Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended part of the seventh day’s Competition of the Founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani’s Camel Festival for local pure Arabian camels race 2017-2018 season, held at Al Shahaniya Racetrack. The competition was attended by a number of Their Excellences Sheikhs, tribesmen and a large audience of camel race lovers. → See also page 2

Emir attends part of Founder’s Camel Festival Competitions

In-form Qatar eye Iraq scalpin Kuwait

Iraq’s oil minister optimistic crude

prices will rise

BUSINESS | 21 SPORT | 28

Volume 22 | Number 7387 | 2 RiyalsTuesday 26 December 2017 | 8 Rabia II I 1439 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

3rd Best News Website in the Middle East

Qatar condemns explosion in Afghan capital

State of Qatar expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation of the

explosion that took place in the Afghan capital of Kabul and resulted in a number of deaths and injuries.

The Foreign Ministry in a statement yesterday, reaf-firmed Qatar’s firm stance on rejecting violence and terror-ism, whatever their motives and reasons.

The statement expressed Qatar’s condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Afghanistan, wishing the injured speedy recovery.

At least five people have been killed in a suicide blast near the intelligence agency in Kabul, the Afghan capital, officials said. The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsi-bility for the blast that occured yesterday morning.

→ See also page 13

Public Health

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Highest quality of neurosurgical services & care at Al-Ahli Hospital

Health Ministerattends PHCCNational Day

celebratory events

Fazeena Saleem The Peninsula

Qatar’s health sector saw a major boost this year and the capacity of the healthcare system has expanded consid-erably with the opening of

new services and facilities. Important achievements and implementation of ambitious strategies for integrated and high quality health care has further improved the services this year, accord-ing to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH).

Despite the unjust blockade imposed on Qatar since June 5, all public and pri-vate health services across the country were delivered without any interrup-tion. The MoPH and the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) assured and proved no risk on public health serv-ices because of the blockade.

The MoPH continued to provide all services without being affected by the siege. The Ministry demonstrated the potential to sustain health services and deliver them at the same quality.

The Ministry continues to implement all health projects that aim to maintain sustainable development of health serv-ices and increase the potential and capabilities of the health sector. HMC, the prime healthcare provider, contin-ued to offer its world-class services to patients and made exceptional achievements.

The official opening of a new hos-pital complex of HMC by Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani wit-nessed the largest healthcare expansion

National Obesity Treatment Center, which sits under the auspices of the Qatar Metabolic Institute (QMI).

The year was also a milestone for organ transplant in Qatar. It saw 30 years of safe and successful organ trans-plantation surgeries in HMC. In 1986, a surgical team at HMC performed Qatar’s first kidney transplant on a Qatari woman who received a donor kidney from her sister. Thirty years on, with a 98 percent success rate, HMC’s organ transplantation program is one of the most admired in the world.

In June alone, Qatar Center for Organ Transplantation of HMC’s Hamad General Hospital, announced that eight patients successfully underwent liver and kidney transplant operations. Eight transplant surgeries in a single week is a record for HMC.

An expert multi-disciplinary team from the National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR) of HMC has performed Qatar’s first allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allogeneic -HSCT) on a patient diag-nosed with acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer.

The special engineering office has also submitted to HMC in cooperation with Ministry of Public Health the project of hospital and health center in Ras Laf-fan city with capacity of 118 beds.

Several facilities and programs of HMC received different levels of inter-national accreditation this year. Many international and regional healthcare-related conferences were held and brought hundreds of experts in Qatar to share their expertise and experience.

PHCC hosted the first of its kind

A year of milestones and achievements

The official opening of a new hospital complex of HMC by Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani witnessed the largest healthcare expansion

Included with today’s edition is

an 8-page special supplement on

The Peninsula

Qatar has increased its direct imports of strategic goods from around the world to 97 percent in Novem-

ber compared to 82.8 percent in May, thus the state has man-aged to access the global markets to meet the demand of local market of high quality goods at competitive prices.

Chairman of the General Customs Authority, Ahmed Abdullah Al Gammal, said that this performance reflects the high ability of the State to protect the Qatari economy from the short-age of supply of goods and meet the market requirements in full coordination with importers, by diversifying sources of high qual-ity imports and at suitable prices from other countries.

The General Customs Authority confirmed that dur-ing the past months it has strengthened qualified person-nel at seaport and airport to ensure the rapid release of var-ious goods, especially perishable items while at the same time maintaining the safety of society, reported QNA.

He said under the unjust siege the Authority facilitated customs procedures, which contributed to increase the abil-ity of local companies to diversify the sources of direct imports. In terms of food com-modities, the State has managed in the past months to cover the local market of these commod-ities significantly at competitive

prices and high quality and variety compared with items that were imported from the siege countries.

He stressed that the cus-toms facilities for the import of food commodities and the availability of suitable alterna-tives and the permanent and direct coordination with importers and partners from government departments have contributed significantly to the stability of food prices.

Regarding the imports of building materials, he pointed out that the competent author-ities in the country provided suitable alternatives both in terms of prices or quantities in a manner that led to stability of prices and availability of quan-tities in the local market, thus avoiding negative effects in case of lower quantities offered.

→ Continued on page 5

Sachin Kumar The Peninsula

Milaha Shipyard has emerged as one of the leading shipyards in

the region. The Shipyard has serviced and repaired over 7,000 vessels of various types so far, showing Qatar’s grow-ing role in global maritime sector.

The Shipyard is one of the oldest and most active in the region. It receives vessels from

both Qatari and foreign custom-ers, and provides repair and maintenance services to a wide range of vessels.

“Milaha Ship Repair & Fab-rication facility started operations in 1978 and today has become one of the GCC leading shipyard with more than 7,000 ships repaired,” said Milaha in a tweet yesterday.

Over the past about 40 years the Yard has handled a wide variety of vessels such as off-shore vessels, cargo vessels,

passenger ferries, yachts, dhows, naval & coast guard vessels.

The Shipyard covers a space of 150,000 sqm and strategically located close to the new Hamad Port. Its continuously growing client list includes local, regional & international shipping companies.

Early this month ‘Halul 61’ vessel docked at the Shipyard for routine repair and maintenance operations.

The shipyard is expected to maintain its growth momentum

in coming years as the global shipbuilding industry is likely to witness steady growth. Qatar has taken many efforts to boost its maritime sector. Country’s Hamad Port, which is the larg-est port in the region, is witnessing continuous increase in the cargo movement.

Increase in maritime activ-ity in Qatar will benefit all the sectors including shipbuilding and repairing sector.

→ Continued on page 5

Raynald C Rivera The Peninsula

Souq Waqif Spring Festival is set for offi-cial launch on Sunday, organisers said during the festival’s soft opening yes-

terday. The much anticipated festival, which is the longest of its kind organised by Souq Waqif, offers more than 60 attractions including 36 amusement rides and games.

“The festival has many surprises in store for visitors. Today is the soft launch and Sun-day will be the official launch,” Adel Al Kurdi, Media Coordinator of Souq Waqif Events, told Al Rayyan TV yesterday.

Located at Al Ahmed Square and the West parking area, the festival features a wide range of family-friendly rides and games catered to all ages.

“There are a variety of activities for chil-dren and adults in all Squares and there will be shows like acrobatics, parades and other shows at the souq’s alleys along the coffee shops. The festival promises to provide new and unique features,” said Kurdi.

The festival is bigger in terms of offer-ings as amusement rides and games have been distributed in two areas. Zone A com-prises 25 rides and games including Octopus, Music Express, Kite Flying, Water and Char-iots, Bumper Cars, Speed Car, Mini Pendulum Ride and Carnival Skill Games,

among others. Zone B includes 11 attractions including unique games and rides such as Kids Driving School, giant slide, zipline, trampoline park and a number of inflata-bles including bumper cars.

New this year, Kids Driving School gives young children a rare experience on how to drive safely in a neighbourhood. Rides and games are priced between QR10 to QR35.

A stage has also been erected at the fes-tival venue where different shows will be staged regularly. Dozens of food stalls and carts providing a wide selection of snacks to visitors are also located around the souq

in addition to the already popular restau-rants and coffee shops which have been attracting many people taking advantage of the pleasant weather.

Running until April 25, the festival, pre-sented in partnership with Qatari events company QSports, will coincide with the sec-ond edition of Shop Qatar 2018 and will be one of its main outdoor attractions. “We invite all Qataris, residents and tourists from all over the world to come and visit Souq Waqif dur-ing this four-month festival,” said Kurdi.

→ See also page 5

QNA

A science team from the Center for Environmental Sciences at Qatar Univer-

sity will start a scientific research trip to the northwestern regions of Qatar, including Fasht Edibil and neighbouring areas, on board the Advanced Research Vessel (Jinan) and a number of speed-boats equipped for such studies.

The aim of this scientific trip is to conduct a detailed survey of the environmental and biological diversity of the region, as well as to study deep marine sediments, water movement and distribution of sea currents, in addition to air quality.

Qatar University said in a press release that the research team comprises specialists in var-ious fields of marine and biophysics from different nation-alities including Britain, New Zealand, Hungary, Brazil, Turkey and the Philippines, as well as specialised Qatari scientists.

The study will provide new

information on these areas, which are considered to be important food reserves as well as their nature, which is a tar-get for tourism investment. Jinan research vessel is the lat-est of its kind in the Gulf region, and can sail in relatively remote areas such as the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf.

Scientific team to survey biodiversity in Northwest

Souq Waqif opens longest festival

Milaha Shipyard repairs over 7,000 vessels

Direct imports of strategic goods increase to 97%

The General Customs Authority confirmed that during the past months it has strengthened qualified personnel at seaport and airport to ensure the rapid release of various goods, especially perishable items while at the same time maintaining the safety of society.

Over 60 attractions including 36 amusement rides and games are ready for Souq Waqif Spring Festival 2017. Pic: Kammutty V P / The Peninsula

02 TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017HOME

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended yesterday a part of the seventh day’s competition of the Founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani’s Camel Festival for local pure Arabian camels race 2017/2018 season, which was held at Al Shahaniya Racetrack. The competition was attended by a number of Their Excellences Sheikhs, tribesmen and a large audience of camel race lovers.

Weather to become colder by weekendIrfan Bukhari The Peninsula

After an irregular pattern of rise in temperature observed last week, the

weather is expected to become considerably cold by weekend.

Qatar Meteorology Depart-ment yesterday forecasted fresh to strong northwesterly wind expected to affect the country today ranging inshore between 12 to 22kt gusting to 30kt at times causing blowing dust and low visibility below 3km in some areas.

In addition, marine warnings will be in effect until tomorrow as wave height expected to range between 5-7 ft reaching 9 ft at times in some areas.

Talking to The Peninsula,

Abdullah Mohammed Al Man-nai, Acting Director of QCAA Department of Meteorology said that the temperature was rising in last week that was making people uncomfortable. “Now coming days will be cold as per regular pattern,” he said.

Regarding less rain spells this year, Al Mannai said that they were likely in coming days but there was no exact forecast yet. “In Qatar’s weather system there exist both patterns: rain wave years and no rain wave years. In November and Decem-ber there were no rain waves but we hope in coming days, the rain waves will enter the system,” he added.

QMD also forecasted the northerly winds in the coming days are accompanied by a drop

in temperatures returning to their regular average for this time of the year.

The maximum temperature average in Doha during Decem-ber is 24.4°C, whereas the minimum average is 15.6°C. Min-imum temperature expected to drop below 10°C in southern areas and settled weather in general prevails during week-end. Regarding fall in temperature as low as 10°C, Al Mannai said it was specific for southern parts of the country which was also normal during this time of the year.

Qatar Meteorology Depart-ment has urged all to be cautious and to avoid going to sea during the warning period.

According to QMD website yesterday, there was moderate

temperature at daytime with some clouds, cold at night with southwesterly, southeasterly winds 3-12kt.

Today weather will be hazy at places at first which will become mild at daytime with slight dust to blowing dust at places and some clouds and cold by night. Winds today will be southwesterly less than 08kt at first, becoming northwesterly 12 – 20kt and reaching 28kt at places at times.

Tides inshore are forecasted 1-3/4FT while offshore 2-4FT at first rising from 5-7/9FT at places at times. Tomorrow, weather will remain mild at day-time with slight dust and some clouds but cold by night. Winds will be northwesterly 10 – 18kt.

Advisory Council discusses draft law on National Tourism CouncilThe Peninsula

The Advisory Council yes-terday discussed a draft law on the establishment

of the National Tourism Council which would be under the super-vision of the Prime Minister.

The main objective of the draft law is to create the best conditions for the implementa-tion of the national strategy for tourism and to promote compre-hensive tourism development plans. The council’s regular weekly meeting was held under the chairmanship of Speaker of the Advisory Council HE Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mah-moud who briefed the council on the outcomes about the summit of the heads of the Arab Parlia-mentary Councils, which was held in the Moroccan capital Rabat on December 14, within the extraordinary meeting of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union for discussing the latest develop-ments on the situation of Jerusalem.

The provisions of the draft law on the tourism council included the definition of the conditions and procedures for the licensing of tourist establish-ments and the licensee’s obligations.

The draft law also prohibited the licensee from committing any acts contrary to the law, public order or morals at the licensed

tourist establishment. The draft law shall have a board of direc-tors, a chairperson, and a secretary-general.

The Council also discussed another draft law on regulations of business events. The provi-sions of this draft law specify the conditions and procedures for the licensing of business events, organizers, venues and the obli-gations of the licensee in addition to ways to waive, transfer and cancel the license. The draft law also identified the authorities conferred upon the Secretary-General and set deterrent penalties for violators.

After deliberation, the Advi-sory Council decided to refer the draft laws to the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee for further consideration and sub-mitting reports thereon to the Council to accomplish its legal procedures until issuance.

Qatar, Iran to boost transportation tiesQNA

Minister of Transport and Commu-nications H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti met with Iran’s Undersec-

retary of Roads and Urban Development Ministry, Mohammad Restad. The two officials discussed aspects of coopera-tion in the fields of transport, ports and aviation and means of further enhanc-ing them.

The Minister and the Iranian official also reviewed the potential investment opportunities available in these indus-tries, as well as a number of matters of common interest between the two friendly countries.

QNA

Camel race organising com-mittee Chairman H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Faisal Al Thani reaffirmed that the presence of Emir H H Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Tha-ni’s Arabian camel festival is an honour for all participants.

Speaking after recognising the win-ners, H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Faisal Al Thani said that the presence of H H the Emir injected enthusiasm into the organisers of the festival, notably the camel race committee, to maxim-ise efforts so that the competition would come out in the best possible fashion.

It also motivates owners and par-ticipants to compete and offer their best performances that reflect the attention paid by the wise leadership to the major Gulf heritage sport.

The organising committee chairman congratulated Al Shahaniya camels for their superiority and winning the four golden symbols in the festival’s seventh

day, noting that such success was the result of the support and keenness of H H the Emir on the sport of grandpar-ents as well as his constant directives and monitoring.

Sheikh Hamad said that the domi-nance of Al Shahaniya camels in the different competitions reaffirms the wise leadership’s huge and constant support, which led to the significant progress in the races annually.

He expected Al Shahaniya camels to continue to perform at the highest level and win more honors, noting that the competition will get stronger when the older camels enter the races.

Sheikh Hamad said the first seven days of the festival saw friendliness and kind spirit among all participants despite the strong competition and the keenness of everyone to win.

The organising committee chairman said that adding a competition dedi-cated to Their Excellencies and Sheikhs to the founder’s festival made the com-petition stronger and increased the interest in the event that was previously dedicated to tribes.

Emir’s presence at camel race

a honour for all participants

The main objective of the draft law is to create the best conditions for the implementation of the national strategy for tourism and to promote comprehensive development plans.

03TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017 HOME

Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani met with Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Somalia to the State of Qatar, Omar Sheikh Ali Idris, on the occasion of ending his tenure in the State. The Prime Minister wished the Ambassador success in his future tasks and further progress and prosperity in the relations between the two countries.

PM meets outgoing Somali Ambassador MoI cautions residents on use of fireplaces & room heatersThe Peninsula

The Ministry of Interior has advised those using room heaters and fire-

places to take all safety and security measures in order to avoid any dangerous incidents.

The Ministry has also advised people to keep any-thing that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment such as a porta-ble heater, fireplace, wood-burning stove or fur-nace. The three-foot safety zone includes furniture, drapes, electronics — any-thing that can catch fire.

On its official Facebook account, the Ministry said: “Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters, and also never use your oven to heat your home.”

Have a qualified profes-sional install stationary space heating equipment, water heaters or central heating equipment according to the standard codes and manufac-turer’s instructions.

Remember to turn port-able heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.

Do not overload exten-sion cords or outlets and do not place an electrical cord under a rug.

Dispose of older, fraying extension cords, the Ministry further advises.

The Ministry said always use only the type of fuel spec-ified by the manufacturer for fuel burning space heaters.

Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani met yesterday with Ambassador of the Italian Republic to the State of Qatar, Pasquale Salzano. During the meeting, they reviewed aspects of cooperation between the two countries, as well as a number of issues of common concern.

PM, Italian Ambassador review ties

Qatar Behavioural Insights Unit brings positive changesThe Peninsula

The Supreme Commit-tee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) has launched Qatar Behavioural Insights

Unit (QBIU), which is the region’s first initiative that supports behavioural insights through the launch of projects aimed at changing the behaviour of indi-viduals positively to improve their lives.

QBIU is actively helping in conducting policy experimenta-tion to support the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Leg-acy and other bodies throughout the State in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.

During the first year, Qatar

Behavioural Insights Unit con-ducted experiments related to education, workers welfare, environmental sustainability and healthy lifestyles.

It also made an interesting presentation about the unit and

its objectives on the sidelines of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), which took place at Qatar National Conven-tion Centre in November 2017.

At present, the QBIU is focused on supporting the SC as it strives to deliver the biggest event in Qatar’s history. Earlier in the year it helped the Work-ers’ Welfare Department improve the way it collects com-plaints from workers engaged on project sites an initiative which not only improved the quality of handling complaints, but also increased the quantity of complaints by more than 30%.

It also helped Generation Amazing increase PE teachers’ participation in its training ses-sions by 33%. Randomised

controlled tests were used for both projects.

Recently the Unit partici-pated in the SC’s inaugural “Knowledge Transfer Day”, which was attended by col-leagues from the health, safety, security and the environment (HSSE) division and Workers’ Welfare Department. Its task now is to encourage attendees to stick to the pledges they made during the event in order to improve communication and collaboration.

In addition, QBIU has organ-ised a number of micro-trials related to sustainability and healthy lifestyle. Many are very simple, such as using posters to encourage people to pick a healthy food option or bright

stickers to convince people to take the stairs rather than the elevator. The Unit is currently reviewing the results of these trials.

The Unit’s challenge in 2018 is to keep the momentum going. While continuing to work closely with the SC, it will endeavour to work alongside organisations across Qatar and the region. This comes out of its keenness to spread the culture of behavioral economy in the region and to acquaint individuals with the importance of this science and its great benefits in improving their lives.

QBIU is another example of how the 2022 FIFA World Cup is having a positive impact on Qatar and the region.

Qatar Behavioural Insights Unit conducted experiments related to education, workers welfare, environmental sustainability and healthy lifestyles.

04 TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017HOME

New HMC hospitals have unique safety featuresThe Peninsula

Hamad Medical Cor-poration’s (HMC) three new hospitals have been planned and built using a

state-of-the-art patient-friendly design and unique safety features, all aimed to create the very best healing environment.

Hamad Al Khalifa, Chief of Health Facilities Development at HMC, said that while the new hospitals contain design features found in high-end hotels, patient safety was the ultimate priority, with the facilities designed to the highest standards of patient safety. He added that key consid-erations in the design of patient rooms include the latest infection control measures, regulated light-ing conditions, and air quality and noise level monitoring.

