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Wednesday 5 February 2014

5 Rabial II 1435 - Volume 18Number 5966 Price: QR2

C E R T I F I E D N E W S P A P E R

ISO 9001:2008

PM meets AWI president

Snow blankets Tehran

The Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, yesterday met Jack Lang, president of the Paris-based Arab World Institute. They discussed cooperation between the two countries.

Iranian women walk during snowfall in Tehran yesterday.

Business | 21 Sport | 32

Alwaseeta, QKLC ink pact for LED project

England end Pietersen’s career

DOHA: Expatriate families living in partitioned villas and apartments could be in for trou-ble as the Central Municipal Council (CMC) has urged the civic ministry to take urgent measures to stop the practice.

The representative body has said families living in pigeonhole residential units in partitioned vil-las and even in partitioned flats are putting themselves at risk and putting undue pressure on utilities and services.

The services committee of the CMC has drafted a set of recom-mendations, which the House debated yesterday and forwarded to the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning for approval and action.

The Ministry takes CMC’s rec-ommendations seriously and nor-mally approves them with minor alterations.

The CMC has urged the min-istry to strictly enforce the law regulating buildings (No. 4 of 1985) and the Rent Law (No. 4 of 2008), which stipulate that no alterations should be made in buildings and apartments without permission from municipal authorities.

The CMC noted with concern that people took villas on rent, partitioned them to create small residential units, and sublet them, which is against the law.

Any residential unit, whether a villa or an apartment, should not be allowed to be partitioned

without approval from the munici-pality concerned, it said.

The CMC noted that partition-ing was also against Law Number 7 of 1989, which regulates the architecture and specifications of buildings.

“Conduct a study (survey) of such villas and apartments and come out with a draft decision to ban portioning,” said the CMC in its recommendations.

It asked the ministry to coordi-nate with public utility Kahramaa and ensure that water and elec-tricity supply to residential units in partitioned villas and apart-ments are discontinued with immediate effect.

The CMC further urged the ministry to deploy its inspectors to conduct checks and identify partitioned villas and apartments.

The ministry must make sure that its inspectors are able to enter homes to run such checks and catch violators, as government inspectors are not permitted by law to enter homes.

Not allowing illegal partitioning of villas and apartments is in pub-lic interest, as not only is it against the law but it also puts people’s safety at immense risk.

The community at large, say the CMC recommendations, should be made aware of the dangers of partitioning villas and apartments and subletting them to people to live in.

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Call for action against villa partitioningCMC wants utility services stopped

Pension authority snubs CMC

Fee for profession change in visasDOHA: The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs will now charge a fee to change the profession of a worker in his employment contract and on his work visa and ID card.

And now the employees of companies that are not a part of or partners of the govern-ment or Qatar Petroleum and

are working in the petroleum sector, as also those engaged in marketing petroleum products, chemicals and petrochemi-cals, will not be covered by the labour law.

Some provisions of the labour law (Law Number 4 of 2004) have been amended to make the above changes. The Emir,

H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, yesterday issued Law Number 3 of 2014 in this regard.

The new legislation amends some provisions of the previous law (of 2004) and is applicable from the date of issue and is to be published in the official gazette, Qatar News Agency reported. THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar’s pension author-ity has delivered a snub to the Central Municipal Council (CMC) after the latter urged it to improve the lot of retirees.

The General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority has rebuffed the CMC, reminding it rather tersely that it had no legal right to approach it with recommendations.

In a strongly worded reply, the pension Authority told the CMC to mind its business and remember that the law regulating it allows it to make recommen-dations only regarding legisla-tion covering municipalities and agriculture.

“You have no right to raise retirees’ issues with us. The law doesn’t allow you that privilege.”

“Article 8 of Law Number 20 of 1998, especially Paragraph three and clause 2, clearly stipulate that you can make recommendations

only regarding laws concerning the municipalities and agricul-ture,” said the letter.

Signed by the Chairman of the pension Authority, Turki Mohamed Al Khater, the let-ter was read out in the CMC yesterday.

Interestingly, though, after the initial rebuff the Authority replied, one by one and in detail, to the issues raised by the CMC in its recommendations.

The tone of the Authority’s let-ter, however, led the vice-chair-man of the public representative body, Jassem Al Malki, to pub-licly say it wasn’t appropriate on its (Authority’s) part to talk of CMC’s rights.

“They should have simply replied to our recommendations,” said Al Malki.

This isn’t the first time the public representative body has been rebuffed by a government

agency. There has been a show-down between the CMC and Ashghal as well in the past over criticism of the latter by the former.

About the CMC’s recommen-dations to the pension Authority that it set up a social and cultural club for retirees, the Authority said it was not part of its job pro-file, as per the law, to establish such clubs.

About Qataris volunteering for early retirement, the Authority said it was taking steps to pre-vent this phenomenon. “We are against people retiring when they are young.”

The Authority said in its reply to the CMC that it had made proposals to the authorities and if those proposals are approved, retirees would get pension equiva-lent to the salary they received at the time of their retirement.

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On Sunday, the Foreign Ministry of the UAE summoned the ambas-

sador of Qatar over remarks made by Dr Yusuf Al Qaradawi in his F r i d a y sermon in Doha on J a n u a r y 25. Al Qaradawi had said that “the UAE stands against any Islamic rule, and imprisons its sympathizers”. Later, H E Dr Khalid Al Attiyah, Qatar’s Foreign Minister, said in an interview on Qatar TV that Yusuf Al Qaradawi’s words do not reflect the foreign policy of the State of Qatar, and its foreign policy is always artic-ulated through official chan-nels, not through any other platform.

Of course, this is not the first time, and it will not be the last, when there are ten-sions and bickering between the Gulf states. Tensions occur repeatedly in various fields and they are not limited to differences of opinion among leaders. If we go back a little, we will find that there were tensions because of a football match, a television series, a song, a poem, or because of tweets in social networking sites. These tensions affect even members of one house-hold. In the past, members of a particular tribe had moved from their location to another place and tribe due to tensions with their original tribe.

Continued on page 8

Khalid Al SayedEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

GCC and the repercussions of Arab Spring

OPINION

Strong winds to cause fall in mercury DOHA: The Meteorology Department has forecast strong northwesterly winds leading to a further dip in temperature over the next three days.

The Department has also warned of high seas and low vis-ibility at times resulting from the dusty winds. Scattered rains are also forecast over the weekend.

“High pressure over northern Saudi Arabia will intensify and extend to the Gulf starting from today and generate northwest-erly winds at speeds from 15 to 25 knots, reaching up to 35 knots at places at times,” said a state-ment issued by the Department yesterday.

Visibility would be reduced due to dust and a rise in sea waves by 10-15 feet offshore is also expected. This condition could prevail until Friday morning.

The prevailing northwesterly winds would bring in cold air from the northwest causing a dip in temperature over the next few days. The expected maximum tem-perature would be between 16-20 degrees Celsius, and the minimum between 10-14 degrees Celsius. Temperature in Doha today would hover between 17 degrees C and 23 degrees C and the lowest temperature is expected at Abu Samra from 15 degrees Celsius to 20 degrees Celsius.

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Three central markets to be set up outside DohaDOHA: A proposal to set up three central markets outside Doha has been approved by the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning.

The new markets will be located in Umm Salal Ali, Al Rayyan and Al Wakra, it was disclosed at a regular session of the Central Municipal Council (CMC) yesterday.

The issue was discussed in a letter sent to the CMC by the Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning, H E Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Khalifa Al Thani, in response to its proposal to set up new central markets outside Doha.

The proposal has been approved after a detailed study, said the minister.

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White House calls on Egypt to free Jazeera journalistsWASHINGTON: The White House yesterday called on Egypt to free three Al-Jazeera television journalists who have been held for more than a month, reportedly in harsh conditions.

President Barack Obama’s spokesman Jay Carney said the deten-tion of the journalists was “of deep concern” to the US administration.

“The restrictions on freedom of expression in Egypt are a concern, and that includes the targeting of Egyptian and foreign journalists and academics simply for expressing their views.”

“These figures, regardless of affiliation, should be protected and permitted to do their jobs freely in Egypt.”

Carney said that Washington had expressed its views to the Egyptian government and strongly urged it to drop the charges against the journalists and release them.

Australian Peter Greste, the Canadian-Egyptian bureau chief for Jazeera English in Cairo Mohamed Adel Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed were arrested on December 29 in a Cairo hotel.

AFP

04 HOMEWEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

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DOHA: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has relo-cated its specialist Burns Unit from the Rumailah Hospital to a state-of-the-art facility at Al Wakrah Hospital.

The new unit started func-tioning last Friday.

HMC said yesterday that the move comes as part of its ongo-ing operational plans to trans-form many of its key clinical services to meet demands of the rapidly growing population in the country.

The new Burns Unit will have additional beds and other resources, including dedicated theatres, immediate access to Intensive Care Units and spe-cialist clinical services, as well as additional staff that can cater to more patients.

Al Wakrah Hospital Medical Director Dr Nassar Al Ansari said the hospital aims to provide a world-class burns centre serv-ice. “HMC’s aim is to provide a comprehensive Burns Unit in keeping with the organisational goals of clinical transformation. The Burns Unit moving to Al

Wakrah Hospital meets this strategic objective, and estab-lishes an improved facility that allows clinicians and special-ists to deliver increasingly bet-ter care to patients,” said Dr Al Ansari.

Rumailah Hospital Medical Director Dr Abdulaziz Al Darwish said that the move allowed them to free up extra capacity to accommodate addi-tional long term beds and real-locate much-needed space and focus on expanding long term care services.

A specialist team from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Sumner Redstone Burns Center in the United States is providing sup-port to HMC during the tran-sition of the Burns Unit. The Medical Director for the MGH Burns Division, Dr Shawn Fagan, headed the team.

The hospital also provides ample parking for patients and visitors. The Burns Unit can be contacted over telephone - 4011 5284.

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Qatar to boost cyber securityCitizens’ privacy will be protected, Dr Al Jaber tells GCC forum

HMC Burns Unit shifted to Al Wakrah Hospital

DOHA: Organisers of ‘Disney Live! presents Mickey’s Music Festival’ announced yesterday said they had added an extra per-formance due to popular demand.

The additional show will be on February 13 at 3.30pm and tickets are on sale, said Ali Haidary, Founder and CEO of Sport & Entertainment Solutions, who are organising the show.

Thousands of Disney fans flocked to Virgin Megastores in Villaggio Mall and Landmark Mall as well as the online ticketing website, since tickets officially went on sale on January 10.

“Since Disney On Ice in 2013 sold out in record time, the demand for shows of the same calibre has dramatically increased. It is no surprise that Disney fans want more. I am confident that tickets for the addi-tional show will sell out in no time,” said Nassim Goraieb, Marketing Manager, Virgin Megastore. Ticket prices are QR150, QR250, QR375 and QR1,000.

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DOHA: Qatar will step up efforts to enhance cyber secu-rity but will also ensure individ-uals’ privacy is protected.

“The issue of digital security is critical not just for our region, but also for the entire globe,” the Minister of Information and Communication Technology H E Dr Hessa Sultan Al Jaber told the GCC Digital Security Forum yesterday.

“We will pursue cyber security policies that enhance our security, but we will preserve our citizens’ right to privacy,” she added.

More than 500 delegates rep-resenting governments and com-panies from 15 countries are attending the two-day forum being held by MEEZA under the Minister’s patronage.

According to Al Jaber, Qatar under the leadership of the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad

Al Thani has taken prudent steps to strengthen cyber security through cooperation with the gov-ernment, private sector, academia and other countries.

“Qatar’s leadership has stood up to challenges of cyber security with a national-level committee fostering cooperation among the public and private sectors, coor-dinating a national level cyber security strategy, developing national policies and regulations and conducting information secu-rity assessments,” she said.

“We now understand that effective cyber security is the result of improved technology, better defined processes, and a workforce more educated about cyber threats and risks.”

Urging the need for collabora-tion on cyber security, she said, “The scale of challenges requires strong national leadership, but we

know that the Internet is funda-mentally multinational. Threats are cross-border. We will seek partnership with the GCC and other countries that share our views.”

Rashid Al Naimi, Chairman, MEEZA said digital security is not just an issue of technical nature, it is rather the first line of defence of the economy, soci-ety and national wealth against attempted incursions by crimi-nal elements that will always for various motives try to disrupt and harm the economy and the orderly functioning of organisations.

“With the growing digital econ-omy and innovation, our country is now on a par with the best economies in terms of usage, voice and data communication, smart devices, the Internet and the quality and capacity of our ICT infrastructure, systems and their

wide ranging use by the govern-ment, corporations and individu-als,” he said.

Dr Hamadoun Toure, Secretary General, International Telecommunication Union, Switzerland, said bridging the digital divide has been the utmost concern in recent years.

He said with almost two-thirds of the global population still offline and a daunting gap of 60 percent in the Internet penetra-tion between Africa and Europe, there still remain challenges.

Ghada El Rassi, Chief Executive Officer, MEEZA, Qatar, said the forum reflects MEEZA’s commit-ment to bring to Qatar and the Gulf the most advanced informa-tion and telecommunication and security technology and make it available to customers in a cost- effective manner.

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The Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohamed bin Saleh Al Sada (third left); the Minister of Information and Communications Technology H E Dr Hessa Sultan Al Jaber (fourth left); the Chairman of MEEZA and CEO of Investments at Qatar Foundation, Rashid Al Naimi (second left); the Secretary-General of International Telecommunication Union, Switzerland, Dr Hamadoun Toure (second right), and the CEO of MEEZA, Ghada El Rassi (right), at the opening of the GCC Digital Security Forum at the St Regis Hotel in Doha yesterday. SALIM MATRAMKOT

Extra show of Mickey’s Music fest on Feb 13

DOHA: Qatar General Elec-tricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) has invited entries for its annual ‘conserving build-ing competition’. The contest is part of the national programme for conservation and energy efficiency — Tarsheed.

The competition launched by Conservation and Energy Efficiency Department, is open to all buildings from industrial, governmental, commercial, and

residential sectors. Sports ven-ues are also included this year.

Interested people can apply until February 28 via Kahramaa website km.qa by filling in a reg-istration form. The buildings will be evaluated based on the specific parameters set by the team of qualified experts to test efficient design of Mechanical Electrical & Plumbing (MEP) systems in all buildings which in turn includes HVAC System,

lighting, plumbing fixtures, land-scape, motion sensors, and BMS.

“Conserving buildings” are buildings that reduce electricity and water consumption, carbon emissions, and provide better living for residents. Kahramaa launched the competition for the first time last year and the win-ners were honoured at the first anniversary of Tarsheed held in solidarity with the Earth Day.

THE PENINSULA

Kahramaa invites entries for ‘conserving buildings’ contest

06 HOMEWEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

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DOHA: The College of North Atlantic – Qatar (CNA-Q) was recently awarded Continuing Professional Development accreditation by Qatar Council of Health Practitioners (QCHP) at Supreme Council of Health (SCH).

The award, recognising CNA-Q’s expertise in healthcare edu-cation, was presented during a ceremony at the college.

Dr Jamal Rashid Al Khanji, Acting CEO of QCHP, presented CNA-Q officials with the honour, the second organisation in Qatar recognised by it.

“It is important that we utilise

amazing organizations in Qatar to meet the needs of the industry. The role of CNA-Q is not only to provide continuing professional development training, but also to help fill the skills gap that can occur when professionals have been in industry for many years. It is important that we work together to provide programmes to requalify them,” he said.

CNA-Q health sciences gradu-ates are recognised in the work-place for their knowledge base, competence and professional-ism. According to Irene O’Brien, Dean, School of Health Sciences, this partnership is the next

logical step.“The school is committed to

providing practitioners with valid, accessible and meaningful continuous professional develop-ment opportunities that meet international standards,” she said.

“We are committed to working with SCH to carry standards of programme excellence forward in support of medical licensing,

ensuring an optimum healthcare delivery system for Qatar,” she added.

The Accreditation Department is one of three pillar departments of the QCHP. It regulates and accredits medical education pro-grammes and health academic in Qatar.

It is playing a vital role in implementing international best practices in healthcare system for

patient safety and is a provider of accreditation for CPD providers and programmes for healthcare practitioners.

CNA-Q is a natural partner for CPD training as its school pro-vides training in 10 allied health programmes ranging from den-tal assistance and emergency medical science to environmental health and safety, medical radi-ography technology, pharmacy

technician and respiratory ther-apy. They represent a majority of the allied health professions which will need CPD activities to maintain licensing. The School of Health Sciences is the only school in Qatar to have been awarded Canadian accreditation in medi-cal radiography technology, phar-macy technician and respiratory therapy programmes.

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Dr Jamal Rashid Al Khanji, Acting CEO of QCHP, presenting the accreditation to a CNA-Q executive as other officials look on.

CNA-Q receives Continuing Professional Development accreditation from SCH

DOHA: Arab singing sensa-tions Shama Hamdan and Diana Karazon will enthrall thousands of fans at the Wheels ‘n’ Heels Family Fun Day at Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) Park on Friday.

They will join a host of celeb-rities from Qatar and across the Arab world for the seventh edi-tion of the annual event organised by Reach Out To Asia (Rota) and sponsored by Maersk Oil Qatar with strategic partner Qatar Cycling Federation (QCF).

Music fans are expected to flock to the Wheels ‘n’ Heels Stage to enjoy the performance by UAE superstar Shama Hamdan, the first Emirati woman to make it to the finals of the hit reality show Arabs Got Talent.

A performance by Jordanian music sensation, television host and actress Diana Karazon, win-ner of the first ever Super Star television series, will also be one of the highlights of the event.

Children will also enjoy meet-ing popular Baraem Children’s Channel presenters Ahmed Al Mulla and Jihan Arsanious, mas-ters of the ceremony of the event.

Sports fans will also have photo opportunity and get autographs from sports icons, Mahmoud and Abdullah Bo Shri (Kuwait), rally racer Nada Zeidan (Qatar), and teenage swimming sensation Nada Mohamed Arakji (Qatar).

“I want to thank all the enter-tainers, musicians and celebri-ties for reaching out to have fun at Wheels ‘n’ Heels,” says

Rota Executive Director Essa Al Mannai. “Friday promises to be a really fantastic fun day and I encourage the families of Qatar to come along and enjoy all the excitement at Wheels ‘n’ Heels.”

The event will start at 2pm and run until 10pm and includes various activities held in differ-ent zones.

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Arab singers Hamdan, Karazon to wow fansPerformances at Wheels ‘n’ Heels Family Fun Day

Shama Hamdan and Diana Karazon

DOHA: Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker visited the home of Airbus in Toulouse, France to get a first-hand knowledge on the world’s newest aircraft, A350, before its delivery later this year.

Al Baker was welcomed by Airbus Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Bregier and other employees at the A350 hangar.

The visit precedes the first flight of an A350 to Qatar today, where it will be officially wel-comed at the world’s newest glo-bal gateway, Hamad International Airport (HIA), by a select crowd of Qatar Airways staff and other dignitaries, before it takes to the skies for an aerial display.

Qatar Airways will be the first A350 XWB operator and is also its biggest customer with 80 air-craft on order. Airbus and Qatar

Airways are working closely together to ensure a successful entry-into-service of this all-new aircraft from Day One.

During his site-tour, Al Baker unveiled Airbus’ newest flight test aircraft MSN4, branded with a special ‘launch customer’ livery. The aircraft will soon join the A350 flight test fleet for external noise and lightning tests, avionics development and certification and training for first customer pilots and maintenance teams.

“Qatar Airways is proud to be the launch customer for this new aircraft, and we look forward to soon taking delivery of the first of 80 A350s.

“At Qatar Airways, we are eager to open a new chapter of efficient and comfortable air travel and the A350 XWB will do this for us. The aircraft will give us that extra edge in economics

and comfort to further boost our route expansion,” said Al Baker.

Al Baker took the opportu-nity to thank the Airbus staff, on behalf of everyone at Qatar Airways, for their efforts in work-ing to fulfil the airline’s order for 80 aircraft.

The Airbus A350 will be one of the world’s most fuel efficient airliners, offering state-of-the-art design and comfort.

Qatar Airways has a robust range of Airbus aircraft in its fleet. In addition to the 80 A350 it has on order, the airline has a cur-rent Airbus fleet comprising the A320, A300Freighter, A319LR, A321, A330 and A340 families. Qatar Airways is also a customer of the A380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, and expects to take delivery of its first A380 this spring.

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Launch customer Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker (left), is welcomed by Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Fabrice Bregier (centre), and another official at the A350 hangar in Toulouse, France.

QA CEO Al Baker visits Airbus HQ

DOHA: Doha International Airport (DIA) recorded an impressive year with 23.27 million passenger traf-fic in 2013, a growth of 9.93 percent compared to 21.16m passengers went through it in 2012.

The airport has also experienced a 4.7 percent growth in overall cargo traffic year-on-year.

DIA has seen a year-on-year growth during every month in 2013, which underlined an ever-growing importance of Doha as an international hub.

Summer vacations, Eid, Haj, National

Day and New Year holidays seen the maximum rush. DIA has also witnessed a 7.9 percent annual increase in aircraft movements in 2013.

The growth rate comes as Qatar gears up for the opening of Hamad International Airport.

“DIA went to great measures to plan ahead and ensure high levels of coordina-tion with the respective authorities and service providers in order to enrich our passengers’ travel experience. The strong cooperation between parties enabled us to extend a seamless and hassle free process

for our passenger, who are at the heart of everything we do at DIA, said Abdulaziz Al-Mass, Senior Public Relations and Communications Manager, DIA.

2014 is expected to see an increase in cargo traffic as DIA’s cargo facility enhances its unique offering, with the introduction of two new unique serv-ices, Q Pharma and Q Fresh, which will optimise the transportation of time and temperature sensitive goods, including high-value pharmaceutical products and perishables. The growth in the cargo mar-ket has fuelled massive expansion, and

with the recently announced commercial agreement between Qatar Airways and IAG Cargo, an optimal level of service, convenience and flexibility will be deliv-ered to worldwide cargo customers.

The inbound mail to Qatar has increased by over 20 percent year-on-year, but overall mail traffic has dropped by 1.5 percent in comparison to 2012, due to a decrease in outbound mail.

December 2013 has recorded the sig-nificant passenger traffic growth of over 13 percent compared to the same month of the previous year. Aircraft movements

also contributed to a successful December with almost 7.5 percent year-on-year growth.

Despite operating over capacity throughout the year, DIA management has taken a range of measures to ensure passenger comfort and has invested sig-nificantly in infrastructure improve-ments, including additional check-in gates, more aircraft parking bays, and expanded terminal facilities to provide passengers with a comfortable, safe and enjoyable travel experience.

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Airport recorded 9.93pc growth in passenger traffic

DOHA: A popular Qatari theatre and radio artiste who worked with Qatar Radio died in a fire that broke out at a farmhouse in Al Shahaniya late on Monday night.

Hilal Mohamed Hilal, 69, (pictured) was buried at Abu Hamour cemetery last evening and his funeral was attended by a large number of people.

Hilal lived in Madinat Khalifa (North). On Monday he went to the farmhouse and had dinner.

He then went to sleep in a porta-cabin there.

This was not the first time he went to the farmhouse. He would usually have his dinner with friends there and sleep overnight.

The portacabin caught fire and Hilal died due to suffoca-tion from smoke. He was also a member of Qatar’s theatre group and performed in TV serials as well.

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Qatari artiste dies in Al Shahaniya fire

DOHA: The Four Seasons Hotel Doha, College of North Atlantic Qatar (CNA-Q), Qatar Cancer Society and the Canadian Embassy will organise the Terry Fox Run 2014 on Tuesday at the college to spread cancer awareness.

Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Al Thani, Andre Dubois, Terry’s sister Judith Fox-Alder and the hotel’s Manager Shadi Suleman will join the Marathon of Hope.

For the 10th year, the hotel is supporting the run with proceeds benefiting cancer research.

The annual marathon aims at raising funds and awareness about finding a cure for cancer.

The Four Seasons Hotels

and Resorts Founder and CEO. Isadore Sharp has made a commitment to support the event since Terry Fox, a young Canadian man suffering from bone cancer, initiated it in 1980.

Although, he had his left leg amputated, Terry was deter-mined to run across Canada to generate awareness and funds for cancer research.

Sharp has made a pledge to support the run until the dis-ease is beaten.

The hotel has followed through on its pledge to organise the annual run and works with Canadian Cancer Society to plan the Marathon of Hope.

The run is a volunteer-led event, non-competitive, with

no fundraising minimums with all funds going to Terry Fox Foundation benefiting local can-cer research.

Funds will remain in Qatar as there are several research projects looking for the cure for cancer.

The event is catered by hotel volunteers. Families can bring their children as there will be fun activities.

Donations can be made online to the Terry Fox Run via http://www.terryfox.org/InternationalRun/Doha_Qatar.html

Participants are encouraged to make contributions towards the fight against cancer.

THE PENINSULA

CNA-Q to host Terry Fox Run Marathon of Hope on Tuesday

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DOHA: The Supreme Council of Health (SCH) launched the National Cancer Programme (NCP) coinciding with World Cancer Day yesterday.

Based on the five-year National Cancer Strategy launched in 2011, the programme will launch regu-lar awareness campaigns to edu-cate society about the disease. The Programme Team will continue to oversee the implementation of the strategy.

One of the awareness campaigns launched under the programme is the “Cancer Champions’ Outreach Programme” that brings together key figures in the Qatari Society to bring the message of cancer prevention and early detection to the community.

“The purpose of enlisting the help of these champions is to raise awareness, encourage early cancer detection and reassure families and friends that there is hope and life after cancer for our cancer patients,” said Dr Abdullah Al Ansari, Chairman of Surgery and Deputy Chief of Medical, Academic and Research for Surgical Services at HMC, at a press conference yesterday.

The Cancer Champions would engage in year-long activities cre-ating a movement to go beyond the campaign.

“Additionally, we have plans to develop a Religious Outreach Programme in hope of collaborat-ing with major religious figures in Qatar to disseminate our mes-sages further, encouraging soci-ety to take care of God’s gift of a healthy body and to protect it from any harm by avoiding health

risk factors and seeking medical help promptly when needed,” added Dr Al Ansari.

Stressing the importance of early detection, the programme works with its partners to ensure that patients are provided with quick and efficient referrals on a 48-hour referral pathway.

“Our set goal for 2016 is to ensure that every suspected can-cer patient is seen in a secondary care setting by a specialist within a 48 hour time-frame,” he said.

A dedicated website for shar-ing information on cancer related subjects was also launched.

“This is work in progress. On the website we will develop new sections on the various types of cancer.

“We also will give updates on the events and activities of the National Cancer Programme,” explained Prof Alexander Knuth, Medical Director of the National Center for Cancer Care and Research and Chairman of Cancer Services, HMC.

Prof Knuth underscored the importance of education as a pillar of the strategy promoting awareness and dispelling myths of cancer under the “Myth Refutation” campaign.

“We wish to create an ongoing dialogue, taking the right meas-ures to give people the right tools to take control of their health. This will contribute to cancer prevention, early detection of disease and better treatment outcomes.”

Dr Salahddin Gehani, general surgery and senior breast cancer consultant at Hamad General

Hospital, said “The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that breast cancer is the most common cancer in Qatar and both its incidence rate and mortality rate are significantly higher than any other type of cancer in Qatar for women.”

“With an estimate that every one in eight women will be diag-nosed with breast cancer, the National Cancer Programme felt it imperative that we respond by launching the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign.”

This campaign will be done through spreading the facts about breast cancer and how to be breast aware to increase aware-ness about signs and symptoms of breast cancer.

Almost three years after its implementation, the National Cancer Strategy has achieved impressive progress, said Dr Jamal Rashid Al Khanji, Director Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Department at SCH.

“Qatar has become the first GCC member state of WHO/International Agency for Research in Cancer (IARC) and the 23rd state internationally. Qatar can-cer data has been accepted for the first time into CI5 (WHO Cancer in 5 Continents),” he said.

Rapid triage of suspected can-cer patients, cancer patients access to specialist nursing, pro-vision of best possible treatment to patients based on Cancer Peer Review and National Cancer Standards and Guidelines are among the other improvements after the launch of the strategy.

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SCH launches National Cancer Programme ‘Champions’ begin campaign to create awareness

DOHA: A dozen banks that participated in a fortnight-long career fair for Qataris that ended recently are run-ning after a large number of job applicants with little luck in convincing them to turn up for interviews.

Some of the applicants have even been given job offers but many of them have asked for time to think and reply.

Human resource officials of these banks are tired of calling many of the job applicants as some are taking the phone and dilly-dallying while others aren’t just responding.

Urged to come for job inter-views, a number of applicants asked for rescheduling and even after they were given fresh dates, they failed to turn up.

The participating banks received about 700 job appli-cations from Qataris, some of whom had applied for jobs in several banks, local Arabic daily Al Watan reported yesterday.

Some banks received 50 appli-cations each, including many from women, on average but were able to get in touch with barely 10 of those candidates.

The head of human resource at Ahli Bank, Saad Al Kaabi, said his bank received 50 job applications from Qataris dur-ing the Career festival.

“Many of the applicants are not responding. They are just not taking our phone,” said Al Kaabi. He said Ahli Bank has a job nationalization ratio of 22

percent and actively coordinates with the National Manpower Development Department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. “We are keen to raise this percentage,” said Al Kaabi.

The Department of the labour ministry is responsible for push-ing citizens into both, public and private jobs. Al Kaabi said there are occasions when a citizen who has applied for a job and is not found suitable is given repeated opportunities for interviews with the aim that he is eventu-ally absorbed.

A senior official of Doha Bank, Mariam Akbar, said her bank received some 70 job applications from Qataris, and nine of them have been approved. Seventeen of them have been selected for scholarship. Mariam pointed out that some applicants are given tests. “When we made job offers to some of the applicants, they asked us to allow them time to think.”

The Ministry of Labour’s Nat i o n a l M a n p o we r Development Department has asked banks to submit reports detailing the outcome of the fortnight-long Career festival.

“How do we respond? The problem is that many of the applicants are not responding to our phone calls. Some applicants were given time for interview and they asked for rescheduling. We obliged them and gave them fresh dates but even then they failed to turn up,” said Mariam.

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Banks find it tough to convince Qataris to appear for interviews

From left: Dr Jamal Rashid Al Khanji, Director of Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Department at SCH, Professor Knuth, Medical Director of NCCCR and Chairman of Cancer Services at HMC, Dr Abdullah Al Ansari, Chairman of Surgery and Deputy Chief of Medical, Academic and Research for Surgical Services at HMC, and Dr Salahddin Gehani, Senior Consultant for the Breast Cancer Surgery Programme at HMC, at a press conference yesterday. ABDUL BASIT

DOHA: The Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF), in association with the Indian Doctors Club (IDC) Qatar and Aster Medical Centre is organizing its 15th medical Camp for low-income workers on Friday.

The event will take place at Galfar Al Misnad site premises in Dukhan Industrial Area from 7.30am to 12.30pm.

The camp will provide free check up for hypertension and diabetes to around 350 to 450 lowly paid expatriate work-ers, residing at Zekreet village, Dukhan Industrial Area and Umm Bab.

ICBF has started registra-tion of workers for the medical

camp from the labour camps. However on the spot registra-tion will also be available at the camp deserving patients, ICBF said yesterday.

A team of 12 doctors (GP and specialists), paramedical staff and pharmacists from IDC and Aster will support the camp. The event is also supported by the Supreme Council of Health and Hamad Medical Corporation.

A team around 30 volunteers from Telagu Kala Samithi and Indian Society of Dukhan will also be working in the camp.

Any deserving person living in Zekreet, Umm-Bab areas can register through telephone num-bers 55335679, 5547782, 55854791 & 55206095. THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Key technology trends such as context aware com-puting, machine-to-machine connections, browser-based video and collaboration, video mega trends, building the next Internet with new archi-tectures, security and mobile device management are set to redefine businesses and life across the Middle East in 2014, said Cisco in its first Technology Radar study.

Based on intelligence gath-ered by over 70 global tech-nology “scouts”, Cisco’s study focuses on trends independent of current product roadmaps or business unit priorities.

Driving all of these is the Internet of Everything (IoE), the interconnections of peo-ple, processes, data, and things, which Cisco believes repre-sents a $19 trillion opportunity, globally,over the next decade ($14.4trn in the private sector and $4.6trn in the public sec-tor). By 2020, Cisco reports that the growth of connected ‘things’ will reach 212 billion.

“IT organisations across the Middle East need to prepare for the Internet of Everything (IoE), and what we are now seeing is the emergence of an Application Economy where the focus will no longer be simply on the hardware, but also on

supporting a larger number of applications on all connected devices,” said Tarek Ghoul (pic-tured), General Manager, Cisco Gulf, Levant and Pakistan.

The Middle East is already well-poised to reap the benefits of this shift, with the region’s IT spend projected to grow 7.3 percent from 2013 to $32bn in 2014, according to IT research firm the IDC.

Cisco also reports that the Middle East and Africa is set to post the world’s strongest mobile data traffic growth for at 77 percent CAGR to 2017.

One of the key findings of the report is the potential of context aware computing to

fundamentally change how we interact with our devices. In the future, devices will learn about you, your day, where you are and where you’re going. “Context is a disruption because it com-pletely redefines the users’ experience and the way an IT system is built,” said Ghoul.

By 2022, Cisco predicts that person-to-machine and person-to-person combined connections will constitute 55 per cent of the total IoE value at stake, whereas machine-to-machine connec-tions make up the remaining 45 per cent.

