QNARiyadh

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani participated yesterday in the

Middle East Green Initiative Summit, which was held at the Ritz-Carlton Ho-tel in Riyadh City.

A number of heads of states and gov-ernments also participated in the sum-mit, which

was attended by members of the of-fi cial delegation accompanying the Amir, as well as members of delega-tions, ranking offi cials and guests.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani met with the Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Min-ister, and Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prince Mo-hamed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, on the sidelines of the summit at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh.

At the outset of the meeting, the Saudi Crown Prince conveyed the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and his wishes of good health and happiness to the Amir and for more progress and growth for the Qatari people.

For his part, the Amir entrusted the Crown Prince with his greetings and wishes of good health to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and of further progress and prosperity to the Saudi people.

The meeting dealt with reviewing the strong bilateral relations and the means to enhance them to the benefit of the two peoples, in addition to dis-cussing the most prominent regional and international developments, as well as the topics on the summit’s agenda.

The meeting was attended by mem-

bers of the offi cial delegation accompa-nying the Amir.

On the Saudi side it was attended by a number of ministers and ranking of-fi cials.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani met with the Crown Prince of Kuwait Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, on the sidelines of the Middle East Green Initiative Summit at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh.

At the outset of the meeting the Kuwaiti Crown Prince conveyed the greetings of the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah and his wishes of good health and hap-piness to the Amir and for the Qatari people further progress and prosperity.

For his part, the Amir entrusted Sheikh Mishal al-Sabah with his greet-ings and wishes of good health to the Amir of Kuwait, and of continued de-velopment and growth for the Kuwaiti people.

The meeting dealt with reviewing bilateral relations and the means to enhance them to the benefit of the two peoples, in addition to discuss-ing the most prominent regional and international developments as well as

the topics on the summit’s agenda. The meeting was attended by mem-

bers of the offi cial delegation accompa-nying the Amir.

On the Kuwaiti side it was attended by a number ministers and ranking of-fi cials.

Earlier upon arrival, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and the accompanying delega-tion were welcomed at King Khalid In-ternational Airport by Acting Governor of Riyadh Region Prince Mohamed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Qatar’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Bandar bin Mohamed al-Attiyah and members of the Qatari Embassy.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani left Riyadh yester-day evening after taking part in the Mid-dle East Green Initiative Summit.

The Amir and the accompanying delegation were seen off at King Kha-lid International Airport by Minister of State for Foreign Aff airs Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir, Qatari ambassador Bandar bin Mohamed al-Attiyah and the Qatari Embassy staff .

His Highness the Amir returned to Doha yesterday evening from the King-dom of Saudi Arabia.

Tesla joins club of trillion-dollar firms

US State Department to set up cyber bureau

Tesla Inc surpassed $1 trillion in market value yesterday after landing its biggest-ever order from rental car company Hertz, a deal that reinforced the electric car leader’s ambitions to top the entire auto industry in sales over the next decade. Tesla shares surged as much as 14.9% to $1,045.02, making it the world’s most valuable automaker according to Reuters calculations based on its latest filing. Tesla is the first carmaker to join the elite club of trillion-dollar companies that includes Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc.

The US State Department plans to establish a bureau of cyberspace and digital policy in the face of a growing hacking problem, specifically a surge of ransomware attacks on US infrastructure. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said a Senate-confirmed ambassador at large will lead the bureau. Hackers have struck numerous US companies this year.

GULF TIMES

published in

QATAR

since 1978TUESDAY Vol. XXXXII No. 12078

October 26, 2021Rabia I 20, 1443 AH www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals

Qatar International Arts Festival gets underway at Katara

QATAR | Page 12BUSINESS | Page 1

QIIB’s net profi t surges 7% to QR840mn in third quarter

QatarEnergy, H2Koreasign hydrogen energyco-operation agreement

18th Heya exhibitionfrom Dec 12-17

Qatar calls on Sudanparties to get politicalprocess back on track

Russian Covid caseshit record high

QatarEnergy and Republic of Korea’s Hydrogen Convergence Alliance (H2Korea) signed yesterday an agreement for co-operation in the field of hydrogen energy. The agreement provides a framework of co-operation in the development of the hydrogen sector in both countries, encouraging growth of the hydrogen industry and expansion of the hydrogen supply chain, in addition to supporting eff orts within multilateral fora to accelerate co-operation for hydrogen related technologies worldwide. HE the Minister of State for Energy Aff airs Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi, also the president and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Sung-Wook Moon, Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy in the Republic of Korea witnessed the signing of the agreement. Page 6

Qatar Tourism announced that the 18th edition of Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition will take place from Dec 12 to 17 at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. Organised by Qatar Business Events Corporation (QBEC), the exhibition is expected to garner a significant participation from local, regional, and international brands. Heya highlights Qatar’s homegrown talents. Page 6

Qatar yesterday said it is following current developments in Sudan with concern, calling on all parties not to escalate, contain the situation, allow for the voice of reason to prevail, and work in the interests of the brotherly Sudanese people to achieve stability, justice, and peace. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs said Qatar stressed the need to have the political process get back on track, in order to achieve the aspirations of the Sudanese people. (QNA)

Russia reported a record high number of daily Covid-19 cases and some central European countries imposed fresh restrictions yesterday, as a new wave of the pandemic gathered pace. In Asia, the Red Cross called for urgent help for Papua New Guinea and China’s latest outbreak forced the capital Beijing to delay its annual marathon and step up other curbs, less than four months before it hosts the Winter Olympics. Russia yesterday reported 37,930 new Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours.

Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Prince Mohamed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz underlined yesterday that the “Middle East Green Initiative Summit” seeks to co-ordinate eff orts to protect the envi-ronment, confront climate change, and develop a roadmap towards reducing carbon emissions in the region by more than 10% of global contribution, and plant 50bn trees in the region, though

the largest tree-planting programme globally, which will contribute to achiev-ing 5% of the global target for aff oresta-tion. In a speech at the inauguration of the Middle East Green Initiative Summit in Riyadh, the Saudi Crown Prince said: “Today, in the first edition of this summit, we aim to work together to develop a regional roadmap and a framework to enable the achievement of these ambi-tious targets.” Page 8

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and the other dignitaries who participated in the Middle East Green Initiative Summit held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh City yesterday.

Amir attends ME Green Initiative Summit

His Highness the Amir met with Saudi Crown Prince on the sidelines of the summit in Riyadh yesterday. The meeting reviewed the strong bilateral relations and the means to enhance them. Page 2

Amir holds talks with Saudi Crown PrinceAmir also meets Crown Prince of Kuwait Amir to open Shura

Council’s ordinary session todayHis Highness the Amir Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will patronise the opening of

the fi rst ordinary session of the fi rst legislative term, corresponding to the Shura Council’s 50th annual ses-sion, at the council’s headquarters today, Qatar News Agency reports.

On this occasion, His Highness the Amir will deliver a speech in which he will present the State’s di-rections regarding the priorities for internal aff airs and the main features of the foreign policy, as well as what Qatar has achieved during the past year and its aspirations for further progress and growth.

The new council has a total of 45

members, 30 of whom were elected and 15 appointed by His Highness the Amir. The Shura Council elec-tions were held on October 2, regis-tering 63.5% voter turnout.

The elections saw the enthusiastic participation of Qataris of diff erent ages and marked a historic moment for the country and the council.

Ahead of the opening, the new members have stressed that they are determined to serve the nation and go ahead with the programmes they promoted during their election cam-paigns, to sustain the development of the country and highlight the de-mands and aspirations of its people. Page 7

Shura Council headquarters

Saudi initiative to plant 50bn trees

QATARGulf Times Tuesday, October 26, 20212

HMC observes World Cerebral Palsy Day with virtual awareness lectures

To mark World Cerebral Palsy Day, which occurs annually on October 6, the

Paediatrics Rehabilitation De-partment at Hamad Medical Cor-poration’s (HMC) Qatar Rehabili-tation Institute (QRI) organised a series of awareness events for schools in Qatar.

The events included virtual lectures at a number of schools to highlight the condition and its associated disorders, including spasticity which is considered one of the most common symptoms in children with cerebral palsy. The events aimed at educating schoolteachers about the needs of children with cerebral palsy and how to act in emergency situa-tions without risking the child’s health or life.

The lectures served as plat-

form to educate attendees about the defi nition of cerebral palsy, latest local and global statistics, common causes of cerebral palsy, prevention, as well as to highlight care programmes and services provided by HMC to children with cerebral palsy. Dr Murad Salem, consultant paediatric neurore-habilitation at QRI, said there are currently around 700 cerebral palsy patients being cared for by QRI’s Paediatrics Rehabilitation Department. He noted that the department has received around 50 new cases of children with the condition so far in 2021. These children are referred to the Pae-diatrics Rehabilitation Depart-ment from either HMC hospitals, Primary Health Care Centres, or private medical centres and hos-pitals.

“Cerebral palsy, commonly known as CP, is the most com-mon cause of motor disabilities in children. CP is a general term for a group of disorders that af-fect diff erent parts of the brain. The human brain is divided into lobes and each lobe has its own functions, and therefore, the ef-fect of CP can vary based on the aff ected area of the brain. In some cases, vision, hearing, and sensa-tion are also aff ected. According to US-based Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the con-dition aff ects up to 4 out of every 1,000 children worldwide,” added Dr Salem.

Dr Salem said, while there is no cure for cerebral palsy, early in-tervention and ongoing medical treatment are essential. He says therapy for movement, learn-

ing, speech, hearing, and social and emotional development are an important part of ensuring children with CP reach their full potential. He added that medi-cations and surgery may also be necessary to help those with sig-nifi cant muscle pain and stiff ness, or dislocated hips and scoliosis.

HMC adopts a family-centred model of care where family and caregivers are involved in every decision made about their child’s treatment. The multidisciplinary team, which includes physicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and dietitians, work together with families to help these children and young people integrate into the community.

Dr Salem advised pregnant mothers to look for early signs of

the disorder in the foetus during pregnancy. If the mother notices that the movement of her un-born child is less than her previ-ous pregnancies, then she should report that to her doctor. Mothers should also observe the move-ment and growth of their new-born children and consult with their doctors if they notice a de-lay in the child’s development or if child is showing signs of motor delay.

Dr Salem noted that HMC’s on-going collaboration with schools in Qatar has helped increase the number of schools that have spe-cialised sections for rehabilitation of children with disabilities to about 50% of schools in the coun-try with plans to further increase the number to 80% of all schools in Qatar in the future.

The events aimed at educating schoolteachers about the needs of children with cerebral palsy and how to act in emergency situations without risking the child’s health or life.

Msheireb Green Programme unveiled at ‘Talk Green’ event

Msheireb Properties launched the ‘Msheireb Green Programme’ dedicated to cafes and restaurants at Msheireb Downtown Doha

to encourage the implementation of sustainability best practices in line with the company’s mission and vision.

The programme was announced during the fi rst edition of ‘Talk Green’ event, organised by Msheir-eb Properties as part of Qatar Sustainability Week activations in collaboration with Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC).

The fi rst edition of ‘Talk Green’ was held at Ba-rahat Msheireb for corporates, institutions, and youth to highlight eco-related solutions and strat-egies on sustainability to the public and to foster public awareness and participation. On day one, Talk Green had speakers from Msheireb Properties, Shell, QGBC, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) and Qatar Foundation (QF).

In her talk, Maryam al-Jassem, PR and com-munications manager at Msheireb Properties, an-nounced that the ‘Msheireb Green Programme’ that will be implemented in Msheireb Downtown Doha starting December 2021, encourages F&B outlets to implement sustainability practices to receive Gold or Platinum certifi cates. Additionally, for those F&B outlets in Msheireb Downtown Doha which qualify, Msheireb Properties and QGBC will sub-mit their applications for the Green Key Award, the leading standard for excellence in the fi eld of envi-ronmental responsibility and sustainable operation within the food & beverage industries.

A special committee from Msheireb Properties and QGBC will asses the participants and their adherence to the programme criteria. Outlets that achieve 50% of the criteria will receive Gold certifi -cate while those achieve 75% will receive Platinum certifi cate.

The criteria of Msheireb Green Programme in-clude special practices such as water and electricity effi ciency, waste collection and segregation, eco-friendly sanitisers, paper cups and tools instead of plastic, and promoting sustainability among staff and customers.

At Talk Green, representing Msheireb Proper-ties, Ali al-Yafai talked about the sustainability pil-lars that the organisation has adopted in Msheireb Downtown Doha. These four pillars are: Connec-

tivity, water effi ciency, power consumption, and waste collection. Al-Yafai said that the implemen-tation of these make Msheireb Properties an exem-plary city district for sustainability, and the largest LEED certifi ed building in the world.

Meshal al-Shammari from QGBC highlighted the objectives of the the Qatar Sustainability Week National Campaign to raise awareness and pro-mote sustainability within the local community. He called on the individuals to implement sustainabil-ity practices in the daily life. Al-Shammari under-lined the QGBC’s eff ort to promote sustainability through conferences, partnerships, and environ-mental initiatives.

Abdel Rahman al-Miftah, sustainability and en-vironmental expert, SC, talked about The Sustain-ability Programme of Qatar 2022. He said that SC is seeking to accomplish 11 objectives of the UN Sus-tainable Development Goals, in collaboration with Qatar and Fifa. He also showcased the eff orts by the committee to promote sustainability, including human development, workers welfare, employee’s empowerment.

Msheireb Properties will activate Barahat Msheireb for Sustainability Week for 7-days ending on October 30. The week will be concluded with a series of workshops dedicated to promoting sus-tainability practices, especially among youth and children.

Msheireb Properties launches green initiative.

Labour minister meets ALO board members

HE the Minister of Labour Dr Ali bin Saeed bin Smaikh al-Marri met yesterday with the members of the Board of Directors of the Arab Labour Organisation (ALO) at 95th session of ALO held in Doha over the past two days. During the meeting, topics related to the specialisation of the Board of Directors were discussed as well as aspects of co-operation between the two sides and means of boosting and developing them in this context. HE the minister also met separately with Egypt’s Minister of Manpower Mohamed Saafan and Palestine’s Minister of Labour Dr Nassri Khalil Abu Jaish, who participated in the session in Doha. (QNA)

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani participated in the Middle East Green Initiative Summit in Riyadh yesterday. On the sidelines of the summit, His Highness met with Kuwait Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah. Their meeting dealt with reviewing bilateral relations and the means to enhance them, besides discussing the most prominent regional and international developments as well as the topics on the summit’s agenda. Earlier, the Amir and the accompanying delegation were welcomed upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport by Acting Governor of Riyadh Region Prince Mohamed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Qatar’s ambassador Bandar bin Mohamed al-Attiyah and members of the Qatari embassy. (QNA)

Amir attends Middle East Green Initiative Summit in Riyadh

Qatar participated in the preparatory meeting of undersecretaries of interior ministries of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, which was held via video conference yesterday in preparation of the 38th meeting of Ministers of Interior of the GCC countries. Qatar was represented at the meeting by HE the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior and Commander of Lekhwiya Force Major General Abdulaziz bin Faisal al-Thani. The meeting discussed the topics on the agenda that contribute to strengthening the joint Gulf security co-operation process. (QNA)

Qatar participates in GCC meetingPresident of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari received the credentials of Ali bin Ghanim al-Hajri as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Qatar to Nigeria. The ambassador conveyed greetings of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and wishes of good health and happiness to the president, and continued progress and prosperity to the government and people of Nigeria. For his part, the president entrusted the ambassador with his greetings to the Amir, wishing him the best of health and happiness, and Qatar continued progress, development and prosperity. (QNA)

Nigeria president receives Qatari envoy’s credentials

Session of Arab human rights body commencesQNACairo

The 17th session of the Arab Human Rights Committee began yes-

terday at the headquarters of the Arab League’s General Sec-retariat. In his speech at the opening session, HE the Sec-retary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Ahmed bin Hassan al-Hammadi, who headed Qatar’s delegation at the session, said that the State appreciates the role the com-mittee plays in implementing the articles of the Arab Charter on Human Rights.

