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WEDNESDAY Vol. XXXX No. 11184
May 15, 2019
Ramadan 10, 1440 AH

www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals

In brief Amir hosts Iftar banquet for Armed Forces, MoI officers
REGION | Politics
Trump denies plan to
send ‘troops’ to ME
US President Donald Trump
yesterday denied reports saying
that US officials were discussing
a military plan to send up to
120,000 troops to the Middle
East in anticipation of a military
confrontation with Iran. “I think it
is fake news, okay Would I do that,
absolutely. But we have not planned
for that. Hopefully we’re not going
to have to plan for that,” Trump said.
The New York Times had reported
that the Pentagon was updating His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin
military plans, including one that Hamad al-Thani hosted yesterday an Iftar
envisioned sending as many as banquet in honour of the commanders
120,000 troops to the region in the and senior officers of the Armed Forces,
event of Iranian attacks or efforts by the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and various
Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons. security bodies, on the occasion of the
holy month of Ramadan. The banquet
ASIA | Unrest was attended by His Highness Sheikh
Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Personal
Lankan anti-Muslim Representative of His Highness the Amir.
riots claim first life It was also attended by HE the Prime
Sri Lanka announced yesterday a Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh
curfew for a second straight night Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani,
after a man was killed by sword- as well as a number of their excellencies
wielding rioters in an escalating Sheikhs. Page 24
anti-Muslim backlash following the
Easter terror attacks. Violence broke
out late Monday, three weeks after
Islamist extremist bombings killed
258 people, with rampaging mobs
WhatsApp security breach
Qatar achieves total
carrying out arson attacks and
2,000 people vandalising a mosque,
witnesses said. Page 12

EUROPE | Diplomacy
‘targeted’ rights groups
success in solving
Putin hopes to O Average end users need a research group at the University of
mend US ties not worry, says expert Toronto. It did not disclose how many
A visit from the top American users were affected.
diplomat to Russia was blighted by Reuters A WhatsApp spokesman said the at-
disputes over the Iranian nuclear Jerusalem tack was sophisticated and had all the

‘card fraud’ cases

programme and the Venezuelan hallmarks of a “private company work-
political crisis even as Russian ing with governments on surveillance.”

President Vladimir Putin expressed
hope for mending frayed ties between
the former rivals. Major points of
contention quickly surfaced after
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
and his Russian counterpart, Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov, both assured
that their countries want to mend
their strained relations. Page 16
RAMADAN THOUGHT
W
hatsApp said yesterday a se- WhatsApp said it was “deeply con-
curity breach on its messag- cerned about the abuse” of such sur-
ing app had signs of coming veillance technologies and that it be-
from a government using surveillance lieved human rights activists may have
O Public urged to exercise at the earliest, he explained. are helping banks and other institu- technology developed by a private been the targets.
caution while using cards The official pointed out that Qa- tions to identify fraudulent cheques,” company and may have targeted hu- “We’re working with human rights
tar is witnessing cases of fraudulent he said. man rights groups. groups on learning as much as we can
By Shafeeq Alingal According to the E&CCCD head, WhatsApp, which is part of Fa- about who may have been impacted
Staff Reporter card users become victims of the crime cebook, said it had notified the US from their community. That’s re-
due to limited awareness in dealing Department of Justice to help with ally where our highest concern is,” the
GT EXCLUSIVE with electronic transactions and han- an investigation, and encouraged all spokesman said.

And when We cause mankind
to taste of mercy, they rejoice
therein; but when some evil
afflicts them because of (evil
deeds and sins) that their (own)
hands have sent forth, behold,
they are in despair! (Qur’an 30:
36)
Prayer times
Fajr....3.25 Zuhr....11.30 Asr....2.57
Maghrib.....6.14 Isha.....7.44
Fasting times
Iftar today ............................. 6.14pm
Imsak tomorrow.................3.14am
T
he Economic and Cyber
Crimes Combating Depart-
ment (E&CCCD) has secured
100% success in arresting all the
suspects in credit card and ATM
fraud cases since 2011, a senior offi-
cial told Gulf Times.
“Eliminating such crimes is one of
the top priorities of our department
and we are proud that action was ini-
tiated against the culprits,” E&CCCD
head Col Ali Hassan al-Kubaisi said in
an interview.
The E&CCCD, under the General
Directorate of Criminal Investiga-
tion, Ministry of Interior, has good
ties with the authorities concerned
of Mastercard and VISA, which
helped to ensure appropriate action
cheques that are brought in from out-
side the country and this affects the
economy. The E&CCCD has set up a
committee to combat the threat from
fraudsters and a comprehensive strat-
egy is in the making for the successful
fight against fraudulent cheques.
“By joining hands with various
stakeholders, the E&CCCD has formed
an exclusive committee that has mem-
bers from banks and other depart-
ments in the country,” al-Kubaisi said.
The department is making use of the
services of experts from forensic labo-
ratory and security printing press. “We
dling debit and credit cards.
“Users should be vigilant and care-
ful while holding ATM transactions
and using credit cards. They should
not hand over the cards and share
password or PIN to anyone in any
case. This prevents criminals from
getting details they want for fraud,”
he said. In some cases, the depart-
ment officials have found criminals
getting details by scanning credit and
debit cards.
The department has recorded vari-
ous kinds of frauds including skim-
ming, in which criminals place a de-
vice deep inside the ATM to record a
card’s chip information, and withdraw
cash by using stolen debit card num-
bers. To Page 8
WhatsApp users to update to the lat-
est version of the app, where the breach
had been fixed.
WhatsApp, one of the most popular
messaging tools in the world, is used by
1.5bn people monthly. It has touted its
high level of security and privacy, with
messages on its platform being en-
crypted end to end so that WhatsApp
and third parties cannot read or listen
to them.
The company said it was still inves-
tigating the breach but believed only a
“select number of users were targeted
through this vulnerability by an ad-
vanced cyber actor.”
But its advice to all users to update
came “out of an abundance of caution”
and a recommendation by Citizen Lab,
Citizen Lab tweeted: “We believe
an attacker tried (and was blocked by
WhatsApp) to exploit it as recently as
yesterday to target a human rights law-
yer.”
Cyber security experts said the vast
majority of users were unlikely to have
been affected.
Scott Storey, a senior lecturer in cy-
ber security at Sheffield Hallam Uni-
versity, believes most WhatsApp users
were not affected since this appears
to be governments targeting specific
people, mainly human rights cam-
paigners.
“For the average end user, it’s not
something to really worry about,” he
said, adding that WhatsApp found the
vulnerability and quickly fixed it. Page 11

Ras Abu Aboud Stadium: revolutionary and innovative design

QNA repurposed after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Its components in the construction of Ras Abu Aboud
Doha parts will be used in other sporting events or projects Stadium. Concrete will be used only in foundations,
in needy countries, in co-ordination with FIFA, to set a while the outer structure will be made of iron and
new standard in sustainability and introduce bold new shipping containers.

R
as Abu Aboud Stadium, one of the stadiums of
the FIFA World Cup (Qatar 2022), is a pioneer-
ing project in the field of building stadiums and
hosting major sports events, being the first in the his-
tory of the World Cup that can be entirely dismantled.
In addition, it will have a truly unique design, featur-
ing shipping containers to create an extraordinary
building block effect.
Constructed using shipping containers, removable
seats and other modular “building blocks”, not only
will this innovative, 40,000-seat venue have a re-
markable design, but it will be entirely dismantled and
ideas in tournament legacy planning.
Ras Abu Aboud Stadium Project Manager, in the
Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (CS), Mo-
hamed al-Mulla stressed that Ras Abu Aboud will be
the first stadium in the world that can be completely
dismantled, adding that its parts can be used in build-
ing two 20,000-seat stadiums or even in building
non-sporting projects, such as administrative build-
ing or multi-use hall.
In an interview with QNA, al-Mulla said that stud-
ies and researches have led to the use of environmen-
tally friendly, and at the same time easy and reusable,
He said the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium would be a
precedent that would revolutionise stadium design
for future World Cup hosting countries, as it is based
on a new way of thinking and creativity in construc-
tion, that shortens construction time and lowers cost.
Al-Mulla explained that the reason for building a
stadium with these specifications and dismantling it
after the World Cup is that Qatar does not need eight
40,000-seat stadiums, and also the local league does
not need all these stadiums. So the idea was to build a
stadium- such as the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium - which
could benefit other countries in the future. To Page 8 Artist’s impression of the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium.
2 Gulf Times
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
QATAR
Al-Mahmoud meets ambassadors of China and Pakistan
HE the Speaker of the Advisory Council Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud held separate meetings yesterday with the ambassadors of China and Pakistan, Li Chen and Syed Ahsan Raza Shah,
respectively. During the meetings, bilateral relations and ways to develop them, particularly in the parliamentary, area were discussed. The meetings also reviewed topics of common interest. The Chinese and
the Pakistani ambassadors praised the great success of the 140th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), held in Doha in April under the chairmanship of the Speaker of the Advisory Council,
and the distinct arrangements and organisation which had a major impact in achieving this success. The meetings were attended by officials of the Advisory Council.
Ministry invites
local submissions
for WSA 2019
QNA
Doha
T
he Ministry of Transport
and Communications
announced the open-
ing of the local submissions to
compete in the World Summit
Awards (WSA) 2019.
The ministry called on all
companies, institutions and in-
dividuals in Qatar to participate
in the competition and provide
their best digital content appli-
cations to compete in the eight
categories of the award and rep-
resent Qatar at the global level. It
added that it will receive appli-
cations for the award on a local
level until June 10.
WSA 2019 has eight catego-
ries which are government and
citizen engagement, health and
well-being, learning and edu-
cation, environment and green
energy, culture and tourism,
smart settlements and urbani-
sation, business and commerce
and inclusion and empower-
ment.
The ministry said that those
wishing to participate in the
national competition for WSA
should send their information
and details to the Ministry of
Transport and Communications
via e-mail.
Katara Open Chess Tournament kicks off
QNA
Doha
K
atara Open Chess Tour-
nament kicked off yester-
day with the participation
of 102 players of different na-
tionalities.
General Manager of the Cul-
Qatar calls for global efforts to protect civilians from atrocities
QNA
Brussels
A
mbassador Dr Mutlaq
bin Majed al-Qahtani,
the Special Envoy of the
Minister of Foreign Affairs for
Counterterrorism, Mediation
in Dispute Resolution and the
National Focal Point for the Re-
sponsibility to Protect Civilians
from Cruel Crimes at the Global
Centre for the Responsibility to
Protect Focal Points, under-
lined that Qatar has integrated
responsibility for protecting ci-
vilians from atrocities, particu-
larly war crimes, crimes against
humanity, genocide and ethnic
cleansing, in its foreign policy.
Addressing the annual ninth
meeting of the Global Network
of R2P Focal Points in Brussels,
The ministry added that a local
jury committee is being formed
by the WSA local expert Reem
al-Mansoori, Undersecretary for
Digital Society Development at
the ministry. Al-Mansoori will
assess the applications submit-
ted, in order to select one appli-
cant for each award category to
represent Qatar on a global level,
provided All submitted products
must have been completed after
Jan 1, 2017.
The products that can be sub-
mitted to the competition in-
clude any applications that offer
innovative, high-quality digital
content such as interactive web
pages, applications, text-based
and other products.
All participants have to abide
by the rules and regulations
mentioned in the UN Declara-
tion on Human Rights.
Submissions therefore which
tural Village Foundation – Ka-
tara, Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim
al-Sulaiti, said that this year’s
tournament has an international
aspect and will be an opportu-
nity for international classifi-
cation, praising the fruitful re-
lationship between Katara and
Qatar Chess Association.
Tournament manager and
Ambassador Dr al-Qahtani said
that this integration has been
done by addressing the root
causes of violence in some coun-
tries and societies and by trying
to address the local drivers of
violence, including violent ex-
tremism that could lead to ter-
rorism and atrocities in some
countries, as well as through
good offices, mediation and pre-
ventive diplomacy to prevent
and resolve conflicts.
He stressed that the respon-
sibility to protect represents a
legal obligation for all countries,
and that all member-states of
the United Nations had been
bound by this commitment at
least since 2005, when world
leaders agreed on that unani-
mously in the 2005 World Sum-
mit document, which refers to
the obligation of States not to kill
encourage war, the exercise of
violence, fraud, racism or dis-
crimination will not be accepted
and eliminated.
Similarly, submissions that
violate international copyright
provisions will be excluded.
The award authority is enti-
tled to reject any submissions
contrary to the United Nations
Declaration on Human Rights.
All submissions have to be
launched products. No drafts,
prototypes, demonstrations or
unfinished projects can be ac-
cepted.
WSA authority does not bear
any legal consequences as a re-
sult.
Mohamed al-Jefairi, who rep-
resented Qatarin 2018, won the
award for the inclusion and em-
powerment category through his
project “Deaf Pedia”, a universal
3D Data Base Sign Language.
member of Qatar Chess Associ-
ation Hussein Aziz said that this
tournament allows the players to
register points for their balance
on the list of the World Chess
Federation (FIDE). Aziz pointed
out that the tournament attract-
ed many participants, especially
from age groups of children un-
der 12, including Qatari players.
Ambassador Dr Mutlaq bin Majed al-Qahtani with other participants in the annual ninth meeting of the Global Network of R2P Focal Points in
Brussels.
their people and to protect them
from heinous crimes or mass
atrocities.
All member-states of the
United Nations are part of this
document and therefore com-
mitted to the responsibility to
Qatar Charity, IDMC sign
partnership agreement
Q
atar Charity (QC) and
the Internal Displace-
ment Monitoring Cen-
tre (IDMC) have signed in Ge-
neva, Switzerland, a strategic
co-operation and partnership
agreement to improve data col-
lection, analysis and research
on internal displacement
worldwide.
The agreement was signed
at the Centre’s headquarters in
the presence of representatives
from both sides.
Ali al-Ghamdi, Assistant Ex-
ecutive Chairman of Corporate
Governance and Development,
and Qatar Charity representa-
tive said: “We are honoured
Civic ministry participates in
biotechnology conference
QNA
Doha
T
he Ministry of Munici-
pality and Environment
(MME), represented by
the Agricultural Researches De-
partment, participated in the
17th conference on biotechnol-
ogy and microbiology in Lon-
don, organised by Animal and
Plant Health Agency (APHA)
and FERA.
The ministry’s participation
comes as part of its keenness to
develop work in the scientific
research field, to promote its
network of relations with vari-
ous countries in the world to
serve common interests, goals
and aspirations.
Its participation also aims to
open wide areas for exchanging
experiences and co-operation
in various scientific fields, es-
pecially in the field of training
researchers in the ministry and
developing their specialised
and research capacities in the
field of agriculture, biotechnol-
ogy, animal and plant research,
protect civilians and must always
keep this in mind and consider it
as the starting point for discus-
sions on the appropriateness and
importance of the responsibility
to protect countries and foreign
policies from a legal perspective,
to stand alongside IDMC as
active members of interna-
tional efforts to reduce inter-
nal displacement and protect
internally displaced persons
through finding durable and
sustainable solutions to ensure
their stability in their commu-
nities upon their return.”
According to the agreement,
Qatar Charity and IDMC will
co-operate in training and ca-
pacity-building to improve and
increase data collection and
analysis of internally displaced
persons from around the world
from the Middle East to Asia.
This relationship will also pave
the way for both parties to pro-
The delegation from Ministry of Municipality and Environment, led by the head of the Agricultural
Researches Department Hamad Sakit al-Shammari, with other participants in the conference in London.
food security, bee health, crop
protection, food and feed qual-
ity and environmental chemical
safety.
On the sidelines of the
conference, the ministry’s
delegation under the leader-
ship of head of the Agricul-
tural Researches Department
Hamad Sakit al-Shammari,
presented a number of re-
ambassador al-Qahtani added.
He noted that failure to pre-
vent and stop atrocities will have
dire consequences for all, refer-
ring to the Syrian crisis as an ex-
ample which consequences have
affected all.
mote joint research projects and
communication activities, for
example translating IDMC pub-
lications into Arabic language.
“Millions of people are in-
ternally internally displaced
by conflict, violence and dis-
asters, yet we still have sig-
nificant gaps in our knowledge
and understanding of this phe-
nomenon,” said the IDMC’s Di-
rector Alexandra Bilak and the
centre’s representative at the
signing ceremony.
She added that such part-
nerships will enable IDMC to
expand access to and provide
protection and assistance to
this group. - QNA
searches in the areas related
to the marine environment
and environmental mi-
crobes.
In addition, Amina al-Malki
presented a research on the im-
portance of rare microbes newly
discovered in the Qatari marine
environment and Dr Mai al-
Ghanem touched on the impor-
tance of marine environment
He stressed the importance of
integrating the responsibility for
protection with the foreign poli-
cies from a strategic perspective
as well.
Ambassador al-Qahtani un-
derlined importance for the Na-
OFFICIAL
Qatar condemns
bombing in
Somali capital
Qatar expressed its strong
condemnation and denunciation
of the car bombing which
targeted a government centre
in the Somali capital Mogadishu,
causing deaths and injuries.
In a statement yesterday, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
reiterated Qatar’s firm stance
rejecting violence and terrorism,
regardless of motives and
reasons.
The statement expressed Qatar’s
condolences to the victims’
families, the government and
people of Somalia, wishing the
wounded a quick recovery.
z Qatar has also strongly
condemned the bombings in
Jalalabad, Afghanistan, which
resulted in deaths and injuries.
In a statement on Monday,
Labour minister
meets Nepal’s
ambassador
HE the Minister of Administrative
Development, Labour and Social
Affairs, Yousuf bin Mohamed
al-Othman Fakhroo has met
Nepal’s outgoing ambassador to
Qatar Professor Ramesh Prasad
Koirala. During the meeting,
they discussed bilateral relations
and means of boosting and
developing them.
Real estate
transactions
The trading volume of registered
real estates between May 5
to May 9 at the Ministry of
Justice’s real estate registration
department stood at
QR274,579,315. The weekly report
said that the trading included
empty lands, residential units and
residential buildings.
organisms, especially environ-
mental microbes, in finding
new natural alternatives for use
as antibiotics and insecticides.
In addition Reem al-Haydoos
spoke about the importance of
the use of modern techniques
in microbiology and biotech-
nology in the study and identi-
fication of the genetic origin of
marine organisms.
tional Focal Point to be able to
establish and conduct an early
warning and risk identifica-
tion system, noting that early
warning and early prevention
are equally important, and that
prevention is indeed a continu-
ous process and must be main-
tained.
He noted that there is more
work to be done in the area of
the prevention of mass atroci-
ties, stressing that member-
states should continue to be
called upon to increase their
involvement in strengthening
the obligation to protect civil-
ians from atrocities, in particu-
lar war crimes, crimes against
humanity, genocide and ethnic
cleansing, thereby improving
the efforts of the international
community to prevent and stop
such atrocities.
 Gulf Times
4 Wednesday, May 15, 2019
QATAR
QIB supports traffic awareness campaign
F
or the second consecutive year,
Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has
announced its participation
in the ‘Ramadan and Safe Driving’
campaign organised by the General
Directorate of Traffic.
During the campaign, Iftar meals
are distributed to drivers across Qatar
during the pre-Iftar rush hour.
Support for the road safety cam-
paign is part of QIB’s social respon-
sibility agenda and it reflects the
bank’s adherence to Islamic values
and Qatari traditions of social soli-
darity, particularly during the blessed
month”, QIB has said in a statement.
“QIB is pleased to support the
awareness promotion programmes
with the General Directorate of Traf-
fic,” said Mashaal Abdulaziz al-Der-
ham, assistant general manager, head
of corporate communications and
A motorist being offered an Iftar meal.
quality assurance, QIB. “Part of our
corporate social responsibility is to
raise awareness about driving with
caution during Ramadan. Driving
safely is a social value as it protects
lives, and the bank is committed to
promoting road safety within the
Qatari society.”
HMC advises fasting
elders to see doctor
P
eople over 65 years
old who are fasting
this Ramadan, should
speak with their doctor if
they notice any warning
signs of illness, a clinical
dietitian at Hamad Medical
Corporation’s (HMC) Home
Health Care Service, has
urged.
Dalia Elissawi said most
elderly individuals who
have no major health prob-
lems can fast without any
adverse health impacts, but
fasting should be avoided,
or at the very least carefully
supervised, in those who
have chronic or geriatric
illnesses.
“Elderly individuals with
health problems are gener-
ally not able to fast. Frail and
weak elderly patients who
Domasco unveils
special offers on
new or pre-owned
Volvo vehicles
D
oha Marketing Serv-
ices Co (Domasco),
the exclusive distrib-
utor of Volvo Cars in Qatar,
has announced special of-
fers for customers purchas-
ing new or pre-owned Volvo
vehicles during Ramadan.
Faisal Sharif, managing
director, Domasco, said:
“Embracing the spirit of
generosity, Volvo is once
again offering fantastic
deals during the holy month
fast can place themselves
at increased risk for com-
plications; therefore, it is
important they speak with
their doctor if they experi-
ence any signs of illness. In
some cases their doctor may
recommend an alternative
treatment plan that will al-
low them to continue the
fast,” said Elissawi.
She explained that elderly
patients who have multiple
chronic illnesses that are
being treated with medica-
tions are especially vulner-
able to complications and
must consult their doctor if
they are fasting and experi-
encing signs of poor health.
“Tooth loss, health con-
ditions, and general weak-
ness may result in chew-
ing problems and lead to
of Ramadan. Customers can
enjoy Volvo luxury at its fin-
est with exclusive offers on
the purchase of any new or
pre-owned Volvo vehicles.”
This Ramadan, with eve-
ry purchase of a brand new
Volvo Car, customers can
benefit from special prices
with 0% down payment and
one-year free insurance.
They also get free service
for five years/75,000km
(whichever comes first) and
reduced food intake and
an unbalanced diet. When
hosting elderly individu-
als for Ramadan meals,
the goal should be serv-
ing dishes that contain the
right amount of nutritious
and healthy calories with-
out overloading their plate.
We recommend breaking
the fast with milk and dates,
followed by soup and foods
high in fibre, such as oat-
meal, vegetables, fruits,
and beans. Lean meat, skin-
less poultry, and fish are
also great options,” said
Elissawi.
“Elderly individuals are at
an increased risk for dehy-
dration. It is important they
drink sufficient amounts of
liquids, ideally water, and
limit stimulants such as
Domasco offers special prices with 0% down payment and
one-year free insurance on purchase of a new or pre-owned
Volvo vehicle.
unlimited kilometres war-
ranty. Customers purchas-
ing a pre-owned Volvo, can
avail attractive prices and a
free gold/jewellery voucher
worth QR1,000 upon every
purchase.
Domasco also announced
the win of Volvo XC90 as
the Best Features Mid-Size
SUV at the recently held
Golden Steering Awards
coffee, tea, and soft drinks.
Fruits and vegetables, broth-
based soups, and smooth-
ies can also be an excellent
source of hydration. It is
wise to avoid pickled foods,
and foods high in salt, which
can lead to dehydration,”
said Elissawi.
The clinical dietitian
has recommended light
exercises during the day,
saying even simple move-
ments that flex the joints
and stretch the body can
be helpful and getting suf-
ficient amounts of rest and
sleep is also very important.
Elissawi added that there
are a number of benefits to
fasting, provided the individ-
ual is in good health and fast-
ing can improve conditions
like hypertension.
– Qatar 2019 organised by
Arab Motors and XTORK.
The Volvo showroom
is on Khalifa Street near
the National Mosque and
TV Roundabout. During
Ramadan, the showroom
will be open from 8am to
2pm and 7.30pm to mid-
night throughout the week
and from 8pm to 11pm
on Fridays.
 Gulf Times
6 Wednesday, May 15, 2019

QATAR

Tamuq petroleum engineering

projects win in UREP contest
R
esearch projects by stu-
dents and faculty mem-
bers in the Petroleum En-
gineering Programme at Texas
A&M University at Qatar ( Ta-
muq) were placed first and sec-
ond in Qatar National Research
Fund’s 11th Annual Undergradu-
ate Research Experience Pro-
gramme (UREP) Competition.
In the oral presentation cat-
egory, Dr Nayef Alyafei and stu-
dents AlReem al-Dosari, Abdul
Sattar al-Kahala, Sara al-Thani,
Hessa al-Thani, Mohamed Idris
and Tabarak Abdulhussein won
second place for the project,
“From Pore-Scale to Field-Scale
Understanding of Multi-Phase
Flow in Porous Media.”
In the poster presentations
category, Dr Mahmood Amani
and students Alireza Rousta-
zadeh, Saud al-Emadi and Mo-
hamed Farooq Zia placed first for
the project, “An Investigation of
the Factors Affecting Barite Sag-
ging Related to Drilling Fluid
Properties.”
The competition is held an-
nually to recognise outstanding
projects incorporating under-
graduate students as research-
ers. The programme, funded by
QNRF, develops Qatar’s research
infrastructure by engaging stu-
dents, building their research
skills and contributing to their
professional development, un-
der the supervision of a mentor.
Fifty-eight projects were se-
lected in the first stage of the
screening process. Of these, 17
projects were shortlisted and 14
passed the final review stage to
compete in the final competition
held at Qatar National Conven-
tion Centre. The competition
included six oral presentations
in the finale and eight poster
presentations in the consolation
round, which were evaluated by
an expert panel of judges.
Dr Nimir Elbashir, chair and
petroleum engineering profes-
sor, said, “The UREP programme
not only supports undergradu-
ate development, but it also ac-
knowledges the mentoring our
professors do and how it is an
important part of a student’s
academic journey.”
Roustazadeh said, “Our team
is ecstatic to win the first place
for our poster presentation and
we want to thank our men-
tor Dr Mahmood Amani for his
guidance. This opportunity has
improved my research skills im-
mensely, skills I plan to utilise
when conducting research for an
upcoming project under QNRF’s
National Priorities Research
Programme.”
“Over the years, my under-
graduate students have built on
their UREP experience to pursue
advanced degrees and to develop
their research to actively con-
tribute toward the development
of Qatar,” Amani added. Research projects by Tamuq students and faculty members were placed first and second in UREP Competition.

MoCI honours Shafallah Centre students Ooredoo continues with

T
he Ministry of Commerce
and Industry (MoCI) yes-
terday honoured student
VoLTE enablement plans February, a number of student
members of Shafallah Centre
were trained on performing of-
members of Shafallah Centre for fice duties in addition to working

Persons with Disabilities who
successfully completed a three-
month training programme.
The honouring ceremony was
attended by a number of officials
from the MoCI and Shafallah
Centre along with department
directors, heads of divisions and
staff members.
The recognition of student
members of Shafallah Centre
“reflects the ministry’s belief in
the important role that govern-
ment and private institutions
play in the rehabilitation, vo-
cational training and economic
empowerment of people with
special needs and falls in line
with its efforts to support this
group through agreements with
a number of civil society organi-
sations, which provide support
for persons with disabilities in
O
within the ministry’s various de-
partments in a bid to encourage
students, enhance their abilities
and equip them with the skills
to access the labour market and
find jobs that suit their potential
and abilities.
Last October, the ministry had
signed a memorandum of under-
standing with Shafallah Centre
to strengthen co-operation be-
Officials with student members of Shafallah Centre. tween the two parties to support
people with disabilities and pro-
general and those with mental the distribution of certificates mote ethical values that guaran-
disabilities in particular”, the of appreciation to coordinators tee their right to work.
MoCI has said in a statement. of the training programme from Under this memorandum,
Since 2013, the ministry has been the MoCI and Shafallah Centre. the MoCI will train and re-
seeking to enhance this group’s Certificates of participation were habilitate a number of people
access to training and employ- also distributed to students who with mental disabilities to per-
ment opportunities similar to passed the programme. form in the work environment
other members of the Qatari Within the framework of and prepare them to assume
community, it adds. the three-month training pro- positions in Qatar’s public and
The ceremony concluded with gramme that kicked off last private sectors.
oredoo has confirmed
it is pressing ahead
with enabling yet more
devices with Voice Over Long-
Term Evolution, or VoLTE.
Currently, all iPhones are
VoLTE-enabled, along with
the Samsung 9, 9+, 10 and 10+,
and several other Samsung
models are soon to be included
in the VoLTE revolution.
The telco leader cites a
number of benefits VoLTE of-
fers to consumers, including
much faster call set-up and
connection; multi-tasking ca-
pabilities - full high-speed 4G
while on a voice call without
interruption; HD voice quality;
and superior battery life.
Thanks to intensive col-
laboration between the Sam-
sung Engineering and Ooredoo
teams, several other Samsung
models – Note8, Note9, A80,
M10, M20, A10 and A20 - are
expected to be VoLTE-enabled
in the near future.
Speaking about the ongo-
ing VoLTE-enablement pro-
gramme, Manar Khalifa al-Mu-
raikhi, director, public relations
and corporate communications
at Ooredoo, said: “We know
accessing the latest technol-
ogy is of the utmost importance
to our customers, and it’s vital
for us that we’re offering the
highest quality service we can.
Working closely with Samsung
to ensure that their devices are
VoLTE-enabled has meant we’re
now able to offer something no
other operator currently does,
meaning our customers are get-
ting cutting-edge technology as
soon as it’s available.”
Customers who are not cur-
rently using VoLTE on their
devices will simply need to
update their software to the
latest version in order to start
enjoying all the benefits VoLTE
brings, Ooredoo has said in a
statement.

UCQ celebrates International Nurses Day

T
he University of Calgary
in Qatar (UCQ) has joined
the International Council
of Nurses and healthcare insti-
tutions in Qatar and around the
world in celebrating International
Nurses Day.
“On behalf of the University of
Calgary in Qatar, we are honoured
to recognise the contribution of
nurses in Qatar,” said dean Dr De-
borah White. “We proudly recog-
nise all nurses for their commit-
ment to the health and wellness of
the people of Qatar.”
International Nurses Day is cel-
ebrated around the world every
May 12 and is the anniversary of
the birth of Florence Nightin-
gale, the founder of modern nurs-
ing. The International Council of
Nurses has designated this year’s
theme as ‘Health for All’ with an
aim of focusing attention on the
intersection between nursing,
global health and universal health
coverage.
“We are fortunate to have HE
Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari,
Minister of Public Health, as a
visionary leader for health and
healthcare delivery here in Qatar.
Nurses in Qatar are at the fore-
front of delivering quality health-
care to its residents. An occasion
like International Nurses Day is
an important opportunity to rec-
ognise the vital role of nurses in
meeting Qatar’s economic, social
and health priorities,” explained
Dr White. Dr Deborah White, dean, UCQ.
The UCQ is the only Canadian
university in Qatar and its sole of nursing through academic ex- Students during a practical session at the UCQ.
provider of nursing higher educa- cellence and workforce develop-
tion. This distinction drives the ment”, according to a statement. needs of Qatar”, the statement bringing its alumni total to more
university’s mandate of advanc- The UCQ “is committed to in- adds. Next month, the univer- than 700 nurses working in
ing nursing as a profession in creasing the number of nurses sity will graduate 97 Bachelor all facets of Qatar’s healthcare
Qatar and enhancing the practice to help meet the complex health and Master of Nursing students, systems.

