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BUSINESS | 21 SPORT | 28

Volume 22 | Number 7170 | 2 RiyalsTuesday 23 May 2017 | 27 Sha'baan 1438 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

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Traffic police to crack down on stunt driving Sidi Mohamed The Peninsula

As cases of stunt-driving and drifting see a rise during the holy month of Ram-adan, especially late

in the night, Investigation Sec-tion of the General Directorate of the Traffic Department is stepping on the gas to curb the practice this year with strict action against violators.

“The Investigation Section will strictly monitor such cases during upcoming Ramadan and punish violators,” a source at the Ministry of Interior told The Peninsula.

“Last year, we seized more than 30 vehicles. Now, the pub-lic is also cooperating with us and residents can send pictures of cases and we will follow the violators”, he said.

He said that punishment included hefty fines which might reach QR3,000 or more and impounding of the vehicles for a maximum of three months. Cases of repeat viola-tion will be transferred to public prosecution, he added.

Replying to a question about the difficulties being faces by authorities, he said: “The problem now is that these

drifters and stunt-drivers choose places which are far from the eyes of the police. For example, they choose places like Al Sailiya, Salwa Road.”

He said that special cam-paigns should be run every Ramadan "otherwise they will continue doing the same.”

In case of drifting in resi-dential areas which exposes people’s life to danger, vehi-cles will be booked for 90 days and "may be transferred to the public prosecution depending on the nature of the offence."

The Peninsula noted marks of drifting even in residential areas and recently on the Air-port Road which is a potential threat to people’s lives.

→ Continued on page 3

A night view of the Al Hazm mall that is partially open to visitors. Pic: Baher Amin/ The Peninsula

Workers give finishing touches to the pedestrian bridge near the Old Airport Traffic Department. The bridge over E-Ring Road has a span of 66 metres, and links Al Thumama and the Old Airport area. It is expected to open in June. Pic: Salim Matramkot/ The Peninsula

→ See also page 5

New pedestrian bridge on E-Ring Road

Ministry to monitor private firms on 6-hour Ramadan working rule The Peninsula

The Ministry of Administra-tive Development, Labour and Social Affairs has

urged all private companies and institutions to comply with the law requiring to reduce work-ing hours during the holy month of Ramadan to six.

The Ministry stressed that it

will monitor private companies and institutions to ensure their compliance to the provision of law and commitment to the working time during Ramadan. Inspectors of the Ministry will conduct field visits to work-sites and legal action will be taken against the violators of the pro-vision of the law, said the Ministry yesterday.

The Ministry has pointed out that it is going to receive com-plaints from employees and workers on its address and hotline.

"Employees and workers are urged not to hesitate to report any violations against their rights and to provide the Minis-try with the required information."

Ashghal 24/7: New mobile app has advanced featuresThe Peninsula

The Public Works Author-ity, Ashghal, yesterday launched its new mobile

application — Ashghal 24/7— which provides customers with an additional communication channel through which they can reach important e-services any-where and anytime.

The app, launched at a press conference, is meant to enhance Ashghal's communication with the public and facilitate the access of various categories of customers to the its services.

The press conference was attended by Meshal Sultan Al Hitmi, Shared Services Affairs Director, Ahmed Mohammed Sharif, Asset Affairs Director, and a number of Ashghal managers.

Ali Abdullatif Al Kuwari, Assistant of Information Systems Department Manager at Ashghal, said that the launch of the new mobile application reflects Ash-ghal's commitment and efforts to develop the services provided to customers, and to facilitate access to those services by citi-zens, residents, government and private institutions, in addition

to increasing public awareness of the projects, services and ini-tiatives provided, and keeping them updated with the latest news.

"The application, which is available on Android and iOS, allows customers to access the various services offered by Ash-ghal electronically and more efficiently. The main advantage of this application is enabling

users to upload various types of messages like written texts, geo-graphical locations, photographs and documents at the same time, and to directly attach them to the service requests and noti-fications to complete the application process electroni-cally without the need to visit Ashghal’s customer zones,” added Ali Al Kuwari.

→ Continued on page 5

The Peninsula

Cruise travel to Qatar is cruising.

Around 47,000 pas-sengers and crew arrived on Qatar’s shores during 2016/17, marking over a 1,000 percent increase compared to the pre-vious season, making it the largest yet, Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has said.

Recently, members of the cruise tourism industry gathered to celebrate the close of the

2016/17 season, which ended last month with remarkable growth in the number of ships and passengers.

Representatives from across the cruise tourism value chain, including immigration, port and customs officials; tour guides and tour operators, pro-viders of logistical support and operators of tourism landmarks were recognised by Qatar Tourism Authority for their role.

→Continued on page 5

Emir to patronise national service graduation todayQNA

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will patronise today the

graduation ceremony of the 8th batch of national service recruits, to be held at Al Shamal Training Camp. Stern warning

Investigation Section of Traffic Department promises strict action against dare-devilry on the road. Violators face fines of QR3,000 or more and seizure of vehicles.

QNA

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has sent a written message

to Iraqi Prime Minister Dr Haider Al Abadi, inviting him to visit Qatar. The message was delivered by Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani during a meeting with the Iraqi Prime Minister yesterday.

→ See also page 3

The Ministry of Interior yesterday inaugurated Umm Bab Coastal

Center in the Western District of the General Directorate of Coasts and Borders Security. It is part of plans to strengthen and tighten security over the State's coastal and maritime borders, in addition to search and rescue operations.

→ See also page 8

Emir invites Iraq PM to Qatar

Umm Bab Coastal Center opens

More cruise tourists in Qatar

MEC price cap on 50,000 items during RamadanThe Peninsula

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce yester-day announced caps on

the prices of more than 50,000 food and non-food products throughout the holy month of Ramadan in its lat-est initiative, in cooperation with shopping malls and large retail outlets.

The price caps are the lat-est in a series of initiatives launched by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce to mark the holy month under the theme “#Aqal_Min_Al_Wajeb.” The initiative comes within the framework of the Ministry's efforts to maintain balanced and stable prices, and prevent any unjustified increases in the prices of commodities and consumer goods.

The list freezes prices of various food and non-food items, including poultry, eggs and their derivatives, frozen meat and its derivatives, milk (fresh, condensed and powdered).

→Continued on page 8

Glitzy mall

02 TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017HOME

The Peninsula

The IATA Cabin Operations Safety Conference (COSC), the pivotal global confer-

ence for cabin safety across the aviation industry, concluded its three-day programme last week in Doha.

Hosted by Qatar Airways, the event brought together more than 200 representatives from industry organisations across the globe, to gain insights and share cabin safety best practice.

As the inaugural Middle East-ern regional host for this global aviation industry event, it gave suitable recognition to Qatar Air-ways' outstanding aviation safety performance and its commit-m e n t t o c o n t i n u o u s improvement. Conference

attendees participated in work-shops, discussions and focus sessions led by experts across all segments of the industry, on top-ics such as next generation training, human trafficking and c o m m u n i c a t i n g w i t h passengers.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker said: “At Qatar Airways, safety and security lives at the heart of our working culture. It is our highest priority and is expressed in all our corporate values.”

Since becoming the first air-line to complete the IOSA Safety Audit with 100 per cent compli-ance in 2003, Qatar Airways has remained at the forefront of safety and security achievement, resulting in the many awards for safety and service quality it receives annually. Further

demonstrating their sustained commitment to safety and secu-rity improvement, just two weeks ago Qatar Airways and Hamad International Airport held their annual, full scale emergency exercise, coordinat-ing with the country’s Defence Forces, Coast Guard, Civil Defence and Hamad Medical Corporation.

This nationally significant event simulated the crash of a Qatar Airways jet into water off the coast of Qatar and was used to test the readiness of all par-ties involved to respond to such a disaster.

Further, its investment in technology and innovation has led to the development of a unique model for running the airline’s Integrated Operations Centre.

Best cabin safety practices highlighted at IATA conference

The Peninsula

Director-General of Public Security (DGPS) Staff Major General H E Saad bin Jassim Al Khu-

laifi witnessed the graduation ceremony of fourth foundation course for new police recruits held at Police Training Institute. The course was held at the Insti-tute during the period from 1 Jan 2017 until 22 May 22, 2017, where 355 new police recruits were attended. The ceremony was attended by a number of directors of departments of the Ministry of Interior, officers were

Ministry of Interior and Lak-whiya Force and a number of parents.

The DGPS wished the grad-uates all the success and achievement in their work ful-filling their covenant in front of God to provide a distinct secu-rity service for citizens and residents alike. He called on young Qataris to join the police force and participate in preserv-ing the security of the country.

"The Police Training Insti-tute is proud of this occasion, as it has added to its account the graduates of this course”, Major Ali Saud Al Hanzab, Assistant Director of the Police

Training Institute. He adds: “The course was aiming to prepare and qualify the security person-nel to a level that suits their security requirements, within the framework of the Qatar National Vision (2030) and Ministry of Interior Strategy that always seeking to train and qualify the human element in the field of

security as the main pillar in the security strategy”.

He noted that 355 recruits attended in this foundation course that continued for almost four months where the partici-pants were given security and operational training in order to make them the most efficient and competent to carry out the duties of the modern policing in maintaining the security and safety of the community.

Major Ali Saud Al Hanzab thanked the graduates of the course for their discipline and their continuous quest for suc-cess as evident from the good results they achieved.

The course aimed to prepare the recruits from the civil status to the military status in order to carry out their functions effi-ciently and effectively by providing them with the nec-essary legal, administrative and police information and provid-ing them with the necessary skills. The course included sports and military trainings and

lectures on the Qatari Penal Code, Criminal investigation, police operations, rights and duties of security function, secu-rity sense and art of dealing with the public as well as classes on first aid, police communications, computer and civil protection. The DGPS honoured the out-standing graduates. Adnan Al Shaghdari was the topper of the course while Muhammad Ali Jar-allah Al Marri was selected as the ideal student, Mohammed Riyad Goudi as best sportsper-son and Abdul Noor Muallim as best military person.

Emir greets Yemen PresidentEMIR H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent yester-day a cable of congratulations to President of the Republic of Yemen Abd rabuh Mansur Hadi on the occasion of his country's National Day.

The Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani and the Prime Min-ister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani have sent cables of congratulations to Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi on the occasion of his country's National Day.

Emir holds telephone talks with Jordan KingEMIR H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held a tele-phone conversation with H M King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hus-sein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. They reviewed bilateral relations and means of advancing them, in addition to discuss-ing a number of regional and international issues, espe-cially the latest developments in the region.

Advisory Council holds meetingTHE ADVISORY Council held yesterday its regular weekly session during its 45th ordinary session under the chairman-ship of Speaker of the Advisory Council H E Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khulaifi.

At the outset of the meet-ing, the Secretary-General of the Advisory Council H E Fahad bin Mubarak Al Khay-areen read out the agenda and was approved. The coun-cil also ratified the minutes of the previous meeting.

The council then read memos from the cabinet on a draft law for 2017 on amend-ing some of the provisions of law no. 17 for 2002 on protect-ing society. The council agreed to refer the draft to the Inter-nal and External Affairs Committee to examine and present a report on the draft.

The memos also included a draft law of 2017 on amend-ing some of the provisions of law no. 11 of 1990 on estab-lishing the Qatar Chamber for Commerce and Industry. The council agreed to refer the draft law to the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee to examine and present a report on the draft.

Another draft 2017 law that the council discussed was for amending decree law no. 14 for 1993 on passports. The council agreed to refer the draft to the Internal and External Affairs Committee to examine it and present a report.

The Peninsula

Qatar Airways, sponsor of the electric street racing series Formula E,

announced Sébastien Buemi as the winner of the 2017 Qatar Air-ways Paris ePrix,

The national carrier of the State of Qatar was the official airline partner and title sponsor of the highly-anticipated 2017 Qatar Airways Paris ePrix, which took place around the architec-tural complex of Les Invalides in the French capital on 20 May. Qatar Airways is also the official airline partner of the first-ever New York City ePrix, to be held in Red Hook, Brooklyn on 15-16 July 2017.

After presenting the trophy to the winner on Saturday evening, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said: “We are delighted to be the official sponsor of the Formula E electric car races in Paris and New York. Qatar Airways is com-mitted to promoting sports as a key element in bringing people

together. Formula E is innova-tive, bold and smart with its approach, concepts mirrored at

Qatar Airways through our young and modern fleet, which is widely regarded as one of the

most energy efficient in the sky.” “We look forward to the

ePrix race in New York this

summer, at which time we will also introduce our new Qsuite Business Class offering on our Paris route,” he added.

The second edition of the race in Paris along L’Esplanade des Invalides offered racing drivers and visitors an exceptional day of exhilarating competition and impressive sporting skills. VIPs, honoured guests as well as French and international journalists enjoyed the competition and activities organised by Formula E and its partner, Qatar Airways.

The FIA Formula E Champi-onship is the world’s first fully-electric single-seater rac-ing series, competing on the streets against the backdrop of some of the most iconic cities, including Hong Kong, Marra-kech, Buenos Aires, Monaco, Paris, New York and Montreal. The championship represents a vision for the future of the motor industry, serving as a platform to showcase the latest innova-tions in electric vehicle technology and alternative energy solutions.

Sébastien Buemi was presented with the trophy by Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, in Paris.

Sébastien Buemi wins Qatar Airways Paris ePrix

Participants at the IATA Cabin Operations Safety Conference (COSC), hosted by Qatar Airways in Doha.

355 cadets pass out from Police Training Institute

The ceremony was attended by a number of directors of departments of the Ministry of Interior, officers from the Ministry of Interior and Lakwhiya Force and a number of parents.

Director-General of Public Security (DGPS), Staff Major General H E Saad bin Jassim Al Khulaifi, and other officers reviewing the passing out parade.

03TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017 HOME

Gaza

QNA

Chairman of the Qatari Com-mittee for the Reconstruction of Gaza Ambassador

Mohammed El Emadi has signed new project contracts worth $12m.

Ambassador El Emadi said that the signed projects include the construction of 7 residential build-ings of the third phase of the H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Residential City, the launch of the Committee's headquarters project, and the infrastructure

project for H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani's Al Amal City.

El Emadi underlined that the State of Qatar has been an honourable model of recon-struction through direct supervision of its projects, which has made these projects

at top of other projects. He added that the situation in Gaza is deteriorating, citing the elec-tricity crisis, salaries cut and other problems threatening the population of the Strip.

He indicated that he pro-posed many solutions to resolve

the electricity crisis in Gaza, but Qatar can do so only with the cooperation of all parties, noting that Doha held several meetings with the United Nations to find solutions to the growing crises in the sector. Qatar launched a pack-age of projects in 2012 for

housing, health and infrastruc-ture sectors in Gaza Strip with a total value of $407m.

It also pledged $1bn during Gaza reconstruction conference which was held in Egypt two months after the end of the Israeli aggression in 2014.

Qatari Committee for Reconstruction of Gaza signs $12m deal

Continued from page 1A number of residents

have asked the Ministry of Interior to introduce strict monitoring mechanism against such reckless driv-ers who become more active during Ramadan, specially before and after Al Fajr prayer.

“They create a lot of fuss on the roads for general public and even do not respect the sanctity of the holy month.

The time they indulge in drifting on roads is the time of tranquility but they don’t care about anything and most of them are youngsters,” said Ali, a resident.

He added: “I think those youth spend their day sleeping and at night they don’t have anything to do expect to make people's life restless with the noises they create with their vehicles. It has become a habit for them in Qatar and the Traf-fic Department has already specified a place for these youngsters in the Industrial Area then why don't they go their to appease their hun-ger for adventure.”

Call for strict monitoring against reckless drivers

QNA

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has sent a written message to the Prime Minister of the Repub-

lic of Iraq Dr Haider Al Abadi, inviting to visit the State of Qatar.

The message was delivered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani during a meeting with the Iraqi Prime Minister yesterday.

The Foreign Minister con-veyed the greetings of the Emir to the Iraqi Prime Minister.

For his part, Dr Haider Al Abadi entrusted the Foreign Min-ister to convey his greetings to the Emir, wishing him good health and happiness and the Qatari people progress, devel-opment, and prosperity.

The Prime Minister of Iraq expressed his thanks and appre-ciation for the kind invitation of the Emir and promised to accept it in the coming period.

The two sides also discussed relations between the two broth-erly countries and means of enhancing them in various fields.

They stressed, on the basis of the ties of brotherhood and his-torical brotherly relations between the two brotherly countries, to remove all that would disturb the relations between them and look forward to the future, not to think of the past and open a new page in the relations between the two brotherly countries.

The Iraqi Prime Minister expressed appreciation for

Qatar's decision to reopen the Qatari embassy in the Iraqi cap-ital Baghdad soon.

For his part, the Foreign Min-ister said that "his visit to Baghdad reflects close and well established brotherly relations between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Iraq ."

He expressed Qatar's deep thanks to the Iraqi Prime Minis-ter for the efforts exerted by the Iraqi government in the final stages of releasing the Qatari nationals and their accomplices and securing their release until they reached Baghdad airport and returned safely to Qatar.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani reiterated Qatar's continued support of the brotherly Republic of Iraq in all its actions in order to maintain Iraq's territorial integrity and people and to achieve full con-trol over the country and eliminate terrorist groups and

Emir invites Iraqi Premier to visit Qatar

Minister of Foreign Affairs, H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq, Dr Haider Al Abadi, in Baghdad, yesterday.

The Emir's message was delivered by the Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani during a meeting with the Iraqi Prime Minister, yesterday.

04 TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017HOME

Vienna

QNA

THE STATE OF QATAR has called for making use of all capabilities in confronting and curbing the criminal challenges of organised crime, corruption, drugs, money laundering and terrorism.

This came in a speech delivered by Major General Dr Abdullah Yusuf Al Mal, advisor to the Interior Min-ister, at the opening of the 26th session of the Commis-sion on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, which started in the Austrian cap-ital and continues until May 26 .

Dr Al Mal welcomed the efforts made by Member States to implement the Doha Declaration of the Thirteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Preven-tion and Criminal Justice, hosted by the State of Qatar in April 2015.

He underscored the importance of launching the global program for the imple-m e n t a t i o n o f t h e recommendations of the Doha Declaration in cooper-ation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and funding its projects for youth crime prevention through sport, rehabilitation and reintegration of prison-ers, education for justice, in addition to the integrity of the judiciary and the prevention of corruption.

He also pointed out that the State of Qatar has allo-cated an annual award in the name of the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in line with international efforts to achieve integrity, transparency and fighting corruption.

The Peninsula

The Public Works Authority (Ash-ghal), will open next month a 2.5km stretch of new permanent road with

three flyovers along Mesaieed Road, part of its Al Wakra Bypass Project in the south area of Qatar. The opening marks another milestone on the project which is due to open part of its 11km main carriageway in the coming month.

Drivers currently using the existing diversion of Mesaieed Road will be shifted on to the new section of road with two lanes in each direction. In coordination with the Traffic Police Department, the

shift will be implemented in two phases starting with southbound traffic towards Mesaieed Road tomorrow, fol-lowed by northbound traffic towards Al Wakra on Sunday. As shown on the attached map. Ashghal requests all road users to abide by the 50kph speed limit and follow newly implemented traffic road signs to ensure their safety. Ashghal is expediting works for full completion on the Al Wakra Bypass Project which will deliver direct access to G Ring Road, connecting to the New Orbital Highway and Truck Route and the F Ring Road towards Hamad Inter-national Airport and Doha.

New road part of Al Wakra Bypass Project to open next month

Fazeena Saleem The Peninsula

Mall of Qatar, a unique shopping and entertain-ment destination in the region has

become increasingly popular destination among the local as well as many GCC visitors due to the unparalleled opportuni-ties, says a senior official.