He stressed that Qatar fully co-operates with the commit-tee to help it carry out its role in improving the standard of hu-man rights in the region.

He added that Qatar contin-ues to focus on the provisions of the Arab Charter and has taken legislative, legal, admin-istrative and other appropriate measures to enhance the rights guaranteed by the Charter and provide the means to ensure their promotion, development and modernisation within the framework of integrated social development.

He stressed that Qatar, rep-resented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, celebrated the Arab Human Rights Day, which falls on March 16, and was ap-

proved by the Arab League. The celebration aimed to raise awareness at the local and na-tional levels of human rights, the Arab Charter on Human Rights, and the principles en-shrined in the Arab Charter on Human Rights.

Al-Hammadi indicated that this commitment was based on national references, foremost of which the constitution of Qatar, which affirmed and con-solidated human rights and in-cluded them in 24 articles un-der its third chapter on public rights and duties.

He added that Qatar National Vision 2030, through its two national development strate-gies, works on creating an en-vironment that supports hu-man rights in line with regional and international accords on the subjects.

He highlighted the affirma-tion of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, in his speech before the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly last September, that human development and pro-tecting human rights are Qa-tar’s priority.

For his part, the Chairman of the Arab Human Rights Com-mittee Jaber Saleh al-Marri, said that the Arab human rights system, of which the commit-tee represents one of its tools, confirmed that the Arab cul-ture is not an obstacle to human

rights, but rather a guarantee for its protection.

He highlighted the impor-tance of encouraging other Arab countries who are yet to join the charter to do so. In his speech, al-Marri thanked, on behalf of the committee, Qatar for its commitment to submit its second periodic report in

preparation for its discussion and review of the human rights situation in the country in the context of this session. It is the first session held by the com-mittee after the election of its new members.

It is also the first session to be held since the pandemic. (QNA)

HE the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs Dr Ahmed bin Hassan al-Hammadi attending the meeting in Cairo.

QATAR3Gulf Times

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Aff airs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah met with the visiting Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Fadil Novalic, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dr Bisera Turkovic. The meeting reviewed aspects of the bilateral co-operation and means of promoting them. The meeting was attended by senior off icers at the Armed Forces. (QNA)

Al-Attiyah meets Bosnian PM

HE the Minister of State for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi met yesterday with ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Qatar Prince Mansour bin Khalid bin Abdullah al-Farhan al-Saud. During the meeting, bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries were reviewed. (QNA)

Al-Muraikhi meets Saudi ambassador

Technical workshop on Qatar’s maritime boundaries beginsBy Tawfik LamariStaff Reporter

The Standing Committee of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, affi liated

to the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs, yesterday opened a three-day technical workshop titled ‘Tech-nical Aspects of the Maritime Boundaries, Baselines and Mari-time Zones of the State of Qatar’ in co-operation with the British Cooley Consulting Offi ce at the Diplomatic Club.

This workshop is a follow-up of the one organised in January 2020, its main objective is to train the largest possible number of delegates on the use of the elec-tronic maritime map of Qatar, in addition to addressing issues related to the rights and duties of states in various maritime areas.

The workshop also addresses the basic technical principles of hydrography and cartography and their application to the mar-itime boundaries, baselines and maritime zones of Qatar, in ad-dition to introducing electronic maritime charts and how to use them, given that the committee is still studying the project of is-suing an electronic marine map for Qatar.

The workshop aims to enable participants to understand the importance of the technical as-pects of maritime areas and bor-ders, the legal principles behind the demarcation of borders, and to have hands-on experience of the use of the electronic mari-time map that has been specially prepared for Qatar to show the

maritime zones, for use in opera-tions within those areas.

The secretary of the Standing Committee of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, Mariam Nasser al-Hail said: “The elec-tronic maritime map is still a draft project but it has not yet been approved by the Council of Ministers. The seminar aims to train those concerned and the specialists, and the technicians in Qatar on how to use it through practical exercises. To under-stand the Qatari maritime zones and to exercise our maritime sov-ereignty. The delegates will have hands-on practice.”

John Brown from Cooley Con-sulting Offi ce (UK) gave a brief overview and said: “You have a major event coming next year, the World Cup, and there will be a lot of interest. The Standing Com-mittee of the Convention on the Law of the Sea have undertaken a marvellous project to fully defi ne all their maritime zones, where they can exercise their sovereign rights over the seabed and defi ne

their maritime boundaries with their neighbours, and they have taken this and made a submis-sion to the UN in New York.

“When you have defi ned boundaries and maritime spaces then every state have rights un-der the UN Convention of the Sea as to what they can do. The semi-nar brings together a number of participants from diff erent specialist areas from diff erent ministries so that they will have a common understanding of the technical side which can be a very complicated area. The advantage of the seminar is that everybody will know where the fi elds are, they can see the charts, the dia-grams and where the boundaries are, so they will have no problem in fi nding them.

“The idea is to have people in Qatar have a good understanding of the rights and responsibili-ties within the maritime zones. When you have an area that is complicated technically, it is good that people have a com-mon understanding of how to

draw the maritime zones. People think it is simple we just take 12 miles off the coast, no you have islands, diff erent features that you have to take into account, it is something that you get experi-ence over time, and I am pleased to pass on experience to people in industries and ministries. There will be a lot of practice in the workshop and we will put theory into practice to reinforce the un-derstanding.”

The seminar was attended by 21 delegates from diff erent min-istries and authorities, the Min-istry of the Interior represented by the General Administration of Coasts and Borders Security and the Permanent Committee for the Management of Seaports, the Qatari Amiri Naval Forces affi li-ated to the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Transportation, QatarEnergy, the Lands and Sur-vey Department of the Ministry of Municipality, and Qatar Uni-versity, all of whom interacted in a constructive way during the seminar.

John Brown addressing the workshop yesterday.

Delegates interacting at the event.

Mariam Nasser al-Hail speaking at the workshop.

Ooredoo shares insight in whitepaper

Ooredoo has announced the publication of its latest industry whitepa-

per, ‘The Role of Telecom Serv-ice Providers in the Media and Broadcast Industry’.

The whitepaper explores the changing landscape of the media and broadcast industry, with digitalisation of the in-dustry resulting in disruption across the value chain, and new opportunities being explored, and evaluates how a strong, reliable service provider with unparalleled network capabili-ties can be the perfect partner for companies within the in-dustry.

Thani al-Malki, executive di-rector, Business, said: “We are

delighted to announce the pub-lication of our latest whitepaper. In releasing such whitepapers, we aim to share industry knowl-edge, insight and expertise rel-evant to a range of diff erent in-dustries and verticals.

“Recent events have changed the landscape in many indus-tries, not least that of media and broadcasting, and examining and evaluating such changes in

relation to our business opera-tions can only be of benefi t to us all.”

Business customers can lev-erage the Ooredoo Advantage, making Ooredoo ‘Best for Busi-ness’, thanks to its breadth and depth of talent, best fi xed and mobile networks, broadest port-folio of ICT services and solu-tions, and trusted partner for 60 years.

Qatar Airways to operate services to Odesa in Dec

Qatar Airways has an-nounced it will operate fl ights three times a week

to Odesa, Ukraine, from December 9, 2021, becoming the second des-tination to be served in Ukraine by Qatar’s national carrier. The serv-ice will be operated by the airline’s Airbus A320 featuring 12 seats in Business Class and 120 seats in Economy Class.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Ex-ecutive, HE Akbar al-Baker, said: “We have been operating to the Ukraine since August 2017 and our launch to Odesa marks a mile-stone in our history with the coun-try. Odesa is rightly known as the pearl of the Black Sea and we look forward to bringing visitors from around the world to explore its rich cultural history as well as further afi eld along the coast and inland in the south west of Ukraine.

“Equally we are excited to of-fer leisure travellers from Ukraine access to our expanding network such as our Indian Ocean winter sun destinations including the Maldives, the Seychelles and Zan-zibar. The route will also connect Ukrainians with friends and family across the globe from Sydney, Du-bai and Bangkok.”

“With fl ights to more than 85 destinations in Asia-Pacifi c, Afri-ca and the Middle East, passengers wanting to travel to or from Odesa can now enjoy seamless connec-tivity via the ‘Best Airport in the World’, Hamad International Air-port. “Passengers can look forward to great hospitality onboard deliv-ered by our much admired cabin crew serving award-winning cui-sine, and entertained with a huge variety of movies, TV shows and

music on Oryx One, Qatar Air-ways’ in-fl ight entertainment sys-tem. The national carrier of Qatar continues to rebuild its network, which currently stands at over 140 destinations.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was an-nounced as the ‘Airline of the Year’ by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax, in addition to securing fi ve addition-al awards including World’s Best Business Class, World’s Best Busi-ness Class Airline Lounge, World’s Best Business Class Airline Seat, World’s Best Business Class On-board Catering and Best Airline in the Middle East.

The airline continues to stand alone at the top of the industry having won the main prize for an unprecedented sixth time (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021). The airline’s hub, Hamad Interna-tional Airport (HIA), was also re-cently recognised as the ‘Best Air-port in the World 2021’, ranking at number one in the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2021.

In addition to this, Qatar Air-ways is the fi rst global airline in the world to achieve the pres-tigious 5-Star Covid-19 Airline Safety Rating by Skytrax. This

follows the success of Hamad In-ternational Airport (HIA) as the fi rst airport in the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star Covid-19 Airport Safety Rating. These awards provide as-surance to passengers around the world that the airline’s health and safety standards are subject to the highest possible standards of professional, independent scru-tiny and assessment. For full de-tails of all the measures that have been implemented on board and at HIA, please visit qatarairways.com/safety. Qatar Airways trav-ellers from Odesa can now enjoy new baggage allowances ranging from 25kg in Economy Class split over two pieces and 40kg split over two pieces in Business Class. This initiative is designed to of-fer passengers more fl exibility and comfort when travelling on board Qatar Airways. For more informa-tion, please visit https://www.qa-tarairways.com/en-qa/baggage/allowance.html

Odesa Flight Schedule: Tues-day, Thursday & Saturday - Doha (DOH) to Odesa (ODS) QR309 de-parts: 08:30 arrives: 12:45.

Odesa (ODS) to Doha (DOH) QR310 departs: 16:45 arrives: 22:50.

Qatar Airways will fly three times a week to Odesa, Ukraine.

National planning workshop begins

The Planning and Statistics Authority, in co-operation with the UN Economic and

Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), will organise to-day a national workshop on pro-moting integrated development planning in Qatar.

The two-day workshop aims to build the national capacities of workers in ministries, govern-ment agencies, the private sector, civil society organisations, uni-versities, and research centres, and introduce them to recent de-velopments in development plan-

ning in the country to improve the business and investment envi-ronment in the recovery phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The workshop will focus on the tools, materials, and curricula re-lated to integrated development planning prepared by ESCWA, and on the successes and challenges in national development planning in Qatar, in addition to more detailed topics related to the country’s aspirations to build a diversifi ed economy, especially focusing on regulatory reforms related to the business and investment environ-

ment, direct foreign policy, regu-latory reforms in public policies, and how to include them in the planning and implementation of specifi c objectives.

HE the President of the Plan-ning and Statistics Authority Dr Saleh bin Mohamed al-Nabit ex-pressed his pleasure to work with ESCWA, other UN organisations operating in Qatar, ministries, government agencies, the private sector, and civil society in pre-paring for the Third National De-velopment Strategy 2023-2027. (QNA)

QC, Floward in partnership agreement

Qatar Charity (QC) and Floward, the go-to online fl owers and gifts delivery

destination in Mena, signed a co-operation agreement, in support of QC’s projects for community service.

The agreement was signed by Ahmad Yousef Fakhroo, CEO’s assistant for the Resources De-velopment and Media sector at QC and Abdulaziz B al-Loughani, CEO of Floward.

Under the agreement, the co-operation will take place in diff er-ent ways, including contributing to seasonal projects and activating the ‘Hadiya’ (Gift) service within the Floward app and website. The agreement comes as part of the company’s keenness to contribute to the programmes and activities organised by QC, and within the framework of its commitment to providing the necessary aid and support to the target groups, driv-en by its responsibility towards the community.

Fakhroo welcomed the signing of the pact, expressing his pride in the distinguished partnership with Floward. He also hoped that the agreement would achieve its humanitarian goals. He added

that Qatar Charity seeks to ex-pand co-operation with organi-sations, bodies and initiatives in the country to implement social responsibility programmes.

Al-Loughani said: “We are thrilled and proud to partner with Qatar Charity, one of the largest

charity organisations in the Mena with numerous humanitarian and development campaigns and projects around the world. Social responsibility and community outreach campaigns are at the heart of Floward’s strategy, and we always seek to support our

communities by partnering with leading humanitarian organisa-tions. We’d like to thank Qatar Charity for the good work they do and for giving us the space to play a role in helping and devel-oping our communities through this partnership.”

Off icials at the agreement signing ceremony.

QATARGulf Times Tuesday, October 26, 20214

Minister stresses importance of Qatari preachers’ roleQNADoha

HE the Minister of En-dowments and Islamic Affairs (Awqaf) Ghanem

bin Shaheen bin Ghanem al-Ghanem has met with a number of Qatari preachers.

HE al-Ghanem met the preachers, who mount the pul-pits of mosques and most of them lead worshippers in the mosques, immediately after as-suming the Ministry of Endow-ments and Islamic Affairs.

He emphasising the impor-tance of the active role en-trusted with preachers who

were honoured to carry the message of prophets, convey the true religion to the seg-ments of society, and pro-vide a good example of mercy, knowledge and wisdom for everyone who lives on the land of Qatar and for the whole world through the pulpits and arenas of call for God, through social media platforms and Is-lamic sites with a correct un-derstanding and a moderate approach according to a bal-anced religious discourse.

HE the minister said that the ministry continues its efforts to attract and qualify Qatari imams and preachers, and al-locate them financial and other

incentives to encourage and motivate young Qataris to en-gage in imams and preachers’ qualification programmes, in order to achieve the ministry’s strategy that it adopted in the continuous interest and devel-opment of the category of im-ams and preachers in Qatar, so that they can fulfil their duty to inform people of their religion, to spread moderation, toler-ant morals and the lofty mor-als of true Islamic religion, to carry out their advocacy duties in a proper and legally required manner, and to contribute to reviving the role of the mosque in society.

The coming years, God will-

ing, will witness the qualifying of the largest number of Qatari imams and preachers, in imple-mentation of the directives of the wise leadership, to ascend the pulpits of mosques, play the role of imams, and give advice and guidance to the communi-ty, HE al-Ghanem said, adding that they are able to understand the community’s needs and as-pirations and they are also able to address them well, and by good example, wisdom, knowl-edge and compassion, accept-ing their mistakes and lapses and treating them with kind words.

He said the ministry will continue to develop its pro-

grammes and activities to keep pace with the advanced and new advocacy programs, and to open the door for preachers to increase scientific capabili-ties and legal outcomes, and to reach all segments of society, praying to the Almighty Allah to perpetuate the blessing of security and safety for Qatar, and the cohesion of the soci-etal fabric and national cohe-sion.

For their part, the preachers praised the efforts of the min-istry, led by HE the minister, in working to attract and encour-age Qatari imams and preachers and build their knowledge and practical capabilities.