“Hospital visits can be stress-ful so throughout the design process we have worked hard to ensure the facilities offer a calm and relaxing environment for patient and visitors,” said Al Kha-lifa. “Research has shown that hospital environment and ambi-ance are important factors in achieving high-patient satisfac-tion. This incentivized us to ensure we incorporated design features that represent a focus on healing and recovery. We wanted

to deliver more than clinically effective treatment facilities; we wanted environments where patients can feel more comfort-able and that enables them to recover as quickly as possible.”

The three hospitals have large windows that permit natural sun-light to enter patient rooms. Spacious corridors and high ceil-ings allow for better air circulation. Most of the wards also have large private rooms with ensuite washroom facilities, ample closet space and in-room televisions to ensure patients are as comfortable as possible. Attractively landscaped gardens also provide patients and visitors with the opportunity to get some fresh air and light exercise.

The design of the new hospi-tals also considers the importance of communication, with technol-ogy being used to support open and timely communication with

patients and their families. Dig-ital screens are also planned and will be used for wayfinding and to support the delivery of clinical information.

Professor Adam Cairns, CEO of the new Medical City Hospitals, highlighted the special role that healthcare providers play in serv-ing patients and their families at some of the most challenging and critical times in their lives. “We

have a duty of care to provide high standards of clinical and thera-peutic treatments in a safe and professional way. But equally, there is enormous value in taking a holistic approach to promoting health by creating a soothing envi-ronment where we engage with our patients and their family members and understand the importance of their psychological well-being as much as their

clinical needs,” said Prof Cairns. “It’s easy to feel unsettled during a stay in hospital; but if we can elevate a patient’s mood by offer-ing a caring and compassionate service in attractive surroundings, this will enable them to rest bet-ter, helping them to heal faster and be discharged sooner so they can then continue to make a full recovery in the comfort of their own home,” said Prof Cairns.

Key considerations in the design of patient rooms include the latest infection control measures, regulated lighting conditions, and air quality and noise level monitoring.

The entrance to HMC’s Qatar Rehabilitation Institute.

Yamaha Motorcycle MW125 model of 2015 recalledThe Peninsula

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce, in col-laboration with Al Badi

Trading & Contracting Co, dealer of Yamaha motorcy-cles in Qatar, has announced the recall of Yamaha Motorcycle MW125 model of 2015, due to the loose-ness of the nut that fastens the transmission.

The Ministry said the recall campaign falls within the framework of its ongoing efforts to protect consumers and ensure that motorcycle dealers follow up on motor-cycles defects and repairs.

The Ministry also said that it will coordinate with the dealer to follow up on the maintenance and repair works and will communicate with customers to ensure that the necessary repairs are car-ried out.

The Ministry has urged all customers to report any vio-lations to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Com-mercial Fraud Department through its channels such as Call Center: 16001, Email: info@mec.gov.qa; Twitter: @MEC_Qatar, Instagram: MEC_Qatar.

Mosques opened in Umm Al Saneem & Al Kharara The Peninsula

The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs opened two new mosques this month in

Umm Al Saneem and Al Kharara areas. The opening came as part of the Ministry’s plan to expand the number of mosques and develop them in all parts of the country, and to keep pace with needs inline with the urban development and population growth.

The new two mosque can accommodate 460 worshippers (men and women). The new mosque in Umm Al Saneem can accommodate 275 worshippers and include all services facilities, while the one in Al Kharara can

accommodate 195 worshippers. The Mosques Department of

the Ministry specialises of identi-fying the areas’ needs of the mosques and also prepare the annual plan for mosques mainte-nance in collaboration with authorities concerned.

It also supervise of the con-struction of mosques and houses of Imams in terms of technical specifications, engineering and implementation. The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs takes into account population density, engineering, architectural and her-itage characteristics, as well as environmental standards and rationalisation of water and energy consumption.

A view of the newly-opened mosque.

117 requests to control insects and rodentsThe Peninsula

The Pest and Rodent Control Section of Al Shahaniya Municipal-ity received 117 requests to combat insects and rodents last month. The Services Section of the Municipality also received 51 appli-

cations to unblock manhole and responded requests seeking to carry 1,478 tanker loads of sewerage water.

Meanwhile, Al Rayan Municipality made 962 inspection visits to eateries and food outlets last month. A total of 51 inspections were

QSTP to host first Arab Innovation AcademyThe Peninsula

Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) will host the first edition of the Arab Innovation Academy (AIA), an

ambitious new initiative aimed at giving 200 future entrepreneurs an opportunity to work under the guidance of leading Silicon Valley mentors and establish a startup by end of this month.

The Arab Innovation Academy, a collab-oration between QSTP – part of Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D) and the European Innovation Acad-emy (EIA), has received applications from 68 students from top universities in Qatar, along with 142 students from regional uni-versities, to participate in the inaugural two-week startup boot camp in Doha from December 31, to January 11. As part of the innovation initiative, participants will be introduced to an accelerated mode of expe-riential learning, including how to develop and launch new tech ventures in a real mar-ketplace with genuine customer feedback.

Dr Maher Hakim, Executive Director of QSTP, said, “We are delighted to join forces with the EIA to launch the largest entrepre-neurship program for young and aspiring technology innovators in the pan-Arab region. Through AIA, both organizations aim to import the best practices in innovation that meet local market demands and con-tribute to a sustainable success for the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the wider region.”

“QSTP serves as a regional hub of tech innovation, and, through AIA, we aim to fos-ter an entrepreneurial mind-set among the

region’s youth, who will go on to develop products and services that advance the pan-Arab tech landscape. The boot camp has been designed to enrich participants’ learning experiences and provide a solid foundation for them to successfully launch a startup and, in turn, actively contribute to the diversifi-cation of the regional economy through knowledge and innovation,” he added.

Alar Kolk, President of EIA, said, “Based on our previous European ventures I can say that the passion and skills of students from the Arab world is remarkable. We are excited about the potential to scale our previous efforts within Qatar and the Arab World, and we could not have asked for a better part-ner than QSTP.”

Throughout the two-week program, par-ticipants will be able to leverage an extensive global network comprising top experts in the field of tech entrepreneurship, who will intro-duce them to cutting-edge research methods developed by leading universities and com-panies, including University of California, Berkeley; Stanford University; Google; and Amadeus IT Group, as well as QSTP.

The academy will host international mentors, speakers, and investors, including those in Silicon Valley. A one-of-its-kind chat-bot mentor will add uniqueness to the program together with the learning tools and mobile applications provided by the EIA, a non-profit educational institution recognized for excellence in tech entrepreneurship.

A Municipal official takes part in combating drive.

QSTP gets ready for the first edition of Arab Innovation Academy.

conducted for the issuance of the new commercial licenses. The Municipality also issued seven temporary licences.

The Municipal inspectors caught 14 violations of some provisions of the law No. 8 of 1990. In 13 cases, the recon-ciliations made. A total of 34 sheep were destroyed after they were found unfit for human consumption for not comply-ing the health regulation. Three erring outlets were closed. A total of 36 samples were sent to the central laboratory for test. The collection of fines reached QR105,000.

05TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017 HOME

Closure of service road from Al Luqta to Al Beday Street The Peninsula

The Public Works Author-ity ‘Ashghal’ yesterday announced that it will

close one direction of the service road leading from Al Luqta Street to Al Beday Street for a distance of 500 metres in order to enable construc-tion and utility works in the area. The proposed closure has been designed in coordi-nation with the General Directorate of Traffic.

It will commence on tomorrow and will be in place for a year and a half.

During this period, road users travelling eastbound from Al Luqta Street and wish-ing to enter Al Beday Street, will be required to continue

straight on Al Luqta Street and turn right on to Uhud Street, take a right on to Al Muhajer-een Street, and then turn left to Badr Street to exit towards Al Beday Street, as shown in the attached map.

The Public Works Author-ity will also construct a u-turn at the point of closure on the service road to allow residents and users of the local roads to reach Uhud Street and follow the diverted route to exit to Al Beday Street.

The Public Works Author-ity will install road signs advising motorists of the clo-sure. ‘Ashghal’ requests all road users to abide by the speed limit, and follow the road signs to ensure their safety.

Spring Festival to continue for four monthsQNA

The Spring Festival, organised by the organising committee of the Private Engi-neering Office, kicked

off yesterday.Speaking to Qatar News

Agency (QNA), Souq Waqif Direc-tor Mohammed Al Salem said the festival will continue for four months and will end on April 25, 2018.

He added that choosing this period of the year is due to the good weather, noting that the festival will offer recreation activities for Qatari families and residents in Souq Waqif.

Al Salem said that this year’s edition is known for a number of renewable events, including spectacular performances by pedestrians, a group of artists and clowns from different countries, who spread joy in the hearts of visitors, as well as acrobatic per-formances. He noted that Al Ahmed arena will be a theme park that will offer a variety of electric games for all age groups. while the western arena will fea-ture a range of restaurants and games for children (less than 10 years).

He pointed out that the fes-tival will provide surprises to the public from time to time, which will be revealed in time due to

the long period of festival.The Spring Festival opens at

Souq Waqif from 3pm to 11pm. It attracts the different age groups through a variety of activ-ities for adults and young people from different nationalities and communities, tourists, citizens and residents. Souq Waqif Arts Center will participate in this edi-tion of Spring Festival and will offer workshops for adults and children.

A number of visitors of Souq Waqif praised the idea of organ-ising the festival over four months, considering it an outlet for them and their children to spend time in this unique herit-age place in the country.

A large number of children visited the games across the souq and enjoyed the fun and joyful atmosphere.

Festival organisers anticipate the number of visitors to Souq Waqif to surge during weekends and school holidays.

The Spring Festival opens at Souq Waqif from 3pm to 11pm and the festival will continue for four months and will end on April 25.

Awareness against diabetes controls increase, says expertFazeena Saleem The Peninsula

Intensive efforts by the health authorities to fight diabetes in the country have resulted pos-

itively and the prevalence of the condition among adults remain-ing at an average of 17 percent, without any noticeable increase over the past several years, says an expert at the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).

The prevalence of diabetes has not increased since 2008, according to several surveys con-ducted periodically, Dr Mahmoud Ali Zirie (pictured), Senior Con-sultant and Head of HMC’s Endocrinology and Diabetes Divi-sion, told The Peninsula. “There are several studies and survey about diabetes in Qatar, and the data shows that prevalence of the disease is steady. There was a study by the HMC in 2008, it showed the prevalence of diabe-tes as 16.7 percent. Then the Ministry of Public Health con-ducted a survey in 2012, it also showed same level of preva-lence,” he said.

“The prevalence of diabetes has not increased stabilizing the prevalence of a disease is an

achievement. This is probably due to the awareness programs con-ducted, since long time on preventing, screening and con-trolling diabetes,” he said speaking recently on the sidelines of the Second Qatar Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Conference (QDEM-2) held in Doha. HMC annually hosts series of events during the month of November in recognition of World Diabetes Day (WDD), screening thousands of residents across the country and raising awareness around how to better manage and prevent the disease. Screening and awareness cam-paigns are held during the holy month of Ramadan as well.

The awareness campaigns are designed to increase public understanding of diabetes and to empower residents to take

control over their health. The campaigns highlights risk factors of the disease, raising awareness of associated signs and symptoms and providing strategies to man-age and prevent diabetes and lifestyle-related conditions.

To mention, in 2015 HMC launched an 18-month diabetes campaign to raise public aware-ness of diabetes risk factors and to promote healthy lifestyle choices. It was an example of HMC’s ongoing efforts to stress the importance of both preven-tion and early detection.

Also with recent statistics sug-gesting that over seventy percent of the population is overweight, raising community awareness of healthy lifestyle practices is a vital strategy for reducing the inci-dence of type 2 diabetes in Qatar, said Dr Ali Zirie.

HMC has also conducts dia-betes education for patients to control the condition and lead a normal life. More than 30,000 patients received diabetes edu-cation at HMC between January 2016 and September 2017. The education provided to patients is individualised and focuses on daily care as well as handling emergency situations.

DICID chief, Tunisia’s former Minister discuss tiesThe Peninsula

Dr Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi, Chair-man of the Doha International Centre for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) has

received Dr Rafiq Abdussalam, Tunisia’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Direc-tor of the Centre for Strategic and Diplomatic Studies (CSDS) at his office.

The visit was aimed to see the activities of the centre, exchange ideas and to discuss cooperation. The guest was greeted by a number of researchers and officials of the Center.

At the beginning of the meeting, Dr Al Nuaimi praised the experiences of Abdus-salam and his role in the field of dialogue.

He said such meetings with politicians and experts in the field of dialogue opens new chapter of knowledge, an opportunity to exchange ideas and help bring maturity that eventually reflects positively on our humanitarian message about coexistence, dialogue and giving up the path of prejudice and intolerance.

Lauding the experiences of Tunisia, Dr Naimi said that Tunisia was starting point of Arab Spring. “I hope newly born democracy of Tunisia will sustain and achieve the ambi-tion of people about freedom, economic prosperity, peace, security and social coher-ence with the participation of the all sections of the community regardless their ideology”, said Al Nuaimi. “The sectarian politics being used by some countries in the region that is aimed at deepening the sectarian divide, is not an appropriate policy for the Muslim World at present”, said Dr Rafiq Abdussalam.

“We do not deny sectarian differences.

We have reservations about Iranian politics in Iraq and Syria, but we can only open dia-logue and communication between the Islamic sects, as our strategies should be based on the convergence of viewpoints,” said Abdussalam.

“On the religious side, we must interact with our friends of different faiths. There are moderate Christian and Jewish figures and anti-Zionism Jews. We must establish

communication and this will be useful for Muslim world. The internal differences among Arab countries do not ask to stop dia-logue with others,” he said adding “We have no choice except uniting ourselves”.

It is important that we start an internal dialogue with the forces that are ready for it and with friends abroad as well. We should work clearly based on a policy of minimum differences, he added.

Dr Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi, Chairman of DICID, with Dr Rafiq Abdussalam, Tunisia’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director of the Centre for Strategic and Diplomatic Studies.

Direct imports of strategic goods increase to 97% → Continued from page 1

The Chairman of the Gen-eral Customs Authority, Ahmed Abdullah Al Gammal, pointed to the decrease in the percent-age of imports of building materials from the siege coun-tries’ markets and the entry of new products from other coun-tries to the local markets and the opening of local companies to the international markets and direct import. This has led to the continuation of all State projects and World Cup projects and infrastructure at the same pace, demonstrating the ability of the State and the flexibility of its procedures , which reflected positively on the stability and availability of these commodities. He said according to the planning and cooperation between the var-ious governmental and quasi-governmental bodies, enhancing private sector pres-ence, competition and improving the investment cli-mate, gradual distribution of the concentration ratios was adopted in favour of high-quality countries with the aim of achieving cost to the lowest possible level and increasing returns to the highest level in the analysis of revenue and cost. Regarding medicines, he said that the medicines imported by Qatar from the siege countries have no effect on the local market. Suppliers were able to provide suitable alternatives without affecting the change in the prices of these commodities and the health requirements of the individual and society.

Ahmed Issa Al Mohannadi, Assistant Head of the Customs Authority, said that the Depart-ment provided all information related to the alternative coun-tries of the siege countries, from which the goods can be imported and according to quantities needed by the Qatari market at reasonable prices. He stressed that the General Authority for Customs has studied the impact of the drop in goods imported from the siege countries on the domes-tic market, where the proposals were raised with the necessary alternatives to ensure the sta-bility of the Qatari national economy.

Milaha Shipyard repairs over 7,000 ships

→ Continued from page 1“The key factors driving the

growth of the market are global seaborne trade, improved eco-nomic growth, rising urbanization and increase in glo-bal steel production,” said the Global Shipbuilding Market Report. “Some of the notewor-thy trends and developments of this industry are green shipbuild-ing technology, advanced outfitting, ship launching airbag, LNG fueled engines and solar and wind powered ships,” it added.

The Milaha Shipyard offers dry docking, maintenance and afloat repairs capabilities to sev-eral kind of ships ranging from offshore, shipping lines, navy and yachts. The shipyard has two Floating Docks with a lifting capacity of 3,800 tonnes and 8,500 tonnes. It has also a Syn-chrolift with a lifting capacity of

700 tonnes and berthing facili-ties that can accommodate vessels of up to 200 metre in length and 7 metre in draught.

The shipyard offers also non marine services, such as heavy fabrication and shutdowns, spea-cialised manpower supply workshop services and maintenance.

A ship docked at Milaha Shipyard for routine repair.

06 TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017HOME

The Peninsula

The Quranic Botanic Gar-den (QBG), a member of Qatar Foundation (QF), is

set to host its third consecutive environmental research contest for secondary school students in Qatar.

The competition, in which 20 high schools in Qatar would participate in a variety of envi-ronmental research projects, aims to build a generation of students dedicated to explor-ing, researching, and conserving natural resources, specifically plants.

In line with QF’s mission, the competition is designed to promote sustainable develop-ment and inspire environmental responsibility among young people.

The contest is being held in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Edu-cation and Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), also a member of QF, within the framework of QNRF’s National Scientific Research Competition for school students in Qatar.

The research competition seeks to provide innovative and practical solutions for contem-p o r a r y e n v i r o n m e n t a l problems, with particular

emphasis on plants, water, and agriculture in light of the cur-rent political circumstances in the region. The contest aims to provide the opportunity for stu-dents to study the causes of the problems and provide practical solutions that can be imple-mented on the ground.

Fatima Saleh Al Khulaifi, Manager, QBG, said, “The role of the Quranic Botanic Garden in this competition is to over-see the students’ research, and provide scientific advice and technical support to participat-ing schools. The Quranic Botanic Garden is also working alongside various universities, institutions, and scientific enti-ties in Qatar, such as Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Uni-versity, and the Ministry of Municipality and Environment. QBG has already hosted a number of educational work-shops for participating students

and teachers at the Education City Student Center, and has organized a series of site visits to the QF plant nursery.”

QBG is helping to review and design prospective research proposals. So far, 30 abstracts have been submitted, focusing on important issues such as agriculture, re-purposing left-over food and drink, aquaponics, and the economi-cal re-use of farm residues and landscape areas. Proposals also discuss the study and evalua-t ion of wi ld plants , desertification, the consump-tion of natural resources such as water, and microorganisms that infect fruit and vegetable crops in Qatar.

In order to honour the win-ners of the contest, QBG will organise a ceremony in Febru-ary during the celebration of Qatar National Environment Day 2018.

QBG contest to promote sustainable development

A session during an environmental drive by the Quranic Botanic Garden (QBG). BELOW: Officials during a discussion.

The competition, in which 20 high schools in Qatar would participate in a variety of environmental research projects, aims to build a generation of students dedicated to exploring, researching, and conserving natural resources, specifically plants.

07TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017 HOME

The Peninsula

The power of the ‘flipped classroom’ teaching model for maximising

learning outcomes among med-ical students was discussed by two visiting experts at a two-day symposium at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q).

The flipped classroom model reverses traditional teaching approaches by using interactive learning tools, par-ticularly digital resources like online videos, to empower stu-dents to acquire foundational knowledge in their own time rather than in the classroom.

This allows instructors to use class time to utilise knowl-edge as a basis for a variety of enriched learning activities such as collaborative discus-sions, practical exercises and, crucially for medical students, simulated learning sessions that mimic real-world interactions with patients.

