Volume 24 | Number 8020 | 2 RiyalsFriday 20 September 2019 | 21 Muharram 1441 www.thepeninsula.qa

Champions have better reach

BUSINESS | 15 SPORT | 20

Barshim, Samba to lead Qatar’s charge at Worlds

Qatar-Ukraine to

boost trade cooperation

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani being received by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, yesterday. �P2

Amir, French President discuss strategic ties

QNA PARIS

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met yesterday with the President of the French

Republic, Emmanuel Macron, at the Elysee Palace.

They discussed strategic relations between both countries and ways to boost and develop them in various fields.

During the meeting, they touched on a number of emerging regional and interna-tional issues.

H H the Amir also attended a working lunch, held by the

President of the French Republic at the Elysee Palace.

H H the Amir and the Pres-ident discussed the development of strategic ties and cooperation. Talks also focused on the latest

developments in the region and the world, particularly in the Gulf and in Libya.

The working lunch was attended by members of the official delegation accompa-

nying H H the Amir. On the French side, the

meeting was attended by a number of their excellencies ministers and ranking officials.

Cultural activities take Qatar-UK relations to new heightsRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

Existing relations between Qatar and the UK in the field of culture have never been this stronger, thanks to a plethora of important events and activities frequently organised every year.

The annual Qatar British Fes-tival, which enters its sixth edition this year, has been a cat-alyst in promoting cultural ties between Qatar and the UK

through a plethora of events and activities which celebrate the long-standing relationship between the two friendly countries.

Running for weeks, the fes-tival comprises cultural events, panel discussions, and public activities providing audiences the chance to experience a series of fun, educational and creative events in various areas including culture, sports, education and business, among others.

Around 20 live events were held at last year’s festival which ran for more than two weeks and had among its highlights the record-breaking longest Lego brick bridge, a unique public sound installation, history talk and panel discussion, music masterclass and concerts.

Called “Qatar’s Little Builders, Bridging Commu-nities,” one of the major features of the festival witnessed the building of a bridge made up of

over 260,000 Lego bricks spanning more than 108ft. The bridge holds the Guinness World Record for the longest LEGO brick bridge and highlights how bridges have transformed lives and brought communities together.

The 105+dB sonic installation installed at Souq Waqif, one of the most visited spots in Doha, generated massive response with its unique way of presenting public art which goes beyond the

typical visual dimension.Historical talk and panel dis-

cussion exploring the complexity of historical links between Qatar and the UK were also conducted during the festival.

They included a book talk on “Anglo - Amercian Rivalry in the Middle East” and a panel dis-cussion on “Discovery of the Black Gold ‘People’s lives, economy and history,” in addition to another panel dis-cussion on “Architecture, Arts

and Design; (Re)Inventing the Public Space.”

The strength of cultural link between Qatar and the UK was also clearly reflected in the cele-bration of the Qatar-UK Year of Culture, an initiative by Qatar Museums six years ago. The Year witnessed strong partnership among various Qatari and British organizations and entities in a pro-gramme of over 90 activities in both countries which engaged more than 350,000 people. �P3

Qatar Airways and China Southern Airlines sign code-share agreementTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Airways yesterday announced code-share cooper-ation with China Southern Airlines starting from January 2020. This code-share agreement is the first step in the strengthening of cooperation between both airlines, since Qatar Airways acquired five percent of China Southern Airlines in December 2018.

This agreement will enable China Southern Airlines’ pas-sengers to book travel on Qatar Airways’ flights between Guangzhou and Doha and Beijing and Doha allowing one stop connections to more than 80 destinations in the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

Qatar Airways first began flying to China in 2003 with a service from Doha to Shanghai. Qatar Airways currently operates 45 weekly flights to seven Greater China gateways: Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu and Hong Kong. In May 2018, Qatar Airways’ award-winning Qsuite

Business Class experience debuted in China on the Shanghai route with Beijing receiving Qsuite in December 2018.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker said: “In December 2018 when we announced our investment in China Southern Airlines, I noted the significant potential for cooperation between our two prestigious airlines. This code-share agreement is the natural first step in us working together

and leveraging our comple-mentary strengths and resources to bring benefits to customers of both our airlines. Qatar Airways very much looks forward to the opportunity to further deepen our working relationship with this great airline and further enhance the travel opportunities for passengers across the globe.”

China Southern Airlines Senior Vice-President of Inter-national and Corporate Relations, Wu Guoxiang said: “We are very

pleased to have Qatar Airways as our codeshare partner. As a Skytrax Five-Star airline, Qatar Airways’ high service quality and massive network is very impressive. Through the efficient Hamad International Airport, with its first rate service, pas-sengers of China Southern Air-lines will be able to enjoy the pleasant service to Doha. We very much look forward to enhancing our cooperation in the future and working together to bring more benefits to our customers.”

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and ‘Best Business Class Seat’, in rec-ognition of its ground-breaking Business Class experience, Qsuite. Qatar Airways is the only airline to have been awarded the coveted “Skytrax Airline of the Year” title, which is recognised as the pinnacle of excellence in the airline industry, five times.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker (right), signing the agreement.

Qatar affirms significant progress in labour reformsQNA DOHA

The Government Communi-cation Office has stressed that many of the cases, included in the recent report published by Amnesty International concerning the status of workers in Qatar, precede recent legis-lative amendments.

A statement by the Gov-ernment Communication Office said that the legislative amend-ments include the establishment of the Committees for the Set-tlement of Labour Disputes, pointing that these committees have significantly improved the processes and increased the speed for resolving labor disputes.

The statement further said that the report has inaccurately claimed that the Workers’ Support and Insurance Fund is not yet operational. In fact, the Fund has already intervened in numerous cases to resolve issues facing guest workers, the statement stressed.

It added Qatar has made substantial progress on labour reforms, saying: “We have said, from the outset, that this would take time, resources and commitment”.

The statement of the Gov-ernment Communication Office stressed that the State of Qatar will continue to work with NGOs, including the Interna-tional Labour Organisation, to ensure that these reforms are far-reaching and effective.

“Any issues or delays with our system will be addressed comprehensively ,” the statement added.

In fact, the (Workers') Fund has already intervened in numerous cases to resolve issues facing guest workers, a statement from the Government Communication Office said.

02 FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019HOME

WEATHER TODAY

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

Minimum Maximum30oC 39oC

HIGH TIDE 08:44 – 18:58 LOW TIDE 02:36 – 15:22

Misty to foggy at places by early morning

becomes relatively hot daytime with slight

dust at times and some clouds.

FAJRSHOROOK

04. 05 AM05. 22 AM

11. 27 AM02.54 PM

05. 35 PM07. 05 PM

ZUHRASR

MAGHRIBISHA

PRAYER TIMINGS

QNA/THE PENINSULA/DOHA

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, at Elysee Palace. They discussed strategic relations between both countries and ways to boost and develop them in various fields. H H the Amir also attended a working lunch, held by Emanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace.

The visit of H H the Amir is an important milestone in boosting bilateral relations between Qatar and France. The ties between the two countries have developed con-tinuously over the last many years. Both countries are strategic partners and share common vision on several issues. H H the Amir will visit the UK, where His Highness will hold talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street, London, today, on strengthening strategic relations and bilateral cooperation in various fields of partnership.

H H the Amir will head the del-egation of Qatar to the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, which will take place at the UN’s head-quarters in New York. H H the Amir will deliver a speech during the opening session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

Amir condoles with President of ChadDOHA: Amir H H Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,

Deputy Amir H H Sheikh

Abdullah bin Hamad Al

Thani and Prime Minis-

ter and Interior Minister H E

Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser

bin Khalifa Al Thani sent

yesterday a cable of con-

dolences to the President

of Chad, Idriss Deby Itno,

on the death of the former

President of Chad, Lol Maha-

mat Choua. QNA

OFFICIAL NEWS

Amir sends message to King of MalaysiaDOHA: Amir H H Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

sent yesterday a written mes-

sage to HM King of Malaysia,

Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin,

pertaining to bilateral rela-

tions and means to support

and promote them. The

Ambassador of Qatar, Fahad

bin Mohammed Kafood,

delivered the message, dur-

ing a meeting with HM King

of Malaysia.QNA

Labour Minister meets Malaysian official

The Minister of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs, H E Yousef bin Mohamed Al Othman Fakhroo, met yesterday with the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development of Malaysia, Datuk Janida bint Qamar Al Deen, during her visit to the country. They discussed facets of bilateral cooperation in the social field, particularly in matters related to women and family, as well as the ways to enhance cooperation.

Qatar Airways partners with Belgian football club K.A.S. EupenTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Airways has signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Belgian football club K.A.S. Eupen further growing its global sporting part-nerships portfolio.

This agreement will see the airline’s logo placed on the team’s playing jersey from the 2019/20 season. Qatar Airways branding will also be placed around K.A.S. Eupen’s stadium. K.A.S. Eupen competes in the Jupiler Pro League, the Belgian First Division and has estab-lished a reputation for devel-oping young talented footballers such as Moussa Wague and Henry Onyekuru.

K.A.S. Eupen has also played a pivotal role in developing many young Qatari players including Akram Afif , Abdelkarim Hassan and several other members of Qatar’s 2019 AFC Asian Cup winning squad.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are very pleased to announce this new partnership, which will see Qatar Airways become the main shirt sponsor of K.A.S. Eupen from the 2019/20 season. We are continually striving to boost our global sporting sponsorship portfolio, and this partnership is just one more example of our dedication to the sports sector and our belief in the power of sport to bring people together. Qatar Airways has strong ties with Belgium operating eight weekly passenger services to Brussels from Doha and 19

weekly all-cargo services to Liège. This partnership demon-strates our long term com-mitment to further growing and developing our relationship with Belgium.”

Qatar Airways Senior Vice-President, Marketing and Cor-porate Communications, Salam Al Shawa, said: “We are delighted to add K.A.S. Eupen to our global football sponsorship portfolio. We look forward to working and engaging with the club and its fans to help make a real difference through this exciting new partnership. Sport is a key pillar of the long-term vision of the State of Qatar, and as Qatar’s national carrier, we welcome the opportunity to use sport as a means for youth development here in Qatar and around the world.”

K.A.S. Eupen Board of Directors representative Dr. Andreas Bleicher, said: “We are delighted to announce our part-nership with one of the most prestigious and awarded airlines in the world. Qatar Airways will be our Main Shirt Sponsor from now on, which puts our club within the remarkable global football club portfolio of Qatar Airways such as AS Roma, Boca Juniors, FC Bayern München and Al Sadd SC. Our professional team will wear the Qatar Airways logo on our jersey from now on. Our partnership is both incentive and commitment for us to stay in Belgium’s top flight league, to improve our profes-sional to youth teams and also continuously develop our club organisationally and increase our social engagement.”

Qatar takes part in ISO General AssemblyQNA/CAPE TOWN

The State of Qatar is partici-pating in the 42nd International Organization for Standardization (ISO) General Assembly 2019, which kicked off yesterday in Cape Town, South Africa.

The event is attended with delegations from more than 160 countries and various regional and international organisations that work in the different stand-ardization fields.

The Qatari delegation is led by the Chairman of Qatar General Organization for Stand-ardization and Metrology (QGOSM), Eng. Mohammed bin Saud Al Musallam.

This General Assembly is about charting ISO’s path towards 2030. As it considers what its priorities should be over the next few years with the development of its new strategy, it is important that ISO considers the constantly changing envi-ronment in which it operates.

The session will also discuss a number of reports of relevant regional and international organizations and bodies, pre-sented by experts in the environ-mental, economic and techno-logical fields to study variables and developments and their impact in the field of standard-ization, highlighting some

opportunities and risks that may arise.

In addition, it will provide context and ideas for discussions to formulate the ISO’s strategy and will identify its priorities and orientations creating interna-tional standards, to keep up with global developments.

It will also discuss and approve the budget of the organ-ization and the financial contri-butions of the Member States, in addition to the election of its members for the period (2020-2022) and other financial and

administrative matters.On September 17 and 18, the

Qatari delegation had attended the 53rd session of the Com-mittee to Support Developing Countries (DEVCO) which is leads ISO’s work on developing countries. During the meeting, a number of topics were dis-cussed, including the challenges faced by developing countries in the fields of standardization and their relevance to global variables through discussion groups on future trends in con-formity assessment.

The Chairman of Qatar General Organization for Standardization and Metrology, Eng. Mohammed bin Saud Al Musallam, at the 42nd International Organization for Standardization General Assembly 2019, which kicked off yesterday in Cape Town, South Africa.

Qatar condemns Mogadishu bombingDOHA: Qatar expressed its

strong denunciation and con-

demnation of the bombing

that took place in Mogad-

ishu, killing two persons and

wounding others. The Minis-

try of Foreign Affairs reiterated

Qatar’s firm stance reject-

ing violence and terrorism,

regardless of motives and rea-

sons. The statement expressed

Qatar’s condolences to the

victims’ families and to the

government and people of

Somalia, wishing the injured a

speed recovery. QNA

Qatar condemns Afghan attackDOHA: Qatar expressed its

strong denunciation and con-

demnation of the attack that

targeted Afghan intelligence

headquarters in Zabul prov-

ince, which resulted in deaths

and injuries. The statement

expressed the condolences

of Qatar to the families of

the victims and to the Gov-

ernment and the people of

Afghanistan, wishing the

injured a speed recovery. QNA

Amir meets President of France

03FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019 HOME

Sheikha Moza meets World Bank President in Washington

The Chairperson of Education Above All, H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, met on Wednesday with World Bank President, David Malpass, at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC. In the meeting, they discussed the newly-signed, ground-breaking partnership agreement between Education Above All and the World Bank to enrol two million out-of-school children in 41 countries by 2025. The agreement secures up to $250m in funding and will ensure focus on a cohort of developing nations working to enable access to quality primary education for all children in their respective countries. EAAs strategic partner, Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), was a key contributor to this effort.

A-G meets French official

Attorney—General, H E Dr. Ali bin Fetais Al Marri, met yesterday with the Prosecutor of the French Republic, Francois Molins. The meeting focused on bilateral cooperation, the exchange of expertise in the field of managing joint sports events, courses related to combatting cybercrimes, and the annual training of French judges from the French National School for the Judiciary in Doha.

Qatari-inspired architectural designs on display at KataraRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

Qatari-inspired architectural designs by Syrian artist Muhannad Barakat are being featured in an exhibition dubbed “Art of Nature in the Qatari Architecture” which opened on Wednesday at Gallery 1 of Katara Building 22.

Detailed designs of a wide array of structures including a mosque, a villa and a building façade as well as a sculpture and waterfall, in addition to specific parts of a building like windows, seat wall, traditional house’s front door and entrance gate, all bearing Qatari elements are on display at the exhibition. They are presented in the form of dio-ramas, sculptures, photographs and artistic renderings using dif-ferent materials.

“The idea of the exhibition is to integrate the original Qatari architecture into the nature of Qatar through a study of Qatari nature and its effects and natural elements that characterise it, in addition to studying the aes-thetics and historical origins of architecture and integrating them with engineering,” said Barakat.

Barakat’s painstaking studies have resulted to stunning designs which combine traditional geo-metric patterns and elements drawn from Qatari environment

which make up key attributes of traditional Qatari design.

Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, General Manager of Katara expressed his admiration on the artist’s idea of integrating nature with traditional Qatari architecture and preserving the shapes and patterns that distin-guish it from others.

“Creative ideas produce beautiful art, which can develop around us in an innovative and beautiful way,” he said, pointing out that such exhibitions in Katara display diverse artistic experiences that contribute to the exchange of ideas among artists and support unique

artistic ideas. He stressed that the doors of

Katara are always open to all artists in various fields of arts.

The objects on show don’t only reveal design aspects like lines, shapes, colours, texture and depth, but also how they serve practical functions in Qatari life such as a traditional house’s front door designed to allow entry of sunlight and moonlight and a villa with a large open courtyard to let air cir-culate around the villa.

Eye-catching among the designs are a modern sculptural interpretation of traditional Qatari dhow, a waterfall inspired by the name of Father Amir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and a building façade designed after the ancient Barzan Towers.

Born in Doha in 1987, the art ist graduated from Damascus University in 2008 from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Interior Architecture. He is the general manager of Baroque Design and Build Company known for its imaginative and modern style in design. This exhibition follows the success of Barakat’s solo show titled ‘Conceptual Architecture Inspired by Nature and its Phe-nomena’ hosted in the same gallery last year. It is open from 10am to 10pm until September 28 at Building 22.

Syrian artist and architect, Muhannad Barakat (right), explains one of his works to Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, General Manager of Katara, at the opening of his exhibition dubbed “Art of Nature in the Qatari Architecture” which opened on Wednesday at Gallery 1 of Katara Building 22.

Barakat’s painstaking studies have resulted in stunning designs which combine traditional geometric patterns and elements drawn from Qatari environment which make up key attributes of traditional Qatari design.

Cultural activities take Qatar-UK relations to new heightsFROM PAGE 1

Among the year-long programme’s highlights were Encounter: The Royal Academy in the Middle East, featuring works by Royal Acade-micians and artists from across the Middle East; the world premiere of Globe Education’s Romeo and Juliet; and a series of cutting edge works by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artists at Katara Cul-tural Village.

A family festival called Etifhal was held at the

Serpentine Gallery, the UK’s first major exhibition of Sudanese artist Ibrahim El-Salahi at the Tate Modern, and Relics - an exhibition by globally renowned artist Damien Hirst at QM Gallery, Al Riwaq.

The cultural year also saw an ambitious project between the British Library and Qatar Foundation, which witnessed digitising more than 500,000 page of archive material to transform the public’s understanding of Middle Eastern history.

Qatar’s well-being performance rises in BCG’s annual report

General Cleanliness Department observes World Clean-Up DayTHE PENINSULA/DOHA

The General Cleanliness Department, represented by the awareness team, in cooperation with the Municipality of Al Wakrah, organised an awareness programme for the employees of the municipality and school students.

The event was part of the campaign, titled ‘keep it clean’ on the occasion of World Clean-Up Day, a global social action programme aimed at combating the global solid waste problem, including the problem of marine debris. The next World Cleanup Day is September 21, 2019. A total of 40 students from Vision International School participated in the awareness presentations with a number of super-visors, teachers and a number of female employees, said the Ministry of Municipality and Environment in a statement. The campaign aims at raising awareness among the public in the preservation of

the environment and public cleanliness and the pos-itive effects. The department runs the campaign to introduce people the public hygiene law.

The students of Vision International School paying attention to hygiene measures at the event organised by the General Cleanliness Department to observe World Clean-Up Day.

THE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar has improved its position as a top global performer across several Sustainable Economic Development Assessment (SEDA) well-being dimensions, according to a new report compiled by Boston Global Consulting Group (BCG), titled Measure Well-Being to Improve It: The 2019 Sustainable Economic Development Assessment. Placing in the top quartile after ranking 30th from 143 countries in the latest SEDA scores, Qatar has made strong improvements across several SEDA dimensions.

SEDA is a comprehensive diagnostic tool that assesses the relative well-being of countries. Qatar’s wealth to well-being coefficient rose in comparison to 2008’s score, with the report labeling the nation’s overall well-being performance as ‘good and improving’.

Evaluation of Qatar’s per-formance over the last 12 years, income and employment has been Qatar’s top performing

dimension. More recently, Qatar has recorded notable improve-ments in economic stability and infrastructure performance. In spite of a strong performance across many dimensions, the report also found that Qatar could benefit from more increased attention towards further improving its focus on certain areas such as economic stability, education and envi-ronment, as the country lags behind global peers on these dimensions.

“Governments today face massive challenges, including the disruption created by rapid technological advances,” says Joao Hrotko, a BCG partner and coauthor of the report.

“Those factors will change what it takes for both public- and private-sector players to succeed in the next decade. Gov-ernments in particular must gain deep insight into the experiences of their citizens in order to address potentially overlooked problems, including social inequality.”

“Qatar has emerged as a strong global performer across

most SEDA dimensions – both in 2019 and over the last 12-year period, evident by the country’s performance when compared to the rest of the world.

This is a testimony of the country’s continued focus on building a sustainable and con-tinuously developing system,” said Harold Haddad, Partner & Managing Director at BCG. “We believe Qatar’s overall well-being performance could benefit from intensified investment into education, economic stability and environment to remain competitive amongst global leaders.”

The findings from BCG’s 2019 Sustainable Economic Development Assessment analysis denote that there is a much stronger correlation between social equality and well-being than between income equality and well-being. The research is based on BCG’s proprietary Sustainable Economic Development Assessment, a comprehensive diagnostic tool that assesses the relative well-being of countries.

04 FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019HOME

SC and FIFA review Qatar’s efforts in sponsoring 2022 World Cup workers at conference in Berlin THE PENINSULA DOHA

The potential of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 to accelerate progress in workers’ rights was recognised at a high-profile human rights conference in Berlin, organised by global trade union Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI).

During the event, titled ‘Sports Campaigning in the 2020s: Setting Strategies and Identifying Opportunities’, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy’s (SC) commitment to ensuring the health, safety and welfare of the 27,000 workers building Qatar’s stadiums and other tournament infrastructure was discussed as part of a broader debate on the responsi-bility of mega-event organisers to respect human rights.

Participating in a panel titled ‘Shifts and Goals: The Changing Global Sports Governance’, Mahmoud Qutub, Executive Director of the SC’s Workers’ Welfare Department, spoke alongside Federico Addiechi, FIFA’s Head of Sustainability &

Diversity, about Qatar’s ongoing commitment to safeguarding workers’ rights and setting new benchmarks for the region ahead of the tournament.

