Volume 23 | Number 7810 | 2 RiyalsFriday 22 February 2019 | 17 Jumada II 1440 www.thepeninsula.qa

BUSINESS | 14 SPORT | 19

Al Rumaihi corners Big Tour glory on day one

Citigroup in talks with treasury over

$1.1bn Maduro gold deal

Deputy Amir honours Malaysian Ambassador

Deputy Amir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani met with Malaysian Ambassador to Qatar, Ahmed Fadhel bin Shamseddin, on the occasion of the end of his tenure in the country. H H the Deputy Amir granted the outgoing Ambassador the Decoration of Al Wajbah in recognition of his role in enhancing bilateral relations, wishing him success in his future assignments and further progress and prosperity for relations between the two countries. The Ambassador extended thanks and appreciation to H H the Deputy Amir and the State’s officials for the cooperation he received.

Jewellery brands trace their journey to acclaim at DJWE ForumRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

Local and international jewellery and watches brands and connoisseurs captivated the audience as they shared their knowledge and expertise in highly engaging sessions at the second edition of DJWE Forum at Marriott Marquis City Center Doha yesterday.

The one-day forum which formed as a major side event of this year’s Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition (DJWE) gathered acclaimed brands and experts as well as emerging designers sharing their inspiring journey in the world of high jew-ellery and horology.

The forum kicked off with an interesting presentation of Tarang Arora, creative director and CEO of globally renowned Indian jewellery house Amrapali, on the brand’s journey “From Jaipur to the World” in which he traced the origin of the brand’s name and its humble beginnings as well as its rise to global renown, now worn by Bollywood and Hollywood celebrities.

One of the interesting ses-sions was on “Emerging Jew-ellery Designers” featuring Nada Al Sulaiti of Hairaat, Rima Al Sultan of Rima Mardan and Dima Nawbar of L’atelier Nawbar.

Award-winning young Qatari designer Nada Al Sulaiti captivated the audience

presenting her brand whose name is deeply rooted in her origin and reflects her country and culture.

“In creating the brand Hairaat, I did not want to attach it to my name, which is usually done by designers, instead I chose something that reflects my origin. The name ‘Hairaat’ is derived from a term used in tra-ditional pearl diving industry which refers to the seabed oysters that carry pearls and where our great grandfather would go for expeditions,” explained Al Sulaiti.

Al Sulaiti, who had won several regional and interna-tional competitions prior to establishing her brand, also

presented some of her creations including the special piece ‘Together for 10 Million’ she designed to mark Education Above All’s (EAA) reaching out to 10 million out-of-school children. The piece in the form a brooch which can be worn in four different ways was spec-tacular and inspirational embodying EAA’s mission of providing a better future to vul-nerable children.

Iraqi designer and gemol-ogist Rima Al Sultan, who is the founder and creative director at Rima Mardan, spoke about her passion in bringing Middle Eastern jewellery styles in a simple and modern way to the US where she was born. She also

touched on the process of cre-ating her collections and her experience bringing her brand to Doha.

Fourth generation jeweller Dima Nawbar, who follows a long line of jewellers of Nawbar family, highlighted the begin-nings of her family in the industry abd introduced some of the stunning collections of L’atelier Nawbar.

Gemology at Tiffany & Co, Watches and their Nicknames by Artcurial, The World Diamond Museum and Carl Suchy & Sohne-The Unique Story of the Most Important Watch Brand of the Austrian Empire were among the other sessions at the forum.

Qatar Airways apologises for flight delayQNA/DOHA

Qatar Airways apologised for the delay to flight QR1409 from Doha to Lagos yesterday, which was diverted to Khartoum due to a technical issue.

In a press statement, it said “there was a Qatar Airways air-craft standing ready in Khartoum to fly QR1324 to Doha. This aircraft was re-routed as QR1409 and has con-tinued on to Lagos where pas-sengers will arrive at 19:50, a delay of only 3 hours 50 minutes. As a result of the re-routing, flight QR1324 from Khartoum to Doha has been cancelled. All passengers are being assisted while the tech-nical issue is resolved. Qatar Airways apologises for any inconvenience caused by the delay and the flight cancellation.”

Qatar-Oman tradewitnesses strong momentumSACHIN KUMAR THE PENINSULA

The trade between Qatar and Oman has surged by over 100 percent in the first nine months of last year, demonstrating that the ties between the two friendly countries have reached new heights.

The non-oil exports from Oman to Qatar surged to Omani Riyal (RO)283.6m at the end of September 2018, from RO129.9m at the end of Sep-tember 2017, reflecting a rise of 118 percent, according to the data of Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information.

Similarly, exports from Qatar to Oman also grew by 440 percent to RO246.8m during January to September period last year compared to RO45.7m in the same duration in 2017.

The sharp rise in the trade between the two brotherly countries is a result to several measures taken to deepen the bilateral relations.

Qatar Chamber has taken many steps to encourage alli-ances and commercial partner-ships between Qatari and Omani businessmen.

Over 500 Qatari-Omani companies operating in both markets out of which 361 are operating in Qatar.

Qatar Chamber, the Ministry

of Commerce and Industry, Qatar Development Bank and in coordination with Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry had organised a four-day long ‘Made in Qatar’ Exhi-bition in December last year.

The exhibition saw a great turnout as a number of visitors, especially from Omani busi-nessmen, who toured the pavilions of the participating companies and met with their Qatari business counterparts.

On the sidelines of the exhi-bition, many agreements were signed between Qatari and Omani companies to establish joint Qatari-Omani ventures in both countries.

The exhibition was aimed to promote the relations between the business sectors in both countries, increase trade exchange, present available investment opportunities and to work together to establish trade alliances and joint projects in both countries.

Qatar Chamber had organised a visit to Muscat in June 2017, in cooperation with Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) and had more than 140 Qatari busi-nessmen. It resulted in signing agreements and Qatari and Omani partnership contracts in various economic and trade fields.

Azerbaijan’s sovereign wealth fund open to raise investment in QatarSIDI MOHAMED THE PENINSULA IN BAKU

State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan is open to increase in investment in Qatar. Investment by the sovereign wealth fund of Azerbaijan in Qatar currently stands at around $10m.

“Although the size of the investment in Qatar is not large it is important, it is about $10m. Once we find investment oppor-tunities in Qatar, we will invest, although Qatar is a competitor in terms of investment,” Shahmar Movsumov, Executive Director of the Fund told The Peninsula.

Giving an overview of the Azerbaijani oil sector he said the first oil shipment was exported to Russia in 1876.

The fund has made

investments in about 60 countries in the world, including Qatar.

The total investment by the fund globally stands at $40bn, he added.

He noted that the objective of the fund is to create a balance in sources and not rely only on oil, as well as building projects and other important investments in real estate, companies, etc.

Aslan Aslanov, Chairman of the Board of Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC) and also President of the Organi-sation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) said that the Qatari media has developed sig-nificantly and has become a global leader. It has a great influence in the world because of its credibility, excellence and freedom.

“We have a good relation

with Qatar News Agency, and we have signed a memorandum of cooperation to exchange infor-mation between the agencies,” said Aslanov.

He was speaking during a meeting with a group of reporters from Qatari news-papers who visited the agency recently during a trip organised by Azerbaijan embassy in Doha.

The visit also provided reporters an opportunity to visit Azerbaijan Press Council, State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan and a number of tourism centres in the country.

“The Azerbaijani agency has correspondents in 21 countries and publishes news in eight lan-guages, including Arabic and has a special section in Arabic to publish the topics related to the Arab and Islamic countries. �P2

Trade between

Qatar and

Oman sees

huge jump

Increase in non-oil exports from Oman to Qatar in Jan-Sept 2018118%

RO283.6m

RO129.9m

440%

Value of non-oil exports from Oman to Qatar in Jan-Sept 2018

Value of non-oil exports from Oman to Qatar in Jan-Sept 2017

Rise in exports from Qatar to Oman in Jan-Sept 2018

Amir receives message from Amir of KuwaitQNA /DOHA

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received yesterday a written message from the Amir of the State of Kuwait, H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, pertaining to the deep fraternal relations between both countries and means of further enhancing and boosting them, in addition to a number of issues of common interest.

Prime Minister Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani received the message during a meeting today with the Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to Qatar, Hafeez Mohammed Al Ajmi. �P2

Ministry of Culture holds series of events on Kuwait National Day celebrationsQNA/KUWAIT

The Ministry of Culture and Sports has launched a series of events in the Murouj area in Kuwait, as part of the State of Qatar’s activities to participate in Kuwait’s celebration of its national holidays.

The events, organised and supervised by the Qatar Center for Cultural and Heritage Events, include six cultural, artistic and sporting events celebrating Kuwait’s national holidays and continuing until February 26.

The organizing committee said that these events are in the main theatre. The activities of the educational sector are attended by students from Qatar such as Al Aradha as well as performances and marine arts under the supervision of the music centre, in addition to special theatre performances for children under the super-vision of the theatre affairs centre. �P3

02 FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019HOME

Amir condoles with

Bangladesh President

and Prime Minister

DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

and Deputy Amir H H Sheikh

Abdullah bin Hamad Al

Thani sent yesterday cables

of condolences to the

President of the People’s

Republic of Bangladesh,

Mohammad Abdul Hamid,

and Bangladesh Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina

Wajed, on the victims of

the residential building

fire in the capital Dhaka,

wishing the injured a speedy

recovery. Prime Minister and

Interior Minister H E Sheikh

Abdullah bin Nasser bin

Khalifa Al Thani also sent a

cable of condolences to the

Prime Minister. QNA

OFFICIAL NEWS

CNA-Q launches Tuesday MarketTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The main courtyard of College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q) was transformed into a bustling marketplace this week, as dozens of students and staff hosted booths, selling everything from perfume to jewellery to food. It was the first in a series of Tuesday Markets, that will be held once a month to showcase the talents of the college community.

“I was extremely impressed with the wide variety of goods for sale, and the diverse capa-bilities of our students,” said Aljazzi Fetais, Associate

Vice-President - Student Affairs. “Events such as this demonstrate that CNA-Q students are not only ready for the workforce, but also have a strong entrepre-neurial streak as well.”

Since its inception in 2002, CNA-Q has grown to offer 30 diploma and certificate pro-grams in applied, technical and occupationally-aligned fields.

It has graduated thousands of students who have infused Qatar’s industries and sectors with work-ready professionals. This year marks the 17th year that CNA-Q has been providing experiential technical education in Qatar to support the State’s strategic vision for human capital development.

People visit the Tuesday Market at CNA-Q.

Amir receives message from Amir of Kuwait

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received a written message from Kuwait Amir H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah pertaining to the deep fraternal relations between both countries and means of further enhancing and boosting them, in addition to a number of issues of common interest. Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani received the message during a meeting yesterday with the Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to the State of Qatar, Hafeez bin Mohammed Al Ajmi.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs reviews ties with Ambassadors of Kuwait, Oman and Romania

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi met yesterday with the Ambassador of the State of Kuwait, Hafeez bin Mohammed Al Ajmi, and the Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the State of Qatar, Najib bin Yahya Al Balushi. During the meeting, they discussed relations and ways of boosting them, as well as matters of common concern. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs also met with the Ambassador of Romania to the State of Qatar, Dr Cristian Tudor, whose country holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. During the meeting, bilateral relations and ways of boosting them were discussed, as well as matters of common concern.

Azerbaijan’s sovereign wealth fund open to raise investment in Qatar

FROM PAGE 1The Section also provides the

public with news about Azerbaijan and its Islamic history and publishes about 100 daily articles,” he added.

On its media’s position on the Gulf crisis, he commented, “We regret of the occurrence of problems between the Gulf states, and we hope that all the problems will be resolved between these countries.”

On freedom of expression in Azerbaijan, Aslanov noted that about 80 percent of the coun-try’s population had access to Internet services and had full freedom of expression and that anyone could criticise the Gov-ernment whenever he wished.

Aflaton Amasov, Chairman of Azerbaijan Press Council, explained the situation of the press in the country. He said “we enjoy full freedom of expression. There are many newspapers that criticise the performance of the government and anyone can establish newspaper whenever one wants”.

On the relations with the media in Qatar, he said that the Council has close relations with the Aljazeera and goes to 10 years back.

“We want to strengthen the relationship with the Arab and Islamic press and to be stronger than it is. Azerbaijan has rela-tions with the East spanning 1,000 years,” he added.

He said that the current cooperation focuses on many important issues that combine these countries such as the Pal-estine issue, the war on terrorism and other in order to give the right image of these issues.

The visit also includes some of most beautiful cities and

places in Azerbaijan which attract thousands of tourists every year.

Among these is Gusar city, which is one of the most beau-tiful towns of Azerbaijan, and located on the river of Kusarchai at the foot of the Large Caucasus. The city is located at the distance of 183km from Baku.

The Peninsula met the Gov-ernor of the city, who gave a brief description of the city, and said that it has a population of 120,000 and more than 200,000 tourists visited it last year. The city depends on agriculture and

tourism and many tourists come every year with their families and the prices of family housing for apartments is from $20 to $60 per day depending on the type of housing.

Close to the city of Gusar is Shahdag Mountain Resort which is situated on the lap of one of the most beautiful natural sites in The Caucasus Mountains of

Azerbaijan. Shahdag is one the highest mountains in Caucasus mountain range, which is 4,243 metres and located in Qusar dis-trict of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan and Qatar estab-lished diplomatic relations in 1994, and in 2019 both countries are set to celebrate 25th anni-versary of their diplomatic relations.

Shahmar Movsumov, Executive Director of the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan, with other officials at a press meeting. RIGHT: A view of the Shaddaq resort.

Qatar attends Muscat International Book FairQNA MUSCAT

The 24th edition of Muscat Inter-national Book Fair kicked off, with the participation of 882 publishers participate in the fair this year, from 30 countries including Qatar.

The participation of Qatar’s Ministry of Culture and Sports and a number of Qatari publishing houses comes within the framework of the Ministry’s keenness on exchanging experi-ences between the Doha Interna-tional Book Fair and Muscat Inter-national Book Fair.

The pavilion of Libraries Department at the Ministry of Culture and Sports represents the State of Qatar in the Fair, in coop-eration with Lusail Publishing

House.The Qatari pavilion presents

a wide range of literary, historical, cultural and intellectual publica-tions, as well as the Ministry’s periodicals and the publications of the Qatari publishing houses.

523,000 titles are being dis-played and posted on the website, of which 35% are new releases, the Fair management said, adding that there will be also 106 cultural events this year compared to 64 events held last year, 22 of which will be on the Governorate of Al Buraimi.

It added there will be 3 spe-cialized seminars dealing with three historical figures that con-tributed to human civilization, and there will be also a specialized seminar entitled “Oman in the Arab and Foreign Writings”.

03FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019 HOME

Shura Council Speaker H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud with the President of the IPU, Gabriela Cuevas Barron, at the headquarters of the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations in New York, yesterday.

Shura Council Speaker attends meet on emerging challenges to multilateralismQNA NEW YORK

A parliamentary hearing entitled “Emerging Challenges to Multi-lateralism: A Parliamentary Response” was held here yesterday, in which Shura Council Speaker H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud participated along his accompa-nying delegation.

The two-day hearing, being held at UN Headquarters, addresses the new challenges facing the international com-munity and national govern-ments in achieving “collective action as one global governance” in tackling newly emerging chal-lenges, such as recent challenges including climate change, migrants, refugees, sustainable development, nuclear disar-mament and others.

The hearing session also aims at raising awareness among parliamentarians of the impor-tance of multilateralism in addressing global issues and global phenomena and calling for activating the role of parlia-ments and parliamentarians in urging their governments to give

importance to multilateral col-lective action through the UN as an effective means rather than individual, bilateral and regional procedures.

It was attended by the Per-manent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, Ambassador H E Sheikha Alya Ahmed bint Saif Al Thani, and a number of members of the Shura Council.

The Speaker of the Shura Council also held yesterday a meeting at the headquarters of

the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations in New York with Ambassadors and delegates of 16 non-member countries of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on the sidelines of the parlia-mentary hearing which began yesterday at United Nations Headquarters.

During the meeting, the Speaker of the Shura Council called on ambassadors and del-egates from the IPU non-member countries to participate with their countries in the meeting of the 140th session of the General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to be held in the State of Qatar next April. The Speaker noted the importance of this session and the issues and topics that will be discussed which have a positive impact on the international par-liamentary community.

The Speaker stressed that the broad presence of both the IPU member States and non-member States will contribute to enrich constructive discussions and dia-logues during the meetings of the 140th IPU session, thus pro-ducing results and decisions that

serve the peoples and nations of the world.

Meanwhile, the Speaker of met with the President of the IPU, Gabriela Cuevas Barron, at the headquarters of the Per-manent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations in

New York, on the sidelines of the Parliamentary Hearing session.

During the meeting, they dis-cussed parliamentary relations between the State of Qatar and the IPU and ways of enhancing them in addition to the most important topics on the agenda

of the Parliamentary Hearing session.

They also discussed the preparations of the Shura Council to host the 140th IPU General Assembly meetings and related meetings, to be held in Doha from April 6 to 10, 2019.

The Speaker of the Shura Council also held a meeting with Ambassadors and delegates of 16 non-member countries of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on the sidelines of the parliamentary hearing which began yesterday at UN Headquarters.

Bangladesh Embassy observes Mother Language DayTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The Embassy of Bangladesh in Doha, observed the ‘Shaheed Dibosh and International Mother Language Day’ yesterday with due solemnity.

The programme started with hoisting of the National Flag at half-mast by Ambassador Ashud Ahmed at the Embassy Premises at 9am in presence of Embassy officials and a number of Bang-ladeshi expatriates living in Qatar. Following the flag hoisting, one minute was passed in solemn silence as a mark of profound respect to the mem-ories of the 1952 Language Movement Martyrs of Bang-ladesh. Special prayer was offered for the salvation of the departed souls of all martyrs, Father of the Nation Banga-bandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members who were martyred in 1975.

More than 200 dignitaries attended the flag-hoisting cer-emony and discussion session that followed. The messages given on the significance of the day by the President, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the State Minister for Foreign

Affairs of Bangladesh were read out as a means to highlight the significance of the day as well as to disseminate the important messages from the national leaders on the occasion of the Shaheed Dibosh & International Mother Language Day.

A video documentary on Shaheed Dibosh and

International Mother Language Day was screened.

Ambassador Ashud Ahmed, in his speech, recalled the great sacrifices of the language martyrs of Bangladesh and men-tioned that the 1952 Language Movement was the most decisive episode and a turning point in the history of Bangladesh as its

spirit led to the independence of Bangladesh. He also recalled the immense contributions of the Father of the Nation Banga-bandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during the 1952 language movement. Taking the oppor-tunity of huge gathering of com-munity leaders, the Ambassador underlined key challenges like

imprisonment of Bangladeshi expatriates in Qatar for drug related charges and urged all to create awareness about the rules and regulation of Qatar among the Bangladesh expatriate community.

Embassy of Bangladesh, Doha also organised an event called ‘Hatekhori’ (first lesson on

Bangla alphabet) for the children of Bangladeshi expatriates in order to inspire the children to keep learning Bangla language while in abroad. A total of 15 children took their first lesson on Bangla Alphabet from Ambas-sador Ashud Ahmed at the event. All children were presented with certificates and gifts.

Ambassador Ashud Ahmed holding ‘Hatekhori’ (first lesson on Bangla alphabet) for the children of Bangladeshi expatriates at the Embassy premises.

DJWE 2019 dazzles with big names in jewellery industryRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

On its 16th edition, Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhi-bition (DJWE) dazzles with big names in the luxury jewellery industry taking part for the first time including famous New York-based brand Tiffany & Co.

“We are very excited to be here showing the full high jew-ellery collection of our brand for the first time. We believe this is a great opportunity, and our clients here have been waiting for us to come as well. We know from our discussions with them that they are very keen to have Tiffany available for them here in the market,” Joe Nahhas, Vice President Middle East & Africa at Tiffany & Co. told The Peninsula.

Commenting on the Qatari market, Nahhas said, “I think the clients here are very sophisti-cated clientele whereof the value of the diamonds that we offer and the other precious stones that we have and I think appre-ciate the jewellery of high value and the heritage that we bring.”

In response to the demand of the sophisticate Qatari market,

Tiffany has really made an effort to bring unique and stunning pieces such as a 50-carat inter-nally flawless diamond ring and a beautiful waterfall necklace from the Blue Book jewelllery collection.

He stressed Tiffany’s strong heritage and legacy spanning

over 180 years as well as being the first established international luxury jewellery to commit to d i a m o n d p r o v e n a n c e disclosure.

“We recently announced that we will be able to tell you where the diamonds come from, which is really unique in

the industry - the diamond provenance. We are the first established international luxury jewellery to be able to do that and this means we can actually tell you which country a par-ticular stone came from,” he explained.

From transparency point of view, he said diamond prove-nance disclosure is vital, and that more and more clients wanted to know this kind of information.

The provenance of Tiffany’s diamonds, the brand’s heritage and its 180-year history and the journey it has taken to cement its strong presence in the luxury market was the subject of the talk of Tiffany’s chief gemologist Melvyn Kirtley yesterday at the second edition of DJWE Forum, to which Nahhas attaches great importance.

“I think the forum is very good. As well as having a fair for the brands to showcase their col-lections, I think it’s a good oppor-tunity to be able to have a dis-cussion about the significance of the jewellery market, the diamond provenance and all the various elements in jewellery design,” he said.

Joe Nahhas (right), Vice-President Middle East and Africa at Tiffany and Co, with a model wearing the stunning waterfall necklace from the Blue Book jewelllery collection. PIC: SALIM MATRAMKOT/

THE PENINSULA

District Cooling Services dept conducts field tourTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The Department of District Cooling Services at Qatar Elec-tricity and Water Authority (Kahramaa) conducted a field tour to the Qatar Cool Power Plant in the West Bay and Al Dafna area, as part of its mission to monitor and regulate the district cooling services in the country.