Jaidah Automotive has launched a new exclusive package offer during Ramadan.
Exclusive Chevrolet brand dealer
launches Ramadan financing offer
J
aidah Automotive, the exclu-
sive dealer of the Chevrolet
brand in Qatar, has launched
a new offer in collaboration with
First Finance for any Chevrolet
car purchased during the holy
month of Ramadan.
As part of this new package,
which is valid until June 15, cus-
tomers can now buy any Chev-
rolet car with 0% down payment
and up to six months grace pe-
riod.
The package includes a one-
year free comprehensive insur-
ance, 12-years warranty with
Dual-view camera mode ‘unleashed’ for the Huawei P30, P30 Pro
H
uawei has given P30 and
P30 Pro users access to
the industry’s first and
totally new function available on
smartphones today: dual-view
camera mode, with the recent
introduction of EMUI 9.1 and
its B153 version being rolled out
gradually in overseas markets.
unlimited mileage, and special
cash reward up to QR30,000 on
specific models.
Maud Daniel, group marketing
director of Jaidah Group, said:
“This is one of the best offers
we’ve launched to date, and we
are proud to be sharing it during
the holy month of Ramadan, a
precious time of the year.”
The Ramadan package in-
cludes various Chevrolet cars
such as the Trail Blazer, the
Traverse, the Equinox, the Im-
pala, the Tahoe, and the all-new
Malibu.
With this capability, users can
create split-screen videos by si-
multaneously using the phone’s
primary camera and zoom lens,
showing two perspectives at
once on the screen, according to
a statement from Huawei.
Dual-view camera mode,
available on both Huawei P30
Chevrolet’s iconic vehicles are
designed with the highest qual-
ity, safety and innovation stand-
ards, making it the preferred
vehicle for a wide range of com-
munity members, according to a
statement.
For further information on
the offer, customers can visit
their nearest Chevrolet show-
room from Saturday to Thurs-
day (9am – 1pm and 8.30pm –
12.30am) and on Fridays (8.30pm
– 12.30am).
They can also visit www.jaida-
hautomotive.com
and P30 Pro devices, is capable
of producing exceptional videog-
raphy on its own, or in tandem
with other video features like AI
editor.
Because of the dual perspec-
tives, the Huawei P30 series al-
low users to capture large-scale
events or the full view of a scene
‘Buy 2 Get 1 Free’
promotion back
at LuLu outlets
T
he “Buy 2 Get 1 Free” pro-
motion is back at LuLu
outlets, running from to-
day until June 15.
Announcing the launch, LuLu
said in a statement yesterday
that the promotion will high-
light the various international
brands of menswear, womens-
wear, churidars, saris, children’s
clothing, footwear, and ladies
bags.
Stocks of leading interna-
tional brands of menswear, wo-
menswear, children’s wear and
footwear, such as Lee, Wran-
gler, Crocs, Skechers, Reebok,
Louis Philippe, Arrow, Eten,
Cortigiani, De Backers, John
Louise, Tom Smith, Marco Do-
nateli, Van Heusen, Allen Solly,
Peter England, Hush Puppies,
in a unique and refreshing fash-
ion.
Huawei is bringing profession-
al-grade photography and vid-
eography functions to its users
through the award-winning P30
Series camera.
Top features of the dual-view
mode in the P30 and P30 Pro in-
and others will be available as
part of the promotion.
“This is a major promotion
that is organised regularly every
year by the LuLu management.
It is a much-awaited promotion
and has gained popularity as it
provides more benefit to cus-
tomers,” the statement noted.
The promotion entitles cus-
tomers to get the lowest-priced
item free when they buy three
of any of the above items, irre-
spective of the brand.
Customers will also get a cou-
pon on every purchase of items
worth QR50.
Meanwhile, another mega
promotion – offering 12 Mer-
cedes-Benz E200 cars, 2019
model, and consolation prizes
by way of gift vouchers worth a
clude: capturing a wide view with
more of the background and sur-
rounding objects, simultaneous-
ly zooming in on desired subjects
via the split screen, shooting two
different angles – panoramic and
close up – at the same time, the
ability to adjust the magnifica-
tion level, and taking artsy and
QATAR
total of QR300,000 – has also
been launched at LuLu outlets.
This will continue until Au-
gust 18 and culminate in seven
mega draws to be held from Au-
gust 19 to 26 at the Al Gharafa,
Al Messila, Barwa City, D-Ring
Road, Al Khor, LuLu Centre,
and B-Ring Road LuLu Express
branches, the management said.
Also, leading global online
creative shots for a vivid recol-
lection of special moments.
Along with dual-view mode
enabled through the EMUI 9.1
update, the Huawei P30 Pro fea-
tures SuperZoom Lens support-
ing 5x optical zoom, 10x hybrid
zoom, and 50x digital zoom, and
SuperSpectrum Sensor deliv-
Gulf Times
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 7
travel company Cleartrip has
organised a promotion on su-
permarket products in co-ordi-
nation with LuLu Hypermarket,
which will continue until May 31
at all LuLu outlets.
Customers can participate in
an e-raffle draw to win 15 flight
tickets when they buy any of
the supermarket items worth
QR100.
They are also entitled to get
a gift voucher of QR50 on every
purchase of supermarket items
worth QR100, which can be re-
deemed while booking flight
tickets through the Cleartrip
website.
The e-raffle draw will be
conducted on June 18 at LuLu
Hypermarket, D-Ring Road
branch.
The Huawei P30 Pro
ering 40% more light input for
stellar low light photography
with a high ISO of 409,600.
 Gulf Times
8 Wednesday, May 15, 2019

QATAR
Qatar achieves
total success in
solving ‘card
fraud’ cases
From Page 1
“Customers
should be vigi-
lant while using
ATMs and they
should inform
the department
if any kind of
irregularity is Col Ali Hassan al-Kubaisi
noted. A varia-
tion in sound could be heard if any kind of device
is placed inside the ATM,” Col al-Kubaisi said.
The E&CCCD, according to him, has exclu-
sive campaigns in association with the Public
Relations Department of the Ministry of Inte-
rior in order to make the general public, finan-
cial institutions and banks aware of the acts
committed by fraudsters. “We are carrying out
awareness campaigns for banks and exchanges
about various kinds of frauds and help them
keep vigil against criminals,” he said.
The department also holds regular meetings
with officials of banks, exchanges and other fi-
nancial institutions. Besides, the officials are
provided with special training sessions handled
by experts from the department. The meet-
ings discuss emerging challenges and financial
crimes while training programmes help officials
effectively fight crimes. Leaflets are also distrib-
uted among the general public while campaigns
are carried through media and social media.
Col al-Kubaisi also urged the victims in such
cases to communicate directly with the E&CCCD
at Al Duhail or call 2347444 or 66815757.
Revolutionary and innovative design
marks out Ras Abu Aboud Stadium
From Page 1
He added that alongside the lega-
cy that Ras Abu Aboud Stadium can
make by re-purposing it in another
country, there will be an important
legacy for Qatar in the infrastructure
of sewage networks, roads, water and
power station, which will create an
infrastructure for any future devel-
opment in the area.
Located on the shores of the Gulf,
looking across to Doha’s dazzling
West Bay skyline, Ras Abu Aboud
Stadium will be a spectacular venue
for matches up to the quarter-finals
of Qatar 2022.
Mohamed al-Mulla said that con-
struction work of the stadium offi-
cially began at 2017-end and it will
be completed by the end of 2020.
He revealed that more than 2mn
labour hours have been completed
at the stadium so far, and will reach
4.5mn labour hours by the comple-
tion of the stadium, pointing out that
the number of workers in the project
varies according to the construction
stages. The current plan is based on
1,700 workers, he added.
Al-Mulla added that work on the
concrete foundations for the stadi-
um has been completed, while work
is underway on the infrastructure,
especially with regard to sewage net-
works and other facilities.
The coming period will see a sig-
nificant increase in work with the
Amir Cup final
tomorrow is a
‘sold-out’ affair
Tickets for the Amir Cup Final 2019
tomorrow are no longer available
online, the Supreme Committee
for Delivery & Legacy (SC) tweeted
yesterday evening.
Limited quantities available at
City Center, Villaggio, Doha Festival
City, Mall of Qatar, Ezdan Mall Al
Wakrah and Souq Waqif were com-
pletely sold out yesterday evening,
the SC said.
The SC reminded people to
replace their e-ticket with an actual
ticket. “An e-ticket will not entitle
the holder to enter the stadium,”
the SC added.
The Amir Cup final will be played
between Al Duhail and Al Sadd at the
new Al Wakrah Stadium tomorrow.
Ras Abu Aboud Stadium: A pioneering project in building stadiums and hosting major sports events.
installation of the steel structure and project achieves the goal of sustain- mean less waste on site, with lower ers or iron has been planned from
shipping containers that will form ability and heritage by 100% in terms carbon emissions - a true victory the first day. He explained that all
the building blocks of this stadium. of stadiums design revolution, the in realising the equation of quality the parts are number-coded to ease
The project manager explained future project and plan to dismantle construction on one side and sus- the operations of dismantling the
that the plan for the stadium is to it and the area development. tainability and heritage on the other. stadium and reusing them in other
have three roads for the spectators Al-Mulla revealed that the con- About 100 containers and 27,000 projects.
to reach the venue, two of them are struction time of the stadium will tonnes of steel will be used in the Following the tournament’s con-
ready and work on the third is under be shorter, which cuts the cost of construction of the stadium, al- clusion, the stadium will be disman-
way. construction, the use of fewer build- Mulla said pointing out that the tled to make way for a waterfront de-
The Ras Abu Aboud Stadium ing materials, which will inevitably method of installation of contain- velopment for local people to enjoy.

Skyline woos Ramadan shoppers

with offers on Hyundai vehicles
T
o celebrate the holy month of Ramadan,
Skyline Automotive, the official distribu-
tion partner of the Hyundai Motor Com-
pany in Qatar, has launched an offer, in collabora-
tion with First Finance, due to run until June 15.
Whether a customer is purchasing the New
Santa Fe, Accent, or the popular Tucson, or any of
the other vehicles available, Hyundai is exempting
customers from any down payment on car pur-
chases, a grace period of up to three months, and
offering a one-year comprehensive insurance and
a five-year or 100,000km manufacturer warranty.
Speaking about the exclusive offers for this
month, Johan Madarasz, marketing manager at
Skyline Automotive said: “We’d like to wish eve-
ryone in Qatar a Ramadan Mubarak. We are really
proud to provide a convenient and valuable offer
to our customers during the holy month of Ram-
adan. The Hyundai models are providing a great
and reliable solution for the audience in Qatar and
cater to the varying needs of the entire family.”
For further information on the offer, customers
can visit their nearest Hyundai showroom from
Saturday to Thursday (9 am — 1pm and 8.30pm
– 12.30am) and on Fridays (8.30pm – 12.30am) or
visit www.hyundai.com.qa.

Faculty and students at 9th annual Pharmacy Student Forum.

College of Pharmacy hosts annual Student Forum

Q
atar University’s (QU)
College of Pharmacy
(CPH) recently held its
9th annual Pharmacy Student
Forum, which aimed to bring to-
gether CPH students and alumni
to share their research achieve-
ments and interests.
There were five oral presenta-
tions and 34 poster presentations
presented by undergraduate and
postgraduate students as well as
alumni.
They discussed issues related
to pharmaceutical science, phar-
macology, clinical pharmacy,
pharmacy practice and pharma-
cy education.
The programme included a de-
bate between pharmacy students
on whether smokers can collect
national insurance coverage for
treatment related to smoking-
related diseases. CPH associate
professor Dr Daoud al-Badriyeh
was the moderator.
The event also included a ‘Live
Like a Patient’ competition mod-
erated by CPH teaching assistant
Myriam Eljaam, where five se-
lected students mimic for 10 days
the life of a patient with ‘uncon-
trolled’ type 2 diabetes.
QU director of Research Plan-
ning and Development, Research
& Graduate Studies Office, Dr
Aiman Mahmood Erbad gave a
talk on whether undergraduate
research is a luxury or necessity
and its role in preparing students
for the job market.
A total of eight awards were
distributed during the event, in-
cluding to Diala Moustafa, Iqrah
Qurishi and Mariam Mostafa.
Sara Thiab and Aisha Osman
won the oral presentation cate-
gory, for undergraduate and post-
graduate categories respectively.
Sara Thiab also won the ‘Live
Like a Patient’ category.
Somaya Koraysh and Sarra
Koummich won the poster pres-
entation for third professional
year category, Maria Benkhadra
for the fourth professional year
category, MSc student Sawsan
AlMukdad for the postgraduate
category and clinical pharmacist
at Hamad Medical Cooperation
Dina Abushanab for the alumni
category.
CPH dean Dr Mohamed Diab
recalled that the forum is a great
opportunity for the students to
learn, mingle and share their re-
search outcomes.
Dr Erbad observed that under-
graduate research helps students
develop key soft skills, such as
problem-solving, critical think-
ing, team-work, and effective
communication needed by all
sectors of the economy.
The students also familiarise
themselves with scientific meth-
od, data analysis, and other tech-
nical skills making them more
competitive candidates for the
job market.
CPH assistant dean for Stu-
dent Affairs Dr Alla El-Awaisi
said: “The annual CPH forum
serves as a great platform to bring
students, faculty and alumni to-
gether to share and discuss their
research activities and celebrate
their research accomplishments.
The forum highlights the excel-
lent quality of the research by our
students under the supervision
of the faculty.” Skyline Automotive’s Ramadan offer on Hyundai vehicles runs till June 15.

Polluters held and fined in municipal drive

T
he Ministry of Municipality
and Environment (MME)’s In-
dustrial Inspection & Pollution
Control Department has conducted
surprise inspection tours at a number
of factories across the country.
The campaign resulted in the detec-
tion of several environmental viola-
tions, following which necessary legal
procedures were initiated in accord-
ance with Law No 30 of 2002 Promul-
gating the Law of Environment Protec-
tion, the MME said in a statement.
The violations included the emis-
sion of foul smell and fumes from in-
dustrial buildings, expired licences of
industrial facilities and the presence
of units not mentioned in the opera-
tional licence of the facility.
The owners of these violating units
were accordingly instructed to ad-
dress the situation in accordance
with the applicable law and regula-
tions.
In addition, they installed chim-
neys with adequate filters to control
the emission of exhaust fumes and
odour.
The unlicensed units were also
removed and the licence of the com-
pany concerned was renewed after
complying with the regulations, the
statement added.
The department also issued a vio-
lation report against another com-
pany for storing a large quantity of
waste materials in an unregulated
manner and ordered it to duly ad-
dress the situation.

Removal work in progress.

105 carcasses removed in cleanup campaign

T
he Ministry of Municipality and
Environment (MME)’s Gen-
eral Cleanliness Department has
conducted a cleanup campaign in the Al
Sheehaniya area, where 105 cattle car-
casses were removed from the vicinity
of a farm complex.
In addition, different types of garbage
and waste materials were also removed,
the MME said in a statement.
Safar Mubarak al-Shafi, director of
the department, said such campaigns
aimed at the disposal of random waste
and carcasses of dead animals cover all
areas in the country.
These are implemented alongside
regular scheduled cleanup works, in a
way that would not affect the normal
flow of work, he informed.
Al-Shafi said the dumping of car-
casses in a haphazard manner amounts
to unacceptable and improper conduct
that threatens the safety and well-being
of the environment and also distorts the
landscape.
He noted that people who are in-
volved in such acts are irresponsible and
indifferent to the efforts exerted by the
MME to maintain public hygiene.
The official urged all concerned to dis-
pose of dead animals in the designated
areas and containers, which are available
in good numbers near the farm complex. The inspection campaign resulted in the detection of several environmental violations.
 Gulf Times
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 9

QATAR/RAMADAN

‘Summer in Qatar’ Let us resolve to shape

programme to offer our lifetime and eternity
T
he best thing about the month
of Ramadan is that it is a time of

slew of activities
purification. It is a time of ab-
stinence from our everyday luxuries.
But it is not only food and drink that
we are referring to.
As Ramadan approaches many of
us, or so we hope, will resolve to do
Memorable Eid in store for mark Mall, Gulf Mall, Tawar Mall, Al away with music and television and
residents and visitors with Khor Mall, Hyatt Plaza, and Al Mirqab the stronger of us may even give up
a host of events and activities Mall. Starting June 4, retailers at these the Internet except for what is seri-
lined up across the country malls will be offering up to 70% dis- ously essential. Free from these daily
counts and special promotions. distractions we have a hope of focus-

A
number of entertainment
shows and new attractions will
be open to public from the first
day of Eid al-Fitr to mark the start of
the biggest ‘Summer in Qatar’ pro-
gramme, Qatar National Tourism
Council (QNTC) has announced.
“This year’s entertainment offer-
ings are geared towards families, with
children’s shows and movie premieres,
as well as concerts and sports,” Mashal
Shahbik from QNTC said.
“With more than 30 public and pri-
vate sector partners offering a range of
exciting promotions and activities, we
are excited to make Qatar an attrac-
tive destination for Eid holidays,” she
explained.
Shahbik noted that the summer
festivities, which this year include
both Eid holidays, form a key part of
QNTC’s strategy to energise the tour-
ism sector through diversifying Qa-
tar’s events calendar.
Among the newest summer attrac-
tions this year, are three unique indoor
theme parks operated by Trimoo Parks
and located inside Doha Festival City
(DHFC). The first ever Angry Birds
World theme park has launched its
new outdoor area.
Snow Dunes – the country’s first
indoor snow park with a cutting-edge
snow-making system, is also expected
to open this summer.
Virtuocity – a gaming and eSports
venue spanning over 4,500sq m will
host a FIFA E-Sports Cup in partner-
ship with PSG.
Entertainment City, a family fa-
vourite and spread out over the expan-
sive ground floor of the Doha Exhibi-
tion and Convention Centre, returns
on the first day of Eid al-Fitr.
The City offers fun for all ages, in-
cluding bouncy castles, mini-golf
Mashal Shahbik
course, exciting rides, skill games,
video games, as well as live entertain-
ment shows, food, beverage and shop-
ping options. It will be open daily from
12.30pm to 10pm and from 1.30pm to
1am on Fridays.
An individual entry ticket costs
QR15 with day passes and season
passes ranging between QR150 and
QR1,250. Individual game prices range
from QR10 to QR35.
Adding to the season’s festivities
will be the vibrant Eid celebrations
at Katara – the Cultural Village, Souq
Waqif and Souq Al Wakrah.
These will include cultural per-
formances, musical acts and family
shows with a special fireworks display
at Katara.
From the first to the fifth day of Eid
al-Fitr, all participating malls will
put on free entertainment shows and
a special meet and greet session with
Captain Marvel and Hulk.
Lagoona Mall will have a special
show ‘Aladdin’, at 5pm.
Woody and Buzz Lightyear fans can
enjoy Toy Story 4, premiering this Eid.
The nine malls participating in this
year’s summer fun include: DHFC,
Mall of Qatar, Lagoona Mall, Land-
For every QR200 spent at any of the
participating outlets in these malls,
shoppers can be part of the three raf-
fle draws being held throughout the
summer. Prizes include cash and cars
worth up to QR2mn, with a grand prize
of McLaren Spider 570s (2018 model).
Qatar Museum’s Culture Pass Plus and
Culture Pass Family offers benefits
such as exclusive discounts on tour-
ism products, outdoor, mall and retail
activities, family entertainment as
well as a variety of calligraphy classes
and colouring classes throughout the
season.
This will be available at the National
Museum of Qatar, The Museum of Is-
lamic Arts or at the Mathaf: Arab Mu-
seum of Modern Art.
A wide range of hotels and hotel
apartments will offer discounts of up
to 25%, valid for stays between June 4
and August 16, along with several ad-
ditional incentives and promotions at
facilities. Participating hotel groups
include Katara Hospitality, Al Rayyan
Hospitality hotels and Marriott Inter-
national hotels in Qatar.
Qatar Airways will offer a discount
of 25% on all flights to Doha from more
than 160 destinations worldwide, for
travel to Qatar anytime between May
30 and August 16.
Moreover, Al Maha Services, Qatar
Airways’ personalised meet and assist
service, is also offering up to 25% dis-
count on all their services during the
summer.
Qatar Airways’ long-haul passen-
gers can also take advantage of the
stopover package, in partnership with
QNTC, designed to give travellers
transiting through Qatar the opportu-
nity to discover the country with free
luxury hotel stays and complimentary
transit visas.
ing our attention on the only thing that
matters: becoming mindful of the Al-
mighty and drawing closer to Him. We
will watch our language and carefully
guard our speech to avoid backbiting
or lying. We frequent the masjid and
those of us who would otherwise miss
prayer become more heedful.
Our Prophet Muhammad, sallal-
laahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, told that when
Ramadan comes the gates of Paradise
are opened and the devils are chained.
We are told to fast for the sole purpose
of gaining Taqwa (consciousness of
Allah). Allah says in the Qur’an (what
means): “O you who believe, fasting
has been prescribed upon you as it
has been prescribed upon those before
you, so that you may attain Taqwa.”
[Qur’an, 2:183] Ramadan is the month
when our sins are forgiven, our prayers
answered, our good deeds multiplied.
One would be a fool not to take advan-
tage of it.
But we’d like to present ourselves our actions, day and night, Ramadan easier every day, until it becomes
and our fellow young Muslims with a or not. natural. It is in man’s innate nature to
challenge this Ramadan. Rather, we We ask our fellow brothers and sis- seek Allah, so it cannot be so hard af-
should say, after this Ramadan. ters not to go back to the prohibited ter all. Allah says in a Hadith Qudsi:
Let us ask a few questions that we things after a long month of fast. We “And if he (My Slave) draws near to Me
are sure have faced all of us after the should continue to watch our tongues, a hand’s span, I draw near to him an
conclusion of this month. Is our jour- and observe our prayer. It will be a arm’s length; and if he draws near to
ney towards Taqwa exclusive to only struggle, no doubt, but Allah promises Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him
one month of the year? After ‘Eid al- help those who strive for His sake say- a fathom’s length. And if he comes to
Fitr passes, do we just no longer desire ing (what means): “As those who strive Me walking, I go to him at speed.” [Al-
closeness to Allah? Are we so inescap- in Our cause, We will surely guide Bukhari and Muslim]
ably addicted to the diversions of this them in Our paths. And indeed, Al- If we continue to make an effort to
worldly life that we cannot stay away lah is with the doers of good.” [Qur’an, reach Allah, He will make our sacri-
from them for but one month of the 29:69] fices easier and reward us thereafter.
year? This may end up being the case, This year, let us make our Ramadan
but why must it be so? Ramadan is If we continue to make an resolutions last a lifetime. Let us have
undoubtedly a special month. We are effort to reach Allah, He will the intention of transformation. Let
motivated to do good deeds during make our sacrifices easier and us struggle for the sake of Allah day
this period more than any other time reward us thereafter after day. Let us chain Satan and work
of the year. hard to keep our gates to Paradise wide
And so here is where the chal- A mission even as simple as “doing open even after Ramadan. Let us give
lenge comes in. We must continue good” is extremely difficult at first, the fruits of our fasting a true chance
our gracious struggle towards Taqwa with Satan’s whispers deafening our to last more than a month, a chance
throughout the year. Indeed, through- ears and the worldly life’s pleasures to influence our everyday lives, and
out our lives. As Muslims, we practise blinding our eyes. But according to eventually our Hereafter.
our religion in every aspect of our ex- Allah’s promise, if we patiently perse- Let us resolve to shape our lifetime

‘Exclusive’ Ramadan financial istence, at every moment we live. Islam

is not simply a religion we adopt once a
week, or once a year. It is a constant ef-
fort to gain greater faith through all of
vere, Allah will guide us, thus making
our paths easier. So as difficult as it
may sound now, giving up the things
that take us away from Allah will get
and our eternity.

Article source: http://www.is-

lamweb.net/emainpage/

solution on Genesis vehicles

T
o mark the holy month of Ram-
adan, Skyline Automotive, the
official distributor of Genesis in
Qatar, has launched an exclusive offer
in collaboration with First Finance.
The offer, which runs until June 15,
will be available for all the Genesis
line-up including the award-winning
Genesis G70.
In addition to the prestig-
ious Genesis membership benefits
such as the concierge service, five
years/100,000km free maintenance
service and five years manufacturer
warranty unlimited mileage, the Ram-
adan offer provides a financial solution
including 0% down payment with up Skyline Automotive, the official distributor of Genesis in Qatar, has launched an
to six months grace period. exclusive Ramadan offer.
Commenting on the occasion, Jo-
han Madarasz, marketing manager at portunity to book a test drive directly in care and support when it comes to
Skyline Automotive said: “Every year, at the hotel, where they’ll get to expe- running and maintaining their vehi-
we look forward to the holy month of rience the luxury and athletic elegance cles,” according to a statement.
Ramadan, and this year, we want to of the Genesis. For further information on the of-
bring the best and convenient solution “Skyline Automotive’s number one fer, customers can visit the Genesis
for our customers to own a new Gen- priority is ensuring a world-class ex- showroom located on Salwa Road from
esis model.” perience for customers, every step Saturday to Thursday (9am – 1pm and
In addition to the offer, and as the of the way – from finding the model 8.30pm – 12.30am) and on Fridays
main sponsor of the W-Hotel Ram- that’s ideally suited to their needs, (8.30pm – 12.30am) or visit www.
adan tent, visitors will have the op- through to delivering the very best genesis.com

Vodafone partners with Talabat

for Iftar meal donation initiative
V
odafone Qatar and Talabat have joined hands to Talabat this year to give back
spread the generous spirit of Ramadan by making it to the community and involve
easy for customers to donate. the public in this.”
From tomorrow (Thursday, May 16) to May 26, Vodafone Talabat managing director
will automatically make an Iftar meal donation on behalf of for Qatar Francisco De Sousa
the first 1,000 customers who make a food delivery order on commented, “We’re proud to
Talabat daily. be joining hands with Voda-
The initiative that will benefit Qatar Charity’s “Feed the fone and Qatar Charity dur-
Fasting” programme is open to all those who use Talabat. ing the holy month to fulfil our
When customers complete their delivery order, they will theme for this year of “Gener-
receive a message from Talabat confirming their automatic ous Hearts, Generous Plates.”
donation made by Vodafone. We are uniquely positioned to
The initiative is being organised as part of Vodafone Qa- help our customers share deli-
tar’s wide corporate social responsibility programme during cious food not just with their
the holy month under the banner of the Company’s Ram- loved ones, but with the com-
adan campaign #ShukranFromTheHeart. munity at large.”
Mohamed Mahdi al-Yami, director of External Affairs, Vodafone Qatar and Talabat
Vodafone Qatar, said: “Vodafone Qatar is proud of the posi- first formed a partnership in
tive impact our social responsibility programmes make year February this year when it was announced that Vodafone’s
after year, especially during the holy month of Ramadan. Red postpaid customers would benefit from Talabat Go, to
We’re happy to be joining hands with our strategic partner enjoy free and quicker deliveries.
 Gulf Times
10 Wednesday, May 15, 2019

REGION/ARAB WORLD/AFRICA

Symbolic concert held in Gaza in

protest at Eurovision in Tel Aviv
DPA latest escalation between Is-
Gaza City rael and Palestinian fighters in
Gaza. “The Eurovision festival
Israel hosts is just a pretext to
mother of Razan al-Najjar, a exchange of fire came to a halt
21-year-old paramedic shot Monday last week. Tel Aviv is
dead by Israeli troops on June 1, hosting Eurovision this year
was invited to deliver the key- after Israeli singer Netta Barzi-

P
alestinian musicians
staged a protest concert
in a ruined part of Gaza
City yesterday, as an alternative
to the glittery Eurovision Song
Contest that is under way in Tel
Aviv.
The Palestinian event took
Members of the Palestinian band Dawaween perform during a musical event calling for a boycott of the place on the rubble of a build-
Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Israel, on the rubble of a building that was recently destroyed by ing that was destroyed by Is-
air strikes, in Gaza City, yesterday. raeli warplanes during the
cover up its brutal violations
against the Palestinians,” said
one of the event organisers,
Kamel Musallam.
Israel wants to “deceive the
world and show them that it’s a
peaceful state,” he charged, ad-
dressing an audience of some
150 people.
Several Palestinian bands
participated in the event. The
note address.
Palestinian fighters fired
some 700 rockets at Israel more
than a week ago, killing four
civilians. Israeli counterat-
tacks killed 25 Palestinians, 10
of them civilians and the rest
fighters.
Egypt and the United Na-
tions brokered a ceasefire be-
tween the two sides, and the
lai won the contest last year in
Lisbon.
There were several calls to
boycott the competition over
the Israel’s treatment of Pales-
tinians, but none of the delega-
tions cancelled their participa-
tion. The first semifinal is set
to be held later, the second to-
morrow, and the final event will
be staged Saturday.