Qutub highlighted the lengths the SC has gone to in order to bring about positive change in workers’ welfare and deliver a legacy across Qatar and beyond. He detailed key initia-tives led by the SC’s Workers’ Welfare Department, including robust audit, inspection, com-pliance and enforcement standards, the reimbursement of

illegal recruitment fees, and improvements in workers’ accommodation and grievance mechanisms.

Qutub said: “Since 2016 we have worked closely with BWI on enhancing the work we have carried out in protecting our workers.

“We have made significant progress, but there is still a great deal of work to do. The very nature of the construction industry and its complex supply chain is a challenge – however, we continue to work closely with our contractors to navigate this in order to safeguard our workers.

“The legacy of this tour-nament has always been just as important as its delivery. With 27,000 workers, we are not the biggest player in Qatar’s con-struction industry, however, we have a big voice and we use it well. We are already living the legacy of the World Cup.”

With three years to go until Qatar 2022 kicks off, Addiechi shared his thoughts about the tournament’s potential to drive positive change.

Fielding questions on pre-vious and future editions of the FIFA World Cup, Addiechi explained how FIFA’s role in addressing the issue of human rights has evolved.

He said: “There is real value to be brought by BWI and similar stakeholders in relation to mega-sporting events. The case of Qatar is a positive

example because we have all witnessed the evolution. We have not seen a human rights commitment like this before on a World Cup programme. Eve-ryone has a role to play but if there is any credit to be given it has to be given to the Supreme Committee for their clear com-mitment to identifying issues and solving them.”

Ambet Yuson, BWI General Secretary, recognised the SC’s efforts, especially the intro-duction of Workers’ Welfare Forums to address grievances.

He said: “In the past several years our relationship with Qatar and FIFA has transformed. The conversation has moved forward and the collaboration continues.”

The panellists sharing their views at the high-profile human rights conference in Berlin, organised by global trade union Building and Wood Workers’ International.

Mahmoud Qutub, Executive Director of the SC’s Workers’ Welfare Department, highlighted that the lengths the SC has gone to in order to bring about positive change in workers’ welfare and deliver a legacy across Qatar and beyond.

Municipality Minister participates in ministerial meeting of GCC committeeTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The State of Qatar participated, with a delegation headed by the Minister of Municipality and Environment, H E Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie, in the 29th Ministerial Meeting of the GCC’s Agricultural Coop-eration Committee held yesterday at the headquarters of the Advisory Council of the GCC in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

During the meeting, they discussed a number of issues related to the fields

of agriculture, livestock and fisheries, including the contin-uation of the implementation of the third phase of the joint palm project, the adoption of a number of laws (regulations).

They also discussed a pro-posal to establish a Gulf bank for plant genetic resources, and the unified collective purchase of veterinary medicines and vaccines, Unified Law (Law) for the Protection, Development and Exploitation of the Living Aquatic Wealth of the GCC States and its Executive Regu-lations, and the proposal to unify the date of banning

shrimp fishing in the GCC States. Members of the Com-mittee were also briefed on the latest programme on releasing Kingfish.

The State of Qatar partici-pated in the 27th meeting of the undersecretaries of the minis-tries concerned with agri-culture in the Gulf Cooperation Council states on Wednesday, with a delegation headed by Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser Al Thani, Assistant Undersec-retary for Agriculture and Fish-eries Affairs at the Ministry of M u n i c i p a l i t y a n d Environment.

The Minister of Municipality and Environment, H E Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie, during the 29th Ministerial Meeting of the GCC’s Agricultural Cooperation Committee held yesterday at the headquarters of the Advisory Council of the GCC in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

Radio Olive hosts world premiere of Prassthanam movieTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar’s No.1 Hindi radio station 106.3 FM Radio Olive made the history in Qatar by organising the first world premiere of Hindi film Prassthanam on September 18, at Novo Cinemas, Tawar Mall.

Prasthanam became the first Hindi film to have a world pre-miere in Qatar. Movie stars - Jacky Shroff , Chunky Pandey and Amyra Dastoor, Lovel Arora arrived at Radio Olive studio where they were given a grand welcome followed by the radio interviews. Team Prasthanam enjoyed interacting with Radio Olive RJs. The world premiere was held later in the afternoon at Novo cinemas, Tawar mall. Indian actor Jacky shroff and Chunky Pandey, said, “This was the best welcome given by a radio station in their experience”.

Radio olive listeners were also delightful to share the moments of laughter with the star cast at the ‘Meet and Greet’ held in Tawar mall before the movie screening.

“It’s a proud moment for us as we made history by organ-izing first Hindi film to have hosted a world premiere in Qatar. We will bring more such surprises in coming months”,

said the Managing Director of Radio Olive, Ameer Ali. “We look forward to hosting our next big event - Radio Olive Dandiya Night which will take place on October 4 at Radisson Blu hotel”.

The Indian movie stars during the first world premiere of Hindi film Prassthanam at Novo Cinemas.

President of Austria receives credentials of Qatar’s AmbassadorQNA/VIENNA

President Alexander Van der Bellen of Austria has received the credentials of Sultan bin Salmeen Al Mansouri as Ambas-sador Extraordinary and Plen-ipotentiary of Qatar to the Republic of Austria.

The Ambassador conveyed Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s greetings and wishes of good health and hap-piness to the Austrian President

and his wishes of more progress and prosperity to the gov-ernment and people of the Republic of Austria. The Pres-ident entrusted the Ambassador to convey his greetings to H H the Amir, and his wishes of more prosperity and progress to the people of Qatar. He wished Ambassador success in his new duties and in promoting and strengthening relations of friendship and cooperation between Qatar and Austria.

President Alexander Van der Bellen of Austria receiving the credentials of Sultan bin Salmeen Al Mansouri as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Austria.

Qatar takes part in Arab Conference for Girl Guides in TunisiaTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The 22nd Arab Regional Conference for Girl Guides to promote values of cultural dialogue, hosted by Tunisia, continued from September 17 to 22 with the participation of 12 Arab countries.

The participating countries are Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, Libya, Mauri-tania, Sudan, Syria, Palestine, Tunisia and members of the Arab Girl Guides, as well as rep-resentatives of the World Asso-ciation of Girl Guides.

The conference aims at pro-moting the Arab Girl Guides movement and discuss strat-egies for the growth of Girl

Guides and Girl Scouts and achieve the goals of the Arab Girl Guides.

Commander Amal Al Maslamani stressed that the Arab Regional Conference for Girl Guides strengthens the communication between Arab Girl Guides and promotes the values of civilized dialogue and creates bridges of understanding for a bright future for tomor-row’s generation.

She added that the Con-ference represents the supreme authority that sets the general policy of the Girl Guiding Movement in the homeland, and works to achieve its objectives. The number of participants in the conference is 135 members representing Arab Girl Guides.

Workshop on securing major sporting events concludesQNA DOHA

The security committee of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy concluded yesterday a workshop on police operations during major sporting events, which was organized in cooper-ation with Spanish police.

A total of 11 officers took part in the workshop that took place in La Cigale Hotel. Director of Training Unit at the security committee Major Fahd Al Subaei said that the workshop was offered by a group of Spanish experts in the field of safety and security.

He noted that they have a wealth of experience in securing major events. He said that the workshop helped both the Qatari and Spanish sides exchange valuable expertise in the field.

Virtually every human language has a word for ‘community.’ How could it be other-

wise when community is of the core essence of the human experience? We are creatures of community. To live as part of one fulfills the most natu-ral inclination to society that thrives in every one of us. This is the reason that the notion of community—simple, innate, intuitively understood—never did call for much discussion. It was that fundamental.

Not so since the cesarean birth of the modern, when man was untimely ripped from his natural social womb and delivered disoriented into moral distortion, unmanagea-ble materialism, greed, injustice and arrogance. This has stead-ily led us to a gross reverence of individualism and a near total disregard for the common weal of man.

The result has been much more than the mere loss of an abstract communal sense among us (and its attendant avalanche of ugly ills). We have been forced to endure the degradation and, in some cases, the complete destruction, of the most essen-tial humanizing component in life: The family.

Still, ‘community’ remains in wide use among all people. We invoke it at every turn because it is deep in our Fitrah (the nat-ural predisposition upon which Allah The Almighty created man-kind), our inherent tendency

toward virtue. For community alone holds all earthly hope for our shared happiness and brotherhood.

It is a strange thing that something as ancient as community—a given for the pre-moderns, despite their technological and informational “deficiencies”—has become a cause of primary challenge in our time and at what price? This points up another important note on community: The lack of proper understanding of what community means. This is the chief reason it is so hard today to establish and maintain one.

In this, there is, indeed, a sign for our confused times. It exposes a certain unawareness among our Muslim leadership, which has shown itself at a loss for identifying the wellsprings of community, though the Quran is utterly unambiguous about this.

The first thing about commu-nity in the Quran that rivets you is its massive emphasis. Aside from the topics of faith and Tawheed, Ummah (in its various forms) is the most widely mentioned concept in it. It establishes com-munity as the standard by which we are to understand and reflect

upon man. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {O mankind, indeed We have created you from a male and a female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the Sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.} [Quran 49:13]

This is the most essential form of community intended by God Almighty for man—a sin-gle fellowship commanded to come together for the common good on the basis of monotheism. The Quran grants that material means may allow man gain in worldly matters. Yet only one criterion (God’s reverence and worship—which the Quran refers to as Taqwa) forms the basis upon which man is to be judged. This makes Taqwa, rev-erencing only One God, the sole guidance worth living by. This is no mere abstraction. So let there be no ambiguity about it. Taqwa is entirely concrete.

If people find it difficult to grasp the rope of God Almighty by which Taqwa is represented, let’s be frank, it is wholly due to one failing: The fact that estab-lishing a community based on

exclusive reverence for God Almighty alone means that some men cannot be lords over others. All are equal and must, there-fore, render unto others what they expect from them in return. That is the reason why Taqwa is the only logical criterion of a just community. It is a direct measure of our willingness to believe in Allah The Most High and obey His commands.

Strikingly, the Quran tells us that the most important ingredient in establishing a

community depends not on space, time, matter, or any other “chance” trait or rela-tionship in the world. It is a bond of the human heart. The naked truth is no amount of human will or earthly means can bring it about. It is purely and explicitly an act of Divine Grace. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {…And remem-ber the favor of Allah upon you – when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor,

brothers…} [Quran 3:103] Thus, it is Allah, and Allah alone, who brings the hearts of a commu-nity together and binds them.

We need to appreciate that this is not an act of pure destiny but also a function of whether a people consciously chooses to internalize and live by the ster-ling standard of Taqwa, namely this: God is God. Man is Man. The First is to be worshiped. The latter is His servant, serving all others at His divine pleasure.

https://www.islamweb.net

05FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019 ISLAM

How to perform ‘Umrah’What is Umrah? In

Arabic, the word ‘Umrah is derived from I‘timar which

means a visit. However, ‘Umrah in Islamic terminology, means pay-ing a visit to Ka’bah, performing Tawaf (circumambulation) around it, walking between Safa and Mar-wah seven times. A performer of ‘Umrah puts off his Ihram by hav-ing his hair shaved or cut. ‘Umrah can be performed along with Hajj and in other days as well.

‘Umrah can be performed dur-ing anytime in the year, there is no fixed time for ‘Umrah.

The Pillars of ̀ Umrah are four:a) Ihram: which is assumed

at the Meeqat.b) Tawaf: around the House.c) Sa’y: walking between

As-Safa and Al-Marwah, which consists of seven circuits.

d) Tahal-lul: which means coming out of the state of Ihram; becoming lawful what was pre-viously prohibited during Ihram.

During ‘Umrah, pilgrims do not go to Mina, ‘Arafat and Muz-dalifah or throw pebbles on the Jamrahs (stone pillars repre-senting devils) or offer animal sacrifice. These rites are only performed during Hajj.

How to perform ‘Umrah:1. When the one who wants

to perform ‘Umrah arrives at the Meeqat, it is recommended for him (both man and woman) to take a bath if convenient, including menstruating women and those experiencing postnatal bleeding. The man perfumes his head and beard but not his Ihram garments. There is no harm in what remains of it after Ihram. There is noth-ing wrong if it is not possible to take a bath at Meeqat.

2. Men are to change into their clothing of Ihram while the women only need to make their intention at that time in the clothing they are already wearing. There is no specific clothing designated for women, except that they are pro-hibited from wearing the Niqab (face-veil) and gloves. Instead, they may cover their hands with the lower part of their khimar (head covering), while using the upper part of their jilbab (outer garment) or a separate piece of fabric to cover their faces by drawing it down, if there is need to do so.

As for men, they must assume their Ihram at the Meeqat by wear-ing two pieces of fabric called the Izar and the Ridaa’. The Ridaa’ covers the top half of the body, while the Izar covers the lower half. No other clothing is allowed to be worn in addition to these – no underwear, no pants, no shirt, no turban, no hat, etc. are to be worn.

Then the pilgrim makes the intention at the Meeqat to begin the rites of ‘Umrah by entering the state of Ihram. The intention must be made in the heart, while the statement made afterwards is: “Labayka ‘Umrah” or “Allahumma labbayka ‘Umrah”. This statement begins the rites of ̀ Umrah. So the first pillar of ̀ Umrah is the Ihram. The intention is made in the heart, while the tongue recites the open-ing Talbiyyah. And if you wish, when uttering Talbiyyah, you may state a condition to Allah fear-ing that which may prevent you from completion of the ‘Umrah whether illness or fear - saying “in habasanee habes fa mahil-lee haithu habastanee” (I come out of the state of Ihram from the place You prevent me from continuing). So if you do that and are then prevented or become ill - then you may come out of Ihram. Then repeat the Talbiyyah: “labbayk Allahumma labbayk, labbayka la shareeka laka lab-bayk, innal-hamda wan-ni’mata

laka wal-mulk, la shareeka lak” (“In response to your call O Allah I perform ‘Umrah, here I am O Allah. In response to Your call. You have no partner. In response to Your call. All Praise and Bless-ings, and the Ownership of all that You created is Yours (alone). You have no partner”)

Upon arriving at the sacred mosque in Makkah (Al-Masjid Al-Haram), you should enter with your right foot and say: “Bismillah, Allahumma Salli ‘Ala Muham-mad, Allahumma Ighfirli waftahli Abwaba Rahmatik. (In the name of Allah! O Allah! Exalt the mention of your Messenger. O Allah! Forgive my sins, and open the gates of Your mercy for me).” You should enter in a manner expressing humility and gratitude to the blessings He, Almighty, conferred upon you.

3. Upon arriving at the Ka’bah, stop reciting the Talbiyyah, then approach the Black Stone, touch it with your right hand and kiss it. If this isn’t possible, you should face the Black Stone and point to it. Don’t push and shove, caus-ing harm and being harmed by other people. When touching the Stone, the following is said: “Bis-mil-lah, Allahu Akbar” (In the name of Allah, Allah is the Great-est) or “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the Greatest).

A pilgrim must walk, keeping the Ka’bah on his left. When you reach the Yamani corner touch

it with your right hand, if pos-sible, but do not kiss it, and say: “Bismil-lahi wa Allahu Akbar”. If this is difficult for you, then go on performing tawaf without touching it, pointing at it or even saying “Allahu Akbar” because this was not narrated from the Prophet on the other hand when-ever you reach or are parallel to the black stone, touch it with your right hand, kiss it and say, “Bismillah Allahu Akbar”, if it is not possible then it is enough to point at it and say, “Bismillah, Allahu Akbar”.

During this Tawaf it is pre-ferred for a man to do two things:

a) Al-Idhtibaa’ from the begin-ning of Tawaf until the end, which is placing the middle of one’s Redaa’ under the right arm and the ends of it over the left shoulder. When you are finished perform-ing Tawaf, you may return your Reda’ to its original state because the time for A-Idhtibaa’ is only during Tawaf.

b) Ar-Raml during the first three circuits only. Ar-Raml means speeding up one’s pace with small steps.

Make supplication from your heart, for that which will benefit you. Recite whatever you wish, supplicate to Allah by asking for good, recite the Quran, anything you wish. There are no specific statements or supplications to be recited during the Tawaf that are

authentically established in the Sunnah. However it is recom-mended to say between the two corners during each circumbu-lance as it is reported from the Messenger of Allah : “...Our Lord, grant us good in this life and good in the hereafter and save us from the punishment of the Hellfire.” [Quran: 2:201]

4. When you complete seven circuits of Tawaf, approach Maqam Ibraheem (Ibraheem’s station) and recite this verse (which means): “And take you (people) the Maqam (place) of Ibraheem as a place of Prayer...” [Quran: 2:125]

Then pray two short Rak’ahs, as close as conveniently possible, behind Maqam Ibraheem. If it is not possible then you can pray them anywhere in the sacred mosque. It is preferred to recite during the first Rak’ah the chap-ter “Al-Kafiroon” [109] and during the second one the chapter of “Al-lkhlas” [112].

Upon completing the two Rak’ahs, return to the Black Stone and touch it, if convenient

5. The next stage is to go to Safa. Upon approaching the foot of Safa, the following verse is recited (which means): “Verily, As-Safa and Al-Marwah are from the symbols of Allah. So it is not a sin on him who performs Hajj or ‘Umrah of the house (ka ‘bah) to perform the going (tawaf) between them. And whoever does good

voluntarily, then verily, Allah is the All-Recognizer, All-Knower.” [Quran; 2:158]

6. Then climb unto mount Safa until the Ka’bah is visible, if possible. Facing the Ka’bah the following is to be said 3 times, and between each time one is to make ones own supplication:

“Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. La ilaha il-lall-llahu wadahu la shareeka lahu, lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu, wa huwa ‘ala qulli shay’in qadeer. La ilaha il-lall-llahu wahdahu, anjaza wa’dahu, wa nasara ‘abdahu, wa hazamal ahzaba wahdahu” (Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Great-est, Allah is the Greatest. None has the right to be worshipped except Allah alone, Who has no partner. To Him belongs the dominion, to Him belongs all praise, and He has power over everything. He fulfilled His promise, gave vic-tory to His servant, and defeated the confederates alone.)

7. Then descend and go towards Marwah, running between the fluorescent green lights (for men only), upon reach-ing Marwah climb upon it if it is possible, and repeat the same pro-cedure as when ascending Safa except you are not to recite the above-mentioned verse, because it is recited when ascending Safa for the first time only. This completes one circuit. Then one continues back to Safa running between the fluorescent green lights (for men only) - thus completing two circuits.

There are no particular sup-plications to be recited between Safa and Marwah. Seven circuits are to be completed ending the last one on Marwah.

Then one is to have his hair cut although shaving it is better. Women should shorten their hair by a finger-tips length from the end. The rights of ‘Umrah have now been completed.

https://www.islamweb.

The Quran and communityAllah The Almighty Says (what means): {O mankind, indeed We have created you from a male and a female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the Sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.} [Quran 49:13]

Muslims gather to perform the Eid Al Adha prayer at Addis Ababa Stadium in Ethiopia on August 11, 2019. Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid Al Adha, to commemorate the holy Prophet Ibrahim’s (Prophet Abraham) readiness to sacrifice his son as a sign of his obedience to God, during which they sacrifice permissible animals, generally goats, sheep, and cows. Eid Al Adha is the one of two most important holidays in the Islamic calendar, with prayers and the ritual sacrifice of animals.

When the one who wants to perform ‘Umrah arrives at the Meeqat, it is recommended for him (both man and woman) to take a bath if convenient, including menstruating women and those experiencing postnatal bleeding.

06 FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Strike against Iran would result in all-out war: Zarif

REUTERS DUBAI

Any US or Saudi military strike against Iran would bring “all-out war”, Tehran said yesterday, keeping up a drumbeat of warnings to its adversaries after they accused the Islamic Republic of a strike on Saudi oil facilities.

“I am making a very serious statement that we don’t want war; we don’t want to engage in a military confrontation... But we won’t blink to defend our ter-ritory,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif (pic-tured) told CNN in an interview.

Asked what the consequence of an American or a Saudi mil-itary strike on Iran would be, Zarif said “an all=out war”.

The United States has been discussing with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies possible responses to an attack on Saudi oil facilities on Saturday which they blame on Iran, and which US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described as an act of war on the kingdom. Zarif had

earlier warned on Twitter that what he described as the B team — including Israeli Prime Min-ister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman — was deceiving US President Donald Trump into a war against Iran. The attack was claimed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said that Wash-ington and Riyadh had accused

Iran “because they don’t believe the oppressed Yemeni nation has reached such a capability,” the state news agency IRNA reported.

Meanwhile, the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari as saying Iran’s adversaries would regret any aggression against it.

Trump struck a cautious note on Wednesday. He said there were many options short of war with Iran, which denies involvement in the Sepember. 14 strikes that initially halved Saudi oil output. He ordered more sanctions on Tehran.

Zarif also said in a tweet on Thursday that Pompeo was trying to delay issuing visas for the Iranian delegation to the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.

Trump said he is not looking to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a UN event in New York this month.

AFP/ ABU DHABI

The United States wants a peaceful solution to the crisis sparked by attacks on Saudi oil facilities, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said yesterday, after Iran raised the prospect of “all-out war”.

