editor@pen.com.qa | adv@pen.com.qa Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780www.thepeninsulaqatar.comTHURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2015 • 10 Dhul-Hijja 1436 • Volume 20 Number 6563

ISO 9001:2008 C E R T I F I E D N E W S P A P E R

The Peninsula wishes all readers

Emir exchanges Eid greetings with Arab, Islamic leadersDOHA: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani exchanged greetings on the advent of Eid Al Adha with a number of Arab and Islamic countries’ leaders in telephone calls yester-day. The Emir exchanged congratulations with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Emir H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Bahrain King H M Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Moroccan King Mohamed VI, Sudan’s President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir, President Ismail Omar Guelleh of the Republic of Djibouti and Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain.

Greetings were also exchanged with Kuwait Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Bahraini Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The Emir also received a number of congratulatory cables from lead-ers of several countries. The Emir received a cable of greetings from Advisory Council Speaker H E Mohamed bin Mubarak Al Khulaifi.

Al Khulaifi, on his part and on behalf of the Council members, greeted the Emir on the occasion Eid Al Adha, wishing His Highness good health and success, and wishing the Qatari people goodness and prosperity under his wise leadership.

Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani also exchanged cables of congratula-tions with deputy leaders of Arab and Islamic countries.

Emir greets Saudi King on National DayDOHA: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday sent a cable of congratulations to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of his country’s National Day. Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani also sent similar cables. QNA

DOHA: Doha Municipality has said it will keep an eye on the Central livestock market to sin-gle out illegal porters who carry customers’ animals for sacrifice.

Many of these porters are run-away workers who descend on the market en masse to take undue advantage of Eid Al Adha rush to sacrifice animals and exploit people to make a quick buck.

They sometimes demand up to QR100 to carry a sheep to the slaughter house for sacrifice while the official porter charges are quite low.

During Eid Al Adha last year, illegal porters literally had a field day so this year Doha Municipality will mount vigil on the market.

Last evening, though, despite huge rush at the Central market

to buy sheep and goats for sacri-fice, no illegal porter was sighted.

There were porters of Widam (Qatar Meat and Livestock Company formerly known as Mawashi) seen in their official uniform carrying animals for cus-tomers. Widam has put enough porters this time but a tent for people to wait in shaded area for their turn to get animals slaugh-tered for sacrifice was not erected until yesterday evening.

There are four slaughter houses at the Central Market while one each in Al Shamal, Al Khor, Al Rayyan and Umm Salal.

The Ministry of Environment has warned people strictly that they must get animals slaugh-tered for Eid sacrifice only at the abattoirs. A portable veterinary

clinic has been set up at the Central market to check animals before slaughter and their meat after slaughter to make sure they are bacteria-free and fit for human consumption.

The Ministry has asked people, both citizens and expatriates, to make sure that abattoirs issue fit-ness certifications for the animals and their meat.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior has lined up entertain-ment events, including musical shows, drama and cinema, for large Asian expat communities on the first three days of Eid Al Adha.

The idea is to interact with these communities and strengthen partnership with them and raise awareness among them about Qatari laws, customs

and traditions. Booklets and pam-phlets on Qatari laws and traf-fic rules are distributed to these communities to raise awareness.

The Interior Ministry’s public relations department holds these programmes for expat commu-nities. These events will be held from 5pm until 11pm on the first three days of Eid Al Adha beginning today in places like the Industrial Area, Al Khor, Al Wakra stadium hall, MES Indian School, and Sri Lankan School.

These communities have their own orchestra groups and bands. The traffic department has said it will deploy patrols at busy places during Eid Al Adha holidays to ensure smooth flow of traffic and safety and security.

THE PENINSULA

Huge rush at livestock marketTraffic police to be deployed at busy places during Eid festival

DOHA: Over the 10 years from 2005 to 2014, the Qatari expenditure on education per student increased by more than 200 percent, according to data released by the Supreme Education Council (SEC).

The average spending per stu-dent rose from QR29,333 during the 2004/2005 academic year to QR93,812 during 2013/2014, shows the just released Annual Statistics of Education for 2013/2014.

The expenditure shot up to QR112,346 during 2008/2009 apparently due to increased infrastructure spending dropping again to average levels (QR52,568) the next year. A major increase then was seen during 2012/2013 (QR87,837) rising further to QR93,812 during 2013/2014.

During this period the number of Independent schools (including all levels) increased by 26 per cent from 223 to 280.

As per the data, the number of private schools during 2013/2014 was 203 and Independent schools 178. When split into different levels (primary, preparatory and secondary) the number of private schools reached 435 and

Independent schools 280. The total number of students in pri-vate schools stood at 139,661 against 98,908 students in Independent schools.

Of the 435 primary, preparatory and secondary schools, the high-est (218) were based in Al Rayyan municipality followed by Doha Municipality (157). Al Wakra had 26 schools, Al Khor 21, Umm Salal 5, Al Daain 7 and Al Shamal 1.

Accordingly, schools in Al Rayyan had the highest number of students (76,162) followed by Doha (45,603).

Private school students included 26,640 Qataris (11,068 females and 15,572 males) and 113,021 non-Qataris (53,975 females and 59,046 males). These schools employed 8505 non-Qatari teachers and 38 Qatari teachers during the period.

Among Independent school stu-dents, Qataris were 59,519 (31,533 females against 27,966). Students from other GCC countries were 3,708 (1,905 females and 1,803 males, while students from other Arab countries stood at 28,701 (14,679 females and 14,022 males).

THE PENINSULA

CAIRO: Two Al Jazeera journalists walked free after being pardoned yes-terday along with scores of others by Egypt’s president, following criticism of his government for jailing opponents.

The release of Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and colleague Baher Mohamed was welcomed by their supporters, with Al Jazeera saying it was “delighted”.

The 100 prisoners pardoned by President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi included women activists Sana Seif and Yara Sallam, the president’s office said, in a goodwill gesture on the eve of Eid Al Adha. The move came a day before Sisi is due to head to New York to deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly.

Within hours of the announcement, Fahmy and Mohamed were dropped off by authorities in the upmarket Cairo suburb of Maadi in their blue prison uniforms. They said that they were looking forward to being reunited with their families.

“I’m feeling ecstatic knowing that I don’t have to worry about lawyers, police officers following me all over the place and knowing that I’m going to share my apartment tonight with my beloved wife,” said Fahmy.

“Now we’re free, me and (my wife) Marwa are going to celebrate. We’re going to go back to Canada and travel and... get on with our lives.”

Mohamed said: “We’re very, very happy. But we’re a bit surprised about how it was done. “I can live a normal life

with my family, with my children. The whole nightmare is over finally. Thank God.” Australian reporter and Al-Jazeera colleague Peter Greste was also convicted, but was deported by presidential decree in February after 400 days in jail.

An award-winning former BBC reporter, Greste said he was “overjoyed” by their release. “President Sisi has taken a very important step in restoring confi-dence in the system but it is only a partial step,” he said.

Al Jazeera said it was “delighted” by their release but added “this whole epi-sode should not have happened in the first place”. It was not immediately clear if Greste was included in the pardon, and

the pan-Arab network is still demanding all charges and sentences against its jour-nalists be dropped. Fahmy had dropped his Egyptian citizenship to qualify for deporta-tion like Greste. His wife, Marwa Omran, said that after his release “he wants to pursue getting his nationality back”.

Canada welcomed the pardon. “We look forward to Fahmy reuniting with his family and loved ones, and his return to Canada,” the government said. Clooney said she was also “delighted”. “This is a historic day in Egypt where the govern-ment has finally corrected a longstand-ing injustice, and set two innocent men free,” she said. AFP

See also page 3

DAMASCUS: The Syrian mil-itary for the first time yester-day deployed drones supplied by Russia for its fight against jihadists, a security source in Damascus said.

“For the first time, the army today used drones received from Moscow in operations against extremists in the north and east of the country,” the source said, without elaborating on the type of drones or locating exactly where they were deployed.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to com-ment on the report, news agency RIA Novosti said. The deploy-ment came amid a Russian mili-tary build-up in Syria, over which the United States has expressed deep concern.

It also comes a day after a sen-ior military official said Damascus had received new weaponry from Russia, including at least five fighter jets. “Russian weapons are starting to have an effect in Syria,” the official said.

The official added that President Bashar Al Assad’s forces had already been using these weapons against the Islamic State group in the cities of Deir Ezzor and Raqa, the IS de facto capital in Syria.

Assad’s forces have stepped up air strikes in the past week, killing at least 38 IS jihad-ists in central Syria, especially Palmyra, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

AFPSee also page 8

MOUNT ARAFAT: A sea of pilgrims began moving yester-day towards Muzdalifah, where they gather pebbles for the last major rite of Haj. Their sym-bolic stoning of the devil today will coincide with Eid Al Adha.