One of the major benefits of imminent new Internet architectures is the power of browser-based video and collab-oration, where a new common standard can enhance employee productivity by integrating audio-visual conferences, text notepads, and whiteboards into a real-time Web-based multi-media space.

Video Mega Trends will simi-larly transform digital imaging, with ultra HD video enhanc-ing the viewing experience on televisions, smartphones, aug-mented reality glasses, tablets, and camera-equipped devices.

In order to cope with the explosion of connections, the Cisco Technology Radar con-cludes that technology labs are

now developing new Internet architectures to replace the cur-rent IP-based Internet. Named Data Networking (NDN) has the most potential to disrupt, and would allow information to be communicated by names rather than host addresses. This represents a radical depar-ture from the way the Internet works today.

Early stage software-defined networking (SDN) models, meanwhile, have attempted to address the challenge by focusing on network virtualisa-tion and overlay scenarios, but without true integration across physical and virtual dimensions, they have so far been handi-capped by lack of transparency and visibility.

Unsurprisingly, security will be critical for business growth and adaption to the new Internet, with companies likely to ramp up the deployment of scalable, cloud-based mobile device man-agement solutions to protect personal and corporate informa-tion. Gartner Inc predicts half of global companies will enact Bring Your Own Device pro-grammes by 2017. “This year and beyond will bring a hugely influ-ential and constructive technol-ogy explosion throughout the Middle East region,” Ghoul said.

THE PENINSULA

Key technology trends to drive Middle East innovations in 2014: Cisco study

Emir, PM send cables to Sri LankaDOHA: The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent a cable of congratulations to the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, on his country’s Independence Day.

The Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani sent a similar cable.

Emir appoints two ambassadorsDOHA: The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday issued the Emiri decision No. 9 of 2014 appointing Saud Abdullah Zaid Al Mahmoud as Qatar’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia.

He also issued the Emiri deci-sion No. 10 of 2014 appointing Sheikh Abdullah bin Thamir bin Mohamed Al Thani as Qatar’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Saudi Arabia.

Taxation deal with Hong Kong ratifiedDOHA: The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday issued Decree No. 7 of 2014 ratifying an agreement between Qatar and China’s Administrative Region of Hong Kong on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fis-cal evasion in relation to income tax and its attached protocol, signed in Hong Kong on May 13 last year.

Real estate deals worth QR672mDOHA: Real estate sales worth QR672,325,097 were regis-tered at the Ministry of Justice between January 26 and 30. The Real Estate Registration Department at the ministry said properties included open plots, villas, annexes, houses, residential buildings and pal-aces in Umm Salal, Al Khor, Al Shamal, Doha, Al Rayyan, Al Daayen and Al Wakrah.

Cinderella ballet at Katara todayDOHA: The ballet version of Cinderella, the beautiful girl persecuted by her step-mother and two step-sisters, will come alive today at Drama Theatre in Katara Cultural Village.

Composed by Sergey Prokofiev and written by Nikolay Volkov, the ballet is based on the classic fairy tale of Charles Perrault.

Two shows will be held daily from 4pm to 5pm and 7pm to 8pm at Building No. 16. QNA

ICBF to hold free medical camp for workers on Friday

08 HOMEWEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

DOHA: Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) in collabora-tion with the Public Transport Affairs Department (PTAD) and the General Directorate of Civil Defence (GDCD), announced yesterday new procedures for the licensing of dhows used for tourism purposes.

To take effect starting April 1, the new regulations identify licensing authorities, set clear standards and controls on the licensing of all Tourist Dhows operating in Qatari waters.

The focus of the regulations is to enhance and specify pas-senger safety, and to ensure that visitors and tourists are treated according to expected international standards, and that they have adequate protec-tion in cases of emergency and accidents.

While these new regulations focus specifically on Dhows, they form a part of the overall Regulatory system being devel-oped by QTA in partnership

with UNWTO, in line with QTA’s mission to plan, regu-late, develop and promote a high quality, sustainable tour-ism economy in Qatar..

QTA is also working to stimu-late the Marine tourism sector and to make the most of Qatar’s coastline, beaches and marine experiences.

While popular locally, only very few international travel

and tour operators will actually book or recommend Dhows to their clients, due to safety and insurance concerns.

QTA believes that once these standards are in place the Tourist Dhows will ben-efit greatly as the international industry begins to recommend them.

“The new licensing pro-cedures and regulations are intended to organize the opera-tions of tourist boats of all kinds and set standards for the marine tourism sector in general,” said Mohammed Al Ansari, (pictured) Acting Director of Tourism Department at QTA.

“Agreed upon by the key stakeholders in Qatar, the reg-ulations lay out a set of impor-tant and essential policies that will guide business active in the industry and ensure the safety of workers, visitors, and tourists according to the highest inter-national standards.”

QTA emphasized that there shall be a period provided to

current Tourist Dhow Operators to make the necessary changes, if any, to ensure the new stand-ards are met.

These Dhows are such an important part of Qatar herit-age, and so symbolic to tourism, that we really wish to see this sector developed and promoted.

“QTA continues to work towards maintaining and pro-moting Qatar’s tourist attrac-tions and developing the tourism sector in the State in order to play an important role in the growth and diversification of the national economy,” added Al Ansari.

Through the new Dhow licensing measures and stand-ards, QTA, in partnership with the Ministry of Economy and Commerce and the Ministry of Interior, and PTAD intend to stimulate investment in marine tourism by providing clear standards, sound guidelines and regular updates to the industry as new developments take place.

THE PENINSULA

QTA unveils new licensing rules for tourism dhowsStandard and control procedures to take effect on April 1

DOHA: The Al Wakrah Hospital (AWH) recently hosted its inaugural conference on general medicine, bringing together international experts and local health-care professionals to discuss the latest developments in the fields of internal medicine and health care.

Organised by the Division of Medicine at AWH, the two-day conference allowed healthcare professionals to review current medical practices, global healthcare chal-lenges and gain state-of-the-art medical knowledge about new ways of diagnosis and treatment of a variety of diseases and medi-cal conditions.

Topics at the conference were centred on various clinical problems that physicians are faced with in their daily practice and provided insights into the management and

diagnosis of such cases. The lectures were divided in six sessions

with each featuring expert speakers who shared recent findings, management tech-niques, risk factors and treatment options of diseases such as clostridium difficile diar-rhoea (diarrhoea caused by an infection that occurs as a result of antibiotic medication), hepatocellular carcinoma (a type of liver cancer), sleep apnea (sleep disorder in which paused or shallow breathing occurs at intervals), management of acute severe asthma, hyperthyroidism, hypertension, dia-betes mellitus, gestational diabetes (diabetes that develops during pregnancy) chronic kidney disease and corona virus.

International speakers at the confer-ence included: Professor Meguid El Nahas, Chairman, Global Kidney Academy,

Sheffield, UK; Professor Mohammad Zubaid, Head of the Division of Cardiology, Mubarak Al Kabeer Hospital, Consultant Interventional cardiologist, Chest Diseases Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University; Professor Hashem El Serag, leads the Clinical Epidemiology and Outcomes Program at the Houston Center for Quality of Care and Utilization Studies as well as Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences Program in the Dan Duncan Cancer Center; Dr Hossein Gharib, thyroid expert, lec-turer, author and editor, Rochester, US, Dr Andrew Menzies, clinical lead for severe asthma, Royal Brompton Hospital and honorary senior lecturer, Imperial College London.

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: World experts in tourism, hospitality, major event coordination and sus-tainable development will attend Qatar’s international tourism conference “Tourism in Tomorrow’s Word: What the future holds for tourism in the region,” on February 23.

The conference, which will become an annual event, will feature Eng Issa Al Mohannadi, Chairman of Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) who will out-line the strategy for the devel-opment of Qatar as a tourism destination in the coming years.

Dr Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), will deliver a key-note address on the need to develop tourism to interna-tional, sustainable standards. Meanwhile, Qatar Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer Marwan Koleilat will talk about the development of air trans-port capacity into Doha.

Hosted by Stenden University

Qatar (SUQ) in conjunc-tion with Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company (ARTIC) and the European Tourism Futures Institute (ETFI), the two-day conference held at Renaissance Doha City Center Hotel, will attract leading deci-sion makers in hospitality, tour-ism, business and government as well as major travel and tour operators and tourism research academic from the region and internationally.

Academic expert speakers will include Leendert Klasasen, President of Stenden University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands and Professor Robert Coelen, Executive Dean of SUQ. Other speakers are Professor Ian Yeoman of ETFI; John Ap, Associate Dean of SUQ; Miguel De Moragas, Professor of Communications and Dean of Faculty of Communications Sciences Research at the University of Barcelona in Spain; Dr Martin Robertson from Victoria University,

Australia; Gurjit Singh, Chief Development Officer of Aldar Properties; Sumathi Ramanathan, Regional General Manager of VisitBritain; Mark Wynne-Smith, Global CEO of Jones, Lang La Salle, Hotels and Hospitality Group and Scott Woroch, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Development at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Conference host Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani will welcome experts and delegates, and students from SUQ, will play a key role in the confer-ence as volunteers throughout the event, as well as participat-ing in panel discussions.

Hassan Al Ibrahim, Director of Strategy Development and Head of tourism development committee at the QTA, said: “QTA’s strategic priorities include developing the tour-ism sector through stakeholder engagement and inclusion while focusing on sustainability and authenticity as key elements

in Qatar’s appeal to visitors. To implement and realise the national tourism strategy 2030, we have developed a strong relationship with Stenden University through various ini-tiatives. We are committed to human capital development in this sector to deliver a tourism experience that meets interna-tional standards.”

Professor Robert Coelen, Executive Dean of SUQ, said: “The conference, the first of its kind in the region, comes at a critical time, as Qatar is investing heavily in providing a high-quality family tourism experience which will make it an appealing tourist hub.

“We are delighted to welcome so many international experts as keynote speakers, to share their experiences, detailed knowledge and predictions for what trends we can expect and how we can best prepare for them in order to deliver world-class service,” he added.

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Ooredoo’s Wataniya Kuwait network is one of the best in the region, delivering network performance on a level with the very best international carriers, said a report from leading telecom-munications engineering and con-sulting company Omnitele.

Among the key findings of the audit was that Wataniya Kuwait’s 3G network’s data rate is the best in the Omnitele global database, deliv-ering average throughput speeds of 9.5Mbps compared to 8.3Mbps for the best operator measured in Europe.

In addition, the customer expe-rience for voice calls – measured through a series of Key Performance Indicators - were considered “very good” compared to operators worldwide.

“As we implement our network enhancement strategy across our footprint in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia, Ooredoo’s Wataniya network modernization programme has delivered a signifi-cant improvement in customers’ online experience, and is already impacting job creation, household income, and GDP growth,” said Dr Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, Ooredoo.

The survey measured performance across 222 hotspots in Kuwait, 5,200 km of drive-tests across the country, 640km of sea measurements and 300 km of extra 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) measurements.

The report concluded that “The

modernized Wataniya network per-formance is on a very good level com-pared to International standards.”

Wataniya Kuwait has recently completed a $ 400 million network modernisation programme, which the company undertook in partner-ship with global ICT solutions provid-ers Huawei and Ericsson.

As a result, it is one of several Ooredoo markets that have seen a major improvement in network quality in recent months. With the on-going roll-out of 4G across the country, Internet speeds and network performance are set to increase in the coming months.

In order to deliver enhanced indoor coverage for 3G and 4G LTE Mobile Broadband networks, Wataniya Kuwait has completely rebuilt its mobile network, deploying cutting-edge U900 technology for the first time in Kuwait

Company’s integrated campaign Most Advanced Network has seen strong customer feedback, with data utilisation growing by 20% over the last three months.

Ooredoo’s Wataniya network enhancement fully supports Kuwait’s five-year development plan from 2010-2014, as ICT drives the coun-try’s information society across the public, education, health, trade, and industry sectors.

Wataniya Kuwait commercially launched 4G LTE in July 2013, joining Ooredoo Qatar and Nawras in Oman.

THE PENINSULA

Global tourism forum on February 23

Hospital hosts general medicine forum

DOHA: As part of its ‘Go Green’ initiative, Ooredoo said yesterday it would not send paper bills to business customers who use its electronic billing options.

The ‘Go Green’ strategy is in sup-port of Qatar National Vision 2030, which prioritises the protection of the environment.

Business customers who use Bill Express or eBilling services have also received a paper version of bills, along with bill formats and analyses.

With the new guidelines in place, business customers using these services will no longer receive a paper bill, as the company works to save resources, reduce waste and protect the environment.

Ooredoo’s research shows that Bill Express and eBilling serv-ices offer customers a more reli-able, convenient, and easier-to-use way to store, access and manage information.

The Bill Express service offers customers access to their commu-nications costs online in a real-time,

easy-to-access format. The solution means that businesses can see areas that are driving communication costs, and take decisions to man-age them.

Bill Express provides PDF and Excel versions of bills, which remove the need for paper bills. eBilling service offers easy-to-read PDF versions of monthly bills, ena-bling comparison of new bills with previous ones and offering Excel versions.

Ooredoo will provide paper-based billing for business customers who need them for specific and agreed reasons. Business customers who wish to sign up for Bill Express, eBilling services, or to continue to receive a paper bill can contact their account manager, or call 8008000.

Since stopping paper bills in December 2011, the company has reduced paper consumption by a huge margin, saving thousands of trees and making Qatar a greener place to live in.

THE PENINSULA

Ooredoo to stop paper bills for customers as part of ‘Go Green’ plan

Some of the delegates and officials at the event.

Continued from page 1

We must understand that there is always tension in human relations but it’s our maturity, awareness and education that keeps us closer and united.

There is no doubt that the Arab revolution has caused division and discrimination among Arab people, caused by regimes, governments, par-ties with narrow interests, or due to mixing of religion and politics, or politics with culture, and all this is orchestrated to divert public atten-tion from real and serious issues.

Some countries use financial incen-tives to influence others, some launch media campaigns against other countries in the name of freedom of

expression, while others use mosques for partisan interests -- all these will take us back to the old days when tribes fought against each other.

We cannot attain the progress of the developed world and countries of the European Union without chang-ing out negative perceptions. Arabs must embrace the teachings of our religion and realize that Gulf unity is more important and stronger than we think.

A statement from a mosque or tweets should not damage our unity, and it’s not possible as long as we remain committed to the teaching of Holy Quran and of our Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).

THE PENINSULA

Mosque sermons, tweets should not damage unity

Ooredoo’s Wataniya Kuwait network ‘one of the best in region’

ALGIERS: Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Yusuf Yusufi and the Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowments, Dr Bu Abdullah Ghulamullah, held separate meetings with Qatari Ambassador Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz As Sihlawi yesterday. Discussions dealt with means of bol-stering relations. QNA

Algerian ministers meet Qatari envoy

MIDDLE EAST 09WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

WASHINGTON: US officials declared yesterday that Iran is “not open for business” and vowed to scrutinise companies heading to the Islamic repub-lic since it entered a temporary nuclear agreement.

Testifying before sceptical lawmakers, President Barack Obama’s administration detailed initial sanctions relief to Iran, including the transfer of $550m in frozen oil revenues as part of a six-month nuclear agreement.

But Wendy Sherman, who is spearheading the diplomacy with Tehran, said that the United States was warning the growing number of business delegations travelling to Iran that sweeping sanctions remained in place.

“Tehran is not open for busi-ness because our sanctions relief is quite temporary, quite limited and quite targeted,” Sherman, the under secretary of state for political affairs, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “It doesn’t matter whether the countries are friend or foe — if they evade our sanctions, we will sanction them,” she said.

Sherman said that Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius about a major French delegation that is visiting Tehran, telling him that the trip — while from the pri-vate sector — was “not helpful” in sending the message that “it is not business as usual.”

The delegation from the French employers’ union Medef is the largest from Europe since the November nuclear accord and includes representatives from major companies such as Total, Lafarge and Peugeot. Addressing the delegation, Deputy Oil Minister Ali Majedi encouraged foreign companies to return.

David Cohen, the Treasury Department official in charge of the sanctions, acknowledged “a slight uptick” in Iran’s eco-nomic indicators but said that the United States would “vigorously” enforce sanctions.

“The Iranian economy is oper-ating at significantly reduced levels and will continue to mas-sively under-perform for the fore-seeable future,” Cohen said. The November agreement between Iran and six powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — required Tehran to scale back its nuclear activities in return for the limited sanctions relief.

The Obama administration has presented the deal as a way to a peaceful solution to address long-standing concerns with Iran but has said that it is not taking for granted that diplomacy will succeed.

Iran insists that its nuclear programme is for peaceful pur-poses. The clerical regime has particularly tense relations with Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criti-cised the negotiated deal.

The US Congress, where sup-port for Israel runs deep, has looked at ramping up sanctions on Iran despite the accord, but Obama has threatened to veto any bid to derail the ongoing diplomacy.

Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who has distanced himself from fel-low Democrat Obama on Iran, demanded that any final deal with Tehran include the dismantling of “large portions of its nuclear infrastructure”.

“We have placed our incredibly effective international sanctions regime on the line without clearly defining the parameters of what we expect in a final agreement,” Menendez said. Senator Jim Risch, a Republican, said that he was “disgusted” by the diplomatic effort.

“I hope you will prove me dead wrong, but I don’t think (you) will, given the history of these people,” Risch said of Iran as he criticised its imprisonment of at least two US citizens.

AFP

CAIRO: A Dutch journalist has fled Egypt after it emerged she was one of 20 journal-ists accused last week of “fabricating news” and being party to an alleged terrorist plot.

Rena Netjes, Cairo correspondent for Holland’s Parool newspaper and BNR radio, is among four foreigners and 16 Egyptians facing charges of spreading false news while allegedly working for television network Al Jazeera.

The case is part of what rights campaigners have said is a crackdown on free expression in Egypt. Netjes was not initially thought to be involved in the case because her name was misspelt on the charge-sheet, and because she has never worked for Al Jazeera.

After her involvement became known, Netjes went into hiding for several days. Following an intervention from Dutch officials, Netjes was allowed to leave Egypt on Monday. Two British defendants — understood to be Al Jazeera reporters Dominic Kane and Sue Turton — had already left Egypt when the charges were laid last Wednesday.

Others accused in the case have not been so fortunate. Australian former BBC correspond-ent Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy, and local producer Baher Mohamed have been in prison since a

TUNIS: Tunisian police killed seven Islamist militants, includ-ing a senior commander wanted for the assassination of two opposition leaders, after a clash outside Tunis where the armed group had stashed arms and bomb belts.

The raid was one of the deadli-est since Tunisian forces cracked down on the banned Islamist mili-tant movement Ansar Al Sharia, whose leader declares allegiance to Al Qaeda, and which Washington lists as a foreign terrorist group.

Gun battles broke out late on Monday when police surrounded a house in the Raoued sub-urb north of Tunis, leaving one police officer and seven militants

dead, the Interior Ministry said. Among those killed was Kamel Ghadghadi, a senior member of the Ansar Al Sharia, wanted for killing seven soldiers, some of whom had their throats slit, and for assassinating opposition lead-ers Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi.

“Ghadghadi is among those killed. This is the best present for Tunisians a year after the mur-der of Belaid,” Interior Minister Lofti Ben Jeddou told reporters at a news conference. Officials showed reporters a photograph of what they said was Ghadghadi’s corpse, wearing a suicide bomb belt. Other explosive material and weapons were also found in the

house. Heavily armed counter-terrorism police patrolled near the whitewashed house where the fighting took place, its outer wall pockmarked by bullet holes.

Ansar Al Sharia was one of the more radical movements to emerge after Tunisia’s 2011 uprising ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, whose auto-cratic regime suppressed and jailed Islamist leaders.

Tunisia formally celebrates a new constitution on Friday, with French President Francois Hollande and other dignitaries invited to the ceremony to mark the North African country’s progress to democracy.

REUTERS

DUBAI: Bahrain yester-day announced tougher jail sentences for offend-ing H M King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, as the country prepares to mark the third anniversary of a Shia-led uprising.

An amendment to the 1976 penal code says that “publicly offending the King of Bahrain, its national flag or emblem” will carry a minimum one-year and a maximum seven-year sen-tence, as well as a fine of up to $26,000, state news agency BNA reported.

The sentence can exceed seven years if the “offence was committed in the presence of the king,” the report added, without pro-viding details. Previously, the same charges carried a minimum sentence of only a few days.

In 2012, a criminal court jailed two activists for one and four months, respec-tively, after their convic-tion for posting on Twitter remarks deemed insulting to the king.

Meanwhile, the Manama criminal court sentenced 23 Shias to five years in jail for attacks with pet-rol bombs and taking part in an unlicenced protest. Another Shia was jailed for three years.

At least 89 people have been killed in since the pro-tests began, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.

AFP

Iran not open for business: US officialsSanctions relief limited, firms warned

Foreign journalists hold banners as they march to the Egyptian embassy in Nairobi yesterday to show support to Peter Greste, an Australian journalist who was arrested and detained in Cairo while on assignment for Al Jazeera network on December 29, 2013.

Accused Dutch journalist flees Egypt

Dutch journalist Rena Netjes talks to the press after arriving at Schiphol Airport yesterday.

police raid on their rooms at Cairo’s Marriott hotel in late December.

Al Jazeera reporter Abdullah Al Shami was jailed in August after being arrested at a

protest, and is on hunger strike. In a separate case, freelance broadcast journalist Hossam Meneai has claimed he was tortured while in jail on similar charges.

Al Jazeera denies the charges against its journalists. In an email to the Guardian before flying to the Netherlands, Netjes described the accusations as “unbelievably crazy”, and cred-ited the Dutch embassy in Cairo with “saving my life”.

Netjes said it was likely she had come under suspicion because she visited Al Jazeera’s Fahmy at the Marriott a few days before he was arrested, for an interview about the insur-gency in Sinai.

“This case is part of a violent campaign against the freedom of expression and journal-ism that we have never witnessed before, except during the dying days of the Mubarak regime, from October to December 2010,” Gamal Eid, a leading Egyptian rights lawyer, and head of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, told the Guardian last week.

The government and its supporters say foreign media are distorting the situation in Egypt, which they argue is on the path to democracy.

THE GUARDIAN

Tough jail term for ‘offending’ Bahrain king

Tunisian special forces stand outside a bullet-riddled building in the Tunis suburb of Raoued in which armed militants were holed up, yesterday.

Tunisian police kill seven militants

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Cartoon Arts International / The New York Times Syndicate

BY JONATHAN POWER

ON Saturday Libya beat Ghana to win the African Nations Football Championship. A return to normalcy? To win a

team must have a first class pitch and a non-stressed out team. Does this indi-cate that Libya, two and a half years after the fall of dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, is getting back on its feet?

Alas, the football win is out of the ordinary in Libyan life, made by a team that has found a way to the top by hard practice and severe self-discipline. The rest of Libya is not like that. Its gov-ernment is wobbly, self-appointed mili-tias still rule in many parts and the rule of law is ignored as often as it’s obeyed. An increasing number of its people yearn for the peace and order of the dictatorial Gaddafi regime where the economy grew, life was improving and even human rights were being

more respected.Inspired by

the Arab Spring in neighbour-ing Tunisia and Egypt, Libyans, so the accepted Western narra-tive went, rose up in non-violent protests. Gaddafi responded by ordering the protesters to be shot and ordered his troops to fire indiscriminately into residential areas. The pro-testers turned violent and the civil war began.

In truth, many of the protesters from day one used arms and the government at first responded with only rubber bullets and water cannons. Western televi-sion reported that Gaddafi’s forces had used live ammunition, showing a video of this. The BBC the next day, almost alone among news organisa-tions, admitted it had made a reporting mistake. The video had been “uploaded more than a year ago”.

Nonetheless the situation quickly

deteriorated and those that chose non-violence were pushed aside. The rebel militias faced the troops head on. The rebels called for the outside world to intervene.

The UN Security Council was con-vened and agreed (Russia and China abstaining) that “all necessary means” be used to protect Libya’s civilians. But that was not what happened. France, Denmark and the UK with US back up went for the jugular and set about bombing the regime into submission. Gaddafi was killed.

Russia felt betrayed. This was not what it had accepted and it has made it shy of voting for “humanitarian intervention” in Syria and, doubtless, future hot spots. As Professor Alan Kuperman writes in the current issue of Harvard University’s “International Security”, “If NATO had prioritised the protection of civilians it would have enforced a non-fly zone, bombed forces that were threatening civilians and attempted to forge a cease-fire. Instead NATO took actions that were unnecessary or inconsistent with pro-tecting civilians but which fostered regime change”. The New York Times reported that NATO planes even attacked those Libyan forces which were in retreat.

Thanks to sloppy and sensational reporting and NATO disinformation we were never given the true picture. Rather we were reminded of the ter-rorism Gaddafi initiated more than three decades earlier and which he had renounced many years ago.

As a result of NATO intervention, Libya’s war lasted 36 weeks rather than ending in 6 weeks as NATO governments had at first estimated. Around 5,000 civilians and rebels were killed.

Gaddafi committed no blood baths (unlike Assad in Syria today where the number of deaths has been around 100,000). By and large civilians were not targeted, as in Syria and Rwanda.

By making it clear that they were intent on regime change NATO per-versely encouraged the regime to fight to the bitter end, thus escalating and prolonging the war. Gaddafi’s offer of a cease-fire and negotiations, only two weeks into the conflict, was ignored.

The only apparent benefit to Libyans

is that they have been able to vote in democratic elections. But the unstable government has little authority in a country where the militias have grown big, thanks to the unnecessary length of the war. Kuperman argues that human rights abuses are considerably worse than in the decade preceding the war. NATO intervention also triggered a series of events that spilled over into neighbouring Mali which then experi-enced its own civil war.

The NATO action has also probably upped the violence of the opposition forces in Syria which have hoped that their civil war would provoke a similar NATO intervention. It nearly did.

Future rebels in other countries may think the same. It is giving the concept of “humanitarian intervention” a bad name. Over the years there have been many useful and productive humani-tarian interventions- as by the UN in Congo today. They have always been carried out with the acquiescence of the local government.

In theory it was a good idea in 2005 to pass a resolution in the UN, legal-ising the concept of “ The Right to Protect”, authorising intervention in grave humanitarian situations without a government’s permission. But this did not mean doing it the Libyan way. This has given the whole notion a bad smell which will take some time to dis-sipate. THE PENINSULA

CONSIDERING that the relationship between Iran and the US has been characterised by deep

mistrust since 1979, normalisation of ties will be a long, difficult process. But the fact that both sides are engaging regularly is a hopeful sign that the rivalry may one day give way to mutual acceptance, if not friendship. In this regard, Sunday’s meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry in Munich was welcome. Iran’s top diplomat reiterated the need for a permanent

solution to his country’s nuclear dispute with major Western powers. Indeed, the breakthrough made last November would be wasted if the temporary sanctions relief for Iran does not give way to normalisation of ties between the Islamic Republic and the West. It would be particularly distressing if the earlier hostility witnessed between these two camps were to resume after this period of thaw. Both sides need to keep talking. The US and its allies in Europe must not further antagonise Tehran by adding to the suffocating sanctions regime. That would be sure to scuttle

all progress. On its part, Iran must satisfy the global community that its nuclear programme is peaceful; this can best be done by giving the IAEA full access to Iranian nuclear facilities. Care must be taken, however, not to allow hardliners in Washington and Tehran to throw the détente off track.

Equally important was Zarif’s peace overture to Saudi Arabia in Munich. Rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran would have a significant impact in the Arab and Muslim world. Right now, the Saudis and Iranians find themselves sup-porting opposing sides in Syria and

Lebanon, while both are also vying for influence in Iraq. Syria could well be pacified if Saudi Arabia and Iran convince their allies — the rebels and the Assad regime, respectively — to cease attacks and negotiate a settle-ment. Elsewhere in the Muslim world, sectarian fires could be doused sig-nificantly if the world’s most influ-ential Sunni and Shia states extend a hand of friendship to each other. Pakistan would benefit on numerous fronts from a Saudi-Iranian thaw. The Saudis would do well to take up the offer and work towards normalising ties. DAWN

Learning the lesson of Libya

I fundamentally believe that if you are not learning new things, you stop doing great and useful things.

Quote ofthe day

Satya Nadella New Microsoft CEO

The other side

An increasing number of Libyan people yearn for the peace and order of the dictatorial Gaddafi regime where the economy grew, life was improving and even human rights were being more respected.

In theory it was a good

idea in 2005 to pass a

resolution in the UN,

legalising the concept

of The Right to Protect,

authorising intervention

in grave humanitarian

situations without a

government’s permission.

But this did not mean

doing it the Libyan way.

CORRUPTION is widespread and no country is hundred percent free from this malaise. We all know that the difference is only in degrees. While some countries are gobbled by this malaise, to

the point of economic death, a few are least affected by it, making them enjoy complete economic and social health. But a recent report shows that one region which has been taken as only marginally affected by corruption is in fact is seriously afflicted with this disease. The European Union’s Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem has presented a report saying that the extent of corruption in Europe is ‘breathtaking’ and it costs the EU economy at least 120bn euros annually. She said the true cost of corruption was probably much higher than 120bn. Three-quarters of Europeans surveyed for the Commission study said that corruption was widespread, and more than half said the level had increased. The cost to the EU economy is equivalent to the bloc’s annual budget. “The extent of the problem is breathtaking, although Sweden is among the countries with the least problems,” Malmstroem wrote in Sweden’s Goeteborgs-Posten daily.

As expected, the results vary dramatically in countries and have thrown up some interesting facts. The countries where respondents were most likely to think corruption is widespread are Greece (99 percent), Italy (97 percent),

Lithuania, Spain and the Czech Republic (95 percent in each).” In Denmark, by contrast, it’s only 10 percent. For example, many people who haven’t actually experienced corruption seem fairly certain that it’s a serious problem in their countries. For example, in the case of the UK, only five persons out of 1,115 were expected to pay a bribe, which is less than one percent, showing the best result in all Europe. However, the perception data show that 64 percent of British respondents think corruption is widespread in the

country. Similarly, in countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Estonia and France, while more than half of the respondents think corruption is a widespread phenomenon, the actual number of people having had to pay a bribe is low -- around two percent. This would show that graft is not as widespread as expected. It’s fear of corruption that is more widespread in some EU countries than corruption itself.

If the EC thinks that corruption in the bloc is breathtaking, it shows its failure to curb the menace. But the challenges are very huge. The bloc is not homogeneous. Economic disparity is huge, with some countries like Greece and Italy convulsed by economic crisis, creating a fertile soil for corruption, while others like Germany and Sweden are on solid ground. But the bloc has a duty to devise measures to root out the phenomenon. Corruption is against the very founding principles of European Union and the bloc needs to act more forcefully.

Corruption in Europe

Corruption across EU is said to be breathtaking. It’s time for tough measures to curb the menace.

Editorial

10 VIEWS WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Iran-US rapprochement

VIEWS 11WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

BY PETER BEAUMONT

Speaking at the World Economic Forum at Davos last month, John Kerry, the US secretary of state, spoke of the need to solve the “intractable” problem

of brokering peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people. Intractable is a big word. It suggests the problem is insol-uble, when the reality is that it is not.

Support for a two-state solution – an independent Palestine alongside the state of Israel – is not a constant, as Peter Beinart illustrated in his book The Crisis of Zionism. After Oslo, the high-water mark of optimism, it steadily declined through the second intifada and the conflict with Gaza. Even now, there exists an odd tension in public opinion on both sides, with a desire for the two leaderships to negotiate a settlement set against a much weaker conviction that they are capable of doing it.

None of this should be surprising. Politics, not least the politics of peace negotiations, swings constantly between optimism and pessimism. On one side is the drama of the possibility of change energised by expectation. The other is characterised by a wary stasis.

The question hanging over this latest round of negotiations – as Kerry returns to the region this week to continue dis-cussions over establishing a framework document to further the peace proc-ess – is whether sufficient enthusiasm can be rekindled on either side to make progress.

In this respect, the Israeli prime

minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reflects where a substantial section of Israeli politics stands today. While Netanyahu’s long-term obstruction of movement towards a two-state solution has been both narrow and ideological – the reiter-ation of the hard-line revisionist Zionism espoused by his historian father – he has become in turn the receptacle for a wider pessimism about the peace process.

The situation would be straightforward if this were the whole picture. But it is not. Because that pessimistic Israel exists alongside another Israel that wants to be more normal, that sees the obsession with security and maintaining the occu-pation of the West Bank as toxic to its own rights. This is an Israel that wants to be open for business.

The 100 or so Israeli business leaders who appealed to Netanyahu at Davos to reach an agreement with Palestinians or face a growing threat of sanctions are neither outliers nor representative of a marginal constituency. They recognise, as Netanyahu has too in his own way in calling a meeting of ministers to discuss the growing threat, that the movement for divestment from Israeli companies,

not least those with interest in the occu-pation (the BDS movement), is following a familiar pattern to the sanctions move-ment in South Africa.

A movement at first confined to academia and activist circles has gained traction in churches and now the busi-ness world. And however you choose to define the deficit of Palestinian civil rights in the occupied territories, where laws and rights are imposed or enjoyed differentially according to what ID card you hold, its continuation is becom-ing increasingly corrosive for Israel’s reputation abroad. The decision at the beginning of this month by PGGM, the Netherlands’ biggest pension fund, to cut its ties with five Israeli banks is an indi-cation of the movement’s advances.

