· Saturday 24 January 2015 • 4 Rabial II 1436 • Volume 19 Number 6320 [email protected] |...
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[email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com Saturday 24 January 2015 • 4 Rabial II 1436 • Volume 19 Number 6320 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER ISO 9001:2008 Oil jumps amid huge market shifts Business | 14 Palestinians protest against Charlie Hebdo Palestinians hold placards and shout slogans praising Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during a demonstration organised by Hamas yesterday against the cartoon of the Prophet published by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. Qatar mourns King Abdullah Emir attends Saudi Monarch’s janaza prayers, declares three-day national mourning The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with the new Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (extreme right), offering janaza prayers in Riyadh yesterday. DOHA: The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has declared three days of national mourning in the coun- try following the death of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud yesterday. The Emir sent cables of con- dolences to new Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who pledged continuity hours after his accession to the throne following the death of his half- brother, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reports. Several high-profile events lined up in Qatar have been can- celled, including the scheduled Qatar Radio and Qatar TV pro- grammes. They are airing recitals of verses from the Holy Quran. The Emir praised the departed leader as one of the greatest and best in the Arab and Islamic world who devoted his life to the service of “our Arab and Islamic nations”. QNA quoted a statement issued by the Emiri Diwan in which the Emir said King Abdullah was one of the most sincere advocates of the causes of the Arab and Islamic world, including its security and stability. “He played a significant role in strengthening Arab solidarity and unity and called for dialogue and peace in the region and renuncia- tion of violence and extremism.” The Emir prayed to Allah the Almighty to bestow His grace and forgiveness on King Abdullah, make paradise his last abode, DOHA: Abu Samra on Qatar- Saudi Arabia border is expected to witness one of the coldest nights of the current winter season today. The minimum temperature forecast for the town tonight is five degrees Celsius, while for Doha, it is 11 degrees and for Messaieed, Al Wakra and Dukhan, eight. Day temperatures forecast for today vary between 20 and 23 degrees. In Doha, the maximum temperature forecast is 23. In Abu Samra, the difference between the minimum and maxi- mum temperatures is likely to be 15 degrees as the minimum tem- perature expected there is five degrees while the maximum 20. The day will be misty at places at first and a bit cloudy later, while the night will be cold. THE PENINSULA Youth jailed for illegal rifle show-off DOHA: A young man who understandably posted for show-off a picture of his unlicensed rifle on social media had to pay a huge price. He was caught by authorities, tried and sentenced by a court to a year in jail and fined QR10,000 ($2,746) for keeping the weapon without licence. According to the local Arabic daily Al Raya, the man posted a pho- tograph of a German Kalashnikov gun on his Instagram account. The Search and Follow-up Department at the Ministry of Interior was tipped off by a secret agent. The may was caught and interrogated. A search of his home led to the recovery of the rifle. Later, the public prosecution filed charges after the state forensic laboratory confirmed that it was a German Kalashnikov and in a good condition. The court sentenced the man to a year in prison and fined him QR10,000 for keeping the gun without license. The defence lawyer, though, argued in the court that his client had no intention of committing any crime with the Kalashnikov. He just had it for fun. The prosecution counter-argued that owning a gun without license was illegal punishable by law. THE PENINSULA Tunisia gets cabinet without Islamists TUNIS: Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid presented a cabinet line-up to parliament yesterday that included no members of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party which led the former government. Essid’s government will be the first since the first freely contested parliamentary and presidential elections last year. There had been conflicting reports over whether Ennahda, which dominated interim administrations since the Arab Spring in of 2011 would join the new government. The anti-Islamist Nidaa Tounes party of President Beji Caid Essebsi won the largest number of seats in the October elections but fell short of a majority, forcing it to look for coali- tion partners. Ennahda, which came second, had not excluded joining a unity government under Essid. Nidaa Tounes Secretary-General, Taieb Baccouche, was named Foreign Minister and the ministries of health and transport also went to members of the president’s party. But other posts went to independents or nominees from smaller parties. Yemen MPs to meet tomorrow SANA’A: Yemen’s parliament will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow after President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi offered to resign over a deadly stand-off with Shia militia controlling the capital, official media said. Hadi, an US ally in the fight against Al Qaeda, said in his letter of resignation that he could no longer stay in office as the country was in “total deadlock”. Witnesses and security forces said Huthi militiamen had encircled the parliament building overnight, having seized the presidential palace earlier this week. AGENCIES DOHA: The government should declare an amnesty for illegal and runaway workers to give a chance to those who want to regularise their visa status, says a national. The last amnesty was declared 13 years ago in 2002 and since then the population has more than trebled. Khalid Al Suwaidi said an amnesty by the government would help substantially reduce the number of illegal and runa- way workers. Most of these work- ers can be seen on the streets, in crowds, especially on weekdays and early in the mornings look- ing for free-lance work. The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, in coordination with other state agencies, is doing good work and holding regular inspection campaigns to trace illegal workers. “But the problem remains,” Al Suwaidi told the local Arabic daily Al Raya in remarks published yesterday. He said the problem of illegal and runaway workers would end once the law making it mandatory for all workers to be paid through banking channels is enforced sooner rather than later. Another Qatari citizen who gave his name as Adnan Al Amri said large groups of workers seen on the streets early in the morn- ings looking for freelance jobs are sponsored by companies that actually don’t have jobs for them. THE PENINSULA Continued on page 4 reward him for the good deeds he did for his country and grant the royal family, the Saudi people and the Arab and Islamic nations patience and solace. The Emir flew to Riyadh and attended the janaza (funeral) prayers for King Abdullah, along with several Muslim leaders from across the world yesterday. The Foreign Ministry said the Qatari flag at all ministries, gov- ernment institutions and public facilities will be put at half-mast for three days. In a statement, the ministry expressed Qatar’s grief on King Abdullah’s death. One of the richest and most influential men in history, King Abdullah was carried in a sim- ple white shroud to an unmarked grave in a Riyadh cemetery where King Abdullah ... one of the most sincere advocates of the causes of the Arab and Islamic world many of his commoner subjects rest, international wire agency Reuters said. “A simple grave for one of the world’s most powerful kings,” wrote a Qatari woman on local social media, touched by the mod- esty. Qatari social media was full of rich tributes paid by nationals and expatriates to the late king. In Saudi Arabia, there is no official mourning and flags around the kingdom all flew at full staff as the kingdom follows the Wahabi school of Sunni Islam which holds ostentatious displays of grief or mourning to be sinful, akin to idolatry, said Reuters. At the Saudi embassy here also the national flag flew at full staff and an official told The Peninsula they wouldn’t lower it since the name of Allah is inscribed on it. Bahrain has, meanwhile, declared 40 days of mourning and ordered closure of all government offices for three days as a mark of respect for the departed leader. Jordan has also declared 40 days of mourning. In Saudi Arabia, government offices, closed for the Middle East’s normal Friday-Saturday weekend, will reopen as usual tomorrow, Reuters said. The afternoon prayer that pre- ceded King Abdullah’s burial in Riyadh yesterday was attended by Muslim leaders, Saudi princes, powerful clerics and billionaire Arab businessmen. His body was transported to the mosque in a city ambulance, according to Reuters. It was borne through the crowds on a carpet on a simple stretcher, laid in front of the faithful at prayer and then carried by King Abdullah’s male relatives to the graveyard, where it was laid in the ground with no ceremony. The news agency that Saudi Arabia’s oil policy is unlikely to change under the new king who has retained veteran Oil Minister Ali Al Naimi. Meanwhile, the Saudi embassy here will receive mourners offer- ing condolences for three days from today from 9am until 3pm, QNA reported citing an embassy release. A special record will be kept for residents and visiting Saudis to pledge allegiance. THE PENINSULA Abu Samra may experience one of the coldest nights Amnesty urged for illegal, runaway workers
Transcript of · Saturday 24 January 2015 • 4 Rabial II 1436 • Volume 19 Number 6320 [email protected] |...
[email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780www.thepeninsulaqatar.comSaturday 24 January 2015 • 4 Rabial II 1436 • Volume 19 Number 6320
C E R T I F I E D N E W S P A P E R
ISO 9001:2008
Oil jumps amid huge market shifts
Business | 14
Palestinians protest against Charlie Hebdo
Palestinians hold placards and shout slogans praising Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during a demonstration organised by Hamas yesterday against the cartoon of the Prophet published by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
Qatar mourns King AbdullahEmir attends Saudi Monarch’s janaza prayers, declares three-day national mourning
The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with the new Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (extreme right), offering janaza prayers in Riyadh yesterday.
DOHA: The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has declared three days of national mourning in the coun-try following the death of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud yesterday.
The Emir sent cables of con-dolences to new Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who pledged continuity hours after his accession to the throne following the death of his half-brother, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reports.
Several high-profile events lined up in Qatar have been can-celled, including the scheduled Qatar Radio and Qatar TV pro-grammes. They are airing recitals of verses from the Holy Quran.
The Emir praised the departed leader as one of the greatest and best in the Arab and Islamic world who devoted his life to the service of “our Arab and Islamic nations”.
QNA quoted a statement issued by the Emiri Diwan in which the Emir said King Abdullah was one of the most sincere advocates of the causes of the Arab and Islamic world, including its security and stability.
“He played a significant role in strengthening Arab solidarity and unity and called for dialogue and peace in the region and renuncia-tion of violence and extremism.”
The Emir prayed to Allah the Almighty to bestow His grace and forgiveness on King Abdullah, make paradise his last abode,
DOHA: Abu Samra on Qatar-Saudi Arabia border is expected to witness one of the coldest nights of the current winter season today.
The minimum temperature forecast for the town tonight is five degrees Celsius, while for Doha, it is 11 degrees and for Messaieed, Al Wakra and Dukhan, eight.
Day temperatures forecast for today vary between 20 and 23 degrees. In Doha, the maximum temperature forecast is 23.
In Abu Samra, the difference between the minimum and maxi-mum temperatures is likely to be 15 degrees as the minimum tem-perature expected there is five degrees while the maximum 20.
The day will be misty at places at first and a bit cloudy later, while the night will be cold.
THE PENINSULA
Youth jailed for illegal rifle show-off DOHA: A young man who understandably posted for show-off a picture of his unlicensed rifle on social media had to pay a huge price. He was caught by authorities, tried and sentenced by a court to a year in jail and fined QR10,000 ($2,746) for keeping the weapon without licence.
According to the local Arabic daily Al Raya, the man posted a pho-tograph of a German Kalashnikov gun on his Instagram account.
The Search and Follow-up Department at the Ministry of Interior was tipped off by a secret agent. The may was caught and interrogated.
A search of his home led to the recovery of the rifle. Later, the public prosecution filed charges after the state forensic laboratory confirmed that it was a German Kalashnikov and in a good condition.
The court sentenced the man to a year in prison and fined him QR10,000 for keeping the gun without license.
The defence lawyer, though, argued in the court that his client had no intention of committing any crime with the Kalashnikov. He just had it for fun. The prosecution counter-argued that owning a gun without license was illegal punishable by law. THE PENINSULA
Tunisia gets cabinet without IslamistsTUNIS: Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid presented a cabinet line-up to parliament yesterday that included no members of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party which led the former government.
Essid’s government will be the first since the first freely contested parliamentary and presidential elections last year.
There had been conflicting reports over whether Ennahda, which dominated interim administrations since the Arab Spring in of 2011 would join the new government. The anti-Islamist Nidaa Tounes party of President Beji Caid Essebsi won the largest number of seats in the October elections but fell short of a majority, forcing it to look for coali-tion partners. Ennahda, which came second, had not excluded joining a unity government under Essid. Nidaa Tounes Secretary-General, Taieb Baccouche, was named Foreign Minister and the ministries of health and transport also went to members of the president’s party. But other posts went to independents or nominees from smaller parties.
Yemen MPs to meet tomorrowSANA’A: Yemen’s parliament will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow after President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi offered to resign over a deadly stand-off with Shia militia controlling the capital, official media said. Hadi, an US ally in the fight against Al Qaeda, said in his letter of resignation that he could no longer stay in office as the country was in “total deadlock”.
Witnesses and security forces said Huthi militiamen had encircled the parliament building overnight, having seized the presidential palace earlier this week. AGENCIES
DOHA: The government should declare an amnesty for illegal and runaway workers to give a chance to those who want to regularise their visa status, says a national.
The last amnesty was declared 13 years ago in 2002 and since then the population has more than trebled.
Khalid Al Suwaidi said an
amnesty by the government would help substantially reduce the number of illegal and runa-way workers. Most of these work-ers can be seen on the streets, in crowds, especially on weekdays and early in the mornings look-ing for free-lance work.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, in coordination with other state agencies, is doing
good work and holding regular inspection campaigns to trace illegal workers.
“But the problem remains,” Al Suwaidi told the local Arabic daily Al Raya in remarks published yesterday.
He said the problem of illegal and runaway workers would end once the law making it mandatory for all workers to be paid through
banking channels is enforced sooner rather than later.
Another Qatari citizen who gave his name as Adnan Al Amri said large groups of workers seen on the streets early in the morn-ings looking for freelance jobs are sponsored by companies that actually don’t have jobs for them.
THE PENINSULAContinued on page 4
reward him for the good deeds he did for his country and grant the royal family, the Saudi people and the Arab and Islamic nations patience and solace.
The Emir flew to Riyadh and attended the janaza (funeral) prayers for King Abdullah, along with several Muslim leaders from across the world yesterday.
The Foreign Ministry said the Qatari flag at all ministries, gov-ernment institutions and public facilities will be put at half-mast for three days. In a statement, the ministry expressed Qatar’s grief on King Abdullah’s death.
One of the richest and most influential men in history, King Abdullah was carried in a sim-ple white shroud to an unmarked grave in a Riyadh cemetery where
King Abdullah ... one of the most sincere advocates of the causes of the Arab and Islamic world
many of his commoner subjects rest, international wire agency Reuters said.
“A simple grave for one of the world’s most powerful kings,” wrote a Qatari woman on local social media, touched by the mod-esty. Qatari social media was full of rich tributes paid by nationals and expatriates to the late king.
In Saudi Arabia, there is no official mourning and flags around the kingdom all flew at full staff as the kingdom follows the Wahabi school of Sunni Islam which holds ostentatious displays of grief or
mourning to be sinful, akin to idolatry, said Reuters.
At the Saudi embassy here also the national flag flew at full staff and an official told The Peninsula they wouldn’t lower it since the name of Allah is inscribed on it.
Bahrain has, meanwhile, declared 40 days of mourning and ordered closure of all government offices for three days as a mark of respect for the departed leader. Jordan has also declared 40 days of mourning.
In Saudi Arabia, government offices, closed for the Middle
East’s normal Friday-Saturday weekend, will reopen as usual tomorrow, Reuters said.
The afternoon prayer that pre-ceded King Abdullah’s burial in Riyadh yesterday was attended by Muslim leaders, Saudi princes, powerful clerics and billionaire Arab businessmen.
His body was transported to the mosque in a city ambulance, according to Reuters. It was borne through the crowds on a carpet on a simple stretcher, laid in front of the faithful at prayer and then carried by King Abdullah’s male
relatives to the graveyard, where it was laid in the ground with no ceremony. The news agency that Saudi Arabia’s oil policy is unlikely to change under the new king who has retained veteran Oil Minister Ali Al Naimi.
Meanwhile, the Saudi embassy here will receive mourners offer-ing condolences for three days from today from 9am until 3pm, QNA reported citing an embassy release. A special record will be kept for residents and visiting Saudis to pledge allegiance.
THE PENINSULA
Abu Samra may experience one of the coldest nights
Amnesty urged for illegal, runaway workers
02 HOMESATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
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LA PAZ: The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud took part as Qatar’s representative in the inauguration of President Evo Morales as President of Bolivia at National Legislative Assembly in capital La Paz.
Several heads of state and government, senior offi-cials, dignitaries and Qatari Ambassador to Peru Jamal bin Nasser Al Bader were present.
Al Mahmoud conveyed greet-ings of the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to the president and wishes of further progress in relations for the benefit of both peoples.
Morales entrusted Al
Mahmoud with thanks and greetings to the Emir over Qatar’s participation, wishing him best of health and Qatar further progress and prosperity.
Al Mahmoud also attended a dinner hosted by Morales in honour of the guests.
Al Mahmoud and his delega-tion were received at La Paz International Airport by the Minister of State of Productive Development, Teresa Morales, and Al Bader. They were also accorded an official reception.
Al Mahmoud met the presi-dents of Ecuador, Brazil, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela and discussed means of enhancing coopera-tion between Qatar and their countries in various fields. QNA
Deputy PM attends Bolivian president’s inauguration
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud with heads of state during President Evo Morales’ inauguration at National Legislative Assembly in La Paz, Bolivia. Right: Al Mahmoud greeting the president.
DOHA: Aljazeera English has re-launched its website aljazeera.com to engage more audience.
“Welcome to the new aljazeera.com. We had one thing in mind when we redesigned our website: You. We want to enable you to better access, share and engage with our best content from around the world.
“Across the website, we’ve made it easier for you to access the content that appeals most to you” said Wilfrid Dinnick, Executive Producer, Online. We want your experience to be rich, informative and customised to your interest.” He said the updated website
includes ‘Editor’s picks’ highlighting the most original reporting of the day.
The left side of the homepage is the ‘fast lane’, a real time feed of everything pub-lished. “It is also a live blog during breaking news, enabling our news teams to share lat-est and most definitive journalism from the field. The team of online editors regularly updates it with notes on news we are chas-ing,” he said.
There is also an icon on the article pages that highlights when journalists have added new information to stories.
“In addition, there is a new column on
the right side of our homepage where you’ll find latest episodes of our award-winning shows and documentaries which are free to view,” he said.
Dinnick said the new website has a con-sistent look whether viewed on smart-phones, tablets and from the computer, but optimised for each screen and browser. The new design also makes the content more sharable. He urged the public to visit aljazeera.com to view changes and follow @AJENews for global news coverage and @AJEnglish for some of the channel’s content.
THE PENINSULA
Aljazeera re-launches updated website
DAVOS: Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday met the Minister of Economy and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al Thani on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
They discussed relations and means of developing them, par-ticularly in the economic, com-merce, and investment fields.
Discussions and delibera-tions during the forum were also highlighted.
Davutoglu praised Qatari-Turkish relations, highlight-ing the significant increase in investment and trade exchange.
The Minister voiced Qatar’s keenness to cement economic partnerships between both countries.
The Minister also held a separate meeting with Swiss Minister of Economy Johann Schneider-Ammann,
Talks dealt with means of bolstering economic and invest-ment relations.
Trade between Qatar and Switzerland reach QR3.4bn in 2013, 5.1 percent of which Qatari investments in Switzerland, while Swiss investments in Qatar are represented in 15 companies wholly owned by Swiss businessmen in addition to 45 firms jointly owned by both countries.
Both ministers also dis-cussed steps to activate the free trade zone agreement
between GCC states and mem-bers of European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
Sheikh Ahmed attended an interactive session on trade,which dealt with a focus on World Trade Organisation and the need to support its programmes in light of devel-opments after the last ministe-rial conference in Bali and the future of Doha negotiations.
Qatar’s participation in Davos comes at a time when its econ-omy is flourishing, thanks to its policy of income diversification as well as the non-oil sector’s stimulation to economic growth.
The forum’s invitation to Qatar aimed to allow Doha to present its vision on pushing investment, economic growth and regional and international trade, thanks to its regional and international weight and its record levels of income for citi-zens that put them in the first place globally, the low rates of unemployment and the trans-parency index in which it ranks first in the Arab region.
The forum is an impor-tant platform to tackle global issues and a significant ref-erence in economic reports in which Qatar has gained a
prominent status, ranking 16th among 144 states in the Global Competitiveness Report 2014 and second in the Arab region.
The report praised the bal-anced performance of Qatar, the wisdom of its leadership in managing macro-economic poli-cies, the efficiency of goods and services market, and the inno-vation-supporting environment in which individuals, companies and government institutions interact to boost production and increase national income, enhancing the economy and Qatar’s competitiveness.
QNA
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (right) with the Minister of Economy and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al Thani (centre) in Davos.
Qatar-Turkey ties discussed in Davos
03SATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.comHOME
Condolences sent to Saudi ArabiaDOHA: The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent cables of con-dolences to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister, Muqrin Abdulaziz Al Saud, following the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, praying Allah to bestow His grace and for-giveness on him, make para-dise his last abode and grant the royal family, the Saudi people and Arab and Islamic nations patience and solace.
The Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani sent similar cables to King Salman and Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister Muqrin.
The Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani also sent cables of condolences to King Salman and Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister Muqrin.
13 commercial outlets closedDOHA: Some 13 commer-cial establishments have been temporary closed since the start of 2015, accord-ing to a list the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning has posted on its website.
The establishments included restaurants, bakeries and gro-cery stores across the country, reports Al Sharq.
Nine were in Doha and the remaining in Al Rayyan, Al Wakra and Al Zaayen municipalities.
They have been closed from five days to a month as part of a campaign to ensure all food outlets comply with safety rules and regulations.
Al Khulaifi takes part in forumDOHA: Advisory Council Speaker Mohamed bin Mubarak Al Khulaifi and his delegation yesterday returned home after attend-ing the 10th session of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states in Istanbul on January 21-22.
The forum discussed and endorsed matters, including a memorandum of under-standing on cooperation between OIC member states, the report of the 17th session of the union’s general com-mittee, reports presented by the four permanent com-mittees and the Committee on Palestine, and Istanbul Declaration and the confer-ence’s communiqué.
It also discussed the fourth session of Muslim female par-liamentarians, elections of the general, executive and special-ised committees for 2015.
QNA
BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: Souq Waqif was yester-day filled to capacity with visi-tors as it launched the fourth edition of its annual Spring Festival 2015 featuring events and activities at six venues in the souq.
The opening of Sout Al Rayyan Radio’s annual music festival fea-turing some of the region’s promi-nent artistes was cancelled as the world mourned Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud who died yesterday.
However, other activities lined up for the 15-day festival were held.
The alley came alive with stilt walkers and street performers who, in their elaborate costumes, brought smiles to hundreds of people — young and old — who took time to have their photos with them.
Ten teams of performers from other countries entertained pas-sers-by from 4pm until 10pm. They included Stripes Circus, Palettes, Roaming Clowns, 8ft Robot, Nomad Street Drummers,
Penguins, Lighting UFO, Light of Wonders, Human Robots and The Birds and the Explorer.
“My two kids were very happy. They couldn’t take their eyes off the colourful costumes of the performers. They wanted their pictures taken with every group that passed by,” said Mohammed Shokry.
Skill games and thrill, pony and camel rides were also a major attraction. These games which cost QR10 each continued until 10pm at Al Ahmed Square.
The play Shawn the Sheep
entertained hundreds of children at Al Rayyan Theatre.
Two shows will be staged every day until January 28, one at 4pm and the other at 7pm.
From February 2 to 6, another play Karameesh will be staged in the theatre twice daily.
There is also a dolphin show, in addition to art workshops and competitions as well as plastic and mural arts at Souq Waqif Art Centre.
“I’m happy with this year’s festival. There is always some-thing new each year and Souq
Waqif becomes a one-stop shop for food, entertainment and shop-ping during this time,” said Allan Marques, a frequent visitor to the souq.
It being a weekend, thousands attended the opening of the fes-tival, including tourists from neighbouring countries, due to a massive advertising campaign locally and around the GCC.
Gifts in the form of kites were distributed to visitors. A total of 40,000 gifts will be given away during the festival, organisers said. THE PENINSULA
DOHA: With an increasing number of abandoned vehicles, heavy equipment and machin-ery in Qatar, several business-men have suggested the setting up of a recycling industry which could become a promising busi-ness sector.
However, they said the devel-opment of the recycling industry would not be possible without government support.
Vehicles abandoned in Doha and suburbs not only occupy the limited parking spaces but also hinder traffic. They also become home to insects and stray animals.
The government has set up a committee to address the issue and last year removed over 20,000 abandoned vehicles from across the country.
Until August 2014, authorities had removed over 12,000 vehi-cles, including about 10,000 from Industrial Area — home to most garages in the country.
“With the rapid growth of the
economy, the number of aban-doned vehicles is also going up, which requires an integrated strategy. We need to invest and exploit these abandoned resources,” Hamad Saleh Al Haul, member of Central Municipal Council, was quoted as saying by a local Arabic daily.
He said the government can help set up recycling facilities for metals, chemicals, glass and other materials to reuse these valuable resources and should conduct a feasibility study.
The problem of abandoned vehicles has aggravated as the three dumps in Umme Al Haul, Al Mashaaf and Abu Hamour have become full. The government is preparing another dumping site which can accommodate about 12,000 vehicles.
Ahmed Al Khalaf, a Qatari businessman, said: “All kinds of waste pose a threat to the envi-ronment so they must be recycled and reused or destroyed.
“Qatari investors can set up recycling facilities provided they get government support, including land near the dumping grounds.”
He said the recycling indus-try for useful products, includ-ing scrap and other metals, can become a vibrant industry.
Al Khalaf said in Qatar nearly 300-400 new vehicles are regis-tered daily and about as many abandoned due to various reasons.
However, Rashid Al Dosri, another businessman, expressed reservations about whether the economy can sustain a full-fledged recycling industry in the long-run. No doubt, we have enough scrap and abandoned vehicles, but whether this will support recy-cling facilities for long is some-thing that must be considered,” said Al Dosri.
Rashid Al Marri, another busi-nessman, said an annual interna-tional exhibition should be held to auction scrap and other recy-clable waste. THE PENINSULA
Calls to set up recycling industry
Abandoned vehicles at a dumping yard.
Souq Waqif Spring Festival opens
Visitors enjoying various activities at different venues inside the souq yesterday. KAMMUTTY VP
DOHA: Several high-profile events were cancelled as part of three-day mourning in Qatar following the death of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The opening of Sout Al Rayyan Radio’s annual music festival featuring some of the region’s prominent artistes in Souq Waqif was among the events cancelled.
Sout Al Rayyan Radio said on its Twitter account that the event, also supposed to be broadcast on the popular Arabic Channel Rotana, has been
cancelled.Radio stations and television
channels in Qatar cancelled their programmes and aired the reci-tation of the Holy Quran as part of the mourning.
Other events cancelled include, The Colour Run, a community event presented by Sahtak Awalan (Your Health First).
During the 5km fun run participants can run, jog, walk or even push their children in strollers around the course under a shower of coloured powder.
The event was supposed to be held at Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC) today.
Katara Cultural Village also cancelled the Second Leshta (Winter) Festival 2015, which opened on Thursday and was supposed to end on Monday.
“The Katara organising committee for the festival will be stopping to showcase its activities to the public,” said a statement in Arabic posted on Katara’s Twitter account.
The Qatar Winter Career
Camp 2015 supposed to take place at QNCC today was also cancelled.
Many citizens and expatriates took to social media to mourn and pay their tributes to King Abdullah. “The Muslim world has lost a great father, a great leader and Qatar has lost a great friend,” said one tweeter.
“The Islamic and Arab nations lost a great leader who stood as an advocate for Arab causes and rights and who helped spread peace, tolerance, justice and benevolence. The achievements
of the late King Abdullah for Saudi Arabia and its people are the best testimony to his devo-tion and generosity,” another resident said on a local network-ing forum called Qatarshares.
Another tweet said, “The kind king will never die; he will always stay alive in our hearts.”