The Director of the Department and the engineers in charge of followed up and oper-ation of the plants, which have a cooling capacity of 97,500 tonnes of cooling, and follow up to the

successful use of treated waste-water directly or through the system of purification of treated water. The use of district cooling system is smart and sustainable solutions because of its environ-mental and economic benefits for the country and society, as reduce consumption of electricity by 30 - 40 percent. So it is more efficient compared to traditional cooling as well it provides with potable water by switching to the use of treated water or any alternative sources available and reduce carbon dioxide emissions as decrease natural gas consumption.

Ministry of Culture holds series of events on Kuwait National Day celebrations

FROM PAGE 1Qatari events also include poetry events, in addition to poetry and literary evenings and Rababa as well as competitions for popular puzzles. The events offer camel shows and riding instruction as well as a tug of war.

In order to expand Qatari par-ticipation to include activities aimed directly at children, the performances of the Qatari puppet theatre team of the theatre affairs centre will present puppet

shows and various plays.The Qatari participation

includes Al-Bida’a which offers traditional maritime crafts, Al Nokhatha, the popular cafe, and Al Damah competition which saw a large public interest in the pre-vious Qatari participation in the celebrations. These events are accompanied by another partic-ipation by Qatar in the Gulf tradi-tional heritage festival held at Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad heritage village.

Long march for more jobs

04 FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Measles leave over 900 dead in MadagascarAP/JOHANNESBURG

The World Health Organization says that an epidemic of measles in Madagascar has caused more than 900 deaths. According to WHO figures, there have been more than 68,000 cases of the disease in which 553 deaths were confirmed and another 373 suspected from measles since the outbreak began in September. The epidemic is blamed on a low immunization rate for measles across the island nation over a period of many years, according to WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic. The vaccination rate is estimated to be less than 60 percent, according to figures from WHO and UNICEF figures, he said. Madagascar has launched a nationwide campaign to try to bring the outbreak under control, through mass vaccination campaigns and surveillance.

Iran announces 3-day navy drill from todayAFP TEHRAN

Iran is to launch a three-day annual navy drill from today in a vast area of the Gulf and the Indian Ocean including a sensitive global shipping route, state TV reported yesterday.

“The drill will be held in the waters of Strait of Hormuz, Makran coast, Oman Sea and the north of the Indian Ocean, cov-ering 2 million square kilometres and going on for three days,” said Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, Iran’s navy commander.

The exercise aims to evaluate the navy’s equipment, practice launching weapons and “enable the troops to gain readiness for a real battle,” he added. The strait at the mouth of the Gulf is crucial to global energy supplies, with about a third of the world’s seaborne oil passing through it every day.

The show of military might comes at a time of heightened tensions with Iran’s main regional rival Saudi Arabia and with Washington, which last year withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The Strait of Hormuz is an international transit route where American forces routinely pass and which has seen tense encounters between them and Iranian forces in the past.

10 dead as blast hits bus carrying oil workers in eastern SyriaREUTERS AMMAN

At least 10 people were killed and a number were wounded yesterday when a bomb blast hit a minibus carrying workers employed in a major oil instal-lation in eastern Syria run by a US-backed Kurdish group, resi-dents of the area said.

The incident took place near the town of Al Shahil in the southeast of oil-rich Deir Al Zor province that borders Iraq, in an

area under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that are backed by Washington.

It was not known who carried out the attack. It came as the SDF presses on with efforts to retake the last small area of territory held in Syria by Islamic State.

Activists with relatives in the area said many of the young men in the blown-up minibus had come from work in the nearby al-Omar field, one of

Syria’s largest oil fields. Video on social media pur-

portedly showed bodies lying on the ground following the attack. A source in the area said at least two SDF fighters were among those killed.

Residents say attacks have increased in recent months in SDF-controlled areas. The group has a swathe of territory in northeast Syria on the border with Turkey, down the Euphrates River towards the border with Iraq.

Risk of Israeli-Palestinian war looms large: UN envoyAP UNITED NATIONS

The prospect of peace between Israel and the Palestinians is fading by the day as violence and radicalism grow - and “the risk of war continues to loom large,” the UN Mideast envoy warned.

Nikolay Mladenov also told the UN Security Council that a negotiated two-state solution is drifting further away. “What is needed, first and foremost, is the necessary leadership and political will for change,” he said.

“Until that will can be found, Palestinians and Israelis will con-tinue to slide into increasingly hazardous territory.” Mladenov stressed that leaders must believe peace is possible through negotiations - and that leaders

and the international community must be committed to support Israelis and Palestinians to reach a peace deal based on UN resolu-tions and bilateral agreements.

He said the international community must also under-stand “that the weaker party - the Palestinian people who have lived under occupation for more than 50 years - need our support more than ever.” “Unfortunately, unilateral measures, continuing violence, financial pressures and the lack of progress towards peace are exacting a heavy toll

on Palestinian society and undermining the foundations of peace,” Mladenov said.

He said Hamas’ continuing control of Gaza, severe restric-tions on movement imposed by Israel, “and the Palestinian Authority’s restrictive measures are pushing the situation to a breaking point.” “The militant build-up continues as the risk of ever more radical and extremist groups pushing both sides into war grows by the day,” the U.N. envoy warned.

He said that with prospects of reconciliation between the Palestinian factions dimming, people in Gaza “feel more and more left to their own devices - with no representation, no relief and no way out.”

Last month, Mladenov out-lined steps to support stability for the Palestinian Authority including expanded trade oppor-tunities, addressing financial issues, increasing services for its people. These must be matched by Israel, he said, including ending its policy of settlement con-struction and expansion and cre-ating opportunities for Palestinian development in Area C in the West Bank, which is under exclusive Israeli control and home to dozens of Israeli settlements.

ANATOLIA/GAZA CITY

Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has refused to meet with Tor Wennesland, Norway’s special envoy for the Middle East peace process, a well-informed political source said.

Wennesland had asked to meet Sinwar during his recent trip to the Palestinian territories, the source, who spoke anonymously due to restrictions on talking to media, said.

On Tuesday, Wennesland met with Palestinian Prime Min-ister Rami Al Hamdallah at the latter’s office in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, the Palestinian government’s adminis-trative capital. Sinwar’s office, meanwhile, has so far refrained from commenting on the source’s assertions.

Sinwar has met several times in the past with Wennesland.

Hamas chief refuses to meet Norway special envoy for Mideast peace

Tractors and trucks remove the rubble from buildings that were heavily damaged during battles between rebel fighters and regime forces, in the former opposition held district of Salaheddin in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, yesterday.

Two shot dead in robbery at SA schoolAFP JOHANNESBURG

Two suspected robbers were killed in a shootout with police during a break-in at a Johan-nesburg high school as students prepared to sit exams yesterday, officials said. A gang of robbers stormed the school, intimidated office staff and demanded access to the safe before making off with 8,000 rands ($572).

Police and private security

officers responded to the unfolding emergency in minutes.

“When they (police) arrived the suspects were on their way out, the shooting started and that’s when the police returned fire,” police spokesman Kay Makhubela told reporters outside the school. “Two suspects were shot and killed,” he said adding that another was injured, two others arrested while an unknown number fled in two vehicles.

No staff or students were

wounded in the attack. The head of Edenvale High

School Larry Harmer said he watched on the security camera as the robbers forced their way into the school when a parent came to collect his child. It was too late to lock them out.

“They jumped through the window with their AK-47s and pistols and then traumatised the front staff and office staff, and demanded the safe,” said Harmer.

Activists held as Sudan police disperse marchAFP/KHARTOUM

Sudanese security agents yesterday arrested several opposition leaders and activists as hundreds of anti-government protesters trying to march on the presidential palace were dispersed with tear gas, witnesses said. Demonstrators chanting “freedom, peace, justice” reached downtown Khartoum but were confronted by riot police, witnesses said, adding that several dissidents were detained by plainclothes security agents. Rabah Al Mahdi from the main oppo-sition National Umma Party said that at least 26 campaigners and opposition leaders had been arrested.

Hezbollah hits back at US criticism of its role in LebanonREUTERS BEIRUT

Hezbollah hit back against US condemnation of its role in Lebanon yesterday, calling it a “violation of sovereignty”, after the United States expressed concern over the organisation’s expanding influence.

After meeting Lebanon’s prime minister on Tuesday, the US ambassador said the United States was worried about the “growing role” in the cabinet of Hezbollah, an armed Shia group

backed by Iran and listed as a terrorist organisation by Washington.

“The negative American position on Hezbollah, and which American ambassadors are eager to repeat after meeting any official in Lebanon, is rejected and condemned,” Hez-bollah’s lawmakers said in a statement.

They said US stance “vio-lates national sovereignty and ignores a legitimate right in international law — the right to self defence and to resist

every threat and aggression” and was biased towards “the terrorist entity” — a reference to Israel.

Hezbollah controls three of the 30 ministries in Prime Min-ister Saad Al Hariri’s new cabinet, the largest number it has ever held. They include the Health Ministry, which has the fourth-largest budget in the state.

Set up in 1982 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Hez-bollah last fought a major war with Israel, its lifelong

enemy, in 2006.Its regional clout has

expanded through deployments of fighters to other Mideast con-flicts, including the war in neigh-bouring Syria, where it has fought in support of President Bashar Al Assad.

Together with groups and individuals that see its arsenal as an asset to Lebanon, Hez-bollah won more than 70 of the 128 seats in parliament in an election last year. Hariri, who is backed by the West, lost more than a third of his MPs.

At least 59 ‘bandits’ killed in NW NigeriaAFP /KANO, NIGERIA

At least 59 “bandits” were killed by a civilian defence force when they attacked a village in northwest Nigeria, security officials and locals said. “We killed 59 of the bandits and we lost seven men in the fight, which lasted for almost four hours,” Bube Shehu, a resident of Danjibga village, said of the clashes on Wednesday.

Local reports said the death toll could be even higher, after a local government official said 15 other bandits were killed in the nearby village of Danmarke. Shehu’s account was backed by a mil-itary officer in the state but there was no immediate corroboration from police. The worsening security situation in the northwest —President Muhammadu Buhari’s strongest regional support base — is one of a number of challenges to his re-election, as voters go to the polls tomorrow.

People walk during a march from the city of Aqaba south of the capital, demanding more employment opportunities, on the highway near Amman, Jordan, yesterday.

Germany concerned over Egypt executionsANATOLIA/BERLIN

Germany will call on Egypt to suspend death penalty and stop execu-tions, a senior diplomat said yesterday. “We are very concerned about the increase in death sentences and executions in Egypt,” the senior diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. “We call on Egypt to immediately suspend the death penalty and stop the executions,” he stressed.

He underlined that the government will continue talks with Egyptian authorities and convey Berlin’s expectations for suspending death penalty and putting an end to executions. “The German gov-ernment will continue to raise this issue in talks with the Egyptian government. We are also in permanent contact with international human rights organizations,” he said. The execution of nine young people in Egypt on Wednesday caused an international uproar, with Amnesty International saying that these men were convicted after “grossly unfair trials” marred by torture allegations.

“Unfortunately, unilateral measures, continuing violence, financial pressures and the lack of progress towards peace are exacting a heavy toll on Palestinian society and undermining the foundations of peace,” Mladenov said.

05FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019 ISLAM

What is Zakah

The importance of Zakah

Zakah is one of the five pillars of Islam and is a duty performed on a regular basis. Zakah is not an option it is a compulsory act for all Muslims. It is a contribution paid

once a year on savings of two and a half percent. This giving is to “cleanse” your money and possessions from excessive desire for them or greed. The idea is, that by giving this money you learn not to place too much importance on material wealth (cash and possessions).

Zakah is a compulsory payment and is neither charity nor a tax.

It is expected from every Muslim indi-vidual. It is paid on the net balance after a Muslim has spent on basic necessities, family expenses, due credits, donations and taxes.

Zakah provides us with the opportunity of sharing our excess wealth with those less fortunate than ourselves. In fact we and our wealth belong to Allah. He is the real owner and we are merely the trustees of His wealth. We do our duty as trustees if we pay Zakah as an obligatory part of Ibadah (worship).

Islam is a complete code of life which includes among other things, the economic side of life.

Islam has its own economic principles.Zakah is one of the basic principles of

the Islamic economy, based on social welfare and fair distribution of wealth. In addition

to the compulsory payment of Zakah, Muslims are encouraged in the Quran to make voluntary contributions to help the poor and needy, and for other social welfare purposes. This voluntary contribution is called Sadaqah (Charity).

Through the payment of Zakah, the rich share their wealth with the poor and thus the process of concentration of wealth is checked and fair distribution ensured.

To pay the Zakah, one must be a Muslim, sane adult, in possession of the nisab (the minimum amount of wealth that one must have before Zakah is payable) for one whole year.

Items from which wealth can be derived

include: cattle, crops, gold, silver, and mer-chandise for business. Zakah must be paid on cash deposits held in bank accounts.

Any personal items from which one cannot derive wealth, e.g. cars, utensils, food, clothing, shelter, furniture and which are not to be used for trade, are not included in the calculation of Zakah.

One must not only have the minimum amount of nisab but it must have been in one’s possession for one whole year. A lot of people choose Ramadan as the month in which they pay their Zakah; both to remember it, and also because the reward for good deeds done in this blessed month is multiplied.

Purifying the wealth

The word Zakah means ‘purity’ or ‘to purify’ and it represents charity. All Muslims who are

wealthy enough, must perform this charity in order to purify their wealth in the eyes of Allah. In other words, Allah blesses us with wealth; it is therefore our duty to give some of this back to those most needy, which purifies the rest of our wealth.

As one of the five pillars of Islam, it is an obligation upon all believing Muslims.

Zakah has a deep humanitarian and social-political value. This religious act prevents the hoarding of wealth and advocates solidarity with

humanity because excessive wealth is dis-tributed amongst the poor.

The paying of Zakah also helps purify one’s soul and encourages a person to have gratitude towards God’s bounties.

Zakah is mentioned along with Salat (prayer) in 30 verses of the Quran. It was first revealed in chapter 73:20 “.... and establish regular prayers and give regular charity; and loan to God beautiful loan. And whatever good ye send forth for your souls, ye shall find it in God’s presence, Yea, better and greater in reward and seek ye the grace of God: for Godis oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.” In another verse, God declares that those who pay Zakah, are included within the Muslim society. “But even so, if they repent, establish regular prayers, and practice regular charity, they are your brethren in Faith: (thus) do We explain the Signs in detail, for those who understand.” (9:11)

Allah says in the Quran: “They were enjoined only to worship God, sincere in their faith in Him alone - and of upright religion - and to establish the Salat and the Zakah. Such is the upright religion, (98:5)

“Those who lay up treasures of gold and silver and spend them not in the way of God; give them the news of a painful punishment,

on the Day when that (wealth) will be heated in hellfire, and their foreheads and their sides and their backs branded therewith: “This is the treasure which you laid up for yourselves! Taste, then, your hoarded treasure!” (9:34-35).

“Let not those who are miserly with what God has given them of His bounty think that this is good for them. Rather, it is bad for them. That which they withhold shall be hung

around their necks on the Day of Arising.(3:180) Zakah need only be paid on

those assets that exceed a minimum value. This minimum value is calculated based on the market price of 85 grammes of gold or 595 grammes of pure silver. This minimum value is termed Nisab. The Islamic Fiqh and Research Councils, as well as majority of Ulama recommend that gold be used as the basis for the calculation of nisab.

Bukhari and Muslim relate on the authority of Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of God sent Mu’adh to the Yemen he told him, “You are going to a people who have a Scripture, so call them to testify that there is no deity but God, and that I am the Messenger of God. If they respond to this, then teach them that God has imposed five Salats upon them in every day. If they respond to this, then teach them that God has imposed upon them a charity to be taken from the wealthy amongst them and given to their poor. If they respond to this, then beware of taking any more of their wealth! Beware also of the prayer of the oppressed, for there is no veil between such a prayer and God.” Then he recited the verse: “Let not those who are miserly with what God has given them of His bounty think that this is good for them. Rather, it is bad for them. That which they withhold shall be hung around their necks on the Day of Arising.” (3:180)

Sources: islamonline & onislam.net

Beneficiaries The Holy Quran classifies the due recipients of Zakah under

the following eight categories. “Zakah is for the poor, and the needy and those who are employed to administer and collect it, and the new converts, and for those who are in

bondage, and in debt and service of the cause of God, and for the wayfarers, a duty ordained by God, and God is the All-Knowing, the Wise”. (Quran 9:60)

Zakah can only be distributed to any of the eight eligible ben-eficiaries that are mentioned in the Quran in Surah (chapter) Taubah:60. However, priority should be given to the poor and needy. Where there is no central authority to administer Zakah, it can be paid directly to the needy.

1. THE POOR (FAQIR/FUQARA) Those without any means of livelihood and material

possessions.

2. THE NEEDY (MISKEEN) Those without sufficient means of livelihood to meet their basic

necessities. For instance, those who, although may have a job, a house and a car, but whose income is below the minimum requirement.

3. THE ADMINISTRATORS OF ZAKAH (AMIL) Those appointed to manage and administer Zakah. This cat-

egory is sub-divided into the following categories: Group of people who go out to the society and determine those who fall Fuqara and Miskeen categories.

Those who collect the Zakah money.The accountant of the Zakah money.The administrator, manager, clerical worker or secretary who

puts the files in order.Those who handle Zakah distributions.The auditor who audits overall Zakah management and

administration.

4. THE SYMPATHISERS (MUALLAFATUL QULUB) Those whose hearts are inclined towards or have accepted Islam.

5. TO FREE SLAVES (RIQAB) Zakah can also be used to free slaves or captives.

6. THOSE WHO ARE IN DEBT (GHARIMIN) Zakah can be used to pay off the debts of a person who has bor-

rowed to pay for basic necessities so that he/she can lead a normal life. Zakah can also be distributed to those in financial difficulties e.g. bankruptcy due to the loss of employment and heavy debt.

7. FOR THE CAUSE OF GOD (FISABILLILLAH) Zakah can be used to finance any form of struggle or work for

the love of God. The following examples fall under this category, e.g. Da’wah; building and developing society’s infrastructure; defending Muslims, who are being oppressed; assisting poor trav-ellers and sponsoring a student’s educational expenses.

8. THOSE WHO ARE STRANDED DURING A JOURNEY (IBNUS SABIL)

Zakah can also be used to help a traveler facing difficulties in continuing his journey due to reasons such as loss of money or the break down of his vehicles, the repair of which he cannot afford.

The Prophet (PBUH) said: “If someone gives as charity so much as the equivalent of a single date from honest earnings - and God accepts only what is honest - God takes it in the Right Hand, then makes it increase for the one responsible, just as one of you raises foal, until it becomes as big as a mountain.

They were enjoined only to worship God, sincere in their faithin Him alone — and of upright religion — and to establish the Salat

(prayer) and the Zakah. Such is the upright religion.(Holy Quran 98:5)

Zakah is a compulsory payment and is neither charity nor a tax. Zakah provides us with the opportunity of sharing our excess wealth with those less fortunate than ourselves. In fact we and our wealth belong to Allah. He is the real owner and we are merely the trustees of His wealth. We do our duty as trustees if we pay Zakah as an obligatory part of Ibadah (worship).

“Narrated by Abu Dhar: Once I went to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and he said, “By Allah in Whose Hands my life is, by Allah, except Whom none has the right to be worshipped, whoever had camels or cows or sheep and did not pay their Zakah, those animals will be brought on the Day of Resurrection far bigger and fatter than before and they will tread him under their hooves, and will butt him with their horns, and those animals will come in circle. When the last does its turn, the first will start again, and this punishment will go on till Allah has finished the judgments amongst the people.” (Sahih Bukhari, Chapter 24,539)

“Narrated by Abu Huraira: The Prophet (PBUH) said, “Every day two angels come down from Heaven and one of them says, ‘O Allah! Compensate every person who spends in Your Cause,’ and the other angel says, ‘O Allah! Destroy every miser.” (Sahih Bukhari, Chapter 24,522)

Narrated by Jarir bin Abdullah: I gave the pledge of allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH) for offering prayer perfectly, giving Zakah and giving good advice to every Muslim. (Sahih Bukhari, Chapter 24, 484)

The Prophet on Zakah

06 FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019ASIA

Fire guts ancient part of Dhaka, leaving 81 deadAP DHAKA

A devastating fire raced through densely packed buildings in a centuries-old district in Bangla-desh’s capital, killing at least 81 people, officials and witnesses said yesterday.

The fire in Dhaka’s Chawk-bazar area was mostly under control after more than 10 hours of frantic fire fighting efforts. About 50 people were injured, with some critically burned.

The district dating to the Mughal era 400 years ago is crammed with buildings sepa-rated by narrow alleys, with res-idences commonly above shops, restaurants or warehouses on the ground floors. Denizens of the Muslim-majority nation throng to Chawkbazar each year for tra-ditional goods to celebrate Iftar, when the daily fast is broken during Ramadan.

“I was talking to a customer, suddenly he shouted at me, ‘Fire! Fire!’” said Javed Hossain, a sur-vivor who came to assess the damage to his grocery store Thursday afternoon. “I said ‘Oh, Allah,’ in a fraction of a second the fire caught my shop.”

Hossain’s brother took his

hand and they leaped onto the street before the shop was engulfed in flames.

Outside the gutted store, the road was strewn with charred vehicles, pieces of still-burning metal and plastics and hundreds of cans of body deodorant.

The blaze started late on Wednesday night in one building and quickly spread to others, fire department Director General Brigadier General Ali Ahmed said.

Many of the victims were trapped inside the buildings, said Mahfuz Riben, a control room official for the Fire Service and Civil Defence in Dhaka.

“Our teams are working there but many of the recovered bodies are beyond recognition. Our people are using body bags to send them to the hospital

morgue, this is a very difficult sit-uation,” he said.

Another control room official, Russel Shikder, said 81 bodies had been recovered.

The fire services director, Maj. AKM Shakil Newaz, said many were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Ambu-lances were arriving carrying bodies, and relatives were mourning in front of the morgue.