Those who have dismissed Netanyahu, including US diplomats who believed he was an obstruction, to be bypassed even-tually, have underestimated his talent as a wily politician. He has formed prag-matic partnerships to block progress and has been adroit in synthesising Israel’s competing anxieties into a single story with broad appeal, one that sustains him in power. In this story, criticism of Israel

equals “delegitimisation”; the appeal to security equates with a distrust of Palestinian motives that need constantly to be exposed.

But if it is a formula that has worked for the last six years of the Obama administration, there is some evidence that its effectiveness is weakening.

Netanyahu, whose policy of keeping Barack Obama at arm’s length through a policy of snubs, complaints and manoeu-vring, appears to have used most of the weapons in his arsenal. With the threat of war with Iran receding quickly after the recent nuclear deal, a distraction has been removed. The declaration by Obama, who has been pushed into retreat before by Netanyahu, in the State of the Union address last week that he would veto any attempts by Congress to derail that deal is an indication that the game might be changing. That has coincided with a renewed and committed engage-ment from John Kerry, a secretary of state far more capable than his hyper-active predecessor, Hillary Clinton.

Netanyahu finds himself increasingly exposed in Israeli politics as well. His condemnation by coalition partner and

economy minister, Naftali Bennett, for hinting, at Davos, that Israeli settlements on the West Bank might remain as a minority under future Palestinian sover-eignty has not only threatened his coalition but revealed that idea for what it really was – a cynical invitation to Palestinians to reject it. It is a conflict that has marked a crucial narrowing of Netanyahu’s room to operate. Under increasing US pres-sure, his convenient alliances with settler-supporting parties and figures who have suggested annexation of large areas of the West Bank and even population transfer have become more awkward and hostile. Rivals have cleaved to the positions of their minority constituencies. Suddenly, stress points are visible.

If one thing remains unchanged it is Netanyahu’s popularity. According to the most recent Times of Israel poll, he retains a degree of personal popular-ity (although he has been losing voters from his right-wing core and picking up support from the left and centre). His approval rating of 51 percent, however, is matched by the numbers who believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, a figure that rises to 71 percent for voters aged 24 and under. In any snap election, Netanyahu’s Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu party would win the largest number of seats.

Given the exigencies of the politics sur-rounding the Middle East peace process, only a fool would predict an outcome, not least with some diplomats in Washington assessing only a 10 percent chance of agreement on a framework document even by the April deadline. However, after the long years of stalled negotiations, there is a hint that the tectonic plates might be in motion once again. Whether they will shift the stance of an Israeli prime minister who resigned from government over the Gaza settlement withdrawal and who has vowed in the past to hold on to as much of the West Bank as possible is an even more dif-ficult question.

But the lessons of apartheid in South Africa and the Troubles in Northern Ireland are that “intractable” problems eventually can be brought to a just reso-lution. If there should be urgency over this long-festering issue, it is because there is a pressing issue of self-interest. Occupation hurts not only those being occupied. It damages the occupier too.

THE GUARDIAN

Israeli peace talks: Turning point or a crisis?

BY SARAH CARR

Egypt is in the middle of a massive crackdown primarily target-ing members of the Muslim Brotherhood and anyone associ-ated with it. Interior ministry buildings in Cairo and other areas of Egypt have been targeted by bombers on numerous

occasions over the past six months. The most deadly of these attacks, on 24 December, killed 16 people.

The Egyptian government has responded by declaring the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation.

But, as has been demonstrated in the western nations since 2001, wars on terror are unruly beasts. In the name of fighting terrorism and re-establishing stability, Egypt has arrested thousands (one local non-governmental organisation puts the figure at more than 20,000) and sought recourse to legislation that has effectively killed off public displays of political opposition.

A major front in this war on terror has been opened against the media. On 29 January it became clear that 20 journalists, including four foreigners, were facing charges of joining or aiding a terrorist group and spreading false news. Two of these foreigners, Egyptian-Canadian producer Mohamed Fahmy and Australian journalist Peter Greste, were arrested at the end of December while working for Al Jazeera English. They joined Al Jazeera Arabic journalists including 25-year-old Abdullah Al Shamy in detention. Al Shamy was arrested in August 2013 and is currently on hunger strike in protest at his incarceration.

If the authorities and some of the domestic media are to be believed, members of the Egypt’s foreign press corps are all secret members of the Brotherhood, creating Islamist anarchy and mischief on behalf of Al Jazeera. I grew up in the UK and didn’t know what Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams’ voice sounded like until 1994 because Margaret Thatcher decided that a voice ban, imposed in 1988, would “deny ter-rorists the oxygen of publicity”.

The Egyptian government wants to do the same thing to the Brotherhood, which it declared a terrorist organisation after the December bombing, but the bungling way in which it is going about it threatens to silence the media as a whole.

The domestic media has, with a few notable exceptions, taken its lead from the street and strongly backed the state’s version of events; it had declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation months before.

The more circumspect, pesky foreign press, meanwhile, have been less co-operative. For a long time the quarrel was over nomenclature, and the authorities took umbrage over the use of the word coup.

What they fail to realise is that even if Mursi was removed with mass public backing, as he was, and even if Egypt is being targeted by terrorists, there is something decidedly dodgy about talking about the greatest constitution in Egyptian history and a new era for democracy while simultaneously hissing at the media through gritted teeth to stay on message.

Cumulatively, and amid the continuing mass arrests and detentions, these incidents have had a chilling effect on the media.

What is most frightening, however, is that both private and pub-lic media have chosen to abdicate their duty to question the state’s narrative and hold officials to account. The other side of the story, criticism of events since 30 June, rarely appears on the pages of the local press, whether out of a misguided sense of patriotism or because of the red lines that have re-established themselves following a brief hiatus after 2011.

The 30 June revolution, its advocates say, saved Egypt from the Muslim Brotherhood’s religious totalitarianism. The question now is whether it has replaced it with something just as bad.

THE GUARDIAN

BY LEONID BERSHIDSKY

Russians had considered their country immune to the kind of school violence that the US

has suffered in incidents such as the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings and the Columbine High School massacre. Now, 15-year-old Sergei Gordeyev has disabused them of that notion, killing a teacher and a cop at his school in northern Moscow.

News of the shooting, which occurred around midday Monday, immediately prompted com-parisons to the United States. “Have we caught the American disease?” user Tanya Morozova wrote on the Russian social net-work Vkontakte. “It’s all about American movies and cartoons,” user Nadir Kuramshin tweeted. “Kids ought to be brought up on Soviet or Russian ones so they do not seize schools like they do in America.”

Pundits and officials expressed similar sentiments. TV and radio commentator Sergei Dorenko told the website actualcomment.ru that more instruction in Russian literature would be the cure. “We must draw conclusions from the monstrous examples that take place almost daily in the US,” parliament security committee chief Irina Yarovaya said, accord-ing to the official site of her party, United Russia.

It’s true that the United States has more recorded school shoot-ings than any other country. In 2011, 7.4 percent of US high school students reported having been threatened with a weapon — a gun, a knife or a club — at school, according to the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention. From 1992 to 2009, there were 14 to 34 homicides a year at US schools. Many other countries, including Finland and China, have also experienced school shoot-ings, but such incidents had been unheard of in Russia.

Gordeyev was an A student in the 10th grade (the equivalent of a US high school junior) at School 263 in northern Moscow. He showed up at the school with his father’s hunting carbine and rifle, forced the school guard to let him in, and walked into a biology class. He fired at geography and biology teacher Andrei Kirillov, 29, and, finding him still alive, killed him with another shot to the head. The sensationalist web-site Life.ru reported, after speak-ing with Gordeyev’s classmates, that the shooter was mad at the teacher for giving him grades that could spoil his perfect A record. Gordeyev’s true motives, however, remain unclear. He told the class after shooting Kirillov: “I am very scared of death. I wanted to see it up close.” By the time Gordeyev shot the teacher, the guard downstairs had hit his alarm button, and police promptly arrived. The 15- year-old opened fire at them, killing police ser-geant Sergei Bushuev and gravely wounding another officer. Later, Gordeyev’s father reached him on his mobile phone, persuading him to release the hostages and drop the guns from a window. Because he is a minor, he faces a 10-year prison sentence rather than life imprisonment if he is convicted of murder.

Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned the shooting at a meeting with cultural figures.

“We need to educate a new gen-eration of spectators with a good taste in art, an understanding and appreciation of theatre, drama and music,” he said. “And if we did this right, maybe there would be no tragedies like the one that occurred in Moscow today.”

Ultranationalist lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky suggested that all guns be confiscated from citizens and stored for them at police stations, and criminals above 10 be treated the same as adults. He said Gordeyev must have seen many films and TV shows about school shootings in the US. Yarovaya blamed “an aggressive trend in computer games” for the crime and called for “maximum limitations on the spread of firearms and tougher control over their storage.”

Russia already has strict gun controls. Obtaining a gun license is an obstacle course that includes medical and criminal background checks. The fact that this did not prevent Gordeyev’s crime sug-gests that a determined shooter will be able to obtain a weapon. Gordeyev appeared to be inter-ested in firearms and in taking revenge on teachers: His page on Vkontakte, of which a cached copy is available, contained a story of a malicious prank played on a physics teacher and a link to a video of “the fastest shooter in the world.” Instead of blaming the US, those in Russia interested in preventing a second school

shooting ought to take a look at the Vkontakte page of School 263. Some commentators there called Gordeyev a hero for challenging authority. “Russian schools are run by scum,” LiveJournal user Alexander Draf posted in partial justification of Gordeyev’s actions. “If you are in some way different from your classmates, they will run you into the ground. ... Most people are talking about what a good guy the dead teacher was, looking for problems with the teenager and his family, not with classmates and teachers.”

Because Russians have always perceived deadly school violence as something that happens only in America, they saw no reason to tackle widespread bullying and sadistic behaviour by teach-ers. Gordeyev’s case suggests that Russian teenagers, like kids their age the world over, can react vio-lently to stress. Injections of more Russian culture, bans on US video games or even a total ban on guns will hardly put that right.

Russia should wake up to the body of research in school shoot-ings that exists in the US and start looking for ways to reduce social stress in the school system. In a country without a tradition of school violence, prevention might work better than it does in the US, where, despite aware-ness of the problem, the number of violent deaths at schools has been fairly stable over the last 20 years. WP-BLOOMBERG

Netanyahu’s negotiations with Kerry are taking place against a background of divided public and political opinion.

Israeli soldiers watch Palestinian activists arrive to set up a tent village in the Jordan Valley near the West Bank village of Bardala on Saturday. The activists protested against the ongoing peace talks with Israel.

US-style school shooting shakes Russia

The Columbine High School in Colorado.

Russia should wake up to the huge body of research in school shootings that exists in the US and start looking for ways to reduce social stress in the school system.

Egypt’s attack on media gives little cause for hope

12 MIDDLE EASTWEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

MOSCOW/BEIRUT: Russia said its ally Syria would soon ship more chemical weapons abroad for destruction after being accused of dragging its feet, while activists said civil-ians in Aleppo were fleeing deadly barrel bomb raids by President Bashar Al Assad’s air force.

Moscow also said yesterday that the Syrian government would show up at a new round of peace talks next week, hoping to allay Western concerns over Assad’s commitment to negotia-tions which ended inconclusively in Geneva last week.

The diplomatic assurances come as government forces esca-late their assault on Syria’s sec-ond city of Aleppo, using a near daily barrage of barrel bombs that some activists say is forcing resi-dents to flee and slowly gaining ground for the president against rebel forces weakened by weeks of infighting.

While the fall of Aleppo is not seen as imminent, Assad is keen to control it, together with the capital Damascus and his heart-land along the coast. But the rest of the country remains frag-mented between rebel, Kurds and other armed groups.

Western analysts say Assad’s use of indiscriminate weapons such as barrel bombs and his delaying the process of eliminat-ing his chemical arsenal suggests he sees little prospect of the West taking meaningful action against him.

Photographs showed streets packed with Aleppo residents car-rying large packs as they fled the home-made barrel bombs — oil drums or cylinders packed with explosives and metal fragments.

Barrel bombs, cheap and easy

to construct and usually dropped from helicopters, often kill dozens at a time. Activists say they are being used to push people from rebel-held areas into state-con-trolled parts of the city.

“In recent days the flight of civilians has intensified and the regime has made some small gains,” said Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposi-tion monitoring group.

“The main aid to their advance has been the rebel infighting.”

The reported gains by Assad’s forces are small. But if they build on them and take the rebel-held portion of Syria’s former business hub, it would be a huge blow to the opposition, forcing it back into the northern and eastern coun-tryside and leaving it without a major presence in either of the two biggest cities.

Other opposition sources deny government advances. Media access in Syria is severely lim-ited by violence and government restrictions, making conflicting accounts difficult to verify.

Syria’s civil war has killed more than 130,000 people and forced over 6 million from their homes.

Russia and the United States, aligned to Assad and the rebels respectively, have been deadlocked and unable to ease the violence. But they joined forces to launch the Geneva peace negotiations which began two weeks ago. The first round produced few results, but a second starts next week.

Preparations for the talks took place in tandem with a deal to remove Syria’s chemical weapons, agreed a month after a poison gas attack in the Damascus suburbs on August 21 which killed hun-dreds. The deal allowed Assad to escape US-led air strikes.

Civilians flee barrel bombs in SyriaDamascus to ship more chemicals weapons; Russia says Syria govt will attend peace talks

A woman and her children stand scared outside their home following a reported Syrian government forces air strike in the northern city of Aleppo yesterday.

Syria has failed to meet its deadline to eliminate all chemical agents by next week, but Russia said the government would be able to complete the removal by March 1.

“Literally yesterday the Syrians announced that the removal of a large shipment of chemical sub-stances is planned in February. They are ready to complete this process by March 1,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov, according to the state-run Russian news agency RIA.

The delay in removing chemical

weapons has prompted Western criticism that Damascus was seeking to gain leverage dur-ing the peace talks. Russia says those concerns are overblown and rejects claims that the move is deliberate, while Syria has blamed security concerns for the delay.

Russia also hosted the leader of the opposition’s National Coalition, Ahmad Jarba, for the first time since the three-year-old conflict began.

Jarba spoke positively despite Moscow’s support for Assad. “We now have good relations with

Russia,” he said. “The Russian side now understands the posi-tion of our Coalition better.”

Moscow wants to persuade the Coalition-led delegation at Geneva to include more moderate internal opposition groups, which rebels argue are Assad stooges.

Jarba excluded any groups that had been prepared “in the base-ments of the regime’s security service”. “There will be nobody in the opposition delegation to Geneva who is tied to the regime this way or another,” he said.

REUTERS

CAIRO: An Egyptian court will begin hearing testimonies in the murder trial of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Mursi from today, when a former top mili-tary officer will give evidence.

In the brief session yesterday, the court decided to convene again today to hear testimony from the former head of the mili-tary’s Republican Guard, the unit tasked with providing security for Egypt’s presidents.

Mursi was present in the court, inside a soundproof glass dock to prevent him from interrupting proceedings with defiant out-bursts, as he had done in previous hearings. Mursi and 14 co-defend-ants, including former aides, are accused of inciting the killing of opposition activists outside the presidential palace in December 2012, an incident that hastened his overthrow by the military almost seven months later.

The Islamist, dressed in white prison garb, gestured at the court with a four fingered salute, the symbol of an Islamist protest camp violently dispersed by police in August in an operation that killed hundreds. He had insisted in past hearings that he is still the legitimate president.

Mursi faces four separate tri-als, on charges ranging from con-tempt of the judiciary to plotting an elaborate conspiracy involving Iran and Palestinian militants to conduct attacks in Egypt. AFP

Playing in the snow

People play in the snow in Sulaimaniya province, 330km northeast of Baghdad, yesterday.

JERUSALEM: Israel’s top court has given the government two months to explain why it has not proposed an alternative route for the West Bank barrier in a valley near Jerusalem.

The decision, handed down by the High Court on Monday, relates to an appeal by Palestinian residents of Beit Jala, who say the proposed route will separate them from their olive groves and divide the local Christian community.

The residents say that if the defence ministry insists on build-ing through the middle of the Cremisan Valley, it would mean 58 families losing their land and would split the Roman Catholic Salesian order’s properties, leaving a mon-astery on the Israeli side and a con-vent on the Palestinian side.

The land in question is a valley between the sprawling settlement neighbourhood of Gilo in annexed east Jerusalem, and the smaller West Bank settlement of Har Gilo, just a few kilometres to the southwest.

At a hearing last week, the

Council for Peace and Security, a group of former high-ranking security officials, proposed an alternative route for the barrier it said would save most of the villagers’ land and better ensure Israel’s security needs.

On Monday, the court ordered the defence ministry to explain in writing “why other alternatives to the route of the fence were not examined... and why an alterna-tive route had not been adopted.”

It also asked why four seizure orders relating to Palestinian land in the Cremisan Valley had not been cancelled. The minis-try has until April 10 to respond in writing. If the barrier is built along the route proposed by the ministry, the villagers and the Salesian order stand to lose 3000 dunams (300 hectares/741 acres) of land, 700 of which belongs to the church.

But if it follows the route pro-posed by the Council for Peace and Security, no land will be seized, figures from St Yves Catholic rights group show.

“The court’s decision is an indica-tion that it is not inclined to adopt the state’s position,” said a statement from Zvi Avni, legal council for St Yves, which represents the Salesian convent and its school. “We defi-nitely have new hope - the answer of the court is a good sign.”

The same court is considering a separate appeal against the bar-rier’s route lodged by residents of the nearby Palestinian village of Battir, who say it will destroy its ancient terraces and a Roman-era irrigation system.

On Sunday, the court ordered Israel Railways and the defence ministry to look into the possi-bility of removing one of the two railway tracks that run just under Battir as a potential alternative route for the barrier.

“Removing one of the tracks which runs closest to the vil-lage would allow the fence to be moved... by a few metres. Thus, there would be no need to dam-age the lowest terrace,” the court said, giving Israel Railways until February 27 to respond. AFP

KUWAIT CITY: Human Rights Watch urged Kuwait yester-day to amend laws that officials are using to crack down on free speech and send people to jail for criticising the country’s ruler.

HRW also called on Kuwaiti authorities to fulfil their prom-ises to resolve the decades-old problem of over 100,000 stateless people, or bidoons, who claim the right to citizenship.

During the past year, authori-ties in the Gulf state have brought cases against at least 29 people for expressing critical views on social media platforms and at pro-tests, the New York-based HRW

said in a statement on the occa-sion of releasing its 2014 report on Kuwait.

“The government should let Kuwait’s people speak and write freely, and keep its promises to address Bidoon citizenship claims,” said Nadim Houry, dep-uty Middle East director at HRW.

Prosecutors brought most of the speech cases under the vaguely worded article 25 of Kuwait’s 1970 penal code, under which anyone who publicly “objects to the rights and authorities of the emir or faults him,” can be jailed up to five years, HRW said.

The Kuwaiti Emir H H Sheikh

Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, par-doned in July all those jailed under Article 25, but authorities subsequently brought charges against at least three more people.

HRW said that in 2013, secu-rity forces violently dispersed several protests staged by state-less people demanding citizenship and other basic rights, with police beating and detaining protesters and threatening to deny citizen-ship applications.

Kuwait is home to at least 105,702 bidoons, many descended from nomadic people who failed to register for citizenship before a 1960 deadline. AFP

SANA’A: Shia rebels and sev-eral tribes of the influential Hashid confederation in north-ern Yemen agreed yesterday to end fighting that has killed nearly 150 people in a week, both sides said.

But the deal does not include the Al Ahmar, the Hashid’s historical leading clan, whose stronghold was overrun at the weekend and whose fighters have fled to the capital.

The Ansarullah (Partisans of God) rebels, also known as Huthis, have been pushing out from the mountains of the far north to areas closer to Sana’a to expand their hoped-for autonomous unit in a promised federal Yemen. They met with fierce resistance at first from pro-government tribes in the Zaidi Shia northern highlands led by the Al Ahmar.

But at the weekend they seized the town of Huth and Khamri vil-lage — the seat of Hashid tribal chief Sheikh Sadeq Al Ahmar — in the northern province of Amran. Abdel Karim Al Khaywani, an Ansarullah spokesman, said: “We reached a peace agreement yesterday with the Bani Suraim, Usaimat and Uzer,” all Hashid tribes in Amran, where fight-ing erupted on January 5. The agreement, reached without the Al Ahmar, stipulates an “end to

fighting... reopening of roads and allowing supporters of Ansarullah to move freely” in areas under tribal control, he said.

Sources say divisions within the Hashid confederation could have contributed to the defeat of the Al Ahmar because many tribes have sided with the rebels. The divisions are the result of a rift between Hashid chief Sheikh Sadeq and ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who also belongs to the confederation and can still count on the loyalty of some of its tribes.

The Al Ahmar sided with the Arab Spring protests that forced Saleh to step down in February 2012 after 33 years in power. A tribal source confirmed the agreement and said “Al Ahmar dignitaries have evacuated their strongholds in Amran”.

The deal with the rebels marks “a revolt by the Hashid against Al Ahmar and their 50-year-long injustice,” he said, adding that the agreement was overseen by Ali Hamid Jelidan of the Bani Suraim, who is known for his close ties to Saleh. The ex-president has seemed reluctant to retire from political life and is accused by oppo-nents of impeding the UN-backed transition in Yemen.

AFP

JUBA: The United Nations issued an urgent appeal yester-day for $1.27bn for aid for South Sudan, hit by a seven-week-old conflict that has forced close to a million people from their homes.

“The priority is to save lives now, and ensure that we have food, medicine and other lifesav-ing supplies prepositioned in the field, in easy reach of aid agencies before the rains hit and the roads become impassable,” said Toby Lanzer, the UN’s top aid official in South Sudan.

Describing the impact of the fighting as “devastating”, he said there were 3.2 million people suf-fering the humanitarian conse-quences, including 900,000 people who have been forced to abandon their homes and thousands more wounded. “Livelihoods have been lost, and people’s ability to move livestock to pasture, to fish or to hunt, has been severely compro-mised,” he said.

“I ask the international donor community to stand with the peo-ple of South Sudan and the aid agencies working here to help them before the situation gets even worse,” Lanzer added.

Fighting broke out in South Sudan on December 15 between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and those allied to ousted vice-president Riek Machar, and quickly spread throughout the country.

The work of aid agencies has been complicated by looting of humanitarian supplies by both sides in the conflict. Vehicles, food stockpiles and medicines have also been looted from organisa-tions including the International Committee of the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and the World Food Programme. AFP

Egypt’s former top officer to testify in Mursi trial today

UN appeals for $1.27bn aid for South Sudan

Yemen Shia rebels, tribes agree truce

Kuwait urged to allow free speech

Israel’s top court orders govt to explain valley barrier route

INTERNATIONAL 13WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Frozen Slovenia

Two men walk next to ice-covered trees in Postojna, Slovenia, yesterday. Snow and ice have paralysed the country following three days of blizzards, bringing down trees and electricity pylons, cutting power to 50,000 homes, and causing millions of euros of damage.

KIEV: Ukrainian lawmakers failed to agree on curbing the president’s powers at a stormy debate yesterday as interna-tional pressure grew for ending the two-month crisis with the expected arrival of the EU for-eign policy chief.

Catherine Ashton was due to meet opposition leaders for dinner in Kiev yesterday and President Viktor Yanukovich today to dis-cuss plans for financial aid from Brussels and Washington in exchange for democratic reforms.

Ukraine’s protests erupted in November after Yanukovich rejected a key EU pact in favour of closer ties with Moscow, and the turmoil has now become an all-out movement to oust him.

Demands of pro-EU protest leaders include constitutional amendments that would cut pres-idential powers and freedom for arrested activists without condi-tions, but Yanukovich’s ruling Regions Party has insisted this can only happen if occupied govern-ment buildings are vacated.

In a sign that Yanukovich’s posi-tion is softening further, his per-sonal representative in parliament Yuriy Miroshnychenko, said that the president was considering “two possible scenarios”.

“The first is the release of occu-pied buildings and an amnesty and the second is early elections. The amnesty is not working out,” he said, referring to the release of those arrested in past weeks.

A conditional amnesty came into force on Saturday and gives protesters 15 days to leave the buildings but the opposition has dismissed the law, saying it turns activists into “hostages”.

Protesters camped out on Kiev’s Independence Square — the hub of a movement that has spread across Ukraine — expressed mixed feelings about the possibility of Yanukovich stepping down before the end of his mandate in 2015.

“Until we see a complete change which is not just Yanukovich, peo-ple will stand here,” said Vasyl, a campaigner from Lviv in western Ukraine.

Bogdan, an activist from Kiev, said: “It would be the best way for us. A full reset of power. Both president and parliament.”

At a pro-government camp just a stone’s throw away from the protesters, 27-year-old Andriy Kucher said Yanukovich’s resigna-tion would mean that “the military coup has been successful”.

“He was democratically elected,” Kucher said.

In parliament, world champion boxer turned protest leader Vitali Klitschko called for an “end to the dictatorship” saying Ukrainians were fed up with corruption and lawlessness.

After meeting Yanukovich yesterday, Klitschko said he had pressed him on the need for a con-stitutional reform to reduce presi-dential powers and give more clout to the legislature.

“He told me it would take between one and six months. I told him we don’t have time,” he said.

Klitschko said it would be pos-sible to speed up the process by reverting to a previous version of the constitution with a parlia-mentary vote and the session was adjourned to today.

Opposition MPs chanted “Killers! Killers! Killers!” as the chief lawmaker from the Regions Party, Oleksandr Yefremov, took the floor with an emotional speech in which he blasted the “extrem-ism” of the protesters.

Yanukovich has scrapped dra-conian anti-protest laws and the prime minister and the entire cabinet have resigned under oppo-sition pressure but other demands remain unanswered.

At least two protesters and two policemen have been killed in clashes.

AFP

Erdogan urges more German support for its EU bidBERLIN: Turkey’s prime min-ister urged Germany yesterday to step up support for his coun-try’s stumbling EU bid but ran into continued scepticism from Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, grap-pling with the worst crisis of his 11 years in office, acknowledged the need for his country to reform if it wanted to join the 28-member bloc, amid concerns over the state of democracy in Turkey.

“We expect to receive Germany’s support for our path into the EU,” Erdogan told the German Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.

“We would like Germany to campaign more strongly than it has until now,” he added through an interpreter.

Erdogan’s visit to Europe’s top economy came on the eve of a parliamentary vote over new Internet legislation portrayed by the government as shielding the young from dangerous material but which critics say is a further erosion of personal freedom in the aspiring EU member.

“It goes without saying that also it’s up to Turkey, in the admission process, to pursue its reforms and to continually carry these out,” Erdogan told the think tank.

Merkel, whose conservatives favour forging a partnership between the EU and Turkey rather than full membership, told reporters it was no secret she remained “sceptical” about Turkey’s eventual accession.

The German leader said: “This process is open-ended and it is also not limited timewise. We have a series of problems anyway to still resolve.”

But she continued: “We want to advance it.”

Erdogan’s visit to Germany, home to around three million peo-ple with Turkish roots, followed a recent trip to Brussels aimed at reinvigorating Turkey’s long-standing bid to join the bloc but dominated by his controversial response to his domestic problems.

In his Berlin speech, Erodgan highlighted the contribution Turkey could make in conflict resolution, noting its cultural and historical ties with North Africa which could help in the Middle East peace process, he said.

AFP

Ukraine MPs fail to strike statute dealEU foreign policy chief to hold talks

US ambassador McFaul to leave Russia, Obama administration

UN to airlift aid to Central Africa

Dreams of family and food sustained Pacific castaway

S Africa police disperse 3,000 minersJOH A N N E SBU R G : South African police said they used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse 3,000 “violent” striking miners yester-day in the restive plati-num belt near Marikana, where 34 workers were shot dead in 2012.

Strikers “carrying dan-gerous weapons, such as knobkerries (clubs) and sticks, blocked the road and were threatening to remove non-striking workers at the shaft”, police said in a statement.

Miners “threatened to attack the police with stones”, the statement said.

AFP

MAJURO: A castaway who says he survived 13 months adrift in the Pacific said yester-day he thought about suicide but was sustained by dreams of eat-ing his favourite food — tortillas — and reuniting with his family.

Fisherman Jose Salvador Alvarenga also described being forced to dump the body of his teenage companion overboard when he starved to death, but said his own strong religious faith helped as he drifted some 12,500 kilometres from Mexico to the Marshall Islands.

“I didn’t want to die of starva-tion,” he said through a Spanish interpreter at Majuro Hospital, where he is recuperating after being found disoriented last Thursday at a remote coral atoll.

“There were times I would think about killing myself. But I was scared to do it,” he added, raising his arm, pointing to heaven and declaring: “God! Faith!”

Alvarenga said he would dream of eating all his favourite foods as he drifted across the Pacific.

“But then I woke up and all I see is the sun, sky and the sea,” he said.

“I would imagine and dream a lot about my family — my mother and my father,” he said. Alvarenga said he was not married but has a daughter named Fatima.

“Thank God he is alive. We are overjoyed... I just want him here with us,” his mother Maria Julia Alvarenga told CNN in his home-land El Salvador.

AFP

GENEVA: The UN’s World Food Programme said yes-terday it was running out of food aid to distribute in the conflict-ravaged Central African Republic and would begin flying in supplies from Cameroon.

“The date when the air bridge will open has not yet been set but it is imminent,” WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told reporters in Geneva.

The country is on the verge of a “food security crisis,” and the UN agency’s food reserves in Bangui are currently “very, very low,” she said.

Byrs said a jumbo jet would

make a round-trip daily car-rying up to 100 tonnes of food, with the aim of flying in 2,000 tonnes of mostly rice by the end of the month.

It is five times more expensive to bring food in by air than by road, but the air bridge was nec-essary since truck drivers trans-porting WFP supplies had since early January balked at crossing the border without escorts.

It was only at the end of January that the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic first provided an escort, allow-ing 10 trucks to reach the capi-tal Bangui.

A new escorted convoy was expected to reach the capital on Tuesday, but it was unclear how many of the 43 WFP trucks still stuck at the border would make it to Bangui, Byrs said.

As of last Thursday, she said, only 120 tonnes of grain remained in WFP’s Bangui warehouses — far from enough to help fill stomachs even in the capital, where more than 500,000 people are now believed to be homeless. Last October, the UN estimated that 30 per-cent of households in Central Africa, or about 1.3 million peo-ple, were “food insecure”.

AFP

MOSCOW: US Ambassador Michael McFaul, who engi-neered Washington’s “reset” of relations with Moscow but riled Russia during his tenure as envoy, said yesterday he would soon leave his posting and the administration of President Barack Obama.

McFaul helped Obama improve ties with Russia during his first term but was clouded by contro-versy from the start of his stint as envoy after Vladimir Putin, cam-paigning to regain the presidency in 2012, accused Washington of stirring up protests.

McFaul cited family reasons for his departure, saying his wife and sons had moved back to California last summer and that he would be based for the time being at Stanford University, where he taught before Obama brought him to Washington in 2009.

“After more than five years working for the Obama admin-istration, it is time to go home,” McFaul, 50, said in a lengthy entry on his blog. “I will leave

Russia reluctantly. I love this job.”A meeting with rights activ-

ists and opposition leaders during McFaul’s first week in Moscow drew criticism from Russian offi-cials and particularly the state media, which often have por-trayed him as seeking to foment revolution.

But it was McFaul’s manner, as much as the US policies he pursued, that frequently rubbed Russian officials the wrong way. The ebullient native of the west-ern frontier state of Montana broke the mould of restrained diplomacy, using social media and speeches to students to get his messages across.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov once accused McFaul of arro-gance, and the ministry said he had stepped “far beyond the boundaries of diplomatic eti-quette” when he said Russia had offered Kyrgyzstan a bribe to kick the United States out of a tran-sit facility used to support opera-tions in Afghanistan.

A Russian speaker and expert, McFaul was Obama’s top adviser

on Moscow during the “reset”, which improved relations that had become increasingly strained during the administration of George W. Bush and hit a low with Russia’s war against Georgia in 2008.

McFaul said he would go with “a sense of accomplishment”, citing the new START nuclear arms limitation pact, coopera-tion on Afghanistan and Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organisation as achievements reached since he joined Obama.

“President Obama is deeply grateful for Ambassador McFaul’s extraordinary service over the last five years,” White House dep-uty national security adviser Ben Rhodes said, adding he “helped shape policies that advanced America’s interests.

“Moreover, Mike has been tire-less in advocating for the univer-sal values that America stands for around the world, reaching out to civil society, and recognis-ing the right of every voice to be heard,” Rhodes said.

REUTERS

Gunmen kill 30 in NigeriaJOS: Gunmen killed about 30 people in an early morning raid on two villages in central Nigeria, witnesses said yes-terday, in the latest violence to hit the region.

The police in Plateau state, which has been hit by repeated communal violence, confirmed the attack but could not pro-vide details of casualties.

One witness, Rufus Gyang, said the attack happened at about 3am and the gunmen “started shooting sporadically, killing innocent villagers in their sleep”.

Nineteen people were killed in Rajat and 11 in Atakar vil-lages, all in the Riyom local government area of the state, he added.

Auction of Miro works scrappedLISBON: Christie’s auction house cancelled the sale of 85 paintings by the Catalan Surrealist Joan Miro yes-terday after an uproar over whether debt-ridden Portugal, their legal owner, could sell the treasures to buyers abroad. The auctioneers with-drew them from a London sale even though a Lisbon court threw out a suit by opposition lawmakers, prosecutors and the public trying to block the offer saying the government had violated the rules on clas-sifying the artwork. The Miro collection, estimated at more than €35m, came into state hands in 2008 when Portugal nationalised the failed bank BPN that owned them.