The number of visitors has far exceeded the expectations in the first six months of open-ing, that shows that Mall of Qatar is on course to receive over 20 million visitors per annum., Rony Mourani, General Manager at Mall of Qatar told The Peninsula.

“Being the Mall of the nation in Qatar, most visitors are resi-dents of Qatar. However, Mall of Qatar has become increasingly popular amongst the region as a destination for families and friends of all ages. Mall of Qatar sees visitors from across the GCC, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bah-rain,” said Mourani.

“Mall of Qatar tourist num-bers has increased within a short period of time, since the Mall launched its world-class shows – MOQ LIVE, running all year long. MOQ LIVE mall-wide entertainment showcases its wonderful headline shows, on the first 360-degree stage within a mall, which was custom devel-oped and includes a revolving stage. Furthermore, the mall offers visitors an exciting line-up of festivals, such as the recent Spring Festival and amazing prizes for shoppers,” he added.

Mall of Qatar was built to capture the imagination of the

entire nation, with 500,000 sq. m of innovative shopping con-cepts, top-notch recreation, leisure options, and 52 weeks of spectacular headline shows. Mall of Qatar’s strength is being able to combine all three shopping, dining or entertainment together, as a shopping mall. It provides visitors with worldwide brands that span from entry level to luxury, and with more than 80 new names in the Qatar mar-ket. Visitors will be dazzled by the 500 varied retail, dining and café options, with 100 being food and beverage outlets.

“Everyone is interested in experiencing something new and unique, Mall of Qatar prides itself on being a destination that has successfully brought a lot of firsts to Qatar and to the region. Mall of Qatar is committed to always providing something new

and exciting for visitors that will keep them coming back to MOQ. It is a destination that provides free entertainment for all, and a numerous selection of shopping and dining options,” said Mourani.

Mall of Qatar has a blend of dining, shopping and entertain-ment for all ages, including KidzMondo and NOVO cinemas,

with the largest IMAX screen in the region. Furthermore, Mall of Qatar has world-class entertain-ment shows throughout the mall on a daily basis.

“Mall of Qatar’s entertain-ment is very popular amongst visitors of all ages, and MOQ constantly studies what people like and what interests families in Qatar. The mall also aims to cater to international tastes and takes traditions and customs very seriously through a vast entertainment variety. Mall of Qatar wants to create a wonder-ful balance between the local culture of Qatar and world-class entertainment for all visitors, as well as following the holiday season and prime local holi-days,” says Mourani. The Mall of Qatar officially opened on April 8, in the presence of more than 150,000 visitors.

Sanaullah Ataullah The Peninsula

Charity organisations are working in full swing to provide protein-rich

Iftar meals to fasting people with special focus on low-income workers during the holy month of Ramadan .

A huge fully air-condi-tioned Iftar tent is set up at Ain Khalid behind Doha Bank on Salwa Road to offer Iftar meals to hundreds of fasting people. Works are in advanced stage to set up another big Iftar tent with a capacity of catering thousands of fasting people on daily basis at Labor City-Asian Town beside Grand Mall, The Penin-sula has learnt. Iftar meals will be also offered to motorists at major intersections in Doha and will be distributed at many labour camps in the Industrial Area on daily basis throughout the holy month of Ramadan, charity officials told The Peninsula.

“We have planned to dis-tribute 36,000 Iftar meals at the rate of 1,200 meals in a day at six intersections on crowded roads of Doha," an official from Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Foun-dation for Humanitarian Services (RAF), said. The busy intersec-tions that will witness the distribution of Iftar meals are Al Matar (Airport), Al Bida, Jaliah, Ramada, Amn Al Asma (Capital Police) and Sports Roundabout, the official added.

"Under a separate pro-gramme for offering Iftar meals to fasting people we have started setting up Iftar

tents across the country," said RAF official.

Iftar venues will be avail-able at Al Matar (Airport) behind Family Food Center (FFC), Abdurrahman bin Jas-sim School in Wakra besides Mosque No. 728, Al Thumama besides Mosque No. 1130, New Al Rayan (Eid Prayer Ground), Muaither on Commercial Street (before Umm Al Dawm roundabout), Husain Al Ahb-abi, Industrial Area near Industrial Area roundabout besides Doha Bank, Industrial Area besides Al Maha Acad-emy, Al Kaban near Commercial Shops, Al Khor, Al Zabara, Umm Salal Moha-mad, Al Aziziya (Eid Prayer Ground) and near Mosque No. 1230 behind Al Isra School.

Other places selected for setting up Iftar tents are Mihairija besides Mosque Rawdat bint Mishal Al Atiya No. 1156, Al Gharrafa besides the Majlis of Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah, Al Mamoura near Al Khibra Driving School and Ramez Shopping Complex, Abu Hamour behind Regency Naija Signal near Mosque No. 820, Msheireb, Ain Khalid behind Safari Hypermarket, Muaither North, Al Nasiriya, Bin Umran near Mosque No. 233, Education City (Mosque of Education City) and Al Gharrafa.

Mall of Qatar draws huge crowd

More than 200 artistes performed 20 different shows during the official opening of Mall of Qatar recently. Pic: Kammuty V P / The Peninsula

The number of visitors has far exceeded the expectations in the first six months of opening, that shows that Mall of Qatar is on course to receive over 20 million visitors per annum.

Charity Iftar: Focus on low-income workers

Qatar calls for curbing organised crime and terrorism

05TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017 HOME

Continued from page 1

The visitors, whose numbers have increased by over 1,000%, arrived on Qatar’s

shores on board 22 cruise ships and one mega-yacht, an increase of 120% from the number of cruise ships received last season. Addressing attendees, Hassan Al Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Develop-ment Officer at QTA, said “In addition to being our busiest sea-son to date, this was also a season of many firsts, with Qatar wel-coming its first mega-ship, and two cruise ships docking simul-taneously in Doha port for the first time. And, this season was the first time that cruise tourists were able to benefit from a new, stream-lined disembarkation process, and the newly introduced free 96-hour transit visa.”

“None of this would have been possible without all of our partners who are with us today. On behalf of QTA, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of you for your hard work, your support, and the collabo-rative spirit you have shown throughout the season.”

QTA’s projections show a three-fold increase in the number of ship calls over the next three years. QTA is work-ing with partners to carefully plan, develop and manage the cruise terminal facilities, infra-structure and operations needed to achieve this growth. Once all developments are completed, projections show that the cruise industry has the potential to generate over QR350m per annum by 2026.

The top ten nationalities that have visited Qatar on board cruise ships are British, followed by Italian, Spanish, German, Bel-gian, French, Swiss, American, Brazilian and Irish.

In collaboration with part-ners at the Ministry of Transport & Communication, Mwani – Qatar Ports Management Company, preparations are underway begin upgrading Doha Port this year. Once com-plete, the Port will be a world-class cruise ship hub and a tourist destination in the heart of Doha, helping to position the country as a turnaround port by the 2018/19 cruise season.

QTA and Mwani have con-firmed that Doha Port will continue to welcome cruise ships in the 2017/18 season.

Continued from page 1Saad Mohammed Al Jermozi,

Head of Development Section in the Information Systems Department at Ashghal, said that Ashghal 24/7, which is available in Arabic and English, is charac-terised by its organised easy-to-use design. The home page includes all the application's contents, which have been dis-tributed within sections, most notably — "My Ashghal" — which contains all the electronic serv-ices that are available only to registered users, in addition to “Notifications” which allows users to notify Ashghal of anything that may cause public harm or haz-ard such as a crater in a road.

Users can apply to those services using their geographi-cal location, and send any documents required by the authority. The application allows users to check the status of previous requests and com-plaints. It also explains the

application process step-by-step. Other application sections include “Road Status” to see the latest updates regarding the clo-sures, diversions, and openings implemented by Ashghal by its geographical location.

“Our Services” which presents information and reports about the list of services provided by Ashghal to individuals, com-panies and government institutions, “Projects” which pro-vides information about Ashghal’s programmes and main current projects in the field of roads, buildings, and drainage, “Ten-ders” which displays all open tenders, their details, and the par-ticipation conditions, and “FAQs” which reviews the most common questions asked by individuals or companies, with their answers.

The application also allows users to find the nearest cus-tomer zone, and identify the route to the centre from the user’s location. One of the

application’s functions is the "Favorites" page where you can save the most used options in one place for easy access.

The application, which works on all smart devices, can be downloaded by typing "Ash-ghal" in the search field in both the Play Store for Android users and the App Store for iOS users, then choosing “Ashghal 24/7”. After that, users can register in the application to benefit from the services provided to individ-uals and companies by filling out the required data and choosing the preferred channel for receiving notifications.

Customers who are already registered on Ashghal's website or e-services portal can use the same login data for the applica-tion. The application also offers the option to “login as a guest" to find out the latest news about Ashghal and information about its projects and services with-out the need to register.

Ashghal 24/7 available in Arabic and English

British cruise tourists among top ten

The Peninsula

THE PEDESTRIAN bridge on E-Ring road is almost ready and is expected to open for public in June. This will be a great bless-ing for many pedestrians who need to cross the road especially to reach the Old Airport Traffic Department office. Workers were installing 22mm two layered (11mmx2) laminated tempered glass on the bridge. The 66.125 metre long bridge is 12.5 metre high across the E-Ring road between Al Thumama and Old Airport and is expected to be opened for public in June.

Ashghal is building the bridge to ease the problem of pedestrians to cross this busy road.

This is expected to help the traffic and will reduce causalities and injuries due to road accidents in this area.

Construction work is going on and the major part of installing the overhead bridge is over.

The Ministry of Munici-pality and Environment had announced towards the end of last year that it will con-struct 15 pedestrian bridges in different places in Qatar, in coordination with roads department of the Ministry of Transport.

They had also mentioned that some bridges will be equipped with shops, restau-rants, toilets, ATMs and electric elevators.

The Peninsula

College of the North Atlantic—Qatar (CNA-Q) graduated one of the largest classes in its 15-year history,

with 426 students crossing the stage last night at Qatar National Convention Centre.

The ceremony was held Under the Patronage of the Prime Minister and Interior Min-ister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani.

In attendance were: H E Dr Mohammed bin Abdul Wahed Ali Al Hammadi, Minister of Educa-tion and Higher Education; H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chair of the CNA-Q Board of

Trustees; H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al-Nuami, Minister of Administrative Development and Labour and Social Affairs; Dr Mohammed Yousef Al Mulla, CEO of Qatar Petrochemical Company and member of CNA-Q’s Board of Trustees; Dr Ibrahim Al-Naimi,

President of Community College of Qatar and member of CNA-Q’s Board of Trustees.

Graduates were welcomed to the workforce and congratu-lated on their academic accomplishments by special guest speaker, H E Dr Moham-med bin Saleh Al Sada: “Your graduation is a great achieve-ment and I am pleased to join you this evening to celebrate a significant and very important milestone in your lives. To CNA-Q’s 2017 Graduating Class, I am proud to say that your hard work, determination, and com-mitment to your studies have paid off. Congratulations to you! Your success serves as an inspi-ration to your classmates, your colleagues, your family, and to

your community. You can be proud, deservedly so, of your achievement. This evening rep-resents one stop in the remarkable journey of your life. You are our leaders of tomor-row. Your time at CNA-Q has prepared you to move confi-dently from the classroom to your chosen industry.”

Students graduated from over 32 programs, which are each tailored to the needs of Qatar’s economy. The number of graduates in each discipline include: 147 from Business Stud-ies, 134 from Engineering Technology, 82 from Health Sci-ences and 63 from Information Technology programs.

The ceremony was also a time to hear from CNA-Q’s Class of 2017

co-valedictorians, Mohammed Al Nuami, a Business Management – Accounting graduate, and Rida Ambareen, a Pharmacy Technician graduate, who were selected as shin-ing examples of Qatar’s future leaders.

“We are so pleased to see strong, capable graduates enter the Qatari workforce year after year,” said College of the North Atlantic – Qatar, President, Dr. Ken MacLeod. “These graduates are the reason we are here. As the future leaders of Qatar, you are the motivation to continue offer-ing high-quality technical, hands-on education. With the cre-dentials they receive tonight, these students will become the leaders that Qatar has envisioned in the National Vision 2030.

CNA-Q celebrates graduation of 426 students

The College of the North Atlantic—Qatar (CNA-Q) graduation ceremony held at Qatar National Convention Centre, yesterday.

Pedestrian

bridge on E-Ring

Road likely to

open in June

The ceremony was held Under the Patronage of the Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, attended by the Ministers.

06 TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017HOME

The Peninsula

THE QATAR FINANCIAL Cen-tre Regulatory Authority has received the top award for Mena’s “Best Nationalisation Ini-tiative” at the HR MENA Excellence Awards. The HR Mena Excellence Awards, which were a highlight of the 12th Human Capital Forum Mena hosted this year in Dubai, rewarded organi-sations and individuals in the region for their proven excellence and outstanding HR practices and achievements.

The award for the “Best Nationalisation Initiative” rec-ognised the QFC Regulatory Authority’s learning and devel-opment programme, Al Masar (The Path), which distinguished itself from the competition to land the top award by demon-s t r a t i n g l e a d i n g - e d g e innovation, a comprehensive approach to nationalisation, and quantifiable results.

The QFC Regulatory Author-ity launched Al Masar in September 2015. The pro-gramme leads and supports Qatari employees through five well-defined development stages by delivering a structured approach to the different com-petencies, professional and management training, techni-cal skills, and mentoring required for each stage of devel-opment. Al Masar is driven by the employee and it is aligned with individual employees’ pro-fessional ambition, career objectives and also moves at the pace at which employees seek to realise their ambition. As part of the programme, employees have customised individual development plans to help them achieve their goals, which can include international assign-ments, local or regional secondments, advanced degrees, and targeted technical and leadership preparation.

“Leadership and behav-ioural assessments, such as psychometric testing, have really helped us to pinpoint the qualities in employees that allows us to plan better for their professional development and, ultimately, their success,” said Mr Eisa Ahmed Abdulla, the QFC Regulatory Authority’s Chief Operating Officer and Manag-ing Director, Corporate Services. “The individual development plans we create demonstrate our commitment to our Qatari employees, and provide a clear path to success.”

Mr Abdulla explained that as part of Al Masar, the QFC Reg-ulatory Authority had also created a proactive succession plan that positioned the organ-isation’s Qatari employees at the heart of that plan. In 2016, the second year of Al Masar, the programme expanded to include the more specialised areas of the

QFC Regulatory Authority’s work, the commencement of an inter-national secondment programme, with the first employee placed in February 2017, and the develop-ment of a Financial Sector Leadership Master’s Programme, which will be the first of its kind in the region and one of few sim-ilar programs globally.

Accepting the award on behalf of the QFC Regulatory Authority, Abdulla said: “We are honoured to receive this award. Al Masar has had an immensely positive impact on the mission, staffing, budget and continuity of the Regulatory Authority. Our nationalisation effort is benefit-ting not only our Qatari employees, for whom it provides a framework for achievement, but the organisation and Qatar’s financial sector. Our mission is to create a legacy of financial regulation in Qatar, and with Al Masar, we are succeeding.”

The Peninsula

Hamad Medical Corpora-tion’s (HMC) Women’s Wellness and Research

Center (WWRC) welcomed patients to its gynaecology-oncol-ogy clinic. This follows the start of uro-gynaecology outpatient serv-ices at the WWRC on 7 May.

The WWRC Gynaecology-Oncology clinics are dedicated to managing cancers of the female reproductive system, including cancer of the uterus, cancer of the ovaries and cervi-cal cancer.

In addition, WWRC will offer a colposcopy clinic for the screening, diagnosis, treatment and education of women with

abnormal Pap smear tests and other related pre-cancer disor-ders. According to Dr Jonathan Herod, Senior Consultant, Gyne-cological Surgeon and Oncologist at HMC, gynaecological cancers are increasing in Qatar due to a larger number of women over the age of 60 with obesity and diabetes.

“Obesity, which is one of our most serious health issues in the country, causes an increase in estrogen production and chronic inflammation resulting in a greater risk of gynecological cancer,” said Dr Herod. “This particularly applies to endometrial cancer (cancer of the womb), which is the most common gynaecological cancer in Qatar.”

Dr Herod added that the most important symptom women may experience as a warning sign is bleeding after menopause. Of women who experience this, approximately one in 12 is diag-nosed with a gynecological cancer. Other symptoms that can serve as warning signs include spotting or bleeding between menstrual cycles, bleeding after intercourse, feeling swollen or bloated in the abdomen, a loss of appetite or feeling full quickly. Gas, indiges-tion or nausea, frequent urination, and pain or a mass in the pelvic area are also symptoms women should be watchful for.

“There is no way for women to definitively determine if they will get a gynecologic cancer.

That’s why it is important for them to pay close attention to their body and to know what is normal for them. This way if a woman recognises any of these

warning signs or symptoms, she can immediately schedule an appointment with her primary health care center,” said Dr Herod.

The Peninsula

QATAR’S more than 40,000 businesses are now being shown an entirely new level after launch of the Ooredoo’s Nojoom Business Customer Loyalty Programme, designed to reflect the brand’s commit-ment to superior customer satisfaction across every segment.

Nojoom Business members can avail offers from a variety of partners and outlets in Qatar. The new free-to-join pro-gramme, offers a wide variety of discounts and exclusive pro-motions. In addition, businesses’ employees can also enrol in Nojoom Business where they can receive a vari-ety of individual benefits.

“The game-changing Ooredoo Nojoom Business programme will strengthen Ooredoo’s relationship with tens of thousands of compa-nies in Qatar, enabling corporate customers to access offers and savings across sec-tors such as banking and finance, charities, hospitality, retail, transportation, and travel,” said Yousuf Al Kubaisi, Chief Operating Officer, Ooredoo Qatar.

From 2009, Ooredoo has successfully run the popular Nojoom Rewards programme for personal consumers, which has more than 50 part-ners, representing more than 200 branches in Qatar and internationally.

“Members of the Nojoom Business programme can take advantage of our broad dig-ital portfolio, unparalleled network services, engage with our talented digital eco-system, and legacy partners,” added Yousuf Al Kubaisi.

Nojoom business customers can avail variety of offers

WWRC welcomes patients to gynaecology-oncology clinics

Officials at HMC’s gynaecology-oncology and colposcopy clinics.

Irfan Bukhari The Peninsula

An estimated 500,000 (0.5million) sqm office space will be added in Qatar by the end of 2017 and

at least 80% of the expected supply is concentrated in Lusail, said a report by ValuS-trat on Qatar's real estate market.

“As of Quarter 1 of 2017, the estimated Gross Leasable Area (GLA) of Qatar’s office supply was 3.6 million sqm and approx-imately 40% of the office stock is concentrated in West Bay,” ValuStrat report on Q1 of Qatar's real estate market reveals.

It adds: “Msheireb Down-town considered as the new “Financial District”, will house

Qatar Financial Center (QFC) and non-QFC center companies in approximately 100 mixed-use buildings. Phase 1 of these offices is expected to be released in Q2 2017.”

“Lusail City is another major development which is planned to accommodate approximately 170,000 employees. An estimated 500,000 sqm is in the pipeline till end of 2017, and at least 80% of the expected supply is

concentrated in Lusail.”It points out that during Q1

2017, Government Services Complex was launched in The Pearl Qatar, which comprised of ten government agencies and Traffic Directorate. Moreover, The Pearl Tower 1 also opened for office space rentals.

On office space demand, the report reveals that the majority of demand for office spaces in the country is fuelled by private companies, followed by govern-ment departments and related agencies.

“Since last year, the fall in carbon fuel prices has not only triggered the decline in oil rev-enues for government owned companies in the hydrocarbon sector, but also had a negative spill over on private companies as government reduced the value

and number of new projects they outsourced.”

As per ValuStrat research, many companies in West Bay are relocating to smaller space or to areas with lower rents. “This has translated into falling occupancy rates in the district. Meanwhile, some companies are also sub-letting part of their offices to create revenue and maintain their established location.”