Tributes was also paid to King Abdullah’s modest and unmarked grave. One citizen tweeted, “A simple grave for one of the world’s most powerful kings.”
THE PENINSULA
High-profile events cancelled to mourn Saudi King
DOHA: The Traffic Department’s decision to reduce the speed limit from 100kmph to 80 on Doha Highway (February 22 Street) has drawn ire from citizens.
They told Al Raya that the deci-sion will lead to more traffic jams instead of solving the problem of accidents.
The department last week announced to reduce the speed limit on the highway.
According to the department, the decision aims to reduce
accidents as high speed causes car to pile up. The decision to reduce speed is temporary and the department will take a final decision after monitoring traffic and accidents on the road.
Residents said they were surprised and disappointed by the decision because they were expecting the department to increase speed limit to solve the problem of traffic jams.
Many said the decision aimed to collect more fines and demanded that authorities look at options to
reduce traffic congestions.Mishal Al Sulaiti, a Qatari,
said he came to know about the decision only through social media and there was no prior announce-ment about speed limit change.
Many motorists might have caught by speed radar as they were not informed in advance about the change, he added.
He said any reduction in speed will not solve the problem of acci-dents or jams. Most accidents occur because some motorists drive slowly in middle and left
lanes. Ali Kuwari, another citi-zen, said only time will tell if the decision will lead to reduction in accidents but one thing is sure that there will be more jams as this is one of the busiest roads.
Rashid Al Balushi said there was traffic congestion on the day of the enforcement of the deci-sion. The main reason behind accidents, according to him, is lack of emergency parking on the highway.
Abdul Rahman Al Ma’adid said the decision will neither solve the
problem of accidents nor jams. The solution is to prevent buses and trucks from entering the road during peak hours.
These vehicles, he said, do not comply with rules to remain on the right lane which creates con-fusion among motorists.
The initiative to reduce of speed should be applied on entrances and exits. Most entrances and exits on the highway are narrow which cause confusion and acci-dents, he added.
THE PENINSULA
Citizens irked by speed limit cut on Doha Highway
04 HOME / MIDDLE EASTSATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
DOHA: Qatar Foundation (QF) has signed an agreement with International Baccalaureate (IB) to provide training for teachers.
Workshops will be in English and Arabic, with the first this month, followed by a series in March.
They are designed and devel-oped by IB and will be delivered by IB educators from around the world.
Every IB workshop is evaluated against a global quality assurance framework.
IB is a non-profit educational foundation working with over 4,000 schools in more than 140 countries to develop and offer four programmes to over 1.2 mil-lion youngsters aged up to 19.
IB professional development helps educators develop a deeper understanding of what it means to be an internationally-minded and effective teacher.
Noof Ahmed Al Thani, Director, Academic Outreach, Pre-University Education Office, QF, said: “The workshops present an opportunity in which QF can
act as a leader in providing pre-mier training for educators in the country.
“QF believes that professional development should be ongo-ing for educators, irrespective of experience not only for continu-ous professional and personal growth, but also to ensure that they keep improving learning experiences and outcomes of their students,” she added.
Adrian Kearney, Regional Director, IB, said: “The agreement represents an important step for IB in Qatar and enables greater access to professional develop-ment workshops for which IB is renowned.
“We hope this will lead to fur-ther collaboration with authori-ties in Qatar.”
IB’s regional office manage-ment team accompanied Kearney on visits to QF schools and met educators to discuss their needs.
At present, 11 schools in Qatar offer one or more of IB’s four programmes which are becom-ing popular in several countries in the region.
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: Qatar Airways (QA) is to increase capacity on flights to Italy and introduce double-daily flights to Madrid.
The increase in capacity and service will roll out over the next five months to meet expanding passenger needs for both desti-nations, QA said in a statement.
With the introduction of wide-body aircraft on March 29 to Rome and Milan and on June 16 to Venice, capacity to the three Italian destinations will increase by 30.
A change in the departure and arrival times (Rome and Milan) will also help improve connec-tions to many destinations for the Italian market.
The increase in capacity to Italy will be provided by intro-ducing the Airbus A330 on the Milan and Venice routes and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the Rome route.
QA currently offers 35 flights a week to Italy, including double-daily services to Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa and daily flights to Venice Marco Polo.
On July 16, it will begin oper-ating a double-daily, direct scheduled service to Madrid-Barajas Airport from Hamad International Airport, adding
four extra weekly flights. The flights will be operated
by a Boeing 777, offering 293 seats in Economy Class and 42 in Business Class.
The four additional weekly flights to Madrid represent a 40 percent increase in capacity to Spain’s largest city.
Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive, QA, said: “Our com-mitment to bring a five-star experience to our passengers is reflected in our continual growth in not just our destina-tions, products and services, but also in increases in capacity and frequency we implement to ensure that our passengers have multiple options when planning journeys.
“We are delighted to be able to offer more opportunities to con-nect with Italy and Spain, two of our most popular destinations, for our leisure travellers looking to explore the world of history, art and architecture and those travelling for business.”
Last November 16, QA launched a 10-weekly service on the Madrid-Doha route. A double-daily scheduled service between Barcelona and Doha is to start on February 16.
THE PENINSULA
QA to raise capacity to Italy, start double-daily flights to Madrid
DOHA: The newly opened Souq Waqif underground park-ing facility is proving valuable to many a visitor to one of the busiest souqs in the country.
The first Friday after the multi-level car park opened to the public and coincided with the launch of the souq’s annual Spring Festival served as a lit-mus test on how effective the new facility is in easing traffic congestions and giving solu-tion to the severe parking space shortage in the most-visited tourist spot.
Before 4pm yesterday the first level of the three-storey under-ground parking was filled with cars of those who frequent the souq and those who came for the opening of the festival.
There was slight congestion at some points in the facility but staff guided motorists to ensure smooth traffic.
“This new car park is a big help. Before it was a struggle to find a parking slot in the souq despite the existing three park-ing areas but now it’s much more convenient,” said Noof, a frequent visitor to the souq on Fridays.
The car park has a guiding sys-tem, in which a hold indicator is present in every slot which turns red when a vehicle is parked and green when it is empty, making it easy for motorists to identify where to park their vehicles even from a distance.
With a total area of 113,500sqm, the car park has three levels and can accom-modate up to 2,000 vehicles at a time. It is equipped with 17 elevators and four entrances and exits. It has three subways,
two of which lead to the souq and one linked to the Corniche which eases traffic congestion around the souq, especially during week-ends and rush hours.
Above the facility is a public park and a big open air theatre capable of holding events for
hundreds of people as well as sport and sitting areas. Several food outlets are also to open soon in the area.
Some people were seen yes-terday at the car park availing themselves of fitness facilities similar to those on the Corniche
as well as play areas for children, which are carpeted for safety.
The public park offers an alternative venue for visitors in a strategic location as it is a stone’s throw away from the souq and across the Corniche.
THE PENINSULA
The open air theatre above the recently opened Souq Waqif underground parking facility.
Souq Waqif underground car park a big help for motoristsThree-level facility can accommodate up to 2,000 vehicles
IB signs deal to provide training for teachers
DOHA: Al Rayan Municipality collected over QR4m in fines from erring food outlets last year.
The municipality conducted 9,022 inspections, registered 1,820 violations and closed 50 outlets in 2014, Al Sharq reports.
Authorities destroyed around 32,757kg meat, 151 sheep unfit of human consumption and 49,023
food packages which did not meet safety and health rules and regulations.
The municipality received 256 complaints against food out-lets and official said inspections against food outlets will continue.
In a meeting, they discussed the development Al Kharaiz beach to attract more visitors.
THE PENINSULA
Al Rayan Municipality collects QR4m in fines
Civic officials holding a meeting.
Continued from page 1
Many of these workers are not skilled and claim to know their job (plumbing, electrician’s work, carpentry and painting, among others) well. The reality is that they don’t know the job.
“However, when you ask them, they tell you they know every-thing,” said Al Amri.
Another challenge is tak-ing them home. “It is too risky since you can’t trust them,” said another citizen, Mubarak Al Buainain.
According to Al Amri, compa-nies should provide such workers to those who need them on a free-lance basis.
Among these freelance work-ers who are a security threat to society are runaway workers and those who are on ‘free visas’.
They pay a lump sum to their sponsors on a monthly or annual basis.
“There are many workers who even don’t know their sponsors or the addresses of the companies that have brought them to Qatar,” said Al Buainain.
THE PENINSULA
Two scribes among 7 killed in IraqBAQUBA: The Islamic State (IS) group killed seven people yesterday, including two jour-nalists, in the Muqdadiyah area north of Baghdad, their employ-ers and officials said.
Ali Al Ansari and another unnamed journalist from Al Ghadeer satellite television were among the dead, according to local manager Karim Fadhel.
Mustafa Hamid and Qusay Sahib from Iraqiya state televi-sion were wounded, said the head of its Diyala provincial office, Uday Abdelkarim.
Accounts differed on the inci-dent, with some saying shellfire hit Muqdadiyah, while others reported a bombing and clashes north of the town.
Five militiamen were also killed, and more than two dozen people wounded, security and medical officials said.
AFP
RIYADH/DUBAI: New Saudi Crown Prince Muqrin repre-sents the biggest break from the kingdom’s tradition of any of his predecessors in the role because of his lowly maternal birth and foreign education.
Seen as a relative progressive in the ruling family, with a grasp on the need for long-term reform, Muqrin has voiced traditional hawkish views on Iran, but it is far from clear how much influ-ence he will have during new King Salman’s reign.
The affable former fighter pilot, long a member of the rul-ing family’s top circle of strategic decisionmakers and intelligence chief from 2005-2012, appears on paper to have stolid qualifications required by his family to rule.
But the 69-year-old heir to King Salman will be the first monarch born after Saudi struck oil in 1939, and the first to attend a Western university instead of the home classes run by clerics in
Riyadh’s old mud palace.And, as the son of King
Abdulaziz by a Yemeni woman instead of a wife of high tribal birth, he has no full siblings in the ruling dynasty and has often been seen as something of an out-sider, condescended to by haugh-tier relatives. “Muqrin is not as conservative but we will see how much of a role he will play in the new reign. According to Saudi law, the crown prince cannot do more than what he is assigned by the king,” said Khalid Al Dakheel, a political science professor in Riyadh. When he was appointed deputy crown prince by Abdullah a year ago, Muqrin promised in a statement carried by state media to continue the late king’s eco-nomic and social reforms.
“He gives you an impression of a progressive guy who knows the world very well. When he was governor of Madinah he made reforms and he is into culture and music,” said Jamal Khashoggi,
head of a television news channel owned by another prince.
“He’s bilingual and an avid reader of The Economist. It’s his favourite magazine,” he added.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a member of the ruling family, which sees itself as locked in a region-wide struggle with Iran for control of the Middle East, he is seen as hawkish on Shia Iran.
The youngest son of the founder of Saudi Arabia, he is a genial former Air Force captain, diplomats say, and is a close friend of his nephew Prince Bandar, another former spy chief, with whom he served in the military.
Prince Muqrin trained as a mil-itary pilot at Cranwell, a British Royal Air Force base, and is described by diplomats as outgo-ing and gregarious.
He served for nearly 20 years as governor of Hail province before being promoted to the post of gov-ernor of Medina province in 1999. REUTERS
New heir to Saudi throne relatively liberal outsider
Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab (left), Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Al Arabi (right) and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (second, right) during the funeral of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Riyadh yesterday.
Many ‘runaways are not skilled’
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BY MARIA MARGARONIS
THE POSTERS on Athenian bus shelters look like windows to another world: bright colours glimpsed through cut-out let-
ters that read “Hope is coming”. People walk past grey-faced, hunched, caught up in their own trouble.
For Europe, the almost certain vic-tory of the leftwing party Syriza in Sunday’s Greek election will be a his-toric moment: the first real democratic challenge to the politics of austerity, a test case for Europe’s future. There are occasions when it feels like that here
too. At Alexis Tsipras’s final election rally in Athens on Thursday night, under floodlights so bright you almost needed shades, the crowd roared ecstati-cally when the Spanish Podemos leader, Pablo Iglesias, bounded on to the stage and said, in per-fect Greek: “A wind of demo-cratic change is blowing in Europe, and in Greece its name
is Syriza.” “Syriza, Podemos, vencer-emos,” we chanted back at him; a man beside me waved the red, yellow and purple flag of the Spanish republic.
The forces that have brought Syriza to the brink of power originated in Europe, in Brussels and Berlin; the result will send ripples right back to the centre. But all politics is local, and the battlefield is here, in neighbourhoods full of closed shops and empty houses, in streets where there’s barely a glance for the army of souls who just can’t make it
any more: the mutterers and murmur-ers, the addicts and rough sleepers, old men with sunken cheeks. People scrape shreds of hope together like coins. “It’s not that people have hope,” an organiser with a Syriza community project told me. “It’s that they hope to have hope.”
The devastation wreaked on Greece by the disastrous experiment of aus-terity is the soil in which Syriza grew. A large part of the population feel as if they are standing on the edge of a cliff. Whatever happens next, they say, even if Europe cuts us off, it can’t get worse than this. Burned before by politicians prom-ising the earth, and steeped in the grey reality around them, they are not expect-ing miracles, or even all that much. But they’ve reached the end of the road, and they are ravenous for something new.
Yet that’s not the only thing that explains Syriza’s rise. Over the past five years, Greece has begun to change, and Syriza has changed with it. In the early months of the crisis, you were either against the troika or in the “reform-ist” camp, which meant you were signed up to the neoliberal agenda of Greece’s creditors. Now the party that rallied the crowds by railing against the troika has also turned its attention to what’s rotten at home. Syriza has reclaimed the idea of reform for the left, reframing it in terms of a fair, egalitarian welfare state.
It has also promised what may be the most essential and most difficult thing: to end high-level corruption and cut the apron strings that bind Greece’s politi-cal parties with the banks and media emperors. “Even if we could, we don’t want to go back to 2009,” Tsipras said on Thursday. “We need you behind us to put an end to corruption, tax evasion, bribes and clientelist politics.”
It’s this, as well as the economic col-lapse of the middle class, that helps explain the steady haemorrhage of votes from conservative New Democracy to Syriza. Olga Drongiti has worked for 30 years as a health visitor in the sub-urb of Ayia Paraskevi. She has voted
New Democracy all her life, but this time she’s voting left. “I want dignity, I want meritocracy,” she told me. “I’ve had enough of people being promoted over me because they’ve slipped some-one a bribe. And no, I don’t care if they throw me out of the euro. We’ve lost our joy, our laughter here, we’ve fallen into depression.”
The received wisdom abroad has been that Syriza represents a return to the bad old days of cronyism, featherbedding and political favours. Lately Tsipras has made a point of insisting that he’ll end such practices. That won’t be easy – it means a deep change in the culture – but more and more people talk as if they are ready for it. “If Syriza doesn’t send the first person who tries to bribe them, even for a single euro, straight to the prosecutor, we’re finished,” says Kyrios Dimitris, 71, who runs an efficient food bank in working-class Nea Ionia.
“Don’t go back on what you’ve said or we’ll crush you with our own hands,” a grey-haired man in Ayia Paraskevi growls at a Syriza candidate, practically seizing him by the lapels.
Perhaps more than relief from poverty, more even than dignity, people are thirsty for justice – as well as its more bare-knuckled cousin, punishment. There is a deep disgust – a hatred, even – for those who brought Greece to this point, who sold the country out to line their pockets. That too has fed Syriza, and will have to be channelled through a reformed judici-ary that’s both impartial and fair.
That’s only one of the many (almost) impossible things that will have to be done before breakfast by a Syriza gov-ernment. But there is no alternative. In the five years of deep crisis, with false starts and mistakes, divisions and diver-sions, the Greek left has managed to push back the threat of fascism, to build self-help networks for a broken society, to sketch a new political narrative for Greece and for Europe, and to create a modern party that’s about to win an election. THE GUARDIAN
THE symbolism of the first United States president being the Republic Day chief guest marks a degree of confidence
in the state of bilateral relations.But there is no shortage of doubt
about the steadfastness of India-US ties. Indians look to the on and off relationship between the US and Pakistan.
American sceptics note New Delhi’s passage of a nuclear liability law, which has made it all but impos-sible for US-based reactor makers to sell their wares to India.
In strategic terms this is less
about actual commercial value than it is about whether India is the sort of country that can fulfil its promises. New Delhi’s track record on this front is, at best, mixed. India-sceptics argue that the India-US nuclear deal was about Washington wielding enormous influence to change a global system for India’s benefit — but was then fol-lowed by the Manmohan Singh gov-ernment trying and failing to return the favour.
This school argues India is simply not ready to be a global player and may never be.
The liability law is flawed not only in
terms of what it has done to foreign nuclear reactor firms. Its poor draft-ing has led to the virtual shutdown of India’s own domestic nuclear indus-try. Since its passage, the roughly 200 Indian makers of reactor components have declined to sell spare parts to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. Even domestic Indian reactors can-not be built and the existing ones are heading for a crisis as their compo-nents wear out.
The Narendra Modi government has decided to continue with the prac-tice of the Singh regime: Try to find a patchwork solution without changing
the legislation. Rules interpreting the law are being twisted and a domestic insurance pool is being formed. The problem is none of these fixes can be legally tested except in the aftermath of a nuclear crisis.
The US — and other powers — continue to push for a resolution to the nuclear liability issue. But a more fundamental reason to find a final settlement to this thorny issue is that everything India has accomplished in the field of civilian nuclear power in the past six decades is in danger of being lost.
Hindustan Times
Greece isn’t taking soft option – the real change
We will continue, God willing, to hold the straight course that this country has followed since its establishment by the late King Abdulaziz.
Quote ofthe day
King SalmanCustodian of the
Two Holy Mosques
The other side
If Syriza triumphs in the Greek election, it won’t be because of nostalgia for the bad old days, but a desire for reform.
ALL obituaries written about former custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who passed away yesterday, aged 90, would not fail to highlight one point — his
immense popularity among his people. It’s not easy for a monarch to endear himself with his subjects, for two reasons. First, unlike in democracy, in monarchy, people’s aspirations are not given much weight in decisionmaking. Second, Arab monarchs have survived for decades despite being unpopular. But King Abdullah was a rare exception, a fact which even his critics wouldn’t dispute.
King Abdullah was a man on a mission. From the moment he took over in 2005 after the death of King Fahd, the biggest challenge for him was to get the economy back into shape and end the isolation Saudi Arabia had faced in the international world after 9/11. With his drastic measures and bold decisions, he united his people by launching national dialogue. He was a staunch fighter against extremism. His notable achievements included interfaith dialogue, the domestic programme to curb extremism, the Arab Peace Initiative, membership of the World Trade Organisation, and the construction of the world-renowned King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
He also announced that women would be able to take part in municipal elections; and brought in highly
accomplished women into the Shura Council.
The new King Salman has promised to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor and that would mean a continuation of his policies and a continuation of the former king’s closeness to his people. The transition was very smooth and there was no reason for it to become otherwise. The 79-year-old King Salman had been crown prince since 2012 and defence minister since 2011.
He had also been standing in for the ailing Abdullah for several months by chairing cabinet meetings, representing Saudi Arabia abroad and hosting foreign dignitaries.
Salman ascended the throne at a critical time as conflicts and wars ravage parts of the Arab world, including Libya, Syria, and two of the
kingdom’s neighbours — Iraq and Yemen. Saudi Arabia, along with other countries in the Gulf, has joined a US-led air campaign against the Islamic State extremist group that has seized parts of Syria and Iraq. Salman takes over as the ultimate authority amid global and domestic challenges compounded by the plunging oil prices. As the regional heavyweight, Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy has been playing a significant role in the Middle East politics. We hope the new ruler could rise to the expectations of the people of the region with wise decisions.
A King on a mission
Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy has been playing a significant role in the Middle East politics. We hope the new ruler could rise to the expectations of the people of the region with wise decisions.
Editorial
India’s liability legislation threatens its nuclear programme
06SATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
07SATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.comVIEWS
BY DARYNA KRASNOLUTSKA, MARK RACZKIEWYCZ and RAINER BUERGIN
Germany warned that time is run-ning out to halt spiraling violence in eastern Ukraine as it called on Russia and the government in Kiev
to stand by pledges to end the crisis.Ukraine and Russia must seize “what may
be the last chance for a peaceful solution” by fulfilling commitments to secure a cease-fire and withdraw heavy weaponry, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an e-mailed statement late Thursday. They must “do everything to ensure the spiral of violence and counter-violence is stopped,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukrainian forces of starting “large-scale” military operations against the rebels in com-ments broadcast on state television. Defense Ministry officials in Ukraine reported more than 100 attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours
While the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France reported “tan-gible progress” in Berlin talks on Wednesday, fighting continues between government troops and separatists. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko warned in a Bloomberg Television interview of a “grave danger” of escalation in the 10-month conflict that has claimed more than 5,000 lives, according to the United Nations.
Ukraine and its allies in the US and the European Union blame Russia for arming and aiding the rebels in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, while Russia accuses the government in Kiev of a military onslaught against its own citizens. The conflict has sent Russia-US ties to their worst since the Cold War.
Ukrainian forces are shelling densely popu-lated areas indiscriminately, causing dozens of civilian casualties, Putin told a meeting of the Security Council Friday, according to a
Kremlin transcript. Russia received no clear answer to its proposal for heavy weapons to be pulled out of eastern Ukraine, he said.
Putin led officials in a minute’s silence for victims of a mortar attack Thursday that killed eight people and wounded seven at a bus stop in Donetsk. The conflict can be resolved only through negotiation and he hoped “com-mon sense” will prevail, he said.
Alexander Zakharchenko, separatist leader of the self- proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, ruled out truce talks with Kiev, saying rebel forces will “advance to the bor-ders of the Donetsk region” and “eliminate” any threat they find, Interfax news service reported Friday. He said he will talk only to Poroshenko and saw no point in negotiating with the Ukraine contact group, according to Interfax.
It is “critically important” for the contact group to meet rebel leaders because they signed a cease-fire deal agreed in Minsk, Belarus, in September, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said in an interview in Davos, Switzerland.
The group, which includes representa-tives of Ukraine, Russia, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the separatists, should meet this week to discuss a line of contact, withdrawal of forces, prisoner exchanges and humanitarian issues, Klimkin said. Russia refused to discuss implementing the Minsk accord in Berlin, he said.
There’s no quick political solution to the Ukraine crisis, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told a forum in Davos Friday. Pressuring Russia with sanctions won’t help resolve the conflict, VTB Group Chairman Andrey Kostin said at the same event. Steinmeier said “unscrupulous groups” on both sides are intent on thwarting peace efforts and he expressed shock at the “hor-rifying events” in Donetsk.
Three servicemen died and 50 were wounded in the past 24 hours, while rebels hold more than 600 prisoners, military spokesman
Andriy Lysenko told reporters in Kiev Friday. Ukrainian troops faced 115 rebel attacks in the same period, military spokesman Leonid Matyukhin said Friday in Kiev.
Rebels may be using banned gas in attacks on government forces, Lysenko said. Russia has 9,000 troops inside Ukraine, the highest number since the conflict began, and is send-ing 30 to 40 vehicles with weapons across the border daily, he said.
Russia on Tuesday dismissed the notion its soldiers are involved as “absolute nonsense.”
Ten servicemen died as government forces pulled back from the Donetsk airport, an epi-center of clashes, the military said Thursday, the Ukraine’s army’s worst casualties in two weeks. The army said it still controls parts of the facility, where fighting continues.
Rebel threats to advance to the border of Donetsk region represent a “major escalation,” Tim Ash, chief economist for emerging mar-kets at Standard Bank Group Ltd. in London, said in e-mailed comments Friday. “We are rapidly approaching a full- scale war now in Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Putin spoke with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde by phone Thursday about international cooperation on Ukraine’s “severe economic and financial crisis,” accord-ing to a Kremlin statement. They discussed the International Monetary Fund’s “possible steps” in response to Ukraine’s request for a new long-term loan program, it said.
Ukraine hopes to receive the first install-ment of money under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility program by the end of February or early March, Interfax reported, citing Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko in Davos. Ukrainian 2017 dollar debt gained 0.6 cents to 54.7 cents on the dollar, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The Ukrainian government will approach bondholders to negotiate more favorable terms after talks with the IMF over aid to top up a $17bn rescue, Jaresko said in an interview in Davos. German Chancellor Angela Merkel accused Russia of undermining Ukraine’s sov-ereignty and breaching the principles of post-World War II European order by annexing Crimea. Russia’s absorption of the peninsula in March can’t be allowed to pass and sanctions should remain, she said in Davos Thursday.
Merkel held out an olive branch to Putin, saying she was ready to look at EU coop-eration with the new Russian-led Eurasian Union. “The condition is that we have a cease-fire, that there’s a return to control of the Russian-Ukrainian border,” she said.
WP-BLOOMBERG
Germany sees ‘last chance’ for peace as Putin blames Ukraine
Kirchner rewrites the mystery of Nisman deathBY MAC MARGOLIS
A firebrand in Prada, the bete noire of foreign creditors, Hugo Chavez’sprotege: Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has played many parts since she took over the Casa Rosada seven years ago. But few of her roles have been
as dramatic as the one she’s taken on since January 18, when federal prosecutor and Fernandez arch-nemesis Alberto Nisman turned up dead on the bathroom floor of his Buenos Aires home with a .22-caliber bullet in his head.
Kirchner wasted little time, branding the death a suicide on January 19. “What drives a person to commit such a terrible act?” she posted on her Facebook. Most everyone else called it murder. Nisman, after all, had just accused Kirchner of trying to whitewash his 10-year investi-gation into the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people. Nisman had blamed Iran for the attack and last week charged Kirchner and some of her closest aides with obstructing his probe in order to smooth a deal to sell Argentine grain for Iranian oil. He was due to brief lawmakers on his 289-page complaint to the Supreme Court in a closed session of Congress on Monday. The complaint was made public January 22.
Now Kirchner has flipped the narrative, spinning a dark tale of rogue spies and an anti-government cabal. Allegedly, these conspira-tors plotted to execute Nisman — not to silence a dangerous critic, but to pin his murder on her. “Today I have no proof but I also have no doubts,” she said in a sprawling statement posted on January 22 on her personal webpage. “Nisman didn’t know and probably never would,” she wrote. “They used him while he was alive and later needed him dead. It’s that sad and terrible.”
The turnabout caught Kirchner’s palace handlers off guard. “This is totally disconcerting,” an unnamed presidential aide told Clarin.
You’d think they’d be used to whiplash after seven years of “Kirchnerismo.” In 2008, she tried to raise the already-steep export taxes on agricultural exports, sparking a national rural revolt that nearly paralyzed food supplies. When inflation spiked, she tried price controls, and when that failed to calm the economy, she ordered her statistics bureau to cook the books, nearly drawing a red card from the International Monetary Fund. Companies that declined to be bul-lied into investing when the economy tanked saw their assets seized by bureaucrats. When media published unflattering news, she sued to silence or slice up news outfits like Clarin, dressing up censorship as “social control” of media.
Every time Kirchner took the microphone, a conspiracy bloomed. She recently accused Britain of neo-colonialism for its continued claims over the Falklands (Malvinas to the Argentines), resurrecting the cause that brought down the Argentine junta three decades ago.