AGENCIES

14 INTERNATIONALWEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Floods make British village an islandGovt’s emergency response criticisedMUCHELNEY, United Kingdom: It has been nearly five weeks since the tiny vil-lage of Muchelney, which means “great island” in Old English, became marooned by the floods caused by record rainfall in Britain.

The 150 inhabitants of the ham-let in the heart of the Somerset Levels, a marshy plain in south-west England, are becoming sea-soned sailors as they take to the water to make contact with the outside world.

But in this historic area as in the rest of the country, criti-cism of the government’s emer-gency response is rising like the floodwaters.

Heir to the throne Prince Charles was visiting Muchelney yesterday to try to boost the spir-its of a suffering community.

“Prince Charles can’t change anything, but people are pleased that he’s coming,” said Catherine Denny, a retired school teacher, as she shows off the frescoes at the village’s 10th century abbey.

The area is no stranger to flood waters, which once thwarted English Civil War leader Oliver Cromwell’s attempts to destroy its churches in the 17th century, explained Denny.

“It does happen very often, but this time it’s been very long,” she added.

Some 11,500 hectares of the Somerset Levels are under water following the wettest January in southern England since 1910. Several other nearby villages are in semi-isolation, barricaded by sandbags for fear of rising water levels.

Another 180 houses were flooded last weekend and emer-gency teams are on standby with more rain expected on Wednesday.

With no obvious solution availa-ble, British Prime Minister David Cameron’s government faces ris-ing anger from flood victims who say it directs too many resources to urban problems at the expense of the rural population.

Environment minister Owen Paterson received a hostile recep-tion when he visited the area last week.

Muchelney, which sits on a small protective hill, became almost completely cut off follow-ing heavy rains on January 3.

Since then, all access roads have been under water — up to two metres in places — and the only way in and out is by boat.

Boats piloted by police or res-cue workers follow the path of the roads beneath the water. Beside one road, a grey car hastily abandoned by its owner lies sub-merged, a testament to the flood’s destructive power.

Prince Charles speaks to members of the local community in the village of Stoke St Gregory on the Somerset Levels in south west England yesterday.

Everyday tasks such as going to work, dropping the children at school and food shopping suddenly became arduous chores requiring a life-jacket.

“It takes two and half hours to get a pint of milk,” explained local resident Nigel Smith.

With no relief in sight, Catherine Denny expects villagers to be holed up in their private fort for “long weeks” to come.

“Everybody manages,” she said. “There is a farm shop where you can get vegetables, bread and some meat, people can get out on the boat and bring back some food.”

“We had a flood party in the church on Sunday, where people

brought something,” she added. “It brings people together.”

But the fate of Muchelney could be the shape of things to come for rural Britain.

The head of Britain’s Environment Agency, Chris Smith, warned this week that the country may have to choose between whether to protect its towns or its countryside from flooding in the future.

He said that “building dams is very expensive.”

Cameron has promised £4m ($6.5m) to dredge river beds, but most experts believe it will not help.

“Retreat is the only sensible policy, if we fight nature, we will

lose in the end,” Colin Thorne, professor of physical geography at Nottingham University and a leading flood expert, recently told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

But Muchelney resident Robin Board said it was a “disgusting” way to treat the countryside.

“I grew up here, there was always flooding but never as deep and as long,” he said. “They haven’t dredged for 20 years. They spent £20 million on a bird sanctuary, but they haven’t the money to dredge.

“They prefer birds to humans. Everybody’s angry about it.”

But his fellow villager Smith showed a more British stiff upper lip about the situation.

AFP

Millions face travel chaos in London tube strikeLONDON: Millions of com-muters face travel chaos this week as London Underground prepares for a two-day rail strike over planned job cuts and the closure of ticket offices.

The world’s oldest and largest underground rail network, which carries three million passengers a day, was to be all but shut down from last evening through to tomorrow evening, with only very limited services running, leaving many Londoners unable to get to work and straining the bus network.

The two leading rail unions, the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), called the strike to pro-test against plans to close ticket offices and cut nearly 1,000 jobs.

TfL, which runs the under-ground network, says the planned closures would save nearly 50 mil-lion pounds a year.

Another 48-hour strike is planned for the following week, from February 11 to 14.

Tfl said it would try to keep as many stations open as possible, although the disruption was likely to force many employees to work from home.

The prospect of travel chaos dismayed many passengers yesterday.

FDA to launch anti-tobacco drive aimed at youthWASHINGTON: A major new anti-tobacco campaign will be launched in the United States next week aimed at vulnerable teenagers at risk of becoming addicted to cigarettes.

The $115m campaign, to be overseen by the Food and Drug Administration, will target the 10 million young people aged 12 to 17 who are open to trying cigarettes or who are already experiment-ing with them and are in danger of becoming regular smokers, the FDA said. There were about 25 million children in that age group in 2012, according to US Census Bureau data.

The campaign is the first of several scheduled to be launched over the next two years. The oth-ers will be directed at rural, gay, African American, and American Indian youth.

The campaigns are expected to cost $400m altogether. They are being funded with fees paid to the FDA by the tobacco industry under a 2009 law that gives the FDA authority to regulate ciga-rettes, cigarette tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco.

AGENCIES

England and Wales urge Scotland: Don’t leave usLONDON: Despite sporting and historic rivalry, England and Wales had one message for Scotland yesterday: Don’t leave us.

As debate over Scotland’s inde-pendence referendum heats up, an opinion poll showed a rising number of English and Welsh want Scotland to stay in the 307-year group forged by the Treaty of the Union that created the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

A YouGov poll found 54 percent want voters north of the border to reject independence at a refer-endum on September 18.

This is a turnaround from three years ago when a poll for

the tabloid Sun newspaper found slightly more English and Welsh wanted Scots to go their own way than stay in the UK.

The survey comes as polls north of the border show a slight shift in opinion with rising support for separatists who have lagged pro-unionists with about one third sup-port since the independence vote became a reality 18 months ago.

“Suddenly Scottish independ-ence has become a real consid-eration and people are taking this more seriously and no longer just giving a flippant answer,” politi-cal analyst Anthony Wells from YouGov said.

The latest YouGov poll of 5,161 English and Welsh adults con-ducted last month found only 24 percent now wanted Scotland to break away from the UK while 22 percent did not know.

The poll found opposition to Scottish independence was strongest in the north of England where 55 percent of respondents favoured sticking with Scotland and was weakest in London where 50 percent opposed a breakaway.

The British government is opposed to Scottish independence, saying both sides of the border ben-efit from the union. “The UK has a stronger global voice than any of

us would have alone - this is com-mon sense,” Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones said in a statement.

Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond is leading the drive for Scotland to split from the rest of the UK, arguing that Scots will be better off in charge of their own finances.

But the YouGov poll found the economy was not a key considera-tion for England and Wales, with 56 percent saying Scottish independ-ence would make no real difference or not make them worse off. Only 26 percent thought they would benefit.

The number of Scottish resi-dents opposed to independence

continues to trump those sup-porting a split but as the debate heats up, more Scots are starting to sway towards a Yes vote and a large number remain uncertain.

This uncertainty and the Scottish National Party’s land-slide victory in Scottish elections in 2011 has prompted British offi-cials to warn against complacency.

A TNS BMRB poll released last weekend showed support for inde-pendence at 29 percent, up from 26 percent in a similar November poll, while support for Scotland remaining part of the UK was steady at 42 percent

REUTERS

Obama hooks up new school broadband planADELPHI, United States: President Barack Obama yes-terday unveiled a new govern-ment partnership with the private sector worth nearly three billion dollars to hook up an extra 20 million school kids to high speed Internet.

“In a country where we expect free Wifi with our coffee we should definitely demand it in our schools,” Obama said, unveil-ing the latest prong of his “oppor-tunity agenda” in a Washington suburb.

The programme, a link up with US firms including Verizon, Sprint and Apple, fits into Obama’s consistent push to improve education and to equip young Americans with the tech-nological skills needed to compete in an increasingly competitive global market.

But it is also Obama’s lat-est attempt to show that with a “pen and a phone” he can wield presidential power to significant economic effect even though Republicans in Congress are squelching much of his second term agenda.

The program will see the Federal Communications Commission put down $2bn to connect 20 million more students to wireless broadband in their schools.

The Department of Agriculture

will come in with $10m in grants to benefit rural schools.

The administration has also secured hundreds of millions of dollars in investment from top communications and Internet companies.

Apple has pledged $100m to buy iPads and MacBook computers for disadvantaged schools.

AT&T will pay more than $100m to offer Internet connec-tivity to selected middle school students.

Microsoft has pledged to offer steep discounts on the cost of its Windows operating system.

Sprint will come up with another $100m to offer free wireless to 50,000 low-income high school students for four years.

Verizon will meanwhile put up $100m in cash to support the Obama programme, known as ConnectED, which was launched last year.

“Today the average school has about the same Internet band-width as the average American home,” Obama said.

“But it serves 200 times as many people.”

The White House says the new effort will bring America close to giving 99 percent of schoolchil-dren Internet access within five years.

AFP

US President Barack Obama visits a classroom at Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, Maryland, yesterday.

Britain’s anti-EU party suffers setbackLONDON: The UK Independence Party, which wants Britain to leave the EU, suffered a setback ahead of European elections after a prominent party member con-firmed he had spent time in jail for being involved in a kidnap-ping in Pakistan.

The scandal is the latest to buffet UKIP, which opinion polls show is on course to beat Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party in May elec-tions for the European Parliament and to split the centre-right vote at a national election in 2015.

BBC TV reported on Monday night that Mujeeb ur Rehman Bhutto, who had previously appeared on television as a UKIP spokesman, was the former leader of a gang in Pakistan which was behind a high-profile kidnapping in Karachi in 2004.

“As soon as we were made aware of allegations relating to this report we confronted him and he immediately resigned his membership,” UKIP said in a statement yesterday.

UKIP has been hit by a series of scandals involving the views and background of its members.

Last month, one of its local councillors in England provoked uproar when he said that recent flooding across Britain was God’s punishment for parliament

backing gay marriage. In August last year, a UKIP lawmaker in the European Parliament caused sim-ilar outrage by describing some of the countries Britain sends aid to as “bongo bongo land”.

A spokeswoman for UKIP said Bhutto had not held the post of a formal spokesman and that he had no responsibilities beyond that of a normal member.

UKIP said Bhutto had pre-viously been a member of the Conservatives and had since rejoined Cameron’s party. A Conservative spokesman said his application to become a member had been rejected.

The BBC reported that follow-ing the kidnapping, Bhutto came to Manchester in the north of England to collect a 56,000 pound ($91,500) ransom payment, which was later found hidden under his bed in a house where he was stay-ing in Leeds.

Bhutto admitted conspiracy to blackmail and was jailed for seven years by a UK court in 2005.

Bhutto told the BBC he had admitted the charges against him rather than risk being sent back to Pakistan and hanged.

“The evidence which was brought against me was from Pakistan. The allegation was sim-ply because of political rivalry,” the BBC quoted him as saying.

REUTERS

ASIA / PHILIPPINES 15WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Buddhist monks walk inside a pagoda in Bagan, Myanmar, yesterday. The city is one of the Myanmar’s most treasured religious sites that attracts hundreds of visitors daily.

Young monks

Typhoon leaves six dead, 5,000 displacedMANILA: The death toll from Tropical Storm Basyang has doubled to six and more than 5,000 people were dis-placed and are staying in evacuation centres. Three new fatalities were recorded in Cebu, according to a report by National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) yester-day. The latest victims include Allan Cris Lisondra Degino, 14, of Samboan town who was buried in a landslide, while 65-year-old Anthony Garcia Collarte drowned in Bantayan and Vicente Paras Jayme, 5, of Compostela town, was electro-cuted. Other fatalities reported previously were Cebu residents Jose Haji Aque Babatid, 22, who was electrocuted and Danny Tundag, 24, and Dionesio Paler, 66, who drowned in Southern Leyte. Five people were reported missing after a motorboat sank off Camotes Island. One of them was a 25-year-old Korean. NDRRMC said one-year-old Janice Bas Deiparine of Talisay City was injured after a fence collapsed on her. A total of 42,987 people were affected in 181 barangays in Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Caraga regions. Of these, 5,646 people are at 32 evacuation centres.

240 supporters killed: ZiaDHAKA: Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia accused the government yesterday of “state ter-rorism,” saying more than 240 of her supporters were killed in four weeks that included last month’s con-troversial election. Zia, a two-time former premier who heads Bangladesh Nationalist Party, said security forces and ruling party activists were behind the killings and forced disappearance of her supporters. She said the incidents occurred between December 26 and January 27 and included arrest of 29,262 supporters. AGENCIES

An anti-government protester sits between tents at a protest site in downtown Bangkok yesterday.

Thai opposition to challenge poll in courtBANGKOK: Thailand’s oppo-sition Democrat Party said it will challenge a disputed week-end ballot in court yesterday, while the Election Commission probed possible campaigning irregularities in a drawn-out political conflict that showed no sign of ending.

In a further blow for care-taker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, China pulled out of a deal to buy 1.2 million tonnes of Thai rice amid a corruption probe, the commerce minister said, add-ing to the financing problems of a subsidy scheme that had helped win her huge rural support.

The Democrats, who boycotted the election, will file two com-plaints with the Constitutional Court, spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said.

“The first regards the election directly. We will argue that the election violated the constitution, in particular article 68 which pro-hibits people from undermining the constitutional monarchy and trying to grab power through

unconstitutional means,” he said.“In a separate petition, we

will file for the dissolution of (Yingluck’s) Puea Thai Party for announcing the state of emer-gency which meant the election could not be held under normal circumstances.”

Anti-government protesters have been on the streets since November, saying Yingluck must resign and make way for an appointed “people’s council.”

The protesters draw their sup-port from Bangkok’s middle-class and elite, as well as the south. The Shinawatra power base is among the mainly rural poor in the popu-lous north and northeast.

Yingluck imposed a state of emergency last month to try to control the protests, allowing secu-rity agencies to impose curfews, declare areas off-limits and detain suspects without charge. Such measures have not been enforced.

Sunday’s election was gener-ally peaceful, with no repeat of the chaos seen the previous day when supporters and opponents

of Yingluck clashed in north Bangkok. Whatever the result, it is unlikely to change the dysfunc-tional status quo after eight years of polarisation and turmoil.

The Election Commission said it was looking into complaints on alleged abuse of authority by the government during Sunday’s vote.

It is due to meet today to dis-cuss problems including the fail-ure to register candidates in 28 electoral districts after protesters blockaded candidate registration centres in December.

Thailand’s anti-graft agency has accelerated an investigation into Yingluck’s role as head of a rice price-support scheme that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars, leading to China cancelling the deal.

“China lacks confidence to do business with us after the National Anti-Corruption Commission started investiga-tions into the transparency of rice deals between Thailand and China,” Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan told reporters. REUTERS

WASHINGTON: More than $410bn in illicit money crossed the borders of the Philippines from 1960 to 2011, with cus-toms fraud related to imported goods surging in recent years, according to a study by a US-based anti-graft watchdog group released on Monday.

Global Financial Integrity (GFI) said a record high of $25.8bn came into the Southeast

Asian archipelago nation illegally in 2011, the most recent year for which data was available.

That was up from $22.9bn in 2010, marking back-to-back years of record illicit inflows.

About $14.2bn of illicit inflows was reported for 2009, the study said.

These illicit inflows are typi-cally the result of under-reported merchandise that is shipped into

the country, said GFI econo-mist Brian LeBlanc, one of the report’s authors.

“This is mostly importers try-ing to avoid VAT taxes or import tariffs,” LeBlanc said. “Customs corruption is a huge issue in the Philippines,” he said.

Over the 42-year period, about $277.6bn was illegally transferred into the country, and $132.9bn in illicit funds went out of the

country from crime, corruption, and tax evasion, the report said.

The Philippine Treasury has lost at least $19.3bn in tax rev-enue since 1990 due to customs duties evasion, GFI said.

“It is our view that trade-related fraud has reached an epidemic proportion in the Philippines,” Tom Cardamone, managing director of GFI, told reporters in Manila. He added

about a fourth of all goods imported into the country were not reported to the customs bureau.

Weak governance and ris-ing levels of corruption in the Philippines were aiding illicit money flows, Cardamone said, adding he hopes the study will spur the government to consider legislative and regulatory meas-ures to curb the illicit flows.

The report, based on trade statistics data from the International Monetary Fund, reflects conservative numbers on illicit flows as it does not capture undocumented cash and services, Cardamone said. The study was financed by the Ford Foundation, a donor to GFI, which also receives funding from governments and individuals.

REUTERS

Smuggling, fraud cost Philippine government $25.8bn in 2011

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has refused a top US women’s rights official entry to the country, just days after another senior envoy alleged Colombo’s rights record was deteriorating, the US embassy said yesterday.

US ambassador at large for women’s issues Catherine Russell was due to visit Sri Lanka ahead of a UN Human Rights Council meeting next month at which Colombo is due to face fresh cen-sure. A US embassy spokesman

said it was “regrettable” Colombo had refused to grant Russell a visa for the planned visit this month.

“Ambassador Russell’s man-date is to promote stability, peace, and development by empowering women politically, socially, and economically around the world,” the spokesman said.

The refusal came after Nisha Biswal, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, told reporters on Saturday the US was concerned about the

worsening human rights situa-tion, during her visit to the island.

At the end of the two-day trip, Biswal also said the US was wor-ried about a weakening of the rule of law and an increase in corrup-tion levels and impunity in Sri Lanka since a 37-year conflict ended in May 2009.

Sri Lanka rejected the com-ments as “patently unfair” and accused Biswal of wanting to believe the worst about the island.

Another US envoy, war crimes

investigator Stephen Rapp, stirred controversy in Sri Lanka last month by visiting a former battleground.

There was no immediate com-ment from Colombo over the refusal to grant Russell a visa.

“The US will continue to raise important issues related to gen-der based violence, the impact that the conflict had on fami-lies (particularly female headed households), the need for greater economic empowerment by

women, and for greater political participation by women across Sri Lanka,” the embassy spokesman said.

Sri Lanka is under increasing international pressure to probe its own troops over allegations that they killed thousands of civilians in the final stages of the war.

President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government denies any civilians were killed by its troops and has rejected calls for an international inquiry. AFP

Sri Lanka bars entry of US women’s rights official

China pulls out of deal to buy 1.2m tonnes of rice

SEOUL: North Korea yester-day denounced Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as an “Asian Hitler” intent on amassing mili-tary power under the guise of ensuring regional stability.

The attack in an editorial car-ried by the North’s official KCNA news agency followed commen-tary by the ruling party’s news-paper Rodong Sinmun last month that described Abe as a “milita-rist maniac” for trying to amend Tokyo’s pacifist constitution. Abe said last month that Japan’s paci-fist post-World War II constitution that limits its military to self-defence, could be amended by 2020.

The editorial, “Is this the emer-gence of an Asian Hitler?” said the Japanese premier was fuelling fears of North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats in order to justify his country’s military expansion.

“There is no difference between the fascist maniac Hitler, who waged battle against commu-nists to justify another war, and the reckless Abe who is using confrontation with North Korea to justify Japan’s new militarist ambitions,” it added.

North Korea repeatedly harangues Japan over its failure to atone for its 1910-45 occupation of the Korean peninsula and for its

claims to Korean island territory.It also took exception to Abe’s

December visit to the Yasukuni war shrine that honours Japan’s war dead including several high-level officials executed for war crimes after World War II.

The visit was widely con-demned by regional neighbours South Korea and China as a slap in the face of victims of Japan’s wartime aggression.

The North’s nuclear and missile programmes are of long-stand-ing security concern to Japan, which is a member of the stalled six-party talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions. AFP

Pyongyang calls Abe ‘The Asian Hitler’

Philippine Congress probe into China Sea row urgedMANILA: Three partylist congressmen have filed a reso-lution, urging the House com-mittee on Foreign Affairs to find diplomatic and peaceful resolution to the brewing ter-ritorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea with China.

Bayan Muna Reps Neri Colminares and Carlos Isagani Zarate, and ACT Teachers Antonio Tinio said the settlement of the issue should be done without the meddling of the United States.

In House Resolution 671, the lawmakers called on the Committee on Foreign Affairs to conduct an inquiry on China’s New Sea Rules. They cited that on January 1, 2014, Hainan, a southern Chinese island prov-ince, implemented new rules that require foreign fishermen to seek permission from Chinese regional authorities before venturing out into the disputed West Philippines Sea.

They said the Department of Foreign Affairs issued a state-ment saying the new Chinese policy was a “gross violation” of the United Nation Convention on the Laws of the Sea, the inter-national law that the Philippines invoked in taking its dispute with China over Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) to the UN for arbitration in January last year.

“According to the DFA, China’s new fishing rules are contrary to the spirit of the Declaration

on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea,” legislators said. They also noted that the fish-ing rules do not outline penalties, but the requirements are similar to a 2004 national law that says boats entering Chinese territory without permission can have their catch and fishing equipment seized and face fines of up to $82,000.

The resolution states that the country has territorial claims over parts of the Spratly group of islands located within the coun-try’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, as stipulated in the UNCLOS, which stipu-lates that the coastal state has “sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, con-serving and managing the natu-ral resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters” 200 nautical miles from its coast.

They noted that the coastal state will also have jurisdiction over “the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations and structures; marine scientific research; and the protection and preservation of the marine envi-ronment.” HR 671 states that the “United States is using the heightening territorial disputes between the Philippines and China to justify increasing mili-tary presence and interference in the Philippines and in Asia, con-tain and counter China’s growing power and intensify US imperial-ist plunder and hegemony.”

THE PHILIPPINE STAR

Peace talks revive hopes of Taseers, GilanisLAHORE: The PML-N gov-ernment’s initiative to hold peace talks with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan has rekindled the hope of the families of Ali Haider Gilani and Shahbaz Taseer for their safe recovery.

Ali Haider, son of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, was kidnapped by armed men in Multan just two days before the May 11 election.

Similarly, Shahbaz Taseer, son of slain Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, was kid-napped by unidentified men in Aug 2011 in Lahore’s Gulberg area.

The successive govern-ments of both the PPP and the PML-N have failed to recover the both young men who are believed to be kept by their kidnappers in the areas bor-dering Afghanistan.

Karzai urged to reject billKABUL: An international rights group said yester-day that Afghan President Hamid Karzai should refuse to sign a law passed by par-liament that would deny women protection from domestic violence and forced marriage.

Afghanistan’s parliament, a two-chamber house domi-nated by conservative clerics and former Islamist warlords, passed a “criminal procedure law” last year which experts say contains articles that deny women legal protections.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said the bill “is expected to be sent to Karzai for final signature into law within weeks, if not earlier” and called on the war-torn nation’s leader to send the bill back to legislators with amendments.

“President Karzai should reject a law that will effec-tively let batterers of women and girls off the hook,” Human Rights Watch said in a state-ment, quoting its Asia director Brad Adams.

AGENCIES

Karzai in secret talks with Taliban: NYTAfghan president keen to avoid signing security deal with Washington until after electionKABUL: Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai has been holding secret talks with Taliban officials in the hope of persuading them to make peace with his government, the New York Times reported yesterday, citing unnamed Afghan and Western officials.

Karzai’s spokesman could not be reached for comment. But

the Times, in its report, said the spokesman had confirmed contact had been made and described the past two months as positive.

Officials, however, told the paper the Taliban-initiated talks had been fruitless so far, although they may help explain Karzai’s mounting public hostility to Washington.

In November - around the same

time the secret talks report-edly began - Karzai announced his intention to avoid signing a bilateral security deal with the United States until after a presi-dential election in April. Karzai has served two terms and cannot run again.

President Barack Obama, frustrated by Karzai’s refusal to sign the accord, was due to meet

top commanders at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the future of the US mission in Afghanistan.

Relations have deteriorated sharply over Karzai’s refusal to sign, sapping already scant sup-port for the war in Washington, which has halved aid for civilian assistance in the fiscal year 2014.

Washington has signalled it

could pull all troops out after 2014, unless a deal is signed soon. This would leave Afghanistan’s fledgling security forces to fight the Taliban insurgency alone and diplomats fear they would strug-gle to cope without US financial and military support.

The Taliban have vowed to derail the April 5 election and the recent spike in violence in the

capital suggests secret talks with Karzai have made little difference over their stated intention to step up attacks.

Monthly incidents in January were at the highest since 2008, according to security officials, and the trend has continued into February, with two bombs going off in Kabul on Monday.

REUTERS

Indian fisherman found dead in jailKARACHI: An Indian fisher-man arrested more than a year ago for straying into Pakistani waters died in prison in Karachi yesterday after an illness, a sen-ior jail official said.

The man, named by jail officials as Kishan and aged about 50, died in Landhi jail hospital, where he was being held with more than 150 other Indian fishermen.

India and Pakistan frequently arrest fishermen for violating territorial waters, though the Arabian Sea border is poorly defined and many fishing boats lack the technology needed to be certain of their precise location.

Many of them languish in jail for years even after serving their term, as poor diplomatic ties between the two arch-rivals mean fulfilling official requirements can take a long time.

“He was admitted at the jail hospital for about a month com-plaining of a severe cough, vom-iting, and pain in the abdomen,” Sunil Shah, the chief of Landhi jail, said. AFP

Provinces blame lack of legislation for failure to provide free educationISLAMABAD: After failing to provide free and compulsory education for all the children aged between five and sixteen, the four provinces of Pakistan are taking refuge behind lack of legislation.

Everyone has his own story to tell that why, despite clear judg-ments of the Supreme Court, education has not been made compulsory.

Education Minister for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Atif believes that only legislation could not do the trick as it needed extra resources to ensure quality educa-tion in the province.

Punjab Cabinet has recently approved the bill to provide free and compulsory education, how-ever, it is yet to be implemented.

The authorities in Sind’s Education department are hardly aware about the sub-ject as Secretary Education Dr Fazalullah Pechuho said he has no information about the matter.

Interestingly Balochistan Province where the education standards are even much below than the other province has not even a regular minister for education.

A recent study by Annual Status of Education Report 2013, which was conducted for tracking the journey towards the Right to Education as contained in Article 25 A and its provincial and area enactments, presents the true picture of educational standards in Pakistan.

The report’s key finding include that 57 percent children in class 5 cannot read sentences fluently in English. Similarly, 57 percent of the total children enrolled in the government schools study-ing in class 5 cannot do two digit division.

Not only this, 50 percent chil-dren cannot even read story flu-ently in Urdu, Sindhi or Pashto as well. The report further says that 21 percent children between

the age of 5 to 16 years are yet to be enrolled.

Keeping the existing education standards, the provincial gov-ernments should have declared emergency in the education sec-tor, however, none of the province has done legislation for the free and compulsory education to all the children.

The report says that the acts are in place for the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and Sindh; the draft rules are being developed for ICT while in Sindh these are yet to be discussed.

Balochistan Compulsory and Free Education Ordinance 2013 was notified on March 15, 2013. Its validity is yet to be established.

The province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa yet to enact the legislation. The progress of implementation on Article 25 A is slow since it was added to the Constitution in April 2010 under the 18th Amendment.

INTERNEWS

ISLAMABAD: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the Peoples Party, has launched a scathing attack on his politi-cal opponents who he said must stop “making excuses” for Taliban violence.

Bilawal also accused Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan of “letting down the people” by not backing firm military action against the Taliban.

“Perhaps they are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome,” he said, referring to cases of hostages who sympathise with or even assist their captors.

“There is no reason why the national leaders, the so-called leaders, should not speak out against people who are mur-dering our citizens, murdering our armed forces and claiming responsibility.”

The remarks are likely to fur-ther burnish his reputation as both a brash new arrival on the country’s political scene, but also the most outspoken politician on the issue of militancy and extremism.

The 25-year-old son of former premier Benazir Bhutto said the government’s inaction had been disastrous, emboldening extrem-ists to target civilians, including Malala Yousufzai, the schoolgirl education activist who nearly died in 2012 after being shot in the head by a Taliban assassin.

“This is why people like Malala become targets because the politi-cians, or the so-called leaders of this country, can’t find the courage to speak out when a 16-year-old girl could. If we all speak in one voice, they can’t kill us all,” he said.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said he could speak out only because of the vast security operation that surrounds him at all times and heavily restricts his travel. He spends much of his time at his fortress-like family compound in Karachi.

“I have a lot of security - I lost my mother to the Taliban because of a lack of security - and that explains partly why I can be so vocal,” he said. “But so does Imran Khan. Nawaz Sharif is the prime minister of Pakistan, Shahbaz Sharif is the chief minister of

Punjab. They all have more secu-rity than I do. They have no excuse.”

Imran Khan argues that stri-dent rhetoric might endanger the lives of his supporters and party activists. Bilawal has shown no such caution.

He is firmly against negotia-tions with the Taliban, saying the time has come for far-reach-ing military operations against the TTP, particularly in North Waziristan.

But he warned an operation should be in cooperation with Afghanistan, an unlikely propo-sition given the distrust between Kabul and Islamabad.

“With Afghanistan there is no point of us launching an operation over here if they are just going to hop across the border and find sanctuary over there,” he warned. “The ideal situation would be an operation from both sides at the same time.”

Bilawal Bhutto said he was exasperated by the government’s decision last week to hold talks with the Taliban.

INTERNEWS

LAHORE: As complaints of re-encroachment on several parts of the city started pour-ing in within days of an anti-encroachment operation, the city district government of Lahore has started considering a plan to establish a permanent anti-encroachment squad, it was learnt.

The government had launched a crackdown on encroachments in the city last month. This was not the first time an anti-encroach-ment operation was launched. In fact, similar drives are conducted twice a year.

However, the problem per-sists despite repeated campaigns against it.

The government has decided to not only fine the encroachers, but also the people facilitating them.

Several town municipal officers have said that encroachments are

facilitated and supported by shop keepers in every market.

In a crackdown, only those con-ducting businesses on public land are fined, they said.

Soon after such an operation ends, the encroachers set up busi-ness at new locations while shop keepers accommodate more ven-dors in front of their shops.

These vendors pay these shop keepers rent, the town municipal officers said.

Staff Officer to the DCO Tariq Zaman said shop keepers caught facilitating encroachers will not be fined but their shops could also be sealed if required.

He said there was legislation covering the matter.

District Coordination Officer Ahmad Javeed Qazi said the gov-ernment was working on a pro-posal for a permanent squad.

INTERNEWS

‘Stop making excuses for Taliban’

Permanent squad planned to stop encroachments

PESHAWAR: A prominent Shia leader was shot dead in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar yesterday, officials said, sparking a protest outside a hospital where his body was taken.

The killing comes just weeks after a Shia scholar was gunned down in the same city.

“Haji Sardar Ali was shot dead in the morning in Kissa Khwani bazaar,” senior police official Faisal Mukhtar said.

Ali headed the local branch of the Tehrik-e-Nafaz-e-Fiqah-e-Jafaria, a Shia rights movement.

Zaheer ul Islam, the deputy commissioner of Peshawar, con-firmed the incident.

“Haji Sardar Ali owner of a general store in (the) bazaar. He was going to his shop when unknown gunmen shot him dead,” he said.

Ali was rushed to the city’s Lady Reading Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival, Mukhtar said.

A correspondent at the hospi-tal said around a hundred Shias gathered outside and chanted slo-gans demanding the arrest of the attackers.

There has been no claim of responsibility so far.

“It looks like a sectarian tar-get killing but the police are still investigating the case,” Mukhtar said.

Scholar Allama Alim Al-Musvi was shot while walking to the mosque in the same bazaar on January 20.

There has been a rise in sec-tarian violence in Pakistan since several deadly clashes between Sunni and Shiite Muslim groups near the capital Islamabad in November.

Pakistan is rife with sectarian clashes. Sunni militant groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Taliban often attack gatherings by Shiites, who make up some 20 percent of the country’s mainly Muslim population.

AFP

Shia rights leader shot dead in Peshawar

Anti-India protest

Pakistani youth hold placards as they shout anti-India slogans during a rally in Faisalabad yesterday to express solidarity with Kashmiris living in Indian-held Kashmir.

Pakistani donkey carters participate in a race during the Sindh Festival in Karachi yesterday.

Donkey race

16 PAKISTAN / AFGHANISTANWEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

INDIA 17WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

NEW DELHI: Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and eminent scientist C N R Rao were yester-day conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, by President Pranab Mukherjee at a glittering ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

The two joined the list of 41 eminent personalities who have been given the Bharat Ratna in recognition of their contribution to society.

Tendulkar, 40, nominated to the Rajya Sabha last year, is the first sportsperson and the youngest recipient of the award. He was accompanied by his wife Anjali and daughter Sara to the ceremony.

Rao, 79, is the fourth scientist after C V Raman, M Visvesvaraya and former president A P J Abdul Kalam to get the Bharat Ratna.

It was a brief ceremony that lasted six-and-a-half minutes. Mukherjee entered the historic Durbar Hall at exactly 12 noon to honour Rao and Tendulkar.

Prime Miister Manmohan Singh, his wife Gursharan Kaur, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and ministers Sushil Kumar Shinde, A K Antony, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rajiv Shukla were also present.

Tendulkar dedicated the hon-our to his mother and all moth-ers of the country who sacrificed their personal aspirations so that the dreams of their children are realised.