Some 2 million pilgrims packed should-to-shoulder for an emo-tional day of repentance and sup-plication on Mount Arafat. Many wept as they raised their hands toward the sky, asking for forgive-ness and praying for loved ones.

It was on this day some 1,400 years ago that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) delivered his final sermon from Mount Arafat during the Haj, calling for

equality and for Muslims to unite.Throughout the day, hundreds

of thousands of pilgrims scaled the hill and prayed facing the Holy Ka’aba. Muslims believe prayer on this day at Mount Arafat, about 20km east of Makkah, is their best chance to erase past sins and start anew.

As the faithful gathered in their hundreds of thousands for noon prayers at Arafat, Saudi Arabia’s top cleric, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Shaikh, used the opportunity to attack Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels, against whom the kingdom has been leading a military coalition since March.

Security officers, heavily

deployed along the road, urged walking pilgrims to remain on one side, away from the bus routes as pilgrims headed towards Muzdalifah, where they will remain until dawn. Other pil-grims used the elevated Mashair Railway linking the Holy sites of Mount Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina — a tent city which will be the final stop for pilgrims and where the stoning ritual occurs.

After that, they circumambu-late the Holy Ka’aba in Makkah before heading home at the end of Haj. No major incidents were reported on Mount Arafat.

AGENCIESSee also page 5

Expenditure on education rises by 200pc, says SEC

Two Al Jazeera journalists walk free after Sisi pardon

Syria deploys Russian drones for first time

Pilgrims gather to perform prayers at Namira Mosque on Mount Arafat yesterday.

Millions converge on Arafat

Mohamed Fahmy (left) and Baher Mohamed

02 HOMETHURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2015www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Qatar pilgrims on Arafat

Qatar Haj pilgrims gather inside their tent at Arafat outside the holy city of Makkah, yesterday. They prayed during the whole day at Arafat and reached Muzdalifa after sunset.

Henna on eve of Eid

Young g irls apply henna on their palms on the eve of Eid Al Adha in Al Wakra yesterday. SALIM MATRAMKOT

DOHA: The Indian embassy has received 3,117 labour com-plaints from workers since January, an official statement said.

The number of complaints received last year was 3,943. It stood at 2,027 at June-end and rose by 375 in July, and reached 2,778 in August. The labour and community welfare section received 3,943 complaints last year. The statement follows the monthly Open House the embassy holds to address urgent consular and labour-related problems of its nationals.

Ambassador Sanjiv Arora, Deputy Chief of Mission R K Singh and other officials met complainants and discussed their problems. Present was Arvind Patil, President, Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF), which works under the

aegis of the embassy for the wel-fare of workers.

A total of 203 Indians were at the deportation centre and 98 in the central prison and an embassy team visited the facilities to enquire about their welfare. The embassy registered 11 deaths in September, while the number reg-istered since January is 209. The number of deaths registered last year was 279.

Following requests from Qatari authorities for travel documents for inmates at the deportation cen-tre, the embassy issued 22 emer-gency certificates in September and 23 air tickets to Indians in dis-tress to return home. ICBF pro-vided five air tickets to those who could not afford travel expenses to facilitate their deportation. It also supports workers with finan-cial and medical assistance.

THE PENINSULA

Indian embassy receives 3,117 labour complaints

DOHA: The Philippine embassy is close to meeting its target new registrants for Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) regis-tration in preparation for the presidential elections in May next year, says Ambassador Wilfredo C Santos.

“We have registered almost 11,000 new voters at the end of August. We are now No. 18 around the world and No. 6 in the Middle East and the Gulf in terms of the number of new reg-istrants,” Santos told the media yesterday.

“We are a very active commu-nity when it comes to important national events like OAV, so I’m very happy about that.”

Prior to the start of registration

last year, Commission on Elections (Comelec) of the Philippines announced a target of 300,000 new voters in the Middle East, 16,000 of whom are overseas Filipinos in Qatar.

“We were given the target of 16,000 new registrants. That is a very ambitious target but we’re nearing that. Since I arrived on April 29, we have averaged more than 1,000 per month and we are catching up to that number,” Santos said, expressing optimism over reaching the target when registration closes on October 31.

Key to the increase in the number of new voters are mobile OAV registrations to reach more Filipinos in Qatar.

OAV registration is being held

at Filipino Community Family Day at InterContinental The City for two days.

On Friday next week, another mobile registration will be held at Inihaw Republik in Al Hilal.

Some Filipino organisations have pledged to provide at least 50 registrants each during mobile registrations.

“We want to maximise our presence there. Before we go upon inviting organisations, we tell them to get as many people as possible because the government is spending resources for these outreach missions,” he explained.

Santos urged compatriots to register and vote in the elections.

“If you want to make a differ-ence, you want to make an impact

on the future of our country, you want to chart the future of our country through the selection of leaders, I encourage you to reg-ister and vote,” he said.

Meeting the target of 16,000 new voters would make a big dif-ference when added to the 23,000 voters in the last elections.

Santos said more important would be turnout during the national elections.

“Our goal is a large turnout because it will show how involved our overseas Filipino community is in national elections,” he said.

The Midterm Elections of 2013 in Qatar registered a low turnout of 2,800 out of 23,000 registered voters.

THE PENINSULA

Philippine mission close to election registration targetAlmost 11,000 new voters registered by August against target of 16,000

DOHA: QScience.com, online platform of Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals’ (BQFJ), has published a comprehen-sive glossary, English-Arabic Biological Terms: A Glossary for Academic Success, to facilitate the learning and application of scientific terms by Arabic-speaking students.

BQFJ is a collaboration between Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) and Bloomsbury Publishing, and the glossary is a major milestone in their mission to reflect the bur-geoning research environment of Qatar to the wider world. It also supports Qatar’s journey towards a knowledge-based economy, as per Qatar National Vision 2030.

The Arabic equivalents of commonly-used English words in undergraduate biology pro-grammes are included in the glossary. Using the closeness of Latin and Arabic languages, the book aims to re-introduce words to students so that they can make the connection with their mean-ings and apply in Arabic and English.

Beyond a basic English-Arabic translation of terms, parts of English words are divided into

original roots. Colour coding is also applied, where beneficial, to highlight specific parts and ori-gins of words, in addition to how they translate across languages.

Dr Rachid Bendriss and co-author Dr Ghizlane Bendriss are teachers at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.

Dr Bendriss said, “Since scien-tific English, particularly biologi-cal terminology, is derived from Latin and Greek, the glossary provides a practical solution for students to overcome the lan-guage barrier and aids them at acquiring a deep understanding of scientific concepts and expanding bilingual vocabulary repertoire.”

QScience.com Editorial Director Christopher Leonard said, “We hope to extend glossa-ries to other subject areas soon.”

The glossary will be available in national bookstores and through Amazon.com.

It is under review by the Supreme Education Council as a reference book for Independent schools. There is an app version for iOS and Android, which allows students to search an English term on their phone or tablet and obtain Latin and Arabic deriva-tions for the word.

THE PENINSULA

Glossary of English-Arabicbiological terms released

DOHA: Park House English School (Park House), has announced its students’ exceptional results for exter-nal examinations held this summer.

Over the years, Park House has gone from strength to strength as it continues to deliver some of the best academic results in Qatar.

It is celebrating another year of outstanding overall pass rates, with 99 percent achieving A Levels (A*-E) and with over 28 percent of students being awarded an A*or A.

The average AS Level pass rate (A*-E) was 88 percent, with 20 percent with an A and 87 percent pass rate (A*-C) at International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) with over 43 percent of students awarded A*or A.

Excellent individual results included students Patrick Perdana, Abhindra Dimingu, Marawan Al Waraki, Yousra Ahmed and Moussa Zekakall achieving A*/A grades at A Level.

Ali Abdelati, Mousa Al Waraki, Saad Kashaf and Hamza Wasim achieved A grades in all AS level

examinations. Elias Ghantous, Sreeparna Bose, Ali Alanni, Tamara El Faqih, Nivarthana

Epalawatta and Chayra Wongall obtained 10 or more A*/A grades at IGCSE. THE PENINSULA

Some of the top achievers.

Park House students excel in IGCSE exams

SIS celebrates Democracy DayDemocracy Day was cel-ebrated at Shantiniketan Indian School with a mock Indian parliament organ-ised by the Social Science Department. Students rep-licated the structure and working procedures of the top legislative body. Principal Dr Subhash Nair and Vice-Principal Shihabudeen Pulath praised students’ efforts and guid-ance of Shakir Hussain, Head of Department and other department teachers for the show.

HOME 03THURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2015

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Triage system at airport health centre by Oct 1DOHA: The Primary Healthcare Corporation (PHCC) said it will introduce the triage system for patients at Airport health cen-tre by October 1. Studies have shown that 91 percent of patients are benefiting from reduced waiting times after the introduc-tion of the appointment system at health centres alongside the patient classification system, Al Sharq reports.

