amir exchanges ramadan amir meets iraqi oil minister ... · ramadan mubarak ramadan kareemd k...

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Volume 24 | Number 7883 | 2 Riyals Monday 6 May 2019 | 1 Ramadan 1440 www.thepeninsula.qa Ramadan Mubarak Ramadan Kareem d d K Wishes all readers Ramadan Timing Today's Iftar: 6:10pm Tomorrow's Imsak: 03:21am Amir meets Iraqi Oil Minister Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met at the Amiri Diwan yesterday with Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Oil Minister of the Republic of Iraq, Thamir Abbas Al Ghadhban, who called on to greet the Amir on the occasion of his visit. The Minister conveyed the greetings of President of Iraq, Dr. Barham Salih, to the Amir and his wishes to the Qatari people of further prosperity. The Amir entrusted the Minister to convey his greetings to the Iraqi President and his wishes to the brotherly Iraqi people of continued progress and prosperity. They reviewed bilateral ties, especially in the field of energy. Amir exchanges Ramadan greetings with Arab and Islamic leaders QNA DOHA Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday exchanged greetings on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan in telephone conversations held last evening with a number of Their Majesties, Excellencies and Highnesses leaders of the sisterly Arab and Islamic coun- tries. The Amir exchanged greetings on the occasion with the Amir of the State of Kuwait, H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah; H M King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco, H M King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the President of the Republic of Iraq, Dr. Barham Salih. The Amir also exchanged greetings with President Beji Caid Essebsi of the Republic of Tunisia, Pres- ident Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Republic of Turkey, and the Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait, H H Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah. H H the Amir, and Deputy Amir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani exchanged cables of congratulations with a number of Their Maj- esties, Excellencies, and Highnesses leaders of Arab and Islamic countries, on the month of Ramadan. P3 Al Wakrah Stadium project boosts Qatari economy THE PENINSULA DOHA The construction of Al Wakrah Stadium has boosted Qatari economy, with more than 50 percent of the project budget spent locally. A number of Qatari firms have been directly involved in the construction of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stadium, which will be inaugurated on May 16 when it hosts the 2019 Amir Cup final. The main contractor for Al Wakrah Stadium was a joint venture between two Qatari companies—Midmac and PORR Qatar—plus Belgian firm Sixco. Midmac has been involved in a vast range of major infra- structure projects since being established in Qatar in the 1960s. The company has also contributed to the development of numerous Qatar 2022 stadiums, including Khalifa International Stadium, which was inaugurated following a successful redevelopment in 2017, and Education City Stadium, which is in the final stages of construction. PORR Qatar, a subsidiary of Austrian company PORR, has been operational in Doha since 2011. In addition to working on Al Wakrah Stadium, the company is involved in the tunnelling and railway construction of the Green Line of Doha Metro. Engineering specialists Coastal Qatar manu- factured the seats for Al Wakrah Stadium at their state-of-the-art factory in Doha – a facility capable of producing 500 seats a day. P4 1,942 scholarships offered for 2019-20 SANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA The Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs announced yesterday the government schol- arship plan and its conditions for 2019-20 at a joint press conference held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Under the plan 1,942 schol- arships in a number of specialised courses have been offered to Qatari citizens as per the current and future requirements of local job market. Expatriate students born in Qatar, children of Qatari women and those holding Qatari doc- ument are also entitled for the scholarships in medical spe- cialised courses under certain rules and regulations. The press conference was attended by a number of officials from both the ministries. Assistant Undersec- retary of the Administrative Affairs at the Ministry of Admin- istrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs Abdullah Musallam Al Dosari said that the gov- ernment scholarship program aims at proving specialized Qatari workforce to meet the require- ments of the job market. A total of 4,171 students ben- efited from the scholarship program since it was launched in 2015. “The scholarship plan has offered 1,942 scholarships for the academic year 2019-20,” said Al Dosari. He said that the key spe- cialisations for the forthcoming scholarships are supply chain man- agement, airport management, aviation management, logistics management, airport and aviation security, medicine, agriculture, livestock and fisheries, statistics and vital statistics, veterinary med- icine, education (teaching), com- puter science, information, science, laboratory and standardisation. P4 On the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to all citizens and resi- dents of Qatar and all Arab and Islamic nations. May the Almighty Allah return this Holy month with blessings and goodness. I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. May Allah make this month the month of goodness and blessings for our country and all Muslim nations and accept our fasting and prayers and make it blessing for all. QNA/DOHA The Government Communications Office (GCO) emphasised the keenness of the State of Qatar on the coherence in societies and peoples in different countries of the world and its constant endeavour to deepen the bonds of love and the rejection of hatred among peoples. In a statement, GCO said that the Ministry of Interior (MoI) of the State of Qatar (Expatriates Affairs Department) is the only authority authorised to issue the various types visas for entry into the country, according to the approval of the competent author- ities and in accordance with the laws and regulations governing this, as well as the joint agreements with other countries. P6 MoI is only authority to issue visas to enter Qatar: GCO Deputy PM discusses Gaza developments with Hamas Chief QNA DOHA Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdul- rahman Al Thani has held a telephone conversation with the Head of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Dr Ismail Haniyah. Discussions dealt with the latest developments in the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to brutal Israeli shelling since last Friday, resulting a number of martyrs and wounded people, as well as to review ways to protect the unarmed Palestinian people from the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in the shadow of international silence about the crimes of the occupation. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated Qatar’s continued support for the steadfastness of the brotherly Palestinian people in order to achieve their full legitimate rights. P6 &10

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Volume 24 | Number 7883 | 2 RiyalsMonday 6 May 2019 | 1 Ramadan 1440 www.thepeninsula.qa

Ramadan Mubarak

Ramadan Kareemdd KWishes all readers

Ramadan TimingToday's Iftar: 6:10pm

Tomorrow's Imsak: 03:21am

Amir meets Iraqi Oil Minister

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met at the Amiri Diwan yesterday with Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Oil Minister of the Republic of Iraq, Thamir Abbas Al Ghadhban, who called on to greet the Amir on the occasion of his visit. The Minister conveyed the greetings of President of Iraq, Dr. Barham Salih, to the Amir and his wishes to the Qatari people of further prosperity. The Amir entrusted the Minister to convey his greetings to the Iraqi President and his wishes to the brotherly Iraqi people of continued progress and prosperity. They reviewed bilateral ties, especially in the field of energy.

Amir exchanges Ramadan greetings with Arab and Islamic leadersQNA DOHA

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday exchanged greetings on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan in telephone conversations held last evening with a number of Their Majesties, Excellencies and Highnesses leaders of the sisterly Arab and Islamic coun-tries.

The Amir exchanged greetings on the occasion with the Amir of the State of Kuwait, H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah; H M King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco, H M King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the President of the Republic of Iraq, Dr. Barham Salih. The Amir also exchanged greetings with President Beji Caid Essebsi of the Republic of Tunisia, Pres-ident Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Republic of Turkey, and the Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait, H H Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah.

H H the Amir, and Deputy Amir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani exchanged cables of congratulations with a number of Their Maj-esties, Excellencies, and Highnesses leaders of Arab and Islamic countries, on the month of Ramadan. � �P3

Al Wakrah Stadium project boosts Qatari economyTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The construction of Al Wakrah Stadium has boosted Qatari economy, with more than 50 percent of the project budget spent locally.

A number of Qatari firms have been directly involved in the construction of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stadium, which will be inaugurated on May 16 when it hosts the 2019 Amir Cup final.

The main contractor for Al Wakrah Stadium was a joint venture between two Qatari

companies—Midmac and PORR Qatar—plus Belgian firm Sixco.

Midmac has been involved in a vast range of major infra-structure projects since being established in Qatar in the 1960s. The company has also contributed to the development of numerous Qatar 2022 stadiums, including Khalifa International Stadium, which was inaugurated following a successful redevelopment in 2017, and Education City Stadium, which is in the final stages of construction.

PORR Qatar, a subsidiary of Austrian company PORR, has

been operational in Doha since 2011. In addition to working on Al Wakrah Stadium, the company is involved in the tunnelling and

railway construction of the Green Line of Doha Metro. Engineering specialists Coastal Qatar manu-factured the seats for Al Wakrah

Stadium at their state-of-the-art factory in Doha – a facility capable of producing 500 seats a day. �P4

1,942 scholarships offered for 2019-20SANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs announced yesterday the government schol-arship plan and its conditions for 2019-20 at a joint press conference held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

Under the plan 1,942 schol-arships in a number of specialised courses have been offered to Qatari citizens as per the current and future requirements of local job market.

Expatriate students born in Qatar, children of Qatari women and those holding Qatari doc-ument are also entitled for the scholarships in medical spe-cialised courses under certain rules and regulations. The press conference was attended by a number of officials from both the ministries. Assistant Undersec-retary of the Administrative Affairs at the Ministry of Admin-istrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs Abdullah Musallam Al Dosari said that the gov-ernment scholarship program aims at proving specialized Qatari workforce to meet the require-ments of the job market.

A total of 4,171 students ben-efited from the scholarship program since it was launched in 2015. “The scholarship plan has offered 1,942 scholarships for the academic year 2019-20,” said Al Dosari. He said that the key spe-cialisations for the forthcoming scholarships are supply chain man-agement, airport management, aviation management, logistics management, airport and aviation security, medicine, agriculture, livestock and fisheries, statistics and vital statistics, veterinary med-icine, education (teaching), com-puter science, information, science, laboratory and standardisation. �P4

On the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, I would like

to extend my sincere congratulations to all citizens and resi-

dents of Qatar and all Arab and Islamic nations. May the

Almighty Allah return this Holy month with blessings and

goodness.

I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations on the

occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. May Allah make this

month the month of goodness and blessings for our country

and all Muslim nations and accept our fasting and prayers

and make it blessing for all.

QNA/DOHA

The Government Communications Office (GCO) emphasised the keenness of the State of Qatar on the coherence in societies and peoples in different countries of the world and its constant endeavour to deepen the bonds of love and the rejection of hatred among peoples.

In a statement, GCO said that the Ministry of Interior (MoI) of the State of Qatar (Expatriates Affairs Department) is the only authority authorised to issue the various types visas for entry into the country, according to the approval of the competent author-ities and in accordance with the laws and regulations governing this, as well as the joint agreements with other countries. �P6

MoI is only authority to issuevisas to enter Qatar: GCO

Deputy PM discusses Gaza developments with Hamas ChiefQNA DOHA

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdul-rahman Al Thani has held a telephone conversation with the Head of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Dr Ismail Haniyah.

Discussions dealt with the latest developments in the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to brutal Israeli shelling since last Friday, resulting a number of martyrs and wounded people, as well as to review ways to protect the unarmed Palestinian people from the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in the shadow of international silence about the crimes of the occupation.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated Qatar’s continued support for the steadfastness of the brotherly Palestinian people in order to achieve their full legitimate rights. �P6 &10

02 MONDAY 6 MAY 2019HOME

03MONDAY 6 MAY 2019 HOME

Amir meets outgoing Ambassador of Nepal

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met at the Amiri Diwan yesterday with the Ambassador of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Ramesh Prasad Koirala, who called on H H the Amir to greet him on the occasion of the end of his tenure in the country. H H the Amir wished the Ambassador success in his future duties, and the relations between the two countries further development and growth. For his part, the Ambassador expressed thanks and gratitude for H H the Amir and the officials of the State for the cooperation accorded to him that contributed to the success of his tour of duty in the country.

Amir receives credentials of Iraqi & Armenian envoys

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received at the Amiri Diwan yesterday the credentials of the Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq, Omar Ahmed Karim Al Barazanchi (left), and the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia, Gegham Gharibjanian. At the outset of the meeting, H H the Amir welcomed the new Ambassadors, wishing them success in their missions and the relations between the State of Qatar and their respective countries further progress and prosperity. For their part, the Ambassadors conveyed to H H the Amir greetings of their countries’ leaders and wishes of further progress and prosperity to the Qatari people. The Ambassadors were accorded earlier official reception ceremonies at the Amiri Diwan.

Ashghal continues refurbishment and upgrading works for four sewage pumping stations in DohaTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ continues to implement the ‘Refurbishment and Upgrading Works for Four Sewage Pumping Stations’ Project, as part of its efforts to provide sustainable solu-tions to improve the country’s sewage networks according to the best International standards.

The pumping stations are located in vital areas within Doha, namely New Salata, Al Mansoura, Al Messila, and Al Rayyan, said a statement.The project aims to increase the capacity of the pumping stations by 62% to 211% in order to accommodate both current and future sewage flows within these important areas, and to cope with the future devel-opment and the expected popu-lation growth.

Refurbishment works include the installation of new equipment to improve the pumping stations’ performance and functionality with the upgrade of pumping sta-tions’ control systems, including new telemetry systems, improved fire alarm and suppression systems, new instrumentation, among others. This is in addition to improved odour control systems to prevent or reduce bad

odours in the surrounding areas.Eng. Ali Al Anzi, from the

Drainage Networks Projects Department at Ashghal, stated that three of the four pumping stations will undergo a dramatic increase in their ability to accommodate and pump the sewage flows, as opposed to the current capacity with the existing pumping stations and equipment.

The New Slata Pumping Sta-tion’s capacity will be increased by approximately 62%, allowing around 8,600 m3/day to be pumped instead of the current 5,300 m3/day. The Al Messila Pumping Station’s capacity will be increased by approximately 211%, allowing 14,000 m3/day to be pumped instead of the current 4,500 m3/day.

The Al Rayyan Pumping

Station’s capacity will be increased by 161%, to pump around 4,700 m3/day instead of the current 1,800 m3/day. Eng. Al Anzi added the upgrade works at the fourth pumping station, located in Al M a n s o u r a , include the

installation of new equipment and constructing a new Odour Control Unit (OCU) to enable more efficient operations and to prevent bad odour at this location.

In addition, the project includes the decommissioning of Ras Abu Abboud Pumping Station, to be replaced with a new gravity sewer line. The project is being implemented by Contracting Services & Trading Company (GEC), and is expected to be com-pleted in Q2, 2021. ‘Made in Qatar’ materials are being used in this project, such as concrete, rein-forced steel, precast manholes, GRP (glass reinforce plastic) pipes and ducts, GRP tanks, UPVC (unplasticised polyvinyl chloride) pipes and conduits, and RC jacking pipes (concrete pipes).

Amir to receive Ramadan well-wishers FROM PAGE 1

The Amiri Diwan also announced yesterday that the Amir will receive Their Excel-lencies the Sheikhs, the Min-isters, the Speaker and the members of the Shura Council, the Ministers and the citizens well-wishers on the Holy Month of Ramadan at Al Wajba Palace today and tomorrow, right after Tarawih prayers.

H H the Amir also received a cable of congratulations on the

holy month of Ramadan from Speaker of the Shura Council H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud.

In the cable, the Shura Council Speaker congratulated H H the Amir for the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, on behalf of the Shura Council members and himself. The Speaker and Shura Council members also reiterated their loyalty to His Highness, and con-firmed their determination to

serve the nation and the citizens. H E also wished H H the Amir good health, wellness, and pros-perity to Qatar under His Highness’ wise leadership.

H H the Amir responded in a cable to His Excellency and the Shura Council members expressing his thanks for the cable, congratulating them on the advent of the month of Ramadan, wishing them health and further progress and prosperity.

04 MONDAY 6 MAY 2019HOME

Qatar attends Mena

financial consultative

working group meet

ISTANBUL: The State of

Qatar participated in the 15th

Financial Stability Council’s

Regional Advisory Work-

ing Group for the Middle

East and North Africa meet-

ing, which was chaired by

the Governor of Qatar Central

Bank, H E Sheikh Abdul-

lah bin Saoud Al Thani. The

meeting, which was held in

Istanbul, Turkey, discussed

the most important topics

in the field of central banks.