HE the Minister of Endowments and Islamic Aff airs (Awqaf) Ghanem bin Shaheen bin Ghanem al-Ghanem holds talks with Qatari Imams.

Third edition of ‘Qatar Achievements on Vocational Safety’ opens in Doha

The third edition of ‘Qatar Achievements on Vocational Safety’ was launched yes-

terday under the patronage of the Ministry of Labour. The event was attended by Ministry of Labour consultant Mohamed Ali al-Meer and other dignitaries and included an awards ceremony to recognise lo-cal companies which have been fol-lowing health and safety standards.

In addition, safety awards were presented to companies in various categories – small and medium en-terprises, real estate, oil and gas, re-tail, and health sector organisations. Public Works Authority (Ashghal) — Best Company in Construction Sector; Msheireb Properties — Best Real-Estate Project, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) — Best Com-pany in Health Sector; Oryx GTL — Best Company in Oil & Gas Sector; QIMC — Best Company in Industry Sector; Mowasalat (Karwa) — Best Company in Transportation Sector; Nasser Bin Khaled — Best Com-pany in Automotive Sector; Hua-

wei Technologies — Best Company in Technology Sector; QTerminals — Best Company in Ports Manage-ment Sector; Doha Bank — Best Bank in Qatar; Dlala Holding — Best Holding Company.

The third edition of ‘Qatar Achievements on Vocational Safety’ highlights the rapid strides taken by Qatar towards achieving modernity and gives an account of the massive development accomplished by the country in a short period of time.

It also emphasises Qatar’s keen-ness to provide aff ordable hous-ing for labourers — respecting and guaranteeing their fundamental rights — and supporting them with adequate compensation when they are unable to work.

One of the many missions of the Ministry of Labour is to upgrade the performance of the government apparatus, control and develop the performance of the labour market to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030.

The Ministry of Labour is sup-porting occupational safety in

various sectors and raising safety awareness among workers to avoid accidents at worksites.

The ministry confi rmed its imple-mentation of various programmes and training workshops in the fi eld of safety, security and health, in co-op-eration with diff erent governmental entities to ensure high level of aware-ness and commitment to the rules

pertaining to safety regulations. Khalifa al-Muhanadi, chairman of Sogha Advertising, the organiser of the event, said: “The book is going to be a real eye-opener for the whole world as it describes how the workers involved with the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar are adhering to the in-ternational safety standards and oc-cupational safety guidelines.”

The event was attended by Ministry of Labour consultant Mohamed Ali al-Meer and other dignitaries and included an awards ceremony to recognise local companies which have been following health and safety standards. PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam

QFFD-UNDP agreement focuses on global SDGsQNADoha

HE the Director-General of Qatar Fund For Develop-ment (QFFD) Khalifa bin

Jassim al-Kuwari affi rmed that the agreement that was recently signed by Qatar, represented by QFFD, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), will work on supporting the core resources of the $16mn pro-gramme over two years (2021-2022), by co-operating in eff orts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs) at the global level. In an ex-clusive statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), he said that this sup-port will contribute to the develop-ment of several areas through inno-vative solutions, the UNDP will focus on 177 countries, including develop-ing countries, and link them with knowledge, experience and resources to reach the people in need to build a better life, which is in line with the vision of QFFD in giving hope, pro-moting peace and achieving sustain-able development.

“Its programmes also focus on poverty reduction, which is the fi rst

goal of the sustainable development goals, in addition to recovery, crisis prevention, confl ict reduction, and early recovery from disasters in the fastest possible way,” al-Kuwari add-ed, noting that the program works to fi nd sustainable solutions to the glo-bal warming problem.

The QFFD director-general point-ed out that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, is a common roadmap to achieve peace and prosperity for people and planet earth at the same time, ex-plaining that SDGs is an urgent call

for all countries to work in the global partnership to end poverty, improve health and education, reduce in-equality, and spur economic growth while simultaneously tackling cli-mate change and preserving our oceans and forests.

Qatar is one of the fi rst countries to support the establishment of a group of laboratories to accelerate the de-velopment impact in over 78 coun-tries. These pioneering labs were launched in January 2019, in over sixty developing countries to become an integral part of UNDP teams and infrastructure in each country.

The Ministry of Municipality is participating in the Senior Off icials Preparatory Meeting for the 8th OIC Ministerial Conference on Food Security and Agricultural Development, which started yesterday in Istanbul, Turkey. The ministry is represented in the two-day meeting by Director of the Food Security Department Dr Masoud Jarallah al-Marri. The meeting, which is held under the slogan: ‘Improving food systems to achieve food security in the member countries of the OIC’, will discuss a number of topics, including, the state of agriculture and food security, financing agricultural and food security projects, and supporting its food security activities and other operating institutions, a program for developing strategic agricultural commodities (wheat, rice and cassava), and establishing a food security reserve for the OIC. The 8th ministerial conference will be held tomorrow, with the participation of HE the Minister of Municipality Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Subaie. (QNA)

Qatar attends OIC Ministerial Conference on Food Security

QATAR5Gulf Times

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

By Joey AguilarStaff Reporter

Qatar Rail is off ering re-tailers an opportunity to open new stores at Doha

Metro’s Lusail Tram stations. At least fi ve retail spaces – Ma-rina, Marina Promenade, Yacht Club, Esplanade, and Energy City South – are currently avail-able for leasing. Units start at QR3,000 monthly, according to an advertisement issued by Qa-tar Rail yesterday.

The Lusail Tram network is comprised of four lines and 25 stations aboveground and un-derground, and connects it to the Doha Metro via two interchange stations: Lusail and Legtaifi ya.

Retailers who avail of this off er at Lusail Tram stations can also get 12 months of licence fee for free and fl exible agreement du-ration of three years or fi ve years. Water and electricity costs will be included in the licence fee.

The Lusail Tram’s total route is approximately 19km long and around 1,500sqm of retail space is spread across 43 retail outlets.

Qatar Rail noted that trams, compared to petrol-powered vehicles such as buses, provide effi cient and environment-friendly transport services for commuters. “Trams are greener and cope better with traffi c than buses. They are also much more effi cient in terms of road usage as one train replaces about 40 cars which take up a far larger area of road space,” Qatar Rail said on its website. “Lusail tram will soon become the main transportation hub for visionary Lusail City the largest single sustainable devel-opment to be undertaken in the State of Qatar”.

Qatar Rail earlier announced re-tail opportunities in its 9,200sqm space spread across 37 stations of the Doha Metro and Lusail Tram network, giving retailers, includ-ing small and medium enterprises, a chance to open new stores and expand their reach.

The ‘state-of-the-art and best in class automated rail network’ is comprised of Red, Gold, and Green Lines, operates mostly un-derground across Doha.

“We have focused on pro-viding accessible stations with distinctive branding, signage, and digital displays inside and outside the stations. We pro-vide live real-time service up-dates, simple fare structure for our Travel Cards, as well as a handy mobile app with all the information you will need when travelling with us. Doha Metro is your answer to safe, conven-ient, aff ordable, and stress-free travel around the city of Doha,” Qatar Rail said on its website.

Retail spaces (permitted trades) include services, general

retail, food and beverages, con-venience, and Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and vending machines.

Banks, money exchange, tel-ecom service, pharmacy travel agent, courier service, health and beauty, laundry, government entity, and quick service repair, among others, fall under services trade while stationery, electron-ics, fl orist, accessories, gift/sou-venir shops, book store, sports shop, and nutritional supple-ment fall under general retail.

Food and beverage include cafés, quick service restaurants, specialty foods, and juice bars while convenience stores and news agents fall under conven-ience. ATMs and vending ma-chines are under ancillary.

Retail spaces off ered at Lusail Tram stations

The Lusail Tram network comprises four lines and 25 stations above-ground and underground, and connects it to the Doha Metro via two interchange stations: Lusail and Legtaifiya. – screengrab from Qatar Rail website

By Joey AguilarStaff Reporter

Doha has been attracting an increasing number of foreign visitors as sev-

eral tourism destinations started witnessing a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, a leading hotelier said.

“In many countries, we see already that tourism is back to 2019 levels and Doha is getting traction in international mar-kets, and we can see that based on our bookings that we are get-ting as well,” Ritz-Carlton, Doha general manager Carlo Javakhia explained.

“We see new bookings from Germany, the UK, and from dif-ferent markets for leisure pur-poses,” he told a recent media briefi ng to mark the hotel’s 20th anniversary scheduled tomor-row.

Ritz-Carlton, Doha is a fi ve-star, Katara Hospitality-owned property in West Bay Lagoon, and features the largest chande-lier in the Middle East.

The Viennese Baakowitz chandelier located at the ho-tel’s lobby was assembled by three people within a week’s time. With over 2,000 indi-vidual crystals, it is 7.5m in height, 3.5m in diameter and weighs 1.2 metric tonnes. The hotel hosts a total of 264 chan-

deliers throughout its premis-es.

Javakhia noted that Ritz-Carl-ton, Doha has been awarded the VIP hotel for the FIFA Arab Cup, set to take place from November 30 to December 18 in Qatar.

“We’re in close partnership with FIFA and with local au-thorities and we understand as a hotel, as a brand, what exactly the high-end clientele needs, and we are always on our toes, that is one of the reasons why we are the primary choice when it comes to VIP delegations,” he said.

Javakhia cited the collabora-tion between Qatar Tourism, Qatar Airways, and Discover Qa-

tar, saying it has put the country on the map as a destination “and we see results coming very posi-tive”.

“We have clients who are just coming to celebrate their wed-ding anniversary and spend sev-en, eight to 10 days and 10 nights in Doha. They truly come for leisure so people understand in international markets that Qatar as a country can off er more than they knew in the past.”

He underlined the key role that the Hamad International Airport (HIA) plays in attracting foreign visitors saying that the country “has all the required in-frastructure in order to grow the tourism sector”.

Tourist arrivals to Qatarsoaring, says top hotelier

The Ritz-Carlton, Doha is a five-star, Katara Hospitality-owned property in West Bay Lagoon, and features the largest chandelier in the Middle East.

Ritz-Carlton, Doha general manager Carlo Javakhia (third from left) with some of his team members. PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam

Virginia University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qa-tar), a Qatar Foundation partner will hold a lecture by Luca Marchetti (pictured), a brand expert and semiolo-gist as part of its Crossing Boundaries’, lecture series. The online lecture will take place on October 28 at 12.45pm, Qatar time. The lecture will provide the audience with an under-standing of how research processes and prediction methodologies are crucial not only to fashion and design, but to businesses in general. Participants will be able to learn more about analysis and foresight methodology developed by the trend forecasting agency ‘The Prospectivists’, co-found-ed by Marchetti in 2019. Their approach decrypts emerging signs, cultural relevance and manifestations to forecast what they will mean for brands, in the future.Marchetti will explain basic methodological principles to discover the key evolving challenges that impact people’s lives, habits and behaviours. He will give real life examples from the industry through various case studies related to art, pop culture, luxury and retail space design. Isabelle St-Louis, manager, Exhibitions and Lectures, VCUarts Qatar, said, “Trend forecasting is becoming more and more relevant in business practice, especially in the fashion sector. Its importance in decision mak-ing cannot be overlooked by brands and designers.” Marchetti is a senior lecturer at the Institut Français de la Mode in Paris since 2004, at the University of Bologna and at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris in the context of the Master on “Creative industries” co-directed with the luxury group LVMH. He also works internationally as a brand consultant and event cura-tor for brands or museums and regularly collaborates with magazines such as Vogue and Revue.

Brand expert to speak at VCUartsQatar event

Qatar Travel Mart set for launch at DECC in NovemberQatar will receive an ad-

ditional $0.9bn in visi-tor expenditure and

290,000 visitor arrivals on aver-age per year from 2022 to 2025 as a direct result of marketing investment, according to organ-isers of Qatar Travel Mart (QTM) 2021 slated next month.

Qatar Travel Mart 2021, which will be held at Doha Exhibition & Convention Centre (DECC) from November 16-18, is expected to attract 136 exhibitors from 31 countries showcasing 14 nation-al pavilions.

Organised by NeXTfairs for Exhibitions and Conferences, QTM 2021 will bring together

key players in the local, region-al, and international travel and tourism industry to off er the most sought-after upscale travel destinations, as well as the latest trends in tourism sectors, such as luxury, business, medical, sports, leisure, cultural and halal.

The exhibition is held under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Inte-rior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani, and in Strategic Partnership with Qatar Tourism.

Katara Hospitality is Founding Partner, Qatar Airways is Offi -cial Airline, and Discover Qatar and Qatar Airways Holidays are

Founding Leisure Partners. In addition, Amadeus is the event’s Technology Partner, Retaj Hotels & Hospitality the Gold Sponsor, and Gulf Adventures the Silver Sponsor. Internationally, QTM has Association Partners, which are The World Association for Hospitality and Tourism Educa-tion and Training (AMFORHT), World Leisure Organisation (WLO), and World Tourism As-sociation for Culture & Heritage (WTACH).

Rawad Sleem, co-founder and general manager of NeXTfairs for Exhibitions and Confer-ences, said: “Tourism is a prior-ity sector for Qatar’s economy

and QTM 2021 aims to provide a timely boost for the revival of the sector after the pandemic. It’s back to business for tourism in Qatar and our business events

industry is key for supporting its renewal. QTM 2021 is being held in one of the most active markets for investment in hospitality, as Qatar gets ready to welcome the world at the FIFA World Cup Qa-tar 2022.”

A line-up of high-profi le travel and tourism experts from around the world will be lend-ing their support to share best practices: Nigel Fell, president & CEO of WTACH; Philippe Fran-cois, president of AMFORHT; Dr Cristina Ortega, president and COO of World Leisure Organisa-tion; Daniyal Akhmetov, former Prime Minister of Kazakhstan and governor of the East Kaza-

khstan Region; Hugo Rivera, Vice Minister of Economic Aff airs and International Co-operation of Dominican Republic’s Grupo Puntacana; Cuthbert Ncube, president of the African Tourism Board; Siyabonga Dube, chair-person of South African Tourism Board; Sergey Sukhanov, CEO of JSC Tourism RF Corporation Government of Russia; Florian Senstschmid, CEO of Azerbaijan Tourism Board; Clare Akaman-zi, and CEO of Rwanda Tourist Board.

The event also features a ‘Hosted Buyers’ Programme’, involving 24 infl uential buyers from all over the world to net-

work and close deals. Jill Jiao, QTM exhibition man-

ager, said additional gains in market share will be achieved in the long run through contin-ued visa expansion and tour-ism product improvements, while the estimated number of jobs supported by the travel and tourism sector in 2030 will hit around 247,800.

Participating pavilions will represent Visit Britain, African Tourism Board, Korea National Tourism Organisation, ENIT – Italian State Tourist Board, Az-erbaijan Tourism Board, Visit Rwanda and Dominican Repub-lic Tourism Board.

Rawad Sleem

QATARGulf Times Tuesday, October 26, 20216

The meeting of the preparatory committee for the 18th Consultative Meeting of the GCC Supreme Military Committee of the Chiefs of Staff opened in Doha on Sunday. The three-day preparatory meeting, which is organised virtually by the International Aff airs Directorate of the Armed Forces, was attended by Head of the Training Authority Brigadier General Jassim Ahmed al-Mohannadi, with the participation of heads of operations and training bodies in the GCC countries. The Assistant Secretary-General for Military Aff airs in the GCC General Secretariat Major General Ahmed bin Ali al-Ali also took part in the meeting. The event discusses a number of topics in the field of military co-operation among GCC states, in preparation for submitting these to the meeting of the Supreme Military Committee. (QNA)

The 18th edition of Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition, set to take place from December 12-17 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, is expected to attract significant participation from local, regional, and international brands, Qatar Tourism said. Organised by Qatar Business Events Corporation, the country’s premier exhibition for Arabian fashion will be held under the guidelines of Ministry of Public Health. It will impose all precautionary measures recently approved by the state regarding the organisation of exhibitions and tourism events. Heya is considered Qatar’s pioneer exhibition centring Arabian and modest fashion. It highlights Qatar’s homegrown talents and provides an exceptional platform through which they can exchange experiences and learn about the latest international fashion trends. The event also contributes to strengthening Qatar’s position as a destination for fashion and elegance in the Middle East. The last edition of the Heya, held in November 2020, achieved great success, as it was the first exhibition to be successfully organised under the safety guidelines put forth by the Ministry of Public Health and showcased more than 150 local brands, along with several inspirational talks, workshops, and fashion shows.