Regarding office rents, the Report says that as compared to 2016, there was a 15% YoY and 2% QoQ fall in overall median monthly asking rental rates.

“The median monthly ask-ing rent for office space in West Bay was QR160 per sqm fol-lowed by QR140 per sqm in Lusail and QR130 per sqm in C & D Ring Roads.”

“West Bay saw the highest

monthly asking rents of QAR 250-270 per sqm for office areas of 150-200 sqm. Quar-terly median rents remained stable for Lusail and C & D Ring Roads.”

As per ValuStrat research, the average occupancy rate in C Ring Road was approximately 70%, this number was driven by a large number of companies retaining their old lease contracts.

“While in Lusail, stability in rents can be explained by a rise in demand from companies working on projects in the local-ity and wishing to be based locally. Overall, a downward trend in rents will likely continue at least into the next quarter, unless private & government companies start expanding or a considerable rise in new.”

500,000 sqm more office space by year-endAt least 80% of the expected supply is concentrated in Lusail, says a report by ValuStrat on Qatar's real estate market.

QFCRA honoured for Al Masar initiative

FROM LEFT: Eisa Ahmed Abdulla, COO and Managing Director, Corporate Services; Najat El Mahdy, Head of Organisational Development; and Wadha Al Jaber, Associate, Human Resources, all from the QFC Regulatory Authority, receiving the “Best Nationalisation Initiative” award from Nicholas Watson, Managing Director, Naseba Group .

07TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017 HOME

Winners of QU-CAM's Al Bairaq Program namedThe Peninsula

The Al Bairaq Program of Qatar University Center for Advanced Materials (QU-

CAM) announced the winners of “I am Discovering Materials” module at a closing ceremony, which was recently held at QU Ibn Khaldoon Hall.

The winners of 3rd cycle (pri-mary schools) and 2nd cycle (preparatory schools) were announced during the event.

CAM Manager of Outreach and Engagement and Al Bairaq Program Supervisor Dr Noora Al-Thani, CAM faculty, and rep-resentatives from RasGas Company Limited (gold sponsor) and Qatar Shell (silver sponsor), as well as a 321 students and teachers from 16 independent and private schools in Qatar attended the event.

It included the distribution of awards to the winners in the Pre-paratory Schools Category — “Geniuses” team from Al Bayan

Independent Preparatory School for Girls (1st place), “Chemistry” team from Zeinab Independent Preparatory School for Girls (2nd place), and “Ibn Al-Qais” team from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Inde-pendent Preparatory School for Boys (3rd place); and the Primary Schools Category — “Distin-guished” team from Muaz Bin Jabal Independent Primary School for Boys (1st place), “Inventors” team from Al Khansaa Independ-ent Primary School for Girls (2nd place), and “Engineers” team from Umm Alqora Independent Pri-mary School for Boys (3rd place). It also included the distribution of awards to the winners of the Insta-gram Competition who were the “Scientists” team from Al Khansaa Independent Primary School for Girls and the “Inventors” team from Al Bayan Independent Pre-paratory School for Girls.

Dr Noora Al Thani said: “I would like to thank our team of experts for their hard work and for organising the numerous

workshops at schools, which contributed to the success of Al Bairaq Program. I would like also to thank our sponsors for pro-viding the school students in Qatar with an optimal learning environment that enables them to enrich their knowledge and to unlock their potential towards success.”

“Qatar Shell is committed to building human capacity, and partnering with Qatar Univer-sity on Al Bairaq is an excellent opportunity to help prepare the next generation of scientists to solve real-world problems. These are some of the brightest young minds Qatar has to offer, and we are proud to support

their development,” said Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre Vice President, Youssif Saleh.

RasGas Company Limited Human Capital Operations Man-ager Ebrahim Al Malik said: “RasGas’ partnership with Qatar University’s Al Bairaq Program runs for over 4 years. In addition,

RasGas leaders were actively involved in judging the innova-tive and scientific concepts at the biannual event "I am Discover-ing Materials". We are very proud to support and encourage the ini-tiation of young minds into the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).”

World Stadium Congress explores sports infrastructureThe Peninsula

The 8th edition of the World Stadium Con-gress officially kicked off yesterday in Doha where representatives

from over 25 countries gathered to discuss the future of sport infrastructure development, tour-nament delivery and legacy.

The event saw an impressive delegation of some of the famous international clubs and organis-ing committees including FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Titans Cricket South Africa, La Liga, Rugby World Cup, Asian Foot-ball Confederation, alongside Qatar Stars League, Qatar Foot-ball Association, Qatar Olympic Committee, Supreme Commit-tee for Delivery & Legacy and many more.

The congress kicked off with a welcome speech from the host sponsor, Vodafone, followed by back-to-back keynote presen-tations from local and international leaders. Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, Director of Enterprise Sales at Vodafone, highlighted Voda-fone’s role towards building a memorable tournament in 2022 before Datuk Dell, Former Head of Police of Kuala Lumpur, and the Asian Football Confederation Match Commissioner and FIFA Security Officer, took the stage

to share his experiences from AFC and FIFA on how to success-fully deliver a world-class international tournament.

Eng. Thani Al Zarraa, Project Manager (Al Wakrah Stadium), Competition Venues, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Leg-acy, then guided the audience through the current progress in Qatar and illuminated the path to 2022, inspiring confidence and belief that the road to the 2022 tournament will set the tone for future tournaments.

This was followed by Com-missaire Antoine Boutonnet, Chief, French Police - National Division against Hooliganism,

Euro 2016, who shared insights and experiences from the highly successful Euro 2016 tournament in France that was modelled on creating a secure and safe tour-nament for citizens, visitors and athletes. Ali Al Khalifa, CEO, ASTAD Project Management, rounded off the morning keynote plenary affirming the role of ASTAD Project Management towards sustainability, legacy and delivery for the 2022 tournament.

The day’s proceedings included presentations from leading solutions providers including GREE, Al-Taadhod, EATON and Space Hellas Micro-Tech before concluding with a session on fan experience fea-turing Alfredo Lorenzo, Security Director for La Liga, David Storr, Head of Safety and Security at Bristol Sport, and Chris Dite, Associate Director - Sport Venue Design and Major Events at Arup.

The congress is organised by IQPC Middle East who remains committed to hosting event that supports Qatar’s national vision.

The second day of the con-ference is scheduled to kick off tomorrow with a ‘round-the-world tour’ and showcase of some of the major stadium projects from around the world including Russia, The Nether-lands, the US, Singapore and more.

Many participants

The event saw an impressive participation including FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Titans Cricket South Africa, La Liga, Rugby World Cup, Asian Football Confederation, alongside Qatar Stars League, Qatar Football Association, Qatar Olympic Committee, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy and many more.

Vodafone showcases smart technologiesThe Peninsula

Vodafone, the title sponsor of the 8th edition of the World Stadium Congress,

is demonstrating how the com-pany is leveraging the power of its international network and glo-bal leadership in Internet of Things (IoT) technology to help deliver the ultimate experience for sports fans and developing the stadiums of the future.

Speaking at the event open-ing, Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, Director of Enterprise Sales at Vodafone, said, “As Qatar’s 2022 World Cup prepa-rations accelerate so will fans’ expectation for super-fast con-nectivity. The ability to share videos, pictures and messages with people online will be an important aspect of the fan expe-rience and with more than a million people expected to travel to the Middle East’s first World Cup, the level of connectivity and sharing will be exceptional.”

“Innovative technologies enabling fans to stay connected during the tournament will form a large part of delivering an unforgettable experience for those inside the 2022 venues.

Through our international net-work and global leadership in IoT technology, we are ideally placed to provide just this and are already doing so in Turkey’s smart stadium, the Vodafone Arena and in Spain’s Valencia Football Club”

Mohammed Serieh Vodafone Qatar’s Head of Enterprise Mar-keting showcased the details of Turkey’s Vodafone Arena in a key-note presentation. At every home game played in Turkey, more than 40,000 fans have access to Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, and 4.5G ready broadband network connections, rich-con-tent displays on the 700 HD screens, and Vodafone Arena mobile application, as well as

videowalls that broadcast all the content that fans dream of – including interviews, match statistics and live updates on other games. In May 2016, Vodafone Qatar and Vodafone Turkey signed a MoU designed to accelerate the transfer of knowledge, expertise and tech-nological know-how from Turkey’s first smart-stadium, the Vodafone Arena to one of the world’s fastest growing football markets in Qatar. Visitors to Vodafone’s stand were able to experience the Vodafone Arena via a virtual reality tour in addi-tion to other advanced technologies used for large sporting events.

The stand of Vodafone, the title sponsor of the 8th edition of the World Stadium Congress.

WCM-Q's Grand Rounds hosts expert speakersThe Peninsula

Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) brought two healthcare experts from leading US univer-sities to Doha to speak at WCM-Q’s Grand Rounds

series. Dr Linnie M Golightly of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, delivered a presentation on the latest travel medicine advice, explain-ing how healthcare professionals can help mitigate risks to the health of patients who travel abroad.

Dr Golightly, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, explained that health pro-fessionals must obtain detailed travel information from patients and take a comprehensive medical history in order to offer appropriate advice. She then discussed which vac-cines are required for visits to different parts of the world, including vaccinations against polio, yellow fever, typhoid fever, hepatitis A and B, cholera, rabies and others.

Dr Golightly said: “Travel health advice varies depend-ing on the patient’s own health profile, the region they are traveling to, countries they transit through, whether they are visiting rural or urban areas, and the types of activities they plan to do. It is therefore very important to obtain as much information as possible in order to give appropriate advice to protect the health of each individual patient.”

In an earlier presentation, Dr Courtney M Townsend Jr, Professor and Robertson-Poth Distinguished Chair, General Surgery, in the Department of Surgery at the Uni-versity of Texas Medical Branch, spoke about recent research into Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors, also known as NETs.

Participants at the event.

08 TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017HOME / MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

QU's mass communication graduation projects startThe Peninsula

The Department of Mass Communication at Qatar University College of Arts

and Sciences (QU-CAS) organ-ised its student graduation projects for Spring 2017, start-ing from May 21. The students’ projects were divided into three tracks: Journalism, Broadcast/Documentary, and Strategic Communication.

Prof Mahmoud Galender said: “The event is a discussion of projects of media students in their specialisation in the jour-nalism, radio, television and strategic communication tracks. Graduation projects are the cul-mination of the students’ academic work after four years of theoretical and practical study. The students apply what they have studied over the years in each project according to their specialisation.

In the “Journalism” track, the projects included print and online magazines under the supervision of Associate Profes-sor of Journalism Dr Leon Barkho — “AL Athir” print mag-azine conducted by students Badr Dalol, Ali Al Jaber and Anas Samir, and “Mersal Politics”

online and print magazine con-ducted by students Yassin Hassan, Mohamed Zahran and Tareq Obaidallah.

In the “Broadcast/Documen-tary” track, the projects included TV shows and documentaries such as the movie “Overseas” conducted by student Khalid Nour, the movie “Phobia” con-ducted by students Hazim Ali and Abdullah Fakhro, and the movie “The spirit of Renewal” conducted by student Mohamed Albouzidi. They were supervised by Lecturer of Journalism Pro-duction Dr Chaker Aiady. Documentaries included the “100 in the foreign land” con-ducted by student Basma Zaki and the “Passion” conducted by students Sama Mahmoud and Heba Batawi under the

supervision of Lecturer of Radio and TV Dr Fouad Abdulaziz.

In the “Strategic Communi-cation” track, the projects included public relations cam-paigns such as “Your fame is in your hand” conducted by stu-dents Fahd Al Neimi, Hazem Salim and Mohanad Saleh, and “Your way to your job” con-ducted by students Ahmed Al Kuwari, Khalid Al Kholify and Ahmed Hamad Al Thani under the supervision of Lecturer of Public Relations and Advertis-ing Dr Eiman Essa; and “I’m the merchant” conducted by stu-dents Fatima Bazmol, Naiema Mohamed, Khadija Al Ghanim, Nora Al Mheza and Fatima Mah-moud under the supervision of Lecturer of Strategic Commu-nication Rana Hassan.

Professor of Broadcast Jour-nalism at the Department of Mass Communication Prof Abdulerhman Al Shami said: “The graduation project is the culmination of a four-year study. Through this course, the students represent what they have learned in different sub-jects reflecting their knowledge and practical skills in address-ing topics and issues of primary interest to Qatar.

Lulu Exchange Gharafa celebrates 1st anniversaryThe Peninsula

The Gharafa branch of Lulu xchange Company WLL, one of the leading remit-

tance and foreign exchange companies operating in Qatar cel-ebrated its first anniversary on Thursday. The celebration was held in the presence of Shaijan MO, Regional Director of Lulu Hypermarket, Qatar, Arshad Hamza, General Manager, Lulu

Exchange Company WLL along with other dignitaries and staff.

Lulu Exchange currently operates three branches in Qatar, the other two at Lulu Hypermarket D Ring Road, and Al Khor Mall. Moving in line with the brand’s slogan, Valuing Your Trust, the company aims to pro-vide a convenient remittance service to the cross-section of society.

Adeeb Ahamed, Managing

Director – Lulu Exchange Com-pany said, “Our main focus is to offer the best in class products making sure we deliver the highest standards of customer satisfaction time and again. Gharafa branch being our 100th GCC branch has always been a special outlet and we will con-tinue improving our services while constantly being the first choice for all financial services”.

The anniversary celebrations of Lulu Exchange Gharafa branch being presided over by Shaijan M O, Regional Director of Lulu Hypermarket, Qatar, along with Arshad Hamza, GM, Lulu Exchange Company WLL, Ajimon Adam, GM, Lulu Hypermarket, Gharafa, and other dignitaries.

The students’ projects were divided into three tracks: Journalism, Broadcast/Documentary, and Strategic Communication.

UN envoy eyes new Syria peace talks next monthUnited Nations AFP

Despite little progress in the latest round of Syrian peace talks, negoti-ations are set to resume in June, the

UN envoy said yesterday.Staffan de Mistura told the Security

Council that "important gaps remain between the parties on major issues" fol-lowing the sixth round in Geneva held last week. The Syrian government and the opposition took part in four days of indi-rect talks aimed at ending the war that has killed more than 320,000 people since 2011.

De Mistura said all sides were ready to return to the table for a new round of talks "which we intend to target sometime in June." The envoy said the talks are to lay the groundwork for "a real negotiation" and expressed hope that this "will be possible before too long."

Hopes for a breakthrough in the near future remain dim, with the fate of Presi-dent Bashar Al Assad still a major stumbling

block. The opposition insists that Assad must leave power as part of any peace deal but the government has rejected the demand.

A series of expert-level talks will take place to pursue discussion on a range of issues including the thorny matter of a new constitution, but the UN envoy stressed that these would not be decision-making meet-ings. "We are not seeking to draft a new Syrian constitution in Geneva," said De Mis-tura. "We are laying foundations for the time when the Syrians can do that."

Following closed-door Security Coun-cil talks, Uruguay's Ambassador Elbio Rosselli, who holds the council presidency, said there were concerns about the slow pace of the peace process. "The members obviously have concerns on the slow move-ment, but at the same time, (are) somewhat pleased in having moved a little bit for-ward," Rosselli told reporters.

The council is also weighing whether to back a deal reached between Russia, Iran and Turkey to set up de-escalation zones in Syria where a ceasefire would be

buttressed with a ban on flights and where aid deliveries would be ensured.

France said it would not support the deal reached in the Kazakh capital of Astana on May 4 unless it has strong international monitoring and would allow for sanctions

in case of violations. "This is a key require-ment from France," said Ambassador Francois Delattre. Britain also said moni-toring was key and that there should be reports to the Security Council on imple-mentation of the Astana deal.

Nigeria's ruling party leader warns of coup threatLAGOS: Nigeria has paid a high price to achieve democracy and will foil any attempts by those hoping to stage a coup, the national leader of Niger-ia's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party said yesterday.

Bola Tinubu's warning came after the chief of army staff last week ordered offic-ers to steer clear from politics and said he had received information that some sol-diers had been approached by individuals for "undis-closed political reasons".

"Just a few days ago we heard a warning that some people were trying to entice the military out of the bar-racks. I want to add my voice to that warning," Tinubu, who leads President Muhammadu Buhari's APC party, said in a speech to the state assembly in Lagos. "Those who think they can break the democracy for which so many laboured and which too many sacri-ficed limb and life, are sorely mistaken. Nigeria has come too far for such a thing.... don't think about it."

He did not specify who he was referring to in the speech.

President Buhari, who is on his second medical leave this year for an undisclosed ailment, has been widely crit-icised over his handling of Africa's largest economy since taking office in May 2015.

Ministry opens Umm Bab Coastal CenterQNA

The Ministry of Interior yes-terday inaugurated Umm Bab Coastal Center in the

Western District of the General Directorate of Coasts and Bor-ders Security. It is part of the Ministry's plans to strengthen and tighten security over the State's coastal and maritime bor-ders, in addition to search and rescue operations.

Director-General of Public Security, Staff Major General Saad bin Jassim Al Khulaifi, opened the centre in the pres-ence of Ministry of Interior officials.

It includes a centre for homeland security system, administrative offices, a sea port for maritime media and patrols, coastal patrol cars and a main-tenance workshop.

After touring the centre, Al

Khulaifi said that the new cen-tre of the Western District is one of the most modern and impor-tant centres because of its geographical location and the area it serves.

He noted that the centre is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and boats that ena-ble it to perform tasks efficiently, adding that with the opening of the new facility, the radar net-work for coast and border

security, which is called the local network of the national shield network, has been completed.

He underlined that the West-ern District will have great effectiveness in performing all maritime tasks that lie within the area, and the search and rescue operations and coastal control to ensure the safety of sea pas-sengers with its qualified and trained cadres.

Director-General of the

General Directorate of Coast and Border Security, Staff Brig (Navy) Ali Ahmed Saif Al Badeed, said that opening the centre completes the series of successes sponsored by the Ministry of Interior, and as part of many vital projects that aim at ensuring security for citizens and residents.

He added that Umm Bab Center will be the main centre for the management of the West-ern District.

A Syrian child who was a part of a convoy of opposition fighters and their families, evacuated from the Waer neighbourhood, the last opposition-held district in the central city of Homs, sits after their arrival in the Maaret Al Ikhwaan village north of Idlib, yesterday.

Continued from page 1The list also includes dairy prod-

ucts, tea, coffee products, sugar, Halawa, jam, legumes, cereals, rice and its derivatives, biscuits, potato chips, mineral water, fresh and canned juices, canned food, edible and cooking oil, milk, baby food, baby diapers and san-itary napkins of all kinds, personal hygiene products and household deter-gents, tin paper, preservatives, tissue paper, and household items of all kinds.

The Ministry urged all shopping malls and retail outlets across the state

to maintain stable prices on food and non-food items and refrain from increasing prices without obtaining the approval of the committee that sets price caps and profit margins in line with article 2 of Ministerial Decision Number (8) of 2013, which regulates price hikes on commodities and serv-ices. The Ministry stressed that it will not tolerate any violations of the Con-sumer Protection Law and its regulations, and will intensify its inspection campaigns to crack down on violations.

List includes dairy products & sugarSouth Sudan President announces ceasefireJuba

Reuters

The President of war-ravaged South Sudan declared a unilateral cease-fire yesterday and promised to

release political prisoners, but with no sign of a political deal with rebels it was not clear whether a truce would take hold.

South Sudan has been mired in a civil war since 2013, when President Salva Kiir fired his deputy, Riek Machar. The

conflict, fanned by ethnic rivalries, has sparked Africa's worst refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide and plunged part of the country into famine.

"I directed the prosecutor general to immediately review the cases of those who have committed crime against the state, commonly known as political pris-oners, and ensure the necessary steps taken are taken to lead their release," Kiir said in a speech in the capital, Juba.