Sachin, Rao conferred Bharat RatnaCricket legend is the first sportsperson and the youngest recipient of the award

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar (left) and eminent scientist C N R Rao receiving the ‘Bharat Ratna’ award from President Pranab Mukherjee during an awarding ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi yesterday.

“This is the biggest honour. Extremely delighted at getting this award. I want to reiterate again that I want to dedicate this award to my mother and all other mothers of India who sacrificed their aspirations so that their children’s dreams come true,” said Tendulkar.

Tendulkar ended his illustri-ous career with a fair clutch of records. He has 15,921 runs from a record 200 Test matches at an average of 53.58 and 51 centuries.

He scored 18,426 runs from

463 ODIs with an average of 44.83 including 49 centuries. He was also the first to score a double hundred in the 50-over format. Tendulkar quit the one-day form of cricket in 2012 and Tests last year.

Rao is known for his work in solid state and structural chem-istry. “Well, this is fantastic, my own country has given me this award. This is a big thing. I have been a professor of science for 55 years and I have got so many awards in the past but this is the

best. I will cherish this award the most in my life,” Rao said.

Rao feels that India is perform-ing well in the field of science but other majors like China and South Korea are doing better.

“We are doing good but others like China and South Korea are doing better. We are also invest-ing a lot of money in the area of scientific research but a lot more needs to be done,” he said.

Rao is the honorary president of Bangalore’s Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific

Research, which he founded in 1989. He was appointed chair-man of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister in January 2005. He is also the direc-tor of the International Centre for Materials Science.

The government last year changed the nomination crite-ria for Bharat Ratna to include sportspersons. Legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand was also recommended for the award but Tendulkar was chosen.

IANS

NEW DELHI: A Group of Ministers (GoM) yesterday cleared the draft Telangana bill which would be placed before the union cabinet even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed hope that parliament will approve bills to reorganise Andhra Pradesh and anti-cor-ruption measures during its ses-sion beginning on February 5.

The GoM cleared the draft leg-islation to be placed before the union cabinet on Thursday to pave the way for its tabling in parlia-ment despite the Andhra Pradesh assembly’s rejection of the bill.

“The GoM has cleared the draft Telangana bill. It will be placed before the union cabinet in the next meeting. The bill will be tabled in parliament,” union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is a member of the GoM, told reporters.

A comprehensive bill will be now be brought before the cabinet and suggestions will be incorporated after discussions. Following the cabinet’s nod, the legislation will be sent to the president for his approval before being taken up by parliament, probably next week.

The move comes days after the Andhra Pradesh Assembly rejected the bill by voice vote.

Speaking to reporters after an all-party meet ahead of the parlia-ment session, the prime minister expressed hope that parliament will approve the Telangana bill and anti-corruption bills during its ses-sion beginning on February 5.

“This is going to be the last session of the 15th Lok Sabha. There is important legislation which is pending for approval

by parliament. “There is impor-tant legislation relating to anti-corruption measures. There is important legislation with regard to women’s reservation bill. There is important business concern-ing the control of communal vio-lence,” he said.

“I sincerely hope that parlia-ment, in its wisdom, will transact the essential business which is the primary concern of any legisla-ture in a parliamentary democ-racy. And, of course, there is the vital issue of Telangana”.

The prime minister said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government wants to bring the Telangana bill in parliament for its approval. “I sincerely hope that after a long debate extending over many years, the house will, in its wisdom, be able to transact the business and pass the bill relat-ing to the creation of the state of Telangana,” he added.

The parliament session will begin today and end on February 21. The prime minister’s remarks assume significance as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is opposed to the division of the state, is plan-ning to meet President Pranab Mukherjee on the issue. The Andhra chief minister is in Delhi.

Manmohan Singh also met a delegation of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders and appealed to them that the bifur-cation of Andhra Pradesh “should be peaceful”. “Nothing should be said or done that can inflame passions. I appeal to all that the bifurcation process should be peaceful,” the prime minister said.

IANS

Cold wave in Kashmir

A ragpicker warms her hands on an earthen oven in Srinagar yesterday. Kashmir continues to experience cold wave from previous days and the meteorological department has predicted wet weather until February 7.

EC appoints observersfor RS polls NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India has appointed special observers for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, and West Bengal on February 7, a state-ment said. “The duties of the special observers will be to keep a watch on electoral malpractices including role of money power. In case specific complaints are received, the same will promptly be looked into,” the Commission said. “The observers will also keep constant watch on the news and media reports related to biennial election. In case of any electoral malpractices, the same will be brought to the notice of the Commission,” it added. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Gujarat has been appointed the special observer for Andhra Pradesh and the Tripura CEO will look after Assam. Karnataka’s CEO will be the observer in Odisha and Uttar Pradesh’s CEO is West Bengal’s observer.

Govt sets up 7th pay commissionNEW DELHI: The govern-ment yesterday announced setting up of the Seventh Central Pay Commission under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Ashok Kumar Mathur to review the salaries of over 5 million employees. The panel will submit its report in two years and the recommenda-tions would be implemented from January 1, 2016, a finance ministry statement said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved the com-position of the Commission that has one full-time and one part-time member, besides the chairman, the state-ment added. Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Vivek Rae has been appointed a full-time member, while National Institute of Public Finance and Policy director Rathin Roy is a part- time member. Meena Agarwal, an officer on special duty in the finance minis-try’s expenditure department, has been appointed the Commission’s secretary.

Another man held in Delhi heist caseNEW DELHI: With the arrest of another man for his involvement in the Rs7.69-crore heist here, six people have been held so far while three suspects are abscond-ing, police said. The latest to be arrested is Joginder alias Johny, who is around 25 years, and was arrested late on Monday from Burari area of north Delhi. “He is the one who was driving the Wagon R that intercepted the Honda City (in which the money was being carried). Of the Rs28 lakh that he got as his share of the loot, we’ve recovered Rs26 lakh,” a police officer said.

Spurt in HIV cases in KeralaT H I R U VA N A N T H A -PURAM: Kerala has seen an increase in the number of HIV positive cases, a minister said yesterday. Health Minister V S Sivakumar informed the Kerala assembly that in the past decade, the last fiscal saw the highest increase of fresh HIV positive cases in the state. “If one looks into the figures of new HIV cases starting from the fiscal 2004-05, 440 cases was registered then and the last fiscal saw 1,766 cases. During the 2011-12 fiscal, 1,680 new cases was there. This fiscal till the end of December last year 1,177 new cases was registered,” said the minister. He also said at present there are 17,593 HIV positive patients in the state and those who are undergoing the treatment stands at 8,525. Palakkad leads with 1,381 patients and the capital dis-trict accounts for 898 patients who are under treatment.

IANS

JAMMU: The capabilities of children should be identified and encouraged so as to have a new breed of innovative think-ers, said former president A P J Abdul Kalam here yesterday.

“Every youth wants to be unique, that is, you. But the world around you is doing its best to make you ‘everybody else’. The challenge is that you have to fight the hardest battle, and never stop until you arrive at your destined place, that is, a unique you,” said Kalam while inaugurating the Children Science Congress at the ongoing 101st Indian Science Congress here.

Kalam, who shared his thoughts on the subject ‘Innovation Empowers the Nation’, added that the capabilities of children should

be identified and encouraged.“Children have hard-wired

ability to be creative, imagina-tive and innovative that often diminishes along the way. These inherent capabilities have to be identified and encouraged to have a new breed of innovative thinkers, and are more prepared to solve future challenges of our world,” Kalam said.

Addressing enthusiastic chil-dren from various schools across the state under a packed make-shift canopy, Kalam said a higher number of creative minds in the country will result in better innovation.

“India should look for young, innovative minds, rather than old, experienced ones,” said Kalam who got a thunderous applause.

Kalam stressed that the crea-tivity of children should be har-nessed so as to “move towards an impatient India”.

“In the ever-changing 21st Century life, everything demands out of the box thinking. It is education that should focus on fostering innovation by putting curiosity, critical thinking, deep understanding, the rules and tools of inquiry, and creative brain-storming at the center of the cur-riculum,” said Kalam.

The session, said many stu-dent attendees, left them feeling “inspired” and “enthusiastic”.

At the session, Kalam also gave out the Infosys ISCA Travel Awards to five students from across India.

IANS

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court yes-terday reserved its verdict on the plea of three assassins of former prime minis-ter Rajiv Gandhi seeking commutation of their death sentence to life imprison-ment on the grounds of inordinate delay — of nearly 11 years — in deciding their mercy petitions. The government has opposed the plea.

Responding to the plea by the three convicts — V Sriharan alias Murugan, Perarivalan and Santhan — the govern-ment urged the court to reject them, saying that they suffered no agony or dehumaniza-tion during the 11 years when their mercy

petitions were pending with the president.Attorney General G E Vahanvati told

a bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam, Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh that the petition was not cov-ered by its January 21 verdict that said that inordinate, unexplained, unreasonable delay was a ground for commuting death sentence into life imprisonment.

All through these 11 years, the three assas-sins were living a full life by holding music shows, art exhibitions and other recreational activities in the jail, he said. At this, Chief Justice Sathasivam observed: “This shows they were not hardened criminals.”

Wondering why the three require the intervention of the apex court on the grounds of torture and dehumanised life, Vahanvati said that in their mercy petition filed April 26, 2000, there was not even an iota of remorse for their action of killing the former prime minister and they even justified it.

He said that this absence of remorse assumes serious connotation because their mercy petition to the president was made soon after their similar plea was rejected by the Tamil Nadu governor.

As Vahanvati spoke about the content of the mercy petitions, the court said that

they were not talking about it but on the question of delay in deciding the mercy petition by the president. On the delay of 11 long years in deciding the mercy petition, he said: “I am not covering up the delay... will show what had happened.”

He said the mercy petition was filed April 26, 2000, it remained in the drawer of an officer in the home ministry for four years until a senior officer inquired about it. “For four years it keeps lying in the drawer of an officer. It is a sad reflection on the state of affairs. As soon as the file was retrieved in 2004, a note was prepared,” he said.

IANS

Encourage children: Kalam

GoM clears draft Telangana bill

Supreme Court reserves verdict on Rajiv assassins’ plea

18 INDIAWEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB

DOHA: The Prime Minister of Italy, Enrico Letta, on Monday warned India that the case against two Italian marines must come to an end quickly as Italy cannot continue to wait further without any final results about it.

“The dispute with India involv-ing the two Italian marines is a very very serious affair for us,” said Letta. “We have decided to follow this issue with a very seri-ous approach because it is impos-sible for us to wait for two long years, as we are doing. However, it cannot go continued without any news about it.”

Letta made the remarks in reply to a question on the issue at a press conference held here to announce the outcomes of his two-day official visit to Qatar.

The Italian premier said: “We are waiting for the Supreme Court decision. If nothing comes out, we would send a new and final message asking India to come to the table with papers to end the dispute.”

The dispute between Italy and India began in February 15, 2012, when the two Italian marines — Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone — stationed on the merchant ship Enrica Lexie off the coast of Kerala, fired on a fishing boat that the marines wor-ried might be filled with pirates. The marines argued that they had fired warning shots that did not strike the boat.

But after few hours, a fishing boat brought two dead men, Ajesh Binki and Gelastine, who had just one name. The Enrica Lexie was brought to Kochi, a west coast Indian port, and Latorre and Girone were arrested.

According to reports, Staffan de Mistura, a special Italian envoy who flew to New Delhi on Sunday, deplored the delay in the settlement of the dispute and also warned that any further delay is very likely to damage the bilateral relations.

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the government to decide within a week whether it will invoke a severe anti-piracy law against the Italian marines.

India’s home ministry has entrusted the probe to an anti-terror agency. Italy has said the case should be investigated by police. Rome has raised objections to the agency’s plan to invoke maritime laws, which carry a maximum penalty of death.

But according to the latest developments in New Delhi, the marines may escape death sen-tence with the India’s home min-istry yesterday agreeing not to push for the capital punishment against the duo.

The ministry conveyed this view to India’s Attorney General (AG), G E Vahanvati during a meeting in New Delhi. Vahanvati is expected to give his opinion shortly, highly-placed sources told a news agency.

According to PTI, India’s lead-ing news agency, the home min-istry is of the opinion that the marines should be tried under anti-terrorism Suppression of Unlawful Acts against safety of Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act but the provision for death penalty should not be invoked.

Notably, the home ministry’s view is in consonance with the commitment given by India to Italy that provisions for death penalty will not be invoked against them.

THE PENINSULA

End row over marines, Italy PM tells India Delay in settlement of case deplored

LONDON/NEW DELHI: British Foreign Secretary William Hague yesterday con-firmed that Britain had advised the then Indian government ahead of the June 1984 storm-ing of the Golden Temple by the Indian army but clarified that it had no operational involvement in Operation Bluestar.

Making a statement in the British parliament, Hague cited the report filed by the British cabinet secretary fol-lowing instructions from Prime Minister David Cameron to investigate the matter.

The Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said in New Delhi that the British government has kept India “informed on this

matter” since it surfaced more than two weeks ago. He said Britain has also “shared the out-come of the UK government’s enquiry with us. We have noted the report and the statement made”.

Hague observed that two papers released on January 13 this year to the public by the National Archives raised specula-tions about Britain’s involvement in Operation Blue Star.

He said: “Within hours of the documents coming to light, the prime minister instructed the cabinet secretary to carry out an urgent investigation in four critical areas: Why advice was provided to the Indian authori-ties, what was the nature of that advice, what impact it had on

Operation Blue Star, and whether parliament was misled.”

According to Hague, the inves-tigation found that the British government in February 1984 did receive an “urgent request (from the then Indian government) to provide operational advice on Indian contingency plans for action to regain control of the temple complex”. After getting the green signal from the British high commission in New Delhi, the British government sent a military adviser to India.

“He (the cabinet secretary) has established that a single British military adviser travelled to India between Feb 8 and 17, 1984, to advise the Indian intelligence services and special group on contingency plans that they were

drawing up for operations against armed dissidents in the temple complex, including ground recon-naissance of the site,” he said.

“The adviser’s assessment made clear that a military operation should only be put into effect as a last resort, when all attempts at negotiation had failed. It recom-mended including in any opera-tion an element of surprise and the use of helicopter-borne forces, in the interests of reducing casu-alties and bringing about a swift resolution.”

Hague said that after the British military adviser’s visit in February, the Indian Army took over lead responsibility for the operation and the main concept behind the operation changed.

IANS

World Cancer Day

Basant Panchami

A child plays with balloons during a World Cancer Day event at the Tata Memorial hospital in Mumbai yesterday.

A 12- year-old carries bricks with his teeth during Basant Panchami (Fesival of Spring) Mela at the Sikh Shrine Gurudwara Chheharta Sahib on the outskirts of Amritsar yesterday. RIGHT: Young Sikhs demonstrate the Gatka martial arts skills at the festival.

KOLKATA: Traditionally con-sidered weak in West Bengal, the BJP is heavily banking on its prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi — scheduled to address a rally at the Brigade Parade Grounds today — for a turnaround in the state.

Coming only days after Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee launched her poll drive from the same venue, the BJP too will kick-start its general elections campaign in the state and is expecting a crowd in excess of five lakh.

The party which historically has nothing much to show in terms of seats from the state, is hoping for a turnaround riding on the “Modi wave” coupled with the anti- incumbency factor against the Congress-led UPA at the Centre.

The party bagged a solitary seat in 1998 and doubled its tally in the next elections in 1999. However, in the last elections in 2009, the party managed only the Darjeeling constituency when Jaswant Singh — backed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha which holds sway in the region — came up trumps.

From hosting regular road shows to workers and supporters organising runs and walks sport-ing Modi masks, to online selling of seats, the BJP has been using novel ways to drum up support for the mega rally.

Besides using the social media platform, party workers have been distributing specially made “NaMo sweets” while a NaMo Jalrath vessel was launched to promote the event. As the Gujarat chief minister had started off as a tea vendor, nearly 100 “NaMo tea stalls” have come up across West Bengal offering the brew to the common man at nominal rates.

IANS

NEW DELHI: As protests continued yesterday over the death of an Arunachal Pradesh student, President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the attack while Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal joined the demonstrators at the city centre.

A delegation of northeast lead-ers and activists also met Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and demanded a judicial probe into the matter and a law against racism.

In a related development, a Delhi court sent the three men — Sunder Singh, Pawan Farmania and Farman — arrested in con-nection with Nido Tania’s death to judicial custody till February 18.

Expressing “deep sorrow” and “concern” at Tania’s death, President Pranab Mukherjee in a statement asked all citizens to “work hard” to strengthen the “bonds of friendship and amity” amongst diverse communities.

Condemning the violence which preceded Tania’s death, Mukherjee called upon law enforcement agen-cies to make every effort to bring the guilty to justice and ensure the safety and security of all who live in the capital city.

Terming the attack on 19-year-old Tania, son of Arunachal Pradesh legislator Nido Pavitra, as “most condemnable”, Manmohan Singh said “every possible effort” would be made to punish the guilty.

In a statement, the prime minister said: “The attack on Nido Tania, the student from Arunachal Pradesh, is most condemnable. While the actual cause of Nido Tania’s death will be known only after the autopsy report is received, the violence which preceded his demise is tragic and shameful.”

He also said people from other

parts of the country like the northeast are as much a part of the city as anyone else.

“All citizens need to work together to ensure that our broth-ers and sisters from northeast feel safe and secure in Delhi,” he said.

Joining the protesters from the northeast at Jantar Mantar, Kejriwal assured them speedy justice in the case. “The magiste-rial enquiry will be over within 3-4 weeks and the truth will be revealed. If the policemen are also involved, we will come to know that too,” he said at the protest site where demonstration has been on since Sunday.

The chief minister said that magisterial enquiry ordered by the Delhi government was important as police could have “hushed up” the case. “Nido’s fight is the fight of every Delhiite. It’s the fight of every countrymen. We all have to unite to punish the culprits. I am extremely upset by knowing that the FIR (first information report into the incident) was filed two days after the incident.

“This means that if you (protestors) had not united, the FIR would not have been filed. This is very strange. This is our fundamental right,” he said.

“We want this place to be safe for women and northeastern people,” said Kejriwal, who was accompanied by his cabinet col-league Manish Sisodia.

Tania died last week after he was beaten up by shopkeepers in a south Delhi market following a quarrel over his appearance and clothing. He died in a hospital Jan 30. The victim’s friends say it was a racial attack.

Various organisations and students from the northeastern states, demanding justice over Tania’s killing, have been holding protests in the city.

IANS

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) yes-terday claimed fresh evidence has emerged in the second gen-eration (2G) spectrum alloca-tion case and said it will move the Supreme Court.

Party leader and advocate Prashant Bhushan released four of what he said were taped tel-ephonic conversations of some of the key stakeholders, throwing more light on the 2G case.

This, he said, needed to be thor-oughly probed. He also released what he claimed was a handwrit-ten letter by a top industrialist to then Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK leader M. Karunanidhi which he said further added to the evidence of alleged misdoings.

Bhushan alleged that a major cover-up was attempted by Karunanidhi, whose party was

then a part of the Congress-led government. A livid Karunanidhi dismissed the latest allegations as “lies”. “It is all lies,” he said in Chennai.

Pressed for more, the veteran politician told the media: “You are all reporters. Why don’t you ask (Chief Minister J) Jayalalithaa about her disproportionate assets case? You don’t ask her questions. But you only ask me.”

The AAP leader released tran-scripts of the tapes of alleged telephonic conversations involv-ing Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi, Karunanidhi’s aide M. Shanmuganathan, police officer Jaffer Sait and Sharad Kumar of Kalaignar TV. The transcripts and letter released by Bhushan appeared to show that Karunanidhi was aware of all the dealings that took place, Bhushan said.

Meanwhile, the Tata Group, which Bhushan named, said: “Allegations that are being made against Tata companies have been repeatedly looked into and investigated by the authorities concerned.

“These have found that the conduct of Tata entities have been above board. We reiterate that the business transactions of Tata companies are bonafide and in line with the Group’s Code of Conduct and commitment to ethical standards,” a Tata Sons spokesperson said in a statement.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has framed corruption and other charges against 17 accused in the spectrum case, including former telecom minister A. Raja and Kanimozhi, a DMK Rajya Sabha member.

IANS

UK admits ‘limited’ role in Operation Bluestar

Call for judicial probe into student’s death

BJP banking on Modi magic in West Bengal

2G case: AAP alleges cover-up

Wednesday 5 February 20145 Rabial II 1435

Volume 18Number 5966

Price: QR2

editor@pen.com.qa | adv@pen.com.qa Editorial: 44557741 | Advertising: 44557837 / 44557780www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Alwaseeta, QKLC ink pact for LED projectLED manufacturing and chip packaging units plannedDOHA: Qatar Intermediate Industries Co Ltd (Alwaseeta) yesterday signed a joint venture agreement with the Qatar Korea LED Consortium (QKLC) for the establishment of a manufac-turing facility for light-emitting diode (LED) lighting systems in Qatar.

The agreement was signed by the Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alwaseeta, H E Dr Mohamed bin Saleh Al Sada, and Dr Tai-Kyoo Kim, Chairman of QKLC. Also present during the signing ceremony were Ali Hassan Al Sidiky, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Alwaseeta, and other senior officials from both parties.

Alwaseeta is a subsidiary of Qatar Petroleum. QKLC, on the other hand, is made up of promi-nent Korean LED companies and governmental institutes.

Under the agreement, the two

parties will set up the Qatar-Korea LED Project (Q-LED), an LED manufacturing facility that will be jointly owned by Alwaseeta with 75 percent interest and QKLC with 25 percent interest.

The factory will occupy an area of 60,000 square meters, and it will have an initial production capacity of 155,000 LED units per year. The project will be imple-mented in two phases, with the LED manufacturing plant to be built in the initial phase and scheduled for completion by 2016.

This will be followed by the second phase, which will involve installing LED chip packaging, establishing a state-of-the-art Research & Development Centre, and subsequently setting up a demonstration centre for simu-lating real-time conditions. The project’s final phase is expected to be completed by 2018.

Dr Al Sada commented: “Qatar is witnessing dynamic

development and remarkable growth in various sectors, includ-ing the construction sector, which is witnessing a rapidly growing demand for LED lighting.

This agreement will aid Qatar’s strategic approach to develop-ing investment projects across a range of vital sectors, and will also help deliver explosion-proof LED lighting for the oil and gas industry, and special LED light-ing for commercial use, such as for street and stadium lighting, traffic signals, and so on.”

“This LED project will also establish stringent specifications that are specially designed for the climate in the Mena region, and we will aim at continuous improvement and development of specifications and products through research and develop-ment,” he added.

Dr Tai-Kyoo Kim, Chairman of QKLC said: “This agreement will see the building of joint

Qatar to spend up to $205bn on infrastructure: QNBMANAMA: Qatar plans to spend as much as $205bn on infrastructure between 2013 and 2018, the acting head of project finance at Qatar National Bank (QNB) said yes-terday, as the country invests its vast hydrocarbon wealth in a development boom.

The Gulf Arab state is spend-ing billions of dollars in areas such as transport, electricity and water generation and housing, in an effort to improve its economy and build towards its hosting of the 2022 soccer World Cup.

Much of the planned infrastruc-ture spending will be financed by the government level. But signifi-cant funding still needs to come from both local and international lenders, said Yusuf Saeed, acting head of global structured finance at QNB.

“For large projects, what we’re seeing is you have conventional financing and Islamic financing and options for export credit agen-cies,” Saeed told an infrastructure finance conference in the capital of neighbouring Bahrain, when he was asked about funding for a pair of petrochemical plants that will cost around $13.5bn.

REUTERS

H E Dr Mohamed bin Saleh Al Sada and Dr Tai-Kyoo Kim, Chairman of QKLC, signing the agreement.

ventures on a solid foundation, which is a win-win situation for both Alwaseeta and QKLC. It will also pave the way for broader investment opportunities and for developing the local and regional LED industry, which will be an important contributor to Qatar’s vibrant economy.”

The Q-LED Project will be involved in continuous research and development (R&D) in inte-grated LED management and solution systems. These systems will provide more convenience and smart management control to customers.

They can also result in up to

70-80 percent in energy savings compared to conventional light-ing, such as incandescent and flu-orescent lights. In addition, they will contribute to a substantial reduction of CO2 emission as a result of reducing power produc-tion from power plants.

THE PENINSULA

Qatargas signs LNG deal with Tohoku ElectricDOHA: Qatargas Operating Company Limited (Qatargas) announced yesterday that Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited 3 (Qatargas 3) has entered into a new long term LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Tohoku Electric Power Company, Incorporated (Tohoku Electric).

The agreement was signed by the Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman of the Board of Qatargas 3, H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, and Makoto Kaiwa, Representative Director and President of Tohoku Electric.

Under the terms of the SPA, Qatargas 3 will deliver LNG to Tohoku Electric for a period of 15 years starting from 2016, build-ing up to a plateau volume of 0.18 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from 2019 onwards.

The LNG will be supplied from Qatargas 3 (Train 6), a joint ven-ture between Qatar Petroleum, ConocoPhillips and Mitsui & Co Ltd, which started produc-tion in January 2010, and will be delivered on board Q-Flex LNG vessels.

Dr Al Sada welcomed the

agreement as another contribu-tion towards global energy secu-rity. “This agreement reinforces our strong relationship with one of Qatargas’ foundation custom-ers and demonstrates our con-tinued commitment to long-term LNG supplies to Japan.

“As the largest LNG producing company in the world, Qatargas is committed to providing reli-able energy supplies to all four corners of the world,” Dr Al Sada said.

Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatargas Chief Executive Officer said: “Today, we have achieved a significant milestone in our excel-lent partnership with Tohoku Electric, which started in 1994 when we signed an agreement with a consortium of Japanese buyers including Tohoku Electric, a Qatargas press release said yesterday.

Tohoku Electric is one of the original eight Japanese buy-ers which signed contracts with the Qatargas 1 joint venture in 1994. In December 2007, Tohoku Electric became the first Japanese utility company to receive a cargo of LNG on-board a Q-Flex vessel.

QNA

QNB launches investment productDOHA: Qatar National Bank (QNB) yesterday announced the launch of QNB Note 2 aimed at enabling foreign investors to enter Qatar in a big way.

QNB Note 2 is a 100 percent Capital-Protected Structured Notes Investment Portfolio with investment returns linked to the performance of a basket of eight international (European and US) company stocks, which are listed on the equity markets of their respective countries of origin.

QNB Note has the following features. Returns are linked to the performance of eight equally-weighted international stocks, a closed 3-year investment, with a maturity date of 2017,

performance will be measured on an annual basis and will be paid in the form of annual coupons, linked to the average perform-ance of the basket of stocks and the annual performance of each individual stock is capped at 7 percent.

The eight international compa-nies which form the investment basket have been selected on the basis of their existing close ties to Qatar: either due to their exist-ing local presence or due to sub-stantial business interests in the country. A further aim is to pro-vide satisfactory geographically diversification.

The eight international companies selected are Total

(France-Energy), Vinci (France-Industrials), Siemens (Germany-Industrials), ArcelorMittal (Nether lands-Mater ia l s ) , Iberdrola (Spain-Utilities), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (UK-Energy), ConocoPhillips (US-Energy) and Halliburton Co (US-Energy).

QNB Note 2 will be available to investors via all QNB branches in Qatar. The subscription period will commence on 4 February 2014 and investments will be accepted for a period of one month, ending on 5 March 2014.

This investment opportunity is available both to Qatari and non-Qatari investors, living in Qatar or overseas.

THE PENINSULA

BUSINESS22WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Malabar Gold & Diamonds opens 106th branch

Saeed Said Al Qamzi, Director of Adnoc, and Yusuffali M A, MD of Lulu Group, opened Malabar Gold & Diamond’s outlet in Ruwais Mall in Abu Dhabi. Eissa Al Qamzi, Manager of Adnoc; Ashraf Ali MA, Executive Director of LuLu Group; Raja Abdulkader, Director of Line Investments; Shamlal Ahamed MP, Managing Director International Operations; K P Abdul Salam, Group Executive Director; Ameer CMC, Finance Director, were present. The new shop is the Group’s 106th branch.

WTC Association member visits Qatar Chamber

Remy Rowhani, Qatar Chamber Director General, received Martin Sallum, Board Member of World Trade Centres Association yesterday. They discussed the World Trade Center’s services, roles and ways of coop-eration with Qatar Chamber.

Q-Re to write $269m premiums for Jan 1 renewalsDOHA: Q-Re, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qatar Insurance Company (QIC), yesterday announced that it expects to write approximately $269m of property, casualty and speci-ality lines premiums from the January 1 renewals.

On a constant foreign exchange basis, this volume represents an increase of 43 percent from the 2013 expiring renewable base of business.

For 2014, Q-Re expects to maintain momentum for strong growth following the successful expansion of its portfolio in the previous year.

“Q-Re remains on track to building a strong global reinsur-ance franchise. Our underwriting teams managed to significantly increase our shares in profitable business and successfully estab-lished new client relationships. Q-Re also bolstered its presence in the Lloyd’s market through new participations. At the same time, we opted for significant reductions of renewed business in lines and territories where our profitability criteria were not met,” said Gunther Saacke, Chief Executive Officer, Q-Re.

Willi Schuerch, Q-Re Chief Underwriting Officer, added: “We recorded the fastest growth in North American property and credit and surety business as well as in the aviation segment, where we basically started from scratch. Our more established speciality lines, in particular agri-culture and casualty classes, also developed very favourably with a growth of 20 to 30 percent.

We chose to shrink our inter-national property catastrophe business by 10 percent, while increasing marine premiums slightly by 15 percent, as Q-Re remains committed to active portfolio management.”

Total sells Angolan offshore assetPARIS: French oil group Total has agreed to sell its stake of 15.0 percent in an oil exploration field off Angola to local state oil group Sonangol for $750m, the company said yesterday.

The deal, worth the equivalent of ¤554m, was “in line with Total’s global strategy to actively manage its portfolio and focus its invest-ment capability on core assets,” senior executive for Total’s production in Africa, Jacques Marraud des Grottes said.

The sale concerned Block 15/06, “located approximately 350km northwest of Luanda in deep off-shore Angola and covers approxi-mately 2,984 square kilometres, with a water depth ranging from 220 to 1,700 metres,” the company said.

The block has been operated by Italian group Eni with 35 per-cent, Total 15 percent, Sonangol 15 percent, SSI — a joint affiliate of China’s Sinopec and Sonangol, 25 percent, Norwegian Statoil 5.0 percent, and Falcon Oil Angola Investimentos five percent.

THE PENINSULA/AFP

Islamic banks to be active users of sukuk this year: S&PDOHA: Qatar’s Islamic banks will continue to maintain strong credit growth and are expected to become more active issu-ers of sukuk over the next few years. A double-digit growth in issuance by the Gulf corporate and infrastructure entities are expected to boost the Global Sukuk Market in 2014, Stand & Poor’s Rating Services said in its “Outlook for Global Sukuk Market in 2014” released yesterday.

S&P contends that there are two main regions for sukuk issu-ance in 2014. The first is Asia, par-ticularly Malaysia. The second is

Gulf Cooperation Council. After a slowdown in 2013, with sukuk volumes globally declining by 13 percent, S&P anticipates that the sukuk industry will expand again in 2014, partly driven by corporate and infrastructure issues in the Gulf. Global growth in sukuk issuance could be further supported through meeting the high demand for infra-structure spending across the GCC, where the S&P expects issuance to continue climbing at a double-digit pace in the next two years.

The ratings agency forecasts that oil prices will remain close to $100 per barrel. It foresees good economic prospects in major Gulf

countries, which should translate into lending and balance sheet growth opportunities for the banks. “This in turn should trigger some issuance in the debt capital mar-kets issuance from Saudi Arabia, as well as key hydrocarbon export-ers with large infrastructure needs such as the UAE and Qatar, should benefit from a robust economy in 2014”, the report noted.

Traditionally, financial institu-tions in the UAE and Saudi Arabia have led Sukuk issuance in the Gulf with sporadic issues from Qatar. In 2013, two conventional Saudi banks issued sukuk totaling $1.5bn, repre-senting 42.3 percent of total regional

issuance whereas issuance by Islamic banks in the UAE represented 57.7 percent of regional issuance.

“We expect to see a healthy issuance volume in the GCC in 2014 as a result of the supportive economy and regulatory develop-ments. However, we believe the Fed’s move to taper its quanti-tative easing programme could influence issuance through a shift toward local currencies from dollar denominated issuances. Banks in Saudi Arabia will likely continue to display double-digit credit growth in 2014, which could add further support for sukuk issuance….”

“We also witnessed some

innovation in the market as banks issued sukuk to strengthen their capital ratios. Dubai Islamic Bank for instance, issued a $1bn Tier 1 perpetual note in March, while the Saudi British Bank issued a Tier II subordinated note of SR 4bn in November 2013”

“In Qatar, despite slowdown in credit growth largely due to admin-istrative delays in certain projects we expect credit growth to accel-erate in 2014. The Qatari Islamic banks continue to maintain strong credit growth and we anticipate that they will become more active issuers of sukuk over the next few years”.

THE PENINSULA

QIB and QInvest introduce Shiraa FundsTwo products with different returnsDOHA: Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and Qatar’s leading investment bank QInvest, have launched a new range of innova-tive Shari’ah-compliant funds, the “Shiraa Funds”.