Panel meets for GCC Supreme Military Committee Consultative Meeting

Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition in December

250 tonnes frozen meat with tampered expiry dates seized

The Ministry of Municipality, represented by the cen-tral inspection team at the office of the Assistant Un-dersecretary for Municipal Affairs, in co-ordination

with a municipality and the Ministry of Commerce and In-dustry (the Consumer Protection Department), seized 250 tonnes of frozen meat whose validity dates had been tam-pered with.

The ministry said in a statement that its inspection team re-ceived information that a meat production factory in the Indus-trial Area had extended the validity of frozen meat in favour of one of the companies operating in the industry, and that after verifying the accuracy of the information and specifying the name and location of both the factory and the company, an in-spection campaign was carried out and samples of the meat in question seized.

The fi ndings revealed that the factory had removed the packag-ing and the original expiry dates, which were close to expiring, and repacked it and extended its validity for a whole year, and then stored it in one of the logistic warehouses.

The ministry confi rmed that, in the context of its concern for the health of citizens and residents, it will not tolerate any viola-tions related to food products, whether through fraud or the pro-motion of spoiled food or other violations.

Total Covid-19recoveries at 236,995: MoPH

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) yesterday reported 98 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 among the community and 24 among travellers.The MoPH recorded 89 recoveries from the virus during the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recovered cases in Qatar to 236,995.As per the National Covid-19 Vac-cination Programme Data:4,815,431 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered since the start of the programme.3,738 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the past 24 hours.83.7% of the total population are now fully vaccinated with two doses.In recent weeks, the combined impact of Covid-19 restrictions and increasing vaccination rates, and the overwhelming support of the com-munity, has resulted in a consistent reduction in the number of new daily infections in the country.(QNA)

QatarEnergy, H2Korea sign hydrogen energy co-operation agreementQ atarEnergy and Re-

public of Korea’s Hy-drogen Convergence

Alliance (H2Korea) signed yesterday an agreement for co-operation in the field of hydrogen energy.

The agreement provides a framework of co-operation in the development of the hydro-gen sector in both countries, encouraging growth of the hy-drogen industry and expansion of the hydrogen supply chain, in addition to supporting ef-forts within multilateral fora to accelerate co-operation for

hydrogen related technologies worldwide.

HE the Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad bin Sher-ida al-Kaabi, also the presi-dent and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Sung-Wook Moon, Min-ister for Trade, Industry and Energy in the Republic of Ko-rea witnessed the signing of the agreement, during their meeting in Doha.

HE al-Kaabi hailed the solid ties and historical longterm partnership between Qatar and Korea in the fi eld of energy and expressed the mutual desire of

the two countries to further build and expand on this partnership for many decades to come.

Al-Kaabi said: “We are pleased to sign this agreement on hydrogen to expand our strong relations into new hori-zons of cleaner energy includ-ing our long-established stra-tegic partnership in the field of liquefied natural gas.

“We believe hydrogen has an important role to play in the energy transition towards an affordable, reliable and clean energy system, but only if rel-evant competent entities, such

as QatarEnergy and H2Korea, join hands to achieve this goal.”

The Hydrogen Convergence Alliance (H2Korea) is a public-private consultative body estab-lished by the Korean government in 2017 to promote and develop the hydrogen industry with the aim of achieving an early hy-drogen economy society in the Republic of Korea and to act as a bridge between the public and the private sector by exploring policy tasks, supporting busi-nesses, international coopera-tion projects, and public rela-tions projects.

QatarEnergy and Republic of Korea’s Hydrogen Convergence Alliance (H2Korea) signed an agreement for co-operation in the field of hydrogen energy. HE the Minister of State for Energy Aff airs Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi, also the president and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Sung-Wook Moon, Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy in the Republic of Korea witnessed the signing of the agreement, during their meeting in Doha.

ACTA, ICSS signMoU to enhancesports integrityThe Administrative Con-

trol and Transparency Authority (ACTA) and the

International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) signed a memo-randum of understanding (MoU) yesterday.

The aim is to enhance co-op-eration in the consulting, train-ing, and development fi elds, to prepare and implement joint training programmes, to ex-change practical experiences to raise the level of performance and to enhance integrity and transparency.

The MoU was signed by HE Hamad bin Nasser al-Misnad, president of the ACTA, and Mo-hamed bin Hamad al-Hanzab, chairman of the ICSS.

Al-Misnad said that the sign-ing of the MoU comes in ACTA’s keenness to co-ordinate between national authorities in the fi elds of integrity, transparency, and anti-corruption, and to benefi t from national expertise and ex-perience in strengthening the leadership of Qatar regionally and internationally in the afore-mentioned fi elds.

Al-Hanzab, indicated that the ICSS has been able, over the course of a decade, to participate eff ectively at the international level in formulating policies re-

lated to standards of safety and sports security, protection of integrity and combating corrup-tion in global sport.

Perhaps, the centre’s most recent contribution in this field was the development of the sports safety and security standards’ list issued by the UN Office of Counterterror-ism, which has been approved by the United Nations and circulated to all UN member states.

Al-Hanzab also praised the steps taken by ACTA in protect-ing Qatari sports and its institu-tions, in such way that ensures sustainability, and refl ects the fact that sport is an important

component of the Qatar National Vision 2030.

The MoU includes activating co-operation between the two parties in several areas, focus-ing on the issues of transparency and integrity in the sports fi eld, enhancing the role of sports in spreading transparency and in-tegrity, benefi ting from joint ex-periences in the areas of integrity and transparency, and holding courses, training programmes and workshops on common re-lated topics. In addition, to ex-change the best skills and prac-tices in the relevant educational, training and research fi elds, and to prepare joint studies and re-search.

The off icials at the MoU signing.

11 approved Umrah operators announcedA total of 11 Umrah operators have been approved by the Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Aff airs, Ali Sultan al-Misfiri, director of the Haj and Umrah Department told Qatar TV on the programme Hayatuna (our life).Explaining the procedures for organising Umrah for citizens and residents in Qatar, he said: “As part of the regulations in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the first step is to register on the platform Muqeem (resident) 72 hours before entry into Saudi Arabia, as well as to register in Tawakalna and Etamarna apps in order to get the electronic pass for Umrah and Salat prayers in the Grand Mosque of Makkah. “In case there is a technical diff iculty with the apps

to get the electronic pass, the applicant for Umrah has to refer to Enaya off ice in Saudi Arabia to get an e-bracelet, a permit in order to be able to perform Umrah and allowed to perform the five daily prayers in Al-Masjid Al-Haram.“The procedures to be followed are the same for both citizens and expatriates. But, expatriates can only go on Umrah via authorised Umrah operators. Residents and citizens can access Qatar’s Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Aff airs website to get information about the operators.”It is important to register in applications related to performing Umrah before heading to Makkah. The Tawakalna app is the same as Qatar’s Ehteraz and pilgrims need it, the off icial added.

QU, MoEHE join hands to raiseawareness on scientifi c fi elds

Qatar University (QU) Student Aff airs Sector, in co-operation with the

Academic and Career Counsel-ling Department at the Ministry of Education and Higher Edu-cation (MoEHE), is organising an awareness programme for eighth and ninth graders to in-crease the number of students enrolled in the scientifi c and technological tracks.

The event will run until No-vember 10 in co-operation with the Health Cluster, College of Engineering, and College of Arts and Sciences at QU.

Dr Eiman Mustafawi, vice president, Student Aff airs, commented: “The initiative aims to develop a profession-al academic advising system that leads to an increase in the number of students enrolled in scientifi c and technological disciplines by creating a passion for science among students at an early stage in their lives.”

Prof Ahmad Ayesh, consult-ant of vice-president for Stu-dent Aff airs, said: “The event targets eighth and ninth grade students of 10 schools, with about 3,000 students. A general

programme will be off ered to all students remotely, while an interactive programme will be off ered inside the Qatar Univer-sity campus for the outstanding students. Students will be en-gaged with interactive activi-ties in various fi elds including engineering, medicine, health, science, computer, technology, etc.”

Ahmed Nasser al-Balam, head of the Academic and Ca-reer Counselling Department in the Educational Guidance Department at MoEHE, added: “The ministry aims, through

this programme to raise early awareness and raise the level of knowledge of students of various scientifi c and techno-logical disciplines which in-crease students’ orientation to these fi elds that are desperately needed for Qatar. We started last week with an activity at University of Calgary, where students participated in activi-ties related to the nursing pro-fession and we will continue until November 10 with Qatar University activities related to health, science as well as engi-neering disciplines.”

QATAR7Gulf Times

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

New Shura Council members determined to serve the nationThe new members of the

Shura Council have stressed that they are

determined to serve the nation and go ahead with the pro-grammes they promoted dur-ing their election campaigns, to sustain the development of the country and highlight the demands and aspirations of its people.

Speaking to local Arabic daily Arrayah before today’s opening of the fi rst session of the fi rst-ever elected Shura Council in Qatar’s history, a number of Shura Council members noted that they are ready to undertake this great responsibility and co-operate with the government for the best of the country and its people in all fi elds.

Dr Sultan Hassan al-Dabit al-Dosari stressed the importance of the event, saying it ushers in a new, bright phase through pop-ular participation in the process of decision-making.

He expressed his aspiration for the Council to have more achievements under the wise leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

“As members of the Shura

Council, we met HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Ab-dulaziz al-Thani, the Prime Minister and Minister of In-terior, last week and it was a highly welcome gesture from HE Sheikh Khalid to communi-cate with the members and dis-cuss related issues with them. He assured the members about the full co-operation of the

government with the Council. This would give the Council a strong start to work in the spirit of co-operation and integration between the executive and leg-islative authorities, as we are all the sons of the same nation and should all work together in the ultimate interest of this na-tion,” he said.

He said all the members are

determined to work together to implement their programmes within the jurisdiction of the Council. Eisa Arar al-Rumaihi stressed that the concerns and issues of Qatari citizens are his top priorities. He said he would continue work to push forward the improvement of health services in the country and to enhance administrative control

on the executive authority to guarantee quality services that will live up to the expectations of the people.

He said he would work, in particular, to review the laws that concern certain vulner-able categories in society, such as persons with special needs, divorced women, retirees and others, to secure an honour-

Snapshots from the historic Shura Council elections on October 2. PICTURES: Shaji Kayamkulam

able, well-deserved and com-fortable life for them.

Ahmed al-Hetmi noted that all the issues concerning citi-zens are major concerns for the State as well.

Accordingly, the government has allocated an adequate and well-defined budget to carry out the targeted plans and pro-grammes. However, some time is needed to expedite the proc-ess to accomplish projects that affect the daily lives of people, and the Shura Council members should assume this responsi-bility, he said. Further, the leg-islative role of the Council is of vital importance to spearhead the development efforts and to regulate them accordingly.

Mohamed al-Kaabi consid-ered the issue of controlling the prices of commodities and services as a top concern for him as a member of the Coun-cil, as well-regulated and bal-anced prices will help improve the performance of the local economy.

Another issue of interest is health service in the coun-try and how it could be fur-ther enhanced. He emphasised that this Council is different

from its predecessors as it is an elected Council that hosts members from different back-grounds with diverse experi-ences, which will help enhance its performance.

Khalid al-Maadeed high-lighted the need to introduce further legislations and regula-tions to protect the Qatari en-vironment and its various com-ponents while laying special emphasis on the main founda-tions of the Qatari identity and heritage.

The current Council has 45 members with 30 of them elected and 15 appointed. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin

Hamad al-Thani recently is-sued Amiri Decision No 56 of 2021 appointing the 15 mem-bers of the Shura Council. He also issued Decree No 48 of 2021 inviting the Shura Council to convene for its first regular session of the first legislative term of its 50th annual ordi-nary session on Tuesday, 23rd of Rabi’ Al-awwal 1443, corre-sponding to October 26 of 2021.

The first-ever Shura Council elections were held on October 2, marking a historic moment.

Indonesian deputy FM visits Baladna to explore possible collaboration

Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar paid a visit to Baladna on

Friday. The purpose of the tour was

to explore how Baladna’s busi-ness model might be replicated in Indonesia.

The delegates toured Balad-na’s state-of-the-art process-ing plant and dairy farms, fol-lowed by a presentation on the company’s international expansion plan for Malaysia. Further discussions between Baladna and the Indonesian government are expected to

explore the possibility of de-veloping fully integrated dairy farms (grass-to-glass) in Indo-nesia. Foreign countries inter-ested in being dairy self-suf-fi cient have expressed strong interest in Baladna. Earlier this year, Baladna signed memo-randums of understanding with the governments of Ma-laysia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan to explore the feasibility of ex-porting its business model to those countries.

The Indonesian delegation was impressed by the high-quality standards of the Balad-

na farm. They were impressed with the air-conditioned barns for cows, high-tech processing plant and the company’s plans to expand its portfolio of food products in the market, a press statement noted.

Baladna managing director Ramez al-Khayyat said, “These kinds of conversations with fel-low nations like Indonesia dem-onstrate that Baladna’s fully in-tegrated model is a worldwide benchmark of expertise and quality. A model that can be replicated to achieve food secu-rity in other nations.”

Mahendra Siregar with other dignitaries during the visit to Baladna.

QRCS announces launch of Disaster Management Camp in February 2022

Qatar Red Crescent Soci-ety (QRCS) is to launch the ninth Disaster Man-

agement Camp (DMC-9) in February next year.

Under the patronage of the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), the 10-day event will take place from February 15-24, 2022 at Simaisma and Al Daayen Youth Centre. It will be attended by 300 trainees among QRCS volunteers, Qatari government organisations, NGOs and Arab national societies. A total of 100 trainers and administrative staff will manage the event.

Ibrahim Abdullah al-Mal-ki, CEO of QRCS, told a press conference yesterday: “Build-ing upon the outstanding suc-cess of the previous editions of DMC, we are launching this one with a new, contemporary vision amid the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic in Qatar and the whole world, which de-layed DMC for two years.

Apart from the MoPH’s pa-

tronage, DMC has attracted participations from many gov-ernment organisations, NGOs, the private sector, media, Inter-national Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Socie-ties, International Committee of the Red Cross, and sister na-tional societies.

Brig Gen Ahmed Ismail al-Zyara, head of DMC-9, said: “The participants will be divid-ed into six groups. The training

agenda involves two parts: (1) specialised training in six sec-tors (shelter and registration, water and sanitation, nutrition and distribution, healthcare in emergency, emergency plan-ning, and fi eld assessment/co-ordination); and (2) general training in seven specialisa-tions (Sphere Project, media and communications in emer-gencies, restoring family links, safe access, psychological sup-

port, disaster management, and leadership in humanitarian ac-tion).

“In addition to the exercises, there will be unexpected daily scenarios to test how much the trainees are able to respond to emergencies. Then, a plenary fi eld exercise will be held in preparation for a disaster sce-nario simulation on the closing day of DMC.”