More than 1mn in

Gaza may suffer food
shortage: UN agency
QNA
Geneva
U
N Relief and Works Agen-
cy (UNRWA) warned that
unless it secures $60mn
in funding by June, its ability to
Violence overshadows
have to survive on $ 1.6 per day
and nearly 390,000 absolute
poor - those who survive on
about US$3.5 per day will be
Sudan’s transition push
severely challenged. Reuters
UNRWA is funded almost Khartoum
entirely by voluntary contribu-
tions and financial support has

S
continue providing food to more been outpaced by the growth in udan’s opposition alli-
than 1mn Palestinian refugees in needs. ance blamed military rul-
Gaza will be severely curtailed. From fewer than 80,000 Pal- ers yesterday for renewed
In a statement the interna- estine refugees receiving UN- street violence complicating
tional organisation said: “At a RWA social assistance in Gaza efforts to negotiate a hando-
time when Muslims around the in the year 2000, there are to- ver to civilian power after last
world are observing the holy day over 1mn people who need month’s overthrow of President
month of Ramadan, often char- emergency food assistance Omar al-Bashir.
acterised by the festive nature of without which they cannot get At least four people died
its Iftars, in Gaza, more than half through their day. and dozens were injured dur-
the population depends on food “This is a near ten-fold in- ing protests on Monday as the
aid from the international com- crease caused by the blockade Transitional Military Council
munity”. that lead to the closure of Gaza (TMC) and opposition Decla-
Unless UNRWA secures at and its disastrous impact on ration of Freedom and Change
least an additional $60mn by the local economy, the succes- Forces (DFCF) said they had
June, our ability to continue sive conflicts that razed entire reached a partial agreement for
providing food to more than neighbourhoods and public transition.
1mn Palestine refugees in Gaza, infrastructure to the ground,” Gunfire rang out in the capi-
including some 620,000 abject said Matthias Schmale, direc- tal into the night after para-
poor - those who cannot cover tor of UNRWA Operations in military Rapid Support Forces
their basic food needs and who Gaza. (RSF) — whose head is deputy
of the military council — had
patrolled the streets using tear
gas and guns to disrupt demon-
Saudi Arabia claims strikes on oil facilities strations.
Saudi Arabia said armed drones struck two oil pumping stations in The protesters, who want to
the kingdom yesterday in what it called a “cowardly” act of terrorism keep pressure on the military
two days after Saudi oil tankers were sabotaged off the coast of the for a swift handover, were back Sudanese protesters chant slogans and wave placards during a demonstration in Khartoum, yesterday.
United Arab Emirates. yesterday, blocking roads and
The attacks took place against a backdrop of US-Iranian tension bridges with bricks and rocks, Monday’s fatalities were “There are groups am- ning the blame for Monday’s Some arrived with gunshot
following Washington’s decision this month to try to cut Iran’s oil images on social media showed. the first in protests for several bushing the revolution who chaos on the military for try- wounds in the shoulder, chest
exports to zero and to beef up its military presence in the Gulf in “The bullets that were fired weeks after months of demon- were disturbed by the results ing to remove roadblocks set and other body parts, Amar
response to what it said were Iranian threats. US national security yesterday were Rapid Support strations led to Bashir’s fall. reached today and are work- up by protesters. Abu Bakr, executive director
agencies believe proxies sympathetic to or working for Iran may have Forces bullets and we hold the The victims included a mili- ing to abort any agreement,” “The decision by security of the Moalem Medical City
sabotaged the tankers off the UAE coast rather than Iranian forces military council responsible tary police officer and three it said in a statement late on forces to escalate the use of Hospital, told Reuters.
themselves, a US official familiar with the latest US assessments said for what happened yesterday,” demonstrators, state TV said. Monday. force, including the unnec- “There are also a number of
on Tuesday. The official said possible perpetrators might include Khalid Omar Youssef, a senior An opposition-linked doc- The opposition and TMC essary use of tear gas, led di- wounds resulting from sharp
Houthi rebels in Yemen and militias based in Iraq, but Washington figure in the DFCF, told a news tors’ committee revised its were meeting again yesterday rectly to the unacceptable vio- objects, and others from beat-
had no hard evidence. conference. death toll from six to four, cit- to discuss two sticking points: lence later in the day that the ings by sticks.”
On Monday, a US official familiar with US intelligence had said Iran “While they claimed that a ing a mix-up in counting the the military-civilian balance TMC was unable to control,” Raed Mubarak, a protest-
was a leading candidate for the tanker sabotage but the United third party was the one who did bodies of victims. of power in transitional bod- said the US Embassy in Khar- er who was wounded, said a
States did not have conclusive proof. so, eyewitnesses confirmed that The TMC, which took over ies, and the time frame for toum. shooter was about 20 metres
Iran rejects the allegation of Iranian involvement and Iranian Foreign the party was in armed forces after ousting the long-ruling elections. Talks would wrap up One hospital in Khartoum away when he took aim. “He
Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif said that “extremist individuals” in the vehicles and in armed forces Bashir last month, blamed the today, Youssef said. said it received more than 60 shot at my chest...he meant to
US government were pursuing dangerous policies. uniforms, so the military coun- violence on saboteurs unhap- The United States backed wounded on Monday as well as kill me, not to scare or terror-
cil must reveal this party.” py with the transition accord. the opposition alliance in pin- three dead bodies. ise,” he said.

UNREST
Rebels hand security of ports to ‘coastguard’

US and Iran say not seeking war
AFP against four ships in the region,
Sochi including two from Saudi Ara-
bia, sent war talk up another
notch.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have handed over security of key Red Sea ports to
the “coastguard” but much work remains to remove military equipment,
the UN said yesterday. The rebel pullback is part of a hard-won truce
agreement struck in Sweden in December between Yemen’s Saudi-
backed government and the Houthis. But the government has accused
the insurgents of merely handing over the ports to their own forces in
different uniforms. The UN said on Sunday it had been monitoring the
withdrawal of the Houthi rebels from the Hodeida, Saleef and Ras Issa

U
S Secretary of State
Michael Pompeo yes-
terday said his country
is not seeking war with Iran,
despite a spike in tensions that
has seen the Pentagon dispatch
nuclear-capable bombers to the
region.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayat-
ollah Ali Khamenei meanwhile
insisted the showdown between
the Islamic republic and the
United States was a test of re-
solve rather than a military en-
counter.
“We fundamentally do not
seek a war with Iran,” Pompeo
said during a visit to Russia, a
key backer of Tehran which has
blamed the current crisis on
Washington’s decision to pull
out of the Iran nuclear deal.
But Pompeo added: “We have
also made clear to the Iranians
that if American interests are
attacked, we will most certainly
respond in an appropriate fash-
ion.”
“We are looking for Iran to
behave like a normal country,”
Pompeo said, pointing in part
to Tehran’s backing of Houthi
rebels in Yemen who are under
attack from US ally Saudi Ara-
bia.
Houthi rebels “are launching
missiles into areas where there
are Russians and Americans
A handout picture shows Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani
attending a government meeting in the capital Tehran.
travelling. These missiles could to retreat...because our re-
easily kill a Russian or an Amer- solve is stronger.” The supreme
ican,” Pompeo said. leader said negotiating with the
Khamenei echoed Pompeo’s US was “poison” because the
rhetoric in a speech to officials. Americans wanted to deprive
“This face-off is not military Iran of its missiles and “strate-
because there is not going to be gic depth” in the region.
any war. Neither we nor them “Negotiating with the
(the US) seek war. They know it present American government
will not be in their interest,” he is doubly poisonous,” he said
said, quoted on his website. referring to the US decision to
“The definite decision of withdraw from the landmark
the Iranian nation is to resist 2015 nuclear deal between Iran
against America,” Khamenei and major world powers.
said, adding that “in this show- Washington last year pulled
down America will be forced out of a nuclear deal backed
by Europe, Russia and China,
which curbed Iran’s nuclear
ambitions in return for sanc-
tions relief.
Since then it has slapped
sweeping sanctions on Iran in
an all-out effort to reduce Te-
hran’s regional clout.
The US has recently ramped
up the pressure, deploying an
aircraft carrier strike group
and nuclear-capable bombers
to counter vaguely described
threats from Iran.
On Sunday, mysterious at-
tacks by unknown assailants
UN inspectors have said Iran
is complying with the deal, and
Moscow last week denounced
new US sanctions on the coun-
try’s mining industry, calling
for new talks to save the nuclear
accord. During Pompeo’s visit,
Russian Foreign Minister Ser-
gei Lavrov said Moscow would
work “to ensure this situation
does not descend into a military
scenario”.
“I hope that reason will tri-
umph,” Lavrov said, adding
that he hoped reports in the
US media that President Don-
ald Trump is planning to send
120,000 troops to counter Iran
turn out to be wrong.
Trump himself rejected the
New York Times report, saying
it was “fake news” but did not
rule out deploying “a hell of a
lot more” soldiers in the future.
Kremlin spokesman Dmit-
ry Peskov earlier yesterday
slammed what he called Wash-
ington’s “maximum pressure”
campaign on Iran, saying it
would only drive Tehran into a
corner.
Pompeo cancelled a stop in
Moscow Monday to instead
have an unscheduled meeting in
Brussels with European foreign
ministers, who have been un-
comfortable with the hawkish
direction of the US on Iran.
terminals. A UN team was there yesterday to verify the redeployment.
Its head, General Michael Lollesgaard, welcomed the handover “of the
security of the ports to the coastguard”, according to a UN statement.
“There is still a lot of work to be done on the removal of the manifesta-
tions, but co-operation has been very good. “UN teams will continue to
monitor these initial steps in an impartial and transparent manner.”
TERROR
Four die in Somalia suicide bombing
A suicide bomber killed at least four people and injured several others
yesterday after detonating a car packed with explosives in Mogad-
ishu, Somali security forces said. “A suicide bomber drove a car loaded
with explosives into the entrance of Wardhigley District offices,” said
security official, Mohamed Samow. “We understand that at least four
people were killed and several injured in the explosion,” he added.
Witnesses at the scene reported a similar toll. “It was a very large ex-
plosion that destroyed several buildings and vehicles in the area,” said
Said Farey, who saw the attack. “The bodies of several people killed
and injured were taken away in an ambulance,” he added. The district
mayor, who was in the building at the time, escaped unharmed, ad-
ministrative and security sources said.
TENSION
Four killed in another church attack
Unidentified assailants killed four Catholics and destroyed a statue of the
Virgin Mary in northern Burkina Faso, a bishop said yesterday, the third
deadly attack against Christians in the West African country in the span
of two weeks. Paul Ouedraogo, who is president of the episcopal confer-
ence of Burkina Faso and neighbouring Niger, did not provide further de-
tails about Monday’s attack in the diocese of Ouahigouya, but it confirms
a trend toward increasingly sectarian violence amid a strengthening
militant insurgency. The violence threatens to upend traditionally peace-
ful relations between Burkina Faso’s majority Muslims and its Christians,
who represent up to a quarter of the population.
 Gulf Times
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 11

CAUSE UNKNOWN
St Louis shooting leaves
three dead, two injured
Three men were found shot to death and two
wounded by gunfire late on Monday at a home
on the north side of St Louis, Missouri, media
said, citing police officials. Police responding
shortly before 9pm arrived to find one victim
on the porch and four inside, the St Louis Post-
Dispatch newspaper said online. All five were
in their 20s or 30s, Police Chief John Hayden
told the paper. Three were found dead, and a
fourth was barely breathing, with a gunshot
wound to his head. There was no word on the
circumstances of the shooting or whether police
were hunting suspects. Reuters could not reach
authorities for comment.
MONEY MATTERS
Nasa seeks $1.6bn for Moon
mission ‘Artemis’ in 2024
Nasa’s next mission to the Moon will be called
Artemis, the US space agency announced on
Monday, though it’s still looking for the money
to make the journey happen by its accelerated
2024 deadline. In March, US President Donald
Trump’s administration moved the date for the next
American lunar mission up by four years from its
original goal of 2028 while pledging to get a female
astronaut to the Moon’s surface for the first time.
Nasa Administrator Jim Bridenstine said the agency
would need an additional $1.6bn to pay for the new
ground and space vehicles needed to meet the
deadline. “This is a down payment on Nasa’s efforts
to land humans on the Moon by 2024,” he said.
LIMITLESS
Jimmy Carter breaks hip
ahead of turkey shoot
Former US president Jimmy Carter fell and broke
his hip on Monday as he was preparing to leave
his home in Georgia for a turkey-hunting trip,
and has undergone surgery to repair the injury, a
representative said. Carter, 94, was accompanied
by his wife, Rosalynn, 91, while recovering
from the operation, which doctors said was
successful, according to a statement from
his nonprofit organisation, the Carter Center.
“President Carter said his main concern is that
turkey season ends this week, and he has not
reached his limit,” the statement said. “He hopes
the state of Georgia will allow him to roll over the
unused limit to next year.”
AMERICAS
PLAIN SAILING
Texas bottleneck eases
after vessel collision
A bottleneck of inbound traffic on the Houston
Ship Channel eased yesterday though one-way
travel restrictions remained following a weekend
collision between a deep-draft ship and a barge,
officials said. About 9,000 barrels of gasoline
spilled into the channel near Bayport, Texas,
when a 230m tanker collided over the weekend
with a Kirby Inland Marine tugboat towing two
barges containing the fuel. Salvage operations
were continuing yesterday on one barge that
ruptured and a second vessel that capsized.
Thirty-five ships were waiting at 6am to enter the
85km waterway connecting the refining hubs of
Houston and Texas City to the Gulf of Mexico.
GREEN DREAM
Trump Tower may face NYC
pollution fine: mayor
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday
threatened to fine the Trump organisation $2.1mn
a year starting in 2030 unless the president’s
business reduces emissions from its buildings. “It
doesn’t matter who you are, even the president of
the United States, you have to obey the laws of New
York City,” de Blasio said at a rally in the lobby of
Trump Tower, the site of President Donald Trump’s
private home and business headquarters. A New
York City law due to take effect on May 17 sets
emissions standards for large buildings like Trump
Tower, a 58-story skyscraper on Manhattan’s Fifth
Avenue. Buildings are responsible for nearly 70% of
greenhouse gas emissions in the city.

Remembered ...

Barr initiates
investigation
into Mueller
probe origin
By Sarah N Lynch and Mark is due to release his findings in May 2017 to Mueller, who com-
Hosenball, Reuters coming weeks. pleted his probe in March.
Washington In 2017, former Attorney Gen- A redacted version of his final
eral Jeff Sessions assigned Utah’s report, released in mid-April,
top federal prosecutor John Huber documented numerous contacts

U
S Attorney General Wil-
Law enforcement officers and their families take part in the National Police Week 31st Annual Candlelight Vigil on the National Mall in liam Barr is working with
Washington, DC, on Monday night. Police, political leaders and family members of those officers who died in the line of duty gathered top intelligence officials
on the National Mall to remember and honour them. and a senior federal prosecutor
on at least the third inquiry to
date into the origins of the Mu-
eller probe of President Don-
ald Trump and Russian election
meddling, a person familiar with
to review a wide range of issues
that Republicans had complained
about, from how the FBI handled
investigations related to Hillary
Clinton, to questions about the
origins of the Russia probe.
The person familiar with Barr’s
review told Reuters that Huber
had been awaiting the comple-
between Trump’s campaign and
Russian officials, but found in-
sufficient evidence to substan-
tiate a conspiracy between the
campaign and Moscow.
The report also drew no conclu-
sion on whether Trump illegally
tried to impede the Mueller probe.
Barr angered Democrats last

WhatsApp patches security flaw the matter said yesterday.

Barr has named US Attorney for
Connecticut John Durham to ex-
amine whether the FBI misstepped
tion of Horowitz’s review.
The person said it was unclear
how much Huber had done to re-
view the Page warrant.
month when he echoed language
used by Trump’s allies in saying
he shared concerns about “spy-
ing” on Trump’s campaign. He

after spyware injection revealed

By Rob Lever, AFP and Technology, told AFP. “It’s unclear who
Washington is doing this.”
Hall said the unpatched security flaw
opens the door to spying by rogue entities
in seeking a special federal court
warrant to conduct surveillance on
former Trump campaign adviser
Carter Page, said the person.
In addition, Barr is person-
election campaign. ally working with FBI Director
WhatsApp said it has briefed human Christopher Wray, CIA Direc-
rights organisations on the matter, but did tor Gina Haspel and Director of
not identify them. National Intelligence Dan Coats
That portion of Huber’s as-
signment will be taken over by
Durham, the person added.
Trump, asked yesterday out-
side the White House if he had
ordered Barr to look into the
matter, told reporters, “No I
didn’t ask him to do that. I didn’t
know it, but I think it’s a great
later acknowledged that there was
no evidence of FBI wrongdoing.
Durham was named by Barr
several weeks ago, said the
source, who confirmed it to Reu-
ters anonymously because the
Justice Department has not made
a public announcement.
Durham, nominated as US At-

W
hatsApp yesterday urged users to
upgrade the application to plug
a security hole that allowed for
the injection of sophisticated malware that
could be used to spy on journalists, activists
and others.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp said it re-
leased an update to fix the vulnerability in
messaging app used by 1.5bn people around
the world.
“WhatsApp encourages people to up-
grade to the latest version of our app, as well
as keep their mobile operating system up to
date, to protect against potential targeted
exploits designed to compromise informa-
tion stored on mobile devices,” a company
statement said.
The WhatsApp spyware is sophisticated
and “would be available to only advanced
and highly motivated actors,” the company
said, adding that a “select number of users
on human rights activists, journalists and
others.
“The potential danger is quite large,” he
said.
“These kinds of apps that do encrypted
messaging and encrypted phone calls tend
to store the most secretive data that people
need to protect.”
He said dissidents and pro-democracy
activists seeking to remain anonymous rely
on these encrypted applications, as do jour-
nalists when speaking with sources about
sensitive information.
The latest scam — which impacts Android
devices and Apple’s iPhones, among oth-
ers — was discovered earlier this month and
WhatsApp scrambled to fix it, rolling out an
update in less than 10 days.
The firm did not comment on the number
of users affected or who targeted them, and
said it had reported the matter to US au-
The NSO Group came to prominence in
2016 when researchers accused it of helping
spy on an activist in the United Arab Emir-
ates.
Its best-known product is Pegasus, a
highly invasive tool that can reportedly
switch on a target’s phone camera and mi-
crophone, and access data on it.
The firm said yesterday it only licenses its
software to governments for “fighting crime
and terror.”
The NSO Group “does not operate the
system, and after a rigorous licensing and
vetting process, intelligence and law en-
forcement determine how to use the tech-
nology to support their public safety mis-
sions,” it said in a statement to AFP.
“We investigate any credible allegations
of misuse and if necessary, we take action,
including shutting down the system.”
Amnesty International said meanwhile it
to review intelligence gathering
techniques used to investigate
Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Amid a broad effort to dis-
credit Special Counsel Robert
Mueller and the FBI, Trump and
his allies have accused law en-
forcement officials of “spying”
on his campaign and called for an
investigation into the origins of
the Mueller probe, which started
at the FBI in mid-2016.
A probe into the legality of the
special warrant used to moni-
tor Page is already under way by
Justice Department Inspector
General Michael Horowitz, who
4 dead, two missing after tourist planes crash mid-air in Alaska
thing that he did it.”
Congressional pro-Trump
Republicans in the conservative
House Freedom Caucus have
alleged that the FBI-Mueller
probe was sparked by a “dossier”
penned by former British intel-
ligence officer Christopher Steele
at the behest of private inves-
tigators working for the Demo-
cratic Party.
Records of the FBI’s investi-
gation and sources familiar with
the matter say that, while the
dossier played a role, it did not
prompt the FBI to open the in-
quiry, which was handed off in
torney by Trump in late 2017 and
confirmed in 2018, has prior ex-
perience as a special prosecutor.
During Democratic president
Barack Obama’s tenure, Durham
ran an investigation into harsh
interrogation by the CIA in the
wake of the September 11, 2001
attacks. His lengthy inquiry did
not result in criminal charges
against CIA personnel.
Durham also ran a task force
looking into allegedly corrupt
dealings between law enforce-
ment officials in Boston and
James “Whitey” Bulger, a now-
deceased crime gang leader.

were targeted.”
“This attack has all the hallmarks of a pri-
vate company that works with a number of
governments around the world” according
to initial investigations, it added, but did not
name the firm.
The spyware appears to be related to the
Pegasus software developed by Israeli-
based NSO group, which is normally sold to
law enforcement and intelligence services,
according to Washington-based analyst
Joseph Hall.
The spyware “could have gotten into
someone’s hands” outside legitimate chan-
nels for nefarious purposes, Hall, chief
technologist at the Center for Democracy
thorities.
It also informed EU authorities in Ireland
about the “serious security vulnerability,”
according to a statement by the country’s
Data Protection Commission (DPC).
“The DPC is actively engaging with
WhatsApp Ireland to determine if and to
what extent any WhatsApp EU user data has
been affected,” it said.
The revelation is the latest in a series of
issues troubling WhatsApp’s parent Face-
book, which has faced intense criticism for
allowing users’ data to be harvested by re-
search companies and over its slow response
to Russia using the platform as a means to
spread disinformation during the 2016 US
would join a legal action in Israel by some
30 activists to revoke NSO’s export license,
claiming that one of its own staff members
was targeted by a “particularly invasive”
variant of the software.
“NSO Group sells its products to govern-
ments who are known for outrageous human
rights abuses, giving them the tools to track
activists and critics,” said Danna Ingleton,
deputy director of Amnesty Tech.
“As long as products like Pegasus are
marketed without proper control and over-
sight, the rights and safety of Amnesty In-
ternational’s staff and that of other activ-
ists, journalists and dissidents around the
world is at risk.”
A
laska rescuers were yes-
terday searching for two
people missing after a
mid-air crash between tourist
sightseeing planes killed four,
according to the US Coast Guard.
Ten people survived the crash be-
tween two seaplanes carrying tour-
ists from a Princess Cruises ship,
near the town of Ketchikan, said
Coast Guard spokesman Bud Hold-
en. Ten people were injured, he said.
“Authorities have confirmed
there were three fatalities from
the independent air tour, two
guests and the pilot who were
Americans. Rescue efforts con-
tinue for the other two guests,
one Australian and one Cana-
dian,” said Princess Cruises in a
statement. Its passengers were
on the sightseeing planes.
The crash occurred over open
water during daylight hours. All
14 passengers on both planes
were from the cruise ship Royal
Princess, on a seven-day trip
from Vancouver to Anchorage
and operated by Princess Cruis-
es, the cruise company said.
Ten passengers and a pilot
were aboard one float plane, op-
erated by Taquan Air, the state-
ment said. Four passengers and
a pilot were aboard the second
float plane, run by an independ-
ent operator, it said.
Mountain Air Service of
Ketchikan operated the second
plane, Holloway said. Mountain
Air could not be immediately
reached by Reuters for comment.
The crash site, at Coon Cove
about 480km south of Alaska’s
capital, Juneau, lies near a tour-
ist lodge that runs excursions to
the nearby Misty Fjords National
Monument.

Trudeau’s ‘Robin Hood’ approach not helping economy before national elections
By Fergal Smith, Reuters At the same time, he raised
Toronto levies on Canada’s wealthiest 1%.
Trudeau has said that eco-
nomic policy should be more
the Liberal Party is lagging his “Potential growth is no higher, the United States, data from
Conservative Party rival Andrew that’s the issue,” said Stephen the Organisation for Economic
Scheer in opinion polls and the Brown, senior Canada economist Co-operation and Development
outlook for growth has darkened at Capital Economics. “The bal- (OECD) showed.

C
anadian Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau’s strategy
to prioritise spending on
the middle class at the beginning
of his four-year term will not
keep growth humming ahead of a
general election in October, some
economists said.
Canada led the G7 with 3%
growth in 2017, but the boost
from fiscal stimulus in 2016 has
since faded, with the Bank of
Canada expecting growth to slow
to a 1.2% pace this year.
In 2016, Trudeau made a tax
cut that was aimed at the middle
class and began a major increase
in child benefits for families.
concentrated on helping the
middle classes and those striving
to join it.
David Rosenberg, chief econo-
mist & strategist at Gluskin Sheff
+ Associates Inc, said the gov-
ernment’s spending plan has had
a one-off effect and will not lead
to additional growth.
“The first move to play Robin
Hood by raising top marginal
income tax rates in the personal
sector was a huge mistake...this
is a government that got elected
on social policies as opposed
to economic growth policies,”
Rosenberg said.
Three years later, Trudeau of
considerably, also because of a
global slowdown.
In Trudeau’s last budget before
the election in March, he an-
nounced additional spending on
middle class voters in the hope
of easing the financial squeeze on
heavily indebted Canadians, who
are dealing with high housing
costs and tepid wage gains.
But some economists say a
better policy mix would have put
more focus on the kind of tax cuts
that stimulate investment.
Investment tends to boost
productivity, which could raise
wages and the economy’s capac-
ity to grow.
ance of the stimulus could have
been tilted toward more private
investment.”
Canadian business investment
growth slowed to 0.3% in 2018
from 2.3% in 2017, data from
Statistics Canada showed, as the
economy contended with lower
oil prices, trade uncertainty and a
slowdown in the housing market.
Of more concern has been the
low composition of Canadian in-
vestment in the sectors that tend
to be important for productivity.
Information and communi-
cation technology accounted
for about 9% of investment in
2017 versus more than 16% for
The US has slashed corporate
taxes in the hope of stimulating
investment and data this month
provided evidence that the strat-
egy is working.
US productivity rose in the
first quarter at the fastest pace in
more than four years.
Canadian Finance Minister Bill
Morneau has said it would not be
responsible to match US corpo-
rate tax cuts because it would add Trudeau ... risky gambit
“tens of billions in new debt.”
While the government has al- much more could be done. high tech is crucial for that,” said
lowed businesses to write off “I think that we simply have no Benjamin Tal, senior economist
additional capital investments choice but to raise productivity in at CIBC Capital Markets. “From
to bolster Canada’s competitive- this country (Canada) and I think a taxation perspective, we should
ness some economists say that that investing in start-ups and encourage risk taking.”
 Gulf Times
12 Wednesday, May 15, 2019
ASIA
Lanka soldiers patrol
areas hit by violence
Reuters
Kottampitiya
S
ri Lankan soldiers in ar-
moured vehicles yester-
day patrolled towns hit by
sectarian violence this week as
residents recalled how Muslims
had hid in paddy fields to escape
mobs attacking their homes and
shops.
Authorities said the situation
in the worst-affected north-
western parts of the Indian
Ocean island nation was un-
der control after anti-Muslim
mobs appeared to have moved
from town to town starting on
Sunday.
A man was stabbed to death
and crowds attacked mosques
and burned Qur’ans in violence
targeting Muslims for the Easter
bombings that killed more than
250 people in churches and
hotels, mostly in Colombo.
“The Muslim community
huddled in nearby paddy fields,
that’s how no one died,” said
one of a group of men gath-
ered outside a white-and-green
mosque with smashed win-
dows and doors in the town of
Kottampitiya.
A group of about a dozen peo-
ple had arrived in taxis and at-
tacked Muslim-owned stores
with stones just after midday
on Monday, they said, with the
mob soon swelling to 200, and
then 1,000.
Besides the main mosque,
the mob attacked 17 Muslim-
Vietnam president
appears in public
after one month
AFP
Hanoi
V P
ietnam’s president has
appeared in public after a
month-long absence for
health reasons that prompted
speculation about succession
plans in the communist coun-
try, with no clear replacement
lined up.
Nguyen Phu Trong, who is also
the head of the communist party,
was last seen in public on his
75th birthday on April 14 meet-
ing with officials and shrimp
farmers in southern Kien Giang
province.
Rumours quickly swirled that
he had fallen gravely ill, and the
government confirmed 11 days
later he was not well but would
return to work “soon”.
He appeared in public yester-
day alongside senior party lead-
ers in Hanoi, according to the
official Vietnam News Agency,
Everest sees first summits of 2019
AFP
Kathmandu
Eight Nepali climbers
reached the top of Mount
Everest yesterday, opening
the route for a potentially
record number of climbers to
summit the world’s highest
mountain in the coming
weeks.
A team of experienced
mountaineers were waiting
for powerful jet streams
raging around the top of
Everest to subside to fix ropes
to the summit for foreign
climbers.
“It has been difficult this year
and we were getting worried.
But the weather finally
improved for the eight to
reach the top,” Iswari Paudel
of Himalayan Guides Nepal,
the company assigned to fix
the ropes, said.
Poudel said that many teams
were preparing to summit in
the next few days.
Sri Lankan soldiers patrol a road of Hettipola after a mob attack in a mosque in the nearby village of Kottampitiya yesterday.
owned businesses and 50 homes,
witnesses said.
Abdul Bari, 48, said his small
brick shop had been burned
down with a petrol bomb. “The
attackers were on motorbikes,
armed with rods and swords,” he
added.
Others blamed the police for
failing to disperse the crowd.
“The police were watching.
They were in the street, they
which also ran pictures of the
white-haired leader in a collared
T-shirt.
VNA said he chaired a meet-
ing and “stressed... the need
to continue the fight against
corruption”.
Trong has forged a reputation
as a no-nonsense leader by wag-
ing an anti-corruption campaign
in the one-party state that has
seen dozens jailed, including top
executives and officials otherwise
thought to be untouchable.
His tenure has also coincided
with a crackdown on dissent,
and scores of critics have put be-
hind bars since he rose to power,
many for posting anti-state
content online.
Amnesty International said
this week that there are current-
ly 128 prisoners of conscience
in jail in Vietnam today, a 30%
increase on 2018.
The longtime communist
party member became president
last year after the former head of
Nepal has issued a record
378 permits costing $11,000
each to mountaineers for
this year’s spring climbing
season, sparking fears of
overcrowding if the weather
cuts down the number of
climbing days.
Most Everest hopefuls are
escorted by a Nepali guide,
meaning about 750 climbers
will tread the same path
to the top of the 8,850m
(29,035ft) peak in the coming
weeks.
And at least 140 others are
preparing to scale Everest
using the northern route from
Tibet, according to expedition
operators, potentially taking
the total past last year’s
record.
Everest attracts hundreds of
mountaineers each spring,
when a window of good
weather opens up between
late April and the end of
May, prompting a rush for
the top.
A record 807 climbers
didn’t stop anything. They told
us to go inside,” said Mohamed
Faleel, 47, who runs a car paint
business.
“We asked police, we said stop
them. They didn’t fire. They had
to stop this, but they didn’t,” he
added.
Police spokesman Ruwan Gu-
nasekera rejected allegations that
police had stood by while the vi-
olence unfolded. He said the se-
Vietnam President Nguyen Phu Trong chairing a meeting of senior
officials in Hanoi.
state died suddenly following a
long illness.
His dual roles as head of state
and party leader make him the
most powerful man in Vietnam
– and the first to hold both posi-
tions since revolutionary leader
Ho Chi Minh in the 1960s.
Trong’s sudden absence pro-
moted an outpouring of specu-
lation about who might succeed
him if he was no longer able to
serve, with no obvious successor
primed to take over.
But observers noted that
reached the summit of
Mount Everest last year, with
563 people climbing from
the south and 244 from the
northern flank in Tibet.
The mountain also claimed
the lives of five climbers,
including an experienced
Sherpa guide who was
knocked down a crevasse by a
rescue helicopter.
A boom in climbers has made
mountaineering a lucrative
business since Sir Edmund
Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing
Norgay made the first ascent
in 1953.
There are mounting
concerns, however, that the
numbers are unsustainable,
with fears of dangerous
overcrowding as well as a
worsening environmental
situation.
In April a clean-up team
brought back 3 tonnes of
garbage from the mountain
left behind by climbers
including climbing gear, gas
canisters and excrement.
curity situation was under con-
trol and the perpetrators would
be punished.
“All police officers have
been instructed to take stern
action against the violators,
even to use the maximum
force. Perpetrators could face
up to a 10-year jail term,” Gu-
nasekera said.
Prime Minister Ranil Wick-
remesinghe said late on Monday
his absence would not create
any dramatic political shock-
waves in the country where the
communist party rules with a
firm hand.
“The party’s leadership itself
will not be in question, but rath-
er the orientation of that lead-
ership going forward,” Vietnam
expert Jonathan London said last
month.
The communist party’s central
committee is set to hold a regular
meeting later this week, which
Trong is expected to chair.
Thailand king endorses
junta-picked senators
AFP
Bangkok
S
cores of junta loyal-
ists were endorsed as
members of Thailand’s
250-strong senate yesterday,
packing the upper house with
allies likely to vote for coup
leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha’s
return as civilian premier af-
ter a highly disputed poll.
The full list, which included
the junta leader’s brother and
scores of military officers, was
appointed by junta number two
Prawit Wongsuwan, endorsed
by King Maha Vajiralong-
korn and published in palace
mouthpiece The Royal Gazette.
Army Chief Apirat Kong-
sompong and National Police
Chief Jakthip Chaijinda are
now senators, as expected,
thanks to a controversial mil-
he had given powers to the se-
curity forces to take strong ac-
tion against those responsible for
anti-Muslim violence.
Muslims form nearly 10% of
Sri Lanka’s 22mn people who
are predominantly Sinhalese
Buddhists, with a sprinkling of
minority Hindus and Chris-
tians. Most Muslims are concen-
trated in the east, with scattered
pockets in the west.
Nepal probes scribes
for Dalai Lama report
AFP
Kathmandu
T
hree Nepali journal-
ists are being probed
for circulating a news
item on the Dalai Lama,
officials said yesterday.
The journalists, who work
with Nepal’s national news
agency Rastriya Samachar
Samiti (RSS), were asked for
clarifications after translat-
ing a wire report about the
Dalai Lama’s discharge from
a hospital and his return to
Dharamshala in India, in April.
The circulation of the
translation coincided with
the visit of Nepal’s President
Bidhya Devi Bhandari to
China on invitation of Chi-
nese President Xi Jinping.
Hari Adhikari, chairman
of RSS, said that a commit-
tee has been formed and the
management will decide
whether to take any action
against the three after it
submits a report.
“As the national news
agency, we don’t carry news
that is against the foreign
itary-scripted constitution
adopted in 2017.
But Prawit also selected
some 100 serving and retiring
military and police officers –
making up 40% of the senate.
He also picked more than 50
members of the rubber-stamp
National Legislative Assembly
(NLA), and 15 ministers to be
elevated to the senate.
Well-known family names of
the junta’s top-ranking officials
and allies are on the list as well,
most notably Prayut’s younger
brother Preecha Chan-O-Cha,
who retired from his position at
the NLA last week.
Joining him are siblings
of Prawit and deputy prime
minister Wissanu Krea-
ngam, as well as the older
brother of deputy prime min-
ister Somkid Jatusripitak.
The younger brother of
army-aligned fortuneteller
Bangladesh sets
up new court to try
opposition leader
AFP
Dhaka
B
angladeshi authorities
have set up a new make-
shift court adjacent to a
jail outside the capital Dhaka
to try imprisoned opposi-
tion leader Khaleda Zia, a
prosecutor said yesterday.
Zia, a two-time former
prime minister, is already
serving 10 years in two cases
of graft that her supporters say
were politically motivated.
She has faced a trial on new
charges in a courtroom inside
the abandoned prison in old
Mughal-era Dhaka where she
is the only prisoner.
Her supporters say this
has affected her health and
the 73-year-old has been in
hospital since April.
But with a move under way
to shift Zia to a new prison at
Keraniganj, just outside the
capital, the government has
set up a new court adjacent to
the jail, prosecutor Mosharraf
Hossain said.
“All 17 of her cases will be
shifted to this court,” Hossain
said.
Zia, who entered politics in
the mid-1980s after her mili-
tary dictator husband was as-
sassinated in an abortive coup,
is a former ally turned arch
foe of current Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina.
Zia was originally jailed for
five years in February 2018 af-
ter being convicted of corrup-
tion, a sentence that triggered
clashes between police and
thousands of BNP supporters.
policy of our country and af-
fects the relationship with our
neighbours,” Adhikari said.
Nepal, home to around
20,000 Tibetans, is under
intense pressure from its
neighbour China over the
exiles, and has repeatedly
said it is committed to one-
China policy.
China is among the top
development partners for
the impoverished nation,
pumping in over $58.7mn in
the last fiscal year into de-
veloping hydroelectricity,
roads and infrastructure.
In May 2017, Kathmandu
signed up to Beijing’s ambi-
tious Belt and Road initia-
tive, a massive infrastruc-
ture drive that critics say
is at the centre of the Asian
giant’s push to expand its
global influence.
“China’s influence has
been consistently increas-
ing in Nepal and our govern-
ment is also positive towards
addressing their security
and strategic concerns,” said
Geja Sharma Wagle, Kath-
mandu-based foreign policy
analyst.
Warin Buawiratlert – who
predicted coup leader Prayut
would hold onto power after
the March 24 poll – will also
be in the senate.
The 250 members will vote
alongside 500 elected lower
house MPs to select the prime
minister after parliament con-
venes in the coming weeks.
With the senate in hand,
junta-backed Palang Prach-
arat will need only 126 votes
in the lower house for Prayut
to sail to the top position.
Anti-junta parties would
require a whopping 376 votes
to gain a majority in the 750-
seat parliament and override
the senate advantage.
So far, the coalition led by
junta rival Pheu Thai, linked
to billionaire ex-premier
Thaksin Shinawatra, holds
245 seats against the 135
promised to Palang Pracharat.
BNP leader Khaleda Zia
The jail term was later doubled
by the country’s high court.
She was found guilty then of
embezzling money intended
for an orphanage, a charge she
dismissed as part of witch-
hunt against her and her
family.
Zia’s lawyers condemned
the decision to set up the
makeshift court, saying it re-
flects a “cruel attitude” on the
part of the government.
Her lawyer Zainul Abedin
said that Zia’s condition was
“not good” as she was not get-
ting proper treatment at the
state-run hospital.
Zia is diabetic and suffers
from arthritis. She was also
hospitalised in October for
treatment.
Zia leads the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party (BNP), the
main opposition party whose
supporters and candidates
were harassed and detained
by security forces ahead of a
national election in December.
Hasina won the election
by a landslide. The BNP won
just seven seats in the election
marred by deadly violence and
claims of widespread rigging.
Bangladesh
poet held
over writing
on priests
AFP
Dhaka
olice in southern Bangla-
desh arrested a prominent
poet yesterday after he was
accused of hurting the religious
feelings of the country’s minority
Christian community, police said.
Henry Sawpon, a Christian
himself, was detained in Barisal,
south of the capital Dhaka, af-
ter a priest filed a case against
him for a series of defamatory
writings about the clergy.
“He was arrested under the
country’s digital security law for
hurting religious sentiments of
the Christian community,” Baris-
al Metropolitan Police commis-
sioner Shahabuddin Khan said.
Sawpon, whose poems and
rhymes are regularly published
in leading Bangladesh newspa-
pers and magazines, was sent to
jail after a court rejected his bail
application.
Police said Sawpon had posted
slanderous remarks against Ba-
risal’s Catholic fathers on his
Facebook profile since 2016. He
also accused the city’s Bishop of
embezzling funds.
Days before his arrest, Sawpon
told local media that two uni-
dentified men entered his home
after midnight and threatened to
kill him if he did not stop writing
against his community.
The poet faces a maximum 14
years in jail if found guilty under
the controversial digital security
law which was passed last year
and has been slammed as “dra-
conian” by media rights groups
in Bangladesh and abroad.
Rights groups expressed con-
cern that the law would be used
to curb freedom of expression
and a crackdown on dissent.
Last August top journalist and
activist Shahidul Alam was ar-
rested during massive student
protests in the capital Dhaka for
making “false” and “provoca-
tive” statements on Al Jazeera
and Facebook Live.
He is being investigated for
allegedly violating Bangladesh’s
already stringent Internet laws
enacted in 2006.
Christians make up less than
1% of Bangladesh’s 165mn peo-
ple, but have lived for centuries
mostly in harmony with the local
Muslim majority.