It should be noted that the

work of the meeting this year

was chaired by Qatar Central

Bank and the Central Bank of

Turkey. QNA

IN SHORT

Qatar takes part in

GCC courts meeting

RIYADH: The State of Qatar

participated in the fourth

meeting of the Supreme and

Cassation Courts’ specialists in

GCC countries held in Riyadh.

The delegation of the State of

Qatar was chaired by Deputy

Head of the Court of Cassation,

Sheikh Dr Thuqail bin Sayer Al

Shammari. The meeting dis-

cussed a number of issues on

the agenda, including the oper-

ational plan for the strategic

plan of the Supreme Courts and

the Courts of Cassation in the

GCC countries, and the draft of

a unified law of the Supreme

and the Cassation Courts in

the GCC States. The meeting

also discussed topics related

to the Scientific Committee

on the sidelines of the regular

meetings of the heads of the

Supreme Courts and Courts of

Cassation, as well as the issues

related to the website of the

Supreme Courts and Courts of

Cassation in the GCC. QNA

Supreme Judiciary

Council’s new timingDOHA: The Supreme Judi-

ciary Council announced that

during the holy month of Ram-

adan 1440H the working hours

will be from 9am to 2pm. It

also announced that the work-

ing hours of the family court

headquarters will start from

9am to 5pm and for the exter-

nal centres the working hours

will start from 9am to 2pm. The

council said the working hours

of the criminal court will start

from 9am to 2pm. In addition,

the timings of the hearings in

the court of first instance dur-

ing the holy month of Ramadan

will take place in the morning

from 9:30am. QNA

Qatar invites Argentina

to 19th Doha Forum

BUENOS AIRES: The Min-

ister of Foreign Affairs of the

Argentine Republic, Jorge

Faure, received a message

from Deputy Prime Minister

and Minister of Foreign Affairs

H E Sheikh Mohamed bin

Abdulrahman Al Thani, invit-

ing him to participate in the

19th Doha Forum to be held

from December 14 to 15. The

message was delivered by the

Ambassador of the State of

Qatar to the Argentine Repub-

lic, Fahad bin Ibrahim Al Hamad

Al Mana, during his meeting

with the Deputy Foreign Minis-

ter of the Argentine Republic,

Gustavo Zlauvinen. The meet-

ing also discussed bilateral

relations and means of sup-

porting them and developing

them, in addition to matters of

mutual interest. QNA

Qatari envoy gets highest award for advancing tiesQNA BUENOS AIRES

The government of Argentina granted Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Argentine Republic, Fahad bin Ibrahim Al Hamad Al Mana, the Order of the Liberator General San Martin, which is the highest decoration awarded to foreign presidents, government heads, ministers, ambas-

sadors and officials who provided great services to develop relations between their countries and Argentina.

The announcement was made during the farewell ceremony held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Argentine Republic, in honour of Qatar’s Ambassador to Argentina on the occasion of ending his tenure in the country.

During the ceremony, Argentina’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Gustavo Zlauvinen, praised the efforts made by Al Mana during his mission in developing bilateral relations. He added that his efforts resulted in achieving great relations and based on that the government decided to grant him the Order of the Liberator General San Martin.

For his part, Al Mana expressed

thanks to the Argentinian government and people for their hospitality and preparedness to cooperate in order to improve the relations with the State of Qatar. The ceremony was attended by senior officials, heads of depart-ments at the Argentinian Foreign Min-istry, heads and representatives of the Arab and foreign diplomatic missions accredited to Argentina, as well as a number of prominent public figures.

Ooredoo announces new promotion for RamadanTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Ooredoo announced yesterday an exciting new promotion for the holy month of Ramadan, which will see customers rewarded with a raft of free gifts each time they carry out a trans-action or interact with Qatar’s leading telecommunications company.

The Box Of Joy promotion offers customers the chance to open one Box Of Joy for each and every interaction with Ooredoo; whether a recharge, a bill payment, a credit transfer is done via the Ooredoo App, or a Self Service Machine or an Ooredoo

Shop, customers will get to open a Box of Joy via the Ooredoo app.

Box of Joy gifts must be opened within three days of the interaction with Ooredoo, and each Box will contain one of a selection of both telecoms and non-telecoms gifts including local calls, international calls, local data, Nojoom points and much more. Customers will need to use the updated version of Ooredoo app to open and redeem their Box Of Joy gifts.

Speaking of the new pro-motion, Manar Khalifa Al Muraikhi – Director PR and Cor-porate Communications at Ooredoo – said: “Value for money is a priority for all of us

year-round, and Ramadan is the ideal time for us to say thank you to our loyal customers for choosing us as their telecommu-nications provider. We strive for complete customer satisfaction and we’re confident this new pro-motion, designed especially for the holy month of Ramadan, will show our customers we appre-ciate their business and we are committed to offering them the best value in the market. We hope they enjoy opening their Box Of Joy gifts and making the most of them!” Customers who do not yet have the Ooredoo app can download it from the Apple Store or Google Play, or via www.ooredoo.qa/app.

Patrols on keyroads and nearsupermarkets stepped upSIDI MOHAMED THE PENINSULA

The General Directorate of Traffic has stepped up patrols on key roads, near supermarkets and commercial streets to ensure smooth traffic flow during Ramadan specially pre-Iftar hours.

The Traffic Awareness Department at the General Direc-torate of Traffic has announced the start of the Ramadan cam-paign and according to the stra-tegic plan for traffic the patrols will be deployed at peak times near hypermarkets and com-mercial streets.

Many drivers tend to drive very fast to reach their destina-tions before Iftar which is a major cause of accidents therefore the General Directorate of Traffic usually distributes free Iftar meals to motorists especially heavy vehicle drivers on highways.

The Department will also conduct awareness activities during Ramadan as part of its awareness plan targeting all age groups and different nationalities and cultures. Among its awareness programs include organising seminars for commu-nities and religious lectures and conducting symposiums as part

of Ramadan awareness campaign that will also be attended by a number of traffic officers and members of the Central Municipal Council (CMC).

Last year, the Department conducted symposiums in Al Wakra and Al Sailiya and many other areas, and its aim was to strengthen the relations between the General Directorate of Traffic and all members of the com-munity and provide bridges of communication to exchange ideas and listen to people’s problems to find solutions.

As for the measures of the General Directorate of Traffic to celebrate Garangao, which falls on the night of the middle of the holy month, the Department is preparing gifts to distribute them among children and families.

Among the Ramadan events that the General Directorate of Traffic is keen to maintain year after year is visiting Iftar tents to meet with the communities and giving them several of traffic safety tips.

Last year The Patrols and Investigations Departments at General Directorate of Traffic seized 1,000 vehicles during Ramadan among them 800 vehicles for reckless driving and drifting in the residential area.

Minister of Municipality honours workers

Minister of Municipality and Environment H E Abdulla bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie honouring the workers of Services Affairs Department at Al Rayyan Municipality in recognition of their hard work, especially during the last rainfall. In addition, 250 Ramadan bags were distributed by MAF Hypermarkets Qatar WLL, Carrefour, in the framework of the Municipality’s cooperation with various institutions in the country. The ceremony was attended by the Director of Al Rayyan Municipality, Rashid Saeed Al Nuaimi, and a number of Ministry and Municipal officials.

Kahramaa launches Ramadan campaign ‘We Have Become Closer’QNA DOHA

Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) launched the Ramadan campaign ‘We Have Become Closer’ in its second edition, which includes many awareness and educational activities during of Ramadan.

The campaign aims to introduce healthy habits by fol-lowing a number of tips and instructions while presenting the efforts in various areas, particu-larly those with regard to pre-serving the environment and implementing sustainability for a better life in conformity with Qatar National Vision 2030. All citizens and residents can

participate in the competition through the announced numbers.

The campaign comprises several community and awareness activities and events with the participation of a number of Kahramaa staff and volunteers to reach all community segments and introduce Kahramaa role and efforts to achieve its mission of providing high quality and sus-tainable electricity and water for a better life in the State Qatar.

The campaign includes visits to a number of charities, human-itarian and social centres in the country, as Kahramaa believes in the importance of social and charitable work and the impor-tance of boosting it, particularly during Ramadan.

Al Wakrah Stadium project boosts Qatari economyFROM PAGE 1

Coastal Qatar will also produce the seats for Al Bayt Stadium – Al Khor City and Al Rayyan Stadium. Coastal Qatar was established in the 1970s and delivers a range of engineering, galvanising, steel and manufac-turing projects for projects in

Qatar and overseas. It has partners across Europe and the United States. The company has worked on a number of key projects locally, including for clients such as Hamad Interna-tional Airport, Qatar Foundation, Ashghal, Aspire Logistics and Qatar Olympic Committee.

SOLB26 has produced the structural steel for Al Wakrah Stadium. The company has also contributed to the development of Al Bayt Stadium – Al Khor City. Past projects include Qatar National Library, Sidra Medical & Research Centre and Al Shaqab Equestrian Academy.

1,942 scholarships offered for 2019-20FROM PAGE 1

“The specializations also include law and international relations in Spanish, German, Italian, Turkish, Russian, French and Japanese languages, language and translation and engineering,” said Assistant Undersecretary of the Administrative Affairs at the Ministry of Administrative Devel-opment, Labor and Social Affairs Abdullah Musallam Al Dosari.

Speaking about the roles of two minis-tries to implement scholarship program, Acting Undersecretary for Higher Education Affairs at the Ministry of Education and

Higher Education, Dr Khalid Al Ali, said that the Ministry of Education and Higher Edu-cation will guide and send the students on scholarships according to the plan.

However, he said, that the Ministry of Administrative Development Labor and Social Affairs will prepare general polices of scholarship and coordinate with gov-ernment institutions concerned in preparing scholarship plan as per the need and then send it to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

Saleh Al Muftah, Director of Admission and Registration at the Scholarship

Department said that registration will be available from July 30, 2019, and will continue throughout the academic year 2019-20.

“The application is available at https://scholarship.edu.gov.qa/. The required documents must be attached electronically,” said Al Muftah adding that details about the specialized courses, accredited universities and general conditions are available at the website of the Ministry of Education and Higher

Education. He said the scholarships for expatriate students born in Qatar, children of Qatari women and those holding Qatari document are available in the

specializations of medical and medial assistance (general practitioner, pharmacy, nursing, ambulance & medical care, pharmacy and medical radiology).

FROM LEFT: Hassan Abdullah Al Mohammadi, Director of Public Relations and Communication; Ali Abdullah Al Buainain, Director of Scholarship Department; Khalid Abdullah Al Ali, Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Higher Education; and Abdullah Musallam Al Dosari, Assistant Undersecretary for Administrative Development Affairs at the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs; with other officials, during the press conference yesterday. PIC: BAHER AMIN / THE PENINSULA

05MONDAY 6 MAY 2019 HOME

Al Khulaifi meets Ethiopian Police Commissioner

The Director of Public Security, Staff Major General Saad bin Jassim Al Khulaifi, met yesterday with Commissioner General of the Federal Police Commission in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Endeshaw Tassew, who is currently visiting Qatar. During the meeting, a number of issues of mutual interest were discussed.

Katara welcomes RamadanStreets and roundabouts in Katara illuminated for Ramadan. PIC: SALIM MATRAMKOT/THE PENINSULA

06 MONDAY 6 MAY 2019HOME

PHCC advises healthy Suhoor mealsTHE PENINSULA DOHA

During Ramadan, Suhoor meal is not less important than Iftar meal as it helps the body to fast and to endure the hardships of fasting, said dieticians at the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC).

Moudi Al-Hajri (pictured), Dietetics Manager at PHCC, noted that some fasting people do not care about Suhoor meal, and are satisfied with Iftar meal. Some just cancel this meal thinking that cancelling it may reduce their weight, which she said was a misconception. Suhoor meal is of great importance to the body, providing the energy necessary to continue fasting the next day without fatigue, exhaustion and hunger, according to a number of spe-cialists in nutrition.

“During this period, we have to choose the right food, stay away from foods that make us feel full directly, harm

us, and deprive us of eating other foods. Therefore, you should choose a healthy Iftar and nutritious soup; drink enough water; keep away from foods that cause bloating, and eat small and light meals.” She added.

“To enable the body to continue fasting for many hours during the next day, it is important in Suhoor to drink a lot of fluids that give energy to the body. The most important is water. It is better to drink water half an hour before eating the meal and not

during the meal to avoid feeling full quickly. Suhoor must be a complete meal con-sisting of the whole carbohy-drates necessary for the body including for example whole wheat bread, cheese and milk, a little olive oil, high-fat foods, vegetables, and a cup of milk. It is also recommended to eat fruits with its peel, especially those rich in fibre and potassium such as peaches and apples, and the ones which make you feel full, including bananas which give energy to the body, or two dates.

“Bananas, dates and honey are natural sources of sugar that do not turn into fats. They supply the body with sugar and do not lead to weight gain. In addition, it is preferable to keep away from juices because they are full of sugar and coloured materials, and make the fasting person feel hungry the next day. Des-serts are not harmful during Suhoor for those who do not have diabetes, while people

with excess weight should eat small amounts of course and after eating other foods.” she said. Finally, Al-Hajri recom-mends eating kanafeh, man-akish and croissant once a week in suhoor for people with normal weight and advised fasting persons to avoid soft drinks during suhoor as it causes bloating and is certainly non-nutri-tious, and to avoid full-fat foods as well. It is also rec-ommended to eat a half piece of avocado because it is rich in saturated fats and a handful of raw nuts.

The doctor added that one should eat sweets only three hours after Iftar and not with suhoor. It should be cooked with low-fat milk, sugar ornament, diet sugar or natural honey with no addition of fat and ghee but baked in the oven without any fat. It should not be eaten on a daily basis but on a weekly basis and can be replaced with fruits, dates, natural juices and nuts.

Lulu launches car promotion with 12 Mercedes Benz carsTHE PENINSULA/DOHA

Lulu Hypermarket Qatar has launched a mega car promotion with 12 Mercedes Benz E200 2019-model cars, along with 40 Conso-lation Prizes by way of gift vouchers for a total sum of QR300,000.

The management stated that the promotion will continue until August 18, 2019 and will culminate in 7 mega draws, which will be held between August 19 and August 26 at Al-Gharafa branch, Al Messila, Barwa City, D-Ring Road, Al-Khor branch, Lulu Centre and B-Ring Road branches respec-tively. The customers will be entitled to get a coupon on every purchase of items worth QR50 to win the prizes.

LuLu outlets have launched simultaneously another unique offer under title “QR 50 Gift Voucher” promotion at Department Store, which will run until May 11. A wide range of inter-national brands of menswear, ladieswear including churidars, saris, children’s clothing, baby accessories, footwear, and ladies’ bags are covered under this promotion.

Latest collections of leading international brands such as Crocs, Sketchers, Reebok, Louis Philippe, Arrow, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England, Oxemberg, Sero, Hush Puppies, Dickies, are

available and on display. “This is one of the mega promotions that is being organised, keeping in view the increasing customer demand as the Holy month of Ramadan draws near,” a LuLu spokesperson said. The promotion entitles the customers to get back QR50 vouchers instantly when they buy any of the above items worth QR150. Another ongoing pro-motion namely ‘Lulu Summer Deals’ with a variety of offers and better prices on electronics, refrig-erators, air-conditioners, splash pools, frame pools, mobiles, tele-visions, laptops, home appliances, electronics, IT products, cameras and grocery ranges will continue throughout the holy month of Ramadan.