Nawaf Mohamed al-Madah-ka, chairman of Simaisma and Al Daayen Youth Centre, said: “It is the fi rst time the DMC will be held at a youth centre. Sec-ond, this edition of DMC is the fi rst following Covid-19, which requires totally new procedures and mechanisms, in line with the applicable preventive meas-ures to ensure maximum safety for all participants.”

“This edition of DMC is expected to be the best, be-ing held in the same year when Qatar is set to host FIFA World Cup 2022.”

Off icials at the press conference yesterday.

ISL Qatar leaders address regional event

ISL Qatar representatives David Bryan and Dr Sergio Pawel were invited to be

featured conference speakers at Outstanding Schools Mid-dle East Conference.

Bryan is deputy head of school and director of teach-ing & learning and Dr Pawel, the group chief academic of-fi cer. The invitation refl ects the recognition of ISL con-tribution to the professional development of regional and global community of teachers, Dr Pawel said.

“Establishing a ‘Culture of Coaching’ is prevalent at ISL

Qatar, alongside a distinct approach to ‘Professional Growth’, according to Bryan.

There is an increasing number of educators that see the poten-tial of a coaching culture, start-ing with fellow educators and the infl uence on professional learning and growth. Ultimate-ly, the goal is to provide an en-gaging experience for our learn-ers, coupled with a rich sense of empowerment and ownership, he explained.

“Alternative models of coaching should be explored that engage on a collaborative level as opposed to a model

that is one-to-one. Listening to the learning community and ensuring the inclusion of all stakeholders in the learn-ing community, creates a

deeper foundation of coach-ing upon which to create and construct more power-ful models for educators and learners”, added Bryan.

David Bryan (left) and Dr Sergio Pawel.

A historic day for Qatar: First session of first elected Shura CouncilQNADoha

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will patronise the opening of

the 50th ordinary session of the Shura Council today, recording a historic day in the march of democracy of Qa-tar.

On this occasion, His Highness the Amir will deliver a speech in which he will present the State’s internal and foreign policies, the most important achievements and future projects, as well as its positions on issues and challenges facing the region.

Today’s session will mark the fi rst Shura Council in which two-thirds of its members were elected through

direct secret ballot in a successful democratic experience praised by the whole world.

The modern State of Qatar has high hopes for the new Shura Council, not only in oversight and legislation, but also in being a complementary build-ing block for a long-standing building that took nearly half a century of leg-islative work, and a modern image of democracy from a Qatari perception that preserves deep-rooted societal values and traditions.

The Amir’s speech at the inaugura-tion of the new session of the Shura Council is a comprehensive statement of the State’s internal policy and all matters of concern to the citizens and residents; and an explanation of new plans that draws the features of a ren-aissance based on transparency and

loyal national competencies.On the external level, the Amir will

present some features of the State’s policy towards a number of Arab, re-gional and international fi les, and the growing role of the Qatari diplomacy day after day.

On October 2, Qatar witnessed the fi rst legislative elections for a new Shura Council that will lead the process of legislation and oversight of laws. A total of 234 candidates competed to win 30 seats out of 45 of the Shura Council; and the turnout reached 63.5% of the total number of voters.

The elections witnessed a remark-able presence of young people, and Qatari women who, although they lost a seat in the new parliament, gained ground and space in the democratic

competition and an experience for the upcoming elections.

Qatar has realised early on the im-portance of the legislative author-ity and the need to establish a council that legislates and monitors the ex-ecutive authority.

Therefore, it was not surprising that Qatar issued the founding system of the Shura Council about one year after its independence in 1971.

The fi rst Shura Council in the State dates back to 1972 when the amend-ed provisional statute was issued on April 19, 1972 to organize the struc-tures and institutions of the modern state, including the Shura Council.

The Qatari Shura Council was formed at the time, and there were 20 members. Its composition has under-gone a series of modifi cations on more

than one occasion. The current Coun-cil consists of 45 members.

There are unforgettable dates in the course of the Shura Council. The year 1972 marks the birth of the fi rst legisla-tive council in the modern State of Qatar after independence, and November 3 of 2020 is the day of the announcement of the fi rst elected Shura Council, when His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani announced in the opening of the 49th ordinary session of the Shura Council that the election will be held in October 2021, in accordance with the constitution on which a refer-endum was held in 2003 and was prom-ulgated in 2004.

The Amir underlined that the elec-tions represent an important step in consolidating the Qatari shura tradi-tions and developing the legislative

process with a broader participation of citizens.

On July 29, 2021 the Amir issued Law No 6 of 2021 issuing the Shura Council’s Electoral System Law.

On August 22, the Amir issued De-cree No 40 of 2021 setting the date for the election of members of the Shura Council. The decree stipulated that Saturday, October 2, would be the date for electing members of the Shura Council.

Four speakers have held the presi-dency of the Shura Council in Qatar since 1972, namely: HE Abdulaziz bin Khalid Al Ghanim from 1972 to 1990; HE Ali bin Khalifa al-Hitmi from 1990 to 1995; HE Mohamed bin Mubarak al-Khulaifi from 1995 to 2017; and HE Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al- Mahmoud from 2017 to 2021.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), in co-operation with Nasser Bin Khaled Automobiles, has recalled 2021 Mercedes-Benz V Class vehicles as the front axle brake caliper support does not match factory specifications.The MoCI, in co-operation with Almana Motors Company, also announced the recall of 2019

Ford F-Max trucks. There is a possible defect in the radiator hoses in some vehicles which could lead to water coolant leakage.Additionally, a defect in the compressor rear hose could cause air leakage in some vehicles.The recall campaign comes within the framework of the

MoCI’s continuous eff orts to protect consumers and ensure that dealers follow up on vehicle defects and repairs.The MoCI said that it will co-ordinate with the dealers to follow up on the maintenance and repair works and will communicate with customers to ensure that they carried out the necessary repairs.

Mercedes-Benz, Ford recalled

REGION/ARAB WORLD/AFRICAGulf Times Tuesday, October 26, 20218

Sudan military seizes power, dissolves Sovereign CouncilReutersKhartoum

Sudan’s military seized power from a transitional government yesterday and

soldiers killed at least three peo-ple and wounded 80 as street protests broke out against the coup.

The leader of the takeover, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, dissolved the military-civilian Sovereign Council that had been set up to guide the country to democracy following the over-throw of long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular up-rising two years ago.

Burhan announced a state of emergency, saying the armed forces needed to protect safety and security, but he promised to hold elections in July 2023 and hand over to an elected civilian government then.

“What the country is go-ing through now is a real threat and danger to the dreams of the youth and the hopes of the na-tion,” he said.

Youths opposed to the coup barricaded streets as clashes broke out with troops.

The Central Committee of Su-danese Doctors said three people had died of wounds after being shot by soldiers and at least 80 people had been injured.

Prime Minister Abdalla Ham-dok was detained and taken to an undisclosed location after refus-ing to issue a statement in sup-port of the takeover, the infor-mation ministry said.

The ministry, still loyal to Hamdok, urged resistance and said tens of thousands of people opposed to the takeover had tak-en to the streets and had faced gunfi re near the military head-quarters in Khartoum.

Troops had arrested civil-ian members of the Sovereign Council and government fi gures, it said, called on Sudanese to op-pose the military.

“We raise our voices loudly to reject this coup attempt,” it said in a statement.

In Khartoum’s twin city Om-durman, protesters barricaded streets and chanted in support of civilian rule.

“Burhan cannot deceive us. This is a military coup,” said a

young man who gave his name as Saleh.

Sudan has been ruled for most of its post-colonial history by military leaders who seized pow-er in coups.

The country had been on edge since last month when a failed coup plot, blamed on Bashir supporters, unleashed recrimi-nations between the military and civilians in the transitional cabinet.

In recent weeks a coalition of rebel groups and political par-ties aligned themselves with the military and called on it to dis-solve the civilian government, while cabinet ministers took part in protests against the prospect of military rule.

Sudan has also been suff ering an economic crisis.

Helped by foreign aid, civilian offi cials have claimed credit for some tentative signs of stabili-sation after a sharp devaluation of the currency and the lifting of fuel subsidies.

White House spokesperson

Karine Jean-Pierre said: “We reject the actions by the military and call for the immediate re-lease of the prime minister and others who have been placed un-der house arrest.”

The United Nations, Arab League and African Union all ex-pressed concern.

Political leaders should be released and human rights re-

spected, AU Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat said in a statement.

Britain called the coup an un-acceptable betrayal of the Suda-nese people.

France called for the immedi-ate release of Hamdok and other civilian leaders.

Egypt called on all parties to exercise self-restraint.

UN appeals for fresh injection of funds for famine-threatened YemenReutersDubai

Funds needed to feed mil-lions of people in war-ravaged Yemen could run

out in a matter of weeks, a senior United Nations offi cial warned, calling on donors to inject more cash to avert a large-scale fam-ine.

World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley told Reuters the fi rst

half of 2022 would be “brutal” for Yemen, which has teetered on the brink of starvation after nearly seven years of war be-tween a coalition and the Houthi group. “We run out (of money) in a few weeks,” Beasley said in Dubai. “I don’t see how we don’t avoid, at this stage, a famine of proportions...without a massive injection of additional dollars.”

The war and ensuring eco-nomic collapse as well as coali-tion restrictions on imports to Houthi-held areas have caused

what the United Nations says is the world’s biggest humanitar-ian crisis, with 16mn people fac-ing starvation.

The WFP said in June it was resuming monthly distributions to around 6mn people in Yem-eni areas with the highest rates of food insecurity after donors heeded warnings.

But in September the UN agency sounded the alarm again, saying an additional $800mn was urgently needed in the next six months.

It said rations would have to be cut to 3.2mn people by Oc-tober and to 5mn people by De-cember without more cash.

Battles have escalated in re-cent weeks in the energy-rich regions of Marib and Shabwa, further hampering aid flows in a country where 80% of the 30mn population needs help.

The UN children’s agency Unicef said earlier this month that four out of every five chil-dren require humanitarian as-sistance, while 400,000 are

suffering from acute malnutri-tion.UN-led efforts to secure a truce and lift the coalition blockade have stalled. The war has been in military stalemate for years with the Houthis holding most large urban cen-tres. The coalition led by Ri-yadh intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the government from the capital Sanaa in late 2014.

The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system and foreign aggression.

Displaced Yemeni students attend a class at a makeshift school in the Khokha area of the war-torn western province of Hodeidah.

New family unifi cation approvals bring hope to PalestiniansReutersGaza

Stuck in Gaza for the past 15 years, Munir Hamo may soon be able to reu-

nite with his wife and six chil-dren in Jordan.

He is one of some 5,000 Pal-estinians who received rare Israeli approval earlier this month to be included in the Palestinian population regis-try, making them eligible for offi cial documents such as Pal-estinian passports.

Under interim peace deals with the Palestinians in the 1990s, Israel, which captured the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Middle East war, controls the registry.

It described the new regis-

tration approvals as a humani-tarian gesture.

“I haven’t seen my children in 15 years. My sons and daugh-ter got married, and I wasn’t able to attend their weddings,” Hamo said.

His long period in limbo be-gan after he left Gaza for Jordan in 1981, a move which he said eff ectively led to his loss of per-manent residency in the Pales-tinian coastal enclave occupied by Israel.

In 2006, a year after Israel pulled its troops and settlers out of Gaza, Hamo received a temporary travel pass issued by the Palestinian Authority to visit his ailing mother in the territory.

But he found himself trapped when both Israel and Egypt, citing security concerns, tight-

ened travel restrictions on Pal-estinians at their borders with Gaza, controlled since 2007 by Hamas.

Hamo said he tried several times during the years to leave via Egypt’s Rafah border cross-ing, but was refused passage. In 2012, when Egypt briefl y eased travel through Rafah, Hamo made it as far as the Jordanian border. But without a valid passport or identifi cation pa-pers, Jordan refused him entry, he said, and he returned to Gaza.

Now 58, Hamo, a retired civil servant, said he is eagerly wait-ing for his travel and identifi ca-tion documents to be issued.

“I felt as happy as a prisoner serving a life sentence who just learned he got an early release,” he said in his house in Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp.

Sudanese security forces keep watch during protests against the coup yesterday in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman.

This grab taken from Sudan TV shows army general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan addressing the Sudanese people yesterday

Mali expels West African bloc representative

ReutersBamako

Mali’s transitional govern-ment has given the spe-cial representative from

West Africa’s main regional bloc 72 hours to leave the country over “actions incompatible with his status”, the foreign ministry said yesterday.

The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has been pressing Mali to respect its commitment to hold presidential and legislative elections next Feb-ruary following last year’s military coup.

Mali’s interim authorities have pushed back, saying this week that they would confi rm a date for elections after national consulta-

tions in December. It was not im-mediately clear why the Ecowas representative, Hamidou Boly, was expelled.

Ghanaian President Nana Aku-fo-Addo, who chairs the bloc, vis-ited Mali’s capital Bamako earlier this month to push for elections to be held on time. Ecowas has been approached for comment.

Mali’s transition back to de-mocracy following the overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020 is being closely watched in a region that has seen several recent military coups and where militancy is on the rise. The process was dealt a setback in May when the colonel who led the initial coup, Assimi Goita, ordered the arrest of the in-terim president and then took over the role himself.

Top Lebanon politician summoned for hearing over deadly clashes

Reuters Beirut

Lebanese Christian politi-cian Samir Geagea was yesterday summoned for

a hearing by Army Intelligence over the fatal clashes in Beirut this month, a source close to the party said.

The Oct 14 clashes left seven people — followers of the Leb-anon’s Hezbollah group and its ally, the Amal Movement — dead in the worst street vio-lence in Beirut in over a decade.

Responding to reports he would be summoned for inter-rogation, Geagea, in the same interview, had said he would go “on the condition that Nas-rallah is heard before me,” in

reference to Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah.The demonstrators had gathered to demand the removal of the judge investigating last year’s port blast that killed more than 200 people, Tarek Bitar.

Hezbollah, Amal and the Marada Movement have ac-cused Bitar of politicising the probe after he sought to question former ministers af-fi liated with the latter two parties. Geagea’s hearing has been set for 9am on Wednes-

day at the Defence Ministry in Yarze, south of Beirut, where the former militia leader was imprisoned for more than 11 years after the end of Lebanon’s 1975-90 Civil War, the source said. It was not immediately clear whether Geagea would attend. A security source con-fi rmed the time of the hearing when asked by Reuters.

“All political forces (involved) should be summoned like Gea-gea, but it’s clear that there is a big targeting of the Lebanese Forces and its chief,” for their support of the investigation into the blast, the source said. MP Sethrida Geagea, Samir Gea-gea’s wife, said in a statement that pressure was being exerted on the judiciary to target the Lebanese Forces.

The top US envoy on Iran said yesterday eff orts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal were now in a ‘critical phase’, saying Tehran’s reasons for not resuming talks were wearing thin.Speaking to reporters, US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley said Washington was increasingly worried Tehran would keep delaying a return to talks but said it had other tools to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and would use them if need be.“We’re in a critical phase of the eff orts to see whether we can revive the JCPOA,” Malley said, referring to the deal formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.”

Uganda said yesterday it was investigating whether fighters allied with the militant group Islamic State (IS) had carried out a bombing in Kampala on Saturday night that killed one person and injured three others, Reuters reported. The bomb, set off in a restaurant in a suburb on the northern outskirts of the capital, killing a 20-year-old waitress, was an improvised device made from nails and other metal fragments, according to the police. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the blast in a statement posted on a Telegram channel late on Sunday. The police said their investigations pointed to “an act of domestic terror”.