The system has been imple-mented in Abu Nakhla, Mesaimeer, Sheehaniya, Al Gharafa, Al Daain, West Bay, Omar bin Khatab, Al Rayyan, Al Wakra, Al Shamal and Medinat Khalifa centres and will be expanded to all centres in phases.

Jazz festival discussedDOHA: Katara Director General Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti and French Ambassador Eric Chevallier on Monday discussed prepara-tions for the second edition of European jazz festival, which will be held at Katara from October 28 to November 1.

Dr Al Sulaiti stressed Katara’s keenness to cooperate and reach out to all accredited embassies in Qatar to open cultural and civi-lisational windows that educates people on different areas of intel-lect, art and human innovation.

The ambassador hailed Katara’s cultural and artistic initiatives that highlights its message to be open to all cultures and extend bridges of communication with all peoples. He hoped that visi-tors to the festival find types of music that mixes beauty of the West with magic of the East.

They also discussed Katara’s hosting of an exhibition of French-Syrian photographer Ammar Abd Rabbo under the theme ‘Aleppo: Peace for Them’ as part of cooperation between Katara and the French embassy.

THE PENINSULA/QNA

DOHA: Kulluna, a national safety drive, is conducting a six-day campaign to promote cardiac health and help prevent heart diseases.

A large number of people vis-ited a booth set up at Gulf Mall for the campaign until September 27, between 10am and 10pm.

At ‘Kulluna for a Healthy Heart’ visitors are invited to com-plete a free check-up, including blood cholesterol, blood sugar, height, weight, blood pressure and BMI.

Trained staff discuss risk fac-tors for developing coronary artery diseases and offer con-sultations once test results are evaluated. Visitors are also given booklets on how to have a healthy heart and healthy fasting.

The healthy heart booklet pro-vides information on maintain-ing a healthy heart and highlights individuals’ role in reducing risks for developing heart-related diseases.

World Health Organisation has predicted that by the year-end, 73 percent of women and 69 percent

of men in Qatar will be obese.According to International

Association for the Study of Obesity, Qatar has the sixth high-est rate of obesity among boys in the Middle East and North Africa region. It is also ranked fifth for having the highest percentage of people between 20 and 79 with diabetes.

Currently, about 20 percent of the population suffer from dia-betes. At least 50 of those who visited the previous ‘Kulluna for a Healthy Heart’ campaign booths at City Center Doha and The Mall had a body mass index (BMI) indicative of being overweight, according to Dr Khalid Abdulnoor Saifeldeen, Director, Hamad International Training Centre (HITC), Kulluna Chairman.

Besides, 25 percent had high blood pressure, 30 percent had high cholesterol and 15 percent high blood sugar.

Introduced in April 2013 by Hamad Medical Corporation’s HITC, and supported by its founding sponsor ConocoPhillips Qatar, the campaign aims to raise

V isitors undergoing check-ups at the Kulluna booth at Gulf Mall yesterday. KAMMUTTY VP

awareness about cardiovascular diseases, their prevention, avail-able treatments and lifestyle

changes that promote heart health among residents. The cam-paign has again received massive

attention and support from the public, according to organisers.

THE PENINSULA

Kulluna begins healthy heart campaignBooth at Gulf Mall to provide free check-ups, booklets and consultations until September 27

DOHA: Al Jazeera said in a statement yesterday it was “delighted” by the release of two journalists after they were pardoned by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.

But the Qatar-based broadcaster said celebrations were muted because of the time Baher Mohamad and Mohamad Fahmy had spent in prison.

“We’re delighted for them and their families,” the state-ment said. It is hard to cel-ebrate though as this whole episode should not have

happened in the first place.“They’ve lost nearly two

years of their lives when they were guilty of nothing except journalism.”

The pair were freed along with almost 100 other prison-ers pardoned by the president.

Within hours of the announcement, the pair had left prison.

They had been sentenced in a retrial in August to three years for fabricating “false” news in support of the Muslim Brotherhood movement the army removed from power in 2013 and outlawed.

The retrial was ordered early this year after an appeals court overturned an initial sentence of seven years, saying the prosecution had presented scant evidence.

The broadcaster added that it still wanted justice for more of its journalists sentenced in absentia by the courts in Egypt.

“The case for seven journal-ists convicted in absentia con-tinues,” the statement said.

“We urge the Egyptian authorities to quash their cases and let them too get on with their lives.” AFP

Al Jazeera delighted by scribes’ release

Mohamad Fahmy (right) with wife Marwa Omara and Baher Mohamad and wife Jihan after their release from Tora prison, in Cairo yesterday.

04 HOMETHURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2015www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

DOHA: Doha Institute for Graduate Studies held a fac-ulty welcome day it dubbed ‘Hayakum,’ to host about 40 new university professors as the new institution’s first aca-demic year begins on October 4.

“It is an institute from Qatar to Qatar,” said Acting President Professor Yasir Suleiman in his inaugural address.

“It is at the same time an institute in Qatar for the Arab region, as we will witness when the first group of students will arrive from Arab countries,” said Professor Suleiman, who comes to the institute from University of Cambridge, where he serves as Director, Centre of Islamic Studies.

Present to greet the profes-sors was the institute’s Vice- President, Administration and Finance, Dr Hend Al Muftah, who praised staff for hard work

to “turn a dream [the institute) into a reality”.

The event was the first opportunity for the faculty of the two schools of the institute to meet and get introduced to the rest of staff by the deans

of School of Social Sciences and Humanities and School of Public Administration and Development Economics — Professors Rasheed El Enany and Hassan Aly, respectively.

Representatives from other

administrative and academic sections presented functions of their departments, including Enrolment and Student Affairs; Human Resources; Information Technology; Research Office; Institutional Effectiveness; Finance; and Communications and External Relations.

The event at the library semi-nar room ended with a question-answer session and a reception.

It is an independent institute for learning and research in the fields of social sciences, humani-ties, public administration and development economics.

Study programmes are offered at the Master’s degree level in both schools.

Designated as a not-for-profit, private institution, the institute operates exclusively for educational, research and public service purposes.

THE PENINSULA

Professor Yasir Suleiman, Acting President, and Dr Hend Al Muftah, Vice-President, Administration and Finance, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, speak at Faculty Welcome Day.

New institute holds faculty welcome day

BY RAYNALD C RIVERA

DOHA: The Philippine embassy is forging ahead with efforts to bring more Filipino food companies to Qatar since it launched Kulinarya Qatar, a movement to promote Filipino cuisine in the mainstream.

“That is something we are working on. We have met the management of QDC to bring in Filipino processed food products. We are also tapping Mama Sita’s and Nutri Asia,” Ambassador Wilfredo C Santos said yesterday, in response to a query on increasing the pres-ence of Filipino food companies in Qatar.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the opening of the Filipino Community Family Day as part of Kulinarya Qatar events.

Mama Sita’s and NutriAsia, Filipino companies which pro-duce sauces and condiments, are providing ingredients for culi-nary competitions of Kulinarya Qatar, he said.

“We are continuously promot-ing Filipino cuisine and prod-ucts in Qatar and hope that a lot more companies will be able to establish their franchises in Doha,” said Consul Gonaranao B Musor, who heads the economic diplomacy unit.

The establishment of more Filipino food companies here, Santos said, will satisfy Filipinos’ longing for the authentic taste of Filipino food back home and benefit the companies by giving them more exposure and addi-tional market to conquer.

“This will bring more eco-nomic activities that benefit

the companies which will bring more employment to our peo-ple,” he added.

The four-day event that opened yesterday at InterContinental Doha The City sees the participation of 22 Filipino food establishments in Qatar and combines food and cultural performances.

Famous Filipino food chains which have established presence in Qatar such as Jollibee, Chow King and Gerry’s Grill, along with local Filipino restaurants, have gathered under one roof to provide authentic Filipino dishes to Filipinos, locals and other expatriates.

Santos expressed happiness

with the outcome of Kulinarya Qatar events and said he is thankful being “blessed with a large and active community.

“Kulinarya Qatar is commu-nity-driven. While it is under the auspices of the Philippine embassy, the people undertaking preparations for it are Filipino restaurant owners and Filipino community leaders,” he said.

To utilise Filipino cuisine as a platform to promote the Philippines as a business, tourist and trade destination, Kulinarya Qatar has lined up events until next year, including culinary competitions for profession-als and amateurs and regular Filipino food week in hotels.

“We are happy with the suc-cess we have achieved so far in Kulinarya Qatar. In the GCC, I think we’re the only embassy which has this programme that promotes economic diplomacy and our cuisine and I hope to encourage other ambassadors in the GCC to have a similar programme. We will have a regional consultation meeting in December to discuss the pro-gramme and other issues that affect our kababayans in the Middle East,” he said.