Cleartrip in co-ordination with LuLu Hypermarket has organised another promotion on super-market products, which will con-tinue until May 31 at all Lulu outlets. Customers will have the opportunity to participate in the e-raffle draw to win 15 flight tickets when they buy any of the super-market items worth QR100.

Also they are entitled to get a gift voucher worth QR50 on every purchase of supermarket items worth QR100, which could be redeemed while booking flight tickets through Cleartrip Website. The e-raffle draw will be held on June 18 at LuLu Hypermarket, D-Ring Road branch.

UCL Qatar organises international conference on museums & big dataTHE PENINSULA DOHA

UCL Qatar organised the 1st Interna-tional Conference on Museums and Big Data last week as part of the university’s ongoing initiatives of promoting research in Qatar.

Experts from across the world gathered at venues in Doha’s Education City, including Qatar National Library, to discuss how information gathered by museums – from the objects they con-serve and display to their operational activities and visitor activity – can be used to improve the cultural heritage sector.

The conference, the first of its kind in the world, was also used as an oppor-tunity to create a wider network between professionals from Qatar’s museums, libraries and heritage institutions and their international equivalents.

Sector specialists from UCL Qatar and Qatar Museums were joined by their contemporaries from leading univer-sities such as, the University of Oxford, Wayne State University, the University of New England, and the Universities of Malta, Graz, and Amsterdam.

Also taking part were

representatives from the Swedish National Heritage Board, The Getty Research Institute, software companies Dexibit and Ontotext, METALaw, and the EU digital platform for cultural heritage Europeana. The conference represents the ongoing partnership between UCL Qatar and Qatar Foundation, and Qatar’s commitment to pioneering research, and developing the cultural heritage sector at home and abroad.

Dr Georgios Papaioannou, a Senior Lecturer in Museum Studies at UCL Qatar who helped organise the con-ference, said, “We are proud to be the organisers of the 1st International Con-ference on Museums and Big Data. Big Data comprise the next ‘Big Thing’ in museums and heritage research, studies and practice. The fact that the first inter-national conference on this specific theme has been organised in Qatar dem-onstrates Qatar’s, QF’s and UCL Qatar’s interest in developing the museum and cultural heritage sector not just locally, but internationally.”

Dr Papaioannou added that the con-ference is organised as part of UCL Qatar’s own research on big data and museums and that the aim is to host it at least every two years.

GCO: MoI only authority to issue visas to QatarFROM PAGE 1

The GCO said that the position of Qatar has always been clear that people should not be involved in the differ-ences that arise between coun-tries, pointing out that the states will continue to derive their strength from the cohesion of their peoples and societies. In response to the remarks made during the past few days, GCO pointed out that any remarks out of those legal frameworks, do not represent the policy in force in the Ministry of Interior. The GCO stressed that the State of Qatar welcomes all the peoples of the world and that the various activities between peoples, whether cultural, sports, tourism, economic and others, are among the means of bringing people together regardless of the differences between countries. GCO pointed out that any remarks out of those legal frameworks, do not represent the policy in force in the Ministry of Interior.

Qatar strongly condemns Israeli bombing of GazaFROM PAGE 1

Dr Ismail Haniyah expressed his thanks and appreciation to the State of Qatar for its firm positions in supporting the Pal-estinian cause. The State of Qatar expressed its strong denunciation and condemnation of Israeli shelling of Gaza Strip in which a number of Pales-tinians were martyred, consid-ering it a crime against humanity and a flagrant violation of inter-national conventions and laws. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international com-munity to act urgently to provide protection to the Palestinian people.

07MONDAY 6 MAY 2019 HOME

Thailand sees surge in tourists from Qatar

Pakistan envoy greets people on RamadanTHE PENINSULA DOHA

On the occasion of the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, Paki-stan’s Ambassador to Qatar, Syed Ahsan Raza Shah (pictured), has extended his heartiest greetings to people in the State of Qatar.

“I join my brothers and sisters in Qatar in praying for peace and harmony for all, during this period of fasting and introspection.”

The holy month, the Ambas-sador said in a statement, provides us with the opportunity to thank Allah Subnanahu Wa Ta’allah for all His Blessings. “It is time for spir-itual contemplation, compassion, gratitude and generosity; and pro-vides us with the opportunity to spread the message of peace and brotherhood in the spirit of social justice, fairness and equality. May

Allah Subnanahu Wa Ta’allah accept our fasting, prayers and good deeds, and give us the strength to seize the opportunity of this spiritual time to reflect on the year gone by, to observe self-sacrifice, and to be compassionate to those who are less fortunate.”

W Doha’s ‘Ramadan Tent’ offers fresh vibe THE PENINSULA DOHA

W Doha Hotel & Residences is transforming the ‘Great Room’ yet again for another year of the famous ‘Ramadan Tent’ for the holy month of Ramadan.

W Doha will bring a new and fresh vibe to the tent for guests to relish in the traditions and experience the rich flavours and sounds of the holy month. The Iftar package will be available from sunset to 8:15pm at QR255 per person, and Sohour from 9:15pm to 2:00am at QR295 per person, both of which will require prior booking to get the best seat in the house.

Food enthusiasts will be taken through a bold and an unforgettable culinary journey of a lavish buffet set up of a variety of cuisines taking them around the world all while enjoying the Ramadan vibes

with friends and family. With 12 live stations featuring Japanese, Italian, Indian, Arabic, Turkish, Asian, European and a host of other cuisines, to the even richer beverages and a vast array of decadent sweets that will satisfy

any sweet tooth. W Doha guests and food

lovers can enjoy many of the hotel’s other hotspots like WAHM- the hotel’s poolside lounge which will bring unfor-gettable moments of Ramadan

to its covered outdoor terrace. An a la carte + suhoor set menu will be served from 8PM until 2AM daily during the holy month.

Guests can book a private iftar at the venue by directly reserving with the hotel.

For non-fasting guests, W Doha will continue offering its selection of unique restaurants during Ramadan with Market by Jean-Georges serving its breakfast from 6am-11am, a la carte and express lunch from 12pm-4pm as well as supper club and a la carte dinner from 5pm to 11:30pm.

Spice Market and La Spiga by Paper Moon will also open their doors for the popular express lunch, dinner throughout the month. In addition, W Café’s selection of delicious baked goods, cupcakes and quick bites will be available from 6am-11pm daily.

W Doha will bring a new and fresh vibe to the tent for guests to relish in the traditions and experience the rich flavours and sounds of the holy month.

Texas A&M at Qatar hosts experts for petroleum engineering workshopTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The Petroleum Engineering Program at Texas A&M University at Qatar recently hosted an inaugural research planning workshop, “Current Advancements and Challenges in Multiphase Flow,” to address a major challenge in the oil and gas industry.

The workshop addressed the latest research and design in improving the conditions of mul-tiphase flow in subsurfaces, well-bores and pipelines, which would enhance hydrocarbon resources in the oil and gas industry. The workshop also established a consensus among industry representatives and key stakeholders for a center in Qatar to provide long-term expertise in this field.

Multiphase flow is the simul-taneous flow of liquids, solids and gases in oil and gas recovery lines, which can have a negative effect on production. The inter-action of these phases in tight spaces and additional variables such as extreme temperature or pressure changes are not fully understood and are open chal-lenges in the oil and gas industry. A research breakthrough would be an economic boon to the industry.

Industry experts and aca-demics from around the world attended the workshop, including head of Texas A&M University’s Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engi-neering Dr. Jeff Spath and Cono-coPhillips Qatar President J. Todd Creeger. The workshop dis-cussed how the State of Qatar approaches multiphase flow

issues, what works and doesn’t work in Qatar, and the current state of research on multiphase flow.

Workshop chair and Texas A&M at Qatar assistant professor Dr. Aziz Rahman said, “The workshop agenda placed an emphasis on advanced experi-mental and computational mod-eling to recreate scenarios from the nanoscale up to the field level.

The keynote speakers and panel discussions all addressed how to enhance hydrocarbon recovery and at the same time mitigate the risks.”

On the opening day of the workshop, Thierry Charles, North Oil Company (NOC) vice president in the reservoir and geosciences division, delivered a keynote on the challenges and development in the oil and gas

sector and stressed on the need for collaboration between industry and academia. Dr. Mayur Pal—who is NOC enhanced oil recovery (EOR) team lead, Society of Petroleum Engineers Qatar section chair and co-chair of the

workshop—gave a talk on potential EOR methods for Qatari carbonate reservoirs.

Jassim Al-Khori, asset manager at NOC and SPE Qatar deputy chair gave a closing talk stressing the importance of diversity and inclusion in all

aspects of the oil and gas sector, especially women in energy.

Lastly, the workshop ini-tiated new collaborations and research specific to Qatar’s needs and in doing so, exposed students t o c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h opportunities.

Participants at the inaugural research planning workshop.

HMC cautions about risk of dehydrationTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The people who fast during the holy month of Ramadan have been urged to be aware of the warning signs of dehydration, heat exhaustion, and other forms of heat-related illness.

Dr. Muayad Kassim Khalid, Senior Consultant, Emergency Medicine at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), said that while mild to moderate dehy-dration can normally be reversed by drinking more fluids, severe cases of dehy-dration and heat-related illness are medical emergencies and require immediate treatment.

“ W h i l e t h i r s t a n d exhaustion can be expected as a result of fasting during Ramadan, particularly when the Holy Month falls during the hot summer months, these

conditions can become worse and lead to dehydration, heat exhaustion, and even heat stroke,” said Dr Khalid.

He said that the first signs of heat-related illness typically include skin redness and warmth, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, tiredness, muscles cramps, difficulty breathing, and a racing heart rate. He says

if left untreated, heat cramps or heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke, which is the most serious heat-related illness and can be fatal.

“During Ramadan, people abstain from drinking and eating for a long period of time and dehydration can occur. However, the risk of dehy-dration is heightened when you add factors that can increase water loss, such as exposure to hot weather and excessive sweating,” said Dr Khalid.

“Prolonged exposure to a hot environment and increased physical activity can then cause heat cramps and heat exhaustion and if those condi-tions continue, this can lead to heat stroke.

People with heat exhaustion will often not realise the severity of their condition and

may just complain of dis-comfort and uneasiness. They may experience excessive sweating, a throbbing headache, and dizziness – all of which are a result of the body’s temperature rising rapidly and the sweating mech-anism failing. Essentially, the body loses its ability to cool down.

Heat stroke can cause death or permanent disability if emergency medical treatment is not received,” said Dr. Khalid.

Individuals most at risk of dehydration and heat-related illnesses during Ramadan include those with chronic ill-nesses including diabetes and kidney diseases, those over the age of 65, patients with heart disease, and those taking mul-tiple medications such as diu-retics, which increase the pro-duction of urine.

Dr. Muayad Kassim Khalid

SANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

Qatar ranks one among the top five countries in the Middle East with the highest number of visitors to Thailand.

The year 2018 saw, as many as 35,838 tourists from Qatar vis-iting Thailand, which was a 27.45 percent increase from the pre-vious year. This generated an income of over $101,920,815, a substantial 24.21 percent increase from 2017.

In 2018, Thailand welcomed 38.2 million visitors, bringing in $63bn in terms of tourism revenue, a 7.5 percent increase over the previous year. Of those visitors, more than 550,000 were from the Middle East; gen-erating an income of more than $1.4bn. The figures were given by the officials of Tourism

Authority of Thailand (TAT) during a programme at the Crowne Plaza in Doha to promote its new ‘Open to the New Shades’ campaign as part of its post-Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2019, roadshow event. Nathapol Khantahiran, Ambas-sador of Thailand to Qatar, attended the event.

The roadshow, which took place from May 2 to 4, covered two countries, both of which are key markets for TAT. The post-ATM roadshow has seen TAT visit

Kuwait on May 2, with the team finishing the tour on May 4 in Qatar. The roadshow serves to highlight Thailand’s many

offerings to the travel industry in the Middle East region.

This year multiple Thai hotels, tour operators, medical

service institutes and tourism-related agencies from the private sector attended the roadshow, each highlighting the unique offerings available across the diverse nation.

The ‘Open to the New Shaded’ campaign by TAT showcases the diversity of Thailand and its many unique and undiscovered offerings for travellers. It com-prises of five pillars: shades of Thai gastronomy, shades of nature and beach, shades of arts and crafts, shades of culture and shades of the way of life.

Srisuda Wanapinyosak, TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing (Europe, Africa, Middle East and Americas), said: “The Middle East is a key market for us and we are incredibly excited to see continued growth in visitors from the region.” She said that from white sand beaches to

world-class wellness retreats, fas-cinating culture and the famous Thai gastronomy, Thailand offers something unique and exciting for every type of visitor from across the region. “This year, we want people to discover the incredible family-friendly hotels and activ-ities on offer throughout Thailand, as well as uncover the hidden gems that are yet to be fully discovered.”

“We have recently launched a landmark ‘Go Local’ campaign to promote Thailand’s emerging generation of secondary desti-nations which offers a new and exciting travel experience to tourists. We are truly pleased to be back in Qatar to showcase our offerings to this unique market and look forward to welcoming more visitors to the Land of Smiles throughout the year,” said Wanapinyosak.

Nathapol Khantahiran, Ambassador of Thailand to Qatar, during the Amazing Thailand Road Show 2019 to Qatar by Tourism Authority of Thailand at Crowne Plaza Hotel Doha on Saturday. PIC: ABDUL BASIT / THE PENINSULA

The year 2018 saw, as many as 35,838 tourists from Qatar visiting Thailand, which was a 27.45 percent increase from the previous year.

Registration for Katara Open Chess Tournament ends on May 9THE PENINSULA DOHA

The Cultural Village, Katara has announced the continuance of the registration for the Katara Open Chess Tournament, which is organised in cooperation with the Qatar Chess Federation, until May 9.

The Tournament will be held from May 13 to 21 at the hall of building 15, Katara. In this context, Hussein Aziz, tour-nament manager, said that the tournament of this year is dis-tinguished its international char-acter, as it will be subject to the rules and conditions of the Inter-national Chess Federation, which is a golden opportunity for amateurs to get an interna-tional rating.

He pointed out that the tour-nament will be open to all

nationalities and ages, and it will be based on the Swiss system within the so-called classic chess, where the competition will extend to 7 rounds, as one round will take more than an hour.

While last year’s tournament was local for 3 days and the round was fast. He also added that the level of the tournament this year will be more professional.

As for the prizes, the tour-nament manager explained that the total value of the prizes is estimated at 28 thousand Qatari riyals for the first ten winners in the overall ranking, as the first winner will receive 6 thousand Qatari riyals along with the prizes categories. The regis-tration for the tournament is by calling to this number: 30006260.

Economic growth now only “uplifts” the rich, who are able to control the distribution of wealth by influencing the government and making sure it serves their interests and maintain their power. Through the US system of legalised corruption, the wealthy funnel billions of dollars in donations to election campaigns.

THE WASHINGTON POST

08 MONDAY 6 MAY 2019VIEWS

Why the ‘one percent’ in the US is worried

Inequality in the United States has reached such levels lately that even members of the “one percent” have started worrying.

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates hedge fund who is ranked 57th wealthiest person in the world by Forbes magazine, quipped in a recent interview that capitalism is denying “equal opportunity for the American dream”. He said that he was “a byproduct of capitalism when it also gave equal opportunity”, adding “I was very lucky to live the American dream by having the proper care and the proper public school education … A number of things have changed.”