She saw a gringo plot to kill her in Argentina’s protracted row with “debt vultures,” the holdout creditors who’d sued Argentina for unpaid loans in a US circuit court. “If something were to happen to me, don’t look to the Middle East. Look to the North,” she said in a television address last year. These sorts of excesses have come to define Kirchnerismo. But her gyrating mystifications over the Nisman case push the boundaries of even what the well-tested Argentine public is willing to accept. Kirchner’s tumbling approval ratings and Argentina’s prostrate economy won’t help her play to engineer a successor in presidential elections later this year. Even the country’s toxic sovereign bonds traded up this week on bets that Kirchner’s woes will strengthen the hand of her political rivals, such as the market-friendly Buenos Aires mayor, Mauricio Macri. An opposition victory could also pierce the political Kevlar that has so far helped her deflect closer legal scru-tiny into a growing list of alleged misdeeds, such as embezzlement and tax evasion. WP-BLOOMBERG
BY MARIAM KAROUNY
With a confident smile, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement warned in a recent inter-
view that allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would strike back if Israeli attacks inside Syria continued.
Few expected Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s comments to be put to the test so quickly. Three days later, an Israeli raid inside Syria killed several prominent Hezbollah figures, including a son of the group’s late military chief, Imad Moughniyah. The attack could have repercussions. It has put Hezbollah under pressure to respond, sources close to the group said, and also put a cease-fire between Israel and Syria at risk. The group’s leadership has yet to comment.
“This attack shows that Israel has crossed the red line in the security war with Hezbollah, which means the rules have changed,” said a senior security source close to the group.
Hezbollah considers the Jewish state its main enemy. But its fighters in the Syrian province of Quneitra, where the Israeli attack took place, have turned a blind eye to the presence of Israeli sol-diers across the border there.
Israel has struck Syria several times during the present conflict, hitting weap-ons deliveries to Hezbollah, but the group has never acknowledged those attacks. This time the importance of those killed, in addition to Nasrallah’s warning, make the latest raid difficult to ignore.
“It was like an unannounced agree-ment: ‘You ignore us and we ignore you’. Attacks should not rise to full provoca-tion. This attack is a full provocation of Hezbollah,” said a security source. “If
the group does not respond it means it is stuck in Syria’s mud and has lost its deterrent ability.”
A Lebanese official close to Hezbollah said: “We should expect retaliation from Hezbollah, but it will be done coldly.”
Its options are limited. It could strike from its stronghold in Lebanon, trigger-ing all-out war with Israel. It could attack targets in Israel, but risk a wider war between Israel and Syria, or hit Israeli interests abroad. But all come at a price.
An Israeli defence official said that a response from Hezbollah was expected, but in the form of limited attacks unlikely to lead to all-out war.
The Hezbollah members were killed in an Israeli strike near the border with Israel, where a ceasefire is in effect between the Jewish state and Syria.
The frontier between Israel and Syria has been administered by the United Nations since 1974, a year after the last war between them. The area has remained quiet, with both sides avoiding provocation. Hezbollah’s commitment to the truce was never made public because it was an agreement between two coun-tries, but that has now changed. “It has collapsed now,” a security source said.
Hezbollah was set up by Iran in the 1980s to fight Israel in Lebanon. It con-trols large parts of Lebanon, mainly near the southern border with Israel, but its influence has grown beyond Lebanon.
While the Lebanese government distanced itself from the war in Syria, Hezbollah sent fighters to help Assad.
Hezbollah officials privately say that while they have lost fighters in Syria, the impact of the war has been positive, allowing the group to expand its arsenal and train thousands of fighters to operate in unfamiliar territory.
“Our mujahideen are fighting in a for-eign country, in lands and geography that we never fought in before that are com-pletely different from the conditions of south Lebanon,” a senior Hezbollah offi-cial said. “We are fighting as an army and with allies. We are used to fighting in small groups, so these are major develop-ments in our fighting skills.”
But with political and sectarian divi-sions at home, it will be difficult to win backing for any attacks from Lebanon which could trigger war with Israel. “The rules of the game are to respond outside Lebanon unless the Israelis bring war to Lebanon,” a source close to Hezbollah said,
explaining that it wants to avoid all-out war. Lebanon has not recovered from its 2006 war with Israel and sending fighters to Syria has stretched Hezbollah’s capabili-ties. In addition, the Israeli strike came at a sensitive time for the group.
Hezbollah is trying to contain the damage caused by one of its operatives who confessed to spying for Israel in a case that shattered the group’s aura of impenetrability.
The suspected spy is believed to have leaked Hezbollah’s plans to avenge the assassination of Imad Moughniyah.
Moughniyah, whose son was killed by Israel last week, was implicated in the
1983 bombings of the US Embassy and US and French barracks in Beirut, and attacks on Israeli targets. Hezbollah accuses Israel of killing him, which Israel denies. “The group tried to retaliate but was not successful for several reasons. Some of the operations were leaked to the Israelis and others were not possible for technical reasons,” said one of the secu-rity sources. Despite that, the group has little choice but to respond.
Lebanese analyst Nabil Boumonsef said Hezbollah could not start a war with Israel. Instead, the response would be a targeted attack that stopped short of full confrontation. REUTERS
Hezbollah under pressure after strike
Israel’s Merkava tanks along the border with Lebanon. Israel has beefed up its military positions on their borders with Lebanon and Syria following the attack inside Syria that killed both a senior Hezbollah commander and an Iranian general on January 18.
Israel has struck Syria several times during the present conflict, hitting weapons deliveries to Hezbollah, but the group has never acknowledged those attacks.
Ukraine and its allies in the US and the European Union blame Russia for arming and aiding the rebels in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, while Russia accuses the government in Kiev of a military onslaught against its own citizens.
08 MIDDLE EASTSATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
RIYADH: The new Saudi King and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Salman bin Abdulaziz yesterday pledged continuity in energy and foreign policies yesterday and then quickly moved to appoint younger men as his heirs, settling the succession for years to come by naming a deputy crown prince from his dynasty’s next generation.
King Abdullah, who died early yester-day after a short illness, was buried in an unmarked grave in keeping with local religious traditions.
By appointing his youngest half-brother Muqrin, 69, as Crown Prince and nephew Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, as Deputy Crown Prince, Salman has swiftly quelled speculation about internal palace rifts at a moment of regional turmoil.
Oil prices jumped in an immediate reaction as news of Abdullah’s death added to uncertainty in energy markets.
Salman, thought to be 79, takes over as the ultimate authority in a country that faces long-term domestic challenges com-pounded by the plunging price of oil in recent months and the rise of the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria, which vows to toppled the Al Saud rul-ing family.
Salman must navigate an intense rivalry with Shia power Iran playing out in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Bahrain, open conflict in two neigh-bouring states, a threat from Islamist militants and bumpy relations with the United States.
In his first speech as king, shown live on Saudi television, Salman pledged to maintain the same approach to ruling the world’s top oil exporter as his pred-ecessors and called for unity among Arab states. “We will continue, God willing, to hold the straight course that this country has followed since its establishment by the late King Abdulaziz,” he said.
Salman becomes the last Saudi ruler to be born before the discovery of com-mercial quantities of oil in the world’s top crude exporter.
And Mohammed bin Nayef becomes
the first grandson of the kingdom’s found-ing monarch, King Abdulaziz, known as Ibn Saud, to take an established place in the line of succession.
All Saudi kings since Abdulaziz’s death in 1953 have been his sons and the need to move to the next generation had ear-lier raised the prospect of a palace power struggle. King Salman also appointed his own son, Mohammed bin Salman, Defence Minister and head of the royal court. The rapidity of the decisions star-tled Saudis, used to a delay of up to sev-eral months before top appointments following the deaths of their monarchs. The choice of Mohammed bin Nayef was
seen by some as a reflection of his strong record in counter-terrorism in his role as interior minister.
“Times are dangerous,” said Joseph Kechichian, a scholar of Gulf Arab rul-ing families. “Mohammed bin Nayef ’s appointment shows Salman feels it’s important to speak quickly with a single determined voice in the face of all these threats.”
Reputedly pragmatic and adept at managing the delicate balance of clerical, tribal, royal and Western interests that factor into Saudi policy making, Salman appears unlikely to change the kingdom’s approach to foreign affairs or energy sales.
Despite rumours about Salman’s health and strength, diplomats who have attended meetings between the new king and foreign leaders over the past year have said he has been fully engaged in talks lasting several hours at a time.
His nominated successor, Crown Prince Muqrin, is a former fighter pilot and a relative progressive who grasps the need for long-term reform, but who also has traditionally hawkish views on Iran.
In a country with a young population, many Saudis will be unable to recall a time before King Abdullah’s rule, both as monarch from 2005 and as de facto regent for a decade before that.
His legacy was an effort to overhaul the kingdom’s economic and social sys-tems to address a looming demographic crisis by creating private sector jobs and making young Saudis better prepared to take them.
“I think Salman will continue with Abdullah’s reforms. He realises the importance of this. He’s not conserva-tive in person, but he values the opinion of the conservative constituency of the
country,” said Jamal Khashoggi, head of a news channel owned by a Saudi prince.
However, Abdullah’s reforms did not stretch to politics, and after the Arab Spring his security forces clamped down on all forms of dissent, imprisoning outspoken critics of the ruling family alongside women drivers and Islamist militants.
As the Saudi population grows and oil prices fall globally, the royal family will increasingly struggle to maintain its generous spending on social benefits for ordinary people, potentially undermining its future legitimacy in a country where there are no elections, analysts say.
King Salman has previously spoken against the idea of introducing democ-racy in Saudi Arabia in comments to American diplomats recorded in embassy cables later released by WikiLeaks.
He is expected to focus on creating jobs and big infrastructure projects to prevent falling oil prices from causing social tensions or undermining business confidence.
REUTERS
New Saudi King signals policy continuity
RIYADH: World leaders paid tribute to King Abdullah bin Abdulazizi of Saudi Arabia yesterday, praising the late mon-arch as a key mediator between Muslims and the West.
US President Barack Obama said he and Abdullah, whose coun-try has for decades been a strategic ally of Washington, had enjoyed a “genuine and warm friendship”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Abdullah, who died in a Riyadh hospital earlier the same day, as a “wise politician”.
Shia Iran, the Sunni kingdom’s main regional adversary, sent condolences to the Saudi people and announced its foreign minister would travel to Riyadh for an “official ceremony” this weekend. Abdullah, who officially took power in 2005, guided his country through a turbulent decade in the region, with neighbours Iraq and Yemen wracked with insecurity after the 2011 Arab Spring upris-ings and the growth of Islamic radicalism.
French President Francois Hollande said Abdullah’s vision of “a fair and durable peace in the Middle East remains truer than ever.”
Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper praised the late king as “an ardent defender of peace”. And the foreign ministry in Spain hailed Abdullah as “a respected figure throughout the Middle East for his willingness to help resolve conflicts”.
In London, Prime Minister David Cameron said the Saudi ruler would be remembered for “his commitment to peace and for strengthening understanding between faiths”.
Prince Charles of Wales is to travel to Riyadh as The Queen’s representative to pay his respects, the royal’s office said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Abdullah’s rule had been “fair and moderate”, praising him for aiding “dialogue between the Muslim world and the West”.
In the Middle East, Lebanon, which has close ties with Riyadh, spoke of losing “a defender and a partner” who had stood by Beirut “in difficult times”. Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi said the king “ensured... support for causes of justice, peace and development in the Arab, Muslim and entire world”. His country joined Algeria and Mauritania in announcing three days of mourning, while Cairo said its official grieving would run for a whole week. Several leaders cut short overseas
trips to travel to Riyadh and pay their respects.Jordan’s King Abdullah II left the World
Economic Forum in Davos, organisers said, before declaring 40 days of mourning for the late Saudi king. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin praised Abdullah as an “exemplary leader... with sound judgement”.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning, describing the late mon-arch as a “sage.”
“With much sadness, we received the news of the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, a loss to the Arab and Islamic world,” Abbas said in a statement.
Not everyone was complementary of Abdullah, with advocacy groups criticising Saudi Arabia’s much-maligned human rights record.
“The Saudi regime seems insensitive to human rights and human dignity and unfortunately they are also protected by many Western countries,” Amnesty International head Salil Shetty said.
Human Rights Watch also criticised the slow process of reform under Abdullah.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said Abdullah had contributed “to strengthening cooperation and solidarity in the Muslim world, especially concerning the Palestinian question and the situation in syria”.
At the Asian Cup in Australia, the national foot-ball team of the United Arab Emirates donned black armbands for their match against Japan.
Malaysian Prime Minister Rajib Razak called Abdullah a “great leader for his initiative for inter-religious dialogue”, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani pointed to Saudi involvement in his coun-try’s peace negotiations. AFP
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, one of the richest men in the history of the world, was carried in a simple white shroud to an unmarked grave yesterday in a Riyadh cemetery where many of his commoner subjects rest, in keeping with ascetic traditions.
The Saudi state school of Wahhabi Sunni Islam holds osten-tatious displays of grief or mourn-ing to be sinful, akin to idolatry.
There was no official mourning period in Saudi Arabia and flags around the kingdom all flew at full staff. Despite his apparent popular-ity among his subjects, there were no spontaneous gatherings on city streets to mark his passing.
Government offices, closed for the Middle East’s normal Friday-Saturday weekend, will open as usual tomorrow.
While the afternoon prayer that preceded Abdullah’s burial took place before ranks of Muslim leaders, Saudi princes, powerful clerics and billionaire Arab busi-nessmen, his body was trans-ported to the mosque in a city ambulance.
It was borne through the crowds on a carpet on a sim-ple stretcher, laid in front of the faithful at prayer and then carried by Abdullah’s male rela-tives to the graveyard, where it was laid in the ground with no ceremony.
It was a change for the king who, during his lifetime, travelled in the luxury one might expect of the absolute monarch of the world’s leading oil exporter.
Compared to the opulent style of many of his brothers and nephews, Abdullah lived frugally, choosing to holiday in a desert camp instead of brash Mediterranean palaces. He was also known for curbing some of his family’s excesses once in power, ordering princes to pay their phone bills and book seats on the national airline in advance.
Abdullah’s predecessors and other half brothers have also been interred in unmarked graves in the Al Aoud cemetery where he was buried yesterday, as well as in other simple graveyards in the kingdom’s other cities.
Salman appoints brother Muqrin as Crown Prince and nephew Mohammed bin Nayef as Deputy Crown Prince
New Crown Prince Muqren bin Abdul Aziz (left) and Deputy Crown Prince and Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef.
Saudi King Salman gives a speech following the death of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in Riyadh yesterday.
Sources: Reuters, Saudi Press Agency
The Saudi royal familyKing Abdulaziz Ibn Saud(1876-1953) Established the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.Ruled: 1932-1953
KingSaud (1902-1969)Deposed by his family in 1964.Ruled: 1953-1964
KingFaisal (1904-1975)Builder of the modern Saudi state, was assassinated in 1975.1964-1975
Prince Khaled(1940-)Education Minister since 2014. Served as governor of Mecca Province, one of the kingdom’s most important regions.
PrinceSaud(1941-)World’s longest- serving foreign minister.
PrinceTurki(1970-)Appointed Riyadh governor in 2014 after serving in the air force.
PrinceSaud(1955-)Former ambassador to Spain and governor of oil-producing Eastern Province since 2013.
PrinceMiteb(1953-)Head of the national guard, a key military unit
Prince Bandar(1949-)Former veteran ambassador to Washington, was later spy chief from 2012-14 in charge of Syria policy and is still influential.
Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed(1959-) Appointed Interior Minister in 2012, earned plaudits for handling of al Qaeda threat in the kingdom when he was Defence Minister.
PrinceSultan(1959- )Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Minister, was the first Arab astronaut in 1985.
Prince Mohammed (1980-)Defence Minister and head of Royal Court, is seen as a favourite of King Salman and has run his court since he was made crown prince in 2012
KingKhaled (1912-1982)Gave religious conservatives more control over education.1975-1982
KingFahd(1922-2005)Oversaw the closest period of Saudi-U.S. relations. Steered the country through the oil price collapse in the 80s and the 1990-91 Gulf War. 1982-2005
King Abdullah(1923-2015) Introduced more reforms than any of his predecessors and opened up the kingdom’s economy.2005-2015
Prince Sultan(1926-2011)Oversaw a massive armament program while serving as Defence Minister.
PrinceNayef(1933-2012)Interior Minister from 1975 until his death.
KingSalman(1936-) Appointed Defence Minister in 2011 after serving five decades as Riyadh governor.2015-
Prince Ahmed(1941-)Briefly served as interior minister in 2012 after three decades as deputy. Youngest full brother of Salman.
Crown Prince Muqrin(1945-)Ex-spy chief appointed as successor to Salman in a 2014 decree by Abdullah.
C.Inton; G. Cabrera, 23/01/2015
Among 31 other sons(In order of birth)
Grandsons
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah died early on Friday and his brother Salman became king, the royal court in the world's top oil exporter
and birthplace of Islam said in a statement carried by state television.
Unmarked grave for Saudi king who lived in palaces
The Al Saud family has always striven to distinguish itself from European monarchies, prefer-ring to hark to the tribal roots of its leadership in which ordinary Saudis theoretically remain able to petition kings.
Nevertheless, there is no short-age of monuments to Abdullah in Saudi Arabia: his name adorns a giant university in Jeddah, a scholarship fund, a “medical city”
hospital complex in Makkah, the state renewable energy agency and a boulevard in Riyadh recently given a lavish upgrade.
Abdullah and his successor Salman style themselves as both king and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques — a clear indication of how they view the importance of their religious credentials in underpinning their legitimacy.
REUTERS
Saudi Arabia’s new King Salman bin Abdul Aziz (left) carrying the body of his half-brother late King Abdullah along with other family members during the latter’s funeral in Riyadh yesterday.
Leaders remember ‘mediator of Islam-West’ King Abdullah
09SATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.comMIDDLE EAST
Lebanese soldiers and gunmen killed in clashesBEIRUT: Fighting broke out between Lebanese troops and gunmen yesterday in an area that has seen repeated incur-sions by Islamist militants fight-ing in Syria’s war, the Lebanese army said in a statement.
It said a large number of gunmen had been killed and a number of soldiers but did not give figures. A Lebanese security official, who asked to remain anonymous as he was not authorised to speak to the media, said nine gunmen and three soldiers had died.
The army said soldiers repelled an attack by militants on an army outpost close to the village of Ras Baalbek, near Lebanon’s eastern frontier with Syria.
“(The army) tightened its control this afternoon of the hill, expelling the terrorist ele-ments ... (and killing) a large number. The fighting killed and wounded a number of soldiers,” it said.
It added it would name the dead soldiers in a later statement.
It was not immediately clear which group the attackers belonged to but Syria-based jihadist groups such as Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front and the ultra-hardline Islamic State have attacked Lebanon in recent months.
Ras Baalbek is near the town of Arsal, where Sunni Islamist mili-tants staged a deadly incursion in August and seized a group of Lebanese soldiers.
The militants have since killed some of the soldiers and around two dozen remain captive.
REUTERS
SANA’A: Yemen faced a dan-gerous power vacuum yesterday after its president announced his resignation over a deadly standoff with Shia militia con-trolling the capital and law-makers called an emergency weekend session.
President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, a key US ally in the fight against Al Qaeda, said late on Thursday that he could no longer stay in office as the country was in “total deadlock”.
Prime Minister Khalid Bahah also tendered his resignation, say-ing he did want to be part of the collapse of the country.
The fall of Hadi’s Western-backed government would raise fears of complete chaos engulfing Yemen, strategically located next to oil-rich Saudi Arabia and on the key shipping route from the Suez Canal to the Gulf.
The country is an important power base for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which claimed responsibility for this month’s deadly attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. Parliament is set to hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss Hadi’s resignation offer, which needs to be approved by lawmakers to take effect. Hadi adviser Sultan Al Atwani said that parliament would meet tomorrow “at the earliest” because it is in recess and lawmakers need time to return.
Witnesses and security forces said that Houthi militiamen had encircled the parliament building overnight, having already seized the presidential palace earlier
this week. Gunmen have also surrounded the houses of top offi-cials including Defence Minister Mahmud Al Subaihi and head of intelligence Ali Al Ahmedi, a security official said.
RIVAL PROTESTS
The Houthis, who hail from Yemen’s northern highlands and who took control of most of the capital in September, said the constitution stipulated that Hadi’s resignation should be approved by an absolute majority in parliament.
“As this has not happened, the resignation remains pending,” the militia said in a statement.
Yemen has been riven by insta-bility since an uprising forced strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh from power in 2012.
Saleh has been accused of backing the Houthis — who are from the same Zaidi sect of Shia as the ex-leader — as has Shia-dominated Iran.
The Houthis, who have long complained of marginalisation, called on supporters to take to the streets yesterday afternoon to show their “backing for the revolutionary measures”.
Thousands of supporters answered the call, staging a rally north of Sana’a. Meanwhile, hun-dreds others demonstrated near the University of Sana’a against the Houthis and in support of Hadi, witnesses said. Similar pro-tests were staged in the cities of Taez and Hudaida.
While the situation was gen-erally calm in Sana’a, two small explosions targeted two houses
belonging to Houthi members but there were no casualties.
After heavy fighting between government forces and the Houthis this week that killed at least 35 people, the UN Security Council and Yemen’s Gulf neigh-bours had all voiced support for Hadi’s continued rule.
The situation escalated on Saturday when the militia-men seized top presidential aide Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak in an apparent bid to extract changes to a draft constitution opposed by the Huthis because it would divide Yemen into six federal regions.
The Houthis continue to hold Mubarak and maintain a tight grip on the capital despite a deal struck late on Wednesday to end what authorities called a coup attempt.
In return for concessions over the disputed draft constitution, the Houthis pledged to vacate the presidential palace, free Mubarak, withdraw from areas surrounding the residences of Hadi and Bahah, and abandon checkpoints across the capital.
The security and military com-mittee for four of south Yemen’s provinces, including Aden, said late on Thursday it would not take orders from Sana’a follow-ing Hadi’s resignation.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on all sides “to exercise maximum restraint and maintain peace and stability”, his spokesman said.
His envoy to Yemen, Moroccan diplomat Jamal Benomar, had arrived in the country on Thursday for talks with the
Yemen faces power vacuumWashington to support peaceful transition
Followers of the Houthi movement march as they demonstrate to show support to the movement in Sana’a yesterday.
BEIRUT: A Syrian air strike killed more than 40 peo-ple in a rebel-held area near Damascus yesterday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group and opposi-tion activists said.
Syrian government officials were not immediately available to comment on the reported attack in Hamoria, a district in the Eastern Ghouta area that has been besieged by security forces.
Footage posted on YouTube by the opposition Syrian Media Organization showed several bod-ies lying on a blood-stained floor, some of them children with blast wounds. Other bodies lay under white shrouds or jackets and a caption said more than 30 people
had been killed. The Observatory, which monitors the war in Syria, said 42 people had been killed, including six children, in what it described as a massacre.
The opposition grassroots Local Coordination Committees said on its Facebook page that the strike hit a public square where peo-ple were leaving a mosque after Friday prayers.
Another opposition group, the Shaam News Network, published a video on its Facebook page showing what it said was the aftermath of a blast in an open square. Bodies lay on the road and buildings were damaged.
Reuters could not immediately verify the reports. An employee at the information ministry in
Damascus said there would be no one to answer questions until Saturday. Syria’s air force has launched daily air strikes in the civil war, which started after security forces cracked down on pro-democracy protests in 2011.
On Tuesday, an air raid on a cattle market in territory con-trolled by the hardline Islamic State group killed 43 people, the Observatory monitor said.
Nasir Haj Mansour, an official in the Kurdish administration that controls nearby areas, said the death toll was much higher, around 70.
“The strike, according to our information, was painful for Daesh, in addition to civilians,” he said. REUTERS
Syrian air strike kills over 40
Sudan air raid hits hospitalKHARTOUM: A Sudanese warplane delib-erately targeted one of the few hospitals operat-ing in South Kordofan state, where ethnic minority rebels have been fighting government troops, an international medical charity charged yesterday.
Two people were wounded in the raid in Frandala in the Nuba Mountains, where rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N) have been fighting since 2011, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) said.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the bomb-ing of the Frandala hospi-tal,” Marc Van der Mullen, MSF head of mission in Sudan, said in a statement.
“With more than 100 patients present, we were very lucky not to have more casualties, because people simply had no time to seek protection.
“There can be no doubt that this was a deliberate and targeted bombing on a civilian hospital structure and part of a strategy to terrorise the community,” he added.
MSF said a patient and a hospital worker were wounded and the hospital damaged, as a fighter jet dropped 13 bombs, of which two landed inside the com-pound and the rest just outside the hospital fence.
AFP
political rivals, but they were swiftly overtaken by events.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States was assessing the fast-moving events.
“We continue to support a peaceful transition. We’ve urged all parties and continue to urge all parties to abide by... the peace and national partnership agreement,” Psaki told reporters. AFP
DAVOS: Iran warned the US Congress yesterday against imposing new sanc-tions, saying this would lead to a collapse of negotiations over Iran’s con-troversial nuclear programme.
“We have an agreement that has the prospect of reaching a comprehensive agreement. If someone comes to tor-pedo (the agreement), I believe (the per-son or entity) should be isolated by the international community, whether it’s the US Congress or anybody else,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
told a meeting of political and business leaders in Davos.
“Now is the time for the international community to stand firm against (the threat of new sanctions)that will unravel an extremely important achievement.”
The White House yesterday admitted that the chances of reaching a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear programme were only 50 percent.
“The likelihood of success in these diplo-matic talks are at best 50/50,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.
The comments come as President Barack Obama’s administration comes under sustained pressure from Republican opponents and regional allies in Israel and Saudi Arabia to take a harder line on Iran.
The Republican-controlled US Congress wants to deepen sanctions against Iran, a move that Obama has threatened to veto.
The White House says talks must be given time to succeed, but must not be used by Iran “as cover” to ease mounting diplomatic pressure.
The complex agreement would see Iran
subjected to intrusive monitoring and curbs on operations that could lead to the crea-tion of a nuclear weapon.
While negotiators struggle to reach a March target date to reach a framework agreement, there were further signs of the difficult relationship between Washington and Tehran.
The White House on Friday expressed concern about Iran’s influence with a Yemeni militia that has besieged the capi-tal Sanaa and forced the resignation of a US-friendly government. AFP
New US sanctions would ‘unravel’ nuclear deal: Iran
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks in Davos yesterday.
An injured man rests in the back of a pick-up truck after shelling by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar Al Assad, in Hamouria market near Damascus yesterday.
Tribute to Saudi King
The Union Jack flies at half mast to mark the death of Saudi Arabia’s King, at Buckingham Palace in London yesterday.
10 INTERNATIONALSATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
Ukraine rebels vow to conquer more territoryPutin blames ‘criminal orders’ by Kiev for fightingDONETSK, Ukraine: Pro-Russian rebels yesterday vowed to conquer more territory in eastern Ukraine and ruled out peace talks after Kiev retreated from a long-disputed airport, casting aside Europe’s latest push for a truce.
The defiant comments from Donetsk rebel chief Alexander Zakharchenko came as Ukraine renewed allegations of Russian army units fighting with rebels across the frontline dividing the war-torn country’s industrial east.
Western nations have branded rebel attacks in recent days as a land grab in violation of a September truce, while Washington’s UN envoy dismissed Russian peace efforts as nothing more than a Moscow “occupation plan.”