Filipino Community Family Day runs until Saturday from 10am to 11pm at InterContinental Doha The City. THE PENINSULA

Envoy inaugurates Filipino Community Family Day Event part of Kulinarya Qatar to promote Filipino cuisine in Qatar

Philippine Ambassador Wilfredo C Santos (centre) and his Japanese counterpart Shingo Tsuda cut the ribbon, joined by Thail Ambassador Piroon Laismit (second left), Brunei Darussalam Ambassador Nordin Ahmad (right) and other officials. KAMMUTTY VP

DOHA: Olive International School cel-ebrated International Day of Peace on Monday.

A special assembly was hosted by class 3 and 4 to promote the spirit of peace among the audience. The choir sang Heal the World stressing that the world should be a better place for the human race.

A presentation on Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Malala and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was made along with a skit on great personalities who fought and brought peace to the world.

The programme ended end with an inspiring speech by the principal.

He delivered the mes-sage to start peace within and spoke about the need of peace in today’s world.

THE PENINSULA

School marks International Day of Peace

Students with school officials at the event.

www.marriottmarquisdoha.com44195000+ 974

+ 974 44195100

www.swiss-belhotel.com

www.doha.hilton.com44233333 974+

44233000 974+

TelFax

Tel

Tel

Fax

TelFax

TelFax

TelFax

TelFax

Tel

Fax

TelFax

TelFax

TelFax

TelFax

TelFax

TelFax

TelFax

Tel

Fax

TelFax

Fax 44298888+ 974

GULF / MIDDLE EAST 05THURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2015

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Seeking safer life

A Syrian woman combs a girl’s hair as they wait at Lebanon’s northern Tripoli port for a passenger ferry to Turkey yesterday. Hundreds of Syrians gather at dusk for a passenger ferry for the next step on their long trek towards what they hope will be a better, safer life in western Europe.

ARAFAT, SAUDI ARABIA: Millions of Muslim pilgrims congregated at Arafat outside Makkah yesterday, many of them praying for peace in the Middle East countries ravaged by war and chaos as the annual Haj reached its climax.

“What is left of our Arab nation? Iraq was the symbol of power and civilisation. What happened to it now? Look at Syria: the refugees are greater in number than the pilgrims here,” said Egyptian Mohammed Rizq, 65. Haj is a duty for all Muslims at least once in their lives if they

can afford it, and for many of the faith’s 1.6 billion adherents it represents a moment of supreme spiritual worth that was reflected in the joy expressed at Arafat.

“I wish everyone could come here. I am sure they would leave with a good heart because here Islam’s Prophet was born,” said Abdullah, a Chinese convert.

The rocky areas of Arafat, Mina and Muzdalifah a few kilometres east of Makkah are the main sites of Haj, which culminates with today’s Eid Al Adha holiday, and are the location of rituals laid out by the Prophet Mohammed

(peace be upon him). As early as Tuesday night, thousands of pil-grims left the Haj camp at Mina and started climbing the low, rocky Mount Arafat where they will remain until sunset yester-day. One old woman crawled up its steep slopes on hands and knees. Others scrawled their names on the rocks with pen to mark their presence.

But along with joy, many pil-grims also felt sadness and anger as the woes of the Muslim world weighed heavy on their minds.

Since the 2011 Arab upris-ings, Iraq, Syria and Yemen have

collapsed into civil war, Libya is paralysed by conflict and refugee crises have upended life for many in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Egypt remains politically frag-ile and Palestinians still have no state.

Over breakfast, a group of pil-grims from different countries quizzed an Iraqi man who had fled an area controlled by the Islamic State militant group, which has seized swathes of Iraq and Syria and staged attacks elsewhere.

“Islam is mercy. How did they turn it into a curse, a punish-ment?” said one man.

Earlier, in the city of Makkah a Yemeni pilgrim said he hoped peace might soon return to his country, where a Saudi-led Arab coalition this year joined the gov-ernment’s side in a civil war that has killed thousands, including by its own airstrikes.

“I have a million wishes. The first and the last is to have the happy Yemen back: the free and united Yemen,” he said.

A Syrian pilgrim simply called down curses on President Bashar Al Assad, who is waging a war to end a four-year rebellion against his rule. “Bashar goes to hell,” was

his wish. But pilgrims also prayed for personal matters. Abdullah, the Chinese pilgrim, expressed his hopes for the coming year.

“I wish my wife heals from her sickness, my son finishes school and my manager gives me the promotion I deserve,” he said.

In the extreme summer heat, even early in the morning, many pilgrims clutched bottles of water or held umbrellas over their heads as they stood at Arafat.

At night they descended to the plain of Muzdalifah where they will collect pebbles to “stone the devil” at a rite today. REUTERS

Pilgrims pray for peace at ArafatMillions congregate at the plain of Arafat for peak of annual Haj

Pilgrims perform prayers at Arafat during the annual Haj pilgrimage, outside the holy city of Makkah, yesterday.

PARIS: France has agreed to sell two Mistral helicopter carriers to Egypt for ¤950m ($1.06bn) after their sale to Russia was canceled in August, French officials said yesterday.

Cairo has sought to boost its military power in the face of a two-year insurgency based across the Suez Canal in the Sinai peninsula and fears the conflict in neighbouring Libya could spill over. Egypt’s allies are also keen to burnish its image in a region beset by turmoil.

“We unwound the contract we had with Russia, on good terms, respectful of Russia and

not suffering any penalty for France,” Hollande told reporters on his arrival at an EU summit in Brussels.

“Yesterday, I agreed the price and conditions of this sale with (Egyptian) President (Abdel Fattah al-) Sisi and so France will ensure the delivery of these ships without losing anything, while helping protect Egypt.”

A French defence ministry source said the contract was worth about 950 million euros, but unlike the deal with Moscow would not include any technol-ogy transfer. As of yet there had been no talks on the potential

armament for the carrier, which can hold up to 16 helicopters and 1,000 troops.

“The ships should be handed over in early March after the training of about 400 Egyptians and some final tests,” the source said. A diplomatic source said Cairo wanted to base one ship in the Mediterranean and another in the Red Sea, making it available for future operations in Yemen, where Egypt is part of a Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels.

The French government agreed to reimburse 950 mil-lion euros to Moscow last month after the Mistral sale to Russia

was canceled as a result of the Ukraine crisis. The deal with Egypt comes as France has nurtured new links with Sunni Arab states, which appreciate its tough stance on their Shi’ite rival Iran and similar positions on the region’s conflicts.

France has also benefited from what some Gulf countries per-ceive as disengagement from a traditional ally, the United States.

One source close to the mat-ter said in August any deal with Egypt would likely be part-financed by Gulf Arab states.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia agreed at the end of July to work together

to create a joint Arab military force. The Mistral is known as the “Swiss army knife” of the French navy for its versatility. The sale will take the number of French naval vessels sold to Egypt to seven in just two years.

Egypt last year bought four small Gowind warships, built by Mistral manufacturer DCNS, which is 64 percent owned by the French state and 35 percent by defence group Thales. It also acquired a French frigate as part of a 5.2 billion euro contract for 24 Rafale warplanes earlier this year, France’s first overseas export of the fighter jet. REUTERS

Father of Saudi youth on death row asks king for clemencyDUBAI: The father of a Saudi youth facing execution for tak-ing part in pro-reform protests appealed to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman yesterday to spare his life.

The sentence against Ali Al Nimr, only 17 when he was arrested in February 2012, has drawn international condemna-tion over his young age at the time and allegations that he was tortured into making a confession.

It is the latest case to highlight the death penalty and human rights in the kingdom, which Amnesty International says is one of the world’s most prolific executioners. In an interview, Mohammed Al Nimr said he hoped the king would save his son.

“We hope that the king will not sign” the execution order, Nimr said, after Saudi Arabia’s highest court confirmed the death sen-tence, leaving his son’s fate in the hands of the king.

Nimr warned that if his son is put to death the minority Shia community could react violently, something he does not want to happen. “We don’t need that; we don’t need even one drop of blood,” he said. The youth is a nephew of Nimr Al Nimr, a Shia religious leader who is also on death row.

Mohammed Al Nimr, a Dammam businessman, was in Riyadh to visit his jailed brother for the Muslim feast of sacrifice, Eid Al Adha, which falls today.

Nimr Al Nimr was a driving force behind demonstrations that began four years ago in Eastern Province. Most of Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia’s Shias live in the east, and have com-plained of marginalisation.

Ali Al Nimr’s father admitted that his son, then a high school student, had joined thousands of other people in protest. But he said he is innocent of numerous other charges including burglary and attacking police. AFP

TRIPOLI: Authorities in Libya’s militia-held capi-tal have called for a freeze in UN-mediated peace talks until the military of the internation-ally recognised government halts an offensive in the east.

Khalifa Ghweil, prime minister in a Tripoli-based parallel admin-istration, “strongly” condemned the talks being held in Morocco between Libya’s rival parliaments.

The UN-drafted accord under discussion was “suspect and con-tains articles which run contrary to the nation’s immovable princi-ples and the objectives” of the 2011 revolution which overthrew long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi, he said in a televised speech.