Islanders complain to UN over Australia’s climate change inaction
Reuters
Melbourne
A
group of islanders off
Australia’s north coast
filed a human rights
complaint to the United Na-
tions against the Australian
government over inaction on
climate change, which they say
is threatening their homes, their
lawyers said.
The complaint by eight
Torres Strait Islanders marks
In the spotlight
A model shows off a creation by Australian designer We Are Kindred during Fashion Week
Australia in Sydney yesterday.
Powerful quake rattles residents
on Papua New Guinea island
AFP
Kokopo
A
violent 7.5-magnitude
earthquake struck an is-
land chain off the north
coast of Papua New Guinea late
yesterday, knocking out power
and sending residents fleeing
for safety.
The shallow quake occurred
around 11pm, some 44km
northeast of Kokopo on New
Britain island, the US Geologi-
cal Survey said. “It was massive,
absolutely massive. Very scary,”
Megan Martin, the managing
director of the Ropopo Plan-
tation Resort in Kokopo, told
AFP. “There does not appear to
be any damage, but we are out
checking.”
An AFP reporter based in
Kokopo said electricity went
off in the town after the quake
struck and people ran from their
Hong Kong lawmakers clash over “evil” extradition bill
Hong Kong legislators clashed
yesterday over a proposed
extradition law that would allow
people to be sent to China for
trial.
The bill is the latest lightning rod
for many worried about Beijing
overreach in the former British
colony that was promised a
high degree of autonomy under
a “one country, two systems”
formula when it returned to
Chinese rule in 1997.
More than 130,000 people
marched against the proposed
legislation several weeks ago in
one of the biggest protests since
the Umbrella pro-democracy
movement in 2014. Following
the skirmishes on Saturday
that saw one lawmaker taken
the first climate change litiga-
tion brought against Australia
based on human rights, said Cli-
entEarth, the UK-based envi-
ronmental law charity handling
the complaint.
“We’re currently seeing the
effects of climate change on our
islands daily, with rising seas,
tidal surges, coastal erosion and
inundation of our communi-
ties,” said Kabay Tamu, one of
the eight islanders bringing the
case. Torres Strait Islanders are
part of Australia’s indigenous
homes for safety. There were no
initial reports of serious dam-
age but the full picture may not
become clear until daylight.
Aftershocks are still being felt
long after the initial quake, as
residents sat in darkness, fear-
ful of tsunami waves. The Pa-
cific Tsunami Warning Centre
had forecast a surge of up to 1m
in height, that could eventually
reach as far away as Japan, Tai-
wan, the Philippines and Indo-
nesia.
Scientists do not have sea
level gauges in this remote cor-
ner on the Bismark Archipelago,
but they later said they believed
the threat had passed.
Kokopo is no stranger to
natural disasters. It sits in the
shadow of nearby Rabaul, which
was devastated by twin volcanic
eruptions in 1994.
Earlier this year, weeks of
heavy rains killed at least nine
people, with many more fami-
to hospital, pro-democracy
lawmakers again tried to hold a
committee meeting to discuss
the extradition bill. But a scrum
ensued as democrats scrambled
to block their rivals from holding
a meeting of their own. “Scrap
the evil law,” some democrats
shouted through loud-hailers
as security guards fought to
keep the two sides apart. The
pro-Beijing lawmakers left the
chamber, saying rational debate
was impossible. They returned
a little later but were forced to
beat a retreat a second time.
The democrats say their rivals
breached procedural rules in
forming their own committee
and in trying to elect their own
chairman to usher through the
population, along with Aborigi-
nes, who live on small islands
dotted between Australia and
Papua New Guinea.
The Australian government
is investing A$3mn in environ-
mental management for the
Torres Strait Islands and would
invest a further A$3.5bn to help
cut Australia’s carbon emis-
sions if re-elected on May 18,
Environment Minister Melissa
Price’s spokesman said in e-
mailed comments.
The claimants, backed by US
lies left homeless without ac-
cess to safe drinking water.
Papua New Guinea is well
within the Pacific “Ring of Fire”
a hotspot for seismic activity
due to friction between tecton-
ic plates. Just weeks ago a 7.2
earthquake knocked items off
shelves in Port Moresby — far
from the epicentre — and was
felt as far away as Australia.
A 7.5-magnitude quake hit
the rugged highlands region in
February 2018 that triggered
landslides, burying homes and
killing at least 125 people.
The scale of that disaster did
not become apparent for days
due to PNG’s poor communica-
tions and infrastructure.
Along the South Solomon
trench, an area of the Pacific
that includes Papua New Guin-
ea, there have been more than a
dozen quakes of magnitude 7.5
or more recorded since 1900,
according to USGS data.
bill. Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed
leader, Carrie Lam, has said she
wants the bill passed before the
summer. It needs to be voted
upon by the full legislature, that
is now controlled by pro-Beijing
and pro-establishment lawmak-
ers. The proposed changes have
sparked an unusually broad
chorus of concern from interna-
tional business to lawyers and
rights groups and even some
pro-establishment figures. Under
the changes, Hong Kong’s leader
would have the right to order
case-by-case extraditions of
wanted offenders to mainland
China, Macau and Taiwan, as well
as other countries not covered
by Hong Kong’s existing extradi-
tion treaties.
environmental group 350.org,
also launched a petition high-
lighting they want the Austral-
ian government to commit at
least A$20mn ($14mn) for meas-
ures such as seawalls to shield
the islands from rising sea levels.
“Australia’s continued failure
to build infrastructure to protect
the islands, and to take action
to reduce greenhouse gas emis-
sions, constitutes a clear viola-
tion of the islanders’ rights to
culture, family and life,” Sophie
Marjanac, the lead lawyer on the
Ship seizure by
US violates spirit
of Trump-Kim
summit: N Korea
Reuters
Seoul
N
orth Korea said yesterday
the seizure of one of its
cargo ships by the United
States was an illegal act that vio-
lated the spirit of a summit be-
tween the two countries’ leaders,
and demanded the return of the
vessel without delay.
The North’s foreign ministry
said in a statement that it rejected
UN Security Council resolutions
against it which the United States
cited in impounding the vessel, as
a violation of its sovereignty.
“The United States committed
an unlawful and outrageous act
of dispossessing our cargo ship,”
an unnamed ministry spokesman
said in a statement carried by
the North’s official KCNA news
agency.
“The latest US act constitutes
Singapore charges
Nigerian men over
Internet scam
Two Nigerian men believed
to be members of an Internet
love scam syndicate were
charged in Singapore yes-
terday with recruiting local
women to collect money for
them, police said. Such scams,
where victims part with
cash after a fraudster feigns
romantic interest in them, are
a growing concern in the city-
state with police reporting
660 cases last year.
The Nigerians – identified
in local news reports as
Oladayo Opeyemi Awolola,
34, and Gbolahan Ayobami
Awolola, 37 – were arrested by
Malaysian authorities in Kuala
Lumpur last month and sent
to Singapore on Monday.
The men allegedly recruited
two Singaporean women
“as money mules to receive
criminal proceeds linked
to internet love scams in
Singapore” between 2017 and
2018, according to a police
statement.
The women received
S$85,700 ($63,000) during
that period and turned the
money over to syndicate
members in Malaysia, police
said.
The Nigerians could be jailed
for up to five years each and
fined if convicted.
It is the first time that sus-
pects based overseas and in-
volved in internet love scams
have been arrested and sent
to Singapore for prosecution,
police said.
Most of the Internet love
scams reported last year
in the city-state involved
fraudsters claiming to have
sent parcels containing luxury
items or money. Their local
accomplices would call the
“recipients” and claim the
parcels were being held by
the authorities for inspection,
and would only be released if
they transferred money to a
bank account.
ASIA/AUSTRALASIA
complaint, said in a statement.
The Torres Strait Islanders also
want Australia to cut carbon
emissions by at least 65% be-
low 2005 levels by 2030, which
would be far more ambitious
than the targets set by the con-
servative government and the
opposition Labor party.
At the same time the islanders
want thermal coal to be phased
out in domestic power gen-
eration and for export. Thermal
coal is Australia’s fourth-big-
gest resources export. The com-
an extension of the American
method of calculation for bring-
ing the DPRK to its knees by
means of ‘maximum pressure’
and an outright denial of the
underlying spirit of the June 12
DPRK-US Joint Statement.”
North Korea’s formal name is
the Democratic People’s Repub-
lic of Korea (DPRK). It would be
the “biggest miscalculation” if
the United States believed it can
control the North with force,
the statement said, adding it will
keep a sharp eye on future US be-
haviour.
The US Justice Department last
week said a North Korean cargo
ship known as the ‘Wise Hon-
est’ was seized and impounded to
American Samoa. The vessel was
accused of illicit coal shipments
in violation of sanctions and first
detained by Indonesia in April
2018.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-
UN chief meets NZ mosque
victims, decries online hate
AFP
Christchurch
U
N Secretary-General An-
tonio Guterres warned
hate speech was spread-
ing online “like wildfire” at a
meeting with victims of the
Christchurch mosque shootings
yesterday, vowing the world body
will lead efforts to extinguish the
problem.
Guterres visited the Al Noor
mosque, one of two Muslim
centres in the New Zealand city
where a self-described white
supremacist killed 51 people in
a March 15 shooting that the at-
tacker live-streamed on Face-
book.
The UN chief is travelling the
South Pacific to highlight the im-
pact of climate change but said
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres shakes hands with New Zealand’s Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern during his visit to Government House in Auckland on Monday.
plaint is the latest in a string of
climate change cases worldwide
targeting companies and gov-
ernments, which lawyers expect
will proliferate. “I think that
probably these types of actions
will fail initially,” said Andrew
Korbel, a partner at law firm
Corrs Chambers Westgarth.
“But over time the prospect
of them succeeding is likely to
increase, partly because the sci-
ence linking climate change and
specific climatic events to ac-
tions or failure to take action
un and US President Donald
Trump held an unprecedented
summit on June 12 last year in
Singapore and pledged to estab-
lish new relations and a peace
regime on the Korean peninsula.
They held a second summit in
Vietnam in February which col-
lapsed without agreement. Ten-
sions again have mounted since
the failed summit.
The US announcement of the
ship seizure came hours after the
North fired two short-range mis-
siles on Thursday.
The North Korean leader called
for “full combat posture” follow-
ing the US seizure of the North
Korean cargo ship. The test of two
short-range missiles on Thurs-
day and the firing of a series of
projectiles on Saturday were
the first missile launches by the
North since it tested an intercon-
tinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
in November 2017. A senior North
he also wanted to show his sup-
port for Christchurch’s Muslim
community during Ramadan.
“I know there are no words to
relieve the hurt and sorrow and
pain, but I wanted to come here
personally to transmit love, sup-
port and total and complete ad-
miration,” he said.
He told victims of the worst
mass shooting in modern New
Zealand history that there had
been “a dangerous upsurge in
hatred” as social media was ex-
ploited to promote bigotry. “Hate
speech is spreading like wildfire
in social media. We must extin-
guish it,” the Portuguese diplo-
mat said.
“There is no room for hate
speech – online or offline.”
He highlighted a previously
announced plan for his special
adviser on genocide prevention
Gulf Times
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 13
seems to be improving,” he said.
The UN Human Rights Com-
mittee has previously raised
concerns about Australia’s
record on issues such as its
treatment of asylum seekers and
indigenous people, but with lit-
tle response.
The complaint comes just
as United Nations Secretary-
General António Guterres is on
a Pacific tour focused on climate
change, flagging that the world
was “not on track” to limit glo-
bal warming to 1.5C.
Korean foreign ministry official
on Saturday lashed out at last
week’s statement by the US State
Department that Pyongyang’s
regime subjected its people to
“egregious violations” of human
rights including 100,000 in po-
litical prison camps.
But South Korea’s President
Moon Jae-in called the recent
weapons tests a calibrated protest
against Washington in the wake
of the summit’s breakdown and
the North still wants to negotiate.
Adam Mount of the Federa-
tion of American Scientists said
the North’s recent state media
reports may signal an escala-
tion of rhetoric, albeit relatively
sedate.
“If so, they would become part
of a ongoing trend in which the
regime sends increasingly alarm-
ing signals in an attempt to force
a breakthrough in negotiations,”
Mount said.
Adama Dieng to combat online
extremism. He said Dieng’s mis-
sion was to “bring together a
United Nations team to scale up
our response to hate speech and
present a global plan of action”.
His remarks come as New
Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern, who hosted Guterres
when he arrived in Auckland on
Sunday, embarks on her own
quest to tame social media in
Paris this week.
Ardern will co-host a meeting
of world leaders and tech firms
to promote a “Christchurch call”
aimed at curbing online extrem-
ism.
She has been highly critical of
social media giants in the wake of
the Christchurch killings, saying
they should be “taking owner-
ship and responsibility over their
platforms”.
 Gulf Times
14 Wednesday, May 15, 2019
BRITAIN
Drivers who sit with engines idling could face instant fines
Guardian News and Media
London
D
rivers who repeatedly leave
their engines running
while parked could receive
instant fines under proposals be-
ing considered by the government
to give local authorities more
power to reduce pollution.
Councils have been calling for
tougher laws to help tackle idling,
with officers unable to impose
penalties unless drivers ignore
Ex-minister
quits Labour
after blaming
‘Corbyn cult’
Guardian News and Media
London
T
he former MP Bridget Pren-
tice, who served as a min-
ister in Tony Blair’s gov-
ernment, has resigned from the
Labour party, branding it a “cult
venerating Jeremy Corbyn”.
Prentice represented the Lon-
don seat of Lewisham East for
18 years from 1992. After Labour
came to power she became a whip,
and later she was a junior minister
in the ministry of justice.
In a furious letter to Corbyn’s
chief of staff, Karie Murphy, Pren-
tice claimed the party was now be-
ing run by a “familial clique” that
was ignoring the views of grass-
roots members, in particular on
Brexit.
“I joined the Labour party, not a
cult. Singing ‘oh, Jeremy Corbyn’
might be mildly amusing, but the
inability to countenance any criti-
cism of The Leader is not,” Pren-
tice wrote in her letter, which she
shared on Twitter.
She argued that during her 45
years of Labour membership,
leaders had been criticised and
asked to justify their position,
“but that’s not allowed under the
Corbyn cult”.
Prentice said Corbyn had won
the Labour leadership on a “wave
of enthusiasm, even idealism”, but
that “instead of harnessing that
enthusiasm and idealism for the
greater good, as Clem Attlee or
Keir Hardie would have done, it
has been deliberately ignored on
the issue that unites the majority
of young people in the UK today:
remaining in the EU.”
Corbyn’s claim that the local
election results this month were a
call by voters to get on with deliv-
ering Brexit “would be laughable if
it were not so palpably wrong and
pathetic,” Prentice said.
Her criticism comes after recent
interventions by the shadow Brex-
Britain faces US-style
inequality risks: expert
Reuters
London
B
ritain risks following the
rise in inequality seen in
the US which could weaken
democracy, a Nobel Prize-win-
ning economist said yesterday at
the launch of a major review into
differences in income, education
and health.
Angus Deaton said Britain
could follow the US where wages
for non-college-educated men
had not risen for five decades,
contributing to a fall in life ex-
pectancy for the last three years
— something that had not hap-
pened for a century.
While the situation in Britain
is less stark, the country has suf-
fered a decade of stagnant wages
and there were signs deaths
from suicide and drug and alco-
hol abuse were rising among the
middle-aged.
Discontent with flat-lining
living standards was seen as a
factor behind the 2016 deci-
sion by h voters to leave the
an initial warning and remain
stationary for at least another
minute.
The Environment Secretary,
Michael Gove, told the Times
that instant fines for repeat of-
fenders should be considered but
stressed that any new powers
should be “used proportionate-
ly” by councils.
Fines can range from £20 to £80
under existing regulations. West-
minster city council has issued 39
penalty charge notices for unnec-
essary engine idling since 2017.
it secretary, Keir Starmer, and La-
bour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson,
both of whom have argued the
party should embrace the idea of
another EU referendum.
Corbyn was challenged by MPs
at Monday night’s meeting of the
parliamentary labour party (PLP),
with several lamenting a lack
of clarity in the party’s position
ahead of the European elections
on May 23.
Corbyn, who launched Labour’s
campaign for the European elec-
tions in Kent last week, has in-
sisted his party will continue to
try to appeal to both Leavers and
Remainers.
He said at the launch of La-
bour’s campaign: “Some people
seem to look at the issue the wrong
way round: they seem to think the
first question is Leave or Remain,
as if that is an end in itself. I think
they’re wrong. The first question
is: what kind of society do we want
to be?
“The real divide in our country
is not how people voted in the EU
referendum. The real divide is be-
tween the many and the few.”
Prentice also attacked Corbyn
for failing to tackle antisemitism,
accusing him of the “sin of omis-
sion” and arguing it was “shame-
ful” that Labour was being repre-
sented by the equality and human
rights commission, which the
party set up just over a decade ago.
She concluded in her letter:
“The party has been destroyed …
it is no longer the party of Har-
die and Attlee and Blair … This is
no longer the Labour party. You
should change its name.”
A Labour party spokesper-
son said: “It is disappointing that
Bridget Prentice has left the party
but many claims in her letter are
plainly untrue. Labour’s bold and
popular policies under Corbyn’s
leadership have changed the politi-
cal conversation in this country and
exposed the devastation caused by
the Tories’ austerity agenda.”
European Union.
Theresa May, when she be-
came prime minister soon af-
terwards, promised to help the
“just-about-managing families”.
“I think that people getting
rich is a good thing, especially
when it brings prosperity to
others,” Deaton, who won the
Nobel Memorial Prize for eco-
nomics in 2015 for his work on
poverty, welfare and consump-
tion, said.
“But the other kind of getting
rich, ‘taking’ rather than ‘mak-
ing’, rent-seeking rather than
creating, enriching the few at the
expense of the many, taking the
free out of free markets, is mak-
ing a mockery of democracy,” he
said.
“In that world, inequality and
misery are intimate compan-
ions.”
He said Britain needed to en-
sure working people did not lose
out because corporate govern-
ance was set up to favour share-
holders, helped by the decline in
the number of workers in trade
unions.
The central London borough
has urged the government to allow
for the punishment of compa-
nies whose drivers are repeatedly
caught idling with fines of more
than £1,000, saying delivery driv-
ers and commercial vehicles were
the worst offenders.
“We need to change the way
people think about engine idling,”
said Westminster council leader
Nickie Aiken, adding that it need-
lessly contributed to air pollution.
“Having spoken to more than
20,000 drivers so far, our air
Catherine visits D-Day Exhibition
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, uses a German Enigma machine during her visit to Bletchley Park to view a D-Day Exhibition in Milton Keynes, yesterday.
Jobless rate drops to
lowest level since 1974
Reuters
London
B
ritain’s unemployment rate
fell to its lowest since the
mid-1970s in early 2019 as
employers hired in the run-up to
the original date for Britain’s EU
departure, but there were signs
that Brexit was beginning to weigh
on the jobs boom.
The rate edged down to 3.8% in
the first quarter, its lowest since
the three months to January 1975,
the Office for National Statistics
said yesterday.
Unemployment dropped
by 65,000, the most in more
The Institute for Fiscal Stud-
ies, a think tank which will lead
the five-year review chaired by
73-year-old Deaton, said Britain
had the worst income inequality
except for the US among major
economies.
However, inequality in to-
tal net household income has
changed little since it rose sharp-
ly in the 1980s, thanks in large
part to tax credits which seek to
help lower earners.
The IFS said there were stark
geographical inequalities in
Britain where average weekly
earnings in London were 66%
higher than in the north east of
England.
Men in the most affluent ar-
eas could expect to live nearly
10 years longer than those in the
most deprived areas, and the gap
was widening, it said.
The IFS said its review would
aim to describe inequalities in
income, wealth, health, social
mobility, political participation
and to understand what causes
them and to offer concrete policy
proposals to tackle them.
quality marshals found that most
who idle, do so out of habit. Once
they know the damage it causes,
including the health risks, and
they’re asked to switch off the en-
gine, they do so and think twice
before idling again. Fines should
be a last resort – we prefer to ask
nicely.”
Aiken added that nothing
less than a four-figure sum
would serve as a “sufficient
deterrent” for large companies
whose drivers continue “wide-
spread and persistent idling
than two years. But employ-
ment growth slowed to 99,000,
well below a median forecast
of 135,000 in a Reuters poll of
economists, and wage growth
lost momentum too. “It is pos-
sible to see the shadow of Brexit
in some of these figures,” Mike
Jakeman, an economist at ac-
countancy firm PwC, said.
“March was the month when
Brexit anxiety was at its most
acute and it might have been the
case that firms were more reticent
to offer higher wages and adver-
tise new positions.”
The numbers could just as eas-
ily be a minor blip in the recent
run of strong jobs and earnings
Robinson in court
Founder and former leader of the English Defence League
(EDL), Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, AKA Tommy Robinson (cen-
tre) is surrounded by supporters as he leaves the Old Bailey,
London’s Central Criminal Court, in central London yesterday,
following a hearing about his contempt of court charges.
even after being asked”.
Camden council would like the
power to issue motorists with in-
stant fines. “While engagement
(with the driver) is useful it is
not going to cause everybody to
change their behaviour in the way
that getting a fine might,” Adam
Harrison, Camden’s Cabinet
member for environment, told the
Times.
According to Westminster
council, an idling car produces
enough exhaust emissions to
fill 150 balloons a minute. It has
growth, he also said.
Britain’s labour market has
remained resilient as Brexit has
neared, helping households whose
spending has driven an otherwise
fragile economy.
However, the jobs boom may
well reflect how employers have
opted to take on workers — who
can be laid off quickly during a
downturn — rather than com-
mit to longer-term investments
while they wait for uncertainty
over the conditions of Britain’s
departure from the European
Union to lift.
Brexit was originally due on
March 29. Last month it was de-
layed for a second time until Oc-
called on the public to report un-
necessary engine idling through
its website, adding that the bor-
ough suffers from the worst air
pollution in the country.
Up to 18 local authorities in
London have been involved in
so-called “idling action events”,
with drivers approached and
asked to switch off their engines
when parked. Islington council
said 80% of drivers switch off if
requested in a friendly and non-
judgmental manner.
A department for transport
tober 31 to give Prime Minister
Theresa May more time to break
an impasse over its implementa-
tion in parliament and in her own
Conservative Party.
The strength of the labour mar-
ket has pushed wages up more
quickly than the Bank of Eng-
land has forecast, leading some
economists to think it might raise
interest rates faster than investors
expect once the Brexit uncertainty
clears.
The ONS said that in January-
March, total earnings including
bonuses rose by an annual 3.2%,
slowing from 3.5% in the three
months to February and weaker
than a Reuters poll forecast of
MI5 ‘committed
safeguard breaches’
Guardian News and Media
London
M
I5 has committed “seri-
ous” breaches of sur-
veillance safeguards in
the way it handles information
obtained under interception war-
rants, the Home Secretary, Sajid
Javid, has admitted.
So severe was the compliance
failure that the Investigatory Pow-
ers Commissioner’s Office (IPCO)
sent a team of inspectors into the
intelligence agency for a week to
investigate, according to the hu-
man rights organisation Liberty.
Liberty is one of a number of
NGOs taking legal action over what
it alleges are excessively intrusive
surveillance powers. The IPCO,
chaired by the appeal court judge
Sir Adrian Fulford, is the official
body responsible for overseeing
government surveillance practices.
In a written statement to parlia-
ment last week that was not wide-
ly noticed, Javid said he was no-
tifying MPs of “compliance risks
MI5 identified and reported within
certain technology environments
used to store and analyse data, in-
cluding material obtained under
spokesperson said: “We are de-
termined to reduce the damaging
environmental impacts of drivers
who keep their engines running
while stationary, especially those
in school zones.
“This is why we are making
guidance for local authorities
clearer, so that they know how
and when to target drivers fall-
ing foul of the law. We will also
be polling local authorities to
understand how any potential
review of these powers may look
in future.”
3.4%. Excluding bonuses, pay
growth also slowed, rising by
3.3%, in line with the Reuters poll.
The BoE this month said it ex-
pected wage growth of 3% at the
end of this year.
Many people in Britain have
however seen no increase in their
living standards since before the
financial crisis more than a decade
ago.
The recent hiring surge, while
good for workers in the short
term, has weighed on Britain’s
weak productivity growth — a
major fault line in the economy —
raising concerns about the long-
term prospects for growth and
prosperity.
the Investigatory Powers Act”.
The risks related to material
obtained through “lawful inter-
ception”. Javid added: “A report of
(IPCO) suggests that MI5 may not
have had sufficient assurance of
compliance with these safeguards
within one of its technology en-
vironments. The compliance risks
identified are limited to how ma-
terial is treated after it has been
obtained. They do not relate in any
way to the manner in which MI5
acquires information in the first
instance or the necessity and pro-
portionality of doing so.”
The IPCO report concluded
the risks were both “serious and
required immediate mitigation”.
Work to implement those mitiga-
tions is “being treated as a matter
of the highest priority, both by MI5
and the Home Office”, the state-
ment added.
The home secretary said he had
established an independent re-
view to “consider and report back”
on what lessons could be learned.
The data involved could have in-
cluded private messages, digital
browsing histories and location
information but the categories of
information involved are likely to
remain secret.