First responders were delayed in reaching the site in part because nearby roads were closed for national holiday com-memorations yesterday. Just after midnight as the fire blazed, Bangladesh’s prime minister and president laid wreaths at a mon-ument less than 1.3km away to commemorate protesters who died in a 1952 demonstration for the right to speak Bengali, the local language.

Fire officials said the road closures worsened traffic, slowing down some of the fire trucks rushing to the site.

Most buildings in Chawkbazar are used both for residential and commercial purposes despite warnings of the potential for high fatalities from fires after one killed at least 123 people in 2010. Author-ities had promised to bring the

buildings under regulations and remove chemical warehouses from the residential buildings.

A government eviction drive in Chawkbazar and other areas of Old Dhaka was met with pro-tests last May right before Eid, the beginning of Ramadan, by business owners and residents.

Dr. Md. Manjur Morshed, an assistant professor of urban planning at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology in Khulna, said government regu-lations are routinely flouted in Chawkbazar. “This is a historic area with a distinct culture,” he

said. “They are not really abiding by the government’s rules.”

In 2012, a fire raced through a garment factory on the outskirts of Dhaka, killing at least 112 people trapped behind its locked gates. Less than six months later, another building housing garment factories collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people.

The death toll from the latest fire could still rise because some of the injured people were in critical condition, said Samanta Lal Sen, head of a burn unit in the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Sen said at least nine of the

critically injured people were being treated in his unit.

Witnesses told local TV sta-tions that many gas cylinders stored in the buildings continued to explode one after another. They said the fire also set off explosions in fuel tanks of some vehicles that were stuck in traffic in front of the destroyed buildings.

Some reports suggested many of the fatalities were pedestrians, shoppers or diners who died quickly as several gas cylinders exploded, and the fire engulfed nearby buildings very quickly.

Flames and smoke rise from a building after a fire broke out in an old part of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, yesterday.

India decides to stop water to PakistanIANS BAGHPAT/NEW DELHI

Continuing its tough stance in the wake of Pulwama terror attack, India yesterday decided to stop its share of water from the three eastern rivers — the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej — to Pakistan.

“Under the leadership of (Prime Minister Narendra Modi), our government has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab,” Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a tweet.

In another tweet, he said the construction of a dam had started at Shahpur-Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, the Ujh project will store India’s share of water for use in Jammu and Kashmir and the balance water will flow from the second Ravi-Beas Link to provide water to other basin states.

He said all the above projects were declared as the National projects.

India’s decision comes on top of other actions like with-drawing Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan and slapping a 200 percent duty on all imports from Pakistan in the wake of the Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF troopers and which was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Meanwhile, speaking at a public meeting in Baghpat, Gadkari said that after partition India got three rivers but their water were flowing to Pakistan.

“... Water will be diverted to Yamuna. It means, there will be more water in Yamuna,” he said.

SP-BSP alliance announces seat division for LS pollsIANS LUCKNOW

Over a month after announcing an alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) announced the allocation of seats to each partner yesterday.

In a statement, SP President Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati announced that while the SP will contest on 37 seats, the BSP will fight on 38. Amethi and Rae Bareli - the pocket bor-oughs of the Gandhi family - have been left for the Congress.

Two seats were initially allo-cated to the Rashtriya Lok Dal

(RLD) but now SP has given one more seat from its quota to Ajit Singh’s party.

According to the list, the SP will contest from Kairana, Moradabad, Rampur, Sambhal, Etah, Ghaziabad, Hathras, Firo-zabad, Mainpuri, Badaun, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Kheri, Hardoi, Unnao, Lucknow, Etawah, Kannauj, Kanpur, Jhansi, Banda, Kau-shambi, Phulpur, Allahabad, Bara-banki, Faizabad, Bahraich, Gonda, Ballia, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Azamgarh, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Rob-ertsganj parliamentary seats.

Out of these, the SP had won Kannauj, Azamgarh, Mainpuri,

Badaun and Firozabad in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, retained Mainpuri in a by-election and subsequently wrested Gorakhpur and Phulpur from the Bharatiya Janata Party in by-polls.

The BSP, which had won no seat in 2014, will fight from Saha-ranpur, Bijnore, Nagina, Amroha, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Gautam-budhnagar, Aligarh, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Aonla, Shahja-hanpur, Dhaurhara, Sitapur, Misrikh, Mohanlalganj, Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Farukkhabad, Akbarpur, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Fatehpur, Ambedkarnagar, Qais-erganj, Shrawasti, Dumariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabeernagar, Deoria,

Bansgaon, Lalganj, Ghosi, Salempur, Jaunpur, Machlishahr, Bhadohi and Ghazipur.

The three seats left for the RLD are Muzaffarnagar, Mathura and Baghpat. Presently, it holds the Kairana seat which it won in a by-poll.

Meanwhile, SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav said that the party he founded 27 years back had been given a raw deal.

Addressing party workers, the former Chief Minister ques-tioned the logic behind the seat sharing and said that the SP should have got more seats than the BSP.

“SP has more political

muscle,” he said and alleged that party candidates were being weakened by such decisions.

He also predicted that had the party decided to go it alone, it would yield better results. The SP has more political muscle and presence hence the seat sharing baffles me, he added. Mulayam also said that he had formed a SP government thrice in the state due to the inner strength of the party and the hard work of its workers.

Mulayam, insiders say, was particularly miffed as the SP got just 37 seats though it had won 5 seats in the 2014 parliamentary elections while the BSP had drawn a blank.

Commuters make their way through a flooded street after a heavy downpour in Amritsar, Punjab, yesterday.

Navigating flooded street

Aung San Suu Kyi expected at UN next weekREUTERS GENEVA

Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been crit-icised by the West over the government’s treatment of Rohingya Muslims and other human rights concerns, is scheduled to speak at the United Nations in Geneva next week, a UN official said yesterday.

Her itinerary has not been made public but it could coincide

with that of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who will open the UN Human Rights Council session on Monday, pre-senting the chance of a rare meeting.

Suu Kyi is a former political prisoner who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 but her reputation has suffered badly in recent years.

Her government’s relations with the United Nations are tense following the Rohingya crisis. It

has banned the UN special rap-porteur on human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, from coming to the country and Suu Kyi’s administration has opposed raising the profile of the UN res-ident coordinator in Myanmar.

She has largely shunned travel to the West since the Rohingya crisis broke out in 2017 but she and senior officials in her administration travel regularly within Asia.

Suu Kyi is listed as a speaker

at the Conference on Disar-mament in Geneva next Wednesday, but UN officials were not immediately able to confirm any other details of her trip.

A UN mandated fact-finding mission said that Myanmar’s military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya with “genocidal intent” and called for generals to be prosecuted. Myanmar rejected the findings.

As talks with govt fail, farmers resume 200km ‘long march’IANS MUMBAI

After an overnight halt at various locations, Maharashtra farmers resumed their 200km ‘Kisan Long March-2’ from Nashik to Mumbai to protest against what they termed a “betrayal” of the peasantry by the BJP govern-ments in the state and the Centre.

Organised by the CPI-M’s peasant wing All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), the march has attracted farmers from all over the state including many women. The eight-day march will end in Mumbai on February 27, coinciding with the budget session of the Legislature.

February 20 was the fourth death anniversary of Communist ideologue and writer Govind Pansare and February 27 will mark the 88th anniversary of the mar-tyrdom of revolutionary freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad.

Alarmed by the develop-ments, the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government’s Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan rushed to Nashik on Wednesday afternoon to pacify the farmers and urge them to call off the Long March.

“There was a marathon meeting between the Minister and the farmer leaders till 1.30am today, but there were no concrete assurances from the government side. Hence, the

Long March has resumed this morning,” said AIKS spokes-person P S Prasad.

AIKS President Ashok Dhawale yesterday vowed that the march will continue until “the government gives written assurances on its demands” and that this time the turnout of farmers was around 50,000 —much higher than last year.

He claimed that the state government was putting obstacles in the march and resorting to “repression” through the police against the peaceful procession.

The decision for the march was taken at the February 13 farmers’ convention in Ahmed-nagar. The organisers have warned against any attempts to crush their peaceful march.

Prasad added that police in several towns and districts stopped or detained farmers from con-tinuing the march without assigning any reason. Cases were lodged against AIKS office-bearers.

The farmers’ demands include immediate relief in view of the severe drought situation in the state, issues related to irri-gation, land rights, full loan waiver, minimum support prices at one-and-a-half times the total production cost, a pro-farmer crop insurance scheme, enhanced pension for elderly farmers as well as food and health security.

The fire in Dhaka’s Chawkbazar area was mostly under control after more than 10 hours of frantic fire fighting efforts. About 50 people were injured, with some critically burned.

07FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019 ASIA

Tit-for-tat response to India worked out by PakistanINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

The top authorities in the Commerce Ministry of Pakistan have reportedly finalised 3-4 point tit-for-tat strategy for India following its withdrawal of MFN (most favoured nation) status and closure of bilateral trade in the wake of the Pulwama incident.

New Delhi has imposed 200 percent duty on the Pakistani products meaning closure of exports to India. Pakistan has in turn decided to place 90 Indian items in the negative list under which import from India will immediately be curtailed by $500-600m.

Pakistan may also ban Indian items worth $600m being exported to Afghanistan under transit trade agreement. Pakistan can impose ban on Indian exports under transit trade in the name of inspection of goods.

Under the strategy, however, Pakistan will not ban the import of cotton, raw material and some machinery which is vital for industry, one of the top officials said referring to the meeting held

in Commerce Ministry purely on the withdrawal of MFN status and closure of bilateral trade by India.

However, Pakistan will, he said, not raise the withdrawal of MFN status in the platform of Word Trade Organisation (WTO) as Pakistan has not extended the same status to India.

“It is India that had unilat-erally extended MFN status to Pakistan, but numerous NTB (non-tariff barriers) other than restrictive Indian tariff regime have never enabled Pakistan

products to make inroads in Indian market under the so-called MFN status.”

The worked out strategy, he said, by Commerce Ministry will be pitched in the National Security Council meeting to be for final approval.

And if the strategy gets implemented by NSC, India will be the biggest loser as the bilateral trade between the two nuclear states stands at just $2.183 billion out of which imports from India are at $1.8 billion and exports from Pakistan are at $350m.

If Pakistan in response to actions by New Delhi closes down the imports, India will be the loser and more importantly Pakistan can also close down the import of Indian goods from Karachi under transit trade to Afghanistan.

This will also inflict the loss amounting to $600m.

“Apart from it, Pakistan can also create problems for direct air freight cargo corridor estab-lished between Kabul and New Delhi and Kabul and Mumbai for trade.”

The official said that Aviation Authority will give its input in

next meeting of National Security Council if Pakistan can ban Indian cargo planes bound to Afghanistan keeping in view the UN conventions.

The top official also said India has banned the import of cement from Pakistan and last year the cement export to India stood at $57m, and it was being estimated that the cement export will increase manifold, but jingoism in India prevailed resulting in the

closure of trade with Pakistan.To a question, the official

said Pakistan has not been importing vegetables from India for the last three years because of a virus found in the Indian tomatoes and other vegetables, he said the ban on Indian produce provided local farmers to earn more.

He also argued saying that Gulf and Middle East countries have also placed ban on import

of Indian vegetables and its basmati rice.

The Pakistani businessmen have also made up their mind to import the raw material and cotton from other countries instead of India and likewise Indians will also divert the trade to other countries as no one can risk one’s business amid esca-lated tension and unpredictable situation between the two countries.

Goods trucks are pictured at the border town of Chakothi in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, some 3km from Line of Control (LoC).

Torrential rains leave 26 dead in PakistanAGENCIES QUETTA

Torrential rains lashed several cities in Pakistan yesterday, triggering flash floods and leaving at least 26 dead across the country, many swept away by the waters or killed when their roofs collapsed before dawn, authorities said.

The provincial Disaster Management Authority said 14 people, including children, were killed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Flash floods submerged vil-lages near the southwestern town of Lasbella, in Baluchistan province, killing three people there and affecting 200 families. Imran Zarqoon, a spokesman for the provincial disaster authority said emergency workers were trying to rescue people from flooded parts of Lasbella.

At least nine were killed in central Pakistan in three inci-dents of roofs collapsing amid the rains, four of them in the city of Multan, according to police and rescue services.

Every year, many cities and towns in Pakistan struggle to cope with the annual monsoon deluge, drawing criticism about poor planning. An emergency has been declared in Lasbela where at least three people were killed and 200 families affected by flash floods which submerged nearby villages, Zarkoon said.

In the district’s Pir Goth area, 50 stranded people have been evacuated to safety.

Deputy Commissioner Lasbela Shabir Ahmed Mengal said that all provincial depart-ments are on high alert to cope with the heavy rainfall in the area. He added that operations are underway to rescue some 200 families trapped in a village in the district.

New Taliban political chief to miss upcoming peace talksREUTERS PESHAWAR, /KABUL

Afghan Taliban leaders said yesterday that their new political chief will not be attending peace talks with US envoys due to take place in Qatar next week.

US officials had been keen to negotiate with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, hoping the Tali-ban’s co-founder and military veteran would add momentum and have the clout to discuss tough issues surrounding the end of America’s longest war.

But senior Taliban leaders

said Baradar would not be trav-elling, citing different reasons including problems obtaining travel documents as well dif-ference among the leadership over his precise role in the talks.

Baradar was released from a Pakistani jail in October and his appointment was widely seen as marking a new push by the Taliban to emerge from the political and diplomatic shadows.

Baradar, who earlier led the insurgent group’s military oper-ations in southern Afghanistan, was arrested in 2010 by a team

from Pakistan and US intelligence agencies. A co-founder of the movement, he was a close friend of the reclusive late Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, who gave him his nom de guerre, “Baradar” or “brother”.

“Actually Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar wanted to go for talks and personally head the peace talks but due to a host of reasons, he would not be able to travel and participate in talks,” one leader said on condition of anonymity.

Taliban spokesman Sohail Shahin said earlier this week that he was unable to say whether

Baradar would be attending.The last round of talks ended in

Qatar in January with both the hardline Islamist movement and US special peace envoy Zalmay Kha-lilzad hailing progress after a longer-than-expected six-day session.

US officials familiar with dis-cussions said they were hoping to get more details over fresh assurances from the Taliban that they would not allow Afghanistan to be used by groups such as Al Qaeda and Islamic State to attack the United States and its allies — a key demand by Washington.

The timing of a ceasefire and

the withdrawal of foreign forces remain sticking points, while Washington is also pushing the Taliban to talk to the Afghan government.

The movement has so far boycotted the government, saying it is a puppet of the United States — a position that has alarmed Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Another Taliban official said they were not expecting break-throughs in the coming talks, adding that they also wanted to discuss the exchange of prisoners and lifting bans on the movement of Taliban leaders.

Former Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop (left) walks down the stairs with Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the Parliament House in Canberra, yesterday.

Former Australian FM Bishop retiresAFP SYDNEY

Former Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced her retirement from politics yesterday in a fresh blow to the conservative government already struggling just months ahead of general elections.

Bishop, widely considered the most popular politician in the ruling Liberal Party of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, stunned her parliamentary colleagues with the decision not to re-contest her West Australian seat in elections due by mid-May.

“I will leave this place, pos-itive about the future, proud of the service that I have been able to give to my electorate of Curtin, my beloved Liberal Party, the state of Western Aus-tralia and my country,” she said to standing applause from both sides of parliament.

Bishop was the first woman to serve as Australia’s foreign min-ister, from 2013 to 2018, and as the

deputy Liberal leader, a position she held for 11 years. She is the latest of several Liberal women MPs to either retire or quit the party to become independents.

Her standing in the party suffered when right-wing pow-erbrokers ousted moderate Malcolm Turnbull as Liberal leader and prime minister in August.

Bishop was one of three can-didates to run for the leadership in Turnbull’s place, but was snubbed by party colleagues despite opinion polls showing her as the most popular Liberal politician.

“Thank you @JulieBishopMP for your service to our nation and our Party and, above all, your friendship over so many years,” Bishop’s close ally Turnbull tweeted soon after her announcement.

“You have been our finest Foreign Minister — eloquent, elegant and always courageous advancing our national interest in these challenging times,” he said.

Duterte expands leave benefits for new mothers BLOOMBERG MANILA

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has expanded leave benefits for working new mothers, a move that could bring more women in the work-force in a nation with the least female participation in Southeast Asia.

A new law has increased paid maternity leaves to 105 days from 60, of which seven can be given to fathers, Senator Risa Hontiveros, one of the measure’s main proponents, said in a statement Thursday. Single mothers will get addi-tional 15 days.

Luring and keeping more women in the job market is among government initiatives outlined by Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia to boost labor force participation, which dropped last year. The World Bank estimates more than half of Philippine women aren’t in the labour force, the highest ratio among major Southeast Asian economies.

While the Philippines leads Asia in the number of women in leadership and professional roles, many of them are from wealthy backgrounds and can afford expensive childcare, according to McKinsey Global Institute. The New-York based consultancy estimates that having more poor, less-edu-cated women into the work-force will add $40bn to the economy by 2025.

“Today is a massive victory for women and their families,” Hontiveros said. “While there will be more battles and chal-lenges in the future, today, women win.”

Vietnam tightens security at border station ahead of Kim visitREUTERS DONG DANG, VIETNAM

Vietnamese police have stepped up security at a remote rail station on the Chinese border where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is expected to enter the country by train next week ahead of a summit with US Pres-ident Donald Trump.

Vietnam is preparing for Kim to arrive by train for the February 27-28 summit in the capital,

Hanoi, two sources with direct knowledge of security and logistics planning said yesterday.

Kim’s train will stop at the border station of Dong Dang where he will disembark and drive 170km to Hanoi by car, the sources said.

A witness saw construction workers tidying up the Dong Dang station yesterday.

Plain-clothed police were also monitoring the area and two prevented a cameraman from

filming, and asked to see his identification.

Two other security officers followed the Reuters TV crew on motorbikes, with another keeping watch from a car.

Flowers pots have been laid alongside the platform, which appeared to have been recently been cleaned.

An official at the local Peo-ple’s Committee told Reuters provincial authorities had issued instructions for the station to be

tidied up.“We have been told to

prepare for the possibility of an important event at the train station,” said the official, who did not elaborate and was not authorised to speak to media.

Two trains, usually carrying goods, pass through the station daily on the way to or from China. Although Vietnam and China have different gauge train tracks, the line to Hanoi from the border can take Chinese trains.

Kim Jong Un, however, travels in his own heavy, armoured train which could pose a problem for Vietnam’s out-dated, colonial-era rail network.

There have already been four derailments of trains in Vietnam this year, the transport ministry said on Thursday.

Travel by train has been a favourite mode of transport for Kim Jong Un, and his father, Kim Jong Il, and grandfather, Kim Il Sung.

New Delhi has imposed 200 percent duty on the Pakistani products meaning closure of exports to India. Pakistan has in turn decided to place 90 Indian items in the negative list under which import from India will immediately be curtailed by $500-600m.

If Saudi Arabia wishes to appropriately address the risk of terrorist financing, it must prosecute not just the foot soldiers but also the financiers who fuel terrorism around the world. To do so in an effective manner, the Saudi authorities must amend their counterterrorism decrees.

KATERINA KOLOZOVA AL JAZEERA

08 FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019VIEWS

Saudi Arabia isn’t doing enough to combat terrorism funding

In 1989, the Group of Seven coun-tries launched the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental group devoted

to fighting money laundering. Among the challenges facing the FATF since its inception has been the effort to develop measures to prevent the financing of terrorism. Saudi Arabia is keen to join the task force, because this would ease access to global financial markets.

Recently, the FATF undertook a review of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to combat ter-rorism financing. The resulting report identified a number of serious deficien-cies. Saudi Arabia is now required to present an action plan outlining how it will address these problems before it can be admitted to the task force. It is impor-tant that the kingdom not be admitted until it has shown demonstrable progress in addressing these concerns.

Terrorism financing originating in Saudi Arabia has been a significant source of funds for international terrorist organ-izations, including Al Qaeda. As the report noted, however, the Saudi authorities have focused their counterterrorism efforts almost exclusively on threats from within

the kingdom, while doing little to tackle those outside the coun-try’s borders. According to the task force, only 10 percent of Saudi coun-terterrorism cases concern offenses com-mitted outside the kingdom, and these prosecutions focus largely on offenses in the Middle East.

“Given that the support for external

terrorist groups is a major . . . risk for the country,” the task force noted, “the overall number of cases pertaining to raising funds inside Saudi Arabia and transferring them outside the country is low.” The report also found that “Saudi Arabia has not yet tackled the risk of financing of terrorism by third-party and facilitators, and the financing by individuals for terrorist organizations outside the country.”

A 2009 diplomatic cable from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, later published by WikiLeaks, described Saudi Arabia as “the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide.” The task force also raised concerns that the kingdom is not sanc-tioning individuals or requesting legal assistance from other states in a man-ner that effectively counters the serious threats of terrorist financing in Saudi Arabia.

If Saudi Arabia wishes to appro-priately address the risk of terrorist financing, it must prosecute not just the foot soldiers but also the financiers who fuel terrorism around the world. To do so in an effective manner, the Saudi authorities must amend their counterter-rorism decrees. As the task force notes, the “overly broad definition of terror-ism” in these decrees means that the authorities may “divert attention and resources to specious cases from more important cases.”

This concern was highlighted in a submission by Ni Aolain, the UN spe-cial rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fun-damental freedoms while countering

terrorismand one of the co-authors of this op-ed. That report concluded that there is clear evidence that a signifi-cant number of individuals who have committed no crime - much less acts of terrorism - have been wrongfully tried under the kingdom’s counterterrorism decrees in its Specialized Criminal Court.

At the same time, there are grounds for concern that a significant number of individuals implicated in support-ing internationally recognised terrorist groups have been released only to return to terrorist activity. Given the risk of rad-icalization in prison, it is important that Saudi authorities cease prosecuting inno-cent people for criticising the kingdom and release those who have been wrong-fully convicted.