Libya has had two parliaments and two governments since August 2014 when Islamist-backed mili-tias seized Tripoli, prompting the government recognised by most of the international community to take refuge in the far east. While acknowledging some delegates from the legislature in the capital were taking part in the talks in

apparent defiance of his adminis-tration, Ghweil urged the Libyan people “to freeze this dialogue until the offensive is halted”, in reference to the rival government’s military offensive. He called for “an inter-Libyan dialogue on Libyan soil to resolve the Libyan crisis, leading to a settlement that satisfies all parties while respecting the aims” of the revolution.

UN envoy Bernardino Leon told Libya’s warring parties on Tuesday there would be no more negotiations on the peace plan drawn up in the seaside resort of Skhirat near Morocco’s capital.

He told delegates he expected a straight yes or no answer when they return from a recess for the Eid holidays that run from today till Sunday. Leon has been try-ing for months to come up with a compromise between the conflict-ing claims of the two administra-tions that will allow the formation of a united government to tackle the rise of jihadist groups and people smuggling across the Mediterranean to Europe. AFP

Rival Libya govt urges peace talks freeze

France, Egypt agree $1.06bn warship deal

E S TA B L I S H E D I N 1 9 9 6

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

ACTING EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFIk.alshafi@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORHUSSAIN AHMADhussain@pen.com.qa

EDITORIALTEL: 44557741 / 44557743 FAX: 44557746 / 44557758P. O. BOX: 3488, DOHA, QATARE-MAIL: editor@pen.com.qa

ADVERTISING: TEL: 44557837 / 780 FAX: 44557870CLASSIFIED: 44557857 E-MAIL: adv@pen.com.qa

SUBSCRIPTION / HOME DELIVERYTEL: 44557809 /839 FAX: 44557819E-MAIL: info@tawseelqatar.comSUBSCRIPTION RATES: ANNUAL QR 6756 MONTHS QR 340

Cartoon Arts International / The New York Times Syndicate

BY ANDY BRUCE

Jeremy Corbyn received a rap-turous welcome last month when he took his campaign to become leader of Britain’s oppo-sition Labour party to Scotland.

In Glasgow, the citadel of Scottish socialism and once one of Europe’s big-gest shipbuilding centres, the veteran politician attracted so much interest that a larger venue had to be hur-riedly found and he received a stand-ing ovation.

The visit showed Corbyn’s far-left views have popular appeal in Scotland. The challenge facing him now, follow-ing his victory in the Labour leadership

contest, is to build on that founda-tion and win back Scottish voters.

For decades the dominant party in Scotland, Labour was crushed here in Britain’s par-liamentary elec-tion in May, losing 40 parliamentary seats to the pro-i n d e p e n d e n c e Scottish National Party (SNP) and left clinging to only one seat.

Corbyn must adopt a clear stance on how powers should be balanced between

London and the Scottish capital Edinburgh and convince Scots that Labour can defend their interests by defeating the British Conservatives at the polls, experts say.

“I do like the anti-austerity view-points he puts forward,” said Sean Buchanan, a 25-year-old Glaswegian who ditched Labour for the SNP in May though he does not support independence.

“I am going to wait and see how it

(Corbyn’s leadership) goes ... I wouldn’t say it’s inconceivable that I’d vote Labour again, but it comes down to actions.”

Voters like Buchanan are precisely the target group with which Corbyn might hope to make some headway in a country where many people want inde-pendence, even though Scotland voted against it in a referendum in 2014.

An opinion poll at the weekend sug-gested Corbyn could revive Labour’s fortunes north of the border. Over a third of people who voted SNP in May said they were more likely to vote Labour with him as leader, according to the poll published by the Independent newspaper.

But time is short for Corbyn to work out a game plan. An election for Scotland’s parliament is due next May and opinion polls put the nationalists on course for a huge majority.

Corbyn, 66, began the Labour leader-ship contest as an outsider but managed to win over party members looking for a new start after defeat in the British election. Advocating the nationalisa-tion of some industries, raising taxes on the wealthy and scrapping Britain’s nuclear arsenal, he represents a star-tling change at the top of Labour.

Supporters say he has the right profile to win back Scottish defectors, many of whom complained that Labour drifted too far to the right under recent leaders including Tony Blair.

“We’re going to be campaigning on issues of social justice and poverty,” Corbyn told the Daily Record, a Scottish newspaper, soon after becoming leader this month. “You will be seeing a lot of me.”

In this year’s election, the SNP merged nationalist ideals with an anti-austerity stance, a winning formula in a nation of 5 million where the political centre of gravity is much further to the left than in England, its much bigger southern neighbour.

But Neil Findlay, a Labour member of Scottish parliament who led Corbyn’s leadership campaign in Scotland, told

Reuters the new boss was “the real deal when it comes to policies to fight aus-terity” whereas the “nationalists (just) talk a good game”.

Political analysts say winning back Scottish voters requires more than just left-wing politics. Corbyn will have to grapple with an issue about which he has said very little to date: how much power Scotland should have to run its own affairs.

“I don’t think Labour are going to lure away any voters who have gone to the pro-independence SNP by being silent on the issue of the constitu-tion,” said Ailsa Henderson, head of politics and international relations at Edinburgh University.

Despite Corbyn’s warm reception in August, even Glasgow is likely to be a tough political battlefield for him.

Scotland’s largest city backed inde-pendence in last year’s referendum and “Yes” stickers can still be seen in the windows of flats and on cars.

Apartments and art venues now stand where dockyards and wharves once were in a city that now has a population of around 600,000, though towering cranes remain as a reminder of Glasgow’s industrial heritage and the Labour party is ingrained in its history.

A statue of Donald Dewar, a Labour politician and native Glaswegian who was the first to hold the post of First Minister of Scotland when the devolved Scottish parliament and government were set up in 1999, looms over the sandstone buildings on Buchanan Street, one of the main shopping areas.

Sitting down for a break nearby, Mary Lyle, a 56-year-old retired nurse and former Labour voter, said she was waiting to see how Corbyn’s leader-ship pans out. Despite voting against independence in 2014, she switched to the SNP at the last election, eschew-ing Labour for straying too far from its roots. “I think (Corbyn) will shake things up a bit, move things along from this single-minded ideological view of everything,” she said.

REUTERS

ONLY IN Australia could a two-year prime minister with a comfortable majority and national security focus like Tony Abbott be replaced by the man he toppled six years earlier, Malcolm Turnbull.

Only in Britain, though, could the Labour Party go from having a leader like Ed Miliband, who polls said five months ago was going to be prime minister, to being a party in the wilder-ness. So desperate are Labour sup-porters that they’ve chosen hard-left socialist Jeremy Corbyn as their new saviour.

But only in the United States could

Donald Trump emerge as a realistic chance of becoming head of the free world.

What just a few months ago was a shoo-in for Democratic Party former first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton is now a November 2016 presi-dential race tossing up the strangest possibilities.

If not the Republican wannabe and billionaire businessman Mr Trump – who plans to force Mexico to build a wall to keep “immigrant rapists and criminals” out of the US – then it’s former neurosurgeon Ben Carson or Cuban-American Marco Rubio.

If not them, what about Republican

royalty Jeb Bush? He was the hot favourite until the campaign started but now is a rank outsider whom the blustering billionaire ridicules as “too low-energy” to be president.

In a heated second Republican can-didates’ debate on Thursday (Sydney time), Mr Trump tried to interrupt Mr Bush.

“No!” Mr Bush exclaimed. Mr Trump replied: “More energy

tonight, I like that!”The exchange reflected how Mr

Trump has directed the Republican race as he likes.

The billionaire has criticised Mr Bush for speaking Spanish in public

and accused him of being soft on illegal immigration because he has a Mexican wife. Mr Trump pointedly refused to apologise to Mrs Bush in the second debate.

Mr Trump has commented about the face of rival Carly Fiorina. In the debate she said: “I think all American women heard what Mr Trump said.”

Mr Trump replied: “I think she has a beautiful face and I think she’s a beautiful woman.” Mr Trump’s insults and whacky policies are on the far right socially but mostly left economically. His bankruptcy record is a burden. He struggles on global issues.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Corbyn faces challenge to win back Scottish voters

It was my preferred buyer because we already have military cooperation with Egypt.

Quote ofthe day

Francois Hollande French President

The other side

Time is short for Corbyn to work out a game plan. An election for Scotland’s parliament is due next May and opinion polls put the nationalists on course for a huge majority.

EGYPT’S President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi’s pardoning of 100 prisoners including three Al Jazeera journalists is a right move even though it came late. After overthrowing the country’s first democratically-elected president

Mohammad Mursi in a coup in 2013, the military led by Al Sisi has unleashed a reign of terror in which hundreds of Mursi supporters and pro-democracy activists have been killed and thousands jailed. Mursi and top leaders of his now-banned Muslim Brotherhood have been sentenced to death by military courts.