More than 60 educators working in the health profes-sions field attended the ‘Digital Education Strategies for Imple-menting the Flipped Classroom’ conference, which was deliv-ered by Dr Traci Wolbrink and Dr. Dennis Daniel, both of Bos-ton Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Attendees took part in 12 interactive learning sessions over the two days, covering top-ics such as the evolution of medical education in the dig-ital context, characteristics of millennial learners, adult learn-ing theory, definitions of the flipped classroom, audience response systems and practical advice on how to create effec-tive and compelling video and

audio recordings for learners. Dr. Wolbrink, Associate in

Critical Care Medicine at Bos-ton Children’s Hospital and Assistant Professor in Anesthe-sia at Harvard Medical School, said, “We know that medical students are excellent at inte-grating knowledge from written material and videos, so if they can do that outside of the class-room we can use that valuable and expensive classroom time for more interactive and effec-tive learning strategies. If we as educators can curate the right content for them to learn ahead of time they have better ques-tions for their instructors and they can engage in activities that are more exciting and effective than listening to a didactic lecture.”

The event was coordinated by WCM-Q’s Division of Con-t i n u i n g P r o f e s s i o n a l Development as part of the col-lege’s Educators Across the Healthcare Spectrum series, which promotes excellence and innovation in the field of health professions education. The event was accredited locally by the Qatar Council for Health-care Practitioners-Accreditation Department (QCHP-AD) and internationally by the Accred-itation Council for Continuing Medical Education.

WCM-Q explores ‘flipped classroom’ model to enrich medical education

Speakers with some participants during the symposium.

The Peninsula

Drawing upon the collec-tive imagination of its student body, the College

of Islamic Studies (CIS) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation, organised the University’s first makerspace initiative, bringing together students to share ideas, experiment learning and develop a framework for trans-formative change.

The session, titled ‘Islam in a Global World: A Makerspace,’ concluded with a joint declara-tion issued to humanity.

The four-point statement sourced its inspiration from the tenets of Islam and discussed the role of communities across the globe in the face of pressing con-temporary challenges. As a concluding stage of the maker-space initiative, participating students will avail the opportu-nity to present the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with their hopes for glo-b a l c o m m u n i t i e s t o collaboratively work towards the resolution of world crises.

Describing the empower-ment of youth as one of the most

critical factors in addressing contemporary challenges that affect the Islamic world, Dr Emad El-Din Shahin, Dean of CIS, said, “At the College of Islamic Studies, it is a key part of our institutional efforts to stir a civilisational renaissance. This declaration seeks to give stu-dents a platform to voice their collective concerns and develop their own unique and creative solutions. We essentially share the responsibility of problem-solving with a generation that is the biggest shareholder in the building of a peaceful future.”

Organised by CIS’ Assistant Professor, Dr Mohamed Evren Tok, the makerspace initiative is a novel approach and provides a maiden opportunity for stu-dents to gather and collaborate to produce creative results, with

each participant harnessing their own academic background, life experiences and internal moti-vation. Further facilitating students to synergise produc-tively during the course of the day, CIS’s communal creative space, where the initiative was conducted, came equipped with stationery, art tools and other constructive resources.

In their declaration to humanity, the students pro-claimed that a shared obligation exists to protect and integrate refugees, while affording them basic human rights. Further-more, they stated that communities must enshrine principles of humanitarianism and work together to holistically address the material and non-material needs of the vulnerable.

Building on the theme of collab-oration, the authors called for inter-communal dialogue to seek common ground where conflict was rife. Finally, denouncing terrorism in all its forms, the students stressed on the need for a multifaceted approach to combat this global phenomenon, based on the pro-motion of education and justice.

Makerspace is an initiative under Innovation Space, a cor-nerstone project of HBKU that is critical to the objectives out-lined in the University’s 10-year strategic plan. The project was launched with the aim of devel-oping an innovative culture under which novel ideas from the HBKU community may thrive.

CIS initiative discusses contemporary issues

Students of the College of Islamic Studies during the University’s first makerspace initiative.

The Peninsula

The Doha Film Institute (DFI) has opened sub-missions for the region’s first-ever week-long Series Lab

next month for directors, writ-ers and producers working in serialised content in Qatar and other MENA countries.

Organised in partnership with Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the oldest and larg-est non-profit in the US, dedicated to storytelling in all forms, the Series Lab will help build skills and talents on scripted and non-fiction series projects.

Talents associated with seri-alised content projects for distribution on any platform including television, digital media or App-based work, can apply for the Series Lab to be led by an international team of experts.

Based on the IFP Screen For-ward Labs, the DFI Series Lab will focus on strengthening the skills of the participants in

preparing pitches, developing their project, securing financing, understanding the global mar-ketplace, creating winning marketing strategies, and find-ing unique avenues for distribution.

Fatma Al Remaihi, Chief Executive Officer of DFI, said: “Serial content is an increasingly important part of the audio-vis-ual industry that is driving a revolutionary transformation in media consumption across the globe. The proliferation of dig-ital content intake is bringing alternative content to the fore-front, with seemingly endless possibilities for creators and con-sumers alike.

“The Series Lab, the first in the region to promote Qatari and Arab talent and skills in serial-ised content will add value to the region’s creative industry and support the importance of pro-ducing quality content from the MENA region. By supporting the brainstorming development and execution of strategies of new creators, projects will be intro-duced to a world that has shown

the desire to discover independ-ent and diverse voices in storytelling.” A highlight of the DFI Series Lab is the participa-tion of Julie Goldman and Christopher Clements, the pro-ducers of Humans of New York: The Series. Filmed over four years, and taken from 1200 interviews, it is a documentary series based on the photography blog by Brandon Stanton.

With the DFI and IFP staff to lead the workshops, the Series Lab will include insightful dis-cussions on ‘Developing Your Series in the Digital and New Landscape,’ working on a pilot script, developing characters, story arc, episodes breakdown, tone and statements, and what to be aware of in the digital and TV landscape while developing a series project.

Susan Lewis, Head of Devel-opment at Alicia Keys’ production company, is the men-tor of the Series Lab. She will be joined by Ryan O’nan, TV Writer and Showrunner; and Bassem Breche, an Emmy-award win-ning scriptwriter.

To be held from January 29 to February 2, from 9.30am to 6pm, the lab is designed for dig-ital creatives, producers, writers, directors, or anyone interested in scripted serialised projects for TV and web series, or app-based platforms. Candidates must have

a fiction or non-fiction project in development with a director/screenwriter/producer associ-ated to the project. They should also have produced at least one short or feature-length narrative or documentary film in the past.

The DFI Series Lab will have

only 8 to 10 projects to ensure individualised attention with a maximum of two attendees per project. The deadline for receiv-ing applications is January 6 and the Lab Fee is QR2,000. To apply, log on to: www.dohafilm-institute.com

DFI Series Lab to build skills in serialised content

The Peninsula

Ambassadors who have vis-ited the second Mahaseel Festival at Katara praised

the fair for being a unique and excellent marketing platform for local Qatari products.

Turkey Ambassador Fikret Ozer, Bangladesh Ambassador Ashud Ahmed, and El Salvador Ambassador Alfredo Molina were accompanied by Katara General Manager Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti on a tour of the festival.

Dr Sulaiti briefed them on the various Qatari farm prod-ucts, highlighting Mahaseel’s objective in supporting local products and their quality and competitive price.

The Ambassadors lauded the quality and the diverse variety of products on offer at the festival.

Located in the southern area of Katara, the Festival has gained popularity since it opened this season and has continued to be busy for the third day in a row a m i d a r e m a r k a b l e

public turnout. Many shoppers are patronising agricultural products which are sourced directly from Qatari farms.

High quality fresh local veg-etables, poultry, dairy and various types of honey are among the products being sold at the festival. Buyers said that the local products offered are of better quality and much reason-ably priced than those sold in the

market. Qatari farmers partici-pating at the festival are offering a premium package of the best agricultural products of more than 35 varieties, after cleaning, sterilisation and packaging by a specialized agricultural team under the supervision of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment to ensure that they are free of chemicals and ferti-lizers. It is thus providing an

ideal platform not only to show-case national products but also to support the efforts to achieve food security and self-suffi-ciency, and also enhancing independence of the national economy.

Mahaseel also sees a wide participation of Qatari families, through the allocation of a pop-ular food market, which contributes to the encourage-ment and support of local production. The stalls of the Pro-ductive Families are offering many local cuisine to visitors.

“The bread which are pre-pared here is popular among the visitors of the festival,” said Um Ali, who makes and sells bread at low price.

Aisha Abdullah makes tra-ditional Qatari food such as’ Al Biryani and Al Makbous’ for the visitors at the festival along with hot beverages such as tea, cof-fee and Karak. Mahaseel Festival runs till December 27 from 9am to 10pm. From Janu-ary until the end of March, it will take place from Thursday to Saturday.

Envoys laud excellence of Mahaseel Festival

Participants during a session of a DFI event.

Katara General Manager Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti briefs an Ambassador on various local products available at Mahaseel Festival.

The flipped classroom model reverses traditional teaching approaches by using interactive learning tools, particularly digital resources.

The session, titled ‘Islam in a Global World: A Makerspace,’ concluded with a joint declaration issued to humanity.

08 TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017MIDDLE EAST

People watch a football match on a big screen in the square outside Al Mubarakiya Souk in Kuwait City.

Leisure zone

Aden

AFP

Fresh air strikes and clashes in Yemen have killed over 60 fighters as Saudi-backed pro-government forces

push an offensive against Houthi rebels, security and medical sources said yesterday.

Saudi-led coalition air raids overnight killed at least 18 of the Iran-backed rebels in Hais, south of the key port of Hodeida, while bombardments from gunships left 35 others dead in nearby Tahita, a security official said.

The latest fighting killed 12 government troops and wounded 19 more, military and medical sources said.

On the outskirts of the capi-tal Sana’a, a witness said that seven members of the same fam-ily including women and children were killed by a coali-tion air strike Monday.

Government troops and coa-lition forces have been advancing along the Red Sea coast, seizing the town of Khokha earlier this month. The stated goal is to reach Hodeida, Yemen’s second largest port and a key entry point for aid to the country, which the UN has warned faces “the larg-est famine the world has seen for many decades”.

But the coalition has met

strong resistance from the Shi-ite Huthis, who control the capital Sana’a and most of north-ern Yemen.

Yesterday’s deadly air raid in Sana’a hit the guard house at a memorial to Egyptian soldiers killed in Yemen in the 1960s, according to a witness who served as a first responder.

The guardian of the memo-rial Ali Mosleh Al Rimi and his wife were killed, along with his four daughters and another rel-ative, Moussaed Al Himi said.

Himi, who helped evacuate the bodies, said two other fam-ily members were wounded. Rebel media put the number of dead at 11. “I saw everything with my own eyes,” Himi said, adding that multiple missiles had hit the house, which was left badly damaged.

A Saudi-led coalition has been waging an air campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels since March 2015 in an attempt

to shore up the internationally recognised government of Pres-ident Abedrabbo Mansur Hadi.

Fighting and air raids have intensified since December 19, when Saudi air defences inter-cepted a ballistic missile fired by

the Iran-backed Huthis towards the capital Riyadh. More than 8,750 people have been killed in the conflict since the coalition’s intervention in the impoverished country, where more than 2,000 people have also died of cholera

this year. The UN human rights office said it had tallied 136 civil-ians killed and another 87 wounded in strikes on Sana’a, Saada, Hodeida, Marib and Taez governorates between Decem-ber 6 and 16.

Over 60 fighters dead in fresh Yemen air strikes

Istanbul

AFP

The controversial trial of staff from Turkey’s main opposition newspaper

accused of terror links resumed yesterday, in a case which has raised alarm over press freedom under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Seventeen current and former writers, cartoonists and executives from Cumhuriyet (“Republic”) are accused of sup-porting three “armed terrorist organisations”.

They face up to 43 years in prison and four of them are

already in jail. Their supporters say the charges are absurd and the daily says the trial is an attempt to silence one of the last independent newspapers.

Dozens of supporters gath-ered outside the court in Istanbul on Monday, holding signs saying “You are not alone, we are not alone”, “Justice for all” and “Freedom for all jour-nalists”. The daily is fiercely critical of Erdogan and has run front page stories that have angered the president. “This trial is a symbol of the attempt to silence freedom of expression in Turkey. It is a symbol of pres-sure on journalists,” Gulendam

San Karabulutlar, a defence lawyer, said .

The 17 are charged with sup-porting through their coverage three organisations Turkey views as terror groups -- the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the ultra-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), and the movement of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen blamed by Ankara for last year’s attempted putsch. Those already in jail include the paper’s chair-man Akin Atalay and editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu, imprisoned for 421 days, as well as investigative reporter Ahmet Sik, in prison for 360 days.

Trial of Turkey oppn newspaper staff resumes

Ankara

AFP

The Turkish government yesterday rejected accu-sations that an emergency

decree would shield pro-gov-ernment supporters from legal action if they commit violence.

The decree, issued on Sun-day under the current state of emergency, said civilians would not face prosecution for actions against last year’s failed coup, anything considered its “contin-uation”, any further coup attempts and terrorist attacks.

Turkish opposition parties and the head of Turkey’s bar association warned the move

could encourage street fighting and mob rule, while former president Abdullah Gul -- who rarely speaks out in public -- also sounded the alarm.

The decree was “worrisome in terms of the understanding of the rule of law”, said Gul, a co-founder of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) party and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s predecessor, who usually keeps a guarded silence on matters concerning the government.

“I hope that it will be looked at again to avoid giving the opportunity to events and devel-opments in the future that would upset us all,” Gul said on

Twitter. But top Turkish officials defended the decree, saying the legal change only affected civil-ians who took to the streets during the July 15, 2016 failed overthrow of Erdogan.

“The purpose of this was to make sure that in the future someone who came out on the night to protect their country will face absolutely no legal probes,” Mahir Unal, AKP spokesperson, told reporters in Ankara.

Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul, quoted by state-run news agency Anadolu, insisted that extra-judicial violence would not be allowed. “If a citizen has committed torture against

another person, acted in a wrong, unjust or illegal way sep-arately from preventing a coup, they will be tried,” Gul said.

Opposition parties warned the decree risked inciting polit-ical violence and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said it would chal-lenge the decree at the constitutional court.

“This article (permits the) establishment of a civilian armed gang with the hand of the state... Are you trying to throw Turkey into the fire?” CHP spokesperson Bulent Tezcan said, adding that the decree was “trying to create a militarist state”.

Turkish bar association chief Metin Feyzioglu said in a video shared on Facebook: “People will begin to shoot each other in the head on the streets. How are you going to prevent this?”

Erdogan rival and leader of Turkey’s newest political party, Meral Aksener, also warned of the risk of a “civil war”, while the pro-Kurdish opposition Peo-ples’ Democratic Party said it feared the decree could lead to “chaos”.

Ankara passed the decree under the state of emergency that was declared after last year’s failed coup.

The state of emergency has since been renewed five times.

Turkey rejects impunity claims over emergency decree

Gaza

Reuters

The Red Cross said yester-day Israel has a duty to guarantee the safety and

dignity of Palestinian families visiting prisoners, after a right-wing lawmaker was filmed shouting abuse aboard a bus taking relatives to a family visit in an Israeli jail.

The legislator, Oren Hazan, boarded the bus at the Gaza border with video crews in tow. He said on Twitter he told the relatives that the prisoners were “terrorists who belong in the ground”. In a video clip on social media, he shouted at one prisoner’s mother that her son was an “insect” and a “dog”.

“An insect?,” she yelled back. “My son is the best of men. A dog is whoever calls him a dog.”

Hazan has a record of stag-ing publicity stunts, including crashing a welcoming cere-mony for visiting U.S. President Donald Trump. He once agreed to stage a fistfight at the border with a member of Jordan’s par-liament, only to cancel it on the orders of Prime Minister Ben-jamin Netanyahu.

The families on the bus were on their way to Nafha prison in southern Israel from the Gaza Strip in a convoy escorted by the International Committee of the Red Cross

(ICRC). In a statement, the ICRC said it “takes very seriously what happened today”.

“Families have the right to visit their loved ones in a dig-nified manner,” Suhair Zakkout, Gaza spokeswoman for the ICRC, said in the statement. “It is the responsibility of the com-petent authorities to ensure that the visits take place safely and without interference.”

Hazan, a member of Netan-yahu’s Likud party, said he confronted the relatives to pro-mote legislation to cancel such family visits until Israeli pris-oners in Gaza and the remains of Israeli troops were returned.

Hamas, the dominant mil-itant group in the Gaza Strip, has acknowledged holding three Israeli civilians who crossed into the enclave. In addition, Israel is seeking the return of the remains of two soldiers it says were killed in a 2014 Gaza war.

Hamas has demanded the release of its members who were re-arrested and impris-oned by Israel in 2014 for alleged security offences after being released in a 2011 swap for a captured Israeli soldier.

Maximum security Nafha prison, in the southern Israeli desert, is used mainly to hold Palestinians convicted of anti-Israeli security offences. The convoy completed its journey to the facility.

Red Cross rebukes Israel after video of abuse by lawmaker

A Yemeni man takes a picture of the debris following an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition on the guard house of a memorial to Egyptian soldiers in the southern Sana’a neighbourhood of Aser, yesterday.

Saudi-led coalition air raids overnight killed at least 18 of the Iran-backed rebels in Hais, south of the key port of Hodeida, while bombardments from gunships left 35 others dead in nearby Tahita, a security official said.

Tunis

QNA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will start today a two-day

state visit to Tunisia at the invitation of Tunisian Presi-dent Beji Caid Essebsi.

The visit comes as the two sides aim to reinforce and diversify bilateral cooperation relations and strengthen political consultation between both countries, a statement by the Tunisian presidency said on Monday.

During the visit, the Turk-ish president is set to hold talks with Essebsi, Speaker of House of Peoples’ Represent-atives Mohammed Ennaceur and Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, in addition to sign-ing a number of agreements between the two countries.

Turkish President to visit Tunisia

Dubai

AP

Bahrain’s Military High Court yesterday sen-tenced six Shias to

death, 15 years in prison and revoked their nationality on charges of attempting to assassinate the commander-in-chief of the country’s defence force, who oversees the appointment of military judges.

The state-run Bahrain News Agency said the case involved 18 defendants, eight of whom were tried in absen-tia. The group was charged with a number of crimes, including forming a terrorist cell.

Seven of the defendants were sentenced to seven years in jail and stripped of their Bahraini nationality. Five were acquitted. The state news agency said those found guilty have the right to appeal the verdict with the military’s high court of appeals.

The Bahrain Forum for Human Rights criticised the verdicts, saying the military’s judiciary is prosecuting civil-ians for simply exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. It alleged that the defendants were subjected torture and solitary confinement.

Bahrain, a tiny island-state off the coast of Saudi Arabia, is majority Shia.

Bahrain sentences 6 Shias to death

09TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Ramallah

AFP

The Palestinian foreign ministry yesterday slammed as “shame-ful” Guatemala’s decision to transfer its

embassy to Jerusalem after the United States recognised the city as the capital of Israel.

“It’s a shameful and illegal act that goes totally against the wishes of church leaders in Jeru-salem” and violates a non-binding UN General Assem-bly resolution condemning the US move, the ministry said in a statement.

“The state of Palestine con-siders this as a flagrant act of hostility against the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and international law,” it said.

“The state of Palestine will act with regional and interna-tional partners to oppose this illegal decision.”

Guatemala’s announcement on Sunday came after two-thirds of UN member states approved a motion rejecting US President Donald Trump’s controversial

decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Guatemala was among only eight countries to join the United States on Thursday in voting against the resolution.

Trump’s announcement on December 6 sparked anger in the Palestinian territories and across the Muslim world.

Israel seized the eastern part of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed it in a move not recognised by the international community.

Israelis see the whole of the city as their undivided capital while the Palestinians view the east as the capital of their future state.

No country currently has its embassy in Jerusalem, instead keeping them in the Israeli com-mercial capital Tel Aviv.