Moscow has strongly denied sending troops and weapons to help the rebels who now control swathes of eastern Ukraine, and accuses the West of orchestrat-ing the downfall of the country’s Russian-backed president last year.
The rebel leader in Donetsk, an insurgent stronghold and main industrial region in the heavily-Russified east of the ex-Soviet republic, said he would no longer
pursue peace negotiations.“Our side will no longer
push for any more truce talks,” Zakharchenko said. “We are going to advance to the very border of Donetsk province.”
Sporadic shelling echoed across the rebel stronghold on Friday, and Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council chief Oleksandr Turchynov said “Russian terrorist groups” had launched a mass new offensive.
He accused Russia of “trying not only to establish control over the occupied territories, but to destroy the national identity and independence of Ukraine.”
“Russian terrorist groups have essentially violated all prior ceasefire agreements... and are today assuming active offensive operations,” Turchynov told a tel-evised government meeting. “We are talking about active units of the Russian armed forces.”
The fighting came after a wave of violence on Thursday, including a trolleybus shelling that killed eight people near Donetsk’s city centre, far from the front line, underlining the increasing danger facing civilians. An earlier toll of 13 dead was reduced by officials.
Moscow and Kiev traded bit-ter blame over the tragedy, which occurred on the bloodiest day in
the conflict since an increasingly irrelevant September truce, with more than 40 people reported killed.
Rebels also captured about 20 soldiers and paraded them in front of jeering locals at the scene of the bus shelling, where the handcuffed men were targeted with snowballs and glass.
Talks in Berlin on Wednesday saw the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine agree to try to arrange new negotiations between Kiev and separatist com-manders in the coming days to calm the conflict that has killed more than 5,000 people since it broke out in April.
But Donetsk militias are riding a string of recent successes that include the ouster of Ukrainian forces from a disputed airport on the city’s outskirts earlier this week.
The airport — long stripped of its strategic importance by heavy shelling — had become the sym-bolic prize of the conflict and had seen some of the heaviest fighting.
Rebel leader Zakharchenko said any new negotiations with Kiev would only concern prisoner swaps.
“Everything happening in the Donetsk People’s Republic reflects the will of the people,” he said using the insurgents’ title for
Russian President Vladimir Putin (centre) chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow yesterday. Putin blamed Kiev’s “criminal orders” for a surge in fighting in east Ukraine.
their self-proclaimed state. “We were born here and raised here, and we will fight for our land.”
The violence has threatened to spiral out of control after a December lull that instilled hope in EU leaders that the diplomati-cally and economically damaging war on the bloc’s eastern frontier could finally be drawing to a close.
Moscow is already under heavy US and EU sanctions over its alleged actions in Ukraine, and Western diplomats in Kiev linked
the past week’s spike in attacks to a reported infusion of advanced Russian artillery and equipment into the war zone.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed “criminal orders” by Ukrainian leaders yes-terday for a surge in fighting in east Ukraine, and Russian-backed sep-aratists struck a bellicose tone in ruling out seeking more peace talks.
Putin’s remarks, and the com-ments by the separatists’ main leader, signalled a hardening of
positions in a conflict which the UN human rights office said had killed more than 5,000 people, including 262 in the last nine days.
Despite international calls for a ceasefire, rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko said his forces would push on with a new offen-sive and Putin radiated defiance over the crisis, which a Russian official said could be a “bleeding wound for decades”.
AGENCIES
Cash crunch, rains could thwart Ebola efforts: WHOGENEVA: Halting the spread of Ebola in West Africa will depend on mobilising funds and aid workers before the rainy season hits in April-May, other-wise it could up to take a year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned yesterday.
But the WHO is set to run out of cash in mid-February, a key period as it tries to halt the deadly disease, a senior WHO official said.
“It is a programme that can stop transmission if we have the money and the people, and we don’t have either,” Dr. Bruce Aylward, WHO assistant direc-tor-general in charge of the Ebola response, told a news briefing before a special session of WHO’s Executive Board on Sunday.
The number of Ebola cases week-on-week has declined for each of the past four weeks in hard-hit Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which is promising, he said after a tour of the region.
There has been a “real substan-tive reduction” in cases in the past 21 days, corresponding to the incubation period for the haemor-rhagic fever, a crucial barometer for tracking its spread.
“We run out of cash in mid-February, that is four or five months before that virus is going to stop in a best-case scenario,” Aylward said. “So it is a bit of a race against time right now.”
Poland uncovers new names of Ex-Auschwitz staffWARSAW: Polish officials said yesterday they had drawn up a list of 9,500 staff members at the Nazi German death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, thousands more than previous estimates.
The individuals all worked at the notorious death camp in occupied Poland between 1940 and 1945, according to the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), which prosecutes Nazi and Stalinist-era war crimes.
“Until now, Nazi staff (at Auschwitz) had been estimated at between 4,000 and 6,500 people,” IPN prosecutor Lukasz Gramza said. A historian compiled the names for the IPN’s probe into the day-to-day operations of the camp in the southern city of Oswiecim. The list could be pub-lished in about a year.
AGENCIES
US, Cuba begin reconciliation with smiles and riftsHAVANA: Hours into historic US-Cuba talks in Havana, a Cuban official came out to boast about the “relaxed” atmosphere at the meeting between the old Cold War adversaries.
“Look at my face. I think it reflects the spirit in which we are talking at the moment,” Gustavo Machin, the Cuban delegation’s spokesman, told reporters with a smile under his thick moustache.
It was a stark change from the days of recriminations between communist Cuba and the United States, when Havana slammed “Yankee imperialism” and Washington regularly condemned the Castro regime.
The mere presence of the high-est-ranking US official to visit the sunbaked Caribbean island since the Cold War marked a turna-round after five decades of glacial relations.
After barely speaking face-to-face since the 1960s, the United States and Cuba took big steps toward normalizing ties, even though the talks highlighted enduring rifts between the nations.
Old disagreements about migra-tion and human rights resurfaced on Wednesday and Thursday. And both sides acknowledged that nor-malizing relations will be a long and complex endeavour.
But US officials spoke of “productive” and “positive” dis-cussions, while the Cuban side commended the “constructive” and “respectful” nature of the talks.
In the end, however, no major announcements were made and no dates were set for the reopen-ing of embassies. “The fact that they were meeting in and of itself is what matters,” Ted Piccone, a Latin American expert at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, said.
“It’s important because it sig-nals that we are in a new era, we are going to have direct talks regarding a whole basket of
issues,” said Piccone, a foreign policy advisory in former presi-dent Bill Clinton’s administration.
It was the first get-together since US President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro announced in December their intention to normalize ties.
After being estranged all these years, the two sides had lots to talk about, like how to upgrade their “interests sections” into embassies with ambassadors.
Tougher questions came up, with Roberta Jacobson, the top US State Department official for Latin America, pressing Cuba over human rights.
“We have ... to overcome more
than 50 years of a relationship that was not based on confidence or trust,” Jacobson said.
The Cuban delegation responded with its own statement accusing the United States of com-mitting a host of human rights abuses. The Cuban foreign minis-try’s US affairs director, Josefina Vidal, said her government “has never responded to pressures” but that countries with deep differ-ences “can live together.”
She reiterated Havana’s demand that Washington tear down an embargo that the regime blames for its economic troubles, but which only the US Congress can end.
AFP
Robbers target food trucks in VenezuelaSAN CRISTOBAL/CARACAS: Robbers and loot-ers are targeting trucks car-rying food across Venezuela in another sign of worsening shortages that have turned basics like flour and chicken into coveted booty.
Crime has long plagued shops and roads in Venezuela, which has one of the world’s highest murder rates. But widespread shortages due to a restriction of dollars for imports have worsened since the New Year.
This has made food delivery increasingly risky even as certain trucks have been fitted with GPS devices and are sometimes pro-tected by private security agents.
“I won’t transport food any-more because the streets are too dangerous,” said Orlando Garcia,
a 37-year-old driver from the western state of Tachira who has been ambushed twice as he criss-crossed the country.
“They put screws on the road (to burst your tires), and when you stop to fix the tire they attack you,” said Garcia, who now refuses to work past midnight and will only transport plastics.
Queues that stretch around blocks are now a common sight throughout the Opec country. Armed National Guard troops have been deployed to maintain order, but frustration mounts quickly during hours-long waits under the Caribbean sun. “It’s become a security problem to bring trucks to big supermarket stores,” said Arsenio Manzanares, who heads a Venezuelan truckers’ union.
REUTERS
Left-wing leader promises to restore dignity to GreeceATHENS: The leader of Greece’s left-wing Syriza party vowed yesterday to restore “dignity” to the hugely-indebted country if as expected they win Sunday’s general election.
Alexis Tsipras, 40, has cam-paigned on a pledge to renegoti-ate Greece’s ¤318bn ($357bn) debt mountain and said he was steeling himself for a “major confronta-tion” with the country’s interna-tional creditors.
Greece, he says, has been humiliated by the demands of the European Union and the
International Monetary Fund, who demanded deep spending cuts in return for a ¤240bn bail-out which began in 2010.
“We will do whatever it takes to save the dignity of our people,” Tsipras told a press conference yesterday.
“In the name of the crisis and the bailout deal, EU char-ter obligations are not obeyed. The human rights charter is not applied, labour laws that exist in Europe are not applied, funda-mental democratic rights are not respected,” he said.
Some analysts fear that Syriza’s hardline approach to the debt negotiations could push Greece out of the eurozone, potentially plunging the European single cur-rency into crisis.
Two days before voting, some polls give Syriza a projected lead of more than five percent over its conservative rivals, New Democracy. One poll, by Palmos Analysis, gave Tsipras’ party a lead of almost 10 percent.
The Syriza leader urged Greeks to give his party an absolute majority on Sunday. That would
give him “the necessary strength” to negotiate with his European partners.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s conservative New Democracy party look set to be punished by voters for sticking to the austerity measures demanded by the IMF and the EU.
Tsipras said Thursday’s announcement by European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi of a 1.14-trillion-euro ($1.27-tril-lion) bond-buying plans to boost lending and economic growth showed that “two rival strategies
are colliding in Europe”.“One of them, the Protestant
logic of Schaeuble and Merkel, says ‘laws above all’,” Tsipras said.
“The other says, ‘whatever it takes’, as Draghi said.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her finance minis-ter Wolfgang Schaeuble are seen by Greeks as taking the hardest line on budgetary rigour in the eurozone.
But Merkel insisted Friday she wanted Greece to stick with the euro.
AFP
11SATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.comASIA / PHILIPPINES
Ousted Thai PM banned from politicsYingluck faces criminal chargesBANGKOK: Thai authori-ties dealt a double blow to ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her power-ful family yesterday, banning her from politics for five years and proceeding with crimi-nal charges for negligence that could put her in jail.
The moves could stoke tension in the politically divided coun-try still living under martial law after the military seized power in May, toppling the remnants of Yingluck’s government to end months of street protests.
The ban and the legal case are the latest chapter in 10 years of turbulent politics that have pit-ted Yingluck and her brother Thaksin, himself a former prime minister, against the royalist-military establishment which sees the Shinawatras as a threat and reviles their populist policies.
Yingluck will face criminal charges in the Supreme Court and if found guilty faces up to 10 years in jail, the Attorney General’s Office said yesterday.
The charge against the coun-try’s first female premier, who was removed from office for abuse of power in May days before the coup, concern her role in a scheme that paid farmers above market prices for rice and cost Thailand billions of dollars.
The capital’s streets were quiet on Friday, as residents adhered to the military junta’s ban on public gatherings.
Security was tightened around the parliament building where the military-stacked legislature voted Yingluck guilty in a sepa-rate impeachment case for failing to exercise sufficient oversight of the rice subsidy scheme.
The retroactive impeach-ment at the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) carries with it a five-year ban from politics.
A vote to impeach required a three-fifths majority among NLA members, who were hand-picked by the junta of coup leader and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. Around 100 of the 220 members are former or serving military officers.
Prayuth said he had not ordered the NLA to vote against Yingluck, who remains popular among the rural poor that handed her a landslide electoral victory in 2011 and benefited from the rice scheme.
The impeachment was expected by Yingluck supporters, who see the courts and NLA as biased and aligned with an establishment intent on blocking the Shinawatra family from politics.
“Yingluck’s case was not dealt with fairly,” said Thanawut
National Legislative Assembly members vote on impeaching ousted former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, at the Parliament in Bangkok, yesterday.
Wichaidit, a spokesman for the pro-Yingluck United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship.
“The intention of these actions is for Yingluck and the entire Shinawatra family to be eradi-cated from Thai politics. I believe there is an invisible hand behind Yingluck’s impeachment.”
Around 150 members of the Shinawatra political movement have been banned from politics in the last decade, including four who had served as prime ministers.
Yingluck disputed the charges in an appearance at the NLA on Thursday and said the scheme boosted the economy. She did not appear at the NLA on Friday.
Prayuth’s government has urged Yingluck’s supporters to stay out of Bangkok this week over concerns of trouble, although a repeat of the protests that have dogged the country in recent years is unlikely.
Authorities have been quick to stifle any public protest, and polit-ical meetings are banned under martial law.
In a radio broadcast earlier on Friday, Army Chief General Udomdej Sitabutr called on the population to respect the NLA vote. A spokesman for the mili-tary junta said it had seen no sign of unrest.
“Political gatherings cannot happen as we are still under
martial law,” junta spokesman Winthai Suvaree said.
Yingluck’s fortunes have been similar to those of her billionaire brother.
Both led populist governments toppled in coups, despite being elected in landslides, and both were subjected to legal action and street protests by pro-establish-ment activists.
After being ousted in a 2006 coup, Thaksin fled Thailand to avoid a 2008 jail term for corrup-tion. He has lived abroad since, but retains a strong influence over Thai politics. Since last year’s coup, Yingluck has had to inform the military junta of her travel plans.
REUTERS
One dead, 48 injured in Philippine explosion: OfficialZAMBOANGA, Philippines: One person was killed and 48 others injured yesterday as a parked car exploded in the southern Philippines, with the local authorities blaming the blast on Al Qaeda-linked Islamic militants.
Witnesses told police a parked car went up in flames and was torn to pieces in a powerful mid-after-noon blast that shattered glass panels in a commercial section
on Zamboanga city’s outskirts. “There was a suspected bomb in the car,” Senior Superintendent Angelito Casimiro, the city police chief, told reporters.
The explosion occurred in front of a pub and across the street from a bus terminal, he said.
No group has claimed respon-sibility for the blast and the lone fatality was not immediately iden-tified, he said.
Most of the other casualties
were cut from flying glass shards and are being treated at nearby hospitals, Casimiro added.
Zamboanga city Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco alleged the blast was linked to a plan by the Abu Sayyaf armed group to spring 57 comrades detained at the city jail.
She demanded that the national government remove the prisoners from the city and transfer them to a detention facility elsewhere so the city
would not be targeted by bomb-ings. “This is an SOS call for the 57 inmates to be removed and transferred for the safety and protection of the city,” Climaco told reporters.
The Abu Sayyaf, a loose band of a few hundred militants founded with seed money from Al Qaeda, has been blamed for the worst ter-ror attacks in Philippine history.
These have included the bomb-ing of a ferry in Manila in 2004
in which more than 100 people died, and repeated kidnappings of foreigners in the southern Philippines who are usually ran-somed off for huge amounts.
Many foreign governments warn their citizens against trav-elling to the southern Philippine areas, including Zamboanga, which are regarded as strong-holds for the Abu Sayyaf and other Islamic militants.
AFP
Widodo calls for calm after arrest of top graft fighterJAKARTA: Indonesian presi-dent Joko Widodo urged the national police and the coun-try’s most powerful anti-graft agency to avoid “friction” after the arrest of a prominent cor-ruption fighter sparked an out-cry yesterday.
The shock arrest of Bambang Widjojanto, Deputy Chief at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), comes about a week after the agency accused a high-ranking police general of corruption, postponing his appointment as the country’s new police chief.
Hundreds of activists gathered for a noisy protest outside the KPK headquarters in Jakarta, claiming Widjojanto’s arrest for allegedly interfering in a legal case was police acting out of revenge.
Indonesia’s millions of social media users called on Widodo, who made combating cor-ruption a cornerstone of his leadership, to speak out with #WhereAreYouJokowi just trail-ing #SaveKPK as the top men-tions on Twitter.
The president, speaking after meeting with the KPK chairman and deputy police chief, urged both parties to act objectively.
“As head of state I also asked the national police and KPK not to let friction occur when per-forming their duties,” Widodo told reporters. Earlier national police spokesman Ronny Sompie said Widjojanto could face seven years in prison if found guilty of the allegations.
He was accused of ordering witnesses to give false evidence during a 2010 constitutional court challenge to a local election result, Sompie added. “We have enough strong evidence of his suspected involvement in the case,” he said.
Sompie insisted the investiga-tion was focused on Widjojanto and unrelated to the KPK, an institution that has butted heads with police in the past.
The KPK this month launched a corruption investigation into three-star general Budi Gunawan, who just days earlier had been named the sole pick for national police chief by Widodo.
The president refused to revoke Gunawan’s nomination, but later postponed his appointment until the KPK investigation was complete.
AFP
Scuffle over statute pushes Nepal into turmoilKATHMANDU: Nepal plunged deeper into crisis yetserday after feuding politi-cians, throwing microphones and shoes, failed to meet a deadline to table a new constitution, seen as a key step to stabil-ity in the Himalayan buffer state wedged between Asian powers China and India.
Opposition party lawmakers stormed the well of parliament late on Thursday to pre-vent the ruling coalition from pushing ahead with a vote to salvage the draft of a charter marred by political rivalries.
“Political leaders must explain to people why they failed to fulfil their commitment,” said Subas Nemwang, chairman of the Constituent Assembly tasked with prepar-ing the charter.
Landlocked Nepal has been in political limbo since 2008, when it’s 239-year-old monarchy was abolished. An interim consti-tution was put in place a year earlier at the end of a civil war fought by Maoist rebels.
Bitter disagreements over how to carve out new provinces have rendered the govern-ment unable to move forward, with consecu-tive parliaments missing deadlines to present a new constitution, stoking further insecurity in a nation traumatized by its bloody past.
Protesters set dozens of vehicles on fire on Tuesday as the Maoist-led opposition called for a general strike to pressure the govern-ment into meeting their demands. On the same day, opposition lawmakers stormed parliament’s main chamber to disrupt the
session, throwing microphones and shoes and injuring at least three security officers in the fray. It could take months before another attempt is made to agree on the charter, Nemwang said, although parliament was due to meet again yesterday. The constitution is an integral part of the 2006 peace deal.
The Maoists and regional parties want to create ten states in the mostly mountainous country and name them after different eth-nic groups to empower them. But the mem-bers of the ruling alliance fear Nepal, whose economy is dependant on aid and tourism, cannot afford to fund that many administra-tions, and say affiliating states with ethnic groups could fuel communal tensions.
REUTERS
Sri Lanka grills chief justive over coup claimsCOLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s chief justice was questioned by crimi-nal investigators yesterday following allegations that he tried to help the former presi-dent Mahinda Rajapaksa retain power illegally, a minister said.
Chief Justice Mohan Peiris was interviewed over a complaint that he and the former president alleg-edly conspired to keep the strong-man in power in a meeting at Rajapakse’s home, Public Security minister John Amaratunga said.
“The chief justice was questioned today about the (alleged) coup and a statement has been recorded,” the minister told reporters in Colombo. He added that investigations were proceeding. The questioning came after the chief justice was banned from a meeting of Asian legal experts in Colombo on Monday
AFP
North Korea urges South to lift curbsSEOUL: North Korea yesterday demanded the lifting of sanctions, imposed by South Korea after a 2010 attack on one of its naval vessels, as a condition for resuming dialogue.
It was the first official response to the South’s offer to talk, including discussions on resuming reunions of families separated during the 1950-53 civil war.
After a delegation of high-level North Korean officials made a surprise visit in October last year to the closing ceremony of the Asian Games, South Korea said it was willing to discuss the sanctions as a way to move forward.
The measures, imposed in May 2010 after a torpedo attack against a South Korean navy ship that killed 46 sailors, cut off most political and commercial exchanges with the North. The North denies it was responsible.
“If the South Korean government is sincerely interested in humanitarian issues, it should first remove the ban that was imposed for the purpose of confrontation,” the North’s KCNA news agency quoted a spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea as saying.
The South’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said that lifting
sanctions would first require “responsible action” from the North.
“It is regrettable that North Korea has linked the purely humanitarian issue of sepa-rated families to the May 24 measure, which is completely irrelevant,” the ministry said in the emailed statement, referring to the South’s sanctions.
North Korea, already heavily sanctioned by the United Nations for its missile and nuclear tests, is technically still at war with the South after the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
North Korea said this month it would suspend nuclear tests if the United States cancelled its annual joint military drills with South Korea, which Pyongyang routinely describes as prepara-tions for invasion.
The United States and South Korea rejected the call, saying the drills were defensive and have been conducted for decades without major incident.
The reunions, highly choreographed and emo-tional affairs between family members, most now in old age, had until last February not taken place since 2010.
REUTERS
12 PAKISTAN / AFGHANISTANSATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
Child’s play
Afghan children use a cloth to catch small fish in a stream as women walk past on the outskirts of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province yesterday. Over a third of Afghans are living in abject poverty, as those in power are more concerned about addressing their vested interests rather than the basic needs of the population, a UN report said.
Lending an ear to the leaders
Supporters of Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI) listen to the speeches of their leaders in a protest against satirical French weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Karachi yesterday.
Sharif agrees to spend $510m to avert power crisisPrime minister asks three ministries to provide performance report every 15 daysISLAMABAD: After grap-pling with the petrol crisis in Punjab, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has approved an inte-grated plan of Rs51bn ($510m) till March for smooth supply of furnace oil to the country to avert the worsening power crisis.
The premier approved the plan in a meeting convened on the petrol crisis and also directed all concerned ministries to effectively coordinate in order to ensure a steady supply of petrol to all parts of Pakistan.
He also issued directives for structural changes in order to ensure that the current petro-leum crisis does not arise again.
The country, except Karachi, is currently facing 5,000-6,000MW shortage of electricity owing to non-availability of required
furnace oil to powerhouses and less hydro generation because of closure of canals and zero demand by the four federating units for water releases from dams. In the urban centres, there is load shed-ding of 12 hours while in rural areas, it is 20 hours.
Keeping in view the worst electricity supply situation, the prime minister approved the plan and lashed out at the inefficient Ministry of Water and Power, a senior official of one the eco-nomic ministries who attended the meeting said.
For the month of January, he said, under the integrated plan, two cargo ships carrying 65,000 metric tons each will be arranged at the cost of Rs6bn that will ensure 13,000 tons of fuel per day to the power sector.
Likewise, for the month of
February, seven cargo ships will import 65,000 tonnes of furnace oil at the cost of Rs21bn to pro-vide supply of 17,000 tonnes of fuel per day to powerhouses.
In March, eight vessels each having the same quantum of fuel will be imported to ensure the furnace supply of 17,000 tonnes every day.
For the month of February, the Ministry of Finance will pro-vide Rs15 billion and Ministry of Water and Power Rs6bn and for March the MoF will provide Rs15bn again and MoWP will ensure cash supply of Rs9bn.
The prime minister also asked the Finance Ministry to arrange Rs40bn loans to help PSO that has financially collapsed mainly because of an inefficient Ministry of Water and Power.
The chief executive of the
country also came down heavily on the top mandarins of MoWP for their inefficiency and incom-petence that has allowed the circular debt of Rs300bn to re-emerge and receivables balloon to a whopping Rs590bn.
The prime minister gave the particular order to improve recoveries and reduce the circu-lar debt and for paying the dues to PSO, so that it could stand on its feet. He also approved the new policy under which the govern-ment will first provide finances and then PSO will arrange the furnace oil for power generation.
The power sector is suffering a deficit of Rs150.18bn every month even after payment of subsidy and in the meeting it was also disclosed that recovery of electricity has not improved and the circular debt could not be dealt with prudently
and the power sector will continue to suffer recurring losses.
The prime minister asked the relevant officials of the Ministry of Water and Power to improve the recovery and reduce the cir-cular debt and take corrective measures for prevalent incompe-tence in the power sector.
Meanwhile, Sharif yesterday directed the ministries of finance, petroleum, and planning and development to furnish with him their performance reports every 15 days, it was learnt.
“The initial findings of the detailed inquiry that is currently underway have pointed out three basic reasons for the petrol crisis including the incapacity of the offi-cials of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) to improve their balance sheet, logistical hurdles and underper-formance of 250 inspectors of Oil
and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to keep vigil on the oil storage capacity of private com-panies,” the sources said.
The initial findings of the inquiry reveal that the oil stor-age capacity of private compa-nies must be 1,66,000 tons but the Ogra’s 250 inspectors who were supposed to keep vigil on it failed to identify that these companies had 70, 000 tons of stocks.
“The finance department of the PSO could have explored a number of opportunities to get cash, but it did nothing in this regard, leading to the petrol crisis.
On an average, the PSO imports three to four cargoes of furnace oil (of 65,000 MT each) per month, but it failed to do so before the petrol crisis due to shortage of necessary funds,” the findings said.
INTERNEWS
Bilawal under treatment for serious tonsillitisISLAMABAD: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, patron-in-chief of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), is undergoing treatment for a chronic condition of tonsillitis, it was learnt yeterday.
Speculations have been rife about Bilawal’s health condition and his alleged tiff with his father Asif Ali Zardari coupled with many theories being spun about Bilawal’s absence from Pakistan’s political scene, including on micro-blogging site Twitter, which Bilawal has regularly used to express his views.
However, it was learnt from highly trusted sources that Bilawal has been advised by specialists in UK to complete the treatment for tonsilitis which began around mid-November last year.
That’s when Bilawal had appeared in Oxford University with her sisters Aseefa and Bakhtawar for the launch of a book on Benazir Bhutto’s life.
He has not been seen at any public event ever since and his non-appear-ance at PPP’s highly publicised events in Lahore and Larkana didn’t go down well with the party rank and file who had cited security rea-sons for Bilawal’s absence.
It was told by the source that like every young man Bilawal didn’t pay heed to the medical advice and treated his recurring infectious condition to his vocal cords. One source said that “neglect converted the ailment so serious that he was advised by doctors to give complete rest to his vocal cords”.
The other source said: “The tonsillitis is a normal occurrence but if not treated properly and if doctor’s advice not listened to then it can develop lead to much more serious consequences lead-ing to adversely affecting voice and vocal cords.
INTERNEWS
Karachi public transport on the verge of collapseKARACHI: The public trans-port sector of Pakistan’s largest city is on the verge of collapse owing to a history of failure, negligence, inefficiency and lack of follow-through in both government and public-private partnership projects, says a report.
The report, titled ‘Karachi: the transport crisis’, has been com-piled by renowned city planner and architect Arif Hasan with Mansoor Raza and staff at the Urban Resource Centre. It is being released to the public on Friday.
The 32-page report, which draws on almost 200 interviews with government officials, trans-porters’ representatives and members of the public, paints a bleak picture of the current scene, with transporters crippled by high fuel costs and limited gov-ernment support, and the public caught between rising prices and a simply inadequate number of available options.
Karachi, a city of an estimated 22 million people, currently has roughly 9,527 operational mini-buses, as compared to the 22,313 it had in 2011, according to the report.
The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) says an additional 8,676 large buses are required to fill the shortfall.