A Cairo court on August 29 sentenced Al Jazeera journalists, Egyptian Baher Mohamed, Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Australian Peter Greste, to three years in jail after finding them guilty of ‘aiding a terrorist organisation’, a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood. The trio were arrested in December 2013 while working for Al Jazeera in Cairo and spent over 400 days in jail. While Greste was pardoned and deported to his home country, his colleagues remained in prison. But in the retrial Greste was also sentenced along with his colleagues. At the same hearing, another six Al Jazeera scribes were tried in absentia on the same charges and were sentenced to 10 years in jail.

It is a practice of rulers in the region to pardon prisoners ahead of feasts and national celebrations. But Sisi’s decision has clear political intentions. The announcement has come a day before his trip to New York to address the United Nations

General Assembly meeting. Over the past year, Al Sisi and his cabinet, governing by decree in the absence of an elected parliament, have provided near total impunity to security forces and issued laws that severely curtailed civil and political rights, erasing the human rights gains of the 2011 uprising that ousted the long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak.

The controversial protest law, passed in November 2013, states that among other things, protesters have to give the authorities a three-day notice before protests. Violators face hefty fines and prison sentences. In May, the Obama administration sent

a critical, six-page report on Egypt’s rights violations to Congress but still recommended the US to continue sending $1.3bn in mostly military aid.

Recently, Arab Organisation for Human Rights in UK issued a report describing Egypt’s prisons as cemeteries, adding that 40 prisoners died while in custody in August alone, either in jails or in police stations. Of the 40 who died in their cells, 19 were remanded without charge. The report, titled ‘The cemeteries of the living’ says Egyptian authorities do not care about detainees’ lives, as cells are overcrowded and corruption is rife. Egyptian rights groups documented at least 124 deaths in custody since August 2013 as a result of medical negligence, torture, or ill-treatment. Draconian laws and continuing human rights violations are major threats to Egypt’s civil society and cosmetic changes are not enough to correct its stained image.

This is not enough

Continuing human rights violations pose a major threat to Egypt’s civil society and cosmetic changes are not enough to correct its stained image.

Editorial

06 VIEWSTHURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2015www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Donald Trump creates turmoil in US presidential race

OPINION 07THURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2015

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

The irony of Carson’s stereotyping of MuslimsAfter a round of criticism for his comments on Muslims, including a highly critical denunciation from the Anti-Defamation League, and from two Muslim members of Congress, among others, Carson has not backed down.BY FRED BARBASH

There are lots of defini-tions of stereotyping. To Merriam-Webster, it’s believing, “unfairly that all people or

things with a particular charac-teristic are the same.” To social scientists, it’s “a negative attitude toward a particular social group and its members.”

Most people know it when they see it. And many saw it, and more, in Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson’s assertion on NBC’s Meet the Press that the president should not be Muslim. Asked by Chuck Todd whether a presidential candidate’s faith should matter, Carson replied, “I guess it depends on what that faith is. If it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter.” Carson also told Todd that he didn’t not think Islam was consistent with the Constitution. Carson would not, he told Todd on Sunday, “advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation.” (Speaking on Tuesday, Carson said his earlier comments had been taken out of context.)

In his classification of a whole group of people as somehow unfit for high public office, Carson is definitely in the mainstream of history - history, that is, from the 19th into the mid-20th century. All through that era, a succession of minorities of Irish, Jewish, Chinese or African descent were deemed by large numbers of Americans to hold to traditions, religions or racial characteristics that others deemed incompatible with American values and demo-cratic traditions.

It’s best documented by Alexander Keyssar in “The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States.” African Americans were “widely believed to be inferior and lack-ing in potential Republican vir-tues,” he writes, and incapable — a

“peculiar people,” as one New York politician put it in 1821 — of par-ticipating in the political system “with any sort of discretion, pru-dence or independence.” Irish and other working class immigrants were deemed to be “controlled by the Pope.” Others, like Jews, were targeted as socialists in turn-of-the century New York, a situation dealt with by scheduling voting registration “on the Jewish sab-bath and on Yom Kippur.”

The fears and stereotypes extended even more easily into schools and workplaces, which were largely unrestricted in their capacity to treat people not as individuals but as members of groups that bore undesirable characteristics justifying discrim-ination in one form or another, particularly against African Americans.

Given that history, the idea of an African American politician stereotyping another group of people and declaring them some-how unfit for the presidency, was striking to Keyssar, a professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. There “is certainly a profound historical irony here,” he said in an inter-view with The Post.

“I think somehow in Carson’s mind there’s a difference between something like race, which is an ascriptive category, something that someone can’t choose,” and religion, “which is indeed a mat-ter of choice.” Carson’s explana-tions since his Meet the Press comments tend to support that theory: He has said that a moder-ate Muslim who renounced radi-cal Islam and who would put the Constitution before their faith would be worthy of consideration.

Carson’s utterances, said Keyssar, “fall into this tradition of fearing an ‘other,’ whether the other be black or Chinese or, god knows, Irish. . . It wasn’t that they were just Catholic. They were the ‘other.’ . . .It’s a kind of group characteristic. That I

would not trust any Muslim to be president.”

More ironic still, and deeply puzzling under the circumstances, is that Carson, who often dis-misses complaints about his comments as “political correct-ness,” has had his own complaints about stereotyping, which as he describes them in his various autobiographical books, he took quite seriously. He felt the sting and it hurt.

In “Gifted Hands,” Carson describes what he called a “shock-ing episode” of racial humilia-tion. He was in the eighth grade at a predominantly white school, where each year, the school handed out certificates to the stu-dent with the highest academic achievement. In that year, it hap-pened to be him.

He was proud as his name was called to come up and receive his hard-earned prize. But the teacher, after handing it to him, remained up in front of the entire student body and looked out across the auditorium. “’I have a few words I want to say right now,’ she began, her voice unusu-ally high. Then, to my embarrass-ment, she bawled out the White kids because they had allowed me to be number one. ‘You’re not try-ing hard enough,’ she told them.

“While she never quite said it in words, she let them know that a Black person shouldn’t be number one in a class where everyone else was White.” Why, he wondered, “would she say all these harsh things?”

“Was she so ignorant,” he writes, “that she didn’t realise that people are just people?”

He recalls in “My Life,” his brother being placed in a voca-tional track at school. “His grades were good enough for the college curriculum, but this was a pre-dominately white school, and Mother was convinced that the counsellor had made the fairly common assumption that blacks were incapable of college work. So

Republican presidential candidate Dr Ben Carson meets supporters following a campaign rally in Sharonville, Ohio.

Mother headed straight for the counsellor’s office the next day.”

In “One Nation,” Carson recalls his resentment at the stereotype of the “uppity” black. “Since whites held the most powerful and lucrative positions in society, most of them were certainly in no hurry to share those positions with others. Blacks, on the other hand, were becoming progres-sively more educated and there-fore impatient to share the fruits of their labours. This eagerness,” he writes, “was frequently misin-terpreted by whites who coined the term uppity to characterize those blacks who, in their opinion, didn’t ‘know their place.’”

And he rails against another stereotype: “It was common for whites to believe that blacks were dirty and unintelligent. These beliefs informed hiring practices and property distribution.” And, he adds in a passage that seems particularly telling in light of his comments on Muslims, “many of the whites in those days found ways to rationalise their unjust treatment of fellow human beings, arguing that they were not racists

but rather protectors of tradi-tional values.”

Stereotypes. He can remem-ber, he recounts in “One Nation, when “I would be walking in a white neighbourhood and in short order a police car would show up, undoubtedly summoned by a con-cerned onlooker. Unfortunately, this and worse still happens today, as evidenced by the Trayvon Martin case.” The “real tragedy,” of that case, he added, “is that a young life was lost and another life ruined because both individu-als made assumptions about the other that were probably untrue.”

And it didn’t quit. As he made his way through Yale, Michigan and won a neurosurgery residency at Johns Hopkins and became a physician at Johns Hopkins, he encountered grating stereotypes. “Even in the 1970s at a prestigious institution like Johns Hopkins, people were not accustomed to seeing a black doctor. Sometimes it was almost humorous; other times, more disturbing. More than once, nurses thought I was an orderly or physical therapist — anything but a doctor.”

On top of that, “there were patients who didn’t want a black doctor caring for them.”

After a round of criticism for his comments on Muslims, includ-ing a highly critical denuncia-tion from the Anti-Defamation League, and from two Muslim members of Congress, among oth-ers, Carson has not backed down.

But he has elaborated. It’s not just Muslims he wouldn’t vote for, he told Fox New’s Sean Hannity. It’s anyone “whose faith might interfere with them carrying out the duties of the Constitution. “If you’re a Christian and yor’re run-ning for president and you want to make this (country) into a the-ocracy, I’m not going to support you.”

As for Muslims, he might con-sider it. “If someone has a Muslim background, and they’re willing to reject those tenets and to accept the way of life that we have, and clearly will swear to place our Constitution above their religion, then of course they will be considered infidels and heretics, but at least I would then be quite willing to support them.”