Guatemala President Jimmy Morales has announced the relo-cation of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, following US President Donald Trump’s con-troversial decision on the holy city.

After speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu, Morales messaged Guatemalans on his Facebook page yesterday, saying “one of the most important topics was the return of Guatemala’s embassy to Jerusalem,” from Tel Aviv where it is currently located.

“For this reason I am inform-ing you that I have given instructions to the foreign min-istry that it start the necessary respective coordination to make this happen,” Morales wrote.

Guatemala’s leader made the announcement on Christmas Eve, three days after two-thirds of UN member states rejected Trump’s decision to have the United States recognize Jerusa-lem as Israel’s capital.

Netanyahu hailed the deci-sion, saying other nations would follow Washington’s lead.

“Other countries will recog-nise Jerusalem and announce the relocation of their embassies. A second country did it and I repeat it: there will be others, it’s just the start and it’s important,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

In all, 128 nations voted to maintain the international con-sensus that Jerusalem’s status can only be decided through peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

Only eight countries stood with the United States in voting no to the resolution held in the UN General Assembly, among them Guatemala and fellow Cen-tral American country Honduras.

Guatemala and Honduras are both reliant on US funding to improve security in their gang-ridden territories.

The two nations are, along with El Salvador, in what is known as the Northern Triangle of Central America. Violence, corruption and poverty have made them the main source of

illegal migration to the United States, which is giving them $750m to provide better condi-tions at home.

Morales, like Trump, was a television entertainer with no real political experience before becoming president of Guate-mala in 2016.

On Friday, Morales foreshad-owed the decision he was to make regarding Jerusalem, as he defended his government’s vote at the UN backing the United States. “Guatemala is historically pro-Israeli,” he told a news con-ference in Guatemala City.

“In 70 years of relations, Israel has been our ally,” he said.

“We have a Christian way of thinking that, as well as the pol-itics of it, has us believing that Israel is our ally and we must support it.”

Morales’s position has become fragile in recent months because of allegations of corrup-tion against him being investigated by a special UN-backed body working with Guatemalan prosecutors.

The United States ambassa-dor to the UN, Nikki Haley, had

said her country would “take names” of the states opposing its position, and Trump threatened to cut funding to countries “that take our money and then vote against us.”

Several significant US allies abstained from the UN vote, among them Australia, Canada, Mexico and Poland.

Others, such as Britain, France, Germany and South Korea were among the nations denouncing any unilateral deci-sion to view Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The eight countries on the US side of the vote were: Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo.

Following the US decision on Jerusalem, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would “no longer accept” any peace plan proposed by the US, deal-ing a pre-emptive blow to an initiative expected by Washing-ton next year.

Trump has tasked his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had no prior experience in govern-ment, with spearheading the complicated peace plan efforts.

Guatemala’s embassy move shameful: Palestine

Tunis

Agencies

Tunisia’s transport ministry has announced the suspen-sion of all Emirates Airlines

flights to and from the North African country.

The move came two days after Tunisian women were denied boarding their flights to Dubai on the United Arab Emir-ates-based carrier.

The transport ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page that it “has decided to sus-pend flights of Emirates Airlines to and from Tunisia until the company can find a suitable solution to operate its flights in accordance with international laws and treaties”.

According to Tunisia’s state-run news agency, Salem Zeabi, the UAE ambassador to Tunisia, was called to the Ministry of For-eign Affairs to “provide

clarification on the measure ban-ning” Tunisian women from flying to or transiting through the Gulf state’s territory.

Zeabi reportedly said the measure was “temporary and relating to security arrange-ments”. Earlier on Sunday, Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s min-ister of state for foreign affairs, also cited security as the reason for the travel restriction.

“We have contacted our Tunisian brothers about security information that necessitated taking specific and circumstan-tial measures,” Gargash wrote on Twitter. He also said that the UAE “appreciates and respects Tunisian women”, adding that “we should avoid attempts at interpretation and errors”.

Speaking to Mosaique FM, a local Tunisian radio station, one of the women described her experience at the Tunis-Carthage International Airport on Friday.

“When we arrived here, we found the situation really cha-otic. The Emirates Airlines staff told me that a Tunisian woman under the age of 30, with a Tuni-sian passport, can’t get on the Emirates flight,” she said.

“I told them it was just a transit flight - they told me, ‘No, don’t step foot on the plane.’”

Another female would-be passenger said men and male children were allowed to board flights - but not women under

30. “So the daughter and the mum stay in Tunisia but the hus-band and son can travel. Is this logical? It’s degrading. It’s degrading to the Tunisian woman, to our nationality - to everything”.

Tunisia suspends Emirates flights

Iran Supreme Court upholds academic’s death sentenceDUBAI: Iran’s Supreme Court has upheld a death sentence against a Sweden-based Ira-nian academic convicted of spying for Israel, the Tehran prosecutor was quoted as saying yesterday, confirming reports by Amnesty Interna-tional and his family.

Ahmadreza Djalali, a medical doctor and lecturer at the Karolinska Institute, a Stockholm medical univer-sity, was accused of providing information to Israel to help it assassinate several senior nuclear scientists. Djalali was arrested in Iran in April 2016 and later convicted of espio-nage. He has denied the charges, Amnesty said.

At least four scientists were killed between 2010 and 2012 in what Tehran said were assassinations meant to sabotage its efforts to develop nuclear energy. Western powers and Israel said Iran aimed to build a nuclear bomb. Tehran denied this.

The Islamic Republic hanged a man in 2012 over the killings, saying he was an agent for Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. Tehran pros-ecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said the Supreme Court recently upheld the death sen-tence against Djalali, the news site of Iran’s judiciary, Mizan, reported.

Istanbul

Anatolia

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said his country remains committed to support Sudan.

Speaking at Khartoum University in Sudanese capital after being awarded an honorary doctorate, Erdogan said Turkey would continue to be with the Sudanese people through its institutions and organisations.

The Turkish president said he especially asked Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir to allow Turkey to restore artifacts in Suakin port city. “There are mosques of Hanafi and Shafi’i, which are restored by TIKA (Turkish Cooperation and Develop-ment Agency),” he added. Suakin, one of the oldest seaports in Africa, was used by

African Muslims who set out for pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. Ottomans used the port city to secure the Hejaz province — present-day western Saudi Arabia — from attackers using the Red Sea front. Erdogan further stated the future will be of the African con-tinent before the end of this century.

“As long as we stand together, we make effort and do not bow down as we did not bow down on the issue of Jerusalem,” he added. Erdogan also said that Turkey and Sudan worked on another project to estab-lish a Sudan-Turkey University.

“We will give instructions on this as soon as we return [to Turkey],” the Turkish pres-ident said. Erdogan’s visit, the first by a Turkish president, was welcomed by his Sudanese counterpart Omar ashir who said it would boost relations between the two countries.

Maiduguri

Reuters

Suspected Boko Haram mil-itants attacked yesterday the outskirts of Maiduguri,

the Nigerian city at the centre of the conflict with the Islamist insurgency, witnesses said.

Heavy gunfire was heard in the Molai area of the city and

residents were fleeing, said two residents and an officer in a local vigilante group.

“We are under attack now, the situation is bad,” said the vigilante group commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding that he suspected Boko Haram was behind the assault.

A soldier in the area, who asked not to be identified, said

the army was trying repel the attackers, but he did not give more details.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility or any statements confirming an attack from the authorities. It was also not immediately possible to identify the target of the assault.

Boko Haram has in the past targetted places of worship

during religious celebrations, including attacking churches at Christmas or mosques during Muslim festivals or prayer times.

The government often says it is on alert for Boko Haram attacks during the Christmas period and other religious festivals, and embassies warn their nationals to be cautious and avoid public spaces at those times.

The last major Boko Haram attack on Maiduguri, a mainly Muslim city with a Christian minority, was in June, when the group launched an assault on the eve of a visit by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. Boko Haram, whose name loosely translates as “Western-style education is forbidden”, is seeking to impose its strict laws.

Turkey remains committed to back Sudan: Erdogan

President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left), receiving an honorary PhD from the University of Khartoum in Khartoum, Sudan, yesterday.

Boko Haram militants attack Nigerian city at centre of conflict

Tunisian women protest in front of the UAE embassy in Tunis yesterday, against the security measures taken by the United Arab Emirates against Tunisian women to travel to the Gulf state.

South Africa’s ruling party in talks to oust ZumaJOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s ruling African National Congress will begin talks after Christmas to nego-tiate an exit for President Jacob Zuma as soon as next month, Johannesburg’s Sun-day Times reported, citing people it didn’t identify.

Allies of the president are in secret talks to see a way out for Zuma before his term ends in 2019, according to the newspaper. The nation’s Dep-uty President Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as the ANC’s new leader. Ram-aphosa and the newly elected National Executive Commit-tee may raise the issue of Zuma’s ousting next month at the first leadership meet-ing of 2018, the Sunday Times said. The NEC is the ANC’s highest decision-making body in between its five yearly national conferences.

“The state of Palestine considers this as a flagrant act of hostility against the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and international law,” the foreign ministry said.

Politicising sports for vested interests is not an internal issue but it has more often become an international issue of concern. Some sports experts are even calling for international measures to prevent politics from spilling over

into sports. Targeting Qatar for hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022 is

one of the examples of politicisation of sports which is very evident from some quarters especially by two countries of an Arab quartet who announced an unjust blockade against this nation more than six months ago. The World Cup has been a target for the blockading countries, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE pressuring world football governing body FIFA on the issue. However, their nefarious attempts failed with FIFA which rejected all their allegations.

But the siege countries continued their dirty politics by targeting this year’s Gulf Cup which was to be hosted by Qatar, the defending champion. With none of the football associations from three siege countries responding to requests to confirm their participation by November 30, it was expected that Gulf Cup 2017 would have to be cancelled. But Qatar’s strong stand that sports should not be mixed with political interests and its willingness to transfer the tournament to Kuwait and FIFA’s approval of the move, all the anxieties were over and the Gulf Cup kicked off in a splendid manner without any boycott. It is worth mentioning that the FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who attended the inaugural matches in Kuwait, congratulated

the Qatari football authorities for their honourable gesture.

However, the anti-Qatar attitude of the siege countries continues to boil on the venue of the tournament. Before the beginning of the Gulf Cup matches the Saudi national football team arrived for a press conference but left the room immediately after a short photo session, without taking questions from the waiting journalists. When journalists asked for the reason, Kuwaiti officials said that Saudi team objected to the presence of Qatari media and they wanted the microphones of the Qatar-based channels to be removed,

including that of Al Jazeera. Later, Kuwait’s football association issued a statement saying that “a suitable solution had been reached for the upcoming press conference that will appease all parties”.

The ungentlemanly attitude of the siege countries is not limited to football. On Sunday, Qatar Chess Assocaition announced that national men’s and women’s teams could not compete in the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh from today. According to the Qatar Chess Federation, the championship’s organisers have demanded that the players not display the Qatari flag at any stage during the competition. The Qatari players rejected the demand and they were denied visas.

The move by the organisers was clearly unfair to the players and violation of international law. It is imperative that global intervention should be made to save sports from vested interests.

10 TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017VIEWS

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

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

m.salim@pen.com.qa

Politicising sports

QUOTE OF THE DAY

The state of Palestine considers Guatemala’s Jerusalem embassy move as a flagrant act of hostility against the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and international law.

Riyad Al MalkiPalestinian Foreign Minister

The move by the organisers was clearly unfair to Qatari players and violation of international law. It is imperative that global intervention should be made to save sports from vested interests.

After months of conflicting messages, last week the Trump administration took a big step toward drastically expanding punishments for human rights abusers and kleptocrats all

over the world. The move also reveals how gov-ernment professionals and political officials inside the administration are finding ways to work together one year into the Trump presidency.

There was understandable skepticism that the Trump team would enthusiastically enforce the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Account-ability Act, signed by President Barack Obama in his final days in office, which authorizes the president to block visas and sanction individu-als and entities from any country that abuses human rights or engages in “acts of significant corruption.” But the first-ever list of 51 such tar-gets, announced by the State and Treasury departments on December 21, was a clear sign the Trump administration is supporting the law and implementing it in good faith.

The world’s worst crooks and killers should be running scared. The law and the executive order President Donald Trump issued make it much easier for the USgovernment to single out and punish egregious cases of abuse. Included in the list were Artem Chayka, the son of the prosecutor general of Russia; Gao Yan, a senior Chinese security official; and Maung Maung Soe, who oversaw Burmese military atrocities against ethnic Rohingya.

“Today, the United States is taking a strong stand against human rights abuse and corrup-tion globally by shutting these bad actors out of the USfinancial system,” Treasury Secretary Ste-ven Mnuchin said, promising that the Trump administration would continue holding human rights abusers to account.

A senior administration official said last week’s actions were meant to set the standard going forward for Trump’s human rights pol-icy. Although Congress requires an annual report on the law’s implementation, the Trump team is expected to issue new Global Magnitsky sanc-tions on a rolling basis, meaning rights abusers cannot enjoy confidence that they are safe at any time.

The new approach does seem to run coun-ter to signals that have been coming from the administration’s top ranks. In May, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said promoting American values is too often “an obstacle” to advancing USinterests. His top policy staffer, Brian Hook, then wrote him a memo explaining why and how human rights promotion can be a useful tool in foreign policy.

The president’s national security strategy, also issued last week, barely mentions human rights, instead focusing on enhancing Ameri-can influence by setting a good example. “We do not seek to impose our way of life on any-one, but we will champion the values without apology,” Trump said in his speech rolling out the document.

Amid all that confusion, Trump’s

Trump puts the world’s worst crooks and killers on noticeJosh RoginThe Washington Post

government produced a list of human rights abusers to sanction that was seri-ous, well-constructed and crafted to implement the law as intended, said Dan-iel Fried, who was the State Department’s sanctions coordinator during the Obama administration.

The Trump list gets at some of the worst actors without being so expansive as to exacerbate the risk of abuse and over-reach, Fried said. That shows the experts at the State and Treasury departments

were given the support needed from higher-ups to do the job right.

“Despite all this talk about the ‘deep state,’ it s h o w s h o w

the professionals who run the policy are capable of working under difficult circum-stances and doing great work,” Fried said. “And if the Trump administration gets credit for it, so be it.”

The authors of the law, Sens. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., and John McCain, R-Ariz., praised the administration in a statement but also expressed their gratitude to career professionals inside the bureaucracy “whose expertise and dedication to justice made today’s Global Magnitsky sanctions designations possible.”

Hermitage Capital Management chief William Browder, who started the Mag-nitsky effort years ago, compared the Trump administration’s action favorably to that of the Obama team. Browder’s law-yer, Sergei Magnitsky, died in Russian custody in 2009 after being tortured. He had exposed Russian corruption, and his arrest and posthumous conviction are widely believed to have been politically motivated.

Browder’s first effort was to help enact a Russia-specific Magnitsky bill, which Obama signed reluctantly in 2012 after it passed overwhelmingly in Congress. In response, the Russian government banned American adoption of Russian children.

Russia’s campaign against the original Magnitsky bill was expansive and included an approach by Russian lobbyists to the Trump campaign that resulted in a now infamous June 2016 meeting with Donald Trump Jr. That probe has clearly backfired, as the Trump administration is implement-ing both Magnitsky laws with vigor.

No matter how or why it happened, this is a step in the right direction for the Trump administration. Still, absent a com-prehensive, organized and well- articulated human rights policy, it won’t be nearly enough.

The world’s worst crooks and killers should be running scared. The law and the executive order President Donald Trump issued make it much easier for the US government to single out and punish egregious cases of abuse. Included in the list were Artem Chayka, the son of the prosecutor general of Russia; Gao Yan, a senior Chinese security official; and Maung Maung Soe, who oversaw Burmese military atrocities against ethnic Rohingya.

ED ITOR IAL

Russian anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

11TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017 OPINION

back their profits and dividends also in yuan instead of dollars or other foreign currencies.

Even non-Chinese companies participating in the CPEC will be able to do that via their Chinese principal companies, senior bankers explain.

“The dollar may remain the most dominating medium of exchange in the foreseeable future. But if Islamabad and Beijing can materialise their dream (to settle bilateral trade and investment transactions in rupees and yuan), we can reduce our dependence on the greenback gradually over a long time,” says the head of a large local bank.

There is a growing trend towards promoting the use of local currencies to settle transactions between two or more countries, as countries seem eager to reduce their overdependence on the US dollar.

As recently as on December 11, the central banks of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand intro-duced a framework to boost direct settlement of transactions in their local currencies.

And this makes more sense in the case of Paki-stan and China under the CPEC.

Emboldened by its growing global economic clout and out of the necessity to make the yuan a stronger international medium of exchange, China launched a pilot project back in July 2009 to use yuan for cross-border settlements.

The scheme was then developed into a full-fledged framework the very next year, and now hundreds of thousands of Chinese companies transact businesses in yuan with their partners in Hong Kong and some countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Besides, after the yuan attained the status of a global reserve currency - the third one after the US dollar and the euro - on Nov 30, 2016, China speeded up efforts for greater use of its own cur-

It has finally been officially con-firmed that Pakistan is considering using the Chinese currency for bilat-eral trade.

Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal has said Pakistan and China will actively use bilateral curren-cies for the settlement of bilateral trade and investment (transactions) under the relevant arrangements.

“The two countries aim to promote monetary cooperation between the cen-tral banks, implement existing currency-swap arrangements, research to expand the amount of currency and explore to enrich the use and scope of bilateral currency swap [and] assign the foreign currency to domestic banks through credit-based bids to support the financing for projects along the CPEC [China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,” he said.

This means Pakistani and Chinese banks will, in the course of time, be able to open import letters of credit in rupees and yuan – also known as renminbi, or RMB.

Moreover, Pakistan will be able to pay for imports from China in yuan rather than in dollars, and Chinese companies investing in CPEC projects will bring in yuan-denominated funds here and remit

What it means for Pakistan to use yuan in its trade with Chinarency for settling transactions with other nations.

For Pakistan, the rupee-yuan settlement of trade with China is important because “it would reduce our needs for US dollars to a significant extent as our imports from China are in excess of $10bn”, explains a central banker.

Initially, even if 25pc of our imports from China are to be financed in yuan, our dollar requirements would decline by $2.5bn within a year.

But, of course, there’s many a slip ‘twixt cup and lip. “The Chinese banking system is used to handling transac-tions in yuan and other regional currencies (of the countries with which direct settlement of transactions are going on), but we are not,” a treasurer of a local bank says.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) may come up with a framework for this purpose in some weeks or hardly a few months, but for banks to get used to the new system will be a challenge, he says.

“An even bigger challenge for bankers will be to explain it to businessmen how the rupee-yuan settlement of trans-actions would work and how their businesses would benefit from it.”

Bankers recall that there was no big response when the SBP invited bids in 2013 for buying yuan by local banks under a bilateral currency-swap arrangement, which was initially signed in December 2011.

That swap was worth Rs140bn and 10bn yuan. Many bank treasurers don’t exactly remember any activity undertaken so far under this currency-swap framework.

“But as we are entering 2018, things have changed a lot. The country is struggling with its external account imbal-ance and, thanks to CPEC, investment and trade (read imports) activity is growing rapidly,” a local bank treasurer says.

“So, enlarging the scope of the currency swap and uti-lising it for settling trade and investment transactions between Pakistan and China can really help in keeping external-sector problems in check,” he added.

Dark, desperate life without power in Puerto Rico

Three days before festive season, Doris Mar-tinez and daughter Miriam Narvaez joined their neighbours in a line outside city hall in Morovis, a town of 30,000 people still living without electricity in the mountains

of central Puerto Rico more than three months after Hurricane Maria battered the US island.