While Saudi Arabia has made progress in reforming its laws and pros-ecuting alleged acts of terrorism, the reasons cited above strongly suggest that this progress is, at least in part, illusory. To admit Saudi Arabia to the task force before it has addressed these shortcom-ings would send the message that what counts is a high number of prosecutions, regardless of their merits.

The nation should not be admitted to the task force until it has amended its counterterrorism laws to focus on ter-rorism and demonstrated progress in prosecuting terrorism financing out-side the region.

Graham was a Democratic USsenator from Florida from 1987 to 2005 . Aolain is the UNspecial rapporteur on the pro-motion of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

BOB GRAHAM & FIONNULA NI AOLAIN THE WASHINGTON POST

QUOTE OF THE DAY

We believe in the independence

of the judiciary and we believe in fighting for good

jobs.

Justin Trudeau Canadian Prime

Minister

How the Balkans solved a Balkan problem

The Macedonia name dispute dragged on for almost three decades, becoming the longest

lasting one of its kind in recent history. To an uninformed observer, it may have looked like a curiosity: Greece being so insistent that the naming of the newly formed country constituted a threat and Mace-donia (or FYROM as it had to be called) being equally adamant about retaining its name.

By all accounts, that Mac-edonia was both a name of a country and of a region in Greece did not sound like a serious threat to anyone’s security or territorial integrity. The issue was easily being dismissed as the prod-uct of the intransigence of two typically nationalistic Balkan countries. But the truth is the dis-pute remained unresolved for nearly 30 years also because the Western emissaries who were supposed to mediate it simply did not want to admit what it was all about.

For years, a statement on the website of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs (now taken down) made it very clear: the use of the name expresses claims on Greek

cultural heritage, history, and, hence, identity and this in itself constitutes “irredentism”. That is, the dispute was about history and identity, and not the territory.

This was also reflected and carried in United Nations Secu-rity Council resolution 817, which recognised what it called “former Yugoslav Republic of Macedo-nia” as an independent state in 1993. By way of recognising a nameless state with no national identifier, the international com-munity was basically denying it the right to national self-deter-mination, even if it did not intend to do so. The UNSC’s resolution corresponded with the Balkan history of the “Macedonian ques-tion”, a history of negation of the very reality of a distinct ethnic and national identity that would be called Macedonian by most of the neighbouring countries.

For years, the UN and its spe-cial envoy, Matthew Nimetz, did not want to admit to this reality because it was embarrassing; identity disputes were not sup-posed to be happening in 21st century Europe.

The issue would not have been solved if this simple fact had not been recognised and addressed in negotiations. But this recognition did not come from the UN or the West; it in fact came from the leadership of the two countries involved in the dis-pute. Prime Ministers Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras and their For-eign Ministers Nikola Dimitrov and Nikos Kozias (until Ocrto-ber 2018), respectively, took off the gloves of western diplomatic

etiquette and addressed the issue head-on: they reached a bilateral agreement that tackled identity.

The two countries had to rec-ognise each other’s concerns in order to address them. The Greek side - as laid out in the foreign ministry’s statement - was con-vinced the name laid a claim on Greek history and identity.

The Macedonian side feared that, with the change of the name of the state, the designation of the national identity and the lan-guage would be effaced. Let us note, the fear was justified: more than once, Nimetz’s proposals for a resolution contained nam-ing of nationality and language. By contesting the right to a sig-nifier, these proposals were in fact contesting the existence of a Macedonian ethnicity/nation and Macedonian language.

Article 7 of the bilateral agreement between Greece and (now) North Macedonia addressed these issues by rec-ognising that “Macedonian” can mean two different things at the same time: for the Macedonian side, it means nationality, eth-nic belonging and a South Slavic language, whereas, for the Greek side, it refers to the cultural her-itage of Ancient Greece and the legacy of the Kingdom of Phil-lip and Alexander of Macedon.

Thus, the agreement reaffirmed the principle of self-determination for the Mac-edonians and negotiated the inclusion of both the Slavic and Hellenic signifiers in the name.

The fact that the two Balkan nations faced the “embarrassing”

truth and defied the self-censor-ship of political correctness to address the proverbial elephant in the room speaks volumes about their pollical acumen and bravery.

This is not a solution bro-kered by the European Union, United States or the UN, and it’s not just a temporary ad hoc fix to allow North Macedonia to pur-sue accession to Nato and the EU.

Rather, it is a resolution of a dispute between two neigh-bours negotiated in a way that is sensitive to their political cultures, shared history and national concerns (regardless of how inconceivable they may be to the West). It sets a prece-dent in Balkan politics and can usher in a new and non-atavistic political culture that can take us beyond our nationalisms, fixation on grand historical narratives, and national complexes that we all seem to suffer from.

We would not have reached this solution had the “balkanism” of the dispute not been recog-nised and affirmed in order to be subverted and reinvented into an instrument of empowerment.

The two prime ministers, or indeed the two nations, very much deserve a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. The agree-ment ensures stability in Greece and North Macedonia which also guarantees the security of all of Southeast Europe and as a conse-quence of Europe as a whole. Both Tsipras and Zaev seem to have been acutely aware of this fact and have acted on it with much vision and sense of responsibility.

Qatar is a long term investor and is not looking for a quick profit. This strategy helps build a strong partnership with the companies and also the country where they are located. As a long term investor, Doha is interested in the holistic growth of the firm, the community it is based in and in turn the country they belong to.

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

m.salim@pen.com.qa

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI

osman@pen.com.qa

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIAL

Qatar-Germany ties grow stronger

Qatar has been studiously investing in some marquee companies around the world in the last few years through Qatar Investment Authority.

Doha has been careful to diversify its investments over a spread of sectors in different geographical locations.

Qatar is a long term investor and is not looking for a quick profit. This strategy helps build a strong part-nership with the companies and also the country where they are located. As a long term investor, Doha is inter-ested in the holistic growth of the firm, the community it is based in and in turn the country they belong to.

This helps build friendly and strategic relations between the states and is evident from the close rela-tions Qatar shares with Germany.

Qatar has already announced that it will invest an additional ¤10bn in Germany in the next five years, which will make it the largest Arab investor in Germany with a total investment of ¤35bn.

The sixth session of Qatari-German Joint Commission on Economic, Trade and Technical cooperation was

held recently in Berlin and top officials from both the countries discussed ways to promote bilateral economic and trade relations.

Over 300 German com-panies operate in Qatar and play a very important role in the development of the country across vital indus-tries including the manufac-turing, services, telecommu-nications, transport and infrastructure sectors, among others. Companies like Siemens has been at the forefront helping Qatar turn into a knowledge-based economy. They are also playing an important role in World Cup 2022 projects and their presence will only get stronger as more projects come online as the World Cup approaches.

Qatar has significant investment in some top

German marquee firms like Volkswagen, Deutsche Bank, Siemens, Hochtief and more through QIA, which spans various sectors including automotive, telecommunica-tions, hospitality, and banking among others. With the additional investment to the tune of ¤10m in the next five years will make Qatar one of the key allies of Germany from the Arab world and this will only cement the stronger ties further.

The 9th Qatar Business and Investment Forum held in Berlin during September 2018, under the patronage of the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was a landmark event showing Qatar’s conviction in German economy.

Qatar-German relations shows how countries can mutually benefit from each other’s growth and build a robust relationship build on mutual trust and shared vision.

The global system America created has resulted in the unprecedented spread of democracy and respect for basic human rights. During World War II, there were perhaps a dozen democracies around the globe; today there are well over 100. US leadership promoted broad prosperity that has lifted countries worldwide.

09FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019 OPINION

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The nightmares of a Yemeni mother

Doing evil to do good in Latin America

MANAL QAED ALWESABI AL JAZEERA

HAL BRANDS BLOOMBERG

I start my day thinking it could be my last one, so I try to ignore all nui-sances and petty problems and greet everyone as if it is the last time

we see each other - for, at any moment,

we can be reduced to a mere number in the records of this war.

I have lived in Yemen’s western coastal city of Hodeidah since I was six years old, that is, for 29 years now. I have many mem-ories here: my family, the sea, the people, their excessive kindness, Arabian jasmine and the taste of delicious seafood. All of them have now been consumed by the war.

I see people walk in the street with heavy hearts, each carrying a tragic story about the death of a loved one, the loss of livelihood or the illness that they cannot afford to treat.

Life has been hard in Hodeidah since the conflict began but the past six months have been the worst for us.

As the fighting intensified, hunger, des-peration and death slowly overwhelmed the city. In the only functioning government hospital, I found out, more than 600 mal-nourished children are being treated. Drug prices have doubled. Patients with cancer, kidney failure and chronic diseases have struggled to get treatment, constantly at risk of being killed by one of the frequent delays in medication shipments.

The internet started getting cut off, at first for a few days, then for weeks. At home, there was nothing to do, so we went back to reading books and watching television.

Then, the electricity blackouts started and we couldn’t do that any more either.

In the beginning, we took it lightly. We lit up some candles and enjoyed the warmth of the flickering light. We even play some music on our phones, which often got drowned by the loud sound of heavy explosions.

As the siege choked the city, there was nothing to distract oneself with from the realities of war: no beach, no parks, no res-taurants, no internet. We suddenly become cut off from the rest of the world. It felt as if we were living on a different planet, as if we were slowly losing our humanity.

One day, my husband and I decided to try to go to the sea. We thought we were the only fools in the city who had come up with the idea, but it turned out we were wrong. The little strip of coast that was still not blocked by barricades was full of people. The shelling was very close that day, but we all seemed to ignore it. Peo-ple just sat there and looked at the sea. No one wanted to leave.

The bombardment of the city also intensified. Treacherous shrapnel would pierce into its heart, killing men, women and children indiscriminately on a daily basis. One day, my son 11-year-old son Ammar was late from school. As I strug-gled to keep calm, I couldn’t stop thinking about the shrapnel or the number of explo-sions I had heard and what could have befallen my child, as he walked back home.

For a while, one thought had been occu-pying my mind: No more child victims! I had decided not to bring any more chil-dren to this brutal world so I don’t have to see them sacrificed at the altar of this senseless war.

In November, I left Yemen for about a month. Abroad, I felt I was losing my strength. I never felt depressed in Hode-idah the way I did outside. It did not seem fair to me that the people I left behind had to face the war on their own. I was terri-fied that I would lose them.

I was in Jordan for training in human-itarian journalism. While there, I and a number of other Yemeni journalists heard about the upcoming peace talks and were able to travel to Sweden to cover them.

Being the only journalist from Hode-idah, I received much attention. I was not able to separate my work as a journalist

from my life in Hodeidah. I kept asking all the officials and journalists that I met what they knew about the ceasefire in Hodeidah. I wanted a clear answer but I never got one.

I managed to catch the attention of the UN envoy and question him: “How serious are the different parties about putting an end to hostilities in the city?” He answered my question with another: “Have you come from the same city?” I nodded yes and he responded, “Then, you must be really anxious about it.” He, too, was concerned, he said, and to my frus-tration, gave me nothing else.

On the last day, things took an unpre-dictable turn. Against all odds, a ceasefire agreement was reached. Dreams I had thought would never come true started coming back to me. In my head, I saw my mother and brothers coming back to Hodeidah after five months of being displaced; my husband going back to work at the pharmaceutical company that laid off its workers due to the siege; my son going to school and playing with his friends without the threat of bombs; me having another child - one that would never know a war.

I immediately called my husband. I had spent all my savings in Sweden on phone calls with him and my son because there was no internet in Yemen. I was very happy. I told him about the agreement. We spoke with great enthusiasm until the tel-ephone balance ran out.

After we hung up, he sent me a text message in disbelief: “Are you sure they announced the ceasefire, or did they announce the continuation of hostili-ties?!!” I dismissed all advice by family and friends to seek asylum in Europe and travelled back to Yemen. The journey took four days, as the main roads remained closed. As I entered Hodeidah, I realised I had missed my torn and scary life there. Although the ceasefire was in effect, the clashes had not stopped by the time I came back. We could still hear the fighting and bombardment.

Two weeks after my return, I found myself sitting in the waiting room of a medical lab, waiting for my test results. I was very anxious.

Can one ethically do evil in the service of a greater good? The rough treatment of the State Department envoy for

Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, by Repre-sentative Ilhan Omar last week raised this classic moral question. In a hearing on US policy toward Vene-zuela, Omar questioned Abrams’s credibility on grounds that he misled Congress about US policy in Central America during the 1980s. She also accused him of supporting and even celebrating the murderous counterin-surgency carried out in El Salvador during this period.

It is hard to take Omar’s “questioning” of Abrams seriously, given her sometimes tendentious reading of history and the fact that she was clearly performing for an audience rather than sincerely seeking to elicit information. She called Abrams “Mr. Adams” and repeatedly cut him off while he tried to answer her questions. Yet the imbroglio raised some worthwhile issues regarding what happened in Cen-tral America during the 1980s and the role of illiberal policies in sustaining the liberal international order.

Contrary to what some critics claimed at the time and after, the problem with US policy in Central America was not that Washington was on the wrong side of the civil wars that convulsed the region. In El Salvador, the Reagan administration sought to midwife an imperfect democracy that was being assailed by Cuban-backed rebels on the left and reactionary elites on

the right. In Nicaragua, the administra-tion aimed to overthrow an authoritarian, Marxist-Leninist government that was serving as a bridgehead for Soviet and Cuban influence. The trouble, rather, was that the pursuit of worthy ends led to the use of deeply problematic means.

In El Salvador, staving off a gue-rilla victory meant supporting a brutal, repressive military that worked closely with right-wing death squads. In Nicara-gua, destabilizing the Sandinista regime meant aiding the Contras - anti-commu-nist rebels who sometimes committed atrocities. It also involved exerting severe economic, diplomatic and military pres-sure on a broken country, and a civilian population, that had never fully recov-ered from the 1979 revolution.

Because these policies were highly controversial at home, especially with Democrats in Congress, the Reagan admin-istration too often played fast and loose with the truth. Officials downplayed abuses committed by the Salvadoran military, such as when US-trained soldiers mas-sacred hundreds of civilians at El Mozoté in 1981. When Congress cut off funding for the Contras in Nicaragua, US officials illegally sold arms to Iran, diverted the proceeds to the Nicaraguan rebels, and deceived the legislative branch and the American public about it. This led to the Iran-Contra scandal, the country’s most serious political crisis since Watergate.

Abrams, who pled guilty to two misde-meanors, later argued that his subsequent prosecution for misleading Congress as

part of Iran-Contra was politically moti-vated. Even some former opponents of US policy in Central America have con-ceded that the prosecution was flawed. And on the whole, the administration’s policies got results.

Had Congress terminated US aid to El Salvador in the early 1980s, the guerillas would likely have won and the country would have become another communist dictatorship. Or, perhaps, the extreme right would have cast aside all restraint and perpetrated even greater repression. Instead, the administration (supported, ironically, by the threat that Congress might terminate aid) gradually made progress in reducing human rights abuses, strength-ening a moderate civilian government, and creating a democracy that persists to this day. Similarly, had the US not applied such intense pressure in Nicaragua, the left-wing Sandinista government would not ultimately have agreed to hold elec-tions, which it lost.

Yet there were vast amounts of collat-eral damage inflicted on both El Salvador and Nicaragua - and also on democratic procedures and accountability in the US Put simply, those who support democ-racy and oppose authoritarianism should probably applaud the outcomes in Cen-tral America during the 1980s, but they can be forgiven for being appalled at the methods.

The reason this history matters today is that it bears on broader debates about US conduct in the world. The US foreign policy elite often argues that American power is a force for global good as well as national advantage - that the liberal international order is more just and virtu-ous than any previous international order. Critics respond that America’s liberal order has often been sustained through pro-foundly illiberal expedients. Both sides have a point.

The global system America created has resulted in the unprecedented spread of democracy and respect for basic human rights. During World War II, there were perhaps a dozen democracies around the globe; today there are well over 100. US leadership promoted broad prosperity that has lifted countries worldwide. It has restrained the might-makes-right ten-dencies that characterised earlier eras. Whereas conquest and annexation of small countries used to be a fact of life, only a single country - South Vietnam - has disappeared due to foreign aggression since 1945. What moral progress there has been in global affairs in recent gen-erations is tied closely to the power and

Being the only journalist from Hodeidah, I received much attention. I was not able to separate my work as a journalist from my life in Hodeidah.

policies of the USYet that power has sometimes been

used in very nasty ways. The US helped overthrow hostile governments - a few of them democratically elected - in Latin America and other third-world regions. It supported bloodthirsty autocrats who victimized their own populations in the name of anti-com-munism. America inflicted devastating violence on civilian populations dur-ing the Korean and Vietnam wars, and US officials have frequently operated outside of international law and inter-national institutions when they deem that the country’s interests so require. The US has pursued the liberal interna-tional order as a way of advancing its national interests, so it has often been perfectly willing to get rough with those who stand in the way.

On balance, the moral scorecard remains favorable to America’s glo-bal project. The world is a messy place where the alternative to one evil is often another evil. Any country that plays purely by Marquess of Queensbury rules will not achieve much, either morally or geopolitically. And for all its sins, the US has behaved better than its rivals. It is hard to imagine that the world would have been more just and virtuous had the US not worked so hard to contain Soviet influence, or that it would become a better place if China and Russia get the upper hand today.

This is not to argue for moral complacency or to excuse the moral compromises the US has made. A key selling point of America’s international order is that the US holds itself to a higher standard than its rivals, past or present. Moreover, there is no project so pure that it cannot be sullied by perverse methods. America, then, must con-tinually struggle to remain true to the better angels of its nature, even as it understands that global affairs can sometimes be a devil’s game.

Elliott Abrams, testifies at a hearing before the House of Foreign Affairs Committee.

10 FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019EUROPE

People protest during a strike day in Barcelona against the trial of former Catalan separatist leaders held in Madrid, yesterday. Activists blocked roads and rail lines in Catalonia as a region-wide strike began against the trial of separatist leaders for their role in a failed 2017 secession attempt.

British oppn leader warns of no deal Brexit dangerAFP BRUSSELS

British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn warned yesterday a no deal Brexit was a “very serious and present” risk and blamed Prime Minister Theresa May’s inflexible nego-tiating position.

Corbyn met EU Brexit nego-tiator Michel Barnier in Brussels one day after May also met top European Commission officials and as talk in London grew of a possible breakthrough in the coming days.

A Brexit deal struck by May and the other 27 EU leaders in November was rejected by British lawmakers in January and since then she has struggled to thrash out a compromise over the so-called “Irish backstop” issue.

Corbyn said he had “useful, informative and very frank” con-versations with Barnier and other EU officials, outlining his Labour Party’s proposal that Britain should enter a customs union with the bloc when it

leaves — an idea unacceptable to many Brexit supporters who say it would tie London’s hands on trade deals.

“The danger of no deal exit from the EU for Britain is a very serous and present one,” Corbyn told reporters after-wards, urging May to soften her negotiating stance, which he said was being driven by her Conservative Party’s ultra-Brexiteer European Research Group (ERG) of MPs.

“She is allowing herself to be held to ransom by a small

group in her party called the ERG and that is some of the problem. She has got to change her ways, otherwise the danger of a no deal exit, with all the chaos that would cause, is a very real possibility,” he warned.

While Corbyn was travelling to Brussels, British finance min-ister Philip Hammond raised hopes of a breakthrough in the coming days, telling the BBC there had been “some movement” by the European Union.

He said progress in the ongoing negotiations could result in a fresh vote next week on May’s divorce deal, while Thursday will also see Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox hold “detailed discussions” with Barnier in Brussels.

The stumbling block has been the Irish backstop, which provides for Britain to remain in the EU customs union until a way is found — such as a future free trade deal — to ensure that Ireland’s border with Northern

Corbyn met EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels one day after May also met top European Commission officials and as talk in London grew of a possible breakthrough in the coming days.

France vows crackdown on surge in anti-SemitismAFP/PARIS

Faced with a worrying surge in attacks on Jews, France plans to introduce tough new legislation governing social media platforms to combat online hate speech and officially recognise anti-Zionism as a form of anti-Semitism.

“France needs to draw new red lines, and we will do so, with concrete measures,” President Emmanuel Macron told Jewish leaders. “For years and years we have condemned, announced plans, sometimes even passed laws. But we have not been able to act effectively, it’s true,” he said.

Just a few hours after his speech, residents in southern Paris woke up to swastikas scrawled on doors and bus stops, and graffiti written next to the nameplate of a doctor’s office. France, home to Europe’s biggest Jewish community, hopes that curbing incendiary hate speech online and an increased focus on educating against racism in schools will help cut down on real-world assaults.

Macron said the government would move to hold social plat-forms like Facebook responsible for quickly removing hate speech — most likely within 24 hours — with a new law to be adopted shortly.

Britain’s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn (right), and party’s Shadow Secretary of State for Departing the European Union, Keir Starmer, leaving after a meeting with European Union Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, yesterday.

Ireland remains open. Brexiteers in the Conserv-

ative party warn that Britain may

be trapped in the bloc indefinitely, and have demanded a time limit or exit clause./ach

Merkel offers Juncker solidarity in Hungary spatAP BERLIN

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday that the head of the European Union’s executive branch has her full support in the face of a new Hungarian government campaign alleging that EU head-quarters has purposely weakened the bloc’s external borders to let in more migrants.

The campaign by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government, launched ahead of

European Parliament elections in May, has added to long-running tensions between Budapest and Brussels.

Government posters fea-turing EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Hun-garian-American financier George Soros have recently started appearing in Hungary and in the country’s newspapers and magazines.

They claim that EU leaders, who Orban says are carrying out instructions from Soros, “are launching experimental

immigration projects with African countries; want to introduce mandatory settlement quotas; want to reduce financial assistance for countries opposed to migration.”

EU leaders have rejected the claims, arguing that the EU and Juncker are in fact at the fore-front of reinforcing the bloc’s external borders.

“Jean-Claude Juncker has my full solidarity, and we will also make that clear in our discus-sions with Hungary,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin.