"I am also declaring unilateral cease-fire effective from today."

South Sudan analysts expressed scep-ticism that Kiir's announcement would lead to long-lasting peace.

Kiir has declared ceasefires before and he has yet to release any political prisoners, said Alan Boswell, a South Sudan expert who authored a paper for the Small Arms Survey on the most recent failed peace deal in 2016.

Kiir's speech offered no hint that he was willing to negotiate with the dispa-rate rebel groups, the largest of which is led by Machar, Boswell said.

09TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017 MIDDLE EAST

TEHRAN: Iran's newly re-elected President Hassan Rowhani yesterday called relations with the United States "a curvy road," saying he hoped the Trump admin-istration will "settle down" enough for his nation to bet-ter understand it.

"The Americans do not know our region, that's what the catch is," Rowhani said.

Rowhani said that Irani-ans are "waiting for this government to become sta-ble intellectually" and that "hopefully, things will settle down ... so we could pass more accurate judgments."

"Unfortunately, Ameri-cans have always made mistakes in our region," Rowhani said. "When they attacked Afghanistan (and) Iraq, when they made sanc-tions against Iran. In Syria, they made mistakes, and also in Yemen."

Rowhani further criti-cised the Saudi summit that Trump attended on Sunday, describing it as a "show-off" that "will not have any polit-ical and practical values."

Iran President calls US relations 'a curvy road'

Trump in bid to push peace process forwardJerusalem

AP

US President Donald Trump began his first visit to Israel yesterday, saying he sees growing recog-

nition among Muslim nations that they share a "common cause" with Israel in their deter-mination to counter the threats posed by Iran.

Arriving directly from Riy-adh, Saudi Arabia, Trump expressed his hope for cooper-ation among US allies in the Middle East. "We have before us a rare opportunity to bring secu-rity and stability and peace to this region and to its people," Trump said upon his arrival in Tel Aviv.

Trump's first stop was a meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. In a statement following the meet-ing, Trump addressed his meetings the previous day with Arab and Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia, and said that there is growing realisation that they share a "common cause with you" in their determination to defeat extremism and deter "the threat posed by Iran."

Trump became the first sit-ting president to visit the Western Wall. Today, he is set to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank and deliver a speech.

White House aides have also

tried to play down expectations for significant progress on the peace process during Trump's stop, casting the visit as symbolic. US Secretary of State Rex Tiller-son referred to the visit as "a moment in time" and suggested that the US would take a more

active role in the future in brok-ering a deal if both sides make serious commitments.

Trump, whose unorthodox approach has spurred some hope on both sides of the Israeli-Pal-estinian conflict, has done no such managing of expectations. He boldly stated that achieving peace is "something that I think is, frankly, maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years" in March during a meet-ing with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "But we need two willing parties," he said then. "We believe Israel is willing. We believe you're willing. And if you both are willing, we're going to make a deal."

Trump is seeking to ease concerns that his policies

wouldn't be as beneficial to Israel as once believed. He has taken a tougher line on settlements than Israeli officials had believed, urg-ing restraint but though not calling for a full halt to construc-tion. Trump has also retreated from a campaign pledge to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, bending to the same diplomatic and secu-rity concerns as other presidents who have made similar promises.

Palestinians, who viewed Trump's victory with some trep-idation, are said to have been pleasantly surprised by Trump's openness during a recent meet-ing with Abbas in Washington.

In remarks at Israeli Presi-dent Reuven Rivlin's residence,

Trump launched another salvo against Iran. "The United States and Israel can declare with one voice that Iran must never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon — never ever — and must cease its deadly funding, training and equipping of terror-ists and militias," Trump said.

"And it must cease immediately."

When meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said Iran should have thanked the United States for the 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and world powers because it led to the lifting of sanctions.

"Instead of saying thank you to the United States, they now feel emboldened," Trump said.

US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump arrive at the Israeli President's Residence in Jerusalem, yesterday. Melania Trump (seated right) talk to children during a visit to the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem, yesterday.

"Iran must never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon — never ever — and must cease its deadly funding, training and equipping of terrorists and militias," President Donald Trump said.

When irresponsible rulers see the tide of public opinion rise against them, they fall back on the time-tested formula of blaming it on the ‘external enemy. So does Nicolas Maduro, the beleaguered

Venezuelan president. For weeks now, the South American nation has been burning with protests. Suffering Venezuelans seem to have got fed up of Maduro’s rule and want him to step down and make way for elections.

The rift between Chavistas — followers of former president Hugo Chavez— and the opposition has been huge. Maduro’s party, United Socialist Party (PSUV), has ruled the South American nation for 18 years. The intensity and extent of opposition protests has spiraled into a virtual movement creating a surge of violence that has killed close to 48 people in the last few weeks. One person was burnt alive on the 50th day of protests yesterday. Maduro blamed opposition supporters for the gruesome death of Orlando José Figuera who suffered 80 per cent burns.

The embattled president who had humble beginnings as a bus driver, blames arch enemy the United States for fomenting trouble in his country. US and Venezuela have never been friends and Chavez used to refer to Washington as ‘The Empire.’ The economy of Venezuela is in a shambles as supermarket shelves go empty, stocks of medicines deplete and a shortage of essential products

drive citizens to pay a fortune in the black market.

Chavez was a populist leader and his policies kept Venezuelans well fed and cared for because of state largesse derived from the country’s oil wealth. Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. A Rentier state mindset kept the nation smug with its oil wealth and the Chavez administration did not care to

invest in traditional industries. Almost everything in Venezuela was imported.

Maduro took over the reins of the Socialist nation after Chavez passed away in 2013. It was then that the country started going off course. The new leader lacked the charisma of Chavez and did not command the loyalty that his predecessor and mentor did. Oil prices began to fall sharply about two years ago and the economy started to flounder. Instead of looking at solutions, Maduro started blaming the United States for Venezuela’s ills.

As the state of the economy became dismal, the country entered a spiral of resentment against the government, and the opposition hit the streets. Then on March 29 this year, the Supreme Court, apparently staffed by Maduro loyalists, tried to usurp the powers of the National Assembly, which has the opposition in a majority. A restive nation had had enough, and violence flared.

An intransigent Maduro seems to be increasingly losing his grip on the nation. Venezuela today reminds one of the former Soviet Republics just before the dissolution of USSR. A country with an uncertain future is not only dangerous for itself but could also contribute to regional instability.

10 TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017VIEWS

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

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

msalim@pen.com.qa

Crippling chaos

QUOTE OF THE DAY

We don‘t need to just look like we can walk away, we need to be able to walk away. Under the circumstances, if that was necessary, we would be in a position to do it.

David DavisBritain’s Brexit Secretary

Venezuela seems to be staring at an uncertain future as protests turn more bloody.

On Sunday in Saudi Arabia, Presi-dent Trump delivered his first speech abroad, calling for stronger partnerships with Mus-lim-majority countries to destroy

terrorists through military action and finan-cial measures and to combat the “false allure of the craven ideology” that has inspired radi-calisation. While he avoided his campaign rhetoric about Islam and Muslims, Trump made it clear that his administration will con-tinue to prioritise countering violent ideology, or what the president has consistently labeled “radical Islam.”

Trump’s myopic focus on radical ideology misses the real drivers behind why young people are joining groups like the Islamic State. What the president has called “radical Islam” was more important during the earlier days of Al Qaeda, particularly among extrem-ist leaders who would squabble (and even fight) among themselves over the meaning of particular religious texts. This is why Presi-dent George W Bush’s administration frequently referred to the importance of the “ideological struggle” and the “war of ideas” in the early years after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

But during the past decade, the focus on “radical Islam” has become largely irrelevant for most people who support groups like the Islamic State. Researchers like me who have spent time in regions talking with people concluded some time ago that, while we cannot ignore the ideol-ogy, we should not myopically focus our resources on combating “radical Islam.”

Two decades ago, I spent nine months with one of the ideological founders of the jihadist movement in Jordan, part of the same network as Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, the founder of Al Qaeda in Iraq. I was an aca-demic and wanted to understand what motivated his network of followers to vio-lence. I learned firsthand about a radical ideology that promotes an apocalyptic war with the West and total domination. And I saw recruiters manipulate young people, promis-ing them purpose in this life and a special place in paradise in the next.

What I heard from extremists I inter-viewed around the world, however, suggests that taking aim at “radical Islam” misses the mark. While the young jihadists I met spouted ideological diatribes and quoted the Quran at length, their words rang hollow — almost as if they were something the recruits thought they should say rather than something they understood and deeply believed.

Most jihadists, I found, know little to noth-ing about Islam. While they use religion to justify horrific acts, it is a convenient foil. About 4,600 personnel files of Islamic State fighters show that 70 percent of recruits have only a basic understanding of Shariah, or Islamic law.

Islamist extremists are much more likely to have degrees in engineering, science and medicine than in disciplines related to Islam, and at least a few had to buy “Islam for Dummies” to learn about their own religion. They are in no position to determine

Trump’s speech on terrorism was a missed opportunityQuintan Wiktorowicz The Washington Post

whether violence is sanctioned by Islam, and most of the ones I inter-viewed were not exactly wide-eyed true believers ruthlessly guided by the will of God.

If you can’t draw a straight line from radical Islam to terrorism, what might be driving extremism in the Middle East? The answer is complicated, but since the 1970s, study after study suggests that socioeconomic factors - not religion or

ideology — lay the groundwork for violence.

The vast majority of young people in places like the Middle East and

North Africa face a bleak socioeconomic future. Youth unemployment in the region hovers around 30 percent, which is expected to skyrocket as economies struggle to create enough jobs to keep pace with a massive demographic youth bulge. In 2000, the World Bank esti-mated that the region would need to create about 100 million new jobs to keep pace, and it’s nowhere near to clos-ing the gap.

The effect of this socioeconomic cri-sis is about more than just employment and livelihoods for young people; it rep-resents a fundamental breakdown of the social contract in the region. For dec-ades, governments in the Middle East and North Africa

promised socioeconomic support — free education, subsidies and public-sector employment — in exchange for limits on political participation and civic activity.

Young people expected that they would have jobs and that govern-ments would provide opportunities and pathways for secure livelihoods. The expectation, however, has been dashed by corruption, economic cri-ses, skills gaps and decreased public-sector employment.

Young people struggle to find jobs, or at least jobs that match their education levels and skills, and many face delayed marriage, boredom and a sense of exclu-sion and injustice. They have lost confidence in government, suffer from severe frustration and disillusionment, and are paralysed by what many call “waithood” — waiting for their futures to be decided by forces beyond their control.

The dramatic failure of the Arab Spring to fulfill hopes has only deepened feelings of disempowerment and helplessness, emasculation and a loss of self-esteem, low levels of life satisfaction and a lack of meaning and relevance. Groups like the Islamic State feed on disillusionment and prey on the sense of helplessness that is growing among young people.

Recruits to the Islamic State tend to be better educated than average, unem-ployed or underemployed and not particularly knowledgeable about Islam. For many, the appeal of extremist groups is not religious duty, conviction or ideol-ogy. It is the promise of empowerment, regained dignity and (ironically) hope. For example, during a focus group for a project I helped run in the Middle East last year, a teenager openly praised the Islamic State by saying, “They are the only ones fighting against corruption.”

The Trump administration will be more effective if it invests heavily in pro-grams that address the real drivers of radicalisation by empowering young people, providing socioeconomic oppor-tunities and inspiring hope for the future.

Trump’s speech ignored this reality. In fact, US officials working on counter-

ing violent extremism tell me that Trump appointees have derided socioeco-nomic and empowerment programmes as “jobs for jihadis” and are maneuver-ing to cut them as they gut the budgets at State Depart-ment and the US Agency for International Development. Cutting these programmes would be shortsighted and would hurt our national security.

Trump’s narrow focus on countering “radical ide-ology,” unfortunately, will only distract us from the real solution. His speech in Saudi Arabia could have been used to rally allies behind a much bolder and more effective strategy

that addresses the actual drivers of radicalisation.

Most jihadists, I found, know little to nothing about Islam. While they use religion to justify horrific acts, it is a convenient foil. About 4,600 personnel files of Islamic State fighters show that 70 percent of recruits have only a basic understanding of Sharia, or Islamic law.

ED ITOR IAL

US President Donald Trump takes his seat before his speech to the Arab Islamic-American Summit in Riyadh.

11TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017 OPINION

But our biodiversity habitats, where these genetic resources are naturally found, are shrink-ing. Global plant and animal biodiversity declined 30 percent between 1990 and 2007, twice as much in tropical regions. We cannot afford to let this continue.

Biodiversity helps us protect food supplies and our environment

We know sustainable agricultural practices are crucial to ensuring food and nutritional secu-rity for future generations, but they are also crucial for ensuring the health of our environ-ment, which preserves biodiversity habitats.

This biodiversity can then be used to breed food crops that are resistant to pests, diseases and drought, enabling farmers to use less fungicide, insecticide or water on their farms, thus reducing their impact on the environment.

Recent work at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), for exam-ple, has identified maize varieties resistant to the Tar Spot Complex Disease. They are now being used by smallholder farmers in southern Mexico, whose crops have been severely affected by the disease, while plant breeders also use them to develop new disease-resistant varieties.

New crop varieties also often improve yield, making existing farmland more productive and reducing the need to clear more land for agricul-ture. This conserves more area for biodiversity habitats and reduces the greenhouse gas emis-sions associated with deforestation. This has been a major priority of initiatives such as the Global Environment Facility’s new programme on foster-ing sustainability and resilience for food security in 12 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, which we believe could mitigate 20 million tonnes of carbon.

Seeds save lives and restore livelihoods after conflict and natural disasters

Seeds are nature’s way of conserving and passing plant biodiversity from one generation to the next. For the same reason, collecting and con-serving seeds in library-like seed or germplasm banks is critical for food and nutritional security. When natural disasters strike – like Typhoon Hai-yan in the Philippines, or Hurricane Mitch in Honduras – the seeds that farmers rely on for food and income can be wiped out. Farmers in the Philippines and Honduras recovered the seeds of

Manifestos indicate future tense for Great Britain

The ruling Conservatives, opposition Labour and Liberal Democrats have unveiled their manifestos for the 2017 general elections. Whoever comes to power on June 8 will follow the manifesto commitments and

they are the blueprints for the creation of post-Brexit Britain. The contents in the manifestos indicate the life wont be same for an average Britain after the elections.

The 21st century Britain is now heading for an era of Mayism. Thatcherism in the 1980s was decimated by poll tax and the fall-out of the Iraq War cast its shadows over Blairism in the 1990s. Mayism will be one of the short-lived political experiences because May is not Thatcher or Blair and she lacks the politi-cal manoeuvrability to keep the team under her fold.

Breaking the manifesto commitments will make British politicians unelectable and May, 60, making some cardinal sins in politics by dividing the party over non-popular commitments like withdrawing fuel allowance for elderly and dropping the triple-lock commitment on pensions. About 10 million elderly voters will be affected by these decisions. Most of them are traditional Tory voters. That may reflect on the fate of Tory candidates in some mar-ginal seats. Nobody is saying anything now. But it will come to the fore after the results. Labour promises of withdrawing tuitions fees and cap on energy prices are already eroding the Tory support.

May is re-positioning her party to the centre-left. She is now in the Labour territory. By doing that, she is burning the bridges built by David Cameron and the party. Under May, the party is nowhere visible, except a team of advsiors. The inability of the prime minister to take the party along with the government will create more problems. Party Chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin, a former miner turned politician was projected as a working class role-model Tory, is missing from the campaign trail. It shows No 10s new

style of functioning. The man on next door, Chancel-lor Philp Hammond at No 11 Downing Street, has expressed his displeasure over the interference of ‘May advsiors’ in the treasury affairs. History repeats itself at Downing Street.

The rising star of the Conservative Party, Scottish leader Ruth Davidson dropped May’s fuel allowance from her manifesto. The party beyond the English border is keeping the fuel allowance promise, claim-ing the Scotland is more colder than England!

The Tory austerity drive since 2010 under Cam-eron and George Osborne already pushed thousands to food banks and charity centres across the country. Pensioners are now an unwanted segment for Tories. It’s a triple whammy for pensioners.

There is no triple lock on pensions, there won’t be any more Winter Fuel Allowance and most of them have to pay for their social care. People worth more than £100,000 would have to pay for their care — but could defer payment until after their death. The calculation for people who need care at home will take into account the value of their property. Pensioners are now an unwanted segment in the electoral jigsaw puzzle.

Strangely, they are the one fuelled Brexit drive. Without them, Brexiteers won’t secure 52 per cent votes in the referendum. They want their country back and now paying the price for that.

The Prime Minister said there were five priorities for the government: A strong economy; Facing up to the consequences of Brexit and a changing world; Tackling “enduring” social divisions; Responding to the challenges of an ageing society and harnessing the power of fast-changing technology.

“This election is the most important this country has faced in my lifetime,” said May in the foreword of her manifesto. “Our future prosperity, our place in the world, our standard of living, and the opportuni-ties we want for our children - and our children’s children - all depend on getting the next five years right... if we succeed, the opportunities ahead of us are great.”

May is talking about post-Brexit Britain. The free fall of the pound just after the Brexit referendum and the rise of inflation will make life miserable in Brit-ain. The public sector workers are struggling with their one per cent cap on salary hike when the infla-tion crosses 2.5 per cent. Nurses, teachers, fire services and even police forces are planning strikes.

Nobody will feel great in these miserable condi-tions. Is there any alternative? In the absence of TINA (There is No Alternative) factor, Mayism will thrive till March 19, 2019 when Britain formally exits from the European Union. After that, she will struggle to maintain her seat at No 10. Probably, she will go the Thatcher way.

As people in four countries — Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and Nigeria — teeter on the brink of famine, it seems our progress towards ending hunger is sadly inadequate. We are once again

confronted with the question: how can we do more for vulnerable communities?

We have, in fact, made major strides: global hunger is at its lowest level despite population growth. But some regions lag behind, with cata-strophic consequences. This is because a host of new challenges, such as unprecedented tempera-tures and rainfall extremes, are coming together with timeless challenges, such as conflict and nat-ural disasters, to block our quest for zero hunger.

We need to use all the tools at our disposal to make a world free from hunger a reality, but one major ally isn’t getting the global attention it deserves: crop plant biodiversity. Crop plant biodi-versity is the term used to describe all the genetic resources for any crop plant - either growing today or previously collected. This biodiversity has hardy traits such as disease resistances and heat toler-ance built in. Over thousands of years, farmers worldwide have evolved a diverse array of food crops based on these traits. Plant breeders have used these genetic resources for decades to breed food crops more resilient to shocks and stresses, ensuring food and nutritional security for ever-growing numbers of people.

Crop biodiversity: The key to ending hunger

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a speech during the launch of the Scottish Conservative manifesto in Edinburgh, Scotland.

lost varieties thanks to the germplasm bank that CIMMYT maintains. This germplasm bank contains 170,000 maize and wheat varieties from across the globe.

Conflict also threatens seed supplies. Maize seed from CIMMYT, adapted to Rwandan conditions, assisted farmers to return to their lands following the horrors of the Rwandan genocide. These examples show that we never know where, when or who the need to rely on biodiversity will hit. It is our greatest insurance policy against the unforeseen challenges to food security that you, or your children, may need. So what must be done to bring crop plant biodiversity to its rightful role in eliminating hunger?

As we react to a persistent series of acute crises, such as localised famines and natural disasters, we are tempted to delay investing in the long-term solutions like those associ-ated with genetic resources, as they take years, sometimes decades to reach farmers.