They waited two hours under the searing sun for their twice-a-week handout — 24 bottles of water and a cardboard box filled with basic foods such as tortillas, canned vegetables and cereal.

Martinez, a 73-year-old cancer survivor, bal-anced the water atop the food and picked her way up a steep hill to the home where she lives alone, washing and wringing out her clothes by hand and locking herself in at night, afraid of robbers. Her 53-year-old daughter loaded her food and water into her car and drove off to the public housing complex where she would then have to wait with dozens of other neighbors in another line to cook on one of six gas burners in the administrator’s office.

“Things are not good,” Narvaez said as she headed toward home.

This is life in Puerto Rico more than three months after Maria destroyed the island’s electrical grid. Gov. Ricardo Rossello promised in mid-October to restore 95 percent of electricity delivery by December 15, but normality remains far off. Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority says its system is generating at 70 percent of normal but it has no way of knowing how widely electricity is being distributed because the system that measures that isn’t working.

A study conducted December 11 by a group of local engineers estimated roughly 50 percent of the island’s 3.3 million people remained without power. The US Army Corps of Engineers has said it likely won’t be until May that all of Puerto Rico is electrified.

Local and federal officials blame the rough ter-rain and extensive damage for delaying restoration of a power infrastructure that was in dire need of maintenance due to Puerto Rico’s 11-year-old reces-sion. A growing number of Puerto Ricans say officials didn’t prepare for the hurricane and didn’t activate a mutual aid agreement with power companies on the

US mainland quickly enough.Government crews reconnected a

handful of areas in Morovis over the weekend for the first time since the

storm, but in the hundreds of neighborhoods and towns without power this holiday season, people are alternately despairing, furious, resigned, and some-times in disbelief that the United States remains unable to help restore power to its citizens more than 90 days after a natural disaster.

A little after noon, Arelis Navarro steps out of her nail salon to restart her car. The hood is open, and Navarro, 38 weeks pregnant, has connected an inverter to the battery and plugged in a cluster of extension cords, lights and a fan for her salon.

“You have to make the effort because as you can imagine, I have debts to pay, a daughter to maintain and another one on the way,” she says as she taps some powder on a woman’s nails to prepare them for an acrylic artificial set.

Down the hill, past the town’s plaza and up another hill, 50-year-old Maria Rivera watches her husband and two friends remove broken furniture and soggy sheets from their home, which was destroyed by the storm. It is 2 p.m., and the three men toss the debris into a truck one of them owns. City officials never showed up to clear the debris, and crews with the US Federal Emergency Manage-ment Agency did not come until this month to assess the damage.

Tears moisten Rivera’s eyes as she gazes at what remains of the home where she lived for 19 years with her husband and three children.

“I haven’t been able to assimilate everything that has happened,” she says, adding that she spends most of the day bracing for darkness. “When night falls, you start growing anxious, depressed. Every-thing has changed ... Sometimes I go to places that have power and I tell my husband, ‘I don’t want to go back.’”

By 4 p.m., some generators in Rivera’s neighbor-hood start rumbling as darkness approaches on the shortest day of the year. A teenager bounces a bas-ketball and takes a couple of shots on a court before heading home, while several men wrap up recon-struction efforts at a roofless home that federal

crews fitted with a blue tarp just two weeks ago.Nearly 1,000 homes across Morovis lost their

roofs and 90 percent of residents have not received federal assistance, Mayor Carmen Maldonado says. She expects it will be several more months before power returns to the entire town. Overall, more than 200,000 homes were damaged in Puerto Rico by the storm, whose destruction will cost an estimated $95 billion to repair.

Darkness creeps across Morovis, and 56-year-old Jose Luis Gonzalez wipes sweat from his brow as he finishes helping rebuild a home in the Barrio Patron neighborhood, where people spent two months without water after Hurricane Maria hit with winds of up to 154 mph. They relied on a nearby creek for bathing and washing clothes. Men visited the creek at 5:30 p.m. every day and women took their place a half hour later. One person was desig-nated to guard the entrance as people disrobed. Water service finally returned in November.

“Don’t think I haven’t felt like crying,” Gonzalez says, adding that he has flashbacks to the day of the storm. “Every time I close my eyes I see chaos ... I still hear the screams in my head.”

Every night he takes six pills for depression and back pain. He says a relative who lived across from him took his own life three weeks after the hurri-cane. No note was left, but government officials say they are counting some suicides as part of the official death toll because people across the island have become so desperate amid the destruction left by the storm. The governor also recently ordered a review of all deaths reported since Maria amid accusations that the official death toll of 64 undercounts the true toll.

At 6 p.m. it is nearly dark in Barrio Patron. The mother of the man who killed himself appears on a darkened balcony surrounded by tiny, solar-pow-ered Christmas lights and a Puerto Rico flag fluttering lightly in the breeze. Neighbors around her strike matches and start lighting candles that they place in bedrooms and bathrooms, a warm if

Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello during an interview after a House vote at the Capitol in Washington, DC.

flickering glow filling their homes. Those with generators walk over to extension cords where multiple cellphones are plugged and check on the batteries’ status. Not that they use them often; cellphone service in Morovis remains spotty.

Nearby, 29-year-old Wilmary Gonzalez ushers her three young children into their darkened home. The light blue glow cast by a tarp donated by a church to cover half their roof has already dissipated. The other half of the roof is slabs of recycled zinc that Jose Luis Gonzalez pieced together for the family, along with broken pieces of wood to create makeshift rafters with jagged edges that jut out at random angles. FEMA has not given them any assistance.

“You always have to have a smile on your face because if not, the kids get sad,” Wilmary Gonzalez says, tears welling in her eyes. She waits with her kids and a tiny lantern for her husband, Carlos Oliveras, to close his barber shop and return to a home with only a table, four chairs and a couple of mattresses. The rest was lost in the storm. Around 8 p.m., a pair of headlights cuts through the dark-ness and her husband steps out of the car. He connects an inverter to his car battery and hoists his youngest daughter, 2-year-old Yeinelis, so she can push the button that activates an LED strip donated to the family that Oliveras has secured to the front door. It casts a harsh fluorescent light over the family’s nearly empty kitchen and living room.

Danica Coto AP

A study conducted on December 11 by a group of local engineers estimated roughly 50 percent of the island’s 3.3 million people remained without power. The US Army Corps of Engineers has said it likely won’t be until May that all of Puerto Rico is electrified.

Internews

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12 TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017ASIA

AAP furious over no invite to Kejriwal for metro launchNew Delhi

IANS

Delhi’s ruling AAP yesterday criticised the DMRC for “insulting” the city’s people by not invit-

ing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (pictured) to the inau-guration of Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line, saying this was done to stop him from making a demand to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reduce fares.

“Not inviting Delhi Chief Minister in the inauguration of Delhi Metro is the insult of citi-zens of Delhi. The only reason of not sending invitation to Kejriwal was to stop him of making demand from PM to reduce recently hiked Delhi

Metro fare,” Deputy Chief Min-ister Manish Sisodia tweeted.

The senior Aam Aadmi Party leader also said those who

“hiked Delhi Metro fares fear Kejriwal”.

Sisodia’s remarks came after the inauguration function of the

12.64 km long Botanical Garden-Janakpuri West section of Magenta Line in which the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) invited the Prime Minister and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minster Yogi Adityanath but ignored Kejriwal.

The stretch, which will ferry approximately 3.6 lakh commut-ers every day and help connect Uttar Pradesh’s Noida with Fari-dabad in Haryana through the Violet Line (Escorts Mujesar-Kashmere Gate) , was inaugurated by the Prime Min-ister around 5 p.m. yesterday.

AAP leader Dilip Kumar Pandey also slammed the DMRC, saying “seven of nine stations of Magenta Line falls in Delhi and half of the money is paid by the Delhi government to the Delhi

Metro, but the inauguration invi-tation was sent to PM, Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana”.

“The problem is with Delhi man (Arvind Kejriwal). Every-thing is accepted but don’t rob Delhi people. Take credit but reduce fare.”

Delhi Metro fares were hiked for the second time this year as proposed by the Fare Fixation Committee. As per the new fare, commuters who paid Rs 15 for travelling 2-5 km are now pay-ing Rs 20. And, the maximum fare has been increased to Rs 60 as compared to previous rate of Rs 50.

The hike was vociferously opposed by the Delhi govern-ment which accused the transporter of inefficiency and

demanded that hike be withheld.

Earlier, Modi threw open the 12.6-km Kalkaji-Botanical Gar-den Magenta Line of the metro track the connects south Delhi with Noida. Modi flagged off the new metro, decked with mari-gold flowers, from Noida and took a ride on the train to the Okhla Bird Sanctuary station along with Adityanath.

In his speech, Modi remem-bered former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 93rd birthday “who gave us the vision to walk on the path of development”.

“Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji is the ‘Bharat Marg Vidhata.’ He has shown us the way towards development. He focussed on futuristic road infrastructure.

Colombo

IANS

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena granted amnesty to 526

inmates yesterday on the occasion of Christmas, an official said.

Prisons Commissioner H.M.T.N. Upuldeniya told Xinhua that these 526 were in jail for minor offences.

Upuldeniya said special religious celebrations were also organised within the premises of the prisons throughout the country to mark Christmas.

Christians account for seven per cent of Sri Lanka’s total population, mainly con-centrated in the western coastal belt of the country.

Sri Lanka is in the habit of granting such pardons in respect of events of national significance such as the New Year, the National Independ-ence Day and the Buddhist festival Vesak.

The President has the Constitutional power to grant full pardon to inmates or commute their sentences.

Bengaluru

IANS

Four teams have been set up to look for a 29-year-old techie hailing from

Bihar reported missing from here for over a week, police said yesterday.

“We have formed four teams to search for Kumar Ajitabh, who left his house at Whitefield in the city’s south-east suburbs on December 18 morning, apparently to sell his car to a buyer, but did not return home. His mobile phone is also switched off since then,” Inspector Praveen Babu said.

Ajitabh, who hails from Patna, is an employee of Brit-ish Telecom software development centre in the city. A missing complaint was filed by Ajitabh’s friend with police on December 19, a day after he went missing.

According to Ajitabh’s brother Arunabh Kumar, the former had listed his car for sale on online portal OLX to raise money for paying fee for an MBA course at the Indian Institute of Manage-ment (IIM) in Kolkata. He (Ajitabh) went out to meet a prospective buyer to show his car on December 18.

Sri Lanka grants amnesty to 526 inmates

Police form teams to look for Bengaluru techie

Baba Dixit ‘running’ human trafficking racket: DCWNew Delhi

IANS

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) yesterday inspected more ashrams

of molestation-accused Baba Virendra Dev Dixit in Delhi and said he might be running a human trafficking racket.

A DCW team, including its chief Swati Maliwal (pictured), along with Ajay Verma, advo-cate appointed as amicus curiae by Delhi High Court in the mat-ter, visited Dixit’s ashram at Karawal Nagar in east Delhi and Nangloi in west Delhi and inter-acted with the inmates.

“There were six girls being kept in a similar situation like Vijay Vihar, Rohini and other ashrams of the Baba. The ashram was much smaller but had prison-like surroundings,” said a statement by the DCW, referring to the Karawal Nagar ashram.

“Proper registers were not being maintained to record as to where did the girls come from and for how long have they been there.”

“Three girls appeared to be minors. The CWC concerned has been requested to shift them to shelter homes to ensure their counselling. The locals informed that before the DCW visit, many girls had been removed from the premises,” it added.

At the Nangloi ashram, the team interacted with around 15 women inmates but didn’t find any minors. According to the

DCW, locals said around 20 girls were taken away from the ashram in the morning.

“It appears that Baba is run-ning a human trafficking racket. The CBI should urgently and simultaneously conduct raids at all ashrams of Dixit across India and close them down. By delay-ing the raids, Baba is getting time to cover up his action. All women and girls should be immediately rescued,” Maliwal said.

Last week, the DCW had rescued more than 45 minor girls from two different ashrams run by Dixit where girls and women were allegedly being kept in illegal confinement in the name of religious preaching.

The Delhi High Court has ordered a CBI investigation into the matter and slammed the Delhi Police for not taking any action on various FIRs of girls and women being allegedly lured into an ashram in Rohini area on the pretext of spiritual guidance but then being raped.

Top Maoist leader surrenders

Mumbai commuters get AC local trains3-year-old girl rescued from borewell in Odisha

Hyderabad

IANS

Top Maoist leader Ginugu Narsimha Reddy alias Jampanna yesterday sur-

rendered before the Telangana police chief, following ideolog-ical differences with the Maoist outfit.

The Central Committee member of the Communist Party of India-Maoist, who was car-rying a Rs 25 lakh reward on his head and his wife Hinge Anitha alias Rajitha, who was also active in the outfit, laid down the arms before Director General of Police M. Mahender Reddy.

Jampanna, 55, said they decided to leave the organiza-tion and join the national

mainstream as many social changes have taken place in the country in the last 15 years.

The Maoist, who was active in the extremist movement for over three decades and was involved in over 100 offences in different parts of the country, said before coming out of the organization, he sent a detailed note to the leadership, explain-ing the reasons for his decision.

Though other members of the Central Committee advised the couple to bring the changes by remaining in the party, they conveyed that it would not be possible for them to continue in the party.

Rajitha also carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh on her head. The police chief said the reward

amount would be given to the couple for their rehabilitation.

Hailing from Warangal dis-trict of Telangana, Jampanna was also serving as the member of the CPI-Maoist central regional bureau and Central Military Commission. He was also incharge of the Odisha state committee of the banned outfit.

The DGP described Jampan-na’s surrender as a huge blow to the Maoist outfit. Stating that the Central Committee has 18 more members, Mahender Reddy appealed to them to sur-render and join the mainstream. The police chief said the gov-ernment was ready to extend all possible help for rehabilitation of Maoists who want to lay down arms.

Mumbai

IANS

The Indian Railways yester-day flagged off the country’s first air-condi-

tioned suburban local train for Mumbai commuters, 150 years after the first suburban local was hauled by a steam engine in 1867, officials said.

The Christmas and pre-New Year bonanza saw the first AC local’s maiden run for the media, officials, some political party activists and commuters between Borivali and Churchgate on the Western Railway (WR).

Though a public holiday, there were hundreds of curious and wide-eyed commuters who crowded the Borivali station and other stations en route, which will start full-fledged operations from January 1, 2018, with 12 daily services.

According to WR chief

spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar, six return services (total 12) will operate on the suburban sector at regular intervals on all week-days, with the weekends kept free for maintenance purposes.

As per the current plans, of these 12 daily services, eight will be operated as ‘fast trains’ on the congested Churchgate-Virar (Palghar) sector, three between Churchgate-Borivali, both with halts only at major stations, while one will ply as a slow service halting at all stations between Mahalaxmi-Borivali.

Till Friday, the WR will operate six (three in each direc-tion) services daily on an experimental basis and intro-duce full 12 services from January 1.

The WR has also announced an introductory fare to lure commuters to the new, ‘cool’ style of commuting, with the

fare to be 1.2 times the cost of a first class one-way regular ticket, and later the fare will be 1.3 times.

This comes to an average minimum fare of Rs 60 and maximum of Rs 205 per single journey, and a monthly season ticket fare of between Rs 570 and Rs 2,070 for a commuter.

Manufactured by the Inte-gral Coach Factory, Chennai, the full AC air-suspension coaches have a capacity of carrying nearly 6,000 commuters per rake, automatic door opening-closing system, LED lights, Emergency Talk Back system between commuters and guard besides a public address system, advanced GPS-based passenger information systems, speeds of upto 100 kmph, air-tight vesti-bules inter-connecting all 12 coaches, other modern ameni-ties and the latest safety features for commuters.

Bhubaneswar

IANS

A three-year-old girl, who accidentally fell into a borewell in Odisha’s

Angul district, was taken out alive yesterday, bringing cheer to the family and locals.

The girl, identified as Radha Sahu, was immediately rushed to a hospital.

The incident occurred at Gulasar village of Jamunali Gram Panchayat around 9 a.m. when Radha, daughter of San-tosh Sahu, fell into the borewell, said sources. Fire Services Directorate General B.K. Sharma said the little girl was rescued around 4.45 p.m. after hours of hard work by fire bri-gade personnel.

Sharma in a tweet said that a parallel hole of 15-16 feet

depth was dug nearly 6 feet away from the borewell hole. Then a tunnel was dug to con-nect to the borewell, said Sharma in a tweet.

He said a fireman reached the spot and rescued the 3-year-old girl who was then taken to a hospital.

Chief Minister Naveen Pat-naik also expressed relief at the successful rescue operation and commended DM Angul, fire-men, police, ODRAF and good Samaritans for their efforts.

“The feat could only be achieved by excellent team-work. Acts like these inspire public confidence in govern-ment machinery. Praying for little one’s speedy recovery,” tweeted Patnaik. Union Petro-leum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also praised the work of fire service personnel.

Insult

“Not inviting Delhi Chief Minister in the inauguration of Delhi Metro is the insult of citizens of Delhi. The only reason of not sending invitation to Kejriwal was to stop him of making demand from PM to reduce recently hiked Delhi Metro fare,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia tweeted.

A Kashmiri man walking on a street on a cold and foggy morning in Srinagar, yesterday.

Foggy morning

13TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017 ASIA

Jailed Indian meets kin in IslamabadIslamabad

AFP

Pakistani authorities allowed an Indian national sentenced to death for spying to see his family for the first

time since his arrest, a rare and highly-anticipated meeting arranged amid tight security in Islamabad.

Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav, clad in a blue jacket, met with his wife and mother at Pakistan’s foreign ministry in the capital, where they spoke through a glass barrier, pictures issued by the ministry showed.

The images were low qual-ity, and it was impossible to ascertain Jadhav’s well-being, but he was sitting up and appeared to be healthy. Pakistani officials said Jadhav was in good health. In a video released by authorities ahead of the meet-ing, Jadhav said he was grateful to Pakistan for a “grand

gesture”. It was not clear if the video

was filmed under duress. The meeting, which a foreign office spokesman said lasted around 40 minutes, is the first time Paki-stan has granted access to the family of Jadhav, who was arrested in the southwestern province of Balochistan last year. An Indian diplomat was present during the meeting, but was not allowed to talk to Jadhav or

listen to the conversation with his family, the foreign ministry spokesman said.

Pakistani officials claim he has confessed to spying for Indian intelligence. Yesterday, the Foreign Office spokesman described him to media as “the face of Indian terrorism in Paki-stan”. Jadhav was found guilty in a closed trial by a military court and sentenced to death. New Delhi sought the interven-tion of the International Court of

Justice, which ordered Pakistan to stay the execution until it passes final judgement in the case.

India has maintained that Jadhav is not a spy, and that he was kidnapped by Pakistan. New Delhi has also accused Islama-bad of violating the Vienna Convention by denying consu-lar access. The nuclear arch-rivals routinely accuse one another of sending spies into their countries, and it is not

uncommon for either nation to expel diplomats accused of espi-onage, particularly when tensions are high.

Death sentences, however, have rarely been carried out in such cases in recent years. Indian national Sarabjit Singh, on death row for spying in Pakistan, was attacked and killed in jail by fel-low inmates in 2013. He had been on death row for 16 years. Jadhav is the son of a retired police officer.

The wife (centre) and mother of Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav, an Indian national sentenced to death for spying in Pakistan, after meeting with Jadhav in Islamabad, yesterday.

Six dead in suicide attack near Afghan spy agencyKabul

AFP

A suicide bomber killed six civilians in an attack near an Afghan

intelligence agency com-pound in Kabul yesterday in the latest assault claimed by the Islamic State. The attacker struck as workers were arriv-ing at the offices of National Directorate of Security.

Interior ministry spokes-man Najib Danish said six civilians in a car were killed and three injured when the attacker blew himself up.