Moreover, of the city’s 329 official bus routes, only 111 are currently being operated, while the others have been abandoned because “they are not considered lucrative by the transporters”.
Irshad Bukhari, the president of the Karachi Transport Ittehad (KTI), says that transporters are being forced to either move to dif-ferent cities or quit the business altogether.
“(Karachi’s bus owners are leaving the business) because there is no income, and the stress is very high, with maintenance
costs, and with no protection from the government, no regulations, and no fuel available,” he told this reporter.
Those operating buses are fac-ing pressures from several simul-taneous directions, the report explains, with bus operators in a position where they have to pay route owners, money lenders, police officers on their route, as well as rising fuel costs.
Moreover, those seeking to enter the market are forced to go through money lenders, the report says, as regular banks do not offer loans to them for fear of default.
Hasan contends that the pri-vate sector, while not perfect in meeting the needs of consum-ers particularly in terms of road safety, customer service and pro-viding exhaustive route coverage does still operate in a more effec-tive manner than it is assumed to.
“It is generally considered that the informally financed transport sector in Karachi is anarchic and disorganised,” the report says.
“However, the drivers have a strict timetable and regulations for it to be implemented, fixed locations for parking their vehi-cles, and an organised regime which determines the relation-ship between the different actors in the transport drama and with the police.”
The main contention of the report appears to be that the pri-vate sector has been left entirely on its own, operating in a largely unregulated and unmanaged envi-ronment, with very little govern-ment oversight or support.
The lack of support, the report explains, appears to be the result of a long and storied series of debacles every time the govern-ment has attempted to meet Karachi’s growing public trans-port needs.
INTERNEWS
Over 8,000 terror suspects arrestedISLAMABAD: Law-enforcement agencies in Pakistan’s north-western prov-ince of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have rounded up more than 8,000 suspects in a fresh crackdown against militants, official documents revealed, as the province takes the lead in the implementation of the National Action Plan against Terrorism.
According to the documents — which the K-P government submit-ted to the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday — some 8,281 sus-pects have been arrested in 2,861
fresh operations. These include 22 clerics accused of delivering hateful speeches. The K-P government has also charged the representatives of some 222 seminaries with violating loudspeaker laws. In comparison, the Punjab government has added the names of more than 2,000 sus-pects to the new list of terrorists, informed officials said.
They added the Sindh gov-ernment has placed the names of 500 suspects on the list, the Balochistan government has identified 410 suspects, authori-ties in Islamabad have named 150 suspects and Gilgit-Baltistan has
named 50 suspects.As part of its efforts to imple-
ment the National Action Plan, the K-P government has identi-fied over 90 terrorist cases which are to be transferred to military courts and has allocated Rs760 million for the recovery of 615 ‘deadly’ terrorists who have been declared absconders, the docu-ments revealed.
Authorities in the province have set up a counter-terrorist force with the induction of 1,760 personnel who will be deployed at seven new police stations.
INTERNEWS
20,000 protest against Charli Hebdo in HeratHERAT, Afghanistan: At least 20,000 people protested in the western Afghan city of Herat yesterday against French satir-ical magazine Charlie Hebdo for publishing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).
The demonstrators burned French flags, chanted death slogans against France and demanded Paris apologise to Muslims in Afghanistan’s biggest rally yet against the weekly.
A smaller protest was held in the capital Kabul, where a few demonstrators threw stones at the French embassy, prompting guards to fire one or two warning shots.
“No Muslim can tolerate insults to our beloved prophet Mohammed, we demand the French govern-ment apologise to all Muslims and punish those who have insulted Islam,” said one protester in Herat.
That “survivors’ edition” fol-lowed an attack on the magazine’s
offices in Paris in which 12 people were gunned down by Islamist militants. The massacre triggered a huge outpouring of anger and grief on social media, much of it using the hashtag “#jusuisCharlie”.
A reporter at the scene in Herat and the provincial gov-ernor’s spokesman Ehsanullah Hayat said the crowd was at least 20,000 strong. In Kabul, several thousand people rallied in the city centre chanting “death to France, death to the enemies of Islam”.
The protesters in Kabul also held posters depicting a red heart and the name of the Prophet as they marched on the streets of Kabul.
“We condemn those who pub-lished our prophet’s cartoons and we curse those who have done this vicious act,” said Abdul Salam Abid, a leading cleric in central Kabul mosque among the protesters.
AFP
Protest against Charlie Hebdo
Kashmiri protesters burn an effigy representing the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, during a protest in Srinagar yesterday.
13SATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.comINDIA
NEW DELHI: Sending a clear message to Pakistan, US President Barack Obama has said “safe havens” of terrorism within that country were not acceptable and described India as a “true global” partner.
Obama also called for those behind the Mumbai terror attacks to be brought to justice.
“I have made it clear that even as the US works with Pakistan to meet the threat of terrorism, safe havens within Pakistan are not acceptable and that those behind the Mumbai terrorist attack must face justice,” Obama said in an interview to the India Today weekly magazine which is to be published in its upcoming issue.
Obama, who arrives here tomorrow on a three-day visit during which he will be the chief guest at the Republic Day Parade, said: “As president, I have made sure that the US has been unre-lenting in its fight against ter-rorist groups — a fight in which Indians and Americans are united.”
Obama said Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s maiden visit to the US last September was an opportunity for him to benefit from Modi’s resounding mandate in 2014 that imbued “new hopes and energy”. “Now, Modi’s elec-tion and his commitment to a new chapter in the relationship between our countries, gives us an opportunity to further energise our partnership.”
Obama, who will be the first US
president to visit India twice and the only US president to be chief guest at the Republic Day parade, said the time was opportune to realise his vision for India and US as “true global partners”.
“I’d like to think that the stars are aligned to finally realise the vision I outlined in (the Indian) parliament (during last visit) — India and America as true global partners. That’s why I accepted the generous invitation to become the first US president to attend Republic Day as chief guest,” he added. Obama in his first visit to India in 2010 had addressed the joint session of both houses of parliament.
“On the most basic level, a good India-US relationship has to be based on the same principles as our successful partnerships with our other close partners and friends around the world,” the US president said.
“That includes mutual respect, where even as we acknowledge our different histories and tradi-tions, we value the strengths that we each bring to our relationship.
“It includes recognizing our mutual interests that both our countries will be more secure, and our people will have more jobs and opportunities, when we are work-ing together.”
The US president said while it was true that progress has not always come as fast as both sides would have liked, “we have suc-ceeded in deepening the US-India relationship across the board”.
“In the last few years, we have increased trade between our two countries by about 60 percent, creating more jobs for Indians and Americans,” he said, adding that the militaries of the two countries are conducting more exercises together. Describing his India visit as “an opportunity to work with Modi to make concrete progress”,
Obama hoped to embark on a new era in the history of bilateralism between the two countries.
“Forging deeper ties between our two nations has been a key part of my foreign policy since I took over office,” Obama said.
He also said that he had a strong relationship with former prime minister Manmohan
Singh, whom he treated as his “close partner”. “Given India’s strategic location, we can advance our shared security and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific. When India and the US work together, both our countries, and the world are more secure and prosperous,” he said.
IANS
Two killed, over dozen injured in court blast PATNA: Two people — a woman and a police constable — were killed and more than a dozen injured in a bomb blast in a Bihar court yesterday.
It was not a terror attack but was aimed at helping two undertrial prisoners escape, police said.
Earlier, it was said that three people were killed but police later clarified that one of four seriously injured was mistakenly identified as dead initially due to panic.
A district police officer said a crude bomb exploded within the premises of the Ara civil court in Bhojpur district, about 60km from the Bihar capital.
The injured were rushed to the local civil hospital for treatment. Some of them were later referred to the Patna Medical College and Hospital when their condition deteriorated.
Security in courts across the state was beefed up following the blast.
Additional Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey told the media that the bomb was carried by a woman, one of the victims.
“Police have found a mobile phone near the mutilated body of the woman,” he said.
Pandey said it was neither an attack by terrorists nor by Maoists.
“This incident was a crimi-nal act to help two undertrial prisoners escape when they were being brought to the court from the district jail,” he said.
Pandey, however, denied that the woman was a suicide bomber. “It was a coincidence that the bomb exploded in her bag when she was trying to adjust it,” he said.
According to an official from the Chief Minister’s Office, the union home ministry has sought a report from the state government.
Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi expressed serious concern over the blast and asked the state chief secretary, police chief and home secretary to tighten secu-rity to prevent such incidents in future.
IANS
Man accused of passing secrets to ISI arrestedBHUBANESWAR: Indian police arrested a 35-year-old man yesterday in the east-ern state of Odisha, accusing him of passing military secrets to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.
Police said Ishwar Chandra Behera was passing on infor-mation about missile activities conducted at a unit of India’s Defence Research & Development Organisation, where he worked as a cameraman.
“He was providing vital infor-mation related to missile tests and other military activities to an ISI agent for the past 8-10 months,” Odisha’s inspector gen-eral of police A K Panigrahi said. “He confessed that he had met an (ISI) agent in Kolkata a number of times.”
India accuses elements in Pakistan’s army and ISI of shield-ing or working with militant groups, which Islambabad denies.
Tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, which are also at odds over the dis-puted region of Kashmir, have risen since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called off peace talks in August.
REUTERS
NEW DELHI: Journalist Nalini Singh yesterday said that former federal minister Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar, who was found dead under mysterious circum-stances in her hotel room in 2014, knew of her husband’s affair with Pakistani scribe Mehr Tarar as early as six months before her death.
Singh was speaking to the press after being questioned by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Delhi Police in connection with Sunanda’s death probe ear-lier in the day.
“The police wanted to know
about my telephonic conversa-tion with Sunanda on the eve of her death. They wanted me to recall what she said, the tone of her voice. They also questioned me on the IPL angle to the case,” Singh told ANI.
“I know that on June 27, 2013, on Sunanda’s birthday, she had called us for a party at her house. During the party, she had voiced her concerns about Tharoor’s relationship with Mehr Tarar, particularly three days that they spent together in Dubai. I asked for proof, and she said that Dubai was her town and she
had many friends there,” she added. Singh further stated that Pushkar wanted to share information about the Indian Premier League but was unable to do so before her death.
“At a later date Sunanda told me she wanted to speak about the IPL, and that she has taken all the blame on herself. When I asked her if she wanted to speak to a TV reporter, she didn’t reply,” Singh said.
Pushkar, who married Tharoor in 2010, had checked into The Leela Hotel in Chanakyapuri a day before her death on January 17, 2014. Tharoor’s aides said the
couple had checked into the lux-ury hotel because of renovation work at his New Delhi bungalow. Prior to her death, Sunanda was embroiled in a spat with Tarar, whom she accused of stalking her husband.
On Thursday, the investigation team questioned another jour-nalist, television anchor Rahul Kanwal of Headlines Today, to whom Pushkar had wanted to give an interview on certain undisclosed issue.
Later, Kanwal posted the con-tents of his talk with police on social media, stating Pushkar was keen to give an interview.
“On January 16, when the spat between Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda splashed all over the news channels, I reached out to Sunanda asking her if she was keen on doing an interview to talk about the ‘IPL scam’ she had been referring to in her tweets,” Kanwal wrote in his Facebook account.
Both the journalists were ques-tioned soon after Bassi told media Thursday that they would take the help of those journalists who had talked to Pushkar before her death to corroborate the sequence of events.
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI: India’s lead-ers yesterday paid respect to deceased Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and announced a one-day national mourning today in his respect. The national flag will be flown at half mast throughout the day across India.
“His majesty King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has passed away. As a mark of respect to the departed dignitary, the govern-ment of India has decided that there will be one day’s national mourning on January 24,” said a statement from the home ministry.
“The national flag will be flown at half mast today throughout India and there will be no official entertainment on the day,” the statement said. Indian leaders, led
by President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, yesterday condoled his death and said he was a “guid-ing force” and a “close friend” of India. In a condolence message, Mukherjee said: “My heartfelt condolences to the government, royal family and people of Saudi Arabia over the sad demise of King Abdullah.”
The president said: “In his passing away, Saudi Arabia had lost a beloved leader, India a close friend and the world, an elder statesman.
“King Abdullah had genuine warmth and affection for India and our people. He was personally committed to improving bilateral ties with India,” a statement from Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
Describing the Saudi king as a guiding force, Modi said: “In King Abdullah, we have lost an
important voice, who left a lasting impact on his country. I condole his demise.”
“Our thoughts are with the peo-ple of Saudi Arabia, who have lost a guiding force in King Abdullah, during this hour of grief. A few days ago, I spoke to Crown Prince Salman and enquired about King Abdullah’s health. News of King Abdullah’s passing away is sad-dening,” he said.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy recalled the Saudi king as one who in general was consid-erate to Indians, particularly to Keralites. He fondly recalled that during the period when Nitaqat (a Saudi government initiative to boost local employment) was in force in the oil-rich kingdom in 2013, it was through the king’s intervention that many requests to the Saudi government were accepted. IANS
‘Sunanda was aware of Tharoor’s affair with Tarar’
India true partner: Obama‘Terror havens in Pakistan unacceptable’
An eagle flies amid contrails from the Indian Air Force aircrafts during a rehearsal for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi yesterday.
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission yesterday censured AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal for his remarks accusing the BJP of spreading communal hatred in the capital and asked him to be circumspect in his comments in future.
The poll panel, which had issued notice to Kejriwal Jan 17 following a complaint by the
Bharatiya Janata Party’s Delhi unit chief Satish Upadhyay, said the Aam Aadmi Party leader’s comments violated the model code of conduct.
According to the report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Kejriwal had said: “The BJP has been responsible for inciting commu-nal riots in various parts of Delhi in the recent past.”
The notice said: “Now, there-fore, the commission hereby con-veys its displeasure and censures you (Kejriwal) for the above vio-lation of the model code of con-duct and expects you to be more circumspect in your public utter-ances in future.”
In the commission’s views, Kejriwal’s statement had the effect of aggravating existing
differences or creating mutual hatred or causing tension between different castes and communities.
The commission also noted that Kejriwal has not denied his statement in his reply submitted before the poll panel on January 22. The Delhi assembly polls would be held on February 7 and votes will be counted on February 10. IANS
India pays tributes to Saudi king, national mourning today
Election Commission censures Kejriwal
14 BUSINESSSATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
Washington Auto Show
A 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 convertible is seen at the press day for the Washington Auto Show in Washington yesterday.
Nuaimi to stay as Saudi oil minister Analysts see no policy changeDUBAI: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia was quick to keep vet-eran Oil Minister Ali Ibrahim Al Nuaimi yesteray in a mes-sage aimed at calming a jit-tery energy market mindful of Nuaimi’s powerful role within the Opec group of oil-exporting countries.
In his first address to the nation King Salman vowed to maintain the same approach as his predecessors.
The 79-year-old Nuaimi has been a leading figure in the mar-ket for two decades and success-fully argued in November that Opec should hold output steady despite a sharp fall in oil prices in order to safeguard market share.
That policy is unlikely to change under Salman, analysts say.
“What is happening now is Kingdom policy, not just the King’s policy,” said analyst Yasser Elguindi of Medley Global Advisors. “The Kingdom will con-tinue to make policy based solely on economic rather than politi-cal considerations. The oil weapon has long been defunct.”
With Nuaimi to stay for now, analysts said the focus was on for how long, as his departure could impact Saudi policy, Opec and oil prices generally.
“Nuaimi is very likely to stay in the short run, not to make it look like the new king is gearing up for a policy change... there was talk he would be handing over in the coming year or so ...In fact, this might delay his retirement some-what,” said analyst Samuel Ciszuk of the Swedish Energy Agency.
“I think it will be difficult to change ministers in the current situation. If Nuaimi goes I would think that he would prefer to go after there is some order put back into Opec,” said Olivier Jakob from consultancy Petromatrix.
Naimi’s successor would be just the fifth oil minister in Saudi
history. His predecessors were Abdullah Al Tariki (1960-1962), Ahmed Zaki Yamani (1962-1986) and Hisham Nazer (1986-1995).
Khalid Al Falih, chief executive of state giant Saudi Aramco, and Saudi Deputy Oil Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman are among the top contenders for the posi-tion, analysts say.
Nuaimi was promoted to the top oil job in 1995 after joining Saudi Aramco at the age of 12 as an office boy and rising to become CEO.
One of Saudi Arabia’s highest ranking non-royals, he is credited with deftly handling Opec politics. He has also survived more than one price crash, including a fall of more than $100 a barrel in the latter half of 2008. At that time he led Opec as it implemented its biggest ever supply cut.
Yet still haunted by its failed attempt to prevent a steep drop in oil prices by slashing output by almost three quarters in the 1980s, Riyadh is determined not to make the same mistake again.
Saudi Arabia’s oil policy involves maintaining spare output capacity to help stabilise prices and a reluctance to interfere in the market for political reasons.
Yet Nuaimi has enjoyed great clout over these decisions and been granted wide scope to inter-pret and implement policy in the way he thinks best.
There is no guarantee that his successor would enjoy the same privileges within the Kingdom or Opec, or would pursue the same market strategy.
Riyadh and its Gulf Opec allies say it is time for others, such as Russia or US shale drillers, to slow down; Opec can no longer slash output, ceding market share, to spare them a downturn.
They argue that low oil prices will stimulate demand and slow output from high-cost producers without requiring Opec to reduce output.
REUTERS
Oil jumps amid huge market shifts, Saudi King’s deathSINGAPORE: Oil prices jumped in early Asian trading on Friday as news of the death of Saudi Arabia’s King added to uncertainty in energy markets already facing some of the big-gest shifts in decades.
US benchmark WTI crude futures rose more than two percent to a high of $47.76 a barrel in early Asian trading. International benchmark Brent futures opened up almost 1.5 per-cent higher at $49.10 per barrel at 0100 GMT.
The Saudi King’s death comes amid some of the biggest shifts in oil markets in decades.
“The fear of the unknown is going to be supportive to crude oil prices,” said John Kilduff, partner, Again Capital LLC in New York.
“King Abdullah was the archi-tect of the current strategy to keep production high and force out smaller players instead of cut-ting,” he added.
Oil prices have more than halved since peaking in June last year as soaring supplies clash with slowing demand.
Booming US shale produc-tion has turned the United States from the world’s biggest oil importer into one of the top producers, producing more than 9 million barrel per day.
To combat soaring output and falling prices, many oil export-ers, such as Venezuela, wanted the 13-member Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to cut output in order to support prices and revenues.
Yet, led by Saudi Arabia, Opec announced last November it was keeping output steady at 30 mil-lion barrels per day.
Brent, which had already fallen to $77 per barrel by the time of the Opec meeting, dropped another quarter over the next month as the market digested the fact Opec would not come to the rescue.
Opec’s decision not to act, led by Saudi Arabia, was aimed at defending market share against US shale producers as well as other non-Opec exporters such as Brazil or Russia.
REUTERS
ECB trillion-euro move offers short-term boost, but at a costFRANKFURT: ECB chief Mario Draghi’s one trillion euros of fresh money could prove the masterstroke that saves the eurozone for now, but it breaks the principle that the bloc acts as one, a move that could ultimately undermine the currency he is trying to save.
In monthly ¤60bn instalments from March, the European Central Bank will buy chiefly government debt at least until September of next year, or as long as is needed to revive infla-tion, which recently swung into reverse.
The commitment to buy until inflation is again headed for an annual increase of about two percent delivers on a promise Draghi made more than two and a half years ago to do “whatever it takes” to protect the euro. Those words halted speculative bets the financial crisis would destroy the currency.
On Thursday, Draghi pulled off a similar coup, overcoming German opposition to deliver a
larger-than-expected programme of printing money.
European shares responded with their best two-week rally in five years. The value of the euro against the dollar — crucial for exports — fell to $1.265 from $1.40 in May.
But the price Draghi must pay, at Germany’s demand, is a heavy one — abandoning one of the cen-tral principles underpinning the union, that all 19 countries in the euro zone are on an equal footing.
“Before this decision, nobody could have questioned whether monetary policy is ‘single’,” said Guntram Wolff, the head of Brussels think tank Bruegel.
“Now, investors can rightly ask whether monetary policy is single. This question will be an impor-tant issue in the coming months and potentially years.”
For now, the plan may be enough to avert a deflationary spi-ral, where falling prices prompt consumers and businesses to postpone spending, exacerbating an economic slowdown.
Consumer prices fell 0.2 per-cent in December as the price of oil tumbled, but that trend could be reversed by Draghi’s bond-buying.
An internal ECB study two weeks ago suggested that 500 bil-lion euros of quantitative easing, or money printing, would yield an increase in inflation of 0.2 to 0.4 percentage points, said a source familiar with the deliberation.
That calculation would imply that the current programme, double the size, would add as much as 0.8 percentage points — albeit over many months.
Europe’s leaders, from Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to France’s Francois Hollande were quick to welcome the ECB’s move. They promised to continue deliv-ering economic reforms, some-thing Draghi has said is vital for money printing to work.
“We must speed up (reforms) ... this is what France will do,” Hollande told reporters after arriving at the Davos World Economic Forum.
REUTERS
Gold slips from 5-month high as dollar gainsSINGAPORE: Gold dropped below $1,300 an ounce yesterday, pulling back from five-month highs, as the dollar strength-ened after the European Central Bank launched a multi-billion bond-buying programme to reinvigorate the euro zone economy.
The precious metal, seen as a hedge against inflation, jumped on Thursday after the ECB pledged to spend more than 1 trillion euros to revive growth and ward off deflation.
Gold has since pared some of those gains as the euro touched a fresh 11-year trough against the dollar and the metal found it tough to stay above the $1,300 psychological level.
“There are two forces at play. The first is technical in the sense that the $1,300 handle appears to be a very strong resistance to gold at this juncture,” said Barnabas Gan, analyst at OCBC Bank. “The second is the fact that dollar has been firmer after the ECB’s move.”
Spot gold was down 0.4 per-cent at $1,296.40 an ounce by 0711 GMT, after hitting a session high of $1,302.50. Bullion peaked at $1,306.20 on Thursday, its highest since August 15, and was still headed for a third straight weekly gain.
REUTERS
Russia faces $40bn battle to stave off banking crisisMOSCOW: Russia may have to spend more than $40bn this year to avert a banking crisis, as the growing likelihood of a sharp recession threatens to pile extra costs on a sector suf-fering from Western sanctions over Ukraine and a plunge in the rouble.
Russian banks are seeing a deterioration in their loan quality, a rise in their risk management costs and increase in their cost of funding, and banking executives and analysts predict things are going to get worse.
This represents a major chal-lenge to President Vladimir Putin, who took power 15 years ago in the ashes of a crisis that wiped out the financial system, and whose popularity partly rests on his reputation for restoring stability.
“We expect a contraction in the number of small, medium and large banks this year,” Mikhail Zadornov, head of VTB 24, the retail arm of No. 2 bank VTB, said on Thursday. “It will be hard for all banks. The weakest will leave the market,” he said.
Russia’s central bank has already relaxed regulation of banks, and the government has pledged support of more than 1.2
trillion roubles ($19bn) this year after spending more than 350bn roubles in 2014. But analysts say this is a fraction of what is needed.
The anti-crisis measures will significantly add to pressures on Russia’s international reserves and the budget, which is already forecast to run a deficit of up to 3 percent of gross domestic product this year, hurt most by a collapse in oil prices which is withering the country’s export revenues.
“To preserve the status quo, banks may need far more capi-tal than 1 trillion roubles,” said Yaroslav Sovgyra, associate man-aging director for Moody’s ratings agency in Russia.
“One trillion would boost their capital (adequacy ratio) by about 200 basis points. But on the other hand because of credit losses you’ll see a reduction in capital by roughly 500 basis points.”
One further problem is that the government’s planned capi-tal injection comes with strings attached: Russian banks are being asked to increase lending to core sectors of the economy by around 12 percent. That could further stretch their capital.
The government is soon to distribute up to 1 trillion roubles
of OFZ treasury bonds issued late last year to banks includ-ing VTB, Gazprombank and Rosselkhozbank, all state-control-led and under sanctions imposed by Western countries to punish Russia for its involvement in Ukraine.
VTB and Gazprombank are also expected to receive money from the National Wealth Fund, a sovereign fund originally intended to support the pension system, of over 200 billion roubles.
Top bank Sberbank could also attract a subordinated loan of up to 600bn roubles from the cen-tral bank, its main shareholder, or extend an existing loan from the regulator. It has said it is too early to talk about a new loan for now.
BNP Paribas estimates that Russian banks could need up to 2.7 trillion roubles ($42bn) in additional capital to support lend-ing and absorb credit losses.
Such figures would amount to almost 20 percent of planned fed-eral budget expenditure this year.
Sberbank Chief Executive German Gref said last week that Russian banks would need to cre-ate about 3 trillion roubles of pro-visions this year should oil prices average around $45 a barrel.
REUTERS
People walk past a board showing currency exchange rates in central Moscow, yesterday. Russia’s rouble strengthened by around one percent against the dollar at market opening yesterday.
RBC bids for City National Corp
A City National Bank office is in downtown Los Angeles, California, yesterday. Royal Bank of Canada is pushing deeper into the US wealth management business, saying it will buy Los Angeles-based City National Corp for $5.4bn.
15SATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.comBUSINESS
Disinflation puts pressure on central banksJapan manufacturing lone bright spot so far this year; China factory activity contractsL O N D O N / B E I J I N G : Businesses across Asia and Europe have slashed prices at the start of the year to drum up trade, surveys showed yester-day, vindicating the European Central Bank’s decision to print money in a bid to revive inflation.
Eurozone firms cut prices at the fastest rate in nearly five years and Chinese factories cut them for the sixth straight month, while economic growth in South Korea slowed sharply, rais-ing the prospect of more easing from central banks in Asia.
The ECB took the policy plunge on Thursday, announcing a gov-ernment bond-buying programme which will pump hundreds of bil-lions of euros in new money into a sagging eurozone economy.
With Chinese factory growth stalling for a second month, expectations are high that Beijing will announce fresh stimulus measures soon.
“2015 is unlikely to be a par-ticularly fantastic year with
regards to global growth,” said Peter Dixon, an economist at Commerzbank.
“There is no doubt that across the world central banks are being a little bit more aggressive. Disinflation has certainly changed the monetary prospects.”
Markit’s Eurozone Composite Flash Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), based on surveys of thousands of companies and seen as a good growth indicator, bounced to a five-month high of 52.2 from December’s 51.4.
That beat the median forecast of 51.8 and marked the 19th month above the 50 line denoting growth.
But Markit said it pointed to first-quarter growth of just 0.2 percent, slightly worse than the 0.3 percent predicted in a Reuters poll last week.
“January’s small rise in the euro zone composite PMI suggests that growth remains very slow, confirming that the ECB’s latest policy support is sorely needed,” said Jennifer McKeown, senior
European economist at Capital Economics.
The index for prices charged slumped to 46.9, its lowest since February 2010, and comes after official data showed con-sumer prices fell 0.2 percent in December, the first negative print since the depths of the financial crisis in 2009.
Falling prices in Britain gave an unexpected boost to retailers there in December, with sales rising 0.4 percent on the month after surging by 1.6 percent in November, the strongest growth in more than a decade.
Business surveys due later on Friday on US manufacturing may highlight concerns that its economy is the only engine driv-ing global growth this year.