The campaign has prompted renewed calls for Orban’s Fidesz party to be thrown out of the center-right European People’s Party group in the European Par-liament, but Merkel sidestepped a question on when her patience with Orban would snap. Juncker and Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union are members of the EPP.

“I’m very much surprised if I am seeing these posters now spread around in Hungary,” Juncker said at a conference in Brussels. “But I’m not giving in. I’m not like that.”

Juncker added that there can be “no progress” in Europe if nations fight against each other.

“Enough is enough,” he said.Hungary showed no sign of

backing down. The poster “includes tenable, exact and true statements in all of its elements,” said Gergely Gulyas, Orban’s chief of staff. “The past five years have been a failure for Europe as a result of the activities of the European Commission, and the European Commission cannot deflect responsibility for what has happened in Europe,” he said.

Swedish teen leads Belgian students on 7th climate marchAP BRUSSELS

Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg led a march of thou-sands of Belgian students who skipped classes for the seventh Thursday in a row to march through Brussels and draw more attention to fighting climate change.

The 16-year-old Thunberg first addressed a European Union conference, chiding adults for their inaction in the face of such climatic global dangers. She said youngsters are being forced to skip school and protest because adults are not addressing climate issues quickly enough.

She told the European Eco-nomic and Social Committee plenary session that “we are

school striking because we have done our homework” on the dangers facing the Earth.

Thunberg has become her generation’s voice on climate change after inspiring students around the world to go on strike to express their anger and angst over global warming. Also at the conference was EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker who said he was “glad to see that young people are taking to the streets for climate change.”

“It can in fact bring change,” Juncker said notwithstanding the fact that Thunberg had chided his class of politicians for negli-gence in the face of such chal-lenges. Now, Thunberg wants the adult to move immediately.

“There is simply not enough time to wait for us to grow up

and become the ones in charge,” she said. The march itself under a wintry sunshine gathered some

7,500 protesters in Brussels. Thousands more were marching in large provincial cities.

16 year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg (right), and a Belgian student during a call for urgent measures to combat climate change, in Brussels, Belgium, yesterday.

EU hits back at Romania over probe against two top officialsAFP BRUSSELS

Already tense relations between Romania and the EU threatened to deteriorate further yesterday, when Brussels hit back at a decision by Bucharest to launch criminal investigations against two of its top officials.

Brussels denounced Roma-nia’s decision to launch a probe against the EU Commission’s deputy president Frans Tim-mermans and Justice Commis-sioner Vera Jourova for alleged abuse of office and making false statements about Romania.

“We learned via the media about the fact that the Romanian authorities launched a criminal investigation against several commission officials concerning actions performed in their official capacity and the exercise of their duties,” Com-mission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a regular news briefing in Brussels.

“Of course, we do not comment on national judicial proceedings, but we would nev-ertheless like to remind Romanian authorities that all Commission officials -- when they’re doing their jobs -- are subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, and that the national authorities have no jurisdiction in these matters,” Schinas said. The latest spat erupted after the government-friendly Romanian website, luju.ro, accused Timmermans and Jourova of making false state-ments within the framework of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), a special system for monitoring the progress Romania is making in a number of areas, such as the judiciary and the fight against corruption.

Pro-separatist protesters in Spain clash with policeAP BARCELONA

Protesters backing Catalonia’s secession from Spain clashed with police and blocked major roads and train tracks across the northeastern region yesterday-during a strike called to protest the trial of a dozen separatist leaders.

Regional police say they made four arrests when they met resistance trying to clear groups of protesters who had stopped traffic. The regional emergency service said that 22 people had been treated for minor injuries.

Twelve officers were also injured in the clashes, according to police. Protesters threw rocks at police lines and burned tires on some highways.

Regional transportation authorities said the disruptions

affected main thoroughfares in Barcelona and half a dozen major highways and railway tracks elsewhere in Catalonia.

The general strike was organized by small unions of pro-independence workers and stu-dents. On paper, they were demanding improved social pol-icies, including a 35-hour work week and a higher minimum wage, but the protesters carried pro-secession flags and chanted slogans for the release of the 12 separatists currently on trial in the Madrid-based Supreme Court.

The main unions in Catalonia did not back the strike, which appeared to have a limited impact on businesses.

In Barcelona, students in favor of secession held a mid-day march attended by 13,000 people according to the city’s urban

police. The pro-secession grass-roots group ANC - whose protest slogan is “self-determination is not a crime” - was planning a separate march later Thursday.

The Spanish government says regions cannot independently secede, according to the Constitution.

The trial into the roles played by the 12 separatists in Catalo-nia’s failed 2017 secession attempt is in its second week. On Thursday, former Catalan gov-ernment member Santi Vila, ANC’s ex-president Jordi Sanchez and fellow activist Jordi Cuixart were scheduled to testify at the court. The trial is expected to last at least three months.

Election results and polls indicate that Catalonia’s 7.5 million residents are divided down the middle over the secession issue.

AFP WASHINGTON

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (pictured) said yesterday that the diplomatic status of the father of an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State group means she is not a US citizen.

Under orders of President Donald Trump, Pompeo made the highly unusual determi-nation that 24-year-old Hoda Muthana, who travelled to Syria on a US passport and wants to return, is not an American citizen.

Pompeo did not outline the legal rationale but in an interview yesterday, asked if the key issue was that her father had been a diplomat, Pompeo said, “That’s right.” “She may have been born here. She is not a US citizen, nor is she entitled to US citizenship,” Pompeo told NBC television’s “Today” show.

Muthana was born in 1994 in New Jersey to a father who had served as a diplomat from Yemen, according to her lawyer.

But the lawyer, Hassan Shibly, said that her father had ended his diplomatic service “months” before Muthana was born and that she was in fact a US citizen.

The United States grants cit-izenship to virtually everyone born on its soil under the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment — ratified in 1868 after the Civil War and abolition of slavery.

The only significant exception is children of accredited foreign diplomats, as the 14th Amendment provides citizenship to everyone “subject to the juris-diction” of the United States.

It is extremely difficult for the United States to strip a person of citizenship, a step taken by Britain in the case of homegrown militants.

Muthana, who remains in the custody of US-allied Kurdish fighters in Syria along with a toddler son from a late militan-thusband, says she regrets her actions and is willing to face prosecution in the United States.

She furtively went to Syria in 2014 when the Islamic State group was carrying out a grisly campaign of beheadings and mass abuse and turned to social media to praise the killings of Westerners.

Trump’s order on Muthana came even though he is pushing other Western countries to bring back hundreds of militants to prosecute at home as the United States prepares to withdraw troops from Syria.

AP WASHINGTON

House Democrats will file a reso-lution today aimed at blocking the national emergency declaration that US President Donald Trump has issued to help finance his wall along the Southwest border, teeing up a clash over billions of dollars, immigration policy and the Constitution’s separation of powers.

Though the effort seems almost certain to ultimately fall short — perhaps to a Trump veto — the votes will let Democrats take a defiant stance against Trump that is sure to please liberal voters. They will also put some Republicans from swing districts and states in a difficult spot. Formally introducing the measure sets up a vote by the full House likely by mid-March, perhaps as soon as next week,

because of a timeline spelled out by law. Initial passage by the Democratic-run House seems assured.

The measure would then move to the Republican-con-trolled Senate, where there may be enough GOP defections for approval. The law that spells out the rules for emergency

declarations seems to require the Senate to address the issue too, but there’s never been a congres-sional effort to block one and some procedural uncertainties

remain.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,

seemed to predict approval, telling colleagues in a letter that her chamber will “move swiftly”

to pass it and “the resolution will be referred to the Senate and then sent to the President’s desk.” Should the House and Senate ini-tially approve the measure, Con-gress seems unlikely to muster the two-thirds majorities in each chamber that would be needed later to override a certain Trump veto. Even so, Republican sen-ators facing tough 2020 re-election fights in competitive states like Arizona, Colorado and North Carolina would have to take stances that could risk dividing the GOP’s pro-Trump and more moderate voters.

Moderate Senator Susan Collins, said she would back a res-olution blocking the declaration, making her the first Republican to publicly state her support for the effort to thwart the emer-gency. With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority, three more GOP senators would need to vote with

Democrats for the resolution to win initial approval.

The votes could also cause dis-comfort for other Republicans who’ve opposed the declaration. Many have expressed concerns that Trump’s declaration sets a precedent for future Democratic presidents to declare emergencies to help their own favoured issues, like global warming or gun control.

The battle is over an emer-gency declaration Trump has issued to access billions of dollars beyond what Congress has authorised to start erecting border barriers. Building the wall was the most visible trademark of his presidential campaign.

Congress approved a vast spending bill last week providing nearly $1.4bn to build 55 miles of border barriers in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley while preventing a renewed government shutdown.

11FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019 EUROPE / AMERICAS

Pompeo: Diplomat dad means US-born IS woman not citizen

Nancy Pelosi attends VH1 Trailblazer Honors at The Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Democrats prepare resolution against Trump’s declaration

A building of the VVSI Sport Hotel in Gardony town, about 60km west from Hungarian capital Budapest, where Venezuela’s refugees are hosted.

Hungarian opposition cries foul over Venezuelan refugeesAFP BUDAPEST

Hungarian opposition politicians accused the government of hypocrisy yesterday over a programme helping to settle Venezuelan refugees of Hungarian origin, saying it contradicted the right-wing government’s strict anti-immi-gration laws.

The row started when the index.hu investigative website published details of how 300

Venezuelans had come to the country under a generous pro-gramme which paid for their airfare, a year’s accommodation, Hungarian and English lessons and allowed them to work shortly after arrival.

According to index.hu the programmes was organised under the auspices of the Hun-garian branch of the Order of Malta religious mission but at least some of the costs were borne by the Hungarian gov-ernment. The opposition was

quick to point out the contrast between the programme and the government’s strident anti-immigration rhetoric.

Last year, stringent laws were passed slapping taxes on non-governmental organisations deemed to be supporting or pos-itively portraying migration. “We call on the government to reg-ister itself as an organisation supporting migration and to pay the tax,” said MEP Csaba Molnar from the liberal DK party at a press conference.

Russia questions US intention behind Venezuela aid moveANATOLIA ANKARA

Russia has doubts over the US intention to deliver humanitarian aid to Venezuela scheduled tomorrow. “If the organisers really want to just deliver some kind of humanitarian aid to the needy, why not use the specialized UN agencies that have extensive and invaluable experience in carrying out such operations?” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Zakharova was reiterating a

Russian warning last Thursday against the US move to use humanitarian aid delivery as a possible “pretext for a military intervention”.

Rocked by protests after the self-declaration of the opposition leader Juan Guaido as the interim president, Venezuela on Wednesday witnessed a series of events opposing President Nicolas Maduro.

Meanwhile, Venezuela’s Embassy in Costa Rica was taken over by an Ambassador appointed by the opposition.

Maria Faria, who claimed to have been appointed by Guaido, entered the diplomatic building in San Jose early Wednesday, according to an Embassy statement.

Faria said diplomatic staff appointed by Maduro were sus-pended and claimed new dip-lomats were recognised by the government of Costa Rica.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza blasted the move on social media, saying “a group of foreigners entered the Vene-zuelan Embassy in Costa Rica like

thieves”. “The government of that country must enforce the Diplo-matic Relations Convention and guarantee the operation and safety of our personnel and facil-ities,” he added.

Venezuelan assets Guaido said he spoke to Switzerland’s President Ueli Maurer to freeze bank accounts of South American nation after “irregular move-ments” were discovered.

“We are doing everything possible to protect these assets that belong to the republic,” he added.

Advocates say US still separates migrant familiesAP HOUSTON

Advocates and members of Congress are questioning the treatment of children who cross the US-Mexico border with rela-tives other than their parents.

The Texas Civil Rights Project released a report yesterday that counts 272 separations at a single Texas courthouse since June, when President Donald Trump issued an executive order that ended widespread family sepa-rations amid public outrage. The group says 38 separations involved a parent or legal guardian, the majority of whom had criminal records. Most of the rest involved another adult relative.

Trump’s ex-lawyer to talk to Senate panel next weekREUTERS WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday in one of three appearances before US lawmakers next week ahead of reporting to prison in May.

Cohen, Trump’s longtime fixer who is set to go to prison for three years after pleading guilty to campaign finance and other crimes, will speak to sen-ators behind closed doors, two sources familiar with congres-sional plans said.

Representatives of the com-mittee could not be immediately reached for comment.

Cohen’s Senate committee testimony will be the first of three congressional appearances the former Trump lawyer is scheduled to make next week.

The House Oversight Com-mittee, now led by Democrat Elijah Cummings, announced on Wednesday that it will hold a public hearing next Wednesday at which Cohen will be the only witness.

Committee Democrats said that among the issues they plan to question Cohen about are Trump’s personal finances, the making of payments related to efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election, and alleged public efforts by Trump and his lawyers to intimidate Cohen and others to avoid such testimony.

Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican member of the Oversight Committee, said “giving a platform to Mr. Cohen is beneath the dignity of Congress.”

Cohen also will appear at a closed-door hearing on Thursday next week before the House Intelligence Committee, now led by Adam Schiff, a Dem-ocratic critic of Trump.

Cohen, who once said he was so loyal to Trump that he would “take a bullet” for him, handled a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who said she had an affair with Trump. In December Trump tweeted that Cohen was a “rat” for cooperating with prosecutors.

Armed group caught in Haiti returned to USAP PORT-AU-PRINCE

The US State Department said several men arrested in Haiti with a cache of weaponry at a time of violent demonstrations have been returned to the United States before a scheduled court hearing in the Caribbean nation.

The department said in an emailed statement that the return was coordinated with Haitian authorities, but a spokesman for Haiti’s Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant told Radio Vision 2000 yesterday that he was not aware of the men’s departure and demanded an immediate explanation from the justice minister.

Five US citizens were

among eight men arrested on Sunday while carrying auto-matic weapons and other arms and driving in cars without l icense plates . Pol ice spokesman Michel-Ange Louis-Jeune has said the men told police they were on a “mission,” but they refused to say anything else except that they would call their uniden-tified bosses.

Prosecutors had said the men would appear in court on Wednesday. Instead, they were taken to the airport. One of the men is a Haitian citizen and apparently was not returned.

Jean Clarens Renois, a former presidential candidate, said in a phone interview that the situation has eroded confi-dence in Haiti’s government.

A group of vehicles supposedly carrying Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido leave his house in Caracas. Guaido left Caracas with some 80 lawmakers yesterday on a 800-km trip to the Colombian border where they hope to receive food and medicine to alleviate shortages in defiance of President Nicolas Maduro.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, seemed to predict approval, telling colleagues in a letter that her chamber will “move swiftly” to pass it and “the resolution will be referred to the Senate and then sent to the President’s desk.”

12 FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019AMERICAS / CLASSIFIEDS

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with members of the Nova Scotia Muslim community while in attendance for a vigil in support of a Syrian refugee family who lost seven children killed in a house fire in the community of Spryfield earlier in the week, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Donations pour in for Syrian refugees

who lost all 7 children in Canada fireREUTERS TORONTO

A fundraising effort for a Syrian-refugee couple who lost all seven of their children in a house fire on Tuesday in the eastern Canadian city of Halifax has raised C$339,042 ($257,357) from nearly 6,000 people in 24 hours, according to online fund-raiser GoFundMe.

With the children’s father in the hospital with life-threatening injuries and the mother stricken with grief, the community held a vigil for the family on Wednesday evening in Halifax, according to one of the groups that helped resettle the refugees.

Family friends of the victims, the Imam Council of Halifax, and the Hants East Assisting Refugees Team (HEART) Society initiated the GoFundMe crowd-funding drive for the Barho family, according to the website.

The vigil was attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The Barho family arrived in Canada in 2017 and was the first family sponsored by the HEART Society, according to the organ-isation. A YouTube video posted on The Enfield Weekly Press & The Laker channel shows the family receiving a welcome at an airport in Sept. 29, 2017.

The HEART society said the children enjoyed living in Canada, and participated in

swimming and bicycling. The society said their ages ranged from four months to 15 years.

Natalie Horne, Vice-Pres-ident of the HEART Society, said the family was “full of humour, full of smiles, full of gratitude, and love.” The father is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries, and the mother was not injured but is dealing with “an overwhelming amount of grief,” according to Horne.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined by the author-ities. “It’s been an overwhelming show of support from the com-munity locally, nationally, inter-nationally. It means a lot. We wish that we could all bring the children back,” Horne said.

Pence will meet with Lima Group on Venezuela crisisREUTERS WASHINGTON

US Vice-President Mike Pence will fly to Bogota, Colombia on Monday to discuss the Venezuela crisis with leaders of the regional Lima Group of nations, his office said yesterday.

The United States and other members of the group have thrown their support behind opposition leader Juan Guaido and are trying to pressure Pres-ident Nicolas Maduro to step aside to allow for new elections and the entry of humanitarian aid.

“The struggle in Venezuela is between dicta-torship and democracy, and freedom has the momentum. Juan Guaido is the only legitimate leader of Venezuela, and it’s time for Nicolas Maduro to go,” Alyssa Farah, a spokeswoman for Pence, said in a statement. Pence is set to meet with refugees during his visit, his office said.

Landslide kills several people in wildcat gold mine in PeruREUTERS LIMA

Several people were killed in a wildcat gold mine in the Peruvian Andes after heavy rains triggered a landslide, local daily La Republica reported yesterday.

Peru’s civil defence agency, Indeci, said on Twitter that it sent a search-and-rescue team to the unregulated mining camp in the southern region of Puno. Indeci did not immediately respond to requests for comment. La Republica reported seven people were killed after the landslide swept over the mining camp, with survivors retrieving bodies from the mud while authorities struggled to reach the remote location. Peru is home to hundreds of unregulated mining operations where workers toil in precarious conditions.

Earlier this month, four miners were rescued from a small coal mine after a landslide trapped them for several days. Two miners were killed at a different mine last week when a tunnel collapsed under heavy rains. Consecutive governments in Peru have sought to regulate “informal” mining.

This week the government of President Martin Vizcarra launched a new crackdown on wildcat gold mining in an Amazonian region, after deforestation from the activity in the region peaked last year.

Peru is the world’s sixth largest gold producer.

Canada’s Premier still puzzled by minister’s resignationREUTERS OTTAWA

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday said he was still puzzled by the decision of former veterans affairs minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to quit last week, even though she addressed the Cabinet on Tuesday.

Trudeau is battling a crisis that centres on Wilson-Raybould and allegations that his offi-cials pressured her last year to ensure con-struction company SNC-Lavalin Group Inc avoided a corruption and bribery trial when she was justice minister.

Trudeau, speaking to reporters in Atlantic Canada, did not answer directly when asked about a report in the Globe and Mail newspaper yesterday alleging Wilson-Raybould told the Cabinet she had come under improper pressure from officials.

“I continue to be surprised by Jody Wilson-Raybould’s decision.... This is not a decision that remains clear to me,” he told a televised news conference in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

The issue could threaten the ruling Liberals’ chances in an election this October. Trudeau aide Gerald Butts, a major architect of the Lib-erals’ surprise victory in October 2015, quit on Monday while insisting he had done nothing wrong.

13FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019 CLASSIFIEDS

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Friday 22 February 2019

PAGE | 15 PAGE | 15Russian wealth

fund calls for US investor to be

freed from jail

Lack of hard currency worsens hardships of Zimbabweans

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at $57.17 a barrel at 1320 GMT. Brent crude futures were down 4 cents at $67.04 after touching a 2019 peak on Wednesday at $67.38.

QSE index gained 250 points last weekTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Stock Exchange’s (QSE) benchmark index gained 250 points, or 2.51 percent, last week when the bourse closed yes-terday at 10,191.50 points.

Trading value during last week increased by 79.73 percent to reach QR1.61bn compared to QR900.36m.

Trading volume increased by 78.75 percent to reach 52.56 million shares, as against 29.40 million shares, while the number of transactions rose by 42.19 percent, to reach 31,316 transac-tions as compared to 22,024 transactions.

Market cap rose by 2.26 percent to reach QR578.40bn as compared to QR565.64bn at the

end of previous week.Banking and Financial

Services sector led traded value last week with 34.84 percent of the total traded value. Industries sector accounted for 28.55 percent. Consumer Goods and Services sector accounted for 19.06 percent and Real Estate sector accounted 9.99 percent, reports QNA.

Industries sector led traded volume last week with 43.91 percent of the total traded volume. Banking and Financial Services sector accounted for 20.91 percent. Real Estate sector accounted for 19.36 percent and Telecoms sector accounted 5.36 percent.

Industries sector led traded number of transactions last week with 40.67 percent of the total

number of transactions. Real Estate sector accounted for 19.70 percent. Banking and Financial Services sector accounted for 18.66 percent and Consumer Goods and Services sector accounted for 8.14 percent.

Of the 46 companies at QSE, 29 ended last week higher, while 14 fell and three remained unchanged.

QNB led trading value during last week accounted for 20.36 percent of the total traded value. Qatar Fuel accounted for 15.53 percent and Mesaieed Petro-chemical Holding Company accounted 10.16 percent.

When compared on daily basis, the QSE index gained 113.68 points, or 1.13 percent, compared to Wednesday’s closing.

The volume of shares traded yesterday increased to 14.45 million from 8.87 million on Wednesday and the value of shares increased to QR432.43m f r o m Q R 3 8 4 . 2 1 m o n Wednesday.

Of the 49 companies listed on QSE, shares of 47 saw trading yesterday. From these, 32 com-panies gained, 13 closed lower and shares of two companies remained unchanged.

Indices of five sectors ended in green zone and two sectors ended in red zone yesterday.

QSE Total Return Index increased 1.150 percent to 18,109.02 points and QSE Al Rayan Islamic Index up 1.55 percent to 3,976.52 points. QSE All Share Index gained 1.31 percent to 3,075.86 points.

Samsung unveils world’s first folding smartphoneDrew Blackard, product marketing manager for Samsung, speaks on stage during the Samsung unpacked product launch event in San Francisco, California. The electronics giant unveiled a nearly $2,000 folding smartphone in a bid to top the technology of Apple Inc and Chinese rivals and reignite consumer interest amid slumping sales.