After meeting with allies in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, Pompeo said there was an “enormous consensus in the region” that Iran carried out Saturday’s attacks, despite its denials. “I didn’t hear anyone in the region who doubted that for a single moment,” he told reporters. Despite earlier condemning the strikes that took out half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production as an “act of war”, Pompeo said he was in the Gulf looking to achieve peace. “We’d like a peaceful resolution. I think we’ve demonstrated that,” he said. “We’re here to build out a coalition aimed at achieving peace.” “I hope the Islamic Republic of Iran sees it the same way.”

Pompeo: US wants peaceful solution to crisis over strikes

The Lebanese Minister of Defence, Elias Bou Saab, points at part of an Israeli captured drone that fell over a southern Beirut suburb, as he speaks during a press conference in the Ministry of Defence at Yarze, yesterday.

Lebanon exhibits drones used in alleged Israeli attackAFP BEIRUT

Lebanon’s defence minister yesterday exhibited two drones he said Israel had sent last month into a Beirut bastion of Hezbollah.

Elias Bou Saab displayed a pair of drones — one intact and the remains of the other — and used slides to give a detailed account of the alleged Israeli operation. He said the devices were “advanced military pro-duction” and even listed the name and address of one Israeli company he said made some of the components.

The August 25 drone incident in Beirut, which came a day after Israeli strikes targeted Hezbollah

operatives in Syria, drastically raised tensions in the region. Lebanon’s government and Hez-bollah chief Hassan Nasrallah both described the apparently botched operation as an act of aggression.

Israel’s and Hezbollah’s respective patrons, the United States and Iran, have been locked in an escalating tit-for-tat proxy war in recent months.

Bou Saab said that the data retrieved from the intact drone — from which the explosive charge was purportedly removed for the press con-ference — offered a set of detailed times and locations.

The operation was initiated 11.6km off the coastal airstrip of

Habonim, south of the Israeli city of Haifa, he said, adding that the explosives-laden device had been guided by another larger drone in the area.

To reach its presumed target, that device flew over the Jnah district near Beirut International Airport, in what the defence minister said would have posed a risk to civilian air traffic.

Following the Beirut incident, Hezbollah had vowed to take down Israeli drones overflying Lebanon and on Sep-tember 9 claimed it had downed and seized one.

The Israeli army confirmed that one of its devices “fell” in Lebanon but it has not com-mented on the August 25 incident.

Tunisia’s ousted president dies in exileREUTERS TUNIS

Tunisia’s ousted autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (pictured) died in exile in Saudi Arabia yesterday, days after a free pres-idential election in his homeland, his family lawyer said.

“Ben Ali just died in Saudi Arabia,” the lawyer, Mounir Ben Salha, said by phone. Ben Ali fled Tunisia in January 2011 as his compatriots rose up against his

oppressive rule in a revolution that inspired other Arab Spring uprisings abroad and led to a democratic transition at home.

However, while Tunisians have enjoyed a much smoother march to democracy than cit-izens of the other Arab states that also rose up in 2011, many of them are economically worse off than they were under Ben Ali.

While almost all the candi-dates in Sunday’s election were vocal champions of the

revolution, one of them, Abir Moussi, campaigned as a sup-porter of Ben Ali’s ousted gov-ernment, receiving 4% of the votes. A former security chief, Ben Ali had run Tunisia for 23 years, taking power when, as prime minister in 1987, he declared president-for-life Habib Bourguiba medically unfit to rule. On few occasions his rule was put to the vote, he faced only nominal opposition and won re-election by more than 99%.

Netanyahu, Gantz in stand-off over unity govtAFP JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main chal-lenger Benny Gantz were in a stand-off over calls for a unity government yesterday as election results put the premier’s long tenure in office at risk.

In a major development fol-lowing Tuesday’s polls, Netanyahu said he preferred to form a right-wing coalition, but the results showed it was not possible.

He urged Gantz to join him in forming a unity government instead, and the two men shook hands when they crossed paths at a memorial event later.

But yesterday afternoon, Gantz made clear that he would have to be prime minister of a unity government, noting that results so far put his centrist Blue and White two seats ahead of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud.

Despite Gantz’s slim lead, neither has an obvious path to form a majority coalition, and the Blue and White leader has made several calls for a unity

government since polls closed on Tuesday.

Netanyahu’s stark admission came as the results threatened his status as the country’s

longest-serving prime minister while he faces possible cor-ruption charges in the weeks ahead.

“During the elections, I called for the establishment of a right-wing government,” Netanyahu said in a video message.

“But unfortunately the election results show that this is not possible.” He went on to call on Gantz to form a “broad unity government today.” Speaking to journalists, Gantz said: “The public voted clearly in favour of unity.

“Blue and White has at the time I am speaking won 33 seats, while Netanyahu has not obtained a sufficient majority to form a coalition as he hoped.” The ex-military chief, who mounted his challenge to Netanyahu without any prior political experience, went on to say: “We will listen to everyone, but we will not accept mandates imposed on us.”

An injured Palestinian demonstrator is being moved away from the site after the intervention of Israeli forces during “Great March of Return” demonstration at Israel-Gaza border near Al Bureij Refugee Camp in Gaza City, Gaza.

Pupils killed in Liberia school fire of Guinean origin: AmbassadorAFP MONROVIA

At least 26 pupils killed in a huge fire at a Liberian Koranic school when flames engulfed their dormitory were of Guinean origin, Guinea’s ambassador to

Monrovia said yesterday. The children were sleeping at the school when the fire began over-night on Tuesday, according to police, which also killed at least one teacher.

Police spokesman Moses Carter said the blaze may have

been caused by an electrical fault but refused to rule out the pos-sibility of arson.

Guinea’s Ambassador to Liberia Abdoulaye Dore said the victims were all of Guinean descent but could not say whether they all had Guinean

nationality. “I have the total list in front of me, 28 people, all the names are Guineans,” he said.

The death toll has varied between 26 and 28 dead. Dore described the victims as part of an “important community” of people of Guinean origin living

in Liberia. Guinea President Alpha Conde expressed “great emotion” over the deaths and gave his “deepest condolences to the Liberian people and the Guinean community in Liberia”. “We extend our sympathy to the bereaved families. We don’t

know the cause of the fire yet, but we will encourage our inves-tigators to find how it happened,” he added. On Wednesday, res-cuers in white masks and sur-gical gloves carried the children’s bodies in bags from the burnt-out building.

Turkey to display ancient ship modelANATOLIA/ANKARA

A replica of an ancient ship designed by a German archaeologist will be anchored in Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

Dominique Gorlitz designed the Abora-IV using reeds, taking inspiration from ancient rock paintings he found in the Nubian Desert, east of the Sahara Desert. The ship will be displayed in the ancient city of Patara, Antalya which was a hub for Egyptian traders in ancient times. The project aims to show how Egyptian sailors in those times reached the Black Sea ports on small hand-made vessels.

The 14-metre-long ship was built in Varna, Bulgaria with reeds brought from Bolivia. It set sail from the Port of Varna on August one and reached Turkey’s northwestern coast of Canakkale passing through the Bosphorus. This was its first voyage to Turkey.

Russia, China veto UN resolution on SyriaAP/UNITED NATIONS

Russia and China vetoed yesterday a resolution backed by the vast majority of United Nations Security Council members that called for a cease-fire in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, the coun-try’s last rebel stronghold. The resolution demanded that counter-terrorism activities comply with international humanitarian law.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council the aim of the resolution — drafted by Germany, Belgium and Kuwait — was “to save the international terrorists who are entrenched in Idlib from their final defeat.”

Tunisian candidate to remain in jailANATOLIA/TUNIS

A Tunisian court has again turned down a request to release jailed media tycoon Nabil Karoui, who along with law professor Kais Saied has reached a runoff in the country’s presidential elections.

Karoui, the candidate of the Qalb Tounes (Heart of Tunisia) party, advanced to the second round against Saied, the independent can-didate, in Sunday’s polls. The judge has refused to give a ruling, saying it was not in his jurisdiction, the party said in a statement.

Courts have previously turned down requests to release Karoui for the same reason, the statement said. Karoui was accused of financial crimes following an investigation by an anti-corruption group. On July eight, a court ordered Karoui and his brother’s assets to be frozen and imposed a travel ban. Karoui was arrested on August 23 on charges of money laundering and tax evasion.

According to official results, Saied secured 18.4% of the vote while Karoui came in second with 15.6%.

“I am making a very serious statement that we don’t want war; we don’t want to engage in a military confrontation... But we won’t blink to defend our territory,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif told CNN in an interview.

07FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019 ASIA

Kashmiri people clamour for peace, jobs: ModiIANS NASHIK

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here yesterday that the BJP government had kept its promise and integrated Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh into India, and appealed to the people to help make it “a paradise again”.

“Until now, the slogan was ‘Kashmir Hamara Hai’ but now ‘Kashmir Ko Phir Se Swarg Banana Hai’ should be our motto. Let us apply the soothing balm to the festering wounds of our Kashmiri brethren due to the problems created by the misrule of the past many decades,” Modi urged.

He said the new resolve should be “Ab Naya Kashmir Banana Hai”, “Har Kashmiri Ko Gale Lagana Hai” for which he

sought the help of the people of Maharashtra.

“All attempts to destabilise India and Jammu and Kashmir are taking place from across the border. But, now the people there clamour for development, peace, jobs. I want all of you to come forward and help rebuild Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh,” exhorted Modi.

He was addressing a massive rally here marking the con-clusion of Chief Minster

Devendra Fadnavis’ 4,000 km-long ‘Mahajanadesh Yatra’ which ended here after covering the state in phases since August.

Modi rued that despite such a historic step taken by the ruling NDA, the Opposition was trying to exploit it for political gains, but for the BJP, “nothing is bigger than the nation and its security”.

Focusing on the state, the PM said that the nation and Mahar-ashtra failed to progress suffi-ciently in view of the many years

of political uncertainty.“The people of the state and

even the financial capital Mumbai, fell victim to this political instability and could not move ahead as quickly as desired. No CM in the state’s history except the late Vasant-raodada Patil and now Devendra Fadnavis completed a full term,” Modi pointed out.

“It would have certainly helped if the state had experi-enced political stability but it was not possible as they lacked majority. But, Fadnavis has given a new direction to the state. Now, the people of the state must reciprocate by returning him with full majority,” Modi said.

He said Fadnavis has trav-elled a gruelling 4000 kms and given a full account of his gov-ernment’s performance in the

past five years which has been highly appreciated by the masses, “who have made up their minds now.”

Modi said the BJP symbolizes a strong and stable government which ‘Promised, Performed and Delivered’ on all fronts - women, farmers, students, youth and all sections of society in the past five years.

The PM reiterated that his government had performed at record speed in the first 100 days in power and promised that “more will come soon.” “In the past 60 years, this is the first gov-ernment which has returned to power consecutively for a second term with a much higher majority than before, because of its performance and the confi-dence of the people,” Modi said.

The BJP has decided to make

its abrogation of Art. 370 granting special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir its poll plank for the assembly elections in Mahar-ashtra next month.

Meanwhile, the government is mulling Rs4 lakh insurance cover to the all sarpanchs in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir who are vulnerable to terror attacks, senior Home Min-istry officials said yesterday.

The move comes after a del-egation of the sarpanchs yes-terday met Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital.

An official said the sarpanchs of the erstwhile state will also be apprised about the new Central laws following abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution that provided special status to J&K.

Rajnath becomes first Minister to fly on TejasIANS BENGALURU/NEW DELHI

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh undertook a maiden sortie on a Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), fully dressed in a G-Suit, from Bengaluru yesterday.

Singh, who became the first Defence Minister of the country to fly in a Tejas, took to the cockpit of the fighter jet with a pilot in the front seat.

“Singh is the first Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister) to fly the LCA. National Flight Test Centre Director Air-Vice-Marshal N Tiwari piloted the fourth-gen-eration fighter trainer, with the 68-year-old Singh behind him in the glass cockpit,” a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said here.

The fighter jet, a twin-seater trainer aircraft, took off from the airport of the state-run Hin-dustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in this tech hub for a 30-minute sortie at 9.58am under a cloudy sky.

A senior IAF officer and a

ground staff at the airport guided Singh in taking the rear seat inside the cockpit ensuring all safety gear were in place.

Singh waved out to the crowds at the HAL airport before the fighter jet took to the runway.

Shortly before entering the cockpit, Rajnath posted his pho-tographs dressed in a G-suit on Twitter. “All Set for the Day,” he tweeted.

On Wednesday, Singh had left for Bengaluru to participate in the programme that has been jointly organised by the HAL and the DRDO.

Singh’s maiden flight on the Tejas comes ahead of the Indian Air Force (IAF) placing an order for 83 jets with the HAL, the manufacturer of the 4-plus gen-eration combat aircraft.

In the first week of Sep-tember, the pricing-related issue of the 83 jets, which had been hanging fire for long, had been successfully resolved by the Department of Defence Pro-duction with the HAL. The new batch of 83 jets will be in addition

to the 40 aircraft that have already been ordered by the IAF.

The Tejas has been designed by India’s premier defence research institute, the Defence Research & Development Organ-isation (DRDO).

On September 13, the naval

version of Tejas LCA had achieved a major milestone with a suc-cessful “arrested landing” at the shore-based Test Facility of INS Hansa in Goa. The Indian Navy had hailed September 13 as a “golden letter day” in its history.

Singh made a familiarisation

sortie to get acquainted with the air prowess of the indigenous fighter.

“Before take-off, the 45 Squadron Flying Daggers of the Indian Air Force (IAF) briefed Singh about the LCA’s avionics, controls and radar in the glass cockpit and the weapons it carries for strike power.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh (left) waves to the media while pilot Air Vice Marshal N Tiwari looks on after they flew on a sortie in the ‘Tejas’ Light Combat Aircraft at HAL Airport in Bengaluru, yesterday.

Professor apologises for his comment on DhavanIANS NEW DELHI

Professor N Shanmugam, who cursed senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan for appearing for Muslim parties’ in Ayodhya title dispute, apologised for his comments yesterday.

The lawyer appearing for 88-year-old professor said his client regrets his action.

Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said “Why are you doing this? You are 88-year old.” Shan-mugam had written a letter to Dhavan cursing him of physical disabilities.

The apex court admonished the octogenarian for saying such things to Dhavan when matter is pending before the court.

Senior advocate Kaipl Sibal appearing for Dhavan said that we do not want any punishment for the professor, instead a message should go out in the country that while hearing is in progress on the matter there should be no direct or indirect intimidation of counsel appearing for any party. The top court has closed this case yesterday.

Chief Justice agreed to hear the application by Muslim parties’ lawyer Rajeev Dhavan on the threat he received for appearing for Muslim party after senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the application before the court.

Dhavan had filed a con-tempt petition in the Supreme Court claiming he has received a letter from Chennai-based Professor N Shanmugam on August 14, 2019, threatening him for appearing for Muslim parties in Ayodhya title dispute.

With Trump by his side, Modi set to fire up Houston rallyREUTERS NEW DELHI/MUMBAI

With US President Donald Trump by his side, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek to fire up thousands of Indian-American supporters at a rally in Texas on Sunday, shrugging off international criticism over a crackdown in disputed Kashmir.

Modi is travelling to the United States to speak at the UN General Assembly, seven weeks after his government revoked the partial autonomy enjoyed by Muslim-majority Kashmir in a move that prompted anger in the

region and in neighbouring Pakistan, which also lays claim to it.

Before travelling to the United Nations headquarters in New York, Modi will address a rally at a stadium in Houston that Trump has also agreed to attend.

“The special gesture of Pres-ident @realDonaldTrump to join us in Houston highlights the strength of the relationship and recognition of the contribution of the Indian community to American society and economy,” Modi said in a Tweet.

Though there have been recent tensions between

Washington and New Delhi over trade and tariffs, the two men have shown a warm personal rapport at previous meetings.

About 50,000 people have registered for the “Howdy, Modi” community event, at which Trump will also speak, the biggest crowd that the Indian leader has drawn after a rock-show like rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2014.

That was the first big attempt by Modi’s ruling Hindu nation-alist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to rouse the prosperous Diaspora in the United States - home to 4 million Indian-Americans - and

lobby for India’s interests in the way countries such as Israel have done.

Vijay Chauthaiwale, the chief of the BJP’s foreign affairs department,s aid from Houston that Trump’s decision to attend the event was a surprise, but tes-tified to the power of the US Indian community as well as the importance Trump attached to bilateral ties, despite recent trade frictions.

“The strategic relationship is stronger,” he said.

Modi’s supporters say he has won a diplomatic victory by getting Trump on his side.

“They’ve developed quite a good camaraderie between them, leaders of the two most influential democracies on earth,” said Shalab Kumar, an Indian-American businessman who founded the Republican Hindu Coalition, modelled on the Republican Jewish Coalition, in 2015.

“They’re finally coming together on one stage, that’s great particularly after abro-gation (of Kashmir’s special status). This is probably the biggest endorsement of the United States to Modi, that the move was the correct move.”

People walk in between parked taxis during a strike called by the United Front of Transport Associations against steep hikes in traffic fines imposed by the central government, outside a railway station in New Delhi, yesterday.

Transport strike paralyses New Delhi

ED to invoke Fugitive Economic Offenders Act against Zakir NaikIANS NEW DELHI

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is going to invoke Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA) against Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who is currently residing in Malaysia, official sources said yesterday.

A highly placed ED source said: “We are mulling the idea to invoke FEOA against Naik in the money laundering case being probed by us.” The ED booked him in 2016 on an FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The controversial preacher is wanted by authorities for alleged money laundering and inciting extremism through hate

speeches.On Wednesday, a Special Pre-

vention of Money Laundering (PMLA) court in Mumbai issued non-bailable warrant against Naik.

According to the ED officials, under the FEOA, any person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued in respect of a scheduled offence and who has left India to avoid criminal pros-ecution or is abroad or refuses to return to India will face criminal prosecution.

After the person is declared a ‘fugitive economic offender’, the prosecuting agency is vested with the power to confiscate all his assets and properties to recover the dues.

Naik is a known hate preacher whose name promi-nently figured during the Dhaka

bomb blasts in July 2016 that killed many. A bomber later con-fessed that he was influenced by Naik’s messages following which he fled India.

Naik, who used to preach on the now-banned ‘Peace TV’, has been living in Malaysia for around 3 years in a bid to escape the Indian law after cases were filed against him here in the wake of a terror attack in Bangladesh in 2016.

He was granted permanent residency in Malaysia following Britain and Canada’s refusal to grant him visa.

The ED had filed charge-sheet against Naik in May this year. It identified the proceeds of crime was worth Rs193.06 crore and alleged that Naik’s speeches incited young Muslim men to commit terrorist acts.

“All attempts to destabilise India and Jammu and Kashmir are taking place from across the border. But, now the people there clamour for development, peace, jobs. I want all of you to come forward and help rebuild Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh,” exhorted Modi.

Academic freedom advocates say the government could be setting a dangerous precedent if it injects politics into funding decisions. Some said they had never heard of the Education Department asserting control over such minute details of a program’s offerings.

NOAH SMITH BLOOMBERG

08 FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019VIEWS

UNC-Duke program too positive on Islam, Trump officials say

The Trump administration is threatening to cut funding for a Middle East studies program run by the University of North

Carolina and Duke University, arguing that it’s misusing a federal grant to advance “ideological priorities” and unfairly promote “the positive aspects of Islam” but not Christianity or Judaism.

An Aug. 29 letter from the US Educa-tion Department orders the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies to revise its offerings by Sept. 22 or risk los-ing future funding from a federal grant that’s awarded to dozens of universities to support foreign language instruction. The consortium received $235,000 from the grant last year, according to Educa-tion Department data.

Officials at Duke and at UNC-Chapel Hill, which houses the consortium, declined to comment. The Education Department declined to say if it’s examining similar programs at other schools.

Academic freedom advocates say the government could be setting a dangerous precedent if it injects politics into fund-ing decisions. Some said they had never heard of the Education Department assert-ing control over such minute details of a program’s offerings.

“Is the government now going to judge funding programs based on the opinions of instructors or the approach of each course?” said Henry Reichman, chair-man of a committee on academic freedom for the American Association of Univer-sity Professors. “The odor of right wing political correctness that comes through this definitely could have a chilling effect.”

More than a dozen universities receive National Resource Center grants for their Middle East pro-grams, including Columbia, Geor-getown, Yale and the University of Texas. The Duke-UNC consortium was founded in 2005 and first received the grant nearly a decade ago.

E d u c a t i o n Secretary Betsy DeVos ordered an investigation into the program in June after North Carolina Rep. George Holding,

a Republican, complained that it hosted a taxpayer-funded conference with “severe anti-Israeli bias and anti-Semitic rheto-ric.” In a response to Holding, DeVos said she was “troubled” by his letter and would take a closer look at the consortium.

The department’s findings did not directly address any bias against Israel but instead evaluated whether the con-sortium’s proposed activities met the goals of the National Resource Center program, which was created in 1965 to support lan-guage and culture initiatives that prepare students for careers in diplomacy and national security.

Investigators concluded that the con-sortium intended to use federal money on offerings that are “plainly unqualified for taxpayer support,” adding that foreign lan-guage and national security instruction have “taken a back seat to other priori-ties.” The department cited several courses, conferences and academic papers that it says have “little or no relevance” to the grant’s goals.

“Although a conference focused on ‘Love and Desire in Modem Iran’ and one focused on Middle East film criti-cism may be relevant in academia, we do not see how these activities support the development of foreign language and international expertise for the benefit of US national security and economic sta-bility,” the letter said.