Emerging Asian economies will grow at a lacklustre pace this year and next, held back by a slowdown in China and weak global demand, while cooling inflation will prob-ably throw open the door for mon-etary policy easing, a Reuters poll
showed yesterday. China’s HSBC/Markit Flash Manufacturing PMI hovered at 49.8 in January, little changed from December, but the input prices index fell to the low-est since the global financial crisis, reflecting a tumble in oil prices that is spreading disinflationary pressure throughout the globe.
Analysts at Nomura saw more downside pressure on China’s producer prices, “enhancing our concerns over deflation”.
“This looks like a trend and it will affect core inflation at some stage. So the PBOC will very likely react to such deflation con-cerns,” said Chang Chun Hua, an economist at Nomura.
News out of South Korea made for uncomfortable reading as well. Asia’s fourth-largest economy grew a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent in the October-December period, less than half the 0.9 percent expansion in the third quarter.
The Bank of Korea is widely expected to cut interest rates
in the first half of this year. In Thailand, the finance minister urged the central bank to cut rates to help the sputtering economy and said he was worried that the strength of the baht currency will hurt exports, a key growth engine.
Australian investors now see a bigger chance of a rate cut after surprise easing from Canada ear-lier this week, while India last week cut rates earlier than expected and hinted at more to come.
The lone bright spot in Asia was Japan, where manufactur-ers saw a pickup in domestic and overseas orders this month and hired more staff.
But even there the central bank is struggling to reach its 2 percent inflation target two years into so-called ‘Abenomics’ - a mix of aggressive monetary and fis-cal policy and structural reform aimed at pulling the country out of decades of deflation, a fate other global policymakers are desperate to avoid.
REUTERS
Hutchison in talks to by Britain’s O2HONG KONG: Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-Shing’s Hutchison Whampoa said yesterday it is in “exclusive negotiations” to buy mobile phone giant O2 for up to $15.4bn, in a deal that would create Britain’s biggest mobile phone group.
Hutchison confirmed in a statement that it was in talks to buy the company from Spain’s Telefonica for £9.25bn, with a deferred further payment of up to £1bn after completion of the deal.
It said the deal was subject to due diligence and regulatory approvals, adding: “The negotia-tions may or may not result in any transaction.”
Shares in Hutchison, which had been suspended for a short time yesterday morning as reports swirled over the sale, ended up 2.95 percent by the close.
Hutchison already owns Britain’s Three mobile phone network and the purchase of O2 would create the country’s largest mobile company.
The move comes after Hong Kong investment icon Li — a former plastic-flower seller who is now Asia’s richest man — announced this month a $24bn revamp of his vast business empire, and is the latest in a string of purchases.
“Li Ka-shing likes to buy European assets — one of the reasons is they are relatively cheap,” said Kevin Tam, financial analyst at Hong Kong-based Core Pacific-Yamaichi.
The potential acquisition of O2 is part of Li’s quest for interna-tional diversification and steady growth, Tam said.
“Buying a telecoms company can generate a stable growing cashflow... The capital expendi-ture requirement is not very demanding and there isn’t much fluctuation. Stability is the key,” he said.
Hutchison finance director Frank Sixt said the deal would probably face anti-trust scrutiny from the European Commission
A woman speaks on her mobile telephone outside an O2 shop in Loughborough, central England yesterday.
and would not be closed until mid-2016, according to Bloomberg News.
“I like to think that we can
move very quickly in any circum-stance, but you have to achieve the right deal for all sides,” Sixt said.
He added that the deal would
mean Hutchison owns the larg-est mobile operator in Britain by market share.
AFP
Cagamas to seek new investors for first foreign currency sukukKUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Cagamas Bhd will target new investors across the Middle East and Europe for its first for-eign currency sukuk this year.
The state-backed mortgage lender set up a $2.5bn multi-currency sukuk programme in November, after issuing conven-tional bonds in yuan, Hong Kong dollars and US dollars that year.
“We would have to look into new markets where we have not interacted with investors yet, for example, the Middle East, the greater part of Europe, Taiwan and Japan,” chief executive officer Chung Chee Leong told Reuters in an interview.
Foreign investors may be more cautious after Malaysia cut its economic forecast and shrunk its budget for the year, to reflect lower revenues from oil and gas.
“You’ll see some investors may choose to do a more stringent credit assessment before they invest in a Cagamas paper,” said Chung.
“In our new issuance, we may need to engage with them more. They may have more questions, we’ll be happy to answer.” The company’s fundamentals in terms of its capital position, asset qual-ity and profitability were still strong, he added.
Cagamas is aiming to further diversify its investors and will seek more participation from sovereign wealth funds.
“It’s important because it shows that they recognise us as a paper they can invest in. They have a more stringent criteria compared to the funds,” said Chung.
Cagamas provides liquidity to primary lenders of housing loans to promote home ownership, by issuing bonds and sukuk to make those purchases.
It is Malaysia’s second-largest issuer of debt instruments behind the government. The coun-try’s central bank, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and RHB Bank own stakes in the company.
About 52 percent of its current portfolio is Islamic.
For its foreign currency issu-ance last year, the company had met investors in Asia and London to create awareness of its business model. “What they want is diver-sity. The market was looking for issuers from emerging markets like Malaysia,” said Chung.
REUTERS
Davos bosses fret over threats to Net free tradeDAVOS: Business leaders pushing for frictionless free trade have something new to worry about: the potential break-up of the Internet, which today forms the backbone of the global economy.
The issue is a hot topic at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, and the forum is seeking to provide a platform for debate over ways to maintain an open, cross-border Web in the face of pressures for national regulation.
“Is fragmentation happening? Quite frankly, there is a temptation,” said Vittorio Colao, chief executive of mobile telecoms group Vodafone, who pointed to different regulatory regimes as an impediment to network traffic.
A growing volume of business relies on the Internet, from tourism to financial serv-ices, and the Web has empowered firms, especially smaller ones, to find customers in foreign markets who would otherwise be out of reach.
A 2014 report by the Boston Consulting Group estimated the Internet economy will be worth $4.2 trillion in the major Group of 20 (G20) economies by 2016 and, if it were a country, it would rank among the top five in the world, ahead of Germany.
Yet even as the Internet has become embedded in modern life, its interconnected nature has come under attack from inter-ests ranging from governments to corporate brands decrying copyright abuses or fearing
cyber attacks such as those at Sony.Seeking to fill these breaches, national
governments, courts and regulators are pressing for local controls that could “Balkanise” — or fragment — the network.
Government action is not confined to undemocratic regimes such as China. Countries including Brazil, Britain, India, France and the United States also want to crack down on issues ranging from terror-ism to child abuse. Worryingly for business, Boston Consulting estimated that economic growth was slower than it might have been in countries with limitations on online activ-ity, and the difference could amount to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product.
REUTERS
Turkish central bank sees fall in inflation, ratesISTANBUL: Turkish Central Bank Governor Erdem Basci was quoted yesterday as say-ing it was highly likely that inflation and real interest rates would continue to fall, days after delivering a rate cut many economists saw as the start of a moderate easing cycle.
The state-run Anadolu news agency (AA) also quoted Basci as saying that the central bank was planning a “technical step” to reduce euro-denominated deposit rates.
“Strong and balanced growth rests on a three-pronged strat-egy - namely low inflation, low real interest rates and prudent borrowing,” Basci told Anadolu on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
REUTERS
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ENGLANDM Ali c sub b Faulkner ............................... 46I Bell c Starc b Sandhu ............................ 141J Taylor c Faulkner b Henriques .................... 5J Root c Finch b Cummins ......................... 69E Morgan c Haddin b Sandhu ...................... 0J Buttler (run out-Haddin)........................... 25R Bopara b Starc ........................................ 7C Woakes (run out-Haddin) .......................... 0S Broad (not out) ......................................... 0Extras (B-1, LB-4, W-5) ............................. 10Total (for 8 wkts in 50 overs) ............... 303Did not bat: J Anderson, S Finn.Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-51, 3-60, 4-82, 5-93.Bowling: M Starc 10-0-60-1 (w-1); P Cum-mins 10-0-74-1 (w-1); G Sandhu 10-0-49-2; G Maxwell 3-0-22-0; J Faulkner 10-0-59-1 (w-3); M Henriques 7-0-34-1.
AUSTRALIAA Finch b Ali ............................................. 32S Marsh c Bell b Finn ................................ 45S Smith (not out) ..................................... 102C White lbw Finn ......................................... 0G Maxwell c Root b Ali ............................... 37J Faulkner c Bell b Woakes ........................ 35B Haddin c Bell b Woakes .......................... 42M Henriques (run out-Taylor) ....................... 4M Starc (not out) ......................................... 1Extras (LB-3 W-3) ....................................... 6Total (for 7 wkts in 49.5 overs) ............ 304Fall of wickets: 1-76, 2-92, 3-92, 4-161, 5-216, 6-297, 7-302.Bowling: C Woakes 9.5-0-58-2(w-1); J Ander-son 10-0-56-0 (w-1); S Broad 9-0-61-0; M Ali 10-0-50-2 (w-1); S Finn 10-0-65-2; R Bopara 1-0-11-0.
Scoreboard
Smith powers Australia to victory over England Stand-in captain fires ton, Bell’s superb 141 goes in vain HOBART: Steve Smith’s incredible summer continued when he produced an unbeaten century to guide Australia to a three-wicket victory over England in a Tri Series One Day International in Hobart yesterday.
Promoted to the captaincy with regular skipper George Bailey suspended for a second slow over rate breach in 12 months, Smith’s unbeaten 102 enabled Australia to chase down England’s imposing total of 303 for eight.
Australia, also missing the rested David Warner and Shane Watson, made 304 for seven to win with just one ball to spare and remain undefeated in the compe-tition, guaranteeing themselves a berth in the final.
Ian Bell’s brilliant 141 set up the England total, which appeared to be enough for much of the game.
England was still in pole posi-tion when Brad Haddin strode to the wicket for Australia with the home side at 216 for five.
Another 88 runs were needed from 76 balls, but Haddin’s 42 off 29 balls as part of a quickfire 71-run stand turned the game.
Smith, who hit four centuries
in Australia’s four-Test series against India that finished ear-lier in the month, faced 95 balls, hitting six fours and one six.
He paid tribute to the efforts of Haddin and conceded his own confidence was sky high.
“It’s nice to get a few runs again tonight and get the boys over the line,” Smith said.
“I’ll never forget this summer.“I’ve really enjoyed it, I’ve just
got to try and keep going and score runs while I’m going well.
“I thought Haddin really took the pressure off me in the end today.”
England captain Eoin Morgan said his team didn’t make enough in the latter stages of their innings.
“We played good cricket in stages,” he said.
“Ian Bell was magnificent but the last 10 overs let us down a little bit.
“Credit to Australia for how they bowled at the death.”
When the two sides previ-ously met earlier in the tourna-ment, England was beaten by four wickets with more than 10 overs remaining.
However, England bounced
back with an impressive nine-wicket win over India in Brisbane on Tuesday and carried that form into Friday’s innings.
After being sent in to bat, England got off to a great start through Bell and fellow opener Moeen Ali.
Bell, who was unbeaten on 88 against India, made his fourth one-day international century before being caught by Starc from the bowling of rookie paceman Gurinder Sandhu, who finished with figures of 2-49.
He faced 125 balls, hitting 15 fours and one six, and passed two significant milestones during the innings.
Bell started the innings just five runs shy of becoming only
the second Englishman to pass 5,000 one-day international runs in career.
In his 153rd one-day interna-tional, he passed that mark in the third over, and later went on to overtake Paul Collingwood as England’s highest-ever runs scorer in the format as he neared his century.
His opening partnership of 113 with Ali, who scored 46, set up the English innings.
It ended in bizarre fashion, however, with Australia complet-ing a team hat-trick in the last three balls.
Two batsmen, Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler, were run out while Ravi Bopara was bowled by Mitchell Starc. AFP
Australia’s Steven Smith (right) celebrates his century with team-mate Brad Haddin during their Tri Series game against England in Hobart, yesterday.
Ronchi, Elliott set record stand as New Zealand trounce Sri Lanka
DUNEDIN: A record batting blitz by Luke Ronchi and Grant Elliott set New Zealand up for an overwhelming 108-run win over Sri Lanka in their fifth One Day International in Dunedin yesterday.
In a stunning display of power hitting, Ronchi (170 not out) and Elliott (104 not out) bludgeoned an unbeaten 267 to lift New Zealand from 93-5 to 360-5 in their 50 overs in a world record sixth-wicket stand.
After being 90-odd for five, getting us through to that total was something not witnessed too often.
Sri Lanka had their own century-maker in Tillakaratne Dilshan and looked to be in with a chance as long as he was at the crease. But when Dilshan fell for 116 it sparked a spectacular collapse in which Sri Lanka lost eight wickets for just 41 runs in eight overs. Faced with a daunting target of 361 to win in Dunedin, Sri Lanka confidently progressed
to 93 before losing their first wicket when stand-in captain Thirimanne was removed for 45.
After Kumar Sangakkara went cheaply for nine, Mahela Jayawardene (30) joined Dilshan to lift the momentum as the tour-ists reached 211 in the 36th over
But the game turned when strike bowler Trent Boult was brought back into the attack with immediate success bowling Jayawardene to start the slide.
Enter Ronchi to partner Elliott and they mounted an aggressive assault on the Sri Lankan attack.
Ronchi whacked his 170 from 99 balls, smacking nine sixes and 14 fours while setting several milestones along the way.
In addition to the world-record partnership with Elliott, his unbeaten 170 was his maiden ODI century and the highest ODI score by a number seven batsman.
Elliott, who took 96 balls for his 104 showed more restraint at the crease, and like Ronchi he offered few chances. AFP
NEW ZEALANDM Guptill c Sangakkara b Kulasekara ........... 0B McCullum lbw Kulasekara ...................... 25K Williamson c Sangakkara b Perera .......... 26R Taylor c Karunaratne b Thirimanne .......... 20G Elliott (not out) ..................................... 104C Anderson lbw Thirimanne ......................... 8L Ronchi (not out) ................................... 170Extras (LB-1, W-6) ...................................... 7Total (for 5 wkts in 50 overs) ............... 360Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-51, 3-60, 4-82, 5-93.Bowling: Kulasekara 10-0-71-2 (1w); Lakmal 10-0-93-0; Perera 10-0-49-1 (2w); Thirimanne 7-0-36-2 (3w); Senanayake 7-0-58-0; Mendis 2-0-21-0; Dilshan 4-0-31-0.SRI LANKAL Thirimanne c Taylor b Elliott..................... 45T Dilshan c N McCullum b McClenaghan .. 116
K Sangakkara c N McCullum b Elliott ............ 9M Jayawardene b Boult ............................. 30N Kulasekara c Ronchi b Boult ..................... 3J Mendis b Boult ....................................... 18D Chandimal c Ronchi b McClenaghan ......... 0T Perera c Williamson b Boult ....................... 0D Karunaratne c McCullum b Southee ........ 12S Senanayake (not out)................................ 3S Lakmal b Southee .................................... 0Extras (B-4, LB-2, W-10) ........................... 16Total (all out in 43.4 overs) .................. 252Fall of wickets: 1-93, 2-141, 3-211, 4-215, 5-224, 6-233, 7-234, 8-245, 9-252, 10-252 Bowling: Southee 7.4-0-42-2 (1w); Boult 10-0-44-4 (2w); N McCullum 4-0-21-0; McClena-ghan 8-0-56-2 (1w); Elliott 9-0-42-2 (1w); An-derson 5-0-41-0 (1w).Result: New Zealand won by 108 runs.
Scoreboard
New Zealand’s Luke Ronchi (right) celebrates his half century during the fifth one day International cricket match against Sri Lanka in Dunedin at University Oval, yesterday.
NBA: Rose’s best sinks San Antonio Spurs NEW YORK: Derrick Rose scored a game-high 22 points as the Chicago Bulls cruised to a 104-81 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Forward Jimmy Butler added 17 points for the Bulls, who won for only the third time in their past nine games. Forward Pau Gasol tallied 12 points and 17 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season.
San Antonio shot 37.0 percent from the field to spoil a four-game winning streak. Forward Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 16 points, all of which came in the first half, and guard Patty Mills added 12 points off the bench.
Chicago improved to 10-6 against teams from the Western Conference.
Clippers 123, Nets 84Blake Griffin played like
the All-Star starter he was announced as earlier in the day, scoring 22 points by halftime as the Los Angeles Clippers steam-rolled the Brooklyn Nets.
The 22-point first half was Griffin’s biggest output of the season, but he had plenty of help. Clippers center DeAndre Jordan had a double-double by halftime and point guard Chris Paul had 11 of his 17 assists in the first half.
Griffin finished with a
game-high 24 points. Jordan fin-ished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots.
Celtics 90, Trail Blazers 89Guard Evan Turner’s three-
pointer with one second left gave Boston a 90-89 victory over Portland.
Guard Avery Bradley scored 18 points, and forward Jared Sullinger had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Jazz 101, Bucks 99Gordon Hayward contrib-
uted 13 points, two assists and a steal in the fourth quarter, as Utah surged late to overcome Milwaukee.
Despite making 13 three-point-ers through the first three quar-ters, the Jazz entered the fourth trailing 79-76.
A three-pointer from by for-ward Joe Ingles made it an 89-89 game with 6:30 to play, and two free throws by Hayward put the Jazz ahead for the first time since early in the half. AGENCIES
NBA ResultsChicago 104 San Antonio 81
Utah 101 Milwaukee 99
Boston 90 Portland 89
LA Clippers 123 Brooklyn 84
Chicago Bulls guard
Derrick Rose
(centre) is defended
by San Antonio Spurs
forward Tim Duncan (left) and
Tony Parker during the
second half of
their NBA game at
the United Center on Thursday.
NFL: Wagner, Bennett shrug off ball debate NEW YORK: Seattle All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner is not fussed by the deflated ball debate swirling around the New England Patriots and says it does not diminish the respect he has for the Seahawks’ Super Bowl opponents.
“I don’t care. They can be flat. They can be pumped up,” Wagner told reporters about the footballs to be used in Glendale, Arizona for Super Bowl 49 on Feb. 1.
“Someone has to hand them off and someone has to catch them. I’m the guy who has to tackle them, so put as much air as you want in them.”
The NFL is investigating whether footballs used by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the 45-7 NFC title game thumping of the Indianapolis Colts were softer than regulation levels to make them easier to grip, and how they were deflated.
Wagner said the ball pressure “didn’t stop (the Colts) from missing tackles and didn’t stop them from not making the plays
that they were making”. Wagner said his view of the Patriots was unchanged.
“We focus on us and they do what they do. They’re winners. They’ve done this for a long time,” he said about the Patriots, who won three Super Bowls in four years from 2002 and are going to their sixth NFL title game.
“I’ve watched them – growing up– winning. I have respect for them.”
Defensive end Michael Bennett echoed his team mate.
“My opinion (of the Patriots) is the same. Bill Belichick is one of the greatest coaches to ever step foot in a building. Tom Brady is one of the best quarterbacks to play football,” said Bennett.
“The Patriots are one of the greatest football teams to ever exist in this football league. My opinion of them hasn’t changed at all – it’s still all about playing the game.
“We’re playing against a great team so we have to be ready to play against them.” REUTERS
New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady (right) tosses a football to an official on the field in the second half against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts in this January 18, 2015 file photo. The NFL is investigating whether the New England Patriots intentionally deflated footballs during their victory over the Indianapolis Colts in rain-soaked AFC Game.
Pakistan’s Aamer set to make first class return KARACHI: Disgraced Pakistan paceman Mohammad Aamer could return to first-class cricket as early as next month after a relaxation of the conditions of his ban for spot-fixing, an official said yesterday.
Aamer, 22, was banned for five years along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif in a spot fixing case in England in 2010, and the trio were jailed by a UK court in 2011.
The paceman was interviewed
in Lahore yesterday by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the governing body revised the players’ code of con-duct in November last year, add-ing a provision that allows a banned player to play in domestic games a certain period prior to the end of the ban.
A PCB spokesman confirmed Aamer’s potential return.
“It is most likely that Aamer will get reprieve,”said the spokes-man Agha Akber. AFP
19SPORT SATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
Rugby: Wales star Henson signs for second-tier Bristol LONDON: One-time Wales international Gavin Henson will join second-tier Bristol from Premiership side Bath at the end of the season, the Championship club announced yesterday.
Henson, capped 33 times by Wales, has spent two seasons at Bath. Bristol will be the 32-year-old playmaker’s ninth professional club.
“Gavin’s all-round rugby ability will enhance the way that we are trying to develop our game. He’s a good fit for us,” said Bristol rugby director Andy Robinson.
Henson made one appearance for the British and Irish Lions in 2005, but failed to settle at Toulon and Cardiff Blues before arriv-ing at Bath after a season with London Welsh.
The move to Bristol, who are currently top of the Championship, will reunite Henson with first-team coach Sean Holley, who previously worked with him at the Ospreys.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity of working with Andy and, once again, with Sean,” said Henson.
“I want to play rugby and focus on my game. The incentive for me is to show a positive attitude in a Bristol shirt and keep working hard on my performances.”
Henson rose to prominence as the star of the Wales team that won the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2005 -- a feat they would repeat with him in the team in 2008.
But his career has been pock-marked by off-field problems.
He was alleged to have fought with his team-mates at Toulon and was sacked by the Blues in April 2012 after being found to have behaved inappropriately on a flight after a match in Glasgow.
His marriage to Welsh singer Charlotte Church, which ended in 2010, and several appearances on reality television shows also led to accusations he lacked focus on his rugby.
Wallaby Cooper out for months with fractured collarbone BRISBANE: Wallaby fly-half Quade Cooper will be sidelined for up to 12 weeks after frac-turing his collarbone at train-ing, team officials confirmed yesterday.
The 26-year-old playmaker, who was out for 16 weeks last year with a shoulder joint injury, will have surgery on Tuesday.
The decision to have surgery was made yesterday after scans and a consultation with the Queensland Reds’ surgeon.
“It’s disappointing to lose Quade to such an innocuous col-lision during an opposed train-ing session, but this is the nature of contact sport,” Reds coach Richard Graham said.
“Fortunately, we’ve recruited well in the off-season and we’re comfortable we have a number of options available to us.”
Cooper said he was gutted to be missing the start of the season.
“But injury setbacks are some-thing you learn to deal with and this isn’t the first time I’ve had to come back from something like this,” he said.
“There’s a lot of excitement among the (Reds) group for the season, so it’s good motivation for me to give myself every chance of getting back on the field as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, Clermont’s Canadian lock Jamie Cudmore and France centre Aurelien Rougerie have both been ruled out of the French club’s European Champions Cup clash with Saracens this weekend.
Clermont manger Franck Azema said yesterday that the 36-year-old Cudmore had not recovered from a knee injury picked up during Saturday’s European Cup victory at Sale.
Rougerie, 34, underwent sur-gery on his left elbow on Tuesday and is also sidelined.
Two-time European champions Clermont top Pool 1 with a one-point advantage on Saracens after five games. AGENCIES
Sensational Seppi dumps Federer at Australian Open It was great to play in front of a full stadium, says unheralded Italian
Andreas Seppi of Italy shakes hands with Roger Federer of Switzerland after defeating him in their singles, third-round match at the Australian Open in Melbourne yesterday.
MELBOURNE: Italian Andreas Seppi sent shockwaves through the Australian Open yesterday as he toppled four-times champion Roger Federer in one of the greatest Melbourne Park upsets in recent memory.
Ranked 46th in the world and on a 23-match losing streak against top-10 opponents, the 30-year-old Seppi jumped out to a two-set lead and weathered the inevitable comeback to triumph 6-4 7-6(5) 4-6 7-6(5) in the thrill-ing third round encounter played out before a heaving Rod Laver Arena.
With the terraces shrieking through the decisive tiebreaker, Seppi was superb in the nerve-jangling clinches, and his lunging forehand passing shot that kissed the line and sealed the match will be a feature on highlight reels for years to come.
“I just tried to enjoy to play centre court again,” the unshaven Italian said in a courtside inter-view after ending Federer’s 13-year run to the last 16 at Melbourne Park.
“I just tried to do my best and I think it was one of the best matches (of my career),” Seppi added. “It was great to play in front of a full stadium.”
Seppi had lost all 10 of his pre-vious matches against the sec-ond-seeded Swiss, who was also riding a 22-match winning streak against Italian opposition.
Having lived dangerously in the second round with a four-set win over another Italian in Simone Bolelli, 33-year-old Federer was off-colour from the start, shank-ing wild forehands well outside the lines and failing to convert a raft of break-points on a glorious, sunny day.
“I guess I won the wrong points out there today,” a gloomy Federer told reporters.
“The end wasn’t pretty... I just
somehow couldn’t play my best tennis today and it was partially because Andreas played very well today.
“Maybe the rhythm was miss-ing but I feel like that very often (before matches).”
His downfall robs the tourna-ment of one of its most dependa-ble guests, the Swiss having made the semi-finals or better in his 11 previous campaigns.
The upset also tore open the bottom half of the draw, giving the likes of Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal added hope of adding to their Grand Slam tallies.
Briton Murray will have to negotiate his Wimbledon nem-esis next, however, after setting up a fourth-round clash against
rising Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov by beating Portugal’s Joao Sousa at Hisense Arena.
The Scottish sixth seed was mostly in top form in his emphatic 6-1, 6-1, 7-5 win over Sousa but Dimitrov, who ended his Wimbledon title defence last year, will be his first real test.
The 23-year-old Bulgarian was dragged into a five-set dog-fight by 2006 finalist Marcos Baghdatis, the match playing out in a foot-ball-crowd atmosphere at rowdy Showcourt Three.
The big-hearted Cypriot rode a huge wave of support from Melbourne’s ethnic Greek fans onto a two sets-to-one lead before ultimately losing the battle of fit-ness 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Another young player expected to rock the tennis establishment, Canadian seventh seed Genie Bouchard laboured early at Rod Laver Arena against Caroline Garcia but went on a seven-game tear to bagel the Frenchwoman, winning 7-5 6-0.
“I don’t think it was the pret-tiest tennis out there today,” the hard-hitting 20-year-old said. “I’m just happy I got through even though I wasn’t playing my best.”
Bouchard will next face 42nd-ranked Romanian Camelia Irina-Begu, who will make her fourth round debut in a Grand Slam, unlike the other six qualifiers that have made the last-16 of the women’s draw.
The absence of women’s
champion Li Na has left a hole for organisers of the “Asia-Pacific” grand slam, but Peng Shuai has taken on Li’s mantle with aplomb, continuing the pattern of late-blooming Chinese women.
The 21st seed and US Open semi-finalist eased past Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova 7-6(7) 6-3 to reach the fourth round, matching her best per-formance at Melbourne Park in 2011.
Men’s seventh seed Tomas Berdych continued his tranquil run, blasting Serb Viktor Troicki 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, while women’s third seed Simona Halep was safely through with a 6-4, 7-5 win over flamboyant American Bethanie Mattek-Sands. REUTERS
Australian Open Results
Men’s Singles Third Round: Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x10) bt Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; Tomas Berdych (CZE x7) bt Viktor Troicki (SRB) 6-4, 6-3, 6-4; Andy Murray (GBR x6) bt Joao Sousa (POR) 6-1, 6-1, 7-5; Andreas Seppi (ITA) bt Roger Federer (SUI x2) 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5); Bernard Tomic (AUS) bt Sam Groth (AUS) 6-4, 7-6 (10/8), 6-3.