Former Starbucks CEO and pro-spective presidential candidate Howard Schultz, who prefers to be called a “person of means” rather than a billionaire (ranked 617th by Forbes), recently observed that “the vast majority of Americans are living pay-check to paycheck” and declared that the next US president must urgently address inequality.

CEO of JP Morgan Chase Jamie Dimon (ranked 1,717th) also noted earlier this year that: “A big chunk of [Americans] have been left behind […] Forty percent of Americans make less than $15 an hour. Forty percent can’t afford a $400 bill, whether it’s medical or fixing their car. Fifteen percent of Americans make minimum wages, 70,000 die from opioids.”

Indeed, the growing impover-ishment and despair that are plaguing our country are hard to miss. The US also has the highest rate of income inequality among Western nations, with the top one percent claiming 40 percent of US wealth in 2016, in con-trast to a 25 to 30 percent share in the 1980s. According to the rather conservative estimates of the US Census Bureau, around 14 percent of the

population or 45 million live in poverty. According to the UN, 8.5 million of them face extreme poverty and 5.3 million suffer in “Third World conditions of absolute poverty”.

But in reality, many more Amer-icans struggle to secure a dignified life for themselves and their families. A damning report published by the UN in 2018 found that: “High child and youth poverty rates perpetuate the intergenerational transmission of poverty very effectively, and ensure that the American dream is rapidly becoming the American illusion. The equality of opportunity, which is so prized in theory, is in practice a myth, especially for minorities and women, but also for many middle-class White workers.”

Perhaps parts of the American “one percent” are finally ready to admit that socioeconomic inequality has reached unprecedented levels and that the current status quo is unsus-tainable because just like South African billionaire Johann Rupert, the prospect of the poor masses rebelling is keeping them “awake at night”. They are now saying that capitalism “needs work” and are proposing various “fixes” - mainly “trickle-down philanthropy”. Some have gone as far as suggesting that social provision should be enhanced and that the wealthy should be taxed.

Yet all of them are quick to out-right reject “socialist policies”. In a recent interview for NBC, Melinda Gates, cochair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and wife of the second richest man in the world, echoed the thoughts of many of the super-rich, saying that: “What I know to be true is I would far rather live in a capitalistic society than a socialist society.”

But Gates is wrong. The current system in place in the US is not capi-talism, but rather “socialism for the rich” which favours the “one percent” by granting it ever-increasing sub-sidies, exorbitant tax breaks, deregu-lation and executive bonuses. The rest of the population lives in an unfair system of inequality and segregation, struggling to make ends meet under severe austerity and erosion of labour rights. It is a system of “survival of the fittest”, which privileges some over the others based on race and gender.

Economic growth now only “uplifts” the rich, who are able to control the distribution of wealth by influencing the government and making sure it serves their interests and maintain their power. Through the US system of legalised corruption, the wealthy funnel billions of dollars in donations to election campaigns.

Unsurprisingly, the stop-gap fixes that people like Gates, Dimon, Schultz and Dalio are proposing are unlikely to work because they are designed to maintain the current system in place so they can continue to accumulate wealth unrestrained..

There is an increasing number of dramatic proposals for economic justice that look promising. These include Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal, which envisions a national mobili-sation to eliminate carbon emissions and transform the US economy, boosting economic growth and job creation, while seeking economic and racial justice for vulnerable commu-nities. Ocasio-Cortez has also called for a 70 percent marginal tax rate on earnings above $10m.

Although conservatives attack pro-posals promoting economic justice and equity as dangerous because they could lead to a totalitarian socialist system, such policies have long been a part of the US system. After all, the Green New Deal is named after the New Deal, which was introduced during the Great Depression to protect the poor, strengthen labour rights and impose strict regulation on the financial system.

At the same time, Americans are increasingly in favour of a major overhaul of the system, due to the problematic and corruptive nature of the current one. Existing and proposed government programmes of economic redistribution and equity are popular. Socialism is also gaining popularity, even surpassing capitalism among Democrats, particularly millennials. Such policies, which translate into more democratic ownership and control over the government and greater public accountability, most certainly frighten the wealthy for their effectiveness and political popularity.

If members of the “one percent” truly care about the widening wealth gap, they should not resist the imple-mentation of these policies. An overhaul of the system might make them less wealthy, but ultimately will not be to their detriment. A profit can still be made if workers are paid dig-nified salaries, provided proper healthcare, and granted social and labour rights.

Indeed the choice of the “one percent” is reduced to either living in a more equal and just society or facing the wrath of angry impoverished masses.

DAVID A LOVE AL JAZEERA

QUOTE OF THE DAYThe era of immunity is

over. We are now entering a period of accountability.

We will fight with every needs at our disposal to ensure those who

occupied positions of authority serve only the public interest, not their

own pockets and not themselves.

Cyril Ramaphosa South African President

Trump’s latest favour to an Arab dictator defies law - and common sense

President Donald Trump has shown a disturbing willingness to adopt measures pushed on him by his favorite Arab dic-

tators, even when they contradict standing US policies and the judgment of seasoned national security profes-sionals. At the urging of Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, he tweeted his backing in 2017 for a boycott of Qatar, a key US ally that hosts a huge US air base. More recently, he signaled support for Libyan warlord Khalifa Hifter, who is trying to topple the UN-backed government in Tripoli - and was opposed by the United States until Trump was lobbied by Egyptian strongman Abdel-Fattah Al Sissi.

Now the White House has disclosed that it is seeking to implement another one of Sissi’s asks: the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Sissi, who in 2013 led a coup against a democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood government, has been seeking such a US action for years. He has been rebuffed until now for good reason: Such a designation, especially if broadly cast, probably

would be found illegal by US courts and would greatly complicate relations with half a dozen countries where Broth-erhood groups participate in parlia-ments or government.

That Trump is nevertheless pressing ahead only reflects how greatly his view of Middle Eastern affairs has been skewed by his predi-lection to swallow the nostrums peddled to him by Sissi and the Saudi crown prince. They claim the Broth-erhood, which was founded in Egypt in 1928, is essentially indistinguishable from Al Qaida, the Islamic State and other violent jihadist organizations. In fact, as George Washington University scholar Marc Lynch recently pointed out in a Washington Post analysis article, “almost all academics and ana-lysts, even those critical of the Broth-erhood, agree that it is not a terrorist organization.”

The Brotherhood has radical goals, including the creation of Islamic gov-ernments that follow sharia law, but it swore off violence in the 1960s. Some of its many offshoots throughout the Middle East have taken up arms, including the Palestinian Hamas movement, but these have already been

designated by the State Department as terrorist organizations. Meanwhile, Brotherhood-linked parties have partic-ipated in elections and joined the parlia-ments of Jordan, Morocco, Iraq and Kuwait, and one formed the first demo-cratic government in Tunisia. The record of its affiliates in respecting democratic norms once in office has been mixed, including in Egypt. But that underlines the point about the movement: It is not a monolith that can be sweepingly categorised.

The real objection of the Egyptians and Saudis to the Muslim Brotherhood is this affinity for democracy. Broth-erhood parties embrace elections because they have a good chance of success, and democracy would be unworkable in any Arab country today without the participation of peaceful Islamist movements. As Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributor murdered by the order of Mohammed bin Salman, wrote in one of his final columns, “the eradication of the Muslim Brotherhood is nothing less than an abolition of democracy and a guarantee that Arabs will continue living under authoritarian and corrupt regimes.”

Summer in Qatar program will further strengthen Qatar’s position as the most open country in the region. Last year in September, Qatar became the most open country in the Middle East and the 8th most open in the world in terms of visa facilitation according to UNWTO visa openness rankings.

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK [email protected]

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM [email protected]

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI [email protected]

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIAL

Qatar’s exceptional hospitality

Qatar’s tourism got yet another boost yesterday with launch of country’s biggest ever ‘Summer in Qatar’. The festival will attract tourists from all over the

world and will make their visit to Qatar unforgettable. The programme will offer opportunity for residents

and tourists to avail discounts on Qatar Airways flights, hotels and malls and chance to win millions in raffle draws.

Along with this grand initiative Qatar announced to allow residents to invite and bring their friends and rel-atives in Qatar visa free during summer.

This announcement means that the citizens of the country who are not on the list of countries, which are allowed visa-on-arrival facility by Qatar, can avail visa free entry into Qatar.

Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) on Saturday announced a season of summer experiences, retail offers and entertainment, that will run from June 4 to August 16. This year’s ‘Summer in Qatar’ introduces a wide range of exciting indoor and outdoor experiences, along with enter-tainment programs featuring local, regional and inter-national artists, edutainment, summer and sports camps

as well as special promotions on inbound travel, hospitality and shopping.

To deliver the program QNTC has brought together more than 30 partners from the public and private sectors, including the Ministry of Com-merce & Industry, Ministry of Municipality & Environment, Qatar Museums, Qatar Airways, Katara Cultural Village, Qatar Foundation, Private Engineering Office, Katara Hospitality, Al Rayyan Hospitality, Marriott Interna-tional hotels, nine partici-pating malls, and other event partners.

Summer in Qatar program will further strengthen Qatar’s position as the most open country in the region. Last year in September, Qatar became the most open country in the Middle East and the 8th most open in the world in terms of visa facilitation according to The World Tourism Organi-zation’s (UNWTO) visa

openness rankings. The high ranking reflects a string of visa facilitation

measures introduced by Qatar, including allowing nationals of several countries to enter Qatar visa-free and free-of-charge. As a result, Qatar’s openness score leapt by 71.3 points since 2014, when it ranked 177th.

Early this year, Qatar made to The New York Times ‘52 Places to Go in 2019’ list, showing that the city has become a must go destination for travellers around the world. Last year Doha was ranked among the ‘Top 100 City Destinations’ worldwide by Euromonitor 2018.

The new measures taken by the authorities will further develop Qatar as a year-round tourism destination for tourist all over the world.

The idea of drawing sharp boundaries between East and West is thus critical to China’s strategy — and it is lethal to America’s. To counter China, the US will need to rally a coalition that cuts across civilisations.

09MONDAY 6 MAY 2019 OPINION

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‘Populist school’ in Italyat risk as EU vote nears

Clash of civilisations has no place in US foreign policy

ELLA IDE AFP

HAL BRANDS BLOOMBERG

The man behind a would-be “gladiator school” for popu-lists has big plans for a 13th-century Italian monastery

where students from across the globe will learn how to “defend the West”.

But trouble is brewing in the mountainside retreat. As project mastermind Benjamin Harnwell

tours the austere monk cells, his walkie-talkie crackles into life: inspectors from the culture ministry are here.

Attempts to transform the sprawling Certosa di Trisulti into a far-right political boot camp risk falling foul of a bitter fight between Italy’s populist parties ahead of the European elections later this month.

Harnwell, a close associate of former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon, founded the Dignitatis Humanae Institute that will run the school and aims to create new leaders through “hardcore” person-ality formation.

“It’ll be a case of sticking your hand, your fist into the soul of the man and dragging it out,” he said.

“Everything that’s of this world we’ll leave to the side, and everything that’s good can be reworked.”

The “threats” the school aims to counter from among its sculpted hedgerows and cobbled paths are militant secularism within the West, jihadist Islamism, exploitation of the ordinary man by powerful elites and illegal immigration.

Bannon, who since being ousted from the White House spends his days fomenting right-wing populism in Europe, has pledged one million dollars to the project -- but appears to be the only benefactor to have

stumped up funds so far. He and Harnwell have found

fertile ground in Italy, which boasts the first modern-day populist gov-ernment in Western Europe, based on a coalition of the far-right League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) parties.

Bannon has described the League-M5S alliance as an “exper-iment that, if it works, will change global politics”.

“Steve’s dream was to bring together a sort of leftish type of pop-ulism with a sort of rightish type of nationalism, and make a cohesive entity. And that’s not exemplified anywhere better in the world than by the League and M5S,” Harnwell said.

Election results here could have a significant impact on the weight of the various political groups in the EU parliament.

The League, which has shot to prominence on an anti-immigrant ticket under leader Matteo Salvini, is forecast to increase its seats in the European parliament from six to 26, while M5S is expected to climb from 11 to 18 -- a combined 44 out of Italy’s total 73.

M5S wants to form a new grouping to wrest power from the traditional left and right, but has failed so far to get the numbers needed through its overtures to small parties in Croatia, Finland, Greece and Poland.

Salvini, an ally of Marine Le Pen from France’s National Rally party, has called on nationalist parties to join forces and has been busy wooing Hungary’s anti-immigration Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders.

In August, Salvini signed up to Bannon’s group “The Movement”, founded to spark a populist revolt in the EU vote.

The League leader has said he expects a new populist bloc to be the largest in the parliament -- though he and his would-be bed-fellows disagree on several key points, such as who across Europe takes how many of the refugees landing in Italy.

But Salvini’s campaign at home has been hit by scandal, with his eco-nomic adviser accused of accepting a bribe from a wind farm entrepreneur linked to the Sicilian Mafia.

The M5S, which made “honesty” a keyword of its political campaign, has demanded the adviser resign.

And it has also set its sights on Bannon’s flagship project here: the school. Harnwell’s institute won a tender in 2018 to manage the former monastery, with its frescoed ceilings, Baroque chapel, library, and 18th-century pharmacy, where the monks brewed medicines from herbs gathered in the surrounding woods.

He hopes to offer a small number of students the first three-week course later this year, charging up to 1,000 euros a head, before opening all-year round to 250 or so disciples at a time.

Over 1,000 people have already expressed an interest, he says. Some 80 percent are from the anglophone world — Australia, Britain, Canada, and the US — while the rest hail from France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

“First we need to do the roofs, we need to do the sewers, put the bathrooms in,” and bring Internet access to the sprawling hermitage, which is currently home to 40 feral cats. But Harnwell, who kneels and crosses himself before the altar every time he passes through the chapel to a corridor hidden behind a secret door, may not get the chance.

The culture ministry, currently run by the Five Star Movement, said it has launched a probe into the tender following an Italian investi-gative report which suggested the Institute may not have won it fair and square.

Harnwell brushes off the allega-tions, saying the school is “caught in a crossfire between the League and M5S” as their electoral campaigns for the EU vote enter the feverish final stretch.

“The left is trying to suggest we’re part of some money-laun-dering effort with the Russians, or the Mafia,” he says, dismissing such sug-gestions as total rubbish.

It isn’t often that high-ranking US diplomats publicly invoke the ideas of ivory-tower aca-demics. But earlier this week,

the director of policy planning at the State Department, Kiron Skinner, used a controversial concept created by Harvard professor Samuel Hunt-ington to describe America’s unfolding rivalry with China. Speaking at a Washington think tank, Skinner said that China’s rise constitutes a generational challenge that will require a generational response. She also argued that the rivalry represents a great “clash of civilisations,” the term Huntington, who died in 2008, coined in pre-dicting what would take place after the end of the Cold War.

The Trump administration is undoubtedly right that competition with China will be a decades-long affair. Yet the Clash of Civilisations model won’t help the US win that competition, because it actually sup-ports Beijing’s strategy better than America’s.

Huntington introduced the clash thesis in a famous Foreign Affairs essay written in 1993. He argued

that, with the collapse of com-munism, ideological rivalries would no longer drive global affairs. Rather, conflict would occur between groups defined by culture, religion and identity. Among the clashing groups would be a Western civilisation in Europe and North America, and a “Sinic” civilization made up of China and many of its Asian neighbors.

The clash thesis gained popu-larity amid bloody struggles between Muslim and Christian com-munities in the former Yugoslavia, and particularly after the eruption of the war on terror after 9/11.

The US government always rejected Huntington’s framing, though: the George W. Bush admin-istration argued that the war on terror was a product of a clash within a civilisation — between the tolerant and intolerant parts of the Muslim world — rather than a clash between the Muslim world and the West.