However, just like a sound investment portfolio bal-ances short-term opportunities with long-term security, ramping up investment in enhanced conservation and understanding of crop plant biodiversity now could secure a future without hunger. Identifying the genetic resources useful for a specific and often unanticipated need, such as a newly emerging crop disease, can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. But investing today in characterising the collections stored in germplasm banks can greatly accelerate the speed of this search. Think of it like catalogu-ing books in a library – by genre, subject, language, author, page count, etc. – to help you find the right book quickly. The difference is, this book could stop a famine before it begins.

The more we know about our genetic resources, the more quickly and effectively we will be able to use them when responding to future needs. And the more practice runs we perform, working with plant breeders or farmers to enrich their crop varieties for needed or desired traits using genetic resources, the better prepared we will be.

Ensuring that crop plant biodiversity is protected, con-served, categorised, made available and used may be our best strategy to end hunger. Today, on the UN International Day for Biological Diversity, let’s push forward on making sure that biodiversity is recognised as one of our most important allies in ending hunger and securing food for this and future generations.

Mohamed Bakarr is Lead Environmental Specialist at the Global

Environment Facility (GEF) and Kevin Pixley is the Director of the

Genetic Resources program at the International Maize and Wheat

Improvement Center.

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The high poll ratings are pro-viding a free hand for May to implement her Brexit agenda. The plight of Labour is not good democracy. It is not good for the immigrant communities too. Their manifesto shows a deficit of 58 billion pounds and they promise to nationalise rail, mail and water besides a cap on power tariffs. If Labour wins, they will take the country back to the 80s where trade unions call the shots.

Nobody wants a return to that chaotic years. May also dropped the earlier Tory plan to balance the book by 2020, or by 2022. She already angered the businesses by promising to grant one year unpaid leave for workers to take care of their loved ones. The Tory move on migrant workers will affect busi-nesses badly. The Liberal Democrats said the move against skilled migrant workers is an “eco-nomically illiterate idea.”

Without any additional invest-ment in skill development, May is closing the door for skilled migrants and punishing businesses through doubling the levy for hiring a foreign workers. Financial giants like HSBC are moving their staff to Ireland and other EU states to avoid the fall outs of Brexit.

Anyway President Emmanuel Macron is waiting at the end of the Channel Tunnel to welcome the city folks to Paris. Bonjour Macron! Viva Republic! Britain’s loss will be France’s gain.

The writer is Editor of London-based

Asian Lite.

Anasudhin AzeezIANS

Without any additional investment in skill development, May is closing the door for skilled migrants and punishing businesses through doubling the levy for hiring a foreign workers.

Mohamed Bakarr &Kevin PixleyAl Jazeera

Just like a sound investment portfolio balances short-term opportunities with long-term security, ramping up investment in enhanced conservation and understanding of crop plant biodiversity now, could secure a future without hunger.

12 TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017ASIA

Rain brings respiteUP recommends CBI probe in IAS officer's deathLucknow

The Uttar Pradesh gov-ernment yesterday recommended a CBI

probe into the mysterious death of Karnataka cadre Indian Administrative Serv-ice officer Anurag Tiwari.

Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar told the media that the govern-ment has decided to recommend to the Centre a probe by the CBI into the case.

Earlier in the day, the officer's family met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and expressed concern over the circumstances leading to Tiwari's death.

Many injured as police crack down on Left workers Kolkata

IANS

A number of police person-nel and Left protesters were injured yesterday as

security forces used tear gas and carried out baton charges on thousands of belligerent activ-ists who broke barricades here and neighbouring Howrah dur-ing a protest march to the secretariat.

In New Delhi, Left Front spearhead, the Communist Party of India-Marxist's General Sec-retary Sitaram Yechury claimed

around 250 Left supporters sus-tained injuries during the "March to Nabanna (state secretariat)" organised by 11 Left peasant bodies to press for their 18-point charter of demand including measures to stop farmers' dis-t r e s s a n d r i s i n g unemployment.

The injured included former state minister and CPI-M leader Kanti Biswas and Revolutionary Socialist Party veteran Subhas Naskar. CPI-M politburo mem-ber Mohammed Salim also sustained a leg injury.

"Even Surjya da (CPI-M state

secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra) was hit with a stick when we were holding a sit-in in protest

against police atrocities earlier in the day," said Naskar, also a former minister.

More African nations join International Solar Alliance Gandhinagar

IANS

Four more African nations joined the India-initiated Interna-

tional Solar Alliance (ISA) yesterday, taking the number of its members to 30. While Djibouti, Cote d'Ivoire, Soma-lia and Ghana signed the ISA framework agreement, the island nation of Comoros is expected to sign and submit its ratification instrument today, said the External Affairs Ministry.

During the upcoming visit of Mauritius' Prime Minister, it will be signing and ratify-ing the framework agreement on May 27.

The Pacific island nation of Nauru also submitted its instrument of ratification at an ISA event held on the sidelines of the African Development Bank (AfDB) annual meeting here. This is the first time that India is hosting the AfDB annual meeting after New Delhi hosted the India-Africa Forum Summit in October 2015. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was present at yester-day's signing and ratification ceremony.

"We need energy while also protecting the environ-ment. We in the tropics and sub-tropics have substantial resources for solar energy.

The idea of ISA was con-ceived in 2015 between India and France and after today's agreement there will be a total of 30 countries to rati-fied," he said.

The ISA, launched at the UN Conference of Parties (CoP) climate summit in Paris on November 30, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French President Francois Hollande, is con-ceived as a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to address their special energy needs and provide a platform to collaborate on dealing with the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach.

The International Steering Committee of the ISA, open to all 121 prospective member countries falling between the Tropics of Cancer and Capri-corn, held its meetings in Paris on December 1, 2015, in Abu Dhabi on January 18, 2016, and in New York 2016.

A total of 24 countries - Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Domini-can Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Guinea Bissau, India, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Nauru, Niger, Republic of Guinea, Senegal, Seychelles, Sudan, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu - signed the ISA framework agree-ment in Marrakech.

Army major in 'human shield' incident honouredNew Delhi IANS

An Indian Army Major who was involved in tying up a Kashmiri man to the front of a jeep to ward off

stone pelters in Kashmir Valley has been awarded the Army Chief's Commendation Card, Army sources said yesterday.

The commendation card for Major Leetul Gogoi of 53 Rash-triya Rifles was given for "sustained efforts" in counter insurgency operations, Army officials said.

Army officials did not say if the human shield incident had anything to do with the award.

A video, shot on April 9 dur-ing the Srinagar by-polls held amid violent incidents, showed a man, later identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar, being tied to the bonnet of an army jeep with a placard in Badgam of Jammu and Kashmir. The video went viral on social media and created uproar. An FIR was registered by the Jammu and Kashmir police against the security forces.

On April 15, the Army con-stituted a court of inquiry in the

incident, and a report is pend-ing. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, referring to the incident on Friday, had backed the officer, saying it should not be forgotten that the officer had responsibility to save the lives of those involved in the election process as well as the crowd that had gathered.

"Let us not forget the army is a responsible institution and the army was also interested in saving lives of various people who were involved in the elec-tion process and also the large crowd of people who had gath-ered there to protest," Jaitley said. Gogoi also got support from both serving and former Army officers.

Former Army Chief General

V P Malik (retired) had told IANS after the incident that he would keep the "exceptional circum-stances" in which the step was taken in mind while judging the case, though he agreed that the officer did violate the Army code on human rights.

On similar lines, Former

Army Chief General Bikram Singh (retired) had called the incident an "aberration".

According to the Indian Army's website, a Commenda-tion Card is awarded for "individual acts of gallantry or distinguished service or devotion to duty performed either in

operation or non-operational areas which are not of a suffi-ciently high order to qualify for a higher gallantry award or for which the higher award is inap-propriate. The award will be for a specific act of bravery or dis-tinguished service or special service".

Indian police make arrests after mobs lynch eightNew Delhi AFP

Indian police said yester-day they had arrested nearly two dozen people

on charges including murder and rioting after a wave of lynchings in an eastern state that left eight dead.

Mobs in the largely tribal Jharkhand state set upon vic-tims with sticks and fists over two days of violence as rumours spread on social media that a gang was kid-napping children, police said.

The brutality of the mur-ders — captured potently in one viral image showing a bloodied man on his hands and knees begging for his life — has sparked outrage and allega-tions of police negligence.

Jharkhand has been on edge since the lynchings, just the latest in recent months across India, where mobs have publicly murdered people for inter-faith marriages and alleged offences involving sacred cows.

Prashant Anand, police superintendent in the state's main city of Jamshedpur, said locals in two neighbouring dis-tricts attacked "any outsider irrespective of his community" after baseless rumours spread on WhatsApp and social media.

"We have so far arrested 20 people, five for lynching and 15 others for rioting or clashing with the authorities," he said. Distraught relatives of the victims have clashed with authorities since the attacks last week, demanding a speedy investigation into the murders. Local authorities have launched a public awareness campaign, distrib-uting flyers to dispel rumours about the child kidnapping racket.

Sand mining protest: 4 dead in clashesBhubaneswar

Reuters

F our people were killed and two injured when dozens of villagers in eastern India

clashed with workers mining sand, police said yesterday, in the latest such incident in the growing conflict over the use of sand in the country. Villagers in Jatpura, about 260km from Jharkhand state capital Ranchi, were trying to stop workers from lifting sand from a river bed when they killed one of the crew, said district police chief Alok, who goes by one name.

Police are investigating reports that the contractor in charge had opened fire first, kill-

ing three villagers, Alok said."We have arrested one per-

son from the contractor's side. Police have been deployed in the village to maintain law and order," he said. India has a grow-ing demand for construction materials such as sand to build roads, airports, malls and homes.

Despite laws regulating sand mining in most states, rivers and beaches are often dredged beyond safe levels. Bribing of local officials and police is com-mon to mine beyond permissible limits, campaigners say.

Jharkhand in 2015 had banned sand mining in hun-dreds of river beds and made environmental clearances man-datory. While the Jatpura

contractor had a valid mining licence, excessive sand is being taken from an area that the vil-lage used for cremation, one villager said. "If they take out all the sand, what will be left for us?" said the villager who asked not to be named as he feared retribution from officials.

Removing large amounts of sand erodes river beds and beaches, enlarges river mouths, destroys biodiversity, and exac-erbates groundwater shortages and flooding. Across India, sand mining has depleted fish stocks and made water unfit for agri-culture, leading to loss of livelihoods. It has also caused landslides, which further erode coastlines.

Commendation card

The commendation card for Major Leetul Gogoi of 53 Rashtriya Rifles was given for "sustained efforts" in counter insurgency operations, Army officials said.

Kashmiri students throwing stones during clashes between government forces inside a college in Srinagar, yesterday.

Leftist activists gathering at the start of a march towards the state secretariat in Kolkata, yesterday.

High-speed Mumbai-Goa Tejas Express flagged off Mumbai

IANS

The country's first high-speed Tejas Express between Mumbai and

Karmali in Goa, boasting of Wi-Fi, LCD screens, and auto-matic doors, was flagged off yesterday by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu here.

The train -- with a speed of 130 km per hour -- is capable of clocking a maximum of 200 kmph. The train will undertake its eight-and-half-hour jour-ney five days a week between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station in Mumbai and Karmali in Goa, a distance of 530 km. It was flagged off by

Prabhu through videoconfer-encing from Dadar station in Mumbai. The train's frequency will be three days a week dur-ing monsoon.

The 20-coach train also offers Executive and Chair class travel with tea/coffee vending machines, magazines, and snacks tables, besides closed-circuit television for security.

The coaches, manufactured at Indian Coach Factory in Chennai, include features like sensor-controlled water taps, water level indicators and hand dryers. All coaches have bio-vacuum toilets.

A one-way trip will cost Rs2,740 with food, and Rs2,585 without food.

A couple riding a motorcycle under an umbrella amid rain in New Delhi, yesterday.

13TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017 ASIA

NEWS BYTES

KARACHI: Pakistani authorities found 20kg of heroin on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight bound for London yesterday during a search at Islamabad airport, a spokesman for the national carrier said.Heroin has been found on PIA flights at least three times since August last year, including last week at London's Heathrow Airport. Airline spokesman Mashhood Tajwar said in a statement authorities had planned yesterday to search four aircraft. "From one of the aircraft destined for Islamabad-London PK785, 20 kg heroin was recovered," he said. After the search, the flight was cleared for takeoff and further investigations were going on, Tajwar said. "PIA has taken a stern action to keep its fleet free from any effort of smuggling narcotics or other contraband," he said.

PESHAWAR: A Pakistani government official says a road-side bomb has killed at least five people and wounded several others in a northwest tribal region close to the Afghan bor-der. Mohammad Iqbal Khan says the remote controlled bomb was detonated yesterday in Tirah valley in the Khyber tribal region as volunteers from a government-backed militia were moving into the area. Khan said the attack took place in a remote area of the valley and the wounded were being trans-ported to a hospital in the region. No group has immediately claimed responsibility but Islamic State group militants have been responsible for previous similar attacks. Pakistan's army is battling militants in tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.

MANILA: Philippine authorities have banned hanging rosaries and religious icons off car dashboards because of safety con-cerns, prompting an outcry from the Catholic Church which insists they offer divine intervention on the nation's chaotic roads. The ban, which will take effect on Friday, is part of a wide-ranging new law aimed at eliminating distractions for drivers. These include talking or sending messages on mobile phones, putting on make-up, and eating or drinking coffee while driving, according to Aileen Lizada, spokeswoman for the national transport regulatory agency. But it is the ban on the religious icons and trinkets -- which visitors to the Phil-ippines inevitably see hanging off rearview mirrors in taxis and the colourful mini-buses known as jeepneys -- that has stirred the most controversy. Roughly 80 percent of the Phil-ippines' 100 million people are Catholic, a legacy of centuries of Spanish colonial rule that ended in 1898, and the religious icons in vehicles are seen by many as offering God's protec-tion while driving.

KABUL: A prominent Taliban leader was killed along with seven other fighters in a drone strike conducted by the US forces in the northern Kunduz province of Afghanistan. The provincial police commandment in a statement said the group’s shadow district chief for Qala-e-Zal was among 8 militants killed in the airstrike, and he was identified. The airstrike was carried out in the vicinity of Qala-e-Zal district, the state-ment said, adding that four insurgents were also wounded in the airstrike and two vehicles were destroyed, Afghan Khaama Press reported. Kunduz is among the relatively vol-atile provinces in northern Afghanistan where the Taliban insurgents are actively operating in its various districts and often carry out insurgency activities. The Taliban insurgent seized the control of Qala-e-Zal district earlier this month but the Afghan forces managed to retake it by launching a major operation.

20kg heroin seized from PIA flight

Five dead in NW Pakistan blast

Philippines bans in-car distractions

Eight dead in Kunduz drone strike

Philippines & China play down Duterte’s talk of war

Crackdown on Pakistani social media users for anti-army posts

5 policemen dead in Afghanistan ambushKabul

AP

Insurgents in northern Afghanistan ambushed a security convoy yesterday,

killing five members of the local police, an official said.

Karim Yuresh, spokes-man for the provincial police chief in Faryab, said a group commander and four of his bodyguards were killed. The commander, identified only as Sadat, and his men were on their way to a funeral in Kohistanat district when the attack happened, Yuresh said. He added that the ambush triggered a shootout that also killed and wounded an unspecified number of insurgents.

No one claimed responsi-bility for the attack in Faryab, but both the Taliban and mil-itants from an Islamic State affiliate are active in the prov-ince and have lately stepped up attacks on Afghan security forces, government officials and pro-government figures. In eastern Logar province, gunmen shot and killed a dep-uty chief of a provincial clerical council, said Gen. Esmatullah Alizia, the Logar police chief. Mawlavi Abdul Ghafor was killed near the provincial capital, Puli Alam, while on his way to a mosque.

Lahore

Reuters

Pakistan has begun a crack-down on online criticism of its powerful military,

with up to 200 social media accounts under investigation, a security official said yesterday.

The crackdown is being car-ried out by the civilian Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan directed it to take action against social media users

posting anti-military material.“We have received a huge

list of suspects, active against national institutions, but we have identified 18 out of over 200 social media activists,” a senior FIA official said.

“They are accused of spreading negative material against the army and other insti-tutions,” added the official, who declined to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to the media. At least two people have been interrogated and released,

he said. Pakistan’s military has staged numerous coups and ruled the country for about half is history since its creation in 1947.

The military remains a pow-erful political force even under civilian governments, and rela-tions between the generals and civilian leaders can be sensitive. The crackdown on online dis-sent comes after a lengthy inquiry into a newspaper report that gave details leaked from a high-level security meeting.

Manila

Reuters

The Philippines and China played down yesterday a warning by President Rodrigo Duterte that China

would go to war if the Philippines drilled for oil in the disputed South China Sea. The outspoken Philippine president has been facing criticism at home for being what some people see as too soft on China over a long-running territorial dispute.

Duterte met China’s Presi-dent Xi Jinping for talks in Beijing last week and later said Xi had warned him there would be war if the Philippines tried to explore for oil in a disputed stretch of sea.

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said their meeting was frank and friendly, and the dis-cussion was largely about preventing conflict, not threat-ening it.

“The conversation was very frank. There was mutual respect, there was mutual trust,” Cayetano said.

“The context was not threat-ening each other, that we will go to war. The context is how do we stabilise the region and how do

we prevent conflict.” He added: “I will not contradict the presi-dent’s words. I am just telling you ... my interpretation: there was no bullying or pushing around, it was not a threat.”

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also sought to

make light of Duterte’s com-ments, noting he and Xi had agreed to “strengthen commu-nication” on important bilateral issues. China was willing to work with the Philippines to handle disputes peacefully, she said..

Duterte made no mention of the issue during an unusually

news briefing yesterday before he left for Russia. Duterte’s crit-ics have made much of his refusal to push China to comply with a ruling last year by the Per-manent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, at the end of a case brought by the Philippines against China, which was largely

in favour of the Philippines. China has never recognised the case.

The court said the Philip-pines had a sovereign right to access offshore oil and gas fields in its Exclusive Economic Zone.

Duterte’s rivals have likened his refusal to insist that China

abide by the ruling as akin to sur-rendering sovereignty.

Senate minority leader, Frank Drilon, said the govern-ment “should not allow our country to be bullied and threat-ened,” while former foreign minister Albert del Rosario said Manila should do joint maritime patrols with traditional ally the United States, an idea he said Duterte had jettisoned as part of his “full embrace of China”.

Duterte chafes at what he considers Philippine subservi-ence to the United States and has sought to engage more with China, which has promised loans and investment that will be vital to his ambitious $180bn infra-structure overhaul.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Satur-day urged the government to file another international arbitration case over the reported Chinese threat, and also lodge a com-plaint with the United Nations.

Failure to do that would mean Duterte would be “selling us out”, he said. Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said the Philippines was “very clear that we are not giving up our claim of sovereignty and sover-eign rights”.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also sought to make light of Duterte’s comments, noting he and Xi had agreed to “strengthen communication” on important bilateral issues.

The outspoken Philippine president has been facing criticism at home for being what some people see as too soft on China over a long-running territorial dispute.

Sea dispute

Philippines' Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano (centre) pledging his allegiance to the country's flag, during a flag raising at the Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Pasay City, yesterday.

Manila

AP

Philippine President Rod-rigo Duterte left yesterday for a four-day official visit

to Russia, where he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and witness the signing of several agreements, including on defense cooperation and trade.

In his departure speech, Duterte said the visit under-scores his independent foreign policy and desire to forge closer ties with Russia, which "must cease to be on the margins of Philippine diplomacy."

"Overdependence on

traditional partners has limited our room to maneuver in a very dynamic, international arena," he said.

"This is a strategic oversight that has led to many missed opportunities for our country. I am determined to correct this."

Since taking office last June, Duterte has lashed out at then-President Barack Obama and his administration for criticizing his war on drugs, which has left thousands of suspected drug offenders dead. But he has been on friendlier terms with Presi-dent Donald Trump.