Shiraa Funds are a range of innovative products investing into a selection of global Shariah-compliant funds, and spanning across international equity and sukuk markets with the objective to deliver sustainable and attrac-tive long term performance to QIB clients.

The Shiraa Funds will be ini-tially offered to QIB’s Private, Tamayuz and Wholesale bank-ing clients. Shiraa Funds’ main advantage is that clients can choose which fund to invest in depending on their preferred risk and return profile. Each of the options offers a different type of potential return and hence carries a different level of associ-ated risk: Shiraa Defensive Fund focuses strongly on capital pres-ervation with a low level of risk. Shiraa Moderate Fund achieves competitive returns by taking a moderate level of risk and Shiraa Long-Term Fund will accom-plishes higher returns by taking higher levels of risk.

The investment process uses a top-down approach in which different asset classes are com-bined together to target different return ranges as well as a bottom-up approach in selecting talented investment managers who take advantage of market movements by paying close attention to fundamentals.

The Shiraa Funds will be man-aged by the Asset Management team of QInvest. The Shiraa Funds will be made through the QInvest Managed Account Platform (QMAP) which was

launched last year and offers a highly diverse product range for Sharia-compliant investors glo-bally. QMAP is unique in that it is the first fully Shariah-compliant managed account platform, which allows the team to build and distribute custom products for clients across multiple asset classes. It provides investors with the opportunity to select from a range of high quality Sukuk and equity funds that are managed by top tier professional teams.

Bassel Gamal, Group Chief Executive Officer of QIB, said, “The launch of Shiraa Funds, QIB’s newest investment proposi-tion, marks yet another milestone in our growth, and the result of a fruitful collaboration with QInvest. The aim is to deliver sustainable and attractive long-term performance to QIB clients. The new funds signal the start of QIB’s offering of portfolio man-agement to our clients.”

He added, “Shiraa Funds will bring a number of benefits to investors including the choice of the most suitable fund for each client, best in class investments. The funds enjoy the best perform-ing Shariah-compliant investment vehicles available to investors and active management, as Shiraa Funds are being actively managed by Qinvest, thus ensuring on-going monitoring and analysis of cur-rent and potential investments.”

Tamim Hamad Al Kawari, Chief Executive Officer of QInvest, commented, “These new prod-ucts are very much in line with the new strategy for our Asset Management division which was recently announced. This coopera-tion with our largest shareholder, QIB, is a testament of the benefits of the new strategy.”

THE PENINSULA

India sees Sudan trade near $1bnKHARTOUM: India sees two-way trade with Sudan reach-ing $1bn, New Delhi’s foreign minister said yesterday in Khartoum, as the impoverished African nation asked for help in building its agricultural sector.

“Our trade figures are expected to reach close to $1bn by the end of the financial year 2013-14”, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters after talks with his Sudanese counter-part Ali Ahmed Karti.

The value of two-way trade between the two countries reached about $888m in the financial year ended March 31, 2013.

“There’s a lot more that we can do together,” said Khurshid, on the first-ever visit to Sudan by an Indian foreign minister.

The two sides discussed coop-eration in manufacturing and agriculture, Khurshid said.

India is one of the world’s five biggest emerging economies, and the second-largest exporter to Sudan, after China.

Sudan has struggled with a shortage of foreign reserves, a weakened currency and soaring prices since South Sudan sepa-rated in July 2011 with about 75 percent of united Sudan’s oil production.

The lost crude accounted for most of Khartoum’s export earn-ings and half of its fiscal revenues.

Economists say revitalising Sudan’s neglected farm sector is a key to economic recovery.

“The minister reminded me that it is important that India should assist... with alternative energy, solar energy” to allow ground water to be pumped out for agriculture in areas where water is scarce, said Khurshid, on the final leg of a North African tour which included Morocco and Tunisia.

“We would certainly look at applications of sprinkler irriga-tion, applications of drip irriga-tion, that India has improved and perfected,” he said.

India’s largest investment is in the Sudan-South Sudan

petroleum sector, which was val-ued at about $2.3bn before South Sudan’s independence.

The impact of unrest in South Sudan was expected to be dis-cussed during Khurshid two-day visit which includes talks with Sudan’s Oil Minister Makawi Mohammed Awad.

India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd, a partner in two joint oil produc-tion companies in South Sudan, announced on December 26 that the firms had temporarily halted operations there because of deteriorating security. Since mid-December soldiers loyal to the South’s President Salva Kiir have been battling rebel troops and militia who back Kiir’s sacked vice president Riek Machar.

India’s Ambassador S K Verma told AFP that the troubles in South Sudan were not the rea-son for Khurshid’s stop, which would focus more broadly on “the way forward” in India-Sudan relations.

AFP

BP reports sharp fall in Q4 profitLONDON: BP reported a sharp drop in fourth-quarter profits yesterday partly due to weakness in its refining busi-ness, providing more evidence of difficult times across the “big oil” sector.

BP’s results, hit by tough con-ditions in US refining and partly offset by strong contributions from its stake in Russia’s Rosneft, highlighted the industry’s strug-gle to increase profits in the face of rising costs.

The world’s fourth-biggest pub-licly traded oil company yesterday reported underlying replacement cost profit of $2.8bn for the fourth quarter of 2013, 28 percent lower than the same period a year ago, but ahead of a consensus forecast of $2.7bn.

Exxon Mobil Corp, the world’s largest publicly traded oil com-pany by market value, reported lower-than-expected quarterly profit last week, while Chevron and BP’s European rival Shell both issued profit warnings in January.

Investec analysts said BP’s beat

on the consensus for underly-ing replacement cost profit was partially a result of a lower tax charge during the quarter com-pared to last year.

Bernstein analyst Oswald Clint said on an operational basis, the company missed a consensus tar-get by around 10 percent and its performance would have looked bleaker without the strong per-formance from its stake in Rosneft.

BP is also dealing with the fallout from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill which killed 11 men and became the United States’ worst offshore environmental disaster.

The company said the provision to cover the spill’s clean-up, fines, compensation and legal costs had now risen to $42.7bn from $42.5bn last year.

Having settled criminal pro-ceedings, BP is two phases into a three-stage civil trial, and has an army of lawyers working to push remaining spill fines and penalties into the future.

The group has been shedding assets since the 2010 spill, and sold

businesses worth $22bn in 2013 alone. BP said the fall in its earn-ings was partly due to its shrinking asset base, but also hurt by diffi-cult conditions in its refining busi-ness, which is comparatively much smaller after it sold two major refineries in the US last year.

In its refining or downstream business, BP posted underlying pretax replacement cost profit of $70m in the fourth quarter, com-pared with $1.4bn in the same period in 2012.

Costs associated with the start-up of the Whiting refinery, also in the US, and exploration write-offs were partially offset by higher earnings from Rosneft.

Rosneft, the state-controlled Russian company into which BP folded its Russian business last year in exchange for a 19.75 per-cent stake, delivered $1.1bn of BP’s profits.

Shares in BP, which have fallen 2 percent in the year to date, were down 1.6 percent at 466.00 pence by 0957 GMT, lagging Britain’s bluechip index which was 0.2 percent lower.

REUTERS

23BUSINESS WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Air France spruces up Business class

A hostess presenting a new Air France Business class passenger seat at the site of the French aero-space equipment group Zodiac Seats France in Issoudun, central France, yesterday.

Qatari bourse index drops 87.90 pointsDubai market rises one percentDOHA: The Qatar Exchange lost 87.90 points, or, 0.79 per-cent, to 11,049.69 points from the previous closing of 11,137.59 points on Monday.

The volume of traded shares fell to 10,461,921 from on Monday 13,153,906 and the value of shares increased to QR502,812,765.05 from QR434,306,437.28 on Monday.

Among the top losers were Qatar National Bank whose share was down 0.44 percent to QR179.10, Commercial Bank of Qatar lost 0.70 percent to QR71, Industries Qatar fell 1.74 percent to QR175.30 and Electricity and Water decreased by 1.38 percnet to QR179.10.

The Banking and Financial sec-tor index lost 0.36 percent while Consumer Goods and Services sector index added 0.29 percent. The industrial sector dropped 0.89 percent while insurance sec-tor was down 0.59 percent.

Meanwhile, most Middle East shares fell yesterday as signs of a slowdown in the US economy caused anxiety on global markets and prompted local investors to book profits, but Dubai’s bourse bucked the trend as shares in construction companies rallied.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark lost 0.4 percent with heavyweight sec-tors of banks and petrochemical shares weighing.

World shares fell after US manufacturing activity slowed sharply last month, dealing a blow to markets already worried that the US Federal Reserve’s decision to taper its asset purchases would lead to capital flight from emerg-ing markets.

“Sentiment is bearish on emerging markets and we’re seeing some of that,” said Asim Bukhtiar, head of research at Riyad Capital. “Investors are looking at international market headlines but there’s also a grow-ing focus on individual stocks.”

Smaller-cap stocks led trad-ing volumes, a usual trend on the market in times of slow local news flow.

Bukhtiar said there was a lot of speculative activity on the market in the post-earnings and dividends season, but longer-term investors were adjusting positions for anticipated growth later this year.

In Egypt, Cairo’s benchmark index tumbled 1.6 percent, down for a second session since Sunday’s 45-month high.

“The profit-taking pressure was apparent on the market today, which had overheated in recent days,” said Ahmed Abu Taleb, assistant vice-president of brokerage at Pharos Securities.

Dubai’s bourse, meanwhile, rose 1 percent to 3,812 points as retail buying returned to prop-erty-related shares in what was a shorter trading session due to a technical malfunction.

The index gained for a second session in the last five but fell just short of January 29’s 63-month intraday peak of 3,855 points.

Shares in builder Arabtec surged 11.1 percent on what traders said was accumulation by a bulk buyer. The company announced a $6.1bn deal with Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar on Sunday to build 37 new towers.

AGENCIES

Gates quits as Microsoft chairman, new CEO namedWASHINGTON: Microsoft said yesterday that founder Bill Gates was stepping down as chairman to become a technol-ogy adviser to the tech giant as Indian-born Satya Nadella was named chief executive officer.

Gates “will devote more time to the company” in his new role on the board with the board as “founder and technology advisor,” a company statement said.

Indian-born Nadella, who becomes the third CEO at Microsoft, has been executive vice-president of its Cloud and Enterprise group.

“During this time of transfor-mation, there is no better per-son to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella,” said Gates in the com-pany statement.

“Satya is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, busi-ness vision and the ability to bring people together. His vision for how technology will be used and experienced around the world is exactly what Microsoft needs as the company enters its next chap-ter of expanded product innova-tion and growth.”

John Thompson, lead independ-ent director, will assume the job of chairman at Microsoft, which has been losing ground in the tech world amid a shift away from the traditional PC to mobile devices.

Nadella, who takes over from the retiring Steve Ballmer, said, “Microsoft is one of those rare companies to have truly revolu-tionized the world through tech-nology, and I couldn’t be more honoured to have been chosen to lead the company.”

He added, “The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move faster and continue to transform. A big part of my job is to accelerate our ability to bring innovative products to our cus-tomers more quickly.”

AFP

Spain unemployment rate risesMADRID: The number of registered jobless in Spain rose in January as employ-ers shed workers hired for the Christmas holiday season, but the rate of increase slowed from previous years, suggesting the ailing labour market may have touched bottom.

Joblessness rose 2.4 percent, or by 113,097 people, from December to 4.8 million, yesterday’s Labour Ministry data showed.

The rise was the first since October. But the ministry said it was also the smallest gain in the first month of the year since 2007, and in seasonally adjusted terms the figure fell by 3,907 people.

Unemployment has soared higher in Spain than in any other European Union country bar Greece since a decade-long property bubble burst six years

ago and, based on labour market survey data from the national sta-tistics office, the rate was 26 per-cent in the fourth quarter of 2013.

But recent stronger-than-expected economic growth has helped fuel hopes the worst may be over, and headcount in the still battered construction sector rose by 3,486 last month.

“These figures are, to some extent, positive, but continue to show a minimal, almost insignifi-cant, step toward a real recovery in the labour market,” said Citi economist Jose Luis Martinez.

“We’ve almost certainly touched bottom and are seeing some recovery, but it’s very slow.”

Almost 100,000 people were laid off from the services sector, while employment also fell in agricul-ture, by 8,110 people and in indus-try, by 3,577.

But in annual terms, registered jobless fell by 166,343 people, the ministry said.

“This month’s figure remains significantly better than previous years, considering that in the last five years registered joblessness has risen by an average of 544,000 people on an annual basis,” said Employment Secretary Engracia Hidalgo.

The Spanish economy emerged from a two-year recession in the second half of last year, prompt-ing many economists to raise their economic forecasts and the government to forecast net job creation for 2014.

But for many Spaniards, mak-ing ends meet remains a constant struggle. Jobs are scarce and, when they do become available, wages are often pitifully low.

REUTERS

BUSINESS24WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

*Periodic Distribution Amount

IMPORTANT NOTE: Published by HSBC Bank Middle East Limited, P O Box 57, Doha, Qatar which is licensed and regulated by Qatar Central Bank and Jersey Financial Services Commission. Information quoted is from publicly available sources or proprietary data and subject to change. HSBC accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising out of the use of all or part of this material. This information is general and does not take into account individual circumstances, objectives or needs. The price of bonds can and does fluctuate. The secondary market for bonds may not provide significant liquidity or may trade based on prevailing market conditions. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. You should consider these matters and consult your financial advisor prior to making any investment decisions.

QATARI MARKETBond Coupon Maturity Currency Mid-Price Yield Moody’s S&P

Qatar Govt 5.15% 4/9/2014 USD 101.00 (0.64 %) Aa2 AA

Qatar Govt 3.125% 1/20/2017 USD 105.13 1.35 % Aa2 AA

Qatar Govt 6.55% 4/9/2019 USD 119.63 2.49 % Aa2 AA

Qatar Govt 5.25% 1/20/2020 USD 112.75 2.90 % Aa2 AA

Qatar Govt 4.5% 1/20/2022 USD 107.63 3.40 % Aa2 AA

Qatar Govt 9.75% 6/15/2030 USD 153.75 4.93 % Aa2 AA

Qatar Govt 6.4% 1/20/2040 USD 115.88 5.27 % Aa2 AA

Qatar Govt 5.75% 1/20/2042 USD 106.88 5.28 % Aa2 AA

Qatari Diar 3.5% 7/21/2015 USD 104.00 0.75 % Aa2 AA

Qatari Diar 5% 7/21/2020 USD 109.88 3.29 % Aa2 AA

Comqat 5% 11/18/2014 USD 103.25 0.81 % A1 A-

Comqat 3.375% 4/11/2017 USD 103.75 2.15 % A1 A-

QIB 3.856% 10/7/2015 USD 104.13 1.35 % NR NR

QNB 3.125% 11/16/2015 USD 103.63 1.06 % Aa3 A+

QNB 3.375% 2/22/2017 USD 104.00 2.02 % Aa3 A+

Doha Bank 3.5% 3/14/2017 USD 103.88 2.20 % A2 A-

Qtel 3.375% 10/14/2016 USD 105.00 1.47 % A2 A-

Qtel 7.875% 6/10/2019 USD 123.88 3.01 % A2 A-

Qtel 4.75% 2/16/2021 USD 106.00 3.77 % A2 A-

Qtel 5% 10/19/2025 USD 101.00 4.89 % A2 A-

Rasgas 5.5% 9/30/2014 USD 103.13 0.65 % Aa3 A

Rasgas 5.832% 9/30/2016 USD 106.88 3.11 % Aa3 A

Rasgas 5.298% 9/30/2020 USD 107.75 3.96 % Aa3 A

SOVEREIGNSBond PDA* Maturity Currency Mid-Price Yield Moody’s S&P

Abu Dhabi Govt 5.5% 4/8/2014 USD 101.13 (1.11 %) Aa2 AA

Abu Dhabi Govt 6.75% 4/8/2019 USD 121.88 2.25 % Aa2 AA

Dubai Govt 6.7% 10/5/2015 USD 108.13 1.72 % NR NR

Dubai Govt 4.9% 5/2/2017 USD 107.25 2.56 % NR NR

Dubai Govt 7.75% 10/5/2020 USD 120.75 4.15 % NR NR

Dubai Govt 6.45% 5/2/2022 USD 112.75 4.57 % NR NR

Qatar Govt 4% 1/20/2015 USD 103.38 0.45 % Aa2 AA

Bahrain Govt 6.273% 11/22/2018 USD 114.13 3.08 % NR BBB

Bahrain Govt 5.5% 3/31/2020 USD 106.75 4.24 % NR BBB

Egypt Govt 5.75% 4/29/2020 USD 99.50 5.84 % Caa1 B-

Morocco Govt 4.5% 10/5/2020 EUR 103.00 3.98 % NR BBB-

Vattenfall profit down

The logo of Swedish energy company Vattenfall in downtown Malmo, Sweden. Vattenfall yesterday reported a 68-percent drop in fourth-quarter net profit, citing larger provisions for its German-based operations.

Greece, lenders resolve issue of fiscal gapPrimary surplus estimated at €1bnA T H E N S / B R U S S E L S : Greece and its foreign lenders have largely bridged differences over a potential fiscal gap this year, removing a key sticking point holding up talks to release more bailout funds, two sources directly involved in the talks said yesterday.

The latest review of Greece’s progress under its European Union/International Monetary Fund bailout has dragged on since September in large part due to wrangling over how Athens would plug a gap in this year’s budget, which had been estimated at ¤1bn.

However, that is no longer the main issue in talks thanks to surprisingly strong data on a primary surplus for 2013, two sources involved in the negotia-tions said.

A third official cautioned that it was too early to say the issue had been fully resolved since com-plete 2013 data is not yet avail-able. Athens expects to report a primary surplus — ie, not count-ing debt — of ¤1bn in 2013, but the data will be officially confirmed only in April.

The two sides still need to agree on the terms of bank stress tests, structural reforms and the impact of a court ruling revers-ing some wage cuts before ¤4.9bn in rescue loans are disbursed, the sources said.

“The picture we have is that the issue of the fiscal gap for 2014 is nearly resolved,” a Greek finance ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A second official confirmed the assessment, adding that the discussions had now moved to assessing a potential fiscal gap for 2015.

Greek officials are hoping a deal with the EU/IMF — talks are now in their fifth month — will be clinched by the end of February,

allowing funds to be disbursed in early March.

A ruling by a top Greek court that may reverse troika-man-dated wage cuts imposed in 2012 on police and the armed forces is complicating the talks, the sources said, as it could blow a hole of up to half a billion euros in its finances.

The troika is also pressing Athens to adopt a so-called tool kit of more than 300 reforms proposed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, aimed at making the economy more competitive and lowering consumer prices.

In a departure from the usual practice of lengthy discussions in Athens to seal a deal, senior offi-cials from the trio of EU, IMF and European Central Bank inspec-tors to Athens are not expected to return to Athens until a deal has already been agreed in prin-ciple, three sources close to the talks said.

Greece, which teetered close to bankruptcy in 2012, has no press-ing funding needs until May, when bond payments of ¤9.3bn are due. It has already been bailed out twice with ¤240bn from the EU and IMF since 2010 and is expected to need additional funds and debt relief before it can get on its feet again.

Athens is likely to get a third bailout from the eurozone of ¤10-20bn to keep it going through 2014 and 2015, but there will be no reduction on the principal of the debt Athens already owes to the euro zone, euro zone officials said.

German magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday cited a German finance ministry a document which outlined the possibility of a haircut on the money that Greece borrowed from the euro-zone or a package of new loans of ¤10-20bn.

REUTERS

Showroom staff chat next to a Toyota Motor Corp Prius Alpha at its showroom in Tokyo yesterday.

Toyota forecasts record earningsTOKYO: Toyota has shifted into high gear, with the world’s largest automaker tipping a record annual profit after more than doubling its nine-month earnings to $15bn thanks to the yen’s sharp decline and surging sedan sales.

The buoyant results underscore a recovery not only for the Camry and Corolla maker but also for rival Japanese auto giants includ-ing Nissan and Honda.

The trio have been big winners over the past year as a sharp drop in the yen inflated export-ers’ repatriated profits, further boosted by improved overseas demand in key markets includ-ing the United States and China.

Sales in China fell off a cliff in late 2012 and into last year as a Tokyo-Beijing diplomatic row sparked a consumer boycott of Japanese brands in the world’s biggest vehicle market. Relations remain tense, but Japanese manu-facturers have reported sales are returning to pre-spat levels.

Yesterday, Toyota said it earned 1.52 trillion yen ($15bn) between April and December on sales of 19.12 trillion yen — propelled by

a five-fold jump in third-quarter earnings.

It also boosted its fiscal year to March profit forecast to a record 1.90 trillion yen.

The automaker has ramped up drive emerging markets while key US demand has also been on the upswing.

“In addition to the positive impact of the weaker yen, our operating income increased due to marketing efforts that boosted vehicle sales, as well as cost-reduction activities,” Toyota Managing Officer Takuo Sasaki told reporters in Tokyo.

He added that there “is a sense that the European market is bot-toming out” as sales improve in the US and China.

Toyota last month said it had kept the title of world’s biggest automaker with 2013 sales of 9.98 million vehicles, outpac-ing Germany’s Volkswagen and General Motors, and said it expects this year to become the first to break the 10 million vehi-cle sales barrier.

On Friday, Volkswagen, which had been sitting in number-three spot, said it sold 9.73 million

vehicles last year, ahead of US giant GM’s 9.71 million.

Toyota broke GM’s decades-long reign as world’s top auto-maker in 2008 but lost the crown three years later as Japan’s quake-tsunami disaster ham-mered production and disrupted the supply chains of the nation’s automakers.

Toyota also took a heavy blow from a series of mass recalls affecting millions of cars that damaged its once-stellar reputa-tion for quality and safety and led to US congressional hearings in 2010.

Last week, Honda said its nine-month net profit surged almost 40 percent to 403.60 billion yen, thanks to brisk global sales and a weaker yen.

Nissan reports its financial results next week.

Despite the buoyant figures so far, an April sales tax hike in Japan and possible slowdown in US and Asian markets could put the brakes on sales, said Takaki Nakanishi, analyst and chief executive at Nakanishi Research Institute in Tokyo.

AFP

Islamic Bank of Britain gets fresh capital, plans expansionLONDON: Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB), the country’s only Shariah-compliant retail lender, has received a £75.8m ($124m) injection from its new Qatari owner to support the bank’s expansion plans.

The investment bring IBB’s capital to £100m, after it was acquired in January by Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar’s largest Islamic bank by market value.

This will allow IBB to grow its retail operations and develop its commercial business, target-ing both British and Gulf-based firms, Sultan Choudhury, IBB’s interim managing director, said in a statement.

“Future plans feature an expan-sion of property finance to busi-nesses, including development finance. The bank will also expand its services for Gulf-based custom-ers looking to invest in the UK.”

The January deal valued IBB’s entire issued share capital at £24.1m; the fresh cash could help it compete with Britain’s other Islamic banks, which focus mostly on corporate banking services.

These include Bank of London and The Middle East, European Islamic Investment Bank, Gatehouse Bank, and units of Qatar Islamic Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank . Founded in 2004, IBB has around 50,000 customers, offering services that adhere to Islamic principles such as a ban on interest payments.

Birmingham-based IBB is review-ing its distribution strategy to help it expand across Britain, which will include the use of agencies, outlets located in the premises of other businesses, said Choudhury. IBB currently offers its products through five branches and two agencies.

“IBB’s retail banking opera-tions will remain in Birmingham. However, it will also create a stronger presence in London from where IBB’s commercial and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) opera-tions will be based.” IBB was pre-viously majority-owned by another Qatari lender, Qatar International Islamic Bank, which had been in discussions with Masraf Al Rayan over a sale since mid-2012.

REUTERS

Dar Al Arkan may repay $450m sukuk ahead of scheduleDUBAI: Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Co, Saudi Arabia’s largest listed property developer, may consider early repayment of a $450m Islamic bond due to mature in February 2015, a company representative said yesterday.

Last December, Dar Al Arkan repurchased 87 percent of a SR750m ($200m) sukuk due in April 2014. It left the remaining SR100m of that issue to mature on schedule at the request of the investor holding it.

“We have set a precedent for repaying bonds ahead of schedule and we will consider doing so with the February 2015 issue,” the rep-resentative told Reuters on the sidelines of a financial conference in Dubai.

He stressed that no final deci-sion on an early repurchase had been made, but it could make sense as a liability management exercise and as a way to signal to the market that the company could repay its debts comfortably.

Dar Al Arkan has issued $750m of a $1.2bn debt issuance programme which is valid until November 2014. It may make another issue under this programme if market condi-tions are right, but no decision has been reached.

Dar Al Arkan’s net profit climbed nine percent from a year earlier to SR156.8m in the fourth quarter of last year. The company cited higher margins on property sales and lower costs.

Company Chairman Youssef Al Shelash said last October that the supply of housing in Saudi Arabia could lag demand for at least the next five years, creating lucrative opportunities for developers who could benefit from rapid population growth and a new mortgage law.

REUTERS

Rosneft reports 51pc jump in profit MOSCOW: Russia’s oil giant Rosneft reported a 51-percent jump in annual profit yester-day thanks to a huge boost in natural gas output that made it the country’s third-largest producer.

The state-held firm — the world’s biggest publically-traded oil company by both production and reserves — said its 2013 net income reached 551bn rubles ($15.6bn).

The company said its total hydrocarbon production grew by 80.3 percent thanks to a 132.9-percent leap in natural gas output.

“The 2013 performance has made Rosneft the third-largest gas producer in Russia with increased gas production to 38.17 billion cubic metres,” the company

said in a report. Rosneft attrib-uted its strong natural gas per-formance to last year’s acquisition of the private Anglo-Russian venture TNK-BP along with the assets of the Itera energy group.

Rosneft is run by President Vladimir Putin’s long-time confi-dent Igor Sechin and has long set its sights on cutting into Russian rival Gazprom’s huge advantage in natural gas.

The company now plans to also enter the liquified natural gas market by building an LNG plant in Russia’s Far East under an agreement signed in 2013 with the US super-major ExxonMobil.

Last year “was a transforma-tional year in the company’s his-tory,” Sechin said in a statement.

“We are proud to say that on a number of metrics... the

company’s results are the best not only in Russia, but also on a global scale.” Sechin added that Rosneft this year is preparing to launch “new major projects” whose details he did not disclose.

Russia’s world-topping crude output hit a post-Soviet record of 523.3 million tonnes (10.51 million barrels per day) last year.

But analysts worry that about 90 percent of that production comes from fast-depleting fields in West Siberia that were first developed in the Soviet era.

Rosneft said production at new fields in East Siberia now accounted for 19 percent of all liquids — an encouraging statistic that is watched closely by inves-tors because of its importance to future output.

AFP

BY JIM EFSTATHIOU JR

Volkswagen has struck a deal for workers at a Tennessee assem-bly plant to vote next week on whether to join the United Auto Workers, which the union says

could pave the way for German-style worker councils.

The National Labour Relations Board will supervise the February 12-14 vote after a majority of workers at a Chattanooga plant signed authorisation cards, the UAW said Monday in a statement. The Chattanooga plant, which has about 1,550 hourly employ-ees, is the only major Volkswagen plant without some form of union representation, the UAW said.

The UAW has fought for years to form bargaining units at a foreign-owned US car factory, said Gary Chaison, a labour law professor at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. The tactic of organising employees into worker councils could help the UAW increase membership, he added.

“Essentially the UAW, which has for years been trying to make inroads into foreign-owned plants, finally has a foreign- owned plant it can organise,” Chaison said in an interview. “That’s really remarkable.”

The UAW, which has lost 75 percent of its membership since 1979, has pushed to gain recognition at Volkswagen’s plant

in Chattanooga, which opened in 2011. In next week’s vote, the UAW is seeking to set up a workers council, an employee body that’s common at most large German companies to resolve labour disputes and protect jobs.

“Volkswagen Group of America and the UAW have agreed to this common path for the election,” Frank Fischer, chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Chattanooga, said in a statement.

“That means employees can decide on representation in a secret ballot election, independently conducted by the NLRB. Volkswagen is committed to neutrality and calls upon all third parties to honour the principle of neutrality.”

In Germany, union affiliation isn’t required for employees to form worker councils, Chaison said. It’s not clear if that’s the case in the US.

“This is the way to open the door for the UAW to get into these companies,” Chaison said. “We’re really talking about unexplored territory here.”

The Chattanooga plant is the favoured North American production site for the company’s upcoming mid-sized sport- util-ity vehicle, based on the Crossblue concept, which may not hit showrooms until 2016. Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen, the world’s third-biggest carmaker, is also weighing other locations including a

factory in Puebla, Mexico, which offers lower costs, company executives said last month.

“Volkswagen is known globally for its sys-tem of cooperation with unions and works councils,” UAW President Bob King said in the statement.

The union seeks to work with the com-pany, he said, “to set a new standard in the US for innovative labour-management rela-tions that benefits the company, the entire workforce, shareholders and the community.”

The workers council wouldn’t represent employees in talks over wages or benefits.

The distinction between the role of the council and full union representation cre-ated some confusion among plant employ-ees, leading to a complaint to the labour board that was ultimately dismissed, Chaison said.

“Some workers were saying, ‘What are we voting for?’” Chaison said. “Traditional collective bargaining or an alternative, German-type labour relationship? The ques-tion is the word unionised. It’s not tradi-tional unionisation.”

Union leaders frequently hold the top spots on the councils, though the groups represent all employees, even those who aren’t union members. Volkswagen and the UAW met in Wolfsburg in August to consider setting one up at the Chattanooga factory. WP-BLOOMBERG

BY FELIX SALMON

Back in 2011, I said that “the only way to save the Post Office will be to allow it to move into financial services”, seeing as how “banks in the US are mistrusted and dis-liked and many people would love to be able to just bank

at the Post Office instead”.That’s still true, and has been given a lot more salience since the

Post Office inspector general released a 33-page white paper, last week, saying that the Post Office should move into what it calls, in its headline, “Non-Bank Financial Services for the Underserved”.

The report has been warmly greeted by Elizabeth Warren, on its own terms: If the Postal Service offered basic banking services nothing fancy, just basic bill paying, check cashing and small dollar loans — then it could provide affordable financial services for underserved families, and, at the same time, shore up its own financial footing.

So let’s be clear: there’s a very important difference between postal banking, on the one hand, and what the inspector general is proposing, on the other. And while postal banking is a good idea, the non-bank proposal from the inspector general is simply not going to fly.

Indeed, it’s rather worrying and disconcerting — not to mention disingenuous — that the inspector general goes out of its way to say that the Post Office should be a non-bank, rather than a bank.

This is a bit weird, since the centrepiece of the inspector gen-eral’s proposal, the Postal Card, seems to do nearly all of the things that a bank account does.

The inspector general, it seems, wants the Post Office to part-ner with a real bank, which would ensure that the funds on the Postal Card were FDIC insured: such a setup would be similar to the way in which Simple (which is technically a non-bank) partners with Bancorp for such things. But this is nit-picking, really: Simple explicitly sells itself as a bank replacement, and the Postal Card does pretty much everything that Simple does, plus — crucially — loans. (Which are the one big banking service Simple doesn’t offer right now.)

The inspector general — along with Elizabeth Warren — is at great pains to point out how useful the Postal Card would be to the “underserved” — that is, the millions of Americans without bank accounts. And they’re absolutely right about that: 38 percent of post offices are in ZIP codes with zero bank branches, and so such a card would bring banking services to lots of people who have no easy access to them right now.

But if the Postal Card is as attractive as the inspector general paints it, then why shouldn’t it also appeal to people who do have bank accounts? After all, the white paper explicitly says that the Post Office should offer “a diverse suite of financial services”: this is a much broader proposal than the basic savings account, capped at $2,500, which the Post Office offered between 1911 and 1967. And while it might well make sense to farm out back-end services to a bank rather than making the Post Office a bank itself, the fact remains that the Post Office would still be competing with banks. (Which explains why the banks are so opposed to the idea.)

If the Post Office was hobbled so that it would compete only with payday lenders and not with banks, then the whole Inspector General plan is, I’m sad to say, a nonstarter — for exactly the same reasons why the Church of England can’t play a similar role in the UK. Non-banks compete on convenience, not on cost, and tend to be open very long hours; while the Post Office has the advantage that a lot of the underserved go there anyway, it’s still going to have real difficulty competing with Western Union, check-cashing stores, and all the other high-cost non-bank financial-services shops which do exist in the ZIP codes without banks.

In order to make a postal bank work, it needs to be a postal bank: it has to be able to take market share away from existing banks. That in turn means that the existing banks will fight tooth and nail to prevent such a thing from ever seeing the light of day.

The charitable view of the Inspector General’s report is that it’s essentially pushing a Trojan horse: that it will try to set the Post Office as a “non-bank”, on the grounds that doing so will help the underserved and not really compete with banks. That’s the only way Congress would ever allow such a thing to happen. But once the Postal Card is up and running, nothing’s going to stop the Post Office from competing directly with every bank in the country.

But if the Post Office is hobbled from day one in such a way as to prevent it from competing with banks, then the Inspector General’s idea is never going to work. REUTERS

Why Post Office needs to compete with banks

Emerging markets outlook not rosy, but valuations temptBY DANIEL BASES

Emerging markets were facing headwinds going into 2014, but January’s rout surprised even the

gloomiest of investors, with big declines in stocks, bonds, and currencies.

Political turmoil and terrorism threats across market capitals from Ankara to Kiev, along with growing concern about bad debt in China’s shadow banking sys-tem, caused a full-scale pullback across all risk assets.