”They were hit when passing the area in their vehi-cle. We still do not know the target of the attack but it hap-pened on the main road.” The health ministry confirmed the death toll but put the number of wounded at one. Security forces have swarmed into the area, closing off the main road leading to the building.

IS claimed the attack in a statement. It was the latest claimed assault by the group in Kabul, which in recent months has become one of the deadliest places in the country.

Naval cadets parade at the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to mark his birth anniversary in Karachi, yesterday.

Pakistan celebrates Jinnah’s 142nd birth anniversaryKarachi

Internews

Pakistan on Monday cele-brated with zest the 142nd birth anniversary of the

country’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, revered as the Quaid-e-Azam – the ‘Great Leader.’

The national flag was hoisted at many public and pri-vate buildings across Pakistan, including his hometown Kara-chi. The day dawned with prayers at Jinnah’s mausoleum in Karachi. A change of guards ceremony was also held.

A number of events,

including seminars, debates and exhibitions, were held both at official and civil society levels to highlight life, achievements and different aspects of the per-sonality of Jinnah.

In their separate messages on the occasion of birth anniver-sary of Father of the Nation, President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi urged the nation to get united for the noble cause of national progress and prosperity.

The President said the ideal way to pay tribute to Jinnah was not to hesitate from any

sacrifice for the development and prosperity of the mother-land. He said the relevance of Jinnah’s teachings and thought is increasing with every passing day as he had given us the golden principles of unity, faith and discipline using his foresight and political acumen.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in his message said this day has a special signif-icance for the whole nation because besides paying tributes to the great leader, it is a day to reiterate the resolve for reviving Quaid’s thoughts and move for-ward with his ideas.

36 bodies found in Davao’s burnt mallDavao, Philippines

AFP

Firemen yesterday found the bodies of “around” 36 people after a deadly

blaze at a shopping mall in the southern Philippines, a fire offi-cial said as the government launched a criminal investiga-tion. The discovery raised to 37 the confirmed death toll from the NCCC shopping mall fire in the city of Davao on Mindanao island.

The Davao region chief of the Bureau of Fire Protection, Wilberto Rico Neil Kwan Tiu, told weeping relatives of the missing that he personally counted “around 36” bodies in an office lobby at the gutted mall. City mayor Sara Duterte, a daughter of President Rod-rigo Duterte, said earlier that 38 people were missing and feared dead in the fire, with one other unidentified body recovered on Sunday.

”I personally counted them before I gave the information to our honourable mayor around 36 in number,” Kwan Tiu told weeping relatives, who clutched long-stemmed white flowers as they attended a mass. ”As the ground commander of this operation my deepest apol-ogy for I was not able to save them,” said the fire official.

The blaze began on Satur-day, trapping call centre workers of US-based market research firm SSI, which announced on its website late Sunday that 37 of its 500 employees at the top-floor

office had been “lost” in the fire. Philippine authorities ordered a criminal investigation Mon-day as allegations surfaced of locked or nonexistent fire exits at the building, which its administrators denied.

”By punishing those respon-sible, we can set an example to others so that hopefully there will be no repetition of those tragedies,” Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said in a state-ment. Mall operators denied the claim. ”There is no truth to that allegation. In fact as per accounts of those who got out, they were able get out thru the fire exit,” Thea Padua, the mall’s public relations officer, told AFP by text message.

Davao’s fire marshal described the shopping mall on Sunday as “an enclosed space with no ventilation”, though the authorities said they had yet to determine the cause of the blaze. Deadly blazes occur reg-ularly in the Philippines, particularly in slum areas where there are virtually no fire safety standards.

Corruption and exploitation mean supposedly strict fire standards are often not enforced. Some relatives of those missing earlier criticised rescuers for what they felt was the slow pace of recovery efforts. ”They seem so relaxed,” said Jolita Basalan, as she waited for news of her 29-year-old son Jonas. ”They are not pained because they don’t have a child there. They told us to come here but no one is mov-ing,” she said.

Duterte’s son resigns from govt postDavao, Philippines

AFP

Philippine President Rod-rigo Duterte’s eldest son resigned from his local

government post yesterday, citing allegations of links to drug smugglers which he denies and a bitter social media dispute with his own daughter. Paolo Duterte told the city council of Davao, a southern port where he serves as vice-mayor, that he was resigning because of “recent unfortunate events in my life”—citing family prob-lems and allegations of drug smuggling.

”These among others, include the maligning of my reputation in the recent name-dropping incident in the Bureau of Customs smug-gling case and the very public squabble with my daughter,” he said. ”I take responsibility for all that has happened,” the 42-year-old said in a statement.

The president’s son made headlines last week when he used the official Facebook page of the Davao vice may-or’s office for an expletive-laced rant at his teenage daughter Isabelle, after she posted criticism of him on social media.

Her posts were not pub-licly available. The vice mayor responded in a Facebook post—which was no longer publicly available yesterday—saying his daughter had “embarrassed” herself with her behaviour though he did not elaborate.

150km of Pak-Afghan border fenced

The construction work on fencing Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan is continuing apace as 150km of the frontier has already been fenced. Security officials here say that

the target for this year was to fence 120km, but an extra 30km was also fenced due to the fast pace of the work.

“The major part of the fencing project would be completed by the end of 2018. It is a project of strategic significance and is being pursued with the utmost speed,” a security official said. He said their target is to fence 832km of the border with Afghan-istan in the next two years. “In the first phase, 432km of the border would be fenced. This fencing is much-needed and hence a priority. We refer to the second phase of the fencing project as ‘desirable’ and this would be completed next,” he added.

Oppn parties reluctant to join Qadri’s anti-govt driveLahore

Internews

Fiery cleric politician Tahirul Qadri is struggling hard to bring all opposition lead-

ership at one platform against the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N as Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf are reluctant on whether to join hands or not against the Punjab government.

Qadri has been approaching and inviting top leaders of the opposition parties for the mul-tiparty conference he is holding on December 30 in Lahore to discuss ways to force the Pun-jab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to resign over the Model Town issue.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan didn’t give his consent to attend the moot in a telephone talk with Qadri but promised to visit the

latter on Tuesday and discuss with him whether he should attend it in the presence of the PPP leadership or not, a spokes-man for Pakistan Awami Tehrik said.

The Justice Baqar Najafi Commission report on the Model Town tragedy besides other political issues will also come under discussion during the meeting, he added. The PPP is also yet to make its mind on

sending its top leadership to the event aimed at demanding with one voice justice in the Model Town case.

PPP’s central information secretary Chaudhry Manzoor says that a decision on who should represent the party in the MPC will be taken in the central executive committee meeting scheduled to be held today, a day before the death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto.

Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav, clad in a blue jacket, met with his wife and mother at Pakistan’s foreign ministry in the capital, where they spoke through a glass barrier, pictures issued by the ministry showed.

Artists working on the construction site of a 80-metre-long snow sculpture for the Vasaloppet China ski festival in Changchun in China’s northeastern Jilin province. The ski festival starts on January 4, 2018.

Winter art at work

A peacock spreads its feathers at the Chitwan National Park in Chitwan, Nepal, yesterday.

Spreading feathers

14 TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017ASIA

China urges efforts to ease N Korea tensions Beijing

Reuters

China called yesterday for all countries to make constructive efforts to ease tension after North Korea said

the latest UN sanctions against it are an act of war and tanta-mount to a complete economic blockade.

The UN Security Council unanimously imposed new sanc-tions on North Korea on Friday for its recent intercontinental ballistic missile test, seeking to limit its access to refined petro-leum products and crude oil and

its earnings from workers abroad.

The US-drafted resolution also caps crude oil supplies to North Korea at 4m barrels a year and commits the Council to fur-ther reductions if it were to

conduct another nuclear test or launch another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

North Korea on Sunday rejected the resolution, calling it an act of war. Speaking in Bei-jing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the resolution appropriately strengthened the sanctions but was not designed to affect ordi-nary people, normal economic exchanges and cooperation, or humanitarian aid.

Hua noted it also called for the use of peaceful means to resolve the issue and that all sides should take steps to reduce tension.

“In the present situation, we call on all countries to exercise restraint and make proactive and constructive efforts to ease the tensions on the peninsula and appropriately resolve the issue,” she told a daily news briefing. The North’s old allies China and Russia both supported the latest UN sanctions. Tension has been rising over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes, which it pursues in defiance of years of UN Security Council resolutions, with bellicose rhetoric coming from both Pyongyang and the White House.

In November, North Korea demanded a halt to what it called

“brutal sanctions”, saying a round imposed after its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on September 3 constituted geno-cide. North Korea on November 29 said it successfully tested a new ICBM that put the US main-land within range of its nuclear weapons. US diplomates have made clear they are seeking a diplomatic solution but proposed the new, tougher sanctions res-olution to ratchet up pressure on North Korea’s leader.

China, with which North Korea does some 90 percent of its trade, has repeatedly called for calm and restraint from all sides and for a return to talks.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua called for the use of peaceful means to resolve the issue and that all sides should take steps to reduce tension.

Artist ‘released’ in China after Liu tributeBeijing

AFP

An artist that could not be reached for more than a week after he

painted a politically charged mural in southern China wrote on Twitter yesterday that he has been “released”. ”I was released a few days ago and we are in my hometown now,” the Twitter account of painter Hu Jiamin read days after Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao reported that the couple had been taken away by plain-clothes men.

Hu noted in another post that he will return to France on December 30. The artist and his French wife, Marine Brossard, had painted a mural honouring China’s late dissi-dent Liu Xiaobo at the entrance of a public exhibi-tion in Shenzhen on December 15.

But city authorities cov-ered the wall with a banner the same evening, witnesses said. Their painting depicted an empty blue chair inside a room with red bars, an appar-ent reference to Liu. The veteran Chinese rights activ-ist was in prison when he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 and was represented at the award ceremony by an empty blue chair.

He died of liver cancer in July while serving a prison sentence for “subversion” making China the first coun-try to see a Nobel laureate die in custody since Nazi Ger-many. References to Liu are heavily censored in China.

Vietnam evacuates thousands ahead of possible stormHanaoi, Vietnam AP

Hundreds of thousands of people in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta were

evacuated as the region braced for the arrival of Typhoon Tem-bin after the storm left more than 160 people dead in the Philippines.

Weather forecasters were expecting the delta’s southern tip to be in Tembin’s path, heavy rain and strong winds that could cause serious dam-age in the vulnerable region, where facilities are not built to cope with such severe weather. National television station VTV reported that several hundred thousand people were evacu-ated from their houses, which are mostly made from tin sheets and wooden panels.

In Vung Tau city, thousands of fishing boats halted their months-long fishing trips to return to shore. Typhoons and storms rarely hit the Mekong Delta. But in 1997, Tropical Storm Linda swept through the region, killing 770 people and leaving more than 2,000 oth-ers missing.

Over the weekend, Tembin unleashed landslides and flash floods that killed at least 164 people and left 171 others miss-ing in the Philippines, according to Romina Marasigan of the government’smain disaster-

response agency. Initial reports from officials in different prov-inces placed the overall death toll at more than 230, but Mar-asigan warned of double counting amid the confusion in the storm’s aftermath and said the numbers needed to be verified.

More than 97,000 people remained in 261 evacuation centres across the southern Philippines yesterday, while nearly 85,000 others were dis-placed and staying elsewhere, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. The hardest-hit areas were Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur provinces and the Zamboanga Peninsula. Tembin hit the Philippines as a tropical storm but strengthened into a typhoon before blowing out of the country Sunday into the South China Sea toward Vietnam.

Philippine officials had warned villagers in accident-prone areas to evacuate early as Tembin approached and the government was trying to find out what caused the wide-spread storm deaths, Marasigan said. She added that it was dif-ficult to move people from homes shortly before Christ-mas. ”We don’t want to be dragging people out of their homes days before Christmas, but it’s best to convince them to quietly,” Marasigan said.

20 dead in bus crashManila

AFP

Twenty pilgrims from the same extended family were killed yesterday in

a head-on bus collision while travelling to Christmas Day mass in the northern Philip-pines, police said. A small bus taking the group to a dawn church service crashed into a larger bus in the town of Agoo killing 20 on board, including six children, police said.

The nine other occupants of the small bus were injured, as

were 17 travelling on the bigger bus, according to an updated tally released by regional police. ”They were trying to catch a mass in Manaoag,” Agoo police officer Vanessa Abubo said.

Agoo police chief Roy Vil-lanueva told Manila radio station DZMM by telephone that the smaller vehicle had left its lane to overtake a third vehi-cle. Authorities are investigating whether the driver, who Abubo said was among those killed, had fallen asleep or was under the influ-ence, Villanueva added.

Criticism of Myanmar over Rohingya opposedUnited Nations AFP

The UN General Assembly on Sunday urged Myan-mar to end a military

campaign against Muslim

Rohingya and called for the appointment of a UN special envoy, despite opposition from China, Russia and some regional countries. A resolution put for-ward by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation was

adopted by a vote of 122 to 10 with 24 abstentions. China, Rus-sia, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam joined Myanmar in voting against the measure as did Belarus, Syria and Zimbabwe.

4 bodies found near wrecked boat off JapanTokyo

QNA

Japan Coast Guard officers have found 4 bodies washed ashore in the

northeastern city of Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture, which faces the Sea of Japan.

A passer-by informed a local coastguard office morn-ing that pieces of wood appearing to be parts of a boat had drifted to land, Japan’s NHK World reported. A search by officers found what appeared to be part of a boat’s hull, with a screw attached, as well as wood scattered across a wide area. The bodies were found in a nearby rocky area. They also said the corpses are too damaged to know if they were male or female.

On the Sea of Japan side, many other boats, sometimes with bodies, have washed ashore. They are believed to be from Korean Peninsula. In Tsuruoka alone, 3 other such boats have been discovered since November. A wrecked jeepney at the scene of the accident.

China moves ahead with island expansionBeijing

AFP

China’s large-scale land rec-lamation around disputed reefs and shoals in the

South China Sea is “moving ahead steadily”, state media has reported, and is on track to use giant “island-builders” to trans-form even more of the region.

Beijing claims nearly all of the sea and has been turning reefs in the Spratly and Paracel chains into islands, installing military facilities and equipment in the area where it has conflict-ing claims with neighbours.

”The course of construction is moving ahead steadily and a series of striking results have been achieved,” according to a report that appeared Friday on Haiwainet, a website under the Communist Party’s flagship newspaper the People’s Daily.

The projects have “com-pletely changed the face of the South China Sea’s islands and reefs”, the report said.

The aggressive campaign has been a source of contention with neighbouring countries. China’s sweeping claims overlap with those of Vietnam, the Philip-pines, Malaysia and Brunei, as

well as Taiwan. During 2017 China built 290,000 square meters of facilities on South China Sea reefs and islands, including underground storage, administrative buildings and large radar installations, the report said.

”To improve the livelihood and work conditions of people living on the islands, and strengthen the necessary mili-tary defences of the South China Sea within China’s sovereignty, China has rationally expanded the area of its islands and reefs,” it said. The sea is believed to hold vast oil and gas deposits and

$5trillion in annual trade passes through it.

The report noted with last month’s introduction of new super-dredger Tianjing, a “mag-ical island building machine”, and other “magical machines” soon to come, “the area of the South China Sea’s islands and reefs will expand a step further”.

China is also building a float-ing nuclear power plant to provide power for those living in the Sansha city area. Sansha lies on Woody Island in the Para-cel chain—which is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

15TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017 EUROPE

Sandringham

Reuters

Britain’s Queen Eliza-beth praised the resilience of London and Manchester after “appalling attacks”, in

a holiday message that also paid tribute to her husband, Prince Philip, who retired from regular royal duties this year.

The “powerful identities” of the capital and the northern Eng-lish city had shone through after militant attacks as well as a dev-astating fire that destroyed the residential tower block Grenfell Tower in London, the Queen said.

The 91 year-old monarch, whose televised address is an essential part of a traditional hol-iday in Britain, said it had been a privilege to visit victims of the bomb attack at a pop concert in Manchester, as she was able to witness the bravery and resil-ience of survivors first-hand.

On the 60th anniversary of her first televised holiday address, Elizabeth said her reflections on the year had made her “grateful for the blessings of home and family”, and praised her husband and his “unique” sense of humour.

The 96-year-old prince, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, has been at the queen’s side throughout her 65 years on the throne, and has often grabbed the headlines with his off-colour comments.

Elizabeth, the world’s long-est reigning monarch, celebrated her platinum wedding

anniversary in November. Philip retired from regular royal duties over the summer having carried out more than 22,000 solo engagements.

“I don’t know that anyone

had invented the term ‘platinum’ for a 70th wedding anniversary when I was born. You weren’t expected to be around that long,” she said.

“Even Prince Philip has

decided it’s time to slow down a little -- having, as he economi-cally put it, ‘done his bit’. But I know his support and unique sense of humour will remain as strong as ever.”

Philip has continued to make occasional appearances, and joined other members of the royal family at a holiday church service on their country estate in Sandringham.

Also joining them for the serv-ice was Prince Harry’s fiancee Meghan Markle who is spending holiday with the royals.

The American actress wore a distinctive brown hat as she arrived alongside the Queen’s grandson Harry, his elder brother William and his wife Kate.

As they left, both couples briefly chatted to some well-wishers who had gathered to glimpse the royals in the morning.

The Queen, who missed last year’s service with a heavy cold,

said in her address that she was looking forward to welcoming new members into the royal family next year. As well as Mar-kle, who will marry Harry in May, Kate is expecting a third child.

The royal Christmas broad-cast dates back to King George V in 1932 when it was on the radio. It was first televised in 1957.

Queen reflects on tragedies in holiday speech

Berlin

Reuters

A man drove a car at the entrance of the Berlin headquarters of Germa-

ny’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) , lightly injuring himself, later telling police that he had intended to commit suicide.

Police said the car, which crashed through the first set of

glass doors of Willy Brandt House, the SPD’s headquarters, was laden with petrol canisters and gas cartridges.

The building’s sprinkler sys-tem extinguished the resulting blaze.

Authorities did not identify the man, in part because of a policy of limiting public com-munications in cases involving suicide, attempted or otherwise,

saying only he was 58 years old.A police spokeswoman said

investigators had found noth-ing to cast doubt on the man’s claim that he had been attempt-ing to commit suicide. “The incident did not appear to be an attack.”

The man was taken to hos-pital for treatment for superficial injuries to his head. Nobody else was hurt.

Turkish and Greek Cypriots set to hold electionsLefkosa

Anatolia

Soon after the New Year, both sides of the divided island of Cyprus are set to

hold pivotal elections just weeks apart.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is head-ing for early general elections on Jan. 7, 2018, while its Greek Cyp-riot neighbors are due to hold the first round of presidential elections three weeks later, on Jan. 28.

In November, by a vote of 38-2, the TRNC parliament passed a motion greenlighting early elections submitted by the

National Unity Party (UBP), which leads the coalition gov-ernment, and main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhurman.

Under the motion, general elections originally planned for July 2018 were moved up seven months to Jan. 7.

Since its last general elec-tions back in January 2013, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has had three different coalition governments under three separate prime ministers.

There are currently 50 seats in the TRNC parliament, with the CTP holding a plurality of 20 seats.

On the Greek side of the island, Nicholas Papadopoulos of the center-right DIKO party and Stavros Malas, backed by the communist-linked AKEL party, are the main opponents of cur-rent Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades, who is the candi-date of the ruling center-right Democratic Rally party (DISY).

A second round will take place on February 4, if needed.

If Anastasiades wins the Greek Cypriot elections, peace negotiations with Turkish Cyprus are expected to restart.

Cyprus has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, with the latest initiative in Swit-zerland under the auspices of

guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the UK collapsing earlier this year.