US says push to revive Iran N-deal is in ‘critical phase’

Uganda investigating militant group

link to bombing after IS claim

DIALOGUE

PROBEGeagea’s hearing has been set for 9am on Wednesday at the Defence Ministry

Saudi Green Initiative seeks to co-ordinate efforts to confront climate changeQNARiyadh

Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of De-

fence Prince Mohamed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz un-derlined yesterday that the “Middle East Green Initiative Summit” seeks to co-ordi-nate eff orts to protect the en-vironment, confront climate change, and develop a road-map towards reducing car-bon emissions in the region by more than 10% of global contribution, and plant 50bn trees in the region, though the largest tree-planting programme globally, which will contribute to achieving 5% of the global target for af-forestation.

In a speech at the inau-guration of the Middle East Green Initiative Summit in Riyadh, the Saudi Crown Prince said: “Today, in the fi rst edition of this summit, we aim to work together to develop a regional road-map and a framework to en-able the achievement of these ambitious targets.”

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes that tradi-tional energy sources were the primary reason for the

transformation underwent by the regional and global coun-tries from traditional agricul-tural economies to globally active economies and the catalyst towards the fastest economic growth ever known to mankind,” he noted.

“Today, we are ushering a new green era for the region; in which we are collectively leading and reaping its fruits. in our joint belief that the ef-fects of climate change are not limited to the natural en-vironment only, but also to the economy and security of our nations. Despite that, we believe that climate change is an economic opportunity for our citizens and the private sector, which, stimulated by the Middle East Green Initia-tive, will create quality jobs and encourage innovation in the region,” he added.

The Saudi Crown Prince noted gaps in the regional climate action system. “And through co-ordinating re-gional eff orts and sharing ex-periences and technologies, we can accelerate achieve-ments in our initiatives,” he said.

“To enable this, the King-dom announces that it will establish a Co-operative Platform to implement the concepts of Circular Carbon

Economy (CCE), establish a regional hub for climate change, develop a regional centre for Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS), a regional centre for early warning of storms; a re-gional centre for sustainable development of fi sheries; and a regional cloud seed-ing programme. These cen-tres and programs will play a major role in establishing the necessary infrastructure to protect the environment, reduce emissions and raise the level of regional coordi-nation,” he said.

Stressing the keenness to raise the level of co-ordina-tion, the Saudi Crown Prince announced the establish-ment of the Green Initiative Foundation, as a non-profi t organisation to support the agenda of the summit.

The “Middle East Green Initiative Summit” is seeing a wide international participa-tion, led by heads and leaders of countries and decision-makers of the world.

The initiative is designed to draw a regional map to preserve and raise the qual-ity of life and make a global diff erence in preserving the nature, humans and animals, and face the challenges of climate change.

China willuphold worldpeace, saysPresident XiXi urged all countries to promote the values of peace, development, justice, democracy, freedom

ReutersBeijing

President Xi Jinping yes-terday vowed that China would always uphold

world peace and international rules, amid concerns expressed by the US and other countries over its increasing assertive-ness globally.

The comments come after Taiwan said this month that military tension with China was at its worst in more than 40 years, amid mounting wor-ries that the giant neighbour might try to take back by mili-tary force the self-ruled island it claims as its own.

In a speech marking the 50th anniversary of China’s return to the United Nations, Xi said it would always be the “builder of world peace” and a “protec-tor of international order”, state news agency Xinhua reported.

“China resolutely opposes all forms of hegemony and power politics, unilateralism and pro-tectionism,” Xi said, calling for greater global co-opera-

tion on issues such as regional conflicts, terrorism, climate change, cybersecurity and bi-osecurity.

Xi urged all countries to promote the values of peace, development, justice, democ-racy, freedom, making use of a phrase the “common values of all mankind” that he coined and first mentioned in a July speech for the 100th anniversary of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

In 1971, the United Nations voted to recognise the People’s Republic of China as the sole representative of China, ex-pelling Taiwan, which had held the UN seat in the name of the Republic of China, its official title.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry reiterated a call for the United Nations to allow its “meaning-ful participation”, adding that the island had never been part of the People’s Republic and its government had no right to represent the island’s people.

The ministry called on the United Nations “not to repeat-edly succumb to the political pressure of the Chinese gov-ernment” and exclude Taiwan, it added.

Apart from tension with Tai-wan, China has been more as-sertive in staking its claims to disputed territory on its Hima-layan border with India, and to tracts of the South China Sea disputed with some Southeast Asian nations, and over some islands in the East China Sea disputed with Japan.

Xi said reforms on global governance are needed, and that international rules should be decided by all 193 mem-bers of the United Nations, in-stead of by “certain countries or country groupings”, making a veiled criticism of the US for exerting a dominant influence over international institutions.

He also said all countries should always abide by interna-tional rules, and not only when the rules suit them.

India eases quarantinerules for foreign travellersAgenciesNew Delhi

India yesterday lifted quar-antine requirements for fully vaccinated foreign travellers

as the government sought to re-vive tourism after closing its bor-ders in March last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

All foreign arrivals will have to show a negative PCR test re-sult taken up to 72 hours ear-lier, under new rules issued by the health ministry. Those with proof of vaccination will face no further restrictions.

Tourists who are not fully vaccinated will be tested on ar-rival and have to self-isolate for

seven days, after which they will be tested again.

After initially halting all for-eign arrivals, India began al-lowing diplomats, business-men and journalists to enter but required them to undergo a 14-day quarantine. The gov-ernment began issuing visas to tourists arriving on char-ter fl ights earlier this month. Tourists on regular fl ights will be allowed entry starting from mid-November – the start of the peak tourist season.

The ministry in a statement said, “In view of increasing vaccination coverage across the globe and the changing nature of the pandemic, the existing guidelines for international

arrivals in India have been re-viewed”.

The new guidelines will be followed for the passengers coming to India from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ne-pal, Belarus, Lebanon, Armenia, Ukraine, Belgium, Hungary, and Serbia. Additional measures will be followed for passengers ar-riving in India from countries at-risk, which include South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Bot-swana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand and Zimbabwe.

India yesterday reported 14,306 fresh cases of Covid-19 and 443 related deaths in the last 24 hours. Of the total cases and fatalities reported in the past 24 hours, Kerala alone ac-

counted for 8,538 infections and 71 deaths.

The health ministry also said that the country’s active caseload now stands at 167,695, the lowest in 239 days, and ac-counts for less than 1% of total infections.

The recovery rate in the country has soared to 98.18% and is the highest since the be-ginning of the pandemic. The weekly positivity rate stood at 1.24% and the daily positivity rate at 1.43%, according to the health ministry.

In an apparent sign of the sec-ond wave of Covid-19 pandemic receding, the daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 30,000 for 31 straight

days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 120 consecutive days now.

India has administered more than 1.0227bn Covid-19 vac-cine doses so far, as per the data available with the health minis-try. On October 22, the country celebrated the milestone of ad-ministering 1bn vaccine doses under the inoculation drive.

India’s Covid-19 tally crossed the 2mn mark on August 7, 2020, 3mn on August 23, 4mn on September 5 and 5mn on September 16. It went past 6mn on September 28, 7mn on Octo-ber 11, crossed 8mn on October 29, 9mn on November 20 and surpassed the 10mn mark on December 19.

London’s ultra-lowemission zone expandedAFPLondon

London yesterday greatly ex-panded the area in which it charges the drivers of older

polluting cars to help clean up the city’s air, despite objections from some that it is too costly.

The British capital’s devolved government introduced its origi-nal ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) in April 2019, forcing owners of more polluting vehi-cles to pay £12.50 ($17.20) per day to drive in the city centre.

This zone has now been ex-panded to encompass a far big-ger area — between northern and southern orbital roads — which is home to nearly 4mn residents.

The long-planned measure comes just a week before the UK hosts a major summit on climate change in Scotland’s biggest city Glasgow.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan

tweeted that the measure would bring “cleaner air to millions of Londoners”.

The original ULEZ scheme has led to a “reduction in toxic air by almost a half: a reduction in particulate matter, a reduction in carbon emissions,” Khan told the BBC.

The fi rst year of the expanded scheme is projected to reduce the amount of carbon emitted by 100 kilotons, he added.

“That’s about 60,000 vehicles being taken off the road.”

Those who drive a vehicle in the city centre at the busiest times also have to pay a conges-tion charge of £15, a measure fi rst introduced in 2003.

Some have opposed the ex-panded ULEZ measure, arguing that it is a “tax” on poorer driv-ers least able to aff ord to replace their polluting vehicles and that it will hit small businesses.

The charge is applicable to cars, motorcycles, smaller vans

and minibuses and based on their declared emissions rather than age.

However, petrol cars fi rst reg-istered after 2005, and diesel cars after September 2015, typically meet the ULEZ standards and are exempt.

Khan told the BBC that “of course there has been opposi-tion,” but said that for him “this is an issue of social justice”.

Long-term exposure to the capital’s pollution has serious consequences for its population of around 9mn, causing some 4,000 people to die prematurely in 2019 and stunting the growth of children’s lungs, according to Khan’s administration.

“Who do we think suff ers the worst consequences of toxic air? The poorest Londoners, least likely to own a car, Black, Asian and multi-ethnic Londoners,” the mayor said. “Six out of 10 in the expanded (ULEZ) area don’t even own a car”.

A worker cleans discarded plastic bottles in the factory of social enterprise The Plastic Flamingo or The Plaf, in Muntinlupa, Philippines.

The minimum wage in Britain will rise from £8.91 to £9.50 per hour next year, the Treasury an-nounced yesterday. The hike “means a full-time worker on the National Living Wage will see a pay rise of more than £1,000 a year,” said a Treasury statement, using the off icial term for the minimum wage in Britain. The minimum wage increase, which applies to workers aged 23 and above, is matched by other increases for younger workers. “This wage boost ensures we’re making work pay and keeps us on track to meet our target to end low pay by the end of this parlia-ment,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak was quoted as saying in the statement.

Two pairs of bejewelled Mughal-era spectacles set with diamond and emerald lenses are expected to fetch up to $3.5mn each when they are auctioned in London tomorrow. The glasses were commissioned by an unknown 17th century prince, auction house Sotheby’s said. One pair features emerald lenses set in diamond-mounted frames. The second has dia-mond lenses set in diamond-mounted frames. The lenses are said to date from the 17th century while the frames from the 19th century. “There are so many stories behind this spectacles. The emeralds came all the way from Colombia in the 17th century through Portuguese merchant ships,” Alexandra Roy, special-ist in arts of the Islamic world at Sotheby’s, said.

The US government will tomorrow begin an appeal to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face trial for publishing military secrets, after a British judge blocked a request earlier this year. Washing-ton said after the decision in January that it was “extremely disappointed” by district judge Vanessa Baraitser’s decision, which was made on the grounds of Assange being a suicide risk. It is seeking to over-turn that ruling at a two-day hearing from tomorrow, arguing that the judge “didn’t appreciate the weight” of expert evidence that said he was not at risk of taking his own life. Instead, it claimed the judge was “misled” by relying on evidence presented by As-sange’s psychiatric expert Michael Kopelman.

Australia plans to make social media companies obtain parental consent for users under the age of 16 and threaten fines of up to A$10mn ($7.5mn) for Internet platforms which fail to comply, under draft legislation published yes-terday. Social media companies, which include anonymous forums like Reddit and smartphone dating apps like Bumble, would also be required to take all reasonsable steps to determine users’ ages and prioritise children’s interests when collecting data, the Online Privacy Bill said. The new proposed rules would put Australia among the most stringent countries in terms of age controls for social media.

Myanmar’s junta threatened to skip an Asean summit after the bloc said the country’s military chief could not attend over doubts about the government’s commitment to defusing a bloody crisis. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the generals ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a February coup, trigger-ing nationwide protests and a crackdown on dissent. Earlier this month the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – under international pressure to broker a diplomatic solution to the conflict – excluded junta chief Min Aung Hlaing from a forthcoming leaders’ summit. The exclusion from the October 26-28 meet-ing in Brunei “broke Asean principles”, junta spokes-man Zaw Min Tun told local media yesterday.

UK raises minimum hourly wage to £9.50

Bejewelled Mughal-era glasses go on sale

US to begin appeal overAssange extradition block

Australia mulls checks on minors’ social media use

Myanmar threatens toskip Asean summit

DECISION AUCTIONLEGAL PLAN FALLOUT

Dadasaheb Phalke Award for Rajinikanth

Actor Rajinikanth (right) receives the Dadasaheb Phalke Award from the Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu (centre), during the 67th National film awards and Dadasaheb Phalke Awards held in New Delhi yesterday.

WORLD9Gulf Times

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

ReutersManila

A group of recyclers in the Philippines is trying to ease the country’s wors-

ening plastic waste crisis by turning bottles, single-use sa-chets and snack food wrappers that clog rivers and spoil beaches into building materials. The Plas-tic Flamingo, or “The Plaf”, as they are commonly known, col-lect the waste, shred it and then mould it into posts and planks called “eco-lumber” that can be used for fencing, decking or even to make disaster-relief shelters.

“(It) is 100% upcycled materi-al, 100% made from plastic waste materials, we also include some additives and colourants and it is rot-free, maintenance-free, and splinter-free,” said Erica Reyes, The Plaf’s chief operating offi cer.

Having collected over 100 tonnes of plastic waste to date, the social enterprise is doing its bit to address a local problem that has global ramifi cations.

Approximately 80% of glo-bal ocean plastic comes from Asian rivers, and the Philip-pines alone contributes a third of that total, according to a 2021 report by Oxford Uni-versity’s Our World in Data. The Philippines does not have a clear strategy on tackling its plastics problem and its envi-ronment department has said it has been in contact with manufacturers to identify ways to manage waste.

Covid-19, though, has made the battle against plastic waste harder to win.

Some 300mn tonnes of plas-tic waste are produced annually, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, a problem that has been exacer-bated by the pandemic which sparked a rush for plastic face shields, gloves, takeaway food containers and bubble wrap as online shopping surged.

“People are unaware of how to dispose of these plastics,” said Allison Tan, The Plaf’s market-ing associate.

Philippine group turns plastic waste into planks

“China resolutely opposes all forms of hegemony and power politics, unilateralism and protectionism”

A little over a year ago, while on sabbatical from the American university where I teach, I returned to my

hometown, Moscow. I didn’t exactly arrive in a bastion of free speech. But it was a place where some freedom still remained. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny travelled around the country, attempting to muster support for politicians who were not under the Kremlin’s thumb. Popular protests took place. Independent NGOs operated in the country. Journalists and analysts did not necessarily toe the Kremlin line. And the Communist Party was widely viewed as a relic of the past.

Since then, Navalny has been imprisoned, and the protest movement he mobilised has been crushed. His anti-corruption foundation has been outlawed for “extremism,” and its members are under investigation or in exile. Virtually every day, another journalist, media outlet, human-rights advocate, or independent organisation is listed as a “foreign agent” or – worse – an “undesirable.”

Russia’s descent into unfreedom over the last year was steep, but not far. For example, the law under which the foreign-agent designations were made was enacted in 2012, with the aim of disrupting or discrediting organisations or people engaging in “political activity” while receiving funding from abroad.

But the law’s application has become increasingly arbitrary, to the point that a re-tweet is now grounds for being branded a foreign agent. (The “undesirable” label gets you outlawed altogether.) This year alone, a record 101 entities have been added to the list of foreign agents. The total of 359 includes

88 media-related individuals and organisations.

According to the Russian government, these “agents” must be listed, because they “infl uence state politics.” Infl uencing politics is of course a core purpose of both journalism and advocacy work. And that’s the problem: Though President Vladimir Putin has positioned himself to remain in control of Russian politics for the foreseeable future, he views criticism as an existential threat.