WP-BLOOMBERG

Putin’s play in Syria is part of a bigger planBY NOAH FELDMAN

What is Vladimir Putin’s true Syria game? Russia has now ensconced a meaningful mini-air force of fighters, bombers and helicopters in an airfield near Latakia, where its sole plausible purpose is to prop up President Bashar Assad’s regime. But keep-ing Assad’s government alive and prolonging the Syrian civil war isn’t an end in itself for Putin, who naturally wants to enhance Russia’s presence in the region.

It’s much more likely that the Russian president’s true objec-tive is to broker a solution to the Syrian quagmire, one involving a rump Syrian state in which the Alawite minority would be transformed into a majority. Put another way, Putin is backing Assad so that he can sell him out.

It’s sometimes said that Putin is getting involved in Syria to distract attention from his con-tinued expansionism in Ukraine. That explanation may be much too simple. Putin is looking for something to trade in exchange for the West allowing Russian consolidation in Ukraine to con-tinue. The name of the game isn’t distraction — it’s leverage.

Looking around the globe, there aren’t too many places where Russia can offer the West some-thing it needs. Syria is one place where Russia could potentially help the US and Europe achieve a necessary objective.

The refugee crisis is gradually turning the Syrian civil war into a

domestic European issue. The US has a serious interest in ending the civil war because it creates ideal conditions for the expansion of Islamic State.

But neither the US nor Europe has the capacity and willing-ness to end the Syrian war. The US has used air power to fight Islamic State, but the campaign hasn’t managed to fully contain the growth of the militant group. At any time over the last several years, the US could’ve turned its bombers on Assad and weakened his regime enough that it probably would have fallen. But the Barack Obama administration has feared that bringing down Assad could lead to an Islamic State takeover.

Russia’s interests in Syria are different. The once-close histori-cal ties between the Soviet Union and Baathist Syria have been attenuated since the fall of com-munism, when Russian funding for its erstwhile Middle Eastern proxy dried up. Enough connec-tion remains to give Putin the idea of re-engaging with Syria. But Russia has no fundamental stra-tegic interest in Assad or Syria. Putin is simply taking advantage of a target of opportunity.

Assad must know this — but he’s also desperate to maintain the existence of his regime, as Putin told reporters (apparently with a chuckle) Monday during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit. If Putin wants to provide air support to Assad, the Syrian leader isn’t in a posi-tion to say no.

WP-BLOOMBERG

China sends mixed message over foreign mediaCensorship in the country is among the most severe in the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

BY SIMON DENYER

As President Xi Jinping pays a much-anticipated state visit to the United States this week, Beijing wants to show Washington that it is playing nice with the Western media. For the first time in nearly three years, China will grant fresh work visas to two reporters from the New York Times.

“Foreign media welcome,” the state-run China Daily proclaimed in a front-page banner headline on Saturday, quoting Xi talking to visiting News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch.

But although Xi reportedly told Murdoch last week that news outlets abroad can “boost mutual understanding and cooperation,” the Wall Street Journal’s English- and Chinese-language websites remain blocked here, as do those of the New York Times, Reuters and Bloomberg News.

And around China, suspicion of foreign journalists remains high. Efforts to prevent them from reporting freely are common, as a recent trip to the Chinese city of Horgos on the border with Kazakhstan demonstrated.

A Washington Post team was expressly told we were not wel-come there, with Yang Jihong, the local propaganda depart-ment director, instructing police to detain us until three colleagues arrived to “escort” us around a free-trade zone straddling the border.

“You can’t interview traders,” insisted one of those officials, a man who said he was not carrying any identification but whose black T-shirt somewhat incongruously proclaimed the word “Happiness”

in English. He did not let us out of his sight for the next several hours, before ordering us to accompany him in a police car to have our press cards and pass-ports checked for the fifth time.

“If you compare the lot of a for-eign correspondent in China in the 1990s with today, then obviously a great deal has changed for the better,” said Jo Floto, president of the Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC). “But since the (2008) Olympics, progress has stalled and, on some issues, gone into reverse.

“As a resident international journalist, you are still very likely to experience harassment by the security forces during your time in China. Our members continue to report the intimidation of their sources, interviewees and local staff by the police or their proxies.”

The New York Times’s problems date to a 2012 article about the wealth of then-Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. Authorities retali-ated by denying visas for new journalists trying to enter China, although the Times was allowed to renew visas for employees already here.

The Times staff members who are now promised visas are being allowed in on the condition that two other reporters leave the country. It is too soon to say

whether the latest move repre-sents a permanent reprieve for the Times or a temporary measure to take the issue off the agenda during Xi’s state visit.

Recently, other Times journal-ists, as well as a senior executive, were denied short-term visas to enter China on reporting and business trips.

“We’ve been working closely with the Foreign Ministry to resolve this problem and have recently seen some progress,” Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said, adding that the newspaper hopes “to resume a normal rotation of correspond-ents in and out of China as soon as possible.”

The Washington Post has not experienced problems obtain-ing Chinese journalist residence visas since correspondent Andrew Higgins was denied one from 2009 to 2012. But the day-to-day expe-rience of reporting in China is increasingly challenging.

Important sources, includ-ing activists, intellectuals and independent-minded lawyers, have been locked up since Xi took power. Others have gone to ground, reluctant to be seen talking to the Western media or specifically told not to.

On reporting trips to the troubled western region of Xinjiang and to Inner Mongolia

in the past year, Washington Post teams were followed, detained and prevented from talking to local residents.

Restrictions on Chinese reporters are much more severe: Journalist Gao Yu, 71, was sen-tenced in April to seven years in prison for supposedly leaking state secrets; in August, state tel-evision aired a “confession” from Wang Xialou, a reporter from a respected business magazine, for allegedly contributing to the stock market crash by causing panic among investors. Censorship in the country is among the most severe in the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

A survey in the FCCC’s lat-est annual report, issued in May, found that of 117 reporters who responded, 96 percent said work-ing conditions for foreign media did not meet international stand-ards, while 33 percent said condi-tions had deteriorated in the past year.

Foreign journalists are some-times criticized for painting too negative a picture of China, of paying too much attention to human rights abuses and of miss-ing the longer-term trends that have helped lift hundreds of mil-lions of people out of poverty in the past three decades.

But in Horgos, The Post was trying to report on a story the government should have wel-comed: Xi’s initiative to revive ancient trading routes to Central Asia under the banner of a new Silk Road. Still, the “Happiness” man and his colleagues could not shake off their suspicion of the Western media.

WP-BLOOMBERG

08 GULF / MIDDLE EASTTHURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2015www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Erdogan meets Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow yesterday. According to reports Turkey is alarmed over the current build up of Russian military in Syria in support of the Bashar Al Assad Government, which Turkey staunchly opposes.

JERUSALEM: Clashes broke out yesterday between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Hebron following the funeral of a young woman shot dead after allegedly trying to stab a soldier.

Around 50 youths threw stones at soldiers, who responded with stun grenades and tear gas in the flashpoint city, where some 500 Israeli settlers live under heavy guard among Palestinians.

The clashes followed the funeral of 18-year-old student Hadeel Al Hashlamon, who died after being shot by Israeli soldiers at a check-point on Tuesday.

Several thousand people joined the funeral procession, carrying photos of her with her face com-pletely veiled, as well as Palestinian flags. The funeral was also attended by representatives of several major Palestinian political parties, includ-ing Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and leftist factions.

“People are very angry here,” Issa Amro, coordinator of the Hebron-based Youth Against Settlements activist group, told Al Jazeera. “Big clashes have been taking place throughout the day near the spot where she was killed.”

Speaking to Al Jazeera, the Israeli military spokeswoman said there were “small riots tak-ing place and Palestinians are throwing stones” in Hebron. She declined to comment further.

The young woman was shot on Tuesday morning while passing through an Israeli army check-point in the centre of Hebron. She was subsequently transferred to an Israeli hospital for treatment, where she later died from her wounds.

The Israeli army accused Al Hashlamon of attempting to stab a soldier before she was shot in her “lower extremities” with live ammunition. It later emerged that she had been shot several times, including in her chest.

Her father, Salaheddin Al Hashlamon, said she was innocent and had been killed “in cold blood” by multiple shots.

Her death followed that of another Palestinian who was killed in a village outside Hebron by an explosive device he intended to toss at a military vehicle, the army said. Residents provided a similar account.

But Palestinian security offi-cials said the man, whom they identified as Dia Al Talahmeh, 21, was shot dead by Israeli troops.

Their deaths came amid high tensions in the West Bank and Jerusalem following clashes last week at the Al Aqsa mosque com-pound and with the convergence of the Jewish Yom Kippur and Muslim Eid Al Adha holidays.

Jerusalem has been placed under tight security, with thou-sands of Israeli police deployed and checkpoints between the city and the West Bank closed, as is

usual for Yom Kippur.Yom Kippur began at sundown

on Tuesday and ended at sundown yesterday. Eid Al Adha begins today and the festivities continue until Sunday.