Turkey blames Greek Cyp-riot intransigence for the talks’ failure, also faulting the EU for admitting Cyprus as a divided island into the union in 2004 after the Greek Cypriot admin-istration rejected a peace deal.

The Eastern Mediterranean island has been divided since 1974 when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island’s Turks, and Ankara’s inter-vention as a guarantor power.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is currently recognised only by Turkey as an independent state.

Ukraine, separatist rebels agree on prisoner exchangeMoscow

AP

Ukrainian authorities and separatist rebels have agreed on a

major prisoner exchange.Separatist leaders and a

Ukrainian government rep-resentative said in televised comments yesterday that they would exchange prison-ers tomorrow. They spoke after a meeting in Moscow mediated by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Kiev representative Viktor Medvedchuk says Ukraine is ready to release 306 people and is hoping for the separa-tists to release 74 people. It is not immediately clear if this covers all prisoners of war.

A simmering conflict in eastern Ukraine between Russia-backed separatists and government troops has killed more than 10,000 since 2014. A truce signed in 2015 stipulated an exchange of all prisoners but both sides are believed to keep dozens, if not hundreds, captive and use them as bargaining tools.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (centre) and Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (right) lead out other members of the family with Reverend Canon Jonathan Riviere (left) after attending the Royal Family's traditional holiday church service at St Mary Magdalene Church, in Sandringham, Norfolk, yesterday. RIGHT: Duchess of Cambridge Catherine, Duke of Cambridge William, US actress Meghan Markle and Britain’s Prince Harry.

The “powerful identities” of the capital and the northern English city had shone through after militant attacks as well as a devastating fire that destroyed the residential tower block Grenfell Tower in London, the Queen said.

Petrol and lighter fluid canisters are seen next to a car used to ram the German Social Democratic Party headquarters, in Berlin, yesterday.

Zurich

Reuters

Three people have died in separate avalanche acci-dents in the Swiss Alps,

police said yesterday.A man who was skiing close

to the 2,844-metre high Hofath-orn, in the southern canton of Wallis, died after being carried away by an avalanche yester-day morning.

The 39-year-old from the Wallis region was quickly found and recovered by his friends but was confirmed dead at the scene by emergency services.

Police in Graubunden, in the west of Switzerland, said a tour-ist who went missing on Saturday had also been found dead.

The 31-year-old Frenchman had tried to climb the Glattwang mountain alone on Saturday

afternoon after skiing with his girlfriend. When he did not return, a search was launched and the man’s body was found in a ravine on Sunday. Police said he had triggered an ava-lanche on his descent which carried him more than a kilo-metre over rocky terrain.

Separately, one of three walkers buried by a snow drift in Wallis on Saturday has died, Swiss broadcaster SRF reported, quoting the police.

The group was hiking at a height of 2,700 metres in the St Luc region when the accident happened. One of them man-aged to get free and make an emergency call which allowed the others to be rescued.

All three were flown to hos-pital, where one, a 29-year-old woman, died of her injuries on Sunday evening, SRF said.

Three dead in Swiss Alps avalanche accidents

‘New’ US sanctionsworries KremlinMoscow

Bloomberg

The Kremlin is “concerned” about the possibility the US might further expand sanctions on Russia, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“We don’t want to be in a situation where our bilateral rela-tions, which are already in a rather pitiful state, could face even bigger and possibly unbearable risks and dangers,” Peskov-said. “We have concerns about sanctions, but we don’t know what they will be, since it’s all still discussions that aren’t based on any official information.”

Since the limits were first imposed in 2014, the Kremlin has sought to play down their impact, rarely admitting worry about new ones. But a new US law that took effect in August calls for the Treasury to compile a list of business tycoons and compa-nies seen as close to the Kremlin as potential targets for more sanctions. The law also calls for a report on the possible impact of imposing restrictions on the purchase of Russian govern-ment debt by US investors. The “oligarch list” has raised fears among wealthy Russians, while debt limits could complicate the government’s borrowing plans.

Last week, as the US added the names of several prominent Russians to its sanctions list, President Vladimir Putin approved a plan to issue special bonds to allow wealthy local investors wor-ried about sanctions to bring money back into the country.

Car driver rams into SPD HQ in Berlin

16 TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017EUROPE

Putin’s rival barred from presidential bidMoscow

Reuters

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was barred yesterday from running in next year’s presidential

election after officials ruled he was ineligible to take part due to a suspended prison sentence he says was trumped up.

The decision by the central election commission was widely expected as election officials had repeatedly declared Navalny would be ineligible to run.

Twelve members of the 13-member commission voted to bar Navalny. One member abstained, citing a possible con-flict of interest.

Navalny, 41, who polls show would struggle to beat incum-bent Vladimir Putin in the March election, said he would appeal and called on his supporters to boycott the election and cam-paign against it being held.

“We knew this could happen, and so we have a straight-for-ward, clear plan,” Navalny said in a pre-recorded video released

immediately after the decision.“We announce a boycott of

the election. The process in which we are called to partici-pate is not a real election. It will feature only Putin and the can-didates which he has personally selected.”

Navalny said he would use his campaign headquarters across Russia to support the boy-cott and monitor turnout on

voting day, March 18.Polls show Putin, 65, who has

dominated Russia’s political landscape for the last 17 years, is on course to be comfortably re-elected, making him eligible to serve another six years until 2024, when he turns 72.

Allies laud Putin as a father-of-the-nation figure who has restored national pride and expanded Moscow’s global clout with interventions in Syria and Ukraine.

Navalny says Putin’s support is exaggerated and artificially maintained by a biased state media and an unfair system. He says he could defeat him in a fair election, an assertion Putin’s supporters have said is laughable.

Before the commission voted, Navalny, dressed in a dark suit, had demanded he be allowed to take part in the elec-tion delivering a speech that angered election officials.

In one heated exchange, he said Russian voters’ faith in the system hung in the balance.

“If you do not allow me to run, you are taking a decision

against millions of people who are demanding that Navalny take part,” he said, referring to him-self in the first person.

“You are not robots, you are living, breathing human beings you are an independent body ... for once in your lives, do the right thing,” he said.

His supporters clapped him, but officials were unmoved.

Boris Ebzeev, one of the offi-cials, said: “We’re talking about

the law and abiding by the law.”Ebzeev said there could not

be “the slightest doubt” that Nav-alny was ineligible to run, a reference to Russia’s constitu-tion that bars him running because of his suspended sen-tence relating to an embezzlement case.

Navalny has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and says the case is politically motivated.

There had been some

speculation prior to the decision among the opposition that Nav-alny might be allowed to run in order to inject more interest into what looks like a predictable contest amid Kremlin fears that apathetic voters might not bother to vote.

Navalny has been jailed three times this year and charged with breaking the law by repeatedly organising public meetings and rallies.

Spain King urges unity amid Catalan crisis

5 dead as bus ploughs into Moscow subwayMoscow

AFP

Five people were killed when a city bus ploughed into a pedestrian under-

pass in western Moscow yesterday, traffic police said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident as authorities said they were look-ing into several possibilities, including a technical malfunction.

“A bus drove into a pedes-trian underpass,” a traffic police spokesman, Artyom Kolesnikov, said. “According to preliminary information, five people died.”

Footage broadcast on national television showed a bus driving onto the pavement and then down the stairs of the underpass, running over several pedestrians before coming to a stop.

Moscow police said in a statement they were looking into two possible causes of the accident—the driver losing con-trol of the vehicle and a technical problem with the bus.

“The driver of the bus began movement and then changed his trajectory, which resulted in the bus going down into the pedes-trian underpass,” the statement said.

“The driver has been detained. Police employees are working with him,” the state-ment said.

Three people have been hospitalised, the statement added.

The accident happened around 3pm (1200 GMT) near Moscow’s Slavyansky Boulevard metro station, a prestigious res-idential area near one of the capital’s main avenues.

Sirens were blaring around the metro station, with author-ities preparing to pull the bus out of the underpass with a cable, a witness at the scene said yesterday.

Around 150 skiers trapped in French Alps rescuedLyon

AFP

Around 150 skiers in the French Alps were res-cued after being

trapped for several hours when their ski lift broke down on Sunday.

The rescue operation lasted about two hours, Franck Lecoutre, head of the tourism office in the Cham-rousse ski resort, near Grenoble, said.

“They will all be in time for holiday eve,” he said, not-ing that no one had been hurt. The weather was clear for the rescue operation.

The breakdown, whose cause was unknown, occurred around 1400 GMT on the ski lifts which link the resort of Chamrousse, located at 1,650 metres above sea level, with the summit of Croix Chamrousse at 2,250 metres. The weather was clear.

The incident affected 70 gondolas, each capable of carrying 10 people, rescuers said.

The operation involved two helicopters, with rescu-ers lowered on top of the gondolas to help the trapped skiers descend to the slopes with the help of ropes, David Gendre, a member of the res-cue team, said.

Madrid

AFP

Spain’s King Felipe VI (pic-tured) in a holiday speech urged Catalan lawmakers

to respect their region’s diver-sity and avoid another c o n f r o n t a t i o n o v e r independence.

Felipe’s remarks came three days after separatist par-ties, led by ousted president Carles Puigdemont, won an absolute majority of seats in a parliamentary vote.

The wealthy northeastern region’s newly elected parlia-ment must “face the problems that affect all Catalans, with respect to plurality and bear-ing in mind their responsibility to the common good,” the mon-arch said.

“The road cannot lead again to confrontation and exclusion, which as we already know gen-erate nothing but discord, uncertainty and discourage-ment,” he said at his Madrid residence, flanked by Spanish and EU flags.

Spain’s central government called the election after sack-ing Puigdemont’s cabinet, dissolving the Catalan parlia-ment and stripping the region of its treasured autonomy fol-lowing an independence declaration on October 27.

It followed a banned inde-pendence referendum on

October 1, which saw a brutal police crackdown that focused the world’s attention on the Catalan crisis.

Two days after the referen-dum, Felipe made a rare televised speech, condemning the separatists’ “unacceptable disloyalty”.

Yesterday, he reiterated his call for unity, though his tone was more conciliatory.

He called on the region’s leaders to help “Catalonia’s society—diverse and plural as it is—to recover its serenity, sta-bility and mutual respect, in such a way as to ensure that ideas... do not separate families and friends from each other”.

Spain is now “a mature democracy, where any citizen can ... defend, freely and dem-ocratically, his opinions and ideas; but not impose his ideas in a standoff with the rights of others”, the king said in his fourth holiday speech since his accession to the throne.

Twelve members of the 13-member commission voted to bar Navalny. One member abstained, citing a possible conflict of interest.

Navalny to appeal

Alexei Navalny said he would appeal and called on his supporters to boycott the election and campaign against it being held.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny submits his documents to be registered as a presidential candidate at the Central Election Commission, in Moscow.

The scene of an incident involving a passenger bus, which swerved off course and drove into a busy pedestrian underpass, in Moscow, yesterday.

German President offers holiday message full of hopeBerlin

AFP

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (pictured) urged citizens

not to fear the uncertainty of the country’s months-long political stalemate, speaking in his tradi-tional holiday address.

Chancellor Angela Merkel won elections three months ago without a clear majority and has since been struggling to form a new coalition, while staying on as head of a caretaker government.

Steinmeier said that “not everything unexpected must scare us, and that includes the

formation of a government which, in an unusual way, is dragging on”.

“I assure you the state is operating according to the rules which our constitution has for a situation like this one, even if

these rules were not needed in the past few decades,” said the head of state in his pre-recorded speech on national TV.

“Therefore, we can have trust.”

Merkel’s hopes for a fourth four-year term were compli-cated when initial talks to build an alliance between her conserv-ative bloc, the liberal Free Democrats and the Greens col-lapsed in November.

She is now hoping for a re-run of her current left-right “grand coalition” with the sec-ond biggest party, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which is however reluctant to govern in her shadow again after a dis-

mal election result.SPD leader Martin Schulz,

facing a sceptical party base, has only agreed to “open-ended” talks that could also lead to the toleration of a Merkel minority government—an option she however rejects.

In the end, the labour party’s rank-and-file members will get to vote on whether to enter into a new coalition with Merkel—or head into opposition, as Schulz had vowed to do straight after the September election loss.

Steinmeier is a member of SPD. He was a close aide of Ger-hard Schröder when Schröder was prime minister of Lower Saxony during most of the 1990s.

“I assure you the state is operating according to the rules which our constitution has for a situation like this one, even if these rules were not needed in the past few decades.”

17TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017 AMERICAS

Peru President grantspardon to FujimoriLima

Reuters

Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczyn-ski pardoned former authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori yes-

terday, clearing him of convictions for human rights crimes and graft before comple-tion of a 25-year prison sentence.

The decision triggered a pro-test in downtown Lima, where police fired teargas at scores of Fujimori’ opponents as they waved pictures of the victims of a counterinsurgency campaign during his 1990-2000 right-wing government.

At least two ministers in Kuc-zynski’s cabinet told him they wanted to resign, and Kuczyn-ski might reshuffle the cabinet as early as this week, a govern-ment source said.

Fujimori’s critics denounced the pardon as the result of a crude political deal Kuczynski brokered with Fujimori’s sup-porters in Congress, but his family and supporters cheered it as a long-overdue vindication for a misunderstood hero.

Kuczynski, a 79-year-old former Wall Street banker who vowed as a candidate not to par-don Fujimori, based his decision on a medical review that found Fujimori suffered from “a

progressive, degenerative and incurable disease,” according to a statement from the president’s office.

The pardon could trigger one of the biggest political realign-ments in Peru since Fujimori fled to his parents’ homeland of Japan in 2000 as a corruption scandal brought his decade in power to an end.

Fujimori was extradited back to Peru in 2007 and later found guilty of commanding death squads that massacred civilians, bribing lawmakers and having a hand in the kidnapping a jour-nalist, among other crimes.

Despite his downfall, the

right-wing populist movement that Fujimori built in the 1990s has remained one of the most potent political forces in Peru.

His eldest daughter, Keiko, leads the opposition party Pop-ular Force that controls Congress, while his youngest son, Kenji, has courted ties with Kuczynski’s government as he challenges his sister’s past decade of leadership of their father’s following.

On Thursday, Kenji led a sur-prise defection in Popular Force that narrowly saved Kuczynski from a motion to remove him from office in the wake of a graft scandal.

“To save his own skin he cut a deal with Fujimori’s support-ers,” said Veronika Mendoza, a leftist leader who competed against Kuczynski in last year’s presidential election.

Kuczynski’s has repeatedly denied allegations that a prom-ise for a pardon was part of any political negotiation.

“We’re eternally grateful to you,” Kenji said on Twitter, not-ing that he was speaking for Fujimori’s family.

‘Fujimori was taken to hos-pital late on Saturday after suffering a severe drop in blood pressure and abnormal blood pressure that put his life at risk, according to his doctor, Alejan-dro Aguinaga, who denied allegations it was a ruse to legit-imize a pending pardon.

Kenji said on Sunday that Fujimori was recovering in intensive care and would not likely go home for a few days.

Television images showed Fujimori’s supporters waving

banners that read “Freedom for Fujimori” and cheering the announcement outside the hos-pital in Lima where he remained late on Sunday.

Fujimori is a deeply divisive figure in Peru. While many con-sider him a corrupt dictator, others credit him with ending an economic crisis and bloody left-ist insurgency during his rule.

“He’s the best president Peru ever had,” said Maria Luisa Cuc-uliza, a friend and former minister of Fujimori, adding that he no longer had any political ambitions.

“He doesn’t want to return to politics. He just wants to be a good grandfather.”

The pardon was a blow to relatives of victims, prosecutors and human rights activists who

helped put Fujimori behind bars in a lengthy judicial process that earned Peru global plaudits for fighting impunity.

Kuczynski “has betrayed jus-tice, democracy and victims. History will never forgive you,” said Indira Huilca, a leftist law-maker whose union leader father was shot dead in 1992 in what the Inter-American Court of Human Rights deemed an extra-judicial killing.

Before the announcement, Kuczynski summoned his cabi-net and ruling party to the presidential palace. Congressman Alberto de Belaunde announced his resignation from the party on Twitter. Congressman Vicente Zeballos, a ruling party lawmaker, was also resigning, the El Com-ercio newspaper reported.

NY apartment building fire leaves one deadNew York

AP

A man has been killed in a wind-whipped fire at a New York high-rise

apartment building.Authorities say two fire-

fighters were also injured in the fire early yesterday on the 35th floor of a 36-story build-ing on 56th Street near Seventh Avenue.

Fire Department spokes-man Michael Parrella says firefighters were hampered by high winds and malfunc-tioning elevators, delaying their ascent.

The fire was reported shortly after 7:30am, draw-ing over 100 firefighters before it was under control at about 9am. Parrella says the fire was contained to one apartment. The cause is under investigation.

Democrats eyeing Tennessee Senate controlNashville

AP

Democrats eager to take control of the Senate next year are turning to the

state of Tennessee, where a pop-ular Democratic former governor is running for the seat being vacated by the retirement of Republican Sen Bob Corker.

Neither of Tennessee’s two top GOP candidates, Rep Mar-sha Blackburn and former Rep Stephen Fincher, has the kind of personal baggage Republican Roy Moore had in the Alabama race won by a Democrat. But both have wholeheartedly embraced President Donald Trump at what Democrats hope is exactly the wrong time.

“Tennessee is clearly in play,” said Paul Maslin, a

pollster who worked for the campaign of Doug Jones, the first Democrat elected in a quarter-century in Alabama. Jones’ rival, Moore, was besieged by dec-ades-old accusations of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls when he was in his 30s. Moore denied the allegations.

Former Democratic Gov Phil Bredesen, a known quantity in Tennessee, has kicked off his Senate run from a position of strength.

“He starts with credibility among Tennesseans that Doug Jones didn’t have or almost no Democratic challenger in any of the other Republican states would have next year,” Maslin said.

Voters both in Tennessee and Alabama went for Trump in a big way in 2016: Trump’s margin of

victory was 28 percentage points in Alabama and 26 points in Ten-nessee, though his poll numbers have slipped somewhat since. And while Fincher and Black-burn slug it out to the primary for who can be the more pro-Trump candidate, Bredesen can concentrate on a message of being a problem-solver who can “fix the mess” in Washington.

“The risk is that when you have so embraced a public offi-cial that is fairly unpredictable, that if his numbers start to erode suddenly you’re in trouble,” said Kent Syler, a political science professor at Middle Tennessee State University and a former Democratic congressional staffer.

With Republicans up 51-49 in the Senate next year, the stakes will be high in

November.Much was made of Demo-

crats’ 25-year losing streak in Senate races in Alabama until a December 12 special election. In Tennessee it’s been two years longer since Al Gore was the Democrats’ last victorious Sen-ate candidate in 1990. Tennessee Democrats have fallen short ever since Gore left the Senate to become Bill Clinton’s vice president.

In his campaign launch video, Bredesen didn’t even mention Trump. Bredesen said afterward that he’s intent on winning back voters who sup-ported him in 2002 and 2006.

“If you just do the basic arithmetic, there’s got to be hun-dreds of thousands of people in this state who voted for me and then turned around and voted

for Trump,” Bredesen said. “I don’t think they’ve totally changed -” political views don’t change in that way.”

But simply portraying him-self as the adult in the room may not be enough if Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander’s most recent experience is any guide. A former two-term governor, Alexander suffered a serious primary scare en route to his 2014 re-election. While depicting himself as the senior statesman staying above the attacks of a little-known tea-party styled opponent, Alexander ended up winning by a too-close-for-comfort 9 percentage points.

Chris Hayden, spokesman for the Democratic Senate Majority PAC, said he expects Bredesen will draw wide support.

Washington

AP

President Donald Trump has full confidence in his new FBI director despite

a series of attacks on the impar-tiality of his soon-to-retire deputy, a White House adviser says.

