussion on the challenges surrounding depression and anxiety, called for policy changes to improve support and care for people with mental health problems and their families.

Dr Kohji said, “Adoles-cents today have a reputation for being more fragile and less resilient than their parents were when they were growing up. Anxiety and depression in high school kids have been on the rise. It’s a phenomenon that cuts across all demo-graphics with some young people globally experiencing depression that impairs their daily function. Good mental health is the foundation of young people’s emotional and intellectual growth.”

Dr Kohji added: “Signifi-cant progress has been made in healthcare services to sup-port young people. We are aiming to ensure that the re-ality of services on the ground matches up to the high aspi-rations of our visions. This will mean a much greater emphasis on the support that is provided in non-mental health settings, the places where children and young people work and play in pri-mary care and on enhancing family and peer support.

“And, critically, more needs to be done to protect the mental wellbeing of all children and young people by educating them and those who look after them about the factors that help and hinder mental health and empower-ing people to seek help when needed. The health system in response is providing a cultur-ally appropriate, easily acces-sible and stigma free services where young people feel com-fortable to express themselves openly.” (TNN)

Winning gold medals easier than coping with depression: PhelpsTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

MICHAEL Phelps, a 23-time Olympic gold medallist, deliv-ered a keynote speech with a focus on his personal struggle with anxiety and depression to over 2,000 delegates on the second day of the 2018 edition of the World Innovation Sum-mit for Health (WISH).

“When depression hits, it can be debilitating,” Phelps re-vealed. “Sometimes, my great-est accomplishment has been getting out of bed. Compared to that, winning a gold medal was easy. At times, my depres-sion would overpower me, but, in the end, I realised that it was necessary to seek professional help and talk about my illness in order to recover.

“It’s an honour to stand here today and have the chance to thank the healthcare com-munity. I’m grateful for the opportunity to play my part in opening up the conversation about anxiety and depression, and removing the stigma asso-ciated with this area of mental health,” he said.

In addition to his keynote address, Phelps spoke about the personal challenges that he faced with anxiety and de-pression during a question and answer session with BBC news presenter Mishal Husain.

He urged those suffering from mental health issues to seek help from family, friends and healthcare professionals.

Following Phelps’ talk, a WISH panel discussion on ‘Anxiety and Depression’ took

place, chaired by Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, a lead-ing mental health charity in England and Wales.

The forum discussed the global burden of people living with anxiety and depression, risk factors of developing the illnesses and the treatment gap.

According to the World Health Organization, only one in 27 people receive adequate care for anxiety or depression in some low and middle-in-come countries. “Anxiety and depression are the most com-mon mental health problems globally,” said Farmer.

Panellists also discussed how, despite differences in cul-ture and healthcare systems, effective interventions can be translated, accepted and adapt-ed to various settings.

Proper use of antibiotics

Inform your physician of any allergies you have prior to receiving any antibiotics

Women should inform doctor if they are pregnant

Be sure to take the complete course of antibiotics prescribed according to the physician’s instructions

Never take antibiotics prescribed for others

Do not reuse any of your old prescriptions

Treating elders with complex conditions challenging: PHCCTHE Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) high-lighted how primary health care is overcoming the chal-lenges of treating elders with complex conditions.

The aging population and the growing prevalence of chronic conditions increase the requirement for more in-tegration and continuity.

Accountable Care looks to achieve low-cost, high-quality population health, also known as ‘high-value health systems’.

The SMART screening programme has led to an in-crease in referrals to PHCC for behavioural interventions in people at high risk.

SMART Screening has led to an increase in referrals to PHCC preventative services for behavioural interventions in people at high risk with 1,738 (21%) dietetics; 1,377 (17%) health educators; 427 (5%) wellness services; 1,421

(17%) cancer screening servic-es and 189 (2%) mental health psychology clinics.

From January-September 2018, PHCC has screened over 9,000 people and feed-back from patients has been very positive with 92 percent very satisfied with their expe-rience of the service provided.

Dr Samya Abdullah, exec-utive director of Operations at PHCC, said: “PHCC, over the years, has focused on capacity building and human capabil-ity, offering multi-disciplinary support to patients, develop-ing information management and evaluation, as well as the implementation of Cerner Clinical Information System in both primary and second-ary care which has helped in identifying patients who pos-sess risk factors for the de-velopment of potentially life altering and costly chronic conditions.” (TNN)

Minister of Public Health HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al Kuwari chaired a plenary session at WISH.

‘Healthcare innovation can take many forms’

Sultana Afdhal,CEO of WISH.

The Last Word20 Thursday, November 15, 2018

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, attends the closing session of WISH 2018. (HHOPL/AR AL-BAKER)

WORLD INNOVATION SUMMIT FOR HEALTH 2018 CONCLUDES

Documents

Qatar, UNHCR working to ease procedures for asylum seekers