Teachers assessing pupils could replace formal exams: study
Guardian News and Media
London
A
ssessments by teachers of
pupils’ abilities could re-
place traditional tests and
exams such as Sats and GCSEs to
reduce costs and “bring joy back
to the classroom”, according to
new research.
In a paper published in the
Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry, researchers found
teacher assessments accurately
Nato chief
warns
govt of
risk posed
by Huawei
AFP/Reuters
London
T
he head of Nato told Brit-
ain yesterday it must pre-
serve secure mobile net-
works as it weighs the risks of
allowing China to help develop
its 5G infrastructure.
Jens Stoltenberg’s comments
in London came in the middle
of a furious government debate
over whether to let Huawei roll
out its next-generation mobile
service.
The private Chinese firm cur-
rently has the most advanced
and cheapest 5G capacities in
the world.
But the US has warned its
close ally that it might have to
limit security and intelligence
sharing with Britain if it allowed
China to play a significant role.
Washington’s broader geo-
political concerns have been
heightened by a law enacted by
Beijing in 2017 obliging Chinese
companies to aid the govern-
ment on national security issues.
Stoltenberg said ahead of a
meeting with Prime Minister
Theresa May that network securi-
ty remained of utmost importance
to the Western military alliance.
“Huawei and 5G network is ex-
tremely important,” Stoltenberg
told a London business confer-
ence.
He conceded that Britain and
all other Nato members had the
right to make their own deci-
sions about China and 5G.
“Having said that, of course,
what matters for Nato is that
these decisions are made in a
way that makes sure that they
have secure networks,” Stolten-
berg said.
“There is no way we can es-
cape addressing those issues,” he
added.
“We are going to make sure
our networks are safe.”
The Huawei debate has
pushed Britain into the heart of
China’s heated battle for global
dominance with the US.
ITV urged to axe The
Jeremy Kyle Show
Guardian News and Media
London
I
TV has been urged to perma-
nently pull the Jeremy Kyle
Show after a guest who failed
a lie-detector test on the pro-
gramme killed himself.
The talkshow was suspended
indefinitely by the broadcaster
after a guest, named by the Sun
as 63-year-old Steve Dymond,
died a week after filming.
Dymond took a lie-detector
test to convince fiancee Jane Cal-
laghan he had not been unfaith-
ful but they split after he failed
the test.
ITV said staff at the broad-
caster and the show’s production
team were “shocked and sad-
dened” at the death and the epi-
sode would be reviewed.
The Conservative MP Charles
Walker, a vice-chairman of the
all-party parliamentary group on
suicide and self-harm preven-
tion, called for the show to be
pulled.
He said: “The Jeremy Kyle
reflected the ability of their pu-
pils’ performance in later exams
in English, maths and science,
including A-levels and university
admission.
The authors said the results
“raise questions about the value
of the testing culture that char-
acterises compulsory education
in the UK”, especially in Eng-
land’s primary and secondary
schools.
“The financial, pedagogical
and emotional costs of high-
stakes testing are substantial,
Prime Minister Theresa May shakes hands with Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg at Downing
Street, in London yesterday.
Show has run its course. It ran
its course a long time ago. As it is
Mental Health Awareness Week,
the best thing ITV can do is an-
nounce it is no longer commis-
sioning the show.”
Walker described it as “an
unattractive form of television,
based on the bullying of the
weak and vulnerable”, adding the
show’s format is “not compatible
with a responsible society and a
responsible broadcaster”.
He added: “I do think the Jere-
my Kyle show and those involved
will feel a sense of responsibility
and a sense of grief, clearly not
on the same scale as this man’s
family. As human beings with
their own family, perhaps now
they will decide this too can’t
continue.”
Damian Collins, the chairman
of the Commons digital, culture,
media and sport committee, said
TV companies “have a duty to
care for the people who take part
in their programmes”, while the
Conservative MP Simon Hart,
who also sits on the committee,
described the show as “car-crash
especially compared to its mod-
est benefits. For these reasons,
we view our results as support
for the standardisation and wider
use of teacher assessments and
the reduction of testing during
compulsory education.
“We should trust teachers to
implement the curriculum and to
monitor students’ progress, abil-
ities and inclinations. This would
arguably benefit the wellbeing
of students as well as teachers,
and help to bring joy back to the
classroom,” the paper concludes.
TV which revels in people’s ter-
rible misfortune and sometimes
their vulnerabilities”.
Honey Langcaster-James, a
TV psychologist who has worked
on ITV shows including Love Is-
land, said: “I think that the for-
mat of the Jeremy Kyle Show is
one that we could and should be
moving away from.” She added:
“It is possible to make enter-
taining TV that does not revolve
around the potential humiliation
of guests who are suffering from
a variety of difficulties, such as
addiction.”
The behavioural psycholo-
gist Jo Hemmings, who has
worked for shows including
Big Brother, said it was time for
ITV to decommission the pro-
gramme. “It’s an archaic kind
of show, it probably was when
it was first commissioned, but
now it seems very out of step
with our attitude with mental
health issues.” Callaghan said
Dymond had been “quietly
struggling”, but praised the
show’s team for their after-
care efforts.
Kaili Rimfield, one of the lead
researchers from the Institute
of Psychiatry, Psychology and
Neuroscience at King’s College
London, said the results were an-
other piece of evidence against
the use of multiple, high pressure
exams and tests.
“We are not anti-test but when
we compared these things we
found a very high agreement be-
tween teacher assessments and
exam grades, and that opens up
the possibility that exams could
be used less often and teacher
Best wishes
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, holds cards he received from
well-wishers outside of the Barton Neighbourhood Centre
in Oxford, Britain, yesterday.
assessment could be used more
often,” Rimfield said.
In recent years teachers and
parents have complained that
the level of testing in England
has led to higher levels of stress,
in part because of the govern-
ment’s use of the results to rank
schools.
Over Easter it was revealed
that some primary schools now
encourage children aged 10 and
11 to attend Sats revision classes
in the holidays, while Labour has
vowed to abolish Sats nationally.
PM, ministers
agree on need
to ratify Brexit
deal by July-end
Reuters
London
T
he government yesterday
agreed that it was “im-
perative” to ratify Britain’s
exit from the European Union
before the summer break, setting
out the clearest deadline so far
for Brexit and the prime minis-
ter’s possible departure.
Nearly three years after the
UK voted 52% to 48% to leave
the EU, there is still no agree-
ment among politicians about
when, how or even if the divorce
will take place.
Britain had been due to leave
the EU on March 29, but Prime
Minister Theresa May was un-
able to get her divorce deal ap-
proved by parliament.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt
said EU leaders did not want an
extension beyond the new dead-
line of October 31, when the legal
default is to leave with or without
a deal.
To try to break the impasse in
parliament, May turned to the
opposition Labour Party, led by
veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn,
but after weeks of talks they have
so far failed to reach an agree-
ment.
May has been urged by sen-
ior members of her own party to
abandon the talks.
However, senior ministers
agreed at a Cabinet meeting yes-
terday to press ahead with the
talks with Labour, May’s spokes-
man said.
“Ministers involved in the ne-
gotiations set out details of the
compromises which the govern-
ment was prepared to accept in
order to consider an agreement
which would allow the UK to
BRITAIN
Margherita Malanchini, co-
lead researcher from the Uni-
versity of Texas at Austin, said:
“High-stakes exams may shift
the educational experience away
from learning towards exam per-
formance. For these reasons, we
suggest that teacher assessments
could be relied on for monitoring
progress, instead of exam scores,
in particular during earlier school
years.”
The researchers used the
teacher assessments recorded in
the department for education’s
leave the EU with a deal as soon
as possible,” the spokesman said.
“However, it was agreed that
it is imperative to bring forward
the Withdrawal Agreement Bill
in time for it to receive royal as-
sent by the summer parliamen-
tary recess.”
Parliament usually breaks for
the summer in the second half of
July, although the exact date has
not yet been set out.
It must approve the With-
drawal Agreement Bill in order to
ratify Britain’s exit from the bloc.
May has said she will step
down once the first phase of
Brexit is complete.
Thirteen of May’s former
Cabinet colleagues as well as
Graham Brady, chairman of the
1922 Committee of Conservative
lawmakers, wrote to May yester-
day to ask her not to agree to La-
bour’s demand for a post-Brexit
customs union with the EU.
“You would have lost the loyal
middle of the Conservative Par-
ty, split our party and with likely
nothing to show for it,” the let-
ter said. “We urge you to think
again.”
“No leader can bind his or her
successor so the deal would likely
be at best temporary, at worst
illusory,” said the letter, whose
signatories included Gavin Wil-
May unlikely to last beyond June: JPMorgan
US investment bank JPMorgan
yesterday said it was difficult
to see Prime Minister Theresa
May surviving beyond the
end of June. “Although PM
May’s survival skills have been
impressive to date, our sense is
that the sand is finally running
Firms that waste
food face fines
The UK wastes 10.2mn
tonnes of food each year, the
equivalent of about £500 for
every household
Daily Mail
London
S
upermarkets and business-
es which waste food could
face penalties if they fail to
tackle the problem, the environ-
ment secretary said.
Unveiling plans to team up
with businesses including Tes-
co, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose
to halve food waste by 2030,
Michael Gove said fines or sanc-
tions could be used to convince
other companies to follow suit.
The UK wastes 10.2mn tonnes
of food each year, the equivalent
of about £500 for every house-
hold.
The government’s food waste
tsar, Ben Elliott, described the
situation as “an environmen-
tal, moral and financial scandal’.
In 2016, France announced that
supermarket owners would be
fined if they failed to sign con-
tracts with food donation chari-
ties. Later that year, Italy passed
Gulf Times
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 15
national pupil database at the
end of key stages one, two and
three, and compared them to re-
sults in Sats and later GCSE and
A-level results.
Rimfield said it was possible a
pupil’s earlier test results could
influence later teacher assess-
ments, since the teacher would
be aware of the pupil’s perform-
ance. But Rimfield said that the
assessments were still accurate
even at key stage one, before
pupils took their first national
tests.
liamson, who was sacked as de-
fence minister this month, and
former foreign minister Boris
Johnson.
The Conservative Party has
slumped to fifth place ahead
of the May 23 European Par-
liament election, while Nigel
Farage’s Brexit Party is in the
lead, a YouGov opinion poll for
The Times newspaper showed on
Monday.
The Conservatives and the
Labour Party were also given a
drubbing in local council elec-
tions this month.
The collapse in support is pil-
ing pressure on May to set a date
to step down.
May, who has repeatedly ruled
out signing up to a permanent
customs union, has said if the
talks with Labour fail parliament
could be asked to vote on a range
of Brexit options.
The talks are also coming un-
der fire from Labour, which says
May has not altered her posi-
tion and that a future Conserva-
tive leader might renege on any
promises.
“We haven’t seen the signifi-
cant shift yet that we require to
be able to support a deal,” said
Labour’s finance chief John Mc-
Donnell. “We are not near what
we want.”
out of the hourglass for her
leadership of the Conservatives,”
JPMorgan said in a research
note to clients. “In our view, it is
difficult to see May’s leadership
extending beyond the end
of June,” the bank’s analyst
Malcolm Barr said.
a raft of new measures which
incentivised cutting food waste.
Speaking after the Step Up
to the Plate event at London’s
Victoria and Albert Museum,
where 300 food companies were
invited to sign a pledge commit-
ting themselves to halving food
waste, Gove said: “There are
hundreds of thousands of tonnes
of edible food which could be
distributed to those in need
which is not being distributed.
“We have announced £5mn in
additional money in order to en-
sure we can help companies who
want to ensure the very poorest
in our society get that food. That
is an incentive, but if necessary,
in the future, then perhaps pen-
alties might be required as well.”
Celebrities including Gordon
Ramsay, and BBC Great Brit-
ish Menu judge Oliver Peyton all
threw their support behind the
campaign, with Peyton urging
consumers to ‘buy British’.
He said: “You can’t be buying
lamb from New Zealand or ap-
ples from Chile. It’s a disgrace.
The whole matter of consumer-
ism and waste is one of the great
blots on industry and the way we
live.”
 Gulf Times
16 Wednesday, May 15, 2019
EUROPE
Russia and US clash,
but eye way forward
AFP
Sochi, Russia
R
ussia and the United States
voiced hope for better ties
yesterday as President
Vladimir Putin welcomed Sec-
retary of State Mike Pompeo but
tensions were laid bare in a clash
over election meddling.
In a late-night encounter in
Putin’s forested dacha in the
Black Sea resort of Sochi, Pom-
peo became the highest-ranking
American to meet the Russian
leader in 10 months.
“I would very much like your
visit to Russia to benefit Russia-
US relations and promote their
development,” the president told
Pompeo as he took a seat across
from him in a sleek conference
room, saying that they should
France pays tribute
to troops slain in
hostage rescue op
AFP
Paris
A
grieving France paid its
respects yesterday to two
commandos killed during
a raid to rescue hostages in the
Sahel region of Africa last week,
under the shadow of a row over
risks taken by two of those freed.
French special forces Cedric
de Pierrepont, 33, and Alain
Bertoncello, 28, who died in the
operation in Burkina Faso, were
honoured with a ceremony at
the Invalides military complex
in Paris led by President Em-
manuel Macron.
Crowds joined soldiers, fire-
fighters and veterans in lining
the bridge leading up to the im-
posing 17th-century landmark
as the motorcade carrying their
coffins made its solemn proces-
sion through a sun-lit Paris.
“France is a country that
does not abandon its children,
no matter the circumstances,” a
visibly emotional Macron said in
his speech during a 45-minute
Glitzy Cannes film
festival opens
teeming with stars
AFP
Cannes
T
he Cannes film festival
opened yesterday with
one of the glitziest line-
ups in years as Hollywood stars
and studios return in strength
to the world’s biggest film jam-
boree.
Spanish star Javier Bardem
and French actress Charlotte
Gainsbourg declared the 12-day
marathon open, before sitting
down to watch the first movie
– The Dead Don’t Die – with its
small army of A-list stars led by
Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Chloe
Sevigny, Tilda Swinton, and pop
idol Selena Gomez.
The cast of the zombie flick
send-up of Donald Trump’s
America by arthouse favourite
Jim Jarmusch also takes in Steve
Buscemi, Danny Glover, and
music legends Iggy Pop, Tom
Waits, and Wu-Tang Clan guru
RZA.
Having watched its Tinsel-
town thunder stolen in recent
years by Venice, which US stu-
dios have used as their Oscars
launchpad, this time Cannes is
putting its much smaller rival
back in its place.
Quentin Tarantino brings au-
“fully restore” relations.
Putin praised a two-year in-
vestigation by US special counsel
Robert Mueller, despite its find-
ings that Russia meddled ex-
tensively in the 2016 election on
behalf of then-candidate Donald
Trump, especially by manipulat-
ing social media.
However, the probe found that
his campaign did not collude
with Russia – lifting one cloud
that has hung over Trump since
his unexpected victory.
“Despite the exotic nature of
Mr Mueller’s commission, on
the whole he conducted quite an
objective investigation and con-
firmed the absence of any collu-
sion between the US administra-
tion and Russia,” Putin said.
Pompeo, speaking earlier at a
joint news conference with For-
eign Minister Sergei Lavrov, ac-
ceremony attended by tearful
family members and masked fel-
low special forces.
“Those who attack French
citizens should know that our
country will never give way and
that they will always encounter
our army, our elite troops and
our allies,” he added.
Meanwhile, Benin opened
a probe into the kidnappings,
prosecutors said.
The raid last week freed
French hostages Patrick Picque
and Laurent Lassimouillas, who
were seized on May 1 while on a
safari trip in a nature park in Be-
nin near the border with Burkina
Faso.
A US citizen and South Kore-
an tourist – both women whose
presence was a total surprise to
the French forces – were also
sprung from captivity in the
overnight Thursday operation.
The kidnapping has shone
a spotlight on rising instabil-
ity in the vast Sahel region ly-
ing south of the Sahara desert,
where Islamist groups aligned to
Al Qaeda and the Islamic State
teur heft and star power to the
party with the premiere of his
epic Once Upon a Time in Hol-
lywood, a quarter of a century
after he lifted the Palme d’Or –
Cannes top prize – for Pulp Fic-
tion.
The panorama of Charles
Manson-era Los Angeles stars
Leonardo DiCaprio as a televi-
sion Westerns star and Brad Pitt
as his stunt double.
Margot Robbie also appears
as actress Sharon Tate, who was
murdered by the cult leader’s
followers.
Almost as big a coup was per-
suading Elton John to launch his
warts-and-all musical biopic
Rocketman on the Croisette out
of competition, with festival di-
rector Thierry Fremaux hinting
that the singer will perform at
the premiere.
The screening tomorrow is the
first big blockbuster event at the
festival, where Sylvester Stal-
lone will also unveil a teaser for
Rambo V: Last Blood.
Another headline-grabber,
soccer legend Diego Maradona,
is sure to create a stir when he
turns up for a documentary on
his rollercoaster career by the
maker of the Oscar-winning
Amy.
The festival has sparked con-
knowledged deep differences on
election meddling – and warned
Russia to stay out of next year’s
vote.
“Interference in American
elections is unacceptable. If
Russia engaged in that in 2020,
it would put our relationship in
an even worse place than it has
been,” Pompeo said.
“I conveyed that there are
things that Russia can do to dem-
onstrate that these kinds of ac-
tivities are a thing of the past. I
hope that Russia takes advantage
of those opportunities,” he said.
Lavrov hit back against “those
who are inflating this topic” and
saying of collusion: “It’s clear
that such insinuations are abso-
lute fiction.”
“We want and we are ready to
deal with cybersecurity issues
along with our American part-
group (IS) have been gathering
in strength.
Along with an outpouring of
grief in France over the sacri-
fice of the two soldiers, there
has been criticism of the French
tourists who were visiting an
area subject to a travel warning
by the foreign ministry.
Leading French daily Le Figaro
said in an editorial on Monday
that the freeing of the tourists
had “left a bitter taste”.
“This tragic event should
serve as a warning to our tour-
ists. Our forces are in Africa for
a hard and long war and not to
pay the price of carelessness,” it
wrote.
On Saturday, Foreign Minister
Jean-Yves Le Drian reprimanded
the men, aged 51 and 46, for tak-
ing “significant risks” by visit-
ing an area that was considered
a “red” no-go zone under travel
advice issued by his ministry.
French far-right leader Ma-
rine Le Pen criticised Macron
meanwhile for meeting the tour-
ists at the plane that brought
them back.
French actress Frederique Bel poses for pictures on arrival for the screening of the film The Dead Don’t Die at the Cannes film festival.
troversy by giving a prize to vet-
eran French star Alain Delon,
with the Women and Hollywood
group saying honouring a man
who has admitted to hitting
women “sucks”.
Tempers also flared after
French taxi drivers protesting
about online ride-hailing rivals
blocked traffic at nearby Nice
airport, holding up movie mov-
ers and shakers trying to reach
Cannes.
Mexican director Alejandro
Gonzalez Inarritu, who heads
the jury that will pick the Palme
d’Or winner, also struck a politi-
cal note yesterday by condemn-
ners, without any politicisation,”
he said.
Pompeo nonetheless also
voiced hope for a better future
with Russia.
He said that his mission came
from Trump, who has persist-
ently praised Putin – a loathed
figure for virtually all of the US
political class.
Trump, he said, wants the
United States and Russia “to do
everything we can” to create a
future that is “more successful”
for both countries and the world
as a whole.
“Some of our co-operation has
been excellent – on North Korea,
on Afghanistan, we’ve done good
work – (and) counter-terrorism
work – together. These are things
we can build upon,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo was the highest-
ranking American to see Putin
Late special forces soldiers Cedric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello, who were killed in a raid to free
hostages in Burkina Faso last week, are posthumously awarded with the medal of Commander in the
Legion of Honour by French President Emmanuel Macron during the national ceremony at the Hotel
Invalides in Paris.
“The president shouldn’t
have gone to greet them almost
as if they were heroes,” Le Pen
told the BFM news channel in a
weekend interview.
French officials have argued
that the raid came in a key win-
dow of opportunity as the hos-
tage-takers were planning to
transfer their victims to Islamist
groups in Mali aligned to either
Al Qaeda or the Islamic State.
Lassimouillas admitted that
he and Picque should have taken
into account the foreign min-
istry advisories, in a statement
read out as the men arrived back
in France.
ing populist leaders like Trump,
but without naming names.
“The world is melting and
these guys are ruling with rage
and anger and lies and mak-
ing people believe that they are
facts,” he told reporters.
“This (is a) dangerous thing
we are returning to, to 1939,” he
added, referring to World War II.
“We know how this story ends if
we keep with this rhetoric.”
Analysts, meanwhile, were
upbeat about this year’s offer-
ings.
“That Cannes has managed to
get Rocketman is a very big coup
because Paramount was histori-
since July when the Russian lead-
er met in Helsinki with Trump
– who shocked the US establish-
ment by seeming to take at face
value Putin’s denials of election
interference.
Pompeo was joined in his talks
with Putin by the US ambassa-
dor to Moscow, Jon Huntsman,
as well as Jim Jeffrey, the US
pointman on Syria – a conflict
on which Russia and the United
States have been diametrically
opposed.
The United States has also
vowed never to recognise Rus-
sia’s 2014 takeover of Crimea and
has slapped sanctions over Mos-
cow’s backing of armed separa-
tists in Ukraine.
More recently, Pompeo has
led US charges that Russia is to
blame for the continued rule of
Venezuelan President Nicolas
But Macron insisted that the
men’s lives had not been sacri-
ficed.
“A life that is halted, even in
full youth, is not a life that is
lost,” he said. “Someone who
dies in combat, fulfilling their
duty, has not just fulfilled their
duty but their destiny.”
He decorated both men post-
humously as members of the Le-
gion d’Honneur, France’s high-
est honour.
France’s special forces units
were in attendance for their fall-
en brothers in arms yesterday,
prompting warnings to broad-
casters not to show any faces
cally one of the studios who were
the most reluctant to show films
at the festival,” said Christian
Jungen, author of the book Hol-
lywood in Cannes.
Studios have often been re-
luctant to risk their big-budget
productions, fearful of a savag-
ing from critics.
Cannes got Rocketman thanks
to Fremaux’s friendship with
Paramount boss Jim Gianopulos,
Jungen said, who was head of
Fox when it took Moulin Rouge to
the Croisette in 2001.
It’s precious breathing space
for the festival, which is stuck in
a stand-off with Netflix over the
Putin welcoming Pompeo to the meeting in Sochi.
Maduro, a leftist firebrand whom
Washington is seeking to oust.
“The time has come for Nico-
las Maduro to go, he has brought
nothing but misery to the Ven-
ezuelan people, and we hope that
Russian support for Maduro will
end,” Pompeo said at the joint
news conference.
Most Latin American and Eu-
ropean nations recognise op-
position leader Juan Guaido as
interim president of Venezuela,
whose crumbling economy has
prompted millions to flee.
that could jeopardise them.
The hostages were snatched,
and their local guide killed, by an
armed group while visiting the
Pendjari National Park in Benin
which borders Burkina Faso.
The deaths were a reminder of
the risks encountered in the re-
gion by French forces, who have
been deployed in the Sahel since
2013 when France intervened to
drive back religious extremist
groups who had taken control of
northern Mali.
A total of 26 French soldiers
have died in the deployment, in-
cluding de Pierrepont and Ber-
toncello.
streaming giant’s refusal to re-
lease its films in French cinemas.
Yet Netflix has far from turned
its back on Cannes.
Jerome Paillard, the head of
the festival’s vast market, where
deals worth hundreds of mil-
lions of dollars are done, said
it has sent a team of around 25
buyers and executives.
That is even bigger than it was
last year, he told AFP.
“More than ever the whole
world comes to Cannes, partic-
ularly the Americans. They are
still the biggest group overall,
and their numbers remain sta-
ble,” Paillard added.
Lavrov urged dialogue in Ven-
ezuela – an option rejected by the
Trump administration, which
says Maduro is illegitimate.
He called Venezuela anoth-
er ill-conceived project by the
United States in citing democ-
racy.
“We remember in May 2003
George W Bush aboard an air-
craft carrier declared democracy
in Iraq. And in 2011, Libya was
declared a democracy. I don’t
think I need to into more detail
on those efforts.”
Possible suicide
pact in German
crossbow murders
Prosecutors believe the
mysterious case of three people
found dead in a guest house
in the southern German city of
Passau impaled with quarrels
(also known as crossbow bolts)
could be a case of killing on
request or suicide.
There are no reasons to suspect
a fourth person was involved
in the incident concerning a
53-year-old man and two women,
aged 33 and 30, a spokesman
for prosecutors in Passau said
yesterday.
The post-mortem on the bodies
showed that the man and the
older woman, who were found
together on the bed, were killed
by quarrels to the heart, while
the younger woman found on
the floor died of one shaft to the
neck.
The spokesman said it appeared
the younger woman first killed
the two others before turning a
crossbow on herself.
It could be a case of joint suicide,
he said.
Wills for the three people found
dead in Passau were discovered
at the scene.
In the course of their
investigations into the deaths,
police discovered the bodies of
two further women in the town of
Wittingen in the northern state of
Lower Saxony on Monday.
The bodies of the 19-year-old
and 35-year-old women have
now been identified, police said
yesterday.
They were discovered in the
Wittingen flat of the 30-year-old
woman found dead in Passau.
The 35-year-old found in Lower
Saxony was the partner of the
30-year-old woman.
It is unclear what connected the
19-year-old with the two other
women, police said.
Austrian leader
demands EU axe
1,000 regulations
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian
Kurz has demanded that 1,000
EU regulations be cancelled or
the right to regulate those areas
be given to member states,
just weeks before European
Parliament elections.
People in Europe want answers
from the EU on questions
regarding security, protection
of its external borders and
climate change, Kurz said over
the weekend in a statement
disseminated by Austria’s APA
news agency.
“But no one needs EU
requirements, for example for
how to make schnitzel and chips,”
he said.
Jailed Catalan
separatists can be
sworn in: top court
Five jailed Catalan separatists
who were elected in Spanish
elections last month will be
allowed to attend the first day
of parliament on May 21, the
Supreme Court ruled yesterday.
However, the court ruled against
definitively releasing the five,
including Catalonia’s former vice-
president Oriol Junqueras, as a
trial over their role in the region’s
secession bid continues.