Trump is “very pleased” with Director Chris Wray and “the changes that are taking place,” legislative affairs direc-tor Marc Short said as Trump continued to assail Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who plans to retire from the bureau next year.

McCabe’s supervision of the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email practices came under scrutiny because his wife’s Virginia Senate campaign received contributions from Clinton-ally Terry McAuliffe’s political action committee. The president and congressional Republicans have seized on that as a sign of anti-Trump bias in

FBI leadership.But, asked if Trump is tell-

ing Wray to “clean house,” Short said only: “I think he has full confidence in Chris Wray.”

Trump’s frequent and blis-tering attacks on the nation’s premier law enforcement agency have proven a tough challenge for Wray, who took the reins in August after Trump fired James Comey as he was leading the bureau’s probe into possible Trump campaign ties to Russia during the 2016 pres-idential election.

W r a y a g g r e s s i v e l y defended the bureau against Trump’s claims that its reputa-tion was “in tatters.”

But it’s less common for a deputy director to be in the spotlight.

McCabe, a lawyer by train-ing, was a fast-rising leader within the FBI. He was the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s counterterrorism divi-sion at the time of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

Two dead in Ecuador restaurant blastQuito

AFP

An explosion at a restau-rant in Ecuador’s capital killed two people includ-

ing a child, and injured 12, authorities said yesterday.

The incident left a

seven-year-old boy and an 82-year-old woman dead, according to the mayor’s office in Quito, updating an earlier toll of one fatality.

The blast occurred at 11:11 pm on Sunday (0411 GMT Mon-day) when leaking gas ignited, the mayor’s office said.

Authorities added that the victims were dining in the res-taurant at the time of the explosion.

It also left about a dozen cars with windshield and body damage, and caused windows to vibrate within two blocks of the area.

Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori

Supporters of former Peru president Alberto Fujmori celebrate after his medical pardon was granted, in Lima, yesterday.

According to a statement from the president’s office, Kuczynski based his decision on a medical review that found Fujimori suffered from “a progressive, degenerative and incurable disease.”

Medical review

The decision triggered a protest in Lima, at least two ministers in Kuczynski’s cabinet told him they wanted to resign.

Suspect in Oregon deputy’s death arrested Portland

AP

A Mexican man who was charged in a crash that killed an Oregon sher-

iff’s deputy in 2007 and then mistakenly released 10 months ago has been arrested again, authorities said.

Oregon State Police said in a statement that it learned Alfredo de Jesus-Ascencio, 29, had been caught in Mexico.

A grand jury had indicted him on charges of criminally negligent homicide more than a decade ago after a head-on collision that killed his pas-senger and Marion County Deputy Kelly Fredinburg.

De Jesus-Ascencio was critically injured but out of the hospital by the time a judge issued a warrant for his arrest.

A general view of the damage following an explosion at restaurant Toronto, in Quito, Ecuador, yesterday.

Trump confident of FBI director despite attacks

Snowfall

18 TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017AMERICAS

Trump shares wishes during NORAD callsPalm Beach

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump’s Christmas wishes include a peaceful America, he said while taking

phone calls from children track-ing the global travels of Santa’s sleigh -- although the president’s social-media activities suggested otherwise.

“I think we want peace. What do you think? Peace for the country,” Trump told a young boy. “We’ve got prosperity. Now we want peace,” the president said taking children’s calls from the gilded and tiled living room of Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach, Florida, club and home.

The boy had told the presi-dent that his Christmas wish was for his sick grandmother to return home from the hospital. “That’s better than asking for some toy or something, right?” Trump responded, before shar-

ing his own ambitious wish.The president and first lady

Melania Trump spent some time answering calls from kids to the Santa Tracker run by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, follow-ing a holiday eve tradition of other recent first couples.

The president made classically

big, Trumpian promises to the kids, telling one “you’ll wake up and have the greatest gifts.” To another, Trump said: “I’ll make sure that Santa is going to treat you well. Really well. The best he’s ever treated you.”

Earlier, the president held a teleconference with members of the US military stationed in Kuwait, Qatar, the Strait of Hor-muz, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He also played golf at his course in West Palm Beach, White House officials confirmed.

Trump, 71, who has nine grandchildren of his own, took on a jovial tone, telling one child that he too liked playing with building blocks -- perhaps a ref-erence to his career as a real estate developer. Trump’s pub-lic voice, via Twitter, has been more antagonistic this holiday weekend.

Trump posted several tweets critical of Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who reportedly

plans to retire in early 2018 after being embroiled in controver-sies including his wife’s receipt of campaign contributions from Virginia’s Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe, a longtime ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

He also tweeted criticisms Sunday of the “Fake News,” not long after wishing journalists

covering him this weekend “a great holiday and a great Christmas.”

The president raised eye-brows by retweeting an image posted by Twitter user “oregon-4TRUMP.” The photograph depicts Trump in a limousine with what appears to be a squashed bug carrying the CNN

logo on the sole of his shoe.In September, Trump

retweeted, and later deleted, a cartoon depicting a “Trump train” locomotive running over a CNN reporter. And in July, Trump tweeted a video of him-self during which he wrestles a man in a suit whose face has been replaced by a CNN logo.

US President Donald J Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump participate in NORAD Santa Tracker phone calls at the Mar-a-Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida.

Retaliatory move: Canada ousts Venezuela envoy Unesco’s cultural authorities to recognise Panama’s hatsLa Pintada

AP

Cultural authorities at Unesco have recog-nised the artisans of

Panama for their distinctive woven hats. No, not those hats; the famed “Panama hat” comes from Ecuador.

Panama’s real contribu-tion to the world’s hat heritage is the pintao, or painted hat, handmade from five different plants and a dose of swamp mud. Produc-tion of the circular-brimmed hats is still a family affair car-ried out on a household scale.

“They don’t have any-thing (artificial), no machinery; no factory as such exists here in La Pintada,” said Reinaldo Quiros, a well-known artisan and designer who sells hats out of his home. “Each artisan in his own home makes the hats maintaining the techniques taught by his ancestors.”

The widely known “Pan-ama hat” is a brimmed hat traditionally made in Ecua-dor from the straw of the South American toquilla palm plant. The hats are thought to have earned their misleading name because many were sold in nearby Panama to prospectors traveling through that country to California during the Gold Rush.

Artisans of the truly Pan-amanian pintao hat start with the fibers of several plants that are cured and then woven into braids that are wrapped around a wooden form and sewn together from the crown of the hat down.

Ottawa

AFP

Canada yesterday ordered Venezuela’s ambassador and charge d’affaires to

leave, escalating a row two days after its top diplomat at the Canadian embassy in Ven-ezuela was kicked out by President Nicolas Maduro’s regime.

“In response to this move by the Maduro regime, I am announcing that the Venezue-lan ambassador to Canada... is no longer welcome in Canada. I am also declaring the Venezue-lan charge d’affaires persona non grata,” Canadian Foreign Minis-ter Chrystia Freeland (pictured)

said in a statement.She noted that Venezuela’s

ambassador, Wilmer Omar Bar-rientos Fernandez, “had already

been withdrawn by the Vene-zuelan government to protest Canadian sanctions against Ven-ezuelan officials implicated in corruption and gross human rights abuses.”

The tit-for-tat response fol-lows Venezuela’s announcement on Saturday that Canada’s charge d’affaires in the embassy in Caracas, Craig Kowalik, and Brazilian ambassador Ruy Pereira were no longer welcome.

Kowalik was accused of “nagging, constant rude and offensive interference in Vene-zuela’s domestic affairs,” according to Delcy Rodriguez, a Venezuelan official who heads a powerful body of Maduro

loyalists known as the Constit-uent Assembly.

Pereira was described as the representative of an illegitimate government in Brazil—a stance Caracas has taken since con-servative Brazilian President Michel Temer replaced impeached leftist president Dilma Rousseff.

Venezuela has riposted fiercely against growing inter-national condemnation of Maduro’s tightening hold on power this year.

Canada, the United States, Europe and most Latin Ameri-can nations have denounced what they call the trampling of democracy and human rights in the once-rich South American

nation, which is now on the brink of default.

On Friday, Canada imposed fresh sanctions on Maduro and members of his regime for alleged rights violations and corruption.

Freeland said Venezuela’s expulsion of Kowalik “is typical of the Maduro regime, which has consistently undermined all efforts to restore democracy and to help the Venezuelan people.”

She said that “Canadians will not stand by as the government of Venezuela robs its people of their fundamental democratic and human rights, and denies them access to basic humanitar-ian assistance.”

Woman seeks changes in US gun lawsTrenton

AP

The handgun that Shaneen Allen was carrying when she was pulled over on a

New Jersey highway could have sent her to prison for years if not for a pardon from Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

Now the legal saga that kept the Pennsylvania mother of two in jail for 48 days has helped inspire a measure that could change handgun laws across the country.

“Hopefully I’ll be at the White House next to (President) Trump signing this bill,” said Allen, who has become a face of the Republican effort to break down barriers to carrying con-cealed firearms between states. “Republicans put their money where their mouth was.”

The GOP-led House passed legislation this month that would allow gun owners with a state-issued concealed-carry permit to carry a handgun in any state that allows concealed weapons. The bill faces longer

odds in the Senate, which didn’t vote on it before leaving for the year.

The measure has pit gun control advocates who say it would endanger public safety by effectively overriding states with tighter laws against gun rights activists who say it’s needed to allow gun owners to travel freely without worrying about conflict-ing state laws.

The measure is a top priority of the National Rifle Association and attorneys general from 23 Republican states wrote a letter

in support of the measure.Seventeen Democratic attor-

neys general have called on Congress to give up the effort, the first significant action on guns in Congress since mass shootings in Nevada and Texas killed more than 80 people.

Even Christie, a Republican who has pardoned a number of out-of-state residents caught up in New Jersey’s strict gun laws, is against the change. Christie said it’s a state’s rights issue that the federal government should stay out of.

New Haven

AP

A team of college stu-dents is getting attention from Internet

companies and Congress after developing a browser exten-sion that alerts users to fake and biased news stories and helps guide them to more bal-anced coverage.

The plug-in, “Open Mind ,” was developed earlier this month during a 36-hour problem-solving competition known as a hackathon at Yale University.

The winning team was comprised of four students: Michael Lopez-Brau and Ste-fan Uddenberg, both doctoral students in Yale’s psychology department; Alex Cui, an undergraduate who studies machine learning at the Cal-ifornia Institute of Technology; and Jeff An, who studies computer science at the University of Waterloo and business at Wilfrid Lau-rier University in Ontario.

That team competed against others to win a chal-lenge from Yale’s Poynter Fellowship in Journalism, which asked students to find a way to counter fake news.

The team’s software, designed as an extension for Google’s Chrome browser, will display a warning screen when someone enters a site

known to disseminate fake news. It also will alert a reader if a story shared on social media is fake or biased.

But it does much more than just warn.

The plug-in uses existing sentiment analysis technol-ogy to analyse any story that might appear in a newsfeed, identifying the major players and any political slant. It then can suggest to the reader other stories on the same topic that have an alternate viewpoint.

“So let’s say there is an article that is very pro-Trump on a topic,” said An. “We would then try to give you something more left of cen-tre. We can go out and find for you that alternative article.”

The extension also collects browsing data and can show a user a graph that indicates whether they have been read-ing stories from just one side of a political spectrum. It curates a news feed for that user, showing alternative sto-ries to the ones they have been reading.

The idea, said Lopez-Brau, is to help get people out of the habit of associating on social media only with people who share their viewpoints and reading biased news cover-age skewed toward their beliefs.

“Social media sites grow bubbles,” said Lopez-Brau.

Students create plug-in to counter fake news

The president told a young boy, I think we want peace. What do you think? Peace for the country. We’ve got prosperity. Now we want peace.

Festive message

The boy had told the president that his holiday wish was for his sick grandmother to return home from the hospital.

A slope covered with snow is seen after snowfall in Chicago, yesterday. The most snowfall the Chicago area has seen on December 24 was in 1918, when more than 7 inches of snow being accumulated.

19TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017 MORNING BREAK

FAJRSHOROOK

04.55am

06.17 am

ZUHRASR

11.34 am

02.32 pm

MAGHRIBISHA

04.53 pm

06.23 pm

PRAYER TIMINGS

HIGH TIDE 10:00 – 00:00 LOW TIDE 02:00 – 18:00

Hazy at places at first becomes mild

daytime with slight dust to blowing

dust at places and some clouds, cold

by night.

WEATHER TODAY

Minimum Maximum

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

18oC 27oC

Muscat

QNA

Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), represented by the Department of Archeol-

ogy at the College of Arts and Social Sciences, has announced a new archeolog-ical discovery of unique pottery in the archaeological site of Dahwa, which belongs to the Umm Al Nar civilisation.

The discovery came as a result of archaeological exca-vations conducted by the Department during the period from 2013 to 2017, and the work on this site is still in

place. Dahwa is located 24 kil-ometers west of the Wilayat of Saham on the edge of the Hajar mountain ranges. The faculty members, technical staff and graduate students in the department participated in the excavation and archae-ological surveys, Oman News Agency (ONA) reported.

The site dates back to the civilization of Umm al-Nar, which dates from 2500 to 2000 BC. This archaeological site is the oldest settlement to date discovered in the north of Al Batinah plain. What dis-tinguishes the site is the initial indications of its external rela-tions with Sindh, in which the

pottery or the storage jar, which was manufactured in the civilization of Harappa, then in Sindh.

It is believed that the place of manufacture of the pottery found in Dahwa is located in the central region of the Sindh valley in Pakistan, specifically the Mohenjo-daro region, where archaeologists found the largest city in the world dating back to the early Bronze Age (2500-2000 BC). Archae-ologists also believe that these potteries were used to trans-port some products from the Indus Valley by small boats across the Indus River to the shores of the Arabian Sea.

Unique pottery found in Oman

Beni, Congo AP

Congolese designer Miki Sikabwe has trained in Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya but never had the chance to show her work at home because of

insecurity.That changed over the weekend, when a handful of

designers presented the first fashion shows in eastern Con-go’s city of Beni in years. It was a welcome distraction for residents who have faced attacks by Allied Democratic Forces rebels and other armed groups that have killed thousands over the past three years.

“I am happy to be exhibiting my necklaces and clothes made with local products here in Beni and I believe this will give hope to the people here,” Sikabwe said, also show-ing off men’s clothing made from bright African wax prints.

She and thousands of others in eastern Congo have wondered when the violence will end. Earlier this month, ADF rebels attacked the local United Nations mission, kill-ing 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers and five Congolese soldiers in the single deadliest assault on a U.N. peacekeeping mis-sion in nearly 25 years.

Uganda and Congo have launched a joint military offen-sive against the rebels, bringing optimism to a region that has known violence for decades.

Beni’s fashion week was canceled in 2014 after rebel attacks began in earnest, killing some 1,000 people within months.

Mayor Nyonyi Bwanakawa said he believes the city is becoming safer.

“We would like to show the world that in Beni, and in northeast Congo, there is life and tourists can come here,” he said. Beni lies at the foot of Mount Ruwenzori, which is surrounded by the well-known Virunga National Park.

Over the weekend, nearly 600 people packed into a nightclub for the fashion show featuring colored loincloths, masks and traditional materials designed into modern styles.

Roselyne Mbiya was the lead designer, using Congo-lese fabrics mixed with floral designs and lace.

She said some of the show’s proceeds will go to women who have been raped by the ADF rebels, saying they need to feel they are still loved by society.

Rare fashion show gives hope in eastern Congo

A picture taken yesterday shows a murmuration of starlings in the sky over agricultural fields near the Israeli city of Beit Shean in the Jordan Valley.

Starlings in the sky

Cape Town

Reuters

One big problem con-fronts Africa as it tries to predict how its

weather patterns will shift in the face of climate change:

Almost all the climate models for the continent were created in the United States or Europe. Now South African cli-mate researcher Francois Engelbrecht has changed that by developing a climate model for Africa, in Africa. The model

aims to “generate reliable pro-jections of future climate change over Africa,” said Engelbrecht, the chief researcher for climate studies, modeling and environmental health at South Africa’s Coun-cil for Scientific and Industrial

Research. Those projections include figuring out which areas will get more or less rainfall – a key to adapting agriculture successfully – or looking at where African grasslands might give way to thickets as more carbon

dioxide in the atmosphere drives the growth of trees.

The new model aims to generate much more detailed and place-specific projections, to give decision makers the information they need to pre-pare for coming changes.

London

QNA

An international study led by sci-entists from Inserm and Paris Diderot University (France), the

University of Chicago (USA), the National Heart and Lung Institute (UK) and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (USA) together with researchers of the Trans-National Asthma Genetics Consortium (TAGC) has discovered five new regions of the genome that increase the risk of asthma.

This study was published in the journal Nature Genetics. The TAGC study brought together more than 45 research groups from Europe, North America, Mexico, Australia and Japan.

It allowed pooling data on millions of DNA polymorphisms (genetic variants) throughout the genome in more than 142,000 asthmatic and non-asthmatic subjects of European, African, Latino and Japanese ancestry.

The TAGC study showed that genetic variants associated with asthma are preferentially located near epige-netic markers in immune cells, suggesting a role of these variants in the regulation of immunologically related mechanisms.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects more than 300 mil-lion people worldwide including 10 to 20% of children. It has a significant socio-economic impact. Asthma is char-acterised by clinical heterogeneity.

Scientists discover five new regions of genome that increase asthma risk

QA Privilege Club membership for ParalympiansThe Peninsula

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, was going for gold yesterday when he awarded five Paralympi-ans with special Gold membership to Qatar Airway’s frequent

flyer programme, the Privilege Club. The five athletes have all been top medal winners in their own

right; Sara Masoud and Abdulrahman Abdulqader for the shot put, Khalifa Al Dossari and Hamad Al Bahih for speed skating and Abdul-lah Al Mana’I for snowshoeing.

The special gifts were awarded by Qatar’s national carrier in recognition of the Paralympian’s amazing contribution to sport-ing excellence and to encourage athletes of all abilities to come together and take part in sports.

In 2015, Qatar Airways proudly supported the IPC Athletics World Champions in Doha, allowing para-athletes to compete for the first time, and in 2016 the airline supported Qatar’s sporting heroes to fly the largest-ever Qatari Olympic team to the Olym-pic games in Rio De Janeiro.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, and other officials with five Paralympians during the event.

The Peninsula

The Department of Architecture and Urban Planning (DAUP) at Qatar University College of

Engineering (QU-CENG) recently organised its second presentation, titled “The Architectural Competence in Film”, as part of its DAUP public lectures series.

The lecture was delivered by CENG Assistant Professor of Archi-tecture and Urban Design Dr Mark David Major (pictured). It engaged CENG faculty members and over 50 students from Qatar University.

Dr Mark David Major highlighted the seduc-tive correspondence between the architectural and cinematic arts. He said: “The impact of architecture on cinema is a very rich and inter-esting factor. The most widely used film-grammars deploy architectural form and

space in order to help convey important non-verbal informa-tion to the audience about the characterizations and/or narra-tive. (Major) cited a wide range of cinematic examples ranging from many movies such as Metropolis (1929), The Godfa-ther (1972), Pleasantville and The Truman Show (1998), Game of Thrones series (2011-2019) and Blade Runner (1982).”

DAUP Head Dr Fodil Fadli said: “DAUP events align with CENG’s strategy to present new innovative topics that benefit the partici-pants and the community. Through such lectures, open discussions and debate events, the College contributes to spreading knowl-edge and to enhancing the learning and teaching experience in the field of architectural and urban design.”

Impact of architecture on cinema is rich & interesting, says expert

Homegrown African climate model predicts future rains and risks

20 TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017HOME