Contrastingly, he has reached out to China and Rus-sia — whose leaders he met

recently — in a dramatic shift in foreign policy for the Philip-pines, Washington's longtime treaty ally.

"Russia is a country that we must work with — there are opportunities that cannot be ignored," Duterte said. "With its geographic footprint in the Asia-Pacific region and its strategic interest in the region, a positive engagement is required to find areas of synergies and interests."

Ties between the two coun-tries were established 40 years ago, but Duterte said the doors of cooperation have opened "ever so slightly" and "now we can work together to open those

doors even wider."Legislators, Cabinet officials

and business leaders are accom-panying him on the trip.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Maria Cleofe Nativi-dad said Duterte will meet with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev tomorrow and they will discuss economic partner-ship and other areas of cooperation. Duterte will discuss political, military and defense cooperation during his meeting with Putin on Thursday.

The trip is at the invitation of Putin, whom Duterte met in Peru in November on the side-lines of the Asia-Pacific leaders' summit.

Duterte embarks on 4-day visit to Russia

Pakistani opposition leader and head of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party Imran Khan leaving the Supreme Court after attending a hearing on the Panama Papers case in Islamabad, yesterday.

Panama Papers case hearing

14 TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017ASIA

Thailand unrest

Nepal torches valuable wildlife partsKathmandu

AFP

Nepal destroyed thou-sands of valuable animal skins and other

parts seized from poachers on a giant bonfire yesterday in a symbolic gesture against the illegal wildlife trade.

More than 4,000 animal parts, including endangered tiger skins and rhino hides, were burned in a large pyre at Chitwan National Park, the nation's most important con-servation area.

"As a country committed to conservation of wildlife and biodiversity, Nepal has destroyed animal parts stored over 20 years," Maheswor Dhakal from the Department of National Parks and Wild-life Conservation said.

"With this we want to send a message that these body parts of endangered animals are not meant for trade." The stockpile included 67 tiger skins, more than 350 rhino hides, hair from ele-phant tails and other items.

The bonfire was timed to coincide with International Day for Biological Diversity yesterday. Another 1,100kg of ivory is still in storage since it requires a higher tempera-ture to incinerate. Dhakal said the storage and security of the animal specimens was also a financial burden for the small and impoverished country. George Phocas, attaché for the US, said the torching of the specimens was "very significant".

China for talks after

North Korea missile testBeijiing

AFP

CChina called yester-day for dialogue to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula after North Korea car-

ried out a new missile test."The (UN) Security Council

has clear stipulations prohibit-ing DPRK against using ballistic missiles and China opposes this as well," foreign ministry spokes-woman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing, using the initials of North Korea's official name.

"The situation on the Korean peninsula is complex and sensi-tive. We urge all sides to avoid provoking each other and con-tinue on the right track of dialogue and consultation," she

said. North Korea yesterday declared its medium-range Pukguksong-2 missile ready for deployment after a weekend test, as it seeks to develop an inter-continental rocket capable of striking US targets.

China, Pyongyang's main diplomatic and economic ally, has come under pressure to use its influence to compel North Korea to rein in its missile and nuclear programmes.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday in response to the lat-est ballistic missile test.

The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said last week the United States was working with China on a new sanctions resolution.

Meanwhile, North Korean state airline Air Koryo has

abruptly halted its new route between Pyongyang and the Chi-nese border city of Dandong, local airport and ticketing offi-cials said.

It was not clear when the suspension started or the reason for the decision. North Korea's state news agency had announced the new service on March 28.

A woman at a local air tick-eting company confirmed the suspension, saying that they "informed us to stop selling tick-ets about one month ago. They didn't tell us why."

Air Koryo flights on older routes, between Pyongyang and the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shenyang, were still available online. No one answered the phone at the airline's Beijing office.

Meanwhile, North Korea yes-t e r d a y d e c l a r e d i t s medium-range Pukguksong-2 missile ready for deployment after a weekend test, the latest

step in its quest to defy UN sanc-tions and develop a weapon capable of striking US targets.

The state-run Korean Cen-tral News Agency said the North's

leader Kim Jong-Un oversaw Sunday's launch, which sparked a fresh chorus of international condemnation and threats of tougher sanctions.

China detains six Japanese on suspicion of illegal activitiesTokyo

AFP

Six Japanese citizens have been detained in China for alleged illegal activities,

officials in both nations said yes-terday, more than doubling the number previously held in the country.

Relations between the two nations have been marred by several irritants, including a maritime territorial dispute and lingering tensions over Tokyo's history of aggression in the first

half of the 20th century.China had already detained

five other Japanese citizens since 2015, largely on suspicion of spying.

Four of them have been brought before criminal courts, according to the Asahi Shimbun daily.

Six other men — three in Shandong province and three in Hainan province — were detained in March, top govern-ment spokesman Yoshihide Suga told a regular press conference.

Citing "the nature of the issue", he offered few details.

"We've been notified by the Chinese authorities that they vio-lated domestic laws," he said, adding the government is "dis-cussing the issue through our diplomatic missions abroad".

Suga did not answer when asked whether Tokyo had pro-tested to Beijing over the issue.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the six were being investigated and Japanese con-sular officials had been notified.

"Chinese authorities have been investigating illegal activities," she said, declining to provide details and referring journalists to "competent authorities in China".

The latest detentions bring the number of Japanese held in China to 11, a foreign ministry official said.

All six of those held in March were Japanese company offi-cials who visited China after a local company or companies asked them to search for hot springs, public broadcaster NHK

and major national dailies reported.

Japanese media speculated that the presence of military ports in both provinces may have caused them to be suspected of trying to access intelligence.

In recent years, Beijing has drafted a series of legislative measures including laws on national security, espionage and cyber-security.

Last year, China said it was investigating a Japanese citizen on suspicion of endangering national security.

Colombo

AFP

Sri Lankan President Maithri-pala Sirisena announced his first cabinet reshuffle yes-

terday, switching his finance and foreign ministers as he resists mounting pressure from a break-away faction in his own party. Sirisena swapped the portfolios held by Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Foreign Min-ister Mangala Samaraweera in a shake up aimed at quelling dis-sent within the uneasy government he has led since August 2015.

The president asked his cab-inet to "ensure collective responsibility through friendship with each other and commit-ment to develop the country."

"This cabinet reshuffle will provide a new impetus to Sri Lanka's development," Sirisena

said in a statement.The two ministers — key

powerbrokers in the coalition

— have been fending off calls for their removal from a rogue fac-tion of Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

Sirisena defected from the SLFP in late 2014, and with the support of the United National Party (UNP) successfully chal-lenged his former boss and war-era president, Mahinda Rajapakse, at the 2015 presiden-tial elections.

But Sirisena's efforts since then to wrestle back control of his SLFP have sowed tension within the joint alliance with the UNP, led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Yesterday's reshuffle had been foreshadowed for months, and was opposed by the UNP, which feared losing powerful posts within the coalition.

Sri Lanka switches foreign & finance ministersChina says no mining planned in AntarcticaBeijing

AFP

China sought to dispel con-cerns about its ambitions in mineral-rich Antarc-

tica yesterday, with an official saying Beijing has no plans to start mining in the vast conti-nent. China's expanding activities in polar regions is a focal point as Beijing hosts the annual meeting of the Antarc-tic Treaty for the first time.

Some 400 delegates from 42 countries and 10 interna-tional bodies were attending the forum, which kicked off yesterday and ends June 1.

"There is still a gap between

the goal of peaceful develop-ment of Antarctica's resources and our understanding of Ant-arctica," Lin Shanqing, deputy head of the State Oceanic Administration, told reporters on the sidelines of the forum.

Lin did not answer a ques-tion on what he meant by peaceful resource development but he stressed that China's Ant-arctic expeditions "focus on boosting our understanding of the Antarctic and to better con-serve the Antarct ic environment."

"According to my knowl-edge, China has made no plans for mining activity in Antarc-tica," Lin added.

UN urges Indonesia to free jailed governorJakarta

AFP

The United Nations pressed Indonesia yesterday to release Jakarta's jailed

Christian governor and repeal blasphemy laws which they say undermine religious freedom in the Muslim-majority nation.

The call came as the family of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known as Ahok, unexpectedly withdrew an appeal against his conviction and two-year jail term for blasphemy, which had been submitted by his lawyers just hours earlier. Purnama was jailed this month for insulting the Holy Quran, a shock decision that has stoked concern about rising religious intolerance in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.

A group of UN human rights experts urged Indonesia to free

the 50-year-old and repeal the blasphemy laws, which critics say have been repeatedly used to target religious minorities in recent years.

"Purnama's blasphemy conviction and imprisonment will undermine freedom of reli-gion or belief and freedom of speech in Indonesia," said a statement from the experts, who included special rappor-teurs on freedom of religion and freedom of expression.

"We urge the government to overturn Purnama's sentence on appeal or to extend to him what-ever form of clemency may be available under Indonesian law so that he may be released from prison immediately." Lawyers for Purnama earlier filed documents for his appeal to a Jakarta court — but said later that the gover-nor's family turned up and asked for it not to go ahead.

People watching a screen showing news coverage of the Pukguksong-2 missile rocket launch at a public square in central Pyongyang, yesterday.

Mangala Samaraweera (left), taking an oath as he is sworn in as Minister of Finance in front of Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena in Colombo, yesterday.

Thai Police Lt General Saroj Keokajee holding a press conference in front of Pra Mongkut Klao Hospital, which was struck by a small bomb, in Bangkok yesterday. A small bomb struck a Bangkok military hospital yesterday wounding more than 20 people, police said, three years to the day since the army seized power of the politically unstable kingdom.

15TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017 EUROPE

EU sets negotiating mandate for Brexit talksBrussels

AP

The 27 European Union nations handling Brit-ain's exit from the bloc set a tough negotiating mandate for the talks,

the EU's chief negotiator said yesterday, stressing the discus-sions would be tension-filled.

The talks will quickly centre on the tens of billions in costs London would be expected to pay for the divorce.

EU ministers built on the strong stance which was reached unanimously at an EU summit last month, and further tightened the legal wording in the mandate for Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

The 27 ministers said in a statement Britain "must honour its share of all the obligations undertaken while being a mem-ber" and also "fully cover the specific costs related to the with-drawal, such as the relocation of EU agencies currently based in the UK."

The cost estimates for Brit-ain have gone as high a $111.8bn for the withdrawal, a sum which British government officials have ridiculed, with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson going as far as to venture that the EU should pay Britain instead for its

departure.Yesterday's explicit language

on the payments Britain should make even included "a schedule of payments" from London.

"They will be tough. There will be moments of tension," said Barnier of the upcoming negotiations.

Maltese Deputy Prime Min-ister Louis Grech, who chaired the meeting, said that "we are under no illusion that these negotiations will be complex and far from straightforward. More-over, there is also a very limited timeframe which adds pressure to an already difficult process."

Unraveling the current rela-tionship which took almost a half

century to build faces a two-year deadline expiring in March 2019.

The EU's 27 again insisted they were ready to negotiate as of today, but were facing foot-dragging from Britain, which already voted in a referendum on June 23 to leave, yet will not be ready to enter the talks after the June 8 snap election.

Barnier said the first talks with his British counterpart were expected in the week of June 19, little over a week after Britain's early election which is expected to strengthen conservative Brit-ish Prime Minister Theresa May's position at home.

"We are ready," Barnier said. "But we need to put things in per-spective. It is the settle the accounts, assure and orderly withdrawal that the UK requested. It is their choice and responsibility."

The EU nations have agreed to centre on the rights of their citizens in Britain, and the Brit-ish living in the EU as a first issue to settle, along with settling the bill and getting a deal on the EU border in Ireland with the UK's Northern Ireland.

Only if there is "sufficient progress" can a future relation-ship be looked at, Barnier said. The British government wants a future trade relationship and the divorce proceedings to happen

at the same time. There has been talk in London of having a hard Brexit with no deal in place rather than a bad agreement.

"The faster we find a deal on these priority issues, the earlier

we will be able to start discuss-ing our future relationship in a constructive way," Barnier said recently, unwilling and unable to budge on the timing of the talks, considering the

instructions he got from the 27 ministers.

Grech said "We are very well prepared for these negotiations and the remarkable thing is that we are unified at 27."

Rajoy accuses Catalan leader of blackmailMadrid

AP

Spanish Prime Minister Mar-iano Rajoy yesterday accused Catalonia's Presi-

dent Carles Puigdemont of blackmailing the state following news reports that the powerful northeastern region has pre-pared a law to secede from Spain immediately if it is not allowed hold an independence referendum.

Rajoy said Puigdemont's alleged plan was "intolerable," labeling it the most serious inci-dent he had seen in his career.

The El Pais newspaper said the Catalan draft law envisages establishing a republic, taking immediate control of the judici-ary in the region and seizing state property in Catalonia.

Jordi Turull, a senior mem-ber of Puigdemont's governing Together for Yes coalition, denied the report on his Twitter account, saying El Pais' version was out of date and that this would be demonstrated when the law is eventually approved.

The Catalan government has been working on the so-called "disconnection from Spain" bill in secret for several months.

A visibly irritated Rajoy said Puigdemont's plan was to liqui-date a state of that has been in existence for at least 500 years and he would not allow it.

He demanded that Puigde-mont present his secession proposal before Parliament and

explain why is "threatening and blackmailing the state."

Puidgemont, whohas rejected the offer to address Par-liament, visits Madrid later yesterday for a private confer-ence on the referendum.

His government pledges to hold a vote on secession in Sep-tember even without clearance by the central government.

Relations between the two

governments have soured greatly over the issue in recent years.

Rajoy's government has con-sistently said an independence referendum is illegal unless Spain's constitution is amended.

Warsaw

AP

Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam says he and Poland's president have

discussed closer bilateral eco-nomic and trade ties and their countries' roles in growing trade between Europe and Asia.

Tony Tan is the first presi-dent of Singapore to visit Poland in almost 50 years of the two nation's economic relations.

The president is accompa-nied by a large group of Singapore businessmen.

Yesterday, Tony Tan and Poland's President Andrzej Duda planned to sign docu-ments on developing cooperation in science and research.

The presidents will also open a Poland-Singapore Busi-ness Forum.

Poland is one of Europe's fastest-growing economies, but still needs to catch up with western EU economies, and its leaders are looking for new business partners and new areas of development to help the economy expand further.

Nishani approves Cabinet reshuffle Vucic reinstates sacked ministerBelgrade

AP

SERBIA'S prime minister and president-elect says a former defence minister who was dis-missed after insulting a female journalist will become the new head of the state secu-rity agency.

Aleksandar Vucic said that former Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic "has the skills and will perform his duties according to the law."

Gasic sparked outrage in December 2015 after a jour-nalist knelt down in front of him to avoid being in the way of cameras as he spoke to a group of reporters during a visit to a factory. He com-mented: "I like these female journalists who kneel down so easily."

The prime minister had reluctantly agreed to fire Gasic, one of his closest associates, after a series of protests organ-ised by journalist unions.

Georgia minister hails Turkey's regional roleTbilisi

Anatolia

Georgian defence minister has underscored Turkey’s crucial support ahead of

the fifth trilateral summit between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

The day-long summit begins today in the Black Sea port city of Batumi.

Speaking ahead of

the summit yesterday, Defence Minister Levan Izoria (pictured) said: “Turkey is a strategic part-ner of Georgia. I am happy that Georgia’s neighbor is such a strong and supportive country of the region".

About the importance of having an alliance with Turkey, he said: “Reliable and strong partners (such as Turkey) in the region are of vital importance to us, especially when some parts

of our soils are occupied by Russia.”

Izoria said close ties in var-ious areas, including defence, economics, energy, communi-cation, education and culture were key goals of trilateral coop-eration between Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

He said regional security would be among key issues that would be discussed during the trilateral summit.

“I am proud to say that Geor-gia will host the ‘Caucasian Eagle’ -- an exercise programme involving special forces of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey -- and the ‘Ethernet’ -- a com-puter training program for security personnel aimed at pipeline security,” he added.

He also said Georgia remains committed to the international community’s fight against terrorism.

Tirana

AP

Albania's president has decreed a government reshuffle as part of the

compromise worked out between political parties before next month's parliamentary election.

Bujar Nishani has named the choices for deputy prime

minister and six other ministers: interior, education, health, social wellbeing, finance and justice.

The move came after the opposition recommended them as "technical" nominees.

Parliament will vote on them yesterday afternoon in a special session.

A three-month opposition boycott of parliament ended last week in an agreement between

the governing Socialist Party and the opposition-led Demo-cratic Party that was mediated by US and European Union officials.

The deal postponed the election by a week to June 25, and it also allows the opposition to monitor the vote after con-cerns that Prime Minister Edi Rama could manipulate the outcome.

Singapore & Poland seek stronger economic ties

The 27 ministers said in a statement Britain "must honour its share of all the obligations undertaken while being a member" and also "fully cover the specific costs related to the withdrawal, such as the relocation of EU agencies currently based in the UK."

Negotiation

FROM LEFT: Belgium's Foreign Minister Didier Reynders; European Commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, Michel Barnier; Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn and French Minister for European Affairs Marielle de Sarnez take part in a general affairs council at the European Council in Brussels, yesterday.

Tony Tan and Poland's President Andrzej Duda planned to sign documents on developing cooperation in science and research.

DiplomacyNo risk of snap election in SpainMadrid

Reuters

SPANISH Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said yester-day he did not expect early general elections in Spain as a result of the election of new Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez on Sunday.

Rajoy said he would con-tinue to seek consensus over policy with other parties, but noted his minority-led administration had already passed legislation without the support of the Socialists since taking office last year.

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy during a news conference at his ruling People's Party's (PP) headquarters in Madrid, yesterday.

Polish President Andrzej Duda (second right), his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda (right), Singapore's President Tony Tan Keng Yam (second left) and his wife Mary before their meeting in Presidential Palace, in Warsaw, yesterday.

16 TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017EUROPE

Shenzhen-Minsk freight train

Former Serbian officials ordered back to jail for UN court retrialThe Hague

AFP

INTERNATIONAL judges yesterday ordered two Ser-bian former state security officials back to jail ahead of their retrial, after quashing their acquittals on war crimes charges from the 1990s Bal-kan conflicts.

Former head of Serbia's state security service Jovica Stanisic, 66, and his deputy Franko Simatovic, 67, were both ordered "to return to the United Nations Detention Unit in The Hague by Tues-day, 30 May 2017."

Their retrial "is antici-pated to start on June 13, 2017," said the judges at the tribunal based in Dutch city.

The court is handling cases left over from the Inter-national Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which is set to close this year.

After some 17 months of freedom, the two men will now go on trial again.

The court denied requests to extend their provisional release, which was granted in December 2015.

It also ordered Serbian authorities to hand them over to Dutch officials at an airport in The Netherlands.

They have been charged with four counts of crimes against humanity and one of war crimes committed by Serbian death squads in Bos-nia and Croatia after the break-up of the former Yugo-slavia in 1991.

UN prosecutors, who had called for life sentences in the original trial, accuse the pair of organising, financing and supplying Serb paramilitary groups between April 1991 and the end of 1995.

Theresa May amends campaign pledgeGresford

AFP

British Prime Minister Theresa May yester-day amended an unpopular campaign proposal for elderly

care just days after unveiling it, prompting accusations that she could not be relied upon in upcoming Brexit negotiations.

May came under fire follow-ing a speech in Wales, where her Conservatives are hoping to make historic gains against the opposition Labour party in the June 8 general election.

In the speech she announced a cap on the amount people would be asked to pay, which was in response to a backlash against proposals in her party's

manifesto on paying for elderly care.

"We are proposing the right funding model for social care... We will make sure there's an absolute limit on what people need to pay," she said.

May denied the cap amounted to a U-turn, repeat-ing three times that "nothing has changed" when questioned by j o u r n a l i s t s o n t h e announcement.