Next week, Jews celebrate Sukkot, a holiday that usually leads to an increase in visits to the Al Aqsa compound, known to Jews as Temple Mount. It is the third-holiest site for Muslims and the most sacred site in Judaism.

The Palestinian Authority has called for an international inquiry into the fatal shooting of a young Palestinian woman by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

The PA foreign ministry called for the United Nations to carry out an investigation, while Palestinian Health Minister Jawad Awwad urged the UN to provide Palestinians with inter-national protection, according to PA state media.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned on Tuesday of the risk of a new intifada, or upris-ing, if the volatility at the Al Aqsa compound worsens.

A UN this week said “the absence of a political process and the rise of violent extremism and terrorism in the region present a danger as much to the legiti-mate aspirations of Palestinians for statehood, as to the security of Israel.” Peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have been at a standstill for more than a year. AFP

NABLUS: Fatima Kadumy’s weapons of resistance include stuffed squash and yoghurt with garlic — for her, food is just as powerful as stones or petrol bombs. “To defend the country some prefer war, but there are other, more pleasing, ways to do it,” said Kadumy, a Palestinian who runs a cooking school in the West Bank city of Nablus that does much more than teach students proper knife skills.

Kadumy came up with the “crazy idea” seven years ago to use Palestinian tra-ditional cuisine to promote her people’s cause and act as advocate for the inde-pendent state they have long sought.

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. Since 2008, she has hosted more than 1,200 visitors from countries includ-ing China, Australia, Germany and the

United States, among others. “There are politics and resistance behind cui-sine,” she said in the small kitchen at her centre in Nablus’s Old City that she has named Bait Al Karama, which is Arabic for House of Dignity.

“We show our city and our lives as we see them. Foreigners can then judge Palestinians from the inside.”

On one recent day, an American couple from Washington learned how to prepare stuffed leaves and courgettes. A quiet but skilled chef, Nidal, led the class.

One of the Americans, Rex, said he appreciated an opportunity to “share the daily lives of residents” in Nablus, the site of heavy clashes during the sec-ond Palestinian intifada, or uprising, between 2000-2005. Before the cooking lesson, they followed Kadumy through

the streets of the old city to buy local Palestinian produce — and only local Palestinian produce. Her organisation boycotts Israeli goods. Kadumy says a meal sets the table for a talk about poli-tics. “And over a meal, we always talk more calmly, more easily,” said Kadumy, wearing a blue and gold veil with her sun-glasses balanced on top.

Her organisation is also part of the glo-bal Slow Food movement based in Italy that promotes local traditional cuisine, and she showcases dishes at the organisa-tion’s expo. “For too long, we have allowed the Israelis to speak,” Kadumy said. “Now there is the Israel stand, but also the Palestine stand.” Palestinians and Israelis do not only dispute territory — they also disagree about the origin of certain dishes.

One prominent example is hummus,

the paste made from chickpeas so often associated with Middle Eastern cuisine. Another is falafel, also made from chick peas but this time ground and deep-fried.

They do, however, tend to agree on one point when it comes to hummus: the best comes from Abu Shukri, a small res-taurant in Jerusalem’s Old City recom-mended by in-the-know tourist guides.

Yasser Taha inherited the restaurant opened by his father in 1948, the year Israel was created. He is not shy about taking credit for his family’s sought-after recipe. “The Israelis learned to make hummus with us,” he said of the dish with ancient and unclear origins.

“They watched and learned to make hummus and now they say that they invented it,” he added with a smile.

A number of Israelis sat at tables

among tourists on a recent day.“Look at our plates — empty!” said

Eldad, a 52-year-old who had come with his daughter, after polishing off the last bit of bread dipped in hummus with pars-ley and red ground sumac on top.

“We love to come here. It’s delicious.”An Israeli woman named Neta who had

driven for half an hour to come and eat in the Old City has bigger ambitions for the humble dish. “Everyone loves hum-mus,” she said. “It’s something that we have in common. It can bring us together and bring peace.” Nearby postcard sellers don’t necessarily share her vision — or at least they don’t think that potential cus-tomers do. Some postcards show falafel with an Israeli flag. But at other stores not far away, it’s the black, red and white of the Palestinian flag. AFP

Iran leader hits at Israel over Al Aqsa violenceDUBAI: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced Israel yesterday for what he called its “insult” to Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque in connection with Israeli actions at one of Islam’s holiest places.

Israeli-Palestinian strife has risen sharply in recent weeks as Arab states and Palestinians have accused Israeli forces of violations at the mosque.

“The Zionist regime’s crimes in Palestine and repeated insult of the sacred sanctuary of the al-Aqsa Mosque ... are the foremost problem for Muslims,” Khamenei was quoted as saying by his offi-cial website. Khamenei described Israeli behaviour towards Palestinians as the “ultimate degree of ruthlessness and evil”.

Israel captured the site when it seized East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War. It left al Aqsa under the religious con-trol of Muslim authorities, but Palestinians fear that control is being eroded by increasing visits by Jewish groups.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said last week that Israel was com-mitted to maintaining the status quo and that Palestinian “rioters” would not be allowed to prevent Jews visiting the area. Jews refer to the area as Temple Mount, where an ancient Jewish tem-ple once stood, and it is the most sacred place in Judaism.

Iraq cholera cases rise to 121BAGHDAD: Iraq’s first major cholera outbreak since 2012 has risen to at least 121 cases and spread to southern provinces along the Euphrates River, though no new deaths have been reported in days, the health ministry said yesterday. The ill-ness was detected last week in the town of Abu Ghraib, about 25km (15 miles) west of the cap-ital, where at least four deaths were recorded. Most of the new cases are in Babel province south of Baghdad.

Cholera is spread mainly through contaminated water and food and, if untreated, can lead to death by dehydration and kidney failure within hours.

Iraq’s water and sewerage systems are outdated and infra-structure development has been hindered by years of war and neglect. Poor public services were a catalyst for street protests last month in Baghdad.

Health ministry spokesman Rifaq Al-Araji has blamed the cholera outbreak on low water levels in the Euphrates, from where locals extract water for drinking or farming, and winter flooding that contaminated the river and shallow wells with sew-age water. He said high summer temperatures may also have acti-vated the bacterium that causes cholera.

Temperatures topped 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) during July and August. Araji said public awareness has helped keep the current outbreak under control.

“If treatment is received within the first 24 to 48 hours of infec-tion, there is no peril to the patient,” he said by phone.

AGENCIES

Palestinian cooks put resistance on the menu

Clashes after funeral of teen killed by IsraelPalestinian Authority calls for UN inquiry

The mother of Palestinian Hadeel Al Hashlamon, an 18-year old student who was shot by Israeli forces, mourns during her funeral in the West Bank city of Hebron yesterday.

BEIRUT: An insurgent group fighting in Syria made up of around 1,500 Chechen, Uzbek and Tajik fighters has pledged allegiance to al Qaeda’s Syria wing Nusra Front, a group mon-itoring the war said yesterday.

Jaish Al Muhajireen Wal Ansar

(Muhajireen Brigade) made the pledge in a statement distributed by supporters online, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The pledge is a boost for Nusra Front against its rival Islamic State, an ultra hardline jihadist

group which has seized territory in Syria and Iraq.

Among battles fought between Nusra Front and Islamic State is one for control of parts of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, where fighters from the Muhajireen Brigade could

help tip the balance.Nusra Front, loyal to the suc-

cessors of Osama bin Laden, and Islamic State are the two most powerful forces fighting the Syrian army and its allies in Syria’s civil war. The groups have fought each other since a split in

2013 largely due to a power strug-gle between leaders.

Nusra Front’s leader said in June his group had around 30 percent foreign fighters includ-ing Europeans, many Asians, Russians and Chechens.

REUTERS

JUBA: At least 203 people died in a tanker blast in South Sudan last week, the health minister said yesterday, as doc-tors struggle to save the lives of those badly burned.

The accident took place last Wednesday on a road some 250km kilometres (155 miles) west of the capital Juba, close to the small town of Maridi, with the victims including locals who tried to scoop up the fuel spill.

“The death toll has reached about 203,” Health Minister Riek Gai Kok said in a statement read on state radio, updating an earlier toll of 186.

Over 150 people wounded in the blast are still in hospital, with 65 of some of the worst burned having been taken to

the main hospital in the capi-tal Juba.

Doctors with limited supplies struggled to treat the severe burns, but United Nations peacekeepers helped airlift them medical supplies and evacuated casualties to Juba.

The country declared three days of national mourning after the blast.

Fuel leaks and oil tanker acci-dents in Africa often draw huge crowds scrambling to scoop up the fuel, resulting in many deaths due to accidental fires.

One of the worst such accidents was in Nigeria in 1998, when over 1,000 people died in the southeast-ern Delta State when a pipeline exploded as people tried to steal fue