Amid all this silencing and persecution, an unlikely group has survived and become the Kremlin’s only real opposition: the Communist Party. Thanks largely to Navalny’s “smart voting” strategy – whereby voters are urged to support whoever has the best chance of beating a Kremlin-backed candidate – Communists performed strongly in last month’s parliamentary and regional elections.

Offi cially, Communist Party candidates took 18.9% of the popular vote for the State Duma (parliament), compared to nearly 49.8% for the Kremlin’s United Russia party. But the Communists refused to recognise the results, insisting that the vote was rigged. And, indeed, some experts estimate that they should have gotten around 30% of the vote, with United Russia taking about 35%.

It seems that, for many Russians, Communists are now more respectable than Putin. But this is not the Communist Party of old. Far from denying themselves all earthly pleasures, Party members can be seen wearing fur coats, travelling abroad, driving foreign cars, and using social media. Some – like the charismatic farming executive Pavel Grudinin (who was barred from running in last month’s election) – are millionaires. And while the party is still led by the 77-year-old Gennady Zyuganov, it is

increasingly supported – and shaped – by younger members.

Consider Nikolai Bondarenko. Nicknamed the “Red Navalny,” the 36-year-old Bondarenko was highly critical of the poorly designed pension reform of 2018. More recently, when a regional minister suggested that Russians should be able to “eat well” on a measly 3,500 roubles ($50) per month, Bondarenko documented his eff orts to prove her wrong on his YouTube channel.

Despite threats to bar him from elections, Bondarenko was allowed to run in last month’s State Duma election. Despite the support of Navalny’s smart-voting system, he lost to the United Russia candidate. But his potential should not be dismissed: he recently headlined a protest, in which he accused United Russia of a “state and government takeover.”

Then there is the 43-year-old Anastasia Udaltsova. Like Bondarenko, she improbably lost the last election. But she remains highly – and increasingly – popular. Yet another rising star, the elegant Ekaterina Engalycheva, was elected to the Moscow City Duma in 2019, thanks to smart voting.

Somewhat ironically, the Communist Party’s modern makeover refl ects a yearning for the past: in 1917, Lenin’s Bolsheviks promised justice and equality, delivered by a state that, while strict, was merciful and just. Moreover, like the liberal Navalny, today’s Communists represent a vision of predictability and consistency, in which people are not subject to the whims of one man. It is based on this logic that all opponents of the Kremlin are increasingly joining forces: this is the “united Russia” that can stand up to Putin’s United Russia.

This approach is not exclusive to Russia. In the Czech Republic’s recent

parliamentary elections, Andrej Babiš – also known as the Czech Donald Trump – was unseated as prime minister, because a coalition of opposition groups put aside their ideological diff erences to form the Together Coalition, whose leader, Petr Fiala, will likely head the new government, along with another opposition coalition. As Fiala put it, “People were fed up with the populist” and wanted “normal, competent, and decent politics.” Hungary’s opposition, too, is fi elding a unity candidate for prime minister in next year’s parliamentary election, as well as a single electoral list.

Of course, the Czech Republic is still a democracy, so Babiš is preparing to move into opposition. Unseating Putin will be far more diffi cult, and more sweeping measures aimed at crushing the Communist Party can be expected. But this approach also carries its own risks for the Kremlin. The fact that the president is claiming that Russian democracy “hasn’t died,” pointing to the country’s “lively opposition” as proof, shows that he has an interest in at least pretending not to have led Russia to near-totalitarianism.

Putin says he just wants stability. But his regime is pushing Russia toward greater instability. If the Kremlin drives the Communist Party underground by devising and implementing rules capriciously, as it has done to Russia’s liberals, the risk of a social explosion will grow. And if it decides against repression, Russia’s Communists – yes, the Communists – could become a force to be reckoned with. — Project Syndicate

Nina L Khrushcheva, Professor of International Aff airs at The New School, is the co-author (with Jeff rey Tayler), most recently, of In Putin’s Footsteps: Searching for the Soul of an Empire Across Russia’s Eleven Time Zones.

Setting the global average price of carbon per tonne significantly higher at $100 or more is necessary right away to incentivise net zero emissions by 2050, according to a Reuters poll of climate economists.

Carbon pricing has come to the forefront of policy measures seen as ways to reduce emissions to a level consistent with the Paris Agreement target of less than 1.5–2C of warming.

The G20 group of large economies recognised carbon pricing for the first time as a possible tool at a meeting in Venice in Italy this year.

A higher price for carbon is seen as essential to fund the transition to net zero emissions by 2050, which is estimated to cost $44tn or 2-3% of annual global GDP.

The International Monetary Fund has recommended a global average carbon price of $75 per tonne by the end of the decade.

But that figure should be at least $100, and right away, to reach net zero emissions by 2050, according to the median view of about 30 climate economists from around the world polled from September 16 to October 20 ahead of the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

That is significantly higher than where most countries who set the price currently have it, including among high carbon emitters.

Nearly 70% of respondents — 19 of 28 — said the cost of carbon per tonne should be above $75, of whom 17 suggested $100 or above. While six respondents agreed with the IMF recommendation, only three believed it should be lower than $75. Recommendations ranged from $50-250.

“Current carbon prices in G20 economies are between $3-60 per tonne of carbon emissions, but many large emerging economies like Brazil, India, Indonesia still have no carbon prices,” said Patrick Saner, head of macro strategy at Swiss Re.

“We also need to recognise that carbon pricing in itself is no silver bullet.”

The top three largest emitters — China, the United States and India — account for approximately half of global carbon emissions today.

According to the International Energy Agency, current carbon pledges by governments are insufficient to reach targets, and closing the gap would need the global average price of carbon to be

much higher than what the IMF recommends.Indeed, Julien Holtz, strategist at Pictet Wealth Management,

argues the global average carbon price per tonne is really only around $2 given only about 20% of global emissions are currently covered by actual carbon pricing schemes.

While China, the biggest carbon emitter, kicked off its emission trading system on July 16, with an opening price of 48 yuan ($7.51) per tonne, the US and India still do not have a national carbon pricing market mechanism.

Even the European Union, at the forefront of reducing carbon emissions, has set the carbon price at a little more than half the poll’s recommendation. Benchmark carbon prices in the EU Emission Trading System, the first such system, were last trading at €57.78 ($67.26) as of October 20.

The EU price is expected to average around €55.88 ($65.07) and €69.87 ($81.36) per tonne this year and next, according to a separate Reuters poll.

Wide economic disparities pose a major challenge to all countries agreeing to a uniformly high global carbon price, which partly explains the wide range of recommendations provided by climate economists to reach net zero by 2050.

With most emerging and some developed countries’ continued reliance on fossil fuel-based energy sources to meet their energy demands, a high carbon price will be hard to sustain.

“It should start modestly but (be) sufficient to push out coal in the electricity merit order, at least partially,” said Charles Kolstad, professor of economics at Stanford University.

Despite being crucial to fight climate change, experts say carbon pricing alone is not enough.

“While carbon prices in the major world economies are necessary, they are not by themselves sufficient to deliver net zero economies by 2050,” said Jon Stenning, associate director and head of environment at Cambridge Econometrics.

“The key issue is the need for supporting fiscal and regulatory policy, in addition to carbon pricing to ensure that economies can decarbonise at the pace required.” — Reuters

Gulf Times Tuesday, October 26, 2021

COMMENT10

To Advertise advr@gulf-times.com

Display 44466621 44418811

Classified 44466609 44418811

Subscription circulation@gulf-times.com

© 2021 Gulf Times. All rights reserved

GULF TIMES

P.O.Box 2888, Doha, Qatar editor@gulf-times.com 44350478 (News), 44466404 (Sport), 44466636 (Home delivery) 44350474 facebook.com/gulftimes twitter.com/gulftimes_Qatar

CHAIRMANAbdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFFaisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka

Deputy Managing Editor

K T Chacko

The costs to reach net zero by 2050

‘The key issue is the need for supporting fi scal and regulatory policy, in addition to carbon pricing’

Russia’s Communist comebackBy Nina L KhrushchevaMoscow

OLD GUARD: Leader of the Russian Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov.

Today’s Communists represent a vision of predictability and consistency. It is based on the logic that all opponents of the Kremlin are increasingly joining forces: this is the “united Russia” that can stand up to Putin’s United Russia

WORLD11Gulf Times

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

‘Facebook Papers’ explode after whistleblower leaksAFPWashington

Facebook was hit yesterday by scathing reports from at least a dozen US news outlets based on

internal documents, just hours before the company was to release its earnings report.

The social media giant has faced a storm of criticism after former em-ployee Frances Haugen leaked internal studies showing the company knew of potential harm stoked by its sites, prompting US lawmakers’ to renew a push for regulation.

Reports yesterday blamed CEO Mark Zuckerberg for the platform bend-ing to state censors in Vietnam, noted

Facebook had allowed hate speech to fl ourish internationally due to linguis-tic shortcomings, and said it knew its algorithm fuelled toxic polarisation online.

“The Facebook Papers are so damn-ing, so disturbing, so disgusting, and should lead to quick action at the fed-eral level,” tweeted Fordham University law professor Zephyr Teachout, refer-ring the moniker attached to the leak.

News organisation like the New York Times, Washington Post and Wired were among those that have now re-ceived access to the set of internal Facebook documents that Haugen originally leaked to US authorities and which were the basis of a damning Wall Street Journal series.

Facebook has assailed the reporting

as the selective publication of some of its mountain of internal studies aimed at casting the social network used by billions of people in a dark and inac-curate light.

The company was due to release its quarterly earnings, which have boomed during the pandemic period when much of the world used online tools while sheltering at home against the virus.

Haugen, who testifi ed on social media before British lawmakers yes-terday, has repeatedly said in media reports and in comments to US sena-tors that the company puts its continu-ous growth and thus profi ts before the well-being and safety of users.

Facebook has been hit by major crises previously, but the current view behind

the curtain of the insular company has fuelled a frenzy of scathing reports and a renewed push from US lawmakers to crack down on social media.

The Washington Post story out yes-terday said Zuckerberg had personally signed off on a push from Vietnam’s authoritarian government to limit the spread of so-called “anti-state” posts.

A report from Politico called the documents a “treasure trove for Wash-ington’s anti-trust fi ght” against the platform, revealing internal employee chats about Facebook global domi-nance.

The news comes as Facebook crit-ics pounced last week on a report the leading social network plans to re-name itself, arguing it may be seek-ing to distract from recent scandals

and controversy.The report from website The Verge,

which Facebook refused to confi rm, said the embattled company was aim-ing to show its ambition to be more than a social media site.

Facebook has faced previous fi re-storms of controversy, but that has not translated into substantial new US leg-islation to regulate social media.

The company has bounced back from other scandals like the one in-volving Cambridge Analytica, a British consulting fi rm that used the personal data of millions of Facebook users to target political ads.

In that case, Zuckerberg went to Washington to apologise and the com-pany agreed to a $5bn settlement with US regulators.

UN says over half of Afghans face ‘acute’ food crisisAFPKabul

Afghanistan is on the brink of one of the world’s worst humani-

tarian crises, UN agencies warned yesterday, with more than half the country facing “acute” food shortages.

More than 22 million Afghans will suff er food insecurity this winter, they said, as a drought driven by climate change adds to the disruption caused by the chaotic Taliban takeover of the country.

“This winter, millions of Afghans will be forced to choose between migration and starvation unless we can step up our life-saving assistance,” said David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme.

The crisis is already bigger in scale than the shortages facing war-torn Yemen or Syria, and worse than any food insecu-rity emergency apart from the Democratic Republic of Congo, offi cials told AFP.

“Afghanistan is now among the world’s worst humanitar-ian crises — if not the worst — and food security has all but collapsed,” Beasley said in a statement.

“We are on a countdown to catastrophe and if we don’t act now, we will have a total disas-ter on our hands.”

According to the statement issued by the World Food Pro-gramme and the UN Food and

Agriculture Organisation, one in two Afghans faces Phase 3 “crisis” or Phase 4 “emergency” food shortages.

Phase 4 is one step below a famine, and offi cials told AFP that Afghanistan — already struggling to emerge from a 20-year civil war — is facing its worst winter in a decade.

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said: “It is urgent that we act effi ciently and eff ec-tively to speed up and scale up our delivery in Afghanistan be-fore winter cuts off a large part of the country, with millions of people — including farmers, women, young children and the elderly — going hungry in the freezing winter.”

In August, the hardline Tali-ban overthrew the US-backed regime and declared an interim government, vowing to restore stability.

But the Taliban still face a range of international sanc-tions and a campaign of bloody attacks by rival hardliners the Islamic State — while climate change has made Afghanistan’s droughts more frequent and in-tense.

In the west of the country, thousands of poor families have already sold their fl ocks and fl ed, seeking shelter and as-sistance in packed temporary camps near major cities.

A visit by AFP journalists to the provinces of Herat and Badghis found families forced to sell their daughters into early marriage to cover debts and se-cure enough food to survive.

On Sunday, the Taliban an-nounced a plan to pay 40,000 labourers in grain in the Kabul region, employing them to dig holes to trap the winter snow and provide moisture for bar-ren hills.

Asked about the humanitar-ian crisis, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP on Sunday: “We are trying to get our people out of the current situation and help them. Global humanitarian aid has also ar-rived.”

“We are trying to arrange and distribute, including food and clothing. All worries will be re-solved,” he added.

“Regarding the drought, we hope to have a wet winter. But if the drought continues we will take appropriate measures in the spring.”

The UN agencies warned that their humanitarian response plan is only a third funded as it stands. The FAO is seeking $11.4 million in urgent funding and a further $200 million for the ag-ricultural season into 2022.

Fearing new refugee outfl ows from Afghanistan, international donors have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars for the country but they do not want to work with the Taliban directly.

“Hunger is rising and chil-dren are dying. We can’t feed people on promises — funding commitments must turn into hard cash,” Beasley said.

“The international commu-nity must come together to ad-dress this crisis, which is fast spinning out of control.”

Moderna reports positive results for Covid vaccine in children aged 6-11AFPWashington

US biotech fi rm Moderna said yesterday its Covid vaccine was safe and

produced a strong immune re-sponse in children aged 6-11, adding it would submit trial data to global regulators soon.

The news comes as a panel of government advisers was preparing to meet today on the question of whether to author-ise the Pfi zer vaccine in kids

aged 5-11, with top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci predicting it would be available by mid-November.

“We are encouraged by the immunogenicity and safety profi le of mRNA-1273 in chil-dren aged 6 to under 12 years and are pleased that the study met its primary immunogenic-ity endpoints,” Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel said in a statement.

An interim analysis from a mid-to-late stage clinical trial of 4,753 children showed that

two doses of vaccine produced a high level of neutralising an-tibodies — Y-shaped proteins that bind to the coronavirus and block it from entering hu-man cells.

The vaccine was dosed at 50 micrograms, which is half of what is used among adults, but still produced on average 1.5 times as many antibodies in children as it did in young adults given the higher dose.

The majority of adverse events were mild or moderate, including fatigue, headache, fe-

ver, and injection site pain.These early results, released

via a press statement, do not yet include a vaccine effi cacy esti-mate, which may be expected at a later time once cases have accrued.

The Moderna news comes as the US Food and Drug Admin-istration (FDA) is preparing to convene a panel of advisers to vote on whether to greenlight the Pfi zer shot for younger children, paving the way for 28 million more Americans to be vaccinated.