Investigators also saw a disconnect between the grant’s mission and some academic papers by scholars at the con-sortium. They objected to one paper titled “Performance, Gender-Bending and Sub-version in the Early Modern Ottoman Intellectual History,” and another titled “Radical Love: Teachings from Islamic Mystical Tradition.”

The letter accused the consortium of failing to provide a “balance of per-spectives” on religion. It said there is “a considerable emphasis” placed on “under-standing the positive aspects of Islam, while there is an absolute absence of any similar focus on the positive aspects of Christian-ity, Judaism or any other religion or belief system in the Middle East.”

It added that there are few offerings on discrimination faced by religious minorities in the Middle East, “including Christians, Jews, Baha’is, Yadizis, Kurds, Druze and oth-ers.” Department officials said the grant’s rules require programs to provide a “full understanding” of the regions they study.

Jay Smith, a history professor at UNC and vice president of its chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said the letter amounts to “ide-ologically driven harassment.” He said the Education Department official who signed the letter, Robert King, “should stay in his lane and allow the experts to determine what constitutes a ‘full understanding’ of the Middle East.”

But Holding, the Republican who sparked the investigation, said it’s clear the consortium stepped outside the bounds of the grant. The Education Department has an obligation to ensure its funding is used as intended, he said, adding that other schools should make sure they’re following the rules.

“This has fallen through the cracks, and this could be going on at other educa-tional institutions,” he said in an interview. “If the department’s providing the money and giving guidance on how the money is to be used, I think they can be as in the weeds as they need to be.”

The National Resource Center grant program provided a total of $22 million to language programs at about 40 universities last year. Of that total, about $3.5 million was for Middle East programs.

Along with its objection to the nature of the UNC-Duke offerings, the depart-ment also said it’s concerned that, out of 6,800 students enrolled in the consorti-um’s courses, just 960 were enrolled in Middle East language classes, and that only 11% of the program’s graduates pursue careers in government, while 35% takes jobs in academia.

Department officials instructed the consortium to provide a “revised sched-ule of activities” for the next year and to explain how each offering promotes foreign language learning and advances national security interest.

COLLIN BINKLEY AP

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Some progress was being made in

Brexit talks but that Britain should still

prepare to leave the European Union on October 31 without

a deal.

Boris Johnson British Prime Minister

Saudi attack makes electric vehicles even more important

On Saturday, the Houthis, a Yemeni rebel group fighting against a coalition

led by Saudi Arabia, took credit for a strike that knocked out two key Saudi oil processing facilities.

At a single stroke, Saudi oil production was cut from 9.8 million barrels a day to 4.1 million, sending prices soar-ing. That means about 5% of the entire world’s oil produc-tion suddenly went offline. This is an unprecedented disruption - bigger in absolute terms than any of the famous oil shocks of previous decades: Naturally, the Saudis are scrambling to get production up and running again, and the country’s large stockpiles of oil should cushion the blow to customers. But even though the Saudis say they have restored some of the lost pro-duction, world supplies may be limited because other nations simply don’t have much spare capacity to fill the gap.

More fundamentally, if

critical Saudi infrastructure can be taken out with a relatively cheap, low-tech drone strike, it doesn’t bode well. The war in Yemen will likely continue, and the Houthis, encouraged by this smashing success, probably will launch more such attacks. A wider war, especially if it pulled in Iran and the US, would be even more disruptive.

Thus, the world could be facing a substantial rise in oil prices.

Conventional wisdom is that big oil price spikes lead to reces-sions in the US. Economist James Hamilton has shown that each oil shock since the end of WW II was followed by a US down-turn. Most recently, oil more than doubled in the year before the 2008 financial crisis. Thus, the Houthi militia might end up sending the US into an eco-nomic tailspin right before an important presidential election.

Such an outcome isn’t set in stone. Economists Lutz Kil-ian and Robert Vigfusson argue that Hamilton’s assumptions are flawed, and that oil prices play only a modest role in recessions. Meanwhile, the US’s situation

has changed a lot in the past decade. Thanks to the rise of hydraulic fracturing, the US is close to being a net oil exporter:

A rise in oil prices will make many fracking projects profit-able that would otherwise sink into bankruptcy. That could cause a production surge that offsets the decline elsewhere in the economy.

Most other industrialized countries won’t be so lucky. Advanced nations in Europe and Asia, as well as China and India, will see fuel costs rise, which could slow their econ-omies and indirectly hurt the US through reduced trade. Even if oil prices are only a minor cause of recession, the current shock comes on top of a dam-aging trade war and declining consumer confidence.

The Houthi raid may thus serve as a reminder how dependent the world still is on cheap Middle Eastern oil and the dysfunctional regimes that keep it flowing. Despite all the effort the US has put into becoming energy independent, and despite how much other countries have diversified their energy mixes,

the global economy relies too much on this single commodity.

This situation has gone on for too long. The world needs to switch to non-oil power sources for transportation as quickly as possible. The most promis-ing way to do this is to move to battery-powered vehicles. As things stand, with battery costs coming down, electric vehicles are forecast to outnumber their gas-powered cousins in the US in about 20 years:

This is faster than many expected, but still too slow. The US and other rich coun-tries should attempt to make the change in half of that time.

Several policies will be needed. First, the government should increase subsidies for vehicle batteries because pro-ducing at larger scale allows companies to figure out ways to produce things more cheaply. Second, the government should set standards to ensure that all electric-vehicle charging sta-tions be interoperable so that any EV can be charged from any station. This will make sure EV drivers always have a place to recharge their cars.

Both Doha and Paris share very strong bonds and cooperate closely in many fields like defence, security, health, education, culture, sports, economy, investment and counter-terrorism.

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

m.salim@pen.com.qa

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI

osman@pen.com.qa

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIAL

The French connection

The current visit by Amir to France will further boost the strong relations the two countries has been sharing for over four decades.

The Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who was on a working visit to France and UK before heading for the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, met French President Emmanuel Macron at Elysee Palace yesterday and discussed strategic relations between both countries and ways to boost them in various fields.

In February 2019, Qatar and France had signed an intent agreement for establishing strategic partnership dialogue aimed at enhancing cooperation in different fields between the two countries and address a broad range of regional issues.

Both Doha and Paris share very strong bonds and cooperate closely in many fields like defence, security, health, education, culture, sports, economy, investment and counter-terrorism.

One area Qatar cooperates closely with France is defense. Qatar had signed an agreement with France in

2015 to supply the Amiri Air Force with 24 Rafale aircraft and later activated the deal by increasing the number of aircraft by 12 more. The Qatari Amiri Air Force received the first French fighter this year in February.

Another big development in the bilateral relations was the visit of Prime Minister of the French Republic, Edouard Philippe to Qatar in March this year. During the visit, Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and Prime Minister of the French Republic held official talks-session and witnessed the

signing of a number of agreements and memorandums of understanding between both governments.

The presence of French companies in Qatar offering their expertise and sharing know-how in strategic sectors like oil and gas and construction for decades shows the deep ties and mutual trust shared between the two nations.

The robust business ties are reflected in the strong growth in volume of bilateral trade. The volume of trade between the two friendly countries has grown from around QR9.14bn in 2016 to over QR14bn in 2018.

Qatari investments in France include several sectors such as energy, real estate, hotels, financial services, transport, communications and sports. France also remains one of the leading destinations for Qatari foreign investment, as Qatar’s investments in France were esti-mated to be around €30bn in 2018

Cultural ties between the two nations will get a major fillip as part of Year of Culture initiative Qatar will mark next year as Qatar-France 2020 Year of Culture.

09FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019 ASIA

30 Afghan pine nut farm workers die in US drone strikeREUTERS JALALABAD

A US drone strike intended to hit an Islamic State (IS) hideout in Afghanistan killed at least 30 civilians resting after a day’s labour in the fields, officials said yesterday.

The attack on Wednesday night also injured 40 people after accidentally targeting farmers and labourers who had just finished collecting pine nuts at moun-tainous Wazir Tangi in eastern Nangarhar province, three Afghan officials said.

“The workers had lit a bonfire and were sitting together when a drone targeted them,” tribal elder Malik Rahat Gul told Reuters by telephone from Wazir Tangi.

Afghanistan’s Defence Min-istry and a senior US official in

Kabul confirmed the drone strike, but did not share details of civilian casualties.

“US forces conducted a drone strike against Da’esh (IS) terrorists in Nangarhar,” said Colonel Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan.

“We are aware of allegations of the death of non-combatants and are working with local offi-cials to determine the facts.” About 14,000 US troops are in Afghan-istan, training and advising Afghan security forces and conducting counter-insurgency operations against IS and the Taliban movement.

Haidar Khan, who owns the pine nut fields, said about 150 workers were there for har-vesting, with some still missing as well as the confirmed dead and injured.

A survivor of the drone strike said about 200 labourers were sleeping in five tents pitched near the farm when the attack happened.

“Some of us managed to escape, some were injured but many were killed,” said Juma Gul, a resident of northeastern Kunar province who had travelled along with labourers to harvest and shell pine nuts this week.

Angered by the attack, some residents of Nangarhar province demanded an apology and mon-etary compensation from the US government.

“Such mistakes cannot be jus-tified. American forces must realise (they) will never win the war by killing innocent civilians,” said Javed Mansur, a resident of Jalalabad city.

Jihadist IS fighters first appeared in Afghanistan in 2014 and have since made inroads in the east and north where they are battling the government, US forces and the Taliban.

The exact number of IS fighters is difficult to calculate because they frequently switch allegiances, but the US military estimates there are about 2,000.

Afghan security forces fires heavy machine-gun at insurgents near the site of an attack in Jalalabad city, Afghanistan, yesterday.

Taliban car bombing flattens hospital, leaves 20 deadAFP KABUL

War-weary Afghanistan was hit with its third straight day of bloody carnage yesterday, as a Taliban car bomb flattened a hospital and killed 20 people in the south.

The surge in violence, with civilians paying the heaviest price, has come after US Pres-ident Donald Trump called off talks with the Taliban that could have seen Washington begin withdrawing troops, and as the country gears up for a presi-dential election.

The insurgents responded to Trump’s declaration that the talks were “dead” earlier this month by promising to continue fighting, and have vowed to target the September 28 polls, Afghanistan’s fourth presidential

election since the hardline Islamist group was ousted from power in 2001.

Thursday’s bloodshed began near dawn, when the Taliban killed at least 20 people and wounded 90 after a car bomb destroyed a hospital in the southern Afghan city of Qalat.

The strike came just hours after four people were killed on Wednesday when unknown gunmen and a suicide bomber stormed a government building in nearby Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province.

On Tuesday, the Taliban killed nearly 50 people in two separate attacks — one on a campaign rally for President Ashraf Ghani in the central province of Parwan, and the other in Kabul.

Ordinary Afghans continue to bear the brunt of the nearly

18-year conflict, with more civilians killed in the Afghan war in 2018 than during any other year on record, according to the UN.

An increase in air strikes by US and Afghan forces also led to more civilian deaths in 2018, with over 500 killed by aerial operations for the first time on record.

Zabul governor Rahmatullah Yarmal said yesterday morning’s car bomb had targeted a National Directorate of Security building in Qalat and destroyed an adjacent hospital, with two local officials confirming the death toll.

Residents near the blast, which was claimed by the Taliban, said the explosion rattled homes and shattered windows and was followed by gunfire.

Secret video seeks to win freedom for Nawaz SharifANATOLIA KARACHI

A London-based forensic company has authenticated a video in which a Pakistani judge accepts he sentenced former premier Nawaz Sharif last year in a corruption case “under pressure”, local media reported yesterday.

The British Digital Forensic Organisation in a 43-page report declared the video of judge Arshad Malik as “original” and “genuine”, local broadcaster Geo News said citing the report.

The video which surfaced in July shows the judge con-fessing to having been “black-mailed” into announcing a verdict against the three-time prime minister, who is cur-rently in jail.

It was secretly recorded by Nasir Butt, a UK-based leader of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party.

The forensic report is likely to be produced by Sharif’s lawyers as evidence before the Islamabad High Court, which is set to hear the premier’s appeal against conviction this week.

The top court has asked the Islamabad court to assess the authenticity of the much-pub-licized video during the hearing.

Last December, Sharif was sentenced to seven years in jail after 15 months of legal pro-ceedings in corruption cases, popularly known as Al Azizia Steel Mills case.

Last May, he was also sen-tenced to 10 years in jail in a cor-ruption case stemming from the whistleblower Panama Papers scandal. But the conviction has now been suspended.

No talks till India restores Kashmir special status: PMINTERNEWS PESHAWAR

Pledging to present the “Kashmir case” at the United Nations General Assembly “like no one ever did before”, Prime Minister Imran Khan said there was no use talking to India unless it lifted curfew and restored the special status of held Kashmir.

“To India’s misfortune, it has been taken over by extremist and racist Hindus. Only a person with

an extremist mindset would do what they have done in Kashmir by keeping it under curfew for 45 days,” he said at a presser after inaugurating the Integrated Transit Trade Management System at the Pak-Afghan border.

Torkham, located 55km northwest of here, serves as one of the major border crossings with Afghanistan. The new management system has allowed for round-the-clock trade and immigration facil-ities at the border crossing.

“I consider this to be a very historic day,” said Khan, who was the first elected prime min-ister ever to visit the border crossing at Torkham.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi accompanied the prime minister. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and Governor Shah Farman received PM Khan at the helipad in Torkham.

The Governor of Afghani-stan’s Nangarhar province,

Hayatullah Hayat, had driven to Torkham on special invitation to attend the ceremony.

Prime Minister Khan came down hard on the Indian lead-ership, whose RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) ideology, he said, had led them to hate Muslims and Pakistan. “Their entire policy towards Pakistan is a policy of hatred.

This is the RSS policy of hatred towards Muslims. So unless they lift curfew in held Kashmir and

rescind the revocation of Article 370, there is no chance of negoti-ations (with India),” he declared.

Khan is due to address the 74th session of the UN General Assembly later this month.

When a reporter pointedly asked if Pakistan would permit those eager to fight for the Kash-miris, the prime minister said anyone wanting to go and fight in India-held Kashmir would do a great injustice to the Kashmiris by undermining their legitimate cause.

Workers of Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) collect plastic and other waste from the Clifton beach in Karachi, yesterday.

Clifton Beach clean-up drive

Rohingya killings create ‘climate of fear’ in BangladeshANATOLIA DHAKA

Human rights activists have expressed concern at rising alleged extra-judicial killings of Rohingya refugees by police in Bangladesh. In less than a month, police have killed eight refugees including two

on Thursday in the southern city of Cox’s Bazaar, which is home to 1.2 million Rohingya.

These killings labelled by authorities as incidents of “crossfire” or “gunfight” have been recorded following the murder of a ruling Awami League party leader. Six of those killed have been

accused of a role in the murder.Human Rights Watch (HRW)

marked this decades-old conven-tional statement by law enforcers as “familiar explanation [that] is often a euphemism for extraju-dicial executions”.

“The killings have created a climate of intense fear in the

refugee camps,” said the group’s Asia Director Brad Adams.

“(Rohingya) people who fled massacres should not have to fear for their lives again,” he added.

UN human rights experts also called for an “independent, impartial and effective”

investigation into the deaths of the Rohingya men in the recent gunfights with police.

Over the last two years, 38 Rohingya refugees have been killed in police shootouts, raising questions about the human rights situation of Rohingya Muslims in the host country.

Pakistan denies India’s request for overflightINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

The government of Pakistan announced its decision not to grant India’s request for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to use Pakistani airspace for his flight to Germany.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the decision has been made “keeping in view the situation in occupied Kashmir”.

“A request was received from India saying that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to use Pakistani airspace for an over-flight on the 20th to Germany and wishes to use the same for a return flight on the 28th,” said the foreign

minister in a video statement.“Keeping in view the situation

in occupied Kashmir and India’s attitude witnessed in the tyranny and oppression (suffered by Kash-miris) and the violations of rights in the region, we have decided not to grant this request,” he said.

The Indian government had formally submitted a request last week for the use of Pakistani air-space following which Pakistan looked into calling a high-level advisory meeting on the matter, according to diplomatic sources.

The sources had told Dawn-NewsTV that Modi’s flight would pass over Pakistani airspace on September 20 on his way to the US.

AP/KABUL

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington is taking back $100m intended for an Afghan energy infrastructure project, citing unacceptably high levels of corruption in the Afghan government.

In the harshly worded statement yesterday, Pompeo said the US will still finish the massive project that involves five power sub-stations and a maze of transmission lines in southern Afghanistan. It just won’t be spending the money through Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government, blaming the “Afghan government’s inability to transparently manage US Government resources.” This follows an earlier statement, also from Pompeo, calling for “credible and transparent presidential election” when Afghans go to the polls Sept. 28.

The 2014 presidential election was marred by allegations of massive fraud, as was last year’s parliamentary vote.

US takes back $100m from Afghan govt over corruption

“We are aware of allegations of the death of non-combatants and are working with local officials to determine the facts,” a spokesman for US forces said.

10 FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019ASIA

Japan court acquits energy bosses over Fukushima disasterAFP TOKYO

A Japanese court yesterday cleared three energy firm bosses of professional negligence in the only criminal trial stemming from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown.

The three men were senior officials at the TEPCO firm oper-ating the Fukushima Daiichi plant and had faced up to five years in prison if convicted.

“All defendants are not guilty,” the presiding judge said, ruling that the executives could not have predicted the scale of the tsunami that overwhelmed the plant and triggered the accident.

The decision is likely to be appealed, extending the legal wrangling over responsibility for the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, more than eight years after the disaster.

Outside the courtroom, dozens of people staged a rally, including some who had trav-elled from the Fukushima region to hear the verdict.

“It is absolutely an unjust ruling. We absolutely cannot accept this,” one woman said angrily, addressing the crowd.

“We will appeal this and con-tinue our fight,” shouted a man nearby.

TEPCO declined to comment on the verdict, repeating its “sincere apologies for the great inconvenience and concern” caused by the disaster.

The three former executives were accused of professional negligence resulting in death and injury for failing to act on infor-mation about the risks from a major tsunami, but they argued the data available to them at the time was unreliable.

Judge Kenichi Nagafuchi said the verdict turned on the “pre-dictability” of the massive tsunami that swamped the nuclear plant in March 2011 after a 9.0-magnitude undersea

earthquake. He pointed out there had been no proposal from the government’s nuclear watchdog “that TEPCO should suspend operations until (safety) measures are taken.”

No one was killed in the nuclear meltdown, but the tsunami left 18,500 dead or missing.

The ex-TEPCO executives faced trial in relation to the deaths of more than 40 hospi-talised patients who died after having to be evacuated following the nuclear disaster.

Prosecutors twice declined

to proceed with the case, citing insufficient evidence and a slim chance of conviction, but were forced to after a judicial review panel composed of ordinary cit-izens ruled that the trio should face trial. All three defendants — former TEPCO chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, 79, former vice presidents Sakae Muto, 69, and Ichiro Takekuro, 73 — had pleaded not guilty.

The prosecutors said the men were present at meetings where experts warned of the antici-pated height of a tsunami off the Fukushima coast and should

have taken better safety measures.

They argued the executives were presented data warning a tsunami exceeding 10 metres (33 feet) could trigger power loss and a major disaster at the plant.

In the event, when a 9.0-magnitude quake hit off-shore on March 11, 2011, waves as high as 14 metres swamped the reactors’ cooling systems.

The resulting meltdown forced massive evacuations and left parts of the surrounding area uninhabitable — in some cases possibly forever.

Activists hold placards in reaction during a rally in front of the Tokyo District Court in Tokyo, yesterday, after the court acquitted three former officials from the firm that operated the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Students take part in a human chain event at Lek Yuen bridge in Sha Tin district in Hong Kong, yesterday.

China slams US for Hong Kong interferenceAFP BEIJING

Beijing yesterday accused Wash-ington of “adding fuel to the fire” of Hong Kong unrest after leaders of the city’s pro-democracy movement appealed directly to US lawmakers to exert pressure on China.

Activists from the semi-autonomous city testified before a congressional commission in support of US legislation aimed at defending civil rights in Hong Kong. Foreign ministry

spokesman Geng Shuang said at a press briefing yesterday that the US should “stop supporting violent radical forces and Hong Kong independence separatists, and stop adding fuel to the fire to the words and deeds that damage the prosperity and sta-bility of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.”

Geng called for the US to “stop interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs in any form.”

Millions have taken to the streets of Hong Kong in months of protests, which were initially

against a now-dropped bid by its leaders to allow extraditions to the mainland, but broadened into a wider push for democracy.

The hearing on Tuesday examined legislation that would end Hong Kong’s special trading status with the US unless the State Department each year cer-tifies that the city’s authorities are respecting human rights and rule of law.

Beijing has repeatedly accused “foreign forces” of being behind the pro-democracy protests.

Philippines hit by first polio case since 2001AFP MANILA

The Philippines has detected its first case of polio since 2001, officials said yesterday, putting some of the blame on mistrust stoked by a dengue fever vaccine scandal.

Health authorities said a three-year-old girl in a southern province had contracted polio, while the virus was also detected in Manila’s sewage and in waterways of the large southern city of Davao.

“This is our first polio case of any kind since 2001,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque said.

The health department said it was also investigating one other suspected case, but gave no details.

“We are concerned the there are maybe other people who have been exposed to this virus and there could potentially be other cases,” WHO country rep-resentative Rabindra Abeyas-inghe told reporters.