The Indian ‘Miss Marple’ snooping on election candidates
AFP
Mumbai
A
s India’s best-known fe-
male private eye, Rajani
Pandit has posed as crazy,
blind and deaf to solve murders
and unmask unsuitable fiancés.
But election time is boom time
for the woman dubbed “Miss
Marple”.
In the world’s biggest elec-
tion ending on Sunday, Pandit
and others like her are in high
demand from political parties to
dig up dirt on the opposition and
make sure their own candidates
are squeaky clean.
“It’s confidential but when-
ever a party finds one of its own
candidates or an opposition can-
didate suspicious they ask us
NDA will get
a two-thirds
majority, says
Rajnath Singh
IANS
New Delhi
H
ome Minister Rajnath
Singh yesterday asserted
that the Bharatiya Janata
Party will win more seats in the
ongoing Lok Sabha elections
than in 2014 and added that the
BJP-led National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) will get a two-
thirds majority.
“After addressing more than
110 election rallies across the
country and sensing the mood of
the people, I can say that the BJP
is going to win more seats than it
won in 2014. As far as the NDA
is concerned, the possibility of
getting a two-thirds majority
cannot be ruled out,” the former
BJP president said at a press con-
ference.
Singh said that in 2014 people
were looking at Prime Minister
Narendra Modi with hope which
was now converted into trust and
confidence.
“In many places, I saw an un-
dercurrent. This government has
worked for every section of the
society and a feeling of satisfac-
tion was there on the people’s
faces. They want to give Modi
another opportunity as they be-
lieve he is the man who can take
India ahead,” Singh said.
He hit out at the opposition
and demanded to know their
prime ministerial candidate.
“In 2014, the fight was Modi
vs Manmohan Singh and Sonia
Gandhi. In 2019, Modi vs who?
It is unknown. In a democratic
setup, people cannot be kept in
dark.”
The home minister also
slammed the opposition parties
for using abusive words against
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and sought the Congress’s re-
sponse over party leader Mani
Shankar Aiyar’s justification
of his “neech”(despicable) jibe
against Modi.
He said: “What does the Con-
Lalu will never get out
of prison, says Bihar CM
IANS
Patna
B
ihar Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar yesterday asserted
that Rashtriya Janata Dal
(RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, jailed for
corruption, will never get out of
prison.
“Lalu will not get out of jail
despite whatever he does. His
family has been repeatedly al-
leging that Lalu was framed
by me and he was in jail due to
me. It is a baseless accusation
as Lalu was convicted by the
court and sentenced to jail,”
the Janata Dal-United (JD-U)
leader told an election meet-
ing here.
He said Yadav has been trying
to get out of jail on bail to capture
to investigate them,” Mumbai-
based Pandit told AFP.
“Often we are asked to look
into their finances and how they
have procured money to fund
their campaigns. We try to main-
tain a low profile,” the 57-year-
old added.
Pandit says her team has been
busy “integrating” themselves
into political parties since Janu-
ary, inspecting finances and at-
tending rallies before submitting
reports to their clients.
“There’s usually a surge of cas-
es ahead of the elections. We’ve
been inundated with requests
and were only able to take on a
few,” she said.
Kunwar Vikram Singh, chair-
man of India’s Association of Pri-
vate Detectives and Investigators,
said “there’s a lot of due diligence”.
gress has to say on his justifica-
tion.”
In an article published in Ris-
ing Kashmir yesterday, Aiyar
said: “Remember how I de-
scribed him on 7 December,
2017? Was I not prophetic?”
In 2017, Aiyar called Modi
“neech aadmi” following which
he was suspended from the Con-
gress.
However, yesterday the Con-
gress condemned and rejected
the remarks, and said “appropri-
ate action will be taken” against
him.
Congress spokesman Ran-
deep Singh Surjewala said: “We
completely reject and condemn
the remarks of the likes of Mani
Shankar Aiyar and every other
person who is violating the time-
tested principle of self-discipline
in political discourse of mutual
respect and adherence to ideas
and ideology while fighting an
election.”
Asked whether the party
would take action against Aiyar,
Surjewala said: “An appropriate
forum in the party will definitely
look at it and take appropriate
action.”
The Congress never practised
abusive politics, Surjewala said,
adding hatred, violence and
abuse were the modus operandi
of the prime minister and the
BJP, and not of the Congress.
“We have seen that in the last
five years, rage and revenge had
blinded Modi in using complete-
ly unacceptable, downright in-
sulting abusive language for his
political opponents,” the Con-
gress leader said.
He also accused Modi of low-
ering the office of prime minister.
“He has seriously lowered
the prestige of the office of the
prime minister by his choice of
words, uncontrollable rage and
quest to seek revenge against
every opposition leader par-
ticularly Congress president
Rahul Gandhi and his family,”
Surjewala said.
power again in Bihar.
“During 15 years of Lalu’s rule,
‘jungle raj’ prevailed in Bihar.
When he was arrested and jailed
in 1997, Lalu made his wife the
chief minister.
“Unlike Lalu’s time, today
there is rule of law in Bihar. There
will be no compromise on this is-
sue,” the chief minister said.
Yadav’s younger son Tejashwi
Yadav, who is Bihar’s opposition
leader, strongly reacted to Ku-
mar’s statement.
“It is his desperation ahead of
the seventh and last phase of the
Lok Sabha polls.” By making such
a comment, Tejashwi said, Ku-
mar had admitted that he along
with his henchmen conspired to
send Yadav behind the bars.
“He has exposed his double
face.”
Pandit: election time is boom time
“(A candidate’s) local reputa-
tion, influence, his stance in his
own caste...all these things are
looked into,” Singh told AFP.
Private detective agencies are
popular in India, with sleuths
BJP workers gather ahead of party chief Amit Shah’s roadshow in Kolkata yesterday.
BJP activist gets bail
in Mamata meme case
Agencies
New Delhi
T
he Supreme Court yes-
terday granted bail to a
Bharatiya Janata Party
activist who was arrested last
week for sharing a meme of West
Bengal chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee, one of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s rivals.
Priyanka Sharma’s arrest for
sharing a meme on Facebook that
superimposed Banerjee’s head
on a picture of Bollywood actress
Priyanka Chopra sporting frizzy
hair at the Met Gala in New York
was criticised as a curb on free
speech.
West Bengal is key to Modi’s
chances for a second term in of-
fice, especially as the BJP is ex-
Yadav, now undergoing treat-
ment at a government hospital in
Ranchi after being convicted in a
fodder scam, on Monday accused
Kumar of making compromises
to be in power.
Meanwhile, JD-U legislator
Amarnath Gami said the 2020
Bihar assembly polls will be con-
tested in the name of Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi instead of
the chief minister.
If the assembly polls were not
fought in Modi’s name, there
was no chance of victory, Gami
said.
“The entire Lok Sabha cam-
paign was Modi-centric and his
name has replaced Nitish’s name
in Bihar. Even the chief minis-
ter was parroting Modi’s name
and his achievements at election
meetings,” he said.
small office in Mumbai.
The investigator - who does
own a magnifying glass - was
dubbed India’s first female pri-
vate detective by media outlets
when she began cracking cases in
the early 1980s.
She has been featured in
countless newspaper articles,
often referred to as India’s “Miss
Marple” or “Nancy Drew”, Ag-
atha Christie’s fictional spinster
sleuth and the ever-evolving US
amateur detective.
This has encouraged scores of
women in male-dominated India
to follow in her footsteps.
tasked with solving everything Several women-dominated in-
from petty household thefts to vestigative firms now operate in
business deals gone wrong. the country, such as Lady Detec-
Pandit has been conducting tives India and Venus Detective
covert operations across In- which are both headquartered in
dia for over 30 years out of her New Delhi.
pected to lose many seats in the Amit Malviya, the head of the
country’s north. BJP’s information and technol-
Sharma, who had been re- ogy group, said on Twitter.
manded in custody, is a member Political differences between
of the youth wing of the BJP. the two parties have often led
“Sharma is directed to be re- to tensions and violence in the
leased immediately, without any state.
condition,” Supreme Court judge Both parties have accused each
Indira Banerjee said in a ruling other of killings, beatings, van-
after withdrawing an initial order dalism and making false allega-
that Sharma apologise to Baner- tions to the police.
jee. Yesterday, Trinamool Con-
Benerjee’s Trinamool Con- gress youth wing activists alleg-
gress Party had called the meme edly threw stones at BJP presi-
an insult to the people of West dent Amit Shah’s roadshow in
Bengal, while Sharma’s fam- Kolkata, triggering clashes in
ily said her arrest was politically which three motorbikes were set
motivated. ablaze.
“An apology would have meant Shah blamed the Trinamool
death knell for freedom of ex- Congress for the violence.
pression and would have legiti- “There were disturbances in
mised brute use of state force to two places during my rally here
silence political adversaries,” as the Trinamool supporters
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra speaks during a roadshow
ahead of the final phase of elections in Pathankot in Punjab yesterday.
INDIA
“Clients are open a lot more
to having a female investigator.
They feel we are more empathet-
ic and that they can talk to us,”
Lady Detectives CEO Tanya Puri
told AFP.
Pandit first started snooping
as a 22-year-old at college, in-
forming the parents of a fellow
student that their daughter was
drinking, smoking and hanging
out with boys.
Her most difficult case was
when she worked undercover for
six months as a maid for a woman
who was suspected of poisoning
her husband to death and then
killing her son through a hitman.
She gathered evidence and
handed it over to police who ar-
rested the hitman and the woman.
Pandit has won numerous
awards, written two books, and
tried to create violence and threw
stones and bricks at us,” he said.
Earlier a controversy erupted
hours before Shah’s rally after
banners and posters of BJP lead-
ers including that of the prime
minister were removed from the
roadside.
Shah was scheduled to hold
a roadshow from central Kolk-
ata’s Shahid Minar to Swami
Vivekananda’s residence in north
Kolkata’s Maniktala in the after-
noon.
Just two hours before the road-
show, a large number of cutouts
and banners of Shah, Modi and
north Kolkata’s BJP candidate
Rahul Sinha, were removed from
a long stretch of Lenin Sarani.
BJP leaders accused the Trina-
mool gocvernment of “resorting
to hooliganism” to impede Shah’s
I feel at home in
Punjab: Priyanka
IANS
Bathinda, Punjab
C
ongress leader Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra yesterday
attempted to establish a
link with local voters by saying
as the wife of a Punjabi she felt
at home in Punjab and among its
people.
She also hailed the valour of
Punjabis and their ability to re-
main happy in all circumstances.
Addressing a public rally, in
support of Congress candidate
Amrinder Singh Raja Warring,
Priyanka asked people to teach
a lesson to the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) and the Shiromani
Akali Dal (SAD) for harassment
meted out to them.
While taking on Primed Min-
ister Narendra Modi for brazenly
lying and cheating to further his
Gulf Times
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 17
says she has completed more
than 80,000 cases - most of
them pre-matrimonial investi-
gations.
Parents seeking a suitable hus-
band or wife for their offspring
will ask her to investigate the po-
tential spouse and their family.
She looks into whether they
have the job they say they have
and tries to find out if there is
anything in their past that might
be deemed to bring shame to the
family they are marrying into.
Pandit has had to be the master of
subterfuge to gather evidence, in-
cluding donning “various disguises”.
But she says she received no
formal training.
“Detectives are born, not
made. I will keep doing this job
until I am no longer alive,” she
said.
rally and alleged that the state’s
ruling party activists were delib-
erately damaging the posters and
cutouts while removing them.
“The Election Commission has
given us permission to hold the
roadshow. How is it possible that
party banners and flags are not
allowed on the road? The Bengal
government’s hooliganism is go-
ing on here. We will talk to the EC
about this,” BJP general secretary
Kailash Vijayvargiya said.
Police claimed the drive was
taken up under the direct in-
struction of the Election Com-
mission, as the posters were put
up on state government proper-
ties without permission.
India’s seven-phase general
election, which began on April 11,
ends on May 19 and results will
be out on May 23.
political interests, the Congress
leader criticised the SAD on the
issues of sacrilege and mafia rule
during their regime.
Describing Punjab as the land
of gurus and criticising Akalis
for sacrilege, Priyanka said those
who destroyed Sri Guru Granth
Sahib were destroying the soul of
Punjab.
Priyanka, accompanied by
Chief Minister Amarinder
Singh, appealed to the people to
strengthen the Congress with
their vote in this battle ‘for the
future of India’ and to teach ar-
rogant Harsimrat Kaur Badal,
SAD candidate from Bathinda, a
lesson for the Akali misdeeds.
Pointing to the poor response
to Modi’s Monday rally at the
same ground, Priyanka hailed the
people for their befitting reply to
the prime minister’s saga of false
promises.
 Gulf Times
18 Wednesday, May 15, 2019

INDIA
ANNOUNCEMENT
India extends ban on LTTE
by another five years
The Indian government has extended for
another five years its ban on the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which assassinated
former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in
1991, it was announced yesterday. “The LTTE’s
continued violent and disruptive activities are
prejudicial to the integrity and sovereignty
of India; and it continues to adopt a strong
anti-India posture as also continues to pose a
grave threat to the security of Indian nationals,”
the announcement said. The LTTE, which was
described as a militant and political organisation,
has been blamed for the May 1991 suicide
bombing at an election rally near Chennai which
killed Gandhi and several others, prompting
one of the biggest crackdowns in India. New
Delhi first outlawed the LTTE in 1992 and has
periodically extended the ban.
Students throws stones and bricks towards
police during a protest against the rape of a
three-year-old girl in north Kashmir’s Bandipora
district last week, in Srinagar yesterday.
PROTESTS
Kashmir students clash
with police over rape
Students at many places in the Kashmir Valley
took to the streets and clashed with security forces
yesterday in protest against the rape of a three-
year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora
district. Students of Amar Singh College came out
of the campus and fought pitched battles with the
security forces. The students were demanding
a speedy trial of the suspect, who has been
arrested, and justice for the victim. The students
also protested in large numbers against the
heinous crime in the Kashmir University campus
in Srinagar. They carried banners demanding
death for the accused. They appealed that nobody
should use the highly sensitive issue for vote bank
politics and everyone must try and get speedy
justice for the victim. Protesters demanding
exemplary punishment to the rapist again
blocked the Srinagar-Baramulla highway.
MURDER
2 Kerala CPM leaders held
for killing Congress workers
Kerala police yesterday arrested two leaders of
the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)
from Kasargode district on charges of murdering
two Youth Congress workers. Krupesh, 19, and
Joshy, 24, who were members of the Congress
Party’s youth wing, were attacked on February
17 by three men. While Krupesh died at the
Kasaragod district hospital, Joshy succumbed
to his injuries on way to a medical facility in
Mangaluru city of Karnataka. The police arrested
Manikandan and Balakrishnan following their
detailed questioning by a Crime Branch team,
a spokesperson said. With this, 13 people have
been arrested in the case. One person on the
radar of the police has fled the country, officials
said. The Congress and its Kasargode Lok Sabha
candidate, Rajmohan Unnithan, have made this
murder a major election.
INVESTIGATION
Kochhars appear before ED
again in Videocon case
Former ICICI Bank managing director and CEO
Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak
Kochhar appeared yesterday before the
Enforcement Directorate for questioning in
connection with its ongoing investigation into
Rs1,875-crore Videocon loan case. After facing
over nine hours of questioning on Monday,
the Kochhars arrived at the ED headquarters
earlier in Khan Market area. On Monday, the
Kochhars were quizzed about their business
dealings with the Videocon group promoter
and chairman Venugopal Dhoot and also
about the financial transactions that took
place between them. The case is related to the
alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in
the sanction of Rs1,875-crore loan disbursed
by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group during
2009 and 2011.

Federal Front
may consider
taking Congress
support: TRS
IANS the Congress late last year. negative impact in Tamil Nadu.
Hyderabad He was confident that par- There is an anti-BJP wave in
ties like the Bahujan Samaj Tamil Nadu. The DMK will not
Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party be part of a third front govern-

T
he Federal Front proposed
by Telangana Chief Min-
ister K Chandrashekhar
Rao may consider taking Con-
gress support to form a national
government, a leader of the Te-
Abhinandan Pathak, a lookalike of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaks with youths as he campaigns as an independent candidate in langana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)
Lucknow. said yesterday.
Abid Rasool Khan told IANS
that his party was confident that
the Federal Front, comprising
(SP), Trinamool Congress and
YSR Congress besides TRS will
come together to form the Fed-
eral Front. He hoped that many
parties from other parts of the
country will join them.
“Once we have the numbers
on board, more people will defi-
nitely accept the idea and join
us. Everybody would want to
have a stake in government for
ment formed with the support of
BJP,” the DMK leader added.
Stalin told reporters only after
the election results are declared
will it be known whether a non-
Congress, non-BJP grouping
was possible. He said the Telan-
gana chief minister met him on
Monday out of courtesy. He said
Rao came to Tamil Nadu prima-
rily to visit temples.

Lookalike bitter at Modi’s failed non-Bharatiya Janata Party and

non-Congress parties, will get
the numbers to form the govern-
ment on its own.
development of their states and
would see this as a viable idea,”
said Khan.
The TRS leader claimed that
Stalin said Rao did not meet
him to discuss the third front.
According to the DMK, ideally
the Congress should be part of

promises, hits campaign trail “We are confident that we

AFP in 2014, Pathak was a supporter.
Lucknow Because of his resemblance to
the premier, people “adored me,
they asked for selfies and hugged
In Mumbai, another Modi
lookalike – Vikas Mahante – has
been out and about on the cam-
paign trail in the city, and on a
Gujarat, was reportedly offered a
film role too.
But now the Modi supporter
has had enough.
will get the numbers to form
the government but if we are
short of numbers and the Con-
gress wants to extend outside
support we will consider,” said
Khan, who believes a consensus
candidate among Federal Front
partners will be the next prime
KCR was not vying for the post
of prime minister.
“He is doing this in the inter-
est of the country. The country is
today heading towards anarchy.
The way the BJP is acting it has
definitely sabotaged the inter-
ests of the country. The Congress
during its 60-year-rule did noth-
any central government so that
there is stability.
Political analyst Raveendhran
Dhuraiswamy told IANS: “The
DMK-Congress combine will get
a sizeable percentage of votes.
The DMK will not go with BJP
after the elections. As for Stalin,
Tamil Nadu is more important

H
is white beard neatly
trimmed and a sleeveless
jacket thrown over his
traditional shirt, Abhinandan
Pathak turns heads thanks to an
uncanny resemblance to Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
But Pathak – almost the same
height and build as Modi, and
who even walks in a similar way
– is no ordinary doppelganger.
Bitter at Modi’s “failed prom-
ises”, Pathak is running as an
independent against the ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in
India’s marathon election – and
is getting a lot of support.
The largest election on Earth
wraps up on May 19, after seven
weeks of intense campaigning
and the votes of 900mn Indians.
“The anger (towards Modi) is
real. I can feel it wherever I go,”
Pathak, 58, told AFP from his
one-room shanty home in Luc-
know.
When Modi was first elected
me.”
“I was showered with love.
People thought that if they can’t
meet the real Modi, they might
as well meet me,” he said.
“But now they get angry when
they see me. They ask me ‘where
are the good days’,” he said, af-
ter Modi’s 2014 election slogan
“achhe din ayenge” (“good days
will come”).
Pathak’s brightest moment
came in May 2014, when he says
Modi hugged him during a victo-
ry parade in Varanasi, the prime
minister’s constituency.
But it was all downhill after
that. He was ignored by the par-
ty and his many letters to Modi
went unanswered, Pathak said.
Lookalike candidates are
nothing new in the colourful
world of Indian politics.
Their presence invariably in-
vokes curiosity, with crowds
thronging to catch a glimpse of
the duplicates.
BJP ticket.
The 57-year-old business-
man, who even played Modi in
a little-known 2017 biopic, has
been the star attraction at rallies.
But it can get hairy.
Once people threw stones at
him and he had to be rushed to
safety.
Now the lookalike has his own
bodyguard.
“Once I was chased by a gang
of men around midnight while
I was returning from a rally,” he
told the Hindustan Times daily
in 2017.
“(I) stepped on the accelera-
tor, jumped all signals and didn’t
stop anywhere.”
In 2014, Prashant Sethi
lapped up being a dead ringer
for Rahul Gandhi, the Congress
chief, and Modi’s main chal-
lenger in both the 2014 and
2019 elections.
Sethi, who sells fried chicken
in Surat in Modi’s home state of
He has transformed his look:
putting on weight, growing a
beard and changing his hairstyle
– all to look different from Gan-
dhi.
“Me and my family have been
supporters of the BJP since the
beginning. But because of my
look I was always teased,” Sethi
told AFP.
“People had started calling
me pappu,” he said, referring to
a common nickname – used by
Gandhi’s detractors – for slight-
ly stupid individuals.
“So I had to change my look,”
he said.
But back in Lucknow feisty
father-of-six Pathak has no wish
to change.
“Why should I? I have been in
politics since the 90s and I have
always sported the beard and
kurta,” he said, and showing a
picture from his younger days.
“I am the original one, Modi is
my lookalike.”
minister.
He, however, ruled out either
taking support from or extend-
ing support to the BJP to form
the government.
KCR, as Rao is popularly
known, had mooted the idea
of non-BJP and non-Congress
front last year and has since held
talks with leaders of various re-
gional parties.
The TRS chief on Monday met
M K Stalin, the president of the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, an
ally of the Congress, to discuss the
Federal Front. Last week, he held
talks with his Kerala counterpart
Pinarayi Vijayan of the Commu-
nist Party of India (Marxist).
“These meetings prompted
the whole country to talk about
the Federal Front. We are meet-
ing people, talking to them and
trying to explain why we want
this. After that it is their choice
whether they want to come with
us or not,” said Khan, who quit
ing for minorities and Dalits. KCR
is of the opinion that we should
form the Federal Front and take
charge in Delhi,” Khan added.
Meanwhile, the DMK said
yesterday that it will stick with
the Congress even after the Lok
Sabha elections and that this had
been conveyed to KCR.
“We are committed to the
Congress. Never in the history of
the DMK has it changed its alli-
ance post elections. The party
has always stuck to its pre-poll
alliance partner,” a DMK leader
told IANS on the condition of
anonymity.
He said the importance of
DMK’s alliance with the Con-
gress was explained to KCR at
the meeting with Stalin.
Rao was urged to look at the
possibility of supporting the Con-
gress, an idea he did not negate.
“Our party will not align with
the BJP with or without Naren-
dra Modi as it would have a
than having a say in the central
government.”
In a fresh rebellion, dis-
sident minister in Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s
Om Prakash Rajbhar, announced
support for opposition candi-
dates in the seventh and the fi-
nal phase of voting for the Lok
Sabha elections.
Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Par-
ty (SBSP) president Rajbhar, who
claims to have walked out of the
Adityanath government miffed
over denial of expected numbers
of tickets, has already fielded
39 candidates for seats in the
fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh
phases.
Again playing spoiler to the
BJP’s plans, Rajbhar, who has
considerable clout in eastern Ut-
tar Pradesh, has declared sup-
port for the Congress candidate
in Mirzapur and SP-BSP-RLD
alliance candidates in Maharaj-
ganj and Bansgaon.

JeM activist arrested

Tribal party aims to win Monsoon likely to
hit Kerala on June 4
big with land rights focus IANS of a 50-year average for the
entire four-month mon-
New Delhi
Reuters election that will end on May 19. between 1951 and 1990, accord- soon season or LPA, which is
New Delhi “Tribal people are fed up with ing to New Delhi-based think- 887mm.

M
the big parties because they do tank the Centre for Policy Re- onsoon rains will Developing weather situa-
not care for us,” said Rajkumar search. hit Kerala on June 4 tion and the factors responsi-

A
small indigenous party
is hoping to break India’s
political mould by tak-
ing on bigger parties in the cur-
rent general election, pledging
to protect land and forest rights,
and create a new state for tribal
people.
The Bharatiya Tribal Party
(BTP), founded in 2017 by in-
digenous leader Chhotubhai
Vasava, won its first seats in the
Gujarat state election just two
months later, and secured two
more seats in Rajasthan last
year.
The party now has the ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and
the main opposition Congress
Party in its sights, as it looks to
win more votes in the national
Roat, a former student leader
who won a seat for BTP in the
Rajasthan state election.
“Only tribal leaders can pro-
tect our right to jal (water), jangal
(forest), jameen (land), and fight
for our education and job oppor-
tunities,” he told the Thomson
Reuters Foundation.
A growing population and in-
creasing demand for industrial
projects is placing greater stress
on land in India, particularly in
resource-rich tribal areas.
India’s 104mn indigenous
people – also known as Adivasis,
or “original inhabitants” – make
up less than 10% of the popula-
tion.
Yet they accounted for 40% of
people forced from their homes
The Adivasis’ right to land and
self-governance is protected by
the constitution.
The Forest Rights Act (FRA),
passed by the Congress govern-
ment in 2006, also recognised
their right to inhabit and live off
forests where their ancestors had
settled.
But indigenous activists say
the laws have largely not been
implemented, and that the BJP
government led by Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi has diluted
legislation meant to protect their
rights.
“Our people are not even
aware of the laws, and we have
long been cheated of what is
rightfully ours,” said Velaram
Ghogra, BTP’s Rajasthan chief.
with a variation of
two days, private forecaster
Skymet said yesterday, add-
ing the overall monsoon was
predicted to be “below aver-
age”.
Farmer take up sowing of
kharif crops such as paddy,
soybean, cotton and jowar
keeping the monsoon schedule
in mind. This time the mon-
soon onset will be a little later
than the usual date of arrival
on India’s mainland.
The overall monsoon in the
Police officials parade Abdul Majeed (centre), an alleged country was predicted to be
member of Jaish-e-Mohamed militant organisation, at the “below average” at 93% of
Delhi police headquarters in New Delhi yesterday. Majeed, Long Period Average (LPA).
who was absconding, was arrested after a raid at his hideout The average or normal
in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. rainfall in the country is de-
fined between 96 and 104%
ble for the south-west mon-
soon are “not favourable” this
time, which may not just lead
to less rainfall than the average
but will make its northward
progression in the country
“jerky” as well, the forecaster
said.
The monsoon was also likely
to be “jerky” as its progres-
sion across India would not be
smooth, the Skymet said. But
pre-monsoon activities such
as rains with thunderstorm
will be strong.
Initial advancement of
monsoon over Peninsular In-
dia is likely to be slow, Jatin
Singh, managing director of
Skymet, told a press confer-
ence in New Delhi.

Opposition lawmakers blocked from entering parliament
Reuters
Caracas
V
enezuelan security forces
prevented opposition
lawmakers from enter-
ing the parliament building for
a session yesterday, a week af-
ter the top court stripped sev-
eral lawmakers of their immu-
nity amid a political crisis in the
South American country.
Members of the Sebin intel-
Caracas
condemns
Guaido’s
courting of
US military
AFP
Caracas
V
enezuela reacted with
outrage after the opposi-
tion openly courted US
military support, with the re-
gime denouncing what it called
a “repugnant” attempt to plot an
armed intervention in the crisis-
torn country.
Vice-President Delcy Rod-
riguez lambasted the move by
opposition leader Juan Guaido’s
representative in Washington,
accusing him of paving the way
for a US “military intervention.”
Guaido’s envoy Carlos Vecchio
sent a letter to US Southern Com-
mand chief General Craig Faller
requesting a meeting to discuss
closer co-operation “with the aim
of alleviating the suffering of the
Venezuelan people and restoring
democracy,” his aides said.
Faller last week warned the
Venezuelan army it must decide
whether to support the people or
a “tyrant” — a reference to embat-
tled President Nicolas Maduro.
Despite economic collapse
and international isolation, the
embattled socialist president
has to date retained the support
of the powerful military.
Guaido has sought to ratch-
et up pressure on the regime
abroad as his support at home
has waned.
However, his open courting
of the US Southern Command,
responsible for the Latin Ameri-
can region, is a bold new step for
Guaido, following the failure of
an April 30 uprising.
It comes after Faller said in
a tweet on Friday that he was
at Guaido’s disposal to discuss
“support” for military leaders
who abandon Maduro.
Vecchio’s office said the meet-
ing could take place in the com-
ing days.
“We read and we reject this
repugnant letter, in which one
of the coup leaders hiding in
Washington, asks for military
intervention in Venezuela,” Rod-
riguez said in her speech.
Giant fish’s comeback boosts Amazon preservation efforts
Reuters
Tefe, Brazil
S
everal metres long and
weighing hundreds of
kilograms, the Amazon’s
pirarucu was almost fished to
extinction.
But the creation of sustainable
development reserves in Brazil
has ensured the giant fish — and
its indigenous hunters — are
flourishing again.
The resurgence of one of the
world’s largest freshwater fish is
the result of Brazil’s years-long
efforts to combine scientific and
traditional know-how to pre-
serve the country’s rich biodi-
versity and ensure sustainable
livelihoods for indigenous com-
munities in the Amazon.
Spanning more than 7.4mn
acres, the Mamiraua and neigh-
bouring Amana Sustainable De-
velopment Reserves in the up-
per reaches of the Amazon river
were created in the 1990s by the
state government.
They are among 39 such des-
ignated areas across Latin Amer-
ica’s biggest country — home
to more than half of the world’s
animal and plant species.
As the Amazon faces grow-
ligence service, wearing masks
and carrying long guns, together
with members of the national
police and the military blocked
the entrance and were investi-
gating the possible presence of
an explosive device inside the
National Assembly building,
lawmakers said.
Last week, one opposition
lawmaker was arrested and sev-
eral took refuge in foreign em-
bassies in Caracas or fled the
country as President Nicolas
Members of Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Police stand guard near the Federal Legislative
Palace, which houses both the opposition-led National Assembly and the pro-government National
Constituent Assembly, in Caracas yesterday.
ing threats from illegal loggers,
clandestine miners and aggres-
sive farming businesses who
have found their champion in
recently elected far-right Presi-
dent Jair Bolsonaro, advocates
say these reserves are proof that
it is possible to exploit natural
resources in a way that does not
harm the environment.
“The rainforest allows us to
use it without affecting, or af-
fecting very little, the way it
works,” Emiliano Ramalho, sci-
ence and technical director of
the government-backed Mami-
raua Sustainable Development
Institute (MSDI) said on a recent
trip to the Amazon.
“We have to change the con-
cept that the rainforest can only
bring benefits if it is felled, if the
conservation units are closed,
and if we remove or don’t create
more indigenous land. This so-
cio-biodiversity is what makes
the Amazon. Without it, the sys-
tem doesn’t function.”
Mamiraua is a 40-minute boat
ride from the nearest municipal-
ity of Tefe. Set deep inside the
Amazon, pink dolphins glide
through the water, while birds of
different colours produce a com-
plex symphony as they soar over
floating houses.
Maduro cracked down on al-
lies of opposition leader Juan
Guaido, following a failed effort
to convince members of the mil-
itary to rise up against Maduro in
late April.
Guaido, the leader of the op-
position-controlled Assembly,
in January invoked Venezuela’s
constitution to assume an in-
terim presidency, arguing Ma-
duro’s 2018 re-election was il-
legitimate.
More than 50 countries have
Fishermen carry a large pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) fish at the Amana Sustainable Development Reserve,
in Amazonas State, northern Brazil.
Hidden in the trees guariba
monkeys create a racket screech-
ing from dawn to dusk — when
huge mosquitoes begin to attack
visitors.
Around 15,000 people live in
the Mamiraua and Amana re-
serves.
The majority are caboclo —
people of mixed Indian and Eu-
recognised him as the coun-
try’s rightful leader, and say the
assembly is its last remaining
democratic institution.
“This is all part of a show to
prevent the National Assembly
from functioning,” lawmaker
Juan Pablo Guanipa told Reu-
ters. “This is a dictatorship that
goes after dissidents, and we are
fighting for a political change.”
Venezuela’s information
ministry, which handles media
inquiries on behalf of the gov-
ropean heritage — who mainly
live in floating or stilt houses due
to fluctuations in the water level,
which can top 33 feet between
December and July.
Inhabitants support them-
selves by raising livestock using
sustainable techniques such as
rotational grazing or extracting
the pulp from native fruits for
LATIN AMERICA
ernment, did not immediately
respond to a request for com-
ment.
Maduro, a socialist, calls
Guaido a puppet of the US seek-
ing to oust him in a coup.
The government stripped the
assembly of most of its powers
after the opposition won a ma-
jority in 2015 elections.
Lawmakers loyal to Maduro
generally do not attend the ses-
sions, but go to meetings of the
constituent assembly, a legisla-
US urges
Russia to
end support
to Maduro
DPA/AFP
Moscow
U
S Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo yesterday urged
Russia to end its support
for Venezuelan leader Nicolas
Maduro.
Maduro has “brought noth-
ing but misery to the Venezuelan
people. We hope that Russia’s
support for Maduro will end,”
Pompeo said at a press confer-
ence alongside Russian counter-
part Sergei Lavrov in the Russian
city of Sochi.
“We want every country that’s
interfering in Venezuela to cease
doing that. We want Venezuela
to get their democracy back,”
Pompeo said in televised com-
ments. “We need free and fair
elections there, not interfered in
by any other country.”
Lavrov responded by saying
that “threats by the US adminis-
tration” against the Venezuelan
leadership have “nothing to do
with democracy.”
US intervention for “democ-
racy” in Iraq and Libya in the
2000s has “brought nothing
good,” Lavrov said.
Meanwhile, Amnesty Interna-
tional yesterday said it believes
the Venezuelan authorities have
committed crimes against hu-
manity in their crackdown on
anti-government protests, and
urged the International Criminal
Court to investigate.
The rights group said Presi-
dent Nicolas Maduro’s govern-
ment responded with “a sys-
tematic and widespread policy
of repression” in late January,
when anti-government protests
sale, which is more profitable
than selling them whole.
Responsible fishing and hand-
icrafts supplement their income.
Locals — human and animal —
are reaping the benefits of their
symbiotic relationship.
Since 1999, for example, the
pirarucu population has gone
from around 2,500 to more than
tive “superbody” created in 2017
that meets in the same building
on Wednesdays.
The “superbody” is an all-
powerful legislature controlled
by the ruling Socialist Party and
whose powers supersede those
of the National Assembly.
Yesterday’s session was
scheduled for 10am (1400 GMT),
but never began.
The lawmakers were set to
discuss the Supreme Court’s
stripping of several of their
swept the country after opposi-
tion leader Juan Guaido declared
himself acting president.
Maduro opponents were tor-
tured and killed during the pro-
tests, it said.
“The nature of the attacks...
the level of co-ordination by the
security forces, as well as the
signs of similar patterns in 2014
and 2017, leads Amnesty Inter-
national to believe that the Ven-
ezuelan authorities committed
crimes against humanity,” Am-
nesty said in a statement.
Maduro, the political heir
to late leftist firebrand Hugo
Chavez, has presided over a spi-
ralling political and economic
crisis in Venezuela since taking
office in 2013.
He was re-elected to a sec-
ond term in May 2018, in a vote
boycotted by the opposition and
rejected by much of the interna-
tional community.
Guaido, the leader of Ven-
ezuela’s opposition-controlled
legislature, declared himself act-
ing president on January 23. He
has since been recognised by more
than 50 countries, led by the US.
Amnesty sent a fact-finding
mission to the country in Feb-
ruary to research the ensuing
crackdown.
The London-based rights
group said at least 47 people
were killed during the protests
from January 21 to 25. At least 33
were shot dead by the security
forces, and six by government
supporters.
Eleven of the deaths were ex-
trajudicial executions, it said.
“State forces identified people
who had been prominent in the
protests in their communities,
190,500 in 2018 after fishermen
began tracking numbers and re-
specting reproductive periods
and fishing quotas.
Last year, more than 700
fishermen in the Mamiraua and
Amana earned 1.57mn reais
(about $430,000), according
to a report. Taking a dip in the
Mamiraua Lake is tempting in
the oppressive heat, but the re-
surgence of alligator numbers is
a strong deterrent.
The melanosuchus niger al-
ligator — the largest of its spe-
cies in the Americas — was
threatened with extinction in
the 1980s due to demand for its
meat and skin.
“The recovery of the alligator
population was due to the pro-
hibition of hunting and the crea-
tion of reserves,” says Barthira
Resende, technical manager of
the MSDI’s alligator manage-
ment plan.
Now, the Mamiraua has the
largest concentration of alliga-
tors in Brazil largely thanks to
the efforts of the indigenous
communities.
Inhabitants help by collecting
data on the location of alligator
sightings or their nests, which
are used to set killing quotas to
avoid overexploitation again.
Gulf Times
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 19
colleagues’ parliamentary im-
munity and the arrest of Edgar
Zambrano, the Assembly’s vice
president and an outspoken
critic of Maduro.
Opposition lawmaker Jorge
Millan told reporters the report
of “bombs” in the building was
false.
“It is a trick to prevent the
parliament from functioning to-
day,” he said. “If we do not have
a session today, we will do it to-
morrow.”
located them and shortly after-
wards killed them....Some of
them were tortured before they
were killed,” it said in its report.
More than 900 people, in-
cluding children, were arbitrari-
ly detained over the same period,
it said, calling on the UN Human
Rights Council and International
Criminal Court to investigate.
Its team found that crimes and
human rights violations were
committed in “an attack planned
and led by the security forces
against individuals identified as
or perceived to be opponents,
particularly in impoverished ar-
eas.”
Maduro himself “knew about
these public and appalling acts
and took no measures to either
prevent or investigate them,” it
said.
Earlier a second airplane from
China carrying medical supplies
including medicine arrived in
Venezuela as part of a “humani-
tarian technical” co-operation
agreement between President
Nicolas Maduro’s government
and the Asian powerhouse.
A Boeing 747 carrying 71
tonnes of medicines and surgi-
cal material arrived in the capital
Caracas, the government said in
a press statement.
It included supplies for preg-
nant women and drugs to treat
respiratory conditions.
“With this second shipment,
as well as that which we already
received from the Russian Fed-
eration, the International Red
Cross and the Red Crescent”
some 166 tonnes of medicines
and supplies have arrived in the
country, Health Minister Carlos
Alvarado said.
“Bringing community mem-
bers together in sustainable
management is a conservation
strategy,” says Resende.
Afonso Carvalho, a leader of
the Vila Alencar community
on the shores of the Mamiraua
Lake, says it is working.
“The pirarucu was very dif-
ficult (to find), the alligator too,”
says Carvalho, 68. “There is now
a great recovery.”
Decisions about how to manage
the reserves are made by the com-
munities in consultation with the
MSDI, which conducts research
and provides training for eco-
nomic activities in the region.
“Templates like the Mamiraua
reserve show that we can use
the rainforest to obtain all kinds
of benefits, as much in terms of
economic development as edu-
cation, for the whole country,”
says Ramalho.
“It is possible so long as we
don’t just take out the raw ma-
terials.”
Recently inhabitants have
started to develop a community-
based ecotourism industry that
includes floating guesthouses
highly sought after by foreign
tourists.
It is proving to be a money-
spinner.
 Gulf Times
20 Wednesday, May 15, 2019