A Munich court yesterday sentenced a German woman who joined the Islamic State group to 10 years in prison over the war crime of letting a five-year-old Yazidi “slave” girl die of thirst in the sun.The tribunal handed down the verdict to Jennifer Wenisch, 30, in one of the first convictions anywhere in the world related to the IS jihadists’ persecution of the Yazidi community.Wenisch was found guilty of “two crimes against humanity in the form of enslavement”, said presiding judge Reinhold Baier of the superior regional court in Munich.She was also guilty of aiding and abetting the girl’s killing by failing to off er help as well as membership of a terrorist organisation.She and her IS husband “purchased” a Yazidi woman and child as household “slaves”, whom they held captive while living in then IS-occupied Mosul, Iraq, in 2015, the court found.“After the girl fell ill and wet her mattress, the husband of the accused chained her up outside as punishment and let the child die an agonising death of thirst in the scorching heat,” prosecutors told the court. “The accused allowed her husband to do so and did nothing to save the girl.” Baier said the defendant had often complained about the girl and accepted the deadly consequences of her “punishment”.

German IS bride gets 10-year prison term over 5-year-old girl’s murder

Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere reached record levels last year, the United Nations said yesterday in a stark warning ahead of the COP26 summit about worsening global warming.The UN’s blunt report comes as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the COP26 host, said he was “very worried” that the 12-day climate talks could go awry.“I’m very worried because it might go wrong... it’s touch and go,” Johnson said.“It’s very, very far from clear that we’ll get the progress that we need,” he said, though he remained hopeful a deal can be done to reduce carbon emissions and limit future temperature rises.COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference, is being held in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12The UN’s World Meteorological Organisation said that continued rising greenhouse gas emissions would result in more extreme weather and wide-ranging impacts on the environment, the economy and humanity.The WMO said the economic slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a temporary decline in new emissions, but had no discernible impact on the atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases and their growth rates.The organisation’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin said the annual rate of increase last year was above the yearly average between 2011 and 2020 — and the trend continued in 2021.The WMO said that as long as emissions continue, global temperatures will continue to rise.

Greenhouse gas levels reach new record high

Baldwin ‘rehearsing aiming gun at lens when he fi red fatal shot’Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene that involved pointing a prop gun at the camera lens when he fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, US media reported, citing an aff idavit recording his director’s account of the tragedy.Director Joel Souza, who was standing behind Hutchins when the gun fired, said he heard what “sounded like a whip and then loud pop,” according to the aff idavit released to US media on Sunday.Souza said Baldwin was “sitting in a pew in a church building setting, and he was practicing a cross draw. Joel said he was looking over the

shoulder of Halyna” when he heard the gun fire, NBC News reported the aff idavit as saying.It quotes Souza as saying he remembered Hutchins “complaining about her stomach and grabbing her midsection.”“Joel also said Halyna began to stumble backwards and she was assisted to the ground,” the aff idavit said, according to NBC. “Joel explained that he was bleeding from his shoulder and he could see blood on Halyna.”Hutchins, 42, was struck in the chest when Baldwin fired the prop gun he had been told was safe on the

set of low-budget western Rust in New Mexico on Thursday. She was declared dead in hospital hours later.Souza, 48, was treated by doctors and sent home. Police are still investigating the shooting, and have executed a search warrant at the set.Baldwin has been interviewed by detectives in Santa Fe, and has said he is co-operating fully with the probe. Attention has also focused on the film’s assistant director, Dave Halls, who handed the weapon to the actor, and on the armorer, 24-year-old Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.No-one has been charged and no arrests have been made.

The incident happened after a lunch break, Souza reportedly said in the aff idavit, adding that he wasn’t sure if the gun had been checked again for safety after the break.A camera operator also reportedly said the incident was not caught on film as the cast and crew were still preparing for the scene.The new details emerged as Hutchins’ shocked friends and colleagues gathered to pay tribute to her Sunday at a vigil where their anguish and anger were on display.“I had the pleasure of working with Halyna,” said actress Sharon Leal. “She was a wonderful woman and

just, we’re all just so shocked.”But there was palpable anger about what went wrong.“The low budget productions oftentimes they want to make it look bigger than they really are,” said director Gustavo Sampaio, who worked with Hutchins four years ago.“So they cut corners and they put safety in the backseat when it really should be at the forefront of everything that’s done on a set.”That sentiment was echoed by producer Sabrina Oertle.“I can tell you that as a producer, someone dropped the ball. Somebody decided to go with the

bottom line, meaning keep your budget... cheap.”Calls were growing for a ban on live firearms on movie sets, with a petition on change.org gathering more than 22,000 signatures by Sunday evening.“There is no excuse for something like this to happen in the 21st century,” says the text of the petition launched by Bandar Albuliwi, a screenwriter and director.Dave Cortese, a Democrat elected to the California Senate, said Saturday he would be pushing a bill banning live ammunition on movie sets in California.

Landslide 2nd term for Uzbek presidentReutersTashkent

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been re-elected

for a second fi ve-year term, winning 80.1% of the vote in Sunday’s poll which Western observers said was not truly competitive despite improve-ments brought by recent re-forms.

Mirziyoyev’s widely ex-pected victory will allow him to deepen his reform cam-paign and likely lead to Uz-bekistan opening up further to foreign trade and invest-ment — while retaining a highly centralised political system.

Mirziyoyev has lifted some restrictions on religious prac-tices, reined in the powerful security services and over-seen the release of some po-litical prisoners.

He has also rebuilt the

resource-rich country’s ties with both Russia and the West and pledges to cut pov-erty through rapid economic growth and gradually decen-tralise decision-making by devolving some powers to district councils.

Observers from the Organi-sation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said that recent political reforms had not yet resulted in a genuinely pluralistic environment.

“While multiple candi-dates contested the election, there was no meaningful en-gagement with each other or with voters, and candidates refrained from challenging or criticising the incumbent,” the observation mission said in a statement. Central Elec-tion Commission Chairman Zayniddin Nizamkhodjaev said the vote adhered to democratic standards as he declared Mirziyotev victori-ous yesterday, citing prelimi-nary results.

Re-elected Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev addresses supporters after the announcement of the presidential election results in Tashkent yesterday. (Reuters)

Hundreds of trucks and other vehicles waited at one of the main crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan yesterday as the border closed again after a brief opening the day before, despite promises that it would reopen, traders said.The Chaman border crossing, the second-largest commercial border point between the two countries after Torkham in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, links with Spin Boldak in the Afghan province of Kandahar, and is regularly used by thousands of labourers and traders from both countries. The crossing, a vital source of customs revenue for the cash-strapped government in Afghanistan, has been closed for about three weeks, despite repeated protests by truckers and others stuck waiting at the border. “We also have a life. We have children and we need money,” said truck driver Turyalai.

Thousands stranded as Afghan-Pakistan border crossing stays closed

The state-backed Russian hacking group that carried out last year’s massive SolarWinds cyberattacks is behind a new and ongoing assault against US and European targets, Microsoft said yesterday.The software giant’s Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) said in a blog post that the Nobelium group was attempting to gain access to customers of cloud computing services and other IT service providers to infiltrate “the governments, think tanks, and other companies they serve”.Describing the cyberattack as “nation-state activity”, MSTIC said it “shares the hallmarks” of the assault on SolarWinds, a Texas-based software company targeted as its 300,000-strong customer base gave the hackers access to a huge number of companies.Washington imposed sanctions in April and expelled Russian diplomats in retaliation for Moscow’s alleged involvement in the SolarWinds attack, as well as election interference and other hostile activity.The latest attack has been underway since at least May, MSTIC said, with Nobelium deploying a “diverse and dynamic toolkit that includes sophisticated malware”.“Nobelium has been attempting to replicate the approach it has used in past attacks by targeting organisations integral to the global IT supply chain,” Microsoft vice president Tom Burt wrote in a blog post published late Sunday.

Russian hackers behind fresh US cyberattack, says Microsoft

12 Gulf TimesTuesday, October 26, 2021

QATAR

Qatar Classic Cars Contest and Exhibition in November at The Pearl-QatarUnder the patronage of

HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa

al-Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums, the Gulf Qatari Clas-sic Cars Association, in partner-ship with United Development Company (UDC), master de-veloper of The Pearl-Qatar and Gewan Island, is organising the Qatar Classic Cars Contest and Exhibition 2021.

The event and exhibition at The Pearl-Qatar, from Novem-ber 17 to 22, will showcase 50 classic luxury cars representing diff erent historical categories, with some dating back to 1920. The Ministry of Public Health has approved the event which is to be held in adherence to the precautionary measures to pre-vent the spread of Covid-19.

HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, chairman of the Gulf Qatari Classic Cars Association, recalled there are more than 4,000 classic cars in Qatar.

“The Qatari society is most interested in owning classic cars, as these vehicles represent our heritage and tell about an important period in our history. Some of these cars are very rare and their date of manufacture goes back decades, while some

collectors have even older vin-tage models from the year 1920 and even before that.

“The organisation of Qatar Classic Cars Contest and Ex-hibition 2021 aims at preserv-ing and spreading the culture of owning classic cars, while increasing community aware-ness of it as a cultural heritage. The Gulf Qatari Classic Cars Association is the body that represents classic car owners in Qatar, and always encourages the public and those interested in this hobby to closely examine

the various and rarest classic car models in Qatar.”

Ibrahim Jassim al-Othman, UDC president, CEO and mem-ber of the Board, said: “UDC is proud to host the Qatar Classic Cars Contest and Exhibition at The Pearl-Qatar for the sec-ond consecutive year, as the Is-land represents a landmark that combines heritage and moder-nity in Qatar.”

Al-Othman further stressed the Company’s keenness to the highest safety standards during the event, and invited all classic

car lovers to visit the exhibition, pointing out that The Pearl-Qa-tar provides an ideal recreational atmosphere for visitors, where they can enjoy the charming views on the Island’s boardwalk and admire the impressive and exclusive lineup of classic cars.

Omar Alfardan, vice chair-man of the Gulf Qatari Classic Cars Association, said: “The Qatar Classic Cars Show brings together all owners of this cat-egory of cars, as it represents a gateway for them to display their cars to the public, who can

admire the history behind these classic cars”.

“There are very rare cars owned by many in Qatar that are considered technical and engi-neering masterpieces, manufac-tured by the oldest and largest car manufacturers in the world, and whose value is priceless to their owners and lovers alike.

“The acquisition of classic cars represents for many in Qa-tar a culture and heritage that must be preserved, so that it is seen as part of the culture and heritage of the Qatari society,

and which must be preserved and promoted especially classic car owners.”

Alfardan believes that classic cars have a lot of fans in Qatar as well as all over the world, stress-ing that the exhibition will be a favourite destination for classic car owners and lovers alike, as it represents a valuable oppor-tunity and a rich platform to re-discover this beautiful industry.

The exhibition will include a contest in which the best car will be chosen from among the participating cars. A specialised

committee will be formed to se-lect the winning cars, by major-ity vote.

The contest includes fi ve cat-egories of classic cars, includ-ing: First Category: 1947 and earlier, Second Category: 1948-1957

Third Category: 1958-1964, Fourth Category: 1965-1974, Fifth Category: 1975-1990.

The winning cars will be ranked as follows: 1. Prize for the best car in each category, 2. The car award for the best represen-tation among the participating cars, 3. Prize for the most origi-nal car without restitution, 4. Most elegant car award.

On the sidelines of the exhibi-tion, a seminar will be organised under the title ‘Classic cars that lay the path to luxury in Gulf countries’. The exhibition also seeks to encourage investment in classic cars, shed light on its history in Qatar, in addition to introducing the various stages that the classic car industry has gone through, encouraging and stimulating the hobby of owning classic cars in Qatar, as well as attracting visitors and enhanc-ing the role of the private sec-tor in contributing to promoting Qatar as a tourist destination.

HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani Omar Alfardan Ibrahim al-Othman

Qatar Tourism launches ‘World Class Chefs’ initiative

By Joey AguilarStaff Reporter

Qatar Tourism has launched the ‘World Class Chefs’ initiative yesterday (October 25) at Mandarin Oriental Doha, featuring Michelin Star chef Julian Roucheteau who presented a signature dish at the event.“We are opening up the approach for Michelin star chefs to come (to Doha) and start promoting the Food Festival (Qatar International Food Festival),” said Qatar Tourism Chairman and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive HE Akbar al-Baker, who joined Roucheteau at the live food demonstration.He said the two-year programme will also open new opportunities for Michelin star chefs to open restaurants in Doha and work with hotels, as well as upgrade the food off ering in the country.According to Qatar Tourism, ‘World Class Chefs’, organised by Qatar Tourism in collaboration with Qatar Airways, Qatar Aircraft Catering company, and Kings of Kitchen, aims to host high-profile chefs from around the world and explore investment opportunities by introducing the world’s top culinary talent to the emerging hub of gastronomy in the Middle East.Roucheteau is holding live demo of delectable dishes at exclusive ‘Chef’s Table’ sessions from October 26 to 30 at IZU restaurant, Mandarin Oriental, Doha at Msheireb Downtown, between 6pm and 8pm and from 8.30pm to 10pm.Qatar Tourism COO Berthold Trenkel told reporters that about 50 renowned chefs from various regions across the globe have expressed interest to take part in the initiative. “For November, December, and January, so the next three months are already booked, and then we’ll work next year to confirm for February, March, etc. We will take a break in the summer and we will restart again in autumn before the 2022 FIFA World Cup.“This is a really great initiative, we did a lot of research what people obviously are looking for and everyone has their own interest but there’s one common thing when people are on vacation – food,” he added.

Michelin Star chef Julian Roucheteau and HE Akbar al-Baker at the launch of Qatar Tourism’s ‘World Class Chefs’ initiative yesterday. PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam

Katara inaugurates Qatar International Arts Festival

Prof Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, general manager of Katara – the Cultural

Village Foundation, has inau-gurated the third edition of the Qatar International Arts Festival (QIAF).

The event, being organised by Katara in co-operation with Maps International from Oc-tober 25 to 28, is witnessing the participation of more than 300 artists from 65 countries.

On this occasion, Prof al-Su-laiti stressed that Katara is keen to support all cultural and artis-tic initiatives that are consistent with its cultural mission based on building relations between cultures and nations.

He noted that organising the third edition of QIAF confi rms the success of this festival and the confi dence of artists of dif-ferent nationalities, as it records greater participation every year. He added that the importance of this festival not only lies in

being an exhibition of art and creativity, but also represents a forum for artists from Qatar and various countries of the world to exchange experiences through their participation in several events and activities that will enhance opportunities for dia-logue, communication and ex-change of ideas.

The festival includes eight diverse artistic activities: four fi ne art exhibitions, a painting and sculpture exhibition, a live painting symposium, a fashion show, masterclass, cultural talks, a discussion session, a Qatari cultural tour and cultural dinner night, according to a press state-ment.

The festival also records a distinguished Qatari participa-tion: Moudhi al-Hajri, Haifa al-Khuzaie, Duha al-Kuwari, Sarah al-Sayed, Sheikha al-Thani, Lina al-Aali, Sarah al-Dosari and Ghada al-Mahamid.

The festival timing is from

10am to 10pm, with the par-ticipation of more than 300 art-ists from over 65 countries. The event will see the presence of many ambassadors and the par-ticipation of the US embassy, for the fi rst time, in a fashion show represented by American fashion designer Nour Bishara as well as presentations by several partici-pating artists in relation to their paintings, which will take place in the courtyard located between buildings 16, 18 and 19 at Katara.

The audience will have a date with artists participating in a free drawing session from 10am until 1pm. In addition, there will be prominent folkloric musical performances, while 15 cultural sessions featuring several artists will also be hosted.

The festival seeks to intro-duce the participating artists and promote their work through interactions with invited collec-tors, art investors and potential buyers.

Snapshots from the opening of Qatar International Arts Festival.