Over the past three decades the world has made great strides in the battle against polio, a highly infectious disease which can lead to paralysis or even death and has no cure.

The World Health

Organization said only 33 cases were reported worldwide last year. The news comes after the Philippines was hit by measles and dengue outbreaks earlier this year, killing more than a thousand people, as many parents did not get their children vaccinated.

“When your (immunisation) coverage is very low, you can have the vaccine-derived virus being transmitted from person to person,” Abeyasinghe said, referring to polio.

Duque called on parents, health workers and local gov-ernments to help government doctors boost the vaccination effort. “It is the only way to stop the polio outbreak and to protect your child against this paralysing disease,” Duque added.

The dengue-prone country in 2016 became the first nation to use Dengvaxia, the world’s first dengue vaccine, in a country trial programme involving hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren.

But controversy arose after its French manufacturer Sanofi disclosed a year later that it could worsen symptoms for people not previously infected with the virus. Manila stopped the pro-gramme and banned the vaccine.

Indonesia arrests hundreds over forest firesAP JAKARTA

Indonesian police said yesterday that they have arrested 230 people suspected of starting some of the fires that are spreading health-damaging haze across a large part of Southeast Asia.

Among those arrested are three men who were caught on Monday while trying to clear land to plant crops in Tesso Nilo National Park, which is home to about 140 endangered wild elephants, said Dedi Prasetyo, the national police spokesman.

Those arrested could be prosecuted under an environ-mental protection law that pro-vides for a maximum 10-year prison sentence for setting fires to clear land.

Indonesia’s fires are an annual problem that strains

relations with neighbouring countries. The smoke from the fires has blanketed parts of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand in a noxious haze.

Poor visibility caused by smoke has caused delays of flights at several airports in Indonesia and Malaysia and prompted authorities to shut thousands of schools in some parts of the two countries, affecting more than 1.5 million students in Malaysia alone.

Malaysian authorities have been conducting cloud seeding operations in an attempt to clear the haze and are consid-ering passage of a law that would penalize Malaysian plan-tation companies that start fires abroad.

Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin said yesterday that a more lasting regional solution

is needed. Singapore, directly across the Strait of Malacca from Indonesia’s Riau province on the island of Sumatra,

experienced air pollution levels ranging between moderate and u n h e a l t h y l e v e l s o n yesterday.

An Indonesia man tries to put out a forest fire near his village in Pekanbaru, Riau province, yesterday.

Tuvalu picks new PremierREUTERS SYDNEY

Parliament in the tiny South Pacific country of Tuvalu elected a new prime minister yesterday, making a change that analysts say could give China a chance to further undermine Taiwan in a region that has been a pillar of support.

Having retained his seat at a general election earlier this month, Tuvalu’s pro-Taiwan leader Enele Sopoaga had been expected to keep the pre-miership, but the 16-person parliament instead selected Kausea Natano, whose position on Taiwan was not immediately known.

Natano secured 10 votes in the secret ballot, against Sopo-aga’s six, government spokes-woman Silafaga Lalua said.

S Korea’s serial killer suspect identified after 33 years: PoliceAFP SEOUL

South Korean police have iden-tified a suspect in one of the country’s most notorious serial murder cases more than 30 years after the first of the 10 killings, they said yesterday.

Between 1986 and 1991 a record number of police officers for a single case were mobilised to try to find the person who raped and murdered women in rural parts of Hwaseong, south of Seoul.

They investigated some 21,000 individuals and com-pared the fingerprints of around 20,000 more without success, and the case inspired South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho’s 2003 box office hit “Mem-ories of Murder”.

But using the latest forensic techniques to retrieve DNA from long-past crimes, officers have identified Lee Chun-jae, 56, as a suspect in at least three of the killings, said Ban Gi-soo of the Gyeonggi Nambu Pro-vincial Police Agency.

Samples collected from evi-dence including a victim’s underwear matched with Lee’s, the police said.

The suspect is currently serving a life sentence for raping and murdering his sister-in-law in 1994, but denies involvement in the Hwaseong murders and the statute of lim-itations has expired, meaning he will not be prosecuted, police added.

“I express my deep condo-lences to the victims and their families, as well as the Korean public, for not having been able to solve this case for a long time,” Ban told reporters.

“We will do our best to dis-cover the truth with a sense of historical responsibility.” The Hwaseong killer’s victims ranged from teenagers to a woman in her 70s.

Indonesia says three dead in shootout with separatistsREUTERS JAKARTA

Three civilians, including a toddler, have been killed and four wounded after a shootout between Indonesian security forces and armed separatists in the country’s easternmost Papua area, a military spokesman said yesterday.

Tuesday’s incident comes after additional security forces were deployed to restore security in Papua, fol-lowing a series of sometimes violent demonstrations since August.

The shootout happened when security forces clashed with separatists in the West Papuan town of Ilaga, said Eko Daryanto, the spokesman.

“The separatists started shooting sporadically at joint security forces who were approaching them in front of a honai (traditional Papuan house),” he said in a statement.

“After they (security forces) responded with shots, the sep-aratists ran for the woods while shooting indiscriminately.” A resident of the area, Noris Wakerwa, said some villagers had fled to the nearby forest when he arrived to help with evacuation.

“We evacuated the dead and the wounded to the com-munity health centre,” he said by telephone.

Daryanto said the military and police would conduct a joint investigation into the shootout.

The three former executives were accused of professional negligence resulting in death and injury for failing to act on information about the risks from a major tsunami.

11FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019 EUROPE

Supreme Court to rule next week on UK Parliament suspensionAFP LONDON

Britain’s Supreme Court announced yesterday that it will rule next week on whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson acted unlawfully in shutting down Parliament in the final weeks before Brexit.

Following three days of intense arguments as the Brexit battle switched to the highest court in the land, judges are set to decide on Johnson’s advice to Queen Elizabeth II to suspend parliament for five weeks to October 14.

If the verdict goes against the premier, it could see parliament rapidly reassemble and would inevitably trigger questions about the prime minister’s position if he was found to have mislead the monarch.

Johnson, who took office on July 24, insists suspending or proroguing parliament was a routine and long-overdue move to launch a fresh legislative programme.

But it sparked legal action accusing him of trying to silence MPs, who oppose his insistence on leaving the EU on October 31 without a divorce deal, if one cannot be agreed with Brussels.

Supreme Court President Brenda Hale stressed that the verdict would not determine

when and on what terms Britain leaves the European Union.

“We are solely concerned with the lawfulness of the prime minister’s decision to advise Her Majesty to prorogue parliament on the dates in question,” she said. “It is not a simple question and we will now consider care-fully all the arguments which have been presented to us.

“But we also know that this case must be resolved as quickly as possible and we hope to be able to publish our decision early next week.”

The Supreme Court judges heard appeals against two con-flicting lower court decisions on Johnson’s move. Scotland’s highest civil court found the sus-pension was unlawful, but the High Court in England said it was not a matter for judges to intervene in.

David Pannick, representing campaigners appealing against the High Court ruling, argued

that judges did have the right to decide the proper scope of the prime minister’s power to advise the head of state on shuttering parliament.

“This five-week prorogation has prevented parliament from carrying out its scrutiny func-tions over the executive over a period of exceptional length... for no rational reason,” he said.

But Advocate General Richard Keen, the British gov-ernment’s top Scottish legal advisor contesting the Edinburgh court decision, said it would see the courts straying into an “ill-defined minefield” beyond their remit. “The length of each session of parliament and the frequency of each session is reg-ulated by constitutional con-vention — and not by the law,” he asserted in conclusion.

“This is forbidden territory. It is a matter between the exec-utive and parliament.” He said Johnson “would take all nec-essary steps to address any decision of the court” if the ruling went against him.

The week before parliament was suspended, MPs rushed through legislation demanding Johnson ask the EU to delay Brexit if he has not agreed divorce terms in time. He is now racing to try to agree a deal with Brussels to meet his October 31 deadline.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (second right) arrives with Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace (extreme left) in a Chinook helicopter to visit military personnel near Salisbury, Britain, yesterday.

UK rebuffs Finland call for Brexit plan by Sept endAFP HELSINKI

The Finnish EU presidency yesterday demanded Britain deliver a written proposal by the end of September on leaving the EU or face a no-deal Brexit, an ultimatum London immediately rejected.

The clock is ticking down on Britain’s departure from the European Union, currently set for October 31, but it appears increasingly likely it will crash out without any agreement.

A spokesman for Finnish

Prime Minister Antti Rinne said that Britain must deliver a written plan for a solution to the stalemate.

It is “a view of prime min-ister Rinne that the UK must come up with a written proposal by the end of this month,” the spokesman said in a statement.

But Britain rejected the Finnish demand.

“We will table formal written solutions when we are ready, not according to an artificial deadline, and when the EU is clear that it will engage con-structively on them,” a

spokesman for the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. The Finnish deadline comes a day after Rinne met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, where he said the EU is unlikely to grant an extension to the current October 31 exit date, and thus avoid a no-deal exit, unless London proposes con-crete measures.

“Neither Finland, nor I, nor the other 26 member states have much enthusiasm for an extension unless there is a sen-sible solution in sight for the future,” said Rinne.

Anti-graft crusader to become EU fraud prosecutorREUTERS BRUSSELS/BUCHAREST

Romania’s former anti-corruption chief Laura Codruta Kovesi (pictured) is set to become the European Union’s first fraud prosecutor despite opposition from Bucharest after most member states backed her over the French candidate.

Kovesi, who won a repu-tation as a tough anti-graft cru-sader in Romania before the government sacked her in July last year, had already secured support for the post in the new European Public Prosecutor’s Office from the European Parliament.

“I hope that this vote moti-vates Romanian magistrates to continue the fight against cor-ruption, defend the inde-pendence of the judiciary and

resist potential pressures and harassment,” Kovesi said.

The EU Council will hold a formal vote in the coming weeks which is expected to confirm the appointment. Marko Ruonala, spokesman for Finland, which currently holds the EU presi-dency, said yesterday that a majority of EU ambassadors voted for Kovesi in an informal

secret ballot. EU countries had previously endorsed France’s candidate Jean-Francois Bohnert for the job, but the choice trig-gered criticism from some EU lawmakers and other groups.

The EU plans to set up the European Public Prosecutor’s Office next year to tackle cor-ruption, value-added tax fraud and other crimes involving the bloc’s multi-billion-euro budget. Twenty-two EU countries have signed up to the project.

At the moment, only national authorities can investigate and prosecute EU budget fraud in their respective countries.

“By choosing Kovesi, the EU is sending a firm message to criminals and the corrupt eve-rywhere, that it is willing to properly defend the EU’s budget,” said Saskia Bricmont a green lawmaker in the European

Parliament. Officials in Brussels and Washington have criticised Romania’s ruling Social Demo-cratic Party (PSD) for an overhaul of the judiciary that has been seen as a threat to the rule of law, as well as for watering down anti-graft legislation.

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila told reporters on Wednesday that the Romanian ambassador had been mandated to vote against Kovesi’s appointment.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said the vote was an important victory for Romania.

“Especially because it was obtained despite the fact that the PSD government has perma-nently tried to block the can-didacy of a professional acknowledged for the fight against corruption and defending the rule of law.”

Evicted migrants board buses during a police operation in the centre of Athens, Greece, yesterday.

Greek police evict over 260 migrants from Athens squatsAFP ATHENS

Police in Athens yesterday removed over 260 migrants, including dozens of children, from two squats in the city centre as part of a law-and-order drive by the new conservative government.

Overall 269 people, including nearly 100 minors, were removed and taken to the police head-quarters for identification, the police said in a statement.

State TV ERT showed the migrants boarding buses, some of them clutching plastic bags with their belongings.

The two abandoned buildings

had been occupied since 2016, the police said.

The crackdown has been opposed by anti-establishment and rights groups who say the operations unfairly target migrant families, who would otherwise be homeless, and the solidarity groups that support them.

Thousands of anti-estab-lishment protesters marched in Athens on Saturday in a demon-stration against the squat evacuations.

New Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, elected in July, has vowed to combat “lawlessness”. The new Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis was similarly elected on a public safety ticket in June.

Prosecutors call for jailed Russian actor’s releaseAFP MOSCOW

Russian prosecutors yesterday asked for a jailed actor to be released pending his appeal, in an apparent climbdown following a high-profile campaign against his conviction over an opposition rally.

Actor Pavel Ustinov, 23, was this week sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for violence against police at an opposition protest, despite his insistence he was simply a bystander.

A Moscow court will con-sider the prosecutors’ office request to release Ustinov at midday on Friday, the actor’s lawyer told the Interfax news agency.

Thieves nab ¤2m haul from French chateauAFP BOBIGNY, FRANCE

The owners of a 17th-century French palace said to be the model for Versailles were tied up as their opulent home was ransacked by robbers who fled with a haul worth ¤2m ($2.2m) yesterday, police said.

The Vaux-le-Vicomte chateau, set amid sumptuous gardens about 50km southeast of Paris, has been owned by the same family since 1875.

A police source said six hooded but unarmed robbers found neckties belonging to Patrice de Vogue, 90, to tie up him and his wife Cristina, 78, in their lodging on the grounds of the palace.

The thieves targeted a safe and stole emeralds and other items, but did not attempt to make off with the chateau’s works of art.

The couple was not injured during the robbery, which occurred shortly before dawn, according to prosecutors in the nearby city of Melun.

“The owners are doing fine and the chateau remains open for visits as usual,” the palace’s management said.

Patrice de Vogue opened the estate to the public in 1968, and it is now run by the cou-ple’s three sons.

The chateau was built by Louis XIV’s finance minister Nicolas Fouquet, who according to legend fell from grace in 1661, shortly after the building work was finished, when he staged an elaborate party there and aroused the Sun King’s envy.

Fouquet spent the rest of his life in jail. The monarch then seized the palace and moved its most precious artworks and other objects to Versailles.

It is the largest privately owned heritage site in France, sprawled over 500 hectares (1,200 acres), and has some 250,000 visitors each year.

The chateau often stands in for Versailles for movie and tel-evision productions, from the Roger Moore Bond hit “Moon-raker” to Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette”.

It has also become a prize spot for celebrity wedding parties.

Malta urged to drop libel suits against murdered journalistAFP STRASBOURG, FRANCE

The Council of Europe’s rights commissioner has urged Malta to drop libel suits against murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, according to a letter to the country’s leader.

In her letter, dated Sep-tember 12, to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, commissioner Dunja Mijatovic recalled that,

when Caruana Galizia was killed in an October 2017 car bomb, the journalist faced more than 40 civil and criminal defamation suits.

After her death, some 30 were transferred to her family under a Maltese civil law which allows plaintiffs to pursue actions against the heirs of a deceased accused.

“Firstly, I understand that in accordance with Maltese law, in

defamation suits the burden of proof lies with the respondents,” wrote Mijatovic.

While noting the laws on bringing a case against a defend-ant’s estate, she voiced concern that “in the case of Daphne Caruana Galizia, this means that her heirs could be expected to reveal information on her jour-nalistic work and sources.

“This is not only an excessive and very complex burden for the

respondents but may also con-stitute an undue interference with the right to protection of journalistic sources,” Mijatovic wrote.

Saying the cases placed “unwarranted psychological and financial pressure” on the reporter’s family she added: “Continuing these claims — many of which were lodged by public officials including yourself — is not only perceived as an

intimidation of a family faced with the loss of their loved one but also raises questions regarding the Maltese author-ities’ commitment to finding and bringing the masterminds of this horrendous crime to justice.”

Mijatovic went on to tell Muscat that such laws “put jour-nalists and their families at risk and have a chilling effect on investigative journalism in particular.

Johnson insists suspending or proroguing parliament was a routine and long-overdue move to launch a fresh legislative programme.

12 FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019EUROPE / AMERICAS

Germany plans climate action worth over ¤100bnAFP BERLIN

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government plans to commit at least ¤100bn ($110bn) on climate protection by 2030, according to a draft policy paper which was being discussed yesterday.

Merkel’s conservatives and the centre-left Social Demo-crats were expected to haggle late into the night on the details before the landmark policy package was due to be announced today (Friday).

The EU’s biggest economy is set to miss its climate targets for next year but has committed itself to meeting the 2030 goal of a 55 percent cut in green-house gas emissions from 1990 levels.

Export powerhouse Germany accounts for around two percent of the worldwide emissions blamed for heating the Earth’s atmosphere, melting ice caps, rising sea levels and intensifying violent weather events.

After two blistering summers and a wave of Fridays For Future student strikes and other environmental protests, the Merkel government has faced rising pressure to step up its efforts to protect the climate.

Pilot saved from power line after Belgian F-16 crashesAFP PLUVIGNER, FRANCE

An F-16 fighter jet of the Belgian air force crashed yesterday in western France, with both pilots successfully ejecting but one spent two hours hanging from a power line before being cut down, officials said.

Parts from the stricken plane, which was not carrying weapons and was flying from Belgium to a French base on a training mission, crashed into houses in the Morbihan region around the town of Pluvigner. No one on the ground was hurt.

“The pilot and the co-pilot were able to eject before the crash. They were both located and are alive,” the office of the state representative for the region said in a statement.

It said one pilot had been rescued but the other had become tangled with a high-voltage power line and was left hanging from his parachute.

The pilot was finally cut loose after a two-hour rescue effort, the statement said.

“It was a sensitive and long operation,” said senior local official Pierre Clavreuil at a news conference in Pluvigner. “It needed a lot of sangfroid,” added

Cyrille Berrod of the Morbihan fire brigade.

Images published in local media showed the pilot dangling from the cords attached to the parachute several metres above which had been ensnared by a cable next to the electricity pylon.

The plane had taken off from Belgium and was heading on a training mission to a French naval airbase close to the town of Lorient.

The Belgian air force com-mander Frederik Vansina told reporters in Brussels that the incident appeared to have been caused by an engine problem with the plane, which was built in 1983, but that an investigation would provide further details.

He said both pilots were in hospital but should return to their families in Belgium as soon as this evening.

Local security forces evac-uated eight homes with a total of 15 residents. Clavreuil said one home suffered substantial damage.

“The lady in the house was in a state of shock and taken to hospital,” he said.

Pluvigner resident Patrick

Kauffer told the local Le Tele-gramme daily that the “wing of the plane took out part of the roof of our house. The damage was serious.” He said the crash also set ablaze his shed and some trees.

“I am relieved that our two pilots are safe and sound after

the crash of the F-16 and there was no victim on the ground,” Belgium’s Foreign and Defence Minister Didier Reynders said on Twitter.

The Belgian military “will take care of them and their family. An investigation is under way,” he added.

Gendarmes control the access near the site where an F-16 jet of the Belgian air force crashed in Pluvigner, western France, yesterday. Both pilots had successfully ejected.

Mexico reopens probe into disappearance of 43 students in 2014REUTERS MEXICO CITY

Mexico will open a new investi-gation into the 2014 disap-pearance and apparent massacre of 43 students, authorities said on Wednesday, a controversial case that caused a crisis for the previous government and drew international criticism.

“We’re going to start again,” Omar Gomez, a special prose-cutor appointed to oversee the reexamination of the case, said in a statement.

The alleged abduction and suspected massacre of the 43 student teachers in the south-western city of Iguala by corrupt police working with a violent drug gang precipitated one of the worst crises of former President Enrique Pena Nieto’s government.

His successor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador set up a com-mission late last year to look into the handling of the case, and has since periodically announced developments, including an investigation into the officials who led the investigation.

Gomez on Wednesday said authorities would investigate “a long list of politicians that bear different degrees of responsibil-ities.” Felipe de la Cruz, father of one of the missing students,

welcomed the official reopening of the case.

“Unfortunately it has been five years of feeding lies, we practically prefer to start from scratch because at first every-thing was done badly,” de la Cruz said in an interview.

The government has said its investigation into former officials from the Pena Nieto adminis-tration for their handling of the probe will target a former attorney general and his top aides.

Lopez Obrador has also crit-icised the release from prison of several suspects in the case, after a judge ordered the release of a key suspect. He told relatives of the victims in a private meeting earlier this week that he was working on preventing the release of any more. So far 77 of 142 suspects detained have been released by courts.

The official account of the incident released by the previous government stated the students were killed and then incinerated by gang members after their abduction. Investigators have only definitively identified the remains of one of the 43.

The UN human rights office said in a report last year that Mexican authorities had probably tortured dozens of people during the investigation.

Civil servants take part in an earthquake drill at the Zocalo Square in Mexico City, yesterday, as Mexico marks the anniversaries of two deadly earthquakes that hit the country — one two years ago that claimed 369 lives, and another that killed more than 10,000 people on the same date in 1985.

Mexico holds earthquake safety drill

Storm Lorena dumps rain on Mexico coastREUTERS MEXICO CITY

Storm Lorena weakened slightly as it lashed parts of Mexico’s Pacific coast with heavy wind and rain yesterday, including the seaside getaway of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco state, where schools were shut pending the passage of the storm.

Lorena was downgraded to

a tropical storm from a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale after moving along the southwestern coast of Mexico overnight and Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

But it was forecast to become a hurricane again as it recoups strength in the Pacific and barrels towards the beach resorts of Los Cabos on the Baja

California peninsula by the afternoon today.

With maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour, Lorena was around 15 miles southeast of Cabo Corrientes and moving to the northwest at around 10 mph, the Miami-based NHC said in an advisory.

A hurricane watch is in effect for the Baja California peninsula from La Paz to Santa Fe.