Today, there are profound cul-tural differences between the US and China, in addition to myriad economic and geopolitical strains.

But critics of the Trump adminis-tration will hear talk of a civilisa-tional conflict as an echo of the idea, promoted by the controversial former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, that the world has reached a confrontation pitting the Christian West against the rest. And even leaving that loaded issue aside, the concept is ideologically and geopo-litically counterproductive.

For one thing, “clash” rhetoric sacrifices the moral high ground in the US-China competition. America has long claimed that democratic values and human rights are not dis-tinctly Western ideas. Instead, they are universal ideas that people eve-rywhere deserve to enjoy — and that no government has a right to deny its people.

This argument, although some-times selectively applied, represents a fundamental foreign policy strength because it allows the US to identify itself with the aspirations of people around the world — even in countries that are controlled by hostile regimes.

Moreover, US officials have used the idea that human rights and dem-ocratic values are universal as an ideological bludgeon against author-itarian governments, as it did to great effect against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The Chinese government, by contrast, has embraced the concept of civilisational difference as a means of autocratic self-protection. Beijing has long rejected the idea that it should liberalise its political system — or simply stop throwing dissidents in jail — on grounds that “Western” concepts of democracy and individual rights are incom-patible with the traditions of China’s unique civilisation.

The US should not be supporting this idea, even implicitly; it should not be affirming the civilisational wall the Chinese regime has sought to build between its citizens and the democratic world.

The clash thesis is also geopoliti-cally dangerous, because here, too, it plays into China’s hands. The Chinese government has long argued that the world should, in fact, be divided along civilizational lines:

Attempts to transform the sprawling Certosa di Trisulti into a far-right political boot camp risk falling foul of a bitter fight between Italy’s populist parties ahead of the European elections later this month.

That Asians have more in common with each other than they do with the US, and that Washington should therefore leave Asia to the Asians — meaning that it should allow China to dominate that part of the world. This argument provides an intellectual underpinning for eve-rything Beijing is doing to push the US out of the Western Pacific: Undermining US alliances, building up its military, and weaving webs of economic dependence around its neighbors.

The idea of drawing sharp boundaries between East and West is thus critical to China’s strategy — and it is lethal to America’s. To counter China, the US will need to rally a coalition that cuts across civilisations. This includes, but is not limited to, the democracies of the Western Hem-isphere and Europe and an array of Asian countries that are troubled by China’s rise. Yet talking about civilisational clashes merely highlights the cul-tural and racial differences between the US and Vietnam or India, at precisely the moment when common geopolitical interests need to be brought to the fore.

Holding together a diverse balancing coalition against an ambitious China will be hard enough. American diplomats shouldn’t make that task any more challenging than it has to be.

The author is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, the Henry Kissinger Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

A file photo showing US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shaking hands during a joint statement to members of the media at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China.

10 MONDAY 6 MAY 2019MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Israeli brutality continues in Gaza; toll rises to 9

AGENCIES GAZA CITY

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered “massive strikes” on the Gaza Strip after a two-day escalation that killed nine Palestinians.

Warplanes and gunboats continued to target the Gaza Strip as fighters in the besieged enclave fired a barrage of rockets into southern Israel.

Three people were killed in Gaza rocket strikes on southern Israel yesterday. One was con-firmed as Israeli, but police had not released the nationalities for the other two.

The Palestinian dead included a commander for Hamas’s armed wing who Israel said it targeted due to his role in transferring money from Iran to militant groups in the Gaza Strip. He was the fifth Palestinian reported killed yesterday. Other Palestinian victims included a pregnant woman and her one-year-old niece, who were both

killed in Gaza on Saturday.Israeli Prime Minister Ben-

jamin Netanyahu said he instructed the military “to con-tinue its massive strikes on terror elements in the Gaza Strip.”

He said he had also ordered “tanks, artillery and infantry forces” to reinforce troops already deployed near Gaza.

The flare-up came as Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded enclave, sought further concessions from Israel under a fragile months-old ceasefire.

The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 260 targets in Gaz. Targets included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, it said. Two multi-storey buildings in Gaza City were also destroyed.

Israel said one of the buildings included Hamas mil-itary intelligence and security offices. Turkey said its state news agency Anadolu had an office in the building, and strongly denounced the strike. Israel said

the other building housed Hamas and Islamic Jihad offices.

The Gaza health ministry said the dead from the Israeli strikes included a 14-month-old baby and a pregnant woman, 37. It first identified the woman as the baby’s mother, but the family clarified that she was the aunt.

Islamic Jihad’s armed wing distributed a video showing fighters handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion interna-tional airport near Tel Aviv.

Israel closed its crossings

with Gaza for people and goods, as well the fishing zone off the enclave’s shore, until further notice. Egyptian and UN offi-cials held talks to calm the sit-uation, as they have done repeatedly in the past, while the European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza.

The UN envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nickolay Mladenov, called on “all parties to immediately de-escalate and return to the understandings of the past few months.”

The United States said it fully supported Israel’s “right to self-defence against these abhorrent attacks.” Jordan, one of only two Arab countries with a peace treaty with Israel, urged it to “end its aggression against the Gaza Strip and respect international humanitarian law.”

The escalation follows Friday clashes along the Gaza border that were the most violent in weeks. Four Palestinians, including two Hamas fighters, were killed in a shooting during weekly protests on the frontier.

Smoke billows from a targeted neighbourhood in Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave, yesterday. RIGHT: A member of Palestinian Civil Defence extinguishes a fire in the car of a Hamas commander who was killed in the airstrike.

Warplanes strike hospital in rebel-held IdlibAP BEIRUT

Warplanes struck a hospital in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province yesterday, knocking it out of service, as government forces continued to bombard the rebel-held region following insurgent attacks last week.

The latest fighting has killed dozens of people and displaced tens of thou-sands in Idlib and nearby rebel-held areas, who fled to safer regions further north. It’s the heaviest fighting in months, and has raised fears the government may launch a wider offensive to retake the

country’s last major rebel stronghold. Attacks on hospitals and clinics in the

past have preceded major government offensives on rebel-held areas, including the 2016 attack on rebel-held parts of the northern city of Aleppo and last year’s offensive on eastern suburbs of the capital, Damascus.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian warplanes were behind the attack on the main hos-pital in the rebel-held village of Hass. The opposition-run activist collective Baladi News also reported the airstrike on the hospital, adding that it was not clear if there were casualties.

The Observatory said that since the early hours of yesterday, Russian war-planes carried out more than 50 airstrikes on Idlib and nearby Hama province. It said government and Russia bom-bardment killed at least six people on Sunday in different rebel-held areas.

Turkey’s Defence Ministry meanwhile said that two Turkish soldiers were wounded on Saturday when mortar shells fell near one of their positions in Hama province. Turkey and Russia, who back opposite sides in Syria’s eight-year conflict, brokered a truce in September that averted a government offensive on Idlib.

Tunisian forces kill 3 militantsAFP/TUNIS

Tunisian security forces have killed three suspected militants from an Islamic State (IS) group affiliate in the centre of the country, the interior ministry said yesterday.

A statement said “three of the most dangerous terrorists” from the Jund al-Khilafa (Sol-diers of the Caliphate) group were “eliminated” Saturday evening near the town of Sidi Ali Ben Oun, 230km southwest of Tunis. It identified the men as Hatem ben Aid Basdouri, 40, Mohamed ben Ibrahim Basdouri, 35, and Montassar ben Khraief Ghozlani, 31. Security forces seized weapons, ammunition, explosives and suicide vests, the authorities said. In an earlier statement the ministry said it also had managed to “thwart terrorist projects” planned for the holy month Ramadan after arresting another suspected militant.

Sudanese protesters, waving national flag, taking part in a sit-in outside the Army Headquarters in Khartoum, yesterday.

5 soldiers dead in Boko Haram attackAFP / LAGOS

Five Nigerian soldiers were killed when Boko Haram overran a military base in the restive northeast two days ago, the army said yesterday.

A column of fighters from the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in trucks and on motorcycles stormed into the base in the town of Magumeri, 50km from the Borno state capital Maid-uguri late Friday.

Army spokesman Ezindu Idima said in a statement gov-ernment troops “had a fierce encounter” with the insurgents who came in numbers to loot food items and other valuables. “The indefatigable troops effec-tively thwarted the terrorists’ plan through superior fire power,” he said. “However, during the encounter the ter-rorists suffered heavy losses/casualty. Unfortunately, five soldiers paid the supreme price,” he said. The jihadists were said to have arrived in the town around 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) and engaged troops in an hour-long fight.

Ruling on Istanbul pollre-run appeal todayREUTERS ANKARA

Turkey’s High Election Board will rule today on an appeal by President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party (AKP) calling for a rerun of the Istanbul local elections that the party narrowly lost, the AKP’s mayoral candidate in the city said.

The main opposition Repub-lican People’s Party (CHP) won control of the capital Ankara and Istanbul, the country’s biggest city, for the first time in 25 years in the March 31 local elections, in a major electoral setback for the president.

Erdogan’s ruling AKP and its nationalist MHP allies have since called for the results in Istanbul to be annulled and the election to be re-run, citing what they say are irregularities that affected the outcome.

While those appeals have been pending for weeks, the High Election Board (YSK) ordered partial and full recounts across Istanbul. Istanbul’s new CHP mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, took office last month as the recounts were completed.

However, in its interim ruling on the objections, the YSK ordered district electoral officials to inspect their respective polling station offi-cials. Prosecutors also launched probes into the alleged irregularities, calling 100 polling station workers in for questioning as suspects.

“The YSK (High Election

Board) has examined our party’s and the MHP’s objections to the Istanbul election results. I believe it will make a decision tomorrow,” AKP candidate and former prime minister Binali Yildirim told reporters.

On Saturday, Erdogan sig-nalled he favours a re-run of the Istanbul elections, which he said were marred by controversy, and added that renewing the vote would allow the YSK to “clear its name”.

AKP Deputy Chairman Ali Ihsan Yavuz later on Sunday told broadcaster A Para that the party was preparing to file criminal complaints on the irregularities, but that it would wait for the YSK’s ruling.

“With this many illegalities, the prosecutors won’t be able to rest. We formed a team to file criminal complaints,” Yavuz said.

Yavuz also said the AKP would file a new appeal to the YSK to block individuals dis-missed through government decrees after a July 2016 coup attempt from being able to vote. The YSK rejected a previous appeal by the AKP on the same issue.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said yesterday that authorities had found 43 polling station officials had links to the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for orchestrating the failed coup, as a result of the investigations into alleged election irregularities.

Sudan’s military council to present its vision for transition todayREUTERS CAIRO

Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC) said it would publish its views for the coun-try’s transitional period today, its latest move in negotiations with opposition factions after the ouster of former President Omar Hassan Al Bashir.

Protesters and activists have been negotiating with the TMC to form a joint civilian-military body to oversee the country until elections. But the parties are deadlocked over who would control the new council and over

the features of a transitional government.

The Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF,) an alliance of activists and oppo-sition groups, sent the military council a draft constitutional document on Thursday con-taining its vision for the transi-tional period. The DFCF was expecting a response in order for negotiations to proceed.

The constitutional draft, seen by Reuters, outlines the duties of a sovereign transitional council which the opposition groups hope will replace the TMC, but does not specify who

would sit on it. It also outlines the responsibilities of the cabinet and a 120-member legislature.

Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi, a spokesman for the military council, said the document was “good”, adding that while the council agreed on some of its points, it had its res-ervations on others.

The military removed Bashir on April 11 after months of dem-onstrations against his 30-year rule. He was questioned for the first time on Sunday over sus-pected money laundering and financing terrorism, the general prosecutor said in a statement.

Mozambique leader endorsed as candidateAFP / MAPUTO

Mozambique’s ruling party yesterday endorsed President Filipe Nyusi as its candidate for presidential elections in October, after a three-day meeting of its top officials in Maputo.

“The Frelimo Central Committee is taking a positive view of the govern-ment’s five-year programme, which has resulted in several achievements such as expanding the drinking water network, education and transportation,” said Edson Macuacua, a party spokesman.

“The government comes to the end of its tenure with victories,” he added.

The new escalation follows Friday clashes along the Gaza border that were the most violent in weeks. Four Palestinians, including two Hamas fighters, were killed in a shooting during weekly protests on the frontier.

11MONDAY 6 MAY 2019 ASIA

51 constituenciesin 7 states vote infifth phase todayIANS NEW DELHI

A total of 51 seats spread across seven states are scheduled to vote in the fifth phase today, with Rae Bareli and Amethi seats in Uttar Pradesh among the most watched contests.

Of the seats going to polls on today, 14 are in Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Rajasthan, seven each in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, five in Bihar, four in Jharkhand and two in Jammu and Kashmir, including Anantnag, where the third and final phase of polling will be held.

In the 2014 elections, the BJP had won 39 of these 51 seats - all 12 in Rajasthan, 12 of 14 in Uttar Pradesh, all seven in Madhya Pradesh, three of five in Bihar, all four in Jharkhand and one of two in Jammu and Kashmir.

In West Bengal, all seven seats were won by the Tri-namool Congress, in Bihar, one was won by BJP ally Lok Jan-shakti Party and one by then ally Rashtriya Lok Samta Party, and in Jammu and Kashmir, one seat was won by Peoples Democratic Party. The Congress had only bagged Amethi and Rae Bareli.

This phase will see voting in many high-profile seats. In Uttar Pradesh, both Rae Bareli and Amethi, which are traditional Congress strongholds, will witness a heated contest between Congress and BJP.

In Rae Bareli, United

Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who has held the seat from 2004, will face former Congress leader Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP. In Amethi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi will again face Union Minister Smriti Irani.

Among other prominent candidates in the fray are Union Ministers Rajnath Singh (Lucknow), Jayant Sinha (Haz-aribagh) and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (Jaipur Rural).

In Uttar Pradesh, the fifth phase will include most of the seats where the BJP performed credibly in 2014 but face a strong challenge from the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine this time.

In Bihar, the political equa-tions have changed from the last Lok Sabha elections. Then the ruling Janata Dal-United was then opposed to the BJP but this time, it is a constituent of the NDA, facing the challenge from its erstwhile ally, the Rashtriya Janata Dal along with the Congress and some smaller parties.

Cyclone Fani toll rises to 42 in India, BangladeshAFP NEW DELHI

The death toll from a cyclone that battered India and Bang-ladesh rose to 42 yesterday as emergency teams raced to fix water supplies and roads devas-tated by the storm.

Twenty-nine of the dead were in eastern India’s Odisha state and 13 in Bangladesh, offi-cials in the two countries said - a fraction of the casualty numbers seen in past cyclones.

Cyclone Fani barrelled into Odisha on Friday, packing winds up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour before losing intensity as it headed towards Bangladesh.

Twenty-one deaths were reported in the Hindu pilgrimage city of Puri, said Odisha special relief commissioner Bishnupada Sethi. “We are trying to confirm the identity of the victims but since communication lines have been hit, it is taking time,” Sethi said. The toll in Bangladesh included six people struck by lightning, disaster management official Golam Mostofa said.

Thousands of trees and mobile phone towers were uprooted and roofs were torn off by the storm. Many homes have

now gone three days without power. Odisha state Chief Min-ister Naveen Patnaik has announced cash and rice handouts for victims in need. He said cooked food would be sup-plied to some communities for 15 days.

Fani was the first summer cyclone to hit India’s Bay of

Bengal coast in 43 years and only the third in the past 150 years, the chief minister said. Normally the storms hit around October and November.