As a result, some investors are starting to see attractive values in these markets. Sentiment remains weak, however, so the actions of emerging market policy makers will determine whether investors take advantage of low valuations or opt to preserve capi-tal, strategists say.

“From our view, the valua-tions in this sector, be it hard currency (debt), local currency (debt), EM FX, corporates, are becoming compelling. Look, that is the first time I have been even close to bullish on emerg-ing markets for a while. But it is on a relative risk/return basis,” said Paul DeNoon, senior debt portfolio manager at Alliance Bernstein in New York.

“The market has discounted a lot of bad news. I think with a lot of policy responses in the better countries, some oppor-tunities have developed,” he said, pointing to relative value in Indonesian, Brazilian and Turkish credits which have fallen far and fast.

In just a month, the broad MSCI Emerging Markets stock index is down 7.5 percent ver-sus a decline of 5 percent for all of 2013, a year when developed markets surged by 30 percent. The benchmark US S&P 500 stock index is down 3.6 percent year-to-date.

Yield spreads between emerg-ing market sovereign debt and comparable US Treasuries wid-ened by nearly 50 basis points, according to JPMorgan’s bench-mark indices, the largest one month increase since June of last year when the Fed’s first hint at reducing its monetary stimulus rattled global markets.

PLAYING DEFENCE

Turkey, India and South Africa have recently surprised markets with aggressive defences of their currencies. Their actions come as the Fed moves toward more normal monetary policy that will cause less money to move abroad

in search of higher returns.Emerging market currencies

have lost ground against the US dollar and the euro. Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) research said that in aggregate, emerging market currencies are now undervalued by about 2 per-cent, a sharp swing from 2010-2013 period when they were considered overvalued.

The bank sees cheap medium-term bonds in South Africa and Brazil. Mexico, Poland, Hungary and Malaysia look to be fairly priced, they said.

The aggressive rate hikes from central banks in troubled countries could stabilise those currencies, but it comes at a cost. Higher rates could slow growth in certain countries that are already struggling, and the weak demand from China means it will be more difficult for coun-tries to export their way out of trade imbalances.

As fundamentals have not improved, emerging market coun-tries with negative balance of pay-ments metrics are in danger of more underperformance in their currencies.

“Our EM strategists believe some EM equity markets have further to fall, and that they require significant current

account rebalancing before bot-toming,” wrote Goldman Sachs.

STOCKS SUFFER

The Institute of International Finance wrote in its latest capi-tal flows report on emerging mar-kets that the asset class now has a price-to-earnings ratio for the coming 12 months, which gives a clue as to future corporate earn-ings, at about 9 times, below the decade average of 11 times. By comparison, developed markets are trading at a forward P/E of 15, above the long-run average of about 13 times earnings.

“Overall emerging market val-uation has now fallen to very low levels,” the IIF wrote on Jan 30.

To be sure, the IIF cautions that not every market is going to rebound. Many emerging mar-kets - such as the now-famous ‘fragile five’ - face challenges in implementing structural reforms. These five - Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey - are considered the emerging nations with the weak-est balance of payment posi-tions and most monetary policy uncertainty.

“The broad weakness in expected earnings over the next 12 months (with only China expected to see much pickup) is

another warning that ‘cheap’ may not translate to ‘rally’ any time soon,” the IIF, an association rep-resenting big banks, wrote.

Those countries have responded, to a point. After Turkey’s central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate by 425 basis points, BAML said it is time do some “serious bottom fishing in Turkey.”

“We think it’s now right to be overweight on a full 2014 view,” BAML said.

In addition to Turkey, central bankers in India and South Africa have taken aggressive action, which one veteran EM analyst said will be the deciding factor going forward.

“Policymakers could change valuation perceptions,” said Daniel Tenengauzer, head of Americas research at Standard Chartered in New York.

He points to India’s aggressive tightening, which stemmed the rout that country’s markets expe-rienced in the last six months. In that time India’s benchmark BSE index has surged nearly 18 per-cent from a spike lower in August 2013.

In Latin America, he sees the acute selling of stocks such as Mexican telecoms giant American Movil , down 6.2

percent year-to-date, as the result of Mexico’s reforms, not just global factors.

Mexico has undertaken major reforms across multiple sectors. In the long-run reforms are positive but for companies like American Movil the near-term challenge will be a negative for its bottom line.

Currently, the telecom compa-ny’s P/E ratio is 11.3 on a forward 12-month basis versus its peers who are trading at 13.6 times earnings. The stock is down 6 percent in 2014, putting it at a 17 percent discount to its peers, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Strategas Research Partners believes Mexico is primed for more gains given reforms and its proximity to a strengthening US economy.

The firm also believes Emerging Europe is poised for growth, citing in particular, Poland’s promising prospects of a so-far resilient cur-rency, low inflation, easy credit, and lower risk of capital flight.

MSCI’s Eastern Europe stock index trading against the MSCI Europe index, on a relative 12-month forward P/E basis, is below its long-term average, they said.

REUTERS

Volkswagen backs unionvote at Chattanooga plant

25 BUSINESS VIEWS WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Cartoon Arts International / The New York Times Syndicate

QATAR EXCHANGE | DAILY TRADING REPORT | 04-02-2014

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS A List of Shares from the worldCOMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

A B G Infra-B/D 42.5 -0.4 1371

A C C-A/D 1000 -0.9 14949

Aarti Drugs-B/D 229.45 0 4401

Aban Offs-B/D 483.85 5.65 1147050

Ador Welding-B/D 125 -0.75 3562

Aegis Logis-B/D 152.8 -1.5 4993

Ahmed.Forg-B/D 98.5 -1.7 2059

Alembic-B/D 12 0.28 53946

Alok Indus-B/D 6.8 0 354315

Apollo Tyre-A/D 112.7 0.15 702224

Ashok Leyland-/D 16.45 0.55 914167

Bajaj Hold-A/D 920 -8.4 1650

Ballarpur In-B/D 12.03 0.04 111713

Bata India-A/D 970.3 13.55 10798

Beml Ltd-B/D 206.05 22.3 403943

Bhansali Eng-B/D 12.15 -0.61 2539

Bharat Bijle-B/D 339.5 -9.65 1950

Bhartiya Int-B/D 160 -3.05 3661

Bhel-A/D 163.4 -4.1 365047

Bom.Burmah-B/D 97.95 1.05 6441

Bombay Dyeing-/D 55.55 -0.5 116072

Camph.& All-B/D 140.65 -0.4 2410

Canfin Homes-B/D 174.9 4.3 2000

Castrol Ind-A/D 295.85 -3.3 29000

Century Enka-B/D 133.35 0.25 2380

Century Text-A/D 292.75 1.2 141152

Chambal Fert-B/D 37.95 -0.6 176647

Cipla-A/D 415 2.55 103955

City Union Bk-/D 48.55 0.1 24930

Cmc Ltd-B/D 1409.9 1.55 4795

Colgate-A/D 1317.25 5.2 5900

Dai-Tichi Kar-/D 51 -1 2409

Dhampur Sugar-/D 29 -0.15 6794

Dr. Reddy-A/D 2596.05 -53.5 7794

E I H-B/D 55 -1 31270

E.I.D Parry-B/D 125.5 0.2 9532

Electrosteel-B/D 13.08 -0.06 31959

Emco-B/D 25.8 -0.2 92191

Escorts Fin-T/D 3.26 -0.17 1000

Escorts-B/D 122.35 -3.35 324043

Essar Oil-A/D 47.1 1.45 366325

Eveready Indu-/D 35.05 0.2 13881

F D C-B/D 120.25 -0.85 24074

Federal Bank-A/D 76.85 -0.35 305955

Ferro Alloys-B/D 4.99 -0.11 25584

Finolex-B/D 152.85 2.4 11016

Forbes-B/D 521.5 -0.2 24879

Gail-A/D 354 -11 59024

Gammon India-B/D 12.2 -0.07 6211

Gangotri Tex-T/D 1.05 0 1100

Garden P -B/D 36.3 -0.7 2105

Godfrey Phil-B/D 2609.45 67.4 4949

Goodricke-B/D 127.5 -3.8 1124

Goodyear I -B/D 356.4 5.3 115853

Hcl Infosys-B/D 24.6 0.8 482867

Him.Fut.Comm-B/D 8.48 -0.05 267246

Himat Seide-B/D 57.25 -0.9 43349

Hind Motors-B/D 7.98 0.66 666131

Hind Org Chem-/D 9.21 0.15 1616

Hind Unilever-/D 570.75 0.7 46497

Hind.Petrol-A/D 240.65 -3.05 39572

Hindalco-A/D 102.8 -0.75 2802606

Hous Dev Fin-A/D 788.3 -0.6 67486

I F C I-A/D 22.55 0.35 902969

Idbi-A/D 55.45 1.05 197626

Ifb Ind.Ltd.-B/D 72.8 4.8 7011

India Cement-B/D 52.15 0.5 48835

India Glycol-B/D 88.7 -0.4 13730

Indian Hotel-A/D 57.55 -0.2 29246

Indo-Bcount-B/D 41.6 0.45 6680

Indusind-A/D 387.75 5.5 171508

J.B.Chemical-B/D 127.65 0.2 217075

Jagatjit Ind-T/D 41.25 0.25 4390

Jagson Phar-B/D 10.75 -0.24 5523

Jbf Indu-B/D 71.8 -0.6 7601

Jct Ltd-B/D 1.82 -0.03 22396

Jenson&Nich.-B/D 2.39 0.05 12599

Jktyre&Ind-B/D 141.5 1 70468

Jmc Projects-B/D 79.95 2.45 1024

Kajaria Cer-B/D 319.75 6.8 328185

Kalpat Power-B/D 72.7 -0.55 9865

Kalyani Stel-B/D 48.7 -0.2 25199

Kg Denim-B/D 15.55 -0.1 13188

Kinetic Eng-B/D 37.85 1.35 1856

Kopran-B/D 24.15 -0.7 157220

Lakshmi Elec-B/D 183.7 2.9 8074

Lakshmi Mach-B/D 2700.35 52.65 1060

Lgb Broth-B/D 288.9 -7.4 1370

Lloyd Metal-B/D 7.8 -0.4 1513

Lok.Hous&Con-T/D 12.93 0.61 323737

Lupin-A/D 912.35 -9.55 190123

Lyka Labs-B/D 10.6 -0.08 11763

Mafatlal Ind-B/D 122.4 5.95 7318

Mah.Seamless-B/D 163.95 0.85 1096

Mangalam Cem-B/D 99.25 1.55 4802

Maral Overs-B/D 19.9 0.35 2017

Mastek-B/D 173.3 -0.1 30820

Max India L-A/D 188.35 0.3 2156

Mrpl-A/D 42.6 -0.6 28630

Nahar Spg.-B/D 106.45 2.75 9624

Nath Seeds-B/D 4.06 -0.04 3914

Nation Alum -A/D 32.95 -0.35 45573

Navneet Edu-B/D 54 -0.65 16071

Nepc India-B/D 3.51 0.09 46265

Neuland Lab-B/D 310.4 26.3 17943

Nrb Bearings-B/D 37.9 2.6 4241

O N G C-A/D 268.3 0.1 126811

Oil Country-B/D 33 0.35 7670

Onward Tech-T/D 50.5 -0.7 8100

Orchid Chem-T/D 45.1 0.1 28538

Orient Hotel-B/D 15.35 0.53 1716

Orient.Carb.-B/D 128.4 -3.15 17234

Orient.Carb.-B/D 128.4 -3.15 17234

Radico Khait-B/D 152.05 0.7 208856

Rallis India-B/D 160 -0.2 11475

Rallis India-B/D 160 -0.2 11475

Reliance Indus/D 320 2.1 65280

Ruchi Soya-B/D 31.3 0.05 43513

S Bk Bikaner-B/D 298.55 1.5 14147

Saur.Cem-B/D 13.6 -0.4 1000

Thirumalai-B/D 94 -0.95 1661

Timexgroup-B/D 8.88 -0.04 12964

Tinplate-T/D 44.05 -0.4 4385

Ucal Fuel-T/D 41 -0.8 1195

Ultramarine-B/D 41.75 1.4 3051

Unitech P -A/D 12.63 0.34 2940820

3I Group/D 372 0.7 338459

Assoc.Br.Foods/D 2754 68 446055

B Sky B/D 874.5 -5.5 1815935

Barclays/D 265.096 -0.7 18238434

Bg Group/D 1039.1 14.5 4626388

Bp/D 466.025 -7.6 12598035

Brit Am Tobacc/D 2917 0.5 951526

Bt Group/D 384.605 -0.1 6211322

Centrica/D 314.3 0.5 2733693

Gkn/D 387.636 -5.5 1669383

Hsbc Holdings/D 621.088 -0.7 11962029

Imperial Tobac/D 2226 -13 582469

Kingfisher/D 363.4 -1.2 1175392

Land Secs Grou/D 1015 -13 919189

Legal & Genera/D 215.6 1.3 3650011

Lloyds Bnk Grp/D 79.702 -0.28 82152952

Marks & Sp./D 466.1113 -1.7 795695

Next/D 6149.75 -40 83529

Pearson/D 1089 -18 705499

Prudential/D 1235 31 2415473

Rank Group/D 140.5565 -0.1 8367

Rentokil Initi/D 118.3 -1.3 996458

Rolls Royce Pl/D 1152 -13 1664458

Rsa Insrance G/D 94.825 -1.45 16156356

Sainsbury(J)/D 351.94 6.5 4039006

Schroders/D 2389 -29 109564

Severn Trent/D 1745 -17 362918

Smith&Nephew/D 879.5 -6.5 496676

Smiths Group/D 1390.3935 -20 304139

Standrd Chart /D 1224.875 -3 2172669

Tate & Lyle/D 756.5 2 281921

Tesco/D 317.3 -1.65 5285677

Unilever/D 2330.35 -8 1076209

United Util Gr/D 719.5 -3 586238

Vodafone Group/D 219.5 -2.6 38099816

Whitbread/D 3702 -12 114505

LONDON

QE Market Summary Comparison Today Previous day

04-02-2014 03-02-2014

Index 11,049.69 11,137.59

Change 87.90 36.38

% 0.79 0.33

YTD% 6.46 7.30

Volume 10,461,921 13,153,906

Value (QAR) 502,812,765.05 434,306,437.28

Trades 4,375 4,478 Up 11 | Down 26 | Unchanged 03

QE Indices SummaryQE Index 11,049.69 0.79 %

QE Total Return Index 15,873.39 0.79 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 3,184.46 0.83 %

QE All Share Index 2,752.08 0.69 %

QE All Share Banks & Financial Services

2,646.33 0.36 %

QE All Share Consumer Goods & Services

6,131.47 0.29 %

QE All Share Industrials 3,666.89 0.89 %

QE All Share Insurance 2,619.36 0.59 %

QE All Share Real Estate 1,989.39 1.56 %

QE All Share Telecoms 1,545.36 1.66 %

QE All Share Transportation 1,940 1.21 %

26 MARKETWEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

EXCHANGE RATE

GOLD & SILVERWORLD STOCK INDICES

CRUDE OIL

Buying SellingINDEX Day’s Close Pt Chg % Chg Year High Year Low

US$ ..........................QR 3.6305 QR 3.6500

UK ...........................QR 5.9068 QR 5.9898

Euro .........................QR 4.9232 QR 4.9916

CA$ ..........................QR 3.2555 QR 3.3201

Swiss Fr ..................QR 4.0013 QR 4.0579

Yen ..........................QR 0.0356 QR 0.0363

Aus$ ........................QR 3.2111 QR 3.2752

Ind Re ......................QR 0.0577 QR 0.0588

Pak Re .....................QR 0.0342 QR 0.0349

Peso ........................QR 0.0796 QR 0.0812

SL Re .......................QR 0.0276 QR 0.0282

Taka .........................QR 0.0464 QR 0.0475

Nep Re ....................QR 0.0363 QR 0.0370

SA Rand ..................QR 0.3229 QR 0.3304

BRENT

$ 105.93

DUBAI

$ 102.02

GOLDQR147.1150

SILVER QR 2.2710

All Ordinaries 5114.132 -87.756 -1.69 5383.4 5114.132

Cac 40 Index/D 4095.78 -11.97 -0.29 4351.21 4098.71

Dj Indu Average 15372.8 -326.05 -2.08 16588.3 13784

Egypt Cma Gn Idx 1026.29 32.57 3.28 999.95 312.38

Hang Seng Inde/D 21397.77 -637.65 -2.89 23469.33 21746.23

Iseq Overall/D 4635.39 -27.6 -0.59 4873.52 4522.4

Karachi 100 In/D 26751.45 -194.65 -0.72 27213.21 25273.11

Nikkei 225 Index 14008.47 -610.66 -4.18 16164.01 14615.05

S&P 500 Index/D 1741.89 -40.7 -2.28 1850.84 1485.01

Straits Times/D 2965.8 -25.15 -0.84 3187.8 2989

Straits Times/D 2971.47 22.7 0.77 3035.78 2657.77

27SPORT WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

NEW YORK: Kevin Durant scored 31 points to lead Oklahoma City to a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Durant, who returned to form after his 12-game streak of 30-point games ended in Brooklyn on Friday, also racked up eight rebounds and eight assists for the Western Conference-leading Thunder (39-11).

Zach Randolph paced the Grizzlies (26-21) with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Dwyane Wade had 30 points and LeBron James nearly had his first triple-double of the season, leading the Miami Heat to a vic-tory over the Detroit Pistons.

James had 24 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as the Heat (34-13) avenged one of their four home losses this season. Detroit won in Miami 107-97 on December 3.

Detroit (19-28) had its two-game win streak snapped and lost ground on idle Charlotte (21-28), which currently holds the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Tony Parker scored 21 of his game-high 32 points in the second half and helped erase a 14-point

deficit in the final 11 minutes with a 38-19 fourth quarter to lift the San Antonio Spurs to a victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Pelicans led by as many as 14 points early in the fourth quarter, but the Spurs (35-13) unleashed a 21-4 blitz in a 6:08 span to take an 87-84 lead.

Reserve guard Anthony Morrow scored 20 points for New Orleans (20-27).

Danny Granger scored a season-high 16 points to lead a dominant effort from the Indiana Pacers’ bench in a blowout of the Orlando Magic.

Indiana (37-10) is 25-2 against teams that are now below .500 and went on a tear midway through the second half to dispatch Orlando (13-37).

Lance Stephenson had 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for Eastern Conference-leading Indiana.

John Wall scored 22 points and Trevor Ariza added 20 as the Washington Wizards moved above .500 for the first time since 2009 with a win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Washington (24-23) won for the fourth time in six games. The Wizards last owned a winning record when they were 2-1 on October 31, 2009.

Damian Lillard scored 25 points for the Trail Blazers (34-14), who lost for the third time in four games.

Brandon Knight’s three-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining led the Milwaukee Bucks to a victory over the New York Knicks.

Knight’s shot, his fourth three-pointer of the night, came seconds after Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony tied the game at 98-98

with his sixth of the night from long distance.

The Bucks (9-39) had lost 15-of-16 and six in a row, but behind Knight’s 25 points, they beat New York (19-29) for the first time since March 9, 2012.

Anthony finished with 36 points.All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki

scored 23 points, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a routine vic-tory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Five other Mavericks (28-21) scored in double figures, while All Star guard Kyrie

Irving scored a game-high 27 for the Cavaliers (16-32).

Deron Williams broke out of a personal slump in a big way, scoring 21 points to help the Brooklyn Nets earn a win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Williams notched 20 points for the first time in about a month, while Paul Pierce had a game-high 25 points for the Nets (21-25).

Philadelphia rookie guard Michael Carter-Williams scored 21 points for the 76ers (15-34).

All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan

scored 23 points and centre Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points and nine rebounds as the Toronto Raptors earned a rare win in Utah.

The Raptors improved to 26-22 after winning in Utah for just the second time in nine visits since 2006. Forward Marvin Williams scored a season-high 23 points for the Jazz (16-32).

Guard Randy Foye hit a three-pointer at the buzzer as the Denver Nuggets rallied to beat the Los Angeles Clippers.

REUTERS

NEW YORK: James Neal scored 1:55 into overtime, lift-ing the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Neal knocked in a rebound off a shot by center Evengi Malkin over sprawled Senators goaltender Craig Anderson to improve the Eastern Conference-leading Penguins’ record to 39-15-2.

Anderson made 46 saves for the Senators (24-21-11) in defeat.

Ryan O’Reilly scored 28 seconds into overtime to give the Colorado Avalanche a victory against the New Jersey Devils.

PA Parenteau tied the score for the Avalanche (36-14-5) with 1:22 remaining in regulation and goal-tender Jean-Sebastien Giguere on the bench for an extra attacker.

Ryan Carter scored for the Devils.

Jimmy Howard and Jonas Gustavsson combined for a shutout and left winger Justin

Abdelkader scored both goals in the Detroit Red Wings win over the Vancouver Canucks.

Howard made 16 saves in two periods after Gustavsson stopped eight shots before leaving after the first period because he felt dizzy.

Canucks coach John Tortorella returned from his unpaid 15-day suspension for charging the Calgary Flames locker room fol-lowing the first period of a January 18 game. He missed six games, in which Vancouver went 1-4-1.

Matt Hendricks scored on a shorthanded breakaway early

in the third period to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a win over the Buffalo Sabres.

The game was a battle of the two worst teams in the league. Buffalo (15-32-8) is last in the Eastern Conference, while Edmonton (19-33-6) props up the Western Conference.

Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov had 42 saves for Edmonton.

Patrick Kane scored two goals and an assist, defenseman Nick Leddy scored a goal and an assist, and goaltender Corey Crawford made 31 saves as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Los Angeles Kings.

Chicago (34-10-14) won for the second time in four games on a road trip that will run through the Olympic break. The Blackhawks took the lead for good at 3-2 on centre Marcus Kruger’s sixth goal of the season with 6:09 remaining in the middle period.

REUTERS

DOHA: Boasting an unrivalled schedule of free sporting events across the country, National Sport Day aims to give people in Qatar the opportunity to kick-start a future of healthy living.

From cycling to swimming, football to basketball, tennis to

taekwondo, countless free sport-ing sessions, accessible to all, will be taking place throughout Qatar as celebrations to highlight the importance of healthy living reach a new peak.

Based on the sporting prin-ciples of inclusion and unity,

participation and fun, fitness and health, National Sport Day has cemented its status as one of the highlights of Qatar’s community, sporting and national calendars.

Before the big day, some Qatar residents spoke of their plans (see below). THE PENINSULA

Super Bowl 48 set record for TV viewersLOS ANGELES: Seattle’s 43-8 blowout of Denver in Super Bowl 48 offered little in the way of suspense, but 111.5 million view-ers made it the most-watched television event in US history.

Ratings released by the Fox network on Monday showed Sunday’s game also set a record for the most-streamed online sports event, while a whopping 25.3 million related tweets com-posed by 5.6 million authors were logged before, during and after the contest.

The viewership for the Seahawks’ lopsided victory eclipsed the previous record 111.3 million viewers who watched the 2012 Super Bowl between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, according to the Nielsen tracking service.

The NFL’s championship spec-tacular is always a big TV draw and, until ratings for last year’s game showed a slight decline, the Super Bowl had set viewership records for three straight years.

The half-time show headlined by hit singer Bruno Mars, with guests the Red Hot Chili Peppers, was also a record breaker with an estimated TV audience of 115.3 million.

That eclipsed the 110.8 million who watched Beyonce last year, as well as the previous record of 114.0 million set by Madonna two years ago.

Fox said the most active moments on social media during the game were when Seattle’s Percy Harvin returned the sec-ond half kick-off 87 yards for a touchdown (429,000 tweets), the conclusion of the half-time show (424,000 tweets) and Most Valuable Player Malcolm Smith’s second-quarter interception return for a touchdown (300,000 tweets).

AFP

On National Sports Day I will take my family, and we are going to spend the day outside, walking and run-ning and playing all sorts of games. I am not planning on returning home before nightfall. It is a very important day which we should benefit from the most.

On NSD, I will not stay home for sure. I am going to meet my friends and we are going to exercise all day long, mainly we are going to play football. I think it will be fun and exciting. After all, we are really lucky to have a sports day!

On NSD, I am going to take it easy. Easy on the heavy sports, but still I am going to put on my sneakers and walk! I love walking, it burns calories and is good for the heart.

This National Sport Day I’m going to try a new sport, but with all the vari-ety it’s been hard to choose. I looked through the programme and have got it down to three – boxing, sailing and rifle shooting. They are sports I have never tried but look like fun, and that’s what National Sport Day is all about for me.

This National Sport Day I am going to spend the day with my family playing table tennis. It’s such a fun game and something we can all play together. I’m really looking forward to spend-ing some quality time with everyone and getting fitter and healthier at the same time

The Qatar Olympic Committee Sport Zone looks to have a lot happening and I think I’ll head down there to try out some new sports. I’d like to use the opportunity to meet new people while getting fit at the same time and also learning something new.

Sheikh Hassan bin Salman Al Thani

Hamza Sheikha Abdel Rahman Sayid Andrew Weir

Mohamad Abdel Aziz Abdel Ghani Salman

Qatar set for National Sport Day

Oklahoma beat MemphisSan Antonio Spurs unleash late blitz to overcome New Orleans Pelicans

Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) drives to the basket as Detroit Pistons shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) defends during the second half of their NBA game at American Airlines Arena.

Pittsburgh down Ottawa

NBA ResultsIndiana 98 Orlando 79

Washington 100 Portland 90

Brooklyn 108 Philadelphia 102

Miami 102 Detroit 96

Milwaukee 101 NY Knicks 98

San Antonio 102 New Orleans 95

Oklahoma City 86 Memphis 77

Dallas 124 Cleveland 107

Denver 116 LA Clippers 115

Toronto 94 Utah 79

Sacramento 99 Chicago 70

NHL ResultsEdmonton 3 Buffalo 2

Pittsburgh 2 Ottawa 1

Detroit 2 Vancouver 0

Colorado 2 New Jersey 1

Columbus 4 Anaheim 2

Chicago 5 Los Angeles 3

Philadelphia 5 San Jose 2

LOS ANGELES: With the date and venue already inked in, five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. has asked his fans on social media to choose his next opponent from either Britain’s Amir Khan or Marcos Maidana of Argentina.

Mayweather, who outboxed Mexican Saul Canelo Alvarez in his most recent bout in September, has a 45-0 record and is expected to announce shortly who he will fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 3.

“I’m going to let the fans vote. Tell me who I should fight next. Khan or Maidana?” Mayweather posted on his personal Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts on Monday.

Mayweather is known for his creative stunts and his taking to social networks for advice on his next opponent comes as no surprise.

Though many boxing fans would love to see Filipino south-paw Manny Pacquiao take on the American in what has long been a heavily anticipated match-up, Khan and Maidana now appear to be the two most logical options.

Pacquiao lost much of his appeal after successive defeats to American Timothy Bradley and Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012, while Khan and Maidana both have time on their side.

Englishman Khan, a 27-year-old who is a two-time world champion, has compiled a 28-3 record with 20 knockouts and is known for his hand and foot speed, as well as his charisma.

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach, who used to coach Khan, believes the Briton has all the attributes needed to hand Mayweather his first ever defeat as a professional.

“I’ve always said Amir has the

right style to beat Floyd if he fights correctly and doesn’t stay in the pocket too long,” Roach told reporters earlier this year. “I always thought he could beat him with his speed.

“I think he’s faster than Mayweather and that’s what it takes to beat him. Floyd might have his hands full on the night.”

Maidana, 30, has a professional record of 35-3 with 31 knockouts and won his most recent bout in December with a unanimous deci-sion against the heavily favoured American Adrien Broner to claim the WBA welterweight title.

Aged 36, Mayweather is known for his conditioning and meticu-lous preparation, and produced a master class when he beat Alvarez by majority decision at the MGM Grand to take the Mexican’s WBA and WBC super welterweight titles.

REUTERS

Mayweather hits social media to choose next opponent

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Heir Apparent Cup Archery Championship

The podium winners at the Heir Apparent Cup Archery Championship pose for a picture along with Abdulla Ali Al Mutawa Al Hammadi (third left, first row), General Secretary of Qatar Shooting and Archery Association (QSAA), Fatima Al Jusaiman (extreme right, front row), Board Member of QSAA and Ibrahim Al Mohannadi (left), Tournament Director.

Warburton back to lead Wales against IrelandLONDON: Regular captain Sam Warburton will return to Wales’s starting XV for the champions Six Nations interna-tional against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.

The back-row forward, who began his comeback from a shoulder injury by coming off the bench against Italy in Wales’s opening 23-15 victory over Italy at Cardiff ’s Millennium Stadium last weekend, replaced Justin Tipuric at openside flanker in the team announced by coach Warren Gatland yesterday.

The New Zealander made three changes in all to the side that took the field against the Azzurri, with second row Andrew Coombs replacing Luke Charteris, sidelined because of a hamstring injury, and 101-times capped prop Gethin Jenkins in for Paul James.

Warburton has regained the captaincy from Alun Wyn Jones, the lock who deputised as captain for the injured loose forward in the British and Irish Lions’ deci-sive third Test victory against Australia in Sydney last year.

Behind the scrum, Lions full-back Leigh Halfpenny is set to win his 50th Wales cap aged just 25 in an unchanged back division.

Ireland, 28-6 winners over Scotland in Dublin last weekend, are due to name their side on Thursday.

In last season’s correspond-ing fixture, the Irish beat Wales 30-22 on the opening weekend in Cardiff, although the Welsh recovered to take the title.

Wales are now bidding to become the first side in the his-tory of the Six Nations’ various guises to win three successive outright championships.

Wales were not at their best against a determined Italy but Gatland said he expected his side, who’ve gone two Six Nations with-out an away defeat, to improve on that performance at Lansdowne Road. AFP

Woods enthrals fans in IndiaAmerican cards incredible nine-underNEW DELHI: World No.1 golfer Tiger Woods played the full 18 holes at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) yesterday card-ing an unbelievable nine under during an exhibition game to enthral fans.

To put things in perspec-tive, Mohammad Siddikur of Bangladesh finished with a total of 14 under 274 at the same course when he won the Indian Open crown.

Only select media personnel and DGC members were invited to the private event organised by the Hero Group and the World Sports Group (WSG).

Woods, who reportedly received $2.2m for the appearance, played with Hero MotoCorp MD and CEO Pawan Munjal and some select invitees for most of the time.

He was later joined by Indian golf stars Shiv Kapur and Anirban Lahiri who played the last three holes.

“Thanks so much for the time, it was an absolute blast. It is hard to say how much fun I had today. It was a narrow golf course and I was nervous with my tee shot. My best buddy Arjun (Atwal) told me so much about India and I am happy to be here. Thank You so much,” Woods told reporters.

Among the guests were former India cricketers Madan Lal and Murali Karthik.

The American golfer arrived here Monday from Dubai, where he took part in the Dubai Desert Classic, and was whisked away from the VIP area at the airport amidst tight security.

Meanwhile, the general public was left a little aggrieved by the privacy of the event. Many had wanted to get a glimpse of the sport’s most popular figure but the ‘members only’ tag left them disappointed.

“A few days back I had heard the news that Tiger Woods would be coming to Delhi and that got me really excited. I am not a member of the DGC but I some-times go play with a few buddies of mine there, so I called them

to enquire but they gave me no details. Later I found out in the news that this was a members only event but I still came here hoping to see him,” golf enthusiast Varun Bapna said.

“It’s a shame that ordinary peo-ple can’t see him play. You have to be a member or know some big shots. This once again proves that golf is such an elitist sport,” said Dhruv Bhatia, a big Tiger Woods fan.

IANS

MotoGP: Marquez leads pack in Sepang testSEPANG, Malaysia: Newly crowned MotoGP world cham-pion Marc Marquez led the timesheets yesterday as riders kicked off three days of test-ing in sizzling temperatures at Malaysia’s Sepang Circuit.

Honda’s Marquez clocked 2 minutes 00.286 seconds for the day’s top time, with Yamaha’s nine-time Italian world champion Valentino Rossi just 0.518 seconds behind.

Marquez’s teammate and fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa was third-fastest, 0.620 seconds off the pace, with former world champ Jorge Lorenzo of Yamaha next.

Marquez and Rossi traded top times through the day as they blazed around a Sepang circuit

that is notoriously tricky due in part to Malaysia’s tropical mois-ture and frequent rains.

Yesterday the track was hot and dry, yielding fast times but leaving riders drained after the two-month layoff since last season.

Marquez, who many favour to repeat victory this year thanks to his fearless riding style, was in fine form, pushing his Honda to get the most out of the conditions.

“The grip (tyre traction) was quite good. Last year during test-ing here I was nervous but now I feel more relaxed,” he said.

“Frankly my lap time was quite fast. I was surprised that many riders were also fast.”

Cheerful Marquez said he hoped to work on the bike’s brak-ing and rear stability while exit-ing the sharp corners at Sepang.

The 20-year-old Spaniard clinched the 2013 MotoGP title in his first season in the category, becoming the youngest-ever world champion.

The testing wraps up tomor-row, but the riders will return to Sepang for another three-day ses-sion from February 26.

They will have a further session at Phillip Island in Australia and at the Losail cir-cuit in Qatar, before the new season officially kicks off at Losail on March 23.