PAKISTAN
Court
Federal govt to allocate orders
release of

Rs60bn for remote areas

Federal cabinet approves Sports projects approved for tribal districts The OCHA had approved a
cleric who
led Bibi
protests
drought relief plan with sports director of merged tribal districts Nawaz Khan, deputy develop- grant of $10mn to facilitate the
funding condition The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved a record Rs1.5bn in ment director Ameer Mohamed Khan and former youth director Asfand- respective sectors in responding
projects to build, upgrade and rehabilitate sports facilities in the merged yar Khan Khattak for finalising projects within four months. to the needs of affected commu- Reuters/AFP/Internews
Internews tribal districts. Atif Khan said that the government is committed to placing things in or- nities, with an additional $1mn Lahore
Islamabad “It is a record fund allocation for the development of sports infrastructure der within a short span of time to bring tribal districts on a par with other and possibly more to be allocat-
in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata),” Senior Minis- parts of the country fast. ed by the Pakistan Humanitarian

A
ter for Sports and Youth Affairs Mohamed Atif Khan told reporters. “The residents will see unprecedented development in tribal districts, Pool Fund (PHPF) reserve. court has granted bail to

T
he federal government
has decided to launch the
Regional Equalisation
Programme, with an allocation
of between Rs60bn to Rs65bn in
the upcoming budget, to bring
remote districts in all provinces
at par with developed areas of
the country.
It is also proposed that the al-
location for discretionary fund-
ing for the prime minister’s
SDGs (sustainable development
goals) programme through par-
liamentarians would remain
intact, with the government
allocating Rs24bn for this pro-
gramme in the upcoming budg-
et.
“We have proposed the same
funding of Rs24bn for the SDGs
programme through parliamen-
tarians, but it is not yet known
whether its allocation will be in-
creased or decreased on the di-
rectives of the top ruling elites,”
said official sources.
For the Diamer-Bhasha Dam,
the proposed funding would be
Rs22bn in the next Public Sec-
tor Development Programme
(PDSP).
For the agriculture sector, the
government plans to increase
funding in a major way during
the upcoming financial year.
The Annual Plan Co-ordina-
tion Committee (APCC), sched-
uled to meet on May 20 under
chairmanship of the minister for
planning, is set to recommend
the size of the PSDP to remain at
Rs675bn for the next budget.
The size of the PSDP stood at
Rs675bn in the outgoing fiscal
year 2018-19.
The minister said the government had approved projects to set up as the government has planned to spend over Rs100bn annually for The cabinet was informed the leader of an Islamist
playgrounds and indoor gymnasium and upgrade and rehabilitate sports 10 years there with the development of sports infrastructure, tourism pro- that the plan was earlier for- group arrested last year
facilities in all seven districts – Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Khur- motion and facilitation of youth in focus,” he said. warded to the prime minister for after his supporters shut down
ram, North and South Waziristan – and six sub-divisions: Peshawar, Kohat, Atif Khan said that under a Rs257mn project, two new sports complexes approval. cities and threatened judges fol-
Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Tank, and Dera Ismail Khan. had approved for Mir Ali and Razmak tehsils of North Waziristan, while a The premier gave directives lowing the acquittal of a woman
He said that five new sports schemes would be carried out in South hostel for sportspersons would be built at Younas Khan Cricket Stadium for constituting a committee, accused of blasphemy.
Waziristan, four in Mohmand and Bajaur each, three in North Waziristan, in Miramshah. headed by the finance minister, The leader of the Tehreek-e-
Khurram and Orakzai each, and one in Khyber, while 12 facilities would be He said that five sports stadiums and one indoor gymnasium would be to discuss the drought response Labbaik (TLP) party, Khadim
upgraded and six would be rehabilitated in the erstwhile Fata. built in South Waziristan district’s five tehsils at the cost of Rs250mn, plan and the prevailing drought Hussain Rizvi, and his deputy,
Atif Khan said that Rs257mn was doled out for North Waziristan, while work on sports stadium in Shakai and Birmal tehsils and cricket and in Sindh and Baluchistan, and Pir Afzal Qadri, were arrested
Rs250mn for South Waziristan, Rs191mn for Bajaur, Rs110mn for Mohm- football grounds and stadium in Ladha would be completed by June next send its recommendations to the last year and charged with incit-
and, Rs99mn for Khyber, Rs67mn for FR (Frontier Region) Kohat, Rs62mn year. cabinet. ing terrorism and sedition after
for FR Bannu, Rs97mn for Kurram, Rs45mn for Orakzai, and Rs41 million The minister said that Rs151mn would be used to construct the Bajaur The committee held its meet- protesting against the acquittal
for FR Dera Ismail Khan and FR Tank each. sports complex in Nawagai, Rs40mn to upgrade the Bajaur sports ing on March 11, chaired by the of Aasia Bibi (also known as Asia
He said that the development schemes valued at Rs500mn were part of complex, Rs94.44mn to put up the district sports complex in Mirali, and then-finance minister. Noreen), who had spent eight
the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for North Waziristan, while Rs106.416mn to build the sports complex in Razmat, as well as funds for The minister for inter-pro- years on death row on blasphe-
Rs1bn worth of projects had been approved for other tribal districts with sports projects in other tribal districts. vincial co-ordination and Na- my charges.
the objective of developing youths. He said that 20 squash courts would be built in 20 schools of Peshawar, tional Assembly deputy speaker, “Today, the Lahore High
The minister thanked former sports director general Junaid Khan, former for which a grant of Rs500mn had been included in the next ADP. being public representatives of Court has granted bail to Rizvi
drought-stricken areas, and the and Qadri in the cases of ter-
director general of the Balu- rorism, sedition and inciting for
“We are also proposing allo- An allocation of Rs127bn su- Earlier, the provincial dis- erations, a significant number of chistan PDMA attended the violence,” TLP lawyer Mohamed
cation of Rs250bn for the execu- pervised by the finance ministry aster management authorities families remain unattended to. meeting. Arif Awan told Reuters.
tion of projects in public-private includes special security and de- (PDMAs) of Baluchistan and Therefore, the PDMAs of The committee recommend- They were granted bail against
partnership (PPP) mode,” said velopment funding for the erst- Sindh had approached the fed- Sindh and Baluchistan sought ed that the drought response surety bonds worth Rs5mn each.
one top official, who added that while Federally Administered eral government, seeking its the NDMA’s support. plan for 2019, prepared by the Qadri, who had been booked
the total size of the PSDP, along Tribal Areas (Fata), the Prime contribution to the relief opera- The cabinet was briefed that NDMA, may be approved with- under sedition and terrorism
with the PPP mode, could go up Minister’s Youth Programme, tions launched for the drought- in order to overcome the pre- out any funding from the federal charges, had resigned from the
to Rs925bn for the next budget. and others. stricken families. vailing drought, the NDMA – in government in light of its re- TLP on May 1 citing health issues
For the Regional Equaliza- If this allocation continued Following the request from consultation with the PDMAs of stricted functions and role after and, on the court’s earlier direc-
tion Programme allocation, the unchanged, then the planning the provincial authorities, the Sindh and Baluchistan, the UN’s the 18th Constitutional Amend- tions, issued a public apology for
official said that development managers will have to revise National Disaster Management Office for the Co-ordination of ment as well as the 9th NFC his remarks.
projects for Southern Punjab, their development plan by not Authority (NDMA) prepared a Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Award, which gave majority of The two-member bench,
Balohistan, southern Khyber allowing many new schemes to plan for providing ration bags and other donor agencies – had the resources to the provinces. comprising Justice Qasim Khan
Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and the ne- become part of the new PSDP for worth Rs4.25bn for one month finalised a joint co-ordinated In line with the directive of and Justice Asjad Gharal, grant-
glected areas of Sindh would be the coming financial year. to the drought-hit families. drought response structure Prime Minister Imran Khan, the ed the bail to both till July 15.
financed through this initiative At the moment, the planning In this regard, the NDMA pre- on January 22 and prepared a drought response plan along At the last hearing, the court
during the next financial year. managers are making efforts to pared a summary and tabled it drought response plan. with recommendations of the had rejected an apology sub-
The official said that Prime make 150 to 200 new schemes before the cabinet for approval. The drought response plan committee was sent for approval mitted by Qadri over incendiary
Minister Imran Khan chaired a as part of the PSDP for the next The cabinet, in a recent meet- worth $96.3mn focused on of the cabinet. remarks made by him during
high-level meeting last week to budget. ing, was informed that the cur- short, medium and long-term The cabinet, chaired by the a protest against the Supreme
review the development pro- Meanwhile, the federal gov- rent drought in Sindh and Balu- interventions for one year in prime minister, approved the Court’s acquittal of Bibi.
gramme, and that it was deter- ernment has declined to con- chistan had affected around 5mn pre-identified areas i.e. nutri- plan with the stipulation that Lawyers from both sides had
mined that the size of federal tribute funds to the relief opera- people and livestock. tion, health, food security and no federal government funding completed their arguments be-
PSDP would be kept at Rs675bn tions for drought-hit families in While the provincial govern- agriculture, education, and would be involved in the pro- fore the two-member bench.
in the next financial year. Sindh and Baluchistan. ments had initiated relief op- women and child protection. gramme. Bibi left for Canada last week
after living at an undisclosed lo-
cation inside Pakistan since her
acquittal.
All in a day’s work She is believed to have been

Senators seek to reunited with her family.

Hardline Islamists in Pakistan
had rallied against her being al-

extend Baluchistan lowed to leave, and called for her

to be killed.
Demonstrators blocked ma-

scholarship project jor roads in protest, burning

cars and buses, and leaving large
swathes of the country paralysed
as they called for her execution.
Internews Joint opposition chose not to Rizvi’s November arrest led to
Islamabad oppose the government bill. clashes between the police and
The House also passed the his supporters in Lahore, leaving
Pakistan Courier and Logistics five people injured in violence

T
he Senate has unani-
mously adopted a reso-
lution recommend-
ing that the Prime Minister’s
Scholarship Programme for the
students in Baluchistan be ex-
tended for five more years.
Presenting the resolution,
Senator Mir Kabeer Mohamed
Shahi of the National Party
said that the programme was
started in 2011 for the students
of Baluchistan, and that this is
part of the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-
e-Baluchistan Package.
He explained that four stu-
dents from each district of the
province were inducted in vari-
ous academic institutions.
Shahi pointed out that the
programme ended in 2015, and
that the students are to com-
plete their academic activity by
2020.
He called for its extension,
keeping in view the backward-
ness of the province and the
education sector there.
Leader of the House Syed
Shibli Faraz then rose to inform
the House that it was an im-
portant programme and that
the Prime Minister intended to
continue it.
Faraz introduced the Regu-
lation of Generation, Trans-
mission and Distribution of
Electric Power (Amendment)
bill 2019, which referred to the
House standing committee
concerned.
Regulatory Authority Bill 2018.
It was moved by Senator
Khushbakht Shujaat of the
Muttahida Qaumi Movement
(MQM) several weeks ago, and
approved after detailed dis-
cussion among the committee
members.
However, the proceed-
ings related to the bill were
bumpy: as she sought leave of
the House to put the bill for
adoption, Leader of Opposi-
tion Raja Mohamed Zafarul
Haq of the Pakistan Muslim
League – Nawaz (PML-N), the
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)’s
Sherry Rehman and some other
senators, including the MQM’s
Mian Mohamed Ateeq Shaikh,
were of the view that since they
had not gone through the bill,
it might be deferred for some
time.
To this apparently unex-
pected situation, Senate Chair-
man Sadiq Sanjrani maintained
that the bill had been circulated
among the members on May 3,
and that they had enough time
to go through it.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI) Senators Nauman Wazir
Khattak and Mehr Taj Roghani
opposed its deferment, and
said that this would set a prec-
edent, with every member
standing up in future seek-
ing time despite the fact a bill
would pass through the paid
down due procedure.
that the authorities say was in-
stigated by the TLP leader after
he called on his faithful to take to
the streets if he was arrested.
The two men are due to be re-
leased today.
The TLP leaders had threat-
ened the Supreme Court judges
who acquitted Bibi, urging their
cooks and servants to kill them,
and called for the overthrow of
the army chief.
The government managed to
defuse tensions by striking a deal
that allowed another review of
Bibi’s case, but when the TLP
threatened to launch another
protest some weeks later Rizvi
and other leaders were taken into
custody as part of a crackdown.
The TLP was founded out of a
movement supporting a body-
guard who killed Punjab provin-
cial governor Salman Taseer for
advocating for Bibi in 2011.
Bibi’s conviction stemmed
from an incident in 2009 when
Labourers hard at work at an iron factory in Lahore. she argued with Muslim labour-
ers.
Election body report reveals result of pilot i-Voting project
Internews Pakistan has released a com- „ The top five countries from sessing only a computerised na- of these kinds of attacks will al-
Islamabad prehensive report on the pilot where the online votes were cast tional identity card (CNIC) were ways remain there as a potential
project, in order to determine if are the United Arab Emirates, not able to register themselves. hacking threat. Similarly, foreign
the facility can be extended to all Saudi Arabia, the UK, Canada, „ The i-Voting system was entities can compromise bal-

He explained that the pro-
posed piece of legislation en-
visaged qualification in the
relevant field for chairmen and
members of regulatory bodies,
like the National Electric Power
Regulatory Authority (NE-
PRA), and also lowered the age
for the slot of chairman from
over 60 years of age.
He continued that the age
limit was being lowered in view
of a limited market of required
experts.
Senator Shujaat insisted that
the House should decide about
the fate of the bill.
The chair, instead of putting
aside the bill for days, deferred
it for an hour, asking members
who had not studied it to go
through it and decided about
supporting it or otherwise.
After this bill becomes an
act, all private courier and lo-
gistic companies as well as Pa-
kistan Post, will come under a
regulatory setup.
I
n October last year, non-res-
ident Pakistanis were finally
granted the right to vote.
An Internet voting (i-Voting)
website was launched, on the di-
rectives of the Supreme Court of
Pakistan, to facilitate those eager
to cast their ballot.
However, the exercise was
preliminary and limited to only
35 constituencies of the national
and provincial assemblies, where
by-elections were held.
The Election Commission of
constituencies in the next gen-
eral elections.
Here are key findings:
„ There are more than 7mn
non-resident Pakistanis. How-
ever, on by-election day, in Oc-
tober 2018, only 7,461 people
registered online to vote in 35
constituencies – 11 seats for the
national assembly and 26 for
provincial.
„ On polling day, a total of
6,233 votes were cast, out of
7,461.
and the US.
„ In order to ensure the se-
crecy of the vote, the entire proc-
ess of the i-Voting was secured
through encryption and decryp-
tion.
„ For a citizen to vote, a ma-
chine-readable passport (MRP)
was compulsory.
The ECP notes that due to this
condition, 15% of the potential
voters of 35 constituencies were
deprived of voting.
Similarly, dual nationals pos-
difficult to use for the working/
labour class.
Such individuals, adds the
ECP, did not have IT-based pro-
ficiency and skills, due to which
the registrations were low.
„ On the day of the election
in October, the National Data-
base and Registration Authority
(NADRA) reported cyber-attacks
on the i-Voting website “which
was intercepted effectively”, the
ECP reports states.
“However, in future chances
lot secrecy and potentially even
modify ballot contents of voters
in an undetected manner.”
„ During the registration
process there was no support/
call centre available for voters to
raise queries in real time.
„ The pilot projects cost an es-
timated Rs95mn.
The NADRA notes, in the re-
port, that if the facility is to be
extended to the whole of Paki-
stan, next election, then the cost
could go up to Rs150mn or more.
 Gulf Times
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 21

PHILIPPINES
Top court
Duterte set to strengthen grip on upholds
order
power as loyalists dominate poll against
z Duterte to boost mandate,
control crucial Senate
z Senate traditionally a
realty firm
check on state power
z Opposition takes big hit, By Jomar Canlas
vows to keep up fight Manila Times

Reuters

T
Manila he Supreme Court has
ruled that the Court of
Appeals (CA) was right

P
hilippine President Ro-
drigo Duterte looked set
yesterday to strengthen
his grip on power after unofficial
results of a mid-term election
showed big wins for his candi-
dates, and resounding public
endorsement of his controver-
sial rule.
Nine of 12 available seats
in the all-important Senate
looked set to go to pro-Duterte
candidates and the rest to in-
dependents, unofficial tallies
showed, as the opposition that
campaigned against his strong-
man approach failed to make
the cut.
Yesterday’s ballot for more
than 18,000 posts, among them
hundreds of mayors, governors,
and congressmen, was billed as
a referendum on the firebrand
president, with special focus on
his bid to consolidate power in
an upper house that has not al-
ways worked in his favour.
A Senate majority would cut
the chance of censures and
house investigations against
his government, making it eas-
ier to co-opt independents and
remove the few remaining hur-
dles to an ambitious agenda for
massive infrastructure spend-
ing, re-drafting the constitu-
tion and the return of the death
penalty.
“This president’s popularity
and transferability of his popu-
larity is unprecedented to say
the least, despite all the contro-
versies,” said political analyst
Edmund Tayao.
“You expect normally two
Environmental activists (wearing red T-shirts) stand on campaign materials during a protest calling those who run for elective posts and the general public to conduct
post-election cleanup activities in Manila, yesterday.
or three candidates from the
opposition to win, but this is
a wipe-out.” Candidates lead-
ing the Senate contest include
Duterte’s closest aide, the
daughter of late dictator Fer-
dinand Marcos, the wife of the
country’s richest man, a movie
star, a jailed politician recently
cleared of plunder charges, and
a police general who spear-
headed Duterte’s brutal war on
drugs.
They would join 12 Senate
incumbents, only four of whom
are from the opposition, includ-
ing Leila de Lima, the biggest
critic of Duterte’s deadly anti-
drugs crackdown, held since
2017 on narcotics charges.
The mid-term results leave
the opposition in tatters and
will change the dynamic of a
Senate that has traditionally
been a check on state power, and
a bulwark against the kind of
political dominance Duterte is
demonstrating.
He is also expected to re-
tain control in the lower house.
Presidential spokesman Sal-
vador Panelo said the Senate’s
independence would not be in
question, but the vote showed
the public overwhelmingly
backed Duterte and his vision.
“Undoubtedly, the Duterte
magic spelled the difference,” he
said.”People yearn for stability
and continuity of the genuine
reforms that this administration
started.
They yearn for a constructive
and not obstructionist Senate.”
The mid-terms come as Du-
terte, 74, appears untouchable,
with last year’s spiralling infla-
tion under control and a recent
poll showing his public approval
rating at a staggering 81%. Ex-
perts say the winning formula
was selling Duterte as a brand,
including use of his daughter
Sara as a surrogate to promote
his candidates, in a possible
succession play for the 2022
presidential election.
The result also shows the ef-
fectiveness of a diehard social
media support base, despite in-
termittent outrage over his pro-
China stance, jokes about rape,
tirades about the church, and
his anti-drugs crackdown.
Duterte’s critics needed to
accept that the electorate had
rejected such negative propa-
ganda, Panelo added.
The opposition, however, said
it would not give in.
“Our fight for justice, for sov-
ereignty and a more progressive
future for our people contin-
ues,” said incumbent Senator
Francis Pangilinan.
to affirm a lower court decision
ordering Sunvar Realty Devel-
opment Corp., owned by the
Rufino-Prieto clan, to return the
property of a deceased woman in
Muntinlupa City.
In a ruling promulgated by
Clerk of Court Librada Buena
on Feb 18, 2019 and released to
the media just recently, the high
court’s First Division denied
Sunvar’s petition as it affirmed
the decision dated March 22,
2018 and the resolution dated
August 7, 2018 of the CA.
At the heart of the controversy
was unit 12 of the Corinthian
Villas Condominium, which was
purchased in 1995 by and regis-
tered in the name of Ma. Elena
Posadas, as covered by Con-
dominium Certificate of Title
52165.
The property was placed on
public auction by the Muntin-
lupa government in 2004 after
Posadas failed to pay real prop-
erty taxes, according to Sunvar,
who won the bidding.
“As correctly ruled by the CA,
a tax delinquency sale is void if
no actual notice is given to the
registered owner. Consider-
ing that no notice was sent to
Ma Elena Posadas prior to the
scheduled public auction, the
certificate of sale and deed of
sale in favour of Sunvar Realty
Development Corp, are deemed
null and void.”
In December 1995, Posadas
purchased the property from
Sunvar, as evinced by a deed of
absolute sale executed and en-
tered into by the parties.

Former VP Binay loses in comeback bid Go thanks supporters after strong performance
By Neil J Servallos Manila Times terte administration, thus, they
Manila Times Manila elected the candidates that the
president endorsed.
Go also thanked Duterte for

F C
ormer vice president Jejomar Binay failed in
his bid for a political comeback when he lost
the congressional race for the First District of
Makati City to former Makati mayor Romulo “Kid”
Pena Jr.
Pena got 71,035 votes, while Binay garnered
65,229 votes.
“I expected to win with a higher margin, having
been able to capture the masses and the upper and
middle classes in Makati,” Pena told reporters.
Binay served as Makati mayor from 1986 to 1998,
and again from 2001 to 2010.
He won the second highest position in the coun-
try in 2010. However, he turned his back on poli-
tics when he placed fourth in the 2016 presidential
elections.
With the Binay family getting much of media’s
attention because of the bitter rivalry between
Makati Mayor Mar-len Abigail “Abby” Binay and
her brother Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr, Pena
said he campaigned “silently and diligently.”
“I couldn’t match that kind of publicity,” he said.
hristopher Lawrence
“Bong” Go, who made it
to the top five in the Sen-
ate race, thanked his supporters
for his strong showing in the
elections.
Go, President Rodrigo Du-
terte’s long-time aide, clinched
the third spot in the so-called
“Magic 12” based on the par-
Former Vice President Jejomar Binay talks to the tial and unofficial count of the
media outside his polling precinct in Makati City. Parish Pastoral Council for Re-
sponsible Voting.
Pena was appointed acting Makati mayor after “No words are enough to
former mayor Junjun Binay was unseated because express my gratitude for your
of his alleged involvement in the P1.3bn Makati Sci- trust,” he said in a statement.
ence High School building fiasco in 2015. “Just like President Rodrigo
The first district of Makati is deemed the “rich” Duterte, I am a simple man who
part of the city, covering the enclaves of the ultra- dreamt to serve you truthfully
rich such as Forbes Park, Dasmarinas, Magallanes, and fully,” he added.
Bel-Air, San Antonio, San Lorenza and Urdaneta Go, a Senate candidate of
villages. Duterte’s PDP-Laban party,
Senatorial candidate Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go waits for his
turn to vote on Monday.
was endorsed by the Hugpong
ng Pagbabago regional party
formed by Davao City Mayor
Sara Duterte-Carpio.
“This victory can be attrib-
uted to the performance of this
administration,” he said, adding
that the Filipino people were
satisfied with the programmes
being implemented by the Du-
his “all-out support.”
“I will continue what we
started. Change will continue.
The service of the Duterte gov-
ernment for our fellow Filipinos
will continue,” he said.
Another administration-
backed candidate, Francis To-
lentino, also thanked his sup-
porters and the president after
he landed in the ninth spot .
“After the elections yester-
day, I thank our fellow citizens
and my supporters,” Tolentino
said in a short video posted on
his Facebook page.
“I also thank President Du-
terte, the Iglesia ni Cristo and
everyone who helped in the
2019 campaign,” he added.
Tolentino vowed that he “will
always be behind our people.”

Comelec to probe glitches in counting machines

By William Depasupil that 961 VCMs and 1,665 SD of cheating in an exercise that — reforms committee under the abuse of children because of
Manila Times cards had to be replaced, higher based on an unofficial count — outgoing 17th Congress, said he painstaking inquiries conduct-
compared to the 801 and 201, re- will lead to an overwhelming win would initiate a probe — if he ed into churches in the United
spectively, recorded during the for allies of President Rodrigo wins — once the 18th Congress States, Australia and Ireland,” he

D
efective counting ma-
chines and other prob-
lems that marred the oth-
erwise successful midterm polls
will be investigated, the Com-
mission on Elections (Comelec)
said yesterday.
“We wanted a perfect elec-
tion. But it happened, there
were a lot of problems,” Comelec
Chairman Sheriff Abbas said in a
press briefing.
“We offer no excuses,” he
added, referring to faulty vote
counting machines (VCMs) and
secure digital (SD) memory cards
that extended the voting process
and also the delayed transmis-
sion of results.
The investigation will focus
on suppliers that had won con-
tracts by offering the lowest bids,
which led to the provision of
low-quality goods that may have
passed controlled-environment
tests but failed in actual use.
As of 10 am yesterday, reports
reaching the Comelec showed
2016 presidential elections.
Abbas pointed out that the
defective VCMs accounted for
just 1.1% of the 85,769 used dur-
ing Monday’s polls, while the
damaged SD cards comprised
4.9% of the 85,769 total.
Procurement law require-
ments calling for separate pur-
chase contracts were also likely
to blame, the Comelec said, with
compatibility problems more
likely to increase given multiple
suppliers.
In 2016, all election parapher-
nalia purchases were “bundled”
with the VCMs supplied by tech-
nology provider Smartmatic.
Abbas said the Comelec would
learn from Monday’s glitches
ahead of the 2022 presidential
elections.
“We are looking at using the
VCMs again or rent new ma-
chines or bundle anew to syn-
chronise everything. That’s our
decision points,” he added.
Comelec Commissioner
Duterte.
Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangil-
inan, campaign manager of the
opposition Otso Diretso slate,
yesterday demanded an expla-
nation from the Comelec.
“Are you cooking some-
thing that the public should not
know?” he said.
“Talk has it that there was a
glitch in the transparency server.
Are your mouths and lips that
are unable to provide explana-
tions also glitched?” he added.
Re-electionist Sen. Aqui-
lino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd, who
ranked 11th in the “Magic 12” list,
said the glitches were enough to
prompt a congressional investi-
gation.
A vote counting machine is seen at a polling station in Makati City. “Why are we still having all
these glitches? Cannot Comelec
Mario Cascolan, meanwhile, and damaged during transit. anticipate them?” said Pimentel,
pointed out that low-quality With regard to delays in the who ran under the administra-
SD cards could have been sup- transmission of results, he said tion’s banner.
plied and explained that VCM this was due to an application Pimentel, a former Senate
malfunctions could have been error that has now been resolved. President and current chair-
due to age, the summer heat, The delay had raised concerns man of the chamber’s electoral
takes over in July.
Senators Joel Villanueva and
Sherwin Gatchalian also criti-
cised the Comelec for failing to
prevent the glitches despite hav-
ing been given billions of pesos
to conduct the electoral exercise.
“This glitch is so weird. We
gave Comelec a P10bn budget
for this year. We have the right
to know what’s going on,” Vil-
lanueva said on Twitter.
Gatchalian, in a separate
tweet, said: “600 VCMs, 1,000
SD cards malfunctioned, trans-
parency server malfunctioned.
Congress allocated P10bn for a
real time and credible elections.”
Senate President Vicente Sot-
to 3rd, for his part, reiterated a
call for the Comelec to stop using
Smartmatic, the Venezuelan-
owned firm that has been tapped
to handle Philippine elections
since 2008.
“We may learn from the way
the Catholic Church is finally
facing today the truth about sex
said.
“We should similarly adopt
this method to establish incon-
trovertibly that our people have
been repeatedly cheated in their
national elections through the
corrupt adoption of an elec-
tronic voting system provided by
Smartmatic Corporation,” Sotto
added.
Sotto and Sen. Panfilo Lacson
also urged the public to respect
the will of the majority.
“In every election there will
always be a winner and a defeat-
ed foe. It is the lessons we take
from whatever is handed to us
that makes a difference,” Sotto
said in a text message.
Lacson, in a statement, said:
“What is important is that we
respect the voice of the major-
ity but without abandoning our
responsibility to continue our
vigilance against abuses and
wrongdoings of those given the
mandate to serve,” he said in a
statement.
 Gulf Times
22 Wednesday, May 15, 2019

COMMENT
CHAIRMAN
Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka
15 - 05 -2019
Deputy Managing Editor
K T Chacko

P.O.Box 2888, Doha, Qatar

editor@gulf-times.com
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GULF TIMES
Europe has a long
way to go to deliver
on growth hopes
There are, for sure, “green shoots’’ of hope that Europe’s
slowdown is slowly drawing to a close. But the region has
still a long way to go if it’s to deliver on the hope sparked by
recent upbeat economic numbers.
Eurozone gross domestic product growth topped
expectations at 0.4% in the first quarter, and a similar
number is predicted today from Germany, the region’s
biggest economy as well as its growth engine.