India has earned praise from the UN and other experts for the speedy evacuation of 1.2 million people in the powerful storm’s path and minimising the loss of

life. Improved forecasting models, public awareness cam-paigns and well-drilled evacu-ation plans - backed up by an army of responders and volun-teers - saw Odisha’s inhabitants spared the worst of Fani’s fury.

In 1999 Odisha was hit by a super-cyclone that left nearly 10,000 dead.

Villagers block the national highway connecting Puri to Bhubaneswar as they demand relief materials, on the outskirts of Puri, yesterday.

850 Indians freed from Saudi jails: PMIANS LUCKNOW

Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said that it was on his request that Saudi Arabia released 850 Indian lodged in its jails on the eve of the month of Ramadan. “When the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia was in India, I requested him to release

the prisoners before Ramadan and he accepted my proposal,” Modi said while speaking at a rally in Bhadohi district in Uttar Pradesh.

The Prime Minister put the SP-BSP alliance in the dock and said that the ‘mahamilavati’ people have used power to earn money.

“When such elements get

power, you find the ambulance scam and NRHM scam. When we get power, we use it to serve the people and initiate schemes like Ayushman Bharat that benefit the poorest of the poor,” he said.

He further said change can be brought in only when those in power put the nation before themselves.

Modi slams Congress over alleged submarine scamIANS SAGAR, MADHYA PRADESH

Prime Minister Narendra Modi here yesterday launched a scathing attack on the Congress saying first it was Bofors, then helicopter and now the submarine scam has been unearthed.

Addressing an election rally, the Prime Minister said, “’naamdaar’ had established a company in England named ‘Backups’. The company’s name matches with its style of working that’s working behind the curtain. This company was shut in 2009. Now it has come to light that partners of ‘naamdaar’ secured a contract from the Indian government in 2011 to manufacture submarines,” Modi said. He said: “Once the company

belonged to him (Rahul Gandhi), owner of the company was also his friend. Now the people is asking ‘naamdaar’ you and your

partners only had the experience of brokerage and liaisoning, why did you opt to manufacture sub-marines. Who gave the chance”.

The Prime Minister further said since the submarine scam came into light, ‘naamdaar’ and all his colleagues had gone into the ‘kop bhawan’ (a place where an angry or anguished person hides). “Bofors guns then heli-copter and now submarines. Micheal ‘mama’ (uncle) is still revealing the secrets. The meaning of Congress is only lie, conspiracy and cheating,” Modi said. Talking about the action in Pakistan’s Balakot and the recent ban on Masood Azhar, he said: “It was because of the Congress policies that terrorists were coming in our country to do explosions and threaten India. Thereafter, the ‘strong gov-ernment’ of India used to cry in front of the whole world”.

“On the other hand, the BJP-led NDA government came

with a strong strategy. The ‘chowkidar’ is alert. Now it’s clear to terrorists the ‘new India’ would retort at their turfs,” he said.

Taking a jibe at the Congress, Modi said, “In 2004, the Con-gress government suddenly came to power and the ‘raj-kumar’ was not capable to handle it. Even the family was not sure. They made a plan to place a watchman like ‘night watchman in cricket’.” “They spent 10 years in the wait to ‘raj-kumar’ to mature. He was given training also. But everything went in the vain. They have spoiled 10 years of the country in this process. The remote of acting Prime Minister was some-where else, hence, he continued to bother about his ‘chair’ only,” said Modi.

A polling officer checks a polling station list before collecting election materials at a distribution centre in Howrah, Kolkata, yesterday.

Rahul slams Modi for calling Rajiv Gandhi corruptIANS NEW DELHI

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Rajiv Gandhi a “corrupt” politician, Congress President Rahul Gandhi yesterday criticised him for attacking his father and former Prime Minister who sacrificed his life for the country.

“Modiji, the battle is over. Your karma awaits you. Pro-jecting your inner beliefs about yourself onto my father won’t protect you. All my love and a huge hug,” Gandhi tweeted.

Later, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi also slammed Modi on Twitter: “The Prime Minister who insults martyrs by seeking vote in the name of their sacrifices yes-terday crossed his limits by insulting the sacrifice of a noble man who gave his life for the country. “The people of Amethi will reply as Rajiv Gandhi sac-rificed his life for them.

Rahul and Priyanka Gan-dhi’s remarks came a day after Modi, at a rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh, attacked their father calling him “Bhrashtachari No1” (Corrupt No1).

SC denies two judges met in-house committee membersIANS NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court yesterday issued a statement where it denied that Justices DY Chandr-achud and Rohinton Nariman met members of an in-house committee probing the sexual harassment allegations against Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi.

According to a media report, it was claimed that Chandrachud and Nariman met the committee members - Justices SA Bobde, Indira Banerjee and Indu Mal-hotra - on the evening of May 3 to register their concerns to con-tinue the investigations into the allegations in the absence of the complainant.

In the statement, Supreme Court Secretary General Sanjeev Kalgaonkar said: “This is wholly incorrect.” “The in-house com-mittee which is deliberating on the issue concerning honourable Chief Justice of India deliberates on its own without any input from any other honourable judge of this court.”

On April 30, a former employee of the Supreme Court who has accused Chief Justice

Gogoi of sexual harassment, in a statement said she would no more appear before the com-mittee set up by the apex court as she felt that she was “not likely to get justice”.

The woman said she felt “quite intimidated and nervous” in the presence of the three judges of the Supreme Court.

In a statement to the media, she expressed serious reserva-tions over the panel, saying it was “an in-house committee of sitting judges junior to the Chief Justice and not an external com-mittee as I had requested...” The woman said during the panel’s hearing on April 26, the judges told her that it was neither an in-house committee proceeding nor a proceeding under the Vishakha Guidelines and that it was an informal proceeding.

“I was asked to narrate my account which I did to the best of my ability even though I felt quite intimidated and nervous in the presence of three honourable Judges of the Supreme Court and without having a lawyer or support person with me.” The committee was formed after the woman, on April 19, levelled alle-gations against Gogoi.

Suspected training camp of Sri Lankan militants unearthedAGENCIES KATTANKUDY/COLOMBO

Sri Lankan police yesterday discovered a 10-acre camp in the eastern town of Kattankudy, where Islamist militants linked to the deadly Easter attacks are believed to have practiced shooting and bomb-making.

The walled terrain is nestled in a poor residential area on the outskirts of the home town of Zahran Hashim, who is believed to have been a key player in plotting the April 21 attacks. Islamic State has claimed respon-sibility for the church and hotel bombings that killed more than 250 people.

The narrow, sandy plot is dotted with a cinderblock four-storey watchtower, as well as mango trees, a chicken coop and a goat shed.

“They wanted to show this place was normal. If someone comes to see, it looks like a farm. But what they were doing is ter-rorism,” said a senior police officer in the Batticaloa area, asking to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak to media.

Police found bullet holes in the wall on one side of the grounds, as well as long tubes suspected of holding bombs, the officer said.

Two owners of the plot of land have been arrested, the officer said.

Meanwhile, A city near Sri Lanka’s capital was placed under curfew by police yesterday, following clashes between Muslim and Christian mobs.

A senior police officer said the restric-tions were imposed to prevent an escalation

of violence after attacks occurred in Negombo - north of Colombo - where over 100 people died in a church bombing.

“About two motorcycles and a three-wheel taxi had been damaged in the clashes,” the police officer said. “We declared a curfew till 7.00am (0130 GMT) to contain the unrest.” There were no immediate reports of casu-alties. The country’s main international airport is located in the area, but police said

there was no disruption to airport traffic.The officer said an investigation was

underway into the clashes, the first violence between Muslims and Christians since the Easter Sunday attacks targeting three churches and three luxury hotels in the country.

The government has blamed the suicide attacks on a local militant group which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

Police officers stand inside a training camp allegedly linked to militants, in Kattankudy near Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, yesterday.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is contesting from Rae Bareli, while Congress President Rahul Gandhi will again face Union Minister Smriti Irani in Amethi.

12 MONDAY 6 MAY 2019ASIA

Claims of China mulling bases in Pakistan baseless: QureshiINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has refuted reports that Beijing is mulling setting up military bases in Pakistan.

“The baseless claims are being spread by the enemies of Pakistan, including India,” Foreign Minister Qureshi said while speaking to the media in Multan.

The Minister said that New Delhi had also failed to link the Pulwama incident with the United Nations Security Council resolution to list Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.

On Thursday, the United States Defence Department had stated that China was seeking to establish military bases around the world to protect its invest-ments in its ambitious One Belt One Road (BRI) global infra-structure programme.

The Pentagon report said China will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly rela-tionship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries.

Meanwhile, commenting on Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), Qureshi said no one could cast doubts on patriotism of residents of erstwhile FATA, who he added, had always been a part of Pakistan.

“[However] our security agencies have evidence against certain individuals for receiving funding from Afghan and Indian intelligence agencies … they want to destabilise the country.”

Commenting on domestic politics, Qureshi said that a “gang of four” was taking all decisions in Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) after Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif stepped down as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman.

Earlier on May 2, Shehbaz d e c i d e d t o

abandon the chairmanship of the parliament’s key accounta-bility forum.

“It is interesting how he [Shehbaz] decided to step down from the PAC chairmanship overnight,” he said, adding that even PML-N leaders had no idea that the PAC Chairman would be replaced.

The Foreign Minister said the government would raise the issue in the National Assembly on May 6.

“We have heard that this ‘gang of four’ doesn’t even take the parliamentary members on board before taking decisions,” Qureshi said.

He questioned the reasoning given on Shehbaz’s decision, saying, “If his health does not allow him to continue, then why he isn’t relinquishing the post of the Opposition Leader … if he is healthy enough to serve on that post then why not as the PAC Chairman too.”

Qureshi asked how the PML-N leader decided to leave the post after fighting so hard to head the committee.

The Foreign Minister went on to say that even the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership was not taken on board on nomination of Rana Tanveer for the now vacant post.

Afghan special forces arrive at the site of an attack in Baghlan province, Afghanistan, yesterday.

Taliban attack Afghan police HQ, 13 deadAFP KUNDUZ

At least 13 people died and dozens more were wounded after a Taliban suicide bomber and several gunmen attacked a police headquarters in northern Afghanistan yesterday.

The deadly assault occurred two days after President Ashraf Ghani offered the Taliban a ceasefire during the holy month of Ramadan.

The attack started with a

massive blast at the police facility in Pul-i-Khumri, about 250 kilometres (155 miles) north of Kabul, sending a huge plume of smoke into the sky.

The explosion was followed up by gunmen storming the police compound, according to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

In a tweet, he said a suicide bomber had detonated a bomb inside an armoured personnel carrier, “flattening most of the building”.

Interior Ministry Spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said 13 police officers were killed in the attack, with another 35 wounded.

Eight attackers were also killed, Rahimi said in a statement, adding 20 civilians were wounded. Faisal Sami, a Senator from Baghlan province, put the toll at 12 killed and 60 wounded. The current round of talks between the Taliban and US peace envoy Zalmay Kha-lilzad entered their fourth day yesterday.

N Korea confirms tests of ‘tactical guided weapons’AFP SEOUL

North Korea’s state media said yesterday that leader Kim Jong Un had overseen a rocket and tactical guided weapons test, after the drill on Saturday raised concerns Pyongyang was esca-lating provocations with US nuclear negotiations deadlocked.

The North last carried out a missile test in November 2017, before a rapid diplomatic rap-prochement saw tensions ease on the peninsula and a series of summits.

A return to missile launches would be likely to infuriate US President Donald Trump, but the North’s official KCNA news agency shied away from the term in its report, saying Kim had ordered a “strike drill” involving “long-range multiple rocket launchers” - which are not tar-geted by UN sanctions resolu-tions - and unspecified “tactical guided weapons”.

Seoul’s Defence Ministry said yesterday an analysis of the launch indicated Pyongyang had

tested “240-mm and 300-mm multiple rocket launchers and a new type of tactical guided weapons with a range of around 70 to 240 kilometres” (45 to 150 miles). Trump has insisted that a breakthrough on N Korea denuclearisation was still pos-sible. “Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of

North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it,” Trump tweeted.

“He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!” The US leader did not elaborate on Kim’s promise.

During Saturday’s drill Kim urged his troops to remember

“the iron truth that genuine peace and security are ensured and guaranteed only by powerful strength”, KCNA said.

The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper yesterday carried 16 photos of the weapons test on its front page, including a picture of Kim clutching his binoculars in an observation post as well as several images of pro-jectiles shooting skywards.

The Saturday drill followed last month’s test-firing of very short-range tactical weapons, and came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making “foolish and dangerous” comments during nuclear talks. Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Min-ister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an “unwanted outcome” if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

The North Korean drill comes just days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea for talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal.

This picture released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) yesterday shows rocket launchers firing during a test of weapons in an undisclosed location in North Korea.

Opposition slams Imran for changing economic team INTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s main opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has alleged that the government was changing its economic team at the behest of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and has threatened a “strong protest” in the National Assembly over the move.

The PML-N leaders alleged that the finance minister, the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had been removed at the dictates of the IMF and they were now being replaced by the “representatives of the Fund”.

“Pakistan has been made a colony of the IMF. I am forced to say that unfortunately the country’s sovereignty has been sold out and we will lodge a strong protest in the National Assembly over it,” said the PML-N’s senior leader Ahsan Iqbal while talking to reporters

in Lahore. Iqbal, who had served as planning and development minister in the previous PML-N government, said it had never happened in the country’s history that changes in the eco-nomic team had been linked to the IMF bailout package.

Rana Sanaullah, another PML-N leader, said the SBP gov-ernor’s office had a constitu-tional cover and was a tenured post, but the government on the directives of the IMF had forced Tariq Bajwa to submit his resig-nation. “How is the country being run? The servants of the IMF are being imposed on the country’s economy,” Sanaullah added. In a sudden move, the government removed SBP Gov-ernor Tariq Bajwa and FBR Chairman Jahanzeb Khan on Friday night at a time when the two officials were busy in talks with the IMF team in Islamabad.

The changes came two weeks after PM Imran Khan appointed Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh as his adviser on finance.

Indonesians carrying baskets of food on their heads as part of the Nyadran festival to welcome the holy month of Ramadan in Temanggung, Central Java, Indonesia. Traditionally, Indonesians eat together to welcome the holy month.

The Foreign Minister’s statement came following a Pentagon report which claimed China was seeking to set up military bases in some countries to protect its BRI investments.

Punjab province dissolves local bodiesINTERNEWS LAHORE

Around 58,000 local bodies representatives in Punjab were sent packing after the governor signed the Punjab Local Government Bill 2019.

According to a government notification, the former local b o d i e s s y s t e m n o w

stands abolished. Lists are being prepared for the posting of com-missioners and deputy commis-sioners as administrators. The names are expected to be announced in a few days.

The Punjab government will conduct fresh local government elections within a year. Until then, 27 districts of the province

will have deputy commissioners working as administrators. Nine divisions will have commis-sioners performing these duties. Under the new bill, the new municipal system will consist of two categories which include municipal and mohalla councils in urban areas, and tehsil and village councils in rural areas.

Australian opposition leader campaigns on health, climateAP CANBERRA

Australia’s opposition party offi-cially launched its election campaign yesterday, putting health care and climate change at the forefront of its bid for election within two weeks.

Centre-left Labor Party leader Bill Shorten promised to spend billions of dollars pro-viding free dental care for pen-sioners, reducing waiting times at hospital emergency depart-ments and eliminating costs for cancer patients.

“Cancer makes you sick. But in a rich country like ours, it shouldn’t make you poor,” Shorten told supporters at a con-vention centre in Brisbane city.