Oil hovers near 2019 highs amid Opec cutsREUTERS LONDON

Oil prices hovered around 2019 highs yesterday, bolstered by Opec-led supply cuts and US sanctions on Venezuela and Iran, but were capped by slowing growth in the global economy.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at $57.17 a barrel at 1320 GMT, 1 cent above their last settlement, and close to a 2019 high of $57.55 reached the previous day.

Brent crude futures were down 4 cents at $67.04 after touching a 2019 peak on Wednesday at $67.38.

Oil prices have been driven up this year by supply cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

Opec and its de facto leader Saudi Arabia agreed late last year, along with producer allies such as Russia, to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to prevent a supply overhang from growing.

Opec member Nigeria sig-nalled on Wednesday that it would limit output after its pro-duction climbed in January.

“Willingness of the Opec+ group to adhere with the output cut agreement will remain sup-portive of oil prices in the run-up to their scheduled April meeting,” said Abhishek Kumar, senior energy analyst at Interfax Energy in London.

“Sharply declining oil output from Iran and Venezuela will further prompt bullish sentiment in the market.” US sanctions have hit Iranian and Venezuelan crude exports while unrest has

curbed Libyan output. However, analysts said that a global eco-nomic slowdown - signs of which emerged late last year - was preventing prices from surging beyond highs reached this week.

“Slowing economic growth will invariably lead to weakness in fuel consumption, thus eroding bullish gains for oil prices,” said Benjamin Lu of bro-kerage Phillip Futures in Singapore.

Talks between the United States and China to resolve a trade dispute which has helped to dent global growth may be progressing, though. The two sides have started to outline commitments in principle on key points of contention, sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.

Business of renting kitchen space heats upin ChinaBLOOMBERG SAN FRANCISCO

In China’s biggest cities, res-taurants are struggling to satisfy the appetites of cus-tomers ordering food delivery through apps on their phones. That’s leading to a booming market for renting kitchen space, without tables, chairs or waiters.

One shared kitchen startup, Panda Selected, plans to announce on Friday a $50 m investment from a group of international backers. The Beijing-based company is snapping up real estate to get ahead of local rivals and a deep-pocketed competitor from Los Angeles run by Travis Kalanick, the billionaire co-founder of Uber Technol-ogies Inc. The new investment in Panda is led by Tiger Global Management, a backer of Uber before Kalanick was forced out in 2017. Other investors include DCM and Glenridge Capital, with the latest round bringing its total capital to $80m, the company said. The deal values Panda Selected at as much as $300m, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the infor-mation has not been made public.

Kitchens are shared between restaurants to reduce their overheads with Panda Selected providing the venue, supplies and marketing. The company makes money through monthly fees as well as additional charges for services such as data analytics to help merchants adjust menus to boost sales on delivery platforms Meituan and Ele.me.

Founder Haipeng Li started the business in 2016 and now has more than 100 kitchens in China, with plans to double that over the next eight months.

US firms’ spending on equipment and primary metals weakeningREUTERS WASHINGTON

New orders for key US-made capital goods unexpectedly fell in December amid declining demand for machinery and primary metals, pointing to a further slowdown in business spending on equipment that could crimp economic growth.

The moderation in business investment was also under-scored by another report yes-terday showing a measure of factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region contracted in February for the first time since May 2016.

The reports, together with data last week showing steep declines in retail sales in December and manufacturing output in January, strengthen the Federal Reserve’s “patient” stance toward raising interest rates further this year.

Minutes of the US central bank’s January 29-30 policy meeting published on Wednesday noted that “some risks to the downside had increased” with regard to the outlook for the economy. The Fed left interest rates unchanged at that meeting and discarded promises of “further gradual increases” in borrowing costs.

The Commerce Department said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, dropped 0.7 percent. Data for November was revised down to show these so-called core capital goods orders falling 1.0 percent instead of declining 0.6 percent as previously reported.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast core capital goods orders rising 0.2 percent in December. Core capital goods orders increased 6.1 percent on

a year-on-year basis.Shipments of core capital

goods rose 0.5 percent in December after an unrevised 0.2 percent drop in the prior month. Core capital goods shipments are used to calculate equipment spending in the government’s gross domestic product measurement.

While the rebound in core capital goods shipments suggests continued moderate growth in business spending on equipment in the fourth quarter, the sur-prise drop in orders points to weakness in the months ahead.

The December report was delayed by a 35-day partial shutdown of the federal gov-ernment that ended on Jan. 25. The Commerce Department said the “processing and data quality were monitored throughout, and response and coverage rates were at or above normal levels for this release.”

Citigroup in talks with treasury over $1.1bn Maduro gold dealBLOOMBERG CARACAS

Citigroup bankers have been holding talks with US Treasury officials to figure out how to handle a gold deal they had arranged with Nicolas Maduro’s regime in Venezuela, people familiar with the matter said.

The deal, a $1.1bn swaps contract backed by gold held by the Venezuelan central bank, was struck before the US stepped up sanctions on Maduro’s government. But it’s due to expire early next month and Citigroup bankers are seeking to make sure they avoid making a move now that would violate the sanctions, according to Senator Marco Rubio (pic-tured) and other US and Vene-zuelan officials familiar with the matter.

“The one thing, no banker, global or financial institution is going to do is run the risk of

secondary sanctions,” Rubio, who’s been helping drive the US push to oust Maduro, said in a telephone interview late Wednesday. “The sale of gold is another revenue source that the Maduro regime is using and I know for a fact that Citibank has had multiple meetings with Treasury seeking guidance, trying to figure out how to avoid exposure.”

Daniel Diaz, a spokesman for Citigroup, declined to comment as did a Treasury spokesman.

15FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019 BUSINESS

Russian wealth fund calls for US investor to be freed from jailREUTERS MOSCOW

The head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund has appealed to a court in Moscow to move US investor Michael Calvey (pictured) and several other detained exec-utives of the Baring Vostok private equity group to house arrest, the fund said yesterday.

Calvey, a US citizen, and several other senior executives were arrested last week on sus-picion of defrauding Vostochny Bank shareholders.

They deny the allegations and say the case is being used to apply pressure in a business dispute.

Calvey is currently being held in pre-trial detention.

Russian state prosecutors yes-terday formally charged Calvey, the founder of the Baring Vostok

private equity group, with fraud, hours before Washington accused Moscow of denying its diplomats access to him.

Calvey was first detained last week along with three other exec-utives from his fund after investi-gators accused him and others of embezzling 2.5 billion roubles ($38.17m).

The case has raised concerns among some foreign investors in Russia who are worried about the business climate. In a sign those concerns are being taken seriously in some circles, the head of Rus-sia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund and its biggest state bank have spoken out in Calvey’s favour.

Hours after Calvey was charged yesterday, the US embassy in Moscow said Russia was denying its diplomats access to him. It said it had asked to visit

Calvey multiple times, but had not been granted access, something it said flouted consular rules between the two countries.

“We insist on access now,” the embassy said in a statement.

Calvey is being held in a cell with seven other people and is experiencing back pain, Ivan Mel-nikov, a member of a public com-mission for the rights of inmates, told Reuters.

Melnikov, who visited Calvey in custody on Wednesday, said the US national was sharing a cell with people being held over non-eco-nomic crimes in contravention of prison regulations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that Calvey’s case was in the political spotlight.

“The question lies at the centre of a very lively political discussion.

And I think that all the circum-stances of the case will be taken into account when the legal hearings take place soon,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

“As far as I understand he was not a very visible person in the public realm. But of course I’ve heard what people whom I deeply respect have said about him, and I think many people have heard this,” Lavrov said.

Calvey is due to appeal his arrest next week.

Lack of hard currency worsens hardships of ZimbabweansREUTERS HARARE

Zimbabwe’s decision to scrap a peg between its quasi-currency bond notes and the US dollar brings a welcome end to a failing monetary policy, but it is not the solution to a deeper crisis, econ-omists said yesterday.

The Reserve Bank of Zim-babwe (RBZ) on Wednesday said it would carry out a “managed float” of the surrogate bond notes and electronic dollars, effectively creating a national currency for the first time since adopting the US dollar in 2009.

The bond notes and electronic dollars will be known as a separate currency called RTGS dollars.

Banks were closed for a public holiday yesterday.

Street traders said there had yet to be any change on the black

market, where one US dollar still costs around 3.5 bond notes and $4 in electronic funds.

“I think if the RBZ manages to keep liquidity low the rate will def-initely stabilise,” one trader said.

Due to a desperate lack of hard currency, the bond notes and notional dollars in the electronic banking system have been steadily

dropping in value on the street, worsening the hardships of ordinary Zimbabweans as inflation soared.

Many foreign traders have stopped accepting bond notes as legal tender, leaving businesses such as millers, brewers and miners hamstrung.

A more realistic approach will be welcomed by investors and foreign donors but it will not reverse the currency crisis, experts said. The RBZ only has enough foreign exchange for two weeks of imports.

“The fact that officials finally came to their senses and ditched the notion that Zimbabwe’s quasi currency was at par with the US dollar, is comforting,” said Jee-A Van Der Linde, analyst at NKC African Economics.

“With consumer prices soaring, significant amounts of

multilateral debt arrears, virtually no foreign reserves, and confi-dence at rock-bottom, Zimbabwe’s problems are still far from over - nor is the road ahead any clearer.”

The RBZ hopes its new measures will temper demand for dollars on the black market and ease inflation as the new currency settles at fair value.

Though the RBZ said it had accessed sufficient lines of credit to buttress the exchange market, it provided few details.

“There are many questions that remain unanswered,” said Tony Hawkins (pictured), pro-fessor of business studies at Uni-versity of Zimbabwe.

“This is a step in the right direction but it is not a solution. What they need is a large supply of dollars, without that this will not work. So you call this a bandage and not a cure.”

Note: Programme is subject to change without prior notice.

CROSSWORD

Bridget returns home at her brother’s urging to deal with her ailing mother and her father’s reluctance to let go of their life together.

WHAT THEY HAD

L.K.G. (Tamil) 2:00pm; June (2D/Malayalam) 2:15pm; Natasaarvabhowma (2D/Kannada) 2:15pm; Kodathisamaksham Balan Vakkeel (2D/Malayalam) 4:15pm; Gully Boy (2D/Hindi) 4:45 & 11:30pm; Upgrade (2D/Action) 7:00pm; Dumplin (2D/Comedy) 7:30pm; Alone/Together (2D/Tagalog) 7:30m; Total Dhamaal (2D/Hindi) 5:00, 8:45 & 11:30pm; The Knight Of Shadows (2D/Action) 9:30pm; Fighting With My Family (2D/Comedy) 9:30pm; Kanne Kalaimaane (2D/Tamil) 10:30pm

Kodathisamaksham Balan Vakkeel (2D/Malayalam) 2:00pm; Kanne Kalaimaane (2D/Tamil) 2:15pm; Kikoriki Deja Vu(2D/Animation) 2:15pm; L.K.G. (Tamil) 4:45 & 9:15pm; Gully Boy (2D/Hindi) 4:45pm; Natasaarvabhowma (2D/Kannada) 4:15pm; Total Dhamaal (2D/Hindi) 2:00, 7:00, 9:15 & 11:30pm; Alone/Together (2D/Tagalog) 7:30pm; Time Out (2D/Arabic) 9:30pm; Upgrade (2D/Action) 11:15pm; The Knight Of Shadows (2D/Action) 7:15pm; June (2D/Malayalam) 11:30pm.

Alita: The Battle Angel (2D/Action) 10:30, 2:10, 3:10, 6:50, 8:00 & 10:30pm; Alone/Together (2D/Tagalog) 7:20m; Fighting With My Family (2D/Comedy) 9:10, 9:50, 11:40pm & 0:10am; Gully Boy (2D/Hindi) 11:00am, 2:00 & 5:00pmHappy Death Day 2U (2D/Horror) 12:00, 1:00, 4:40 & 5:40pm; June (2D/Malayalam) 11:00am, 1:50, 4:40 & 7:30pm; The Lego Movie 2 (2D/Action) 10:30am, 12:40, 2:50 & 5:00pm; Total Dhamaal (2D/Hindi) 8:00 & 11:00pm

Alita: The Battle Angel (2D/Action) 10:30am, 3:45 & 9:00pm; Kodathisamaksham Balan Vakkeel (2D/Malayalam) 11:30am, 5:30 & 11:30pm; June (2D/Malayalam) 10:30am, 3:45 & 9:00pm; Total Dhamaal (2D/Hindi) 1:00, 6:15 & 11:30pm; Perambu (2D/Tamil) 2:30 & 8:30pm; The Knight Of Shadows (2D/Action) 1:30, 6:45 & 12:00 midnight

MALL

LANDMARK

ROXY

AL KHOR

Kodathisamaksham Balan Vakkeel (2D/Malayalam) 2:15pm; Kanne Kalaimaane (2D/Tamil) 2:15pm; Kikoriki Deja Vu (2D/Animation) 2:30 & 4:30pm; Gully Boy (2D/Hindi) 4:15pm; Alone/Together (2D/Tagalog) 9:30m; Then Came You (2D/Comedy) 6:00pm; A Star Is Born (2D/Drama) 7:00pm; Total Dhamaal (2D/Hindi) 5:00, 7:15 & 11:30pm; The Knight Of Shadows (2D/Action) 9:30pm; What They Had (2D/Drama) 7:45pm; Upgrade (2D/Action) 9:45pm; June (2D/Malayalam) 11:30pm; L.K.G. (Tamil) 11:30pm

June (2D/Malayalam) 12:00, 2:45, 5:30, 8:15, 11:00pm & 1:45am; Total Dhamaal (2D/Hindi) 12:30, 3:00, 5:30, 8:00, 10:30pm & 1:45am; Kodathisamaksham Balan Vakkeel (2D/Malayalam) 12:00, 2:45, 5:30, 8:15, 11:00pm & 1:45am; Perambu (2D/Tamil) 3:00pm; L.K.G. (2D/Tamil) 5:30pm; Kumbalangi Nights (2D/Malayalam) 8:00pm; Kanne Kalaimaane (2D/Tamil) 10;30pm

ROYAL PLAZA

FLIK Mirqab Mall

ASIAN TOWN

Alita: The Battle Angel (2D/Action) 12:15, 2:40, 5:05, 7:30, 9:55pm & 0:20am; Alita: The Battle Angel (3D/Action) 10:50am, 1:20, 3:50, 6:20, 8:50 & 11:20pm; Alone/Together (2D/Tagalog) 6:50 & 10:15pm; Cold Pursuit (2D/Action) 10:10am & 12:35pm; Fighting With My Family (2D/Comedy) 12:00, 2:20, 4:50, 7:15, 9:35 & 11:55pm; Gully Boy (2D/Hindi) 3:00 & 8:55pm; Kumbalangi Nights (2D/Malayalam) 6:05pm; The Lego Movie 2 (2D/Action) 10:40am, 1:00, 3:20, 5:40pm; Then Came You 2:30, 4:40 & 8:00pm; Total Dhamaal (2D/Hindi) 4:10, 7:00, 9:50& 0:40am; Upgrade 12:20am, 9:05 & 11:10pm

THE PENINSULA LUSAIL

The Manateq Qatar Cross-Country Rally roared into life with a fanfare ceremonial start outside Souq Al Medina on The Pearl-Qatar yesterday evening.

A large crowd of shoppers, tourists and local residents assembled in the Plaza Al Hambra to witness QMMF President Abdulrahman Al Mannai and Manateq’s CEO Fahad Rashed Al Kaabi joined by the Minister of Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali, to flag off 22 FIA cars, 13 national crews and com-petitors from 20 nations at the start of the first round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.

Prior to the podium start, the Qatari trio of Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, Adel Abdulla and Ahmed Al Kuwari, defending FIA World Cup champion Jakub Przygonski, Camelia Liparoti, Vladimir Vas-ilyev and Reinaldo Varela attended the official pre-event press conference on the start podium.

Rally officials also laid on an impressive display of motorcycles in the Plaza that attracted a lot of interest before the start formalities.

Al Attiyah is chasing a sixth victory in his home FIA event in eight years. He said yesterday: “It’s fantastic to be here with all my closest rivals starting another season of competition. We know each other very well and now is the time for the games to start and the fight to begin.”

Przygonski, who won the Qatar event with his MINI John Cooper Works Rally in 2018, added: “I know it will not be easy. but I am sorry to say in front of all the local fans that I am here to beat Nasser. I have a new co-driver and Timo and I want to start the season with as good a result as we can.”

Liparoti is not phased by being the only woman on the entry list. The Italian said: “I have raced here two times before and, yes, I have switched from a quad to a T3, but I still have four wheels and a steering wheel instead of handle bars. It’s great to be competing against such a strong field of drivers. I actually trained in the dunes at Sealine before the Dakar and enjoyed it very much.”

Ahmed Al Kuwari switched from motorcycles to race a T3 with support from the QMMF and the Qatari is eager to start his new challenge. “People ask me why I switched from bikes to cars and I say I think there is more of a future to progress in this discipline. Reinaldo (Varela) won the Dakar (SxS) and Adel (Abdulla) is a former T2 World Champion, so I know it will not be easy, and it’s great to be here alongside Nasser, a Dakar winner, and Jakub (Przygonski), the defending World Champion.”

Demanding secret route for opening FIA World Cup round

The competitive action will take place over five days and six special stages, spanning the northern, southern and westerly extremities of the State of Qatar.

The route for the event is secret and teams will be per-mitted access to road books and route instructions on the eve of each stage, but they will not be given the road liaison route to the start of the following day’s timed test until the actual morning of the start. This eliminates the temptation to try and map out the intricate route through the deserts and makes for a level playing field for everyone.

Today’s opening timed stage starts 66.34km from the Lusail Sports Arena and runs for 109.76km before a second liaison guides crews back to the service park. There are no passage con-trols on the short opening sprint through central Qatar.

The stage will also mark the fourth round of the Qatar National Baja Championship, with an impressive 13 additional crews running behind the FIA event and scoring points in the first of three Qatar Manateq Bajas. That list includes Abdullah Al Baker and Abdullah Al Rabban,

who dropped down into the National section after technical scrutineering at Lusail.

The following four days are much longer and more demanding and start with a 323.58km stage on Saturday, a further 351.98km selective section on Sunday and two

specials of 227.99km and 121.41km on Monday, linked by a road section of 56.39km.

The final timed stage takes place on Tuesday morning and runs for 263.88km before the return to Lusail and the cere-monial finish at The Pearl-Qatar.

SPORTFriday 22 February 2019

PAGE | 17 PAGE | 18Juventus and

Ronaldo put on brave face after

tough night

Home hero Al Attiyah, Przygonski get set for the desert showdown

Defending FIA World Cup

champion Przygonski leads

quality field in Qatar.

Dakar Rally champion

Al Attiyah chases a sixth

victory in his home FIA

event in eight years.

Colourful ceremony flags off Manateq Qatar Cross-Country Rally

Qatari drivers Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, Adel Abdulla and Ahmed Al Kuwari pose for a photograph with the defending FIA World Cup champion Jakub Przygonski, Camelia Liparoti, Vladimir Vasilyev and Reinaldo Varela prior to the ceremonial start of the Manateq Qatar Cross-Country Rally, yesterday.

Qatari driver Ahmed Al Kuwari and his Italian co-driver Manuel Lucchese in their Can-Am Maverick X3 during the ceremonial start of the event yesterday.

Minister of Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali and Qatari T3 driver Khalid Al Mohannadi pose for a photograph during yesterday’s ceremony.

Minister of Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali, Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation President Abdulrahman Al Mannai and Qatar’s three-time Dakar Rally champion Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah during the ceremonial kick-off of the Manateq Qatar Cross-Country Rally at The Pearl yesterday.

Tsitsipas bounces back by winning in Marseille

AFP MILAN

Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival in Turin last summer had been hailed as a masterstroke on the part of the Italian giants in their bid to end their 23-year wait to lift the Champions League title.

The Portuguese superstar had won five Champions League titles with Manchester United and Real Madrid and scored a record 121 goals in the competition.

But instead the Serie A giants are now facing the pos-sibility of an early exit after falling 2-0 in their last 16, first-leg clash against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.

Once again the 34-year-old Ronaldo did not have a return to the Spain he had dreamt of.

The former Real Madrid player was sent off in his first European game for Juventus in Spain last September against Valencia.

This time he was whistled and mocked by home fans, and delivered a performance far below expectations for a player Juventus had paid €100m ($117m) for.

Ronaldo replied by waving five fingers at the crowd, telling journalists: “I’ve got five Cham-pions League trophies and Atleti have won zero.”

But his hopes of a sixth and first with Juventus diminished as he was stifled from the outset by Atletico’s backline.

“It was a tough night,” said Ronaldo, who has scored 22 goals against Atletico.

Ronaldo’s best contribution was an early, driven free-kick from 30 yards, that had to be pushed over by Jan Oblak.

Atletico were celebrating at the final whistle as goals from Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin, with a shot that deflected into the net off Ronaldo, put Diego

Simeone’s side within sight of the quarter-finals.

Italian sports daily Gazzetta Dello Sport was scathing of Ronaldo who received just 4.5 out of ten as “the worst” player on the pitch, with Polish goal-keeper Wojciech Szczesny Juventus’s “best” with 6.5.

“CR7, you can save this Juve,” urged Turin daily Tutt-osport looking ahead to the second-leg tie in the Allianz Stadium on May 12.

Coach Massimiliano Allegri was also in the firing line after what Gazzetta dello Sport termed “a Waterloo of play and attitude”.

The Juventus coach

admitted his side got it wrong particularly in the second half when they were rescued twice by VAR.

“They don’t give you chances,” said Allegri. “They make you play badly.”

The Italians have also had setbacks with midfielder Sami Khedira recovering from a heart problem with defensive duo Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini just back from injury.

Juventus are unbeaten in their pursuit of an eighth straight Serie A crown. They are 13 points ahead of nearest rivals Napoli after 24 games.