As India votes, parties court

The outlook isn’t as bad as feared, but sustaining the
upturn requires a clear improvement in confidence to boost
investment and demand.
Fresh doubts over global trade, ongoing weakness in
German manufacturing, uncertainty over China’s growth,

farmers with green promises

and the continuing Brexit imbroglio; no wonder, some
of Europe’s big corporate names continue to warn of a
“volatile” backdrop.
A European Commission sentiment measure has been
falling almost non-stop and is down 9% since the start of
2018. country’s various environmental bodies
By Ashutosh Sharma antagonised the farmers,” said Dhawale. guaranteed minimum profit farmers
Worse, Europe’s hope for a swift reversal of unfavourable “Congress’s manifesto inspires some make if market prices fall. with an independent Environment
New Delhi
economic conditions looks less likely. The US unleashed hope as of now.” It would do that by buying crops from Protection Authority to establish and
new trade tariffs on China last Friday, and China retaliated One of the main complaints farmers farmers for 50% more than what it cost enforce environmental standards and

on Monday in a tit-for-tat move. Add simmering tensions
in the Middle East and soaring oil prices, up 30% this year.
Of particular concern
Sustaining is Germany. Its economy
stagnated at the end
the upturn of 2018, trailing most
of its peers in the euro
requires a clear area, and continued
improvement trade tensions mean
any pickup in Europe’s
in confidence to powerhouse economy
could be muted.
boost investment “Germany’s economy
and demand should show evidence
of a rebound in the first
quarter, providing the ECB (European Central Bank) with
much needed reassurance that a downturn in the second half
of 2018 was temporary. Still, manufacturing weakness is likely
to weigh on its performance in the first half,” according to an
assessment by Bloomberg economists.
The car industry is under particular pressure. It was
already facing issues including weaker Chinese demand,
disruption from new emissions tests, and the transition
to electric vehicles. US tariffs – President Donald Trump
is due to decide by May 18 whether to slap levies on car
imports, though the date could be extended – would be a
damaging blow.
Along with weaker demand, companies are being
pounded by higher raw material costs, notably energy.
Consumer goods maker Henkel described an “increasingly
challenging’’ environment as it reported earnings that fell
short of expectations.
Economists currently foresee euro-area growth in 2019 of
1.1%, less than half the pace projected for the US. The bloc’s
better first quarter means that could be revised up, but the
damage so far has already pushed the ECB to delay interest-
rate hikes, and German 10-year bond yields have tumbled
below zero.
Confidence has also been weakened by political tensions.
Elections for the European Parliament are expected to
produce gains for anti-establishment parties, increasing
uncertainty about future economic policy.
There are “green shoots’’ signalling Europe’s slowdown
might finally be passing, and it’s worth waiting a while to
judge if the economy needs more stimulus, according to
ECB Governing Council member Ardo Hansson.
Make no mistake, it’s still a lot for ECB officials to digest
as the mid-year point approaches. They do have “miles to
go” before they can sleep tight.
W
hen Ishwar Chand
Sharma, a farmer
in northern India,
committed suicide just
days before the start of the country’s
general elections, police found a note in
his pocket with a plea: “Don’t vote for
the BJP.”
While police worked to authenticate
the note, Sharma’s son told the
Thomson Reuters Foundation that his
65-year-old father blamed the policies
of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) for the debt that drove him to
reportedly drink poison.
A mix of extreme weather, spiralling
operating costs and plunging food
prices has thrown millions of India’s
farmers into crisis, leading to more than
300,000 suicides over the past two
decades, according government data.
As Indians vote for the lower house
of parliament in a massive month-
long election that ends on May 19, the
plight of farmers has become a key
battleground for the leading BJP and its
main opposition, the Indian National
Congress, or Congress.
The BJP, headed by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, came to power in 2014,
when its promise to improve farmers’
lives earned it a landslide victory against
the Congress-led United Progressive
Alliance (UPA).
But rights groups say few farmers,
who make up almost half of India’s
working population, are any better off
than they were before that election.
This time, said Ashok Dhawale,
president of the All India Kisan
Sabha farmers’ association, many
are giving their votes to Congress,
drawn by its manifesto focusing on the
farming crisis, climate change and the
environment.
“The BJP is well aware that it has
say they have against the BJP is what
they see as the party’s failure to
implement the recommendations of the
so-called Swaminathan Commission.
Set up by the UPA government
in 2004, the commission made
recommendations on how to make
farming more sustainable.
They included improved access
to resources such as clean water,
technology and credit; a guaranteed
minimum selling price for most food
crops; and policies to help “drought
proof” farmers in dry regions.
But so far, no government has fully
implemented the recommendations,
said Satnam Singh Behru, president
of the Consortium of Indian Farmers
Association.
Meanwhile, farmers are finding it
increasingly difficult to earn a living.
Recent data from the Reserve Bank
of India show that the share of loans
in default in the agriculture sector has
been rising since 2011.
By September 2018, the total amount
of unpaid farming loans had jumped to
1tn rupees ($14bn) from around 700bn
rupees at the same time the year before.
Farmers have held several large
protests in Mumbai and Delhi since the
last election, calling for the government
to institute the commission’s policies
in full.
“The BJP government stabbed us in
the back,” Behru said.
In response to the criticisms, BJP
spokesman Gopal Krishna Agarwal told
the Thomson Reuters Foundation that
the party has taken significant steps
to improve the lives of the country’s
farmers over the past five years.
He pointed to the government’s
announcement last year that it would
institute one of the Swaminathan
recommendations and raise the
to produce them, he said.
“Our government has also done
remarkable work on risk mitigation (for
farmers),” he said.
He highlighted changes the party
made to crop insurance so that
farmers should now get payouts if
they lose at least 30% of their crops,
when previously the threshold was
50%.
“There are still a lot of issues,”
Agarwal said. “It’s a work in progress.”
In the current election, both the BJP
and Congress are pledging to finally
implement all of the recommendations
in the Swaminathan Commission
report.
But Congress has also dedicated
a large part of its manifesto to a
new climate action plan designed to
protect and restore India’s natural
resources and help farmers cope with
the country’s increasingly intense
droughts.
The BJP’s manifesto “is either vague
or mum (silent) on climate issues,” said
Indian social and environmental activist
Medha Patkar.
“The Congress manifesto
is somewhat deeper (because)
they involved a lot of people
and organisations working on
environmental issues.”
Among Congress’ green campaign
promises are dedicated funding to
develop a state-of-the-art climate
information system and to increase the
share of solar and wind in India’s energy
supply.
The party’s platform also includes
plans to clean up water bodies and
restore forests by tapping into existing
legislation that guarantees people in
rural areas at least 100 days of paid,
unskilled work every year.
And the party wants to replace the
regulations.
Congress has always been “pro-
farmer,” Tariq Anwar, a member
of parliament and former junior
agriculture minister in the second
Congress-led UPA government, told
the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a
telephone interview.
“The party has laid out a broader
vision aimed at improving the lives of
farmers,” he said.
There are signs that the vision is
pulling in voters.
Some current polls predict the BJP’s
ruling alliance will beat Congress in the
election, but this time only by a thin
margin.
Food and agriculture policy analyst
Devinder Sharma believes that to have
a chance of winning Congress needs to
persuade voters outside the agricultural
sector that the problems facing farmers
affect them too.
“Whether or not Congress’ focus on
farming issues could give it a boost in
the polls largely depends on the party’s
success in getting the message across to
the masses,” he said.
After supporting the BJP in the last
election, Gurdial Singh Virk, a 58-year-
old farmer from Punjab, said he is
switching his vote to Congress.
He said he is not sure whether
Congress will be able to live up to its
promises.
But he and many of the farmers he
knows are desperate for something to
change.
“As a prime minister, Modi has duped
the farmers of the country. We will
never vote for him or his party again,”
he said.
“We’re not very optimistic about
the Congress either, but then there are
no alternatives.” – Thomson Reuters
Foundation

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File picture of farmers waving flags and shout slogans as they march towards Ramlila Ground during a protest rally demanding a complete waiver of debt and fixed
© 2019 Gulf Times. All rights reserved assurances on crop prices, in New Delhi.

America’s illusions of growth
By Jeffrey D Sachs
New York
N
ational politics in the
United States has become
enslaved to macroeconomic
indicators that have little
bearing on true wellbeing.
For many commentators, the
snapshot growth rate of 3.2% for the
first quarter of 2019, coupled with a
decline in the unemployment rate to
3.6% in April, implies that President
Donald Trump’s economic policies
have been vindicated, and some
suggest that his re-election chances
have improved as a result.
But this interpretation overlooks
what these indicators fail to measure.
And what they fail to measure happens
to be what really counts for the public.
In defending the 2017 tax cut, to
which he attributes an additional 1.1%
annual GDP growth for 2018-2019,
Harvard economist Robert J Barro
writes, “I take it as self-evident that
faster economic growth is better than
slower economic growth,” because
“millions of people benefit from higher
growth rates, which are typically
accompanied by higher wages and
lower unemployment, which especially
help the worse-off.”
Yet we should be on guard against
“self-evident” truths. As a firm
believer in the rationality of the
public, Barro should consider
what the public actually says.
According to the most recent
Gallup survey, 40% of the public
approve of the 2017 tax cuts, while
49% disapprove – a net negative
assessment confirmed by several
other recent polls. The public is
looking beyond any temporary
boost in spending and is concerned
about growing income and wealth
inequality and the soaring budget
deficit. Following Barro himself (via
Grim logic of Trump’s trade war with China
By Noah Smith
Tribune News Service
A
month ago, I declared that
President Donald Trump’s
trade war against China
looked like it might be
winding down. I was wrong. Instead
of capitulating in exchange for some
agricultural purchases and other
minor concessions, Trump is doubling
down. He’s raising tariffs on $200bn
worth of Chinese imports from 10%
to 25%, and imposing new tariffs on
almost all of the remaining $325bn or
so. China said it would retaliate and
starting next month would impose
tariffs on $60bn of US goods. This
is the biggest trade war in modern
American history.
There were several reasons it looked
as if Trump might back off. First, it’s
very hard to verify whether Chinese
theft of intellectual property – one
of the biggest and most justified
complaints from the US side – is still
happening. Even if Chinese companies
and the Chinese military were to stop
appropriating the fruits of US research
and development, they would still be
able to make some progress by cleverly
reverse-engineering American-
made products, raising accusations
of continued espionage. A similar
enforceability problem applies to
Chinese non-tariff trade barriers; for
example, Chinese local governments
quietly and unofficially helping
Live issues
Weight-loss surgery may help cut risk of breast cancer
By Saumya Joseph
Reuters Health
S
everely obese women who opt
for weight-loss surgery may
be cutting their risk of breast
cancer along with their extra
pounds, a large US study suggests.
Researchers compared two groups
of women with morbid obesity:
nearly 18,000 who underwent
various forms of so-called bariatric
surgery and nearly 54,000 who did
not. The groups were similar in
terms of age, medical conditions
and body mass index (BMI, a ratio of
weight to height).
Researchers tracked the surgery
group for an average of about 48
months and the no-surgery group for
an average of about 41 months. During
the study period, women who had
the weight-loss operations had a 37%
lower risk of developing breast cancer
Ricardo), they most likely surmise
that future tax hikes are on the way.
Continuing opposition to the tax
cuts is not the only sign of public
dismay. Others are even more notable.
The country is evenly divided on
overall economic conditions, with
half describing them as “excellent”
or “good,” and half describing them
as “only fair” or “poor.” Some 49%
of Americans believe the economic
situation is improving, while 50%
feel that it is worsening or staying the
same. Overall, only 31% are satisfied
with the direction of the country, while
67% are dissatisfied.
Macroeconomic indicators hide
much about the quality of life. For
example, even while the US economy
has expanded during recent years,
America’s public health crisis has
continued to mount. The US has
experienced two consecutive years of
declining life expectancy, in 2016 and
2017 – the longest consecutive decline
since World War I and the subsequent
flu epidemic. Yet the current decline
is caused by despair, not by illness.
Suicide rates and opioid overdoses are
soaring.
Another alarming epidemic not
captured by GDP or unemployment
rates is the sharp rise in anxiety among
Americans. Gallup put it this way:
“Even as their economy roared, more
Americans were stressed, angry, and
worried last year than they have been
at most points during the past decade.
Asked about their feelings the previous
day, the majority of Americans (55%) in
2018 said they had experienced stress
during a lot of the day, nearly half
(45%) said they felt worried a lot, and
more than one in five (22%) said they
felt anger a lot.”
Stress, worry, and anger all hit ten-
year US highs in 2018. The US was the
seventh-most stressed population in
the world in 2018, less stressed than
Greece, the Philippines, and Iran, but
Chinese companies outcompete
American companies in the domestic
market. So even if China acceded to US
demands, ensuring compliance would
be hard. The difficulty of establishing
a credible enforcement mechanism is
probably a big reason trade talks have
broken down.
Second, the trade war has cost the
US economists have shown that the
actual burden of tariffs has fallen
mostly on American consumers – in
other words, the prices consumers pay
for imported goods has risen, while
the prices Chinese sellers receive
hasn’t changed very much. And
higher prices on capital goods and
intermediate goods is raising expenses
for US manufacturers, making them
less competitive. Meanwhile, Chinese
retaliation has hurt US farmers.
So with victory hard to verify and
losses mounting, it looked like there
was little reason to continue the trade
war. Yet Trump is doubling down.
Why?
Trump may be calculating that
the strong US economy and resilient
stock markets mean that there is little
downside to continuing the trade war.
Despite higher import prices, real
wages have generally continued to rise
at a modest rate:
The economy also continues to
add jobs at a strong pace, despite a
historically low unemployment rate:
Meanwhile, US stock markets are
not all that much below record highs,
having largely recovered from a tumble
compared to women who didn’t, the
researchers reported in Annals of
Surgery.
The risk was lowered by 45% in
postmenopausal women and by 28%
in premenopausal women.
Among postmenopausal women,
the reduction in risk was more
pronounced for estrogen receptor
(ER)-positive cancers. These tumours
depend on the hormone estrogen
for growth; the estrogen attaches to
proteins called receptors on the cancer
cells.
Among premenopausal women, by
contrast, the risk reduction was more
pronounced for ER-negative cancers,
which don’t depend on estrogen to
grow and are more common in younger
women.
“The main takeaway is that
the benefits are not exclusive to
postmenopausal women or ER-
positive women and this adds to
the now growing body of literature
Gulf Times
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 23
COMMENT
low unemployment rate reflects
the withdrawal of many low-wage
Americans from the labor force.
A majority of Americans are
neither happy with the way things
are going in their country nor naive
enough to believe that the 2017 tax
cut is a solution to their woes. Unlike
many macroeconomists, they know
there is more to life than a short-run
increase in GDP growth or decline in
the unemployment rate. These are at
best blurred snapshots that neglect
the future, overlook inequalities of
outcomes, and fail to reflect the high
and rising anxieties of Americans
living with overpriced healthcare,
massive student debts, and lack of job
protection. Nor do they reflect falling
life expectancy and the rising burdens
of substance abuse, suicides, and
depression.
It’s time that economists, pundits,
and politicians start looking
holistically at life in our times, and
take seriously the long-term structural
changes needed to address the
multiple crises of health care, despair,
inequality, and stress in the US and
many other countries.
US citizens, in particular, should
reflect on the fact that many other
countries’ people are happier and
less worried, and are living longer.
In general, those other countries’
People looking for work stand in line to apply for a job during a job fair at the Miami Dolphins Sun Life stadium in Miami, Florida. governments are not cutting taxes
for the rich and slashing services for
more stressed than Uganda, Turkey, declined during the past decade, quarters. And it is, in any event, a the rest. They are attending to the
and Venezuela. even as per capita GDP has risen. For preliminary estimate. common good, instead of catering
These stress measures are consistent the year 2018, the US ranked 20th Likewise, while a lower to the rich while pointing to illusory
with another notable finding: worldwide and in the bottom half of unemployment rate is certainly economic statistics that hide as much
Americans’ self-reported happiness the OECD countries, down from 19th heartening, part of the reported as they reveal. - Project Syndicate
also declined in 2018. in 2016-2018. decline in April reflected a reduction
Asked by Gallup how they would rate Even in their own terms, the GDP in the labor force. Even more to the z Jeffrey D Sachs, Professor of
their life on a scale from zero (worst and employment data are much point, the employment rate remains Sustainable Development and Professor
life) to ten (best life), Americans in less impressive than the headlines far below its earlier peak. The civilian of Health Policy and Management at
2018 responded with an average of 6.9, suggest. First-quarter GDP growth, employment rate in April 2019 stood at Columbia University, is Director of
down from 7.0 in 2017, and 7.3 during for example, showed a surge in 60.6% of the working-age population, Columbia’s Center for Sustainable
2006-2008. inventories, which might portend down from its annual peak of 64.4% Development and the UN Sustainable
Self-reported life satisfaction has slowing output growth in future in 2000. Much of America’s currently Development Solutions Network.
Three-day forecast
TODAY
Maximum Temperature : 410c
in late 2018. China’s announcement ascent in the 21st century has looked
Minimum Temperature : 310c
of retaliatory tariffs has put a modest unstoppable, as it gobbled up one
dent in equity markets, though that manufacturing industry after another, THURSDAY
may well be temporary: shouldered the US aside as the Maximum Temperature : 380c
With the economy doing well world’s biggest exporter, and became Minimum Temperature : 270c
enough for many Americans not the beating heart of an East Asian FRIDAY
to notice the pinch from the trade economic supercluster. In addition Maximum Temperature : 370c
war, losses on the US side have been to threatening to relegate North Minimum Temperature : 280c
concentrated among farmers. And it America to the global economy’s Fisherman's forecast
seems that Trump is betting that a periphery, this trend directly imperils
combination of government payouts US military dominance, as economic
and cultural affinity will mean few and technological supremacy tends to WARNING
Inshore : Strong wind expected
farmers desert him at the ballot box. translate into military supremacy. at places by afternoon
Meanwhile, the trade war appears If Trump wants to slow China’s Offshore : Nil
to be hurting China’s economy. It’s ascent as a superpower, a trade war WEATHER
hard to isolate the affect of the dispute might be an effective way to do it. If Inshore : Hot daytime with slight
from other factors, like Chinese the harm to the US is modest and the dust to blowing dust at
government attempts to crack down costs for China are severe and lasting, some places at times
and some clouds
on the shadow-banking system. But Trump might conclude that the former Offshore : Slight dust at times
the International Monetary Fund are acceptable losses. Geopolitical with some clouds
forecasts that the immediate blow primacy, not maximum prosperity for
WIND
from the trade war is hitting China Americans, might be the president’s Inshore : Northwesterly-North-
much harder: true objective. easterly 07-17/22 KT
Chinese exports, fixed-asset It’s also possible, of course, that the Offshrore : Southwesterly-North-
westerly 05-15/18 KT
investment, consumption and trade war is a purely populist endeavour,
industrial production may already and that maintaining tariffs is simply Visibility : 4 -8/3 KM
have taken a hit. In the long term, a way for Trump to look tough. If Offshore : 2-4/5 FT
both US tariffs and Chinese retaliation he calculates that there is less to be
may deter multinational companies gained from striking a deal than from Around the region
from producing goods in China; continuing the tariffs, or if weakening
Weather Weather
some already are blaming the trade China really is the goal, then this could
today Max/min tomorrow Max/min
war for a slowdown in foreign direct be just the opening rounds of a long and
Baghdad Sunny 41/23 Sunny 42/23
investment. And by forcing China to grinding trade war.
Kuwait City Sunny 41/28 Sunny 39/26
shift from exports to investment in Sunny
Manama Sunny 36/28 36/27
order to sustain growth, the trade war z Noah Smith is a Bloomberg
Muscat Sunny 36/29 M Sunny 36/29
might push the country toward a less Opinion columnist. He was an
Tehran M Sunny 28/17 Sunny 29/17
productive growth model. assistant professor of finance at Stony
There may be a grim sort of logic Brook University, and he blogs at
to this approach. So far, China’s Noahpinion.
Around the world
Weather Weather
supporting cancer reduction as a problems related to obesity, such as today Max/min tomorrow Max/min
meaningful benefit of weight loss,” type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, Athens P Cloudy 22/13 Sunny 23/14
Dr Brian Smith of UC Irvine Health high cholesterol, sleep apnea, Beirut M Sunny 29/22 P Cloudy 28/23
in Orange, California, who was not urinary incontinence, and knee and Bangkok S T Storms 33/27 I T Storms 34/27
involved in the study, told Reuters hip pain. Berlin Cloudy 14/08 Rain 16/11
Health by phone. The researchers on the current Cairo Sunny 40/24 Sunny 41/22
That body of literature includes a study found, however, that the Cape Town M Sunny 17/14 M Cloudy 21/12
large 2017 study that found morbidly reduction in breast cancer risk began Colombo P Cloudy 30/27 S T Storms 29/26
obese women who had bariatric to evaporate beginning about three Dhaka S T Storms 33/26 S T Stroms 34/27
surgery were less likely to develop any years after the operations were Hong Kong M Cloudy 27/24 S T Storms 27/24
type of cancer, not just breast cancer. performed, possibly as people tend to Istanbul Cloudy 24/15 P Cloudy 24/14
The most common bariatric regain their weight. Jakarta T Storm 32/26 S T Storms 32/25
procedure in the current study was Further studies will need to observe Karachi M Sunny 32/27 Sunny 32/27
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, which the patients for longer periods and London M Sunny 19/07 M Sunny 17/09
reduces the stomach to about the size consider the amount of weight lost Manila M Cloudy 36/27 P Cloudy 35/28
of an egg and rearranges the intestine and regained to see if the benefit Moscow Rain 21/09 P Cloudy 19/07
so that food bypasses part of it. Next of cancer risk reduction can be New Delhi M Cloudy 38/26 P Cloudy 39/26
most common was sleeve gastrectomy, maintained, study leader Heather New York P Cloudy 20/13 P Cloudy 22/12
which reduces the stomach to the size Spencer Feigelson of the Kaiser Paris Sunny 18/07 M Sunny 18/09
of a banana. Permanente Institute for Health Sao Paulo S Showers 22/17 S Showers 20/16
According to the US National Research in Aurora, Colorado, told Seoul P Cloudy 28/13 P Cloudy 29/14
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Reuters Health by phone. Singapore T Storm 31/27 T Storm 31/27
and Kidney Diseases, the benefits of “It could just be that this effect Sydney Sunny 21/12 M Sunny 21/12
weight loss surgery can also include we’re seeing is only a short-term Tokyo Cloudy 21/15 Cloudy 24/15
improvements in many health effect,” she said.
 Gulf Times
24 Wednesday, May 15, 2019

QATAR
Amir hosts Iftar banquet for Armed Forces, MoI officers

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani hosted yesterday an Iftar banquet in honour of the commanders and senior officers of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and various security bodies, on the occasion of the
holy month of Ramadan. The banquet was attended by His Highness Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Personal Representative of His Highness the Amir. It was also attended by HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah
bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, as well as a number of their excellencies Sheikhs.

NU-Q Media Use findings reveal

changing attitudes in Middle East
N
orthwestern University
in Qatar’s sixth annual
Media Use in the Mid-
dle East survey has found that a
majority of nationals in most of
the countries surveyed generally
support online freedom of ex-
pression and there has been an
increase in the percentage of na-
tionals who feel that film and TV
content from the US/Hollywood
is good for morality.
“NU-Q’s Media Use in the
Middle East 2018: A Seven-Na-
tion Survey is a comprehensive
resource for scholars as well as
business, government and other
thought leaders seeking to better
understand and engage with the
region,” said Everette E Dennis,
dean and CEO of NU-Q.
“Since 2013, NU-Q has se-
lected six to eight countries to
approximate a reasonable rep-
resentation of public opinion on
media use and related topics in
a turbulent and complex region.
Six years of feedback suggests
that our research has generated
useful and discerning findings.”
The participating countries,
including Qatar, Tunisia, Jordan,
Lebanon and others — represent
a cultural and geopolitical cross-
section of the Mena region.
The 155-page report, pub-
lished in English and Arabic, of-
fers chapters covering cultural
attitudes, censorship and digital
privacy, media use by platform,
online and social media, film,
TV, music and podcasts, games,
sports, and news, as well as one
section focusing just on Qatar.
In addition to charts and sum-
maries, the report features guest
commentary from experts such
as the University of Maryland’s
Shibley Telhami, Rice Univer-
sity’s Kristian Ulrichsen, Al
Jazeera English’s Leah Harding,
Doha Film Institute’s Fatma al-
Remaihi, the Annenberg School
for Communication’s Marwan M
Kraidy, Al-Fanar Media’s Ursula
Lindsey, the University of Essex’s
Fatima el Issawi, Georgetown
University in Qatar’s Mohamed
Zayani and Mehran Kamrava,
and NU-Q’s Eric Espig and Craig
LaMay.
Key findings from the report
include:
„Cultural attitudes: fewer na-
tionals now, compared to 2014,
say films and TV content from
the Arab region are good for mo-
rality, while more nationals say
such content from the US/Hol-
lywood is good for morality.
„Censorship & digital pri-
vacy: a majority of nationals in
most countries support online
freedom of expression generally;
yet, a minority of nationals in
three countries say people should
be free to criticise governments
online, whereas a majority of na-
tionals only in two countries say
the same.
„Media use by platform: more
nationals in 2018 than in 2016 say
they paid for online music, sports
or film content in the past year,
though the figures for each are
below 10%.
„Online & social media: Fa-
cebook penetration continues
to fall among nationals in all
countries. In 2013, 88% or more
of Internet users in these Arab
countries used Facebook. In
2018, three countries reported
Facebook penetration rates lower
than 50%, including just 9% in
Qatar, the lowest known figure
in any high-income country. In
addition, Twitter penetration in
Arab countries has plummeted
dramatically.
„Film: the percentage of na-
tionals who watch films in a
cinema has increased in several
countries since 2014, including
Qatar and Tunisia.
„TV: the percentage of na-
tionals who watch TV every day
fell from 69% to 54% between
2014 and 2018. Binge-watching
TV/online content is reported by
significantly more nationals now
than in 2016, having increased
from 32% to 40%. This compares
to 76% of people in the US who
binge-watch content.
„ Music & podcasts: podcasts
are popular among Arab nation-
als, with 30% of both Qataris
and Tunisians listening to pod-
casts.
„Games: roughly the same
percentage of nationals plays
video games now as did in 2014,
but many who play are devoting
more time to it. Qatari gamers,
for example, spent an average
of nine hours each week playing
games in 2014, a number that in-
creased 45% by 2018, to 13 hours.
Lebanese gamers report a 55%
increase in time spent playing.
„Sports: more Arab nation-
als in 2018 than 2014 list sports
as a favourite genre of TV and
online video. In five countries,
including 2022 FIFA World Cup
host Qatar, more nationals pre-
fer to watch a sporting event on
TV/online rather than attend the
same event.
„News: seven in 10 or more of
nationals in three countries say
they often or sometimes encoun-
ter political news items online
that appear entirely fake (Qataris,
Lebanese, etc), which is equal to
or more than the number of US
residents who say the same.
The sixth annual media use
survey was conducted face-to-
face (phone in Qatar) among
7,635 respondents across seven
countries. The survey was con-
ducted by
The Harris Poll from July 10 to
December 30, 2018.
The complete results of NU-
Q’s sixth annual Middle East me-
dia use survey are also available
on the interactive website, mide-
astmedia.org.

Children attending different activities at the workshop. A crafts session in progress.

Children celebrate Ramadan through creative workshops at Qatar National Library

Q
atar National Library is
offering a creative way for
children to celebrate the
holy month with a series of Ram-
adan-inspired design workshops,
which began recently.
The first workshop was hugely
popular, bringing together a di-
verse group of children aged
six-12. Using special machines
provided by the library, work-
shop presenters taught the young
participants how to design and
create different symbolic deco-
rations to celebrate Ramadan in
their homes. The unique Islamic
elements and patterns reflected
in the personalised individual de-
signs offered an opportunity for
participants to exchange differ-
ent Ramadan traditions practised
in the Gulf region and many other
countries. The workshop also
brought a focus on encouraging
family traditions in celebrating
Ramadan. The library is offer-
ing a full programme of events
throughout May, which is focus-
ing on the theme of faith. Zainab
Elmi, who attended the event,
said: “I have so far attended two
events during Ramadan at Qa-
tar National Library and enjoyed
all of them. These events offer a
good chance for people who want
to spend their time doing some-
thing new in daylight hours dur-
ing Ramadan.” “We are grateful
to Qatar National Library for or-
ganising such events in Ramadan,
which allow us to socialise with
other visitors and learn in a fun
way. I am new to Qatar so attend-
ing these events give me a chance
to get to know the people and the
place better,” said Yasser Ahmed,
another participant at the event.
The decoration design workshops
continue on May 18 and 25.