Venezuela calls on Washington to restore tiesAFP CARACAS

V e n e z u e l a ’ s s o c i a l i s t government on Wednesday called on the United States to restore diplomatic ties with Caracas after it opened talks with fringe opposition parties.

Venezuela broke off rela-tions with the United States after Washington recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president on January 23.

Vice President Delcy Rod-riguez told reporters in Caracas that it made sense for the US “to restore diplomatic contacts and dialogue with the gov-ernment” of President Nicolas Maduro.

Rodriguez said Washington is left with only “a single path”, having failed to remove Maduro from power, and that is “nego-tiation and diplomatic commu-nication.” President Donald Trump’s administration had targeted Venezuela’s oil industry and Maduro’s inner circle with a raft of economic sanctions.

The US blames Maduro for the economic collapse of Ven-ezuela, from which millions have fled due to shortages of basic goods, and considers him illegitimate after widespread reports of irregularities in last year’s election.

Both Maduro and Trump said last month that talks had been taking place involving senior officials from the two sides.

Rodriguez also welcomed Monday’s agreement between the government and minority opposition parties — outside of Guaido’s coalition — to open negotiations on political changes aimed at resolving Venezuela’s crisis.

Former presidential can-didate Javier Bertucci joined the pact on Wednesday.

The agreement involves the return of around 55 socialist lawmakers to the opposition-dominated National Assembly and the release of political pris-oners. Guaido’s deputy as National Assembly leader, Edgar Zambrano, was the first to be released late Tuesday.

Guatemala discovers new cocaine producing labsREUTERS GUATEMALA CITY

Guatemala must now consider itself a cocaine producing nation and not just a transit country for the powerful narcotic after authorities discovered new coca processing laboratories, the interior minister said.

Last year, Guatemala dis-covered plantations growing coca, along with a laboratory to process the leaf into cocaine. Until recently, the crop was almost exclusively cultivated in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.

Interior Minister Enrique Degenhart said on Wednesday that in total three laboratories had now been detected.

“Following the discovery of these narco-laboratories and the different fields with the coca plants, Guatemala now becomes a cocaine producer and that puts Guatemala in a totally different

situation with respect to regional security,” Degenhart added.

Guatemala, one of the poorest and most gang-ravaged countries in the Americas, has long been a major transit country for cocaine. Traffickers have achieved influence over political parties and in some cases terri-torial control.

Despite support from the United States and some success in interdicting drug shipments at sea, Guatemala has struggled to control the traffickers. Making cocaine locally could provide gangs with increased revenue.

The United States has long included Guatemala on a list of major drug transit or major illicit drug producing countries, however until recently it had only been known for plantations of the poppies used to make heroin and as a transit point for cocaine.

After three soldiers were killed earlier this month in what the government said was an ambush by drug traffickers, Gua-temala imposed a state of emer-gency giving the military extra

powers in the east of the country. Guatemala made its first

official discovery of a field of coca plants in May 2018, fol-lowing an initial find of a plot in Honduras the year earlier.

A file photo of Guatemala police officers carrying packages containing cocaine seized during operations on May 20, 2019.

Bermuda avoids major damage from hurricaneREUTERS HAMILTON, BERMUDA

Clean-up crews in Bermuda were busy at work yesterday after Hurricane Humberto grazed the island, which escaped major harm despite winds that reached around 100 miles per hour snapping power poles and lifting off roofs.

The Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service said it attended to three structural fires and 17 hurricane-related fires and also helped with 20 damaged roofs and prevented a boat from sinking. One fire service vehicle was rendered unusable after a tree fell on it.

The airport reopened and flights were resuming, and a bridge to the airport was also opened after an assessment showed there was no damage.

The plane was flying from Belgium to a French base on a training mission when it crashed in the Morbihan region. No one on the ground was hurt.

13FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019 AMERICAS / CLASSIFIEDS

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Trump sues Manhattan attorney to block release of tax returnsAP NEW YORK

President Donald Trump asked a federal court yesterday to block an effort by New York prose-cutors to obtain his tax returns as part of a criminal investi-gation, opening another front in the president’s efforts to keep his financial information private.

Trump’s attorneys filed a lawsuit against Manhattan Dis-trict Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., who recently subpoenaed the president’s accounting firm for eight years of his state and federal returns as part of an investigation into payments made to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump.

They called the subpoena a “bad faith effort to harass” Trump and said Vance, a Dem-ocrat, had overstepped his con-stitutional authority.

“Virtually ‘all legal

commenters agree’ that a sitting President of the United States is not ‘subject to the criminal process’ while he is in office,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.

“Yet a county prosecutor in New York, for what appears to be the first time in our nation’s history, is attempting to do just that.

The lawsuit, filed in Man-hattan federal court, asks US Dis-trict Judge Victor Marrero to declare the subpoena unen-forceable until Trump leaves office.

Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said the lawsuit is intended “to address the significant

constitutional issues at stake in this case.” A spokesman for Vance said his office had received the lawsuit “and will respond as appropriate in court.” Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, declined to comment.

The lawsuit marks Trump’s latest attempt to prevent his tax returns from being seen by Dem-ocratic investigators and comes as his campaign is fighting a new law in California requiring pres-idential candidates to release five years of tax returns as a con-dition of appearing on the state’s March 2020 primary ballot.

Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee have sued, and a hearing was set yesterday in federal court in Sacramento.

Meanwhile, Democratic-led congressional committees are also trying to obtain Trump’s tax returns and other records that could provide a window into his finances. Trump and three of his

children filed a lawsuit in April seeking to block two House com-mittees from getting records that his longtime lender, Deutsche Bank, has said includes tax returns.

And in July, the president

sued to block a new New York law that could allow a House committee to obtain his state tax returns. Unlike those efforts, Vance is conducting a criminal probe. His subpoenas were issued by a grand jury.

US President Donald Trump signs his signature on the US-Mexico border fence during a visit to Otay Mesa, California.

Dems demand details on whistle-blower’s complaint Trump deniesBLOOMBERG WASHINGTON

Democratic lawmakers accused intelligence officials of stone-walling on details of a whistle-blower’s complaint, even as President Donald Trump dismissed suggestions that he had said anything “inappro-priate” in a conversation with a

foreign leader. “Is anybody dumb enough to believe that I would say something inappropriate with a foreign leader while on such a potentially ‘heavily popu-lated’ call,” Trump said in a tweet yesterday.

Trump commented as Michael Atkinson, the intelli-gence community’s inspector general, was giving a

closed-door briefing to the House Intelligence Committee on the still-mysterious whistle-blower’s complaint, which the Washington Post said involved a conversation between Trump and a foreign leader.

The unidentified whistle-blower has been revealed as “an individual within the intelligence community,” who had made the

report to the inspector general.Representative Adam Schiff,

the committee’s chairman, said after the session that the intelli-gence agencies were refusing to share the complaint despite a law requiring them to do so.

“We do not have the com-plaint,” the California Democrat told reporters. “We do not know if the press reports are accurate

or inaccurate about this com-plaint.” He said the Justice Department was involved in withholding the information but he didn’t know if the White House also took part in keeping it from Congress. “There is no privilege that covers whether the White House is involved in trying to stifle a whistleblower com-plaint,” Schiff said.

The lawsuit marks Trump’s latest attempt to prevent his tax returns from being seen by Democratic investigators.

Trudeau faces furore over brownface photo from 2001AP/TORONTO

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau moved to contain a growing furore yesterday after a yearbook photo surfaced of him in brownface at a 2001 “Arabian Nights” costume party and two other similar incidents came to light.

With his bid for re-election just a month away, the 47-year-old Trudeau begged Canadians to forgive him.

“I’m not that person anymore,” Trudeau said, con-fessing that he hurt those who considered him an ally because of his support for minorities.

Time magazine published the photo on Wednesday, saying it was taken from the yearbook from the West Point Grey Academy, a private school in British Columbia where Trudeau worked as a teacher before going into politics. It shows the then-29-year-old Trudeau in a turban and robe with dark make-up on his hands, face and neck.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, who is mounting a serious challenge to the prime minister in the October 21 vote, reacted by declaring Trudeau “not fit to govern this country.” The day after the story broke, though, Trudeau gave no sign at all that he might resign, and no figures in his Liberal Party had called on him to step down.

14 FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019CLASSIFIEDS

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THE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Chamber’s First Vice- Chairman Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Towar Al Kuwari yesterday discussed ways of enhancing trade and economic cooperation with a delegation of Ukrainian industrialists which was led by the Head Representative of the Ukrainian Union of Industri-alists and Entrepreneurs in Qatar, Mykhailo Lukashev. The meeting was also attended by several Ukrainian and Qatari businessmen.

Cooperation ties between the Chamber and Ukrainian Union were also discussed.

Al Kuwari said the Qatari business community is inter-ested in identifying opportu-nities available in various sectors in Ukraine, affirming that there is a scope for both sides to strengthen cooperation in many areas for the good of both economies.

He also stressed the Cham-ber’s support for all efforts aiming to develop trade coop-eration between both countries,

adding that the chamber would inform its members on investment opportunities available in Ukraine. He also assured the Chamber’s prepar-edness to help Ukrainian investors willing to invest in Qatar and participate in projects being implemented in Qatar.

For his part, Lukashev said that there is a wide range of cooperation fields with the Qatari private sector. noting that there is a joint desire towards deepening trade and economic ties between both countries.

He also noted that the Ukrainian government endorsed

various laws and legislation that contribute to attracting more foreign investments and adopted measured that help in streamlining businesses.

He also pointed out that Ukraine is replete with prom-ising investment opportunities for foreign investors, especially

that the Government is inter-ested in enabling the private sector to implement many large-scale projects.

Food security is on the top of priorities of Ukraine. he said, noting that there are many opportunities in energy and IT sectors.

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PAGE | 16 PAGE | 16

Fed injects cash for third day as calm returns to funding market

Bank of England keeps main interest rate at 0.75%

15FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019

QCB cuts key interest rates by 25 bpsQNA DOHA

Qatar Central Bank (QCB) announced yesterday that it reduced its deposit rate (QCBDR) by 25 bps to 2.25 percent, lending rate (QCBLR) by 25 bps to 4.50 percent, and the QCB Repurchase rate (Repo) by 25 bps to 2.25 percent.

In a press release issued yes-terday, the QCB said that the decision to reduce its deposit rate, lending rate and the Repurchase rate is based on the evolving domestic and international mac-roeconomic developments.

QCB’s decision comes in line with the US Federal Reserve’s (US central bank) decision, announced Wednesday, reducing the key interest rate by a quarter point for the second time this year in a move expected to support economic growth.

Countries which their cur-rencies are pegged to the US dollar raise interest rates in line with a US Federal Reserve’s decision.

Qatar-Ukraine to boost trade cooperation

Qatar Chamber’s First Vice-Chairman Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Towar Al Kuwari (centre right) with Head Representative of the Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Qatar, Mykhailo Lukashev (centre left), and other Qatari and Ukrainian businessmen during a meeting held at QC headquarters, in Doha yesterday.

QSE’s main index closes at 10,512.06 pointsTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Stock Exchange’s (QSE) benchmark index gained 50.36 points, or 0.48 percent, last week when the bourse closed yesterday at 10,512.06 points.

Trading value during last week increased by 46.79 percent to reach QR1.94bn compared to QR1.32bn.

Trading volume decreased by 0.82 percent to reach 638.88 million shares, as against 644.19 million shares, while the number of transactions rose by 4 percent, to reach 37,273 transactions as compared to 35 ,839 transactions.

Market cap rose by 0.80 percent to reach QR583.22bn as compared to QR578.60bn at the end of previous week, reports QNA.

Banking and Financial Services sector led traded value last week with 39.93 percent of the total traded value. Industries sector accounted for 23.56 percent. Transportation sector accounted for 12.50 percent and Real Estate sector accounted for 7.94 percent.

Banking and Financial Services sector led traded volume last week with 34.27 percent of the total traded

volume. Industries sector accounted for 25.21 percent. Real Estate sector accounted for 21.57 percent and Transportation sector accounted 9.33 percent.

Banking and Financial Services sector led traded number of transactions last week with 29.46 percent of the total number of transactions. Industries sector accounted for 25.93 percent. Real Estate sector accounted for 15.42 percent and Telecoms sector accounted for 11.96 percent.

From the 46 listed com-panies 15 ended last week higher, while 27 fell and four remained unchanged.

QNB led trading value during last week accounted for 20.56 percent of the total traded value. Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding Company accounted for 8.68 percent and Qatar Navi-gation accounted for 8.54 percent.

When compared on daily basis the QSE index dropped 27.53 points, or 0.26 percent, compared to Wednesday’s closing.

The volume of shares traded increased to 192.27 million yes-terday from 107.17 million on Wednesday and the value of shares increased to QR850.30m from QR301.76m on Wednesday.

Trade tensions slam brakes on global economic growth: OECDAFP PARIS

Escalating trade tensions are eroding global growth prospects, with the world economy set for its slowest expansion since the global financial crisis, the OECD warned yesterday.

In an update to its economic forecasts from May, the Organ-isation for Economic Co-oper-ation and Development cut its global growth forecast for this year to 2.9 percent from 3.2 percent. The prognosis for 2020 was lowered to 3.0 percent from 3.4 percent.

“These would be the weakest annual growth rates since the financial crisis, with downside risks continuing to mount,” said the 36-member organisation.

The International Monetary Fund already lowered its own global forecasts in July in face of the long-running and bruising trade war between the United States and China, the world’s number one and two economies respectively.

“Our fear is that we are entering an era where growth is stuck at a very low level,” said Laurence Boone (pictured), the OECD’s chief economist.

“All those risks that we have

highlighted are really bringing us into a dangerous territory for growth and obviously for jobs,” she added.

Growth prospects for almost all of the Group of 20 countries were revised down by the OECD, particularly those exposed to declining global trade and investment.

“Escalating trade policy ten-sions are taking an increasing toll on confidence and investment, adding to policy uncertainty, weighing on risk sentiment in financial markets, and endangering future growth prospects,” the OECD wrote.

The US economy was now expected to expand by 2.4 percent this year, a downward revision of 0.4 percentage points from the May forecast, and sig-nificantly slower than the 2.9 percent recorded last year.

The 2020 forecast was cut by 0.3 percentage points to 2.0 percent.

Chinese growth was expected to slow to 6.1 percent in 2019, a downward revision of 0.1 point, while next year’s forecast was cut by 0.3 points to 5.7 percent.

The OECD said “collective effort is urgent to halt the build-up of trade-distorting tariffs and subsidies and to restore a trans-parent and predictable rules-based system that encourages businesses to invest”.

It revised down its 2019 forecast for the 19-country eurozone to 1.1 percent growth this year and 1.0 percent in 2020, whereas previously it had been expecting activity in the single currency area to pick up speed.

Britain’s growth outlook was also lowered as uncertainty over Brexit persists, with the OECD now pencilling in expansion of 1.0 percent this year and 0.9 percent in 2020, compared with 1.4 percent last year.

“A no-deal exit would be costly in the near-term, poten-tially pushing the United Kingdom into recession in 2020 and reducing growth in Europe considerably,” the OECD warned.

Huawei launches new phone with own version of AndroidAP/MUNICH

Huawei is launching a new flagship smartphone that will run on the Chinese tech giant’s own version of Google’s Android operating system because of US export sanctions.

The Chinese tech giant unveiled the Mate 30 series of phones at an event in Munich, Germany yesterday.

The device wasn’t expected to come with popular Google apps such as Chrome, YouTube, Gmail or the Google Play Store, limiting its appeal to consumers.

Huawei, the world’s second-biggest smartphone maker, is fighting to save its business after the Trump administration blocked access to US components and tech-nology in May on national security grounds.

Washington has issued temporary exemptions that let Huawei maintain software for existing devices, but they don’t cover new products such as the Mate 30.

Oil prices increase sharply as Saudi supply risks come into focusREUTERS LONDON

Oil prices rose sharply yesterday, supported by supply risks as the market assesses the fallout from last weekend’s drone attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure.

Brent crude futures gained $1.78 to $65.38 a barrel by 1219 GMT, while US West Texas

Intermediate crude was up $1.28 at $59.39 a barrel.

The attacks knocked out around half of Saudi Arabia’s crude production and severely limited the country’s spare capacity, a cushion for oil markets in any unplanned outage.

“Global available spare capacity is extremely low at present following the weekend

attacks, leaving little room for additional outages, which tends to be price supportive,” UBS oil analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

Earlier this week Saudi Arabia set out a timeline for a resumption of full operations, saying it had restored supplies to customers at levels prior to the attacks by drawing from its oil inventories. It said it would

restore its lost production by the end of this month, and bring its output capacity back to 12 million barrels per day by the end of November.

“These plans suggest Saudi Arabia will have no spare capacity for at least the next two and a half months and therefore no way to absorb any further shocks,” consultancy Energy

Aspects said. Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil exporter, has said the crippling attack on its oil sites was “unquestionably spon-sored” by regional rival Iran.

US President Donald Trump said there were many options short of war with Iran and added that he had ordered the US Treasury to “substantially increase sanctions” on Tehran.

Iran has denied involvement in the strikes.

Iran warned President Trump against being dragged into all-out war in the Middle East.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has described the weekend strike as an act of war and has been discussing possible retaliation with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies.

16 FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019BUSINESS

Bank of England keeps main interest rate at 0.75%AFP LONDON

The Bank of England yesterday said it had voted to keep its main interest rate at 0.75 percent as it mulls Brexit uncertainty and weak global growth.

The Monetary Policy Com-mittee decided unanimously to hold borrowing costs at a regular meeting held Wednesday, the BoE said in published minutes.

“Since the MPC’s previous meeting, the trade war between the United States and China has intensified, and the outlook for global growth has weakened,” the BoE said.

It noted also that “shifting expectations about the potential timing and nature of Brexit have continued to generate heightened volatility in UK asset prices, in

particular the sterling exchange rate.” Unlike the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve which are both cutting rates, the BoE is sitting tight, also as inflation weakens in Britain.

“In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the exchange rate would probably fall, CPI inflation rise and GDP growth slow,” the BoE

said yesterday.The pound showed little

reaction to the expected UK rate decision, as investors digested news of an unexpected 0.2-percent drop in British retail sales in August.

“Given the drop in (British) GDP in the second quarter, the fall in core inflation to an almost three-year low in August and the ongoing Brexit drama, there was never much chance that the MPC would raise interest rates,” noted Thomas Pugh (pictured) at Capital Eco-nomics research group.

“And even though the tone of the minutes was slightly more dovish than in August, we do not expect the MPC to follow in the footsteps of the Fed and the ECB and loosen policy unless there is a no deal Brexit.

Separately, the BoE published

a survey showing that nearly two-thirds of almost 400 UK companies felt they were “as ready as can be” for a no-deal Brexit, down slightly from July.

The proportion of companies that did not feel ready for a no-deal Brexit rose to about one in six, from around one in ten.

“However, even companies that felt ‘ready’ for a no-deal Brexit still expected output, employment and investment to be markedly lower in that case compared with a scenario with a deal and tran-sition period,” the BoE added.

Britain is set to leave the European Union on October 31, even without a deal according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

However, talks continue between the UK government and Brussels on agreeing a orderly departure, but time is running out.

Fed injects cash for third day as calm returns to funding marketBLOOMBERG NEW YORK

The Federal Reserve added a third dose of liquidity to a vital corner of the funding markets yesterday, helping rates retreat further as investors warn that fresh bouts of stress remain pos-sible in the weeks ahead.

The New York Fed injected another $75bn yesterday through an overnight repo operation. That followed a dose of the same size on Wednesday and $53.2bn on Tuesday. The operations, com-monplace in pre-financial crisis times, temporarily add cash, with the Fed taking government secu-rities as collateral.

The latest addition of liquidity, with the Fed making clear it’s ready to do more as needed,

follows the Federal Open Market Committee’s move Wednesday to reduce the interest rate on excess reserves, or IOER, by more than their main interest rate, all attempts to quell money-market stresses.

The operations have calmed the funding market, with repo rates declining to more normal levels after jumping to 10 percent Tuesday, four times where it was last week. Overnight general col-lateral repurchase agreement rates continued to retreat yes-terday, trading around 2 percent, according to ICAP. Still, most investors say more Fed action is needed for a permanent fix, with gauges of dollar funding costs measured through the current swaps market showing pressures b u i l d i n g a g a i n g i v e n

disappointment over the steps the central bank took.

The effective fed funds rate was set at 2.25 percent as of Wednesday. It was at 2.30 percent Tuesday, above the top of the Fed’s target range of 2 percent to 2.25 percent before policy makers lowered their benchmark rate on Wednesday.

“We expect these episodes of funding stresses to become more frequent with demand for funding and US Treasury supply forecast to increase heading into year-end and the Fed’s reserve levels likely to drop further,” Jerome Schneider (pictured), head of short-term bond port-folios at Pacific Investment Man-agement Co, wrote in a note Wednesday with his colleagues.

Given the added supply,

banks’ holdings of Treasuries have risen and are increasingly being financed by money market funds investing in repo, which leaves “US funding markets more fragile,” Schneider wrote. He said this adds to other reasons why the Fed needs to do more to engineer a long-term fix.

After policy makers wrapped up a two-day meeting Wednesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will keep doing these repo operations if that’s what it takes to get markets back on track.

CROSSWORD

Based Anuja Chauhan’s novel, Zoya Factor is a rom-com about Zoya, an advertising agent and her relationship with the captain of team India, Nikhil Khoda.