But their domestic domi-nation has been broken. At the end of January they lost at Atlanta to end their bid for a fifth straight Coppa Italia crown.

Juventus recruited Ronaldo for a treble of Champions League, Serie A and Coppa Italia crowns.

With their most important challenge now requiring they score at least twice against a team that specialises in defence,

Juventus share prices went into free fall, losing nearly 10 percent on the Milan stock exchange yesterday morning.

“20 days. 20 days to be ready for a challenge to live, and win, all together. Until the end,” urged Allegri on Twitter.

In between, Juventus have three Serie A games, including a clash with their closest chal-lengers Napoli on March 3.

Before then they travel to struggling Bologna on Sunday.

By the time Juventus play, Ronaldo could have lost his place as the top scorer in Serie A.

Ronaldo has 19, two more than AC Milan’s new Polish signing Krzysztof Piatek who has scored four goals in as many games since moving from Genoa. He is in action today as Milan host Empoli.

Milan will be looking to consolidate fourth place which is the final Champions League berth, ahead of the pursuing pack of Roma, Atalanta and Lazio.

17FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019 SPORT

Manchester United primed to dent Liverpool’s title bidREUTERS MANCHESTER

Manchester United may not be in the title race but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side could have a big say in who does win the Premier League, starting with Sunday’s clash against Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Manchester City lead the Premier League on goal difference from Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool with both teams on 65 points -- 14 ahead of fourth-placed United.

City do not feature in the Premier League this weekend as they face Chelsea in the League Cup final, giving Liverpool an opportunity to return to the top of the table.

United still have to play City again in this campaign, but, perhaps surprisingly to some, their fans would probably prefer them to do more damage to Liverpool’s ambitions.

Liverpool haven’t claimed the league title since 1990 while United have won 13 in that period and their supporters love to remind their bitter north-west rivals of that fact.

Local pride aside, however, this is also a crucial game for Sol-skjaer as he bids to convince the Old Trafford hierarchy that he is the right man to lead the club on a permanent basis after his interim period runs out at the end of this season.

The Norwegian is already a highly popular figure with United’s fans after leading the team to 11 wins in his first 13 games in charge and if he were to claim the scalp of Klopp’s Liverpool his approval ratings would go through the roof.

It was a defeat

by Liverpool which offered Sol-skjaer his chance when Jose Mourinho was sacked following a limp 3-1 loss at Anfield in December.

United moved into the FA Cup quarter-finals with an impressive 2-0 win at Chelsea on Monday while Liverpool head into this weekend’s game after a 0-0 home draw with Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

United are hoping Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard recover from muscle injuries in time to face Liverpool -- the pair missed the Chelsea game after picking up the injuries in the Champions League defeat by Paris St Germain last week.

Tottenham Hotspur will also hope to close the gap on City and their captain Harry Kane could be back in the starting line-up at Burnley on Saturday after a few weeks out with an ankle injury.

Juventus and Ronaldo put on brave face after tough night

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Juventus’ Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match against Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitan Stadium in Madrid on Wednesday.

The Portuguese superstar has five Champions League titles with Manchester United and Real Madrid. CR7 has scored a record 121 goals in the competition.

Serie A giants Juventus

are now facing the

possibility of an early

exit after falling 2-0 in

their last 16, first-leg

clash against Atletico

Madrid on Wednesday

Neymar to continue treatment in BrazilREUTERS PARIS

Paris St Germain forward Neymar will continue treatment on his foot injury in Brazil under the supervision of the club’s medical team, the French Ligue 1 side have said.

Brazil international Neymar was ruled out for 10 weeks last month after he injured a metatarsal in his right foot during a 2-0 French Cup win over Strasbourg on Jan. 23.

The club confirmed that the injury was a recurrence of the problem that threatened his World Cup participation last year.

“As part of the treatment... PSG has decided to send Neymar to Brazil for 10 days,” PSG said in a statement, adding that the 27-year-old was to leave yesterday.

Neymar

Ilyas’ early strike powers Al Sailiyah; Hosts Al Arabi edge Al Shahaniya 2-1THE PENINSULA DOHA

Al Sailiyah yesterday edged past hosts Al Ahli 1-0 in their QSL Round 19 clash. The only goal of the match was scored in the second minute of the tense clash by Abdulqadir Ilyas. It was the 10th win for Al Sailiyah this season.

In a dramatic start to the pro-ceedings, Al Sailiyah opened the scoring after a lapse by Al Ahli keeper Ivanildo Santos. Veteran midfielder Nadri Belhadj charged down the left flank before slipping in a cross to team mate Rachid Tiberkanine, the Moroccan midfielder. Tiberkanine quickly aimed for the goal from the edge of the Al Ahli box but keeper Santos fumbled with the ball.

An unmarked Ilyas latched on to the loose ball and slipped one into the ease with the greatest of ease as Al Sailiya team players celebrated the ‘plucky’ strike in just the second minute of the match.

In the 21st minute, Al Sailiyah’s Mohshine Moutaouali scored - or he thought he had - but the effort was ruled as offside by the linesman. In the 40th minute, Belhadj’s attempt at goal was blocked expertly by keeper Santos.

Ahmed Suhail of Al Ahli was later penalised for a rough tackle in the 39th minute with a yellow card by referee Nayef Mohamed Al Kadiri. The referee also penalised Al Ahli duo Magid Mohamed Hassan (62) and Omid Amir Ebrahimi (74) in the second half. Al Sailiyah’s Abdulrahman Mohamed Hussain (47) and Ahmed Albakheet Al-Menhali (71) were also penalised with yellow cards in the tense clash.

Five minutes from the close of play, Tiberkanine was also shown a yellow card for a rough tackle. Two minutes later, Bilal Mohammed Saidani was

brought down by Mohammed Abdullah Terazor as national team coach Felix Sanchez watched from the stands at Al Ahli Stadium.

Later, at the Al Arabi Stadium, two first-half goals powered the hosts to a 2-1 win over a fighting Al Shahaniya.

It was Al Arabi’s eight win of the season.

In the eighth minute, Al Arabi opened the scoring through a lucky move that resulted in an early goal for the home side.

Fahad Khalfan Al Bulushi charged

ahead after dodging an Al Shahaniya marker but when he reached the box, he fumbled with his shot. Al Shahaniya goalkeeper Soud Abdulla Al Hajri failed to clear the ball which landed at striker Wilfried Bony’s feet. Bony clipped a shot into the net with a left-footed drive from close range.

In the 9th minute, Ramin Semeskandi of Al Shahaniya attempted a shot at the goal but Al Arabi keeper Mahmoud Ibrahim blocked the move.

In the 29th minute, Al Shahaniya produced the equaliser with slick attacking. Ramin slipped a cross into the Al Arabi box but keeper Ibrahim wasn’t quick to clear the ball. Yuosuf Hany Al Raeesi, a Qatari U-23 player, grabbed the opportunity to put the ball into the net from close range as the boys in blue drew level close to the half hour mark.

A minute later, Al Arabi once again grabbed the lead when Iranian Morteza Pouraliganji headed home in spec-tacular fashion off a direct corner kick. Despite the ball dipping in, Pourali-ganji dove in front to deflect the ball into the Al Shahaniya net with keeper Al Hajri in no place to stop the ball.

The yellow cards also came out thick and fast as players from both sides got booked for rough tackles. Al Arabi’s Victor Vazquez (19) and Al Sha-haniya trio Saad Hussain (29), Alvaro Mejia Perez (59) and Vazquez Luciano (79) got booked in the round 17 clash. In the 80th minute, Al Arabi keeper Ibrahim got booked followed by Yusuf Abdurisag who received a yellow card a minute later.

Seconds later Al Arabi substitute Mohammed Salah could not find power on his header in the Al Sha-haniya box on a neat cross from Hashim Ali. Ahmed Ibrahim, the Al Arabi skipper, got booked for unsports-manlike-like behaviour in injury time.

Action from the QNB Stars League Round 16 match between Al Ahli and Al Sailiyah at the Al Ahli Stadium in Doha, yesterday. PICTURE: SYED OMAR

AFP PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA

Three late strikes by South Africa’s fast bowlers yesterday helped atone for a poor batting performance on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka were 60 for three at the close at St George’s Park after bowling out South Africa for 222.

Earlier, Vishwa Fernando and Kasun Rajitha both took three wickets as Sri Lanka followed up their surprise win in the first Test in Durban with a disciplined bowling performance on a slow but well-grassed pitch.

Some of their good work was undone after Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne gave the Sri Lankan innings a reasonable start, putting on 25 for the first wicket.

Captain Karunaratne was caught behind off Kagiso Rabada for 17 in the 12th over. Duanne Olivier then bowled Oshada Fernando and had Kusal Mendis caught behind.

South Africa, needing a win to share the series, made a poor start after winning the toss, losing three wickets with the total on 15, two of them off successive balls from Vishwa Fernando.

They never recovered fully despite three half-century stands, two of which involved top-scorer Quinton de Kock, who made 86.

Aiden Markram and captain Faf du Plessis put on 58 for the fourth wicket but it was 73 for four when captain Du Plessis was bowled by opposite number, part-time bowler Karunaratne, with the last ball before lunch.

The hosts seemed to be recov-ering when Markram and De Kock put on 57 at almost a run a ball for the fifth wicket before Kasun Rajitha took three wickets in suc-cessive overs.

Markram was leg before wicket for 60 and Rajitha followed up with the wickets of new cap Wiaan Mulder for nine and Keshav Maharaj for nought.

The left-handed De Kock went to his third half-century of the series off 51 balls but was dropped on 55 when Dhananjaya de Silva could not hold a high chance at gully off Rajitha.

De Kock and Rabada added 59

for the eighth wicket before De Kock, who was suffering from cramp, was bowled by off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva, who then had Rabada caught behind before Vishwa Fernando finished off the innings by having Olivier caught behind.

Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya injured his left thumb trying to take a sharp return catch from Rabada shortly before tea and did not return to the field.

De Kock made his 86 off 87 balls with 12 fours. He was clearly struggling soon after reaching his half-century and needed treatment on the field.

There was concern that he might have aggravated a groin injury which kept him out of a recent Twenty20 series against Pakistan but he kept wicket without any apparent dis-comfort and a team spokesman said he had been treated for cramp.

18 FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019SPORT

Isner powers past Lacko

to reach Delray quartersREUTERS FLORIDA

Second seed John Isner used his powerful serve to overpower

Lukas Lacko 6-4, 6-3 and reach the quarter-finals of the Delray

Beach Open in Florida on Wednesday.

Isner dropped only one point on his first serve, and broke

his Slovakian opponent three times on the outdoor hardcourt

to advance. The big-serving American was also pleased with

the way he returned against 133rd-ranked Lacko.

Isner faced only two break points, both in the eighth game

of the second set.

He saved the first with an ace, and the second when Lacko

netted a forehand groundstroke.

Isner let out a huge roar going up 5-3 before serving out

to stay unbeaten in four career meetings against Lacko.

Also on Wednesday, British qualifier Dan Evans qualified

for his first quarter-final since returning from suspension when

he thrashed South African Lloyd Harris 6-0 6-2.

The win came a day after Evans, who returned to the tour

last April after a 12-month ban for a positive cocaine test, came

from behind to upset American Frances Tiafoe in three sets.

In other Italian sixth seed Andreas Seppi outlasted Jordan

Thompson 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, while French eighth seed Adrian Man-

narino beat Denis Istomin 6-2 7-6(3).

The second round continues on Thursday, with an evening

match between top seed Juan Martin del Potro and American

Reilly Opelka likely to be the highlight.

Opelka on Sunday secured his first ATP title when he won

the New York Open. He beat Isner in a semi-final in New York

in a match that featured a combined 81 aces, an ATP record

for a three-set match.

ATP DELRAY BEACH OPEN RESULTS

2ND RD

Andreas Seppi (ITA x6) bt Jordan Thompson (AUS) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1Daniel Evans (GBR) bt Lloyd Harris (RSA) 6-0, 6-2

Adrian Mannarino (FRA x8) bt Denis Istomin (UZB) 6-2, 7-6 (7/3)John Isner (USA x2) bt Lukas Lacko (SVK) 6-4, 6-3

Tsitsipas bounces back

by winning in Marseille

AFP MARSEILLE

Rising Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas bounced back from suc-

cessive defeats with a comfortable win over Poland’s Hubert

Hurkacz to reach the quarter-finals in Marseille on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old, who stunned Roger Federer en route to

the Australian Open semi-finals last month, had lost his last two

matches to Gael Monfils and Damir Dzumhur.

But Tsitsipas, the top seed this week in France, was back

in form as he brushed aside world number 78 Hurkacz 6-4, 6-2

in only an hour.

“It is nice to start so well. It was a ‘no-trouble match’,” Tsit-

sipas told atpworldtour.com. “Everything went smooth. Breaks

happened when they had to happen. It was a solid match.”

He will next face a lucky loser -- either Ukrainian world

number 141 Sergiy Stakhovsky or the 130th-ranked Gregoire

Barrere -- in the last eight.

MARSEILLE ATP RESULTS

1ST RD

Gregoire Barrere (FRA) bt Jiri Vesely (CZE) 7-6 (7/3), 6-3Matthias Bachinger (GER) bt Steve Darcis (BEL) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

Ugo Humbert (FRA) bt Ernests Gulbis (LAT) 6-3, 7-6 (7/3)2ND RD

Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE x1) bt Hubert Hurkacz (POL) 6-4, 6-2Gilles Simon (FRA x6) bt Peter Gojowczyk (GER) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2

Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) bt Denis Shapovalov (CAN x4) 6-4, 7-6 (7/4)

ATP RIO DE JANEIRO RESULTS

1ST RD

Taro Daniel (JPN) bt Thiago Wild (BRA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2Pablo Cuevas (URU) bt Diego Schwartzman (ARG x4) 6-1, 4-1 retired

2ND RD

Aljaz Bedene (SLO) bt Thiago Monteiro (BRA) 6-3, 6-4Hugo Dellien (BOL) bt Roberto Carballés (ESP) 7-5, 6-4

Jaume Munar (ESP) bt Cameron Norrie (GBR) 7-6 (8/6), 5-7, 7-6 (7/4)Félix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) bt Christian Garín (CHI) 7-5, 6-4

WTA DUBAI CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS

QUARTER-FINALS

Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE) bt Karolina Pliskova (CZE x4) 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 Petra Kvitova (CZE x2) bt Viktoria Kuzmova (SVK) 6-4, 6-0

Gayle heroics in vain as Roy and Root sink West Indies in record run chase REUTERS BARBADOS

Jason Roy and Joe Root scored centuries as England clinched a record-breaking victory over West Indies in a display of pure power hitting and shot making by both sides in their opening one-day international in Barbados on Wednesday.

Roy made 123 and Root 102 as the visitors scored 364 for four to win by six wickets with eight balls to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the five-game series in front of a near-capacity crowd at Ken-sington Oval.

England’s highest successful run chase in one-dayers was aided by some sloppy West Indies fielding and several dropped catches.

Chris Gayle had belted 12 sixes in his 135 to help West Indies to a daunting total of 360 for eight, their highest one-day inter-national score against England.

The umpires had to replace the ball more than half a dozen times after several of Gayle’s tow-ering sixes landed outside the stadium, including one that measured at 121 metres.

West Indies smashed a word record 23 sixes in total. New Zealand held the previous record of 22 sixes, against West Indies in 2014.

Gayle was dropped on nine by Roy, who said the missed chance had been at the “back of his mind” when he took the crease.

Roy laid a foundation for Root to all but take England across the line with a stylish innings based on strokemaking and astute placement of the ball.

Root was denied hitting the winning run when he was caught on the boundary with the scores tied and left to a standing ovation.

Captain Eoin Morgan chimed in with 65.

The second match will be played on the same ground today.

Pandya ruled out of Australia series with injuryAFP NEW DELHI

Star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya will miss the upcoming limited-overs series against Australia due to lower back stiffness, the country’s cricket board said yesterday.

India will field a 14-player squad instead of the original 15 for the two Twenty20 matches s t a r t i n g S u n d a y i n Visakhapatnam.

Ravindra Jadeja will replace Pandya for the five one-day internationals that follow the T20s, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.

Pandya is expected to be key to India’s chances at the World Cup starting May 30 in England and Wales.

Ranatunga fails in bid to take control of SLCAFP COLOMBO

World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga suffered a comprehensive defeat in his bid to take control of Sri Lanka’s crisis-ridden national cricket board yesterday.

Ranatunga, 55, contested one of two vice-president posts but only came third in voting. His brother, Nishantha, who was nominated as secretary, was also defeated.

Ranatunga ally Jayantha Dharmadasa also failed in his bid to become Sri Lanka Cricket president, losing out to Shammi Silva -- a loyalist of former SLC chief Thilanga Sumathipala, Ranatunga’s arch-rival.

Ranatunga, who led Sri Lanka to victory at the 1996 World Cup, had vowed to clean up the board, which the Inter-national Cricket Council recently described as the sport’s most corrupt national body.

The former skipper, who is also a minister in the Sri Lankan government, had hoped to wrest control of the SLC ahead of the World Cup that begins in England on May 30.

English batsman Joe Root celebrates after scoring his century during the 1st ODI against West Indies in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Wednesday.

WEST INDIES C. Gayle b Stokes ........................................135

J. Campbell c Ali b Woakes ........................ 30

S. Hope c Rashid b Stokes .......................... 64

S. Hetmyer c Roy b Woakes ......................20

N. Pooran c Roy b Rashid ............................ 0

D. Bravo c Woakes b Rashid .....................40

J. Holder st Buttler b Rashid .......................16

C. Brathwaite c Buttler b Stokes ..................3

A. Nurse not out .......................................... 25

D. Bishoo not out ...........................................9

Extras (b-1, lb-1, nb-1, w-15) .....................18

Total (50 overs, 8 wickets) ................. 360Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-169, 3-229, 4-230,

5-294, 6-317, 7-322, 8-343

Did not bat: O. Thomas

Bowling: C. Woakes 10-0-59-2 (2w), M. Wood

7-0-49-0 (1nb, 4w), Ali 10-0-85-0, L. Plunkett

6-0-54-0 (4w), B. Stokes 8-0-37-3 (2w), A.

Rashid 9-0-74-3 (1w)

ENGLANDJ. Roy c Bravo b Bishoo .............................123

J. Bairstow c Hope b Holder ...................... 34

J. Root c Pooran b Holder ........................ 102

E. Morgan c Holder b Thomas ................... 65

B. Stokes not out .........................................20

J. Buttler not out ............................................4

Extras (lb-3, w-13) ......................................16

Total (48.4 overs, 4 wickets) .............. 364Fall of wickets: 1-91, 2-205, 3-321, 4-360

Did not bat: M. Ali, C. Woakes, L. Plunkett, A.

Rashid, M. Wood

Bowling: D. Bishoo 10-0-78-1, O. Thomas 9-0-

72-1 (4w), J. Holder 9.4-0-63-2 (3w), C.

Brathwaite 9-0-66-0 (5w), A. Nurse 10-0-69-0

(1w), J. Campbell 1-0-13-0

SCOREBOARD

SOUTH AFRICA, first inningsD. Elgar b V. Fernando ...............................................6

A. Markram lbw b Rajitha ......................................60

H. Amla b V. Fernando ..............................................0

T. Bavuma run out (Rajitha) .....................................0

F. du Plessis b Karunaratne ....................................25

Q. de Kock b De Silva ..............................................86

W. Mulder lbw b Rajitha ...........................................9

K. Maharaj c Dickwella b Rajitha .............................0

K. Rabada c Dickwella b De Silva .......................... 22

D. Steyn not out .........................................................3

D. Olivier c Dickwella b V. Fernando .......................0

Extras (b1, lb6, nb4) ................................................11

Total (61.2 overs) 222Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Elgar), 2-15 (Amla), 3-15 (Ba-

vuma), 4-73 (Du Plessis), 5-130 (Markram), 6-145

(Mulder), 7-157 (Maharaj), 8-216 (De Kock), 9-221

(Rabada), 10-222 (Olivier)

Bowling: Lakmal 13-2-33-0 (1nb), V. Fernando 18.2-

2-62-3, Rajitha 15-2-67-3 (3nb), Embuldeniya 5.3-0-

26-0, Karunaratne 4.3-1-12-1, De Silva 5-0-15-2

SRI LANKA, first inningsD. Karunaratne c De Kock b Rabada ..................... 17

L. Thirimanne not out .............................................25

O. Fernando b Olivier ................................................0

K. Mendis c De Kock b Olivier .................................16

K. Rajitha not out .......................................................0

Extras (lb1, nb1) .........................................................2

Total (3 wkts, 20 overs) ....................................60To bat: K. Perera, N. Dickwella, D. de Silva, S. Lakmal,

L. Embuldeniya, V. Fernando

Fall of wickets: 1-25 (Karunaratne), 2-34 (O. Fern-

ando), 3-59 (Mendis)

Bowling: Steyn 8-2-20-0, Rabada 7-3-14-1, Olivier

5-1-25-2 (1nb)

SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka shine before South Africa strike back

A South African fielder celebrates after Sri Lanka’s Oshada Fernando (left) was bowled out during their second Test match in Port Elizabeth, yesterday.

RIZWAN REHMAT THE PENINSULA

Popular rider Mubarak Al Rumaihi yesterday guided Vivaldi K to a convincing win in the Big Tour, the feature event on the opening day of the Amir’s Golden Sword Championships.

With a number of wins under his belt in the current show jumping season, Al Rumaihi pro-duced a flawless routine with 17-year-old Vivaldi K who clocked 67.15 seconds in the 140/150cm competition on the Outdoor Arena of the Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF). Al Rumaihi bagged the top prize of QR 4,125.

Daydreamer EC, ridden by Saeed Nasser Al Qadi, finished in second spot in a time of 69.01 seconds. Al Qadi won QR 3,000. Nasser Al Ghazali was in the saddle as Colibri ended the com-petition in third place in a time of 70.12 seconds. Al Ghazali won QR 2,250.