Shorten also highlighted Labor’s pledge to reduce Aus-tralia’s greenhouse gas emis-sions by 45% below 2005 levels by 2030. The conservative coa-lition government has com-mitted to reduce emissions by 26% to 28% in the same time frame and warns that Labor’s more ambitious target would wreck the economy.

Shorten said half the Liberal Party-led coalition “simply don’t believe climate change is real

and the other half just don’t care.” Curbing greenhouse gases is a divisive issue in a country that is the world’s biggest exporter of coal and liquefied natural gas. Former Prime Min-ister Malcolm Turnbull was overthrown by hard right wingers in his own party in August in part because of his energy policy that would have increased electricity prices to reduce emissions.

Turnbull was replaced as prime minister by Scott Mor-rison, who has attacked Shorten’s lack of detail on how much Labor’s emissions reduction target would cost the economy. Shorten argues that failure to act on climate change also carries an economic cost.

“He doesn’t know the price of anything because he’s not the one who is going to have to pay for it,” Morrison told a Liberal Party rally on Sunday. “You’re the ones who are going to have to pay for it right across Aus-tralia.” Morrison said his gov-ernment would reduce taxes for all if it is elected on May 18 for a third three-year term.

Most opinion polls since the 2016 election have put Labor ahead of the government.

Indonesians share food to welcome Ramadan

Panel to end moon-sighting controversiesINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s Science and Tech-nology Minister Fawad Chaudhry yesterday said a new committee of experts has been established which would determine moon sighting for key dates and months in the Islamic calendar for the next 10 years.

The five-member com-mittee will comprise science and technology experts from Pakistan’s space agency, SUPARCO, and the MET Office, Chaudhry wrote in a Twitter post.

The committee will prepare an Islamic calendar of important dates and months for the next 10 years including Ramdan, Eid, and Muharram, which will put an end to the moon-sighting controversies that arise every year, the Min-ister added. The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee with Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman in the chair met in Karachi yesterday for the sighting of the crescent of Ramadan, and announced that Ramadan will begin in Pakistan on Tuesday.

13MONDAY 6 MAY 2019 EUROPE

Let’s make a Brexit deal, May tells oppnAP LONDON

Bri ta in ’s Conservat ive government and opposition Labour Party have a duty to strike a compromise Brexit agreement to end months of political deadlock over Britain’s exit from the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said yesterday. Writing in the Mail on Sunday newspaper, May told Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn: “Let’s do a deal.”

The prospect of a cross-party compromise has alarmed many Conservatives, however, and even May said it was “not what I wanted, either.” “But we have to find a way to break the deadlock — and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this,” she wrote.

The Conservatives are des-perate to move forward after losing hundreds of positions in last week’s local authority elec-tions. Labour also suffered losses as voters punished both main parties for the Brexit impasse.

Almost three years after Britain voted to leave the EU, the

date and terms of Brexit remain uncertain. The UK’s departure date has been postponed from March 29 until October 31 because May has been unable to get British lawmakers to approve her divorce deal with the EU.

But suggestions that May’s government might make a deal that accepts Labour’s demand for close economic ties with the EU have infuriated pro-Brexit Con-servatives, who are demanding May’s resignation. “We have to make a change,” former Conserv-ative leader Iain Duncan Smith told LBC radio. “The message was loud and clear that, since March 29, people have decided they are absolutely furious with the political class.” Labour Party pol-iticians are wary about making a deal that could be seen as helping the archrival Conservatives

deliver Brexit. Many party members and lawmakers want Labour to support a new, second referendum on Britain’s EU mem-bership that could reverse voters’ 2016 decision to leave.

They point to big gains in the local elections for the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats and Greens parties as evidence the public would welcome a second refer-endum. Labour economy spokesman John McDonnell said that the party would try to “come to an agreement if we can” with the Conservatives. But he said Labour would only agree to a Brexit deal that included a per-manent customs union with the EU to avoid barriers to trade. The government wants a looser rela-tionship with the bloc that would let UK strike new deals around the world.

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip arrive at a church, as Brexit turmoil continues, in Sonning, Britain, yesterday.

North Macedonia’s biggest opposition party VMRO-DPMNE presidential candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova talks to the media after casting her ballot during the presidential election in Skopje, North Macedonia, yesterday.

North Macedonia holds run-off vote to choose new presidentAP SKOPJE, NORTH MACEDONIA

North Macedonia held a compet-itive run-off election yesterday to choose a new president, a vote seen as a test of the centre-left government’s pro-West policies despite the largely ceremonial duties of the country’s head of state. The two candidates, Stevo Pendarovski of the ruling Social Democratic Union, and Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, who was backed by the conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party,

each received about 42% in the first round of voting on April 21. They took opposing positions in the campaign on the govern-ment’s deal with Greece to rename the country in exchange for Nato membership.

The run-off took place in rainy weather, and a key question is whether turnout will reach the 40% threshold needed for the election to be valid. If too few ballots are cast, the two-round contest would be repeated. “This is not a day to stay at home, but to contribute

to the future of the country,” said Ali Ahmeti, a leader of the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration, a junior partner in the current government.

At 1pm local time turnout was 20.5%, slightly higher than at the same time two weeks ago, State Electoral Commission said. The turnout for the first round was 41.8% . North Macedonia previously was known as Mac-edonia. The name change took effect in February as part of an agreement to end a decades-long dispute with Greece.

Cyprus police find fifth victim of suspected serial killerREUTERS NICOSIA

Police in Cyprus found a body in a lake yesterday that they believe to be the fifth victim of a suspected serial killer who preyed on foreign women for almost three years without detection. Divers retrieved the body from a lake west of the capital Nicosia, the same location where a woman was found dead in a submerged suitcase a week ago.

“A body has been found decomposed. It is not identi-fiable and is being taken to the mortuary now for further inquiries,” a police official said. The latest body was also in a suitcase, another official on the scene said.

A 35-year-old career army captain has been in custody since late April on suspicion of killing five adult women and the young daughters of two of the victims. Four of those killed are thought to be from the Philip-pines, including a mother and her six-year-old daughter. A woman from Romania and her eight-year-old daughter and a further victim from Nepal were also killed. Authorities using sonar to scan a man-made lake in the bowl of an abandoned copper mine discovered the body yesterday afternoon.

‘Serial killer’ appears in courtNICOSIA: The Cypriot army officer who has allegedly confessed to killing seven foreign women and girls over nearly three years appeared in court yesterday, where police accused him of abusing a teenager.

Captain Nicos Metaxas, 35, has not yet been for-mally charged over the murders — dubbed the Med-iterranean island’s ‘first serial killings’,. At the hearing yesterday the suspect — first arrested on April 18 —was remanded in custody for a further eight days. The police chief told the court that the suspect denied the allegation when questioned about it.

Metaxas appeared in court without a lawyer and told the judge he had “no objections” to being remanded. Police said they were receiving a “deluge of information” about the sus-pect’s activities with 350 witness statements taken and another 150 to be processed.

Austrian far-right leader ramps up anti-immigration rhetoric REUTERS ZURICH

The head of Austrian junior coalition partner and far-right Freedom (FPO) party pledged yesterday to fight “creeping Islamisation”, doubling down on his anti-immigration stance ahead of European elections on May 23.

Heinz-Christian Strache, who serves as Austria’s vice

-chancellor, also insisted he would not stop referring to immigration as “population dis-placement”, a term used by far right groups in Austria who want to reverse the inflow of new-comers into the country.

Most polls in Austria showed the Freedom party was in third place, with its senior coalition partner, the Conservative Aus-trian People’s Party in first and the opposition Social Democrats

(SPO) in second place. “There is a creeping Islamisation, a pop-ulation change, or a population displacement,” Strache told Aus-trian newspaper OE.24.

Critics counter this view with government data on immi-gration, which shows that in 2018, roughly 16 percent of Aus-tria’s population has foreign cit-izenship, up from 10 percent a decade earlier.

Austria’s public broadcaster

has compared anti-immigrant posters created by the FPO’s youth wing of party to Nazi prop-aganda, while the vice-mayor of the Austrian town where Adolf Hitler was born resigned from the party after writing a poem comparing migrants with rats.

Anti-immigration sentiment in Austria was stoked by the 2015 during Europe’s migration crisis, during which thousands of migrants passed through the

country on their way to other EU states such as Sweden and Germany. Many of them were Syrian war refugees. Austria took in asylum seekers numbering the equivalent of around 1 percent of its population during the 2015 crisis. “It is our goal to correct the legacy of the previous gov-ernment’s immigration policy and to stop immigration from Islamic countries and promote integration,” Strache said.

G7 environment ministers meet to discuss climate crisisAFP METZ, FRANCE

Environment ministers of the G7 nations met in France yesterday, a day ahead of the release of what is expected to be another alarming report on the state of the planet.

Ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States gathered for the two-day meeting in the northeastern city of Metz. They were due to discuss measures to tackle deforestation, plastic pollution and the degradation of coral reefs and try to form alliances between nations to act on them.

Joining the ministers were delegations from the European Union as well as Chile, Egypt, the Fiji Islands, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Niger and Norway.

“We need to come out of this G7... with some very con-crete things that go beyond speeches,” said France’s junior minister for ecological tran-sition, Brune Poirson, as the meeting opened.

Today, the UN will publish an executive summary of a 1,800-page tome crafted by more than 400 experts — the first UN global assessment of the natural world in 15 years.

Italy accusesUS man fordeath of fashionstore ownerAP ITALY VITERBO

Italian police have arrested a 22-year-old US man and accused him of killing a 74-year-old Italian owner of a clothing store in Viterbo, a city near Rome.

Police arrested Michael Aaron Pang on Saturday and allege that he killed the store-keeper by striking him with a stool. The body of Norveo Fedeli was found inside his store on Friday, Lt. Col. Guglielmo Trombetta told The Associated Press Trombetta said Pang, who was born in South Korea, is a graphic designer from Kansas City who arrived in Italy about two months ago. Trombetta said it was unclear why Pang was in Italy. He said the suspect has not spoken yet with detectives.

Pang’s lawyer did not immediately reply to a message yesterday.

The prospect of a cross-party compromise has alarmed many Conservatives, however, and even May said it was “not what I wanted, either.” “But we have to find a way to break the deadlock — and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this,” she wrote.

At least 41 dead in Moscow plane fireAFP MOSCOW

At least 41 people died yesterday after a passenger plane on fire attempted an emergency landing at Moscow’s busiest airport as flames and thick black smoke poured from the fuselage, Russian news agencies reported.

“For the moment, we

confirm the death of 41 people, two of them children,’ said a report. Dramatic footage shared on social media showed the Aeroflot-owned aircraft engulfed in flames as it landed on the tarmac at Sheremetyevo, Moscow’s busiest airport.

In the videos, passengers could be seen leaping onto an inflatable slide at the front and running from the blazing plane

as huge black columns of smoke billowed into the sky. The Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet-100 carrying 73 pas-sengers and five crew members had just left Sheremetyevo, on a domestic route, when the crew issued a distress signal, officials said. Data from tracking website Flightradar24 indicates the emergency hap-pened around 30 minutes after

take-off. “It attempted an emergency landing but did not succeed the first time, and on the second time the landing gear hit (the ground), then the nose did, and it caught fire,” a source told Interfax news agency.

According to the Ria Novosti news agency, the plane had been headed to the far northwest city of Murmansk in

Russia. It said initial findings suggested an electrical fault might have caused the blaze. In a statement, Aeroflot said the motors were likely to have caught fire mid-air. Investi-gators have opened a criminal probe into a possible breach of security rules. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has also ordered a special committee to investigate the disaster.

14 MONDAY 6 MAY 2019AMERICAS

US, Russia butt heads over VenezuelaAFP WASHINGTON

The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, pressed yesterday for Russia to get out of Venezuela, while his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, called on Wash-ington to “abandon its irrespon-sible plans” in the crisis-wracked country.

The push and shove set the stage for a Pompeo meeting with Lavrov in Finland this week, and belied the concili-atory tone taken by US President Donald Trump on Friday after what he said was “a very good conversation” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The top level contacts follow the failure of a US-backed uprising this week aimed at ousting Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, which Pompeo has blamed on Russia.

The secretary has said Maduro had been ready to flee to Havana but the Russians, who had flown military advisers to Caracas to shore up his socialist government, talked him out of it. “The Russians must get out,” Pompeo said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week.” “I’m going to meet with Foreign Min-ister Lavrov in recent days. It’s very clear, we want the Russians out, we want the Iranians out, we want the Cubans out. It’s very clear,” he said.

Trump undercut Pompeo’s position on Friday, telling reporters that Putin had assured him “he is not looking to get involved in Venezuela other than he’d like to see something positive happen for Venezuela.” “And I feel the same way,” Trump added.

Asked about those com-ments, Pompeo said, “I didn’t see the full context of those quotes.” In Moscow, Lavrov met with Venezuelan Foreign Min-ister Jorge Arreaza and pushed back against Washington.

“We call on the Americans, and all those supporting them, to abandon their irresponsible plans and to act exclusively within the boundaries of inter-national law,” Lavrov said.

Washington has given full-throated backing to opposition leader Juan Guaido, who tried but ultimately failed to ignite a military uprising against Maduro on April 30. Guaido, who is

recognised by the US and 50 other countries as Venezuela’s legitimate interim president, acknowledged on Saturday in an interview with the Wash-ington Post that he fell short.

“Maybe because we still need more soldiers, and maybe we need more officials of the regime to be willing to support it, to back the constitution,” Guaido said. “I think the vari-ables are obvious at this point.”

He has tried to keep up the pressure with massive street protests, but his latest call for demonstrations Saturday drew only several hundred people.

The attempted uprising set off two days of violent clashes between security forces and protesters that left four dead, dozens injured and more 150 people arrested. Pompeo admitted to “bumpy roads” and said it could take “two weeks,

four weeks” to remove Maduro.“But Maduro can’t feel good.

He’s ruling for the moment but he can’t govern,” Pompeo said. “This is someone who cannot be part of Venezuela’s future.” Maduro, meanwhile, appeared at a military exercise on Sat-urday with Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino, who top US officials had said was in on the attempted uprising but backed out.

The top level contacts follow the failure of a US-backed uprising this week aimed at ousting Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, which Pompeo has blamed on Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) meets with Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in Moscow, yesterday.

Trump taps former border patrol chief as ICE DirectorAP WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump’s latest choice to lead US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a former border patrol chief under the Obama administration who has publicly backed the presi-dent’s border wall.

Trump tweeted yesterday that Mark Morgan “will be joining the Trump Adminis-tration as the head of our hard working men and women of ICE.” He added: “Mark is a true believer and American Patriot. He will do a great job!” The announcement follows a shake-up at the Department of Homeland Security triggered by the president’s frustration with the increasing number of migrants at the border. The shakeup started last month,

when Trump withdrew Ron Vitiello’s nomination to lead US Immigration and Customs Enforcement midway through the confirmation process. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen then resigned, along with Undersec-retary for Management Claire Grady, who was in line to be her successor.

Morgan, who was named the head of the US Border Patrol in 2016, was ousted early in Trump’s presidency. It was not immediately clear if he had been formally nominated for the new role, which will require Senate confirmation. A former FBI agent, Morgan was the first and so far the only outsider to lead the Border Patrol. He clashed with its union, which has a strong relationship with Trump. Since he left, he has defended Trump’s immigration policies.

Presidential candidate Laurentino Cortizo, of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), gestures as he arrives with his wife Yazmin Colon at a polling station during the general election in Panama City, Panama yesterday.