THE ZOYA FACTOR

Note: Programme is subject to change without prior notice.Note: Programme is subject to change without prior notice.

Valmiki (2D/Telugu) 2:00pm; Pattabi Raman (2D/Malayalam) 2:15pm; Finals (2D/Malayalam) 5:00pm; Bandobast (2D/Telugu) 5:00pm; Ad Astra (2D/Adventure) 7:15pm; Rambo: Last Blood (2D/Action) 7:15 & 9:30pm; Valmiki (2D/Telugu) 11:00pm; The Zoya Factor (2D/Hindi) 9:00pm; Kaappaan (2D/Tamil) 2:00, 8:00 & 11:00; Prassthanam (2D/Hindi) 4:45pm; Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas (2D/Hindi) 11:15pm; Love Action Drama (2D/Malayalam) 11:30pm

Kaappaan (2D/Tamil) 10:45am, 5:00, 8:15 & 11:30;Rambo: Last Blood (2D/Action) 10:30am, 12:45, 3:00, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45pm & 12:00midnight; Love Action Drama (2D/Malayalam) 10:45am, 4:00 & 9:15pm; Pattabi Raman (2D/Malayalam) 2:00pm; Finals (2D/Malayalam) 1:30, 6:45pm & 12:00midnight

LANDMARK

AL KHOR

Kaappaan (2D/Tamil) 12:30, 1:30, 3:30, 4:30, 6:30, 7:30, 9:30, 10:30 & 12:30am, 1:30amLove Action Drama (2D/Malayalam) 12:00amFinals (2D/Malayalam) 12:30, 9:30pm & 12:30amPattabi Raman (2D/Malayalam) 3:30 &9:15pm; Prassthanam (2D/Hindi) 6:30pmValmiki (2D/Telugu) 12:30pmThe Zoya Factor (2D/Hindi) 6:30pm;

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Ad Astra (2D/Adventure) 12:30, 1:00, 3:30, 6:30 & 6:50pm Al Kanz 2 (2D/Arabic) 9:45pmBandobast (2D/Telugu) 6:30 & 10:00pmFinal (2D/Malayalam) 4:10pmKaappaan (2D/Tamil) 12:30, 3:45, 7:00 & 10:15pmPrassthanam (2D/Hindi) 3:50 & 8:20pmThe Big Trip (2D/Animation) 12:30, 2:20 & 4:20pm Valmiki (2D/Telugu) 12:30 & 10:00pm

47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2D/Adventure) 10:40, 11:50am, 2:15, 4:40, 7:05, 9:30, 11:55pm & 0:30amAd Astra (2D/Adventure) 10:25am, 12:50, 3:15, 5:40, 8:05 & 10:30pm; Aladdin 12:30 & 3:00pm Angel Has Fallen (2D/Action) 10:10am, 12:30, 5:30, 7:50, 10:10pm & 0:10am; Dora And The Lost City Of Gold (2D/Adventure) 10;10am & 2:05pm; Al Kanz 2 (2D/Arabic) 6:00, 8:30 & 11:00pm; IT: Chapter 2 (2D/Horror) 5:50, 7:30 & 9:00pm; Kaappaan (2D/Tamil) 10:40pm; Lion King 10:50am, 1:10 & 3:30pmRambo: Last Blood (2D/Action) 10:20am, 11:20am, 12:20, 1:20, 2:20, 3:20, 4:20, 5:20, 6:20, 7:20, 8:20, 9:20, 11:20pm & 0:20am; The Angry Birds Movie 2 12:10 & 4:05pm

Kaappaan (2D/Tamil) 2:00, 8:00 & 11:00pm; The Zoya Factor (2D/Hindi) 2:00 & 11:15pm;Finals (2D/Malayalam) 2:15pm; Pattabi Raman (2D/Malayalam) 4:30pm; Nikka Zaildar 3 (2D/Punjabi) 4:45pm; Valmiki (2D/Telugu) 5:00pm; Diego Mardona 7:00pm; Al Kanz 2 (2D/Arabic) 9:15pm; Ad Astra (2D/Adventure) 7:15pm; Rambo: Last Blood (2D/Action) 9:30pm; Prassthanam (2D/Hindi) 11:30pm

ROYAL PLAZA

Valmiki (2D/Telugu) 2:15pm; Finals (2D/Malayalam) 2:00pm; Nikka Zaildar 3 (2D/Punjabi) 2:15pm; Kaappaan (2D/Tamil) 2:00, 8:00 & 11:00pm; The Zoya Factor (2D/Hindi) 4:30pm; Pattabi Raman (2D/Malayalam) 4:30pm; The Lion King (2D/Drama) 5:15pm; Diego Mardona 7:00pm; Rambo: Last Blood (2D/Action) 7:15 & 11:30pm; Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas (2D/Hindi) 9:00pm; Ad Astra (2D/Adventure) 9:15pm; Prassthanam (2D/Hindi) 11:30pm

MALL

SPORTPL: Southampton vs

AFC Bournemouth

Bundesliga: FC Schalke 04

vs Mainz 05

FOOTBALL FOOTBALL

17FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019

We are here to perform at our best and I believe that is what we have

been doing. I am happy the way the team is at the moment.

Charles Leclerc plays down talk of taking over from Sebastian Vettel as team leader after two consecutive victories. T

OD

AY

’SA

CT

ION

Russian team members attend a training session, yesterday.

AFP TOKYO

Russian captain Vasily Artemyev

has warned Japan that unless they

bring their “A-game” in today’s

Rugby World Cup opener, the hosts

could face a mauling.

The Japanese go into their

Pool A clash in Tokyo as strong

favourites, but Artemyev insisted

that Russia’s “Bears” would be

ready to pounce if Jamie Joseph’s

side fail to produce their best.

“The pressure is on Japan to

perform in front of their home

crowd,” Artemyev said in an

interview.

“In realistic terms we may only

have a 20 percent chance -- but

we will do our best definitely to

spoil it for Japan.

“As strong as they are, Japan

will have to bring their A-game to

win,” added Russia’s record

try-scorer.

“If they play any less I think

we’ll have a good chance.” Japan,

currently ranked 10th in the world,

squeaked a narrow 32-27 victory

when the teams met last

November. And Artemyev

promised the Russians would rise

to the challenge in front of 40,000

fans in Tokyo, while attempting to

ratchet up the mind games.

“If we were playing against an

underdog team, we would be

under a lot of pressure to get the

win under our belts,” said the

32-year-old, who starts as full-back

against Japan.

“I don’t think we need to put

any pressure on ourselves. Eve-

rybody understands how big the

game is, how big the occasion is --

there will be enough adrenaline in

our bodies to raise the dead.”

Japan, who sent shockwaves

through rugby by stunning South

Africa 34-32 in their World Cup

opener four years ago, have tar-

geted reaching the knockout

stages for the first time.

The Brave Blossoms will likely

need to beat Scotland in their final

group game to achieve that, fol-

lowing fixtures against Ireland and

Samoa, leaving them no margin for

error. But Artemyev has threatened

to cause “chaos” to Japan’s plans

today, despite Russia’s shaky build-

up to the tournament, which

included a record 85-15 pum-

melling by Italy.

“We’ve been working really

hard to be competitive -- we’re not

just another team Japan can push

over,” said the veteran winger.

“It’s almost a once-in-a-

lifetime experience for a lot of the

guys. We need to counter their

organisation and add a little bit of

chaos into their organisation.” Russia

coach Lyn Jones predicts a “fast and

furious” game against the Japanese

and has backed wingers Kirill Golos-

nitskiy and German Davydov to keep

Japan’s defence busy.

Artemyev, meanwhile, pointed

to an experienced core of players

in the Bears side who can bring a

sense of calm in only the country’s

second World Cup appearance,

and first since 2011.

“The amount of attention is a

bit unusual for our boys,” he

admitted.

“But we have a good mixture

of youth and experience and you

learn how to manage your nerv-

ousness and your emotions for big

games.

“The experienced guys with

cooler heads can direct the hot-

hearted guys like German towards

the same goal.” Artemyev himself

can’t wait for kick-off.

“Many of our modern sup-

porters don’t remember us playing

in 2011 in New Zealand,” he said.

“We want to show we can

compete against Tier One nations

and we want to become a regular

fixture at the World Cup -- that’s

our main goal for the future.”

As strong as they are, Japan will have to bring their A-game to win: Russian captain Vasily Artemyev

Pride and prejudice lace All Blacks, Boks battleREUTERS TOKYO

New Zealand’s encounter with South Africa in Yokohama tomorrow may have little influence on the progression of the heavyweight pair to the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup, but is a chance for both to lay down a major marker in Japan.

New Zealand coach Steve Hansen has dismissed the idea that his side are more vulnerable than the winning teams of 2011 and 2015, while the Springboks will be eager to prove their title credentials to those that doubt their ability to put together a consist run of wins over top nations.

It is the start of a seven-match slog to the final on November 2, and while Hansen will not read too much into a defeat for either side, he knows it would raise more questions and doubts about his team.

“If South Africa or ourselves get beaten, you can either roll over and say, ‘We can’t win it (the trophy)’, or you say, ‘We have to win all our (six remaining) games from here on in’. It’s a long tournament, a mar-athon and not a sprint,” he told reporters in Tokyo yesterday.

“You get two types, I reckon,” he added. “You get

those who definitely don’t want us to win … because it’s not in their interests for us to win.

Then you get the other group who desperately want us to win and they’re all nervous because we haven’t played any games.

“As soon as we get this tour-nament under way we’ll get rid of all that peripheral noise out there, and it’s pretty meaningless noise too - people having opinions who have no idea of what’s actually happening in some of these teams.”

Hansen provided few selection surprises, with Richie Mo’unga retaining the number 10 jersey and Ardie Savea moving to across the scrum to blindside flank.

The loss of lock Brodie Retallick to injury is a blow, but that has been countered by the return to fitness of inside centre Ryan Crotty, who is preferred to Sonny Bill Williams.

South Africa are unbeaten in 2019 and claimed the Rugby Championship title for the first time in a decade, in part thanks to a 16-16 draw with the All Blacks in Wellington in July.

That is part of a tight recent run between the sides that has seen just two points separating them on aggregate in their last four meetings.

And Bok coach Rassie Erasmus believes a 57-0 ham-mering at the hands of the All Blacks in 2016 was the turning point for the team in their rise to World Cup contenders.

“Getting smashed 57-0 was really low for us and we had to hit rock bottom to start building up and getting respect back in world rugby,” he says.

“It will be very sad if we lose on Saturday but it’s not the end and then the Italy game becomes really important to come out of the pool.”

Erasmus has selected what he clearly sees as his best starting XV, retaining the same players that defeated Japan 41-7 in their final warm-up fixture on Sep-tember 6.

With Italy, Namibia and Canada also in Pool B, the reigning world champions and a resurgent Boks are heavily favoured to be the top two in the group, whatever happens in their opener.

New Zealand’s flanker Ardie Savea (left) and full back Jordie Barrett taking part in a training session at Tatsuminomori Seaside Park in Koto, yesterday.

With Italy, Namibia

and Canada also in

Pool B, the reigning

world champions and

a resurgent Boks are

heavily favoured to be

the top two in the group,

whatever happens in

their opener.

Kubica to leave Williams at the end of 2019 Formula One seasonAFP LONDON

Robert Kubica will leave Williams at the end of the 2019 Formula One season, the British team announced yesterday.

Kubica made a sensational return to F1 with Wil-liams, seven years after partially severing his right arm in a crash at the Rally of Andorra in 2011. The Pole ini-tially returned as a test driver in 2017 and then reserve driver for the 2018 season before making his full return on race weekends this year. However, the 34-year-old has grown frustrated with Williams’ inability to compete.

Kubica has taken Williams’ sole point of the 2019 season after 14 races as they languish at the bottom of the constructers’ championship.

“I would like to thank the team for the last two years and for helping make my comeback to the Formula One grid possible,” said Kubica.

Kubica has not ruled out continuing in Formula One but told the BBC it would not come “at any cost.”

“I want something to bring back a bit of joy,” he said.

Leclerc keen to remain team playerAFP SINGAPORE

Charles Leclerc’s (pictured) debut season at Ferrari could not have gone any better, but the 21-year-old Monegasque has played down talk of taking over from Sebastian Vettel as team leader after storming to consec-utive victories in Belgium and Italy on his last two starts.

Leclerc held off the twin Mer-cedes threat of championship leader Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to register his first two Formula One wins at Spa and Monza, triumphs that lifted him above four-time world champion Vettel in the standings with seven races remaining.

“I’ve never felt there were any team orders. Maybe from the outside it looks different but not from the inside. It feels very bal-anced,” Leclerc, who sits 102 points behind Hamilton in fourth place,

told reporters in Singapore yesterday.

“There have been situations in the past where I have helped Sebastian and others when he has helped me. I think the team is doing everything for its benefits and that is the most important thing.

“We are here to perform at our

best and I believe that is what we have been doing. I am happy the way the team is at the moment.” Vettel, by contrast, has endured a miserable error-strewn campaign, having failed to record a victory since the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix with his team-mate moving 13 points ahead of the German in the standings in a season when he was expected to play a supporting role.

“At the end of the day, it is always better to be a team player,” Leclerc added.

“If you have one driver who only cares about himself then it’s not great. Yes, there will be situa-tions when you may need to be a little selfish, but it is better to find the right balance.”

Looking ahead to Sunday’s Sin-gapore Grand Prix, Leclerc believes it will be unlikely for Ferrari to vie for a third straight victory under the floodlights at the technical 23-turn Marina Bay Street Circuit, where Mercedes and Red Bull are

expected to dominate on a layout that suits their cars.

“It might be a more difficult for us this weekend,” Leclerc said.

“Quite a lot more corners and a lot fewer straights. We are going to struggle a bit more but anything is possible. We will give it our all and hope for the best.”

Despite his pessimistic outlook for Singapore -- where heavy haze from forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia lifted significantly yes-terday -- Leclerc admits he is still coming to terms with the enormity of his two wins.

“It has been quite crazy. I have had quite a few days at home, which was nice, but now I am focusing on the rest of the season,” he added.

“I also had a chance to go to (Ferrari HQ) Maranello to see the whole team -- all 1,300 people -- it was a good opportunity to thank them for victories that came at the right time during the season.”

Russia warn Japan of World Cup shock

18 FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019SPORT

SL confirm Pakistan tour after promise of top-tier securityREUTERS COLOMBO

The Sri Lanka cricket board (SLC) confirmed their tour of Pakistan yesterday after the Pakistan government pledged the same level of security to their players as is provided to visiting heads of state.

Sri Lanka are scheduled to play three one-day interna-tionals and three Twenty20

matches in Pakistan between September 27 and October 9, but 10 key Sri Lankan players have already opted out of the series, citing security concerns.

The future of the tour was in jeopardy last week when SLC said it was reassessing the security situation in Pakistan after receiving a warning “of a possible terrorist threat” to its team.

The board issued a

statement yesterday saying that Sri Lanka’s defence ministry has confirmed that it has received no information through any intelligence agency about a threat to the Sri Lanka team or the tour.

Sri Lanka’s High Com-mission in Pakistan also has no information indicating a threat, SLC said, adding that Pakistan’s army will coordinate the security arrangements.

“(The) tour of Pakistan will go ahead as planned, following assurances given by the gov-ernment of Pakistan that it will provide maximum security arrangements for the team during their entire duration of stay in Pakistan,” SLC said.

Pakistan are looking to play their first Test at home in December since a 2009 militant attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore left six security

personnel and two civilians dead and six players injured.

The South Asian country did not host international cricket for six years after the 2009 attack, with the team playing their home matches in the United Arab Emirates. They have hosted teams such as Zimbabwe and West Indies in recent years but only for limited-overs matches.

Last month the Sri Lankan and Pakistan cricket boards

agreed to bring forward the lim-ited-overs leg of the split series and pushed back the two test matches, which were originally scheduled to take place in October.

Sri Lanka have already named Lahiru Thirimanne and Dasun Shanaka as ODI and T20 captains for the tour after incumbents Dimuth Karu-naratne and Lasith Malinga decided not to travel.

Paine sees ‘very exciting era’ for AussiesAFP SYDNEY

Captain Tim Paine (pictured) has predicted a “very exciting era” for Australian cricket after the team retained the Ashes against England, while revealing he broke his thumb in the final Test.

The series was drawn 2-2, with Aus-tralia keeping the urn as the Ashes holders despite losing the last Test at the Oval by 135 runs.

“I’m looking forward to Australia seeing how far we’ve come this summer,” Paine said in a column for The Aus-tralian newspaper, referring to upcoming home Tests against Pakistan and New Zealand.

“Last year we

were a bit lost and were finding our way,” he added after the side

struggled in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

“I know we have found it now and I am confident this group is the beginning of a

very exciting era in Australian cricket.

“We’ve got the best bowling attack in the world and the basis for a great batting line-up.”

Australia retaining the Ashes was built on the back of an incredible series by former skipper Steve Smith, who scored 774 runs in just seven innings, and an impressive bowling attack led by Pat Cummins and

Josh Hazlewood.Paine called Smith “a

freak” while also praising Marnus Labuschagne as having “a huge future” after he too enjoyed a stellar tour with the bat.

But he revealed the last Test was a struggle for himself and

fast bowler Peter Siddle.“My thumb was broken

towards the end of that Test but it is not displaced, so I should be right to get back into training early,” said Paine, while praising workhorse Siddle who was bat-tling a hip injury.

“He has copped a bit of crit-icism for not bowling as well as... we know he can, but the team knows just how heroic he was.

“A lot of other people wouldn’t have bowled again in the match, but he pushed on because he didn’t want to leave Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins to do extra work.” Coming off a long overseas tour and with five home Tests starting from November 21, Paine said he needs to rest and will not play the domestic Big Bash League Twenty20 competition this season.

“Being captain is draining and I think I should take every chance to recharge my batteries,” he said.

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Dananjaya gets one-year ban due to illegal action

REUTERS DUBAI

Sri Lanka spinner Akila Dananjaya has been banned for a year from bowling in interna-tional cricket due to an illegal action, the International Cricket Council said yesterday.

Dananjaya, 25, was reported for a suspect action after last month’s opening Test against New Zealand in Galle, during which he picked up six wickets in Sri Lanka’s victory.

His bowling action was found to be illegal after he underwent independent assessment in the southern Indian city of Chennai, the ICC said in a statement.

Dananjaya was also reported for a suspect bowling action last November after a test match against England and sus-pended the following month

after an independent committee found it to be illegal. He was cleared to bowl again in Feb-ruary following remedial work on his action.

“As the latest report consti-tutes the player’s second report within a two-year period, the first of which led to a sus-pension, he is automatically sus-pended from bowling in inter-national cricket for a period of 12 months,” the ICC said.

“Dananjaya will be entitled to approach the ICC for a re-assessment of his bowling action after the expiry of this one-year period.”

The Galle match against New Zealand was Dananjaya’s first Test since his reinstatement. He has taken 33 wickets in six Tests for Sri Lanka since making his debut against Bangladesh last year, as well as 51 wickets in ODIs and 22 in T20s.

Giorgi upsets Stephens in OsakaAP OSAKA, JAPAN

Camila Giorgi dropped just three games to upset third-seeded Sloane Stephens 6-0, 6-3 in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Osaka, yesterday.

The unseeded Italian, who reached the semi-finals last year, beat the 2017 US Open champion to set up a quarter-final match against Belgian Elise Mertens.

“It was a good match for sure and I was able to play my game, show off my attacking style and be consistent,” Giorgi said.

“When I play I always focus on myself. I only made a few mis-takes. That’s always been my way, ever since I was little, to attack, to go forward, to put the pressure on. This surface suits my game, too.”

Giorgi dropped her serve at 5-2 in the second set but she sealed the victory in the next game on her fourth match point.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat second-seeded Kiki Bertens 6-1, 7-5 to progress to the

last eight, described her win as “super-tough.”

Wild card Misaki Doi will be Pavlyuchenkova’s opponent in the last eight after the Japanese upset seventh-seeded Donna Vekic 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Yulia Putintseva of Kaza-khstan faces top-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan in the quarter-finals after she defeated qualifier Varvara Flink 6-1, 6-1.

At the Korea Open in Seoul, third-seeded Karolina Muchova

reached her third quarterfinal in her last four tournaments when she defeated qualifier Timea Babos 6-2, 6-3.

“I was trying to be more focused on myself, to play my game, and it worked out,” the Czech said.

“I think I played pretty solid today, and it was enough to win the match.”

Muchova will next take on Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon, who edged fifth-seeded Ajla Tomljanovic in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.

At Guangzhou International in China, third-seeded Sofia Kenin beat qualifier Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals.

Kenin is the last seeded player remaining in the tour-nament and has yet to drop a set.

Kenin will take on Anna Blinkova as she aims for her fourth final of the year. Blinkova beat Marie Bouzkova 6-3, 6-1 in their quarterfinal.

Wild-card entry Samantha Stosur will play Viktorija Golubic in the other semi-final. Stosur beat Nina Stojanovic 6-2, 7-6 (1) and Golubic ousted Zhang Shuai 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Camila Giorgi dropped just three games to upset third-seeded Sloane Stephens 6-0, 6-3 yesterday.

The unseeded Italian,

who reached the

semi-finals last year,

beats the 2017 US Open

champion to set up a

quarter-final match

against Belgian Elise

Mertens.