Women’s Singles Third Round: Ekaterina Makarova (RUS x10) bt Karolina Pliskova (CZE x22) 6-4, 6-4; Julia Goerges (GER) bt Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 7-6 (8/6), 7-5; Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) bt Sara Errani (ITA x14) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; Peng Shuai (CHN x21) bt Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 7-6 (9/7), 6-3; Eugenie Bouchard (CAN x7) bt Caroline Garcia (FRA) 7-5, 6-0; Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) bt Carina Witthoeft (GER) 6-4, 6-4; Simona Halep (ROU x3) bt Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) 6-4, 7-5; Maria Sharapova (RUS x2) bt Zarina Diyas (KAZ x31) 6-1, 6-1
Order of PlayRod Lavser Arena
30-Vsarvsara Lepchenko (US) vs 6-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland); 1-Serena Williams
(US) vs 26-Elina Svsitolina (Ukraine); 4-Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) vs Jarkko Nieminen
(Finland)
Not before 0800
1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) vs 31-Fernando Vserdasco (Spain); 4-Petra Kvitova (Czech
Republic) vs Madison Keys (US)
Margaret Court Arena
Camila Giorgi (Italy) vs 18-Vsenus Williams (US)
12-Feliciano Lopez (Spain) vs Jerzy Janowicz (Poland)
25-Barbora Zahlavsovsa Strycovsa (Czech Republic) vs Vsictoria Azarenka (Belarus)
Not before 0800
9-Davsid Ferrer (Spain) vs 18-Gilles Simon (France)
Hisense Arena
24-Garbine Muguruza (Spain) vs Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland)
Benjamin Becker (Germany) vs 8-Milos Raonic (Canada)
Coco Vsandeweghe (US) vs Madison Brengle (US)
Not before 0600
Stevse Johnson (US) vs 5-Kei Nishikori
Late finish to year had no impact on Melbourne loss, says Federer MELBOURNE: A late end to last season that included a successful Davis Cup final and matches in India had no impact on Roger Federer’s surprise third round loss to Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open yes-terday, the second seed has said.
Federer, who had back trouble towards the end of 2014, helped Switzerland to their first Davis Cup victory in late November before he played the matches in India, ending his year later than usual.
“I don’t think I did anything wrong honestly. I wanted to go to India. I wanted to go back to Switzerland for Christmas,” Federer told reporters after his shock 6-4 7-6(5) 4-6 7-6(5) loss to the world number 46.
“I practised as hard as I possibly could. Sure, the year ended late, but one week later than normal. “At the end of the day, honestly I’m confident that what I did was the right thing.”
Federer had never lost to Seppi in their pre-vious 10 encounters and had entered the sea-son opening grand slam with some momentum after winning the Brisbane International title.
He also felt he was playing as well as he ever had.
A comfortable first round victory over Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun was followed with a below-par performance against Italy’s Simone Bolelli, in which he dropped the first set.
Practice had been fine, he said, though he had a slight sense of foreboding while prepar-ing for the clash.
“I felt for some reason yesterday and this
morning it was not going to be very simple,” he said. “Even in practice I still felt the same way.”
Even then, he still felt he had been striking the ball well and it would pass, but it seemed yesterday was just a case that everything Seppi did came off.
Net cords dropped on the right side of the net, drives kissed the line, crucial points went in the Italian’s favour.
In short, it was just one of those days.“I definitely wanted to go into the match,
play aggressive, play the right way, play on my terms, but it was just hard to do (and) ... somehow couldn’t play my best tennis,” the 17-times Grand Slam winner added.
“It had things to do with Andreas’ game and with my game as well.
“You put those things together, all of a sud-den you’re playing a match you don’t want to play.
“The rallies are going in a way you don’t like it.
“It wasn’t all bad. It’s just when it counted the most somehow it just ended up going his way.” REUTERS
Roger Federer during a press
conference in
Melbourne yesterday.
Murray, Dimitrov in Slam re-match MELBOURNE: Andy Murray has set up a mouth-watering clash with Grigor Dimitrov and a chance to avenge his defeat at Wimbledon after hammering Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-1, 6-1, 7-5 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open yesterday.
The Briton had his Wimbledon title defence ended by Dimitrov in the quarter-finals last year and will face the rising Bulgarian after he prevailed in a five-set dog-fight against Marcos Baghdatis.
“It will be a tough match obvi-ously,” sixth seed Murray told reporters.
“He’s played well in the Slams the last year or so. Yeah, he’s obvi-ously a talented player. You know,
he’s one of the young guys trying to make a breakthrough, so he’ll be motivated.
“Hopefully I can play a good match and make it tough for him,” he said.
Murray heads into the match without dropping a set, but was disappointed with himself for allowing 55th-ranked Sousa to recover a break in the third set and hurled his racquet in disgust.
Murray would blow two match points before closing it out but the Scot may take some comfort that Dimitrov was made to work much harder against big-hearted Cypriot Baghdatis, who famously made the 2006 final without a seeding.
The 23-year-old Dimitrov clawed back from a set down at a rowdy Showcourt Three to win 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 a confidence-building win after having felt like he had got out of the wrong side of bed in the morning.
“Because it’s not every day you wake up in the morning and you feel 100 percent to play tennis,” the 10th seed said.
“Especially on days like that, it’s really important to keep your sanity, you know, give what you got, play with what you have.
“So to me (it) was just one of those days that pretty much noth-ing was going my way.”
Dimitrov, who was well beaten by the Scot at the Paris Masters
-- a defeat that cost him a spot in the season-ending ATP Tour Finals -- said he expected a differ-ent Murray to come out than the listless opponent he despatched at Wimbledon.
“I think we all know that,” he said. “I think all the other matches have been always close against him.
“We always had good battles. We know how we play, so there’s no secrets out on the court, which is in a way nice to have.
“At least you know what to expect.
“I think it’s going to come down to those kind of little moments that we can use,” he told reporters yesterday. REUTERS
20 SPORTSATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
Four share lead at Doha Golf ClubQatar Masters: Defending champion Sergio Garcia struggles big time in third round
LEFT: Emiliano Grillo tees off in the third round lead of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Doha Golf Club (DGC) yesterday. RIGHT: Marc Warren of Scotland, who carded a 67 to share
the third-round lead, is seen in action at DGC yesterday.
PICTURES: QASSIM RAHMATULLAH
Austria No. 1 Bernd Wiesberger, who carded a 68 to share the third-round
lead at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, swings at DGC
yesterday.
BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: Branden Grace and Bernd Wiesberger yesterday played steady golf to remain bunched with two others at the top of the Qatar Masters lead-erboard but defending cham-pion Sergia Garcia slipped down the pecking order with a couple of horrible double bogeys and three bogeys.
Garcia, 35, yesterday carded a five-over par 77 at the Doha Golf Club (DGC) where Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo struck purple patch to join Grace, Wiesberger and Scotland’s Marc Warren as the four players ended round three with an aggregate of 13 under par 203.
Grillo matched Warren’s total with a bogey-free round of 67 while his playing partner South Africa’s Grace birdied the last hole to join the day’s leaders under bright playing conditions.
Austria’s Wiesberger also bird-ied 18 to share the lead for a sec-ond day with Grace.
Two shots behind at 11 under par 205 is a group of three golf-ers which includes South Africa’s George Coetzee, Spain’s Alejandro Canizares and England’s Eddie Pepperell who carded nine bird-ies for an impressive 7 under par yesterday.
Grillo, 22, will be looking to nail his first triumph in the Middle East after finishing runner-up to Stephen Gallacher in Dubai last year.
“We’ve got three great golf courses out here in the Emirates and here in Qatar, and I think that makes it way easier to have a good week and to try to win. I was close in Dubai, one shot short, but I’m going to try tomorrow to get my first one,” said Grillo, Argentina’s second-ranked player behind Angel Cabrera.
Grillo, who has played two rounds without dropping a shot, said he won’t hurry into getting birdies today.
“It’s going to take a lot of patience tomorrow. I was very patient today and I had to wait seven holes to get my first birdie,”
Grillo, who fired five birdies for his 5 under par 72 yesterday, said. “The course was tougher today, so I obviously played better. I hit the ball better, I have a good feeling and want to try to get my first win.
“This is what I play for. This is what I’ve practised for my entire life. I think I have a great chance of taking my first trophy home. You have to learn first to win out here and I think I’ve learned a lot and I think I’m ready.”
Grace, seeking to become the
fourth South African winner of the tournament, following Darren Fichardt (2003), Ernie Els (2005) and Retief Goosen (2007), fired six birdies but got held up by a couple of bogeys - on holes three and four - to card a steady 68.
“It was nice to start off with a birdie, but I got a little bit greedy on the third and the fourth, going for some pins I shouldn’t be going for,” Grace said.
“You learn the hard way through that. It was nice to bounce back the way I did and
finish off the round with a good birdie on 18,” Grace said.
“I still have to play good golf to win. These guys are good and we all play to win and we are all there for a reason, so I’m just going to try to do the same and hopefully be one better,” the South African added.
Wiesberger, 29, finished sixth in Abu Dhabi last week and is look-ing to become the first Austrian winner of the Qatar Masters and add to the two European Tour titles he won in 2012.
Coetzee carded a 70 to share fifth place on 11-under with young Englishman Pepperell and Canizares, who carded a 68 as he continued his remarkable bogey-free fun for a third straight day.
Warren, who carded a 67 yes-terday, said he was pleased with his effort.
“The last few years I’ve shown a lot of progress again. Came close a couple times. Didn’t quite go over the line and that was something that came quite easy, I suppose at the start of my career. Every time
I was in contention, I seemed to win,” said the Scot.
“I’m confident in my ability to do that and it was nice to actually prove it again. It’s one thing to be confident and to actually do it is another thing. Definitely a spring in the step,” he added.
Among the star draws, four-time Major winner Ernie Els (70) sits seven-under, one ahead of World No. 5 Justin Rose (69), while World No. 2 Henrik Stenson (71) is four-under.
THE PENINSULA
Qatar Masters Third Round Scores
DOHA: Leading scores in Doha yesterday in the third round of the Qatar Masters:
203 Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 67-69-67, Branden Grace (RSA) 67-68-68, Marc Warren (SCO) 71-65-67, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 69-66-68
205 George Coetzee (RSA) 68-67-70, Alejandro Cañizares (ESP) 67-70-68, Eddie Pepperell (ENG) 69-71-65
207 Oliver Fisher (ENG) 65-73-69
208 Matthew Baldwin (ENG) 70-68-70, Grégory Bourdy (FRA) 70-68-70, Darren Fichardt (RSA) 67-70-71, Renato Paratore (ITA) 69-69-70, Johan Carlsson (SWE) 74-65-69, An Byeong-Hun (KOR) 67-69-72, Matthew Baldwin (ENG) 70-68-70, Grrgory Bourdy (FRA) 70-68-70, Darren Fichardt (RSA) 67-70-71, Renato Paratore (ITA) 69-69-70, Johan Carlsson (SWE) 74-65-69
209 Ernie Els (RSA) 67-72-70, Benjamin Hébert (FRA) 72-68-69, Michaël Lorenzo-Vera (FRA) 70-70-69, Pablo Larrazábal (ESP) 71-71-67, Rafael Cabrera (ESP) 66-73-70, Thomas Pieters (BEL) 73-68-68, Andy Sullivan (ENG) 71-68-70
210 Justin Rose (ENG) 68-73-69, Mark Foster (ENG) 67-73-70, Seve Benson (ENG) 70-71-69, Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL) 70-73-67, Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 73-70-67, Anders Hansen (DEN) 71-69-70, Shiv Kapur (IND) 70-68-72, Kristoffer Broberg (SWE) 67-71-72, Alexander Norén (SWE) 67-71-72, Magnus Carlsson (SWE) 71-69-70
211 Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 69-73-69, Peter Lawrie (IRL) 70-68-73, Edoardo Molinari (ITA) 71-70-70, Dawie Van der Walt (RSA) 72-69-70, Eduardo De La Riva (ESP) 70-69-72, Felipe Aguilar (CHI) 71-68-72, Julien Quesne (FRA) 70-72-69
212 Maximilian Kieffer (GER) 71-68-73, Álvaro Quirós (ESP) 70-70-72, Ricardo González (ARG) 69-70-73, Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 73-65-74, Tom Lewis (ENG) 72-71-69, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 70-71-71
213 Paul Lawrie (SCO) 67-73-73, Scott Jamieson (SCO) 68-73-72, Peter Uihlein (USA) 69-73-71, Jeev Milkha Singh (IND) 70-70-73, Ross Fisher (ENG) 70-70-73, James Morrison (ENG) 68-70-75, Richard Green (AUS) 70-67-76, Edouard Espana (FRA) 70-73-70
‘Big Ben’ tops Asian hopes at DGC India’s Shiv Kapur (left),
who carded a third-round 72, and European
Tour rookie Ben An Byeong-hun of Korea were the top Asian players in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at
Doha Golf Club yesterday.
DOHA: ‘Big Ben’ An Byeong-hun remained the top Asian at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters for a third straight day, but the tall Korean played down his hopes of victory after an even-par 72 left him eight-under, five shots off the pace.
India’s Shiv Kapur, who played with An for the first two days, also carded an even-par round to remain at six-under, while six-time European Tour winner Thongchai Jaidee shot 69 to move to five-under at Doha Golf Club.
Jeev Milkha Singh (73) was three-under after a 73, while big-hitting Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat dropped back to two-under after a 75.
Standing almost six-foot three-inches tall, the laid-back An cut a relaxed figure despite an unre-markable day at the office that left him in a share of ninth, still an impressive performance in his tournament debut.
“It wasn’t very good. I just didn’t get anything going. I wasn’t hitting it right, my driver wasn’t
going good and I didn’t really hit it close enough to have any chances. It was just one of those bad rounds,” said An, who has lived in the USA for the past decade.
“I enjoyed playing the first two rounds with Shiv. I’ve known him for two or three years now, so it was fun to play with someone I know.”
Now in his rookie season on The European Tour, An finished 12th in Abu Dhabi last week, but admitted that he wasn’t putting himself under undue pressure to become the first Asian winner of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
“It won’t happen if I play like I did today, that’s for sure. If I pull
out one of my best rounds of the year, I might have a chance, but it all depends on other players and there are too many other players in front of me,” An said.
“I’d like to get top 10. Right now, I’m ninth, but I’ll try my best to raise my position. I’ll stay patient. I could have a great day, a bad day, so we’ll see tomorrow.
I just have to be patient.” An, who won the 2009 US Amateur Championship as a 17-year-old, started last year ranked World No. 445, but is now No. 166 after an impressive third season on the European Challenge Tour, where he has developed his game since turning pro in 2011.
THE PENINSULA
Qatar Masters organisers announce refund policy DOHA: The following is the policy for gaining a refund as a result of the cancellation of the evening entertainment at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters as a mark of respect for the late King of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Those people who purchased a ticket for the Golf for Friday 23 January 2015 at QR250 or Season Ticket holders will be entitled to a refund of QR50, that being the difference between the purchase price of their ticket and the ‘normal’ weekend ticket price of QR200. Those people who purchased a VIP Concert ticket at QR500 will have their money refunded in full
Those people wishing to claim a refund should keep their non-redeemed tickets or wristband for Friday 23 January and present it at the reception of the Doha Golf Club, whereupon they will be issued with the refund.
Refunds cannot be claimed during the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters tournament but can be collected from Wednesday 28 January until Sunday 01 February. The Organisers of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters apologise for any inconvenience or disappoint-ment caused as a result of this unforeseen circumstance.
THE PENINSULA
Kids enjoy their round
of golf at the Family Zone at Doha Golf Club (DGC) yesterday. QAFCO are
the sponsors the popular Family Zone during the four-day
European Tour event,
which is currently
being held at DGC.
21SATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.comSPORT
Iraq, UAE enter semis on day of Asian Cup upsets SYDNEY: The United Arab Emirates shocked holders Japan and Iraq sent their arch-rivals Iran crashing out as a stunning night of upsets turned the Asian Cup on its head yesterday.
A double-header of quarter-finals ended in two penalty shoot-outs in Canberra and Sydney, with UAE and Iraq surviving moments of intense drama to come out on top.
Their stars shone with UAE wizard Omar Abdulrahman and Iraq’s Younis Mahmoud, hero of their 2007 title run, both slotting outrageous “panenka” penalties in the shoot-outs.
But Japan’s leading lights Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa had a night to forget, and 10-man Iran were left cursing Australian referee Ben Williams.
UAE’s 5-4 win on penalties, after it finished 1-1 after extra-time, puts Mahdi Ali’s men into a semi-final against hosts Australia in Newcastle.
Iraq will play South Korea as they bid to repeat their aston-ishing 2007 win and bring joy to their homeland, where thousands of fans blasted celebratory gunfire on Friday.
Iraq outlasted Iran 7-6 on pen-alties after a match of scarcely believable drama ended 1-1 on 90 minutes and 3-3 after the extra periods.
Iran’s coach Carlos Queiroz was incensed at Mehrdad Pooladi’s first-half sending-off when he received a second yel-low card from referee Williams for simulation.
“Can he (Williams) sleep tonight? It’s just a question,” said Queiroz, who had to be restrained by his players after the dismissal in the match.
“If it’s necessary I put my knees to the ground to show my respect and humble attitude to ask him
how we understand this decision, you tell me.” There was no sign of the fireworks to come when talented young striker Sardar Azmoun nodded Iran in front on 24 minutes.
But sparks flew when Pooladi was cautioned for simulation, and then sent off when Williams real-ised it was his second yellow.
A furious Queiroz, fined $3,000 for criticising Williams after Iran’s win against Bahrain, had to be held back as the teams and officials came off at half-time.
And the dismissal turned out to be critical as Iraq levelled through Ahmed Yaseen to force extra-time, and then went ahead
via the head of captain Mahmoud.Iran levelled through Morteza
Pouraliganji – but the defender then conceded a penalty by clat-tering into Yaser Kasim, which Dhurgham Ismael dispatched.
Iraq seemed to have it won, but Iranian substitute Reza Ghoochannejhad dramatically headed in at the death of extra-time to force penalties.
Both sides missed their first kicks but then scored six each, including Mahmoud’s brilliant “panenka”, before Iran’s Vahid Amiry hit the post and Salam Shakir smashed the winner.
The later kick-off in Sydney got off to a sombre start with the
UAE wearing black armbands to make the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, and Ali Mabkhout refused to celebrate when he opened the scoring in the seventh minute.
Mabkhout walked away with his arms by his sides when he blasted home a fierce volley to give his side a shock lead against the four-time champions.
Japan, looking leggy in their fourth game with an unchanged starting line-up, pressed without reward until the 81st minute, when substitute Gaku Shibasaki rifled in the equaliser.
The Blue Samurai almost snatched the winner when
Shibasaki’s free kick flashed wide, but the UAE hung on to force the sudden death shoot-out.
And while Abdulrahman chipped the second “panenka” of the night, Japanese stars Honda and Kagawa both missed before Ismail Ahmed thumped the cru-cial kick home.
“I am very proud of my team’s performance,” said Japan’s coach Javier Aguirre, who is battling a match-fixing claim from his time working in Spain.
“We gave everything we had over 120 minutes. When the game goes to penalties, it is a 50 per-cent chance of winning,” added the coach. AFP
UAE’s Ismail Ahmed
celebrates his match winning
penalty kick during the
penalty shoot out in their Asian
Cup quarter-final match
against Japan at the Stadium
Australia in Sydney, yesterday.
RIGHT: Iraqi players celebrate after the penalty shootout of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 quarter-final match
against Iraq in Canberra.
Iraq stun arch-rivals Iran, UAE shock holders Japan on penalties
Germany’s Podolski to bow out after Euro 2016 BERLIN: Germany forward Lukas Podolski says he plans to retire from international football following Euro 2016 in France after more than a dec-ade of playing for the reigning world champions.
The 29-year-old midfielder has made 121 appearances for Germany, having made his debut in 2004, and the France tour-nament would be his fourth European Championships of his career.
He was part of the squad which lifted their fourth World Cup title in Rio de Janeiro last July, but only played in the group stages and has not held down a regular starting place since the 2012 edi-tion of Euro.
“The European Championships will be the last major tournament for me,” the Inter Milan star told German daily Bild in an interview yesterday.
“I have already achieved my main goal of winning the World Cup. No one can take that away from me.”
Germany have struggled in their Euro 2016 qualifying cam-paign and are third in the group after a shock defeat to Poland and draw at home with the Republic of Ireland.
Podolski, who was voted the best young player at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, is on loan in Italy from Arsenal until the end of the season.
He joined the Gunners from Cologne in 2012 – the club he started out at before a three-year hiatus with Bayern from 2006 to 2009 – had not played a league match for the Gunners this season.
Podolski helped Inter seal a place in the Italian Cup quarter-final with a 2-0 win over ten-man Sampdoria on Wednesday and says he is still finding his feet.
“When I find my rhythm, I am convinced that I can help the team,” he said, with Inter ninth in the Italian League table.
“Our goal is to reach the Champions League, but that is a very difficult task.” AFP
Nedobity grabs pole at the Qatar Challenge DOHA: Pavel Nedobity took the pole position of the fourth round of Qatar Challenge with a time of 2:27.390 at the qualify-ing session.
At the Losail track yesterday, the Lotus driver, dominated all the sessions of the day and hopes to get a good result today and take the first win of the season.
The leader of the championship Mark Holroyd, made the second best lap time with a gap of 1.072.
Peter De Vido claimed third while Abdullah Al Kharaan ended in fourth position.
Qatar Challenge race startsto-day at 11:55am.
Meanwhile, at the first race of the third round of Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, the winner was the leader of the champion-ship, Clemens Schmid from Al Nabooda Racing Team.
Schmid who started in the first position of the grid, lead the race until the end and gave no chance to Saeed Al Mehairi who finished in second place with a gap of 6.157 behind Schmid. Zaid Ashkanani from BuZaid GT ended in third position.
In the Radical Middle East Cup
practices yesterday, in the free practice 1, the Qatari driver Amro Al Hamad and Rob Wheldon of Alpha Shell Qatar Racing made the best time, 1:59.470 and Ludo Loffreda and Romain Lutter from Lucco Racing team were the fast-est car in the Free practice 2 with a time 1:59.948.
The first race for Radical today will be at 13:45 and second race at 16:20.
To pay respect to the passing of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, all the podium ceremonies after the races have been cancelled.
Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah, QMMF President and LIC General Manager expressed his happiness to host three champi-onships at the same weekend.
“It is a pleasure to host for the third time in a row a round of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East and for second year the Radical Middle East,” he said.
Walter Lechner , Promoter and Head of Lechner Racing, thanked to Al Attiyah for the continuous support to Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East.
THE PENINSULA
Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah
(right), QMMF President and
Walter Lechner, Promoter and Head of Lechner
Racing, meet on the sidelines
of the Qatar Challenge
at the Losail International
Circuit, yesterday.
Porsche GT3 Cup: Schmid claims Race 1, Mehairi runner-up at LosailDOHA: Al Nabooda Racing’s Clemens Schmid led from start to finish in Race 1 of Round 3 in the region’s most competitive racing series, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, at Losail International Circuit in Qatar yesterday extending his lead at the top of the Drivers’ Standings.
Finishing second in the race was Saeed Al Mehairi of Skydive Dubai Falcons, defending cham-pion Zaid Ashkanani was third with Qatari resident Charlie Frijns taking fourth position to the delight of his home fans in the stands.
In a change of timing, Race 1 of Round 3 took place during daylight hours with the drivers usually competing under the floodlights.
The earlier start certainly didn’t mean any less drama as the region’s top drivers took to the track in search of points and silverware.
After a sensational start in which he rocketed off the line, Schmid was out of reach of nearly all his nearest competitors for the entire race securing maximum points for the UAE-based driver which sees him move further ahead of his closest championship rival, Kuwait’s Ashkanani.
It was a composed and near-perfect drive from the former champion who goes into Race 2 of Round 3 as firm favourite after showing his dominance at Losail.
Speaking after Race 1 of Round 3 Schmid said: “I had a brilliant start and the guys behind me were fighting really hard for their positions so I immediately got away,” he said.
After starting third on the grid the rapidly emerging talent of Al Mehairi from the UAE’s Skydive
Dubai Falcons once again proved he’s a forced to be reckoned with and followed up his strong finishes in Round 2 in Dubai by finishing second.
From the moment the starting lights went out Schmid’s accel-eration was exceptional as he stormed to the front of the pack while Ashkanani struggled from second.
Al Mehairi and Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum both started with Al Mehairi up one place and Al Maktoum up two.
After a poor first lap Ashkanani found himself down in fourth place behind the Skydive Dubai duo with Frijns also vying for position. As the group came down
the straight for lap two they were four abreast with pedals on the floor giving the team managers an anxious moment as they reached the first turn.
As the drivers settled into their rhythm it was Al Mehairi who staked his claim for second with Ashkanani third, Sheikh Hasher fourth and Frijns fifth.
Down the pack Ahmad Al Harthy suffered the misfortune of running wide at the double right hander which cost him two valu-able places.
The slip also meant his col-lected a fair amount of gravel on the tyres and underside which left him struggling to mount a chal-lenge from ninth.
Capitalising on Al Harthy’s bad luck Raed Raffii was quick to pounce and moved up to seventh were he stayed neat and tight to close the gap on sixth but was ultimately unable to improve on his position as Al Harthy man-aged to make up a place and secure eighth.
As the race reached its clos-ing stages Frijns finally managed to take his chance and make the most of a rare Al Maktoum mis-take to take fourth.
The region’s leading drivers will line-up in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup again as the star attractions at Losail International Circuit for Race 2 of Round 3 today.
THE PENINSULA
Al Nabooda Racing’s Clemens Schmid in action during Race 1 of Round 3 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, yesterday at the Lusain International Circuit.
PROTHOM ALO WEEKLY
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SPORT22SATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
Qatar overcome Belarus, finish second in Group ASpain top Group A to play Tunisia next, Brazil qualify for last-sixteenDOHA: Qatar finished their group phase campaign of the 24th Men’s Handball world Championship on a winning note to finish second in the group.
Yesterday at Losail Multipurpose Hall the hosts defeated Belarus 26-22 in a closely contested match.
Everything was set in Group A before the start of the last match. Qatar had qualified for the pre-quarter-finals and were sure to finish second in the group after Spain, while Belarus had lost their last hope of reaching the last 16 with Brazil’s win against Chile earlier in the evening.
In a game, where only the hon-our was at stake for both sides, Belarus got the better start and went up 4-2 followed by several further two-goal leads.
Towards half time, the Belarusians even increased to five goals at 11-6 which made Qatar coach Valero Rivera take his sec-ond time out with two and a half minute left of the first half.
This could not prevent Belarus from still being five goals up at half time, at which point they were leading 12-7.
The aggressive Belarusian defence with left wing Ivan Brouka pushing forward in a 5-1 formation frustrated the Qataris who had difficulties in the attack in the first 30 minutes.
In the second half, Qatar played much more like their previous matches and it only took them 10 minutes to catch up with the Belarusian’s five-goal lead from half-time 14-14.
Exactly one minute later, the hosts even took the lead for the first time since 1-0, as they made it 15-14.
From that point on, Qatar left no real doubt about what the result would be.
The one-goal lead was extended to four, and even though Belarus managed to reduce the distance to two goals a couple of times, they never got any closer and at the end, Qatar took a four-goal win.
Right back Zarko Markovic scored nine times for Qatar while Dzianis Runtenka scored seven for Belarus.