The initial proposal did not include an upper limit, leaving it open to accusations that peo-ple could be forced to use their assets to pay for care. She did not detail how much the limit on elderly care would be.

Labour said the prime min-ister's change of heart had thrown her campaign into

"chaos and confusion", just four days after the Conservative Party manifesto was published.

"This is weak and unstable leadership. You can't trust the Tories -- if this is how they han-dle their own manifesto, how will they cope with the Brexit negotiations?" said Andrew Gwynne, Labour's election co-ordinator.

Negotiations on Britain's departure from the European Union are expected to start later in June after the general election.

The former leader of the UK Independence Party, Nigel Farage, said May's change was the second such turnaround fol-lowing an earlier shift on the government's budget plans.

"U-turn on the budget and

now a U-turn on the manifesto. This lady is for turning," he wrote on Twitter, in reference to a famous phrase used by former prime minister Marga-ret Thatcher.

Pressure has mounted on the Conservatives following their manifesto being published on Thursday, with weekend polls showing their considerable lead over Labour narrowing.

The ruling party's manifesto also promised MPs a vote on scrapping a ban on fox hunting, a pursuit unpopular with the electorate but which has the backing of a minority of dedi-cated Conservative supporters.

An anti-fox hunting pro-tester was arrested on Monday morning, outside the venue where May was to speak.

Macron to hold talks with Putin in ParisParis

AFP

Fr e n c h P r e s i d e n t Emmanuel Macron will host Russian counterpart

Vladimir Putin for talks at the Versailles Palace on May 29, the French presidency said yester-day, as the countries look to reset strained relations.

The meeting has been arranged to coincide with an exhibition celebrating 300 years of Franco-Russian ties since the visit of Russian tsar Peter the Great to France in 1717.

The visit comes three weeks after Macron's election and seven months after Putin can-celled a trip to Paris for the opening of a Russian cathedral complex near the Eiffel Tower in a spat with then president

Francois Hollande.The Socialist leader had

said Russia's bombing of the Syrian city of Aleppo could amount to war crimes.

Speaking last Friday, Rus-sia's ambassador to France, Alexander Orlov, said Moscow had a "positive perception" of Macron, describing him as "very intelligent, realistic and pragmatic".

"I think he's not very ideo-logical compared with his predecessors," Orlov told a meeting of business leaders.

"With him we have more chances of moving forward than before."

Macron's campaign was subject to repeated cyberat-tacks and aides to him accused the Kremlin of mounting a "smear campaign" against him.

Syrian 'war criminal' faces trial in GermanyBerlin

AFP

A German court yesterday put on trial for war crimes a sus-pected former Syrian rebel commander accused of hav-ing tortured civilians while fighting for a militia linked to the Free Syrian Army.

The man, identified only as 42-year-old Ibrahim Al F, was arrested in April 2016 and faces life in jail if found guilty.

He allegedly joined the armed struggle against Pres-ident Bashar al-Assad in 2012 and commanded a 150-strong neighbourhood militia in Aleppo.

The prosecution charged that the militia looted homes in a northeastern city district and captured and mistreated civilians who resisted.

The accused, who remained silent in court, allegedly "personally tor-tured" two civilians who were later released for a ransom.

Prosecutors said at least one other victim was tortured to death, another "died in unclear circumstances", a third fled, and two were released for ransom.

German national news agency DPA reported the defendant was known as the "father of the wolf" and had supervised the torture.

The trial in the western city of Duesseldorf is set to run until at least September.

No plan to reopen embassy in Syria: FranceParis

Reuters

France's foreign ministry said yesterday that the reo-pening of its embassy in

Syria was not on the table, sig-nalling there may be no fundamental change to Paris' approach to the Syrian conflict under new president Emmanuel Macron.

Citing a political source close to Macron, pan-Arab daily newspaper al-Hayat had reported yesterday that Macron was reviewing France's decision

to close the embassy in year 2012.

"The reopening of our embassy in Damascus is not on the agenda," Foreign ministry

spokesman Romain Nadal said in a daily briefing.

Officials at the president's office did not immediately respond for comment, although

Macron ruled out reopening the embassy during a campaign trip to Beirut in January.

Some European Union coun-tries which withdrew their ambassadors from Syria as the conflict worsened in the coun-try have indicated a willingness for more communication with Damascus given the ongoing fight against Islamic State mili-tants even though France and Britain have staunchly opposed it.

With the arrival of Macron, Paris' policy on Syria has yet to be clearly defined.

However, the new president has said his priority will be the fight against IS as well as creat-ing a political roadmap to end the conflict that has killed hun-dreds of thousands and displaced millions.

Former President Nicolas Sarkzoy closed the French embassy in March 2011.

His successor Francois Hol-lande maintained that policy, actively backing opponents to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and saying he could not be part of any future political settlement in the country.

We are proposing the right funding model for social care... We will make sure there's an absolute limit on what people need to pay: May

Elderly care

Labour said the prime minister's change of heart had thrown her campaign into "chaos and confusion", just four days after the Conservative Party manifesto was published.

Some EU countries which withdrew their ambassadors from Syria as the conflict worsened in the country have indicated a willingness for more communication with Damascus given the ongoing fight against IS militants even though France and Britain have staunchly opposed it.

People take pictures of the first freight train from Shenzhen to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, that sets out at Yantian Port in Shenzhen, China, yesterday.

Chelsea Flower Show kicks offLondon

AFP

From the world's hottest chilli to a garden inspired by music, Britons cele-

brate their love for gardening this week at the Chelsea Flower Show, one of the world's big-

gest horticultural festivals.With the champagne

already flowing at the week-long show where more than 165,000 visitors are expected, Queen Elizabeth II herself will be touring some of the hundreds of exhibitors later.

"There are only three show

gardens less than last year but we have novelties like the two Feel Good gardens, which cel-ebrate the five senses," RHS spokeswoman Alice McDermott said.

Visitors have to pay between $82 and $104 to enter the show, set in the exclusive surroundings of the grounds of the 17th century Royal Hospital Chelsea.

For anyone who believes that plants are just plants and gardens are purely decorative, the Chelsea Flower Show offers a magnificent rebuttal.

The far from ordinary gar-dens include some to fight against environmental threats, or improve physical and men-tal health, or inspire poets and musicians.

Garden designer Chris Beardshaw said his exhibit was inspired by Bach and Mozart.

"I'm immersing myself in the music... Trying to picture how these music elements fit".

"It's always a challenge to be in the show, you have to be

ready for a precise day," he said.On the eve of the opening,

he had an unexpected surprise that will be familiar to many gardeners.

A visitor looks at a display at the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower show.

Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (centre) arrives at the Chelsea Flower Show, in London, yesterday.

17TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017 EUROPE

Merkel attends European Union Project Day

Moscow

Reuters

Russian cyber criminals used malware planted on Android mobile devices to

steal from domestic bank cus-tomers and were planning to target European lenders before their arrest, investigators and sources with knowledge of the case said.

Their campaign raised a rel-atively small sum by cyber-crime standards - more than $892,000 - but they had also obtained more sophisticated malicious software for a modest monthly fee to go after the clients of banks in France and possibly a range of other western nations.

Russia's relationship to cyber crime is under intense scrutiny after US intelligence officials alleged that Russian hackers had tried to help Republican Donald Trump win the US presidency by hacking Democratic Party servers.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the allegation.

The gang members tricked the Russian banks' customers into downloading malware via

fake mobile banking applica-tions, as well as via e-commerce programmes, according to a report compiled by cyber secu-rity firm Group-IB which investigated the attack with the Russian Interior Ministry.

The criminals - 16 suspects were arrested by Russian law enforcement authorities in November last year - infected more than a million smartphones in Russia, on average compro-mising 3,500 devices a day, Group-IB said.

"The hackers targeted cus-tomers of state lender Sberbank, and also stole money from accounts at Alfa Bank and online payments company Qiwi, exploiting weaknesses in the companies' SMS text message transfer services," said two peo-ple with direct knowledge of the case.

"Although operating only in Russia before their arrest, they had developed plans to target large European banks including French lenders Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Societe Gene-rale," Group-IB said.

A BNP Paribas spokeswoman said that the bank could not con-firm this information, but added that it "has a significant set of measures in place aimed at fight-ing cyber attacks on a daily basis". Societe Generale and Credit Agricole declined comment.

The gang, which was called "Cron" after the malware it used, did not steal any funds from cus-tomers of the three French banks. However, it exploited the bank service in Russia that allows users to transfer small sums to other accounts by send-ing an SMS message.

Having infected the users' phones, the gang sent SMS mes-sages from those devices instructing the banks to transfer money to the hackers' own accounts.

The findings illustrate the dangers of using SMS messages for mobile banking, a method favoured in emerging countries with less advanced internet infrastructure, said Lukas Ste-fanko, a malware researcher at cyber security firm ESET in Slovakia.

"It's becoming popular among developing nations or in the countryside where access to conventional banking is difficult for people," he said.

"For them it is quick, easy and they don't need to visit a bank... But security always has to outweigh consumer convenience."

The Russian Interior Minis-try said a number of people had been arrested, including what it described as the gang leader.

This was a 30-year-old man living in Ivanovo, an industrial city 300km northeast of Mos-cow, from where he had commanded a team of 20 peo-ple across six different regions.

Four people remain in detention while the others are under house arrest, the ministry said in a statement.

"In the course of 20 searches across six regions, police seized computers, hundreds of bank cards and SIM cards registered under fake names," it said.

Group-IB said the existence of the Cron malware was first detected in mid-2015, and by the time of the arrests the hackers had been using it for under a year.

The core members of the group were detained on Novem-ber 22 last year in Ivanovo.

The "Cron" hackers were arrested before they could mount attacks outside Russia, but plans to do that were at an advanced stage, said the investigators.

Romania police detain six Syrian migrants Bucharest

AP

ROMANIAN border police say they have detained and ques-tioned six Syrian migrants who are suspected of illegally try-ing to leave Romania and head to the Schengen zone.

Police say they discov-ered the group of four adults and two children early Sun-day near the town of Valea lui Mihai about 300 metres from the border with Hungary. Police say the migrants "couldn't justify their pres-ence in the area."

They brought them in for questioning and they told police they were trying to reach the Schengen visa-free travel zone. Romania isn't in the Schengen zone, but Hun-gary is.

A statement yesterday said the adults were aged 23 to 40 and the children were 2 and 8.

The group is being inves-tigated for attempted illegal border crossing.

'Netherlands not doing enough to probe narco labs'Vienna

Reuters

The Netherlands is not doing enough to shut down narco labs pro-

ducing drugs such as ecstasy and crystal meth for distribu-tion across Europe and the US, senior Austrian officials said yesterday.

Austria's Interior Minis-ter Wolfgang Sobotka said a large quantity of the seized drugs were produced in the Netherlands and often dis-patched via the German postal service.

"Cooperation there must get better," the minister said, adding that he intended to raise the issue with his Dutch counterpart this week. "It is crucial the production sites are shut down."

The Dutch justice minis-try referred a request for comment to the public pros-ecutor's office.

Dieter Csefan, Austria's chief drug crime official, said his agents had seized class A drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy as well as crystal meth, cannabis and fentanyl, the synthetic opioid on which the singer Prince overdosed and died.

"These (Dutch) laborato-ries are underground," Csefan saids.

"Huge ship containers are being buried five to six metres in the ground."

The head of Austria's Fed-eral Criminal Police Office, Franz Lang, criticised the Netherlands for failing to investigate the laboratories seriously enough.

Diamond ring bought for £10 worth a fortuneLondon

AFP

A diamond ring bought for next to nothing in a Lon-don junk sale is expected

to fetch up to $455,000, Sothe-by's auction house said yesterday.

The owner bought the 26-carat, white diamond ring for £10 in the 1980s and wore it while doing shopping and chores, thinking it was costume jewellery, Sotheby's said.

"The owner would wear it out shopping, wear it day-to-day. It's a good-looking ring," said Jessica Wyndham, head of Sotheby's London jewellery department.

"No one had any idea it had any intrinsic value at all.

"The majority of us can't even begin to dream of own-ing a diamond that large."

The diamond is thought to have been cut in the 19th cen-tury, when the style was to cut to conserve the weight rather than to make it as sparkly as possible, hence its relatively dull brilliance.

"It could trick people into thinking it's not a genuine stone," said Wyndham.

She said the owner, who does not want to be named, brought the ring in after a jew-eller told them it could be worth something.

She said the owner was "incredibly excited. Anyone would be in this position: it's a life-changing amount of money.

"This is a one-off windfall, an amazing find."

The ring will be auctioned on June 7 and is expected to fetch between £250,000 and £350,000.

Sotheby's said the owner came forward in the past few months seeking a valuation.

"Much to the owner's sur-prise, the ring turned out to be a genuine cushion-shaped dia-mond weighing 26.27 carats with an attractive colour grade of I and impressive clarity grade of VVS2," the auction-eers said.

The clarity grade "Very, very slightly included 2" is the fourth-highest out of 11, while a colour grading of I means it is near colourless, on the scale from D to Z.

Hackers target Russian bank customers

Call for deeper EU migration policyParis

Reuters

France's new President Emmanuel Macron called for deeper European Union

integration to tackle the migra-tion crisis, saying bloc members had not paid enough heed to Ita-ly's warnings about the growing burden.

Ahead of a working dinner with visiting Italian Prime Min-ister Paolo Gentiloni, he repeated his wish to work

quickly within the EU to strengthen rules to protect workers against social dumping and improve regulations on pub-lic procurement.

In a nod to Italy, which has received more than 45,000 people arriving by boat from North Africa so far this year alone, he said the EU also had to better share the burden of the high migration flows across the Mediterranean in recent years.

The EU has seen some 1.6

million refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Africa and beyond reach its shores in 2014-2016. Most first arrived in flimsy boats in Greece but now head mainly to Italy.

"We did not quite hear the warnings that Italy sent us. I want us to address a real reform of the right of asylum and of our current regulations to better protect those countries most subject to this migratory pressure."

Gentiloni urged the EU to

draw up a common migration policy, and also called for the euro zone monetary union to move towards a fiscal and bank-ing union.

"It won't be a quick process but the important thing is to be able to start and to go in the right direction," he said.

Macron's meeting with Gen-tiloni comes after one with German Chancellor Angela Mer-kel in Berlin on Monday to draw up a roadmap for deeper EU integration.

Police find suspicious object in SPD buildingBerlin

Reuters

GERMAN police on Monday evacuated the headquarters of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Berlin after a suspi-cious object was found in the mailroom, a party spokesman said.

All employees had to leave the building, including senior SPD members who were meeting in the Willy Brandt Haus for a weekly board meeting, the spokes-man said.

The party executive had been due to discuss the draft of the SPD government pro-gram, which is to be finally decided upon this coming June 25.

Although much of its con-tent has already been established, several points regarding pension and taxa-tion policy still need to be finalised.

Key points of the pro-gramme were to be presented at a press talk in the afternoon at the Willy-Brandt-Haus.

In March, German authorities intercepted a package containing a book concealing explosives and addressed to Finance Min-ister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who is from Chancellor A n g e l a M e r k e l ' s conservatives.

A Greek militant group, Conspiracy of Fire Cells, claimed responsibility for sending the package.

The centre-left SPD is currently the junior partner in Merkel's coalition government.

A BNP Paribas spokeswoman said the bank could not confirm this information, but added that it "has a significant set of measures in place aimed at fighting cyber attacks on a daily basis".

"The gang members tricked the Russian banks' customers into downloading malware via fake mobile banking applications, as well as via e-commerce programmes".

Cyber attack

A 26.27 carat, cushion-shaped, white diamond, for sale at Sotheby's auction house in London, yesterday.

Crystal Meth and Ecstasy drugs seized by a joint Austrian and German police operation in Vienna, yesterday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (centre) during her visit to Kurt-Tucholsky school on occasion of 'European Union Project Day', in Berlin, yesterday.

18 TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017AMERICAS

Performers embrace after the last show of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York yesterday.

Last show of Ringling

Rapper Drake poses in the press room with his awards for Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album for 'Views,' Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Song Sales Artist, Top Streaming Artist, Top Streaming Song (Audio) for 'One Dance,' Top R&B Song for 'One Dance,' Top R&B Collaboration for 'One Dance,' Top Rap Artist, Top Rap Album for 'Views,' and Top Rap Tour during the 2017 Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena yesterday.

Billboard Music Awards

Caracas

Reuters

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro excoriated opposi-tion protesters for setting a man on fire

during a demonstration, accus-ing them of targeting him for being pro-government.

“A person was set on fire, beaten up, stabbed... They nearly lynched him, just because he shouted out that he was a ‘Chavista’,” Maduro said, refer-ring to the ruling socialist movement set up by his prede-cessor Hugo Chavez.

Witnesses to the incident on Saturday afternoon, including a Reuters photographer, said the crowd had accused the man of being a thief.

About 100 people, who had been participating in anti-Maduro protests, surrounded him, doused him in petrol and set him alight in Plaza Altamira

in east Caracas, the witnesses said.

Though some in the crowd said he should die, others helped him and the man survived.

Showing a video of the inci-dent on state TV, Maduro identified the man as Orlando Figuera, 21, saying he was being treated in hospital for severe burns.

Images from the scene showed him running near-naked with flames on his back.

“Burning a person because

he seems a Chavista is a hate crime and a crime against humanity,” Maduro said on his weekly TV program, also show-ing another video of someone being beaten up, as well as images of protesters throwing Molotov cocktails.

The 54-year-old president says protesters are seeking a vio-lent coup against him with US help, and are increasingly per-secuting “Chavistas” at home and abroad.

Earlier this week, he com-pared it to the Nazi treatment of Jews.

“Venezuela is facing ... a coup movement that has turned into hatred and intolerance, very similar to Nazi fascism,” he reit-erated on Sunday.

Venezuela’s opposition says Maduro has become a dictator, wrecked the OPEC nation’s economy, caused desperation by thwarting an electoral exit to the political crisis, and unleashed repression and torture on

protesters.“Maduro, Murderer!” can be

seen daubed on roads and walls in many parts of Caracas.

The main demand of oppo-nents, who now have majority support after years in the shadow of the ruling Socialist Party, is for a national vote.

But authorities blocked an opposition push for a referen-dum last year, delayed state elections, and are resisting calls to bring forward the next presi-dential election scheduled for late 2019.

Most opposition marches are now turning violent when secu-rity forces block their way, with masked youths from a self-styled “Resistance” movement hurling stones and petrol bombs at lines of National Guard troops who use teargas and water cannons to turn them back.

Even before the latest spasm of political unrest, Venezuela was already one of the world’s most violent countries, with an

average last year of 60 homi-cides per day, according to the government.

Lynchings have become commonplace, killing about one person every three days.

In six weeks of anti-Maduro unrest, at least 47 people have died, including supporters of both sides, some bystanders, and members of the security forces.

Both sides quickly publicize and condemn violence from the other side, while often under-playing wrongdoing within their own ranks. The government is particularly upset at harassment of officials and their relatives, accused by foes of enjoying the fruits of corruption.

One recent video showed the daughter of Jorge Rodriguez, a powerful government mayor who is a hate figure for the oppo-sition, walking along an Australian beach being screamed at by two bystanders: “Thanks to your father, people are dying in Venezuela.”

Caracas

Reuters

Venezuela possesses 5,000 Russian-made MANPADS surface-to-

air weapons, according to a military document reviewed by Reuters, the largest known stockpile in Latin America and a source of concern for US officials amid the coun-try’s mounting turmoil.

Venezuela’s socialist gov-ernment has long used the threat of an “imperialist” invasion by the United States to justify an arms buildup. Much of that arsenal was obtained from Russia by Ven-ezuela’s late President Hugo Chavez, whose tenure lasted from 1999 until his death in 2013.

The missiles, which are shoulder-mounted and can be operated by one person, pose a serious threat to commer-cial and military aircraft.