Age not an obstacle to Serena’s pursuit of 24th major title, says MouratoglouREUTERS NEW YORK

Serena Williams is getting faster and fitter in her hunt for an elusive 24th Grand Slam title and the 37-year-old still has time on time on her side despite missed opportunities, the American’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, has said.

Williams suffered her fourth consecutive defeat in a Grand Slam final at the US Open earlier this month, as she again came agonisingly

close to Australian Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 majors before falling in straight sets.

Williams has not won a set in any of the four Grand Slam finals she has reached since returning from maternity leave in Sep-tember 2017.

At Flushing Meadows, she fell to a first-time Grand Slam finalist in Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu.

Williams may not need statistics to prove her

standing in the game but Mouratoglou is confident she has plenty of gas in the tank to continue her pursuit next season.

“I think time is working for her,” Mouratoglou told Sky Sports.

“I think she was much better at the US Open than she was at Wimbledon, and Wimbledon (was) better than Roland Garros.

“She is getting back in shape, and the more in shape she will be, the more dangerous she will be. I

think she has started to play really good tennis.”

Mouratoglou said Wil-liams must play without the pressure of having to solidify her place in tennis history.

“This is the highest pressure anyone can have in life, and on the other side of the court she plays girls who have zero pressure because it is their first final,” he said.

“At some point, she will figure out how to deal with that.”

Samantha Stosur of Australia hits a return against Nina Stojanovic of Serbia during their women’s singles quarter-final match at the Guangzhou Open in Guangzhou, yesterday.

SECOND ROUND Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) beat

Varvara Flink (RUS) 6-1, 6-1

Camila Giorgi (ITA) beat Sloane

Stephens (USA) 6-0, 6-3

Misaki Doi (JPN) beat Donna

Vekic (CRO) 7-6(5), 6-3

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

(RUS) beat Kiki Bertens (NED)

6-1, 7-5

PAN PACIFIC OPEN RESULTS

QUARTER-FINAL Samantha Stosur beat Nina

Stojanovic 6-2, 7-6 (1).

Viktorija Golubic beat Zhang

Shuai 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Anna Blinkova beat Marie

Bouzkova 6-3, 6-1.

DOUBLES QUARTER-FINAL

Zhaoxuan Yang and Duan Ying-

Ying (2), China, beat Yanina

Wickmayer, Belgium, and Arina

Rodionova, Australia, 6-4, 6-3.

Peng Shuai, China, and Laura

Siegemund, Germany, beat Ali-

son Bai, Australia, and Elixane

Lechemia, France, 6-1, 6-2.

Alexa Guarachi Mathison, Chile,

and Giuliana Olmos, Mexico,

beat Sharon Fichman, Canada,

and Kaitlyn Christian, United

States, 6-2, 6-1.

GUANGZHOU OPEN

REUTERS LONDON

Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho has the personality and experience to solve their injury crisis in defence, manager Pep Guardiola (pictured) has said.

The Brazilian was deployed as a makeshift central defender in Wednes-day’s 3-0 Champions League win at Shakhtar Donetsk, with John Stones out for five weeks due to a muscle injury and Aymeric Laporte recovering from knee surgery.

Partnering City’s only other fit senior centre back Nicolas Otamendi, the 34-year-old Fernandinho looked com-fortable in the role with the additional responsibility of captaincy in his first start of the season.

“I didn’t have doubts that he would (look comfortable in the back four). That’s why he’s so important for us,” Guardiola told a news conference.

“We don’t have many choices... he’s the only one I have. Other players can play in that position but Fernandinho is a clever player, so intelligent -- an incredible guy.

“He has a lot of experience and per-sonality and what he says the people follow him in the locker room so it’s important.”

A tough tackler with natural passing ability, Fernandinho is the ideal player to

slot into defence in Guar-diola’s system and has emerged as a potential replacement for former club captain Vincent Kompany who departed at the end of last season.

The Brazilian is unlikely to get any quicker in the twilight of his career and is aware that a redefined role could ensure more playing time at the Premier League champions.

“I’ve been training in this position since the start of the season,” said Fern-

andinho, who made two interceptions and had a passing accuracy of 90% against Shakhtar.

“Today was my opportunity, I hope I can improve. It was a quiet night at the back but the team have made a very good game... because we played as a team.”

We don’t have many choices... he’s the only one I have. Other players can play in that position but Fernandinho is a clever player, so intelligent - an incredible guy: Pep Guardiola

19FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019 SPORT

Fernandinho fills Man City’s defensive gap

Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian defender Thiago Silva (left), Cameroonian forward Eric Maxim Choupo Moting and Argentine midfielder Angel Di Maria (right) celebrate during the UEFA Champions League Group A match against Real Madrid in Paris, on Wednesday.

PSG display character, personality in Real rout

REUTERS PARIS

Paris St Germain’s crushing of Real Madrid in their Champions League opener was not a warning to their European rivals - it was more a self-confidence booster on the French side’s return to the biggest stage.

PSG suffered an embarrassing last-16 exit against a low-key Man-chester United following a shock 3-1 home defeat last season, and on Wednesday, they had a point to prove to themselves.

While a 3-0 home win against the 13-time European champions in Group A will not wipe off three consecutive last-16 eliminations, the Parc des Princes game showed that PSG have grown as a squad.

Thomas Tuchel’s side was without their magic trio of Kylian Mbappe, Edison Cavani - both injured - and Neymar, who was sus-pended, yet they produced a col-lective performance to be remembered.

Angel Di Maria showed his class

and flair with a brace, helped by the huge work of midfielders Marco Verratti, Marquinhos and Idrissa Gueye, with the Senegalese proving his worth after joining from Everton during the close season.

“He’s a machine. He’s the type of player we were missing, he never stops running,” said Tuchel.

Gueye provided the midfield with much-needed stamina since Blaise Matuidi left for Juventus in 2017, proving essential with defensive tackles and impressive bursts going forward.

With the ‘MCN’ trio out, Argentine striker Mauro Icardi,

loaned from Inter Milan, harassed the Real Madrid defence and created space for Di Maria while keeper Keylor Navas, who joined from Real, is expected to give the defence some peace of mind.

“We have a great team, with more personality now,” said Tuchel.

PSG, however, are well aware that Group stage wins will mean nothing when the knockout phase comes in the winter.

In 2017, they beat Bayern 3-0 in the Group phase and tamed Liv-erpool 2-1 also in the Group phase last year, but those victories were fol-lowed by early exits. The way they beat Real on Wednesday, however, was far more convincing.

“We need to always play like we did, with character and personality. With aggressiveness, too,” said centre back Thiago Silva.

“Mbappe, Cavani and Neymar are phenomenons, but we have a solid squad of 25 players. Two of them were injured and one was sus-pended but what the other showed was brilliant.”

Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus (left) celebrates with Fernandinho (second left) after scoring against Shakhtar Donetsk during their Champions League Group C match in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday.

can improve. It was a quiet night at the back but the team have made a very goodgame... because we played as ateam.”

Atletico, Real and Barca struggle early onAP MADRID

There’s work to do for top Spanish

clubs after their Champions League

group openers.

Atlético Madrid need to fix its

defense, Barcelona their attack, and

Real Madrid have to improve both

its defense and attack.

Valencia was the only Spanish

club to start with a win, an

impressive 1-0 result against

Chelsea in London.

ATLÉTICO’S SHAKY DEFENcEAtlético Madrid is suddenly

struggling where it used to thrive -

in defence.

After two clean sheets to start

the season, Diego Simeone’s stout

defense began to falter, conceding

six goals in the last three matches

in all competitions.

The latest goals came in the 2-2

home draw against Juventus on

Wednesday, when Atlético had to

rally after going down 2-0 in the

second half. It had already conceded

twice in the 2-0 loss at Real

Sociedad and the 3-2 win against

Eibar, both in the Spanish league.

Simeone had to revamp the

defense after the departure of key

players in the offseason, including

central defender Diego Godín, the

team’s longtime captain. Other

defensive pillars who left were

veteran left back Filipe Luís and right

back Juanfran Torres.

The only defensive starter from

recent years featuring against

Juventus was central defender José

María Giménez. He was alongside

Stefan Savic, who was in previous

squads but without regular play. It

was a goal by Savic, after a set up

by Giménez, that put Atlético back

in the game on Wednesday.

Héctor Herrera then equalised

with a 90th-minute header after a

cross by former Tottenham right

back Kieran Trippier, one of the

newcomers in the Atlético squad.

On the other flank, Atlético is using

Brazilian Renan Lodi, who is only 21

years old.

BARÇA’S LACKLUSTER TRIOLionel Messi had a hard time

getting past opponents. Luis Suárez

was ineffective in front of the goal.

Antoine Griezmann couldn’t create

significant scoring chances.

The much-anticipated debut of

Barcelona’s attacking trio finally

happened this week, but it didn’t

go as everyone expected.

Messi, Suárez and Griezmann

played together for the first time in

the 0-0 draw at Borussia Dortmund

on Tuesday, being unable to add

any spark to Barcelona’s attack in

the team’s Champions League

opener.

They were together for only

about 30 minutes as Messi came off

the bench in the second half, but it

was enough for critics and some

fans to start questioning the high-

profile trio.

Griezmann arrived as the

team’s top offseason signing but

had not been able to team up with

Messi and Suárez because of injuries

to the duo early in the season.

UNSTABLE REAL MADRIDReal Madrid coach Zinedine

Zidane is blaming the demoralizing

3-0 loss at Paris-Saint German on

the team’s lack of intensity.

Real have now conceded nine

goals in their five matches in all

competitions this season. It was not

able to get a single shot on

target on Wednesday in

Paris.

Their next match is

another difficult one,

at Spanish league

leader Sevilla on

Sunday.

Thomas Tuchel’s side was without their magic trio of Kylian Mbappe,

Edison Cavani - both injured - and Neymar, who was suspended, yet

they produced a collective performance to be remembered.

With the ‘MCN’ trio out, Argentine striker Mauro Icardi, loaned from

Inter Milan, harassed the Real Madrid defence and created space for

Angel Di Maria who showed his class and flair with a brace.

He (Di Maria) is a machine. He’s the type of player we were missing, he never stops running: PSG manager Thomas Tuchel

In-form Al Sadd cautious against ‘tough’ Umm SalalRIZWAN REHMAT THE PENINSULA

Coach Xavi Hernandez has urged Al Sadd players to maintain their ‘focus’ against Umm Salal, saying their QNB Stars League (QSL) rivals are a ‘tough’ outfit.

Raul Caneda-coached Umm Salal face Al Sadd at Al Janoub Stadium today, just three days after their resounding win over Saudi rivals Al Nassr in an AFC Champions League battle.

“We are only candidates on paper to win but must perform with enthusiasm and seriousness on the ground to win,” Xavi said in a pre-match press conference yesterday.

“Umm Salal made a strong match against Al Rayyan and the team has dis-tinct strikers like Sagbo and Al Mawas as well as (Spanish midfielder) Victor Vazquez. It is will be a difficult game and we must be in full focus to win the match,” the Bar-celona legend added.

“(I am) somewhat worried about the match against Umm Salal, especially after our return from a special victory over Al Nassr - I have asked the players not to relax and focus but enjoy the mentality of winning,” Xavi said.

Al Sadd coach, however, said he remained confident

of his team’s fight in today’s clash.

“The league table is a reality and we know

these games s i n c e t h e beginning of the

season. We have planned accord-

ingly and you can see the per-

formance o n

the

ground. The Al Sadd players enjoy their great preparation,” he added.

“We produced a special game against Al Nassr and we are happy with the players’ performance. We were better than Al Nassr in all aspects.”

Xavi said yesterday: “The Qatari league is on the right track after hiring top coaches. This (move) will benefit Qatar football and serve the national team, which performs well under (coach) Felix Sanchez. The league has improved a lot over the past years.”

Al Sadd player Meshal Barsham said yes-terday: “It will be a difficult game but our morale is high. Every game has its own con-ditions and we have to be careful against Umm Salal. Our match will not be easy.”

Umm Salal coach Caneda said the round four clash is against a ‘top Asian side.’

“We are facing Al Sadd, one of the top teams in Asia. Playing against a big club like Al Sadd is not easy. Anyway, we are ready to face them,” Caneda said a pre-match press conference earlier in the day.

“Every game has its own difficulties, but certainly a loss could affect our mindset. We have to prepare for any match in the best way. We will try to get the team out of frustration after the last loss (to Al Arabi),” Caneda added.

“So far, we have one point, but we have no problems in the team. We have to work step by step, deal with the situations calmly and keep our concentration ahead of the next rounds,” he said.

“Yes, against Al Rayyan we had done a good job. Then we did not keep the same level. We are still in the team-building phase and are trying to move forward to reach the highest levels and achieve pos-itive results,” Caneda pointed out.

Meanwhile a news posted on Al Sadd website confirmed the absence of key defender Pedro Miguel.

Pedro has been ruled out of action after sustaining an ankle injury in the AFC Cham-pions League quarter-final second leg game against Al Nassr on Tuesday.

Today’s first match will kick off at 4:50pm at Al Janoub Stadium followed by a clash between Al Sailiya and Qatar SC at the same venue at 7:00pm.

remained confidenof his team’s figh

in today’s clash“The league

table is a realityand we know

these gamess i n c e t h ebeginning of the

season. We haveplanned accord-

ingly and you cansee the per-

formanceo n

the

CHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA

The 2017 World Athlete of the Year Mutaz Essa Barshim and one-lap sprinter Abder-rahman Samba will lead the home charge for medals at the IAAF World Championships which begin next week.

Entry lists for the Doha Worlds, released by the IAAF yesterday, revealed that Qatar will be represented by Barshim and Samba in a squad of 16 male and two female athletes.

Barshim, the reigning world champion and two-time Olympic medallist, has suc-cessfully returned to action following a year-long injury lay-off.

The unfortunate injury occurred during an attempt on a would-be world record of 2.46m in Szekesfehervar last year.

Barshim resumed training in April before making a roaring return to action, leaping to 2.27m to win at Sopot Grand Prix Ath-letics in Sopot, Poland, in June.

Meanwhile, Samba, who last year set an Asian 400m hurdles record of 46.98, will be up against a stellar line-up in his pet event.

Samba, the world leader in the one-lap hurdles event last year, and third fastest runner in the history of men’s 400m hurdles, will also compete in the 400m event along with Asian Games gold medallist Abdalelah Haroun apart from the 4x400m relay.

The relay team, which is currently the best in Asia, also includes Mohamed Nasir Abbas, Bassem Hemeida, Femi Ogunode and Ashraf Hussen Osman, with the final four runners y e t t o b e announced.

Young sprinter Owaab Barrow will be in action in the 100 metres dash and he will join Yaqoob Al Hasani, Mahamat Zakaria Khalid, Abdelaziz Mohamed, Femi Ogunode and T o s i n

Ogunode in the 4x100m relay event.Former U-20 World Champion and 2018

Asian Games gold medallist Ashraf Amgad El Seify will represent Qatar at the men’s hammer throw.

Abdelaziz Mohamed (200m), Abubaker Haydar Abdalla (800m) And Abdirahman Saeed Hassan (1500m) are the other Qatari male athletes.

Kenza Sosse and Mariam Mamdouh Farid will compete in the women’s 400m and 400m hurdles events respectively.

More than 1900 athletes from 209 teams will be in action in the Qatari capital during the September 27-October 6 event.

The 1928 entries comprise 1039 men and 889 women. Of the 44 individual winners from two years ago, 38 will defend their titles in Doha.

All 30 of the newly-crowned Diamond League champions will also be in action.

The IAAF will release the official start lists after

the technical meeting on the

eve of the o p e n i n g

day.

TEAM QATAR FOR IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS DOHA 2019

MEN100 Metres: Owaab Barrow

200 Metres: Abdelaziz Mohamed400 Metres: Abdalelah Haroun,

Abderrahman Samba 800 Metres: Abubaker Haydar Abdalla

1500 Metres: Abdirahman Saeed Hassan

3000 Metres Steeplechase: Yaser Salem Bagharab

400 Metres Hurdles: Abderrahman Samba

High Jump: Mutaz Essa BarshimHammer Throw: Ashraf Amgad El Seify

4 X 100 Metres Relay: Yaqoob Al Hasani, Owaab Barrow, Mahamat

Zakaria Khalid, Abdelaziz Mohamed, Femi Ogunode, Tosin Ogunode

4 X 400 Metres Relay: Mohamed Nasir Abbas, Abdalelah Haroun,

Bassem Hemeida, Femi Ogunode, Ashraf Hussen Osman,

Abderrahman Samba

WOMEN400 Metres: Kenza Sosse 400 Metres

Hurdles: Mariam Mamdouh Farid

PAGE | 17 PAGE | 19

Formula One: Ferrari’s Leclerc

keen to remain a team player

PSG display character and personality in Real Madrid rout

20FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2019

LOC announces partners for ANOC World Beach GamesTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the ANOC World Beach Games Qatar 2019 yesterday announced the official sponsors for the event which will be held from October 12 to 16 in Doha.

Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) has been named the official partner of the Games while Katara Cultural Village and Aspire Zone are the Official Venue Partners.

The Official Sponsors for the event will be Baladna, Mowasalat and Bornan. The Official Suppliers include Xtreme, Elan, Ooredoo and Al Rawda while Qatar National Tourism Council has been announced as a major stakeholder of the event.

Commenting on the occasion, LOC Director-General and QOC Secretary-General Jassim Rashid Al Buenain said, “It is our pleasure to partner with our various sponsors for this historical event. It’s so exciting to see so many of Qatar’s organisations come together to create a truly unique and world-class event in

Qatar. ANOC World Beach Games Qatar 2019 offers us the opportunity to showcase once again our passion for sports as a nation and our wonderful hos-pitality as a great host. I believe the event will not only promote the values of ANOC

but also foster unity and cooperation among the participating countries. We thank our sponsors for joining us in our journey towards creating history and for their immeasurable support towards making the Games a resounding success.”

The QOC Secretary-General was among a host of top officials who were present at a press conference which took place at the Katara Cultural Village yesterday.

Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti,

General Manager of Katara and Mohammed Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Aspire zone foundation CEO, were also present at the occasion.

The inaugural edition of the interna-tional beach multi-sport event is organised by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).

More than 1,200 athletes from a total of 96 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), representing all the five continents, will be competing in 14 disciplines across 13 sports at the event.

The featuring sports include aquathlon, 3X3 basketball, climbing bouldering, beach handball, karate kata individual, kitefoil racing, skateboarding, beach soccer, open water 5km swimming, beach tennis, beach volleyball 4X4, waterski, wakeboard and beach wrestling.

The event is scheduled for five days with the opening rounds for certain events being held on October 11, the day before the opening ceremony which will take place on the next day. The ANOC General Assembly and ANOC Awards 2019 will be held on October 17 and 18, following the conclusion of the competition.

Barshim, Samba to lead Qatar’s charge at Worlds

FROM LEFT: General Manager of Katara, Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, Secretary-General of Qatar Olympic Committee and Director-General of the Local Organising Committee, Jassim Rashid Al Buenain and Chief Executive Officer of Aspire Zone Foundation, Mohammed Khalifa Al Suwaidi during a press conference held at Katara Cultural Village, yesterday. PICTURE: ABDUL BASIT / THE PENINSULA

Doha to host Arab Gulf Cup from November 27

QNA DOHA

The extraordinary general assembly of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation, chaired by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of Qatar Football Association (QFA), has announced that the 24th edition of the competition will take place in Doha from November 27 to December 9.

The meeting discussed a number of important topics, par-ticularly the selection of judicial committees from the names nominated by the member asso-ciations, and the discussion of the proposed amendments to the competition regulations. It was

attended by representatives from the associations in Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Yemen and Qatar.

Following the conclusion of the meeting, Secretary-General of the federation Jassim Al Rumaihi will take place in Doha during the set time, even if the number of teams declines more than the current level. He stressed however that the door is open for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain to take part in the com-petition as long as they do that before the draw next October.

The Gulf Cup is held every two years between Arab Gulf countries. The first edition took place in 1970 and was won by the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) and Qatar Football Association President, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, during the AGCFF’s extraordinary general assembly yesterday.

Abbas, Abdalelah Haroun, m Hemeida, Femi Ogunode,

Ashraf Hussen Osman, Abderrahman Samba

WOMEN400 Metres:

Kenza Sosse 400 Metres

Hurdles: Mariam Mamdouh Farid

m to win at Sopot Grand Prix Ath-Sopot, Poland, in June.nwhile, Samba, who last year set

n 400m hurdles record of 46.98, up against a stellar line-up in event.ba, the world leader in thehurdles event last year, and

stest runner in the history of 400m hurdles, will alsoe in the 400m event along ian Games gold medallistah Haroun apart from the

m relay. relay team, which is currently in Asia, also includes Mohamed

bbas, Bassem Hemeida, gunode and Ashraf

Osman, withfour runners t o b e

ced.ng sprinterBarrow willtion in thetres dashwill join

Al Hasani, at Zakaria Abdelaziz ed, Femi

e andn

official start lists after the technical

ti th

Femi4 X 40

meeting on theeve of the

o p e n i n g day.

Nasir Bassem

Al Gharafa players celebrate after Ahmed Alaaeldin scored their second goal against Al Ahli during the QNB Stars League round-four match played at the Al Sadd Stadium, yesterday. Al Gharafa won 3-1. In the other round-four fixture, Al Arabi beat Al Shahania 2-1.

Al Gharafa, Al Arabi win