Earlier, at the same venue Brazil defeated Chile 30-22 to qualify for the pre-quarter-finals.
At Duhai l Sports Hall , Spain defeated Slovenia 30-26 to finish on top of the group. The 2013 winners now will play against Tunisia in the pre-quarter-finals knockout stage.
On Sunday, Qatar will take on Austria, while Brazil will face Croatia. In another match, Macedonia square to Slovenia. THE PENINSULA
Qatar 2015 volunteers paint Doha in orangeDOHA: They are busy painting the town ‘orange’.
No, we are not talking about The Netherlands here, but of men and women, who are busy pro-viding the much-needed assist-ance at the three venues hosting the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship (Qatar 2015).
Be it a query from a journalist or a spectator looking for direc-tions, they can be seen lending the helping hand with a billion dollar smile.
Step into the lobby of your hotel and chances are you would see them there too. What’s more, they would be speaking in the very language that you would be conversant in.
The reason – Qatar currently is the centre of the universe espe-cially when it comes to diverse cultures and people.
Yes, they are the volunteers
for the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship, who can be credited with making the event a hugely successful one.
Imagine, what it would have been like if these 1800 volun-teers, who are there to assist you at the Lusail Multipurpose Hall, the Duhail Sports Hall and the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena in Al Sadd were not there?
Volunteers are actually the backbone of an event of this magnitude.
In fact, they are so vital for an Olympic event that the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games Organising Committee brought out an Official Report defining the term and their scope. The same was later presented in the form of a symposium titled ‘Volunteers, Global Society and the Olympic Movement’ by Spanish authors Ana Belén Moreno, Miquel de
Moragas and Raúl Paniagua in 1999.
The Olympic glossary of the Barcelona Olympics defines the volunteer as “a person who makes an individual, altruistic commitment to collaborate, to the best of his/her abilities in the organisation of the Olympic Games, carrying out the tasks assigned to him/her without receiving payment or rewards of any other nature.”
However, volunteering at major events goes back even further. Their role first appeared at the Lake Placid Winter Games in 1980, with the creation of a vol-unteer programme involving some 6,000 volunteers.
In fact, during the 2006 Asian Games in Doha the number of the volunteers had reached 16 thousand.
What’s more these were
actually shortlisted from 30 thousand applicants, world-wide. During the Arab Games in December 2011, 4,000 volunteers had signed up for the regional multisport event that featured 29 exciting sports and 6,000 ath-letes and officials from 21 Arab countries.
Earlier that year, during the AFC Asian Cup more than one thousand volunteers signed up for the biggest continental foot-ball showpiece. At the Qatar 2015, the volunteers can been seen dawning the official colours of the Championship with hues of orange and grey.
Try and speak to a volunteer about how tough his or her job is and the chances are you would get smile in return and maybe just “I am enjoying it…” sentence.
That’s what the Olympic spirit is all about! THE PENINSULA
24th Men’s World Handball Championship
Yesterday’s Results
Group A:
Brazil 30 Chile 22
Qatar 26 Belarus 22
Spain 30 Slovenia 26
Group B:
Croatia 28 Bosnia-Heregovina 21
Tunisia 30 Iran 23
Macedonia 36 Austria 31
Qualified Teams
Teams which have qualified so far for the pre-quarter-finals
Group A: Spain, Qatar, Slovenia, Brazil
Group B: Croatia, Macedonia, Austria, Tunisia
Group C: Sweden, France, Egypt
Group D: Germany, Denmark, Poland,
France, Sweden clash to decide Group C leaderDOHA: France and Sweden Group C clash will decide which of the two will finish atop the group at the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship.
Both top medal contend-ers are equal in points, but the Scandinavians have the clearly better goal difference prior to this re-match of the 2012 Olympic final, won then by the France.
Also today, two remaining pre-quarter-finalists will be spotted from Group C and D.
In the Group C, out of the two contenders Iceland and Czech Republic, the latter is comfort-ably placed.
Iceland need to win against Egypt to remain ahead of the Czechs, who take one Algeria.
After three straight and mostly clear defeats in their first three matches, the Czechs rose like a Phoenix on Thursday.
But they do not have their own fate in their hands, trailing Iceland by one point. They need to beat Algeria and have to hope that Egypt at least ties with Iceland to proceed to the knock-out stage.
In Group D, both Russia and Argentina are in the race.
A draw is enough for Argentina, three points, while the Russians, with two points, need to win this duel to clinch the final pre-quar-ter-final spot from this group.
“We have to continue on the ways we played against Poland and Germany, then we have a chance to make it to the eighth-finals,” Argentine coach Eduardo Gallardo said.
“We are prepared and we are aware of the importance of this match,” said Russian coach Oleg Kuleshov.
In the other matches of the group, Saudi Arabia take on Germany.
The Saudis are by far the weakest team of this group and have lost all their previous four matches so the surprisingly still unbeaten Germans are the favourites. If they win, they are the confirmed group winner, a brilliant base for the knock-out stage.
In the other match of the same group, Denmark face Poland with the winner finishing second in the group. THE PENINSULA
Qatar’s Markovic Zarko (1) scores against Belarus during the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship at Losail Multipurpose Hall yesterday. Qatar won 26-22. RIGHT: Qatar’s Hassab Alla Mahmoud celebrates with fans after winning against Belarus. PICTURES BY: BAHER AMIN
Croatian brother wins Group B clash against Bosnian sibling
DOHA: Igor Karacic top scored to help Croatia to a 28-21 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina and also win the duel with brother Igor Karacic.
The Balkan derby didn’t mean anything for both teams as the Croats were confirmed group winners and the Bosnians were already out prior to the throw-off.
The game was advertised as a duel of the Karacic brothers as Igor plays for Croatia and the other Ivan opted to play for the Bosnian team.
Both brothers wear shirt number 18.
However both teams started the game pretty aggressively but the Croats took a confident lead with despite resting some of their top players.
The Bosnians were quite enthusiastic in this game that bore no significance to them, yet the Croats were beating them without any visible extra efforts. At some point the tempo of the game dropped significantly and the Croats were using their supe-riority with a relaxed confidence.
There were only two Bosnian players on the score sheet at the end of the first half – Toromanovic
and Peric. So much for the Bosnian scoring variety. At times it looked as if the Bosnians didn’t know what to do with the ball.
The Croats comfortably won the first half with a 9-goal-difference.
The Bosnians started the sec-ond half with a surge of attack-ing activity trying to reduce the overall deficit. It wasn’t working for them though. Truth to be told the Croats were not successful in scoring for the first 4 minutes of the second half either.
Bosnia’s Ovcina received a straight red card after 40 minutes and was sent off. Clearly it didn’t help Bosnians at this point.
In the meantime Croatia rested even more players but carried on scoring, keeping the goal differ-ence closer to double figures.
The final score of 28:21 results in the Bosnians con-tinuing the tournament in the President’s Cup and group win-ners Croatia meeting Brazil in the pre-quarter-finals.
Macedonia claimed second place in Group B, behind Croatia, after a 36-31 win over Austria which will pit them against Slovenia in the knockout stage.
THE PENINSULA
Volunteers of the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship.
Bosnia and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Ivan Herzegovina’s Ivan
Karacic (left) is Karacic (left) is held by his brother held by his brother
Croatia’s Igor Croatia’s Igor Karacic.Karacic.
24th Men’s Handball Championship ScheduleDay Time Match Venue
Group C: Algeria, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Iceland, Sweden
January 24
7.00pm Egypt vs Iceland Al Attiyah
9.00pm France vs Sweden Al Attiyah
9.00pm Algeria vs Czech Republic Duhail
Group D: Argentina, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia
January 24
7.00pm Russia vs Argentina Duhail
7.00pm Saudi Arabia vs Germany Lusail
9.00pm Denmark vs Poland Lusail
Baby Blues By Jerry Scott and Rick Kirkman
C O O DSR S RW
Yesterday’s answer
Yesterday’s answer
How to play Hyper Sudoku:A Hyper Sudoku Puzzle is solved by filling the numbers from 1 to 9 into the blank cells. A Hyper Sudoku has unlike Sudoku 13 regions (four regions overlap with the nine standard regions). In all regions the numbers from 1 to 9 can appear only once. Otherwise, a Hyper Sudoku is solved like a normal Sudoku.
How to play Kakuro:
The kakuro grid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any
size. It has rows and columns, and dark cells
like in a crossword. And, just like in a crossword,
some of the dark cells will contain numbers. Some
cells will contain two numbers.
However, in a crossword the numbers reference
clues. In a kakuro, the numbers are all you get!
They denote the total of the digits in the row or
column referenced by the number.
Within each
collection of cells
- called a run - any
of the numbers 1
to 9 may be used
but, like sudoku,
each number may
only be used once.
HYPER
ACROSS
1 Pronoun repeated in “America”
5 Weapon with a warhead, in brief
9 “Thriller” singer, in tabloids
14 “Let sleeping dogs lie” and others
15 Board’s partner
16 Subject of a donor card
17 Dust, vacuum, do windows, etc.
19 Done to death
20 See circled letters
21 Come ___ price
22 Crucifixion symbol
23 One from column A, one from column B, etc.
27 Go to the dogs
29 See circled letters
31 Big do
32 Tend to another spill
34 How knights roam
36 Take habitually
37 See circled letters
40 “… in excelsis ___”
41 What to do when dealt a flush
43 Fast-food utensil
45 Prefix with zone and skeptic
46 See circled letters
49 Adams of “Junebug”
50 Decked out in sequins
52 Vet school subj.
54 Still owing
55 See circled letters
59 Speed skater ___ Anton Ohno
62 “I did bad!”
63 “Quo ___?”
64 Place to place your bets
65 St. Petersburg’s river
66 Showing mastery
67 Stickup man on “The Wire”
68 Triathlon start
DOWN
1 Relatives of tuts
2 Hic, ___, hoc
3 Still-life pitcher ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE
N C R T R A N S S C R E WA H A V I X E N H Y E N AP A B S T B L U E R I B B O NE M B E R R E I N ES P I N A L C O R D R H O S
Y E A S E R P E N TA B E S L O B U L K YL U N A T I C F R I N G E
P E R C Y T U E K A YE X P R E S S J I BE A S Y A L P I N E L A C E
P O B O Y E V I A NA L L T H E T R I M M I N G SR U S E S H E N C E G E OK I D D O S S T A R E R R
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16
17 18 19
20 21
22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
32 33 34 35
36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44
45 46 47 48 49
50 51 52 53
54 55 56 57 58
59 60 61 62
63 64 65
66 67 68
4 Grass for cordage
5 Asimov classic
6 Part of an “if only …” lament
7 Big name in audio equipment
8 Marie Curie, e.g.: Abbr.
9 See circled letters
10 Bring up on charges
11 Special FX technology
12 Kit ___ Club (“Cabaret” setting)
13 ___-hit wonder
18 “Veep” channel
21 Now, in Nogales
23 Bulblike plant part
24 Realm of Garfield
25 Queen of fiction
26 Voice one’s approval
27 Recharge one’s batteries
28 Mark who won the 1998 Masters
30 ___ differ (object)
32 Artful dodges
33 Deg. held by Woodrow Wilson
35 Quiz response: Abbr.
38 Fill out the necessary forms, say
39 ___ a soul
42 Like a shower mat, ideally
44 Clientele
47 Daiquiri flavor
48 Win the heart of
51 See circled letters
53 What liver spots may be a sign of
55 “Um, excuse me”
56 From the start
57 Year of Super Bowl XL
58 Line of jeans?
59 “___: My Story” (Tinseltown autobiography)
60 Inflate, as a bill
61 “___ to Joy”
62 Full house indicator
TV LISTINGS
09:20 Dog With A Blog
09:45 Girl Meets World
10:10 Wizards Of Waverly
Place
10:35 Lemonade Mouth
12:15 Dog With A Blog
12:40 Mako Mermaids
13:30 Girl Meets World
14:20 Sabrina: Secrets Of
A Teenage Witch
14:55 Gravity Falls
15:20 Dog With A Blog
15:45 Jessie
16:10 Austin & Ally
16:35 Girl Meets World
17:00 Liv And Maddie
19:05 I Didn’t Do It
19:30 My Babysitter’s A
Vampire
21:10 Wolfblood
21:35 Gravity Falls
22:00 Suite Life On Deck
22:25 A.N.T. Farm
22:50 Shake It Up
23:10 Wolfblood
07:00 Late Night With Seth
Meyers
09:00 The Neighbors
10:30 The Simpsons
13:00 My Boys
14:30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine
15:00 The Goldbergs
15:30 The Daily Show With
Jon Stewart
16:00 Two And A Half Men
17:00 Late Night With Seth
Meyers
18:00 Men At Work
19:00 2 Broke Girls
19:30 The Goldbergs
20:00 The Tonight Show
Starring Jimmy
Fallon
21:00 The Daily Show
Global Edition
21:30 Two And A Half Men
22:00 Saturday Night Live
23:00 Sean Saves The
World
23:30 Late Night With
10:35 Karina: Wild On
Safari
11:05 Wildest Africa
12:55 Monkey Life
13:50 Bondi Vet
14:45 Man, Cheetah,
Wild
15:40 Wildest Africa
17:30 Wildest Islands
18:25 Too Cute!
19:20 Too Cute!
21:10 The Wild
Life Of Tim
Faulkner
21:40 The Wild
Life Of Tim
Faulkner
22:05 Wildest Africa
23:00 Shark Family
09:30 Khana khazana
10:00 Parwaaz
11:30 Soul Music
12:00 Bollywood Cut
15:00 Zee Connect
Season 4
15:30 10 on 10
16:00 Neeli Chatri
Waale
18:30 Trendsetters of
Bollywood
19:00 Sa Re Ga Ma
Pa Li’l Champs
20:30 Parwaaz
21:30 Zee Connect
Season 4
21:00 Doli Armaano
Ki
21:30 Sapne Suhane
08:00 Psych
09:00 American Idol
10:00 Grey’s
Anatomy
11:00 Once Upon A
Time
13:00 The Ellen
DeGeneres
Show
14:00 Psych
19:00 Graceland
20:00 The Blacklist
21:00 The Strain
22:00 Salem
23:00 Mistresses
06:00 Son Of Rambow-
08:00 Fred 2: Night Of
The Living Fred-
10:00 Men At Work-
12:00 Run For Your
Wife-PG15
14:00 Gambit-PG15
16:00 Fred 2: Night Of
The Living Fred-
18:00 Life Happens-
20:00 In A World...-
22:00 Walk Hard: The
Dewey Cox
Story-18
00:00 Fred 2: Night Of
The Living Fred
05:00 Return To Nim’s
Island-PG
06:45 The Wolverine-
11:00 The Way Way
Back-PG15
13:00 The Secret Life
Of Walter Mitty-
15:00 Great
Expectations-
17:15 I, Frankenstein-
19:00 Delivery Man-
21:00 The Book Thief-
23:15 Trance-R
12:00 Diggers
14:00 Chasing UFOs
15:00 Street Monkeys
17:00 Going Deep With
David Rees
18:00 Car SOS
19:00 Street Monkeys
20:00 How Hard Can It
Be?
21:00 Going Deep With
David Rees
22:00 Car SOS
23:00 Street Genius
23:30 Street Genius
TEL: 444933989 444517001SHOWING AT VILLAGGIO & CITY CENTER
BREAK TIME 23SATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
06:00 The Big Brain Theory
06:50 You Have Been
Warned
07:40 The Carbonaro
Effect
08:05 The Carbonaro
Effect
08:30 Get Out Alive With
Bear Grylls
09:20 Dive Wars Australia
10:10 Manhunt
11:00 Fantomworks
16:00 Gold Rush
16:50 Gold Rush
17:40 Alaska: The Last
Frontier
18:30 Get Out Alive With
Bear Grylls
19:20 Dive Wars Australia
20:10 Manhunt
21:00 Dallas Car Sharks
21:50 Dallas Car Sharks
22:15 Dallas Car Sharks
22:40 What’s In The Barn?
23:05 Airplane Repo
23:55 Street Outlaws
8:00 News
8:30 Fault Lines
9:00 Witness
10:00 News
10:30 Inside Story
11:00 News
11:30 Listening Post
12:00 News
12:30 Counting the Cost
13:00 NEWSHOUR
14:00 News
14:30 Inside Story
15:00 Lifelines: The Quest
For Global Health
16:00 NEWSHOUR
17:00 News
17:30 Wildlife Warzone
18:00 NEWSHOUR
19:00 News
19:30 People & Power
20:00 News
20:30 Inside Story
21:00 NEWSHOUR
22:00 News
22:30 Listening Post
23:00 Al Jazeera World
1American Sniper (2D/Action)
– 11:00am, 1:30, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30pm &12:00midnight
2Taken 3 (2D/Action)
– 10:00am, 12:10, 2:20, 4:30, 6:40, 9:00 & 11:20pm
3Mortdecai (2D/Action) – 10:15am, 12:30, 2:45,
5:00, 7:20, 9:40 & 11:50pm
4Barbie In Princess Power (2D/Animation)
– 10:00am, 11:40, 1:15, 2:45 & 4:15pm;
13 Sins (2D/Horror) – 9:20 & 11:20pm
Unbroken (2D/Drama) – 6:45pm
5The Book of Life (2D/Animation)
– 10:30am, 12:30, 2:30, 4:30 & 6:30pm
The Theory of Everything (2D/Drama)– 8:30 & 11:15pm
6Reach Me (2D/Action)– 10:00am, 2:00, 6:00 & 10:00pm
Wolf Creek 2 (2D/Horror)– 12:00noon, 4:00, 7:50pm & 12:00midnight
7 The Imitation Game – 12:30, 4:40, 9:05 & 11:30pm
Paddington(2D/Family)–10:40am, 2:45 &7:05pm
813 Sins (2D/Horror)– 10:30am, 2:15 & 6:00pm Rec 3: Genesis – 12:30, 4:15, 8:00, 9:45 & 11:20pm
9Taken 3 (IMAX 2D/Action)
– 10:30am, 12:40, 2:50, 5:00, 7:15, 9:30 & 11:50pm
10Taken 3 (2D/Action) – 11:00am, 3:20, 7:45 & 10:00pm
Mortdecai (2D/Action)– 1:10, 5:30pm & 12:15am
MALL
1 Barbie In Princess Power – 2:30 & 4:00pm
Taken 3 (2D/Crime) – 5:30pm
American Sniper (2D/Action) – 7.30pm
Rec 3 (2D/Horror) – 10:00pm
Wolf Creek 2 (2D/Horror) – 11:30pm
2 The Book Of Life (2D/Animation) – 2:30pm
We'll Never Have Paris (2D/Comedy) – 4:15pm
Baby (2D/Hindi) – 6:00 & 10:30pm
Reach Me (2D/Drama) – 8:45pm
3 Shankar's "I" (2D/Tamil) – 2:00pm
The Book Of Life (3D/Animation) – 5:15pm
Mortdecai (2D/Action) – 7:00pm
Wolf Creek 2 (2D/Horror) – 9:00pm
American Sniper (2D/Action) – 11.00pm
LANDMARK
1 Shankar's "I" (2D/Tamil) – 2:00pm
The Book Of Life (2D/Animation) – 5:15pm
American Sniper (2D/Action) – 7.00 & 11:00pm
Rec 3 (2D/Horror) – 9:30pm
2 Barbie In Princess Power – 2:30 & 4:00pm
Wolf Creek 2 (2D/Horror) – 5:30 & 11:30pm
Taken 3 (2D/Action) – 7:30pm
Mortdecai (2D/Action) – 9:30pm
3 The Book Of Life (3D/) – 2:15pm
Baby (2D/Hindi) – 4:00pm
We'll Never Have Paris (2D/Comedy) – 6:45pm
Reach Me (2D/Drama) – 8:30pm
Shankar's "I" (2D/Tamil) – 10:15pm
ROYAL
PLAZA
1
The Book Of Life (2D/Animation) – 2:30 & 5:30pm
Barbie In Princess Power (2D/Animation) – 4:00pm
Mortdecai (2D/Action) – 7:15pm
American Sniper (2D/Action) – 9:15pm
Taken 3 (2D/Action) – 11:30pm
2
Mortdecai (2D/Action) – 3:00pm
Dolly Ki Doli (2D/Hindi) – 5.00 & 9:30pm
American Sniper (2D/Action) – 7:00pm
Wolf Creek 2 (2D/Horror) – 11:30pm
3 Legend Of The Never Beast(2D/Drama) – 2:30pm
We'll Never Have Paris (2D/Comedy) – 4:00pm
Wolf Creek 2 (2D/Horror) – 5:45pm
Rec 3 (Horror)– 7:45pm; Reach Me – 9:15pm
American Sniper (2D/Action) – 11:15pm
Migratory birds
Flying migratory birds at the coastal area in Paranaque city, south of Manila, the Philippines, yesterday. The lessening wetland caused by diverse infrastructural and rural improvements is leading to falling numbers of migratory birds going to wintering grounds of the Philippines.
Diamond cuff
A cuff made with 97.47 carats of diamonds and 82.3 carats of sapphires is on display during preparations for the 21st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, yesterday. The awards will be distributed in Los Angeles tomorrow.
24 MORNING BREAKSATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2015
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
Fajr (Dawn) 5:00
Shorook (Sunrise) 6:20
Zuhr (Noon) 11:46
Asr (Afternoon) 2:51
Maghrib (Sunset) 5:13
Isha (Night) 6:43
PRAYER TIME
Weather Conditions:
Hazy to misty at places at first beocmes moderate temperature with some clouds later, cold and hazy by night.
High: 21° Low: 15°
High: 21° Low: 15
High: 21° Low: 16
ClearPartly cloudy Clear
Today Sunday Monday
SUNRISE | SUNSET
06:20 17:13 07:45 & 20:00 14:30 & 00:30 03-10 KT
HIGH | LOW WIND
SUN TIDE SEA
TODAY TOMORROW
HI/LO WEATHER HI/LO WEATHER
THE REGION
TODAY TOMORROW
HI/LO WEATHER HI/LO WEATHER
THE WORLD
DOHA - SUN & SEA
WEATHER
MUSCAT 23/18 Partly cloudy 23/18 Partly cloudy
MAKKAH 34/23 Clear 34/23 Clear
KUWAIT 22/06 Clear 23/09 Clear
BAHRAIN 21/13 Clear 21/13 Clear
SANAA 22/03 Clear 22/04 Clear
RIYADH 24/09 Clear 24/10 Clear
DUBAI 22/14 Clear 25/13 Clear
BAGHDAD 20/06 Clear 22/13 Partly cloudy
ATHENS 16/12 Chance of rain 15/08 Chance of rain
WASHINGTON 06/03 Snow 09/04 Chance of rain
SYDNEY 31/21 Clear 36/19 Clear
LONDON 07/00 Clear 09/05 Clear
PARIS 07/00 Chance of rain 07/02 Mostly cloudy
ISTANBUL 12/07 Chance of rain 13/07 Clear
MANILA 27/22 Partly cloudy 28/22 Clear
DHAKA 27/16 Clear 27/14 Clear
DELHI 17/10 Clear 16/08 Partly cloudy
ISLAMABAD 16/03 Clear 14/02 Clear
LONDON: Using first-of-the-kind devices, Israeli scientists have mapped brains of the blind to solve how our brains can adapt to the rapid cultural and technological changes of the 21st century.
The tools, known as Sensory Substitution Devices (SSDs), take information from one sense and present it in another. For exam-ple, they enable blind people to “see” by using other senses such as touching or hearing.
By using a smartphone or web-cam to translate a visual image into a distinct soundscape, SSDs enable blind users to create a
mental image of objects, such as their physical dimensions and colour. “These devices can help the blind in their everyday life,” explained professor Amir Amedi from Hebrew University’s Amedi Lab for Brain and Multisensory Research.
With intense training, blind users can even “read” letters by identifying their distinct sound-scape. “These devices also open unique research opportunities by letting us see what happens in brain regions normally asso-ciated with one sense, when the relevant information comes from another,” he added. For the study,
the researchers used functional MRI imaging (fMRI) to study the brains of blind subjects in real-time while they used an SSD to identify objects by their sound.
They found that when it comes to recognising letters, body pos-tures and more, specialised brain areas are activated by the task at hand, rather than by the sense (vision or hearing) being used.
“This means that the main cri-teria for a reading area to develop is not the letters’ visual symbols but rather the area’s connectivity to the brain’s language-processing centres,” Amedi noted.
Similarly a number area will
develop in a region which already has connections to quantity-processing regions, he added.
The findings suggest that unex-pected brain connectivity can lead to fast brain specialisation, allow-ing humans to adapt to the rapid technological and cultural innova-tion of our generation.
“If we take this one step fur-ther, this connectivity-based mechanism might explain how brain areas could have developed so quickly on an evolutionary timescale,” the authors concluded.
The research appeared in the journal Nature Communications.
IANS
Tools help the blind to ‘see’ via other senses
PARK CITY, UTAH: Whether putting moviegoers inside the yurt of a Mongolian tribe, in the studio with a musician or in the path of an oncoming train, film-makers are blurring the lines of reality for viewers at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
This year’s conclave of inde-pendent films in Park City, Utah, is devoting its New Frontier showcase to virtual reality film with 11 works, the largest such lineup in the festival’s three-dec-ade history.
The content is viewed on a wraparound-style headset that projects a 360-degree panorama, giving viewers the feel of being in the action.
But virtual reality films are still a long way from becoming main-stream as the headsets to display them have yet to reach the mass market.
Samsung started offering its Galaxy Gear VR headset last month, which uses its Galaxy Note 4 smartphone to present virtual reality experiences. Google Inc offers the Cardboard VR device to use with smartphones.
The consumer version of
pioneering Rift headsets from Facebook Inc-owned Oculus VR, is still in development.
The New Frontier exhibit comes amid a growing interest in the technology in Hollywood as filmmakers and studios experi-ment with virtual reality.
“Cinema wasn’t our focus in the beginning, but now it’s becom-ing a bigger focus, so we need to immediately engage and support,” said Brendan Iribe, chief execu-tive of Oculus. The attraction of virtual reality for filmmakers lies in simulating a personal presence for viewers, who until now have interacted with content merely as voyeurs watching a story unfold on a screen.
In “Herders,” a short movie from filmmaking duo Felix & Paul, the viewer is placed inside a yurt with a rural Mongolian family, while in “Strangers: A Moment with Patrick Wilson,” the viewer sits beside a musician working in his studio.
Non-fiction films are proving to be a strong fit for virtual reality, said Felix Lajeunesse, as filmmak-ers can immerse audiences in the action and make them connect to
the story.“Reality becomes utterly inter-
esting in virtual reality. You don’t need to necessarily change it or restage it or transform it that much,” said Lajeunesse.
Filmmaker Chris Milk teamed up with Vice News to document the New York Millions March in December in virtual reality, where he used a 360-degree camera to film in the midst of crowds parad-ing through Manhattan to protest police brutality.
“As the audience, you under-stand immediately what’s going on - you are the perspective of the camera,” Milk said.
Virtual reality films are on the sidelines of Sundance and far from becoming theatrical staples of the festival where the main attractions are still the star-studded premieres and emergence of new talent in the competition categories.
And while the festival’s commu-nity works on independent budg-ets ranging from a few thousand to a few million dollars per movie, the cost range of making virtual reality content is still unclear.
REUTERS
Filmmakers blur lines with virtual reality at Sundance