Malaysia will host the champi-onship in October. AFP

Volleyball: Win for Al Rayyan

An Al Rayyan player spikes during the Qatar Volleyball Association League match against Al Khor at Al Arabi Indoor Stadium in Doha on Monday. Al Rayyan won 3-0 ( 25-16, 25-19 and 25-18).

Action from Eljaish vs Al Wakra match.

New Zealand favourites for India Tests, says HadleeWELLINGTON: New Zealand legend Richard Hadlee (pic-tured) has declared the Black Caps slight favourites for the two-Test series against India beginning this week, despite the gulf in the teams’ world rankings.

Hadlee, New Zealand’s best-ever cricketer with 431 Test wickets and 3,124 runs, said the home side would take enormous confidence from their shock 4-0 one-day series win over India.

He said while India, second in the Test rankings, could not be underes-t i m a t e d , the eighth-r a n k e d N e w Zealanders had all the m o m e n -tum head-ing into the series.

“ L e t ’ s face it, they’re a very, very good side, but at the moment we might go in a little bit as favour-ites because we’ve got a roll on at the moment,” he told Radio Sport.

New Zealand have already defied the rankings with their one-day series win, in the process sending India from first to second in the ODI standings and lifting their own ranking from eighth to seventh.

Hadlee said replicating that success in the Test arena would be a difficult feat for the Black Caps.

“We know that we’re very competitive in T20 and one-day matches, I think we can take any-one on in those formats,” he said. “Test cricket is going up another level, it will be a real test for them.”

The first Test starts in Auckland tomorrow. AFP

US golfer Tiger Woods (centre) walks at the Delhi Golf Club prior to playing an 18-hole round with special invitees in New Delhi, yesterday. Woods is making his first visit to India and is competing in an 18-hole corporate outing at the Delhi Golf Club.

Repsol Honda Team’s Spanish

rider Marc Marquez steers his bike dur-

ing the first MotoGP

pre-season testing ses-sion at the

Sepang Circuit out-side Kuala Lumpur,

yesterday.

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Chelsea outwit Man CityDefeat ends this season’s 100 percent home record for Pellegrini’s sideLONDON: Jose Mourinho proved why he is one of the most revered coaches in the world as he masterminded a 1-0 win that ended Manchester City’s 100 percent home Premier League record this season.

Chelsea have now picked up 10 points from a possible 12 against the other top four teams this term as they joined the hosts on 53 points, two behind leaders Arsenal.

“We played fantastic. Against a fantastic club, to play the way we did I think is amazing for the boys,” Mourinho told Sky Sports after his team had also hit the woodwork three times.

“In the process of building the team, to prepare the team to be favourites, to be one of the favour-ites next season, I think it is an important step.”

Mourinho had said Chelsea would not be “parking the bus” and while they certainly snuffed out City’s array of attacking talent, his side also looked dangerous every time they broke and should have added to Branislav Ivanovic’s first-half strike against Manuel Pellegrini side.

“They had couple chances but we had better chances to kill the game,” Mourinho added. “The players when we didn’t have the ball were humble and all ready to defend. When we had the ball they were trying to play and we played really well.”

Despite the win secured by full-back Branislav Ivanovic’s precise left-foot strike in the first half, Mourinho played down the notion that Chelsea were now favourites to win the title and instead talked about their potential next season.

“It’s not our responsibility or our objective to say that (we are favourites). We must complete the puzzle and formation. Some managers it’s in their DNA to say we need two, three, four, five years to build.

“The next pre-season, me and my players will say openly that we are mature, solid from day one and are candidates for the league. This season is about evolution.

“We can (win the title) if they (City) lose it. Arsenal are work-ing for many, many years for the evolution of their team.”

REUTERS

Chelsea’s English defender Gary Cahill (top) vies for the ball against Manchester City’s Belgian defender Vincent Kompany (below) during an English Premier League football match at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Monday night.

Mourinho hails rallying call by McCullochLONDON: Jose Mourinho hailed a pep talk given to the players by masseur Billy McCulloch after Chelsea wrecked Manchester City’s 100 percent home record in the Premier League this season with a 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium.

Manager Mourinho was widely praised for his tactical master-plan after Branislav Ivanovic’s first-half goal secured maximum points for his side on Monday night but the Portuguese was quick to salute the contribution of the masseur.

The wise-cracking McCulloch

joined the club in 2001. He is pop-ular with the players, providing a constant source of entertainment behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge, and issued a rallying call before the game against City.

“I didn’t speak. It was Billy the masseur,” Mourinho told report-ers after third-placed Chelsea joined City on 53 points, two behind leaders Arsenal.

“He was screaming ... so much I didn’t understand him. The players were clapping - okay, let’s go. It was Billy’s team talk.

“The last time I spoke to the players was at midday,” said Mourinho.

“I’m serious, Billy was fantas-tic. I didn’t understand but it looks like the players understood.”

Chelsea ended City’s run of scoring in 61 consecutive home league games since 2010 as Manuel Pellegrini’s team failed to find the net at the Etihad for the first time this season.

The Londoners stifled mid-field dangermen David Silva and Yaya Toure with their pressing approach and were also dynamic on the counter attack with Eden Hazard, Willian and Ramires leading the way.

Belgian international Hazard was a constant threat and

showed why he is starting to draw comparisons with world greats like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

“He needs to keep his feet on the ground,” Mourinho said of the 23-year-old Chelsea winger. “He still has to improve but he is probably the best young player in the world with legs to go there (to the level of Messi and Ronaldo).

“Give him time and Willian, (Andre) Schurrle, (Mohamed) Salah too. Give them time. They need good results and this result is very important for them.”

REUTERS

Jordan qualify for Asian Cup in AustraliaSINGAPORE: Jordan booked their place at next year’s Asian Cup and made some amends for their World Cup heartache with an incident-packed 3-1 win over Singapore yesterday.

In a match which both teams finished with 10 men, the visitors owed their opener to a sly piece of skulduggery, and then had Singapore’s Baihakki Khaizan sent off for an innocuous nudge.

Ahmed Hayel rose unmarked to double Jordan’s lead in the second half, but there was more drama later when Chinese referee Tan Hai gave the scorer an unmerited red card for a tackle from behind.

Singapore ensured a grand-stand finish when they pulled a goal back with six minutes remaining, via Khairul Amri from the penalty spot after a push on Muhammad Safuwan.

But Yousef Rawshdeh came on to score the goal of the night in injury-time to secure second place in Group A for Jordan and a spot at next year’s Asian Cup in Australia.

The victory also helps atone for Jordan’s disappointment in World Cup qualifying, when they reached the intercontinental play-offs only to lose 5-0 on aggregate to Uruguay.

Al Nashama (“the Brave Gentlemen”) had been expected to steamroller Bernd Stange’s bottom-placed Singapore, but they needed a mixture of guile and gamesmanship to take the lead just before half-time.

Bawab surprised Singapore by spinning off a two-man wall to curl in a free-kick, but the goal owed much to Hayel’s deliber-ate trip on Hafiz as the defender charged in to block.

Shortly afterwards, the hosts’ frustrations reached boiling point when Mus’ab Allahham went down far too easily under Khaizan’s challenge, earning the defender a red card.

Jordan’s second goal was a gift for Hayel, who stood still in the six-yard box and jumped to head in a corner, but his night was soon over when referee Tai sent him off for his tackle on Safuwan. Khairul Amri pulled one back from the spot on 84 minutes but Rawshdeh made his case for Jordan’s squad for Australia when he coolly made space and chipped in their third in stoppage time. AFP

Celtic escape ‘H block’ banner sanctionGLASGOW: Scottish champi-ons Celtic will not be punished over an “offensive” banner dis-played at Parkhead, the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) announced yesterday.

The SPFL launched an inves-tigation after fans held aloft a large ‘H’ symbol - representing the Maze Prison block in Belfast where 10 Irish Republicans died on hunger strike in 1981 - along-side lyrics derived from Flower of Scotland, “they fought and died for their wee bit hill and glen”.

The display came during Celtic’s Scottish Premiership fixture against Aberdeen on November 23.

A spokesman for the league said: “The SPFL has concluded its investigation into the appear-ance of a large ‘H’ banner on 23 November 2013 during Celtic’s home match against Aberdeen.

“SPFL regulations forbid

‘words or conduct or displaying any writing or other thing which indicates support for, or affiliation to, or celebration of, or opposition to an organisation or group pro-scribed in terms of the Terrorism Act 2000’.

“The SPFL found that the ban-ner was offensive and breached the SPFL’s rules. However, Celtic FC were able to demonstrate that they had taken all reasonably practicable steps to prevent the banner being displayed at Celtic Park.

“As a result, it was determined that there was no evidence of any breach of the SPFL’s rules by Celtic FC.

“The SPFL wishes to reiterate, for the avoidance of doubt, that any banners indicating support for, or affiliation to, or celebra-tion of, or opposition to an organi-sation or group proscribed in terms of the Terrorism Act 2000 or are otherwise offensive, are

not welcome at SPFL grounds.” Celtic were fined about £42,000 by UEFA over a similar display during their Champions League clash with AC Milan four days later, after the European govern-ing body decided the “illicit ban-ner”, including images of hunger striker Bobby Sands and Scottish nationalist icon William Wallace, broke their rules.

Celtic demanded fans leave their political views at home after UEFA announced the disciplinary action.

The supporters’ group respon-sible for the banners, the Green Brigade, later defended the dis-plays and insisted they were football-related as they were designed to protest against the Scottish Government’s Offensive Behaviour at Football Act and Police Scotland’s implementation of the legislation, which it claims has criminalised expressions of Irish politics. AFP

Jordan’s players celebrate by throwing their coach Hossam Hassan Hassanien of Egypt after defeating Singapore during their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup match in Singapore, yesterday.

Barca coach Martino aims to head off crisisMADRID: Barcelona must “cut short” any crisis emerging from their shock 3-2 defeat to Valencia which knocked them off the top of the Spanish league, coach Gerardo Martino said yesterday.

The Catalans, who had led La Liga for 59 successive match-days until Saturday’s loss, will hope to get back to winning ways by defeating Real Sociedad on Wednesday in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.

“It is true that crises always

have a beginning. So it is up to us to cut it short,” Martino said.

“Moreover, it is a Copa del Rey semi-final and we have it within our power to ensure this does not go any further. We expect that tomorrow (Wednesday) we can cut this short and leave the defeat to Valencia behind us,” he said.

Barcelona took an early lead in Saturday’s game at the Camp Nou but then took their foot off the pedal and defensive errors allowed Valencia back into the match.

The loss allowed Atletico

Madrid to take a three-point lead at the top of the league by beating Real Sociedad 4-0, but Martino said the race for top spot in La Liga is still wide open.

“Forty-five minutes of bad play is not enough to rule out Barca. I think ruling us out would be hasty.”

Barcelona’s troubles coincide with a stressful period off the field after the resignation of club president Sandro Rosell because of a judicial wrangle over the cost of signing their Brazilian

star Neymar. Rosell has been replaced as Barcelona president by his former deputy Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Meanwhile, English football giants Manchester United have announced they will return to the United States for a pre-season tour ahead of the 2014/15 cam-paign in Europe. Full details are set to be released in the next few weeks, but the Premier League champions said Tuesday they would visit “a number of destina-tions in the country” during their

trip.This is set to be United’s fifth pre-season tour of the United States, long considered one of the great undeveloped markets for football, with the most recent in 2011 when the club played four American teams and Spanish side Barcelona across three cities.

However, plans for the tour may be altered if United have to take part in the early qualifying stages of the Europa League in August.

Now managed by David Moyes following the retirement of serial

trophy-winner Alex Ferguson, United are seventh in the table -- seven points adrift of the Champions League places. There have been reports United will take part in an International Champions Cup tournament in North America along with seven other major teams. United man-aging director Richard Arnold, welcomed the tour.“I’m delighted to announce that the team will be returning to the USA for our 2014 Tour, presented by Aon,” said Arnold. AGENCIES

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Sangakkara lifts Sri Lanka

Stage set for the Qatar leg of EFG Sailing Arabia – The TourDOHA: The countdown to the start of 2014 EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour has begun with the six crews touching down in Bahrain to make their final sail-ing preparations.

The fleet of identical Farr 30 boats will be based at the Amwaj Marina in Manama until February 9 when they set off on the first leg in Qatar, a distance of 100 nautical miles which will be an opportunity for all crews to lay down vital markers in the region’s only long distance offshore sail-ing race.

One of the teams that are meet-ing for the first time in Bahrain is Sidney Gavignet’s professional team.

They have done zero training together but despite that, have emerged as the boat to beat in the 760nms endurance race around the Gulf due to the sheer exper-tise and experience on board, including two of Oman’s young sailing prospects Ali Al Balushi and Mohammed Al Mujaini.

“We’ll have two days of train-ing just before the start,” said Gavignet.

“On paper we have a very good team compared to the others and we will be going all out to win. Our sponsors EFG International want us to win so we will be try-ing to make them happy.”

“But Messe Frankfurt Sailing Team are bringing their own boat and were definitely fast last year

Boats taking part in the 2014 EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour practising at the Amwaj Marina in Manama, Bahrain yesterday. The fleet of identical Farr 30 boats will be based at the Amwaj Marina in Manama until February 9 when they set off on the first leg to Qatar. EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour 2014 will continue to Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Dibba and Mussanah in Oman with competitors crossing the finish line on February 24 in Muscat.

so they could spring a surprise. We are expecting a very intense race – you arrive at night, go sail-ing in shore the next day then leave on the next leg early the following morning. It will be fun.”

Messe Frankfurt Sailing Team, the team comprised mainly of

students, are the most prepared of all with more than eight months of training behind them, but like all the crews flying in from a chilly northern Europe, they will have to do a lot of adjusting before they set off under a hot sun on February 9.

EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour 2014 will continue from Qatar. The other stops for the Tour will be Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Dibba and Mussanah in Oman with competitors crossing the line on February 24 in Muscat. year and have been training for

2014 SATT for a couple of months. This is a professional crew and I think they have become very good in their roles on the boat and in the race.”

Along the way, teams will com-pete against each other in exciting in-port racing and take part in

events designed to let local sailors see the state-of-the-art Farr 30 One Design boats up close. As the only event of its kind in the gulf region, EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour 2014 – the fourth edition promises to be a thrilling event. THE PENINSULA

Pakistan appoints Aamir Sohail as chief selectorLAHORE, Pakistan: Former Pakistan captain Aamir Sohail (pictured) was yesterday appointed chief selector of the national cricket team and also tasked with developing the game in the country.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said the 47-year-old will act as the head of a four-man selection panel besides being the director of game development.

The director role encompasses everything from grassroots to first-class cricket.

Pakistan has not had a chief selector since the Islamabad high court last month suspended all deci-s i o n s taken by i n t e r i m c r i c k e t b o a r d c h i e f N a j a m S e t h i , w h o s e t e n u r e began in July 2013.

S e t h i had appointed former captain and wicketkeeper Moin Khan as chief selector.

Sohail’s appointment is the first major decision by Zaka Ashraf who was reinstated as PCB chairman in January, eight months after being suspended by the court over dubious elections.

Sohail, an attacking left-handed batsman who played 47 Tests and 156 one-day interna-tionals for Pakistan and was a major part of the World Cup win-ning team in 1992 said he will do his best to lift the team.

“Pakistan team is doing well in one-day matches and Twenty20 and I will try to further lift that as well as our showings in the Test matches,” Sohail told reporters.

Aamir’s first task will be to select the national squad for the Asia Cup to be held in Bangladesh from February 25 - March 8.

Sohail backed Test and one-day captain Misbah-ul Haq.

“Misbah has led the team well and I don’t need to defend him,” said Sohail of the 39-year-old Misbah. “We have to work together and powers matter much less to me than solving problems.”

This will be Aamir’s second tenure as chief selector, having held the post in 2003. AFP

Veteran notches 34th Test century; visitors reach 314/5 in Chittagong CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh: Kumar Sangakkara became the leading century-maker among active Test players as Sri Lanka bounced back strongly after a shaky start in the sec-ond Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong yesterday.

The tourists, who won the first Test by an innings and 248 runs in Dhaka last week, recovered from 49-2 to a comfortable 314-5 by stumps on the opening day at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

Left-handed Sangakkara was unbeaten on 160, his 34th Test hundred that drew him level with retired Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara in the all-time list of century-makers.

The four above them -- Sachin Tendukar (51 centuries), Jacques

Kallis (45), Ricky Ponting (41) and Rahul Dravid (36) -- are also not playing Test cricket.

Sangakkara, a 36-year-old vet-eran playing his 122nd Test, fol-lowed his 75 in the first Test with an impressive innings that has so far contained 19 boundaries and three sixes.

Senior pro Mahela Jayawardene helped close friend and long-time ally Sangakkara put on 178 for the third wicket after Sri Lanka were reduced to 49-2 soon after the first hour.

Jayawardene, who compiled an unbeaten 203 in the Dhaka Test, continued his good form with 72 before being leg-before to off-spin-ner Mohammad Mahmudullah in the final session.

Shakib Al Hasan removed Dinesh Chandimal and skipper Angelo Mathews before stumps as Sri Lanka slipped from 227-2 to 312-5, but were still in a good position after the opening day’s play.

Chandimal said Sangakkara and Jayawardene were an inspi-ration for the entire team.

“They are wily old foxes and an inspiration for all,” he said. “We can learn so much from them. They work hard during practice and they always talk about cricket even when they are off the field.

“This is not an easy wicket to bat on because the ball came really slow off it. It is impor-tant that when you get set, you definitely have to bat throughout the innings. And that is what

Clarke backs ICC move to give trio more powerLONDON: England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Giles Clarke has defended the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to give Australia, England and India more power in the sport.

It was announced after a board meeting in Dubai last month that a new ICC executive committee would be established to include representatives from the ECB, Cricket Australia and the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

However, the plan has received widespread criticism with some suggesting the ‘big three’ will take over at the expense of the other cricketing nations.

“The ICC need to go to market

this year with their broadcast and sponsorship rights for the period 2015-2023,” Clarke told the ECB website (www.ecb.co.uk) on Tuesday.

“The ICC president (Alan Isaac) asked India, Australia and ourselves ... to come up with a proposal that will guarantee the participation of all nations in those events (because without that guarantee the rights would be seriously devalued) and at the same time benefit all countries. That is what we have done.”

Clarke, ECB chairman since 2007, denied that only Australia, England and India would benefit from the changes.

“The perception is completely wrong,” he said. “All countries

earn more through this pro-posal. No one doubts that India’s contribution to world cricket is extremely important and that should be recognised.

“However, it was interesting to see that both West Indies and New Zealand were quick to point out the advantages to them.

“West Indies said that they were expecting a rise of 100 per-cent in income. No member would earn less and if our predictions are correct most will earn an awful lot more. How can that be bad for cricket?”.

The world Test championship, due to take place in England in 2017, has been scrapped under the new plans.

Clarke defended the decision

to replace the competition with the Champions Trophy one-day tournament that was originally dropped from the schedule after the 2013 edition in England.

“The world Test championship was an interesting concept but we must remember Test match cricket has never been a knockout format,” he said.

“It was very difficult to find a formula for a short, sharp compe-tition that would appeal to cricket supporters and also broadcasters and sponsors.

“Countries that have ‘finals’ for their four-day competitions have found they often fail to produce exciting cricket.”

Clarke said the executive com-mittee would create a new fund

for the 10 Test-playing nations.“The ICC has agreed to estab-

lish a Test match fund of $12.5m per country over eight years available to all except England, India and Australia - which will allow those countries which find Test cricket difficult to sustain economically the opportunity to continue to stage Test matches,” he explained.

“This is vital for countries like West Indies and Sri Lanka, not to forget New Zealand.

“At the same time the ICC will increase the prize money for the Test rankings so not only is there an incentive to play Test cricket but also an incentive to do well in that format,” added Clarke.

REUTERS

Sri Lanka batsman Kumar

Sangakkara (centre) plays

a shot as Bangladesh

captain Mushfiqur

Rahim (left) and Imrul Kayes look

on during the first day of the second Test match

at The Zahur Ahmed

Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong, yesterday.

Sangakkara did. “We have to get as many runs as possible, because batting will be difficult in these conditions later.”

Bangladesh, chasing a series-levelling win, were set for a long haul on the slow pitch after Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat.

But the hosts removed both openers in quick succession just after the drinks break to share the morning session which

ended with Sri Lanka on 71-2. Openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva managed just eight runs in the first eight overs and plodded to 30-0 after 15 when Bangladesh broke through.

Off-spinner Sohag Gazi, who shared the new ball with Al-Amin Hossain, claimed first Test century-maker Silva leg-before for 11.

Left-hander Karunaratne set-tled in to score 31 but then slashed

at a wide ball from Al-Amin and was caught at point. Sangakkara, who reached his half-century by lofting Mahmudullah for a six over mid-wicket, lit up proceed-ings further with three bounda-ries in one over from Gazi.

Sri Lanka went into the Test without frontline left-arm spin-ner Rangana Herath and seamer Shaminda Eranga, who were both ordered to return home due to injuries. AFP

Sri Lanka (I innings)D Karunaratne c Mahmudullah b Al-Amin 31K Silva lbw b Gazi ...................................11K Sangakkara (batting) ........................ 160M Jayawardene lbw b Mahmudullah .......72D Chandimal c Kayes b Shakib ................27A Mathews b Shakib ................................5K Vithanage (batting) .................................0Extras (B-5, LB-2, NB-1) ...........................8Total (for 5 wkts) .............................. 314Fall of wickets: 1-39, 2-49, 3-227, 4-294, 5-312.Bowling: Al-Amin 19-4-56-1 (nb1); Gazi 30-4-98-1; Razzak 4-1-6-0; Shakib 15-1-70-2; Mahmudullah 22-2-70-1; Nasir 1-0-2-0; Shamsur 1-0-5-0

Scoreboard

31SPORT WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Riders take off for the first stage of the Riders take off for the first stage of the 2014 Ladies Tour of Qatar from Museum of 2014 Ladies Tour of Qatar from Museum of Islamic Art in Doha yesterday. A total of 88 Islamic Art in Doha yesterday. A total of 88 riders finished the stage in Mesaieed after riders finished the stage in Mesaieed after

the cyclists completed a distance of 97kms. the cyclists completed a distance of 97kms. Today’s stage two will start near Al Zubara Today’s stage two will start near Al Zubara

Fort and ends at Madinat Al Shamal. Fort and ends at Madinat Al Shamal.

Wild takes opening stage in close Mesaieed finishLadies Tour of Qatar: It was not easy. I told myself to stay calm: Wild

Kristen Wild of Netherlands

celebrates winning stage one of 2014

Ladies Tour of Qatar in Mesaieed yesterday. The 6th

edition of the Ladies Tour of Qatar started

the same way the last one ended - with a victory for star sprinter Wild. The Dutch rider

from team Giant-Shimano powered to the line to claim

the first stage ahead of Shelley Olds and

Chloe Hosking. PICTURES: SALIM

MATRAMKOT

BY RIZWAN REHMAT

DOHA: Defending champion and three-time winner Kirsten Wild of the Netherlands yes-terday laid down a marker for the next three days by grabbing the opening stage at the Ladies Tour of Qatar with a convincing sprint to the finish line.

Timing her final sprint to perfection in the last 200m, the well-built Dutch cyclist overcame windy conditions to take stage one and the yellow jersey in a time of 2 hours 09:56 seconds.

The Giant-Shimano rider topped the 97km stage ahead of Australia’s Shelley Olds and arch-rival Chloe Hosking who was the third fastest rider.

Olds, the Ale Cipollini rider, placed her team on the front of the Doha peloton near the end of the stage before Orica-AIS began to spread its wings.

Sensing a kill, Wild left Olds and Hosking behind to close out a fantastic stage win, her seventh in Qatar in six years.

Wild, 31, won both the sprints at Mesaieed and Al Waukair to add six crucial points to beef her overall tally to 21.

Olds has 14 points while Hosking - who finished third yes-terday - has 10 points.

“It was not easy,” Wild said when asked to recap her domi-nance yesterday.

“I told myself to stay calm. I had a wonderful team to help me out. I had to finish it the way I liked,” the 31-year-old added. “I take it day by day,” Wild said when asked about her chances in the second stage today. “I think it would be more of the same. Maybe we could see a small group (at the end) but I will try to be there,” she added.

“I am happy with this stage win,” Wild, who also wears the silver jersey, said.

Melissa Hoskins - who grabbed

the young rider’s ‘White Pearl’ jersey, said she was thrilled to start her Qatar campaign on a bright note.

“This is my first time in Qatar. I didn’t know what to expect,” Hoskins said. “But I am very happy to walk off with a jersey. We have a strong team. So hope-fully we can hang on to the jersey and maybe get a stage win or two along the way,’ she added.

“All the girls are feeling strong. Emma (Johansson) led me out. I didn’t have the legs. Hopefully I can do a better job in the second stage,” the Australian said.

“I was hoping for a good result, to be honest,” Hoskins said. “The team has put a lot of trust in me.

Hopefully I could walk away with a top-three. Hopefully I can repay the faith of my team-mates,” Hoskins said.

Earlier the 6th edition of the Ladies Tour of Qatar started the same way the last one ended: with a victory for star sprinter Wild.

The Dutch rider from team Giant-Shimano, part of a group of 20 riders that managed to pull away in the last 30 kilome-tres, powered to the line to claim this first stage ahead of Olds and Hosking.

The 88 riders representing 15 different teams took off in ideal conditions from the Museum of Islamic Art for a 97-kilometre stage all the way to Messaieed.

Under bright sunshine, the pack remained bunched at a fairly fast pace (46.1kms covered during the first hour) all the way to the final circuit that was to be rid-den twice.

The first intermediate sprint, at the first crossing of the line (35.50km) was claimed by Wild ahead of Elizabeth Armistead and Hoskins.

The first decisive move was made at the 57-km mark when the front runners made the best of the crosswind to pull away.

Eventually 20 riders managed a decent enough break.

In the group were the likes of Wild, Hosking, Armistead and Olds, but somehow Georgia

Bronzini - former world champion and three-time stage winner in Qatar - was missing.

The advantage of the front rid-ers grew from 35” to a maximum 1’05 with 25 kilometres to go.

The leading ladies stayed put all the way to the finish, enjoying a 34” lead with 5kms to go.

The decision was made in a final bunched sprint that Wild conquered in style.

Winner of the 2009, 2010 and 2013 editions of the event, the Dutch sprinter takes command of the General Classification as well as the points’ standings while Hoskins will start today’s second stage wearing the ‘White Pearl’ jersey. THE PENINSULA

Top-10 riders after stage one1 Kirsten Wild (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 2 hours 09:56 seconds

2 Shelley Olds (USA) Ale Cipollini

3 Chloe Hosking (Aus) Hitec Products

4 Jolien D’Hoore (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies

5 Elizabeth Armitstead (GBr) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team

6 Pascale Jeuland (Fra) France

7 Barbara Guarischi (Ita) Ale Cipollini

8 Melissa Hoskins (Aus) Orica - AIS

9 Iris Slappendel (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team

10 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Specialized - lululemon

Top-10 riders in general classification1 Kirsten Wild (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 2 hours 09:40 seconds

2 Shelley Olds (USA) Ale Cipollini 0:00:08

3 Chloe Hosking (Aus) Hitec Products 0:00:11

4 Elizabeth Armitstead (GBr) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team 0:00:14

5 Melissa Hoskins (Aus) Orica - AIS 0:00:15

6 Jolien D’Hoore (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies 0:00:16

7 Pascale Jeuland (Fra) France

8 Barbara Guarischi (Ita) Ale Cipollini

9 Iris Slappendel (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team

10 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Specialized - lululemon

LEFT: Qatar Cycling

Federation (QCF)

President Sheikh

Khalid bin Ali Al Thani gives the

yellow jersey to

Kirsten Wild.

Belgian cycling legend Eddy Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx gives the silver jersey to Merckx gives the silver jersey to

Kirsten Wild. Kirsten Wild.

RIGHT: Mellisa Hoskins celebrates

the ‘White Pearl’ jersey.

Stage two today:From Al Zubara Fort to Madinat Al Shamal (112.5kms)

Olympics: IOC tours Games village, remembers Volgograd victims SOCHI, RUSSIA: International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach paid tribute to victims of the recent bombing in Volgograd during a tour of the Sochi Games athletes village yesterday.

Bach, who was elected head of the IOC in September, also said people of all ‘perspectives’ were welcome at the Olympics.

Russia triggered criticism and boycott calls for the Games when it banned spreading “gay propaganda” to children in June. Critics have denounced the law as discriminatory and said it was a curb on rights to free speech and assembly.

Russia is gearing up for its first winter Olympics, which start on February 7.

“We remember and grieve for the innocent victims of conflict and especially the recent victims of Volgograd,” Bach said at the athletes compound, with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak and top IOC officials look-ing on.

The December bombings, which killed 34 people, were aimed at derailing the Olympics, on which President Vladimir Putin has staked his and his country’s reputation.

The Games at the Black Sea resort, which have become the most expensive at more than $50bn, are being held under tight security as Islamic militants in the nearby north Caucasus bat-tle for independence from Russia.

One of their leaders had urged fighters to stop the Games from taking place.

“Our presence here today is a rebuke to those whose motives and goals stand in sharp contrast to the spirit of harmony and glo-bal solidarity at these Games,” said Bach.

The German also made a veiled reference to the furore regarding the anti-gay propaganda law.

“Men and women from dif-ferent backgrounds, different cultures, different religions and different perspectives live side-by-side in harmony,” he said of the athletes’ village that will house some 2,200 people from 47 nations.

“Here in the village, the remarkable diversity of human life finds unity through sport,” he said before a quick game of table tennis, a tour of the gym and the athletes restaurant.

Pole vault star Isinbayeva to return to training in ’15 SOCHI: Double Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva has her sights set on a third gold medal at the 2016 Rio Games but will not return to training until next year.

Isinbayeva, voted Russian ath-lete of the year in 2013 and the ceremonial mayor of the athletes village at the Sochi Games, won gold in Athens and Beijing but could do no better than bronze in London in 2012.

“I do not plan to start train-ing soon,” she said during a tour of the village. “I would like to try and compete at the Rio Olympics. Rio will be fantastic. I know the Brazilian people and they will have a great Games.”

The 31-year-old returned to top form last year, winning gold at the world athletics champion-ships in Moscow. Afterwards she said she would like to have chil-dren before Rio. Isinbayeva said running the village, which is the size of a small town, was far more daunting than competing in front of a large crowd.

“On the track it all depends on you,” she said, sporting a colourful Sochi Games jacket as she joined International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on a tour of the village that will house more than 2,000 athletes.

It is one of three villages at the first Russian winter Olympics.

AGENCIES

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Sport | 29 Sport | 30

Chelsea outwit Manchester City

Sangakkara lifts Sri Lanka with century

England end Pietersen’s careerThe star batsman is shown the door by new ECB Managing Director Paul DowntonLONDON: Kevin Pietersen’s con-troversial England career came to an abrupt end after officials announced yesterday they “unani-mously” wanted to rebuild the side without the star batsman.

In a joint statement with their 33-year-old former captain, the ECB announced they’d left Pietersen out of their forthcoming squads for both the upcoming one-day international tour of the West Indies and the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.

Recently-appointed ECB Managing Director Paul Downton said Pietersen’s international career was being terminated because of a need to “rebuild” following the team’s 5-0 Ashes series loss in Australia.

In the statement, Pietersen said: “Playing cricket for my country has been an honour. Although I am obvi-ously very sad the incredible journey has come to an end, I’m also hugely proud of what we, as a team, have achieved over the past nine years.”

He added: “I feel extremely for-tunate to have played at a time of great success for England cricket alongside some of the best cricketers

the country has ever produced. I want to thank everyone for their fantastic support and I wish the team the very best of success going forward.”

Pietersen added: “I believe I have a great deal still to give as a crick-eter. I will continue to play but deeply regret that it won’t be for England.”

Downton, who only recently over-saw the departure of England coach Andy Flower following the Ashes thrashing, said: “Clearly this was a tough decision because Kevin has been such an outstanding player for England as the fact that he is the country’s leading run scorer in international cricket demonstrates.”

Downton added: “However every-one was aware that there was a need to begin the long term planning after the Australia tour. Therefore we have decided the time is right to look to the future and start to rebuild not only the team but also team ethic and philosophy.”

The former England ‘keeper said: “England cricket owes a debt of gratitude to Kevin who has proved

to be one of the most talented and exciting players to ever represent the country and his 13,797 runs are a testimony to his immense skill..we all wish Kevin the very best in the rest of his career.”

Pietersen’s nine-year interna-tional career saw him establish himself as one of the world’s leading batsmen and this decision is bound to lead to questions about the ECB’s ability to ‘handle’ star players, given he remains the most talented mem-ber of their current top-order.

But the South Africa-born shot-maker’s time in the England camp has also been beset by off-field prob-lems that saw him fall-out with two national team coaches in Peter Moores and Flower, who stepped down from his post on January 31.

Significantly, Pietersen was briefly dropped from the England team in 2012 after sending text mes-sages alleged to be critical of then England captain Andrew Strauss to South African players.

However, he was soon “reinte-grated” into the team under new captain Alastair Cook. REUTERS

England batsman Kevin Pietersen

walks off the pitch during the

fifth and final Test against Australia in Sydney in this January 2014 file

photo. Pietersen’s England career has come to an

end after he was ignored by the selectors for

the forthcoming squads for both the upcoming One-Day International tour of the West Indies and the World Twenty20

in Bangladesh.