Panama votes to elect new presidentAFP PANAMA CITY

Panamanians went to the polls yesterday to elect a new pres-ident after a campaign domi-nated by concerns about corruption.

“Voting begins,” Panama’s Electoral Tribunal tweeted. Some 2.7 million people are eli-gible to vote.

Social Democrat Laurentino Cortizo was favored to win, with pre-election polls giving him a 10-point lead over his closest challenger, former foreign min-ister Romulo Roux of the Dem-ocratic Change party. Inde-pendent Ricardo Lombana was a close third in the polls. Sun-day’s winner will succeed Juan

Carlos Varela, who is unable to stand for re-election as Pan-ama’s constitution limits presi-dents to a single five-year term.

Corruption scandals played a significant role in election campaigning in a country strug-gling to shed its image as a money-laundering paradise fol-lowing the Panama Papers scandal three years ago.

Equally damaging was the admission by Brazilian con-struction giant Odebrecht that it had paid $59m in bribes in Panama between 2010 and 2014 to secure major public works contracts. Panama is home to the strategic canal that links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, making it a key conduit in the global maritime trading system.

Cortizo, a 66-year-old former agriculture minister known popularly as “Nito,” said he wanted to “rescue and transform Panama” and “leave a legacy” untainted by corruption.

“I’m leaning towards Nito Cortizo because of his ability, experience and knowledge, and I think he has all the tools and structure to carry out a large part of what he has proposed,” Miguel Carrio, an insurance salesman, said.

The surprise candidate in the race, lawyer and journalist Lombana, has surged in the polls on an anti-corruption ticket, gar-nering almost 20 percent of voter intentions, compared to Cortizo’s 36 percent.

Mueller testimony to US Congress on May 15AFP WASHINGTON

Robert Mueller, the man who led the nearly two-year inves-tigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, has been asked to testify to Congress on May 15, a lawmaker said yesterday.

David Cicilline, a Democrat and member of the House Judi-ciary Committee, told “Fox News Sunday” that Mueller’s representatives had tentatively agreed to the May 15 date, but later clarified in a Tweet that “nothing has been agreed to yet.” “That’s the date the Com-mittee has proposed, and we hope the Special Counsel will agree to it. Sorry for the con-fusion,” he wrote. Cicilline said that there is no guarantee that Robert Mueller would testify.

Cause of Venezuelancopter crash under probe AP CARACAS, VENEZUELA

Venezuelan authorities are investigating the cause of a heli-copter crash that killed seven military officers while they were while heading to a state where President Nicolás Maduro was visiting troops.

The crash of the Cougar helicopter on the southeastern outskirts of Caracas on Sat-urday followed days of upheaval during which oppo-sition leader Juan Guaidó called in vain for a military uprising to overthrow Maduro, and five people were killed in clashes between protesters and police.

The armed forces said the chopper was heading to San Carlos in Cojedes state, near a military base where Maduro addressed cadets on Saturday. The statement didn’t say if the aircraft was part of the presi-dential delegation.

In late April, a Venezuelan National Guard general and a pilot died in a police helicopter crash in the city of Maracaibo. Two other people were injured.

Meanwhile the Venezuelan opposition planned a memorial service for those killed in street fighting over the past week.

Uncertain future for ‘super’ seaweed after court rulingAP PORTLAND

Maine’s seaweed business has grown like a weed in recent years, with proponents touting it as both a “superfood” and an economic generator for the rural state - but the industry is now facing sticky new restrictions.

Maine has a long tradition of seaweed harvesting, in which the algae is gathered for a wide variety of commercial uses, including some popular food products. Now, a recent court ruling could dramatically change the nature of the business in Maine, which has seen the harvest of the gooey stuff grow by leaps and bounds in the last

decade, industry members said.The state’s highest court

ruled last month that permission from coastal landowners is needed for harvesting rockweed, a type of seaweed that’s critical to the industry. The Maine Seaweed Council, an industry advocacy group, has called the ruling “a disappointing setback” that will force harvesters to adjust.

The court’s decision could mandate the implementation of rules that are difficult to enforce, said George Seaver, a vice pres-ident of Waldoboro firm Ocean Organics who has been involved in processing rockweed for 40 years. Rockweed is harvested from tidal mudflats where

property boundaries can be ill-defined, he said.

“You can’t put a pin in the mud, and you certainly can’t put a pin in the water,” Seaver said. “One of the fundamental things about the court case is who owns the intertidal zone.” The Maine Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling was an outgrowth of a lawsuit involving Acadian Seaplants, a Canadian company that has har-vesting operations in rural Maine. The court ruled that rockweed grown in the intertidal zone is the private property of upland land owners. That means it “cannot be harvested by members of the public as a matter of right,” the justices ruled. Gordon Smith, a Portland

attorney representing the group of landowners, said one of their motivators was conservation. Rockweed has been harvested at an accelerated rate in recent years, causing some in coastal Maine to question its sustainability.

The harvest of seaweed in Maine reached its highest point in recent recorded history in 2018, at more than £22m, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The harvest in the 2,000s was frequently less than £10m, before interest began to shoot up in the early part of this decade. Rockweed typically makes up most of the state’s seaweed harvest, which was

valued at a little less than $1m at the docks last year. But the total economic impact seaweed has on the state is around $20m per year, said Trey Angera, a member of the Maine Seaweed Council.

And these days, edible sea-weeds — which also include dulse, sugar kelp, Irish moss and others — have cachet in Maine and beyond. Saturday was the final day of Maine’s first “Seaweed Week,” which put a focus on restaurants that use the product. Part of the driving force behind the seaweed industry’s boom is the accompanying wave of interest in health foods, “neu-traceuticals” and nutritional sup-plements. It’s also become more

popular to feed to cows because of possible environmental benefits.

But the property owners have their own environmental concerns, arguing in the lawsuit they “think that rockweed is a vital cornerstone of the Gulf of Maine food web, and other species depend on it,” Smith said.

Jean-Paul Deveau, president of Acadian Seaplants, said in a statement last month the ruling is “extremely unfortunate” for an industry he believes is at the forefront of “creating sustainable and environmentally friendly products.” Seaver said he thinks the ruling creates “impossible problems” for harvesters and landowners.

Biden offers a nickname for Trump AFP WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump has been quick to cook up derisive nicknames for his Democratic critics and rivals: “Crooked” Hillary Clinton, “Goofy” Eliz-abeth Warren and “Crazy” Bernie Sanders, among others.

Now one of them has returned the favour.

Former vice-president Joe Biden, hitting the campaign trail for the first time since joining a crowded Democratic field of

presidential aspirants, has dubbed Trump a “clown”. Biden — or “Sleepy Joe” as Trump calls him — offered the new nickname in response to a question raised at a small fundraising event in Columbia, South Carolina, according to a pool report and a readout from the Biden campaign.

A supporter in the room asked Biden how he would respond to Trump’s often insulting language, saying, “I want you to fight back; once he throws a nickname at you, you

gotta throw a nickname back.” Biden drew laughter when he replied: “There’s so many nick-names I’m inclined to give this guy. You can just start with clown.” Biden, a veteran of decades of political wars, said he would never shy from responding to Trump’s attacks, but did not want to let the pres-ident use them to turn attention from serious issues. “On every single issue and on every demeaning thing he says about other people, I have no problem responding directly,” Biden said.

BPS participates in Bharat Utsav Birla Public School (BPS) participated in ‘Bharat Utsav’ a journey through festive celebration of India, conducted on April 12, 2019 at Al Majlis, Sheraton Grand Doha Hotel, organised by Indian Cultural Center. ICC conducted felicitation event, for artistes and supporters and volunteers of Bharat Utsav 2019 as a token of appreciation on April 28. All student participants of the school received certificates.

15MONDAY 6 MAY 2019 HOME

Specially-abled scientists showcase talents

THE PENINSULA DOHA

Over thirty specially-abled scientists showcased their talents and knowledge to hundreds of people during the Annual Science Exhibition of HOPE Qatar Centre for the Special Needs in Doha on May 3.

Held under the theme ‘Nature Our Friend’, this year’s exhibition was held at the premises of the centre and included exhibits classified under the different areas of science. These included exhibits and working models related to plants, grains, botany, biology, zoology, mammals, insects and the human anatomy.

The visitors to the pavilion were treated to a variety of exhibits that were then explained and demonstrated by the differently-abled students of HOPE Qatar Centre which provides a near school environment to the students enrolled at the centre.

Science exhibitions are conducted each year and provide a platform for

the students to demonstrate their under-standing of the concepts and principles of science which they learn in their classrooms over the year. Each year the exhibition is held under a different theme and this year was related to the nature.

Aisha Ghanem Al Attiya, Head of Year of Culture at the office of the

Chairperson at Qatar Museums, was the chief guest. After inaugurating the exhi-bition, visiting the displays, and inter-acting with the students and their parents, Aisha said that she was extremely impressed by the display by the students, and the efforts of the teachers and team at HOPE Qatar. “The dedication of the team at HOPE Qatar Centre for Special Needs can be seen in the confidence displayed by the stu-dents,” said Aisha Ghanem Al Attiya.

Dr Rajeev Thomas, the Founder and Managing Director of HOPE, said that the impact that HOPE has had in Qatar over the last thirteen years is amazing, and is evidenced by the ability of their students to contribute actively to the society they live in.

He introduced to the audience one of their students Zuhair Bin Tahla who had just been selected for internship at a leading NGO in Qatar, with the possi-bility of employment and placement. Three of HOPE Qatar’s alumni had flown in from India for the event and one of them even participated in the exhibition by demonstrating the principles of reflection at one of the exhibit stalls.

The visitors during the Annual Science Exhibition of HOPE Qatar Centre for the Special Needs.

Doha Academy hosts Al Dosari & Afif during Celebration DayTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Doha Academy Al Waab held a Cele-bration Day, on May 5, celebrating Al Faleh’s Group two decades of educa-tional excellence in the presence of Sheikh Faleh bin Nawaf Al Thani.

The Celebration Day gave students a chance to enjoy a fun day with various activities breaking up the routine of school and examinations.

Doha Academy proudly hosted Saad Al Dosari and Akram Afif, stars of Qatar National Football team during the cel-ebration, where students had the chance to meet them and show their football tricks and talents with their favourite sports players.

The students also received an invi-tation to attend tomorrow’s football match between Al Sadd Sports Club and Al Ahli Saudi as part of the AFC

Champions League.A fantastic variety of entertainment

and holistic activities were offered on the sidelines including watching movies, playing board games, face painting, henna painting, balloon popping, table tennis, bouncy castle and so on.

Dr Sheikha Aisha bint Faleh Al Thani, Chairperson and Founder of Al Faleh Educational Holding, which includes Doha Academy said, “We aim to make every day a valuable learning experience, not just by delivering an excellent education to students, but also by encouraging them to participate fully in the life of the academy. Students and staff have earned this celebration for their hard work in this academic year. We believe that schools should be happy, purposeful communities where children are encouraged to achieve their best spiritually, morally, socially,

intellectually and physically.’’Graeme M Garrett, Head of Doha

Academy Schools and Principal, said: “The Celebration Day was an excellent example of the community spirit here at the Academy with students and staff coming together to celebrate the achievements of our students. It was wonderful to see students and staff interacting away from the normal classroom experience.”

“The day was further enhanced by the arrival of two footballers from the very successful Qatari national team. Our community is most grateful to our Chairperson for arranging their attendance. Thank you to all our staff for the hard-work and diligence they have shown in arranging the day to ensure all our students had a wonderful experience,” he added.

Akram Afif playing football at Doha Academy Al Waab.

Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co launches Nissan offer for RamadanTHE PENINSULA DOHA

In celebration of the holy month of Ramadan, Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co, the authorised distributor of Nissan in Qatar, has announced the launch of its exclusive retail offer on a wide line-up of its vehicles.

Under this first-of-its-kind offer, customers will benefit from maximum savings on the brand-new Pathfinder, X-Trail, Kicks, Altima and Maxima, with QR30,000 in savings upon their purchase of the 2019 Patrol XE. New customers will also be eligible to partake in two lucky draws, where 114 winners will walk away with a variety of prizes, including fully covered trips to attend the UEFA Champions League final in Madrid, Harvey Nichols vouchers, and new Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphones.

The first draw on May 8 will

announce 7 lucky winners who will go on an all-expense paid trip to watch the UEFA Champions League (UCL) final match on June 1 – which will take place at Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. Seven all-inclusive packages, each package accommodates two people, will offer winners an exclusive luxury Cham-pions League experience, including Qatar Airways business class tickets to Madrid, transport, and hotel accommodation for the trip duration between May 31 and June 2.

The second draw, which will take place on June 16, will offer 100 lucky winners a wide variety

of gifts; 50 participants will win Harvey Nichols vouchers, worth QR3,000 each, and 50 others will take home the new Samsung Galaxy S10, one of the most in-demand smartphones on the market today.

Announcing the offer, Martin Aherne, General Manager, Auto-motive at Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co, said: “We will be offering our proud Nissan cus-tomers wide-ranging special deals and benefits, and, most excitingly of all, the chance to experience the UCL final match with like-minded football fans”.

Hyatt Plaza Mall hosts photography contest ‘Capture Qatar’THE PENINSULA DOHA

With a huge number of partici-pants, Hyatt Plaza Mall concluded the photo exhibition about the first edition of ‘Capture Qatar’ contest, which aimed at highlighting the most beautiful scenes and images in Qatar.

Hyatt Plaza Mall’s team said that the photo exhibition held in the mall from April 25 to May 4, 2019 contained the best 100 pic-tures out of the 1,200 entries in the contest.

Organised by Hyatt Plaza Shopping Mall and Youth Hobbies Center, Al Sharq and

The Peninsula newspapers, the photo exhibition is one of the competitions that aims to embody the beauty, present, history and heritage of the State of Qatar.

Mohammed Al Hawamdeh, Head of Marketing at Hyatt Plaza Mall, said “Being a family shopping destination, we are always keen to offer activities and event to all citizens and expatriates to give them the opportunity to express their love to Qatar. In addition, we are always aiming to engage com-munity in Mall activations”.

Al Hawamdeh said that the competit ion gave the

opportunity for all photography enthusiasts to showcase their talent and creativity. The closing ceremony of Capture Qatar hon-oured the first 10 winners with top range cameras as gifts and an exclusive Hyatt Plaza VIP Card. In addition, the remaining 100 participants get the certifi-cates of appreciation in Capture Qatar in honour of their efforts in making this event a success.

Top ten winners are Abdelaziz Aben Youjil, Sebastian Krzyżanowski, Toh Leng, Sinlin Moothandassery, Ahmed Herz, Ahmed Karem, Ali Gad, Ali Al Naimi, Madonna Macalma and Mervat Ahmed. The winners with their prizes at the award ceremony.

The visitors to the pavilion were treated to a variety of exhibits that were then explained and demonstrated by the differently-abled students of HOPE Qatar Centre which provides a near school environment to the students enrolled at the centre.

Under the first-of-its-kind offer, customers will benefit from maximum savings on the brand-new Pathfinder, X-Trail, Kicks, Altima and Maxima, with QR30,000 in savings upon their purchase of the 2019 Patrol XE.

FAJRSHOROOK

03. 32 AM

04. 55 AM

11. 31 AM

02. 59 PM

06. 10 PM

07. 40 PM

ZUHRASR

MAGHRIBISHA

PRAYER TIMINGS

WEATHER TODAY

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

Minimum Maximum28oC 40oC

HIGH TIDE 04:20 –18:07 LOW TIDE 00:27 – 12:14

Relatively hot daytime with slight dust and

scattered clouds.

16 MONDAY 6 MAY 2019HOME