Weapons experts said there have long been fears that the weapons could be stolen, sold or somehow channeled to the wrong hands, concerns exacerbated by the current civil unrest in Venezuela and the economic crisis roiling the oil-produc-ing nation.

According to a Venezue-lan military presentation seen by Reuters, the South Amer-ican country has 5,000 SA-24 Man-Portable Air-Defense System (MANPADS) missiles, also known as the Igla-S.

The document seen by Reuters provides the most complete count to date of the size of the arms stockpile. Public weapons registries confirm the bulk of the num-bers seen on the Venezuelan military presentation.

Venezuelan government and military officials did not respond to requests for com-ment about the report.

Washington

Reuters

The US Supreme Court ytsterday ruled that Republicans in North Caro-

lina unlawfully took race into consideration when drawing congressional district bounda-ries, concentrating black voters in an improper bid to diminish their overall political clout.

The justices upheld a lower court’s February 2016 ruling that threw out two majority-black US House of Representatives districts because Republican lawmakers improperly used race as a factor when redraw-ing the legislative map after the 2010 census. The court was unanimous on upholding the

ruling on one of the districts and split 5-3 on the other, with three conservatives dissenting.

“The North Carolina Repub-lican legislature tried to rig congressional elections by drawing unconstitutional dis-tricts that discriminated against African-Americans and that’s wrong,” North Carolina Gover-nor Roy Cooper, a Democrat took office in January, said in a statement.

The decision came in one of a number of lawsuits accusing Republicans of taking steps at the state level to disenfranchise black and other minority voters who tend to back Democratic candidates.

Critics accused Republicans of cramming black voters into

what the NAACP civil rights group called “apartheid voting districts” to diminish their vot-ing power and make surrounding districts more white and more likely to sup-port Republicans. Both districts are held by the Democrats. Of North Carolina’s 13 representa-tives in the US House, 10 are Republican.

Race can be considered in redrawing boundaries of voting districts only in certain instances, such as when states are seeking to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act. That law protects minority voters and was enacted to address a his-tory of racial discrimination in voting, especially in Southern states.

Brasilia

Reuters

Brazilian President Michel Temer, facing growing calls for his resignation

amid a corruption scandal, will not step down even if he is for-mally indicted by the Supreme Court, he said in an interview in Folha de S. Paulo, Brazil’s largest newspaper, yesterday.

Brazilians who have become inured to the massive, three-year corruption investi-gation were shocked last week by the disclosure of a recording that appeared to show Temer condoning the payment of hush money to a jailed lawmaker.

The Supreme Court has opened an investigation into the revelations that were part of plea bargain testimony by the billionaire owners of meat-packing giant JBS SA.

The court is expected to decide on Wednesday whether to suspend the investigation at Temer’s request until it can be determined if the recording was manipulated to implicate him. “I will not resign. Oust me if you want, but if I stepped down, I would be admitting guilt,” said Temer, who has said the recording of his meeting with JBS chairman Joesley Batista was doctored.

The scandal has threatened to tear apart Temer’s coalition in Congress and leave Latin America’s largest economy adrift as the president fights for his political survival, just a year after the impeachment of his predecessor. The Brazilian

Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Temer’s biggest ally in the gov-erning coalition, put off a meeting on Sunday to decide whether to continue support-ing the beleaguered president. Party officials said yesterday the PSDB will wait until the Supreme Court rules this week on whether to continue an investigation of Temer.

The president is maintaining a confident outlook, telling Folha he is “absolutely” sure he is capa-ble of finishing his term through the end of 2018 without giving up on his legislative agenda, which includes an ambitious overhaul of the country’s labor and social security regulations. His coalition had already been struggling to muster the votes for the unpopular social security reform.

Financial markets, which had largely anticipated approval of the reforms, slumped last week when the scandal broke. The Brazilian real extended losses yesterday morning, weak-ening more than 1 percent. Yields on interest rate futures were up, indicating a deep rate cut by the central bank at the end of this month has become less likely as uncertainty grows.

“I will demonstrate politi-cal strength in coming weeks precisely by putting important bills to vote (in Congress),” Temer told Folha. “I am not doomed.” The president, who took office a year ago after the ouster of former running mate Dilma Rousseff, has come under unrelenting pressure to step down.

New York Reuters

Dozens of students walked out of Notre Dame Uni-versity’s commencement

exercise on Sunday to protest a speech by US Vice President Mike Pence, who warned grad-uates of the prestigious Catholic school against suppressing free speech.

The protesters, among the thousands of graduates and guests assembled in the univer-sity’s football stadium, stood up when the conservative

Republican began his speech and streamed out of the ceremony, to the jeers of some of those who remained.

A few of the students had messages of protest attached to their traditional “mortarboard” graduation caps. One of them displayed an inverted US flag, a sign of protest popularized dur-ing the Vietnam War era, and the words “Are we great again yet?,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan.

In his speech at the Indiana school, Pence squarely addressed the festering

controversy of what constitutes free speech on campus, an issue that has intensified at many uni-versities since Trump’s election victory last year.

“I would submit that the increasing intolerance and sup-pression of the time-honored tradition of free expression on our campuses jeopardizes the liberties of every American. This should not, and must not be met with silence,” Pence said, in an apparent reference to efforts to bar him from speaking.

Protests, some of them vio-lent, have erupted at schools

across the country in recent months to stop appearances by conservative commentators such as Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos. In at least some cases, schools have cancelled the events, citing safety concerns.

Organizers of the Notre Dame protest said they wanted to voice their objections to pol-icies advocated by Pence as part of the Trump administration and while he was governor, includ-ing a proposal to suspend immigration from some Muslim-majority countries that has so far been blocked in courts.

I won’t resign. Oust me if you want: Temer

Notre Dame graduates walk out on Pence

US top court tosses Republican-drawn

North Carolina voting districts

Venezuela holds 5,000 Russian surface-to-air MANPADS missiles

Man set afire during Venezuela protestAnti-Maduro protest

About 100 people, who had been participating in anti-Maduro protester, surrounded the protestor, doused him in petrol and set him alight in Plaza Altamira in east Caracas.

19TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017 AMERICAS

NEWS BYTES

Zuckerberg says he’s not running for public officeNEWPORT: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says his quest this year to visit every state he hadn’t before is about build-ing relationships, not politics. The 33-year-old billionaire wrote in a Facebook post that some users have asked if the trip means he’s running for public office. Zuckerberg says he’s not running for anything. Instead, he says the visits around the country are in order “to get a broader perspective”. He said Facebook is looking to connect users beyond people they already know, and he wrote that it may be important that the platform connects users to “people you should know.” He describes those as people outside a user’s social circle who he says “provide a new source of support and inspiration”. Facebook is exploring models for building those connections, Zuckerberg said. He wrote the post on Sunday from New-port, Rhode Island, where he was spotted with his wife, Priscilla Chan. Massachusetts real estate broker Gisele Borghani said she and her family were walking on a crowded sidewalk to Newport’s Easton’s Beach when they nearly bumped into the couple. “I said, ‘Hi,’ and he smiled back and she smiled back,” Borghani said. “They were just minding their own business like two normal people.”

Nasa plan emergency spacewalk on ISS todayCAPE CANAVERAL: A pair of astronauts will venture out-side the International Space Station today for an emergency spacewalk to replace a failed computer, one of two that control major US systems aboard the orbiting outpost, Nasa said. The primary device failed on Saturday, leaving the $100bn orbiting laboratory to depend on a backup system to route commands to its solar power system, radiators, cooling loops and other equipment. The station’s current five-member crew from the United States, Russia and France were never in any danger. Station commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Jack Fischer, both with Nasa, will partner for the spacewalk, which is expected to last two hours. Nasa’s last emergency spacewalk took place in December 2015. The ISS, which is staffed by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts, serves as a research labo-ratory for biology, life science, materials science and physics experiments, as well as astronomical observations and Earth remote sensing. The station, owned and oper-ated by 15 nations, flies about 400km above Earth and orbits the planet about every 90 minutes. It has been con-tinuously staffed since 2000.

Bus plunges 300 feet off Mexican roadside; 17 deadMEXICO CITY: At least 17 people were killed and 31 were injured when a bus plunged some 90 metres (300 feet) off a roadside in a mountainous region of southern Mexico near the Guatemalan border, authorities said. The accident occurred near the town of Motozintla when the bus ferrying people home from a spiritual retreat on the Pacific coast came off the road and fell down a steep slope, emergency services in the state of Chiapas said. The passengers came from the nearby municipality of La Trinitaria and at least 17 died and another 31 were injured, said a spokesman for emergency services, Daniel Cuate. It was not immediately clear what caused the accident. President Enrique Pena Nieto expressed his condo-lences to the families of the bereaved on Twitter. Photographs from the scene showed the bus had been reduced to a man-gled wreck in a wooded gully.

Washington

AP

President Donald Trump will unveil a proposed budget this week that would drive millions of people off food

stamps and cut Medicaid, target-ing the social safety-net programs for the poor in a new wave of spending cuts.

Trump’s blueprint for the 2018 budget year comes out today. It includes reductions to benefit programs such as Med-icaid, the government insurance program for the poorest and many disabled Americans; fed-eral employee pensions, welfare benefits and farm subsidies. Even before its release, it was widely panned by Republicans and Democrats.

All told, according to people familiar with the plan, Trump’s budget includes $1.7 trillion over 10 years in cuts from such so-called mandatory programs. That includes cuts to pensions for fed-eral workers and higher contributions toward those pen-sion benefits, as well as cuts to refundable tax credits paid to the working poor. People familiar

Food stamps & Medicaid on chopping block in budgetTrump blueprint

Trump’s blueprint for the 2018 budget year comes out today. Cuts include a whopping $193bn from food stamps over the coming decade.

It also includes reductions to benefit programs such as Medicaid, the government insurance program for the poorest and many disabled Americans; federal employee pensions, welfare benefits and farm subsidies.

with the plan were not author-ised to discuss it by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Cuts include a whopping $193bn from food stamps over the coming decade — a cut of more than 25 percent — imple-mented by cutting back eligibility

and imposing additional work requirements, according to talk-ing points circulated by the White House. The program pres-ently serves about 42 million people.

The food stamp cuts are sev-eral times larger than those attempted by House Republicans a few years back and comprise the bulk of a 10-year, $274bn proposal that’s labeled as wel-fare reform.

The fleshed-out proposal fol-lows up on an unpopular partial release in March that targeted the budgets of domestic agencies and foreign aid for cuts averag-ing 10 percent — and made lawmakers in both parties recoil.

The new cuts are unpopular as well. “We think it’s wrong-headed,” said Rep Mike Conaway, R-Texas, chairman of the House Agriculture Commit-tee, when asked about looming cuts to farm programs. “Produc-tion agriculture is in the worst slump since the depression — 50 percent drop in the net income for producers. They need this safety net.”

Trump’s budget plan prom-ises to balance the federal ledger by the end of a 10-year window,

even while exempting Social Security and Medicare retire-ment benefits from cuts. To achieve balance, the plan by White House budget director Mick Mulvaney relies on optimis-tic estimates of economic growth, and the surge in reve-nues that would result, while abandoning Trump’s promise of a “massive tax cut.”

Instead, the Trump tax plan promises an overhaul that would cut tax rates but rely on erasing tax breaks and economic growth to end up as “revenue neutral”. It would create three tax brack-ets — 10 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent — instead of the cur-rent seven.

Trump is also targeting the Medicaid health program that provides care to the poor and disabled, and nursing home care to millions of older people who could not otherwise afford it.

The House had a bitter debate on health care before a razor-thin 217-213 passage in early May of a GOP health bill that included more than $800bn in Medicaid cuts over the com-ing decade. Key Republicans are not interested in another round of cuts to the program.

“I would think that the health care bill is our best policy state-ment on Medicaid going forward,” said Rep. Greg Wal-den, R-Ore, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdic-tion over the program.

A full budget submission by the administration to Congress is months overdue and follows the release two months ago of an outline for the discretionary portion of the budget, covering defense, education, foreign aid, housing and environmental pro-grams, among others. Their budgets pass each year through annual appropriations bills.

An earlier blueprint from Trump proposed a $54bn, 10 per-cent increase for the military above an existing cap on Penta-gon spending, financed by an equal cut to nondefense pro-grams. Those cuts rang alarm bells for many Republicans, who were particularly upset about proposals to eliminate commu-nity development block grants, slash medical research and evis-cerate foreign aid.

Trump’s GOP allies rejected such cuts when wrapping up long-overdue legislation for the

current budget year, which ends on September 30. There’s little sign they will have a change of heart now, especially with Trump’s administration in tur-moil and his poll ratings at historic lows.

“The budget’s a starting point. We’ll go to work from there,” said Sen John Hoeven, R-ND, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Republicans controlling Con-gress have delayed action on their companion budget meas-ure, waiting for Trump to go first. This year’s budget debate, Republicans hope, would grease the way for a major overhaul of the loophole-cluttered tax sys-tem. But House conservatives also want to embark on a round of cuts to benefit programs and are open to Trump’s suggestions for cuts to mandatory programs such as federal employee pensions.

Presidential budgets are mere suggestions, and the White House has discretion to assume higher economic growth rates of up to 3 percent or so under Trump’s agenda of tax changes, loosened regulations and infra-structure spending.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis (right), Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan (second right), Mexican Defence Secretary Gen Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda (second left) and Mexican Navy Secretary Adm. Vidal Francisco Soberon Sanz arrive for a military parade at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, yesterday.

Boosting ties

Washington

AFP

More than 58,000 Hai-tians who stayed in the United States

under special protections since the catastrophic 2010 earthquake will be permitted to remain another six months, US immigration officials said yesterday.

The Haitians were facing orders to return home from July 23 if the Department of Homeland Security did not renew their temporary pro-tected status, granted after a magnitude 7 earthquake destroyed much of the capi-tal Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010.

The quake killed tens of thousands and displaced more than one million peo-ple. Since then the destitute country has struggled against hurricane disasters, political turmoil and a sweeping chol-era epidemic to rebuild and shore up its economy.

Temporary protected sta-tus allowed the Haitians to remain in the United States past the expiration of their visas and work legally.

DHS officials said there are around 58,700 Haitians living in the US under tempo-rary protected status. Many do not have up-to-date Hai-tian travel documents, which has posed a problem to end-ing their status.

DHS officials said there was no decision yet on what would happen at the end of the six-month extension, but warned the Haitians to obtain new travel documents and “get their affairs in order”.

Washington

AFP

President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor Michael Flynn will

not comply with a Senate sub-poena for documents on his links to Russia and will invoke his con-stitutional protection against self-incrimination, a source close to Flynn said yesterday.

Flynn, a key target in the explosive probe into links between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 elec-tion, “will be asserting his rights under the Fifth Amendment,” the source said.

The Senate Intelligence Committee, which has

demanded Flynn turn over records of any contacts with Russia by Wednesday, will be informed of his response and reasons in a letter later.

Flynn, a former defence intelligence chief who joined the Trump administration but was fired within weeks, is a key fig-ure of interest in several probes into what US intelligence says was Russian meddling in last year’s election.

Investigators are examining Flynn’s paid trip to Moscow to attend a gala in 2015 where he sat with President Vladimir Putin, and his multiple communications with Russia’s US ambassador last December after the election.

According to the source, if Flynn complies with the

documents subpoena, he risks giving up the ability to exercise his Fifth Amendment rights if he is ordered to testify in any of the investigations. In late March, Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, said the retired lieutenant gen-eral would not testify without “assurances against unfair pros-ecution,” raising speculation he was seeking an immunity deal.

“General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the cir-cumstances permit,” Kelner said. “No reasonable person, who has the benefit of advice from counsel, would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized, witch hunt environ-ment without assurances against unfair prosecution.”

Pittsburgh

AFP

Jury selection got under way yesterday for Bill Cosby’s assault trial, with the dis-

graced US comedian accused of drugging and assaulting a woman at his home 13 years ago.

The pioneering black enter-tainer arrived at the Allegheny County Courthouse in down-town Pittsburgh dressed in a pale yellow shirt, colorful pat-terned tie and a tan checkered

jacket to observe the start of the proceedings, expected to last all week. Jury selection is taking place 480km from the Pennsyl-vania town where the trial is scheduled to begin, after Cos-by’s lawyers argued it would be easier to find an unbiased panel in the city.

The names of the men and women selected to serve will be kept anonymous and they will be sequestered during the trial in Norristown, 30km northwest of Philadelphia.

More than 50 women have publicly accused the comedian-turned-pariah of being a sexual predator stretching back four decades. They have made remarkably similar allegations that he fed them sedatives and alcohol that made them unable to resist his advances.

The vast majority of the alleged abuse happened too long ago to prosecute, making the Pennsylvania case the only crim-inal charge brought against Cosby so far.

The criminal trial, which is scheduled to start June 5, marks a brutal fall from grace for the once treasured father figure who smashed through racial barriers and delighted audiences with his gentle, self-deprecating humor.

The 79-year-old actor faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. He posted bail of $1m in the case in December 2015. Cosby said he did not expect to testify, and suggested racism could have played a role in the scandal.

58,000 Haitians facing deportation get US extension

Flynn to defy subpoena in Russia probe

Jury selection begins in Cosby assault trial

20 TUESDAY 23 MAY 2017HOME

Minister of Transport and Communications, H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, (second left) Pasquale Salzano, Italian Ambassador to Qatar, Ibrahim Fakhroo, Director of Protocol and Ali Ibrahim Ahmed, Dean of Diplomatic Corps and Ambassador of Eritrea to Qatar cutting the celebration cake of the Italian National Day which took place at Al Hazm Mall yesterday.

Pic: Baher Amin /

The Peninsula

Italian National Day celebration

FAJRSHOROOK

03.20 am

04.46 am

ZUHRASR

11.31 am

02.56 pm

MAGHRIBISHA

06.17 pm

07.47 pm

PRAYER TIMINGS

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

DFI selects 29 film projects for grantsThe Doha Film Institute (DFI) yes-

terday announced that 29 film projects from 16 countries have

been chosen for its Spring Grants 2017, which supports regional and interna-tional first- and second-time filmmakers, as well as established Arab directors for short and feature-length films.

In addition to two films from Qatari filmmakers, the grantees include 24 projects from the MENA region, and have been chosen from Angola to Indonesia, bringing powerful new cin-ematic voices from across the world.

With the 2017 Spring Grants cycle, the total number of projects supported by DFI’s Grants programme now stands at over 340.

The line-up includes 14 feature-length narrative films, eight feature documentaries, two feature experi-mental or essay films and five short films – that will receive funding for development, production or post-pro-duction. The Spring 2017 cycle marks the 14th session of the DFI grants pro-gramme, dedicated to supporting new cinematic voices from the MENA region and around the world.

Announcing the projects at Cannes Film Festival, Fatma Al Remaihi, Chief Executive Officer of DFI, said: “Our grantees represent the core of DFI’s mandate to support emerging film-makers and contribute to the development of the regional and inter-national film industry. The new grantees cover a broad range of sub-jects and represent some powerful new voices in cinema from the Arab region and beyond, highlighting the remark-able leaps in creativity by our emerging filmmakers, and their innovative and bold approach to story-telling.”

She added: “Stories of hope, self-discovery, women empowerment, tales of family life and of life in con-flict zones are highlighted in the selections this Spring.

This year’s Grants projects are even more special for the large representa-tion of women directors as well as themes that focus on coming-of-age stories of central female characters. We are honoured to be a part of the creative journey of talented filmmak-ers from across the world, and in enabling them to accomplish their dream projects.”

HIGH TIDE 02:00 - 15:45 LOW TIDE 09:00 - 21:30

Expected strong wind at places day-

time. Hot daytime with slight dust

to blowing dust at places at times.

WEATHER TODAY

Minimum Maximum

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

31oC 40oC

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

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