Faleh Suwead Al Ajami (Carport, 70.99, QR 1,500) and Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi (Fiji, 71.54, QR 1,050) completed the top five out of 11 riders.

Earlier in the Medium Tour, there was no stopping Khalid Hamad Al Attiyah, the proud winner of the 125/135cm compe-tition astride 21-year-old Viking D. Al Attiyah’s winning time was 63.55 seconds as he won the top prize of QR 2,500.

Mohammed Khalifa Albaker, astride Arselina, finished in second spot (67.83 seconds, QR 2,000) while Ziezo, who had Mohammed Saeed Haidan in the saddle, secured the third spot. Ziezo clocked 68.97 seconds as Haidan won QR 1,500.

Mohammad Hazim Abara (Ambre De Beaufour, 69.14 seconds, QR 1,000) and Cyrine Cherif (Gerlin VD Waterkant, 70.63 seconds, QR 700) com-pleted the top five out of 18 riders.

In the day’s opening

competition, Khalifa Abdulla Al Khaldi guided Dusty to a win in the Small Tour contest. Dusty clocked 58.29 seconds as Al Khaldi won QR 1,250. Hussain Saeed Haidan (Belucci Van ‘T Vleminkhof, 60.13 seconds, QR 1,000) finished second while Mohammed Al Ghazali (Mara-donna 25, 62.72 seconds, QR 750) was placed third.

Ghanim Nasser Al Qadi (Firenze, 64.58 seconds, QR 500) and Ali Mohammed Al Marri (Fernhill Friendly Touch, 67.55 seconds, QR 350) completed the top five out of 27 riders.

THE PENINSULA DOHA

Popular British jockey Harry Bentley yesterday guided Ishfaq to glory in the Al Zubara Trophy in the feature race on day one of the Amir’s Sword Festival at Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC). The winning time for Ishfaq was 2:11.97.

Ishfaq, trained by Qatari Mohammed Jassim Ghazali, finished the 2000m turf race ahead of She’ris - ridden by Eduardo Pedroza - in the $150,000 race. Reda, who had Stephan Ladjadj in the saddle, wrapped up the top three out of 13 entries.

Ishfaq finished quarter of a neck ahead of She’ris, trained by Ibrahim Saeed Al Malki. Reda, trained by Julian Smart, was 1.75 furlongs behind Ishfaq as Bentley won the top prize of $85,500. Pedroza got $33,000 while Ladjadj took home $16,500.

In the seventh race on the charts, JP Guillambert savoured victory astride Receding Waves, winning the 1200m race in a time of 01:11.79. Receding Waves, trained by Jassim Ghazali, finished ahead of Shobrom who was ridden by Jimmy Quinn.

In third place was Itorio trained by Hadi Nasser Rashid Al Ramzani. Ridden by Tomas Lukasek, Itorio was 1.25 fur-longs behind Receding Waves.

Guillambert won $17,100 while Quinn picked up $6,600. Lukasek got $3,300.

Earlier in race six, JP Guil-lambert powered to an impressive win with Tawahid trained by Ghazali. Tawahid fin-ished ahead of Crafted, ridden by Quinn, while Shakour - trained by Ghazali - was the third fastest entry out of 16 riders.

Tawahid’s winning time was 1:36.39 as Guillambert bagged the top prize of $17,600. Quinn won $$6,600 while Marco Casa-mento - astride Shakour - got richer by $3,300 in the 1600m race.

Action continues today at QREC where 9 more races will be held.

The riders will eye glory in the Irish Thoroughbred Mar-keting Cup (QA Gr 2), the main event on day two of the horse racing festival. The top rider in the $200,000 race will take home $114.000. The second-best rider will get $44,000 while the third-placed entry will get richer by $22,000.

The main spectacle tomorrow - the last day of the racing festival - will see riders aiming for glory in the Amir’s Trophy (QA Gr 1) presented by Longines. The overall prize bag for this race is $1m with the top rider getting $570,000 while the

second-best rider will get $220,000.

The third-placed rider will get $110,000. In the last event of the three-day festival, the Amir’s Sword (GR 1, PA) - sponsored by Al Hazm - the riders will be aiming for the

top prize of $570,000. The second-placed rider will get richer by $220,000 while the third-best entry will take home $110,000.

The entire three-day festival will be broadcast live in Al Kass Sport Channels.

19FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019 SPORT

PUREBRED ARABIAN PLATE (4 Year Olds)

Race Time: 01:47.05 - Distance: 1600 - Total Prize Money: $30,000

Prize Money: 1st $17,100 2nd $6,600 3rd $3,300

(Position, Horse, Trainer, Jockey)

1: Annan (FR), Julian Colin Smart, Theo Bachelot

2: Gtnah (FR), Alban Elie Marie De Mieulle, Ronan Thomas

3: Di Oco Py (FR), Hadi Nasser Rashid Al Ramzani, Faleh Bughanaim

LOCAL THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP

Race Time: 02:04.74 - Distance: 2000 - Total Prize Money: $30,000

Prize Money: 1st $17,100 2nd $6,600 3rd $3,300

1: Shaman Bu Thaila (QA), Ibrahim Saeed Ibrahim Al Malki, Jimmy Quinn

2: Karim (QA), Julian Colin Smart, Theo Bachelot

3: Musaiter Bu Thaila (QA), Tareq Essa R A Abdulla, Ivan Rossi

PUREBRED ARABIAN HANDICAP

Race Time: 01:45.86 - Distance: 1600m - Total Prize Money: $30,000

Prize Money: 1st $17,100 2nd $6,600 3rd $3,300

1: AJS Al Moheeb (QA), Jassim Mohammed Ghazali Jahromi, Harry Bentley

2: E'zaaz (QA), Jassim Mohammed Ghazali Jahromi, JP Guillambert

3: Bsheer (USA), Hossin Mohammad Ashour, Faleh Bughanaim

THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 4)

Race Time: 02:02.26 - Distance: 2000m - Total Prize Money: $30,000

Prize Money $: 1st $17,100 2nd $6,600 3rd $3,300

1: Haloul (FR), Alban Elie Marie De Mieulle, Ronan Thomas

2: More Than A Dream (IRE), Hamad Ahmed Al Malki Al Jehani, Jean Baptiste Hamel

3: Daneyan (FR), Jassim Mohammed Ghazali Jahromi, Harry Bentley

THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 3)

Race Time: 01:11.67 - Distance: 1200m - Total Prize Money: $30,000

Prize Money: 1st $17,100 2nd $6,600 3rd $3,300

1: Sandbetweenourtoes (IRE), Mohammed Riyaz Ibrahim Kasim, Gerald Avranche

2: Munira Eyes (USA), Ibrahim Saeed Ibrahim Al Malki, Eduardo Pedroza

3: Lawless Louis (GB), Hamad Ahmed Al Malki Al-Jehani, Jean Baptiste Hamel

THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 3)

Race Time: 01:36.39 - Distance: 1600m - Total Prize Money: $30,000

Prize Money: 1st $17,100 2nd $6,600 3rd $3,300

1: Tawahid (GB), Mohammed Jassim Ghazali Jahromi, JP Guillambert

2: Crafted (IRE), Ibrahim Saeed Ibrahim Al Malki, Jimmy Quinn

3: Shakour (IRE), Jassim Mohammed Ghazali Jahromi, Marco Casamento

THOROUGHBREDS (Class 2)

Race Time: 01:11.79 - Distance: 1200m - Total Prize Money: $30,000

Prize Money: 1st $17,100 2nd $6,600 3rd $3,300

1: Receding Waves (GB), Mohammed Jassim Ghazali Jahromi, JP Guillambert

2: Shobrom (IRE), Ibrahim Saeed Ibrahim Al Malki, Jimmy Quinn

3: Itorio (IRE), Hadi Nasser Rashid Al Ramzani, Tomas Lukasek

AL ZUBARA TROPHY

Race Time: 02:11.97 - Distance: 2000m - Total Prize Money: $150000

Prize Money: 1st $85,500 2nd $33,000 3rd $16,500

1: Ishfaq (QA), Jassim Mohammed Ghazali Jahromi, Harry Bentley

2: She'ris (QA), Ibrahim Saeed Ibrahim Al Malki, Eduardo Pedroza

3: Reda (QA), Julian Colin Smart, Stephan Ladjadj

Bentley guides Ishfaq to Al Zubara Trophy win

Amir’s Sword Festival

Jockey Harry Bentley guides Ishfaq to win the Al Zubara Trophy on the opening day of the Amir’s Sword Festival at Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club, yesterday.

The winner of the Al Zubra Trophy, Ishfaq’s owner and his team pose for a photograph with Qatar Equestrian Federation President Hamad Abdulrahman Al Attiyah and Nasser bin Sherida Al Kaabi, CEO of Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club

AMIR’S SWORD FESTIVAL: YESTERDAY’S WINNERS

Al Rumaihi corners Big Tour glory on day one

Amir’s Golden Sword Championships

AMIR’S GOLDEN SWORD CHAMPIONSHIPS: YESTERDAY’S RESULTS

(C 1) Small Tour, Table C, FEI Art. 239, Height 110/120 cm, Prize Money QR5,000

1: DUSTY, Khalifa Abdulla Al Khaldi, 58.29, 58.29, QR1,250

2: BELUCCI VAN ‘T VLEMINKHOF, Hussain Saeed Haidan, 60.13, 60.13, QR1,000

3: MARADONNA 25, Mohammed Al Ghazali, 62.72, 62.72, QR750

4: FIRENZE, Ghanim Nasser Al Qadi, 64.58, 64.58, QR500

5: FERNHILL FRIENDLY TOUCH, Ali Mohammed Al Marri, (8) 59.55, 67.55, QR350

(C 2) Medium Tour, Table C, FEI Art. 239, Height 125/135 cm, Prize Money QR10,000

1: VIKING D, Khalid Hamad Al Attiya, 63.55, 63.55, QR2,500

2: ARSELINA, Mohammed Khalifa Albaker, 67.83, 67.83, QR2,000

3: ZIEZO, Mohammed Saeed Haidan (4) 64.97, 68.97, QR 1,500

4: AMBRE DE BEAUFOUR, Mohammad Hazim Abara, 69.14, 69.14, QR1,000

5: GERLIN VD WATERKANT, Cyrine Cherif, 70.63, 70.63, QR700

(C 3) Big Tour, Table C, FEI Art. 239, Height 140/150 cm, Prize Money QR 15,000

1: VIVALDI K, Mubarak Yousuf Al Rumaihi, 67.15, 67.15, QR 4,125

2: DAYDREAMER EC, Saeed Nasser Al Qadi, 69.01, 69.01, QR 3,000

3: COLIBRI 19, Nasser Al Ghazali, 70.12, 70.12, QR 2,250

4: CARPORT, Faleh Suwead Al Ajami, 70.99, 70.99, QR1,500

5: FIJI, Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi, 71.54, 71.54, QR,1,050

THE PENINSULA DOHA

Abdullah Mohammed Al Marri, Director of National Teams, yesterday said he was pleased to young riders competing hard against their senior rivals on the opening day of the Amir’s Golden Sword Championships.

Speaking to media, Al Marri said the young Qatari riders are being groomed for future events.

“This championship is very important to the riders and to us at QEF. This competition is

tough and the young riders are learning a lot. The competitors are keen to do well and even-tually they try to win the biggest trophy - the Amir’s Golden Sword,” Al Marri said yesterday.

“We always invest in our young riders so we could groom them for future events,” he said. “There is expert training ses-sions for the young riders. We look for kids as young as five years who have trainers for them,” he explained.

“The training plan for youngsters have been put in

place because of the backing of QEF President Hamad Abdulrahman Al Attiyah and Secretary General Badr Al Darwesh. We have had several meetings on how to train and groom the young kids. We have comprehensive reports to track the development of the riders.

“We are thankful to the QOC Chairman H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani for launching the Hathab initiative. The Hathab Series is also helping the riders improve their skills,” Al Marri said.

Mubarak Al Rumaihi guides Vivaldi K over an obstacle on his way to win the Big Tour class during the Amir’s Golden Sword Championships at the Outdoor Arena of the Qatar Equestrian Federation, yesterday.

Al Marri pleased to see the efforts put up by young riders

We got to see some exciting battles on the opening day. I was pleased to see the readiness of the riders at such a young age. The growing knowledge the riders have about horses and racing techniques is very pleasing for us. I wish to see them grow like this in the future also. I want to thank the Organizing Committee for their hard work for this prestigious championships. Also, I would like to thank our sponsors for their generous support: QEF President Hamad Abdulrahman Al Attiyah

Annual Orchid Show

20 FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019MORNING BREAK

FAJRSHOROOK

04. 47 AM

06. 04 AM

11. 47 AM

03. 05 PM

05. 34 PM

07. 04 PM

ZUHRASR

MAGHRIBISHA

PRAYER TIMINGS

HIGH TIDE 06:25 – 18:11 LOW TIDE 00:58 –14:01

Moderate temperature daytime with scat-

tered clouds to partly cloudy and chance

of light rain at some places, cold by night.

WEATHER TODAY

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

Minimum Maximum17oC 22oC

AFP NEW YORK

Peter Tork, the offbeat folk artist who found fame with 1960s pop band the Monkees, has died, his team announced yesterday. He was 77 years old.

“It is with beyond-heavy and broken hearts that we share the devastating news that our friend, mentor, teacher, and amazing soul, Peter Tork, has passed from this world,” the team posted on his official Facebook page, without specifying a cause. The musician in 2009 had been diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare form of cancer impacting the tongue.

“There are no words right now...heart broken over the loss of my Monkee brother,” tweeted drummer-singer Mickey Dolenz, the band’s last surviving member.

A classic teeny-bopper band, the Monkees were the original reality TV stars, whose four-piece group was originally conceived as a show in 1965 that went on to win two Emmy awards and in 1967 outsell the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Songs like “Daydream Believer,” “I’m a Believer” and “Last Train to Clarksville” all topped the charts — but the wisecracking foursome drew criticism by some who considered them a rip-off of the Beatles, who had rushed onto the American pop culture scene a few years prior. The band released nine albums between 1966 and 1970, after which they disbanded, but they have come back together in various combinations over the years.

Tork, the group’s keyboardist and bass guitarist, crafted a persona as the Monkees’ lovable “dummy” — but later began to resent the band as his musical ambitions grew. Born in Washington on February 13, 1942, Tork took piano lessons and studied French horn.

Having cut his teeth in the free-wheeling folk scene of New York’s Greenwich Village, Tork was a multi-instrumentalist who became the first member to leave the Monkees, feeling restricted artistically.

Why do zebras have stripes? Perhaps to dazzle away fliesAP LONDON

Zebra stripes are dazzling - particularly to flies. That’s the conclusion of scien-tists from the University of Bristol and the University of California at Davis who dressed horses in black-and-white striped coats to help determine why zebras have stripes.

The researchers found that fewer horseflies landed on the bedecked horses than on those without the striped coats, suggesting that zebra stripes may offer protection from blood-sucking insects that can spread disease.

“This reduced ability to land on the zebra’s coat may be due to stripes dis-rupting the visual system of the horse flies during their final moments of approach,” said Martin How, a research fellow at the University of Bristol. “Stripes may dazzle flies in some way once they are close enough to see them with their low-resolution eyes.”

From a distance, the flies were equally attracted to both horses and zebras, with the same number of insects hovering around both types of animals. But when the flies got closer, things get dicey. The flies landed less frequently on the zebras and the horses covered in striped coats.

“Once they get close to the zebras, however, they tend to fly past or bump into them,” said Tim Caro, a professor in the U.C. Davis Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology. “This indicates that stripes may disrupt the

flies’ abilities to have a controlled landing.”

The work, reported in the journal Public Library of Science ONE, seeks to answer one of the oldest questions in zoology —why do zebras have stripes? Charles Darwin had his theories. So did

British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace.But the scientists from Britain and

California sought to examine that question by studying both horses and zebras at the Hill Livery in Britain, which works with zoos in Europe on conser-vation for zebras. That provided a

controlled environment where the horses could be dressed up and closely observed to test the theory.

“It’s one of those pieces of research that you say, ‘why hasn’t someone done this before?’” said Tim Woodfine, the director of conservation at Marwell

Wildlife in southern England. He did not take part in the study. “It’s simple and neat. I think it’s a great piece of work,” he said. How, an expert on animal vision, told The Associated Press on Thursday that there are reasons to be “quite excited” about the research, which helps scientists understand what’s happening in the mind of a fly. This has broader implications in terms of technology such as driverless cars, which are inspired by insect vision. If stripes disrupt a fly, they might also possibly disrupt a driverless car’s systems, for example, he said.

“What we needed to do is get our mind into the eye of the fly,” How said. “They have very different eyes from us.”

Erica McAlister, the senior curator of flies and fleas at the Natural History Museum in London, said the research helps add more understanding to a subject long debated in the science community.

“We’ve been arguing about zebra stripes for 75 years,” said McAlister, who was also not involved in the study. She said that the study will provide useful data going forward.

But there are also human applica-tions. How says from now on, he’s wearing stripes while riding his bike during horse-fly season.

Caro hopes that the study will underscore the wonders that remain to be discovered in the natural world.

“If we can try to peak the public’s appreciation of the wonders of nature, they’ll be less cavalier about destroying it,” he said. “That’s my hope.”

Grevy’s zebras, the most threatened species of zebra, graze at the Mpala research centre in Laikipia County in Kenya.

Folk musician Peter Tork of Monkees fame dies at 77

Japan’s Hayabusa2 set for asteroid landingAFP TOKYO

A Japanese probe is expected to land on a distant asteroid today, aiming to blast a “bullet” into the surface to collect clues about the origins of Earth and the solar system.

The Hayabusa2 probe is scheduled to touch down at 8:25am local time (2325 GMT Thursday) on the Ryugu asteroid, some 300 million kilometres from the Earth, according to officials at the Japan Aero-space Exploration Agency (JAXA).

If the landing is successful, Hayabusa2 will fire a projectile at Ryugu’s surface to stir up surface matter, which the probe will then collect for analysis back on Earth. The asteroid is thought to contain rel-atively large amounts of organic matter and water from some 4.6 billion years ago when the solar system was born. The probe will eventually fire an “impactor” to blast out material from underneath Ryugu’s surface, allowing the collection of “fresh” materials unexposed to millennia of wind and radiation.

Scientists hope the samples may provide answers to some fundamental questions about life and the universe, including whether elements from space helped give rise to life on Earth.

On Wednesday, as the final preparations were underway, JAXA officials said they were cautiously optimistic the operation would go ahead.

“So far we haven’t experienced any major troubles... but we can’t feel a sense of relief at this point while we are still bracing for a touchdown,” Hayabusa2 mission manager Makoto Yoshikawa told reporters. “We are expecting a successful touchdown... but the unexpected can happen.”

“We feel tense,” he admitted. After the hoped-for landing, the probe will return

to its orbit above Ryugu, with further touchdowns planned for later in the year. Communication with Hayabusa2 is cut off at times because its antennas are not always pointed towards Earth.

And the communication time lag between Earth and the probe means confirmation of a successful touchdown is not expected for several hours, likely around 11:00am local time (0200 GMT) today.

“We’ll be able to announce a success if we confirm that the probe returned (to a home position above the asteroid), that the probe touched down, and that the command to fire the metal bullet worked,” said senior project manager Takashi Kubota. But it could take several more days to confirm the bullet was actually fired to allow the collection of samples, Kubota added.

“A touchdown is imperative for collecting samples, so we really hope to have the first touchdown success here,” JAXA spokeswoman Azusa Yabe said. The probe’s landing was originally scheduled for last year. But it was pushed back after surveys found the asteroid’s surface was more rugged

than initially thought, forcing JAXA to take more time to find a suitable landing site. The Hayabusa2 mission, with a price tag of around 30bn yen ($270m), was launched in December 2014 and is scheduled to return to Earth with its samples in 2020.

Photos of Ryugu — which means “Dragon Palace” in Japanese and refers to a castle at the bottom of the ocean in an ancient Japanese tale -- show an asteroid shaped a bit like a spinning top with a rough surface. Hayabusa2 observes the surface of the asteroid with its camera and sensing equipment but has also dispatched two tiny MIN-ERVA-II rover robots as well as the French-German robot MASCOT to help surface observation.

Scientists are already receiving data from these probes deployed on the surface of the asteroid.

The 10-kilogramme (22-pound) observation robot MASCOT is loaded with sensors, and can take images at multiple wavelengths, investigate min-erals with a microscope, gauge surface tempera-tures and measure magnetic fields.

At about the size of a large fridge, Hayabusa2 is equipped with solar panels and is the successor to JAXA’s first asteroid explorer, Hayabusa -- Japanese for falcon. That probe returned from a smaller, potato-shaped, asteroid in 2010 with dust samples despite various setbacks during its epic seven-year Odyssey and was hailed as a scientific triumph.

“Lessons from what we experienced in Hay-abusa are very useful,” Yoshikawa said.

One of the variety of orchids during the New York Botanical Garden’s 17th Annual Orchid Show in New York, yesterday. The Orchid Show: Singapore, was developed in partnership with Singapore Botanic Gardens and Gardens by the Bay.

Apple slips to 17th spot in ‘50 Most Innovative Companies’ listIANS/SAN FRANCISCO

In the wake of dwindling iPhone sales amid overall sluggish global smartphone growth, Apple fell from the first position in 2018 to the 17th spot in the annual “50 Most Inno-vative Companies list for 2019” by US-based business publi-cation Fast Company.

Last year, on the basis of

innovations like AirPods, Aug-mented Reality (AR) and iPhone X, Apple secured the first spot and this year the company is only credited for its “A12 Bionic” processor which has been incorporated in the iPhone XS and iPhone XR models.

“Apple’s most impressive new product of 2018 was the ‘A12 Bionic’ chip that debuted

as the industry’s first processor based on a seven-nanometer manufacturing process,” said the report.

‘A12 Bionic” processor is the industry’s first 7nm chipset manufactured with a six-core CPU, four-core GPU and an upgraded eight-core Neural Engine with 6.9 billion tran-sistors that deliver dramatically faster performance.